KAWAWA'S DEMAND. 505 



In the morning we had agreeable intercourse with Kawawa ; he 

 visited us, and we sat and talked nearly the whole day with him 

 and his people. When we visited him in return, we found him in 

 his large court-house, which, though of a beehive shape, was re- 

 markably well built. As I had shown him a number of curiosi- 

 ties, he now produced a jug, of English ware, shaped like an old 

 man holding a can of beer in his hand, as the greatest curiosity he 

 had to exhibit. 



We had now an opportunity of hearing a case brought before 

 him for judgment. A poor man and his wife were accused of 

 having bewitched the man whose wake was now held in the 

 village. Before Kawawa even heard the defense, he said, " You 

 have killed one of my children ; bring all yours before me, that 

 I may choose which of them shall be mine instead." The wife 

 eloquently defended herself, but this availed little, for these ac- 

 cusations are the means resorted to by some chiefs to secure sub- 

 jects for the slave-market. He probably thought that I had come 

 to purchase slaves, though I had already given a pretty full ex- 

 planation of my pursuits both to himself and his people. We 

 exhibited the pictures of the magic lantern in the evening, and all 

 were delighted except Kawawa himself. He showed symptoms 

 of dread, and several times started up as if to run away, but was 

 prevented by the crowd behind. Some of the more intelligent 

 understood the explanations well, and expatiated eloquently on 

 them to the more obtuse. Nothing could exceed the civilities 

 which had passed between us during this day ; but Kawawa had 

 heard that the Chiboque had forced us to pay an ox, and now 

 thought he might do the same. When, therefore, I sent next 

 morning to let him know that we were ready to start, he replied 

 in his figurative way, "If an ox came in the way of a man, 

 ought he not to eat it ? I had given one to the Chiboque, and 

 must give him the same, together with a gun, gunpowder, and a 

 black robe, like that he had seen spread out to dry the day be- 

 fore ; that, if I refused an ox, I must give one of my men, and a 

 book by which he might see the state of Matiamvo's heart toward 

 him, and which would forewarn him, should Matiamvo ever resolve 

 to cut off his head." Kawawa came in the coolest manner possi- 

 ble to our encampment after sending this message, and told me 

 he had seen all our goods, and must have all he asked, as he had 



