60

THE MARRIAGE RELATION.

Dayoko was quite old. He had begun to marry when quite young, had married, right and left, all about him ever since, and was now related to one or two great men in every tribe which he could by any means reach. Thus he promised to prove a most useful man to me.

Though Dayoko's palace was no bigger than the hut of any of his well-to-do subjects, I found, as was to be expected, that he had more wives and more slaves than the others. And I found, too, that his voice in the councils was of great weight, and that, in certain cases, he possessed a veto power which rendered him supreme. I felt, therefore, that if I could gain over the king to my project I need not care for the people, or even for the chiefs who were his relatives, farther up the river.

My first aim was to convince every body that I did not want to trade. This, thanks to my previous hunts on other branches of the Muni, and to my never having traded or shown a desire to make money, was not so difficult to do. I was already known as a great hunter.

Having established this point, I called Dayoko into my house and gave him the present with which a negotiation is generally opened. I gave him the coat before mentioned, about twenty yards of cotton cloth, some powder, some looking-glasses for his wives, and some gun-flints.

His majesty accepted graciously all my offering.
Then I spoke of going into the Fan country.

Dayoko thought my project impossible.

I would die on the way, and he should have my death on his soul-a consideration which seemed to affect him greatly.

I should be murdered by the cannibals and eaten.

There was war on the river, and the tribes would not let me pass.

The country was sick.

And so on.

Seeing that I exhibited no signs of repentance, the old sinner turned on a new tack. His country was full of beasts and birds. Why not hunt here? and he would give me as many men as I wanted.

Finally, I told him, with a great show of firmness, that go I would, if not with his people, then with some one else.

Hereupon he relented, fearing probably that I would leave him,

NATIVE CURIOSITY.

61 and that thus he should not make so much out of me as he calculated.

It is as well to add that I did not let any of his fellows peep into my chest. They are all greedy, and think that every white man is by nature a Croesus, and owner of an untold wealth of cloth, looking-glasses, gun-flints, powder, and tobacco. And besides, their fear of some white man beginning a direct trade with the interior tribes makes them excessively jealous of every one who attempts to reach the interior. Dayoko's people did not cease to warn me that I must carry nothing into the up-country, to all which, of course, I said yes.

. It was at last determined that I should go under Dayoko's protection. So on the third day after my arrival I sent my Mbinga men back, and was now left alone among my new friends. I am to wait for a party going to Mbene's people, who live farther up river, and in whose charge Dayoko proposes to put me. If they do not come, I shall get an escort of his Mbousha men. Meantime numbers of the neighboring tribes come daily to see me. Most of these have never seen a white man before, and are filled with astonishment at my long hair, at my white skinit is really tanned a very dark brown by this time—and at the clothes I wear. They stand about me in such crowds that often I am half suffocated with the stench which their uncleanly bodies give out.

While waiting, I amused myself with hunting. The country about here affords to the naturalist little but birds; but some of these are splendid. To-day (August 16th) I shot a superba, a bird well named, for its feathers of green and gold and bright purple are a superb sight as it flies about through the dark-green foliage of the woods.

I have still to wait for the people Dayoko promises. This will make some detention, as they are here on agricultural intents, and the men are out all day cutting trees, and the women cleaning the ground; every thing is busy bustle. This is the dry season, and now all planting must be done, for in a few weeks the rains come on, and then it is too late.

The dry season is delightful in Africa. It is the season of flowers, of humming-birds-who flit through bushes at all hours, and charm one with their meteor-like flight-of every thing pleasant.

These Mbousha people look very much like the Shekiani tribe. They have the usual negro features, and are of medium height. They are less warlike than the Shekianis, but quite as superstitious and cruel, as I had occasion to know. I heard one day, by accident, that a man had been apprehended on a charge of causing the death of one of the chief men of the village. I went to Dayoko and asked about it. He said yes, the man was to be killed; that he was a notorious wizard, and had done much harm.

So I asked to see this terrible being.

I was taken to a rough hut, within which sat an old, old man, with wool white as snow, wrinkled face, bowed form, and shrunk-. en limbs. His hands were tied behind him, and his feet were placed in a rude kind of stocks. This was the great wizard. Several lazy negroes stood guard over him, and from time to time insulted him with opprobrious epithets and blows, to which the poor old wretch submitted in silence. He was evidently in his dotage.

I asked him if he had no friends, no relations, no son, or daughter, or wife to take care of him. He said sadly, "No one."

Now here was the secret of this persecution. They were tired of taking care of the helpless old man, who had lived too long, and a charge of witchcraft by the greegree man was a convenient pretext for putting him out of the way. I saw at once that it would be vain to try to save him.

I went, however, to Dayoko, and argued the case with him. I tried to explain the absurdity of charging a harmless old man with supernatural powers; told him that God did not permit witches. to exist; and finally made an offer to buy the old wretch, offering to give some pounds of tobacco, one or two coats, and some looking-glasses for him-goods which would have bought me an able-bodied slave.

Dayoko replied that, for his part he would be glad to save him, but that the people must decide; that these were much excited against him; but that he would, to please me, try to save his life.

During the night following I heard singing all over the town all night, and a great uproar. Evidently they were preparing themselves for the murder. Even these savages can not kill in cold blood, but work themselves into a phrensy of excitement first, and then rush off to do the bloody deed.

Early in the morning the people gathered together, with the fetich-man-the infernal rascal who was at the bottom of the murder-in their midst. His bloodshot eyes glared in savage excitement as he went around from man to man getting the votes to decide whether the old man should die.

In his hands he held a bundle of herbs, with which he sprinkled three times those to whom he spoke. Meantime a man was stationed on the top of a high tree, whence he shouted from time to time, in a loud voice, “Jocou! jocou!" at the same time shaking the tree strongly.

"Jocou" is devil among the Mbousha, and the business of this man was to keep away the evil spirit, and to give notice to the fetich-man of his approach.

At last the sad vote was taken. It was declared that the old man was a most malignant wizard; that he had already killed a number of people; that he was minded to kill many more, and that he must die. No one would tell me how he was to be killed, and they proposed to defer the execution till my departure, which I was, to tell the truth, rather glad of. The whole scene had considerably agitated me, and I was willing to be spared the end. Tired and sick at heart, I lay down on my bed about noon to rest and compose my spirits a little. After a while I saw a man pass my window, almost like a flash, and after him a horde of silent but infuriated men. They ran toward the river.

Then, in a little while, I heard a couple of sharp, piercing cries, as of a man in great agony, and then all was still as death.

I got up, guessing the rascals had killed the poor old man, and turning my steps toward the river, was met by the crowd returning, every man armed with axe, knife, cutlass, or spear, and these weapons and their own hands, and arms, and bodies, all sprinkled with the blood of their victim. In their phrensy they had tied the poor wizard to a log near the river bank, and then deliberately hacked him into many pieces. They finished by splitting open his skull and scattering the brains in the water. Then they returned, and to see their behavior, it would have seemed as though the country had just been delivered from a great curse.

By night the men-whose faces for two days had filled me with loathing and horror, so blood-thirsty and malignant were theywere again as mild as lambs, and as cheerful as though they had never heard of a witch tragedy.

64

AFRICAN FONDNESS FOR FIRE.

These tribes suppose that no cruelty is too great to practice upon a wizard; and this kind of legalized murder, though it temporarily excites their passions, does not seem to afflict them with any remorseful feelings at all.

I was glad to take refuge in the woods during the heats of the day, my house, an eight by ten bamboo structure, low-roofed and close, being uncomfortably heated. Yet the natives pass their idle hours near a large fire, and this from a desire for warmth, though the thermometer stands at 88°. It is curious to see how the negro relishes a fire. I have nowhere found them assembled, even in the hottest days, but about a great blaze; and the first thing done, when a council or assemblage of any kind is to be held, is to build a fire that would seem to be sufficient to thaw out the north pole.

August 17th being Sunday, I spent the day in my hut reading the Bible, to the great surprise of two fellows who were "townkeepers," the rest of the village having gone out to the fields to labor. I tried to explain to them that this was a book given to us by the true God, and that there was but one God.

They gave me the answer I have heard so often on the coast, "Oh yes, that is true for you, but white man's God is not our God; we are made by a different God." And to this they stick pertinaciously.

The following day (18th) we were, to start for the interior. Dayoko gave me two of his sons to be of my party-a piece of real good luck for me. Also he sent messages to all the neighboring tribes to command good treatment for me.

The men asked to be paid before we started-a dangerous practice, as they are like to run away. But as they were Dayoko's men, and he had treated me well, I thought best to agree. They are real extortioners. I had to pay for canoes, for mat sails, for paddles, for every least thing necessary for the outfit; and every fathom of cloth or string of beads that could be got from me on any pretext I was relieved of. I finally agreed to give to each man ten yards of cloth and a few leaves of tobacco. With this they were content. Then, to make them happier, I went to their wives, who had all been very kind to me, and gave each some tobacco to solace her in her husband's absence.

At last, and just before we were to start, when all was ready and the men were gathered, I had again to assure Dayoko that I