One may wonder how a white man could do this in a town of savages without sacrificing his own life. I may say that there was perhaps not another town on the river in which I could have done any such thing and have escaped with my life. Safety in such a situation depends upon the extent of a man’s influence and personal authority in the particular town. It is the part of wisdom for him to know the extent of his influence in each town and the part of discretion never to overreach it. In this instance Esona, breaking away from me like an animal frantic with rage, shouted for his gun and ran towards his house to get it. But a cry of alarm was raised, as I expected, and half a dozen men rushing upon him, held him fast. He broke loose from them and others joined him. For a moment it looked as if my own life and that of the crew (except Ndong Koni, who was related in the town) were forfeited, and the fate of the _Evangeline_ were like that of the famous ship which was left— “With one man of her crew alive, What put to sea with seventy-five.” But they caught Esona again and threw him to ground, shouting at me the while to leave the town as quickly as possible. To their mingled entreaties and curses I yielded a tardy compliance, which however was not nearly as reluctant as it seemed. There is a sequel to this story also, which I shall relate. This chief Esona, whom I flogged, announced a few days later that he was going to marry Sara. He already had seven wives, and the thought of such a marriage was repugnant to Sara. But she had no choice in the matter and was compelled to marry him. Polygamy is not always a happy institution, even in Africa. The seven wives were angry and jealous. Being powerless to injure Esona they avenged themselves upon Sara. One day shortly after the marriage, as she was walking along the street, they suddenly came running from their houses with knives and attacked her. They wounded her and would have killed her but she was rescued by some men who happened to be near. A woman costs money and her life may not be sacrificed wantonly.