168 
A PAINFUL OBJECT. 
While taking a walk along the shore, to the right 
of the river, we met several natives, who had been sent 
over from Akassa, to observe onr movements. They 
all, more or less, spoke Spanish, no doubt acquired 
from their communication with the Spanish and Portu- 
guese slaA^e vessels, which formerly frequented this river. 
All of them were athletic and well-built, but with apish 
and unprepossessing features ; the face marked with 
perpendicular lines over the cheek-bones. They wore 
strings of blue beads round the loins, with a very limited 
portion of chequered blue and white cotton cloth, which 
required all their ingenuity to cover effectually any part 
of the person. 
We were not a little shocked on seeing the body of 
a female, evidently not long deceased, lying exposed 
near high-water mark, where it had probably been left 
by the retreating tide. The natives when spoken to 
about it, laughed, and seemed to wonder why we could 
be interested in such matters ; and gave us to understand 
that it was very likely to be one of the people sacrificed 
at some place up the river, and brought down by the 
current. One, if not more, were passed at other spots 
not far distant, which strengthened the supposition, that 
some great Fetiche tragedy had lately been enacted. We 
could not help thinking that the people up the river, 
having received intimation of our arrival, had thus been 
propitiating their idols to grant exclusive benefits to 
them, or destruction to us. 
The left bank of the river consists of sand, inter- 
