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handle of the bow is ingeniously split, and by a little peg, which acts as a trigger, the bow-string is disengaged, and, as the spring is very strong, sends the arrow to a great distance, and, light as it is, with great force. But the merest puncture kills inevitably. They are good marksmen with their bows; and these require, besides, great strength to bend. They have to sit on their haunches, and apply both feet to the middle of the bow, while they pull with all their strength on the string to bend it back.

The larger arrows have an iron head, something like the sharp barbs of a harpoon. These are used for hunting wild beasts, and are about two feet long. But the more deadly weapon is the little insignificant stick of bamboo, not more than twelve inches long, and simply sharpened at one end. This is the famed poison-arrowa missile which bears death wherever it touches, if only it pricks a pin's-point of blood. The poison is made of the juices of a plant which was not shown me. They dip the sharp ends of the arrows several times in this sap, and let it get thoroughly dried into the wood. It gives the point a red color. The arrows are very carefully kept in a little bag, made neatly of the skin of some wild animal. They are much dreaded among the tribes about here, as they can be thrown or projected with such power as to take effect at a distance of fifteen yards, and with such velocity that you can not see them at all till they are spent. This I have often proved myself. There is no cure for a wound from one of these harmless-looking little sticks-death follows in a very short time.

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POISONED ARROWS.

Some of the Fans bore on their shoulders the terrible war-axe figured opposite, one blow of which quite suffices to split a human skull. Some of these axes, as well as their spears and other ironwork, were beautifully ornamented with scroll-work, and wrought in graceful lines and curves which spoke well for their artisans.

The war-knife, which hangs by the side, is a terrible weapon for a hand-to-hand conflict, and, as they explained to me, is designed to thrust through the enemy's body. There is another huge knife also worn by some of the men now in the crowd be

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fore me. This is over a foot long, by about eight inches wide, and is used to cut down through the shoulders of an adversary. It must do tremendous execution.

Then there is a very singular pointed axe, which is thrown from a distance, as American Indians are said to use the tomahawk. The figure (1) will give the reader an idea of the curious shape of this weapon. When thrown it strikes with the point down, and inflicts a terrible wound. They use it with great dexterity. The object aimed at with this axe is the head. The point penetrates to the brain, and kills the victim immediately; and then the round edge of the axe is used to cut the head off, which is borne off by the victor as a trophy.

The spears, which are six to seven feet in length, are thrown by the natives with great force, and with an accuracy of aim which never ceased to surprise me. They make the long slender rod fairly whistle through the air. Most of them can throw a spear effectively to the distance of from twenty to thirty yards. Most of the knives and axes were ingeniously sheathed in covers made of snake-skins, or human skin taken from some victim

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GRAND CELEBRATION.

of battle. Many of these sheaths are ingeniously made, and are slung round the neck by cords, which permit the weapon to hang at the side out of the wearer's way.

Though so warlike, they have no armor. In fact, their working in iron is as yet too rude for such a luxury. The only weapon of defense is the huge shield of elephant's hide; but this is even bullet-proof; and as it is very large-three and a half feet long by two and a half broad-it suffices to cover the whole body.

Besides their weapons, many of the men wore a smaller knife --but also rather unwieldy-which served the various offices of a jack-knive, a hatchet, and a table-knife. But, though rude in shape, they used it with great dexterity.

It was a grand sight to see so many stalwart, martial, fiercelooking fellows, fully armed and ready for any desperate foray, gathered in one assemblage. Finer looking men I never saw; and I could well believe them brave, did not the completeness of their armory prove that war is a favorite pastime with them. In fact, they are dreaded by all their neighbors, and, if they were only animated by the spirit of conquest, would soon make short work of the tribes between them and the coast.

To-day several hundred Fans from the surrounding village came in to see me. Okolo, a great king among them, gave me his knife, saying it had already killed a man. To-night there is a great dance in honor of the arrival of a spirit (myself) among them. This dance was the wildest scene I ever saw. Every body was there; and I, in whose honor the affair was, had to assist by my presence. The only music was that of a rude druman instrument made of a certain kind of wood, and of deer or goat skins. The cylinder was about four feet long, and ten inches in diameter at one end, but only seven at the other. The wood was hollowed out quite thin, and the skin stretched over tightly. To beat it the drummer held it slantingly between his legs, and with two sticks beat furiously upon the upper, which was the larger end of the cylinder.

This music was accompanied with singing, which was less melodious even than the drumming. As for the dancing, it was an indescribable mixture of wildness and indecency.

One of the consequences of the dance is that we are to have a great elephant-hunt, and women are busied in cooking food, and men in preparing arms for this great game. The few guns own

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ed by the Fans have been carefully furbished up, and I have prepared my two for action, expecting great things from such desperate hunters as these.

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The grand Hunt.-Fan Mode of capturing Elephants.-A pitched Battle.-Man killed by an Elephant.-Grace before Meat among the Fan.-The use of a dead Hunter.—Habits of the Elephant.-Hanou, or Elephant-trap.-Elephant Meat.— Condition of Women.-Marriage Ceremonies.-A Fan Wedding.-Musical Instrument.-Corpse brought in to be eaten.-Human Flesh prized.-Stories of Fan Cannibalism. - Encroachments westward of the Fans. Their Origin.— Color.—Tattooing.—Trade.-Iron-smelting.-Fan Blacksmiths. - Bellows and other Tools.-Pottery.-Agriculture.-Food.-Slavery.—The Oshebo.-Beyond.

-Superstitions.-Sorcery.-Charms.—Idols.

ABOUT five hundred men assembled for the hunt on the morning of September 4th. They were divided into different parties, each of which set out for the part of the forest assigned it. Meantime Ndiayai and I went together to the general rendezvous, a walk of about six hours through the woody and mountainous country which I have already described. The march was conducted in great silence, and every care was taken not to alarm any game which might be near our track. Arrived at our halting-place, we immediately began to build our camp, and had hardly got our shelters constructed when it began to rain.

The next morning we set out for the hunting-ground. And here a most remarkable sight presented itself. The elephant, like most other great beasts, has no regular walk or path, but strays somewhat at random through the woods in search of food; but it is his habit, when pleased with a neighborhood, to remain there for a considerable time, nor let any small matter drive him away. Now of this the Fan take advantage. The forests here are full of rough, strong, climbing plants, which you will see running up to the tops of the tallest trees. These they twist together, and with them ingeniously, but with much labor, construct a kind of huge fence or obstruction, not sufficient to hold the elephant, but quite strong enough to check him in his flight and entangle him in the meshes till the hunters can have time to kill him. Once caught, they quietly surround the huge beast, and put an end to his struggles by incessant discharges of their spears and guns.

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