58 MISSIONARY LIFE IJS ASHANTEE. 
Our old leader had bought a little salt and some yams 
with the money we had entrusted to his care in Totorase, 
but very soon he declared that it was all gone, and in 
reply to our demands would rage furiously, exclaiming, 
" salt, salt, do you suppose I shall go to Akem, and fetch it 
for you on my head." The broken wooden bowl which 
held our food usually contained very thin pepper soup, in 
which a few balls of fufu, and very occasionally a tiny 
bit of meat were to be found. This was the day's pro- 
vision for three people, and rather than beg some of the 
slaves' food of our hard-hearted leader, we preferred to 
appeal to the pity of the people around us. 
Some of the good-natured women kindly gave us now and 
then some fruit, but of course these gifts were irregular, and 
there were days when we learnt what starvation meant. 
We were therefore much cheered, on the 7th of October, by 
the welcome news that the king had sent both us and M. 
Bonnat, a sheep and a sua of gold dust. Of the latter we 
should have heard nothing, for Ageana simply pocketed 
it, had it not been that the soldiers claimed their part of 
the booty, as they helped to provide us with food. There 
was a hot altercation, and the matter being referred to 
Coomassie, the old man was forced to give up half M. 
B.'s portion was given to his keeper, who squandered it in 
a fortnight, and then told his prisoner that he had no 
money to buy a little salt. 
In comparing our adventures we soon learnt the history 
of our new companion. Born in the department of Ain, 
he had early in life longed to see the world, and therefore 
joined a Niger expedition in 186*7. His ship was wrecked 
in the first storm at sea on the coast of France. Provided 
with another small vessel they reached the west coast of 
Africa. Here M. B. separated from his countrymen and 
began to trade, with the assistance of his mulatto servants, 
going further inland until he at length reached Ho. Here 
