The whole population came out to meet us, and when we entered the village we found it had quite wide streets, which would have been clean but for the tornado of the morning, which had filled them with horrible mud. Splashed with dirt, like water-spaniels on their return from a shooting expedition in the marshes, we were introduced into an immense circular room, with a platform of earth at one end, forming the audience chamber of the chief. On the royal throne, or rather bench which represented it, was flung one of those horrible carpets such as are sold in bazaars, representing a fierce-looking tiger springing forward on a ground of a crude red colour, giving a note of civilization, if of rather a comic kind, to the whole apartment. The chief now appeared, and turned out to be a very old but still vigorous man. Instead of a sceptre, he carried a cane encased in copper, and on the forefinger of the right hand he wore a ring, the stone of which consisted of a silver disk nearly six inches in diameter, quite hiding his hand. He sat solemnly down upon the carpet with the tiger; and our beauty of the road, who, it turned out, was his own daughter, took her place beside him, never ceasing to cast languishing glances at Taburet throughout the interview. I now spread out the presents I had brought, and set going a little musical-box. The sound from the latter caused such an excitement that the crowd outside managed to get into the audience hall, in spite of all the efforts of the guard, who plied their whips vigorously, even on the shoulders of the most beautiful of the besiegers. There was such a noise that I had to shout at the top of my voice in telling the chief our business; but it was all no use, I might as well have tried to play the flute beside a sledge-hammer in full swing. [Illustration: THE MARIGOT OR CREEK OF TENDA.] The chief, perceiving that conversation was impossible, made me a sign to follow him, and we withdrew for our palaver to a court-yard surrounded with walls, a kind of stable where his horse was tied up. He shut the door behind him, but in an instant the walls were scaled, and there was as much noise and confusion as there had been before. The chief then led me to a kind of store-room with a very narrow door, through which only one person could pass at a time, and that almost crawling on hands and knees. We filed in much as Esquimaux do into their snow-huts, and this time we were really free from intruders.