ought to have lost her captain his certificate.
Just as the night came down, however, we reached
the northern shore of the Grand Gaboon at Dongila,
just off the mouth of the ’Como, still some
eleven miles east of Konig Island, and further still
from Glass, but on the same side of the river, which
seemed good work. The foreshore here is very
rocky, so we could not go close alongside but anchored
out among the rocks. At this place there is a
considerable village and a station of the Roman Catholic
Mission. When we arrived a nun was down on the
shore with her school children, who were busy catching
shell-fish and generally merry-making. Obanjo
went ashore in the tender, and the holy sister kindly
asked me, by him, to come ashore and spend the night;
but I was dead tired and felt quite unfit for polite
society after the long broiling hot day and getting
soaked by water that had washed on board.
We lay off Dongila all night, because of the tide.
I lay off everything, Dongila, canoe and all, a little
after midnight. Obanjo and almost all the crew
stayed on shore that night, and I rolled myself up
in an Equetta cloth and went sound and happily asleep
on the bamboo staging, leaving the canoe pitching
slightly. About midnight some change in the
tide, or original sin in the canoe, caused her to
softly swing round a bit, and the next news was that
I was in the water. I had long expected this
to happen, so was not surprised, but highly disgusted,
and climbed on board, needless to say, streaming.
So, in the darkness of the night I got my portmanteau
from the hold and thoroughly tidied up. The next
morning we were off early, coasting along to Glass,
and safely arriving there, I attempted to look as
unconcerned as possible, and vaguely hoped Mr. Hudson
would be down in Libreville; for I was nervous about
meeting him, knowing that since he had carefully deposited
me in safe hands with Mme. Jacot, with many injunctions
to be careful, that there were many incidents in my
career that would not meet with his approval.
Vain hope! he was on the pier! He did not approve!
He had heard of most of my goings on.
This however in no way detracts from my great obligation
to Mr. Hudson, but adds another item to the great
debt of gratitude I owe him; for had it not been for
him I should never have seen the interior of this
beautiful region of the Ogowe. I tried to explain
to him how much I had enjoyed myself and how I realised
I owed it all to him; but he persisted in his opinion
that my intentions and ambitions were suicidal, and
took me out the ensuing Sunday, as it were on a string.
CHAPTER XII. FETISH.
In which the Voyager attempts cautiously to approach
the subject of Fetish, and gives a classification
of spirits, and some account of the Ibet and Orunda.
