go farther, volunteered to hurry on to his father's town and bring assistance. How far it was we knew not; but he went off.

We waited an hour, but no help arrived. Then I sent out two of my men to meet the party and hurry them on. Two hours more passed, and I had begun to despair of help, when loud shouts ringing through the woods gave us notice of the approach of our friends; and presently rushed in among us King Mbene himself, his face radiant with smiles, and shouting a welcome to me. He was followed by a large party of men and women, who took up my boxes and other things; Mbene took one of my guns, and thus relieved, we hurried on to the town or encampment of my royal friend, which proved to be about six miles off.

The people had been here so little time that they had not had time to cut a road to the river, so that the few miles we traversed from the river-side were of the roughest. Happily, elephants are plenty hereabouts, and when we could we walked in their huge tracks the rushing of a herd effecting quite a clearing in the woods, though every thing grows up again with marvelous rapidity.

I thought to come to a town. My astonishment was great when I found, instead of the usual plantations of plantain-trees which surround the collection of huts which make up an African village, an immense mass of timber thrown down helter-skelter, as though a hurricane had passed through this part of the forest. It appeared that Mbene's people had their village at some distance off, but came here to make new plantations, and this was their way of making a clearing. It is the usual way among these tribes. The men go into the forest and choose a site for the plantation; then cut down the trees in any way, just as luck or fancy may direct; let every thing lie till the dry season has sufficiently seasoned the great trees, when they set fire to the whole mass, burn it up, and on its site the women now plant their manioc, maize, and plantains.

It was only with the greatest difficulty, and with many tears from thorns and trips from interposing boughs, that I got through this barrier, than which they could not have made a better wall of defense for their village. For once get an enemy entangled in such a piece of ground, and they could pepper him at their convenience, without fear of retaliation.

At last, when my patience was entirely gone, and my few

clothes were literally hanging in ribbons about me, we arrived at the camp. Here we were received in grand African style. Guns were fired, the people shouted and danced, every body was as jolly as though every body's brother had just come back rich, and I was immediately installed under a shed, whither the king graciously followed me with a present-very welcome indeed—of a goat and some bunches of plantains.

The plantain is the bread of all these tribes. Lucky would they be if they always had such bread to eat. It will be seen farther on how frequently their thriftless habits leave them without even the easily cultivated plantain, and force them to eke out a wretched subsistence of the wild roots which are found in the forests.

I had seen Mbene before, and several of his people recognized me, having seen me when, some years ago, I attempted an exploration of this region in company with the Rev. Mr. Mackey. These good fellows now manifested extraordinary joy, and welcomed me to their town with all sorts of dances and songs, and offers of services.

Mbene's village or encampment is situated at the foot of the first granite range of the Sierra del Crystal. The forest-clad hillsides were visible in the distance, and were to me a delightful spectacle, for I saw that I was now approaching the goal of my desires. The people had not as yet built themselves houses, but were living in camp, under rude sheds composed of leaves spread thickly over four forked sticks planted in the ground. Here each head of a family gathered his wives, children, and slaves about him, and rested in safety and peace. One of the best constructed of these sheds-one whose sticks stood upright, and whose leafy roof was water-tight-was given me, and here I ently fell soundly asleep, after first placing my two chests near my head.

pres

On rising the next morning, I found that we were really not more than ten or fifteen miles from the hills. Yesterday evening we could see two ranges; the lower and nearer 500 or 600 feet high, and the farther and higher from two to three thousand feet high. It is among these hills that the Fans-the cannibal tribe -live, and the gorilla has here also his home.

Mbene excused himself for what he thought a shabby reception of me. He said that his people had but just come here; that the

70

AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS.

men had been busy all the dry season cutting down trees and clearing the woods, so that in the wet season the women might plant their manioc, plantains, etc. The clearing of ground is the men's work among these people. The women have the sole care of the planting. He said that they had had very little to eat; had been obliged to beg food of the neighboring tribes, and half the time had nothing to eat but the nut of a kind of palm, of which they also make a kind of wine. This nut is very bitter; I could never eat it. It is shaped like an egg, with rounded ends. To prepare it it is divested of its husk and soaked in water for twenty-four hours, when it loses in part its exceedingly bitter taste, and becomes tolerably palatable to a hungry man. Sometimes hunger presses them to eat the nut without soaking it-I have been compelled to do so-and it is then excessively disagreeable.

I saw at once that it would not do for me to stay long with Mbene, for I could not live as these people do; and of my own stores, though I had a few crackers and sea-biscuit left, these would not last long, and ought to be kept for possible sickness.

The negro tribes of this region are half the time in a state of starvation by their utter improvidence. They seem unable to cope with want, even with so fertile a country as theirs to help them. Such encampments as this of Mbene's are common among all the tribes. Their agricultural operations are of the rudest kind, and, from the necessity of seeking out the most fertile soil as well as from general habit, they prefer to go to a distance from their villages to clear and plant the ground. They never plant two successive years in the same place, and have, therefore, much labor in clearing the ground every time. And, after all, it is not uncommon for a village to lose all the fruits of its labors by the incursions of a herd of elephants, who trample down what they do not eat up. This happens especially to plantain plantations.

The encampment is called an olako, this word signifying also a new site for a village or any place of temporary sojourn. An olako is a romantic scene to look at, particularly in the night, when every family has its fire, near which its beds are made under the shades before described. But hunger spoils the prettiest romance; and I would have given up the camp willingly for a good roast fowl or a sufficient supply of bread.

I told Mbene that as his place had no food to offer I must go farther; explained to him my objects; and finally it was agreed

that his brother Ncomo should accompany me with a party as far as the Fan tribe. So much was settled without difficulty; but still several weeks passed ere my company was ready to start. Meantime I made myself as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. The king's wives supplied me with mats for my bed, and under these I put dry leaves enough to make a soft couch. On each side of the bed I built a fire to keep off the musquitoes, which were very troublesome, and thus I tried to sleep at night. My weary days were spent in hunting.

I ought to add that, with usual African hospitality, my kingly friend offered me a wife on my arrival at his place. This is the common custom when the negroes wish to pay respect to their guests, and they can not understand why white men should decline what they consider a mere matter of course. I endeavored to explain to Mbene and his wives what our own customs were in regard to marriage; but neither men nor women seemed to understand or appreciate the Christian idea of marriage.

The musquitoes penetrated through the smoke of my fires, and bit me so that I could scarce sleep on the first night after my arrival, and, to make matters yet more unpleasant, the rain poured on me through a leaky place in my leafy shelter, so that I arose next morning wet, sore, hungry, but withal feeling unusually well.

I went to make arrangements with Ncomo for an early start. Found that his women had gone out to beg food for their trip. Mbene gave me a chicken for my dinner-an unusual luxury. But I had to shoot my fowl before eating it. The natives build no perches for their poultry, and the consequence is that the chickens fly to roost in the topmost branches of the trees, where they are safe from predatory attacks of all kinds, either by their owners or by wild beasts.

When I declined Mbene's offer of a "wife," he said, "Oh well, she can at any rate wait on you and cook for you;" and so I am lucky enough to have a good cook. The negroes use a good deal of pepper in their cooking, which I think healthy for this climate; otherwise my chicken-soup was good enough, and, with the addition of some plantain boiled, and some remains of the goat which had been given to me yesterday, I made a very good dinnerprobably the last I shall get for a good many days, unless we are unusually lucky and kill some deer or elephant on our road.

72

"MBENE'S WHITE MAN."

CHAPTER VI.

Hold of a Traveler on the Natives. Fruits. - The Mbondemo. Their Towns. -Houses.-Morals of War.-Condition of Women.-Women as Bearers.-The Hills.-A Caravan. Mutiny.-Rapids of the Ntambounay.-Summit of the Sierra.-Contemplations interrupted by a Serpent.-The first Gorilla.-Appearance in Motion.-Famine in the Camp.-Native Stories of the Gorilla.—Superstitious Notions about the Animal.-Lifelessness of the Forest.-A Bee-hive.

TO-DAY (August 20th) I sent back Dayoko's men, and am now in Mbene's power and at his mercy. He is a very good fellow, and I feel myself quite safe among his rough but kindly people. I have found it the best way to trust the people I travel among. They seem to take it as a compliment, and they are proud to have a white man among them. Even if a chief were inclined to murder, it would not be profitable in such a case, for the exhibition of his white visitor among the neighboring tribes does more to give him respect and prestige than his murder would.

They speak of me now as "Mbene's white man." Before I was "Dayoko's white man." The title has comfort and safety in it, for it would be a great insult to Mbene for any stranger to molest his white man, and it is to his own honor to feed him as well as he can.

Of course, one must have tact enough to satisfy the chief with occasional little presents, given him generally in private so that his people may not beg from him, and given, also, not as though you wished to conciliate-for it will not do to show any symptoms of fear however much cause there may be-but apparently as friendly gifts.

This is the only safe way to get ahead in this country, and I never found a chief whose "white man" I was for the time but would help and further my plans and journeys.

Dayoko's men are to return to Mbene's camp in three months to look for me, and I have to be back, if possible, by that time. The women have brought in a supply of the bitter palm-seeds and of other fruits, mostly more palatable than that bitter abomination, but unfortunately not so plentiful. Among these is a