APPEARANCE OF KING BOY. 149 



that runs to Benin, the first reach running nearly 

 west. The river is broad and magnificent, with 

 cultivated banks of palm-trees ; bananas and 

 plantains were also plentiful. As we descended 

 the river, the settlements became less numerous. 

 At 1. 30, we passed another branch of the river, 

 running to Benin in a south-south-west direc- 

 tion. 



At 5. 20 p. M. we anchored abreast of a town 

 named Esdau. About midnight, our old friend 

 King Boy came alongside, in an immense canoe, 

 with eighteen pullaboys on each side. His cox- 

 swain was Tom Thumb, a very fine lad of colour. 

 No sooner was the old rascal. King Boy, on board, 

 than he made use of the same stratagem to ob- 

 tain goods as Obie had tried unsuccessfully be- 

 fore him. " Big fire-ship go down— cappy (cap- 

 tain) take seven hundred yams, no pay for them 

 — say Cappy Lander dash me," were nearly the 

 first words of Boy : but his scheme failed — and he 

 took it better than might have been expected. 



A slave of King Boy's, a servant of mine, 

 named Lilly (from being the most jet-black fel- 

 low I had seen), informed King Boy of the white 

 men's Ju-jus at Eboe. This naturally excited 

 Boy's curiosity, and he importuned us repeatedly 



