As they gently and elegantly wheeled in regular order into their respective places, three well-formed and comely girls, about nineteen, side by side, tossing their bodies right and left, to and fro, in a very graceful manner, danced together for nearly a quarter of an hour. After the triple dance there was a double one; this was succeeded by a single dance. These three girls were then withdrawn and other members of the order were selected to fill their places. Many feats of skill in dancing were performed by the first three. I noticed that when they danced their supple limbs were tossed in many enigmatical postures, which drew forth applause and great laughter from the bystanders, who understood them. After dancing for an hour before us, the leader of the mystic sisterhood ordered it discontinued, and they retired to a capacious bamboo-covered hut to partake of refreshments, which seemed to have been prepared and furnished by every village for miles around. Before taking my departure I inquired of the chieftess who these women were. She replied that they were the Bundoo women, who were about to remove their place of meeting to Carter, farther into the interior, because they were molested or hindered by the advance of Christianity, which is continually increasing about their old meeting bush. All must acknowledge this as a triumph for Christianity, and those who contribute to the support of the Shengay mission ought to rejoice that they have had the privilege of being instrumental in causing one of the greatest evils to Africa’s social and Christian advancement to move back into the forest, there to await the coming day of its inevitable dissolution, which, I trust, is not far off.
Avery is situated at the head of navigation on the Little Sherbro river, a beautiful site overlooking a vast scope of country. It is about forty-three miles from Good Hope, and quite accessible to any point where we may wish to push our work in future; and it is hoped that this station will be the centre from which many stations may be planted still further into the interior at no distant future. The Little Sherbro river, with its rippling stream, glides within a few hundred feet of Avery, and flows into the Big Bargroo river, and the Big Bargroo, with its tributaries, opens an avenue to any part of Africa accessible by water.