80 UPROAR AT MEETING. 



repeating it two or three times. Whether this was 

 a ceremony meant to welcome us to their country, 

 or equivalent to eating bread or salt with an Arab, 

 I cannot tell. 



We now got up to return to our boat, of which, 

 however, they highly disapproved, and endeavoured 

 to detain us or to induce us to go further up the 

 river. As, however, we saw others in the distance, 

 coming up, we thought it best to return ; but when 

 they saw us so determined, they even laid hold of 

 us by the arm, or took hold of our guns, on which 

 we shook them off and spoke sharply to them, and 

 most of them desisted. Our impudent friend with 

 the stick, however, stuck close to us, laying hold 

 first of one and then of another ; seeing which, two or 

 three more came up and joined him in his endea- 

 vours. On coming in sight of the boat, we saw a 

 large party of natives assembled near it, and several 

 more here and there in the edge of the woods ; all 

 shouting and crying from one to the other. As soon 

 as we came near, the uproar increased, and those 

 with us renewed their attempts to stop us, vociferat- 

 ing all the time at the top of their voices. Still they 

 were mostly unarmed ; but we saw one man with a 

 spear and shield at the edge of the bush, and two 

 or three more had waddies and boomerangs, painted 

 red ; and knowing how quickly they supply them- 

 selves with weapons on an emergency, it was thought 

 better not to go through the wood over the cliff, but 

 to wade out towards the boat, and tell our men to 



