Travels in West AfricaUpon her sudden freedom from family obligations, a sheltered Victorian spinster traded her stifling middle-class existence for an incredible expedition in the Congo. Mary Kingsley traversed uncharted regions of West Africa alone, on foot, collecting specimens of local fauna and trading with natives--a remarkable feat in any era, but particularly for a woman of the 1890s. After hacking her way through jungles, being fired upon by hostile tribesmen and attacked by wild animals, Kingsley emerged with no complaint more serious than a pair of tired feet. She undertook her exploits in the traditional garb of her era but lived as a native, and she found herself drawn into the life and problems of the region: its diversity of customs and beliefs; its geography and natural history; its trade network; the impact of missionaries; and many other issues of the day. Her account of her experiences, suffused with an infectious good humor, was published to immediate success in 1897 and remains a compelling tale of adventure. |
Contents
LIVERPOOL TO SIERRA LEONE | 9 |
THE GOLD COAST | 24 |
FERNANDO PO AND THE BUBIS | 40 |
LAGOS BAR | 71 |
VOYAGE DOWN COAST | 82 |
LIBREVILLE AND GLASS | 98 |
THE OGOWÉ | 122 |
TALAGOUGA | 150 |
FETISH | 427 |
FETISHContinued | 456 |
CHAPTER XXI FETISHcontinued | 481 |
CHAPTER XXII FETISHContinued | 499 |
CHAPTER XXIII FETISHConcluded | 519 |
ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK OF CAMEROONS | 546 |
ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK OF CAMEROONSContinued | 565 |
THE GREAT PEAK OF CAMEROONSContinued | 579 |
THE RAPIDS OF THE OGOWÉ | 164 |
LEMBARENE | 190 |
FROM KANGWE TO LAKE NCOVI | 229 |
FROM NCOVI TO ESOON | 256 |
FROM ESOON TO AGONJO | 292 |
BUSH TRADE AND FAN CUSTOMS | 306 |
DOWN THE REMBWÉ | 331 |
CONGO FRANÇAIS | 351 |
THE LOG OF THE Lafayette | 380 |
FROM CORISCO TO GABOON | 408 |
THE GREAT PEAK OF CAMEROONSContinued | 590 |
THE ISLANDS IN THE BAY OF AMBOISES | 607 |
APPENDIX | 627 |
TRADE AND LABOUR IN WEST AFRICA | 629 |
DISEASE IN WEST AFRICA | 679 |
DR A GÜNTHER ON REPTILES AND FISHES1 | 690 |
ORTHOPTERA HYMENOPTERA AND HEMIPTERA | 716 |
THE INVENTION OF THE CLOTH LOOM | 732 |
INDEX | 735 |
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Common terms and phrases
Accra affair African Ajumba bank Bantu Batanga beach beautiful boat boys Brazza Bubi Buea bush Calabar Cameroon canoe Captain caudal caudal peduncle charms chief cloth comes Congo Français Congo Free Corisco Corisco Bay crew Ctenopoma district Éclaireur Egbo elephants English Fans feel feet Fernando Fernando Po fetish fever fire fish forest Franceville French friends Gaboon give Gold Coast grass head Igalwa island ju-ju Kangwe killed Kruboy lady Lagos leaves Lembarene leopard Libreville live look M'pongwe mangrove miles mission missionary mountain native Negroes never Niger Niger Delta night Njole Obanjo Ogowé paddle palaver path plantation regarding region Rembwé river rock round rubber side Sierra Leone slaves soon sort soul specimens spirit swamp Talagouga things told town trade trees tribes usually village West Africa West Coast
Popular passages
Page 1 - It was in 1893 that, for the first time in my life, I found myself in possession of five or six months which were not heavily forestalled, and feeling like a boy with a new half-crown, I lay about in my mind, as Mr. Bunyan would say, as to what to do with them. "Go and learn your tropics,