26o 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



tablished friendly relations, trade was carried on with 

 great vigour ; but when visited by strangers, as they 

 have no idea of establishing trade with the outside 

 world, the chief desire seemed to be to rob them, 

 and possess the wealth of the stranger with as little 

 cost to themselves as possible. 



These were the people with whom we were to make 

 a treaty. We intended and hoped that the treaty, once 

 ratified, would go far toward enabling Europeans and 

 traders from the coast to enter the Embe country with- 

 out danger and transact business with them. 



The next day, shortly after noon, Liria came to my 

 tent, and with solemn mien informed me that the elders 

 of the Embe were gathered together for the purpose 

 of going through the ceremony of muma with me. 

 After a short chat, I went with him to a hill a short 

 distance above our camp, and there saw about fifty of 

 their influential men gathered together. Among their 

 number I recoo;nized several who had made trouble 

 with us during our former stay in this country, in 

 February. After an exchange of greetings, Lieutenant 

 von Hohnel and I accompanied them to a small island 

 formed by a fork in a brook near by. They told us 

 that this island was sacred to muma-making of the 

 gravest type. Twenty selected elders joined us here, 

 and hundreds of men, young and old, were crowded 

 together, overlooking the ceremony. The first order 

 given was for the removal of all weapons from the 

 island, as the muma was to be a peace muma, and the 

 presence of any sort of weapon would render all efforts 

 invalid. This was followed by the presentation of a 

 small stick covered with thorns to Lieutenant von 



