twenty-five balls of rubber, which I bought to promote good
feeling, subsequently dashing them to Wiki, who passed them
in at Ndorko when we got there. 1 also bought some elephant-
hair necklaces from one of the chiefs’ wives, by exchanging
my red silk tie with her for them, and one or two other things.
I saw fish-hooks would not be of much value because Efoua
was not near a big water of any sort; so I held fish-hooks and
traded handkerchiefs and knives.
One old chief was exceedingly keen to do business, and I
bought a meat spoon, a plantain spoon, and a gravy spoon off
him ; and then he brought me a lot of rubbish I did not want,
and I said so, and announced I had finished trade for that
night. However the old gentleman was not to be put off, and
after an unsuccessful attempt to sell me his cooking-pots,
which were roughly made out of clay, he made energetic signs
to me that if I would wait he had got something that he
would dispose of which Gray Shirt said was “ good too much.
Off he wTent across the street, and disappeared into his hut,
where he evidently had a thorough hunt for the precious
article. One box after another was brought out to the light of
a bush torch held by one of his wives, and there was a great
confabulation between him and his family of the “ I m sure
you had it last,” “ You must have moved it,” “ Never touched
the thing,” sort. A t last it was found, and he brought it across
the street to me most carefully. It was a bundle of bark
cloth tied round something most carefully with tie tie. This
being removed, disclosed a layer of rag, which was unwound
from round a Central article. Whatever can this be ? thinks
I ; some rare and valuable object doubtless, let s hope connected
with Fetish worship, and I anxiously watched its
unpacking ; in the end, however, it disclosed, to my disgust
and rage, an old shilling razor. The way the old chief held
it out, and the amount of dollars he asked for it, was enough to
make any one believe that I was in such urgent need of the
thing, that I was at his mercy regarding price. I waved it off
with a haughty scorn, and then feeling smitten by the expression
of agonised bewilderment on his face, I dashed him a
belt that delighted him, and went inside and had tea to soothe
my outraged feelings.
The chiefs made furious raids on the mob of spectators who
pressed round the door, and stood with their eyes glued to
every crack in the bark of which the hut was made. The
next door neighbours on either side might have amassed a
comfortable competence for their old age, by letting out seats
for the circus. Every hole in the side walls had a human eye
in it, and I heard new holes being bored in all directions ; so
I deeply fear the chief, my host, must have found his palace
sadly draughty. I felt perfectly safe and content, however,
although Ngouta suggested the charming idea that “ P’r’aps
them M’fetta Fan done sell we.” The only grave question I
had to face was whether I should take off my boots or n o t;
they were wet through, from wading swamps, &c., and my
feet were very sore ; but on the other hand, if I took those
boots off, I felt confident that I should not be able to get them
on again next morning, so I decided to lef ’em.
As soon as all my men had come in, and established themselves
in the inner room for the night, I curled up among the
boxes, with my head on the tobacco sack, and dozed.
After about half an hour I heard a row in the street, and
looking out,— for I recognised his grace’s voice taking a solo
part followed by choruses,— I found him in legal difficulties
about a murder case. An alibi was proved for the time being ;
that is to say the prosecution could not bring up witnesses
because of the elephant hunt; and I went in for another doze,
and the town at last grew quiet. Waking up again I noticed
the smell in the hut was violent, from being shut up I suppose,
and it had an unmistakably organic origin. Knocking the
ash end off the smouldering bush-light that lay burning on
the floor, I investigated, and tracked it to those bags, so I
took down the biggest one, and carefully noted exactly how
the tie-tie had been put round its mouth ; for these thingg are
important and often mean a lot. I then shook its contents
out in my hat, for fear of losing anything of value. They
were a human hand, three big toes, four eyes, two ears, and
other portions of the human frame. The hand was fresh, the
others only so so, and shrivelled.
Replacing them I tied the bag up, and hung it up again.
I subsequently learnt that although the Fans will eat their