On the peak of each was a
village; evidently these impregnable positions were chosen for security.
At length the great ascent was to be made, and for two hours we toiled
up a steep zigzag pass. The air was most invigorating; beautiful wild
flowers, some of which were highly scented, ornamented the route, and
innumerable wild grape-vines hung in festoons from tree to tree. We were
now in an elevated country on the range of mountains dividing the lower
lands of Latooka from the high lands of Obbo. We arrived at the summit
of the pass about 2,500 feet above the Latooka valley. In addition to
the wild flowers were numerous fruits, all good; especially a variety of
custard apple, and a full-flavoured yellow plum. The grapes were in most
promising bunches, but unripe. The scenery was very fine; to the east
and southeast, masses of high mountains, while to the west and south
were vast tracts of park-like country of intense green. In this elevated
region the season was much farther advanced than in Latooka;-this was
the mountain range upon which I had formerly observed that the storms
had concentrated; here the rainy season had been in full play for
months, while in Latooka everything was parched. The grass on the west
side of the pass was full six feet high. Although the ascent had
occupied about two hours, the descent on the west side was a mere
trifle, and was effected in about fifteen minutes - we were on an
elevated plateau that formed the watershed between the east and west.
After a march of about twelve miles from the top of the pass, we arrived
at the chief village of Obbo. The rain fell in torrents, and, soaked to
the skin, we crawled into a dirty hut. This village was forty miles S.W.
of Tarrangolle, my head-quarters in Latooka.
The natives of Obbo are entirely different to the Latookas, both in
language and appearance. They are not quite naked, except when going to
war, on which occasion they are painted in stripes of red and yellow;
but their usual covering is the skin of an antelope or goat, slung like
a mantle across the shoulders. Their faces are well formed, with
peculiarly fine-shaped noses. The headdress of the Obbo is remarkably
neat, the woolly hair being matted and worked with thread into a flat
form like a beaver's tail, and bound with a fine edge of raw hide to
keep it in shape. This, like the head-dress of Latooka, requires many
years to complete.
From Obbo to the Southeast all is mountainous, the highest points of the
chain rising to an elevation of four or five thousand feet above the
general level of the country; to the south, although there are no actual
mountains, but merely a few isolated hills, the country distinctly
rises.
The entire drainage is to the west and north-west, in which direction
there is a very perceptible inclination. The vegetation of Obbo, and the
whole of the west side of the mountain range, is different from that
upon the east side; the soil is exceedingly rich, producing an abundance
of Guinea grass, with which the plains are covered. This country
produces nine varieties of yams, many of which grow wild in the forests.
There is one most peculiar species, called by the natives "Collolollo,"
that I had not met with in other countries. This variety produces
several tubers at the root, and also upon the stalk; it does not spread
upon the ground, like most of the vines that characterise the yams, but
it climbs upon trees or upon any object that may tempt its tendrils.
From every bud upon the stalk of this vine springs a bulb, somewhat
kidney-shaped; this increases until, when ripe, it attains the average
size of a potato.
So prolific is this plant, that one vine will produce about 150 yams:
they are covered with a fine skin of a greenish brown, and are in
flavour nearly equal to a potato, but rather waxy.
There are many good wild fruits, including one very similar to a walnut
in its green shell; the flesh of this has a remarkably fine flavour, and
the nut within exactly resembles a horse-chestnut in size and fine
mahogany colour. This nut is roasted, and, when ground and boiled, a
species of fat or butter is skimmed from the surface of the water: this
is much prized by the natives, and is used for rubbing their bodies,
being considered as the best of all fats for the skin; it is also eaten.
Among the best of the wild fruits is one resembling raisins; this grows
in clusters upon a large tree. Also a bright yellow fruit, as large as a
Muscat grape, and several varieties of plums. None of these are produced
in Latooka. Ground-nuts are also in abundance in the forests; these are
not like the well-known African ground-nut of the west coast, but are
contained in an excessively hard shell. A fine quality of flax grows
wild, but the twine generally used by the natives is made from the fibre
of a species of aloe. Tobacco grows to an extraordinary size, and is
prepared similarly to that of the Ellyria tribe.
When ripe, the leaves are pounded in a mortar and reduced to a pulp; the
mass is then placed in a conical mould of wood, and pressed. It remains
in this until dry, when it presents the shape of a loaf of sugar, and is
perfectly hard.
