PREFACE

depend on their observing well, or whose science trains them to observe carefully.

Now, of course, I regard myself as one of the second class of these observers. If I did not, I would not dare speak about West Africa at all, especially in such distinguished company; but whatever I am or whatever I do requires an explanation, an apology, and an expression of thanks.

You may remember that after my return from a second stay original: "sojourn" in West Africa, where I had been working on local religious practices original: "fetish" and freshwater fishes, I published a massive, overly wordy book about the size of Norie's Navigation A famous and very bulky manual used by sailors for maritime calculations. Mr. George Macmillan lured me into doing so by stating that if I gave my own version of events, I would clear up misunderstandings. He argued that if I did not, it was useless to object to things like the paragraphs appearing in American newspapers, which claimed that "Miss Kingsley, having crossed the continent of Africa, ascended the Niger River to Victoria, and then climbed the Peak of Cameroon; she is shortly to return to England, where she will deliver a series of lectures on French art, which she has had great opportunities of studying."

Well, thanks to Mr. Macmillan's kindness, I did publish a sort of interim report called Travels in West Africa. It did not work out in the way he predicted. It has led to me being referred to as "an intrepid explorer"—something I am simply not made of, as I am always a victim of frights, worries, and alarms. Its main effect, as far as I am personally concerned, has been to plunge me even further into debt for the kindness of my fellow human beings. These people—though they are capable of doing all I have done and are more capable of writing about it in truly good English—have tolerated that book and frequently tolerated me as well, even when I have half a dozen colds in my head and a grumpy original: "dingy" temper. Chief among all these creditors of—