Having satisfied their thirst and bathed, they
crossed the stream, and entered a little village on the northern
bank, where they halted for the day.
When travelling in the bush, several men in the train of a fatakie
wear a large iron ring on the thumb and middle finger; to the latter
a piece of plate iron is attached, with which they make signals to
each other, and the fatakie, when apart, by clinking the rings. This
method of communication is very significant, and it is understood as
well, and is as promptly answered or obeyed, as the boatswain's
whistle on board a ship. The collision of the rings produces a harsh,
grating noise, loud enough to be heard at a considerable distance.
The mere crossing of a little stream, which a person might almost
have jumped over, introduced them into a country very different from
Yarriba, which was inhabited by a different people, speaking a
different language, professing a different religion, and whose
manners, customs, amusements, and pursuits were altogether different.
The village in which they halted was called Moussa, after the river,
and is distant from Keeshee, in a northerly direction, as nearly as
they could guess, about sixteen miles.
