Imigu, but found it had been sacked and burned,
evidently by Arab slave-raiders, who, Omar said, were constantly
descending upon the towns and villages on the border of his land. At
evening we went over the ruins of what not long ago must have been a
populous trading town, saw how wanton had been the destruction, and
judged from the heaps of bleaching bones how terrible had been the
butchery of its inhabitants.

At dawn, however, we moved forward again, but at noon, while we were
descending a beautiful fertile valley Kona stopped suddenly, gazed around
wonderingly, and then halting his men addressed them, telling them that
they were about to enter a country wherein no stranger had ever before
set foot, and urging them to patiently face any difficulty they found in
their path, and to offer sacrifices of food to the fetish to give them
strength to surmount all obstacles.

Omar, with folded arms, stood by and listened. When Kona had finished he
raised his hand, saying:

"Men of the Dagomba. You have guided us to the furthermost limit of the
earth as known to you; in fact to the point where your knowledge of this
land ends and mine commences. For this service you deserve reward, and
I, Omar, Prince of Mo, promise that none who have accompanied me hither
shall leave the palace of the Great White Queen without his just reward."

Two hundred black faces thereupon glistened with delight. All were eager
to see the wonders of this much-talked-of country, but the promise of a
reward at the hands of the great queen was a pleasant surprise that
evoked the wildest enthusiasm. They yelled with pleasure, bestowed upon
us all the terms of adulation until they exhausted their vocabulary, and
blew their elephants' tusks until I confess I was compelled to stuff my
fingers into my ears, fearing deafness.

"Lead us on, O our lord the prince!" they cried. "Let us go forward. We
will follow thee if thou wilt point out the right path leading unto Mo,
and appease thy land's jealous guardians who smite back all would-be
intruders with swords of fire."

This latter was a tradition. I had heard it many times during my journey
with Omar. The natives of Ashanti, of Kong, of Gurunsi, and of Dagomba,
had all told me that the country of Mo, wherever it might be situated,
was surrounded by a great cordon of guards--demons they believed them to
be--who had never allowed a stranger to enter, for they simply lifted
their deadly swords that blazed lik