Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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The Bay
Affords Safe Anchorage For Shipping, From The Furious Tornadoes,
Which Are Common In This Part Of The World,
And is sufficiently
capacious to shelter as many vessels as are likely to visit the
island; it abounds with fish,
And is free from sunken rocks, and the
shore is steep and easy of access to boats. There is another bay,
called George's Bay, on the western side of the island, but it has
the disadvantage of being open to that quarter, and consequently
affords no safety to shipping. The proximity of Clarence Cove to the
coast of Africa, is also another important point in favour of the
object for which the establishment was formed.
The natives of Fernando Po are the filthiest race of people in the
whole world. They are different in their manners and appearance from
their neighbours on the coast, to whom the Landers had of late been
so much accustomed, and possess no single trait of character similar
to them, except that of pilfering. In point of civilization, to which
the natives of Brass Town have not the most distant pretensions,
these people have even still less; their language is totally
different, and they have no resemblance whatever to them. This in
itself affords a tolerable proof of the little intercourse they have
had with the world, for while the other islands of the gulf are
plentifully stocked with the same race of people as those of the
coast, Fernando Po which is so much nearer to it, is inhabited by a
totally different class. They are, generally speaking, a stout,
athletic, and well-made race of people, and peculiarly harmless and
peaceably inclined in their dispositions, although each individual is
generally armed with a spear about eight feet in length, made of a
hard wood, and barbed at one end. They appeared also to be a healthy
race of people, for although here and there one or two might be less
favoured by nature in their persons, no signs of the diseases so
common among the natives of Africa were to be seen amongst them.
They have already been described as a filthy race, but no words can
convey an idea of their disgusting nature. They have long hair, which
it is difficult to distinguish, from being matted together with red
clay and palm oil. The clay and oil are so profusely laid on; that it
forms an impenetrable shield for the head, and the long tresses,
which descend to their shoulders, are generally in a moist condition.
Although this covering is a complete safeguard to all inconvenience
from without, they still further adorn their heads with a kind of
cap, made of dry grass, ornamented round the border with the feathers
of fowls, or any other bird, carefully stuck into it apart from each
other. Some are so vain as to affix the horns of a ram in front of
this cap, which gives them a most strange and ludicrous appearance.
Finally, the cap with all its ornaments of feathers, horns, shells,
&c. is secured in its place with a piece of stick, which answers the
purpose by being forced through it on one side and out on the
opposite, after passing underneath the hair. Sometimes this elegant
pin, as it may be called, is formed of the leg bone of some small
animal, and is pointed at one end for the purpose of penetrating more
easily. The expression of their countenance, scared and marked as it
is, and surmounted by the cap already described, is wild and
barbarous. They smear their faces entirely over with red clay, mixed
with palm oil, sometimes a kind of grey dust is used instead of the
clay, and this preparation being equally distributed over their whole
persons, renders their presence scarcely tolerable. It is difficult
to find out the colour of their skin under the filthy covering of oil
and clay by which it is concealed, but it is believed not to be so
dark as the African negro, and more resembling a copper colour.
The natives make use of no other dress than the cap, which they wear
on their heads, but a few leaves, or a bunch of dried grass, are
usually secured round the middle by the people of both sexes, while
the younger, naturally unconscious of indecency, go entirely naked.
The vertebrae of snakes, the bones of fowls and birds, as well as
sheep, broken shells, small beads, and pieces of cocoa nut shell are
put in requisition by the natives, for the ornament of their persons.
A profusion of these strung together hang round the waist, which it
seems to be the principal care to decorate in this manner, while
their necks are scarcely less favoured with a proportion of these
articles. Strings of them are also fastened round the arms and legs,
but not in such quantities as round the waist. The pieces of hoop
they have obtained from the ships which have visited the island, are
formed into rude knives, or polished, and worn on the arm, in a kind
of band made of straw, and are much valued. In their first
intercourse with Europeans, the natives were very shy, and displayed
much fear, but this gradually wore off, and they now venture boldly
on board for the purpose of obtaining knives, hatchets, or any thing
they can get. They have a few canoes of small dimensions, capable of
containing ten or twelve people, but are not very expert in the
management of them, although they are so far advanced as to make use
of a mast and sail, which latter is constructed of a sort of mat.
They seem to be little addicted to the water, and none were seen
amongst them; who could swim. In their fishing excursions, the
natives are generally very successful, and those who pursue this mode
of obtaining their livelihood, are compelled to adhere to it, and
allowed to have nothing to do with cultivating the land.
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