At twenty-six miles we arrived at the town of Ongo, where we found the chief awaiting our arrival, about half a mile out of the town, with a number of horsemen and spearmen. Upon perceiving us he immediately advanced towards us at a gallop, the spearmen keeping pace with the others, though on foot. When within a few yards of us the whole cavalcade suddenly halted, and the chief and his principal officers dismounted, and all, except himself, prostrated themselves, remaining in that position till they were told to rise. The chief merely held out his hand, repeating the words, “Sinou, sinou,” which means, _How are you?--how are you?_--and gave my hand a hearty shake, bidding us welcome to his town. He said he had been made aware of our approach, and had prepared himself to meet us. He declared himself glad to see a white man, Terrasso-weea, he stated, was his particular friend, and had a white man with him, but not a proper white man like myself. He told me that Terrasso-weea’s trading party were all good men, and were his brothers, meaning that they were all Mahomedans. Here we remained to cook some provisions. We were fortunate enough to obtain in exchange for a pair of scissors some good yams and a small grass bag of rice, containing about a pound. We also got plenty of water, which was tolerably good, but of a bitterish taste. This is frequently the case when the water is stagnant, and a certain sort of wood grows on its margin. Whether this is injurious or not I am not able to say, as I did not experience any evil effects myself, nor any of my party, from its use. The country now became delightful, and the monotony of a dreary plain was relieved at intervals by table mountains in various directions, nearly all of one height, not exceeding nine thousand feet. This place is neatly built for an African town, and with considerable regularity of formation as regards the market-places for the sale of different commodities. The houses are very clean, and are ornamented with various designs, similar to those I have just described. The horse, as I have already said, invariably forms a part of the family, and is treated much better than on the coast, where they are not bred, but brought from the interior. Even here, however, many of the poor animals are very lean for want of sufficient food, as they are always tied by the foot, and are never allowed their liberty. FOOTNOTES: [15] This cruel punishment is also common at Lagos. CHAPTER VII.