When I reached Sangatanga I found that the king was in worse health than he was when I had left. He was alarmed, fearing he would die. He remarked that it was singular he had been taken worse immediately after my departure; and that, in fact, he grew sick on the very night when I slept in his house.
FISHING.
CHAPTER XIX.
A JOLLY EXCURSION PARTY—A RACE FOR THE FISHING BANKS—THE OROUNGOU BURIAL-GROUND.
Not long after we returned from our hunting expedition, I prepared to go to Fetich Point on a fishing excursion. For this purpose it was necessary to have canoes. I had called on King Bango since I returned, but, remembering the rats, I had respectfully declined the hospitality of his palace. Nevertheless, he remained my friend and gave me all the men I wanted.
I not only wanted to fish, but I also wished to see the burial-ground of the Oroungous, which is not far from Fetich Point. There were also some enormous turtles on Fetich Point, I was told, and I wished to catch some of them.
My old hunting friend, Fasiko, had got together a party of forty men. Besides Fetich Point, I was to visit the Fetich river, and the end of Cape Lopez. There being no houses whatever there, the women had prepared for us a great quantity of powdered manioc, baskets of ground nuts, sweet potatoes, and bunches of plantain. We had a very large outfit. Fasiko got together a lot of mats to sleep upon, and kettles to cook in, and a great quantity of salt, with which to salt the fish we hoped to catch. We had several fish-nets made, of the fibre of a vine. We also had fish-hooks; and I took an enormous hook to catch sharks. I always had a hatred of sharks, they are such savage and voracious monsters.