On arrival at the drinking-place they immediately lighted a
fire, and proceeded to cook their savoury pork by placing it in the
flames. The skull becoming too hot for the inmates, crowds of maggots
rushed pele-mele from the ears and nostrils like people escaping from
the doors of a theatre on fire. The natives merely tapped the skull with
a stick to assist in their exit, and proceeded with their cooking until
completed; after which they ate the whole, and sucked the bones. However
putrid meat may be, it does not appear to affect the health of these
people.
My animals requiring rest and food, I was obliged to wait unwillingly
until 4.30 P.M. The natives having finished their boar's head, offered
to join us; and accordingly we rode on a considerable distance ahead of
our people with our active guides, while the caravan followed slowly
behind us. After ascending for about a mile through jungle, we suddenly
emerged upon an eminence, and looked down upon the valley of Tollogo.
This was extremely picturesque. An abrupt wall of grey granite rose on
the east side of the valley to a height of about a thousand feet: from
this perpendicular wall huge blocks had fallen, strewing the base with a
confused mass of granite lumps ten to forty feet in diameter; and among
these natural fortresses of disjointed masses were numerous villages.
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