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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 


OBSERVATIONS  FOR  LATITUDE. 


App.  H 


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App,  II. 


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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i-ii-lr-iTtH-tllOlOCOCOt^t^t^l> 


App.  II. 


OBSErtVATION'S  FOR  LUNAE  DISTAJTCES. 


467 


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468 


OBSERVATIOXS  FOR  LUXAR  DISTANCES 


App.  11. 


H 


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I 


App.  II. 


AT  OLENDA  AND  MAYOLO. 


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470 


OBSERVATIONS  FOR  LUNAR  DISTANCES 


App.  II. 


d 

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App.  II. 


AT  MAYOLO. 


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o 

r-l 

s 


486 


OBSEEVATIONS  FOR  LUNAR  DISTANCES 


App.il 


g 

g 

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0 

0 

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cT 

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0 

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a 

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0      (M 

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fi^ 

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10 

t~ 

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CD 

CO 

to 

0 

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t- 

ic    0 

10 

i-i 

1—1 

lO 

CO 

CO 

Tl 

(>) 

Tfl 

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0 

CO 

1—1 

00 

iO 

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d 

a  "^5 

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iO 

t> 

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CO 

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0    0 

t^ 

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CI 

r~ 

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t- 

0 

10 
0 

10 

I-H       1—1 

I—l 

T— 1 

T-l 

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(M 

CO 
r-l 

CO 

l-( 

CO 

CO      CO 
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00 
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13' 

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0 

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ii 

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p, 

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t\ 

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IX  0 

«> 

m^ 

P 

App.  II. 


AT  IGOUMBIE. 


487 


s 

fl 

^ 

a 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

kF4 

Wl 

l=i 

»!^ 

»=! 

r^ 

:«-. 

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o 

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CO 

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o 

rH 

o 

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j:; 

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c; 

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i-( 

P- 

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M4 

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^ 

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^ 

o 

CO 

,- 

CO 

cq 

c 

L- 

l^ 

t- 

r5 

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o 

CI 

00 

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r^ 

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<-> 

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;.o 

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t^ 

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1— 1 

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CO      CO 

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en 

m 

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n 

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1>4 

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d 

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r- 1 

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r- 

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^H 

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-t< 

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CO 

o 

l-H      T-l 

fN 

^ 

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^ 

CI 

o 

CO    r^ 

m 

^ 

CO 

rrl 

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Tl 

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Tt<      lO 

UO 

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uo 

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id 

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l-H 

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- 

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- 

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CI      CI 

CI 

CI 

c^ 

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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 

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a 

o 

CO 

y. 

'-I 

1—1 

• 

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rt 

JH 

r^ 

--• 

rj 

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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 

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o    o    o 

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CO 

(M 

(M 

'Tl 

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lO 

eg 

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C~) 

O        'tl        Tt< 

C 

t^ 

(N 

CO 

O 

t- 

o 

o 

a 

o 

o    a 

o 

lO 

o 

CO 

LO 

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lO     lO     o 

■     (N 

»-H 

CO 

CO 

(M 

I-H 

i-H 

"31 

^       ■*! 

o 

(M 

CM 

CM 

o 

O      O      lO 

c 

*— 4 

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CI 

C-l 

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lO 

r^ 

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^ 

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fM 

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CM 

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CO 

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Tfl       TTl       TtH 

<; 

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CO 

o 

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tH 

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CO 

CO 

Ol 

o 

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1*1      Tfl      rtl 

o 

g 

C     rW 

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CO 

o 

CO 

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o     t- 

00 

o 

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r^ 

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C-1 

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H 

"    (M 

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IM 

CO 

CO 

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r— ( 

CM 

CM 

CM 

CO 

CO 

CO     CO     CO 

•«    C5 

o 

a 

o 

C5 

a 

CO 

CO 

CO 

OO      00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

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CO 

OD     00     00 

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Cl 

M 

fl% 

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1 

QJ 

2w 

1 

2  >. 
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» 

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 

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" 

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" 

" 

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" 

" 

£ 



to 

a 

—* 

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0 

r-< 

Oj 

P5 

^ 

« 

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« 

» 

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. 


\^:,  ■•*% 


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