Torches led the way, followed by a long file of spearmen; then came the noisy band and ourselves, I towing my wife up the precipitous path, while my few attendants followed behind with a number of natives who had volunteered to carry the luggage.
On arrival at the top of the cliff, we were about 180 feet above the river; and after a walk of about a quarter of a mile, we were triumphantly led into the heart of the village, and halted in a small courtyard in front of the headman's residence.
Keedja waited to receive us by a blazing fire.

Not having had anything to eat, we were uncommonly hungry, and to our great delight a basketful of ripe plantains was presented to us.

These were the first that I had seen for many years.

A gourd bottle of plantain wine was offered and immediately emptied; it resembled extremely poor cider.

We were now surrounded by a mass of natives, no longer the naked savages to whom we had been accustomed, but well-dressed men, wearing robes of bark cloth, arranged in various fashions, generally like the Arab "tope" or the Roman toga.