382 PRESENTS TO KING OBIE. 



or five years of age are to be seen pulling with 

 the greatest dexterity. 



Mr. Lander and myself prepared to go on shore 

 to visit King Obie, the same person who sold the 

 Messrs. Lander to King Boy for goods to the 

 amount of twenty puncheons of palm-oil. It com- 

 menced raining, and Mr. Lander therefore declin- 

 ed going, being also in my opinion too weak to 

 stir. I then prepared to go alone with the fol- 

 lowing presents : — An arm-chair, lined with scar- 

 let cloth, made by Hawthorne, the carpenter of 

 the Columbine, a very ingenious man ; a large 

 looking-glass, two jars of rum, a pair of Turkish 

 trousers of scarlet cloth and trimmed with dozens 

 of bell buttons, and one piece of printed cotton. 

 Taking with me four Kroomen, the presents were 

 placed in the king's canoe, and after giving the 

 king's slaves some rum, we departed for the shore. 

 These slaves were fine youths, about nineteen or 

 twenty years of age, with good flexible muscles, 

 and such was their exertion that the perspiration 

 was fairly flowing from them over the gunwale of 

 the canoe. They kept time with their paddles by 

 making a kind of hissing noise between their 

 tongue and teeth, sounding like " Tchid, tchid, 

 tchidda, tchidda." 



