After marching for twelve miles very rapidly among small rocks, and across several deeply sunken streams, we passed a great number of shea butter-trees, which had been lately scorched to destroy the fruit. Here we found several excellent springs, impregnated with iron, strongly carbonized, of which I took a copious draught, which proved very refreshing to me. The road now began to improve, the surface changing into clay and sand of a drab colour. The stream, for the distance of two miles, ran along the path, which formed a channel. This gave my poor fellows an opportunity of cooling their feet, now much cut and bruised from the bad roads. I halted here for nearly an hour to give them an opportunity of refreshing themselves, and filling their calabashes with this water, which was much superior to that which we were carrying. During the whole of this time, many of my men remained standing in the water. At twenty miles we arrived at the town of Gijah, which is a fine open town of considerable size. The caboceer, though represented to be a very good and generous character, was extremely poor, consequently, after calling upon him, and the usual forms of reception had been observed, we accepted the kind invitation of a wealthy merchant named Atihoh, who entertained us in a most courteous manner, and in less than an hour supplied us with abundance of provisions ready cooked, with a calabash filled with the finest gwabas I ever saw, and plenty of very good peto. During the evening the caboceer, Agballah, and his head men, sent me ten large calabashes filled with provision. He did not visit me till I sent for him, assigning as a reason that he was ashamed of his poverty. The poor old man seemed much pleased when I assured him that I was as glad to see him, as if he had been the richest caboceer in the Dahoman kingdom. He replied, “White man must be good man, for black man don’t want to see poor caboceer.” I presented him with a piece of cloth and some little articles of hardware, which appeared to give him great satisfaction. I also gave each of his head men some trifling presents. They were conscious of their master’s poverty, but seemed anxious to assist him as much as possible, for they sent me, in the caboceer’s name, twenty-three very large calabashes, filled with provision; so that with several smaller presents from some of the principal inhabitants, myself and people were amply supplied with every thing necessary. During the evening we were visited by great numbers of the inhabitants, who seemed much gratified with an opportunity of seeing a white man.