58 CHIEFS & CITIES OF CENTRAL AFRICA 



Why this should have been effective has puzzled me 

 ever since, but the fact remains that the combat has 

 not been renewed. 



Iguanas basked on the rocks and manatees sported 

 in the waters, and Mr Talbot, inspired with the lust 

 to kill, started off in a native canoe, undaunted by 

 the knowledge that to turn round for a shot must 

 overturn his craft. His awkward position prevented 

 his seeing a manatee that followed him for a con- 

 siderable distance, lifting its head for minutes together 

 to look and ponder on the strangeness of his appear- 

 ance. A manatee is sometimes called the African 

 mermaid, and its chief claim to this appellation is 

 that it carries its young in its arms. To me its 

 large round head gave more the appearance of a 

 seal than a mermaid, and its skin, in a dried state, 

 is as hard and thick as the hide of an elephant or 

 rhinoceros. 



Our Mundonng waterman was very restless, and 

 evidently a fatalist to boot, for though the water 

 literally teemed with crocodiles, he jumped from the 

 plank seat that rested on and over the sides of the 

 canoe to the bottom and back again, as if the vessel 

 were as motion-proof as an ocean steamer. We so 

 little appreciated this practice that, after intrusting 

 our persons to his care for a short while, we returned 

 to exchano;e him for another. Alas ! this other was 

 decking himself for shore fun, of which we suspect 

 he had already tasted, for his unwillingness to come 

 was only equalled by his gaiety when he did. His 

 mirth was uninfectious, and all we could do was to 

 sway in exact opposition to his movements, and thus 

 preserve some semblance of balance, for he blandly 



