“My hunters ... fell at my feet and clasped them”
The following evening, when it was quite dark, Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi came into my hut, as I had told them to do. All the people were asleep and no one had seen them come in. I gave them powder and presents for them and their wives. They implored me to tell to no one that I had given them presents, saying people might become jealous and bewitch them.
A few days afterwards, Regundo, my hunters, and all the people who had come with me returned to King Mombo’s plantation. I accompanied them to their canoe and bade them a friendly farewell.
After they had gone I made preparations for my departure. King Mombo was to give me canoes and men to take me to Rotembo, a great chief living far up the Ogobai river. When I had bid farewell to King Mombo, he and his people followed me to the bank of the river. Before I embarked in my canoe, Mombo took hold of both my hands. His mouth was filled with the ochre upon which the skull of his ancestor rested, and he blew it over my hands, invoking at the same time his ancestors’ spirits.
Soon after I was out of sight.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
- Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
- Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.