"These jujus are very swift
and sure." I would rather drink than fight with any of them - yes,
far.
CHAPTER XVII. ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK OF CAMEROONS.
Setting forth how the Voyager is minded to ascend the mountain
called Mungo Mah Lobeh, or the Throne of Thunder, and in due course
reaches Buea, situate thereon.
After returning from Corisco I remained a few weeks in Gaboon, and
then left on the Niger, commanded by Captain Davies. My regrets, I
should say, arose from leaving the charms and interests of Congo
Francais, and had nothing whatever to do with taking passage on one
of the most comfortable ships of all those which call on the Coast.
The Niger was homeward-bound when I joined her, and in due course
arrived in Cameroon River, and I was once again under the dominion
of Germany. It would be a very interesting thing to compare the
various forms of European government in Africa - English, French,
German, Portuguese, and Spanish; but to do so with any justice would
occupy more space than I have at my disposal, for the subject is
extremely intricate. Each of these forms of government have their
good points and their bad. Each of them are dealing with bits of
Africa differing from each other - in the nature of their inhabitants
and their formation, and so on - so I will not enter into any
comparison of them here.
From the deck of the Niger I found myself again confronted with my
great temptation - the magnificent Mungo Mah Lobeh - the Throne of
Thunder. Now it is none of my business to go up mountains. There's
next to no fish on them in West Africa, and precious little good
rank fetish, as the population on them is sparse - the African, like
myself, abhorring cool air. Nevertheless, I feel quite sure that no
white man has ever looked on the great Peak of Cameroon without a
desire arising in his mind to ascend it and know in detail the
highest point on the western side of the continent, and indeed one
of the highest points in all Africa.
So great is the majesty and charm of this mountain that the
temptation of it is as great to me to-day as it was on the first day
I saw it, when I was feeling my way down the West Coast of Africa on
the S.S. Lagos in 1893, and it revealed itself by good chance from
its surf-washed plinth to its skyscraping summit. Certainly it is
most striking when you see it first, as I first saw it, after
coasting for weeks along the low shores and mangrove-fringed rivers
of the Niger Delta.
