CROP OF WOOL 1S9 



begged, I asked himself, and found that it was the case, 

 and that he had given spontaneously. 



Quendende's head was a good specimen of the greater 

 crop of wool with which the negroes of Londa are fur- 

 nished. The front was parted in the middle, and plaited 

 into two thick rolls, which, falling down behind the ears, 

 reached the shoulders : the rest was collected into a large 

 knot, which lay on the nape of the neck. As he was an 

 intelligent man, we had much conversation together: he 

 had just come from attending the funeral of one of his 

 people, and I found that the great amount of drum-beating 

 which takes place on these occasions was with the idea 

 that the Barimo, or spirits, could be drummed to sleep. 

 There is a drum in every village, and we often hear it going 

 from sunset to sunrise. They seem to look upon the de- 

 parted as vindictive beings, and, I suspect, are more in- 

 fluenced by fear than by love. In beginning to speak on 

 religious subjects with those who have never heard of Chris- 

 tianity, the great fact of the Son of God having come down 

 from heaven to die for us is the prominent theme. No fact 

 more striking can be mentioned. " Ho actually came to 

 men. He himself told us about his Father and the dwell- 

 ing-place whither he has gone. We have his words in this 

 book, and he really endured punishment in our stead from 

 pure love," &c. If this fails to interest them, nothing else 

 will succeed. 



We here met with some people just arrived from the 

 town of Matiamvo, (Muata yanvo,) who had been sent to 

 announce the death of the late chieftain of that name. 

 Matiamvo is the hereditary title, muata meaning lord or 

 chief. The late Matiamvo seems, from the report of thesu 

 men, to have become insane, for he is said to have some- 

 times indulged the whim of running a muck in the town 

 and beheading whomsoever he met, until he had quite a 

 neap of human heads. Matiamvo explained this conduct 

 r>y saying that his people were too many, and he wanted 

 to diminish them. He had absolute power of life and death. 



