Birds of Fernando Po. 335 



their king and queen, objected to our going any further. 

 It was, they said, their hunting or "beef" country, and 

 no white man was fit to get to the big hill. They told my 

 carriers many tales, for instance that a big river lived up in the 

 mountain, and anyone who crossed it would die. All these 

 stories were readily believed, and signs of intending desertion 

 on the part of several carriers induced me to return the same 

 way as I had come, our column being followed by a howling 

 mob up to within a mile of Sipopo, where they again vanished. 

 I subsequently learned that the natives of this district had 

 been roughly handled by the Spanish troops, and this ac- 

 counted for their unfriendly attitude towards the white man. 

 The appearance of our big column aroused their suspicions, 

 and, having no interpreter, we were quite unable to enlighten 

 them as to the nature of our mission. 



At Sipopo we occupied a cocoa-planter's house and 

 stayed there making collections for several days. This gave 

 a much-needed rest to our carriers. As soon as daylight 

 came, about half-past five, my collector and I used to start 

 off with a couple of carriers and follow one of the native paths 

 into the bush. As a rule, we obtained during the morning's 

 trek about 13 or 14 specimens, and with these we returned 

 to camp, but were out again collecting in the evening. Our 

 average take was between 18 and 20 birds a day. On one 

 occasion, during a trek, we were suddenly startled by the 

 sound of a stampede into the bush, just like the noise a flock 

 of sheep make in getting through some obstacle, followed the 

 next moment by a weird howl of voices like the whines of 

 many dogs in unison. We again passed this spot on our 

 return home. No one was visible, but our track was followed 

 all the same. From time to time the loud report of guns 

 came from behind. The Boobies, emboldened by our retreat, 

 had followed us like an angry flock of geese, firing their 

 guns at a respectful distance to frighten us. It would take 

 too long here to record all our adventures with these curious 

 people, so we must pass on to our camp at Bakaki, whence 

 our first serious attempt to ascend the Peak was made. On 

 the way I was fortunate enough to obtain the services of a 



