how many children she had, and the mode of succession; then, when
fully satisfied, led the way to show me what his father Dagara had done
when wishing to know of what the centre of the earth was composed. At
the back of the palace a deep ditch was cut, several yards long, the end
of which was carried by a subterranean passage into the palace, where it
was ended off with a cavern led into by a very small aperture. It then
appeared that Dagara, having failed, in his own opinion, to arrive any
nearer to the object in view, gave the excavating up as a bad job,
and turned the cave into a mysterious abode, where it was confidently
asserted he spent many days without eating or drinking, and turned
sometimes into a young man, and then an old one, alternately, as the
humour seized him.

19th to 22d.--On the 19th I went fishing, but without success, for they
said the fish would not take in the lake; and on the following day, as
Grant's recovery seemed hopeless, for a long time at least, I went with
all the young princes to se what I could do with the hippopotami in
the lake, said to inhabit the small island of Conty. The part was an
exceedingly merry one. We went off to the island in several canoes, and
at once found an immense number of crocodiles basking in the sun, but
not a single hippopotamus was in sight. The princes then, thinking me
"green" at this kind of sport, said the place was enchanted, but I need
not fear, for they would bring them out to my feet by simply calling out
certain names, and this was no sooner done than four old and one young
one came immediately in font of us. It seemed quite a sin to touch them,
they looked all so innocent; but as the king wanted to try me again,
I gave one a ball on the head which sent him under, never again to be
seen, for on the 22nd, by which time I supposed he ought to have risen
inflated with gases, the king sent out his men to look out for him; but
they returned to say, that whilst all the rest were in the old place,
that one, in particular, could not be found.

On this K'yengo, who happened to be present whilst our interview lasted,
explained that the demons of the deep were annoyed with me for intruding
on their preserves, without having the courtesy to commemorate the event
by the sacrifice of a goat or a cow. Rumanika then, at my suggestions,
gave Nnanaji the revolving pistol I first gave him, but not without
a sharp rebuke for his having had the audacity to beg a gun of m