had pointed out, followed by the words, “ I will come
there and speak with you,” was to be the rendezvous
for the receipt of thé promised gun and money.
I did not wait for the arrivai of my men, but
mounting our horses, my wife and I rode down the
hillside with lighter spirits than we had enjoyed for
some time past. I gave her the entire credit of the
“ ruse.” Had I been alone, I should have been too
proud to have sought the friendship of the sullen
trader, and the moment on which success depended
would have been lost.
On arrival at the grassy plain, at the foot of the
mountain, there was a crowd of the trader’s ruffians
quarrelling for the shade of the few large trees that
grew on the banks of the stream. We accordingly
dismounted, and turning the horses to graze, we took
possession of a tree at some distance, under which
a number of Latookas were already sitting. Not being
very particular as to our society, we sat down and
waited for the arrival of our party. The valley of
Ellyria was a lovely spot in the very bosom of the
mountains. Close to where we sat were the great
masses of rock that had fallen from the cliffs, and
upon examination I found them to be, the finest
quality of grey granite, the feldspar being in masses
several inches square and as hard as a flint. There
was no scaling upon the surface, as is common in
granite rocks. •
"No sooner had the trader’s party arrived than crowds
of natives issued from the palisaded villages on the
mountain; and descending to the plain, they mingled
with the general confusion. The baggage was piled
beneath a tree, and a sentry placed on guard.
LEGGE THE CHIEF.
The natives were entirely naked, and precisely the
same as the Bari. Their chief, Legg6, was among
them, and received a present from Ibrahim of a
long red cotton shirt, and he assumed an air
of great importance. Ibrahim explained to him who
I was, and he immediately came to. ask for the
tribute he expected to receive as “ black mail” for