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HENRY & EM!LY BUCHER

320 LATHROP ST.

mOlSON, WIS. SaVjS

TEL 608-238-0115

Entered, according to Act of Covgress, in {he Tear ISGV, ly D. Appletox & C<x,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tkt
Southern District of Xew Tcrrk.

PREEACE.

The position of an explorer of unknown countries
in England is peculiar, and very difficult. If lie
returns home with nothing new or striking to relate
he is voted a bore, and his book has no chance of
beins: read ; if he has some wonders to unfold, con-
nected with Geography, the Natives, or Natural
History, the fate of Ab^^ssinian Bruce too often awaits
him : his narrative being held up to scorn and ridi-
cule, as a tissue of figments.

It was my lot, on the publication of my first
volume of travels in Equatorial Africa, to meet with
a reception of that sort from many persons in England
and Germany. In fact I had visited a country pre-
viously unexplored by Europeans — the wooded region
bordering the Equator, in the interior of Western
Africa — and thus it was my good fortune to observe
the habits of several remarkable species of animals
found nowhere else. Hence my narrative describing
unknown animals was condemned. The novelty of
the subject was too striking for some of my critics ;
and not only were the accounts I gave of the animals
and native tribes stigmatized as false, but my journey
into the interior itself was pronounced a fiction.

Vi PREFACE.

Althongli hurt to the quick Ly these unfair and
nno-encrous criticisms, I cherislied no malice towards
my detractors, for I kncM' tl)c iime woukl come when
the truth of all that was essential in the statements
which had heen disputed would be made clear ; I
was consoled, besides, by the supjoort of many emi-
nent men, who refused to believe that my narrative
and observations were deliberate falsehoods. Making
no pretensions to infallibility, any naore than other
travellers, 1 was ready to acknowledge any mistake
that I might have fallen into, in the course of com-
piling my book from my rough notes. The only
revenge I cherished was that of better preparing
myself for another journey into the same region,
providing myself with instruments and apparatus
which I did not possess on my first exploration,
and thus being enabled to vindicate my former
accounts by facts not to be controverted.

It is necessary, however, to inform my English
readers that most of the principal statements in my
former book which were sneered at by my critics, have
been already amply confirmed by other travellers in
the same part of Africa, or by evidence which has
reached England.

I may first mention tho geogrnphical part of my
work. No portion of my book was more discredited
than the journeys into the interior, and it will be
recollected by many persons that the learned geo-
grapher. Dr. Barth^ a man whose great attainments
and services as an African traveller I esteemed most

PREFACE, vii

higlily, published his disbelief in these interior explo-
rations altogether. A map is in existence, showing
the probable extent of my journeys according to Dr.
Earth, and it marks my various excursions as not
being in any case more than a few miles from the
coast. My visit to Ashira-land, and discovery of the
Ngouyai River, were thus considered pure inventions.
Dr. Petermann, the well-known geographer, in con-
structing his map of my journeys, published in the
' Geographische Mittheilungen ' in 18G2, took into
consideration the doubts of Dr. Earth and others,
and though not so extreme a sceptic himself, believed
it necessary to move all the positions I had given of
places visited, much nearer the coast, so as to reduce
greatly the length of my routes.

It must be recollected that I made no pretension
to close accuracy in my own map. I had no instru-
ments, and projected my route only by an estimate,
necessarily rough, of tlie distances travelled. The
circumstance of having been the first to explore the
region was, besides, a disadvantage to me, for I had
no previous maj), however rough, to guide me ; and
in travelling with negroes day after day, under the
shade of forests, often by circuitous routes, I was
misled as to the length of the marches I made towards
the east. I was therefore inclined to accept the correc-
tions of Dr. Petermann, who had studied well the sub-
ject, and adopted his mnp in the French edition of my
' Equatorial Africa.' It was not long, however, before
fresh evidence arrived, which proved that Dr. Peter-

viii PREFACE.

mann had gone too far in his corrections. In 18G2 a
French Government expedition, under Messrs. Serval
and Griffon Du Bellay, explored the Ogobai river,
and not only proved the general truth of my account
of that great stream, but showed that the country of
the Ashira, visited by me, had not been placed far
wrong. Dr. Petermann, on the receipt of the French
map, published in the ' Revue Maritime et Coloniale,'
reconstructed his own map, and again moved my
principal positions nearly to the same longitude in
which I had originally placed them. The text
accompanying the map (' Geographische Mittheil-
ungen,' 1863, p. 446 et seq.), contains an explana-
tion, couched in terms which I cannot but consider
as highly flattering to me.

Similar confirmation of the accounts I gave of
the cannibal Fans have been published by Captain
Burton, the distinguished African traveller, and by
others. The fact of the native harp possessing
strings made of vegetable fibre — my statement of
which roused a violent outburst of animosity against
me — has been satisfactorily confirmed by the arrival
of several such harps in England, and the examina-
tion of their strings. Other disputed facts I have
discussed in the body of the present volume ;
such for instance as the structure and affinities of
that curious animal the Potamogale velox, concerning
which an eminent zoologist. Professor Allman, has
published a memoir, in which he shows that my
critic was wrong, and I was right. With regard

PKEFACE. ix

to the accounts I gave of the existence of several
distinct varieties, if not species, of chimpanzee, in
the present absence amongst naturalists of a definite
criterion of what constitutes a species, I must con-
tent myself by repeating that the negroes always
distinguish these different kinds, and zoologists
have published scientific descriptions of more than
one species, considered distinct, from other jDarts of
Western Tropical Africa.

Concerning the gorilla, the greatest of all the
wonders of Western Equatorial Africa, I must refer
my readers to the body of the present volume for the
additional information I have been able to gather,
during my last journey, concerning this formidable
ape. It was not ray object on the present journey
to slaughter unnecessarily these animals, as the prin-
cipal museums in civilized countries were already
well supplied with skins and skeletons, but I devoted
myself, when in the district inhabited by the gorilla,
to the further study of its habits, and the effort to
obtain the animal alive and send it to England ; hop-
ing that the observation of its actions in life would
enable persons in England to judge of the accuracy
of the description I gave of its disposition and habits ;
at least to some extent, as the actions of most animals
differ much in confinement from what they are in
the wild state. I had the good fortune again to see
the gorilla several times in its native wilds, and ob-
tained several living specimens through the natives.
Some of the statements relating to its habits, such

X PEEFACE.

as its association only in very small bands, I have
found reason, on further observation, to modify ; but
with regard to its beating its breast when enraged,
and the savage nature of the young animals, as
compared with young chimpanzees, fresh observa-
tions have confirmed my former statements. I suc-
ceeded in shipping one live gorilla for London, but,
to my regret, it died during the passage.

The principal object I had in view in my last
journey, was to make known with more accuracy
than I had been able to do in my former one, the
geographical features of the country, believing this
to be the first duty of a traveller in exploring new
regions. To enable me to do this I went through a
course of instruction in the use of instruments, to
enable me to fix positions by astronomical observa-
tions and compass bearings, and to ascertain the alti-
tudes of places. I learnt also how to comj)ut3 my
observations, and test myself their correctness. It is
for others to judge of the results of my endeavours
in this important department of a traveller's work ;
I can only say that I laboured hard to make my
work as accurate as possible, and although I was
compelled, much to my sorrow, to abandon photo-
graphy and meteorological observations, through the
loss of my apparatus and instruments, I was fortu-
nately able to continue astronomical observations
nearly to the end of my route.

In camp at night, after my work with the sextant
was done, I spent the still hours in noting down the

PEEFACE. XI

observations, making three copies in as many dif-
ferent hooks, entrusted to different negro porters, so
as to lessen the risk of loss of the whole. In our
disastrous retreat from Ashango-land one only of
these copies escaped being thrown into the bush, and
this was the original one in my journal, where the
entries were made from day to day ; but it is not
quite complete, as one volume out of five of my
journal was lost with nearly all the rest of my outfit.
On my return to England, the whole of these obser-
vations were submitted by the Council of the Royal
Geographical Society to Mr. Edwin Dunkin, the
Superintendent of the Altazimuth Department at
Greenwich Observatory, who computed them, and
furnished the results which are printed at the end of
this volume, and w^hich form the basis of the map of
my routes now given to the public. I have thought
it best to print also, without alteration, the original
observations for latitude, longitude, and heights in
the order in which they occur in my journal, and in-
cluding a few that were incorrect. By this means
cartographers will be able to see on how many sepa-
rate observations a result for latitude or longitude is
founded, and judge what degree of reliance may be
placed u|)on them. I think it would be better if
all travellers in new countries published in the
same way, at the end of their narratives, their ori-
ginal observations, instead of the computed results
solely, as is generally done. Adopted positions are
generally the mean of the results of several obser-

xu PEEFACE.

vations, and iinlesR the original data are published,
geographers and future travellers are unable to judge
to what degree the separate observations differed, or
what reliance is to be placed on the observing powers
of the earlier traveller.

In giving to the public a much-improved map of
the field of my African explorations south of the
Equator, I am glad to have been able to correct the
errors of my former one. j\rost of the principal posi-
tions were there placed much too far to the east and
north ; and even those given by Dr. Petermann in
his second map, already mentioned, prove to be a few
miles too far in the same direction. Mr. Dunkin has
stated, at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society,
that he considers the position of Mayolo as perfectly
well determined by my observations : this may there-
fore be considered a fixed point by cartographers in
reviewing my geographical work. But I must men-
tion tliat two places, to the west of Mayolo, namely,
Niembai and Obindji, have been placed on my map
according to a calculation of distances travelled, as I
had taken only one observation at each place. By
the position of Mayolo, and that of the Samba Na-
goshi Falls, visited by me in the last journey, I have
been able to correct greatly tlso course given in my
former map, and adopted by Dr. Petermann, of the
great River Ngouyai. Unfortunately, my longitudes
of these places render it diflicult to connect my map
with that given by Lieutenant Serval, of the Ogobai
between Lake Anengue and the junction of the

PREFACE. xui

Okauda. It would appear lliat M. Serval has ex-
tended llie Ogobai much too far east. The second
French expedition under Messrs. Labigot and
Touchard, which carried the exploration of the
Ogobai as far as the junction of the Ngouyai and
Okanda, has probably made observations which would
enable us to settle this doubtful part of the geography
of the region ; but I have been informed by my
friend M. Malte-Brun, that the results of the expe-
dition are not yet published.

Next to geography, I paid most attention, during
my last expedition, to the study of the natives. My
long experience amongst the tribes of the Fernand
Yaz, and knowledge of the Commi and Ashira lan-
guages, gave me some facilities in investigating the
political state of the tribes, and comprehending their
customs, the meaning of their legends, and so forth.
There is no part of Africa hitherto visited by tra-
vellers where the negro exists in a more primitive
condition ; for in the regions of the Niger and the
Nile he has been much modified by the influences of
Mahommedanism, in the interior of South Africa
by the incursions of the Boers, and in Eastern Africa
by contact with Arab traders. The descriptions I
have given in the present volume ought therefore to
be of some interest, as representing the negro as he
is, undisturbed by the slave-dealing practices, the
proselytism or the trading enterprise of other races.

The irreparable loss of the collection of photo-
graphs which I made myself on the earlier part of

xiv PEEFACE.

tlie journey, as related in the narrative, compelled
me to have recourse to some rough pen-and-ink
sketches in my journal, which have served as guides
for tlie engravings in this volume, which have heen
drawn by competent artists under my own direction.
The pleasing duty now remains of thanking those
gentlemen who have encouraged me by their sym-
pathy and aid throughout my African explorations,
or assisted me in the preparation of the present
volume. To the Council of the Royal Greographical
Society my first thanks are due, who have adhered
to me in spite of adverse criticism from other quar-
ters, and who were pleased to express their satisfac-
tion with the geographical work I have performed,
by presenting me with a testimonial at the last
Annual Meeting of the Society. But I feel that
I ought especially to thank the noble-hearted Pre-
sident of the Society, Sir Roderick Murchison, who
sped me on my mission with hopeful words, and
wrote frequently to me whilst I was in Africa,
encouraging me when I stood sorely in need of it.
To my honoured friend, Professor Owen, I am also
indebted, for his steadfast support, and for the
valuable Essay on my collection of African skulls
which enriches this volume. Other friends who
have assisted me I have mentioned in the course
of my narrative, amongst them Commander George,
my kind instructor in the use of astronomical and
surveying instruments, and M. Claudet, my master
in photography. I ought also to express my thanks

PREFACE. XV

to Mr. Dunkin, for the great labour and care he
has shown in personally computmg my observations,
and to Mr. J. R. Hind, the distinguished astronomer,
for many acts of kindness. To Mr. Glaisher I am
indebted for the benefit of his great experience
in the testing of my aneroids. It was my good
fortune, when preparing for my last expedition, to
receive tokens of good-will from many persons, some
of whom were personally unknown to me. I have
mentioned in the body of the work the names of
some of these friends ; and I must not omit to add to
the list those of Messrs. Howard and Co., who pre-
sented me with an ample stock of quinine, which
proved of great service to me.

Lastly, I have to acknowledge my great obligation
to my friend Mr. H. W. Bates, the w^ell-knowm author
of the ' Naturalist on the River Amazons,' who has
given me his advice and assistance in the preparation
of my journals for publication ; and to another valued
friend, Mr. George Bishop, under whose hospitable
roof, on the banks of the Thames at Twickenham,
the greater part of the present volume has been
prepared for the press.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE I.

THE VOYAGE.

Objects of the Journey — Preparatory studies — Difficulties in obtainiDg a
l^assage — Departure from England — Arrival off the Coast — Miss the
mouth of the Fernand Vaz — Returu up the Coast — Excitemevit of the
Natives — Old acquaintances — Changes in the bar of the Paver — Choice
of a settlement near Djombouai's Villa2;e — Bonfires and rejoicings on
the river banks — Commencement of disembarkation — Dangerous state
of the shore — The boat upset in the breakers — Saved by the Negroes —
Loss of instruments and stores Page 1

CHAPTER 11.

THE FERNAND VAZ.

Outlines of the Const region — The Ogobai — Prairies of the Fernand Vaz —
The Commi nation — Distribution of the Clans— Chief Panpano and
Lis Spells — Nev.'s of arrival sent to Quengueza, King of Uie Itembo —
Arrival of Quengueza — His alarm at the great wealth I had brought
him— A pet Chimpanzee, and his departure for England — Visit to
Elinde' and the mouth of the river — My illness — Tenderness of Pan-
pano— King Olenga-Yombi — Grand jalaver of Commi cliiefs — Permis-
sion granted me to ascend the river into the interior — Visit to my old
place and to Pinkimongani's grave — Superstition of the natives — The
Bola Ivoga — Pabolo's fetich — Departure of the Mentor for England 13

CHAPTER III.

EXCURSIONS IN SEARCH OF THE GORILLA AND THE in.

Visit to King Oleniia-Yombi — Storm on tlio Fernand Vaz — Land journey
to Anianibie' — First traces of Gnrilla — Form of its tracks — Drunken
orgies of the King — Ma^ic i.sland ofNengu^ Kconia — Village of
Nkongon Mboumba — Search of the Ipi, or great Pangolin — Its habits —

xviii CONTENTS.

Village of Mhuru Sliara— Nkengo Nschiecco variety of Chimpanzee-
Bowers of the Ciiimpanzee— Group of Gorillas in a plantain-grove—
Their mode of walking — Horrid form of monomania — Akondiigo brings
a live Goi ilia— Return to the Fernand Vaz— Three more live Gorillas

Account of their capture— Modification of opinions concerning the

Gorilla Page 37

CHAPTER IV.

START FOR THE INTERIOR.

Arrival of a fresh supply of Scientific Instruments — The first Steamer on
the Fernand Vaz — Preliminary trip to Goumbi — Astonishment of the
Natives at the fire-vessel — Despatch Collections to Englind — Live
Gorilla embarked for London — His habits in confinement — Narrow
escape of drowning when embarked — Preparations comi)leted — Last
look at the sea — Outfit — Body-jzuard of Commi men — Afi'.cting part-
ing scenes — I am deceived by Olenga-Yombi — The renowned doctor,
Oune-jiou-e-niare' — Arrival at Goumbi — Observations to fix latitude and
altitude of Goumbi — Quengueza's invocation of his Forefathers — Dis-
obedient Wives — Excessive Drought — Obindji — Opposition of Bakalai
— Arrival of Ashira Porters — Passage of the hills to Olenda .. .. 60

CHAPTER V.

VISIT TO THE SAMBA KAGOSHI FALLS.

King Olenda, his great age — Preparations for the journey to the Falls —
We cross theOvigui — Opangano Prairie — Ndgewho Mountains — Bakalai
Village — A flock of Gorillas in the Forest — The Louvendji River —
Dihaou and the Ashira Kambas — Navigate the Ngouyai Eiver — The
Aviia Tribe — Village of Mandji — Piiver Scenery — Nkoumou Nabouali
Mountains— Nami Gemba — Village of Luba — The Spirit of the Falls —
Village Deity — Arrival at Fougamou, the principal Fall — Legend of
Fouganiou — Night Encampment — Return to Dihaou — We sup on a
poisonous serpent— Forced March through flooded forest to Olenda 88

CHAPTER VI.

ASHIRA-LAND.

Grand Palaver to discuss the route into the interior— lam forbidden to pass
through the Apingi country— Mosengers sent to the Chief of Otando—
Changes in Ashira Customs— Decrease of Population— The PotamogaU

CONTENTS. TIT

velox — Its habits — ^'y former di scri] tion of this Animal — Visit to
Aiigniilva — Iiiiinense Plantation of I'lantaiii-trees — Quarrel with Mpoto
nephew of Oleiida — Difiiculties and anxieties — First rumours of the
Small-pox Page 114

CHAPTER VII.

THE PLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND.

Breaking out of the Small-pox Epidemic — Noble Conduct of Quengueza —
Departure of Quenguoza's People — Illness of the Porters — My Commi
Budv-gnard refuse to leave mo — Departure of part of the baggage to
Otando-land — Quengueza returns to Goumbi — Letters from Europe —
Death of Mpoto — Death of King Olenda — His burial — Cemetery of the
Ademba Chiefs — Wading for the Dead — Di-aih of Retonda — Arrival
of Messengers from ]\Iayolo — Distrust of tiie Natives — Trickery of
Arangui — I am robbed by the Ashira People — Diminution of the
Pestilence — Queugueza's message to the people of Oleuda .. .. 124

CHAPTER VIII.

FEOM OLENDA TO MAYOLO.

Departure from Ashira-land — Passage of the Ovigui — Slave Village of
King Olenda — A Slave Chief — Difficulties with the Porters — More
Piobberics — llluess of Macondai — Leave him behind — TheOtando Range
of Hills — Picturesque Cascade in the Forest — Cross the L')uvendji —
More difficulties with the Porters— Hunger in the Forest — Men sent to
ilayolo for Relief — A Night in the Forest — Myth of Atungulu Shimba
— Koola Nut-trees — Search for Food — Meet with a Gorilla — A Hungry
Night — Unselfish act of the Ashira — Help arrives from Miyolo —
Mpegui Nuts — Arrival in Otando-land 139

CHAPTER IX.
mIyolo.

Arrival at Mayolo — Reception by the Chief — Discovery of more Losses —
I accuse the Ashira — Tlieir Flight — Seizure of a Hostage — Gathering of
the Head men of Otando — Mayolo falls ill — 1 am attacked by Fever —
Great Heat and Thunderstorm — Arrival of Macondai and Igalo — Their
Ill-treatment by the Ashira — Loss of Photographic Camera and
Chemicals — Surgical Practice of the Otando — A Female Doctor — '
Matrimonial Squabbles — Mayolo's health improves — Witchcraft Ordeal

XX CONTENTS.

— My Speech to the People— Speech of Mayolo — Curiosity of the
Oiando — A Female Duel — The Bashikouay Ants — A Precocious Thief
— Mdyolo again falls ill — Good news from the Apono country — Asto-
nislunent of the Natives at the Musical-box and Magnets — Climate of
Mayulo — Deposit of Dew — The Otolknus — Recovery of Macondai —
The Alumbi Fetich — Departure from Mayolo Page 156

CHAPTER X.

THE OTANDO AND APONO REGION.

Geographical Position of Mayolo — Splendour of the Constellations as seen
from the Equatorial Eegions — The Zodiacal Light — Twinkling of the
Stars — Metedric Sliowers — The Otando and Apono Plains, or Prairies
— The Otando People a branch of the Ashira Nation — Their Customs —
Filing the Teeth— Tattooing — Native Dogs 203

CHAPTER XL

The "White Ants of the Prairies — The Mushroom-hived Termes — Interior
of their Hives — Three classes in each Community: Soldiers, Workers,
and Chiefs — Their mode of bmlding — The Tree Ants — Curious struc-
ture of their Hives — Their process of constructing them — The Bark
Ants — Curious tunnels formed by them — The Forest Ants — Large size
of their Shelters or Hives — The stinging Black Ant 213

CHAPTER XII.

MAYOLO TO APONO-LAND.

Leave Mayolo — Cross the Nomba Ghana Hill — Eiver Dooya — Arrival at
Mouendi — Timidity of the Inhabitants — The Chief Nchiengain — Ar-
rival of Apingi Men — Loss and ReC'>very of a Thermometer — Nocturnal
Eeflections — African Story of the Sun and Moon — Smelling the White
Man's Presents — Passage of the Ngouyai — Hipixipotami and Crocodiles ;
seasons of their scarcity and abundance — Arrival at Dilolo — Opposition
of the luhabitants to our entering the Ydlage — Pluck of my Commi
Boys— Arrival at Mokaba — My system of a Medicine Parade for my
Men 230

CONTENTS. XXI

CHAPTEE XIII.

THE MARCH THROUGH APONO-LAND,

Mokaba — Curiosity of tlie People — Pienewed illness of Mayolo — His return
to Otandu — Nc)iien<:ain's Speech — 'J'he Apono agree to take me to the
Ishogo country — Descriptiun of the Apono Tribe — Their sprightly
character — Arts — Weapons — Population — Description of Mokaba —
Palm wine — Drunkenness — Ocuya Performances — Leave Mokaba —
Piiver Dougoundo — Arrival at Igoumbie' — Invitation from the elders
of the village to remain there — Manners of the Ishogos — Description of
Igoumbie — The Ishugo huts — Arrival at Yengu^, in Ishogo-land

Page 250

CHAPTER XIV.

JOURNEY THROUGH ISHOGO-LAND.

Village of the Obongos or Dwarf Negroes — Their Dwellings — Absence of
tlie Inhaliitanls — The Elders and People of Yengue' — Arrival of the
Chief of Yengue — War Dance of the A ponos— Ceremony of the Mpaza
— An uproarious Night — Good conduct of the Apono Porters — The
Piiver Ogonlou — Geographical Position and Altitude of Ycngu^ — Pass-
age of the Ogoulou — Match to the Pki'eau of Mokeniia — Eastern Limits
of Ishogo-land — Quemb.la, King of Mokenga — Palavers — Contention
between Chiefs for the possession of the " Ibamba" — Panic in Mokenga
— Re-adjustment of Baggage — Ishogo Porters 2G9

CHAPTEE XV.

FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAJTD.

The Ishogos — Their IModes of dressing the Hair — Ishogo Yillagps —
Picturesque Scenery — Granitic Boulders — Grooved Rocks — Leave
Mokenga — Cross the Dongon — Continued Ascent — Mount IMigoma
— The lliver Odigan;:a — Boundaries of Ishogo and Ashaugo-lands —
Arrival at Magoui/a — Plateau of Madombo — Mutiny of Ishogo Porters
— An imfriendly Village — Elevated Country — Arrival and friendly
Ileception at Niembouai— The King's Wives — Prejudices of the Comnii
Men — Hear of a large Piiver towards the East — The Ashangui Tril/e —
The Obongos 285

xxii CONTEXTS.

CHAPTER XVI.

ASHANGO-LAND.

Cloudy Skies of Ashango-land— Grand Palaver— Isliogo Porters dismissed

'Jhe Village Idol — Religious llites— Visit to an Obon^o Village —

Abodes and Habits of the Dwarf Itace— Measurements of their Height

i:iver Oiiano — Smgular Ferry— Mount Mogiama— Its Altitude —

Village of ]\Iongon, its Latitude, Longitude, and Height above the
Sea-level — Village of JS'iembouai Olomba — Its picturesque Site— Ba-
shil<ouay Ants — Ascend Mount Birogou Bouanga — Its Altitude — More
Troubles — Robbed by the Ashango Porters — Summary Measures —
Resume our March — Arrive at Mobaua — Departure of a Bride — Arrival
at Mouaou Kombo Page 311

CHAPTER XVII.

FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO.

Unpromising state of affairs on arriving at IMouaou Kombo — Piakombo is
threatened — Obstacles raised by the Villagers — Fair promises of the
Chief — A Secret Meeting of the Villagers — Demands of the People —
We leave the Village — Night Encampment in the Forest — Threats and
Promis'S from the next Village — Invited to return to Mouanu — Re-
conciliation— Arrival of a hostile Deputation from the next Village —
A Man accideutally Shot 344

CHAPTER XVIII.

KETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAND.

A Palaver proposed to settle the Death of the Man— A Woman killed —
The ^^'ar Cry ! — Retreat coniu'cnccd — Igala ai.d myself woundt-d with
Poisoued AiTows — Narrow Escape of Macondai and Rebouka — We are
closely pursued by the Natives — Coll. ctions and Note-books thrown
into the Bush — We make a Stand — Two Men Shot — Pursuit continued
— 1 am wounded a second time — ^alo shoots the Bowman — We make
another Staud— Cross the Bembo— Phss Mobana— Still pursiud— ^lake
a final Stand— 'i'he Pursuers diiven off at last— A Halt— The Party
all collected together — Sieep in the For<-st — Night-March through
Niemhouai — Frieniily conduct of Liie Head Chief — We are well
received at a Plantation— Arrival of Magouga — We continue the March
to Ishogo-land " 354

co:nte2s'TS. xxiii

CHAPTER XIX.

JOURNEY TO THE COA&I'.

Arrival at jrongon — Magoiiga recounts the Story of our Adventures to the
ViUagers — Reach Niembouai — Mistrust of the People — Restitution of
Stolen Property — Majiioiiga consents to guide us to MoUenga — Reach
the last of the Ashango Villages — Passage into Ishogo-land, and out of
clanger of Pursuit — Magnuga's Difilomacy — Arrival at Mokehga —
Friendly Reception — Magouga delivers us safely into the hands of the
Villagers — My Men exaggerate the Deeds of Valour they had performed
— Arrival at Yengne — Project of descending the Ogoulon in a Canoe — ■
Lose our Way — Distant View of the Apono Prairie — Igonnibie' —
Reach Mokaba — TheNgouyai — March to Nchiengain's — Cross the River
— Xchienjjaiu's Villa.:e — Reception at Mayolo — Operation of the African
Law of Inheritance — Maich to Ashira-land — AhiTm of the Ashira
Peoi)le — Avoid Olenda — Sojourn at Angouka's — Cross the Ofonbou —
Quengueza's Encampment — Sorrows of the old King — Devnstations of
the Plague at Guumbi — Quengueza wants to go to the Wliite Man's
Country — Descend the River — Arrival at ''Plateau " — Gratitude of the
Commi People — Departure for England Page 371

CHAPTER XX.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

Great Forest of Equatorial Africa — Scanty Population — Scarcity or absence
of large African Animals — Hilly Ranges — River Systems — The Ogobai
— French exjiloring expeditions — Amount of rain — Seasims — Rainy
climate of Central EqnatoriMl Africa — Temperature — Heat of the sun's
rays — Coolness of the forest shades 406

CHAPTER XXI.

ETHNOLOGY.

Isolation of the tribes in the interior of Western Equatorinl Africa — Scan-
tiness of the Population — Divisions of tribes and clans — Patriarchal
form of Government — Comparison of Customs betw^en Western Equa-
torial tribes and Eastern — Laws of inheritance — Cannibalism — Migra-
tions always towards the West — Decrease of Population — Its Causes —
The Alricau race doomed to extinction 424

xsiv CONTENTS.

APPENDIX I.

Descri]-»tions of Three Skulls of Western Eqimtorial Africans— Fan, Ashira,
and Fernand Vaz — with some Admeasurements of the rest of the Col-
lection of Skulls, transmitted to the British Museum from the Fernand
Vaz, by F. B. Du Cuaillu. By Professor Owen, F.R.S., &c. Page 439

APPENDIX 11.

Instruments used in the Exjiedition to Ashango-land — Observations for
Latitude — Observations for Lunar Distances — Hei;j,hts of Stations —
Synopsis of Piesults 461

APPENDIX III.

Comparative Table of Words in several Languages of Western Equatorial
Africa 498

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

Eetreat from Ashango-land Frontispiece.

Potamogale Velox Title.

Ipi, or Scaly Ant-Eater To /ace p. 43

Otaitai, or Porter's Basket „ 84

Group of Bakrtlai „ 91

Gorillas surprised in the Forest „ 92

Prisoner in Nchogo „ 137

Nests of Mushroom Ants and Tree Ants ,, 214

Nest of Forest Ants „ 224

Mokaba — Ajiono Village „ 250

Ishogo Houses, with ornamented Doors „ 264

Ishogo Fasliions — Oblique Chignon „ 285

Ishogo Fashions — Horizontal Chignon ,, 286

Ishogo Fashions — Vertical Chignon „ 288

Ishogo Fashions — Male Head-Dress „ 289

Ishogo Loom and Shuttle „ 191

Approach to the Camp of the Obongo Dwarfs „ 310

An African Group ^^ 329

Fan Warriors. From a French Photograph „ 424

Fan Woman and Child. From a French Photograph.. .. „ 431

Skull, Male, Fernand Vaz ,, 441

Skull, Male, Fan Tribe .'. .. i] .. „ 445

SkuU, aged Female, Fan Tribe „ 448

Map At the end.

JOUENEY U ASUANGO-LAND.

CHAPTER I.

THE VOYAGE.

Objects of the Journey — Preparatory studies — Difficulties in obtaining a
passage — Departure from p]ngland — Arrival off the Coast — Miss the
mouth of the Fernand Vaz — I'eturn up the Coast — Excitement of the
Natives — Old acquaintances — Changes in the bar of the River — Choice
of a settlement near Djombouai's Village — Bonfires and rejoicings on
the river banks — Commencement of disembarkation — Dangerous state
of the shore — The boat upset in the breakers — Saved by the Negroes —
Loss of instruments and stores.

Early in 18G3, after three years' recreation in the
civihzed countries of Europe and North America, I
began to entertain the idea of undertaking a new
journey into Western Equatorial Africa. My main
object in this journey was to attempt to penetrate still
further into the interior than I had done hitherto,
taking the route of the Fernand Yaz River, the starting
point of my principal expedition in the former journey.
I had also a strong desire to fix with scientific
accuracy the geographical positions of the jolaces I
had already discovered, and to vindicate by fresh
observations, and the acquisition of further specimens,
the truth of the remarks I had published on the eth-
nology and natural history of the country. Ijcyond

2 THE VOYAGE. Chap. I.

this, tliere was tlie vagiie hope of being able to reach,
in the far interior, some unknown western tributary
of the Nile, and to descend by it to the great river,
and thence to the Mediterranean.

To quah'fy myself for such a task, I went through
a course of instruction'^ in the use of instruments, to
enable me to project my route by dead-reclvoning
and astronomical observations, and supplied myself
with a complete outfit for this purpose, as well as for
taking the altitudes of places above the sea-level. I
also learnt practical photograpliy,f and laid in a store
of materials necessary to make 2,000 pictures, having
felt the importance of obtaining faithful re]3ie3enta-
tions of the scenery, natives, and animals of these
remote coiuitries. In natural history I did not expect
to find many novelties near the coast, at least in the
larger animals, but I took pains to learn what was
most likely to be interesting to zoologists, and hoped
to be able to make many discoveries in the far
interior. Besides materials for preserving large
animals, I provided myself with a stock of boxes,
glass tubes, &c., in order to collect insects, worms,
and the like classes of animals, which I had neglected
in my former journey. I also took fifty pounds of
arsenic for the preservation of stuffed specimens.
My hope of traversing the whole of Equatorial Africa
to the head of the Nile, although acting as a strong
incitement to me, was kept secret, except from a few

* Under Staff-Commander C. George, Map Curator, Poyal Gco.2:raphical
Society ; to whom I am, besides, much indebted for the trouble he took in
selecting iustrumenls for mc, and for his care in testing them.

t Under M. Ciaudet, and his son M. Henri Claudot.

CuAP. I. DIFFICULTY IX OBTAINING A PASSAGE. 3

intimate friends. I was resolved, however, that if
the achievement of this splendid feat should be denied
me, I would spare no effort in advancing as far to-
wards the east as was practicable, and in obtaiifing
accurate information regarding those portions of tlic
country which I might be able to explore.

There is no direct trade between England — or,
indeed, between any part of Europe or America — and
the Fernand Yaz, and this gave rise to the chief
difficulty I had to encounter at the outset. How was
I to get there ? My outfit was too large to think of
transhipping it from one port to another. I must
here remind my readers that the mouth of the Fer-
nand Vaz lies about 110 miles to the south of the
Gaboon, which is the principal centre of trade in
Western Equatorial Africa. "What little trade there
is is carried on by native boats, which pass from the
Gaboon to the negro villages on the banks of the
Fernand Yaz, by way of the narrow channels of the
delta of the Ogobai River, thus avoiding the detour
round Cape Lopez. The negro tribes of the Fernand
Yaz have never had much communication with the
white man ; there is no permanent trading settlement
there, although sometimes the captain of a sliip may
come with his vessel ai.d put up a factory for a short
time ; indeed, I must add tliat I was the first to ascend
the river and make known its geography, its in-
habitants, and its productions. I chose this river as
the starting-point of my new exploration because I
was already well known to the inhabitants of its
banks, through my long previous residence amongst
them ; they loved mc, and my life was safe in their

4 THE VOYAGE. Chap. I.

hands, and having acquired some influence over them,
I could depend upon obtaining an escort to enable
me to advance into the interior. I do not know any
oth^r point of the West African coast, between the
Congo and the Niger, where I, or indaed any white
man, could have any chance of penetrating more
than a short distance into the interior. After malcing
some inquiries, I found my best course would be to
freight a vessel specially to take me to the Fernand
Vaz. I therefore engaged with the owners of the
schooner Mentor, Captain Vardon, a little vessel of
less than 100 tons measurement, and all preparations
being complete, embarked on board of her at G-raves-
end on the 6th of August, 1863.

Although I looked forward with great pleasure to
my new journey of exploration, I left old England
with a heavy heart. The land where I had received
so much kindness and sympathy, so much genuine
hospitality, and where I had made so many true
friends, had become to me a second home. I could
not repress the feeling of sadness which came over
me, and the pang I felt at parting was the greater
from the thought that I might never return from
an undertaking beset with such various perils.

We were detained with a crowd of other vessels off
Deal, for several days, by a strong wind from the
south-west. I was much struck, part of the time, by
the strong contrast between the weather we had at
sea and that which prevailed on shore. With us the
wind was blowing strong and the sea rough, whilst
on land the sun was si lining beautifully on the golden
corn-fields, and the reapers were at- work gathering

Chap. I. ARRIVAL OFF THE COAST. 5

in the bountiful harvest. My ardent longing to be
on shore with them and have a last look at the happy-
land of England was one day gratified, for Mr. Dom-
brain, the ship-missionary of Deal, kindly took the
captain and myself to the town, and we had a charm-
ing drive through the country lanes. I never enjoyed
the country so much. Every face we met seemed so
pleasant, and Nature seemed so tranquil ; I felt that
England was more than ever dear to me.

I will not weary my readers by a description of
our voyage to the West Coast. As far as the weather
and the captain were concerned, it w^as a pleasant one.
We arrived at Accra, a British settlement, east of
Sierra Leone, in the Gulf of Guinea, on the 20th of
September. According to my agreement with the
owners of the vessel, the Mentor ought to have sailed
direct from this place to the Fernand Yaz, but I now
made the discovery that she w^as ordered to call at
Lagos. At this unhealthy spot I declined the invita-
tion to go ashore. We left it on the 2nd of October,
and after a few days pleasant sailing came in sight of
the Commi Coast on the 8th of the same month.

The part of the African coast in the neighbourhood
of the mouth of the Fernand Yaz has a monotonous
aspect as viewed from the sea. A long line of
country, elevated only a few feet above the sea-level,
stretches away towards the south, diversified here and
there by groups of trees, and enlivened only at inter-
vals of a few miles by a cluster of palm-clad huts of
the natives, amongst which is always conspicuous the
big house which the villagers construct for the " fiic-
tory " that they are always expecting to be established

6 THE VOYAGE. Chap. I.

at tliefr village. The moutli of the river itself is very
difficult to discover. In my former journey it was
recog-nisable only by the white surf which foamed
over its bar, and by the flocks of fish-eating birds
hovering in the air above it. The bar, however,
seemed now to have shifted, for we passed by it with-
out perceiving it.

We sailed along the coast the same evening, and,
after anchoring for the night, still continued the same
course, under light syil, the next morning, looking
out for some native canoe to come to us, and tell ns
our whereabouts. At length a canoe put off from the
shore and came alongside, and we then discovered that
we were several miles to the south of the Fernand
Yaz. The head man of the boat recognised me., and
thinking at first that I had come to establish a
trading post at his village, could not contain his
delight. He knew a few words of English, and
shouted out : " Put down the anchor ; plenty ivory ;
load the ship in a fortnight ! " It was a wretched
take-down for the poor fellow to learn that I intended
to establish my head-quarters in a rival village on
the banks of the river. He wanted to make me
believe that Ranpano, the chief of my former place,
was dead, and that his village was scattered — this
was the old African trick, which I knew too well to
be deceived by. The fellow, in his spite and dis-
appointment, on leaving us went out of his way to
prevent other canoes from coming to us, and so we
were unable to get a pilot.

As we returned up the coast, we saw the natives
running about from house to house along the beach

Chap. I. OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 7

in great excitement. In every village tlie Ijig flag
kept by the chiefs for this purpose was hoisted on
the top of a long pole to attract the white man ashore
to trade, and at night a lino of bonfires shone along
the coast.

At length, on the morning of the lOtli, I recog-
nised the country near the mouth of the river. We
shortened sail, and two canoes soon put off and made
for tlie vessel. In the first, as it approached, I recog-
nised my old friend Adjouatonga, a chief of one of the
villages belonging to the clan Adjiena, which occupies
the mouth of the river. He climbed up the vessel's side,
and after shaking hands with the captain, advanced
towards me to do the same. On my turning round to
him, he stepped back in astonishment, and exclaimed —
" Are you Chaillie, or are you his spirit ? Have you
come from the dead ? Tell me quick, for I don't know
whether I am to believe my own eyes ; pei'haps I am
getting a >kende' (fool):" The good fellow hugged
me in a transport of joy, but so tightly and so long
that 1 wished his friendship had been a little less
enthusiastic, especially as his skin was dripping wdth
a strong mixture of oil and perspiration. In the
second canoe came another eld friend, Sholomba,
nephew of the chief, Ranpano, of my own village
of former days. In short, I was surrounded by a
crowd of old acquaintances, and had to listen to
a confused account of the chief events that had
happened since my departure, related by lialf-a-dozen
eager informants.

The next subject to be considered was how we were
to get ashore. Sholomba assured me that the mouth

8 THE VOYAGE. Chap. I.

of tlie Fernancl Yaz had changed much for the worse
since 1 had left, and that it would be less dangerous
to run a canoe through the surf to the beach than to
attempt an entry into the mouth of the river. It
was now the beginning of the rainy season, when the
winds are less rough than in the dry season, but the
surf, under the influence of the steady south-west
winds, was still frightful. However, the first landing,
in Adjouatonga's boat, which was much steadier than
the rest, was made with safety. The frail canoe was
skilfully directed towards a promising roller at the
right moment, and we were carried on its back with
lightening speed to the beach, where we were snatched
u|) by the natives assembled to meet us. After this
hazardous landing, I was hurried along amidst a crowd
of several hundred savages, all dancing and shouting
with frantic joy, across the sandy tongue of land to
the banks of the Fernand Yaz, where canoes were
ready to take us up the river to the village of
Ranpano.

Although I had been absent only four years —
years so full of events to me ! — time had wrought
great changes in the scene of my former adventures.
The mouth of the river had altered so much that I
scarcely knew it again. The long, sandy, reed-
covered spit, which formerly projected three miles
from the southern point of the river's mouth, had
disappeared, and the sea had washed up the sand so
much on the northern side that the village of Elinde,
whose chief, Sangala, had given me so much trouble in
former times, had become untenantable, and the people
had removed. Many little islands had also been sul>

Ciup. I. CHOICE OF A SETTLEMENT. 9

merged or washed away, and I no longer saw those
flocks of sea birds which formerly frequented the
locality. Paddling np the stream we came to my old
settlement, which I had called Washington; it was
deserted and in ruins, a few loose bamboos and rotting
poles alone remained to show me where it stood. The
house of my honest old friend, Rinkimongani, was
there, looking like a wreck, for this excellent ft How
had gone to his rest and his family was scattered.

After a brief survey of the altered state of
the country, I resolved to fix my new quarters
at a little village near the residence of Djom-
bouai, two miles above my last place : the situ-
ation was a good one, and, besides, it would con-
ciliate the prejudices of the Commi, who opposed
my settlement at the old spot on account of the
suspicion of witchcraft which attached to it, and
which had increased since the death of Rinkimongani.
^leantime, the news spread that I had arrived in the
country, and for several days people came trooping
in by land and water to see their old friend, and the
stores of good things he had brought with him. Ean-
pano was away from home, on the Ogobai River, but
messengers were sent to him to hasten his return. I
soon felt that I had returned to wild life. At night
bonfires were lit, and the crowd of half-dressed and
rude, but good-humoured, savages danced around
them, and dinned my ears with their monotonous
drumming and songs.

It was now necessary to return on board the

schooner, and arrange the mode of disembarkation of

my extensive outfit and stock of goods. As the
3

10 THE VOYAGE. Chap.!.

mouth of the river had become so unsafe, from the
brealviiig np of the sandy spit, and as no one knew
the direction of the deep channels — for the wliole
breadth of the mouth of the river was one unin-
terrupted Hue of breakers — we resolved to land
everything on the beach through the surf. But on
some days the breakers were so bad, continuing all
day long without a single lull, that it was impossible
to do anything.

On tlie 15th of October we made a commencement.
Three native canoes were brought alongside, and
I began by loading them with my most valuable
articles. In one of them I placed all my scientific
instruments, sextants, chronometers, prismatic com-
passes, barometers, &c., besides five large Geneva
musical boxes (intended as presents to the native
chiefs), and five barrels of salt meat, a case containing
1,500 rifle bullets, a box of medicines, and many other
things. Captain Yardon and myself embarked in
this boat on account of the value of its cargo, and
away we went amidst the cheers of the dusky
paddlers.

Tlie two other canoes took the surf first. The
rollers were terrific, and the boats seemed buried in
the seething spray without a chance of coming out of
it safely, but they reached the shore without up-
setting. The captain himself had misgivings as to
the result of our venture. I advised him to put on
his life-belt, but in the excitement of the moment
he neglected the precaution. We now came near the
ranges of breakers, and our only chance of safety was
to ride on the back of one of those smoother rollers

CuAP. 1. BOAT UPSET BY THE BREAKEES. 11

which from time to time swelled up and arched
gently over, but with headlong speed, towards the
shore. We had not, however, the good fortune to be
borne by it in safety ; our boatmen, in their great
anxiety to avoid a mishap, were not venturesome
enough, they waited a few moments too long. In-
stead of carrying us onward, the huge wave broke
over our canoe, upsetting it and hurling us to a
distance away from it. Heavy, short breakers now
succeeded each other with awful rapidity ; the sea all
around became one mass of foaming billows ; and in
a few moments we were almost exhausted with the
buffetings we received. The negroes who had formed
the crew of the canoe, most of whom were my own
" boys," companions of my former expedition, swam
towards me, and with great exertions kept me from
sinking. They assisted me to divest myself of my
shoes and my coat, the pockets of which were filled
with small weighty articles, and as I became weaker,
through the effects of drinking so much salt water,
they swam under me and buoyed me up with their
own bodies. I caught a glimpse of poor Captain
Yardon at a distance from me, struggling with the
waves ; the men had devoted all their attentions to
me, so I shouted to some of them to go and help him.
Meantime, several unsuccessful attempts were made
by the negroes ashore to launch canoes to the rescue,
but they were all swamped one after the other. No-
thing could be done until the tumult of the waves
subsided ; for after the breakers have spent their fury
there is usually a lull, and it is during these lulls,
which are, however, very uncertain and limited in

12 ■ THE VOYAGE. Chap. T.

their duration, that the only cliances occur of reaching
this difficult shore. When the sea is rough, in the
height of the dr}^ season, these lulls do not occur for
days together. A favourable moment at length
arrived ; a canoe reached us, and we were delivered
from our perilous situation.

This was the fifth time during my experience of
this coast that I had been upset in the breakers, and
saved by the exertions of these faithful negroes.
After landing, the magnitude of the loss which I had
sustained presented itself with full force to my mind.
All my astronomical instruments were spoilt by the
salt water, and with them the power of carrying out
the i^rincipal object of my journey. There was no
help for it but to submit to a weary delay, whilst a
second set was sent for from England.

As soon as I reached the shore, I found myself
surrounded by the blacks; the women being con-
spicuous by their sympathies. A general shout arose
— " Who are the people who are jealous of us, de-
siring the death of our white man ? "

In this country all misfortunes are attributed to
some evil influence, bewitching the sufferer ; and
they referred to the jealousy of some neighbouring
village, the catastrophe from which I had so narrowly
escaped.

CHAPTER II.

THE FEENAND VAZ.

Outlines of tlic Coast region — The Ogobai — Prairies of the Femaud Vaz —
The Commi nation — Distribution of the Clans — Chief Ranpano and
his Spells — News of arrival sent to Quengneza, King of the riembo —
Arrival of Quengueza — His alarm at the great wealth I had brought
him — A pet Chimpanzee, and his de])arture for England — Visit to
Elinde and the mouth of the river — My illness — Tenderness of Ran-
pano — King Olenga-Yombi — Grand palaver of Commi chiefs — Permis-
sion granted me to ascend the river into the interior — Visit to my old
place and to Rinkimongani's grave — Superstition of the natives — The
Bola Ivoga — Rabolo's fetich— Departure of the Mentor for England.

In my former work on Equatorial Africa, I gave
my readers a short accouRt of the neighbourhood of
the Fernand Yaz and of the natives who inhabit this
part of the West African coast. The country on
both sides the river, which flows for sonie foi'ty miles
nearly parallel to the sea-shore, is for the most part
level and of little elevation. Between tlie river and
the sea tlie plain is sandy, and covered with a grassy
and shrubby vegetation, with here and there a cluster
of trees, and often a fringe of palm-trees by the river
side. Travelling southward from the mouth of the
river the " islands " of trees become larger, and unite
to form a considerable forest, which contains many
timber-trees of groat size and beauty. This is to-
wards Cape St. Catherine, where, between tlie river
and the sea, lies the inhospitable jungle which forms

14 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. H.

the principal home of the gorilla, of which I shall
have more to say presently.

Towards the north stretches the delta of the great
Ogobai River, a much larger stream than the Fernand
Vaz, with its network of channels densely fringed
with mangrove-trees. The country on the right
bank of the Fernand Vaz is thickly wooded, and
consists principally of mangrove swamps. Thus, on
one side of tlie broad sluggish stream, lies a tract
of dense woodland, and, on the other, an expanse of
open prairie. The Ogobai is the only West African
river at present known, between the Niger and the
Congo, which rises far in the interior and breaks
through the great coast range of mountains. One
of the channels from the Ogobai combines with the
Fernand Taz a few miles from its mouth. About
forty miles up stream the bed of the Fernand Yaz
becomes contracted ; higher up, wooded hills hem
it in on both sides — the portals of the mountainous
and picturesque African interior, and the river
changes its name to Rembo, meaning tite River par
eoccellence.

The prairies of the Fernand Yaz are not unhealthy.
During the dry season, from June to September, a
steady, strong, and cool sea-breeze blows over the
land, without, ho^ve^•er, raising dunes or sandy hil-
locks of the beautiful white sand which forms the
soil of the prairie. All the pools and marshes dry
up ; and, before the continued dryness has parched
up the herbage, the aspect is that of an extensive
English park, especially when in the cool hours of
early morning a herd of wild cattle (Bos brachy-

CuAP. 11. THE COMMI TllICE. 15

ceros) or a troop of antelopes, grazing by a wood-
side in the distance, remind one, for tlie moment,
of the cattle and deer of more culti\ated scenes. But
as the dry season continues, the grass dries up or
beccmes burnt, and the country then wears a more
desolate aspect : the sky is generally overcast. In-
numerable flocks of marabouts come to lay their eggs
on the prairies; the prodigious number oi" these birds
and their sudden appearance are quite astounding.
In the wet season the numerous pools and marshy
places afford another attraction, for they teem with
life ; and I used to notice, especially, the quantity of
eel-like fishes which appeared in a mysterious manner
almost as soon as the pools began to form, they
having no doubt buried themselves in the mud and
passed the dry season in a dormant state. Flocks of
sand-pipers trot along the sandy margins of the rivers
and pools, and numbers of gulls, terns, shear-waters,
and pelicans enliven the scene with their movements
and their cries. The plain along the banks of the
river is dotted with villages of the great Commi tribe
of negroes, whose plantalions, however, are on the
opposite wooded side of the Fernand Vaz, and also
along the banks of the Npoulounay channel, as the
sandy soil of the plain is unfitted for bananas, sugar-
cane, and otiier cultivated plants and trees. Each
village is under the patriarchal government of its
hereditary chief, and all are nominally subject to the
king of the tribe residing at Aniambie, formerly a
large village on the sea-sliore near Cape St. Cathe-
rine, but now reduced to a few dilapidated huts.
The king li\es on his plantation.

16 THE FERXAND VAZ. Chap. II.

The clan of the Commi to which I was attached
(Aho^i2,-o) had several villages occupying the banks of
the river for a few miles near its moutli. Its present
chief — at least the chief of the river-side villagers —
was my old friend Ranpano, a slow, phlegmatic negro,
with a pleasant expression of countenance and good
honest intentions. The quality in Eanpano for which
he was most lauded by the negroes was his habit of
going to SiCep when lie was drunk, instead of quar-
relling. His authority in the clan was less, how-
ever, than that of Olenga-Yombi, the superior chief
or king of the Commi tribe, which inhabits the
Eliva, or Fernand Yaz district.

The distribution of the population comprised in a
clan of these African tribes presents some curious
features ; for instance, the people under the imme-
diate authority of Olenga-Yombi live near the sea-
coast, about thirty miles to the south of the villages
of Ranpano ; thus they are separated, by numerous
villages belonging to other clans, from the rest of
their clan-relations. The head chiefship had be-
longed to the family of Olenga-Yombi for many
generations, and it shows the respect these primitive
negroes entertain for hereditary rank that they con-
tinue to acknowledge the sovereignty of the present
representative of the title, although the villages
under his immediate authority have declined greatly
in po[)ulation and influence.

If I could succeed in preserving the friendship of
these two men and that of Quengueza, the powerful
chief of Goumbi, eighty miles further up the river,
my objects in coming to the country would most

Chap. II. CHIEF I^ANPANO AND HIS SPELLS. 17

likely bo attained, and I should not only meet with
no political obstacle, but have all the assistance the
coast tribes could give me to enable me to penetrate
into the interior. I had brouglit goods for the trade-
loving Commi, to exchange with them for the produce
of their country, in order to secure their good will.
The people of tlie West Coast liave no consideration
for any one but a trader, and even amongst tlj em-
selves a man is more respected for his trading goods
than for the territory or land that he possesses. My
first object, therefore, was to settle myself for a few
weeks amongst them, and cultivate the friendship ot
the people and their chiefs. I sent Sholomba up the
river to apprise Quengueza of my arrival, and mean-
time went to pay my court to Ranpano, who had just
arrived from the Ogobai.

I knew that Ranpano had arrived during my
abser.ce on board the schooner, and I felt vexed that
he was not amongst the number of those who waited
for me on the beach when the accident occurred. I
now learnt that he was in a hut at no great distance.
Thither I M-ent, and found the fat, grey-headed old
fellow sitting motionless, with grave countenance,
over a bundle of fetiches or mondahs, muttering his
spells. I drew myself up, trying to look haughty, and
reproached him for his indifference to the fate of his
old friend, knowing, as he did, the dangers of passing
the surf at this season. To all this he remained
immoveable as a stone, and replied, pointing to his
fetiches, " My white man die in the water ? never,
whilst I am alive! How could it be?" and, looking
round at his people, he repeated, " How could it be?"

18 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. II.

I lei tlie old man welcome mo in his own way. Even
his gloomy superstition could not in the end destroy
the natural benevolence of his disposition.

One night shortly after my arrival, after I had
retired to bed in the hut lent to me by the negroes,
I heard the sound of the native bugle on the river,
and the songs of a multitude of paddlers. It was
King Quengueza, who had arrived for the purpose of
welcoming me back to his country. I got up at
once, and found at the door the venerable chief;
who received me with open arms, declaring that he
could not go to sleep until he had embraced me, and
had assured me of his enduring affection. When
I despatched Sholomba with a canoe to fetch him,
to prevent any doubt on his part, and having nothing
else to send him at the time, I sent him a bottle of
brandy, the sight of which convinced him at once
that it was I and no other. I was truly glad to see
this noble old chief, the King of the Rembo, or
Upper River. He was a man of great and wide
influence, not only on account of his hereditary rank,
but also from the energy and dignity of his character.
He was fond of Europeans, but I could never induce
him to wear in public the fine European clothes I
gave him ; he had a firm idea that he should die if he
put on any dress, as he was still in mourning for his
brother, who had died several years before I made
the old chief's acquaintance. I felt and still feel the
warmest friendship towards this stern, hard-featured
old man ; and, in recalling his many good qualities,
cannot bring myself to think of him as an untutored
savage.

Chap. II. ARRIVAL OF QUENGUEZA. 19

Next day QiieDgueza brouglit me as a present a
very fine goat, the largest I bad ever seen in Africa.
Goats are regal presents in this part of the continent,
and Quengueza had reared the one he brought witb
the express intention of giving it to me, if I should
fulfil my promise of returning from the white man's
country. Our formal meeting next day was an im-
portant one ; and I chose the opportunity to renew
our pact of friendship.

After the first cordial greetings were over, I told
him, in a set speech, how I had been receiN'ed in
America and Europe, and how his name, and tho
great service he had rendered me in enabling me to
penetrate into the far interior, had become Avidely
known among the nations of white men. I also told
him, in a low wliisper, that I had brought from one
of his well-wishers in England a j^resent of a chest-
full of fine things.* The old man rose in his turn,
and made an eloquent reply. With the figurative
politeness of a negro chief, he assured me that his
town, his forests, his slaves, and his wives were mine
(he was quite sincere with regard to the last), that
henceforth he should have no will of his own, but
that I might do whate\er I chose, that " my belly
should be full every day," meaning that I should
never be hungry, and, what was of more importance,
he would assist me with all his influence,' and even
accompany me, in my proposed journey towards the
interior, quietly adding, in a tone not to be heard

* My fricml, Mr. John Murray, of Albemarle Street, gave me £50 for
tlic purpose of purchasing suitable presents for Queugueza and other
chiefs.

20 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. II.

by tlie bystanders, " If you love me, do not say a
word to any one that you have brought me any
presents."

During the interview I showed Quengueza, amongst
other things, a copy of my book ' Adventures in
Equatorial Africa,' and pointed out to him the plate
which represents him and myself seated in the palaver
house of Goumbi. It delighted him amazingly : he
shouted, "Am I then known so well in the white
man's country that they make my picture?" Then
turning with an air of ineffable contempt to the
crowd around us, and pointing to the engraving, he
said, " Pigs, look here ! what do you know about the
white man ? Quengueza is the white man's friend ;
what would you be without me ? " He asked me
who made the book. I told him it was the same
good friend who had sent him such beautiful presents.
He did not forget this ; and the next day he put into
my hands a handsome leopard's skin, with the request
that I would send it to the ntangani (white man)
^ who had put him in a book and sent him so many
things to do him good.

Conforming to his wish for strict secresy regarding
the presents, I appointed a day on which to receive
him alone. He chose an hour in the afternoon when
most of his people were asleep, enjoying the usual
siesta. He came accompanied by a select party of
relatives and wives, for kings in these parts must
always be accompanied by some retinue or escort.
But his Majesty was determined not to let his people
see what I was going to give him. Touching me
gently with his elbow, he told me, in a whisper, to

Chap. II. QUENGUEZA AND HIS TRESENTS. 21

send tliem all away, and not to let any of them come
in. Entering my hut alone, he closed the door, and,
sitting do\vn, told me that he was ready to see the
presents I had brought him.

The first thing that I displayed before his admiring
eyes was the coat of a London beadle, made expressly
to fit his tall figure, and, to please his taste. It was of
the most glaring colours, blue, with yellow fringe,
lined with red. There "was also a splendid plush
waistcoat. As his Majesty does not wear trowsers
those articles did not form part of the suit, any more
than did a shirt.

" Let us try them on," said the king, in a whisper ;
but, before doing so, he went to the door to make
sure that no one was peeping in. Hav^Ing put on
the robes, and taking in his hand the beadle's staff,
which I had not omitted to bi'Ing also, he asked for a
looking-glass, in which he admired himself vastly ;
whilst I completed the costume by placing on his
head my opera-hat, which, to his utter astonishment,
I had caused to spring up from Its flattened state.
After surveying himself for some time In the glass,
with evident satisfaction, he drew himself up to his
full height, and strutted up and down the room, " as
happy as a king." Having Indulged his vanity for
a few minutes, he replaced in the chest the various
articles of this imperial costume, and j^roceeded to
inspect the other presents.

I had myself brought a large amount of presents
and goods ibr the old chief, and besides these I had
many valuable articles of European workmanship,
some of which were purchased with money given me

22 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. IL

by another friend* in England to lay ont in presents
for African chiefs, which I thought I could not better
bestow than on the King of the Rembo. . Amongst
them were a quantity of silks and fine cotton goods,
silver knives, forks, and spoons, gunpowder, trade
guns, kettles, and beads for his numerous wives. All
were packed in chests secured with lock and key;
the chests being an important part of tlie donation,
for the propert of an African chief, in this part, is
estimated in slaves, wives, and chests. The sight of
all this wealth almost dumbfoundered the old man.
"When I commenced showing the contents of the
chests to him he stopped me, and said — " Do you
love me, Chaillie ? Then do not tell the people what
you have given me, or they will bewitch me." There
was an internal struggle between avarice and fear
expressed in his countenance. His fear of witchcraft
was a great defect in his character as a chief, for it
had led to the depopulation of Goumbi, his capital on
the Rembo, Going to the door, he looked out to
see that no one was listening ; then he knelt down,
and clasped my feet with his hands, and, with the stern
lineaments of his face distorted by fear, begged me
again to keep secret the accoin:it of the wealth I had
given him. No sooner had he left me than I heard
him declaring to his people that the white man had
brought him nothing. As I approached, instead of
being disconcerted by my appearance on the scene,
he repeated the same statement, in a louder voice,
but looked towards me at the same time with an
expression of countenance that was clearly meant to

• Heury Johnson, Esq., of 39, Crutclied Friars.

CiTAP. II. A TET CHIMrANZEE. 23

implore me not to say a word, to the contrary. The
people were smiling all the while, for they knew
better, and were Avell acquainted with the ways of
their beloved old chief. lie would not remove the
chests to his canoe in the day-time, but came at night,
on the eve of his departure, when every one was
asleep, and stealthily took them himself, with the aid
of two slaves, down to the water-side.

In a few days, the vessel was unloaded, and my
goods stored in several huts which w^ere secured only
by a door tied with a rope of lianas to the bamboo wall.
My property, however, was respected, and the honest
Commi people did not rob me of a single article.
Quengueza returned to Goumbi, and I gradually
inured myself again to the climate and w^ays of the
country. I made short excursions in various direc-
tions, visited numerous petty chiefs, besides receiving
visits from others, and stimulated them and their
people to the collection of produce, that Captain
Vardon might reload his vessel and return to Eng-
land. As I have desciibcd the coast country at length
in my former book, a few incidents only of my stay
need be recorded here, together with some stray
notes on the natural history, before I commence the
narrative of my expedition into the interior.

On the 1st of November a negro from a neighbour-
ing village brought me a young male chimpanzee
about three years old, which had been caught in the
woods on the banks of the Npoulounay about thi'ee
months previously. Thomas, for so I christened my
little protege, was a tricky little rascal, and afforded

24: THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. II.

me no end of amusement ; he was, however, very
tame, Hke all young chimpanzees. Unfortunately
Thomas was lame in one hand, several of the fingers
having been broken and healed up in a distorted
position. This was caused by his having been mal-
treated by the village dogs, who were sent in chase
of him one day when he escaped from his captors and
ran into the neighbouring woods. I had Tom tied
by a cord to a pole in the verandah of my hut, and
fed him with cooked plantains and other food from
my own table. He soon got to prefer cooked to raw
food, and rejected raw plantains whenever they were
offered to him. The difference in tameability between
the young chimpanzee and the young gorilla is a fact
which I have confirmed by numerous observations,
and I must repeat it here as it was one of those points
which were disputed in my former work. A young
chimpanzee becomes tame and apparently reconciled
to captivity in two or three days after he is brought
from the woods. The young gorilla I have never
yet seen tame in confinement, although I have had
four of them in custody, while still of very early age.
One day I witnessed an act of Master Thomas
which seemed to me to illustrate the habits of his
species in the wild state. A few days after he came
into my possession I bought a domestic cat for my
house ; as soon as the young chimpanzee saw it he
flew in alarm to his pole and clambered up it, the
hair of his body becoming erect and his eyes bright
with excitement. In a moment recovering himself
he came down, and rushing on the cat, with one of
his feet seized the nape of the animal, and with the

Chap. II. THE CHIMPANZEE SENT TO ENGLAND. 25

other pressed on its back, as if trying to break its
neck. Not wishing to lose my cat, 1 interfered and
saved its life. The negroes say that the chimpanzee
attacks the leopard in tliis way, and I have no doubt,
from wdiat I saw, that their statement is correct.

My pet preserved his good health and increased
in intelligence and gentleness until the departure
of Captain Yardon for England. I tlien sent him
home, and on his arrival he was deposited 1)y my
friend in the Cr3^stal Palace at Sydenham, where^ I
dare say, very many of my readers have seen him, and
have laughed at his amusing tricks. I am credibly
informed that his education at the Palace has become
so far advanced that he understands what is going on
when his own " cartes de visite " are sold. A feint is
sometimes made of carrying off one without paying
for it, but Thomas rushes forward, screaming, to the
length of his tether, to prevent the irregulaf trans-
action, and does not cease his noisy expressions of
dissatisfaction u.ntil the money is paid down.

Whilst waiting for the erection of a new house and
store-rooms, I made several little trips down the river,
visiting the Commi settlements and examining the
altered state of the river banks. The altci'ations in
the mouth of the Fernand Yaz I found liad arisen
from the currents of the river and the sea having
broken through the long sandy spit, making the
embouchure broader but more dangerous, because
portions of the spit had been converted into sand-
banks with but a small depth of water over them ;
and, the sand having shifted, no one knew the situa-
4

26 THE FERNAXD VAZ. Chap. II.

tion of the deep channel. Old Sangala, the chief of
Elinde at the mouth of the river, was dead ; and his
heir, the present chief, who had taken the name of his
predecessor, was a drunkard, and was held in very
little estimation. I missed, near the river's mouth,
the beautiful little island on which I used to shoot so
many winter birds, and ^vhere, as also on the sandy
s]3it, the grotesque and large crane Mycteria senegal-
ensis used to be found, together with thousands of sea-
birds of many species. The widows of old Sangala
had all married again ; but they gave me a warm
welcome, especially the old konde' (head wife or
Queen) who cooked my food for me whilst I stayed,
and became eloquent in recalling the events of the
good old times when Sangala was alive. Her hus-
band showed no jealousy at this discourse, for here
widows are allowed freely to praise their former
husbands.

Death had been busy in other places besides Elinde.
At the village of Makombe I found that the chief
was dead, and that Ilougou, his heir, who had helped
me to build my former settlement of Washington, had
been accused of having caused his death by witch-
craft, and forced to drink the poison ordeal, which
ended in. his own life being sacrificed. Similar scenes
had been enacted in other villages. It is dangerous
in this unhappy country to be the heir of any man
who sickens and dies.

The day after my return from visiting the mouth
of the river, I was seized with a severe fit of fever,
which laid me prostrate for four days. I was obliged
to send on board the Mentor for a supply of calomel

Chap. II. MY ILLNESS. 27

and jalap, as my medicine chest had been lost in the
upsetting of the canoe, a box of quinine only having
been saved. I was touched during my illness by tlie
great sympathy shown to me by the natives. The
most perfect silence was observed round the hut
where I lay, day and night ; tam-tamming, singing and
dancing were forbidden, lest they should disturb me ;
and tlie old chief, Ranpano, came and sat every day
for hours together by my bed-side. He very seldom
spoke, but his countenance manifested the anxiety
which the good old fellow felt. He would sometimes
say " Chaillie ! Chaillie 1 you must not be ill while
you stay in my village. None among my people are
glad to see you ill. I love you, for you came to me,
and I have no better friend in the world." When he
went out he used to mutter words which I did not
understand, but which were probably invocations to
some spirit to watch over me. Old Ranpano had
some strange notions about spirits good and bad,
which I think were peculiar to him. One day he
took it into his head that he should die if he entered
my hut, for he had been told that some one having
an aniemba (a witch) had made a mondah, and had
put it under the threshold of my door, so that, should
he enter my hut, the witch would go into him and he
would die.

No persuasion of mine could induce the old chief
to come into my Init, and after a time I got angry
with him, and told him that he ought not to refuse to
come and see me. The good old chief immediately
sent for some doctors, who, of course, at once declared
that it was true that some one wanted to bewitch him.

28 THE FEENAND YAZ. Chap. II.

and Lad put a mondali at my door to kill him. But
tliey said that it could be removed now that the
people knew that there was one.

Immediately the ceremonies for banishing the
witch began. For three consecutive days they danced
almost incessantly, and invoked the good spirits ; and
one fine morning, whilst I was occupied in writing
inside the hut, unaware that any one was approaching,
Eanpano came to my door, fired a gun, and entered
the hut in a great hurry, muttering invocations and
curses ; he then became easier in his manners, having
as he thought, thus cleared the moral atmosphere.

An event of great importance in relation to my
expedition occurred on the 22nd of November and
following days. During my absence in Europe the
assembled chiefs of the Commi clans under the pre-
sidency of King Olenga-Yombi (who had now taken
the name of Rigoundo) had passed a law to the effect
that no Mpongwe (the trading tribe of the Gaboon)
or white man should be allowed to ascend the river
Fernand Vaz or the Ogobai. It is the universal rule
among the coast tribes of West Africa to prevent, if
possible, all strangers from penetrating into the inte-
rior, even if it be only to the next tribe, through fear
that they should lose the exclusive privilege of trading
with these tribes. Indeed every tribe tries to pre-
vent all strangers from communicating with the tribe
next in advance of them. 'J'he spirit of commercial and
political monopoly, so natural to the heart of uncivi-
lized as well as semi-civilized man, is the cause of
this ; and the rule had only been bi-oken through in

Chap. IL KING OLENGA-TOMBI. 29

my own case, on my former journey, owing to my
popularity among the chiefs and the powerful friend-
ship of Quengueza. It was now my aim to get this
new law repealed, at least as far as I was concerned ;
and on the 22nd of November King Olenga-Yombi
came in person to my village on the Fernand Yaz, to
hold a palaver thereupon.

King (Jlenga-Yombi still retained his old habits
of drunkenness, which I have described in ' Equatorial
Africa ; ' and although it was early in the morn-
ing when he came to see me, he was already fuddled
with palm* wine. I made him a present of a very
long blue coat, the tails of which dangled about his
ankles when he walked, and a light yellow waistcoat
with gilt buttons ; with these he strutted about with
the true pride of an African king, and they seemed
to please him quite as much as the muskets and many
other move useful articles which I added to the gift.
A single word from Olenga-Yombi might have hin-
dei'ed me from j^assing up the river ; for, althougli in
council the head chiefs of these tribes have no more
influence than the other speakers, they have the
power of veto in many things. There is a certain
spirit of loyalty amongst these Africans which leads
them not to disobey a positive prohibition by the
superior chief, although he may not have the j)hysical
power to enforce obedience. It was important there-
fore for me to conciliate this drunken negro chief.

The palaver was held in the council-house of the
village, a large open shed, chairs being placed for
the principal speakers. There was a M pong we man
present who had recently come from the Gaboon, en-

30 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. 1L

trusted by one of tlie traders there with about eight
hundred pounds worth of goods. When the palaver
began, I took care that my own case and that of the
Mpongwe should be treated of separately. The result
was most satisfactory. I was allowed the right of
the river, whilst the Mpongwe was refused. Long
speeches were made, and the king finally issued his
decree that whatever village allowed the Mpongwe
trader to pass up the river should be burnt and the
plantations destroyed. The sjoeakers argued that I
did not go into the interior to trade, but to shoot
animals and bring away the skins and bones.
" Truly," they said, " we do not know what our
Chaillie has in his stomach to want such things, but
we must let him go." Orders were given to the
Makaga to see that the law was executed ; and the
king concluded by assuring me that not only would
no resistance be offered to my progress, but that, when
I was ready to depart, he would send some of his own
slaves to accompany me. He told me, when we were
alone afterwards, that I was his " big white man."
"What you say," he continued, "we do, for we know
it is for our good." He wished me to go and esta-
blish a factory at his village near Cape St. Catherine,
saying that he had made a law that whoever robbed
a white man should have his ears cut off, and that
his people, who were formerly great thieves, did not
now steal any longer. On the 25th he departed,
after having made me promise to visit him at his
village.

On the 27th of November I paid a visit to the
ruins of my old establishment, " Washington," and

Chap. II. VISIT TO lUXKIMOXGANI'S GRAVE. 31

to the burial-place of my faithful guardian Rinki-
mongani, which were a mile distant from my new
settlement. I felt the loss of the honest old fellow^
more than ever, for the man who now filled the same
office, Malonga, the brother of Ranpano, was a tricky
knave, whom 1 disliked thoroughly. The natives
told me that Rinkimongani was continually talking
of me during my absence, counting the seasons as
they rolled past, and carefully guarding the house
and gardens, in the firm hope that I should soon
return. It was universally believed, of course, that
he had been bewitched through jealousy of my
friendship for him, and that foul play had been used
to cause his death.

I was accompanied by one of my boys to the
burial-ground. The road to it from my place led
across the prairie and through a few groves of trees
to the margins of one of those pretty islands of wood,
which diversify the sandy grass-land of the Fernand
Yaz. The cemetery was recognisable from a distance
by the numerous poles fixed in the ground. Rinki-
mongani's body had been placed in a box or coffin,
for the Commi people are now so far advanced in
civilisation that they have adopted the white man's
customs in this respect ; it is only, however, the head
men who are laid in boxes, and the}'' are not interred
in the earth, but laid according to the old native
habit on the surface, or inserted a small depth into
the ground. The w^ood of my poor old friend's coffin
was decayed, and I could see his mouldering bones
inside, tog:ether with the j'cmains of his valuables
that were buried with him, consisting of jugs and

32 THE FERNAND VAZ. Ciiap. IL

pots, a quantity of brass buttons, the remains of a
coat, and an old umbrella-stick, which was all that
was left of this article, a present from me, and which
he always carried about with liim. All around were
skeletons and bones crumbling to powder, the frag-
ments of mats and cloth which had served the
corpses as their winding-sheets, and broken relics
which had been reverently buried with the dead.
It was a place that one might moralise in — the
humble, fragile grave-yard of a tribe of poor negroes,
which represented in their eyes quite as much as our
proud monuments of stone that will also in their
turn disappear.

Eeturning to the old settlement I saw the house
in which Rinkimongani died. It was still standing
close to my own place, which had been partly de-
stroyed by fire in the burning of the prairie. All
the out-buildings and huts of my men were com-
plete ruins, but the old man's house was in tolerable
preservation. The faitli of Rinkimongani in my
return had overcome his superstitious scruples; for
every negro believed the settlement had been be-
witched, and wondered at the old man's folly and
obstinacy in remaining there after so many had
died. It will be remembered that the place was once
abandoned on account of its evil reputation during
my former residence. As I wandered about the
ruins I thought of the many happy hours I had
spent here in the days of my Natural History en-
thusiasm, when I was amassing my collections, and
the addition of a neW' species was the coveted reward
of a long day's hunt. The birds which used to build

Chap. II. THE BOLA IVOGA. 33

their nests by liundreds in the siirronnding trees had
forsaken the phice ; and in the rank grass near the
river I saw a huge python coiled up, like an evil
sjjirit on the watch. When I told my companion
that I regretted not liaving returned to the old spot,
he looked at me with horror expressed in his coun-
tenance. The place was thought to be bewitched
and accursed.

All the fixtures and household property of Rin-
kimongani remained intact, for the hola ivoga, or
breaking up of the mourning-time and division of
his effects,* had not yet been celebrated. Contrary
to African custom, the wives of the deceased had
deserted the place before the bola ivoga, on account
of its bad reputation. They ought to have remained
here in chaste widowhood until the proper time had
arrived for the ceremony (generally a year or two
after the death of the husband), when the wives,
slaves, and other property of the deceased, are
divided amongst his rightful heirs, and the house
burnt to the ground.

Soon after this the building of my new jialm-
wood house approached completion, in the little
village which I had chosen for my residence, and
which I had bought of Rabolo, a petty chief. Nothing
remained to be put up except the verandah, but an
obstacle existed to its erection which my men dared
not remove. This "svas a formidable mondah or fetich,
which my friend Eabolo had made in his village
before I purchased it, and which I now found was

* See, for a description of this custom, ' Adventures in Equatorial
Africa,' p. 239.

34 THE FERNAXD YAZ. Chap. II.

close to the site of my house, at what was formerly
the entrance to the single street of the village.
Almost all the villages in this country have some-
thing of this kind at their entrance, constructed to
prevent the entry of witchcraft and death, or to
bring good luck to the inhabitants. Eabolo's talis-
man was considered to be a very effective one, for
since the village was established, twelve dry seasons
ago, ]io one had died there. This was no great
wonder, since there were only fifteen inhabitants
in the place.

My builders came to me to say they dared not
remove Eabolo's fetich, and prayed me not to touch
it until Rabolo came, otherwise there would be a big
palaver. It seemed likely I should have some diffi-
culty, for Rabolo had already spent the purchase--
money of his village, distributing the goods amongst
his wives and numerous fathers-in-law. However,
I was firm, and when Rabolo came I was peremptory
in demanding that the rubbish should be cleared
away. He submitted at last, and commenced to cut
down the bushes which covered the talisman, and
dig up the mysterious relics. The first thing that I
saw turned up was the skull of a chimpanzee buried
in the sand ; then came the skull of a man, probably
an ancestor of Rabolo, and a mass of broken plates,
glasses, and crockery of all sorts, which had been
placed there to keep company with the mondah. He
then removed the two upright poles with cross-bar
and talismanic creeper growing at their foot, which
constituted the protecting portal of the village, the
negroes all the while standing around with looks of

Chap. II. EABOLO'S FETICH. 35

blank amazement. It is the belief of the negroes
that, as long as the creeping-plant keeps alive, so
long will the fetich retain its efficacy. A similar
plant covered both the heaps of skulls and rubbish.
At the foot of this poi'tal and underneath the creeper
were more chimpanzee skulls and fragments of pot-
tery. In the ground near the two poles were also two
wooden idols. We removed the whole, and I need not
tell my readers that no evil consequences ensued. As
to Rabolo and his subjects, they flattered themselves
that it was this powerful fetich which brought me
to settle on this spot. They have, in common with
all the negroes of this part of Africa, a notion that
there is some mysterious connection or affinity be-
tween the chimpanzee and the white man. It is
owing, I believe, to the pale face of the chimpanzee,
which has suggested the notion that we are descended
from it, as the negro has descended from the black-
faced gorilla. I heard of other head men of villages
making mondahs with skulls of chimpanzees associated
with skulls of their ancestors, believing that these
would draw my heart to them and induce me to give
them presents or trust them with goods. I removed
all my goods and establishment to the village when
my largo roomy house and store were at length
ready for me, thanks to my good friend Captain
Yardon, who had himself worked hard to get them
finished. The house was pleasantly situated between
the villages of Djombouai and Kanpano.

On the 18th of January, 18G4, the Mentor, having
completed her cargo, sailed for England. It was the
first vessel that the Commi people had loaded by

36 THE FERNAND VAZ. Chap. H.

themselves with the produce of their country, and
they were not a little proud of their achievement.
Besides Thomas, I sent by the vessel a live female
chimpanzee wliich I had obtained, and which I chris-
tened " Mrs. Thomas." I also sent a collection of
skulls of natives, about ninety in number, for the
British Museum. I was obliged to pack these skulls
very carefully, to prevent the negroes from know-
ing what it was they were carrying on board the
ship.

I had forbidden my lad Macondai to say a word
about it. As they placed the box in the canoe, the
negroes inquired what was in it. Macondai answered,
" Of course, mats for his friends." As soon as the
box was on board the ship the mate and the sailors
peeped into it, and discovering the contents, begged
Captain Yard n to send the box ashore again, as
the skulls were sure to bring misfortune and ship-
wreck. Luckily for me Captain Yardon had too
much good sense to pay any heed to their supersti-
tious fears.

Mrs. Tom unfortunately died on the joassage, but
Tom, as I have already stated, arrived safely in
London, and is still living.* I went on board when
all was ready, and bade Captain Yardon a hearty
good-bye. My boys in the canoe gave three cheers
for the crew, as the white sails expanded and the
little vessel glided away ; and I returned to my
solitude in the wilderness with a heavy heart.

* The fire at the Crystal Palace, to which my unfortunate pet fell a
sacrifice, occurred whilst these sheets were passing through the press.

CHAPTEK III.

EXCURSIONS IN SEARCH OF THE GORILLA AND THE IPI.

Visit to King Olenga-Yombi — Storm on the Fcrnand Vaz — Land journey
to Aniambie — First traces of Gorilla — Form of its tracks — Drunken
orgies of the King — Magic island of Kengu^ Iscoma — Village of
Nkongon Mbouniba — Search of the Ipi, or great Pangolin — Its habits —
Village of INIburu Shara — Nkengo Nschiego variety of Chimpanzee —
Bowers of the Chimpanzee — Group of Gorillas in a j'lantain grove —
Their mode of walking — Horrid form of monomania — Akondogo brings
a live Gorilla — Return to the Fernand Vaz — Three more live Gorillas
— Account of their capture — ^Modification of opinions concerning tlie
Gorilla.

DumxG my stay in the country of the Fernand Yaz,
before departing for the interior, I made several very
interesting excursions. The most important of these
were to the residence of King Olenga-Yombi near
Cape St. Catherine, on the coast, south of the Fernand
Yaz, and to the wooded country in the interior south-
east of that place. This part of the country, I have
now reason for concluding, is the head-quarters of
the gorilla, or the district in which he exists in the
greatest number, but where he is wildest and most
difficult to get near. I stayed there many weeks,
almost wholly occupied in hunting, and had good
opportunities of seeing this formidable ape in his
native wilds. Some account of these excursions will,
therefore, be necessary in this place.

I visited Aniambie, the residence of Olenga-Yombi,

38 SEAECH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. IIL

twice during tlie year 18G4, once in February and
again in June. During the first excursion, besides
hunting the gorilla, I spent some time in search of
a large species of pangolin, or scaly ant-eater, called
Ipi, which I had not succeeded in obtaining during
my earlier travels in this country. We left my
village, " Plateau," as I had named it, on the 13th
of the month, in two canoes, one manned by eleven
men in which I myself embarked, and the other
manned by six men.

As my readers will see by the map, the Fernand
Yaz runs in the lower part of its course, for about
forty miles, nearly parallel to the sea, the space
between the river and the sea-shore being a tract of
level sandy country covered with grass and isolated
grou|)s of trees, and nowhere more than a few
miles wide. The nearest road to Aniambie, a sea-
shore town, the capital of Olenga-Yombi, is therefore
up the stream to a point nearly opposite the town,
and then across the tongue of land. A little south
of this point, and towards the interior, the level land
ceases, and a hilly and more thickly-wooded country
commences, M'here are the plantations of the king.

As we put off from "Plateau" on our first journey,
Malonga, an old negro, whom I left in charge of my
house and property,* assured me that he had made a
fetich to ensure us fine weather, and that we should
have no rain. In this country the doctors are not
makers, but unmakers, of rain. He was miserably

* Ranpano had named this mau to he guardian of my premises whenever
I was ahsent ; and the guardian having been named by the chief, he and
his people became responsible for the safety of my property.

CiiAP. III. STOEM ON THE FERNAND VAZ. 39

wrong in his forecast. The evening, indeed, was fine,
and the moon shone in a cloudless sky ; hut soon after
the moon had set, ahout ten o'clock, a thick hlack cloud
arose in the north-east, and hefore we could run the
canoes into a safe harhour, a terrific tornado burst upon
us. The sky seemed all ablaze with lightning, and the
thunder pealed incessantly. Our canoes were driven
ashore, but luckily in a place where the banks were
clothed with low trees and bushes. The rain came
down in torrents, and we could find no shelter until
we reached a small village, wdiere we went ashore,
and passed the remainder of tlie night shivering over
our wretched little fire, for the people had neglected
to provide a supply of fire- wood.

We stayed here till noon the next day, and then
resumed our voyage in the rain till six o'clock, when
we arrived at the landing-place, where the path com-
mences that leads to Aniambie. King Olenga-Yombi
had here ordered a large shed (ebando) to be built for
me, and we found a store of fire-wood and provisions,
including a goat, ready for us. The ebando stood on
the banks of a little creek, the mouth of which lay
opposite the lower end of the Island Nengue Shika.

Inland from this place the scenery is varied and
beautiful ; stretches of grassy prairie and patches of
luxuriant forest. Some parts of the district, however,
are swampy, and in these the forest is very rank.
Such places are called by the natives " ivolo," which
means a wooded bog, and they are the haunts of the
gorilla. My first day's chase was not very successful.
We hunted with two dogs, and after we had struggled
through the thorny and swampy thickets for a long

40 SEARCH FOR TflE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. III.

time, one of the dogs broke away from us, and sjooilt
what might have been very good sport. We heard
distinctly the rnsthng and crasliing noise in the bush,
which denoted gorillas in the act of feeding, for, in
searching for berries, they are continually pulling
down the branches of the lower trees, and letting
them go again. Before we could get within sight of
thein we heard a sharp cry, and they then made off.
My men agreed with myself that they were two
females ; but they also added that the male was not
far away, and would soon come towards us to see what
drove his females off, and fight us. We traversed
the jungle for two or three miles, but had not the
good luck to see a male gorilla. Foot-tracks were
very abundant in the moist soil wherever we came
upon bare places. We followed the tracks of the
two females until we lost them in the midst of a
great number of foot-marks of other gorillas. All
around were numerous young trees broken down,
and, in an old plantation, we saw some sugar-cane
which had been broken, and the stems presented signs
of their having been bitten by the gorillas.

I may state in this place that I took particular note,
on this day's hunt, of the marks which the feet and
hands of the gorilla made in the soft soil. The tracks
were very plain, but those of the feet never showed
the marks of the toes, only the heels, and the tracks
of the hands showed simply the impressions of the
knuckles.

During the following days I traversed other
patches of jungle lying nearer the sea-shore, and,
although unsuccessful with regard to bagging a

Chap. III. DKUNKEN ORGIES OP THE KING. 41

gorilla, added a number of specimens in other depart-
ments of Natural History to my collection. On the
25th of February I proceeded to Aniambie to see the
king, who had returned from a big palaver he had
had with the Ngobi tribe south of Cape Catherine.

The Kgobi are the next tribe to the Commi, going
southward along the coast. They have not yet
arrived at that stao'e of African civilization which
forbids selling their own people into slavery. The
Mpongwe of the Gaboon and the Commi of the Fer-
nand Vaz, since they have become a little civilized
by contact with the white man, have quite abandoned
the practice of selling people of their own tribes ;
such an act w^ould be now looked upon as shameful.

I have already described Aniambie in my former
work ; all that it is now necessary to say is, that I
found it much reduced in its population, and looking
very wretched. The hing, as usual, was drunlc when
I arrived. Indeed, he was too tipsy to stand on his
legs ; nevertheless, he was bullying and boasting in a
loud tone of voice. I had not been in his place long
before he ordered another calabash full of palm wine,
and d)-ank off about half a gallon of it. This finished
him up for the day ; he fell back into the arms of his
loving wives, ejaculating many times, " I am a big
king! I am a big king!" The voice soon became
inaudible, and he fell asleep.

In the neighbourhood of Aniambie' there is one
island covered with trees, which is held in irreat awe.
It is called Nengue Ncoma. " Whosoever enters
this island," said to me one of my guides, " is sure to
die suddenly, or to become crazy and wander about
5

42 SEARCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. IIL

till he dies." This is another of the wild superstitions
with which this land is teeming, so fertile are the
husy brains of the imaginative Commi people. My
guide added that it was the home of a great crocodile
whose scales were of brass, and who never left the
island. To show the people how vain were their
fears, I immediately walked towards the place, and
traversed the patch of jungle in various directions.
When I came out again the poor negroes seemed
stujoified with wonder. They were not cured, how-
ever, of their belief, for they only concluded that I
was a spirit, and that what would be death to them
did no harm to me.

Early in the morning of the 26th of February,
before the drunken king was awake, I started for
Nkongon Mboumba, one of his slave villages, there
to hunt the ipi or large pangolin, which was said to
inhabit the neighbouring forest. During my former
journey I sought in vain for the ipi, it being very
rarely met with. The place is situated about ten
miles south-east of Aniambie, in an undulating well-
wooded country. It is built on the summit of a hill,
at the foot of which flowed a charming rivulet, which
meandered through the valley for some distance, and
then became hidden from the view by the dense
forest. This district was wholly new ground to me,
as I had not visited it in my former travels. Among
the slaves residing here to work the king's planta-
tions were specimens of no less than eleven different
tribes. Some old slaves from the far interior seemed
very little removed from the Anthropoid apes in their
shape and features — lean legs, heavy bodies with pro-

Al

III

IPl, OB SCALY ANT-EATER.
(PItoHdotus Africanus.)

CiiAP. III. THE PANGOLIN OR IPI. 43

minent abdomen, retreating foreheads and projecting
muzzles — tliey were more like animals than men and
women. A Portuguese slave-schooner had just left
the coast for the Island of St. Thomas with seventy-
eight slaves on hoard. The king, as well as the chiefs
and people, never sell the slaves they have inherited,
and I saw some in this village who had lived there
fifty years. The children of slaves, also, are not sold.
The sale of inherited slaves is contrary to the customs
of the country, and, to use their own expression,
would bring sliame upon them.

The next morning I went with a number of men
in search of the ipi. From the desciiption given
me by the natives I was sure that I had never before
met with this species, and had some hope of its being
new to science. The pangolin genus (^Maiiis of
zoologists) to which it belongs is a very singular
group of animals. They are ant-eaters, like the
Myrmecopliaga of South America, being like them
quite destitute' of teeth, and having a long extensile
tongue, the extremity of which is covered with a
glutinous secretion, by means of which they catch
their prey. But, whilst the South American ant-
eaters are clothed with hair, like ordinary mammalian
animals, the pangolins have an armour of large scales,
implanted in the skin of the upper surface of the body
from the head to the tip of ihe tail, and imbricated or
overlapping, like the slates on the roof of a house.
The animals look, at first sight, like curious heavy-
bodied lizards, but they have warm blood, and nourish
their young like the rest of the mammalia.

The ipi lives in burrows in the earth, or sometimes

44 SEARCH FOE THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. HL

in the large hollows of colossal trunks of trees which
have i'allen to the ground. The burrows that I saw
were in light soil on the slope of a hill. There are
two holes to each gallery, one for entrance and the
other for exit. This is necessary, on account of the
animal being quite incapable of curving its body
sideways, so that it cannot turn itself in its burrow.
The bodies of pangolins are very flexible vertically,
that is, they can roll themselves up into a ball, and
coil and uncoil themselves very readily, but they
cannot turn round within the confined limits of
their burrows. In hunting them we had first to
ascertain, by the footmarks, or more readily by the
marks left by the trail of the tail, which Avas the
entrance and which the exit of the burrow, and then,
making a trap at the one end, drive them out by the
smoke of a fire at the other ; afterwards securing
them with ropes. The freshness of the tracks told
us that the animal had entered its burrow the pre-
vious evening; for I must add that the ipi is
nocturnal in its habits, sleeping in its burrow
throughout the day. When it wanders at niglit the
natives say that they can hear the rattling of its
large scales.

A long and wearisome day's hunt produced no
fruit. We wandered over hill and dale through the
forest and streams, leaving the beaten paths, and
struggling for hours through the tangled maze, with
no other result than to tear our clothes to rags, and
cover ourselves with scratches from the thorns and
cutting edges of sword-like grasses which grew in
many places. I neveitheless persevered, searching

Chap. III. RESULT OP THE in HUNT. 45

the wliole country for many miles round, and had, at
any rate, the melancholy satisfaction of feeling that
I was hardening myself for any amount of endurance
that might he required in my future explorations.
At length, on the 5th of ]\rarch, I was rewarded
by finding two specimens, an adult female and a
young one ; the skins and skeletons of hoth I pre-
served and afterwards sent to the British Museum.
The adult measured about four feet and a half from
the head to the tip of the tail. The f esli of the ipi
is good eating. Those that I captured were very
lean, but I was informed by the natives that they
are sometimes very fat. I found, on dissection, no-
thing but the remains of ants in their stomachs. The
tail, is very thick, and makes a large track on the
ground in walking.

On my return to England I found, as I had
expected, that my ipi was a new species ; but it
apjpears that, some time after the arrival of my
two specimens, another was bought from a dealer,
who said that it had come from Dr. Baikie, having
been found by him in the neighbourhood of the
River Niger. It has been described by Dr. Gray
in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' April,
1865, under the name of PhoUdoius Africanus, so
that it belongs to a difterent genus from the rest
of the African species of these curious animals,
which are ranged under Mams. It is interesting
to find that the animal is more nearly allied to an
Indian form than to the other African pangolins.
My adult skeleton fortunately turned out a fine and
perfect specimen, the largest yet known, and it may

46 SEAECH FOn THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. IIL

now be seen mounted in the collection of the British
Museum.*

My first journey to the gorilla district having been
unsuccessful in its main object, namely, the capture
of a gorilla (although I obtained several skins and
skeletons), I resolved to pay it a second visit. The
16th of June saw me again on my way thither.

On the 17th I diverged from my route to visit
my friend Mburu Shara, a negro chief, whose vil-
lage was situated on the right or eastern bank of
the Fernand Yaz, just opposite to the landing-place
of Aniambie. Mburu Shara was a 3'ounger man
than African chiefs usually are, but he was one of
the finest fellows in the country, and well-disposed
towards the white man. I spent three most delightful
days at his place, which I had never before visited.
Soon after I landed, the villagers came forth, laid
mats at my feet, and piled up their presents of
plantains ; a fat goat was given to me, and my

* The specimen of PlioUdotus Africaniis on •uhicli the describer of the
species founds his measurements, and the skull of which he figured, I have
ascertained, by my own examination in the British Museum, is not the
one said to be received from the Niger, but the specimen which I sent.
The Niger specimen is very much smaller. I mention this, because
Dr. Gray, doubtless through inadvertency, has omitted to mention my
name at all in connection with the species. This omission is im^xirtant
only from the circumstance that the locality of the animal, " Fernand
Vaz," is also left out; the localities and ranges of species being always
considered, and very rightly, important facts in zoological science. I
presume there is a possibility of a mistake in the locality of the Niger
specimen ; however, I may as well mention that I know that a third speci-
men of the ipi was taken by the natives whilst I was at the Fernand Vaz,
exactly the size of the one described as coming from the Niger : but the
natives asking too high a price for it, I would not purchase it, and it came
into the possession of Captain Holder, the master of the Cambria, a vessel
trading to Bristol ; where the specimen is at present I do not know, but it
may possibly be the one Dr. Gray purchased for the British Museiim.

Chap. III. NEW VAEIETY OF CHIMPANZEE. 47

reception altogether was most liearty. I liiinted in
tlie neighbourhood during my stay. The country
was varied in its surface, prairie land and scattered
woods. The woods were inhabited by a good many
chimpanzees, but the gorilla was not known in the
district. We succeeded in killing an adult female
chimpanzee of a variety nev/ to me, and called by
the natives Nkengo Nschiego. It is distinguished
from the common form of the chimpanzee by its face
being yellow. All the specimens of the old bald-
headed chimpanzee (Nschiego Mbouve') that I have
found had black faces, except when quite young,
when the face is white and not yellow, as I have de-
scribed in ' Equatorial Africa ; ' and the common chim-
panzee, although yellow-faced when young, becomes
gradually black as it grows old. Tliere are, there-
fore, three varieties of the chimpanzee distinguished
by the negroes of Equatorial Africa. I do not here
include the Kooloo Kamba.* I was extremely sorry
at not being able to obtain further specimens of this
last-mentioned ape on my present journey ; it nppears
to be very rare. I was told that the Nschiego
Mbouve was also found in these woods.

I found here also several of the bowers made by
the Nkengo Nschfego of branches of trees, and they
were somewhat different in form from those I found
in my former journey. I had two of them cut
down, and sent them to the British IMuseum.
They are formed at a height of twenty or thirty feet
in the trees b}^ the animals bending over and inter-
twining a number of the weaker boughs, so as to

* Figured in 'Adventures in Equatorial Africa,' pji. 270 and SCO.

48 SEARCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. IH.

form Lower, -under which they can sit_, protected from
the rains by the masses of foliage thus entangled
together, some of the boughs being so bent that they
form convenient seats ; on them were found remains
of nuts and berries.

I found Olenga-Yombi at his slave-plantation,
drunk as usual. His head w^ife, thinking to appease
my wi'ath at the vile habits of her husband, told me
the following curious story of the origin of the vice.
When he was quite a child his father used to put him
in a big bag which he had made for the purpose, and
carry him to the top of a high tree, wdiere he plied
him with the intoxicating palm wine. Every day he
repeated the dose until the child came to like palm
wine better than its mother's milk, whereat the father
was greatly delighted, because he wished him to be
renowned, when he was grown up, for the quantity
of palm wine he could drink. " So you see, Chaillie,"
she said, " you must not be angry with him, for it is
not his own fault." The wife, however, promised he
should keep sober whilst I was with him, and the
slaves, amusingly enough, in the presence of the king,
declared they would throw away every calabash of
wine that should be brought to his Majesty.

I had not been at the villacre lono: before news came
that gorillas had been recently seen in the neighbour-
hood of a plantation only half a mile distant. Early
in the morning of the 25th of June I wended my
way thither, accompanied by one of my boys, named
Odanga. The plantation was a large one, and
situated on very broken ground, surrounded by the
virgin forest. It was a lovely morning ; the sky was

Chap. III. GROUP OF GOPJLLAS. 49

almost cloudless, and all around was still as death,
except the slight rustling of the tree-tops moved by
the gentle land breeze. When I reached the place, I
had first to pick my way through the maze of tree-
stumps and half-burnt logs by the side of a field of
cassada. I was going quietly along the borders of
this, when I heard, in the grove of plantain-trees
towards which I was walking, a great crashing noise,
like the breaking of trees. I immediately hid myself
behind a bush, and was soon gratified with the sight
of a female gorilla ; but before I had time to notice
its movements, a second and third emerged from the
masses of colossal foliage ; at length no less than four
came into view.

They were all busily engaged in tearing down the
larger trees. One of the females had a young one
following her. I had an excellent opportunity of
watching the movements of the impish-looking band.
The shaggy hides, the protuberant abdomens, the
hideous features of these strange creatures, whose
forms so nearly resemble man, made up a picture like
a vision in some morbid dream. In destroying a tree,
they first grasped the base of the stem with one of
their feet and then with their powerful arms pulled it
down, a matter of not much difficulty with so loosely-
formed a stem as that of the plantain. They then set
upon the juicy heart of the tree at the bases of the
leaves, and devoured it with great voracit}'. While
eating they made a kind of clucking noise, ex-
pressive of contentment. Many trees they destroyed
apparently out of pure mischief. Now and then they
stood still and looked around. Once or twice they

50 SEARCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPI. Chap. HI

seemed on the point of starting oif in alarm, but re-
covered themselves and continued their work. Gra-
dually they got nearer to the edge of the dark forest^
and finally disappeared. I was so intent on watching
them, that I let go the last chance of shooting one
almost before I became aware of it.

The next day I went again with Odanga to the
same spot. I had no expectation of seeing gorillas in
the same plantation, and was carrying a light shot
gun, having given my heavy double-barrelled rifle to
the boy to carry. The plantation extended o^-er two
hills, with a deep hollow between, planted with sugar
cane. Before I had crossed the hollow I saw on the
opposite slope a monstrous gorilla, standing erect
and looking directly towards me. Without turning
my face I beckoned to the boy to bring me my rifle,
but no rifl.e came, — the little coward had bolted, and
I lost my chance. The huge beast stared at me for
about two minutes, and then, without uttering any
cry, moved off to the shade of the forest, running
nimbly on his hands and feet.

As my readers may easily imagine, I had excellent
opportunity of observing, during these two days,
the manner in which the gorillas walked when in
open ground. They move ahmg with great rapidity
and on all fours, that is, with the knuckles of their
hands touching the ground. Artists, in rej^resenting
the gorilla walking, generally make the arms too
mucli bowed outwards, and the elbows too much
bent ; tin's gives the figures an a})pearance of heaviness
and awkwardness. When the gorillas that I watched
left the plantain-trees, they moved off at a great pace

Chap. III. A LIVE GORILLA CAUGHT. 51

over the ground, with then- arms extended straight
forwards towards the ground, and moving rapidly.
I may mention also that having now opened the
stomachs of several freshly-killed gorillas I have
never found anything but vegetable matter in them.
When I returned to Nkongon Mboumba I found
there my old friend Akondogo, chief of one of the
Commi villages, who had just returned from the Ngobi
country, a little further south. To my great surprise
and pleasure, he had brought for me a living gorilla,
a young one, but the largest I had ever seen captured
alive. Like Joe, the young male whose habits in
confinement I described in ' Equatorial Africa,' this
one showed the most violent and ungovernable dis-
position. He tried to bite every one who came near
him, and was obliged to be secured by a forked stick
closely applied to the back of his neck. This mode of
imprisoning these animals is a very improper one if
the object be to keep them alive and to tame them,
but, unfortunately, in this barbarous country, we had
not the materials requisite to build a strong cage.
The injury caused to this one by the forked stick
eventually caused his death. As I had some more
hunting to do, I left the animal in charge of Ak'on-
dogo until he should have an opportunity of sending
it to me on the Fernand Yaz.

I cannot avoid relating in this place a very curious
instance of a strange and horrid form of monomania
which is sometimes displayed by these primitive
negroes. It was related to me so circumstantially by
Akondogo, and so well confirmed by others, that I

52 SEAECH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IRL Chap. HL

cannot help fully believing in all the principal facts
of the case.

Poor Akondogo said that he had had plenty of
trouble in his day ; that a leopard had killed two of
his men, and that he had a great many palavers to
settle on account of these deaths.

Not knowing exactly what he meant, I said to
him, " Why did you not make a trap to catch the
leopard ? " To my astonishment, he replied, " The
leopard was not of the kind you mean. It was a
man who had changed himself into a leopard, and
then became a man again." I said, " Akondogo, I
will never believe your stor}^ How can a man be
turned into a leopard?" He again asserted that it
was true, and gave me the following history : —

Whilst he was in the woods with his people, gather-
ing india-rubber, one of his men disappeared, and,
notwithstanding all their "endeavours, nothing could
be found of him but a quantity of blood. The next
day another man disappeared, and in searching for
him more blood was found. All the people got
alarmed, and Akondogo sent for a great Doctor to
drink the mboundou, and solve the mystery of these
two deaths. To the horror and astonishment of the
old chief, the doctor declared it was Akondogo' s own
child (his nephew and heir), Akosho, who had killed
the two men. Akosho was sent for, and, when asked
by the chief, answered that it was truly he who had
committed the murders ; that he could not help it, for
he had turned into a leopard, and his heart longed
for blood ; and that after each deed he had turned into
a man again. Akondogo loved his boy so much that

Chap. III. HORRID FORM OF JIOXOMAXIA. 53

he would not believe liis own confession, until the hoy
took him to a place in the forest where lay the two
bodies, one with the head cut off, and the other with
the belly torn open. Uj)on this, Akondogo gave
orders to seize the lad. He was bound with ropes,
taken to the village, and there tied in a horizontal
position to a post, and burnt slowly to death, all the
people standing' by until he expired.

I must say, the end of the story seemed to me too
horrid to listen to. I shuddered, and was ready to
curse the race that was capable of committing such
acts. But on careful inquiry, I found it was a case
of monomania in the boy Akosho, and that he really
was the murderer of the two men. It is probable
that the superstitious belief of these morbidly imagi-
native Africans in the transformation of men into
leopards, being early instilled into the minds of their
children, is the direct cause of murders being com-
mitted under the influence of it. The boy himself, as
well as Akondogo and all the people, believed he had
really turned into a leopard, and the cruel punish-
ment was partly in vengeance for witchcraft, and
partly to prevent the committal of more crimes by
the boy in a similar way, for, said they, the man has
a spirit of witchcraft.

The natives of all the neighbouring country were
now so Mcll aware that I wanted live gorillas, nnd
was willing to give a high price for them, that many
were stimulated to search with great perseverance;
the good effects of this were soon made evident.

One day as I was quietly dining with Captain

54 SEAPxCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Chap. IIL

Holder, of the Cambria (a vessel just arrived
from England}, one of my men came in with
the startling news that three live gorillas had been
brought, one of them full grown. I had not long
to wait ; in they came. First, a very large adult
female, bound hand and foot ; then her female
child, screaming terribly ; and lastly, a vigorous
young male, also tightly bound. The female had
been ingeniously secured by the negroes to a strong
stick, the wrists bound to the upper part and the
ankles to the lower, so that she could not reach to
tear the cords with her teeth. It was dark, and
the scene was one so wild and strange that I shall
never forget it. The fiendish countenances of the
Calibanish trio, one of them distorted by pain, for
the mother gorilla was severely wounded, were lit up
by the ruddy glare of native torches. The thought
struck me, what would I not give to have the group
in London for a few days !

The young male I secured by a chain which I had
in readiness, and gave him henceforth the name of
Tom. We untied his hands and feet ; to show his
gratitude for this act of kindness he immediately
made a rush at me, screaming with all his might ;
happily the chain was made fast, and I took care
afterwards to keep out of his way. The old mother
gorilla was in an unfortunate plight. She had an
arm broken and a wound in the chest, besides being
dreadfully beaten on the head. She groaned and
roared many times during the night, probably from
pain.

I noticed next day, and on many occasions, that the

Chap. III. THREE MORE LIVE GORILLAS. 55

vigorous young male whenever lie made a rush at
any one and missed his aim, immediately ran back.
This corresponds with what is known of the habits of
the large males in their native woods ; when attacked
they make a furious rush at their enemy, break an
arm or tear his bowels open, and then beat a retreat,
leaving their victim to shift for himself.

The wounded female died in the course of the
next day ; her moanings were more frequent in the
morning, and they gradually became weaker as her
life ebbed out. Her death was like that of a human
being, and afflicted me more than I could have
thought possible. Her child clung to her to the last,
and tried to obtain milk from her breast after she
was dead. I photographed them both when the
young one was resting in its dead mother's lap. I
kept the young one alive for three days after its
mother's death. It moaned at night most piteously.
I fed it on goat's milk, for it was too young
to eat berries. It died the fourth day, having
taken an unconquerable dislike to the milk. It
had, I think, begun to know me a httle. As
to the male, I made at least a dozen attempts to
photograph the irascible little demon, but all in vain.
The pointing of the camera towards him threw him
into a perfect rage, and I was almost provoked to
give him a sound thrashing. The day after, how-
ever, I succeeded with him, taking two views, not
very perfect, but sufficient for my object.

I must now relate how these three animals were
caught, premising that tjie capture of the female was
the lirst instance that had come to my knowledge of

56 SEARCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPL Ciup. UL

an adult gorilla being taken alive. The place where
they were found was on the left bank of the Fernand
Yaz, about thirty miles above my village. At this
part a narrow promontory projects into the river.
It was the j)lace where I had intended to take the
distinguished traveller, Captain Burton, to show him
a live gorilla, if he had paid me a visit, as I had
expected, for I had written to invite him whilst he
was on a tour from his consulate at Fernando Po
to several points on the West African coast. A
woman, belonging to a neighbouring village, had
told her people that she had seen two squads of
female gorillas, some of them accompanied by their
young ones, in her plantain field. The men resolved
to go in chase of them, so they armed themselves
with guns, axes, and spears, and sallied forth. The
situation was very favourable for the hunters ; they
formed a line across the narrow strip of land and
pressed forward, driving the animals to the edge of
the water. When they came in sight of them,
they made all the noise in their power, and thus
bewildered the gorillas, who were shot or beaten
down in their endeavours to escape. There were
eight adult females altogether, but not a single male.
The negroes thought the males were in conceal-
ment in the adjoining woods, having probably been
frightened away by the noise.

This incident led me to modify somewhat the
opinions I had expressed, in ' Adventures in Equa-
torial Africa,' regarding some of the habits of the
gorilla. I there said that I believed it impossible to
capture an adult female alive, but I ought to have

CuAP. III. MODIFICATION OF OPINIONS. 57

added, unless wounded. I have also satisfied myself
that the gorilla is more gregarious than I formerly
considered it to be ; at least it is now clear that, at
certain times of the year, it goes in bands more
numerous than those 1 saw in my former journey.
Then I never saw more than five together. I
have myself seen, on my present expedition, two
of these bands of gorillas, numbering eight or ten,
and have had authentic accounts from the natives of
other similar bands. It is true that, when gorillas
become aged, ihej seem to be more solitary, and to
live in pairs, or, as in the case of old males, quite
alone. I have been assured by tlie negroes that
solitary and aged gorillas are sometimes seen almost
white ; the hair becomes grizzled with age, and I
have no doubt that the statement of their becoming
occasionally white with extreme old age is quite
correct.

After reconsidering the wdiole subject, I am com-
pelled also to state that I think it highly probable
that gorillas, and not chimpanzees, as I was formerly
inclined to think, were the animals seen and captured
by the Carthaginians under Hanno, as related in the
' Periplus.' Many circumstances combine in favour
of this conclusion. One of the results of my late
journey has been to prove that gorillas are nowhere
more conmion than on the tract of land between the
bend of the Fernand Vaz and the sea-shore ; and, as
this land is chiefly of alluvial formation, and the
bed of the river constantly shifting, it is extremely
probal)le that there were islands here in the time of
Hanno. The southerly part of the land is rather
G

58 SEAHCH FOR THE GORILLA AND THE IPI. Chap. IIL

liilly, and, even if it were not then an island, the
Carthaginians in rambhng a short distance from the
beach would see a broad water (the Fernand Vaz)
beyond them, and would conclude that the land was
an island.

Gorillas are attracted to this district by the quan-
tity of a little yellow berry, called mbimo, growing
there on a tree resembling the African teak, and
by the abundance of two other kinds of fruits, of
which they are very fond, and which grow on the
sandy soil of this part of the coast-land ; one of these
fruits is called nionien, about the size of a nectarine,
and of the colour of the peach, but not having the
rich bloom of this fruit ; it is produced by a shrub
that creeps over the sandy soil ; the other resembles
in size and colour the wild plum, and is a fruit of
which I am myself very fond.

The passage in the ' Periplus ' which I mentioned
in ' Equatorial Africa ' is to the following effect : —
" On the third day, having sailed from thence,
passing the streams of fire, we came to a bay
called the Horn of the South. In the recess was an
island like the first, having a lake, and in this there
was another island full of wild men. But much the
greater part of them were women with hairy bodies,
whom the interpreters called gorillas. . . . But,
pursuing them, we were not able to take the men ;
they all escaped from us by their great agility, being
cremnohates (that is to say, climbing precipitous rocks
and trees), and defending themselves by throwing
stones at us. We took three women, who bit and
tore those who caught them, and were unwilling to

CuAP. III. THE CAllTHAGIXIAXS AKD THE GOPJLLA. 59

follow. We were obliged, therefore, to kill them,
and took their skins off, which skins were brought
to Carthage, for we did not navigate farther, pro-
visions becoming scarce."

These statements appear to me, with the fresh
knowledge I have gained on the present expedition,
to agree very well with the supposition that the bold
Carthaginians reached the country near the mouth
of the Fernand A"az in their celebrated voyage, and
that the hairy men and women met with were males
and females of the Trolodytes gorilla. Even the name
"gorilla," given to the animal in the ' Periplus,' is
not very greatly different from its native name at
the present day, "ngina" or " ngilla," especially in
the indistinct way in which it is sometimes pro-
nounced. I now tbink it far more likely that the
gorilla was the animal seen and not the cbimpanzee,
which is generally less gregarious, and is not often
found near the sea-coast. As to the theory that
Hanno's hairy men and women were some species of
baboon, I think that very unlikely ; for why would
the Carthaginians hang the skins in the temple
of Juno on their return to Carthage, and preserve
them for so many generations, as related by Pliny,
if they were simply the skins of baboons, animals so
common in Africa that they could scarcely have been
considered as anything extraordinary by a nation of
traders and travellers like the Carthaginians.

The gorilla is of migratory habits at some seasons
of the year. lie is then not found in the districts
usually resorted to by him when the berries, fruits,
and nuts are in season.

CHAPTER IV.

START FOR THE INTERIOR.

Arrival of a fresh supply of Scientific Instruments — The first Steamer on
the Fernand Vaz — Preliminary trip to Goumbi — Astonishment of the
Katives at the fire-vessel — Despatch Collections to England — Live
Gorilla embarked for London — His habits in confinement — Narrow
escape of drowning when embarked — Preparations completed — Last
look at the sea — Outfit — Body guard of Commi men — Affecting part-
ing scenes — I am deceived by Olenga-Yombi — The renowned doctor,
Oune-jiou-e-niar^ — Arrival at Goumbi — Observations to fix latitude
and altitude of Goumbi — Quengueza's invocation of his Forefathers —
Disobedient ^^'ives — -Excessive Drought — Obindji — Opposition of
Bakalai — Arrival of Ashira Porters — Passage of the hills to Olenda.

On" the 30th of June, I Lade adieu to my friend
Olenga-Yombi, and started for Plateau. I hardly
left the ebando, when I espied the sail of a canoe that
was coming towards us from the direction of the
mouth of the river. On our meeting, the men in
the canoe shouted out, " Your vessel has arrived."
How glad I was — no news could have been more
welcome ! My men pulled with renewed vigour, and
we reached Plateau that niglit. There I found
awaiting me a letter from Messrs. Baring of London,
who had kindly sent a vessel with goods and stores
for which I had ^^•ritten, and also with a fresh supply
of scientific instruments, to replace those spoilt in
the surf. My sets were not, however, completed
nntil a month afterwards, when other instruments
reached me by way of the Gaboon ; my best chro-

CiiAP. lY. ARllIVAL OF FRESH STORES. 61

nometer was brorglit me Ly Captain Yardon on Lis
return voyage from London in September. I liad
then three sets and was prepared for accidents wliicli
might occur in crossing rivers and so forth. I had
sent the damaged chronometers and sextants to Eng-
land through the Rev. W. Walker of tlie Gaboon;
this being the only way I could send them at that
time. They went to the Gaboon in a native boat,
and were sent by Mr. Walker to the English consul
at Fernando Po, who kindly shipped them in the
mail steamer for Liverpool. I must here record my
thanks to Mr, Graves, now M.P. for Liverpool, who
took the trouble to receive the instruments and trans-
mit them to London, where my friends had them
repaired or replaced by new ones. Not the least
welcome was a box of medicines sent to me by
my good friend, Robert Cooke. My kind friends,
the American missionaries at the Gaboon, also sent
me a supply of medicines and other things. But
their letters were not of a kind to bring me much
consolation : they were not so hopeful as I was of
success in my undertaking, and although they did
not so express themselves, I could see they thought I
should never return.

An interesting event occurred in July, whicli is
worth recording here. It was the arrival of a French
steamer, the first steam vessel ever seen in the v.^aters
of the Fernand Yaz. Some of my negroes came
into my hut one morning in great consternation, and
breathless with running, to say that a great, smoking
ship of war had come down the Npoulounay river.
I asked how many guns it had. " Ten," they replied

62 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

without hesitation. The vessel turned out to be a
small flat-bottomed river boat forty feet in length,
belona-inir to an old friend of mine, Dr. Touchard
(Chirurgien de Marine, 1"" classe), which he had
bought with the intention of exploring in it the
rivers of Equatorial Africa, and which he had lent
to the French authorities at the Gaboon ; it was now
commanded by Lieutenant Labigot of the French
Navy. I need hardly say that the ten guns were
only products of the imagination of my excited
negroes, the vessel had no guns at all. It was
ironically named the Leviathan, and had been built,
originally, as a pleasure boat, for the navigation of
the Seine near Paris. It entered the Fernand Vaz by
way of the Npoulounay river, having first explored,
in company with a larger vessel, the river Ogobai.
The present trip was planned simply from a desire to
pay me a visit.

The service on which Lieut. Labigot and Dr.
Touchard were employed was the completion of the
survey of the Ogobai river, which had been com-
menced three years previously by Messrs. Serval and
Griffon du Bellay, the French Government having
shown recently great enterprise in the exploration of
this region. On neither expedition were the larger
vessels able to ascend the Ogobai, on account of the
shallowness of the water, the season chosen not being
favourable. Lieut. Labigot and Dr. Touchard had,
however, the perseverance to ascend in boats, or in
the little steamer, as far as the junction of the
Okanda and Ngouyai rivers ; they were the first
Europeans who had reached this point, and it is to

Chap. IV. TRIP TO GOUMBI. 63

be hoped, in the interests of science, that tlie result
of their voyage will soon be made public.

The Leviathan afterwards . foundered in a squall
at the Gaboon, and I was extremely sorry to hear
that the loss was not made good to my friend Dr.
Touchard by the French Government, but I hope
that it has been by this time.

On July 12tli we started in the steamer for an
excursion to Goumbi, about seventy miles up the
river, setting at defiance the law of the Commi that
no white man (except myself) should ascend the
stream. For the first twenty miles we had a stiff
breeze ; we had then reached a small village on the
left bank where a Portuguese trader, agent for an
English house of business, was settled ; there we
passed the night. On the 13th w^e started early and
reached Goumbi at half-past five p.m.

The apparition of a steam vessel in these solitary
waters put the whole country into a state of excite-
ment. The natives came forth in troops from the
villages and crowded the banks. Some were stupified ;
others, recognising me on the deck as we passed, put
out in their canoes and paddled might and main in
their attempts to catch us. At the point where the
river, in descending from the interior, bends from
its westerly course, the banks are high and wooded;
here the steamer puffed its way right up to the villages
before it was seen, and the frightened natives peeped
from the top of the banks and ran away again.

Old Quengueza was proud of this visit of the white
men in their fire-vessel, and turned towards his
attendant Bakalai and Ashira with looks of supreme

64 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

contempt. We remained in Gonmbi all clay on the
14th, and, on the 15tlj, ascended the river to three or
four miles beyond the junction of the Niembai. The
vain old African chieftain accompanied us unat-
tended, and he seemed thoroughly to enjoy his trip.
I made him put on a European coat and cap for the
occasion, although nothing would induce him to wear
a shirt, and had a chair placed on deck for him to sit
upon. Here he remained the whole time, with a self-
complacent smile on his grim features which was
almost laughable to look at. He took care to let the
people of the villages we passed see him, and calcu-
lated no doubt on increasing his influence on the
river by this important event. At this point we
were obliged to stop in our upward progress, on
account of the numerous fallen trees obstructing the
navigation, and on the 16th we returned to Plateau.

A few days after this excursion with Lieut.
Labigot and Dr. Touchard, I was honoured by an
intended visit from the British Commodore Com-
manding the West African squadron. Commodore
A. P. Eardley-Wilmot. He called on his way along
the coast, in his flag ship, off the mouth of the liver,
and learning from the master of the trading vessel
anchored there that the bar was unsafe for the ship's
boats, he left a message for me expressing his regret
that he was unable to come up the river and see me.
He inquired regarding the preparations for my expe-
dition into the interior. I much regretted being
unable to see Commodore Wilmot, who I knew took
a warm interest in all scientific enterprises in the
countries of Western Africa, and would, I am sure,

Chap. IV. COLLECTIONS DESPATCHED TO ENGLAND 65

have done anything in his power to have helped me
in my undertaking.

On the IStli of August I despatched by Cnptain
Beri'ido'e to Enc-hind, all the collections in Natural
History that I had made up to that date. They in-
cluded a second collection of skulls of various tribes
of negroes, fifty-four in number, in illustration of the
Anthropology of this part of Africa ; six skins and
seven skeletons of the gorilla; one skin and two
skeletons of the chimpanzee, two skins and skeletons
of tlie large scaly ant-eater (the Ipi), three skeletons
of the manatee, one skeleton of Genetta F'ieldiana,
besides other mammals, and 4500 insects as specimens
of the entomology of the Fernand Yaz region. The
collection I am glad to sa}^ arrived in London safely,
and a great part of it was afterwards deposited in the
British Museum. I also sent a living specimen of
the singular wild hog of this region {Potamochcenis
albifrons), and two live fishing eagles. The hog I
presented to the Zoological Society of London, and I
believe it is still living in their gardens in liegent's
Park'.

The whole of the mammals, including the skins and
skeletons of the gorilla, I sent to the British Museum,
with a request to my honoured friend, Professor
Owen, the Superintendent of the Zoological Depart-
ment, to select any specimens from the collection
that the Museum required, and present them in my
name to the national collection. I was much pleased
to learn afterwards that several of the specimens
were accepted. I felt that I had done something to
repay the debt of gratitude which I owed to the large-

66 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV

hearted Britisli nation who had so generously wel-
comed me when I arrived in England, an unknown
traveller, from my former arduous journey. One of
the male gorillas proved to be a much larger and
finer specimen than the former one, which many must
have seen at the end of the Zoological Grallery in the
museum ; it has therefore been mounted and set up
in its place, where I would recommend all who wish
to see a really fine specimen of this most wonderful
animal to go and see it.

The large collection of skulls made in so short a
time will surprise many people, especially travellers
in other wild countries who find skulls of natives
generally very difficult to obtain. But with the
money and trade-loving negro many strange things
are possible. It was necessary first to overcome the
scruples of the Commi people, and this I did by
explaining to them why I wanted the skulls ; so I
told them that there was a strong party among the
doctors or magic-men in my country who believed
that negroes were apes almost the same as the
gorilla, and that I wished to send them a number
of skulls to show how much they were mistaken.
When I backed up this statement by the offer of
three dollars' worth of goods for each skull they
might bring, I soon obtained a plentiful supply ; in
fact, I was obliged afterwards to reduce the price.
The skulls brought me were almost always those of
slaves from the far interior, who had died in the
coast country; and, as corpses are laid simply on
the ground in the native cemeteries, the transaction'
was much simplified. Nevertheless, the sale of a

Chap. IV. TRAFFIC IN SKULLS. G7

skull was always treated as a secret matter. The
negro(>s would bring them only at night and by
stealth, carefully wrapped up in a parcel, and dis-
guising the shape of the contents, or covering the
top with a few sweet potatoes, to mislead any one
whom they might meet.

Sometimes two negroes engaged in this sort of
contraband traffic would meet, by accident, in my
house, each with a suspicious-looking bundle under
his arm. They would look at each other in a shy,
balf-ashamed manner, and then burst out laughing,
but finally swearing to keep one another's secret.
Skull-selling, however, never became an open, public
business. One day old Rabolo came to me, his
countenance beaming with satisfaction, and said, in
a half whisper : —

" Chaillie, I shall have something for you to-night
which will make your heart glad."

" What is that ? " I inquired.

" Rogala, my little Ishogo slave, is sick, and will
die to-night : I know it. You have often asked for
an Ishogo head, and now you shall have one."

I was horrified at the old chief's coolness in thus
dispensing skulls before their owners were dead, and
insisted upon his showing me the sick boy. He led
me to the dark shed where the poor slave lay ill.
The chikl was dreadfully emaciated with dysentery,
the disease of which a great many slaves die when
brought from, the interior. He thought himself
he was going to die ; but I undertook to prescribe
for him. I ordered one of Kabolo's wives to give
him warm food. I sent them chickens to make broth

68 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IY.

with, and myself administered quinine and a little
wine. In a few days he was much better, and finally
recovered. Thus Rabolo was disappointed in his
little skull-dealiug transaction, but in compensation
saved his slave.

Besides these collections I embarked a live gorilla,
our little friend Tom, and had full hopes that he
would arrive safely and gratify the world of London
with a sight of this rare and wonderful ape in the
living state; mifortunately, he died on the passage.
He did very well for a few weeks, I am told, as long
as the supply of bananas lasted which I placed on
board for his sustenance. The repugnance of the
gorilla to cooked food, or any sort of food except the
fruits and juicy plants he obtains in his own wilds,
will always be a difficulty in the way of bringing
him to Europe alive. I had sent him consigned to
Messrs. Baring, who, I am sure, never had any such
consignment before. I promised the Captain that he
should receive one hundred pounds if he succeeded in
taking the animal alive to London,

During the few days Tom was in my possession
he remained, like all the others of his species that I
had seen, utterly im tractable. The food that was
offered to him he would come and snatch from the
hand, and then bolt with it to the length of his
tether. If I looked at him he would make a feint of
darting at me, and in giving him water I had to
push the bowl towards him with a stick, for fear of
his biting me. When he was angry I saw him often
beat the ground and his legs with his fists, thus
showing a similar habit to that of the adult gorillas

CnAi'. lY. LIVE GOrJLLA E MBAEKED FOR LONDON". C9

wliicli I described us beating their breasts with their
fists when confronting an enemy. Before l;iyin«-
down to rest he used to pack his straw very care-
fully as a bed to lie on. Tom used to wake me in
the night by screaming suddenly, and in the morn-
ing 1 more than once detected him in the attempt to
strangle himself with his chain, no doubt through
rage at being kept prisoner. He used to twist tlie
chain round and round tlie post to which it was
attached until it became quite short and then pressed
with his feet the lower part of the post until he had
nearly done the business.

As I have before related, I took photographs of
Tom, and succeeded very well. These photographs
I was unwilling to send home, and kept them
until I should have completed my whole series of
photographs of African sul)jects. They are now,
unfortunately, lost for ever ; for they w^ere left
behind in the bush during my hurried retreat from
Ashango-land, as will be related in the sequel.

"When the last boat which took on board the Captain
and the live am'mals left the shore for the vessel, I
trembled for the safety of the cargo, for the surf was
vejy rough. The negroes, however, could have ma-
naged to get her sai'ely through if they had not been too
careful. They were nervous at having a white man
on hoard, and did not seize the proper moment to pass
the breakers ; their hesitation was: very near proving
fatal, for a huge billow broke over them and filled
the boat. It did not, happily, upset, but tliey had
to return. Captain Berridge thus escaped w^ith
a wx'tting, and the Potamochcerus and eagles were

70 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

half drowned. As to poor Tom, tlie bath, instead
of cooling Lis courage, made liim more violent than
ever. He shouted furiously, and as soon as I
opened the door of his cage he pounced on the
bystanders, chnging to them and screaming. A
present of a banana, which he ate voraciously,
quieted him down, and the passage was again tried
in the afternoon with a better result.

At length my preparations were completed.
Towards the end of September my canoes were
loaded, and I had selected the men who were to
accompany nie on my journey.

On the 28 th I crossed the tongue of land which
separated my village from the sea-shore, to test my
boiling-point thermometers and aneroids at the level
of the sea, preparatory to my departure inland.
Having finished, and wishing to be alone, I sent
back my negro lad with the instruments and took a
last solitary walk along the sands. I watched the long
waves breaking on the beach, and my mind gradually
turned to the other shores in the far north washed
by the same sea : I thought of the dear friends I had
left there, and a spirit of sadness filled my mind. I
thought of the dangers of the undertaking to which
I w^as pledged, and felt that perhaps I might never
more return. I believe there was not a friend, or a
person from whom I had received a kindness, that I
did not call to mind; and I also thought of those
other persons who had tried to do me all the
injury in their power, and forgave them from the
bottom of my heart. I took a last look at the

Chap. IV. BODY-GUARD OF COMMI MEN. 71

friendly sea, and prayed God tliat I miglit live to
see it again.

My expedition was an affair of great importance for
the whole of the Commi tribe. Quengueza, who was
more disinterested than the other chiefs — for he was
actuated only by a sense of the importance the friend-
ship of the white man conferred upon him — came down
the river to bear me company ; Olenga-Yombi came
from Cape St. Catherine to assist in the ceremony of
my departure, with an eye to getting as much out of
me as he could, and Ranpano, with his nephew and
heir, Djombouai, attended to accompany me part of
the way.

My stores and outfit filled two large canoes. I had
no less than forty-seven large chests of goods, besides
ten boxes containing my photographic apparatus and
chemicals, and fifty voluminous bundles of miscel-
laneous articles. I had also in ammunition oOO lbs.
of coarse and fine powder, 350 lbs. of shot, and 3,000
ball cartridges. For the transport of these things by
land I should require, including my body-guard of
the Commi tribe, more than 100 men. I chose for
my body-guard ten faithful negroes, some of whom
had accompanied me on my former journey. It was
on these men that my own safety, among the savage
and unfriendly tribes we might expect to meet wath in
the far interior, depended. I knew"! could thoroughly
rely upon them, and that, come what might, they
would never hurt a hair of my head. It would have
suited my ])lans better if I could have obtained
twenty-five Commi men, but this was not possible.
Many were willing to go, but their parents objected.

72 STAET FOR THE INTERIOR. CnAP. IV.

Tlie best of them were my boy Macon clai, now
grown a stalwart young man and completely devoted
to me, and my hunter Igala, a good and faithful
friend. j\Iacondai will be recollected by some of the
readers of my former book, as having accompanied
me on almost all my wanderings in this region.
I had brought him, as a present, a double-barrelled
gun from England, and he soon became a good
shot. He was more attached to me than any of
the others, and I could more safely trust him, as he
was free from the superstitions and vain fears of Ins
countrymen and cared nothino- for fetiches. He was
brave and honest, and helped me to guard my property
in our long marches in the interior. Igala I considered
my right-hand man. He was a negro of tall figure and
noble bearing, cool and clear-headed in an emergency,
brave as a lion, but with me docile and submissive.
In our most troublesome marches he used to lead the
van, whilst I brought up the rear to see that the porters
did not run away with their loads. I could always ^
rely upon him ; and, with twenty such as he, there
would be little difficulty in crossing Africa. He was
also my taxidermist, for 1 had taught him to skin and
preserve animals. His reputation was great amongst
the Commi as a hunter, and he used to make quite a
trade by selling fetiches to the credulous people who
wished to possess his skill and good luck in this
respect. Igala, however, had a w^eakness ; he was too
amorous, and his intrigues with the wives of chiefs
gave me no end of trouble. Another good man was
Rebouka, a big strapping negro, whose chief faults
were bragging and a voracious appetite. Then there

Chap. IY. AFFECTING PARTING SCENES. 73

were Igalo, next to Macondai the youngest of the party,
a h'ght-coloured negro, excitable and tender-hearted ;
and Mouitchi, Retonda, Rogueri, Igala (the second),
RapeHna and Ngoma — six slaves given to me by the
various chiefs whose friendship I had acquired on the
bard^s of the Fernand Yaz. I dressed my men all
alike in thick canvas trowsers, blue woollen shirts
and worsted caps. Shirts being the more important
article of dress, they had three each. Trowsers
I had found it quite necessary for negroes to
wear on a march, as they protected the legs from
the stings of insects, from thorns, and many other
injuries to which they are liable. Moreover each
man had a blanket to keep him warm at night.
All the six slaves had volunteered to accompany
me ; they were not forced to go, against their will,
at the command of their masters. It would have
been much better if all my Commi attendants
had been free-men, for some of the slaves after-
wards gave me much trouble by ill-conduct, the
lesult of that absence of self-respect and sense of
responsibility which the free men alone possessed.
Most of these men now handled fire-arms for the first
time, and the possession of a gun to the six men who
had been slaves all their lives was one- of the induce-
ments which made them willing to accompany me.

Nearly all the people of the neighbouring villages
came down to see us off. It was an affectinix si^'ht to
see my negroes take leave of their families and
friends. At the last moment, the young daughter of
Igala clung to her father, and with a flood of tears
begged him not to go with the white man on the oUli
1

74 STAET FOR TUE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

mpolo (the long road). Igala consoled her by saying,
" Do not cry, my cliild, I am coming back ; we shall
reach the other side, and bring plenty of beads for
you from the white man's country." It was the
universal belief of the Commi people that we were
going across the land to England, and I w^as obliged
to encourage tbem in this idea, which was the only
way of rendering the journey comprehensible to
them. My old friend. Captain A^ardon, who had
lately returned to the Fernand Yaz with the intention
of establishing a factory, lent the villagers guns to
fire off salvos on our departure, and was not behind
hand in wishing me God speed.

On the second of October we left " Plateau :"
on the 3rd we reached an ehando, or palaver shed, on
the banks of the river where King Olenga-Yombi,
together with the other chiefs and people, had to
settle some outstanding disputes of the neighbourhood,
and to mpanga nclie, or " make the land straight," in
general. To my great mortification, this council of
wise-heads hindered us a whole week. I could not
leave at once, as I had to receive from Olenga-Yombi
the slaves that he had promised to give me to carry
my goods, the payment for whose services he had
already received in the shape of presents having
that end in view. The palavers were numerous and
difficult to settle. They related either to run-away
wives (a fertile source of ill-will and bloodshed) or
to homicides. When a man is killed here, if only
by accident, satisfaction must be given. Deaths by
accident are not more excusable than wilful murder.
" An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth " is the

CHAP. IV. THE DOCTOR OUNE-JIOU-E-NIARE. 75

maxim of tlie tribe, and the settlemeut of tlie compen-
sation generally requires a formal palaver like the
present one.

As regards runaway wives the laws are verj^ severe.
Any wife refusing to remain with her husband, or
running away, is condemned to have her ears and
nose cut off. Any man debauching his neighbour's
wife has to give a slave to the injured husband ; and,
if he cannot pay this line, he must have his ears and
nose cut off.

They have no laws to punish robbery.

At length, on the 10th of October, I left the place
alone and proceeded to the olako where the road to
Aniambie commences. Here Olenga-Yombi followed
three days afterwards and had the impudence to tell
me his slaves had all run away and that I could not
have any, as they were all afraid to come with me.
I left in disgust, and in company with Quengueza
proceeded on my voyage.-

We stopped for the night at a small Commi
village, where lived a renowned Doctor named Oune-
jiou-e-niare (head of a bullock). This was a most
singular old man, possessed of much natural acuteness
and at the same time a good deal of kindly humour.
He was about seventy years of age, short of stature,
very thin, and with a remarkably prominent chin, and
piercing, deep-sunken eyes. He had the reputation
of being a great prophet, and all the Commi people
had great faith in what he said. My men asked
him whether our journey would be prosperous. He
replied that we should go veiy far, and that a chief
would ask Chaillie to marry his daughter, and then

76 START FOR THE INTERIOR. CnAr. IV,

if Chaillie gave her all slie asked and made Ler heart
glad, she would lead us from tribe to tribe until we
reached tlie far-off sea where we wished to go. This
speech inspired my men witli new confidence. I must
say that I felt very grateful to the old man. We all
sorely needed encouragement in the great enterprise
we had undertaken, and nothing was better calculated
to buoy up the spirits of my half-hearted followers
tlian these oracular sayings.

We resumed our voyage, with quite a little fleet
of canoes in company, on the 14th ; the heat was
intense, and almost insupportable in the confine-
ment of the boat ; we paddled till twelve o'clock at
night, and towards the afternoon of the next day
arrived at Goumbi.

Here friend Quengueza behaved most royally.
We revelled in plenty, and, if my object had been
merely to stay here, all would have been pleasant.
He soon made up his mind to accompany me to the
capital of the Ashira country, and resolved to do it in
a triumphal sort of way. But he continued to detain
me, day after day, long after all our preparations were
completed. The presence of a white man with stores
of goods gave him consequence in the eyes of the
neighbouriug Bakalai, and he wished to prolong the
novel enjoyment as long as he could. In his great
generosity he franked all Ins wives to my men, but I
overheard them one day complaining that the royal
ladies were a grasping lot and drove very hard
bargains.

During my stay at Goumbi, I undertook several
short excursions in the neighbourhood and made

Chap. IY. ASTEOXOMICAL OBSEIIVATIOXS. 77

observations to ascertain the altitude of the place and
its geographical position ; which Avas very necessary,
as it was placed on my map by mere calculation of
distances travelled. Unfortunately I w^as unable to
obtain lunar distances here, and there foi'c cannot fix
its longitude ; but the mean of several ol)ser\ations
of tlie meridian altitude of the planet Mars and of two
fixed stars gave the latitude as 1° 35' 34" south — i.e.
no less than 23 miles further south than it had
been placed on ray former map, wdiere it had been
placed simply on calculation of distances travelled.
The altitude of the town I found by means of my
aneroid barometers to be 143 feet, and tliat of the
liill-top behind the town 238 feet, above the sea-
level. From the hill-top a wide view is obtained of
the country round. It is hilly, but there are con-
siderable tracts of level low land between the hills,
and few of the hills appeared higher thaij that of
Gounibi.

I was obliged to resort to an artifice which I knew
would be eftective to get Quengueza to move. I
pretended to be deeply offended with him for delay-
ing me so long; and, giving Macondai orders to
remove my bed away from the village, I left one
evening and made preparations for sleeping under
a slied at some distance IVom the place. Nic'ht had
hardl}^ set in when the old king, discovering my
absence, made a great fuss, and, coming to where
I lay, expressed his sorrow and repentance. lie lay
down by my side, and said that he would t^leep
wheie I slept.

Thus, by dint of coaxing and threatening, I got

78 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

him, at length, to give the order for our departure,
after we had spent thirteen days at Goumhi. It was
scarcely day-ligl]t, on the 28th October, when I was
awoke by the beating of the Kendo (royal bell) and
the voice of the old chief invoking, in loud tones, the
s^oirits of his ancestors to protect us on our journey.
The roll of his ancestors was a formidable one^
Igoumbai, Wombi, Rebouka, Ngouva, Ricati, Olenga
Yombi ; but they were rather the deceased relations
whose heads he had preserved in his mondah or
alumbi* house. Quengueza was prouder than any
chief I knew of the prowess of his deceased relatives,
and there were, I believe, men of great bravery and
ability amongst them. Quengueza himself was a bold
and courageous warrior in his younger days. It is
the rule in Western Africa, when chiefs have been
warlike and enterprising in the days of their prince-
hood, to become quiet and settled when they succeed
to the chief authority, and then the people rob them ;
for, as they say, if they do not steal from their
father, from whom should they steal ?

There were great difficulties as usual on the day of
departure. Firstly, Quengueza's chaste and faithful
wives refused point blank to accompany him. This
did not seem to concern him much, for, in every
village of the Bakalai, a wife would be offered to him
as the lord of the land ; but he was greatly excited
when liis slaves were not ready for the journey.
Some of them had hid themselves, and others had
run off to distant plantations. A large number of
men were absolutely necessary to carry our loads

* For description of tlie Alumbi house, see p. 199.

Chap. IV. STORY OP THE DRY AND WET SEASONS. 79

when we commenced oni^ land journey. The old
chief threatened to shoot them down right and left if
tliey forced him to use strong measures, and in this
way about thirty were mustered.

We started at 10 a.m. on the 28th of October,
halting at night at the junction of the Niembai
and the Ovenga. It being the dry season, and fish
plentiful at this place, we resolved to pass the night
here. Our camp was a lively one in the evening, for
we caught a great quantity of fish ; the smoke of many
fires ascended amongst the trees on the river's bank,
and all had their fill. Jokes and laughter and tale-
telling were carried on far into the niglit.

I was much amused by the story one of the men
related about tlie dry and wet seasons. The remark-
able dryness of the present season had been talked
over a good deal, and it was this conversation that
led to the story. As usual with the African, the two
seasons were personified, Nchanga being the name of
the wet, and Enomo that of the dry season. One
da}^ the story went, Nchanga and Enomo had a
great dispute as to which was the older, and they
came at last to lay a wager on the question, which
was to be decided in an assembly of the people of the
air or sky. Nchanga said, " When 1 come to a place
rain comes." Enomo retorted, " When I make my
appearance the rain goes." The people of the air all
listened, and, when the two disputants had ceased,
they exclaimed, "Verily, verily, we cannot tell which
is the eldest, you must bolh be of the same age."

The dry season tliis year was an uiuisual one for the
long absence of rain and lowness of the rivers. The

80 STAET FOR THE INTEKIOR. Chap. IY.

negroes have a special name for a season of this sort,
calHng it enomo oiiguero; it lasts five months, and
they assure me that it always comes after a long
series of dry seasons of the usual length. We have
had a few showers, but they have produced no im-
pression. The effect of the tide is perceived as far
as the junction of the Nierabai, at least at this time
of the year (the dry season) ; above this point the
current of the Ovenga is too strong to allow it to
pass further. I took here only one meridian alti-
tude of Fomalhaut, and have fixed the latitude by
computation of my dead reckoning.

Next day we proceeded up stream. The Ovenga
was xQYj low, about twenty feet below the high-water
mark of the rainy season ; the current was generally
three miles an hour, but, in some places, four miles ;
it was encumbered with fallen trees, and our journey
was difficult and slow.

A little before reaching the villag'e of Obindji we
found an obstacle in the way of our further progress.
The Bakalai had made a fence across the river to
bar the passage, leaving only a gap near tlie shore
for small canoes to pass. This had been done on
account of some petty trade-quarrel which the people
of this tribe had had with their neighbours. Nothing
could have happened more offensive to the pride of
Quengueza than the erection of this bar without his
having been consulted — he, the king of the Kembo
(river), travelling in company with his ntamjanil
It made him appear as though he had no authority.
As soon as he saw the obstacle his foce changed
colour, and, getting up in a violent rage, he called

Chap. lY. OBINDJI. 81

for axes and cutlasses. The fence was demolislied in
a few seconds, a number of Bakalai looking on fiom
the bank armed with ginis and spears.

From the SOtli October to tlie [)th November we
were detained at Obindji, waiting for porters from
the Ashira countiy to carry my baggage overland.
Onr camp was pitched on a wooded point of land
opposite to the village, and below the junction of the
Ofoubou'with the Ovenga.

The town of Obindji has been erroneously i)laced
in maps, published since my first exploration of this
country, on the eastern bank of the Ofoubou ; it is
in reality situated on the western side. It is built
at the foot of a fine wooded hill ; indeed, the whole
country around is clothed with forest of great luxu-
riance and beauty. From the northern bank of the
Ovenga, on which onr camp was placed, stretches
a long point of beautiful white sand ; this sand, in
the diy season, connects the point with the maiidand
of the right bank of the Ovenga. The sand is then
most delightful to walk on, especially in the early
morning, when the natives ramble about to dig up
the Ggg^ of a species of fresh-water turtle laid during
the night. The turtle was the species that I dis-
covered in my former journey, Aspidonectes Aspilus.

I was glad to find my old acquaintance Obindji,
one of the chiefs of the Bakalai of the Ovenga, look-
ing as well as ever. He was a faithful ally and
friend of Quengueza, who was his superior chief, in
the pense of his being king of the river, and having
the right of road and trade both up and down. This
section of the Lakalai tribe had been led to abandon

82 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

tlie migratory and warlike habits wliich distinguisli
their brethren, chiefly through the civihzing in-
fluences of trade. Their settlement in one of the
richest districts of the river, where ebony abounded
in the forests, almost necessitated their becoming
traders, and they now collect large quantities of
this valuable wood, which is getting scarce here.
They have adhered loyally to the treaties made
many years ago with Quengueza, who allows them
to trade on the river on condition that they abstain
from war. Their women have, besides, become wives
of the Corami in many cases. One of the privileges
of Quengueza, attached to his acknowledged sove-
reignty, is the choice of the wives of the Eakalai
chiefs whenever he sleeps at a village. He has the
same right over the Ashira ; the chief is obliged to
give up even his konde, or head wife, if Quengueza
takes a fancy to her, and his host considers it a great
honour so to provide for the entertainment of his
liege lord.

When the porters arrived, and, on the eve of
our departure into new countries, old Quengueza
made a speech to my men. " You are going into
the bush," said he ; " you will find there no one of
your tribe ; look up to ChailHe as your chief, and
obey him. Now, listen to what I say. You will
visit many strange tribes. If you see on the road,
or in the street of a village, a fine bunch of plantains
with ground-nuts lying by its side, do not touch
them, leave the village at once ; this is a tricky
village, for the people are on the watch to see what
you do with them. If the people of any village tell

Chap. IY. ARRIVAL OF ASHIRA PORTERS. 83

you to go and catch fowls or goats, or cut plantains
for yourselves, say to them, ' Strangers do not help
themselves ; it is the duty of a host to catch the goat
or fowl, and cut the plantains, and hring the present
to the house which has been given to the guest.'
When a house is given to you in any village, keep
to that house, and go into no other ; and, if you see
a seat, do not sit upon it, for there are seats which
none but the owners can sit upon. But, above all,
beware of the women ! I tell you these things that
you may journey in safety." The speech of the old
sage was listened to with great attention. Like most
other good advice, it was not followed ; if it had
been, many of my subsequent troubles would have,
been avoided.

Twelve more da3's were occupied in getting ready
to start for Olenda. Messengers were sent to
Olenda for more porters. Supplies of food liad to be
fetched from a distance, as there was great scarcity
in the neighbourhood of Obindji ; otaitais, or baskets
of a peculiar shape, had to be made for each porter
to carry his load on his back ; and there were, be-
sides, all the usual delays which are encountered
when one has to deal with a body of negroes.
Olenda only sent fifty men in all, whilst my bag-
gage required at least a hundred porters. We were
obliged, therefore, to send half of it on, and wait for
the return of the men to carry the other half. I was
quite frightened at the amount of my outfit, although
I left behind everything that seemed not absolutely
necessary. It was impossible to preserve any sort
of discipline amongst these vivacious savages ; they

84 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

struggled and quarrelled over their loads — the
strongest anxious to carry the lightest burdens,
and loading the youngest with the heaviest ; and,
when the provisions lor the journey had to be di-
vided, there was a perfect scramble lor the lots, the
biggest and strongest getting the lion's share. The
presence of two of King Olenda's nephews, Arangui
and Mpoto, who were sent to command the unruly
body, was of no avail.

The otaitai, or porter's basket, as manufactured by
these Africans, is an ingenious contrivance for the
carriage of loads in safety on the back. It is long
and narrow, being formed of a piece of strong cane-
work (serving as the bottom) two and a half feet in
length and nine inches in width, with sides of more
open cane-work, capable of being expanded or drawn
in, so as to admit of a larger or smaller load. Cords
of bast are attached to the sides for the purpose of
making fiTst the contents, and the bottom of the
basket is closed in by a continuation of the sides,
leaving the top-end (the part nearest the head when
carried on the back) open, so as to allow of the aug-
mentation of the load at the top. Straps made of
strong plaited rushes secure the basket to the head
and ai'ms of the carrier. The wicker-work is made of
strips of a very tough climbing plant, or rotaug, and
is always a neat specimen of workmanship.

The first party started on the 8th, going up the
Ofoubou river, a southern affluent of the Ovenga, in
canoes, to the landing-place on the Olenda road.
"We had about this time several heavy showers, and
the Ovenga rose so much that I was obliged tw^ice

OTAITAI. on I OHTKh's BASKKT.

Chap. 1Y. PASSAGE OF THE IIILLS TO OLEXDA. 85

to sliift my hut to a higher position, and the point
of land on which I was encampe,!, with its beach
of white sand, became an island. By a series of
observations I found the river-level at Obindji to be
fifty -four feet above the sea-level. I made many
additions to my collections during my stay here.
Insects were not numerous, but some of the lepidop-
tera, attracted to the moist sand at the edge of the
water, and floating about the flowering bushes on
the skirts of the forest, were very beautiful. Some
of the butterflies i^Romaleosoma) were magnificent,
with their green and black wings ornamented be-
neath with patches of crimson and ^'ellow. These
flew very swiftly, and were difficult to capture.
Birds were scarce. I hunted in vain for the Musci-
peta Duchaillui, of which I had only shot one speci-
men in my former journey.

Tlie porters at length returned, and the remaining
loads having been cleared off, Quengueza and I
departed from Obindji on the 17th November.
Paddling up the Ofoubou, we saw a very young cro-
codile sunning itself on a log. One of our boys im-
mediately swam off to seize it, but, just as he was
about to grasp it by the neck, the reptile slid off and
disappeared. It took us three hours and a half to
reach the landing-place, Djali Coudie. Here we
slept, and commenced our march the next morning
(18th) at day-break. At a quarter-past eight we
reached a steep hill, Nomba Kigoubou (369 feet), at
the summit of which we stopped for breakfast. Tlien,
resuming our march, we arrived at four p.m. at the
base of a hill, called Ecourou, where we stopped for

86 START FOR THE INTERIOR. Chap. IV.

the night. There was here nothing to shelter us but
an old shed, loosely covered with pieces of hark. I
wanted to roof it with fresh leaves, but we were
guaranteed against rain by an Ashira doctor who
was with us, and who blew his magic horn to drive
it away. In the middle of the night a shower fell
and almost drenched us. This did not, however,
discompose the doctor and his believers, for he said
if he had not blown his horn the rain would have
been mucli heavier.

Queugueza was an amusing companion on a march,
for the oddities of his character seemed to be endless.
He never travelled without his fetich, which was an
ugly little pot-bellied image of wood, with a row
of four cowries embedded in its abdomen. As he
generally wore an old coat when he travelled with
me, he used to keep this dirty little thing in one of
the pockets. TVaking or sleeping the fetich was
never suffered to be away from him. Whenever he
ate or drank he used to take the image and gravely
pass its belly with the row of projecting cowries over
his lips, and when I gave him liquor of any sort
he would always take it out and pour a libation over
its feet before drinking himself. Libations are great
features in the religious rites of these Western
Africans, as they were amongst tlie Ancient Grreeks.
It used to puzzle me where the four sacred cowries
came from ; they are unknown on the Fernand Yaz,
and I believe came across the continent from Eastern
Africa.

Next morning (November 19th) we marched over
a ^^'ild, hilly, and wooded country until eleven

Chap. TV. ARRIVAL AT OLENDA. 87

o'clock, wlien we emerged on the pleasant undu-
lating grass-land of Asliira. An extensive prospect
here lay before iis ; to the south extended the
Igoumbi Andele and Ofoubou Orere ranges of hills,
and to the north the lofty ridges of the Nkoumou
Nabouali, near which lie the Falls of Samba Nagoshi.
At two p.m. Ave entered, in the midst of the firing
of guns and great hubbub, the village of Olenda.

CHAPTER V.

TISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS.

King Olenda, liis great age — Preparations for the journey to the Falls — We
cross the Ovigui — Oixingano Prairie — Ndgewho Mountains — Bakalai
Village— A flock of Gorillas in the Forest — The Louvendji Piiver —
Dihaou and the Ashira-Kambas — ISTavigate the Ngouyai Paver— The
Aviia Tribe — Village of Mandji — River Scenery — Nkoumou Nabouali
Mountains — Nami Gemba — Village of Luba — The Spirit of the Falls —
Village Deity — Arrival at Fougamou, the principal Fall — Legend of
Fougamou — Night Encampment — Return to Dihaou — "We sup on a
poisonous serpent — Forced March through flooded forest to Olenda.

My old friend, King Olenda, gave me a warm wel-
come. He had changed but little since I saw him
last. His age must have been very great ; his cheeks
were sunken, his legs and arms excessively thin and
bony, and covered with wrinkled skin. He seemed
to have hardly strength enough to support his. own
weight. The negroes say he has a powerful fetich
to guard him against death. I believe he was the
oldest man I ever saw, and to me he was quite a
curiosity. Olenda came constantly to see me during
the few days I remained in his village. He was
never tired of telling me that he loved me like a
sweetheart ; but, when I called him to give him his
present, he became rather too exacting. I said to
him, " I thought you only loved me as a sweetheart,
but I am afraid you love me for my goods." " Oh,

Chap. V. PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. 89

no ! " said the old man, smiling, " I lovo you like a
sweetheart for yourself, but I love your goods also."

I have ali'eady, in the narrative of my former
journey,* given a description of Ashira-land, and the
customs of its people ; it will be unnecessary, there-
fore, to recur to the subject in this place. It was not
my intention to make any lengthened stay here on
my present expedition ; but unforeseen obstacles, and
an appalling calamity, as will presently be related,
kept me here for several months. I had intended to
sto]:) in tlie country only a short time, sufficient to
enable me to visit tlie Falls of Samba Nagoslii, to the
north of Olenda. The preparations for this excur-
sion, out of the line of my eastward march, com-
menced soon after I had paid our porters, and gone
through the ceremony of making a suitable present
to tlie king and the principal chiefs.

It will be recollected by some of my readers that
I made an abortive attempt to reach these P'alls from
the Apingi country on my former expedition. I now
learnt that my guides in that journey never intended
to take me there ; orders having been received from
the Connni country to that eftect, my good friends
there being afraid that some disaster might happen
to me. No obstacle being now placed in my \yiij,
and having the powerful support of my fiiend
Quengueza, Olenda showed tolerable readiness in
furnishing me with porters and guides, and we set
off on the 1st December.

We started in light marching order ; the only
heavy baggage being my photographic camera,

* 'Adveuturcs in Eiiuatorial Africa,' chap. xxiv.
8

90 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

wliicli I was determined to take in order to bring
away accurate views of the splendid scenery which
I expected to behold. Besides three Ashira guides,
Arangui, Oyagui, and Ayagui, and two boys to
carry the cooking-pots and ammunition, I took with
me two Ashira Kamhas, natives of an outlying district
of Ashira-land lying along the banks of the Ovigui
river near its junction with the Ngouyai. These,
with four of my faithful Commi boys, formed my
party. I left my guns behind, taking only my
revolvers. My boys carried their guns, but left
behind their woollen-shirts and blankets, and every-
thing that was not indispensible.

We left Olenda at nine a.m., and pursued a N.-E.
direction until we struck the Ovigui river. We
had to cross this on a bridge formed of a single
tree-trunk lying about fifteen feet above the water.
We passed it with some difficulty, nearly losing my
camera, owing to the timidity of the carrier when
half-way across. From the eastern bank of the river
the path led to the foot of a high range of hills,
which bounds the Ashira plain on this side. At
four p.m. w^e encamped for the night on the banks
of a small stream. In tlie evening we had a frightful
thunder-storm, and had to lie down for the night in
wet clothes.

December 2nd. Resumed our march at six a.m.
The path lay along the western foot of the hilly
range, through a dense forest, the rich and varied
foliage of which was dripping with moisture. Not
a sound was heard, as we trudged steadily along in
Indian file. At nine o'clock we came upon a beau-

Chap. V. OPANGANO PEAIRIE. 91

tiful prairie encircled by a wall of forest. Tliis
prairie was called Opangano. From it I had a clear
view of the Ndgewho mountains. At ten o'clock
we arrived at a Bakalai village. Like many of the
primitive villages of this warlike tribe, it was art-
fully constructed for purposes of defence. Tlie single
street was narrow, barred at each end by a gate, and
the houses had no doors in their outer walls. This
would effectually guard the place against nocturnal
surprise by other Bakalai with whom the villagers
might be at war. This mode of construction had also
another object, namely, to allow the people to kill
and plunder any party of traders whom they might
entice into the village and prevent from escaping
by closing the two gates. The neighbouring tribes,
especially the Ashiras, dread the power and treachery
of the Bakalai. The chief of the village was absent.
I bought, for a few beads, a quantity of smoke-dried
wild hog of one of the inhabitants.

Leaving this place at one p.m., we pursued a north-
easterly direction, and passing several other Bakalai
villages, two of which were abandoned on account of
some one having died there, reached at five o'clock
the Lambengue prairie. It rained nearly the whole
afternoon, and we had a disagreeable walk through
the mire and over the slippery stones of the forest
paths. We built sheds, and j^assed the night in the
prairie.

o)xL At six a.m. again on the march. My men were
tired with the exertions of yesterday, for we had been
wet all day, so, to keep them up to the speed, I led the
column myself. AVe were soon buried again in the

92 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V,

shades of the forest. It was a wild, desolate district,
and I marched along- in anything but a cheerful mood,
thinking of the hard task I had imposed upon myself
in attempting to cross Africa. I was going along,
a little ahead of my party, when my reverie was
suddenly disturbed by a loud crashing and rustling
in the trees just before me. Thinking it might be a
flock of monkeys feeding on some wild fruit-tree, I
looked up, peered tln'ough the thick foliage, and was
thoroughly roused by seeing on a larg-e tree a whole
group of gorillas. I had nothing but a walking-stick
in my hand,, but was so struck at the sight that I
was ri vetted to the spot. Meantime the animals had
seen me, and began to hurry down the tree, making
the thinner boughs bend with their weight. An old
male, apparently the guardian of the flock, alone
made a bold stand, and stared at me through an
opening in the foliage. I could see his hideous
black face, ferocious eyes, and projecting eye-brows,
as he glared defiance at me. In my unarmed condi-
tion I began to think of retracing my steps, but the
rest of my party coming up at the moment, with
clatter of voices, altered the state of things. The
shaggy monster raised a cry of alarm, scrambled to
the ground through the entangled lianas that were
around the tree-trunk, and sf)on disappeared into the
jungle in the same direction as his mates.

How I regretted to have left my double rifle
behind me at Olenda ! I had this morning even
divested myself of my revolvers, having given them
to ray man Rebouka to cany, as I wished to be in
light trim for leading the day's march. We were all

i;()i'.ii,LAS si:i;PHisi;i) in the forest.

Chap. V. THE LOUVENDJI EIVER. 93

tired, and more or less unwell from the constant wet-
ting we had had, and from sleeping in damp clothes.
The gorillas were ten in number, and of different
ages and sizes, but apparently all females except the
one male. My men rushed after the beasts with
their guns, but the chase was useless ; the forest had
resumed its usual stillness, and we continued our
march.

At noon we arrived on the banks of the Louvendji
river, a stream similar to the Ovigui, and flowing
from the south to^^•ards the great Ngoujai river, in
which were the Falls of Samba Nagoshi. We break-
fasted on the brink of this pleasant stream flowing
through the silent forest ; our breakfast, as usual,
consisting of boiled plantains, poor fare for the
weary traveller whose bones were aching with the
effects of overwork and exposure. The altitude of
the river-level above the sea, according to my ane-
roids, was 490 feet.

Resuming our journey about one p.m. we soon got
into a district of swamps, and had to wade at times
up to the waist. In places where the \^'ater was
only ankle-deep the mud had a fetid smell. I found
that my Ashira companions were taking me by a
veiy roundabout way, and our journey was long and
fatiguing, although we accomplished but a very
moderate distance in a straight line. Their object
was to avoid some of the Bakalai villnges, with the
inhabitants of whicli they had trade-palavers remain-
ing unsettled. At half-past fiv^e p.m. we came again
upon the Ovigui, where we had resolved to pass the
night. As we emerged from the jungle, we were

94 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

not a little surprised to see an encamjoment of
natives. My Asbira companions soon fraternised
with them, for they were Asliira Kambas who, with
Dihaou their chief, were spending- a few days fisliing
in the river. The chief received me with wild de-
monstrations of joy, and thanked Olenda for sending
the white man to him.

Ath. Passed a wretched night. My bed was sim-
ply a row of sticks, each about four inches in dia-
meter, laid to protect me from the damp ground, and
a foraging party of the horrible Bashikouay ants
came in the middle of the night and disturbed ns for
about an hour, inflicting upon us severe bites.

Early in the morning we embarked on the Ovigui
in a long, narrow, leaky, and cranky canoe, provided
by the chief to enable us to make the rest of our way
by water. The Ovigui was now a wide and deep
stream, with a rapid current. We were nearly upset
several times in the course of the first hour of our
voyage. At the end of the hour we came to the
mouth of the Louvendji, which here joins the Ovigui.
In my former journey I was under the impression
that the Louvendji falls into the Rembo, but it does
not. It joins the Ovigui before that river falls into
the Rembo. Below this we passed several Bakalai
and Karaba villages, which are built a short distance
away from the river bank. About four miles from
the mouth of the Louvendji we arrived at the village
of Dihaou, the chief town of the Ashira Kambas,
where we had to stay in order to obtain proper intro-
duction to the Aviia tribe, in whose territory were
situated the Falls.

CiiiP. r. DiriAOU AND THE ASIIIRA Ivi\.MBAS. 95

Dihaou is a cluster of tliree or four little villages,'
each containing about fifteen houses. Soon after 1
arrived presents came from the chief : twelve fowls,
five hunches of plantains, and a goat. Our welcome
was most friendly, and I felt almost sure of attaining
the olject for which I had come.

5M. We were all glad of rest after the fatigues
of our long march. My men all complained of sore
feet. In the evening the chief, Dihaou Okamba,
made me a formal visit to receive his return present.
I gave him a few articles, and the gift, although I
felt it to be an inadequate one, for I had not brought
goods with me, seemed to please the old fellow very
much. I promised him, however, a big coat, a neck-
lace of large beads, and some salt, on my return to
Olenda, on condition that he would send one of his
sons with me to the Falls. I had forewarned him by
message, that I could not make a sufScient return for
the goat I heard he intended to give me ; but the old
man had all the pride and generosity which these
African chiefs usually show in dealing with the white
man — at least, whilst the friendship is new. He sent
back the reply : " I should not like it to be said that
Chaillie, the friend of Olenda, Chaillie my ntangani,
came to my town, and that I had not a goat to give
hiim to eat ; never."

These Ashira Kambas consider themselves a distinct
people from the Ashira of the prairie, over which
Olenda and other chiefs ruled, and which are called
Ashira Ngozai. I could not, how^ever, detect any
difference between them worthy of note, either in
theu' physique or customs, and the language of tho

96 VISIT TO THE SAMBA XAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V

two peoples is the same. By immemorial law of tlie
ccui]try. the Ashira Nirozai are allowed to trade
direct with the Kambas, but they are not permitted
to go beyond them in their trading expeditions If
an Ashira of the prairie wishes to trade with any
tribe north of the Kamba country, he is obliged to
employ Kambas as his agents, and must remain in
Dihaou until the business is arranc'ed. Otherwise he
is compelled to leave his goods in the hands of some
Kamba man, and trust to liim in bartering them for
produce with other tribes. I believe there was not a
single Ashira Ngozai who had ever seen the Samba
Nagoshi Falls, so effectual are the political barriers
whicli are opposed to the travels of natives beyond
the limits of their own and adjoining tribes.

We had the usual difficulty in getting away from
Dihaou, The African is never in a hurry to resume
a march, and it gratifies the pride of the chief and
gives him consequence amongst his neighbours to
have the ntangani in his loossession. Arangaii, nephew
of Olenda, who was my chief guide, gave me some
trouble with his fears that the villagers wished to
bewitch him through jealousy of the white man's
friendship. I found it necessary, on the Cth of
December, to address a speech to the chief and his
subjects, telling them that I must go forward without
further delay to the Samba Nagoslii, that I had to
sherra mpaga^ "a wager to win," that our feet had
rested long enough, and, finally, that I must be oil'
the next day. Dihaou and his people, as usual,
retired a short distance to deliberate, and returned,
the chief saying that it should be as I w^ished ; that

Chap. Y. NAVIGATE THE NGOUYAI TJVEK. 97

no harm should come to me from the Aviia people,
for they were all his friends, several of his sisters
were married amongst them, &c., &c.

7///. 'J'he canoe given me for the voyage was a
leaky, rotten affair, and on trial I found that it would
not contain all our party, with my instruments and
the provisions for the journey. I was obliged to
leave three men behind with half the plantains.
Even then the wretched vessel was only an inch and
a half above the water. It seemed to me to be
running too great a risk to trust my chronometers on
such a journey. If the canoe upset we might swim
or scramble ashore, saving what we could, but the
loss of the watches would put an end to lunar
observations, which I felt to be one of the principal
objects of mj" expedition. So I determined to confide
them to Dihaou till my return. The three men we
left out of the canoe were to go a tedious march by
land and meet us at the Falls.

We left the town at a quarter to nine a.m. and
entered tlie great Rcmbo (the river Ngouyai) at ten
minutes past ten a.m., the distance being about ten
miles. It was with some pride that I greeted again
this fine river, which I had the honour of discovering
on my former journey, at the upper part of its course
in the Apiiigi country ;* up to the present time I
was the only white man who had ever embarked on
its waters.

The Ovigui, at its junction with the Ngouyai, is

* 'Adventures in Equatorial Africa,' p. 438. In the Apin?;i country
it is called the llembo (river) Apingi, under wliicli name 1 described it
loc. cit.

98 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V

about tliirty-five yards broad, and is, at tliis time of
tlie year (the rainy season), a deep stream. The
banks are clothed with uninterrupted forest, leaving
only little entrances here and there at the ports of
the villages, which lie backwards from the river.
Silence and monotony reign over the landscape, un-
enlivened by the flight and song of birds or the
movement of animals.

After a few miles' pull down the Ngouyai, we
arrived at a village of the Aviia tribe, called Mandji.
As soon as we stepped ashore, the timid villagers —
men, M^omen, and children — set off to run for the
forest, and all t]ie shouting of my Ashira Kamba
companions was for some time of no avail. We took
possession of the empty huts, and the people, after the
assurance that we had not come to do them harm,
dropped in one by one. Confidence had not quite
been restored when a gun fired by my man, Rebouka,
on the beach, again put to flight the timid savages.
This time one of our Ashiras had to follow them into
the thicket and coax them to come back.

It was the dirtiest village I had yet seen in Africa,
and the inhabitants appeared to me of a degraded
class of negroes. The shape and arrangement of the
village were quite different from anything I had seen
before. The place was in the form of a quadrangle,
with an open space in the middle not more than ten
yards square, and the huts, arranged in a continuous
row on two sides, w^re not more than eight feet In'gh
from the gi'ound to the roof The doors were only
four feet high, and of about the same width, with
sticks placed across on the inside, one above the other,

Chap. V. AVIIA VILLAGE OF MANDJI. 99

to bar the entrance. The place for the fire was in
the middle of the principal room, on each side of
which was a little dark chamber, and on the floor was
an orala, or stage to smoke meat upon. In the
middle of the yard was a hole dug in the ground
for the reception of offal, from which a disgusting
smell arose, the wretched inhabitants being too lazy
or obtuse to guard against this by covering it with
earth.

The houses were built of a framework of poles,
covered with the bark of trees, and roofed with
leaves. In the middle of the village stood the public
shed, or palaver-house, a kind of town-hall found in
almost all West African villaG:es. A larore fire was
burning in it, on the ground, and at one end of the
shed stood a huge wooden idol, painted red and
white, and rudely fashioned in the shape of a
woman. The shed was the largest building in the
village, for it was ten feet high, and measured fifteen
feet by ten. It is the habit of the lazy negroes of
these interior villages — at least, the men — to spend
almost the whole day lying down under the palaver-
shed, feeding their morbid imaginations with tales of
witchcraft, and smoking their condoquais.

We stayed in this wretched abode of savages only
to take our mid-day meal. A little before two p.m.
we were again en route. The river scenery was most
beautiful ; glorious vegetation clothed the banks, and
through breaks in the forest we caught frequent
glimpses of blue hills beyond. But the number of
deserted villages we passed imparted a saddening
effect to the landscape. The country seemed de-

100 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

populated. No groups of people were seen, happy
at their work; no songs of boatmen were heard,
paddling their canoes over the pleasant stream. The
craven superstitions of these wretched people, and
the horror of remaining in any place after a death
lias occurred, are the causes which lead to the aban-
donment of their dwellings. Where the people of
this neighbourhood had gone to I could not ascer-
tain. No wonder that these interior tribes make no
advance in industry, wealth, and culture, whilst such
customs exist.

About three miles below the Aviia village, we
came in sight of the Nkoumou Nabouali peaks,
which appeared to extend from N.N.W. to S.S.E.
There were four distinct ranges of hills in view from
this spot, Nkoumou Nabouali, the highest, being the
second in point of distance from us. A little after
three o'clock we began to hear the roar of the Falls,
and soon after we put ashore at Luba, another village
of the Aviia tribe, which was the nearest to the
Falls.

A little below this village there are two large
rocks in the middle of the river, or a little nearer to
the left bank, called Nami Gemba. In the dry sea-
son these form dangerous rapids ; and the current,
rushing at headlong speed between the obstructions
to its course, creates a loud noise which is heard at a
considerable distance. I made the discovery on my
present visit to this part that it was these rapids of
Nami Gemba which my guides represented as the
Falls of Samba Nagoshi, on my former journey, when
in search of the Falls from the Apingi country. I

Chap. V. VILLAGE OF LUBA. 101

then arrived witliin hearing distance, but did not
actually see tliem ; indeed, I believe my guides
tliemselves did not know where the true Samba
Nagoshi were situated.

Apaka, the head man of the village, was taken
unawares by our arrival, and had not time to run
away from us like the rest of the people. When I
approached him, his heart was visibly beating with
fear under his shining skin. Movema Baka, my
Ashira Kamba guide, however, soon pacified him.
The village is called Luba, and was a far cleaner
place than the one we had visited higher up. The
houses were hidden in the shade of plantain-trees,
but the people were short of food, and we not only
missed our usual introductory presents, but found
great difficulty in purchasing anything to eat.

The chief informed me, in the course of my conver-
sations with him, that the Ishogo tribe did not dwell
on the banks of the river to the east, but a little
more than a day's journey in the interior, in a N.E.
direction, and that another tribe, the Acoa, probably
a branch of the Shekiani, wdiich I described in
* Equatorial Africa,' lay between them and the
river.

As will be seen in the sequel, I visited the Ishogos
afterwards in the southern part of their territoiy.
If the information given me by Apaka was correct,
this tribe must occupy a narrow extent of territory
stretching in a curved form, nearly parallel to the
bend of the Ngouyai from the north-west to the
south-east.

I asked Apaka to show me the village mbuiti, or

102 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. Y

idol, wliicli, it appears, was of the female sex, but lie
told me that she still remained in the place the people
inhabited before they came to this village. To my
question why she was not brcnght with them when
they removed, he replied that it was a serious matter
to disturb and carry the mbiiiti, for it displeased her,
and very often those who carried her and the people
of the village died one after the other. Thus it is
always with these poor Africans, death is always
attributed to some , supernatural cause or to witch-
craft. I had often noticed, in passing abandoned
villages, the mbuiti house standing, apparently kept
in a good state of preservation, but did not before
know the reason. When they resolve to remove the
idol, the people accompany it singing songs, and
dancing and singing are kept up for days afterwards.
Apaka told me that his mbuiti was a very good one ;
for when she told them it was a good time to go and
fish or hunt, they were sure to succeed in getting
plenty of food.

At the further end of the village I noticed a
detached and ruinous hut, which appeared, from the
smoke issuing from the roof, to be inhabited, so I had
the curiosity to peep in, thinking it was the house
where they kept some of their idols. A most hideous
object met my view ; a miserable old woman, a mere
skeleton, covered with wrinkled skin, lay feebly
moaning on a mat. She moved a little w^hen I
looked in, and this showed me she was alive. The
poor creature, old and therefore useless, had evidently
been j^laced here and abandoned. Such was the
famine that reigned in the village, that it was un-

Chap. V. VISIT OF NEIGHBOURIXG CHIEFS. 103

likely any food could be given to her. It is in sick-
ness and old age tliat the life of the savage is most
hideous to contemplate. No one in the village
seemed to care for the forlorn creature.

8th. The Nkoumou Nabouali mountains lie to the
westward of this place ; the Ashaukolo range lies
many miles further, on the S.E. of Lake Jonanga of
the Ogobai, visited lately by the French exploring
party under Lieut. Serval. Several chiefs of sur-
rounding villages came in to-day soliciting presents,
on account of my having come to see the great
mbuiri (spirit) of their river, Samba Nagoshi, but I
stoutly refused to fee any chief but Apaka, who
would give me a guide to the Falls. Salt from Cape
Lopez and European cloth have reached this remote
spot. The women wore heavy brass wire round
their necks, and lighter wire round their ankles.
The young girls go naked, with the exception of a
small apron of leaves in front ; most of them were
better-looking than the Ashira belles.

At Luba the river is very broad, and the rapid
takes the name of Nagoshi. Nagoshi is but a rapid.
There is an island just above, and sometimes the
natives go there in their canoes to fish.

10th. Started for the Falls. We took, for some
distance, a path which followed the course of the
river, and then descended a steep bank to the margin
of the river itself. Here we beheld the first rapids.
The bed of the stream was encumbered with boulders
of rock of various sizes, through which rushed the
water with great force. AVe followed the river
margin for about two hours, scrambling over rocks

104 YISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

and crossing several streams which here enter the
Ngouyai, some of them so deep that my companions
had to swim across and cut down a tree that I might
scramble over, for it was very important tliat the
instruments I carried with me should not ^et
wetted. At last we could get along no further by
the river margin, and had to ascend the bank into the
forest, through which we continued our way to the
Fougamou, or principal Falls.

"We walked through the jungle for about three
quarters of an hour, with the roar of the cataract
constantly within hearing, so that I conjectured there
was more than one fall. At length we emerged on
the brink of the stream, and saw before us a broad
seething torrent, madly rushing down between steep
and rocky banks with deafening roar. It was not a
cataract, but a torrent of fearful velocity and grand
proportions, leaping in huge billows, as though
the whole of the water of the river dropped into
a chasm and bounded out again, over ridges of
rock ; the scene was rendered more magnificent
by the luxuriant tropical foliage of the banks, and
the steep hills rising on each side, and clothed to
their summits with glorious forest. The width of the
stream was not so great as at Luba, and the torrent
roared along one mass of foam as far as the eye
could reach.

My Aviia guide now informed me that he had
mistaken the path througli the forest, and that this
was not the Fougamou. It was, in fact, the torrent
below the Falls. We had to retrace our steps, ascend-
ing the steep declivity, and after a scramble along the

Chap. V. DESCRIPTION OF THE FALLS. 1C5

rugged liill-sidc of a mile or so, we came in view of
the object I had come so far to sec. The stream
here was broader (about 150 yards in width), but
a rocky island in the middle, covered with trees,
breaks the fall of water into two unequal parts, only
one of which could be seen from either side. The
right-hand Fall was about seventy yards wide, the
water rushing in immense volume down a steep
incline. Besides the island several detached islets
and masses of rock divided this body of water, so that
the cataract did not present one imposing sheet of
water, as I had expected, and the total fall was only
about fifteen feet. The rocks were of red granite,
both in the middle of the Falls and on the mainland.
It seemed to me tliat the greatest body of water
poured over the right-hand Fall. The left-hand Fall
was partly concealed from our view by the rocky
wooded islet, and the water appeared not to rush
down there with the same force.

The sight was wild, grand, and beautiful ; but it
did not quite impress me with the awe that the
rapids below inspired. We see liere the river
Ngouyai, after flowing through the Apingi valley in
the interior, and receiving the waters of the Ovigui
and many other streams, bursting through the barrier
of the hilly range which separates the interior of
Africa from the coast-land. The high ridges which
have been broken through by the river rise on each
side, covered with varied forest, and the shattered
fragments encumber the bed of the stream for miles.
The falls and rapids must vary greatly according to
the season, and the amount of water in the river. At
9

106 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

the foot of Fougamou my aneroids gave an altitude of
347 feet above the sea-level.

We had brought my photographic camera down to
the foot of the Falls, and I ordered a tree to be felled
in front in order to get a clear view, finding a large
snake twisted round one of its branches, as though it
had come there to listen to the music of tlie waters.
The day, however, was cloudy, and after several
unsuccessful attempts, I was obliged to give up the
intention of taking views of the scenery. I wanted
to encamp for the night near the place, and make
another trial the next day. But at this suggestion
my Aviia guide took great fright, and intimidated
my other followers by saying that Fougamou would
come in the night and roar with such anger into our
ears that w^e should not survive it ; besides which, no
one had ever slept there.

Like all other remarkable natural objects, the Falls
of the Ngouyai have given rise, in the fertile imagi-
nations of the neoToes, to mvtholoirical stories. The
legend runs that the main Falls are the work of the
spirit Fougamou, who resides there, and was in old
times a mighty forger of iron ; but the rapids above
are presided over by Nagoshi, the wife of Samba,
who has spoiled this part of the river in order to
prevent people from ascending and descending. The
Falls to which the name Samba is given lie a good
day's journey below the Fougamou, but, from the
description of the natives, I concluded they were only
rapids, like Nagoshi above. The Fougamou is the
only great fall of water. It takes its name from the
spirit (mbuirij, who is said to have made it, and who

CiiAP. V. LEGEND OF FOUGAMOU. 107

watches it constantly, wandering night and day
round the Falls. Nagoshi, the rapid above, takes its
name from a spirit said to be the wife of Samba, as I
have already stated.

A legend on this subject was related to ns
with great animation by our Aviia guide, to the
following effect: In former times people used to
go to the Falls, deposit iron and charcoal on the river
side, and say, " Oli ! mighty Fougamou, I want this
iron to be worked into a knife or hatchet " (or what-
ever implement it might be), and in the morning
when they went to the place they found tlie weapon
finished. One day, however, a man and his son went
with their iron and charcoal, and had the impertinent
curiosity to wait and see how it was done. They hid
themselves, the fatlier in the hollow of a tree, and the
son amongst the boughs of another tree. Fougamou
came with his son and began to work, when suddenly
the son said, "Father, I smell the smell of people ! "
The father replied, " Of course you smell people ; for
does not the iron and charcoal come from the hands
of people?" So they worked on. But the son again
interrupted his father, repeating the same words,
and then Fougamou looked round and saw the
two men. He roared with rage, and to punish the
father and his son, he turned the tree in which the
father was hidden into an ant-hill, and the hiding-
place of the son into a nest of black ants. Since
then, Fougamou has not worked iron for the people
any more.

The sky being cloudy all day, I could not take
observations to fix the latitude of the rapid, Xagoshi,

108 A'ISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

but as I took a series of bearings, and a meridian
altitude of a star at Mandji, and was careful in
registering my dead reckoning in tlie journey from
the junction of tlie Ovigui to the Falls, the position
can be fixed with tolerable accuracy. This will
enable geographers to clear up much that was doubt-
ful in the cartography of this part of Africa.

It was nearly dark when we had packed up the
camera, and we had a difficult walk to accomplish be-
fore reaching the place where we intended to pass the
night, namely, a fishing encampment of Aviia people
on the banks of the river. We were still struno-lino-
through the entangled forest when night came on,
and through breaks in the foliage we could see the
misty moon peering through the light clouds. The
loud roar of cataracts and rapids accompanied us
every step of the way, and the uncertain track
lay over broken and stony ground near tlie river.
Scrambling through thorny bushes, climbing and
wading, we at length reached the ebando (encamp-
ment) at half-past eight p.m. On the road Igalo,
who was just before me, killed a venomous snake
which was lying in the path. It had a hideous
triangular flat head, and fangs of enormous length.

To my dismay the ebando was full of joeople, and
there was scarcely room to move under its shelter. I
was quite exhausted with fatigue and hunger ; my
hands and legs were bloody with the laceration of
thorns, and my clothes wet through. At length I lay
down by the side of one of the fires and thus passed .
the night. My Commi men were greatly discontented,
and Macondai cursed the okenda i nialai (the good-for-

Chap. V. MOUNT MURCHISOX. 109

notliing- journey), which did not take us a step nearer
to London.

The next morning, tlie 11th, I succeeded in as-
cending-, in a frail canoe, part of the river wliich was
difficult to navigate, being full of rocks and small
islands. In mauy places the river seemed broader
than at Luba. One of the many islands was called
Olenda.

Leaving the ebando, I returned to Luba. The
scarcity of food here had reached starvation point, so
we lost no tima in continuing our journey to the
Ovigui ; we had just sufficient plantains left to last
us ; the river was rising f\st, and the current was
very strong. I found the Ngouyai had risen about
four and a half feet in three days.

In ascending we kept close to the right bank, in
order to get a good view of the Nkoumou Nabouali.
When the highest part of the mountain bore W.,
then the summit, which had appeared only as a
single peak, showed distinctly two sharp peaks.
Trees covered the peaks to the summit. I named
this conspicuous mountain Mount Murchison, after
my honoured friend Sir Roderick Murchison, the
illustrious President of the Ivoyal Geographical
Society of London. In my former travels I had
estimated the distance of Nkoumou Nabouali from
Olenda at sixty miles, being misled by my recollec-
tions of the appearance of the peak of Fernando Po.
I now found the distance was only thirty-five miles.
A few miles below the junction of the Ovigui the
Ngouyai seems to run parallel to the hilly ridges,

110 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSIII FALLS. Chap. V.

whicli are five or six miles distan.t. At the little
Aviia village Mandji, where we passed the night, I
succeeded in taking the meridian altitude of a
Eridani, the resulting latitude being 1° IG' 26" S.

lltli. In early morning a dense fog enveloped the
forests and the broad river ; we could not see the
opposite bank. We reached the Ovigui at ten min-
utes past eight a.m. On its banks we stopped at a
small village, the chief of which gave us a bunch of
plantains and a fowl, and the people sold me a
quantity of smoke-dried fish for my men. How we
enjoyed the meal after the famine of the previous
three days ! At half-j)ast two p.m. we arrived at
Dihaou ; the chief was absent fishing.

loth. The good old chief Dihaou returned this
morning, and expressed unaffected delight at seeing
me. As usual I heard a harrowing tale of witchcraft
in the course of the day. Few weeks pass away in
these unhappy villages without something of this
kind happening. A poor fellow was singing a
mournful song, seated on the ground in the village
street ; and on inquiring the cause of his grief, I was
told that the chief of a village near his having died,
and the magic Doctor having declared that five
persons had bewitched him, the mother, sister and
brother of the poor mourner had just been ruthlessly
massacred by the excited people, and his own house
and plantation burnt and laid waste.

14itlL — \^th. Delayed at Dihaou by Arangui's
trading affairs. Took three observations for latitude,
which gave the position of the village as 1° 21' 3" S.

C'uAi'. V. SUP OX A POISONOUS SERPENT.' Ill

lltJi. It was useless to think of ascending the Ovi-
gni in a canoe, as the current had become so strong
with tlie heavy rains, and tlie canoe was too small
to carry all cur party ; so we were ferried across to
the opposite side, where a path commenced leading to
Olenda. Our march for several miles led through
forest. About four p.m. a storm burst upon us, and
we arrived at an old ebando, where we were to pass
the night, drenched to the skin.

As we were entering the shed, eager to find a
shelter from the soaking rain, my men gave a
sudden shout of alarm, and all started backwards,
tumbling over a fallen log, and floundering in the
mire. The cause of their fright was a huge poi-
sonous snake which lay coiled up on the ground
within the shelter. The snake was of a species con-
sidered by the negroes to be the most poisonous of
all the kinds known in AVestern Africa, the Clotho
nasicornis. In colour it can scarcely be distin-
guished from the ground and dead leaves on which
it crawls. It is of great thickness round the middle,
tapering very suddenly at the tail, and its head is
very large and hideous, being triangular in shape,
and having an erect process or horn rising from the
tip of its nose.

One of our Ashira men killed it. They were de-
bghted with their good fortune, for, being large
and fat, it furnished them, when roasted, with a good
supper ; some of the meat was boiled for broth, and
the rest Wds carefully packed away for another meal.
After our arrival at Olenda, I saw the Ashira man

112 VISIT TO THE SAMBA NAGOSHI FALLS. Chap. V.

roast and eat the head of this poisonous snake : when
I examined it I did not see the poison fangs, pro-
bably they had been extracted.

ISth. Travelled all day, reaching the Opangano
prairie at five p.m.

Idth. On the march again by daylight, through a
fearful storm with deluges of rain. The rain fell in
such sheets, that we had difficulty in seeing the path
before us, and it lasted till eleven o'clock. One or
two rain-falls of this kind happen every wet season.
I was afraid my watches would have been spoiled,
but the leather case proved a good protector. This
case had been given to me by my good and honoured
friend. Sir George Back ; and was of the same pat-
tern as the one used by him in his celebrated Arctic
voyage. The kind letters I received from him just
before my departure for the interior were full of
good and valuable advice, and will always be grate-
fully remembered by me. We waded for hours
through water up to the ankles. The rivulets we
crossed had become too deep to ford, and as I could
not swim, trees had to be felled, to fall across and
serve as a bridge. I felt that another night passed in
the forest would be almost insupportable, besides the
great risk of fever to which we should be exposed.
We pushed forward at our best speed, crossed the
Ovigui, and at length, at half-past five p.m., arrived
at Olenda utterly exhausted.

Quengueza came out to meet me. As soon as I
reached my hut I had a bath of warm water, took a
cup of tea and a dose of quinine, and went to bed.

Chap. V. ILL EFFECTS OF FOECED MARCHING. 113

The forced marclies, exposure and privations of tliis
arduous journey, laid me up for several days. I
suffered much from a pain in the left side in the
neighbourhood of the heart, which was accompanied
with fever, and distressed me much. I had also
rheumatic pains in my shoulder. My faithful Ma-
condai also had a slight attack of fever, which,
however, gave way to a few doses of quinine.

I made also another excursion about this time, to
my friend the chief Adingo^ whose village is situated
at the foot of the Igoumbi Andele mountains, south
of Olenda. As a description of this neighbourhood
is given in ' Equatorial Africa,' it is unnecessary here
to repeat further details of this excursion. I need
only say that I have now named the fine wooded
peaks of Igoumbi Andele after my much respected
friend Professor Owen.

CHAPTEE YI.

ASHIRA-LAND.

Grand Palaver to discuss the route into the interior — I am forbidden to pass
through the Apingi country — Messengers sent to the Chief of Otando —
Changes in Ashira Customs — Decrease of Population — The Potamogale
Velox — Its habits — My former description of this Animal — Visit to An-
gouka — Immense Plantation of Plantain-trees — Quarrel with Mpoto,
nephew of Olenda — Difficulties and anxieties — First rumours of the
Small-pox.

Dec. 23rd, 1864. To day there was an assembly of
tlie head-men of Ashira-land, presided over by King
Olenda, to discuss the important subject of my jour-
ney towards the east. My intention was to have
followed the same route from Olenda as I took on
my former expedition, namely, through the Apingi
country. But obstacles to this arrangement were
raised by Olenda and the Ashira people, who argued
that my best course would be to proceed to the
Otando country, lying a little to the south of Apingi.
I learnt, in the course of the palaver, the cause of
Olenda's opposition. It appeared that after I had
left the Apingi, the people could not comprehend
what had become of me, and Remandji their chief had
much trouble with them. They declared he had hid
me in the forest, with the intention of keeping me
for himself. So they came in a body to ask him
what had become of me. They also demanded that

Chap. YI. TALAYER TO DISCUSS THE ROUTE. 115

lie should give them some of the presents I had g-iven
liim. A few days afterwards Remandji died, and
his son shortly followed him. The cry of witchcraft
of course was raised, one party saying that some of
the neighboming people had killed their chief,
through envy of his possession of the ntangani,
whilst others (and these prevailed) said that I had
killed him, wishing, on account of the friendship I
had for him, to carry him with me to my own country.
The present chief, I afterwards learnt, had secretly
sent messengers to Olenda to ^varn him against for-
warding me through his country. He said that he
did not want to follow the "spirit," as Remandji and
his son had done, but would prefer to stop at home
and eat plantains. The present world was good
enough for him.

Such is a fair sample of the wild fancies and whim-
sical superstitions of these strange people, which
interpose the most irritating obstacles to the pro-
gress of the African traveller. It was clear I must
renounce my project of travelling through Apingi-
land, with such a charge hanging over my head.

After a long discussion and many irrelevant
speeches, it was decided that I should go through the
Otando country, and that Olenda should send forth-
with a messenger to the chief, apprising him of the
intended visit, and requesting him to send a paity of
men to help in carrying my baggage. This is tlie
best, and, indeed, the only plan of getting from place
to place in this part of Africa.

I now anticipated but a short delay in Olenda, as
on the arrival of men from Otando I should pack

116 ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VI.

Tip and be off at once. Meantime I occupied myself
in practising in photograpliy, taking astronomical
observations, and adding greatly to my collections in
Natural History. By a numerous series of observa-
tions which I took here, the latitude of Olenda has
been found to be 1° 44' 22" S., the longitude
10° 30' 34", and the altitude above the sea-level
526 feet.

A few rambles about the Ashira prairie showed
me that the population had niucli diminished, since
my visit six years pre viousl}^ Many of the villages
which then studded its grassy slopes and hollows had
disappeared. It is true that some of the head men had
removed their people to new villages in the woods,
which surround the prairie ; nevertheless, I believe
the total number of the people had been much
reduced. The tribe w^as once superior to all their
neighbours in industry and cleanliness, and in the
quality of their clothing and ornaments. A deteri-
oration was now plainly visible. The well-woven
dengui which the people used to wear had almost
disappeared, and in its stead I saw only garments of
thin, dirty, cotton cloth. A few of the older women
alone were decorated w-ith copper rings round the
neck. The young people had also abandoned the
practice of filing their front teeth, and I noticed a
total change of fashion in the dressing of their hair,
increasing commerce with the Rembo having had the
result of their adopting Commi fashions. The tribe
have now constant intercourse with the Commi, and
of late years the warlike Bakalai have married many
of their women and of course taken them awav.

CnAP. YI. THE TOTAMOGALE VELOX. 117

The 28tli of December was a bappy day to me ;
for I succeeded in what I had been lono; wishinir for.
the acquisition of specimens of tlie curious otter-Hke
animal Potamogale velox. It was one of my most
interesting discoveries on my former journey, and I
had given a description of it which was pubhshed in
the ' Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural
History for 18G0' (vol. vii. p. 353). I had been
unable to bring home more than a skin of this animal ;
and when it was made the subject of one of the un-
generous attacks made at that time upon me, I was
unable to produce evidence, in a skeleton or speci-
men of the perfect animal, of the truth of the account
I had given of it. I had examined the living animal,
and had described it from remembrance as alHed to
the otters. But my critic, from an examination of
the skin, only ridiculed my statement, and declared
that it did not even belong to tlie order under v.'hicli
otters are classed, but was a rodent animal. He pro-
posed even to do away with the name I had given it,
and to call it Mytliomys^ in commemoration of my
supposed fabulous statement. It may be imagined,
then, how glad I felt in obtaining two specimens of
the Potamogale. I preserved the skeletons as well
as the skins of both, and wished that I could at once
Lave sent them to London to vindicate my statements.*
Some weeks afterwards, when at Mayolo, I obtained
four more specimens.

* Independently of my specimens, an cxamjile of the Potamogale velox
came into the hands of Professor AUman, of Edinburgli, who was the first
to announce that I h id accurately describtd and clas.sified the animal. See
Profe.ssur AUman's Memoir iu the 'Transactions of the ZoolOjjical Society,'
vol. vi., jit. I., p. 1.

118 ASHIRA-LAND. Ciu?. Yt.

The Potamogale lives in many of the shady and
rocky streams near Olenda, ghding under water
with great velocity after its prey. On opening the
stomachs of all my specimens, I found only fresh-
water crabs in those I found at Olenda. At this
season of the year, the waters are all turbid with
the floods, and I imagine that the Potamogale, unable
to find fish, which are his ordinary food, has to
content himself with Crustacea, which he finds about
their holes, under the rocks an 1 stones on tlie banks
of the rivulets. Three of those found at Mayolo had
fish in their stomach, and one had Crustacea. The
animal is not found in the Ngouyai or other lai'ge
rivers of the country, but is confined to the smaller
streams. In the dry season it is seldom to be found
anywhere.

One of my excursions in the neighbourhood of
Olenda was to the village of my former friend the
chief Angouka, situated ten miles N.W. of the
capital. 1 may here say that, although T speak of
Olenda as the capital of Ashira-land, it was by no
means the largest village in the country. It is a
peculiarity of this part of Africa, that the residence
of the head chief, or king of a tribe, is often a smaller
place than the villages of the subordinate chiefs.
The size of a royal village depends on various cir-
cumstances, chiefly on the personal character of the
king. If he is of a conciliatory and unsuspicious,
and, at the same time, of an energetic disposition,
he may attract a large number of people around
him ; but if he is quarrelsome, or more than usually

CuAP. VL VISIT TO CHIEF ANGOUKA. 119

suspicious of witclieiy, &c., the minor cliiefs and tlie
people will keep out of his way. It will be seen
hereafter that the slave-village of King Olenda, in
the neighbouring woods, was a much larger and
better-ordered settlement than his own town.

Angouka, like many other chiefs, had moved his
village since I last visited the country. We passed
through the renniants of it on our way. Strange to
say, these people seem to leave their villages just as
the fruit-trees, which they have jDlanted with con-
siderable labour, have begun to bear. My faithful
friend Quengueza accompanied me, and Angouka
gave us a hearty welcome. In remembrance of his
former kindness to me, I presented the chief with a
big coat, a white shirt, a piece of fine cloth, and a
necklace of large beads. We feasted heartily on
an antelope wdiicli had been killed just before our
arrival.

The most remarkable feature about Angouka's
place was the great extent of his plantain-groves.
It was the largest plantation of this tree I had ever
seen in Africa ; there being, according to my cal-
culation, about 30,000 trees, most of them planted
about five feet apart. Each tree would bear, on an
average, half a dozen shoots, which would in time
grow to trees, but the natives generally cut all these
away except two or three. The bunches of plantain
produced by each tree weighed from 20 to 40 lbs.,
but I found many weighed as much as from 80 to
120 lbs. No cereal could give in the same space of
ground so large a supply of food. There were many
varieties ; some bear about six months after the

120 ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VI.

sprouts are planted, others eight or ten months, and
others again not before eighteen months ; these last
generally bear the largest-sized bunches. The sight
of this great plantation, with the magnificent foliage
covering the gentle hollows and slopes, was most
pleasing ; nothing had so much delighted me for
many months. It was within the borders of the
forest which skirts the prairie, the trees of which
had not been all felled, but killed by barking their
trunks, and making fires at their bases. In early
morning a light mist hung over the landscape, and
veiled with thin clouds the forest slopes of the neigh-
bourino; hills.

The first days of the New Year were spent by me
in much anxiety of mind. There were, in the first
place, many unpleasant disputes with the Ashira
people, on account of the intrigues of my Commi
men with the native women, and these led to a
quarrel between me and Mpoto, Olenda's nephew,
who was very violent. Mpoto was a hot-headed
negro, never well-disposed towards strangers. He
came, with the intention of making a disturbance,
one morning from his village, which was within a
short distance from Olenda, and singling out my
head man, Igala, pointed a loaded gun at his head.
I was obliged to interfere, otherwise blood would
have been shed, and only prevented him from firing
by levelling a revolver at him. All my men had
seized their arms, and a general melee was imminent.
Igala behaved like a brave fellow as he was, facing
the enraged Mpoto when the muzzle of the gun was

Chap VI. DIFFICULTIES AND ANXIETIES. 121

within a few feet of liis Lend, and you could not see
a muscle move in his fearless countenance. Olenda
interposed afterwards as peace-maker, and Mpoto
was so terrified at the old man's threatening to curse
him, that he hent down, and, taking hold of the
patriarch's feet, implored his forgiveness. I threat-
ened and chastised my men, but all my endeavours
to put a lasting end to the evil were fruitless.

There was next the long delay in the arrival of the
porters expected from Otando, and I was afraid some
hitch had occurred. At last a party of men arrived
from the chief of Otando, bringing an invitation for
me, accompanied by the present of a goat ; but, whilst
we were engaged in collecting a sufficient number of
Ashira porters to aid in transporting my baggage, a
third and most serious cause of anxiety arose, which
ultimately had well nigh put an end to my expedi-
tion.

Elanga, one of Olenda's nephews, was taken ill with
a disease which the natives had never before seen.
It was described to me, and I thought I recognised
in the description the symptoms of small-pox. The
next day the news came from a neighbouring village
that Elanga had died. There was a great deal of
mourning and wailing among the people ; and all the
inhabitants of Olenda, with the exception of the old
king, went to join in the wild manifestations of grief.
Now, Elanga was one of the Ashira men who had
been to Obindji to fetch my baggage, and a suspicion
of foul play or witchcraft, as usual, arose in the
minds of the Ashira people, which, in addition to
10

122 ASHIEA-LAND. Chap. VI.

the other causes of unfriendliness, threatened to em-
barrass my movements. After the lapse of a few-
days, two other cases of the disease occurred, also in
men who had carried my goods from the Bakalai
country. I began to be alarmed, for I knew what
havoc such a pestilence would cause amongst these
people if it gained head. But I had no fear for
myself, for I had been, fortunately, re-vaccinated in
London a fortnight before I left England, little think-
ing what I should have afterwards to pass through.

The first step I took was to keep my Commi men
away from the places where the disease had shown
itself. This was remarked by the people, and their
suspicions were strengthened. They began boldly
to accuse me of having introduced the eviva (thing
that spreads, i. e., the plague), or, as they sometimes
called it, the opunga (a bad wind), amongst them ; they
declared that I had brought death with me instead of
bringing good to the people ; that I w^as an evil spirit ;
that 1 had killed Remandji, king of the Apingi, and
so forth. Hence, arose angry disputes. Quengueza,
never a very good-tempered man, grew furious. He
asked them whether they thought that he, the king
who held the passage of the Rembo, had come with
his white man into the bush amongst these pigs of
Ashira to be cursed ? Old Olenda held Quengueza
in great respect, and invariably sided with him in
our troublesome disputes with the Ashira people.
Some days passed in this w^ay. I strove my utmost
to get away from the place before the disease had
made further progress. Olenda had sent orders

Chap. VI. TvEVIVING HOPES. 123

round to tlie neighbouring villages for porters to
assemble in the village ; and thus in a few days I
lioped to be on the march, and to find health and
pleasure in the hilly and wooded country, which
intervenes between Ashira and Otando.

CHAPTER VIL

THE PLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND.

Breaking out of the Small-pox Epidemic — Noble Conduct of Quengueza—
Departure of Quengueza's People — Illness of the Porters — My Commi
Body-guard refuse to leave me — Departure of part of the baggage to
Otando-land — Quengueza returns to Goumbi — Letters from Europe —
Death of Mpoto — Death of King Olenda — His burial — Cemetery of the
Ademba Chiefs — Wailing for the dead — Death of Retonda — Arrival
of Messengers from Mayolo — Distrust of the Natives — Trickery of
Arangui — I am robbed by the Ashira People — Diminution of the
Pestilence — Quengueza's message to the people of Olenda.

At length the calamity which I had so much dreaded
came upon us ; the plague broke out with great
violence in Olenda village, causing obstacles to the
progress of my expedition which had well nigh
proved fatal to it. The first victim was the head
wife of Olenda himself. The awful scourge spread
with a rapidity that frightened me. Several of the
mourners who had been to Elanga's funeral had
fallen ill of the disease. This was not to be won-
dered at, considering their style of mourning, the
relatives and neighbours all surrounding the corpse,
touching and even embracing it, whilst crying out,
" Do speak to us — do not leave us ! Oh, why do
you die?" I had urged Olenda not to allow these
mourning ceremonies to take place, telling him of the
results that would follow. None of the people of the
surrounding villages would come near us. In a few

Chap. VIL BREAKING OUT OF THE PLAGUE. 125

days more than half tlie people of Olenda caught the
infection. I became alarmed for the safety of the
noble old Quengueza and his men ; and my first
desire was to see him free from the danger, and re-
turning to his own country. But he refused to leave
me. "Chaillie," said he, " I cannot go back. I came
here to see you through this country, and I should
feel shame to leave you in your troubles. What
would the Corami people say ? They would laugh
at me, and say, ' Quengueza had no power to help
Chaillie on his way.' No, I shall not leave you ! "

A favourite little slave of Quengueza's, named
Rigoli, soon after this was attacked by the disease.
It was now in our camp, and there was great danger
of my own men falling ill. I was obliged to make
the most stringent regulations, forbidding them to
hold intercourse with the natives, to use any of their
utensils, or to smoke their condoquais. It was in
vain, however, that I tried to get Quengueza to send
away his little boy. When I went to see him, I
found, to my horror, that he had got the boy in his
hut, laid on a mat near his own, and was nursing
him with the tenderest care. If the noble old fellow
had caught the disease himself, it v/ould have com-
pletely put an end to my expedition ; besides, many
of his own people were going in and out of the hut,
and all my quarantine regulations were totally upset.
To my expostulations the old man only replied, " If I
get the plague, it will be God's (Aniembic's) palaver,
but I can better take care of Rigoli here." Notwith-
standing my annoyance, the scene raised Quengueza
more than ever in my estimation, and showed me,

126 THE PLAGUE IN ASHIEA-LAND. Chap. Yn.

under the coarse skin of the savage, tlie nohle heart
of a man who had but the proropting-s of generous
instinct to guide him.

A few days afterwards Quengueza, at my earnest
persuasion, sent away all his people, and used his
influence with Olenda to get me again a number
of porters to continue my journey. The Asliira
trisd to persuade Quengueza to leave me, promising
him they would take care of me. The old chief bad
a very stormy palaver with Olenda, and taunted him
with his inability to send me forward on my journey.
He threatened to return to Gonmbi and tell the
people how powerless Olenda was, or else to take
me to the Bakalai, who would do better than the
Ashira had done. Olenda was stung by these re-
proaches, and undertook at once to send for his
nephew, Arangui (the same who had taken me to
the Samba Nagoshi Falls), to guide me to the Otando
country.

Three times I had mustered porters for my on-
ward journey, and had each time been disappointed
through the poor fellows falling ill of the epidemic
before even the packing of the loads was completed.
I had now given away a large quantity of my goods,
and had much reduced my baggage ; but still it
would require more men to carry it than were now
in a condition to work in Olenda's village. Thirty
men were all that could be mustered at the command
of Olenda, and they are so proud that they would
not go to another clan to get porters from among
their friends. The bargaining for pay w^as the most
difficult I had ever experienced. The rascals knew

Chap. Yll. FIDELITY OF MY COlM^n MEN. 127

the difficulty I was in, and increased their demands
accordingly. The cunning of these people is not to
be matched by that of the wiliest diplomatist of our
race. When settling the price of their services, all
the older men took my part in the haggling match,
beating down the demands of the younger ones ; of
course, looking forward to the natural rewaixl of
their partizanship in higher pay for themselves.
This was a deep-laid mana3uvre to get higher wages
for the whole, and was planned secretly by the
entire party beforehand ; for, when all were paid,
the young men returned and refused point blank to
go with me unless I paid them at the same rate as the
older ones, who, said they, have no loads to carry.

My plan now was to get all my own men away
from tha snrall-pox by sending them on first with
part of the goods to the Otando country, under the
guidance of Arangui, myself intending to follow
with the rest of the baggage on Arangui's return.
To this 'arrangement my faithful lads would not
agree at all. They conferred together, and then told
me the}^ would not leave me here alone. " "Who,"
said they, " in the midst of this fearful sickness, is to
cook for you, and wash your clothes? These Ashira
may ])oison you, by putting the gall of a leopard into
your food. Some of us must remain wnth you, come
what may !" I was obliged to accede to their wishes,
and chose five of them to remain with me, Macondai,
Ngoma, Igala (Quengueza's slave), Igalo, and Rc-
tonda. The rest, Igala, Rebouka, Mouitchi, Rape-
lina, Rogueri, together with the jDO^'ters, who com-
prised all the disposable men of Olenda's clan,

128 THE PLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VII.

departed on the following morning. This division
of my party was a great mistake on my part; it
tempted tlie Ashira people to form a plot to plunder
me, as will presently be related.

Quengueza now left me to return to Groumbi. Be-
fore his departure I took a photographic likeness of
him, and was glad to have this memento of so excel-
lent a fellow. He believed I was now well on my
way to the white man's country, and told me not to
forget to bring him back a big bell a silver sword,
a brass chest, and plenty of fine things. On parting
he took my two hands in his own, blew on them,
and invoked the Spirits of his ancestors to take care
of me. I looked after him as he disappeared in the
tall grass of the prairie, and returned sorrowful to
my hut, for I felt that I had parted from the best
friend I had in Africa.

The men from Goumbi, who came to accompany
Quengueza back to his home, brought me a large
parcel of letters and newspapers from my friends in
England, France, and the United States. They had
come by the mail-steamer to Fernando Po ; had been
transmitted thence in a sailing vessel to the Gaboon,
and forwarded to the Fernand Yaz in a native canoe.
From my village they lal b^cn sent np to Goumbi
by a negro messenger. Notwithstanding the many
changes of conveyance, no injury was sustained, and,
as far as I could learn, nothing was missing.

How I revelled in the kind letters of my many
friends, so full of encouragement and good wishes !
They were as manna in the wilderness to me, and
gave me new strength of resolution to carry out my

Chap. VII. LETTERS FROM EUROPE. 129

undertaking at a time when I was tlioroiiglily dis-
heartened. The letters of Sir Roderick Murchison
and Professor Owen, especially, gave me new life.
Amongst the papers which I receiv^ed, there was a
copy of ' The Times' containing an article on the
death of Captain Speke. It was the only sorrowful
news that came, and I felt sad in reflecting how
precarious and uncertain was life. A brave and
strong man, who had gone through all the dangers
of a march through tlie interior of Africa, had thus
fallen by accident, after his safe return to his home
and his family !

The parcel contained, besides other papers, numbers
of the 'Illustrated London News' and 'Punch.' These
were, afterwards, extremely useful to me, as they
never failed to give amusement to the negroes of the
villages I stayed at, and they were always thought
much of by the head men as presents. The un-
sophisticated African has a great liking for printed
j^aper and books, especially when they have plenty
of engravings.

Al"ter Quengueza's departure the small- pox in-
creased its ravages. Not a day passed without its
victims, each fresh death being announced by the
firing of guns, a sound which each time pierced
through me with a pang of sorrow. From morning
to night, in my solitude, I could hear the cries of
wailing, and the mournful songs which were raised
by the relatives round the corpses of the dead. The
curses of the natives fell thick on me as the author
of their misfortunes. To these miseries another one
was soon added in the shape of famine. There was

130 THE PLAGUE IN ASHIEA-LAND. Chap. VII.

no one left to gather food ; and my men in searching
for it in the neiG-libourino- villaires were driven back

o o o

and tlii'eatened with death by tlie terror-stricken in-
habitants, who believed that we were the carriers of
the ]:)lague and of the famine.

All Olenda's wives were down with the disease ;
but, happily, the king himself remained my friend,
and as long as he had food he shared it with us. i3ut
sorer trials than famine were in store for us. One
wretched night a sudden wailing burst forth, and soon
became general throughout the village. It was the
announcement of the death of Mpoto, the favourite
nephew and heir-apparent of Olenda. The tremulous
and feeble voice of poor old Olenda was heard in the
early morning singing the plaintive songs of grief.
The death of Mpoto was imputed by the people to
me, on account of the quarrel I had had witli him ;
and a general complaint was made that, whilst all
the Ashira were falling ill, the white man's people
were untouched. We were in great danger of being
attacked by the enraged people of Mpoto, and had to
keep watch for some time with loaded revolvers ready
at hand. Soon after this came the final blow — Olenda
himself sickened and died ! He was the last of his
clan to be struck down with the disease, if, indeed,
it was the small-pox of which he died. In fiict, he,
Macondai, and I, were the only people remaining
well at that time, for my three other faithful lads had,
to my infinite grief, f.illen ill with the worst type
of the infection ; Ngoma, especially, was a great
sufferer, for the skin slonglied oft" his body in large
patches ; his face was s iV(dlen up, and the putrid

CnAr. Vir. DEATH OF KING OLENDA. 181

smell that came from his body was dreadful. He lay
beside my bed ; for tliere was no hut but my own in
which I could put him. Igala, Quengueza's slave,
was in ahnost as bad a state.

Ko one can imagine the anxiety I f(4t when, one
morning, Olenda complained to me of burning heat
and thirst. Tlie fever increased in the course of the
next two days, and with it weakness aud drowsiness,
but without any external appearance of small-pox.
When I sat by his bedside, the old man, seeing my
sorrowful countenance, would say, " Do not grieve,
Chaillie; it is not your fault; you have not caused
my illness, I know it." On the third night a sudden
cry of anguish from house to house in the village,
the meaning of which I knew too well, told me that
my only remaining friend was no more. He died, I
was told, without suffering ; going off, as it Gcemcd,
in a quiet sleep. Shortly before his death he had
enjoined upon his people that they should take care
that no harm came to me.

I was afraid that Olenda's subjects would not be so
tolerant as he himself was, and would accuse me of
having caused his death. I had taken a photo-
graphic likeness of him a few days before his ill-
ness, to the great wonderment and fear of the few
people who were well enough to watch the process
I wished now that I had not done it, for I thought
it would be sure to create suspicions of my having
practised magical arts to cause his death. Ha])pily,
matters took another turn. His relatives had been
so touched by my evident sorrow at the old man's
illness and death that they came to me afterwards,

132 THE PLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VII.

and, instead of accusing me of causing his death,
consoled me, saying that ahhough Olenda was dead,
his clan had not died with him ; he had left people
behind him, and they would carry out his wishes,
and see that I had porters to take my baggage to
Otando. This day Macondai fell ill. A high fever,
the precursor of the small-pox, seized him, and for a
week I knew not whether I should lose my beloved
boy, as the eruption did not come out. And now
I was indeed alone, with no one to help me. I
had to fetch water, to search for firewood, and to
cook for myself, as well as for all my poor stricken
followers.

The villagers exerted themselves to procure food
for me. Those who were now well enough crept
towards the plantation to get plantains for me ; and
even the invalids, men and women, sent me offerings
of food, saying, " We do not want our stranger to be
hungry."

Poor Olenda was buried in the cemetery of the
chiefs of the Ademba clan, the clan of Ashira over
which he had been the head. I say buried, although
this term hardly applies to the custom followed by
these people of exjoosing the corpse above-ground.
The cemetery was in a little grove of trees just out-
side the village. I gave the people powder to fire
a salute at the funeral, and they came and begged
from me an umbrella to bury with him, this being
an article which it was thought very necessary and
desirable to bury with their chief. There was great
grief on the burial-day ; the women shaved their
heads, dressed themselves in rags, and besmeared

Chap. VII. BURIAL OF KING OLENDA. 133

their bodies with aslies ; and as tlie body was carried
out of the village, cries of anguish and lamentntion
were heard ; all the people shouting out, " He will
not take care of us any more — he will not speak to
us any more. Oh, Olenda, why have you left us !
Oh, Olenda, why have you left us ! " Two days
afterwards I went myself to the cemetery. The
corpse of the old chief was placed on the ground, in
a sitting posture, enveloped in a large Euro|)ean coat
which I had given him, and by liis side was the
umbrella ; the head looked already like a skull, co-
vered with dry, wrinkled, parchment-like skin. By
his side lay a chest containing the various presents I
had given him, and also plates, jugs, cooking utensils,
his favourite pipe, and some tobacco, and a fire was
burning, which the people keep alight day and night
by the corpse of a chief, sometimes for many weeks.
There was also a plate of victuals, brought, according
to the custom of these people, for the corpse to eat,
and renewed daily for some time. The aspect of the
place was not cheering, as may well be imagined ;
all around lay the bones of the ancestors of the
Ademba chief, in various stages of decay. For several
mornings after his burial, the people came to me and
declared that they had seen Olenda the previous
evening, walking in the village, and that ho had
told them that he had not left them entirely, but
would come from time to time to see how they were
going on. I have no doubt they believed what they
said, as their imaginations were greatly excited during
this dreadful period.

The once cheerful prairie of Ashira had now

134: THE TLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VII.

become a gloomy valley of the dead ; each village was
a charnel-house. Wherever I walked, the most heart-
rending sights met my view. The poor victims of
the loathsome disease in all its worst stages lay about
in sheds and huts ; there were hideous sores filled
witli maggots, and swarms of carrion flies buzzed
about the living but putrid carcases. The stencli in
the neighbourhood of the huts was insupportable.
Some of the sick were raving, and others emaciated,
with sunken eyes, victims of hunger as well as of
disease. Many wretched creatures from other vil-
lages were abandoned to die in the bush. How I
bewailed my hard fate, and wished myself back amid
the health and comforts of Europe, even though it
were only as a street-sweeper in one of its cities !

To add to my sorrows and losses in this unhappy
time, one of my Commi boys, Retonda, sickened and
died. His disease was not, however, the prevailing
epidemic, but a kind of cholic attended with violent
vomiting. He was the only one of my Commi body-
guard that I lost on the journey ; he was a plucky
fellow, and I felt much his loss. We buried him,
wrapped up in a mat, with the usual honours, firing
a salute over his grave.

A few days before the death of Olenda, a number
of men, sent by the king, arrived from Mayolo's
town in Otando. The news they brought was not
very favourable to the prospect of my onward march.
There had been a meeting of tlie head men to consider
the matter of my visit ; and the conclusion arrived at
was that I ought not to be allowed to come, seeing

Chap. VIL DISTRUST OF THE NATIVES. 135

that I carried tlie eviva, or plague, wherever I went.
Mdyolo himself, however, was favourable, and took
upon himself the responsibility of inviting- me to his
village ; but I was not to be allowed to visit the
other chiefs. The Apono people, beyond the Otando
country, had also sent word that they should oppose
my progress.

The Otando messengers had some visits to make
in the neighbourhood, and left me with the promise
that they would return in two days ; in the mean-
time I and my men were busily employed packing
up, with the hope of soon being on the march. Three
days elapsed, and then, to my great vexation, I heard
that the Otandos had hastened back in fright to
Ma3'olo. This was most unfortunate. They had seen
the sickness and desolation of the Ashira villages,
and were now returning in their fright to spread the
horrid news throughout Otando-land, and to confirm
the impression that I was the cause of it all.

Several weeks passed away in solitude, anxiety,
and suspense. I waited day after day in expectation
of seeing Arangui return from Mayolo, that I might
proceed with the rest of the goods. The small-pox
was gradually diminishing, from sheer lack of victims
for further ravages ; but the Ashira people had grown
more distrustful, and something was evidently going-
wrong. At length three of my men suddenly made
their appearance from Mayolo. They had left all
well, but, to my surprise, told me that Arangui had
left two days after their arrival in Mayolo, and must
therefore have long ago arrived in Ashira. Some
underhand movement was evidently going on, pro-

136 THE TLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VH,

bably with a view to plunder me, and I suspected
Ondonga to be at the bottom of it, as it was he who
had repeatedly told me that Arangui still remained
in Otando. I soon learnt, on further inquiry, that
several of the loads had never reached Mayolo at all,
that the porters had gone back to their plantations
with them, no doubt by orders of Arangui, who
would have a large share of tlie spoil afterwards ;
the porters had scattered themselves along the forest
road, some sleeping in one place and some in another,
and almost every load had been rifled of part of its
contents. My men had been tired of waiting for me,
and they told me that the Otando messengers, who had
returned in such hot haste, were driven from Ashira-
land by the threats of Arangui, who had seized one
of them, and made him prisoner. Thinking that
something was wrong, my men had resolved to
despatch three of their number, well armed, to know
the cause of my detention.

I W'as now in a very unpleasant position. It was
no satisfaction to hear that Arangui had shown
violent anger on the discovery of the robbery, for I
well knew the hypocrisy of the African character.
I had been shamefidly robbed, with the connivance
of the head men of Olenda, and in addition one of
Mayolo's messengers was detained a prisoner, with-
out whose release I should never be allowed to enter
the Otando territory. I told my men to say nothing
about the robbery, my object being not to excite
any fears of punishment until I had obtained porters
to enable me to get away from the place.

It was a difficult matter to conceal my indignation,

^E^^^^ZS

PRISONER IN NCHOGO.

Chap. VII. EOBBED BY THE ASHIRA PEOPLE. 137

especially when I saw that all the people of the

village knew how I had been plundered. I detected

them often whispering secretly and casting furtive

glances towards my hut ; but orders had been given

to every Ashira man, woman, and child to keep

the matter secret from me, and not a single one

betrayed it. It is wonderfid how even the young

children here are tauglit to be " discreet." I was

obliged to act the hypocrite and pretend that I

believed Ondonga was ignorant of the arrival of

Arangui. The day following the arrival of my men,

Ondonga, Mintcho, and several others came to me and

told me they would endeavour to persuade Arangui

to give up the man. Arangui was obstinate, and

neither the arguments of his friends nor my threats

could prevail upon him. It appeared that two years

previously the Otandos had seized a relative of his,

and still kept him in ncliogo (the native stocks).

Here was a sample of the complicated difficulties

a poor African traveller has to contend with. At

length Arangui fell ill ; and, in his superstitious

fears that I had caused his illness, he released the

man, but with limbs so cruelly lacerated by the

wooden blocks in which he had been confined, that

he was unable to move for several days afterwards.

Meantime the news of Olenda's death and my

detention had reached Goumbi, and Quengueza had

sent word that he must come and fetch me back, that

Olenda had left no people to carry the white man's

goods to the next country, and so forth. The men

who brought the message told us (what I afterwards

learnt to be true) that all the negroes who had ac-
11

138 THE PLAGUE IN ASHIRA-LAND. Chap. VII.

com2:)anied Quengiieza from Olenda had died, either
on the \vay or after their arrival at Goumbi. The
reproach of Qiiengneza stung the Ashira people to
the quick, and they now bestirred themselves in
reality. It was, however, very difficult to get porters
together, although Ondonga aided me with all sin-
cerity, for they did not want to have to go to another
clan for people. I was obliged at last to grant them
all they wanted, which was to abandon to them all
the apparatus and goods which I could not carry
any further into the interior, for want of porters.

I finally succeeded in obtaining about twenty men,
including five Apingi belonging to Mintcho, Mdiom I
was obliged to projoitiate with the present of a gun,
to induce him to join us with this strong reinforce-
ment. I had to give up besides to the porters the
greater part of my ammunition, all my sugar, tea,
and every spare article of clothing. One of the
principal men, Ayagui, son of Olenda, who accom-
panied me on my former journey, when he had
received the whole of his pay, said in the coolest
manner that he should keep that as recompense for
having taken care of two of my men, and that neither
he nor his slaves would go with me without further
wages. Although boiling with indignation at this
act of rascality, I was obliged to yield. I was entirely
in the power of these rapacious scoundrels. With
these tribes it is not only that they are seeking to
gratify their own cupidity in thus fleecing a traveller,
but mingled with it is a jealousy of the next tribe's
having a chance in their turn of participating in the
plunder of the white man.

CHAPTER VIII.

FROM OLENDA TO MAYOLO.

Departure from Asliira-land — Passage of the Ovigui — Slave Village of
King Oleuda — A Slave Ciiief — Difficulties with the Porters — More
Kobberies — Illness of Macondai — Leave him behind — The Otaudo Range
of Hills — Picturesque Cascade in the Forest — Cross the Louvendji —
More difficulties with the Porters — Hunger in the Forest — Men sent to
Mayolo for Relief — A Night in the Forest — Myth of Atungulu Shimba
• — Koola Nut-trees — Search for Food — Meet with a Gorilla — A Hungry
Night — Unselfish act of the Ashira — Help arrives from Mayolo — Mpegui
Nuts — Arrival in Otando-land.

March l(jth. At length, after many months of weary
delay, the hour arrived for our departure from the
Ashira settlement. I had suffered in this unfortunate
place more than words can describe ; racked with
anxiety on account of the fearful epidemic which had
dogged my footsteps, and which the credulous natives
accused me of introducing amongst them, tortured
with the threatened failure of all my schemes, robbed
and cheated by the head men and their subjects.
My party of ten men had become reduced to seven.
Retonda was dead; Igala (Quengueza's slave) was
left behind, although much better ; and Rogueri, the
slave given to me by Makaga Nchango, had run
away. But as he was an inveterate thief, I did not
regret his loss. Yet I should have been hapj)y, if
I could have felt that the dreaded plague was left
behind us, for we were now again en route towards

140 FROM OLEXDA TO MAYOLO. Chap. VIII.

countries never before visited by a European, and I
was buoyed up by the hope of making new dis-
coveries. I and my men left Olenda at four o'clock
in the afternoon ; our j^orters were to start with
Ondonga at daylight the next morning.

As my readers may perceive on examining the
map, my route, on leaving Olenda, was a different
one from that followed on my former journey. I
was then bound for the Apingi country to the
north-east of Olenda ; my present destination was
Otando, lying south-east by east of the Ashira
villages.

About a mile or so east of Olenda commences the
great forest which bounds the eastern side of the
Ashira prairie ; and just within its borders flows the
impetuous Ovigui. This river descends from the
slopes of the Igoumbi Andele Mountains, south of
Ashira-land, and skirts the western foot of the hilly
range which separates the Ashira from the Otando
country. It drains, with its numerous tributaries, the
whole of the valley enclosed between the wooded
ranges east and west of ihe Ashira prairie. I crossed
it at a different place from that described in my
former journey, but by a similar bridge — a slippery
log lying across the torrent, with a rope of lianas
stretched from tree to tree to hold on by. There
had been a very heavy rain the previous night, and
the Ovigui had overflowed its banks, forming three
channels separated by islands. Many a tall tree stood
in the water, and fallen trunks and branches were
washed down, or lay stranded and quivering in the
current. In crossing I had a mishap, for, before I

Chap. YIIL SLAVE VILLAGE OF KING OLEXDA. 141

could grasp the balustrade, my foot slipped, and I fell
headlong into a deep hole, from which I was extri-
cated with difficulty. My arras and watches were
fortunately not at all damaged by the bath, and I was
glad to find that it did not damp the charges in my
revolver, for, on reaching the opposite bank, I fired
them all off, not a little to the surprise of the negroes,
whose respect for the weapon was thereby very much
increased.

A march of about a mile beyond the river brought
us to a large plantation, the chief slave settlement of
the late King Olenda. It comprised a large extent
of land cleared from the forest, and contained a
village inhabited by the slaves, three or four hundred
in number. I was greatly astonished to find the
houses better built than in the town of Olenda, and
the whole village more neat and orderly. The plan-
tation extended over a picturesque and undulating
tract of ground, with brooks of crystal water in the
hollows. In places where these cool streams flowed
under the shade of trees, their banks w^ere most
delightful, being overgrown with rich vegetation, and
the trunks and branches of the trees overhead covered
with vines and parasitic plants. The great quantity
of plaiilaiu-trees in the open ground, with their
gigantic, glossy leaves, the patches of ground-nuts,
and the light green blades of the sugar cane, gave
a pleasant aspect to the place, and hid the charred
trunks and stumps of trees which are otherwise so
unsightly in these clearings.

The slave village had its chief, himself a slave,
and all called themselves the children of Olenda.

142 FROM OLENDA TO MxiYOLO. Chap. VIII.

He was an Ashango man, a chief in his own country,
and probably sold into slavery on account of witch-
craft. He was a savage of noble bearing, and appa-
rently of good disposition. He had several wives
and a large family of children. The other slaves
called him lather, and he exercised quite a patriarchal
authority over them. These plantations supply the
household of the chief of the clan with food, and his
wives have also small patches of clearing in the same
place, which they cultivate themselves with the help
of others. The majority of the slaves were inherited
by old Olenda, and a great number had known no
other master. This village was not the only slave-
farm owned by the late chief, but it was the largest
of them.

I found here very stringent sanitary regulations
against the prevailing epidemic. Every one showing
the first symptoms of the small-pox was instantly
carried away to a neighbouring village, or collection
of huts, set apart for the purpose. This was full of
patients, and was called by the negroes the small-pox
village.

We spent the night here, and early the next morn-
ing Ondonga arrived with the porters. The first dis-
agreeable news I heard was that several of them had
run away before starting, taking, of course, their pay
with them. I next discovered that three of my boxes
were miss-ing. Notwithstanding the protestations of
Ondonga, I was convinced that he was at the bottom
of another plot to rob me in the midst of my troubles.
He appeared, however, rather alarmed at what had
been done, and in the course of the day the boxes

Chap. VIII. MORE ROBBERIES. 143

were brouglit in, but tliey had been opened and rifled
of half tlieir contents. At this, Ondonga pretended
to be in a violent rage with the unknown thieves,
and declared in a loud voice that there should be war
against those who had dared to rob his wliite man.
For a moment I thought he was sincere, and that,
being young, his authority as successor to Olenda
was not sufficiently established over his uin-uly clan
to prevent me from being robbed by his subjects.
The old slave-chief joined in the well-acted cry of
indignation, and actually put spears into the hands
of his sons, and bid them go forth with the rest to
demand the restitution of my property. They then
all hurried out of the place, shouting, cursing, and
vowing death to the thieves.

Next day a portion of the missing things was
brought in, but the contents of the principal box,
which contained my photographic apparatus, were
never made good ; two of tiie focussing glasses had
been taken or destroyed, and also tlie two black
curtains.

A greater calamity to me than the loss of my pro-
perty, and the desertion of several frightened porters
which followed, was the illness of my faithful com-
panion, Macondai, who had been at last struck down
witli the small-pox. "We could not delay our journey,
and I had great reluctance to leave him behind, on
many accounts. ^Vlien we resumed our march he
tried to walk willi us, but he became so ill that we
were forced to come to a stand. I held, as was my
custom in cases of difficulty concerninii; the safety of
our party, a palaver with my faithful body-guard.

144: FEOM OLEXDA TO MAYOLO. Chap. VIIL

but to my proposition that I slioiild remain behind
and take care of Macondai they opposed a decided
negative, on account of tlie risk of further robberies
if I sent the goods on without accompanying them
myself. The poor lad himself pra3'ed us to leave
him. " All your porters will desert you," said he,
"if you do not go on, and you will never reacb
Majolo." We finally decided to leave Igalo with
him at a plantation in the neighbourhood, and On-
donga promised, with every appearance of good will,
to send people to take care of him.

We now continued our march. The country
became more and more picturesque at every step.
We were seven days on the road between the slave
village and Mayolo ; but this included considerable
stoppages, for the distance, in a straight line, is only
a little over thirty-five miles. The road is a narrow
track through a most varied and picturesque but
dense forest, clothing the hills and valleys of the
mountain range, which extends in a north and south
direction, between the Ashira and the Otando
territories. I call this the Otando range ; it is not a
continuous ridge, but is broken up into a great
number of hills, of greater or less elevation, with
steep slopes and narrow valleys ; the highest eleva-
tion at which I crossed the range was about .1,200
feet. The hills are of primitive rock ; and nume-
rous blocks of quartz lay strewed along the path
nearly all the way. Quartz crystals also covered
the beds of the sparkling brooks that flowed at the
bottom of every valley, all running in a north-
erly direction. The forest did not contain many

Chat. VIII. PICTURESQUE CASCADE. 145

timber trees of gigantic size, but the treesgrew every-
where close to one another and were matted together
by a net-work of woody lianas, amongst which I
noticed a great qnaiitity of the climbing ficus, which
produces gum elastic. It was impossible to see far on
either side of the path ; in many places there was a
dense growth of underwood, including dwarf species
of palm-tree, and tlie ground was strewn all over
with wrecks of the forest in the shape of broken and
rotting branches, up-turned trees, and masses of
decaying leaves.

It was most toilsome marching up the steep hills,
encumbered with the weight of our loads. A few
miles south-east of the plantation, we came unex-
pectedly upon a most enchanting sight. One of the
numerous tributaries of the Ovigui here descends
from the upper valleys, down the broken hill-side, in
a most lovely cascade, filling the neighbouring forest
with spray and favouring the growth of countless
ferns and glossy-leaved plants. The forest nook
looked like a place of enchantment, decked out with
the choicest productions of the vegetable world.
There was, however, throughout the wdiole march a
great scarcity of animal life. Scarcely once did we
hear the voices of birds, and at night, as we lay
round the fires of the bivouac, all was still as death
in the black shades of the forest.

On the morning of the second day of our march
we came to the river Louvendji, which I crossed, at
a point lower down, on my former journey to the
Apingi country. It- is rather smaller than the
Ovigui and different in character, having a rocky

146 FROM OLEXDA TO MAYOLO. Chap. VIIL

bed and water of crystal clearness ; both flow to the
north, the Louvendji discharging itself into the Ovi-
gui a little above the junction of the latter with the
Ngouyai, The banks of the Louvendji nourished
many tall palm-trees and gigantic ferns, which are
absent from the hilly and drier grounds.

I should have much enjoyed this part of my
journey if I had been free from anxiety on account of
the porters in whose hands my goods were entrusted.
But guides and porters alike were bent on plundering
me still further. I found it impossible to keep them
all tof2-ether. All sorts of excuses were invented for

o

lagging behind, and I soon made the discovery that
they were hiding their provisions in the bush — a
sign that they intended to rob me and run away by
the same road.

On the first and second nights I ordered all the
loads to be piled up near to the shed under which I
slept, but on the third night, when we were assembled
together to sleep, Mintcho and several of the porters
were not forthcoming. They had stayed behind
and did not overtake us till the next morning. On
their arrival, Mintcho took the bull by the horns
and told me to look into some of my boxes, for he
thought they had been opened and j)lundered. He
accused others of being the thieves, and mutual
recriminations ensued, which ended in several of the
porters laying down their loads and running away,
and the rest (including some of the thieves) declared
that it was of no use going any further, as the
white man had been robbed and would not give tliem
their pay. On opening some of the boxes I found a

CuAr. YIII. nUXGER IN THE FOREST. 147

great number of valuable articles had been stolen,
including two bottles of old brandy, a reserve in
case of illness, and the loss of which was very
vexing, as it was portion of a present made me by a
valued friend in London.* I was imprudent enough,
at first, to accuse Mintcho of knowledge of the tliefts,
a step which nearly led to my being left alone in the
wilderness. I was obliged to retract, and allay his
fears by saying that I did not hold him responsible.
My readers must bear in mind tliat ]\Iintcho was all
along the principal thief, together with the men he
had with him, who obeyed his orders in everything.
It was only by a temporizing policy, and by appeal-
ing alternately to their vanity and to their fears,
now coaxing and now threatening, that I could hope
to avoid the hard fate of being left alone in this
inhospitable forest. Towards the evening of the
fourth day we came to a standstill ; so many porters
had run away, that there were no longer men enough
to carry our goods.

The weather was stormy, and it was almost im-
possible to shelter ourselves from the rains which fell
eveiy night. We could find no large leaves to make
a good thatch for our sheds, and what with the dis-
comfort caused by the frequent thunder showers, and
the necessit}^ of keeping watch over my goods, I got
very little rest. As time went on, hunger came to
add to our miseries. Negroes never take more than
two or three days' provisions on a march, plantains
being so heavy ; and as a large portion of what they
carried on the present journey had been hidden in

* Charles White, Esq., of Lime Street, London.

148 FROM OLENDA TO MAYOLO. Chap, VIII.

the busli, we were now reduced to very slender rations
indeed, altliongh still about fifteen miles distant from
the nearest village of the Otando.

I gathered our party together, and consulted with
them as to what was best to be done. To my sug-
gestion that some of the Ashira men should go
forward to Mayolo and ask for porters, Mintcho and
his friends opposed a decided negative. Neither
would they allow two of their men and two of my
Commi boys to go to Mayolo. They were afraid, in
short, of being detained and punished by Mayolo
for having robbed me. I finally resolved to send
Mouitchi, with the Otando man who had been Aran-
gui's prisoner. He departed with the promise of
returning in two days with men to carry our goods,
and a supply of food.

I was now left with the Ashira rascals, eight in
number, and with only two of my faithful Commi
men to aid me in keeping watch over them. We
were encamped in a small open space in the lone-
liest and gloomiest part of the forest, on the top
of a long sloping path which led into a deep valley
on the Otando side. "We were absolutely without
food, and went supjoerless to bed, myself and my two
men Rebouka and Ngoma having agreed to watch in
our turns the Ashira, who pretended to be asleep in
their olakos on the opposite side of the road. My
baggage, alas! still too large and the cause of all
my troubles, lay piled up beside our camp fire in
front of lis.

"We whiled away the early hours of night in
talking of Quengueza and the country by the sea-

CiiAP. VIII. LEGEND OF ATUNGULU SHIMBA. 149

sliore, or in relating and listening to legends and
fables. This latter amusement was alwaj's to me a
pleasant way of passing the time. The memory of
the Equatorial African is well stored with parables,
fables, and extravagant stories of one kind or
another. Having improved my acquaintance, on the
present journey, with several of the native languages,
I was able to note down almost every story I heard,
and thus accumulated a large collection of them.
The following legend, connected probably with some
natural phenomenon in one of the neighbouring rivers,
is a sample of these African stories : —

Atungulu Shimba was a king who attained the
chief authority in his village by right of succession,
and built eight new houses. But Atungulu had
sworn, that whosoever should quarrel with him he
would eat him. And so it really happened uiitil,
finally, after eating his enemies one after the other,
he was left alone in his dominions, and he then
married the beautiful Arondo-ienu, daughter of a
neighbouring king.

It was Atungulu's habit, after his marriage, to go
daily into the forest to trap wild animals, with the
Ashinga net, leaving his wife alone in the village.
One day Njali, the eldest brother of Arondo-ienu —
for Coniambie (King of the Air), their father, had
three sons — came to take back his sister out of the
clutches of Atungulu Shimba ; but the king arrived
unexpectedly and ate him up. Next came the second
brother, and he was also eaten. At last came Ile-
ninga, the third brother, and there was a great fight

150 FROM OLENDA TO MAYOLO. Chap. VIII.

between him and Atungulu, which lasted from sun-
rise till midday, when Reninga was overpowered and
eaten like his two brothers before him.

Keninga, however, had a powerful fetich on him,
and came out of Atungulu alive. The King, on
seeing him, exclaimed, " How have you contrived
this, to come back ? " He then smeared him and
Arondo-ienu with alumhi chalk, and putting his
hands together, blew a loud whistle, saying after-
wards, " Reninga, take back your sister." He then
went and threw himself into the water, to drown
himself, through grief for the loss of his wife.

Before dying, Atungulu Shimba declared that if
Arondo-ienu ever married again, she would die ; and
the prophecy came true, for she married another man
and died soon after. Her brother Reninga, there-
upon, through sorrow for the loss of his sister, threw
himself into the water in the place where Atungulu
died, and was drowned.

At the spot where Atungulu Shimba died, a
stranger sees, when he looks into the deep water, the
bodies of the king and Arondo-ienu side by side, and
the nails of his beautiful wife all glittering like
looking-glasses. From that time, water has obtained
the property of reflecting objects, and has ever since
been called by the name of Arondo-ienu, and people
have been able to see their own images reflected on
its surface, on account of the transparency given to
it by the bright nails of Arondo-ienu.*

As the day dawned hunger came, but there was

* lenu means " looking-glass " in the languages of tribes near the sea.

CnAr. YIII. KOOLA NUT-TEEES. 151

no food to be had. There was no help for it, Lut to
divide our party and go in search of something to
eat in the forest ; some, therefore, went to look for
Koola nuts, and others took their guns and wandered
in search of monkeys, or any otlier game tliey might
find. The whole day passed, however, without any-
thing being found, and we again went supperless to
sleep.

It was unfortunate for us that Koola nut-trees
were so scarce in the part of the forest where we
now lay, for this valuable nut is generally an un-
failing resource at this season of the year. The
natives never think of taking with them much food
on a journey in the season when Koola nuts are ripe,
but trust in finding their daily bread, as it were,
under the trees. The tree is one of the tallest and
finest in these forests. It grows singly, or in small
groups, and yields so abundantly that, when the nut
is ripe, the whole crown appears one mass of fruit.
The nut is quite round, and has a very hard shell, so
hard that it has to be broken with a stone. Tlie
kernel is about as large as a cherry, and is almost as
compact in substance as the almond. It is very
nourisliing and wholesome ; about thirty nuts are
enouf>-]i for a sinorlo meal. The wild boar feeds on
them in the nut season, and becomes extremely fat
with the nutritious diet.

The next day I went also myself into the bush,
accompanied by an Ashira boy, and leaving Rebouka
armed to the teeth to watch my baggage. I was so
much weakened with hunger and anxiety that I
could scarcely walk. For a long time I could find

152 FROM OLENDA TO MAYOLO. Chap. VIII.

no traces of game of any kind, and was about to
retrace my steps, when 1 heard the luimistakeable
roar of the gorilla. For the moment I forgot my
fatigue, and the old spirit was once more aroused
within me. I plunged forward into the thick of the
forest, breaking, as I went along, small boughs to
enable me to find my way back, and tearing my
clothes with the thorny underwood. The roar be-
came nearer, and seemed to shake the ground under
me. I heard the rustling of the branches, and
fancied there must be more than one. The excite-
ment of the moment was great, and was increased by
the prospect of obtaining food for all our party.
Suddenly the roaring ceased. I stopped, thinking
that it was a male which was perhaps preparing to
advance on me. But I listened in vain ; the beast
had fled. When I reached the spot, I saw nothing
but broken branches of trees. I measured some of
these with my thumb, and found boughs of five
inches diameter broken in two by the powerful grip
of this monster of the forest. Although disappointed
in my chase, I was glad to find a corroboration of the
explanation I had given, in my former volume, of
the wearing down of the animal's front teeth, for
som.e of the branches bore plainly the tooth marks.

I returned weary and hungry to the camp, and
tried to sleep under my shed. But I could not sleep,
and, in my prostrate condition, visions passed through
my mind of the many good dinners I had eaten at
the hospitable boards of my friends in Europe and
America. Strange to say, dinners which I had en-
tirely forgotten now recurred to my memory with

CuAP. Ylir. UXSELFISII ACT OF THE ASIIIRA. 153

an almost morbid vividness. I could tell every disli,
and recalled the pleasant savour of many good
tilings which I felt there was no hope of my ever
enjoying again.

Towards ev^ening things began to mend. The
Ashira returned from their chase successful, having
killed two monkeys. How strange are the contra-
dictions in the African character ! These men who
had so remorselessly plundered me, and with whom
my relations had been for a long time none of the
pleasantest, came forward v/ith great disinterested-
ness and gave the whole of the meat up to me. I
refused however to take it, and told them that as it
was of their own procuring they were to divide it
amongst themselves. They insisted, however, upon
giving me the lion's share, which I did not a second
time refuse. I divided it into equal portions between
my Commi men and myself, and a most hearty and
refreshing meal wc made off our monkey.

On the following day, hour after hour passed and
no arrival from Otando. The Ashira men began to
feel uneasy. They thought something was in pre-
paration against them ; that Mayolo was mustering
a force to come and punish them for their treachery
to the white man, and for their imprisonment of an
Otando subject. I had great difficulty, as the day
wore on, to prevent them from leaving me ; they tried
at first to get their pay from me, but, on my refusal,
threatened to run off without it. It w^as only by
holding up before them the certainty of Quengueza
making war on the Ashira if they forsoolv me en-
tirely, that I finally prevailed on them to remain,
12

154 FROM OLEXDA TO JIAYOLO. Chap. YIII.

At length voices were lieard in the valley on the
Otando side, then the report of a gun, and up
bounded the long line of Otando men, headed by
Rapelinn, to the rescue, laden with provisions, and
merry as crickets. Mayolo had sent for my own
use a stock of Mpegui nuts, two fowls, and plenty
of plantains. The arrival was most welcome, for we
were again helpless with hunger. We had been
again without food all day, and it was now evening.

Mpegui nuts are the product of a large tree wjiich
grows abundantly in some parts of the forest, but is
nowhere planted by the natives. The nut is quite
different in form from the Koola nut already de-
scribed. It is round, but the kernel is three-lobed
and full of oil. The oily nature of the nuts enables
the natives to manufacture them into excellent cakes,
by pounding them in a wooden mortar, and enclosing
the pulp in folded leaves, and then subjecting it to
the action of smoke on a stage over a wood fire.
They eat it generally with meat as we do bread, but
when animal food is scarce it forms a good reserve,
and is very palatable, seasoned with a little &alt and
pepper.

After a good night's rest — the first that I had
had for a long time — we arose refreshed in the
morninir, and the horns of the Otando men at sun-
rise blew the signal for our departure. There had
been again heavy rain in the night, and the rain-
drops on the leaves of the forest trees glittered in the
early sunlight. A thin mist hung over the deep
valley before us, and in the coolness of the early
hour we marched off at great speed, determined

Chap. VIIL AEPJVAL IN OTANDO-LAND. 155

not to spend another night in the solitude of the
forest.

Notliing occurred wortliy of mention during the
remainder of our march except the crossing of a deep
river, another of the tributaries of the Ngouyai, about
ten miles west of Mayolo. This stream is called the
Oganga, and for me it was a new discovery, as I did
not see it on my journey to the Apingi country in
1858. It is a deep river at all seasons of the year.
AVe traversed it by a bridge, formed of the trunk of
a colossal tree which lay across it. We were delayed
a short time on the banks of the stream by the men
stopping to gather and eat Koola nuts, vast quanti-
ties of which lay beneath a group of trees of this
species that grew here. "We were approaching the
end of our journey, and the blue sky began to
appear through the breaks in the crowns of the trees
ahead.

CHAPTER IX.

MAYOLO.

Arrival at ]\Iayolo — Reception Tby the Cliief — Discovery of more Losses —
I accuse tbe Asliira — Their Flight — Seizure of a Hostage — Gathering of
the Head men of Otando — Mayolo falls ill — I am attacked hy Fever —
Great Heat and Thunderstorm — Arrival of Macondai and Igalo — Their
Ill-treatment hy the Ashira — Loss of Photographic Camera and
Chemicals — Surgical Practice of the Otando — A Female Doctor —
Matrimonial Squabhles — Mayolo's health improves — Witchcraft Ordeal
— My Speech to the People — Speech of Mayolo — Curiosity of the
Otando — A Female Duel — The Bashikouay Ants — A Precocious Thief
— Mayolo again falls ill — Good news from the Apono country — Asto-
nishment of the Natives at the Musical-box and Magnets — Climate of
Mayolo — Deposit of Dew — The Otolicnus — Eecovery of Macondai
— The Alumbi Fetich — Departure from Mayolo.

At length, on the evening of the 24th March, we
emerged from the gloom of the forest into an open
tract of grass-land, the Otando prairie, where every-
thing seemed light and cheerful after the dark shades
to which we had been so long accustomed. A wide
stretch of undulating country lay open before us;
the foreground of which was formed by prairie, the
rest appearing as a continuous expanse of forest with
long wooded ridges in the distance, one behind the
other, the last and highest fading into blue mist
in the far distance. From the margins of the forest
the land gradually sloped, and signs of population
were apparent in sheds and patches of plantation.
A beautifully clear stream flowed near the prairie

Chap. IX. ARRIVAL AT MA YOLO. 157

and past the plantations towards the Ngouyai. A
denser tract of forest, with lofty trees and numerous
palms stretching across the distant landscape, marked
the course of the great river Ngouyai which watered
these fertile plains. As we approached the village
of Mayolo, w^e fired off the customary signal-shots,
and these brouglit a response of the same kind. The
chief of the village possessed only one old Tower-
musket, minus the stock, which had long been worn
out; it was still, however, a good gun. Powder
was a scarce article in this inland country, and
nothing but the hope of getting more from me could
Lave induced Mayolo to waste his small stock.

A number of men soon made their appearance,
and led us, with loud cheers, to the palaver-house of
the village. The beating of the kendo was then
heard, and Mayolo himself was seen in the street
advancing towards us ; his body streaked with
alumbi chalk, and muttering mysterious words as he
slowly marched along. On being seated, and after
stopping the beating of the kendo, he looked towards
my Ashira guides, and exclaimed, " So here he is at
last, the great Spirit with his untold WTaltli !" Then,
turning to me, he told me of the great trouble he had
had with the Otando people, who had tried all they
could to dissuade him from receiving me, saying that
I brought the plngue and death wherever I came.
He said he had vainly argued with them that I could
not be the cause of the plague, seeing that the disease
was already amongst them long before they had
heard of the white man being even in the Ashira
country. My heart warmed towards the sagacious
old man for these sensible words, and we exchanged

158 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

VOWS of friendship in face of the gaj)ing crowd
assembled around us.

Mayolo was the principal chief of the Otando
country, and it was my interest to conciliate him as
much as possible. He was a man of striking appear-
ance ; tall, broad-shoiddered, and very light-coloured
for a negro. His eyes were small and piercing, and
there was in them far more intelligence than is
usually seen in negroes. His rig'ht hand had lost
several of its fingers through the bursting of a gun,
for he had been, in his younger days, a great
elephant-hunter, and his bravery was well known
all over the neighbouring country. He had a
pleasant expression of features, notwithstanding that
his face was daubed with ochre-coloured chalk of
various shades ; one cheek being red and the other
nearly white, including the circuit of the eyes. His
people seemed to regard him with great reverence ;
and, in their looks, one miglit read the thought,
"What a great man you are, 0 Chief! your fame
it is that has brought the great Spirit amongst us ! "

After Mayolo retired, a present of a large goat and
two enormous bunches of plantains was brought in.
We were almost famished, and had a great feast that
evening. It was astonishing to see the quantity my
Commi men could consume. Negroes can stand
hunger well for a few days, but they make amends
for it when food is put before them in abundance.
W^hilst dinner was preparing I went to see my man
Tgala, who was ill of the small-pox, in the hut where
the goods were stored which I had sent with him.
I found he had the confluent and worst form of the

Chap. IX. DISCOVERY OF MORE LOSSES. 159

disease ; tlie poor fellow seemed much pleased when
I sliook hands vrith him, and showed him I was not
afraid of him. Tlie Mayolo people had wanted to
remove him from tlie hut, Lut he had refused to
leave the goods which 1 had put under his care.

The next morning-, on opening my japanned boxes
to take out medicine for Igala, 1 made fresli discove-
ries of the extent to which I had been robbed by these
rascally Asliira. All the bottles containing medicines
— castor-oil, calomel, laudanum, rhubarb, jalap — were
gone ; besides a thermometer, two sun thermometers,
several tins of preserved meats, camera, photogiaphic
chemicals, beads, and many other things. They were
the boxes that had formed part of the cargoes of
Mintcho, Ayagui, and the Apingi men. I could
scarcely contain my vexation, and thoughts of being
forced, for sheer lack of goods and instruments, to
relinquish my object of penetrating further into the
interior, flashed across my mind.

I now accused Mintcho boldly of the robbery, taking-
care to seize his gun and his two slave-bundles *
beforehand. But the hypocritical rascal pretended to
be in a rage with others for having robbed me. He
worked himself into the appearance of violent passion,
foaming at the mouth, and exclaiming, " Let me go
back, Cliaillie; I will find out the robbers, and shoot
them if they do not give np everything you have
lost." Ayagui came in at this juncture, with a gun
which Rebouka had lent him to go cut shooting that

* The slavc-V)uncllo is a parcel of goods amonntin:; to (he value of a
slave, wliidi the head meu carried on the march, to buy slaves with on
their own account.

IGO MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

morning. It was necessary to disarm this man, but
he refused when I requested him to deliver up the
gun. The situation was now a critical one ; for, if
I allowed the Otando people to see how I could be
plundered, and afterwards set at defiance, the ex-
ample would be fatal to the success of my expedition.
I appealed to Mayolo, telling him that the goods of
which I liad been robbed were intended as presents for
him, and that the gun which Ayagui refused to give
up was also his property. This was a manoeuvre of
mine, and was quite successful ; the Otando and
their chief forthwith ranged themselves on my side,
but Ayagui was not disarmed without great diffi-
culty, for he threatened to fire on the first man
who approached him. At this I called my four men
together, ordered them to level their muskets at
him, myself pointing my revolver, and this brought
him to reason. The gun was handed over to Mayolo.

Mintcho and the rest now made for the forest on
their Avay home ; but, wishing to secure one of them
as a hostage for the restitution of my property, we
pursued them, and Rebouka seized one of them. To
my vexation, instead of one of the men, he seized a
boy, the son of my good Ashira friend, Adingo. The
guilty fugitives at this were terribly frightened, but
I took pains to let them know, before they were out
of hearing, that we should do no harm to the boy, but
would I'estore him as soon as my goods were brought
back. Igala, though very ill, said if he had known
what I wanted to do, he could have seized Mintcho
himself.

Our prompt action in this matter had the effect

Chap. IX. SEIZURE OF A HOSTAGE. 161

wliicli I desired. It inspired the Otando people with
fear and respect for up, and showed that, though few,
we were not to be trifled with.

I now turned to our Httle prisoner. Poor fellow !
he was a mere boy, about twelve years of age, and
my heart felt for him as I heard his moans when
passing by the hut, for Rebouka had secured him so
tightly with cords that he could not move a limb.
He said to me, with tears in his eyes, " Oh, Chaillie !
you are my father's great friend ; I am but a child,
and cannot run away. They will come back with all
your stolen things ; Mintcho told me so. Oh, Chaillie !
I suffer so much. I am your boy. Did I not refuse
to leave you, but followed you to the Otando country ?
Do loosen the cords which hurt me so mucli." I
ordered Rebouka to slacken the cords, whicli he did,
but remonstrated terribly at my imprudence, telling
me that I wasted my pity on the boy ; that I did not
know negroes ; that negroes were not children at
that age. " Do you think," said he, " that a child
could have come from the Ngouyai to the Otando
country with the load this boy has carried ? " We
then secured him under the verandah of my hut, and
set a watch over him during the night. Mayolo also
urged me to keep a good look-out on the boy ; for then
all my property would be sure to come back to me.

Itebouka was right. The cunning little fellow
escaped before the morning. He contrived to
wriggle free of the cords which bound him, and
fled whilst the guard was absent for a few moments.
His escape was a great loss to me, for, had I suc-
ceeded in keeping him, all the goods I had been

1G2 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

robbed of would have been certainly restored — the
boy being the son of a chief who had great influence
over the Ashira.

In the afternoon there was a gathering of the head
men of the neiglibouring villages, belonging to
Mayolo's clan, and much speechifying and excite-
ment. Mayolo swelled with pride on introducing the
white man to them, and as I spread out the goods I
intended for each of them as payment for the men
they had sent to my assistance, he exclaimed, pointing
at the goods : " Look ! this is the sort of plngue the
white man brings among us. Would you ever liave
had any of these fine things if I had not invited him
to come ? " The appeal was not to be resisted. They
all went away at the end of the palaver in good
humour, and the next morning brought into the
village presents of fowls, goats, ground-nuts, and
plantains. Mayolo and the other chiefs said they
would disprove the slander of the Ashiras, who
wanted to keep all my goods for themselves and said
there was nothing to eat in Otando-land. Aftei' this
there were more speeches, and then tlie impoi'tant
ceremony, for mo, of making return presents to all
the donors. I had previously shown Mayolo what I
intended to give, and he had remonstrated witli me
for giving them too much, saying they did not know
the value of the things. I adhered, however, to my
purpose, and was rather astounded to hear Mayolo,
on coming out of the hut, tell the chiefs tliat he had
been persuading me to give each of them a good pre-
sent ! On their sides they tried to look dissatisfied,
and demanded more. This I resisted, and made a

Chap. IX. THE CHIEF FALLS ILL. 1C3

show of taking Lack the whole. They all laughccl,
and said, "No, wc were only trying it on;" and
looking at one another, tliey added, " He is a man ! "
whicli means he is not to be humbugged, and is a
higli compliment.

We had been only four days in Otando-land, when,
to my great sorrow and vexation, Mayolo fell seriously
ill. Thus it was my fate to see another cl n'ef cast
down after my arrival in his country. Should Mayolo
die, I felt that my expedition must come to an end,
for it would be impossible to drive the idea out of the
heads of the superstitions negroes that my presence
was the cause of the death of their chiefs. Night
after night I was kept awake with anxiety, listen-
ins: to tlie moans of the sick man. The heat of the
weather, too, in the early days of April, was most
stifling. A. conflagration of the prairie round the
village also came to add to our troubles, for 1 had
great difficulty in removing the ammunition and
goods from my hut in time to avoid a disaster. On
the 1st and 3rd of April I over-exerted myself in
taking several solar observations. The heat in the
shade was about 92° Fahr., and in the sun it reached
130° or 135° Fahr. I took, at night, several lunar
observations, ascertaining the distances between the
moon and Venus and between the moon and Spicn,
and obtained also several meridian altitudes of stars.
The sky was so clear that I was. anxious not to let
the opportunity pass of obtaining these observations.
My exertions, however, combined with my heavy
anxieties and the loss of my goods, brought on an
attack of fever. It was fortunate that the scoundresl

164 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

had not robbed me of all my stock of quinine and
calomel.

The great heat of the weather culminated on the
evening of the 5th of April, and we then had a most
terrific storm, with claps of thunder exploding over
our heads that made the whole place shake with the
concussion. At the second explosion I felt a shock
in my right leg, and a sudden jerk, which for the
moment frightened me. Deluges of rain accompanied
the electric explosion, and the weather became much
cooler. Heavy rain fell again on the evening of the
Gth, but the weather afterwards cleared up, and the
moon shone beautifully.

Though far from well, I took a meridian altitude
of Dubhe, so that now I was sure of my latitude,
having taken several good observations.

April Sth. Amidst all my cares a gleam of sunshine
lights me up now and then. To-day one source of
anxiety was taken off my mind in the arrival of
Igalo with my poor boy Macondai. The Otando
people seemed as much pleased as I was that all my
party were now reunited. The state of Macondai was,
however, a great drawback to my rejoicing. I went
to the hut, to which Igalo had led him, to see my faith-
ful companion, but was horrified on beholding him.
His head was swollen and covered with pustules, the
nose seemed literally eaten up, and his body was in
the same state. But the worst sight was one of his
leirs ; it was so swollen that it looked more like the
foot of an elephant than that of a human being, and
there was an appearance of gangrene commencing. I
had known Macondai from a child, and loved him.

Chap. IX. AEEIVAL OF IGALO AND MACONDAI. 165

A cold chill ran tliroiigli me at the thought that he
would not recover ; I felt that I was to blame in
bringing these faithful fellows all the way fiom the
coast, to suffer and die amongst what were to them a
foreign people.

Ijralo and Macondai now related the events which
had happened in Ashira-land after my departure.
They told me that Ondonga, the heir of Oienda, who
had promised to take care of Macondai, removed
them, on my departure, to anoiher hut, which he told
them belonged to his father-in-law, who would attend
to the sick boy. He gave out that he himself was
going to Oienda village, but would return in two days,
and borrowed the cutlass I had left to take with him.
Ondonga never returned, and the owner of the hut, on
his appearance, demanded payment of them for lodg-
ing. A few days afterwards, Mintcho, Ayagui, and
the others made their appearance. They said I had
refused to pay thom until Macondai and Igalo had
rejoined me, and told Macondai to make haste to be
well ; but the owner of the hut, returning some time
after their departure, told them the truth, namely,
that I had retained their bundles, and refused to pay
them, until my stolen property was restored. He
told them also that the robbery had been planned
beforehand between Ondonga and Mintcho. After
this they had a visit from four Asliira people, who
resorted to artifice to get Igalo out of the way for
a few moments, telling him that he ought to go and
fetch water to wash the sick boy's sores, and then,
whilst Igalo was gone to the brook with the water-
jar,, decamped with both the guns and all their other

166 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

property, laughing at poor JMacondai in liis helpless
state. After this he resolved to leave the wretched
place, Macondai crawling slowly, supported by Igalo,
who carried sufficient plantains for the journey.

How I thanked my stars that I had not listened
to the advice of those scoundrels to leave all my pro-
perty in the woods. Out of all my thermometers I
had now only one left, the centigrade, and but two
aneroids to measure the height of mountains. I
felt much the loss of my two thermometers, with
which I measured the power of the sun, for I was
exceedingly interested in these observations. The
mountain aneroids and all my watches I always
carried myself in a little japanned box. I felt the
loss of my camera most keenly, for it was one of the
things I had looked forward to with the greatest
pleasure, to bring home a splendid and unique series
of photographs of this inland country. This hope
was now at an end ; and the many months I had
spent in learning the art, and the tedious practising
in the coast country, to the great injury of my health,
were all in vain. The thieves had also stolen a
number of photographic views I had taken of vil-
lages and. natives, and of the live gorillas. I had
been at very considerable expense in purchasing a
complete apparatus and a supply of the best chemi-
cals, and it was very annoying to think it should all
be wasted in this way. I thought how much my
friend, M. Claudet, would grieve, who took so much
pains to instruct me in the art — and all his labours
given freely, for the love of science. They had also
carried off my cooking implements, working tools_, &c.

CHAP. IX. STORMS— GREAT HEAT. 167

I lieard a few days afterwards that two of the
Ashira thieves had died soon after their return. 1
wonder whether they had swallowed some of my
chemicahs ! It was the helief of the people that I had
caused their death in some mysterious way for their
robbery of my property, and I was considered a most
potent wizard.

On the 9tli of April we had a tornado and rain at
half-past eight in the evening. For hours, flash after
flash of lightning was seen all round the horizon,
except between the west and south. The heavens
seemed ploughed up by the flashes. I have re-
marked that the wind generally blows from the
south-east, but sometimes in ihe morning it blew
from tlie mountains between Mayolo and the Ngouyai
country. On the 12th we had a tremendous tor-
nado, the heaviest, I think, that we have had this
year. It came from the north-east.

Ajjril 20t/i. The weather still continued oppres-
sively hot. At ten a.m. to-day the thermometer in
the village marked 92° 30' Fahr.* I took my instru-
ment into the neighbouring forest and found that
the temperature there fell to 84° 20', and remained
so until near four o'clock. When I returned to the
village at a quarter-past four p.m. the thermometer
stood at 92°. The great humidity of these dense
shades causes an agreeable coolness, and I have
noticed that when rain has fallen during the night
there often remains some moisture on the surface of
the leaves at two p.m., showing how slow, com-

* For the convenience of the reader I have converted centigrade into
Falireulicit.

168 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

paratively speakiDg", is tlie evaporation in these
shady places. "Whether it was owing to the heat
of the weather, or to the low situation of Mayolo
(for the prairie lies in a valley only 496 feet above
the sea-level), I cannot tell, bnt I was unwell during
the whole of our stay here, and was never free from
feverishness and an oppressive sensation in tlie head,
which were extremely dispiriting. Nevertheless, I
was determined not to give way to feelings of lassi-
tude, and took my daily bath in the sparkling rivulet
which meandered through the prairie towards the
forest.

Some days after, an eruption of very small red
pimples almost covered my body. I then thought
that the small-pox had been checked by my having
been vaccinated.

Since my arrival in Mayolo, I have been com-
puting my lunar observations, a very fatiguing task
in this hot climate.

Every day since I have been here we have had
thunder and lightning. As I look towards the
mountains in the east, heavy black clouds hang con-
tinually over the country, and it seems to rain there
unceasingly. The people, pointing to that country,
say it is the " Mother of Kain." Here, at Mayolo,
since the 12th, we have had alternately rain and
sunshine — one day a tornado, the next day a clear
blue sky. Since the sun has been east of the moon,
I have only been able on one day to take the distance
between the sun and moon.

On the 22nd of April I saw a curious example of
the surgical practice of the Otando people. In the

Chap. IX. SURGICAL PKACTICE OF THE OTA^^DO. 1G9

stillness of the afternoon, when the heat of the verti-
cal sun compels every one to repose, I was startled
Ly loud screams, as though some unfortunate being-
was Leing led to death for witchcraft. On going
to the place, I found a helpless woman, who w^as
afflicted with leprosy, and suffering besides under an
attack of lumbago, undergoing an operation for the
latter disease at the hands of the Otando doctor
and his assistants. They had made a number of
small incisions in the back of the poor creature w^ith
a sharp-pointed knife of the country, and were
rubbing into the gashes a great quantity of lime-
juice mixed with pounded cayenne-pepper. The
dcctor was rubbing the irritating mixture into the
wounds with all his might, so that it was no wonder
that the poor creature was screaming with pain, and
rolling herself on the ground. It is Avonderful to
observe the faith all these negroes have in lime-juice
m.ixed with cayenne pepper. They use it not only
as an embrocation, but also internally for dysentery,
and I have often seen them drink as much as half
a tumblerful of it in such cases. The })epper itself
I believe to be a very useful medicine in this cliuiato,
for I have often found benefit from it when unwell
and feverish, by taking an unusual quantity in my
food.

"Whilst I am on the subject of native doctoring, I
must relate what I saw afterwards in the course of
Mayolo's illness. I knew the old chief had lieen
regulaily attended by a female doctor, and often
wondered what she did to him. At length one
morning I happened to go into his house when she
13

170 MAYOLO. . Chap. IX.

was administering lier cures, and remained, an in-
terested spectator, to watch lier operations. Mayolo
was seated on a mat, submitting to all that was done
with the utmost gravity and patience. Before him
was extended the skin of a wild animal {Genetta).
The woman was engaged in rubbing his body all
over with her hands, muttering all the while, in
a low voice, words which I could not understand.
Havinir continued this whojesome friction for some
time, she took a piece of alumhi chalk and made with
it a broad stripe along the middle of his chest and
down each arm. This done, she chewed a quantity
of some kind of roots and seeds, and, having well
charged her mouth with saliva, spat upon him in
different places, but aiming her heaviest shots at the
parts most affected. Finally, she took a bunch of a
particular kind of grass, which had been gathered
when in bloom and was now dry, and, lighting it,
touched with the flame the body of her patient in
various places, beginning at the foot and gradually
ascending to the head. 1 could perceive that Mayolo
smarted with the pain of the burns, when the torch
remained too long. When the flame was extinguished
the woman applied the burnt end of the torch to
her patient's body, and so the operations ended.

It seemed to me that there was some superstition
of deep significance connected with the apphcation of
fire in these Otando cures. They appeared to have
great faith in the virtues of fire, and this is perhaps
not far removed from fire-worship. I asked the old
woman why she used this kind of remedy, and what
power she attributed to fire, but her only answer was

Chap. IX. MATRIMONIAL SQUABBLES. 171

that it prevented tlie illness with which Mayolo had
been afflicted from coming again. The female doctor,
I need scarcely add, had come from a distance ; for it
is always so in primitive Africa — the further off a
doctor or witch finder lives, the greater his reputation.

The wives of West African chiefs are ahnost as
independent as their lords and masters. They have
their own plantations, and have their own little
property. When quarrels arise between them and
their husbands, I don't think the latter always get
the best of it, for wife-flogging is but very seldom
resorted to by the men here. The following is a
sample of the matrimonial disputes which I witnessed
during my stay at Mayolo : —

Mayolo was greatly enraged one day because his
head ^vife — a young w^oman about twenty years of
age, and remarkable for her light-coloured skin and
hazel eyes — had mislaid or wasted his tobacco, a very
precious drug here. He threatened to take away
the pipe or condoquai, which is cojnmon property
to man and wife, and so prevent her smoking any
more. Instead of being frightened, the young wife
retorted that the plantain-stem of the pipe was her
own property, and that she w^ould take it away, and
what was he to do then? — for he had not plantain-
trees of his own, they were all hers. The dispute
soon waxed fierce, and she then threatened to set fire
to his house. At this the old man laughed heartily,
and dared her to do it. It was the most serious
squabble I had witnessed ; if Mayolo had been well
in hcaltli at the time, and more seriously angry, the
worst that would hare happened would have been

172 MAYOLO. Chap. IX

a f]o<»'<>'in2: for the beloved wife. She mio-ht have
then run away; but any great act of" cruelty does
not enter the heads of these mild-tempered people,
except as the punishment of witchcraft.

T(; wards the end of April I was glad to find a
decided change for the better in Mayolo's health.
Macondai was also much improved, and I now saw
some prospect of moving forwards towards the east.
Unfortunately my hopes were soon after again cast
down, by Mayolo's favourite wife and one of his
nephews falling ill of small-pox. Mayolo, who was
as anxious as I was to be off before the dry season
set in, on account of the plantations he had to make,
was now in great trouble. He rose the next day
before daylight, and proclaimed aloud in the street
of his village, before the people had gone out of
their houses, that some one had bewitched the place,
and that tlie mhoundou (poison ordeal) must be tried.
Notwithstanding the love he seemed to have for his
young wife, fear of the disease had the upper hand ;
he sent her away to the village of her own people,
where the plague was now raging, there to remain
till she either died or became well ; the nephew was
ordered into the woods, and people sent to build him
an olako, or shed ; his own wife, who was to attend
on him, was to be prohibited from entering the vil-
lage. These were strong sanitary measures. I was
racked with anxiety and vexation. This abominable
plague seemed to follow me everywhere. I had learnt
from Macondai that the chiefs of Ashira Kamba, and
especially Mbana and liis wife, who had cooked for
us when in the Kamba country, had died of the

Chap. IX. WITCHCRAFT ORDEAL. 173

disease after I had left. I had succeeded in prevent-
ing the news from spreading in Mayolo, for my men
had the good sense never to say a word about any-
thing that might retard my progress; but it filled
me with grief to think that I should be thought to
bring nothing but death to so many poor, kind-
hearted people.

The "finding out" or trial in the witchcraft case
came off on the 27th of April ;* Mayolo being con-
vinced that neither himself, his w^ife, nor his nephew,
would have been ill if some one were not bewitching
them, and seeking to cause their death. A cele-
brated doctor had been sent for from a distance, and
appeared in the morning decked out in the most fan-
tastic manner. Half his body was painted red and
the other half white, his face was daubed with streaks
of black, white, and red, and of course he wore around
his neck a great quantity of fetiches. The villagers
were assembled and the doctor had commenced his
divinations when I arrived at the place, a witness
once again of this gloomy ceremony, which was dif-
ferent from that of the Commi people seen formerly
by me, as related in ' Adventures in Equatorial
Africa.' The doctor counterfeited his voice when
speaking, in order to impress on the people a due
sense of his supernatural powers of divination ; all
the painting, dressing and mummery have the same
object in view, namely to strike awe into the minds
of the people. A black earthenware vessel filled
with water, and surrounded by charmed ochre and

* This ordeal — the pona oganga of the Commi — is here called oyambif
or oyambe.

174 MAYOLO. Chap. IX

fetiches, served the purpose of the looking-glass used
by the coast tribes. The doctor, seated on his stool,
looked intently and mysteriously into the water, shook
his head, then looked into a lighted torch which he
waved over it, made contortions with his bodj^, trying
to look as ugly as he could, then smoked the condo-
quai (pipe), repeated the mummeries over again, and
concluded by pronouncing that the persons who
were bewitching the village were people belonging
to the place. This oracular saying put the people
into great consternation ; they all began to appear
afraid of each other ; the nearest relatives v^ere
made miserable by mutual suspicions. Mayolo then
rose and exclaimed in an excited manner that the
mboundou must be drunk, appointing the following
morning for the ceremony, as the people had eaten
to-day, and the poison must be drunk on an empty
stomach.

At sunrise the next morning the village was empty.
All had gone to a little meadow encircled by woods,
a short distance away, to take jDart in the ceremony.
Who were the suspected persons was kept secret,
partly because they were afraid I would interfere. I
thought it, however, better policy not to do so, but
attended to witness the proceedings and to ascertain
whether they differed from those followed on similar
occasions near the coast. On entering the assembly
I gave them the usual salutation, and shook hands
with Mayolo. It soon appeared that the suspicions
of the people fell upon three of Mayolo's nephews,
his consecutive heirs, it being thought natural that
they should wish to get rid of him. I noticed that

Chap. IX. DRINKING THE MBOUNDOU. 175

tlie whole body of tlic people took an active part
in the affair ; the doctor not openly naming ai]yl:)ody
as the guilty parties. It was the people themselves
who originated the suspicions, and they showed by
their clamour how they thirsted for victims. Mayolo
and the doctor remained silent.

The nephews in vain protested that they were
innocent, and declared that the accusation was a lie ;
but they added that there were others who wanted to
bewitch their uncle. They became enraged at the
pertinacity of their accusers, and swore that the
people should pay dearly for making them drink the
mboundou. They said they were not afraid to drink
it, for they were not wizards and would not die.

Some of the relatives of the nephews and some of
the people of the village now retired to a short dis-
tance to prepare the poison. Eoots of the mboundou
were then scraped, and a vessel filled with the frag-
ments, on which water was poured ; a kind of effer-
vescence then took place, and the water became of a
red coloui', like the root itself. Sufficient was made
to serve as a good draught to each of the accused.
When the water becomes red, it is considered good
mboundou, and ready to kill any wizards. The
drinkers of the mboundou are not allowed to wit-
ness the preparation, but their representatives may,
to see that fair play is used. When at length the
poor fellows were brought into the middle of the
circle of excited spectators, it was horrid to see the
ferocity expressed in the countenances of the people ;
it seemed as thou2:li their nature had entirelv chan£red.
Knives, axes, and spears were held ready to be used

176 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

on the bodies of the victims if they should succumb
under the ordeal ; if the accused should become un-
steady under the influence of the poison and stumble,
the now quiet crowd would become suddenly frenzied
and unmanageable. All seemed eager for the sacrifice
of victims to their superstitious fears. It is chiefly
through the immunity with which they can drink the
poison that the doctors obtain such power over the
people ; and no wonder, when so many people die
under it. The mboundou is a most violent poison.
This was proved by the analysis of its roots which I
caused to be made after my former journey.

A breathless silence prevailed whilst the young
men took the much-dreaded cups of liquid and boldly
swallowed the contents ; the whispering of the wind
could be heard through the leaves of the surrounding
trees. But it was only of short duration. As soon
as the poison was drunk, the crowd began to beat their
sticks on the ground, and shout, " If they are wizards,
let the mboundou kill them ; if innocent, let it go
out ! " repeating the words as long as the suspense
lasted. The struggle was a severe one ; the eyes of
the young men became bloodshot, their limbs trembled
convulsively, and every muscle in their bodies was
visibly working under the potent irritation. The
more acute their sufferings became, the louder vocife-
rated the excited assembly. I was horror-stricken, and,
although I would gladly have fled from the place,
felt transfixed to the spot. I knew that if they fell
I should have no power to save them, but should
be forced to see them torn limb from limb. At
lenjrth, however, the crisis came — a sudden shiver of

CHAr. IX. RESULT OF THE ORDEAL. 177

the body and involuntary discharge — and the first
intended victim liad escaped. The same soon after
happened to the second and to the third. They
gradually came hack to their former state, but ap-
peared very much exhausted. Some people never get
over the effects of drinking the mboundou, although
they pass the ordeal without giving way. They linger
for a long time in a sickly condition, and then die.
The trial was over, and the doctor closed the cere-
mony by himself drinking an enormous quantity of
the poison, with a similar result to that which we had
witnessed in the young men, only that he appeared
quite tipsy ; in his wild and incoherent sayings,
wdiilst under the influence of the drink, he stated
that the bewitchers of Mayolo and the hringers of
the plague did not belong to the village, a deci-
sion which was received with great acclamation.
Mayolo was rejoiced that the wizards or witches
did not belong to his own people, and the whole
people were wild with joy : guns were fired, and the
evening passed with beating of drums, singing, and
dancing.

To protect the village from the wizards who might
enter it from the neighbouring villages, and who had
been accused as the cause of ]\Iayolo's troubles, the
doctor, accompanied by the whole of the people, went
to the paths leading to Mayolo from other villages,
and planted sticks at intervals across them, connecting
the sticks by strong woody creepers, and hanging on
the ropes leaves from the core of the crowns of palm-
trees. It is a recognised law among these people
that no strano'er can come within these lines AVhen

178 MA YOLO. CuAp. IX.

I asived Mayolo what lie would do if any one was to
force tlie lines, lie said that there would then be a
grand palaver, but that there was no fear of such an
event, for it never happened. Another reason for
planting tlie lines was of a sanitary nature : small-
pox was prevalent in several neighbouring villages,
and Mayolo wished to prevent the relatives of the
wives of his villagers (for people generally marry
girls of distant places) from coming on a visit to
them. I learnt to-day that the Otando man, who had
accompanied me from Olenda, had since died of the
plague, and the people of other villages had natu-
rally come to the conclusion that his being in con-
tact with me was the cause. He was one of Mayolo's
fathers-in-law. It is marvellous how firm ]\Iayolo
adheres to the faith that I have nothing at all to do
with the introduction of the plague. His influence
is so great amongst his people that many have now
come round to his opinion, and others dare not
openly declare the contrary.

Two days after tlie pona oganga I called my
people, and Mayolo and his people, together, and
made a formal and resolute demand to be furnished
with guides and porters to the Apono country.
The speech which I made on this occasion was, as
nearly as I can translate it, in the following words ; I
spoke in similitudes, African fashion, and used African
expressions : —

" Mayolo, I have called you and your jieople
together, in order that you may hear my mouth.
When one of your people goes to the Asliira country
to make trade, his heart is not glad until his friends

CiiAP. IX. MY SPEECH TO THE PEOPLE. 179

there Lave given him trade, althoiigli lie may have
been well treated in the meantime, had plenty given
him to eat, and a fine woman lent him as a wife.
When you go to the Apono country in order to get
a slave on trust from your friend the chief, or some
large tusk of ivory from an elephant he has killed,
you are not satisfied until he hns sent you hack to
your village with the slave or the ivory ; and your
friend never fails to send you back with your desire
granted. It is the same if you go to a man whose
daughter you are very fond of, and who has promised
to give her to you as a wife. For if, when you go to
his house to get his daughter, instead of her he gives
you plenty of food, your heart is not glad, though
you have plenty to eat. The food will taste bitter,
for it is not what you came for !

" So it is with me : I am not happy. I have not
come to you, Mayolo, to make trade, to get slaves
and ivor}', or to marry your daughters. If I had
come for these things, I am sure they would have
been given to me long ago. (The assembly here all
shouted ' Yes ! they woukl have been given to you
long ago ! ')

" But you all know tliat I have not come for these
things. I told you when I came, and you knew it
before, that I wanted to go further away. I love you
and your people. (Interruptions of ' "We know you
love us.') You have been kind to me and to my men.
Though some of tlicm have slept with your women,
you have done nothing to them. You have given us
plenty to eat ; you have stolen nothing from my men
or from me ; I have been here as if in my OAvn

180 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

village. (Here tliey cried out, ' It is your own
village ; you are our king,' Mayolo leading the
chorus.) If I wanted to get angry with you, I could
not find a single cause for it. (At this Mayolo
stiffened himself up and looked around, quite proud.)
A few days after my arrival you, Mayolo, fell ill.
You have a good head ; you know that I did not
make you ill. I was very sorry to see you ill, for I
have a heart like yourself. How could I like to see
Mayolo, my only friend, ill ? (Here Mayolo smiled,
and looked prouder than ever.) I love 3^ou, and I
love your people for your sake. (Shouts of ' AVe are
all your friends.') I am not an evil Spirit ; I do not
delight in making people ill ; I do not bring the
plague, for it was in your country before I came.
(Loud shouts of ' Rovano ! ' — it is so.) My own
people have also been ill ; how could I make them
ill ? Macondai, my beloved boy, who has been with
me from a little child, has been more ill than any
other of my men ; how could I wish to make him ill ?
I sit by spreading death and disease before me that
I can go into the interior ? If 3'ou wanted to go
amongst other tribes, would you spread illness before
you ? So it is with me ; to go into the interior I
must make friends. The plague goes where it likes
and asks nobody. The people are afraid of me ; they
do not see that I bring them fine things : beads,
looking-glasses, cloth, and red caps for their heads.
These are things that I wish to leave with the people
wherever I go.

" Now, Mayolo, you are getting better. You have
a saj'ing among yourselves that a man does not stand

Chap. IX. SPEECH OF CHIEF MAYOLO. 181

alone in tlie world ; lie lias friends, and there are no
pco[)le who are without iriends. You Otando have
friends among the Apono and Ishogo people, where
I want to go. If you ask ti-ade of tlicse friends, they
give it to you. I come to you to ask you the road.
Come and show me the road through the Apono
countiy ; it is the one I like the ])e.st, for it is the
shortest. I will make your heart glad, if you make
my heart glad. I have things to give you all, and I
want the news to spread that Mayolo and I are two
great i'riends, so that after I am gone people may
sa}', ' Mayolo was the friend of the Oguizi.' "

Tlie last part of the speech was received with tre-
mendous shouts of applause, and cries of " Eovano !
Eovano ! " ]\Iayolo joining in with the rest. When I
had finished I sat down on my footstool.

Mayolo deferred his answer to the next day, as all
his people were not present, and we then had another
palaver, which I hoped would be a final one. The
men were seated round in a semi-circle, the women
forming a cluster by themselves, and in front was
stationed a boy holding a goat, by the side of which
w^ere two bunches of plantains ; my own people were
also present. Mayolo began his speech, and, as is
customary, addressed a third person, Igala, saying : —

" When a hunter goes into the Ibrest in search
of game, he is not glad until he returns home with
meat. So Ohaillie's heart will not be glad, until
he finishes what he wishes to do. I have heard what
Chaillie has told me. I am a man. Chaillie, the
Oguizi (Spirit) has come to Mayolo ; I am Mayolo ;
there is no other Mayolo but me. I am ashamed at

182 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

tliis long delay; I liave a heart, and Chaillie shall go
on. I know that some people, jealons of me, have
told you that I have palaver in the upper country ;
that I have taken their slaves on trust, and am in
debt to them ; but it is a lie. The people are afraid
of Chaillie ; we all know that he is a Spirit ; from the
time our fathers were born, his like has never been
seen. The news has spread that he brings disease
and death wherever he goes ; and so the people are
afraid of him. I have been ill, but it is not he that
has caused it, but other people who want to bewitch
me, because of the good things that he has given me.
I will go myself, in three or four days, to visit an
Apono chief, a friend of mine, and will tell him that
Chaillie eats like ourselves, drinks like ourselves,
that he plays with our children, talks to our women
and men, and does us good. I am Mayolo, and
Chaillie shall go on his way, and then his heart will
be glad."

Then turning to me, he said : " During the days
you have to wait, take this goat and these two
bunches of plantains, and eat them. We shall soon
be on the long road, but I must feel the way first ;
we must do tilings little by little. You cannot catch
a monkey, unless you are very careful in going to
it."

I answered one of their sayings. "If you had
said ' Wait, wait,' and I saw that 3'on w^ere not telling
me the truth, the goat you have just given me could
not be good, and I would have returned it to you,
for it would taste bitter ; but I believe you."

Thus I had to content myself, whilst Mayolo was

Chap. IX. REJOICING AT MAYOLO'S EECOVERY. 183

exerting liimself to open tlic way for me into Apono-
lancl. In the afternoon I made Igala cut, with a lancet,
into the abscess on Mayolo's shoulder, which gave him
great relief after the discharge of the matter. The
good fellow thanked me very much, and w^e became
better friends than ever. • Next day he was so much
elated with the improvement in his health, that he
got tipsy on a fermented beverage which lie had
prepared two days before he had fallen ill, and which
was made by mixing honey and water, and adding
to it pieces of bark of a certain tvee. The long
standing had improved the liquor in his eyes, for the
older tlie beverage, the more intoxicating it becomes.
All the people of the village had a jollification in the
evening to celebrate the recovery of their chief;
Mayolo being the' most uproarious of all, dancing,
slapping his chest, and shouting " Here I am. alive ;
they said I should die because the Spirit had come,
but here I am."

During all the time he was ill he had been con-
tinually looking forward to this "jolly treat." He
had several of the jars of the country full of the fer-
mented beverage. Fortunately, he was very inoffen-
sive when under the influence of drink. Scarcely
able to stand steady, he came up to me, crying out,
" Here I am, Chaillie, well at last. I tell you I am
well, Oguizi!" and, in order to prove it to me, he
began to leap about and to strike the ground with
his feet, saying, " Don't you see that I am well ?
The Otando people said, the Apono said — as soon as
they heard that you had arrived in my villnge —
' Mayolo is a dead man ! ' As soon as I fell ill, they

184 MAYOLO. CuAP. TX.

said, ' Majolo will never get up again!' But here
I am, alive and well ! Give me some powder, that
I may fire off tlie guns, to let the surrounding people
know that I am well ! "

I quietly said, " Not to-day, Mayolo, for your head
is still weak."

He laughed, and went away shouting, " I knew
the Oguizi did not like to see me ill. I am Mayolo!
I will take him further on ! "

Throughout the month of April I frequently re-
galed myself with what I used to consider a very
good dinner : that is, a haunch of monkey cooked on
the grille. Formerly I had always had a great aver-
sion to eating monkeys (not, however, from any ideas
ahout their relationship to man), hut hunger and the
scarcity of other animal food had compelled me lately
to make many a meal on these animals. This is the
height of the monkey season in Otando-land, the
season lasting through March, April and May, during
which months they are so fat that their flesh is really
exquisite eating. I know of no game better or more
relishing ; the joints must be either roasted or grilled,
to bring out the flavour of the meat to perfection. At
all other times of the year except these three months
monkeys are lean, tough, and tasteless. It is the
same with the wild hog of these regions; from
February to the beginning of May, when the fatten-
ing Koola nut is ripe and falls in abundance from the
trees, the wild hog gets something like an overfed
pig at home, and the meat is delicious eating. I felt
to-night that I had dined well, and did not envy
Sardanapalus his dainties, for I doubted whether this

CnAP. IX. CUraOSITY OF THE OTANDO. 185

luxurious monarch ever liad fat monkey for dinner.
I recommend all future travellers to cast aside their
prejudices and try grilled monkey, at least during the
months I have mentioned. They will thank me for
the advice. Many wild fruit trees are now in full
bearing and the monkeys have splendid feed. I
finished my dinner with pine- apple as dessert; the
season, however, is now past for pine-apples, it began
when I entered the Ashira country and lasted during
the whole of the time of my stay there.

Mavolo after his recovery became more friendlv
than ever. He was naturally of an inquisitive turn
of mind, and in his frequent conversations witli me
occupied all my time in answering his questions.
One day he came with all his people and all the
women of the village, to ask me a number of
questions. He first asked how the women worked
our plantations ? I told him women did no field-
work with us. They were astonished to hear this,
and still more to hear that plantains and cassava
were almost unknown in my country. They all
shouted, " Then what do you eat ? " I explained
to them that we had always plenty to eat. I
told them that we had bullocks like their wild
cattle, which remained tame in our villages like
their goats, and that we taught them to carry
things. They would hardly believe me, when I
adiled that in their own country there were
tribes of black men who owned tame oxen. Con-
tinuing the subject, I said that there were countries
in which even elephants were tamed, and taught to
carry people on their backs. At this a wild shout of
U

18G MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

astonisliment arose from the assembly, and remember-
ing tbat I had a copy of the " Illustrated London
News " containing an Indian scene with elephants, I
went and fetched it to prove that I told them the
truth. There was a rush forward to look at the
picture over Mayolo's shoulders. They all recog-
nised the animals as elephants, and expressed their
astonishment at the men on their backs ; above all,
they wondered to see the animals represented as tied
by the feet and kept quiet. ' Punch,' the travellers'
friend, excited their wonder greatly. They all ex-
claimed, " AVhat a fine cap he wears I " and asked me
if I had any like it. They were quite disappointed
when I told them I had not.

Tlien came numerous questions about white men.
How tliey stared when I told them that our houses
were made of stone, the same material as was found
on their mountains. The last question was a delicate
one ; it was, " Do white men die ? " I wished them
to remain in their present belief that we did not die,
for their superstitious feeling towards me Avas my
best safeguard ; so I feigned not to hear the question,
and turned their attention to another subject.

The people generally, and esjDecially the women,
became emboldened after tliis long chat ; and I could
see some of the buxom matrons laughingly conferring
with one another, as if on some important business.
At last one of them, bolder than the rest, said : " We
have seen your head and your hands since you have
been among us, but we have never seen what the
rest of your body is like ; it would make our hearts
glad, if you would take off your clothes and let us see."

Chap. TX. A FEMALE DUEL. 187

This polite request I of course flatly refused to comply
with, and they did not press it. Another request
they made I was able to grant : this was to talk the
Oguizi language. I gave them a few samples of
French and English, but I very much doubt if they
could perceive the difference. They believe that
all white men belong to one people, and of course,
beyond the fact that they land on their shores from
the great sea, know nothing of the different nations
of the world or where they are situated. When I
asked them where they thouglit the Ngouyai river
ended, they answered, " Somewlicre in the sand."

After our long conversation I felt tired and went
for a walk over the prairie. This pleasant day was
ruffled in the evening by a violent quarrel between
two Ashira married women, one of them being a
stranger who had come to Mayolo on a visit to lier
friends. It appeared that one of the men of the
village called this woman towards him ; and his wife,
on hearing of it, asked her husband what business he
had to call the woman, and, getting jealous, told him
she must be his sweetheart. The husband's reply
being, I suppose, not altogether satisfactory, the en-
raged wife rushed out to seek her supposed rival,
and a battle ensued. Women's fights in this country
always begin by their throwing off their dengui,
that is, stripping themselves entirely naked. The
challenger having thus denuded herself, her enemy
showed pluck and answered the challenge by promptly
doing the same ; so that the two elegant figures im-
mediately went at it, literally tooth and nail, for they
fought like cats, and between the rounds leviled each

188 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

other in language tlie most filthy that could possibly
be uttered. Mayolo being asleep in his house, and
no one seeming ready to interfere, I went myself and
separated the two furies.

In the meantime Oshoumouna and the men sent
by ]\Tayolo to open the way for me into Apono-land,
returned last night, frightened away by the recep-
tion they had met with from the people of the
Apono village to which they had gone, and which is
situated on the right bank of the Rembo Ngouyai.
As soon as they said who tliey were, and that they
had beads with which to buy some salt — for the
Apono trade a good deal in salt, paying for it in
slaves — the villagers shouted out, "Go away! go
away ! We don't want to have anything to do
with the Oguizi, or with the people who have
come in contact with him ! We do not want
your beads ! We want nothing that came witii the
Oguizi ! "

This news filled me with sorrow. Mayolo tried to
comfort me ; but my prospects were indeed dark and
gloomy.

May Gth. After taking several lunar distances to-
night between the moon and Jupiter, and feeling
tired, as I generally do after night observations, I
went into a little shed behind my house and took a
cold shower-bath — at least, an imitation of one — by
splashing water over me ; I find this very refresliing
and cooling before retiring to rest. I then went into
my cliamber; but I came out of it again faster than
I entered, for I had stepped into a band of Bashi-
kouay ants, and was quickly covered with the nimble

CnAP. IX. THE BASHIKOUAY ANTS. 189

and savage little creatures, who bit me dreadfully.
I was driven almost mad with pain. I did not dare
to light paper or apply fire to the invading horde of
ants, inside the place, on account of the quantity of
gunpowder stored in my chamber ; thus 1 had to
abandon my house to the irresistible ants, who had
become perfect masters of it. I at once called my
men, and we succeeded in finding the line of the
invading host outside of the house ; to this we applied
fire, and burnt many thousands of them ; but it was
not until half-past two in the morning that the house
was cleared.

When I rose, feverish and unrefreshed, the next
morning, I found the Bashikouays again in the house.
This time they emerged from a number of holes
which had newdy made their appearance in the
ground near my house, and which were tlie mouths
of the tunnels or galleries leading from their sub-
terranean abodes. I was thankful that it was day-
time, for if it had been night they would not have
been long before paying me another visit. An in-
vasion of a sleeping-chamber by these ants at night
is a very serious matter, for an army of Bashikouays
swarming over the body during sleep would wake
a person up rather disagreeably. There can be no
doubt that if a man were firmly tied to a l;ed so that
he could not escape, he would be entirely eaten up by
these ants in a sliort space of time. I have heard
that men have been put to death for witchcraft in this
way. Happily their bite is not venomous. AYe
poured boiling water down the newly-made galleries
and over the columns of ants that were issuing from

190 MATOLO. Chap. IX.

them, so that they were again driven away, and we
were saved from another invasion.

Mivj 10/A. [ witnessed to-day a striking instance of
the inborn cunning and deceit of the native African.
My people had spread out on mats in front of my
hut a quantity of ground-nuts, which we had bought,
when I observed from tlie inside of the hut a little
m'cliin about four years old slily regaling himself with
them, keeping his eyes on me, and believing himself
unnoticed. I suddenly came out, but the little rascal,
as quick as thought, seated himself on a piece of wood,
and dexterously concealed the nuts he had in his hand
under the joints of his legs and in the folds of his
abdominal skin ; then looked up to me with an air of
perfect innocence. This, thought I, is a bright ex-
ample of the unsophisticated children of nature, \v hom
some writers love to describe, to tlie disadvantage of
the corrupted children of civilization ! Thieving, in
these savage countries, is not considered an offence
against the community ; for no one complains but he
who has been robbed. My precocious little pilferer
would therefore have no teaching to prevent him
from becoming an accomplished thief as he grew
older.

In the evening, as I was computing the lunar dis-
tances I had taken, I was startled by the sudden
screech of a woman. I went out immediately, and
found that it was the mbuiri woman, who had been
suddenly seized with the spirit of divination — the
mbuiri having entered into her. She raved on for
some time, the theme of her discourse being the eviva
or plague.

Chap. IX. GOOD NEWS FROM ArOXO-LAND. 191

May 14:th. My misfortunes will never terminate !
Mayolo has another abscess forming. 1 begin to
think I shall never get beyond this Otando coimtry.
Mayolo, however, assures me that he will send his
nephew onward to Apono to prepare the way for us.
He told me our great difficulty would be to get ferried
across the river, which could only be done by the aid
of the chief of Mouendi, a village near thebanks of
the Ngouyai. I went to my hut and selected a pre-
sent for the Apono chief, a bright red cap, a string
of beads, and some powder ; and in giving them to
Mayolo to send by his messenger, I told him to say
I should bring him many other fine things when I
came myself. It was necessary to overcome the
scruples of the Apono, who dreaded a visit from me
lest I should bring evil on their village.

May I5th. Mayolo's messenger returned to-day with
the joyful news that the Apono chief would receive
us. The chief had sent a kendo as a return present
to Mayolo, with the words " Mayolo has given me
birth, how can I refuse him what he asks ? Tell
him to come with his ihamha. Mayolo has not died
through receiving the Spirit ; why should I die ? "

Many people of Mayolo's clan came to-day to see,
before I left their country, the many wonderful things
I had brought with me ; and Mayolo himself, though
not very well, could not resist the temptation to leave
his hut and join the sightseers. I first brought out
a large Geneva musical box, and having wound it up
inside my house, set it dov/n on a stool in llie street.
On hearing the mysterious sounds they all g(5t up,
looked at each other, then at me and the box, to see

192 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

whether I had any commimication with it, and
worked themselves into such a state of fright that
when a little drum inside beat, they all took to their
heels and ran away as fast as they could to the other end
of the village, Mayolo leading the van. I went after
them, and tried to allay their fears, but their belief
was not to be shaken that a devil was inside the box.
They came back, but would not sit down, holding
themselves ready to run again, if anything startling
occurred. They were completely mystified when they
heard the music still going on although I was walk-
ing about at a distance from the box, holding no com-
munication with it. I remained away from it a long
time walking about in the prairie, and the music Vv'as
still going on when I returned, to the great perplexity
of the simple villagers. I offered to open the box to
show them that there was no devil inside ; but as soon
as I touched the lid with that intention, they all
started for another run ; so I did not open it.

I showed them an accordion ; and, being no player
myself, made simply a noise with it, which pleased
them amazingly. They were more pleased with it
than with the musical box, for there was no mystery
about the cause of the noise to alarm them. Then I
got out a galvanic battery, and experimented on such
of them as I could persuade to touch the handles.
When they felt the shock they cried out " Eninda ! "
this being the name of a species of electric fish found
in the neighbouring streams. They all cried, " Why
did you not show us these things before ?" Finally,
after showing them pictures and other objects — the
portraits of the Movers of the Address in the ' lUus-

CiiAP. IX. ASTONISHMENT OF THE NATIVES, 193

trated London News ' attracting their notice more
than anything else — I exhibited my large mngnet,
which I knew would astonish tl;em. I asked one
man to come near with his i\pono sword, and stag-
gered him by taking it out of his hand with the
magnet. I asked for other swords, and knives.
All were handed to me at arm's lengtli, for they were
afraid of approaching the magical insti-umeiit, to
which the red paint gave additional terrors. When
they saw their knives and swords sticking to the
mngnet without dropping, sometimes by the edges
and sometimes sideways, they all shouted out: "He
is surely an Oguizi (Spirit) to do these things." I
invited them to take the instrument in their hands,
but they dared not ; Mayolo's curiosity eventually
overcame his fears, and he handled the magnet with
the air of a man who is doing something very
courageous. At the conclusion of the exhibition the
old chief exclaimed that I was immensely rich, and
that if I was not a king I must be next in rank to
the king in my country. He was astonished when I
told him that the kings of the white men had pro-
bably never heard of me. He thought I Avas telling
him a very wicked story, and did not believe me.

The day previous to this I had a good laugli at the
alarm of one of these simple Otando people, when
using my boiling-point apparatus to asccrt.'tin the
heiglit of the place. I was engaged in taking the
observation, when a native, atti-acted by curiosity,
came to see wdiat I was doing. He looked earnestly
at the aneroids, then at the bull's-eye lantern on the
top of which was the little kettle where water was to

194 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

be boiled, and tben at the thermometer screwed into
the kettle : when he had finished his inspection he
withdrew to a distance, in a state of bewilderment and
fear tliat was comical to behold ; but I pretended to
be taking no notice of him. These people fancy that
I travel with all sorts of fetiches and am possessed
of supernatural power — a behef which I did not try
to upset, as it stood me in good stead. I now lighted
the lamp and proceeded to boil the water ; as soon as
the neo'ro saw the steam ascendino- and heard the
bubbling of the water, his courage finally gave way,
and he tied with the utmost precipitation.

My photographic apparatus, or at least what re-
mained of it, was much admired by friend Mayolo.
He was the most inquisitive man of his tribe, none of
whom were wanting in curiosity, and he was never
w^eary of asking me questions and inspecting my
wonderful stores. When I first took out the photo-
graphic teni from its box, he was amazed, after seeing
it fixed, to discover what a bulky affair could come
out of so small a box. After fixing the tent I with-
drew the slide and exposed the orange-coloured glass,
and invited the mystified chief to look through it at
the prairie. At first he was afraid and declined to
come into the tent ; but on my telling him that he
knew I should never do anything to harm him, he
consented. He could not comprehend it. He looked
at me, at my hands, then at the glass, and believed
there was witchcraft at the bottom of it. After
Mayolo had come out of the tent unharmed, the rest
of the negroes took courage, and my tent was made a,
peep-show for the remainder of the day.

CnAP. IX. CLIMATE OF MAYOLO. 195

Tlie climate of Mayolo seems very variable and
uncertain; and night after night I was disappointed
when preparing to take lunar distances or meridian
altitudes of stars, by the sudden clouding of the
heavens. The sky would often be very clear and
settled, inducing me to get my sextant in order,
prepare a quicksilver artificial horizon, and note
the index error ; but a thick mist would suddenly
arise and put an end to all operations. But now
and then I had magnificent nights, so that I suc-
ceeded in taking a pretty long series of obser-
vations for latitude and longitude before I left
Mayolo ; so complete are they, that the position of
the town may be considered as well fixed ; but I
should fail were I to attempt to describe the diffi-
culties and disappointments I had to contend witl) in
completing them. There was something rather
remarkable also about the deposit of dew. I re-
marked that at Mayolo and Ashira the grass was
often very damp before sunset, when the sun had dis-
appeared behind the mountains. It was so damp
that it wetted my shoes in walking through ; and, at
ten minutes after sunset, dew drops were plentiful
along the edges of the plantain leaves, even on those
trees which the sun had shone upon just before dis-
appearing below the horizon. The dew drops
glittering on the margins of these beautiful leaves
looked like crystal drops or gems, appearing the
brighter from the contrast with the velvety green hue
of the magnificent foliage. One evening I watched
closely the first appearance of these dew drops.
At a quarter past five, before the sun had quite

196 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

disappeared behind the hill-tops, I counted thirty-six
drops of dew on the leaves of one tree ; but three
quarters of an hour later the edges of the leaves were
quite surrounded with water. The sky at the same
time was very clear, only a few clouds near the
horizon could be seen. At six o'clock the grass was
not sufficiently damp to leave water-marks on my
boots ; so that it is to be concluded that the leaves
of the plantain are the first to condense the invisible
vapour of the atmosphere. Up to the present time
(May 18th) I have only twice seen the sky entirely
free from cloud since my arrival at Fernand Vaz
from Eno-land.

On the 16th of May, whilst I was in the prairie at
a short distance from Mayolo, studying the habits of
the white ants, I was aroused from my meditations by
sudden screams from the town. I was afraid some-
thing tragical was taking place, and made haste for
the village. I found the ^^hice in an uproar ; all
caused by an influx of poor relations. It appeared
that the news of the vast wealth Mayolo had obtained
from the Oguizi had spread far and wide over the
neighbouring country, and, getting to the ears of the
old chief's numerous fathers-in-law and brothers-in-
law, some of them had journeyed to his village with
a view to getting a share of the spoils, their greediness
overcoming their fear of me. The people of the
vihage had been plagued to death with these
avaricious guests, for they were all thought to have
become rich since I am living amongst them. As
time is of no importance to the African, and during
their stay they were living at the expense of the

Chap. IX. DOMESTIC QUAEEEL. 197

villagers, it was no easy matter to get rid of tliem.
The fathers-in-law praised the beauty and all the
good qualities of their daughters niai-ried to the chief,
hinted that he had got a cheap bargain in this one
and had not paid enough for the other ; and some
of them actually threatened to take away their
daughters unless something more was given. Poor
Mayolo, sick of the woiiy, had asked me for various
things to give them in order to get rid of them, but
they were insatiable.

The row this morning was between Oshoumouna,
Mayolo's nephew, and his father-in-law, arising out
of these unsatii^fied demands for more pay. The old
man was very discontented, saying, that though he
had given him his daughter, he had not had a single
thing given him by the Oguizi. It was in vain
that Oshoumoui]a assured hiui that I never gave
presents for nothing. Whilst I was absent, the
father-in-law had ventured to use force to take away
his daughter. It is a very common thing in Africa
for a father-in-law to take away his daughter, if he
is not satisfied with the husband's conduct. Oshou-
mouna took no notice of the abduction, and tlie row
was caused by the father-in-law, enraged at this cool-
ness, proceeding to demolish his son-in-law's house.
A general melee ensued ; old Mayolo rushed out and
belaboured the airffressor with a club ; the women
screamed, and a fearful uproar took place. As usual,
the object was to see who could make the most noise,
and in this contest the father-in-law was no match
for the villagers.

The discomfited father-in-law left the village, and

198 MAYOLO. Chap. IX.

took his daughter with him, saying that her husband
should never see her again ; but the damsel gave her
father the slip before night and returned to her hus-
band. There was general rejoicing in the village,
and Oshoumouna bragged greatly of the love and
fidelity of his wife, although she accounted for her
return by saying that she loved the place where the
Oguizi was, for there she could get beads.

During the latter part of my stay at Mayolo, I had
in my possession a beautiful little nocturnal animal,
of the Lemur family, an Oiolicmis, called by the
negroes Ibola. It is nocturnal in its habits, and has
immensely large eyes, and a fur so soft that it re-
minded me of the Chinchilla. I had it about a fort-
night. The species lives in the forests, retiring in
the day time to the hollows of trees, where it sleeps
till the hour of its activity returns ; but it sometimes
also conceals itself in the midst of masses of dead
boughs of trees, where dajdight cannot penetrate.
In broad daylight you could see by the twinkling of
its eyes and its efforts to conceal itself, that light
was painful to it. At first I had no means of pro-
tecting it during the day, and the delicate little
creature used to cover its eyes with its tail to keep
out the light. Nothing but ripe plantains would it
accept for food. I was much grieved one morning
to find the poor Ibola dead, for it had become quite
tame, and liked to be caressed.

My boy Macondai was now entirely recovered,
with the exception of sore eyes, from which many
negroes suffer after the small-pox has disappeared ;
some lose their sight from the efiects of the disease ;

CuAP. IX. THE ALUMBI FETICH. 199

one only of my men was afflicted in this way, Mouitclii,
who became bhnd of one eye. One of Miiyolo's
fathers-in-law was quite blind from this disease. All
my Commi compainons having thus got over the
danger, with the exception of Rapelina, who had not
had the disease, I was anxious only for Mayolo, whose
abscess was still slowly progressing and confined him
to his house. As the time approached for our de-
parture, a marked increase of attention and kindness
was noticeable on his pait. Every day a present of
eatables came to my hut cooked by his head wife ;
one day a plateful of yams, another day a di.sh of cas-
sava, and so forth. But I suspected a trick was being
played upon me, having recently become acquainted
with an African custom, of which I had not pre-
viously heard, and which consisted in serving, in
dishes given to a guest, powder from the skull of a
deceased ancestor, with a view to soften his heart in
the matter of parting presents. This custom is called
the aliimhi.

I had long known of the practice of preserving
in a separate hut the skulls of ancestors, but did
not know of this particular use of the relics. In
fact, a person might travel in i\frica for years
without becoming aware of this singular custom,
as no negro will divulge to you the whole details
of such a matter, even should he be one of your best
friends.

Most travellers in this part of the continent are
puzzled to know the meaning of certain miniature
huts which are seen standing behind or between the
dwelling-houses, and which are held sacred. No one

200 MA YOLO. Chap. IX.

but the owner himself is allowed to enter these little
huts; but Quengueza's great friendship for me over-
came his African scruples in my case ; and I was
permitted, on my return from the interior, to examine
bis aluDibi-house. These erections are spoken of
by travellers as fetich-houses; and if, perchance, a
stranger is allowed to peep into one, he sees
a few boxes containing chalk or ochre, and upon a
kind of little table a cake of the same, with
which the owner rubs his body every time he
goes on a fishing, hunting, or trading expedition.
The chalk is considered sacred, and to be smeared
with it serves as a protection from danger. If
you are a great friend, the chalk of the alumbi
will be marked upon you on yonr departure fi'om
the residence of your host. But the boxes generally
contain also the skulls of the ancestors of the owner,
at least those relatives who were alive during his
own life-time ; for, on the death of such a relative,
bis or her head is cut off and placed in a box
full of white clay, looking like chalk, where it is
left to rot and saturate the chalk ; both skull and
saturated chalk being then held sacred. The skulls
of twin children are almost always used for the
alumbi.

AVhen a guest is entertained of wdiom presents are
expected, the host, in a quiet w^ay, goes from time to
time into the fetich-house and scrapes a little bone-
powder from a favourite skull, and puts it into the
food which is being cooked as a present to the guest.
The idea is, that, by consuming the scrapings of the
skull, the blood of their ancestors enters into your

Chap. IX. TRErARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 201

body, and tlms, becoming of one blood, you are
naturally led to love tliem, ajid grant them what
tbey wish. It is not a pleasant subject of reflection,
but I have no doubt been operated upon on pre-
vious journeys ; being now, however, aware of the
custom, I refused the food, and told Mayolo I cared
very little to eat of the scraped skull of his grand-
father. Of course, Mayolo indignantly denied it ;
he said he had offered me food out of pure love
for me.

The last days of May were employed in re-packing
my large stores of baggage. It was a most laborious
task ; everything had to be sorted, and all that was
not absolutely necessary secured in packages to be
left behind. How I wished it were possible to travel
through Africa with a lighter load ! Amongst the
things to be left behind were the remains of my
photographical outfit ; I packed them up with a
heavy heart, so much did I regret being unable to
continue taking photographs. Notwithstanding the
lightening of my loads, I still required forty-five
porters to carry them.

A few days before my departure we held a grand

palaver, and I made my request for the requisite

number of porters. All wished to go, and, to the

credit of Mayolo, I must say that I never had less

trouble in arranging the terms of payment. To

Mayolo himself I gave all the goods that I had set

apart to leave behind, owing to the necessity of

lightening my baggage, including all that remained

of my photographic apparatus. I had given to him

more presents than to any other chief, with the
15

2Q2 MATOLO. Chap. IX.

exception of my staimcli friend, King Quengneza.
He was overjoyed at the splendour of the presents,
but said, " Truly, goods and money are like hunger ;
you are filled to-day, but to-morrow you are hungry
again ! "

CHAPTER X.

THE OTANDO AND APOXO REGION.

Geographical Position of Mayolo — Splendour of the Constellations as seen,
from the Equatorial Regions — The Zodiacal Light — 1' winkling of the
Stars — Meteoric Showers — The Otando and Apono Plains, or Prairies
— The Otando People a branch of the Ashira Nation — Their Customs —
Filing the Teeth — Tattooing — Native Dogs.

From Olenda eastwards, as attentive readers of my
former and present narratives will be aware, the
countries I traversed were new ground, not only to
myself, but to any European ; it is, therefore, neces-
sary that I should give such details as I am able, in
the course of my journey, about the various portions
of the country, their inhabitants and productions.

Unfortunately, the volume of my journal, which
contained the diary of my march from Olenda to
Mayolo, and of more than two months of the latter
part of my stay in this place, was lost, with nearly
the whole of the rest of my property, in my hurried
flight from Ashango-land. It was the only volume
out of five that was missing. It contained the obser-
vations which I took for altitudes of the range of
highlands separating the Ashira from the Otando
districts ; and I am, tlierefore, unal)le to give a full
account of this range, which is an important feature
in this part of Africa, as separating, together with

204 THE OTANDO AND APOXO REGION. Chap. X.

tlie lower liilly range west of Olenda, tlie coast-lands
from the great interior of tlie continent. I remember,
however, that some part of the country was more
than 1,200 feet above the level of the sea, as shown
by the aneroids.

The town of Mayolo I determined, by a long series
of observations, to lie in 1° 51' 14 S. lat., and
11° 0' 37" E. long., and 496 feet above the sea-
level.

At Mayolo, the contemplation of the heavens af-
forded me a degree of enjoyment difficult to describe.
When every one else had gone to sleep, I often stood
alone on the prairie, with a gun by my side, watching
the stars. I looked at some with fond love, for they
had been my guides, and consequently my friends,
in the lonely country I travelled ; and it was always
with a feeling of sadness that I looked at them for
the last time, before they disappeared below the
horizon for a few months, and always welcomed them
back with a feeling of pleasure which, no doubt, those
who have been in a situation similar to mine can
understand. I studied also how high they twinkled,
and tried to see how many bright meteors travelled
through the sky, until the morning twilight came
and reminded me that my work was done, by the
then visible world becoming invisible.

I shall always remember the matchless beauty of
these Equatorial nights, for they have left an indelible
impression upon my memory.

The period of the year I spent at Mayolo (April
and May) were the months when the atmosphere is
the purest, for after the storms the azure of tlie sky

Chap. X. SPLEKDOUIl OF THE CONSTELLATIONS. 205

was so intensely deep, that it made the stars doubly
bright in the vault of heaven.

At that time the finest constellations of the Southern
Hemisphere were within view at the same time. The
constellation of the Ship, of the Cross, of the Centaur,
of the Scoi'pion, and the BQJt of Orion, which include
the three brightest stars in the heavens, Sirius, Ca-
nopus, and a Centauri.

The planets Yenus^ Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter were
in sight.

The Magellanic clouds — white-looking patches,
especially the larger one — brightly illuminated as
they revolved round the starless South Pule, con-
trasting with the well-known " coal-sack " adjoining
the Southern Cross.

Tlie part of the Milky Way, between the 50° and
80° parallel, so beautiful and rich in crowded nebulae
and stars, seemed to be in a perfect blaze between
Sirius and the Centaur ; the heavens there appeared
brilliantly illuminated.

Then looking northward, I could see the beautiful
constellation of the Great Bear, which was about the
same altitude above the horizon as the constellations
of the Cross and of the Centaur ; some of the stars in
the two constellations passing the meridian within a
short time of each other ; <y UrsfB Majoi-is half an
hour before a Crucis, and Benetnasch eleven minutes
before /3 Centauri.

Where and when could any one have a grander
view of the heavens at one s'lance ? From a Ursa3
Majoris to a Crucis, there was an arc of 125°. Then,
as if to give a still grander view to the almost en-

206 THE OTANDO AND APONO EEGION. Chap. X.

chanting scene, the zodiacal h"ght rose after the sun
had set, increasing in brilliancy, of a bright yellow
colour, and rising in a pyramidal shape higli into
the sky, often so bright that it overshadowed the
brightness of the milky way and the rays of the
moon, the beautiful yellow light gradually diminish-
ing towards the apex. It cast a gentle radiance on the
clouds round it, and sometimes formed almost a ring,
but never perfect, having a break near the meridian;
at times being reflected in the east with' nearly as
much brilliancy, if not as much, as in the west, and
making me almost imagine a second sunrise.

I had noticed this yellow glow before at Olenda
in March, where it was sometimes very bright ; but
it was only at Mayolo I began to write down obser-
vations upon it. April and May were the months
when the light showed itself in its greatest brilliancy.
It often became visible half an hour after the sun had
disappeared, and was very brilliant, like a second
sunset. It still increased in brilliancy, and attained
often a very bright orange colour at the base. It
rose in a very distinct pyramidal shape, which some-
times, if I remember well, must have extended about
40°, the bright yellow gvadiially becoming fainter and
fainter at the top. The brilliancy and duration varied
considerably on different days, and also the breadth
and height. It could be seen most every day when
the sky was clear ; and as it faded away, it left behind
it a white light, which also showed itself in the east.
It was generally the brightest from a quarter to
seven to half-past seven, but there were exceptions ;
sometimes it would be later, and at times the glow

Chap. X. THE ZODIACAL LIGHT. 207

would fade and then reajDpear with fresli strength ; but
generally the increase and decrease of brilliancy was
uniform. It was seldom discernible after ten o'clock.

Unfortunately the book containing these observa-
tions on the light has been lost, but a few notes on
it are scattered here and there in my journal.

Ajml loth. The weather has been cloudy, with a

few showers To-night the sky presents

a magnificent appearance after sunset. The glow
coming from the west was so bright that it over-
shadowed the brightness of the Milky Way. I could
only distinguish it above the Sword of Orion ; the
glow was the brightest below the planet Mars, and
the base of the j)yramid reached, on the south, the
part of the Milky Way at the foot of the Cross. At
the north point of the horizon its extent was about
the same.

April I5th. The weather has been cloudy until
past noon, and to-night the sky is clear though a
little hazy. The glow of light coming from the west
is beautiful, and is quite white ; at seven o'clock it
was still of great intensity, though it had dimin-
ished. I do not remember to have seen it so brieiit
before.

Mai/ 5th. Yesterday the bright yellow light which
appears after sunset was magnificent, and could be
seen above the trapezium in Orion notwithstanding
the strong moonlight, the moon being then nearly
at the full. Indeed, I have never seen the. zodiacal
light shine so brightly ; one might fancy, if it was
not towards the west, the dawn of morning coming.

Mai/ lAtli. After sunset I observed a phenomenon

208 THE OTANDO AND i\POMO EEGION. CnAP. X.

that miicli surprised me ; the zodiacal h"ght had its
counterpart in the east.

Now I will make a few observations on the
twinkling of stars. Some persons have believed
that, in our northern latitudes, the stars twinkle
more tlian within tlie tropics. T spent this last
summer at Twickenham at Mr. Bishop's observatory,
and have watched the scintillation of the stars, and
I doubt much if this conclusion is right; unfortu-
natelv, I have also lost the notes I had made on this
subject. I remember distinctly that one of the stars
of the Belt of Orion twinkled until it reached the
zenith; others twinkled to a considerable altitude.
There were nights when they seemed to twinkle
more than at other times.

While watching the stars, in the southern heavens,
it appeared to me that a Centauri was changing to
a ruddy colour. It was certainly not so white as /3
Centauri, and often, through a light mist so common
there, I could recognise it through its reddishness.
I should say, that it was only with the naked eye
that these observations were made.

The most southern star of the constellation of the
Ship (e Argus), distant from Canopus about 17° 43',
was quite red to the eyes.

In regard to the April shower of meteors, I only
saw them few in number ; there was nothing to com-
pare with the number of those I observed this year
at Twickenham, in company with the distinguished
astronomer, Mr. Hind ; but many were far brighter.
Almost every night, while observing at Mayolo, I
could see brilliant meteors, many of which seemed to

Chap. X. PLAINS OR rEAIIlIES. 209

emanate from the direction of Leo, tliougli its altitude
was very high.

All the inquiries I made concerning the fall of aer-
olites have been fruitless ; tlie negroes never saw any,
though I suppose that, as in every other country,
some may have fallen, but they are buried in these
impenetrable forests.

Mayolo lies on the western edge of an undulating
plain about twenty miles broad, stretching between
the Ashira ranges of hills and the higher ridges of
Ashango in the interior; tliis plain averaging about
400 feet above the sea-level, and the hilly ranges
running nearly north-west and south-east. The plain
is covered in many places with a clayey soil, but in
other parts with masses of fragments of ferruginous
sandstone. It is watered by the Ngouyai and its
affluents, which river flows in a north-westerly
direction, and, cutting through the hilly range
north of Ashira-land, forms a junction some thirty
miles further down with the Okanda (apparently
a still more important stream) ; both together then
form the great River Ogobai, which pursues a south-
westerly direction through the coast-plains to the
Atlantic.

The plains east of Mayolo are inhabited, as will
presently be seen, by the Otando and the Apono
tribes. These plains consist chiefly of undulating
grass-land, diveisified by groups of trees, or small
circumscribed tracts of forest, in which are many
magnificent timber-trees; the banks of the river are
almost everywhere lined with trees for a hundred

210 THE OTANDO AND APOXO REGION. Chap. X.

yards or more from the water's edge. Now and
then the prah'ie reaches to the water-side. The
grass-lands extend in a north-west and south-east
direction, and the numerous negro-vilJages are gene-
rally hmlt in the prairie. Some of the wooded
islands or isolated patches of forest are many miles
in length ; the prairies are covered with tall grasses
and shruhs, without any mixture of bushes or trees.
TJje soil of the forest tracts is generally more fertile
than that of the prairies, and it is within their
shades that the plantations of the people are situ-
ated. The Otando villages round Mayolo are sur-
rounded hy groves of plaintain-trees ; and the broad
magnificent leaves of these trees form a striking
contrast with the grass that surrounds them.

I have little to remark respecting the Otando
people. They are a branch of the Ashira nation,
speaking the Ashira language, and. having a similar
physical conformation to the people of that tribe,
together with the same superstitions, customs, arts,
warlike implements, and dress ; but they do not
seem to be so industrious in the manufacture of the
grass cloth.

I found many of the people not very dark-skinned.
They had various fashions as regards their teeth.
Many file the two upper incisors in the shape of
a sharp cone, and the four lower ones are also
filed to a sharp point. Others file the four upper
incisors to a point. A few among them have the
two upper incis;)rs pulled out. They tattoo them-
selves on the chest and stomach, but keep the face

Chap. X. NATIVE DOGS. 211

smooth. Among the young people very few have
their teeth filed : the custom is dying out.

One day, in my ramhles near Mayolo, two of my
native dogs had a severe fight with a very large
white-nosed monkey {cercopitJiecus), and came back
to me in a dreadful state, especially my dog An-
deko, wdio, being always the first in a fray, generally
came off worse than Ins comrade. In this encounter
wiih the white-nosed monkey, he had the flesh of his
fore- leg bitten through to the bone, and his upper
lip was cut in two by a terrible gash. Andeko was
famous for his courage. He had at different times
taken alive young gorillas, young chimpanzees, and
young boars.

These native dogs are keen, active animals ; they
are seen in the interior of purer blood than in the
Commi country, where they have become much
changed by crossing with European dogs of various
breeds, brought by trading vessels. The pure bred
native dog is small, has long straight ears, long
muzzle, and long, curly tail — very curly when the
breed is pure. The hair is short and the colour
yellowish, the pure breed being known by the clear-
ness of this colour. They are always lean, and are
kept very short of food by their owners ; in fact,
they get no food except what they can steal. Al-
though they have a quick ear, I do not think highly
of their scent. My head man, Igala, keeps a large
number of dogs for hunting at his plantations in the
Fernand Yaz. They are good watch-dogs, Imt are
often destroyed by leopards in the night. As I have

212 THE OTANDO AND APOXO KEGION. Chap. X.

stated in ' Equatorial Africa,' liydrojoliobia is un-
known in this j)ai't of tlie continent. I have onlj
now to confirm that statement ; it appears, therefore,
conclusive that heat is not the cause of this terrible
disease.

CHAPTER XL

ANTS.

The Wliite Ants of the Prairies — The Mushroom-hived Termes — Interior
of their Hives — Three classes in each Community : Soldiers, AVorkers,
and Chiefs — Their mode of building — The Tree Ants — Curious structure
of their Hives — Their process of constructing them — The Bark Ants —
Curious tunnels formed by them — The Forest Ants — Large size of their
Shelters or Hives — The stinging Black Ant.

DuRixG my stay at Mayolo, I occupied a great part
of my leisure hours in studying tlie habits of the
many different species of white ants (Termites), the
nests of which are very conspicuous objects in the
prairie. The study of these curious creatures was
most fascinating, and it was a source of great enjoy-
ment to me in the midst of so many cares and
anxieties. The ants are of wonderful diversity,
both in form of body, head, and so forth, and in
architectural tastes. I began to form a collection
of them, putting specimens of the different kinds,
in their various stages, in little glass tubes filled
with spirits, having brought an assortment of
these tubes for the purpose of preserving minute
insects. The loss of this collection in my retreat
from Mouaou Kombo I felt most keenly, as I had
hoped the specimens would have explained much that
still remains obscure in the history of these curious
insects. It prevents me also from giving the proper

214 Al^TS. Chap. XL

scientific names to the different varieties, each of
which builds a different kind of nest; the natives
have only a general name for all the species.

llusbvom-Idved Termes. — Let "us begin with the
species which builds the mushroom-shaped edifice.
These singular hives, shaped like gigantic mush-
rooms, are scattered by tens of thousands over the
Otando prairie. The top is from twelve to eighteen
inches in diameter, and the column about five inches ;
the total height is from ten inches to fifteen inches.
After the grass has been burnt they present a most
extraordinary appearance ; near Mayolo they are
met with almost at every step. They are not all
uniformly built, as they appear at a distance, but
differ in the roundness or sharpness of their summits.
I opened a great number of these, and followed up
my researches day after day into the habits of their
inhabitants. These and all similar edifices are built
to protect the white ants against the inclemencies of
the weather, and against their enemies, which are
very numerous, and include many predaceous kinds
of fello^^^ ants.

The mushroom-shaped hive is not so firmly built
in the ground but that it can be knocked down by a
well-planted kick. It is built of a kind of mortar
after being digested in the stomachs of the ants,
When felled, the base of the pillar is found to have
rested on the ground, leaving a circular hollow, in
the middle of which is a ball of earth full of cells,
which enters the centre of the base of the pillar, and
the cells are eagerly defended by a multitude of the

NESTS OK MISIIKOOM-ANTS AND TKEE-AXTS.
{Otando Prairie.)

CiiAP. XI. MUSHROOM-HIVED TEEMES. 215

soldier class of the ants, wliicli I took to be males,
all striving to bite the intruder with their pincer-like
jaws. On breaking open the ball — which, when
handled, divided itself into three parts — I always
fonnd it full of young white ants in different stages
of growth, and also of eggs. The young were ot a
milky-white colour, while the adults were yellowish,
with a tinge of grey when the abdomen is full of
earth. Besides these young ants, there were a great
many full-grown individuals, whom I took to be
females, and who appeared to be the workers or
labourers described by entomologists. These have
not elongated nippers like the soldiers, but have very
bulky abdomens, and they are inoffensive. AVe shall
see presently what their distended abdomens are used
for. Besides these soldiers and workers, I always
saw, whenever I broke a hive, a very much larger
specimen than the other two, which came in from
the inner galleries, looked round, and went away
again. These large ants were very few in number.
There were, therefore, three distinct sets of indi-
viduals. To these large ones I shall give the name
of head men or chiefs.

In order to examine the rest of the structure I
often took an axe and broke the nest into several
pieces ; but the material was so hard that it required
several blows before I succeeded. I tried then to
make out the structure of the chambers and galleries
of which the interior was composed. But before I
could do this, I was somewhat perplexed at dis-
covering that there w^as another distinct species of
white ant mixed up with the proper architects of the

216 ANTS. Chap. XL

edifice. The soldiers of this other species were much
smaller and more slender, and, as I broke the pieces,
these two kinds fell to fighting one another. On
close inspection I found that these slender fellows
came out of cells composed of a yellow earth, whilst
the others inhabited cells of black earth. The yellow
colour was due to a coating of some foreign substance
on the walls of the cell. The chambers inhahited by
the slender species did not communicate with those
peopled by the lords of the manor ; they seemed
rather to be inserted into the vacant spaces or par-
tition walls between the other cells. No doubt they
had intruded themselves, after the building had been
finished, from under the ground. In the fight the
larger kind showed no mercy to the smaller. It was
quite marvellous to witness the fury with which the
soldiers of the one kind seized the bodies of the others
with their powerful j^incer-jaws, and carried them
away into their own chambers. The soldiers of the
slender kind also possessed long pincer-like jaws, and
I noticed in one instance, wdien a worker of the larger
kind had seized a small worker, who was in her last
struggle for life, that one of these slender soldiers flew
to the rescue, and snapping into the soft abdomen of
the assailant, twice its size, let out its contents ; the
slender one then fell from the pincers that had
gripped her, but life was extinct. The rescuer came,
examined the body, and seeing that she was dead,
went away and disappeared ; if she had been only
wounded she would probably have been carried away,
as they do the young. I may here remark that,
with the exception of the head, the body of the ter-

Chap. XI. MUSHROOM NESTS. 217

mites is exceedingly soft. On examining the struc-
ture of the soldiers, it is evident that their powerful
pincer-jaws are made for wounding and piercing,
while the structure of the workers shows tliat their
pincers are made for the purposes of labour. Nothing
astonished me more than this imjoetuous attack ; my
attention was intense on this deadly combat ; the
weaker species knew the vulnerable point of his for-
midable enemy, who was too busy to protect himself.
A further examination showed me that the mush-
room-like cap of the whole edifice was composed of
both black and yellow cells. This curious mixture
of two species, each building its own cells and j^et
contributing to form an entire and symmetrical
edifice, filled me with astonishment. The wonder did
not cease here, for in some of the mushroom-like
heads there was still a third kind quite distinct from
the other two, and not a white ant.

The mushroom nests are built very rapidly, but
when finished they last, in all probability, many
years. The ants work at them only at night, and
shut out all the apertures from the external air when
daylight comes, for the white ant abhors daylight ;
and when they migrate from an old building to
commence the erection of a new one, they come
from under the ground. Sometimes they add to
their structures by building one mushroom- head
above another ; I have seen as many as four, one on
the top of the other. The new structures are built
when the colony increases ; new cells must be found
for the new comers. The shelter is quite rain-proof.

I passed hours in watching the tiny builders at
16

218 ANTS. Chap. XL

tlieir daily labours in the cells, which I was enabled
to do by laying open some of their cells, and then
observing what went on after all was quiet. So soon
as the cells are broken, a few head men or chiefs are
seen ; each one moves his head all round the aperture,
and then disappears into the dark galleries, appa-
rently without leaving anything. Then the soldiers
come ; these do no work, but there must be some
intention in these movements ; they no doubt were
on guard to protect the workers. I was never able,
even with my magnifying glass, to see them do any-
thing. The workers then come forward, and each of
them turns round and ejects from behind a quantity
of liquid mud into the aperture, and finally walls it
up. They come one after the other, and all of
them leave their contributions ; this is done first
in a row from one end of the aperture to another,
then each ejection is put on the top of the other
with a precision that would do honour to a brick-
layer or stonemason. The question to me was to
know if the same ants went away to eat more
earth and came again. How much would I have
given to be able to see into the dark recesses of the
chambers! but I do not see how this will ever be
done. The apertures of the cells were only closed
during the day, and during the following night the
part of the structure which I had demolished was
rebuilt to its original shape. Some of them brought
very small grains of sand or minute pebbles, and
deposited them in the mud ; when demolishing their
shelter, I saw several cells filled with these little
pebbles, which I had also collected and preserved.

Chap. XI. MODE OF BUILDING. 219

Soon after others came and closed up the cell. The
earth which they eat can be seen shining thi-ongh the
thin skins of their bodies, but I was unable to see
where it was stored in the interior of the edifice.
The mud is mixed with gluey matter, through the
digestion, when it is ejected, and with this material
the little creatures are enabled to build up the thin
tough walls which form their cells, and, in course of
time, the firm and solid structure of tlie entire nest.
Smi and rain are equally fatal to the wdiite ants;
thus it is necessary that they should build a hive
impervious to light, heat, and rain. 1 have put
white ants in the sun, and they were shortly after-
wards killed by its heat. I thought each cell was,
perhaps, inhabited only by one ant, but the great
number I saw in each mushroom-like edifice made it
quite improbable that it sliould be so.

I believe these white ants of the prairie are quite a
different species from those which live in subterranean
dwellings, and which make their appearance suddenly
through the floor of one's hut and devour all sub-
stances made of cotton or paper ; these are very fond
of eating wood, and are often found in dead trees.
In these species, the sense of smell, or some other
sense equivalent to it, must be very acute. One may
retire to bed in fancied security, with no sign of
white ants about, and in the morning wake to find
little covered ways overspreading the floor and chests
of clothing and stores, and the contents of the chest
entirely destroyed, with thousands of the busy ants
engaged in cutting the things with their sharp jaw-
blades. Everything made of wool or silk is, how-

220 AXTS. Chap. XI.

ever, invariably spared. At Majolo this kind of ant
was very abundant, and was a cause of much anxiety
to me.

Tree Ant. — Now that I have tried to the best of
my abiHties to give an account of what I call the
mushroom-building wLite ant, I will speak of another
species which lives in the forest, and which is often a
near neighbour ot the other. In the forest there is
a species which makes its hives or nests between the
ribs of the trunks of trees. The nests are from four
to seven feet long, and six to eight inches broad, and
are formed externally of several slanting roofs, one
above the other. The ants that make these struc-
tures have long black bodies and white heads, and
are unlike the mushroom-building ants.

The structure begins from the ground in a some-
what irregular cylindrical piece of walling or build-
ing about a foot high, but varying to as much as
eighteen inches, and full of cells and galleries ; then
occurs the first slanting roof. The larger the struc-
ture, the more of these slanting roof-like projections
it possesses, and they become smaller towards the
top, the middle roof being the broadest ; sometimes
a few inches will separate one roof from the other ;
the roofs communicate with each other through the
cells by the same cylindrical piece of masonry ; the
material of which the whole is built is very thick,
hard, and impermeable to rain. The structure of
this ant is not common in the forest; but having
found a nest in the prairie near Mayolo, I had not to
go far to study them.

Chap. XI. THE TREE ANT. 221

I frequently broke open portions of this singular
structure, and tried to observe the movements of the
inhabitants in the interior of their dark chambers.
As in the mushroom hives of the ])rairie, I found
numbers of little pale young ants in the cells ; there
were also a few head men or chiefs, soldiers, and
workers, the soldiers doing no work, whilst the
workers were full of activity ; the immature indivi-
duals moved but slowly, and seemed very delicate ;
the very young ones did not move at all. Whenever
I broke into the cells, the first care of the adults was
always to place the young progeny out of danger;
this they did by taking them up in their mouths and
carrying them into the inner chambers. Those, how-
ever, who could walk unaided were driven in. As
soon as the young ones had been taken into the cells,
the soldiers came to the apertures of all the cells that
had been broken, to defend the breach from any
enemies that might come : and then the workers
began to work with great rapidity. In breaking
the structure I killed a few of the young ones — the
adults came to them, and seeing them dead, left them
on the field.

I observed the soldiers engaged in an occupation
which was at first incomprehensible to me, but I after-
wards came to the conclusion that it was the act of
tracing with their mouths the outline of the work of
closing up the cells, which was to be completed by
their fellow ants the workers. The soldiers came and
stood at the opening of every broken cell in a row,
quiet for a little while, then they disappeared. By
the movement of their heads I thought they might be

222 ANTS. Chap. XL

taking some earth away, but I was not able to see
this with my magnifying glass. I thought also that
they might be throwing some moisture in order to
dampen the soil wliere the walls were to be built,
there again my magnifying glass failed me. The
Tvorker ants would then come in and apply their
mouths intently to the bottom of the cells in the
places where the mud had been ejected by the others,
and this was done so frequently that it appeared a
regular occurrence. It was interesting to watch the
regularity with which the ants worked, in compact
rows, side by side, until the chambers were covered
in. Before building, they carried away the little
pieces of clay which had been broken off, and which
were in their way. The material they used for
building seemed to me almost the some as that of the
mushroom-building ants. After having disposed of
their loads, the ants disappeared, and others took
their places ; what I wanted to find out was whether
the same ants came affain, but, as in the case of the

t_^ 7 7

mushroom-building ants, I was not able to settle this
point. The head men were far less numerous in pro-
portion to the total population of the community
than in the mushroom hives. The ants of this
species only once rebuilt their hive in its original
shape, after I had broken it. When I again de-
stroyed part of it they only closed the open cells.

In this kind of building the slanting roof pre-
vented the rain from getting in; but in the mush-
room hives, if the damage had not been entirely
repaired, the rain would have penetrated the struc-
ture.

Chap. XL THE 13AI!K ANT. 223

Dark Ant. — Another much smaller species of white
ant is found under pieces of loose dry baik on the
forest trees, on which they feed. The colonies were
composed of a very scanty number of individuals,
and the ants were so small and obscure that it was
not easy to detect them. They always choose trees
that are old and have these scales of loose bark on
their trunks from place to place. It is under these
small patches or scales that the ants live. They feed
on the w'ood, and build covered ways, or rather
tunnels, which start from the ground and communi-
cate to the different places where the colony has
scattered itself. Now and then, scraping under the
bark, I found that the settlement had moved some-
where else as soon as they had come to the green of
the tree. The material which this ant uses to build
its tunnels is not earth, but wood-dust. This proves
clearly that these white ants, with, perhaps, the ex-
ception of one species, build their nests of the same
material as they eat, but not till after it has passed
through their stomachs, and received an admixture
of glutinous fluid. The quantity thrown by this
little species was so minute that I could hardly have
seen it with the naked eye. They w^orked exactly
like the others I have just described. I was unable
to recognise the three distinct classes of individuals.
There seemed to be only two sets — soldiers and
workers. They worked very slowly when joining
the broken portions of the tunnels I had demolished.
This was accounted for by the extreme smallness of
the particles of material ejected by them, and also by
the fact that, in consequence of the tunnel being

224 ANTS. Chap. XL

very narrow, only one or two ants could work at the
same time.

Forest Termes. — Now I come to another species of
white ants much larger than those I have described
before, and building far larger structures.

The shelters of this ant are found in the forest, and
are rather uncommon ; they are always found single,
their light yellow colour makes them quite con-
spicuous in the midst of the dark foliage by which
they are surrounded ; this yellow colour comes from
the soil which the ants use in building, and which
they get from below the black loam.

The heio:ht of the structure I examined was four
feet and a half, and the diameter at the broadest
part two feet and a half ; after breaking one sinuo-
sity I found the cells to be about one inch and a
half in length and about half an inch in height,
each cell corresponding with the others by corridors
or round tunnels varying from half an inch to one
inch in length, and about a quarter of an inch in
diameter.

In demolishing the sides, I found that the thickness
of the wall was only one inch before the cells were
found ; but I found the earth at the top much harder
than on the sides, as though the builders had put a
much larger quantity of glutinous matter in this
part of the structure.

After demolishing three inches of this yellow top
of the nest I came suddenly to another layer, half an
inch thick, full of little holes or cells, so small that
they had no doubt been built on purpose for the ants

XEST OK FUKEST ANTS.

Chap. XI. FOKEST TERMES. 225

to remain there alone, but for what reason they re-
quired to remain alone I was unable to discover ;
at that time there were no ants there.

Then with the axe I gave a powerful ];low, and
demolished another part of the structure, which dis-
turbed the ants from their dark chambers. I saw
there the three different classes of ants : the head
men, very large, with whitish body and black head
(these were but few in nnmber) ; the workers, with
short and thick body and broad head, but not so
large as the chiefs ; and, thirdly, the soldiers, not
so large as the workers, more slender, and possessing
longer nippers. Tliese three distinct classes were the
inhabitants of this curious structure.

As I was looking at these ants, my attention was
suddenly called to watch their movements. The sol-
diers came and, ranging themselves round the broken
cells, took their stand and remained immovable.
Then the workers came ; eacli carried between its
pinchers a small particle of yellow clay, which some
of them collected from the broken pieces, and which
stood in my sight, wliile others came with their loads
from the cells ; there were sometimes two or three
busy together at the same time and in the same cells.
Each ant came and put down its particle of wet clay
with the utmost precision, and then with its head
moved it right and left, and by so doing succeeded
in making the bits stick together, and so finished the
wall. Each bit was put by the side of the one left
by the previous worker, who had gone to feteli more,
for here I saw the same ant go and fetch fresh pieces
of the game clay, which came from the structure I

226 ANTS. Chap. XT.

had broken. I observed that they never went out-
side the cells to get their matei'ials. No masons
could have worked more systematically.

But how could the clay which I saw them take dry
become suddenly wet ? I took a small reed and ad-
vanced it quietly towards some ; they made a spring
at it (for these ants' bites are far worse than the others)
and seized it with their nippers, and then threw upon
it a little whitish thickish matter, the same stuff that
made the clay wet and ready for building purposes.
During the working time not one of the largest
class was in sight. The soldiers kept watch, and
it was only just before the wall was closed that they
retired.

As in the other species, only a single class out of
the three worked. This ant is not the Termes belli-
cosus of Smeathman ; which erects far larger build-
ings, and is rather well known on the coast of
Africa. It has been described by several travellers ;
but I have never met with a single specimen. M.
Serval, in his ' Exploration of the Ogobai,' mentions
having seen an ant-hive four metres high. This
would correspond with the height of the sheltered
hives built by the Termes bellicosus. In them
Smeathman found only labourers and soldiers — ■
•fighting ants, as he calls them. Smeathman gives
a most graphic and interesting account of this
species. From his account it would appear that the
Termes bellicosus builds the sheltered hives in the
same way as the forest ants do. Professor Owen
kindly lent me Smeathman's paper, which was
published in 1781.

CiiAP. XL THE MOGOKORA ANT. 227

I have never been able to find a single winged
specimen of any wliite ants wliatevev, but I ibund
unwinged qneens in the mushroom hives.

The Mogokora Ant. — Often, whiJe T was waliving in
tlie Otando prairie, another ant attracted my attention ;
it was called by the natives Mogokora ; it is a ground
ant. Many hours I have spent in studying its habits.
These ants are of a black colour ; many of them are an
inch in length, and they are the largest species of ants
I met with. They possess long and powerful nippers,
and, when once they have seized an insect, they never
relinquish their hold ; and they have often to struggle
very hard before overpowering their victim. Con-
sidering the large size of the insects which I have
seen them master, I judge that their strength must be
enormous. They wander solitarily over the prairie,
and it was only after the grass had been burnt, that
I could study them thoroughly. They seem to scour
it in search of prey; insects and caterpillars being
their food. They inhabit holes or subterranean cham-
bers, and seem never to move very far from their
abodes ; as soon as they have captured an insect
they make for their galleries, and enter them with
their victim, which tliey devour at leisure. I never
saw them eat their prey out of their dens. These
holes or subterrjinean chambers are scattered over
the prairie, and each ant seems to know the one
that belongs to it. When they find an individual of
their own species dead, they carry it off to their den.

These dens are found almost always on the decli-
vity of hills, so that the water may not enter them

228 ANTS. Chap. XI.

SO easily ■when it rains ; in despite of this, many are
found drowned after a heavy storm, so that the spe-
cies is not very abundant; besides, the burning of
the prairie must also destroy many. Their bite is
very painful, and is felt for a long time afterwards.
When trodden upon they emit a strong smell. I
have never been able to find out the nest of these
ants, and have never seen a winged one.

The Ozlioni Ant. — This is a much smaller species
than the Mogokora ; it is found in the prairie and on
the borders of the forest. Like the former it is
essentially a ground ant. It eeems more voracious
than its powerful neighbour, for they capture their
own species alive and devour them. I have often
assisted at these fights. The attacking party is sure
always to be larger than the attacked, which, though,
much weaker, offers great resistance, knowing what
will be its fate if it cannot escape. The ants wrestled
together, and sometimes the attacked succeeded in
escaping, but generally they are recaptured.

If one of the ants is not strong enough to over-
power its victim or drag it along, then two or three
will unite to help it.

The sting of this species reminded me almost of
the sting of a bee., and I have myself suffered in-
tensely from it — once for more than two hours, in
despite of the ammonia which I applied to the sting.

The Stinging Black Ant. — I have only noticed this
species in the Otando country ; it is very scarce and
only found in the forest, climbing along trunks of

Chap. XL THE STINGING BLACK ANT. 229

trees. These ants are almost as large as the Mogo-
kora, and they are also of a dark black colour, and
shaped more like a bee than any other ant I haye
seen. Their sting is quite of the size of that of a
bee, they are very quick in their motions, and are
very difficult to capture if they have once been
missed. Their sting is the most painful I ever felt
but happily the pain does not last long.

CHAPTER XIL

mXyolo to apono-land.

Leave Mayolo — Cross the Nomba Obana Hill — River Dooya — Arrival at
Mouendi — Timidity of the Inhabitants — The Chief Nchiengain — Anival
of Apingi Men — Loss and Recovery of a Thermometer — Nocturnal
Reflections — African Story of the Sun and Moon — Smelling the White
Man's Presents — Passage of the Ngouyai — Hippopotami and Crocodiles ;
seasons of their scarcity and abundance — Arrival at Dilolo — Opposition
of the Inhabitants to our entering the Village — Pluck of my Commi
Boys — Arrival at Mokaba — My system of a Medicine Parade for my
Men.

Our preparations being finished, we left Mayolo on
the 30th of May, at half-past eight in the morning.
The good chief accompanied us, and our party con-
sisted of about thirty men, including twenty porters,
all heavily laden with my baggage. My own load
was, besides a double-barrelled gun and two revol-
vers, fifty ball cartridges, thirty bullets, six pounds
of shot, and a quantity of powder and caps ; alto-
gether about forty pounds weight.

The whole of the villagers came to bid me good-
bye— the women were especially demonstrative in
their adieux. I gave them a parting present of
beads. As we left the village, they all shouted,
" The Oguizi is going ! the Oguizi is going ! we shall
never see him more ! " It was with a heavy heart
that I bade adieu to these good-natured people.

For three hours we followed a course nearlv due

CuAV. XII. lUVER DOOYA. 231

east over tlie open grass-land of Otanclo. About
seven miles from Mayolo we ascended a liigli bill,
part of an elevated ridge, called Nomba Obana ; from
its summit a beautiful view is obtained towards tbe
west, as far as tlie dividing range between Otando
and Asbira ; on the eastern side an equally exten-
sive prospect opens out towards tbe higher ranges,
amongst which dwell the Ishogo, the Asbango, and
other tribes ; but directly east there was a gap in
the range, for north and south the mountains were
higher. The continuous forest which clothed the
hills, green on the nearer ranges and shading off to
misty blue on the distant ones, gave an air of solitude
to the scene. The eastern slope of Nomba Obana
was precipitous, and red sandstone rocks lay about in
wild confusion.

In the valley were the ruins of a village that had
been abandoned by Mayolo. This was the second
village he had abandoned within less than two years.
If any one dies, Mayolo immediately moves off, say-
ing that the place is bewitched.

About three miles east of Nomba Obana we crossed
a small river called Dooya. It was fordable at this
season, but during the rains it must be a considerable
stream. ]\Iarching onwards, always in an easterly
direction, we arrived, at half-past four, at the vil-
lage of the Apono chief Nchiengain, which is called
Mouendi. The territory of the Apono tribe lies chiefly
to the south-east of this place.

We halted before entering the village, at tlie re-
quest of Mayolo, to arrange the order of going in, for
it was necessary to avoid anything that might give

232 MAYOLO TO APOXO-LAXD. Chap. XH.

alarm to the timid savages, who had never before
received a similar visitor. The passage of inliabited
places would henceforward be the most difficult part
of our journey ; as long as we had nothing but
forests, rivers, and mountains to traverse, provided
we could get plenty of food, all would go well ; but to
contend with the superstitious fears, restless curiosity,
and greedy avarice of the chiefs and villagers Avas a
serious matter. It was settled that Mayolo, who was
the friend and nkaga (born the same day) of Nchien-
gain, should go first, and that the rest should follow
at intervals one by one. We marched towards the
entrance of the village in dead silence.

As we approached, the people who first caught
sight of us, began to flee. The women cried out as
they ran with their babes in their arms, " The Oguizi !
(Spirit) the Oguizi ! He has come and we shall
die ! " They wept and shrieked ; I heard their cries
with dismay, but did not know till afterwards that
the small-pox had already swept through tins village.

When we reached the middle of the village, there
was not a soul remaining except Nchiengain himself
and two men, who stood with fear depicted in their
countenances near the ouandja (a kind of house open
in front) of the chief. Nchiengain, however, had
given his consent to our coming, and seemed to have
inwardly resolved to brave it out. He had fortified
himself against evil by besmearing his body with
great streaks of the alumbi chalk, and hanging all
his fetiches around him.

The j)ersuasive tongue of Mayolo soon calmed his
fears. He gathered courage to look me steadily in

CiiAP. XII. CHIEF NCIIIEXGAIX. 233

the face. I then addressed him in the Ashira lan-
guage, and recounted the treasures in beads, caps for
the liead, coats, and cotton prints that I had brought
for liim ; finally he began to smile and took my
proffered hand. Beads were promised to the women,
and a'radually the people came back to their houses.
Mavolo finished up with a lengthy speech in the
African manner, proving to him that I did not bring
the plague. Towards evening I wont round the
village, looked into the huts, laughed with the people,
and distributed beads. Grood humour was restored,
and the remark became general that the Oguizi was
a good Spirit after all.

1 took meridian altitudes of Arcturus and a Crucis
before retiring to bed, although exceedingly fatigued
after our long march and the great load I had carried.
I found, by these observations, that my course had
been due east.

'S\st Md'f. Nchicngain is a tall, slender old negro,

with a mild and timid exj^ression of features. He is

the leading chief of the Apono tribe in these parts ;

but his clan is now, I hear, almost extinguished. His

village is one of the finest and cleanest I have yet

seen, the houses being neat, built chiefly of bamboo, or

strips of the leaf-stalks of palm-trees, and arranged in

symmetrical lines. I have measured the street, and

find it to be 447 yards long and 18 broad. The houses

are small and quite separate from one another ; the

height of the roof is about seven feet ; and each

house has its little verandah in front, under which

the inhabitants take their meals and sit to smoke

and chat. The soil on which the villao-e stands is
17

234 MAYOLO TO APONO-LAND. Chap. XII.

clayey. I notice that many of the men have their
two middle upper incisor teeth pulled out, and the
two next to them filed to a point. Some of the
women beautify themselves in a similar way ; they
also endeavour to improve their looks by tattooing
themselves in long scars on their foreheads, between
their eyebrows, and on their cheeks in a line with
the middle of the ear.

The people of Nchiengain's village are all Bam-
bais or Bambas — that is, the children of slaves,
born in the country. The women are the prettiest
I have seen in Africa ; and many of them had
very small feet and hands, which I have remarked
is the case with many of the negroes of Equatorial
Africa.

Although the chief seems to be of a good disposition,
I found him no better inclined to forward my journey
than any of the others I had had dealings with.
Like the Olenda people, he wanted the chief who
had brought me to his place to leave me in his
hands ; this being the first step necessary to enable
the rapacious negroes to get all they could out
of me at their leisure. j\layolo w^as firm in his
demand to have me forwarded across the Eembo
in two days, and I supported his arguments by
feigning anger at the chief's proposal, and refusing
to eat the presents of food he had made me. Our
palavers lasted all this day and the next. I gave him
a quantity of goods, but, as was to be expected, he
expressed his dissatisfaction, with a view to get more
out of me. I left Mayolo with him, and by some
means or other he persuaded him to be contented.

Chap. XII. ARRIVAL OF AriNGI MEN. 235

What could I do with a man wlio believed tliat I
made all these things myself, by some conjuring
process ? for it is thus that Nchiengain argued with
Mayolo : " The cloth and beads and guns cost him no
trouble to make ; why does he not give me more of
these things which do me so much good ? " " Mayolo,"
he would continue in course of his many palavers with,
him, " you eat me with jealousy. Why do you want
yourself to take the Oguizi to the Ashango country?
why not go back and leave him to me ? I want it to
go far and wide that the Oguizi and Nchiengain are
big friends." At length he offered himself to accom-
pany me across the Rembo, and to give me some
porters, for our loads were too heavy for our present
numbers. It was the passage of this river (the upper
Ngouyai) that offered our next difficulty ; it was too
wide and deep to ford or swim across, and we needed
a good canoe to ferry the j)arty over.

June \st. A number of Apingi men came up the
river to-day from their villages, which are situated
a few miles lower down, on the river banks, to-
wards the north or north-^v-est, but belonging to
a different clan from Reniandji's, which I visited
in my former journey. They fraternised with the
Apono, and we had great noise, tam-tamming, and
confusion. They brought about 100 bunches of
plantains for sale, which my men purchased. I find
the Apingi are generally lighter and redder in colour
than the Apono, and they are not so well-made a
people or so handsome (or less ugly) in features. But
thei'e arc no sharp lines of distinction between these
African tribes. They intermarry a good deal with

236 MA YOLO TO APONO-LAND. Chap. XII

eacli other, and, besides, the chiefs have children with
their slaves who are brought from various tribes, far
and near. The Apingi were not so much accustomed
to me as the Apono were, and whenever they caught
sight of me they fled. The noise made by these
fellows was quite unbearable.

I took a walk into the neighbouring woods ; and
on my return, going to look at the thermometer hung
under the verandah of my hut, I found it had been
stolen. This was too much to be borne, as it was the
only thermometer remaining to me after the plun-
dering of the Ashira. I felt that I must use energetic
measures to recover the instrument, so I seized two men
who were running away from the heap of plantains
in front of my hut, and calling on my Commi boys to
cock their guns, I sent for Nehiengain and said that
I would shoot a man if the instrument was not re-
turned to me. Nehiengain and the Apono declared
that the Apingi were the tliieves. Two chiefs who
were with the Apingi protested that the theft was
committed by none of their men, that they did not
come to steal, &c,, &c. My strong measures, how-
ever, had the desired effect ; the thermometer, for-
tunately unbroken, was found shortly after lying on
the ground near a neighbouring hut. Many of tlie
Apingi were armed with spears, but they are not so
warlike as the Apono. They are more accustomed
to the water, and build large canoes, which they sell
to the Apono.

June Ibt. I paid the new Apono porters to-day.
We were obliged to have seven more men than
before, as the loads were so heavy that the former

Chap. XII. XOCTUPNAL REFLECTIONS. 237

number was insufficient, and three of ray people had
the skin worn off their backs on the march from
Mayolo. To-night the air was colder than I ever
recollect to have found it in Western Africa. The
sky was cloudless but hazy — as, indeed, it often is
in the interior, in the clearest M-eather during the
dry season — a reddish halo surrounded the moon. I
sat up as usual to take lunar distances and altitudes
of stars. Indeed, I seldom retire before one a.m.,
and enjoy the silent nights, when the hubbub and
torment of a crowd of whimsical, restless savages
are stilled by sleep. I sometimes stretched myself on
the ground after tlie work was done, and enjoyed
the contemplation of the starry heavens, thinking of
the far-off northern land, lying under constellations
so different from these of the southern hemisphere.
My thoughts would wander to my distant friends
in Europe and North America, and my eyes Mould
fill with tears when I dwelt on the many acts of
kindness I had received from them. Did they now
think of the poor lonely traveller working out his
mission amidst savages in the heart of Africa !

I was not always so solitary in taking my nightly
observations, for sometimes one or other of my men
or Mayolo would stand by me. Of course I could
never make them comprehend what I was doing.
Sometimes I used to be amused by their ideas about
the heavenly bodies. Like all other remarkable
natural objects, they are the subjects of whimsical
myths amongst them. According to them, the sun
and moon arc of the same age, but the sun brings
daylight and gladness and the moon brings darkness,

238 MAYOLO TO APONO-LAND. Chap. XII.

witchcraft and death — for death comes from sleep, and
sleep commences in darkness. The sun and moon,
they say, once got angry with each other, each one
claiminc; to he the eldest. The moon said : " Who
are you, to dare to speak to m.e ? you are alone, you
have no people ; what, are you to consider yourself
equal to me ? Look at me," she continued, showing
the stars shining around her, " these are my people ;
I am not alone in the world like you." The sun
answered, " Oh, moon, you hring witchcraft, and it is
you who have killed all my people, or I should have
as many attendants as you." According to the ne-
groes, people are more liahle to die when the moon
first makes her appearance and when she is last
visihle. They say that she calls the people her in-
sects, and devours them. The moon with them is the
emblem of time and of death.

I was much amused to-day. Some of the inha-
bitants of a neighbouring Apono village, who had
been most hostile to my coming to their country,
having since heard that I had brought no evil or
sickness with me here, now came to see me. As soon
as my friend Nchiengain saw them, he went up to
them in great anger, crying out, " Go away, go
away ! Now that you have smelt niva (my goods
or presents), you. are no longer afraid, but want to
come ! " So the men went away w^ithout my speaking
to them.

June 2nd. Towards evenino; both Nchieno-ain and
Mayolo got drunk with palm wine, and their ardour
to go forward with me was something astonishing.
They say they are going with me far beyond the

Chap. XII. AX ArOxVO IDOL. 239

Asliaiigo ; they are men ; tliey will even travel by
night, as there will be the moon with ns.

I wanted to obtain one of the idols of the Apono,
so to-day, on asking Nchiengain, he took me out of
the village along a path which led to a grove of
trees, and thence he sent his head wife to a mbuiri
house to fetch an idol. When it came, I found it so
large (it was, in fact, a load for one man) and so
disgustingly indecent, that I was obliged to refuse it.
I felt that if I accepted it I should be like the worthy
mayor in the well-known story, who received the
present of a white elephant. Like other idols which
I had seen, it was a female.

The villagers have the largest nqoma, or tam-tam,
I have ever seen. It measures very nearly nine feet
in length, and the hollowing of the log must have
cost the Apono a great deal of labour. Many of the
people are drunk to-night, following the example of
the two chiefs. I had always heard from the slaves *
near the coast that the Apono were a merry race,
and I now find it so with a vengeance. Since my
arrival here there has been nothing but dancing and
singing every night. I distributed beads among the
women, and this has had a great effect. So we are
all good friends together.

Jane Sixl. "We left Mouendi with a great deal of
trouble this morning. Nchiengain and Mayolo
wanted to renew the libations of the previous even-
ing, and, in fact, were half-drunk soon after daylight;
but I went to the hut where the symposium was
going on, and, kicking over the calabashes of palm
wine, sent the chiefs and their attendants to the

240 MAYOLO TO APONO-LAND. CuAv. XIL

right-aborit. I could not, however, get Ncliiongain
away, and we started without him. I wondered
afterwards at the good-nature of tliese people, who
saw with composure a stranger knocking o\ev so
large a quantity of their cherished beverage. They
did not resent my act, hut only grumbled that so
much good liquor was spilt instead of going down
their throats.

We reached the banks of the river, distant about
three miles from the village, at two p.m. The
Ngonyai was here a fine stream, nearly as wide as
the Thames at London Bridge, and from ten to fifteen
feet deep, flowing from the S.S.W.

It was now the dry season, when the water is
about ten feet below the level of the rainy season.
The yellow waters formed a curious contrast to the
dark green vegetation of its banks. I could not but
admire the magnificent trees which towered above
the masses of lower trees and bushes growing from
the rich soil ; some of them grew on the very brink
of the stream, and their trunks were supported by
erect roots, looking hke May-poles, eight or ten feet
high, and projecting in places over the water. Open-
ings in the wall of foliage revealed to us the interior
of the jungle, where the trees were interlaced with
creepers of all kinds, especially the india-rubber vine,
which is here very abundant.

I was surprised to find Xchiengain's fiat-bottomed
canoe, or ferry-boat, large and well-made. It carried
my party and baggage across in seven journeys.
We finished at half-past four p.m., and encamped
for the night on the opposite side. Nchiengain

Chap. XII. HIPPOPOTAMI AXD CEOCODILES. 241

arrived at the river-side, reeling drunk, just as we
were shoving off with the last load, and I told tlie
men to pretend not to hear his shouts for the return
of the canoe to emhark him, so he had to come over
alone when we had all landed on the other side.

I was struck with the scarcity of animal life on and
near the river. But the rich and open valley through
which it flows must teem with Natural History wealth
in its varied woods ; we could not expect to see
much amid the noise of our crossing, and in the short
time we remained in the district. There were no
aquatic birds in sight, not even pelicans. The water
was too deep and there were too few sand and mud
banks for hippopotami ; for I have always noticed
that these animals are found only in rivers which
abound in shallows. If tlie rivers have shallows in
the dry season only, then hippopotami are to be seen
there only in the dry season. It is the same with
crocodiles. In the seasons of flood one may travel
for weeks without seeing a single individual of either
species in rivers and lakes which nevertheless swarm
with them in the dry season. Thus it is with the
lake Anengue of the Ogobai, which I described in
my former work as fidl of crocodiles, although when
Messrs. Serval and Griffon Du Bellay visited it, after
me, in 1862, they were unable to see any of these
reptiles. Indeed, I myself found none on my first
visit to the lake, as related in 'Adventures in Equa-
torial Africa;' on my second visit I was surprised to
find them so abundant. Even a month or a fort-
nig] it makes a great difference, and one wonders
where all the crocodiles come from. It is well known

242 MAYOLO TO APOXO-LAND. Chap, XII.

to travellers that fishes are very scarce in seasons of
flood, and abundant in the dry season, in the same
rivers. The scarcity and abundance, of course, are
only apparent ; the total population of the water
must remain pretty nearly the same all the year
round, but vre are apt to lose sight of the fact that
the area of the waters of any river with many arms
and lakes must be immensely greater in the flood
season than in the dry, and thus the population is
more scattered and hidden from view.

Ath. We left the banks of the river at a quarter-
past six a.m. Shortly afterwards we passed through
an Apono village, and at half-past eight a.m. came to
three Ishogo villages close together. All three pro-
bably belonged to the same clan, and they contained
a considerable population. It was no new feature to
find a settlement of a tribe living in the middle of a
district belonging to another tribe. The Ishogos
had been driven by war from their own territory,
and have thus intruded on unoccupied lands within
the territory of their neighbours.

The Ishogos of these villages knew that I was to
pass through the places. They had heard of the
untold wealth I brought with me, and were annoyed
when they perceived my intention to pass on without
stopping. The villages are built in an open grassy
space ; and as soon as the caravan came in sight the
excitement was intense. Women, children, and
armed men came around, shouting and entreating ;
some running along the line of march, with goats in
tow, offering them as j^resents if I would stay with
them, even if it was only for a night. It is the

Chap. XII. ISHOGO VILLAGES. 243

custom in all these villnges to offer a present of food
to a stranger if the inhabitants wish him to stay with
them ; and the acceptance of the present by the
stranger is a token of his intention to remain in the
place for a time. Tliey offered also ivory, and slaves,
and the more I refused the offers, the more pertina-
cious they became. Their sole wish, of course, in
asking me to stay, was to get as much as they could
of the coveted goods I brought with me. It was
droll to see, when I stopped in my walk, how they
fled in alarm to a distance, and then stood still to
gaze at me. Two of the chiefs followed us for
miles, with their proffered present of a goat each
trottiug along by their sides. They finally gave in
and went back, saying to Mayolo and Nchiengain
that it was their fault that I did not stop. Our
Apono companions mourned over the goats that I
might have had : they thought only of their share of
the meat, as the animals, when killed, would have
been cut up and distributed amongst them.

About mid-day we halted in a beautiful wooded
hollow, through which ran a picturesque i^vulet.
There we stopped about an hour and breakfasted.
The direct easterly path from here led to a number
of Apono villages ; these we wished to avoid in
order to escape a similar annoyance to that which we
had undergone in the morning from tlie Ishogos, and
so struck a little more southerly, or S.S.E. by compass.
Our road lay for three hours over undulating prairie
land, with occasional woods ; one of the open spaces
was a prairie called Matimbie irimba (the prairie of
stones) stretching S.E. and N.W.

244 MA YOLO TO APONO-LAND. Chap. XII.

At the S.E. end of the prairie we came to a village
called Dilolo. Our reception here was anything hut
friendly. We found the entrance to the one street of
the village harricaded and guarded hy all the figliting
men, armed with spears, hows and arrows, and sabres.
"When within earshot, they vented bitter curses
against Nchiengain for wanting to bring the Oguizi,
who carries with him the eviva (plague), into their
village, and prohibited us from entering if we did
not want war. The war drums beat, and the m.en
advanced and retired before us, spear in hand. AYe
marched forward nevertheless, and the determined
fejlows then set fire to the grass of the open space
leading to the village barricade. Wishing to avoid
an encounter, and also the fire which was spread-
ing at a great rate over the prairie, we turned by
a path leading round the village ; but when we had
reached the rear of the place, we found a body of
the villagers moving in the same direction, to stop
our further progress. Most of them appeared half-
intoxicated with palm wine, and I now felt that we
were going to have a fight. Presently two poisoned
arrows were shot at us, but they fell short. Nchien-
gain then came up and walked between my men and
the irritated warriors, begging me not to fire unless
some of us were hit. The villagers, seeing that we
made no display of force, became bolder, and one of
them came right up and with his bow bent threat-
ened to shoot Rapelina. My plucky lad faced the
fellow boldly, and, showing him the muzzle of his
gun, told him he would be a dead man if he did not
instantly put down his bow. All my Commi boys

OiiAP. XII. PLUCK OF MY COMill BOYS. 245

came up, and ranging themselves on the flanks of
our caravan with their guns pointed at the cneni}'-,
protected the train of porters as they filed past. I
was glad to see also our Apono companions taking
our part; they got enraged with the villagers, and
some of them laid down their loads, and rushed to the
front waving their swords. Strange to say, not one
of the villagers came near me, or threatened me in
any way. I watched tlie scene calmly, and surveyed
the field where war might at any moment break out.
Behind us the country was all in a blaze, for the fire
had spread witli great rapidity. The Apono porters
being so resolutely on our side, I had no fear as to how
the conflict \vould end. If we had been travelling:
alone, without guides and porters, we should liave
had a serious fight, and it is probable my journey
would have come to a termination here in a similar
way to that which afterwards happened in Ashango-
land ; but it is a point of honour with these primitive
Africans that they are bound to defend the strangers
whom they have undertaken to convey from one
tribe to another. Had I not been deserted by my
guides in the village where I was finally driven
back, as will be hereafter narrated, 1 should have
been enabled to continue my journey. "We went on
our way, Nchiengain shouting from the rear to the
discomfited warriors that there would be a palaver
to settle for this, when he came back.

I was prouder then ever of my boys after this, and
profited by the occasion to strengthen them in their
determination to go forward. There was no going
back after this, I told them ; they all shouted, " We

246 MAYOLO TO APOXO-LAXD. Chap. XII.

must go forward ; we are going to the white man's
country ; we are going to London ! "

We continued our march till half-past four p.m.,
when we encamped for the night in the middle of a
wood, where there was a cool spring of water, close to
a cluster of Apono villages. It appeared that these
people also dreaded our approach on account of the
eviva. In the evening we heard the cries of the
people, the weeping of the women, and the beating
of the war drums. The burthen of their lamentations
was " 0 Nchiengain, why have you brought this curse
upon us ? AVe do not want the Oguizi, who brings
the plague with him. The Ishogo are all dead, the
Ashango have left; it is of no use your taking the
white man to them ; go back, go back ! " We slept
with our loaded guns by our side; the. war drums
ceased beating about 10 o'clock. My men were tired
and foot-sore, on account of the sharp stones and
pebbles of the prairie paths.

June bth. At daylight this morning I got up and
looked out over the broad prairie, quite expecting
to see a war-party watching us through the long
grass ; but to my agreeable surprise, I saw no signs of
war. Shortly afterwards a deputation of three men
came from the village to try to persuade Nchiengain
not to pass through, on account of my bringing death
wherever I went. But the trusty and sensible old
chief, in a long speech, showed them that it was a
foolish ah\rm about my bringiiig the eviva, and that
the plague came quite independent of me, for it had
passed through his village long before the Oguizi
had come near it. The argument seemed to have a

CiiAP. Xir. ASSEMBLY OF APONOS. 247

good effect ; tLey retired, and shortly afterwards both
Nchieiigaiii and Mayolo were sent for to tlae village ;
this was followed by a messenger arriving for me.

When I came into the open space chosen for the
meeting, at some distance from the village, I was not
a little surprised to see about 200 of the villagers
assembled, all gravely seated on the grass, in a group
of a semi-circular foiin. As I advanced towards them,
I was amused to see the front row getting uneasy
and wriggling off into the rear, followed by the next
row, and so on. They put me in mind of a flock of
sheep or a herd of deer in a park, when confronted
by a man walking slowly up to them. Nchiengain,
who appeared to have great influence here, and to be
acknowledged as a superior chief among the Aponos,
succeeded at last in arresting their laughable rear
movement. He tlien addressed me, saying that he
had sent for me to tell me that the villagers wished
me to leave the wood in which I was encamped, and
to move to the top of a grassy hill a little further off.
If I did that all the people would come and see me,
and bring me food, and on the following day would
be willing that I should continue my journey.

I declined this proposal, as the top of the hill was
too much exposed to the heat of the sun, and I pre-
ferred the cool shade of the wood. They finally let
me have my own way, and my encampment for several
hours afterwards was thronged with people. They
all said that the report of my bringing the evira had
been spread abroad amongst the tribes for a long
distance in the interior by the Ashira people.

Late in the afternoon, three head men of neigh-

248 MAYOLO TO ArOXO-LAXD. Chap. XII.

bonring villages came to invite us to their respective
villages. One of the elders was from a large place
not far distant, called Mokaba, and Mayolo recom-
mended me to go to this village in preference to
the others, because its representative had offered
us the greatest number of goats, namely, three.
"When I gave my decision, the other two chiefs were
greatly annoyed, and we were very near ha\iiig a
serious row amongst them. Nchiengain was too far
gone in intoxication, having had a drinking bout
vv^ith the chiefs of the village where we now were, to
accompany us. As we moved off, the two disap-
pointed elders followed, and continued to pester us.
One of them had the boldness to come up to me and
try to lead me off to his village ; it was droll to witness
his fright when I turned sharply on him : he stepped
backwards trembling with fear, and waved his leather
fan before him, crying, " Oh, don't, Oguizi!" After
a short march we entered the more friendly town of
Mokaba; amidst the shouts of the whole population.
I was alarmed at night in finding Mayolo very
feverish and unwell. I had noticed the first symp-
toms when at Mouendi.

I am happy to say that my own men now enjoy
much better health than they did at the commence-
ment of our expedition ; for, strange to say, these
negroes cannot bear as much fatigue and hardship as
I do, and generally after a long march or a hunt they
fell ill. But I could never make them come and tell
me as soon as they felt the first symptoms of being un-
well, so, at fixed periods — once a fortnight, or once a
month, according to the season — they were summoned

CuAP. Xir. THE "MEDICINE PARADE." 249

to my "dispensary" to be dosed all round. I had
fixed days for the different medicines : oiie day was
castor-oil day, another was blue-pill or calomel day,
a third was the " feast of Epsom salts." They all
had to come up in single file, and, one after the other,
were ordered to swallow their dose. Now and then
one or two of them tried to escape the medicine
parade ; and, when I called them up, each had some
ready excuse for his non-attendance, but in vain.
This was generally on castor-oil day, for they said
that they did not mind the other medicines, but that
this was " so bad ; " and many were the wry faces
that were made before the dose was swallowed by
the ' entire company. However, I found that my
plan had very good results, as my men had much
better health than they had before I adopted it.

18

CHAPTER XIII.

THE MAECH THROUGH APONO-LAND.

Mokalm — Curiosity of the People — Eenewed illness of Mayolo — His return
to Otando — Nchiengain's Speech — The Apono agree to take me to the
lahogo country — Description of the Apono Tribe — Their sprightly
character — Arts — Weapons — Population — Description of Mokaba —
— Palm wine — Drunkenness — Ocuya Performances — Leave Mokaba —
Piiver Dougoundo — Arrival at Igoumbi^ — Invitation from the elders
of the village to remain there — Manners of the Ishogos — Description of
Igoumbi^ — The Ishogo huts — Arrival at Yengue, in Ishogo-land.

June (JiL Mokaba and most of the other villages of
the Apouo tribe are situated in an open tract of undu-
lating country, partly wooded and partly open prairie.
The distance of the town from Mayolo is not more
than twenty-seven miles in a direct line, and the
altitude above the sea-level is scarcely so great as at
that place, being only 414 feet, whilst Mayolo is 496
feet ; but Mokaba, as I afterwards found, was within a
short distance of the Ngouyai, and lay in the valley
of the river, whilst Mayolo lies on the lower slope of
the mountain range which separates Otando from
Ashira-land. Close to the village, on its eastern side,
are some fine wooded hills, which give the place a
very picturesque appearance when viewed from the
western side. The successive mountain ranges to-
wards the east are not visible from the Apono plain,
although they formed grand objects from the Otando

'W^-

l:\ .mS. j^"'*!^^'

MOKABA. APOXO TILLAGE.

Chap. XIII. CURIOSITY OF THE MOKABA I'EOPLE. 251

country, rising in three terrace-like ridges one behind
the other. On tlie other hand, looking towards the
west, I could see the fine hillj range beyond Otando,
stretcliing in a semi-circle to the Asliira Kamba ter-
ritory, and joining, on tlie north, the range which
trends eastward from that point tow^ards the Ashango
mountains.

The curiosity of the IMokaba people is most trou-
blesome, so that, although the villagers have been so
much more friendly than those we passed yesterday,
I have not been much more comfortable. The place
swarms with people, and I have been haunted, at my
encampment, by numbers of sight-seers. The way
they come upon me is sometimes quite startling; they
sidle up behind trees, or crawl up amongst the long
grass until they are near enough, and tJien, from be-
hind the tree trunks, or above the herbage, a number
of soot-black faces suddenly bob out, staring at me
with eyes and mouth wide open. Tlie least thino- I
do, elicits shouts of wonder ; but if I look directly at
them they take to their legs and run as if for their
lives.

June 7th. I cannot describe how low-spirited I feel
at the condition of poor j\Iayolo this morning. I fear
his days are numbered. He has a burning fever, and
was too ill to speak to me, or even to recognise me,
when I entered his hut. The Otando men, wlio are
with us, are to carry him back to his place this after-
noon. I thought it just possible that he miglit have
been poisoned by some of these hostile vihagers.
But he is a hard drinker and has been intoxicated
almost every day, so that this may have been the

252 THE MAECH THROUGH APONO-LAXD. Chap. XIII.

cause of Lis illness. His people begin to recollect
that lie was first taken ill the day after he had a dis-
pute with his children about beads; and if he dies
there will ])e a frightful witchcraft palaver in Otando.
I shall feel his loss greatly, for, besides being a
staunch friend, he speaks the Commi language a
little, which I understand better than I do any other
of these African idioms. He has been therefore a
good guide in every way. Fortunately our long stay
at Olenda and Mayolo has enabled me to acquire the
Ashira language to some extent.

Before the Otando men departed, I went and bid
good-bye to Mayolo, but he w^as too ill to recognise
me. After his departure I entreated Nchiengain to
hurry me off as quick as he could. He said " You are
in as great a hurry as if you had killed somebody."
I gave to each of Mayolo's men and to his wife a
jDarting present, and my Commi boys gave them
their old garments. The Mokaba people took alarm
at night in seeing me look at the stars with my
instruments ; and the chief, accompanied by his
peojjlc, came and told me they would build a .shed
for me at a distance from the housel, as they were
afraid of the mysterious work I w^as doing. I firmly
refused, saying that they had made me come to the
house where I was staying, and that now I would
not remove.

June Sth — 2ih. Still at Mokaba, waiting for port-
ers. Messengers came on the 9th for Nchiengain
to return to his village, as one of his men had
died ; they brought also the news that Mayolo had
been vomiting blood. This was most distressing

Chap. XIIL KCIIIEXGAIN'S SrEECH. 253

intelligence for me. If Mayolo dies I am afraid liis
death will be imputed to me. I made presents to
the chiefs and elders of Mokaba, to keep them in
good linmonr, and gave a gun to Nchiengain.

It is settled that nineteen Apono porters are to
accompany me to the Ishogo country with their chief
Kombila.* Nchiengain returns to his own place.
Before he left me we assembled all our new men,
and he made a speech to them whilst I distributed
the pay. He told them how Olenda had delivered
me to Mayolo ^nd Mayolo to him, and that now they
must take me safe to the Ishogo people, who would
pass me over to the Ashango, and so on. They
were to see that I had plenty of goats and plan-
tains, and then if their task was well done they
would receive their reward as he and his people had
done.

These speeches always have a good effect for the
moment, ihe excitable negroes become enthusiastic
about the journey, and promise even more than they
are required to do. When Nchiengain w^as about to
leave, he delivered up to me a plate and a kettle
which he had borrowed of me when w^e first became
acquainted, that he might show the people how great

* As proper names may be of some utility iu the study of the native
languages, I suljoiii the names of my porters: —

Head man, Kombila. Sccoutl in command, IMbouka.

Ijiandi,

]\assa.

Bouslioubou,

Fouboii,

JMondjego,

Djembe',

Batali, •

]\Ionibon,

Boulingud,

Kjoniba,

Dadinga,

Kcliago,

]\Iozamba,

]\liyendo,

^loueti,

Mousounibi,

Mufoumbi,

Momelou.

254 THE MAECH THROUGH APOXO-LAND. Chap. XIIL

a man he had become to possess such utensils. When
he came to borrow them, he said, " Nchiengain must
eat off a plate, and must cook his food with the
Oguizi's kettle ; so that tlie people may know that
Nchiengain is his friend." I had quite forgotten the
loan, and felt pleased at this display of the old man's
honesty. He gave us all his blessing as he started,
and shouted to me, " I have done all I can for you !
I have not slighted you ! my good wishes go with
you."

As I am about to leave the Apono country, I must
say here a few words about this tribe of negroes.
They are no doubt a branch of the great Ashira
nation, like the Ashira Kamba, the Ashira Ngozai,
and the Otando, all of whom, as well as the Aponos,
speak the Ashira language. The Ashangos also
speak the Ashira language, although they are divided
from the Aponos by the Ishogo, who speak an
entirely different language. But the Aponos are
distinguished from all the other branches of the
Ashira nation by their sprightliness of character ;
and they are clean and well-looking. Their villages
are larger, better arranged, and prettier than those of
the Otando and Ashira Ngozai. Each house is built
separate from its neighbours, and they attend to
cleanliness in their domestic arrangements. Their
country is an undulating plain, varied with open
grassy places covered with a pebbly soil, and rich
and extensive patches of woodland well adapted for
agriculture, in which they make their plantations.
I cannot make an estimate of the total population

Chap. XIIT. DESCRIPTION OF THE APONO TPJBE. 255

of tlie tril)e ; their villages were nuraeroiis along our
line of march from Mouendi, but we travelled pro-
bably through the most thickly-peopled district.

As I have already said, the Aponos, both men and
women, are distinguished by their habit of taking-
out the tw^o middle upper incisors and filing the rest,
as well as the four lower, to a point. ''The women
have for ornament tattooed scars on their forehead ;
very often these consist of nine rounded prominences
similar in size to peas, and arranged in the form of
a lozenge between their eye-brow^§/a'ncl they have
similar raised marks on their cheeks and a few
irregular marks on the chest and abdomen, varying
in pattern in different individuals. They also rub
themselves with red powder derived from the common
bar-wood of trade. /They dress their hair in many
ways, but never form it into a high mass/ias the
Ashira used formerly to do, as I have described in
' Equatorial Africa.' The Aponos do not practise
tattooing so much as the Apingi, who decorate their
chests and abdomens with various kinds of raised
patterns. I once asked an Apingi man why his
people covered themselves with such ugly scars ; he
replied that they were the same as clothing to
them. " Why," retorted he, " do you cover your-
self with so many curious garments?" The Apingi
seem to be a small tribe, and the territory they
occupy is a narrow strip along the banks of the
Ngouyai. They and the Ishogos speak the same
language.

The Aponos are a w^arlike people, and are rather
looked up to with fear by the Apingi and the Ishogos,

256 THE MARCH THROUGH APOXO-LAXD. Chap. XHI.

whoso villages are close to theirs. They are not such
skilful workers in iron as the Fans, or as some other
trihes further to the east. The iron-ore which they
use is found plentifully in some parts of tlieir prairies ;
it occurs in lumps of various sizes, and is dug from
the soil ; the deeper they dig the larger and purer
are the lumps. They melt it in little thick earthen-
ware pots, holding about a pint each, and use, of
course, charcoal in tempering the metal. Their
anvils are large and well-made, but the construction
of them is apparently beyond their ability, as all
the anvils which I saw came from the Abombo and
Njavi tribes, who live further towards the east. The
Abonibos and Njavis manufacture also a superior
kind of straight sword four feet long, the handle of
which is made of wood and is in the shape of a dice-
box, through the middle of which the handle-end of
the sword passes.

The bows of the Aponos are very different from
those of the Fans, which I described and figured in
' Adventures in Equatorial Africa ;' they are not
nearly so powerful, but, at the same time, not so
clumsy ; they are of very tough wood, and bent
nearly in a semi-circle, with the chord measuring
about two feet, and the string of vegetable fibre.
The arrow is rather heavy ; the head is of tempered
iron, triangular in shape, and prolonged in a tubular
form for the insertion of the shaft ; the shaft is not
secured into the head, so that when the arrow enters
into the body of a man or animal, the sharp trian-
gular lance-head, coated with poison, remains in the
wound, whilst the shaft drops out. The arrows are

Chap.xiil apono weapons. 257

kept ill cylindrical quivers made of tlie bark of a
tree, and not in bags.

TLeir spears, also, are different from tliose of tlie
Fans, and are similar to those described by Burton,
Grant, Speke, and otlier travellers, as used by the
tribes of Eastern Equatorial Africa.* They are
much heavier and clumsier than the spears of the
Fans, and cannot, therefore, like them, be thrown to
a distance. The head is lance-shaped, without barbs,
and a foot in length. In fight they are used for
thrusting, at close quarters. Swords are the most
common weapons with these i^eople ; they might,
however, be more properly tei'ined sabres than
swords, being curved, and having wooden handles.
The metal of which the blades are made, although
pretty well tempered, by means of the charcoal used,
is full of flaws. Some of the people use round
shields made of wicker- w^ork. Each of my Apono
porters carried a sabre, l)csides his bow and quiver
of arrows. The possession of a sword is a mark of
manhood with these people, and all the young men
think it honourable to obtain a sword before they
acquire a wife. In fact, the chief things coveted by
the young dandies of the tribe are a sword, a grass-
web cap of the country, and a handsome dengui, or
garment of stri])ed grass-cloth. The red worsted caps
which I carried, as part of my stores, immediately
drove their native caps out of fashion, and, indeed,
created a perfect /i^rcrg. It was a sure way of gain-
ing the good will of an Apono man to present him
with one of these caps.

* ' Adventures iu Equatorial Africa,' p. 80.

258 THE MAIICH THROUGH APONO-LAXD. Chap. XIE.

Like the Ashiras, tlie Aponos are industrious
weavers of grass-cloth, which forms the clothing of
both sexes. The clotli is woven in small j^ieces with
a fringe, called bongos, and is sometimes beautifully
fine ; when several bongos are sewn together, the
garment is called a dengui ; the women wear only two
pieces, or bongos, one on each side, secured at the top
over tlie hips, and meeting in front at the upper edge.

It might be supposed, from the frequency with
which I met with villages on the march, that the
Apono country was thickly inhabited, especially as
the villages were large, a few of them containing
about a thousand inhabitants. But it must be recol-
lected that the high-roads, or pathways, along which
we were obliged to march, were the roads leading
from one village to another. I travelled, therefore,
through the peopled part of the country. Away
from these main pathways there were vast tracts of
prairie and some wooded land remaining in their
original desert condition.

■ Upon the whole, I liked the Aponos, and got on
very well Avhilst in their country. They showed
themselves to be honest, and were faithful in carrying
out the engagements they entered into with me, in
spite of the numerous palavers we had. I lost none
of my property by tlieft whilst I was amongst them.

The village of Mokaba is large and well-arranged ;
its site, as I have before remarked, is picturesque,
and, in short, it was the prettiest village I have ever
seen in Africa. There are upwards of 130 houses or
huts, which, as in other West-African villages, are so
arranged as to form one main street. But, in Mokaba,

Chap. XIII. VILLAGE OF MOKABA. 259

several houses are connected so as to form a square,
with a common yard or garden in the middle, in which
grow magnificent palm-trees. Behind the houses,
too, are very frequently groups of plantain and lime-
trees. The village being thus composed of a series
of small quadrangles and back-gardens containing
trees with beautiful foliage, the whole effect is very
charming. In the rear of the houses, amidst the
plantain-groves, they keep their goats, fowls, and
pigs. This was the only village where I saw tame
pigs. I was struck with the regularity of the main
street ; but, besides this, there was another narrower
street on each side of the village, lying betw^een the
backs of the houses and the plantain-groves, and
kept very neat and closely-weeded. Each house has
in front a verandah, or little open space without
^all, occupying half the length of the house ; the
other half, in equal portions on each side, forms
apartments in which the owners sleep and keep their
little property. When a man marries, he imme-
diately builds a house for his new wife ; and, as the
family increases, other houses are built ; the house
of each wife being kept separate. The palm-trees
in the quadrangles are the property of the chief
man of each group of houses ; and, being A^aluable
property, pass on his death to his heir, the next
brother or the nephew, as in other tribes. Some of
these palm-trees tower up to a height of 50 feet, and
have a singular appearance in the palm-wine season
from being hung, beneath the crown, with hollowed
gourds receiving the precious liquor.

260 THE MARCH THROUGH APONO-LAXD. Chap. XIIl.

The large quantity of palm-trees in and around
tlie village furnish the Aponos of J\Tokal)a with a
ready supply of their i^ivourite drink, palm-wine ;
for, as I have said before, they are a merry people,
and make a regular practice of getting drunk every
day as lo:ig as the wine is obtainable. I often saw
them climb the trees in early morning, and take deep
draughts from the calabashes sus|)ended there. Like
most di-unken people, they become quarrelsome ; and
being a lively and excitable race, many frays occur.
Happily the palm-wine season lasts only a few months
in the year : it was the height of the drunken season
when I was at ]\Iokaba. I saw very few men who
had not scars, or the marks of one or more wounds,
received in their merry-making scrimmages. Their
holidays are very frequent. Unlimited drinking is
the chief amusement, together with dancing, tam-tam-
niing, and wild uproar, which last all night. They
are very fond of the ocwja performances. The ocuya
is a man supporting a large framework resembling
a giant, and whimsically dressed and ornamented,
who walks and dances on stilts. In Mokaba, he
appears in a white mask with thick open lips, dis-
closing the rows of teeth minus the middle incisors,
according to the Apono fashion. The long gar-
ment reaches to the groiuid, covering the stilts. It
struck me as a droll coincidence that his head-dress
resembled exactly a lady's bonnet, at least the re-
semblance held good before chignons came into
vogue ; it was surmounted by feathers and made of
the skin of a monkey. Behind, however, hung the

Chap. XIII. DErARTURE FROM MOKABA. 261

monkey's tail, which I cannot say has its parallel in
European fashions, at least at present.

Jlliic iCih. We left Mokaha at a quarter-past ten,
a.m., liaving been detained since sunrise by the
effects of the palm wine. Every one of my porters
was more or less tipsy ; and after they had drunk all
the wine there was in the village they had not had
enouirh, but went into the woods to fetch down the
calabaslies that had been left on the palm-trees to
catch the liquor. About an hour before starting we
had a heavy shower of rain, which lasted a few
minutes. It was the first rain we had had since we
left Mayolo.

Leaving Mokaba, we pm^sued a direction a little
north of east. The ground soon began to rise, and
we entered on a richly-wooded hilly country, in
which were numerous plantations and villages ot
slaves belonging to the head men of Molcaba. At
a plantation called Njavi, my aneroids showed me
that we were 200 feet above Mokaba. This place is
called Njavi probably on account of the plantation
being worked by slaves from the Njavi country.

AVe halted here a short time, for some of the
porters were not very strong on their legs.

Erom Njavi I could see the mountains whei'c the
Kamba people live. They seemed, after leaving a
gap, to unite with a range on this side. The gap
was a continuation of the valley in which flow"s the
Rembo Ngouyai.

At twenty minutes to two we came to the dry
bed of a stream with a slaty bottom, which ran from
N.E. to S.W. Shortly afterw^ards, we crossed

262 THE MARCH THROUGH APONO-LAND. Chap. XIH.

another similar stream flowing over slaty rocks,
called Doiigoundo ; this had running water. We
halted on its banks for ahoiit twenty minutes, and
during our rest, I found by observations that we
had descended since leaving the Njavi plantation.
The altitude of the plantation was 610 feet, the rivulet
Dougoundo was only 473 feet above the sea-level.
Near our halting-place were tv/o Ishogo villages, but
we did not go to them.

We continued our journey to the south-east, and
at half-past three arrived at a large Ishogo village
called Igoumbie. We did not intend to stay, and
marched straight through ; the people all hiding
themselves in their huts, with the exception of a
few men bolder than the rest, who stood staring
at us, without uttering a word, as we marched
along. When we had passed through the village,
we stopped near the road or pathway on the other
side, about fifty yards beyond. Then Kombila and
some of our Apono men went back to the village,
and spoke to the people. One of the elders of the
place was a great friend of Kombila's, and they all
knew the Mokaba people. So one of the elders,
named Boulingue, Kombila's friend, came back with
him to our encampment, and begged me to come and
stay in the village, saying that they did not wish us
to pass their place without their giving us something
to eat. As we had no meat in store, and one of my
Commi men w^anted rest for his sore leg, lamed by a
kettle having fallen on it, I accepted the invitation,
and we passed the night at this place.

I could not ascertain wdio was the chief of this

Chap. XHI, AKEIVAL AT IGOTJJIBIE. 2G3

village, if tlicrc was any. Since I have left Moiiendi
I cannot find out that there are any head men or
chiefs in tlie villages, hat there seemed to he a certain
numhcr of ciders, who hold authority over their
respective villages. Here three elders, beating the
kendo, came and presented me, each one, w^ith a goat
and several bunches of plantains — prefacing their
presents w4th three tremendously long speeches.

At a glance I perceived that I was among quite a
different people from those I had hitherto met \Yith.
The mode of dressing the hair, both with men and
w^omen ; the shape of their houses, each with its
door ; the men smeared with red powder ; all these
points denoted a perfectly different people.

I was glad to remain for a couple of niglits at
Igoumbie', for I wanted to take as many observations
as I could.

After I liad distributed some beads among the
women in the evening, a few became more friendly
— especially as my Apono porters were never tired
of praising me. They seemed also to be much
pleased at seeing that, of the three goats which the
people of their village had presented to me, I had
given two to my porters.

I w^as very much amused with these Ishogos,
especially w^ith the women. When they thought I
was not looking at them, they would partially open
the door of their hut and peep out at me. As soon
as I looked at them, they immediately closed the
door, as if greatly alarmed. When they had to go
from one house to another, and had to pass the hut
in which I was located, and at the door of which I

264 THE MAItCH THROUGH APONO-LAXD. Chap. XHI.

was seated, they liurrieclly crossed to the other side
of the street, putting their hand up to the side of
their face so that they might not see me — apparently
with a view to avoid or avert the " evil eye." My
Aponos were very indignant at this, and said, with
an air of evident superiority, aiid as tliough they had
heen with me all their liv^es, " "When have these
men of the woods seen an Oguizi before ? "

Though I was very tired, yet I did not go to bed
until I had taken several meridian altitudes of stars,
in order to ascertain my latitude. The process caused
the greatest astonishment to the natives.

June 1 Itlt. Igoumbie is the largest village I have
met with yet, and forms one long and tolerably broad
street. I counted 191 huts; each hut has a wooden
door, and is divided into three compartments or
chambers. The houses are generally placed close to
each other, not wide apart like the houses of the
Aponos. There are many of the curious alumbi
houses. scattered about. A large mbuiti or idol house
stands about halfway down the street, with a mon-
strous wooden image inside, which the villagers hold
in great reverence. The village being so large, the
inhabitants seem to have thought it required several
palaver-houses, for I noticed four or five. The
palaver-house is an open shed, which answers the
purpose of a public-house, club-room, or town-hall, to
these people ; they meet there daily to smoke and
gossip, hold public trials or palavers, and receive
strangers. What was most remarkable, there was here
an attempt at decorative work on tlie doors of many of
the houses. The huts, neatly bliilt, with walls formed

ISIHXiO HOUSES, WITH ORNAME.\TP:[) DOOK^

Chap. XIIT. HUTS OF THE ISHOGOS. 2G5

of the bark of trees, had their doors painted red,
white, and bhick, in comphcated and sometimes not
inelegant patterns. These doors were very inge-
niously made ; they turned upon pivots above and
below, which worked in the frame instead of hinges.
Each house is of an oblong shape, about twenty-two
feet long by ten or twelve feet broad ; tlie door being
in the middle of the front, three and a half feet high
and two and a half feet broad. The walls are four
and a half feet high and the highest part of the roof
is about nine feet.

T could not sleep last night on account of the noise
made by these Ishogos. They sang their mbuiti
songs until daylight, marching from one end of the
village to the other. When at a distance their
singing did not sound unpleasant, but when close by
it was almost deafening. During the day I made
friends with the Ishogos, and gave them sundry
small presents. Many of the women came and gave
me bunches of plantains, sugar cane, and ground-
nuts, and seemed much pleased when I tasted them.

In the evening the atmosphere was very clear,
and I was glad to be able to take some more meridian
altitudes and a good many lunar distances.

By the time I had written down my journal, and
recorded my astronomical observations, it was half-
past two in the morning, and, after a hard day's
work, I was glad to get to bed, especially as we had
to leave Igoumbie early the next morning.

June llth. We took leave of Igoumbie a little
before eight a.m. The people seemed unwilling to
let us go, and the elders begged us to stay another
19

2G6 THE MARCH THROUGH APOXO-LAND. Chap. XIIL

day. At nine we passed over a high hill called
Ncooiidja. A number of-Apono people from a vil-
lao^e a few miles off, iiiclnding four of their head
men, accompanied ns for some distance. Some tam-
pering took place with my Apono porters, and I had
great difficulty in preventing them from throwing
dowm their loads and going back. It was an awk-
ward position to be placed in ; but, by dint of coaxing
and promising extra pay if they would accompany
Kombila to the place to which he and they had
agreed to take me, they resumed their loads, and we
continued our march.

We passed two Apono villages near together ;
and halted for breakfast by a small stream of w^ater
near the second one. We were soon surrounded by
villagers bringing fowls and plantains. The noise
and confusion were so great that I went away alone
for a walk in the thick of the forest, leaving my men
to bargain for fowls and eggs. All the villagers
wanted to get some of my beads.

AVe resumed om* march at half-past twelve. Kom-
bila annoyed me much by slinking behind, and
getting drunk with another of my men, named
Mbouka, an elder of Mokaba, who at the last moment
said he would accompany us for a ivalk. Under one
pretext or another they had remained behind ; and
as they had told- the villagers to follow them " with
the drink," when they knew that I was far enough
off, they took their libations. They both made their
appearance after causing a long delay, and Mbouka
had a calabash of palm wine in one of the country
bags, wdiich I detected, the bag being of a great size.

Chap. XIII. DIFFICULTIES WITH POUTERS. 267

I was resolved to put a stop to tins, so forced the
man to give up his bag, and poured the wine out on
the ground, to the great dismay of Kombila, and to
the extreme indignation of Mbouka, who grieved
that the earth should receive the wine that would
have so rejoiced his stomach. He protested that
I ought to pay him back the beads he had paid
for the wine. This palm-wine drinking had been for
some time a great annoyance to me. Our porters
squandered their pay (which consisted chiefly of
beads) in buying wine at the villages, and were thus
spending all their money before we reached the
journey's end. I was glad that at Igoumbie there
were no palm-trees, so they could get no wine there :
besides, the Ishogos of that place are far more sober
than the Aponos. What with this, and other inter-
ruptions and squabbles, and losing the path for some
time, we made but little progress to-day, although
we marched till dark.

June loth. We left our encampment at half-past six
a.m. The Apono porters threatened again to leave
their loads unless I gave them an increase of pay ; but
I was determined to resist this imposition, and de-
clared I would shoot down the first man that mutinied.
My Commi boys kept close watch over the rascals
during our morning's march.

We travelled in an easterly direction. In the
course of an hour we crossed the Bouloungou, a dry
stream, similar to those we had crossed on the lOtli ;
its bed was slaty, as was the hill down which it flowed.
We have met with no quartz blocks or granite since
leaving Mokaba. The paths along which we have

L

268 THE MAECn THllOUGH APOXO-LAND. Ceap. XIII.

marched have been covered with fragments of fer-
ruginous sandstone, the corners and edges of which
hurt the feet of my men very much. We passed
over a hill of considerable elevation, but, my aneroids
being packed away, I did not stop to unload and
take the altitude. Eastward, it sloped down rapidly
nntil we reached a fine valley, with miles of plantations
of ground-nuts. Finally, we came to Yengue, an
Ishogo village, almost as large as Igoumbie, situated
on the banks of a river called Ogoulou, one of the
affluents of the Ngouyai.

Before entering the village, we stopped imtil all
the porters were collected together. Then Kombila
and I took the lead, followed by my Commi men,
after whom cirae the Apono porters. We marched
through the street of the villnge — the villagers look-
ing at us, open-mouthed — until we reached the large
ouandja, which was almost at the farthest extremity
of the village ; Kombila all the time exclaiming to
the alarmed villagers, "Do not be afraid ; we have
come to see you as friends ! "

Kombila then went and spoke to some of the
elders, who came to me, and presented fowls and
plantains — the presence of my Apono guides, whom
they knew to be on good terms with me, re-assured
them : and, after a short delay, they allotted a house
to me and my Commi boys ; while my Aponos went
to lodge with their friends.

CHAPTER XIV.

JOURNEY THEOUGH ISHOGO-LAND.

Tillage of the Obongos or Dwcirf Negroes — Their Dwellings — Ahsence of
the Inhabitants — The Elders and People of Yengue — Arrival of the
Chief of Yengu^ — War Dance of the Aponos — Ceremony of the Mpaza
— An uproarious Night — Good conduct of the Apono Porters — The
liivcr Ogoulou — Geographical Position and Altitude of Yengue — Pass-
age of the Ogoulou — March to the Plateau of Mokenga- — Eastern
Limits of Ishogo-land — Qucmbila King of Mokenga — Palavers —
Contention between Chiefs for the possession of the " Ibamba " — Panic
in Mokenga — Pie-adjustment of Baggage — Ishogo Porters.

Ox our way to Yengue, in traversing one of the
tracts of wild forest through which runs the high-
way cf the country, we came suddenly upon a clus-
ter of most extraordinary diminutive huts, which I
should have passed by, thinking them to be some
kind of fetich-houses, if I had not been told that we
might meet in this district with villages of a tribe of
dwarf negroes, who are scattered about the Ishogo
and Ashango countries and other parts further east.

I had heard of these people during my former
journey in the Apingi country, under the name of
Ashoungas ; they are called here, however, Obongos.
From the loose and exaggerated descriptions I had
heard on my former journey, I had given no credence
to the report of the existence of these dwarf tribes,
and had not thouglit the subject worthy of mention
in my former narrati\'e. The sight of these extra-

270 JOURNEY THROUGn ISHOGO-LAND. Chap. XIV

ordinary dwellings filled me with curiosity, for it
was really a village of tins curious people. I rushed
forward, hoping to find some at least of their tenants
inside, hut they had fled on our approach into tlie
neighbouring jungle. The huts weie of a low oval
shape, like a gipsey tent ; the highest part — that
nearest the entrance — was about ibur feet from the
ground ; the greatest breadth was about four feet also.
On each side were three or four sticks for the man
and woman to sleep upon. The huts were made of
flexible branches of trees, arched over and fixed
into the ground at each end, the longest branches
being in the middle, and the others successively
shorter, the whole being covered with large leaves.
When I entered the huts, I found in each the remains
of a fire in the middle of the floor.

It was a sore disappointment for me to miss this
opportunity of seeing and examining these peo])le.
We scoured the neighbourhood for some distance, but
could find no traces of them. A few days after-
wards, at Niembouai, as will presently be seen, I was
more fortunate.

As usual, the king was not in the village.
But one of the elders took great care of me ; so
after a while I called him into my house, and
made Konibila tell him that I had not come to do
them harm, but good. Then I put on his head a
bright shining red cap, and round his neck a string
of very showy beads. As he came out of my hut,
the shouts of the people were deafening. I then
distributed a few beads among the women. My
Aponos did the same, and to-night the ice is partly

Chap. XIV. THE CHIEF OF YEXGUE. 271

broken, and the people are very friendly witli me.
Kombila having told the women that I was very
fond of sugar-cane and ground-nuts, tliey brought
me some, laying them at my feet. In return I gave
them beads, and chatted with as many as I could get
to talk to me.

Jane \4rth. The man whom I suppose to be
the head chief of Yengue arrived in town this
afternoon. It appears that he had fled through i'ear
at my approach, and had gained confidence only on
lieari ug that I was not such a dreadful being as he
had imagined. The news of the red cap I had
given to the elder had reached his ears ; ibr the first
thing he asked me was whether I would give him
one also. He told me that he had also heard that
I had given beads to some of his wives, and to other
women in the village. Last night I heard a man
walking in the streets of the village and snving, in
a tone of voice like that of a town crier : " ^Ye have
an Oguizi amongst us. I'eware ! There i > no mondah
to prevent us from seeing him during the day, but
let no one try to see him in liis house at niglit, for
whoever does so is sure to die." It was one of the
ciders walking through the village and making this
j)roclnmation in the usual way in which laws are
announced in this country.

After the arrival of the chief, things looked quite
promising. A formal reception palaver took place in
the open street, the Apono people seated in a row
on one side, and the Ishogos on the other. Kom-
bila stated at gi'cat length, as usual, the objects of
my journey, and the king answered in a speech of

272 JOUENEY THROUGH ISHOGO-LAND, Chap. XIV

greater length still. The chief gave to Komhila, as
presents for me, two goats, ten fowls, nine bunches
of plantains, and a native anvil. The ceremony
finished in a kind of w^ar-dance, in which the
Aponos took part.

This kind of dance is called by the Aponos M'muirri.
It is a war-dance, performed only by the men, and is
remarkable for the singular noises the dancers make,
yelling and beating their breasts with both bands, like
the gorilla, and making a loud vibrating noise with
their lips resembling the word " muirri." The men
form a line, and, in dancing, advance and retreat.
The dance waxes furious as it goes on, and the noise
becomes deafening. After it was over, the uproar was
continued by the whole village joining in the fes-
tivities, singing, beating the tam-tam., and rattling
pieces of wood together, until my head reeled again.

The noise was continued throughout the night;
and, as it was impossible to sleep, I got up at four
o'clock and walked in the fresh morning air. The
people were then parading up and down the street,
singing loud and long enough to make them hoarse
for a month after. At daylight I heard the voice of
the chief proclaiming something or other, and imme-
diately afterwards there was dead silence throughout
the village.

The singing and dancing during this uproarious
night were partly connected with a curious ceremony
of this people, namely, the celebration of the iiipaza,
or the release from the long deprivation of liberty
which a woman suffers who has had the misfortune
to brinir forth twins.

o

Chap. XIV. CEREMONY OF THE MPAZA. 273

The custom altogether is a very strange one, but
it is by no means peeiiKar to the Ishogos, although
this is the first time I witnessed the doings. The
negroes of this part of Africa have a strange notion
or superstition that when twins (mpaza) are born, one
of them must die early ; so, in order, apparently, to
avoid such a calamity, the mother is confined to her
hut, or rather restricted in her intercourse with lier
neighbours, until both the children have grown up,
when the danger is supposed to have passed. She is
allowed during this time to go to the forest, but is
not permitted to speak to any one not belonging to
her iamily. During the long confinement no one
but the father and mother are allowed to enter the
hut, and the woman must remain chaste. If a
stranger goes in by any accident or mistake, he is
seized and sold into slavery. The twins themselves
are excluded from the society of other children, and
the cooking utensils, water vessels, &c., of the family
are tabooed to everybody else. Some of the notions
have a resemblance to the nonsense believed in by
old nurses in more civilized countries ; such as, for
instance, the belief that when the mother takes one
of the twins in her arms something dreadful will
happen if the father does not take the other, and so
forth.

The house where the twins were born is always
marked in some way to distinguish it from the
others, in ordc-r to prevent mistakes. Here in
Yenguc it had two long poles on each side (^f the
door, at the top of which was a [)iece of cloth, and at
the foot of the door were a number of pegs stuck in

271 JOURNEY THROUGH TSHOGO-LAND. Chap. XIV.

the ground, and painted white. The twins were now
six years old, and the poor woman was released from
her six years' imprisonment on the day of my arrival.
During tlie day two women were stationed at the
door of tlie house with their faces and legs painted
white — one was the doctor, the other the mother.
The festivities commenced by their marching down
the street, one heating a drum with a slow measured
heat, and the other singing. The dancing, singing,
and drinking of all the villagers then set in for the
night. After the ceremony the twins weie allowed
to go about like other children. In consequence of
all this trouble and restriction of liberty, the bringing
forth of twins is considered, and no wonder, by the
women as a great calamity. Nothing iriitat'js or
annoys an expectant mother in these countries so
much as to point to her and tell her that she is sure
to have twins.

The tribes here are far milder than those f jund
near Lagos, or iii East A fricn, where, as Burton men-
tions, twins are always killed immediately on their
being born.

June iDth. I awoke this morning rather unwell
from having had so distuihed a night; and when the
king came to shake hands with me — a custom I had
taught him to adopt — I refused his proffered hand,
saying that I was angry, and annoyed at the dis-
turbances of the past night. Whereupon the mild-
tempered chief prom'sed that the next night tliey
should sing a long way from my resting-place. AVe
then became better friends than ever.

In the evening I gave him his present. He came

CnAP. XIV. GOOD CONDUCT OF THE ArOXO rORTEllS. 275

alone, having requested me to give it to liim at
night, so that the people might not see what lie got.
I also gave a handsomo present to his head wife.

As my Apono porters had now brought me
to Ishogo-land, and had shown themselves discon-
tented several times during the march, I called them
all together this morning, and told them I did not
wish them to take me any further, but would pay
them and send th lu back to their country. At this
Kombila came forwaid and begged of me not to
mind what the boys had said. To leave me here in
a villaa'B of strano:ers would fill him and them with
shame. They Imd hearts, and would not think of
gsoing back to their own country, before taking me
to the place to which they were bound. He said the
chief of this place to which he wished to take me
was a true friend of his, and that not until he had
delivered me into his hands could he dare to show
himself again in jNlokaba. All the porters applauded
the speech, and declared their readiness to go furtiier
on ; and said, laughing, that I must not mind what
they did, as they were only trying to get something
more. This is a sample of the uncertainty of all
dealings with these fickle, but not wholly evil-minded,
savages. The chief of the Ishogo village to whom
we are bound is, I am now told, to take me forward
into Ashango-land.

The river Ogoulou, on the banks of which Yenguc
is situated, is a fine stream forty or fifty yards broad,
and of great depth in the rainy season. It is now
about ten feet deep, and I perceived that it was fifteen
feet lower than the highest water-mark. The banks

276 JOUENEY THROUGH ISHOGO-LAND. Chap. XIV.

of the river show signs of a very considerable popu-
lation ; for about a mile on each side the valley is full
of plantations both new and old ; the most extensive
plantations of ground-nuts I ever saw in Africa are
found here — they extend along the slopes of the
banks of the river for miles. I once thought a small
steamer ^miglit reach this place from above the Samba
Nagoshi Falls, but I was told on my return journey
that there was an obstruction in the shape of rapids
a few miles below Yengne. By taking the meridian
altitude of two stars, I found the latitude of Yengue
to be 2° 0' 49" S. I could not take lunar distances
to determine the longitude, as the sky was constantly
covered with a leaden veil of cloud at night. The
altitude above the sea-level is 369 feet; this seems
a low elevation, but Yengue lies in a valley much
depressed below the general level of the country.
The river flows through a most beautiful country,
and is the largest feeder of the Rembo Ngouyai above
the Falls, that I have seen.

June 16th. This morning, whilst making prepara-
tions for the continuation of our journey, a deputation
arrived from an Apono village some miles south of
Yengue, the chief of which was a brother of Kombila,
bringing us an invitation to visit it on our way. The
chief promised to take us from his village to the
Ashango country. I declined the offer, as the route
would have taken me too far south, and I had already
diverged more towards the south than I had in-
tended.

The Yengue people were afraid I should take their
canoes by force to cross the Ogoulou, and when I was

Chap. XIV. TASSAGE OF THE OGOULOU. 277

about to start liacl hidden tlicm in the jungle. It
required a long- parley to bring them to reason. At
. length three ferry-boats were brought, one old and
rotten. The owner of this last boat was an old man,
who knew how to drive a very hard bargain : he
required four measures of powder for the loan of the
boats, and when I had given him four asked five,
when I had given him five he raised his demands to
six, and so on. It finished at last in the usual way by
my indignantly refusing his demands ; he then came
round to more moderate terms, — the more readily,
because he saw that the other two boat-owners were
ready to take us at my price — and Ave embarked,
all Yengue crowding down to the water-side to see
us off, the chief himself leading me to the boat.

After crossing the Ogoulou (which I have named
the Eckmiihl in honour of a dear friend in Franco) we
passed through a tract of forest varied with numerous
plantations of the natives, the river flowing through
a fertile alluvial valley, between ranges of hills.

Before we had emerged from the river valley we
passed through several Ishogo villages ; the country
then began to rise, and we marched over a hilly
district, all covered, as usual, with impenetrable
jungle. The forest paths were narrow, and the
most varied and strange forms of vegetation rose on
either side. We were delayed some time on the way
waiting for stragglers. At two p.m. we reached an
elevated plateau, and a little before three arrived at
the Ishogo village of Mokenga, about six miles to
the eastward of Yengue, and IGO feet higher than
that town.

278 JOURNEY THROUGH ISIIOGO-LAXD. Chap. XIV

The place appeared deserted wlien we entered, all
the doors were closed, and we took possession, undis-
turbed, of a large unoccupied shed. A few men soon
afterwards were seen peeping at ns from afar with
frightened looks. Kombila shouted to them, " How is
it that when strangers come to your village you do
not hasten to salute them ? " They recognised some
of the Aponos, and shouted back, " You are right,
you are right ! " Then they came to us and gave us
the usual salutation of the Ishogos, which is done by
clapping the hands together and stretching them out,
alternately, several times. We returned the com-^
pliment in the same form, and then ensued much
tedious speechifying on the part of Kombila, who
related all that had happened to us since we com-
menced our expedition ; what fine things I gave to
the villagers among wdiom we stayed ; how, when
we stopped at Yengue', and the people of Yengue'
wanted them to leave me w^ith them, they I'efused,
and said they would take me to the Ashango country ;
and that now they said they would stay with me
until they brought me back safe to Mokenga.

Then Kombila cried out, with all the might of his
stentorian voice, " If you are not pleased, tell us, and
we will take the Spirit to another village, where the
people will be glad to welcome us."

Then all the elders of the villno'e withdrew to-
gether, and shortly returned, saying, " We have
heard what you have said ; we are pleased, and
gladly welcome the Spirit."

They then told us that the king was not in the
village. I noticed that every time I came into a

Chap. XIV. VILLAGE OF MOKEXGA. 279

new village, the king ran away. They added that
they would send for him; meantime, food was
brought to us, as is always tlie custom on such
occasions, and things looked pleasant.

The " M'bolo" salutation common to the Mpongwes
of the Gaboon and all the tribes of the Ogobai is
unknown in this interior country.

June 17 th. Last night, as some of my men were
fixing their mosquito nets outside the huts, they were
told by the Mokenga people that they had better
sleep inside and secure well the doors, as leopards
were loaming about the village, and had lately killed
many of their dogs and goats. They added that in a
neighbouring village a leopard had killed several
people. So careful were they of my safety, that a Ijody-
guard of three of my men came to protect me whilst I
was out taking meridian altitudes of a and (5 Centauri
and Arcturus. One of them fell asleep before my
work was half done, and made the rest of us laugh by
snoring most boisterously. This sort of thing gene-
rally happened when any of the negroes pretended
to keep watch whilst I was out in the night taking
observations. I was once startled at midnight by
hearing a formidable snore close to where I stood.
Looking on the ground I saw my man Igalo fast
asleej), his gun by iiis side. Kicking him gently, I
asked him why he was not in his hut. He replied :
"Do you tliink I could leave you here alone at night
amongst people who use poisoned arrows ? No ; I
keep watch." I laughed at the poor fellow's style of
keeping watch, but felt, nevertheless, glad of this
proof of his good intentions. I was annoyed to find

280 JOURXEY THROUGH ISHOGO-LAND. Chap. XIV.

my second boiling-point apparatus broken to-day ; I
have now only one left. My aneroids and boiling-
point tliermometers have corresponded well so far.

June LSt/i. The king made bis appearance to-day,
thinking that the bad wind or plague I had brought
with me had now had time to blow away. He was
clad in ffrass-cloth, and wore a coverina- on his head in
shape somewhat resembling a turban. On his arrival
a grand palaver was held ; the Ishogo people ranging
themselves on one side, and my Apono attendants
and Commi body-guard on the other. According to
the usual formula, Kombila commenced the speechify-
ing, beginning with a history of my progress through
the interior from the beginning. Like the chiefs
described by Captain Burton in Abbeokuta, these
Africans would begin their long rigmaroles from the
time of Adam if they could. At last Kombila came
to the enumeration of the presents I had received
from the chief of Yenguc, and he drew the conclusion
that he of Mokenga ought to give at least as much.
The allusion to goats, fowls, and plantains drew forth
great cheers on the part of my Apono attendants,
for thoughts of gourmandizing were ajlways upper-
most in their minds, and the faces of my own boys
brightened also ; for they are quite as fond of good
feeding as my Aponos.

In the middle of the joalaver an amusing scene
occurred. Our pertinacious friend, the brother of
Kombila, and chief of a neighbouring Apono village,
had been to his place and returned with a present for
me of two goats, with tlie purpose of bribing me to
go by way of his place to Ashango-land. The jealousy

Chap. XIV. CONTENTION BETWEEN CHIEFS. 281

of tlie Isliogos was aroused ; they seized the men who
had brought the goats, and said : " Do you think we
have no goats to give the Ibamba and no men to take
hun to the Ashango country ? Take back your goats;
he wil] not go with you ; we will ask him his mouth
(intention)." Of course my answer was that I should
go forward with the Ishogos, for a marcli by way of
the Apono village would take me out of my direct
easterly course. The word " ibamba," which was
now commonly applied to me, is the Isliogo equi-
valent of the Commi term " ntangani " or white man.

I had thoroughly secured the friendship of these
Mokenga villagers. It is wonderful how the distri-
bution of a few red caps and beads softens the heart
of the primitive African. They ^vere determined to
stick to me, and Kombila's brother was discomfited.
More speeches followed from the elders of Mokenga,
the kendo of King Quembila was beaten, the presents
were brought out, and the king, w^ith one of my red
caps stuck on his head, accepted my proffered hand,
and all things were pleasant.

The sky has been cloudy all day, the sun shining-
only for half an hour towards eleven a.m. A similar
state of the atmosphere has existed for several days
past, the clouds generally clearing away about seven
in tlie evening, but the sky remaining filled with haze,
and at the rising of the moon becoming cloudy again.
I have not been able to see tlie moon at all in the
morning, and have been unable to take a lunar dis-
tance.

Jane I'^tli. A panic seized the Ishogos at night.

The news somehow spread through the village (no
20

282 JOUi;XEY THr.OUGn ISHOGO-LAXD. Chap. XIV

one could tell who brought it) that in all the villages
I had gone through the people were dying fast,
especially those to whom I had given things. The
fear was so great that many of the women took the
beads I had given them and threw them away in the
woods. Happily Quembila took my part, and said
it was not true, but that the people of other villages
originated the report through jealousy. I assembled
the villagers together, and addressed him in the usual
way by parable. " When you marry a woman," I
said, " she loves you, she brings you plenty of food,
she j)resents you with the fish she catches in the
forest streams ; are you then to flog her ? (Cries of
"No, no!") But it is this which happens when I
come to your village. You give me food, you give
me a house to live in, your women are kind to me — •
how, then, can I bring evil on jou ? " They all
shouted : " You are right, the Ishogos are jealous of
us ; they spread bad news to prevent us getting some
of your good things." Many of the young men
came forward and offered themselves as porters to
take me to the Ashango country ; while the chief and
the elders came and presented me with a goat as a
peace-offering, saying they were sorry for what the
people had done, and for the offence they had given
me by being afraid of me.

June V.)th. It being thus agreed that the Ishogos
should take me to the Ashango country, I dismissed
my Apono party this afternoon, after calling them
all together and giving to each a parting present
in addition to their pay, which they had already
received. I also gave them a goat for food on their

Chap. XIV. RE-ADJUSTMENT OF BAGGAGE. 283

way back. These parting presents always produced
a good effect, both on the people I dismissed and the
fresh ones I was about to engage. The Aponos
departed in good humour and full of thanks. We
were all glad to get rid of these troublesome though
well-meaning Aponos, as we then thought them ;
but we found reason afterwards to regret them, as
they were far better workers than the lazy Ishogos.

June 20t/(. The diminution of my stores necessitated
a re-arrangement of the loads. All the otaitais (porters'
baskets) were opened, and the contents re-sorted.
This travelling life is not a lazy one ; I am busy
from morning till night, and the quiet hours after the
people have retired to rest are the only time I have
for writing my journal, projecting my route, and
w^riting out three copies of my astronomical and other
observations. In the daytime, besides the time
wasted in almost incessant palavering, I am beset by
crowds of gaping villagers from sunrise to sundown.
At night I have got into the habit of waking fre-
quently and going out to watch for chances of taking
observations for longitude and latitude ; chances not
of frequent occurrence in this cloudy climate at this
time of the year.

These savages do not seem to sleep at night, for
they sing and dance and beat their tam-tams nntil
morning. They seem to be afraid of darkness, be-
lieving that night is the time when the spells of
witchcraft are the most potent.

June 2 1st. I engaged eighteen Ishogo porters, pay-
ing them, as customary, their wages beforehand, and
promising them further pay if they performed tlieir

284 JOURNEY THROUGH ISHOGO-LAND. Chap. XIV.

engagements to my satisfaction. I also gave a pre-
sent to each of the elders who had given me goats,
fowls, or plantains. King Quembila is too old and
feeble to accom^Dany me, so I am to have as guide one
of the leading men, named Mokounga.*

The following are

the names of my Ishogo

party

:—

Head man, Mokoung;

I.

Mokanbi,

Nchiengani-orere,

Maboimgo,

]\Iokanl)iyengo,

Men d jo,

Moquid,

Kchiengani,

Doutai,

Mandolo,

Maduta,

Mogangud,

Medjambi,

Makinia,

Matomba,

Nchando.

Madibako,

Mandja,

ISHOGO FASHIONS. — OBLIQUE CHIGNOX.

CHAPTER XY.

FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND.

The Ishogos — Their Modes of dressing the Hair — Ishogo Villages —
Picturesque Scenery — Granitic Boulders — Grooved Eocks — Leave
Mokenga — Cross the Dongon — Continued Ascent — Mount Migoma

— The River Odiganga — Boundaries of Ishogo and Ashango-lands —
Arrival at Magonga — Plateau of Madomho — Mutiny of Ishogo Porters

— An unfriendly Village — Elevated Country — Arrival and friendly
Eeception at Niembouai — The King's Wives — Prejudices of the
Commi ]\Ien — Hear of a large River towards the East — The Ashangui
Tribe — The Obongos.

The Isliogos are a fine tribe of negroes ; they are
strong-ly and well built, with well-developed limbs
and broad shoulders. I consider them superior to
the Ashiras in physique, and I remarked that they
generally had finer heads, broader in the part where
phrenologists place the organs of ideality. With
some of them their general appearance reminded me
of the Fans. The women have good figures ; they
tattoo themselves in various parts of the body — on
the shoulders, arms, breast, back, and abdomen —
and some of them have raised pea-like marks similar
to those of the Apono women, between the eye-brows
and on tlie cheeks. Both men and women adopt the
custom of pulling out the two middle incisors of the
upper jaw, but this mode of adding to their personal
attraction is not so general as among the Aponos ;

286 FKOM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

many file their upper incisors and two or three of
the lower ones to a point.

The men and women ornament themselves wilh
red powder, made by rubbing two pieces of bar-wood
together ; but their most remarkable fashions relate
to the dressing of the hair. On my arrival at
Isromnbie, I had noticed how curious the head-dresses
of the women were, being so unlike the fashions I
had seen among any of the. tribes I had visited.
Although these modes are sometimes very grotesque,
they are not devoid of what Englisli ladies, Mith
their present fashions, might consider good taste : in
short, tliey cultivate a remarkable sort of chignons. I
have remarked three different ways of hair-dressing
as most prevalent among the Ishogo belles. The
first is to train the hair into a tower-shaped mass
elevated from eight to ten inches from the crown of
the head ; the hair from the forehead to the base of
the tower, and also that of the back part up to the
ears, being closely shaved off. In order to give
shape to the tower, they make a framework, gene-
rally out of old pieces of grass-cloth, and fix the hair
round it. All the chignons are worked up on a
frame. Another mode is to wear the tower, with
two round balls of hair, one on each side, above
the ear.

A third fashion is similar to the first, but the
tower, instead of being perpendicular to the crown,
is inclined obliquely from the back of the head, and
the front of the head is clean shaven almost to the
middle. The neck is also shorn closely up to the
ears.

ISIIOGO FASHIONS.— nORlZONTAL CHIGNON.

Chap. XV. MODES OF DRESSING THE UAJR. 287

The hair on tliese towers has a parting- in the
middle and on the sides, which is very neatly done.
The whole structure must require years of careful
training- before it reaches the perfection attained by
the leaders of Ishogo fashion. A really good chignon
is not attained until the owner is about twenty or
twenty-five years of age. It is the chief object of
ambition with the young Ishogo women to possess
a good well-trained and well-greased tower oi' hair of
the kind that I describe. Some women are far better
dressers of hair than others, and are much sought for
— the fixing and cleaning of the hair requiring a
long day's work.

The woman who desires to have her hair dressed
must either pay the hair-dresser or must promise to per-
forin the same kind ofHce to her neighbour in return.

Once fixed, these chignons remain for a couple of
months without requiring to be re-arranged, and the
mass of insect life that accumulates in them durino-
that period is truly astonishing. However, the women
make use of their large iron or ivory hairi)ins (which
I described in 'Equatorial Africa') in the ])lnee of
combs. The fashion of the '"''chignon'' was unknown
when I left Europe, so that to the belles of Africa
belongs the credit of the invention The women
wear no ornaments in the cai^s, and I saw r,oiie who
had their ears pierced ; they are very different from
the Apingi in this respect. Like the women of other
tribes, they are not allowed to wear more than two
denguis, or pieces of grass-cloth, by way of petticoat.
This stinted clothing has a ludicrous effect in the fat
dames, as tiie pieces do not then meet well in the middle.

288 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND, CnAr. XV.

The men also have fancy ways of trimming their
liair. Tlie most fashionable style is to shave the
whole of the head except a circular patch on the
crown, and to form this into three finely-plaited
divisions, each terminating in a point and hanging
down. At the end of each of these they fix a large
bead or a piece of iron or brass wire, so that the
effect is very singular. Tlie Ishogo people shave
their eyebrows and pull out their eyelashes.

The native razor, with which both men and women
shave themselves, is a kind of curved and pointed
knife made of iron, well worked and tempered with
charcoal, the cutting edge being the convex side. It
is four or five inches long and has a wooden handle.
Slabs of slaty stone are used as whetstones.

The Ishogo villages are large. Indeed, what
most strikes the traveller in coming from the sea-
coast to this inland country, is the large size, neat-
ness, and beauty of the villages. They generally
have about 150 or IGO huts, arranged in streets,
which are very broad and kept remarkably clean.
Each house has a door of wood which is painted in
fanciful designs with red, white, and black. One
pattern struck me as simple and effective ; it was a
number of black spots margined with white, painted
in regular rows on a red ground. But my readers
must not run away with the idea that the doors are
like those of the houses of civilized ^^eople ; they are
seldom more than two feet and a half hio-h. The
door of my house was just twenty-seven inches
high. It is fortunate that I am a short man, other-
wise it would have been hard exercise to go in

ISHOGO FAf^IIU:!-'. — VHnUA]. (IIH.NON.

ISIIOGO FASIIIOXS. MALE IIEAD-DliESS.

Chap. XV. ISHOGO VILLAGES. 289

and out of my lodgings. The planks of wliicli the
doors are made are cut with great lahour by native
axes out of trunks of trees, one trunk seldom yielding
more tlian one good plank. My hut, an average-
sized dwelling, was twenty feet long and eight feet
broad. It was divided into three rooms or compart
ments, the middle one, into which the door opened,
being a little larger than the other two.

The wealth of an Ishogo man, contained in his
hut, consists of numerous baskets and dishes or large
plates made of wicker-work, and a large stock of
calabashes to contain water, palm oil, and palm wine,
all wliich are suspended from the roof. The baskets
and wicker-w^ork plates are made either of reeds or
of the rind of a kind of wild rotang, divided into
thin strips. The calabashes are hardened by long
exposure to smoke, in order to make them more
durable. A highly-valued article is the cake of
tobacco, carefully enveloped in leaves and suspended,
like the rest of the property, from the roof. Numerous
cotton-bags and cooking-vessels are hung about, or
stored away, and on the walls are the bundles of the
cuticle of palm-leaves, of which their bongos are
woven.

The Ishogos are a peaceful tribe, and more in-
dustrious than tribes who live nearer the sea-shore.
Yery few of them bear scars or signs of hostile
encounters. Oflensive weapons are not common ; at
least they are not carried about on ordinary occasions.
[ saw very few spears and bows and arrows carried
in that way, but swords are more general, and they,
carry these along with them in their friendly visits

290 FROM ISPIOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

from one village to another. In these respects they
differ much from their neighbours the Aponos, who
are very warlike. Their villages are surrounded
with ]^alm-trees, and they are not sparing of the
favourite intoxicating beverage obtained from them ;
but they do not become, like the Aponos, boisterous
and quarrelsome over their cups. They are altogether
milder in character. On the other hand, it must be
said to their discredit that they are far more given
than the Aponos to sell tlieir kindred into slavery.
There can be no doubt about this, judging from the
much larger proportion of Ishogos than Aponos met
with in slavery amongst the coast-tribes. This, how-
ever, may be due to the fact that the Ishogos sold
into slavery go down the Rembo Ngouyai, and reach
the country between Cape Lopez and Fernand Vaz ;
while most of the Aponos sold reach the coast by
way of ^layomba. In fact, the goods the Aponos
get, especially the salt, come from that direction, as
far as I could judge from the direction indicated to
me by them. The borders of Ishogo-land, near the
Apono country, had been visited by the small-pox
before my arrival, and indeed were not yet quite
free from it. The Ishogos speak the same language
as the Apingi, which, as I have already remarked,
is quite distinct from the Ashira idiom.

The Ishogo people are noted throughout the neigh-
bouring tribes for the superior quality and fineness
of the bongos, or pieces of grass-cloth, which they
manufacture. They are industrious and skilful
weavers. In walking down the main street of Mo-
kenga a number of ouandjas, or houses without walls,

ISIIOGO I.UO.M AM) SIUTTIK.

Chap. XV. ISIIOGO WEAVERS. 291

are seen, each containing four or five looms, with
the weavers seated before them weaving the cloth.
In the middle of the floor of the oiiandja a \vood-fire
is seen burning, and the weavers, as jou pass by, are
sure to be seen smoking their pipes and chatting io
one another whilst going on with their work. The
weavers are all men, and it is men also who stitch the
bom/OS together to make denguis or robes of them ; the
stitches are not very close together, nor is the thread
very fine, but the work is very neat and regular, and
the needles are of their own manufacture. The
bongos are very often striped, and sometimes made
even in check patterns ; this is done by their dyeing
some of the threads of the warp, or of both warp and
woof, with various siuiple colours ; the dyes are all
made of decoctions of different kinds of wood, except
for black, when a kind of iron ore is used. The
bongos are employed as money in this part of Africa.
Ahhough called grass-cloth by me, the material is
not made of grass, but of the delicate and firm cuticle
of palm-leaflets, stripped off in a dexterous manner
w'ith the fingers.

]\Iokenga is a beautiful village, containing about
ICO houses; they were the largest dwellings I had
yet seen on the journey. The village w^as surrounded
by a dense grove of plantain-trees, many of which
had to be supported by poles, on account of the
weight of the enormous bunches of jolantains they
bore. Little groves of lime-trees were scattered every-
where, and the limes, like so much golden fruit,
looked beautiful amidst the dark foliage th;it sur-
rounded them. Tall, towering palm - trees were

292 FKOM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV

scattered here and there. Above and behind the
villap'e was the dark green forest. The street was
the broadest I ever saw in Africa ; one part of it
was about 100 yards broad, and not a bkide of
grass could be seen in it. The Sycohii were build-
ino* their nests everywhere, and made a deafening
noise, for there were thousands and thousands of
these little sociable birds.

Mokenga, being on the skirts of the interior moun-
tain ranges, its neighbourhood is very varied and
picturesque. The spring from which the villagers
draw their water is situated in a most charming spot.
A rill of water, clear and cold, leaps from the lower
part of a precipitous hill, with a fliU of about nine
feet, into a crystal basin, whence a rivulet brawls
down towards the lower land through luxuriant
woodlands. The hill itself and the neighbourhood
of the spring are clothed with forest, as, in fact, is
the whole country, and the path leads under
shade to the cool fountain. I used to go there in
the mornings whilst I was at the village to take a
douche-bath. In such places the vegetation of the
tropics always shows itself to the best advantage ;
favoured by the moisture, the glossy and elegant
foliage of many strange trees and plants assumes its
full development, whilst graceful creepers hang from
the branches, and ferns and liliaceous plants grow
luxuriantly about the moist margins of the spring.

Not far from Mokenga there was a remarkable
and very large boulder of granite perched by itself
at the top of a hill. It must have been transported
there by some external force, but what this was I

Chap. XV. GEANITIC BOULDEI^S— Gr.OOVED ROCKS. 293

cannot nndertalce to say. I thought it possible that
it might have been a true boulder transported by a
glacier, like those so abundant in northern latitudes.
Although I visited it and examined it closely, I
found no traces of grooves upon it. On my way
from Mokaba to Yengue, I saw no boulders of quartz
or granite.

My visits to this enormous block of granite were
so numerous that they attracted the notice of the
natives, and I w^as not a little surprised, one fine
morning, to find the villnge in a state of great ex-
citement about the rumour that the boulder was not
in the same place as it had always been, and that
the Oguizi had moved it. The people dared not
mention their suspicions to me ; indeed, they were so
much alarmed that they fled from me ; but they
surrounded my men, and, with every mark of fear
and superstitious excitement, asked them why I had
moved the stone. It was in vain that my men
attempted to laugh them down, and even when some
of them went with the villagers to examine the huge
block, it was impossible to make them see that the
block had not moved ; such was the effect their pre-
conceived ideas had upon their vision.

Whilst I am on the subject of boulders and signs
of glaciers, I may as well mention that, when cross-
ing the hilly country from Obindji to Ashira-land,
my attention was drawn to distinct trnces of grooves
on the surface of several of tlie blocks of granite
which there lie strewed about on the tops and de-
clivities of the hills. I am aware how preposterous
it seems to suppose that the same movements of ice

294 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

wliicli have modified the surface of the land in
northern countries can liave taken place here under
the equator, but I think it only proper to relate
what I saw with my own eyes.

I called three of the elders to my hut, and gave
them each a present, including a red cap apiece.
The people said they would have a dance in the
evening, in order to show me how the Ishogos danced.
I am now quite friendly with them all, and they
seem to like me and my people.

Jane 22nd. We left Mokenga at twenty minutes
past eleven a.m. Before wQ started, a number of
women brought us little parcels of ground-nuts to
eat on the road ; they really seemed sorry to see us
depart. Soon after leaving the village we began
again to ascend rising ground. After we had been
an hour on the road, my aneroids gave an altitude
of 738 feet. About three or four miles from Mo-
kenga we crossed a little stream called Dongon. At
an Ishogo village named Diamba, which we passed
about two o'clock, I saw two heads of the gorilla
(male and female) stuck on two poles placed under
the villaire tree in the middle of the street. In ex-
planation of this I may mention here that in almost
every Ishogo and Ashango village which I visited
there was a large tree standing about the middle of
the main street, and near the mbuiti or idol-house of
the village. The tree is a kind of Ficus, with large,
tliick, and glossy leaves. It is planted as a sapling
when the village is first built, and is considered to
bring good luck to the inhabitants as a talisman: if
the sapling lives, the villagers consider the omen a

Chap. XV. SxiCIlED VILLAGE TREES. 295

good one ; but if it dies tliey all abandon the place
and found a new village elsewhere. This tree grows
rapidly, and soon forms a conspiciions object, with its
broad crown yielding a pleasant shade in the middle
of the street. Fetiches, similar ia those I have de-
scribed in the accomit of Rabolo's village on the
Fernand Yaz, are buried at the foot of the tree ; and
the gorillas' heads on poles at Diamba were no doubt
placed there as some sort of fetich. The tree, of
course, is held sacred. An additional charm is lent to
these village trees by the great number of little social
birds {Sucobius, three species) which resort to tliem
to build their nests amonf>:st the foliaire. These
charming little birds love the society of man as well
as that of their own species. They associate in these
trees sometimes in incredible quantities, and the
noise they make with their chirping, chatting, and
fuss in building their nests and feeding their yoimg
is often greater even than that made by the negroes
of the village.

The villagers at Diamba, who had heard how we
had treated the Mokenga people, entreated us to stop
here for the night, but I would not consent.

The country became more and more mountainous
as we travelled onward ; but the path led through
thick M'oods, and we coidd not obtain extensive
views except in places where trees had been felled
for plantations. Through one of these breaks I
saw two high hills, one called Migoma, and another
Ndjiangala.

Our road led us over Mount Migoma, and from it
I had a magnificent view of the country to the south

296 FEOM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

and south-east. Eanges of liills, all wooded to tlie
summit, stretclied away as far as the eye could reach.
By compass, I found the ranges to tend N.W. by
W. and S.E. by E. We passed, in the course of the
evening, two other Ishogo villages ; and, at five p.m.,
fixed our encampment for the night near the foot of
a hill called Mouida, on the banks of a beautiful
stream, called Mabomina. We had travelled about
ten miles since leaving Mokenga.

Jane 2Zrd. Our night was not a very tranquil one,
as our Ishogos had to keep watch in turns on account
of the leopards prowling about. I had myself very
little sleep, having no inclination to be made a meal
of by the hungry animals.

At eight a.m. we left the leaf-thatched sheds which
we had built for our last night's shelter. At ten, we
readied the banks of the Odiganga, a picturesque
stream, one of the tributaries of the Ngouyai. At
the place to which our path led us the stream was
fordable at this season, the water reaching only to
our hips, but a few yards lower down the stream was
very deep. It is only at certain points that the river
IS fordable. During the rains it becomes so deep
and dangerous that the natives have to cross it on
a raft secured by ropes to the trees on either bank.
The Odiganga forms the eastern boundary of the
Ishogo territory, and runs towards the south-west.
There are two Ishogo villages near the right bank,
and an Ashango village on the left. The two tribes
are curiously intermixed in the Ishogo villages ; on
one side of the street Ishogos dwell, and on the other
side Ashangos ; they are probably related by mar-

Chap. XV. AP.RIVAL AT MAGONQA. 297

riage, and thus live in company ; or it may be that the
various clans, which are fast diminishing in numbers,
unite together in order to form a large and popu-
lous village.

After we had forded the Odiganga — which was by
no means an easy task, owing to the strength of the
current — we reached the village of Magonga. I may
here remark that the villnges I have seen in this
country never run parallel to, or along the banks of
the rivers, but at right angles to them — one end of
the village generally being near the water.

At this Ashango village my Ishogo porters found
many friends and fathers-in-law ; and, although we
had marched only five miles to-day, they pleaded
fatigue in order to have an idlp day with them.
Mokounga made all sorts of excuses to put a stop to
the march ; so, much against my will, I had to order
a halt. The villagers, to propitiate me, brought me
as a present a goat and some plantains.

Jane 24/A. I find that old Mokounga, my Ishogo
leader, is a man of no influence amongst his country-
men. When I gave him orders to j)ftck up and
march tins morning, the porters took very little
notice of his directions, and wanted to stay another
day. Happily, I had among them a man of more
power than the leader, named Maduta, whose family
was partly Ashango, and who aided mo in my
endeavours to move my party forward. After much
ado, we succeeded in leavinf>: the villaa'e at nine a.m.
The disappointed villagers followed us as we marched
out, and endeavoured to entice some of the porters
to remain ; they all cursed Maduta, and said that
21

298 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

they would settle accounts with him if he came back
to their village, as he w^as the cause of the Ibamba's
not remaining with them, and of tlieir not getting
beads enough. It required some firmness on our
part to keep them all in order ; so, as our porters
were ready, I ordered Igala to lead the van, gun in
hand, and one by one we filed through the street, I
bringing up the rear.

We had hardly cleared the village wlien we com-
menced the ascent of a steep hill called Madombo.
It was so steep in some places that we had to help
ourselves np by the aid of the bushes. In many
parts recently fallen trees lay across the path, and
these had to be climbed over. Thorny climbers and
briars tore our clothes, and the porters struggled on,
venting curses against the many obstacles that lay
in their way. The summit formed an extensive
table-land, the mean altitude of which, according to
my aneroids, was 1226 feet. We marched over this
elevated plateau for about three miles, and then
descended a little, stopping for breakfast on the
banks of a rivulet called Mandjao.

Before we resumed our loads, the porters came to
me in a body, and mildly asked me to give them
each a few beads to enable them to purchase ground-
nuts in the Ashango villages. I told them that I
was willing to have given them beads at Magonga,
and I opened my bags and distributed a few amongst
them ; but I was not a little surprised immediately
afterwards to find that a mutiny had been resolved
upon. Tliey began to complain that I had been
more liberal to the Aponos than to them — that I had

Chap. XV. MUTINY OF ISHOGO TOETERS. 299

given tliem a great many things, for tliey saw
them ; and the chief spokesman, the same man who
had been the cliief cause of our troubles at the last
village, had the impudence to say to his comrades,
^' If he will not give us more beads, let us leave
Lim/' The whole body then laid down their loads,
and said they would return to their homes. This
was a critical moment ; I felt that an energetic step
was necessary to put an end to such insubordination.
I gave the order to my Commi men to arm, and, in a
few moments, the resolute fellows stepped forward
and levelled their guns at the heads of the offenders.
I told them to go now, and they would see how many
would reach the other side of the brook alive. The
movement had its due effect — they all held out their
hands and begged to be forgiven. These little muti-
nies I found were all arranged beforehand ; they are
attempts at extortion, and the rascals in jDlanning
them agree not to proceed to extremities. In a short
time they had again taken up their loads, and we
marched off at a quick pace ; the porters becoming
quite cheerful, laughing and chattering as they
trudged along.

In the course of an hour after this, we arrived at
a large Ashango village, called Oycgo or Moytgo,
through which we passed without stopping; the
inhabitants, who seemed to be more astonished at
my boots than at anything else, cried out, *' Look !
he has feet like an elephant ! " The road all the
way was very hilly ; at one part I found the eleva-
tion 148G feei, so that the land here was higher than
the plateau of Madombo.

300 FEOM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

At four p.m. we reached another Ashango village,
I was unwilling to accept the hospitality of this place
owing to the noise and annoyance caused by the vil-
lagers, in iact I felt that my head would not stand it,
and so fixed my camp at a short distance from it ;
erecting as usual slight sheds of poles thatched with
leaves.

June 2bth. The altitude of my encampment was
1480 feet above the sea-level. The thermometer at
six a.m. marked 72° Fahr., and at noon only 73°. lu
the early morning a thick mist lay over the magnifi-
cent woodlands, and half hid the village and sur-
rounding palm-trees from our view. Ahead of us
were hills that rose much higher than our present
position ; we were now at length in the heart of the
mountainous country in the interior of Africa.

It is very curious that one side of the stre-et of
this village is peopled by the Ashango, and the other
side by the Njavi tribe. This was the only opportu-
nity I had of seeing people of the Njavi tribe ; it
appeared that they had been driven westward to this
place by the enmity of a powerful tribe, of whom I
shall have to speak further on — the Ashangui —
whose country lies near theirs on the east ; for the
territory occupied by the Njavi lies between Ashango-
land and the country of the Ashangui. These Njavi
were the shyest and most tir^id negroes I had ever
met with. They would never allow me to enter
their houses, and were filled with fear when I merely
looked at tliem.

The streets of all the Ashango villages I have yet
seen are less broad than those of the Ishogo villages.

CuAP. XY. DIFFICULTIES AND DISCOURAGEMEXTS. 301

As to the inhubitants, my first impressions were un-
favourable. They bi-ought us no food either for sale
or presents, and the few men who came to our camp
siDent all the time in tedious speechifying, of which I
was by this time heartily sick. My Ishogo men
again began to show signs of discontent, this time
not against me but against the villagers ; they said,
" If there is nothing to eat, let us be off. AYe do
not stop at villages where goats are not given to
the Oguizi ! " The rascals knew very well that the
goats would be given to them to eat. I fed my
porters well, for many were induced to come from
hearing the stories told by the Aponos of the great
number of goats they had eaten while with me. In
truth it is enough to weary a man out. It is a
tremendous task that I have undertaken. The ordi-
nary difficulties of the way, (he toilsome marches, the
night watches, the crossing of rivers, the great heat,
are as no tiling compared with the obstacles and annoy-
ances which these capricious villagers throw in our
way. I begin to dread the sight of an inhabited place.
Either the panic-stricken people fly from me, or remain
to bore me by their insatiable curiosity, fickleness,
greediness, and intolerable din. Nevertheless I am
obliged to do all I can think of to conciliate them,
for I cannot do without them ; it being impossible
to travel without guides through this wilderness of
forests where the paths are so intricate ; besides, we
could not make our appearance in the villages with-
out some one to take us there and sav a c'ood word
for us. The villagers are frightened enough of us
as it is, although we come with their friends. I am

802 FllOM ISHOGO TO ASHAXGO-LAXD. Chap. XV.

forced to appear good-tempered wlien, at the same
time, I am wishing them all at the bottom of the sea.
They surround my hut, hallooing and shouting ; as
soon as I make my appearance they run away.
When I re-enter m}^ hut, they all come back again
and recommence shouting for me. During the few
days I remain in a village I go about from house to
house, distributing beads to the women, coaxing the
children, and allaying by smooth speeches the fears
and prejudices of the men. I sit by their fire-
side. If they are eating, I ask them for some of
their food and taste it — this always pleases them
vastly.

And after all these exertions to win their favour
and friendship, I never knew for certain, when we
entered a village, whether we might not be received
with a shower of poisoned arrows,

June 2Qth. There was again a thick mist this morn-
ing, lasting from sunrise to nine a.m. We had suc-
ceeded in buying two goats at this frightened village.
As 1 had been unable to take meridian altitudes of
stars at Magoiiga, I hoped to have done so here : but
the state of the weather unfortunately prevented my
doing so. Having no further inducement to stay, and
a deputation fiom the next village, called Niembouai,
having arrived to invite us there, I was resolved to
resume the march early this morning. When, how-
ever, we were getting our loads ready, the head man
Mokounga and two of the porters were missing,
having sneaked away to feast and drink in company
with their friends in the village. 1 fairly lost temper
over these people, and went into the village deter-

CnAP. XV. EECEPTIOX AT NIEMBOUAI. 303

mined to use force, if necessary, to drag tliem away.
I found one of them in a hut, seated by tlie side of
the fire, with a huge pot of plantains nearly ready for
breakfast. On his refusing to come I knocked him
over with the butt-end of my rifle. An energetic
demonstration of this kind never fails ; but one is
obh'ged to be sparing of such displays, as they tend
to have the effect of frightening everybody away for
good. The man in faUing knocked over the pot of
boiling plantains ; so there was a great hubbub, which
roused the whole village, the woman loudly cursing
the man for being the cause of her pot being broken.
Mokouno'a came forth from his hidinar-place, becG'ino'
forgiveness in the most abject manner ; and as I drove
the fellows to the camp, the chief came along the
street beating his kendo to allay my wrath, and I
began to regret my Apono porters.

At length we were again en route. For several
miles we continued to ascend ; and whenever we could
obtain a view through breaks in the forest we saw
higher ground towards the east and south-east. Huge
rocks of ferruginous sandstone bordered the line of
our route. Our entry into Niembouai was a pleasant
affair compared with our reception at most of the
other villages. This was chiefly owing to one of
the elders of Niembouai liavine: been at ^loken^-a
while I was there ; and who, having returned before
us, had prepared the inhabitants. There was no
shyness disj)]ayed, nor were there any attempts to
run awav. The best house in the villaii-e had been
prepared for me. It beloiiged to the elder who had
met us at Mokenga, and who now claimed me as his

304 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XY.

guest, and, according to the custom of the country, no
one disputed his claim.

Before we entered the villnge, our Ishogo porters,
with the usual greediness of these negroes, resolved
to make halt and eat our only remaining goat; their
only motive being to avoid being required to share
the meal with their relatives in Niembouai. Africans
are most confirmed gluttons ; and, altbougli used to
their displays of voracity, I was annoyed at the
conduct of my porters on this occasion, for nothing
w^ould do but we must halt by the roadside, kill the
goat, and make a fire, although there was no water
near the place.

Jane 21th. The king of Niembouai, like most of
the other monarchs of these regions, did not show
himself on my arrival — he was absent mitil about
noon to-day. I have been told that the reason why
the chiefs keep away from the villages until I have
been in them some time is, that they have a notion
that I bring witli me a whirlwind whicli may do
them some great harm ; so they wait until it has had
time to blow away from the village before they make
their appearance.

Presents and food for sale came in early, and wo
were well supplied to-day. I was much pleased at the
respectful and quiet behaviour of the people. The
Niembouaians must have heard of my dislike of
impertinent curiosity and noise, and are trying their
best to be better behaved than other people. How-
ever this might be, I resolved to reward their good
conduct by exhibiting to them some of the wonders
I had brought with me. I informed the elders of

CfLVP. XY. ENTERTAINMENT TO THE NATIVES. 805

my intention, and the people came in great numbers
and formed a circle round me. The musical box
was brought out, wound up, and set playing. The
people were mute with amazement ; at first they did
not dare to look at the musical box, afterwards they
looked from me to the box and from the box to me,
evidently convinced that there was some communica-
tion between me and it. Then I went away into
the forest, the musical box still continuing to play.
"When I came back there was still the same mute
amazement. The box was still playing, and the
people seemed to be spell-bound, not one could utter
a word. "When I saw that the tunes were played
out, I shouted out as loud as I could " Stop ! " and
the silence that ensued seemed to surjorise them as
much as the music had done before. Then taking
my revolver I fired several times, and my men fired
off tlieir guns. Whereupon with one accord the
Ashangos cried out, " Truly the Sj)irit has come
among us ! "

So soon as this wild excitement had somewhat sub-
sided, the accordion was brought out. With this
instrument I made a noise, for I do not know how
to play upon it. The same silence followed ; and
when now and then I played the high notes in a
tremulous mannci", the people all raised their arms
in a state of nervous excitement ; indeed I could not
understand the strong effect the instrument had upon
their nerves. The king, during the performances,
was continually beating his kendo, and speaking to
the spirits of his ancestors. I had not exhibited tlicse
marvelri at any village since I left Mayoio The

30G FROM ISHOaO TO ASHAXGO-LAXD. Chap. XV.

astonishment, the cliildisU wonder and mystification
of tnese piiniitive people, wiio had probably never
yet seen any article of civihzed manufacture, except
beads and articles of brass, may easily be imagined.
Beer-bottles are to be seen now and then in the
interior, and it is astonishing how far inland they
have penetrated. Tliey are held in very high estima-
tion by the chiefs, who covet nothing so mncli as a
black bottle to hang by their side, and contain their
palm wine ; they consider the bottle far snpei'ior to
the native calabash for this purpose ; no doubt, be-
cause it comes from a foreign country. If any of
the wives or slaves of a chief have the misfortune
to break a bottle, there is a fearful row. The per-
formances had an exceedingly good effect on the
minds of the people with respect to the feelings with
which they regarded us. In return I asked the
king to let me see his alumbi-house, to which he
went every day, both in the morning and also a
little before dark. In the evening he always liglited
a fire, tJien beat his kendo, and spoke to the spirits
of his ancestors. As the little hut was close to my
lodging, I could hear what was going on ; and could
now and then distinguish my own name in his
invocations. Though he had promised to take me
into his alumbi-house, he always put off doing so
with one excuse or other.

The king was blessed with numerous wives, and
one of them, the queen (Jconde, or head wife) was
a nice-looking young girl, not more than seventeen
or eighteen years of age. She was not shy, as
most of the wives of chiefs were in the countries

Chap. XV. PIIEJUDICES OF THE COMMI MEN. 307

we had lately passed throngli ; slie cooked for me and
gave plantains to my men. To gratify her, I made
her a present of a goat — at least, I was going to do
so, but Mokounga laughed heartily at the idea. " Do
you not know,"' says he, " that the Ashango and
Ishogo do not allow their women to eat goats ? "
This, indeed, was the fact, although I had not par-
ticularly noticed it in my passage through the
villages. Women or girls are not allowed to eat the
flesh of goats or fowls. I suppose they are prohi-
bited because the men wish to reserve such scarce
articles of food for themselves. It is only amongst
the Commi and ]\Ipongwe that this prohibition
does not exist or has been abolished. I withheld
my intended present, and gave the young lady a
string of my best beads instead.

To-day I gave a good lecture to my Commi boys,
especially to Macondai. These negroes of the coast
have an extraordinary contempt for the negroes of
the interior, and I had noticed a growing disposition
in them, as we marched eastward, to insult even the
elders and chiefs of the villages we passed through.
Some days ago I observed Macondai, whilst standing
near an Ishogo man, turn aside fi'om him with an
expression of disgust and spit on the ground ; and
to-day, when one of the king's nephews took a seat
by his side, he got up and said he must get out of
the way of that slave, he stank so. Although this
was spoken in the Commi language, the Ashango
man understood it and Avas very angry, and un-
jjleasant consequences m'ght have ensued il" I had
not interfered ; so I called Macondai aside and gave

308 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

him a sound scolding. The rest of my Commi
companions tooh the same view of the matter as
Macondai. They said they were superior to these
Ashangos ; they were not bushmen nor slaves (mean-
ing that the Ashangos are sent to the sea-shore to
he sold) ; they did not file their teeth nor rub them-
selves over with powder ; and more to the same effect.
I told them they were all of the same race, and that
there was a time when their own tribe, the Commi,
sold their fellows into slavery. Of course my men
obeyed me, and abstained afterwards from openly
showing contempt for the chiefs ; but my arguments
did not convince them that the Ashangos liad the
same natural rights as they had themselves. I often
heard them say, " How is it possible that Chaillie can
think us to be of the same blood as these slaves ? "

We had a drizzling rain from half-past six p.m.,
lasting all night.

June 2Sih. The ground is soaked after so many
hours of steady rain, and this is in the middle of
the dry season. There is evidently no sharp dis-
tinction between the seasons in these high inland
regions.

I was told to-day, and it was repeated to me in
every place afterwards, that there is a tribe called
Ashangui, very numerous, and clever workers in iron,
who live a few days' march further on towards the
east, on the banks of a large river. This river must
either be the Congo or some unknown stream flowing
towards the great river. It is remarkable that the
people in most of the Ashango villages were very
anxious to get gunpowder from me ; the porters

Chap. XV. THE ASHANGUI TRIBE. 309

wanted to be paid partly in powder, and many of tlie
villagers were provided with a little measure made
of a hollowed gourd expressly for the purpose of
measuring the powder that they received from me
in payment of food and so forth. I wondered at
first why they were so anxious to obtain gunpowder,
as they had no guns and were even afraid of handling
one ; so I asked them what they wanted to do with
the powder they got from me, as they had no guns.
They replied that a tribe called Ashangui, living
beyond the Njavi and Abombo, bought it and ga.ve
them iron for it ; that all the iron they had came
from there, that there was a good deal of iron " in
the land ; " that all the anvils came from there, and
that their swords, spears, and arrow-heads, in fact,
all their edged implements, were made of iron bought
from that country. The iron from the West Coast
sold by the trades does not reach so far inland as
this place.

We must conclude, from their buying the powder,
that the Ashangui are in possession of guns, which
they obtain from traders on the Congo. From
Niembouai eastward I found beads were not un-
common, and these must have been obtained by
way of the Congo and through the Ashangui ; in
fact, all the natives told me they came up the large
river : they get also copper from Europe. I inquired
about the Sapadi, or people with cloven feet — a
mythical race, believed in by all negroes, and, accord-
ing to the reports of Ashango slaves on the coast,
living in this country — but, as I had expected, their

310 FROM ISHOGO TO ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XV.

country was now said to be a long way fuiilier on.
It is very likely that these stories about the Sapadi
originate in accounts of the Obougos or hairy dwarfs,
who are really inhabitants of Ashango-land, as we
shall presently see.

CHAPTER XYI.

ASHANGO-LAND.

Cloudy Skies of Ashango-land — Grand Palaver — Ishogo Porters dismissed
— The Village Idol — licligioiis Pdtes — Visit to an OLongo Village —
Abodes and Habits of the Dwarf Pace — IMcasurcments of their Height
— Piiver Ouano — Singular Ferry — Mount Mogiama — Its Altitude —
Village of Mongon, its Latitude, Longitude, and Height above the Sea-
level — Village of Kiembouai Oloniba — Its picturesque Site — Bashi-
kouay Ants — Ascend Mount Birogou Bouanga — Its Altitude — More
Troubles — Pobbed by the Ashango Porters — Summary ^Measures —
Eesunic our March — Arrive at Mobaua — Departure of a Bride — Arrival
at Mouaou Kombo.

June 2dtli. The sky in tins elevated region is almost
constantly clouded or hazy. All day yesterday it was
either clouded or overspread with a thick haze ; the
sun was dimly seen only for a few minutes about
four o'clock, and at night the moon did not remain
visible long enough to enable me to take lunar obser-
vations. To-day it is the same, much to my annoy-
ance, as I wished to take a lunar distance.

A grand palaver was held to-day. The elders of
Niembouai were all mustered, seated in a half circle
on the ground, and smoking their loug pipes —
which are about three feet in length — with imper-
turbable gravity. The great number of old people
seen hero was quite remarkable, and the fact speaks
well for the healthiness of the climate or the absence
of wars and deaths on account of witchcraft. The
people here, and also among the Ishogos, seemed to
have more respect for old men than in other tribes.

312 AbHANGO-LAND. Chap. XYI.

It required a long explanation by Madnta and Mo-
kounga to convince the wise men that I had not
come to their country to buy slaves and ivory, but
simply to travel from one tribe to another. They
had to recount as usual all the stages of my progress
and enumerate the different chiefs who had helped
me on from tribe to tribe. Maduta is related to
some of the villagers by marriage, and this favoured
our arrangements ; he dwelt particularly on the many
offers I had had, on the way, to stay at villages, and
how I had refused them in order to have more
presents to give away to the good people of Niem-
bouai. This announcement was received with tre-
mendous cheers, and cries of " Rovano ! " (tliat is
so). They on their part, he said, must outdo the
other places in the magnitude of the presents of food
they had to make me. He finished a long rigmarole,
which took him about an hour to deliver, by saying
that the Ishogos had now fulfilled their duty in
bringing me safely to Ashango-land, and that the
duty, or, as their language expressed it, the " shame "
(or point of honour) remained with the Niembouai
people to carry me on a stage further.

The Ashangos unanimously shouted " AYe have
shame, we will pass the Oguizi on." Speeches then
set in on their side, and the palaver broke up, to the
satisfaction of all parties, after three hours' duration.

After this business was over I finished the payment
of the Ishogo porters, by distributing amongst them
the parting presents. I then gave them a goat for
food on the way, and they set off to march back to
their homes, not without bidding me a kind good-

Chap. XVI. THE VILLAGE IDOL. 313

hje. Nothing pleases these people so much as these
partlii.o; presents, as thej are unexpected.

Tliis evening I went to see the village idol, or
mbuiti (tlie patron saint as it may he called), and to
witness a great ceremony in the mbuiti-house. As
with the Aviia and other tribes, the idol was a mon-
strous and indecent representation of a female figure
in wood ; I had remarked that the further I travelled
towards the interior, the coarser these wooden idols
were, and the more roughly they were sculptured.
This idol was kept at the end of a long, narrow, and
low hut, forty or fifty feet long and ten feet broad,
and was painted in red, white, and black colours.
When I entered the hut, it was full of Ashango
people, ranged in order on each side, with lighted
torches stuck in the C'round before them. Amonorst
them were conspicuous two mbuiti men, or, as they
might be called, priests, di'cssed in cloth of vegetable
fi.bre, with their skins painted grotesquely in various
colours, one side of the face red, the other white, and
in the middle of the breast a broad yellow stripe ;
the circuit of the eyes was also daubed witli paint;
these colours are made by boiling various kinds of
wood, and mixing the decoction with clay. The rest
of the Ashangos were also streaked and daubed with
various colours, and by the light of their torches
they looked like a troop of devils assembled in the
lower regions to celebrate some diabolical rite ; around
their legs were bound white leaves from the heart of
the ])ahn-trce; some v.^ore feathers, others had leaves
twisted in the shape of horns behind their ears, and
all had a bundle of palm leaves in their hands.

814 ASIIANGO-LAXD. Chap. XVI.

Soon after I entered, tlie rites began. All the men
squatted down on their haunches, and set np a
deafening kind of wild song. There was an orchestra
of instrumental performers near the idol, consisting
of three drummers with two drumsticks each, one
harper, and a performer on the sounding stick, which
latter did not touch the ground, but rested on two
other sticks, so that the noise was made the more re-
sonant. The two mbuiti men, in the meantime, were
danciiiG: in a fantastical manner in the middle of the
temple, putting their bodies into all sorts of strange
contortions. Every time the mbuiti men opened
their mouths to speak, a dead silence ensued. As the
ceremony continued, the crowd rose and surrounded
the dancing men, redoubling at the same time the
volume of their songs, and, after this went on for
some time, returning to their former positions. This
was repeated several times. It seemed to me to be a
kind of vilkire feast. The mbuiti men, I oujxht to

O 7 0

mention, had been sent for from a distance to officiate
on the occasion, and the whole affair was similar to a
rude sort of theatrical representation. The mbuiti
men, like the witchcraft doctors, are important per-
sons among these inland tribes ; some have more
reputation than others, but in general those who live
furtliest off are most esteemed. At length, wearied
out with the noise, and being unable to see any mean-
ing or any change in the performances, I returned to
my hut at half-past ten.

June o^th. The altitude of Niembouai I found to
be 1896 ft. above the level of the sea. I succeeded
in obtaining observations both for latitude and longi-

Chap. XVI. VISIT TO AN OBOXGO VILLAGE. 315

tude. The village lies in V 58' 54" S. lat. and
11°5G'3S"E. long.

I had heard that there was a villa2:e of the
Obongos, or dwarfed wild negroes* somewhere in the
neighbourhood of Niembouai, and one of my first
inquiries on arriving at the place was naturally
whether there was any chance of my seeing this
singular people, who, it appears, continually come
into their villages, but would not do so while I
was there. The Ashangos themselves made no ob-
jection, and even offered to accompany me to the
Obongo village. They told me, however, that I had
better take with me only a very small party, so that
we might make as little noise as possible. Two
guides were given me, and I took only three of my
men. We started this morning, and reached the
place after twenty minutes' walk. In a retired nook
in the forest were twelve huts of this strange tribe,
scattered without order, and covering altogether
only a very small space of ground. The shape of
the huts was the same as that I have before described
in the deserted Obongo village near Yengue. When
we approached them no sign of living creature was
to be seen, and, in fact, we found them deserted.
The huts are of such slight construction, and the
Obongos so changeable, that they frequently remove
from one place to another. The abodes were very
filthy ; and whilst my Commi men and myself were
endeavouring to examine them, we were covered
with swarms of fleas and obliged to beat a retreat.
The village had been abandoned by its inhabitants,

316 ASHANGO-LAND. CnAP. XVI.

110 doubt on ncconnt of tlieir huts being so much
infested with these insects.

Leaving the abandoned huts, we continued our
way through the forest ; and presently, within a
distance of a quarter of a mile, we came on another
village, composed, lilce the last, of about a dozen ill-
constructed huts, scattered about, w^ithont any regular
order, in a small open space. The dwellings had
been newly made, for the branches of trees of which
they were formed had still their leaves on them^
quite fresh. We approached with the greatest cau-
tion, in order not to alarm the wild inmates, my
Ashango guides holding up a bunch of beads in a'
friendly way ; but all our care was fruitless, for the
men, at least, were gone when we came up. Their
flight was very hurried. We hastened to the huts^
and luckily found three old women and one young
man, who liad not had time to run away, besides
several children, the latter hidden in one of the huts.

The little holes which serve as doors to the huts
were closed by fresh-gathered branches of trees, with
their foliage, stuck in the ground. My Ashango
guides tried all they could to calm the fears of the
trembling creatures ; telling them that I had come to
do them no harm, but had brouo-ht some beads to
give them. I finally succeeded in approaching them,
for fear seemed to have paralysed their powers of
moving. I gave them some beads, and then made
my Ashango guides tell them that we should come
back the next day with more beads, to give some to
all the wonien ; so they must all be there. One of
the old women, in the course of a short time, lost all

Chap. XVI. THE DWARF RACE. 317

li€r shyness and began to ridicule the men for liaving
run away from us. She said they were as timid as
the nchende (squirrel), who cried ^'Que, quo," and
in squeaking she twisted her little body into odd
contortions, with such droll effect that we all laughed.

When I brought out my tape to measure her, her
fears returned ; thinking perhaps that it was a kind
of snake tliat I was uncoiling out of its case, she
trembled all over ; I told her I was not going to
kill her, but it required another present to quiet her
again. I accomplished my task at last. I also
measured the young man, who was adult, and pro-
bably a fair sample of the male portion of his race.

We then returned to Niembouai. I had waited an
hour, in the vain hope that the men might come
back to their huts. By the way, the Obongo women
seem to know how to tell lies as well as their country-
women of larger growth ; for when I inquired where
the rest of the people were, they at once replied that
they were gone into the . forest to fetch firewood and
to trap game.

The next day {July Isi) I went again to their
village, and saw only one woman and two children.
I had not come early enough, the birds had flown.
Luckily the woman was one of those I had seen the
day before. I gave her and the children a number
of beads. Then suspecting that the mother of the
children was in the hut close by where they stood,
I went to it, took off the branch that had been put
at the entrance to signify that the owner was out,
and then putting half of my body into the hut, in
the best way I could, I finally succeeded in seeing

318 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

in the dark something which soon after I recognised
as a human being. My Ashango man called to her,
tellino; her not to be afraid. I was then told that
she had lost her husband a few days before, when
they lived in tlie now deserted village which I had
seen on my way hither. She had over her forehead
a broad stripe of yellow ochre.

I desired my Ashango guide to ask the women
where they buried their dead ; but he told me I had
better not ask the question, as they might get fright-
ened, and the woman who had just lost her husband
might cry.

I gave the poor widow some beads, and then left
them again ; my old friend Misounda (for she told
me her name) inviting me to come back in the after-
noon, as the men would then have returned from the
woods. I accordingly returned in the course of the
afternoon, but no men were to be seen.

On a subse(]^uent visit, I found the village deserted
by the women as well as by the men — at least, as we
approached it, the women, who had heard us, ran
into their huts ; among them I caught sight of my
old friend Misounda running to hide herself. This
was doubly disappointing, as I had flattered myself
that I had quite tamed hor. When we entered the
village not a sound was to be heard, and the branches
of the trees had been put up at the doors of all the
huts, to make us believe that the people had all gone
into the woods. My Ashango guide shouted aloud,
" We have come to give you more beads ; where are
you ? " Not a whisper was heard, no one answered
our call ; but there was no room for any mistake, as

Chap. XYJ. MEASUREMENT OF OBOXGOS. 319

we liad seen the women enter tlie huts. I tlierefore
went to the hut of my old friend, Misounda, took off
the brancli, and called her by name, but there was
no answer. It was so dark inside that I could see
nothing; so I entered, and tumbled over the old
woman. Finding that she was detected, she came
out, and j)retended that she had been fast asleep.
Then she called out the other women, saying that I
was not a leopard come to eat them, and that they
need not be afraid.

In the course of other visits which I made to the
village during my stay at Niembouai, I succeeded in
measuring five other women. I could not help laugh-
ing, for all of them covered their faces with their
hands ; and it was only in the case of Woman Xo. 1
that I could get any measurements of the face. Un-
fortunately I could not take the same measurements
for all. I did the best I could under such circum-
stances. In order to allay their fears, I tried to
measure one of my Ashango guides, but he refused,
being as much frightened as the women. The mea-
surements are as follows : —

Ft. In.

Woman Xo. 1, total height 4 4i

, , between the outer angles of the eyes 0 5 J

,, No. 2, total height 4 71

,, Xo. 3, considered unusually tall ., .. 5 0^

,, round the broadest part of tlic head 1 'Ji

, , from the eye to tlie ear 0 4

, , No. 4, total height 4 8

,, round tlic head 1 10

,, from the c}-e to the ear 0 3 J

,, No. 5, total lieiglit 5 0

,, round the head 1 9

, , from tlio eye to the ear 0 -1 J

,, No. G, total height 4 r>

t, round the licad 1 ]()'.

f, from the eye to the car 0 4.^

Young man, total height 4 C

320 ASHANGO-LAXD. Chai-. XYf.

The colour of these people was a dirty yellow, much
lighter than the Ashangos who surround them, and
their eyes had an untameable wildness about them
that struck me as very remarkable. In their wliole
appearance, physique, and colour, and in their habita-
tions, tliey are totally unlike tlie Ashangos, amongst
whom they live. The Ashangos, iiideed, are very
anxious to disown kinship witli them. They do not
intermarry with them ; but declare that the Obougos
intermarry among themselves, sisters with brothers,
doing this to keep the families together as much as
they can.. The smallness of their communities, and
the isolation in which the wretched creatures live,
must necessitate close interbreeding; and I think it
very possible that this circumstance may be the cause
of the physical deterioration of their race. Their
foreheads are exceedingly low and narrow, and they
have prominent cheek bones ; but I did not notice
any peculiarity in their hands or feet, or in the posi-
tion of the toes, or in the relative length of their
arms to the rest of their bodies ; but their legs ap-
peared to be rather short in proportion to their
trunks ; the palms of their hands seemed quite white.
The hair of their heads grows in very short curly
tufts ; this is the more remarkable, as the Ashangos
and neighbouring tribes have rather long bushy
hair on their heads, which enables them to dress it
in various ways ; with the Obongos the dressing
of the hair in masses or plaits, as is done by the
other tribes, is impossible. The young man had an
unusual quantity of hair also on his legs and breast,
growing in short curly tufts similar to the hair of the
head, and all the accounts of the Ashangos which I

Chap. XVI. DRESS AND HABITS OF THE OBONGOS. 321

heard agreed in this, that the Obongo men were
thickly covered with hair on these parts of their body ;
besides, I saw myself, during the course of my stay
at Niembouai on my return, male Obongos in the
village, and although they would not allow me to
approach them, I could get near enough to notice
the small tufts of hair : one of the men was black.
The only dress they v/ear consists of pieces of grass-
cloth which they buy of the Ashangos, or which
these latter give them out of pure kindness, for I
observed that it was quite a custom of the Ash-
angos to give their old worn denguis to these poor
Obongos.

The modes of burial of these savages, as related to
me by my Ashango companions, are curious. The
most common habit is to place the corpse in the
interior of a hollow tree in the forest, filling up the
hole with branches and leaves mixed with earth ; but
sometimes they make a hole in the bed of a running
stream, diverting the current for the purpose, and
then, after the grave is covered in, turning back the
rivulet to its former course.

The Ashangos like the presence of this curious
people near their villages because the Obongo men
are very expert and nimble in trapping wild animals
and fish in the streams, the surplus of which, after
supplying their own wants, they sell to their neigh-
bours in exchange for plaintains, and also for iron
implements, cooking utensils, water-jars, and all
manufactured articles of which they stand in need.
The woods near their villages are so full of traps and
pitfalls that it is dangerous for any but trained woods-

322 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

men to wander about in them ; I always took care
not to walk back from their village to Niembouai
after night-fall ; for in the path itself there were
several traps for leopards, wild boars, and antelopes.
From the path, traps for monkeys could be seen
everywhere : and I should not at all have relished
having my legs caught in one of these traps. 1
was surprised at the kindness, almost the tender-
ness, shown by the Ashangos to their diminutive
neighbours. On one of my visits to the village I saw
about a dozen Niembouai women, who had come with
plantains to exchange for game, which they expected
to be brought in by the men. As the little hunters
had not returned from tho forest, they were disap-
pointed in this errand ; but seeing that the Obongo
women were suffering from hunger, they left nearly
all tlie plantains with them as a gift, or, perhaps, on
trust, for outside the hut they were cooking roots of
some tree, which did not seem to me very nourishing.
The Obongos, as I have said before, never remain
long in one place. They are eminently a migratory
people, moving from phice to jDlace whenever game
becomes scarce. But they do not wander very far ;
that is, the Obongos who live within the Ashango
territory do not go out of that territory — they are
called the Obongos of the Ashangos — those who live
among the Njavi are called Obongo-Njavi — and the
same with other tribes. Obongos are said to exist
very far to the east, as far, in fact, as the Ashangos
have any knowledge. They are similar to the gypsies
of Europe — distinct from the people amongst whom
they live, yet living for generations within the con-

CnAP. XYI. SHYNESS OF THE OEONGOS. 323

fines of tlie same country. They plant nothing, and
depend partly for their vegetable food on roots,
berries, and nuts, which they find in the forest;
indeed, tlie men spend most of their days and many
of their nights in the woods, and it was partly on
this account, and their excessive shyness, that I was
unable to examine them closely, with the solitary
exception of the young man above described. "When
they can no longer find wild animals in the locality
where they have made their temporary settlements,
they are sometimes apt to steal food from their more
civilized neighbours, and then decamp. Their a])pe-
tite for animal food is more like that of a carnivo-
rous beast than that of a man. One day I enticed
the old woman, whose heart I had gained by many
presents of beads, to Niembouai, simply by promis-
ing her a joint of goat-flesh. I had asked her if she
was hungry — without answering me, she drew a
long breath, drav/ing in her stomach, to make me
understand that it was very empty. AVhen she
came, I tried to put her off with a bunch of plan-
tains, but she stuck tenaciously to my hut until I
had fulfilled my promise of giving her some meat,
repeating the word, etava, etava (goat, goat). Through
her and an Ashango interpreter I took down a few
words of the Obongo language, which I add in the
Appendix to this volume ; it will be seen that it con-
tains words of Ashango; indeed their dialect is a
mixture of what was their own original lancruae-e
and the languages of the various tribes among whom
they have resided for many years past. I was told
that now and then one of them wnll leave his people,

324 ASHANGO-LAXD Ciiap. XA'I.

and come and live among the Asliangos. My guides
were kind enough to inform me that, if I wanted to
buy an Obongo, they would be happy to catch one
for me.

Jahj Atli. I find that palavers are common in the
Ashango country. A man of Niembouai had been
put in ncliogo by the men of another village, on
account of some palaver ; and the people of the
other village now came to Niembouai to see if the
palaver could not be settled, " For," said they, " you
men of Niembouai are rich, now that you have the
Spirit with you." Several elders spoke on each side,
each one trying to speak louder than the one who
had preceded him. Finally, the chief of Niembouai
gave the complainant a string of the large beads I
had presented to him.

Then another Ashango came, bringing a slave to
his father-in-law in Niembouai, in payment for the
daughter he had given him in marriage : the speeches
on the occasion of the presentation of the slave lasted
about three hours.

On another occasion, an Ishogo came to get a
slave in repayment of a Neptune he had trusted to a
friend at Niembouai,* and got into a furious rage,
on finding that no slave was forthcoming. He pro-
tested loudly that he was tired of being put off, and
that he was not going to be cheated of his Neptune.

My astronomical observations at this place, un-
fortunately were not all noted down in my journal.
I see by my memoranda, that on the 1st and 4tli of

* A Neptune is a brass dish -worth 3s. GJ. to 4.s.

Cjiap. XVI. KEW aSHAXGO TORTERS. 325

July I took the distances between the Moon and
Jupiter ; on the 4th, the weather became cloudy,
and I failed in taking" the observations I had hoped
to have obtained. When the moon, the ])lanet
Saturn, and the star Spica were sufficiently low in
the heavens to be taken with the artificial horizon,
the sky was too cloudy to permit of the observation.

Jahj 5tli. AVe were delayed three more days in
Niembouai through the illness of Ngoma, one of my
Commi boys. I paid the new Ashango porters on
tlie 2nd, and had some difficulty in getting them
away after the two days' delay without giving them
more.* "With them departed Mokounga.

AVe started at ten a.m., led by Magougn, an in-
fluential man of Nieml)ouai, whose guest I had been
during my stay here. The path gradually descended
into the valley of the Ouano, a river which falls into
the Odiganga. I found on reaching its banks, about
three miles east of Niembouai, that we had descended
more than GOO feet, the altitude being 1285 feet.

* The names of

my

Ashango porters were as
Magouga — Head man

follows

>

'

Adoom'bo,

Mayomhon

(the 2i

ai),

Mokcla,

]\Iayombon,

MoushagoU;

>

Madoungou,

Bishelo,

Ibalo,

Maniaga,

]\IoquaDgud,

Dibako,

Maraague',

Divangui,

Dishelo,

Badinga,

Moshelekai,

Bengouin,

Mayoubon.

Besides these we had eight jiorters to carry the loads of my Commi men
and a varying number followed to carry the provisions and kettles ; but I
omitted to take their names. We had also generally with us three or foivr
old fellows who followed us from village to village, expecting to feed well
on the road, and at the end of a few days to get something for speech-
making ; for they thought they helped me wonderfully in this way.

326 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

The Ouano was about 30 or 40 yards wide, and too
deep to be forded.

We crossed this stream by a singular kind of
ferry. The boat or raft was formed of two logs of
light wood, fifteen feet long, and a flooring of laths,
tied by their ends to the logs, so as to form a rude
vessel four or five feet broad. The boat was pro-
pelled by the ferrymen across the current, and, to
prevent its being swept down stream, it was attached,
by means of a stout creeper looped at the end, to a
rope stretched between trees across the river. Up-
right sticks were fixed in the side-beams of the raft
for the standing passengers to hold on by. Our
party were transported across the stream by means
of this contrivance in five journeys. In the rainy
season, when the current is very strong, this ferry
must be very useful. I had never before seen a
ferry of this kind in Africa.

About one p.m. we crossed a high hill called Mog-
iama, the summit of which was 2264 feet above the
sea-level. Soon after, we passed a small Ashango
plantation, with a few huts on its borders and
patches of the wild tobacco-plant and of the hemp.
The tenants of the huts had fled at our approach,
and we cooked our dinner at the forsaken fires of the
settlement. My Ashango porters insisted upon kill-
ing their goat here. When I asked them why they
had not killed and eaten it at Niembouai, they
replied that they were afraid their own people would
have asked them for some of the meat. I then
asked them why they did not wait initil we had
reached the village to which we were going. Their

Chap. XVI. VILLAGE OF MOXGON. 327

reply was the same — the people there also would ask
them for some of the meat. They succeeded in eat-
ing the whole of the goat at one meal ; after which
they came to me saying, *' You see we have eaten
the whole of it. Ashango people have big stomachs
— we do not w^ant any one to help us to eat the
goats that you will give us. It is a bore that people
cannot be allowed to eat their meals in quiet, without
others coming to ask them for some of the food." I
could not help laughing ; for these very fellows had
been plaguing my men at Niembouai every time we
killed a goat ; and they used to make such a terrific
noise, praising the meat, and begging for some of it,
that I often had to come out of my hut, and drive the
whole lot of them away.

The country continued very hilly, and we made
detours to avoid the steep ascents. At length, a little
before the sun set, we reached the village of Mongon.
]\Iany of my porters had relatives here, and we were
received in a friendly manner. AVe passed the night
in the village, and I was fortunate enough to take
several lunar observations, which gave 12'' 3' 37" E.
long., and I found the latitude to be 1° 5G' 45" S.
I was only able to take one meridian altitude ; but it
was a very successful one, and may be relied upon.
The place is the most elevated I have yet found,
being 2488 feet above the sea-level. I was glad to
find we had made a little northing during the day's
march.

Jiilij Gth. I had great difficulty in getting my men
away this morning. They wanted to spend the day
idling and drinking with their friends, wlio had

328 ASHAXGO-LAXD. Chap. XVI.

given them a fat goat to present to me that I might
consent to the delay ; but I made a firm stand
against these manoeuvres, and forced the porters to
take up their loads by pointing my revolver at their
heads, while I took old Magonga by tlie arm, and led
him forward. We left at about eight a.m., and after
two hours' march arrived at a small village called
Niongo, where we stopped for breakfast.

The importunities of the villagers and their chief
delayed us here nearly three hours. I was getting
annoyed at these repeated delays, for, at this rate of
travel, when should I get to the Nile ? It was now
nearly a year since I left the coast. At last, I told
the chief that if he was so fond of me I would tie
him with ropes and carry him w^ith us ; w^e were
allowed, after this, to depart without further trouble.
Of course I refused the proffered goat; for it is an
universal rule with these tribes that, a present being
received by a stranger from the villagers, he is bound
to make some stay in the place. The refusal of the
present of food is a token that you do not wish to
remain, and hence the pertinacity of these people in
trying to force goats and so forth upon us, wdien we
are passing a village. After an hour's march we
were again brought to a stand-still, by the porters
laying down their loads and demanding more pay.
This was the Ishogo scene over again, and terminated
ill the same manner, by the vigorous measure of bring-
ing my Commi men up with the muzzles of their
guns levelled at the heads of the offenders, followed
by their sudden repentance, and their laughing over
the affair, as usual, saying, " Let us stop a while and

A.\ AFRIC.VX CJKOUP, XOW AT WIMBLEDON.

Chap. XVI. VILLAGE OF NIEMBOUAI OLOMBA. 329

have a smoke. Do you tliink we would leave you
in the woods ? People may be left in a village but
not in the forest."

Aliout four p.m. we reached the villnge called
Niembouai Olomba, or " Further Niembouai," to
disting-ui.sh it from the other place of the same name
which I will call Niembouai West for the sake of
distinction. We had made but eight miles in a
direct line in four hours' march ; but the road lies
over a succession of hills and narrow valleys, every-
where thickly wooded; and travelling is most toil-
some, heavily-laden as we all were.

We were received with great joy by tlie chief,
who is the " father," head chief, or king of this clan
of Ashangos. Houses were allotted to us ; presents of
goats and plantains were laid at my feet ; and I was
glad to find that the old chief had not run away.
He had one of the mildest expressions of face I ever
saw ; was tall, and about 60 years old. Of the two
goats he gave me, I gave one to my Ashango porters.
As they went away with it, I heard one say, " We
did not know that he would give us one!" This
plan of feeding my porters well has a very good
effect on the villagers, and helped me in the diflicult
task of getting fresh porters.

The people of Niembouai Olomba were shy, but
many of them had seen me at Niembouai West.
Like all the villages in these mountains, it is sur-
rounded with groves of plantain-trees. Goats are
very abundant, and the goat-houses are scattered
here and there throughout the village. Swallows
were flying over the streets, and numerous birds
23

330 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

were singing, perched on the surrounding tall trees,
hehind the plantain-groves. In the street of the
village is seen, now and then, the stump of an old
tree, which time has not been able to destroy : for
here, wherever the people settle or plant, the trees
have to be cut down, and the stump and roots are
left to i^erish by the action of time. Niembouai
Olomba is a large village containing about 184
houses. Formerly this and Niembouai West con-
stituted one town (i.e., the population all lived in
one place), and it must have been then a very large
village for this part of Africa. Nearly all the houses
have bee-hives fixed to the walls, and the honey is
beautifully wliite and well-flavoured. Wax is very
abundant in Ashango-land, and of a fine quality ;
as it is not used by the natives, it will probably
become a valuable article of export at some future
day. I was struck with the simplicity of construc-
tion of the bee-hives ; they were made simply of the
bark of trees, rolled up so as to form a cylinder, thus
imitating a hollow tree in which bees make their
hives in the wild state. The ends of the cylinder are
closed with pieces of bark, in which holes are made
for the entrance and the exit of the bees ; wooden
hoops are fixed at each extremity to keep the cylin-
der in shape.

Although the Ashangos are certainly quite a dis-
tinct tribe from the Ishogos, for they speak a different
language, I do not notice any striking difference in
their appearance or habits. Their language, as I
have said before, is the same as that of the Ashira.
In one particular they contrast advantageously with

CnAr. XVI. CUSTOMS OF THE ASHANGOS. 331

the tribes nearer the coast, namely in the amplitude
of their clothing. All are well clothed with the
beautiful grass-cloth of the country. I did not even
see any naked children. The denguis or robes of
chiefs are of unusually large size, and are worn gene-
rally very gracefully. They seem to tattoo them-
selves rather more than the Ishogos do ; and the
women do not pierce their ears for ear-ornaments ;
their head-dress is the same as that of the Ishogo
women, but they do not seem to take so much care
of it. Although the streets of the Ishogo villages
were broader, the houses of the Ashangos are larger
than those of their neighbours. Both tribes adopt
the custom of taking out their two middle upper
incisors, and of filing the other incisors to a point ;
but the Ashangos do not adopt the custom of filing
also the upper incisors. Some of the women have
the four upper incisors taken out. They submit to
this process, in order to be considered the leading
belles of the village. All of them, both male and
female, shave off their eyebrows and pluck out their
eyelashes, and both tribes smear themselves with
ntchingo, or red powder.

Beating the women is here of very rare occur-
rence, 1 am told ; and I have not, myself, seen a
single case of woman-beating. In fact, the women
have their own way, in many things. Almost every
Ashango carries a sword, made by the Shimba and
Ashangui tribes. When a sword is sold, the business
is always transacted enfainille. Their other weapons
are spears and poisoned arrows. They do not make
any iron here, but get it from tribes further east.

332 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XYI,

They have the reputation of being more quarrelsome
than the Ishogos, and of being greater hars. This
sin of lying is, unfortunately, thought of little matter
in this part of the world. They are not drunkards,
like the Aponos, though palm-trees are abundant
throughout the district, and they drink the palm
wine, but in moderation. They know also how to
extract oil from the nuts of the oil palm-tree, which
is here very abundant.

Jidi/ 1th. Niembouai Olomba lies at the foot of a
fine wooded hill, on a ridge between two deep narrow
valleys or gorges, one running east and west and
the other north-east and south-west. The wind from
the south blew cool and refreshing, both last night
and this morning. At six a.m. the thermometer
stood at G8° Fahr., with a clear sky and a bright
sun. Along the deep valley towards the east I had
a mas:nificent view of the risins; sun. It was the
happiest morning I had had for a long time, and I
felt invigorated with the cool breeze, after the close
heat of the forest-paths and crowded villages during
the last few wrecks. Towards two p.m. the sky be-
came cloudy again.

Jiihj Sth. Last night, as I was quietly lying on my
bed, I was aroused by a rustling and scratching noise
in the hut, and the flying of numerous cockroaches,
some of them alighting on the back of my neck,
which, by the way, produces one of the most un-
pleasant sensations I know of. I knew it must be
an invasion of Bashikouay ants, and started up and
called my men. The active creatures were already
on my bed, and I was luck}'- in making my escape

CuAP. XYI. BASHIKOUAY ANTS. 333

without being half devoured by them. They were
attracted, uo doubt, by a quarter of goat's uieat
hanging in the chamber, for, unfortunate!}', my
sleeping-room is obliged to be also my store-i'oom.
The men hastened to fetch hot ashes to spread over
the floor, whicli was black with the shining bodies
of these most destructive ants, who come to their
work in dense masses. Had their j^rogress not been
checked they would have finished our goat-meat in
a very short time, for they were already climbing
the walls, and we had to sweep them down on the
hot cinders, not daring to apply a torch to the wall
of such a combustible edifice as an Asliaiigo hut.
After killing thousands in this manner the remainder
were scared away, and I spent the rest of the night
in peace.

I liave given an account of this ant in my 'Adven-
tures in Equatorial Africa,' and have little to add
regarding it in this place. But one can never cease
to wonder at the marvellous habits and instincts of
these extraordinary creatures, whose natural history
is still but imperfectly known. The individuals
whicli form the armies of the Bashikouays are only
the worker or neuter caste of the species. It is well
known that the males and females of ants, wdiich
alone propagate their kind, are winged, and take no
part in the various kinds of industry which render
ants such remarkable insects. The armies of the
Bashikounys seem for ever on the march, clearing
the ground of every fragment of animal substance,
dead or alive, which they can obtain or overpower;
and, so furious are their onslaughts on the person of

334 ASriANGO-LAND. Chap. XYI.

any one who steps near their armies, that it is diffi-
cult or impossible to trace the cohimns to their nests,
if indeed they have any. The Bashikouays are of
seve]-al distinct species ; and, in each species, the
workers or neuters are of many gradations of size
and bulk, but all are of shining reddish or black
colour, with heads of a sepiare or oblong form.
While on the march, they do not attack insects, only
when they halt and then spread themselves out in
foraging parties.

In the afternoon I ascended one of the hills which
form so grand a feature in the landscape close to Niem-
bouai. An almost perpetual mist shrouds the summit
of this hill, which is called Birogou Bouanga. By
recording observations of the boiling-point and two
aneroid-barometers at the summit, and striking the
mean, I Ibund the altitude to be 2574 feet above the
sea-level. The leaves of the trees and bushes were
quite wet at the summit, whilst below, near the vil-
lage, the herbage was dry, showing the effect of the
cap of mist or cloud which covers the hill-top.

"When I first spoke of going up the mountain, the
villagers expressed t!:emselves willing to go with
me, and several promised to accompany me to the
summit ; but, when I actually got ready to start, they
declined to do so — their fellow-villagers telling them
not to go wuth the Oguizi. I began to fear that I
should not be able to accomplish the ascent. Finally,
two of my porters from Niembouai West offered to go
with me ; then two of the villaG:ers a2:reed to show
us the path to the top. When we all reached the
summit, the two villagers stared to see me bring out

CiL-vp. XVI. ASCENT OF MOUNT BIROGOU BOUAXGA. od5

my policeman's lantern, and screw my boiling-point
thermometer to the kettle ; but their astonishment
was beyond measure when I produced instantaneous
fire with a lucifer-match. They trembled all over,
and became speechless. My two porters looked at
them with evident contempt, saying, " You see now
what kind of spirit we have brought to you." Gra-
dually they got less frightened, and at last came close
to me and watched my proceedings with manifest
interest.

From the summit of BIrogou Bouanga I could see
the country for many miles round. The mountains
appeared to be, for the most part, of nearly equal
height. Here and there, on the declivity of the hill
round Kiembouai Olomba, were large tracts of the
forest that had been felled and partly cleared ; and,
in the midst of fallen trees and dead branches, the
beautiful leaves of the plantain-trees could be seen,
with now and then a field of cassada or manioc,
though this latter is getting very scarce. The plan-
tain is almost the only staple of food here. Through
the leaves of the plantain-trees peeped out the stem
of the sugar-cane, which is here very abundant. I
could see large tracts of ground-nuts. When meat
is scarce the people pound the seed of the ground-nut
trees and cook it in leaves, or simply roast it. Near
the village were patches of the tobacco-plant and of
the liamba (hemp). In the places where plantain-
trees had been newly planted I often saw a kind of
squash, the pounded seed of which is considered a
great dainty.

I had to-day a serious trouble with two of my

336 ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVL

Commi men, Mouitcln and Rapelina, slaves lent me
by my friends Djombouai and Sliolomba on the Fer-
nand Yaz. They had lately become, I knew not
why, discontented and troublesome, and were detected
to-day in pilfering' powder, bullets, and other articles,
with the intention of laying in a store of ammunition
before running away. Mouitchi was a lazy fellow,
and his loss would not have been a very serious
matter to me ; but it would not be prudent to lessen
the numbers of my small party, and leave these
Commi men in the interior. I was obliged to have
them both disarmed, and, after considering for some
time, decided that it would be best to tell them they
might go and find their way back to the coast, if they
liked to try. The elders of Niembouai, when they
saw I intended to dismiss the two men, treated the
matter as a very serious one, and came to me to say
that I could not be allowed to leave the men in the
country in that way, but that I must name two of
the elders of the place to be their protectors or
masters. My object, however, was not to get rid
of the men, but to show my displeasure at their
misconduct ; and I thought the best way to do this
was to pretend to be utterly indifierent whether tliey
accompanied us any further or not, for this would
be likely to make them repent and beg to be taken
back again. The event proved that I was not mis-
taken : they left the village, but came back repentant
the next day.

July \2tli. ^Ye did not leave Niembouai. Olomba
without trouble. First, my porters of Niembouai
West wanted an increase of pay ; then the peoj)le

Chap. XVI. MORE TROUDLES. 337

of Niembouai Olomba wanted them to leave me with
them, and to go back to their own country, saying
that they could take care of me. Magouga retorted
that he also could take care of me. On their refer-
ring tlie matter to me, in order to please both parties,
I said I would take half my porters from Niembouai
West, and the other half from Niembouai Olomba.
I felt very much inclined to take only the men of
Niembouai Olomba, as the others had shown signs
of fear, having come to me two or three times, saying
that they had heard that the people in the villnges
before us did not wish to see the Oguizi, and had
sent word to that effect.

When at length we started, Magouga and the chief
of Niembouai Olomba were both with me ; and with
Rebouka we formed the rear-guard of the caravan.
I kept constantly on the alert, and took care always
to make one of tliese two leading men walk before
me, for, in so wild a country, one cannot be too
' careful.

We were now on our march to the country of
the Njavi tribe, who live to the east of Ashango-
land. My Ashango porters were to convey me to
the principal village of the Njavi, and I had hoped
that all would go smoothly, now that we had left
Niembouai and were again on the road. Unhappily,
further troubles were in store for me. Several of the
porters — taught, I am afraid, by my own mutinous
servants Rapelina and Mouitchi — went on ahead,
and, concealing themselves in the forest, let us pass
them, and then made off to their own village.
When we halted to rest the porters, I discovered

338 ASIIAXGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

that several of tlicm were missing. The absentees
all belonged to Niemboiiai West. We waited for
tliem, but in vain. Botli they and their loads were
gone.

Beino: determined to check this new evil at its
commencement, I ordered a halt near Mobana, and,
seizing Magouga, placed three of my Commi men
as guard o^^er him, with orders to shoot him if he
attempted to escape ; and I told him that I should
not release him until the lost property was restored
by the Niembouai porters under his leadership. In
the meantime the old chief of Niembouai Olomba,
with his people, came to me, and said, " I have
nothing to do with this — here are all my people,
here are all their loads. Why did you not take my
people only ? We do not steal in my village." Soon
the Mobana people, who had hoard that W3 were
near, and who are related by maniages to the people
of Niembouai Olomba, came out to us, and asked us
to come into their village, snying, " Why should the
Oguizi remain in the woods, while there is a vil-
lage near ? " I accordingly accepted their invitation,
and proceeded to Mobana.

The news of the robbery soon spread to Niem-
bouai, and several of the elders, taking my part, set
upon the thieves, who had run back to the village,
hacked them with iheir swords, and sent back to me
the three boxes they ha 1 carried off. This was not,
however, till the following day ; meantime, it was a
little reign of terror at Mobana, for none of us slejDt,
having to keep watch all night with our loaded
muskets over Magouga and the porters, who re-

CiiAP. XVI. FOBBED BY THE ASIIANGO TOBTEBS. 339

mained in our hands. On examining next morning
the three boxes which had been plundered, I found
that none of the articles they contained had been
actually stolen ; but the contents of several bottles of
medicine had been either drunk or poured awa}^ and
the empty bottles put back into their places. A
quantity of arsenic was amongst the deficiencies, and
I heard afterwards that some people of Kiembouai
had died mysteriously after touching the white man's
goods.

I believed, of course, that Magouga and the por-
ters who had not run away were innocent of the
theft, having had no connivance with the thieves;
but the day after the property had been restored,
I found, when I awoke in the morning, two of my
boxes missing. Tliey liad been taken during the
night out of tlie hut in which I slept, and which
was divided into three compartments ; the innermost
was the room in whicli I slept, and my stock of
goods was put into the other two ; w^ooden doors
have now become scarce, and the shutter was hardly
good for anything, so that the thieves had come
during the night without much difficulty, and had
taken two boxes, which, fortunately, contained only
salt, shot, some soap, ai'senic, and a few beads. I
immediately called Eakombo, the chief of Mobana,
and accused him and his people of the tlieft. For
three dnys the palavers lasted ; every day they came,
saying they had stolen nothing; that the theft had
been committed by some one they did not know.
For three days palaver after palaver was held — they
could not find the thieves. I could see from the sor-

340 ASHAXGO-LAND. Chap. XVL

rowful faces of Rakombo and of liis people tliat they
did not know really who had stolen these two boxes ;
and they said if they only knew the village to which
the things had been taken, they would go and seize
some of their women. Suddenly I heard a tremen-
dous uproar, and saw the people coming towards the
hut where Magouga and some of his people were
staying, and brandishiiig their swords and spears,
and shouting, " The Niembouai j)eople have stolen
the things." I had great trouble in saving Ma-
gouga's life ; and my men had to lay hold of one
or two of these raging warriors, and threaten to
kill them if they injured Magouga. They shouted
" Ibamba, we have nothing to do with you or with
your people : it is only with these Niembouai peo|)le,
who have brought shame on our village ! "

It was some time before I could quiet the vil-
lagers ; at length something like peace was restored,
and, at night, Magouga and his men left me and
returned to their homes, for fear of other palavers.

Mobana is a large place, with houses like those of
Niembouai. Numerous bee-hives hang against the
houses or are scattered among the plantain-trees.
Goats are plentiful ; some of them are of great size,
and very fat. These generally form part of the
dowry given when a woman is married. AVhile at
Mobana, I assisted at the departure of a young
woman who had been given in marriage to a man
of a neighbouring village. Her father was to take
her there, with all the marriage outfit {trousseau de
mariage). It consisted of eight of the plates of the
country, such as I have already described ; tw^o large

Chap. XVI. DEPARTURE OP A BRIDE. 341

baskets for carrying plantains from the plantations,
or calabashes full of water from the spring ; a great
number of calabashes ; a large package of ground-
nuts ; a package of squash seeds ; two dried legs of
antelope; some fine nchandas (the name given to
the denguis here), and her stool. Several members
of her family carried this elaborate outfit. The
bride-elect was smartly dressed ; her chignon had
been built up most elaborately the day before. As
she left the village, the people remarked to each
other, " Her husband will see that the Mobana people
do not send away their daughters with nothing ! "

Her old mother accompanied her to the end of the
street, and then returned to her home, looking proud
and happy at having seen her daughter go with such
an outfit.

Juljj I5tli. Mobana is situated on the top of a high
hill, at a height of 2369 feet above the level of the
sea. The range, at the foot of which Niembouai is
situated, is the highest of the four ranges, reckoning
from the coast. From Mobana the land slopes down
gradually towards the east. I here heard again of a
large river further cast.

When we entered Mobana, the villagers wanted
my men to smear themselves with ntchingo or red
powder, bringing fur this purpose sev^eral of their
wickerwork dishes, on which was placed a quantity
of the pigment. This I found a general custom
amon2:st the Ashano-os when a host wishes to wel-
come a guest; and a visitor to a village or a house
is only too happy when the elders or the owner of
the house request him to make himself red, for it is a

342 ASIIAKGO-LAND. Chap. XVI.

sign of their good will. As we were entering the
village we met a Niembouai man coming out quite
furious about something or other, and venting threats
and curses ; on asking him what was the matter, he
said that the Mobana people had not offered him the
ntchingo, and he was going back to the place whence
he came. M}^ men did not like this any more than
other Ashango customs, and refused to smear them-
selves,

Juli/ ISth. Since I left Mongon I have only been
able to take a single meridian altitude, the sky having
been constantly clouded. I succeeded in taking one
yesterday. I am very glad to find that I am getting
a little to the north, while proceeding on my east-
ward route. At the foot of the hill on which Mobana
stands, there is a stream called Bembo, flowing in a
north-easterly direction. The natives pointed towards
the east when I inquired as to its further course.

I have at last succeeded in hiring porters. Ea-
kombo and his men have sworn to carry me to the
Njavi country. The good old chief of Niembouai
Olomba took his departure to-day, to return to his
own village. I gave a parting present to him and
to his men. Before he left me, he consigned me to
the hands of Rakombo, charging him in due form
with the care of me.

The country, as far as I am able to see eastward
and south-eastward, continues hilly, the hills being
of moderate elevation. There are three patlis from
Mobana leading into the Njavi country ; one towards
the noi'th-east, one nearly due east, and a third
south-east. Mobana is in 1° 52' 56" S. lat. ; I was

Chap. XVI. ARRIVAL AT MOUAOU KOMBO. 343

unable to take observations for longitude, but, by
my dead reckoning-, I place it in about 12° 27' E.

July 1\st. TVe were not able to resume our marcli
until this morning.* We proceeded in an easterly
direction, passing several villages, one of which was
called Kombo ; and after a march of nearly four
hours we reached the villasxe of Mouaou Kombo.

* I took do'uii only a few of the names of our porters, Avhich were as
follows : —

Head man, Rakombo, chief of the village.

Nchanga, Iloko, Jlonbon,

Banda, Matomba, Mondjo,

Maj-ombo, Bembo, Mbuga.
Mobendai, Nbako,

CHAPTEK XVII.

FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO.

Unpromising state of affairs on arriving at Mouaoii Kombo — Eakombo
is threatened — Obstacles raised by the Villagers — Fair promises of the
Chief — A Secret Meeting of the Villagers — Demands of the People —
We leave the Village— Night Encampment in the Forest — Threats and
Promises from tbe next Village — Invited to return to Mouaou — P>econ-
ciliation — Arrival of a hostile Deputation from the next Village —
— A man accidentally Shot.

At this fatal village of Mouaou Kombo my eastward
journey came to an end, and all my hopes of tra-
versing Equatorial Africa, at least in the present
expedition, were dashed to the ground.

The first events on my arrival at the place were
not encouraging; but still the difficulties I encoun-
tered were only of the ordinary sort which every
African traveller meets with, and were nearly over-
come, when the event happened which brought
my further progress to an end. In the first place, I
found that Eakombo and his Mobana porters in-
tended to break through their agreement to take
me to the Njavi country. The Mouaou people be-
longed to a different clan from the Mobanans, and
there appeared not to be a cordial understanding
although there had been a good many intermarriages
between them. TVe had no sooner arrived at the
villarj-e — the elders of which at first behaved well,

Chap. XVII. UXPROMISINa STATE OF AFFAIES. 345

giving me a largo Louse to stay in — than the Mo-
bana porters, having laid down their loads, gave ns
the slip ; one by one, on some pretence or other, they
sneaked off amongst the trees which surround the
village, and we saw them no more. It was in vain
that I threatened Rakombo. I could see nothiiig to
enable me to fix the blame on him ; he declared that
the Mouaou people would not allow him to take me
onward. We were now left to the mercy of strangers.

On the second day after my arrival (July 23rd),
the head chief, named Konibo, made his appearance,
and gave me presents of goats and plantains to in-
dicate tliat I was welcome ; then he called the vil-
lagers together and made them a long speech, to
the effect that the Niembouai and Mobana people
having left the " Spirit " in their hands, it fell
to their duty to take me onward to the Njavi
country ; and that they were not to rob me, for, if
they did, they would surely die, as had happened to
the Niembouaians. It was then that I learnt that
the thieves must have been tasting my arsenic, or
had probably mixed it with the salt they had stolen.
I soon made friends with the people, engaged porters
and paid them, and all seemed to be going on well
for a fresh start.

There was an obstacle somewhere, howevc]-, for
on the day following I found no signs of readiness
for departure. The chief came to me, and explained
that the men were obliged to go to the forest to cut
firewood to leave with their wives. It is true that
this is the custom of these people; for, auiong.^t the
Ishogo and Ashango, the men on leaving their wives
24

34G FATAL DISASTEES AT MOUAOU KOMBO. Chap. XVIL

have to gather a sufficient quantity of firewood to
last their famihes during their absence. KombO;
addressing himself to Igala — for, when holding a
palaver, these people never address themselves
directly to the person for whom the speech is in-
tended— said, " I see by the look of the Oguizi that
he thinks I am deceiving liim, and that I lie : he
must not judge me so harshly, A man may have
a fine body, yet, if his heart is bad, he is an ugly
man ; therefore, if a man's heart is good, people
should not look at his body. To-morrow the Oguizi
will see whether I have a good heart or a bad heart :
Kombo will take him to the Njavi country."

In the afternoon the village street became de-
serted. I walked down it, but could see no one. I
called my men together ; Igala shook his head, and
said that they were all gone to " mogoua oroungo "
(hold a secret meeting), and that it boded no good.

Such was indeed the case. When the meeting
broke up all the men of the village assembled before
my hut, and the chief began a long rambling speech,
the purport of which was that I must give them
more goods before I coukl leave the place. He said
the Niembouai and Mobana people had left me be-
cause they were unable to take me to the Njavi ;
that he alone could help me forward, and I must
therefore pay him at least as much as I had paid the
people at the other places. He asked particularly for
the pieces of a large brass kettle which I had broken
yesterday, and also for many measures of gunpowder,
which, as I have before explained, they wanted to
barter for other articles with the Ashangui tribe.

Chap. XVI L AVE LEAVE THE VILLAGE. 347

I had intended the precious fragments of my kettle
as a parting present to the porters when they should
have safely conveyed me to Njavi-land, and, being-
irritated with the evidently underhand dealings of
these fellows, I refused their request. The question
of more pay was not, however, wdiat had drawn
the people to their secret meeting. The true cause
of the meeting was the arrival of a deputation,
from some villages further ahead, to threaten the
Mouaou people with war if they came with me
through their villages. The aim of the embarrassed
Kombo was apparently to trifle with me with a
view of gaining time, during which he might settle
his outstanding palavers w4tli the hostile villagers
further on.

The next day (July 25th), on finding there was
no chance of our departure, I made up my mind to
retire for a time from the village, and show my dis-
pleasure in that way ; this being an effective mode
of bringing them to reason, for I knew they would
come and humbly promise everything I wanted to
induce me to come back to the village. To spurn the
hospitality of a village, and retire offended from it,
touches the primitive African in his tenderest feelings
and stings him to the quick. I made all the porters
return the pay in beads that I had given them, and
then with my men transported my baggage to a dis-
tance in the woods, on the borders of one of those
beautifully clear streams which are so frequent in
this mountainous region. The amount and weight of
my baggage were still very great, and carrying the
boxes was a work of great labour. The path down

348 FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO. Chap. XVII.

to the place of onr retreat was very steep, and, from
what 1 could gather by a survey of our position, I
found we should be on the main eastern road from
Moiiaou. The villagers looked on at our proceedings
in mute amazement.

Before evening the whole of the baggage was
removed. My men erected sheds, and collected fire-
wood to cook our supper. The place was a very
pleasant one, under the shade of magnificent trees
whose closely interwoven crowns would protect us
froni the night-mist, which dissolves in a soaking
drizzle almost every night in this humid country.
The path near our encampment was a broad and
well-trodden one, showing that it was one of the
highways of the district.

As soon as we had finislied, I sent Igala and two
other men, well-armed, along the path to try to find
the next village, and ascertain, if possible, why tliey
did not wish us to pass through. My messengers
returned in about two hours, Igala laughing whilst
describing to me the ignominious way in which the
warriors of tlie village, armed to resist our progress,
ran aAvay at the sight of him and his two com-
panions. The villagers told him that they had no
quarrel with me, but had an old feud with the
Mouaou people about two slaves that were owing to
them, and that they were determined not to let them
pass until the debt was paid. " If that is the case,"
said Igala, "why don't you come and fetch our luggage
and take us on yourselves ? " To this they returned
evasive answers ; they would call a council of the
people to consider the matter, and give us an answer

Chap. XVII. KIGHT ENCAMPMENT IN THE FOREST. 349

to-morrow, &c. &c. It was impossible to get at the
trutli of the case. How I wished I had an armed
party, strong enough to force my way through the
barriers which the caprice and trickery of tliese
savages opposed to my progress ! With twenty men
like Igala and Macondai, I would have set all these
vapouring fellows at defiance, and have been half-
way across the continent by this time. Before we
laid down to rest I had branches cut from the ti'ees
and strewed all around our encampment, to prevent,
by the noise and impediments they ^vould cause, a
nocturnal surprise, which I thought very likely to
happen, for parties of men from time to time sneaked
through the woods, and, after talking to us and tak-
ing note of our position, quietly went back again.
They were armed witli bearded spears similar to
those carried by tlie Fans, and which they get fi'om
the Ashangui tribe. I did not sleep all night. My
negroes kept watch, taking it in turns, three sleeping
and three waking, and I made them tell stories one
after the other, speaking loud, so as to show the
people we were awake and watchful.

July 2Q>th. Early in the morning, as I had ex-
pected, a deputation from Mouaou, consisting of all
the elders of the village, came to me, and with sor-
rowful countenances asked why I had deserted them.
They prayed me to come back, and repeated that it
was not their fault that my journey had been delayed,
but the fault of the next village ahead. They pro-
mised earnestly that if I came back they would
send me forward in two days, and by another route,
to the south-east, so as to. avoid the hostile villaires.

350 FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO. Chap. XYIl,

the people of which, they said, had made tip their
minds now to take me, but had laid a plan to leave
me in the middle of the forest and rim away with the
baggage. They assured me that there w^ere three
roads from this place to the Njavi country — one to
the north-east, one to the east, and a third to the
south-east.

As the promised answer did not come from the
other village, and the Mouaou elders seemed to be
sincere in their repentance, I agreed to go back.
In a few moments all my baggage was shouldered by
strong men, and, with shouts of rejoicing, we marclied
up the hill to the village. All the population was
then out to receive us. The cliief came in state^ with
his countenance painted and his royal bell ringing,
and, after repeating what the elders had said, made
us presents of goats and plantains. Soon after, the
konde or head wdfe of the chief came to tell us that
she w^as cooking a large pot of the koa root for me
and my men, and all w^ent pleasantly. The villagers
w^ere thoroughly sincere tliis tinie, and I felt happy,
for there were not likely to be any more obstacles
in my way before arriving in the Ashangui country,
on the banks of the large river, which every one was
now telling me of, and wdiich I supposed to be the
Congo. I had heard that in one day we should get
throuo-h the districts on this side of the Ashano-ui
country ; that, in a few hours after leaving Mouaou
Kombo we should be among the Njavi tribe ; and
that we could, in the same day, pass through the
country of the Abombos.

Alas ! the joy was soon turned into terror ! Four

Chap. XVII. A MAN ACCIDENTALLY SHOT. 351

men from the hostile village, arrayed in warrior's
attire aid brandishing plantain-leaves over their
heads, came in. They said they had held their
palaver this morning and had decided not to let the
Oguizi pass ; there would he war if the Mouaou
people attempted to bring me.

Kombo, who was seated by my side, told me to
hide myself in my hut, so as not to give the strangers
the pleasure of seeing me ; he then ordered my men
to make a demonstration with their guns to intimi-
date these vapouring warriors. I laughed as I saw
the men taking to their heels as soon as Igala
advanced towards them, firing his gun in the air.
But my men got excited, and hurrying forward into
the open space to fire their guns in the air, one of
the weapons loaded with ball went off before the
muzzle was elevated. I did not see the act; but,
immediately after the report of the guns, I was
startled to see the Mouaou villagers, with affrighted
looks and shouts of alarm, running in all directions.
The king and his konde, who were both near me,
fled along with the rest.

" Mamo ! Mamo ! " (the untranslatable cry of an-
guish of these poor Aliicans) was now heard on all
sides. I rushed out, and not far from my liut saw,
lying on the ground, the lifeless body of a negro ; his
head shattered and the brains oozing from his broken
skull. Igalo ran to me with terrified looks, saying,
*'0h, Cl.aillie, I could not help it ; the gun went off!"
The infallible consequences of the deed flushed across
my nu'nd. The distru.st of my motives amongst these
people, which had only just been overcome, would

352 FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO. Chap. XVIT.

now return with redoubled force. They would make
common cause with the enraged warriors of the
neighbouring villages ; hundreds of men armed
with poisoned spears and arrows, would soon be
upon us. I called to the king to come back and not
be afraid ; but already the war drums were beating.
Kombo sliouted : " You say you come here to do no
harm and do not kill people ; is not this the dead
body of a man ? " As it was out of the question our
trying to make our way eastward, without goods and
without escort, there was no help for it but to flee
back to the Ishogo country as fast as we could.

I got my men together, seven in number, and gave
a few hasty directions about the baggage with which
our hut was filled. I did not know what to do. The
thought flashed across my mind that it would be best
to set fire to the hut and escape in the confusion ; but
I dreaded the further sacrifice of life that might be
caused by the explosion of so much gunpowder. Our
main purpose now was to get away on the forest path
before the warriors, who would otherwise impede our
advance and rouse other villages ahead. Ammuni-
tion was what was most necessary to us now ; I
served out a good supply of bullets and powder
to each man ; loaded some of them with my most
valuable articles, my journals, photographs, natural
history specimens, and a few of my lighter goods,
and took, for my share of the burdens, five chrono-
meters, a sextant, two revolvers, rifle, with another
gun slung at my back, and a heavy load of ammuni-
tion. " Now boys," I said, " keep together, do not
be afraid, and do not fire until I give the order ; if

Chat. XVII. BEAVERY OF THE BODY-GUAED. S53

it is God's will that we should die, we must die ; but
let us try our best, and we may reach the sea in
safety ! " I was afraid a panic would seize them, and
all would be lost ; but the brave lads, although
struck with horror, and fully comprehending tho
gravity of the situation, stood their ground.

CHAPTER XYIII.

EETEEAT FEOM ASHANGO-LAND.

A Palaver proposed to settle the Death of the Man — A Woman killed —
The War Cry ! — Ketreat commenced — Igala and myself wounded with
Poisoned Arrows — Narrow Escape of Macondai and Rebouka — We are
closely pursued by the Natives — Collections and Note-books thrown
into the Bush — We make a Stand — Two Men Shot — Pursuit continued
— I am Avounded a second time — Igalo shoots the Bowman — We make
another Stand — Cross the Bembo — Pass ]\Iobana — Still pursued — Make
a final Stand — Ihe Pursuers driven off at last — A Halt — The Party
all collected together — Sleep in the Forest — Night-March through
Niembouai — Friendly Conduct of the Head Chief — We are well
received at a Plantation — Arrival of Magouga — We continue the March
to Ishogo-land.

For a moment there seemed a chance of the affair
bemg patched up. IgaLa had explained, in shouting
to the frightened Komho and tlie elders, that it was
all an accident, and that I would pay the A-alue of
twenty men in goods if they would listen to me. I
had hurriedly taken out a quantity of heads and
cloth and spread it on the ground in the middle
of the street, as the price of the life. One of the
head men had even come forward, saying " it is
good, let us hold the palaver." The war drums had
ceased heating. But it was but a gleam of sunshine
in the midst of a storm : at that moment a woman
came rushing out of a hut, wailing and tearing
her hair — the head v/ife of the friendly head man

Chap. XVIII. TtElTtEAT COMMEXCED. 855

had been also killed by the fatal bullet which, after
killing the negro, had pierced the thin wall of her
hut!

All this occupied only a few moments. A general
shout arose of " war ! " and every man rushed for
his spear or his bow. I gave the order for the
retreat ; for I saw at once that there was no chance
of peace, but that a deadly struggle was about to
commence. Away we went ; Igala took the best of
our remaining dogs, and led the van ; I bringing up
the rear. It was not an instant too soon ; before we
were well on the forest path leading from the village,
a number of arrows were discharged at us; Igala
was hit in the leg, and one of the missiles struck me
on the hand, cutting through one of my fingers to
the bone. Macondai and Rebouka, in leaving the
village, narrowly escaped being transfixed with
spears, and only succeeded in repelling their assail-
ants by pointing their guns at them. If I had npt
stopped them from firing, they would have shot a
number of them. Wild shouts, and the tramp of
scores of infuriated savages close behind us, put us
on our mettle. I shouted to my men not to fire, for
we were in the wrong, and I told the villagers that
we would not shoot them if they did not pursue us to
the forest, but that if they followed us we should
certaiidy kill them. My Commi boys behaved ex-
ceedingly well ; they were cool and steady, and^
keeping a firm line, we marched away through the
street of the village.

Our pursuers had the disadvantage that they were
obliged to stop every time they wanted to shoot, to

356 EETKEAT FROM ASHAXGO-LAND. Chap. XYIII.

adjust the arrow and take aim, and in the forest paths
we were often O'jt of sia'ht round turnin2:s in the road
before they could dcHver their shot. Moreover, their
bravest men durst not come up to close quarters with
us, although they often came near enough to make us
hear their shouts of defiance ; they cried out that it
was of no use our attemj^ting to escape from them,
that we did not know the road through the bush, and
should never get out of it alive. They seemed to be
most bitter against Igala, whom they called Malanga,
cursing him and his mother in the most revolting
style. " You have tasted blood," they shouted out,
*' and your own blood must be shed." They dodged
about, took short cuts through ihe jungle, and M^e
were in constant fear lest some spear or arrow should
come from behind the trees on our flanks, and finish
us for good. Besides it would be impossible long to
keep up the pace at which we ran. After behaving
so steadily at starting, a sudden and unaccountable
panic seized my men when we were some distance on
the road, and for about ten minutes no shouts of
mine could make tliem stop. To lighten themselves
they threw load after load into the bush, and it filled
me with sorrow to see my precious photographs, in-
struments, stuffed animals, note-books, route-maps,
bottles of choice specimens in spirits, and other
valuables, such as mementos of friends, scattered
about the path, the toil of months irrecoverably lost.
After we had run some four or five miles, finding
that our enemies still pursued us, I felt that it was
time to make a stand an 1 give them a specimen of
our power, for if we allowed them to go on in this

Chap. XYIII. WE MAKE A STAXD. 357

way there would lie clanger of their rousing against
us the villagers ahead, and then it would be almost
impossible to escape. I ordered a lialt. Mouitehi,
one of our niunber, was missing, and we conchiMed
he had fallen a victim ; our pursuers, before we left
the village, had shouted to us that they had killed
him ; poor Igala, my best and bravest man, com-
plained sorely of the wound in his leg. He believed
the lance was poisoned, and said, " I shall die,
Chaillie, and shall never see my daughter again ! "
There was time only for a few words of encourage-
ment; our pursuers were in sight, and a number of
men were threading the jungle apparently with a
view of flanking us. I shouldered my long-range
rifle, a splendid weapon made by Beckwith, and, as
the leader advanced adjusting his bow, I fired. His
right arm dropped broken and powerless by his side,
and the next man behind fell with a cra^li amongst a
mass of fallen leaves and branches. Rebouka also
fired at a man in the bush, who disappeared sud-
denly, as if shot, down a steep bank. This served
as a check for the present, and we jogged on more
leisurely.

AVe had not gone far when a tumultuous shouting
w^as heard behind us and a large number of M-arriors
hove in sight, more furious than ever. The path
was most difficult, over one steep hill after another,
and the village of Mobana, likely to be hostile to us,
was only about a mile fi'om us. We increased our
speed, but our pursuers were within range, and a
paralysing thud, accompanied by a sharp pain, told
me that I had been again struck. This time it was

858 EETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAXD. Chap. XVm.

in my side ; I had no time to stop to take the arrow-
out, and the barbed head having gone through the
leatlier belt of my revolvers, the point was working
in my flesh every step I took, causing the most acute
tortiA'e. Had its force not been arrested by the
resistance of the leather, it would probably have
killed me. After I w^as struck, Igalo, the unfor-
tunate cause of all our woe, w4io kept close by me
during our flight, turned round and by a quick and
well directed shot laid the too-skilful bowman low.
The unfeigned sorrow and devotion of my men at
this juncture were most gratifying to me. I was
getting weak from loss of blood, and a burning thirst
was tormenting me. They asked what was to become
of them if I should die ? I told them to keep to-
gether, come what might ; and, if they escaped, to
deliver all my journals and papers to the white men.
Wherever w^e stopped for a few minutes during this
disastrous day, they came round me and asked me
how I felt, and what they could do for me.

After I was wounded my strength began to fail
me, and I had myself to follow the example of my
men in throwing away things to lighten the load
I carried. To my great sorrow I had to throw into
the bush my beautiful double-barrelled breech-loading
rifle, a magnificent w^eapon, carrying a two and a
half ounces steel-pointed ball. My sorrow was the
greater inasmuch as it was a present from a dear
friend of mine, ]\Ir. Gr. Bishop of Twickenham.

We were still pursued, and another check was
necessary. Igala said, "I know I am going to die,
but let me kill a few of these fellows first." He

Chap. XVIII. STILL PURSUED. 359

concealed himself behind a tree, whilst vie continued
forward to draw on the men, for we had found that
the tactics of our pursuers was to send to the van
their most expert bowmen to get as near to us as
they safely could, while the rest of them remained
behind, shouting loudly, to make us believe that they
were all far off. The foremost was not long in
coming within Igala's range, who fired, and the man
fell.

At last we crossed the difficult stream near Mobana
called the Bembo, and commenced the ascent of the
steep hill on which the village is situated. It was a
critical stage in our flight. We thought it likely
messengers might have gone by other paths to rouse
the people against us, as the men who jiursued
us shouted out, " Men of ]\Iobana, do not let the
Oguizi's people pass ! they have killed our people ! "
As we expected, we found the fighting men all
ranged in battle array at the further end of the
village. Our road, however, lay a little out of their
way ; we passed quickly, and were soon again im-
mersed in the shade of the forest path.

So far from being free from our tormentors after
this, we were now followed by the Mouaou and
Mobana warriors united. The path led at first down
the hill and we hurried along it at full speed so as
not to be caught at a disadvantage. A little further
on, halfway up another hill, Igala and Rapelina stayed
behind and shot another man, wounding him only,
and sending him howling back to his companions.

After this there was a lull for a short time. We
stopped and considered what was best to be done.

3G0 EETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XYIII.

We were all tired with our long- run over the rugged
hilly forest road, and irritated besides at the per-
tinacity of our blood-thirsty pursuers. I had wished
to escape without causing any further sacrifice'of life
if possible, but it was plain that unless we killed more
than we had done we should be unable to free our-
selves from our enemies before nightfall, and then
they might surround us and massacre us all. My
men and myself agreed that we should here choose
a place to make a last stand, and give them a lesson
that should put a stop to tliem.

We had leisure to look out for a good position,
for we knew the district, and remembered every hill.
On the slope of one of the hills there was a place
where a number of trees grew close together. We
stationed ourselves each behind a broad trunk, but all
within a short distance from each other, and there
waited the arrival of our pursuers. As usual, the bow-
men came on first, but we heard the noise of a multi-
tude not far behind them, all bellowing forth curses
on our heads. As soon as a good number were visible
down the broad and tolerably straight road, Igala
and Eapelina both fired. One man fell, evidently
dead, and another was wounded in the face, to all
appearance his jaw broken. Ngoma then took his
aim, but his shot fell wide. The fellows seemed to be
cowed at this unexpected onslaught, and when we
suddenly emerged from behind the trees and showed
ourselves, they all beat a retreat. It was our last
combat, and although we heard them for a long time
afterwards, it was always at a great distance. The
forest in this part was not dense, but open, the

Chap. XVIII. A HALT. 361

ground covered with a few bushes and trdl trees,
with magnificent crowns of foHage, towering* up at
intervals of twenty to fifty yards from each other.
The open nature of the forest very much improved
our chances of escape ; for we were enabled to see
our enemy at a distance, and were not in danger of
being out-flanked. The country was very rugged,
hill succeeded hill, and sometimes the slopes were
very steep.

We now breathed more freely. We halted, laid
down our loads and rested, keeping a sharp look-out
at the same time. I examined Igala's wound and
my own. The blood had run very copiously from
my finger, and my clothes were quite saturated
with it ; but the flow of blood appeared to have
carried off the poison, for I felt no further ill effect
from the wound except the pain, and it was healed
in about three weeks afterwards. The action of the
poison used by the natives is not very rapid ; it
causes corruption of the flesh around the wound, dis-
charge of matter, and eventually gangrene ; when an
arrow or spear penetrates into the bowels, death is,
of course, certain to ensue, but if the wound is only
an external one it is very seldom fatal. The arrow-
head which had pierced my side was found, when
wrenched from the wound, to have been poisoned ;
but the coating of poison had been fortunately scraped
off it in passing through the leather, and my wound,
though extremely painful, was not a dangerous one,
Igala's wound was still very painful ; indeed towards
night it got much worse, and I w^as afraid he would

become lame. I had no medicine to give him, for
25

3G2 RETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAXD. Chap. XYIII.

all had been left behind. I began to fear for the
safety of this brave and faithful negro. If he lost
his life in this affair, I felt that I should never for-
give myself.

As we were again shouldering our otaitais (now
almost empty) to resume our march, we descried a
man a short distance off, walking stealthily through
the bushes up the hill and occasionally hiding him-
self. He was coming towards us^ and we were at
once on our guard again. Igala volunteered to go
down and watch his movements. We waited the
result in dead silence, each man gun in hand, and
looking round the hill iu expectation of seeing that
we were surrounded. The man came nearer, and we
saw that he had a gun in his hand : it was Mouitchi,
whom we had given up for lost ! He had escaped
without a scratch, by running along by-paths in the
forest within sound of tlie noisy crowd of our pur-
suers. He told us that both the men we had hit in
the last encounter were dead, and that our pursuers
had resolved to desist from following us, saying that
they should all be killed one by one if they went on.
The arrival of Mouitchi put us all in good spirits,
for we took it as a good omen. We now saw a
chance of the whole party arriving safely on the sea-
coast.

The forest after this resumed its accustomed still-
ness, undisturbed by the savage war-cries and still
more savage curses of the infuriated Ashangos. We
had another village to pass, Niembouai Olomba. where
I thouglitwe might be attacked. Before we reached
the place we met two women in the path belonging

CiiAP. XVIII. WE SLEEP IX THE FOREST. 363

to Mobana. Igala wanted to shoot them, but I pre-
vented him and gave him a sharp reprimand for
thinking of such an act. I had given him an order
at starting that if any women, old men, or children
should be met with on the road he must let them
pass unhurt, but that he was to shoot down armed
men without mercy, this being necessary for our
safety. Igala did not like this style of making war ;
he said this was not the wdiite man's country, and
we ought not to fight in white man's fashion. If I
had not restrained' him he w^ould have shot every
Ashango we saw, regardless of age or sex.

Thus we went on till sundown. "We were then
near the village of Niembouai Olomba, and had
travelled at least over twenty miles of ground
without food since our flight commenced at nine
o'clock in the morning. I thought it unsafe in our
exhausted state to run the gauntlet of this large and
possibly hostile village, through which lay the only
path we knew, and my men agreed with me that our
best plan would be to retire into the forest, some
distance from the main road, and sleep there till
midnight. We might then pass through before the
fighting men were aroused and seized their w^eapons,
and we should have strength to run, as before, until
we had reached a good place for making a stand to
defend ourselves.

The -plan was carried out. We plunged into a
dense part of the forest, and then lay down on the
ground to sleep, in a small open space, muzzling our
dog that he should not betray our hiding place.
Darkness had closed in : silence was broken only by

3G4 IlETKEAT FROM ASHAXGO-LAXD. Chap. XYIII.

the monrnful cry of a solitary owl. My exhausted
men thought neither of leopards, nor poisonous snakes,
nor hostile savages, but slept soundly ; as for myself,
I was too anxious to sleep, and Igala distressed me by
his moaning from time to time, although he tried all
he could to suppress it.

The night air was misty and cold. As I lay awake
on the damp ground, I thought of kindred and friends
in the far north, of the many happy hours I had
spent in happy homes, amidst every luxury of civi-
lized life ; and I felt desolate, as though all was now
ended. I also thought of those who, in the comfort
of their own fire-sides, carp at the narratives of tra-
vellers, and begrudge the little honour and fame they
may gain. I am sure tliat if they had only passed
through a tithe of the hardships travellers undergo,
they would be more indulgent.

At last I tbought it must be near midnight, so I
awoke my men and sent two -of them into the path
that leads to the village, telling them to go and see
if all was quiet. They returned with a favourable
report. Then calling them all close to me, I said,
" My boys, I have fought for you as bard as I could,
but the time may be at hand when I shall not be
able to do so any more. I may be killed to-night, or
I may not be strong enough to fight much longer.
Whatever happens, remain together; listen to Igala,
your chief, and do not tlii'ow away my Journals.*
Even if you have to throw away everything else, do

* One of the volumes of the journal, together with my route-maps,
numerous notes, and two copies of astronomical and meteorological observa-
tions, had already heeu lost in the retreat.

CuAP. XVIII. KIGIIT-MAECII THROUGH NIEMBOUAI. o(J5

not throw them away, but deliver them into the
hands of the white men on the coast."

]\Iy men clung close round me as I spoke, and all,
with voices full of love, said, " Chaillie, you are not
to die ! You are not to die ! We will bring you
alive to our people ! You shall always be with ns."
I answered, in a laughing tone, in order to cheer
thfem up : " I did not say I am to die to-night ; but
only that I might die. Don't yon know that Chaillie
knows how to fight?" They all said, "Yes, yes;
and we also know how to fight — we are men ! " We
then shouldered our bundles and guns, and strug-
gled through the entangled thicket, tearing ourselves
with thorns, into the path, and thence to the village
street. We here paused, and called each other in a
low voice to make sure we were all together ; for it
was so intensely dark that we could not see a yard
before us. It was necessary to guard against a pos-
sible ambush, for the villagers must have been aware
that we were near their place on the preceding
evening, and they knew that we could not ven-
ture to travel except along the main road of the
country, which passed through their village. We
then stepped forward, like desperate men resolved
to fight for our lives to the last. We took the
middle of the street, which was a very long one,
treading cautiously, with our guns cocked, and ready
at the slightest warning. At one house we heard
people playing the wombi (native harp *) inside ;
w^e crossed lightly to the opposite side of the street,

* See, for descriptiou of this iastrument, 'Adventures in Equatorial
Africa.'

8G6 EETEEAT FROM ASHANGO-LAXD. Chap. XVIII.

and passed witlioiit Laving alarmed the inmates.
We then came near the end of the street, and were
thinking that all danger was passed, when suddenly a
bright fire blazed up right before us ! As we stood
motionless waiting for the next move, a kind voice
spoke out in the darkness — " It is the Oguizi's
people ; go on ! go on ! there is no harm to you in
my village ; pass on ! you will find the path smooth ;
there is no war for yon ! " It was the voice of the
old king, who was thus, with some of his people,
waiting our passage, with the good intention oi
sj^eeding us on with kind words. They had got the
materials for the fire ready beforehand to light us on
our way. What a load was taken from our minds !
We had expected here a deadly struggle, and found
instead the road made clear for us. But we were
not quite sure that some act of treachery might not
be intended ; so, instead of stopping to talk, we passed
on Avithout saying a word in reply to the kind speech
of the chief.

On we went in the darkness of the night ; through
swamps and water courses, over stony hills and
thorny brakes, often losing the path, and wandering
about for some time before finding it again. At
about three o'clock in the morning we came to a field
of cassava. We halted, made a fire, gathered some
of the roots, and roasted them to eat, for we had had
no food since our flight began the preceding morning,
and were quite worn out with fatigue and hunger.
This renewed our strength, and I offered up a silent
prayer to that gracious Providence who had so mar-
vellously preserved my little band.

Chap. XVIII. WE RESUME OUR MARCH. oG7

July 21th. A little before dayliglit (as soon as we
could see our way tlirougli the forest), we resumed
our march, Igala limping along with his lame leg,
and I marching among the men encouraging them
with hopeful words. After going a short distance
we came to a place where two paths diverged, and a
dispute arose amongst my men as to which was the
right way. Rebouka, wlio ^yas now leading us, fixed
upon one way as the right one, and Ngoma declared
the other was the proper path ; he knew it, he said,
by a monkey trap by the side of the road, which we
had passed on coming to Niembouai Olomba. The
majority declared in favour of Rebouka, and so we
took his path.

We continued on this road till midday, when it was
necessary to halt and make a search for something
to eat, for we were all ravenous with hunger. Some
of the men dispersed on foraging expeditions, and two
of them soon returned successful, having found a
small grove of plantains from which they gathered
several bunches nearly ripe. We made a fire on
the margins of a pretty rivulet under the shade of
trees, cooked and ate our meal. Soon after, having
resumed our onward march, we arrived at a small
village surrounded by plantations, which we knew
at once we had not seen on our outward journey.
Ngoma was now triumphant, and Rebouka and his
followers discomfited. I was obliged to interfere to
put an end to their dispute, and we then boldly
walked into the village and spoke to the people.

The j)lace proved to be a plantation of one of the
head men of Niembouai Olomba, next in influence to

368 EETEEAT FEOM ASHANGO-LAXD. Chap. XVIIT.

the king'. He was a fine old fellow, with snow-white
hair, and with that genial expression of features
which is often seen in negroes of the hetter sort. He
received us with great kindness, inviting us to stay
and eat something ; and, on our accepting his offer,
ordered his women to cook us a fowl and some plan-
tains. The women gave my men sugar-cane and
mpegui nuts, and the old man apologized for not
having a goat to offer us.

The people of the village naturally asked us why
we had returned so soon. My men were not behind
hand in satisfying their curiosity ; but they took
care to conceal the fact that we were the aggressors,
though through no ill intention on our part. They
said we had been attacked, and had had to fight our
way back. Each of them boasted of his own feats
and prowess, saying how many of the warriors of
Mouaou Konibo he had beaten off.

Whilst we were thus engaged, our old guide
Magouga came in. The arrival of this faithful old
man was most fortunate for us. He proved himself
to be a real friend in need. He had heard, when he
got up in the morning at Niembouai, that we had
passed in tlie middle of the night, and had imme-
diately set off to overtake us. He must have walked
very fast. He seemed overjoyed to see us, and
said he had returned to Niembouai Olomba from
Mobana, intending to remain until he had heard of
our safe passage through the Njavi country ; for he
had anticipated that we should have great difficulties
with the people of Upper Ashango-land, who were a
bad set. He seemed really grateful for the services

Chap.XYIIL AErjVAL OP 'MAGOUGA. 369

I had rendered him at Mobana, in saving him from
the fury of the people when they were excited about
the robbery, and he said that, now w^e had come
back, he would see us safe to the Ishogo country.
Magouga seemed not to have heard a correct account
of the Mouaou affair. All he knew w^as that the
people had driven us away, and that we had killed
many of their warriors. He told us that one of the
men shot by Igala was the head warrior of Mobana,
and that this was likely to be made a cams belli
between the Mobana villagers and the people of
Mouaou Kombo, who were held to be the cause of
the death. The Mobanans were already cooking the
" war dish "* in order to march against the village of
Mouaou Kombo. It was evident from the confused
statements of Magouga, that the country was all in a
ferment behind us. He said the Mouaou people had
abandoned their village and retired to the forest, fear-
ing lest I should return and burn it. They said all the
arrows they had shot at me would not pierce me, but
had rebounded from my flesh ; and they were filled
W' ith superstitious fears of the power of so mysterious
a being. I must here add that my men and mj^self
kept the fact of my having been wounded a secret
from all the negroes on our homeward march ; my
men knew as well as myself how important it was

* The " war-dish " is tho pot of magic herhs and fetiches wliich is cooked
with a great deal of mystery and ceremony on the eve of going to meet an
enemy. The mess is cooked in a very large vessel, and the affair is pre-
sided over, as a matter of course, by the most renowned fetich doctor of the
tribe. So soon as the cooking is completed, the warriors swallow part of
the contents of the vessel, and smear theii bodies over with the rest ; when
they have succeeded in exciting themselves to the requisite pitch, they
rush forth to attack the village they intend io xjaiida (assault).

370 EETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAXD. Chap. XYIIT.

that I should maintain the reputation of being in-
vuhierable ; and it was universally believed that the
arrows of the Ashanp^os glanced from my body with-
out hurting me. Magouga said he had heard that
at one time I had turned myself into a leopard,
had hid myself in a tree, and had sprung upon the
Mouaou people as they came to make war on my
men ; that at other times I turned myself into a
gorilla, or into an elephant, and struck terror and
death among the Mouaou and Mobana warriors.
Magouga finished his story by asking me for a
"war fetich," for he said I must possess the art of
making fetiches, or I and my men could not have
escaped so miraculously.

After a good rest and a hearty meal, we left the
good old chief of the plantation-village, and con-
tinued our homeward march, now under the guidance
of Magouga. On parting I gave the old chief a
quantity of beads out of our remaining stock, and
also a red powder flask, which latter present delighted
him beyond measure, and he said he would keep it
in remembrance of me. We were fortunate after
all in taking the wrong path, for besides being led
by it to the plantation ot the hospitable old chief,
we were enabled to avoid the village of Niongo,
where, if we did not meet with obstacles, we should
at least have been delayed in our journey.

CHAPTER XIX.

JOURNEY TO THE COAST.

Arrival at Monfjon — Magoiiga recounts the Story of our Adventures to the
Villagers — lieach Kienibouai — Mistrust of the People — Itestiiution of
Stolen Property — 'Magouga consents to guide us to Mokenga — Ueach
the last of the Ashango Villages — Passage into Ishogo-land, and out of
danger of Pursuit — Magouga's Diplomacy — Arrival at Mokenga —
Friendly Reception — Magouga delivers us safely into the hands of the
Villagers — My Men exaggerate the Deeds of Valour they had performed
— Arrival at Ycngue' — Project of descending the Ogoulou in a Canoe —
Lose our Way — Distant View of the Apono Prairie — Igounibie —
Eeach Mokaha — The Ngouyai — March toKchiengain's — Cross the Piivcr
— Xchiengaiii's Village — Peccption at ]\Iayolo — Operation of the African
Law of Inheritance — March to Ashiva-land — Alarm of the Ashira
People — Avoid Olenda — Sojourn at Angoaka's — Cross the Oi'oubou
— Quengueza's Encampment — Sorrows of the old King — Devastations of
the Plague at Gouruhi — Que.jgueza wants to go to the White Man's
Country — Descend the Kiver — Arrival at "Plateau" — Gratitude of the
Commi People — Departure for England.

After parting from the Niembonai elder at- his
plantation-village we continued our journey towards
the west, accompanied, as I have said, by Magouga.
About half-past three p.m. we reached the village
of Mongon, having taken a short cut by one of the
numerous by-paths of the country, made by the people
from one plantation to another.

On our way to JNIongon we were very much amused
by a crowd of chimpanzees in a woodetl hollow. We
w^ere marching along the edge of a deep valley, when

872 JOUEXEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

Tve were brought to a stand by the loud jabbering of
what we thought was a multitude of people. Ma-
gouga was puzzled, for he knew there was no village
near ; we listened, and found the sounds proceeded
from the dense woods in the valley beneath us.
Through breaks in the foliage we presently saw the
dusky forms of a number of chimpanzees, moving
about, swaying the branches, and making the most
ludicrous noises. On observing them attentively w^e
found there were two groups, one of them stationed
at some distance from the other, and the two appeared
to be holding a conversation together, or hurling
shouts of defiance backwards and forwardsc There
must have been thirty or forty of them together
in the trees below us. I never before observed so
many anthropoid apes together.

It was fortunate that we had Magouga with us, for
the villagers of Mongon were thrown into great con-
sternation at our unexpected arrival, and some of them
were beginning to run away as we entered the village.
I made the old man march at the head of our party,
for I did not know what might happen. He shouted
to the people to allay their feais, saying, " I am
Magouga, do not be afraid, the Oguizi's people are
going back." We made halt at the ouandja and were
soon after surrounded by the people, all asking with
looks of astonishment, " What does this mean ? Why
have you returned?" It appeared that news had
arrived here that Magouga had been killed at Mo-
bana, and his people had mourned for him.

Magouga was equal to the occasion. He made a
long speech, narrating all the events in which he had

Chap. XIX. MAGOUGA RECOUNTS OUR ADVEXTUEES. 873

performed a part, cursing the Niembouai people for
stealing my goods, and describing how the Mobana
villagers wanted to kill him. Then with regard to
our affair at ^lonaou Kombo he gave a most
exa2:2:erated account. He said the villa2:ers had
attacked ns because they did not want us to pass ;
that we had killed eighteen of them, and that all
the arrows shot at me bad glanced off witbout
doing me any harm ; and then he again related
the history of my various transformations. So well
did he describe our misfortunes, that the Moiigon
peojjle all took our part. " Wbat a shame it is,"
said they, "that war should be made on such
men, who do no harm, who take nothing by force,
and bring us only good things." They said they
would resist the Mouaou warriors if they came near
their village. The Avomen after this brought us
fowls, eggs, and ripe plantains, which they exchanged
with us for a few trinkets. We were pressingly in-
vited to remain for tlie night in the village ; but I
thought this would be an imprudent proceeding, so
I made an excuse. We left the place towards the
evening, and, after marching three or four miles,
slept in an abandoned plantation on the road to
Niembouai "West.

July 2Sth. We slept very litllc during tbe night,
for neither myself nor my men considered we were
yet quite out of danger of an attack. We lay down
with our loaded weapons by our side, three of my
men lying in the same hut with myself.

Rising at daylight we resumed our march, walking
very rapidly till nearly noon, when we arrived at

374 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

Niembouai, where our guide resided. The same mis-
trust of our proceedings was shown here as at
Mongon, but on recognising Magouga the villagers
became reassured. Our excellent guide took us down
the street to his own house ; but we had little peace
all the remainder of the day, for the people were
eager to learn the particulars of the late events from
the lips of the eloquent Magouga. The story as
related by him waxed more sensational after each
repetition ; but what pleased the villagers most was
the way in which he described us as saving his life
when threatened by the Mobana people. At this
there was tumultuous cheering, with shouts of " You
are men ! you are men ! How can people make war
on such men ? "

Jidij 2dth. Notwithstanding the gush of popularity
of the preceding evening, the Niembouai villagers
have evidently not yet shaken off their distrust of
me. Early in the morning I saw people casting furtive
glances at me, and little groups of elders were ob-
servable at a distance from my hut, engaged in close
confabulation. The cause of all this was made ap-
parent shortly afterwards. The people were afraid
that I should do something to them in revenge for
the articles that had been stolen between Niem-
bouai Olomba and Mobana, when I passed through
their territory on the eastward journey. At length
one of the negroes, who I suppose had been chosen
to carry out the perilous mission, came and handed
me a bottle partly filled with arsenic, saying that he
was a stranger to the village, and that the bottle
having been given to him as my property, he had

Chap. XIX. MAGOUGA STANDS BY US. 875

come to return it. I learnt afterwards tliat my men
had threatened the people with punishment if they
did not restore the whole of the stolen property.

I had not intended to pass another night at Niem-
bouai, and this distrust on the part of the people con-
firmed me in my determination. Magouga had, how-
ever, given us a goat, and it was necessary to remain
until it was killed and cut up into pieces for con-
venience of carriage. Iiumours of armed men being
seen in the bush round the village circulated about
in the course of the day, and the villagers pretended
to be alarmed lest they should be attacked on account
of us. At length we left the place, and after an easy
march reached the vilkige, mentioned in the earlier
part of this narrative, which the Ashango and Njavi
people share together.

We were again accompanied by our steady friend
Magouga, who, after putting his house at Niembouai
in order, announced his readiness to guide us safely
as far as Mokenga. lie was the only native who
consented to accompany us out of the district be-
longing to his tribe, during any part of our journey
towards the coast. There are very strong reasons
why these people of the interior object to going
far westward ; they are liable to be detained and
enslaved, and it Jiever happens that an Ishogo or an
Ashango man, mIio has once left his country for the
sea-board tribes, returns to his native land. Perhaps
they thought we might kidnap them. Besides, we
had lost nearly all our property, and I was no longer
the rich Oguizi that dazzled all people with my
wealth on my outward march ; it was therefore a

376 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

most disinterested act on tlie part of j^Iagong-a to
accompany us; for he could not have been attracted
by the prospect of good pay or pkmder.

The villagers here were this time exceedingly
friendly, bringing us plantains, cooking-pots, cala-
bashes of water, and firewood. Hovvever, we did
not stay long at their village, but proceeded onward
towards tlie west. About five o'clock we reached
Moyego, a large Ashango village which Ave had
passed on our march eastward without stopping at
it, in opposition to the entreaties of the inhabitants.
Magouga had friends living here, and as the villagers
pressed us strongly to stay, and gave us many pre-
sents of food, we passed the night here. When they
heard our account of the Mouaou affair they said that
it was no concern of theirs, that the Mouaou people
belonged to a different clan from them, and that they
wished we had killed more of tbem.

Jaly 'dOth. Continuing our march this morning,
we reached before noon i\Iagonga, the last, or most
westerl)'-, of the Ashango villages, situated on the
banks of the Odiganga. I did not Avish to make any
stay here, so we marched through the village without
stopping, much to the surprise and disappointment
of the inhabitants, who were curious to know what
had happened to cause our return to the coast.
Magouga was very much annoyed because I would
not stay, and said he would not go witli us any
further. I told him I did not want him, for we
knew the road as well as he did. We crossed the
Odiganga, and fixed our head-quarters on the other
side of the stream, so that, in case of attack, we

Chap. XIX. OUT OF DANGER OF TUESUIT. 377

should have the stream between ns and the people of
Magonga, \vhom we had left in rather a bad humour.
The villagers came to us, and we bought a few plan-
tains and some provisions with the few beads that
I had remaining. About two hours afterwards, as
we were eating our dinner by the roadside on the
path to Mokenga, IMagouga made his appearance,
making the excuse that he was obliged to pretend to
be vexed with me, otherwise the villagers would
have laid on him the blame of my not staying in
their town ; in future I was not to mind wliat he said
when we were in a village ; " Recollect," he said,
" you go out of the country, but I remain in it, and
must take care to keep friends with the people."
This little anecdote shows how full of deceit and
diplomacy these piimitive Africans are, and how
difficidt it is to know when they are speaking the
truth.

Since we had crossed the Odiganga we have been
amonixst the Isho2:o tribe, and I felt for the first time
that we v/ere safe from fighting; w^e hail quitted the
territory of the tribe with whom we had had so deadly
an encounter, and had placed a broad and rapid river
with high banks between them and ourselves. The
villaiTcrs on the western side of the 0di<ran2;a brou2,"ht

O O O CD

us a great number of articles for sale, denguis, fowls,

bongos, fiuit, and nuts, and wished us to stay ; but

we had resolved not to make any lengthened stay

anywhere. We passed several Ishogo villages in

succession, and in the evening arrived at a small

plantation not far from Ayamba, or Diamba. We

slept at the plantation, and on the following morn-
2G

378 JOUENEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

ing, after a march through the forest, reached the
village.

July olst. The Ishogo cliief of Ajamba presented
me with a goat. We were conducted by the villagers
into the strangers' ouandjn, where we cooked our
morning meal. As usual we wore much pressed by
the people to remain a day or two w^ith them, but
I was firm in my determination to march on : M'e did
not need porters, and knew the road, so were inde-
pendent of them all. I had declined to stay at
Ayamba on my outward march, and the people
recalled this to mind, saying that they believed their
place must be bewitched, as I had refused both times
to stay in it. Magouga repeated his old game of
pretending to be dreadfully angry with me for not
staying, but of course I took no notice of him this
time, except to laugh at the trick.

In the afternoon we readied the good village of
Mokenga. The astonishment of the inhabitants at
our return was unbounded. We were soon sur-
rounded by an eager crowd, all asking questions,
and Magouga became at once a man of great import-
ance. It filled him with pride to be able to say to
the villagers^ when order was somewhat restored,
and all were ready to listen to his account of our
journey, " Here we are, people of Mokenga ! Your
men gave into my hands the Ibamba and his people
at iSiembouai, and now I give you them back in
safety." In narrating the events of the past few
weeks lie repeated the little troubles he had had at
Niembouai and Mobana, and when he came to the
Mouaou Kombo business he got quite eloquent, and

Chap. XIX. FRIENDLY EECEPTION AT MOKENGA. 379

made a most exciting story of it. I found that lie
had gradually increased the number of the people
we had killed. At the last place where he told his
tale eighteen was the number; he now stated it was
thirty. My Commi men were just the same. Modest
and tolerably accurate at first, before we were quit
of the Ashango territory, they now began to boast
frightfully of the deeds of valour they had enacted.
Like Sir John Falstaff, they gradually augmented the
number they had slain with their own hand. Each
of them declared in turn that he had killed several
of the enemy, and Mouitchi, who had sneaked into
the forest at the commencement, and had taken no
part in the struggle, ^^■as more boastful than any of
them. He was firm in his statement that he had
killed five with his own hand. The further w^e
travelled from the scene of action, the more my
valiant Commi boys exaggerated the nimiber they
had slain ; until at Quengueza's the total had reached
the fearful fiirure of 150.

o

The sympathy and hospitality shown to us by the
Mokenga people, after the speech of Magouga, were
quite remarkable. Old Mokounga, our former Ishogo
head guide, took me to liis own house, saying I was
his guest and must stay with him, and the villagers
invited my men to stay with them. Sugar-cane,
plantains, and ground-nuts were brought to us and
given to my people ; Mokounga gave me a goat ;
kettles and firewood were brought to us to cook our
food ; in short, the kind-hearted people seemed to be
sincerely happy to see us back amongst them, and I
felt happy myself.

380 JOUENEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

August \sf — Zrd. We remained at Mokenga tliree
days, as we all required rest, and I had another
motive for staying in the great pleasure which it
gave to the villagers who had been so kind to us.
Mokoungn, I was sorry to find, suffered greatly from
sore legs ; they w^ere much sw^oUen, and chscharged
a quantity of watery humour. It was fortunate that
the rumour about my causing sickness in every one
who came in contact with me had not reached these
Ishogo people. Mokounga told us that the chsease
in his legs made its appearance two or three days
after he left me on the outward journey, and he
attributed it, as usual, to some one having bewitched
him through jealousy of my friendship. On the
night of my arrival there w^as a slow beating of
drums and mournful singing in one of the houses of
the village — a sign that some one lay dead there. I
was told it was a womtm who died three days pre-
viously : the next morning the corpse was carried
away to the cemetery in the woods. I was pleased
to find that the people here were not so much afraid
of death as the tribes nearer the sea ; they do not
abandon a village when a death occurs. Indeed, the
villages are so large that tliis custom would be very
difficult to keep up. Mokenga is, I think, the most
southerly village of the Ishogo tribe, who occupy a
narrow territory extending for about 150 miles from
the north-west to the south-east, running nearly
parallel to the large Ngouyai river. The country
of this tribe must begin very near the banks of the
Rembo Okanda.

The Ashango occupy about the same length of ter-

Chap. XIX. APtEIVAL AT YEXGUE. S81

ritory, but theirs is a mucli broader tract of land.
Both tribes, and the Aponos also, are bordered on
the south by the Njavi people ; these latter being
also found beyond the Ashango.

AmjiiM Af.h. We left the village this morning, fol-
lowed by the best wishes of the Mokenga people, but
none of them accompanied us. As we disappeared
in the forest, they shouted after us, '' Come again !
come again, Oguizi, and bring us trade ! " Old
Mngouga, who, notwithstanding all his tricks and
odd ways, had been a faithful friend to us, remained
here. I made a parting present both to him and
Mokounga. They accompanied us to the woods
through which the path led, and in bidding us
adieu, shouted " Come again ! come again ! "

After a short march we arrived at the village of
Yenguc, charmingly situated on the banks of the
beautiful Eckmiihl, or Ogoulou River. As soon as
we made our appearance, the villagers brought their
canoes to ferry us across, and all of them, like the
inhabitants of other places w^e had passed, asked the
reasons of our coming back. "When we told them
our tale, they said they wished we had killed all the
Mouaou warriors. '' How coidd such far-away people
know^ the value of the good things you brought them ? "
said they ; " and how could such men of the bush
understand your fashions ? " We were surrounded
by such a crowd of people that we were glad to get
out of the village, and cook our morning meal in a
retired place on the road-side.

I had some thoughts of purchasing a canoe at
Yengue, and travelling down the Eckmiihl into the

382 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

Ngouyai, and tlience to the Apono country ; but on
stating my intentions to some of the villagers they
told me that there was a waterfall a few miles below
the village, and that it would be necessary to pass
our canoe by land round the obstruction. We could
not, however, get any very exact information about
the river ; and, fearing there might be other diffi-
culties, I gave up the plan, and decided to travel
back by the same path by which we had come.

We were now travelling without a guide, for no
one was wilhng to accompany us after Magouga had
left us. As a natural consequence, we had not
gone far before we lost our way. The path we
took led us to an Apono village which we had not
seen before ; it was beautifully situated on the top
of one of the hills which form the last and lowest
range of the mountains we had come from. From
the village we had a wide prospect over the prairie
of the Apono country, the yellow colour of which
contrasted strongly with the dark-green hues of the
forest that clothed the hilly ranges. The view ex-
tended to the other side of the prairie, where we
could see the mountain-range which divides the
Otando from the Ashira Ngozai territories. A
stretch of country, moderately hilly and covered
with forest, extended between our position and the
yellow prairie.

The villagers fled at our approach, but we luckily
found Dibako, a Mokaba man who had been one of
our porters in our eastward journey, and he proved
a true friend in need to us. After we had rested
a while and refreshed ourselves with a drink of

Chap. XIX. SOllEOWFUL PArvTIXG AT IGOUMDIE. 383

limpid water — for we felt tlie heat severely after
descending' from tlie hilly country — he volunteered
to guide us to the right road, and a little hefore
sunset we reached with his aid the villao-e of Tiro-
umbie.

August 5th. We left Igoumbie to-day, to the great
sorrow of the villagers, who wished me to stoy
longer with them. Our Apono guide continued
in our company.

The Ishogos, notwithstandnig their many faults,
are 'the kindest-hearted and the gentlest negroes I
ever met wnth. As soon as my men had shouldered
their " otaitais," and the people saw that we were
ready to start, the whole population came out. This
time we had to pass through the wdiole length of the
village. They followed behind us — the women were
the most conspicuous. They all shouted out, " Go
on w^ell, go on well ; nothing bad shall happen to
you ! " When we reached the end of the village,
and just before turning into the path that would take
us out of their sight, I turned round, and, takiijg off
the remnant of what was once a good hat, I waved it
in the air. Immediately a dead silence succeeded
the noise^ and I shouted, " Farew^ell^ good Ishogos ! "
As I disappeared from their view among the trees of
the forest we were entering, suddenly a wild and
sorrowful shout of the multitude reached our ears.
They all cried out with one voice, "We shall see
the good Oguizi no more ! We shall see the good
Oguizi no more ! " Then all became again silent,
and once more M-e trod the path of this gigantic
jungle on our way to the sea-shore.

384 JOUENEY TO THE COxiST. Chap. XIX

On leaving Tgoumbie we took a different road from
that which we had followed in our eastward journey.
After about three hours' walk, we emerged on the
open grassy hills which form the eastern boundary
of the Apono country. After marching past nume-
rous Apono villages on the western side of these
hills, we reached in the afternoon the village of
Mokaba. On the road, in a solitary part of the
prairie, we passed by a tall pole with the head of a
man stuck at the top, to all appearance quite recently
placed there. My men passed the place with a quiver
of horror, for they guessed what this ghastly object
meant. We were told by our guide that it was the
head of one of the chiefs, who had been decapitated
on suspicion of being a wizard — another victim to
the horrid superstitions of these people. The head
had been placed on a pole by the road-side as a
warning to all who approached Mokaba.

I was glad to find that the palm-wine season was
now over, and the Mokaba villagers constrained to
be much more sober than they were on my former
visit. The palm-trees had nearly finished blooming,
and the ascending sap, which supplies the fermentable
liquor, no longer flowed in sufficient quantity. My
old friend Kombila was the only one who had liquor
enough to get drunk upon, and he was so harmless
over his cups that I had no annoyance from him.

Lnte in the afternoon I took a walk into the prairie,
wliicli extends for a long distance in the neighbour-
hood of Mokaba. I cannot express the pleasure I
felt in being once more in open country. I seemed
to breathe freer ; the eye wandered far away over a

Chap. XIX. THE PJVER NGOUYAI. 385

vast expanse, and the sensation was delightful after
being confined so long in the dark forests of Ishogo
and Ashango-land. To feel the wind fanning one's
face was a luxury that had long been denied me.
As I traversed the paths which led over the grassy
expanse, my mind wandered to former scenes, the
fields of my native country, and I longed to be back.
What dangers had I not passed through since I left
England on this mission ! Perils by water, fire, pesti-
lence, and war. With a grateful heart I thanked Him
who had watched over the lonely traveller who had
trusted in Him.

As I wandered along, occupied with these thoughts,
the day declined and the sun set. It did not, how-
ever, become dark, for a bright moonlight shone over
the landscape, and the evening was most enjoyable.
Gradually I retraced my steps towards Mokabn.

AiKjust Qth. The crowd and noise in the village were
so annoying that I was obliged this morning to leave
the place and establish myself on the banks of the
Ngouyai, which flows about a mile-and-a-half to the
west of Mokaba. I did not know, when on our east-
ward march, that the town was so near to the river.
At this time of the year the Ngouyai has but a feeble
current ; I was told by the Mokaba people, that fur-
ther up stream, in tlie Njavi country, the river was
narrower and encumbered with rocks and rapids.
Although it was now towards the end of the dry
season there were no hippopotami to be seen in the
river. It appeared to me now that I might save the
toilsome walk over the stony prairie by navigating
the stream down to Nchiengain's village. I tried

386 JOUENEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

therefore to hire a canoe froni the Mokaha people,
offering a good price for the use of it. The wiseheads
of the village took the matter into consideration, bul
I could not prevail upon them to lend me the canoe.
They did not think they should see it again, and
they would not accompany me to Ncliien gain's and
return with the canoe. There was the same disin-
clination shown here to travelling with me, as I have
described before ; they were all afraid that I should
sell them as slaves when I had got them out of their
territory. They were willing to sell me the canoe
outright, but I was now too poor to buy it.

Before I left Mokaba, Kombila made me a fare-
well speech, and entreated me to come back again
and bring trade. All the elders, who stood around
us, backed up the prayer ; " We w^ant trade," they
said, " we love the white man's things ; oh ! why
are we so far fi-om the white man's country ?"

On our march to Xchiengain's, we passed the
village of Dilalo, where, on our eastward march, the
inhabitants had set fire to the prairie to oppose our
progress. A crowd of women came after us as we
took the path leading 'outside of the place, and be-
sought us to come in and rest ourselves in the vil-
lage. They wanted beads, they said, like the women
of the other towns, and when I persisted in my
refusal to enter a place where we had been treated so
ill, they set to cursing their own men for being the
cause of it all.

We slept at night in a beautiful little wood by the
banks of a pleasant stream.

August 1th. We passed several villages early in

CuAP. XTX. NCIIIEXGAIX'S TILLAGE. 387

the morning, followed by crowds of the inhabitants
all bcg-ging us to stay Avith them, and creating a
deafening uproar by their shouts. On reaching the
banks of the river, we persuaded two Apingi men,
who were coming down in a small canoe, to fetch
for us Nchiengain's large fei"ry-boat which lay on
the opposite side. When we had crossed the river,
my men fired their muskets as a signal of our ap-
proach ; and we had not marched far, before we saw
the old chief advancing to meet us, followed by the
greater part of the inhabitants of the village. Nchien-
gain held a sword in his hand, and his men carried
their spears and bows, all to give eclat to our reception.
One would have thought it was a war party coming
out to meet an enemy, and some of my men were at
first afraid.

The good old fellow hugged me in his arms and
seemed overjoyed to see me. News of what had
happened had already reached him, and he had
expected soon to see us back. He joyfully told me
that he and his people had been all well since my
departure, and that he knew now I did not bring
disease and death with me. He gave me also the
Vv'elcome news that Mayolo had recovered from the
illness which had seized him when at Mokaba. I
was struck by the scantiness and shabbiness of the
grass-cloth clothing of the Apono and Apingi people
here, after being so long amongst tbe well-dressed
Ishogos and Ashangos, with their fine bongos and
ample denguis.

AVe remained six days enjoying the hospitality of
Nchiengain, a delay that was very necessary on

388 JOUEXEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX

account of our exhausted state ; I and Igala had
suffered the most, and this welcome rest was necessary
to us. The cHmate is much warmer in the valley
of the Ngouyai ; and during our stay we could see
dark clouds gathering over the Ashango Mountains,
sure signs that the i-ainy season was near at hand.
The Aponos said that within a month the rains
would come.

On the 13th of August, at daylight, we left Kchi-
engain's village for Mayolo. I am not sure, how-
ever, about the day, for I had missed my reckoning.
Since my sextant was lost on the first day of the re-
treat from Mouaou Kombo, I have of course taken no
observations, which used to enable me, by the help of
the ' Nautical Almanack,' to know the day of the
month. No Apono people accompanied us, and we
were attended only by two of Mayolo's sons and one
of his people, who came to Nchiengain's to meet us.
At half past seven a.m. we reached the river Dooya,
which is at this season the only stream on the road
that is not dried up ; we therefore stopped here for
breakfast, although it was so much earlier than the
hour at which we usually took that meal. We reached
Mayolo in the afternoon. Old Mayolo came to meet
us attended by a crowd of villagers ; he was looking
plump and hearty. Presents were made to me of a
native cap and several bongos ; this is a custom with
this people when they wish to welcome a friend who
has returned safe from a long journey. I found that
the small-pox had again made its appearance in
Mayolo in the height of the dry season ; and, as
Rauelina, one of my Commi men, had not had the

CiiAP. XIX. EECEPTIOX AT MAYOLO. 889

disease, we establislied our olakos or sheds outside
the villag-e.

Old Mavolo was so mucli impressed witli tlie
account of our affray with the IMouaou people and
our escape from their poisoned arrows, kiUing at the
same time so many of them — for, as I have said be-
fore, my men exaggerated more and more at every
place the number we had slain — that he firmly be-
lieved some potent talisman had protected us in the
fight. The morning after our arrival he came into
my shed in a mysterious manner, looking about to
see that no one was near us, and said, " Cliaillie, you
are an Ogitizi, and I know you can make mondahs,
although you say you do not. How .could the
arrows of the i\shango glide off your body without
hurting you, if you had not a war fetich on you?
and how could you kill so many without any of your
men being killed ? I cannot understand this, for I
know that the ^\shangos are great warriors. If you
love me, make one of these great war mondahs for me,
that I and my people may go into the fight witliout
being hurt, and that everybody maybe made afraid of
Mavolo." The earnestness of manner and excitement
of the old man were quite ludicrous. I entirely failed
to persuade him that I had no such mondah, and still
more incredulous was he when I said that our safety
was due to a kind Providence who had watched over
us. He left me at last dissatisfied, and questioned my
men ; Igala was quite ready to make and sell to him
any amount of fetiches.

I had an opportunity during my stay in Mayolo of
observing how the curious law of inheritance existing

390 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

amongst these tribes is carried out. Oslioumoima,
the nephew and heir of Mayolo, had died of small-
pox since my departure from Majolo for the interior,
leaving two wives — one yoimg and good-looking,
the other old and ugly. These wives of Orfhou-
mouna I knew very well, for I had given one of
them a coat for her husband on my former visit,
and had often bought plantains of the other. To
my surprise I found one of them now married to
Mayolo and looking quite joyous, dressed in her
best ; the other was married to Ikala, Oshoumouna's
younger brother. According to my notions of
African law, Ikala ought to have inherited all the
property of his deceased brother, including the pick
of the wives. I asked why this bad not taken place,
and was told that it is the elder brother who inherits
the property of his 3'ounger brothers in the event of
their decease, and not vice versa. If Ikala had died
first, Oshoumouna would liave taken his wives and
all the rest of his property, but, as the case stood,
Oshoumouna having no elder brother, his uncle
Mayolo had the right of dividing the property as he
thought fit ; but with the understanding that some
of the wives must be given to the younger brother.
My Commi men and several of the Otando people
criticised rather sharply old Mayolo's appropriation
of the pretty wife ; they thought he was greedy in
wanting all the best things for himself.

I was much amused one evening at JMayolo, whilst
my men and a number of villagers were lying about
the fires near our encampment, by a story or parable

Chap. XIX. STOEY OF AKEXDA MBAXI. 391

related by a very talkative old fellow wlio seemed
to be the wag of the village. It was as follows : —

AKEXDA MBANL

Redjioua had a daughter called Arondo, and
she 'was very beautiful. Rcdjioiia said, " A man
may give me slaves, goods, or ivory to marry my
daughter, but he will not get her ; I want only a
man tliat will agree that when Arondo falls ill, he
will fall ill also, and that when Arondo dies, he
will die also." Time vrciit on; and, as people knew
this, no one came to ask Arondo in marriage ; but,
one day, a man called Akenda Mbani (" never goes
twice to the same place ") came, and he said to Red-
jioua, "I come to marry Arondo, your daughter;
I come, because I will agree that when Arondo
dies, I will die also." So Akenda Mbani married
Arondo. Akenda Mbani was a great hunter, and,
after he had married Arondo, he went hunting, and
killed two wild boars. On his return, he said, " I
have killed two boars, and bring 3-ou one." Red-
jioua said, " Go 'and fetch the other." Akenda
J\lbaiii said, " My father gave me a nconi (a law)
that I must never go twice to the same place."
Another day he went hunting again, and killed
two antelopes ; on his return, he said to Redjioua,
" Father, I have killed two kambi (antelopes), I
.bring you one." The king answered, "Please, my
son-in-law, go and fetch tlie other." He answered,
*' You know I cannot go twice to the same place."

Another time he went hunting again, and killed

392 JOURNEY TO THE COxiST. Chap. XIX.

two bongos (a kind of antelope). Then Hedjioua, who
saw tliat all the other animals were being lost, said,
" Please, my son-in-law, show the people the place
where the other bongo is." Akenda Mbani rej)lied,
"If I do so I am afraid I sliall die."

In the evening of the same day, a canoe from the
Oroungou country came with goods, and remained
on the river side. Akenda Mbani said to his wife
Arondo, " Let ns go and meet the Oroimgous."
They saw them, and then took a box full ' of goods
and then went back to their own house. The people
of the village traded with the Oroungous ; and, when
the Oroungous wanted to go back, they came to
Akenda Mbani, and he trusted. them ten slaves, and
gave them a present of two goats, and many bunches
of plantains, mats, and fowls ; then the Oroungous
left. Months went on ; but, one day, Arondo said
to her husband, " We have never opened the box that
came with the Oroungous. Let us see what there is
in it." They opened it, and saw cloth ; then Arondo
said, " Plusband, cut me two fathoms of it, for I like
it." Then they left the room ; then Arondo seated
herself on the bed, and ilkenda Mbani on a stool,
when suddenly Arondo said, " Husband, I begin to
have a headache." Akenda Mbani said, "Ah, ah,
Arondo, do you want me to die ? " and he looked
Arondo steadily in the face. He tied a bandage
round her head, and did the same to his own.
Arondo began to cry as her headache became worse ;
and, when the people of the village heard her cry,
they came all round her. Eedjioua came, and said,
" Do not cry my daughter ; you will not die." Then

Chap. XIX, STORY OF AKEXDA MBANI. . 393

Arondo said, " Father, why do you say I shall not
die ? for, if you fear death, you may be sure it
will come." '•' She had hardly said these words than
she expired. Then all the people mourned, and
Redjioua said, " Now my daughter is dead, Akenda
Mbani must die also."

The place where people are buried is called Djimai ;
the villagers went there and dug a place for the
two corpses, wdiicli were buried together. Redjioua
had a slave buried with Arondo, besides a tusk of
an elephant, rings, mats, plates, and the bed on
which Akenda Mbani and Arondo slept ; the cutlass,
the hunting bag, and the spear of Akenda Mbani
were also buried. The people then said, "Let us
cover the things with sand, and make a little mound;
When Agambouai (the mouth-piece — the speaker of
the village) heard of this, he said to Redjioua,
"There are leopards here." Then Redjioua said,
" Do not have a mound over my child's burial-place,
for fear that the leopards might come and scratch the
ground and eat the corpse of my child." Then the
people said, " Let us then dig a deeper hole," and
they took away Arondo and Akenda Mbani, and
placed both on stools, and then dug and dug, and
put back the things that were to be buried with
Arondo, and then laid her in her place. Then thev
came to Akenda Mbani, who then awoke and said,
" I never go twice to the same place ; you put me in
the tomb and you took me away from it, though
all of you knew that I never go to the same place

* AVliou an African is ill, his friends consider it will cause his death to
say he will die.

27

394 JOUENET TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

again." Wlien Eecljioua heard of this he became
very angry, and said, "You knew that Akenda
Mbani never goes twice to the same place ; why did
you remove him ? " Then he ordered the people to
catch Agambouai, and cut his head off.

MORAL.

Formerly it was the custom with married people
that when the woman died the man should die also,
and vice versa. But since the time of Akenda Mbani,
the custom is altered, and the husband or the wife no
longer die with their partners.

We left Mayolo at daylight on the 16tli of August,
my men being all heavily-laden with plantains, for
we could not prevail upon any of the Otando people
to accompany us, and help in carrying our loads.
I felt quite grieved when even the good Mayolo — to
whom I had given so many presents, and with whom
I had remained so long — refused to accompany me
outside the village. As w^e left, sheet-lightning was
playing through the dark clouds which hung over
the mountains of Ashango-land.

On the fourth day of our toilsome march over the
rugged hills and through the dark forests of the
mountain range which divides Ashira from Otando-
land, we arrived in the afternoon at the first planta-
tions of the Ashira Ngozai people. Before we saw
the cultivated places we hoard the axes ringing
through the forests, showing that the natives were
hard at work felling trees for new plantations ; this
being the time of the year — the height of the dry

Chap. XIX. WE AVOID OLENDA. 395

season — wlien sucli work is done, tlie dry weather
being favoural)le to the burning of the felled trees.
Planting begins a few days after the trees have been
burnt, with the first rains. My men had by this
time eaten all their stock of plantains, and we were
beginning to suffer from the want of food. We did
not know how the Ashira people would receive us,
after the very unsatisfactory way in which Mintcho
and Lis party had parted from us at Mayolo. I
thought it best therefore to avoid meeting with them
if it were possible. We helped ourselves to a few
plantains from the trees, sufficient for our present
wants, and marched on. Passing the place where we
had left Macondai ill of the small-pox, we continued
our march, and just before nightfall reached the
Olenda slave-village which I described in the ac-
count of our eastward journey. This I was deter-
mined to pass without stopping or having any deal-
ings with the people ; so, ordering my men to have
their guns in readiness if any attempt should be made
to stop us, we marched on, the j)eople shouting after
us as soon as they knew who we were. We got free
of the village at last, and pushed on for the banks
of the Ovigui. We were all exhausted with fatigue,
and some of my men wanted to lie down and sleep
by the roadside. I encouraged them, however, to
keep up, and at last we reached the river side. It
was then quite dark ; we made a fire, roasted our
plantains for supper, and then lay down to sleep.

Rising at the first peep of day, after a restless
night, I was surprised to find the Ovigui quite low,
and easily fordable. The stream, which had been so

396 JOUENEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

lormidable to cross in tlie rainy season, was now
reduced to a mere shallow brook, with water reaching
only to the knee. We crossed it, and entered upon
the open prairie before it was yet quite light. I had
half a mind to proceed straight to Olenda and,
taking the inhabitants unawares, to seize some of the
principal thieves of my property ; but on second
thoughts I judged it best to avoid the place alto-
gether, and cross the prairie to the village of my
friend Angouka. In our march we passed near to
the deserted village of my old enemy Mpoto, who
died of the small-pox during those terrible days ol
February and March. My men looked upon the
abandoned cluster of huts as a place accursed, and
took care to give it a wide berth in passing.

All the Ashira people whom we had seen since
leaving the slave-plantation the previous evening had
fled from us at the first sight, so that we held no
communication with any one till Angouka's men
came to meet us. We had fired guns on approaching
the village, and this was answered by a number of
the chief's people coming out of the grove which
surrounds the place, armed to the teeth, to see who
it was that was coming. When they recognised us
they could scarcely contain their joy. We were led
amid shouts of welcome to the house which Angouka
had built for me when he expected me to stay with
him on my outward march. Angouka has now a
feud with the Ademba clan (Olenda's) of his tribe ;
he hates them most bitterly ; he is a harsh-tempered
man, but has acted in the most loyal and friendly
way towards me, so that I cannot help liking him.

Chap. XIX. SOJOURN AT ANGOUIvA'S VILLAGE. 397

We remained fourteen days at Angouka's place.
The day after my arrival I was laid up with a severe
attack of fever, the effect probably of the weeks of
toil, anxiety, and privation I had undergone since
the disastrous day at Mouaou Kombo. The fever
yielded on the fourth day to the frequent and large
doses of quinine wdiich I took, but it left me so weak
that I was unable to walk far for several days after-
wards. The people of Olenda were all this time in
great fear lest I should take vengeance on them for
their misdeeds ; indeed, after my recovery, Angouka
made a proposition to me to join my men in burning
the village. This I declined, and preferred to lay the
wdiole case before my staunch and powerful old friend
Quengueza, who would, I was sure, punish the
tricky knaves much more effectually than I should,
if lie thought it was necessary. In the end, the
leading men of Olenda sent to offer to compound for
their sins by giving me slaves, and asked how many
I should be satisfied with. This offer of course I
refused to listen to.

We left Angouka's on the 10th of September, the
first hour of our march being through the magni-
ficent groves of plantain-trees, which this industrious
and energetic old chief has established near his vil-
lage. Continuing our journey, we came to a cluster
of abandoned olakos which had been tenanted by
Bakalai. The place must have been abandoned in hot
haste, for mosquito-nets had been left hanging under
the sheds, and on raising one of them I was struck
with horror to see the skeleton of a man lying under
it. On the road, in many places, we saw human skulls

398 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

and bones, sad evidence of the ravages of the pla,!:^ue,
and showing- how many had died in the forest on their
march fi-om one place 1o another, their bones gnawed
and scattered by prowling hyenas and leopards.

We missed the path during the journey, and were
guided only by knowing that we were going in the
right direction for the Ofoubou by the compass;
finally, we reached the banks of tliis river, but at a
point much lower down than the village of Gralipadi.
Whilst at Angouka's, we had received a message from
Quengueza, saying that, Avhen his people came back
from Gonmbi, he would send some of them to me.
He was staying on the banks of this river cutting
ebony and deciding palavers amongst the Bakalai,
and we now endeavoured to make our arrival known
to him, by marching along the banks and firing our
guns. At length our signals were heard : we saw a
canoe approach the place where we stood, and on its
approach recognised Ncheyouelai, one of the king's
principal slaves. The water of this river was very
low" ; we had to go some distance before arriving at
Quengueza's encampment. On reaching it we were
received with a most hearty welcome ; the loyal old
chief hugged me to his breast, and I am sure I reci-
procated the joy he felt at our meeting. He beat
his kendo, and, in a kind of solemn chant, thanked
the spirits of his ancestors for my safe arrival.

Sholomba of my own village was here, and some
other negroes whom I knew. Nothing could be done
ujitil they had heard the story of our adventures.
]\ly men did not wait for me to tell the tale; but
began their own story. As they proceeded, they

Chap. XIX. SOKEOWS OF KING QUEXGUEZA. 399

waxed warmer and warmer, rising and gesiiciilating
to show how they surrounded the enemy, and how
they slew them all, one after another. Tlie more
the narrators exaggerated, the more they were ap-
plauded hy the other men, until all with one accord
shouted, " We have slain 150 of our enemies!" This
story Qiiengueza would not believe, and said he
would not be satisfied until he had heard the whole
account from my own mouth ; " for," added he, " I
have heard from the Ashira the tale of the 150 dead
men, and I did not believe them." So all of them
assembled round me, and I gave them a faithful ac-
count of the whole affajr. They all listened very
attentively, and at the most stirring jiarts of the nar-
rative, when I described our turning in the forest
path and facing the crowd of enraged wkrriors, they
clasped their hands and cried out, " You are men !
you are men !"

In return, Quengueza narrated to me the events
that had happened since his parting from me at
Olenda. It was a most sorrowful story. The eviva, or
small-] )ox, broke out at Groumbi whilst Quengueza
was still at Olenda, and his departure was hastened
by the news brought to him of the plague. It had
caused fearfid havoc ; relatives, wives, slaves, all had
caught the infection and nearly all had died. Goumbi
was obliged to be forsaken. For many weeks the
old chief, with the relics of his clan, lived in tempo-
rary abodes or olakos on the opposite side of the
rivcT. Quengueza believed that if he had not re-
turned home at the time he did, his beloved son
Kombe' would also have died. The old man was

400 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX

greatly affected at the remembrance of liis losses and
the death of so many that were dear to him ; and
I could not help feeling sympathy for him. " The
Bakalai," said he^ " are all gone ; the Rembo people
are all gone ; my beloved Monbon (his head slave) is
dead ; I am alone in the world." It appeared that
he had not even entered Goumbi since he left me at
Olenda ; but, finding the plague raging there on his
return, he had established his home on the opposite
bank of the river, and his nephews, who had accom-
panied him and me to Asliira-land, together with
most of his men, had died. I looked with sadness on
his noble figure, w^itli his hoary head whitened by
years and bowed down with the remembrance of his
troubles, and I grieved for him from the bottom of
my heart. He was like an old oak of the forest left
standing alone, after all its companions had been
overthrown by the storm. We spent the evening by
the side of the fires of our encampment, Queiigueza
and myself side by side, talking over our troubles, and
my men telling the story of their adventures to their
Rembo comrades, this time in more moderate terms.

We spent several days at Quengueza's encamp-
ment. I had great difficulty during this time in
combating a tendency to sleepiness and lethargy,
which had come over me since we had arrived safely
amongst our friends. We all suffered much from
hunger in the encampment, as food was scarce in
this depopulated country. At length, news came
that a vessel had arrived off the mouth of the P^er-
nand Yaz, and I was seized with an uncontrollable
desire to get away at once to the sea-shore.

Chap. XIX. DEVASTATIONS OF TEE PLAGUE. 401

Tlie canoes were not able to take the whole of our
party at once, including Quengiieza's wives, ebony,
and- slaves; so we agreed that I should go first and
wait for him at Goumbi. AVhcn we departed, the
old chief told me to call at Obindji's town to bid good
bye to Njambai, the present chief; Obindji being no
more, for he was one of the victims of the plague.

We glided down the now placid waters of the
Ovenga, passing the many Bakalai villnges ; the
numerous abandoned houses bore sorrowful witness of
the devastations of the fearful scourge that had swept
over this part of the country. We slept at night
on the banks of the river, and the next morning
passed by the ruins of Goumbi ; no longer the
flourishing well-peopled village it used to be, but a
mere crowd of half-ruined, burnt, and deserted houses.
Quengueza's new settlement was a little further down
the river, and the place was called Sangatanga.
Almost every one we met bore traces on his or her
face of the ravages of the small-pox ; and there was
not one who had not lost a near relative during these
unhappy times. In fact, the Abouya clan of the
Commi is almost destroyed ; in a few years there
will be nothing left of this people, once the most im-
portant clan of the Rembo.

I visited Goumbi after my arrival at Sangatanga.
The aspect of the place filled my heart with sadness;
even the gentle breeze whispering through the plan-
tain groves seemed to me a mournful sound. I looked
for the house of my good old friend Adouma, who
on my former journey took me to tlie Apingi countiy ;

402 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX

nothin;^ was left of it but a few. poles, and it was
tbe same with the habitations of many other negroes
who had formerly been good friends to me ; tho
owners were dead, and their houses were in ruins.
The little fetich-houses in their neighbourhood re-
mained standing, with their talismanic creepers grow-
ing round them, but there was no one to take care of
them ; I took the opportunity to lecture the negroes
who were with me, on the ft^lly of believing in these
fetiches, which they might see had no power to avert
the calamity that had overtaken their owners.

Soon after this, Quengueza himself arrived with all
his followers, in their canoes. Many of the survivors
of his clan had been trying to make him suspect
witchcraft as being at the bottom of the misfortunes
that had befallen him, and were crying out for the
pona oganga to sacrifice more victims and still fur-
ther reduce the numbers of the people. But the old
man would not listen to these miserable croakers.
I was glad to see him resist all their appeals ; he
said there was no witchcraft in this plague, but it
was a " wind sent by Aniambie' (God)." " Enough
people had died," he continued, " and we must not
kill any more."

The old chief seemed to have lost heart completely,
and was thinking of leaviLg his country for good.
" If I was a young man," he said, " I would go with
you to the white man's country ; and even old as I
am, if your country was not so far oft', I would go
with you. If it was no further than the Mpongwe
country (tho Gaboon), or Fernando Po" — for he

Chap. XIX. EETUIIN TO PLATEAU. 403

liad heard of this place, although he had a very indis-
tinct notion where it was — " I would leave the Rernho
and go and live with you. You have escaped the
plague and the arrows of the Ashangos; you will
reach your land, but remember tliat your old friend
will always think of you." When I finally bade him
adieu, he tried to make me promise to come back
and stay with him. "Come again," he said, "and
go no more into the bush ; and wlien you come bring
me a big bell, a sword with a silver handle that will
not rust, and two chests, one of brass and another of
ebony, for I want to see how you work the wood that
we send to you."

"We arrived at my own place, " Plateau," on the
21st of September. It is impossible to describe
the joy which the people showed on seeing us all
come back in safety, for, with the exception of Igala's
wound ill the leg wliich was still inflamed, discharg-
ing sometimes a good deal of matter, none of my
Commi boys was the worse for the journey they had
accomplished.

In tlie evening of the day of our arrival, as I was
taking a solitary walk over the open prairie towards
the sea, the sister of Igala came to speak to me.
With tears coursing down her cheeks, she said,
*' White man! with a good heart you have taken
care of our people. You did not let them die of the
plague. On the day of fight you stood by them.
No wonder that we love you ; you are as one of our-
Bslvcs ; you do not drive us away from you." This
unaffected demonstration of gratitude, I must say.

404 JOURNEY TO THE COAST. Chap. XIX.

made me feel well rewarded for all the care I had taken
of my loyal Commi boys. With the exception of
the little outburst at Niembouai of Mouitchi and Ra-
pelina — whom we must excuse as having been slaves
all their lives and knowing no better, indeed they
were afterwards ashamed of their misconduct — I am
proud and grateful to think of the fidelity, honesty,
steadiness, and pluck disjolayed throughout the journey,
by these sharers of my labours. I need scarcely say
that I felt also proud and glad that I was able to
bring back all my men, with the exception of Retonda,
who died of disease, safe and sound to their families
and friends. They had shown so much confidence
in me, in volunteering to accompany me on the expe-
dition, which they were told would be likely to occupy
two or three years, that it w^as a source of joride to
me to be able to show the Commi people that their
confidence had not been misplaced.

The v^essel at the mouth of the river was the
Maranee, Captain Pitts, and was loading for London.
I had lost nearly all my property in the disastrous
flight from Asharigo-land, and the house and store
which I had built at " Plateau " I had made a present
of to the American missionaries of the Gaboon, who
wished to establish there a native Christian teacher.
I had, therefore, neither money nor property ; but
Captain Pitts kindly consented to take me as passen-
ger. We set sail six days after my arrival.

And thus I quitted tlrj slioren of Western Equa-
torial Africa with the blessings and good wishes of

Chap. XIX, DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. 405

its inhabitants, whose character displays so curious a
mixture of evil qualities and virtues of no mean order.
Whether I shall ever return to the land where I
have laboured sO hard in endeavouring- to extend
tlie bounds of our knowledge, is doubtful ; but I shall
bear a kindly remembrance of the country and ita
inhabitants as long as I live.

CHAPTEll XX.

THYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE.

Gi^at Forest of Equatorial Africa — Scanty population — Scarcity or absence
of large African animals — Hilly ranges — River systems — The Ogobai
— French exploring expeditions — Amount of rain — Seasons — Rainy
climate of Central Equatorial Africa — Temperature — Heat of the sun's
rays — Coolness of the forest shades.

Equatorial Africa from the western coast, as far as
I have been, is covered with an ahnost impenetrable
jungle. This jungle begins where the sea ceases to
beat its continual waves, and how much further
this woody belt extends, further explorations alone
will be able to show. From my furthest point it
extended eastward as far as my eyes could reach ;
I may, however, say that, near the banks of a large
river runnins: from a north-east direction towards

o

the south-west, prairie lands were to be seen, accord-
ing to the accounts the Ashangos had received.

This gigantic forest extends north and south of the
Equator, varying in breadth from two to three degrees
on each side of it.* South of the Ecpator, it ex-

* ah the living plants collected on my return to the coast, I presented
to Dr. J. D. Hooker, for the Itoyal Botanic Gardens at Kew, of which he is
the able Director. I am very glad to find that one of the orchids I col-
lected near Goumbi proved a new species of Angrceciim ; and Dr. Hooker
has done me the honour to name it after me. Orchidaceous plants aro
abundant in the tracts of woodland near the sea; but they were less
plentiful in the interior.

Chap. XX. SCARCITY OF LARGE ANIMALS. 407

tended much further southerly than I have been, and
on tlie north it reached further than I travelled in
my former journey. Now and then prairies looking
like islands, resembling so many gems, are found in
the midst of this dark sea of everlasting foliage, and
how grateful my eyes met them no one can conceive,
unless he has lived in such a solitude.

Now and then prairies are seen from tlie sea-shore;
but they do not extend far inland, and are merely
sandy patches left by the sea in the progress of time.

In til is great woody wilderness man is scattered
and divided into a great number of tribes. The
forest, thinly inhabited by man, was still more
scantily inhabited by beasts. There were no beasts
of burden — neither horse, camel, donkey, nor cattle.
Men and women were the only carriers of burden.
Beasts of burden could not live, for the country was
not well adapted for them. The only truly domes-
ticated animals were goats and fowls — the goats
increasino' in number as I advanced into the interior,
and the fowls decreasing.

I was struck by the absence of those species of
animals always found in great number in almost
every other part of Africa. Neither lions, rhino-
ceroses, zebras, giraffes, nor ostriches were found,
and the great variety of elands and gazelles (altliough
found almost everywhere else in Africa) were not to
be seen there. Travellers in my locality would never
dream that such vast herds of game could be found
on the same continent as those described by dif-
ferent travellers. Hence large carnivorous animals
are scaice; leopards and two or three species of

408 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX.

hyenas and jackals only being found. Little noc-
turnal animals are more common, but they are very
difficult to get at. Reptiles abound in the forest.
There are a great many species of snakes, the greater
part of which are very poisonous. Some arc ground-
snakes, others spend part of their lives upon trees,
while some are water-snakes. Among the ground-
snakes one of the most to be dreaded is the Clotho
nasicornis. There are several species of -£c//i5 and of
Atheris; these are generally found upon trees; they
are small and very venomous. A very dangerous
snake is the black variety of the cobra (^Dendrasjns
angusticeps) . This snake is much dreaded, for,
when surprised or attacked, it rises up as if ready to
spring upon you. There is also a large water-snake
found often in the beautiful clear water of the streams
of the interior, described by Dr. Gunther under the
name of Siturophaga grayii. I have often seen this
snake coiled up and resting on the branches of trees
Under water.

Lizards are also abundant in some districts, and it
is amusing to watch how they jorey on the insect
world. Among them I noticed a night species, that
lives in the houses, and which is the great enemy
of cockroaches. They are continually moving from
one place to another during the night in search of
their prey. During the day they remain perfectly
still, and hide themselves between the bark of trees
forming the w^alls of the huts.

The country is also very rich in spiders ; they
are of wonderful diversity of form. Some of them are
so large, and their webs so strong, that birds are

Chap. XX. SPIDERS- IXSECTS. 409

said to be canglit in them. There are house-spiders,
tree spiders, and ground-spiders. These spiders are
exceedingly useful, and rid the country of many un-
pleasant hies. How many times I have seen them
overpower prey which seemed much stronger than
themselves ! The web-spiders seemed to have but a
few enemies, but the house and wall-spiders, which
make no web, have most inveterate enemies in the
shape of two or three kinds of wasps. During the
day I have seen these wasps travelling along the
walls with a rapidity that astonished me, and, finally,
when commg to a spider, immediately pounce upon
the unfortunate insect and overpower it by the
quickness of the movements of their legs, and succeed
in cutting one after the other the legs of the spider
close to the body, and then suck it, or fly away w^th
it to devour it somewhere else.

I consider some species of ants, snakes, lizards, and
spiders as most useful, for they destroy a great
quantity of insect and other vermin. The great mois-
ture of the country I have visited, with its immense
jungle, is well adapted for the insect world, and
would prove a very rich field to a naturalist and
collector who would make it his special study and
business. I was surprised how closely several of
them mimicked or imitated other objects ; some looked
exactly like the leaves on which they most generally
remain ; others are exactly of the colour of the bark
of trees on which they crawl ; while others looked
exactly like dead leaves, and one or two like pieces
of dead branches of trees. Dragon-flies of beautiful
colour were met near the pools.
28

410 PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY AND CLBIATE. Chap. XX.

Bats are very abundant, and I had succeeded in
making a fine collection of tliem. They sometimes
came by hundreds and spent the whole of the night
flying round a tree which bore fruits they liked, and
the noise made by their wings sounded strangely
amid the stillness which surrounded them.

Squirrels are rather numerous, and there are a
good number of species. Birds of prey and snakes
are their great enemies. In ' Equatorial Africa ' I
described how I saw a snake charming a squirrel,
and made the little creature come to him.

There are eight species of monkeys, but they are
not all found in every district. They live in troops,
but when old they live generally by themselves or in
pairs. Of all the Mammnlian animals inhabiting
the forest the monkey tribe is the most numerous ;
but the poor monkey is surrounded by enemies^ the
greatest being man, who sets traps everywhere to
catch him ; then he is continually hunted by the
negroes with guns or arrows ; the guanonien, an
eagle, is also his inveterate enemy.

The guanonien is a most formidable eagle, and, in
spite of all my endeavours, during my former and
this last journey, I have been unable to kill one ; but
several times I have been startled in the forest by
the sudden cry of anguish of a monkey who had been
seized by this "leopard of the air," as the natives
often call it, and then saw the bird with its prey dis-
appear out of sight.

One day, hunting through the thick jungle, I came
to a spot covered with more than one hundred skulls
of monkeys of different sizes. Some of these skulls

Chap. XX. THE GUAKOXIEIN— APES. 411

must have been those of formiclahle animals, and
these now and then succeeded, it appears, in giving
such bites to this eagle that they disabled him. For
a while I thought myself in the A'' alley of Golgotha.
Then I saw at the top of a gigantic tree, at the foot
of which were the skulls, the nest of the bird, but
the 3^oung had flown away. I was told by the
natives that the guanonien comes and lays in the
same nest year after year. When an adult specimen
will be procured, it may be found to rival in size the
condor of America.

By tlie side of wild men roamed the apes, the chim-
panzee forming several varieties. These are called
by the negroes the Nsehiego, Xschiego Nkengo,
Nschiego Mbouve, and Kooloo Kamba, all closely
allied, and I think hardly distinguishable from each
other by their bony structure. Then came the largest
of all, the gorilla, which might be truly called the king
of the forest. They all roamed in this great jungle,
which seems so well adapted to be their homes, for
they live on the nuts, berries, and fruits of the forest,
found in more or less number throughout the year ;
but they eat such a quantity of food that they are
obliged to roam from place to place, and are found
periodically in the same district.

The elephant has become scarce, and recedes
farther and farther every year into the fastnesses
of the interior.

Miles after miles were travelled over without hear-
ing the sound of a bird, the chatter of a monkey, or
the footstep of a gazelle, the humming of insects, the
falling of a leaf ; the gentle murmur of some hidden

412 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX.

stream only came "upon our ears to break the dead-
ness of this awing silence, and disturb the grandest
solitude man can ever behold — a solitude which often
chilled me, but which was well adapted for the study
of Nature.

I was surprised at the small number of new birds
I found. I did not find more than ten species dif-
ferent from those of my former collections.

At a certain distance from the coast hills com-
mence, which gradually increase in elevation, and
form mountain ranges, running parallel to each other
in a south-east and north-west direction. They
range along the whole of the western coast, and
seem to bear themselves towards the southern part
of Africa.

Between these mountains and the sea the country
I have explored is generally low and marshy.
Several rivers rising on the western slope of the
first range flow through these lands and discharge
themselves into the sea.* Consequently these rivers
are short, and being so near together, the quantity of
water they throw into the sea is not great. The
most important commercially being the Gaboon, on
account of its port.

I mentioned, in 'Equatorial Africa,' that I had
been surprised by the enormous quantity of water
discharged into the sea by the rivers forming the
delta of the Ogobai. I further said that the Ogobai
was formed by two rivers, the Rembo (river) Okanda
and the Rembo Ngouyai ; the former I had not seen,

* Xames of rivers — Benito, IMinii, Monda, tlie delta of the Ogobai,
Nazareth, Mexias, Fernand Vaz, and the Commi river.

Chap. XX. RIVER SYSTEMS. 413

but it runs, according to what I heard, from a north-
east direction ; the latter from a south-east direction.
The Ng-ouyai I had seen and crossed in my journey
to the Apingi country. My further explorations this
time have led me higher up the stream, and proved
that my former conclusions were correct.

These two rivers are the only ones that Lreak
throuerli the coast chains of mountains, and thus we
must not wonder at the tremendous amount of water
they throw into the sea, in despite of the enormous
absorption by radiation, when we consider the very
great amoant of rain falHng in the interior.

Between the Niger and the Congo there is no
river tliat brings down such a quantity of water as
the Ogobai. The enormous amount of rain tliat falls
in these equatorial regions will account at once for
the greater volume of water of this river, which
has a far greater basin tlian all the other rivers
between the Congo and the Niger.

The first table-lands of the interior gradually slop-
ing down eastward, form a valley. In this valley
from the north-east the Rembo Okanda glides gra-
dually southward, increasing by numerous streams
until it unites with the Rembo Ngouyai. I have
heard that the Okanda has several rapids.

The Ixembo Ngouyai comes from the south-east, and
flows northward, gradually increasing by its tributa-
ries ; it breaks through the range of mountains, forms
a series of falls and rapids, unites with the Okanda,
and then the two rivers take the name of Ogobai.

Going eastward in my present journey the land
rose higher and higher until we reached Niembouai

414 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLBIATE. Chap. XX.

Olomba ; it then sloped gradually towards tlie east,
with small streams running in that direction, and
flowing no doubt towards the large river mentioned
by the natives — a river that may be the Congo, or
one of its larcre tributaries. I should think that it
was about two degrees further eastward, somewhere
about 15° or IG"" east longitude.

After I had drawn attention to the great basin of
the Ogobai, the attention of tlie French Government
was attracted towards it, and two expeditions have been
made ; one in the 3^ear 1862, and the other in 1864.

Unfortunately the two expeditions chose the worst
time of the year for their errand, the dry season,
when the rivers are shallow and full of banks.

The first expedition did not reach the junction
of the Okanda and the Ngouyai ; but afterwards,
M. Serval, whose enterprise is an honour to the
French navy, from the Upper Gaboon crossed by
land to the Ogobai, and reached a point not far from
the junction.*

* The map m<ade by M, Serval appeared after I had started a second
time for Africa, and was sent to me by my friend M. V. A. Malte-Brun,
with a kind letter saying how glad he was that I was vindicated ; for
some people had said in England that I had gone nowhere, and l^r. Barth
had done me the honour to map the furthest parts of my exploration as
only a few miles into the interior.

I have not seen Eliva Olanga, called by Serval, Eliva Jonanga. When
at the Falls of Ngouj-ai, I heard that it was on the other side of the Ashan-
kolo mountains. With regard to latitude, its position would agree with
my map, but my astronomical observations for longitude put it more to the
westward than M. Serval does. I should not trust, perhaps, entirely to my
observations while at Olenda; but at Mayolo 1 took a great number of
observations of lunar distances, and the longitude of this place mi^y there-
fore be considered as well determined.

An eliixi is not properly a lake, but really a broad extension of a river
between ranges of hills.

Chap. XX. FRENCH EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS. 415

The second expedition was a like failure ; it com-
menced exploring in July instead of waiting until
November. Nevertheless it had a great advantage
over the first; for it had a small steam tender besides
a larger steamer. The expedition went as far as the
junction of the Okanda and Ngouyai. Unfortunately,
I have never seen any published record of this
interesting exploration, which went a little further
than the first. The exploration of the Okanda will
be a great service rendered to geographical science.
The French having possession of the Gaboon, no
one could do it better than they.

Climate. — Now that I have given a general view
of the configuration of this part of Africa, I will
speak of the climate.

Unfortunately the book in which w^as recorded all
my observations concerning the amount of rain fall-
in ir, the duration of the showers or storms, the heat
of the sun and of the atmosphere, has been lost ;
now and then I recorded in my journal a few ob-
servations, so I shall not be able to give to the reader
in this chapter a general resume of the daily record.

The Ashango mountains seem to be, if I may use
the negro expression, the home of the rain. I doubt
very much whether in any other country in the
world it rains more than in the mountainous regions
of the interior. On the western coast, near the
equator, there are only two seasons, the rainy and
the dry, as described in 'Equatorial Africa.'

The rain begins in September and ends in May.
In 1864 a long dry season took place, as I have said
in the course of this narrative, called enomo onguero ;

416 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX.

this is an exception to the rule. The dry season
lasts from June to August.

As far eastward as Mayolo, or rather, I may say,
as far as the mountains inhabited by the Ishogos, the
seasons keep themselves pretty distinct ; but as the
reader may see on perusing my book, the further I
went eastward, the less distinct became the dry season.

The dry season came from the west and the rain
from the east. North of the equator the rain seemed
to come from the north-east. South of the equator
it seemed to come almost direct from the east. The
more I advanced in the Ashango country the higher
the land became, and also the more moist ; but there
was no thunder or lightning or heavy rain. At that
time the state of the Eckmiihl river, of the Ngouyai,
arid of its affluents showed, as the reader will see,
that they were far below their height of the wet
season. It is a remarkable fact that the hio-her I
went up these streams, the more they had fallen.

It is clear that it rains more or less in the moun-
tainous regions of the interior throughout the year,
and if it rains there when it is the height of what
is called by them the dry season, what must it be
in their rainy season ? The amount of rain must be
far more than in the countries near the sea-shore. I
noticed in my former journey, while among the can-
nibals (chap, xviii. page 320), the cloudy and rainy
state of the atmosphere in August.

The highest fall of rain I noticed before my rain-
gauge disappeared, was 7Hn. in twenty -four hours,
and, as far as I can remember, more than 200 inches
fell near the sea-shore during the year.

Chap. XX. THE SEASONS. 417

I have given so lengthy an account of tlie seasons
in ' Equatorial Africa' that I need not here enlarge
upon this suLject.

As I advanced into the interior the prosjject be-
came apparent of a continuous I'ainy season, for the
books of Burton, Speke and Grant, showed me that
I had probably nothing other to expect. The distin-
guished discoverer of Lake Tanganyika says in his
'Lake Regions of Central, Africa,' page 287 : — " As
it will appear, the downfalls of rain begin earlier in
Central Africa than upon the Eastern Coast."

It has been seen that I made the same observation
in the West. In page 286 of the same volume, this
accurate observer says : — " The Masika or rains com-
mence, throughout, in Eastern Unyamwezi, the 14tli
of November. In the north and western provinces
the wet monsoon begins earlier and lasts longer. At
Msene it precedes Unyanyembe a month ; in Ujiji
two months. Thus the latter countries have rainy
seasons which last from the middle of September to
the middle of May."

It will be seen by this, that the rainy season on
the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, falls at the
same time as in Western Equatorial Africa, althou'^'b
the two countries are separated by about twenty de-
grees of longitude.

The lamented Speke says: — " \wiiic oa the
equator, or rather a trifle north of it, it rains more or
less all the year round. In the dry season it blows
so cold, that the heat is not distressing."

My observations agree with those of Burton in
this, that although we are on the two extreme sides,

418 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX.

east and west, we observe that the rains come from
the interior.

The observations of Speke agree entirely with
mine concerning the weather under the equator. We
must therefore come to the conclusion that the rains
proceed from some central woody and mountainous
district somewhere between the east and west coasts,
where, no doubt, exist several lakes not yet dis-
covered.

In reading the account of the ill-fated expedition
of Tuckey on the Congo, we read, page 200 and
201:—

" September 1. The rains commence the latter end of
September, and continue to March.

" This day we observed, for the first time, a rise in
the river.

" September 4. Eain falling."

This sudden rise of the Congo will, no doubt, occur
owing to the rains coming from the "northward — that
is, from towards the equator. I must remind the
reader of the cloudy and misty state of the atmo-
sphere, which I have described in the mountains of
the interior ; there were showers, which were becom-
ing heavier every day, in July, and I learned from
the natives that about a month afterwards the heavy
rains would begin. This would account for the rise
of the Congo.

What struck me was, while at IMayolo, the great
perturbation of the magnetic needle during torna-
does. As the tornado rose above the horizon there
seemed to be a dip of the magnetic needle ; then, as it
rose higher, the needle took its natural position, and

Chap. XX. TEMPERATURE. 419

then vibrated sometimes for thirty seconds. This I
observed in the prismatic compass, the only instru-
ment I had.

The temperature of the countries I have ex-
plored, though situated near or under the equator,
is not so liio'h as that of several countries further
removed from it, but I must say beforehand that I
am unable to jndge of the temperature of the furthest
countries that I visited, for I was not there in the
hot season; and I liave no doubt that the heat is
sometimes still greater there than what* I have ob-
served, as it was greater at Mayolo than on the sea-
shore. It has been noticed long ago that the tem-
perature of countries situated under the same degree
of latitude varies considerably. The extent of the
sea, deserts, the prevailing winds, the gulf stream,
the elevation of continents, &c., have a powerful
influence. So Africa, under the equator from west
to east, may have different temperatures, according
to its physical features.

In Western Equatorial Africa, the great moisture
of the country and the vast forests are, no doubt, the
causes of the heat not being so great, the innnense
jungle ab&orbing the heat radiated by the sun. The
hottest months of the year are December, January,
February, March, and April. In May, the tem-
perature begins to decrease ; in June it begins to be
cool, and July and August are the coldest. Then as
the rains commence to make their appearance, the
heat begins to increase.

Tlie same periodical changes of temperature, as far
as I have been able to judge, apply to the coast and

420

PHYSICAL GEOGRArHY AND CLIMATE, Chap. XX.

to the countries of the interior. On the sea-shore
the maximum of heat is from 86° to 88°, very seldom
rising liigher. In the interior, at Majolo, the maxi-
mum, I remember, was 98°; no sea-breeze was felt
there.*

In 1he interior, the maximum of heat in February,
March and April was at about three o'clock p.m., the
minimum between lour and half-past five a.m. ; but
after midnight, the thermometer fell very little.

The coldest days experienced on the sea-shore,
as observed by others, have been 64° and 65°; I
myself never saw it lower than 68°. During the
dry season in July and August the maximum is gene-
rally between 75° and 80°. I must here say that
near the shore I took but very little notice of my
observations, besides noting them down ; but in the
interior it was different. While in the Ashango
country, the temperature for a few days never rose

* The following is a copy of a portion of my register of temperature at
Mayolo, which was preserved iu my Journal. The degrees are of the
centigrade scale.

In the Village of Mdyolo.

In the Forest.

A.M.

r.M.

P.M.

noon.
12.

10. 12.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

April

1

.,

33

33i

33i

29

29

3

33

33i^

33 i

291

14

33*

29

30

20

33i

32J

30

30

30

291

23

32i

33.i

294^

30

30

3U1

25

35*

301

3Ul

29i

26

34i

30*

301

31

31

31

3(1^

May

8

3ii

331

33

30

29 i

29i

. ,

9

33

32*

29

, .

10

, ,

33

27

16

••

30^

31

28^

24

2sJ

Chap. XX. HEAT OF THE SUN'S RAYS. 421

liiglier tlian 72°, but I saw it as low as 64° at six
o'clock a.m. The sky was constantly cloudy. But
it does not follow that, though the heat of the atmo-
sphere is less than in some other countries — the
reasons of which I have given — that the heat of the
sun would be less also ; at any rate, I hope that my
few observations may awaken the spirit of inquiry
on tlie subject, and that simultaneous observations
of tlie heat of the sun and of the atmosphere may
hereafter be made in different countries.

But it will be necessary first to adopt a uniform
system for ascertaining the power of the sun, and
I will raise my humble voice in llxvour of the sub-
ject being discussed. Unfortunately, there being no
general system for ascertaining the heat of the sun,
I used the one that appeared to me the most correct ;
so I am afraid I cannot compare my observations
witli those of others.

I had two thermometers, which I placed at some
distance from each other, sometimes fifty or one
hundred yards apart, sometimes nearer, and I was
surprised at the closeness of their results ;• a degree
was generally the maximum of difference.

My thermometers were laid on a white board, in
order to avoid the moisture rising from the earth,
which was very great. I began these observations
only in the Ashira country, and was not able to carry
them further, for my sun thermometers were 'stolen
on my journey between Ashira and Otando-land.
The weather being warmer at Mayolo, I should have
found the thermometer marking higher still than I

422 THYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE. Chap. XX.

had at Olenda. The maximum, at Olenda, I found
was 1481, temperature of the air 92° and 94^ The
rays of the sun were of the same power at ten a.m.
and five p.m., varying generally from 118° to 125°;
at noon, from 130° to 135°.

These observations were taken in February and
March. Towards one o'clock, the maximum of heat
of the sun was attained. So it will be seen that the
sun had passed its maximum at one, while the maxi-
mum of the heat of the atmosphere occurred at three
o'clock. The greatest heat in the shade this year at
Mr. Bishop's observatory at Twickenham was 89°,
whilst the heat of the sun was 106° only ; this shows
the much less power of the sun in these latitudes
than in Equatorial Africa.

Making these observations in the heat of the sun
were exceedingly exhausting, for I had to go near
my thermometer with only a cap on, so that no
shadow could fall upon it, and I j20uld only carry
them on after intervals of two or three days, for
they generally produced a headache the next day.

I remarked that sometimes a single cloud passing
over the sun, at the time of observation, would send
the thermometer down, in a few seconds, 8° or 10°, and
sometimes more. While nt Mayolo, I carried on my
observations, almost at the same time, in an airy
verandah in the village and in the forest. I found
the temperature in the forest not varying more than
1° (cent.) from oue to three o'clock, while sometimes
it had increased in an open space in the verandah
to 7° or 8°; the temperature of the forest never

Chap. XX. COOLXESS OF THE FOREST SHADES. 423

reacliing more than 31° centigrade, and then it is
found rather pleasant. And well may the traveller
thank Providence that with such a powerful sun he
can travel under the protection of leafj forests, and
be protected from its rays.

CHAPTER XXI.

ETHNOLOGY

Isolation of the tribes in the interior of Western Equatorial Africa — Scan-
tiness of the population — Divisions of tribes and clans — Patriarchal
form of Government — Comparison of customs between Western Equa-
torial tribes and Eastern — Laws of inheritance — Cannibalism — Migra-
tions always towards the West — Decrease of population — Its Causes —
The African race doomed to extinction.

Now I must give a general outline of the numerous
tribes of men that inhabit this vast jungle.

In these mountainous recesses man is what we
may call primitive ; he is surrounded by dense
forests; no trading caravan from the east or from
the west, from the north or from the south, has pene-
trated to him ; he has been shut up from the world
around him, and in the course of his slow migration
he has taken the place of others who had disappeared
before him. The individuals who leave the interior
country for the sea-shore never come back, to tell
their countrymen of the white man or of the sea.
The path is closed to them, there is a gulf between,
the sea and the interior^ but not between the interior
and the sea.

What struck me in travelling through this great
wooded wilderness was the scantiness of the popula-
tion, and the great number of tribes speaking differ-
ent languages and dialects. Ti'ibes bearing different
names considering' themselves different nations, thouo^h

Chap. XXT. ISOLATION OF THE TRIBES. 425

speaking the same language, and tribes speaking the
same language divided from each other by intervening
tribes speaking another language. These tribes were
divided into a great number of clans, each clan inde-
pendent of the others, and often at war with one or
other of them ; in some tribes villages of the same
clan were at war with each other.

Part of one tribe in some cases have no knowledge
whatever of the other part ; the further I went
towards the east the less the people travelled, the
less they knew of what surrounded them, for they
had no trade to incite them to travel. I was never-
theless struck by the great affinities these tribes pre-
sented to each other. The patriarchal form of govern-
ment was the only one known ; each village had its
chief, and further in the interior the villages seemed
to be governed by elders, each elder, with his people,
having a separate portion of the village to them-
selves. There was in each clan the ifoumou, foumou,
or acknowdedged head of the clan {jfoumou meaning
the "source," the "father"),

I have never been able to obtain from the natives
a knowledge concerning the splitting of their tribes
into clans : they seemed not to know how it hap-
pened, but the formation of new clans does not take
place now among them.

Kings never obtain power over large tracts of
country, as we see in Eastern Africa ; the house
of a chief or elder is not better than those of his
neighbours.

The despotic form of government is unknown ;

no one can be put to death at the will of the chief,
29

426 ETHNOLOGY. CaAP. XXT.

and a council of elders is necessary before one is put
to death. In such cases the palavers are long, and
there must be a good majority for the sentence to be
carried out. The intricacies of the law are unknown
to them. A tooth for a tooth is their maxim. Wound-
ing and killing by accident are not recognised as
extenuating circumstances. If any one, by accident,
kills another, by the. falling of a tree which he
cuts down being the cause of the person's death,
he is killed. If a gun goes off by mishap and kills
any one, the man who held the gun is put to death.
According to their theory, the person causing such
accident has an aniemha (witchcraft), and must be
got rid of. But, though no one has a right to put
to death any fi^ee man (for every one may kill his
own slaves), woe to the man or woman who has in-
curred the displeasure or hatred of the head of the
family, for the latter is sure to bring, at some future
time, some witchcraft palaver, and then oblige him or
her to drink the much-dreaded mboundou, or, by his
influence, excite the superstitious fears of his people,
and get rid of them, either by selling them into
slavery, or by having them killed. Very few cases
occur in which the father of the family is made to
drink the mboundou, for he may compel any of his
people to drink it. Every one is under the protec-
tion of some one. If, by death, a negro is suddenly
left alone, he runs great risk of being sold into
slavery. Pretexts for such a deed are not found
wanting. Every one must have an elder to speak
his palavers for him, hence the young and the friend-
less cling to the elder, who is like a father to them

CuAP. XXI. COMPAEISON OF CUSTOMS, 427

all ; thus they do not become scattered, and the more
people an elder has, the more potent his voice be-
comes in the councils of the village ; besides, any free
man, by a singular custom, called bola handa, "which
consists in placing the hands on the head of an elder,
can place himself under the protection of the patri-
arch who is thus chosen, and henceforward become
one of his people. Of course, the man under whose
protection another places himself belongs to a different
clan. South of the equator the tribes were milder
than those I had seen in my former journey north
of the equator. I found no tribes where the villages
were continually fighting with each other, as among
the Bakalai, Shekiani, Mbondemos, ]\Ibisho, and the
Fans. The law of the strongest did not prevail ;
no raid for the sake of plunder w^as committed by
one village upon another ; one of the reasons being
that no village was strong enough to do so — besides,
the people of neighbouring villages intermarry much
with each other, for polygamy, with its many draw-
backs, had in some respects its advantages.

Tribes and clans intermarry with each other, and
this brings about a friendly feeling among the people.
People of the same clan cannot marry with each
other. The least consanguinity is considered an
abomination ; nevertheless, the nephew has not the
slightest objection to take his uncle's wives, and, as
among the Bakalai, the son to take his father's wives,
except his own mother.

The reader wdl at once see the striking difference
there is between the tribes of East Africa and those
which I have visited. When we read Burton, Speke,

428 ETHNOLOGY. Chap. XXL

G>'ant, and Livingstone, we see that in the East the
chiefs are powerful, often cruel, putting their subjects
to death ; villages of neighbouring tribes are con-
tinually sacked, the cattle plundered, and the people
killed or carried into slavery. Property seems to be
secure nowhere.

Polygamy and slavery exist everywhere among
the tribes I have visited ; the wealth of a man con-
sistins: first of wives, next of slaves ; the slaves
always belonging to a different tribe from that of
their owner.

Their religion, if it may be called so, is the same
in all tribes. They all believe in the power of their
gods (idols), in charms, fetiches or raondahs, and in
evil and good spirits. Mahommedanism has not
penetrated into this vast jungle. They all believe in
witchcraft — which I think is more prevalent in the
West than in the East — causing an untold amount of
slaughter. Travellers in the East have not noticed
it as prevailing so much as I have done. They
behold with superstitious fear the appearance of the
new moon.

Their laws of inheritance are alike, except among
the Bakalai.

Tlie Western tribes believe in the alumhi, a custom
which Eastern travellers have not described, but they
speak of chalk, and of little houses containing jaws
or bones of men.

The Western custom of the djemhai (see ' Equatorial
Africa '), is known under another name in the East.

The doctors of both East and West have the same
powers and functions, and are called by nearly the

Chap. XXI. LAWS OF INHERITANCE. 429

same name, in both regions — Ouganga, Ugariga,
Mganga, or Nganga.

The law of inheritance among these Western tribes
is, that tlie next brother inlierits tlie weahh of the
eldest (women, slaves, &c.), but that if the youngest
dies the eldest inherits his property, and if there are
no brothers, that the nephew inherits it. The head-
ship of the clan or family is hereditary, following the
same law as that of the inheritance of property. In
the case of all the brothers having died, the eldest
son of the eldest sister inherits, and it goes on thus
nntil the branch is extinguished, for all clans are
considered as descended from tbe female side.

What struck me also was that at each step occa
sioned by death the heir changes his name. The
chief of the Abouya clan of the Commi was formerly
called Oganda, then his next brother was called Quen-
gueza, and another Kombe-Niavi, names which my
friend Quengueza has successively borne, being now
called Oganda, and no one would dare to call him
by the name of Quengueza. The title is generally
assumed after the bola ivoga has taken place.

On my second journey, Obindji, the Bakalai chief,
was called Ratenou, having taken the name of his
father — the Bakalai, as far as I kno'»v, being the only
tribe among which the son inheiits his father's pro-
perty.

The only custom I have not found prevalent among
them all was cannibalism, the traces of ^vllic]l and
records of which I have not found amongst any of the
tribes inhabitmg south of the equator which I have
visited. In my former work on Etpatorial Africa,

430 ETHNOLOGY. Chap. XXL

after the many inquiries I made among the Fans of
the interior, I learned that they and the people in the
north-east direction were the ouly ones who ate human
flesh, and that they did not know where cannibalism
stopped. Hence I mentioned that cannibalism had
migrated from north-east to south-west, and not from
south to north ; my last journey has entirely demon-
strated to me the truth of that hypothesis ; and it
shows how little they travelled, that no one has ever
heard of the Fans in the Southern country I have
visited.

The fables of all the tribes were nearly alike, and
it is wonderful how they are handed down from
generation to generation.

Their languages, though not the same, have great
affinities to one another, but they seem to have been
derived from two distinct sources, namely from tribes
of the north and north-east, and from tribes of the
south-east and east. On this subject I must refer the
reader to the Comparative Vocabulary given in the
Appendix (HI.) to this volume.

The question naturally arises, how such a s^ate of
political disintegration as I have described has taken
place.

We must come to the conclusion that Africa has
not escaped many political convulsions followed by
great wars and migrations ; that the same natural
laws which govern our race have prevailed in Africa,
and that migration has taken place from east to west.

I could learn nothing from them on these subjects,
the past being a dark sea of which they knew nothing
and about which they did not care. Some of their

I'AN WOMAN AND CHILD. KUOM A FEENCII PHOTOUKAPII.

Chai'. XXI. MIGRATION TOWARDS THE AVEST. 431

legends seem to imply tl;at there had heen great
wars; old men of the Commi tribe even remember
when their clans were continually at war with each
other.

The migration of the tribes, as I have already
observed, seems to have followed the same laws as
migrations among ourselves; I did not meet with a
single tribe or clan who said they came from the
west ; thev all pointed towards the east as the place
they came from.

The migration of the Fans (people of which I have
given an account in ' Equatorial Africa') has suddenly
burst westward, and I believe that there has never
been a migration with which we are acquainted in
Western Africa, which has made so quick a descent
on the sea-board. Fifteen or twenty years ago the
Fans were only heard cf by the sea-shore tribes, a
few villages were said to be found in the mountains
at the bead water of the Gaboon; now the people
have come down from tlieir mountains and have
settled everywhere on the banks of the Gaboon ;
their villages are numei'ous ])ptwecn the j\Iooiida and
the Gaboon, and are distant only a few miles from
the sea ; indeed, the Fans are now seen often among
the settlements of the traders. I give a represent-
ation of a Fan woman, from a French photogra2:)h,
which will give the reader a fair idea of a cannibal
helle. I have also given a sketch of a group of Fan
warriors, taken from a French photograph.

These ^varlike people have swept everything before
them. The Bakalai and Shekiani villages have not
been able to ^vithstand their onset ; and now Bakalai

432 ETHNOLOGY. Chap. XXI.

Shetiani and Fan yillao-es are intermino-led witli eacli
other and often fighting witli each other, for these
three tribes are the most warlike in this part of Africa.
The Bakalai and Shekiani are decreasing very fast,
and the Fans in the course of time will take their
place, and also that of the Mpongwe.

What the cause may be of the sudden migration of
these cannibals, I have not been able to discover.

The mio-ration of the Fans towards the western
board is but a repetition of the fonner migrations of
other tribes, the remnants of which we now see on or
near the sea-shore.

From the Gaboon to Cape St. Catherine the tribes
bearing different names, and the tribes inhabiting the
Ogobai as far as the Okanda, speak the same lan-
guage, with the exception of the Aviia, Avho are said to
speak the same language as the Loaugo people down
the coast. The Mpongwe, Oroungou and Commi
were once interior tribes.

Quengueza pointed out to me the place where the
people of Goumbi had their viHage, and where he
lived when a young man ; it was about forty miles
higher up the stream. The Abogo clan of the Commi
of the Fernand Vaz supply the hereditary chief of
the sea-coast tribe, on account of their having settled
there first.

The Bakalai themselves were strangers on the banks
of the River Ovenga, and it is only of late years (about
twenty years) that they have settled there by permis-
sion of the predecessor of Quengueza. The Bakalai
have only of late migrated from the north to the Ashan-
kolo and hence to the banks of the Ovenga ; they have

Chap. XXI. MIGEATION TOWARDS THE WEST. 433

also migrated to the banks of the Ngoujai, and have
scattered themselves further east than the Ovigui
river.

Old Remandji, tlie king of the Apingi, whom I
visited in my first journey, remembered well the time
when he could go with the Apingi to the Anenga
tribe. Since then the road has been stopped, the
Bakalai having made their appearance on the way
there.

The Shekiani have come and settled themselves
on the sea-shore from inland, between the Mpongwe
and Cape Lopez people. Three Ishogo villages have
settled among the A]3ono, about two years before
my arrival ; Ishogo and Ashango live in one village,
and Ashango and Njavi do the same in another, the
Njavi having migrated towards the west. All these
are instances of what I advance, namely, that the
tribes are always moving, and that the movement is
towards the west.

There are tribes that have remained a long time at
the same place, such as the Ashira Ngozai, on account
of the beautiful country in which they live : but lately
many have expressed the desire to come and settle on
the banks of the Ovenga, and would do so if it were
not for the warlike Bakalai, who, since the plague,
have dwindled down, and will disappear soon unless
strengthened by migration from the Bakalai of the
north, who may be driven southward by the can-
nibals.

The reader will be alile at once to see, by the
description I have just given, how such political dis-
integration has taken place, and how people speaking

434 ETHNOLOGY. Chap. XXI.

the same language liaA^e in the course of lime been
se]3arated from one another, and finally come to con-
sider themselves as different nations. We must con-
clude that Africa has never been very thickly inha-
bited ; hence the villages on migrating have settled
where they chose.

I have been struck with the steady decrease of the
population, even during the short time I have been
in Africa, on the coast and in the interior ; but before
I account for it, let me raise my voice in defence of
the white man, who is accused of being the cause of it.
Wherever he settles the aborigines are said to dis-
appear. I admit that such is the case ; but the decrease
of the population had already taken place before the
white man came, the white man noticed it but could
not stop it. Populous tribes whom I saw for a
second time, and who had seen no white man and
his fiery water, have decreased, and this decrease
took place before the terrible plague that desolated
the land had made its appearance. The negroes
themselves acknowledge the decrease. Clans, in the
lifetime of old men, have entirely disappeared ; in
others, only a few individuals remain.

Where the Slave Trade exists the population must
certainly decrease in a greater ratio ; and where the
fiery water is sold to the natives in great quantity,
it must also affect their health. Happily the Slave
Trade will never flourish as it did in times past, and
it may be said now to be almost entirely done away
with. In the country of my late exploration, the
only people who continue the traffic in slaves are
negro agents, from the two Portuguese islands St.

Chap. XXI. CAUSES OF DECREASE OF TOPULATION. 435

Thomas and Prince's, who purchase people for their
masters, who are also negroes. They cross to and
from the mainland in small canoes, and thus avoid
the cruisers.

The decrease of the African population is owing to
several causes : — The Slave Trade, polygamy, baii'en-
ness of women, death among children, plagues, and
witchcraft; the latter taking away more lives than
any Slave Trade ever did. The negro does not seem
to diminish only in the region I have visited ; but in
every other part of Africa, travellers, who after the
lapse of a few years have returned a second time in
the same country, have noticed a decrease of popula-
tion.

Tuckey, in exploring the Congo, noticed it, and
expressed his astonishment at seeing the country so
little inhabited, compared to what he expected from
the accounts he had read of that river in the works
of the Catholic missionaries.

The women of the interior are prolific, and in de-
spite of it shall we assume that the negro race has
run its course, and that in due course of time it wdll
disappear, like many races of mankind have done
before him ? The Southern States of America were,
I believe, the only country in which the negro is
known to have increased.

The reader who has followed me through the
volume of my former exploration and the present
book, will have been able to gather an idea of the
general character and disposition of the negro of this
part of Africa, as he now stands. I have made re-
searches to ascertain if his race had formerly left

436 ETHNOLOGY. Ckap. XXI

remains, showing that he had once attained a tole-
rably high state of civilization ; my researches have
proved vain, I have found no vestige whatever of
ancient civilization. Other travellers in difterent
parts of Africa have not been more successful than
I have.

How they came to invent looms to work their grass
cloth, no one could tell. Their loom has been used
from generation to generation without its being im-
proved. To my question — " Who taught them to
smelt and work iron ?" their answer was that as lona;
ago as they knew, the people had worked in the same
way. I think everything tends to show that the
negro is of great antiquity, and has always remained
stationary. The working of iron, considering the
very primitive way they work it, and how easy it is
to find the ore, must have been known to them from
the remotest time, and to them the age of stone and
bronze must have been unknown.

As to his future capabilities, I think extreme views
have prevailed among us. Some hold the opinion
that the negro will never rise higher than he is ;
others think that he is capable of reaching the highest
state of civilization. For my own part, I do not
agree w^ith either of these opinions.

I believe that the negro may become a more
useful member of mankind than he is at present, that
he may be raised to a higher standard ; but that, if
left to himself, he will soon fall back into bar-
barism, for we have no example to the contrary. In
his own country the efforts of the missionaries for
hundreds of years have had no effect ; the missionary

Chap. XXI. DESTINY OF THE AFEICAN RACE. 437

goes away and the people relapse into barbarism.
Though a people may be taught the arts and sciences
known by more gifted nations, unless they have the
po\j'er of progression in themselves, they must in-
evitably relapse in the course of time into their
former state.

Of all the uncivilized races of men, the negro has
been found to be the most tractable and the most
docile, and he possesses excellent qualities that com-
pensate in great measure for his bad ones. We
ought therefore to be kind to him and try to elevate
him.

That he will disappear in time from his land I have
very little doubt ; and that he wall follow in the course
of time the inferior races who have preceded him
So let us write his history.

APPENDIX I.

Descriptions of Three Skulls of Western Equatorial Africans — Fan, Ashira,
and Fernand Vaz — with some Admeasurements of the rest of the
Collection of Skulls, transmitted to the British Museum from the
Fernand Vaz, by P. B. Du Chaillu. By Professor Owen, F.E.S., &c.

The pains and skill wlncli M. Du Chaillu has
devoted, under most difficult and trying circum-
stances, to ohtain from the scenes of his explora-
tions in Western Equatorial Africa materials for the
advancement of natural history, have earned for him
the respect and gratitude of every genuine lover
and student of the science for its own sake.

Amongst those specimens which he succeeded in
sending down to the coast for embarkation, before his
furthest expedition into the interior, which ended,
unfoi'tunately for geography, so disastrously, was a
collection of upwards of one hundred skulls of natives
of Western Equatorial Africa, to which class of objects
I liad particularly requested his attention before his
departure from England on his second journey to the
gorilla-country.

Of this collection, the chief part of which is now
in the British Museum, I have taken admeasure-
ments of ninety-three skulls, four of the cliief of
these admeasurements being given in a subjoined
table. Of these skulls I have also profile views and

440 " SKULLS OF WESTEEN AFEICANS, App. L

outlines of the greatest horizontal circumference of
the cranium ; and from the monograph in prepara-
tion I have selected three specimens for more par-
ticular description, from photographs of which the
accompanying woodcuts have been taken.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 are of the skull (No. 24) of a
male native of Fernand Yaz between twenty and
thirty years of age.

The cranium is narrow, and so is proportionally
long ; the occiput is convex or hemispheroid ; tlie
forehead low and narrow ; the parietal bosses scarcely
marked ; the frontal sinuses are slightly protuberant,
the right more so than the left. Yiewing, with one
eye, the upper surface of the cranium, held at arm's
length, with the foremost part of the face just hidden
by the frontal or supraciHary border of tlie cranium,
the outer border of the hind half of the zygomata is
visible. Viewed from the base, as in fig. 3, the in-
tervals between the arches and the alisphenoid walls
of the cranium appear of the greater width commonly
characterizing the skulls of low races as compared
with more advanced and bigger-brained people.

The usual sutures of the adult are present, toge-
ther with the outer half of that between the ex- and
super-occipital (on the outside of the skull) ; the
frontal suture is obliterated, as in most adult skulls.
The lambdoid, or occipi to-parietal suture, is moderately
broad and crenulate, with a small " wormian " ossicle
on the left side. The mastoid suture is narrow and
crenate where it joins the ex -occipital, but be-
comes a linear "harmonia" as it extends to the
jugular foramen. The masto-parietal is crenate but

App. I. MALE XATIYE OF FEllNAND VAZ.

441

Fisr. 1.

Fi-. 2.

Fig. 3.

Skiix, BIale— Feknand Vaz.

1. Side View. 2. Front View. 3. Doiu View,

30

442 SKULLS OF WESTERN AFRICANS. App. I.

narrow, and sinks anteriorly into a post-sqnamosal
pit. The sagittal suture is crenulate, but narrower
than the lambdoid, where it leaves that suture ; it
then becomes crenate,* again crenulate, but contracts
to a wavy linear condition as it approaches the co-
ronal. This is a minutely wavy line for about an
inch and a half from the snglttal, then becomes finely
crenulate and broader until about an inch from the
alisphenoid, where it is crenate, and then again linear
and wavy. A mere point of the upper and hinder
angle of the alisphenoid joins the parietal, conse-
quently there is no " spheno-parietal" suture. The
sjoheno-frontal suture — the left ten lines, the right
eleven lines in length — is linear, almost straight,
slightly squamous. The squamo-parietal suture is,
as usual, squamous ; the squamo-sphenoid is a linear
harmonia, such also is the spheno-malar suture. The
fronto-malar is continued forward from the spheno-
frontal suture. The " upper curved ridge '' of the
super-occipital is well defined, but without a median
occipital prominence ; the more feeble lower curved
ridge terminates above the persistent parts of the
super-ex-occipital sutures. The par-occipital ridges
are moderately developed. The supra-mastoid ridges f
are well defined through the depth of the supra-mas-
toid groove running from the supra-mastoid or post-

* By "crenate" I mean where the waves, or angles, or "denticulations" of
the suiural margin do not send off scc.nidary waves or angles; in which
case I use the term " crenulate." The breadth of the suture is the extent
across which the waves or ani:les interlock.

f ' Descriptive Catalogue of the Ostcological Series, Museum, Royal
ColleLie of Surgeons,' 4to., 1853, p. 825, e^ ser^. Syn : " backward exten-
sion of the posterior root of the zygomatic process" in anthropotomy ;
Sharpey's ' Quain's Anatomy,' ed. 18(34, vol. i., p. 36.

App. I. MALE KATIVE OF FERNAXD YAZ. 443

squamosal fossa towards tlie meatus auditorius ex-
ternus. Above this the upper and outer border of
the tympanic projects as a " super-auditory ridge."
Stylohyals, one inch in lengtli, are anchylozed to the
petrosal. The frontal is slightly protuberant above
the spheno-frontal suture, between it and the begin-
ning or fore-part of the temporal ridge.

The nasals are ^hort, narrow, concave lengthwise,
convex transversely, but with little prominence.

The malars slope outward to their lower marQ-in.
near which they are tuberous lengthwise. The an-
terior alveolar part of the upper jaw slopes forward,
as in fig. 1. The contour of the bony palate (fig. 3),
is that of a fall ellipse. The molars {m 1, m 2) are
smaller than in Australians.

The angle of the mandible is well-marked ; the
ascending ramus is subquadrate ; tlie incisive alveoli
bend a little forward to their outlets ; a mere rough-
ness takes the place of the " spinas mentales," on the
inner or back part of the symj)hysis.

The three true molars are present in each side of
the lower jaw ; those of the left side, especially the
first and second, are more worn than those of the
right ; the third is on the grinding level on the left
side, but has risen only half toward it on the right
side. The age of the individual, as at the prime of
life, may be inferred from this state of dentition ; it
is also plain that the left side, or half, of tlie jaw had
chiefly been used in mastication. The size of the
three molars is inferior to that in Australian jaws,
but superior to that in most Europeans.

The cranium of this skull, in comparison with that

444 SKULLS OF WESTERN AFRICANS. Arp. 1.

of an European of similar general proportions, as to
length and breadth, shows more of tlie elliptical, less
of the oval, character of horizontal contour ; the
European skull being wider, as usual, at the parietal
bosses. The larger brain of the European has been
accompanied also with greater height and breadth
and forward convexity of the forehead, more pro-
tuberant sides of the cranium below the temporal
ridge, and a nearer approach to the horizontal plane
of the part of the occiput between the great foramen
and the upper curved ridge. The more produced
and longer nasals, the less produced and more vertical
incisive alveoli, the less prominent malars, also dis-
tinguish the skull compared, as they do the majority
of modern European skulls, from those of Africans.

The next skull which I have selected for the pho-
tographer is that (No. 57) of a male of the Fan, or
cannibal race of Western Equatorial Africa, figs.
4, 5, and 6. It has belonged to a larger and
more powerful individual than the former skulk
The forehead rises higher, the parietal protuberances
are more prominent, as is the sagittal region from
which the parietals more decidedly slope towards the
temporal ridges. The lambdoid, mast-occipital, masto-
parietal, squamous, squamo-sphenoid, spheno-frontal,
and spheno-malar sutures remain ; the sagittal,
coronal and frontal, are obliterated ; the horizonta.
contour of the cranium is more oval than in the
average European skull compai-ed with the one from
Fernand Vaz, owing to the more lateral contraction
of the forehead in the Fan.

The super-occipital is pretty regularly convex, as

App. I.

MALE OF THE FAN TRIBK

445

Fiff. 4.

Fi-. 5.

Fig. C.

Rkill, SIale— Fan.

4. Front View. 5. SiUe View. C. B.ise View,

446 SKULLS OF WESTERN AFRICANS. App L

in the former skull ; the surface — chiefly ex-occipital —
extending from the foramen magnum to the occipital
protuberance, as in the former skull, forms with the
plane of that foramen a less open angle than in most
European skulls ; the vertical extent of brain there
is less, and the occipital surface in question is not
pushed down so nearly to the level of the plane of
the foramen magnum. The occipital protuberance is
stronger in the present skull than in the former, but
the upper curved ridge extended from it sooner sub-
sides, and the lower curved line is less marked.
The foramen magnum is rather smaller ; the right
par-occipital tuber is more produced. The mastoid
processes are larger ; the supra-mastoid ridge is more
curved, and extended upwards; there is no post-
squamosal pit; the super-auditory ridges* are more
obtuse than in figs. 1 — 3.

The lambdoid suture is feebly and irregularly cre-
nate along its upper or medial half, and becomes
crenulate at the lower half, resuming a linear simpli-
city near its junction with the mastoid. A forward
extension of the fore and upper angle of the squa-
mosal shows plainly that it divided the part of the
alisphenoid, which it overlies, from the parietal, on
both sides of the head, and the spheno-frontal suture
is shorter than in No. 24. The frontal sinuses make
no outward prominence, and the glabella is continued
by a gentle concave curve into the nasal part of the
skull's profile. The nasals are broader, shorter, and
less prominent than in No. 24. The malars are

* These are seldom wanting, and are not to be confounded with tho
supra-mastoid ridges.

Arp. I. MALE OF THE FAX TRIBE. 447

deeper, more uniformly convex, and Lave not the
lower border turned outward. The forward direction
of the upper incisive alveoli is the same in degree as
in No. 24, but they are rather longer. The bony
palate is more contracted anteriorly. The external
pterygoid plates are broader, shorter, and more everted
than in Ko. 24. The cranial walls are thicker and
denser; they are 4^ lines thick in 1he parietal and
frontal bones, along a section taken half an inch from
the medial line of the calvarinra; the parietal is a
little thinner at the boss, and thins as it descends ;
but near the squamosal suture it retains a thickness
of three lines. The diploe is scanty and feebly
marked, and owning to the general density of the
cranial walls the weight of the skull is considerable,
being, without the lower jaw, 2 lbs. 2f oz. avoird.

The molars, as in No. 24, are intermediate in size
between those of Australians and the generality of
those of Europeans.

The third skull (No. 96, figs. 7, 8, and 9) is of an
aged female, also of the Fan tribe, retaining only
the two canines and one molar of the left side of the
upjDcr jaw, and with an edentulous mandible of a
peculiar form, combining, with the usual character-
istics of that condition in aged individuals, an upward
production of the fore-part, through the "stimulus
of necessity" of a biting proximity of the lower to
the upper incisive alveoli between the retained upper
canines, as shown in fig. 7. The alveoli of the lost
molars are absorbed in both jaws, but those of the
lost incisors, though obliterated, have been main-
tained in much of their pristine length, and have

448

SKULLS OP WESTERN AFRICANS.

App. T.

Fig. 7.

Fiff. 8.

Fig. 9.

Skfll, Aged Female— Fan Tkibe.
1. Front View. 8. Side View. 9. Bass View

App. I. AGED FEMALE OF THE FAX TRIBE. 449

become bevelled off to an edge, after tlie fasliion of
the scalpriform incisors of Rodents.

Tlic cranium, though smaller, resembles in general
form and proportions that of the male Fan. The
usual sutures, however, remain.

The lambdoid is narrow, and the crenation hardly
grows to crenulation toward the lower and outer
end of the suture, where a small " wormian " is
wedged between the mastoid and super-occipital on
the left side. The occipital condyles are less convex,
more worn down, tlian in tlie male skulls, as if fi'om
the practice of carrying weight on the head. The
lower curved ridge of the occiput is well defined, and
the surface between it and the foramen magnum
shows the usual characters of muscular attachment,
but tliere is neither an upper curved ridge nor occi-
pital spine, and the surface above the lower ridge is
convex, and smooth like the rest of the outer part of
the super-occipital. The mastoid processes are small;
the snpra-mastoid ridges low and smooth ; the super-
auditory ridges very short. The parietal protuber-
ances are as little defined as in Ko. 24. The sagittal
suture is "crenate; " the coronal suture is linear at
both ends, crenulate but narrow at the mid-part.
The apex of each alisphenoid joins the parietal ;
the extent of the spheno-parietal suture not exceed-
ing three lines, that of the sphe no-frontal suture is
ten lines. The malars are not protuberant ; on the
contrary, the outer surface of each is concave — a rare
variety.*

The deficiency of masticating machinery has pre-

* This character is less truly shown in fig. 7 than in fig. 8.

450 SKULLS OF WESTERN AFRICANS. Arp. L

vailed long enough to affect the base of the zygo-
matic process ; the chief part of the articular surface
for the mandible is formed by the anterior^ slight
convexity (eminentia articularis), the smaller depres-
sion behind being unusually shallow. This approach
to the character of the same articular surface in
"edentate" mammals is not without interest.

The bony palate is oblong and subquadrate : it is
shallow, through absorption of its lateral walls : its
surface is more than usually hard and irregular,
through pressure against it, probably by tongue and
mandible, of unchewed alimentary subtances, and the
palato-maxillary and intermaxillary * sutures remain :
the maxillo-premaxillary suture is obliterated on the
palate as elsewhere. The internasal suture is jDartly
obliterated at its upper half : the naso-maxillary
sutures remain ; both are linear.

The frontal sinuses are slightly prominent, and are
accordingly more marked, in this old negress's skull
(fig. 8) than in the strong man's of the warlike and
cannibal tribe of Fans (fig. 5).

The mandible shows strikingly the senile characters
due to absorption of alveoli; the forward slope of
the rami from the condyles ; the reduction of the
coronoid processes to a slender pointed form. The
anterior outlets of the dental canals open upon the
fore part of the broad shallow superior border of the
horizontal ramus, which is left by the absorption
of the sockets : anterior to each orifice the border
shows a slight protuberance of ivory hardness against
which the obtusely worn crowns of the upper canines

* The meJiau palatal suture between the two maxillaiies is licie meant.

App. I.

DIMENSIONS.

451

had their appulse. The trenchant, or transversely
weclge-hke, growth of the socketless incisive border
of the mandible, rising between the upper canines,
when the mouth is shut, has been already noticed as
the peculiar feature of the present mandible.

MEASUREMENTS OF THE THREE SKULLS.

24.

57.

96.

in.

lines.

in.

line".

in.

lines.

Horizontal circumference of cranium

19

4

22

0

IS

3

From one auditory meatus to the other over vertex...

12

8

13

0

12

2

Long diameter of cranium, outside

7

3

7

G

G

1

Greatest transverse diameter, outside

5

3

5

G

5

0

From anterior cdtje of foramen magnum to tliat of l
the premaxillary alveolar border J

4

3

4

2

4

1

From anterior edge of foramen magnum to hindmost 1
part of occiput /

3

5

4

1

3

2

Length of skull, from premaxillary alveolar border toj
lino dropped from hindmost part of occiput /

7

9

8

3

7

3

Breadth of lower jav/, through angles

3

10

3

2

Longitudinal diameter of cranium, inside

G

8

5

9

Transverse diameter of cranium, inside

4

10

5

0

4

8

Heiglit of cranium, inside

5

8

5

3

4

10

Length of foramen magnum

1

4i

1

41

1

H

Brcadtli of foramen magnum

1

2i

1

2i

1

0

ILiglitof alisplienoid in a straight line from foramen "1
ovale j

1

11

2

0

1

11

Breadth of alisplienoid, upper border ...

0

11

0

10

0

10]

Breadth across zygomatic arches

5

3

4

10

4

7

Tnmsverse diameter of orbit

1

9

1

7

1

G

Vertical diameter of orbit

1

5

1

4

1

3

Inter orbital space

0

11

0

11

«

11

Length of nasal bones, in a straight line

0

10

0

9

0

10

Transverse diameter, miildle

0

3i

0

5

0

5

Transverse diameter, lower portion

0

5',

0

7

0

9

Heiglit of the symphysis of the lower jaw, exclusive"!
ofteeth J

1

3

0

11

452

SKULLS OF WESTERN AFEICANS.

App. I.

The following are three of the dimensions of ninety-
three skulls from Fernand Yaz and the Interior : —

No.

Ler

0

Sk

E!lh

t

ill.

Length

of
Cranium.

Breadth

oi
Cranium.

Circum-
ference of
Cranium.

No.

Length

(.f
S;;ull.

Length

of
Cranium.

Breadth

of
Cranium.

Circum-
ference of
Cranium.

1

in

7

linee.
9

in.

7

ines.
0

in.
5

IMPS.

0

in.
19

lines..
G

34

in.
8

lines.
0

in.
6

lines.
9

in.
5

ines.

6

in.
18

lines.
6

2

7

10

7

3

5

0

20

0

35

8

0

7

0

5

3

19

0

3

S

0

7

3

5

3

19

G

3G

7

7

6

6

5

3

18

3

4

8

4

G

9

5

3

18

G

37

8

• 0

7

3

5

3

19

9

5

7

10

G

8

5

3

18

9

38

7

4

6

9

5

3

18

6

6

7

10

G

9

5

3

IS

9

39

7

1

G

3^

5

0

17

3i

7

7

10

6

G

5

4

18

3

40

7

7

6

9

5

3

18

6

8

8

0

7

0

5

0

18

G

41

7

10

7

0

5

0

18

9

9

7

10

G

7

5

0

18

0

42

8

0

7

0

5

3

19

4

10

8

5

7

G

5

G

20

3

43

7

7

G

9

4

9

17

9

11

7

G

G

8

5

3

18

0

44

7

7i

6

3

5

0

17

3

12

7

7

G

7

5

3

18

9

45

7

10

6

7

5

3

18

3

13

8

0

6

7

5

0

17

10

46

7

9

6

9

5

3

18

3

11

8

1

7

2

5

G

19

G

47

8

0

7

1

5

3

19

3

13

8

0

G

9

5

0

IS

0

48

8

3

7

3

5

9

20

0

16

S

5

7

o

5

G

19

G

49

8

2

7

0

5

6

19

0

17

n
t

10

7

0

5

4

18

9

50

8

1

6

9

5

3

18

6

18

7

0

6

G

5

2

17

9

51

8

0

6

9

5

3

18

6

19

8

0

7

1

5

G

19

3

52

8

2

7

3

5

3

19

3

20

7

10

G

9

5

3

18

9

53

7

10

6

9

5

3

18

0

21

8

0

7

3

5

3

19

0

54

8

3

7

3

5

3

19

3

22

7

4

G

7

5

4

18

G

55

7

11

7

0

5

3

18

9

23

8

0

7

9

5

0

IS

0

56

7

3

6

9

5

3

IS

3

24

7

10

7

3

5

3

19

4 1

57

8

3

_ 7

6

5

6

22

0

25

7

10

G

9

5

3

18

G

58

8

0^

7

0

5

3

19

3

2G

G

G

7

1

5

2

19

0

59

7

10

6

9

5

0

18

3

27

7

5

G

3

5

0

17

0

GO

7

7

6

6

5

3

18

0

28

8

0

7

0

5

3

18

9

Gl

8

2

6

9

5

3

IS

9

29

8

0

7

0

5

G

19

0

G2

8

5

7

3

5

6

19

9

30

7

10

7

0

5

3

18

9

63

7

7

G

9

5

0

IS

3

31

8

0

7

0

5

3

19

0

64

8

2

G

9

5

3

18

6

32

8

0

G

9

5

G

18

9

C5

8

5

7

0

5

6

19

3

33

8

li

G

9

5

3

18

6

66

7

10

6

9

5

G

18

9

App. I.

DIMENSIONS.

453

LfiisHi

Length

of

of

Skull.

Cranium. 1

Brcjdth

of
Cranium.

Circum-
fi'rence of
Crunium.

No.

Length i Length

of I of

Skull. Cranium.

Breadth Circura-

of fen nee of

Cranium. Cranium.

C7

in.

7

lines.
10

in.

linos.
G

in.
5

lin -s.
G

in.
18

lin.s

G

81

08

7

7

G

G

5

3

17

9

82

C9

8

0

7

0

5

3

19

0

83

70

8

0

7

0

5

3

18

9

84

71

7

10

7

0

5

3

IS

9

85

72

8

0

7

3

5

G

19

G

8G

73

7

10

7

0

5

3

18

9

87

7i

8

0

7

0

5

3

19

0 ^

88

75

7

7

G

G

i)

0

IS

0 ;

89

76

8

3

7

3

5

G

19

6

90

77

7

10

G

G

5

G

18

9

91

78

8

0

G

G

5

0

18

0

92

79

7

4

G

9

5

3

17

9

93

80

8

0

7

0

5

3

18

G

2

0

0

0

0
10

3

2

2i-
10
10
10

3

in. line.-,, in lines.
19 0

0

5

G

0

5

3

0

5

0

9

5

3

6

5

0

0

5

9

3

5

3

0

5

3

0

5

6

G

5

0

G

5

3

0

5

G

1

5

0

19
19
IS
17
19
19
18
19
17
18
19
18

Making allowance for difference of sex — the sknlls
not exceeding seven inches eight lines in length,
being most of them plainly female — the range of
diversity is here mnch less than would be found in
the same number of European skulls from a locality
of the same extent as the ground from which M. Du
Chaillu gathered the above collection.

And this comparative conformity appears to de-
pend on a corresponding uniformity in the manner
of life, in the fewer wants, the less diversified pur-
suits, of the Equatorial Africans. Their food, the
mode of obtaining it, the bodily actions, muscular
exertions, and mental efforts stimulating and govern-
ing such acts, vary comparatively little in the peo])le
visited by M. Du Chaillu. The cannibal habits of
the Fans offer the main difference, and with them

454 SKULLS OF WESTERX AFRICANS. App. L

are associated the larger cranial dimensions, as a
general rule. But, in all, the prevalent low social
status, the concomitant sameness, and contracted
range, of ideas — the comparatively limited variety
in the whole series of living phenomena, from child-
hood to old age, of human communities of the grade
of the Ashiras and Fans — govern the conformity of
their low cranial organisation.

In my work on the Archetype skeleton I note,
among other characters of the general homology of
bones of the human head, the degrees of variability
to which the several vertebral elements were respec-
tively subject.*

The centrums and neurapophyses of the cranial
vertebrae maintain the greatest constancy, the neural
spines the least, in the vertebral column of mammals,
as in the cranial region thereof in the vast series of
the varieties and races of mankind : the htemal arches
and their diverging appendages are the seats of in-
termediate degrees of variation.

Accordingly, between the lowest forms of African
and Australian skulls and the highest forms of Euro-
pean skulls, the difference in size and shape is least
in the basi-occipito-sphenoids, in the ex-occipitals,
alisphenoids, and orbitosphenoids : it is greatest in
the super-occipital, parietals, frontals, and nasals. The
maxillary and mandible are next in degree of varia-
bility, especially at the terminal anterior part which
represents the h?emal spine, and is the seat of the
characters which Ethnology terms " prognathism,"

* 'On tlic Archetype and Homologies of the Vertebrate Skeleton.' 8vo.
1843, p. loT.

App. I. CONDITIONS OF VAEIABILITY. 455

" orthognathism," " opisthognatliism." As in the
neural, so in the hcemal arches, the parts become sub-
ject to variety as they recede from the centrum. The
palatal bones (pleurapophyses) show most constancy,
the maxillaries (hgemapophyses) the next degree, the
pre-maxillaries (hasmal spines) the least constancy.*

So, likewise, with regard to the centrums them-
selves, the terminal one or " vomer " is more variable
than those behind it.

The tympanic (pleurapophysis) offers as few cha-
racteristics to the ethnologist, as does the palatine.
The malar bones and zygomatic arches — diverging,
as appendages, from the maxillary arch — are seats of
variety only inferior to the neural spines. The
pterj^goid processes are almost, if not quite, as vari-
able as the malar bones.

Accordingly, the variability or value of ethnolo-
gical admeasurements depends on the vertebral ele-
ments, or general homology, of the parts they may
happen to include. The length of the skull is more
constant than that of the cranium, in the entire
series of human races, because it includes the ver-
tebral centrums, whilst the other includes only neural
spines. Moreover, the parts that chiefly vary the
leno-th of the skull are those behind the foramen
magnum, and those before the palatine bones.

The dimension from the anterior border of the
foramen magnum to the fore part of the pre-sphe-

* The range of variety in tliis vertebral clement may "be estimated by
the fact that all the ordinal charac'.crs of the class of birds derived from the
" rostrum " are furnished by modifications of the pre'maxillar}' and pre-
maudibular bones.

456 ETHNOLOGICAL TERMS OF ART. App. L

noid, or to the palato-maxillary suture, is, perhaps,
regard being had to sex, as constant as any. The
part behind the cranial centrums is chiefly affected
by tlie super-occipital; the part in front by the
pre-maxillary. The extreme height, breadth, and
length of the cranium, with the curves and con-
tours of the dome, help the ethnologist with the
range of differences which it has pleased him to
express by the terras : brachycephalic, brassocephalic,
brachistocephalic, subbrachycephalic, mesocephalic,
mecocephalic, mecistocephalic, dolichocephalic, doli-
chistoceplialic, pyramidocephalic, coidocephalic, cym-
bocephalic, stenocephalic, eurycephalic, cylindroce-
phalic, hypsicephalic, orthoceplialic, phoxocephalic,
sphenoeephalic, platycephahc, sphosrocejohalic, cubi-
cephalic, &c., with the terminal varieties, as in brachy-
ce^h^lous and brachycepha(y, played upon each
compound ; to which add " pheenozygous," " crypto-
zygous," as the cranial dome may give or hide a view
of the z^'gomatic arclies ; also dolichorhinous, brachy-
rhinous, platyrhinous, or platyrhina/, &c., &c., for all
the gradations of diversity of the neural spines of
the foremost vertebra.

There is no particular harm in such array or dis-
play of terms of art — save where they are extended
from signifying a gradation or variety of cranial
form to the constant character of a race, a nation, a
family, or a period — in the absence of that extent
and amount of observation which is absolutely requi-
site to prove or disprove such constancy. In the
extensive series of skulls of the natives of a limited
tract of the northern part of the peninsula of Hin-

Apr. I. SKULLS OF AMERICAN INDL\XS. 457

dustan, varieties of slinpe of tlie ci'aniiim were observed
wliicli might be expressed by at least Lalf a dozen
of the above-cited Greek polysyllabics, and even of
opposite extremes, and this, not only in the general
series of Nepalese skulls, but sometimes in the iniiior
series of a tribe or village.* Yevy analogous are the
results as affecting " brachycephalic," dolicocephalic,"
&c., " families," " varieties," or " races," to which a
correspondingly expa,nded survey of the skulls of the
aboriginal Indians of America has led the accurate
and painstaking ethnologist, Dr. Aitken Meigs.f

In the first place he finds that, in the general
series of aboriginal American crania, there is a
range of diversity of proportions of the cranial
cavity, which would give the ethnologist grounds for
distributing them into three groups : 1, Bulichocephali ;
2, Mesocepludi; 3, Brachycepkali; but these are not
coincident with areas or periods. Not any of them
is distinctive of a particular family, or race, or nation,
or other group, either according to time or to space.
Thus the skulls of the Creek Indians may be, in a
general way ' eurycephalic,' i.e. shorter and more
broadly oval than those of the Assinaboins, and
these, in like manner, than the crania of the Ottawas.
But among the Creeks is a specimen (No. 441) which
is " brachycephalic," and a skull of one of the Dacota
Indians "stands between the Assinaboin's and the
Creek's " (p. 37). Among the Osages of the Upper

* " Picpni-t on a series of Skulls of various Tribes of Mankind inhabiting
jSTepal," in ' Iveports of the Brilish ^.ssociatiuu for the AdviuicemenL of
Scii-nce,' for 1850.

+ ' Procfedlugs of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Pliiladelpbia,
May, 1866.

31

458 SKULLS OF AMEKICAN INDIANS. App. L

Missouri is a "longisli head, inclining to the Swedish
form, occupying a position intermediate between the
long and short heads" (p. 20) ; a third (No. 54) has
"the coronal region almost round, like that of the
true Germanic head" (p. 19). Another specimen
(No. 54) " belongs to the angularly round or square-
headed Gothic type" (p. 19). Others, again, are
" brachycephalic." Among the Blackfoot Indians are
some skulls "decidedly dolichocephahc " (p. 17) ; but
in No. 1227, of a Chief (and probably, therefore, with
a more laterally expanded brain) the skull " occupies
an intermediate place between the long and short
heads" (p. 17). The skull of a Mohican also occupies
" a position intermediate between the long and short
heads, and approaches the Mongol form" (p. 20).
" The Ottawas of Michigan may be partly referred to
the arched type " (p. 22). But " No. 1007 is brachy-
cephalic" {ih-)- Others of this tribe, Nos. 1006,
1008, 1009, "depart from this type and approach
the Swedish form. I have consequently placed them
in the "dolichocephalic" division" (p. 22). The
State of Michigan, however, was once occupied or
hunted over by other aboriginal tribes, the Meno-
minees, e. (j., " the cranial specimens of which differ
from each other not a little" (p. 22).

The details of these differences are very instructive
as to the degree of value of the terms of cranial
shapes as denoting ethnological groups. Thus, after
pointing out those approaching or attaining the
" BrachycephaH," Dr. Meigs writes: — "Among the
Miamis of Indiana we again encounter the dolicho-
cephalic type" (p. 22). But here also it is added

App. I. CONDITIONS OF VAEIABILITY. 459

that the skull of a Chief, No, 542, "is in many
respects like the German heads in the collection,
especially those from Tiibingen, Frankfort, Berlin :
it has the Swedish occiput" (ib.). "No. 1055 ap-
proaches the angular Gothic form" {ih.). In others
" the outline of the crown forms a more or less
rounded oval" (ih.). "No. lOG approaches the
arched type." " The specimens in the collection
constituting the Seminole group vary not a little
from each other" (p. 25). After descriptive details,
Dr. Meigs proceeds : " It vrill thus be seen that in
this group there are at least two, if not three, distinct
types" (p. 26).

How often one feels the desire to ask an author
the meaning in which he uses the word " type " ! As
applied to cranial configuration, the grades or shades
of transition are such that the choice of any one step
in the series for a term of comparison must he arbi-
trary.

With regard to the aborigines of America, the
ethnologist may classify them according to their
tribes, family names, or autonomy, or according to
the districts inhabited by them, or according to their
cranial characters. But, it is abundantly sliown by
Dr. Meigs, as, indeed, Avas to be inferred from the
'Crania Americana' of Moreton, that, Avith the arbi-
trary assiunption of certain proportions, dimensions,
&c., as "type-characters," the cranial classification
would differ from the tribal or national, geographical
or epochal one.

AVhat constitutes the prevalent "dolichocephalic
type," ethnologically speaking, among the African

460 SKULLS OF WESTEKN AFEICANS. App. L

skulls whicli have called forth the present remarks, is
not, as the terra would imply, a greater length of
cranium than in Indian and European skulls which
would be called " brachycephalic," or " hypsi cephalic,"
but merely a want of filling out of the brain-case by
lateral or vertical expansion. The dimension of
" leno"th " is more constant than that of "breadth"
or " depth " in the cerebral hemispheres of the human
brain.

Were the natives of "Western Equatorial Africa, dis-
covered or visited by M. Du Chaillu and represented
by the skulls which he collected and transmitted, as
constant, keen, and clever hunters as the North
American Indians, there might then be expected to
rise among them here or there an individual with
qualities making him superior in his craft, and
enabling him to direct and dominate over the more
common sort. And in proportion as the brain might
have a concomitant increase of size in such " Chief,"
we should expect the long ("dolichocephalic type")
to merge into the broad ("brachycephalic"), or lofty
(" hypsicephalic), or globular (sphoerocephalic) modi-
fi.cations of cranial configuration.

In all the Negro skulls in the present collection,
as in those of Boschismen, ]\Iincopies, Australians,
and every other variety that has come under my
observation, the essential characters of the archence-
phalous subclass and of its sole genus and species
are as definitely marked as in the skulls of the
highest white races.

APPENDIX II.

INSTRUMENTS USED IN THE EXPEDITION TO
ASH AN GO-LAND.

First Supply. (From Mr. Potter, successor to Cary.)

1 Aneroid, brass, in morocco case, 2 inches in diameter, registering

from 15 to 31 inches.

2 Compasses, prismatic, with stand, shades, and reflector, 3 inches

diameter (Singer's patent).
2 Compasses, pocket (Singer's patent), l^- inches diameter.
Drawing instruments, one set in German silver, iu case, 6 inches

by 9J inches.
Drawing pins, 2 dozen.
2 Horizons Artificial, folding roof, improved iron trough and

bottle, in sling case.
Hj^sometrical Apparatus, viz. : —

Bull's-ej'e lantern, copper boiler, 3 reservoirs for spirits, oil,

or candle.
3 Thermometers for heights by boiling water, marked to

215°, in brass case.
2 Thermometers, thermal or sun, marked to 230°, in brass

case.
2 Thermometers, graduated for Fahrenheit and Centigrade.
1 Thermometer, graduated for Centigrade and Reaumur.

Magnetic-electro machine, with 90 feet of cord or conducting

wire.
2 Magnifiers, or reading glasses, large size.
Mercury, 7 lbs. in stone bottle, as reserve supply.
Parallel-ruler, Acland's pattern, 18 inches.

462 LIST OF INSTRUMENTS. App. II.

Protractor, circular, with compass rectifier, in maliogany box.

Protractor, circular, in brass.

Eain gauge and spare glasses (Livingstone's pattern).

Scale, 18 inches metal, graduated to inches, and subdiyided to

tenths and hundredths, in box.
Sextant, 4 inches radius, silver arc, cut to 20".
Tape, 100 feet.

Extras.

Spare glass for rain gauge ; spare compass cards ; leather skins
to Clean glasses ; tin foil, &c.

Most of the above instruments were damaged by the canoe being
upset, in attempting to land through the surf.

Second Supply.

2 Aneroids, brass, 2 inches diameter, registering from 15 to 31

inches.
2 Compasses, prismatic, 3 inches diameter, shades and reflector.
1 Compass, pocket.

1 Sextant, 6 inches radius, silver arc, cut to 10".
4 Watches, by Mr. J. Brock (George Street, Portman Square).
1 Watch, by Frodsham (Strand).

BOOKS, &c.

Nautical Almanacks, 1863-4-5-6.

Work books, ruled to form.

Skeleton Map, ruled in squares, 75 sheets.

Memorandum books.

EXTRA INSTRUMENTS.

1 Sextant, 8 inches radius, presented by G. Bishop, Esq.,

Twickenham; cut to 10".
1 Binocidar, presented by the Directors of the Night Asylum,

Glasgow, after the lecture I delivered for that institution.
1 Telescope, presented by the same.
Universal Sun Dial, presented by the Royal Geographical

Society.

App. 11. EEMAEKS ON INSTRUMENTS. 463

Bemarls on the Ltstrmnenls used in tciking the Astronomical
Observations.

Ko. 1 Sextant, 4 incbes radius, b}^ Cary, was used for the altitude

of the stars ;ind planets in connection with a lunar.
Kg. 2 Sextant, 0 inches radius, by Cary (the best instrument),

always used for time, and in taking the distance in a lunar

and meridian altitude.
Kg. 3 Sextant, used for altitude of the moon under 120° (art.

lioriz.), and when more than that quantity one of the other

sextants was used.

All the above were lost in my retreat, except the watches and
two aneroids.

All the instruments above enumerated were carefully tested
before leaving England. The aneroids brought back were
again tested after my arrival.

My watches proved to have kept very good time ; and I ought
to express here my thanks to Mr. Brock, of George Street,
Portman Square, for the care he took in supplying me with
the best watches. They are still in good order ; and I am
greatly indebted to Sir George Back for recommending Mr.
Brock to me. The instruments by Mr. Potter, successor of
Mr. Cary, of 181, Strand, proved to be excellent, and stood
well the rough travelling they had to go through.

464

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OBSERVATIONS FOR LATITUDE.

465

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466

OBSEKVATIONS FOE LATITUDE.

App. II.

_IM3000C0e000l:^(M00OlM!^(M(M

-MC<I(MOC0(MlOC>0lM-5t<10

1-1 CO C-l O t^ O lO CD

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OBSErtVATION'S FOR LUNAE DISTAJTCES.

467

m
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OBSERVATIOXS FOR LUXAR DISTANCES

App. 11.

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AT OLENDA AND MAYOLO.

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OBSERVATIONS FOR LUNAR DISTANCES

App. II.

d

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AT MAYOLO.

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OBSERVATIONS FOR LUXAR DISTANCES

Arp. n.

w

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-t< o

O

>o

r^

Ci

h-

o

cq iro

t-~

(M

O

h-

o

lO

o CO

-+<

Cl

1— 1

4C

-tl

lO

IM

■*i

CO

iH

CO

lO

i-i

Ttl

c^

03

^

-.,

o

r-

C5 O

^H

(M

-t<

o

CO

o

l-H T-l

fN

^

CO

^

CI

o

CO r^

m

^

CO

rrl

-Tl

Tl

-7^

Tt< lO

UO

O

^

uo

o

id

■I

l-H

'-'

T— 1

-

2!

-^

;= ;:^

-

;:^

•^

^

^;

;:^

CI CI

CI

CI

c^

!M

CI

CI

CI Cl

Cl

Cl

488

OBSERVATIONS FOE LUNAR DISTANCES

App. n.

fH

o o o o o

CO CO ^ CO (M

O lO o o o c
C-l 1-1 O i-l CI CI

-H O O ta
O O t^ L--

o o o o o c o

^ c

H S

►^ M 3

O rH T-H l-H

0000CCC5C5C5C5O

m O 1— I CO -H O t^ 00

oocsocsoocni

Vj CO

— d

Arr. II.

AT KIEMBOUAL

480

O O O O O O O
C-1 i-H (M 1-. -tn C';

oooooooo

0 CO o o o o

01 « l^ t- t^ l-

ooooooooo

(M lO Ot

Tl ^^l CM

00(MC300Clt3<M
»OlMC-4i-l(MC^r-iO(N

O t~ O O
« <M t^ t^

■15 I

4 H 5

^ H?

^ H 5

OOOOCiOOO

CiCSCiOOC^CiO

CD O M 'tl O O l^ O 1-1

O 1—.

ooooooooo

33

490

OBSERYATIOKS FOR LUNAR DISTANCES

App. II,

w*

fl

o

•a

^

■fco

c

^

O

o

o
CO

c5

1-3
to

-

^

l>

^^

^

^

-2

i

o

^

(M

55

Pi

&.

ii

O

H

H

&H

l>

.

o

o

o

o

O

o

o

O

p

CO

CO

CO

■*!

■*!

CO

s:

-

M

CO

c>

o

CO

.

a

o

CO

y.

'-I

1—1

•

-^

rt

JH

r^

--•

rj

-■

a

r^

' ►^

O

_

^

o

_^

O

o

o

o

o

o

aJ

1

- O

o

o

o

o

o

O

o

o

o c

o

o

o

o

o

o

o o o

" I-H

CO

(M

(M

'Tl

<M

lO

eg

-Ti

C~)

O 'tl Tt<

C

t^

(N

CO

O

t-

o

o

a

o

o a

o

lO

o

CO

LO

-H

lO lO o

■ (N

»-H

CO

CO

(M

I-H

i-H

"31

^ ■*!

o

(M

CM

CM

o

O O lO

c

*— 4

(M

CI

C-l

(M

<N

IM

lO

r^

-f -^

-tl

00

o

■*

1—1

-f(

-M ^ -H

^

O <M

IM

OJ

CO

o

O

CO

fM

■*!

■^ •*

'^

(M

CM

Ol

CO

■^

Tfl TTl TtH

<;

*"*

*"*

I— 1

*"*

'"*

*"*

'"'

1—1

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:

^

;

: :

:

I

III

^

^

<tl

c

o

o
o

1^

t-^

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s

<

<^^

<l

o

1^

o

o

8

<

: :

^

c3

<

: : :

» =>

o

t-

lO

CO

o

lO

CO

~

O L'O

CO

o

o

CM

CO

o

^ l> o

" 0^

CO

tH

■*!

CO

'tl

IM

>— '

CO

CO

Ol

o

T«<

CO

I-l

CM

1*1 Tfl rtl

o

g

C rW

CO

-H

o

^H

CO

o

CO

-H

o t-

00

o

CO

r^

o

C-1

CO -H O

H

" (M

(M

(M

IM

CO

CO

'"'

'"'

r— (

CM

CM

CM

CO

CO

CO CO CO

•« C5

o

a

o

C5

a

CO

CO

CO

OO 00

00

00

00

00

00

CO

OD 00 00

,^

Cl

M

fl%

?0

1

QJ

2w

1

2 >.
►^

»

App. 11.

AT LIONGON.

491

<

s

^

02

o

(M

<M

»o

t-

o

CC

■*!

CO

cc

oooooooo

■"Ji C^ rH 1-1 ■>*< -^ (N

OCOOOOOCO'+l

cooooocoooooooco

o

t3

492

HEIGHTS OF STATIONS.

App. IL

> tc O -3

,

a'3-g fl

r- 1

of the
tbermora
as not be

CM

r^

-S c-^

2 2s,r^

Tj

h-1

H

1-1 (M

O 05 CO O O O C5

CO O O O O

C^ClOSCnOOCftOOOCiOCl
CO <M l>) (M CO CO C<l CO CJ CO (M CO (M

l> rt( lO CO lO (r4

nw

MW»

ta*

-!C1

o

tH

CO

CO

CO

'^i

»o

o

(-5

n

C5

C5

(-5

o

c~»

(M

CM

(M

CJ

C-l

ctl*

KW

«!■#

I— 1

O

c:>

C-5

0-4

O

r-»

""^ 13 !2; 6

S:' ^ J rr; Tl

■^ -^ .^ ^

-<J o o « «

: o ::::::::: :

"S

: > ••:::::::

ick of Obinc
Obindji (o^

ck of Obiui
Obindji ..

'oubou

B

O § to

^ a ^ i; to

--H QJ ,— 1

W « H

rt ^2; o J2;

I "^ I i

O O O 1-5

'-lT-(-*!M<M(MC000t~O-.+<'+li:Dr-l!M<M
00 i-lr-(r-li-(r-(rH(MWCN(M

Vj o

"A

App. II. HEIGHTS OF STATIONS. 493

O lO -+i o t^
OO t- 00 cc t-

ooocot^»ooi>coooa)co-ti

•:i § ': . . _ £d

E u

J i

c. s 3

--1 £, ? 3

■< ^ >-i

494

HEIGHTS OF STATIONS.

App. II.

CI CO C5 to CO M -H
l> C- « t- t^ l> t>

ci

^'^

f^

a.

M

•k

^

^

».

^

^

^

..

^

c

(M

'

•■

"

*

*

"

"

'

"

"

"

£

to

a

—*

*"

•-[2

^I'O

0

r-<

Oj

P5

^

«

•>

o

«

»

m>

«>

O

•k

*

|2i

(N

G-3

C^

,— '— ,

'

K:-i*

Hl-I

"l-1>

M-I

^'1

--h)

i-l?)

N

~

00 o

t>

iO

O

O

'"'

CO

C>4

C/J

O

o

t>

O

d

CO C5

CO

00

CO

CO

no

CO

CO

t-

t^

r»

t^

ca

C^ (M

(Ml

OA

<M

CM

04

<M

C^i

c^

(Ml

c:4

CM

CM

o

c

■<

«w

HIM

•-In

nw

HM-

KMI

•hMi

■Hh,

fK/^

1-5

-

CO lo

M

o

1— t

r-i

t>

CO

l-

CO

>— 1

O

CM

lO

o

>^

CO CO

CO

CO

ro

Cf)

r^

CO

h-

r-

r-

»—

r^

t^

C^l (M

<M

(M

(M

CM

C>4

(>4

CM

(M

CM

CM

CM

CM

App. II.

FINAL EESULTS.

495

SYNOPSIS OF RESULTS.

By Edmix DuNEDT, Esq., F.R.A.S., Superintendent of the Altazimuth Depart-
ment, lioyal Observatory, Greenwich.

After discussing the foregoing observations, and taking into
consideration that there is always a considerable dilierence
between the results determined from East stars and those de-
termined from ^Vest stars, I have concluded that the final results
are as under : —

Goumbi, about 40 ft. above river

, , (.back Lill-top)

Junction of Nieinbai with Ovenga
Junction of Ofouliou with Ovenga
Hill-top, back of Obiudj
River-kvel, Obindji
Nomba, Piigoubou ...

Olenda

Nclionda

" On the road "

Opangano

Lambengue

Louvendji

Luba

Mandji

Nagoslii

Fougamou

Dihaou (Ovigui)

Mdyolo

Nehiengaiu

Mokaba

Njavi iihiutatlon
Dogouudou

1 35 34

1 38 23
1 3G 14

1 44 22

1 TG 26

1 21 3

1 51 14

1 51 10

1 58 29

0

/(

Foet.
143

238

143

30
258

54
8G9

10

34

52G
G3G
429
553
478
490
383

,322
317
323

11

0

37

49G

11

14

35

325

11

21

51

414
010
473 .

1

Feet.

179

55

2G8

32G

496

FINAL EESULTS.

App. it.

JN^II16 01 ot^iltiOIl.

Adopted

Latitude,

South.

Adopted

Lonsiiude,

Kast.

Height above
Si-ale.el by

Barometer. 'Rf,'"g
1 Water.

Igoumbie

0 ' "

1 59 22

O ' "

11 25 0

Fopt.
410

Feet.

"On the road"

305

...

Ye7igiie

2 0 49

369

...

Mokenga

2 12

...

530

508

" Oo tlie road "

...

738

...

Madombo

...

...

1226

...

"On the road"

...

1486

...

Olako

...

1480

...

Njiivi and Ashango village ...

1481

Niembouai

1 58 54

11 56 3S

1883

1910

Ouano river

...

...

1285

...

"On the road"

...

1908

...

Mogiama

2264

...

Mongon

1 5G 45

12 3 37

2488*

...

Birogou-Bouanga

...

2574

...

Mobaiia

1 52 56

2369

Mouaou Kombo

2074

...

By my own calculation of the boiling-point of water observation, the altitude is 2432 feet.

KoTE. — The apparent discrepancy in the relative height of
places near the sea-level arises principally from the fact tliat the
method of observation usually adopted is not sufficiently acciii'ate
for the determination of low elevations. The variation in the
pressure of the atmosphere during the interval between the
observations made on different days at two or more stations, may
cause a discordance of several hundred feet, unless a correction
be applied for the amount of the variation. The only wRy to
obtain this correction is to have corresponding barometric obser-
vations statedly made near the sea, or at a station of knoAvn alti-
tude. By this "means we obtain materials for correcting the
observed barometric readings, or of those deduced from the
boiling point thermometer. In practice, however, it has been

app. il note. 497

found impossible for travellers in tlio interior of a continent to
be assisted in this manner ; consequently all lieiglits of African
stations lately published, determined from similar observations,
are liable to an uncertainty ranging from + 200 feet, on account
of this constant varying pressure of the atmosphere. From this
it can be easily seen that the absolute and relative heights of
stations on a river near the sea-level, imist be subject to apparent
inconsistencies, or at least to irregularities, if the observations
bo faithfully made and computed.

EoWIIi DUNKIN.

APPENDIX

COMPAEATIVE TABLE OF WORDS IN" SEVERAL

English. Comm

BaJml'ii, or Apono, Ashira,
Bukf-le. Asliango.

sun

kombe'...

diobo

. . . dioiimbi

moon

ogouaili

gondai

... soungui

star

igaigaini

yiate'di

... bouaileli

clouds . . .

pindi ...

diti

. . . disoungou .

water . . .

aningo . . .

madiba

. . . manba ... .

raiu

,, ,

mbnulo

... fouta ... .

river

mbe'ne . . .

sbnulou

... rembo ... .

fire

ogoni ...

ye'djo

... robi ... .

prairie . . .

otobi ...

soungon

... koumou

firevrood

coui

yc'ljo

. . . misandjou .

warm . . .

mpiou ...

mbe'dje'

... kagaza

cold

ifcu

diyebi

... yiole ... .

I eat ...

minia...

...

face

ounejiou

boslie

... ozo ... .

nose

mi^ombo

diolo

... mbasbo

mouth . . .

ogouana

gouano

... mono ... .

ears

arouille

bade

... marc ... .

head

ounejiou

mole

... morou ... .

hair

etoue ...

lungo

... nanga ... .

body

ocouva...

niolo

... niora ... .

arm

ogogo ...

mbo

... miogo ... .

leg

ogolo ...

nkodo

... qucro ... .

hand

ago ...

dikoundjou, .he

iigo dikako... .

wife

ouinto ...

finger . . .

niongon

ino

... milembo

nail

...

nialo

... ruala ... .

foot

nchoujou

dibo

... ditanbi

eyes

intcho ...

niishi

... ditho ... .

beard . . .

etoue ...

dit'ilou

. . . minionni

chin

nlvcke

. . . gaudou

woman ...

ouinto ...

moiiiiadi

. . . mogueto

man

olome ...

niolomo

. . . dibagala

teeth ...

ano

mnshoungou

... bci ... .

motlicr ...

ngouai...

niianuen

... ngouya

. ...

fowls

njogoni

couba

... makoko

. ..•

goat

mboui ...

ambodo

... e'tava ... .

. ...

III.

LANGUAGES OF WESTERN EQUATORIAL AFRICA.

Mpovi.

Njavi.

Jshogo.

Obmuio.

akombe . . .

ditati

... kombe

... dioumbi.

nshoungui

soungiu

. . . gondai

'... soungui.

milanga

fouflila

... monanga ...

. . . niecbi.

epindi . . .

oba.

manba ...

mniiba

... maiba

. . . manba.

boula

fonla

. . . boua.

mbene . . .

nchali

... bei.

iko

sboto

motobe.

. . . rouni.

koui

bisandjou ..

... ezako

. . . bisandjou.

piou

iviouviou ..

. . . edioukou.

eshodi . . .

moshou

. . . sbodi.

mi nia . . .

me'soucha.

ozo

... ... mboushou ..

... ozo.

poiubo ...

mbasbou

. ... opombo

. . . djiou.

moiiia . . .

mouiiou

... monia

. . . mouua.

metou . . .

itougue

. . . iato, or cato

. . . diarou.

mosho ...

moutiboue ..

... mosbe

... mourou.

sbogiie ...

sbougui

. . . shogue

. . . ncbouie.

djiolo

nioto

. . . mokouba.

mogo ...

igogo

... ogogo.

makodo . . .

igolo

. . . . okodo.

mizavi ...

lekaka

... dikaka

. . . miem ba, or miemho
mouaito.

niongo ...

moslicvi

... mizavi.

diata

niadia, niadi

, , . diato.

ckalca . . .

niatcnibi

. . . ctambe

... itambi.

misho . . ,

uiisbo

... misbo

... misbou.

yie'dou . . .

daidou

... kaidou.
edeko.

mogueto

mogasliou ..

. . . mogueto

. . . mokasbo.

molomc ...

momoga

... momogd
mi no.

... bagala.

ngia ...

mamo

. . . mobota.

sliozo ...

midvoko.

^tava ...

tava

... e'tava

... e'tava.

500

COMPAEATIVE TABLE OF WORDS

App. IIL

English.

Commi.

plantain

ocondo.

father

.. ririo, tata ..

one

.. mori

two

.. mbani

three

.. raro

four

.. nai

five

.. tani

six

.. roua

seven

. . roiguenon . .

eight

.. anana'i

nine

.. enongoume..

ten

.. igoume

oil

.. agali

house

.. nago

dog

.. mboi

tobacco

.. tako

hemp

.. liamba

pipe

.. ozo

palm wine ... .

.. mimbo

plaintain wine

girl

. . ouana ouinto

boy

. . ouana olome

king, chief ...

.. oga

antelope

.. kambi

parrot

.. ngozo

fish

fowl

.. njogoni

eggs

.. aque

iron

.. obo, mianga

slave

.. shaka

freeman

.. ncho

sugar-cane . . .

.. coco

giound-nut . . .

... benda

cassada

.. ogouasha ..

bullock

... niare

honey

. . olembai

I go

. . . mikenda

morning

... ibanga

evening

... ncolo

night

... ogouaira

Balalni, or

Apono, AsTdra,

Bukell'.

AsJia/igo.

ako

... dicondai, or digon-

dai

shaouen

... tata

le'uoto

... moshi

btba

... bel

bilali

... irero

benai

... irano

bitani

... samano

na ieuoto

... inana

bitani nabiba

... kambo moshi

bitani nabilali

... kambo bel

bitani na bena

...

dioum

... igoum

maslii

alaouen

bouendi

talacco

madouma - mbila malamou - samba

madouma - mo

:o maloumou-mishi

mogue'to

... mouana

momogo.

mpoumou . . .

... madomba

kambi

... kambi ...

cozhe

. . . cozo

bashe

... niama ...

couba

. . . coco . . .

mague

... maque...

doubandja ...

... doubandja

shako

... movega

nshe'

. . . foumou

couquai

...

benda

... fenda ...

ouondo

... digongo

niache

. . . pagaza.

bio

... bouya ...

makemo

... magouendo

macouadie'she'

... ngouali makali ...

angolome . . .

... nshishiga

mboulai

. . . dil^eti

App. III. IN SEVERAL WESTERN AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 501

Mpov
makondo

koumou . . .

jnaliiakia

Njavi.

Jsliogo.

Oborifjo,

mako .

liiUKU . .

tato ..

mo

bioli ..

bitato ..

bina ..

bitano ..

esamounc

I

sanbo ..

poiubo..

oua

gnunii .,

medi ..

ncho . .

mntniiclo

oconuou

...

...

diondi.

tcta.

mpoco ...

moi.

nibani ...

bei.

tcliaro ...

meta^,o.

inai

djimj-bongo^

itani ...

djio.

rnoroba

samouna.

ncliima.

misamouua

nchouma.

mbo-ta.

miasaJe.

aiba . . .

shoubou.

boueudi.

mbolo.

liainba.

iucho.

magueshadi -

ma-

doucou.

madoiK'OU

macondo

mouaneng

ue.

pni.

mobanga.

nyozho.

niama min

gonbci.

iicliosho.

niague.

mezago.

movega.

kuuraou.

niococo.

benda.

ndjoma.

onbon.

dilco.
ebiti.

mia kail.

\^:, ■•*%

ll'^.'^-:-:

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A NEW BOOK BY LOUIS FIGUIER.

THE VEGETABLE WORLD;

BEING

A HISTOET OF PLAIsTTS,

t WITH THEIR BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONS AND PECULIAR PROPERTIES.
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ATJTHOE OF "THE WORLD BEFOEE THE DELITRE."

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"The present volume may be considered as the second contribution which M. Fis;nier has
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The World He fore the Deluge. By Louis Figuier. A New Edition.

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