BENIN, sometimes called GREAT the most extensive in Guinea, is bounded on the north by Gago, Nigritia, and a •chain of moun tains ; on the south by the Gulf of Guinea ; on the west by the kingdom of Ardra ; and on the east by Mujak and Istanna. Its principal river, the Formosa, divides itself into branches, some of which are large and navigable streams. The banks of these streams are inhabited by various nations, governed by their respective kings, all of whom, except the sovereign of Awerri, are the slaves of the king of Benin.
Though this kingdom be extremely populous, its towns, or rather villages, are very distant from each other, not only in the interior, but also on the banks of the river, and on the coast. Next to the capital, its principal towns are Bododa, Arebo, Agatton, and Melberg, situated on the banks of the Formosa, and inhabited chiefly by Dutch colonists, who carry on a considerable traffic.
The country of Benin. is low and flat, Audi co.
vered with wood, and intersected in many places with rivers and small lakes. In some parts of it, however, particularly on the road from Agatton to Formosa, there is no water to be found. Yet even there trees and plants grow to great perfection ; and the whole country between Agatton and Formosa is adorned with orange and lemon trees. Cotton is the most abundant production of this country, and forms the principal article of dress. Pepper, likewise, grows here, though neither in such quantities nor in such perfection as in India. Two sorts of wine are made use of in Benin, called wine of Pali, and wine of Bor. don ; the first of which is drunk in the morning or at noon, and the latter in the evening. Jasper-stones are almost the only mineral production of this coun try mentioned by travellers. Though one of the richest kingdoms in Guinea, Benin contains scarcely any gold•dust, which is found in almost every other part of the western coast of Africa.. Its shores, however, abound in. fish of almost every kind, and are particularly celebrated for a species of blue coral, which forms a lucrative branch of. trade. The qua drupeds of this country are elephants, tygers, leo pards, wild boars, civet cats, mountain cats, horses, hares, and sheep with fleeces of hair. Its principal birds are parroquets, pigeons, partridges, storks, and ostriches. Crocodiles, sea-horses, and a particular
species of torpedo, swarm in the rivers.
The climate of Benin, though somewhat various, is in general unwholesome. The pleasantest, or ra ther the most tolerable, season is in the months of August and September; for then the air is refreshed by frequent rains. Tremendous thunders and light nings prevail during the months of June and July. But the most noxious season is in the months of Oc tober, November, and December ; when the heat is intolerable, and the country is perpetually enveloped in thick pestilential fogs.
One of the most prominent features in the charac ter of the inhabitants of Benin, is their friendly and benevolent disposition. They are extremely cour teous and. hospitable to strangers; and are so anxious not to be outdone in generosity, that when an Euro pean gives any of them a present, they never fail to repay it two fold. Nor are they less attentive to the comfort of their indigent countrymen. Ther have many institutions, which breathe the purest spirit of humanity. The king, the viceroys, and the grandees, give subsistence to the poor in the towns of their re spective residence,by employing in various offices those whom their age and health enable to work, and main. taming gratuitously the aged and infirm. Thus not au individual in the kingdom of Benin is allowed to pine in want, and beggary is-altogether unknown— In dolence is another. characteristic disposition of the natives of Benin. Only those whom poverty com pels to work will submit to any kind of manual la bour. The rest devolve upon their women and slaves, the toilof cultivating the ground, and the prac tice of the few arts with which they are acquainted. The ladies of Benin, therefore, not only prepare the cotton, and manufacture it into cloth, but are em ployed as blacksmiths, carpenters, and tanners. Their workmanship is extremely rude; but this is an im peachment rather. upon their means, perhaps, and the state of society in which they live, than upon ' their ingenuity. Next to cotton cloth, the most com mon productions of their industry are mats, baskets, and spoons, and other instruments of ivory, which are brought to some perfection.