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Maryland State Archives Maryland Colonization Journal Collection MSA SC 4303 msa_sc4303_scm11070-0019 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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Maryland State Archives Maryland Colonization Journal Collection MSA SC 4303 msa_sc4303_scm11070-0019 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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MARYLAND COLONIZATION JOURNAL.
19
Knowing tin' extensive celebrity <>f this
oracle, flirr implicit confidence |>Imc«• < 1 in its
predictions, nnd the high value of the fetishes.
I wns prepared to meet with something mar-
vellous or inipK.^iiirr in the place H"ell', or the
mrammiiu m the priests. I hud supposed m
least, ihnt. tbera wmU he Hume slight of band
management or juggling in the nITiir, in n
HMMMr to dee. ivi> the WWW. Hit them is
no such thing. The whole Farcfl mil* infinitely
abort of our children'* hon-peep or blind man's
buffet. And how or wherefore it should maiu-
tnin such extensive influent! over the minds
of I lie most intelligent tribes on the se i-eoast to
nil extent of six hundred miles, is truly aston-
ishing. However disgusted nnd disnppninted
I was, I professed to he much astonished at
the supernatural growling*! nnd promised his
invisihle majesty that his hig name should go
hook for long Amerii a, ami set nhoiit eluinher-
ing the rocks on my return. The excessive
fatigue which I had undergone tempted me
very strongly to slake mv thirst in the pure
stream, which came tumbling down upon me
in my ascent, nnd which is said to prove fatal
to all who presume to rob the grand devil of
his own especial heverage. Being! little nhead
(ifmy train, I made hold to filch a few swal-
lows, much to my own relief und the horror of
one of my Cape Pultuns hoys who twigged me
in the net. He, however, wisely held his peace
until we bad finished a pot of soup on our
return, well knowing that when the honour of
the grand devil was at slake, a little fetish,
always nt. Iinnd with these people, would pro-
bably have been dashed into tny mess, und its
effects heen attributed to the sacred water.
ARRIVAL AT DENAH
Wei. ft Haldee about three o'clock, P. M.
of Saturday j and again bent our course up the
river. About, three miles from IIaides we
passed the Bfopaum creek, the northern river
boundary of our newly acquired territory, and
entered the confines of Nagano* We soon
hove in sight of Nopatta. I sent my head-man
ashore with n dash of pipes and lobaceo, as a
slinko-hand palaver. This would not answer.
we must come on shore anil stay all night. I
objected] still they persisted, and I thought
allowed little more than friendly earnestness.
I knew what would be the result if we went
on shore. They had heard of I lie contract
Willi the Veahreh people, and of the splendid
dashes which I had made them, and were
determined to obtain the same themselves.
But neither time nor funds would admit of
opening a negociation with the people at pre-
sent. When I gave orders to put out, they
became outrageous, and threatened to stop us
on our return. Passing on, we soon arrived
nt Ne-he-ro, a town which had lately been
burned by the Napateo people, with whom
they were now nt wm\ Here the old head-
man received our pipes and tobacco with
thanks nnd good wishes for a prosperous voy-
age. Wo passed Blnrob, a small town on the
western bank, and arrived at Denah near
dark. The town of Donah is located on the
apex of a rocky hill, something like one hun-
dred nnd filly or two lur.idred lect above the
river. It contains about two hundred houses,
nnd perhaps fifteen hundred inhabitants. The
river here turns suddenly from north to east,
forming opposite the town a beautiful water
bound plain, covered with a luxuriant growth
of our tropical vegetables. You have a full
view of the river in the south as far as Nehero.
This is really n splendid, charming situation.
It was to the king of this place that I formerly
despatched a messenger, inviting bun to visit
our settlement, that I might induce him to
permit me to open a communication through
histerrilory tn the river. The messenger was
also requested to invite the king of the Rush
country, residing between ibis und Cape l'al-
mas. Willi true African cunning the bush king
told iho messenger that he would inform the
king of Denah and hotb come together. He
sent a child to Neb,the Denah king, which was
MjorsellM to mucking him; and came to the
Cape alone, thinking by so doing to render
himself pore consequential and receive u lar-
ger dash. This management I hail never
learned utnil my arrival at Denah. Of course
I was astonished to find king Neb ill-disposed
towards DM. On the evening of my arrival
he gnvo my head-inun to understand that we
could not be allowed to proceed on our vovnge.
This was not thn most pleasing intelligence,
situated as we were in tlie midst of this large
town, containing at least one hundred good
musket men. Open opposition was useless.
We had other sources, also, of disquiet, less
important, but more immediately annoying,
viz. a heavy charge from nt least one thousand
people, void of all restraint or decency, deter-
mined, at the hazard of broken pates and
bloody noses, to gratify fheir curiosity: not a
curiosity to ate n white, but to watch his every
action and gesture. Tho slightest movement
of any kind, as spitting, eating, drinking,
taking oil* one's bat, or even looking at one
another, occasioned the most deafening and
continued clamour. All this I endeavoined to
endure with christian like fortitude und resig-
nation.
FEAST I NG IN AFRICA.
The house was finally cleared, and wo
were found alive in the Morning, whose
light revealed to us the cause of il,.. annoy-
ance of one of our senses, before inexpli-
cable. Six days previous to our arrival
they had killed a very large elephant about
twenty miles distant, and bad just succeeded
in depositing the whole in and nbout the
palaver house for division. This meat, when
newly killed, hai a peculiarly disagreeable and
very strong smell, enough to deter any deli-
cate stomach from receiving a morsel; but
now that it had been six d lya exposed to the
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