à la Turque, but unfortunately these garments have a band
that consists of a run-in string, and that string is out of repair.
He writes furiously— blotting paper mislaid— frantic flurry
round— pantaloons won’t stand it— grab just saves them—
something wanted the other side of the room—-headlong
flight towards it— “ now’s our chance,” think the pantaloons,
and make off— recaptured.
Formalities being concluded regarding us, the chief makes a
dash out from behind his writing-table, claps his heels together,
and bows with a jerk that causes the pantaloons to faint in
coils, like the White Knight in “ Alice in Wonderland,” and
my last view was of a combat with them, I hope a successful
one, and that their owner, who was leaving for home the next
day, is now enjoying a well-earned, honourable repose after
his long years of service to his country in Congo Français. \
24/Ajj-Pouring wet day.
25th.— Called on the Mother Superior,, and collected shells
from the bay beyond Libreville. In the afternoon called on
the missionary lady, who has now arrived with her young son,
per German boat from Batanga, and talked on fetish ; Dr:
Nassau telling a very pathetic and beautiful story of an old
chief at Eloby praying to the spirit of the new moon, which he
regarded as a represéntative of the higher elemental power, to
prevent the evil lower spirits from entering his town.
Sunday, 26th.— Mr. Fildes evidently regards it as his duty
to devote his Sunday mornings to ladies “ invoiced to the firm,”
and takes me in the gig ; to go up the little river to the east,
ostentatiously only the drainage of the surrounding swamp.
The tide just allows us to go over the miniature sand-bar, and
then we row up the river, which is about forty feet across, and
runs through a perfect gem of a mangrove-swamp, and the
stènch is quite the right thing— real Odeur de Niger Delta.
As we go higher up, the river channel winds to and fro
between walls and slopes of ink-black slime, more sparsely
covered with mangrove bushes than near the entrance.
This stinking, stoneless slime is honey-combed with crab
holes, and the owners of these— green, blue, red, and black
— are walking about on the tips of their toes1 sideways, with
that comic pomp peculiar to the crab family. I expected
only to have to sit in the boat and say “ Horrible ” at intervals,
but no such thing; my companion, selecting a peculiarly
awful-looking spot, says he “ thinks that will do,” steers the
boat up to it, and jumps out with a squidge into, the black
\ f ° V ° ne awful moment 1 thought it was suicide, and
that before I could even get the address of his relations to
break the news to them there would be nothing but a Panama
hat lying on the slime before me. But he only sinks in a matter
of a foot or so, and then starts off, to my horror, calling the
boys after him, to hunt crabs for me. Now I have mentioned no
esire for crabs, and was merely looking at them, as I always do
when out with other white folk, noting where they were
so as to come back alone next day and get them ; for I don’t
want any one’s blood, black or white, on my head. As soon
as I recovered speech, I besought him to come back into the
boat and leave them : but no, “ tears, prayers, entreaties, all in
vam, as Koko says; he would not, and dashed about in the
stinking mud, regardless, with his four Kruboys far more
cautiously paddling after him.
The affrighted crabs were in a great taking. It seems to be
crab etiquette that, even when a powerfully built, lithe, six
foot high young man is coming at you hard all with a paddle,
you must not go rushing into anybody’s house save your
own, whereby it fell out many crabs were captured ; but the
thing did not end there. I had never suspected we should
catch anything but our deaths of fever, and so had brought
with me no collecting-box, and before I could remonstrate Mr.
Fildes’ handkerchief was full of crabs, and of course mine too. It
was a fine sunny morning on the Equator, and therefore it was
hot, and we had nothing to wipe our perspiring brows with.
All the crabs being caught or scared home on this mud
bank, we, proceed higher up river, and after some more crab
hunts we got to a place where I noticed you did not sink very far
in if you kept moving; so I got ashore, and we went towards a
break in the mangroves, where some high trees were growing
where we fell in with some exceedingly lovely mayflies and had.
a great hunt. They have legs two to three'inches long white
at the joints and black between; a very small body with
purple wings belongs to the legs, but you do not suspect this