[1] Wa'm fiah, i.e. warm themselves by the fire.

[2] These words represent the sound made by sharpening the axe.

[3] SotÁy he trow 'way nah groun', i.e. until it overflows upon the ground.

[4] Puttah-puttah, i.e. black mud deposited upon the banks of rivers or pools.

[5] i.e., It is play; I am playing; I am merely playing.

[6] i.e., There was no chance for improvement. It was a hopeless case.

[7] "Heen" refers to Deer. The proposal to wrestle with the little child appeared foolish in the Deer's estimation.

[8] "Long tem" is usually, as in this case, the equivalent of a long time ago. The remote past, rather than duration, is intended.

[9] "Done use me too much," i.e. He is too accustomed to me.

[10] "No deny," i.e. Do not doubt his ability.

[11] When into the darkness of a mud hut the first rays of dawn penetrate sufficiently to afford from within a clear-cut outline of the door-way, the time is designated by "do' clean."

[12] "So-so san'-san' lef' no mo'," i.e. merely sand was left, nothing more. The fire kindled by the terrible combat had consumed everything combustible. This is a characteristic African hyperbole. See also the much exaggerated statement of the space covered by the combat, and of the size of the cup that each animal was required to empty at one draught.

[13] "Do," often accompanied by a low cringing inclination of the body and clasped hands, is a very strong form of entreaty.

[14] The use of America and England, in the comparison, comes from the vaguest possible conception of those countries, derived in this instance, it may be supposed, from information picked up by Sobah during his visits to Freetown. The series, America, England and Freetown, is intended to form a climax.

[15] This is a characteristic circumlocution. It means that the goat is not scratching, but is swimming, as he did a long time ago.

[16] "He no bin 'tan' lek," i.e. Did not stand like, did not appear as he does.

[17] "He gie um four, four," i.e. He gave four to each.

[18] To better insure their safety against invading tribes, the people live in villages, often mud-walled, and go at day-break to their farms, where a hut, or a thatched roof supported by poles, serves as temporary abode and shelter. In order to indulge undisturbed his inordinate appetite, Spider plans to be left alone at night upon his farm, when the other members of the household return to the village.

[19] "He no 'tay agin," i.e., It did not stay, was a short time.

[20] The country-fashion man is a sort of African seer, who seats himself upon the ground, spreads a white cloth in front of him, throws upon it small stones and bits of various things, and in some way from these makes his predictions, fumbling in an apparently aimless way, and muttering to himself, or to the spirits of darkness with which he claims to be in communion. This is about as much as the uninitiated and curious can learn in regard to "Looking the ground."

[21] The wax referred to exudes from a tree called by the natives "chockooh." It is very tenacious.

[22] "'Tick-'poon" i.e. a stick used as a substitute for a spoon.

[23] "Hush yah," or "as-yah," is the strongest expression of sympathy in the Sierra Leone dialect.

[24] "Wey t'ing do de place far so?" i.e., Why is the place so far?

[25] To an African mind, everything in the least unusual needs to be accounted for. Consequently some solution, however fanciful, must be offered for the slow locomotion of such a pompous appearing character in the native stories as the Chameleon. Raising one foot after the other slowly, very slowly, he puts it down with a meditative precision that leads the people to ascribe to him these words: "I duh walker, mash (take) one step, den odder step. Ef I walker hard I go sink de groun', de groun' go bus', he too sof', en bimeby de wuld go broke. Dat make I duh walker soffle, so I no fa' down."

[26] Native lack of management, and shiftlessness in providing for the future by planting a sufficient amount of rice, cause, for the great mass of the people, an annual scarcity of food just preceding the season of ingathering. Add to this the frequent wars, and the occasional devastations by locusts, and the explanation is afforded for the famines so frequently mentioned in the oral literature concerning the animals, the pathetic sharers in the suffering of their human friends.

[27] The native rope is a vine that grows in the jungle, and which is sufficiently strong to serve the purposes of a rope. Fastened to a large stone it even holds a boat at anchor.

[28] "Put Bundo" signifies to initiate into the mysteries of the Bundo, a powerful secret organization for women.

[29] The initiation lasts for several weeks, during which period the candidates are not allowed to mingle with the people of the town. A supply of food is therefore necessary, and it is this supply that Spider asks the chief to provide.

[30] The native jug for storing palm-oil, is a joint of bamboo, stopped up at both ends, or a gourd.

[31] The customary way for the chief to issue a proclamation is to send a town crier around, after the people have gathered in the town for the night.

[32] "Pull de Bundo" signifies a public display just after initiation, a procession with songs and dances. For this purpose special and numerous ornaments, and gaudy but scant covering are worn on the partially nude bodies, which are tattooed and greased until they shine.

By the query: "Which side yo' duh pull de Bundo," the chief implies that the preparatory rites over which Spider has been supposed to preside are at an end, and a statement should be made as to the place where the new members are to be introduced to the public.

[33] "Lock" means merely "close," as no stronger method for securing a door is known than bracing a stick against it. Sometimes a door is only a suspended mat.

[34] The Mory men, or Mohammedans, travel over the country, gaining a living by working on the credulity of the superstitious folk. They manufacture "sebbys" or charms, of which the most common are bits of Arabic writing, usually taken from the Koran, and enclosed in black leather of square or oblong shape, measuring an inch or two. These charms are worn around neck, wrists or ankles.

Natives will sacrifice almost any other possession to procure such charms. Their awed faith in the potency of charms and fetiches is one of the most dumbly pathetic facts in African life.

[35] The cutlass is the general purpose tool used for cutting away underbrush, for harvesting, and even for the felling of forest trees.

[36] "Humbug" in the Sierra Leone dialect always means "trouble", and contains no suggestion of trickery. The thought here is: Let the person give himself no trouble.

[37] The following account of how Mr. Spider cooks his rice before he goes to capture the animal from which he makes the stew for the rice, is an exaggerated illustration of the African tendency to allow each hour to provide for its need. The custom, however, is to cook the rice, set it aside to steam under a grass-woven cover, until the stew is made, and finally to wash the calabashes, i. e. gourds which serve as bowls for food and water. Usually eating from the pot dispenses with the last part of the ceremony.

[38] A circular pad worn upon the head when "toting" a hammock or other burden.

[39] Beard.

[40] "No able um", i. e. Was not able to surpass him.

[41] The prophet bird is about the size of a hummingbird. It utters notes which are believed to indicate danger or success, especially when heard at the beginning of a journey, or just preceding the beginning of some task. The sounds from the tiny throat are sufficient to reverse the best laid plans, or to establish greater confidence in them.

[42] The accent falls upon the first syllable of the verb, the pronunciation being the same as that of the noun.

[43] For explanation of "half side," see Introduction, page 21.

[44] The man's house signifies the hut assigned to him by the chief on his arrival in the town. This custom supplies the lack of hotels.

[45] Craw-craw is a very prevalent skin disease, a species of itch not very contagious.

[46] When the men choose to clothe themselves further than with the customary loin cloth, they wear a long loose gown of hand-spun and woven cloth. Often this has a large pocket sewed on the front.

[47] The kola is eaten to still the pangs of hunger, and because an appetite for it is easily acquired. Then its intense bitterness becomes sweet. The white kolas are slightly preferred to the pink, either being given as a token of friendship and hospitality.

[48] One country cloth is thought to be sufficient bed for anyone. The evident purpose of the little boy in asking for a "pile" of clothes is to give the devil a task requiring much time, in order to delay his designs against the young woman.

[49] "Trongah yase," i.e., "strong ears," wilful disregard of advice.

[50] "Wey t'ing dat?" i.e. What (thing) is that?

[51] See footnote page 240.

[52] See footnote page 47.

[53] See footnote page 100.

[54] The coal referred to is charcoal. The natives know nothing of the natural product.

[55] "De bigness of he foot," i. e. leg. In the dialect the foot and hand may include the leg and arm, there being no distinctive terms for each.

[56] A barreh is a public meeting-place. A town has one or more, according to the population. It consists of a mud floor surrounded by a wall two or three feet high, and covered by a projecting grass or palm thatch. It is absolutely devoid of furnishings, unless there may be a hammock, or one or two bamboo stools, occasionally a crude chair, made of peculiarly forked sticks.

[57] "Dey mine um sotay he begin use dem," i.e. The boys cared for the animal until it became accustomed to them.

[58] The mortar and pestle are used in all homes for beating rice. The fanners are flat woven trays, on which the rice, after it is pounded, is shaken to remove the chaff.

[59] A common sight among the natives is a little child busily engaged in picking the lice from the woolly head of some older person. Sometimes the child's place is taken by the pet monkey. If the monkey fails to find the object of his search, he loses his temper, and expresses his feelings in strong language, and in boxing the person's head.

[60] 'It will not be my fault if anybody is killed.'

[61] "Palm-ile" is the general term meaning fat or oil of any kind.

[62] The Manekky society is a secret organization for murdering the infirm and the incurable.

[63] "'Tronger yase" i.e., strong ears, obstinacy.

[64] Watch-pot is the usual expression for a protracted call, the chief aim of which is to remain until the next meal is prepared and served. Such a stay has an air of deliberation about it, something like taking one's knitting and remaining for tea.

[65] The "clo'es" were pieces of cloth for the customary present, which the stranger offers as indirect payment for the hospitality he expects to receive.

[66] As soon as a death is reported, the people gather around the corpse, and, prone upon the ground, indulge in the wildest lamentations and cries. This duty is especially incumbent upon the women, and their wailing and grovelling, accompanied by writhings and contortions of the body, must be something like the death-wail of the lost.

[67] Coffins are unknown to native life. The dead are wrapped in white cloth and grass woven mamats and laid in shallow graves.

[68] The place of burial for a baby, especially if it be the first, is usually a refuse heap, the belief being that if the child is too deeply mourned and honored, the parents will have no more offspring. A second child is buried nearer the house; while the most honorable interment given an older person, is within the house. The "bush" and the road-side, receive the majority of the dead.