POULES, or FOULQUES, one of the principal nations which inhabit the banks of the Senegal. They possess an extent of more than sixty leagues along the river, and exact heavy customs from the Senegal traders with the interior of the country. They are not so black as the other negroes, but of a copper colour, much inclining to red. It is remarkable, however, that their children who are sent to Senegal, and reside there for some years, become much blacker. The females are very handsome, and the whites of Senegal generally take care to procure some of them. But they are of a bad disposition, and utterly incapable of attachment. When a man has a mistress of this nation, he must watch her conduct very narrowly, and even chastise her, that she may not be guilty of infidelity to him whom she honours with her favours. The dread of the bastinado will, in such case, effect what attention and complaisance can never bring about.
Although the Poules inhabit one of the finest spots in Africa, they are nevertheless a wretched people; they are base, cruel, thievish, and fanatic in the extreme. They are commanded by a chief of their religion, which is a contemptible mixture of Mahometanism and idolatry. This chief is called the Almamy; he is always chosen from among the Tampfirs, who are twelve in number. The Tampfirs are the interpreters of the law, and are the most learned, or rather the most fanatical among them. The Almamy has the power of life and death over his subjects; yet he may be deposed by an assembly of Tampfirs: it is therefore his interest to keep on good terms with them. The payment of cus-
toms is made to the Almamy, and is afterwards distributed among the Tampfirs; and although a part belongs to the former, he nevertheless requires a separate present for himself. Printing.