Niger

case with the women : they displayed themselves in
an altogether unrestrained manner to Mungo.
Worse still, they expected a reciprocal exhibitionism.
They swarmed about the tall young alien from the
banks of the Yarrow, begging for beads and amber,
stole the buttons off Demba’s coat, tore Mungo’s
cloak, and played the devil generally. They were
proceeding to other and more intimate researches,
when Mungo tore his cloak from their grasp,
mounted his horse, and fled from the village. Even
so, a ‘ body of these harpies ’ followed him for half
a mile. His coolness had been routed for the first
time in Africa.
His caravan, probably giggling, came up, and
they rode on, still east, reaching Soobrudooka in the
evening. No shelter was offered the travellers here
in spite of the fact that Mungo (whose company,
what with the more voracious of the hangers-on,
still numbered fourteen) purchased a sheep and a
quantity of corn. A heavy dew fell in the night, as
they slept by the asses’ load, and Mungo, with
chilled bones, took the road gladly enough next day,
holding on through a country where the forests drew
back their skirts to leave wide fields of corn waving
green and fertile in the hot sun. They were nearing
the banks of the Faleme river.
Here a village hove in sight where Mungo halted
for an hour and inspected the native fishing in great
detail. Walls of stone were built in converging
fashion across the stream, causing strong currents,
and the negroes wove strong baskets of split cane
7i