Chap. VII. BREAKING OUT OF THE PLAGUE. 125 



days more than half the people of Olenda caught the 

 infection. I became alarmed for the safety of the 

 noble old Quengueza and his men ; and my first 

 desire was to see him free from the danger, and re- 

 turning to his own country. But he refused to leave 

 me. "Chaillie," said he, " I cannot go back. I came 

 here to see you through this country, and I should 

 feel shame to leave you in your troubles. What 

 would the Commi people say ? They would laugh 

 at me, and say, ' Quengueza had no power to help 

 Chaillie on his way.' No, I shall not leave you ! " 



A favourite little slave of Quengueza's, named 

 Rigoli, soon after this was attacked by the disease. 

 It was now in our camp, and there was great danger 

 of my own men falling ill. I was obliged to make 

 the most stringent regulations, forbidding them to 

 hold intercourse with the natives, to use am^ of their 

 utensils, or to smoke their condoquais. It was in 

 vain, however, that I tried to get Quengueza to send 

 away his little boy. When I went to see him, I 

 found, to my horror, that he had got the boy in his 

 hut, laid on a mat near his own, and was nursing 

 him with the tenderest care. If the noble old fellow 

 had caught the disease himself, it would have com- 

 pletely put an end to my expedition ; besides, many 

 of his own people were going in and out of the hut, 

 and all my quarantine regulations were totally upset. 

 To my expostulations the old man only replied, " If I 

 get the plague, it will be God's (Aniembie's) palaver, 

 but I can better take care of Rigoli here." Notwith- 

 standing my annoyance, the scene raised Quengueza 

 more than ever in my estimation, and showed me, 



