XXV,] NO GUIDES OR ESCORT OBTAINABLE. 327 



He said lie was unable to count his fighting-men, but that five February, 

 or six was a very good number for one canoe. I replied, laugh- 1^75. 

 ing, that I had formed a good idea of the strength of his army, ~~ 



and that a very small chief in my country often commanded 

 more men armed with rifles ; while, instead of six men being as 

 many as could go in one canoe, we had ships the size of isl- 

 ands, and, although carrying more than a thousand men each, 

 they could remain away from land for many months. 



Even after this conversation, although he admitted that what 

 I had said might be true, yet he adhered to the opinion that he 

 was a very great man, and I was still to convey his messages to 

 my chief. 



After this talk, however, the marvelous reports spread by 

 my people concerning the power of the English reached his 

 ears, and I heard that he came to the conclusion I was a ghost 

 that had come from the spirit-land to visit him. 



I pressed him to permit Alvez to leave, telling him I had 

 long been away from my home, and wished to return ; and that, 

 as I had a great distance to travel, I was anxious to start as 

 quickly as possible. He promised that directly he had held a 

 levee of his chiefs, at which he desired me to be present, in or- 

 der that I might be impressed with his greatness, we should 

 not only be free to depart, but he would also furnish guides to 

 the boundary of his dominions. 



My endeavors to induce him to provide me with guides to 

 Sankorra were unsuccessful, for he always excused himself by 

 saying that my jDcople were too few to travel alone, and that 

 my only chance was either to go with Alvez, or to remain with 

 Jumah Merikani until he returned to the Tanganyika. 



Both from Alvez and Jumah Merikani I tried to obtain escort 

 to the lake ; but they said they were not sufficiently strong 

 to spare any of their followers. Thus, most reluctantly, was I 

 compelled to surrender my long-cherished idea of tracing the 

 Kongo to its mouth. 



The levee which I believed would at length bring my long 

 period of inaction to a termination was postponed from day to 

 day, and did not take place till the 10th of February. Before 

 this, Alvez had demanded an agreement in writing as to the 

 amount to be paid him for showing me the road to the coast. 



2i 



