. Land and peoples of the Kasai; being a narrative of a two years' journey among the cannibals of the equatorial forest and other savage tribes of the south-western Congo . similar to that accorded to the trumpet. We were, ofcourse, most anxious to secure these wonderful specimensof carving for the National Museum, but at first it seemedhighly improbable that we should succeed in doing commenced by tactfully sounding the Nyimi as towhether he would be much opposed to the sale of thesetreasures, and rather to our surprise we learned that hewould not. He had fully understood what Torda
. Land and peoples of the Kasai; being a narrative of a two years' journey among the cannibals of the equatorial forest and other savage tribes of the south-western Congo . similar to that accorded to the trumpet. We were, ofcourse, most anxious to secure these wonderful specimensof carving for the National Museum, but at first it seemedhighly improbable that we should succeed in doing commenced by tactfully sounding the Nyimi as towhether he would be much opposed to the sale of thesetreasures, and rather to our surprise we learned that hewould not. He had fully understood what Torday hadtold him about the uses of the Museum as a treasure-housefor such objects, and he was content that the statues of hisancestors should find a permanent home in it. I wouldsell them to you if they were mine, he said, but if Isuggest such a thing to my councillors they will immedi-ately oppose the idea. You must talk to the elders your-self, and tell them that I do not wish to let the statues go;then, in their usual spirit of contrariness, they may desire tosell them. Torday thereupon proceeded to win over theelders. This necessitated a good deal of expenditure of. The statue of Shamba Bolongongo(Now in the British Museum). AT THE COURT OF AN AFRICAN KING 209 trade goods in presents to the various dignitaries who wouldhave a voice in the matter of the sale, and occupied a con-siderable time, for each councillor had to be interviewedseparately and in secret when Torday discussed this all-important question. Eventually, owing to Tordays per-suasive powers, and to the fact that our interest in theircustoms had caused the elders to take a liking to us, all thedignitaries concerned agreed to use their influence with theking to induce him to sell us the statues. At a solemn gathering of the elders the matter wasdiscussed. The Nyimi told us afterwards that he had letit appear that he was not desirous of parting with thetreasures, but when the council had urged him to do so inorder t
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