It Was A Spirited Performance I Assure You And I And The Inhabitants Of The Village, Not Personally Interested In Goat- Catching, Assumed The Role Of Audience And Cheered It To The Echo.

We had another cheerful little incident that afternoon.

While we were going along softly, softly as was our wont, in the broiling heat, I wishing I had an umbrella - for sitting on that bamboo stage with no sort of protection from the sun was hot work after the forest shade I had had previously - two small boys in two small canoes shot out from the bank and paddled hard to us and jumped on board. After a few minutes' conversation with Obanjo one of them carefully sank his canoe; the other just turned his adrift and they joined our crew. I saw they were Fans, as indeed nearly all the crew were, but I did not think much of the affair. Our tender, the small canoe, had been sent out as usual with the big black man and another A. B. to fish; it being one of our industries to fish hard all the time with that big net. The fish caught, sometimes a bushel or two at a time, almost all grey mullet, were then brought alongside, split open, and cleaned. We then had all round as many of them for supper as we wanted, the rest we hung on strings over our fire, more or less insufficiently smoking them to prevent decomposition, it being Obanjo's intention to sell them when he made his next trip up the 'Como; for the latter being less rich in fish than the Rembwe they would command a good price there.

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