THE RAINY SEASON 



people. Scarcely was his body cold, when anarchy 

 broke out in his kingdom. The chiefs disputed and 

 quarrelled among themselves, the treasure was looted, 

 and Massara destroyed ; while of the pile raised by 

 the hand of a despotic mulatto only the ruins remain. 



Accompanied by the chief Domba, I proceed to 

 visit the remains of this fortress, where they point 

 out to me the tree on which they used to expose the 

 heads of rebels. 



All this country is clothed with a splendid forest, 

 of which the giants with trunks centuries old offer a 

 marvellous field for exploitation. Side by side they 

 grow, mingling their branches, superb acacias with 

 their sombre green foliage, ebony-trees fragrant with 

 perfumed flowers, tamarinds with their thirst-quench- 

 ing fruits, the wild almonds of which the nuts are 

 plucked both by elephants and monkeys, and the 

 iron-wood trees which even the white ants respect : 

 that giant so straight, is the m'tondo, in which the 

 Kafirs excavate their canoes j the next, with yellowish 

 leaves, the wmbila, which ought surely to be of service 

 to the cabinet-maker. Further on you may see the 

 lemon-trees, the presence of which the traveller always 

 welcomes with joy. On the hills you behold, low 

 down, the green tints of the wild coffee-bushes. And 

 all this manifestation of exuberant nature, rich in 

 untold wealth, is there, spread before your eyes, and 

 seeming to proclaim to you : " See how well prepared 

 I am to receive you." 



(91) 



