From this description of the men by whom I was surrounded, you may judge with what amazement I looked around me, with my guns in my hands. It was a grand sight to see such a number of stalwart, martial, fierce-looking fellows, fully armed, and ready for any desperate fray, gathered together.
Finer-looking savages I never saw; and I could easily believe them to be brave; and the completeness of their war-like equipments proved that fighting is a favourite pastime with them. No wonder they are dreaded by all their neighbours!
Here was I, at this time only a lad, alone in the midst of them.
Presently came the king, a ferocious-looking fellow. His body was naked. His skin in front was painted red, and his chest, stomach, and back were tattooed in a rude but effective manner. He was covered with charms, and he wore round his neck a necklace made with leopard's teeth. He was fully armed. Most of the Fans wore queues; but the queue of Ndiayai, the king, was the biggest of all, and terminated in two tails, in which were strung brass rings. His beard was plaited in several plaits, which contained white beads. His teeth were filed sharp to a point. He looked like a perfect glutton of human flesh.
I looked around me in a cool, impassive manner. Ndiayai, the king, fairly shook at the sight of me. He had refused to come and see me, at first, from a belief that he would die in three days after setting eyes on me. But Mbéné had persuaded him to come. Ndiayai was accompanied by the queen, the ugliest woman I ever saw, and very old. She was called Mashumba. She was nearly naked, her only covering being a strip of cloth about four inches wide, made of the soft bark of a tree, and dyed red. Her body was tattooed in the most fanciful manner; her skin, from long exposure, had become rough and knotty. She wore two enormous iron anklets, and had, in her ears, a pair of copper rings, two inches in diameter. I could easily put my little fingers in the holes through which the earrings passed.
The people looked at me, wondered at my hair, but never ceased to look at my feet. "Look at the strange being," said they to each other, "his feet are not of the colour of his face, and he has no toes!"
Finally, the king said to Mbéné that, when surrounded by his people, he was not afraid of anybody.
I could well believe him. When fighting they must look perfect devils.
When night came I entered my house, and looked about to see how I could barricade myself for the night; for I did not fancy putting myself entirely at the mercy of these savage Fans. Their weapons had been sufficient to show me that they were men who were not afraid to fight. I told Mbéné to send for Ndiayai. The king came, and I presented him a large bunch of white beads, a looking-glass, a file, fire-steels, and some gun-flints. His countenance beamed with joy. I never saw such astonishment as he exhibited when I held the looking-glass before his face. At first he did not know what to make of it, and did not want to take the glass, till Mbéné told him that he had one. He put his tongue out, and he saw it reflected in the looking-glass. Then he shut one eye, and made faces; then he showed his hands before the looking-glass—one finger—two fingers—three fingers. He became speechless, and with all I had given him, he went away as "happy as a king"; and "every inch a (savage) king" he was.
Shortly afterwards, Mashumba, the queen, thinking that probably I had something for her, also came and brought me a basketful of plantains. They were cooked. At once the idea rushed into my mind, that perhaps the very same pot that cooked the plantains had cooked a Fan's head in the morning; and I began to have a horrible loathing of the flesh-pots of these people. I would not have cooked in their pots for the world.