146 TIfE NOJrrilERN MOUNTAIXS. 



the taiiiiled dank tirass and brushwood which surrounded it. 

 Xor was the journey rendered more pleasant by the constant 

 rustliniT amono: this underin'owth, that reminded us that there 

 were such things as snakes and otlier ugly creatures to be 

 met with on our road. 



" Curiosity, however, urged us on ; and at length we 

 reached the ajoupa, which was built on a small open space 

 near the river, beneath a gigantic silk-cotton tree. 



" Here we found assembled some thirty Africans, men and 

 women, very scantily dressed, and with necklaces of beads, 

 sharks'-teeth, dried frogs, &c., hung round their necks. They 

 were all squatted on their haunches outside the hut, appa- 

 rently waiting for a signal to go in. 



" They did not seem particularly pleased at seeing us ; and 

 one of the men said something in African, apparently ad- 

 dressed to some one inside the house ; for an instant after the 

 door was flung open, and Martin, almost naked, and with his 

 body painted to represent a skeleton, stalked forth to meet us. 



" He asked us very angrily what we wanted there, and 

 seemed particularly annoyed at seeing Jean Marie. However,, 

 on my repeated assurances that we only came to see what 

 was going on, he at last consented to our remaining to see the 

 dance ; only cautioning us that we must keep perfect silence, 

 and that a word, much more a laugh, would entail most 

 serious consequences. 



