Chap. XIV. THE CHIEF OP YENGUE. 271 



broken, and the people are very friendly with me. 

 Kombila having told the women that I was very 

 fond of sugar-cane and ground-nuts, they brought 

 me some, laying them at my feet. In return I gave 

 them beads, and chatted with as many as I could get 

 to talk to me. 



June lAth. The man whom I suppose to be 

 the head chief of Yengue arrived in town this 

 afternoon. It appears that he had fled through fear 

 at my approach, and had gained confidence only on 

 hearing that I was not such a dreadful being as he 

 had imagined. The news of the red cap I had 

 given to the elder had reached his ears ; for the first 

 thing he asked me was whether I would give him 

 one also. He told me that he had also heard that 

 I had given beads to some of his wives, and to other 

 women in the village. Last night I heard a man 

 walking in the streets of the village and saying, in 

 a tone of voice like that of a town crier : " We have 

 an Oguizi amongst us. Beware ! There is no mondah 

 to prevent us from seeing him during the day, but 

 let no one try to see him in his house at night, for 

 whoever does so is sure to die." It was one of the 

 elders walking through the village and making this 

 proclamation in the usual way in which laws are 

 announced in this country. 



After the arrival of the chief, things looked quite 

 promising. A formal reception palaver took place in 

 the open street, the Apono people seated in a row 

 on one side, and the Ishogos on the other. Kom- 

 bila stated at great length, as usual, the objects of 

 my journey, and the king answered in a speech of 



