The natives of Fernando Po are the filthiest race of people in the whole world.  They are different in their manners and appearance from their neighbours on the coast, to whom the Landers had of late been so much accustomed, and possess no single trait of character similar to them, except that of pilfering.  In point of civilization, to which the natives of Brass Town have not the most distant pretensions, these people have even still less; their language is totally different, and they have no resemblance whatever to them.  This in itself affords a tolerable proof of the little intercourse they have had with the world, for while the other islands of the gulf are plentifully stocked with the same race of people as those of the coast, Fernando Po which is so much nearer to it, is inhabited by a totally different class.  They are, generally speaking, a stout, athletic, and well-made race of people, and peculiarly harmless and peaceably inclined in their dispositions, although each individual is generally armed with a spear about eight feet in length, made of a hard wood, and barbed at one end.  They appeared also to be a healthy race of people, for although here and there one or two might be less favoured by nature in their persons, no signs of the diseases so common among the natives of Africa were to be seen amongst them.

They have already been described as a filthy race, but no words can convey an idea of their disgusting nature.  They have long hair, which it is difficult to distinguish, from being matted together with red clay and palm oil.  The clay and oil are so profusely laid on; that it forms an impenetrable shield for the head, and the long tresses, which descend to their shoulders, are generally in a moist condition.  Although this covering is a complete safeguard to all inconvenience from without, they still further adorn their heads with a kind of cap, made of dry grass, ornamented round the border with the feathers of fowls, or any other bird, carefully stuck into it apart from each other.  Some are so vain as to affix the horns of a ram in front of this cap, which gives them a most strange and ludicrous appearance.  Finally, the cap with all its ornaments of feathers, horns, shells, &c. is secured in its place with a piece of stick, which answers the purpose by being forced through it on one side and out on the opposite, after passing underneath the hair.  Sometimes this elegant pin, as it may be called, is formed of the leg bone of some small animal, and is pointed at one end for the purpose of penetrating more easily.  The expression of their countenance, scared and marked as it is, and surmounted by the cap already described, is wild and barbarous.  They smear their faces entirely over with red clay, mixed with palm oil, sometimes a kind of grey dust is used instead of the clay, and this preparation being equally distributed over their whole persons, renders their presence scarcely tolerable.  It is difficult to find out the colour of their skin under the filthy covering of oil and clay by which it is concealed, but it is believed not to be so dark as the African negro, and more resembling a copper colour.