194 MAYOLO. Chap. IX. 



be boiled, and tben at the thermometer screwed into 

 the kettle : when he had finished his inspection he 

 withdrew to a distance, in a state of bewilderment and 

 fear tliat was comical to behold ; but I pretended to 

 be taking no notice of him. These people fancy that 

 I travel with all sorts of fetiches and am possessed 

 of supernatural power — a behef which I did not try 

 to upset, as it stood me in good stead. I now lighted 

 the lamp and proceeded to boil the water ; as soon as 

 the neo'ro saw the steam ascendino- and heard the 

 bubbling of the water, his courage finally gave way, 

 and he tied with the utmost precipitation. 



My photographic apparatus, or at least what re- 

 mained of it, was much admired by friend Mayolo. 

 He was the most inquisitive man of his tribe, none of 

 whom were wanting in curiosity, and he was never 

 w^eary of asking me questions and inspecting my 

 wonderful stores. When I first took out the photo- 

 graphic teni from its box, he was amazed, after seeing 

 it fixed, to discover what a bulky affair could come 

 out of so small a box. After fixing the tent I with- 

 drew the slide and exposed the orange-coloured glass, 

 and invited the mystified chief to look through it at 

 the prairie. At first he was afraid and declined to 

 come into the tent ; but on my telling him that he 

 knew I should never do anything to harm him, he 

 consented. He could not comprehend it. He looked 

 at me, at my hands, then at the glass, and believed 

 there was witchcraft at the bottom of it. After 

 Mayolo had come out of the tent unharmed, the rest 

 of the negroes took courage, and my tent was made a, 

 peep-show for the remainder of the day. 



