were hostile, though throughout a great part of the district the natives did not know what a gun was, and, under the impression that we were only armed with clubs, even twenty or thirty of them were willing to attack us with their arrows and spears.

I found the best way of approaching a village (the warriors of which were usually all grouped on the beach, with their arrows on the string) was to leave the rest of the flotilla at some distance, and to exhibit, from my canoe, handkerchiefs and strings of beads as I drew near — as soon as possible throwing a few handfuls of beads on shore. If anyone in the village could speak Swahili, or one of the other languages known to us, I then put myself into communication with the chief. After giving him a present, and promising a bigger one the next day, I allowed him