AFRICAN EXPLORERS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 197 
had lie not laughed and played in quite a childish 
manner. The natives assembled in hundreds to see the 
strange-looking visitors, and the latter had to place 
three men as sentinels outside their door to keep the 
curious at a distance. 
“ The curiosity of the people to see us is so intense,” 
writes Lander, “ that we dare not stir out of doors, and 
THE LANDERS ON THE NIGER. 
therefore we are compelled to keep our door open all 
day long for the benefit of the air, and the only exer¬ 
cise which we can take is by walking round and round 
our hut like wild beasts in a cage. The people stand 
gazing at us with visible emotions of amazement and 
terror; we are regarded, in fact, in just the same light 
as the fiercest tigers in Europe. If we venture to 
approach too near the doorway, they rush backwards 
