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CHAPTER 11. 



THE FERNAND VAZ. 



Outlines of the Coast region — Tlie Op;obai — Prairies of the Fernand Vaz — 

 The Commi nation — Distribution of the Clans — Chief Ranpano and 

 his Si^ells — News of arrival sent to Quengueza, King of the Rembo — 

 Arrival of Quengueza — His alarm at the great wealth I had brought 

 him — A pet Chimisanzee, and his departure for England — Visit to 

 Elinde and the mouth of the river — My illness — Tenderness of Ran- 

 ]iano — King Olenga-Yombi — Grand palaver of Commi chiefs — Permis- 

 sion granted me to ascend the river into the interior — Visit to my old 

 l)lace and to Rinkimongani's grave — Superstition of the natives — The 

 Iktlu Ivogu — Rabolo's fetich — Departure of the Mentor- for England. 



In my former work on Equatorial Africa, I gave 

 my readers a short account of the neighbourhood of 

 the Fernand Yaz and of the natives who inhabit this 

 part of the West African coast. The country on 

 both sides the river, which flows for some forty miles 

 nearly parallel to the sea-shore, is for the most part 

 level and of little elevation. Between the river and 

 the sea the plain is sandy, and covered with a grassy 

 and shrubby vegetation, with here and there a cluster 

 of trees, and often a fringe of palm-trees by the river 

 side. Travelling southward from the mouth of tlie 

 river the " islands " of trees become larger, and unite 

 to form a considerable forest, which contains many 

 timber- trees of great size and beauty. This is to- 

 wards Cape St. Catherine, where, between tlie river 

 and the sea, lies the inhospitable jungle whicli forms 



