Page 393 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

300
BERBER A. [CH.

importation from these quarters. Slaves here
are valued at from thirty to fifty dollars;
very few have their teeth filed to a point,

as is customary with captives brought from
Zanzibar.

From the best information I have been en­
abled to obtain, it appears that the coffee is
brought from about forty days’ journey in the
interior. As it forms the principal part of
the return cargo of boats and vessels visiting
the port, the quantity furnished must be very
great. I believe it is not generally known in
Europe that any part of Africa produces
coffee ; yet the Arabs have preserved a tra­

dition that the plant is a native of Abyssinia,
and was first brought from thence to their
own country. Though frequent inquiries
have been made by travellers who have visited
Africa, yet, as far as I can recollect, no mention
occurs in their works of its growth or appear-
ance. The part from whence the Berbera
merchants receive their supply is described

as an elevated and hilly district, moistened by
frequent rains, and abounding in large trees,
under the shade of which the coffee is reared.
A baz&r or market is held occasionally