Note (a) — Chapter VIII

The red taffetas (11 yards in each piece) are unravelled by the Ashantees, and wove into the cloths of their own manufacture: they unravel a few of the fancy silks, but these are generally bought for wear, though they prefer those from Fezzan for that purpose, because the colours are more shewy. Coarse thick scarves are also brought from the interior, equal in substance to a double wove ribbon. One ackie a span was the price in the public market, where it was retailed in these small quantities, for the convenience of the weavers, who did not require, or could not afford to purchase more: the price of a piece was uncertain, as the person who could purchase so much, generally sent a trusty servant to the foreign market, and seldom bought of the traders but when they were necessitated to sell at little more than prime cost. The richest silks, I saw, were worn by the Moors, who had bought them at Yahndi and Houssa.[105] Reckoning nine inches to a span, there are eight spans in a fathom, which is the Ashantee measure; but the fathom of Inta and Dagwumba, contains only six spans. Even if the Ashantee traders give twenty shillings a fathom, in barter of boossee, salt, rum, iron, &c.; it is considerably cheaper to them than ours, considering that they get 100 per cent. on it at Coomassie. Mr. Lucas mentions “silk wrought and unwrought amongst the articles exported from Fezzan to Kassina. Apokoo and several others related to me, that Saï Cudjo bought a piece of silk at Yahndi, so very fine, that although it could be compressed between two hands, it was nevertheless larger than any cloth I had seen the present King wear, and his appeared monstrous. Apokoo added, that six slaves were paid for it, which would have produced £160. at the water side.