I left the vessel and went ashore with some others. As I landed I was surrounded immediately by crowds of natives, who looked so wild and so savage that I thought they would kill me at once.
I was led to the village, which stood not far from the sea, and was hidden from view by the very large trees and the great forest that surrounded it. On one side of the village was a prairie.
I shall always remember this village. It was the first African village I had ever seen; and it was unlike those built in Southern Africa.
Don't think for a moment that I am going to speak to you of stone or wooden houses. No! These wild people lived in queer little huts, the walls of which were made of the bark of trees, and were not more than four or five feet high. The top of the roof was only about seven or eight feet from the ground. The length of these huts was about ten or twelve feet, and they were seven or eight feet wide. There were no windows, and the door was very small. They immediately took me to one of these houses, and said they gave it to me. They meant that it was mine as long as I would stay with them. It belonged to the son of the king.
So I went in. But where was I to sit down?
There was no chair to be seen.
Patience, thought I. These people had probably never seen a chair in their lives. It was so dark I could not see at first. By and by I saw how the hut was furnished. There were some calabashes to hold water, and two or three cooking pots. There were some ugly-looking spears, an axe, and two or three large and queer-looking knives, which could sever the head of a man at one blow. Of course I looked for a bed: I need not tell you there was none; but, instead, there were some sticks to lie upon. The very look of this sleeping-place made me shudder; I thought of snakes, scorpions, and centipedes. The dark hut seemed the very place for them. Shortly after the king's son came. If I remember well, his name was Andèké. He told me that his father, the king, was ready to receive me.
The king ready to receive me!
This was a great announcement. I must dress.