showed by his subsequent conduct, that drunkenness was not a vice, to
which he was naturally addicted, and that the strength of the spirit
had crept upon him, before he was aware of the consequences that were
likely to ensue. On any subsequent occasion, when the brandy bottle
was tendered to him, he would take a glass, but on being pressed to
repeat it, he would shake his head with apparent tokens of disgust;
after the exchange of some presents, and many ridiculous ceremonies,
Buckar Sano was proclaimed the white man's alchade, or mercantile
agent. Jobson had, however, some reason to doubt his good faith, from
the accounts which he gave of a city four months journey in the
interior, the roofs of the houses of which were covered with sheets
of gold. It must, however, be considered, in exculpation of the
supposed exaggerated accounts of Buckar Sano, that the Europeans at
that time possessed a very circumscribed knowledge of the extent of
the interior of Africa, and that a four months journey, to a
particular city, would not be looked upon at the time as
transgressing the bounds of truth. It is most probable that Buckar
Sano alluded to Timbuctoo, a place that has given rise to more
extraordinary conjectures, and respecting which, more fabulous
stories have been told than of Babylon, or of Carthage of ancient
history.

The circumstance of a vessel having arrived in the river for the
purpose of traffic, caused a strong sensation throughout the country,
and the natives flocked from all the neighbouring districts, anxious
not only to obtain a sight of the white men, but to commence their
commercial dealings. They erected their huts on the banks of the
river, which in a short time resembled a village, and for the first
time, the busy hum of trade was heard in the interior of Africa. The
natives, with whom Jobson commenced his commercial dealings, appeared