elephant, from which I extracted the teeth. The only report of a white man
having been here before was long ago, when, some of the old men told me,
he came from Assini direction, but turned back again. The village was
neatly laid out in streets and was beautifully clean.

'Another three hours' pull, still bearing northwards, brought us to the
village of Essuati, a smaller place than Níbá, but very prettily laid out
with trees, surrounded by seats in its central street. The people here, as
at Níbá, were mainly engaged in agriculture.

'Crowds came to see the "white man," many of the women and children never
having been to Axim, the nearest place where whites are to be found, and,
consequently, had never seen one before.

'After a few days' stay here I returned to the coast. While there I came
across a curious fish-trap, a description of which may not be
uninteresting. Across a stick planted in the river-bed a light piece of
bamboo was tied, and at its further extremity was suspended a string
carrying fish-hooks. Above these a broad piece of wood, suspended so as to
be half in and half out of the water, acted as a float and spindle. Above
this again were tied four large shells, so that when a fish is hooked the
shells begin to jingle, and the fishermen, hid in the bush, immediately
rush out and secure the fish.'

[Illustration of fish trap.]



CHAPTER XVIII.