72 THE EXPLORATION OF THE NIGER A mighiy bird, whose talons Can tear up the soil of the earth i A bird who if he will Can dig a well wiih his daws.

You can just imagine the sensation when, after the negress had finished her chant, the phonograph repeated it without anybody's help.

But all good things must come to an end, and to the great regret of my coolies, I gave the signal for departure on the 22nd.

Below Sansanding the Niger increases sensibly in depth.

This fact explains alike the former and the future importance of the village as a commercial centre. The trade of the country is, in fact, conveyed up and down by water in big canoes some 60 feet long, capable of carrying twenty tons, and made of planks tied tcether. Holes are pierced