In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
less thought 1 was an apparition from the unseen 
world. 
The tax collectors at the river were all Mos¬ 
lems. Their turbans and tobes were spotless, 
and their vests and trousers were of the finest 
velvet. Just a little beyond the river was the 
town Ewo, one of the oldest and best fortified in 
the whole country. This town was in the league 
against Ejahyay and 1 entered it with some mis¬ 
givings, not knowing what instructions the gov¬ 
ernor might have received from Ogumulla during 
the past night. Often these rulers have secret 
communication with each other during the dark¬ 
ness of the night and plot any amount of mis¬ 
chief before daylight. Professional hunters be¬ 
come spies and scouts in war and are very effi¬ 
cient instruments for such secret conferences. I 
found the chief sitting in state surrounded by the 
twenty-four elders of the town, all dressed in 
turbans and tobes and evidently discussing some¬ 
thing very serious. I saluted him respectfully 
and asked permission to go through his town to 
visit the king. He replied very pleasantly, grant¬ 
ing the permission and then dismissed us with 
the usual polite expressions. 
Through our guide we got some information 
that made me determine to change our proposed 
148 
