Fauna.—The wild animals include the elephant, leopard, panther, chimpanzee, grey monkey, antelope of various kinds, buffalo, wild hog, bush goat, bush pig, sloth, civet and squirrel.
The hippopotamus, manatee, crocodile and beaver are found in the rivers, and both land and fresh-water tortoises are com mon. Serpents, especially the boa-constrictor, are numerous.
Chameleons, lizards and iguanas abound, as do frogs and toads. Wild birds are not very common; among them are the hawk, par rot, owl, woodpecker, kingfisher, green pigeon, African magpie, the honey-sucker and canary. There are also wild duck, geese and other water fowl, hawk's bill, loggerheads and partridges. Mos quitoes, termites, bees, ants, centipedes, millipedes, locusts, grass hoppers, butterflies, dragonflies, sandflies and spiders are found in immense numbers. Turtle are common on the southern coast line, sand and mangrove oysters are plentiful. Fish abound; among the common kinds are the bunga (a sort of herring), skate, grey mullet and tarpon. Sharks infest the estuaries.
Inhabitants and Towns.—Sierra Leone is inhabited by vari ous negro tribes, the chief being the Mendi, Timni, Limba, Bul lom, Koranko and Suba. From the Mendi district many curious steatite figures which have been buried have been recovered and are exhibited in the British Museum. They show considerable skill in carving. Of "Hamitic" races the Fula inhabit the region of the Scarcies. Freetown is peopled by descendants of many negro tribes, and a distinct type known as the Sierra Leoni and popularly called creoles has been evolved; their language is Eng lish and pidgin English. The Susu are Mohammedans, but most of the negroes are pagans, and each tribe has its secret societies and fetishes. These are employed often for beneficent purposes, such as the regulation of agriculture and the palm-oil industry. There are many Christian converts and Mohammedans.
Besides Freetown (q.v.), the capital, the most important towns for European trade are Bonthe, the port of Sherbro, and Port Lokko, at the head of the navigable waters of a stream emptying itself into the Sierra Leone estuary. Waterloo is a large "creole" town in the Sierra Leone peninsula, in a market-garden district. In the interior are various populous centres. One of the best known is Falaba near the north-east frontier of the protectorate. IL lies about 1,600 ft. above the sea. Falaba (pop. about 6,000) was founded towards the end of the i8th century by the Sulima (Yalunka) who revolted from the Fula, and its warlike inhabit ants, soon attained supremacy over the neighbouring villages and country. Like many of the native towns, it is surrounded by a loopholed wall, with flank defences for gates. Kambia on the
Great Scarcies, a place of some importance, can be reached by boat from the sea. On the railway running southeast from Free town are Songo Town, Rotifunk, Mano, Bo, Baiima and Pen dembu ; on the northern railway are Makump, Makena and Kamabai.
Communications.—A railway, State owned and the first built in British West Africa, runs south-east from Freetown through the fertile districts of Mendiland to the Liberian frontier. Begun in 1896, the line reached Bo (136 m.) in the oil-palm district in 1903. It was continued to Baiima (220 m.) in 1905 and ends at Pendembu, a total length of 2271 miles. The gauge throughout is 2 ft. 6 in. The line cost about it,000,000. From Boia on this line another railway, completed in 1916, goes north to Kamabai. It is 104 m. long. In 1927 the railway accounts were separated from the colony's general accounts. In that year railway revenue was £255,000 and expenditure £269,000.
Cable communication with Europe was established in i886. Freetown is well served by steamers plying regularly to and from Liverpool, Plymouth, Hamburg and other ports.
Administration, Revenue, etc.—The country is adminis tered as a crown colony, the governor being assisted by an execu tive and a legislative council. Since 1924 the legislative council has contained three members elected in the colony on the basis of manhood suffrage and also direct (nominated) representatives of the protectorate. The law of the colony is the Common Law of England modified by local ordinances. There is a denomina tional system of primary and higher education. The schools are inspected by Government and receive grants in aid. Furah Bay college is affiliated to Durham university. There is a Wesleyan Theological college; a Government school (established 1906) at Bo for the sons of chiefs; a Government agricultural training college for natives at Njola (established 1919) ; a Government model school at Freetown and the Thomas Agricultural academy at Mabang (founded in 1909 by a bequest of £6o,000 from S. B. Thomas, a Sierra Leonian). Since 1901 the Government has provided separate schools for Mohammedans. Revenue is largely derived from customs. In the protectorate a house tax is imposed. Revenue which had been ii68,000 in 1899 (when railway build ing had begun and the protectorate taken over) was L618,000 in 1913 and in 1924, when normal conditions after the World War had returned, was £868,000. Expenditure was £145,000 in 1899; £622,000 in 1913 and £777,000 in 1924. In 1927 revenue (rail ways excluded) was £719,000 (L534,000 from customs) and ex penditure £754,000, the excess of expenditure being provided from previous surplus balance.