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were well in sight, I made a great show of preparing for 
a fight ; made a big barricade of store boxes and rice-bags, 
reviewed the men, their rifles and cartridge-belts, and 
opened fresh boxes of cartridges. 
For upwards of two hours we sat awaiting results, the 
enemy watching our movements with great interest. At 
length one man advanced and asked for the release of the 
prisoner, but I sent him back to confer with the old head- 
men. After half an hour they all turned up and came into 
my tent, and then began such a long harangue between 
them and my interpreters that I all but fell asleep in my 
chair. The result of it was that they all agreed to tell their 
tribesmen not to molest my men in any way. They gave 
me a fat sheep and a shield as a peace-offering, and promised 
good behaviour in future. I gave up the prisoner s spears, 
shield, and tomahawk, to the headman, and let loose the 
captive. Then followed the usual tomasho and dancing. 
Several women, and very ugly ones, too, took part in the 
dance, which was kept up for upwards of two hours. The 
women stood on one side, the men on the other. A man 
advances clapping his hands, singing, and stamping first 
one foot upon the ground, and then the other, in the usual 
African fashion. A woman then advances from the opposite 
side in a shuffling sort of way, her hands clasped as though 
in prayer, her eyes on the ground, and emitting a curious 
hissing noise through her teeth. The rest of the dance 
is best left unexplained. This dance went on for fully a 
couple of hours, some of the young men working them- 
selves up into a perfect frenzy. As I wished to put the 
people in a good humour, I sat it out, though I wished all 
the dancers at the devil. At last they stopped, and after 
giving the headman of the dance a present, I showed the 
whole gang out of the place, and right glad I was to be 
quit of them. When they had all gone, I threw myself on 
my bed, for I was tired out with the long anxious day, the 
dust, and the heat. 
I spent four more days at the lake at Sinnadogho, 
