want, he would set apart one of his cows expressly for
our use. On bidding adieu, the usual formalities of handshaking
were gone through; and on entering camp, I
found the good thoughtful king had sent us some more
of his excellent beer.
The Wanguana were now all in the highest of good-
humour; for time after time goats and fowls were brought
into camp by the officers of the king, who had received
orders from all parts of the country to bring in supplies
for his guests; and this kind of treatment went on for a
month, though it did not diminish my daily expenditure
of beads, as grain and plantains were not enough thought
of. The cold winds, however, made the coast-men all
shiver, and suspect, in their ignorance, we must be drawing
close to England, the only cold place they had
heard of.
2 6 th.—Hearing it would be considered indecent haste
to present my tributary offering at once, I paid my morning’s
visit, only taking my revolving-pistol, as I knew
Khmanika had expressed a strong wish to see it. The
impression it made was surprising -ss- he had never seen
such a thing in his life; so, in return for his great generosity,
as well as to show I placed no value on property,
not being a merchant, I begged him to accept“ it. We
then adjourned to his private hut, which rather surprised
me by the neatness with which it was kept. The roof
was supported by numerous clean poles, to which he had
fastened a large assortment of spears—brass-headed with
iron handles, and iron-headed with wooden ones—of excellent
workmanship. A large standing-screen, of fine straw-
plait work, in elegant devices, partitioned off one part of
the room; and on the opposite side, as mere ornaments,
were placed a number of brass grapnels and small models
of cows, made in iron for his amusement by the Arabs at
Kufro. A little later in the day, as soon as we had done
breakfast, both Rumanika and Nnanaji came over to pay
us a visit; for they thought, as we could find our way
all over the world, so we should not find much difficulty
in prescribing some magic charms to kill his brother,
Rogdro, who lived on a hill overlooking the Kitanguld.
Seating them both on our chairs, which amused them
intensely, I asked Riimanika, although I had heard before
the whole facts of the case, what motives now induced
him to wish the committal of such a terrible act, and
brought out the whole story afresh.
Before their old father Dagara died, he had unwittingly
said to the mother of Rogero, although he was the youngest
born, what a fine king he would make; and the mother,
in consequence, tutored her son to expect the command
of the country, although the law of the land in the royal
family is the primogeniture system, extending, however,
only to those sons who are bom after the accession of the
king to the throne.
As soon, therefore, as Dagara died, leaving the three
sons alluded to, all by different mothers, a contest took
place with the brothers, which, as Nnanaji held by Riimanika,
ended in the two elder driving Rogdro away. It
happened, however, that half the men of the country,
either from fear or love, attached themselves to Rogero.
Feeling his power, he raised an army and attempted to
fight for the crown, which it is generally admitted would
have succeeded, had not Miisa, with unparalleled magnanimity,
employed all the ivory merchandise at his command
to engage the services of all the Arabs’ slaves
residing at Kufro, to bring muskets against him. Rogdro
was thus frightened away; but he went swearing that he
would carry out his intentions at some future date, when
the Arabs had withdrawn from the country.
Magic charms, of course, we had none; but the king
would not believe it, and, to wheedle some out of us, said
they would not kill their brother even if they caught
him——for fratricide was considered an unnatural crime in