I Wonder Whether The Rocks Or The Trees Were There First?
There Is Evidence Both Ways, For In One Place
You will see a rock on
the top of a tree, the tree creeping out from underneath it, and in
Another place you will see a tree on the top of a rock, clasping it
with a network of roots and getting its nourishment, goodness knows
how, for these are by no means tender, digestible sandstones, but
uncommon hard gneiss and quartz which has no idea of breaking up
into friable small stuff, and which only takes on a high polish when
it is vigorously sanded and canvassed by the Ogowe. While I was
engaged in climbing across these promontories, the crew would be
busy shouting and hauling the canoe round the point by means of the
strong chain provided for such emergencies fixed on to the bow.
When this was done, in we got again and paddled away until we met
our next affliction.
M'bo had advised that we should spend our first night at the same
village that M. Allegret did: but when we reached it, a large
village on the north bank, we seemed to have a lot of daylight still
in hand, and thought it would be better to stay at one a little
higher up, so as to make a shorter day's work for to-morrow, when we
wanted to reach Kondo Kondo; so we went against the bank just to ask
about the situation and character of the up-river villages. The row
of low, bark huts was long, and extended its main frontage close to
the edge of the river bank. The inhabitants had been watching us as
we came, and when they saw we intended calling that afternoon, they
charged down to the river-edge hopeful of excitement. They had a
great deal to say, and so had we. After compliments, as they say,
in excerpts of diplomatic communications, three of their men took
charge of the conversation on their side, and M'bo did ours. To
M'bo's questions they gave a dramatic entertainment as answer, after
the manner of these brisk, excitable Fans. One chief, however, soon
settled down to definite details, prefacing his remarks with the
silence-commanding "Azuna! Azuna!" and his companions grunted
approbation of his observations. He took a piece of plantain leaf
and tore it up into five different sized bits. These he laid along
the edge of our canoe at different intervals of space, while he told
M'bo things, mainly scandalous, about the characters of the villages
these bits of leaf represented, save of course about bit A, which
represented his own. The interval between the bits was proportional
to the interval between the villages, and the size of the bits was
proportional to the size of the village. Village number four was
the only one he should recommend our going to. When all was said, I
gave our kindly informants some heads of tobacco and many thanks.
Then M'bo sang them a hymn, with the assistance of Pierre, half a
line behind him in a different key, but every bit as flat.
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