"Suleiman declared his willingness to enlist together with Eddrees and several others.
"He told me that nothing could be procured in the country. Thank God I left a good reputation here seven years ago; thus I shall be able to purchase food.
"This morning my old acquaintance, Keedja, formerly chief of Atada, came to see me with many of his people, and with perfect confidence they commenced a trade, bringing provisions in exchange for beads. They promised to arrive to-morrow, and to establish a daily market at our camp.
"Keedja explains that he and his people have been obliged to fly from the depredations of the companies of Abou Saood, thus they have settled in the forest on the north side of the river, and have cultivated farms. They have very few clothes, as their bark-cloth trees are on the south side of the river in their old plantations.
"All the people declare they will now return to their old habitations and re-cultivate the land as in former days.
"I found that the natives who ran from us on the march, and dropped their elephant spears, were Keedja's people, thus I returned to them the three spears and an axe, to their great astonishment. (A party of native hunters had been scared during our march by our sudden appearance.)
"The elephant spears were of a kind used from trees. The blade is about twenty inches long, the handle about twenty-four inches. The end of the handle is heavily weighted with a lump of several pounds, composed of clay, cow-dung, and chopped straw, and the weapon, beautifully sharpened, is dropped upon the elephant's back by a hunter from the branches of a tree. The constant movement of the heavy handle as it strikes the boughs when the elephant rushes through the forest, cuts the animal so terribly that it bleeds to death. The hunters follow on the blood track until they find the dying animal.
"March 25. —Suleiman, the vakeel, summoned his men to volunteer for the government service as irregular troops.
"I issued a written proclamation, that should volunteers enlist, the term of service would be annual, subject to three months' notice, should any officer or private wish to retire at the expiration of twelve months.
"The rank of the vakeel would be equivalent to that of major in the regular army.