370 RETREAT FROM ASHANGO-LAND. Chap. XVIII. 



that I should maintain the reputation of being in- 

 vuhierable ; and it was universally believed that the 

 arrows of the Ashangos glanced from my body with- 

 out hurting me. Magouga said he had heard that 

 at one time I had turned myself into a leopard, 

 had hid myself in a tree, and had sprung upon the 

 Mouaou people as they came to make war on my 

 men ; that at other times I turned myself into a 

 gorilla, or into an elephant, and struck terror and 

 death among the Mouaou and Mobana warriors. 

 Magouga finished his story by asking me for a 

 ''war fetich," for he said I must |)ossess the art of 

 making fetiches, or I and my men could not have 

 escaped so miraculously. 



After a good rest and a hearty meal, we left the 

 good old chief of the plantation-village, and con- 

 tinued our homeward march, now under the guidance 

 of Magouga. On parting I gave the old chief a 

 quantity of beads out of our remaining stock, and 

 also a red powder flask, which latter present delighted 

 him beyond measure, and he said he would keep it 

 in remembrance of me. We were fortunate after 

 all ill taking the wrong jDath, for besides being led 

 by it to the plantation of the hospitable old chief, 

 we were enabled to avoid the village of Niongo, 

 where, if we did not meet with obstacles, we should 

 at least have been delayed in our journey. 



