The San Francisco call., 1909-07-25

BY EDGAR ALLEN FORBES

hnterland, and in his day the war drums kept the
natives huddled together IN the large towns of the
warrior chiefs
One of the most important of these chiefs was
Bangaquelli, king OF Tooquelli, in what known
the Boporo country Bangaquelli's chief claim to
distinction IS that he had king Boatswain for his
father; locally he is remembered for the number
of bottles of which he emptied
Now Galway had very promising boy named
Wobeh, and he wanted to give him good sendof in
life There no schools except the devil bush"
and boys had to pick up their education wherever
they could find it. Galway therefore gave the keep
ing of young Wobeh into the hands of king Banga-
queli. He must have had more confidence in the boy
than the king, for Bangaquelli had made sorry
of it with his own sons
Young Wobeh into Totoquelli with one eye
the main chance, and he walked the ways of
Bangaquelis sons. He into the kings house
hold and favor very much the shepherd boy David
into the life of king Saul. Little by little he
ntrusted with responsibilities that Bangaquelli
would not risk with his own sons, and Wobeh soon
showed that he had inherited his fathers aptitude for
business. Bangaqueli went on his way to the dogs
rapid rate, but Wobeh kept his property and his
town from following hm-kept them also from the
kings harum scarum boys The result was that when
Bangaquelli to die he did very unusual thing
the wisest act of his reign; he committed Wobehs
hands his entire estate-wives, sons, town, every
thing-to be administered by him. This decree OF the
dying king readily accepted by the town, for all
Totoquelli knew that Bangaques sons could not ad-
minister anything except gin.
WOBEHS TRUST
1t seems that Wobeh executed the trust with
fidelity and honesty-as honesty goes in the bush
Certainly he administered the estate with ability Such
OF BangaqLelhs widows inclined to be un-
ruly reckless with their affections were promptly
converted into bullocks and other currency Every
dollars worth of property left by Bangaquelli was
made to grow, and the town of Tooquelli also grew
apace under the nominal kingship of Bangaouellis 6
brother All went we'll until series of intertribal
began to devastate the whole region and the
dummy king proved unequal to the emergency The
fnNr1 of Inf0 Dfrellf
ground, Wobeh escaping with such wreckage as could
be hurredly gathered together. He made no stop
under the shelter of the Liberian government
Some links in the chain of events are missing lust
here The continued intermttently until Presi-
dent Barclay began his of government and thew
then terminated by shrewd diplomacy and wise
interior policy. Permanent peace was agreed upon
and the compact duly sealed by splitting in two a
white chicken, and then Wobeh instructed to re-
turn to rebuild the town of Totoquelli. The unset
tied state of the whole region gave him his chance
and on the toruous current of African politics he
hoated into kingdom The original town was gone
so there was nothing for Bangaquels sons to rule
Wobeh left them to the- own devices and
undertook the task of building on his own ac-
count. He selected site the base of beautifu
hill and built village, to which he gave the Original
of Totoquelli
While Wobehs star was in the ascendency death
came out of the foggy bush and laid its hand upor
him. famous mullah called to make IN
carnations and the sand cutter" brought out al
his paraphernaia of divination and peeped impress
lively into the future. That which Wobeh really
needed, good physician, does exist in this region
Ihe mulah and the sand cutter gave an unfavorablt
prognosis, the suffering king prepared for his
departure in the manner prescribed by the law 81
the bush
Secretly and in the dead of night he was carried
back into the bush to an obscure half town calet
Goon1ah being allowed to know his where
abous. Courtesy to the mulah and the sand cutter
demanded that Wobeh should promptly pass into tn,
unknown, but the old man held to life with hi:
characteristic tenacity 1t several weeks before
the news was quietly brought to Totoqueli that its
founder was dead. The information passed or
to Boporo, and king Sow came over to take charge
of the town until all its palayers settled Prep
arations for the burying were then taken in hand
The funeral of an African chief follows the Law
of the bush implicitly but the details vary in dercn
parts of the coast The proceedings in this ca
extended over period of about three weeks
First, Wobeh's body removed from the hu
where he had died and placed in open kitchen II
Goomah These kitchens merely large huts with
out walls; rather, with walls about three feet high
The roof is of thatch and the floor of clay In tn,
center of one 81 these kitchens shallow grave wa
dug. Then the feet were bound together, the arms
were extended down he hodv fhe han,t~ h<,,,,<