"And how comes it," proceeds Cadamosto, "that these people want to use
so much salt?" and after some fanciful astrological reasoning he gives
us his practical answer, "to cool their blood in the extreme heat of
the sun": and so much is it needed that when they unload their camels at
the entrance of the kingdom of Melli, they pack the salt in blocks on
men's heads and these last carry it, like a great army of footmen,
through the country. When one negro race barters the salt with another,
the first party comes to the place agreed on, and lays down the salt in
heaps, each man marking his own heap by some token. Then they go away
out of sight, about the time of midday sun, when the second party comes
up, being most anxious to avoid recognition and places by each heap so
much gold as the buyer thinks good. Then they too go away. The sellers
come back in the evening, each one visits his pile, and where the gold
is enough for the seller's wishes, he takes it, leaves the salt and goes
away for good; where it is not enough, he leaves gold and salt together
and only goes away to wait again till the buyers have paid a second
visit. Now, the second party coming up again, take away the salt where
the gold has been accepted, but where it still lies, refused, they
either add more or take their money away altogether, according to what
they think to be the worth of the salt.
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