Chap. XVI. THE DWARF EACE. 317 



her shyness and began to ridicule the men for having 

 run away from us. She said they were as timid as 

 the nchende (squirrel), who cried "Que, que," and 

 in squeaking she twisted her little body into odd 

 contortions, with such droll effect that we all laughed. 

 When I brought out my tape to measure her, her 

 fears returned ; thinking perhaps that it was a kind 

 of snake that I was uncoiling out of its case, she 

 trembled all over ; I told her I was not going to 

 kill her, but it required another present to quiet her 

 again. I accomplished my task at last. I also 

 measured the young man, who was adult, and pro- 

 bably a fair sample of the male portion of his race. 



We then returned to Niembouai. I had waited an 

 hour, in the vain hope that the men might come 

 back to their huts. By the way, the Obongo women 

 seem to know how to tell lies as well as their country- 

 women of larger growth ; for when I inquired where 

 the rest of the people were, they at once replied that 

 they were gone into the forest to fetch firewood and 

 to trap game. 



The next day {July 1st) I went again to their 

 village, and saw only one woman and two children. 

 I had not come early enough, the birds had flown. 

 Luckily the woman was one of those I had seen the 

 day before. I gave her and the children a number 

 of beads. Then suspecting that the mother of the 

 children was in the hut close by where they stood, 

 I went to it, took off the branch that had been put 

 at the entrance to signify that the owner was out, 

 and then putting half of my body into the hut, in 

 the best way I could, I finally succeeded in seeing 



