220 
CONTINUED DEMANDS. 
then dismounted, and, advancing a little toward our prin- 
cipal opponont, showed him how easily I could kill him, 
but pointed upward, saying, “ I fear God.” lie did the 
same, placing his hand on hie heart, pointing upward, and 
eaying, “I fear to kill; but come to our village; come: do 
come.” At this juncture, the old head-man, Ionga Panza, 
a venerable negro, came up, and I invited him and all to 
De seated, that we might talk the matter over. Ionga 
Panza soon let us know that he thought himself very ill 
treated in being passed by. As most skirmishes arise 
from misunderstanding, this might havo been a serious 
one; for, like all the tribes near the Portuguese settle- 
ments, people here imagine that they havo a right to 
demand payment from every one who passes through the 
country ; and now, though Ionga Panza was certainly no 
match for my men, yot they were determined not to forego 
their right without a struggle. I removed with my men 
to the vicinity of tho village, thankful that no accident had 
as yet brought us into actual collision. 
The reason why the people havo imbibed the idea so 
strongly that they havo a right to demand payment for 
leave to pass through tho country is probably this. They 
havo seen no traders except those either engaged in pur- 
chasing slaves or who have slaves in their employment 
These slavo-traders have always been very much at the 
mercy of tho chiefs through whoso country they have 
passed; for, if they afforded a ready asylum for runaway 
slaves, tho traders might bo deserted at any moment, and 
stripped of their property altogether. They are thus 
obliged to curry favor with tho chiefs, so as to get a safe- 
conduct from them The same system is adopted to induce 
the chiefs to part with their people, whom all feel to bo the 
real source of their importance in the country. On tho 
return of tho traders from tho interior with chains of slaves, 
it is so easy for a chief who may bo so disposed to take 
away a chain of eight or ten unresisting slaves, that the 
merchant is fain to give any amount of presents in order to 
