286 
MONDOLEH. 
greatest demand, probably for the purpose of carrying 
water; needles were also much in request, for what 
use we could scarcely surmise, as they hare no cloth- 
ing to sew; still the outcry was always “Dimdokki! 
dundokki! Needles! needles!” We also bought some 
goats and pigs from them, which they seemed very 
unwilling to part with. 
Between Dameh, and the promontory forming the 
south-east side of the Bay, lies the beautiful island, 
Mondoleh ; rising abruptly from the sea to the height of 
about two hundred feet. It is steep on all sides, es- 
pecially to the west, not too much so, however, for 
the growth of magnificent trees ; such as the bombax, 
African-oak, camwood, iron-wood, &c., festooned with 
orchidaceous plants in great variety, and intermixed 
with an impenetrable tangle of low bushes. The 
surface — of little extent — is undulating, or of a 
“saddle-back” form; covered with the richest soil, of 
decomposed basalt, and with very little labour yields 
yams, plantains, cocoa-nuts, &c., and might be made 
very productive. There are few inhabitants. 
From the summit the views through the openings be- 
tween the trees are exceedingly picturesque ; the shores 
of the bay, on one side, backed by the stupendous Mon- 
go-ma-Lobah, or Cameroon mountains, rising at once 
from the sea to the elevation of about 13,000 
feet; on the other, the rival Peak of Fernando Po, 
11,000, in the distance ; in fact these grand objects, 
together with the richly wooded promontories, the 
