160 SURROUNDED BY NATIVES. [chap. iv. 
of disjointed masses were numerous villages. The 
bottom of the valley was a meadow, in which grew 
several enormous fig-trees by the side of a sluggish, 
and in some places, stagnant brook. The valley was 
not more than half a mile wide, and was also walled 
in by mountains on the west, having the appearance 
of a vast street. 
We were now about a mile ahead of our party; 
but accompanied by our two Latooka guides, and upon 
descending to the valley and crossing a deep gully, 
we soon arrived beneath a large fig-tree at the extre¬ 
mity of the vale. No sooner was our presence observed 
than crowds of natives issued from the numerous 
villages among the rocks, and surrounded us. They 
were all armed with bows and arrows and lances, and 
were very excited at seeing the horses, which to them 
were unknown animals. Dismounting, I fastened the 
horses to a bush, and we sat down on the grass under 
a tree. 
There were five or six hundred natives pressing 
round us. They were excessively noisy, hallooing to 
us as though we were deaf, simply because we did not 
understand them. Finding that they were pressing 
rudely around us, I made signs to them to stand off, 
when at that moment a curiously ugly, short, humped- 
back fellow came forward and addressed me in broken 
