20 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA 
ed on a mat outside his tent, approached the 
spot, accompanied by one of his attendants, 
named Salihou, and, without further ceremony, 
seating themselves near him, began to destroy 
a portion of the vermin with which even royalty 
in that country is covered. They opened a con- 
versation on the dangerous part of the country 
we were then in, and the difficulty of preventing 
the natives from robbing and otherwise annoy- 
ing us, adding that we should not have left the 
Bontong Ko without consulting them. 
Although we were aware that the object of all 
this was to induce Captain Campbell to make 
the prince a present, he nevertheless took no 
notice of them. Salihou then, taking hold of 
the prince's trowsers (which, by the way, were 
in very bad repair), and holding them up, asked 
if it was a fit dress for the brother of Almamy to 
appear in before the white people ? But even this 
failing to produce the desired effect, they closed 
the conversation, and, at the same time, their 
more disgusting occupation. 
On the following morning, we left the Poosa 
at nine o'clock, and at eleven, entered a valley 
of great beauty and fertility. The light co- 
loured sandy and rocky soil, which, with little 
variation, we passed over since entering the 
Foolah country, here changed to a rich dark 
mould J hills on all sides, rising gently one 
