Evidently he referred, however,
to a condition of shrinking in the population, a circumstance which he
did not care to discuss.
After the first few miles the bay narrowed sharply, and at its end
came to a point where a stream of no great breadth fell into it. On
either side of this stream that was roughly bridged in many places
stood the town of Rica. It consisted of a great number of large huts
roofed with palm leaves and constructed apparently of whitewashed
clay, or rather, as we discovered afterwards, of lake mud mixed with
chopped straw or grass.
Reaching a kind of wharf which was protected from erosion by piles
formed of small trees driven into the mud, to which were tied a fleet
of canoes, we landed just as the sun was beginning to sink. Our
approach had doubtless been observed, for as we drew near the wharf a
horn was blown by someone on the shore, whereon a considerable number
of men appeared. I suppose out of the huts, and assisted to make the
canoe fast. I noted that these all resembled Komba and his companions
in build and features; they were so like each other that, except for
the difference of their ages, it was difficult to tell them apart.
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