230 
AWKWARD POSITION,, 
[CHAF. V. 
party of Mahommed Her, and others yielding to his 
advice, and agreeing to remain quiet. 
I inquired whether the chief, Moy, intended peace 
or war? He said, “ That Bokke, his wife, had made 
him very angry against the Turks by describing their 
conduct towards the women/ 7 
This was rather an unsatisfactory state of things. 
Commoro departed, frankly admitting that the natives 
were much excited and wished to attack, but that he 
would do his best with them. 
These rascally traders set every country in a blaze 
by their brutal conduct, and rendered exploring not 
only most dangerous but next to impossible, without 
an exceedingly powerful force. 
The sun set; and, as usual in tropical climates, 
darkness set in within half an hour. Not a woman 
had returned to the town, nor was the voice of a 
man to be heard. The natives had entirely forsaken 
the portion of the town that both I and the Turks 
occupied. 
The night was perfectly calm, and the stars shone 
so brightly, that I took an observation for the lati¬ 
tude—4° 30'. 
There was a cleath-like stillness in the air. Even 
the Turks, who were usually uproarious, were per¬ 
fectly quiet; and although my men made no remark, 
