BISSAO, is an island on the western coast of Africa, north of the Bijuga channel, the centre of which lies in about 11° 30' N. Lat. and 15° W. Long. Some geographers, as we have already ob served, incline to class it with the Bijuga islands ; but, in our opinion, it would, along with the neighbour ing ones on the same side of the channel, more pro perly form a separate Bissao is above 40 miles in length, and is said to be from 35 to 40 leagues in circumference : it gra dually rises from the shore to the centre, where there are hills discharging springs, which fertilize the coun try. The soil is rich, and productive of fruits, grain, and other vegetables ; orange trees grow to an extra ordinary size ; and the land is cultivated to great ad vantage.
The natives of this island are a race of people call ed Papels, who in appearance are rather good look ing, and in character are reputed industrious and faith ful to those whom they serve. Their dress is a piece of cotton put round the loins, hanging down to the knees, but boys and girls go naked. All are idolaters, and offer sacrifices of cocks, dogs, and oxen, which are carefully fattened, and, when cut in pieces at the sacrifice, are eaten by the king, his attendants, and those who are present. They suppose their divinities reside in consecrated trees, on which they hang the horns of the oxen as an offering. The principal idol of the natives is call ed Cane, but they have very indistinct ideas of its powers or properties. They entertain strange and extravagant superstitions concerning witchcraft, firm ly believing that one may be bewitched by another, who gradually devours him by sucking his blood. Of this Captain Beaver relates a remarkable instance within his own knowledge : and here we can trace a faint analoor to the credulous times of antiouitv in Britain, when it was credited that the wasting of an image was fatal to the life of the original. Some di the free natives employed by that officer accused two of their own number, asserting, that one of them could transform himself into an alligator, and devour people ; • and that the other was said not to be a good man, be cause he wished to eat his companion ; that lie had long been reputed a wizard; and that his-inessmates, in the voyage from Bissao to Bulama, could hardly be re strained from throwing him overboard. Many peo ple, the accusers affirmed, had been destroyed by his infernal art, which was the reason he had left his own country ; and if ever he returned he would be sold for a slave : They therefore requested per mission to punish the two culprits after their own fashion, by tying them to a tree, and flogging them, promising at the same time that their lives should be safe. Captain Beaver, willing to save thq men, en deavoured to dispel the apprehensions of their com panions ; and to give him, who was accused of trans forming himself to an alligator, an opportunity of self vindication, inquired whether the assertions were true. " Yes," replied the man, " I can change my self to an alligator, and have often done it." The singular coincidence between the belief of these peo ple and the superstitions of old in this kingdom, when confessions were made of witchcraft, cannot escape observation.
The island of Bissao is ruled by thirteen chiefs, wh•are generally at war among themselves; however, some French authors affirm, that there is only one king, who has eight subordinate chiefs, each governing a province. The natives carry on frequent wars in their canoes which contain 20 or 30 men, though they commonly last only a few days. The warriors, on their return, are received with great rejoicings ; and the prisoners whom they have taken are sold for slaves, and produce much emolument.
About two centuries ago, the Portuguese establish ed a settlement on Bissao, which still subsists ; but the French claim the discovery of the island, main taining, that some Normans anciently fixed them selves there, and afterwards withdrew, owing to the decline of their trade. The profits of the Portu guese, and the product of traffic from the island, being 400 negroes yearly, 500 quintals of wax, and 300 or 4.00 of ivory, induced them to return. It is probable that they intended to expel the Portu guese by force, as the governor-general of Senegal provided a body of troops, and in March 1700 ap peared before the settlement with seven ships of war. The Portuguese not being in a state to make oppo sition, the French, with the permission of the native chiefs, established a factory, and, by their enterprize and activity, soon engrossed the whole trade. Iu consequence of this change of circumstances, the Portuguese demolished their buildings, and abandon ed the island. Their absence, however, does not ap pear to have been long: They returned, and construct ed a large regular square fort, with four bastions, on which are now mounted nearly 50 guns, and it con tains a garrison of about 300 or 400 soldiers. The traffic increased, and they, sent no less than 2000 slaves yearly to Brazil, besides carrying on a trade with Europe. Most of these slaves were purchased from r the Mandingoes at Geba, some from the Cache° and Casamanza rivers, a number from the Naloos, and a few from the Bijuga and Biafara nations. The slaves now purchased by the merchants of Bissao, are pro cured by means of a class of the natives called Gru metas, who have usually been reared from infancy in their houses, and, for the most part, are a sober, in dustrious, and faithful class of people. While the merchant seldom quits his own habitation, they navi gate all the small craft, or are sent to the interior of the neighbouring continent with goods, the return for which they faithfully bring home. But, of late 'years, the trade of the Portuguese in that different has greatly declined, though vessels from oifferent parts of the world employed in the slave trade oc casionally reach Bissao. The French at present have no settlement there, nor do we know when they left the island for the second time : Some years ago, we believe; it was in contemplation to return, as they supposed that 1500 slaves, and likewise a great quan tity of ivory, wax, and rice, might be annually ob tained. See Delajaille Voyage au Senegal. Du rand's Voyage to Senegal. Beaver's African Memo randa. (c)