346 FATAL DISASTERS AT MOUAOU KOMBO. Chap. XVII. 



have to gather a sufficient quantity of firewood to 

 last their famihes during their absence. Kombo, 

 addressing himself to Igala — for, when holding a 

 palaver, these people never address themselves 

 directly to the person for whom the speech is in- 

 tended — said, " I see by the look of the Oguizi that 

 he thinks I am deceiving him, and that I lie : he 

 must not judge me so harshly, A man may have 

 a fine body, yet, if his heart is bad, he is an ugly 

 man ; therefore, if a man's heart is good, people 

 should not look at his body. To-morrow the Oguizi 

 will see whether I have a good heart or a bad heart : 

 Kombo will take him to the Njavi country." 



In the afternoon the village street became de- 

 serted. I walked down it, but could see no one. I 

 called my men together ; Igala shook his head, and 

 said that they were all gone to " mogoua oroungo " 

 (hold a secret meeting), and that it boded no good. 



Such was indeed the case. When the meeting 

 broke up all the men of the village assembled before 

 my hut, and the chief began a long rambling speech, 

 the purport of which was that I must give them 

 more goods before I could leave the place. He said 

 the Niembouai and Mobana people had left me be- 

 cause they were unable to take me to the Njavi ; 

 that he alone could help me forward, and I must 

 therefore pay him at least as much as I had paid the 

 people at the other places. He asked particularly for 

 the pieces of a large brass kettle which I had broken 

 yesterday, and also for many measures of gunpowder, 

 which, as I have before explained, tliey wanted to 

 barter for other articles with the Ashangui tribe. 



