proofreaders europe, http://dp.rastko.net. this file was produced from images generously made available by the bibliotheque nationale de france (bnf/gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr. willy de la court [illustration: a mandingo chief, and his headman, in their costume, & other natives] observations upon the windward coast of africa, the religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country; made in the years 1805 and 1806. by joseph corry. with an appendix, containing a letter to lord howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade. london: printed for g. and w. nicol, booksellers to his majesty, pall-mall; and james asperne, cornhill. by w. bulmer and co. cleveland row, st. james's 1807. to the right honourable lord viscount castlereagh, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state for foreign affairs. my lord, hightly flattered by your lordship's polite condescension, in permitting me to inscribe to you the following pages, i return your lordship my most unfeigned thanks. if they meet your lordship's approbation, and that of a discerning public; or if they tend in the most remote degree to excite more intelligent efforts and more active enterprise on behalf of the unenlightened african, or to augment the commerce of the united kingdom with a country, now in danger of falling into the hands of our enemies, i shall feel an ample reward for the risques and dangers to which i have been exposed in collecting these fragments; while the occasion gives me the opportunity of subscribing myself, with grateful acknowledgments, your lordship's most obedient, and devoted humble servant, joseph corry, preface. with becoming deference, i shall endeavour to illustrate in the following pages, the observations i have personally made upon the coast of africa, and to give the information i have obtained from an extended circle of chiefs, and native tribes, relative to its inhabitants, their religion, habits and customs, the natural productions and commercial resources, &c. and attempt to delineate the most eligible grounds upon which the condition of the african may be effectually improved, and our commercial relations be preserved with that important quarter of the globe. though deeply impressed with the importance of the subject, and my own incompetency, i obtrude myself upon public notice, governed by this reflection, that i am stimulated by an ardent zeal for the prosperity of my country, and am animated by a philanthropic solicitude for the effectual manumission of the african, from his enslaved customs, his superstitious idolatry, and for the enlargement of his intellectual powers. i shall guard against the sacrifice of truth to abstracted principles; and if in the most remote degree, i excite the interference of my countrymen in behalf of the african, extend our commerce, and enlarge the circle of civilized and christian society, i shall think that i have neither travelled, nor written in vain. africa is a country hitherto but little known; those in general who have visited it, have been either inadequate to research, or have been absorbed in the immediate attainment of gain; moreover the european traveller in that country has to contend with the combined influence of the native jealousies of its inhabitants, their hereditary barbarism, obstinate ferocity, and above all, an uncongenial climate. to surmount these difficulties, commerce is the most certain medium to inspire its chiefs and natives with confidence, and to obtain a facility of intercourse with the interior country. sanctioned by that pursuit, i have been favoured with information from a large circle of native chiefs, and tribes, relative to their customs, their habits, localities, predilections, and the existing state of society. the impressions, which ocular demonstration, and personal investigation occasion upon visiting this uncultivated country, are so different from those excited in any other district of the globe, and so powerful, that the mind is naturally led to meditation on the means of its improvement and on the mode by which it may be ameliorated, and the sources of commerce be essentially enlarged. europe, which merits the highest rank for philanthropy, has hitherto strangely neglected this country; nor have the attempts of individuals and benevolent societies been productive in endeavouring to diffuse the influence of civilization, and to desseminate the seeds of science throughout these extensive regions. trusting that my endeavours to befriend the natives of africa, and to extend the commerce of my country, will shield me from the severity of animadversion, and of criticism, i shall proceed in my relation. j. corry. _september 1st, 1807_. contents. chapter i. remarks from the period of embarkation at st. helen's, till the arrival at sierra leone--sketches of the land seen in the passage--its bearings and distance--observations upon the bay and entrance of sierra leone river, &c. chapter ii. the author leaves bance island.--visits the colony of sierra leone.--delivers his introductory letter to the late governor day, from whom he experiences a most hospitable reception.--cursory remarks upon that colony, and upon the islands of banana.--his embarkation for the island of goree, &c. chapter iii. an excursion to the main land.--visit to king marraboo.--anecdotes of this chief.--another excursion, accompanied by mr. hamilton.--a shooting party, acccompanied by marraboo's son, alexander, and other chiefs.--reflections upon information obtained from them, and at goree, relative to this part of the coast.--embark in his majesty's sloop of war the eugenia, which convoyed mr. mungo park in the brig crescent, to the river gambia, on his late mission to the interior of africa.--observations on that subject.--arrive in porto praya bay, in the island of st. jago.--some remarks upon that island.--departure from thence to england, and safe arrival at portsmouth chapter iv. the author proceeds to london.--re-embarks for africa.--arrives at madeira.--observations on that island.--prosecution of the voyage, and arrival in the sierra leone river, &c. chapter v. observations upon the natural productions of the river sierra leone.--the author explores its branches, interior to bance island, the rochelle, and the port logo.--the manners and customs of the inhabitants.--their commerce.--the author's safe arrival at miffare chapter vi. return to bance island.--general observations on the commerce, religion, customs, and character of the natives upon the windward coast.--an account of the requisite merchandize for trade, the best mode of introducing natural commerce and civilization into africa, &c. chapter vii. the mode of trial by _ordeal_ and _red water_ in africa.--the wars of its inhabitants.--the state of barbarism and slavery considered.--the condition of the africans will not be improved by a late legislative act, without further interference.--salutary measures must be adopted towards the negroes in the colonies.--a system suggested to abolish slavery in africa, and the slave trade in general, and to enlarge the intellectual powers of its inhabitants.--the proper positions to effect an opening to the interior of africa, and to display to the world its manifold resources chapter viii. what the anthor conceives should be the system of establishment to make effectual the operations from cape verd to cape palmas.--reasons for subjecting the whole to one superior and controlling administration.--the situations, in his estimation, where principal depots may be established, and auxiliary factories may be placed, &c. &c. chapter ix. the author embarks in the ship minerva.--proceeds to the rio pongo.--disquisitions thereon.--further observations on the inhabitants, obtained from natives of various nations met with there.--the isles de loss.--returns to sierra leone, &c. chapter x. the author visits the isles de loss.--remarks on those islands.--touches at the river scarcies.--arrives at the colony of sierra leone.--embarks for the west indies--lands at the colony of demerary.--some observations on the productions of that colony, berbice, and essequibo, and on the importance of dutch guiana to the united kingdom in a political and commercial view chapter xi. conclusion appendix. no. i. letter to the right honourable lord viscount howick, his majesty's late principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, on the eve of his lordship introducing the late bill into parliament for the abolition of the slave trade; shewing at one view the most simple and ready mode of gradually and effectually abolishing the slave trade, and eradicating slavery no. ii. letter to the right honourable the lords commissioners of the admiralty, referred to in the foregoing letter to lord howick no. iii. of the purrah of the _termite_, _termes_, or _bug a bug_, as it is called by the natives upon the windward coast of africa of the camelion on the interment of the dead on the amusements, musical instruments, &c. of the africans concluding observations vocabulary of the languages of the principal nations of the windward coast of africa directions to the binder. mandingo chief and his head man, with other natives in their costume, to face the title page. sketch of the windward coast of africa to face page 1 palma the colony of sierra leone and islands of banana island of goree porto praya, island of st. jago island of fogo, cape verd island of st. jago, and paps of cape verd bance island, river sierra leone in illustration of the above plates, it may be satisfactory to the reader to explain that the turban, in the frontispiece, distinguishes the _mandingo chief_; and that the cap, which adorns the _head man_, is embroidered by _themselves_ on scarlet cloth procured from europeans in trade, and is executed with great ingenuity. the narrow stripe of blue cloth suspended behind from the covering which adorns one of the figures in the back ground, distinguishes a female in the state of virginity. this distinguishing mark of _virgin purity_ is uniformly removed upon entering into the matrimonial state, and is called by the timmauees _tintanjey_. in the plate of bance island, river sierra leone, page 33, is a correct representation of the _pullam_ tree, described in page 38, as bearing a species of silk cotton, or ether down, and is much revered by the natives, who consider it in many instances as their _fetish_. * * * * * errata. page 54, line 8, for _gallunas_ read _galhinas_. 62 2, for _is derived from the african gris-gris_, read, _is the expression from which the african gris-gris is_ _derived_. 64 20, for _lugras_, read _lugars_. 92 6, for _bungra_, read _bangra_. [illustration: sketch of the windward coast of africa] observations upon the windward coast of africa. chapter i. _remarks from the period of my embarkation at st. helens, to my arrival at sierra leone--sketches of the land discovered in the passage--its bearings and distance--with observations upon the bay and entrance of sierra leone river, &c._ previous to my arrival and landing in the river sierra leone, on the 6th of april, 1805, i shall notice my passage, and display the sketches i have taken of the land we fell in with, its bearings and distance, for the observation of the mariner, which from position and prominence to the atlantic, claim his most serious attention in running down the coast of africa to-windward.[1] on the 9th march, 1805, i sailed from st. helens in the ship thames, commanded by james welsh, in company with a fleet of ships bound to the east indies, under convoy of his majesty's ship indostan. we had a favourable run down channel; but, after making to the westward of scilly, a heavy gale of wind separated the thames from the convoy, which we never afterwards regained, and were therefore obliged, at all hazards, to proceed for our destination upon the coast of africa. nothing interesting occurred during a prosperous and quick passage, until the high land of sierra leone appeared in view on the evening of the 5th of april. we came to an anchor outside the capes, and weighed the next morning, steering our course for the river. the space between leopard's island, situated to the north, and cape sierra leone to the south, forms the entrance into the river sierra leone; being in latitude 8° 30" n. and in 13° 43" w. long. and is computed about seven geographical leagues distant. the river empties itself immediately into the ocean; and its level banks to the north are covered with impervious forests, while those to the south exhibit the romantic scenery of an extended chain of lofty mountains and hills, clothed and ornamented with foliage of the most luxuriant nature, exciting the highest admiration in those who are susceptible of the impressions which the sublime works of the creation never fail to inspire. upon entering the bay, the eye is attracted by an extensive river, circumscribed by the foregoing outline, and exhibiting upon its banks an assemblage of the productions of nature, vegetating in their native purity. this view is animated by the prospect of the colony of sierra leone, and the masts of vessels and craft which commerce, and a safe anchorage, encourage to assemble before it, and by numerous natives paddling with great dexterity in their canoes. [illustration: palma bearing s. by w. distant about 8 leagues from a published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] as i shall have occasion to speak hereafter of the importance of this bay in a commercial and agricultural point of view, i shall not at present enter into farther details; but only suggest that i consider it as a position from whence active enterprize may perform its operations throughout an extensive district, and derive the most important advantages. at two. p.m. came to an anchor before the fort and settlement of bance island, which we saluted with seven guns. the river is navigable up to this island for ships, and small craft proceed a number of miles higher, on the branches of the port logo and rochell. it is obscured from the view by the island of tasso, until bearing round a point of that island called tasso point; the eye is then attracted by a regular fortification, and even an elegant range of buildings and store-houses, which, with great propriety, may be considered as one of the most desirable positions upon the windward coast of africa, to command the interior commerce of the countries bordering upon the river sierra leone and its branches, and that of the rivers to the northward, the scarcies and adjoining rivers, the rio pongo, with the isles de loss, rio grande, rio noonez, &c. and those which fall into the sea from cape sierra leone to cape palmas. tasso is an island adjoining, about a mile and a half distant, of some extent, and a remarkably fertile soil. it is attached to bance island; bearing cotton of a very good staple, and is capable of producing any tropical production. considerable labour and expense have been applied to introduce cultivation into this island, and to exemplify to the african the advantages derivable from his native soil, by the civil arts of life; while under a still more scientific superintendency, it would become a possession of very considerable consequence in an agricultural view. bance island is little more than a barren rock, of about three-quarters of a mile in extent. the entrance into the fort is through a folding door or gate, over which, throughout the night, a watch is constantly placed. the expectations excited by its external appearance were by no means lessened by a view of the interior of the fort, in which were assembled several traders, and chiefs, with their attendants. i was much the object of their curiosity and attention; and in their manner, all came up to me, to _give me service _, as expressed in the idiom of their language. this ceremony is simply performed by touching the fingers, accompanied in the timminy language by the usual obeisance of _currea _, or, how do you do? the reply to this is _ba_, which means good, i return you service. the grumittas, or free black people, are assembled outside the fort, in houses or huts built with mud, upon the general construction in africa, which usually is an oblong square, raised little more than eight feet; or a circle of the same height, over which is thrown a roof of bamboo, or other thatch, supported by posts about five or six feet asunder, forming a canopy, which shelters them from the rays of the sun, or the inclemency of the weather, and affords a shade under which they retire in the extreme heat of the day, where they repose in their hammocks, or rest upon their mats. this group of buildings or huts is denominated adam's town, from the black chief who presides over these labouring people. their numbers may be estimated at about 600. originally they were slaves to the proprietors of this island; but from a very humane and wise policy, they have been endowed with certain privileges, which rescue them from an absolute state of slavery, and prevents their being sold as slaves, unless they are convicted by the laws and customs of their country of some crime or delinquency. among these people are artizans in various branches, viz. smiths, carpenters, joiners, masons, &c. under the superintendance of europeans in their different trades, who for ingenuity and adroitness in their respective capacities, would deserve the approbation even of the connoisseur in these arts; while in many other instances they discover a genius of the most intelligent character, and a decency in their dress and manners distinguished from that among the surrounding tribes; which is the never failing consequence of the influence of the arts of civilized society over barbarous customs and habits. [footnote 1: perhaps it will be considered by the reader a singular phenomenon, that the upper region of _palma_ was covered with snow.] chapter ii. _the author leaves bance island--visits the colony of sierra leone--delivers his introductory letter to the late governor day, from whom he experiences a most hospitable reception--cursory remarks upon that colony and upon the islands of bannana--his embarkation for the island of goree, &c._ from the 6th to the 8td april, i remained at bance island, and having determined to embark for europe, where circumstances required me by the first conveyance, i visited the colony of sierra leone, then under the government of the late capt. william day, of the royal navy, to whom i had a recommendatory letter. his reception of me was in conformity with his general character, distinguished for urbanity and polite hospitality; and such were the impressions upon my mind, both from observation and report, of the skill and penetration he possessed to fulfil the arduous duties of his station, that they never will be effaced, and i shall ever retain the highest respect for his memory. he was then occupied in forming plans of defence in the colony; and had he lived, i am firmly persuaded, from subsequent observation and enquiry, that it would in a short period have opposed to an enemy a formidable resistance, and that it might have been speedily rescued from that anarchy and confusion which distracted councils, and want of unanimity had occasioned. the colony of sierra leone was established by the 31st of george iii. avowedly in opposition to the slave trade, and for the purpose of augmenting more natural commerce, and introducing civilization among the natives of africa. the grant is from the 1st of july, 1791, and to continue for the space of 31 years. during the late war with france, in september 1794, it was nearly destroyed by a french squadron, consisting of one two-decker, several armed ships and brigs, in the whole about seven or eight sail; they appeared in the offing on the evening of the 27th, and in the morning of the 28th at day-light commenced their operations; the result of which was, that the colony was ravaged by the enemy, and many houses burnt and destroyed. this squadron was piloted into the river by two americans, one of whom was a captain neville. the pecuniary loss to the colony by this attack has been estimated at about 40,000_l_. independant of buildings destroyed, valued at first cost, about 15,000_l_. more. bance island experienced the same fate, and suffered in pecuniary loss upwards of 20,000_l_. in addition to this calamity, the sierra leone company had to lament the inefficiency of its superintendants, their want of unanimity, and various other disasters and unforeseen difficulties which operated to augment the charge in their establishment, and diminish its funds; and with every deference to the benevolent undertakers, whose motives merit the highest approbation of every enlightened mind, i would observe, they have likewise to regret their misconception of the eligible grounds upon which so beneficent a plan is to be productive of operative influence; but as at a future stage of my narrative, i shall be enabled from more minute investigation to enter at large upon this interesting subject, i shall for the present dismiss it. on the 28th of april i embarked on board his majesty's sloop of war the lark, then upon the windward station; having looked into the river for governor day's dispatches, &c.; and i cannot omit this opportunity of expressing the obligations conferred upon me by captain langford, the commander, and his officers, which invariably continued during my being on board. at day-light we weighed, and were saluted by one of the forts with 15 guns, which were returned; nothing of moment occurred during our passage, except being once overtaken with a tornado: this is a hurricane which prevails upon the windward coast of africa about this season of the year, preceding the rainy season; and it is impossible to convey by description an adequate idea of this explosion of the elements. it announces its approach by a small white cloud scarcely discernible, which with incredible velocity overspreads the atmosphere, and envelopes the affrighted mariner in a vortex of lightning, thunder, torrents of rain, &c. exhibiting nature in one universal uproar. it is necessary when this cloud appears at sea, to take in all sail instantaneously, and bear away right before the furious assailant, which soon expends its awful and tremendous violence, and nature is again hushed into peaceful tranquillity. to the southward of cape sierra leone, and in about 8 degrees north latitude, lie the islands of bannana, in a direction from east to west. to the west of great bannana, lie the smaller islands, which are little more than barren rocks. the soil of the bannanas is very fertile, and the climate healthy, from their proximity to the sea, and the refreshing breezes which it bestows upon them. they take their name from a fruit so denominated; and are situated in the most eligible position for commerce, upon the windward coast; combining, from their fertility of soil and situation, great agricultural advantages, and peculiar salubrity of air. at present the sovereignty of these islands is contended for by two chiefs, of considerable intelligence and enterprise, named caulker and cleveland. caulker appears to be the legitimate sovereign; cleveland's forefathers having been established by caulker's as _trade men_, on their account; and by intermarriage with that family their claims are founded. james cleveland, who married king caulker's sister, first began the war by his grummettas, on the bannanas, attacking caulker's people on the plantains, the result of this violence was, that charles caulker was killed in battle; and his body mangled and cut into pieces, in the most savage and cruel manner. in 1798, stephen caulker, the present chief, commenced war again, to revenge his brother's death; and the barbarous contest has continued ever since, marked with ferocious cruelty, and with various success to the respective claimants. soon after its renewal, james cleveland died, and was succeeded by his nephew, william, who has received his education in england, and is a chief of no inconsiderable acquirements and talent. stephen caulker has succeeded in obtaining from him the possession of the bannanas and plantains, and at present sways authority over them; still, however, exposed to the enterprising genius and intrigues of cleveland. [illustration: the colony of sierra leone a bearing s.w. by e. distant 3 miles, and the bananas bearing s.w. by w distant 3 leagues. published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] were it practicable to reconcile these contentions, and procure these valuable islands, they would form most eligible auxiliaries and depots to any establishment which government might form upon this part of the coast, and be of the utmost importance; or in the event of their being unattainable, factories might be established at kittim and boom, both under caulker's influence and protection. i have had frequent intercourse with this chief, and i found him of a very superior understanding, and acute intellect, to the generality of his countrymen; and if his jealousies could be allayed by the emollients of superior advantage, his intelligence and co-operation would much facilitate any operations in this quarter. on the 10th of april we arrived at goree roads, and came to an anchor nearly opposite to that part of the island of goree, called the point de nore, and opening cape emanuel, which is by much the most eligible position in the event of tornados, as a ship may always run in safety to sea, between the island and the main land. goree is a small island, or barren rock, little more than three quarters of a mile in length, and a few hundred yards in breadth. its native inhabitants are of colour, and a spurious progeny from the french; for whom they still retain a great predilection. the number of what are called principal inhabitants, does not exceed 50 males, with their families, dependants, and slaves; which may in the aggregate amount to frequently between three and four thousand souls. their principal trade is in slaves, of whom they annually export about two thousand, with a small proportion of dead cargo, chiefly procured from gambia. religion, of any description, is little practised or understood among them; although it is evident that christianity has been introduced into the island, as there are traces of a catholic chapel and a monastery remaining. custom here, as in all the maritime countries of africa, is the governing principle of all their actions, added to an avaricious thirst for gain, and the indulgence of sensual gratification. the ceremony of marriage is too offensive for delicacy even to reflect upon, much less for me to narrate: it does not attach to the union any sacred obligation, the bond being broken at the moment of caprice in either party, or predilection in favour of any other object. as a preliminary to this disgusting ceremony, a "big dinner," in their phraseology, and a few presents to the lady, first obtaining her and her parents' consent, is all that is requisite. when the happy pair are united, the dependants and slaves of the parties, and their respective connexions, who are assembled round the buildings or huts, send forth a most savage yell of exclamation, accompanied by their barbarous music, gesticulations, and clapping of the hands, in unison with their song of triumph. this dance is continued with unabating vociferation during the night, and perhaps for a week, or greater length of time, bearing, however, due reference to the rank and consequence of the connubial pair. the following morning the bride issues forth, with solemn pace and slow, in grand procession, preceded by her most intimate female associate during her virgin state, reclining upon her shoulder with both hands; who, in consequence, is considered as the next matrimonial candidate. they are immediately surrounded by a concourse of attendants, accompanied by music, dancing, and other wild expressions of joy; and in a body proceed to visit her circle of acquaintance and friends, who are always expected to contribute some offering of congratulation. this ceremony is the concluding one on the part of the bride; while the dancing and music are continued by the attendants as long as they can procure any thing either to eat or drink. [illustration: island of goree published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] in a military point of view, in its present condition, the island of goree is far from being a place of strength; but in a commercial, it is of considerable importance; and, therefore, ought to claim the attention of government, if it attaches any consequence towards a commerce with the coast of africa. in a military character, its batteries and guns are in an extremely bad condition; and it is completely a position where a piccaroon privateer could check every supply from the continent, upon which it depends for fresh provisions and water, and might carry on hostile operations without the range of its batteries; which, by consequence, always exposes this garrison to contingencies and casual supply. in a commercial consideration, i view it as a possession of the greatest moment; from its contiguity to the french settlement of the senegal, and to a large portion of that valuable district, which they claim and influence; from whence accurate information may be obtained of their operations; and a check may issue, to maintain our ascendency to leeward; besides a rallying point for our outward bound ships, to ascertain the enemy's force upon the coast; the deviation from a direct course to leeward being very unimportant: moreover, it might be an eligible depot for the trade of that infinitely valuable river, the gambia, which, for variety of natural productions, is perhaps not to be excelled by any other in the world; only requiring the hand of industry and intelligence to fertilize and unfold. the garrison of goree has seldom more than 150 effective men to defend it, of the royal african regiment, commanded by major lloyd;[1] and this force is very fluctuating, from sickness and the diseases of the climate; in general, however, it is tolerably healthy, and its physical department is superintended by a gentleman (doctor heddle) of very considerable intelligence and ability in his profession. the hospitality of major lloyd, and the officers of his corps, to their countrymen, is distinguished by liberality; and during my stay in that island, which was upwards of three weeks, i have to acknowledge their polite attentions. i was the inmate of mr. hamilton, in the commissariat department, whose peculiar friendship and kind offices have made a most indelible impression upon my mind. the view from the roads, some of the buildings near the shore being of stone, and upon even an elegant and convenient construction, is calculated to raise expectation upon approaching it, which is considerably lessened[**transcriber's note: "lessoned" must be a typesetting error.] upon a nearer view; the streets being extremely narrow, and the huts of the natives huddled together without regularity or system. the inhabitants are governed in their local customs and capacities by a native mayor, and his advisers; but, of course, under the control of the commandant of the garrison; and this privilege is a mere matter of form and courtesy, which a lenient authority permits. [footnote 1: now lieutenant colonel lloyd.] chapter iii. _an excursion to the main land.--visit to king marraboo.--anecdotes of this chief.--another excursion, accompanied by mr. hamilton.--a shooting party, accompanied by marraboo's son, alexander, and other chiefs.--reflections upon information obtained from them, relative to this part of the coast, and at goree.--embark in his majesty's sloop of war, the eugenie, which convoyed mr. mungo park in the brig crescent, to the river gambia, on his late mission to the interior of africa.--observations on that subject.--arrive in porto praya bay, in the island of st. jago.--some remarks upon that island.--departure from thence to england, and safe arrival at portsmouth._ a few days after the arrival of the lark at the island of goree, accompanied by a party of the officers of that ship, i made an excursion upon the main land: we set out from the ship early in the morning, for decar, the capital of a chief or king, named marraboo: we arrived before he had moved abroad, and, after going through winding narrow paths or streets, we were conducted by one of his people to his palace, a wretched hovel, built with mud, and thatched with bamboo. in our way to this miserable habitation of royalty, a confused sound of voices issued forth from almost every hut we passed, which originated from their inhabitants vociferating their morning orisons to allah and mahomet; their religion being an heterogeneous system of mahomedanism, associated with superstitious idolatry, incantations, and charms. we found _marraboo's head men_ and priests assembled before his majesty's dwelling _to give him service_, and to offer him their morning's salutation. at length he made his appearance, followed by several of the officers of the palace, carrying skins of wild beasts, and mats, which upon enquiry, i found to have composed the royal bed, spread out upon a little hurdle, erected about a foot and a half high, interwoven with bamboo canes: my attention was much engaged with this novel sight; and i could not contemplate the venerable old man, surrounded by his chiefs, without conceiving i beheld one of the patriarchs of old, in their primaeval state. after his chiefs had paid their obeisance, i presumed, accompanied by my friends, to approach the royal presence; when he discovered us among the group, his countenance underwent an entire change, expressive of reserve and surprise, exclaiming, "what did i want with marraboo?" with great humility i replied, "i be englishman, come from king george's country, his brother, to give him service." he replied with quickness, "i be very glad to see you, what service have you brought?" i was aware of this tax upon my civility, and replied, that "i make him good service;" which in plain english was, that i shall make you a good present. he then conversed with more freedom relative to his country, government, localities, and religion; i suggested to him that "i understood he was a powerful king, and a great warrior, had many wives and children, that he ruled over much people, and a fine country, that i hear he get much head, that he far pass any of his enemies, and that i be very happy to look so great a king:" or, in other words, that i understood he was a great general, was very rich, was more wise than all his contemporary chiefs, and that it gave me much pleasure to pay my respects to so great a prince: but the former idiom of language is best adapted to convey meaning to the interpreters of the chiefs of africa, in whatever tongue it may be spoken; being that which they use in translation; and when they are addressed in this phraseology, they convey their ideas with more perspicuity and literal interpretation. but to return to the dialogue. marraboo.--"i be very glad to look you for that, i have much trouble all my life--great deal of war--my son some time since killed in battle." this was accompanied by such a melancholy expression of countenance, that could not fail to excite my compassion, i therefore avoided touching more on the subject of his wars; only observing, "that i hear he be too much for all his enemies, and that he build great wall that keep his town and people safe." marraboo.--"the king of darnel's people cannot pass that--they all be killed--they come there sometimes, but always go back again." my curiosity was excited to obtain the history of this _enchanted wall_, which on my approach to the town, i had discovered to be apparently little more than three or four feet high, and situated within the verge of their wells of fresh water, open at several places, and without any defence. upon enquiry, i found that marraboo had been early in life _fetish man_, or high priest, to damel, king of cayor, a very powerful chief bordering upon the senegal, and that he had artfully contrived to gain over to his interest a number of adherents, who, in process of time, became formidable, rebelled against their lawful sovereign, and took possession of that part of the country towards cape verd: to strengthen their position, marraboo caused a wall to be erected, commencing from the sea shore, and extending towards the cape; which, in the estimation of the natives, and in consequence of his sacerdotal office, incantations, and charms, was rendered invulnerable: the hypocritical priest well knew the natural disposition of his countrymen, and the effect his exorcisms would produce upon their minds; which operated so effectually, that when his army was beaten by the powerful damel, they uniformly retired behind their exorcised heap of stones, which in a moment stopt their enemy's career, and struck them with such dread, that they immediately retired to their country, leaving their impotent enemy in quiet possession of his usurped territory; whom otherwise they might have annihilated with the greatest facility. superstition is a delusion very prevalent in africa; and its powerful influence upon the human mind is forcibly illustrated by the foregoing instance. when i enquired of marraboo the nature of his belief in a supreme being, his observations were confused and perplexed, having no perspicuous conception of his attributes or perfections, but an indistinct combination of incomprehensibility; and to sum up the whole, he remarked, "that he pass all men, and was not born of woman." a few days after the abovementioned visit, i made another excursion to the main land, accompanied by mr. hamilton, and one of the principal inhabitants of goree, named martin. we landed at a small native town, called after the island, goree town. when we came on shore, we were immediately surrounded by natives, who surveyed us with great curiosity and attention. we had prepared ourselves with fowling-pieces and shooting equipage, with the view of penetrating into the interior country: in pursuance of our design, we dispatched a messenger to _decar_, with a request that we might be supplied with attendants and horses: our solicitation was promptly complied with; and alexander, marraboo's son, speedily made his appearance with two horses, attended by several chiefs and head men. our cavalcade made a most grotesque exhibition; mr. hamilton and myself being on horseback, followed by alexander and his attendants on foot, in their native accoutrements and shooting apparatus. my seat was not the most easy, neither was my horse very correct in his paces; the saddle being scarcely long enough to admit me, with a projection behind, intended as a security from falling backwards: the stirrups were formed of a thin plate of iron, about three or four inches broad, and so small, that i could scarcely squeeze my feet into them. in our progress we killed several birds, of a species unknown in europe, and of a most beautiful plumage; one of which, a little larger than the partridge in england, was armed with a sharp dart or weapon projecting from the pinion, as if designed by nature to operate as a guard against its enemies. our associates rendered us every friendly attention, and evinced great anxiety to contribute to our sport; and proved themselves skilful and expert marksmen. the country abounded with a multiplicity of trees and plants, which would no doubt have amply rewarded the researches of the botanist, and scientific investigator. the fatigue i had undergone, and the oppressive heat of the sun, so completely overpowered me, by the time of our return to goree town, that i felt myself attacked by a violent fever; in this situation i was attended with every tenderness and solicitude by the females; some bringing me a calabash of milk, others spreading me a mat to repose upon, and all uniting in kind offices: it is from them alone that man derives his highest happiness in this life; and in all situations to which he is exposed, they are the assuasive agents by whom his sorrows are soothed, his sufferings alleviated, and his griefs subdued; while compassion is their prominent characteristic, and sympathy a leading principle of their minds. the attention of these kind beings, and the affectionate offices of my friend, operating upon a naturally good constitution, soon enabled me to overcome the disease, and to return again to goree. during the remaining part of my stay there, i was vigilantly employed in procuring every information relative to this part of the coast, and through the intelligence of several of the native inhabitants and traders, i am enabled to submit the following remarks. to elucidate, with perspicuity, the deep impression i feel of the importance of this district of the windward coast, in obtaining a facility of intercourse with the interior, combining such a variety of local advantage, by which our ascendency may be preserved, and our commercial relations improved, is an undertaking, the difficulties of which i duly appreciate; and i am aware that i have to combat many prejudices and grounds of opposition to the system i conceive to be practicable, to develope the various stores of wealth with which africa abounds, and to improve the intellectual faculties of its native inhabitants. that a situation so highly valuable as the senegal, and its contiguous auxiliary, the island of goree, has been so overlooked, is certainly a subject of great surprise, and deep regret. while visionary and impracticable efforts have been resorted to penetrate into the interior of africa, we have strangely neglected the maritime situations, which abound with multifarious objects of commerce, and valuable productions, inviting our interference to extricate them from their dormant state; and the consideration apparently has been overlooked, that the barbarism of the natives on the frontiers must first be subdued by enlightened example, before the path of research can be opened to the interior. we have several recent occurrences to lament, where the most enterprising efforts have failed, through the inherent jealousies of the natives, and their ferocious character; and, therefore, it is expedient to commence experiments in the maritime countries, as the most eligible points from whence operative influence is to make its progress, civilization display itself among the inhabitants, and a facility of intercourse be attained with the interior. so long as this powerful barrier remains in its present condition, it will continue unexplored; and our intercourse with its more improved tribes must remain obscured, by the forcible opposition of the frontier; and these immense regions, with their abundant natural resources, continue unknown to the civilized world. the inhabitants of the sea coast are always more fierce and savage than those more remote and insular: all travellers and voyagers, who have visited mankind in their barbarous state, must substantiate this fact: and the history of nations and states clearly demonstrates, that the never-failing influence of commerce and agriculture united, has emanated from the frontiers, and progressively spread their blessings into the interior countries. view our own now envied greatness, and the condition in which our forefathers lived, absorbed in idolatry and ignorance, and it will unquestionably appear, that our exalted state of being has arisen from the introduction of the civilized arts of life, the commerce which our local situation has invited to our shores, and our agricultural industry. within the district now in contemplation, flows the river of _senegal_, with its valuable _gum trade_; the _gambia_, abounding with innumerable objects of commerce, such as indigo, and a great variety of plants for staining, of peculiar properties, timber, wax, ivory, &c.; _the rio grande, rio noonez, rio pongo,_ &c. all greatly productive, and their borders inhabited by the jolliffs, the foollahs, the susees, the mandingos, and other inferior nations, and communicating, as is now generally believed, with the river niger, which introduces us to the interior of this great continent; the whole presenting an animating prospect to the distinguished enterprise of our country. that these advantages should be neglected, is, as i have before said, subject of deep regret, and are the objects which i would entreat my countrymen to contemplate, as the most eligible to attain a knowledge of this important quarter of the globe, and to introduce civilization among its numerous inhabitants; by which means, our enemies will be excluded from that emolument and acquirement, which we supinely overlook and abandon to contingencies. the island of goree lies between the french settlement of the senegal and the river gambia, and therefore is a very appropriate local station to aid in forming a general system of operation from cape verd to cape palmas, subject to one administration and control. the administrative authority, i would recommend to be established in the river of sierra leone, as a central situation, from whence evolution is to proceed with requisite facility, and a ready intercourse be maintained throughout the whole of the windward coast; and as intermediate situations, i would propose the rivers gambia, rio noonez, rio pongo, and isles de loss, to the northward; and to the southward, the bannana islands, the galinhas, bassau, john's river, &c. to cape palmas; or such of them as would be found, upon investigation, best calculated to promote the resources of this extensive coast. the supreme jurisdiction in the river sierra leone, with auxiliaries established to influence the trade of the foregoing rivers, form the outlines of my plan, to be supported by an adequate military force, and organized upon principles which i have hereafter to explain in the course of my narrative. having an opportunity to sail for england, in his majesty's sloop of war the eugenie, commanded by charles webb, esq. as it was uncertain at what time the lark was to proceed, i availed myself of that officer's kind permission to embark, accompanied by surgeon thomas burrowes and his lady. the eugenie had been dispatched for england to convoy the crescent transport brig, with mr. mungo park on board, to the river gambia, upon his late mission to the interior of africa. captain webb did not conceive it prudent, nor indeed was it expedient, to proceed higher up the river than jillifree, and dispatched the crescent as far as kaya, about 150 miles from the capes of the river, where mr. park landed with his associates, viz. his surgeon, botanist, draftsman, and about 40 soldiers, commanded by an officer obtained from the royal african corps at goree, by the order of government. nothing could have been more injudicious than attempting this ardoous undertaking, with any force assuming a military appearance. the natives of africa are extremely jealous of white men, savage and ferocious in their manners, and in the utmost degree tenacious of any encroachment upon their country. this unhappy mistake may deprive the world of the researches of this intelligent and persevering traveller, who certainly merits the esteem of his country, and who, it is to be feared, may fall a victim to a misconceived plan, and mistaken procedure. [illustration: porto praya, island of st jago published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] although anxious to embark, yet i could not take my departure without sensibly feeling and expressing my sense of obligation for the many attentions i had to acknowledge from the officers of the garrison, and also to several of the native inhabitants, among whom were peppin, martin, st. john, and others; the latter, i am sorry to say, was in a bad state of health; i am much indebted to him for his judicious remarks, and very intelligent observations. this native received his education in france, and has acquired a very superior intelligence relative to the present condition of his country. accompanied by mr. hamilton, my hospitable and friendly host, and several of the officers of the lark, i embarked on board the eugenie, on the 31st of may, and arrived in porto praya bay on the 3d of june. the town of porto praya is situated upon a plain, forming a height from the sea, level with the fort, and is a most wretched place, with a very weak and vulnerable fortification. in the roads there is good anchorage for shipping, opposite to quail island, and for smaller vessels nearer the shore. it has a governmenthouse, a catholic chapel, a market place, and jail, built with stone; and is now the residence of the government of the island of st. jago, subject to the crown of portugul. formerly the governor's place of abode was at the town of st. jago, upon the opposite side of the island: his title is that of governor-general of the islands, comprehending mayo, fogo, &c. mayo is remarkable for its salt, which is cast on shore by the rollers or heavy seas, which at certain periods prevail, and run uncommonly high. the heat of the sun operating upon the saline particles, produces the salt, which the inhabitants collect in heaps for sale. we anchored at mayo for some hours, and a number of vessels were lying in the roads, chiefly americans, taking in this article; it is a very rocky and dangerous anchorage; we, however, found the traders were willing to undergo the risque, from the cheapness of the commodity they were in quest of. it is a most sorry place, with scarce a vestige of vegetation upon its surface, and its inhabitants apparently live in the greatest misery. they are governed by a black man, subject to the administration of st. jago. the military force of st. jago is by no means either formidable in numbers or discipline, and exhibits a most complete picture of despicable wretchedness. a black officer, of the name of vincent, conducted as to the governor, who received us with politeness, and gave us an invitation to dinner. the town and garrison were quite in a state of activity and bustle; an officer of high rank and long residence among them had just paid the debt of nature, and his body was laid in state in the chapel, in all his paraphernalia. the greater part of the monks from the monastery of st. jago were assembled upon the occasion, to sing requiems for his soul; and the scene was truly solemn and impressive. we met these ministers of religion at dinner, but how changed from that gravity of demeanor which distinguished them in their acts of external worship. the governor's excellent madeira was taken in the most genuine spirit of devotion, accompanied by fervent exclamations upon its excellent qualities. upon perceiving this holy fervency in the pious fraternity, we plied them closely, and frequently joined them in flowing bumpers, until their ardour began to sink into brutal stupidity, and the morning's hymns were changed into revelry and bacchanalian roar. [illustration: pogo, bearing n. by w. distance about 4 leagues from b published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] [illustration: 3 island of st. iago, distance 6 miles. 4. paps of cape verde, bearing at c, _n.n.e._ and at d, _s.e._ by _s._ distance 3 leagues. published aug 1 1807 by g & w nicol] this, however, was rather a tax upon the governor's hospitality, as it deprived him of his _ciesta_, a common practice with him, almost immediately after the cloth is withdrawn. when we came ashore the next morning, we were highly entertained with the anecdotes related to us of the pranks performed during the night by the convivial priests, many of whom were unable to fulfil the duties of the altar at the usual hour of prayer. the natives of st. jago, with those of the neighbouring islands, are mostly black, or of a mixed colour, very encroaching in their manners, and much addicted to knavery. the island is extremely rocky and uneven, but the vallies are fertile. the inhabitants raise cotton, and they have several sugar works; the quantity they raise of both, does not, however, much exceed their own consumption, but there is no doubt that it might be considerably augmented by industry, even for exportation; but the natives are indolent, and extremely listless in their habits. the only inducement in touching at this island is, to procure water and provisions: the former is good, and the latter consists in hogs, turkeys, ducks, poultry, &c. but frequently, after they have been visited by a fleet, a great scarcity prevails. the commodities the natives require as payment may be purchased at rag fair, being extremely partial to cast off wearing apparel of every description. the men are extremely slovenly in their dress; but the women are rather more correct and uniform, those of the better condition being habited in muslin, and their hair ornamented, and neatly plaited. they manufacture a narrow cloth of silk and cotton, which is in high estimation among them, and its exportation is prohibited, except to portugal. considerable ingenuity is displayed in this manufacture, which is performed in a loom, differing very little from that used by the ruder inhabitants of the coast of africa, and similar to the garter loom in england. they have horses and mules well adapted to their roads and rugged paths, which they ride most furiously, particularly the military, who advance at full speed to a stone wall, or the side of a house, merely to shew their dexterity in halting. after being detained here for several days in taking in stock and provisions, we again weighed with the crescent brig, and a sloop from gambia, bound to london, under our convoy, and after a tedious and very anxious passage, arrived at portsmouth on the 4th of august. we were detained under quarantine until the return of post from london, and proceeded on shore the following day. there is something in _natale solum_ which charms the soul after a period of absence, and operates so powerfully, as to fill it with indescribable sensations and delight. every object and scene appeals so forcibly to the senses, enraptures the eye, and so sweetly attunes the mind, as to place this feeling among even the extacies of our nature, and; the most refined we are capable of enjoying. it is this love of his country which stimulates man to the noblest deeds; and, leaving all other considerations, only obedient to its call, separates him from his most tender connections, and makes him risque his life in its defence. "where'er we roam, whatever realms to see, our hearts untravell'd fondly turn to thee; still to our country turn, with ceaseless pain, and drag, at each remove, a lengthening chain." goldsmith. chapter iv. _the author proceeds to london.--re-embarks for africa.--arrives at madeira.--observations on that island.--prosecution of the voyage, and arrival in the sierra leone river, &c._ our happy arrival was celebrated at the crown inn, where captain webb and his first lieutenant (younger) joined us; we dined together, and separated with mutual kind wishes. the next morning mr. burrowes and myself proceeded to london, and were once more rapidly conducted into its busy scene. without even time to greet my friends, i again left town for portsmouth, to commit myself to the watery element, and revisit the shores. i had so recently left; and on the 22d of september sailed, in the ship andersons, from st. helen's, under convoy of the arab post sloop of war, commanded by keith maxwell, esq. and the favorite sloop of war, by john davie, esq. we anchored in funchal roads, island of madeira, on saturday the lath of october, without experiencing any remarkable event. when approaching the island of madeira, it exhibits to the eye a strikingly beautiful and picturesque view. the uneven surface of the hills, covered with plantations of vines, and various kinds of herbage, with the exception of partial spots burnt up by the heat of the sun in the dry season, displays a singular perspective, which, with the beautiful appearance of the interspersed villas, churches, and monasteries, form an arrangement both exquisite and delightful. after being visited by the boat of health, our party proceeded on shore in the evening; and upon being made known to the house of messrs. murdoch, masterton, and co. were politely invited to breakfast the ensuing morning. at our appearance, in conformity with our appointment, we were introduced into the breakfast parlour by mr. wardrope, one of the acting partners, to his lady and sister, who received us with engaging civilities and attention. after our friendly meal, we perambulated the town of funchal, and attended chapel, which so far from being a house of devotion, presented to our contemplation a rendezvous for intrigue and the retirement of a conversazione. funchiale or funchal, takes its derivation from funcho, signifying in the portuguese language, fennel; it is situated at the bottom of a bay, and may be considered disproportionate to the island, in extent and appearance, as it is ill built, and the streets remarkably narrow and ill paved. the churches are decorated with ornaments, and pictures of images and saints, most wretchedly executed: i understand, however, that a much better taste is displayed in the convents, more especially that of the franciscans, in which is a small chapel, exhibiting the disgusting view of human skulls and thigh bones lining its walls. the thigh bones form a cross, and the skulls are placed in each of the four angles. nature has been very bountiful in her favours to madeira; its soil is rich and various, and its climate is salubrious and versatile; it abounds in natural productions, and only requires the fostering hand of the husbandman to produce every necessary, and almost luxury, of life. walnuts, chesnuts, and apples, flourish in the hills, almost spontaneously, and guanas, mangoes, and bananas, in wild exuberance. at the country residence of james gordon, esq. where we dined, and met with the most distinguished hospitality, i saw a most surprising instance of rapid growth; a shoot of the tree, called the limbriera royal, started up, perpendicularly from the trunk, to a height of nearly _thirty feet_, from the month of january to that of october: it is, however, to be observed, that the branches were lopped off, and it is supposed the juices of the trunk communicated to this stem. corn of a very good quality grows in this island, and might be produced in plenty, but the inhabitants, whose characteristic is idleness, neglect its culture, and thereby subject themselves to the necessity of relying upon foreign imports. their beef, mutton, and pork, are remarkably good, and they have game in the mountains. by order of the late governor, in 1800, the population was taken from the confessional returns, and, as he was himself a bishop, it may be inferred that the number stated below, which i procured from official authority, is accurate, viz. number confessed, 95,000 and, calculating 1 in 10 for children under 5 years of age, the first period of their confession, is equal to 3,500 ------- making in the aggregate the number of souls to be 104,500 -------15,000 of whom were computed to be inhabitants of the town of funchal. the government consists of a governor, appointed by the crown of portugal, the island being in its possession, styled governor of the islands, and: is perfectly arbitrary; funchal is his residence; he has a council under him consisting of 24 members, whose president is the second judge for the time being. all officers are nominated by the crown, and the holders continue only for three years, at the end of which new nominations take place. the only article of trade is wine, of which they export about 12,000 pipes annually, and consume from 6 to 8,000 pipes in the island, comprehending _small wine_, &c. being in the whole about 20,000 pipes. it is made by pressing out the juice from the grape in a wooden vessel, proportioned in size to the quantity they intend to make. the wine-pressers take off their jackets and stockings, get into the vessel, and with their elbows and feet press as much of the juice as is practicable by this operation; the stalks are then tied together and pressed, under a square piece of wood, by a lever with a stone fastened to the end of it; the wine is brought from the country in goat skins, by men and women on their heads. the roads are so steep and roughly paved, that neither carriages nor carts are in use, the substitute is a palanquin for the former, and for the latter a hollow log of wood, drawn by oxen, upon which the wine vessels or other loads are placed; they, however, have horses and mules very well adapted to their roads. the revenue to the crown of portugal is estimated from 20 to 30,000_l_. annually, clear of all expenses; but the balance of trade is greatly against them, all their specie being drawn to lisbon. the currency of the island is spanish, and consists of dollars, converted by their laws, into milreas of 5_s_. 6_d_. pistareens, value about is. bits, about 6_d_. and half bits, about 3_d_. it is disadvantageous to take up money at madeira upon bills, as they make payment in dollars, which they value at a milrea. sometimes they may, from particular circumstances, give a premium, but it is seldom equal to the discount. on the morning of the 18th i bad my grateful adieu to madeira, and the friendly roof of mr. wardrope and his united family, the abode of conjugal affection, friendship, and hospitable reception; and at 2 p.m. went on board. we weighed anchor under the protection of the favorite, the arab continuing at her moorings. passing between the grand canary and close in with teneriffe, we arrived safe at the island of goree, on the 5th of november, without our commodore, under convoy of the favorite. the ship andersons having freight to deliver at that island, we continued there until the 12th, and again resumed our voyage; arriving, without accident; at bance island, which i have previously noticed, on the 22d of the same month. my residence was confined to this island, and in excursions through the neighbouring countries, until the 4th june, 1806, during which period, and from a general intercourse with an extended circle of chiefs, natives, and traders, i have been enabled to decide upon the situation of this country, and to form a conclusive opinion of the condition and character of its inhabitants, and its commercial resources. from these sources of intelligence, and the example this island displayed, with observations upon the conduct and management of the sierra leone company, i first conceived the system that i shall hereafter delineate, upon which the african's condition may be effectually improved, and his hereditary slavery exterminated. [illustration: bance island, in the river sierra leone. _the property of john & alexander anderson esq. london._] the natives of africa resident upon the coast, are uniformly considered as more ferocious and barbarous in their customs and manners, less numerous in population, and more encroaching and deceitful, than those of the interior. while this formidable opposition exists, and the baneful influence of barbarous habits continues, it is in vain to look to remuneration by natural commerce, or to the establishment of civilization. the african's barbarity must be first here assailed, and the infinite resources upon the coasts and maritime rivers must be developed to his view, to pre-dispose him to refine his condition, and adopt the civilized habits of life; nor is there any site which i have met with upon the windward coast of africa, more calculated to promote this beneficent undertaking, than the island of bance, from its locality of situation, being central to windward and leeward operation, commanding an extensive circle of interior country, and being long established in the estimation of the natives of an extended district. but more of this subject in order. chapter v. _observations upon the natural productions of the river sierra leone.--the author explores its branches, interior to bance island, the rochelle, and the port logo.--the manners and customs of the inhabitants.--their commerce.--the author's safe arrival at miffaré._ the river of sierra leone abounds in fish, and the spermaceti whale has been occasionally found, the shark, the porpoise, eels, mackarel, mullet, snappers, yellow tails, cavillos, tenpounders, &c. with the _mannittee_, a singular mass of shapeless flesh, having much the taste of beef, which the natives greatly esteem, and consider the highest offering they can make. oysters are found in great abundance, attached to the interwoven twigs and branches of the mangrove tree, to which they closely cling; and of the zoophytes, there is the common sponge to be found upon the sandy beaches, on the boolum shore, and would, no doubt, bring a high price in england. the domestic animals of the adjoining countries are, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, ducks, turkeys, and fowls, very inferior, however, to those in europe. the beasts of prey are, lions, leopards, hyaenas, wild hogs in abundance, squirrels, monkies, antelopes, &c. with the civet and zibeth cats, and a most extraordinary animal, which is found in the mountains of sierra leone and the adjacent countries, a species of the ourang outang, called by the natives, japanzee, or chimpanzee, but approaching nearer to the anatomy of the human frame than the former animal. some of them, when full grown, are nearly 5 feet, and are covered with black hair, long on the back, but thin and short upon the belly and breast; the face is quite bare, and the hands and feet resemble those of man; its countenance is remarkably grave, similar to that of an old black man, but its ears are straight; it will imitate a human being in walking, sleeping, eating, and drinking, and is certainly a most singular production of nature. surgeon burrowes, whom i have before mentioned, had a perfect skeleton of this animal, which, he assured me, differed in nothing from the human, but in the spine, it being curved. this skeleton, i believe, now forms a part of the collection of surgeon-general keate. there are, of amphibious animals, green turtles, hawk's bills, and loggerheads, which grow to a great size, some of them weighing several hundred pounds, land turtles, fresh water turtles, alligators, extremely voracious, and from 12 to 15 feet in length; they will swallow a man, and at bance island negro boys have been frequently snatched up by them from the shore. there are also a variety of the lizard species, with the guava, and camelion. snakes abound; some of them haunt the houses in the night, and prowl about for poultry, of which they are fond; some have been found to measure above 18 feet; and i have the skin of one in my possession, killed when young, above 10 feet in length; it is that species which swallows its prey entire; several animals were found in their perfect state when the one i allude to was cut open. there is also an immense animal of this species, which i have heard the natives of this part of the coast describe, often exceeding 30 feet in length, and of an enormous size; it is variegated with spots, and the head is covered with scales; the tongue is fleshy and forked, but its bite is not poisonous; it is to be found in the recesses of caves and thickets, from whence it suddenly darts upon its victim, whether man or beast: it frequently chooses a tree, from which it reconnoitres the passing objects, supporting itself by the tail, which it twists round the trunk or branches: when it seizes animals, especially those of the larger kind, such as lions, tigers, &c. it dexterously, and almost instantaneously twists itself round their bodies in several folds, and by its powerful muscular force, breaks the bones, and bruises it in all its parts; when this is done it covers the animal with a viscous cohesive saliva, by licking its body with its tongue, which facilitates the power of swallowing it entire; this process is tedious, and it gradually sucks in the body, which, if large, renders it incapable of moving for some time, until it digests; and this is the period which the hunters watch to destroy it: it makes a hissing noise like a serpent, and has recourse to a variety of expedients to conceal itself; it is called by the natives _tinnui_, and is what i apprehend naturalists term the species of _boa constrictor_: it is most commonly found in the sultry climates of africa, and i believe is also an inhabitant of asia and america. insects are extremely numerous, of a nondescript species, and exceedingly beautiful: the most singular are termites, destructive to houses and fences built of wood; ants, causing ruin to provisions; cockroaches and crickets, destroying leather, linen, and clothes; musquitos, sand-flies, centipedes, scorpions; and wild bees, which are very productive of honey. the vermis and large barnacles abound, which are so destructive to shipping without copper bottoms. esculent vegetables are various: rice, which forms the chief part of the african's sustenance. the rice-fields or _lugars_ are prepared during the dry season, and the seed is sown in the tornado season, requiring about four or five months growth to bring it to perfection. yams, a nutritious substance, known in the west indies. _cassada_ or _cassava_, a root, of a pleasant taste when roasted or boiled, and makes an excellent cake, superior in whiteness to flour. papaw, of a deep green in its growth, but yellqw when ripe, and is an excellent dish when boiled; its leaves are frequently used by the natives for soap; ropes are made of the bark. oranges and limes are in great abundance, and of superior quality, throughout the year; but lemons degenerate much in their growth, and in a few years are scarcely to be distinguished from the latter. guavas, pumpkins, or pumpions, squash water mellons, musk mellons, and cucumbers, grow in the greatest perfection. the pumpkins grow in wild exuberance throughout the year, and make a good pudding or pie. indian corn, or maize, may be reaped several times throughout the year, only requiring about three months growth. millet, with a multiplicity too tedious to enumerate. sugar canes are not very abundant, but are of a good quality, which, under careful management and industry, would, no doubt, yield productive returns. coffee trees, of different nondescript species, only requiring the same interference. dyes, of infinite variety and superior texture: yellow is procured from the butter and tallow tree, producing a juice resembling gamboge, but more cohesive, and of a darker colour; the wood of this tree is firm, and adapted to a variety of purposes; its fruit is about the size of a tennis ball, nearly oval, thick in the rind, and of a pleasant acid taste, containing several seeds about the size of a walnut, and yielding a viscous substance used by the natives in their food. red and black are procured from a variety of other trees and plants; and indigo growing in wild exuberance, particularly in the rivers more to the northward. cotton, in great varieties, requiring only cultivation to raise it to perfection and amount. the natives manufacture from it a narrow cloth, which is made from thread, spun in a manner similar to the distaff. a species of silk cotton, or ether down, is produced on a large tree, called the pullam tree. the quantity which the usual size bears may be computed at about 4 cwt. in pods of 6 to 9 inches long, 4-1/2 in circumference, and about 1-1/2 inch in diameter, which, upon being exposed to the heat of the sun, is distended to an incredible bulk. it is much superior to down for the couch, and, from its elasticity, might be of great utility in the manufacture of hats. this tree is in great estimation among the africans, and is frequently regarded by them as their _fetish_. every town almost has a tree of this species towering over its huts, which its chief tells the traveller with exultation he or his father planted. tobacco is uncertain, but i entertain very little doubt that it might be raised upon the more luxuriant soils. pepper, more particularly near cape mount, of several sorts, maboobo, massaaba, massa, amquona, tosan, &c.; the three first are of a weaker flavour, and are oblong and angular in their seeds; but the last excels in pungency, and is the native malaguetta pepper of africa. the bread-fruit tree, is similar in appearance to the apple tree, and grows in the low sandy situations of the boolum shore, producing a fruit exceedingly nutritious, and larger than an apple. tamarinds in great variety and plenty: the velvet tamarind abounds in the bananas, also the white and brown; but the latter are most in esteem, and are very fine. okras, the fruit of a small tree, resembling the english mallows, which put into soup gives it a gelatine quality, highly alimental; the leaves make a good spinage. the palm tree, producing the oil so denominated, is one of the most useful trees to the african, yielding him meat, drink, and raiment. where it grows, it is an indication of a good soil. it is remarkably tall, without branches, having regular and gradual protuberances, from the bottom towards the top, ending in five or six clusters of nuts, shaded by large deciduous leaves. the nuts, which are about the size of a hazle nut, have a hard kernel, encompassed by a clammy unctuous substance, covered by a thin skin, and the oil is produced from them by being exposed to the sun, which, by its influence, opens the juices; subsequent to this exposure, the nuts are put into a boiler full of water, and a liquid, in the process of boiling, flows upon the top, which when skimmed off, soon hardens and turns rancid; the kernel of the nut, after this process, is taken out of the boiler, beat in a paloon, and put into clear water, the shell of the nut sinks, and its contents float upon the surface, which, when skimmed as before, is finally put into a pot, fried, and carefully poured off, producing another kind of oil, used as butter, and having in a great degree its quality. the wine is extracted from the tree by forming an incision at the bottom of every cluster of nuts, from each of which flows about a gallon of wine per day, for a week, when they are closed until the ensuing season. the liquid, when newly taken from the tree, resembles whey, and in that state has a sweetish agreeable taste, but it soon ferments and grows sour, changing to a strong vinegar of a disagreeable smell: in its fermented state it is most esteemed by the natives, and is productive of inebriety. a substance overtops the clusters about 10 or 12 inches in diameter, and 3 or 4 feet in height, in a full grown tree, from whence proceeds a stalk, about 4 inches in length, which, on being boiled in water, makes an excellent vegetable resembling cabbage, or rather, in taste, the cauliflower; the leaves of the tree are converted by the natives into baskets, fishing nets, and cloth. medicinal plants. _colla_ is highly esteemed by the natives, and they attribute to it the virtues of peruvian bark; the portuguese, ascribe the same quality to it, and dispatch from their factories small vessels to collect all they can procure. _castor oil rhinum_.-the bush which produces the bud from which this oil and valuable medicine is extracted, grows in great exuberance upon the windward coast, and its vicinity. a species of bark is in great abundance also, and is said to be equal in virtue to the peruvian. the foregoing enumeration of natural productions, is the result of unscientific enquiry only; but unquestionably, industrious and professional research, would discover infinitely more to philosophic and commercial contemplation, and develope the arcana of nature, dormant here through ignorance and barbarism. on the 10th of may, i set out from bance island, with the view of exploring the two branches of the sierra leone river, the rochelle, and the port logo. after rowing a few hours i arrived at the factory of miffaré, formerly occupied by a mr. berauld, a frenchman, but now attached to bance island. mr. hodgkin, with his people, then in possession of the factory, accompanied me up the port logo branch the following morning, taking a number of towns in our way, and visiting the chiefs. the course of this branch of the river is extremely serpentine, and is navigable for light vessels to a little way from the town of port logo which is now the residence of alimami, a mandingo chief, who assumes the title of emperor. the banks are overgrown with the mangrove tree, interwoven together, so as to form an almost impenetrable thicket, excluding the air, which, with the extreme heat of the sun, and the noxious insects which are extracted by its rays from the swamps and woods, renders this navigation intolerably oppressive. the chief part of its trade is in slaves, camwood, and ivory, the latter, however, being small, although port logo commands a very extensive back country. when we came near the town of port logo, which is extremely difficult of approach at low water, we announced our visit by saluting in the manner of this country, which is what they call bush firing, or in other words is a continued irregular firing of musquetry. it was soon discovered who we were, and crowds of natives flocked down from the upper town, which is situated on the declivity of a hill, to give us service, or to pay their respects. our first visit was to _marriba_, one of alimami's head men, and a resident of what they consider the lower town. upon our arrival at marriba's house, we found him at his devotions in the palaver-house, a shed under which the natives daily assemble to pray, or discuss public affairs. he received us with every demonstration of regard, and immediately offered his services to conduct us to alimami. the old chief preceded us, with his long gold-headed cane, and our rear was brought up by a number of armed men, who had assembled to give us a favourable reception. our salute had pleased alimami, and being before known to him, he was determined to shew us every respect. the heat of the sun was almost intolerable, and before we arrived at the top of the hill where the imperial palace stood, i was nearly exhausted. the entrance to this large square of irregular mud buildings, is through a narrow passage or gate, forming an oblong square of mud, covered with thatch, and facing alimami's house: we were ushered through this by one of his head men, and proceeded in the order we set out to alimami, who was seated at the top of the square, surrounded by his chiefs, upon a mat spread upon a raised bank of mud, dressed in a turban, after the turkish fashion, and a loose manding, robe, or shirt. several pleaders were haranguing two of his judges, who were seated at a distance, in palaver, or council, to take cognizance of a dispute relative to some slaves; and although our arrival had excited the-curiosity of every inhabitant of the town, yet we passed the tribunal without interruption, their attention being absorbed on the subject of their sitting. the whole compass of the square was scarcely equal to contain their oratory, their voices being so extremely loud as to be heard distinctly, without the walls, accompanied by menacing attitudes. passing this declamatory assembly, we paid our obeisance to alimami, who was graciously pleased to receive us in the manner of his country, with great civilities, and immediately spread mats for us with his own hands, near himself. it was impossible, although accustomed to these people, to contemplate the surrounding objects without interest. i had previously been acquainted with this chief at bance island, where he was in a high degree restrained by european manners; but here, every thing was native and original. all came to give us service, which is performed as i have mentioned. a goat and a couple of fowls were next presented for our dinners, for which an offering more valuable was expected, and of course complied with. this mutual interchange of civilities being fulfilled, our attention was excited by the orators, who by this time were extremely clamorous; one of them, with an aspect the most furious, ran up to where i was seated, and addressing alimami, said, "that as proof his palaver be good, white man come to give him service while he address him on the subject of his demand;" attaching to that circumstance, the superstitious idea that he was right, and that i was his _fetish_ to establish that right. i then enquired of alimami the nature of the trial; he replied, "these men tell their story, i appoint two judges to hear them, who are to report to me what they say, and their opinions of the matter, but i hear all that already and they cannot tell me wrong: i then give judgment," or in other words more expressive of his meaning; these men make their complaint to my head men, or the judges i have appointed to hear it; it is their business to make me a true report, and give me their opinion on the merits of the case; and although i am not now supposed to hear it, yet i am so situated as to hear the whole, and can thereby check any corrupt practices in the judges. i had now leisure to examine the interior of alimami's residence; it consisted of a square of irregular buildings, thatched with bamboo, and covered with roofs, supported by pillars of wood, at about 6 feet distance, projecting about the same number of feet beyond the skeleton of the fabric, and forming a kind of palisado, which serves as a shade for retirement from the heat of the sun, and under which, the inhabitants indulge in repose, or sit in familiar intercourse. during my conversation with alimami, his brother, a fat jolly fellow, was reposing himself upon his mat, reading his arabic prayer book, which, upon examination, i found executed in a neat character, and from his interpretation, was a record of fabulous anecdotes of his family, and containing confused extracts from the koran. the mandingos are professed mahomedans, whose influence is spreading with so much rapidity on this part of the coast, that several of the other tribes have submitted to their authority; so strong an impression has their superior attainments and book-knowledge imprinted on their minds. in no instance can their growing influence appear more conspicuous than in that of alimami being vested with authority over the port logo, of which he is not a native, and over a people originally infidels. formerly this tribe of mandingos were itinerant _fetish_ makers and priests, but now they are numerous to the northward of sierra leone, from whence a wide district receives their rulers and chieftains. after an audience of considerable length, alimami retired with several of his chiefs, and soon after i had a message that he wished to see me in another part of his dwelling. i had previously noticed to him that i intended shortly to embark for my country. when conducted to his presence, he very emphatically enquired "if what i tell him be true?" i replied "it was; but that i go to do him and his countrymen good; that he know this was the second time i look them, but never forget them." "we all know that," he replied, "but white man that come among us, never stay long time; you be good man, and we wish you live among us--how many moon you be gone from us?"--"about ten moon; how would you like to go with me, alimami?"--"i like that much, but black man not be head enough to do what white man does;" and putting his hand to his bosom, he took from it a piece of gold in the form of a heart; and said, "take that for me." to have refused it would have been an insult; i therefore accepted it; adding, "that i would tie it to fine riband, and wear it when i look my country, to let englishmen see what fine present he make me." he was quite pleased with the idea, and expressed his satisfaction with great fervency. soon after, i offered to take my leave, and was accompanied by him and his chiefs to the gate, where i bade him adieu, and passed through the town, paying my respects to its inhabitants, and among others, to the schoolmaster, whose venerable appearance, and superior intelligence, excited my respect and esteem. upon our return to marriba's house, we were happy to partake of a country mess of rice, boiled with fowls, palm oil, and other compounds. the chief could not be prevailed to eat with us, but attended us with great assiduity during our meal. the imperial guard accompanied us to our canoe, and we returned to miffaré without accident. the following morning we proceeded to the branch of the rochell, which we found more diversified and picturesque than the port logo, and its borders better inhabited. proceeding up this branch, and visiting the chiefs in our way, and the inhabitants of a number of villages, we arrived at billy manshu's town, a little chief of very considerable intelligence, and who treated us with great hospitality: here we slept. we arose early, and pursued our course up the branch, passing one of the most regular built towns i have observed in africa, now morrey samba's, but formerly morrey bunda's town. morrey bunda was originally a manding, and _fetish_ maker to smart, the chief who commands an extensive country on that side of the rochell branch towards the sherbro, and rose into notice and influence: he is now dead. the town is surrounded by a mud wall, and at the entrance, and upon each angle of the oblong square which encloses it, there are towers erected for the purposes of defence. the wall, with the towers, completely obscures the buildings which form the town, and serve as a guard against any depredations of enemies, while it shelters the inhabitants from the effects of their arrows or musquetry. morrey bunda has displayed in his plans of fortifications, considerable ingenuity, considering the circumstances he had to provide against, and the predatory nature of african wars, which are uniformly to surprise the inhabitants of a village or town while asleep, or in any other unguarded state, seldom or ever coming to a general engagement in the open country, but acting under the protection of some ambush, or other place of security, which, while it is calculated to conceal their numbers, serves as a retreat from their successful opponents. leaving morrey samba's we passed by a number of other villages, until we arrived at one of smart's trading towns, called mahera, situated upon an eminence, and commanding a most delightful prospect of the meandering course of the river, interspersed with islands, displaying a great diversity of appearance. smart has very wisely chosen this spot, as it is not only a charming situation, healthy, and delightful, but well situated to command a very extensive internal trade in camwood and ivory, besides being contiguous to the sherbro, from whence a great portion of the camwood is procured, and situated on the principal branch of the sierra leone. in addition to these local advantages, he has recently opened a path with the interior, communicating with the foolah country, which is entirely under his influence, and which he can open and shut at pleasure. it would be of incalculable advantage to any operation to secure the friendship of this chief: he possesses a very superior mind, and, from his connection with bance island, has acquired a knowledge of european ideas and manners seldom to be met with among any of the chiefs on this part of the coast. from the various opportunities i have had to consult smart on his general sentiments relative to his country, and the freedom of intercourse i have had with him, i am well persuaded that he would be a powerful and intelligent auxiliary in promoting the civilization of his country, upon a liberal principle, calculated to its condition, and having a tendency to eradicate its barbarism; but he is one, of many more upon this quarter of the coast, who have no reliance upon the attempts that have been made, and deplores, with regret, that through the want of a correct knowledge of the dispositions of his countrymen, an ignorance of the nature of the evil to be removed, and the invidious principles which constituted the establishments that have been formed to promote this beneficent undertaking, his country is still excluded from the light of truth, and the refined arts of civilized life. from mahera we proceeded to rochell, another of mr. smart's towns, more insular, where i expected to have met him, in conformity with an arrangement previously made, to visit him at his towns, and see, as he observed, his country fashion. upon our reaching this point of our expedition, we were saluted by a numerous assemblage of chiefs and natives, going to join my friend smart in one of his wars with his opposite neighbours and rivals, the cammarancies, inhabiting the country towards the port logo. the cause of quarrel was, that these people had seized upon the rafts and canoes which brought the camwood over the falls higher up the river, and had demolished several storehouses belonging to smart and his people, engaged in that trade. smart, with a part of his forces, had crossed the river only an hour before, and another division were embarking to join him at a place of rendezvous upon the enemy's territory, with the intention of cautiously approaching during the night to some of their towns, and surprising them before they had arisen from sleep. nothing could exceed the novelty of this sight; the chiefs and their followers were armed with their bows and arrows, and other rude implements of war, and completely in their native character; in addition to their native weapons, some had musquets, procured from europeans in trade, swords, and various other manufacture, supplied by traders, exhibiting an appearance, of which no idea can be formed, without a personal knowledge of this barbarous people. the chiefs, in particular, were covered with _gris-gris_ and _fetishes_, a mixture of feathers and other preposterous materials, calculated to obliterate any trace of human appearance, and possessing the virtue, as they conceived, of shielding them from danger. solemn _palaver_ is always held upon these occasions, and their _gris-gris_ makers, _fetish_ men, and priests, exorcise their absurd decorations, which, in their estimation, operate as guardian angels in the hour of difficulty and peril. having occasion to visit a gentleman resident at some distance, we left our canoes at rochell, and proceeded on foot. _cabba_, one of the chiefs, accompanied us with a guard, being apprehensive, as he observed, that "bad might happen us, as war live in the country." we passed through a remarkably fertile country, presenting an infinite variety of natural productions. our path was frequently lined with pine-apples, in all the luxuriance of nature; but amidst this animating landscape, we beheld deserted villages, ravaged by the ferocious hand of man; and all the traces of barbarous devastation. we fell in with several armed parties, with whom i conversed upon the subject of the war, which appeared to be of a predatory nature, and the consequence of insatiate avarice and barbarous habits. at length we arrived, much fatigued, at mr. green's (at massou), with whom we rested for the night, receiving every kindness and attention in his power to bestow. i am indebted to this gentleman for a variety of useful information relative to a wide extent of country. his education and acquirements are of the first class, and i could not view such a man, insulated from polished society, which he was qualified to adorn, and shut up in the wilds of africa, among barbarians, without a mixture of pain and surprise; nor did i depart from him without sympathy and regret, after he had confided to me his motives, and the outlines of his life, which were marked with eventful incidents, and extraordinary occurrences. it was my object to have proceeded from massou to rocond, the principal town of smart's residence, and from thence to penetrate to the falls of the river, which, from every information i received, exhibit a sublime scene; but, on account of the disturbed state of the country, and that chiefs absence, i was obliged to give up my intention, and return to rochell, from whence we rowed down the river to the town of our little hospitable chief, billy manshu; where we stayed the night. the following day we arrived safe at miffaré; and although smart had given orders at mahera to stop all canoes, we were suffered to pass; the chiefs observing, "that they knew we would not tell their enemies, when we came among them, what we saw them do." had we been strangers, it is more than probable we should have fallen victims to the fury of these barbarians, who, in the towns we passed, were excited to a savage fierceness, highly descriptive of the natural ferocity of the african character. at miffaré, formerly occupied by monsieur berauld, as previously noticed, who had lately paid the common debt of nature, and who was here buried by his own desire, i had the opportunity of ascertaining a singular custom prevalent in this country towards the dead, and which strongly elucidates the prevailing ideas of its inhabitants, relative to the immortality of the soul and a future state. after monsieur berauld's interment, his women, and the head people of the town, assembled round the grave occasionally, for a series of days, requiring every evening, from mr. hodgkin, a candle to light his grave, which they kept burning during the period of their mourning, under the idea that it would light him in the other world. in addition to this, a still more singular rite was performed on this occasion, by alimami, of the port logo, and a numerous assemblage of natives, who sacrificed a bull to the departed spirit of berauld, who was held in great estimation among them. from authority i cannot doubt, i am persuaded that when slaves have been redundant, human sacrifices have been offered to the manes of their favourite chiefs and princes. this horrid custom, which is even extended, in many of the districts of africa, to the productions of the earth, is a most serious subject to contemplate, and a feature of barbarism, pregnant with melancholy consequences to that class of beings, whom a late legislative act has abandoned to contingencies, and the uncontrolled power and avarice of other nations. chapter vi. _return to bance island.--general observations on the commerce, religion, customs, and character of the natives upon the windward coast.--an account of the requisite merchandize for trade, the best mode of introducing natural commerce and civilization into africa, &c._ the morning after my last arrival at miffaré i returned to bance island; before i leave it, it may not perhaps be considered as inexpedient at this stage of my narrative, to submit to my readers an account of the present state of commerce upon the windward coast of africa, the merchandize used therein, a general outline of the religion, customs, and character of its natives, and the system i conceive eligible, and consistent with the claims of humanity, by which their intellectual powers may be improved, and their enslaved state ameliorated; while our commercial ascendency may be preserved with this region of the earth, and our enemies excluded from those important advantages, which it only requires intelligence and enterprise to unfold. in accomplishing this important part of my duty i beg leave to state, that my reflections are the result of much deliberation upon the subject, derived from manifold sources of information, and that i am the zealous advocate of the radical abolition of the slavery of the human kind. the motives by which i am actuated are, a philanthropic feeling for my species, christian principles, humanity, and justice: however i may differ, in the means i shall propose, from many truly benevolent characters, yet i trust that they will do me the justice to consider that my intentions are congenial with theirs in the cause of humanity. i shall confine myself to a digested summary of actual observations on the trade, laws, customs, and manners of the people i have had occasion to visit; nor shall i attempt to enter into a minute detail on subjects already ably delineated to british merchants, and with which they are intimately conversant; but i shall treat of those branches of commerce which have been hitherto confined to local knowledge, and not generally known; submitting to the superior powers of the legislature, the incalculable advantages to be derived by their interference to promote the agricultural and commercial establishments upon the maritime districts of africa, as the only appropriate measure to attain a facility of intercourse with the interior, and to enlarge the circle of civilised society. if my endeavours tend to increase the commerce of my country, and eventually to emancipate the african, my design will be accomplished, and my fondest hopes will be gratified. in pursuance of my plan, i shall first detail the present number of slaves, and dead cargo, annually exported, upon an average, from the windward coast of africa, &c. from the information acquired from the traders of most intelligence in respective rivers, and from my own observation. | | | | | | | |amount | | | | | | | |sterling | names of places |a |b |c |d |e |f | £ |---------------------|-------|----|----|------|----|----|--------|river gambia, and | | | | | | | |island of goree . . .| 2,000 | 15 |- |- |150 |- | 60,250 |rio noonez. . . . . .| 600 | 20 |- |- |- |- | 19,000 |rio pongo . . . . . .| 2,000 | 30 |60 |- |- |- | 52,000 |river sierra leone, | | | | | | | |adjacent rivers, | | | | | | | |and isles de loss, | 3,200 | 15 |200 |800 |- |- | 82,250 |inclusive . . . . . .| | | | | | | |river sherbro . . . .| 500 |- |200 |300 |- |- | 18,000 |--- gallunas. . . .| 1,200 |- | 80 |- |- |- | 26,000 |cape mount to | | | | | | | |cape palmas . . . . .| 2,000 | 20 |- |- |- |100 | 48,000 | |-------|----|----|------|----|----|-------| |11,500 |100 |540 |1,100 |150 |100 |305,500 a-slaves, b-ivory, c-camwood, d-rice, e-bees wax, f-malaguetta pepper estimating slaves at 20_l_. each; ivory, 350_l_.; camwood, 25_l_.; rice, 10_l_.; wax, 100_l_.; and malaguetta pepper, 10_l_. per ton, at first cost upon the coast of africa; the whole produces the sum of 305,500_l_. sterling; to which may be added a three-fold export to leeward, which will make an aggregate amount of nearly _one million_ sterling. in addition to the foregoing exemplification, we have to contemplate the great multiplicity of natural productions, abounding in this extent of region, namely, indigo, numerous plants for staining, cotton in wild exuberance, cocoa, coffee, and aromatic plants, &c. &c. wild bees are so extremely numerous, that wax forms an important article of trade which might be considerably increased; substances proper for making soap are also to be found in great abundance, raw hides, more especially in the gambia, and the countries insular to the rio noonez and rio pongo; gold is procured from bambouk, and tobacco is found in every direction, which might be greatly increased by cultivation and an improved soil; cattle, poultry, guinea hens, different species of game, fish, with other animals; fruits, and a variety of vegetable productions, calculated to satisfy every luxurious want and desire. to these objects of commerce may be added, the now important article of sugar, which might be raised to a great amount, in various districts of africa, as the climate is propitious to the growth of the sugarcane, which, under proper cultivation, might be raised in great perfection. the lands upon the banks of the gambia, the rio noonez, the rio grande, the rio pongo, in the mandingo country, sierra leone, sherbro, &c. are universally allowed to be extremely fertile in many places, and abundant in vegetation and population. these countries produce various hard woods, well adapted to cabinet work and ship building, and are singular in their qualites and properties. the most remarkable are, 1st. the cevey, or kinney wood, which grows about the size of the oak, in england, and may be cut into planks of 20 feet by 15 inches. its texture is something of the ash grey and mahogany, variegated with stripes, fancifully disposed, and is therefore adapted to cabinet work; its qualities for ship building are peculiar, having the virtue of resisting the worm and vermis, so destructive to shipping in tropical climates, and corroding iron; it grows in great abundance. any quantity of this wood put into water sufficient to cover it, will, in a few hours, produce an unctuous substance floating on the top, resembling verdigrise, and of a poisonous quality. secondly, the dunjay wood, rather coarser in the grain, but harder in quality than the spanish bay mahogany. it possesses the same peculiarities as the cevey or kinney, in resisting the worm in salt water, and corroding iron. it may be procured in any quantity. and, thirdly, the melley wood, or _gris-gris_ tree, another species of mahogany, abundant in growth, having a more rare quality than the foregoing, resisting the worm in both salt and fresh water; it is extremely hard, and its juices so poisonous, in the premature state, as to cause instant death. the manifold and neglected productions of this extraordinary continent require only to be developed, and when the useful arts of europe are introduced here, ample recompense will attend the benevolent undertaking, natural history will be much enlarged, and mankind be greatly benefited. the claims of humanity, the distinguished part it has taken in an unnatural and much to be deplored commerce, loudly unite with a wise policy, in one impressive appeal to the feelings of the more refined inhabitants of europe, and to none more than those of englishmen. the goods adapted to african commerce are, _east india goods_--consisting of bafts, byrampauats, chilloes, romals, neganipauts, niccanees, red and blue chintz, guinea stuffs, bandanoes, sastracundies, &c. _manchester goods_.--cotton chilloes, cushtaes, neganipauts, photaes, romal handkerchiefs, silk handkerchiefs, &c. _linen britanias_, slops, spirits, tobacco, guns, swords, trade chests, cases, jars, powder, umbrellas, boats, canvas, cordage, pitch, tar, paints, oil, and brushes, empty kegs, kettles, pans, lead basons, earthenware, hardware, beads, coral, iron bars, lead bars, common caps, kilmarnock ditto, flints, pipes, leg and hand manilloes, snuff boxes, tobacco boxes, cargo hats, fine ditto, hair trunks, knives, looking glasses, scarlet cloth, locks, shot, glass ware, stone ware, provisions, bottled ale and porter, &c. &c. the foregoing general enumeration may serve to convey a just conception of the various manufactures requisite in the african trade, and the different branches to which it is allied, yeilding support to a numerous body of merchants, manufacturers, artizans, and many of the labouring class of the community. generally speaking, the africans are unacquainted with specie as a circulating medium of commerce, although they form to themselves an ideal standard, by which they estimate the value of the commodities in barter; this, however, fluctuates on various parts of the coast. from senegal to cape mesurado, the medium of calculation is termed a _bar_; from thence to the eastward of cape palmas, the computation is in _rounds_; and on the gold coast in _ackies_ of gold, equal to 4_l_. sterling, and of trade only half that value. at goree the bar, under the french, was 4, pieces of 24 sous, and 1 of 6; but at present the bar is considered a dollar. the bar is by no means a precise value, but subject to much variation; the quantity and quality of the articles materially differing in many parts of the coast, and frequently on rivers of a near vicinity; for example, six heads of tobacco are equal in trade to a bar, as is a gallon of rum, or a fathom of chintz. a piece of cloth which, in one place, will only pass for 6 bars, will in others fluctuate to 10; hence the trader must form an average standard, to reduce his assortment to an equilibrium. the following are the barter prices now established throughout a considerable extent of the windward coast; but it is to be observed, they are subject to fluctuation from locality of situation and other circumstances. 1 blue baft 6 bars 1 bonny chintz & stripe 8 1 white baft 6 1 byrampaut 6 1 chilloe 6 1 bijudapaut 6 1 cushtae 5 1 bonny blue romal 5 1 niccanee 5 1 sastracundie 4 1 india cherridery 6 1 taffety 15 1 cottanee 12 1 dozen britannias 8 1 piece of bandanas 6 1 barrel of powder 60 1 fowling gun 8 1 burding 6 1 soldier's gun 5 bars 1 buccanier ditto 6 1 dozen of cutlasses 8 1 sword blade 2 1 iron bar 1 1000 arangoes 30 1 bunch of point beads 1 1 bunch of mock coral 1 red pecado 3lb. for 1 seed beads, ditto 1 battery ditto 1 1 mandingo kettle 1 1 dozen of hardware 3 1 bason 1 1 ton of salt 60 1 fine hat 3 tobacco, 6lb. to 1 rum, per gallon 1 prime ivory is procured at a bar per lb, and _escrevals_, or pieces under 20lb. 1 bar for each 1-1/2lb. as the natives are unacquainted with arithmetic, their numerical calculations are carried on by counters of pebbles, gun-flints, or cowries. after the number of bars is decided upon, a counter, or pebble, &c. is put down, representing every bar of merchandize, until the whole is exhausted, when the palaver is finished; and, as they have very little idea of the value of time, they will use every artifice of delay and chicane to gain a bar. in matters of less consequence they reckon with their fingers, by bending the little finger of the right hand close to the palm, and the other fingers in succession, proceeding to the left hand, concluding the calculation by clapping both the hands together; and if it requires to be extended, the same process is repeated. among the foulahs in particular, commercial transactions are carried on with extreme tardiness; a _palaver_ is held over every thing they have for barter. the season in which they chiefly bring their trade to the coast is during the dry months, and they generally travel in caravans, under the control of a chief or head man. the head man of the party expects to be lodged and accommodated by the factor, and before they enter upon business, he expects the latter _to give him service_, or a present of kola, malaguetta pepper, tobacco, palm oil, and rice; if they eat of the kola, and the present is not returned, the head man begins the trade, by making a long speech, in which he magnifies the difficulties and dangers he has had to surmount, &c.; mutual interpreters report this harangue. the trade for rice is settled with little delay, but every tooth of ivory requires a new palaver, and they will dispute for a whole day for a bar with the most determined firmness. when the palaver and trade is gone through, they again expect a present, and if they are pleased with the factor, they march off singing his praises, which they communicate to all they meet on the road. the annual return from this commerce in colonial productions, has been from _two_ to _three millions sterling_; for although large remittances have been made in bills to the african merchants, yet these bills have been provided for in produce by the planters. politically considered, it will appear, that its regeneration might have been more appropriately the progressive work of time; and humanely viewed, it will also appear, from my subsequent remarks, that by those means alone the african can be freed from his shackles, and his condition efficaciously improved. but to proceed with the intention of this chapter, i shall next make some remarks on the religion, customs, and character of the natives of the windward coast. the natives on this part of the coast, and indeed throughout africa, are in general extremely superstitious; they believe in witchcraft, incantations, and charms, and in certain mahomedan doctrines, adopted from itinerant devotees and priests of that persuasion, who are numerous among them, and make a trade of selling charms. the baggoes, nellos, susees, timinees, &c. occasionally worship and offer sacrifices to the devil, and are equally confused in their conception of the supreme being, of whose attributes they entertain an assemblage of indistinct ideas, of which it is impossible to give any clear description. they will tell the traveller with great apathy, "they never saw him, and if he live he be too good to hurt them." their acts of devotion are the consequence of fear alone, and are apparently divested of any feelings of thankfulness or gratitude for the blessing they receive from the good spirit which they suppose to exist. the devil, or evil spirit, which they suppose to exist also, claims their attention from the injury they suppose him capable of inflicting, and is worshipped under a variety of forms; at one time in a grove, or under the shade of a large tree, consecrated to his worship, they place, for the gratification of his appetite; a _country mess_, a goat, or other offering of this nature, which they may conceive to be acceptable to his divinity, who, however, is often cozened out of the offering by some sacreligious and more corporeal substance, to whose nature and wants it is more congenial; at some periods great faith is attached to their _fetish_, as an antidote against evil; and at others the alligator, the snake, the guava, and a number of other living animals and inanimate substances are the objects of their worship. like other unenlightened nations, a variety of external beings supply the want of the principles of christianity; hence the counterfeit adoption and substitution of corporate qualities as objects of external homage and reverence. _fetish_, derived from the word _feitico_, denotes witchcraft among the majority of the maritime nations of africa: this superstition is even extended to some europeans after a long residence in that country, and is an expression of a compound meaning, forming an arrangement of various figures, which constitute the objects of adoration, whether intellectually conceived, or combined with corporeal substances; even the act of devotion itself; or the various charms, incantations, and buffoonery of the priests and fetish makers, who abound among them. in short, it is an incongruous composition of any thing dedicated to the purpose; one kind of fetish is formed of a piece of parchment containing an expression or sentence from the koran, which is associated with other substances, sewed up in a piece of leather, and worn upon several parts of their bodies. another kind is placed over the doors of their huts, composed of distorted images besmeared with palm oil, and stuck with feathers, some parts are tinged with blood, and the whole is bedaubed with other preposterous applications. _ghresh_, or _gresh_, is an expression in the arabic tongue, meaning to expel or drive away, and, as i apprehend, by the repetition of the word, is the expression from which the african _gris-gris_ is derived, consisting of exorcised feathers, cloth, &c., short sentences from the koran, written on parchment, and enclosed in small ornamented leathern cases, worn about their persons, under the idea that it will keep away evil spirits, and is a species of _fetish_. the mandingos, or book-men, are great _fetish_ makers, many of them being well versed in the arabic tongue, and writing it in a neat character. from the impression of their superior learning and address, their influence and numbers daily increase, many of them having become rulers and chiefs in places where they sojourned as strangers, the religion they profess in common with the foolahs, jolliffs, and other mahomedan tribes, is peculiarly adapted to the sensual effiminacy of the africans: the doctrines of mahomet contained in their book i have procured from a very intelligent chief in the rio pongo, and when i compare his account with others of his nation on this part of the coast, the foolahs, and the mahomedan tribes in the vicinity of the island of goree, i am persuaded the following is the portion of the islam faith believed by them. 1st. that god is above all, and not born of woman. 2d. that mahomet stands between god and man, to intercede for him; that he is superior to all beings born of woman, and is the favorite of god. and, 3d. that he has prepared for the meanest of his followers and believers _seventy-two bouris_, or black-eyed girls of superior beauty, who are to administer to all their pleasures, and participate with them in the enjoyment of the fountains and groves of paradise, and in the gratification of those appetites congenial to their nature and existence in this world. this nearly amounts to the entire belief of mahomet's doctrine, which is nothing but a compound of this eternal truth and necessary fiction; namely, "that there is only one god, and mahomet is the apostle of god:" from hence, in the idiom of the koran, the belief of god is inseparable from the apostolic character of mahomet. the fertile and politic imagination of this impostor admirably adapted his tenets to the prevailing and established customs; he tolerates polygamy, &c. and to add to the sanctity of his pernicious doctrines, he represents himself as having been visited by the angel gabriel, in the cave of hera, where he communicated to him the precepts of the koran, in the month of ramadan, which he enjoins as a fast; he interdicts wine, and inculcates the necessity of praying five times a day, facing the holy city, &c.; forming together a system of the most insidious character towards the establishment of pure christianity. in the performance of the duties of their belief, the mahomedan nations of africa, upon the coast, are exact and scrupulous, but they have no idea of the intellectual doctrines of the islam faith, or the happiness described by mahomet as enjoyed by superior saints in the beatitude of vision; they are as perplexed on this subject as they are in their conceptions of the divine nature, and discover a surprising contraction of mental powers, when considered as human beings endowed with reason. the nations, upon the windward coast, are in general little influenced by belief in their actions. forgiveness of injuries they conceive incompatible with the nature of man; and a spirit of retaliation is very prevalent and hereditary, descending in succession from father to son. they are extremely jealous of white men, designing, ferocious, and cowardly; but there are, notwithstanding, a great variety of localities existing among them, and it will be found that their climate and habits are closely assimilated. to the africans, the indispensible articles of life are reduced to a very narrow compass, and they are unacquainted with the insatiate wants of europeans. the heat of the climate renders cloathing an incumberance, and occasions a carelessness with regard to their dwellings: for the former, they require only a stripe of linen, and their _gris-gris_; while a building of mud, covered with an interwoven and thatched roof, forms the latter, which is reared with little labour, and, when circumstances require it, is abandoned without much regret. the food of the negro consists chiefly of rice, millet, &c. seasoned with palm oil, butter, or the juices of the cocoa-nut tree mixed with herbs of various kinds. they frequently regale themselves with other dishes, kous-kous, and country mess, to which they sometimes add fowls, fish, and flesh, heightened in the flavour by a variety of savory applications. a contracted system of agriculture, conducted by their women and slaves, in a very few days prepares the _lugars_, or cultivated fields; and the harvest is distributed by the elders of the community, according to the portion and wants of the society of the village, or is stored up to be portioned out as circumstances may require. water is the ordinary drink of the negroes; they, however, regale themselves with a wine extracted from the palm tree, as before described, which, in the luxury of indulgence, they frequently suck through a very small kind of cane, until inebriety and stupidity absorb them in a perfect state of apathy. they have also a very pleasant beverage, extracted from the cocoa nut and banana tree, besides several descriptions of beer, fermented from various roots and herbs. in the rio pongo, and adjacent countries, especially in the bashia branch of that river, the soosees extract a fermented and intoxicating liquor from a root growing in great abundance, which they call _gingingey_, something similar to the sweet potatoe in the west indies. the distillation is commenced by forming a pit in the earth, into which a large quantity of the root is put, and covered with fuel, which is set on fire, and kept burning until the roots are completely roasted: the roots are then put into paloons, and beat, exposed afterwards in mats to the sun, by which they acquire a taste similar to honey; and are afterwards put into hampers for distillation. this is performed by making a funnel of sticks in a conical form, interwoven together like basket-work; the funnel is filled with the material, and water poured upon it; the succulent moisture therefrom passes through a tube, and yields a liquid similar in colour to coffee, and of a violent purgative quality. it remains in this state about twenty-four hours, and is then incorporated with a quantity of the ashes of rice-straw, which excites a bubbling fermentation like boiling water, after which it becomes fit for use. in forty-eight hours it returns again to its purgative state, which interval is employed in drinking most copiously, until overtaken by insensibility and intoxication. the root, in its roasted state, is an excellent medicine for colds. indigo and cotton grow in wild exuberance almost every where, without culture, and the women collect such quantities as they consider requisite for their families, which they prepare and spin upon a distaff; the thread is woven, by an apparatus of great simplicity, into fillets, or pieces from six to nine inches broad, which are sewed together to any width, required for use. the indigo, in its indigenous state, and a variety of other plants, colour these cloths, an ell of which will serve as a dress for a negroe of the lower class. they manufacture cloths, of a very fanciful pattern, from various substances. i have some from the rind of the cocoa-nut, of great beauty, and a fine texture; also cloth, fine mats, baskets, hats, ornaments, quivers, arrows, &c. which all prove the taste and ingenuity of the natives. the negro is attached by love about his thirteenth year, and from sixteen to twenty he seeks the object of his affection. this choice generally continues in his confidence during life; and in proportion as he acquires wealth, he associates with her several concubines, who generally live cordially together. from this acquisition to his household, he is considered rich; and it is a common expression with the negro to say, "such a man be rich, he have much woman." when an object excites his desire, he consults his head woman, who, without any apparent suspicion of rivalry, gives her assent, and forwards his suit; but she is displeased when not consulted; and it is not uncommon that the object falls a victim to her jealousy. celibacy is a state almost unknown in africa; and when it does occur, it is considered as a degradation. the negroe's existence is almost a gratuitous gift of nature; his wants are supplied without laborious exertion, his desires are gratified without restraint, his soul remains in peaceful indolence and tranquillity, and his life glides on in voluptuous apathy and tranquil calm: he has few solicitudes or apprehensions, and he meets the stroke of fate with perfect resignation. in the countries which i have visited, and, as i understand from others, every principal village or town has its _bantaba_, or _palaver-house_, which i have before described. in this house, or under the shade of some venerable tree, all ranks occasionally assemble in groups, from sun-rising to sun-set, and pass the time in chit-chat, or in conversation on public affairs. their subjects are inexhaustible, and their tittle-tattle is carried on with surprising volubility, gaiety, and delight; their time thus occupied is so seducing, that they separate with great reluctance, sometimes passing the entire day in this, pratling, smoaking, and diversion: night, however, terminates these amusements: they assemble in the open air during the dry season, and under the palaver-houses in the wet, where they form themselves into dancing companies, generally during half the night, and not unfrequently the whole of it. their instruments of music are upon a very rude construction, consisting of a _tabila_, or drum, hollowed out from a piece of wood, and covered at each end with a bull's hide, producing a most barbarous noise, accompanied by a _baba_, or rattle, loud shouts, palaver, songs, and violent gesticulations, forming a system of confused uproar, unmusical, and ungraceful. their motions are irregular, sometimes in violent contortion, and at others voluptuous and slow. nothing can be done without a palaver; and at the change of every dance, he from whom the proposition originates, makes a solemn harangue over the musical instruments, which is generally descriptive of some warlike action or exploit, when they again give themselves up with rapture to the pleasures of the dance, the females in particular, whose actions and shew of luxuriant pleasure are highly offensive to delicacy, exhibiting all the gradations of lascivious attitude and indecency. at this period of unusual delight, they are applauded by the men with rapturous ardour; but suddenly a feeling of shame strikes the minds of the young creatures with a humiliating sense of their display, and amidst these plaudits they hastily retire to the matrons, who are spectators of the scene, and hide their blushes in their bosoms. so strongly implanted is this ingenuous and amiable modesty in youth, which is frequently laid aside when engaged in the vortex of pleasure, that it is one of the highest charms of beauty; and wretches only, degraded by debauchery and systematic vice, are capable of insulting this sentiment. a scrupulous regard to modesty and truth will not permit me to pursue the description of these amusements farther than observing, that they prepare them for a profound and tranquil sleep on their mats, from whence they arise at the dawn of day cheerful and easy. thus infancy and youth are singularly happy, and mothers attend their offspring with maternal feeling and delight; they are neither disturbed by painful commands or restraint; and it is a picture of perfect happiness to see these children of nature in sportive groups and infantine diversion. this happy infancy and gay youth is peculiarly calculated to organise a vigorous manhood, and a firm old age; and, i am persuaded, that these are the physical causes why the negro race are so muscular in body, and procreative of their species. in some countries innoculation is practised; but the small pox is not so common, or dreadful in its effects, in these countries as in europe. the greatest term of their lives may be computed at from sixty to seventy years, it seldom or ever happening that life is prolonged beyond that period in this part of africa. they retain their vigour, and enjoy a permanent and regular state of health until the last; and i have observed a venerable chief of advanced years having the possession of a dozen of young handsome wives, and the father of a young progeny, whose legitimacy was never disputed or suspected. in europe the last stage of man is a daily anticipation of dissolution; but in africa, declining years are only insensible approaches to the termination of a journey, the event of which he considers as the end of life, unconscious of the future, but as a fatality equally attached to all the creation. the picture i have endeavoured to delineate may serve to convey an idea to the mind of the moral and physical state of africa, which, undisturbed by ferocious barbarism, fierce hostilities, and horrid customs, convey a blissful and happy state of being; but, alas! we must now take another view, and contemplate these beings in the most degrading state, absorbed in superstitious idolatry, inhuman customs, and shut out from the civil arts of life, and the mild principles of christianity. their customs, their hostilities, slavery, and the mode i have conceived requisite to infranchise this unhappy race of men, i shall attempt to represent in the following chapter; and happy shall i feel if the description excites the attention and interference of more capacious minds on this subject, interesting to so large a portion of the human race, and to the claims of humanity. chapter vii. _the mode of trial by_ ordeal _and_ red water _in africa.--the wars of its inhabitants.--the state of barbarism and slavery considered.--the condition of the africans will not be improved by a late legislative act, without further interference.--salutary measures must be adopted towards the negroes in the colonies.--a system suggested to abolish slavery in africa, and the slave trade in general, and to enlarge the intellectual powers of its inhabitants.--the proper positions to effect an opening to the interior of africa, and to display to the world its manifold resources._ trial by _ordeal_ in africa is a punishment for petty thefts and delinquincies. trial by _red water_ is generally applied to crimes of greater magnitude. after the usual ceremonial of calling a palaver, the operation is performed by heating a piece of iron in the fire, the hand of the accused is dipped into a viscous preparation, and the iron is immediately drawn horizontally over the palm of the hand. if the judges (one of whom is always the executioner) have previously determined, in defiance of all the evidence, to prove the culprit guilty, the consequence is that the flesh is seared; but if they are predisposed to acquit him, the iron is dexterously applied so as to absorb the unctuous surface on the hand without affecting it, and a sentence of not guilty is pronounced. trial by _red water_ consists in making the accused drink a quantity of water, into which is infused the poisonous juice of the melley or _gris-gris_ tree; this is prepared by these _equitable_ judges, and applied upon the same fraudulent principles as in the trial by the _ordeal of fire_; it is, however, less resorted to. if the unhappy object of suspicion is affected in such a manner as they consider as a proof of guilt, his brains are knocked out upon the spot, or the body is so inflated by the pernicious liquid that it bursts. in either of these catastrophes all his family are sold for slaves. some survive these diabolical expedients of injustice, but the issue is uniformly slavery. when chiefs of influence, guilty of atrocity and fraud, become objects of accusation, the ingredient is of course qualified so as to remove its fatal tendency. hence justice seldom or ever in this country can punish powerful offenders, or shield the innocence of the weak and unprotected. the iniquity and oppression sanctioned by these trials, is a dreadful consequence of their avarice and inhumanity, for it is a fact that slaves are created thereby, and human sacrifices offered to that spirit, which they consider as their tutelar guardian: it is a subject which humanity should seriously contemplate in the relinquishment of the slave trade, whether, by the hasty adoption of that measure, before the intellectual powers of the people are improved by civilization, this barbarous evil may not be increased. when i closely enquired of the chiefs and natives relative to these savage customs, they uniformly admitted the fact, "that such live in their country," but with their characteristic dissimulation, always denied having perpetrated these horrid acts, and shifted the diabolical practice to some other nation or tribe, adding, "that only bad men do that thing." circumcision is practised among men, and a certain infliction on women, not, however, from religious motives, but to guard against the consequences of a disease not uncommon among them. the infliction upon women is the result of infidelity, or a sacrifice of chastity to loose gratification. as a preliminary, they retire to the _bunda_, or penitentiary, and are there secluded from all sexual intercourse. when the season of penitence is over, the operation is performed by the rude application of two stones, fashioned and sharpened for the purpose; this obliterates all delinquincy, and on their return to the world they are considered as restored to virgin purity. wars in africa originate from a variety of causes; in forming a correct estimate of these, it is necessary to consider its localities and situation. the inhabitants of this quarter of the earth, more particularly those of the district now under consideration, compose numerous tribes and nations, whose various views and interests excite jealousies and contentions, which, aided by the passions peculiar to a barbarous people, inevitably produce hostilities, and the effusion of human blood. what we have hitherto known of this country undoubtedly proves that wars are carried on with the most sanguinary violence: their prisoners, by the customs of the country, are consigned to massacre, slavery, and sacrifice,[1] to gratify the avarice, vanity, and cruelty of their chiefs; one of these passions must be predominant, and therefore the question is, which of them is the least pregnant with evil? it cannot admit of a doubt that those who are victims to avarice meet a more mild and humane fate, in falling into the hands of europeans, than the unhappy portion who are sacrificed to vanity and cruelty; and it is equally true, that since the interior nations have been enabled to exchange their slaves for european merchandize, the number of victims to the latter passion has decreased. i am far from being the advocate of slavery, but i am stating a fact, and leave it to the reader to form his own conclusions. where confirmed habits and immemorial custom is to be supplanted, it is certainly requisite to be well acquainted with the nature and character of the natives, which i have not here introduced in an exaggerated shape, but infinitely within the bounds of their savage ferocity. from these sources alone have arisen the expedients attendant upon the slave trade; kidnapping and petty warfare form a very unimportant branch of the barbarism which governs the inhabitants of africa, and their enslaved condition. viewing this in the mass of moral evil which disgraces the character of man, it will be found that it is even disproportioned to the estimated population of africa, which, from the best authority, has been stated at upwards of 160 millions; and to apply the consideration to our own situation, it will be found, that the number of executions and transportations from the united kingdom, in proportion to its population, is infinitely greater than the number of slaves exported from the shores of africa, to its numerous inhabitants. unquestionably the slave trade has extricated a number of human beings from death, whom the horrible sacrifices before described consigned to a barbarous exit, and has been a cause, though an immoral one when applied to britons, of extricating many victims, who otherwise would have been annually sacrificed: humanity has, therefore, some consolation in this polluted branch of our commerce, which in its nature is barbarous and inhuman. theories become extremely dangerous when they are impracticable, or misapplied, and are pernicious in their consequences from the fallacious measures they establish. in africa crimes are punished by forfeitures, slavery, or death; they are however rare; but accusations are often used to procure slaves, whether for domestic purposes, sale, or sacrifice to their customs. death, as a punishment, is seldom the penalty of condemnation; and if the culprit is rich, he can purchase his security. the alleged crime of witchcraft, or magic, is a common means by which the chiefs increase their accusations; and, consequently, the number of slaves. adultery, and other violations of social order, are punished by fine, but absolution is to be obtained by money. the crimes by which the chiefs obtain the condemnation and disposal of their subjects, are nearly all imaginary; for few exist which, under their laws, are considered as acts of turpitude. the abuse of authority, the action of violent passions, barbarous customs, ferocious habits, and insatiate avarice among the chiefs, augment the number of captives and victims, and the operation of these is much greater in the interior than in the maritime districts; but this leads me to the next part of my subject, namely, that a late legislative act will not, without farther interference, improve the condition of the african. by the hasty conclusion of that measure, the unhappy african is now abandoned to his fate; and we have surrendered him into the hands of other nations, less acquainted with his character and situation. former acts of parliament had adopted wise and humane measures to ameliorate the condition of slaves on board british vessls, so that their wants, and even their comforts, were administered with a liberal hand; and much more might have been done to augment these comforts. instead of now being the object of matured and wise regulations, the captive is exposed to the rapacity of our enemies, who will derive great advantages from our abandonment of the trade, and those who are incompetent, from the want of local knowledge, to ease his shackles, and sooth him in his state of bondage. the magnitude and nature of the disease, required a comprehensive system of policy to eradicate it; and although in its nature and tendency of great moral turpitude, alteratives were required calculated to its inveterate character and established habits. the condition of the african, the probable advantages he was to derive by our abandonment, and the circumstances of commerce, were all considerations of important consequence. even virtue itself must modify to its standard many considerations of moral evil, more particularly in a political point of view, that it may the more effectually establish its principles; nor can it, amidst the corruptions of society, exercise at all times its functions with due effect; neither has an instance occurred where its prudence and discretion was more imperiously called upon, than in that now under consideration. it had immemorial custom in africa to contend with, inveterate barbarism, and savage ferocity. this system had interwoven itself with our commercial existence so closely, as to require the most sagacious policy to eradicate it; at the same time it was the highest consideration for our magnanimity to interfere for that being whose thraldom and calamitous state had so long contributed to our wealth and commercial prosperity, before we abandoned him to contingencies. enough may have been said in the foregoing pages, to prove that something yet remains to be done to effect the manumission of the african, and preserve the important branches of commerce, which necessity has allied with the slave trade; and i entreat my readers to give this subject that dispassionate consideration which its merits require, and beg to assure them, that i obtrude my suggestions upon their notice with great submission and diffidence, trusting that what may appear in my system deficient, others more competent will embrace the subject, and excite the beneficence of my country in behalf of the african, promote civilization and christian society in his country, display its arcana of wealth to the world, and open a path to its commerce, free and unobscured. the colonization of the coast of africa, in my estimation, is impracticable, from its climate being uncongenial to the constitution of europeans, and from the system of slavery existing among its inhabitants, without the employment of natives in their present condition. the requisite authority to establish a system of labour, upon remunerative principles, and with industrious vigour, cannot otherwise be supported; and a misapprehension on this principle has been one of the great causes, as i conceive, of the failure of the sierra leone company in establishing their agricultural objects. they attempted, in prosecution of their humane project, an agricultural establishment on the boolam shore, opposite to their colony, where they had a choice of good lands: they proceeded upon the principles of their declaration, "that the military, personal, and commercial rights of blacks and whites shall be the same, and secured in the same manner," and in conformity with the act of parliament which incorporated them, more immediately that clause which relates to labour, namely, "not to employ any person or persons in a state of slavery in the service of the said company;" but they have totally failed; and in one of their reports, among other reasons, it is acknowledged, that for want of authority over the free natives whom they employed, their agricultural establishment on the boolam shore was unsuccessful. let not those worthy and truly respectable characters, whose humanity has induced them to risque an extensive property _unhappily expended without effect_, here consider that i mean to militate against their views, but rather may they acquiesce in the truth, and devise other expedients to promote their beneficent objects, and to _assimilate the natives_ of the country with their views. they have not only to lament a nonproductive profusion of their property, but an _alienation of the natives_, occasioned by a misconception of their character, by distracted councils, and the narrowed ideas of the agents they employed to prosecute their humane endeavours, but also by a desolate waste in their colony, without a regular feature of cultivation in its vicinity. at bance island, where slavery and agriculture were united under one superintendance in conformity with the established laws of the country, the mechanic arts among the natives have arrived at a greater degree of perfection than any situation i have visited upon the windward coast; and had the intellectual powers of their minds been more amply considered and cultivated, they would have exhibited an uncontrovertible example of the capacity and intelligence of the african. although, as i have previously noticed, a superintendance directed only to the mechanical arts, applied to the local necessities of the island, has had the most visible effects, yet, in proportion as their privileges have been extended, authority has become more inefficient, and their labour less unproductive in a pecuniary point of view, for want of a previous enlargement of their intellectual powers, and a progressive operation of freedom commensurate thereto. i can bestow no panegyric adequate to the sense i entertain of that active goodness which prompted the directors of the sierra leone company to the undertaking i have alluded to; but with all due deference i conceive that they have mistaken the practicable grounds, upon which the seeds of civilization, and the principles of christianity, can be effectively displayed to the african. the directors had to contend with a peculiar co-mixture of passions, licentious habits, and hereditary vice; to eradicate these, and to rescue the natives from their natural state, alluring and progressive measures were necessary, founded upon an accurate investigation of their characters and policy, and not by the fulminations of intemperate zealots, and theoretical speculators. the beneficent views of the sierra leone company have been unaccountably perverted, and have been the distorted instruments in prolonging, rather than extirpating, the barbarism of the african: it is therefore a subject of great regret to the benevolent supporters of this establishment, that an unprofitable expenditure of their property is the only existing perpetuity of their humane interference. will it be found that the company's agents have introduced the arts of civilization among any tribe or nation in africa, that they have made any progress in agriculture, although possessing a very extensive tract of fertile lands, or that they have converted them into any of the regular features of cultivation? have they explored or brought into action any of the attainable and lucrative branches of natural commerce, abounding in the region they inhabit, or do they employ a single ship in a regular trade with the mother country? will it be found that they have unfolded the doctrines of christianity, in their native purity and simplicity, to the unenlightened african, or converted, by their preaching and example, any tribe or nation among them?--the spacious waste is destitute of the appearance of domestic industry, or respectable character; it exhibits only a tissue of indolence, hypocritical grimace, petulant and assuming manners, and all the consequences of idleness and corrupted morals. to succeed in this beneficent undertaking, and to expunge the inveterate nature of the african, his prejudices, and inherent customs, progressive approaches upon his present condition are indispensibly requisite, under the attractive influence of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and navigation. accidental events, concurring with political causes, frequently render the best concerted measures abortive, and retard their progress, but unquestionably the above-mentioned are the means by which the african may be manumitted, and his condition improved. the wisest laws operate but slowly upon a rude and fierce people, therefore the measures of reformation are not to be successfully performed by a coup-de-main, nor are the hereditary customs of africa to be erased by the inflammatory declamations of enthusiasm, but by a liberal policy and the ascendency of the polished arts of society. commerce, the chief means of assembling, and agriculture of assimilating, mankind, must first assume their fascinating and alluring attitudes to the african upon his native plains. too impetuous and indolent to observe the forms, or enter into the requisite details of business, he contemplates the effect, without investigating the cause; but, when he discovers his own comparative wretchedness, he will be roused from his innate indolence, his powers will be stimulated, and his emulation excited to attain a more exalted state. imperceptible and circumspect approach at innovation upon the laws, customs, and country of africa are indispensibly requisite, its chiefs and head men must be cajoled, their jealousies dextrously allayed, and their sordid avarice flattered by the prospect of superior gain. during the infancy of colonization, the employment of native labour must be tolerated, as is evident by the unsuccessful attempts of the sierra leone company, and may appear from what i have already urged. independent of political considerations, of much weight, the uncongeniality of the climate of africa to the constitution of the european colonist opposes an insurmountable barrier to the exercise of laborious avocations; therefore it is necessary to employ natives, in conformity with the usage of the country; and a recognition of property should exist in their persons; for it is obvious, from experiment, that authority cannot otherwise be established, or the necessary labour performed to produce an adequate return. while this invidious exigency obstructs the immediate manumission of the slave, it does not the less accelerate it, agreeable to the sound and humane policy adapted to his condition; but, on the contrary, is necessary to his complete emancipation; for he must first be taught the nature of the blessings of freedom, his intellectual faculties must be expanded, and the veil of barbarism gradually removed, to prepare him to participate in its enjoyment. the system of colonization which i, with all submission, submit to the legislature, and to my country, is this: 1st. to employ natives in whom a recognition of property shall exist, as unavoidable from the present condition of africa. 2d. to procure them from as wide an extent of the most powerful nations and tribes upon the sea coast, as is practicable, and from the slatees or slave merchants from the interior countries. 3d. that a requisite number of these should be fit for the present purposes of labour, and for an immediate initiation into the mechanic arts, as applicable to the local circumstances of the colony, and the useful purposes of life. 4th. that a proportionate number of males and females should form the complement, from the age of 5 to 7 years, and be placed in a seminary of instruction, under the inspection of the government of the colony, and under tutors approved of in england. 5th. that this establishment of a seminary of instruction in africa, under the administration of the colony, shall have for its bases the initiation of these children, as calculated to their sexes, into the rudiments of letters, religion, and science, and the progressive operation of education adapted to the useful purposes of life. 6th. that when thus prepared, the necessary avocations of domestic economy, agriculture, and mechanics, employ the next period of their existence, under the superintendence of the european colonist. 7th. when arrived at the period of mature years, and thus instructed, to become the object of legislative enquiry and investigation as to their attainments, character, fidelity, and mental improvement. 8th. that such as produce clear testimonials of capacity, knowledge, and acquirement, become immediately objects of manumission. 9th. that all proceedings in this process of education and emancipation, become matters of record in the colony, subject to such control and investigation as his majesty's government may, in its wisdom, appoint, from time to time, to guard against the corruption and prejudices of the legislative authority of the colony. 10th. that thus endowed, they are to be dismissed to their respective countries and nations, employed as agents in various capacities of civilized pursuit, and to promote the commercial and agricultural views of the colony, and disseminate their allurements among their tribe, which, under the direction of the unerring dispensations of divine providence, might, in process of time, diffuse civilization and christianity throughout the utmost region of africa, its inhabitants become members of civilized and christian society, and their country, in process of time, be extricated from its barbarism. it is for the legislature to devise a system adapted to the colonies, calculated to their local situations, and to remove the invidious distinction now subsisting between the african there, and in his native country; by these means the entire negro race may participate in the blessings of civilization and revealed religion, in every quarter where our extensive dominion and influence exist. by adopting the _first proposition_, a sufficient authority would be maintained to enforce the labour necessary to produce profit, and competent to excite emulation, which is a powerful passion in the character of the african; for in every effort he discovers a strong spirit of competition. through the medium of the 2d proposition, the natives of an extentive district would be collected under the instruction of the european colonist, and, in process of time, would become the happy instruments of initiating their, tribe or nation into the arts of civilization, and in promoting the commercial interests of the colony, which may eventually be diffused throughout africa. by the 3d expedient, an adequate portion of effective labourers would be obtained to commence vigorous operations. in consequence of the 4th, 5th, and 6th, a portion of children of both sexes would be procured at a moderate rate, in their unadulterated condition, who would be susceptible of any impressions, free from the control of their parents, and the contamination of their example, into whose tender minds might be instilled the principles of moral virtue, religious knowledge, and the civil arts of life. through the adoption of the 7th and 8th, the objects of humanity might be realized, and slavery, with the slave trade, make a natural exit from the shores and country of africa. by the 9th, the corrupted and interested endeavours of the colonists to retard the work of emancipation would be controlled; and, by the patronage of government, pecuniary resource and support be obtained, in aid of individual and corporate endeavours, the requisite population from the parent state acquired, and the indispensible authority established to secure success to any further attempts at colonization upon the coast of africa. and through the 10th expedient, an extended population would enjoy the advantages of instruction and example, and our ascendency and commerce be increased by a rapid process, which would predispose the natives to throw open the avenues of their country to our enterprize and research. thus may the long seclusion of the african from the light of truth and revealed religion be annihilated, his inveterate jealousies allayed, his nature regenerated, and his barbarism fall before the emanations of enlightened existence. in the interim, an unobscured path to the interior of his country will be opened, and our commerce therewith flow through a less polluted channel; while the negro, now the victim of barbarism in his native land, may be extricated from his thraldom, and received into the circle of civilized life, which he has hitherto been excluded from, and to which providence, without doubt, in its mysterious and incomprehensible administration of human affairs, has designed him to arrive at. [footnote 1: a portion of them being destined to domestic slavery, as victims to revenge, and as sacrifices to their barbarous customs.] chapter viii. _what the author conceives should be the system of establishment to make effectual the operations from cape verde to cape palmas.--reasons for subjecting the whole to one superior and controlling administration.--the situations, in his estimation, where principal depots may be established, and auxiliary factories placed, &c. &c._ what i have already said respecting the coast from cape verde to cape palmas, may be sufficient to convey a tolerably just and general idea of the religion, customs, and character of the inhabitants, the commercial resources with which it abounds, and the system to be pursued to unite commerce with the claims of humanity in one harmonious compact. i am persuaded there is no situation on the windward coast of africa more calculated, or more advantageously situated, than the river of sierra leone to influence and command an enlarged portion of the continent of africa. this part of africa, as ascertained by mr. park, communicates, by its rivers to the niger, and introduces us to the interior of this great continent; and, from other sources of information, foolahs, mandingos, &c. i am enabled to confirm the statement given in one of the reports of the sierra leone company, that from _teembo_, about 270 miles interior to the entrance of the rio noonez, and the capital of the foolah king, a path of communication exists through the kingdoms of bellia, bourea, munda, segoo (where there are too strong grounds to believe that the enterprising spirit of mr. park ceased its researches in this world), soofundoo to genah, and from thence to tombuctoo, described as extremely rich and populous. the distance from teembo to tombuctoo the natives estimate at about four moons' journey, which at 20 miles per day, calculating 30 days to each moon, is equal to 2,400 miles. this distance in a country like africa, obscured by every impediment which forests, desarts, and intense climate can oppose to the traveller, is immense; and when it is considered that in addition to these, he has to contend with the barbarism of the inhabitants, it is a subject for serious deliberation, before the investigation of its natural history and commercial resources is undertaken. but it also displays an animating field of enterprise to obtain a free intercourse with this unbounded space, and if, at a future day, we should traverse it with freedom and safety, the whole of africa might thereby be enlightened, and its mysteries developed to the civilized world. i have therefore conceived the expediency of submitting all the enterprises and operations of the united kingdom to the influence of a supreme direction and government in the river of sierra leone. no doubt many contradictory opinions may prevail upon this subject, and upon the outline i have previously submitted on the most eligible plan of introducing civilization into africa; but the detail of all my motives and reasons would occupy too large a space; i shall therefore proceed to instance some local circumstances and political reasons why i make the proposition. from what i have said respecting the path which smart, of the rochell branch of the river sierra leone, has now under his authority, and can open and shut at pleasure, communicating with the extensive country of the foolahs, whose king (as the sierra leone agents are well aware of, but who was strangely and unaccountably neglected by them) is well disposed to aid, by prudent application, all advances towards the civilization of his country, it is evident that an immense commerce, extending northward to cape verde, and southward to cape palmas, on the coasts, and from the interior countries, might be maintained. by light vessels and schooners, drawing from 6 to 8 feet water, a continued activity might be kept up in the maritime situations and rivers, and a correspondence by land might be conducted by post natives, who travel from 20 to 30 miles per day, to all parts of the interior countries. from the island of goree a correspondence with the river gambia, and a watchful vigilance over the settlement of the french in the senegal would be maintained both by land and sea, which, with a well chosen position, central from cape sierra leone, to cape palmas, would combine a regular system of operation, concentrating in the river sierra leone. in addition to these three principal depots, it would be requisite to establish factories, and places of defence to the northward, on the rivers scarcies and kissey, at the isles de loss, the rivers dembia, rio pongo, rio grande, rio noonez, and gambia; and to leeward, on the rivers sherbro, galhinas, cape mount, junk river, john's river, bassau, &c. or in other commanding positions towards cape palmas. the expense of these auxiliary establishments and forts would be inconsiderable, compared with the objects they would attain, the chief requisite being regular and well supplied assortments of goods, and a wise system of organization adapted to circumstances. the navigation of these rivers, and habits of conciliation and friendship with the chiefs resident upon them, and towards the interior, it may here be perceived, are the only practicable measures, under the auspicious control of government, to retain our commerce with africa, to civilize its inhabitants, and explore its hidden wealth; and are the most favourable, also, towards our operations in the countries on this continent; while the various natives attached to this pursuit, would aid, by wise management, in influencing the inhabitants, where our researches and pursuits might carry us, and eventually conduct us to the centre of africa, from thence to the eastern shores of the mediterranean, and the banks of the nile. i trust it will here also appear that the means of acting, and the important advantages to be derived therefrom, are neither illusive nor impracticable. it is to be lamented, that, in undertakings of this kind, men of limited genius, of no experience in business, and incapable of acting with unanimity, have been too frequently employed; who are governed more by caprice than principle, and are consequently seldom able to reduce their ideas into practice, and allow their passions to predominate over the maxims of duty. delicacy in managing the humours and interests of men is the art requisite to successful operation. may it be remembered, that if civilization and our ascendency prevail in africa, and if the first essays we make to extend our relations with that country are successful, we attach to the civilized world one-fourth of the habitable globe, and its infinite resources. it therefore becomes a subject of great magnitude, to commence and form a system of operation, to collect the means of this immense extent, and the propriety of subjecting the whole to a similarity of views, and co-operation under one controlling administration. the precipitate abolition of the slave trade will reduce our affairs in africa, to a contracted and unproductive compass, in its present condition; therefore if we attach any consequence to this quarter of the globe, it will be expedient to endeavour to discover new scources [**note: sources] of commercial wealth and industry. coffee, cotton, the sugar cane, cacao, indigo, rice, tobacco, aromatic plants and trees, &c. first offer themselves to, our attention in wild exuberance. and these, in my humble opinion, are the only rational means to bring africa into a state of civilization, and to abolish slavery. i recommend one administration under the patronage of government, in the sierra leone river, to guard against a want of unity in the number of petty establishments that may otherwise exist on the coast, which from jealousies and interests varying in different directions, produce operations of a contradictory nature, and the first necessary step, is to be well acquainted with the character and dispositions, of the natives, and the localities of the maritime situations; for without combined enterprises, i venture to predict we are now excluded from the commerce of africa. i trust that my system will be examined in all its points, with dispassionate impartiality before it is rejected; and if others more competent to the task, devise more eligible means to promote the views of humanity and commerce, i shall feel happy to have agitated the subject, and rejoice at every means, to rescue so important a matter to the interests of mankind. the commandant of goree, i would propose as second in command, with delegated powers to control all the operations in the countries bordering on the senegal, and the river gambia; and an annual inspection directed by him, throughout this district. the intermediate countries from the rio noonez to cape mount would come immediately under the examination of the central and administrative government of sierra leone, and the third division under the authority of another command at a position chosen between cape mount, and cape palmas. the military protection of the establishments, as i have here recommended, would neither require great exertions, or numbers. goree certainly claims peculiar attention. its fortifications should be repaired, and the guns rendered more complete, and tanks for water should be in a perfect state to guard against the want of this necessary article from the main land, which, as before noticed, is liable to be cut off at any period by the enemy. the convenience, airy and healthy construction of the barracks and hospitals, claim the most minute attention and care. under skilful superintendance in these important departments, the health of the troops might be preserved, and objects of defence realized with a very inconsiderable military establishment. but as government must be well informed by its officers, both military and naval in these points, it would be indecorous in me to enlarge on the subject. lieut. colonel lloyd, from his long residence, and intimacy with a great portion of the windward coast, possesses ample information. and the naval officers, who from time to time have visited it, have, no doubt, furnished every document necessary to complete an effective naval protection. a regular system of defence, adapted to the jurisdiction of the sierra leone, and delegated establishment between cape mount and cape palmas, are also obviously requisite. the establishments that would be eligible for the purposes of defence, are confined to the three foregoing principal positions, and they have little to perform that is either difficult or embarrassing. it may not, however, be considered as going beyond the bounds of propriety to hint, that a great portion of the soldiers charged with defence, should be able engineers and gunners, and a few cavalry might be occasionally found useful. to complete the entire plan, and exclude our enemies from every point, from cape blanco to cape palmas, the possession of the french establishment at the isle of louis in the senegal, is an abject of serious contemplation, and no doubt might be attained with great facility by even a small force. the unhealthy consequences to a military force attached to this place might be greatly removed by superior convenience in the hospitals, barracks, and other departments of residence; and in a commercial point of view, its advantages are too well ascertained for me to obtrude any observations. the bricks necessary for building may be procured in the country, lime from oyster shells, &c. wood and other materials at a very inconsiderable expense; and as the usual mode of payment, is in bars of goods, instead of money, the nominal amount would thereby be greatly lessened. chapter ix. _the author embarks in the ship minerva.--proceeds to the rio pongo.--disquisitions thereon.--further observations on the inhabitants, obtained from natives of various nations met with there.--the isles de loss--returns to sierra leone, &c._ upon the 4th of june, 1806, i embarked at bance island, on board the ship minerva of liverpool, bound upon a trading voyage to the rio pongo, and other rivers to the northward, and on thursday the 12th came to an anchor at the upper forks, in the rio pongo, being the point at which the branches of the _bungra, charleston, constintia,_ &c. empty themselves; higher up the river are the _sanga_ and _bashia_ branches, occupied by a chain of factories, and inhabited by various nations and tribes. the principal factories for trade are on the constintia, about 40 miles up the river, mr. cummings's factory, at ventura; mr. john irvin's, at kessey; mr. benjamin curtis's, at boston; mr. frasier's, at bangra; mr. sammo's, at charleston; mr. david lawrence's, at gambia; mr. daniel botefeur's, at mary hill; mr. ormond's, mr. tillinghurst's, mr. gray's, in the bashia branch; with various others of inferior consideration. during my stay on this river, i visited the whole of these branches, and in addition to personal investigation, i obtained much information from the various conductors of these factories, and had a variety of opportunities of communicating with many of the natives from the interior countries, who are drawn hither by the extensive commerce of the rio pongo. in my excursions on this river, i was generally accompanied by captain william browne, of liverpool, who was part owner of the minerva, and had the sole management of the concerns of her voyage; and i am happy to give him this public testimony of the many obligations he conferred upon me, while on this part of the coast, which unceasingly continued until my arrival in england, by the way of the west indies. the countries bounded by the rio pongo and the gambia, are inhabited by the nilloes and various tribes, who carry on a considerable trade with that river, the rio noonez, and rio grande, and inland to the two latter, is the powerful nation of the foolahs, possessing an extensive country, about 200 miles in breadth from north to south, and 400 miles from east to west. teembo, the capital of the foolah king, is about 270 miles inland from the entrance of the rio noonez. the paths for trade and communication with the interior, from this position, are at the king's pleasure, and he opens and shuts them by his mandate. the foolahs are tall, well-limbed, robust and courageous, grave in their deportment, are well acquainted with commerce, and travel over an astonishing space of the country. their religion is a mixture of mahomedanism, idolatry, and fetishism. one of their tenets, which inculcates the destruction of those they term infidels, is peculiarly friendly to slavery, and as the greater part of their neighbouring tribes are of that description, they are continually practising every violence, and, are frequently engaged in wars. when i suggested to a chief of very considerable intelligence, and one of the foolah king's head men, whom i met in the rio pongo, the enormity of their injustice to the surrounding tribes, and how displeasing it was to the god they prayed to, his reply was, "true, this be bad fashion to foolah, or mandingo man, but these people we make war against never pray to god, nor do we make war with those who give god almighty service." while this barbarism exists, and the slave trade is continued, humanity will have to, bewail the miserable condition of the african slave. for this, and various other reasons that might be urged, and considering the position and extensive influence of the foolah nation, their king claims a high consideration in a combined scheme of establishment upon the coast. so impressed was this chief, of the beneficial advantages to be derived from agriculture, that he tendered land, cattle, men, &c. to the agents of the sierra leone company, only requesting from them, in return, a delegated superintendance; but, strange to tell, this disposition was not cultivated nor improved; nor was the further offer of the king of laby, and his high priest, to place their sons under the protection of the company, to be sent to england and educated. a more important step could not have been taken to attain the object of the directors, than this of attaching the foolah nation to their interest. the women of this nation are handsome, and of a sprightly temper, and their countenances are more regular than those of the common negroes; the hair in both men and women is much longer, and not so woolly, but they have a most disgusting custom of forming it into ringlets, bedaubed with oil and grease, which gives them a very barbarous appearance. the foolah tongue, is different from that of the surrounding nations, and its accent is more harmonious. to the southward of the rio pongo, to sierra leone, lie the countries of the bagoes, soosees, mandingos, timminees, and boolams, all idolaters except the mandingos, who, like the foolahs, associate in their religion a mixture of fetishism and mahomedanism. the timminees are a more harmless race of men than any of the other _infidel_ nations, and their dispositions are more calculated to industrious avocations than their neighbours. i have already noticed the mandingos, but, as i consider this nation and the foolahs of the first consequence, from their power and influence over the other nations of this part of the coast, i shall add a few more observations upon them. from what i have before stated, it will appear that the mandingos are a numerous people in africa, gaining a daily influence and authority in the district now under consideration. besides the tribes of this people who inhabit the countries between the soosees and timminees, there are various others established in the country of bambouk, and on the borders of the gambia, but the great body occupy an extensive territory above the sources of that river. the empire of the mandingos is not, however, so considerable as that of the foolahs, but from their increasing influence over the western countries, from their docile and cunning dispositions, their knowledge in merchandize, and acquirements in book-knowledge, their power must, in process of time, be greatly increased; and it will be of the utmost moment to civilize them, in order to acquire an influence over the more barbarous states. notwithstanding the cunning and dissimulation which characterizes these people, they are generous, open, and hospitable, and their women are aimiable and engaging: they are more zealous mahomedans than the foolahs; their colour has a mixture of yellow, but their features are more regular than the other nations of africa which i have seen. the foolahs, the mandingos, and the joliffs, bordering on the senegal, are the most handsome negroes on this part of africa; the hair of the latter, however, is more crisped and woolly, their nose is round, and their lips are thick; this nation, in particular, is blacker than those approximating towards the line; nor are the negroes in the krew coast, and towards palmas, so black as the nation i now speak of; which may tend to prove, that the colour of the africans does not arise from a vertical sun, but from other physical causes yet unknown. there is a characteristic feature between the mahomedan nations of africa, particularly those from the shores of the mediterranean (whom i have seen in my travels in that quarter) which, with their almost universal profession of the mahomedan religion, sanctions the idea, that this part of the coast has been peopled from the eastern parts of the continent; but the visible difference in religion, complexion, and feature, of the nations towards cape palmas, give rise to other conjectures. an obvious difference may be observed among these numerous nations; their language and their customs are various, and are frequently without affinity or relation. from the shores of the mediterranean to this part of africa, the majority of the nations are mahomedans, but towards cape palmas they are gross idolaters, with a mixture mahomedanism and superstition; many of them erect temples, and dedicate groves to the devil. i have seen several of these, which exhibit no outward sign or object of worship, but consist of stumps of trees, in a circular form, covered with leaves, or a thatched roof, in the centre of which stands a square altar of mud, without any image of adoration. the reason assigned by them for their omission in this instance, is, "that they never look the devil or evil spirit, therefore they do not know how to make any thing like him." to the good spirit they neither make offering nor sacrifice, considering it as unnecessary to obtain his favours, from his disposition to do nothing but good, which of course he will administer to them. from every thing that i have observed, i conceive that idolatry, and fetish worship, is the predominant religion of africa, and that mahomedanism has been propagated by the moore and arab's. it may not here be unopportune to introduce the mandingo man's prayer, which i obtained from a very intelligent chief of that nation: viz. _mandingo arabic_. subbohanalahe rabila'ademy abodehé. subbohanala rabila allah. subbohana arabe. inye allamante, nafuse wa amutate sue wakefurella. teyatelillahé tebates allivatuelub lahey. sillamaleko ayo hanabehé, obara katolahe sullamalina ihannabé, lebadelahe saliheneé" the address to mahomet follows, viz. sahadala elahe idillaha mahomedo, arasoolo lahi man mahomedo aboodaho. _in their idiom of english._ god lives and, is not dust. god be master of all and is above his slaves. god knows his slave, and is not made of earth; but above all. (before the next sentence, subbohana arabe, &c. he bows twice.) suppose i die, i can look you to-morrow, and thank you, and be out of trouble, and free from the devil. (teyatelillahé, &c. accompanied by a motion of the fingers) i beg in my prayers again, god, i may die to day, i look to thank you again to-morrow, my people and family may then get into trouble, and i then pray to you. to mahomet. mahomet be man, born of woman, the prophet of god, and speak to him for man. in this system of prayer there is a mixture of fetishism, mahomedanism, and a strong analogy to the christian system; and it is no inconsiderable argument in favour of the mediation of the saviour, that in the worship of heathen nations a mediator is uniformly associated with the object of adoration. virgil in his aeneid, and other classic writers, illustrate a belief of the ancient heathens in the omniscience of the deity, and they clearly elucidate the importance they attached the mediatorial efficacy of offerings and sacrifice. the form of worship adapted to the foregoing prayer, is to squat down upon the ground, placing the palm of their hands flat thereon twice, touching the earth the same number of times with their foreheads; then rubbing their arms from the wrist to the elbow, with that which is contracted by this operation, when the hands are applied to the face, and the forefingers put into the ears. i have dwelt more minutely upon this people and their present condition compared with the foolahs, because i consider these nations have it much in their power to shut and open the paths of intercourse with the interior countries, therefore they become of importance, in the contemplation of any pursuits upon this district of africa. the mandingoes inhabiting galam, and the countries interior to the gambia, carry on the principal trade with those of bambouk, &c. where gold is procured. this precious metal is obtained from the surface of the earth, and from the banks of the falls of the rivers in the rainy season; it is first washed in a calabash; and when the water is poured off, the dust, and sometimes large grains remain. the natives have no idea of mining; but it appears from hence, that mines of this metal must exist, which are concealed thro' the want of the arts of civilized life. the mandingoes speak of these countries with a great air of mystery, and are extremely jealous, lest europeans should obtain any information relative to them: as they carry on almost exclusively, this branch of commerce. when i was in the bashia branch of the rio pongo, a meteor of an extraordinary kind appeared for two successive nights, directing its course from ne. to sw. which put the natives in a most dreadful state of consternation; the women fell into loud lamentations, the men beat their drums, and sent forth the most horrid yells; imagining, that this barbarous uproar would drive away the object of their fears. in eclipses of the sun and moon, they repeat their prayers and sacrifices, with the same clamour, under the notion that it will frighten away the monster which they suppose to obscure these planets from their view. these superstitious notions have the most powerful influence over the negro's mind, and it is impossible to dissuade or reason him out of them. from all i have stated, the great importance of these countries, to open an intercourse with the interior of africa, must appear. on the borders of the rio pongo, and other rivers, excellent lands, forming hill, and dale, are every where to be found, and well adapted to agricultural experiments. with the _consent of the chiefs_, these might be obtained at a small expense, and many of them with whom i have communicated, would gladly embrace a wise interference; but they all complain, "white man not know their fashion," intimating in very forcible language, that every caution should be used, at innovation upon their laws, customs, and manners. let example first excite their admiration, and their barbarism will bow before the arts of civilization, and slavery be gradually abolished. before i conclude this chapter, i shall make some observations upon the temperature of the western countries of africa, situated between cape verde and cape palmas, mention the principal diseases, and those which europeans are most exposed to on their first arrival in these countries, and give general precautions against the dangers of the climate, &c. the inexhaustible fecundity of africa holds out to europeans strong excitements to enterprise and research; but in the pursuit, the diseases which prevail in this country should be well understood; and it would be highly expedient, in any plans of colonization, to attach a medical staff, as the natives have no idea of the art of surgery, except what arises from the knowledge they have of the properties of herbs, and the superstitions attached to their fetishism. in annexing this extraordinary country to the civilized world, and exploring its stores of wealth, a burning climate, and the diseases peculiar thereto, unite with the barbarism of its inhabitants in opposition to the european; but by a strict observance of necessary rules, and avoiding all kinds of excess, the formidable influence of the sun may be resisted, and the pernicious effects of exhalations, which arise from a humid, marshy, and woody country, may in a great degree be obviated; and i am sorry to say, that for want of proper precaution and through ignorance, fatal consequences more frequently occur, than from the unhealthiness of the climate. the temperature from cape verde to cape palmas is extremely various from the vertical rays of the sun, the nature of the soil, and the face of the country. in the months from november to march, by fahrenheit's thermometer, it has been from 70° in the morning, to 90° at noon, in the shade; and nearly the same variation has been observed at the river of sierra leone; and in some places in the foolah country it has been from 50° to 90° from july to october, the mean temperature in the river gambia, by fahrenheit, has been from 90° in the morning to 100° at noon in the shade, and during the same months at sierra leone from about 92° to 106°; but a variety of local circumstances may give a greater or less degree of heat: this however may serve to give a general idea of the temperature of these countries. the island of goree, for example, the island of bance, and the bay of sierra leone, are more healthy, enjoying the cooling sea breezes, more than situations in the rivers more interior. the banks of all the rivers in africa, which i have visited, are enclosed by impenetrable forests, marshes, and the closely combined mangrove tree, and it is but seldom that the land forms an uneven dry surface on their borders. instances however in the sierra leone, rio pongo, &c. occasionally occur, when the most picturesque scenery adorns the river. from may to august, hurricanes or _tornados_, before described, prevail upon the windward coast, and this phenomenon is to be met with from cape verde to cape palmas. the months from november to march are remarkable for the prevalence of east and north-east winds. when these winds, which are called _harmatans_, set in, they are accompanied with a heavy atmosphere, and are of a dry and destructive nature. every description of vegetation is blasted by their influence, and every object, animate and inanimate, feels their powerful effects; the skin is parched and dried, and every feature is shriveled and contracted. the most compact cabinet work will give way, the seams of flooring open, and the planks even bend. furniture of every sort is distorted; in short, nothing escapes their dreadful power. the nights at this period are cool and refreshing. the months of july, august, september, and october are rainy, from the equator to about the 20th degree of north latitude. towards the equinoxial they begin earlier, and make their progress to windward, but the difference throughout the whole of the north tropic fluctuates little more or less than 15 or 20 days. when the rains commence, the earth, before parched up and consolidated into an impenetrable crust, by the powerful influence of the sun and a long period of drought, is immediately covered with vermin and reptiles of all sorts, creating a moving map of putrefaction. the natives ascribe to these many of their diseases; but a further cause may be added, namely, the great change from heat to cold, and the variations at this season. the powerful influence of the sun, which at this period is almost vertical, quickly dissipates the clouds which obscure the sky, and produces an almost insupportable effect; but new clouds soon condense, and intercept the solar rays; a mitigating heat follows; the pores are compressed, and prespiration ceases. variations succeeding so rapidly, are attended with the most serious effects, and the most fatal consequences. and, lastly, the noxious exhalations arising from the inaccessible forests and marshy swamps which abound in africa, and from numerous animal and vegetable remains of the dry season, which cover the soil every where, are productive of putrid effluvia. these rains, or rather periodical torrents of water, which annually visit the tropics, invariably continue for about four months of the year, and during the other eight it rarely happens that one single drop falls; in some instances, however, periodical showers have happened in the dry season, but the effects of these are scarcely perceptible on vegetation; the consequence is, that the surface of the earth forms an impervious stratum or crust, which shuts up all exhalation. when the rains cease, and the heat of the sun absorbs the evaporations from the earth, which have been so long concealed during the dry season, a most offensive and disgusting effluvia is produced, which then fastens upon the human system, and begets diseases that in a short time shew their effects with dreadful violence; and no period is more to be guarded against than when the rains cease, for the intense heat completely impregnates the atmosphere with animalculae and corrupted matter. the principal complaints which attack europeans are, malignant nervous fevers, which prevail throughout the rainy season, but they are expelled by the winds which blow in the month of december; from hence these _harmatans_ are considered healthy, but i have heard various opinions among medical men on this subject. dr. ballard (now no more), whose long residence at bance island, and in africa, and whose intimate acquaintance with the diseases of these climates, peculiarly qualified him to decide upon the fact, was of opinion, most decidedly, that the _harmatan_ season was not the most healthy. when this malignant fever takes place in all its virulence, its consequences are the most disastrous; the symptoms are violent and without gradation, and the blood is heated to an increased degree beyond what is experienced in europe; the ninth day is generally decisive, and this is a crisis that requires the most vigilant attention and care over the patient. i speak this from personal experience. in consequence of the fatigues i underwent in the rio pongo, and other rivers, and having been for several days and nights exposed to an open sea, and to torrents of rain upon land, i was seized with this dreadful disorder, although i had enjoyed an uninterrupted state of good health before, and on my arrival at the colony of sierra leone was unable to support myself on shore; and had it not been for the kind attention and skilful prescriptions of dr. robson of that colony, with the friendly offices of captain brown, i should, in all probability, at this stage have finished my travels and existence together. dysenteries frequently follow this fever, which are of a very fatal tendency, and sometimes the flux is unattended by fever. this disease is not uncommon in persons otherwise healthy, but it is productive of great debility, which requires a careful regimen; if it continues to a protracted period, its consequences are often fatal. in my own case, a dysentery followed the fever, and reduced me to a mere skeleton. the dry belly-ache is another dangerous disease, accompanied by general languor, a decrease of appetite, a viscous expectoration, and fixed pain in the stomach. opium is considered an efficacious medicine in this disease, and is administered with great perseverance, accompanied by frequent fomentations. an infusion of ginger drank in the morning has frequently good effects. flannel assists excretion, and is found beneficial. _tetanos_ is also another disease peculiar to africa, and is a kind of spasm and convulsive contraction, for which opium is the usual remedy. the guinea worm is another disease among the natives, which is productive of tumours upon the body and limbs, productive of great pain, and is a contagious disease. this, however, is a subject without my province, and which has been ably treated upon by gentlemen, whose profession fully qualified them for the investigation. in addition to the many valuable treatises upon tropical diseases, from high authority, i would recommend dr. winterbottom's publication to the reader, as, embracing highly important local information upon the diseases of the windward coast. i have only touched on those which have more immediately come within my personal observation. too much care cannot be taken by europeans in drinking, and even washing in the waters of africa, which should always undergo a filtering preparation, and i am persuaded that great circumspection should be used in this respect: these and other precautions, with a generous, but regular system of living, would no doubt tend to diminish the fatal tendency of diseases in africa. without doubt, a series of professional observations and enquiry into the temperature and periodical variations of the climate of africa, and its diseases, would be attended with the most important advantages to the science of physic, and might ultimately prove of incalculable consequence in preserving the valuable lives of our brave soldiers and sailors, exposed to all the ravages of tropical climates. advantages that are well worth the attention of government, which would train up a body of physicians and surgeons, initiated into the mysteries of the diseases peculiar to those countries, which might tend to preserve a large portion of human beings of the utmost consequence and importance to the state; and it might form a part in the organization of colonial establishments, to attach thereto an institution of this nature. chapter x. _the author visits the isles de loss.--remarks on those islands.--touches at the river scarcies.--arrives at the colony of sierra leone.--embarks for the west indies--lands at the colony of demerory.--some observations on the productions of that colony, berbice, and essequibo, and on the importance of dutch guiana to the united kingdom, in a political and commercial view._ on the 4th of july, i rejoined the minerva at the palm trees, and on the 5th we weighed and passed the bar of the rio pongo, steering our course for the isles de loss; and on the 6th came to an anchor off factory island. the isles de loss, in the portuguese language meaning islands of idols, are so called from the idolatrous customs of the natives, and are seven in number; tammara, crawford's, factory, temba, white's, goat, and kid islands. tammara is the largest, but very difficult of approach, and has few inhabitants; crawford's has two factories for trade, belonging to gentlemen formerly in the service of the sierra leone company; and factory island has an american establishment, conducted by a mr. fisk, these are the principal (the others being little more than barren rocks), and they abound in vegetation and natural productions. squilly, or the sea onion, to which great medicinal qualities are ascribed, grows in great abundance in these islands, and might be procured in almost any quantity. dr. lewis, in the _materia medica_, or _edinburgh dispensary_, describes the peculiar qualities of this root. the positions of these islands are excellent for trade, but exposed to the predatory excursions of the enemy, who have frequently pillaged the factories established in crawford's island. on the 9th we again got under weigh, steering our course for the entrance into the river scarcies. the night was attended by tremendous peals of thunder, lightning, and torrents of rain: we continued off and on until the 12th, when we arrived outside mattacont island, bearing e. by s. and the isles de loss in sight. at 2 p.m. i accompanied captain brown, with five hands, in the pinnace, with the intention of running into the scarcies river. we sailed with a fresh breeze in expectation of gaining the entrance by the approach of night; but we were obliged to anchor in the open sea, amidst the most awful peals of thunder, while the whole heaven displayed nothing but vivid flashes of lightning. amidst this tremendous scene, exposed to the mercy of the waves, with the prospect of being deluged by rain, we secured our little bark and ourselves, in the best manner our circumstances would admit, and committed ourselves to the all protecting care and disposal of providence. the mantle of night was soon spread around us, the scene was grand and solemn, and we were at length hushed to rest by the jar of elements, and the murmurs of the ocean. we awoke to contemplate an azure sky, and the all-bountiful mercy of the creator, in preserving us from such imminent danger, to pursue our destination through breakers, shoals, and sands. at day-light, with a breeze from the land, we weighed, and steered our course s.s.e. for the scarcies bar, but the wind shifting to the s.e. and the ebb tide running strong, we were nearly driven out of sight of land; we were therefore obliged again to anchor, and wait the change of tide. trusting to a sea breeze that had just set in, it being slack water, we again weighed: the serenity of the weather did not long continue, but soon increased to a brisk gale, accompanied by thunder, lightning and rain; we were driven with great impetuosity through the narrow channel between the bar and the shore, and from the shallowness of the water, the rollers continually broke over our heads, threatening our destruction every moment. providentially we surmounted these dangers, and at 5 p.m. entered the river, which is interspersed with islands and picturesque objects, that could not be viewed without interest. i have been thus minute in describing this excursive voyage, that others, whose business may hereafter lead them to this river, may profit by the difficulties we experienced in this critical and dangerous passage. we were obliged to come to an anchorage in the river during the night, under a very violent rain, and the next day arrived at robart, the factory of mr. aspinwall. this gentleman, whom a previous acquaintance had induced me to visit, received us with great hospitality and kindness. from a residence of upwards of 32 years on the coast, he possesses much intelligence and valuable information relative to this part of africa, and i am indebted to him not only on this, but on former occasions, for many interesting particulars. the factories of trade in this river are, mr. aspinwall, robart. boatswain, a black chief and trader, above robart. mr. lewis, rocoopa, attached to bance island. mr. gordon, thomas's island, ditto. with a variety of small factories attached to those of mr. aspinwall. on the 15th we took leave of mr. aspinwall, and embarked on board a schooner he had the kindness to furnish us with; and after a very tedious and tempestuous passage, arrived at sierra leone on the 21st, having had contrary winds to contend with; whereas with a favourable breeze, the passage is usually performed in a few hours. here i was attacked with the epidemic fever of africa, and experienced the medical assistance and friendship i have previously noticed. in an exceedingly exhausted state, but much recovered, i again embarked on board the minerva, where i had a second attack of the fever, accompanied by dysentery, which reduced me to the lowest state of existence; and after one of the most distressing and disagreeable voyages i ever experienced, we arrived in demerary roads after a passage of 71 days, and, by the providence of the almighty, we escaped both disease and the enemy. a few hours after we came to an anchor i went on shore, and i verily believe that the passengers and spectators suspected they had received a visitation from the world of spirits. when i reached the house of mr. colin mccrea, captain brown's consignee, the unaffected and gentlemanlike reception i met with, both from him and his lady, with their subsequent kind conduct, can never be effaced from my memory. captain brown soon joined us, and in the most engaging terms we were invited to become inmates with mr. mccrea and his partner, which we availed ourselves of during our stay in demerary. a few days after, i became acquainted with mr. alexander mccrea, brother to my kind host, and as soon as my health would permit, visited him at his plantation, the hope, 11 miles from stabroke, the capital of the colony of demerary. in this society, and from other quarters, i was favoured with various information upon the situation of the colonies in dutch guiana, and their importance in a political and commercial point of view. the colonial produce of demerary, essequibo, and berbice, chiefly consists in sugar, coffee, cotton, rum, and molasses; but the richness and fertility of the soil is capable of raising any tropical production; new sources being daily unfolded, of the immense wealth derivable from these colonies, and their great importance to great britain. the following example, extracted from the custom house reports, may elucidate this in a striking degree. in the june fleet of 1804, consisting of sixty sail of various burthen and tonnage, there were exported, viz. 17,235 casks of sugar. 203 casks coffee. 442 barrels do. 39,701 barrels cotton. 3,399 puncheons rum. 336 hhds. molasses. 8,668,885 lbs. wt. coffee. calculating sugar at £20. per cask, and £3. per barrel; rum 150 guilders, or £12. 10s. per puncheon; coffee 1s. per lb.; cotton £20. per bale of 3 cwt; and molasses a guilder, or 1s. 8d. per gallon, the total amount will be upwards of £1,600,000. this immense export has since progressively increased, and colonists are only wanting to augment it to an inconceivable extent. how valuable then do these colonies become, and of what importance are they, in any negociation with the enemy. unquestionably under the fostering care and guidance of british jurisprudence, they would produce an accumulated export infinitely beyond the present computation, and be productive of increasing wealth to the merchant, and revenue to the country. the lands are still more fertile proceeding towards the interior, and being thinly inhabited, are attainable with great facility, and are extremely various in their productions. at this period these valuable possessions were nearly in a defenceless state, having a very inadequate and feeble military force to defend them, and being almost without naval protection; they had literally only an armed brig and schooner, built and set a float by the colony of demerary, to guard an extensive coast, and an immense property. in addition to the foregoing enumeration of commerce, indigo, pepper, cacoa, or chocolate nut, &c. may be raised to great amount. of the latter, an individual planter at berbice, from a nursery of 500,000 trees had 138,000 bearing ones in 1806, which when gathered in, calculating 5lb. to each tree, will reimburse him in the sum of £32,000. retrospectively viewed, it will appear that the colonies of dutch guiana are of the utmost importance to the revenue, and wealth of great britain. if any consequence is attached by government to the west indies, and it would be preposterous to infer that there is not, these become of great magnitude in the estimation of our colonial possessions, and if they are to revert to their former proprietors, it evidently should be for no mean equivalent; and it is but justice to say, that when i was in this part of the world, the apparent negligence in the protection and jurisdiction of these possessions, by the administration of the day, had so far alienated the minds of the inhabitants, that their reversion to the former government did not appear to be a subject which would excite their regret; although they were originally predisposed in favour of great britain. contemplating also dutch guiana in our present state of warfare, and viewing it, from its contiguity, as an alliance of magnitude to french guiana, the brazils, and the spanish settlements of south america, from whence, in the existing situation of europe, the insatiate ambition of our inveterate enemy derives an important sinew of finance, which nerves his arm in wielding the sword against the liberties and the existence of the united kingdom, they become infinitely enhanced, and are of still more momentous consideration. indisputably their possession would tend much to facilitate the british dominion in this lucrative portion of the globe, which might lead to a decisive termination of hostilities, and the permanent establishment of honourable tranquillity. on the morning of the 30th of october i took my grateful leave of my hospitable host and his family; and, accompanied by my trusty friend, fellow voyager and traveller, captain brown, i embarked at noon on board the ship admiral nelson, the command of which he had taken, accompanied by about 20 sail of vessels under convoy of his majesty's sloop of war, the cygnet, commanded by------maude, esq. touching at tobago, where our fleet was augmented, we came to an anchor in the harbour of grenada, on the 5th of november, and remained there until the 9th. the history of this island, with that of the west indies in general, is so well known, that it would be delaying my readers unnecessarily, for me to obtrude my observations. one anecdote, however, which among a variety of experiments, i made to ascertain the sentiments of the negroes in the colonies, may prove, in a high degree, their sentiments upon their present condition. when i mentioned to them some spot, or some head man in their country within their recollection, with the utmost extacy they would say, "eh! you look that, massa?" i then assured them i had, and described the pullam, or palm tree, in their native town: the effect of this remembrance was instantaneous, and demonstrated by the most extravagant expressions of delight. conceiving that i had attained my object, and being persuaded that the transportation of these people was an oppressive transgression against their natural rights, i added, "i had fine ship, i go back to their country, and obtain leave from massa, to let them go look their country;" a sudden transition from extravagance to grave reflection followed; "i, massa, me like that very well, me like much to look my country; but suppose, massa, they make me slave, me no see my massa again; all the same to me where i be slave, but me like my massa best, and i no look my country with you." among every class with whom 1 have conversed on this subject, i have uniformly received a similar answer, and it is a convincing proof that, by humane treatment, the condition of the slave is improved, not only by his transportation to the colonies, but in his own estimation. it may be interesting to notice, that at the island of grenada, i had an opportunity of correctly ascertaining the truth of a statement, i had heard from a medical gentleman of respectability at demerary, that, that ravager of the human species, the yellow fever, was first imported into this island from the island of bulam, in the rio grande, upon the coast of africa, by a ship called the hankey, which brought away the sickly colonists from that unfortunate expedition. on the 16th we arrived at tortola, and on the 19th sailed with the fleet under convoy of the la seine frigate, and landed at liverpool on the 6th of january, 1806. chapter xi. _conclusion_. i have endeavoured in the foregoing pages, to introduce to my readers, the substance of my diary of observations upon the windward coast of africa. originally i only intended them for my own private satisfaction, and that of my intimate friends; but on my arrival in england, i found that the commerce of africa was then a particular subject in agitation, among a large portion of my fellow subjects, and the legislature of my country. under these circumstances, i conceived it my duty as a british commercial subject, and as a friend to humanity, to communicate my sentiments to the right honourable lord viscount howick, then one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state; which i did in the subjoined letter. (appendix no. i.) upon further reflection, and by the express wish of respectable individuals, i have been induced to obtrude my narrative and sentiments upon the notice of the public. i have avoided as much as possible to magnify my personal adventures, and dangers, nor have i had recourse to the flowing periods of description, preferring a simple narrative of facts formed upon grounds of personal observation. from thence, if my endeavours tend to awaken a spirit of enterprise, to enlarge the trade of the united kingdom, and to increase the export of its manufactures, or lead to more intelligent interference in behalf of the enslaved african, my design will be accomplished. to do justice to the natural history of africa, and to introduce to the public its various sources of commerce, would require a union of political interests, and vigorous execution, which none but government can apply with full effect. the principal outline which i have endeavoured to confine myself to, is a recital of such traits of the disposition and character of the natives, as seem requisite to be understood to form an accurate judgment of the present condition of africa. the advantages that may possibly result not only from moral, but political considerations, in forming upon sure principles, agricultural and mercantile establishments, calculated to instruct and civilize the negroes employed in the necessary avocations, will unfold the fertility of their soil which is now left to nature; and will also fulfil the expectations of a rational humanity, while it might rapidly expel slavery and the slatee trade, to the establishment of civilization, and more natural commerce. i have also endeavoured to demonstrate the eligibility of the position of the river sierra leone, from whence a controlling and administrative authority might employ the resources of the windward coast from cape verde to cape palmas, at the same time submitting solely to the wisdom of government, the propriety of annexing senegal to our possessions on the coast; which of course would tend to the total exclusion of france from this part of the world. i have besides dwelt upon such positions, as appear to me best calculated to establish factories of trade and agricultural operation; and upon the nations whose barbarism must first be subdued, in order to influence other tribes, and to obtain a free intercourse with the interior, and have pointed out those chiefs whose dispositions and influence, would greatly co-operate to facilitate this beneficent undertaking. the rivers i have dwelt upon, are surrounded with fertile lands and a numerous population, and may be navigated a considerable distance into the interior country; and by reducing all operations to one well adapted system, under the guidance of experience, moderation, and wisdom, i am firmly persuaded that success will be the result. what i have said relative to the present state of the natives of africa, may tend to demonstrate the nature of the opposition, which civilization has to guard against, and the barbarism it has to contend with. the condition of a free negro in africa is easy and contented, and the class of slaves attached to them, are satisfied with their fate. they only are to be lamented, who are procured from condemnation, either for real or imaginary crimes, or who are taken in war; and it is from this class that slaves are procured by other nations. it is a remarkable circumstance, that the major part of these unhappy creatures come from the interior, and that the maritime places which have had intercourse with europeans, afford only a small number of slaves; and i am persuaded, abominable as the slave trade may be considered, and disgraceful as it is, that it has saved many human beings from a premature and barbarous death. i am also firmly of opinion, that it is only by a _gradual abolition_, and a rational system to civilize the inhabitants of africa, that this detested traffic can be effectually abolished. a rational philosophy and humanity, should first have submitted to political necessity, and have commenced experiment upon practicable theories, while the sacred rights of property should have been regarded, and well considered. this opinion may perhaps subject me to the animadversion of many worthy individuals; but i beg to assure them, that i am as zealous an abolitionist as any among my fellow subjects, although i widely differ from many of them, as to the means of effecting a measure, that embraces so large a portion of the human race; and i should contradict the conviction of my own mind, were i to utter any other opinion. rectitude of intention, a lively interest in the condition of the african, and a deep impression of the importance of this country to great britain, in a commercial point of view, have actuated me in obtruding myself upon the public; and before i take my leave, i earnestly entreat a deliberate investigation of the imperfect system of operation, i have recommended in the foregoing pages. if i have not been sufficiently perspicuous, i trust the shafts of criticism will be enfeebled by the consideration, that a commercial education and pursuit cannot claim a title to literary acquirements; but if in any instance i meet the judgment of a discerning public, and my suggestions excite more competent endeavours, i shall feel the highest pleasure, and satisfaction. into the hands of an enlightened legislature, and a beneficent public, i commit the negro race; and may their endeavours be blest by providence! may they tend to enlarge the circle of civilized and christian society, and augment the commercial prosperity of the united kingdom! appendix. no. i. _to the right honourable lord viscount howick, his majesty's late principal secretary of state for foreign affairs; shewing at one view the most simple and ready mode of gradually and effectually abolishing the slave trade, and eradicating slavery, on the eve of his lordship introducing the late bill into parliament for the abolition of the slate trade_. _london, 5th february, 1807._ my lord, stimulated by an ardent zeal for the political and commercial interests of my country, and animated by the principles of humanity, i venture to approach your lordship upon a subject which, with every deference, i conceive to be of the most momentous consequence at the present conjuncture, namely, the existing state of africa, and the relative importance of its trade to the _united kingdom_. in my communications to your lordship, i shall adhere to that brevity which is consistent with perspicuity, and a recognition of the importance attached to your lordship's time and weighty engagements. if experimental knowledge, my lord, attaches any force to the observations i now submit to your lordship, i have to premise, that they are the result of recent personal investigation, and are a summary of remarks detailed in journals of a very excursive observation on the windward coast of africa, and a peculiar facility of intercourse with the chiefs and native tribes of a widely extended circle, from which i am returned, by the west indies, in the late fleet under the convoy of his majesty's frigate la seine, and merlin sloop of war. as a preliminary introduction, permit me to refer your lordship to the annexed copy of a letter, (appendix no. ii.) which i ventured to address to the right honourable the lords commissioners of the admiralty, dated 1st may, ultimo, in which is exemplified the present state of commerce from the island of goree to cape palmas. vide page 54. conclusive as this example may be of its magnitude, yet it is infinitely below its attainable increase. the want of naval protection, and the patronage of government, has greatly fettered it, and exposed the property engaged therein, to the incursions and destructive depredations of the enemy. connected with its present extent, the gambia, the rio pongo, the river sierra leone, and the rivers adjacent to cape palmas, abound with the greatest variety of the most lucrative and rare objects of commercial pursuit, namely, indigo, numerous plants for staining, pepper, cotton, and a multifarious enumeration of dormant productions, besides timber of various kinds, adapted to the building of ships destined to tropical climates, having the peculiar quality of resisting the worm, so ruinous to shipping, and corroding iron; it may be cut into planks of 20 feet by 15 inches, and may be procured in any quantity. a retrospective view therefore, my lord, displays a fruitful field to commercial enterprise, to the attention of civilized nations, to the naturalist, and to the metaphysician, requiring united interference only, to unfold and fertilize them; which in effect, would tend to enfranchise a kindred species, absorbed in barbarism, and preserve, uninterrupted, our commercial advantages with this extraordinary and important quarter of the globe. it is, certainly, my lord, a subject of the deepest regret to the philanthropist, that among the africans, a devoted race is consigned to the galling fetters of slavery by their inhuman customs, by their barbarous hostilities, and the commercial expedients of civilized states. much has been written and said, my lord, upon this interesting subject, from authority high in rank, in talents, and situation, but still it is involved in a perplexed labyrinth; the attainable sources of african commerce remain unexplored, and the inhabitants of its extensive regions are still entangled by the thraldom of barbarous customs, and superstitious infidelity. no efficient measures have been adopted, upon practicable grounds, to unite the views of humanity and commerce in one harmonious compact, compatible with the present condition of africa, its character, its customs, and its inveterate barbarism. benevolence has, unhappily, hitherto failed in its objects, through the opposition of a peculiar mixture of passions, of obstinate ferocity, and licentious and hereditary habits. to subdue the inveteracy of these evils, and to establish the manumission of the african, alluring and progressive alterations are necessary, compatible with his present condition, under the influence of agriculture and mechanics, adapted to the useful purposes of life, to commerce, and to navigation. previous to his enfranchisement, my lord, these must exhibit before him their facinations upon his native plains. too impetuous and indolent to observe the forms, or to enter into the necessary details of business, he views the effect without investigating the cause; but when he perceives the former, and contemplates his own comparative wretchedness, and contracted sphere of intellect, he will be roused from his innate indolence, his powers will be dilated, and his emulation stimulated to attain a more exalted state of being, while his barbarism will fall before the luminous displays of enlightened example. hence, to free the african, commercial and agricultural societies adapted to the present state of the country, appear to be the most practicable means, and the only sources of remunerative and effective influence: but as these measures necessarily require population from the parent state, aided by great pecuniary support, and intelligent superintendance; the patronage of the legislature is indispensibly requisite, to aid individual and corporate endeavours. in pursuance hereof, imperceptible and circumspect approach at innovation upon the laws, customs, and country of africa, are highly expedient; the chiefs and head men claim a primary consideration; their obstinate predilection in favour of long-existing usage must be cajoled, the inveteracy of their jealousies and superstitions be dexterously removed, and their sordid avarice flattered, by the judicious maxims of policy, and by the prospects of superior gain. the slave trade, therefore, being lucrative, and of immemorial existence, must, in the interim, pursue its present course, as a fatality attached to the condition of africa, and as a polluted alliance, which the dictates of policy and humanity impose, until a succedaneum is found in its stead. while this invidious exigency obstructs the immediate manumission of the slave, it does not the less accelerate it in conformity thereto, but on the contrary, is a necessary preliminary to his efficacious emancipation. before he is admitted into the political society of his master, and is allowed to be free, his intellectual faculties must be expanded by the example of polished society, and by the arts of civilization. maxims of policy, my lord, are often apparently little consonant with those of morality; and where an inveterate evil in society is to be eradicated, address and delicacy in managing the humours and interests of men, are arts requisite to success. this consideration is applicable to the present condition of the africans, and may perhaps justify a farther continuance of the _slave trade_, as compatible with its _radical abolition_. the reasonings adopted by a numerous assemblage of chiefs, convened in the retirement of the mountains of sierra leone, when _that_ company assumed a defensive attitude, most clearly prove this grievous necessity. in their idiom of our language they say, "white man now come among us with new face, talk palaver we do not understand, they bring new fashion, great guns, and soldiers into our country, but they make no trade, or bring any of the fine money of their country with them, therefore we must make war, and kill these white men." this, my lord, is an impressive epitome of the sentiments of the whole country, and hence the impolicy of illuminating their minds and abolishing slavery, in order to erect a system of reformation upon an invidious base in the estimation of the governing characters of the country. with every deference, my lord, to the wisdom and benevolence which framed the constitution of the sierra leone company, i would observe, that had they adopted the following measures, they would before now have been far advanced in their scheme of reformation. 1st. they should have employed their funds in the established commerce of the country. 2d. have purchased slaves from as _wide an extent_ of native tribes as was practicable; they should have employed them in that capacity, under the superintendence of the european colonist; have initiated them into the arts of agriculture and useful mechanics, manufactures, and navigation, and have instructed them in the rudiments of letters, religion, and science, &c. 3d. having arrived at this state of civilization and knowledge, their _graduated manumission_ should have proceeded in proportion to their fidelity and attainments. and, lastly, being thus qualified, they should have employed them as the agents to their tribe, to make known to them the arcana of wealth in their country, dormant through hereditary barbarism and superstitious idolatry, from the adoption of the first proposition, a facility of intercourse with the interior and native tribes would have been acquired, and also a knowledge of the genius, policy, customs, manners, and commercial resources of the neighbouring nations. by the 2d, the seeds of science would have been disseminated throughout an extended district, and a spirit of industry and enquiry would have been infused, which, by imperceptible degrees, under the guidance of providence, might eventually have been spread throughout the most remote regions of africa. by means of the 3d, the objects of humanity would have been realized. and by the progressive influence of the last, a system of civilization and commercial enterprize would have been diffused, and an equivalent, in process of time, been obtained, consistent with the cogency of existing circumstances, and the african's present state of being. by adopting this system, my lord, the maxims of sagacious policy, and the claims of humanity, upon practicable principles, may be united, and adapted to the present condition of africa, while our commerce therewith will be invigorated and encreased, and will flow without interruption through a less polluted channel; the seclusion of the african from the refined arts of society be annihilated, his jealousies allayed, his nature regenerated, his barbarism fall before the advantages of enlightened existence, and his enslaved customs make their natural exit, together with the slave trade, from his shores and his country. how animating is this contemplation, my lord, to the beneficence of enlightened nations, and how worthy of the magnanimity of a british government to effect! in the interim, my lord, new and accumulated sources of commerce, &c. will remunerate the parent state in a manner more congenial with the natural rights of mankind, while a monumental column will be erected to humanity, which will perpetuate its exalted benevolence, and excite the admiration of, and be an example to, the civilized world; but if africa is abandoned by great britain, it will be subject to the rapacity of other nations, who, _to my personal knowledge_, are _now_ directing their views towards its commerce in the contemplation of that abandonment, and who will, no doubt, seize it with avidity, as being highly lucrative and important; while the african's chains will still clink in the ears of the civilized world, his fetters be rivetted more closely, and his miserable fate be consigned to the uncertainty of human events. finally, permit me to assure your lordship, that i am wholly uninfluenced, and that i am, at this moment, ignorant of the present opinions of men in europe upon this interesting subject, as i have just arrived in england, and have been excluded for some time past from any other scene but that of personal observation in africa. i have considered the subject with deep interest, and finding the momentous question upon the eve of being agitated by the legislature, i have conceived it my duty, as a british commercial subject, to give every information to your lordship, within my personal knowledge, and have, therefore, obtruded my thoughts upon you; and if your lordship deems a more detailed and systematic view of my journals of any interest, i am ready to unfold them with the utmost alacrity. in the interim, i am, my lord, your lordship's most obedient humble servant, joseph corry. no. ii. _to the right honourable the lords commissioners of the admiralty,_ _referred to in the foregoing letter to lord howick._ _bance island, river sierra leone, coast of africa,_ _may 1st, 1806._ my lords, that consideration which has uniformly distinguished your lordships for the safe-guardianship of our commerce, and the property engaged in it, stimulates me to approach your lordships with some few observations on the present state of the african trade, and its dependencies. my object is, to submit to your lordships a statement of the british capital involved in that commerce, as exemplified by the present amount of export, diligently ascertained from the most authentic sources of intelligence, and to offer some brief remarks on its importance to the united kingdom, and the necessity of a more adequate naval protection. in the first place, permit me to solicit your lordships' attention to the estimate of annual export from the windward coast of africa. (vide page 54.) your lordships will perceive, that the amount of export _only_ is here under review; and i submit to your consideration the capital vested in the necessary shipping, also the property of british factors, resident on the coast, and factories belonging to merchants at home, which forms another article of great importance. during the present war, from the rio noonez to the river sierra leone, 660 slaves, and more than the value of 100 slaves in craft, have fallen into the hands of the enemy; which were forcibly seized upon the premises of factories, the property of british subjects, to the amount of 35,000_l_. at the computation of 50 each, valuing them upon an equitable average: moreover, about one hundred resident free people have been involved in this violence, of incalculable importance, and ground of indefinite claims from the natives. when your lordships contemplate these facts, and the annual emolument derived from this commerce by the government, and a numerous body of merchants, it may be presumed that its magnitude is of sufficient consequence to justify the expense of _adequate naval protection_. british subjects connected with, and resident on, the coast, are consequently become deeply interested, and are earnestly solicitous for an extension of your lordships' paternal care towards their possessions. the principal amount, as before shewn, necessarily in the progress of business, passes into currency through their hands, which, with the surplus property they have in their stores, their buildings, and people, creates a momentous risque, which is exposed to the predatory ravages of piccaroon privateers, and to the hostile squadrons and depredations of the enemy. with all due retrospective reference to your lordships' vigilance and watchful guardianship over our commerce, i take the liberty to remind your lordships, that only one sloop of war, the arab, (the favourite being taken) has been charged with the important office of defending an extent of coast of upwards of 1000 miles, against the sweeping hand of the enemy; an example of which has fatally occurred in the late destruction effected by commodore l'hermitte's squadron, to the very serious injury of many british merchants, and perhaps the ruin of many underwriters upon african risques. from the apparent approaches the legislature appears to make towards an abolition of the slave trade, the object of consideration for the defence of the coast of africa may have become of less comparative magnitude; but when upwards of one million in export from thence, and its enumerated appendages, are entangled, and at imminent hazard, an animated and impressive appeal is made your lordships for every practicable security, while it remains in existence; and to the legislative wisdom, for a remuneration commensurate thereto, in the event of its annihilation. trusting that your lordships will deign to recognize the importance of this subject, and will vouchsafe to pardon my temerity in assuming to suggest to your lordships' wisdom the expediency of establishing a more adequate and permanent naval force for the protection of the trade and coast of africa, i am, my lord, your lordship's most obedient devoted humble servant, joseph corry. no. iii. when the foregoing narrative and observations were prepared for the press, the original minutes from whence the following appendix is compiled, had not come to hand, as they remained with a part of my papers, which i have since received from the coast of africa. the substance of these miscellaneous fragments i shall divide into sections, descriptive of the different subjects to which they allude, and it may be found that they illustrate more fully many of the foregoing remarks upon the windward coast of africa. section i. _of the purrah_. among the singular customs of the inhabitants of africa, there exists in the vicinity of the sierra leone, and more particularly among the mixed tribes of the foolahs, soosees, boolams, &c. an institution of a religious and political nature. it is a confederation by a solemn oath, and binds its members to inviolable secrecy not to discover its mysteries, and to yield an implicit obedience to superiors, called by the natives the _purrah_. as it is dangerous to enquire from the natives, and consequently difficult to procure information on this subject, conjecture must supply the want of oral and ocular testimony; but what i have here advanced i had from an intelligent chief, who was a member of the society, who, i am nevertheless convinced, preserved his integrity, in communicating the following particulars, as i never could induce him to touch upon any part of the mysteries, which he acknowledged to exist, but spoke of them with the utmost reserve. the members of this secret tribunal are under the supreme control of a sovereign, whose superior, or _head man_, commands by his council, absolute submission and authority from the subordinate councils and members. to be admitted into the confederacy it is necessary to be thirty years of age; and to be a member of the grand _purrah_, fifty years; and the oldest member of the subordinate _purrahs_ form those of the sovereign _purrahs_. no candidate is admitted but at the recommendation and responsibility of members, who imprecate his death, if he betrays fear during his initiation into the ceremonies, or the sacred mysteries of the association; from which females are entirely excluded. some months elapse, in the preparation for admission, and the candidate passes through the severest trials, in which every dreadful expedient is employed to ascertain his firmness of mind, and courage. the candidate is conducted to a sacred wood, where a place is appointed for his habitation, from which he dares not absent himself; if he does, he is immediately surrounded and struck dead. his food is supplied by men masked, and he must observe an uniform silence. fires, during the night, surround these woods, to preserve them inviolate from the unhallowed steps of curiosity, into which if indiscretion tempts any one to enter, a miserable exit is the result. when the trials are all gone through, _initiation_ follows; the candidate is first sworn to secrecy, to execute implicitly the decrees of the _purrah_ of his order, and to be devoted to the commands of the _sovereign purrah_. during the process of initiation, the hallowed woods resound with dreadful howlings, shrieks, and other horrid noises, accompanied by conflagrations and flames. this secret and inquisitorial tribunal takes cognizance of crimes and delinquencies, more especially witchcraft and murder; and also operates as a mediator in wars, and dissentions among powerful tribes and chiefs. its interference is generally attended with effect, more particularly if accompanied by a threat of vengeance from the _purrah_; and a suspension of hostilities is scrupulously observed, until it is determined who is the aggressor; while this investigation takes place by the sovereign _purrah_, as many of the warriors are convoked, as they conceive necessary to enforce their judgment, which usually consigns the guilty to a pillage of some days. to execute the decree, they avail themselves of the night to depart from the place where the sovereign _purrah_ is assembled, previously disguising their persons with hideous objects, and dividing themselves into detachments, armed with torches and warlike weapons; they arrive at the village of the condemned, and proclaim with tremendous yells the decree of the sovereign _purrah_. the affrighted victims of superstition and injustice are either murdered or made captives, and no longer form a people among the tribes. the produce arising from this horrid and indiscriminate execution of the decrees of this tribunal is divided equally between the injured tribe, and the sovereign _purrah_; the latter share is again subdivided among the warriors employed in the execution of its diabolical decree, as a recompense for their zeal, obedience, and promptitude. the families of the tribes under the dominion of this infernal confederacy, when they become objects of suspicion or rivalry, are subjected to immediate pillage, and if they resist, are dragged into their secret recesses, where they are condemned, and consigned to oblivion. its supreme authority is more immediately confined to the sherbro; and the natives of the bay of sierra leone speak of it with reserve and dread: they consider the brotherhood as having intercourse with the _bad spirit_, or devil, and that they are sorcerers, and invulnerable to human power. of course the _purrah_ encourages these superstitious prejudices, which establish their authority and respect, as the members are numerous, and are known to each other by certain signs and expressions. the mandingos have also their sacred woods and mysteries, where, by their delusions and exorcisms, they prepare their children for circumcision. the soosees, inhabiting the borders of the rio pongo, have a species of _purrah_, which gives its members great consequence among them; but their ceremonies are kept also with inviolable secrecy, and they are bound by horrid oaths and incantations. these people seem to delight in disseminating improbable tales of their institution, and their invention appears to be exhausted in superstitious legends of its mysteries. the timmanees have an inquisitorial institution called _bunda_, noticed in page 72, to which women only are subjected. the season of penitence is superintended by an elderly woman, called _bunda_ woman; and fathers even consign their wives and daughters to her investigation when they become objects of suspicion. here is extracted from them an unreserved confession of every crime committed by themselves, or to which they are privy in others. upon their admission they are besmeared with white clay, which obliterates every trace of human appearance, and they are solemnly abjured to make an unequivocal confession; which if not complied with, they are threatened with death as the inevitable consequence. the general result is a discovery of fact and falsehood, in proportion as their fears of punishment are aroused, which the _bunda_ woman makes known to the people who assemble in the village or town where the _bunda_ is instituted. if she is satisfied with the confession, the individual is dismissed from the _bunda_, and, as is noticed in chapter vii. an act of oblivion is passed relative to her former conduct; but where the crime of witchcraft is included, slavery is uniformly the consequence: those accused as partners of her guilt are obliged to undergo the ordeal by _red water_, redeem themselves by slaves, or go into slavery themselves. when the _bunda_ woman is dissatisfied with the confessions, she makes the object sit down, and after rubbing poisonous leaves, procured for the purpose, between her hands, and infusing them in water, she makes her drink in proportion to its strength. it naturally occasions pain in the bowels, which is considered as an infallible evidence of guilt. incantations and charms are then resorted to by the _bunda_ woman, to ascertain what the concealed crime is, and after a _decent_ period employed in this buffoonery, the charges are brought in conformity with the imagination or malignity of this priestess of mystery and iniquity. during the continuance of this engine of avarice, oppression, and fraud in any town, the chiefs cause their great drum and other instruments of music to be continually in action, and every appearance of festive hilarity pervades among the inhabitants, accompanied by the song and the dance. contumacy, or a refusal to confess, is invariably followed by death. in short, the bewildered natives feel the effects, and dread the power of these extraordinary institutions; they know they exist, but their deliberations and mysteries are impenetrably concealed from them; and the objects of their vengeance are in total ignorance, until the annihilating stroke of death terminates their mortal career. it is impossible to contemplate the religious institutions, and superstitious customs of the western nations of africa, north of the equator, without closely assimilating them with those of ethiopia and egypt; and from hence to infer that a correspondence has existed between the eastern and western inhabitants of this great continent. section ii. _of the_ termite, termes, _or_ bug a bug, _as it is called by the natives upon the windward coast of africa._ among the insects mentioned in page 36, the _termite, termes_, or _bug a bug_, attracts peculiar notice. the following observations are derived from the investigations i occasionally made upon the island of tasso, attached to bance island, where they abound, and indeed in nearly all the western countries of africa. the oeconomy of nature, and the wisdom of providence, are wonderfully displayed in these little animals; for although they occasion the utmost devastation to buildings, utensils, and all kinds of household furniture and merchandize, and indeed every thing except metal and stone, yet they answer highly important purposes in demolishing the immense quantity of putrid substances, which load the earth in tropical climates. their astonishing peculiarities cannot fail to excite the notice of an attentive observer; the sagacity and ingenuity they display in their buildings, their industry, and the plunder and devastation they commit, is incredible to those who have not witnessed their communities and empires. they are divided into innumerable societies, and acknowledge a king and queen, the former of which i brought to europe, but the latter was by accident mislaid at sea. linnaeus denominates the african _bug a bug, termes_, and describes it as the plague of the indies. every community, as i have observed, has a king and queen, and the monarchy, if i may be allowed the expression, forms three distinct orders of insects, in three states of existence; of every species there are likewise three orders, which differ very essentially in the functions they have to perform, and are in appearance very different. in their primitive state, they are perfectly white; they have six little feet, three on each side, and a small head, in which i could perceive no eyes, after a minute investigation with a microscope. in this state they supply the community with provisions from subterraneous cavities, fabricate their pyramidical buildings, and may with great propriety be called labourers. in a few weeks they destroy the largest trunks of trees, carry away all descriptions of putrid substances, and particles of vegetable decay, which, in such a climate as africa, amply compensates for the ruin which they otherwise occasion. their buildings are contrived and finished with great ingenuity and solidity, to a magnitude infinitely beyond the erections of man, when a comparative dimension of size is considered. they are usually termed hills, and are generally in a conical form, from 10 to 12 feet in perpendicular height, and frequently upwards of 100 feet square in the base. for a considerable period, vegetation is banished from the surface of their abode, but from the second to the third year, it becomes like the surrounding soil. the exterior forms a crust, which shelters the interior from the weather, and the community from the attacks of enemies. the interior is divided into almost innumerable chambers or apartments, with amazing regularity and contrivance; in the centre of which is the royal residence of the king and queen, composed of solid clay, closely compacted, and distinct from the external habitation, which accommodate their subjects. it appears that the royal erection is the first which occupies the attention of the labourers, as it is central in the foundation of the hill which composes the empire at large. this makes its first appearance above the surface of the earth in various turrets, in the form of a sugar loaf, from which they increase their number, widening them from the base; the middle one is the highest and largest, and they fill up the spaces as they proceed, until the whole is formed into one. this compact construction is admirably adapted to guard against external violence, and to preserve a genial warmth and moisture to cherish the hatching of the eggs, and the young. the queen is by far the largest, and has an unwieldy body, of enormous dimensions, when compared with her subjects; so also is the king, but inferior in size to the queen. the royal residence is a full constructed hill, surrounded by an innumerable number of others, differing in shape and dimensions, arched in various forms, circular, and elliptical, which communicate by passages, occupied by guards and attendants, and surrounded by nurseries and magazines. but when the community is in an infant state, these are contiguous to the royal residence; and in proportion as the size of the queen increases, her chamber is enlarged, and her attendants and apartments multiplied. the construction of the outward apartments which surround the central royal residence, that of the _common father_ and _mother_ of the community, form an intricate labyrinth of nurseries and magazines, separated by chambers and galleries, communicating with each other, and continuing towards the surface of the pyramid; and being arched, they support each other, and are uniformly larger towards the centre. the second order of _termes_ are like the first, blind and active, but they undergo a change of form, approaching to the perfect state; they are much larger, and increase from about a quarter of an inch in length to half an inch, and greater in bulk; and what is still more remarkable, the mouth is armed with sharp claws, and the head is disproportionably enlarged. they may properly be called the nurses and warriors of the kingdom; they urge their fellow subjects in the _first_ state to labour, they inspect the construction of the interior apartments, repel all attacks from enemies, and devour them with fury; and may be considered as the standing army of the state. in the third and last stage, they are winged; their bodies then measure about 7/8ths of an inch in length, furnished with four brownish transparent wings, rather large; they have eyes also of a disproportionate size, visible to the observer. when they make their appearance in this state, it is indicative of the approach of the rainy season. at this period they procreate their species. they seldom wait before they take wing for a second or third shower; and should the rain happen in the night, the quantities of them which are found the next morning upon the surface of the earth, and on the waters, more particularly upon the latter, are astonishing. the term of existence at this stage is extremely short, and frequently on the following morning after they have taken flight, they are surprisingly weakened and decreased; at the utmost i do not think they live more than two days; and these insects, so industrious, courageous, and destructive in the two first periods of their existence, become the prey of innumerable enemies. indolent, and incapable of resisting the smallest insects, they are hunted by various species from place to place, and not one pair in millions get into a place of safety, to fulfil the laws of nature and propagation. their wings in a short time fall from them, and the ponds and brooks are covered with their carcases. the negroes in many places collect them in their calabashes, dry them, and fry them on a slow fire, which they consider as a delicious morsel. a few, however, escape the general dissolution, several pairs of them are found by those of the first genus, as they are continually moving over the surface of the earth, and are carried by them to found new kingdoms and communities. the royal mansion is then erected, as before described, their wings fall off, and they pass the remainder of their existence in indolence and luxury, and in the propagation of their species. their dimensions now undergo a monstrous change, more especially the queen; her abdomen augments by degrees, and increases to a prodigious size, when compared with her two first stages of existence; and the king, although greatly augmented, yet is diminutive compared to his enormous spouse, who sometimes exceeds three inches in length. she is in this state extremely prolific, and the matrix is almost perpetually yielding eggs, which are taken from her by her attendants, and are carried into the adjoining nurseries. the foregoing is a very imperfect delineation of this wonderful insect, which requires the minutest description by an experienced and scientific naturalist to illustrate clearly; and there are many secrets in the natural history of this little animal that would amply reward his investigation upon the different circumstances attending its existence. those that build in trees, or erect pyramids, have a strong resemblance to each other, and pass through the same stages to the winged state, but they are not of so large a size as the foregoing; and it is a very singular circumstance, that of all these different species, neither the labourers nor soldiers expose themselves to the open air, but travel in subterraneous vaults, unless when they are obstructed and impelled by necessity; and when their covered ways and habitations are destroyed, it is wonderful how quickly they will rebuild them. i have frequently destroyed them in the evening, and have found them re-erected on the following morning. when a pair, in the perfect state, is rescued from the general devastation which attends these little animals, they are by the two first species elected king and queen, and are inclosed in a chamber, as before described, around which a new empire is formed, and pyramids are erected. that species which builds in trees, frequently establish their abode in houses also, which in time they will entirely destroy, if not extirpated. the large kind, however, are more destructive, and more difficult to guard against, as their approaches are principally made under-ground, and below the foundation; they rise either in the floors, or under the posts, which in african buildings support the roof, and as they proceed, they form cavities towards the top, similar to the holes bored in the bottom of ships by the worms, which appear to answer the same purpose in water as the _termites_ do upon land. how convincing is this fact of the infinitely wise arrangements of the creator, who has united, in the whole system of creation, one uniform conformation of order and utility; for although the _vermis_, or worm, which is so pernicious to shipping in tropical climates, and the _termite_, possess so many destructive qualities, yet these very properties serve the most important purposes and designs. scarcely any thing perishable on land escapes the _termite_, or in water, the worm; and it is from thence evident, that these animals are designed by nature to rid both of incumbrances, which in tropical climates would be attended with putrefaction and disease. the first object which strikes the attention, and excites admiration, upon opening and investigating the hills of the _termites_, is, the conduct of the armed species, or soldiers; when a breach is made by a pick-axe, or hoe, they instantaneously sally forth in small parties round the breach, as if to oppose the enemy, or to examine the nature of the attack, and the numbers increase to an incredible degree as long as it continues; parties frequently return as if to give the alarm to the whole community, and then rush forth again with astonishing fury. at this period they are replete with rage, and make a noise which is very distinguishable, and is similar to the ticking of a watch; if any object now comes in contact with them, they seize it, and never quit their hold until they are literally torn in pieces. when the violence against their habitation ceases, they retire into their nests, as if nothing had happened, and the observer will instantaneously perceive the labourers at work, with a burthen of mortar in their mouths, which they stick upon the breach with wonderful facility and quickness; and although thousands and millions are employed, yet they never embarrass the proceedings of each other, but gradually fill up the chasm. while the labourers are thus employed, the greatest part of the soldiers retire, a few only being discernible, who evidently act as overseers, and at intervals of about a minute, make the vibrating noise before described, which is immediately answered by an universal hiss from the labourers, and at this signal they redouble their exertions with encreased activity. in minutely examining these hills, great obstacles present themselves to the observer; the apartments and nurseries which surround the royal habitation, and the whole internal fabric, are formed of moist brittle clay, and are so closely connected, that they can only be examined separately, for having a geometrical dependance upon each other, the demolition of one pulls down more; patience is therefore exhausted in the investigation, and it is impossible to proceed without interruption; for while the soldiers are employed in defending the breach, the labourers are engaged in barricading the different galleries and passages towards the royal chamber. in one apartment which i dug out from a hill, i was forcibly struck with their attachment and allegiance to their sovereigns; and as it is capacious enough to hold a great number of attendants, of which it has a constant supply, i had a fair opportunity offered for experiment, i secured it in a small box; and these faithful creatures never abandoned their charge; they were continually running about their king and queen, stopping at every circuit, as if to administer to them, and to receive their commands. upon exposing their different avenues and chambers for a night only, before the next morning, provided the king and queen are preserved, and their apartments remain, it will be found that they are all shut up with a thin covering of clay, and every interstice in the ruins, through which either cold or wet could communicate, filled up, which is continued with unremitting industry until the building is restored to its pristine state. besides these species, there are also the _marching termites_, of an encreased size, who make excursions in large bodies, and spread devastation in their way; but as my means of observation upon them was only accidental, it will be intruding an imperfect description to notice them at all; but if we form a conclusion from the immense number of _termites_ which everywhere abound in africa, we shall be tempted to believe that their procreation is endless and unceasing. when the papers came to hand which contained the substance of these remarks upon this extraordinary insect, i did not intend to annex them to the observations on the windward coast of africa, nor am i without some doubt as to the propriety of so doing; the observation of the learned _naturalist_ only can ascertain the economy of the _termite_, or _bug a bug_, and i have therefore to apologize for obtruding these imperfect and general remarks. section iii. _of the cameleon_. the cameleon is a native of the torrid zone, and is a genus of the lizard: the faculty of assuming the colour of every object it approaches is ascribed to it, and other singular properties; but there are many rare phoenomena not so well understood, such as its absorption and expulsion of air at pleasure, its property of living a considerable time without any kind of nourishment, and its extraordinary visual advantages, which are perhaps not to be found in any other of the wonderful works of the creation. i have made various experiments to ascertain these extraordinary properties in this little animal; and i brought home one in a preserved state. the first object which struck my attention, was the variation of colour; and i am persuaded that it does not assume these from the surrounding objects, but that they proceed from internal sensations of pain, or otherwise. from the moment that the liberty of my captive was infringed upon, or when interrupted in its pursuits, it became less sensible of external objects, the vivacity of its colour, and the plumpness of its form underwent a visible change. its natural colour is a beautiful green; and when in a state of liberty it is to be found in the grass, or lodged on the branches of some tree, ornamented with the gayest foilage; and it would appear that its liberty, and the privilege of living in the grass, are indispensible towards the preservation of its qualities. the colour of its skin, in a perfect state of health, is scarcely discernible from the trees and grass, in which it delights to conceal itself, and is not to be discovered at all without a very minute scrutiny. it remains immoveable for a length of time, and its motions are all cautious and slow, continuing to loll out its tongue, which is long and glutinous, in order to secure the little insects that are necessary to its nourishment; and i doubt not but it has an attractive influence over its prey, for i have observed them continually floating around the cameleon, when scarcely discernible in any other space. when the tongue is covered with a sufficient quantity it draws it in instantaneously, and by incessantly repeating the operation, all the insects within its reach are taken in the snare. that its health and existence depend upon being in the grass, i am persuaded, from the change occasioned by placing it in gravel or sand, when it immediately assumes a yellow tinge, its form is reduced considerably, and the air expelled, with which the body of this animal is inflated, so as visibly to reduce the size. if they are irritated in this situation, they expell the air so strong as even to be heard, gradually decreasing in size, and becoming more dull in colour, until at length they are almost black; but upon being carried into the grass, or placed on the branches of a tree, they quickly assume their wonted solidity and appearance. the victims of my observation i have frequently wrapped in cloth of various colours, and have left them for a considerable time, but when i visited them i did not find that they partook of any of the colours, but uniformly were of a tarnished yellow, or greyish black, the colours they always assume when in a state of suffering and distress, and i never could succeed in making them take any other when in a situation of constraint. the skin of the cameleon is of a very soft and delicate texture, and appears to the observer similar to a shagreen skin, elastic and pliable; and it may be owing to this extraordinary construction that it changes its colours and size with that facility which astonishes us; but what may be considered as a more wonderful faculty is, its expanding and contracting itself at pleasure, and, as it were, retaining the fluid in an uniform manner, when in health, but exhaling it when in a state of suffering, so as to reduce its dimensions to a more contracted size. its peculiar organization is such, that the atmospheric air which it inhales so generally throughout every part of its body, distends and projects even its eyes and extremities. i have frequently seen it after many days fasting become suddenly plump, and continue so for a fortnight, when immediately it became nothing but a skeleton of skin and bone. the tenuity of its body is at these seasons astonishing, the spine of its back becomes pointed, the flesh of its sides adhere to each other, and apparently form one united subsance, when it will, in a few hours, at pleasure, resume its rotund state; and this appears to me to be a most extraordinary circumstance in the construction of this animal, which invites the minutest research of the naturalist. to convince myself how far the assertion might be admitted, that the cameleon can exist upon air, i have placed them in a cage, so constructed, as to exclude any thing else, even the minutest insect; when i have visited my captives, they have opened their mouths and expelled the air towards me so as to be felt and heard. in the first stage of their privation and imprisonment, which has continued for more than a month, i have found them in continual motion around their prison, but afterwards their excursions became more circumscribed, and they have sunk to the bottom, when their powers of distension and contraction became languid and decreased, and were never again capable of performing their accustomed transformation. the one which i brought to england preserved in spirits, after undergoing upwards of two months of famine, when i carried it among the grass, or placed it in the thick foliage of a tree, in little more than a week regained its green colour, and power of expansion; but not contented with my experiment, and determined to ascertain it to the utmost, i redoubled my precautions to exclude every thing but air, and my devoted victim was doomed to another series of trial, and continued to exist upwards of a month, when it fell a sacrifice to my curiosity. the eyes of the cameleon may also be considered a remarkable singularity; they are covered with a thin membrane, which nature has given it to supply the want of eye-lids, and this membrane is sunk in the centre by a lengthened hole, which forms an orifice, bordered by a shining circle. this covering follows all the motions of the eye so perfectly, that they appear to be one and the same; and the aperture, or lengthened hole, is always central to the pupil, the eyes moving in every direction, independant of each other; one eye will be in motion while the other is fixed, one looking behind while the other is looking before, and another directed above while its companion is fixed on the earth, so that its eyes move in every possible direction, independant of each other, without moving the head, which is closely compacted with the shoulders. by these quick evolutions its personal safety is guarded, and it perceives with quickness the insects and flies, which it is always entrapping by its glutinous tongue. without doubt, this species of lizard possesses peculiarities well worthy the attention of naturalists, who only can define them; what i have said i have observed in my leisure moments, and must be considered as a very imperfect detail of its natural history. section iv. _of the interment of the dead._ the ceremony of burial upon the windward coast of africa is conducted with great singularity, solemnity, and extravagant circumstances of condolence. the body of the deceased is wrapped up in a cloth, closely sewed around it, and the head is covered with a white cap of cotton, which is the colour universally adopted in mourning. the relatives of the deceased bedaub themselves from head to foot with white clay, upon which they form the most disgusting figures, while scarcely a leg or an arm exhibits the same feature. i have even seen serpents and other frightful animals delineated with great accuracy on many parts of the body, which gives them a most hideous appearance during the season of mourning. when the corps has been washed, and put into a white cloth of cotton, of the manufacture of the country, the whole is inclosed in a mat, and laid out in state. the corps is placed over the grave upon four sticks across, and after one of the nearest relatives has collected all the finery with which the deceased was accustomed to decorate himself, and that also which remains among his family, he asks him, with expressions of sorrow, if he wants such and such an article for his comfort in the other world, in which he is accompanied by the remainder of his family and friends, who join in _making cry,_ or more property speaking, in dancing and rejoicing. the following night the dance and song is continued with demonstrations of mirth and glee, and are kept up every successive night during that moon; and if the deceased has been of consequence in his tribe, these extravagant acts of lamentation continue for months together. _on the amusements, musical instruments, &c. of the africans._ upon all occasions of mirth or sorrow, the dance is uniformly introduced, with monotonous songs, sometimes tender and agreeable, at other times savage and ferocious, but always accompanied by a slow movement; and it may with propriety be said, that all the nights in africa are spent in dancing; for after the setting of the sun, every village resounds with songs, and music; and i have often listened to them with attention and pleasure, during the tranquil evenings of the dry season. villages a league distant from each other frequently perform the same song, and alternately change it, for hours together. while this harmonic correspondence continues, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages chaunt their couplets, the youth of both sexes listen with the greatest attention and pleasure. among the several kinds of instruments of music which accompany the ceremonies of mourning or mirth among the africans, the drum is the principal. it is made from a hard thin wood, about three feet long, which is covered with a skin distended to the utmost. they strike it with the fingers of the right hand collected together, which serves to beat time in all their dances. among the foulahs and soosees they have a kind of flute, made of a hard reed, which produces sounds both unmusical and harsh: but all the africans of the windward district are the most barbarous musicians that can be conceived. they have also a kind of guitar, formed from the calabash, which they call _kilara_. some of these are of an enormous size, and the musician performs upon it by placing himself on the ground, and putting the _kilara_ between his thighs; he performs on it with both his hands, in a manner similar to the playing on the harp in this country. they have another instrument of a very complicated construction, about two feet deep, four feet long, and eighteen inches wide, which they call _balafau_. it is constructed by parallel intervals, covered with bits of hard polished wood, so as to give each a different tone, and are connected by cords of catgut fastened at each extremity of the instrument. the musician strikes these pieces of wood with knobbed sticks covered with skin, which produces a most detestable jargon of confused noise. jugglers and buffoons are very common, and are the constant attendants of the courts of negro kings and princes, upon whom they lavish the most extravagant eulogiums, and abject flattery. these jesters are also the panders of concupiscense; they are astrologers, musicians, and poets, and are well received every where, and live by public contribution. section v. _concluding observations._ it has already been observed that cotton and indigo are indigenous to the windward coast of africa. tobacco grows in every direction, likewise cocoa, coffee, and aromatic plants would no doubt succeed by cultivation. a trade in raw hides might be carried on to a great extent; and the articles of wax, gold, ivory, emery, dyes, &c. might be greatly increased. substances for making soap are to be found in great abundance; cattle, poultry, different kinds of game, fish, and various animals, fruits, and roots, abound, affording a great variety of the necessaries and luxuries of life: and european art and industry are only wanting to introduce the extensive culture of the sugar cane. the warmth and nature of the climate are peculiarly adapted to the maturing this plant, and there are many situations from cape verde to cape palmas, where this valuable production might undoubtedly be raised to great amount and perfection. in addition to the woods i have already named, there are many others for building, viz. _todso, worsmore,_ and a fine yellow wood, called _barzilla_, the _black_ and the _white mangrove_, boxwood of a superior quality, _conta_, a remarkable fine wood for building, and various kinds of mahogany, of a beautiful colour, and large dimensions. it has also been observed in the previous section, that one of the musical instruments used by the africans of the windward coast, named by them _kilara_, is formed from the calabash, a pumpkin which grows from the size of a goblet to that of a moderate sized tub, and serves every purpose almost of household utensils. they divide this pumpkin into two hemispheres, with the utmost accuracy, and it is excavated by pouring boiling water inside, to soften the pulp. the inside is cleaned with great neatness, and they execute upon the outside various designs and paintings, both fanciful and eccentric, such as birds, beasts, serpents, alligators, &c. in fine, the objects of commerce and enjoyment in this country are, comparatively speaking, inexhaustible; and this is a part of the world which england has hitherto strangely neglected, because its mysteries are unknown. it only requires the happy influence of civilization, agriculture, and natural commerce, to surprize and enrich those, who humanely and wisely interfere to procure these blessings to its inhabitants. the system of establishment to attain these important ends to our commerce, and to the bewildered african, should be skilfully planned, and wisely adapted to the _present condition_ of the country, for the _hasty conclusion of the abolition of the slave trade never can, in its present state, meet the views and objects of rational humanity_. is the united kingdom, at this crisis, when the enormous power of our adversary has shut the door of commerce against us in every direction where his influence and dictates command, to abandon africa, so abundant and versatile in its natural productions and resources, to contingencies, and to the grasp of other nations? forbid it, humanity, and forbid it, wise policy! let civil laws, religion, and morality, exercise their influence in behalf of the negro race, whom barbarism has subjected to our dominion, and let the beneficence and wisdom of government devise a system of agriculture and commercial operation, upon the maritime situations of africa, as the most effectual means to freedom of intercourse with its interior. the operations of impracticable theories and misguided zeal have accomplished an unqualified abolition of the slave trade, which i am persuaded will be highly injurious to the commercial and manufacturing interests of our country; and is a measure which humanity will have deeply to deplore, while in its tendency it is pernicious to the african, and auspicious to the views of france. without doubt the ability and energies of the _present administration_ will be directed to avert these calamities; and amidst the _important diliberations_ which now occupy their attention, the condition of africa, the wealth derivable from so important a quarter of the earth, and the relations involved with it, will not be overlooked by them. a vocabulary of the language of the principal nations of the windward coast of africa. |english |jolliff |soosee |timmanee |------------|-------------------|--------------------|---------------|one |ben |kiring |pen |two |yar |faring |prung |three |niet |shooking |tisas |four |nianett |nari |pánlee |five |gurum |shooli |tomát |six |gurum ben |shinie |rókin |seven |gurum yar |shulifiring |dayring |eight |gurum niet |shulimashukúng |daysas |nine |gurum niant |shulimang |daynga |ten |fue |fooang |tofot |twenty |nill |mahwinia |tofot marung |thirty |fanever |tongashukúng |tofot masas |forty |nianett fue |tonganani |tofot manlu |fifty |guaum fue |tongashulang |tofot tomat |sixty |gurum ben fue |tongashini |tofot rokin |seventy |gurum yar fue |tongashulifiring |tofot dayring |eighty |gurum niet fue |tongashulimashakung |tofot daysas |ninety |gurum nianet fue |tongashulimanáne |tofot danygah |one hundred |temer |kimé |tofot tofot |i | |emtang |eto or munga |thou | |etang |moota or moonga |he | |atang |otto or ken |it | |atang |ree |we | |mackutang |sitta or shang |ye | |wotang |angsha |they | |etang |angna |god |tallah | | |the devil |ghiné | | |heaven |assaman | | |english |jolliff |soosee |mandingo |------------|--------------------|---------------|-----------------|the sun |burham safara |shuge |teelee |the moon |burham safara lion |kige |koro |gold |ourous | |sanoo |father |bail |taffe |fa |my father |samma bail | | |mother |de |inga |ba |my mother |samma de | | |man |gour | |mo or fato |woman |diguén | |mooséa |brother |rak gour |tarakunjia |ba ding kea |my brother |samma rak gour | | |sister |rak diguén |magine |ba ding mooséa |my sister |samma rak diguén | | |head |bop |hung hungji |roon |my head |samma bop | | |tongue |lamin |ning ningje |ning |mouth |guémin |dé |da |nose |bauane |nieue |nung |bread |bourou | |munko |water |dock | |gee |teeth |guené | | |bowels |bouthet | | |belly |birr | |kono |fingers |baram | |boalla ronding |arm |lokoó | |boalla same for hand. |hair |cayor | | |the beard |jekim |habe de habe |bora |white |toulha é |fihe |qui |black |jolof |foro |fing |good |bachna |fang |bettie |bad |bahout |niaake |jox |english |soosee |-------------------------------------|-----------------------|elephant |siti |camelion |kolungji |horse |shuoe |cow |ninkgegine |goat |shee |sheep |juké |leopard |shuko she |alligator |shonge |parrot |kalle |shark |sark |honey |kume |white ant, termite, &c. |bugabuge |(or bug a bug) | |the sea |baa |earth |bohe |knife |finé |shirt |doma |trowsers |wangtanji |brass pan |tang kue |house |bankhi |door |dé nadé |day |hi |night |qué |health |maié langfe |sickness |fura |pain |whondi, whona fe |love |whuli |hatred |niaahú |road |kirá |idle |kobi |hot |furi, furihe |cold |himbeli |what are you doing? |emung she ra falama? |tornado |tuliakbegle |which way are you going? |esigama mung kirara |to trade |sera shofe |make haste |arâ bafe mafurì |to kill |fuka fe |to quarrel |gerì shofe |to sing |shige sháfe |to beat the drum |fare mokafé |have you done? |ebanta gei? |are you afraid? |egahama? |he is not yet gone |a mú siga sending |stand still |tife ira hara |run |gee fé |leap, or jump |tubang fe |have you slept well? |eheo keefang? |do you understand soosee? |esusee whi mema? |i am hungry |kaame em shukuma |eat |dong |let us go |woem hasiga |will you go with me? |esigáma em fokhera |i have no money |náfuli muna embe |how much do you want? |e' wama ierekong |sit down |dokha |how do you do |e'mung keé? |very well |em melang hekeefang |give me some rice? |málungdundundifeemma |here |be |what is your name? |ehili mungkee? |i love you |efanghe emma |if you want rice i will give you some|ha ewama málunghong eminda fuma éma |let us go together. |meekufiring ha siga |english |jolliff |----------------------------|----------------------|goat |phas |sheep |zedre |wolf |bouki |elephant |guìé |ox |nack |fish |guienn |horse |ghénapp |butter |dión |milk |sán |tiger |shaglé |iron |vina |millet |doughoul |quiver |smagalla |to dance |faik |to sing |ouhai |to-day |thei |to-morrow |elleck, or mek |yesterday |demb |a tree |garallun |to drink |nán |to eat |leck ou leckamm |she is remarkably handsome |sama rafitnalóll |good day |dhiarakio |good day sir |dhiarakio-samba |good night |fhanandiam |come here? |kahihfie |yes |ouaa |no |dhiett |how do you do? |dhya mésa? |very well |dhya medal |buy |ghuyendé |sell |ghuyal |take |diapol |i will |benguéna |i thank you |guérum nalá |a bar of iron |baravin |what did you say? |loung a houche |can you speak joliff? |dígenga jolliff |how much did that cost? |niatar ladiar? |give me |maniman |i love you from my heart |sépenata tié somo koll |english |temmanee |bullom |-----------------------|------------------------|---------------|how do you do? |currea |lemmoó |i return you service, |bá |bá |or salute | | |are you well? |too pay |appay wa? |very well |tai ó tai |pay chin lin |what is your name? |gnay see mooa? |illil é móa? |give me a little rice |song mee pilla pittun |knamée opillay | | |otayk |yes |a |a |no |deh |be |is your father at home?|pa ka moo oyá roshaytee?|appa moway lore | | |ko killayée |he is |oéeree |way lorre |what do you want? |ko nyaymaee? |yeng yayma? |why do you do so? |ko sum kingyotteeay |yaywum layngalla |i beg your pardon |a marree moo |lum marra mó |english |temmanek |bullom |--------------------|--------------------|----------------------|i love you |ee bóter moo |a marra mo |let me alone |tuoy mee |y'nfolmee |let me go |teer amee |y'mmelmee |sit down |yeera |y'nchal |i am hungry |durabang mee |nrik mi a me |shut the door |kanta kayraree |ingkunta fong fólootay |will you go with me?|yintoo kó pey a mee?|mo mee ko day ree |where are you going?|ray mó kóay. |lomo koa |here |unno |kakée or ha |forward |kihdee |ebol |backward |rarung |wayling |to-day |taynung |eenang |to-morrow |anéenang |beng |sometimes |olokko ollon |lokkó poom |and |ray |na |good bye |mang peearó |heepeeáró ** the foregoing vocabulary, and imperfect number of words, may serve to give some idea of a part of the languages on the windward coast of africa. from those accidents to which the traveller is continually exposed, i have unfortunately lost what i am persuaded was a very accurate vocabulary of the jolliff, foulah, maudingo, soosee, bullom, and temmanee tongues, which i had arranged under the correction of a very intelligent trader long resident upon the windward coast. owing to this misfortune i have been obliged to refer to scattered memoranda only, which i know to correspond correctly with the document i allude to. as the foulah and mandingo nations are of most consequence in attempts at civilization, i have to regret exceedingly that i have not been able to give the languages of those nations more at large. the keepers of the king's peace by edgar wallace ward, lock & co., limited london and melbourne printed in great britain by the whitefriars press ltd., london and tonbridge contents chap. page i bones, sanders and another 5 ii bones changes his religion 28 iii the maker of storms 53 iv bones and the wireless 75 v the remedy 99 vi the medicine man 117 vii bones, king-maker 135 viii the tamer of beasts 154 ix the mercenaries 169 x the waters of madness 191 xi eye to eye 215 xii the hooded king 233 to pat (p. m. c. w.) the keepers of the king's peace chapter i bones, sanders and another to isongo, which stands upon the tributary of that name, came a woman of the isisi who had lost her husband through a providential tree falling upon him. i say "providential," for it was notorious that he was an evil man, a drinker of beer and a favourite of many bad persons. also he made magic in the forest, and was reputedly the familiar of bashunbi the devil brother of m'shimba-m'shamba. he beat his wives, and once had set fire to his house from sheer wickedness. so that when he was borne back to the village on a grass bier and the women of his house decked themselves with green leaves and arm in arm staggered and stamped through the village street in their death dance, there was a suspicion of hilarity in their song, and a more cheery step in their dance than the occasion called for. an old man named d'wiri, who knew every step of every dance, saw this and said in his stern way that it was shameless. but he was old and was, moreover, in fear for the decorum of his own obsequies if these outrageous departures from custom were approved or allowed to pass without reprimand. when m'lama, the wife of g'mami, had seen her lord depart in the canoe for burial in the middle island and had wailed her conventional grief, she washed the dust from her body at the river's edge and went back to her hut. and all that was grief for the dead man was washed away with the dust of mourning. many moons came out of the sky, were wasted and died before the woman m'lama showed signs of her gifts. it is said that they appeared one night after a great storm wherein lightning played such strange tricks upon the river that even the old man d'wiri could not remember parallel instances. in the night the wife of a hunter named e'sani-osoni brought a dying child into the hut of the widow. he had been choked by a fish-bone and was _in extremis_ when m'lama put her hand upon his head and straightway the bone flew from his mouth, "and there was a cry terrible to hear--such a cry as a leopard makes when he is pursued by ghosts." a week later a baby girl fell into a terrible fit and m'lama had laid her hand upon it and behold! it slept from that moment. ahmet, chief of the government spies, heard of these happenings and came a three days' journey by river to isongo. "what are these stories of miracles?" he asked. "_capita_," said the chief, using the term of regard which is employed in the belgian congo, "this woman m'lama is a true witch and has great gifts, for she raises the dead by the touch of her hand. this i have seen. also it is said that when u'gomi, the woodcutter, made a fault, cutting his foot in two, this woman healed him marvellously." "i will see this m'lama," said ahmet importantly. he found her in her hut tossing four bones idly. these were the shanks of goats, and each time they fell differently. "o ahmet," she said, when he entered, "you have a wife who is sick, also a first-born boy who does not speak though he is more than six seasons old." ahmet squatted down by her side. "woman," said he, "tell me something that is not the talk of river and i will believe your magic." "to-morrow your master, the lord sandi, will send you a book which will give you happiness," she said. "every day my lord sends me a book," retorted the sceptical ahmet, "and each brings me happiness. also it is common talk that at this time there come messengers carrying bags of silver and salt to pay men according to their services." undismayed she tried her last shot. "you have a crooked finger which none can straighten--behold!" she took his hand in hers and pressed the injured phlange. a sharp pain shot up his arm and he winced, pulling back his hand--but the year-old dislocation which had defied the effort of the coast doctor was straightened out, and though the movement was exquisitely painful he could bend it. "i see you are a true witch," he said, greatly impressed, for a native has a horror of deformity of any kind, and he sent back word of the phenomenon to sanders. sanders at the same time was in receipt of other news which alternately pleased him and filled him with panic. the mail had come in by fast launch and had brought captain hamilton of the houssas a very bulky letter written in a feminine hand. he had broken the glad news to commissioner sanders, but that gentleman was not certain in his mind whether the startling intelligence conveyed by the letter was good or bad. "i'm sure the country will suit her," he said, "this part of the country at any rate--but what will bones say?" "bones!" repeated captain hamilton scornfully. "what the dickens does it matter what bones says?" nevertheless, he went to the sea-end of the verandah, and his roar rivalled the thunder of the surf. "bones!" there was no answer and for an excellent reason. sanders came out of the bungalow, his helmet on the back of his head, a cheroot tilted dizzily. "where is he?" he asked. hamilton turned. "i asked him to--at least i didn't ask him, he volunteered--to peg out a trench line." "expect an invasion?" asked sanders. hamilton grinned. "bones does," he said. "he's full of the idea, and offered to give me tips on the way a trench should be dug--he's feeling rotten about things ... you know what i mean. his regiment was at mons." sanders nodded. "i understand," he said quietly. "and you ... you're a jolly good soldier, hamilton--how do you feel about it all?" hamilton shrugged his shoulders. "they would have taken me for the cameroons, but somebody had to stay," he said quietly. "after all, it is one's business to ... to do one's job in the station of life to which it has pleased god to call him. this is my work ... here." sanders laid his hand on the other's shoulder. "that's the game as it should be played," he said, and his blue eyes were as soft and as tender as a woman's. "there is no war here--we are the keepers of the king's peace, hamilton." "it's rotten...." "i know--i feel that way myself. we're out of it--the glory of it--the chance of it--the tragedy of it. and there are others. think of the men in india eating their hearts out ... praying for the order that will carry them from the comfort of their lives to the misery and the death--and the splendour, i grant you--of war." he sighed and looked wistfully to the blue sea. hamilton beckoned a houssa corporal who was crossing the garden of the residency. "ho, mustaf," he said, in his queer coast arabic, "where shall i look for my lord tibbetti?" the corporal turned and pointed to the woods which begin at the back of the residency and carry without a break for three hundred miles. "lord, he went there carrying many strange things--also there went with him ali abid, his servant." hamilton reached through an open window of the bungalow and fished out his helmet with his walking-stick. "we'll find bones," he said grimly; "he's been gone three hours and he's had time to re-plan verdun." it took some time to discover the working party, but when it was found the trouble was well repaid. bones was stretched on a canvas chair under the shade of a big isisi palm. his helmet was tipped forward so that the brim rested on the bridge of his nose, his thin red arms were folded on his breast, and their gentle rise and fall testified to his shame. two pegs had been driven in, and between them a string sagged half-heartedly. curled up under a near-by bush was, presumably, ali abid--presumably, because all that was visible was a very broad stretch of brown satin skin which showed between the waistline of a pair of white cotton trousers and a duck jacket. they looked down at the unconscious bones for a long time in silence. "what will he say when i kick him?" asked hamilton. "you can have the first guess." sanders frowned thoughtfully. "he'll say that he was thinking out a new system of communicating trenches," he said. "he's been boring me to tears over saps and things." hamilton shook his head. "wrong, sir," he said; "that isn't the lie he'll tell. he will say that i kept him up so late last night working at the men's pay-sheets that he couldn't keep awake." bones slept on. "he may say that it was coffee after tiffin," suggested sanders after a while; "he said the other day that coffee always made him sleep." "'swoon' was the word he used, sir," corrected hamilton. "i don't think he'll offer that suggestion now--the only other excuse i can think of is that he was repeating the bomongo irregular verbs. bones!" he stooped and broke off a long grass and inserted it in the right ear of lieutenant tibbetts, twiddling the end delicately. bones made a feeble clutch at his ear, but did not open his eyes. "bones!" said hamilton, and kicked him less gently. "get up, you lazy devil--there's an invasion." bones leapt to his feet and staggered a little; blinked fiercely at his superior and saluted. "enemy on the left flank, sir," he reported stiffly. "shall we have dinner or take a taxi?" "wake up, napoleon," begged hamilton, "you're at waterloo." bones blinked more slowly. "i'm afraid i've been unconscious, dear old officer," he confessed. "the fact is----" "listen to this, everybody," said hamilton admiringly. "the fact is, sir," said bones, with dignity, "i fell asleep--that beastly coffee i had after lunch, added to the fatigue of sittin' up half the night with those jolly old accounts of yours, got the better of me. i was sittin' down workin' out one of the dinkiest little ideas in trenches--a sort of communicatin' trench where you needn't get wet in the rainiest weather--when i--well, i just swooned off." hamilton looked disappointed. "weren't you doing anything with the bomongo verbs?" he demanded. a light came to bones's eyes. "by jove, sir!" he said heartily, "that was it, of course.... the last thing i remember was...." "kick that man of yours and come back to the bungalow," hamilton interrupted, "there's a job for you, my boy." he walked across and stirred the second sleeper with the toe of his boot. ali abid wriggled round and sat up. he was square of face, with a large mouth and two very big brown eyes. he was enormously fat, but it was not fat of the flabby type. though he called himself ali, it was, as bones admitted, "sheer swank" to do so, for this man had "coast" written all over him. he got up slowly and saluted first his master, then sanders, and lastly hamilton. bones had found him at cape coast castle on the occasion of a joy-ride which the young officer had taken on a british man-of-war. ali abid had been the heaven-sent servant, and though sanders had a horror of natives who spoke english, the english of ali abid was his very own. he had been for five years the servant of professor garrileigh, the eminent bacteriologist, the account of whose researches in the field of tropical medicines fill eight volumes of closely-printed matter, every page of which contains words which are not to be found in most lexicons. they walked back to the residency, ali abid in the rear. "i want you to go up to the isongo, bones," said sanders; "there may be some trouble there--a woman is working miracles." "he might get a new head," murmured hamilton, but bones pretended not to hear. "use your tact and get back before the 17th for the party." "the----?" asked bones. he had an irritating trick of employing extravagant gestures of a fairly commonplace kind. thus, if he desired to hear a statement repeated--though he had heard it well enough the first time--he would bend his head with a puzzled wrinkle of forehead, put his hand to his ear and wait anxiously, even painfully, for the repetition. "you heard what the commissioner said," growled hamilton. "party--p-a-r-t-y." "my birthday is not until april, your excellency," said bones. "i'd guess the date--but what's the use?" interposed hamilton. "it isn't a birthday party, bones," said sanders. "we are giving a house-warming for miss hamilton." bones gasped, and turned an incredulous eye upon his chief. "you haven't a sister, surely, dear old officer?" he asked. "why the dickens shouldn't i have a sister?" demanded his chief. bones shrugged his shoulders. "a matter of deduction, sir," he said quietly. "absence of all evidence of a soothin' and lovin' influence in your lonely an' unsympathetic upbringin'; hardness of heart an' a disposition to nag, combined with a rough and unpromisin' exterior--a sister, good lord!" "anyway, she's coming, bones," said hamilton; "and she's looking forward to seeing you--i've written an awful lot about you." bones smirked. "of course," he said, "you've overdone it a bit--women hate to be disillusioned. what you ought to have done, sir, is to describe me as a sort of ass--genial and all that sort of thing, but a commonplace sort of ass." hamilton nodded. "that's exactly what i've done, bones," he said. "i told her how bosambo did you in the eye for twenty pounds, and how you fell into the water looking for buried treasure, and how the isisi tried to sell you a flying crocodile and would have sold it too, if it hadn't been for my timely arrival. i told her----" "i think you've said enough, sir." bones was very red and very haughty. "far be it from me to resent your attitude or contradict your calumnies. miss hamilton will see very little of me. an inflexible sense of duty will keep me away from the frivolous circle of society, sir. alert an' sleepless----" "trenches," said hamilton brutally. bones winced, regarded his superior for a moment with pain, saluted, and turning on his heel, stalked away, followed by ali abid no less pained. he left at dawn the next morning, and both sanders and hamilton came down to the concrete quay to see the _zaire_ start on her journey. sanders gave his final instructions-"if the woman is upsetting the people, arrest her; if she has too big a hold on them, arrest her; but if she is just amusing them, come back." "and don't forget the 17th," said hamilton. "i may arrive a little late for that," said bones gravely. "i don't wish to be a skeleton at your jolly old festive board, dear old sportsman--you will excuse my absence to miss hamilton. i shall probably have a headache and all that sort of thing." he waved a sad farewell as the _zaire_ passed round the bend of the river, and looked, as he desired to look, a melancholy figure with his huge pipe in his mouth and his hands thrust dejectedly into his trousers pockets. once out of sight he became his own jovial self. "lieutenant ali," he said, "get out my log and put it in old sanders' cabin, make me a cup of tea and keep her jolly old head east, east by north." "ay, ay, sir," said ali in excellent english. the "log" which bones kept was one of the secret documents which never come under the eye of the superior authorities. there were such entries as- "wind n.n.w. sea calm. hostile craft sighted on port bow, at 10.31 a.m. general quarters sounded 10.32. interrogated captain of the hostile craft and warned him not to fish in fair-way. sighted cape m'gooboori 12.17, stopped for lunch and wood." what though cape m'gooboori was the village of that name and the "calm sea" was no more than the placid bosom of the great river? what though bones's "hostile craft" was a dilapidated canoe, manned by one aged and bewildered man of the isisi engaged in spearing fish? bones saw all things through the rosy spectacles of adventurous youth denied its proper share of experience. at sunset the _zaire_ came gingerly through the shoals that run out from the isongo beach, and bones went ashore to conduct his investigations. it chanced that the evening had been chosen by m'lama, the witch, for certain wonderful manifestations, and the village was almost deserted. in a wood and in a place of green trees m'lama sat tossing her sheep shanks, and a dense throng of solemn men and women squatted or sat or tiptoed about her--leaving her a respectable space for her operations. a bright fire crackled and glowed at her side, and into this, from time to time, she thrust little sticks of plaited straw and drew them forth blazing and spluttering until with a quick breath she extinguished the flame and examined the grey ash. "listen, all people," she said, "and be silent, lest my great ju-ju strike you dead. what man gave me this?" "it was i, m'lama," said an eager woman, her face wrinkled with apprehension as she held up her brown palm. the witch peered forward at the speaker. "o f'sela!" she chanted, "there is a man-child for thee who shall be greater than chiefs; also you will suffer from a sickness which shall make you mad." "o ko!" half dismayed by the promise of her own fate; half exalted by the career the witch had sketched for her unborn son, the woman stared incredulously, fearfully at the swaying figure by the fire. again a plaited stick went into the fire, was withdrawn and blown out, and the woman again prophesied. and sometimes it was of honours and riches she spoke, and sometimes--and more often--of death and disaster. into this shuddering group strode bones, very finely clad in white raiment yet limp withal, for the night was close and the way had been long and rough. the sitters scrambled to their feet, their knuckles at their teeth, for this was a moment of great embarrassment. "oh, m'lama," said bones agreeably, and spoke in the soft dialect of the isisi by-the-river, "prophesy for me!" she looked up sullenly, divining trouble for herself. "lord," she said, with a certain smooth venom, "there is a great sickness for you--and behold you will go far away and die, and none shall miss you." bones went very red, and shook an indignant forefinger at the offending prophetess. "you're a wicked old storyteller!" he stammered. "you're depressin' the people--you naughty girl! i hate you--i simply loathe you!" as he spoke in english she was not impressed. "goin' about the country puttin' people off their grub, by jove!" he stormed; "tellin' stories ... oh, dash it, i shall have to be awfully severe with you!" severe he was, for he arrested her, to the relief of her audience, who waited long enough to discover whether or not her ju-ju would strike him dead, and being obviously disappointed by her failure to provide this spectacle, melted away. close to the gangway of the _zaire_ she persuaded one of her houssa guard to release his hold. she persuaded him by the simple expedient of burying her sharp white teeth in the fleshy part of his arm--and bolted. they captured her half mad with panic and fear of her unknown fate, and brought her to the boat. bones, fussing about the struggling group, dancing with excitement, was honourably wounded by the chance contact of his nose with a wild and whirling fist. "put her in the store cabin!" he commanded breathlessly. "oh, what a wicked woman!" in the morning as the boat got under way ali came to him with a distressing story. "your excellency will be pained to hear," he said, "that the female prisoner has eradicated her costume." "eradicated...?" repeated the puzzled bones, gently touching the patch of sticking-plaster on his nose. "in the night," explained this former slave of science, "the subject has developed symptoms of mania, and has entirely dispensed with her clothes--to wit, by destruction." "she's torn up her clothes?" gasped bones, his hair rising and ali nodded. now, the dress of a native woman varies according to the degree in which she falls under missionary influence. isongo was well within the sphere of the river mission, and so m'lama's costume consisted of a tight-fitting piece of print which wound round and round the body in the manner of a kilt, covering the figure from armpit to feet. bones went to the open window of the prison cabin, and steadfastly averting his gaze, called-"m'lama!" no reply came, and he called again. "m'lama," he said gently, in the river dialect, "what shall sandi say to this evil that you do?" there was no reply, only a snuffling sound of woe. "oh, ai!" sobbed the voice. "m'lama, presently we shall come to the mission house where the god-men are, and i will bring you clothing--these you will put on you," said bones, still staring blankly over the side of the ship at the waters which foamed past her low hull; "for if my lord sandi see you as i see you--i mean as i wouldn't for the world see you, you improper person," he corrected himself hastily in english--"if my lord sandi saw you, he would feel great shame. also," he added, as a horrible thought made him go cold all over, "also the lady who comes to my lord militini--oh, lor!" these last two words were in english. fortunately there was a jesuit settlement near by, and here bones stopped and interviewed the stout and genial priest in charge. "it's curious how they all do it," reflected the priest, as he led the way to his storehouse. "i've known 'em to tear up their clothes in an east end police cell--white folk, the same as you and i." he rummaged in a big box and produced certain garments. "my last consignment from a well-meaning london congregation," he smiled, and flung out a heap of dresses, hats, stockings and shoes. "if they'd sent a roll or two of print i might have used them--but strong religious convictions do not entirely harmonize with a last year's paris model." bones, flushed and unhappy, grabbed an armful of clothing, and showering the chuckling priest with an incoherent medley of apology and thanks, hurried back to the _zaire_. "behold, m'lama," he said, as he thrust his loot through the window of the little deck-house, "there are many grand things such as great ladies wear--now you shall appear before sandi beautiful to see." he logged the happening in characteristic language, and was in the midst of this literary exercise when the tiny steamer charged a sandbank, and before her engines could slow or reverse she had slid to the top and rested in two feet of water. a rueful bones surveyed the situation and returned to his cabin to conclude his diary with- "12.19 struck a reef off b'lidi bay. fear vessel total wreck. boats all ready for lowering." as a matter of fact there were neither boats to lower nor need to lower them, because the crew were already standing in the river (up to their hips) and were endeavouring to push the _zaire_ to deep water. in this they were unsuccessful, and it was not for thirty-six hours until the river, swollen by heavy rains in the ochori region, lifted the _zaire_ clear of the obstruction, that bones might record the story of his salvage. he had released a reformed m'lama to the greater freedom of the deck, and save for a shrill passage at arms between that lady and the corporal she had bitten, there was no sign of a return to her evil ways. she wore a white pique skirt and a white blouse, and on her head she balanced deftly, without the aid of pins, a yellow straw hat with long trailing ribbons of heliotrope. alternately they trailed behind and before. "a horrible sight," said bones, shuddering at his first glimpse of her. the rest of the journey was uneventful until the _zaire_ had reached the northernmost limits of the residency reserve. sanders had partly cleared and wholly drained four square miles of the little peninsula on which the residency stood, and by barbed wire and deep cutting had isolated the government estate from the wild forest land to the north. here, the river shoals in the centre, cutting a passage to the sea through two almost unfathomable channels close to the eastern and western banks. bones had locked away his journal and was standing on the bridge rehearsing the narrative which was to impress his superiors with a sense of his resourcefulness--and incidentally present himself in the most favourable light to the new factor which was coming into his daily life. he had thought of hamilton's sister at odd intervals and now.... the _zaire_ was hugging the western bank so closely that a bold and agile person might have stepped ashore. m'lama, the witch, was both bold and agile. he turned with open mouth to see something white and feminine leap the space between deck and shore, two heliotrope ribbons streaming wildly in such breeze as there was. "hi! don't do that ... naughty, naughty!" yelled the agonized bones, but she had disappeared into the undergrowth before the big paddle-wheel of the _zaire_ began to thresh madly astern. never was the resourcefulness of bones more strikingly exemplified. an ordinary man would have leapt overboard in pursuit, but bones was no ordinary man. he remembered in that moment of crisis, the distressing propensity of his prisoner to the "eradication of garments." with one stride he was in his cabin and had snatched a counterpane from his bed, in two bounds he was over the rail on the bank and running swiftly in the direction the fugitive had taken. for a little time he did not see her, then he glimpsed the white of a pique dress, and with a yell of admonition started in pursuit. she stood hesitating a moment, then fled, but he was on her before she had gone a dozen yards; the counterpane was flung over her head, and though she kicked and struggled and indulged in muffled squeaks, he lifted her up in his arms and staggered back to the boat. they ran out a gangway plank and across this he passed with his burden, declining all offers of assistance. "close the window," he gasped; "open the door--now, you naughty old lady!" he bundled her in, counterpane enmeshed and reduced to helpless silence, slammed the door and leant panting against the cabin, mopping his brow. "phew!" said bones, and repeated the inelegant remark many times. all this happened almost within sight of the quay on which sanders and hamilton were waiting. it was a very important young man who saluted them. "all correct, sir," said bones, stiff as a ramrod; "no casualties--except as per my nose which will be noted in the margin of my report--one female prisoner secured after heroic chase, which, i trust, sir, you will duly report to my jolly old superiors----" "don't gas so much, bones," said hamilton. "come along and meet my sister--hullo, what the devil's that?" they turned with one accord to the forest path. two native policemen were coming towards them, and between them a bedraggled m'lama, her skirt all awry, her fine hat at a rakish angle, stepped defiantly. "heavens!" said bones, "she's got away again.... that's my prisoner, dear old officer!" hamilton frowned. "i hope she hasn't frightened pat ... she was walking in the reservation." bones did not faint, his knees went from under him, but he recovered by clutching the arm of his faithful ali. "dear old friend," he murmured brokenly, "accidents ... error of judgment ... the greatest tragedy of my life...." "what's the matter with you?" demanded sanders in alarm, for the face of bones was ghastly. lieutenant tibbetts made no reply, but walked with unsteady steps to the lock-up, fumbled with the key and opened the door. there stepped forth a dishevelled and wrathful girl (she was a little scared, too, i suspect), the most radiant and lovely figure that had ever dawned upon the horizon of bones. she looked from her staggered brother to sanders, from sanders to her miserable custodian. "what on earth----" began hamilton. then her lips twitched and she fell into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "if," said bones huskily, "if in an excess of zeal i mistook... in the gloamin', madame ... white dress...." he spread out his arms in a gesture of extravagant despair. "i can do no more than a gentleman.... i have a loaded revolver in my cabin ... farewell!" he bowed deeply to the girl, saluted his dumbfounded chief, tripped up over a bucket and would have fallen but for hamilton's hand. "you're an ass," said hamilton, struggling to preserve his sense of annoyance. "pat--this is lieutenant tibbetts, of whom i have often written." the girl looked at bones, her eyes moist with laughter. "i guessed it from the first," she said, and bones writhed. chapter ii bones changes his religion captain hamilton of the king's houssas had two responsibilities in life, a sister and a subaltern. the sister's name was patricia agatha, the subaltern had been born tibbetts, christened augustus, and named by hamilton in his arbitrary way, "bones." whilst sister and subaltern were separated from one another by some three thousand miles of ocean--as far, in fact, as the coast is from bradlesham thorpe in the county of hampshire--captain hamilton bore his responsibilities without displaying a sense of the burden. when patricia hamilton decided on paying a visit to her brother she did so with his heartiest approval, for he did not realize that in bringing his two responsibilities face to face he was not only laying the foundation of serious trouble, but was actually engaged in erecting the fabric. pat hamilton had come and had been boisterously welcomed by her brother one white-hot morning, houssas in undress uniform lining the beach and gazing solemnly upon militini's riotous joy. mr. commissioner sanders, c.m.g., had given her a more formal welcome, for he was a little scared of women. bones, as we know, had not been present--which was unfortunate in more ways than one. it made matters no easier for the wretched bones that miss hamilton was an exceedingly lovely lady. men who live for a long time in native lands and see little save beautiful figures displayed without art and with very little adornment, are apt to regard any white woman with regular features as pretty, when the vision comes to them after a long interval spent amidst native people. but it needed neither contrast nor comparison to induce an admiration for captain hamilton's sister. she was of a certain celtic type, above the medium height, with the freedom of carriage and gait which is the peculiar possession of her country-women. her face was a true oval, and her complexion of that kind which tans readily but does not freckle. eyes and mouth were firm and steadfast; she was made for ready laughter, yet she was deep enough, and in eyes and mouth alike you read a tenderness beyond disguise. she had a trinity of admirers: her brother's admiration was natural and critical; sanders admired and feared; lieutenant tibbetts admired and resented. from the moment when bones strode off after the painful discovery, had slammed the door of his hut and had steadfastly declined all manner of food and sustenance, he had voluntarily cut himself off from his kind. he met hamilton on parade the following morning, hollow-eyed (as he hoped) after a sleepless night, and there was nothing in his attitude suggestive of the deepest respect and the profoundest regard for that paragraph of king's regulations which imposes upon the junior officer a becoming attitude of humility in the presence of his superior officer. "how is your head, bones?" asked hamilton, after the parade had been dismissed. "thank you, sir," said bones bitterly--though why he should be bitter at the kindly inquiry only he knew--"thank you, sir, it is about the same. my temperature is--or was--up to one hundred and four, and i have been delirious. i wouldn't like to say, dear old--sir, that i'm not nearly delirious now." "come up to tiffin," invited hamilton. bones saluted--a sure preliminary to a dramatic oration. "sir," he said firmly, "you've always been a jolly old officer to me before this contretemps wrecked my young life--but i shall never be quite the same man again, sir." "don't be an ass," begged hamilton. "revile me, sir," said bones dismally; "give me a dangerous mission, one of those jolly old adventures where a feller takes his life in one hand, his revolver in the other, but don't ask me----" "my sister wants to see you," said hamilton, cutting short the flow of eloquence. "ha, ha!" laughed bones hollowly, and strode into his hut. "and what i'm going to do with him, heaven knows," groaned hamilton at tiffin. "the fact is, pat, your arrival on the scene has thoroughly demoralized him." the girl folded her serviette and walked to the window, and stood looking out over the yellow stretch of the deserted parade-ground. "i'm going to call on bones," she said suddenly. "poor bones!" murmured sanders. "that's very rude!" she took down her solar helmet from the peg behind the door and adjusted it carefully. then she stepped through the open door, whistling cheerfully. "i hope you don't mind, sir," apologized hamilton, "but we've never succeeded in stopping her habit of whistling." sanders laughed. "it would be strange if she didn't whistle," he said cryptically. bones was lying on his back, his hands behind his head. a half-emptied tin of biscuits, no less than the remnants of a box of chocolates, indicated that anchorite as he was determined to be, his austerity did not run in the direction of starvation. his mind was greatly occupied by a cinematograph procession of melancholy pictures. perhaps he would go away, far, far, into the interior. even into the territory of the great king where a man's life is worth about five cents net. and as day by day passed and no news came of him--as how could it when his habitation was marked by a cairn of stones?--she would grow anxious and unhappy. and presently messengers would come bringing her a few poor trinkets he had bequeathed to her--a wrist-watch, a broken sword, a silver cigarette-case dented with the arrow that slew him--and she would weep silently in the loneliness of her room. and perhaps he would find strength to send a few scrawled words asking for her pardon, and the tears would well up in her beautiful grey eyes--as they were already welling in bones's eyes at the picture he drew--and she would know--all. "phweet!" or else, maybe he would be stricken down with fever, and she would want to come and nurse him, but he would refuse. "tell her," he would say weakly, but oh, so bravely, "tell her ... i ask only ... her pardon." "phweet!" bones heard the second whistle. it came from the open window immediately above his head. a song bird was a rare visitor to these parts, but he was too lazy and too absorbed to look up. perhaps (he resumed) she would never see him again, never know the deep sense of injustice.... "phwee--et!" it was clearer and more emphatic, and he half turned his head to look---he was on his feet in a second, his hand raised to his damp forehead, for leaning on the window sill, her lips pursed for yet another whistle, was the lady of his thoughts. she met his eyes sternly. "come outside--misery!" she said, and bones gasped and obeyed. "what do you mean," she demanded, "by sulking in your wretched little hut when you ought to be crawling about on your hands and knees begging my pardon?" bones said nothing. "bones," said this outrageous girl, shaking her head reprovingly, "you want a jolly good slapping!" bones extended his bony wrist. "slap!" he said defiantly. he had hardly issued the challenge when a very firm young palm, driven by an arm toughened by a long acquaintance with the royal and ancient game, came "smack!" and bones winced. "play the game, dear old miss hamilton," he said, rubbing his wrist. "play the game yourself, dear old bones," she mimicked him. "you ought to be ashamed of yourself----" "let bygones be bygones, jolly old miss hamilton," begged bones magnanimously. "and now that i see you're a sport, put it there, if it weighs a ton." and he held out his nobbly hand and caught the girl's in a grip that made her grimace. five minutes later he was walking her round the married quarters of his houssas, telling her the story of his earliest love affair. she was an excellent listener, and seldom interrupted him save to ask if there was any insanity in his family, or whether the girl was short-sighted; in fact, as bones afterwards said, it might have been hamilton himself. "what on earth are they finding to talk about?" wondered sanders, watching the confidences from the depths of a big cane chair on the verandah. "bones," replied hamilton lazily, "is telling her the story of his life and how he saved the territories from rebellion. he's also begging her not to breathe a word of this to me for fear of hurting my feelings." at that precise moment bones was winding up a most immodest recital of his accomplishments with a less immodest footnote. "of course, dear old miss hamilton," he was saying, lowering his voice, "i shouldn't like a word of this to come to your jolly old brother's ears. he's an awfully good sort, but naturally in competition with an agile mind like mine, understanding the native as i do, he hasn't an earthly----" "why don't you write the story of your adventures?" she asked innocently. "it would sell like hot cakes." bones choked with gratification. "precisely my idea--oh, what a mind you've got! what a pity it doesn't run in the family! i'll tell you a precious secret--not a word to anybody--honest?" "honest," she affirmed. bones looked round. "it's practically ready for the publisher," he whispered, and stepped back to observe the effect of his words. she shook her head in admiration, her eyes were dancing with delight, and bones realized that here at last he had met a kindred soul. "it must be awfully interesting to write books," she sighed. "i've tried--but i can never invent anything." "of course, in my case----" corrected bones. "i suppose you just sit down with a pen in your hand and imagine all sorts of things," she mused, directing her feet to the residency. "this is the story of my life," explained bones earnestly. "not fiction ... but all sorts of adventures that actually happened." "to whom?" she asked. "to me," claimed bones, louder than was necessary. "oh!" she said. "don't start 'oh-ing,'" said bones in a huff. "if you and i are going to be good friends, dear old miss hamilton, don't say 'oh!'" "don't be a bully, bones." she turned on him so fiercely that he shrank back. "play the game," he said feebly; "play the game, dear old sister!" she led him captive to the stoep and deposited him in the easiest chair she could find. from that day he ceased to be anything but a slave, except on one point. the question of missions came up at tiffin, and miss hamilton revealed the fact that she favoured the high church and held definite views on the clergy. bones confessed that he was a wesleyan. "do you mean to tell me that you're a nonconformist?" she asked incredulously. "that's my dinky little religion, dear old miss hamilton," said bones. "i'd have gone into the church only i hadn't enough--enough----" "brains?" suggested hamilton. "call is the word," said bones. "i wasn't called--or if i was i was out--haw-haw! that's a rippin' little bit of persiflage, miss hamilton?" "be serious, bones," said the girl; "you mustn't joke about things." she put him through a cross-examination to discover the extent of his convictions. in self-defence bones, with only the haziest idea of the doctrine he defended, summarily dismissed certain of miss hamilton's most precious beliefs. "but, bones," she persisted, "if i asked you to change----" bones shook his head. "dear old friend," he said solemnly, "there are two things i'll never do--alter the faith of my distant but happy youth, or listen to one disparagin' word about the jolliest old sister that ever----" "that will do, bones," she said, with dignity. "i can see that you don't like me as i thought you did--what do you think, mr. sanders?" sanders smiled. "i can hardly judge--you see," he added apologetically, "i'm a wesleyan too." "oh!" said patricia, and fled in confusion. bones rose in silence, crossed to his chief and held out his hand. "brother," he said brokenly. "what the devil are you doing?" snarled sanders. "spoken like a true christian, dear old excellency and sir," murmured bones. "we'll bring her back to the fold." he stepped nimbly to the door, and the serviette ring that sanders threw with unerring aim caught his angular shoulder as he vanished. that same night sanders had joyful news to impart. he came into the residency to find bones engaged in mastering the art of embroidery under the girl's tuition. sanders interrupted what promised to be a most artistic execution. "who says a joy-ride to the upper waters of the isisi?" hamilton jumped up. "joy-ride?" he said, puzzled. sanders nodded. "we leave to-morrow for the lesser isisi to settle a religious palaver--bucongo of the lesser isisi is getting a little too enthusiastic a christian, and ahmet has been sending some queer reports. i've been putting off the palaver for weeks, but administration says it has no objection to my making a picnic of duty--so we'll all go." "tri-umph!" said hamilton. "bones, leave your needlework and go overhaul the stores." bones, kneeling on a chair, his elbows on the table, looked up. "as jolly old francis drake said when the spanish armada----" "to the stores, you insubordinate beggar!" commanded hamilton, and bones made a hurried exit. the accommodation of the _zaire_ was limited, but there was the launch, a light-draught boat which was seldom used except for tributary work. "i could put bones in charge of the _wiggle_," he said, "but he'd be pretty sure to smash her up. miss hamilton will have my cabin, and you and i could take the two smaller cabins." bones, to whom it was put, leapt at the suggestion, brushing aside all objections. they were answered before they were framed. as for the girl, she was beside herself with joy. "will there be any fighting?" she asked breathlessly. "shall we be attacked?" sanders shook his head smilingly. "all you have to do," said bones confidently, "is to stick to me. put your faith in old bones. when you see the battle swayin' an' it isn't certain which way it's goin', look for my jolly old banner wavin' above the stricken field." "and be sure it _is_ his banner," interrupted hamilton, "and not his large feet. now the last time we had a fight...." and he proceeded to publish and utter a scandalous libel, bones protesting incoherently the while. the expedition was on the point of starting when hamilton took his junior aside. "bones," he said, not unkindly, "i know you're a whale of a navigator, and all that sort of thing, and my sister, who has an awfully keen sense of humour, would dearly love to see you at the helm of the _wiggle_, but as the commissioner wants to make a holiday, i think it would be best if you left the steering to one of the boys." bones drew himself up stiffly. "dear old officer," he said aggrieved, "i cannot think that you wish to speak disparagingly of my intelligence----" "get that silly idea out of your head," said hamilton. "that is just what i'm trying to do." "i'm under your jolly old orders, sir," bones said with the air of an early christian martyr, "and according to paragraph 156 of king's regulations----" "don't let us go into that," said hamilton. "i'm not giving you any commands, i'm merely making a sensible suggestion. of course, if you want to make an ass of yourself----" "i have never had the slightest inclination that way, cheery old sir," said bones, "and i'm not likely at my time of life to be influenced by my surroundings." he saluted again and made his way to the barracks. bones had a difficulty in packing his stores. in truth they had all been packed before he reached the _wiggle_, and to an unprofessional eye they were packed very well indeed, but bones had them turned out and packed _his_ way. when that was done, and it was obvious to the meanest intelligence that the _wiggle_ was in terrible danger of capsizing before she started, the stores were unshipped and rearranged under the directions of the fuming hamilton. when the third packing was completed, the general effect bore a striking resemblance to the position of the stores as bones had found them when he came to the boat. when everybody was ready to start, bones remembered that he had forgotten his log-book, and there was another wait. "have you got everything now?" asked sanders wearily, leaning over the rail. "everything, sir," said bones, with a salute to his superior, and a smile to the girl. "have you got your hot-water bottle and your hair-curlers?" demanded hamilton offensively. bones favoured him with a dignified stare, made a signal to the engineer, and the _wiggle_ started forward, as was her wont, with a jerk which put upon bones the alternative of making a most undignified sprawl or clutching a very hot smoke-stack. he chose the latter, recovered his balance with an easy grace, punctiliously saluted the tiny flag of the _zaire_ as he whizzed past her, and under the very eyes of hamilton, with all the calmness in the world, took the wheel from the steersman's hand and ran the _wiggle_ ashore. all this he did in the brief space of three minutes. "and," said hamilton, exasperated to a degree, "if you'd only broken your infernal head, the accident would have been worth it." it took half an hour for the _wiggle_ to get afloat again. she had run up the beach, and it was necessary to unload the stores, carry them back to the quay and reload her again. "_now_ are you ready?" said sanders. "ay, ay, sir," said bones, abased but nautical. * * * * * bucongo, the chief of the lesser isisi folk, had a dispute with his brother-in-law touching a certain matter which affected his honour. it affected his life eventually, since his relative was found one morning dead of a spear-thrust. this sanders discovered after the big trial which followed certain events described hereafter. the brother-in-law in his malice had sworn that bucongo held communion with devils. it is a fact that bucongo had, at an early age, been captured by catholic missionaries, and had spent an uncomfortable youth mastering certain mysterious rites and ceremonies. his brother-in-law had been in the blessed service of another missionary who taught that god lived in the river, and that to fully benefit by his ju-ju it was necessary to be immersed in the flowing stream. between the water-god men and the cross-god men there was ever a feud, each speaking disparagingly of the other, though converts to each creed had this in common, that neither understood completely the faith into which they were newly admitted. the advantage lay with the catholic converts because they were given a pewter medal with hearts and sunlike radiations engraved thereon (this medal was admittedly a cure for toothache and pains in the stomach), whilst the protestants had little beyond a mysterious something that they referred to as a'lamo--which means grace. but when taunted by their medal-flaunting rivals and challenged to produce this "grace," they were crestfallen and ashamed, being obliged to admit that a'lamo was an invisible magic which (they stoutly affirmed) was nevertheless an excellent magic, since it preserved one from drowning and cured warts and boils. bucongo, the most vigorous partisan of the cross-god men, and an innovator of ritual, found amusement in watching the baptist missionaries standing knee-deep in the river washing the souls of the converts. he had even been insolent to young ferguson, the earnest leader of the american baptist mission, and to his intense amazement had been suddenly floored with a left-hander delivered by the sometime harvard middle weight. he carried his grievance and a lump on his jaw to mr. commissioner sanders, who had arrived at the junction of the isisi and the n'gomi rivers and was holding his palaver, and sanders had been unsympathetic. "go worship your god in peace," said sanders, "and let all other men worship theirs; and say no evil word to white men for these are very quick to anger. also it is unbecoming that a black man should speak scornfully to his masters." "lord," said bucongo, "in heaven all men are as one, black or white." "in heaven," said sanders, "we will settle that palaver, but here on the river we hold our places by our merits. to-morrow i come to your village to inquire into certain practices of which the god-men know nothing--this palaver is finished." now bucongo was something more than a convert. he was a man of singular intelligence and of surprising originality. he had been a lay missioner of the church, and had made many converts to a curious religion, the ritual of which was only half revealed to the good jesuit fathers when at a great palaver which bucongo summoned to exhibit his converts, the church service was interspersed with the sacrifice of a goat and a weird procession and dance which left the representative of the order speechless. bucongo was called before a conference of the mission and reprimanded. he offered excuses, but there was sufficient evidence to prove that this enthusiastic christian had gone systematically to work, to found what amounted to a religion of his own. the position was a little delicate, and any other order than the jesuits might have hesitated to tackle a reform which meant losing a very large membership. the fate of bucongo's congregation had been decided when, in his anger, he took canoe, and travelling for half a day, came to the principal mission. father carpentier, full-bearded, red of face and brawny of arm, listened in the shade of his hut, pulling thoughtfully at a long pipe. "and so, pentini," concluded bucongo, "even sandi puts shame upon me because i am a cross-god man, and he by all accounts is of the water-god ju-ju." the father eyed this perturbed sheep of his flock thoughtfully. "o bucongo," he said gently, "in the river lands are many beasts. those which fly and which swim; those that run swiftly and that hide in the earth. now who of these is right?" "lord, they are all right but are of different ways," said bucongo. father carpentier nodded. "also in the forest are two ants--one who lives in tree nests, and one who has a home deep in the ground. they are of a kind, and have the same business. yet god put it into the little heads of one to climb trees, and of the other to burrow deeply. both are right and neither are wrong, save when the tree ant meets the ground ant and fights him. then both are wrong." the squatting bucongo rose sullenly. "master," he said, "these mysteries are too much for a poor man. i think i know a better ju-ju, and to him i go." "you have no long journey, chief," said the father sternly, "for they tell me stories of ghost dances in the forest and a certain bucongo who is the leader of these--and of a human sacrifice. also of converts who are branded with a cross of hot iron." the chief looked at his sometime tutor with face twisted and puckered with rage, and turning without a word, walked back to his canoe. the next morning father carpentier sent a messenger to sanders bearing an urgent letter, and sanders read the closely written lines with a troubled frown. he put down the letter and came out on to the deck, to find hamilton fishing over the side of the steamer. hamilton looked round. "anything wrong?" he asked quickly. "bucongo of the lesser isisi is wrong," said sanders. "i have heard of his religious meetings and have been a little worried--there will be a big ju-ju palaver or i'm very much mistaken. where is bones?" "he has taken my sister up the creek--bones says there are any number of egrets' nests there, and i believe he is right." sanders frowned again. "send a canoe to fetch him back," he said. "that is bucongo's territory, and i don't trust the devil." "which one--bones or bucongo?" asked hamilton innocently. but sanders was not feeling humorous. * * * * * at that precise moment bones was sitting before the most fantastic religious assembly that ecclesiastic or layman had ever attended. fate and bones had led the girl through a very pleasant forest glade--they left the light-draught _wiggle_ half a mile down stream owing to the shoals which barred their progress, and had come upon bucongo in an exalted moment. with the assurance that he was doing no more than intrude upon one of those meetings which the missionizing chief of the lesser isisi so frequently held, bones stood on the outer fringe of the circle which sat in silence to watch an unwilling novitiate getting acquainted with bucongo's god. the novice was a girl, and she lay before an altar of stones surmounted by a misshapen _beti_ who glared with his one eye upon the devout gathering. the novice lay rigid, for the excellent reason that she was roped foot and hands to two pegs in the ground. before the altar itself was a fire of wood in which two irons were heating. bones did not take this in for a moment, for he was gazing open-mouthed at bucongo. on his head was an indubitable mitre, but around the mitre was bound a strip of skin from which was suspended a circle of dangling monkey tails. for cope he wore a leopard's robe. his face was streaked red with camwood, and around his eyes he had painted two white circles. he was in the midst of a frenzied address when the two white visitors came upon the scene, and his hand was outstretched to take the red branding-iron when the girl at bones's side, with a little gasp of horror, broke into the circle, and wrenching the rough iron from the attendant's hand, flung it towards the circle of spectators, which widened in consequence. "how dare you--how dare you!" she demanded breathlessly, "you horrible-looking man!" bucongo glared at her but said nothing; then he turned to meet bones. in that second of time bucongo had to make a great decision, and to overcome the habits of a lifetime. training and education to the dominion of the white man half raised his hand to the salute; something that boiled and bubbled madly and set his shallow brain afire, something that was of his ancestry, wild, unreasoning, brutish, urged other action. bones had his revolver half drawn when the knobbly end of the chief's killing-spear struck him between the eyes, and he went down on his knees. thus it came about, that he found himself sitting before bucongo, his feet and hands tied with native grass, with the girl at his side in no better case. she was very frightened, but this she did not show. she had the disadvantage of being unable to understand the light flow of offensive badinage which passed between her captor and bones. "o tibbetti," said bucongo, "you see me as a god--i have finished with all white men." "soon we shall finish with you, bucongo," said bones. "i cannot die, tibbetti," said the other with easy confidence, "that is the wonderful thing." "other men have said that," said bones in the vernacular, "and their widows are wives again and have forgotten their widowhood." "this is a new ju-ju, tibbetti," said bucongo, a strange light in his eyes. "i am the greatest of all cross-god men, and it is revealed to me that many shall follow me. now you and the woman shall be the first of all white people to bear the mark of bucongo the blessed. and in the days to be you shall bare your breasts and say, 'bucongo the wonderful did this with his beautiful hands.'" bones was in a cold sweat and his mouth was dry. he scarcely dare look at the girl by his side. "what does he say?" she asked in a low voice. bones hesitated, and then haltingly he stammered the translation of the threat. she nodded. "o bucongo," said bones, with a sudden inspiration, "though you do evil, i will endure. but this you shall do and serve me. brand me alone upon the chest, and upon the back. for if we be branded separately we are bound to one another, and you see how ugly this woman is with her thin nose and her pale eyes; also she has long hair like the grass which the weaver birds use for their nests." he spoke loudly, eagerly, and it seemed convincingly, for bucongo was in doubt. truly the woman by all standards was very ugly. her face was white and her lips thin. she was a narrow woman too, he thought, like one underfed. "this you shall do for me, bucongo," urged bones; "for gods do not do evil things, and it would be bad to marry me to this ugly woman who has no hips and has an evil tongue." bucongo was undecided. "a god may do no evil," he said; "but i do not know the ways of white men. if it be true, then i will mark you twice, tibbetti, and you shall be my man for ever; and the woman i will not touch." "cheer oh!" said bones. "what are you saying--will he let us go?" asked the girl. "i was sayin' what a jolly row there'll be," lied bones; "and he was sayin' that he couldn't think of hurtin' a charmin' lady like you. shut your eyes, dear old miss hamilton." she shut them quickly, half fainting with terror, for bucongo was coming towards them, a blazing iron in his hand, a smile of simple benevolence upon his not unintelligent face. "this shall come as a blessing to you, tibbetti," he said almost jovially. bones shut his teeth and waited. the hot iron was scorching his silk shirt when a voice hailed the high-priest of the newest of cults. "o bucongo," it said. bucongo turned with a grimace of fear and cringed backward before the levelled colt of mr. commissioner sanders. "tell me now," said sanders in his even tone, "can such a man as you die? think, bucongo." "lord," said bucongo huskily, "i think i can die." "we shall see," said sanders. * * * * * it was not until after dinner that night that the girl had recovered sufficiently to discuss her exciting morning. "i think you were an awful brute," she addressed her unabashed brother. "you were standing in the wood listening to and seeing everything, and never came till the last minute." "it was my fault," interrupted sanders. "i wanted to see how far the gentle bucongo would go." "dooced thoughtless," murmured bones under his breath, but audible. she looked at him long and earnestly then turned again to her brother. "there is one thing i want to know," she said. "what was bones saying when he talked to that horrible man? do you know that bones was scowling at me as though i was ... i hardly know how to express it. was he saying nice things?" hamilton looked up at the awning, and cleared his throat. "play the game, dear old sir and brother-officer," croaked bones. "he said----" began hamilton. "live an' let live," pleaded bones, all of a twitter. "_esprit de corps_ an' discretion, jolly old captain." hamilton looked at his subordinate steadily. "he asked to be branded twice in order that you might not be branded once," he said quietly. the girl stared at bones, and her eyes were full of tears. "oh, bones!" she said, with a little catch in her voice, "you ... you are a sportsman." "carry on," said bones incoherently, and wept a little at the realization of that magnificent moment. chapter iii the maker of storms everybody knows that water drawn from rivers is very bad water, for the rivers are the roads of the dead, and in the middle of those nights when the merest rind of a moon shows, and this slither of light and two watchful stars form a triangle pointing to the earth, the spirits rise from their graves and walk, "singing deadly songs," towards the lower star which is the source of all rivers. if you should be--which god forbid--on one of those lonely island graveyards on such nights you will see strange sights. the broken cooking-pots which rest on the mounds and the rent linen which flutters from little sticks stuck about the graves, grow whole and new again. the pots are red and hot as they come from the fire, and the pitiful cloths take on the sheen of youth and fold themselves about invisible forms. none may see the dead, though it is said that you may see the babies. these the wise men have watched playing at the water's edge, crowing and chuckling in the universal language of their kind, staggering groggily along the shelving beach with outspread arms balancing their uncertain steps. on such nights when m'sa beckons the dead world to the source of all rivers, the middle islands are crowded with babies--the dead babies of a thousand years. their spirits come up from the unfathomed deeps of the great river and call their mortality from graves. "how may the waters of the river be acceptable?" asks the shuddering n'gombi mother. therefore the n'gombi gather their water from the skies in strange cisterns of wicker, lined with the leaf of a certain plant which is impervious, and even carry their drinking supplies with them when they visit the river itself. there was a certain month in the year, which will be remembered by all who attempted the crossing of the kasai forest to the south of the n'gombi country, when pools and rivulets suddenly dried--so suddenly, indeed, that even the crocodiles, who have an instinct for coming drought, were left high and dry, in some cases miles from the nearest water, and when the sun rose in a sky unflecked by cloud and gave place at nights to a sky so brilliant and so menacing in their fierce and fiery nearness that men went mad. toward the end of this month, when an exasperating full moon advertised a continuance of the dry spell by its very whiteness, the chief koosoogolaba-muchini, or, as he was called, muchini, summoned a council of his elder men, and they came with parched throats and fear of death. "all men know," said muchini, "what sorrow has come to us, for there is a more powerful ju-ju in the land than i remember. he has made m'shimba m'shamba afraid so that he has gone away and walks no more in the forest with his terrible lightning. also k'li, the father of pools, has gone into the earth and all his little children, and i think we shall die, every one of us." there was a skinny old man, with a frame like a dried goatskin, who made a snuffling noise when he spoke. "o muchini," he said, "when i was a young man there was a way to bring m'shimba m'shamba which was most wonderful. in those days we took a young maiden and hung her upon a tree----" "those old ways were good," interrupted muchini; "but i tell you, m'bonia, that we can follow no more the old ways since sandi came to the land, for he is a cruel man and hanged my own mother's brother for that fine way of yours. yet we cannot sit and die because of certain magic which the stone breaker is practising." now bula matadi ("the stone breaker") was in those days the mortal enemy of the n'gombi people, who were wont to ascribe all their misfortunes to his machinations. to bula matadi (which was the generic name by which the government of the congo free state was known) was traceable the malign perversity of game, the blight of crops, the depredations of weaver birds. bula matadi encouraged leopards to attack isolated travellers, and would on great occasions change the seasons of the year that the n'gombi's gardens might come to ruin. "it is known from one end of the earth to the other that i am a most cunning man," muchini went on, stroking his muscular arm, a trick of self-satisfied men in their moments of complacence; "and whilst even the old men slept, i, koosoogolaba-muchini, the son of the terrible and crafty g'sombo, the brother of eleni-n'gombi, i went abroad with my wise men and my spies and sought out devils and ghosts in places where even the bravest have never been," he lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper, "to the ewa-ewa mongo, the very place of death." the gasp of horror from his audience was very satisfying to this little chief of the inner n'gombi, and here was a moment suitable for his climax. "and behold!" he cried. by his side was something covered with a piece of native cloth. this covering he removed with a flourish and revealed a small yellow box. it was most certainly no native manufacture, for its angles were clamped with neat brass corner-pieces set flush in the polished wood. the squatting councillors watched their lord as with easy familiarity he opened the lid. there were twenty tiny compartments, and in each was a slender glass tube, corked and heavily sealed, whilst about the neck of each tube was a small white label covered with certain devil marks. muchini waited until the sensation he had prepared had had its full effect. "by the great river which runs to the allamdani,"[1] he said slowly and impressively, "were white men who had been sent by bula matadi to catch ghosts. for i saw them, i and my wise men, when the moon was calling all spirits. they were gathered by the river with little nets and little gourds and they caught the waters. also they caught little flies and other foolish things and took them to their tent. then my young men and i waited, and when all were gone away we went to their tents and found his magic box--which is full of devils of great power--ro!" [footnote 1: this was evidently the sanga river.] he leapt to his feet, his eye gleaming. across the starry dome of the sky there had flicked a quick flare of light. there came a sudden uneasy stirring of leaves, a hushed whisper of things as though the forest had been suddenly awakened from sleep. then an icy cold breeze smote his cheek, and staring upward, he saw the western stars disappearing in swathes behind the tumbling clouds. "m'shimba m'shamba--he lives!" he roared, and the crash of thunder in the forest answered him. bosambo, chief of the ochori, was on the furthermost edge of the forest, for he was following the impulse of his simple nature and was hunting in a country where he had no right to be. the storm (which he cursed, having no scruples about river and water, and being wholly sceptical as to ghosts) broke with all its fury over his camp and passed. two nights later, he sat before the rough hut his men had built, discussing the strange ways of the antelope, when he suddenly stopped and listened, lowering his head till it almost touched the ground. clear to his keen ears came the rattle of the distant lokali--the drum that sends messages from village to village and from nation to nation. "o secundi," said bosambo, with a note of seriousness in his voice, "i have not heard that call for many moons--for it is the war call of the n'gombi." "lord, it is no war call," said the old man, shifting his feet for greater comfort, "yet it is a call which may mean war, for it calls spears to a dance, and it is strange, for the n'gombi have no enemies." "all men are the enemies of the n'gombi," bosambo quoted a river saying as old as the sun. he listened again, then rose. "you shall go back and gather me a village of spears, and bring them to the borderland near the road that crosses the river," he said. "on my life," said the other. muchini, chief of the inner n'gombi, a most inflated man and a familiar of magical spirits, gathered his spears to some purpose, for two days later bosambo met him by his border and the chiefs greeted one another between two small armies. "which way do you go, muchini?" asked bosambo. now, between muchini and the chief of the ochori was a grievance dating back to the big war, when bosambo had slain the n'gombi chief of the time with his own hands. "i go to the river to call a palaver of all free men," said muchini; "for i tell you this, bosambo, that i have found a great magic which will make us greater than sandi, and it has been prophesied that i shall be a king over a thousand times a thousand spears. for i have a small box which brings even m'shimba to my call." bosambo, a head and shoulders taller than the other, waved his hand towards the forest path which leads eventually to the ochori city. "here is a fine moment for you, muchini," he said, "and you shall try your great magic on me and upon my young men. for i say that you do not go by this way, neither you nor your warriors, since i am the servant of sandi and of his king, and he has sent me here to keep his peace; go back to your village, for this is the way to death." muchini glared at his enemy. "yet this way i go, bosambo," he said huskily, and looked over his shoulder towards his followers. bosambo swung round on one heel, an arm and a leg outstretched in the attitude of an athlete who is putting the shot. muchini threw up his wicker shield and pulled back his stabbing-spear, but he was a dead man before the weapon was poised. thus ended the war, and the n'gombi folk went home, never so much as striking a blow for the yellow box which bosambo claimed for himself as his own personal loot. at the time, mr. commissioner sanders, c.m.g., was blissfully ignorant of the miraculous happenings which have been recorded. he was wholly preoccupied by the novelty which the presence of patricia hamilton offered. never before had a white woman made her home at the residency, and it changed things a little. she was at times an embarrassment. when fubini, the witch-doctor of the akasava, despatched five maidens to change sandi's wicked heart--sanders had sent fubini to the village of irons for six months for preaching unauthorized magic--they came, in the language of bones, "doocedly undressed," and patricia had beaten a hurried retreat. she was sometimes an anxiety, as i have already shown, but was never a nuisance. she brought to headquarters an aroma of english spring, a clean fragrance that refreshed the heat-jaded commissioner and her brother, but which had no perceptible influence upon bones. that young officer called for her one hot morning, and hamilton, sprawling on a big cane chair drawn to the shadiest and breeziest end of the verandah, observed that bones carried a wooden box, a drawing-board, a pad of paper, two pencils imperfectly concealed behind his large ear, and a water-bottle. "shop!" said hamilton lazily. "forward, mr. bones--what can we do for you this morning?" bones shaded his eyes and peered into the cool corner. "talkin' in your sleep, dear old commander," he said pleasantly, "dreamin' of the dear old days beyond recall." he struck an attitude and lifted his unmusical voice- "when life was gay, heigho! tum tum te tay, heigho! oh, tiddly umpty humpty umty do, when life was gay--dear old officer--heigho!" patricia hamilton stepped out to the verandah in alarm. "oh, please, don't make that hooting noise," she appealed to her brother. "i'm writing----" "don't be afraid," said hamilton, "it was only bones singing. do it again, bones, pat didn't hear you." bones stood erect, his hand to his white helmet. "come aboard, my lady," he said. "i won't keep you a minute, bones," said the girl, and disappeared into the house. "what are you doing this morning?" asked hamilton, gazing with pardonable curiosity at the box and drawing-board. "polishin' up my military studies with miss hamilton's kind assistance--botany and applied science, sir," said bones briskly. "field fortifications, judgin' distance, strategy, bomongo grammar, field cookery an' tropical medicines." "what has poor little making-up-company-accounts done?" asked hamilton, and bones blushed. "dear old officer," he begged, "i'll tackle that little job as soon as i get back. i tried to do 'em this mornin' an was four dollars out--it's the regimental cash account that's wrong. people come in and out helpin' themselves, and i positively can't keep track of the money." "as i'm the only person with the key of the regimental cash-box, i suppose you mean----?" bones raised his hand. "i make no accusations, dear old feller--it's a painful subject. we all have those jolly old moments of temptation. i tackle the accounts to-night, sir. you mustn't forget that i've a temperament. i'm not like you dear old wooden-heads----" "oh, shut up," said the weary hamilton. "so long as you're going to do a bit of study, it's all right." "now, bones," said patricia, appearing on the scene, "have you got the sandwiches?" bones made terrifying and warning grimaces. "have you got the board to lay the cloth and the paper to cover it, and the chocolates and the cold tea?" bones frowned, and jerked his head in an agony of warning. "come on, then," said the unconscious betrayer of lieutenant tibbetts. "good-bye, dear." "why 'good-bye,' dear old hamilton's sister?" asked bones. she looked at him scornfully and led the way. "don't forget the field fortifications," called hamilton after them; "they eat nicely between slices of strategy." the sun was casting long shadows eastward when they returned. they had not far to come, for the place they had chosen for their picnic was well within the residency reservation, but bones had been describing on his way back one of the remarkable powers he possessed, namely, his ability to drag the truth from reluctant and culpable natives. and every time he desired to emphasize the point he would stop, lower all his impedimenta to the ground, cluttering up the landscape with picnic-box, drawing-board, sketching-blocks and the numerous bunches of wild flowers he had culled at her request, and press his argument with much palm-punching. he stopped for the last time on the very edge of the barrack square, put down his cargo and proceeded to demolish the doubt she had unwarily expressed. "that's where you've got an altogether erroneous view of me, dear old sister," he said triumphantly. "i'm known up an' down the river as the one man that you can't deceive. go up and ask the bomongo, drop in on the isisi, speak to the akasava, an' what will they say? they'll say, 'no, ma'am, there's no flies on jolly old bones--not on your life, harriet!'" "then they would be very impertinent," smiled pat. "ask sanders (god bless him!). ask ham. ask----" he was going on enthusiastically. "are you going to camp here, or are you coming in?" she challenged. bones gathered up his belongings, never ceasing to talk. "fellers like me, dear young friend, make the empire--paint the whole bally thing red, white an' blue--'unhonoured an' unsung, until the curtain's rung, the boys that made the empire and the navy.'" "bones, you promised you wouldn't sing," she said reproachfully; "and, besides, you're not in the navy." "that doesn't affect the argument," protested bones, and was rapidly shedding his equipment in preparation for another discourse, when she walked on towards sanders who had come across the square to meet them. bones made a dive at the articles he had dropped, and came prancing (no other word describes his erratic run) up to sanders. "i've just been telling miss hamilton, sir and excellency, that nobody can find things that old bones--you'll remember, sir, the episode of your lost pyjama legs. who found 'em?" "you did," said sanders; "they were sent home in your washing. talking about finding things, read this." he handed a telegraph form to the young man, and bones, peering into the message until his nose almost touched the paper, read- "very urgent. clear the line. administration. "to sanders, commission river territories. message begins. belgian congo government reports from leopoldville, bacteriological expedition carriers raided on edge of your territory by inner n'gombi people, all stores looted including case of 20 culture tubes. stop. as all these cultures are of virulent diseases, inoculate inner n'gombi until intact tubes recovered. message ends." bones read it twice, and his face took on an appearance which indicated something between great pain and intense vacancy. it was intended to convey to the observer the fact that bones was thinking deeply and rapidly, and that he had banished from his mind all the frivolities of life. "i understand, sir--you wish me to go to the dear old congo government and apologize--i shall be ready in ten minutes." "what i really want you to do," said sanders patiently, "is to take the _wiggle_ up stream and get that box." "i quite understand, sir," said bones, nodding his head. "to-day is the 8th, to-morrow is the 9th--the box shall be in your hands on the 15th by half-past seven in the evening, dear old sir." he saluted and turned a baleful glare upon the girl, the import of which she was to learn at first hand. "duty, miss patricia hamilton! forgive poor old bones if he suddenly drops the mask of _dolce far niente_--i go!" he saluted again and went marching stiffly to his quarters, with all the dignity which an empty lunch-box and a dangling water-bottle would allow him. the next morning bones went forth importantly for the ochori city, being entrusted with the task of holding, so to speak, the right flank of the n'gombi country. "you will use your discretion," sanders said at parting, "and, of course, you must keep your eyes open; if you hear the merest hint that the box is in your neighbourhood, get it." "i think, your excellency," said bones, with heavy carelessness, "that i have fulfilled missions quite as delicate as this, and as for observation, why, the gift runs in my family." "and runs so fast that you've never caught up with it," growled hamilton. bones turned haughtily and saluted. it was a salute full of subdued offence. he went joyously to the northward, evolving cunning plans. he stopped at every village to make inquiries and to put the unoffending villagers to considerable trouble--for he insisted upon a house-to-house search--before, somewhat wearied by his own zeal, he came to the ochori. chief bosambo heard of his coming and summoned his councillors. "truly has sandi a hundred ears," he said in dismay, "for it seems that he has heard of the slaying of muchini. now, all men who are true to me will swear to the lord tibbetti that we know nothing of a killing palaver, and that we have not been beyond the trees to the land side of the city. this you will all say because you love me; and if any man says another thing i will beat him until he is sick." bones came and was greeted by the chief--and bosambo was carried to the beach on a litter. "lord," said bosambo weakly, "now the sight of your simple face will make me a well man again. for, lord, i have not left my bed since the coming of the rains, and there is strength neither in my hands and feet." "poor old bird," said bones sympathetically, "you've been sittin' in a draught." "this i tell you, tibbetti," bosambo went on, as yet uncertain of his ruler's attitude, since bones must need, at this critical moment, employ english and idiomatic english, "that since the last moon was young i have lain in my hut never moving, seeing nothing and hearing nothing, being like a dead man--all this my headman will testify." bones's face dropped, for he had hoped to secure information here. bosambo, watching his face through half-closed lids, saw the dismal droop of the other's mouth, and came to the conclusion that whatever might be the cause of the visit, it was not to hold the ochori or their chief to account for known misdeeds. "o bosambo," said bones, in the river dialect, "this is sad news, for i desire that you shall tell me certain things for which sandi would have given you salt and rods." the chief of the ochori sat up in his litter and went so far as to put one foot to the ground. "lord," said he heartily, "the sound of your lovely voice brings me from the grave and gives me strength. ask, o bonesi, for you are my father and my mother; and though i saw and heard nothing, yet in my sickness i had wonderful visions and all things were made visible--that i declare to you, bonesi, before all men." "don't call me 'bonesi,'" said bones fiercely. "you're a jolly cheeky feller, bosambo--you're very, very naughty, indeed!" "master," said bosambo humbly, "though i rule these ochori i am a foreigner in this land; in the tongue of my own people, bonesi means 'he-who-is-noble-in-face-and-a-giver-of-justice.'" "that's better," nodded the gratified bones, and went on speaking in the dialect. "you shall help me in this--it touches the people of the inner n'gombi----" bosambo fell back wearily on to the litter, and rolled his eyes as one in pain. "this is a sorrow for me, bo--tibbetti," he said faintly, "but i am a sick man." "also," continued bones, "of a certain box of wood, full of poisons----" as well as he could bones explained the peculiar properties of germ culture. "oh, ko!" said bosambo, closing his eyes, and was to all appearances beyond human aid. * * * * * "lord," said bosambo, at parting, "you have brought me to life, and every man of every tribe shall know that you are a great healer. to all the far and quiet places of the forest i will send my young men who will cry you aloud as a most wonderful doctor." "not at all," murmured bones modestly, "not at all." "master," said bosambo, this time in english, for he was not to be outdone in the matter of languages, for had he not attended a great mission school in monrovia? "master, you dam' fine feller, you look 'um better feller, you no find um. you be same like moses and judi escariot, big fine feller, by golly--yas." all night long, between the visits which bones had been making from the moored _wiggle_ to the village (feeling the patient's pulse with a profound and professional air and prescribing brandy and milk), bosambo had been busy. "stand you at the door, secundi," he said to his headman, "and let one of your men go to the shore to warn me of my lord tibbetti's coming, for i have work to do. it seems this maker of storms were better with sandi than with me." "tibbetti is a fool, i think," suggested secundi. bosambo, kneeling on a rush mat, busy with a native chisel and a pot of clay paint, looked up. "i have beaten older men than you with a stick until they have wept," he said, "and all for less than you say. for this is the truth, secundi, that a child cannot be a fool, though an old man may be a shame. this is the word of the blessed prophet. as for tibbetti, he has a clean and loving heart." there was a rustle at the door and a whispered voice. the box and the tools were thrust under a skin rug and bosambo again became the interesting invalid. in the morning bosambo had said farewell, and a blushing bones listened with unconcealed pleasure to the extravagant praise of his patient. "and this i tell you, tibbetti," said bosambo, standing thigh-deep in the river by the launch's side, "that knowing you are wise man who gathers wisdom, i have sent to the end of my country for some rare and beautiful thing that you may carry it with you." he signalled to a man on the bank, and his servant brought him a curious object. it was, bones noted, a square box apparently of native make, for it was fantastically carved and painted. there were crude heads and hideous forms which never were on land or sea. the paint was brilliant; red, yellow and green indiscriminately splashed. "this is very ancient and was brought to my country by certain forest people. it is a maker of storms, and is a powerful ju-ju for good and evil." bones, already a collector of native work, was delighted. his delight soothed him for his failure in other respects. he returned to headquarters empty-handed and sat the centre of a chilling group--if we except patricia hamilton--and endeavoured, as so many successful advocates have done, to hide his short-comings behind a screen of rhetoric. he came to the part of his narrative where bosambo was taken ill without creating any notable sensation, save that sanders's grey eyes narrowed a little and he paid greater heed to the rest of the story. "there was poor old bosambo knocked out, sir--ab-so-lutely done for--fortunately i did not lose my nerve. you know what i am, dear old officer, in moments of crisis?" "i know," said hamilton grimly, "something between a welsh revivalist and a dancing dervish." "please go on, bones," begged the girl, not the least interested of the audience. "i dashed straight back to the _wiggle_," said bones breathlessly, "searched for my medicine chest--it wasn't there! not so much as a mustard plaster--what was i to do, dear old miss hamilton?" he appealed dramatically. "don't tell him, pat," begged hamilton, "he's sure to guess it." "what was i to do? i seized a bottle of brandy," said bones with relish, "i dashed back to where bosambo was lyin'. i dashed into the village, into his hut and got a glass----" "well, well!" said sanders impatiently, "what happened after all this dashing?" bones spread out his hands. "bosambo is alive to-day," he said simply, "praisin'--if i may be allowed to boast--the name of bones the medicine man. look here, sir." he dragged towards him along the floor of the hut a package covered with a piece of native sacking. this he whisked away and revealed the hideous handiwork of an artist who had carved and painted as true to nature as a man may who is not quite certain whether the human eye is half-way down the nose or merely an appendage to his ear. "that, sir," said bones impressively, "is one of the most interestin' specimens of native work i have ever seen: a gift! from bosambo to the jolly old doctor man who dragged him, if i might so express it, from the very maws of death." he made his dramatic pause. sanders bent down, took a penknife from his pocket and scraped the paint from a flat oblong space on the top. there for all men to see--save bones who was now engaged in a relation of his further adventure to his one sympathizer--was a brass plate, and when the paint had been scraped away, an inscription- department du mã©dicins, etat congo belge. sanders and hamilton gazed, fascinated and paralysed to silence. "i've always had a feelin' i'd like to be a medicine man." bones prattled on. "you see----" "one moment, bones," interrupted sanders quietly. "did you open this box by any chance?" "no, sir," said bones. "and did you see any of its contents?" "no, sir," said bones confidentially, "that's the most interestin' thing about the box. it contains magic--which, of course, honoured sir and excellency, is all rubbish." sanders took a bunch of keys from his pocket, and after a few trials opened the case and scrutinized the contents, noting the comforting fact that all the tubes were sealed. he heaved a deep sigh of thankfulness. "you didn't by chance discover anything about the missing cultures, bones?" he asked mildly. bones shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and looked disconsolately at his chief. "you think i've been feeble, but i haven't lost hope, sir," he said, with fine resolution. "i've got a feelin' that if i were allowed to go into the forest, disguised, sir, as a sort of half-witted native chap, sir----" "disguised!" said hamilton. "good lord, what do you want a disguise for?" chapter iv bones and the wireless ko-boru, the headman of bingini, called his relations together for a solemn family conference. the lower river folk play an inconsiderable rã´le in the politics of the territories, partly because they are so near to headquarters that there is no opportunity for any of those secret preparations which precede all native intrigues, great or small, and partly because the lower river people are so far removed from the turbulent elements of the upper river that they are not swayed by the cyclonic emotions of the isisi, the cold and deliberate desire for slaughter which is characteristically akasavian, or the electrical decisions of the outer n'gombi. but they had their crises. to bingini came all the notables of the district who claimed kinship with ko-boru, and they sat in a great circle about the headman's hut, alternately eyeing the old headman and their stout relative, his daughter. "all my relations shall know this," began ko-boru, after okmimi, the witch-doctor, had formally burnt away the devils and ghosts that fringe all large assemblies, "that a great shame has come to us, every one, because of yoka-m'furi. for this yoka is to sandi as a brother, and guides his little ship up and down the river, and because of this splendid position i gave him my own daughter by the first of my wives." "s'm-m!" murmured the council in agreement. "also i built him a hut and gave him a garden, where his wife might work, and he has sat at family palavers. now, i tell you that yoka-m'furi is an evil man, for he has left my daughter, and has found another wife in the upper river, and he comes no more to this village, and my daughter weeps all day. "for three seasons he has not been to this village; when the moon comes again, it will be four." he said this with proper significance, and the flat face of the melancholy girl by his side puckered and creased miserably before she opened her large mouth to wail her woe. for the man who deliberately separates himself from his wife for four seasons and does not spend twenty-four hours--"from sunrise to moonset" in her village is automatically divorced and freed from all responsibility. this is the custom of all people from the lands of the great king to the sea. "now, i have had a dream," ko-boru went on, "and in this dream it was told me that i should call you all together, and that i and the chief of my councillors and friends should go to sandi and tell him what is true." "brother and uncle," said bechimi of g'lara, "i will go with you, for once i spoke to sandi and he spoke to me, and because of his cunning memory he will recall bechimi, who picked up his little black stick, when it fell, and gave it to him." five were chosen to accompany ko-boru, and they took canoe and travelled for less than five miles to the residency. sanders was entertaining patricia hamilton with stories of native feuds, when the unexpected deputation squatted in the sun before the verandah. "o ko-boru," hailed sanders, "why do you come?" ko-boru was all for a long and impressive palaver, but recognized a certain absence of encouragement in the commissioner's tone. therefore he came straight to the point. "now, you are our father and our mother, sandi," he said, in conclusion, "and when you speak, all wonders happen. also you have very beautiful friends, militini, who speak a word and set his terrible soldiers moving like leopards towards a kill, and tibbetti, the young one who is innocent and simple. so i say to you, sandi, that if you speak one word to yoka, he will come back to my daughter, his wife." sanders stood by the rail of the stoep and looked down upon the spokesman. "i hear strange things, ko-boru," he said quietly. "they tell me stories of a woman with many lovers and an evil tongue; and once there came to me yoka with a wounded head, for this daughter of yours is very quick in her anger." "lord," said the flustered ko-boru, "such things happen even in love." "all things happen in love," said sanders, with a little smile, "and, if it is to be, yoka will return. also, if it is to be, he will not go back to the woman, and she will be free. this palaver is finished." "lord," pleaded ko-boru, "the woman will do no more angry things. let him come back from sunrise to moonset----" "this palaver is finished," repeated sanders. on their way back to bingini the relatives of ko-boru made a plot. it was the first plot that had been hatched in the shadow of headquarters for twenty years. "would it be indiscreet to ask what your visitors wanted?" asked the girl, as the crestfallen deputation was crossing the square to their canoe. "it was a marriage palaver," replied sanders, with a little grimace, "and i was being requested to restore a husband to a temperamental lady who has a passion for shying cook-pots at her husband when she is annoyed." the girl's laughing eyes were fixed upon his. "poor mr. sanders!" she said, with mock seriousness. "don't be sorry for me," smiled sanders. "i'm rather domestic, really, and i'm interested in this case because the man concerned is my steersman--the best on the river, and a capital all-round man. besides that," he went on seriously, "i regard them all as children of mine. it is right that a man who shirks his individual responsibilities to the race should find a family to 'father.'" "why do you?" she asked, after a little pause. "why do i what?" "shirk your responsibilities," she said. "this is a healthy and a delightful spot: a woman might be very happy here." there was an awkward silence. "i'm afraid i've been awfully impertinent," said patricia, hurriedly rising, "but to a woman there is a note of interrogation behind every bachelor--especially nice bachelors--and the more 'confirmed' he is, the bigger the question mark." sanders rose to her. "one of these days i shall do something rash," he threatened, with that shy laugh of his. "here is your little family coming." bones and hamilton were discussing something heatedly, and justice was on the side of lieutenant tibbetts, if one could judge by the frequency with which he stopped and gesticulated. "it really is too bad," said the annoyed hamilton, as he mounted the steps to the stoep, followed by bones, who, to do him justice, did not adopt the attitude of a delinquent, but was, on the contrary, injured virtue personified. "what is too bad, dear?" asked the girl sympathetically. "a fortnight ago," said hamilton, "i told this silly ass----" "your jolly old brother is referrin' to me, dear lady," explained bones. "who else could i be referring to?" demanded the other truculently. "i told him to have all the company accounts ready by to-morrow. you know, sir, that the paymaster is coming down from administration to check 'em, and will you believe me, sir"--he glared at bones, who immediately closed his eyes resignedly--"would you believe me that, when i went to examine those infernal accounts, they were all at sixes and sevens?" "threes an' nines, dear old officer," murmured bones, waking up, "the matter in dispute being a trifle of thirty-nine dollars, which i've generously offered to make up out of my own pocket." he beamed round as one who expected applause. "and on the top of this," fumed hamilton, "he talks of taking pat for an early morning picnic to the village island!" "accompanied by the jolly old accounts," corrected bones. "do me justice, sir and brother-officer. i offered to take the books with me, an' render a lucid and convincin' account of my stewardship." "don't make me laugh," snarled hamilton, stamping into the bungalow. "isn't he naughty?" said bones admiringly. "now, bones," warned the girl, "i shan't go unless you keep your word with alec." bones drew himself up and saluted. "dear old friend," he said proudly, "put your faith in bones." * * * * * "h.m. launch no. 36 (territories)," as it was officially described on the stores record, had another name, which she earned in her early days through certain eccentricities of construction. though she might not in justice be called the _wiggle_ any longer, yet the _wiggle_ she was from one end of the river to the other, and even native men called her "komfuru," which means "that which does not run straight." it had come to be recognized that the _wiggle_ was the especial charge of lieutenant tibbetts. bones himself was the first to recognize this right. there were moments when he inferred that the _wiggle's_ arrival on the station at the time he was making his own first appearance was something more than a coincidence. she was not, in the strictest sense of the word, a launch, for she possessed a square, open dining saloon and two tiny cabins amidships. her internal works were open to the light of day, and her engineer lived in the engine-room up to his waist and on deck from his waist up, thus demonstrating the possibility of being in two places at once. the _wiggle_, moreover, possessed many attributes which are denied to other small steamers. she had, for example, a maxim gun on her tiny forecastle. she had a siren of unusual power and diabolical tone, she was also fitted with a big motor-horn, both of which appendages were bones's gift to his flagship. the motor-horn may seem superfluous, but when the matter is properly explained, you will understand the necessity for some less drastic method of self-advertisement than the siren. the first time the siren had been fitted bones had taken the _wiggle_ through "the channel." here the river narrows and deepens, and the current runs at anything from five to seven knots an hour. bones was going up stream, and met the bolalo mission steamer coming down. she had dipped her flag to the _wiggle's_ blue ensign, and bones had replied with two terrific blasts on his siren. after that the _wiggle_ went backwards, floating with the current all ways, from broadside on to stern first, for in those two blasts bones had exhausted the whole of his steam reserve. she was also equipped with wireless. there was an "aerial" and an apparatus which bones had imported from england at a cost of twelve pounds, and which was warranted to receive messages from two hundred miles distant. there was also a book of instructions. bones went to his hut with the book and read it. his servant found him in bed the next morning, sleeping like a child, with his hand resting lightly upon the second page. sanders and hamilton both took a hand at fixing the _wiggle's_ wireless. the only thing they were all quite certain about was that there ought to be a wire somewhere. so they stretched the aerial from the funnel to the flagstaff at the stern of the boat, and then addressed themselves to the less simple solution of "making it work." they tried it for a week, and gave it up in despair. "they've had you, bones," said hamilton. "it doesn't 'went.' poor old bones!" "your pity, dear old officer, is offensive," said bones stiffly, "an' i don't mind tellin' you that i've a queer feelin'--i can't explain what it is, except that i'm a dooce of a psychic--that that machine is goin' to be jolly useful." but though bones worked day and night, read the book of instructions from cover to cover, and took the whole apparatus to pieces, examining each part under a strong magnifying glass, he never succeeded either in transmitting or receiving a message, and the machine was repacked and stored in the spare cabin, and was never by any chance referred to, except by hamilton in his most unpleasant moments. bones took an especial delight in the _wiggle_; it was his very own ship, and he gave her his best personal attention. it was bones who ordered from london especially engraved notepaper headed "h. m. s. _komfuru_"--the native name sounded more dignified than _wiggle_, and more important than "launch 36." it was bones who installed the little dynamo which--when it worked--lit the cabins and even supplied power for a miniature searchlight. it was bones who had her painted service grey, and would have added another funnel if hamilton had not detected the attempted aggrandizement. bones claimed that she was dustproof, waterproof, and torpedo-proof, and hamilton had voiced his regret that she was not also fool-proof. at five o'clock the next morning, when the world was all big hot stars and shadows, and there was no sound but the whisper of the running river and the "ha-a-a-a--ha-a-a-a" of breakers, bones came from his hut, crossed the parade-ground, and, making his way by the light of a lantern along the concrete quay--it was the width of an average table--dropped on to the deck and kicked the custodian of the _wiggle_ to wakefulness. bones's satellite was one ali abid, who was variously described as moor, egyptian, tripolitan, and bedouin, but was by all ethnological indications a half-breed kano, who had spent the greater part of his life in the service of a professor of bacteriology. this professor was something of a purist, and the association with ali abid, plus a grounding in the elementary subjects which are taught at st. joseph's mission school, cape coast castle, had given ali a gravity of demeanour and a splendour of vocabulary which many better favoured than he might have envied. "arise," quoth bones, in the cracked bass which he employed whenever he felt called upon to deliver his inaccurate versions of oriental poets- "arise, for morning in the bowl of night has chucked a stone to put the stars to flight. and lo! and lo!... get up, ali; the caravan is moving. oh, make haste!" ("omar will never be dead so long as bones quotes him," hamilton once said; "he simply couldn't afford to be dead and leave it to bones!") ali rose, blinking and shivering, for the early morning was very cold, and he had been sleeping under an old padded dressing-gown which bones had donated. "muster all the hands," said bones, setting his lantern on the deck. "sir," said ali slowly, "the subjects are not at our disposition. your preliminary instructions presupposed that you had made necessary arrangements _re personnel_." bones scratched his head. "dash my whiskers," he said, in his annoyance, "didn't i tell you that i was taking the honourable lady for a trip? didn't i tell you, you jolly old slacker, to have everything ready by daybreak? didn't i issue explicit an' particular instructions about grub?" "sir," said ali, "you didn't." "then," said bones wrathfully, "why the dickens do i think i have?" "sir," said ali, "some subjects, when enjoying refreshing coma, possess delirium, hallucinations, highly imaginative, which dissipate when the subject recovers consciousness, but retain in brain cavity illusory reminiscences." bones thrust his face into the other's. "do you mean to tell me i dreamt it?" he hissed. "sir," said ali, "self-preservation compels complete acquiescence in your diagnosis." "you're childish," said bones. he gave a few vague instructions in the best bones manner, and stole up to the dark residency. he had solemnly promised sanders that he would rouse the girl without waking up the rest of the house. they were to go up stream to the village island, where the ironworkers of the akasava had many curious implements to show her. breakfast was to be taken on the boat, and they were to return for tiffin. overnight she had shown bones the window of her room, and hamilton had offered to make a chalk mark on the sash, so there could be no mistaking the situation of the room. "if you wake me before sunrise, i shall do something i shall be sorry for," he warned bones. "if you return without straightening the accounts, i shall do something which _you_ will be sorry for." bones remembered this as he crept stealthily along the wooden verandah. to make doubly sure, he took off his boots and dropped them with a crash. "sh!" said bones loudly. "sh, bones! not so much noise, you silly old ass!" he crept softly along the wooden wall and reconnoitred. the middle window was hamilton's room, the left was sanders's, the right was patricia's. he went carefully to the right window and knocked. there was no answer. he knocked again. still no reply. he knocked loudly. "is that you, bones?" growled sanders's voice. bones gasped. "awfully sorry, sir," he whispered agitatedly--"my mistake entirely." he tiptoed to the left window and rapped smartly. then he whistled, then he rapped again. he heard a bed creak, and turned his head modestly away. "it's bones, dear old sister," he said, in his loudest whisper. "arise, for mornin' in the bowl of light has----" hamilton's voice raged at him. "i knew it was you, you blithering----" "dear old officer," began bones, "awfully sorry! go to sleep again. night-night!" "go to the devil!" said a muffled voice. bones, however, went to the middle window; here he could make no mistake. he knocked authoritatively. "hurry up, ma'am," he said; "time is on the wing----" the sash was flung up, and again bones confronted the furious hamilton. "sir," said the exasperated bones, "how the dooce did you get here?" "don't you know this room has two windows? i told you last night, you goop! pat sleeps at the other end of the building. i told you that, too, but you've got a brain like wool!" "i am obliged to you, sir," said bones, on his dignity, "for the information. i will not detain you." hamilton groped on his dressing-table for a hair-brush. "go back to bed, sir," said bones, "an' don't forget to say your prayers." he was searching for the window in the other wing of the residency, when the girl, who had been up and dressed for a quarter of an hour, came softly behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "wow!" screeched bones. "oh, lord, dear old sister, you gave me the dickens of a fright! well, let's get along. thank heavens, we haven't disturbed anybody." he was followed to the boat with the imprecations of two pyjamaed figures that stood on the stoep and watched his lank body melt in the darkness. "send us a wireless when you're coming back!" roared hamilton. "cad!" said bones, between his teeth. ali abid had not been idle. he had aroused yoka, the steersman, and boosoobi, the engineer, and these two men had accepted the unexpected call with the curious readiness which natives show on such occasions, and which suggests that they have pre-knowledge of the summons, and are only waiting the word. in one of the small cabins ali had arranged the much-discussed company accounts ready for his lord's attention, and there was every promise of a happy and a profitable day when yoka rang the engines "ahead," and the _wiggle_ jerked her way to midstream. the east had grown pale, there was a murmur from the dark forests on either bank, the timorous chirping or bad-tempered squawk of a bird, a faint fragrance of burning gumwood from the fishing villages established on the river bank, where, in dancing spots of light, the women were tending their fires. there is no intermediate stage on the big river between darkness and broad daylight. the stars go out all at once, and the inky sky which serves then becomes a delicate blue. the shadows melt deeper and deeper into the forest, clearly revealing the outlines of the straight-stemmed trees. there is just this interregnum of pearl greyness, a sort of hush-light, which lasts whilst a man counts twenty, before the silver lances of the sun are flashing through the leaves, and the grey veil which blurs the islands to shapeless blotches in a river of dull silver is burnt to nothingness, and the islands are living things of vivid green set in waters of gold. "the sunrise!" said bones, and waved his hand to the east with the air of one who was responsible for the miracle. the girl sat in a deep wicker chair and breathed in the glory and the freshness of the scene. across the broad river, right ahead of the boat, a flock of parroquets was flying, screeching their raucous chorus. the sun caught their brilliant plumage, and she saw, as it seemed, a rainbow in flight. "isn't that wonderful?" she whispered. bones peered up at the birds, shading his eyes. "just like a jolly old patchwork quilt," he said. "what a pity they can't talk till you teach 'em! they're awful bad eatin', too, though some fellers say they make a good curry----" "oh, look, look!" the _wiggle_ was swerving to the southern bank of the river, and two majestic flamingos standing at the water's edge had arrested the girl's attention. "_they're_ bad eatin', too," said the informative bones. "the flesh is fishy an' too fat; heron are just the same." "haven't you a soul, bones?" she asked severely. "a soul, dear ma'am?" bones asked, in astonishment. "why, that's my specialty!" it was a delightful morning for the girl, for bones had retired to his cabin at her earnest request, and was struggling with the company accounts, and she was left to enjoy the splendour of the day, to watch the iron-red waters piling up against the _wiggle's_ bows, to feel the cool breezes that swept down from the far-away mountains, and all this without being under the necessity of making conversation with bones. that gentleman had a no less profitable morning, for ali abid was a methodical and clerkly man, and unearthed the missing thirty-nine dollars in the compensation record. "thank goodness!" said bones, relieved. "you're a jolly old accountant, ali. i'd never have found it." "sir," said ali, "some subjects, by impetuous application, omit vision of intricate detail. this is due to subjects' lack of concentration." "have it your way," said bones, "but get the statement out for me to copy." he awoke the girl from a profound reverie--which centred about shy and solemn bachelors who adopted whole nations of murderous children as their own--and proceeded to "take charge." this implied the noisy issuing of orders which nobody carried out, the manipulation of a telescope, anxious glances at the heavens, deep and penetrating scrutinies of the water, and a promenade back and forward from one side of the launch to the other. bones called this "pacing the bridge," and invariably carried his telescope tucked under his arm in the process, and, as he had to step over pat's feet every time, and sometimes didn't, she arrested his nautical wanderings. "you make me dizzy," she said. "and isn't that the island?" * * * * * in the early hours of the afternoon they re-embarked, the _capita_ of the village coming to the beach to see them off. they brought back with them a collection of spear-heads, gruesome execution knives, elephant swords, and wonder-working steel figures. "and the lunch was simply lovely, bones," agreed the girl, as the _wiggle_ turned her nose homeward. "really, you can be quite clever sometimes." "dear old miss hamilton," said bones, "you saw me to-day as i really am. the mask was off, and the real bones, kindly, thoughtful, considerate, an'--if i may use the word without your foundin' any great hope upon it--tender. you saw me free from carkin' care, alert----" "go along and finish your accounts, like a good boy," she said. "i'm going to doze." doze she did, for it was a warm, dozy afternoon, and the boat was running swiftly and smoothly with the tide. bones yawned and wrote, copying ali's elaborate and accurate statement, whilst ali himself slept contentedly on the top of the cabin. even the engineer dozed at his post, and only one man was wide awake and watchful--yoka, whose hands turned the wheel mechanically, whose dark eyes never left the river ahead, with its shoals, its sandbanks, and its snags, known and unknown. two miles from headquarters, where the river broadens before it makes its sweep to the sea, there are three islands with narrow passages between. at this season only one such passage--the centre of all--is safe. this is known as "the passage of the tree," because all boats, even the _zaire_, must pass so close beneath the overhanging boughs of a great lime that the boughs brush their very funnels. fortunately, the current is never strong here, for the passage is a shallow one. yoka felt the boat slowing as he reached shoal water, and brought her nearer to the bank of the island. he had reached the great tree, when a noose dropped over him, tightened about his arms, and, before he could do more than lock the wheel, he was jerked from the boat and left swinging between bough and water. "o yoka," chuckled a voice from the bough, "between sunrise and moonset is no long time for a man to be with his wife!" * * * * * bones had finished his account, and was thinking. he thought with his head on his hands, with his eyes shut, and his mouth open, and his thought was accompanied by strange guttural noises. patricia hamilton was also thinking, but much more gracefully. boosoobi sat by his furnace door, nodding. sometimes he looked at the steam gauge, sometimes he kicked open the furnace door and chucked in a few billets of wood, but, in the main, he was listening to the soothing "chook-a-chook, chook-a-chook" of his well-oiled engines. "woo-yow!" yawned bones, stretched himself, and came blinking into the sunlight. the sun was nearly setting. "what the dooce----" said bones. he stared round. the _wiggle_ had run out from the mouth of the river and was at sea. there was no sign of land of any description. the low-lying shores of the territory had long since gone under the horizon. bones laid his hand on the shoulder of the sleeping girl, and she woke with a start. "dear old shipmate," he said, and his voice trembled, "we're alone on this jolly old ocean! lost the steersman!" she realized the seriousness of the situation in a moment. the dozing engineer, now wide awake, came aft at bones's call, and accepted the disappearance of the steersman without astonishment. "we'll have to go back," said bones, as he swung the wheel round. "i don't think i'm wrong in sayin' that the east is opposite to the west, an', if that's true, we ought to be home in time for dinner." "sar," said boosoobi, who, being a coast boy, elected to speak english, "dem wood she no lib." "hey?" gasped bones, turning pale. "dem wood she be done. i look um. i see um. i no find um." bones sat down heavily on the rail. "what does he say?" pat asked anxiously. "he says there's no more wood," said bones. "the horrid old bunkers are empty, an' we're at the mercy of the tempest." "oh, bones!" she cried, in consternation. but bones had recovered. "what about swimmin' to shore with a line?" he said. "it can't be more than ten miles!" it was ali abid who prevented the drastic step. "sir," he said, "the subject on such occasions should act with deliberate reserve. proximity of land presupposes research. the subject should assist rather than retard research by passivity of action, easy respiration, and general normality of temperature." "which means, dear old miss hamilton, that you've got to keep your wool on," explained bones. what might have happened is not to be recorded, for at that precise moment the s.s. _paretta_ came barging up over the horizon. there was still steam in the _wiggle's_ little boiler, and one log of wood to keep it at pressure. bones was incoherent, but again ali came to the rescue. "sir," he said, "for intimating sos-ness there is upon steamer or launch certain scientific apparatus, unadjusted, but susceptible to treatment." "the wireless!" spluttered bones. "good lor', the wireless!" twenty minutes later the _wiggle_ ran alongside the gangway of the s.s. _paretta_, anticipating the arrival of the _zaire_ by half an hour. the s.s. _paretta_ was at anchor when sanders brought the _zaire_ to the scene. he saw the _wiggle_ riding serenely by the side of the great ship, looking for all the world like a humming bird under the wings of an ostrich, and uttered a little prayer of thankfulness. "they're safe," he said to hamilton. "o yoka, take the _zaire_ to the other side of the big boat." "master, do we go back to-night to seek ko-boru?" asked yoka, who was bearing marks which indicated his strenuous experience, for he had fought his way clear of his captors, and had swum with the stream to headquarters. "to-morrow is also a day," quoth sanders. hamilton was first on the deck of the s.s. _paretta_, and found his sister and a debonair and complacent bones waiting for him. with them was an officer whom hamilton recognized. "company accounts all correct, sir," said bones, "audited by the jolly old paymaster"--he saluted the other officer--"an' found correct, sir, thus anticipatin' all your morose an' savage criticisms." hamilton gripped his hand and grinned. "bones was really wonderful," said the girl, "they wouldn't have seen us if it hadn't been for his idea." "saved by wireless, sir," said bones nonchalantly. "it was a mere nothin'--just a flash of inspiration." "you got the wireless to work?" asked hamilton incredulously. "no, sir," said bones. "but i wanted a little extra steam to get up to the ship, so i burnt the dashed thing. i knew it would come in handy sooner or later." chapter v the remedy beyond the far hills, which no man of the ochori passed, was a range of blue mountains, and behind this again was the l'mandi country. this adventurous hunting men of the ochori had seen, standing in a safe place on the edge of the great king's country. also n'gombi people, who are notoriously disrespectful of all ghosts save their own, had, upon a time, penetrated the northern forest to a high knoll which nature had shaped to the resemblance of a hayrick. a huntsman climbing this after his lawful quarry might gain a nearer view of the blue mountains, all streaked with silver at certain periods of the year, when a hundred streams came leaping with feathery feet from crag to crag to strengthen the forces of the upper river, or, as some said, to create through underground channels the big lakes m'soobo and t'sambi at the back of the n'gombi country. and on summer nights, when the big yellow moon came up and showed all things in her own chaste way, you might see from the knoll of the hayrick these silver ribbons all a-glitter, though the bulk of the mountain was lost to sight. the river folk saw little of the l'mandi, because l'mandi territory lies behind the country of the great king, who looked with a jealous eye upon comings and goings in his land, and severely restricted the movement and the communications of his own people. the great king followed his uncle in the government of the pleasant o'mongo lands, and he had certain advantages and privileges, the significance of which he very imperfectly interpreted. his uncle had died suddenly at the hands of mr. commissioner sanders, c.m.g., and the land itself might have passed to the protection of the crown, for there was gold in the country in large and payable quantities. that such a movement was arrested was due largely to the l'mandi and the influence they were able to exercise upon the european powers by virtue of their military qualities. downing street was all for a permanent occupation of the chief city and the institution of a conventional _rã©gime_; but the l'mandi snarled, clicked their heels, and made jingling noises with their great swords, and there was at that moment a government in office in england which was rather impressed by heel-clicking and sword-jingling, and so the territory of the great king was left intact, and was marked on all maps as omongoland, and coloured red, as being within the sphere of british influence. on the other hand, the l'mandi people had it tinted yellow, and described it as an integral portion of the german colonial empire. there was little communication between l'mandi and sanders's territory, but that little was more than enough for the commissioner, since it took the shape of evangelical incursions carried out by missionaries who were in the happy position of not being obliged to say as much as "by your leave," since they had secured from a government which was, as i say, impressed by heel-clicking and sword-jingling, an impressive document, charging "all commissioners, sub-commissioners, magistrates, and officers commanding our native forces," to give facilities to these good christian gentlemen. there were missionaries in the territories who looked askance at their brethren, and ferguson, of the river mission, made a journey to headquarters to lay his views upon the subject before the commissioner. "these fellows aren't missionaries at all, mr. sanders; they are just political agents utilizing sacred symbols to further a political propaganda." "that is a government palaver," smiled sanders, and that was all the satisfaction ferguson received. nevertheless, sanders was watchful, for there were times when the l'mandi missioners and their friends strayed outside their sphere. once the l'mandi folk had landed in a village in the middle ochori, had flogged the headman, and made themselves free of the commodities which the people of the village had put aside for the payment of their taxation. in his wrath, bosambo, the chief, had taken ten war canoes; but sanders, who had been in the akasava on a shooting trip, was there before him, and had meted out swift justice to the evil-doers. "and let me tell you, bosambo," said sanders severely, "that you shall not bring spears except at my word." "lord," said bosambo, frankness itself, "if i disobeyed you, it was because i was too hot to think." sanders nodded. "that i know," he said. "now i tell you this, bosambo, and this is the way of very wise men--that when they go to do evil things with a hot heart, they first sleep, and in their sleep their spirits go free and talk with the wise and the dead, and when they wake, their hearts are cool, and they see all the folly of the night, and their eyes are bright for their own faults." "master," said bosambo, "you are my father and my mother, and all the people of the river you carry in your arms. now i say to you that when i go to do an evil thing i will first sleep, and i will make all my people sleep also." there are strange stories in circulation as to the manner in which bosambo carried out this novel reform. there is the story of an ochori wife-beater who, adjured by his chief, retired to slumber on his grievance, and came to his master the following morning with the information that he had not closed his eyes. whereupon bosambo clubbed him insensible, in order that sanders's plan might have a fair chance. at least, this is the story which hamilton retailed at breakfast one morning. sanders, appealed to for confirmation, admitted cautiously that he had heard the legend, but did not trouble to make an investigation. "the art of governing a native country," he said, "is the art of not asking questions." "but suppose you want to know something?" demanded patricia. "then," said sanders, with a twinkle in his eyes, "you must pretend that you know." "what is there to do to-day?" asked hamilton, rolling his serviette. he addressed himself to lieutenant tibbetts, who, to sanders's intense annoyance, invariably made elaborate notes of all the commissioner said. "nothin' until this afternoon, sir," said bones, closing his notebook briskly, "then we're doin' a little deep-sea fishin'." the girl made a grimace. "we didn't catch anything yesterday, bones," she objected. "we used the wrong kind of worm," said bones confidently. "i've found a new worm nest in the plantation. jolly little fellers they are, too." "what are we doing to-day, bones?" repeated hamilton ominously. bones puckered his brows. "deep-sea fishin', dear old officer and comrade," he repeated, "an' after dinner a little game of tiddly-winks--bones _v._ jolly old hamilton's sister, for the championship of the river an' the sanders cup." hamilton breathed deeply, but was patient. "your king and your country," he said, "pay you seven and eightpence per diem----" "oh," said bones, a light dawning, "you mean _work_?" "strange, is it not," mused hamilton, "that we should consider----hullo!" they followed the direction of his eyes. a white bird was circling groggily above the plantation, as though uncertain where to alight. there was weariness in the beat of its wings, in the irregularity of its flight. bones leapt over the rail of the verandah and ran towards the square. he slowed down as he came to a place beneath the bird, and whistled softly. bones's whistle was a thing of remarkable sweetness--it was his one accomplishment, according to hamilton, and had neither tune nor rhyme. it was a succession of trills, rising and falling, and presently, after two hesitating swoops, the bird rested on his outstretched hand. he came back to the verandah and handed the pigeon to sanders. the commissioner lifted the bird and with gentle fingers removed the slip of thin paper fastened to its leg by a rubber band. before he opened the paper he handed the weary little servant of the government to an orderly. "lord, this is sombubo," said abiboo, and he lifted the pigeon to his cheek, "and he comes from the ochori." sanders had recognized the bird, for sombubo was the swiftest, the wisest, and the strongest of all his messengers, and was never dispatched except on the most critical occasions. he smoothed the paper and read the letter, which was in arabic. "from the servant of god bosambo, in the ochori city, to sandi, where-the-sea-runs. "there have come three white men from the l'mandi country, and they have crossed the mountains. they sit with the akasava in full palaver. they say there shall be no more taxes for the people of the river, but there shall come a new king greater than any. and every man shall have goats and salt and free hunting. they say the akasava shall be given all the ochori country, also guns like the white man. many guns and a thousand carriers are in the mountains waiting to come. i hold the ochori with all my spears. also the isisi chief calls his young men for your king. "peace be on your house in the name of allah compassionate and merciful." "m-m!" said sanders, as he folded the paper. "i'm afraid there will be no fishing this afternoon. bones, take the _wiggle_ and get up to the akasava as fast as you can; i will follow on the _zaire_. abiboo!" "lord?" "you will find me a swift ochori pigeon. hamilton, scribble a line to bosambo, and say that he shall meet bones by sokala's village." half an hour later bones was sending incomprehensible semaphore signals of farewell as the _wiggle_ slipped round the bend of the river. sokala, a little chief of the isisi, was a rich man. he had ten wives, each of whom lived in her own hut. also each wife wore about her neck a great ring of brass weighing twenty pounds, to testify to the greatness and wealth of her lord. sokala was wizened and lined of face, and across his forehead were many deep furrows, and it seemed that he lived in a state of perplexity as to what should become of all his riches when he died, for he was cursed with ten daughters--o'femi, jubasami, k'sola, m'kema, wasonga, mombari, et cetera. when wasonga was fourteen, there was revealed to sokala, her father, a great wonder. the vision came at the tail end of a year of illness, when his head had ached for weeks together, and not even the brass wire twisted lightly about his skull brought him relief. sokala was lying on his fine bed of skins, wondering why strange animals sat by the fire in the centre of his hut, and why they showed their teeth and talked in human language. sometimes they were leopards, sometimes they were little white-whiskered monkeys that scratched and told one another stories, and these monkeys were the wisest of all, for they discussed matters which were of urgency to the sick man rolling restlessly from side to side. on this great night two such animals had appeared suddenly, a big grey fellow with a solemn face, and a very little one, and they sat staring into the fire, mechanically seeking their fleas until the little one spoke. "sokala is very rich and has ten daughters." "that is true," said the other; "also he will die because he has no son." sokala's heart beat furiously with fear, but he listened when the little black monkey spoke. "if sokala took wasonga, his daughter, into the forest near to the tree and slew her, his daughters would become sons and he would grow well." and the other monkey nodded. as they talked, sokala recognized the truth of all that they had said. he wondered that he had never thought of the matter before in this way. all night long he lay thinking--thinking--long after the fires had died down to a full red glow amidst white ashes, and the monkeys had vanished. in the cold dawn his people found him sitting on the side of the bed, and marvelled that he should have lived the night through. "send me wasonga, my daughter," he said, and they brought a sleepy girl of fourteen, tall, straight, and wholly reluctant. "we go a journey," said sokala, and took from beneath his bed his wicker shield and his sharp-edged throwing-spear. "sokala hunts," said the people of the village significantly, and they knew that the end was very near, for he had been a great hunter, and men turn in death to the familiar pursuits of life. three miles on the forest road to the isisi city, sokala bade his daughter sit on the ground. bones had met and was in earnest conversation with the chief of the ochori, the _wiggle_ being tied up at a wooding, when he heard a scream, and saw a girl racing through the wood towards him. behind her, with the foolish stare on his face which comes to men in the last stages of sleeping sickness, his spear balanced, came sokala. the girl tumbled in a wailing, choking heap at bones's feet, and her pursuer checked at the sight of the white man. "i see you, sokala,"[2] said bones gently. [footnote 2: the native equivalent for "good morning."] "lord," said the old man, blinking at the officer of the houssas, "you shall see a wonderful magic when i slay this woman, for my daughters shall be sons, and i shall be a well man." bones took the spear from his unresisting hand. "i will show you a greater magic, sokala, for i will give you a little white stone which will melt like salt in your mouth, and you shall sleep." the old man peered from lieutenant tibbetts to the king of the ochori. he watched bones as he opened his medicine chest and shook out two little white pellets from a bottle marked "veronal," and accepted them gratefully. "god bless my life," cried bones, "don't chew 'em, you dear old silly--swallow 'em!" "lord," said sokala soberly, "they have a beautiful and a magic taste." bones sent the frightened girl back to the village, and made the old man sit by a tree. "o tibbetti," said bosambo, in admiration, "that was a good palaver. for it is better than the letting of blood, and no one will know that sokala did not die in his time." bones looked at him in horror. "goodness gracious heavens, bosambo," he gasped, "you don't think i've poisoned him?" "master," said bosambo, nodding his head, "he die one time--he not fit for lib--you give um plenty no-good stuff. you be fine christian feller same like me." bones wiped the perspiration from his brow and explained the action of veronal. bosambo was sceptical. even when sokala fell into a profound slumber, bosambo waited expectantly for his death. and when he realized that bones had spoken the truth, he was a most amazed man. "master," he said, in that fluid ochori dialect which seems to be made up of vowels, "this is a great magic. now i see very surely that you hold wonderful ju-jus, and i have wronged you, for i thought you were without wisdom." "cheer-oh!" said the gratified bones. * * * * * near by the city of the akasava is a small hill on which no vegetation grows, though it rises from a veritable jungle of undergrowth. the akasava call this place the hill of the women, because it was here that m'lama, the king of the akasava, slew a hundred akasava maidens to propitiate m'shimba m'shamba, the god of storms. it was on the topmost point of the hill that sanders erected a fine gallows and hung m'lama for his country's good. it had always been associated with the spiritual history of the akasava, for ghosts and devils and strange ju-jus had their home hereabouts, and every great decision at which the people arrived was made upon its slopes. at the crest there was a palaver house--no more than a straw-thatched canopy affording shelter for four men at the most. on a certain afternoon all the chiefs, great and minor, the headmen, the warriors, and the leaders of fishing villages of the akasava, squatted in a semicircle and listened to the oration of a bearded man, who spoke easily in the river dialect of the happy days which were coming to the people. by his side were two other white men--a tall, clean-shaven man with spectacles, and a stouter man with a bristling white moustache. had the bearded man's address been in plain english, or even plain german, and had it been delivered to european hearers accustomed to taking its religion in allegories and symbols, it would have been harmless. as it was, the illustrations and the imagery which the speaker employed had no other interpretation to the simple-minded akasava than a purely material one. "i speak for the great king," said the orator, throwing out his arms, "a king who is more splendid than any. he has fierce and mighty armies that cover the land like ants. he holds thunder and lightning in his hand, and is greater than m'shimba m'shamba. he is the friend of the black man and the white, and will deliver you from all oppression. he will give you peace and full crops, and make you _capita_ over your enemies. when he speaks, all other kings tremble. he is a great buffalo, and the pawing of his hoofs shakes the earth. "this he says to you, the warrior people of the akasava----" the message was destined to be undelivered. heads began to turn, and there was a whisper of words. some of the audience half rose, some on the outskirts of the gathering stole quietly away--the lesser chiefs were amongst these--and others, sitting stolidly on, assumed a blandness and a scepticism of demeanour calculated to meet the needs of the occasion. for sanders was at the foot of the hill, a trim figure in white, his solar helmet pushed back to cover the nape of his neck from the slanting rays of the sun, and behind sanders were two white officers and a company of houssas with fixed bayonets. not a word said sanders, but slowly mounted the hill of the dead. he reached the palaver house and turned. "let no man go," he said, observing the disposition of the gathering to melt away, "for this is a great palaver, and i come to speak for these god-men." the bearded orator glared at the commissioner and half turned to his companions. the stout man with the moustache said something quickly, but sanders silenced him with a gesture. "o people," said sanders, "you all know that under my king men may live in peace, and death comes quickly to those who make war. also you may worship in what manner you desire, though it be my god or the famous gods of your fathers. and such as preach of god or gods have full liberty. who denies this?" "lord, you speak the truth," said an eager headman. "therefore," said sanders, "my king has given these god-men a book[3] that they may speak to you, and they have spoken. of a great king they tell. also of wonders which will come to you if you obey him. but this king is the same king of whom the god-cross men and the water-god men tell. for he lives beyond the stars, and his name is god. tell me, preacher, if this is the truth?" [footnote 3: a book = written permission, any kind of document or writing.] the bearded man swallowed something and muttered, "this is true." "also, there is no king in this world greater than my king, whom you serve," sanders continued, "and it is your duty to be obedient to him, and his name is d'jorja." sanders raised his hand to his helmet in salute. "this also the god-men will tell you." he turned to the three evangelists. herr professor wiessmann hesitated for the fraction of a second. the pause was pardonable, for he saw the undoing of three months' good work, and his thoughts at that moment were with a certain party of carriers who waited in the mountains. "the question of earthly and heavenly dominion is always debatable," he began in english, but sanders stopped him. "we will speak in the akasava tongue," he said, "and let all men hear. tell me, shall my people serve my king, or shall they serve another?" "they shall serve your king," growled the man, "for it is the law." "thank you," said sanders in english. the gathering slowly dispersed, leaving only the white men on the hill and a few lingering folk at the foot, watching the stolid native soldiery with an apprehension born of experience. "we should like you to dine with us," said sanders pleasantly. the leader of the l'mandi mission hesitated, but the thin man with the spectacles, who had been silent, answered for him. "we shall be pleased, mr. commissioner," he said. "after eating with these swine for a month, a good dinner would be very acceptable." sanders said nothing, though he winced at the inelegant description of his people, and the three evangelists went back to their huts, which had been built for their use by the akasava chief. an hour later that worthy sent for a certain witch-doctor. "go secretly," he said, "and call all headmen and chiefs to the breaking tree in the forest. there they shall be until the moon comes up, and the l'mandi lords will come and speak freely. and you shall tell them that the word he spoke before sandi was no true word, but to-night he shall speak the truth, and when sandi is gone we shall have wonderful guns and destroy all who oppose us." this the witch-doctor did, and came back by the river path. here, by all accounts, he met bosambo, and would have passed on; but the chief of the ochori, being in a curious mind and being, moreover, suspicious, was impressed by the importance of the messenger, and made inquiries.... an old man is a great lover of life, and after the witch-doctor's head had been twice held under water--for the river was providentially near--he gasped the truth. * * * * * the three missioners were very grateful guests indeed. they were the more grateful because patricia hamilton was an unexpected hostess. they clicked their heels and kissed her hand and drank her health many times in good hock. the dinner was a feast worthy of lucullus, they swore, the wine was perfect, and the coffee--which abiboo handed round with a solemn face--was wonderful. they sat chatting for a time, and then the bearded man looked at his watch. "to bed, gentlemen," he said gaily. "we leave you, herr commissioner, in good friendship, we trust?" "oh, most excellent," said sanders awkwardly, for he was a poor liar, and knew that his spies were waiting on the bank to "pick up" these potential enemies of his. he watched them go ashore and disappear into the darkness of the forest path that leads to the village. the moon was rising over the tall trees, and an expectant gathering of akasava notables were waiting for a white spokesman who came not, when bosambo and his bodyguard were engaged in lifting three unconscious men and laying them in a large canoe. he himself paddled the long boat to midstream, where two currents run swiftly, one to the sea and one to the isisi river, which winds for a hundred miles until it joins the congo. "go with god," said bosambo piously, as he stepped into his own canoe, and released his hold of the other with its slumbering freight, "for if your king is so great, he will bring you to your own lands; and if he is not great, then you are liars. o abiboo"--he spoke over his shoulder to the sergeant of houssas--"tell me, how many of the magic white stones of bonesi did you put in their drink?" "bosambo, i put four in each, as you told me, and if my lord tibbetti misses them, what shall i say?" "you shall say," said bosambo, "that this is sandi's own word--that when men plan evils they must first sleep. and i think these men will sleep for a long time. perhaps they will sleep for ever--all things are with god." chapter vi the medicine man at the flood season, before the turbulent tributaries of the isisi river had been induced to return to their accustomed channels, sanders came back to headquarters a very weary man, for he had spent a horrid week in an endeavour--successful, but none the less nerve-racking--to impress an indolent people that the swamping of their villages was less a matter of providence and ghosts than the neglect of elementary precaution. "for i told you, ranabini," said an exasperated sanders, "that you should keep the upper channel free from trees and branches, and i have paid you many bags of salt for your services." "lord, it is so," said ranabini, scratching his brown leg thoughtfully. "at the full of the moon, before the rains, did i not ask you if the channel was clear, and did you not say it was like the street of your village?" demanded sanders, in wrath. "lord," said ranabini frankly, "i lied to you, thinking your lordship was mad. for what other man would foresee with his wonderful eye that rains would come? therefore, lord, i did not think of the upper channel, and many trees floated down and made a little dam. lord, i am an ignorant man, and my mind is full of my own brother, who has come from a long distance to see me, for he is a very sick man." sanders's mind was occupied by no thought of ranabini's sick brother, as the dazzling white _zaire_ went thrashing her way down stream. for he himself was a tired man, and needed rest, and there was a dose of malaria looming in the offing, as his aching head told him. it was as though his brains were arranged in slats, like a venetian blind, and these slats were opening and closing swiftly, bringing with each lightning flicker a momentary unconsciousness. captain hamilton met him on the quay, and when sanders landed--walking a thought unsteadily, and instantly began a long and disjointed account of his adventures on a norwegian salmon river--hamilton took him by the arm and led the way to the bungalow. in ten minutes he was assisting sanders into his pyjamas, sanders protesting, albeit feebly, and when, after forcing an astonishing amount of quinine and arsenic down his chief's throat, hamilton came from the semi-darkness of the bungalow to the white glare of the barrack square, hamilton was thoughtful. "let one of your women watch by the bed of the lord sandi," said he to sergeant abiboo, of the houssas, "and she shall call me if he grows worse." "on my life," said abiboo, and was going off. "where is tibbetti?" asked hamilton. the sergeant turned back and seemed embarrassed. "lord," he said, "tibbetti has gone with the lady, your sister, to make a palaver with jimbujini, the witch-doctor of the akasava. they sit in the forest in a magic circle, and lo! tibbetti grows very wise." hamilton swore under his breath. he had ordered lieutenant tibbetts, his second-in-command, prop, stay, and aide-de-camp, to superintend the drill of some raw kano recruits who had been sent from the coast. "go tell the lord tibbetti to come to me," he said, "but first send your woman to sandi." lieutenant tibbetts, with his plain, boyish face all red with his exertions, yet dignified withal, came hurriedly from his studies. "come aboard, sir," he said, and saluted extravagantly, blinking at his superior with a curious solemnity of mien which was his own peculiar expression. "bones," said hamilton, "where the dickens have you been?" bones drew a long breath. he hesitated, then-"knowledge," he said shortly. hamilton looked at his subordinate in alarm. "dash it, you aren't off your head, too, are you?" bones shook his head with vigour. "knowledge of the occult, sir and brother-officer," he said. "one is never too old to learn, sir, in this jolly old world." "quite right," said hamilton; "in fact, i'm pretty certain that you'll never live long enough to learn everything." "thank you, sir," said bones. the girl, who had had less qualms than bones when the summons arrived, and had, in consequence, returned more leisurely, came into the room. "pat," said her brother, "sanders is down with fever." "fever!" she said a little breathlessly. "it isn't--dangerous?" bones, smiling indulgently, soothed her. "nothin' catchin', dear miss patricia hamilton," he began. "please don't be stupid," she said so fiercely that bones recoiled. "do you think i'm afraid of catching anything? is it dangerous for mr. sanders?" she asked her brother. "no more dangerous than a cold in the head," he answered flippantly. "my dear child, we all have fever. you'll have it, too, if you go out at sunset without your mosquito boots." he explained, with the easy indifference of a man inured to malaria, the habits of the mosquito--his predilection for ankles and wrists, where the big veins and arteries are nearer to the surface--but the girl was not reassured. she would have sat up with sanders, but the idea so alarmed hamilton that she abandoned it. "he'd never forgive me," he said. "my dear girl, he'll be as right as a trivet in the morning." she was sceptical, but, to her amazement, sanders turned up at breakfast his usual self, save that he was a little weary-eyed, and that his hand shook when he raised his coffee-cup to his lips. a miracle, thought patricia hamilton, and said so. "not at all, dear miss," said bones, now, as ever, accepting full credit for all phenomena she praised, whether natural or supernatural. "this is simply nothin' to what happened to me. ham, dear old feller, do you remember when i was brought down from the machengombi river? simply delirious--ravin'--off my head." "so much so," said hamilton, slicing the top off his egg, "that we didn't think you were ill." "if you'd seen me," bones went on, solemnly shaking one skinny forefinger at the girl, "you'd have said: 'bones is for the high jump.'" "i should have said nothing so vulgar, bones," she retorted. "and was it malaria?" "ah," said hamilton triumphantly, "i was too much of a gentleman to hint that it wasn't. press the question, pat." bones shrugged his shoulders and cast a look of withering contempt upon his superior. "in the execution of one's duty, dear miss patricia h," he said, "the calibre of the gun that lays a fellow low, an' plunges his relations an' creditors into mournin', is beside the point. the only consideration, as dear old omar says, is- "'the movin' finger hits, an', havin' hit, moves on, tum tumty tumty tay, and all a feller does won't make the slightest difference.'" "is that omar or shakespeare?" asked the dazed hamilton. "be quiet, dear. what was the illness, bones?" "measles," said hamilton brutally, "and german measles at that." "viciously put, dear old officer, but, nevertheless, true," said bones buoyantly. "but when the hut's finished, i'll return good for evil. there's goin' to be a revolution, miss patricia hamilton. no more fever, no more measles--health, wealth, an' wisdom, by gad!" "sunstroke," diagnosed hamilton. "pull yourself together, bones--you're amongst friends." but bones was superior to sarcasm. there was a creature of lieutenant tibbetts a solemn, brown man, who possessed, in addition to a vocabulary borrowed from a departed professor of bacteriology, a rough working knowledge of the classics. this man's name was, as i have already explained, abid ali or ali abid, and in him bones discovered a treasure beyond price. bones had recently built himself a large square hut near the seashore--that is to say, he had, with the expenditure of a great amount of midnight oil, a pair of compasses, a box of paints, and a t-square, evolved a somewhat complicated plan whereon certain blue oblongs stood for windows, and certain red cones indicated doors. to this he had added an elevation in the severe georgian style. with his plan beautifully drawn to scale, with sectional diagrams and side elevations embellishing its margin, he had summoned mojeri of the lower isisi, famous throughout the land as a builder of great houses, and to him he had entrusted the execution of his design. "this you shall build for me, mojeri," said bones, sucking the end of his pencil and gazing lovingly at the plan outspread before him, "and you shall be famous all through the world. this room shall be twice as large as that, and you shall cunningly contrive a passage so that i may move from one to the other, and none see me come or go. also, this shall be my sleeping-place, and this a great room where i will practise powerful magics." mojeri took the plan in his hand and looked at it. he turned it upside down and looked at it that way. then he looked at it sideways. "lord," said he, putting down the plan with a reverent hand, "all these wonders i shall remember." "and did he?" asked hamilton, when bones described the interview. bones blinked and swallowed. "he went away and built me a square hut--just a plain square hut. mojeri is an ass, sir--a jolly old fraud an' humbug, sir. he----" "let me see the plan," said hamilton, and his subordinate produced the cartridge paper. "h'm!" said hamilton, after a careful scrutiny. "very pretty. but how did you get into your room?" "through the door, dear old officer," said the sarcastic bones. "i thought it might be through the roof," said hamilton, "or possibly you made one of your famous dramatic entries through a star-trap in the floor- "'who is it speaks in those sepulchral tones? it is the demon king--the grisly bones! bing!' "and up you pop amidst red fire and smoke." a light dawned on bones. "do you mean to tell me, jolly old ham, that i forgot to put a door into my room?" he asked incredulously, and peered over his chief's shoulder. "that is what i mean, bones. and where does the passage lead to?" "that goes straight from my sleepin' room to the room marked l," said bones, in triumph. "then you _were_ going to be a demon king," said the admiring hamilton. "but fortunately for you, bones, the descent to l is not so easy--you've drawn a party wall across----" "l stands for laboratory," explained the architect hurriedly. "an' where's the wall? god bless my jolly old soul, so i have! anyway, that could have been rectified in a jiffy." "speaking largely," said hamilton, after a careful scrutiny of the plan, "i think mojeri has acted wisely. you will have to be content with the one room. what was the general idea of the house, anyway?" "science an' general illumination of the human mind," said bones comprehensively. "i see," said hamilton. "you were going to make fireworks. a splendid idea, bones." "painful as it is to undeceive you, dear old sir," said bones, with admirable patience, "i must tell you that i'm takin' up my medical studies where i left off. recently i've been wastin' my time, sir: precious hours an' minutes have been passed in frivolous amusement--_tempus fugit_, sir an' captain, _festina lente_, an' i might add----" "don't," begged hamilton; "you give me a headache." there was a look of interest in bones's eyes. "if i may be allowed to prescribe, sir----" he began. "thanks, i'd rather have the headache," replied hamilton hastily. it was nearly a week before the laboratory was fitted that bones gave a house-warming, which took the shape of an afternoon tea. bones, arrayed in a long white coat, wearing a ferocious lint mask attached to huge mica goggles, through which he glared on the world, met the party at the door and bade them a muffled welcome. they found the interior of the hut a somewhat uncomfortable place. the glass retorts, test tubes, bottles, and the paraphernalia of science which bones had imported crowded the big table, the shelves, and even overflowed on to the three available chairs. "welcome to my little workroom," said the hollow voice of bones from behind the mask. "wel----don't put your foot in the crucible, dear old officer! you're sittin' on the methylated spirits, ma'am! phew!" bones removed his mask and showed a hot, red face. "don't take it off, bones," begged hamilton; "it improves you." sanders was examining the microscope, which stood under a big glass shade. "you're very complete, bones," he said approvingly. "in what branch of science are you dabbling?" "tropical diseases, sir," said bones promptly, and lifted the shade. "i'm hopin' you'll allow me to have a look at your blood after tea." "thank you," said sanders. "you had better practise on hamilton." "don't come near me!" threatened hamilton. it was patricia who, when the tea-things had been removed, played the heroine. "take mine," she said, and extended her hand. bones found a needle, and sterilized it in the flame of a spirit lamp. "this won't hurt you," he quavered, and brought the point near the white, firm flesh. then he drew it back again. "this won't hurt you, dear old miss," he croaked, and repeated the performance. he stood up and wiped his streaming brow. "i haven't the heart to do it," he said dismally. "a pretty fine doctor you are, bones!" she scoffed, and took the needle from his hand. "there!" bones put the tiny crimson speck between his slides, blobbed a drop of oil on top, and focussed the microscope. he looked for a long time, then turned a scared face to the girl. "sleepin' sickness, poor dear old miss hamilton!" he gasped. "you're simply full of tryps! good lord! what a blessin' for you i discovered it!" sanders pushed the young scientist aside and looked. when he turned his head, the girl saw his face was white and drawn, and for a moment a sense of panic overcame her. "you silly ass," growled the commissioner, "they aren't trypnosomes! you haven't cleaned the infernal eyepiece!" "not trypnosomes?" said bones. "you seem disappointed, bones," said hamilton. "as a man, i'm overjoyed," replied bones gloomily; "as a scientist, it's a set-back, dear old officer--a distinct set-back." the house-warming lasted a much shorter time than the host had intended. this was largely due to the failure of a very beautiful experiment which he had projected. in order that the rare and wonderful result at which he aimed should be achieved, bones had the hut artificially darkened, and they sat in a hot and sticky blackness, whilst he knocked over bottles and swore softly at the instruments his groping hand could not discover. and the end of the experiment was a large, bad smell. "the women and children first," said hamilton, and dived for the door. they took farewell of bones at a respectful distance. hamilton went across to the houssa lines, and sanders walked back to the residency with the girl. for a little while they spoke of bones and his newest craze, and then suddenly the girl asked-"you didn't really think there were any of those funny things in my blood, did you?" sanders looked straight ahead. "i thought--you see, we know--the tryp is a distinct little body, and anybody who had lived in this part of the world for a time can pick him out. bones, of course, knows nothing thoroughly--i should have remembered that." she said nothing until they reached the verandah, and she turned to go to her room. "it wasn't nice, was it?" she said. sanders shook his head. "it was a taste of hell," he said simply. and she fetched a quick, long sigh and patted his arm before she realized what she was doing. bones, returning from his hut, met sanders hurrying across the square. "bones, i want you to go up to the isisi," said the commissioner. "there's an outbreak of some weird disease, probably due to the damming of the little river by ranabini, and the flooding of the low forests." bones brightened up. "sir an' excellency," he said gratefully, "comin' from you, this tribute to my scientific----" "don't be an ass, bones!" said sanders irritably. "your job is to make these beggars work. they'll simply sit and die unless you start them on drainage work. cut a few ditches with a fall to the river; kick ranabini for me; take up a few kilos of quinine and dose them." nevertheless, bones managed to smuggle on board quite a respectable amount of scientific apparatus, and came in good heart to the despondent folk of the lower isisi. three weeks after bones had taken his departure, sanders was sitting at dinner in a very thoughtful mood. patricia had made several ineffectual attempts to draw him into a conversation, and had been answered in monosyllables. at first she had been piqued and a little angry, but, as the meal progressed, she realized that matters of more than ordinary seriousness were occupying his thoughts, and wisely changed her attitude of mind. a chance reference to bones, however, succeeded where more pointed attempts had failed. "yes," said sanders, in answer to the question she had put, "bones has some rough idea of medical practice. he was a cub student at bart.'s for two years before he realized that surgery and medicines weren't his forte." "don't you sometimes feel the need of a doctor here?" she asked, and sanders smiled. "there is very little necessity. the military doctor comes down occasionally from headquarters, and we have a native apothecary. we have few epidemics amongst the natives, and those the medical missions deal with--sleep-sickness, beri-beri and the like. sometimes, of course, we have a pretty bad outbreak which spreads----don't go, hamilton--i want to see you for a minute." hamilton had risen, and was making for his room, with a little nod to his sister. at sanders's word he turned. "walk with me for a few minutes," said sanders, and, with an apology to the girl, he followed the other from the room. "what is it?" asked hamilton. sanders was perturbed--this he knew, and his own move towards his room was in the nature of a challenge for information. "bones," said the commissioner shortly. "do you realize that we have had no news from him since he left?" hamilton smiled. "he's an erratic beggar, but nothing could have happened to him, or we should have heard about it." sanders did not reply at once. he paced up and down the gravelled path before the residency, his hands behind him. "no news has come from ranabini's village for the simple reason that nobody has entered or left it since bones arrived," he said. "it is situated, as you know, on a tongue of land at the confluence of two rivers. no boat has left the beaches, and an attempt to reach it by land has been prevented by force." "by force?" repeated the startled hamilton. sanders nodded. "i had the report in this morning. two men of the isisi from another village went to call on some relations. they were greeted with arrows, and returned hurriedly. the headman of m'gomo village met with the same reception. this came to the ears of my chief spy ahmet, who attempted to paddle to the island in his canoe. at a distance of two hundred yards he was fired upon." "then they've got bones?" gasped hamilton. "on the contrary, bones nearly got ahmet, for bones was the marksman." the two men paced the path in silence. "either bones has gone mad," said hamilton, "or----" "or----?" hamilton laughed helplessly. "i can't fathom the mystery," he said. "mcmasters will be down to-morrow, to look at some sick men. we'll take him up, and examine the boy." it was a subdued little party that boarded the _zaire_ the following morning, and patricia hamilton, who came to see them off, watched their departure with a sense of impending trouble. dr. mcmasters alone was cheerful, for this excursion represented a break in a somewhat monotonous routine. "it may be the sun," he suggested. "i have known several fellows who have gone a little nutty from that cause. i remember a man at grand bassam who shot----" "oh, shut up, mac, you grisly devil!" snapped hamilton. "talk about butterflies." the _zaire_ swung round the bend of the river that hid ranabini's village from view, but had scarcely come into sight when-"ping!" sanders saw the bullet strike the river ahead of the boat, and send a spiral column of water shooting into the air. he put up his glasses and focussed them on the village beach. "bones!" he said grimly. "take her in, abiboo." as the steersman spun the wheel-"ping!" this time the shot fell to the right. the three white men looked at one another. "let every man take cover," said sanders quietly. "we're going to that beach even if bones has a battery of 75's!" an exclamation from hamilton arrested him. "he's signalling," said the houssa captain, and sanders put up his glasses again. bones's long arms were waving at ungainly angles as he semaphored his warning. hamilton opened his notebook and jotted down the message-"awfully sorry, dear old officer," he spelt, and grinned at the unnecessary exertion of this fine preliminary flourish, "but must keep you away. bad outbreak of virulent smallpox----" sanders whistled, and pulled back the handle of the engine-room telegraph to "stop." "my god!" said hamilton through his teeth, for he had seen such an outbreak once, and knew something of its horrors. whole districts had been devastated in a night. one tribe had been wiped out, and the rotting frames of their houses still showed amidst the tangle of elephant grass which had grown up through the ruins. he wiped his forehead and read the message a little unsteadily, for his mind was on his sister- "had devil of fight, and lost twenty men, but got it under. come and get me in three weeks. had to stay here for fear careless devils spreading disease." sanders looked at hamilton, and mcmasters chuckled. "this is where i get a swift vacation," he said, and called his servant. hamilton leapt on to the rail, and steadying himself against a stanchion, waved a reply-"we are sending you a doctor." back came the reply in agitated sweeps of arm-"doctor be blowed! what am i?" "what shall i say, sir?" asked hamilton after he had delivered the message. "just say 'a hero,'" said sanders huskily. chapter vii bones, king-maker patricia hamilton, an observant young lady, had not failed to notice that every day, at a certain hour, bones disappeared from view. it was not for a long time that she sought an explanation. "where is bones?" she asked one morning, when the absence of her cavalier was unusually protracted. "with his baby," said her brother. "please don't be comic, dear. where is bones? i thought i saw him with the ship's doctor." the mail had come in that morning, and the captain and surgeon of the s.s. _boma queen_ had been their guests at breakfast. hamilton looked up from his book and removed his pipe. "do you mean to tell me that bones has kept his guilty secret all this time?" he asked anxiously. she sat down by his side. "please tell me the joke. this isn't the first time you have ragged bones about 'the baby'; even mr. sanders has done it." she looked across at the commissioner with a reproving shake of her pretty head. "have _i_ ragged bones?" asked sanders, in surprise. "i never thought i was capable of ragging anybody." "the truth is, pat," said her brother, "there isn't any rag about the matter. bones adopted a piccanin." "a child?" "a baby about a month old. its mother died, and some old bird of a witch-doctor was 'chopping' it when bones appeared on the scene." patricia gave a little gurgle of delight and clapped her hands. "oh, please tell me everything about it." "it was sanders who told her of henry hamilton bones, his dire peril and his rescue; it was hamilton who embellished the story of how bones had given his adopted son his first bath. "just dropped him into a tub and stirred him round with a mop." soon after this bones came blithely up from the beach and across the parade-ground, his large pipe in his mouth, his cane awhirl. hamilton watched him from the verandah of the residency, and called over his shoulder to patricia. it had been an anxious morning for bones, and even hamilton was compelled to confess to himself that he had felt the strain, though he had not mentioned the fact to his sister. outside in the roadstead the intermediate elder dempster boat was waiting the return of the doctor. bones had been to see him off. an important day, indeed, for henry hamilton bones had been vaccinated. "i think it 'took,'" said bones gravely, answering the other's question. "i must say henry behaved like a gentleman." "what did fitz say?" (fitzgerald, the doctor, had come in accordance with his promise to perform the operation.) "fitz?" said bones, and his voice trembled. "fitz is a cad!" hamilton grinned. "he said that babies didn't feel pain, and there was henry howling his young head off. it was horrible!" bones wiped his streaming brow with a large and violent bandana, and looked round cautiously. "not a word, ham, to her!" he said, in a loud whisper. "sorry!" said hamilton, picking up his pipe. "her knows." "good gad!" said bones, in despair, and turned to meet the girl. "oh, bones!" she said reproachfully, "you never told me!" bones shrugged his shoulders, opened his mouth, dropped his pipe, blinked, spread out his hands in deprecation, and picked up his pipe. from which it may be gathered that he was agitated. "dear old miss hamilton," he said tremulously, "i should be a horrid bounder if i denied henry hamilton bones--poor little chap. if i never mentioned him, dear old sister, it is because----ah, well, you will never understand." he hunched his shoulders dejectedly. "don't be an ass, bones. why the dickens are you making a mystery of the thing?" asked hamilton. "i'll certify you're a jolly good father to the brat." "not 'brat,' dear old sir," begged bones. "henry is a human being with a human heart. that boy"--he wagged his finger solemnly--"knows me the moment i go into the hut. to see him sit up an' say 'da!' dear old sister hamilton," he went on incoherently, "to see him open his mouth with a smile, one tooth through, an' one you can feel with your little finger--why, it's--it's wonderful, jolly old miss hamilton! damn it, it's wonderful!" "bones!" cried the shocked girl. "i can't help it, madame," said bones miserably. "fitz cut his poor little, fat little arm. oh, fitz is a low cad! cut it, my dear old patricia, mercilessly--yes, mercilessly, brutally, an' the precious little blighter didn't so much as call for the police. good gad, it was terrible!" his eyes were moist, and he blew his nose with great vigour. "i'm sure it was awful," she soothed him. "may i come and see him?" bones raised a warning hand, and, though the habitat of the wonderful child could not have been less than half a mile away, lowered his voice. "he's asleep--fitfully, but asleep. i've told them to call me if he has a turn for the worse, an' i'm goin' down with a gramophone after dinner, in case the old fellow wants buckin' up. but now he's asleep, thankin' you for your great kindness an' sympathy, dear old miss, in the moment of singular trial." he took her hand and shook it heartily, tried to say something, and swallowed hard, then, turning, walked from the verandah in the direction of his hut. the girl was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. "what a boy!" she said, half to herself. sanders nodded. "bones is very nice," he said, and she looked at him curiously. "that is almost eloquent," she said quietly. "i thought it was rather bald," he replied. "you see, few people really understand bones. i thought, the first time i saw him, that he was a fool. i was wrong. then i thought he was effeminate. i was wrong again, for he has played the man whenever he was called upon to do so. bones is one of those rare creatures--a man with all the moral equipment of a good woman." her eyes were fixed on his, and for a moment they held. then hers dropped quickly, and she flushed ever so slightly. "i think you have defined the perfect man," she said, turning the leaves of her book. the next morning she was admitted to an audience with that paragon of paragons, henry hamilton bones. he lived in the largest of the houssa huts at the far end of the lines, and had for attendants two native women, for whom bones had framed the most stringent and regimental of orders. the girl paused in the porch of the hut to read the typewritten regulations which were fastened by drawing-pins to a green baize board. they were bi-lingual, being in english and in coast arabic, in which dialect bones was something of a master. the girl wondered why they should be in english. "absolutely necessary, dear old lady friend," explained bones firmly. "you've no idea what a lot of anxiety i have had. your dear old brother--god bless him!--is a topping old sport, but with children you can't be too careful, and ham is awfully thoughtless. there, i've said it!" the english part of the regulations was brief, and she read it through. henry hamilton bones (care of). 1. visitors are requested to make as little noise as possible. how would you like to be awakened from refreshing sleep! be unselfish, and put yourself in his place. 2. it is absolutely forbidden to feed the child except with articles a list of which may be obtained on application. nuts and chocolates are strictly forbidden. 3. the undersigned will not be responsible for articles broken by the child, such as watches. if watches are used to amuse child, they should be held by child's ear, when an interested expression will be observed on child's face. on no account should child be allowed--knowing no better--to bite watch, owing to danger from glass, minute hand, etc. 4. in lifting child, grasp above waist under arms and raise slowly, taking care that head does not fall back. bring child close to holder's body, passing left arm under child and right arm over. child should not be encouraged to sit up--though quite able to, being very forward for eight months--owing to strain on back. on no account should child be thrown up in the air and caught. 5. any further information can be obtained at hut 7. (signed) augustus tibbetts, lieutenant. "all based upon my personal observation and experience," said bones triumphantly--"not a single tip from anybody." "i think you are really marvellous, bones," said the girl, and meant it. henry hamilton bones sat upright in a wooden cot. a fat-faced atom of brown humanity, bald-headed and big-eyed, he sucked his thumb and stared at the visitor, and from the visitor to bones. bones he regarded with an intelligent interest which dissolved into a fat chuckle of sheer delight. "isn't it--isn't it simply extraordinary?" demanded bones ecstatically. "in all your long an' painful experience, dear old friend an' co-worker, have you ever seen anything like it? when you remember that babies don't open their eyes until three weeks after they're born----" "da!" said henry hamilton bones. "da yourself, henry!" squawked his foster-father. "do da!" said henry. the smile vanished from bones's face, and he bit his lip thoughtfully. "do da!" he repeated. "let me see, what is 'do da'?" "do da!" roared henry. "dear old miss hamilton," he said gently, "i don't know whether henry wants a drink or whether he has a pain in his stomach, but i think that we had better leave him in more experienced hands." he nodded fiercely to the native woman nurse and made his exit. outside they heard henry's lusty yell, and bones put his hand to his ear and listened with a strained expression on his face. presently the tension passed. "it _was_ a drink," said bones. "excuse me whilst i make a note." he pulled out his pocket-book and wrote: "'do da' means 'child wants drink.'" he walked back to the residency with her, giving her a remarkable insight into henry's vocabulary. it appeared that babies have a language of their own, which bones boasted that he had almost mastered. she lay awake for a very long time that night, thinking of bones, his simplicity and his lovableness. she thought, too, of sanders, grave, aloof, and a little shy, and wondered.... she woke with a start, to hear the voice of bones outside the window. she felt sure that something had happened to henry. then she heard sanders and her brother speaking, and realized that it was not henry they were discussing. she looked at her watch--it was three o'clock. "i was foolish to trust that fellow," sanders was saying, "and i know that bosambo is not to blame, because he has always given a very wide berth to the kulumbini people, though they live on his border." she heard him speak in a strange tongue to some unknown fourth, and guessed that a spy of the government had come in during the night. "we'll get away as quickly as we can, bones," sanders said. "we can take our chance with the lower river in the dark; it will be daylight before we reach the bad shoals. you need not come, hamilton." "do you think bones will be able to do all you want?" hamilton's tone was dubious. "pull yourself together, dear old officer," said bones, raising his voice to an insubordinate pitch. she heard the men move from the verandah, and fell asleep again, wondering who was the man they spoke of and what mischief he had been brewing. * * * * * on a little tributary stream, which is hidden by the island of bats, was the village of kulumbini. high elephant grass hid the poor huts even from they who navigate a cautious way along the centre of the narrow stream. on the shelving beach one battered old canoe of ironwood, with its sides broken and rusted, the indolence of its proprietor made plain by the badly spliced panels, was all that told the stranger that the habitations of man were nigh. kulumbini was a term of reproach along the great river and amongst the people of the akasava, the isisi, and the n'gombi, no less than among that most tolerant of tribes the ochori. they were savage people, immensely brave, terrible in battle, but more terrible after. kulumbini, the village and city of the tribe, was no more than an outlier of a fairly important tribe which occupied forest land stretching back to the ochori boundary. their territory knew no frontier save the frontiers of caprice and desire. they had neither nationality nor national ambition, and would sell their spears for a bunch of fish, as the saying goes. their one consuming passion and one great wish was that they should not be overlooked, and, so long as the tribes respected this eccentricity, the kulumbini distressed no man. how this desire for isolation arose, none know. it is certain that once upon a time they possessed a king who so shared their views that he never came amongst them, but lived in a forest place which is called to this day s'furi-s'foosi, "the trees (or glade) of the distant king." they had demurred at government inspection, and sanders, coming up the little river on the first of his visits, was greeted by a shower of arrows, and his landing opposed by locked shields. there are many ways of disposing of opposition, not the least important of which is to be found in two big brass-barrelled guns which have their abiding place at each end of the _zaire's_ bridge. there is also a method known as peaceful suasion. sanders had compromised by going ashore for a peace palaver with a revolver in each hand. he had a whole fund of bomongo stories, most of which are unfit for printing, but which, nevertheless, find favour amongst the primitive humorists of the great river. by parable and story, by nonsense tale and romance, by drawing upon his imagination to supply himself with facts, by invoking ju-jus, ghosts, devils, and all the armoury of native superstition, he had, in those far-off times, prevailed upon the people of kulumbini not only to allow him a peaceful entrance to their country, but--wonder of wonders!--to contribute, when the moon and tide were in certain relative positions, which in english means once every six months, a certain tithe or tax, which might consist of rubber, ivory, fish, or manioc, according to the circumstances of the people. more than this, he stamped a solemn treaty--he wrote it in a tattered laundry-book which had come into the chief's possession by some mysterious means--and he hung about the neck of gulabala, the titular lord of these strange people, the medal and chain of chieftainship. not to be outdone in courtesy, the chief offered him the choice of all the maidens of kulumbini, and sanders, to whom such offers were by no means novel, had got out of a delicate situation in his usual manner, having resort to witchcraft for the purpose. for he said, with due solemnity and hushed breath, that it had been predicted by a celebrated witch-doctor of the lower river that the next wife he should take to himself would die of the sickness-mongo, and said sanders-"my heart is too tender for your people, o chief, to lead one of your beautiful daughters to death." "o sandi," replied gulabala hopefully, "i have many daughters, and i should not miss one. and would it not be good service for a woman of my house to die in your hut?" "we see things differently, you and i," said sanders, "for, according to my religion, if any woman dies from witchcraft, her ghost sits for ever at the foot of my bed, making terrifying faces." thus sanders had made his escape, and had received at odd intervals the tribute of these remote people. for years they had dwelt without interference, for they were an unlucky people to quarrel with, and, save for one or two trespasses on the part of gulabala, there was no complaint made concerning them. it is not natural, however, for native people to prosper, as these folks did, without there growing up a desire to kill somebody. for does not the river saying run: "the last measure of a full granary is a measure of blood"? in the dead of a night gulabala took three hundred spears across the frontier to the ochori village of netcka, and returned at dawned with the spears all streaky. and he brought back with him some twenty women, who would have sung the death-song of their men but for the fact that gulabala and his warriors beat them. gulabala slept all the day, he and his spears, and woke to a grisly vision of consequence. he called his people together and spoke in this wise-"soon sandi and his headmen will come, and, if we are here, there will be many folk hanged, for sandi is a cruel man. therefore let us go to a far place in the forest, carrying our treasure, and when sandi has forgiven us, we will come back." a good plan but for the sad fact that bosambo of the ochori was less than fifty miles away at the dawn of that fatal day, and was marching swiftly to avenge his losses, for not only had gulabala taken women, but he had taken sixty goats, and that was unpardonable. the scouts which gulabala had sent out came back with the news that the way to sanctuary was barred by bosambo. now, of all the men that the kulumbini hated, they hated none more than the chief of the ochori. for he alone never scrupled to overlook them, and to dare their anger by flogging such of them as raided his territory in search of game. "ko," said gulabala, deeply concerned, "this bosambo is sandi's dog. let us go back to our village and say we have been hunting, for bosambo will not cross into our lands for fear of sandi's anger." they reached the village, and were preparing to remove the last evidence of their crime--one goat looks very much like another, but women can speak--when sanders came striding down the village street, and gulabala, with his curved execution knife in his hand, stood up by the side of the woman he had slain. "o gulabala," said sanders softly, "this is an evil thing." the chief looked left and right helplessly. "lord," he said huskily, "bosambo and his people put me to shame, for they spied on me and overlooked me. and we are proud people, who must not be overlooked--thus it has been for all time." sanders pursed his lips and stared at the man. "i see here a fine high tree," he said, "so high that he who hangs from its top branch may say that no man overlooks him. there you shall hang, gulabala, for your proud men to see, before they also go to work for my king, with chains upon their legs as long as they live." "lord," said gulabala philosophically, "i have lived." ten minutes later he went the swift way which bad chiefs go, and his people were unresentful spectators. "this is the tenth time i have had to find a new chief in this belt," said sanders, pacing the deck of the _zaire_, "and who on earth i am to put in his place i do not know." the _lokalis_ of the kulumbini were already calling headmen to grand palaver. in the shade of the reed-thatched _lokali_ house, before the hollow length of tree-trunk, the player worked his flat drumsticks of ironwood with amazing rapidity. the call trilled and rumbled, rising and falling, now a patter of light musical sound, now a low grumble. bosambo came--by the river route--as sanders was leaving the _zaire_ to attend the momentous council. "how say you, bosambo--what man of the kulumbini folk will hold these people in check?" bosambo squatted at his lord's feet and set his spear a-spinning. "lord," he confessed, "i know of none, for they are a strange and hateful people. whatever king you set above them they will despise. also they worship no gods or ghosts, nor have they ju-ju or fetish. and, if a man does not believe, how may you believe him? lord, this i say to you--set me above the kulumbini, and i will change their hearts." but sanders shook his head. "that may not be, bosambo," he said. the palaver was a long and weary one. there were twelve good claimants for the vacant stool of office, and behind the twelve there were kinsmen and spears. from sunset to nigh on sunrise they debated the matter, and sanders sat patiently through it all, awake and alert. whether this might be said of bones is questionable. bones swears that he did not sleep, and spent the night, chin in hand, turning over the problem in his mind. it is certain he was awake when sanders gave his summing up. "people of this land," said sanders, "four fires have been burnt since we met, and i have listened to all your words. now, you know how good it is that there should be one you call chief. yet, if i take you, m'loomo"--he turned to one sullen claimant--"there will be war. and if i take b'songi, there will be killing. and i have come to this mind--that i will appoint a king over you who shall not dwell with you nor overlook you." two hundred pairs of eyes watched the commissioner's face. he saw the gleam of satisfaction which came at this concession to the traditional characteristic of the tribe, and went on, almost completely sure of his ground. "he shall dwell far away, and you, the twelve kinsmen of gulabala, shall reign in his place--one at every noon shall sit in the chief's chair and keep the land for your king, who shall dwell with me." one of the prospective regents rose. "lord, that is good talk, for so did sakalaba, the great king of our race, live apart from us at s'furi-s'foosi, and were we not prosperous in those days? now tell us what man you will set over us." for one moment sanders was nonplussed. he was rapidly reviewing the qualifications of all the little chiefs, the headmen, and the fisher leaders who sat under him, and none fulfilled his requirements. in that moment of silence an agitated voice whispered in his ear, and bones's lean hand clutched his sleeve. "sir an' excellency," breathed bones, all of a twitter, "don't think i'm takin' advantage of my position, but it's the chance i've been lookin' for, sir. you'd do me an awful favour--you see, sir, i've got his career to consider----" "what on earth----" began sanders. "henry hamilton bones, sir," said bones tremulously. "you'd set him up for life, sir. i must think of the child, hang it all! i know i'm a jolly old rotter to put my spoke in----" sanders gently released the frenzied grip of his lieutenant, and faced the wondering palaver. "know all people that this day i give to you as king one whom you shall call m'songuri, which means in your tongue 'the young and the wise,' and who is called in my tongue n'risu m'ilitani tibbetti, and this one is a child and well beloved by my lord tibbetti, being to him as a son, and by m'ilitani and by me, sandi." he raised his hand in challenge. "wa! whose men are you?" he cried. "m'songuri!" the answer came in a deep-throated growl, and the assembly leapt to its feet. "wa! who rules this land?" "m'songuri!" they locked arms and stamped first with the right foot and then with the left, in token of their acceptance. "take your king," said sanders, "and build him a beautiful hut, and his spirit shall dwell with you. this palaver is finished." bones was speechless all the way down river. at irregular intervals he would grip sanders's hand, but he was too full for speech. hamilton and his sister met the law-givers on the quay. "you're back sooner than i expected you, sir," said hamilton. "did bones behave?" "like a little gentleman," said sanders. "oh, bones," patricia broke in eagerly, "henry has cut another tooth." bones's nod was grave and even distant. "i will go and see his majesty," he said. "i presume he is in the palace?" hamilton stared after him. "surely," he asked irritably, "bones isn't sickening for measles again?" chapter viii the tamer of beasts native folk, at any rate, are but children of a larger growth. in the main, their delinquencies may be classified under the heading of "naughtiness." they are mischievous and passionate, and they have a weakness for destroying things to discover the secrets of volition. a too prosperous nation mystifies less fortunate people, who demand of their elders and rulers some solution of the mystery of their rivals' progress. such a ruler, unable to offer the necessary explanation, takes his spears to the discovery, and sometimes discovers too much for his happiness. the village of jumburu stands on the edge of the bush country, where the lawless men of all nations dwell. this territory is filled with fierce communities, banded together against a common enemy--the law. they call this land the b'wigini, which means "the nationless," and jumburu's importance lies in the fact that it is the outpost of order and discipline. in jumburu were two brothers, o'ka and b'suru, who had usurped the chieftainship of their uncle, the very famous k'sungasa, "very famous," since he had been in his time a man of remarkable gifts, which he still retained to some extent, and in consequence enjoyed what was left of life. he was, by all accounts, as mad as a man could be, and in circumstances less favourable to himself his concerned relatives would have taken him a long journey into the forest he loved so well, and they would have put out his eyes and left him to the mercy of the beasts, such being the method of dealing with lunacy amongst people who, all unknown to themselves, were eugenists of a most inflexible kind. but to leave k'sungasa to the beasts would have been equivalent to delivering him to the care of his dearest friends, for he had an affinity for the wild dwellers of the bush, and all his life he had lived amongst them and loved them. it is said that he could arrest the parrot in the air by a "cl'k!" and could bring the bird screeching and fluttering to his hand. he could call the shy little monkeys from the high branches where they hid, and even the fiercest of buffaloes would at his word come snuffling and nosing his brown arm. so that, when he grew weak-minded, his relatives, after a long palaver, decided that for once the time-honoured customs of the land should be overridden, and since there was no other method of treating the blind but that prescribed by precedent, he should be allowed to live in a great hut at the edge of the village with his birds and snakes and wild cats, and that the direction of village affairs should pass to his nephews. mr. commissioner sanders knew all this, but did nothing. his task was to govern the territory, which meant to so direct affairs that the territory governed itself. when the fate of k'sungasa was in the balance, he sent word to the chief's nephews that he was somewhere in the neighbourhood, and that the revival of the bad old custom of blinding would be followed by the introduction of the bad new custom of hanging; but this had less effect upon the council of relatives--to whom sanders's message was not transmitted--than the strange friendship which k'sungasa had for the forest folk. the nephews might have governed the village, exacted tribute, apportioned fishing rights, and administered justice for all time, but for the fact that there came a period of famine, when crops were bad and fish was scarce, and when, remarkably enough, the village of l'bini, distant no more than a few hours' paddling, had by a curious coincident raised record crops, and had, moreover, a glut of fish in their waters. there was the inevitable palaver and the inevitable solution. o'ka and b'suru led ten canoes to the offending village, slaughtered a few men and burnt a few huts. for two hours the combatants pranced and yelled and thrust at one another amidst a pandemonium of screaming women, and then lieutenant tibbetts dropped from the clouds with a most substantial platoon of houssas, and there was a general sorting out. sanders held a court on one of the middle islands near the residency, and b'suru was sent to the village of irons for the term of his natural life. o'ka, who had fled to the bush, escaped, however, and with him a headman and a few followers. lieutenant tibbetts, who had spent two profitable days in the village of jumburu, came back to the residency a very thoughtful young man. "what is the matter with bones?" asked captain hamilton. his sister smiled over her book, but offered no other comment. "do you know, pat?" demanded hamilton sternly. sanders looked at the girl with a twinkle in his grey eyes, and lit a cheroot. the relationships between patricia hamilton and bones were a source of constant joy to him. taciturn and a thought dour as he was, pat would never have suspected the bubbling laughter which arose behind that lean brown face, unmovable and, in his moments of most intense enjoyment, expressionless. "bones and i have a feud," said the girl. sanders smiled. "not as violent a feud as o'ka and i have, i hope?" he said. she frowned a little and looked at him anxiously. "but you don't worry about the threats of the people you have punished?" she asked. "i haven't punished o'ka," said sanders, "and an expedition into the bush would be too expensive an affair. he has apparently settled with the b'wigini people. if they take up his feud, they might give trouble. but what is your trouble with bones?" "you must ask him," she said. hamilton's opportunity came next day, when bones applied for leave. "leave?" said captain hamilton incredulously. "leave, bones? what the dickens do you want leave for?" bones, standing as stiff as a ramrod before the office table at which his superior sat, saluted. "urgent private affairs, sir," he said gruffly. "but you haven't any private affairs," protested hamilton. "your life is an open book--you were bragging about that fact yesterday." "sir and brother-officer," said bones firmly, "a crisis has arisen in my young life. my word, sir, has been called into doubt by your jolly old sister. i desire to vindicate my honour, my reputation, an' my veracity." "pat has been pulling your leg!" suggested hamilton, but bones shook his head. "nothin' so indelicate, sir. your revered an' lovely relative--god bless her jolly old heart!--expressed her doubt in _re_ leopards an' buffaloes. i'm goin' out, sir, into the wilds--amidst dangers, ham, old feller, that only seasoned veterans like you an' me can imagine--to bring proof that i am not only a sportsman, but a gentleman." the timely arrival of miss patricia hamilton, very beautiful in dazzling white, with her solar helmet perched at an angle, smote bones to silence. "what have you been saying to bones?" asked hamilton severely. "she said----" "i said----" they began and finished together. "bones, you're a tell-tale," accused the girl. "go on," said bones recklessly. "don't spare me. i'm a liar an' a thief an' a murderer--don't mind me!" "i simply said that i didn't believe he shot the leopard--the one whose skin is in his hut." "oh, no," said bones, with heavy sarcasm, "i didn't shoot it--oh, no! i froze it to death--i poisoned it!" "but did you shoot it?" she asked. "did i shoot it, dear old ham?" asked bones, with great calmness. "did you?" asked hamilton innocently. "did i shoot at that leopard," bones went on deliberately, "an' was he found next mornin' cold an' dead, with a smile on his naughty old face?" hamilton nodded, and bones faced the girl expectantly. "apologize, child," he said. "i shall do nothing of the kind," she replied, with some heat. "did bones shoot the leopard?" she appealed to her brother. hamilton looked from one to the other. "when the leopard was found----" he began. "listen to this, dear old sister," murmured bones. "when the leopard was found, with a spear in its side----" "evidently done after death by a wanderin' cad of a native," interposed bones hastily. "be quiet, bones," commanded the girl, and bones shrugged his shoulders and obeyed. "when the leopard was found," continued hamilton, "he was certainly beyond human aid, and though no bullet mark was discovered, bones conclusively proved----" "one moment, dear old officer," interrupted bones. he had seen out of the tail of his eye a majestic figure crossing the square. "will you allow me to produce scientific an' expert evidence?" hamilton assented gravely, and bones went to the door of the orderly room and roared a name. "i shall produce," he said quietly, but firmly, "the evidence of one who enjoyed the confidence of dear old professor what's-his-name, the eminent thigumy-ologist. oh, ali!" ali abid, a solemn figure, salaamed in the doorway. not for nothing had he been factotum to a great bacteriologist before the demise of his master had driven him to service with a lieutenant of houssas. his vocabulary smelt of the laboratory, his english was pure, undefiled, and unusual. "ali, you remember my leopard?" "sir," said ali, shaking his head, "who can forget?" "did i kill him, ali?" asked bones. "tell the lady everything." ali bowed to the girl. "miss or madame," he said, "the leopard (_felis pardus_), a wild beast of the felid㦠family, is indigenous to forest territory. the subject in question--to wit, the skin thereof exhibited by sir bones--was particularly ferocious, and departed this life as a result of hunting conducted by aforesaid. examination of subject after demise under most scientific scrutiny revealed that said leopard (_felis pardus_) suffered from weak heart, and primary cause of death was diagnosed as shock occasioned by large 'bang' from sir bones's rifle." "what did i say?" asked bones complacently. "do you mean to tell me," gasped the girl, "that you _frightened_ the leopard to death?" bones spread out his hands disparagingly. "you have heard the evidence, dear old sister," he said; "there is nothing to add." she threw back her head and laughed until her grey eyes were swimming in tears. "oh, bones, you humbug!" she laughed. bones drew himself up more stiffly than ever, stuck his monocle in his eye, and turned to his chief. "do i understand, sir," he said, "that my leave is granted?" "seven days," said hamilton, and bones swung round on his heel, knocked over hamilton's stationery rack, stumbled over a chair, and strode gloomily from the hut. when patricia hamilton woke the next morning, she found a note pinned to her pillow. we may gloss over the impropriety of the proceedings which led to this phenomenon. bones was an artist, and so small a matter as the proprieties did not come into his calculations. patricia sat up in bed and read the letter. "dear old friend and doutting thos." (bones's spelling was always perfectly disgraceful),- "when this reaches you, when this reaches you, i shall be far, far away on my long and dangerus journey. i may not come back, i may not come back, for i and a faithful servant are about to penetrate to the lares of the wild beasts of the forest, of the forest. i am determined to wipe out the reproach which you have made. i will bring back, not a dead leppard, not a dead leppard, but a live one, which i shall seeze with my own hands. i may lose my life in this rash and hazardus enterprise, but at least i shall vindycate my honour.--farewell, dear old patrisia. "your friend, "b." "which proves," said hamilton, when he was shown the letter, "that bones is learning to spell. it only seems yesterday when he was spelling 'hamilton' with three m's. by the way, how did you get this letter?" "i found it pinned to the door," said patricia tactfully. bones went by the shortest route to jumburu, and was received without enthusiasm, for he had left a new chief to rule over a people who were near enough to the b'wigini to resent overmuch discipline. but his business was with k'sungasa, for the two days' stay which bones had made in the village, and all that he had learnt of the old tamer, had been responsible for his reckless promise to patricia hamilton. he came at a critical moment, for k'sungasa, a thin and knobbly old man, with dim eyes and an incessant chuckle, was very near his end. he lay on a fine raised bed, a big yellow-eyed wild cat at his feet, a monkey or two shivering by the bedside, and a sprawling litter of kittens--to which the wild cat leapt in a tremble of rage when bones entered the hut--crawling in the sunlight which flooded the hut. "lord tibbetti," croaked the old man, "i see you! this is a good time, for to-morrow i should be dead." "k'sungasa," said bones, seating himself gingerly, and looking about for the snake which was usually coiled round the old man's stool, "that is foolish talk, for you will see many floods." "that is fine talk for the river folk," grinned the old man, "but not for we people of the forest, who never see flood and only little-little rivers. now, i tell you, lord, that i am glad to die, because i have been full of mad thoughts for a long time, but now my mind is clear. tell me, master, why you come." bones explained his errand, and the old man's eyes brightened. "lord, if i could go with you to the forest, i would bring to you many beautiful leopards by my magic. now, because i love sandi, i will do this for you, so that you shall know how wise and cunning i am." in the woods about the village was a wild plant, the seeds of which, when pounded and boiled in an earthen vessel, produced, by a rough method of distillation, a most pungent liquid. abid spoke learnedly of _pimpinella anisum_, and probably he was right.[4] [footnote 4: both anise and star anise (_illicium anisatum_) are to be found in the territories, as also is a small plant which has all the properties (and more) of _pimpinella anisum_. this was probably the plant.--author.] bones and his assistant made many excursions into the woods before they found and brought back the right plant. fortunately it was seed-time, and once he was on the right track bones had no difficulty in securing more than a sufficient quantity for his purpose. he made his distillation under the old man's directions, the fire burning in the middle of the hut. as the drops began to fall from the narrow neck of his retort, a fault sweet aroma filled the hut. first the cat, then the monkeys began to show signs of extraordinary agitation. cat and kittens crouched as near the fire as they could, their heads craned towards the brown vessel, mewing and whimpering. then the monkeys came, bright-eyed and eager. the scent brought the most unexpected beasts from every hole and crevice in the hut--brown rats, squirrels, a long black snake with spade-shaped head and diamond markings, little bush hares, a young buck, which came crashing through the forest and prinked timidly to the door of the hut. the old man on the bed called them all by name, and snapped his feeble fingers to them; but their eyes were on the retort and the crystal drops that trembled and fell from the lip of the narrow spout. * * * * * a week later a speechless group stood before the residency and focussed their astonished gaze upon the miracle. "the miracle" was a half-grown leopard cub, vividly marked. he was muzzled and held in leash by a chain affixed to a stout collar, and bones, a picture of smug gratification, held the end of the chain. "but how--how did you catch him?" gasped the girl. bones shrugged his shoulders. "it is not for me, dear old friend, to tell of nights spent in the howlin' forest," he quavered, in the squeaky tone which invariably came to him when he was excited. "i'm not goin' to speak of myself. if you expect me to tell you how i trailed the jolly old leopard to his grisly lair an' fought with him single-handed, you'll be disappointed." "but did you track him to his lair?" demanded hamilton, recovering his speech. "i beg of you, dear old officer, to discuss other matters," evaded bones tactfully. "here are the goods delivered, as per mine of the twenty-fourth instant." he put his hand to his pocket mechanically, and the cub looked up with a quick eager stare. "bones, you're a wonderful fellow," said sanders quietly. bones bowed. "and now," he said, "if you'll excuse me, i'll take my little friend to his new home." before they realized what he was doing, he had slipped off the chain. even sanders stepped back and dropped his hand to the automatic pistol he carried in his hip pocket. but bones, unconcerned, whistled and marched off to his hut, and the great cat followed humbly at his heels. that same night bones strode across from his hut to the residency, resolved upon a greater adventure yet. he would go out under the admiring eyes of patricia hamilton, and would return from the residency woods a veritable pied piper, followed by a trail of forest denizens. in his pocket was a quart bottle, and his clothes reeked with the scent of wild aniseed. as a matter of fact, his secret would have been out the moment he entered sanders's dining-room, but it so happened that his programme was doomed to interruption. he was half-way across the square when a dark figure rose from the ground and a harsh voice grunted "kill!" he saw the flash of the spear in the starlight and leapt aside. a hand clutched at his jacket, but he wrenched himself free, leaving the garment in his assailant's hands. he was unarmed, and there was nothing left but flight. sanders heard his yell, and sprang out to the darkness of the verandah as bones flew up the steps. he saw the two men racing in pursuit, and fired twice. one man fell, the other swerved and was lost in the shadows. an answering shot came from the houssa sentry at the far end of the square. sanders saw a man running, and fired again, and again missed. then out of the darkness blundered ali abid, his face grey with fear. "sir," he gasped, "wild animal (_felis pardus_) has divested muzzlement and proper restraint, and is chasing various subjects outrageously." even as he spoke a fourth figure sped across the ground before the residency, so close that they could see the bundle he carried under his arm. "my jacket!" roared bones. "hi, stop him! good lord!" swift on the heels of the flying man came a streak of yellow fur.... whether o'ka of the jumburu outpaced the leopard, or the leopard overtook o'ka, is not known, but until the rains came and washed away the scent of crude aniseed, bones dared not leave his hut by night for fear of the strange beasts that came snuffling at his hut, or sat in expectant and watchful circles about his dwelling, howling dismally. chapter ix the mercenaries there was a large brown desk in sanders's study, a desk the edges of which had been worn yellow with constant rubbing. it was a very tidy desk, with two rows of books neatly grouped on the left and on the right, and held in place by brass rails. there were three tiers of wire baskets, a great white blotting-pad, a silver inkstand and four clean-looking pens. lately, there had appeared a glass vase filled with flowers which were daily renewed. except on certain solemn occasions, none intruded into this holy of holies. it is true that a change had been brought about by the arrival of patricia hamilton, for she had been accorded permission to use the study as she wished, and she it was who had introduced the floral decorations. yet, such was the tradition of sanctuary which enveloped the study, that neither captain hamilton, her brother, nor bones, her slave, had ever ventured to intrude thither in search of her, and if by chance they came to the door to speak to her, they unaccountably lowered their voices. on a certain summer morning, hamilton sat at the desk, a stern and sober figure, and bones, perspiring and rattled, sat on the edge of a chair facing him. the occasion was a solemn one, for bones was undergoing his examination in subjects "x" and "y" for promotion to the rank of captain. the particular subject under discussion was "map reading and field sketching," and the inquisition was an oral one. "lieutenant tibbetts," said hamilton gravely, "you will please define a base line." bones pushed back the hair straggling over his forehead, and blinked rapidly in an effort of memory. "a base line, dear old officer?" he repeated. "a base line, dear old ham----" "restrain your endearing terms," said hamilton, "you won't get any extra marks for 'em." "a base line?" mused bones; then, "whoop! i've got it! god bless your jolly old soul! i thought i'd foozled it. a base line," he said loudly, "is the difference of level between two adjacent contours. how's that, umpire?" "wrong," said hamilton; "you're describing a vertical interval." bones glared at him. "are you sure, dear old chap?" he demanded truculently. "have a look at the book, jolly old friend, your poor old eyes ain't what they used to be----" "lieutenant tibbetts," said hamilton in ponderous reproof, "you are behaving very strangely." "look here, dear old ham," wheedled bones "can't you pretend you asked me what a vertical interval was?" hamilton reached round to find something to throw, but this was sanders's study. "you have a criminal mind, bones," he said helplessly. "now get on with it. what are 'hachures'?" "hachures?" said bones, shutting his eye. "hachures? now i know what hachures are. a lot of people would think they were chickens, but i know ... they're a sort of line ... when you're drawing a hill ... wiggly-waggly lines ... you know the funny things ... a sort of...." bones made mysterious and erratic gestures in the air, "shading ... water, dear old friend." "are you feeling faint?" asked hamilton, jumping up in alarm. "no, silly ass ... shadings ... direction of water--am i right, sir?" "not being a thought-reader i can't visualize your disordered mind," said hamilton, "but hachures are the conventional method of representing hill features by shading in short vertical lines to indicate the slope and the water flow. i gather that you have a hazy idea of what the answer should be." "i thank you, dear old sir, for that generous tribute to my grasp of military science," said bones. "an' now proceed to the next torture--which will you have, sir, rack or thumbscrew?--oh, thank you, horace, i'll have a glass of boiling oil." "shut up talking to yourself," growled hamilton, "and tell me what is meant by 'orienting a map'?" "turning it to the east," said bones promptly. "next, sir." "what is meant by 'orienting a map'?" asked hamilton patiently. "i've told you once," said bones defiantly. "orienting a map," said hamilton, "as i have explained to you a thousand times, means setting your map or plane-table so that the north line lies north." "in that case, sir," said bones firmly, "the east line would be east, and i claim to have answered the question to your entire satisfaction." "continue to claim," snarled hamilton. "i shall mark you zero for that answer." "make it one," pleaded bones. "be a sport, dear old ham--i've found a new fishin' pool." hamilton hesitated. "there never are any fish in the pools you find," he said dubiously. "anyway, i'll reserve my decision until i've made a cast or two." they adjourned for tiffin soon after. "how did you do, bones?" asked patricia hamilton. "fine," said bones enthusiastically; "i simply bowled over every question that your dear old brother asked. in fact, ham admitted that i knew much more about some things than he did." "what i said," corrected hamilton, "was that your information on certain subjects was so novel that i doubted whether even the staff college shared it." "it's the same thing," said bones. "you should try him on military history," suggested sanders dryly. "i've just been hearing from bosambo----" bones coughed and blushed. "the fact is, sir an' excellency," he confessed, "i was practisin' on bosambo. you mightn't be aware of the fact, but i like to hear myself speak----" "no!" gasped hamilton in amazement, "you're wronging yourself, bones!" "what i mean, sir," bones went on with dignity, "is that if i lecture somebody on a subject i remember what i've said." "always providing that you understand what you're saying," suggested hamilton. "anyway," said sanders, with his quiet smile, "bones has filled bosambo with a passionate desire to emulate napoleon, and bosambo has been making tentative inquiries as to whether he can raise an old guard or enlist a mercenary army." "i flatter myself----" began bones. "why not?" said hamilton, rising. "it's the only chance you'll have of hearing something complimentary about yourself." "_i_ believe in you, bones," said a smiling patricia. "i think you're really wonderful, and that ham is a brute." "i'll never, never contradict you, dear miss patricia," said bones; "an' after the jolly old commissioner has gone----" "you're not going away again, are you?" she asked, turning to sanders. "why, you have only just come back from the interior." there was genuine disappointment in her eyes, and sanders experienced a strange thrill the like of which he had never known before. "yes," he said with a nod. "there is a palaver of sorts in the morjaba country--the most curious palaver i have ever been called upon to hold." and indeed he spoke the truth. beyond the frontiers of the akasava, and separated from all the other territories by a curious bush belt which ran almost in a straight line for seventy miles, were the people of morjaba. they were a folk isolated from territorial life, and sanders saw them once every year and no more frequently, for they were difficult to come by, regular payers of taxes and law-abiding, having quarrels with none. the bush (reputedly the abode of ghosts) was, save at one point, impenetrable. nature had plaited a natural wall on one side, and had given the tribe the protection of high mountains to the north and a broad swamp to the west. the fierce storms of passion and hate which burst upon the river at intervals and sent thousands of spears to a blooding, were scarcely echoed in this sanctuary-land. the marauders of the great king's country to the north never fetched across the smooth moraine of the mountains, and the evil people of the-land-beyond-the-swamp were held back by the treacherous bogland wherein, _cala-cala_, a whole army had been swallowed up. thus protected, the morjabian folk grew fat and rich. the land was a veritable treasure of nature, and it is a fact that in the dialect they speak, there is no word which means "hunger."[5] [footnote 5: it is as curious a fact that amongst the majority of cannibal people there is no equivalent for "thank you."--e. w.] yet the people of the morjaba were not without their crises. s'kobi, the stout chief, held a great court which was attended by ten thousand people, for at that court was to be concluded for ever the feud between the m'gimi and the m'joro--a feud which went back for the greater part of fifty years. the m'gimi were the traditional warrior tribe, the bearers of arms, and, as their name ("the high lookers") implied, the proudest and most exclusive of the people. for every man was the descendant of a chief, and it was "easier for fish to walk," as the saying goes, than for a man of the m'joro ("the diggers") to secure admission to the caste. three lateral cuts on either cheek was the mark of the m'gimi--wounds made, upon the warrior's initiation to the order, with the razor-edged blade of a killing-spear. they lived apart in three camps to the number of six thousand men, and for five years from the hour of their initiation they neither married nor courted. the m'gimi turned their backs to women, and did not suffer their presence in their camps. and if any man departed from this austere rule he was taken to the breaking tree, his four limbs were fractured, and he was hoisted to the lower branches, between which a litter was swung, and his regiment sat beneath the tree neither eating, drinking nor sleeping until he died. sometimes this was a matter of days. as for the woman who had tempted his eye and his tongue, she was a witness. thus the m'gimi preserved their traditions of austerity. they were famous walkers and jumpers. they threw heavy spears and fought great sham-fights, and they did every violent exercise save till the ground. this was the sum and substance of the complaint which had at last come to a head. s'gono, the spokesman of the diggers, was a headman of the inner lands, and spoke with bitter prejudice, since his own son had been rejected by the m'gimi captains as being unworthy. "shall we men dig and sow for such as these?" he asked. "now give a judgment, king! every moon we must take the best of our fruit and the finest of our fish. also so many goats and so much salt, and it is swallowed up." "yet if i send them away," said the king, "how shall i protect this land against the warriors of the akasava and the evil men of the swamp? also of the ochori, who are four days' march across good ground?" "lord king," said s'gono, "are there no m'gimi amongst us who have passed from the camp and have their women and their children? may not these take the spear again? and are not we m'joro folk men? by my life! i will raise as many spears from the diggers and captain them with m'joro men--this i could do between the moons and none would say that you were not protected. for we are men as bold as they." the king saw that the m'gimi party was in the minority. moreover, he had little sympathy with the warrior caste, for his beginnings were basely rooted in the soil, and two of his sons had no more than scraped into the m'gimi. "this thing shall be done," said the king, and the roar of approval which swept up the little hillock on which he sat was his reward. sanders, learning something of these doings, had come in haste, moving across the lower akasava by a short cut, risking the chagrin of certain chiefs and friends who would be shocked and mortified by his apparent lack of courtesy in missing the ceremonious call which was their due. but his business was very urgent, otherwise he would not have travelled by nobolama--the-river-that-comes-and-goes. he was fortunate in that he found deep water for the _wiggle_ as far as the edge of this pleasant land. a two days' trek through the forest brought him to the great city of morjaba. in all the territories there was no such city as this, for it stretched for miles on either hand, and indeed was one of the most densely populated towns within a radius of five hundred miles. s'kobi came waddling to meet his governor with maize, plucked in haste from the gardens he passed, and salt, grabbed at the first news of sanders's arrival, in his big hands. these he extended as he puffed to where sanders sat at the edge of the city. "lord," he wheezed, "none came with news of this great honour, or my young men would have met you, and my maidens would have danced the road flat with their feet. take!" sanders extended both palms and received the tribute of salt and corn, and solemnly handed the crushed mess to his orderly. "o s'kobi," he said, "i came swiftly to make a secret palaver with you, and my time is short." "lord, i am your man," said s'kobi, and signalled his councillors and elder men to a distance. sanders was in some difficulty to find a beginning. "you know, s'kobi, that i love your people as my children," he said, "for they are good folk who are faithful to government and do ill to none." "wa!" said s'kobi. "also you know that spearmen and warriors i do not love, for spears are war and warriors are great lovers of fighting." "lord, you speak the truth," said the other, nodding, "therefore in this land i will have made a law that there shall be no spears, save those which sleep in the shadow of my hut. now well i know why you have come to make this palaver, for you have heard with your beautiful long ears that i have sent away my fighting regiments." sanders nodded. "you speak truly, my friend," he said, and s'kobi beamed. "six times a thousand spears i had--and, lord, spears grow no corn. rather are they terrible eaters. and now i have sent them to their villages, and at the next moon they should have burnt their fine war-knives, but for a certain happening. we folk of morjaba have no enemies, and we do good to all. moreover, lord, as you know, we have amongst us many folk of the isisi, of the akasava and the n'gombi, also men from the great king's land beyond the high rocks, and the little folk from the-land-beyond-the-swamp. therefore, who shall attack us since we have kinsmen of all amongst us?" sanders regarded the jovial king with a sad little smile. "have i done well by all men?" he asked quietly. "have i not governed the land so that punishment comes swiftly to those who break the law? yet, s'kobi, do not the akasava and the isisi, the n'gombi and the lower river folk take their spears against me? now i tell you this which i have discovered. in all beasts great and little there are mothers who have young ones and fathers who fight that none shall harass the mother." "lord, this is the way of life," said s'kobi. "it is the way of the bigger life," said sanders, "and greatly the way of man-life. for the women bring children to the land and the men sit with their spears ready to fight all who would injure their women. and so long as life lasts, s'kobi, the women will bear and the men will guard; it is the way of nature, and you shall not take from men the desire for slaughter until you have dried from the hearts of women the yearning for children." "lord," said s'kobi, a fat man and easily puzzled, "what shall be the answer to this strange riddle you set me?" "only this," said sanders rising, "i wish peace in this land, but there can be no peace between the leopard who has teeth and claws and the rabbit who has neither tooth nor claw. does the leopard fight the lion or the lion the leopard? they live in peace, for each is terrible in his way, and each fears the other. i tell you this, that you live in love with your neighbours not because of your kindness, but because of your spears. call them back to your city, s'kobi." the chief's large face wrinkled in a frown. "lord," he said, "that cannot be, for these men have marched away from my country to find a people who will feed them, for they are too proud to dig the ground." "oh, damn!" said sanders in despair, and went back the way he came, feeling singularly helpless. the odyssey of the discarded army of the morjaba has yet to be written. paradoxically enough, its primary mission was a peaceful one, and when it found first the frontiers of the akasava and then the river borders of the isisi closed against it, it turned to the north in an endeavour to find service under the great king, beyond the mountains. here it was repulsed and its pacific intentions doubted. the m'gimi formed a camp a day's march from the ochori border, and were on the thin line which separates unemployment from anarchy when bosambo, chief of the ochori, who had learnt of their presence, came upon the scene. bosambo was a born politician. he had the sense of opportunity and that strange haze of hopeful but indefinite purpose which is the foundation of the successful poet and statesman, but which, when unsuccessfully developed, is described as "temperament." bones, paying a business call upon the ochori, found a new township grown up on the forest side of the city. he also discovered evidence of discontent in bosambo's harassed people, who had been called upon to provide fish and meal for the greater part of six thousand men who were too proud to work. "master," said bosambo, "i have often desired such an army as this, for my ochori fighters are few. now, lord, with these men i can hold the upper river for your king, and sandi and none dare speak against him. thus would n'poloyani, who is your good friend, have done." "but who shall feed these men, bosambo?" demanded bones hastily. "all things are with god," replied bosambo piously. bones collected all the available information upon the matter and took it back to headquarters. "h'm," said sanders when he had concluded his recital, "if it were any other man but bosambo ... you would require another battalion, hamilton." "but what has bosambo done?" asked patricia hamilton, admitted to the council. "he is being napoleonic," said sanders, with a glance at the youthful authority on military history, and bones squirmed and made strange noises. "we will see how it works out. how on earth is he going to feed them, bones?" "exactly the question i asked, sir an' excellency," said bones in triumph. "'why, you silly old ass----'" "i beg your pardon!" exclaimed the startled sanders. "that is what i said to bosambo, sir," explained bones hastily. "'why, you silly old ass,' i said, 'how are you going to grub 'em?' 'lord bones,' said bosambo, 'that's the jolly old problem that i'm workin' out.'" how bosambo worked out his problem may be gathered. "there is some talk of an akasava rising," said sanders at breakfast one morning. "i don't know why this should be, for my information is that the akasava folk are fairly placid." "where does the news come from, sir?" asked hamilton. "from the isisi king--he's in a devil of a funk, and has begged bosambo to send him help." that help was forthcoming in the shape of bosambo's new army, which arrived on the outskirts of the isisi city and sat in idleness for a month, at the end of which time the people of the isisi represented to their king that they would, on the whole, prefer war to a peace which put them on half rations in order that six thousand proud warriors might live on the fat of the land. the m'gimi warriors marched back to the ochori, each man carrying a month's supply of maize and salt, wrung from the resentful peasants of the isisi. three weeks after, bosambo sent an envoy to the king of the akasava. "let no man know this, gubara, lest it come to the ears of sandi, and you, who are very innocent, be wrongly blamed," said the envoy solemnly. "thus says bosambo: it has come to my ears that the n'gombi are secretly arming and will very soon send a forest of spears against the akasava. say this to gubara, that because my stomach is filled with sorrow i will help him. because i am very powerful, because of my friendship with bonesi and his cousin, n'poloyani, who is also married to bonesi's aunt, i have a great army which i will send to the akasava, and when the n'gombi hear of this they will send away their spears and there will be peace." the akasava chief, a nervous man with the memory of all the discomforts which follow tribal wars, eagerly assented. for two months bosambo's army sat down like a cloud of locusts and ate the akasava to a condition bordering upon famine. at the end of that time they marched to the n'gombi country, news having been brought by bosambo's messengers that the great king was crossing the western mountains with a terrible army to seize the n'gombi forests. how long this novel method of provisioning his army might have continued may only be guessed, for in the midst of bosambo's plans for maintaining an army at the expense of his neighbours there was a great happening in the morjaba country. s'kobi, the fat chief, had watched the departure of his warriors with something like relief. he was gratified, moreover (native-like), by the fact that he had confounded sanders. but when the commissioner had gone and s'kobi remembered all that he had said, a great doubt settled like a pall upon his mind. for three days he sat, a dejected figure, on the high carved stool of state before his house, and at the end of that time he summoned s'gono, the m'joro. "s'gono," said he, "i am troubled in my stomach because of certain things which our lord sandi has said." thereupon he told the plebeian councillor much of what sanders had said. "and now my m'gimi are with bosambo of the ochori, and he sells them to this people and that for so much treasure and food." "lord," said s'gono, "is my word nothing? did i not say that i would raise spears more wonderful than the m'gimi? give me leave, king, and you shall find an army that shall grow in a night. i, s'gono, son of mocharlabili yoka, say this!" so messengers went forth to all the villages of the morjaba calling the young men to the king's hut, and on the third week there stood on a plateau beneath the king's palaver house a most wonderful host. "let them march across the plain and make the dance of killing," said the satisfied king, and s'gono hesitated. "lord king," he pleaded, "these are new soldiers, and they are not yet wise in the ways of warriors. also they will not take the chiefs i gave them, but have chosen their own, so that each company have two leaders who say evil things of one another." s'kobi opened his round eyes. "the m'gimi did not do this," he said dubiously, "for when their captains spoke they leapt first with one leg and then with the other, which was beautiful to see and very terrifying to our enemies." "lord," begged the agitated s'gono, "give me the space of a moon and they shall leap with both legs and dance in a most curious manner." a spy retailed this promise to a certain giant chief of the great king who was sitting on the morjaba slopes of the mountains with four thousand spears, awaiting a favourable moment to ford the river which separated him from the rich lands of the northern morjaba. this giant heard the tidings with interest. "soon they shall leap without heads," he said, "for without the m'gimi they are little children. for twenty seasons we have waited, and now comes our fine night. go you, b'furo, to the chief of the-folk-beyond-the-swamp and tell him that when he sees three fires on this mountain he shall attack across the swamp by the road which he knows." it was a well-planned campaign which the great king's generals and the chief of the-people-beyond-the-marsh had organized. with the passing of the warrior caste the enemies of the morjaba had moved swiftly. the path across the swamp had been known for years, but the m'gimi had had one of their camps so situated that no enemy could debouch across, and had so ordered their dispositions that the northern river boundary was automatically safeguarded. now s'gono was a man of the fields, a grower and seller of maize and a breeder of goats. and he had planned his new army as he would plan a new garden, on the basis that the nearer the army was to the capital, the easier it was to maintain. in consequence the river-ford was unguarded, and there were two thousand spears across the marshes before a scared minister of war apprehended any danger. he flung his new troops against the great king's chief captain in a desperate attempt to hold back the principal invader. at the same time, more by luck than good generalship, he pushed the evil people of the marsh back to their native element. for two days the morjaba fought desperately if unskilfully against the seasoned troops of the great king, while messengers hurried east and south, seeking help. bosambo's intelligence department may have shown remarkable prescience in unearthing the plot against the peace and security of the morjaba, or it may have been (and this is sanders's theory) that bosambo was on his way to the morjaba with a cock and bull story of imminent danger. he was on the frontier when the king's messenger came, and bosambo returned with the courier to treat in person. "five thousand loads of corn i will give you, bosambo," said the king, "also a hundred bags of salt. also two hundred women who shall be slaves in your house." there was some bargaining, for bosambo had no need of slaves, but urgently wanted goats. in the end he brought up his hirelings, and the people of the morjaba city literally fell on the necks of the returned m'gimi. the enemy had forced the northern defences and were half-way to the city when the m'gimi fell upon their flank. the giant chief of the great king's army saw the ordered ranks of the old army driving in his flank, and sent for his own captain. "go swiftly to our lord, the king, and say that i am a dead man." he spoke no more than the truth, for he fell at the hand of bosambo, who made a mental resolve to increase his demand on the herds of s'kobi in consequence. for the greater part of a month bosambo was a welcome visitor, and at the end of that time he made his preparations to depart. carriers and herdsmen drove or portered his reward back to the ochori country, marching one day ahead of the main body. the m'gimi were summoned for the march at dawn, but at dawn bosambo found himself alone on the plateau, save for the few ochori headmen who had accompanied him on his journey. "lord," said s'kobi, "my fine soldiers do not go with you, for i have seen how wise is sandi who is my father and my mother." bosambo choked, and as was usual in moments of intense emotion, found refuge in english. "dam' nigger!" he said wrathfully, "i bring um army, i feed um, i keep um proper--you pinch um! black t'ief! pig! you bad feller! i speak you bad for n'poloyani--him fine feller." "lord," said the uncomprehending king, "i see that you are like sandi for you speak his tongue. he also said 'dam' very loudly. i think it is the word white folk say when they are happy." bosambo met bones hurrying to the scene of the fighting, and told his tale. "lord," said he in conclusion, "what was i to do, for you told nothing of the ways of n'poloyani when his army was stolen from him. tell me now, tibbetti, what this man would have done." but bones shook his head severely. "this i cannot tell you, bosambo," he said, "for if i do you will tell others, and my lord n'poloyani will never forgive me." chapter x the waters of madness unexpected things happen in the territories which mr. commissioner sanders rules. as for example: bones had gone down to the beach to "take the mail." this usually meant no more than receiving a mail-bag wildly flung from a dancing surf-boat. on this occasion bones was surprised to discover that the boat had beached and had landed, not only the mail, but a stranger with his baggage. he was a clean-shaven, plump man, in spotless white, and he greeted bones with a friendly nod. "morning!" he said. "i've got your mail." bones extended his hand and took the bag without evidence of any particular enthusiasm. "sanders about?" asked the stranger. "mr. sanders is in residence, sir," said bones, ponderously polite. the other laughed. "show the way," he said briskly. bones looked at the new-comer from the ventilator of his pith helmet to the soles of his pipe-clayed shoes. "excuse me, dear old sir," he said, "have i the honour of addressin' the secretary of state for war?" "no," answered the other in surprise. "what made you think that?" "because," said bones, with rising wrath, "he's the only fellow that needn't say 'please' to me." the man roared with laughter. "sorry," he said. "_please_ show me the way." "follow me, sir," said bones. sanders was not "in residence," being, in fact, inspecting some recent--and native--repairs to the boilers of the _zaire_. the stranger drew up a chair on the stoep without invitation and seated himself. he looked around. patricia hamilton was at the far end of the stoep, reading a book. she had glanced up just long enough to note and wonder at the new arrival. "deuced pretty girl that," said the stranger, lighting a cigar. "i beg your pardon?" said bones. "i say that is a deuced pretty girl," said the stranger. "and you're a deuced brute, dear sir," said bones, "but hitherto i have not commented on the fact." the man looked up quickly. "what are you here," he asked--"a clerk or something?" bones did not so much as flush. "oh, no," he said sweetly. "i am an officer of houssas--rank, lieutenant. my task is to tame the uncivilized beast an' entertain the civilized pig with a selection of music. would you like to hear our gramophone?" the new-comer frowned. what brilliant effort of persiflage was to follow will never be known, for at that moment came sanders. the stranger rose and produced a pocket-book, from which he extracted a card and a letter. "good morning, commissioner!" he said. "my name's corklan--p. t. corklan, of corklan, besset and lyons." "indeed," said sanders. "i've got a letter for you," said the man. sanders took the note, opened it, and read. it bore the neat signature of an under-secretary of state and the embossed heading of the extra-territorial office, and it commended mr. p. t. corklan to mr. commissioner sanders, and requested him to let mr. corklan pass without let or hindrance through the territories, and to render him every assistance "compatible with exigencies of the service" in his "inquiries into sugar production from the sweet potato." "you should have taken this to the administrator," said sanders, "and it should bear his signature." "there's the letter," said the man shortly. "if that's not enough, and the signature of the secretary of state isn't sufficient, i'm going straight back to england and tell him so." "you may go to the devil and tell him so," said sanders calmly; "but you do not pass into these territories until i have received telegraphic authority from my chief. bones, take this man to your hut, and let your people do what they can for him." and he turned and walked into the house. "you shall hear about this," said mr. corklan, picking up his baggage. "this way, dear old pilgrim," said bones. "who's going to carry my bag?" "your name escapes me," said bones, "but, if you'll glance at your visitin' card, you will find the name of the porter legibly inscribed." sanders compressed the circumstances into a hundred-word telegram worded in his own economical style. it happened that the administrator was away on a shooting trip, and it was his cautious secretary who replied-"administration to sanders.--duplicate authority here. let corklan proceed at own risk. warn him dangers." "you had better go along and tell him," said sanders. "he can leave at once, and the sooner the better." bones delivered the message. the man was sitting on his host's bed, and the floor was covered with cigar ash. worst abomination of all, was a large bottle of whisky, which he had produced from one of his bags, and a reeking glass, which he had produced from bones's sideboard. "so i can go to-night, can i?" said mr. corklan. "that's all right. now, what about conveyance, hey?" bones had now reached the stage where he had ceased to be annoyed, and when he found some interest in the situation. "what sort of conveyance would you like, sir?" he asked curiously. (if you can imagine him pausing half a bar before every "sir," you may value its emphasis.) "isn't there a steamer i can have?" demanded the man. "hasn't sanders got a government steamer?" "pardon my swooning," said bones, sinking into a chair. "well, how am i going to get up?" asked the man. "are you a good swimmer?" demanded bones innocently. "look here," said mr. corklan, "you aren't a bad fellow. i rather like you." "i'm sorry," said bones simply. "i rather like you," repeated mr. corklan. "you might give me a little help." "it is very unlikely that i shall," said bones. "but produce your proposition, dear old adventurer." "that is just what i am," said the other. he bit off the end of another cigar and lit it with the glowing butt of the old one. "i have knocked about all over the world, and i have done everything. i've now a chance of making a fortune. there is a tribe here called the n'gombi. they live in a wonderful rubber country, and i am told that they have got all the ivory in the world, and stacks of rubber hidden away." now, it is a fact--and bones was surprised to hear it related by the stranger--that the n'gombi are great misers and hoarders of elephant tusks. for hundreds of years they have traded ivory and rubber, and every village has its secret storehouse. the government had tried for years to wheedle the n'gombi into depositing their wealth in some state store, for riches mean war sooner or later. they lived in great forests--the word n'gombi means "interior"--in lands full of elephants and rich in rubber trees. "you are a regular information bureau," said bones admiringly. "but what has this to do with your inquiry into the origin of the candy tree?" the man smoked in silence for awhile, then he pulled from his pocket a big map. again bones was surprised, because the map he produced was the official map of the territories. he traced the river with his fat forefinger. "here is the n'gombi country from the east bank of the isisi, and this is all forest, and a rubber tree to every ten square yards." "i haven't counted them," said bones, "but i'll take your word." "now, what does this mean?" mr. corklan indicated a twisting line of dots and dashes which began at the junction of the isisi river and the great river, and wound tortuously over five hundred miles of country until it struck the sigi river, which runs through spanish territory. "what is that?" he asked. "that, or those," said bones, "are the footprints of the mighty swoozlum bird that barks with its eyes an' lives on buttered toast an' hardware." "i will tell you what i know it is," said the man, looking up and looking bones straight in the eye--"it is one of those secret rivers you are always finding in these 'wet' countries. the natives tell you about 'em, but you never find 'em. they are rivers that only exist about once in a blue moon, when the river is very high and the rains are very heavy. now, down in the spanish territory"--he touched bones's knee with great emphasis--"they tell me that their end of the secret river is in flood." "they will tell you anything in the spanish territory," said bones pleasantly. "they'd tell you your jolly old fortune if you'd cross their palms with silver." "what about your end?" asked the man, ignoring the scepticism of his host. "our end?" said bones. "well, you will find out for yourself. i'd hate to disappoint you." "now, how am i going up?" asked the man after a pause. "you can hire a canoe, and live on the land, unless you have brought stores." the man chuckled. "i've brought no stores. here, i will show you something," he said. "you are a very good fellow." he opened his bag and took out a tight packet which looked like thin skins. there must have been two or three hundred of them. "that's my speciality," he said. he nipped the string that tied them together, stripped one off, and, putting his lips to one end, blew. the skin swelled up like a toy balloon. "do you know what that is?" "no, i cannot say i do," said bones. "you have heard of soemmering's process?" bones shook his head. "do you know what decimal 1986 signifies?" "you've got me guessing, my lad," said bones admiringly. the other chuckled, threw the skins into his bag, and closed it with a snap. "that's my little joke," he said. "all my friends tell me it will be the death of me one of these days. i like to puzzle people"--he smiled amiably and triumphantly in bones's face--"i like to tell them the truth in such a way they don't understand it. if they understood it--heavens, there'd be the devil to pay!" "you are an ingenious fellow," said bones, "but i don't like your face. you will forgive my frankness, dear old friend." "faces aren't fortunes," said the other complacently, "and i am going out of this country with money sticking to me." "i'm sorry for you," said bones, shaking his head; "i hate to see fellows with illusions." he reported all that occurred to the commissioner, and sanders was a little worried. "i wish i knew what his game is," he said; "i'd stop him like a shot, but i can't very well in the face of the administrator's wire. anyway, he will get nothing out of the n'gombi. i've tried every method to make the beggars bank their surpluses, and i have failed." "he has got to come back this way, at any rate," said hamilton, "and i cannot see that he will do much harm." "what is the rest of his baggage like?" "he has a case of things that look like concave copper plates, sir," said bones, "very thin copper, but copper. then he has two or three copper pipes, and that is about his outfit." mr. corklan was evidently no stranger to the coast, and bones, who watched the man's canoe being loaded that afternoon, and heard his fluent observations on the slackness of his paddlers, realized that his acquaintance with central africa was an extensive one. he cursed in swahili and portuguese, and his language was forcible and impolite. "well," he said at last, "i'll be getting along. i'll make a fishing village for the night, and i ought to reach my destination in a week. i shan't be seeing you again, so i'll say good-bye." "how do you suppose you're going to get out of the country?" asked bones curiously. mr. corklan laughed. "so long!" he said. "one moment, my dashin' old explorer," said bones. "a little formality--i want to see your trunks opened." a look of suspicion dawned on the man's face. "what for?" "a little formality, my jolly old hero," said bones. "why didn't you say so before?" growled the man, and had his two trunks landed. "i suppose you know you're exceeding your duty?" "i didn't know--thanks for tellin' me," said bones. "the fact is, sir an' fellow-man, i'm the custom house officer." the man opened his bags, and bones explored. he found three bottles of whisky, and these he extracted. "what's the idea?" asked mr. corklan. bones answered him by breaking the bottles on a near-by stone. "here, what the dickens----" "wine is a mocker," said bones, "strong drink is ragin'. this is what is termed in the land of hope an' glory a prohibition state, an' i'm entitled to fine you five hundred of the brightest an' best for attemptin' to smuggle intoxicants into our innocent country." bones expected an outburst; instead, his speech evoked no more than a snigger. "you're funny," said the man. "my friends tell me so," admitted bones. "but there's nothin' funny about drink. acquainted as you are with the peculiar workin's of the native psychology, dear sir, you will understand the primitive cravin' of the untutored mind for the enemy that we put in our mouths to steal away our silly old brains. i wish you 'bon voyage.'" "so long," said mr. corklan. bones went back to the residency and made his report, and there, for the time being, the matter ended. it was not unusual for wandering scientists, manufacturers, and representatives of shipping companies to arrive armed with letters of introduction or command, and to be dispatched into the interior. the visits, happily, were few and far between. on this occasion sanders, being uneasy, sent one of his spies to follow the adventurer, with orders to report any extraordinary happening--a necessary step to take, for the n'gombi, and especially the inner n'gombi, are a secretive people, and news from local sources is hard to come by. "i shall never be surprised to learn that a war has been going on in the n'gombi for two months without our hearing a word about it." "if they fight amongst themselves--yes," said captain hamilton; "if they fight outsiders, there will be plenty of bleats. why not send bones to overlook his sugar experiments," he added. "let's talk about something pleasant," said bones hastily. it was exactly three months later when he actually made the trip. "take the _zaire_ up to the bend of the isisi," said sanders one morning, at breakfast, "and find out what ali kano is doing--the lazy beggar should have reported." "any news from the n'gombi?" asked hamilton. "only roundabout stories of their industry. apparently the sugar merchant is making big experiments. he has set half the people digging roots for him. be ready to sail at dawn." "will it be a dangerous trip?" asked the girl. "no. why?" smiled sanders. "because i'd like to go. oh, please, don't look so glum! bones is awfully good to me." "better than a jolly old brother," murmured bones. "h'm!" sanders shook his head, and she appealed to her brother. "please!" "i wouldn't mind your going," said hamilton, "if only to look after bones." "s-sh!" said bones reproachfully. "if you're keen on it, i don't see why you shouldn't--if you had a chaperon." "a chaperon!" sneered bones. "great heavens! do, old skipper, pull yourself together. open the jolly old window and give him air. feelin' better, sir?" "a chaperon! how absurd!" cried the girl indignantly. "i'm old enough to be bones's mother! i'm nearly twenty--well, i'm older than bones, and i'm ever so much more capable of looking after myself." the end of it was that she went, with her kano maid and with the wife of abiboo to cook for her. and in two days they came to the bend of the river, and bones pursued his inquiries for the missing spy, but without success. "but this i tell you, lord," said the little chief who acted as sanders's agent, "that there are strange things happening in the n'gombi country, for all the people have gone mad, and are digging up their teeth (tusks) and bringing them to a white man." "this shall go to sandi," said bones, realizing the importance of the news; and that same evening he turned the bow of the _zaire_ down stream. * * * * * thus said wafa, the half-breed, for he was neither foreign arab nor native n'gombi, yet combined the cunning of both-"soon we shall see the puc-a-puc of government turn from the crookedness of the river, and i will go out and speak to our lord tibbetti, who is a very simple man, and like a child." "o wafa," said one of the group of armed men which stood shivering on the beach in the cold hours of dawn, "may this be a good palaver! as for me, my stomach is filled with fearfulness. let us all drink this magic water, for it gives us men courage." "that you shall do when you have carried out all our master's works," said wafa, and added with confidence: "have no fear, for soon you shall see great wonders." they heard the deep boom of the _zaire's_ siren signalling a solitary and venturesome fisherman to quit the narrow fair-way, and presently she came round the bend of the river, a dazzling white craft, showering sparks from her two slender smoke-stacks and leaving behind her twin cornucopias of grey smoke. wafa stepped into a canoe, and, seeing that the others were preparing to follow him, he struck out swiftly, man[oe]uvring his ironwood boat to the very waters from whence a scared fisherman was frantically paddling. "go not there, foreigner," wailed the isisi stabber-of-waters, "for it is our lord sandi, and his puc-a-puc has bellowed terribly." "die you!" roared wafa. "on the river bottom your body, son of a fish and father of snakes!" "o foreign frog!" came the shrill retort. "o poor man with two men's wives! o goatless----" wafa was too intent upon his business to heed the rest. he struck the water strongly with his broad paddles, and reached the centre of the channel. bones of the houssas put up his hand and jerked the rope of the siren. _whoo-o-o--woo-o-op!_ "bless his silly old head," said bones fretfully, "the dashed fellow will be run down!" the girl was dusting bones's cabin, and looked round. "what is it?" she asked. bones made no reply. he gripped the telegraph handle and rung the engines astern as yoka, the steersman, spun the wheel. bump! bump! bumpity bump! the steamer slowed and stopped, and the girl came out to the bridge in alarm. the _zaire_ had struck a sandbank, and was stranded high, if not dry. "bring that man on board," said the wrathful bones. and they hauled to his presence wafa, who was neither arab nor n'gombi, but combined the vices of both. "o man," said bones, glaring at the offender through his eyeglass, "what evil ju-ju sent you to stop my fine ship?" he spoke in the isisi dialect, and was surprised to be answered in coast arabic. "lord," said the man, unmoved by the wrath of his overlord, "i come to make a great palaver concerning spirits and devils. lord, i have found a great magic." bones grinned, for he had that sense of humour which rises superior to all other emotions. "then you shall try your magic, my man, and lift this ship to deep water." wafa was not at all embarrassed. "lord, this is a greater magic, for it concerns men, and brings to life the dead. for, lord, in this forest is a wonderful tree. behold!" he took from his loose-rolled waistband a piece of wood. bones took it in his hand. it was the size of a corn cob, and had been newly cut, so that the wood was moist with sap. bones smelt it. there was a faint odour of resin and camphor. patricia hamilton smiled. it was so like bones to be led astray by side issues. "where is the wonder, man, that you should drive my ship upon a sandbank! and who are these?" bones pointed to six canoes, filled with men, approaching the _zaire_. the man did not answer, but, taking the wood from bones's hand, pulled a knife from his belt and whittled a shaving. "here, lord," he said, "is my fine magic. with this wood i can do many miracles, such as making sick men strong and the strong weak." bones heard the canoes bump against the side of the boat, but his mind was occupied with curiosity. "thus do i make my magic, tibbetti," droned wafa. he held the knife by the haft in the right hand, and the chip of wood in his left. the point of the knife was towards the white man's heart. "bones!" screamed the girl. bones jumped aside and struck out as the man lunged. his nobbly fist caught wafa under the jaw, and the man stumbled and fell. at the same instant there was a yell from the lower deck, the sound of scuffling, and a shot. bones jumped for the girl, thrust her into the cabin, sliding the steel door behind him. his two revolvers hung at the head of his bunk, and he slipped them out, gave a glance to see whether they were loaded, and pushed the door. "shut the door after me," he breathed. the bridge deck was deserted, and bones raced down the ladder to the iron deck. two houssas and half a dozen natives lay dead or dying. the remainder of the soldiers were fighting desperately with whatever weapons they found to their hands--for, with characteristic carefulness, they had laid their rifles away in oil, lest the river air rust them--and, save for the sentry, who used a rifle common to all, they were unarmed. "o dogs!" roared bones. the invaders turned and faced the long-barrelled webleys, and the fight was finished. later, wafa came to the bridge with bright steel manacles on his wrist. his companions in the mad adventure sat on the iron deck below, roped leg to leg, and listened with philosophic calm as the houssa sentry drew lurid pictures of the fate which awaited them. bones sat in his deep chair, and the prisoner squatted before him. "you shall tell my lord sandi why you did this wickedness," he said, "also, wafa, what evil thought was in your mind." "lord," said wafa cheerfully, "what good comes to me if i speak?" something about the man's demeanour struck bones as strange, and he rose and went close to him. "i see," he said, with a tightened lip. "the palaver is finished." they led the man away, and the girl, who had been a spectator, asked anxiously: "what is wrong, bones?" but the young man shook his head. "the breaking of all that sanders has worked for," he said bitterly, and the very absence of levity in one whose heart was so young and gay struck a colder chill to the girl's heart than the yells of the warring n'gombi. for sanders had a big place in patricia hamilton's life. in an hour the _zaire_ was refloated, and was going at full speed down stream. * * * * * sanders held his court in the thatched palaver house between the houssa guard-room and the little stockade prison at the river's edge--a prison hidden amidst the flowering shrubs and acacia trees. wafa was the first to be examined. "lord," he said, without embarrassment, "i tell you this--that i will not speak of the great wonders which lay in my heart unless you give me a book[6] that i shall go free." [footnote 6: a written promise.] sanders smiled unpleasantly. "by the prophet, i say what is true," he began confidentially; and wafa winced at the oath, for he knew that truth was coming, and truth of a disturbing character. "in this land i govern millions of men," said sanders, speaking deliberately, "i and two white lords. i govern by fear, wafa, because there is no love in simple native men, save a love for their own and their bellies." "lord, you speak truth," said wafa, the superior arab of him responding to the confidence. "now, if you make to kill the lord tibbetti," sanders went on, "and do your wickedness for secret reasons, must i not discover what is that secret, lest it mean that i lose my hold upon the lands i govern?" "lord, that is also true," said wafa. "for what is one life more or less," asked sanders, "a suffering smaller or greater by the side of my millions and their good?" "lord, you are suliman," said wafa eagerly. "therefore, if you let me go, who shall be the worse for it?" again sanders smiled, that grim parting of lip to show his white teeth. "yet you may lie, and, if i let you go, i have neither the truth nor your body. no, wafa, you shall speak." he rose up from his chair. "to-day you shall go to the village of irons," he said; "to-morrow i will come to you, and you shall answer my questions. and, if you will not speak, i shall light a little fire on your chest, and that fire shall not go out except when the breath goes from your body. this palaver is finished." so they took wafa away to the village of irons, where the evil men of the territories worked with chains about their ankles for their many sins, and in the morning came sanders. "speak, man," he said. wafa stared with an effort of defiance, but his face was twitching, for he saw the soldiers driving pegs into the ground, preparatory to staking him out. "i will speak the truth," he said. so they took him into a hut, and there sanders sat with him alone for half an hour; and when the commissioner came out, his face was drawn and grey. he beckoned to hamilton, who came forward and saluted. "we will get back to headquarters," he said shortly, and they arrived two hours later. sanders sat in the little telegraph office, and the morse sounder rattled and clacked for half an hour. other sounders were at work elsewhere, delicate needles vacillated in cable offices, and an under-secretary was brought from the house of commons to the bureau of the prime minister to answer a question. at four o'clock in the afternoon came the message sanders expected: "london says permit for corklan forged. arrest. take extremest steps. deal drastically, ruthlessly. holding in residence three companies african rifles and mountain battery support you. good luck. administration." sanders came out of the office, and bones met him. "men all aboard, sir," he reported. "we'll go," said sanders. he met the girl half-way to the quay. "i know it is something very serious," she said quietly; "you have all my thoughts." she put both her hands in his, and he took them. then, without a word, he left her. * * * * * mr. p. t. corklan sat before his new hut in the village of fimini. in that hut--the greatest the n'gombi had ever seen--were stored hundreds of packages all well wrapped and sewn in native cloth. he was not smoking a cigar, because his stock of cigars was running short, but he was chewing a toothpick, for these, at a pinch, could be improvised. he called to his headman. "wafa?" he asked. "lord, he will come, for he is very cunning," said the headman. mr. corklan grunted. he walked to the edge of the village, where the ground sloped down to a strip of vivid green rushes. "tell me, how long will this river be full?" he asked. "lord, for a moon." corklan nodded. whilst the secret river ran, there was escape for him, for its meandering course would bring him and his rich cargo to spanish territory and deep water. his headman waited as though he had something to say. "lord," he said at last, "the chief of the n'coro village sends this night ten great teeth and a pot." corklan nodded. "if we're here, we'll get 'em. i hope we shall be gone." and then the tragically unexpected happened. a man in white came through the trees towards him, and behind was another white man and a platoon of native soldiers. "trouble," said corklan to himself, and thought the moment was one which called for a cigar. "good-morning, mr. sanders!" he said cheerfully. sanders eyed him in silence. "this is an unexpected pleasure," said corklan. "corklan, where is your still?" asked sanders. the plump man laughed. "you'll find it way back in the forest," he said, "and enough sweet potatoes to distil fifty gallons of spirit--all proof, sir, decimal 1986 specific gravity water extracted by soemmering's method--in fact, as good as you could get it in england." sanders nodded. "i remember now--you're the man that ran the still in the ashanti country, and got away with the concession." "that's me," said the other complacently. "p. t. corklan--i never assume an alias." sanders nodded again. "i came past villages," he said, "where every man and almost every woman was drunk. i have seen villages wiped out in drunken fights. i have seen a year's hard work ahead of me. you have corrupted a province in a very short space of time, and, as far as i can judge, you hoped to steal a government ship and get into neutral territory with the prize you have won by your----" "enterprise," said mr. corklan obligingly. "you'll have to prove that--about the ship. i am willing to stand any trial you like. there's no law about prohibition--it's one you've made yourself. i brought up the still--that's true--brought it up in sections and fitted it. i've been distilling spirits--that's true----" "i also saw a faithful servant of government, one ali kano," said sanders, in a low voice. "he was lying on the bank of this secret river of yours with two revolver bullets in him." "the nigger was spying on me, and i shot him," explained corklan. "i understand," said sanders. and then, after a little pause: "will you be hung or shot?" the cigar dropped from the man's mouth. "hey?" he said hoarsely. "you--you can't--do that--for making a drop of liquor--for niggers!" "for murdering a servant of the state," corrected sanders. "but, if it is any consolation to you, i will tell you that i would have killed you, anyway." it took mr. corklan an hour to make up his mind, and then he chose rifles. to-day the n'gombi point to a mound near the village of fimini, which they call by a name which means, "the waters of madness," and it is believed to be haunted by devils. chapter xi eye to eye "bones," said captain hamilton, in despair, "you will never be a napoleon." "dear old sir and brother-officer," said lieutenant tibbetts, "you are a jolly old pessimist." bones was by way of being examined in subjects c and d, for promotion to captaincy, and hamilton was the examining officer. by all the rules and laws and strict regulations which govern military examinations, bones had not only failed, but he had seriously jeopardized his right to his lieutenancy, if every man had his due. "now, let me put this," said hamilton. "suppose you were in charge of a company of men, and you were attacked on three sides, and you had a river behind you on the fourth side, and you found things were going very hard against you. what would you do?" "dear old sir," said bones thoughtfully, and screwing his face into all manner of contortions in his effort to secure the right answer, "i should go and wet my heated brow in the purling brook, then i'd take counsel with myself." "you'd lose," said hamilton, with a groan. "that's the last person in the world you should go to for advice, bones. suppose," he said, in a last desperate effort to awaken a gleam of military intelligence in his subordinate's mind, "suppose you were trekking through the forest with a hundred rifles, and you found your way barred by a thousand armed men. what would you do?" "go back," said bones, "and jolly quick, dear old fellow." "go back? what would you go back for?" asked the other, in astonishment. "to make my will," said bones firmly, "and to write a few letters to dear old friends in the far homeland. i have friends, ham," he said, with dignity, "jolly old people who listen for my footsteps, and to whom my voice is music, dear old fellow." "what other illusions do they suffer from?" asked hamilton offensively, closing his book with a bang. "well, you will be sorry to learn that i shall not recommend you for promotion." "you don't mean that," said bones hoarsely. "i mean that," said hamilton. "well, i thought if i had a pal to examine me, i would go through with flying colours." "then i am not a pal. you don't suggest," said hamilton, with ominous dignity, "that i would defraud the public by lying as to the qualities of a deficient character?" "yes, i do," said bones, nodding vigorously, "for my sake and for the sake of the child." the child was that small native whom bones had rescued and adopted. "not even for the sake of the child," said hamilton, with an air of finality. "bones, you're ploughed." bones did not speak, and hamilton gathered together the papers, forms, and paraphernalia of examination. he lifted his head suddenly, to discover that bones was staring at him. it was no ordinary stare, but something that was a little uncanny. "what the dickens are you looking at?" bones did not speak. his round eyes were fixed on his superior in an unwinking glare. "when i said you had failed," said hamilton kindly, "i meant, of course----" "that i'd passed," muttered bones excitedly. "say it, ham--say it! 'bones, congratulations, dear old lad'----" "i meant," said hamilton coldly, "that you have another chance next month." the face of lieutenant tibbetts twisted into a painful contortion. "it didn't work!" he said bitterly, and stalked from the room. "rum beggar!" thought hamilton, and smiled to himself. "have you noticed anything strange about bones?" asked patricia hamilton the next day. her brother looked at her over his newspaper. "the strangest thing about bones is bones," he said, "and that i am compelled to notice every day of my life." she looked up at sanders, who was idly pacing the stoep of the residency. "have you, mr. sanders?" sanders paused. "beyond the fact that he is rather preoccupied and stares at one----" "that is it," said the girl. "i knew i was right--he stares horribly. he has been doing it for a week--just staring. do you think he is ill?" "he has been moping in his hut for the past week," said hamilton thoughtfully, "but i was hoping that it meant that he was swotting for his exam. but staring--i seem to remember----" the subject of the discussion made his appearance at the far end of the square at that moment, and they watched him. first he walked slowly towards the houssa sentry, who shouldered his arms in salute. bones halted before the soldier and stared at him. somehow, the watchers on the stoep knew that he was staring--there was something so fixed, so tense in his attitude. then, without warning, the sentry's hand passed across his body, and the rifle came down to the "present." "what on earth is he doing?" demanded the outraged hamilton, for sentries do not present arms to subaltern officers. bones passed on. he stopped before one of the huts in the married lines, and stared at the wife of sergeant abiboo. he stared long and earnestly, and the woman, giggling uncomfortably, stared back. then she began to dance. "for heaven's sake----" gasped sanders, as bones passed on. "bones!" roared hamilton. bones turned first his head, then his body towards the residency, and made his slow way towards the group. "what is happening?" asked hamilton. the face of bones was flushed; there was triumph in his eye--triumph which his pose of nonchalance could not wholly conceal. "what is happening, dear old officer?" he asked innocently, and stared. "what the dickens are you goggling at?" demanded hamilton irritably. "and please explain why you told the sentry to present arms to you." "i didn't tell him, dear old sir and superior captain," said bones. his eyes never left hamilton's; he stared with a fierceness and with an intensity that was little short of ferocious. "confound you, what are you staring at? aren't you well?" demanded hamilton wrathfully. bones blinked. "quite well, sir and comrade," he said gravely. "pardon the question--did you feel a curious and unaccountable inclination to raise your right hand and salute me?" "did i--what?" demanded his dumbfounded superior. "a sort of itching of the right arm--an almost overpowerin' inclination to touch your hat to poor old bones?" hamilton drew a long breath. "i felt an almost overpowering desire to lift my foot," he said significantly. "look at me again," said bones calmly. "fix your eyes on mine an' think of nothin'. now shut your eyes. now you can't open 'em." "of course i can open them," said hamilton. "have you been drinking, bones?" a burst of delighted laughter from the girl checked bones's indignant denial. "i know!" she cried, clapping her hands. "bones is trying to mesmerize you!" "what?" the scarlet face of bones betrayed him. "power of the human eye, dear old sir," he said hurriedly. "some people have it--it's a gift. i discovered it the other day after readin' an article in _the scientific healer_." "phew!" hamilton whistled. "so," he said, with dangerous calm, "all this staring and gaping of yours means that, does it? i remember now. when i was examining you for promotion the other day, you stared. trying to mesmerize me?" "let bygones be bygones, dear old friend," begged bones. "and when i asked you to produce the company pay-sheets, which you forgot to bring up to date, you stared at me!" "it's a gift," said bones feebly. "oh, bones," said the girl slowly, "you stared at me, too, after i refused to go picnicking with you on the beach." "all's fair in love an' war," said bones vaguely. "it's a wonderful gift." "have you ever mesmerized anybody?" asked hamilton curiously, and bones brightened up. "rather, dear old sir," he said. "jolly old ali, my secretary--goes off in a regular trance on the slightest provocation. fact, dear old ham." hamilton clapped his hands, and his orderly, dozing in the shade of the verandah, rose up. "go, bring ali abid," said hamilton. and when the man had gone: "are you under the illusion that you made the sentry present arms to you, and abiboo's woman dance for you, by the magic of your eye?" "you saw," said the complacent bones. "it's a wonderful gift, dear old ham. as soon as i read the article, i tried it on ali. got him, first pop!" the girl was bubbling with suppressed laughter, and there was a twinkle in sanders's eye. "i recall that you saw me in connection with shooting leave in the n'gombi." "yes, sir and excellency," said the miserable bones. "and i said that i thought it inadvisable, because of the trouble in the bend of the isisi river." "yes, excellency and sir," agreed bones dolefully. "and then you stared." "did i, dear old--did i, sir?" his embarrassment was relieved by the arrival of ali. so buoyant a soul had bones, that from the deeps of despair into which he was beginning to sink he rose to heights of confidence, not to say self-assurance, that were positively staggering. "miss patricia, ladies and gentlemen," said bones briskly, "we have here ali abid, confidential servant and faithful retainer. i will now endeavour to demonstrate the power of the human eye." he met the stolid gaze of ali and stared. he stared terribly and alarmingly, and ali, to do him justice, stared back. "close your eyes," commanded bones. "you can't open them, can you?" "sir," said ali, "optics of subject are hermetically sealed." "i will now put him in a trance," said bones, and waved his hand mysteriously. ali rocked backward and forward, and would have fallen but for the supporting arm of the demonstrator. "he is now insensible to pain," said bones proudly. "lend me your hatpin, pat," said hamilton. "i will now awaken him," said bones hastily, and snapped his fingers. ali rose to his feet with great dignity. "thank you, ali; you may go," said his master, and turned, ready to receive the congratulations of the party. "do you seriously believe that you mesmerized that humbug?" bones drew himself erect. "sir and captain," he said stiffly, "do you suggest i am a jolly old impostor? you saw the sentry, sir, you saw the woman, sir." "and i saw ali," said hamilton, nodding, "and i'll bet he gave the sentry something and the woman something to play the goat for you." bones bowed slightly and distantly. "i cannot discuss my powers, dear old sir; you realize that there are some subjects too delicate to broach except with kindred spirits. i shall continue my studies of psychic mysteries undeterred by the cold breath of scepticism." he saluted everybody, and departed with chin up and shoulders squared, a picture of offended dignity. that night sanders lay in bed, snuggled up on his right side, which meant that he had arrived at the third stage of comfort which precedes that fading away of material life which men call sleep. half consciously he listened to the drip, drip, drip of rain on the stoep, and promised himself that he would call upon abiboo in the morning, to explain the matter of a choked gutter, for abiboo had sworn, by the prophet and certain minor relatives of the great one, that he had cleared every bird's nest from the ducts about the residency. drip, drip, drip, drip, drip! sanders sank with luxurious leisure into the nothingness of the night. drip-tap, drip-tap, drip-tap! he opened his eyes slowly, slid one leg out of bed, and groped for his slippers. he slipped into the silken dressing-gown which had been flung over the end of the bed, corded it about him, and switched on the electric light. then he passed out into the big common room, with its chairs drawn together in overnight comradeship, and the solemn tick of the big clock to emphasize the desolation. he paused a second to switch on the lights, then went to the door and flung it open. "enter!" he said in arabic. the man who came in was naked, save for a tarboosh on his head and a loin-cloth about his middle. his slim body shone with moisture, and where he stood on the white matting were two little pools. kano from his brown feet to the soaked fez, he stood erect with that curious assumption of pride and equality which the mussulman bears with less offence to his superiors than any other race. "peace on this house," he said, raising his hand. "speak, ahmet," said sanders, dropping into a big chair and stretching back, with his clasped hands behind his head. he eyed the man gravely and without resentment, for no spy would tap upon his window at night save that the business was a bad one. "lord," said the man, "it is shameful that i should wake your lordship from your beautiful dream, but i came with the river."[7] he looked down at his master, and in the way of certain kano people, who are dialecticians to a man, he asked: "lord, it is written in the sura of ya-sin, 'to the sun it is not given to overtake the moon----'" [footnote 7: i came when i could.] "'nor doth the night outstrip the day; but each in his own sphere doth journey on,'" finished sanders patiently. "thus also begins the sura of the cave: 'praise be to god, who hath sent down the book to his servant, and hath put no crookedness into it.' therefore, ahmet, be plain to me, and leave your good speeches till you meet the abominable sufi." the man sank to his haunches. "lord," he said, "from the bend of the river, where the isisi divides the land of the n'gombi from the lands of the good chief, i came, travelling by day and night with the river, for many strange things have happened which are too wonderful for me. this chief busesi, whom all men call good, has a daughter by his second wife. in the year of the high crops she was given to a stranger from the forest, him they call gufuri-bululu, and he took her away to live in his hut." sanders sat up. "go on, man," he said. "lord, she has returned and performs wonderful magic," said the man, "for by the wonder of her eyes she can make dead men live and live men die, and all people are afraid. also, lord, there was a wise man in the forest, who was blind, and he had a daughter who was the prop and staff of him, and because of his wisdom, and because she hated all who rivalled her, the woman d'rona gufuri told certain men to seize the girl and hold her in a deep pool of water until she was dead." "this is a bad palaver," said sanders; "but you shall tell me what you mean by the wonder of her eyes." "lord," said the man, "she looks upon men, and they do her will. now, it is her will that there shall be a great dance on the rind of the moon, and after she shall send the spears of the people of busesi--who is old and silly, and for this reason is called good--against the n'gombi folk." "oh," said sanders, biting his lip in thought, "by the wonder of her eyes!" "lord," said the man, "even i have seen this, for she has stricken men to the ground by looking at them, and some she has made mad, and others foolish." sanders turned his head at a noise from the doorway. the tall figure of hamilton stood peering sleepily at the light. "i heard your voice," he said apologetically. "what is the trouble?" briefly sanders related the story the man had told. "wow!" said hamilton, in a paroxysm of delight. "what's wrong?" "bones!" shouted hamilton. "bones is the fellow. let him go up and subdue her with his eye. he's the very fellow. i'll go over and call him, sir." he hustled into his clothing, slipped on a mackintosh, and, making his way across the dark square, admitted himself to the sleeping-hut of lieutenant tibbetts. by the light of his electric torch he discovered the slumberer. bones lay on his back, his large mouth wide open, one thin leg thrust out from the covers, and he was making strange noises. hamilton found the lamp and lit it, then he proceeded to the heart-breaking task of waking his subordinate. "up, you lazy devil!" he shouted, shaking bones by the shoulder. bones opened his eyes and blinked rapidly. "on the word 'one!'" he said hoarsely, "carry the left foot ten inches to the left front, at the same time bringing the rifle to a horizontal position at the right side. one!" "wake up, wake up, bones!" bones made a wailing noise. it was the noise of a mother panther who has returned to her lair to discover that her offspring have been eaten by wild pigs. "whar-r-ow-ow!" he said, and turned over on his right side. hamilton pocketed his torch, and, lifting bones bodily from the bed, let him fall with a thud. bones scrambled up, staring. "gentlemen of the jury," he said, "i stand before you a ruined man. drink has been my downfall, as the dear old judge remarked. i _did_ kill wilfred morgan, and i plead the unwritten law." he saluted stiffly, collapsed on to his pillow, and fell instantly into a deep child-like sleep. hamilton groaned. he had had occasion to wake bones from his beauty sleep before, but he had never been as bad as this. he took a soda siphon from the little sideboard and depressed the lever, holding the outlet above his victim's head. bones leapt up with a roar. "hello, ham!" he said quite sanely. "well dear old officer, this is the finish! you stand by the lifeboat an' shoot down anybody who attempts to leave the ship before the torpedoes are saved. i'm goin' down into the hold to have a look at the women an' children." he saluted, and was stepping out into the wet night, when hamilton caught his arm. "steady, the buffs, my sleeping beauty! dress yourself. sanders wants you." bones nodded. "i'll just drive over and see him," he said, climbed back into bed, and was asleep in a second. hamilton put out the light and went back to the residency. "i hadn't the heart to cut his ear off," he said regretfully. "i'm afraid we shan't be able to consult bones till the morning." sanders nodded. "anyway, i will wait for the morning. i have told abiboo to get stores and wood aboard, and to have steam in the _zaire_. let us emulate bones." "heaven forbid!" said hamilton piously. bones came blithely to breakfast, a dapper and a perfectly groomed figure. he received the news of the ominous happenings in the n'gombi country with that air of profound solemnity which so annoyed hamilton. "i wish you had called me in the night," he said gravely. "dear old officer, i think it was due to me." "called you! called you! why--why----" spluttered hamilton. "in fact, we did call you bones, but we could not wake you," smoothed sanders. a look of amazement spread over the youthful face of lieutenant tibbetts. "you called me?" he asked incredulously. "called _me_?" "_you!_" hissed hamilton. "i not only called you, but i kicked you. i poured water on you, and i chucked you up to the roof of the hut and dropped you." a faint but unbelieving smile from bones. "are you sure it was me, dear old officer?" he asked, and hamilton choked. "i only ask," said bones, turning blandly to the girl, "because i'm a notoriously light sleeper, dear old miss patricia. the slightest stir wakes me, and instantly i'm in possession of all my faculties. bosambo calls me 'eye-that-never-shuts----'" "bosambo is a notorious leg-puller," interrupted hamilton irritably. "really, bones----" "often, dear old sister," bones went on impressively, "campin' out in the forest, an' sunk in the profound sleep which youth an' a good conscience brings, something has wakened me, an' i've jumped to my feet, a revolver in my hand, an' what do you think it was?" "a herd of wild elephants walking on your chest?" suggested hamilton. "what do you think it was, dear old patricia miss?" persisted bones, and interrupted her ingenious speculation in his usual aggravating manner: "the sound of a footstep breakin' a twig a hundred yards away!" "wonderful!" sneered hamilton, stirring his coffee. "bones, if you could only spell, what a novelist you'd be!" "the point is," said sanders, with good-humoured patience, which brought, for some curious reason, a warm sense of intimacy to the girl, "you've got to go up and try your eye on the woman d'rona gufuri." bones leant back in his chair and spoke with deliberation and importance, for he realized that he, and only he, could supply a solution to the difficulties of his superiors. "the power of the human eye, when applied by a jolly old scientist to a heathen, is irresistible. you may expect me down with the prisoner in four days." "she may be more trouble than you expect," said sanders seriously. "the longer one lives in native lands, the less confident can one be. there have been remarkable cases of men possessing the power which this woman has----" "and which i have, sir an' excellency, to an extraordinary extent," interrupted bones firmly. "have no fear." * * * * * thirty-six hours later bones stood before the woman d'rona gufuri. "lord," said the woman, "men speak evilly of me to sandi, and now you have come to take me to the village of irons." "that is true, d'rona," said bones, and looked into her eyes. "lord," said the woman, speaking slowly, "you shall go back to sandi and say, 'i have not seen the woman d'rona'--for, lord, is this not truth?" "i'wa! i'wa!" muttered bones thickly. "you cannot see me tibbetti, and i am not here," said the woman, and she spoke before the assembled villagers, who stood, knuckles to teeth, gazing awe-stricken upon the scene. "i cannot see you," said bones sleepily. "and now you cannot hear me, lord?" bones did not reply. the woman took him by the arm and led him through the patch of wood which fringes the river and separates beach from village. none followed them; even the two houssas who formed the escort of lieutenant tibbetts stayed rooted to the spot. bones passed into the shadow of the trees, the woman's hand on his arm. then suddenly from the undergrowth rose a lank figure, and d'rona of the magic eye felt a bony hand at her throat. she laughed. "o man, whoever you be, look upon me in this light, and your strength shall melt." she twisted round to meet her assailant's face, and shrieked aloud, for he was blind. and bones stood by without moving, without seeing or hearing, whilst the strong hands of the blind witch-doctor, whose daughter she had slain, crushed the life from her body. * * * * * "of course, sir," explained bones, "you may think she mesmerized me. on the other hand, it is quite possible that she acted under my influence. it's a moot point, sir an' excellency--jolly moot!" chapter xii the hooded king there was a certain portuguese governor--this was in the days when colhemos was colonial minister--who had a small legitimate income and an extravagant wife. this good lady had a villa at cintra, a box at the real theatre de sã£o carlos, and a motor-car, and gave five o'clocks at the hotel nunes to the aristocracy and gentry who inhabited that spot, of whom the ecstatic spaniard said, "dejar a cintra, y ver al mundo entero, es, con verdad caminar en capuchera." since her husband's salary was exactly $66.50 weekly and the upkeep of the villa alone was twice that amount, it is not difficult to understand that senhor bonaventura was a remarkable man. colhemos came over to the foreign office in the praco de commercio one day and saw dr. sarabesta, and sarabesta, who was both a republican and a sinner, was also ambitious, or he had a plan and an ideal--two very dangerous possessions for a politician, since they lead inevitably to change, than which nothing is more fatal to political systems. "colhemos," said the doctor dramatically, "you are ruining me! you are bringing me to the dust and covering me with the hatred and mistrust of the powers!" he folded his arms and rose starkly from the chair, his beard all a-bristle, his deep little eyes glaring. "what is wrong, baptisa?" asked colhemos. the other flung out his arms in an extravagant gesture. "ruin!" he cried somewhat inadequately. he opened the leather portfolio which lay on the table and extracted six sheets of foolscap paper. "read!" he said, and subsided into his padded armchair a picture of gloom. the sheets of foolscap were surmounted by crests showing an emaciated lion and a small horse with a spiral horn in his forehead endeavouring to climb a chafing-dish which had been placed on edge for the purpose, and was suitably inscribed with another lion, two groups of leopards and a harp. colhemos did not stop to admire the menagerie, but proceeded at once to the literature. it was in french, and had to do with a certain condition of affairs in portuguese central africa which "constituted a grave and increasing menace to the native subjects" of "grande bretagne." there were hints, "which his majesty's government would be sorry to believe, of raids and requisitions upon the native manhood" of this country which differed little from slave raids. further, "mr. commissioner sanders of the territories regretted to learn" that these labour requisitions resulted in a condition of affairs not far removed from slavery. colhemos read through the dispatch from start to finish, and put it down thoughtfully. "pinto has been overdoing it," he admitted. "i shall have to write to him." "what you write to pinto may be interesting enough to print," said dr. sarabesta violently, "but what shall i write to london? this commissioner sanders is a fairly reliable man, and his government will act upon what he says." colhemos, who was really a great man (it was a distinct loss when he faced a firing platoon in the revolutionary days of '12), tapped his nose with a penholder. "you can say that we shall send a special commissioner to the m'fusi country to report, and that he will remain permanently established in the m'fusi to suppress lawless acts." the doctor looked up wonderingly. "pinto won't like that," said he, "besides which, the m'fusi are quite unmanageable. the last time we tried to bring them to reason it cost--santa maria!... and the lives!... phew!" colhemos nodded. "the duc de sagosta," he said slowly, "is an enthusiastic young man. he is also a royalist and allied by family ties to dr. ceillo of the left. he is, moreover, an anglomaniac--though why he should be so when his mother was an american woman i do not know. he shall be our commissioner, my dear baptisa." his dear baptisa sat bolt upright, every hair in his bristling head erect. "a royalist!" he gasped, "do you want to set portugal ablaze?" "there are moments when i could answer 'yes' to that question," said the truthful colhemos "but for the moment i am satisfied that there will be no fireworks. it will do no harm to send the boy. it will placate the left and please the clerics--it will also consolidate our reputation for liberality and largeness of mind. also the young man will either be killed or fall a victim to the sinister influences of that corruption which, alas, has so entered into the vitals of our colonial service." so manuel duc de sagosta was summoned, and prepared for the subject of his visit by telephone, came racing up from cintra in his big american juggernaut, leapt up the stairs of the colonial office two at a time, and came to colhemos' presence in a state of mind which may be described as a big mental whoop. "you will understand, senhor," said colhemos, "that i am doing that which may make me unpopular. for that i care nothing! my country is my first thought, and the glory and honour of our flag! some day you may hold my portfolio in the cabinet, and it will be well if you bring to your high and noble office the experience...." then they all talked together, and the dark room flickered with gesticulating palms. colhemos came to see the boy off by the m.n.p. boat which carried him to the african coast. "i suppose, senhor," said the duc, "there would be no objection on the part of the government to my calling on my way at a certain british port. i have a friend in the english army--we were at clifton together----" "my friend," said colhemos, pressing the young man's hand warmly, "you must look upon england as a potential ally, and lose no opportunity which offers to impress upon our dear colleagues this fact, that behind england, unmoved, unshaken, faithful, stands the armed might of portugal. may the saints have you in their keeping!" he embraced him, kissing him on both cheeks. * * * * * bones was drilling recruits at headquarters when hamilton hailed him from the edge of the square. "there's a pal of yours come to see you, bones," he roared. bones marched sedately to his superior and touched his helmet. "sir!" "a friend of yours--just landed from the portuguese packet." bones was mystified, and went up to the residency to find a young man in spotless white being entertained by patricia hamilton and a very thoughtful sanders. the duc de sagosta leapt to his feet as bones came up the verandah. "hullo, conk!" he yelled hilariously. bones stared. "god bless my life," he stammered, "it's mug!" there was a terrific hand-shaking accompanied by squawking inquiries which were never answered, uproarious laughter, back patting, brazen and baseless charges that each was growing fat, and sanders watched it with great kindness. "here's old ham," said bones, "you ought to know ham--captain hamilton, sir, my friend, the duke of something or other--but you can call him mug--miss hamilton--this is mug." "we've already been introduced," she laughed. "but why do you let him call you mug?" the duc grinned. "i like mug," he said simply. he was to stay to lunch, for the ship was not leaving until the afternoon, and bones carried him off to his hut. "a joyous pair," said hamilton enviously. "lord, if i was only a boy again!" sanders shook his head. "you don't echo that wish?" said pat. "i wasn't thinking about that--i was thinking of the boy. i dislike this m'fusi business, and i can't think why the government sent him. they are a pretty bad lot--their territory is at the back of the akasava, and the chief of the m'fusi is a rascal." "but he says that he has been sent to reform them," said the girl. sanders smiled. "it is not a job i should care to undertake--and yet----" he knitted his forehead. "and yet----?" "i could reform them--bones could reform them. but if they were reformed it would break bonaventura, for he holds his job subject to their infamy." at lunch sanders was unusually silent, a silence which was unnoticed, save by the girl. bones and his friend, however, needed no stimulation. lunch was an almost deafening meal, and when the time came for the duc to leave, the whole party went down to the beach to see him embark. "good-bye, old mug!" roared bones, as the boat pulled away. "whoop! hi! how!" "you're a noisy devil," said hamilton, admiringly. "vox populi, vox dei," said bones. he had an unexpected visitor that evening, for whilst he was dressing for dinner, sanders came into his hut--an unusual happening. what sanders had to say may not be related since it was quite unofficial, but bones came to dinner that night and behaved with such decorum and preserved a mien so grave, that hamilton thought he was ill. the duc continued his journey down the african coast and presently came to a port which was little more than a beach, a jetty, a big white house, and by far the most imposing end of the moanda road. in due time, he arrived by the worst track in the world (he was six days on the journey) at moanda itself, and came into the presence of the governor. did the duc but know it, his excellency had also been prepared for the young man's mission. the mail had arrived by carrier the day before the duc put in his appearance, and pinto bonaventura had his little piece all ready to say. "i will give you all the assistance i possibly can," he said, as they sat at _dã©jeuner_, "but, naturally, i cannot guarantee you immunity." "immunity?" said the puzzled duc. senhor bonaventura nodded gravely. "nothing is more repugnant to me than slavery," he said, "unless it be the terrible habit of drinking. if i could sweep these evils out of existence with a wave of my hand, believe me i would do so; but i cannot perform miracles, and the government will not give me sufficient troops to suppress these practices which every one of us hold in abhorrence." "but," protested the duc, a little alarmed, "since i am going to reform the m'fusi...." the governor choked over his coffee and apologized. he did not laugh, because long residence in central africa had got him out of the habit, and had taught him a certain amount of self-control in all things except the consumption of marsala. "pray go on," he said, wearing an impassive face. "it will be to the interests of portugal, no less than to your excellency's interest," said the young man, leaning across the table and speaking with great earnestness, "if i can secure a condition of peace, prosperity, sobriety, and if i can establish the portuguese law in this disturbed area." "undoubtedly," acknowledged the older man with profound seriousness. so far from the duc's statement representing anything near the truth, it may be said that a restoration of order would serve his excellency very badly indeed. in point of fact he received something like eight shillings for every "head" of "recruited labour." he also received a commission from the same interested syndicates which exported able-bodied labourers, a commission amounting to six shillings upon every case of square-face, and a larger sum upon every keg of rum that came into the country. sobriety and law would, in fact, spell much discomfort to the elegant lady who lived in the villa at cintra, and would considerably diminish not only senhor bonaventura's handsome balance at the bank of brazil, but would impoverish certain ministers, permanent and temporary, who looked to their dear pinto for periodical contributions to what was humorously described as "the party fund." yet the duc de sagosta went into the wilds with a high heart and a complete faith, in his youthful and credulous soul, that he had behind him the full moral and physical support of a high-minded and patriotic governor. the high-minded and patriotic governor, watching the caravan of his new assistant disappearing through the woods which fringe moanda, expressed in picturesque language his fervent hope that the mud, the swamp, the forest and the wilderness of the m'fusi country would swallow up this young man for evermore, amen. the unpopularity of the new commissioner was sealed when the governor learnt of his visit to sanders, for "sanders" was a name at which his excellency made disapproving noises. the predecessor of the duc de sagosta was dead. his grave was in the duc's front garden, and was covered with rank grass. the new-comer found the office correspondence in order (as a glib native clerk demonstrated); he also found 103 empty bottles behind the house, and understood the meaning of that coarse grave in the garden. he found that the last index number in the letter-book was 951. it is remarkable that the man he succeeded should have found, in one year, 951 subjects for correspondence, but it is the fact. possibly nine hundred of the letters had to do with the terrible state of the residency at uango-bozeri. the roof leaked, the foundations had settled, and not a door closed as it should close. on the day of his arrival the duc found a _mamba_ resting luxuriously in his one armchair, a discovery which suggested the existence of a whole colony of these deadly brutes--the _mamba_ bite is fatal in exactly ninety seconds--under or near the house. the other fifty dispatches probably had to do with the late commissioner's arrears of pay, for portugal at that time was in the throes of her annual crisis, and ministries were passing through the government offices at lisbon with such rapidity that before a cheque could be carried from the foreign office to the bank, it was out of date. uango bozeri is 220 miles by road from the coast, and is the centre of the child-like people of the m'fusi. here the duc dwelt and had his being, as governor of 2,000 square miles, and overlord of some million people who were cannibals with a passion for a fiery liquid which was described by traders as "rum." it was as near rum as the white city is to heaven; that is to say, to the uncultivated taste it might have been rum, and anyway was as near to rum as the taster could expect to get. this is all there is to be said about the duc de sagosta, save that his headman swindled him, his soldiers were conscienceless natives committing acts of brigandage in his innocent name, whilst his chief at moanda was a peculating and incompetent scoundrel. at the time when the duc was finding life a bitter and humiliating experience, and had reached the stage when he sat on his predecessor's grave for company, a small and unauthorized party crossed the frontier from the british territories in search of adventure. now it happened that the particular region through which the border-line passed was governed by the chief of the greater m'fusi, who was a cannibal, a drunkard, and a master of two regiments. the duc had been advised not to interfere with the chief of his people, and he had (after one abortive and painful experience) obeyed his superiors, accepting the hut tax which was sent to him (and which was obviously and insolently inadequate) without demur. no white man journeyed to the city of the m'fusi without invitation from the chief, and as chief karata never issued such invitation, the greater m'fusi was a _terra incognita_ even to his excellency the governor-general of the central and western provinces. karata was a drunkard approaching lunacy. it was his whim for weeks on end to wear on his head the mask of a goat. at other times, "as a mark of his confidence in devils," he would appear hidden beneath a plaited straw extinguisher which fitted him from head to foot. he was eccentric in other ways which need not be particularized, but he was never so eccentric that he welcomed strangers. unfortunately for those concerned, the high road from the territories passed through the m'fusi drift. and one day there came a panting messenger from the keeper of the drift who flung himself down at the king's feet. "lord," said he, "there is a white man at the drift, and with him a certain chief and his men." "you will take the men, bringing them to me tied with ropes," said the king, who looked at the messenger with glassy eyes and found some difficulty in speaking, for he was at the truculent stage of his second bottle. the messenger returned and met the party on the road. what was his attitude towards the intruders it is impossible to say. he may have been insolent, secure in the feeling that he was representing his master's attitude towards white men; he may have offered fight in the illusion that the six warriors he took with him were sufficient to enforce the king's law. it is certain that he never returned. instead there came to the king's kraal a small but formidable party under a white man, and they arrived at a propitious moment, for the ground before the king's great hut was covered with square bottles, and the space in front of the palace was crowded with wretched men chained neck to neck and waiting to march to the coast and slavery. the white man pushed back his helmet. "goodness gracious heavens!" he exclaimed, "how perfectly horrid! bosambo, this is immensely illegal an' terrificly disgustin'." the chief of the ochori looked round. "dis feller be dam' bad," was his effort. bones walked leisurely to the shady canopy under which the king sat, and king karata stared stupidly at the unexpected vision. "o king," said bones in the akasavian vernacular which runs from dacca to the congo, "this is an evil thing that you do--against all law." open-mouthed karata continued to stare. to the crowded kraal, on prisoner and warrior, councillor and dancing woman alike, came a silence deep and unbroken. they heard the words spoken in a familiar tongue, and marvelled that a white man should speak it. bones was carrying a stick and taking deliberate aim, and after two trial strokes he brought the nobbly end round with a "swish!" a bottle of square-face smashed into a thousand pieces, and there arose on the hot air the sickly scent of crude spirits. fascinated, silent, motionless, king karata, named not without reason "the terrible," watched the destruction as bottle followed bottle. then as a dim realization of the infamy filtered through his thick brain, he rose with a growl like a savage animal, and bones turned quickly. but bosambo was quicker. one stride brought him to the king's side. "down, dog!" he said. "o karata, you are very near the painted hut where dead kings lie." the king sank back and glared to and fro. all that was animal in him told of his danger; he smelt death in the mirthless grin of the white man; he smelt it as strongly under the hand of the tall native wearing the monkey-tails of chieftainship. if they would only stand away from him they would die quickly enough. let them get out of reach, and a shout, an order, would send them bloodily to the ground with little kicks and twitches as the life ran out of them. but they stood too close, and that order of his meant his death. "o white man," he began. "listen, black man," said bosambo, and lapsed into his english; "hark um, you dam' black nigger--what for you speak um so?" "you shall say 'master' to me, karata," said bones easily, "for in my land 'white man' is evil talk."[8] [footnote 8: in most native countries "white man" is seldom employed save as a piece of insolence. it is equivalent to the practice of referring to the natives as niggers.] "master," said the king sullenly, "this is a strange thing--for i see that you are english and we be servants of another king. also it is forbidden that any white--that any master should stand in my kraal without my word, and i have driven even igselensi from my face." "that is all foolish talk, karata," said bones. "this is good talk: shall karata live or shall he die? this you shall say. if you send away this palaver and say to your people that we are folk whom you desire shall live in the shadow of the king's hut, then you live. let him say less than this, bosambo, and you strike quickly." the king looked from face to face. bones had his hand in the uniform jacket pocket. bosambo balanced his killing-spear on the palm of his hand, the chief saw with the eye of an expert that the edge was razor sharp. then he turned to the group whom bones had motioned away when he started to speak to the king. "this palaver is finished," he said, "and the white lord stays in my hut for a night." "good egg," said bones as the crowd streamed from the kraal. senhor bonaventura heard of the arrival of a white man at the chief's great kraal and was not perturbed, because there were certain favourite traders who came to the king from time to time. he was more concerned by the fact that a labour draft of eight hundred men who had been promised by karata had not yet reached moanda, but frantic panic came from the remarkable information of karata's eccentricities which had reached him from his lieutenant. the duc's letter may be reproduced. "illustrious and excellent senhor, "it is with joy that i announce to you the most remarkable reformation of king karata. the news was brought to me that the king had received a number of visitors of an unauthorized character, and though i had, as i have reported to you, illustrious and excellent senhor, the most unpleasant experience at the hands of the king, i deemed it advisable to go to the city of the greater m'fusi and conduct an inquiry. "i learnt that the king had indeed received the visitors, and that they had departed on the morning of my arrival carrying with them one of their number who was sick. with this party was a white man. but the most remarkable circumstance, illustrious and excellent senhor, was that the king had called a midnight palaver of his councillors and high people of state and had told them that the strangers had brought news of such sorrowful character that for four moons it would be forbidden to look upon his face. at the end of that period he would disappear from the earth and become a god amongst the stars. "at these words, illustrious and excellent senhor, the king with some reluctance took from one of the strangers a bag in which two eyes had been cut, and pulled it over his head and went back into his hut. "since then he has done many remarkable things. he has forbidden the importation of drink, and has freed all labour men to their homes. he has nominated zifingini, the elder chief of the m'fusi, to be king after his departure, and has added another fighting regiment to his army. "he is quite changed, and though they cannot see his face and he has banished all his wives, relatives and councillors to a distant village, he is more popular than ever. "illustrious and excellent senhor, i feel that at last i am seeing the end of the old rã©gime and that we may look forward to a period of sobriety and prosperity in the m'fusi. "receive the assurance, illustrious and excellent senhor, of my distinguished consideration." his excellency went purple and white. "holy mother!" he spluttered apoplectically, "this is ruin!" with trembling hands he wrote a telegram. translated in its sense it was to this effect-"recall de sagosta without fail or there will be nothing doing on pay day." he saw this dispatched on its way, and returned to his bureau. he picked up the duc's letter and read it again: then he saw there was a postscript. "p.s.--in regard to the strangers who visited the king, the man they carried away on a closed litter was very sick indeed, according to the accounts of woodmen who met the party. he was raving at the top of his voice, but the white man was singing very loudly. "p.ss.--i have just heard, illustrious and excellent senhor, that the hooded king (as his people call him) has sent off all his richest treasures and many others which he has taken from the huts of his deported relatives to one bosambo, who is a chief of the ochori in british territory, and is distantly related to senhor sanders, the commissioner of that territory." the end transcriber's note: minor changes have been made to correct typesetter's errors; in all other respects, every effort has been made to be true to the author's words and intent. the online distributed proofreading canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net sanders of the river by edgar wallace author of "four just men," "the council of justice," "the duke in the suburbs," etc. ward, lock & co., limited london and melbourne popular novels by edgar wallace published by ward, lock & co., limited. _in various editions._ sanders of the river bones bosambo of the river bones in london the keepers of the king's peace the council of justice the duke in the suburbs the people of the river down under donovan private selby the admirable carfew the man who bought london the just men of cordova the secret house kate, plus ten lieutenant bones the adventures of heine jack o' judgment the daffodil mystery the nine bears the book of all power mr. justice maxell the books of bart the dark eyes of london chick sandi, the king-maker the three oak mystery the fellowship of the frog blue hand grey timothy a debt discharged those folk of bulboro the man who was nobody the green rust _made and printed in great britain by_ ward, lock & co., limited, london. contents. chapter page i.--the education of the king 5 ii.--keepers of the stone 29 iii.--bosambo of monrovia 47 iv.--the drowsy one 61 v.--the special commissioner 78 vi.--the dancing stones 98 vii.--the forest of happy dreams 117 viii.--the akasavas 131 ix.--the wood of devils 151 x.--the loves of m'lino 169 xi.--the witch-doctor 189 xii.--the lonely one 208 xiii.--the seer 224 the last.--dogs of war 243 sanders of the river. chapter i. the education of the king. mr. commissioner sanders had graduated to west central africa by such easy stages that he did not realise when his acquaintance with the back lands began. long before he was called upon by the british government to keep a watchful eye upon some quarter of a million cannibal folk, who ten years before had regarded white men as we regard the unicorn; he had met the basuto, the zulu, the fingo, the pondo, matabele, mashona, barotse, hottentot, and bechuana. then curiosity and interest took him westward and northward, and he met the angola folk, then northward to the congo, westward to the masai, and finally, by way of the pigmy people, he came to his own land. now, there is a subtle difference between all these races, a difference that only such men as sanders know. it is not necessarily a variety of colour, though some are brown and some yellow, and some--a very few--jet black. the difference is in character. by sanders' code you trusted all natives up to the same point, as you trust children, with a few notable exceptions. the zulu were men, the basuto were men, yet childlike in their grave faith. the black men who wore the fez were subtle, but trustworthy; but the browny men of the gold coast, who talked english, wore european clothing, and called one another "mr.," were sanders' pet abomination. living so long with children of a larger growth, it follows that he absorbed many of their childlike qualities. once, on furlough in london, a confidence trick was played on him, and only his natural honesty pulled him out of a ridiculous scrape. for, when the gold-brick man produced his dull metal ingot, all sanders' moral nerves stood endways, and he ran the confiding "bunco steerer" to the nearest station, charging him, to the astonishment of a sorely-puzzled policeman, with "i.g.b.," which means illicit gold buying. sanders did not doubt that the ingot was gold, but he was equally certain that the gold was not honestly come by. his surprise when he found that the "gold" was gold-leaf imposed upon the lead of commerce was pathetic. you may say of sanders that he was a statesman, which means that he had no exaggerated opinion of the value of individual human life. when he saw a dead leaf on the plant of civilisation, he plucked it off, or a weed growing with his "flowers" he pulled it up, not stopping to consider the weed's equal right to life. when a man, whether he was _capita_ or slave, by his bad example endangered the peace of his country, sanders fell upon him. in their unregenerate days, the isisi called him "ogani isisi," which means "the little butcher bird," and certainly in that time sanders was prompt to hang. he governed a people three hundred miles beyond the fringe of civilisation. hesitation to act, delay in awarding punishment, either of these two things would have been mistaken for weakness amongst a people who had neither power to reason, nor will to excuse, nor any large charity. in the land which curves along the borders of togo the people understand punishment to mean pain and death, and nothing else counts. there was a foolish commissioner who was a great humanitarian, and he went up to akasava--which is the name of this land--and tried moral suasion. it was a raiding palaver. some of the people of akasava had crossed the river to ochori and stolen women and goats, and i believe there was a man or two killed, but that is unimportant. the goats and the women were alive, and cried aloud for vengeance. they cried so loud that down at headquarters they were heard and mr. commissioner niceman--that was not his name, but it will serve--went up to see what all the noise was about. he found the ochori people very angry, but more frightened. "if," said their spokesman, "they will return our goats, they may keep the women, because the goats are very valuable." so mr. commissioner niceman had a long, long palaver that lasted days and days, with the chief of the akasava people and his councillors, and in the end moral suasion triumphed, and the people promised on a certain day, at a certain hour, when the moon was in such a quarter and the tide at such a height, the women should be returned and the goats also. so mr. niceman returned to headquarters, swelling with admiration for himself and wrote a long report about his genius and his administrative abilities, and his knowledge of the native, which was afterwards published in blue book (africa) 7943-96. it so happened that mr. niceman immediately afterwards went home to england on furlough, so that he did not hear the laments and woeful wailings of the ochori folk when they did not get their women or their goats. sanders, working round the isisi river, with ten houssas and an attack of malaria, got a helio message: "go akasava and settle that infernal woman palaver.--administration." so sanders girded up his loins, took 25 grains of quinine, and leaving his good work--he was searching for m'beli, the witch-doctor, who had poisoned a friend--trekked across country for the akasava. in the course of time he came to the city and was met by the chief. "what about these women?" he asked. "we will have a palaver," said the chief. "i will summon my headmen and my councillors." "summon nothing," said sanders shortly. "send back the women and the goats you stole from the ochori." "master," said the chief, "at full moon, which is our custom, when the tide is so, and all signs of gods and devils are propitious, i will do as you bid." "chief," said sanders, tapping the ebony chest of the other with the thin end of his walking-stick, "moon and river, gods or devils, those women and the goats go back to the ochori folk by sunset, or i tie you to a tree and flog you till you bleed." "master," said the chief, "the women shall be returned." "and the goats," said sanders. "as to the goats," said the chief airily, "they are dead, having been killed for a feast." "you will bring them back to life," said sanders. "master, do you think i am a magician?" asked the chief of the akasava. "i think you are a liar," said sanders impartially, and there the palaver finished. that night goats and women returned to the ochori, and sanders prepared to depart. he took aside the chief, not desiring to put shame upon him or to weaken his authority. "chief," he said, "it is a long journey to akasava, and i am a man fulfilling many tasks. i desire that you do not cause me any further journey to this territory." "master," said the chief truthfully, "i never wish to see you again." sanders smiled aside, collected his ten houssas, and went back to the isisi river to continue his search for m'beli. it was not a nice search for many causes, and there was every reason to believe, too, that the king of isisi himself was the murderer's protector. confirmation of this view came one morning when sanders, encamped by the big river, was taking a breakfast of tinned milk and toast. there arrived hurriedly sato-koto, the brother of the king, in great distress of mind, for he was a fugitive from the king's wrath. he babbled forth all manner of news, in much of which sanders took no interest whatever. but what he said of the witch-doctor who lived in the king's shadow was very interesting indeed, and sanders sent a messenger to headquarters, and, as it transpired, headquarters despatched in the course of time mr. niceman--who by this time had returned from furlough--to morally "suade" the king of the isisi. from such evidence as we have been able to collect it is evident that the king was not in a melting mood. it is an indisputable fact that poor niceman's head, stuck on a pole before the king's hut, proclaimed the king's high spirits. h.m.s. _st. george_, h.m.s. _thrush_, h.m.s. _philomel_, h.m.s. _phoebe_ sailed from simonstown, and h.m.s. _dwarf_ came down from sierra leone _hec dum_, and in less than a month after the king killed his guest he wished he hadn't. headquarters sent sanders to clear up the political side of the mess. he was shown round what was left of the king's city by the flag-lieutenant of the _st. george_. "i am afraid," said that gentleman, apologetically, "i am afraid that you will have to dig out a new king; we've rather killed the old one." sanders nodded. "i shall not go into mourning," he said. there was no difficulty in finding candidates for the vacant post. sato-koto, the dead king's brother, expressed his willingness to assume the cares of office with commendable promptitude. "what do you say?" asked the admiral, commanding the expedition. "i say no, sir," said sanders, without hesitation. "the king has a son, a boy of nine; the kingship must be his. as for sato-koto, he shall be regent at pleasure." and so it was arranged, sato-koto sulkily assenting. they found the new king hidden in the woods with the women folk, and he tried to bolt, but sanders caught him and led him back to the city by the ear. "my boy," he said kindly, "how do people call you?" "peter, master," whimpered the wriggling lad; "in the fashion of the white people." "very well," said sanders, "you shall be king peter, and rule this country wisely and justly according to custom and the law. and you shall do hurt to none, and put shame on none nor shall you kill or raid or do any of the things that make life worth living, and if you break loose, may the lord help you!" thus was king peter appointed monarch of the isisi people, and sanders went back to head-quarters with the little army of bluejackets and houssas, for m'beli, the witch-doctor, had been slain at the taking of the city, and sanders' work was finished. the story of the taking of isisi village, and the crowning of the young king, was told in the london newspapers, and lost nothing in the telling. it was so described by the special correspondents, who accompanied the expedition, that many dear old ladies of bayswater wept, and many dear young ladies of mayfair said: "how sweet!" and the outcome of the many emotions which the description evoked was the sending out from england of miss clinton calbraith, who was an m.a., and unaccountably pretty. she came out to "mother" the orphan king, to be a mentor and a friend. she paid her own passage, but the books which she brought and the school paraphernalia that filled two large packing cases were subscribed for by the tender readers of _tiny toddlers_, a magazine for infants. sanders met her on the landing-stage, being curious to see what a white woman looked like. he put a hut at her disposal and sent the wife of his coast clerk to look after her. "and now, miss calbraith," he said, at dinner that night, "what do you expect to do with peter?" she tilted her pretty chin in the air reflectively. "we shall start with the most elementary of lessons--the merest kindergarten, and gradually work up. i shall teach him calisthenics, a little botany--mr. sanders, you're laughing." "no, i wasn't," he hastened to assure her; "i always make a face like that--er--in the evening. but tell me this--do you speak the language--swaheli, bomongo, fingi?" "that will be a difficulty," she said thoughtfully. "will you take my advice?" he asked. "why, yes." "well, learn the language." she nodded. "go home and learn it." she frowned. "it will take you about twenty-five years." "mr. sanders," she said, not without dignity, "you are pulling--you are making fun of me." "heaven forbid!" said sanders piously, "that i should do anything so wicked." the end of the story, so far as miss clinton calbraith was concerned, was that she went to isisi, stayed three days, and came back incoherent. "he is not a child!" she said wildly; "he is--a--a little devil!" "so i should say," said sanders philosophically. "a king? it is disgraceful! he lives in a mud hut and wears no clothes. if i'd known!" "a child of nature," said sanders blandly. "you didn't expect a sort of louis quinze, did you?" "i don't know what i expected," she said desperately; "but it was impossible to stay--quite impossible." "obviously," murmured sanders. "of course, i knew he would be black," she went on; "and i knew that--oh, it was too horrid!" "the fact of it is, my dear young lady," said sanders, "peter wasn't as picturesque as you imagined him; he wasn't the gentle child with pleading eyes; and he lives messy--is that it?" this was not the only attempt ever made to educate peter. months afterwards, when miss calbraith had gone home and was busily writing her famous book, "alone in africa: by an english gentlewoman," sanders heard of another educative raid. two members of an ethiopian mission came into isisi by the back way. the ethiopian mission is made up of christian black men, who, very properly, basing their creed upon holy writ, preach the gospel of equality. a black man is as good as a white man any day of the week, and infinitely better on sundays if he happens to be a member of the reformed ethiopian church. they came to isisi and achieved instant popularity, for the kind of talk they provided was very much to the liking of sato-koto and the king's councillors. sanders sent for the missioners. the first summons they refused to obey, but they came on the second occasion, because the message sanders sent was at once peremptory and ominous. they came to headquarters, two cultured american negroes of good address and refined conversation. they spoke english faultlessly, and were in every sense perfect gentlemen. "we cannot understand the character of your command," said one, "which savours somewhat of interference with the liberty of the subject." "you'll understand me better," said sanders, who knew his men, "when i tell you that i cannot allow you to preach sedition to my people." "sedition, mr. sanders!" said the negro in shocked tones. "that is a grave charge." sanders took a paper from a pigeon-hole in his desk; the interview took place in his office. "on such a date," he said, "you said this, and this, and that." in other words he accused them of overstepping the creed of equality and encroaching upon the borderland of political agitation. "lies!" said the elder of the two, without hesitation. "truth or lies," he said, "you go no more to isisi." "would you have the heathen remain in darkness?" asked the man, in reproach. "is the light we kindle too bright, master?" "no," said sanders, "but a bit too warm." so he committed the outrage of removing the ethiopians from the scene of their earnest labours, in consequence of which questions were asked in parliament. then the chief of the akasava people--an old friend--took a hand in the education of king peter. akasava adjoins that king's territory, and the chief came to give hints in military affairs. he came with drums a-beating, with presents of fish and bananas and salt. "you are a great king!" he said to the sleepy-eyed boy who sat on a stool of state, regarding him with open-mouthed interest. "when you walk the world shakes at your tread; the mighty river that goes flowing down to the big water parts asunder at your word, the trees of the forest shiver, and the beasts go slinking to cover when your mightiness goes abroad." "oh, ko, ko!" giggled the king, pleasantly tickled. "the white men fear you," continued the chief of the akasava; "they tremble and hide at your roar." sato-koto, standing at the king's elbow, was a practical man. "what seek ye, chief?" he asked, cutting short the compliments. so the chief told him of a land peopled by cowards, rich with the treasures of the earth, goats, and women. "why do you not take them yourself?" demanded the regent. "because i am a slave," said the chief; "the slave of sandi, who would beat me. but you, lord, are of the great; being king's headman, sandi would not beat you because of your greatness." there followed a palaver, which lasted two days. "i shall have to do something with peter," wrote sanders despairingly to the administrator; "the little beggar has gone on the war-path against those unfortunate ochori. i should be glad if you would send me a hundred men, a maxim, and a bundle of rattan canes; i'm afraid i must attend to peter's education myself." * * * * * "lord, did i not speak the truth?" said the akasava chief in triumph. "sandi has done nothing! behold, we have wasted the city of the ochori, and taken their treasure, and the white man is dumb because of your greatness! let us wait till the moon comes again, and i will show you another city." "you are a great man," bleated the king, "and some day you shall build your hut in the shadow of my palace." "on that day," said the chief, with splendid resignation, "i shall die of joy." when the moon had waxed and waned and come again, a pencilled silver hoop of light in the eastern sky, the isisi warriors gathered with spear and broad-bladed sword, with _ingola_ on their bodies, and clay in their hair. they danced a great dance by the light of a huge fire, and all the women stood round, clapping their hands rhythmically. in the midst of this there arrived a messenger in a canoe, who prostrated himself before the king, saying: "master, one day's march from here is sandi; he has with him five score of soldiers and the brass gun which says: 'ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!'" a silence reigned in court circles, which was broken by the voice of the akasava chief. "i think i will go home," he said. "i have a feeling of sickness; also, it is the season when my goats have their young." "do not be afraid," said sato-koto brutally. "the king's shadow is over you, and he is so mighty that the earth shakes at his tread, and the waters of the big river part at his footfall; also, the white men fear him." "nevertheless," said the chief, with some agitation, "i must go, for my youngest son is sickening with fever, and calls all the time for me." "stay!" said the regent, and there was no mistaking his tone. sanders did not come the next day, nor the next. he was moving leisurely, traversing a country where many misunderstandings existed that wanted clearing up. when he arrived, having sent a messenger ahead to carry the news of his arrival, he found the city peaceably engaged. the women were crushing corn, the men smoking, the little children playing and sprawling about the streets. he halted at the outskirts of the city, on a hillock that commanded the main street, and sent for the regent. "why must i send for you?" he asked. "why does the king remain in his city when i come? this is shame." "master," said sato-koto, "it is not fitting that a great king should so humble himself." sanders was neither amused nor angry. he was dealing with a rebellious people, and his own fine feelings were as nothing to the peace of the land. "it would seem that the king has had bad advisers," he reflected aloud, and sato-koto shuffled uneasily. "go, now, and tell the king to come--for i am his friend." the regent departed, but returned again alone. "lord, he will not come," he said sullenly. "then i will go to him," said sanders. king peter, sitting before his hut, greeted mr. commissioner with downcast eyes. sanders' soldiers, spread in a semi-circle before the hut, kept the rabble at bay. "king," said sanders--he carried in his hand a rattan cane of familiar shape, and as he spoke he whiffled it in the air, making a little humming noise--"stand up!" "wherefore?" said sato-koto. "that you shall see," said sanders. the king rose reluctantly, and sanders grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. swish! the cane caught him most undesirably, and he sprang into the air with a yell. swish, swish, swish! yelling and dancing, throwing out wild hands to ward off the punishment, king peter blubbered for mercy. "master!" sato-koto, his face distorted with rage, reached for his spear. "shoot that man if he interferes," said sanders, without releasing the king. the regent saw the levelled rifles and stepped back hastily. "now," said sanders, throwing down the cane, "now we will play a little game." "wow-wow--oh, ko!" sobbed his majesty. "i go back to the forest," said sanders. "by and by a messenger shall come to you, saying that the commissioner is on his way. do you understand?" "yi-hi!" sobbed the king. "then will you go out with your councillors and your old men and await my coming according to custom. is that clear?" "ye-es, master," whimpered the boy. "very good," said sanders, and withdrew his troops. in half an hour came a grave messenger to the king, and the court went out to the little hill to welcome the white man. this was the beginning of king peter's education, for thus was he taught obedience. sanders went into residence in the town of isisi, and held court. "sato-koto," he said on the second day, "do you know the village of ikan?" "yes, master; it is two days' journey into the bush." sanders nodded. "you will take your wives, your children, your servants, and your possessions to the village of ikan, there to stay until i give you leave to return. the palaver is finished." next came the chief of the akasava, very ill at ease. "lord, if any man says i did you wrong, he lies," said the chief. "then i am a liar!" said sanders. "for i say that you are an evil man, full of cunning." "if it should be," said the chief, "that you order me to go to my village as you have ordered sato-koto, i will go, since he who is my father is not pleased with me." "that i order," said sanders; "also, twenty strokes with a stick, for the good of your soul. furthermore, i would have you remember that down by tembeli on the great river there is a village where men labour in chains because they have been unfaithful to the government and have practised abominations." so the chief of the akasava people went out to punishment. there were other matters requiring adjustment, but they were of a minor character, and when these were all settled to the satisfaction of sanders, but by no means to the satisfaction of the subjects, the commissioner turned his attention to the further education of the king. "peter," he said, "to-morrow when the sun comes up i go back to my own village, leaving you without councillors." "master, how may i do without councillors, since i am a young boy?" asked the king, crestfallen and chastened. "by saying to yourself when a man calls for justice: 'if i were this man how should i desire the king's justice?'" the boy looked unhappy. "i am very young," he repeated; "and to-day there come many from outlying villages seeking redress against their enemies." "very good," said sanders. "to-day i will sit at the king's right hand and learn of his wisdom." the boy stood on one leg in his embarrassment, and eyed sanders askance. there is a hillock behind the town. a worn path leads up to it, and a-top is a thatched hut without sides. from this hillock you see the broad river with its sandy shoals, where the crocodiles sleep with open mouth; you see the rising ground toward akasava, hills that rise one on top of the other, covered with a tangle of vivid green. in this house sits the king in judgment, beckoning the litigants forward. sato-koto was wont to stand by the king, bartering justice. to-day sato-koto was preparing to depart and sanders sat by the king's side. there were indeed many litigants. there was a man who had bought a wife, giving no less than a thousand rods and two bags of salt for her. he had lived for three months with her, when she departed from his house. "because," said the man philosophically, "she had a lover. therefore, mighty sun of wisdom, i desire the return of my rods and my salt." "what say you?" said sanders. the king wriggled uncomfortably. "what says the father?" he said hesitatingly, and sanders nodded. "that is a wise question," he approved, and called the father, a voluble and an eager old man. "now, king," he said hurriedly, "i sold this woman, my daughter; how might i know her mind? surely i fulfil my contract when the woman goes to the man. how shall a father control when a husband fails?" sanders looked at the king again, and the boy drew a long breath. "it would seem, m'bleni, that the woman, your daughter, lived many years in your hut, and if you do not know her mind you are either a great fool or she is a cunning one. therefore, i judge that you sold this woman knowing her faults. yet the husband might accept some risk also. you shall take back your daughter and return 500 rods and a bag of salt, and if it should be that your daughter marries again, you shall pay one-half of her dowry to this man." very, very slowly he gave judgment, hesitatingly, anxiously, glancing now and again to the white man for his approval. "that was good," said sanders, and called forward another pleader. "lord king," said the new plaintiff, "a man has put an evil curse on me and my family, so that they sicken." here was a little poser for the little judge, and he puzzled the matter out in silence, sanders offering no help. "how does he curse you?" at last asked the king. "with the curse of death," said the complainant in a hushed voice. "then you shall curse him also," said the king, "and it shall be a question of whose curse is the stronger." sanders grinned behind his hand, and the king, seeing the smile, smiled also. from here onward peter's progress was a rapid one, and there came to headquarters from time to time stories of a young king who was a solomon in judgment. so wise he was (who knew of the formula he applied to each case?), so beneficent, so peaceable, that the chief of the akasava, from whom was periodically due, took advantage of the gentle administration, and sent neither corn nor fish nor grain. he did this after a journey to far-away ikan, where he met the king's uncle, sato-koto, and agreed upon common action. since the crops were good, the king passed the first fault, but the second tribute became due, and neither akasava nor ikan sent, and the people of isisi, angry at the insolence, murmured, and the king sat down in the loneliness of his hut to think upon a course which was just and effective. * * * * * "i really am sorry to bother you," wrote sanders to the administrator again, "but i shall have to borrow your houssas for the isisi country. there has been a tribute palaver, and peter went down to ikan and wiped up his uncle; he filled in his spare time by giving the akasava the worst licking they have ever had. i thoroughly approve of all that peter has done, because i feel that he is actuated only by the keenest sense of justice and a desire to do the right thing at the right time--and it was time sato-koto was killed--though i shall have to reprimand peter for the sake of appearances. the akasava chief is in the bush, hiding." peter came back to his capital after his brief but strenuous campaign, leaving behind him two territories that were all the better for his visit, though somewhat sore. the young king brought together his old men, his witch-doctors, and other notabilities. "by all the laws of white men," he said, "i have done wrong to sandi, because he has told me i must not fight, and, behold, i have destroyed my uncle, who was a dog, and i have driven the chief of the akasava into the forest. but sandi told me also that i must do what was just, and that i have done according to my lights, for i have destroyed a man who put my people to shame. now, it seems to me that there is only one thing to do, and that is to go to sandi, telling the truth and asking him to judge." "lord king," said the oldest of his councillors, "what if sandi puts you to the chain-gang?" "that is with to-morrow," quoth the king, and gave orders for preparations to be made for departure. half-way to headquarters the two met; king peter going down and sanders coming up. and here befell the great incident. no word was spoken of peter's fault before sunset; but when blue smoke arose from the fires of houssa and warrior, and the little camp in the forest clearing was all a-chatter, sanders took the king's arm and led him along the forest path. peter told his tale and sanders listened. "and what of the chief of the akasava?" he asked. "master," said the king, "he fled to the forest cursing me, and with him went many bad men." sanders nodded again gravely. they talked of many things till the sun threw long shadows, and then they turned to retrace their footsteps. they were within half a mile of the camp and the faint noise of men laughing, and the faint scent of fires burning came to them, when the chief of the akasava stepped out from behind a tree and stood directly in their path. with him were some eight fighting men fully armed. "lord king," said the chief of the akasava, "i have been waiting for you." the king made neither movement nor reply, but sanders reached for his revolver. his hand closed on the butt, when something struck him and he went down like a log. "now we will kill the king of the isisi, and the white man also." the voice was the chief's, but sanders was not taking any particular interest in the conversation, because there was a hive of wild bees buzzing in his head, and a maze of pain; he felt sick. "if you kill me it is little matter," said the king's voice, "because there are many men who can take my place; but if you slay sandi, you slay the father of the people, and none can replace him." "he whipped you, little king," said the chief of the akasava mockingly. "i would throw him into the river," said a strange voice after a long interval; "thus shall no trace be found of him, and no man will lay his death to our door." "what of the king?" said another. then came a crackling of twigs and the voices of men. "they are searching," whispered a voice. "king, if you speak i will kill you now." "kill!" said the young king's even voice, and shouted, "oh, m'sabo! beteli! sandi is here!" that was all sandi heard. * * * * * two days later he sat up in bed and demanded information. there was a young doctor with him when he woke, who had providentially arrived from headquarters. "the king?" he hesitated. "well, they finished the king, but he saved your life. i suppose you know that?" sanders said "yes" without emotion. "a plucky little beggar," suggested the doctor. "very," said sanders. then: "did they catch the chief of the akasava?" "yes; he was so keen on finishing you that he delayed his bolting. the king threw himself on you and covered your body." "that will do." sanders' voice was harsh and his manner brusque at the best of times, but now his rudeness was brutal. "just go out of the hut, doctor--i want to sleep." he heard the doctor move, heard the rattle of the "chick" at the hut door, then he turned his face to the wall and wept. chapter ii. keepers of the stone. there is a people who live at ochori in the big african forest on the ikeli river, who are called in the native tongue "the keepers of the stone." there is a legend that years and years ago, _cala-cala_, there was a strange, flat stone, "inscribed with the marks of the devils" (so the grave native story-teller puts it), which was greatly worshipped and prized, partly for its magic powers, and partly because of the two ghosts who guarded it. it was a fetish of peculiar value to the mild people who lived in the big forest, but the akasava, who are neither mild nor reverential, and being, moreover, in need of gods, swooped down upon the ochori one red morning and came away with this wonderful stone and other movables. presumably, the "ghosts of brass" went also. it was a great business, securing the stone, for it was set in a grey slab in the solid rock, and many spear-heads were broken before it could be wrenched from its place. but in the end it was taken away, and for several years it was the boast of the akasava that they derived much benefit from this sacred possession. then of a sudden the stone disappeared, and with it all the good fortune of its owners. for the vanishing of the stone coincided with the arrival of british rule, and it was a bad thing for the akasava. there came in these far-off days ('95?) a ridiculous person in white with an escort of six soldiers. he brought a message of peace and good fellowship, and talked of a new king and a new law. the akasava listened in dazed wonderment, but when they recovered they cut off his head, also the heads of the escort. it seemed to be the only thing to do under the circumstances. then one morning the akasava people woke to find the city full of strange white folk, who had come swiftly up the river in steamboats. there were too many to quarrel with, so the people sat quiet, a little frightened and very curious, whilst two black soldiers strapped the hands and feet of the akasava chief prior to hanging him by the neck till he was dead. nor did the bad luck of the people end here; there came a lean year, when the manioc[1] root was bad and full of death-water, when goats died, and crops were spoilt by an unexpected hurricane. there was always a remedy at hand for a setback of this kind. if you have not the thing you require, go and take it. so, following precedents innumerable, the akasava visited the ochori, taking away much grain, and leaving behind dead men and men who prayed for death. in the course of time the white men came with their steamboats, their little brass guns, and the identical block and tackle, which they fastened to the identical tree and utilised in the inevitable manner. "it appears," said the new chief--who was afterwards hanged for the killing of the king of the isisi--"that the white man's law is made to allow weak men to triumph at the expense of the strong. this seems foolish, but it will be well to humour them." his first act was to cut down the hanging-tree--it was too conspicuous and too significant. then he set himself to discover the cause of all the trouble which had come upon the akasava. the cause required little appreciation. the great stone had been stolen, as he well knew, and the remedy resolved itself into a question of discovering the thief. the wretched ochori were suspect. "if we go to them," said the chief of the akasava thoughtfully, "killing them very little, but rather burning them, so that they told where this godstone was hidden, perhaps the great ones would forgive us." "in my young days," said an aged councillor, "when evil men would not tell where stolen things were buried, we put hot embers in their hands and bound them tightly." "that is a good way," approved another old man, wagging his head applaudingly; "also to tie men in the path of the soldier-ants has been known to make them talkative." "yet we may not go up against the ochori for many reasons," said the chief; "the principal of which is that if the stone be with them we shall not overcome them owing to the two ghosts--though i do not remember that the ghosts were very potent in the days when the stone was with us," he added, not without hope. the little raid which followed and the search for the stone are told briefly in official records. the search was fruitless, and the akasava folk must needs content themselves with such picking as came to hand. of how mr. niceman, the deputy commissioner, and then sanders himself, came up, i have already told. that was long ago, as the natives say, _cala-cala_, and many things happened subsequently that put from the minds of the people all thought of the stone. in course of time the chief of the akasava died the death for various misdoings, and peace came to the land that fringes togo. * * * * * sanders has been surprised twice in his life. once was at ikeli, which in the native tongue means "little river." it is not a little river at all, but, on the contrary, a broad, strong, sullen stream that swirls and eddies and foams as it swings the corner of its tortuous course seaward. sanders sat on a deck-chair placed under the awning of his tiny steamer, and watched the river go rushing past. he was a contented man, for the land was quiet and the crops were good. nor was there any crime. there was sleeping sickness at bofabi, and beri-beri at akasava, and in the isisi country somebody had discovered a new god, and, by all accounts that came down river, they worshipped him night and day. he was not bothering about new gods, because gods of any kind were a beneficent asset. milini, the new king of the isisi, had sent him word: "master," said his mouthpiece, the messenger, "this new god lives in a box which is borne upon the shoulders of priests. it is so long and so wide, and there are four sockets in which the poles fit, and the god inside is a very strong one, and full of pride." "ko, ko!" said sanders, with polite interest, "tell the lord king, your master, that so long as this god obeys the law, he may live in the isisi country, paying no tax. but if he tells the young men to go fighting, i shall come with a much stronger god, who will eat your god up. the palaver is finished." sanders, with his feet stretched out on the rail of the boat, thought of the new god idly. when was it that the last had come? there was one in the n'gombi country years ago, a sad god who lived in a hut which no man dare approach; there was another god who came with thunder demanding sacrifice--human sacrifice. this was an exceptionally bad god, and had cost the british government six hundred thousand pounds, because there was fighting in the bush and a country unsettled. but, in the main, the gods were good, doing harm to none, for it is customary for new gods to make their appearance after the crops are gathered, and before the rainy season sets in. so sanders thought, sitting in the shade of a striped awning on the foredeck of the little _zaire_. the next day, before the sun came up, he turned the nose of the steamer up-stream, being curious as to the welfare of the shy ochori folk, who lived too near the akasava for comfort, and, moreover, needed nursing. very slow was the tiny steamer's progress, for the current was strong against her. after two days' travel sanders got into lukati, where young carter had a station. the deputy commissioner came down to the beach in his pyjamas, with a big pith helmet on the back of his head, and greeted his chief boisterously. "well?" said sanders; and carter told him all the news. there was a land palaver at ebibi; otabo, of bofabi, had died of the sickness; there were two leopards worrying the outlying villages, and---"heard about the isisi god?" he asked suddenly; and sanders said that he had. "it's an old friend of yours," said carter. "my people tell me that this old god-box contains the stone of the ochori." "oh!" said sanders, with sudden interest. he breakfasted with his subordinate, inspected his little garrison of thirty, visited his farm, admired his sweet potatoes, and patronised his tomatoes. then he went back to the boat and wrote a short dispatch in the tiniest of handwriting on the flimsiest of paper slips. "in case!" said sanders. "bring me 14," he said to his servant, and abiboo came back to him soon with a pigeon in his hand. "now, little bird," said sanders, carefully rolling his letter round the red leg of the tiny courier and fastening it with a rubber band, "you've got two hundred miles to fly before sunrise to-morrow--and 'ware hawks!" then he gathered the pigeon in his hand, walked with it to the stern of the boat, and threw it into the air. his crew of twelve men were sitting about their cooking-pot--that pot which everlastingly boils. "yoka!" he called, and his half-naked engineer came bounding down the slope. "steam," said sanders; "get your wood aboard; i am for isisi." * * * * * there was no doubt at all that this new god was an extremely powerful one. three hours from the city the _zaire_ came up to a long canoe with four men standing at their paddles singing dolefully. sanders remembered that he had passed a village where women, their bodies decked with green leaves, wailed by the river's edge. he slowed down till he came abreast of the canoe, and saw a dead man lying stark in the bottom. "where go you with this body?" he asked. "to isisi, lord," was the answer. "the middle river and the little islands are places for the dead," said sanders brusquely. "it is folly to take the dead to the living." "lord," said the man who spoke, "at isisi lives a god who breathes life; this man"--he pointed downwards--"is my brother, and he died very suddenly because of a leopard. so quickly he died that he could not tell us where he had hidden his rods and his salt. therefore we take him to isisi, that the new god may give him just enough life to make his relations comfortable." "the middle river," said sanders quietly, and pointed to such a lone island, all green with tangled vegetation, as might make a burying ground. "what is your name?" "master, my name is n'kema," said the man sullenly. "go, then, n'kema," he said, and kept the steamer slow ahead whilst he watched the canoe turn its blunt nose to the island and disembark its cargo. then he rang the engines full ahead, steered clear of a sandbank, and regained the fairway. he was genuinely concerned. the stone was something exceptional in fetishes, needing delicate handling. that the stone existed, he knew. there were legends innumerable about it; and an explorer had, in the early days, seen it through his glasses. also the "ghosts clad in brass" he had heard about--these fantastic and warlike shades who made peaceable men go out to battle--all except the ochori, who were never warlike, and whom no number of ghosts could incite to deeds of violence. you will have remarked that sanders took native people seriously, and that, i remark in passing, is the secret of good government. to him, ghosts were factors, and fetishes potent possibilities. a man who knew less would have been amused, but sanders was not amused, because he had a great responsibility. he arrived at the city of isisi in the afternoon, and observed, even at a distance, that something unusual was occurring. the crowd of women and children that the arrival of the commissioner usually attracted did not gather as he swung in from mid-stream and followed the water-path that leads to shoal. only the king and a handful of old men awaited him, and the king was nervous and in trouble. "lord," he blurted, "i am no king in this city because of the new god; the people are assembled on the far side of the hill, and there they sit night and day watching the god in the box." sanders bit his lip thoughtfully, and said nothing. "last night," said the king, "'the keepers of the stone' appeared walking through the village." he shivered, and the sweat stood in big beads on his forehead, for a ghost is a terrible thing. "all this talk of keepers of stones is folly," said sanders calmly; "they have been seen by your women and your unblooded boys." "lord, i saw them myself," said the king simply; and sanders was staggered, for the king was a sane man. "the devil you have!" said sanders in english; then, "what manner of ghost were these?" "lord," said the king, "they were white of face, like your greatness. they wore brass upon their heads and brass upon their breasts. their legs were bare, but upon the lower legs was brass again." "any kind of ghost is hard enough to believe," said sanders irritably, "but a brass ghost i will not have at any price." he spoke english again, as was his practice when he talked to himself, and the king stood silent, not understanding him. "what else?" said sanders. "they had swords," continued the chief, "such as the elephant-hunters of the n'gombi people carry. broad and short, and on their arms were shields." sanders was nonplussed. "and they cry 'war,'" said the chief. "this is the greatest shame of all, for my young men dance the death dance and streak their bodies with paint and talk boastfully." "go to your hut," said sanders; "presently i will come and join you." he thought and thought, smoking one black cigar after another, then he sent for abiboo, his servant. "abiboo," he said, "by my way of thinking, i have been a good master to you." "that is so, lord," said abiboo. "now i will trust you to go amongst my crew discovering their gods. if i ask them myself, they will lie to me out of politeness, inventing this god and that, thinking they please me." abiboo chose the meal hour, when the sun had gone out and the world was grey and the trees motionless. he came back with the information as sanders was drinking his second cup of coffee in the loneliness of the tiny deck-house. "master," he reported, "three men worship no god whatever, three more have especial family fetishes, and two are christians more or less, and the four houssas are with me in faith." "and you?" abiboo, the kano boy, smiled at sanders' assumption of innocence. "lord," he said, "i follow the prophet, believing only in the one god, beneficent and merciful." "that is good," said sanders. "now let the men load wood, and yoka shall have steam against moonrise, and all shall be ready for slipping." at ten o'clock by his watch he fell-in his four houssas, serving out to each a short carbine and a bandoleer. then the party went ashore. the king in his patience sat in his hut, and sanders found him. "you will stay here, milini," he commanded, "and no blame shall come to you for anything that may happen this night." "what will happen, master?" "who knows!" said sanders, philosophically. the streets were in pitch darkness, but abiboo, carrying a lantern, led the way. only occasionally did the party pass a tenanted hut. generally they saw by the dull glow of the log that smouldered in every habitation that it was empty. once a sick woman called to them in passing. it was near her time, she said, and there was none to help her in the supreme moment of her agony. "god help you, sister!" said sanders, ever in awe of the mysteries of birth. "i will send women to you. what is your name?" "they will not come," said the plaintive voice. "to-night the men go out to war, and the women wait for the great dance." "to-night?" "to-night, master--so the ghosts of brass decree." sanders made a clicking noise with his mouth. "that we shall see," he said, and went on. the party reached the outskirts of the city. before them, outlined against a bronze sky, was the dark bulk of a little hill, and this they skirted. the bronze became red, and rose, and dull bronze again, as the fires that gave it colour leapt or fell. turning the shoulder of the hill, sanders had a full view of the scene. between the edge of the forest and slope of the hill was a broad strip of level land. on the left was the river, on the right was swamp and forest again. in the very centre of the plain a huge fire burnt. before it, supported by its poles, on two high trestles, a square box. but the people! a huge circle, squatting on its haunches, motionless, silent; men, women, children, tiny babies, at their mothers' hips they stretched; a solid wheel of humanity, with the box and the fire as a hub. there was a lane through which a man might reach the box--a lane along which passed a procession of naked men, going and returning. these were they who replenished the fire, and sanders saw them dragging fuel for that purpose. keeping to the edge of the crowd, he worked his way to the opening. then he looked round at his men. "it is written," he said, in the curious arabic of the kano people, "that we shall carry away this false god. as to which of us shall live or die through this adventure, that is with allah, who knows all things." then he stepped boldly along the lane. he had changed his white ducks for a dark blue uniform suit, and he was not observed by the majority until he came with his houssas to the box. the heat from the fire was terrific, overpowering. close at hand he saw that the fierceness of the blaze had warped the rough-hewn boards of the box, and through the opening he saw in the light a slab of stone. "take up the box quickly," he commanded, and the houssas lifted the poles to their shoulders. until then the great assembly had sat in silent wonder, but as the soldiers lifted their burden, a yell of rage burst from five thousand throats, and men leapt to their feet. sanders stood before the fire, one hand raised, and silence fell, curiosity dominating resentment. "people of the isisi," said sanders, "let no man move until the god-stone has passed, for death comes quickly to those who cross the path of gods." he had an automatic pistol in each hand, and the particular deity he was thinking of at the moment was not the one in the box. the people hesitated, surging and swaying, as a mob will sway in its uncertainty. with quick steps the bearers carried their burden through the lane; they had almost passed unmolested when an old woman shuffled forward and clutched at sanders' arm. "lord, lord!" she quavered, "what will you do with our god?" "take him to the proper place," said sanders, "being by government appointed his keeper." "give me a sign," she croaked, and the people in her vicinity repeated, "a sign, master!" "this is a sign," said sanders, remembering the woman in labour. "by the god's favour there shall be born to ifabi, wife of adako, a male child." he heard the babble of talk; he heard his message repeated over the heads of the crowd; he saw a party of women go scurrying back to the village; then he gave the order to march. there were murmurings, and once he heard a deep-voiced man begin the war-chant, but nobody joined him. somebody--probably the same man--clashed his spear against his wicker shield, but his warlike example was not followed. sanders gained the village street. around him was such a press of people that he followed the swaying box with difficulty. the river was in sight; the moon, rising a dull, golden ball over the trees, laced the water with silver, and then there came a scream of rage. "he lies! he lies! ifabi, the wife of adako, has a female child." sanders turned swiftly like a dog at bay; his lips upcurled in a snarl, his white, regular teeth showing. "now," said sanders, speaking very quickly, "let any man raise his spear, and he dies." again they stood irresolute, and sanders, over his shoulder, gave an order. for a moment only the people hesitated; then, as the soldiers gripped the poles of the god-box, with one fierce yell they sprang forward. a voice screamed something; and, as if by magic, the tumult ceased, and the crowd darted backward and outward, falling over one another in their frantic desire to escape. sanders, his pistol still loaded, stood in open-mouthed astonishment at the stampede. save for his men he was alone; and then he saw. along the centre of the street two men were walking. they were clad alike in short crimson kilts that left their knees bare; great brass helmets topped their heads, and brass cuirasses covered their breasts. sanders watched them as they came nearer, then: "if this is not fever, it is madness," he muttered, for what he saw were two roman centurions, their heavy swords girt about their waists. he stood still, and they passed him, so close that he saw on the boss of one shield the rough-moulded letters:- "augustus cae." "fever" said sanders emphatically, and followed the box to the ship. * * * * * when the steamer reached lukati, sanders was still in a condition of doubt, for his temperature was normal, and neither fever nor sun could be held accountable for the vision. added to which, his men had seen the same thing. he found the reinforcements his pigeon had brought, but they were unnecessary now. "it beats me," he confessed to carter, telling the story; "but we'll get out the stone; it might furnish an explanation. centurions--bah!" the stone, exposed in the light of day, was of greyish granite, such as sanders did not remember having seen before. "here are the 'devil marks,'" he said, as he turned it over. "possibly--whew!" no wonder he whistled, for closely set were a number of printed characters; and carter, blowing the dust, saw- "marius et augustus cent . . . . . . . . . nero imperat . . . . . in deus . . . . . dulce." that night, with great labour, sanders, furbishing his rusty latin, and filling in gaps, made a translation: "marius and augustus, centurions of nero, csar and emperor, sleep sweetly with the gods." "we are they who came beyond the wild lands which hanno, the carthaginian, found . . . "marcus septimus went up into egypt, and with him decimus superbus, but by the will of csar, and the favour of the gods, we sailed to the black seas beyond. . . . . here we lived, our ships suffering wreck, being worshipped by the barbarians, teaching them warlike practices. . . . "you who come after . . . bear greetings to rome to cato hippocritus, who dwells by the gate . . ." sanders shook his head when he had finished reading, and said it was "rum." [footnote 1: there is a tremendous amount of free hydrocyanic acid (prussic acid) in manioc.] chapter iii. bosambo of monrovia. for many years have the ochori people formed a sort of grim comic relief to the tragedy of african colonisation. now it may well be that we shall laugh at the ochori no more. nor, in the small hours of the night, when conversation flags in the little circle about the fires in fishing camps, shall the sleepy-eyed be roused to merriment by stories of ochori meekness. all this has come about by favour of the liberian government, though at present the liberian government is not aware of the fact. with all due respect to the republic of liberia, i say that the monrovians are naturally liars and thieves. once upon a time, that dignity might be added to the state, a warship was acquired--if i remember aright it was presented by a disinterested shipowner. the government appointed three admirals, fourteen captains, and as many officers as the ship would hold, and they all wore gorgeous but ill-fitting uniforms. the government would have appointed a crew also, but for the fact that the ship was not big enough to hold any larger number of people than its officers totalled. this tiny man-of-war of the black republic went to sea once, the admirals and captains taking it in turn to stoke and steer--a very pleasing and novel sensation, this latter. coming back into the harbour, one of the admirals said-"it is my turn to steer now," and took the wheel. the ship struck a rock at the entrance of the harbour and went down. the officers escaped easily enough, for your monrovian swims like a fish, but their uniforms were spoilt by the sea water. to the suggestion that salvage operations should be attempted to refloat the warship, the government very wisely said no, they thought not. "we know where she is," said the president--he was sitting on the edge of his desk at government house, eating sardines with his fingers--"and if we ever want her, it will be comforting to know she is so close to us." nothing more would have been done in the matter but for the fact that the british admiralty decided that the wreck was a danger to shipping, and issued orders forthwith for the place where it lay to be buoyed. the liberian government demurred on account of expense, but on pressure being applied (i suspect the captain of h.m.s. _dwarf_, who was a man with a bitter tongue) they agreed, and the bell-buoy was anchored to the submerged steamer. it made a nice rowdy, clanging noise, did that bell, and the people of monrovia felt they were getting their money's worth. but all monrovia is not made up of the freed american slaves who were settled there in 1821. there are people who are described in a lordly fashion by the true monrovians as "indigenous natives," and the chief of these are the kroomen, who pay no taxes, defy the government, and at intervals tweak the official nose of the republic. the second day after the bell was in place, monrovia awoke to find a complete silence reigning in the bay, and that in spite of a heavy swell. the bell was still, and two ex-admirals, who were selling fish on the foreshore, borrowed a boat and rowed out to investigate. the explanation was simple--the bell had been stolen. "now!" said the president of the liberian republic in despair, "may beelzebub, who is the father and author of all sin, descend upon these thieving kroomen!" another bell was attached. the same night it was stolen. yet another bell was put to the buoy, and a boat-load of admirals kept watch. throughout the night they sat, rising and falling with the swell, and the monotonous "clang-jangle-clong" was music in their ears. all night it sounded, but in the early morning, at the dark hour before the sun comes up, it seemed that the bell, still tolling, grew fainter and fainter. "brothers," said an admiral, "we are drifting away from the bell." but the explanation was that the bell had drifted away from them, for, tired of half measures, the kroomen had come and taken the buoy, bell and all, and to this day there is no mark to show where a sometime man-of-war rots in the harbour of monrovia. the ingenious soul who planned and carried out this theft was one bosambo, who had three wives, one of whom, being by birth congolaise, and untrustworthy, informed the police, and with some ceremony bosambo was arrested and tried at the supreme court, where he was found guilty of "theft and high treason" and sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. they took bosambo back to prison, and bosambo interviewed the black gaoler. "my friend," he said, "i have a big ju-ju in the forest, and if you do not release me at once you and your wife shall die in great torment." "of your ju-ju i know nothing," said the gaoler philosophically, "but i receive two dollars a week for guarding prisoners, and if i let you escape i shall lose my job." "i know a place where there is much silver hidden," said bosambo with promptitude. "you and i will go to this place, and we shall be rich." "if you knew where there was silver, why did you steal bells, which are of brass and of no particular value?" asked his unimaginative guard. "i see that you have a heart of stone," said bosambo, and went away to the forest settlement to chop down trees for the good of the state. four months after this, sanders, chief commissioner for the isisi, ikeli, and akasava countries, received, _inter alia_, a communication of a stereotyped description- to whom it may concern. wanted,--on a warrant issued by h.e. the president of liberia, bosambo krooboy, who escaped from the penal settlement near monrovia, after killing a guard. he is believed to be making for your country. a description followed. sanders put the document away with other such notices--they were not infrequent in their occurrence--and gave his mind to the eternal problem of the ochori. now, as ever, the ochori people were in sad trouble. there is no other tribe in the whole of africa that is as defenceless as the poor ochori. the fingoes, slaves as they are by name and tradition, were ferocious as the masai, compared with the ochori. sanders was a little impatient, and a deputation of three, who had journeyed down to headquarters to lay the grievances of the people before him, found him unsympathetic. he interviewed them on his verandah. "master, no man leaves us in peace," said one. "isisi folk, n'gombi people from far-away countries, they come to us demanding this and that, and we give, being afraid." "afraid of what?" asked sanders wearily. "we fear death and pain, also burning and the taking of our women," said the other. "who is chief of you?" asked sanders, wilfully ignorant. "i am chief lord," said an elderly man, clad in a leopard skin. "go back to your people, chief, if indeed chief you are, and not some old woman without shame; go back and bear with you a fetish--a most powerful fetish--which shall be, as me, watching your interest and protecting you. this fetish you shall plant on the edge of your village that faces the sun at noon. you shall mark the place where it shall be planted, and at midnight, with proper ceremony, and the sacrifice of a young goat, you shall set my fetish in its place. and after that whosoever ill-treats you or robs you shall do so at some risk." sanders said this very solemnly, and the men of the deputation were duly impressed. more impressed were they when, before starting on their homeward journey, sanders placed in their hands a stout pole, to the end of which was attached a flat board inscribed with certain marks. they carried their trophy six days' journey through the forest, then four days' journey by canoe along the little river, until they came to ochori. there, by the light of the moon, with the sacrifice of two goats (to make sure), the pole was planted so that the board inscribed with mystic characters would face the sun at noon. news travels fast in the back lands, and it came to the villages throughout the isisi and the akasava country that the ochori were particularly protected by white magic. protected they had always been, and many men had died at the white man's hand because the temptation to kill the ochori folk had proved irresistible. "i do not believe that sandi has done this thing," said the chief of the akasava. "let us go across the river and see with our own eyes, and if they have lied we shall beat them with sticks, though let no man kill, because of sandi and his cruelty." so across the water they went, and marched until they came within sight of the ochori city, and the ochori people, hearing that the akasava people were coming, ran away into the woods and hid, in accordance with their custom. the akasava advanced until they came to the pole stuck in the ground and the board with the devil marks. before this they stood in silence and in awe, and having made obeisance to it and sacrificed a chicken (which was the lawful property of the ochori) they turned back. after this came a party from isisi, and they must needs come through the akasava country. they brought presents with them and lodged with the akasava for one night. "what story is this of the ochori?" asked the isisi chief in command; so the chief of the akasava told him. "you may save yourself the journey, for we have seen it." "that," said the isisi chief, "i will believe when i have seen." "that is bad talk," said the akasava people, who were gathered at the palaver; "these dogs of isisi call us liars." nevertheless there was no bloodshed, and in the morning the isisi went on their way. the ochori saw them coming, and hid in the woods, but the precaution was unnecessary, for the isisi departed as they came. other folk made a pilgrimage to the ochori, n'gombi, bokeli, and the little people of the forest, who were so shy that they came by night, and the ochori people began to realise a sense of their importance. then bosambo, a krooman and an adventurer at large, appeared on the scene, having crossed eight hundred miles of wild land in the earnest hope that time would dull the memory of the liberian government and incidentally bring him to a land of milk and honey. now bosambo had in his life been many things. he had been steward on an elder dempster boat, he had been scholar at a mission school--he was the proud possessor of a bound copy of _the lives of the saints_, a reward of industry--and among his accomplishments was a knowledge of english. the hospitable ochori received him kindly, fed him with sweet manioc and sugar-cane, and told him about sandi's magic. after he had eaten, bosambo walked down to the post and read the inscription- trespassers beware. he was not impressed, and strolled back again thinking deeply. "this magic," he said to the chief, "is good magic. i know, because i have white man's blood in my veins." in support of this statement he proceeded to libel a perfectly innocent british official at sierra leone. the ochori were profoundly moved. they poured forth the story of their persecutions, a story which began in remote ages, when tiganobeni, the great king, came down from the north and wasted the country as far south as the isisi. bosambo listened--it took two nights and the greater part of a day to tell the story, because the official story-teller of the ochori had only one method of telling--and when it was finished bosambo said to himself-"this is the people i have long sought. i will stay here." aloud he asked: "how often does sandi come to you?" "once every year, master," said the chief, "on the twelfth moon, and a little after." "when came he last?" "when this present moon is at full, three moons since; he comes after the big rains." "then," said bosambo, again to himself, "for nine months i am safe." they built him a hut and planted for him a banana grove and gave him seed. then he demanded for wife the daughter of the chief, and although he offered nothing in payment the girl came to him. that a stranger lived in the chief village of the ochori was remarked by the other tribes, for news of this kind spreads, but since he was married, and into the chief's family at that, it was accepted that the man must be of the ochori folk, and such was the story that came to headquarters. then the chief of the ochori died. he died suddenly in some pain; but such deaths are common, and his son ruled in his place. then the son died after the briefest reign, and bosambo called the people together, the elders, the wise men, and the headmen of the country. "it appears," he said, "that the many gods of the ochori are displeased with you, and it has been revealed to me in a dream that i shall be chief of the ochori. therefore, o chiefs and wise men and headmen, bow before me, as is the custom, and i will make you a great people." it is characteristic of the ochori that no man said "nay" to him, even though in the assembly were three men who by custom might claim the chieftainship. sanders heard of the new chief and was puzzled. "etabo?" he repeated--this was how bosambo called himself--"i do not remember the man--yet if he can put backbone into the people i do not care who he is." backbone or cunning, or both, bosambo was certainly installed. "he has many strange practices," reported a native agent to sanders. "every day he assembles the men of the village and causes them to walk past a _pelebi_ (table) on which are many eggs. and it is his command that each man as he passes shall take an egg so swiftly that no eye may see him take it. and if the man bungle or break the egg, or be slow, this new chief puts shame upon him, whipping him." "it is a game," said sanders; but for the life of him he could not see what game it was. report after report reached him of the new chief's madness. sometimes he would take the unfortunate ochori out by night, teaching them such things as they had never known before. thus he instructed them in what manner they might seize upon a goat so that the goat could not cry. also how to crawl on their bellies inch by inch so that they made no sound or sign. all these things the ochori did, groaning aloud at the injustice and the labour of it. "i'm dashed if i can understand it!" said sanders, knitting his brows, when the last report came in. "with anybody but the ochori this would mean war. but the ochori!" notwithstanding his contempt for their fighting qualities, he kept his police houssas ready. but there was no war. instead, there came complaint from the akasava that "many leopards were in the woods." leopards will keep, thought sanders, and, anyway, the akasava were good enough hunters to settle that palaver without outside help. the next report was alarming. in two weeks these leopards had carried off three score of goats, twenty bags of salt, and much ivory. leopards eat goats; there might conceivably be fastidious leopards that cannot eat goats without salt; but a leopard does not take ivory tusks even to pick his teeth with. so sanders made haste to journey up the river, because little things were considerable in a country where people strain at gnats and swallow whole caravans. "lord, it is true," said the chief of the akasava, with some emotion, "these goats disappear night by night, though we watch them; also the salt and ivory, because that we did not watch." "but no leopard could take these things," said sanders irritably. "these are thieves." the chief's gesture was comprehensive. "who could thieve?" he said. "the n'gombi people live very far away; also the isisi. the ochori are fools, and, moreover, afraid." then sanders remembered the egg games, and the midnight manoeuvres of the ochori. "i will call on this new chief," he said; and crossed the river that day. sending a messenger to herald his coming, he waited two miles out of the city, and the councillors and wise men came out to him with offerings of fish and fruit. "where is your chief?" he asked. "lord, he is ill," they said gravely. "this day there came to him a feeling of sickness, and he fell down moaning. we have carried him to his hut." sanders nodded. "i will see him," he said grimly. they led him to the door of the chief's hut, and sanders went in. it was very dark, and in the darkest corner lay a prostrate man. sanders bent over him, touched his pulse lightly, felt gingerly for the swelling on the neck behind the ears for a sign of sleeping sickness. no symptom could he find; but on the bare shoulder, as his fingers passed over the man's flesh, he felt a scar of singular regularity; then he found another, and traced their direction. the convict brand of the monrovian government was familiar to him. "i thought so," said sanders, and gave the moaning man a vigorous kick. "come out into the light, bosambo of monrovia," he said; and bosambo rose obediently and followed the commissioner into the light. they stood looking at one another for several minutes; then sanders, speaking in the dialect of the pepper coast, said-"i have a mind to hang you, bosambo." "that is as your excellency wishes," said bosambo. sanders said nothing, tapping his boot with his walking-stick and gazing thoughtfully downward. "having made thieves, could you make men of these people?" he said, after a while. "i think they could fight now, for they are puffed with pride because they have robbed the akasava," said bosambo. sanders bit the end of his stick like a man in doubt. "there shall be neither theft nor murder," he said. "no more chiefs or chiefs' sons shall die suddenly," he added significantly. "master, it shall be as you desire." "as for the goats you have stolen, them you may keep, and the teeth (ivory) and the salt also. for if you hand them back to akasava you will fill their stomachs with rage, and that would mean war." bosambo nodded slowly. "then you shall remain, for i see you are a clever man, and the ochori need such as you. but if----" "master, by the fat of my heart i will do as you wish," said bosambo; "for i have always desired to be a chief under the british." sanders was half-way back to headquarters before he missed his field-glasses, and wondered where he could have dropped them. at that identical moment bosambo was exhibiting the binoculars to his admiring people. "from this day forth," said bosambo, "there shall be no lifting of goats nor stealing of any kind. this much i told the great sandi, and as a sign of his love, behold, he gave me these things of magic that eat up space." "lord," said a councillor in awe, "did you know the great one?" "i have cause to know him," said bosambo modestly, "for i am his son." fortunately sanders knew nothing of this interesting disclosure. chapter iv. the drowsy one. there were occasions when sanders came up against the outer world, when he learnt, with something like bewilderment, that beyond the farthermost forests, beyond the lazy, swelling, blue sea, there were men and women who lived in houses and carefully tabooed such subjects as violent death and such horrid happenings as were daily features of his life. he had to treat with folk who, in the main, were illogical and who believed in spirits. when you deal in the abstract with government of races so influenced, a knowledge of constitutional law and economics is fairly valueless. there is one type of man that can rule native provinces wisely, and that type is best represented by sanders. there are other types, as, for instance: once upon a time a young man came from england with a reputation. he was sent by the colonial office to hold a district under sanders as deputy commissioner. he was a bachelor of law, had read science, and had acquired in a methodical fashion a working acquaintance with swaheli, bacteriology, and medicines. he was a very grave young man, and the first night of his arrival he kept sanders (furtively yawning) out of his bed whilst he demonstrated a system whereby the aboriginal could be converted--not converted spiritually, but from unproductive vagrancy to a condition of good citizenship. sanders said nothing beyond using the conventional expressions of polite interest, and despatched the young man and his tremendous baggage to an up-country station, with his official blessing. torrington--this was the grave young man's name--established himself at entoli, and started forth to instil into the heathen mind the elementary principles of applied mechanics. in other words he taught them, through the medium of swaheli--which they imperfectly understood--and a tin kettle, the lesson of steam. they understood the kettle part, but could not quite comprehend what meat he was cooking, and when he explained for the fortieth time that he was only cooking water, they glanced significantly one at the other and agreed that he was not quite right in his head. they did not tell him this much to his face, for cannibals have very good manners--though their table code leaves much to be desired. mr. torrington tried them with chemical experiments, showing them how sulphuric acid applied to sugar produced su^{2}, su^{4}, or words to that effect. he gained a reputation as a magician as a result, and in more huts than one he was regarded and worshipped as a great and clever devil--which in a sense he was. but the first time he came up against the spirit of the people, his science, his law, and his cut-and-dried theories went _phutt_! and that is where sanders came in--sanders who had forgotten all the chemistry he ever knew, and who, as a student of constitutional law, was the rankest of failures. it came about in this way. there was a young man in isisi who prophesied that on such a day, at such an hour, the river would rise and drown the people. when mr. torrington heard of this prophecy he was amused, and at first took no notice of it. but it occurred to him that here might be a splendid opportunity for revealing to the barbarian a little of that science with which he was so plentifully endowed. so he drew a large sectional plan, showing- (_a_) the bed of the river; (_b_) the height of the banks; (_c_) the maximum rise of the river; (_d_) the height of the surrounding country; and demonstrated as plainly as possible the utter absurdity of the prophecy. yet the people were unconvinced, and were preparing to abandon the village when sanders arrived on the scene. he sent for the prophet, who was a young man of neurotic tendencies, and had a wooden prison cage built on the bank of the river, into which the youth was introduced. "you will stay here," said sanders, "and when the river rises you must prophesy that it will fall again, else assuredly you will be drowned." whereupon the people settled down again in their homes and waited for the river to drown the prophet and prove his words. but the river at this season of the year was steadily falling, and the prophet, like many another, was without honour in his own country. sanders went away; and, although somewhat discouraged, mr. torrington resumed his experiments. first of all, he took up sleeping sickness, and put in three months' futile work, impressing nobody save a gentleman of whom more must be written in a further chapter. then he dropped that study suddenly and went to another. he had ideas concerning vaccination, but the first baby he vaccinated died of croup, and torrington came flying down the river telling sanders a rambling story of a populace infuriated and demanding his blood. then torrington went home. "the country is now quiet," wrote sanders to the administrator, with sardonic humour. "there are numerous palavers pending, but none of any particular moment. the isisi people are unusually quiet, and bosambo, the monrovian, of whom i have written your excellency, makes a model chief for the ochori. no thefts have been traced to him for three months. i should be grateful if full information could be supplied to me concerning an expedition which at the moment is traversing this country under the style of the isisi exploitation syndicate." curiously enough, torrington had forgotten the fact that a member of this expedition had been one of the most interested students of his sleeping sickness clinics. the isisi exploitation syndicate, limited, was born between the entre and the sweet at the house of a gentleman whose christian name was isidore, and who lived in maida vale. at dinner one night with a dear friend--who called himself mcpherson every day of the year except on yum kippur, when he frankly admitted that he had been born isaacs--the question of good company titles came up, and mr. mcpherson said he had had the "isisi exploitation" in his mind for many years. with the aid of an atlas the isisi country was discovered. it was one of those atlases on which are inscribed the staple products of the lands, and across the isisi was writ fair "rubber," "kola-nut," "mahogany," and "tobacco." i would ask the reader to particularly remember "tobacco." "there's a chief i've had some correspondence with," said mr. mcpherson, chewing his cigar meditatively; "we could get a sort of concession from him. it would have to be done on the quiet, because the country is a british protectorate. now, if we could get a man who'd put up the stuff, and send him out to fix the concession, we'd have a company floated before you could say knife." judicious inquiry discovered the man in claude hyall cuthbert, a plutocratic young gentleman, who, on the strength of once having nearly shot a lion in uganda, was accepted by a large circle of acquaintances as an authority on africa. cuthbert, who dabbled in stocks and shares, was an acquisition to any syndicate, and on the understanding that part of his duty would be the obtaining of the concession, he gladly financed the syndicate to the extent of seven thousand pounds, four thousand of which messrs. isidore and mcpherson very kindly returned to him to cover the cost of his expedition. the other three thousand were earmarked for office expenses. as mr. mcpherson truly said: "whatever happens, we're on velvet, my boy," which was perfectly true. before cuthbert sailed, mcpherson offered him a little advice. "whatever you do," he said, "steer clear of that dam' commissioner sanders. he's one of those pryin', interferin'----" "i know the breed," said cuthbert wisely. "this is not my first visit to africa. did i ever tell you about the lion i shot in uganda?" a week later he sailed. * * * * * in course of time came a strange white man through sanders' domain. this white man, who was cuthbert, was following the green path to death--but this he did not know. he threw his face to the forest, as the natives say, and laughed, and the people of the village of o'tembi, standing before their wattle huts, watched him in silent wonder. it was a wide path between huge trees, and the green of the undergrowth was flecked with sunlight, and, indeed, the green path was beautiful to the eye, being not unlike a parkland avenue. n'beki, chief of this village of the o'tembi, a very good old man, went out to the path when the white man began his journey. "white man," he said solemnly, "this is the road to hell, where all manner of devils live. night brings remorse, and dawn brings self-hatred, which is worse than death." cuthbert, whose swaheli was faulty, and whose bomongo talk was nil, grinned impatiently as his coastboy translated unpicturesquely. "dam nigger done say, this be bad place, no good; he say bimeby you libe for die." "tell him to go to blazes!" said cuthbert noisily; "and, look here, flagstaff, ask him where the rubber is, see? tell him we know all about the forest, and ask him about the elephants, where their playground is?" cuthbert was broad-shouldered and heavily built, and under his broad sun-helmet his face was very hot and moist. "tell the white man," said the chief quietly, "there is no rubber within seven days' journey, and that we do not know ivory; elephants there were _cala cala_--but not now." "he's a liar!" was cuthbert's only comment. "get these beggars moving, flagstaff. hi, _alapa', avanti, trek_!" "these beggars," a straggling line of them, resumed their loads uncomplainingly. they were good carriers, as carriers go, and only two had died since the march began. cuthbert stood and watched them pass, using his stick dispassionately upon the laggards. then he turned to go. "ask him," he said finally, "why he calls this the road to what-d'ye-call-it?" the old man shook his head. "because of the devils," he said simply. "tell him he's a silly ass!" bellowed cuthbert and followed his carriers. this natural path the caravan took extended in almost a straight line through the forest. it was a strange path because of its very smoothness, and the only drawback lay in the fact that it seemed to be the breeding-place of flies--little black flies, as big as the house-fly of familiar shape, if anything a little bigger. they terrified the natives for many reasons, but principally because they stung. they did not terrify cuthbert, because he was dressed in tapai cloth; none the less, there were times when these black flies found joints in his armour and roused him to anger. this path extended ten miles and made pleasant travelling. then the explorer struck off into the forest, following another path, well beaten, but more difficult. by devious routes mr. cuthbert came into the heart of sanders' territories, and he was successful in this, that he avoided sanders. he had with him a caravan of sixty men and an interpreter, and in due course he reached his objective, which was the village of a great chief ruling a remarkable province--bosambo, of the ochori, no less; sometime krooman, steward of the elder dempster line, chief on sufferance, but none the less an interesting person. bosambo, you may be sure, came out to greet his visitor. "say to him," said cuthbert to his interpreter, "that i am proud to meet the great chief." "lord chief," said the interpreter in the vernacular, "this white man is a fool, and has much money." "so i see," said bosambo. "tell him," said cuthbert, with all the dignity of an ambassador, "that i have come to bring him wonderful presents." "the white man says," said the interpreter, "that if he is sure you are a good man he will give you presents. now," said the interpreter carefully, "as i am the only man who can speak for you, let us make arrangements. you shall give me one-third of all he offers. then will i persuade him to continue giving, since he is the father of mad people." "and you," said bosambo briefly, "are the father of liars." he made a sign to his guard, and they seized upon the unfortunate interpreter and led him forth. cuthbert, in a sweat of fear, pulled a revolver. "master," said bosambo loftily, "you no make um fuss. dis dam' nigger, he no good; he make you speak bad t'ings. i speak um english proper. you sit down, we talk um." so cuthbert sat down in the village of ochori, and for three days there was a great giving of presents, and signing of concessions. bosambo conceded the ochori country--that was a small thing. he granted forest rights of the isisi, he sold the akasava, he bartered away the lulungo territories and the "native products thereof"--i quote from the written document now preserved at the colonial office and bearing the scrawled signature of bosambo--and he added, as a lordly afterthought, the ikeli district. "what about river rights?" asked the delighted cuthbert. "what will you give um?" demanded bosambo cautiously. "forty english pounds?" suggested cuthbert. "i take um," said bosambo. it was a remarkably simple business; a more knowledgeable man than cuthbert would have been scared by the easiness of his success, but cuthbert was too satisfied with himself to be scared at anything. it is said that his leave-taking with bosambo was of an affecting character, that bosambo wept and embraced his benefactor's feet. be that as it may, his "concessions" in his pocket, cuthbert began his coastward journey, still avoiding sanders. he came to etebi and found a deputy-commissioner, who received him with open arms. here cuthbert stayed a week. mr. torrington at the time was tremendously busy with a scheme for stamping out sleeping sickness. until then, cuthbert was under the impression that it was a pleasant disease, the principal symptom of which was a painless coma. fascinated, he extended his stay to a fortnight, seeing many dreadful sights, for torrington had established a sort of amateur clinic, and a hundred cases a day came to him for treatment. "and it comes from the bite of a tsetse fly?" said cuthbert. "show me a tsetse." torrington obliged him, and when the other saw the little black insect he went white to the lips. "my god!" he whispered, "i've been bitten by that!" "it doesn't follow----" began torrington; but cuthbert was blundering and stumbling in wild fear to his carriers' camp. "get your loads!" he yelled. "out of this cursed country we get as quick as we can!" torrington, with philosophical calm, endeavoured to reassure him, but he was not to be appeased. he left etebi that night and camped in the forest. three days later he reached a mission station, where he complained of headaches and pains in the neck (he had not attended torrington's clinics in vain). the missionary, judging from the man's haggard appearance and general incoherence that he had an attack of malaria, advised him to rest for a few days; but cuthbert was all a-fret to reach the coast. twenty miles from the mission, cuthbert sent his carriers back, and said he would cover the last hundred miles of the journey alone. to this extraordinary proposition the natives agree--from that day cuthbert disappeared from the sight of man. * * * * * sanders was taking a short cut through the forest to avoid the interminable twists and bends of the river, when he came suddenly upon a village of death--four sad little huts, built hastily amidst a tangle of underwood. he called, but nobody answered him. he was too wary to enter any of the crazy habitations. he knew these little villages in the forest. it was the native custom to take the aged and the dying--especially those who died sleepily--to far-away places, beyond the reach of man, and leave them there with a week's food and a fire, to die in decent solitude. he called again, but only the forest answered him. the chattering, noisy forest, all a-crackle with the movements of hidden things. yet there was a fire burning which told of life. sanders resumed his journey, first causing a quantity of food to be laid in a conspicuous place for the man who made the fire. he was on his way to take evidence concerning the disappearance of cuthbert. it was the fourth journey of its kind he had attempted. there had been palavers innumerable. bosambo, chief of the ochori, had sorrowfully disgorged the presents he had received, and admitted his fault. "lord!" he confessed, "when i was with the white man on the coast i learnt the trick of writing--it is a cursed gift--else all this trouble would not have come about. for, desiring to show my people how great a man i was, i wrote a letter in the english fashion, and sent it by messenger to the coast and thence to friends in sierra leone, telling them of my fortune. thus the people in london came to know of the treasure of this land." sanders, in a few illuminative sentences, conveyed his impression of bosambo's genius. "you slave and son of a slave," he said, "whom i took from a prison to rule the ochori, why did you deceive this white man, selling him lands that were not yours?" "lord!" said bosambo simply, "there was nothing else i could sell." but there was no clue here as to cuthbert's whereabouts, nor at the mission station, nor amongst the carriers detained on suspicion. one man might have thrown light upon the situation, but torrington was at home fulfilling the post of assistant examiner in mechanics at south kensington (more in his element there) and filling in his spare time with lecturing on "the migration of the bantu races." so that the end of sanders' fourth quest was no more successful than the third, or the second, or the first, and he retraced his steps to headquarters, feeling somewhat depressed. he took the path he had previously traversed, and came upon the death camp late in the afternoon. the fire still burnt, but the food he had placed had disappeared. he hailed the hut in the native tongue, but no one answered him. he waited for a little while, and then gave orders for more food to be placed on the ground. "poor devil!" said sanders, and gave the order to march. he himself had taken half a dozen steps, when he stopped. at his feet something glittered in the fading light. he stooped and picked it up. it was an exploded cartridge. he examined it carefully, smelt it--it had been recently fired. then he found another. they were lee-metford, and bore the mark "'07," which meant that they were less than a year old. he was still standing with the little brass cylinders in his hand, when abiboo came to him. "master," said the houssa, "who ties monkeys to trees with ropes?" "is that a riddle?" asked sanders testily, for his mind was busy on this matter of cartridges. abiboo for answer beckoned him. fifty yards from the hut was a tree, at the foot of which, whimpering and chattering and in a condition of abject terror, were two small black monkeys tethered by ropes. they spat and grinned ferociously as sanders approached them. he looked from the cartridges to the monkeys and back to the cartridges again, then he began searching the grass. he found two more empty shells and a rusting lancet, such as may be found in the pocket-case of any explorer. then he walked back to the hut before which the fire burnt, and called softly-"mr. cuthbert!" there was no answer, and sanders called again-"mr. cuthbert!" from the interior of the hut came a groan. "leave me alone. i have come here to die!" said a muffled voice. "come out and be civil," said sanders coolly; "you can die afterwards." after a few moments' delay there issued from the door of the hut the wreck of a man, with long hair and a month-old beard, who stood sulkily before the commissioner. "might i ask," said sanders, "what your little game is?" the other shook his head wearily. he was a pitiable sight. his clothes were in tatters; he was unwashed and grimy. "sleeping sickness," he said wearily. "felt it coming on--seen what horrible thing it was--didn't want to be a burden. oh, my god! what a fool i've been to come to this filthy country!" "that's very likely," said sanders. "but who told you that you had sleeping sickness?" "know it--know it," said the listless man. "sit down," said sanders. the other obeyed, and sanders applied the superficial tests. "if you've got sleeping sickness," said sanders, after the examination, "i'm suffering from religious mania--man, you're crazy!" yet there was something in cuthbert's expression that was puzzling. he was dull, heavy, and stupid. his movements were slow and lethargic. sanders watched him as he pulled a black wooden pipe from his ragged pocket, and with painful slowness charged it from a skin pouch. "it's got me, i tell you," muttered cuthbert, and lit the pipe with a blazing twig from the fire. "i knew it (puff) as soon as that fellow torrington (puff) described the symptoms (puff);--felt dull and sleepy--got a couple of monkeys and injected my blood (puff)--_they_ went drowsy, too--sure sign----" "where did you get that tobacco from?" demanded sanders quickly. cuthbert took time to consider his answer. "fellow gave it me--chief fellow, bosambo. native tobacco, but not bad--he gave me a devil of a lot." "so i should say," said sanders, and reaching over took the pouch and put it in his pocket. * * * * * when sanders had seen mr. cuthbert safe on board a homeward-bound steamer, he took his twenty houssas to the ochori country to arrest bosambo, and expected bosambo would fly; but the imperturbable chief awaited his coming, and offered him the customary honours. "i admit i gave the white man the hemp," he said. "i myself smoke it, suffering no ill. how was i to know that it would make him sleep?" "why did you give it to him?" demanded sanders. bosambo looked the commissioner full in the face. "last moon you came, lord, asking why i gave him the isisi country and the rights of the little river, because these were not mine to give. now you come to me saying why did i give the white man native tobacco--lord, that was the only thing i gave him that was mine." chapter v. the special commissioner. the hon. george tackle had the good fortune to be the son of his father; otherwise i am free to confess he had no claim to distinction. but his father, being the proprietor of the _courier and echo_ (with which are incorporated i don't know how many dead and gone stars of the fleet street firmament), george had a "pull" which no amount of competitive merit could hope to contend with, and when the stories of atrocities in the district of lukati began to leak out and questions were asked in parliament, george opened his expensively-bound gazetteer, discovered that the district of lukati was in british territory, and instantly demanded that he should be sent out to investigate these crimes, which were a blot upon our boasted civilisation. his father agreed, having altogether a false appreciation of his son's genius, and suggested that george should go to the office and "get all the facts" regarding the atrocities. george, with a good-natured smile of amusement at the bare thought of anybody instructing him in a subject on which he was so thoroughly conversant, promised; but the _courier and echo_ office did not see him, and the librarian of the newspaper, who had prepared a really valuable dossier of newspaper cuttings, pamphlets, maps, and health hints for the young man's guidance, was dismayed to learn that the confident youth had sailed without any further instruction in the question than a man might secure from the hurried perusal of the scraps which from day to day appeared in the morning press. as a special correspondent, i adduce, with ill-suppressed triumph, the case of the hon. george tackle as an awful warning to all newspaper proprietors who allow their parental affections to overcome their good judgment. all that the hon. george knew was that at lukati there had been four well-authenticated cases of barbarous acts of cruelty against natives, and that the commissioner of the district was responsible for the whippings and the torture. he thought, did the hon. george, that this was all that it was necessary to know. but this is where he made his big mistake. up at lukati all sorts of things happened, as commissioner sanders knows, to his cost. once he visited the district and left it tranquil, and for carter, his deputy, whom he left behind, the natives built a most beautiful hut, planting gardens about, all off their own bat. one day, when carter had just finished writing an enthusiastic report on the industry of his people, and the whole-hearted way they were taking up and supporting the new rgime, the chief of the village, whom carter had facetiously named o'leary (his born name was indeed olari), came to him. carter at the moment was walking through the well-swept street of the village with his hands in his coat pockets and his big white helmet tipped on the back of his head because the sun was setting at his back. "father," said the chief olari, "i have brought these people to see you." he indicated with a wave of his hand six strange warriors carrying their shields and spears, who looked at him dispassionately. carter nodded. "they desire," said olari, "to see the wonderful little black fetish that my father carries in his pocket that they may tell their people of its powers." "tell your people," said carter good-humouredly, "that i have not got the fetish with me--if they will come to my hut i will show them its wonders." whereupon olari lifted his spear and struck at carter, and the six warriors sprang forward together. carter fought gamely, but he was unarmed. when sanders heard the news of his subordinate's death he did not faint or fall into a fit of insane cursing. he was sitting on his broad verandah at headquarters when the dusty messenger came. he rose with pursed lips and frowning eyes, fingering the letter--this came from tollemache, inspector of police at bokari--and paced the verandah. "poor chap, poor chap!" was all that he said. he sent no message to olari; he made no preparations for a punitive raid; he went on signing documents, inspecting houssas, attending dinner parties, as though carter had never lived or died. all these things the spies of olari reported, and the chief was thankful. lukati being two hundred miles from headquarters, through a savage and mountainous country, an expedition was no light undertaking, and the british government, rich as it is, cannot afford to spend a hundred thousand pounds to avenge the death of a subordinate official. of this fact sanders was well aware, so he employed his time in collecting and authenticating the names of carter's assassins. when he had completed them he went a journey seventy miles into the bush to the great witch-doctor kelebi, whose name was known throughout the coast country from dakka to the eastern borders of togoland. "here are the names of men who have put shame upon me," he said; "but principally olari, chief of the lukati people." "i will put a spell upon olari," said the witch-doctor; "a very bad spell, and upon these men. the charge will be six english pounds." sanders paid the money, and "dashed" two bottles of square-face and a piece of proper cloth. then he went back to headquarters. one night through the village of lukati ran a whisper, and the men muttered the news with fearful shivers and backward glances. "olari, the chief, is cursed!" olari heard the tidings from his women, and came out of his hut into the moonlight, raving horribly. the next day he sickened, and on the fifth day he was near to dead and suffering terrible pains, as also were six men who helped in the slaying of carter. that they did not die was no fault of the witch-doctor, who excused his failure on account of the great distance between himself and his subjects. as for sanders, he was satisfied, saying that even the pains were cheap at the price, and that it would give him great satisfaction to write "finis" to olari with his own hand. a week after this, abiboo, sanders' favourite servant, was taken ill. there was no evidence of fever or disease, only the man began to fade as it were. making inquiries, sanders discovered that abiboo had offended the witch-doctor kelebi, and that the doctor had sent him the death message. sanders took fifty houssas into the bush and interviewed the witch-doctor. "i have reason," he said, "for believing you to be a failure as a slayer of men." "master," said kelebi in extenuation, "my magic cannot cross mountains, otherwise olari and his friends would have died." "that is as it may be," said sanders. "i am now concerned with magic nearer at hand, and i must tell you that the day after abiboo dies i will hang you." "father," said kelebi emphatically, "under those circumstances abiboo shall live." sanders gave him a sovereign, and rode back to headquarters, to find his servant on the high road to recovery. i give you this fragment of sanders' history, because it will enable you to grasp the peculiar environment in which sanders spent the greater part of his life, and because you will appreciate all the better the irony of the situation created by the coming of the hon. george tackle. sanders was taking breakfast on the verandah of his house. from where he sat he commanded across the flaming beauties of his garden a view of a broad, rolling, oily sea, a golden blaze of light under the hot sun. there was a steamer lying three miles out (only in five fathoms of water at that), and sanders, through his glasses, recognised her as the elder dempster boat that brought the monthly mail. since there were no letters on his table, and the boat had been "in" for two hours, he gathered that there was no mail for him, and was thankful, for he had outlived the sentimental period of life when letters were pleasant possibilities. having no letters, he expected no callers, and the spectacle of the hon. george being carried in a hammock into his garden was astonishing. the hon. george carefully alighted, adjusted his white pith helmet, smoothed the creases from his immaculate ducks, and mounted the steps that led to the stoep. "how do?" said the visitor. "my name is tackle--george tackle." he smiled, as though to say more was an insult to his hearer's intelligence. sanders bowed, a little ceremoniously for him. he felt that his visitor expected this. "i'm out on a commission," the hon. george went on. "as you've doubtless heard, my governor is the proprietor of the _courier and echo_, and so he thought i'd better go out and see the thing for myself. i've no doubt the whole thing is exaggerated----" "hold hard," said sanders, a light dawning on him. "i gather that you are a sort of correspondent of a newspaper?" "exactly." "that you have come to inquire into----" "treatment of natives, and all that," said the hon. george easily. "and what is wrong with the treatment of the native?" asked sanders sweetly. the hon. gentleman made an indefinite gesture. "you know--things in newspapers--missionaries," he said rapidly, being somewhat embarrassed by the realisation that the man, if any, responsible for the outrages was standing before him. "i never read the newspapers," said sanders, "and----" "of course," interrupted the hon. george eagerly, "we can make it all right as far as you are concerned." "oh, thank you!" sanders' gratitude was a little overdone, but he held out his hand. "well, i wish you luck--let me know how you get on." the hon. george tackle was frankly nonplussed. "but excuse me," he said, "where--how----hang it all, where am i to put up?" "here?" "yes -dash it, my kit is on shore! i thought----" "you thought i'd put you up?" "well, i did think----" "that i'd fall on your neck and welcome you?" "not exactly, but----" "well," said sanders, carefully folding his napkin, "i'm not so glad to see you as all that." "i suppose not," said the hon. george, bridling. "because you're a responsibility--i hate extra responsibility. you can pitch your tent just wherever you like--but i cannot offer you the hospitality you desire." "i shall report this matter to the administrator," said the hon. george ominously. "you may report it to my grandmother's maiden aunt," said sanders politely. half an hour later he saw the hon. george rejoin the ship that brought him to isisi bassam, and chuckled. george would go straight to the administrator, and would receive a reception beside which a sahara storm would be zephyrs of araby. at the same time sanders was a little puzzled, and not a little hurt. there never had been a question of atrocities in his district, and he was puzzled to account for the rumours that had brought the "commissioner" on his tour of investigation--could it be a distorted account of olari's punishment? "go quickly to the ship, taking a book to the lord who has just gone from here," was his command to a servant, and proceeded to scribble a note:- "i am afraid," he wrote, "i was rather rude to you--not understanding what the devil you were driving at. an overwhelming curiosity directs me to invite you to share my bungalow until such time as you are ready to conduct your investigation." the hon. george read this with a self-satisfied smirk. "the way to treat these fellows," he said to the elder dempster captain, "is to show 'em you'll stand no nonsense. i thought he'd climb down." the elder dempster captain, who knew sanders by repute, smiled discreetly, but said nothing. once more the special correspondent's mountain of baggage was embarked in the surf boat, and the hon. george waved a farewell to his friends on the steamer. the elder dempster skipper, leaning over the side of his bridge, watched the surf boat rising and falling in the swell. "there goes a man who's looking for trouble," he said, "and i wouldn't take a half-share of the trouble he's going to find for five hundred of the best. is that blessed anchor up yet, mr. simmons? half ahead--set her due west, mr. what's-your-name." it was something of a triumph for the hon. george. there were ten uniformed policemen awaiting him on the smooth beach to handle his baggage, and sanders came down to his garden gate to meet him. "the fact of it is----" began sanders awkwardly; but the magnanimous george raised his hand. "let bygones," he said, "be bygones." sanders was unaccountably annoyed by this generous display. still more so was he when the correspondent refused to reopen the question of atrocities. "as your guest," said george solemnly, "i feel that it would be better for all concerned if i pursued an independent investigation. i shall endeavour as far as possible, to put myself in your place, to consider all extenuating circumstances----" "oh, have a gin-swizzle!" said sanders rudely and impatiently; "you make me tired." "look here," he said later, "i will only ask you two questions. where are these atrocities supposed to have taken place?" "in the district of lukati," said the hon. george. "olari," thought sanders. "who was the victim?" he asked. "there were several," said the correspondent, and produced his note-book. "you understand that i'd really much rather not discuss the matter with you, but, since you insist," he read, "efembi of wastambo." "oh!" said sanders, and his eyebrows rose "kabindo of machembi." "oh, lord!" said sanders. the hon. george read six other cases, and with every one a line was wiped from sanders' forehead. when the recital was finished the commissioner said slowly-"i can make a statement to you which will save you a great deal of unnecessary trouble." "i would rather you didn't," said george, in his best judicial manner. "very good," said sanders; and went away whistling to order dinner. over the meal he put it to the correspondent: "there are a number of people on this station who are friends of mine. i won't disguise the fact from you--there is o'neill, in charge of the houssas; the doctor, kennedy, the chap in charge of the survey party; and half a dozen more. would you like to question them?" "they are friends of yours?" "yes, personal friends." "then," said the hon. george, gravely, "perhaps it would be better if i did not see them." "as you wish," said sanders. with an escort of four houssas, and fifty carriers recruited from the neighbouring villages, the hon. george departed into the interior, and sanders saw him off. "i cannot, of course, guarantee your life," he said, at parting, "and i must warn you that the government will not be responsible for any injury that comes to you." "i understand," said the hon. george knowingly, "but i am not to be deterred. i come from a stock----" "i dare say," sanders cut his genealogical reminiscences short; "but the last traveller who was 'chopped' in the bush was a d'arcy, and his people came over with the conqueror." the correspondent took the straight path to lukati, and at the end of the third day's march came to the village of mfabo, where lived the great witch-doctor, kelebi. george pitched his camp outside the village, and, accompanied by his four houssas, paid a call upon the chief, which was one of the first mistakes he made, for he should have sent for the chief to call upon him; and if he called upon anybody, he should have made his visit to the witch-doctor, who was a greater man than forty chiefs. in course of time, however, he found himself squatting on the ground outside the doctor's house, engaged, through the medium of the interpreter he had brought from sierra leone, in an animated conversation with the celebrated person. "tell him," said george to his interpreter, "that i am a great white chief whose heart bleeds for the native." "is he a good man?" asked george. the witch-doctor, with the recollection of sanders' threat, said "no!" "why?" asked the hon. george eagerly. "does he beat the people?" not only did he beat the people, explained the witch-doctor with relish, but there were times when he burnt them alive. "this is a serious charge," said george, wagging his head warningly; nevertheless he wrote with rapidity in his diary:- "interviewed kelebi, respected native doctor, who states: "'i have lived all my life in this district, and have never known so cruel a man as sandi (sanders). i remember once he caused a man to be drowned, the man's name i forget; on another occasion he burned a worthy native alive for refusing to guide him and his houssas through the forest. i also remember the time when he put a village to the fire, causing the people great suffering. "'the people of the country groan under his oppressions, for from time to time he comes demanding money and crops, and if he does not receive all that he asks for he flogs the villagers until they cry aloud.'" (i rather suspect that there is truth in the latter statement, for sanders finds no little difficulty in collecting the hut-tax, which is the government's due.) george shook his head when he finished writing. "this," he said, "looks very bad." he shook hands with the witch-doctor, and that aged villain looked surprised, and asked a question in the native tongue. "you no be fit to dash him somet'ing," said the interpreter. "dash him?" "give 'um present--bottle gin." "certainly not," said george. "he may be satisfied with the knowledge that he is rendering a service to humanity; that he is helping the cause of a down-trodden people." the witch-doctor said something in reply, which the interpreter very wisely refrained from putting into english. * * * * * "how go the investigations?" asked the captain of houssas three weeks later. "as far as i can gather," said sanders, "our friend is collecting a death-roll by the side of which the records of the great plague will read like an advertisement of a health resort." "where is he now?" "he has got to lukati--and i am worried"; and sanders looked it. the houssa captain nodded, for all manner of reports had come down from lukati country. there had been good crops, and good crops mean idleness, and idleness means mischief. also there had been devil dances, and the mild people of the bokari district, which lies contiguous to lukati, had lost women. "i've got a free hand to nip rebellion in the bud," sanders reflected moodily; "and the chances point to rebellion----what do you say? shall we make a report and wait for reinforcements, or shall we chance our luck?" "it's your funeral," said the houssa captain, "and i hate to advise you. if things go wrong you'll get the kicks; but if it were mine i'd go, like a shot--naturally." "a hundred and forty men," mused sanders. "and two maxims," suggested the other. "we'll go," said sanders; and half an hour later a bugle blared through the houssas' lines, and sanders was writing a report to his chief in far-away lagos. the hon. george, it may be said, had no idea that he was anything but welcome in the village of lukati. olari the chief had greeted him pleasantly, and told him stories of sanders' brutality--stories which, as george wrote, "if true, must of necessity sound the death-knell of british integrity in our native possessions." exactly what that meant, i am not disposed to guess. george stayed a month as the guest of lukati. he had intended to stay at the most three days, but there was always a reason for postponing his departure. once the carriers deserted, once the roads were not safe, once olari asked him to remain that he might see his young men dance. george did not know that his escort of four houssas were feeling uneasy, because his interpreter--as big a fool as himself--could not interpret omens. george knew nothing of the significance of a dance in which no less than six witch-doctors took part, or the history of the tumble-down hut that stood in solitude at one end of the village. had he taken the trouble to search that hut, he would have found a table, a chair, and a truckle bed, and on the table a report, soiled with dust and rain, which began: "i have the honour to inform your excellency that the natives maintain their industrious and peaceable attitude." for in this hut in his lifetime lived carter, deputy commissioner; and the natives, with their superstitious regard for the dead, had moved nothing. it was approaching the end of the month, when the hon. george thought he detected in his host a certain scarcely-veiled insolence of tone, and in the behaviour of the villagers something more threatening. the dances were a nightly occurrence now, and the measured stamping of feet, the clash of spear against cane shield, and the never-ending growl of the song the dancers sang, kept him awake at nights. messengers came to olari daily from long distances, and once he was awakened in the middle of the night by screams. he jumped out of bed and pushed aside the fly of his tent to see half a dozen naked women dragged through the streets--the result of a raid upon the unoffending bokari. he dressed, in a sweat of indignation and fear, and went to the chief's hut, fortunately without his interpreter, for what olari said would have paralysed him. in the morning (after this entirely unsatisfactory interview) he paraded his four houssas and such of his carriers as he could find, and prepared to depart. "master," said olari, when the request was interpreted, "i would rather you stayed. the land is full of bad people, and i have still much to tell you of the devilishness of sandi. moreover," said the chief, "to-night there is to be a great dance in your honour," and he pointed to where three slaves were engaged in erecting a big post in the centre of the village street. "after this i will let you go," said olari, "for you are my father and my mother." the hon. george was hesitating, when, of a sudden, at each end of the street there appeared, as if by magic, twenty travel-stained houssas. they stood at attention for a moment, then opened outwards, and in the centre of each party gleamed the fat water-jacket of a maxim gun. the chief said nothing, only he looked first one way and then the other, and his brown face went a dirty grey. sanders strolled leisurely along toward the group. he was unshaven, his clothes were torn with bush-thorn, in his hand was a long-barrelled revolver. "olari," he said gently; and the chief stepped forward. "i think, olari," said sanders, "you have been chief too long." "master, my father was chief before me, and his father," said olari, his face twitching. "what of tagondo, my friend?" asked sanders, speaking of carter by his native name. "master, he died," said olari; "he died of the sickness _mongo_--the sickness itself." "surely," said sanders, nodding his head, "surely you also shall die of the same sickness." olari looked round for a way of escape. he saw the hon. george looking from one to the other in perplexity, and he flung himself at the correspondent's feet. "master!" he cried, "save me from this man who hates me!" george understood the gesture; his interpreter told him the rest; and, as a houssa servant reached out his hand to the chief, the son of the house of widnes, strong in the sense of his righteousness, struck it back. "look here, sanders," forgetting all his previous misgivings and fears concerning the chief, "i should say that you have punished this poor devil enough!" "take that man, sergeant," said sanders sharply; and the houssa gripped olari by the shoulder and flung him backward. "you shall answer for this!" roared the hon. george tackle, in impotent wrath. "what are you going to do with him? my god! no, no!--not without a trial!" he sprang forward, but the houssas caught him and restrained him. * * * * * "for what you have done," said the correspondent--this was a month after, and he was going aboard the homeward steamer--"you shall suffer!" "i only wish to point out to you," said sanders, "that if i had not arrived in the nick of time, you would have done all the suffering--they were going to sacrifice you on the night i arrived. didn't you see the post?" "that is a lie!" said the other. "i will make england ring with your infamy. the condition of your district is a blot on civilisation!" * * * * * "there is no doubt," said mr. justice keneally, summing up in the libel action, sanders v. _the courier and echo_ and another, "that the defendant tackle did write a number of very libellous and damaging statements, and, to my mind, the most appalling aspect of the case is that, commissioned as he was to investigate the condition of affairs in the district of lukati, he did not even trouble to find out where lukati was. as you have been told, gentlemen of the jury, there are no less than four lukatis in west africa, the one in togoland being the district in which it was intended the defendant should go. how he came to mistake lukati of british west africa for the lukati of german togoland, i do not know, but in order to bolster up his charges against a perfectly-innocent british official he brought forward a number of unsupported statements, each of which must be regarded as damaging to the plaintiff, but more damaging still to the newspaper that in its colossal ignorance published them." the jury awarded sanders nine thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds. chapter vi. the dancing stones. heroes should be tall and handsome, with flashing eyes; sanders was not so tall, was yellow of face, moreover had grey hair. heroes should also be of gentle address, full of soft phrases, for such tender women who come over their horizon; sanders was a dispassionate man who swore on the slightest provocation, and had no use for women any way. when you place a man upon a throne, even though that throne be a wooden stool worth in the mart fourpence more or less, you assume a responsibility which greatly outweighs all the satisfaction or personal gratification you may derive from your achievement. there is a grave in toledo, a slab of brass, over a great king-maker who lived long enough to realise his insignificance. the epitaph upon that brass tomb of his is eloquent of his sum knowledge of life and human effort. pulvis et nihil says the inscription, and powder and nothing is the ultimate destiny of all king-makers. sanders was a maker of kings in the early days. he helped break a few, so it was in obedience to the laws of compensation that he took his part in reconstructive work. he broke esindini, matabini, t'saki--to name three--and helped, in the very old days, and in another country, to break lobengula, the great bull. king-maker he was beyond question--you could see republicanism written legibly in the amused grin with which he made them--but the kings he made were little ones--that is the custom of the british-african rule, they break a big king and put many little kings in his place, because it is much safer. somewhere about 12 north, and in longitude 0, is a land which is peculiar for the fact that it is british, french, german, and italian--according to which map of africa you judge it by. at the time of which i write it was neither, but it was ruled by mensikilimbili for the great king. he was the most powerful of monarchs, and, for the matter of that, the most cruel. his dominion stretched "from moonrise to sunset," said the natives, and he held undisputed sway. he had a court, and sat upon an ivory throne, and wore over the leopard skins of his rank a mantle woven of gold thread and scarlet thread, and he administered justice. he had three hundred wives and forty thousand fighting men, and his acquaintance with white men began and ended with the coming of a french mission, who presented him with a tall hat, a barrel organ, and one hundred thousand francs in gold. this was limbili, the great king of yitingi. the little kings of the southern lands spoke of him with bated breath; his name was uttered in a low voice, as of a god; he was the symbol of majesty and of might--the isisi people, themselves a nation of some importance, and boastful likewise, referred to themselves disparagingly when the kingdom of yitingi was mentioned. following the french mission, sanders went up as envoy to the limbilu, carrying presents of a kind and messages of good will. he was escorted into the territory by a great army and was lodged in the city of the king. after two days' waiting he was informed that his majesty would see him, and was led to the presence. the presence was an old man, a vicious old man, if sanders was any judge of character, who showed unmistakable signs of anger and contempt when the commissioner displayed his presents. "and what are these, white man?" said the king. "toys for my women, or presents for my little chiefs?" "these are for your greatness," said sanders quietly, "from a people who do not gauge friendship by the costliness of presents." the king gave a little sniff. "tell me, white man," he said; "in your travels have you ever seen so great a king as i?" "lord king," said sanders, frank to a fault. "i have seen greater." the king frowned, and the crowd about his sacred person muttered menacingly. "there you lie," said the king calmly; "for there never was a greater king than i." "let the white man say who is greater," croaked an aged councillor, and a murmur of approval arose. "lord," said sanders, looking into the eyes of the old man who sat on the throne, "i have seen lo ben."[2] the king frowned again, and nodded. "of him i have heard," he said; "he was a great king and an eater-up of nations--who else?" "king," lied sanders, "also ketcewayo"; and something like a hush fell upon the court, for the name of ketcewayo was one that travelled north. "but of white kings," persisted the chief; "is there a white king in the world whose word when it goes forth causes men to tremble?" sanders grinned internally, knowing such a king, but answered that in all his life he had never met such a king. "and of armies," said the king, "have you ever seen an army such as mine?" and so through the category of his possessions he ran; and sanders, finding that the lie was to save himself a great deal of trouble, lied and acclaimed king limbili as the greatest king in all the world, commander of the most perfect army, ruler of a sublime kingdom. it may be said that the kingdom of yitingi owed its integrity to its faults, for, satisfied with the perfection of all his possessions, the great king confined his injustices, his cruelties, and his little wars within the boundaries of his state. also he sought relaxation therein. one day, just after the rains, when the world was cool and the air filled with the faint scent of african spring, sanders made a tour through the little provinces. these are those lands which lie away from the big rivers. countries curled up in odd corners, bisected sharply on the map by this or that international boundary line, or scattered on the fringe of the wild country vaguely inscribed by the chartographer as "under british influence." it was always an interesting journey--sanders made it once a year--for the way led up strange rivers and through unfamiliar scenes, past villages where other white men than sanders were never seen. after a month's travel the commissioner came to icheli, which lies on the border of the great king's domain, and with immense civility he was received by the elders and the chiefs. "lord, you have come at a good moment," said the chief solemnly, "to-night daihili dances." "and who is daihili?" asked sanders. they told him; later they brought for his inspection a self-conscious girl, a trifle pert, he thought, for a native. a slim girl, taller than the average woman, with a figure perfectly modelled, a face not unpleasant even from the european standpoint, graceful in carriage, her every movement harmonious. sanders, chewing the end of his cigar, took her in at one glance. "my girl, they tell me that you dance," he said. "that is so, master," she said; "i am the greatest dancer in all the world." "so far i cannot go," said the cautious commissioner; "but i do not doubt that your dancing is very wonderful." "lord," she said, with a gesture, "when i dance men go mad, losing their senses. to-night when the moon is high i will show you the dance of the three lovers." "to-night," said sanders briefly, "i shall be in bed--and, i trust, asleep." the girl frowned a little, was possibly piqued, being a woman of fifteen, and in no wise different to women elsewhere in the world. this sanders did not know, and i doubt whether the knowledge would have helped him much if he did. he heard the tom-tom beating, that night as he lay in bed, and the rhythmical clapping of hands, and fell asleep wondering what would be the end of a girl who danced so that men went mad. the child was the chief's daughter, and at parting sanders had a few words to say concerning her. "this daughter of yours is fifteen, and it would be better if she were married," he said. "lord, she has many lovers, but none rich enough to buy her," said the proud father, "because she is so great a dancer. chiefs and headmen from villages far distant come to see her." he looked round and lowered his voice. "it is said," he whispered, "that the great one himself has spoken of her. perhaps he will send for her, offering this and that. in such a case," said the chief hopefully, "i will barter and bargain, keeping him in suspense, and every day the price will rise----" "if the great one need her, let her go," said sanders, "lest instead of money presents he sends an army. i will have no war, or women palaver, which is worse than war, in my country--mark that, chief." "lord, your word is my desire," said the chief conventionally. sanders went back to his own people by easy stages. at isisi he was detained for over a week over a question of witch-craft; at belembi (in the isisi country) he stopped three days to settle a case of murder by fetish. he was delivering judgment, and abiboo, the sergeant of police, was selecting and testing his stoutest cane for the whipping which was to follow, when the chief of the icheli came flying down the river with three canoes, and sanders, who, from where he sat, commanded an uninterrupted view of the river, knew there was trouble--and guessed what that trouble was. "justice!" demanded the chief, his voice trembling with the rage and fear he had nursed, "justice against the old one, the stealer of girls, the destroyer of cities--may death go to him. iwa!----" the very day sanders had left, the messenger of the great king had come, and with him a hundred warriors, demanding the dancing girl. true to his pre-arranged scheme, the chief began the inevitable bargaining over terms. the presents offered were too small. the girl was worth a hundred thousand rods--nay, a thousand bags of salt. "you were mad," said sanders calmly; "no woman is worth a thousand bags of salt." "well, that might be," admitted the outraged father; "yet it would be folly to begin by naming a price too low. the bargaining went on through the night and all the next day, and in the end the envoy of the great king grew impatient. "let the woman be sent for," he said, and obedient to the summons came daihili, demure enough, yet with covert glances of encouragement to the unemotional ambassador, and with subtle exhibitions of her charms. "woman," said the messenger, "the greatest of kings desires you, will you come?" "lord," said the girl, "i wish for nothing better." with that, the hundred armed warriors in attendance at the palaver closed round the girl. "and so," said sanders, "you got nothing?" "lord, it is as you say," moaned the old chief. "it is evident," said sanders, "that an injustice has been done; for no man may take a woman unless he pay. i think," he added, with a flash of that mordant humour which occasionally illuminated his judgments, "that the man pays twice, once to the father, and all his life to his wife--but that is as may be." six weeks later, after consultation, sanders sent a messenger to the great king, demanding the price of the woman. what happened to the messenger i would rather not describe. that he was killed, is saying the least. just before he died, when the glaze of death must have been on his eyes, and his poor wrecked body settling to the rest of oblivion, he was carried to a place before the king's hut, and daihili danced the dance of the spirits. this much is now known. sanders did nothing; nor did the british government, but hurried notes were exchanged between ambassadors and ministers in paris, and that was the end of the incident. two icheli spies went up into the great king's country. one came back saying that the dancing girl was the favourite wife of the old king, and that her whims swayed the destinies of the nation. also he reported that because of this slim girl who danced, many men, councillors, and captains of war had died the death. the other spy did not come back. it may have been his discovery that induced the girl to send an army against the icheli, thinking perchance that her people were spying upon her. one day the city of icheli was surrounded by the soldiers of the great king, and neither man, woman nor child escaped. the news of the massacre did not come to sanders for a long time. the reason was simple there was none to carry the message, for the icheli are isolated folk. one day, however, an isisi hunting party, searching for elephants, came upon a place where there was a smell of burning and many skeletons--and thus sanders knew---"we cannot," wrote monsieur leon marchassa, minister for colonial affairs, "accept responsibility for the misdoings of the king of the yitingi, and my government would regard with sympathetic interest any attempt that was made by his majesty's government to pacify this country." but the british government did nothing, because war is an expensive matter, and sanders grinned and cursed his employers genially. taking his life in his hands, he went up to the border of yitingi, with twenty policemen, and sent a messenger--a yitingi messenger--to the king. with the audacity which was not the least of his assets, he demanded that the king should come to him for a palaver. this adventure nearly proved abortive at the beginning, for just as the _zaire_ was steaming to the borders sanders unexpectedly came upon traces of a raiding expedition. there were unmistakable signs as to the author. "i have a mind to turn back and punish that cursed bosambo, chief of the ochori," he said to sergeant abiboo, "for having sworn by a variety of gods and devils that he would keep the peace; behold he has been raiding in foreign territory." "he will keep, master," said abiboo, "besides which, he is in the neighbourhood, for his fires are still warm." so sanders went on, and sent his message to the king. he kept steam in his little boat--he had chosen the only place where the river touches the yitingi border--and waited, quite prepared to make an ignominious, if judicious, bolt. to his astonishment, his spies brought word that the king was coming. he owed this condescension to the influence of the little dancing girl, for she, woman-like, had a memory for rebuffs, and had a score to settle with mr. commissioner sanders. the great king arrived, and across the meadow-like lands that fringe the river on both sides sanders watched the winding procession with mingled feelings. the king halted a hundred yards from the river, and his big scarlet umbrella was the centre of a black line of soldiers spreading out on either hand for three hundred yards. then a party detached itself and came towards the dead tree by the water side, whereon hung limply in the still air the ensign of england. "this," said sanders to himself, "is where i go dead one time." it is evidence of the seriousness of the situation, as it appealed to him, that he permitted himself to descend to coast english. "the king, the great one, awaits you, white man, offering you safety in his shadow," said the king's messenger; and sanders nodded. he walked leisurely toward the massed troops, and presently appeared before the old man squatting on a heap of skins and blinking like an ape in the sunlight. "lord king, live for ever," said sanders glibly, and as he raised his hand in salute he saw the girl regarding him from under knit brows. "what is your wish, white man?" said the old king; "what rich presents do you bring, that you call me many days' journey?" "lord, i bring no presents," said sanders boldly; "but a message from a king who is greater than you, whose soldiers outnumber the sands of the river, and whose lands extend from the east to the west, from the north to the south." "there is no such king," snarled the old man. "you lie, white man, and i will cut your tongue into little strips." "let him give his message, master," said the girl. "this is the message," said sanders. he stood easily, with his hands in the pockets of his white uniform jacket, and the king was nearer death than he knew. "my master says: 'because the great king of yitingi has eaten up the icheli folk: because he has crossed the borderland and brought suffering to my people, my heart is sore. yet, if the great king will pay a fine of one thousand head of cattle and will allow free access to his country for my soldiers and my commissioners, i will live in peace with him.'" the old man laughed, a wicked, cackling laugh. "oh, ko!" he chuckled; "a great king!" then the girl stepped forward. "sandi," she said, "once you put me to shame, for when i would have danced for you, you slept." "to you, daihili," said sanders steadily, "i say nothing; i make no palaver with women, for that is not the custom or the law. still less do i talk with dancing girls. my business is with limbili the king." the king was talking rapidly behind his hand to a man who bent over him, and sanders, his hands still in his jacket pockets, snapped down the safety catches of his automatic colts. all the time the girl spoke he was watching from the corners of his eyes the man who talked with the king. he saw him disappear in the crowd of soldiers who stood behind the squatting figures, and prepared for the worst. "since i may not dance for you," the girl was saying, "my lord the king would have you dance for me." "that is folly," said sanders: then he saw the line on either side wheel forward, and out came his pistols. "crack! crack!" the shot intended for the king missed him, and broke the leg of a soldier behind. it had been hopeless from the first; this sanders realised with some philosophy, as he lay stretched on the baked earth, trussed like a fowl, and exceedingly uncomfortable. at the first shot abiboo, obeying his instructions, would turn the bows of the steamer down stream; this was the only poor satisfaction he could derive from the situation. throughout that long day, with a pitiless sun beating down upon him, he lay in the midst of an armed guard, waiting for the death which must come in some dreadful form or other. he was undismayed, for this was the logical end of the business. toward the evening they gave him water, which was most acceptable. from the gossip of his guards he gathered that the evening had been chosen for his exit, but the manner of it he must guess. from where he lay he could see, by turning his head a little, the king's tent, and all the afternoon men were busily engaged in heaping flat stones upon the earth before the pavilion. they were of singular uniformity, and would appear to be specially hewn and dressed for some purpose. he asked his guard a question. "they are the dancing stones, white man," said the soldier, "they come from the mountain near the city." when darkness fell a huge fire was lit; it was whilst he was watching this that he heard of the _zaire's_ escape, and was thankful. he must have been dozing, exhausted in body and mind, when he was dragged to his feet, his bonds were slipped, and he was led before the king. then he saw what form his torture was to take. the flat stones were being taken from the fire with wooden pincers and laid to form a rough pavement before the tent. "white man," said the king, as rude hands pulled off the commissioner's boots, "the woman daihili would see you dance." "be assured, king," said sanders, between his teeth, "that some day you shall dance in hell in more pleasant company, having first danced at the end of a rope." "if you live through the dancing," said the king, "you will be sorry." a ring of soldiers with their spears pointing inward surrounded the pavement, those on the side of the tent crouching so that their bodies might not interrupt the great one's view. "dance," said the king; and sanders was thrown forward. the first stone he touched was only just warm, and on this he stood still till a spear-thrust sent him to the next. it was smoking hot, and he leapt up with a stifled cry. down he came to another, hotter still, and leapt again-"throw water over him," said the amused king, when they dragged the fainting man off the stones, his clothes smouldering where he lay in an inert heap. "now dance," said the king again--when out of the darkness about the group leapt a quivering pencil of yellow light. ha-ha-ha-ha-a-a-a! abiboo's maxim-gun was in action at a range of fifty yards, and with him five hundred ochori men under that chief of chiefs, bosambo. for a moment the yitingi stood, and then, as with a wild yell which was three-parts fear, the ochori charged, the king's soldiers broke and fled. they carried sanders to the steamer quickly, for the yitingi would re-form, being famous night fighters. sanders, sitting on the deck of the steamer nursing his burnt feet and swearing gently, heard the scramble of the ochori as they got into their canoes, heard the grunting of his houssas hoisting the maxim on board, and fainted again. "master," said bosambo in the morning, "many moons ago you made charge against the ochori, saying they would not fight. that was true, but in those far-off days there was no chief bosambo. now, because of my teaching, and because i have put fire into their stomachs, they have defeated the soldiers of the great king." he posed magnificently, for on his shoulders was a mantle of gold thread woven with blue, which was not his the night before. "bosambo," said sanders, "though i have a score to settle with you for breaking the law by raiding, i am grateful that the desire for the properties of others brought you to this neighbourhood. where did you get that cloak?" he demanded. "i stole it," said bosambo frankly, "from the tent of the great king; also i brought with me one of the stones upon which my lord would not stand. i brought this, thinking that it would be evidence." sanders nodded, and bit his cigar with a little grimace. "on which my lord would not stand," was very prettily put. "let me see it," he said; and bosambo himself carried it to him. it had borne the heat well enough, but rough handling had chipped a corner; and sanders looked at this cracked corner long and earnestly. "here," he said, "is an argument that no properly constituted british government can overlook--i see limbili's finish." * * * * * the rainy season came round and the springtime, before sanders again stood in the presence of the great king. all around him was desolation and death. the plain was strewn with the bodies of men, and the big city was a smoking ruin. to the left, three regiments of houssas were encamped; to the right, two battalions of african rifles sat at "chop," and the snappy notes of their bugles came sharply through the still air. "i am an old man," mumbled the king; but the girl who crouched at his side said nothing. only her eyes never left the brick-red face of sanders. "old you are," he said, "yet not too old to die." "i am a great king," whined the other, "and it is not proper that a great king should hang." "yet if you live," said sanders, "many other great kings will say, 'we may commit these abominations, and because of our greatness we shall live.'" "and what of me, lord?" said the girl in a low voice. "you!" sanders looked at her. "ho, hi," he said, as though he had just remembered her. "you are the dancing girl? now we shall do nothing with you, daihili--because you are nothing." he saw her shrink as one under a lash. after the execution, the colonel of the houssas and sanders were talking together. "what i can't understand," said the colonel, "is why we suddenly decided upon this expedition. it has been necessary for years--but why this sudden activity?" sanders grinned mysteriously. "a wonderful people, the english," he said airily. "old man limbili steals british subjects, and i report it. 'very sad,' says england. he wipes out a nation. 'deplorable!' says england. he makes me dance on the original good-intention stones of hades. 'treat it as a joke,' says england; but when i point out that these stones assay one ounce ten penny-weights of refined gold, and that we've happed upon the richest reef in central africa, there's an army here in six months!" i personally think that sanders may have been a little unjust in his point of view. after all, wars cost money, and wars of vengeance are notoriously unprofitable. [footnote 2: lo bengola, the king of the matabele.] chapter vii. the forest of happy dreams. sanders was tied up at a "wooding," being on his way to collect taxes and administer justice to the folk who dwell on the lower isisi river. by the river-side the little steamer was moored. there was a tiny bay here, and the swift currents of the river were broken to a gentle flow; none the less, he inspected the shore-ends of the wire hawsers before he crossed the narrow plank that led to the deck of the _zaire_. the wood was stacked on the deck, ready for to-morrow's run. the new water-gauge had been put in by yoka, the engineer, as he had ordered; the engines had been cleaned; and sanders nodded approvingly. he stepped lightly over two or three sleeping forms curled up on the deck, and gained the shore. "now i think i'll turn in," he muttered, and looked at his watch. it was nine o'clock. he stood for a moment on the crest of the steep bank, and stared back across the river. the night was black, but he saw the outlines of the forest on the other side. he saw the jewelled sky, and the pale reflection of stars in the water. then he went to his tent, and leisurely got into his pyjamas. he jerked two tabloids from a tiny bottle, swallowed them, drank a glass of water, and thrust his head through the tent opening. "ho, sokani!" he called, speaking in the vernacular, "let the _lo-koli_ sound!" he went to bed. he heard the rustle of men moving, the gurgles of laughter as his subtle joke was repeated, for the cambul people have a keen sense of humour, and then the penetrating rattle of sticks on the native drum--a hollow tree-trunk. fiercely it beat--furiously, breathlessly, with now and then a deeper note as the drummer, using all his art, sent the message of sleep to the camp. in one wild crescendo, the _lo-koli_ ceased, and sanders turned with a sigh of content and closed his eyes--he sat up suddenly. he must have dozed; but he was wide awake now. he listened, then slipped out of bed, pulling on his mosquito boots. into the darkness of the night he stepped, and found n'kema, the engineer, waiting. "you heard, master?" said the native. "i heard," said sanders, with a puzzled face, "yet we are nowhere near a village." he listened. from the night came a hundred whispering noises, but above all these, unmistakable, the faint clatter of an answering drum. the white man frowned in his perplexity. "no village is nearer than the bongindanga," he muttered, "not even a fishing village; the woods are deserted----" the native held up a warning finger, and bent his head, listening. he was reading the message that the drum sent. sanders waited; he knew the wonderful fact of this native telegraph, how it sent news through the trackless wilds. he could not understand it, no european could; but he had respect for its mystery. "a white man is here," read the native; "he has the sickness." "a white man!" in the darkness sanders' eyebrows rose incredulously. "he is a foolish one," n'kema read; "he sits in the forest of happy thoughts, and will not move." sanders clicked his lips impatiently. "no white man would sit in the forest of happy thoughts," he said, half to himself, "unless he were mad." but the distant drum monotonously repeated the outrageous news. here, indeed, in the heart of the loveliest glade in all africa, encamped in the very centre of the green path of death, was a white man, a sick white man--in the forest of happy thoughts--a sick white man. so the drum went on and on, till sanders, rousing his own _lo-koli_ man, sent an answer crashing along the river, and began to dress hurriedly. in the forest lay a very sick man. he had chosen the site for the camp himself. it was in a clearing, near a little creek that wound between high elephant-grass to the river. mainward chose it, just before the sickness came, because it was pretty. this was altogether an inadequate reason; but mainward was a sentimentalist, and his life was a long record of choosing pretty camping places, irrespective of danger. "he was," said a newspaper, commenting on the crowning disaster which sent him a fugitive from justice to the wild lands of africa, "over-burdened with imagination." mainward was cursed with ill-timed confidence; this was one of the reasons he chose to linger in that deadly strip of land of the ituri, which is clumsily named by the natives "the lands-where-all-bad-thoughts-become-good-thoughts" and poetically adapted by explorers and daring traders as "the forest of happy dreams." over-confidence had generally been mainward's undoing--over-confidence in the ability of his horses to win races; over-confidence in his own ability to secure money to hide his defalcations--he was a director in the welshire county bank once--over-confidence in securing the love of a woman, who, when the crash came, looked at him blankly and said she was sorry, but she had no idea he felt towards her like that---now mainward lifted his aching head from the pillow and cursed aloud at the din. he was endowed with the smattering of pigeon-english which a man may acquire from a three months' sojourn divided between sierra leone and grand bassam. "why for they make 'em cursed noise, eh?" he fretted. "you plenty fool-man, abiboo." "si, senor," agreed the kano boy, calmly. "stop it, d'ye hear? stop it!" raved the man on the tumbled bed; "this noise is driving me mad--tell them to stop the drum." the _lo-koli_ stopped of its own accord, for the listeners in the sick man's camp had heard the faint answer from sanders. "come here, abiboo--i want some milk; open a fresh tin; and tell the cook i want some soup, too." the servant left him muttering and tossing from side to side on the creaking camp bedstead. mainward had many strange things to think about. it was strange how they all clamoured for immediate attention; strange how they elbowed and fought one another in their noisy claims to his notice. of course, there was the bankruptcy and the discovery at the bank--it was very decent of that inspector fellow to clear out--and ethel, and the horses, and--and---the valley of happy dreams! that would make a good story if mainward could write; only, unfortunately, he could not write. he could sign things, sign his name "three months after date pay to the order of----" he could sign other people's names; he groaned, and winced at the thought. but here was a forest where bad thoughts became good, and, god knows, his mind was ill-furnished. he wanted peace and sleep and happiness--he greatly desired happiness. now suppose "fairy lane" had won the wokingham stakes? it had not, of course (he winced again at the bad memory), but suppose it had? suppose he could have found a friend who would have lent him 16,000, or even if ethel---"master," said abiboo's voice, "dem puck-a-puck, him lib for come." "eh, what's that?" mainward turned almost savagely on the man. "puck-a-puck--you hear'um?" but the sick man could not hear the smack of the _zaire_'s stern wheel, as the little boat breasted the downward rush of the river--he was surprised to see that it was dawn, and grudgingly admitted to himself that he had slept. he closed his eyes again and had a strange dream. the principal figure was a small, tanned, clean-shaven man in a white helmet, who wore a dingy yellow overcoat over his pyjamas. "how are you feeling?" said the stranger. "rotten bad," growled mainward, "especially about ethel; don't you think it was pretty low down of her to lead me on to believe she was awfully fond of me, and then at the last minute to chuck me?" "shocking," said the strange, white man gravely, "but put her out of your mind just now; she isn't worth troubling about. what do you say to this?" he held up a small, greenish pellet between his forefinger and thumb, and mainward laughed weakly. "oh, rot!" he chuckled faintly. "you're one of those forest of happy dreams johnnies; what's that? a love philtre?" he was hysterically amused at the witticism. sanders nodded. "love or life, it's all one," he said, but apparently unamused. "swallow it!" mainward giggled and obeyed. "and now," said the stranger--this was six hours later--"the best thing you can do is to let my boys put you on my steamer and take you down river." mainward shook his head. he had awakened irritable and lamentably weak. "my dear chap, it's awfully kind of you to have come--by the way, i suppose you _are_ a doctor?" sanders shook his head. "on the contrary, i am the commissioner of this district," he said flippantly--"but you were saying----" "i want to stay here--it's devilish pretty." "devilish is the very adjective i should have used--my dear man, this is the plague spot of the congo; it's the home of every death-dealing fly and bug in africa." he waved his hand to the hidden vistas of fresh green glades, of gorgeous creepers shown in the light of the camp fires. "look at the grass," he said; "it's homeland grass--that's the seductive part of it; i nearly camped here myself. come, my friend, let me take you to my camp." mainward shook his head obstinately. "i'm obliged, but i'll stay here for a day or so. i want to try the supernatural effects of this pleasant place," he said with a weary smile. "i've got so many thoughts that need treatment." "look here," said sanders roughly, "you know jolly well how this forest got its name; it is called happy dreams because it's impregnated with fever, and with every disease from beri-beri to sleeping sickness. you don't wake from the dreams you dream here. man, i know this country, and you're a newcomer; you've trekked here because you wanted to get away from life and start all over again." "i beg your pardon." mainward's face flushed; and he spoke a little stiffly. "oh, i know all about you--didn't i tell you i was the commissioner? i was in england when things were going rocky with you, and i've read the rest in the papers i get from time to time. but all that is nothing to me. i'm here to help you start fair. if you had wanted to commit suicide, why come to africa to do it? be sensible and shift your camp; i'll send my steamer back for your men. will you come?" "no," said mainward sulkily. "i don't want to, i'm not keen; besides, i'm not fit to travel." here was an argument which sanders could not answer. he was none too sure upon that point himself, and he hesitated before he spoke again. "very well," he said at length, "suppose you stay another day to give you a chance to pull yourself together. i'll come along to-morrow with a tip-top invalid chair for you--is it a bet?" mainward held out his shaking hand, and the ghost of a smile puckered the corners of his eyes. "it's a bet," he said. he watched the commissioner walk through the camp, speaking to one man after another in a strange tongue. a singular, masterful man this, thought mainward. would he have mastered ethel? he watched the stranger with curious eyes, and noted how his own lazy devils of carriers jumped at his word. "good-night," said sanders' voice; and mainward looked up. "you must take another of these pellets, and to-morrow you'll be as fit as a donkey-engine. i've got to get back to my camp to-night, or i shall find half my stores stolen in the morning; but if you'd rather i stopped----" "no, no," replied the other hastily. he wanted to be alone. he had lots of matters to settle with himself. there was the question of ethel, for instance. "you won't forget to take the tabloid?" "no. i say, i'm awfully obliged to you for coming. you've been a good white citizen." sanders smiled. "don't talk nonsense!" he said good-humouredly. "this is all brotherly love. white to white, and kin to kin, don't you know? we're all alone here, and there isn't a man of our colour within five hundred miles. good-night, and please take the tabloid----" mainward lay listening to the noise of departure. he thought he heard a little bell tingle. that must be for the engines. then he heard the puck-a-puck of the wheel--so that was how the steamer got its name. abiboo came with some milk. "you take um medicine, master?" he inquired. "i take um," murmured mainward; but the green tabloid was underneath his pillow. then there began to steal over him a curious sensation of content. he did not analyse it down to its first cause. he had had sufficient introspective exercise for one day. it came to him as a pleasant shock to realise that he was happy. he opened his eyes and looked round. his bed was laid in the open, and he drew aside the curtains of his net to get a better view. a little man was walking briskly toward him along the velvet stretch of grass that sloped down from the glade, and mainward whistled. "atty," he gasped. "by all that's wonderful." atty, indeed, it was: the same wizened atty as of yore; but no longer pulling the long face to which mainward had been accustomed. the little man was in his white riding-breeches, his diminutive top-boots were splashed with mud, and on the crimson of his silk jacket there was evidence of a hard race. he touched his cap jerkily with his whip, and shifted the burden of the racing saddle he carried to the other arm. "why, atty," said mainward, with a smile, "what on earth are you doing here?" "it's a short way to the jockey's room, sir," said the little man. "i've just weighed in. i thought the fairy would do it, sir, and she did." mainward nodded wisely. "i knew she would, too," he said. "did she give you a smooth ride?" the jockey grinned again. "she never does that," he said. "but she ran gamely enough. coming up out of the dip, she hung a little, but i showed her the whip, and she came on as straight as a die. i thought once the stalk would beat us--i got shut in, but i pulled her round, and we were never in difficulties. i could have won by ten lengths," said atty. "you could have won by ten lengths," repeated mainward in wonder. "well, you've done me a good turn, atty. this win will get me out of one of the biggest holes that ever a reckless man tumbled into--i shall not forget you, atty." "i'm sure you won't, sir," said the little jockey gratefully; "if you'll excuse me now, sir----" mainward nodded and watched him, as he moved quickly through the trees. there were several people in the glade now, and mainward looked down ruefully at his soiled duck suit. "what an ass i was to come like this," he muttered in his annoyance. "i might have known that i should have met all these people." there was one he did not wish to see; and as soon as he sighted venn, with his shy eyes and his big nose, mainward endeavoured to slip back out of observation. but venn saw him, and came tumbling through the trees, with his big, flabby hand extended and his dull eyes aglow. "hullo, hullo!" he grinned, "been looking for you." mainward muttered some inconsequent reply. "rum place to find you, eh?" venn removed his shining silk hat and mopped his brow with an awesome silk handkerchief. "but look here, old feller--about that money?" "don't worry, my dear man," mainward interposed easily. "i shall pay you now." "that ain't what i mean," said the other impetuously; "a few hundred more or less does not count. but you wanted a big sum----" "and you told me you'd see me----" "i know, i know," venn put in hastily; "but that was before kaffirs started jumpin'. old feller, you can have it!" he said this with grotesque emphasis, standing with his legs wide apart, his hat perched on the back of his head, his plump hands dramatically outstretched: and mainward laughed outright. "sixteen thousand?" he asked. "or twenty," said the other impressively. "i want to show you----" somebody called him, and with a hurried apology he went blundering up the green slope, stopping and turning back to indulge in a little dumb show illustrative of his confidence in mainward and his willingness to oblige. mainward was laughing, a low, gurgling laugh of pure enjoyment. venn, of all people! venn, with his accursed questions and talk of securities. well! well! then his merriment ceases, and he winced again, and his heart beat faster and faster, and a curious weakness came over him---how splendidly cool she looked. she walked in the clearing, a white, slim figure; he heard the swish of her skirt as she came through the long grass--white, with a green belt all encrusted with gold embroidery. he took in every detail hungrily--the dangling gold ornaments that hung from her belt, the lace collar at her throat, the---she did not hurry to him, that was not her way. but in her eyes dawned a gradual tenderness--those dear eyes that dropped before his shyly. "ethel!" he whispered, and dared to take her hand. "aren't you wonderfully surprised?" she said. "ethel! here!" "i--i had to come." she would not look at him, but he saw the pink in her cheek and heard the faltering voice with a wild hope. "i behaved so badly, dear--so very badly." she hung her head. "dear! dear!" he muttered, and groped toward her like a blind man. she was in his arms, crushed against his breast, the perfume of her presence in his brain. "i had to come to you." her hot cheek was against his. "i love you so." "me--love me? do you mean it?" he was tremulous with happiness, and his voice broke--"dearest." her face was upturned to his, her lips so near; he felt her heart beating as furiously as his own. he kissed her--her lips, her eyes, her dear hair---"o, god, i'm happy!" she sobbed, "so--so happy----" * * * * * sanders sprang ashore just as the sun was rising, and came thoughtfully through the undergrowth to the camp. abiboo, squatting by the curtained bed, did not rise. sanders walked to the bed, pulled aside the mosquito netting, and bent over the man who lay there. then he drew the curtains again, lit his pipe slowly, and looked down at abiboo. "when did he die?" he asked. "in the dark of the morning, master," said the man. sanders nodded slowly. "why did you not send for me?" for a moment the squatting figure made no reply, then he rose and stretched himself. "master," he said, speaking in arabic--which is a language which allows of nice distinctions--"this man was happy; he walked in the forest of happy thoughts; why should i call him back to a land where there was neither sunshine nor happiness, but only night and pain and sickness?" "you're a philosopher," said sanders irritably. "i am a follower of the prophet," said abiboo, the kano boy; "and all things are according to god's wisdom." chapter viii. the akasavas. you who do not understand how out of good evil may arise must take your spade to some virgin grassland, untouched by the hand of man from the beginning of time. here is soft, sweet grass, and never a sign of nettle, or rank, evil weed. it is as god made it. turn the soil with your spade, intent on improving his handiwork, and next season--weeds, nettles, lank creeping things, and coarse-leafed vegetation cover the ground. your spade has aroused to life the dormant seeds of evil, germinated the ugly waste life that all these long years has been sleeping out of sight--in twenty years, with careful cultivation, you may fight down the weeds and restore the grassland, but it takes a lot of doing. your intentions may have been the best in disturbing the primal sod; you may have had views of roses flourishing where grass was; the result is very much the same. i apply this parable to the story of a missionary and his work. the missionary was a good man, though of the wrong colour. he had large ideas on his duty to his fellows; he was inspired by the work of his cloth in another country; but, as sanders properly said, india is not africa. kenneth mcdolan came to mr. commissioner sanders with a letter of introduction from the new administration. sanders was at "chop" one blazing morning when his servant, who was also his sergeant, abiboo, brought a card to him. it was a nice card, rounded at the corners, and gilt-edged, and in the centre, in old english type, was the inscription- rev. kenneth mcdolan. underneath was scribbled in pencil: "on a brief visit." sanders sniffed impatiently, for "reverend" meant "missionary," and "missionary" might mean anything. he looked at the card again and frowned in his perplexity. somehow the old english and the reverendness of the visiting card did not go well with the rounded corners and the gilt edge. "where is he?" he demanded. "master," said abiboo, "he is on the verandah. shall i kick him off?" abiboo said this very naturally and with simple directness, and sanders stared at him. "son of sin!" he said sternly, "is it thus you speak of god-men, and of white men at that?" "this man wears the clothes of a god-man," said abiboo serenely; "but he is a black man, therefore of no consequence." sanders pulled a pair of mosquito boots over his pyjamas and swore to himself. "white missionaries, yes," he said wrathfully, "but black missionaries i will not endure." the reverend kenneth was sitting in sanders' basket-chair, one leg flung negligently over one side of the chair to display a silk sock. his finger-tips were touching, and he was gazing with good-natured tolerance at the little green garden which was the commissioner's special delight. he was black, very black; but his manners were easy, and his bearing self-possessed. he nodded smilingly to sanders and extended a lazy hand. "ah, mr. commissioner," he said in faultless english, "i have heard a great deal about you." "get out of that chair," said sanders, who had no small talk worth mentioning, "and stand up when i come out to you! what do you want?" the reverend kenneth rose quickly, and accepted the situation with a rapidity which will be incomprehensible to any who do not know how thumbnail deep is the cultivation of the cultured savage. "i am on a brief visit," he said, a note of deference in his tone. "i am taking the small towns and villages along the coast, holding services, and i desire permission to speak to your people." this was not the speech he had prepared. he had come straight from england, where he had been something of a lion in bayswater society, and where, too, his theological attainments had won him regard and no small amount of fame in even a wider circle. "you may speak to my people," said sanders; "but you may not address the kano folk nor the houssas, because they are petrified in the faith of the prophet." regaining his self-possession, the missionary smiled. "to bring light into dark places----" he began. "cut it out," said sanders briefly; "the palaver is finished." he turned on his heel and re-entered the bungalow. then a thought struck him. "hi!" he shouted, and the retiring missionary turned back. "where did you pick up the 'kenneth mcdolan'?" he asked. the negro smiled again. "it is the patronymic bestowed upon me at sierra leone by a good christian white man, who brought me up and educated me as though i were his own son," he recited. sanders showed his teeth. "i have heard of such cases," he said unpleasantly. the next day the missionary announced his intention of proceeding up country. he came in to see sanders as though nothing had happened. perhaps he expected to find the commissioner a little ashamed of himself; but if this was so he was disappointed, for sanders was blatantly unrepentant. "you've got a letter from the administration," he said, "so i can't stop you." "there is work for me," said the missionary, "work of succour and relief. in india some four hundred thousand----" "this is not india," said sanders shortly; and with no other word the native preacher went his way. those who know the akasava people best know them for their laziness--save in matter of vendetta, or in the settlement of such blood feuds as come their way, or in the lifting of each other's goats, in all which matters they display an energy and an agility truly inexplicable. "he is an akasava man--he points with his foot," is a proverb of the upper river, and the origin of the saying goes back to a misty time when (as the legend goes) a stranger happened upon a man of the tribe lying in the forest. "friend," said the stranger, "i am lost. show me the way to the river"; and the akasava warrior, raising a leg from the ground, pointed with his toe to the path. though this legend lacks something in point of humour, it is regarded as the acme of mirth-provoking stories from bama to the lado country. it was six months after the reverend kenneth mcdolan had left for his station that there came to sanders at his headquarters a woeful deputation, arriving in two canoes in the middle of the night, and awaiting him when he came from his bath to the broad stoep of his house in the morning--a semi-circle of chastened and gloomy men, who squatted on the wooden stoep, regarding him with the utmost misery. "lord, we are of the akasava people," said the spokesman, "and we have come a long journey." "so i am aware," said sanders, with acrid dryness, "unless the akasava country has shifted its position in the night. what do you seek?" "master, we are starving," said the speaker, "for our crops have failed, and there is no fish in the river; therefore we have come to you, who are our father." now this was a most unusual request; for the central african native does not easily starve, and, moreover, there had come no news of crop failure from the upper river. "all this sounds like a lie," said sanders thoughtfully, "for how may a crop fail in the akasava country, yet be more than sufficient in isisi? moreover, fish do not leave their playground without cause, and if they do they may be followed." the spokesman shifted uneasily. "master, we have had much sickness," he said, "and whilst we cared for one another the planting season had passed; and, as for the fish, our young men were too full of sorrow for their dead to go long journeys." sanders stared. "therefore we have come from our chief asking you to save us, for we are starving." the man spoke with some confidence, and this was the most surprising thing of all. sanders was nonplussed, frankly confounded. for all the eccentric course his daily life took, there was a certain regularity even in its irregularity. but here was a new and unfamiliar situation. such things mean trouble, and he was about to probe this matter to its depth. "i have nothing to give you," he said, "save this advice--that you return swiftly to where you came from and carry my word to your chief. later i will come and make inquiries." the men were not satisfied, and an elder, wrinkled with age, and sooty-grey of head, spoke up. "it is said, master," he mumbled, through his toothless jaws, "that in other lands when men starve there come many white men bringing grain and comfort." "eh?" sanders' eyes narrowed. "wait," he said, and walked quickly through the open door of his bungalow. when he came out he carried a pliant whip of rhinoceros-hide, and the deputation, losing its serenity, fled precipitately. sanders watched the two canoes paddling frantically up stream, and the smile was without any considerable sign of amusement. that same night the _zaire_ left for the akasava country, carrying a letter to the reverend kenneth mcdolan, which was brief, but unmistakable in its tenor. "dear sir,"--it ran--"you will accompany the bearer to headquarters, together with your belongings. in the event of your refusing to comply with this request, i have instructed my sergeant to arrest you. yours faithfully, "h. sanders, _commissioner_." "and the reason i am sending you out of this country," said sanders, "is because you have put funny ideas into the heads of my people." "i assure you----" began the negro. "i don't want your assurance," said sanders, "you are not going to work an indian famine fund in central africa." "the people were starving----" sanders smiled. "i have sent word to them that i am coming to akasava," he said grimly, "and that i will take the first starved-looking man i see and beat him till he is sore." the next day the missionary went, to the intense relief, be it said, of the many white missionaries scattered up and down the river; for, strange as it may appear, a negro preacher who wears a black coat and silk socks is regarded with a certain amount of suspicion. true to his promise, sanders made his visit, but found none to thrash, for he came to a singularly well-fed community that had spent a whole week in digging out of the secret hiding-places the foodstuffs which, at the suggestion of a too zealous seeker after fame, it had concealed. "here," said sanders, wickedly, "endeth the first lesson." but he was far from happy. it is a remarkable fact that once you interfere with the smooth current of native life all manner of things happen. it cannot be truthfully said that the events that followed on the retirement from active life of the reverend kenneth mcdolan were immediately traceable to his ingenious attempt to engineer a famine in akasava. but he had sown a seed, the seed of an idea that somebody was responsible for their well-being--he had set up a beautiful idol of pauperism, a new and wonderful fetish. in the short time of his stay he had instilled into the heathen mind the dim, vague, and elusive idea of the brotherhood of man. this sanders discovered, when, returning from his visit of inspection, he met, drifting with the stream, a canoe in which lay a prone man, lazily setting his course with half-hearted paddle strokes. sanders, on the bridge of his tiny steamer, pulled the little string that controlled the steam whistle, for the canoe lay in his track. despite the warning, the man in the canoe made no effort to get out of his way, and since both were going with the current, it was only by putting the wheel over and scraping a sandbank that the steamer missed sinking the smaller craft. "bring that man on board!" fumed sanders, and when the canoe had been unceremoniously hauled to the _zaire's_ side by a boat-hook, and the occupant rudely pulled on board, sanders let himself go. "by your infernal laziness," he said, "i see that you are of the akasava people; yet that is no reason why you should take the middle of the channel to yourself." "lord, it is written in the books of your gods," said the man, "that the river is for us all, black and white, each being equal in the eyes of the white gods." sanders checked his lips impatiently. "when you and i are dead," he said, "we shall be equal, but since i am quick and you are quick, i shall give you ten strokes with a whip to correct the evil teaching that is within you." he made a convert. but the mischief was done. sanders knew the native mind much better than any man living, and he spent a certain period every day for the next month cursing the reverend kenneth mcdolan. so far, however, no irreparable mischief had been done, but sanders was not the kind of man to be caught napping. into the farthermost corners of his little kingdom his secret-service men were dispatched, and sanders sat down to await developments. at first the news was good; the spies sent back stories of peace, of normal happiness; then the reports became less satisfactory. the akasava country is unfortunately placed, for it is the very centre territory, the ideal position for the dissemination of foolish propaganda, as sanders had discovered before. the stories the spies sent or brought were of secret meetings, of envoys from tribe to tribe, envoys that stole out from villages by dead of night, of curious rites performed in the depth of the forest and other disturbing matters. then came a climax. tigili, the king of the n'gombi folk, made preparations for a secret journey. he sacrificed a goat and secured good omens; likewise three witch-doctors in solemn conclave gave a favourable prophecy. the chief slipped down the river one night with fourteen paddlers, a drummer, his chief headsman, and two of his wives, and reached the akasava city at sunset the next evening. here the chief of the akasava met him, and led him to his hut. "brother," said the akasava chief, not without a touch of pompousness, "i have covered my bow with the skin of a monkey." tigili nodded gravely. "my arrows are winged with the little clouds," he said in reply. in this cryptic fashion they spoke for the greater part of an hour, and derived much profit therefrom. in the shadow of the hut without lay a half-naked man, who seemed to sleep, his head upon his arm, his legs doubled up comfortably. one of the akasava guard saw him, and sought to arouse him with the butt of his spear, but he only stirred sleepily, and, thinking that he must be a man of tigili's retinue, they left him. when the king and the chief had finished their palaver, tigili rose from the floor of the hut and went back to his canoe, and the chief of the akasava stood on the bank of the river watching the craft as it went back the way it had come. the sleeper rose noiselessly and took another path to the river. just outside the town he had to cross a path of moonlit clearing, and a man challenged him. this man was an akasava warrior, and was armed, and the sleeper stood obedient to the summons. "who are you?" "i am a stranger," said the man. the warrior came nearer and looked in his face. "you are a spy of sandi," he said, and then the other closed with him. the warrior would have shouted, but a hand like steel was on his throat. the sentinel made a little sound like the noise a small river makes when it crosses a shallow bed of shingle, then his legs bent limply, and he went down. the sleeper bent down over him, wiped his knife on the bare shoulder of the dead man, and went on his way to the river. under the bush he found a canoe, untied the native rope that fastened it, and stepping in, he sent the tiny dug-out down the stream. * * * * * "and what do you make of all this?" asked sanders. he was standing on his broad stoep, and before him was the spy, a lithe young man, in the uniform of a sergeant of houssa police. "master, it is the secret society, and they go to make a great killing," said the sergeant. the commissioner paced the verandah with his head upon his breast, his hands clasped behind his back. these secret societies he knew well enough, though his territories had been free of them. he knew their mushroom growth; how they rose from nothingness with rituals and practices ready-made. he knew their influence up and down the liberian coast; he had some knowledge of the "silent ones" of nigeria, and had met the "white faces" in the kassai. and now the curse had come to his territory. it meant war, the upsetting of twenty years' work--the work of men who died and died joyfully, in the faith that they had brought peace to the land--it meant the undermining of all his authority. he turned to abiboo. "take the steamer," he said, "and go quickly to the ochori country, telling bosambo, the chief, that i will come to him--the palaver is finished." he knew he could depend upon bosambo if the worst came. in the days of waiting he sent a long message to the administration, which lived in ease a hundred miles down the coast. he had a land wire running along the seashore, and when it worked it was a great blessing. fortunately it was in good order now, but there had been times when wandering droves of elephants had pulled up the poles and twisted a mile or so of wire into a hopeless tangle. the reply to his message came quickly. "take extreme steps to wipe out society. if necessary arrest tigili. i will support you with four hundred men and a gunboat; prefer you should arrange the matter without fuss. "administration." sanders took a long walk by the sea to think out the situation and the solution. if the people were preparing for war, there would be simultaneous action, a general rising. he shook his head. four hundred men and a gunboat more or less would make no difference. there was a hope that one tribe would rise before the other; he could deal with the akasava; he could deal with the isisi plus the akasava; he was sure of the ochori--that was a comfort--but the others? he shook his head again. perhaps the inherent idleness of the akasava would keep them back. such a possibility was against their traditions. he must have come upon a solution suddenly, for he stopped dead in his walk, and stood still, thinking profoundly, with his head upon his breast. then he turned and walked quickly back to his bungalow. what date had been chosen for the rising we may never know for certain. what is known is that the akasava, the n'gombi, the isisi, and the boleki folk were preparing in secret for a time of killing, when there came the great news. sandi was dead. a canoe had overturned on the isisi river, and the swift current had swept the commissioner away, and though men ran up and down the bank no other sign of him was visible but a great white helmet that floated, turning slowly, out of sight. so a man of the akasava reported, having learnt it from a sergeant of houssas, and instantly the _lo-koli_ beat sharply, and the headmen of the villages came panting to the palaver house to meet the paramount chief of the akasava. "sandi is dead," said the chief solemnly. "he was our father and our mother and carried us in his arms; we loved him and did many disagreeable things for him because of our love. but now that he is dead, and there is none to say 'yea' or 'nay' to us, the time of which i have spoken to you secretly has come; therefore let us take up our arms and go out, first against the god-men who pray and bewitch us with the sprinkling of water, then against the chief of the ochori, who for many years have put shame upon us." "master," said a little chief from the fishing village which is near to the ochori border, "is it wise--our lord sandi having said there shall be no war?" "our lord sandi is dead," said the paramount chief wisely; "and being dead, it does not greatly concern us what he said; besides which," he said, as a thought struck him, "last night i had a dream and saw sandi; he was standing amidst great fires, and he said, 'go forth and bring me the head of the chief of the ochori.'" no further time was wasted. that night the men of twenty villages danced the dance of killing, and the great fire of the akasava burnt redly on the sandy beach to the embarrassment of a hippo family that lived in the high grasses near by. in the grey of the morning the akasava chief mustered six hundred spears and three score of canoes, and he delivered his oration: "first, we will destroy the mission men, for they are white, and it is not right that they should live and sandi be dead; then we will go against bosambo, the chief of the ochori. when rains came in the time of kidding, he who is a foreigner and of no human origin brought many evil persons with him and destroyed our fishing villages, and sandi said there should be no killing. now sandi is dead, and, i do not doubt, in hell, and there is none to hold our pride." round the bend of the river, ever so slowly, for she was breasting a strong and treacherous current, came the nose of the _zaire_. it is worthy of note that the little blue flag at her stern was not at half-mast. the exact significance of this was lost on the akasava. gingerly the little craft felt its way to the sandy strip of beach, a plank was thrust forth, and along it came, very dapper and white, his little ebony stick with the silver knob swinging between his fingers, mr. commissioner sanders, very much alive, and there were two bright maxim-guns on either side of the gangway that covered the beach. a nation, paralysed by fear and apprehension, watched the _debarquement_, the chief of the akasava being a little in advance of his painted warriors. on sanders' face was a look of innocent surprise. "chief," said he, "you do me great honour that you gather your young men to welcome me; nevertheless, i would rather see them working in their gardens." he walked along one row of fighting men, plentifully besmeared with cam-wood, and his was the leisurely step of some great personage inspecting a guard of honour. "i perceive," he went on, talking over his shoulder to the chief who, fascinated by the unexpected vision, followed him, "i perceive that each man has a killing spear, also a fighting shield of wicker work, and many have n'gombi swords." "lord, it is true," said the chief, recovering his wits, "for we go hunting elephant in the great forest." "also that some have the little bones of men fastened about their necks--that is not for the elephant." he said this meditatively, musingly, as he continued his inspection, and the chief was frankly embarrassed. "there is a rumour," he stammered, "it is said--there came a spy who told us--that the ochori were gathering for war, and we were afraid----" "strange," said sanders, half to himself, but speaking in the vernacular, "strange indeed is this story, for i have come straight from the ochori city, and there i saw nothing but men who ground corn and hunted peacefully; also their chief is ill, suffering from a fever." he shook his head in well-simulated bewilderment. "lord," said the poor chief of the akasava, "perhaps men have told us lies--such things have happened----" "that is true," said sanders gravely. "this is a country of lies; some say that i am dead; and, lo! the news has gone around that there is no law in the land, and men may kill and war at their good pleasure." "though i die at this minute," said the chief virtuously, "though the river turn to fire and consume my inmost stomach, though every tree become a tiger to devour me, i have not dreamt of war." sanders grinned internally. "spare your breath," he said gently. "you who go hunting elephants, for it is a long journey to the great forest, and there are many swamps to be crossed, many rivers to be swum. my heart is glad that i have come in time to bid you farewell." there was a most impressive silence, for this killing of elephants was a stray excuse of the chief's. the great forest is a journey of two months, one to get there and one to return, and is moreover through the most cursed country, and the akasava are not a people that love long journeys save with the current of the river. the silence was broken by the chief. "lord, we desire to put off our journey in your honour, for if we go, how shall we gather in palaver?" sanders shook his head. "let no man stop the hunter," quoth he. "go in peace, chief, and you shall secure many teeth."[3] he saw a sudden light come to the chief's eyes, but continued, "i will send with you a sergeant of houssas, that he may carry back to me the story of your prowess"--the light died away again--"for there will be many liars who will say that you never reached the great forest, and i shall have evidence to confound them." still the chief hesitated, and the waiting ranks listened, eagerly shuffling forward, till they ceased to bear any semblance to an ordered army, and were as a mob. "lord," said the chief, "we will go to-morrow----" the smile was still on sanders' lips, but his face was set, and his eyes held a steely glitter that the chief of the akasava knew. "you go to-day, my man," said sanders, lowering his voice till he spoke in little more than a whisper, "else your warriors march under a new chief, and you swing on a tree." "lord, we go," said the man huskily, "though we are bad marchers and our feet are very tender." sanders, remembering the weariness of the akasava, found his face twitching. "with sore feet you may rest," he said significantly; "with sore backs you can neither march nor rest--go!" at dawn the next morning the n'gombi people came in twenty-five war canoes to join their akasava friends, and found the village tenanted by women and old men, and tigili, the king, in the shock of the discovery, surrendered quietly to the little party of houssas on the beach. "what comes to me, lord?" asked tigili, the king. sanders whistled thoughtfully. "i have some instructions about you somewhere," he said. [footnote 3: tusks.] chapter ix. the wood of devils. four days out of m'sakidanga, if native report be true, there is a trickling stream that meanders down from n'gombi country. native report says that this is navigable even in the dry season. the missionaries at bonginda ridicule this report; and arburt, the young chief of the station, with a gentle laugh in his blue eyes, listened one day to the report of elebi about a fabulous land at the end of this river, and was kindly incredulous. "if it be that ivory is stored in this place," he said in the vernacular, "or great wealth lies for the lifting, go to sandi, for this ivory belongs to the government. but do you, elebi, fix your heart more upon god's treasures in heaven, and your thoughts upon your unworthiness to merit a place in his kingdom, and let the ivory go." elebi was known to sanders as a native evangelist of the tornado type, a thunderous, voluble sub-minister of the service; he had, in his ecstatic moments, made many converts. but there were days of reaction, when elebi sulked in his mud hut, and reviewed christianity calmly. it was a service, this new religion. you could not work yourself to a frenzy in it, and then have done with the thing for a week. you must needs go on, on, never tiring, never departing from the straight path, exercising irksome self-restraint, leaving undone that which you would rather do. "religion is prison," grumbled elebi, after his interview, and shrugged his broad, black shoulders. in his hut he was in the habit of discarding his european coat for the loin cloth and the blanket, for elebi was a savage--an imitative savage--but still barbarian. once, preaching on the river of devils, he had worked himself up to such a pitch of enthusiastic fervour that he had smitten a scoffer, breaking his arm, and an outraged sanders had him arrested, whipped, and fined a thousand rods. hereafter elebi had figured in certain english missionary circles as a christian martyr, for he had lied magnificently, and his punishment had been represented as a form of savage persecution. but the ivory lay buried three days' march beyond the secret river; thus elebi brooded over the log that smouldered in his hut day and night. three days beyond the river, branching off at a place where there were two graves, the country was reputably full of devils, and elebi shuddered at the thought; but, being a missionary and a lay evangelist, and, moreover, the proud possessor of a copy of the epistle to the romans (laboriously rendered into the native tongue), he had little to fear. he had more to fear from a certain white devil at a far-away headquarters, who might be expected to range the lands of the secret river, when the rains had come and gone. it was supposed that elebi had one wife, conforming to the custom of the white man, but the girl who came into the hut with a steaming bowl of fish in her hands was not the wife that the missionaries recognised as such. "sikini," he said, "i am going a journey by canoe." "in the blessed service?" asked sikini, who had come under the influence of the man in his more elated periods. "the crackling of a fire is like a woman's tongue," quoted elebi; "and it is easier to keep the lid on a boiling pot than a secret in a woman's heart." elebi had the river proverbs at his finger-tips, and the girl laughed, for she was his favourite wife, and knew that in course of time the information would come to her. "sikini," said the man suddenly, "you know that i have kept you when the blood taker would have me put you away." (arburt had a microscope and spent his evenings searching the blood of his flock for signs of trynosomiasis.) "you know that for your sake i lied to him who is my father and my protector, saying: 'there shall be but one wife in my house, and that tombolo, the coast woman.'" the girl nodded, eyeing him stolidly. "therefore i tell you that i am going beyond the secret river, three days' march, leaving the canoe at a place where there are two graves." "what do you seek?" she asked. "there are many teeth in that country," he said; "dead ivory that the people brought with them from a distant country, and have hidden, fearing one who is a breaker of stones.[4] i shall come back rich, and buy many wives who shall wait upon you and serve you, and then i will no longer be christian, but will worship the red fetish as my father did, and his father." "go," she said, nodding thoughtfully. he told her many things that he had not revealed to arburt--of how the ivory came, of the people who guarded it, of the means by which he intended to secure it. next morning before the mission _lo-koli_ sounded, he had slipped away in his canoe; and arburt, when the news came to him, sighed and called him a disappointing beggar--for arburt was human. sanders, who was also human, sent swift messengers to arrest elebi, for it is not a good thing that treasure-hunting natives should go wandering through a strange country, such excursions meaning war, and war meaning, to sanders at any rate, solemn official correspondence, which his soul loathed. who would follow the fortunes of elebi must paddle in his wake as far as okau, where the barina meets the lapoi, must take the left river path, past the silent pool of the white devil, must follow the winding stream till the elephants' playing ground be reached. here the forest has been destroyed for the sport of the great ones; the shore is strewn with tree trunks, carelessly uprooted and as carelessly tossed aside by the gambolling mammoth. the ground is innocent of herbage or bush; it is a flat wallow of mud, with the marks of pads where the elephant has passed. elebi drew his canoe up the bank, carefully lifted his cooking-pot, full of living fire, and emptied its contents, heaping thereon fresh twigs and scraps of dead wood. then he made himself a feast, and went to sleep. a wandering panther came snuffling and howling in the night, and elebi rose and replenished the fire. in the morning he sought for the creek that led to the secret river, and found it hidden by the hippo grass. elebi had many friends in the n'gombi country. they were gathered in the village of tambango--to the infinite embarrassment of the chief of that village--for elebi's friends laid hands upon whatsoever they desired, being strangers and well armed, and, moreover, outnumbering the men of the village three to one. one, o'sako, did the chief hold in greatest dread, for he said little, but stalked tragically through the untidy street of tambango, a bright, curved execution knife in the crook of his left arm. o'sako was tall and handsome. one broad shoulder gleamed in its nakedness, and his muscular arms were devoid of ornamentation. his thick hair was plastered with clay till it was like a european woman's, and his body was smeared with ingola dust. once only he condescended to address his host. "you shall find me three young men against the lord elebi's arrival, and they shall lead us to the land of the secret river." "but, master," pleaded the chief, "no man may go to the secret river, because of the devils." "three men," said o'sako softly; "three young men swift of foot, with eyes like the n'gombi, and mouths silent as the dead." "---the devils," repeated the chief weakly, but o'sako stared straight ahead and strode on. when the sun blazed furiously on the rim of the world in a last expiring effort, and the broad river was a flood of fire, and long shadows ran through the clearings, elebi came to the village. he came unattended from the south, and he brought with him no evidence of his temporary sojourn in the camps of civilisation. save for his loin cloth, and his robe of panther skin thrown about his shoulders, he was naked. there was a palaver house at the end of the village, a thatched little wattle hut perched on a tiny hill, and the lord elebi gathered there his captains and the chief of the village. he made a speech. "_cala, cala_," he began--and it means "long ago," and is a famous opening to speeches--"before the white man came, and when the arabi came down from the northern countries to steal women and ivory, the people of the secret river buried their 'points' in a place of devils. their women they could not bury, so they lost them. now all the people of the secret river are dead. the arabi killed some, bula matadi killed others, but the sickness killed most of all. where their villages were the high grass has grown, and in their gardens only the weaver bird speaks. yet i know of this place, for there came to me a vision and a voice that said----" the rest of the speech from the european standpoint was pure blasphemy, because elebi had had the training of a lay preacher, and had an easy delivery. when he had finished, the chief of the village of tambangu spoke. it was a serious discourse on devils. there was no doubt at all that in the forest where the _cach_ was there was a veritable stronghold of devildom. some had bad faces and were as tall as the gum-trees--taller, for they used whole trees for clubs; some were small, so small that they travelled on the wings of bees, but all were very potent, very terrible, and most effective guardians of buried treasure. their greatest accomplishment lay in leading astray the traveller: men went into the forest in search of game or copal or rubber, and never came back, because there were a thousand ways in and no way out. elebi listened gravely. "devils of course there are," he said, "including the devil, the old one, who is the enemy of god. i have had much to do with the casting out of devils--in my holy capacity as a servant of the word. of the lesser devils i know nothing, though i do not doubt they live. therefore i think it would be better for all if we offered prayer." on his instruction the party knelt in full view of the village, and elebi prayed conventionally but with great earnestness that the powers of darkness should not prevail, but that the great work should go on triumphantly. after which, to make doubly sure, the party sacrificed two fowls before a squat _bete_ that stood before the chief's door, and a crazy witch-doctor anointed elebi with human fat. "we will go by way of ochori," said elebi, who was something of a strategist. "these ochori folk will give us food and guides, being a cowardly folk and very fearful." he took farewell of the old chief and continued his journey, with o'sako and his warriors behind him. so two days passed. an hour's distance from the city of the ochori he called a conference. "knowing the world," he said, "i am acquainted with the ochori, who are slaves: you shall behold their chief embrace my feet. since it is fitting that one, such as i, who know the ways of white men and their magic, should be received with honour; let us send forward a messenger to say that the lord elebi comes, and bid them kill so many goats against our coming." "that is good talk," said o'sako, his lieutenant, and a messenger was despatched. elebi with his caravan followed slowly. it is said that elebi's message came to bosambo of monrovia, chief of the ochori, when he was in the despondent mood peculiar to men of action who find life running too smoothly. it was bosambo's practice--and one of which his people stood in some awe--to reflect aloud in english in all moments of crisis, or on any occasion when it was undesirable that his thoughts should be conveyed abroad. he listened in silence, sitting before the door of his hut and smoking a short wooden pipe, whilst the messenger described the quality of the coming visitor, and the unparalleled honour which was to fall upon the ochori. said bosambo at the conclusion of the recital, "damn nigger." the messenger was puzzled by the strange tongue. "lord chief," he said, "my master is a great one, knowing the ways of white men." "i also know something of white men," said bosambo calmly, in the river dialect, "having many friends, including sandi, who married my brother's wife's sister, and is related to me. also," said bosambo daringly, "i have shaken hands with the great white king who dwells beyond the big water, and he has given me many presents." with this story the messenger went back to the slowly advancing caravan, and elebi was impressed and a little bewildered. "it is strange," he said, "no man has ever known an ochori chief who was aught but a dog and the son of a dog--let us see this bosambo. did you tell him to come out and meet me?" "no," replied the messenger frankly, "he was such a great one, and was so haughty because of sandi, who married his brother's wife's sister; and so proud that i did not dare tell him." there is a spot on the edge of the ochori city where at one time sanders had caused to be erected a warning sign, and here elebi found the chief waiting and was flattered. there was a long and earnest conference in the little palaver house of the city, and here elebi told as much of his story as was necessary, and bosambo believed as much as he could. "and what do you need of me and my people?" asked bosambo at length. "lord chief," said elebi, "i go a long journey, being fortified with the blessed spirit of which you know nothing, that being an especial mystery of the white men." "there is no mystery which i did not know," said bosambo loftily, "and if you speak of spirits, i will speak of certain saints, also of a virgin who is held in high respect by white men." "if you speak of the blessed paul----" began elebi, a little at sea. "not only of paul but peter, john, luke, matthew, antonio, and thomas," recited bosambo rapidly. he had not been a scholar at the catholic mission for nothing. elebi was nonplussed. "we will let these magic matters rest," said elebi wisely; "it is evident to me that you are a learned man. now i go to seek some wonderful treasures. all that i told you before was a lie. let us speak as brothers. i go to the wood of devils, where no man has been for many years. i beg you, therefore, to give me food and ten men for carriers." "food you can have but no men," said bosambo, "for i have pledged my word to sandi, who is, as you know, the husband of my brother's wife's sister, that no man of mine should leave this country." with this elebi had to be content, for a new spirit had come to the ochori since he had seen them last, and there was a defiance in the timid eyes of these slaves of other days which was disturbing. besides, they seemed well armed. in the morning the party set forth and bosambo, who took no risks, saw them started on their journey. he observed that part of the equipment of the little caravan were two big baskets filled to the brim with narrow strips of red cloth. "this is my magic," said elebi mysteriously, when he was questioned, "it is fitting that you should know its power." bosambo yawned in his face with great insolence. clear of ochori by one day's march, the party reached the first straggling advance guard of the big forest. a cloud of gum-trees formed the approach to the wood, and here the magic of elebi's basket of cloth strips became revealed. every few hundred yards the party stopped, and elebi tied one of the strips to a branch of a tree. "in this way," he communicated to his lieutenant, "we may be independent of gods, and fearless of devils, for if we cannot find the ivory we can at least find our way back again." (there had been such an experiment made by the missionaries in traversing the country between bonguidga and the big river, but there were no devils in that country.) in two days' marches they came upon a place of graves. there had been a village there, for isisi palms grew luxuriously, and pushing aside the grass they came upon a rotting roof. also there were millions of weaver birds in the nut-palms, and a choked banana grove. the graves, covered with broken cooking pots, elebi found, and was satisfied. in the forest, a league beyond the dead village, they came upon an old man, so old that you might have lifted him with a finger and thumb. "where do the young men go in their strength?" he mumbled childishly; "into the land of small devils? who shall guide them back to their women? none, for the devils will confuse them, opening new roads and closing the old. oh, ko ko!" he snivelled miserably. "father," said elebi, dangling strips of red flannel from his hand, "this is white man's magic, we come back by the way we go." then the old man fell into an insane fit of cursing, and threw at them a thousand deaths, and elebi's followers huddled back in frowning fear. "you have lived too long," said elebi gently, and passed his spear through the old man's neck. * * * * * they found the ivory two days' journey beyond the place of killing. it was buried under a mound, which was overgrown with rank vegetation, and there was by european calculation some 50,000 worth. "we will go back and find carriers," said elebi, "taking with us as many of the teeth as we can carry." two hours later the party began its return journey, following the path where at intervals of every half-mile a strip of scarlet flannelette hung from a twig. there were many paths they might have taken, paths that looked as though they had been made by the hand of man, and elebi was glad that he had blazed the way to safety. for eight hours the caravan moved swiftly, finding its direction with no difficulty; then the party halted for the night. elebi was awakened in the night by a man who was screaming, and he leapt up, stirring the fire to a blaze. "it is the brother of olambo of kinshassa, he has the sickness _mongo_," said an awe-stricken voice, and elebi called a council. "there are many ways by which white men deal with this sickness," he said wisely, "by giving certain powders and by sticking needles into arms, but to give medicine for the sickness when madness comes is useless--so i have heard the fathers at the station say, because madness only comes when the man is near death." "he was well last night," said a hushed voice. "there are many devils in the forest, let us ask him what he has seen." so a deputation went to the screaming, writhing figure that lay trussed and tied on the ground, and spoke with him. they found some difficulty in gaining an opening, for he jabbered and mouthed and laughed and yelled incessantly. "on the question of devils," at last elebi said. "devils," screeched the madman. "yi! i saw six devils with fire in their mouths--death to you, elebi! dog----" he said other things which were not clean. "if there were water here," mused elebi, "we might drown him; since there is only the forest and the earth, carry him away from the camp, and i will make him silent." so they carried the lunatic away, eight strong men swaying through the forest, and they came back, leaving elebi alone with his patient. the cries ceased suddenly and elebi returned, wiping his hands on his leopard skin. "let us sleep," said elebi, and lay down. before the dawn came up the party were on the move. they marched less than a mile from their camping ground and then faltered and stopped. "there is no sign, lord," the leader reported, and elebi called him a fool and went to investigate. but there was no red flannel, not a sign of it. they went on another mile without success. "we have taken the wrong path, let us return," said elebi, and the party retraced its steps to the camp they had abandoned. that day was spent in exploring the country for three miles on either side, but there was no welcome blaze to show the trail. "we are all n'gombi men," said elebi, "let us to-morrow go forward, keeping the sun at our back; the forest has no terrors for the n'gombi folk--yet i cannot understand why the white man's magic failed." "devils!" muttered his lieutenant sullenly. elebi eyed him thoughtfully. "devils sometimes desire sacrifices," he said with significance, "the wise goat does not bleat when the priest approaches the herd." in the morning a great discovery was made. a crumpled piece of flannel was found on the outskirts of the camp. it lay in the very centre of a path, and elebi shouted in his joy. again the caravan started on the path. a mile farther along another little red patch caught his eye, half a mile beyond, another. yet none of these were where he had placed them, and they all bore evidence of rude handling, which puzzled the lay brother sorely. sometimes the little rags would be missing altogether, but a search party would come upon one some distance off the track, and the march would go on. near sunset elebi halted suddenly and pondered. before him ran his long shadow; the sun was behind him when it ought to have been in front. "we are going in the wrong direction," he said, and the men dropped their loads and stared at him. "beyond any doubt," said elebi after a pause, "this is the work of devils--let us pray." he prayed aloud earnestly for twenty minutes, and darkness had fallen before he had finished. they camped that night on the spot where the last red guide was, and in the morning they returned the way they had come. there was plenty of provision, but water was hard to come by, and therein lay the danger. less than a mile they had gone before the red rags had vanished completely, and they wandered helplessly in a circle. "this is evidently a matter not for prayer, but for sacrifice," concluded elebi, so they slew one of the guides. three nights later, o'sako, the friend of elebi, crawled stealthily to the place where elebi was sleeping, and settled the dispute which had arisen during the day as to who was in command of the expedition. * * * * * "master," said bosambo of monrovia, "all that you ordered me to do, that i did." sanders sat before the chief's hut in his camp chair and nodded. "when your word came that i should find elebi--he being an enemy of the government and disobeying your word--i took fifty of my young men and followed on his tracks. at first the way was easy, because he had tied strips of cloth to the trees to guide him on the backward journey, but afterwards it was hard, for the _n'kema_ that live in the wood----" "monkeys?" sanders raised his eyebrows. "monkeys, master," bosambo nodded his head, "the little black monkeys of the forest who love bright colours--they had come down from their trees and torn away the cloths and taken them to their houses after the fashion of the monkey people. thus elebi lost himself and with him his men, for i found their bones, knowing the way of the forest." "what else did you find?" asked sanders. "nothing, master," said bosambo, looking him straight in the eye. "that is probably a lie!" said sanders. bosambo thought of the ivory buried beneath the floor of his hut and did not contradict him. [footnote 4: bula matidi, _i.e._, "stone breaker," is the native name for the congo government.] chapter x. the loves of m'lino. when a man loves one woman, whether she be alive or dead, a deep and fragrant memory or a very pleasant reality, he is apt to earn the appellation of "woman-hater," a hasty judgment which the loose-minded pass upon any man whose loves lack promiscuosity, and who does not diffuse his passions. sanders was described as a woman-hater by such men who knew him sufficiently little to analyse his character, but sanders was not a woman-hater in any sense of the word, for he bore no illwill toward woman kind, and certainly was innocent of any secret love. there was a young man named ludley who had been assistant to sanders for three months, at the end of which time sanders sent for him--he was stationed at isisi city. "i think you can go home," said sanders. the young man opened his eyes in astonishment. "why?" he said. sanders made no reply, but stared through the open doorway at the distant village. "why?" demanded the young man again. "i've heard things," said sanders shortly--he was rather uncomfortable, but did not show it. "things--like what?" sanders shifted uneasily in his chair. "oh--things," he said vaguely, and added: "you go home and marry that nice girl you used to rave about when you first came out." young ludley went red under his tan. "look here, chief!" he said, half angrily, half apologetically, "you're surely not going to take any notice--you know it's the sort of thing that's done in black countries--oh, damn it all, you're not going to act as censor over my morals, are you?" sanders looked at the youth coldly. "your morals aren't worth worrying about," he said truthfully. "you could be the most depraved devil in the world--which i'll admit you aren't--and i should not trouble to reform you. no. it's the morals of my cannibals that worry me. home you go, my son; get married, _crescit sub pondere virtus_--you'll find the translation in the foreign phrase department of any respectable dictionary. as to the sort of things that are done in black countries, they don't do them in our black countries--monkey tricks of that sort are good enough for the belgian congo, or for togoland, but they aren't good enough for this little strip of wilderness." ludley went home. he did not tell anybody the real reason why he had come home, because it would not have sounded nice. he was a fairly decent boy, as boys of his type go, and he said nothing worse about sanders than that he was a woman-hater. the scene that followed his departure shows how little the white mind differs from the black in its process of working. for, after seeing his assistant safely embarked on a homeward-bound boat, sanders went up the river to isisi, and there saw a woman who was called m'lino. the average black woman is ugly of face, but beautiful of figure, but m'lino was no ordinary woman, as you shall learn. the isisi people, who keep extraordinary records in their heads, the information being handed from father to son, say that m'lino came from an arabi family, and certainly if a delicately-chiselled nose, a refinement of lip, prove anything, they prove m'lino came from no pure bantu stock. she came to sanders when he sent for her, alert, suspicious, very much on her guard. before he could speak, she asked him a question. "lord, where is lijingii?" this was the nearest the native ever got to the pronunciation of ludley's name. "lijingii has gone across the black water," said sanders gently, "to his own people." "you sent him, lord," she said quickly, and sanders made no reply. "lord," she went on, and sanders wondered at the bitterness in her tone, "it is said that you hate women." "then a lie is told," said sanders. "i do not hate women; rather i greatly honour them, for they go down to the caves of hell when they bear children; also i regard them highly because they are otherwise brave and very loyal." she said nothing. her head was sunk till her chin rested on her bare, brown breast, but she looked at him from under her brows, and her eyes were filled with a strange luminosity. something like a panic awoke in sanders' heart--had the mischief been done? he cursed ludley, and breathed a fervent, if malevolent, prayer that his ship would go down with him. but her words reassured him. "i made lijingii love me," she said, "though he was a great lord, and i was a slave; i also would have gone down to hell, for some day i hoped i should bear him children, but now that can never be." "and thank the lord for it!" said sanders, under his breath. he would have given her some words of cheer, but she turned abruptly from him and walked away. sanders watched the graceful figure as it receded down the straggling street, and went back to his steamer. he was ten miles down the river before he remembered that the reproof he had framed for the girl had been undelivered. "that is very extraordinary," said sanders, with some annoyance, "i must be losing my memory." three months later young penson came out from england to take the place of the returned ludley. he was a fresh-faced youth, bubbling over with enthusiasm, and, what is more important, he had served a two-years' apprenticeship at sierra leone. "you are to go up to isisi," said sanders, "and i want to tell you that you've got to be jolly careful." "what's the racket?" demanded the youth eagerly. "are the beggars rising?" "so far as i know," said sanders, putting his feet up on the rail of the verandah, "they are not--it is not bloodshed, but love that you've got to guard against." and he told the story of m'lino, even though it was no creditable story to british administration. "you can trust me," said young penson, when he had finished. "i trust you all right," said sanders, "but i don't trust the woman--let me hear from you from time to time; if you don't write about her i shall get suspicious, and i'll come along in a very unpleasant mood." "you can trust me," said young penson again; for he was at the age when a man is very sure of himself. remarkable as it may read, from the moment he left to take up his new post until he returned to headquarters, in disgrace, a few months later, he wrote no word of the straight, slim girl, with her wonderful eyes. other communications came to hand, official reports, terse and to the point, but no mention of m'lino, and sanders began to worry. the stories came filtering through, extraordinary stories of people who had been punished unjustly, of savage floggings administered by order of the sub-commissioner, and sanders took boat and travelled up the river _hec dum_. he landed short of the town, and walked along the river bank. it was not an easy walk, because the country hereabouts is a riot of vegetation. then he came upon an african idyll--a young man, who sat playing on a squeaky violin, for the pleasure of m'lino, lying face downwards on the grass, her chin in her hands. "in the name of a thousand devils!" said sanders wrathfully; and the boy got up from the fallen tree on which he sat, and looked at him calmly, and with no apparent embarrassment. sanders looked down at the girl and pointed. "go back to the village, my woman," he said softly, for he was in a rage. "now, you magnificent specimen of a white man," he said, when the girl had gone--slowly and reluctantly--"what is this story i hear about your flogging o'sako?" the youth took his pipe from his pocket and lit it coolly. "he beat m'lino," he said, in the tone of one who offered full justification. "from which fact i gather that he is the unfortunate husband of that attractive nigger lady you were charming just now when i arrived?" "don't be beastly," said the other, scowling. "i know she's a native and all that sort of thing, but my people at home will get used to her colour----" "go on board my boat," said sanders quietly. "regard yourself as my prisoner." sanders brought him down to headquarters without troubling to investigate the flogging of o'sako, and no word passed concerning m'lino till they were back again at headquarters. "of course i shall send you home," said sanders. "i supposed you would," said the other listlessly. he had lost all his self-assurance on the journey down river, and was a very depressed young man indeed. "i must have been mad," he admitted, the day before the mail boat called _en route_ for england; "from the very first i loved her--good heavens, what an ass i am!" "you are," agreed sanders, and saw him off to the ship with a cheerful heart. "i will have no more sub-commissioners at isisi," he wrote acidly to the administration. "i find my work sufficiently entertaining without the additional amusement of having to act as chaperon to british officials." he made a special journey to isisi to straighten matters out, and m'lino came unbidden to see him. "lord, is he gone, too?" she asked. "when i want you, m'lino," said sanders, "i will send for you." "i loved him," she said, with more feeling than sanders thought was possible for a native to show. "you are an easy lover," said sanders. she nodded. "that is the way with some women," she said. "when i love, i love with terrible strength; when i hate, i hate for ever and ever--i hate you, master!" she said it very simply. "if you were a man," said the exasperated commissioner, "i would tie you up and whip you." "f--f--b!" said the girl contemptuously, and left him staring. to appreciate the position, you have to realise that sanders was lord of all this district; that he had the power of life and death, and no man dared question or disobey his word. had m'lino been a man, as he said, she would have suffered for her treason--there is no better word for her offence--but she was a woman, and a seriously gifted woman, and, moreover, sure of whatever powers she had. he did not see her again during the three days he was in the city, nor (this is the extraordinary circumstance) did he discuss her with the chief. he learned that she had become the favourite wife of o'sako; that she had many lovers and scorned her husband, but he sought no news of her. once he saw her walking towards him, and went out of his way to avoid her. it was horribly weak and he knew it, but he had no power to resist the impulse that came over him to give her a wide berth. following this visit, sanders was coming down stream at a leisurely pace, he himself at the steering wheel, and his eyes searching the treacherous river for sand banks. his mind was filled with the problem of m'lino, when suddenly in the bush that fringes the isisi river, something went "woof," and the air was filled with flying potlegs. one struck his cabin, and splintered a panel to shreds, many fell upon the water, one missed sergeant abiboo's head and sent his _tarbosh_ flying. sanders rang his engines astern, being curious to discover what induced the would-be assassin to fire a blunderbuss in his direction, and abiboo, bare-headed, went pattering forward and slipped the canvas cover from the gleaming little maxim. then four houssa soldiers jumped into the water and waded ashore, holding their rifles above their heads with the one hand and their ammunition in the other, and sanders stood by the rail of the boat, balancing a sporting lee-enfield in the crook of his arm. whoever fired the shot had chosen the place of killing very well. the bush was very thick, the approach to land lay through coarse grass that sprang from the swamp, vegetation ran rank, and a tangle of creeper formed a screen that would have been impenetrable to a white man. but the houssas had a way--they found the man with his smoking gun, waiting calmly. he was of the isisi people--a nation of philosophers--and he surrendered his weapon without embarrassment. "i think," he said to sergeant abiboo, as they hurried down the bank to the river-side, "this means death." "death and the torments of hell to follow," said abiboo, who was embittered by the loss of his _tarbosh_, which had cost him five francs in the french territory. sanders put up his rifle when he saw the prisoner. he held an informal court in the shattered deck cabin. "did you shoot at me?" he asked. "i did, master," said the man. "why?" "because," the prisoner replied, "you are a devil and exercise witchcraft." sanders was puzzled a little. "in what particular section of the devil department have i been busy?" he asked in the vernacular. the prisoner was gazing at him steadily. "master," he replied, "it is not my business to understand these things. it is said to me, 'kill'--and i kill." sanders wasted no more time in vain questions. the man was put in irons, the nose of the steamer turned again down stream, and the commissioner resumed his vigil. midway between b'fani and lakaloli he came to a tying-up place. here there were dead trees for the chopping, and he put his men to replenish his stock of fuel. he was annoyed, not because a man had attempted to take his life, nor even because his neat little cabin forward was a litter of splinters and broken glass where the potleg had struck, but because he nosed trouble where he thought all was peace and harmony. he had control of some sixteen distinct and separate nations, each isolated and separated from the other by custom and language. they were distinct, not as the french are from the italian, but as the slav is from the turk. in the good old times before the english came there were many wars, tribe against tribe, people against people. there were battles, murders, raidings, and wholesale crucifixions, but the british changed all that. there was peace in the land. sanders selected with care a long, thin cigar from his case, nibbled at the end and lit it. the prisoner sat on the steel deck of the _zaire_ near the men's quarters. he was chained by the leg-iron to a staple, and did not seem depressed to any extent. when sanders made his appearance, a camp stool in his hand, the commissioner seated himself, and began his inquisition. "how do they call you, my man?" "bofabi of isisi." "who told you to kill me?" "lord, i forget." "a man or a woman?" "lord, it may have been either." more than that sanders could not learn, and the subsequent examination at isisi taught sanders nothing, for, when confronted with m'lino, the man said that he did not know her. sanders went back to his base in a puzzled frame of mind, and bofabi of isisi was sent to the convict establishment at the river's mouth. there matters stood for three months, and all that sanders learnt of the girl was that she had a new lover whose name was tebeki, and who was chief of the akasava. there were three months of peace and calm, and then tebeki, coveting his neighbour's wife, took three hundred spears down into the isisi country, burnt the village that sheltered her, crucified her husband, and carried her back with him. in honour of this achievement tebeki gave a feast and a beer dance. there were great and shameless orgies that lasted five days, and the strip of forest that fringes the river between the isisi and the lower river became a little inferno. at the end of the five days tebeki sat down to consider his position. he was in the act of inventing justification for his crime, when sanders came on the scene. more ominous were the ten houssas and the maxim which accompanied the brown-faced little man. sanders walked to tebeki's hut and called him out, and tebeki, blear-eyed and shaky, stepped forth into the hot sunshine, blinking. "tebeki," said sanders, "what of o'sako and his village?" "master," said tebeki, slowly, "he put shame upon me----" "spare me your lies," said sanders coldly, and signed to the houssas. then he looked round for a suitable tree. there was one behind the hut--a great copal-gum. "in half an hour i shall hang you," said sanders, looking at his watch. tebeki said nothing; only his bare feet fidgeted in the dust. there came out of the hut a tall girl, who stood eyeing the group with curiosity; then she came forward, and laid her hand on tebeki's bare shoulder. "what will you do with my man?" she asked. "i am m'lino, the wife of o'sako." sanders was not horrified, he showed his teeth in a mirthless grin and looked at her. "you will find another man, m'lino," he said, "as readily as you found this one." then he turned away to give directions for the hanging. but the woman followed him, and boldly laid her hand on his arm. "master," she said, "if any was wronged by o'sako's death, was it not i, his wife? yet i say let tebeki go free, for i love him." "you may go to the devil," said sanders politely; "i am getting tired of you and your lovers." he hanged tebeki, expeditiously and with science, and the man died immediately, because sanders was very thorough in this sort of business. then he and the houssa corps marched away, and the death song of the woman sounded fainter and fainter as the forest enveloped him. he camped that night on the hill of trees, overlooking the sweeping bend of the river, and in the morning his orderly came to tell him that the wife of o'sako desired to see him. sanders cursed the wife of o'sako, but saw her. she opened her mission without preliminary. "because of the death i brought to o'sako, my husband, and tebeki, my lover, the people have cast me forth," she said. "every hand is against me, and if i stay in this country i shall die." "well?" said sanders. "so i will go with you, until you reach the sangar river, which leads to the congo. i have brothers there." "all this may be true," said sanders dispassionately; "on the other hand, i know that your heart is filled with hate because i have taken two men from you, and hanged a third. nevertheless, you shall come with us as far as the sangar river, but you shall not touch the 'chop' of my men, nor shall you speak with them." she nodded and left him, and sanders issued orders for her treatment. in the middle of the night abiboo, who, in addition to being sanders' servant, was a sergeant of the houssas, came to sanders' tent, and the commissioner jumped out of bed and mechanically reached for his express. "leopards?" he asked briefly. "master," said sergeant abiboo, "it is the woman m'lino--she is a witch." "sergeant," said the exasperated sanders, "if you wake me up in the middle of the night with that sort of talk, i will break your infernal head." "be that as it may, master," said the sergeant stolidly, "she is a witch, for she has talked with my men and done many wonderful things--such as causing them to behold their children and far-away scenes." "have i an escort of babies?" asked sanders despairingly. "i wish," he went on, with quiet savageness, "i had chosen kroomen or bushmen"--the sergeant winced--"or the mad people of the isisi river, before i took a half-company of the king's houssas." the sergeant gulped down the insult, saying nothing. "bring the woman to me," said sanders. he scrambled into his clothing, and lit his tent lantern. after a while he heard the pattering of bare feet, and the girl came into his tent, and regarded him quietly. "m'lino," said sanders, "i told you that you were not to speak with my men." "lord," she said, "they spoke with me first." "is this true?" the sergeant at the tent door nodded. "tembeli, the son of sekambano, spoke with her, thus disobeying orders, and the other men followed," he said. "bushmen by gad!" fumed sanders. "you will take tembeli, the son of sekambano, tie him to a tree, and give him twenty lashes." the sergeant saluted, produced a tawdry little notebook, all brass binding and gold edges, and made a laborious note. "as for you," said sanders to the woman, "you drop your damned bush-mesmerism, or i'll treat you in the same way--_alaki_?" "yes, lord," she said meekly, and departed. two houssas tied tembeli to a tree, and the sergeant gave him twenty-one with a pliable hippo-hide--the extra one being the sergeant's perquisite. in the morning the sergeant reported that tembeli had died in the night, and sanders worried horribly. "it isn't the flogging," he said; "he has had the _chicotte_ before." "it is the woman," said the sergeant wisely. "she is a witch; i foresaw this when she joined the column." they buried tembeli, the son of sekambano, and sanders wrote three reports of the circumstances of the death, each of which he tore up. then he marched on. that night the column halted near a village, and sanders sent the woman, under escort, to the chief, with orders to see her safely to the sangar river. in half an hour she returned, with the escort, and sergeant abiboo explained the circumstances. "the chief will not take her in, being afraid." "afraid?" sanders spluttered in his wrath; "afraid? what is he afraid of?" "her devilry," said the sergeant; "the _lo-koli_ has told him the story of tebeki, and he will not have her." sanders swore volubly for five minutes; then he went off to interview the chief of the village. the interview was short and to the point. sanders knew this native very well, and made no mistakes. "chief," he said at the end of the palaver, "two things i may do; one is to punish you for your disobedience, and the other is to go on my way." "master," said the other earnestly, "if you give my village to the fire, yet i would not take the woman m'lino." "so much i realise," said sanders; "therefore i will go on my way." he marched at dawn on the following day, the woman a little ahead of the column, and under his eye. halting for a "chop" and rest at mid-day, a man of the houssas came to him and said there was a dead man hanging from a tree in the wood. sanders went immediately with the man to the place of the hanging, for he was responsible for the peace of the district. "where?" he asked, and the man pointed to a straight gum-tree that stood by itself in a clearing. "where?" asked sanders again, for there was no evidence of tragedy. the man still pointed at the tree, and sanders frowned. "go forward and touch his foot," said the commissioner, and, after a little hesitation, the soldier walked slowly to the tree and put out his hand. but he touched nothing but air, as far as sanders could see. "you are mad," he said, and whistled for the sergeant. "what do you see there?" asked sanders, and the sergeant replied instantly: "beyond the hanging man----" "there is no hanging man," said sanders coolly--for he began to appreciate the need for calm reasoning--"nothing but a tree and some shadows." the houssa looked puzzled, and turned a grave face to his. "master, there is a man hanging," he said. "that is so," said sanders quietly; "we must investigate this matter." and he signed for the party to return to the camp. on the way he asked carelessly if the sergeant had spoken with the woman m'lino. "i saw her, but she did not speak, except with her eyes." sanders nodded. "tell me," he said, "where did you bury tembeli, the son of sekambano?" "master, we left him, in accordance with our custom, on the ground at the foot of a tree." sanders nodded again, for this is not the custom of the houssas. "we will go back on our tracks to the camping place where the woman came to us," he said. they marched until sundown, and whilst two men pitched his tent sanders strolled round the little camp. the men were sitting about their cooking-pots, but the woman m'lino sat apart, her elbows on her knees, her face between her hands. "m'lino," he said to her, halting suddenly before her, "how many men have you killed in your life?" she looked at him long and fixedly, and he returned the stare; then she dropped her eyes. "many men," she said. "so i think," said sanders. he was eating his dinner when abiboo came slowly toward him. "master, the man has died," he said. sanders looked at him narrowly. "which man?" "the man you chicotted with your own hand," said abiboo. now, the commissioner had neither chicotted a man, nor had he ordered punishment, but he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "i will see him." on the edge of the camp there was a little group about a prostrate figure. the houssas fell apart with black looks as sanders came near, and there was some muttering. though sanders did not see it, m'lino looked strangely at ahmid, a houssa, who took up his rifle and went stealthily into the bush. the commissioner bent over the man who lay there, felt his breast, and detected no beat of heart. "get me my medicine chest," he said, but none obeyed him. "sergeant," he repeated, "bring my medicine chest!" abiboo saluted slowly, and, with every appearance of reluctance, went. he came back with the case of undressed skin, and sanders opened it, took out the ammonia bottle, and applied it to the man's nose. he made no sign. "we shall see," was all that sanders said when the experiment failed. he took a hypodermic syringe and filled the little tube with a solution of strychnine. this he jabbed unceremoniously into the patient's back. in a minute the corpse sat up, jerkily. "ha!" said sanders, cheerfully; "i am evidently a great magician!" he rose to his feet, dusted his knees, and beckoned the sergeant. "take four men and return to the place where you left tembeli. if the leopards have not taken him, you will meet him on the road, because by this time he will have waked up." he saw the party march off, then turned his attention to m'lino. "my woman," he said, "it is evident to me that you are a witch, although i have met your like before"--it was observed that the face of sanders was very white. "i cannot flog you, because you are a woman, but i can kill you." she laughed. their eyes met in a struggle for mastery, and so they stared at one another for a space of time which seemed to sanders a thousand years, but which was in all probability less than a minute. "it would be better if you killed yourself," she said. "i think so," said sanders dully, and fumbled for his revolver. it was half drawn, his thumb on the hammer, when a rifle banged in the bushes and the woman fell forward without a word. ahmid, the houssa, was ever a bad shot. * * * * * "i believe," said sanders, later, "that you took your rifle to kill me, being under the influence of m'lino, so i will make no bad report against you." "master," said the houssa simply, "i know nothing of the matter." "that i can well believe," said sanders, and gave the order to march. chapter xi. the witch-doctor. nothing surprised sanders except the ignorance of the average stay-at-home briton on all matters pertaining to the savage peoples of africa. queer things happened in the "black patch"--so the coast officials called sanders' territory--miraculous, mysterious things, but sanders was never surprised. he had dealings with folks who believed in ghosts and personal devils, and he sympathised with them, realising that it is very difficult to ascribe all the evils of life to human agencies. sanders was an unquiet man, or so his constituents thought him, and a little mad; this also was the native view. worst of all, there was no method in his madness. other commissioners might be depended upon to arrive after the rains, sending word ahead of their coming. this was a good way--the isisi, the ochori, and the n'gombi people, everlastingly at issue, were agreed upon this--because, with timely warning of the commissioner's approach, it was possible to thrust out of sight the ugly evidence of fault, to clean up and make tidy the muddle of folly. it was bad to step sheepishly forth from your hut into the clear light of the rising sun, with all the dbris of an overnight feast mutely testifying to your discredit, and face the cold, unwavering eyes of a little brown-faced man in immaculate white. the switch he carried in his hand would be smacking his leg suggestively, and there were always four houssa soldiers in blue and scarlet in the background, immobile, but alert, quick to obey. once sanders came to a n'gombi village at dawn, when by every known convention he should have been resting in his comfortable bungalow some three hundred miles down river. sanders came strolling through the village street just as the sun topped the trees and long shadows ran along the ground before the flood of lemon-coloured light. the village was silent and deserted, which was a bad sign, and spoke of overnight orgies. sanders walked on until he came to the big square near the palaver house, and there the black ruin of a dead fire smoked sullenly. sanders saw something that made him go raking amongst the embers. "pah!" said sanders, with a wry face. he sent back to the steamer for the full force of his houssa guard, then he walked into the chief's hut and kicked him till he woke. he came out blinking and shivering, though the morning was warm. "telemi, son of o'ari," said sanders, "tell me why i should not hang you--man-eater and beast." "lord," said the chief, "we chopped this man because he was an enemy, stealing into the village at night, and carrying away our goats and our dogs. besides which, we did not know that you were near by." "i can believe that," said sanders. a _lo-koli_ beat the villages to wakefulness, and before a silent assembly the headman of the n'gombi village was scientifically flogged. then sanders called the elders together and said a few words of cheer and comfort. "only hyenas and crocodiles eat their kind," he said, "also certain fishes." (there was a general shudder, for amongst the n'gombi to be likened to a fish is a deadly insult.) "cannibals i do not like, and they are hated by the king's government. therefore when it comes to my ears--and i have many spies--that you chop man, whether he be enemy or friend, i will come quickly and i will flog sorely; and if it should again happen i will bring with me a rope, and i will find me a tree, and there will be broken huts in this land." again they shuddered at the threat of the broken hut, for it is the custom of the n'gombi to break down the walls of a dead man's house to give his spirit free egress. sanders carried away with him the chief of the village, with leg-irons at his ankles, and in course of time the prisoner arrived at a little labour colony on the coast, where he worked for five years in company with other indiscreet headmen who were suffering servitude for divers offences. they called sanders in the upper river districts by a long and sonorous name, which may be euphemistically translated as "the man who has a faithless wife," the little joke of bosambo, chief of the ochori, and mightily subtle because sanders was wedded to his people. north and south, east and west, he prowled. he travelled by night and by day. sometimes his steamer would go threshing away up river, and be watched out of sight by the evil-doing little fishing-villages. "go you," said sarala, who was a little headman of the akasava, "go you three hours' journey in your canoe and watch the river for sandi's return. and at first sign of his steamer--which you may see if you climb the hill at the river's bend--come back and warn me, for i desire to follow certain customs of my father in which sandi has no pleasure." he spoke to two of his young men and they departed. that night by the light of a fire, to the accompaniment of dancing and drum-beating, the son of the headman brought his firstborn, ten hours old, squealing noisily, as if with knowledge of the doom ahead, and laid it at his father's feet. "people," said the little chief, "it is a wise saying of all, and has been a wise saying since time began, that the firstborn has a special virtue; so that if we sacrifice him to sundry gods and devils, good luck will follow us in all our doings." he said a word to the son, who took a broad-bladed spear and began turning the earth until he had dug a little grave. into this, alive, the child was laid, his little feet kicking feebly against the loose mould. "oh, gods and devils," invoked the old man, "we shed no blood, that this child may come to you unblemished." the son stirred a heap of loose earth with his foot, so that it fell over the baby's legs; then into the light of the fire stepped sanders, and the chief's son fell back. sanders was smoking a thin cigar, and he smoked for fully a minute without saying a word, and a minute was a very long time. then he stepped to the grave, stooped, and lifted the baby up awkwardly, for he was more used to handling men than babes, gave it a little shake to clear it of earth, and handed it to a woman. "take the child to its mother," he said, "and tell her to send it to me alive in the morning, otherwise she had best find a new husband." then he turned to the old chief and his son. "old man," he said, "how many years have you to live?" "master," said the old man, "that is for you to say." sanders scratched his chin reflectively, and the old man watched him with fear in his eyes. "you will go to bosambo, chief of the ochori, telling him i have sent you, and you shall till his garden, and carry his water until you die," said sanders. "i am so old that that will be soon," said the old man. "if you were younger it would be sooner," said sanders. "as for your son, we will wait until the morning." the houssas in the background marched the younger man to the camp sanders had formed down river--the boat that had passed had been intended to deceive a chief under suspicion--and in the morning, when the news came that the child was dead--whether from shock, or injury, or exposure, sanders did not trouble to inquire--the son of the chief was hanged. i tell these stories of sanders of the river, that you may grasp the type of man he was and learn something of the work he had to do. if he was quick to punish, he acted in accordance with the spirit of the people he governed, for they had no memory; and yesterday, with its faults, its errors and its teachings, was a very long time ago, and a man resents an unjust punishment for a crime he has forgotten. it is possible to make a bad mistake, but sanders never made one, though he was near to doing so once. sanders was explaining his point of view in regard to natives to professor sir george carsley, when that eminent scientist arrived unexpectedly at headquarters, having been sent out by the british government to study tropical disease at first hand. sir george was a man of some age, with a face of exceptional pallor and a beard that was snowy white. "there was a newspaper man who said i treated my people like dogs," said sanders slowly, for he was speaking in english, a language that was seldom called for. "i believe i do. that is to say, i treat them as if they were real good dogs, not to be petted one minute and kicked the next; not to be encouraged to lie on the drawing-room mat one day, and the next cuffed away from the dining-room hearthrug." sir george made no answer. he was a silent man, who had had some experience on the coast, and had lived for years in the solitude of a central african province, studying the habits of the malarial mosquito. sanders was never a great conversationalist, and the three days the professor spent at headquarters were deadly dull ones for the commissioner. on one subject alone did the professor grow talkative. "i want to study the witch-doctor," he said. "i think there is no appointment in the world that would give me a greater sense of power than my appointment by a native people to that post." sanders thought the scientist was joking, but the other returned to the subject again and again, gravely, earnestly, and persistently, and for his entertainment sanders recited all the stories he had ever heard of witch-doctors and their tribe. "but you don't expect to learn anything from these people?" said sanders, half in joke. "on the contrary," said the professor, seriously; "i anticipate making valuable scientific discoveries through my intercourse with them." "then you're a silly old ass," said sanders; but he said it to himself. the pale professor left him at the end of the fourth day, and beyond an official notification that he had established himself on the border, no further news came of the scientist for six months, until one evening came the news that the pale-faced old man had been drowned by the upsetting of a canoe. he had gone out on a solitary excursion, taking with him some scientific apparatus, and nothing more was heard of him until his birch-bark canoe was discovered, bottom up, floating on the river. no trace of sir george was found, and in the course of time sanders collected the dead man's belongings and forwarded them to england. there were two remarkable facts about this tragedy, the first being that sanders found no evidence either in papers or diaries, of the results of any scientific research work performed by the professor other than a small note-book. the second was, that in his little book the scientist had carefully recorded the stories sanders had told him of witch doctors. (sanders recognised at least one story which he had himself invented on the spur of the moment for the professor's entertainment.) six more or less peaceful months passed, and then began the series of events which make up the story of the devil man. it began on the little river. there was a woman of the isisi people who hated her husband, though he was very good to her, building her a hut and placing an older wife to wait upon her. he gave her many presents, including a great neck-ring of brass, weighing pounds, that made her the most envied woman on the isisi river. but her hatred for her husband was unquenched; and one morning she came out from her hut, looking dazed and frightened, and began in a quavering voice to sing the song of the dead, mechanically pouring little handfuls of dust on her head, and the villagers went in, to find the man stark and staring, with a twisted grin on his dead face and the pains of hell in his eyes. in the course of two days they burned the husband in the middle river; and as the canoe bearing the body swept out of sight round a bend of the river, the woman stepped into the water and laved the dust from her grimy body and stripped the green leaves of mourning from her waist. then she walked back to the village with a light step, for the man she hated best was dead and there was an end to it. four days later came sanders, a grim little man, with a thin, brown face and hair inclined to redness. "m'fasa," he said, standing at the door of her hut and looking down at her, as with a dogged simulation of indifference she pounded her grain, "they tell me your man has died." "lord, that is true," she said. "he died of a sudden sickness." "too sudden for my liking," said sanders, and disappeared into the dark interior of the hut. by and by sanders came back into the light and looked down on her. in his hand was a tiny glass phial, such as europeans know very well, but which was a remarkable find in a heathen village. "i have a fetish," he said, "and my fetish has told me that you poisoned your husband, m'fasa." "your fetish lies," she said, not looking up. "i will not argue that matter," said sanders wisely, for he had no proofs beyond his suspicions; and straightway he summoned to him the chief man of the village. there was a little wait, the woman pounding her corn slowly, with downcast eyes, pausing now and then to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and sanders, his helmet on the back of his head, a half-smoked cheroot in his mouth, hands thrust deep into his duck-pockets and an annoyed frown on his face, looking at her. by and by came the chief tardily, having been delayed by the search for a soldier's scarlet coat, such as he wore on great occasions. "master, you sent for me," he said. sanders shifted his gaze. "on second thoughts," he said, "i do not need you." the chief went away with a whole thanksgiving service in his heart, for there had been certain secret doings on the river for which he expected reprimand. "m'fasa, you will go to my boat," said sanders, and the woman, putting down her mortar, rose and went obediently to the steamer. sanders followed slowly, having a great many matters to consider. if he denounced this woman to the elders of the village, she would be stoned to death; if he carried her to headquarters and tried her, there was no evidence on which a conviction might be secured. there was no place to which he could deport her, yet to leave her would be to open the way for further mischief. she awaited him on the deck of the _zaire_, a straight, shapely girl of eighteen, fearless, defiant. "m'fasa," said sanders, "why did you kill your husband?" "lord, i did not kill him; he died of the sickness," she said, as doggedly as before. sanders paced the narrow deck, his head on his breast, for this was a profound problem. then he looked up. "you may go," he said; and the woman, a little puzzled, walked along the plank that connected the boat with the shore, and disappeared into the bush. three weeks later his spies brought word that men were dying unaccountably on the upper river. none knew why they died, for a man would sit down strong and full of cheer to his evening meal, and lo! in the morning, when his people went to wake him, he would be beyond waking, being most unpleasantly dead. this happened in many villages on the little river. "it's getting monotonous," said sanders to the captain of the houssas. "there is some wholesale poisoning going on, and i am going up to find the gentleman who dispenses the dope." it so happened that the first case claiming investigation was at isisi city. it was a woman who had died, and this time sanders suspected the husband, a notorious evil-doer. "okali," he said, coming to the point, "why did you poison your wife?" "lord," said the man, "she died of the sickness. in the evening she was well, but at the dark hour before sun came she turned in her sleep saying 'ah! oh!' and straightway she died." sanders drew a long breath. "get a rope," he said to one of his men, and when the rope arrived abiboo scrambled up to the lower branch of a copal-gum and scientifically lashed a block and tackle. "okali," said sanders, "i am going to hang you for the murder of your wife, for i am a busy man and have no time to make inquiries; and if you are not guilty of her murder, yet there are many other abominable deeds you have been guilty of, therefore i am justified in hanging you." the man was grey with terror when they slipped the noose over his neck and strapped his hands behind him. "lord, she was a bad wife to me and had many lovers," he stammered. "i did not mean to kill her, but the devil man said that such medicine would make her forget her lovers----" "devil man! what devil man?" asked sanders quickly. "lord, there is a devil greatly respected in these parts, who wanders in the forest all the time and gives many curious medicines." "where is he to be found?" "lord, none know. he comes and goes, like a grey ghost, and he has a fetish more powerful than a thousand ordinary devils. master, i gave the woman, my wife, that which he gave to me, and she died. how might i know that she would die?" "_cheg'li_," said sanders shortly to the men at the rope-end, and _cheg'li_ in the dialect of the river means "pull." * * * * * "stop!" sanders was in a changeable mood, and a little irritable by reason of the fact that he knew himself to be fickle. "how came this drug to you? in powder, in liquid, or----" the man's lips were dry. he could do no more than shake his head helplessly. "release him," said sanders; and abiboo loosened the noose and unstrapped the man's hands. "if you have lied to me," said sanders, "you die at sunset. first let me hear more of this devil man, for i am anxious to make his acquaintance." he gave the man ten minutes to recover from the effects of his fear, then sent for him. "lord," said he, "i know nothing of the devil man save that he is the greatest witch-doctor in the world, and on nights when the moon is up and certain stars are in their places he comes like a ghost, and we are all afraid. then those of us who need him go forth into the forest, and he gives to us according to our desires." "how carried he the drug?" "lord, it was in a crystal rod, such as white men carry their medicines in. i will bring it to you." he went back to his hut and returned a few minutes later with a phial, the fellow to that which was already in sanders' possession. the commissioner took it and smelt at the opening. there was the faintest odour of almonds, and sanders whistled, for he recognised the after-scent of cyanide of potassium, which is not such a drug as untutored witch-doctors know, much less employ. * * * * * "i can only suggest," wrote sanders to headquarters, "that by some mischance the medicine chest of the late sir george carsley has come into the possession of a native 'doctor.' you will remember that the chest was with the professor when he was drowned. it has possibly been washed up and discovered.... in the meantime, i am making diligent inquiries as to the identity of the devil man, who seems to have leapt into fame so suddenly." there were sleepless nights ahead for sanders, nights of swift marchings and doublings, of quick runs up the river, of unexpected arrivals in villages, of lonely vigils in the forest and by strange pools. but he had no word of the devil man, though he learnt many things of interest. most potent of his magical possessions was a box, "so small," said one who had seen it, and indicated a six-inch square. in this box dwelt a small and malicious god who pinched and scratched (yet without leaving a mark), who could stick needles into the human body and never draw blood. "i give it up," said sanders in despair, and went back to his base to think matters out. he was sitting at dinner one night, when far away on the river the drum beat. it was not the regular _lo-koli_ roll, but a series of staccato tappings, and, stepping softly to the door, the commissioner listened. he had borrowed the houssa signalling staff from headquarters, and stationed them at intervals along the river. on a still night the tapping of a drum carries far, but the rattle of iron-wood sticks on a hollowed tree-trunk carries farthest of all. "clok-clok, clockitty-clock." it sounded like the far-away croaking of a bull-frog; but sanders picked out the letters: "devil man sacrifices to-morrow night in the forest of dreams." as he jotted down the message on the white sleeve of his jacket, abiboo came running up the path. "i have heard," said sanders briefly. "there is steam in the _pucapuc_?" "we are ready, master," said the man. sanders waited only to take a hanging revolver from the wall and throw his overcoat over his arm, for his travelling kit was already deposited on the _zaire_, and had been for three days. in the darkness the sharp nose of his little boat swung out to the stream, and ten minutes after the message came the boat was threshing a way against the swift river. all night long the steamer went on, tacking from bank to bank to avoid the shoals. dawn found her at a wooding, where her men, working at fever speed, piled logs on her deck until she had the appearance of a timber-boat. then off again, stopping only to secure news of the coming sacrifice from the spies who were scattered up and down the river. sanders reached the edge of the dream forest at midnight and tied up. he had ten houssa policemen with him, and at the head of these he stepped ashore into the blackness of the forest. one of the soldiers went ahead to find the path and keep it, and in single file the little force began its two-hour march. once they came upon two leopards fighting; once they stumbled over a buffalo sleeping in their path. twice they disturbed strange beasts that slunk into the shadows as they passed, and came snuffling after them, till sanders flashed a white beam from his electric lamp in their direction. eventually they came stealthily to the place of sacrifice. there were at least six hundred people squatting in a semi-circle before a rough altar built of logs. two huge fires blazed and crackled on either side of the altar; but sanders' eyes were for the devil man, who leant over the body of a young girl, apparently asleep, stretched upon the logs. once the devil man had worn the garb of civilisation; now he was clothed in rags. he stood in his grimy shirt-sleeves, his white beard wild and uncombed, his pale face tense, and a curious light in his eyes. in his hand was a bright scalpel, and he was speaking--and, curiously enough, in english. "this, gentlemen," said he, leaning easily against the rude altar, and speaking with the assurance of one who had delivered many such lectures, "is a bad case of trynosomiasis. you will observe the discoloration of skin, the opalescent pupils, and now that i have placed the patient under anaesthetics you will remark the misplacement of the cervical glands, which is an invariable symptom." he paused and looked benignly around. "i may say that i have lived for a great time amongst native people. i occupied the honourable position of witch-doctor in central africa----" he stopped and passed his hand across his brow, striving to recall something; then he picked up the thread of his discourse. all the time he spoke the half-naked assembly sat silent and awe-stricken, comprehending nothing save that the witch-doctor with the white face, who had come from nowhere and had done many wonderful things--his magic box proved to be a galvanic battery--was about to perform strange rites. "gentlemen," the old man went on, tapping the breast of his victim with the handle of his scalpel, "i shall make an incision----" sanders came from his place of concealment, and walked steadily towards the extemporised operating-table. "professor," he said gently, and the madman looked at him with a puzzled frown. "you are interrupting the clinic," he said testily; "i am demonstrating----" "i know, sir." sanders took his arm, and sir george carsley, a great scientist, consulting surgeon to st. mark's hospital, london, and the author of many books on tropical diseases, went with him like a child. * * * * * chapter xii. the lonely one. mr. commissioner sanders had lived so long with native people that he had absorbed not a little of their simplicity. more than this, he had acquired the uncanny power of knowing things which he would not and could not have known unless he were gifted with the prescience which is every aboriginal's birthright. he had sent three spies into the isisi country--which lies a long way from headquarters and is difficult of access--and after two months of waiting they came to him in a body, bearing good news. this irritated sanders to an unjustifiable degree. "master, i say to you that the isisi are quiet," protested one of the spies; "and there is no talk of war." "h'm!" said sanders, ungraciously. "and you?" he addressed the second spy. "lord," said the man, "i went into the forest, to the border of the land, and there is no talk of war. chiefs and headmen told me this." "truly you are a great spy," scoffed sanders; "and how came you to the chiefs and headmen? and how did they greet you? 'hail! secret spy of sandi'? huh!" he dismissed the men with a wave of his hand, and putting on his helmet went down to the houssa lines, where the blue-coated soldiers gambled in the shade of their neat white barracks. the houssa captain was making palatable medicine with the aid of a book of cigarette papers and a six-ounce bottle of quinine sulphide. sanders observed his shaking hand, and talked irritably. "there's trouble in the isisi," he said, "i can smell it. i don't know what it is--but there's devilry of sorts." "secret societies?" suggested the houssa. "secret grandmothers," snarled sanders. "how many men have you got?" "sixty, including the lame 'uns," said the houssa officer, and swallowed a paperful of quinine with a grimace. sanders tapped the toe of his boot with his thin ebony stick, and was thoughtful. "i may want 'em," he said. "i'm going to find out what's wrong with these isisi people." * * * * * by the little river that turns abruptly from the river of spirits, imgani, the lonely one, built a house. he built it in proper fashion, stealing the wood from a village five miles away. in this village there had been many deaths, owing to the sickness; and it is the custom on the upper river that whenever a person dies, the house wherein he died shall die also. no man takes shelter under the accursed roof whereunder the spirit sits brooding; the arms of the dead man are broken and scattered on his shallow grave, and the cooking-pots of his wives are there likewise. by and by, under the combined influences of wind and rain, the reed roof sags and sinks, the doorposts rot; elephant-grass, coarse and strong, shoots up between crevices in wall and roof; then come a heavier rain and a heavier wind, and the forest has wiped the foul spot clean. imgani, who said he was of the n'gombi people, and was afraid of no devils--at any rate, no isisi devil--stole doorposts and native rope fearlessly. he stole them by night, when the moon was behind the trees, and mocked the dead spirits, calling them by evil and tantalising names. yet he went cautiously to work; for whilst he did not hold spirits in account, he was wholesomely respectful of the live isisi, who would have put him to death had his sacrilege been detected, though, strangely enough, death was the thing he feared least. so he stole the accursed supports and accursed roof-props, and would have stolen the roofs as well, but for the fact that they were very old and full of spiders. all these things he came and took, carrying them five miles to the turn of the river, and there, at his leisure, he built a little house. in the daytime he slept, in the night he trapped beasts and caught fish, but he made no attempt to catch the big bats that come over from the middle island of the river, though these are very edible, and regarded as a delicacy. one day, just before the sun went down, he went into the forest on the track of zebra. he carried two big hunting-spears, such as the n'gombi make best; a wickerwork shield, and on his back, slung by a strip of hide, a bunch of dried fish he had caught in the river. a man of middle height was imgani, spare of build, but broad of shoulder. his skin shone healthily, and his step was light. as he walked, you saw the muscles of his back ripple and weave like the muscles of a well-trained thoroughbred. he was half an hour's journey within the forest, when he came upon a girl. she was carrying a bundle of manioc root on her head, and walked gracefully. when she saw imgani she stopped dead, and the fear of death and worse came in her eyes, for she knew him to be an outcast man, with no tribe and no people. such men are more dreadful than the ingali, who rears up from the grass and plunges his poison-fangs in your leg. they stood watching one another, the man leaning with both hands on the spears, his cheek against them; the girl trembled. "woman, where do you go?" said imgani. "master, i go to the village which is by the river, this being the path," she flurried. "what have you there?" "manioc, for bread," she whispered thickly. "you are a root-eater," said imgani, nodding his head. "master, let me go," she said, staring at him. imgani jerked his head. "i see you are afraid of me--yet i want nothing from you," he said. "i am imgani, which means the lonely one; and i have no desire for wives or women, being too high a man for such folly. you are safe, root-eater, for if i wished i would fill this forest with the daughters of chiefs, all very beautiful, all moaning for me." the girl's fear had disappeared, and she looked at him curiously. moreover, she recognised that there was truth in his claim of austerity. possibly she was a little piqued, for she said tartly enough, employing an isisi proverb: "only the goat bleats at the mouth of the leopard's cave--the isisi grow fat on strangers." he looked at her, his head cocked on one side. "they say in the lower country that the isisi sell men to the arabi," he said musingly. "that is bad talk; you may go." with another jerk of his head he dismissed her. she had gone some little distance when he called her back. "root-eater," he said, "if men ask you who i be, you shall say that i am imgani the lonely one, who is a prince amongst the princes; also that i have killed many men in my day--so many that i cannot count them. also say that from my house, which i have built by the river, to as far as a man can see in every way, is my kingdom, and let none stray therein, except to bring gifts in their hands, for i am very terrible and very jealous." "lord," said the girl, "i will say all this." and she went, half running, in the direction of the village, leaving imgani to continue on his way. now this village had many young men eager to please the girl, who carried manioc, for she was a chief's daughter, and she was, moreover, fourteen, a marriageable age. so when she came flying along the village street, half hysterical in her fear, crying, babbling, incoherent, there was not wanting sympathy nor knight valiant to wipe out the insult. six young men, with spears and short swords, danced before the chief and the chief's daughter (how important she felt, any woman of any race will tell you), and one of them, e'kebi, a man gifted with language, described from sunset to moonrise, which is roughly four hours, exactly what would happen to imgani when the men of the isisi fell upon him; how his eyes would shrivel as before a great and terrible fire, and his limbs wither up, and divers other physiological changes which need not be particularised. "that is good talk," said the chief; "yet, since sandi is our master and has spies everywhere, do not shed blood, for the smell of blood is carried farther than a man can see. and sandi is very devilish on this question of killing. moreover, this lonely one is a stranger, and if we catch him we may sell him to the arabi, who will give us cloth and gin for him." having heard all this, they sacrificed a young goat and marched. they came upon the house of imgani, but the lonely one was not there, for he was trapping beasts in the forest; so they burnt his house, uprooted his poor garden, and, being joined by many other isisi people, who had followed at a respectful distance, lest imgani's estimate of his own prowess were justified by results, they held high revel, until of a sudden the sun came up over the middle island, and all the little stars in the sky went out. imgani saw all this, leaning on his spears in the shadow of the forest, but was content to be a spectator. for, he reasoned, if he went out against them they would attempt to kill him or beat him with rods, and that his high spirit could not endure. he saw the flames lick away the house he had built with such labour. "they are foolish people," he mused, "for they burn their own, and perhaps the spirits of the dead will be displeased and give them boils." when all that was left of his habitation was a white heap of ash, a dark-red glow, and a hazy wisp of smoke, imgani turned his face to the forest. all day long he walked, halting only to eat the fish he carried, and at night time he came upon another isisi village, which was called o'fasi. he came through the village street with his shoulders squared, his head erect, swinging his spears famously. he looked neither to the left nor to the right; and the villagers, crowding to the doors of their huts, put their clenched knuckles to their mouths, and said: "o ho!" which means that they were impressed. so he stalked through the entire length of the village, and was making for the forest-path beyond, when a messenger came pattering after him. "lord," said the messenger, "the _capita_ of this village, who is responsible to the government for all people who pass, and especially for thieves who may have escaped from the village of irons, desires your presence, being sure that you are no thief, but a great one, and wishing to do honour to you." thus he recited, and being a peaceable man, who had been chosen for the part because he was related by marriage to the principal wife of the chief, he kept a cautious eye on the broad-headed spear, and determined the line of his flight. "go back to your master, slave," said imgani, "and say to him that i go to find a spot of sufficient loneliness, where i may sleep this night and occupy myself with high thoughts. when i have found such a place i will return. say, also, that i am a prince of my own people, and that my father has legions of such quantity that, if every fighting man of the legions were to take a handful of sand from the bottom of the river, the river would be bottomless; also say that i am named imgani, and that i love myself better than any man has loved himself since the moon went white that it might not look like the sun." he went on, leaving the messenger filled with thought. true to his promise, imgani returned. he came back to find that there was a palaver in progress, the subject of the palaver being the unfortunate relative by marriage to the chief's principal wife. "who," the chief was saying, "has put shame upon me, being as great a fool as his cousin, my wife." "master," said the poor relation humbly, "i entreated him to return; but he was a man of great pride, and, moreover, impatient to go." "your mother was a fool," said the chief; "her mother also was a fool, and your father, whoever he was, and no man knows, was a great fool." this interesting beginning to a crude address on hereditary folly was interrupted by the return of imgani, and as he came slowly up the little hillock the assembly took stock of him, from the square, steel razor stuck in the tight-fitting leopard-skin cap to the thin bangles of brass about his ankles. the chief, a portly man of no great courage, observed the spears, noting that the hafts were polished smooth by much handling. "lord," said he mildly, "i am chief of this village, appointed by the government, who gave me a medal to wear about my neck, bearing on one side the picture of a great man with a beard, and on the other side certain devil marks and writings of vast power. this was given to me that all people might know i was chief, but i have lost the medal. none the less, i am chief of this village, as this will show." he fumbled in the bosom of his cloth and brought out a bag of snake skin, and from this he extracted a very soiled paper. with tender care he unfolded it, and disclosed a sheet of official notepaper with a few scrawled words in the handwriting of mr. commissioner sanders. they ran: "to all sub-commissioners, police officers, and commanders of houssa ports: "arrest and detain the bearer if found in any other territory than the isisi." there was a history attached to this singular document. it had to do with an unauthorised raid upon certain ochori villages and a subsequent trial at headquarters, where a chief, all aquiver with apprehension, listened to a terse but knowledgable prophecy as to what fate awaited him if he put foot out of his restricted dominion. imgani took the paper in his hand and was interested. he turned it about, rubbed the writing lightly with his fingers to see whether it was permanent, and returned it to the chief. "that is very wonderful, though i do not fear magic, except an especial kind such as is practised by a certain witch-doctor of my father's," he said; "nor do i know any government which can govern me." after which he proceeded to tell them of his father, and of his legions and wives, and various other matters of equal interest. "i do not doubt that you will understand me," he said. "i am a lonely one, hating the company of men, who are as changeable as the snow upon the mountains. therefore, i have left my house with my wives, who were faithful as women go, and i have taken with me no legion, since they are my father's." the chief was puzzled. "why you are lonely, i cannot tell," he said; "but certainly you did right to leave your father's legions. this is a great matter, which needs a palaver of older men." and he ordered the _lo-koli_ to be sounded and the elders of the village to be assembled. they came, bringing their own carved stools, and sat about the thatched shelter, where the chief sat in his presidency. again imgani told his story; it was about fifty wives, and legions of warriors as countless as the sand of the river's beach; and the trustful isisi listened and believed. "and i need this," said imgani, in his peroration; "a little house built on the edge of the river, in such a place that no path passes me and no human being comes within sight of me, for i am very lonely by nature--and a great hater of men." imgani went to live in the clearing nature had made for him, and in a hut erected by his new-found friends. other hospitalities he refused. "i have no wish for wives," he stated, "being full of mighty plans to recover my kingdom from evil men who are my father's councillors." lonely he was in very truth, for none saw him except on very special occasions. it was his practice to go hunting by night and to sleep away the hot days. sometimes, when the red ball of the sun dropped down behind the trees on the western bank of the river, the villagers saw the straight, blue film of his smoke as he cooked his evening meal; sometimes a homeward-bound boatman saw him slipping silently through the thin edge of the forest on his way to a kill. they called him the silent one, and he enjoyed a little fame. more than this, he enjoyed the confidence of his hosts. the isisi country is within reach of the foreign river, down which strangely-shaped boats come by night empty, and return by night full of people who are chained neck to neck, and the officials of french west africa--which adjoins the isisi country--receive stories of raids and of burnings which they have not the facilities for investigating, for the isisi border is nearly six hundred miles from the french headquarters, and lies through a wilderness. imgani, in his hunting trips, saw things which might have filled him with amazement, but for the fact that he was a man who was not given to emotion. he saw little caravans that came stealing from the direction of the territory of france, with whimpering women and groaning men in bondage. he saw curious midnight shippings of human souls, and grew to know the white-robed arabs who handled the whip so deftly. one night as he stood watching all these things, el mahmud, that famous trader, espied him in the moonlight and saw that he was of a strange people. "what man are you?" he asked. "lord," said imgani, "i am of a strange people--the n'gombi." "that is a lie," said the slaver, "for you have not the face marks of the n'gombi; you are a half-bred arab," and he addressed him in arabic. imgani shook his head. "he does not understand," said the slaver to his lieutenant; "find out where this man's hut is; one night we will take him, for he is worth money." he spoke in arabic, and his subordinate nodded. when the slaver came again three men visited imgani's house, but he was hunting, and he was hunting every time the long boats came by night to o'fasi. * * * * * sanders did not go to o'fasi for six months, during which time, it should be emphasised, nothing happened which by any stretch of imagination could be held to justify any loss of prestige. he was due to make his half-yearly visit to the isisi. the crops had been good, the fish plentiful, the rains gentle, and there had been no sickness. all these facts you may bear in mind. one morning, when swirls of grey mist looped from tree to tree and the east was growing grey, imgani came back from the forest bearing on his shoulders all that was material of a small buck which he had snared in the night. when he saw a little fire before his hut and a man squatting chin on knee, he twirled those spears of his cheerfully and went on, for he was afraid of no man. "is the world so full of people that you come to disturb my loneliness?" he asked. "i have a thought that i shall kill you and fry your heart, for i do not like to see you sitting by a fire before my hut." he said all this with a ferocious mien, and the man before the fire shifted uneasily. "master, i expected this," he said, "for i see you are a proud man; but i come because of your pride, knowing your wisdom." imgani tossed the buck to one side and sat down, staring threateningly and laying the haft of his spears across his bare knee. then the other man craned his neck forward and spoke eagerly. the sun came up and flushed the world rosy; but still he sat talking with great force, imgani listening. "so, master," he concluded, "we will kill sandi when he comes to palaver. ifiba, m'bwka, and a cousin of my mother's, will put spears into him very quickly, and we shall be a great people." imgani nodded his head wisely. "that is true," he said, "people who kill white men must be greatly honoured, because all the other nations will say: 'behold, these are the people who kill white men!'" "and when he is dead," the messenger went on, "many young men will go to the boat that smokes and slay all who are with him." "that is wise also," said imgani; "when i kill white men i also kill their friends." he discussed his deeds to some length and with great detail. after the man had gone, imgani made a meal of fish and manioc, polished the steel blades of his spears with wet sand, dried them carefully with grass, and laid himself down in the shade of the hut to sleep. he was awake in the early part of the afternoon, and went plunging into the river, swimming far towards the middle stream with great, strong strokes. then he swam back to shore, let the sun dry him, and dressed himself in his leopard skin. he came to the village slowly, and found it agitated. more especially so was the chief, that wise _capita_, for news had arrived that sandi was coming in the night, and that even now his steamer was rounding the bend of the river. a plan had miscarried; sanders was two days ahead of time, and ifiba and m'bwka, his trusty men, were away on an expedition, and there was no time to substitute unseasoned assassins. the steamer drifted broadside to the shore, one stern wheel revolving lazily, and then they saw, imgani amongst the rest, that the decks were crowded with soldiers, impassive brown men in blue uniforms and fezes. a plank bumped down, and holding their rifles high the soldiers came pattering to the shore, and with them a white officer but not sandi. it was a brusque, white man. "who is the chief here?" he said crossly. "lord, i am that man," said the stout chief, all a-flutter. "take that man." a sergeant of houssas grasped the chief and deftly swung him round; a corporal of houssas snapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "lord," he whined, "why this shame?" "because you are a great thief," said the houssa officer, "a provoker of war and a dealer in slaves." "if any man says that, it is a lie," said the chief, "for no government man has witnessed such abominations." imgani stepped forward. "chief," he said, "i have seen it." "you are a great liar," fumed the portly _capita_, trembling with rage, "and sandi, who is my friend, will not believe you." "i am sandi," said imgani, and smiled crookedly. chapter xiii. the seer. there are many things that happen in the very heart of africa that no man can explain; that is why those who know africa best hesitate to write stories about it. because a story about africa must be a mystery story, and your reader of fiction requires that his mystery shall be, in the end, x-rayed so that the bones of it are visible. you can no more explain many happenings which are the merest commonplaces in latitude 2 n., longitude (say) 46 w., than you can explain the miracle of faith, or the wonder of telepathy, as this story goes to show. in the dead of a night mr. commissioner sanders woke. his little steamer was tied up by a wooding--a wooding he had prepared for himself years before by lopping down trees and leaving them to rot. he was one day's steam either up or down the river from the nearest village, but he was only six hours' march from the amatombo folk, who live in the very heart of the forest, and employ arrows poisoned by tetanus. sanders sat up in bed and listened. a night bird chirped monotonously; he heard the "clug-clug" of water under the steamer's bows and the soft rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze swayed the young boughs of the trees that overhung the boat. very intently he listened, then reached down for his mosquito boots and his socks. he drew them on, found his flannel coat hanging behind the door of his tiny cabin, and opened the door softly. then he waited, standing, his head bent. in the darkness he grinned unpleasantly, and, thumbing back the leather strap that secured the flap of the holster which hung by his bunk he slipped out the colt-automatic, and noiselessly pulled back the steel envelope. he was a careful man, not easily flurried, and his every movement was methodical. he was cautious enough to push up the little safety-catch which prevents premature explosion, tidy enough to polish the black barrel on the soft sleeve of his coat, and he waited a long time before he stepped out into the hot darkness of the night. by and by he heard again the sound which had aroused him. it was the faint twitter of a weaver bird. now weaver birds go to sleep at nights like sensible people, and they live near villages, liking the society of human beings. certainly they do not advertise their presence so brazenly as did this bird, who twittered and twittered at intervals. sanders watched patiently. then suddenly, from close at hand, from the very deck on which he stood, came an answering call. sanders had his little cabin on the bridge of the steamer; he walked farther away from it. in the corner of the bridge he crouched down, his thumb on the safety-catch. he felt, rather than saw, a man come from the forest; he knew that there was one on board the steamer who met him. then creeping round the deck-house came two men. he could just discern the bulk of them as they moved forward till they found the door of the cabin and crept in. he heard a little noise, and grinned again, though he knew that their spear-heads were making sad havoc of his bedclothes. then there was a little pause, and he saw one come out by himself and look around. he turned to speak softly to the man inside. sanders rose noiselessly. the man in the doorway said "kah!" in a gurgling voice and went down limply, because sanders had kicked him scientifically in the stomach, which is a native's weak spot. the second man ran out, but fell with a crash over the commissioner's extended leg, and, falling, received the full weight of a heavy pistol barrel in the neighbourhood of his right ear. "yoka!" called sanders sharply, and there was a patter of feet aft, for your native is a light sleeper, "tie these men up. get steam, for we will go away from here; it is not a nice place." sanders, as i have tried to explain, was a man who knew the native; he thought like a native, and there were moments when he acted not unlike a barbarian. clear of the danger, he tied up to a little island in mid-stream just as the dawn spread greyly, and hustled his two prisoners ashore. "my men," said he, "you came to kill me in the dark hours." "lord, that is true," said one, "i came to kill, and this other man, who is my brother, told me when to come--yet it might have been another whom he called, for i am but one of many." sanders accepted the fact that a chain of cheerful assassins awaited his advent without any visible demonstration of annoyance. "now you will tell me," he said, "who gave the word for the killing, and why i must die." the man he addressed, a tall, straight youth of the amatombo people, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his manacled hands. "lord, though you chop me," he said, "i will not tell you, for i have a great ju-ju, and there are certain fetishes which would be displeased." sanders tried the other man with no greater success. this other was a labourer he had taken on at a village four days' journey down stream. "lord, if i die for my silence i will say nothing," he said. "very good," said sanders, and nodded his head to abiboo. "i shall stake you out," he added, "flat on the ground, your legs and arms outstretched, and i will light a little fire on your chests, and by and by you will tell me all i want to know." staked out they were, with fluffy little balls of dried creeper on each breast, and sanders took a lighted stick from the fire his servants had built. the men on the ground watched his every movement. they saw him blow the red stick to a flame and advance toward them, then one said-"lord, i will speak." "so i thought," said sanders; "and speak truth, or i will make you uncomfortable." if you ask me whether sanders would have employed his lighted stick, i answer truthfully that i think it possible; perhaps sanders knew his men better than i know sanders. the two men, released from their unhappy position, talked frankly, and sanders was a busy man taking notes in english of the conversation which was mainly in bomongo. when his interrogation was completed, sanders gathered up his notes and had the men taken on board the steamer. two hours later the _zaire_ was moving at its fullest speed in the direction of a village of the akasava, which is called in the native tongue tukalala. there was a missionary to tukalala, a devoted young american methodist, who had elected to live in the fever belt amongst heathen men that he might bring their hearts to the knowledge of god. sanders had no special regard for missionaries; indeed, he had views on the brotherhood which did him no particular credit, but he had an affection for the young man who laboured so cheerfully with such unpromising material, and now he paced the little bridge of his steamer impatiently, for it was very necessary that he should reach tukalala before certain things happened. he came round a bend of the little river just as the sun was going down behind the trees on the western bank, and the white beach before the mission station showed clearly. he motioned with two fingers to the man at the wheel, and the little steamer swung almost broadside to the swift stream and headed for the bank, and the black water of the river humped up against his port bow as though it were a sluice gate. into the beach he steamed; "pucka-pucka-pucka-puck," sang the stern wheel noisily. where the missionary's house had stood was a chaos of blackened debris, and out of it rose lazy little wisps of smoke. he found the missionary dressed in white duck, greatly soiled, lying face downwards, and he found some difficulty in raising him, because he was pinned to the ground with a broad-bladed elephant spear which had been broken off flush with his shoulders. sanders turned him on his back, closed the patient's eyes, staring, it seemed, hungrily at the darkening sky as though at the last questioning god's wisdom. the commissioner took a gaudy bandana handkerchief from his pocket, and laid it on the dead man's face. "abiboo," he said softly to his sergeant, "dig me a great hole by that copal gum, for this man was a great chief amongst his people, and had communion with gods." "he was a christ man," said abiboo sagely, who was a devout follower of the prophet, "and in the sura of mary it is written: "'the sects have fallen to variance about jesus, but woe, because of the assembly of a great day to those who believe not!'" abiboo bore the title of haj because he had been to mecca and knew the koran better than most christians know the bible. sanders said nothing. he took a cigar from his pocket and lit it, casting his eyes around. no building stood. where the mission station with its trim garden had been, was desolation. he saw scraps of cloth in the fading light. these were other victims, he knew. in the mellow light of the moon he buried the missionary, saying the lord's prayer over him, and reciting as much of the burial service as he could remember. then he went back to the _zaire_ and set a guard. in the morning sanders turned the nose of the _zaire_ down stream, and at sunset came to the big river--he had been sailing a tributary--and where the two rivers meet is the city of the akasava. they brought the paramount chief of all the people to him, and there was a palaver on the little bridge with a lantern placed on the deck and one limp candle therein to give light to the assembly. "chief," said sanders, "there is a dead white man in your territory, and i will have the hearts of the men who killed him, or by the death i will have your head." he said this evenly, without passion, yet he swore by _ewa_, which means death and is a most tremendous oath. the chief, squatting on the deck, fidgeting with his hands, shivered. "lord," he said, in a cracked voice, "this is a business of which i know nothing; this thing has happened in my territory, but so far from my hand that i can neither punish nor reward." sanders was silent save for an unsympathetic sniff. "also, master," said the chief, "if the truth be told, this palaver is not of the akasava alone, for all along the big river men are rebellious, obeying a new ju-ju more mighty than any other." "i know little of ju-jus," said sanders shortly, "only i know that a white man has died and his spirit walks abroad and will not rest until i have slain men. whether it be you or another i do not care--the palaver is finished." the chief rose awkwardly, brought up his hand in salute, and went shuffling down the sloping plank to land. as for sanders, he sat thinking, smoking one cigar after another. he sat long into the night. once he called his servant to replace the candle in the lantern and bring him a cushion for his head. he sat there until the buzzing little village hushed to sleep, until there was no sound but the whispering of bat wings as they came and went from the middle island--for bats love islands, especially the big vampire bats. at two o'clock in the morning he looked at his watch, picked up the lantern, and walked aft. he picked a way over sleeping men until he came to that part of the deck where a houssa squatted with loaded carbine watching the two prisoners. he stirred them gently with his foot, and they sat up blinking at his light. "you must tell me some more," he said. "how came this bad ju-ju to your land?" the man he addressed looked up at him. "lord, how comes rain or wind?" he said. "it was a sudden thought amongst the people. there were certain rites and certain dances, and we chopped a man; then we all painted our faces with camwood, and the maidens said 'kill!'" sanders could be very patient. "i am as your father and your mother," he said. "i carry you in my arms; when the waters came up and destroyed your gardens i came with manioc and salt and saved you; when the sickness came i brought white men who scraped your arms and put magic in your blood; i have made peace, and your wives are safe from m'gombi and isisi folk, yet you are for killing me." the other nodded. "that is true talk, master--but such is the way of ju-jus. they are very high things, and do not remember." sanders was worried; this matter was out of his reach. "what said the ju-ju?" "lord, it said very clearly, speaking through the mouth of an old man, m'fabaka of begeli----" "m'fabaka of begeli?" repeated sanders softly, and noted the name for a speedy hanging. "this old man saw a vision, and in this vision, which he saw with great pain and foaming at the mouth and hot eyeballs, he saw white men slain by black men and their houses burnt." "when was this?" "when the moon was full"--six days ago, thought sanders--"and he saw a great king with many legions marching through the land making all white men fear him." he went on to give, as only a native memory can recall, the minutest detail of the king's march; how he slew white men and women and put their house to flames; how his legions went dancing before him. "and all this happened at the full of the moon," he finished; "therefore we, too, went out to slay, and, knowing that your highness would be coming as is your custom to give judgment at this season of the year, it was thought wise to kill you, also the christ-man." he told all this in a matter-of-fact tone, and sanders knew that he spoke the truth. another man would have been more affected by that portion of the narrative which touched him most nearly, but it was the king ("a great man, very large about the middle"), and his devastating legions who occupied the commissioner's thoughts. there was truth behind this, he did not doubt that. there was a rising somewhere that he had not heard of; very quickly he passed in mental review the kings of the adjoining territories and of his own lands. bosambo of monrovia, that usurper of the ochori chieftainship, sent him from time to time news of the outlying peoples. there was no war, north or south or east. "i will see this old man m'fabaka of begeli," he said. begeli is a village that lies on an in-running arm of the river, so narrow that it seems like a little river, so still that it is apparently a lake. forests of huge trees slope down on either bank, and the trees are laced one to the other with great snake-like tendrils, and skirted at foot with rank undergrowth. the _zaire_ came cautiously down this stretch of calm water, two maxim guns significantly displayed at the bridge. a tiny little steamer this _zaire_. she had the big blue of england drooping from the flagstaff high above the stern wheel--an ominous sign, for when sanders flew the commissioner's flag it meant trouble for somebody. he stood on the deck coatless, signalling with his raised fingers to the man at the wheel. "phew!" an arrow was shivering in the wooden deck-house. he pulled it out and examined its hammered steel point carefully, then he threw it overboard. "bang!" a puff of smoke from the veiling foliage--a bullet splintered the back of his deck-chair. he reached down and took up a rifle, noticed the drift of the smoke and took careful aim. "bang!" there was no sign to show where the bullet struck, and the only sound that came back was the echo and the shrill swish of it as it lashed its way through the green bushes. there was no more shooting. "puck-apuck-puck-apuck-puck," went the stern wheel slowly, and the bows of the _zaire_ clove the calm waters and left a fan of foam behind. before the village was in view six war canoes, paddling abreast, came out to meet the commissioner. he rang the engines to "stop," and as the noise of them died away he could hear in the still air the beating of drums; through his glasses he saw fantastically-painted bodies, also a head stuck upon a spear. there had been a trader named ogilvie in this part of the world, a mild, uncleanly man who sold cloth and bought wild rubber. "five hundred yards," said sanders, and sergeant abiboo, fiddling with the grip of the port maxim, gave the cartridge belt a little pull, swung the muzzle forward, and looked earnestly along the sights. at the same time the houssa corporal, who stood by the tripod of the starboard gun, sat down on the little saddle seat of it with his thumb on the control. there came a spurt of smoke from the middle canoe; the bullet fell short. "ogilvie, my man," soliloquised sanders, "if you are alive--which i am sure you are not--you will explain to me the presence of these schneiders." nearer came the canoes, the paddle plunging rhythmically, a low, fierce drone of song accompanying the movement. "four hundred yards," said sanders, and the men at the maxims readjusted the sights. "the two middle canoes," said sanders. "fire!" a second pause. "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed the guns sardonically. sanders watched the havoc through his glasses. "the other canoes," he said briefly. "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" this gunner was a careful man, and fired spasmodically, desiring to see the effects of his shots. sanders saw men fall, saw one canoe sway and overturn, and the black heads of men in the water; he rang the steamer ahead full speed. somebody fired a shot from one of the uninjured canoes. the wind of the bullet fanned his face, he heard the smack of it as it struck the woodwork behind. there came another shot, and the boy at the wheel turned his head with a little grin to sanders. "lord," he mumbled in arabic, "this was ordained from the beginning." sanders slipped his arm about his shoulder and lowered him gently to the deck. "all things are with god," he said softly. "blessed be his name," whispered the dying boy. sanders caught the wheel as it spun and beckoned another steersman forward. the nose of the steamer had turned to the offending canoe. this was an unhappy circumstance for the men therein, for both guns now covered it, and they rattled together, and through the blue haze you saw the canoe emptied. that was the end of the fight. a warrior in the fifth boat held his spear horizontally above his head in token of surrender, and ten minutes later the chief of the rebels was on board. "master," he said calmly, as they led him to sanders' presence, "this is a bad palaver. how will you deal with me?" sanders looked at him steadily. "i will be merciful with you," he said, "for as soon as we come to the village i shall hang you." "so i thought," said the chief without moving a muscle; "and i have heard it said that you hang men very quickly so that they feel little pain." "that is my practice," said sanders of the river, and the chief nodded his head approvingly. "i would rather it were so," he said. it was to a sorrowful village that he came, for there were many women to wail their dead. sanders landed with his houssas and held a high palaver under the trees. "bring me the old man m'fabaka who sees visions," he said, and they brought him a man so old that he had nothing but bones to shape him. they carried him to the place of justice and set him down before the commissioner. "you are an evil man," said sanders, "and because your tongue has lied many men have died; to-day i hang your chief upon a tree, and with him certain others. if you stand before your people and say, 'such a story, and such a story was a lie and no other thing,' you may live your days; but, if you persist in your lying, by my god, and your god, you shall die!" it was a long time before the old man spoke, for he was very old and very frightened, and the fear of death, which is the ghost of some old men, was on him. "i spoke the truth," he quavered at last. "i spoke of what i saw and of what i knew--only that." sanders waited. "i saw the great king slay and burn; yesterday i saw him march his regiments to war, and there was a great shouting, and i saw smoke." he shook his head helplessly. "i saw these things. how can i say i saw nothing?" "what manner of king?" asked sanders. again there was a long interval of silence whilst the old man collected himself. "a great king," he said shakily, "as big as a bull about the middle, and he wore great, white feathers and the skin of a leopard." "you are mad," said sanders, and ended the palaver. * * * * * six days later sanders went back to headquarters, leaving behind him a chastened people. ill-news travels faster than steam can push a boat, and the little _zaire_, keeping to mid-stream with the blue flag flying, was an object of interest to many small villages, the people of which crowded down to their beaches and stood with folded arms, or with clenched knuckles at their lips to signify their perturbation, and shouted in monotonous chorus after the boat. "oh, sandi--father! how many evil ones have you slain to-day? oh, killer of devils--oh, hanger of trees!--we are full of virtues and do not fear." "ei-fo, kalaba? ei ko sandi! eiva fo elegi," etc. sanders went with the stream swiftly, for he wished to establish communication with his chief. somewhere in the country there was a revolt--that he knew. there was truth in all the old man had said before he died--for die he did of sheer panic and age. who was this king in revolt? not the king of the isisi, or of the m'gombi, nor of the people in the forelands beyond the ochori. the _zaire_ went swinging in to the government beach, and there was a captain of houssas to meet him. "land wire working?" said sanders as he stepped ashore. the houssa captain nodded. "what's the palaver?" he asked. "war of a kind," said sanders; "some king or other is on the rampage." and he told the story briefly. the houssa officer whistled. "by lord high keeper of the privy purse!" he swore mildly, "that's funny!" "you've a poisonous sense of humour!" sanders snapped. "hold hard," said the houssa, and caught his arm. "don't you know that lo benguela is in rebellion? the description fits him." sanders stopped. "of course," he said, and breathed a sigh of relief. "but," said the perplexed houssa officer, "matabeleland is three thousand miles away. rebellion started a week ago. how did these beggars know?" for answer sanders beckoned a naked man of the akasava people who was of his boat's crew, being a good chopper of wood. "i'fasi," he said, "tell me, what do they do in your country to-day?" the man grinned sheepishly, and stood on one leg in his embarrassment, for it was an honour to common men that sanders should address them by name. "lord, they go to hunt elephant," he said. "how many?" said sanders. "two villages," said the man, "for one village has sickness and cannot go." "how do you know this?" said sanders. "is not your country four days by river and three days by land?" the man looked uncomfortable. "it is as you say, master--yet i know," he said. sanders turned to the houssa with a smile. "there is quite a lot to be learnt in this country," he said. * * * * * a month later sanders received a cutting from the _cape times_. the part which interested him ran: " . . . the rumour generally credited by the matabele rebels that their adherents in the north had suffered a repulse lacks confirmation. the commissioner of barotseland denies the native story of a rebellious tribe, and states that as far as he knows the whole of his people have remained quiet. other northern commissioners state the same. there has been no sympathetic rising, though the natives are emphatic that in a 'far-away land,' which they cannot define, such a rebellion has occurred. the idea is, of course, absurd." sanders smiled again. chapter the last. dogs of war. chiefest of the restrictions placed upon the black man by his white protector is that which prevents him, when his angry passions rise, from taking his enemy by the throat and carving him with a broad, curved blade of native make. naturally, even the best behaved of the tribes chafe under this prohibition the british have made. you may be sure that the akasava memory is very short, and the punishment which attended their last misdoing is speedily forgotten in the opportunity and the temptation which must inevitably come as the years progress. thus, the akasava, learning of certain misdoings on the part of the ochori, found themselves in the novel possession of a genuine grievance, and prepared for war, first sending a message to "sandi," setting forth at some length the nature of the insult the ochori had offered them. fortunately, sanders was in the district, and came on the spot very quickly, holding palaver, and soothing an outraged nation as best he could. sanders was a tactful man, and tact does not necessarily imply soft-handedness. for there was a truculent soul who sat in the council and interpolated brusque questions. growing bolder as the commissioner answered suavely, he went, as a child or native will, across the border line which divides a good manner from a bad. sanders turned on him. "what base-born slave dog are you?" he asked; and whilst the man was carefully considering his answer, sanders kicked him down the slope of the hill on which the palaver house stood, and harmony was once more restored. very soon on the heels of this palaver came a bitter complaint from the isisi. it concerned fishing nets that had been ruthlessly destroyed by the lulungo folk, and this was a more difficult matter for sanders to settle. for one thing, all self-respecting people hate the lulungo, a dour, wicked, mischievous people, without shame or salt. but the isisi were pacified, and a messy war was averted. there were other and minor alarums--all these were in the days' work--but sanders worried about the lulungo, because of their general badness, and because of all his people, isisi, ikeli, akasava, and ochori, who hated the lulungo folk with a deep-rooted hatred. in his own heart, sanders knew that war could only be postponed, and so advised london, receiving in reply, from an agitated under-secretary in whitehall, the urgent request that the postponement should cover and extend beyond the conclusion of "the present financial year--for heaven's sake!" they had a proverb up in the lulungo district--three days' march beyond the akasava--and it is to this effect: "when a man hath a secret enemy and cannot find him, pull down his own hut and search among the dbris." this is a cumbersome translation. there is another proverb which says, "because of the enemy who lives in the shadow of your hut"; also another which says, "if you cannot find your enemy, kill your dearest friend." the tendency of all these proverbs is to show that the lulungo people took a gloomy view of life, and were naturally suspicious. sanders had a cook of the lulungo tribe, down at m'piti--which model city served as mr. commissioner's headquarters. he was a wanderer, and by way of being a cosmopolitan, having travelled as far north as dacca, and as far south as banana--and presumably up the congo to matadi. when he came to m'piti, applying for work, he was asked his name and replied in the "english" of the coast: "master, dey one call me sixpence all'time. i make 'um cook fine; you look 'um for better cook, you no find 'um--savvy." "and what," said sanders, in the lulungo dialect, "what mongrel talk do you call this?" "master, it is english," said the abashed native. "it is monkey talk," said sanders, cruelly; "the talk of krooboys and half-bred sailors who have no language. what are you called by your people?" "lataki, master," said the cook. "so shall you be called," said sanders. "further, you shall speak no language but your own, and your pay will be ten shillings a month." lataki made a good cook, and was a model citizen for exactly three months, at the end of which time sanders, returning unexpectedly from a hunting trip, found lataki asleep in his master's bed--lataki being very drunk, and two empty gin bottles by the bedside testifying mutely to his discredit. sanders called his police, and lataki was thrown into the lock-up to sober down, which he did in twenty-four hours. "i would have you understand," said sanders to the culprit the next day, "that i cannot allow my servants to get drunk; more especially i cannot allow my drunken servants to sleep off their potations on my bed." "lord, i am ashamed," said lataki cheerfully; "such things happen to a man who has seen much of the world." "you may say the same about the whipping you are about to receive," said sanders, and gave an order to the sergeant of police. lataki was no stoic and when, tied to a tree, ten strokes were laid upon his stout back by a bored houssa, he cried out very loudly against sanders, and against that civilisation of which sanders was the chosen instrument. after it was all over, and he had discovered that he was still alive, albeit sore, he confessed he had received little more than he deserved, and promised tearfully that the lesson should not be without result. sanders, who had nothing more to say in the matter, dismissed him to his duties. it was a week after this that the commissioner was dining in solitude on palm-oil chop--which is a delicious kind of coast curry--and chicken. he had begun his meal when he stopped suddenly, went to his office, and brought in a microscope. then he took a little of the "chop"--just as much as might go on the end of a pin--smeared it on a specimen glass, and focussed the instrument. what he saw interested him. he put away the microscope and sent for lataki; and lataki, in spotless white, came. "lataki," said sanders carelessly, "knowing the ways of white men, tell me how a master might do his servant honour?" the cook in the doorway hesitated. "there are many ways," he said, after a pause. "he might----" he stopped, not quite sure of his ground. "because you are a good servant, though possessed of faults," said sanders, "i wish to honour you; therefore i have chosen this way; you, who have slept in my bed unbidden, shall sit at my table with me at my command." the man hesitated, a little bewildered, then he shuffled forward and sat clumsily in the chair opposite his master. "i will wait upon you," said sanders, "according to the custom of your own people." he heaped two large spoonfuls of palm-oil chop upon the plate before the man. "eat," he said. but the man made no movement, sitting with his eyes upon the tablecloth. "eat," said sanders again, but still lataki sat motionless. then sanders rose, and went to the open doorway of his bungalow and blew a whistle. there was a patter of feet, and sergeant abiboo came with four houssas. "take this man," said sanders, "and put him in irons. to-morrow i will send him down country for judgment." he walked back to the table, when the men had gone with their prisoner, carefully removed the poisoned dish, and made a meal of eggs and bananas, into neither of which is it possible to introduce ground glass without running the risk of instant detection. ground glass--glass powdered so fine that it is like precipitated chalk to the touch--is a bad poison, because when it comes in contact with delicate membranes right down inside a man, it lacerates them and he dies, as the bad men of the coast know, and have known for hundreds of years. in the course of time lataki came before a judge who sat in a big thatched barn of a courthouse, and lataki brought three cousins, a brother, and a disinterested friend, to swear that sanders had put the glass in his own "chop" with malice aforethought. in spite of the unanimity of the evidence--the witnesses had no less than four rehearsals in a little hut the night before the trial--the prisoner was sentenced to fifteen years' penal servitude. here the matter would have ended, but for the lulungo people, who live far away in the north, and who chose to regard the imprisonment of their man as a _casus belli_. they were a suspicious people, a sullen, loveless, cruel people, and they were geographically favoured, for they lived on the edge of a territory which is indisputably french, and, moreover, unreachable. sanders sent flying messages to all the white people who lived within striking distance of the lulungo. there were six in all, made up of two missions, jesuit and baptist. they were most unsatisfactory people, as the following letters show: the first from the protestant: "losebi mission. "dear mr. commissioner,--my wife and i are very grateful to you for your warning, but god has called us to this place, and here we must stay, going about our master's business, until he, in his wisdom, ordains that we shall leave the scene of our labours." father holling wrote: "ebendo river. "dear sanders,--i think you are wrong about the lulungo people, several of whom i have seen recently. they are mighty civil, which is the only bad sign i have detected. i shall stay because i think i can fight off any attack they make. i have four martini-metford rifles, and three thousand rounds of ammunition, and this house, as you know, is built of stone. i hope you are wrong, but----" sanders took his steamboat, his maxim gun, and his houssa police, and went up the river, as far as the little stern-wheeler would carry him. at the end of every day's journey he would come to a place where the forest had been cleared, and where, stacked on the beach, was an orderly pile of wood. somewhere in the forest was a village whose contribution to the state this ever-replenished wood-pile was. night and day two sounding men with long rods, sitting at the steamer's bow, "stubbed" the water monotonously. shoal, sandbank, channel, shoal. sometimes, with a shuddering jar, the boat would slide along the flat surface of a hidden bank, and go flop into the deep water on the other side; sometimes, in the night, the boat would jump a bank to find itself in a little "lake" from which impassable ridges of hidden sand barred all egress. then the men would slip over the sides of the vessel and walk the sandy floor of the river, pushing the steamer into deep water. when sixty miles from the baptist mission, sanders got news from a friendly native: "lord, the lulungo came at early morning, taking away the missionary, his wife, and his daughter, to their city." sanders, yellow with fever, heavy-eyed from want of sleep, unshaven and grimy, wiped the perspiration from his head with the back of his hand. "take the steamer up the river," he said to abiboo. "i must sleep." he was awakened at four o'clock in the afternoon by the smashing of a water-bottle, which stood on a shelf by his bunk. it smashed for no apparent reason, and he was sprinkled with bits of glass and gouts of water. then he heard a rifle go "pang!" close at hand, and as he sprang up and opened the wire-woven door of his cabin, abiboo came to report. "there were two men firing from the bank," he said. "one i have shot." they were nearing the village now, and turning a sharp bend of the river they came in sight of it, and the little _zaire's_ siren yelled and squealed defiantly. sanders saw a crowd of men come down to the beach, saw the glitter of spears, and through his glasses the paint on the bodies of the men. then six canoes came racing out to meet the steamer. a corporal of houssas sat down nonchalantly on a little saddle-seat behind the brass maxim, and gripped its handles. "five hundred yards," said sanders, and the corporal adjusted the sight without perceptible hurry. the canoes came on at a hurricane speed, for the current was with them. the man behind the gun polished a dull place on the brass water-jacket with the blue sleeves of his coat, and looked up. sanders nodded. the canoes came nearer, one leading the rest in that race where hate nerved effort, and death was the prize. suddenly-"ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" laughed the little gun sardonically, and the leading canoe swung round broadside to the stream, because the men who steered it were dead, and half of the oarsmen also. "ha-ha-ha-h-a-a!" there was a wild scramble on the second canoe; it swayed, capsized, and the river was full of black heads, and the air resounded with shrill cries. as for the remainder of the flotilla it swung round and made for safety; the machine-gun corporal slipped in another belt of cartridges, and made good practice up to nine hundred yards, from which two canoes, frantically paddled, were comparatively safe. sanders put his tiny telegraph over to full speed ahead and followed. on the shore the lulungo made a stand, and missiles of many kinds struck the little steamer. but the maxim sprayed the village noisily, and soon there came a nervous man waving a palm leaf, and sanders ceased firing, and shouted through his megaphone that the messenger must swim aboard. "lord, we feel great shame," said the man. he stood in a wet place on the deck, and little rills of water dripped from him. "we did not know we fought sandi the lion, sandi the buffalo, before the stamp of whose mighty feet----" sanders cut him short. "there is a white man, a white woman, and a young girl in your city," he said. "bring them to the ship, and then i will sit in the palaver-house, and talk this matter over." the man shuffled uneasily. "master," he said, "the white man died of the sickness; the woman is ill also; as for the girl, i know nothing." sanders looked at him, his head on one side like an inquisitive bird. "bring me the white man, alive or dead," he said softly; "also the white woman, well or ill, and the girl." in an hour they brought the unfortunate missionary, having taken some time to make him look presentable. the wife of the missionary came in another canoe, four women holding her, because she was mad. "where is the girl?" asked sanders. he spoke very little above a whisper. the messenger made no answer. "the girl?" said sanders, and lashed him across the face with his thin stick. "master," muttered the man, with his head on his chest, "the chief has her." sanders took a turn up and down the deck, then he went to his cabin and came out with two revolvers belted to his hips. "i will go and see this chief," he said. "abiboo, do you run the boat's nose into the soft sand of the bank, covering the street with the maxim whilst i go ashore." he landed without opposition; neither gun banged nor spear flew as he walked swiftly up the broad street. the girl lay before the chiefs hut quite dead, very calm, very still. the hand to cut short her young life had been more merciful than sanders dared hope. he lifted the child in his arms, and carried her back to the ship. once he heard a slight noise behind him, but three rifles crashed from the ship, and he heard a thud and a whimper of pain. he brought the body on board, and laid it reverently on the little after-deck. then they told him that the woman had died, and he nodded his head slowly, saying it was better so. the _zaire_ backed out into mid-stream, and sanders stood watching the city wistfully. he wanted the chief of the lulungo badly; he wanted, in his cold rage, to stake him out in spread-eagle fashion, and kill him with slow fires. but the chief and his people were in the woods, and there were the french territories to fly to. in the evening he buried the missionary and his family on a little island, then drove downstream, black rage in his soul, and a sense of his impotence, for you cannot fight a nation with twenty houssa policemen. he came to a little "wooding" at dusk, and tied up for the night. in the morning he resumed his journey, and at noon he came, without a moment's warning, into the thick of a war fleet. there was no mistaking the character of the hundred canoes that came slowly up-stream four abreast, paddling with machine-like regularity. that line on the right were akasava men; you could tell that by the blunt noses of the dug-outs. on the left were the ochori; their canoes were streaked with red cornwood. in the centre, in lighter canoes of better make, he saw the white-barred faces of the isisi people. "in the name of heaven!" said sanders, with raised eyebrows. there was consternation enough in the fleet, and its irregular lines wavered and broke, but the _zaire_ went steaming into the midst of them. then sanders stopped his engines, and summoned the chiefs on board. "what shame is this?" said sanders. otako, of the isisi, king and elder chief, looked uncomfortably to ebeni of akasava, but it was bosambo, self-appointed ruler of the ochori, who spoke. "lord," he said, "who shall escape the never-sleeping eye of sandi? lo! we thought you many miles away, but like the owl----" "where do you go?" asked sanders. "lord, we will not deceive you," said bosambo. "these great chiefs are my brothers, because certain lulungo have come down upon our villages and done much harm, stealing and killing. therefore, because we have suffered equally, and are one in misfortune, we go up against the lulungo people, for we are human, and our hearts are sore." a grin, a wicked, mirthless grin, parted sanders' lips. "and you would burn and slay?" he asked. "master, such was the pleasure we had before us." "burning the city and slaying the chief, and scattering the people who hide in the forest?" "lord, though they hide in hell we will find them," said bosambo; "yet, if you, who are as a father to us all, say 'nay,' we will assemble our warriors and tell them it is forbidden." sanders thought of the three new graves on a little island. "go!" he said, pointing up the river. he stood on the deck of the _zaire_ and watched the last canoe as it rounded the bend, and listened to the drone of many voices, growing fainter and fainter, singing the song of the slayer, such as the isisi sing before action. the end. =transcriber's notes:= original hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original page 9, '"chief, said sanders' changed to '"chief," said sanders' page 14, "cailbraith" changed to "calbraith" page 107, "was simple there" changed to "was simple--there" page 110, "peace with him" changed to "peace with him." page 140, "his lips impatiently" changed to "his lips impatiently." page 145, "before the other?" changed to "before the other;" page 163, "for it we cannot" changed to "for if we cannot" page 163, "the way we go" changed to "the way we go." page 240, "midstream" changed to "mid-stream" [ed. for consistency] page 242, "the matebele rebels" changed to "the matabele rebels" scanned by jc byers, (www.wollamshram.ca/1001) proofread by the volunteers of the distributed proofreaders site. (http://charlz.dns2go.com/gutenberg/) two trips to gorilla land and the cataracts of the congo. by richard f. burton. in two volumes vol. i. london: 1876 "quisquis amat congi fines peragrare nigrantes, africæ et æthiopum cernere regna, domus, * * * * * * * perlegat hunc librum." fra angelus de map. piccardus. "timbuctoo travels, voyages to the poles, are ways to benefit mankind as true perhaps as shooting them at waterloo."--don juan. trieste, jan. 31, 1875. my dear sir george, our paths in life have been separated by a long interval. whilst inclination led you to explore and to'survey the wild wastes of the north, the arctic shores and the polar seas, with all their hardships and horrors; my lot was cast in the torrid regions of sind and arabia; in the luxuriant deserts of africa, and in the gorgeous tropical forests of the brazil. but the true traveller can always appreciate the record of another's experience, and perhaps the force of contrast makes him most enjoy the adventures differing the most from his own. to whom, then, more appropriately than to yourself, a discoverer of no ordinary note, a recorder of explorations, and, finally, an earnest labourer in the cause of geography, can i inscribe this plain, unvarnished tale of a soldier-traveller? kindly accept the trifle as a token of the warmest esteem, an earnest of my thankfulness for the interest ever shown by you in forwarding my plans and projects of adventure; and, in the heartfelt hope that allah may prolong your days, permit me to subscribe myself, your sincere admirer and grateful friend, richard f. burton. admiral sir george back, d.c.l., f.r.s., vice-pres. r.g.s., &c. preface. the notes which form the ground-work of these volumes have long been kept in the obscurity of manuscript: my studies of south america, of syria and palestine, of iceland, and of istria, left me scant time for the labour of preparation. leisure and opportunity have now offered themselves, and i avail myself of them in the hope that the publication will be found useful to more than one class of readers. the many who take an interest in the life of barbarous peoples may not be displeased to hear more about the fán; and the few who would try a fall with mister gorilla can learn from me how to equip themselves, whence to set out and whither to go for the best chance. travelling with m. paul b. du chaillu's "first expedition" in my hand, i jealously looked into every statement, and his numerous friends will be pleased to see how many of his assertions are confirmed by my experience. the second part is devoted to the nzadi or lower congo river, from the mouth to the yellala or main rapids, the gate by which the mighty stream, emerging from the plateau of inner africa, goes to its long home, the atlantic. some time must elapse before the second expedition, which left ambriz early in 1873, under lieutenant grandy, r. n., can submit its labours to the public: meanwhile these pages will, i trust, form a suitable introduction to the gallant explorer's travel in the interior. it would be preposterous to publish descriptions of any european country from information gathered ten years ago. but africa moves slowly, and thus we see that the results of an abyssinian journey (m. antoine d'abbadie's "géodésic d'ethiopie," which took place about 1845, are not considered obsolete in 1873. after a languid conviction during the last half century of owning some ground upon the west coast of africa, england has been rudely aroused by a little war which will have large consequences. the causes that led to the "ashantee campaign," a negro copy of the negroid abyssinian, may be broadly laid down as general incuriousness, local mismanagement, and the operation of unprincipled journalism. it is not a little amusing to hear the complaints of the public that plain truth about the african has not been told. i could cite more than one name that has done so. but what was the result? we were all soundly abused by the negrophile; the multitude cared little about reading "unpopular opinions;" and then, when the fulness of time came, it turned upon us, and rent us, and asked why we had not spoken freely concerning ashanti and fanti, and all the herd. my "wanderings in west africa" is a case in point: so little has it been read, that a president of the royal geographical society (african section of the society of arts journal, feb. 6, 1874) could state, "if fantees are cowardly and lazy, krumen are brave;" the latter being the most notorious poltroons on the west african seaboard. the hostilities on the gold coast might have been averted with honour to ourselves at any time between 1863 and 1870, by a colonial office mission and a couple of thousand pounds. i need hardly say what has been the case now. the first steps were taken with needless disasters, and the effect has been far different from what we intended or what was advisable. for a score of years we (travellers) have been advising the english statesman not to despise the cunning of barbarous tribes, never to attempt finessing with asiatic or african; to treat these races with perfect sincerity and truthfulness. i have insisted, and it is now seen with what reason, that every attempt at deception, at asserting the "thing which is not," will presently meet with the reward it deserves. i can only regret that my counsels have not made themselves heard. yet this ignoble war between barbarous tribes whom it has long been the fashion to pet, this poor scuffle between the breechloader and the birmingham trade musket, may yet in one sense do good. it must perforce draw public attention to the west coast of africa, and raise the question, "what shall we do with it?" my humble opinion, expressed early in 1865 to the right honourable mr. adderley, has ever been this. if we are determined not to follow the example of the french, the dutch, the portuguese, and the spaniards, and not to use the country as a convict station, resolving to consume, as it were, our crime at home, we should also resolve to retain only a few ports and forts, without territory, at points commanding commerce, after the fashion of the lusitanians in the old heroic days. the export slave-trade is now dead and buried; the want of demand must prevent its revival; and free emigration has yet to be created. as mr. bright rightly teaches, strong places and garrisons are not necessary to foster trade and to promote the success of missions. the best proof on the west african coast is to be found in the so-called oil rivers, where we have never held a mile of ground, and where our commerce prospers most. the great "tribune" will forgive my agreeing in opinion with him when he finds that we differ upon one most important point. it is the merchant, not the garrison, that causes african wars. if the home authorities would avoid a campaign, let them commit their difficulty to a soldier, not to a civilian. the chronic discontent of the so-called "civilized" african, the contempt of the rulers if not of the rule, and the bitter hatred between the three races, white, black, and black-white, fomented by many an unprincipled print, which fills its pocket with coin of cant and christian charity, will end in even greater scandals than the last disreputable war. if the damnosa licentia be not suppressed--and where are the strong hands to suppress it?--we may expect to see the scenes of jamaica revived with improvements at sierra leone. however unwilling i am to cut off any part of our great and extended empire, to renew anywhere, even in africa, the process of dismemberment--the policy which cast off corfu--it is evident to me that english occupation of the west african coast has but slightly forwarded the cause of humanity, and that upon the whole it has proved a remarkable failure. we can be wise in time. richard f. burton. p.s.--since these pages were written, a name which frequently occurs in them has become a memory to his friends--i allude to w. winwood reade, and i deplore his loss. the highest type of englishman, brave and fearless as he was gentle and loving, his short life of thirty-seven years shows how much may be done by the honest, thorough worker. he had emphatically the courage of his opinions, and he towered a cubit above the crowd by telling not only the truth, as most of us do, but the whole truth, which so few can afford to do. his personal courage in battle during the ashanti campaign, where the author of "savage africa" became correspondent of the "times," is a matter of history. his noble candour in publishing the "martyrdom of man" is an example and a model to us who survive him. and he died calmly and courageously as he lived, died in harness, died as he had resolved to die, like the good and gallant gentleman of ancient lineage that he was. contents of vol. i. chapter i. landing at the rio gabão (gaboon river).--le plateau, the french colony chapter ii. the departure.--the tornado.--arrival at "the bush" chapter iii. geography of the gaboon chapter iv. the minor tribes and the mpongwe chapter v. to sánga-tánga and back chapter vi. village life in pongo-land chapter vii. return to the river chapter viii. up the gaboon river chapter ix. a specimen day with the fán cannibals chapter x. to the mbíka (hill); the sources of the gaboon.- return to the plateau chapter. xi. mr., mrs., and master gorilla chapter xii. corisco.--"home" to fernando po part i. the gaboon river and gorilla land. "it was my hint to speak, such was my process; and of the cannibals that each other eat, the anthropophagi, and men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders."�othello. part i. trip to gorilla land. chapter i. landing at the rio gabão (gaboon river).--le plateau, the french colony. i remember with lively pleasure my first glance at the classic stream of the "portingal captains" and the "zeeland interlopers." the ten-mile breadth of the noble gaboon estuary somewhat dwarfed the features of either shore as we rattled past cape santa clara, a venerable name, "'verted" to joinville. the bold northern head, though not "very high land," makes some display, because we see it in a better light; and its environs are set off by a line of scattered villages. the vis-a-vis of louis philippe peninsula on the starboard bow (zuidhoeck), "sandy point" or sandhoeck, by the natives called pongára, and by the french péninsule de marieamélie, shows a mere fringe of dark bristle, which is tree, based upon a broad red-yellow streak, which is land. as we pass through the slightly overhung mouth, we can hardly complain with a late traveller of the gaboon's "sluggish waters;" during the ebb they run like a mild mill-race, and when the current, setting to the north-west, meets a strong sea-breeze from the west, there is a criss-cross, a tide-rip, contemptible enough to a cruizer, but quite capable of filling cock-boats. and, nearing the end of our voyage, we rejoice to see that the dull down-pourings and the sharp storms of fernando po have apparently not yet migrated so far south. dancing blue wavelets, under the soft azure sky, plash and cream upon the pure clean sand that projects here and there black lines of porous ironstone waiting to become piers; and the water-line is backed by swelling ridges, here open and greengrassed, there spotted with islets of close and shady trees. mangrove, that horror of the african voyager, shines by its absence; and the soil is not mud, but humus based on gravels or on ruddy clays, stiff and retentive. the formation, in fact, is everywhere that of eyo or yoruba, the goodly region lying west of the lower niger, and its fertility must result from the abundant water supply of the equatorial belt. the charts are fearful to look upon. the embouchure, well known to old traders, has been scientifically surveyed in our day by lieutenant alph. fleuriot de langle, of la malouine (1845), and the chart was corrected from a survey ordered by capitaine bouëtwillaumez (1849); in the latter year it was again revised by m. charles floix, of the french navy, and, with additions by the officers of her britannic majesty's service, it becomes our no. 1877. the surface is a labyrinth of banks, rocks, and shoals, "ely," "nisus," "alligator," and "caraibe." in such surroundings as these, when the water shallows apace, the pilot must not be despised. her majesty's steam-ship "griffon," commander perry, found herself, at 2 p.m. on monday, march, 17, 1862, in a snug berth opposite le plateau, as the capital of the french colony is called, and amongst the shipping of its chief port, aumale road. the river at this neck is about five miles broad, and the scene was characteristically french. hardly a merchant vessel lay there. we had no less than four naval consorts "la caravane," guard-ship, store-ship, and hospital-hulk; a fine transport, "la riège," bound for goree; "la recherche," a wretched old sailing corvette which plies to assini and grand basam on the gold coast; and, lastly, "la junon," chef de division baron didelot, then one of the finest frigates in the french navy, armed with fifty rifled sixty-eight pounders. it is curious that, whilst our neighbours build such splendid craft, and look so neat and natty in naval uniform, they pay so little regard to the order and cleanliness of their floating homes. after visiting every english colony on the west coast of africa, i resolved curiously to examine my first specimen of our rivals, the "principal centre of trade in western equatorial africa." the earliest visit--in uniform, of course--was to baron didelot, whose official title is "commandant supérieur des établissements de la côte d'or et du gabon;" the following was to m. h. s. l'aulnois, "lieutenant de vaisseau et commandant particulier du comptoir de gabon." these gentlemen have neat bungalows and gardens; they may spend their days ashore, but they are very careful to sleep on board. all the official whites appear to have a morbid horror of the climate; when attacked by fever, they "cave in" at once, and recovery can hardly be expected. this year also, owing to scanty rains, sickness has been rife, and many cases which began with normal mildness have ended suddenly and fatally. besides fear of fever, they are victims to ennui and nostalgia; and, expecting the comptoir to pay large profits, they are greatly disappointed by the reverse being the case. but how can they look for it to be otherwise? the modern french appear fit to manage only garrisons and military posts. they will make everything official, and they will not remember the protest against governing too much, offered by the burgesses of paris to louis le grand. they are always on duty; they are never out of uniform, mentally and metaphorically, as well as bodily and literally. nothing is done without delay, even in the matter of signing a ship's papers. a long procès-verbal takes the place of our summary punishment, and the gros canon is dragged into use on every occasion, even to enforce the payment of native debts. in the gaboon, also, there is a complication of national jealousy, suggesting the mastiff and the poodle. a perpetual war rages about flags. english craft may carry their colours as far up stream as coniquet island; beyond this point they must either hoist a french ensign, or sail without bunting--should the commodore permit. otherwise they will be detained by the commander of the hulk "l'oise," stationed at anenge-nenge, some thirty-eight to forty miles above le plateau. lately a captain gordon, employed by mr. francis wookey of taunton, was ordered to pull down his flag: those who know the "mariner of england" will appreciate his feelings on the occasion. small vessels belonging to foreigners, and employed in cabotage, must not sail with their own papers, and even a change of name is effected under difficulties. about a week before my arrival a certain panteutonic hamburgher, herr b--, amused himself, after a copious breakfast, with hoisting and saluting the union jack, in honour of a distinguished guest, major l--. report was at once spread that the tricolor had been hauled down "with extreme indignity;" and the commodore took the trouble to reprimand the white, and to imprison "tom case," the black in whose town the outrage had been allowed. this by way of parenthesis. my next step was to request the pleasure of a visit from messrs. hogg and kirkwood, who were in charge of the english factories at glass town and olomi; they came down stream at once, and kindly acted as ciceroni around le plateau. the landing is good; a reef has been converted into a jetty and little breakwater; behind this segment of a circle we disembarked without any danger of being washed out of the boat, as at s'a leone, cape coast castle, and accra. unfortunately just above this pier there is a dutch-like jardin d'été--beds of dirty weeds bordering a foul and stagnant swamp, while below the settlement appears a huge coal-shed: the expensive mineral is always dangerous when exposed in the tropics, and some thirty per cent. would be saved by sending out a hulk. the next point is the hotel and restaurant fischer--pronounced fi-cherre, belonging to an energetic german-swiss widow, who during six years' exile had amassed some 65,000 francs. in an evil hour she sent a thieving servant before the "commissaire de police;" the negress escaped punishment, but the verandah with its appurtenances caught fire, and everything, even the unpacked billiard-table, was burnt to ashes. still, madame the brave never lost heart. she applied herself valiantly as a white ant to repairing her broken home, and, wonderful to relate in this land of no labour, ruled by the maxim "festina lente," all had been restored within six months. we shall dine at her table d'hôte. our guide led up and along the river bank, where there is almost a kilometre of road facing six or seven kilometres of nature's highway--the stream. the swampy jungle is not cleared off from about the comptoir, and presently the perfume of the fat, rank weeds; and the wretched bridges, a few planks spanning black and fetid mud, drove us northwards or inland, towards the neat house and grounds of the "commandant particulier." the outside walls, built in grades with the porous, dark-red, laterite-like stone dredged from the river, are whitewashed with burnt coralline and look clean; whilst the house, one of the best in the place, is french, that is to say, pretty. near it is a cluster of native huts, mostly with walls of corded bamboo, some dabbed with clay and lime, and all roofed with the ever shabby-looking palm-leaf; none are as neat as those of the "bushmen" in the interior, where they are regularly and carefully made like baskets or panniers. the people appeared friendly; the men touched their hats, and the women dropped unmistakably significant curtsies. after admiring the picturesque bush and the natural avenues behind le plateau, we diverged towards the local père-la-chaise. the new cemetery, surrounded by a tall stone wall and approached by a large locked gate, contains only four tombs; the old burial ground opposite is unwalled, open, and painfully crowded; the trees have run wild, the crosses cumber the ground, the gravestones are tilted up and down; in fact the foul golgotha of santos, são paulo, the brazil, is not more ragged, shabby, and neglected. we were shown the last resting-place of m. du chaillu pere, agent to messrs. oppenheim, the old parisian house: he died here in 1856. resuming our way parallel with, but distant from the river, we passed a bran-new military storehouse, bright with whitewash. outside the compound lay the lines of the "zouaves," some forty negroes whom goree has supplied to the gaboon; they were accompanied by a number of intelligent mechanics, who loudly complained of having been kidnapped, coolie-fashion. we then debouched upon fort aumale; from the anchorage it appears a whitewashed square, whose feet are dipped in bright green vegetation, and its head wears a dingy brown roof-thatch. a nearer view shows a pair of semi-detached houses, built upon arches, and separated by a thoroughfare; the cleaner of the two is a hospital; the dingier, which is decorated with the browngreen stains, the normal complexion of tropical masonry, lodges the station commandant and the medical officers. fronting the former and by the side of an avenue that runs towards the sea is an unfinished magazine of stone, and to the right, as you front the sun, lies the garden of the "commandant du comptoir," choked with tropical weeds. altogether there is a scattered look about the metropolis of the "gabon," which numbers one foot of house to a thousand of "compound." suddenly a bonnet like a pair of white gulls wings and a blue serge gown fled from us, despite the weight of years, like a young gazelle; the wearer was a sister of charity, one of five bonnes s�urs. their bungalow is roomy and comfortable, near a little chapel and a largish school, whence issue towards sunset the well-known sounds of the angelus. at some distance down stream and on the right or northern bank lies a convent, and a house superintended by the original establisher of the mission in 1844, the bishop, mgr. bessieux, who died in 1872, aged 70. there are extensive plantations, but the people are too lazy to take example from them. before we hear the loud cry à table, we may shortly describe the civilized career of the gaboon. in 1842, when french and english rivalry, burning hot on both sides of the channel, extended deep into the tropics and spurned the equator, and when every naval officer, high and low, went mad about concluding treaties and conquering territory on paper, france was persuaded to set up a naval station in gorilla-land. the northern and the southern shore each had a king, whose consent, after a careless fashion, was considered decorous. his majesty of the north was old king glass[fn#1] and his chief "tradesman," that is, his premier, was the late toko, a shrewd and far-seeing statesman. his majesty of the south was rapwensembo, known to the english as king william, to the french as roi denis. matters being in this state, m. le comte bouët-willaumez, then capitaine de vaisseau and governor of senegal, resolved, coûte que coûte, to have his fortified comptoir. evidently the northern shore was preferable; it was more populous and more healthy, facing the fresh southerly winds. during the preliminary negotiations toko, partial to the english, whose language he spoke fluently, and with whom the glass family had ever been friendly, thwarted the design with all his might, and, despite threats and bribes, honestly kept up his opposition to the last. roi denis, on the other hand, who had been decorated with the légion d'honneur for saving certain shipwrecked sailors, who knew french well, and who hoped to be made king of the whole country, favoured to the utmost gallic views, taking especial care, however, to place the broad river between himself and his white friends. m. de moleon, capitaine de frégate, and commanding the brig "le zèbre," occupied the place, mr. wilson[fn#2]("western africa," p. 254) says by force of arms, but that is probably an exaggeration. to bring our history to an end, the sons of japheth overcame the children of ham, and, as the natives said, "toko he muss love frenchman, all but out of (anglicè 'in') his heart." as in the streets of paris, so in every french city at home and abroad, "verborum vetus interit ætas," and an old colonial chart often reads like a lesson in modern history. here we still find under the empire the constitutional monarchy of 1842-3. mount bouët leads to fort "aumale:" point joinville, at the north jaw of the river, faces cap montagnies: parrot has become "adelaide," and coniquet "orleans" island. indeed the love of louis-philippe's family has lingered in many a corner where one would least expect to meet it, and in 1869 i found "port saeed" a hot-bed of orleanism. the hotel verandah was crowded with the minor officials, the surgeons, and the clerks of the comptoir, drinking absinthe and colicky vermouth, smoking veritable "weeds," playing at dominoes, and contending who could talk longest and loudest. at 7 p.m. the word was given to "fall to." the room was small and exceedingly close; the social board was big and very rickety. the clientèle rushed in like backwoodsmen on board a mississippi floatingpalace, stripped off their coats, tucked up their sleeves, and, knife in one hand and bread in the other, advanced gallantly to the fray. they began by quarrelling about carving; one made a sporting offer to découper la soupe, but he would go no farther; and madame, as the head of the table, ended by asking my factotum, selim agha, to "have the kindness." the din, the heat, the flare of composition candles which gave 45 per cent. less of light than they ought, the blunders of the slaves, the objurgations of the hostess, and the spectacled face opposite me, were as much as i could bear, and a trifle more. no wonder that the resident english merchants avoid the table-d'hôte. provisions are dear and scarce at the gaboon, where, as in other parts of west africa, the negro will not part with his animals, unless paid at the rate of some twenty-two or twenty-three shillings for a lean goat or sheep. yet the dinner is copious; the employés contribute, their rations; and thus the table shows beef twice a week. black cattle are imported from various parts of the coast, north and south; perhaps those of the kru country stand the climate best; the government yard is well stocked, and the polite commodore readily allows our cruizers to buy bullocks. madame also is not a "bird with a long bill;" the dinner, including piquette, alias vin ordinaire, coffee, and the petit verre, costs five francs to the stranger, and one franc less pays the déjeuner a la fourchette--most men here eat two dinners. the soi-disant médoc (forty francs per dozen) is tolerable, and the cassis (thirty francs) is drinkable. i am talking in the present of things twelve years past. what a shadowy, ghostly table d'hôte it has now become to me! after dinner appeared cigar and pipe, which were enjoyed in the verandah: i sat up late, admiring the intense brilliancy of the white and blue lightning, but auguring badly for the future,-natives will not hunt during the rains. a strong wind was blowing from the north-east, which, with the north-north-east, is here, as at fernando po and camaronen, the stormy quarter. a "dry tornado," however, was the only result that night. my trip to gorilla-land was limited by the cruise upon which h.m.s.s. "griffon" had been ordered, namely, to and from the south coast with mail-bags. many of those whom i had wished to see were absent; but mr. hogg set to work in the most businesslike style. he borrowed a boat from the rev. william walker, of the gaboon mission, who kindly wrote that i should have something less cranky if i could wait awhile; he manned it with three of his own krumen, and he collected the necessary stores and supplies of cloth, pipes and tobacco, rum, white wine, and absinthe for the natives. my private stores cost some 200 francs. they consisted of candles, sugar, bread, cocoa, desiccated milk, and potatoes; cognac and médoc; ham, sausages, soups, and preserved meats, the latter french and, as usual, very good and very dear. the total expenditure for twelve days was 300 francs. my indispensables were reduced to three loads, and i had four "pull-a-boys," one a mpongwe, mwáká alias captain merrick, a model sluggard; and messrs. smoke, joe williams, and tom whistle-kru-men, called kru-boys. this is not upon the principle, as some suppose, of the grey-headed post-boy and drummer-boy: all the kraoh tribes end their names in bo, e.g. worebo, from "wore," to capsize a canoe; grebo, from the monkey "gre" or "gle;" and many others. bo became "boy," even as sipahi (sepoy) became seapie, and sukhani (steersman) sea-coney. gaboon is french, with a purely english trade. gambia is english, with a purely french trade; the latter is the result of many causes, but especially of the large neighbouring establishments at goree, saint louis de sénégal, and saint joseph de galam. exchanging the two was long held the soundest of policy. the french hoped by it to secure their darling object,--exclusive possession of the maritime regions, as well as the interior, leading to the gold mines of the mandengas (mandingas), and allowing overland connection with their algerine colony. the english also seemed willing enough to "swop" an effete and dilapidated settlement, surrounded by more powerful rivals--a hot-bed of dysentery and yellow fever, a blot upon the fair face of earth, even african earth--for a new and fresh country, with a comparatively good climate, in which the thermometer ranges between 65° (fahr.) and 90°, with a barometer as high as the heat allows; and where, being at home and unwatched, they could subject a lingering slave-trade to a regular british puttingdown. but, when matters came to the point in 1870-71, the proposed bargain excited a storm of sentimental wrath which was as queer as unexpected. the french object to part with the gaboon, as the germans appear inclined to settle upon the ogobe river. in england, cotton, civilization, and even christianity were thrust forward by half-a-dozen merchants, and by a few venal colonial prints. the question assumed the angriest aspect; and, lastly, the prussian-french war underwrote the negotiations with a finis pro temp. i hope to see them renewed; and i hope still more ardently to see the day when we shall either put our socalled "colonies" on the west coast of africa to their only proper use, convict stations, or when, if we are determined upon consuming our own crime at home, we shall make up our minds to restore them to the negro and the hyaena, their "old inhabitants." at the time of my visit, the gaboon river had four english traders; viz. 1. messrs. laughland and co., provision-merchants, fernando po and glasgow. their resident agent was mr. kirkwood. 2. messrs. hatton and cookson, general merchants, liverpool. their chief agent, mr. r.b.n. walker, who had known the river for eleven years (1865), had left a few days before my arrival; his successor, mr. r.b. knight, had also sailed for cape palmas, to engage kru-men, and mr. hogg had been left in charge. 3. messrs. wookey and dyer, general merchants, liverpool. agents, messrs. gordon and bryant. 4. messrs. bruford and townsend, of bristol. agent, captain townsend. the resident agents for the hamburg houses were messrs. henert and bremer. the english traders in the gaboon are nominally protected by the consulate of sao paulo de loanda, but the distance appears too great for consul or cruizer. they are naturally anxious for some support, and they agitate for an unpaid consular agent: at present they have, in african parlance, no "back." a kruman, offended by a ration of plantains, when he prefers rice, runs to the plateau, and lays some fictitious complaint before the commandant. monsieur summons the merchant, condemns him to pay a fine, and dismisses the affair without even permitting a protest. hence, impudent robbery occurs every day. the discontent of the white reacts upon his clients the black men; of late, les gabons, as the french call the natives, have gone so far as to declare that foreigners have no right to the upper river, which is all private property. the line drawn by them is at fetish rock, off pointe française, near the native village of mpíra, about half a mile above the plateau; and they would hail with pleasure a transfer to masters who are not so uncommonly ready with their gros canons. the gaboon trade is chronicled by john barbot, agent-general of the french west african company, "description of the coast of south guinea," churchill, vol. v. book iv. chap. 9; and the chief items were, and still are, ivory and beeswax. of the former, 90,000 lbs. may be exported when the home prices are good, and sometimes the total has reached 100 tons. hippopotamus tusks are dying out, being now worth only 2s. per lb. other exports are caoutchouc, ebony (of which the best comes from the congo), and camwood or barwood (a tephrosia). m. du chaillu calls it the "ego-tree;" the natives (mpongwe) name the tree igo, and the billet ezígo. chapter ii. the departure.--the tornado.--arrival at "the bush." i set out early on march 19th, a day, at that time, to me the most melancholy in the year, but now regarded with philosophic indifference. a parting visit to the gallant "griffons," who threw the slipper, in the shape of three hearty cheers and a "tiger," wasted a whole morning. it was 12.30 p.m. before the mission boat turned her head towards the southern bank, and her crew began to pull in the desultory manner of the undisciplined negro. the morning had been clear but close, till a fine sea breeze set in unusually early. "the doctor" seldom rises in the gaboon before noon at this season; often he delays his visit till 2 p.m., and sometimes he does not appear at all. on the other hand, he is fond of late hours. before we had progressed a mile, suspicious gatherings of slaty-blue cloud-heaps advanced from the north-east against the wind, with a steady and pertinacious speed, showing that mischief was meant. the "cruel, crawling sea" began to rough, purr, and tumble; a heavy cross swell from the south-west dandled the up-torn mangrove twigs, as they floated past us down stream, and threatened to swamp the deeply laden and cranky old boat, which was far off letter a1 of lloyd's. the oarsmen became sulky because they were not allowed to make sail, which, in case of a sudden squall, could not have been taken in under half an hour. patience! little can be done, on the first day, with these demi-semi-europeanized africans, except to succeed in the inevitable trial of strength. the purple sky-ground backing the gaboon's upper course admirably set off all its features. upon the sea horizon, where the river measures some thirty miles across, i could distinctly see the junction of the two main branches, the true olo' mpongwe, the main stream flowing from the eastern ghats, and the rembwe (ramboue) or south-eastern influent. at the confluence, treedots, tipping the watery marge, denoted what barbot calls the "pongo islands." these are the quoin-shaped mass "dámbe" (orleans island) alias "coniquet" (the conelet), often corrupted to konikey; the konig island of the old hollander,[fn#3] and the prince's island of the ancient briton. it was so called because held by the mwáni-pongo, who was to this region what the mwánicongo was farther south. the palace was large but very mean, a shell of woven reeds roofed with banana leaves: the people, then mere savages, called their st. james' "goli-patta," or "royal house," in imitation of a more civilized race near cape lopez. the imperial islet is some six miles in circumference; it was once very well peopled, and here ships used to be careened. the northern point which starts out to meet it is ovindo (owëendo of old), alias red point, alias "rodney's," remarkable for its fair savannah, of which feature more presently. in mid-stream lies mbini (embenee), successively papegay, parrot--there is one in every europeo-african river--and adelaide island. between ovindo point, at the northern bend of the stream, stand the so-called "english villages," divided from the french by marshy ground submerged during heavy rains. the highest upstream is olomi, otonda-naga, or town of "cabinda," a son of the late king. next comes glass town, belonging to a dynasty which has lasted a century--longer than many of its european brethren. in 1787 a large ship-bell was sent as a token of regard by a bristol house, sydenham and co., to an old, old "king glass," whose descendants still reign. olomi and glass town are preferred by the english, as their factories catch the sea-breeze better than can le plateau: the nearer swamps are now almost drained off, and the distance from the "authorities" is enough for comfort. follow comba (komba) and tom case, the latter called after case glass, a scion of the glasses, who was preferred as captain's "tradesman" by captain vidal, r.n., in 1827, because he had "two virtues which rarely fall to the lot of savages, namely, a mild, quiet manner, and a low tone of voice when speaking." tom qua ben, justly proud of the "laced coat of a mail coach guard," was chosen by captain boteler, r.n. the list concludes with butabeya, james town, and mpira. these villages are not built street-wise after mpongwe fashion. they are scatters of shabby mat-huts, abandoned after every freeman's death; and they hardly emerge from the luxuriant undergrowth of manioc and banana, sensitive plant and physic nut (jatropha curcas), clustering round a palm here and there. often they are made to look extra mean by a noble "cottonwood," or bombax (pentandrium), standing on its stalwart braces like an old sea-dog with parted legs; extending its roots over a square acre of soil, shedding filmy shade upon the surrounding underwood, and at all times ready, like a certain chestnut, to shelter a hundred horses. between the plateau and santa clara, beginning some two miles below the former, are those hated and hating rivals, louis town, qua ben, and prince krinje, the french settlements. the latter is named after a venerable villain who took in every white man with whom he had dealings, till the new colony abolished that exclusive agency, that monopoly so sacred in negro eyes, which here corresponded with the abbánat of the somal. mr. wilson (p. 252) recounts with zest a notable trick played by this "little, old, grey-headed, humpback man" upon captain bouët-willaumez, and mr. w. winwood reade (chap, xi.) has ably dramatized "krinji, king george and the commandant." on another occasion, the whole population of the gaboon was compelled by a french man-o-war to pay "prince cringy's" debts, and he fell into disfavour only when he attempted to wreck a frigate by way of turning an honest penny. but soon we had something to think of besides the view. the tumultuous assemblage of dark, dense clouds, resting upon the river-surface in our rear, formed line or rather lines, step upon step, and tier on tier. while the sun shone treacherously gay, a dismal livid gloom palled the eastern sky, descending to the watery horizon; and the estuary, beneath the sable hangings which began to depend from the cloud canopy, gleamed with a ghastly whitish green. distant thunders rumbled and muttered, and flashes of the broadest sheets inclosed fork and chain lightning; the lift-fire zigzagged in tangled skeins here of chalk-white threads, there of violet wires, to the surface of earth and sea. presently nimbus-step, tier and canopy, gradually breaking up, formed a low arch regular as the bifröst bridge which odin treads, spanning a space between the horizon, ninety degrees broad and more. the sharply cut soffit, which was thrown out in darkest relief by the dim and sallow light of the underlying sky, waxed pendent and ragged, as though broken by a torrent of storm. what is technically called the "ox-eye," the "egg of the tornado," appeared in a fragment of space, glistening below the gloomy rain-arch. the wind ceased to blow; every sound was hushed as though nature were nerving herself, silent for the throe, and our looks said, "in five minutes it will be down upon us." and now it comes. a cold blast smelling of rain, and a few drops or rather splashes, big as gooseberries and striking with a blow, are followed by a howling squall, sharp and sudden puffs, pulsations and gusts; at length a steady gush like a rush of steam issues from that awful arch, which, after darkening the heavens like an eclipse, collapses in fragmentary torrents of blinding rain. in the midst of the spoon-drift we see, or we think we see, "la junon" gliding like a phantom-ship towards the river mouth. the lightning seems to work its way into our eyes, the air-shaking thunder rolls and roars around our very ears; the oars are taken in utterly useless, the storm-wind sweeps the boat before it at full speed as though it had been a bit of straw. selim and i sat with a large mackintosh sheet over our hunched backs, thus offering a breakwater to the waves; happily for us, the billow-heads were partly cut off and carried away bodily by the raging wind, and the opened fountains of the firmament beat down the breakers before they could grow to their full growth. otherwise we were lost men; the southern shore was still two miles distant, and, as it was, the danger was not despicable. these tornadoes are harmless enough to a cruiser, and under a good roof men bless them. but h.m.s. "heron" was sunk by one, and the venture of a cranky gig laden à fleur d'eau is what some call "tempting providence." stunned with thunder, dazzled by the vivid flashes of white lightning, dizzy with the drive of the boat, and drenched by the torrents and washings from above and below, we were not a little pleased to feel the storm-wind slowly lulling, as it had cooled the heated regions ahead, and to see the sky steadily clearing up behind, as the blackness of the cloud, rushing with racer speed, passed over and beyond us. the increasing stillness of the sea raised our spirits; "for nature, only loud when she destroys, is silent when she fashions." but the storm-demon's name is "tornado" (cyclone): it will probably veer round to the south, where, meeting the dry clouds that are gathering and massing there, it will involve us in another fray. meanwhile we are safe, and as the mist clears off we sight the southern shore. the humbler elevation, notably different from the northern bank, is dotted with villages and clearings. the péninsula de marie-amélie, alias "round corner," the innermost southern point visible from the mouth, projects to the north-north-east in a line of scattered islets at high tides, ending in le bois fétiche, a clump of tall trees somewhat extensively used for picnics. it has served for worse purposes, as the name shows. a total of two hours landed me from the comte de paris roads upon the open sandy strip that supports denistown; the single broad street runs at right angles from the river, the better to catch the sea-breeze, and most of the huts have open gables, a practice strongly to be recommended. le roi would not expose himself to the damp air; the consul was not so particular. his majesty's levée took place in the verandah of a poor bamboo hut, one of the dozen which compose his capital. seated in a chair and ready for business, he was surrounded by a crowd of courtiers, who listened attentively to every word, especially when he affected to whisper; and some pretty women collected to peep round the corners at the utangáni (white man). [fn#4] mr. wilson described roi denis in 1856 as a man of middle stature, with compact frame and well-made, of great muscular power, about sixty years old, very black by contrast with the snow-white beard veiling his brown face. "he has a mild and expressive eye, a gentle and persuasive voice, equally affable and dignified; and, taken altogether, he is one of the most kinglike looking men i have ever met in africa," says the reverend gentleman. the account reminded me of kimwere the lion of usumbara, drawn by dr. krapf. perhaps six years had exercised a degeneratory effect upon roi denis, or perchance i have more realism than sentiment; my eyes could see nothing but a petit vieux vieux, nearer sixty than seventy, with a dark, wrinkled face, and an uncommonly crafty eye, one of those african organs which is always occupied in "taking your measure" not for your good. i read out the introductory letter from baron didelot--the king speaks a little french and english, but of course his education ends there. after listening to my projects and to my offers of dollars, liquor, and cloth, roi denis replied, with due gravity, that his chasseurs were all in the plantations, but that for a somewhat increased consideration he would attach to my service his own son ogodembe, alias paul. it was sometime before i found out the real meaning of this crafty move; the sharp prince, sent to do me honour, intended me to recommend him to mr. hogg as an especially worthy recipient of "trust." roi denis added an abundance of "sweet mouf," and, the compact ended, he condescendingly walked down with me to the beach, shook hands and exchanged a civilized "au revoir." i reentered the boat, and we pushed off once more. prince paul, a youth of the picaresque school, a hungry as well as a thirsty soul and vain with knowledge, which we know "puffeth up," having the true african eye on present gain as well as to future "trust," proceeded: "papa has at least a hundred sons," enough to make dan dinmont blush, "and say" (he was not sure), "a hundred and fifty daughters. father rules all the southern shore; the french have no power beyond the brack and there are no african rivals,"--the prince evidently thought that the new-comer had never heard of king george. like most juniors here, the youth knew french, or rather gaboon-french; it was somewhat startling to hear clearly and tolerably pronounced, "m'sieur, veux-tu des macacques?" but the jargon is not our s'a leone and west-coast "english;" the superior facility of pronouncing the neo-latin tongues became at once apparent. it is evident that european languages have been a mistake in africa: the natives learn a smattering sufficient for business purposes and foreigners remain without the key to knowledge; hence our small progress in understanding negro human nature. had we so acted in british india, we should probably have held the proud position which now contents us in china as in western africa, with factories and hulks at bombay, calcutta, karachi, and madras. from comte de paris roads the southern gaboon shore is called in charts le paletuvier, the mangrove bank; the rhizophora is the growth of shallow brackish water, and at the projections there are fringings of reefs and "diabolitos," dangerous to boats. after two hours we crossed the mombe (mombay) creek-mouth, with its outlying rocks, and passed the fishing village of nenga-oga, whence supplies are sent daily to the plateau. then doubling a point of leek-green grass, based upon comparatively poor soil, sand, and clay, and backed by noble trees, we entered the mbátá river, the toutiay of the chart and the batta creek of m. du chaillu's map. it comes from the south-west, and it heads much nearer the coast than is shown on paper. presently the blood-red sun sank like a fire-balloon into the west, flushing with its last fierce beams the higher clouds of the eastern sky, and lighting the white and black plume of the soaring fish-eagle. this gypohierax (angolensis) is a very wild bird, flushed at 200 yards: i heard of, but i never saw, the gwanyoni, which m. du chaillu, (chapter xvi.) calls guanionian, an eagle or a vulture said to kill deer. rain fell at times, thunder, anything but "sweet thunder," again rolled in the distance; and lightning flashed and forked before and behind us, becoming painfully vivid in the shades darkening apace. we could see nothing of the channel but a steel-grey streak, like a damascus blade, in a sable sheathing of tall mangrove avenue; in places, however, tree-clumps suggested delusive hopes that we were approaching a region where man can live. on our return we found many signs of population which had escaped our sight during the fast-growing obscurity. the first two reaches were long and bulging; the next became shorter, and prince paul assured us that, after one to the right, and another to the left, we should fall into the direct channel. roi denis had promised us arrival at sunset; his son gradually protracted sunset till midnight. still the distance grew and grew. i now learned for the first time that the boat was too large for the channel, and that oars were perfectly useless ahead. at 8 p.m. we entered what seemed a cul de sac; it looked like charging a black wall, except where a gleam of grey light suggested the further end of the box tunnel, and cheered our poor hearts for a short minute, whilst in the distance we heard the tantalizing song of the wild waves. the boughs on both sides brushed the boat; we held our hands before our faces to avoid the sharp stubs threatening ugly stabs, and to fend off the low branches, ready to sweep us and our belongings into the deep swirling water. the shades closed in like the walls of the italian's dungeon; until our eyes grew to it, the blackness of erebus weighed upon our spirits; perspiration poured from our brows, and in this watery mangrove-lane the pabulum vitæ seemed to be wanting. after forcing a passage through three vile "gates," the sheet-lightning announced a second tornado. we sighed for more vivid flashes, but after twenty minutes they dimmed and died away, still showing the "bush"-silhouette on either side. the tide rushed out in strength under the amphibious forest--all who know the west coast will appreciate the position. it was impossible to advance or to remain in this devil's den, the gig bumped at every minute, and the early flood would probably crush her against the trees. so we dropped down to the nearest "open," which we reached at 9.30 p.m. after enduring a third tornado we grounded, and the crew sprang ashore, saying that they were going to boil plantains on the bank. i made snug for the night with a wet waterproof and a strip of muslin, to be fastened round the mouth after the fashion of outram's "fever guard," and shut my lips to save my life, by the particular advice of dr. catlin. the first mosquito piped his "io pæan" at 8 p.m.; another hour brought legions, and then began the battle for our blood. i had resolved not to sleep in the fetid air of the jungle; time, however, moved on wings of lead; a dull remembrance of a watery moon, stars dimly visible, a southerly breeze, and heavy drops falling from the trees long haunted me. about midnight, prince paul, who had bewailed the hardship of passing a night sans mostiquaire in the bush, and whose violent plungings showed that he failed to manage un somme, proposed to land and to fetch fire from l'habitation. "what habitation?" "oh! a little village belonging to papa." "and why the ---didn't you mention it?" "ah! this is mponbinda, and you know we're bound for mbátá!" nothing negrotic now astonishes us, there is nought new to me in africa. we landed upon a natural pier of rock ledge, and, after some 400 yards of good path, we entered a neat little village, and found our crew snoring snugly asleep. we "exhorted them," refreshed the fire, and generously recruited exhausted nature with quinine, julienne and tea, potatoes and potted meats, pipes and cigars. so sped my annual unlucky day, and thus was spent my first jungle-night almost exactly under the african line. at 5 a. m. the new morning dawned, the young tide flowed, the crabs disappeared, and the gig, before high and dry on the hard mud, once more became buoyant. forward again! the channel was a labyrinthine ditch, an interminable complication of over-arching roots, and of fallen trees forming gateways; the threshold was a maze of slimy stumps, stems, and forks in every stage of growth and decay, dense enough to exclude the air of heaven. in parts there were ugly snags, and everywhere the turns were so puzzling, that i marvelled how a human being could attempt the passage by night. the best time for ascending is half-flood, for descending half-ebb; if the water be too high, the bush chokes the way; if too low, the craft grounds. at the gaboon mouth the tide rises three feet; at the head of the mbátá creek, where it arrests the sweet water rivulet, it is, of course, higher. and now the scene improved. the hat-palm, a brab or wild date, the spine-palm (ph�nix spinosa), and the okumeh or cotton-tree disputed the ground with the foul rhizophora. then clearings appeared. at ejéné, the second of two landing-places evidently leading to farms, we transferred ourselves to canoes, our boat being arrested by a fallen tree. advancing a few yards, all disembarked upon trampled mud, and, ascending the bank, left the creek which supplies baths and drinking water to our destination. striking a fair pathway, we passed westward over a low wave of ground, sandy and mouldy, and traversed a fern field surrounded by a forest of secular trees; some parasite-grown from twig to root, others blanched and scathed by the fires of heaven; these roped and corded with runners and llianas, those naked and clothed in motley patches. at 6.30 a.m., after an hour's work, probably representing a mile, and a total of 7 h. 30 m., or six miles in a south-south-west direction from le plateau, we left the ugly cul de sac of a creek, and entered mbátá, which the french call "la plantation." women and children fled in terror at our approach--and no wonder: eyes like hunted boars, haggard faces, yellow as the sails at the cape verdes, and beards two days long, act very unlike cosmetics. a house was cleared for us by hotaloya, alias "andrew," of the baráka mission, the lord of the village, who, poor fellow! has only two wives; he is much ashamed of himself, but his excuse is, "i be boy now," meaning about twenty-two. after breakfast we prepared for a sleep, but the popular excitement forbade it; the villagers had heard that a white greenhorn was coming to bag and to buy gorillas, and they resolved to make hay whilst the sun shone. prince paul at once gathered together a goodly crowd of fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, cousins and connections. a large and loud-voiced dame, "gozeli," swore that she was his "proper ngwe," being one of his numerous step mas, and she would not move without a head, or three leaves, of tobacco. hotaloya was his brother; mesdames azízeh and asúnye declared themselves his sisters, and so all. my little stock of goods began visibly to shrink, when i informed the greedy applicants that nothing beyond a leaf of tobacco and a demi verre of tafia would be given until i had seen my way to work. presently appeared the chief huntsman appointed by roi denis to take charge of me, he was named fortuna, a spanish name corrupted to forteune. a dash was then prepared for his majesty and for prince paul. i regret to say that this young nobleman ended his leave-taking by introducing a pretty woman, with very neat hands and ankles and a most mutine physiognomy, as his sister, informing me that she was also my wife pro temp. she did not seem likely to coiffer sainte cathérine, and here she is. the last thing the prince did was to carry off, without a word of leave, the mission boat and the three kru-boys, whom he kept two days. i was uneasy about these fellows, who, hating and fearing the gaboon "bush," are ever ready to bolt. forteune and hotaloya personally knew mpolo (paul du chaillu), and often spoke to me of his prowess as a chasseur and his knowledge of their tongue. but reputation as a linguist is easily made in these regions by speaking a few common sentences. the gorilla-hunter evidently had only a colloquial acquaintance with the half-dozen various idioms of the mpongwe and mpángwe (fán) bakele, shekyani, and cape lopez people. yet, despite verbal inaccuracies, his facility of talking gave him immense advantages over other whites, chiefly in this, that the natives would deem it useless to try the usual tricks upon travellers. forteune is black, short, and "trapu;" curls of the jettiest lanugo invest all his outward man; bunches of muscle stand out from his frame like the statues of crotonian milo; his legs are bandy; his hands and feet are large and patulous, and he wants only a hunch to make an admirable quasimodo. he has the frank and open countenance of a sportsman--i had been particularly warned by the plateau folk about his skill in cheating and lying. formerly a cook at the gaboon, he is a man of note in his tribe, as the hunter always is; he holds the position of a country gentleman, who can afford to write himself m.f.h.; he is looked upon as a man of valour; he is admired by the people, and he is adored by his wives--one of them at once took up her station upon the marital knee. perhaps the nimrod of mbátá is just a little henpecked--the mpongwe mostly are--and i soon found out that soigner les femmes is the royal road to getting on with the men. he supplies the village with "beef," here meaning not the roast of old england, but any meat, from a field-rat to a hippopotamus. he boasts that he has slain with his own hand upwards of a hundred gorillas and anthropoid apes, and, since the demand arose in europe, he has supplied mr. r.b.n. walker and others with an average of one per month, including a live youngster; probably most, if not all, of them were killed by his "bushmen," of whom he can command about a dozen. forteune began by receiving his "dash," six fathoms of "satin cloth," tobacco, and pipes. after inspecting my battery, he particularly approved of a smooth-bored double-barrel (beattie of regent street) carrying six to the pound. like all these people, he uses an old and rickety trade-musket, and, when lead is wanting, he loads it with a bit of tile: as many gorillas are killed with tools which would hardly bring down a wild cat, it is evident that their vital power cannot be great. he owned to preferring a charge of twenty buckshot to a single ball, and he received with joy a little fine gunpowder, which he compared complimentarily with the blasting article, half charcoal withal, to which he was accustomed. presently a decently dressed, white-bearded man of light complexion announced himself, with a flourish and a loud call for a chair, as prince koyálá, alias "young prince," father to forteune and hotaloya and brother to roi denis,--here all tribesmen are of course brethren. this being equivalent to "asking for more," it drove me to the limits of my patience. it was evidently now necessary to assume wrath, and to raise my voice to a roar. "my hands dey be empty! i see nuffin, i hear nuffin! what for i make more dash?" allow me, parenthetically, to observe that the african, like the scotch highlander, will interpose the personal or demonstrative pronoun between noun and verb: "sun he go down," means "the sun sets" and, as genders do not exist, you must be careful to say, "this woman he cry too much." the justice of my remark was owned by all; had it been the height of tyranny, the supple knaves would have agreed with me quite as politely. they only replied that "young prince," being a man of years and dignity, would be dishonoured by dismissal emptyhanded, and they represented him as my future host when we moved nearer the bush. "now lookee here. this he be bad plábbá (palaver). this he be bob! i come up for white man, you come up for black man. all white man he no be fool, 'cos he no got black face!" ensued a chorus of complimentary palaver touching the infinite superiority of the aryan over the semite, but the point was in no wise yielded. at last young prince subsided into a request for a glass of rum, which being given "cut the palaver" (i.e. ended the business). i soon resolved to show my hosts, by threatening to leave them, the difference between traders and travellers. barbot relates that the mpongwe of olden time demanded his "dassy" before he consented to "liquor up," and boldly asked, "if he was expected to drink gratis?" the impertinence was humoured, otherwise not an ivory would have found its way to the factory. but the traveller is not bound to endure these whimsy-whamsies; and the sooner he declares his independence the better. many monkeys' skins were brought to me for sale, but i refused to buy, lest the people might think it my object to make money; moreover, all were spoilt for specimens by the "points" being snipped off. i happened during the first afternoon to show my hosts a picture of the bald-headed chimpanzee, nchígo mbúwwe (troglodytes calvus), here more generally called nchígo mpolo, "large chimpanzee," or nchígo njúe, "white-haired chimpanzee." they recognized it at once; but when i turned over to the cottage ("adventures," &c., p. 423), with its neat parachute-like roof, all burst out laughing. "you want to look him nágo (house)?" asked hotaloya. "yes, for sure," i replied. forteune set out at once, carrying my gun, selim followed me, and the rear was brought up by a couple of little prick-eared curs with a dash of the pointer, probably from st. helena: the people will pay as much as ten dollars for a good dog. they are never used in hunting apes, as they start the game; on this occasion they nearly ran down a small antelope. the path led through a new clearing; a field of fern and some patches of grass breaking the forest, which, almost clear of thicket and undergrowth, was a charming place for deer. the soil, thin sand overlying humus, suggested rich crops of ground-nuts; its surface was everywhere cut by nullahs, now dry, and by brooks, running crystal streams; these, when deep, are crossed by tree-trunks, the brazilian "pingela." after twenty minutes or so we left the "picada" (foot-path) and struck into a thin bush, till we had walked about a mile. "look him house, nchígo house!" said hotaloya, standing under a tall tree. i saw to my surprise two heaps of dry sticks, which a schoolboy might have taken for birds' nests; the rude beds, boughs, torn off from the tree, not gathered, were built in forks, one ten and the other twenty feet above ground, and both were canopied by the tufted tops. every hunter consulted upon the subject ridiculed the branchy roof tied with vines, and declared that the nchigo's industry is confined to a place for sitting, not for shelter; that he fashions no other dwelling; that a couple generally occupies the same or some neighbouring tree, each sitting upon its own nest; that the nchígo is not a "hermit" nor a rare, nor even a very timid animal; that it dwells, as i saw, near villages, and that its cry, "aoo! aoo! aoo!" is often heard by them in the mornings and evenings. during my subsequent wanderings in gorilla land, i often observed tall and mushroomshaped trees standing singly, and wearing the semblance of the umbrella roof. what most puzzles me is, that m. du chaillu ("second expedition," chap, iii.) "had two of the bowers cut down and sent to the british museum." he adds, "they are formed at a height of twenty to thirty feet in the trees, by the animals bending over and intertwining a number of the weaker boughs, so as to form bowers, 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." surely m. du chaillu must have been deceived by some vagary of nature. the gorilla-hunter's sketch had always reminded me of the rev. mr. moffat's account of the hylobian bakones, the aborigines of the matabele country. mr. thompson, a missionary to sherbro ("the palm land," chap. xiii), has, however, these words:--"it is said of the chimpanzees, that they build a kind of rude house of sticks in their wild state, and fill it with leaves; and i doubt it not, for when domesticated they always want some good bed, and make it up regularly." thus i come to the conclusion that the nchígo mpolo is a vulgar nest-building ape. the bushmen and the villagers all assured me that neither the common chimpanzee, nor the gorilla proper (troglodytes gorilla), "make 'im house." on the other hand, mr. w. winwood reade, writing to "the athenæum" from loanda (sept. 7, 1862), asserts,--"when the female is pregnant he (the gorilla) builds a nest (as do also the kulu-kamba and the chimpanzee), where she is delivered, and which is then abandoned." and he thus confirms what was told to dr. thomas savage (1847): "in the wild state their (i.e. the gorillas') habits are in general like those of the troglodytes niger, building their nests loosely in trees." chapter iii. geography of the gaboon. before going further afield i may be allowed a few observations, topographical and ethnological, about this highly interesting section of the west african coast. the gaboon country, to retain the now familiar term, although no one knows much about its derivation, is placed, by old travellers in "south guinea," the tract lying along the ethiopic, or south atlantic ocean, limited by the camarones mountain-block in north latitude 4°, and by cabo negro in south latitude 15° 40' 7", a sea-line of nearly 1,200 miles. the gaboon proper is included between the camarones mountains to the north, and the "mayumba,"properly the "yumba" country southwards, in south latitude 3° 22',--a shore upwards of 400 miles long. the inland depth is undetermined; geographically we should limit it to the western ghats, which rarely recede more than 60 miles from the sea, and ethnologically no line can yet be drawn. the country is almost bisected by the equator, and by the rio de gabão, which discharges in north latitude 0° 21' 25" and east longitude 9° 21' 23"; and it corresponds in parallel with the somali-galla country and the juba river on the east coast. the general aspect of the region is prepossessing. it is a rolling surface sinking towards the atlantic, in parts broken by hills and dwarf chains, either detached or pushed out by the ghats; a land of short and abnormally broad rivers, which cannot, like the congo, break through the ridges flanking the central african basin, and which therefore are mere surface drains of the main ranges. the soil is mostly sandy, but a thin coat of rich vegetable humus, quickened by heavy rains and fiery suns, produces a luxuriant vegetation; whilst the proportion of area actually cultivated is nothing compared with the expanse of bush. in the tall forests, which abound in wild fruits, there are beautiful tracts of clear grassy land, and the woods, clear of undergrowth, resemble an english grove more than a tropical jungle. horses, which die of the tsetse (glossina morsitans) in the interior of north guinea, and of damp heat at fernando po, thrive on its downs and savannahs. the elais palm is rare, sufficing only for home use. the southern parts, about cape lopez and beyond it, resemble the oil river country in the biafran bight: the land is a mass of mangrove swamps, and the climate is unfit for white men. the eastern ghats were early known to the "iberians," as shown by the sierra del crystal, del sal, del sal nitro and other names, probably so called from the abundance of quartz in blocks and veins that seam the granite, as we shall see in the congo country, and possibly because they contain rock crystal. although in many places they may be descried subtending the shore in lumpy lines like detached vertebræ, and are supposed to represent the aranga mons of ptolemy, they are not noticed by barbot. between the camarones river and cape st. john (corisco bay), blue, rounded, and discontinuous masses, apparently wooded, rise before the mariner, and form, as will be seen, the western sub-ranges of the great basin-rim. to the north they probably anastomose with the camarones, the rumbi, the kwa, the fumbina north-east, and the niger-kong mountains.[fn#5] they are not wanting who declare them to be rich in precious metals. some thirty years ago an american super-cargo ascended the rembwe river, the south-eastern line of the gaboon fork, and is said to have collected "dirt" which, tested at new york, produced 16 dollars per bushel. all the old residents in the gaboon know the story of the gold dust. the prospector was the late captain richard e. lawlin, of new york, who was employed by messrs. bishop of philadelphia, the same house that commissioned the chasseur de gorilles to collect "rubber" for them, and who was so eminently useful to the young french traveller that the scant notice of his name is considered curious. great would be my wonder if the west african as well as the east african ghats did not prove auriferous; both fulfil all the required conditions, and both await actual discovery. the mountains of the moon, so frequently mentioned by m. du chaillu and the gaboon mission, are doubtless the versants between the valleys of the niger and the congo. lately dr. schweinfurth found an equatorial range which, stretching northwards towards the bahr el ghazal, was seen to trend westward. according to mr. consul hutchinson ("ten years' wanderings among the ethiopians," p. 250), the rev. messrs. mackey and clemens, of the corisco mission "explored more than a hundred miles of country across the sierra del crystal range of mountains" --i am inclined to believe that a hundred miles from the coast was their furthest point. we shall presently travel towards this mysterious range, and there is no difficulty in passing it, except the utter want of a commercial road, and the wildness of tribes that have never sighted a traveller nor a civilized man. the rivers of our region are of three kinds; little surface drains principally in the north; broad estuaries like the mersey and many streams of eastern scotland in the central parts, and a single bed, the ogobe, breaking through the subtending ghats, and forming a huge lagoon-delta. beginning at camarones are the boroa and borba waters, with the rio de campo, fifteen leagues further south; of these little is known, except that they fall into the bight of panari or pannaria. according to barbot (iv. 9), the english charts give the name of point pan to a large deep bight in which lies the harbour-bay "porto de garapo" (garápa, sugar-cane juice?); and he calls the two rounded hillocks, extending inland from point pan to the northern banks of the rio de campo, "navia." the un-african word panari or pannaria is probably a corruption of páo de nao, the bay north of garapo, and "navia." these small features are followed by the rio de são bento, improperly called in our charts the st. benito, bonito, bonita, and boneto; the native name is lobei, and it traverses the kombi country, --such is the extent of our information. the next is the well-known muni, the ntambounay of m. du chaillu, generally called the danger river, in old charts "rio de são joão," and "rio da angra" (of the bight); an estuary which, like most of its kind, bifurcates above, and, receiving a number of little tributaries from the sierra, forms a broad bed and empties itself through a mass of mangroves into the innermost north-eastern corner of corisco bay. this sag in the coast is formed by ninje (nenge the island?), or the cabo de são joão (cape st. john) to the north, fronted south by a large square-headed block of land, whose point is called cabo das esteiras--of matting (barbot's estyras), an article of trade in the olden time. the southern part receives the munda (moondah) river, a foul and unimportant stream, which has been occupied by the american missionaries. we shall ascend the gaboon estuary to its sources. south of it, a number of sweet little water-courses break the shore-line as far as the nazareth river, which debouches north of urungu, or cape lopez (cabo de lopo gonsalvez), and which forms by anastomosing with a southern river the ogobe (ogowai of m. du chaillu), a complicated delta whose sea-front extends from north to south, at least eighty miles. beyond cape lopez is an outfall, known to europeans as the rio mexias: it is apparently a mesh in the network of the nazareth-ogobe. the same may be said of the rio fernão vaz, about 110 miles south of the gaboon, and of yet another stream which, running lagoon-like some forty miles along the shore, has received in our maps the somewhat vague name of r. rembo or river river. orembo (simpongwe) being the generic term for a stream or river, is applied emphatically to the nkomo branch of the gaboon, and to the fernão vaz. the ogobe is the only river between the niger and the congo which escapes, through favouring depressions, from the highlands flanking the great watery plateau of inner africa. by its plainly marked double seasons of flood at the equinoxes, and by the time of its low water, we prove that it drains the belt of calms, and the region immediately upon the equator. the explorations of lieutenant serval and others, in "le pionnier" river-steamer, give it an average breadth of 8,200 feet, though broken by sandbanks and islands; the depth in the main channel, which at times is narrow and difficult to find, averages between sixteen and forty-eight feet; and, in the dry season of 1862, the vessel ran up sixty english miles. before m. du chaillu's expeditions, "the rivers known to europeans," he tells us in his preface ("first journey," p. iv.), "as the nazareth, mexias, and fernam vaz, were supposed to be three distinct streams." in 1817 bowdich identified the "ogoowai" with the congo, and the rev. mr. wilson (p. 284) shows us the small amount of knowledge that existed even amongst experts, five years before the "gorilla book" appeared. "from cape lopez, where the nazareth debouches, there is a narrow lagoon running along the sea-coast, and very near to it, all the way to mayumba. this lagoon is much traversed by boats and canoes, and, when the slave-trade was in vigorous operation, it afforded the portuguese traders great facilities for eluding the vigilance of british cruizers, by shifting their slaves from point to point, and embarking them, according to a preconcerted plan." m. du chaillu first proved that the ogobe was formed by two forks, the northern, or rembo okanda, and the southern, or rembo nguye. the former is the more important. mr. r.s.n. walker found this stream above the confluence to be from 1,800 to 2,100 feet wide, though half the bed was occupied by bare sand-banks. higher up, where rocks and rapids interfered with the boat-voyage, the current was considerable, but the breadth diminished to 600 feet. the southern branch (also written ngunië) was found in apono land (s. lat. 2°), about the breadth of the thames at london bridge, 700 feet. in june the depth was ten to fifteen feet, to which the rainy season added ten. m. du chaillu also established the facts that the nazareth river was the northern arm of the delta, and that the fernão vaz anastomosed with the delta's southern arm. the only pelagic islands off the gaboon coast are the brancas, great and little; corisco island, which we shall presently visit; great and little elobi, called by old travellers mosquito islands, probably for "moucheron," a dutchman who lost his ship there in 1600. the land about the mouths of the ogobe is a mass of mangrove swamps, like the nigerian delta, which high tides convert into insular ground; these, however, must be considered terra firma in its infancy. the riverine islands of the gaboon proper will be noticed as we ascend the bed. pongo-land ignores all such artificial partitions as districts or parishes; the only divisions are the countries occupied by the several tribes. the gaboon lies in "africa-on-the-line," and a description of the year at zanzibar island applies to it in many points.[fn#6] the characteristic of this equatorial belt is uniformity of temperature: whilst the arabian and the australian deserts often show a variation of 50° fahr. in a single day, the yearly range of the mercury at singapore is about 10°. the four seasons of the temperates are utterly unknown to the heart of the tropics--even in hindostan the poet who would sing, for instance, the charms of spring must borrow the latter word (buhar) from the persian. if the "bull" be allowed, the only rule here appears to be one of exceptions. the traveller is always assured that this time there have been no rains, or no dries, or no tornadoes, or one or all in excess, till at last he comes to the conclusion that the clerk of the weather must have mislaid his ledger. contrary to the popular idea, which has descended to us from the classics, the climate under the line is not of that torrid heat which a vertical sun suggests; the burning zone of the old world begins in the northern hemisphere, where the regular rains do not extend, beyond the tenth as far as the twenty-fifth degree. the equatorial climate is essentially temperate: for instance, the heat of sumatra, lying almost under the line, rarely exceeds 24° r.= 86° fahr. in the gaboon the thermometer ranges from 65° to 90° fahr., "a degree of heat," says dr. ford, "less than in many salubrious localities in other parts of the world." upon the gaboon the wet seasons are synchronous with the vertical suns at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. "the rainy season of a place within the tropics always begins when the sun has reached the zenith of that place. then the tradewinds, blowing regularly at other seasons, become gradually weaker, and at length cease and give way to variable winds and calms. the trade-wind no longer brings its regular supply of cooler, drier air; the rising heats and calms favour an ascending current" (in the sea-depths, i may add, as well as on land), "which bears the damp air into the upper regions of the atmosphere, there to be cooled, and to occasion the heavy down-pour of each afternoon. the nights and mornings are for the most part bright and clear. when the sun moves away from the zenith, the trade-winds again begin to be felt, and bring with them the dry season of the year, during which hardly ever a cloud disturbs the serenity of the skies. "between the tropical limits and the equator, however, the sun comes twice to the zenith of each place. if now, between the going and coming of the sun, from the line to its furthest range, a sufficient pause intervenes, or if the sun's temporary distance from the zenith is great enough, the rainy season is divided into two portions, separated by a lesser dry season. closer to the tropical lines, where the sun remains but once in the zenith, the rainy season is a continuous one." such is the theory of the "allgemeine erdkunde" (hahn, hochstetter and pokorny, prague, 1872). an explanation should be added of the reason why the cool wind ceases to blow, at the time when the air, heated and raised by a perpendicular sun, might be expected to cause a greater indraught. we at once, i have said, recognize its correctness at sea. the gaboon, "in the belt of calms, with rain during the whole year," has two distinctly marked dry seasons, at the vernal and the autumnal equinoxes. the former or early rains (nchangyá?) are expected to begin in february, with violent tornadoes and storms, especially at the full and change, and to end in april. the heavy downfalls are mostly at night, possibly an effect of the sierra del crystal. i found march 28th (1862) very like damp weather at the end of an english may; april 6th was equally exceptional, raining from dawn to evening. during my trip to sánga-tánga and back (march 25th to 29th) we had frequent fogs, locally called "smokes," and almost daily tornadoes, sometimes from the south-east, whilst the lightning was dangerous as upon the western prairies. after an interval of fiery sun, with occasional rain torrents and discharges of electricity, begin the enomo (enun?), the "middle" or long dries, which last four months to september. the "enomo" is the angolan cacimbo, meaning cool and cloudy weather, when no umbrella is required, and when the invariably grey sky rarely rains. travellers are told that june and july are the cream of the year, the healthiest time for seasoned europeans, and this phantom of a winter renders the climate more supportable to the northern constitution. during the "middle dries," when the sun, retiring to the summer solstice, is most distant, land winds and sea breezes are strong and regular, and the people suffer severely from cold. in the gaboon heavy showers sometimes fall, july being the least subject to them, and the fiery sun, when it can disperse the clouds, turns the soil to dust. at the end of september appear the "latter rains," which are the more copious, as they seldom last more than six hours at a time. it is erroneous to assert that "the tract nearest the equator on both sides has the longest rainy season;" the measure chiefly depends upon altitude and other local conditions. the rainy seasons are healthier for the natives than the cold seasons; and the explorer is often urged to take advantage of them. he must, however, consult local experience. whilst ascending rivers in november, for instance, he may find the many feet of flood a boon or a bane, and his marching journeys are nearly sure to end in ulcerated feet, as was the case with poor dr. livingstone. the rains drench the country till the latter end of december, when the nángá or "little dries" set in for two months. the latter also are not unbroken by storms and showers, and they end with tornadoes, which this year (1862) have been unusually frequent and violent. thus we may distribute the twelve months into six of rains, vernal and autumnal, and six of dry weather, æstival and hibernal: the following table will show the sub-sections:-early december to early february, the "little dries;" february to early april, the "former," early or spring rains; may to early june, the variable weather; june to early september, the cacimbo, enomo, long or middle dries; september to early december, the "latter rains." under such media the disease, par excellence, of the gaboon is the paroxysm which is variously called coast, african, guinea, and bullom fever. dr. ford, who has written a useful treatise upon the subject,[fn#7] finds hebdomadal periodicity in the attacks, and lays great stress upon this point of chronothermalism. he recognizes the normal stages, preparatory, invasional, reactionary, and resolutionary. like drs. livingstone and hutchinson, he holds fever and quinine "incompatibles," and he highly approves of the prophylactic adhibition of chinchona used by the unfortunate douville in 1828. experience in his own person and in numerous patients "proves all theoretical objections to the use of six grains an hour, or fifty and sixty grains of quinine in one day or remission to be absolutely imaginary." he is "convinced that it is not a stimulant," and with many apologies he cautiously sanctions alcohol, which should often be the physician's mainstay. as he advocated ten-grain doses of calomel by way of preliminary cathartic, the american missionaries stationed on the river have adopted a treatment still more "severe"--quinine till deafness ensues, and half a handful of mercury, often continued till a passage opens through the palate, placing mouth and nose in directer communication. dr. ford also recommends during the invasion or period of chills external friction of mustard or of fresh red pepper either in tincture or in powder, a good alleviator always procurable; and the internal use of pepper-tea, to bring on the stages of reaction and resolution. few will agree with him that gruels and farinaceous articles are advisable during intermissions, when the patient craves for port, essence of beef, and consomme; nor can we readily admit the dictum that in the tropics "the most wholesome diet, without doubt, is chiefly vegetable." despite jacquemont and all the rice-eaters, i cry beef and beer for ever and everywhere! many can testify personally to the value of the unofficinal prescription which he offers in cases of severe lichen (prickly heat), leading to impetigo. it is as follows, and it is valuable:-cold cream. . . . . . . . . . 3j. glycerine . . . . . . . . . . 3j. chloroform . . . . . . . . .3ij. oil of bitter almonds . . gtt. x. chapter iv. the minor tribes and the mpongwe. the tribes occupying the gaboon country may roughly be divided into two according to habitat--the maritime and those of the interior, who are quasi-mountaineers. upon the sea-board dwell the banôkô (banaka), bapuka, and batanga; the kombe, the benga and mbiko, or people about corisco; the shekyani, who extend far into the interior, the urungu and aloa, clans of cape lopez; the nkommi, commi, camma or cama, and the mayumba races beyond the southern frontier. the inner hordes are the dibwe (m. du chaillu's "ibouay"), the mbúsha; the numerous and once powerful bákele, the cannibal fán (mpongwe), the osheba or 'sheba, their congeners, and a variety of "bush-folk," of whom little is known beyond the names. linguistically we may distribute them into three, namely, 1. the banôkô and batanga; 2. the mpongwe, including the minor ethnical divisions of benga, and shekyani; the urungu, the nkommi, the dongas or ndiva, and the mbúsha, and 3. the mpongwe and the tribes of the interior. lastly, there are only three peoples of any importance, namely, the mpongwe, the bákele, and the fán. the mpongwe, whom the french call "les gabons," are the aristocracy of the coast, the benga being the second, and the banôkô and bapuka ranking third. they are variously estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 head, serviles included. they inhabit both sides of the gaboon, extending about thirty-five miles along its banks, chiefly on the right; on the left only seawards of the shekyani. but it is a wandering race, and many a "mercator vagus" finds his way to corisco, cape lopez, batanga, and even fernando po. the two great families on the northern river bank are the quabens and the glass, who style themselves kings and princes; the southern side lodges king william (roi denis) near the mouth, and the powerful king george, about twenty-five miles higher up stream. there are also settlements scattered at various distances from the great highway of commerce to which they naturally cling, and upon the coniquet and parrot islands. barbot (iv. 9) describes the "gaboon blacks" as "commonly tall, robust, and well-shaped;" they appeared to me rather below the average of west coast size and weight. both sexes, even when running to polysarcia, have delicate limbs and extremities, and the features, though negroid, are not the negro of the tobacconist's shop: i noticed several pyramidal and brachycephalic heads, contrary to the rule for african man and simiad. in the remarkable paper read (1861) by professor busk before the ethnological society, that eminent physiologist proved that the asiatic apes, typified by the ourang-outang, are brachycephalic, like the mongolians amongst whom they live, or who live amongst them; whilst the gorillas and the african anthropoids are dolichocephalic as the negroes. the gaboon men are often almost black, whilst the women range between dark brown and cafe au lait. the beard, usually scanty, is sometimes bien fournie, especially amongst the seniors, but, whenever i saw a light-coloured and well-bearded man, the suspicion of mixed blood invariably obtruded itself. it is said that during the last thirty years they have greatly diminished, yet their habitat is still that laid down half a century ago by bowdich, and all admit that the population of the river has not been materially affected. the mpongwe women have the reputation of being the prettiest and the most facile upon the west african coast. it is easy to distinguish two types. one is large-boned and heavy-limbed, hoarse-voiced, and masculine, like the "ibos" of bonny and new calabar, who equal the men in weight and stature, strength and endurance, suggesting a mixture of the male and female temperaments. some of the gaboon giantesses have, unlike their northern sisters, regular and handsome features. the other type is quasi-hindú in its delicacy of form, with small heads, oval faces, noses à la roxolane, lips sub-tumid but without prognathism, and fine almond-shaped eyes, with remarkably thick and silky lashes. the throat is thin, the bosom is high and well carried, or, as the admiring arab says, "nejdá;" the limbs are statuesque, and the hands and feet are norman rather than saxon. many europeans greatly admire these minois mutins et chiffonés.[fn#8] early in the present century the mpongwe braided whiskers and side curls, tipping the ends with small beads, and they plaited the front locks to project like horns, after the fashion of the present fán and other wild tribes. a custom noticed by barbot, but apparently obsolete in the days of bowdich, was to bore the upper lip, and to insert a small ivory pin, extending from nose to mouth. the painting and tattooing were fantastic and elaborate; and there was a hideous habit of splitting either lip, so as to "thrust the tongue through on ceremonial occasions." a curious reason is given for this practice. "they are subject to a certain distemper very common there, which on a sudden seizes them, and casts them into fits of so long a continuance, that they would inevitably be suffocated, if by means of the split at their upper lip they did not pour into their mouths some of the juice of a certain medicinal herb, which has the virtue of easing and curing the diseased person in a very short time." all these things, fits included, are now obsolete. the men shave a line in the hair like a fillet round the skull, and what is left is coiffe au coup de vent. the head-dress is a cap, a straw hat, a billy cock, or a tall silk "chimney pot," the latter denoting a chief; he also sports in full dress a broad coat, ending in a loin cloth of satin stripe or some finer stuff, about six feet long by four and a half broad; it is secured by a kerchief or an elastic waist belt; during work it is tucked up, but on ceremonial occasions it must trail upon the ground. the lieges wear european shirts, stuffed into a waist-cloth of cheaper material, calico or domestics; this tángá, or kilt, is, in fact, an article of general wear, and it would be an airy, comfortable, and wholesome travelling costume if the material were flannel. the ornaments are necklaces of venetian beads, the white pound, and the black and yellow seed: canutille or bugles of various patterns are preferred, and all are loaded with "mengo," grígrís (which old travellers call "gregories"), or talismans, chiefly leopards' teeth, rude bells, and horns. the monda are hunting prophylacteries, antelope horns filled with "fetish" medicines, leopard's hair, burnt and powdered heart mixed with leaves, and filth; the mouths are stopped with some viscid black stuff, probably gum. they are often attached to rude bells of iron or brass (igelenga, ngenge, nkendo, or wonga), like the chingufu of the congo regions and the metal cones which are struck for signals upon the tanganyika lake. a great man is known by his making himself a marvellous "guy," wearing, for instance, a dingily laced cocked hat, stuck athwartships upon an unwashed night-cap, and a naval or military uniform, fifty years old, "swearing" with the loin-cloth and the feet, which are always bare. the coiffure of the <greek> is peculiar and elaborate as that of the gold coast. these ladies seem to have chosen for their model the touraco or cockatoo,--they have never heard of "kikeriki,"--and the effect is at first wondrously grotesque. presently the eye learns to admire pretty fanny's ways; perhaps the pleureuse, the old english corkscrew ringlet, might strike the stranger as equally natural in a spaniel, and unnatural in a human. still a style so peculiar requires a toilette in keeping; the "king" in uniform is less ridiculous than the gaboon lady's chignon, contrasting with a tight-bodied and narrow-skirted gown of pink calico. the national "tire-valiant" is a galeated crest not unlike the cuirassier's helmet, and the hair, trained from the sides into a high ridge running along the cranium, not unfrequently projects far beyond the forehead. taste and caprice produce endless modifications. sometimes the crest is double, disposed in parallel ridges, with a deep hollow between; or it is treble, when the two lines of parting running along the mastoids make it remarkably like bears' ears, the central prism rises high, and the side hair is plaited into little pig-tails. others again train four parallel lines from nape to forehead, forming two cushions along the parietals. the crest is heightened by padding, and the whole of the hair is devoted to magnifying it,--at a distance, some of the bushwomen look as if they wore cocked hats. when dreaded baldness appears, rosettes of false hair patch the temples, and plaits of purchased wigs are interwoven to increase the bulk: the last resources of all are wigs and toupets of stained pine-apple fibre. the comb is unknown, its succedaneum being a huge bodkin, like that which the trasteverina has so often used as a stiletto. this instrument of castigation is made of ivory or metal, with a lozenge often neatly carved and ornamented at the handle. the hair, always somewhat "kinky," is anointed every morning with palm-oil, or the tallow-like produce of a jungle-nut; and, in full dress, it is copiously powdered with light red or bright yellow dust of pounded camwood, redwood, and various barks. the ears are adorned with broad rings of native make, and, near the trading stations, with french imitation jewellery. the neck supports many strings of beads, long and short, with the indispensable talismans. the body dress is a tobe or loin-cloth, like that of the men; but under the "námbá," or outer wrapper, which hangs down the feet, there is a "siri," or petticoat, reaching only to the knees. both are gathered in front like the shukkah of the eastern coast, and the bosom is left bare. few except the bush-folk now wear the ibongo, ipepe, or ndengi, the woven fibres and grass-cloths of their ancestry; amongst the hunters, however, a tángá, or grass-kilt, may still be seen. the exposure of the upper person shows the size and tumidity of the areola, even in young girls; being unsupported, the mammae soon become flaccid. the legs, which are peculiarly neat and well turned, are made by art a fitting set-off to the head. it is the pride of a mpongwe wife to cover the lower limb between knee and ankle with an armour of metal rings, which are also worn upon the wrists; the custom is not modern, and travellers of the seventeenth century allude to them. the rich affect copper, bought in wires two feet and a half long, and in two sizes; of the larger, four, of the smaller, eight, go to the dollar; the brass are cheaper, as 5: 4; and i did not see iron or tin. the native smiths make the circles, and the weight of a full set of forty varies from fifteen to nineteen pounds. they are separate rings, not a single coil, like that used by the wagogo and other east african tribes; they press tightly on the limb, often causing painful chafes and sores. the ankle is generally occupied by a brass or iron chain, with small links. girls may wear these rings, of which the husband is expected to present a considerable number to his bride, and the consequence is, that when in full dress she waddles like a duck. commerce and intercourse with whites has made the mpongwe, once the rudest, now one of the most civilized of african tribes; and, upon the whole, there is an improvement. the exact barbot (iv. 9) tells us "the gaboon blacks are barbarous, wild, bloody, and treacherous, very thievish and crafty, especially towards strangers. the women, on the contrary, are as civil and courteous to them, and will use all possible means to enjoy their company; but both sexes are the most wretchedly poor and miserable of any in guinea, and yet so very haughty, that they are perfectly ridiculous ... they are all excessively fond of brandy and other strong liquors of europe and america ... if they fancy one has got a mouthful more than another, and they are half drunk, they will soon fall a-fighting, even with their own princes or priests ... their exceeding greediness for strong liquors renders them so little nice and curious in the choice of them, that, though mixed with half water, and sometimes a little spanish soap put into it to give it a froth, to appear of proof by the scum it makes, they like it and praise it as much as the best and purest brandy." captain boteler remarks, in 1827: "the women do not speak english; though, for the sake of what trifles they can procure for their husbands, they are in the habit of flocking on board the different vessels which visit the river, and will permit them to remain; and the wives are generally maintained in clothing by the proceeds of their intercourse with the whites." he further assures us, that mulatto girls thus born are not allowed to marry, although there is no such restriction for the males; and elsewhere, he concludes, that never having seen an infant or an adult offspring of mixed blood, abortion is practised as at delagoa and old calabar, where, in 1862, i found only one child of mixed blood. if so, the mpongwe have changed for the better. half-castes are now not uncommon; there are several nice "yaller gals" well known on the river; and the number of old and sick speaks well for the humanity of the tribe. devoted to trade and become a people of brokers, of go-betweens, of middle-men, the mpongwe have now acquired an ease and propriety, a polish and urbanity of manner which contrasts strongly with the kru-men and other tribes, who, despite generations of intercourse with europeans, are rough and barbarous as their forefathers. the youths used to learn english, which they spoke fluently and with tolerable accent, but always barbarously; they are more successful with the easier neo-latin tongues. their one aim in life is not happiness, but "trust," an african practice unwisely encouraged by europeans; so old calabar but a few years ago was not a trust-river," and consequently the consul and the gunboat had little to do there. many of them have received advances of dollars by thousands, but the european merchant has generally suffered from his credulity or rapacity. in low cunning the native is more than a match for the stranger; moreover, he has "the pull" in the all-important matter of time; he can spend a fortnight haggling over the price of a tooth when the unhappy capitalist is eating his heart. like all the african aristocracy, they hold agriculture beneath the dignity of man and fit only for their women and slaves; the "ladies" also refuse to work at the plantations, especially when young and pretty, leaving them to the bush-folk, male and female. m. du chaillu repeatedly asserts (chap xix.) "there is no property in land," but this is a mistake often made in africa. labourers are hired at the rate of two to three dollars per mensem, and gangs would easily be collected if one of the chiefs were placed in command. no sum of money will buy a free-born mpongwe, and the sale is forbidden by the laws of the land. a half-caste would fetch one hundred dollars; a wild "nigger" near the river costs from thirty to thirty-five dollars; the same may be bought in the apinji country for four dollars' worth of assorted goods, the "bundletrade" as it is called; but there is the imminent risk of the chattel's running away. a man's only attendants being now his wives and serviles, it is evident that plurality and domestic servitude will extend- "far into summers which we shall not see;" in fact, till some violent revolution of society shall have introduced a servant class. the three grades of mpongwe may be considered as rude beginnings of caste. the first are the "sons of the soil," the "ongwá ntye" (contracted from onwana wi ntye), mpongwes of pure blood; the second are the "mbámbá," children of free-men by serviles; and lastly, "nsháká," in bákele "nsháká," represents the slaves. m. du chaillu's distribution (chap, iii.) into five orders, namely, pure, mixed with other tribes, half free, children of serviles, and chattels, is somewhat over-artificial; at any rate, now it is not generally recognized. like the high-caste hindu, the nobler race will marry women of lower classes; for instance, king njogoni's mother was a benga; but the inverse proceeding is a disgrace to the woman, apparently an instinctive feeling on the part of the reproducer, still lingering in the most advanced societies. old travellers record a belief that, unlike all other guinea races, the mpongwe marries his mother, sister, or daughter; and they compare the practice with that of the polished persians and the peruvian incas, who thus kept pure the solar and lunar blood. if this "breeding-in" ever existed, no trace of it now remains; on the contrary, every care is taken to avoid marriages of consanguinity. bowdich, indeed, assures us that a man may not look at nor converse with his mother-in-law, on pain of a heavy, perhaps a ruinous fine; "this singular law is founded on the tradition of an incest." marriage amongst the mpongwe is a purely civil contract, as in africa generally, and so perhaps it will some day be in europe, asia, and america. c�lebs pays a certain sum for the bride, who, where "marriage by capture" is unknown, has no voice in the matter. many promises of future "dash" are made to the girl's parents; and drinking, drumming, and dancing form the ceremony. the following is, or rather i should say was, a fair list of articles paid for a virgin bride. one fine silk hat, one cap, one coat; five to twenty pieces of various cottons, plain and ornamental; two to twenty silk kerchiefs; three to thirty jars of rum; twenty pounds of trade tobacco; two hatchets; two cutlasses; plates and dishes, mugs and glasses, five each; six knives; one kettle; one brass pan; two to three neptunes (caldrons, the old term being "neptune's pots"), a dozen bars of iron; copper and brass rings, chains with small links, and minor articles ad libitum. the "settlement" is the same in kind, but has increased during the last forty years, and specie has become much more common.[fn#10] after marriage there is a mutual accommodation system suggesting the cicisbeo or mariage à trois school; hence we read that wives, like the much-maligned xantippe, were borrowed and lent, and that not fulfilling the promise of a loan is punishable by heavy damages. where the husband acts adjutor or cavaliere to his friend's "omantwe"--female person or wife--and the friend is equally complaisant, wedlock may hardly be called permanent, and there can be no tie save children. the old immorality endures; it is as if the command were reversed by accepting that misprint which so scandalized the star chamber, "thou shalt commit adultery." yet, unpermitted, the offence is one against property, and moechus may be cast in damages ranging from $100 to $200: what is known in low civilization as the "panel dodge" is an infamy familiar to almost all the maritime tribes of africa. he must indeed be a solomon of a son who, sur les bords du gabon, can guess at his own sire; a question so impertinent is never put by the ex-officio father. the son succeeds by inheritance to his father's relict, who, being generally in years, is condemned to be useful when she has ceased to be an ornament, and, if there are several, they are equally divided amongst the heirs. trading tribes rarely affect the pundonor which characterizes the pastoral and the predatory; these people traffic in all things, even in the chastity of their women. what with pre-nuptial excesses, with early unions, often infructuous, with a virtual system of community, and with universal drunkenness, it is not to be wondered at if the maritime tribes of africa degenerate and die out. such apparently is the modus operandi by which nature rids herself of the effete races which have served to clear the ground and to pave the way for higher successors. wealth and luxury, so generally inveighed against by poets and divines, injure humanity only when they injuriously affect reproduction; and poverty is praised only because it breeds more men. the true tests of the physical prosperity of a race, and of its position in the world, are bodily strength and the excess of births over deaths. separation after marriage can hardly be dignified on the gaboon by the name of divorce. whenever a woman has or fancies she has a grievance, she leaves her husband, returns to "the paternal" and marries again. quarrels about the sex are very common, yet, in cases of adultery the old murderous assaults are now rare except amongst the backwoodsmen. the habit was simply to shoot some man belonging to the seducer's or to the ravisher's village; the latter shot somebody in the nearest settlement, and so on till the affair was decided. in these days "violent retaliation for personal jealousy always 'be-littles' a man in the eyes of an african community." perhaps also he unconsciously recognizes the sentiment ascribed to mohammed, "laysa bi-zányatin ilia bi záni," "there is no adulteress without an adulterer," meaning that the husband has set the example. polygamy is, of course, the order of the day; it is a necessity to the men, and even the women disdain to marry a "one-wifer." as amongst all pluralists, from moslem to mormon, the senior or first married is no. 1; here called "best wife:" she is the goodman's viceroy, and she rules the home-kingdom with absolute sway. yet the mpongwe do not, like other tribes on the west coast, practise that separation of the sexes during gestation and lactation, which is enjoined to the hebrews, recommended by catholicism, and commanded by mormonism--a system which partly justifies polygamy. in portuguese guinea the enceinte is claimed by her relatives, especially by the women, for three years, that she may give undivided attention to her offspring, who is rightly believed to be benefited by the separation, and that she may return to her husband with renewed vigour. meanwhile custom allows the man to co-habit with a slave girl. polygamy, also, in africa is rather a political than a domestic or social institution. a "judicious culture of the marriage tie" is necessary amongst savages and barbarians whose only friends and supporters are blood relations and nuptial connections; besides which, a multitude of wives ministers to the great man's pride and influence, as well as to his pleasures and to his efficiency. when the head wife ages, she takes charge of the girlish brides committed to her guardianship by the husband. i should try vainly to persuade the english woman that there can be peace in households so constituted: still, such is the case. messrs. wilson and du chaillu both assert that the wives rarely disagree amongst themselves. the sentimental part of love is modified; the common husband becomes the patriarch, not the paterfamilias; the wife is not the mistress, but the mère de famille. the alliance rises or sinks to one of interest and affection instead of being amorous or uxorious, whilst the underlying idea, "the more the merrier," especially in lands where free service is unknown, seems to stifle envy and jealousy. everywhere, moreover, amongst polygamists, the husband is strictly forbidden by popular opinion to show preference for a favourite wife; if he do so, he is a bad man. but polygamy here has not rendered the women, as theoretically it should, a down-trodden moiety of society; on the contrary, their position is comparatively high. the marriage connection is not "one of master and slave," a link between freedom and serfdom; the "weaker vessel" does not suffer from collision with the pot de fer; generally the fair but frail ones appear to be, as amongst the israelites generally, the better halves. despite the okosunguu or cow-hide "peacemaker," they have conquered a considerable latitude of conducting their own affairs. when poor and slaveless and, naturally, when no longer young, they must work in the house and in the field, but this lot is not singular; in journeys they carry the load, yet it is rarely heavier than the weapons borne by the man. on the other hand, after feeding their husbands, what remains out of the fruits of their labours is their own, wholly out of his reach--a boon not always granted by civilization. as in unyamwezi, they guard their rights with a truly feminine touchiness and jealousy. there is always, in the african mind, a preference for descent and inheritance through the mother, "the surer side,"--an unmistakable sign, by the by, of barbarism. the so-called royal races in the eight great despotisms of pagan africa--ashanti, dahome, and benin; karagwah, uganda, and unyoro; the mwátá yá nvo, and the mwátá cazembe-allow the greatest liberty even to the king's sisters; they are expected only to choose handsome lovers, that the race may maintain its physical superiority; and hence, doubtless, the stalwart forms and the good looks remarked by every traveller. as a rule, the husband cannot sell his wife's children whilst her brother may dispose of them as he pleases--the vox populi exclaims, "what! is the man to go hungry when he can trade off his sister's brats?" the strong-minded of london and new york have not yet succeeded in thoroughly organizing and popularizing their clubs; the belles sauvages of the gaboon have. there is a secret order, called "njembe," a rights of woman association, intended mainly to counterbalance the nda of the lords of creation, which will presently be described. dropped a few years ago by the men, it was taken up by their wives, and it now numbers a host of initiated, limited only by heavy entrance fees. this form of freemasonry deals largely in processions, whose preliminaries and proceedings are kept profoundly secret. at certain times an old woman strikes a stick upon an "orega" or crescent-shaped drum, hollowed out of a block of wood; hearing this signal, the worshipful sisterhood, bedaubed, by way of insignia, with red and white chalk or clay, follow her from the village to some remote nook in the jungle, where the lodge is tiled. sentinels are stationed around whilst business is transacted before a vestal fire, which must burn for a fortnight or three weeks, in the awecompelling presence of a brass pipkin filled with herbs, and a basin, both zebra'd like the human limbs. the rev. william walker was once detected playing "peeping tom" by sixty or seventy viragos, who attempted to exact a fine of forty dollars, and who would have handled him severely had he not managed to escape. the french officers, never standing upon ceremony in such matters, have often insisted upon being present. circumcision, between the fourth and eighth year, is universal in pongo-land, and without it a youth could not be married. the operation is performed generally by the chief, often by some old man, who receives a fee from the parents: the thumb nails are long, and are used after the jewish fashion:[fn#10] neat rum with red pepper is spirted from the mouth to "kill wound." it is purely hygienic, and not balanced by the excisio judaica, some physiologists consider the latter a necessary complement of the male rite; such, however, is not the case. the hebrews, who almost everywhere retained circumcision, have, in europe at least, long abandoned excision. i regret that the delicacy of the age does not allow me to be more explicit. the mpongwe practise a rite so resembling infant baptism that the missionaries have derived it from a corruption of abyssinian christianity which, like the flora of the camarones and fernandian highlands, might have travelled across the dark continent, where it has now been superseded by el islam. i purpose at some period of more leisure to prove an ancient intercourse and rapprochement of all the african tribes ranging between the parallels of north latitude 20° and south latitude 30°. it will best be established, not by the single great family of language, but by the similarity of manners, customs, and belief; of arts and crafts; of utensils and industry. the baptism of pongo-land is as follows. when the babe is born, a crier, announcing the event, promises to it in the people's name participation in the rights of the living. it is placed upon a banana leaf, for which reason the plantain is never used to stop the water-pots; and the chief or the nearest of kin sprinkles it from a basin, gives it a name, and pronounces a benediction, his example being followed by all present. the man-child is exhorted to be truthful, and the girl to "tell plenty lie," in order to lead a happy life. truly a new form of the regenerative rite! a curious prepossession of the african mind, curious and yet general, in a land where population is the one want, and where issue is held the greatest blessing, is the imaginary necessity of limiting the family. perhaps this form of infanticide is a policy derived from ancestors who found it necessary. in the kingdom of apollonia (guinea) the tenth child was always buried alive; never a decimus was allowed to stand in the way of the nine seniors. the birth of twins is an evil portent to the mpongwes, as it is in many parts of central africa, and even in the new world; it also involves the idea of moral turpitude, as if the woman were one of the lower animals, capable of superfetation. there is no greater insult to a man, than to point at him with two fingers, meaning that he is a twin; of course he is not one, or he would have been killed at birth. albinos are allowed to live, as in dahome, in ashanti, and among some east african tribes, where i have been "chaffed" about a brother white, who proved to be an exceptional negro without pigmentum nigrum. there is no novelty in the mpongwe funeral rites; the same system prevails from the oil rivers to congo-land, and extends even to the wild races of the interior. the corpse, being still sentient, is accompanied by stores of raiment, pots, and goats' flesh; a bottle is placed in one hand and a glass in the other, and, if the deceased has been fond of play, his draught-board and other materials are buried with him. the system has been well defined as one in which the "ghost of a man eats the ghost of a yam, boiled in the ghost of a pot, over the ghost of a fire." the body, after being stretched out in a box, is carried to a lonely place; some are buried deep, others close to the surface. there is an immense show of grief, with keening and crocodiles' tears, perhaps to benefit the living by averting a charge of witchcraft, which would inevitably lead to "sassy" or poison-water. the wake continues for five days, when they "pull the cry," that is to say, end mourning. if these pious rites be neglected, the children incur the terrible reproach, "your father he be hungry." the widow may re-marry immediately after "living for cry," and, if young and lusty, she looks out for another consort within the week. the slave is thrown out into the bush--no one will take the trouble to dig a hole for him. the industry of the mpongwe is that of the african generally; every man is a host in himself; he builds and furnishes his house, he makes his weapons and pipes, and he ignores division of labour, except in the smith and the carpenter; in the potter, who works without a wheel, and in the dyer, who knows barks, and who fixes his colours with clay. the men especially pride themselves upon canoe-making; the favourite wood is the buoyant okumeh or bombax, that monarch of the african forest. i have seen a boat, 45 feet 10 inches by 5 feet 11 inches in beam, cut out of a single tree, with the mpáno or little adze, a lineal descendant of the silex implement, and i have heard of others measuring 70 feet. these craft easily carry 10 tons, and travel 200 to 300 miles, which, as mr. wilson remarks, would land them, under favourable circumstances, in south america. captain boteler found that the mpongwe boat combined symmetry of form, strength, and solidity, with safeness and swiftness either in pulling or sailing. and of late years the people have succeeded in launching large and fast craft built after european models. the favourite pleasures of the mpongwe are gross and gorging "feeds," drinking and smoking. they recall to mind the old woman who told "monk lewis" that if a glass of gin were at one end of the table, and her immortal soul at the other, she would choose the gin. they soak with palm-wine every day; they indulge in rum and absinthe, and the wealthy affect so-called cognac, with champagne and bordeaux, which, however, they pronounce to be "cold." i have seen master boro, a boy five years old, drain without winking a wineglassful of brandy. it is not wonderful that the adults can "stand" but little, and that a few mouthfuls of well-watered spirit make their voices thick, and paralyze their weak brains as well as their tongues. the persians, who commence drinking late in life, can swallow strong waters by the tumbler. men, women, and children when hardly "cremnobatic," have always the pipe in mouth. the favourite article is a "dudheen," a well culotté clay, used and worn till the bowl touches the nose. the poor are driven to a "kondukwe," a yard of plantain leaf, hollowed with a wire, and charged at the thicker end. the "holy herb" would of course grow in the country, and grow well, but it is imported from the states without trouble, and perhaps with less expense. some tribes make a decent snuff of the common trade article, but i never saw either sex chew--perhaps the most wholesome, and certainly the most efficacious form. the smoking of lyámbá, called dyámbá in the southern regions, is confined to debauchees. m. du chaillu asserts that this cannabis sativa is not found wild, and the people confirm his statement; possibly it has extended from hindostan to zanzibar, and thence across the continent. intoxicating hemp is now grown everywhere, especially in the nkommi country, and little packages, neatly bound with banana leaves, sell on the river for ten sous each. it is smoked either in the "kondukwe" or in the ojo. the latter, literally meaning a torch, is a polished cow-horn, closed at the thick end with wood, and banded with metal; a wooden stem, projecting from the upper or concave side, bears a neat "chillam" (bowl), either of clay or of brown steatite brought from the upper gaboon river. this rude hookah is half filled with water; the dried hemp in the bowl is covered with what syrians call a "kurs," a bit of metal about the size of half-a-crown, and upon it rests the fire. i at once recognized the implement in the brazil, where many slaveholders simply supposed it to be a servile and african form of tobacco-pipe. after a few puffs the eyes redden, a violent cough is caused by the acrid fumes tickling the throat; the brain, whirls with a pleasant swimming, like that of chloroform, and the smoker finds himself in gloriâ. my spanish friends at po tried but did not like it. i can answer for the hemp being stronger than the egyptian hashísh or the bhang of hindostan; it rather resembled the fasúkh of northern africa, the dakha and motukwane of the southern regions, and the wild variety called in sind "bang i jabalí." the religion of african races is ever interesting to those of a maturer faith; it is somewhat like the study of childhood to an old man. the jew, the high-caste hindú, and the guebre, the christian and the moslem have their holy writs, their fixed forms of thought and worship, in fact their grooves in which belief runs. they no longer see through a glass darkly; nothing with them is left vague or undetermined. continuation, resurrection, eternity are hereditary and habitual ideas; they have become almost inseparable and congenital parts of the mental system. this condition renders it nearly as difficult for us to understand the vagueness and mistiness of savage and unwritten creeds, as to penetrate into the modus agendi of animal instinct. and there is yet another obstacle in dealing with such people, their intense and childish sensitiveness and secretiveness. they are not, as some have foolishly supposed, ashamed of their tenets or their practices, but they are unwilling to speak about them. they fear the intentions of the cross-questioner, and they hold themselves safest behind a crooked answer. moreover, every mpongwe is his own "pontifex maximus," and the want, or rather the scarcity, of a regular priesthood must promote independence and discrepancy of belief. whilst noticing the fetishism of the gaboon i cannot help observing, by the way, how rapidly the civilization of the nineteenth century is redeveloping, together with the "religion of humanity" the old faith, not of paganism, but of cosmos, of nature; how directly it is, in fact, going back to its oldergods. the unknowable of our day is the brahm, the akarana-zaman, the gaboon anyambía, of which nothing can be predicated but an existence utterly unintelligible to the brain of man, a something free from the accidents of personality, of volition, of intelligence, of design, of providence; a something which cannot be addressed by veneration or worship; whose sole effects are subjective, that is, upon the worshipper, not upon the worshipped. nothing also can be more illogical than the awe and respect claimed by mr. herbert spencer for a being of which the very essence is that nothing can be known of it. and, as the idea grows, the several modes and forms of the unknowable, the hormuzd and ahriman of the dualist, those personifications of good and evil; the brahma, vishnu, and shiva, creation, preservation, and destruction; the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things; the triad, adored by all triadists under some modification, as that of osiris, isis, and horus, father, mother, and son, type of the family; or jupiter, neptune, and pluto, the three great elements; these outward and visible expressions lose force and significance, making place for that law of which they are the rude exponents. the marvellous spread of spiritualism, whose god is the unknowable, and whose prophet was swedenborg, is but the polished form of the mpongwe ibambo and ilogo; the beneficent phantasms have succeeded to the malevolent ghosts, the shadowy deities of man's childhood; as the god of love formerly took the place of the god of fear. the future of spiritualism, which may be defined as "hades with progress," is making serious inroads upon the coarse belief, worthy of the barbarous and the middle ages, in an eternity of punishment, easily expressed by everlasting fire, and in ineffable joys, which no one has ever successfully expressed. the ghosts of our childhood have now become bonâ fide objective beings, who rap, raise tables, display fireworks, rain flowers, and brew tea. we explain by "levitation" the riding of the witch upon the broom-stick to the sabbath; we can no longer refuse credence to canidia and all her spells. and the very vagueness of the modern faith serves to assimilate it the more to its most ancient forms, one of which we are studying upon the gaboon river. the missionary returning from africa is often asked what is the religion of the people? if an exact man, he will answer, "i don't know." and how can he know when the people themselves, even the princes and priests, are ignorant of it? a missionary of twenty years' standing in west africa, an able and conscientious student withal, assured me that during the early part of his career he had given much time to collecting and collating, under intelligent native superintendence, negro traditions and religion. he presently found that no two men thought alike upon any single subject: i need hardly say that he gave up in despair a work hopeless as psychology, the mere study of the individual. fetishism, i believe, is held by the orthodox to be a degradation of the pure and primitive "adamical dispensation," even as the negro has been supposed to represent the accursed and degraded descendants of ham and canaan. i cannot but look upon it as the first dawn of a faith in things not seen. and it must be studied by casting off all our preconceived ideas. for instance, africans believe, not in soul nor in spirit, but in ghost; when they called m. du chaillu a "mbwiri," they meant that the white man had been bleached by the grave as dante had been darkened by his visit below, and consequently he was a subject of fear and awe. they have a material, evanescent, intelligible future, not an immaterial, incomprehensible eternity; the ghost endures only for awhile and perishes like the memory of the little-great name. hence the ignoble dread in east and west africa of a death which leads to a shadowy world, and eventually to utter annihilation. seeing nought beyond the present-future, there is no hope for them in the grave; they wail and sorrow with a burden of despair. "ame-kwisha"--he is finished--is the east african's last word concerning kinsman and friend. "all is done for ever," sing the west africans. any allusion to loss of life turns their black skins blue; "yes," they exclaim, "it is bad to die, to leave house and home, wife and children; no more to wear soft cloth, nor eat meat, nor "drink" tobacco, and rum." "never speak of that" the moribund will exclaim with a shudder; such is the everpresent horror of their dreadful and dreary times of sickness, always aggravated by suspicions of witchcraft, the only cause which their imperfect knowledge of physics can assign to death-even van helmont asserted, "deus non fecit mortem." the peoples, who, like those of dahome, have a distinct future world, have borrowed it, i cannot help thinking, from egypt. and when an african chief said in my presence to a yahoo-like naval officer, "when so be i die, i come up for white man! when so be you die, you come up for monkey!" my suspicion is that he had distorted the doctrine of some missionary. man would hardly have a future without a distinct priestly class whose interest it is to teach "another and a better,"--or a worse. certain missionaries in the gaboon river have detected evidences of judaism amongst the mpongwe, which deserve notice but which hardly require detailed refutation. 1. circumcision, even on the eighth day as amongst the efik of the old calabar river; but this is a familiar custom borrowed from egypt by the semites; it is done in a multitude of ways, which are limited only by necessity; the resemblance of the mpongwe rite to that of the jews, though remarkable, is purely accidental. 2. the division of tribes into separate families and frequently into the number twelve; but this again appears fortuitous; almost all the west african people have some such division, and they range upwards from three, as amongst the kru-men, the gallas, the wakwafi,and the wanyika.[fn#11] 3. exogamy or the rigid interdiction of marriage between clans and families nearly related; here again the hindu and the somal observe the custom rigidly, whilst the jews and arabs have ever taken to wife their first cousins. 4. sacrifices with bloodsprinkling upon altars and door-posts; a superstition almost universal, found in peru and mexico as in palestine, preserved in ashanti and probably borrowed by the hebrews from the african egyptians. 5. the formal and ceremonial observance of new moons; but the wanyamwezi and other tribes also hail the appearance of the lesser light, like the moslems, who, when they sight the hilal (crescent), ejaculate a short prayer for blessings throughout the month which it ushers in. 6. a specified time of mourning for the dead (common to all barbarians as to civilized races), during which their survivors wear soiled clothes (an instinctive sign of grief, as fine dresses are of joy), and shave their heads (doubtless done to make some difference from everyday times), accompanied with ceremonial purifications (what ancient people has not had some such whim?). 7. the system of runda or forbidden meats; but every traveller has found this practice in south as in east africa, and i noticed it among the somal who, even when starving, will not touch fish nor fowl. briefly, external resemblances and coincidences like these could be made to establish cousinhood between a cockney and a cockatoo; possibly such discovery of judaism dates from the days about 1840, when men were mad to find the "lost tribes," as if they had not quite enough to do with the two which remain to them. the mpongwe and their neighbours have advanced a long step beyond their black brethren in eastern africa. no longer contented with mere fetishes, the egyptian charms in which the dreaded ghost "sits,"[fn#12] meaning, is "bound," they have invented idols, a manifest advance toward that polytheism and pantheism which lead through a triad and duad of deities to monotheism, the finial of the spiritual edifice. in eastern africa i know but one people, the wanyika near mombasah, who have certain images called "kisukas;" they declare that this great medicine, never shown to europeans, came from the west, and andrew battel (1600) found idols amongst the people whom he calls giagas or jagas, meaning congoese chiefs. moreover, the gaboon pagans lodge their idols. behind each larger establishment there is a dwarf hut, the miniature of a dwelling-place, carefully closed; i thought these were offices, but hotaloya andrews taught me otherwise. he called them in his broken english "compass-houses," a literal translation of "nágo mbwiri," and, sturdily refusing me admittance, left me as wise as before. the reason afterwards proved to be that "ologo he kill man too much." i presently found out that he called my pocket compass, "mbwiri," a very vague and comprehensive word. it represents in the highest signification the columbian manitou, and thus men talk of the mbwiri of a tree or a river; as will presently be seen, it is also applied to a tutelar god; and i have shown how it means a ghost. in "nágo mbwiri" the sense is an idol, an object of worship, a "medicine" as the north-american indians say, in contradistinction to munda, a grigri, talisman, or charm. every mpongwe, woman as well as man, has some mbwiri to which offerings are made in times of misfortune, sickness, or danger. i afterwards managed to enter one of these rude and embryonal temples so carefully shut. behind the little door of matting is a tall threshold of board; a bench lines the far end, and in the centre stands "ologo," a rude imitation of a human figure, with a gum-torch planted in the ground before it ready for burnt offerings. to the walls are suspended sundry mystic implements, especially basins, smeared with red and white chalk-mixture, and wooden crescents decorated with beads and ribbons. during worship certain objects are placed before the joss, the suppliant at the same time jangling and shaking the ncheke a rude beginning of the bell, the gong, the rattle, and the instruments played before idols by more advanced peoples. it is a piece of wood, hour-glass-shaped but flat, and some six inches and a half long; the girth of the waist is five inches, and about three more round the ends. the wood is cut away, leaving rude and uneven raised bands horizontally striped with white, black, and red. two brass wires are stretched across the upper and lower breadth, and each is provided with a ring or hinge holding four or five strips of wire acting as clappers. this "wicker-work rattle to drive the devil out" (m. du chaillu, chap, xxvi.) is called by the mpongwe "soke," and serves only, like that of the dahomans and the ashantis (bowdich, 364) for dancing and merriment. the south american maraca was the sole object of worship known to the tupi or brazilian "indians." [fn#13] the beliefs and superstitions popularly attributed to the mpongwe are these. they are not without that which we call a first cause, and they name it anyambia, which missionary philologists consider a contraction of aninla, spirit (?), and mbia, good. m. du chaillu everywhere confounds anyambía, or, as he writes the word, "aniambié," with inyemba, a witch, to bewitch being "punga inyemba." mr. w. winwood reade seems to make anyambía a mysterious word, as was jehovah after the date of the moabite stone. like the brahm of the hindus, the god of epicurus and confucius, and the akárana-zaman or endless time of the guebres, anyambia is a vague being, a vox et præterea nihil, without personality, too high and too remote for interference in human affairs, therefore not addressed in prayer, never represented by the human form, never lodged in temples. under this "unknown god" are two chief agencies, working partners who manage the business of the world, and who effect what the civilized call "providence." mbwírí here becomes the osiris, jove, hormuzd or good god, the vishnu, or preserver, a tutelar deity, a lar, a guardian. onyámbe is the bad god, typhon, vejovis, the ahriman or semitic devil; shiva the destroyer, the third person of the aryan triad; and his name is never mentioned but with bated breath. they have not only fear of, but also a higher respect for him than for the giver of good, so difficult is it for the childman's mind to connect the ideas of benignity and power. he would harm if he could, ergo so would his god. i once hesitated to believe that these rude people had arrived at the notion of duality, at the manichaeanism which caused mr. mill (sen.) surprise that no one had revived it in his time; at an idea so philosophical, which leads directly to the ne plus ultra of faith, el wahdaníyyeh or monotheism. nor should i have credited them with so logical an apparatus for the regimen of the universe, or so stout-hearted an attempt to solve the eternal riddle of good and evil. but the same belief also exists amongst the congoese tribes, and even in the debased races of the niger. captain william alien ("niger expedition," i. 227) thus records the effect when, at the request of the commissioners, herr schon, the missionary, began stating to king obi the difference between the christian religion and heathenism: "herr schön. there is but one god. "king obi. i always understood there were two," &c. the mpongwe "mwetye" is a branch of male freemasonry into which women and strangers are never initiated. the bakele and shekyani, according to "western africa" (wilson, pp. 391-2), consider it a "great spirit." nothing is more common amongst adjoining negro tribes than to annex one another's superstitions, completely changing, withal, their significance. "ovengwá" is a vampire, the apparition of a dead man; tall as a tree, always winking and clearly seen, which is not the case with the ibámbo and ilogo, plurals of obambo and ologo. these are vulgar ghosts of the departed, the causes of "possession," disease and death; they are propitiated by various rites, and everywhere they are worshipped in private. mr. wilson opines that the "obambo are the spirits of the ancestors of the people, and inlâgâ are the spirits of strangers and have come from a distance," but this was probably an individual tenet. the mumbo-jumbo of the mandengas; the semo of the súsús; the tassau or "purrah-devil" of the mendis; the egugun of the egbas; the egbo of the duallas; and the mwetye and ukukwe of the bakele, is represented in pongo-land by the ndá, which is an order of the young men. ndá dwells in the woods and comes forth only by night bundled up in dry plantain leaves[fn#14] and treading on tall stilts; he precedes free adult males who parade the streets with dance and song. the women and children fly at the approach of this devil on two sticks, and with reason: every peccadillo is punished with a merciless thrashing. the institution is intended to keep in order the weaker sex, the young and the "chattels:" ndá has tried visiting white men and missionaries, but his visits have not been a success. the civilized man would be apt to imagine that these wild african fetishists are easily converted to a "purer creed." the contrary is everywhere and absolutely the case; their faith is a web woven with threads of iron. the negro finds it almost impossible to rid himself of his belief; the spiritual despotism is the expression of his organization, a part of himself. progressive races, on the other hand, can throw off or exchange every part of their religion, except perhaps the remnant of original and natural belief in things unseen--in fact, the fetishist portion, such as ghost-existence and veneration of material objects, places, and things. i might instance the protestant missionary who, while deriding the holy places at jerusalem, considers the "cedars of lebanon" sacred things, and sternly forbids travellers to gather the cones. the stereotyped african answer to europeans ridiculing these institutions, including wizard-spearing and witch-burning is, "there may be no magic, though i see there is, among you whites. but we blacks have known many men who have been bewitched and died." even in asia, whenever i spoke contemptuously to a moslem of his jinns, or to a hindu of his rákshasa, the rejoinder invariably was, "you white men are by nature so hot that even our devils fear you." witchcraft, which has by no means thoroughly disappeared from europe, maintains firm hold upon the african brain. the idea is found amongst christians, for instance, the "reduced indians" of the amazonas river; and it is evidently at the bottom of that widely spread superstition, the "evil eye," which remains throughout southern europe as strong as it was in the days of pliny. as amongst barbarians generally, no misfortune happens, no accident occurs, no illness nor death can take place without the agency of wizard or witch. there is nothing more odious than this crime; it is hostile to god and man, and it must be expiated by death in the most terrible tortures. metamorphosis is a common art amongst mpongwe magicians: this vulgar materialism, of which ovid sang, must not be confounded with the poetical hindu metempsychosis or transmigration of souls which explains empirically certain physiological mysteries. here the adept naturally becomes a gorilla or a leopard, as he would be a lion in south africa, a hyena in abyssinia and the somali country, and a loup-garou in brittany.[fn#15] the poison ordeal is a necessary corollary to witchcraft. the plant most used by the oganga (medicine man) is a small red rooted shrub, not unlike a hazel bush, and called ikázyá or ikájá. mr. wilson (p. 225) writes "nkazya:" battel (loc. cit. 334) terms the root "imbando," a corruption of mbundú. m. du chaillu (chap. xv.) gives an illustration of the "mboundou leaf" (half size): professor john torrey believes the active principle to be a vegeto-alkali of the strychnos group, but the symptoms do not seem to bear out the conjecture. the mpongwe told me that the poison was named either mbundú or olondá (nut) werere--perhaps this was what is popularly called "a sell." mbundú is the decoction of the scraped bark which corresponds with the "sassywater" of the northern maritime tribes. the accused, after drinking the potion, is ordered to step over sticks of the same plant, which are placed a pace apart. if the man be affected, he raises his foot like a horse with string-halt, and this convicts him of the foul crime. of course there is some antidote, as the medicine-man himself drinks large draughts of his own stuff: in old calabar river for instance, mithridates boils the poison-nut; but europeans could not, and natives would not, tell me what the gaboon "dodge" is. according to vulgar africans, all test-poisons are sentient and reasoning beings, who search the criminal's stomach, that is his heart, and who find out the deep hidden sin; hence the people shout, "if they are wizards, let it kill them; if they are innocent, let it go forth!" moreover, the detected murderer is considered a bungler who has fallen into the pit dug for his brother. doubtless many innocent lives have been lost by this superstition. but there is reason in the order, "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," without having recourse to the supernaturalisms and preternaturalisms, which have unobligingly disappeared when science most wants them. sorcery and poison are as closely united as the "black nightingales," and it evidently differs little whether i slay a man with my sword or i destroy him by the slow and certain torture of a mind diseased. the mpongwe have also some peculiarities in their notions of justice. if a man murder another, the criminal is put to death, not by the nearest of kin, as amongst the arabs and almost all wild people, but by the whole community; this already shows an advanced appreciation of the act and its bearings. the penalty is either drowning or burning alive: except in the case of a chief or a very rich man, little or no difference is made between wilful murder, justifiable homicide, and accidental manslaughter-the reason of this, say their jurists, is to make people more careful. here, again, we find a sense of the sanctity of life the reverse of barbarous. cutting and maiming are punished by the fine of a slave. and now briefly to resume the character of the mpongwe, a nervous and excitable race of negroes. the men are deficient in courage, as the women are in chastity, and neither sex has a tincture of what we call morality. to commercial shrewdness and eagerness they add exceptional greed of gain and rascality; foreign rum and tobacco, dress and ornaments, arms and ammunition have been necessaries to them; they will have them, and, unless they can supply themselves by licit, they naturally fly to illicit means. yet, despite threats of poison and charges of witchcraft, they have arrived at an inkling of the dogma that "honesty is the best policy:" the east african has never dreamed it in the moments of his wildest imagination. pre-eminent liars, they are, curious to say, often deceived by the falsehoods of others, and they fairly illustrate the somewhat paradoxical proverb: "he who hates truth shall be the dupe of lies." unblushing mendicants, cunning and calculating, their obstinacy is remarkable; yet, as we often find the african, they are at the same time irresolute in the extreme. their virtues are vivacity, mental activity, acute observation, sociability, politeness, and hospitality: the fact that a white man can wander single-handed through the country shows a kindly nature. the brightest spot in their character is an abnormal development of adhesiveness, popularly called affection; it is somewhat tempered by capricious ruffianism, as in children; yet it entitles them to the gratítude of travellers. the language of the mpongwe has been fairly studied. t. edward bowdich ("mission from cape coast castle to ashantee," london, murray, 1819) when leaving the west coast for england, touched at the gaboon in a trading vessel, and visited naango (king george's town), on abaaga creek, which he places fifty miles up stream. he first gave (appendix vi.) a list of the mpongwe numerals. in 1847 the "missionaries of the a. b. c. f. m." gaboon mission, western africa, printed a "grammar of the mpongwe language, with vocabularies" (new york,snowden and pratt, vesey street), perhaps a little prematurely; it is the first of the four dialects on this part of the coast reduced to system by the american missionaries, especially by the rev. mr. leighton wilson, the others being bakele, benga, and fán. in 1856, the same gentleman, who had taken the chief part in the first publication, made an able abstract and a comparison with the grebo and mandenga tongues ("western africa," part iv. chap. iv.). m. du chaillu further abridged this abridgement in his appendix without owning his authority, and in changing the examples he did all possible damage. in the transactions of the ethnological society of london (part ii. vol. i. new series), he also gave an abstract, in which he repeats himself. a "vocabulaire de la langue ponga" was printed in the "mémoires de la société ethnologique," tome ii., by m. p. h. delaporte. the other publications known to me are:-1. the book of proverbs, translated into the mpongwe language at the mission of the a. b. c. f. m., gaboon, west africa. new york. american bible society, instituted in the year mdcccxvi. 1859. 2. the books of genesis, part of exodus, proverbs, and acts, by the same, printed at the same place and in the same year. the missionary explorers of the language, if i may so call them, at once saw that it belongs to the great south african family sichwáná, zulu, kisawahíli, mbundo (congoese), fiote, and others, whose characteristics are polysyllabism, inflection by systematic prefixes, and an alliteration, the mystery of whose reciprocal letters is theoretically explained by a euphony in many cases unintelligible, like the modes of hindú music, to the european ear.[fn#16] but they naturally fell into the universally accepted error of asserting "it has no known affinities to any of the languages north of the mountains of the moon," meaning the equatorial chain which divides the niger and nile valleys from the basin of the congo. this branch has its peculiarities. like italian--the coquette who grants her smiles to many, her favours to few--one of the easiest to understand and to speak a little, it is very difficult to master. whilst every native child can thread its way safely through its intricate, elaborate, and apparently arbitrary variations, the people comprehend a stranger who blunders over every sentence. mr. wilson thus limits the use of the accent: "whilst the mandenga ("a grammar of the mandenga language," by the rev. r. maxwell macbriar, london, john mason) and the grebo ("grammar," by the right rev. john payne, d.d. 150, nassau street, new york, 1864), distinguish between similar words, especially monosyllables, by a certain pitch of voice, the mpongwe repel accent, and rely solely upon the clear and distinct vowel sounds." but i found the negative past, present, and future forms of verbs wholly dependent upon a change of accent, or rather of intonation or voice-pitch, which the stranger's ear, unless acute, will fail to detect. for instance, mi taund would mean "i love;" mi taundá, "i do not love." the reverend linguist also asserts that it is almost entirely free from guttural and nasal sounds; the latter appeared to me as numerous and complicated as in the sanskrit. mr. wilson could hardly have had a nice ear, or he would not have written nchígo "ntyege," or njína "engena," which gives a thoroughly un-african distinctness to the initial consonant. the adjectival form is archaically expressed by a second and abstract substantive. this peculiarity is common in the south african family, as in ashanti; but, as bowdich observes, we also find it in greek, e.g. <greek> , "heresies of destruction" for destructive. another notable characteristic is the mpongwe's fondness for the passive voice, never using, if possible, the active; for instance, instead of saying, "he was born thus," he prefers, "the birth that was thus borned by him." the dialect changes the final as well as the initial syllable, a process unknown to the purest types of the south african family. as we advance north we find this phenomenon ever increasing; for instance in fernando po; but the mpongwe limits the change to verbs. another distinguishing point of these three gaboon tongues, as the rev. mr. mackey observes, is "the surprizing flexibility of the verb, the almost endless variety of parts regularly derived from a single root. there are, perhaps, no other languages in the world that approach them in the variety and extent of the inflections of the verb, possessing at the same time such rigid regularity of conjugation and precision of the meaning attached to each part." it is calculated that the whole number of tenses or shades of meaning which a mpongwe radical verb may be made to express, with the aid of its auxiliary particles, augmentatives, and negatives--prefixes, infixes, and suffixes--is between twelve and fifteen hundred, worse than an arabic triliteral. liquid and eminently harmonious, concise and capable of contraction, the mpongwe tongue does not deserve to die out. "the genius of the language is such that new terms may be introduced in relation to ethics, metaphysics, and science; even to the great truths of the christian religion." the main defect is that of the south african languages generally-a deficiency of syntax, of gender and case; a want of vigour in sound; a too great precision of expression, rendering it clumsy and unwieldy; and an absence of exceptions, which give beauty and variety to speech. the people have never invented any form of alphabet, yet the abundance of tale, legend, and proverb which their dialect contains might repay the trouble of acquiring it. chapter v. to sánga-tánga and back. my objects in visiting mbátá, the rea