A SPECIMEN DAY WITH THE FAN CANNIBALS. 65 
sphere of yore : one of the most useful, however, is 
produced by the Nje or Njeve, a towering butyraceous 
tree, differing from that which bears the Shea butter- 
nut. Its produce is sun-dried, toasted over a fire, 
pounded and pressed in a bag between two boards, when 
it is ready for use. The bush, cut at the end, is fired 
before the beginning of the rains, leaving the land 
ready for yams and sweet potatoes almost without using 
the hoe. In the middle dries, from June to September, 
the villagers sally forth en masse for a battue of ele- 
phants, whose spoils bring various luxuries from the 
coast. Lately, before my arrival, they had turned out 
to gather the Aba, or wild mango, for Odika sauce ; and 
during this season they will do nothing else. The Fan 
plant their own tobacco, which is described as a low, 
spreading plant, and despise the imported weed ; they 
neither snuff nor chew. All manufacture their own 
pipe-bowls, and they are not ignorant of the use of 
Lyamba or Hashish. They care little for sugar, con- 
trary to the rule of Africa in general, but they over-salt 
all their food ; and they will suck the condiment as 
children do lollipops. Their palm oil is very poor, as if 
they had only just learned the art of making it. 
After the daily siesta, which lasted till 3 p.m., 
Mr. Tippet asked me to put in an appearance at a 
solemn dance which, led by the king’s eldest daughter, 
was being performed in honour of the white visitor. A 
chair was placed in the verandah, the street being the 
ballroom. Received with the usual salutation, “ Mbo- 
lane,” to which the reply is “ An” I proceeded to the 
external study of Fa?t womanhood. Whilst the men 
are tall and elances, their partners are usually short and 
stout, and, 
“ Her stature tall, I hate a dumpy woman,” 
is a matter of taste upon which most of us agree with 
his lordship. This peculiar breadth of face and person 
probably result from hard work and good fare, develop- 
ing adipose tissue. I could not bring myself to admire 
Gondebiza, the princess royal, — what is grotesque in 
VOL. II. f 
