Chapter Thirteen 
FRENCH CAMEROONS 
VER in search of new hunting grounds, I was keen on seeing 
something of the bird-life of the African equatorial forests. 
As these do not extend into East Africa I had little first-hand 
knowledge of the fauna of the center and the west. Much of this 
vast forest belt is too inaccessible to be convenient for collecting 
live specimens, so I had to choose the place with the greatest 
variety of bird-life in proximity to the west coast. After studying 
the birds of West Africa from books and from skins in the British 
Museum, and taking careful notes on distribution, I finally de- 
cided that the ideal place would be the French Cameroons. 
I set off, going by way of Freetown, Takoradi, Accra and Lagos 
to Duala, the port of French Cameroons. At Lagos in Nigeria | 
had time to visit the native medicine market, which contained the 
weirdest assortment of “cures” I had ever seen. Dried hornbill 
heads were the most conspicuous, but there were also dried reptiles 
and the dried heads of monkeys and hawks. I imagine that some 
of these were charms or amulets rather than medicines. Among 
the live “cures” were Giant Land Snails, tortoises, chameleons 
and Electric Catfish. The chameleons were supposed to ward off 
evil spirits, and this is hardly surprising considering the dread all 
African tribes have of these queer slow-moving reptiles. Perhaps 
the unique swivel-eyes, which work independently, and their 
slothful manner of progression have inspired this awe. 
The most amusing exhibit was a trio of Electric Catfish which 
were swimming in a petrol-can of water. The shock from these 
was supposed to cure all sorts of nervous disorders. Not suffering 
from these myself, I suggested to my lady friends from the boat 
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