The inhabitants of these mountains are called Mahees, and occupy part of the country of that name. They made a determined resistance against the Dahomans, and held out for seven moons, or months, having possession of the mountains, and concealing themselves in the fissures and caves, advancing and retreating in turn according to circumstances. Though their numbers were great, yet the caution and skill of their besiegers prevailed; for they had the advantage of good firearms, and were able to avail themselves of the crops and cattle on the plains at the base of the mountains. The Dahomans always choose the harvest season for besieging a mountain; and although the steepness of these mountains renders the ascent of a besieging army impossible, they can so entirely blockade the occupants from all communication with the plain, as soon either to starve them to death, or compel them to surrender to their enemies, at discretion. These mountaineers never think of reserving any of their corn or other produce as stores, so that they invariably become an easy prey, though in this country they can raise four crops in the year. The Mahees use the bow and arrow, the King of Dahomey forbidding the transport of firearms through his kingdom from the coast. The old caboceer and my guide both informed me, that, during the seven months’ war in Gbowelley and the neighbouring mountains to the eastward, four hundred caboceers were killed, so that, allowing only a proportion of one hundred individuals to each caboceer, at least forty thousand men must have perished. After a great deal of remonstrance and persuasion with the caboceer and my captain, a promise was given that I should be allowed to examine the mountain, but upon condition that I would take my shoes off, so that I should incur less risk in climbing up the steep fissures, which are not wide enough to admit of more than one man in width. The old caboceer took the lead in ascending, giving me his hand the whole of the way up; and my own caboceer kept close behind me, fearing lest I might slip. In our ascent I observed many very large cotton-trees in the fissures, with scarcely any soil to support them. Monkeys were very numerous amongst the branches.