110 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 
and tasted of every dish to show us that no food was 
poisoned, for such is the custom of the country. 
What a curious bill of fare! I must give it to you, 
and I will try to remember it all. 
First, there was a huge pot containing an enormous 
piece of an elephant, which had been boiling since the 
day before, so that the meat might be tender. Another 
dish was the boiled smoked foot of an elephant, which 
had been specially cooked for me, this being considered 
by many the best piece. 
Then came a large piece of boiled crocodile, the broth 
of which was recommended to us, lemon juice and Cay- 
enne pepper having been bountifully mixed with it to 
give it a flavor. Then came a charming monkey, which 
had been roasted entire on a blazing fire of charcoal. 
The little fellow seemed to be nothing but a ball of fat, 
and looked wonderfully like a roasted baby. It was 
cooked to perfection, and really had a fine flavor. . 
Then a huge leg of a wild boar made its appearance, 
the flavor of which was very high, and it must have been 
killed days before; but these people like their game 
high ; in fact, it is often decomposed when eaten. 
Then came the boiled tongue of the Bos brachicheros, 
_ the wild buffalo. Another dish was boiled buffalo ribs. 
This latter had been cooked with the ndika, a kind of 
paste made from the seed of the wild mango fruit; this 
was put close to me, Quengueza never touching the buf- 
falo meat, some of his ancestors having long ago given 
birth to a buffalo (at least so he said), and his clan, the 
Abouya, never taste buffalo. 
Then came a dish of smoked mongon (otter); anoth- 
er of antelope, called kambi, and a beautiful little ga- 
