The Sherbro and its hinterland . siderably excited. After the needle wasagain motionless, I told him to take a silver armlet fromone of his wives and to touch the compass with it. He didso, when the non-movement of the needle caused a generallook of surprise upon the faces of the people. The touch-ing of the compass with the iron and silver was repeatedseveral times, and the crowd dispersed, no doubt underthe impression that some great fetish had been employed. A photo of this particular paramount chief is here given(Figure 60). Kai Lundu was a man of small stature, butlarge intelligence, belo
The Sherbro and its hinterland . siderably excited. After the needle wasagain motionless, I told him to take a silver armlet fromone of his wives and to touch the compass with it. He didso, when the non-movement of the needle caused a generallook of surprise upon the faces of the people. The touch-ing of the compass with the iron and silver was repeatedseveral times, and the crowd dispersed, no doubt underthe impression that some great fetish had been employed. A photo of this particular paramount chief is here given(Figure 60). Kai Lundu was a man of small stature, butlarge intelligence, beloved by the people for miles around,who used to speak of him to me as their father. He wasevery inch a chief, with immense power and influencein the country, the first up-country chief to ask the Govern-ment through me that Frontier Police might be stationed inhis town; even going so far as to build at his own expensebarracks for the men and also official quarters. At firstI could not persuade this chief to let me take his photo-. (To face page 190. Fig. 60.—The Late Chief, Kai Llndt. Llawa, Ui-i-er Mendi. XIX THROUGH THE HINTERLAND 191 graph ; however, he said he did not object to my photo-graphing his head wife, which was done. A good many-up-country chiefs are very much afraid of the unknownpowers of the camera, and are under the impression thatthey will not live long after standing in front of the lens. A chief once came to me a few days after I had takenhim, and asked me if it would do him any harm. The next time I visited Kai Lundus town and showedhim a picture of his wife, he consented to have his ownportrait taken, which is the one now reproduced. Thebeautiful gown which he is wearing is entirely of countrymake. It will be observed in this photograph that he hasput on no ornaments. He had a very great objection toany ostentatious display either on himself or on any of hisnumerous wives ; and at a great meeting which I held along time afterwards at Kangama, in which the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1901
