d and order two
negroes to bring his camel. Being asked where he meant to go at that time
of night, he said he had business which must be executed, but would soon
return. On coming back after some time, and the Genoese expressing
curiosity to learn the object in which he had been engaged, Bisboror
asked if he had heard the hissing noise about the house during the night,
and said that it had been made by the serpents, which would have killed a
great many of his cattle, if he had not sent them back to their quarters
by the employment of certain enchantments. The Genoese was astonished at
this story, but Bisboror said he had no need to wonder at this small
matter, as Budomed could do a great deal more extraordinary things with
the serpents than he could. In particular, when he had a mind to envenom
his weapons, he used to draw a large circle, into which, by means of his
enchantments, he brought all the serpents of the neighbourhood, from
which he selected those he thought most poisonous, and allowed all the
others to go away. With the blood of these serpents, mixed up with the
seeds of a certain tree, he infected his weapons with so deadly a poison,
that, if they drew but the least drop of blood, the person or animal
wounded by them was sure to die in a quarter of an hour. Bisboror farther
offered to shew him an example of the efficacy of this art, but the
Genoese declined witnessing the experiment. This story of the serpents is
the more probable, that I have heard of persons in Italy who could charm
them in a similar manner; but I am apt to believe that the Negroes are
the most expert sorcerers in the world.

The only tame animals in the kingdom of Senegal are oxen, cows, and goats;
having no sheep, which love a temperate or cold air, and could not live
in this hot climate. Nature, however, has provided mankind with
necessaries fitted for their various occasions; having furnished the
Europeans with wool, as they have need of warm clothing, while the
Negroes, who live in such intense heat, have been supplied with cotton by
the Almighty. Owing to the heat, in my opinion, the cattle of this
country are much smaller than those of Italy. It is a great rarity to see
a red cow in this country, as they are all black or white, or mottled
with black and white spots. Beasts of prey, such as lions, leopards, and
wolves, are numerous, and there are plenty of hares. Wild elephants go
about in troops, like the wild swine in Italy, but ca