VOYAGE TO THE NIGER. 67 
larly looking-glasses: the latter being chiefly bought by the 
women. The women are often beautifully painted with red 
Camwood (?) pulverized and made into balls as large as a fist, 
and thus sold: the eyelids they paint with antimony, which 
they brought with them on board in very neat cylindrical 
cases made of skins. 
Wednesday, September 15.—The intercourse with the 
natives continued. They bring, besides the things mentioned, 
tobacco, which they call taba, in flat rolled disks ; also a chalk- 
like substance, prepared from burnt bones, with which they 
rub the fingers when spinning, it is called Effu in the Aku 
language, Alli in Houssa; they kept this in small calabashes, 
or in. masses like elongated dice: whips of hippopotamus 
skins, called Uoji: some rice, grown on the left shore, 
and a few Limes. The process for discharging their arrows 
seemed to me ingenious, They have a knife with a some- 
what broad handle into which they insert the hand,* and pull 
up the string of the bow with the back of the handle, being 
thus sure not to hurt the hand, and are thus ready to 
kill with the knife whatever the arrow may have hit. On 
the left upper arm they carry arrows for their immediate use 
in a wooden quiver. 
Thursday, September 16.—Captain Trotter wished me to 
visit the left shore. The current on the right side, 
Where we were at anchor, was 1 and lj knots; but towards 
the middle it ran much stronger; and in some places the boat 
could hardly make way against it. We kept therefore, after 
reaching the left bank of the Niger, close to the jungle, (I 
must not say shore; for every thing was under water). 
Amongst different things, 1 noticed a rather thick tree, 
30 feet high, which attracted my attention by its large fruit: 
* In Treviranus’ Memoir occurs the following quotation from a lee a 
Dr, Vogel’s, more clearly showing their manner of using the bow. “ : 
the right hand they hold a knife with a hollow handle, through whic 
they place four fingers in the middle of the handle. On the thumb they 
Ye an iron ring, and draw between this and the handle the bowstring, 
80 that they cannot injure the hand.”—(See Memoir, F 159 ET 
F 
