and lamenting, rushing towards me with gestures of anger, and threatening me for y offence. I quickly reached my house, and seizing my gun in one hand and a revolver 2 the other, told them I would shoot the first one that came inside my door. The house was surrounded by above three hundred infuriated women, every one shouting out curs at me, but the sight of my revolver kept them back. They adjourned presently for th Njambai house, and from there sent a deputation of the men, who were to inform me tha: I must pay for the palaver I had made. "This I peremptorily refused to do, telling Quengueza and Mbango that I was there a stranger, and must be allowed to do as I pleased, as their rules were nothing to me, who was a white man and did not believe in their idols. In truth, if I had once paid for sh a transgression as this, there would have been an end of all travelling for me, as I f broke through their absurd rules without knowing it, and my only course was to declara myself irresponsible. However, the women would not give up, but threatened vengeance, not only o but on all the men of the town; and, as I positively refused to pay anything, it w last, to my great surprise, determined by Mbango and his male subjects that they make up from their own possessions such a sacrifice as the women demanded of Accordingly Mbango contributed ten fathoms of native cloth, and the men came o one and put their offerings on the ground; some plates, some knives, some mugs, 3 beads, some mats, and various other articles. Mbango came again, and asked if too would not contribute something, but I refused. In fact, I dared not set sp precedent. So when all had given what they could, the whole amount was taken to ireful women, to whom Mbango said that I was his and his men's guest, and that the could not ask me to pay in such a matter, therefore they paid the demand then With this the women were satisfied, and there the quarrel ended. Of course I co make any further investigations into their mysteries. The Njambai feast lasts ab weeks. I could learn very little about the spirit which they call by this name. T own ideas are quite vague. They know only that it protects the women against t male enemies, avenges their wrongs, and serves them in various ways if they please The superstitions concerning death even extend to those cases where a man has be killed by accident. On one occasion, a man had been shot while bathing, whereupon the whole tri into a panic, thought that the village had been attacked by witches, and strai abandoned it. On their passage to some more favoured spot, they halted for the nig another village, and at sunset they all retired to their huts, and began the mournful s with which they celebrate the loss of their friends. The women were loud in lamentations, as they poured out a wailing song which is marvellously like the "k of the Irish peasantry : "You will never speak to us any more! "We cannot see your face any more! "You will never walk with us again! "You will never again settle our palavers for us!" And so on, ad libitum. In fact, the lives of the Bakalai, which might be so jova and free of care, are quite embittered by the superstitious fears which assail them every side. CHAPTER XLVIII. THE ASHIRA. PPEARANCE AND DRESS OF THE NATIVES-A MATRIMONIAL SQUABBLE-NATURAL CUNNING OF THE -TRIAL OF THE ACCUSED-THE ORDEAL OF THE RING THE ASHIRA FAREWELL-FUNERAL CEREMONIES-DEATH AND BURIAL OF OLENDA. CHE tribe next in order is the Ashira. These people are not so nomad in their habits as he Bakalai, and are therefore more concentrated in one locality. They certainly are apt forsake a village on some great occasion, but they never move to any great distance, and are not so apt to take flight as the Bakalai. The Ashira are a singularly fine race of men. Their colour is usually black, but individuals among them, especially those of high rank, are of a comparatively light hue, being of a dark, warm bronze rather than black. The features of the Ashira are tolerably good. The dress of the natives has its distinguishing points. The men and married women wear the grass-cloth robe, and the former are fond of covering their heads with a neat cap made of grass. So much stress do they lay on this article of apparel, that the best way of propitiating an Ashira man is to give him one of the scarlet woollen caps so affected by fishermen and yachtsmen of our own country. There is nothing which he prizes so highly as this simple article, and even the king himself will think no sacrifice too great provided that he can obtain one of these caps. The men also carry a little grass bag, which they sling over one shoulder, and which is ornamented with a number of pendent strings or thongs. It answers the purpose of a pocket, and is therefore very useful where the clothing is of so very limited a character. Both sexes wear necklaces, bracelets, and anklets, made of thick copper bars, and they also display some amount of artistic taste in the patterns with which they dye their robes, The strangest part of Ashira fashion is, that the females wear no clothing of any kind until they are married. They certainly tie a small girdle of grass-cloth round the waists, but it is only intended for ornament, not for dress. As is usual in similar cases, the whole of the toilet is confined to the dressing of the hair and painting of the body. The woolly hair is teased out with a skewer, well rubbed with oil and clay, and worked up until it looks something like a cocked hat, rising high on the top of the head and coming to a point before and behind. Mostly, the hair is kept in its position by a number of little sticks or leaves, which are passed through it, and serve as the framework on which it rests. Filing the teeth is practised by the Ashira, though very few of them carry the practice to such an extent as to reduce the teeth to points. Among the West Africans, the women are not so badly treated as in the south, and indeed, are considered nearly as the equals of the men. They can hold property of their own, and are quite aware of the importance which such an arrangement gives them. Mayolo, one of the chiefs, had a most absurd quarrel with his favourite wife, a young woman of twenty years of age, and remarkable for her light-coloured skin and hazel eyes She had contrived either to lose or waste some of his tobacco, and he threatened to punish her by taking away the pipe, which, among these tribes, belongs equally to the husband and wife. She retorted that he could not do so, because the plantain-stem of the pipe was cut from one of her own trees, and if he quarrelled with her, she would take away the stem, and not allow him to cut another from the plantain-trees, which belonged to her and not to him. The quarrel was soon made up, but the fact that it took place at all shows the position which the women hold in domestic affairs. As is often the case with savages, the Ashira exhibits a strange mixture of character. Ignorant though he may be, the Ashira is possessed of great natural cunning. S man can lie with so innocent a face as the "noble savage," and no one is more capalk of taking care of his own interests. The Ashira porters were a continual source of truth to Du Chaillu, and laid various deep plans for increase of wages. Those of one da refused to work in company with those of another, and, on the principle of trades' uniors struck work unanimously if a man belonging to another clan were permitted to handle a load. Having thus left the traveller with all his packages in the forest, their next plan was to demand higher wages before they would consent to re-enter the service. In the course of the palaver which ensued on this demand, a curious stroke of diplomacy was discovered. The old men appeared to take his part, declared that the demands of the young men were exorbitant, and aided him in beating them down, asking higher wages for the selves as a percentage on their honourable conduct. When the affair was settled, and the men paid, the young men again struck work, saying that it was not fair for the old men, who had no burdens to carry, to have higher wages than themselves, and demanding that all should be paid alike. In course of investigation it was discovered that this was a deeply-laid scheme, planned by both parties in order to exact higher wages for the whole These people can be at the same time dishonest and honourable, hard-hearted and kind, disobedient and faithful. When a number of Ashira porters were accompany Du Chaillu on his journey, they robbed him shamefully, by some unfortunate cond dence stealing just those articles which could not be of the least use to them, and the l of which would be simply irreparable. That they should steal his provisions was to be expected, but why they should rob him of his focussing-glasses and black curtains of the camera was not so clear. The cunning of the Ashira was as remarkable as their dis honesty. All the villages knew the whole circumstances. They knew who were the thieves, what was stolen, and where the property had been hidden, but the secret was so well kept that not even a child gave the least hint which would lead to the discovery of the stolen goods. Yet when, in the course of the journey, they were reduced to semi-starvation, on account of the negro habit of only carrying two or three days' provision, the men happened to kill a couple of monkeys, and offered them both to the leader whom they had been so remorselessly plundering. Even when he refused to take them to himself, they insisted on his retaining the lion's share, and were as pleasant and agreeable as if no differences had existed. Next day, however, those impulsive and unreflecting creatures changed their conduct again. They chose to believe, or say they believed, that the expedition would come to harm, and tried to get their pay in advance, for the purpose of running off with it. When this very transparent device was detected, they openly avowed their intention of running away, and threatened to do so even without their pay. Fortunately, the dreaded name of Quengueza had its effect on them, and, as it was represented to them that war would certainly be made on the Ashira by that chief if they dared to forsake the white traveller whom he had committed to their charge, they resumed their burdens. In the course of the day supplies arrived, and all was peace again. THE CHIEF'S "KOMBO." 557 The reason why the natives dislike taking much food with them is that the plantains which form the usual rations are very heavy, and the men would rather trust to the chance of coming on a village than trouble themselves with extra loads. However, there are the koola and mpegai nuts, on which the natives usually live while travelling in the nut season. The koola is a singularly useful nut. It grows in such abundance on the tree, that when the nuts are ripe, the whole crown of the koola-tree appears to be a single mass of fruit. It is round, about as large as a cherry, and the shell is so hard that it has to be broken between two stones. Thirty of these nuts are considered sufficient for a meal, even for a native African, and, as a general rule, the trees are so plentiful that the natives do not trouble themselves about carrying food in the nut season. M. du Chaillu, however, was singularly unfortunate, for he contrived to miss the koola-trees on his journey, and hence the whole party suffered great privation. The wild swine know the value of the koola-nuts as well as the natives, and in the season become quite fat and sleek. The mpegai nut is round, like the koola, but the kernel is three-lobed. It is so full of oil that it is formed into cakes by the simple operation of pounding the kernel, folding the paste in leaves, and smoking them over a wood fire. When thus treated, it can be kept for a considerable time, and is generally eaten with pepper and salt, if these can be obtained. Neither the koola nor the mpegai are cultivated by the improvident natives. About ten miles from Olenda's residence was a village belonging to a chief named Angouka, and remarkable for the manner in which the plantain was cultivated. In one plantation there were about thirty thousand trees, set about five feet apart. Each tree produced five or six shoots, but the cultivators cut away all but two or three of the finest, in accordance with true arboricultural principles. On an average, thirty pounds weight of fruit were grown on each tree, and the natives managed so as to keep up a tolerably constant supply by planting several varieties of the tree, some bearing fruit in six months atter planting, some ten months, and others not until eighteen months, the last being the best and most fertile. While describing the journeys of certain travellers, mention is frequently made of the porters and their loads. The burdens are carried in rather a peculiar manner. The men have a sort of oblong basket, called "otaitai," which is made of canes woven closely along the bottom, and loosely along the sides. The elasticity of the sides enables it to accommodate itself to various-sized loads, as they can be drawn together if the loads should be small, or expanded to admit a larger burden. Three broad straps, made of rushes, are fixed to the otaitai, one passing over each shoulder of the porter and the other one over his forehead. Some of the ceremonies employed by the Ashira are very curious. Each chief has a sort of salutation, called "Kombo," which he addresses to every one of importance whom he meets for the first time. For example, when M. du Chaillu met Olenda, the head chief of a sub-tribe of the Ashira, a singular scene took place. After waiting for some time, he heard the ringing of the "kando" or sacred bell, which is the emblem of royalty in this land, and which is only sounded on occasions of ceremony. Presently the old chief appeared--a man of venerable aspect, and very old indeed. His woolly hair was perfectly white, his body bent almost double with age, and his face one mass of wrinkles. By way of adding to the beauty of his countenance, he had covered one side of his face with red and the other with white stripes. He was so old that he was accompanied by many of his children, all old, white-headed, and wrinkled men. The natives held him in great respect, believing that he had a powerful fetish against death. But As soon as he had recovered from the sight of a clothed man with straight hair, steady eyes, and a white face, he proceeded to make a speech which, when translated, was as follows: "I have no bowels. I am like the Ovenga river; I cannot be cut in two. also, I am like the Niembai and Ovenga rivers, which unite together. Thus my body is. united, and nothing can divide it." This address was rather puzzling because no sense could be made from it, but the interpreter explained that this was merely the kombo, and that sense was not a necessary ingredient in it. According to the etiquette of the country, after Olenda had made his salutation, be offered his presents, consisting of three goats, twenty fowls, twenty bunches of plantains, several baskets of ground-nuts, some sugar-cane, and two slaves. That the last-mentioned articles should be declined was a most astonishing phenomena to the Ashira. The villages of the Ashira are singularly neat and cleanly, a most remarkable fact considering the propensity to removal on the death of an inhabitant. They consist mostly of one long street, the houses being built of bark, and having the ground cleared at the back of the houses as well as in the front,-almost the only example of such industry in this part of Africa. Paths invariably lead from one village to another. The Ashira are a tolerably industrious tribe, and cultivate the land around their villages, growing tobacco, plantains, yams, sugar-cane, and other plants with much success The tobacco leaves, when plucked and dried, are plaited together in a sort of flat rope, and are then rolled up tightly, so that a considerable quantity of tobacco is contained in a very small space. Of course, they drink the palm-wine, and, as the method of procuring this universally favourite beverage is rather peculiar, it will be briefly explained. The native, taking with him an empty calabash or two, and a kind of anger, climbs the tree by means of a hoop made of pliant creepers; tying the hoop loosely round the tree, he gets into it, so that his back is pressed against the hoop and his feet against the tree. By a succession of "hitches," he ascends the tree, much as a chimney-sweep of the |