110 CAPTAIN TUCKEY’S NARRATIVE. 
shewed us at least that we had little to fear from the warlike 
disposition of this people. 
This morning I dispatched a canoe to the Congo, with 
instructions for bringing her up the river, and employed the 
afternoon in sounding the river. 
On the following morning (29th), I visited the Chenoo, at 
his request, unceremoniously, taking only two marines. I 
found him seated on a mat, ina court of his tenement, dis- 
tributing palm wine to a family party consisting of about 40 
men and boys, of all ages; aseat being placed for me, he 
sent for a small box full of papers, which he requested me to 
read, and which I found to be all Portuguese, generally cer- 
tificates of the Chenoo’s good conduct ; and one letter from 
the governor of St. Paul de Loando, complaining that the 
Sonio men had killed some of the missionaries, and cut off 
a Portuguese trading pinnace; its date 1813. After a 
palaver of half an hour, in which I was obliged to repeat 
my assurances of not coming to prevent the slave trade, or 
to make war, the Chenoo led the way to a pen in which 
were six fine cows, a young bull and a calf; and one of the 
largest and fattest cows was selected as a present for me. 
This animal, I found, had been introduced by the Portu- 
guese, and was now considerably multiplied, though no care 
whatever seems to be taken to encrease them, the cows in 
