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diff --git a/old/62710-0.txt b/old/62710-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1cc5bed..0000000 --- a/old/62710-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5636 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of King Mombo, by Paul Du Chaillu - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: King Mombo - -Author: Paul Du Chaillu - -Illustrator: Victor Perard - -Release Date: July 20, 2020 [EBook #62710] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KING MOMBO *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Peter Becker, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - King Mombo - - -[Illustration: “_These ... inquired if we wanted to barter for ivory -with them_”] - - - - - King Mombo - - - By - - Paul Du Chaillu - - Author of “The World of the Great Forest,” “The Viking Age,” “The Land - of the Long Night,” “Ivar the Viking,” “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” - “Explorations in Equatorial Africa,” “Stories of the Gorilla Country,” - “Wild Life under the Equator,” “Lost in the Jungle,” “My Apingi - Kingdom,” “The Country of the Dwarfs,” etc., etc. - - - _Illustrated by Victor Perard_ - - - London - John Murray - 1902 - - - - - Copyright, 1902, by Charles Scribner’s Sons, - for the United States of America. - - - Printed at The University Press, John Wilson and Son, - Cambridge, U.S.A. - - - - - _TO_ - - _SOLOMON SOLIS COHEN, M.D._ - - _Philadelphia_ - - -_MY DEAR SOLIS,—Looking back through the vista of years, and remembering -your solicitude when I came to you broken in health, and the care, -professional and other, through which your affection and skill restored -me to health and permitted the resumption of my literary labors, my -heart overflows. I take great pleasure in dedicating this volume to you -as a partial evidence of the gratitude and brotherly affection of_ - - _Ever your firm friend_, - - _PAUL DU CHAILLU_. - - _New York, June 19, 1901._ - - - - - Contents - - - CHAPTER I - - PAGE - I leave New York for Africa—Narrow quarters on the schooner—Our - cargo—Out of sight of land—The sea and all that therein is—A - storm brewing 1 - - - CHAPTER II - - A storm at sea—A tempest-tossed little bird—Fine weather - again—Fight between a swordfish and a whale 10 - - - CHAPTER III - - The Sargasso Sea—The northeast trade-winds—Dolphins and - bonitas—New stars come into view 17 - - - CHAPTER IV - - The “Doldrums”—Fierce heat of the sun—Strong local currents—The - southwest trade-winds—Huge sharks all around us 22 - - - CHAPTER V - - Crossing the equator—The southeast trade-winds—The equatorial - current—The Gulf Stream—Struck by a tornado—Land in sight—Africa - at last—The great forest 28 - - - CHAPTER VI - - Wandering through the forest and learning the country—I reach King - Mombo’s village—Received by the king—His fear of - witchcraft—Visits my dwelling and receives presents from me 35 - - - CHAPTER VII - - Superstitions of King Mombo—Visits to the house of his idols and - his ancestors—A strange meal followed by a strange dance 41 - - - CHAPTER VIII - - Bad luck of Mombo’s village—Ascribed to witchcraft—Arrival of a - great medicine-man—His incantations—The accused sold as slaves 50 - - - CHAPTER IX - - King Mombo gives me the stick “Omemba”—I leave the village on a - hunting trip—Parting injunctions—A herd of hippopotami 55 - - - CHAPTER X - - Sounds of human voices—I encounter Regundo and his wife, slaves of - King Mombo—Other slaves—Hunters and warriors of Mombo 63 - - - CHAPTER XI - - Wonder of the natives at my Waterbury clock, magnet, matches, and - music-box—Character of Mombo’s plantation 72 - - - CHAPTER XII - - King Mombo’s plantation—Work of the slaves in clearing and - cultivating the forest—Strange village of the slaves—Houses of - the spirits—Regundo’s account of witchcraft and its - punishment—Ovengua 79 - - - CHAPTER XIII - - The native dogs—How they hunt their own game when they are not - fed—Their ways of attack—Their usefulness to their masters in - war-time—Oshoria’s story 87 - - - CHAPTER XIV - - A great hunting-feast—“Roondah”—Different viands of the - menu—Speeches at the banquet—Music and dancing—A weird forest - scene in the torchlight 95 - - - CHAPTER XV - - A talk with King Mombo’s slaves—Why slaves do not run away—Various - features of the traffic—The cannibals of the interior—My daily - occupations 104 - - - CHAPTER XVI - - The animals of the forest—Five kinds of apes—The ngina or - gorilla—His great strength and fierceness—How he attacks man and - other animals—Oshoria’s account of him 116 - - - CHAPTER XVII - - The other apes of the great forest—Oshoria tells about the nshiego - mbouvés—Capture of a baby “man of the woods”—His mother - killed—Correspondence of the different apes with the various - human races 124 - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - Angooka, the medicine-man—His strange appearance—Eavesdropping—I - overhear the conversation of the slaves—They talk among - themselves about the Oguizi 131 - - - CHAPTER XIX - - News brought that gorillas are near by in the forest—The dogs got - ready for the hunt—Their names—A grand hunting council—Regundo’s - wise advice—Cautions to be observed 134 - - - CHAPTER XX - - We start after the gorillas—Cautious walking through the - forest—The dogs find the ngina—Yells of the monster brought to - bay—He slaughters two of the dogs—Taunts of the hunters—Shot - through the heart at last 142 - - - CHAPTER XXI - - Singular sight in the forest—All kinds of animals fleeing in one - direction—A terrible ant—The bashikouay army—Attacked everywhere - at once—How I escaped the tormentors 153 - - - CHAPTER XXII - - A journey to the elephant country—Serious annoyance from flies, - wasps, and mosquitoes—In the midst of a drove of hippopotami 158 - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - Mudbanks covered with crocodiles—How they stalk their prey—An - unsuspecting boar suddenly swallowed up—Habits of the huge - creatures 164 - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - Difficulty of making our way—Fallen trees and dense thickets—Our - meat gives out—Looking for koola trees—A meal of their - nutritious nuts—Their importance to the traveller in the forest 171 - - - CHAPTER XXV - - Lost in the forest—A herd of elephants lures me on—Separated from - my hunters—Two nights on the ground and one in a tree—Found at - last—Joy of the men 178 - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - The elephant hunting-ground—The beautiful prairie skirting the - forest—The welcome sky and sun and stars after the forest - gloom—Hunting elephants by moonlight—Three large herds—Narrow - escape of Oshoria and myself—Death of the huge tusker 193 - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - The killing of a second elephant—How bull elephants fight—The - contest for the leadership of the herd—Oshoria’s graphic account - of a battle royal witnessed by him—Return to the plantation 206 - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - Departure from the slaves’ plantations—Arrival at King Mombo’s—A - warm greeting from the old king—His sacred promise never to part - with his slaves—Farewell to him and his people 214 - - - - - List of Illustrations - - - “These ... inquired if we wanted to barter for ivory - with them” _Frontispiece_ - FACING PAGE - In the cabin of the schooner 2 - “The captain shouted to me: ‘A swordfish is fighting a - whale’” 14 - “When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy” 38 - “The king and I sat down opposite each other” 48 - “Then he handed me ‘Omemba’” 59 - “The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe” 60 - “He had a very determined face” 68 - “Then came a profound silence. I lighted another match” 76 - “Just in time to see a huge male leopard spring upon one - of the dogs” 92 - “The women were preparing food” 96 - “The first musician played on a ‘handja’” 102 - “A big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was tattooed - all over” 110 - “A little before dark she goes up a tree with the baby - to sleep” 120 - “Sometimes he suddenly gets up and charges” 140 - “The big monster ... seized ‘Bloodthirsty’ and threw him - dead on the ground” 150 - “Their big, ugly mouths when opened, showed us their - tusks” 162 - “We dragged the board with the crocodile upon it into - the water” 168 - “I pointed out the footprints to them” 174 - “With some hesitation I crept upon the transverse limb” 188 - “I distinguished a huge bull which was leading them” 198 - “The two enormous tusks went through his side” 212 - “I stood up and held ‘Omemba’ in my right hand” 218 - “My hunters ... fell at my feet and clasped them” 224 - - - - - KING MOMBO - - - - - CHAPTER I - - I LEAVE NEW YORK FOR AFRICA—NARROW QUARTERS ON THE SCHOONER—OUR - CARGO—OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND—THE SEA AND ALL THAT THEREIN IS—A STORM - BREWING. - - -One summer morning I found myself on board a small schooner lying at -anchor in the beautiful bay of New York. This little vessel, though so -small, was large enough to sail safely across the Atlantic to the west -coast of Africa, to which part of the world we were bound. - -On account of the small size of the schooner, the accommodations on -board were not very comfortable. The tiny cabin had three narrow -bunks—one for the captain, another for the mate, the third for myself. A -little cupboard, containing the plates, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, -etc., secured against the rolling of the ship, was near one of the -bunks. - -A small table upon which our meals were served stood in the centre, and -was the only piece of furniture we had, for box-like benches along the -bunks were our seats, and these were also used as places of storage for -different things that had to be handy. Besides these there was a -medicine chest. - -The only place where one could stand upright was under the skylight. Our -toilet or the washing of our faces and hands took place on deck, and -when it was raining or stormy the tin wash-basin had to be used in the -cabin, though we tried to avoid this as much as possible, it made such a -mess. - -The forecastle had accommodation for the crew of four sailors and the -cook—the latter being also the steward, and having therefore to set the -table, serve the meals, wash the dishes, towels, and napkins, and attend -to our bunks. - -On the deck stood the galley or kitchen, close by, a large cask -containing fresh water, with a dipper. Some other casks were safely -stored in the hold. These contained water, to us more precious than -gold, for what would gold have availed us if we had had no water to -drink? - -Our cargo was composed of many things, such as brass kettles, guns, -small kegs of powder, brass rods, looking-glasses, files, knives, -plates, and a great number of beads of all sizes and colors, bright -colored cotton umbrellas, coats of gaudy hues, each coat having sleeves -and backs of different tints, brilliant colored waistcoats and many -other objects. All these were to buy for me the right of way with the -African kings, or to give away to the natives, or pay for food or pay my -porters. - -[Illustration: _In the cabin of the schooner_] - -When the tide served for our departure the captain gave the order to -unfurl the sails and raise the anchor. Our ship then glided out into the -bay, passed through the Narrows and breasted the broad Atlantic. When we -began to lose sight of land, strange sensations crept over me. Before me -was the bright future, the great African forest with its tribes of wild -men, strange beasts, birds, and insects. Looming above these was the -wonderful unknown, so fascinating to me and to all men, especially to -lads. Behind me were those I had left, who were dear to me, and to them -I whispered a silent farewell, telling them that I would continue to -love them and that I would never forget them. That evening with -conflicting emotions, and a sad heart I fell asleep. - -The following morning when I came on deck there was no land to be seen. -The sea with its apparently boundless horizon surrounded our little -ship. Long heaving swells rose one after another, and with great wonder -my eyes followed them until they faded away in the distance. It seemed -as if some great unseen giant were asleep at the bottom of the sea, and -that his breathing caused this up-heaving of the ocean into these long -swells. - -Gulls were our only companions, and followed our little ship; they -seemed to fly without any effort whatever, their spread wings remaining -perfectly still for minutes at a time. As I watched them, I said -musingly: “Dear harmless gulls, where is your home?” And it seemed to me -that they answered: “We have no home; we wander far and wide over the -ocean, which gives us our food. We rest on the waves now and then, we -care not for wind and storms. We often follow ships,—watching for things -thrown overboard. But every year we go to the sea cliffs to lay our -eggs, and take care of our young. Then we are a great throng together.” - -I thought of the many birds of the sea, and of the giant albatross, -closely allied to the gulls—the largest and strongest of all sea-birds, -measuring sometimes sixteen and seventeen feet between the tips of their -extended wings. - -My mind was full of reflections as I was looking at the sea, and I said -to myself: “How apparently boundless is this great Atlantic Ocean, and -how wonderful! In the far north a gigantic barrier of ice prevents the -mariner with his ship from reaching the North Pole.” And I thought of -all the heroes who had made the attempt in vain. In the far south a -still more forbidding and more extended wall of ice prevents the mariner -also from reaching the South Pole. I thought of the white bears, the -sea-lions, the walrus. I thought of the Esquimaux, of his dogs, of his -kayak or skin canoe, and wondered how men could choose such regions to -live in; for life, there, is a battle all the time; dangers meet man on -every side. The elements and the country are against him; but in spite -of all that, the Esquimaux loves the dreary ice and barren rocks where -he was born. - -How strange, I thought, that no inhabitant had been found in the -southern polar regions, and that no bears had ever been discovered -there; and how wonderful it was that at the poles, the sun was in sight -for six months, and remained unseen during the six other months of the -year, so that a day of light and a day of darkness made one year. When -the sun shone at the North Pole, it was dark at the South Pole, and -_vice versa_. - -I could not help it, but the view of the great ocean that surrounded us -set me continually thinking that day. I wondered at the great depth of -the sea, and that the Pacific Ocean was even deeper than the -Atlantic—the former in some places having been found to be thirty -thousand feet deep, and in a number of places the lead having failed to -reach the bottom. The pressure of the water is so great that often the -wire holding the lead breaks before reaching such great depths; but if -our eyes could pierce through this immense mass of water, we should see -that the configuration of land at the bottom of the oceans is very much -like that of the earth above the sea. We should behold high mountains, -deep ravines, and precipices, and large plains or plateaux, and see that -in some places the bottom of the sea is changing constantly, owing to -drifting deposits. These have been revealed to us by soundings. - -Strange to say, under that great mass of water, as upon the land, sudden -volcanic eruptions take place which cause islands to rise high above the -sea and to disappear again. Many islands to this day have remained as -witnesses of these volcanic eruptions, and become, in the course of -ages, covered with forests and other vegetation, and are now inhabited -by man. - -There is about three times as much sea as there is land; and if it were -not for the sea bringing moisture, neither tree, beast, nor man could -live on the earth. Though the oceans bear different names, they all -communicate with each other. - -Then I thought of the rain, and all the rivers pouring their waters into -the sea, and I wondered why the sea did not get higher, and, in the -course of time, overflow the land. It is because of the evaporation of -the water. Do we not see, every morning, the dewdrops glitter in the sun -and then disappear? They have evaporated, and gone back to help form the -clouds, as well as the sea. - -Then I thought of the whales, and of their huge size; that on land the -elephant was the largest animal, and that in the sea the whale was the -largest creature; and that, though the whale was so much larger that in -the comparison the elephant was but a pigmy, yet the home of the whale -is correspondingly greater than that of the elephant. - -There are several varieties of whales. The Arctic and Greenland whale is -from forty to fifty feet in length. Its enormous head is a third of the -whole creature. There is also a species of whale which attains a length -of eighty, and even eighty-five, feet. - -How strange that several species of these huge creatures, on account of -the peculiar formation of their throats, can only feed on the most -minute crustaceans and pteropods. The fecundity of some of the species -of the latter is so wonderful that they cover large areas of the -northern and southern Atlantic and Pacific, and swarm in vast shoals, -covering the sea for miles, showing their presence by a ruddy hue -contrasting with the color of the water. What a feast the whales have -when they come where these small creatures are! Their big mouths allow -them to take in barrels of water filled with these minute organisms, and -they are provided with a peculiar and delicate sieve, by which the water -is drained off and the mass of pteropods taken into their stomachs. - -I said to myself: “I am now sailing over the home of the whales, and I -am going to the home of the elephants.” - -But the poor whales and elephants are so much hunted that they become -fewer in number every year; and I remembered how my grandmother used to -worry at the thought of the disappearance of the whale, for no oil for -lamps could then be procured, and what would people then do for light? - -After thinking of the whales, I thought of the countless millions and -varieties of fish that swim in the sea. I thought of the codfish, of the -herring, and of the mackerel, and of their innumerable numbers, and of -the many millions that are caught every year by man. Their vast shoals -seem not to diminish in spite of all. - -How intelligent are the codfish, and other fishes, in their migration. -The cod come by countless millions to the same place to spawn. They make -their appearance at the same time, year after year, often coming the -very same day as the year before, and rarely more than a week before or -after their usual time of arrival. After spawning they disappear, -leaving stragglers remaining behind. No one knows where they go. - -Then I thought of the relentless warfare among fishes, the big fish -feeding on the smaller ones,—one single big fish eating hundreds of -little ones in one day, the very big ones thousands. The number eaten -every day is so great that no calculation can be made of those -destroyed. But if it were not for this great destruction among -themselves, the sea would become so thick with them, the water would -become poisoned and they would all die, and the stench would spread the -plague over the world and destroy man. - -The second day we saw a sail in the offing, which relieved the -loneliness of the sea. Human beings were on board. Man loves the sight -of man. The ship passed close to ours and then the wake it left behind -disappeared forever. - -Towards evening the breeze freshened, the sky became dark, and clouds -hung low and sped rapidly. During the night the whistling of the wind -and the tossing of the ship told me that a storm was raging. We had -entered in the meantime the wonderful Gulf Stream, with its warm water -flowing northward. The gale was from the southwest. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - A STORM AT SEA—A TEMPEST-TOSSED LITTLE BIRD—FINE WEATHER AGAIN—FIGHT - BETWEEN A SWORDFISH AND A WHALE. - - -When I came on deck in the morning there was a great storm raging. The -sky above our heads was dark and threatening. The clouds were low and -moved with great swiftness. The wind blew with the fury of a hurricane -and hissed through the rigging. The sails were furled except two, which, -however, had three reefs in them. The sea looked fiercely angry and the -big waves broke one after another in foaming white crests. The ocean was -one mass of foam and spray. The rain was pouring in torrents. Our little -ship was tossed as if she had been a walnut-shell. Wave after wave broke -upon her side or buried her prow, pouring tons of water on our deck and -enveloping us at the same time in spray. At times the men were lashed to -keep them from being washed overboard. The gulls were flying over our -heads, and the stormy petrel had made its appearance. For a few hours it -looked as if our ship could not withstand the storm and would founder -under a big wave. I thought at that time that I should never see home -again. - -For three days we were buffeted over the great sea. Then the storm -ceased. The sails were unreefed and the carpenters and the sailors made -the necessary repairs upon our battered little ship. - -Suddenly I thought I heard the cry of distress of a bird, and looking -upward I saw a little bulfinch flying near the ship. The bird wanted to -perch on the rigging but did not dare. He came near, and then moved -away, uttering little cries of anguish. Evidently the sails scared -him—for he had never seen a ship before and he knew that it was not a -tree. The tempestuous wind, blowing from the land, had driven this -little wanderer far out to sea; he had lost his reckoning and did not -know where the land was. For several days and nights he had been flying, -finding no trees to rest upon, no water to drink, no berries, fruits or -seeds to eat. He was exhausted, for he had had no rest and no food. Fear -was in his little heart. I got water and bread ready for him in case he -came on board and we could catch him. - -During the day he followed us, uttering his little cries of distress, -but did not dare to alight upon the ship, though he knew that the sea -was his enemy and that if he fell into the water he would meet his -death. Perhaps he thought of the land he had left behind—of his dear -mates, of trees, of water and of food, of lovely dales and little -brooks. - -I noticed, as the day advanced, that the little bulfinch did not fly so -high above the sea as in the morning; lower and lower became his flight. -The motion of his wings in his despair became quicker and quicker as his -strength diminished. At times he almost touched the water, then, -uttering a shrill cry, he would rise, only to come down again. I -shouted: “Come and rest upon our little ship, dear little bulfinch. Come -on deck; I will take good care of you. Here are food and water waiting -for you. Nobody on board is so wicked as to kill you, or harm you.” - -But the little bird kept on, and at last his body touched the sea, and -as he rose he uttered a most piercing cry of distress, then, taking an -upward flight, he hovered over the ship. His strength was gone, his -wings refused to move, and he fell upon the deck. I rushed quickly -towards him—he was panting. I took him in my hands—how quickly his heart -was beating! I gave him some water; he drank it, then dropped dead. His -struggles for dear life were over. Then I put the little bulfinch in a -small wooden box; it was his coffin, and I closed the top and buried him -at sea just as the sun was disappearing below the horizon. - -The following day the weather was very beautiful,—a lovely blue sky was -over our heads. What a change between this and the great storm we had -passed through! The sea was a mass of beautiful “white caps,” each one -with its own changing form. Strange as it seems, there are no two things -exactly alike in the world—not even two white caps, two blades of grass, -two leaves, neither two men nor two women. - -We sailed merrily along day after day, carried on by variable winds, our -course being one point south of east, and one afternoon gazing over the -ocean, I saw a number of whales disporting and spouting water high in -the air. Looking over the rail my attention was suddenly attracted to a -large, dark, elongated fish, that was swimming fast, as if in quest of -something. As it neared the ship and swam alongside I recognized it to -be a powerful swordfish, which I thought was about twelve or fifteen -feet in length. Its sword seemed about three feet long, and was a -continuation of its upper jaw. The sword was flat and pointed at the -end. The very shape of the fish showed that it could swim with great -rapidity. - -The swordfish is the most fearless of all fishes, I reflected; he is -afraid of nothing and might take our little ship for a whale, and attack -us; for the whale and the swordfish are sworn enemies. There are many -instances on record of ships being attacked by swordfish, and their -thick oak hulls pierced through, the sword remaining in the wood, the -fish not having strength enough to draw it out when deeply imbedded in -the hull. There have also been instances in which small vessels have -been sunk by them. - -Soon I noticed another swordfish, and saw both of them leap out of the -water, pursuing each other and then discovered that they were fighting. -They were swimming with the rapidity of an express train at the rate, I -thought, of thirty or forty miles an hour. They were so quick in their -movements that they could not hit each other with their swords. Their -dorsal fins as they cut through the surface of the water made a peculiar -noise like a sharp boat with sails set cutting through the sea. They -would disappear under the water and then reappear on the surface, then -swim towards each other with such extraordinary velocity that my eyes -could hardly follow them. They seemed to know that their vulnerable -point was the side, and wheeled with astonishing quickness, so that they -would always face each other. - -[Illustration: “_The captain shouted to me: ‘A swordfish is fighting a -whale’_”] - -A short time afterwards I saw ahead of us a great commotion in the -water—the sea was white with foam. The captain shouted to me: “A -swordfish is fighting a whale.” I went up the rigging to see the fight. -The whale spouted big streams of water in the air, its tail was slapping -the sea with terrific force, beating the water into white spray all -around. At times everything was like a white mist round the huge -creature, which seemed to be going in every direction, as if bewildered. -It was fighting for dear life, and was trying to hit its antagonist with -its powerful tail. If it only succeeded in striking the swordfish, then -the greatest creature of the sea would be the victor. - -Unfortunately, the whale is unwieldy and the swordfish is very quick in -its movements. Every frantic motion the whale made was a sign that the -swordfish had plunged its long, pointed sword into its body. The fight -went on for a while, the swordfish getting evidently the better of the -whale, for the blows of the latter’s huge tail did not strike the water -with as much force as before, and the sea did not look so disturbed. -Then suddenly I saw a great spout of water rise above the sea, and all -became quiet. The fight was over; the whale had been vanquished and had -received its death-thrust from the swordfish, and it must have received -many wounds, for as we sailed over the place where they had been -fighting, the sea was red with blood. - -“In these conflicts between the swordfish and the whale, it is said that -the whale is oftener the victor,” said the captain to me, “for if the -whale succeeds in striking the swordfish with its tail, the latter is -either killed or so much stunned that the combat is not renewed.” - - - - - CHAPTER III - - THE SARGASSO SEA—THE NORTHEAST TRADE-WINDS—DOLPHINS AND BONITAS—NEW - STARS COME INTO VIEW. - - -A few days after the fight between the swordfish and the whale, as I -came on deck early in the morning, a strange sight met my eyes. I could -not see the water of the ocean, the vessel appeared as if it had been -stranded and left by the tide on a land covered with seaweed. We had -entered during the night that part of the Atlantic which was called by -Columbus and other early Spanish navigators “Mar de Sargaço”—and which -is known to us now under the name of the Sargasso Sea. - -The Sargasso Sea lies in that quiet area of the Atlantic Ocean between -28° and 32° north latitude, and 35° and 55° west longitude, varying -slightly in its position at times on account of long prevailing winds, -or currents caused by those winds. This sea comprises an area of about -one hundred and fifty miles from north to south, and about four hundred -and fifty miles from east to west. This space is entirely covered with -seaweed and in many places so thick that for hundreds of acres the water -is hidden from view. - -The stem of the Sargasso weed attains often a length of several hundred -feet and has many branches growing from the stem, which in the course of -time break in many places. These vines are covered with berries, which -have the appearance of bunches of grapes. On that account the seaweed is -called by the sailors by the different names of grape weed, grape of the -tropics, and the Sargasso weed. We sailed through this remarkable area -of the ocean, carried onwards by light variable winds—sometimes making -but little headway. - -One day we met the Northeast trade-winds, which are generally -encountered at about the fortieth degree of longitude west of Greenwich, -and 30° north latitude. I thought how wonderful it was that these -northeast trade-winds had been blowing constantly without intermission -over a part of the Atlantic, as long as men remembered, for thousands of -years and, in fact, from the time the great desert of Sahara appeared -upon our earth. These northeast trade-winds blow across the Atlantic -Ocean as far south as the tenth degree of north latitude and at certain -times of the year as far as the fifth and sixth degrees, and lose their -force as they reach the West Indies. - -We sailed somewhat parallel to the coast which forms the western part of -the great desert of Sahara, which begins south of Morocco, latitude 30° -north and follows the Atlantic near to the Senegal river 15° north—a -distance on a straight line of nine hundred miles. - -One morning as I came on deck, before it had been washed, I noticed some -minute particles of sand that had fallen from the sky, and were still -falling, though we were hundreds of miles at sea. It was sand from the -great Sahara, which had been carried high into the atmosphere by the -wind, and the captain said to me when he saw my astonishment: “Sometimes -the sand from the Sahara is carried a thousand miles out to sea, and we -are now about seven hundred miles from the coast.” - -The lively northeast trade-winds carried us southward day after day—and -how beautiful was the sky! White fleecy clouds, looking like gigantic -flashes of cotton, often diaphanous, floated rapidly by, borne on the -wind in the blue heavens which were reflected in the sea. There was no -rain to disturb us. No weather could have been more beautiful. - -Almost every day we saw immense shoals of porpoises swimming at a great -rate and jumping out of the water, many amusing themselves in swimming -round our little ship. They seemed always to swim against the wind. At -other times dolphins and bonitas followed us. The dolphin is the most -beautiful of all fishes, and they added to our larder, for they were -voracious and eagerly bit at the hooks. In its death throes the dolphin -changed into hues of marvellous colors. Once in a great while we would -see a turtle floating on the sea. Days passed away, our little vessel -sailing under a most beautiful sky with a lovely breeze. I had noticed a -change in the firmament. The heavens at night were not like those at -home. Some of the stars that were south in the northern states were now -north, and stars appeared daily which were unknown to me. The -constellations had changed their shape also. The north star reached its -meridian altitude lower every day, and came nearer and nearer the -horizon. Other stars of our northern latitude followed in its wake. - -At last, one night the north star was very near the horizon and showed -itself for a short time only. The next night as I watched for it, it -suddenly appeared, and for the last time, as it was on the point of -disappearing under the horizon. It seemed as if I heard the dear north -star say to me: “Good-by, Paul: you will not see me again until you come -back home,” and I answered: “Good-by, little north star, I hope to come -home again and look at you when you twinkle in the sky,” and at those -words of mine, the star vanished from my sight. The next night I watched -in vain for its appearance; it never came. - -As we sailed southward the constellation of the southern cross -appeared,—four brilliant stars making the perfect shape of a -cross,—Sirius resplendent in light and the most brilliant star in the -heavens, called also the Dog Star. All the southern stars seemed to say -“Welcome, Paul, to our southern latitudes.” But they were strangers to -me. Though I admired their brilliancy I longed for our northern -stars,—for we love the stars which shine upon the country where we were -born. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE “DOLDRUMS”—FIERCE HEAT OF THE SUN—STRONG LOCAL CURRENTS—THE - SOUTHEAST TRADE-WINDS—HUGE SHARKS ALL AROUND US. - - -Our happy days in this enchanted region of the Atlantic Ocean were -coming to an end. The northeast trade-winds became less strong as we -neared the equator, and soon died away. Then came a great calm; we had -entered that area of the Atlantic which is the dread of the mariner with -sailing ships and known under the name of “Doldrums,” a region of calms, -baffling winds, and squalls accompanied by thunder and lightning. - -I shall never forget the “Doldrums” as long as I live, and the days I -spent crossing it. It lies between the northeast and southeast -trade-winds, and we had to sail through it to reach the southeast -trade-winds. - -“Doldrums,” in the language of the sailor, means dull and low-spirited, -and well deserved is the name. It is also known by them as the horse -latitudes, for when ships linger there for weeks, horses, cattle, live -stock have to be thrown overboard for lack of water and food. When -unlucky, vessels are detained several weeks within its belt. The area -varies more or less according to the strength of the trade-winds. - -No northeast trade-winds cooled the atmosphere. The reflection of the -powerful rays of the sun from the warm ocean made the heat intense -during the day. During the night our cabin was unbearable. Not a breath -of wind came to our relief, not a ripple was seen on the deep-blue -ocean, which looked like a sea of glass. For five days two empty flour -barrels that had been thrown overboard remained alongside of our ship. -Long, heavy swells followed each other and made the vessel roll in such -a terrible manner that I thought at times that the ends of the -main-yards would touch the sea. The calm was so great that the steering -gear was of no use, the sails had to be furled to protect them from -being torn to pieces, as they struck the mast at each roll of the ship -with tremendous force. We lay often athwart these swells, the vessel -rolling in such manner that we could not stand on the deck, and had to -hold to the rigging or something fast in order not to be dashed to one -side or another or against the bulwarks. - -The unprotected parts of the ship that came under the rays of the sun -became so hot that we could not rest our hands upon them. If we had had -no tents protecting the decks and ourselves we should not have been able -to live through the “Doldrums.” It was out of the question to sleep -below decks, for there the atmosphere was suffocating and the -ventilators had become useless for want of air. We always longed for the -night, and rejoiced each time the sun disappeared below the horizon. In -the morning we dreaded its appearance. To go into the cabin for our -meals, to hold on to the table while eating, was often impossible on -account of the terrific rolling; our drinking water became tepid, for we -had no ice to cool it. In a word, life was a burden. - -After a few days of dead calms we encountered baffling winds and squalls -day after day. A squall would rise, push us on our way towards the -southeast trade-winds, another would come in another direction and send -us back where we had come from. Between the squalls came a dead calm. - -The captain often mistrusted the strength of the squalls, and when he -saw the black clouds gather on the horizon, the forerunner of the -squall, the sails were furled, for fear that the power of the wind might -dismast or capsize the ship. Sometimes when he thought the squall would -not be a heavy one and when it came from the right direction, he would -have the men at the halliards ready to spread the sails, in case he was -mistaken in his judgment, for he wanted to take every advantage and not -lose one minute of fair wind that would help us to get away from the -regions of the “Doldrums.” - -Once in a while we encountered strong local currents. How strange are -these currents found in the middle of the ocean—an independent body of -water moving at times with a velocity of three and four miles an hour—a -wide, rippling river with its own eddies and white caps flowing in an -ocean often as smooth as a looking-glass! - -When I could hardly stand the stifling heat, I looked with a longing eye -at the sea, and wished that I could plunge into it and take a swim, but -the sharks were there watching for food and prey. - -After entering the “Doldrums,” sharks had become far more numerous than -before and were hardly ever out of sight. They swam round our vessel -when we did not move, and when we did move they followed in our wake. -The sharks frequenting the equatorial regions are more voracious than in -other parts of the ocean,—they are the tigers and leopards of the sea. -Woe to the man who falls into the water when they are about, for he is -sure to be devoured by them. - -The sailors have a superstition that when a man is ill on board, the -sharks know it, and follow the ship until the man dies and is thrown -overboard. - -Many of these sharks were surrounded by tiny little fish which the -sailors call pilots. These seem to feed on the vermin which adhere to -the skin of the sharks. These little pilot fish were not more than four -or five inches in length and were very pretty to look at. - -The structure of the mouth of the sharks is such that they have to turn -on their backs in order to swallow. What terrible rows of teeth they -have,—so sharp, just like the teeth of a saw! With a heavy hook made -fast to a chain we captured one that had seven rows of teeth. - -I often shuddered when I looked at some huge shark following the ship, -and retired instinctively from the stern for fear lest something should -give way and I should fall into the sea. Nothing could then have saved -my life—I should have been dragged down by one of those voracious -creatures, and then eaten piecemeal. - -Once in a while there was not a shark in sight—they were simply hovering -around under the surface of the water waiting for prey. The sailors -often said: “Let a man fall overboard, and they will appear soon -enough!” - -Some sharks love the solitude of the open sea—others like to be near the -shore. There are many kinds of these fierce creatures. Some, which are -called the pelagic sharks, are the largest inhabitants of the sea, after -the whale, and there are several species or varieties. Some of these -attain a length of from twenty-five to forty feet. - -As I watched the water, I would see a hammer shark, so named on account -of his head, with a thick body of about nine feet in length; this -species is reputed one of the most ferocious. Then a blue shark would -make its appearance, and one day I saw a specimen belonging to the genus -Carcharodon. He was an enormous one; the captain said that sometimes -they attain a length of forty feet. But the largest of all these -monsters of the deep are found in the Pacific Ocean, and attain a length -of fifty feet. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - CROSSING THE EQUATOR—THE SOUTHEAST TRADE-WINDS—THE EQUATORIAL - CURRENT—THE GULF STREAM—STRUCK BY A TORNADO—LAND IN SIGHT—AFRICA - AT LAST—THE GREAT FOREST. - - -In spite of the counter currents and contrary squalls, we crept slowly -southward to meet the southeasterly winds, the captain taking advantage -of every opportunity offered by the weather. After many discouragements -and setbacks, we at last crossed the equator. - -One afternoon a squall rose and drove us southward. After it had blown -over, it became calm again. Then we saw, far away, ripples on the ocean, -which gradually came nearer and nearer. These ripples were the -forerunners of the southeast trade-winds that were coming towards us. -Soon after we felt a cool, gentle breeze, and a shout of joy came from -all on board. Our imprisonment in the “Doldrums” was over! - -The southeast trade-winds were at first very light, for we had reached -just where they were dying away, close to the region of the “Doldrums,” -but towards evening the breeze freshened. The next day white caps -covered the sea, and life became pleasant once more. The southeast -trade-winds were strong, and now we had the same beautiful blue sky as -under the northeast trade-winds, and the same beautiful white and often -transparent clouds. - -These southeast trade-winds have also blown from time immemorial—the hot -air of the South African continent bringing about the same results as -the hot air of the desert of Sahara. - -Then we tacked ship, and laid our course towards the west coast of -Africa. I asked the captain if I should have to pass again through such -dreadful regions as that of the “Doldrums” when I returned home. “No,” -he replied; “on the return trip from the equatorial regions of Africa, -we sail with the southeast trade-winds, south of the equator, to avoid -these dreaded ‘Doldrums,’ carried onward by the southeast trade-winds -until a few hundred miles off the coast of Brazil; then we get into -variable, and often light winds.” - -Then I thought that if our little ship were left to drift within the -area of the northeast or southeast trade-winds, in the course of time -she would reach the South American coast, then drift gradually -northward, and, if not stranded on the way, would get into the Gulf -Stream, then be carried northward, passing the latitude of New York, -whence we came. - -The northeast and southeast trade-winds cause the initial movement of -the currents which, in their course, make the current known to us as the -Gulf Stream. - -The two trade-winds, blowing continually from the hot regions of Africa, -drive the hot water of the tropics from Africa westward, towards South -America, and this current is known as the equatorial current. - -The Bight of Biafra, in the Gulf of Guinea, may be considered the head -waters of this equatorial current, which runs all the way from about -eighteen to twenty-five miles every twenty-four hours, until it strikes -the South American coast. - -This equatorial current, or stream, is a shallow river of warm water, -not deeper than three hundred feet. The temperature of the water is -between 75° and 80° Fahrenheit at the surface, and not more than 60° at -the depth of six hundred feet,—the deeper water not being so heated by -the sun, of course, as the surface water. Besides, from below there is a -continual rising or flow of cold polar water. - -This equatorial current strikes the American coast about Cape St. Roque, -some three hundred miles south of the equator. The obstruction of the -land divides the current into two parts, one going southward, but the -greater volume of water going northward, with great increase of -velocity, for the simple reason that any current, even in a river, that -finds an obstruction, runs more rapidly along the obstruction. So the -equatorial current, which presses northward along the coast from Cape -St. Roque and the Orinoco River, flows with great rapidity—from sixty to -eighty miles in twenty-four hours. Then it passes the Caribbean Sea, -turns westward, and follows the shores of the Gulf of Mexico at the rate -of from thirty to sixty miles a day. - -The Gulf Stream flows along the American coast, from which it is -separated by a cold current from the icy north, forming what might be -called a wide band separating the Gulf Stream from our shores. We ought -to be thankful to this cold-water band, otherwise our climate would be -much warmer. - -Now we were sailing towards the west coast of Africa,—the innermost part -of the Gulf of Guinea, situated somewhat near the equator. At last came -the day when we were not more than one hundred and fifty miles from the -mainland. In the afternoon of that day a dark, compact mass rose from -the east, over the horizon, and became larger and larger, in spite of -the contrary winds that struck against it. There was a contest between -the two, and one had to get the mastery over the other. The captain was -watching anxiously that part of the horizon. Finally he turned to me and -said: “A tornado is going to burst upon us very soon. We must be ready -when it strikes us.” So all the sails were furled. The muttering of the -thunder could be heard. The wind had died away, and the calm was the -forerunner of the tornado. - -In the meantime a grayish spot rose from the horizon under the black -mass. Soon after, this great spot rose with great rapidity, driving and -breaking the dark mass into black clouds that flew wildly in every -direction. The tornado was coming. We saw the sea enveloped with spray, -and in an instant it was upon us. Fortunately we were ready. The wind -blew with terrific force, our little vessel careened over, the gunwales -on the starboard side almost reaching the sea. The force of the wind was -so great that it prevented the sea from rising into big waves. - -Then came rain, lightning, and thunder. Never in my life before had I -heard such thunder, or seen such vivid lightning, or such pouring rain. -I was constantly afraid that we would be struck by lightning, and I had -powder enough on board to blow the ship to pieces. Gradually the thunder -and lightning moved away from us, and the wind, though strong, -moderated. By that time it was night, and as dark as pitch. When I awoke -in the morning the wind had gone down, and I saw an island covered with -forest. After a noon observation we found that it was Princess Island, -belonging to Portugal, and situated about one hundred and fifty miles -from the coast of Africa. - -Two days after we came in sight of the mainland, and saw the great -African equatorial forest as if rising from the sea. Far inland were -mountains clad with trees to their very tops. The forest was inhabited -by numerous savage tribes who had never seen a white man, and ferocious -and strange-looking beasts, seen in no other part of the world. In that -great forest I was to live, and we skirted the shore until we found a -proper anchorage. Then we saw numerous canoes, filled with men paddling -towards us. These came on board and inquired if we wanted to barter for -ivory with them. They had, they said, a number of big elephants’ tusks -in their village. I replied that I did not want to trade with them, but -would like to stay with them and kill wild beasts and birds, and stuff -them, and collect also all the butterflies and insects I could, and keep -them, and take these to the country of the white man. We told them to go -back and to tell their king that I was coming. One canoe remained behind -to take me ashore. - -How strange was that great forest! Not a tree was like those we had at -home. Their leaves were different in shape, and some of them were large -and beautiful. Many of these trees bore brilliant flowers. Some were as -big as the California trees. The foliage was so thick that for long -distances in the forest the sun, the moon, the stars, and the sky could -not be seen. - -There were hunting and other paths leading from one village to another. -The way from one tribe to another was often very tedious. At a certain -season of the year there was great thunder, lightning, and rain, -preceded by tornadoes. This was called the rainy season. Then there was -a time without rain. This was called the dry season, or _enomo_. - -I had no white man with me—and as time went on I learned many languages -or dialects, so that I could talk to the people. When I was absent, the -kings or other friends took care of the goods I left in their hands. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - WANDERING THROUGH THE FOREST AND LEARNING THE COUNTRY—I REACH KING - MOMBO’S VILLAGE—RECEIVED BY THE KING—HIS FEAR OF WITCHCRAFT—VISITS - MY DWELLING AND RECEIVES PRESENTS FROM ME. - - -After wandering in that part of the great forest north of the equator -and seeing many of its wild and fierce inhabitants—and hunting and -killing many strange animals and birds—I came back to the coast and -sailed along its shore southward until I came to several large rivers, -the Nazareth, the Mexias and the Fernan-Vaz,—the Nazareth forty miles, -and the Fernan-Vaz seventy miles south of the equator. These rivers pour -forth a great quantity of fresh water far out to sea. They flow through -the great forest, and their shores are inhabited by many tribes. I lived -among them a long while, and was greatly beloved by the people and their -chiefs, many of whom became my good friends. Wherever I went I was sure -of a hearty welcome. I felt perfectly safe among them. My word was law. -I was known all over the land as the Oguizi, or “Spirit.” - -Often I used to go all alone in my canoe from one place to another. -Strange indeed was the life I led. I loved to roam alone and be by -myself, and often I slept in the forest without any companion. It -happened that one day I came to a village where I landed and asked the -people who had seen my canoe arrive and had come to meet me if the place -was the residence of King Mombo—for I knew that I had come to that part -of the forest where he ruled. They answered that it was and told me to -follow them. We walked together through the strange-looking street that -made up the village. The houses were small, built of the bark of trees, -each having one door but no windows. - -Back of the houses and between them and the forest were numerous -plantain trees with here and there a banana tree. The leaves of these -were very large; some were over six feet in length and eighteen or -twenty inches wide. The plantain is much like a banana, only much -larger, and is cooked by the natives when green and used by them as -bread is by us at home. I was led to a large building where the people -met to discuss subjects of importance. It was simply a roof supported by -a number of pillars. A stool made of a single piece of a tree was -brought in for me and another one for King Mombo. - -After I was seated, some man went to tell the king that a stranger had -come to see him. King Mombo and his people had heard of me, for my -reputation had gone far and wide, as I have said, and whoever met me -knew from the description they had heard of me that I was the good -Oguizi, with long, straight black hair hanging over his shoulders, who -did harm to nobody and was the friend of so many people. - -Soon after, I heard the sound of the “kendo”—an emblem only worn by -chiefs—a rude bell of iron in one piece with a long handle of iron also -and sounding like a cow-bell. The sound grew louder and louder, until -King Mombo stood before me. He was tall and slender; on his body were -several scars from wounds he had received in wars, but he had a kind -face, and was gray-headed. Round his neck was a necklace of leopards’ -teeth and round his waist a belt of leopard skin on which hung a number -of amulets or charms called by the people “mondahs.” These were to -protect him from harm. - -Some of his slaves and several of his wives set before me a number of -bunches of plantains, several baskets of sweet potatoes, a goat, several -chickens, and nine eggs. These presents showed that I was welcomed. - -After a short pause King Mombo said: “Oguizi, I am very glad you have -come to see me. Remain with me a long time. There is plenty of game in -the forest, and among my people and slaves are great hunters.” - -Looking at his people, he said to them: “Take good care of our Oguizi.” -Then he shouted aloud: “See how far my name and my fame are known. The -Oguizi has come to see me,” and as he said these words he raised his -head proudly. The people shouted: “Great indeed is Mombo our king. Great -is the Oguizi.” The tomtoms made a great noise in honor of my arrival. - -Then King Mombo called three of his wives and six of his slaves, and -said to me: “These women are yours; they will cook for you, get water -for you, and keep your house clean. These slaves are yours, and will do -what you order them to do. I and my people will all do whatever you wish -us to do.” - -Then the king’s men went to fetch the things I had in my canoe. Among -them were presents for the king. - -A house was given to me not far from the one where King Mombo slept. It -was divided into two rooms, and there were two beds in one of the rooms. -These beds were simply flat surfaces made of the bark of trees, upon -which were several pretty mats made by the king’s wives. In the evening -I went to see King Mombo, and said to him: “To-morrow morning I will -make your heart glad, for I have some presents for you.” - -[Illustration: “_When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy_”] - -“Not in the morning,” he replied, “for I do not want my people to see -what you are going to give me, for there is much witchcraft in our land, -and many are killed by it. Often relatives bewitch those from whom they -expect to inherit, and cause their death. Oh,” he added, with fierceness -in his eyes, “when we find wizards and witches we put them to death.” -After a pause, he resumed: “Kokolo, Kokolo,” (which meant “Please”) “do -not tell any one that you gave me presents.” Then he took hold of my -right foot to add force to his request. Slaves do that to their masters -when imploring for their lives, or asking not to be sold. I promised him -not to tell, and he gave a great sigh of relief at my words. And as he -left me he whispered in my ear, “Wait until it is dark, very dark, -to-morrow before you send for me to give me my presents.” - -“It will be very dark when I send for you, King Mombo,” I replied, and -at my words he shook my hand gratefully. - -In the middle of the night when everybody was asleep I saw in the dark -two people entering my hut, and heard in a whisper: “It is I, King -Mombo, and my faithful slave Rabolo. I come to get my presents.” - -I lighted a torch. It was Mombo. He had not had the patience to wait -longer. His face and body were painted in different colors, and he was -covered with charms to protect him against witchcraft. I set at his feet -two brass kettles, a gun, a big bunch of white beads, three files, two -discs of steel with flint for making fire, a red woollen cap, and two -looking-glasses. When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy, -and after thanking me profusely he and his slave Rabolo left, carrying -with them the precious gifts. The king implored me again to tell no one -of the things I had given him. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - SUPERSTITIONS OF KING MOMBO—VISITS TO THE HOUSE OF HIS IDOLS AND HIS - ANCESTORS—A STRANGE MEAL FOLLOWED BY A STRANGE DANCE. - - -Poor King Mombo was, you will see, excessively superstitious. He was -often unhappy on that account. He was thinking almost all the time that -some of his relations wanted to bewitch him in order to inherit his -wealth, which was composed chiefly of wives and slaves. He wore what he -firmly believed to be most potent “mondahs,” charms against witchcraft -and evil spirits. He had a little idol, having the shape of a woman, -called Makaylay, which he always carried with him wherever he went. At -night he kept her by his side. - -He was also a great believer in dreams, for these foretold to him what -was to happen, and forewarned him of dangers to come. Often after -something had taken place he would say to his people that he had had a -dream in which the spirits of his ancestors came to him and told him of -what was about to happen. He was most particular about his food. His -forbidden food was buffalo meat, and no amount of gifts on my part could -have tempted him to eat buffalo. - -Here and there throughout the village were sacred houses, where spirits -came to dwell during the night, while others had been built for idols. - -One day King Mombo and I entered the house of Abamboo, one of the -wandering spirits in which they believe. The face of the king showed -that he was inspired with deep reverence. A little fire was burning. On -one side was a bed for Abamboo to sleep on when he came to visit the -village at night. - -“Abamboo is a spirit which can send to men a great deal of evil,” said -Mombo. “We have to do a great many things to propitiate his good will. -He lives in many places, especially among the skeletons of the dead. He -walks through the country, and if he is angry at any one he causes him -to fall sick, and often condemns him to die. We cook food for him. We -give him game, plantain, and sugar-cane, which we deposit in the -forest.” - -Next we entered the house where Pangeo and his wife Aleha dwelt. Pangeo -was about two feet high. His tongue was of iron, sharp-pointed and came -out about two inches from his mouth. His eyes were of iron; his legs -were short and he had a very big stomach; his body was painted of -different colors. - -Aleha was of the same size. Her eyes were made of pieces of -looking-glass. She wore enormous earrings of brass, had bracelets of -brass, and her ankles were adorned with brass rings. She wore a necklace -of cowry shells. King Mombo stood in awe before the idol; he spoke to -Pangeo and told him how much he loved him, and then spoke to Aleha, -saying the same to her. - -After that, we entered the house of Makambi and Abiala. Makambi was a -big idol, about three feet high. He wore a feather headdress and held a -spear in his hand which he was ready to throw; his eyes were carved and -painted red. - -Abiala, his wife, held a pistol in her hand—which she had taken from her -husband, as Mombo said to me in a whisper. - -The king stood before Makambi and Abiala and told them how much he loved -them—as he had done to Pangeo and Aleha. “You know I love you both,” he -added in a loud voice. “I bring to you the products of the hunt and of -the earth. Take good care of me—watch over me.” - -After leaving the house of Makambi and Abiala, King Mombo returned to -his house and I to mine. - -The head wife of King Mombo was called Ogandaga; she was dressed with -three strings of beads round her waist, and wore over thirty heavy brass -rings on each of her legs. She it was who cooked the food of the king. - -Often Mombo would walk in the street when it was quite dark, and talk -about me to his people, and say how much he loved me. Then he would -shout aloud, so that all his people could hear: “Chally the Oguizi, I -love you. I am your friend. All I have is yours—my slaves are yours—my -plantations are yours—my wives are yours—my daughters, my sons, and my -nephews are yours. You can say to them ‘Follow me,’ and they will all -follow you. Oguizi, all my people love you.” And when the people heard -this, they would shout “Yo—yo.” (“That is so, that is so.”) - -Not far from King Mombo’s sleeping-house, and back of it, was a strange -little building which was called the Alumbi house. Every time I saw the -king enter this place he came out of it with his body painted with ochre -of different colors, and his face always looked very thoughtful. When -inside I could hear him making loud invocations. One day he came out -more daubed than I had ever seen him before. His body was covered with -white, red, and yellow. I thought he looked savage and awful. - -My curiosity became very much aroused in regard to the Alumbi house. One -day, as King Mombo came out of it I went up to him and said: “King, show -me the inside of the Alumbi house.” - -After hearing my words, he looked at me, as if trying to read my -thoughts. He remained silent for a little while, and then said: “Oguizi, -you can go inside and see for yourself, and I will accompany you.” He -opened the door; we entered, and he shut the door behind us. - -What a strange and unexpected sight met my eyes! Along the walls were -large cakes of colored clay. These were black, white, and of different -shades of yellow and red. Upon each stood the skull of a man which -seemed to look at me and say: “What are you doing in our abode? You do -not belong to our race.” Mombo marked his body with the ochre of two of -the cakes, muttering words I could not understand. Then he said to me in -a whisper: “The skulls you see here are those of my kinsmen. They were -great and valiant men in their day. It is the custom in our country when -a man much greater than all other men dies to cut his head off after his -death and then put it on a cake of clay and let it decay there. Then the -mass of ochre is kneaded together and dyed and the skull is always kept -on the cake that belongs to it. Oh, Oguizi, these skulls belonged to -great forefathers of mine. They were never afraid of war. Here on the -cake of white clay is the skull of Olenga-Yombee. He died a very old -man, and when young he was the greatest warrior of his time. He founded -our clan and our tribe. He was the most dreaded by our enemies of all -their foes. He burned many villages. His people believed all he said, -for he was wise. He had many wives and many slaves, and his ‘oyana’ -[idol] granted him all he asked. He lived about three hundred rainy -seasons ago. At that time our tribe was much further inland, towards the -country where the sun rises.” - -Then, pointing out to me a cake of a deep yellow color, he said: -“Oguizi, the skull there is that of Jombouay. He led us through the -forest and had many wars, for our ancestors had to fight many tribes who -opposed them before coming to this part of the forest where we are now -settled.” - -When he had finished telling the history of the men whose skulls were -before me, he said: “Oguizi, the spirits of these men are hovering in -the air above us; when I invoke them to protect me and our clan and -tribe, they come round us and protect us. They have saved my life many -times.” - -Then we left the Alumbi house. That evening Mombo walked in the street -of the village and invoked the spirits of his ancestors, calling each by -name. He invoked especially the spirits of Olenga-Yombee and of -Jombouay, saying to them: “Look at the Oguizi; you never saw him during -your lives. But Mombo, your kinsman, has him in his village.” - -The following day King Mombo came to me and said: “Oguizi I want you to -eat with me to-morrow—I will have the fattest of my goats killed and -some chickens. These will be cooked in fresh palm oil that has just been -made.” “I will,” I replied. Then he called Ogandaga, his head wife, and -said to her: “Prepare a meal for to-morrow. Have the fat goat killed and -also a few chickens, for the Oguizi and I are going to eat together.” -When I had accepted the invitation we separated, the king looking -happier than usual. - -Little did I know what King Mombo intended to do, and why he had invited -me to eat with him, and his reasons for doing so. I will however recount -to you now what I was told afterwards. - -The following day, while Ogandaga was cooking our dinner, Mombo went -into the Alumbi house and took in his hands the skull of his great -ancestor, Olenga-Yombee, and said: “Olenga-Yombee, my great beloved -ancestor, see that I make the great Oguizi love me.” Then he scraped -with a knife a little of the forehead of the skull. The scrapings fell -into a small wooden bowl which he had taken with him. He replaced the -skull on its own cake of ochre, and went to where his wife was cooking, -and told her to go and fetch a bag that was in his sleeping-house. When -she had gone he put the scrapings of the skull of Olenga-Yombee into the -pot which contained the goat’s meat, stirred it with the wooden spoon -that was near by, and went away. - -After a while Ogandaga told us that the meal was ready. The bottom of a -canoe put on two mortars made our table; baskets on which were large -leaves were our plates, and cocoanuts cut in two were our glasses; our -fingers were to be our forks. According to the custom of the country, -Ogandaga tasted of every dish before our eyes, and drank of the water -that was in the jug before we did, and then bade us eat and drink. - -The king and I sat down opposite each other. Then he gave me some of the -meat of the goat which had been served in a wooden dish used for the -first time. As soon as he saw that I had eaten all I had on my plate he -seemed overjoyed, for now he was sure I would love him. - -Then he invoked in a loud voice the spirit of his great ancestor, -Olenga-Yombee, and called upon him to make me love him. - -[Illustration: “_The king and I sat down opposite each other_”] - -There is a belief amongst the people that after the scraped skull is in -the body it turns into the blood of that ancestor, which then becomes -part of your own blood. Hence you must love the person who is a -descendant of the man to whom the skull belonged. - -The whole population of the village was present while we were eating, -and shouted: “Great is Mombo, the friend of the Oguizi!” - -After our meal the king disappeared and went into the Alumbi house. When -he came out, his appearance had quite changed. Now his body was painted -in different colors. He was covered with “mondahs,” or charms. He was -chewing some of the clay which dyed his lips yellow. Then taking my two -hands, he blew the ochre from his mouth upon them until they were -entirely covered with it, and invoked the spirits of his ancestors, -Kombé-Ratenon-Olenda and Olenga-Yombee, to be my friends, and watch over -me. - -That night there was a great dance. Singing and dancing went on -together. At times women danced alone, and moved the muscles of their -bodies in most ridiculous fashion. At other times men and women danced -and sang together. The noise was very great, for there were over twenty -tomtoms beating at the same time. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - BAD LUCK OF MOMBO’S VILLAGE—ASCRIBED TO WITCHCRAFT—ARRIVAL OF A GREAT - MEDICINE-MAN—HIS INCANTATIONS—THE ACCUSED SOLD AS SLAVES. - - -The people had been filled for some time with the fear of witchcraft. -Two men had died away from the village; and, since, they had been -unlucky in fishing and hunting. Certainly all this could not have -happened without some one wishing the village bad luck. A great medicine -doctor living far away had been sent for, and had arrived, and the -ceremony to find out who were the sorcerers was about to take place. - -One morning King Mombo and all his men assembled to listen to the words -of the great medicine-man, and were seated cross-legged on the ground -around him, all looking excited and with hatred in their eyes. - -The medicine-man, whose reputation for power to find out sorcerers was -known all over the country, was extremely ugly to look upon, and was -weirdly dressed for the occasion. His teeth were filed sharp to a point. -He was tall and slender, and about fifty years old. He had a treacherous -and cunning eye. I could tell by his face that he would denounce people -as guilty of witchcraft about whom he really knew nothing. His head, -chest, and arms were painted with sacred ochre of different colors, -likewise his eyelids. He wore around his waist a string of long grass -upon which were hung several bells of iron. Near the medicine-man was -the horn of a buffalo filled up with a sort of black powder made of -skins and bones of snakes, dried brains of monkeys, and intestines of -rare animals. He held in his hand a wicker rattle filled with snakes’ -bones, eagles’ talons and monkeys’ nails, which he shook during his -incantations. - -After each incantation the people shouted, “Ouganga, tell us who are -sorcerers amongst us, so that we may kill them.” - -Another man was on the top of a slender tree, calling now and then upon -Joko, a powerful spirit, and shaking the tree at the same time. - -The medicine-man remained silent for awhile, as if in deep thought; then -he made all kinds of contortions, and muttered unintelligible words. He -took a knife and cut his hands in different places. The blood fell into -a little wooden vessel, and he looked intently at his own blood, as if -trying to find out something; then he danced, the queer bells round his -waist making a strange sound. The people kept shouting: “Tell us, -Ouganga, who are the witches and sorcerers that have brought bad luck to -us in the hunt and in fishing, who made some of our people sick, and -some of our people die? Ouganga, drink the ‘mboundou,’ then you will be -able to tell us who they are.” - -Then roots of a tree called the “mboundou” were laid at his feet, and -also a wooden bowl filled with water. The ouganga scraped the root of -the “mboundou” into the water, which turned the color of the root, which -was reddish, and then bubbled. He made incantations, and then drank the -potion. Soon after his countenance changed, his eyes became bloodshot -and glared. His veins swelled, and he looked as if he were drunk. Such -was the effect of the “mboundou” upon him. - -A man from the village named several of their own people whom they -suspected of being sorcerers, and asked the ouganga to say if they were -the ones. The ouganga seemed at first to speak incoherently. Then he -said: “There are no witches or sorcerers in your own village. The guilty -ones are living in another village.” - -At these words they shouted with one voice: “Tell us their names and the -name of the village, for we want to make war on that village, unless -they deliver up the sorcerers to us.” - -Then the hollow voice of the ouganga was heard saying: “Okabi and -Aquailay are those who are sorcerers. They are full of witchcraft.” - -“Death to Okabi and Aquailay!” shouted the people. - -Okabi and Aquailay lived in a neighboring village, and were well known -to all present, and, moreover, whispers charging them with sorcery had -been rife for several years. - -That night there was a great war dance. The people invoked their -guardian spirits. The next day they were going to get Okabi and Aquailay -and make them stand the “mboundou” trial, and if the people of the -village where these two men lived refused to deliver them up, then they -would make war upon them and take them by force. Not only must the two -men be delivered, but indemnity, in the form of slaves, must be given -for the mischief, deaths, sickness, and bad luck generally these two men -were supposed to have caused. - -The next day, however, on their formal request, the two men were at once -delivered up by their people, who had long suspected them of witchcraft. -The brother of Okabi came and talked in his behalf, and finally, after a -most eloquent speech, persuaded the people not to kill them, but to sell -them as slaves. This was acquiesced in by the leading people of the two -towns, and it was arranged that the relatives of the two men should -share equally the proceeds of the sale. Both were to pay a certain part -of their goods to the families of the men who had died. The accused -could have submitted to the ordeal of trial by “mboundou”—drinking—which -is almost always mortal, except to doctors—but they preferred to be sold -as slaves. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - KING MOMBO GIVES ME THE STICK “OMEMBA”—I LEAVE THE VILLAGE ON A - HUNTING TRIP—PARTING INJUNCTIONS—A HERD OF HIPPOPOTAMI. - - -Some days after the sorcery trial King Mombo sent for me. - -When I arrived I saw that there were a great many people who had come -from many different villages. The king was seated, and bade me sit by -his side. He had an old silk hat on his head. His coat was split up the -back to let the air in. Then ensued a great silence; no one dared to -speak. - -King Mombo rose. He held a stick in his hand, and said to me: “Oguizi, -the stick I hold in my hand is known all over my country as belonging to -me, and when I send word anywhere I send it with the messenger. This -stick is called ‘Omemba,’ the snake, for it is twisted, and the carved -head of a snake is at the top. Whoever carries ‘Omemba’ is my -representative, and my people have to listen to him. Take this stick, -and wherever you go carry it with you.” - -Then he handed me “Omemba,” in the midst of great shouts of approbation -from his people and of the beating of the tomtoms. - -“When you leave the country, return ‘Omemba’ to me,” added the king. - -I thanked Mombo for his important gift, and the people dispersed. - -A few days after I had received “Omemba,” I went to King Mombo, and said -to him, “I am going to leave you soon. I wish to go all alone in a small -canoe, so do not be astonished, if, when you awake some morning, you -find that I am gone, but I shall not fail, before I leave your country, -to bring back ‘Omemba’ to you, and say good-by.” - -Then I prepared my outfit and packed the things I wanted, among them a -small round Waterbury clock, a powerful magnet, a music-box, and lots of -matches, for these things added much to my power. When the people heard -the clock and music-box, they thought they were spirits talking to me, -and were full of wonder, and often afraid of them. - -I took some ammunition and fish hooks, for I had to depend on fishing -and hunting for my food. I had also some brass rods, and quite a number -of bright-colored beads to give away to those who were friendly to me, -for I should very soon have become a very poor oguizi if I had had -nothing to give them. I also took a frying-pan, some quinine, and salt. - -Among my weapons I had a double-barrelled breech-loading rifle, which I -loved better than all my other rifles, for it was the most powerful -weapon I had. I could load it either with steel-pointed bullets, or with -explosive shells. I had named this rifle “Bulldog.” The only fault I -found with “Bulldog” was that it was too heavy to carry, for it weighed -sixteen pounds, on account of the thickness of the barrels and of its -large calibre. “Bulldog” was somewhat short. When I carried it I always -had a feeling that I was with my best friend, and one I could rely upon -in case of great danger. No matter how huge or fierce the animals I -encountered might be, I felt that “Bulldog” could kill them, for the -steel-pointed bullets were large and powerful, and I had found out that -they could pierce through four or five inches, and even more, of the -hardest wood. So I knew what “Bulldog” could do. This feeling gave me -confidence, and I aimed with greater steadiness, and I knew I had a shot -to spare in case of merely wounding an animal. - -“Bulldog” was well known among my native hunters, who looked at it with -wonder and superstitious awe. They were always glad when ‘Bulldog’ was -going with us. They used to say, ‘Bulldog’ never misses, and always -brings death in its path. The elephants, hippopotami, and all the wild -beasts fall dead when hit by the bullets of ‘Bulldog.’ They knew -“Bulldog” among all my other rifles, and there was always great -rejoicing among my men when, before our departure, I said to one of -them, “Go and fetch ‘Bulldog,’ and carry it until we reach the -hunting-ground,” or when I carried it myself. “Bulldog” was so heavy -that by the end of the day my shoulders, especially my left one, felt -very sore. In the course of time my left shoulder became quite black -from the effects of carrying “Bulldog,” and other guns. A gun that is -quite light to carry the first hour becomes heavy enough by the end of -the day. - -The eve of my departure I called Ogandaga, the head wife of King Mombo, -and pointing out a box to her, I said: “Here is a box which is very -precious, and I want you to take care of it. No man or woman must open -it—neither King Mombo, nor yourself—for misfortune will befall whoever -opens it. This precious box was of tin, waterproof, and contained the -scientific instruments and books necessary to find my latitude and -longitude, also the days of the week, of the month, the exact time in -Greenwich or Washington, and wherever I was. In that box were also four -watches, which had been made especially for use in astronomical -observations. Ogandaga said that she would take great care of the -precious box, and then, pointing out to her all the boxes containing my -goods, I said: “These are also under your care.” I gave her a beautiful -necklace of large beads, for which she thanked me, and went away, and -soon after returned with a slave to take the precious box to her house.” - -[Illustration: “_Then he handed me ‘Omemba’_”] - -Then I called King Mombo, and said to him: “All my things that you see -here I leave in care of Ogandaga.” “They are safe,” he replied. - -That evening the king walked from one end of the village to the other, -and shouted, so that everybody could hear: “The Oguizi will soon leave -us for a while. I and Ogandaga will take care of his things during his -absence. Let no one ever dare to touch them, and if any one tries to -take any of them, he will have his head cut off.” - -The people answered: “He is our Oguizi. His things are safe, and would -be even if we were not threatened with having our heads cut off.” - -Towards four o’clock in the morning, by moonlight, and when every one -was asleep, I carried my outfit to a small canoe made of the trunk of a -tree, and departed, paddling along the shore of the river. Just at -daylight I heard the grunt of the hippopotami. These animals are called -river horses, because their heads in a certain profile look very much -like that of a horse. - -At the sight of my canoe they gave a peculiar grunt and disappeared -under the water and reappeared somewhere else, and did this several -times. At times they rose so near me that I was afraid they would rise -right under my canoe and overturn it. Then they might come and attack me -in the water, which certainly would have been the end of me. Further on -I met several other herds, but kept quite out of their way. - -Leaving the hippopotami behind me I continued my way, when suddenly I -thought I heard the sound of paddles and of human voices. I pulled my -canoe as fast as I could among the thick reeds which lined the banks of -the river, and was soon out of sight. I was hardly there when I thought -of crocodiles. It was just the spot for them, for the river was here -sluggish and with muddy banks. I felt very uncomfortable, for my canoe -was not so very much above water and I might be attacked by a crocodile, -hiding among the reeds. They are very voracious when hungry. - -[Illustration: _“The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe”_] - -The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe through a small opening. -I counted twenty paddlers and saw three captives fettered with chains -round their necks. They were evidently slaves that came from some tribes -further up the river. I waited a while and when I thought the canoe was -out of sight I left my hiding-place. - -I paddled close to the shore, often under the overhanging branches of -the trees. I began to notice that a large eagle was following me, -soaring above my head. Not knowing exactly what the eagle intended to -do, and becoming suspicious that the big bird of prey might perhaps -pounce upon me and tear my eyes out, I stopped, put my shot-gun to my -shoulder and, as the great bird soared over my head, I fired. The eagle -uttered a scream, then plunged downward and fell into the water near me. -I took his talons as a trophy. - -Ere long it became so hot that I filled my panama hat with green leaves -and dipped it now and then into the water to keep my head cool. Further -along the heat became so great that I hauled my canoe ashore to rest in -the shade of the forest. I found a rivulet of clear water close by, and -there I lighted a fire and roasted two plantains and a part of a monkey -King Mombo had given me. Then I lay under a tree and soon after fell -asleep with “Bulldog” in my arms. When I awoke I looked at my watch—it -was three o’clock. Soon after, I was paddling again. I was so interested -in looking round that the time passed quickly. The height of the sun -warned me that in about one hour more it would be sunset, and dark -shortly afterwards, for under or near the equator the days and the -nights are about equal, and it is nearly twelve hours between sunrise -and sunset. - -A short time after I saw a few plantain trees on the shore of a small -creek. I paddled in their direction, when, a little further on, hundreds -of plantain trees came in sight—then I saw a path through them, and -hauling my canoe by its side, I landed, taking “Omemba” and “Bulldog” -with me. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - SOUNDS OF HUMAN VOICES—I ENCOUNTER REGUNDO AND HIS WIFE, SLAVES OF - KING MOMBO—OTHER SLAVES—HUNTERS AND WARRIORS OF MOMBO. - - -I followed the path. I had hardly walked fifteen steps when I heard the -sound of an axe—some one evidently was chopping wood. The path was a -well beaten one, showing that many people passed over it. The sound made -by the axe became louder and louder as I advanced inland. Then I heard -human voices, and stopped to listen. After a while I found that two -people were talking to each other, but I was too far away to hear the -language they spoke. I wondered if these two people would be friendly, -or would run away at sight of me. - -I advanced cautiously, and soon saw the roof of a house, then the whole -house, which had a veranda; and under the veranda were a man and a woman -talking to each other. The house was built of the bark of trees. The man -was gray-headed, the woman likewise; they were almost naked and only -wore a little strip of soft bark round their loins. - -I appeared suddenly before them, so that they did not even have time to -rise. Both looked at me, appearing dumbfounded. They tried to get up, -but fear had paralyzed both and they could not rise. I showed to them -“Omemba,” the stick of King Mombo, which they recognized at once. Then I -saluted them in the Commi language by saying, “Mbolo.” They answered, -“A-ee,” and returned the salutation by saying “Mbolo,” and I answered -“A-ee.” This is the mode of salutation in King Mombo’s country. - -The sight of “Omemba” had somewhat calmed their fears. I saw by their -appearance that they were slaves, for both had their front teeth filed -to a point. The Commi people do not file theirs—these two people came -evidently from a far country. The man said to me, in the Commi language, -“Both my wife and I are slaves of King Mombo, and many more slaves owned -by him are in the neighborhood, on different plantations.” - -His wife went inside of her house and brought me out a stool and the -tail of an elephant to kill the flies which bothered me, and they both -bade me welcome and asked me to stay with them. - -Strange indeed was the appearance of Regundo, for such was the man’s -name. One side of his face was painted with red ochre, the other with -white; a broad yellow stripe adorned the middle of his chest; the -circuits of his eyes were also daubed with color. In the middle of his -forehead was a round, white spot. He had evidently just made his toilet, -for the colors looked fresh. He was also covered with charms or -“mondahs.” His wife’s face was also painted. She wore large iron rings -in her ears. - -On the roof of Regundo’s house were skulls of antelopes with their -horns, skulls of wild boars, leopards, monkeys, and other animals, -evidently apes, unknown to me, but the heads of which resembled, -somewhat, human heads. Six large elephants’ skulls were lying in front -of the veranda—under which hung in a line sixty-three elephants’ tails. - -As I was looking at them, Regundo said, “These are the tails of the -elephants I have killed. I have been a great hunter all my life, but now -I have given up hunting, and I send but very little game to my master, -King Mombo. But there are hunters here who are younger than I am, and -who go much into the forest in search of elephants and other game.” - -While Regundo was talking his wife went away, but soon returned with a -chicken that was a kind of bantam, tied by the legs, a basket of sweet -potatoes, a bunch of plantains, and four eggs, and laid these at my -feet. My talking to them in a language they could understand, and the -sight of “Omemba,” had reconciled them to me. They had also heard, -before I came, that I was a great friend of King Mombo. - -I looked round. I saw, at a little distance, a number of small houses -together, also built of the bark of trees. As soon as Regundo saw me -looking at them he said: “Those are houses of slaves belonging to King -Mombo. He has many slaves; some of them are old, and he has inherited -them from one of his brothers.” - -He had hardly uttered these words when I saw a number of men and women -coming towards the houses. The women carried heavy bunches of plantains, -or baskets filled with manioc roots. Most of the men had axes with them, -and were returning from the forest, where they had been felling trees -for new plantations. - -“Those people are the slaves of King Mombo,” said Regundo. “There are -others that live further on in the forest. The brothers of the king, and -some of his people, also have plantations and slaves not very far from -here, higher up the river and in the forest.” - -I went towards them, and when they saw me they stood still. I raised -“Omemba,” which they recognized at once as the stick of King Mombo, -their master, and which reassured them. - -These slaves, from their appearance, seemed to belong to many different -tribes. Some belonged to tribes which filed their front teeth sharp to a -point. Others had their four upper and lower front teeth pulled, this -being considered beautiful among some tribes. Some had two upper middle -front teeth somewhat filed in the middle. They also varied in the color -of their skins; some were quite black, others less so, and some -dark-brown color. Many shaved their eyebrows, and two women wore rings -in their noses. - -They were all more or less tattooed. This form of adornment among the -Africans is not done without pain; the skin is cut in such a manner that -it is made to stand up in small ridges. - -Regundo soon rejoined me, and told the slaves that the great Oguizi, of -whom they had heard, was before them. - -When I was talking to these slaves, four or five men made their -appearance. They looked like great warriors. They carried with them -long, single-barrelled flint-lock guns, of heavy calibre—the only kind -of guns the natives like. They are called “tower guns,” and are made in -England especially for the West African trade. - -They were followed by queer-looking hunting-dogs, which at once began to -bark furiously at me. - -These dogs seemed half starved, they were so lean. They had short hair, -straight ears, a somewhat elongated muzzle, with powerful jaws and sharp -teeth. Their tails were curly, a sign of their being thoroughbred. They -were not large, and had rather long legs for their size. They were -yellow and white, or black and white. Some were almost all of one color. - -Then Regundo, pointing to one of these four men, said: “This man is -Oshoria; he is the greatest hunter among us all, and knows not what fear -is. He hunts all the time, and spends many days in the forest by -himself; and when he finds no game he has to feed on berries, nuts, and -fruit. He knows every part of the forest for a long way.” - -I looked at Oshoria. He was a fine-looking man, about five feet seven in -height, well proportioned, with broad chest, and strong, muscular arms -and legs, and small feet. He had broad, thick lips, deep, searching, and -suspicious-looking eyes, which seemed to look all round at the same -time, as if expecting danger everywhere, and he had a very determined -face. He was not much tattooed. His teeth were not filed. After eying -him I said to myself: “Regundo is right. The whole appearance of Oshoria -shows that he is a cool and brave man, who knows not what fear is.” - -[Illustration: _“He had a very determined face”_] - -Then Regundo, pointing out three other men, who had come with Oshoria, -said to me: “These three men are great hunters also, and the equal of -Oshoria in fearlessness, but are not quite as successful in killing -game. Their names are Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi. When King Mombo makes -war, he always calls upon these four men to follow him, and they are -always in his canoe.” - -I looked at Ngola. He was tall, very thin, of reddish-black color, with -piercing eyes and a bold, daring countenance. The scars on his body -showed that he had followed King Mombo in war. One cut on one of his -shoulders had been a terrible one, judging from the scar, and had been -inflicted by a heavy machete. - -Quabi was thick and short, the counterpart of Ngola, and was very black. -No negro could have been blacker. He was blue-black. He also had scars -on his body—from the wounds he had received when he followed King Mombo -in warfare. He came from a far country and had been sold by his -relations when very young, so he had forgotten the language of his -people. By merely looking at him one could see that he was brave. - -Ogoola was of medium height, with a bold countenance, a real fighting -chin; his eyes like those of Oshoria seemed to look all around at the -same time in the same wandering and restless way. No scars were to be -seen on his body, for he was so quick of motion and so expert with his -shield that no spears, arrows, or bullets had ever been able to strike -him. So quick were his eyes when watching the motions of his antagonist, -that he seemed always to guess the time when a spear was thrown or an -arrow shot or a gun fired at him. Then he would either jump sideways, or -bend low, or even fall on the ground to escape the shot. He attributed -his escape to a powerful “mondah,” or charm, in which he had great -faith. He was of medium height, and he had come into the possession of -King Mombo when a boy. - -“No leopard,” said Regundo to me, “can approach its prey as these -hunters can the wild beasts. They are the bravest and best hunters of -King Mombo.” - -I called these four fierce-looking fellows to me and shook hands with -them. They looked shyly at me, for they had never seen a white man -before, though Regundo had. I gave each of them a steel disc and a -flint, to make fire with, with which they were delighted. When I -returned to Regundo’s house his wife had prepared a meal for me of -boiled antelope meat and plantains. In the meantime she had made ready -the little house that I was to occupy while with them. It was quite -small, about nine feet long and six feet wide. The walls, made of bark, -were about five feet in height, the top of the roof about eight feet, -and made of palm leaves; the sticks supporting the leaves were close -together and made very secure to prevent leopards at night getting -through and seizing the inmates in their sleep. The door was made of the -bottom of an old canoe. - -Being tired, I bade good-night to Regundo, who handed me a lighted -torch, and after getting inside I looked carefully all round and under -the bed to see if there were snakes, scorpions, or centipedes about. -Then I lay down to sleep without undressing, wearing my shoes. I took my -two revolvers from my belt and put them under my head, and laid -“Bulldog” by my side. Such was the way I went to sleep almost every -night, and even without fearing danger, prudence made me do so. In that -way I was ready for a fight at once in case of any sudden emergency. As -I fell asleep I heard the voice of Regundo calling on the spirits of his -ancestors. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - WONDER OF THE NATIVES AT MY WATERBURY CLOCK, MAGNET, MATCHES AND - MUSIC-BOX—CHARACTER OF MOMBO’S PLANTATION. - - -The following morning I got up before any one, and immediately wound my -Waterbury clock and hung it on the wall under the veranda. “Ticktock,” -it went. Close to it I put my music-box, which immediately began to -play, my magnet, and a box of matches. Then I went back into my little -house and kept quiet there watching through a crack to see what would -happen outside. - -After a while Regundo came out. The noise of the clock and of the -music-box attracted his attention. He looked at them with wonder, but -did not dare to approach them. He went to his house and soon came back -with his wife, and the two kept looking and listening to the music and -the tick of the clock. Soon Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola and Quabi made their -appearance and these warriors, who had faced death so many times without -fear, were afraid. They all remained silent and spellbound before the -Waterbury clock and the music-box. - -I came out and we saluted each other. Regundo, pointing with his finger -to the clock, said: “Oguizi, are there many spirits in this box? Are -they speaking to you now, or are they talking among themselves?” - -I did not answer, but laughed at his question. Then they all went away. - -It is wonderful how fast news travels in the forest, and the news of my -arrival, and of the clock, the music-box, and the matches had spread far -and wide, and all the slaves of King Mombo, of his brothers, and of -other great men of the neighborhood came in the afternoon to see the -Oguizi and the wonderful things he had with him. - -Quite a change had taken place in the appearance of all the women from -the day before. They had made their toilet in order to appear beautiful -before me. They had rubbed their bodies with a compound called “yombo,” -composed of oil and the powder made from a kind of odoriferous red wood -which made their bodies fragrant; each wore a string of beads round her -waist; their hair was filled with little clay-balls of the size of peas -mixed with “yombo.” They were more or less tattooed. Some had tattooing -peculiar to the tribe to which they belonged, which was thought most -beautiful among the people who used it. Some had two broad stripes made -of a mass of small spots drawn from the back of the neck, joining -another broad stripe imitating a belt which went round their waists. -Others had different figures on their stomachs, others broad stripes -starting from their shoulders, forming a triangle with the apex -downward. - -Each woman brought a present of food to me, a bunch of plantains, or a -chicken, a basket of sweet potatoes, of peanuts, or eggs. I thanked them -for their gifts and gave to each a string of beads to put round her -waist. Then Regundo gave me a goat. Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, laid -before me a huge python about eighteen feet long, two monkeys, a gazelle -they had killed in the morning, and said, “Oguizi, eat those.” And the -crowd shouted, “You shall never be hungry while you are with us.” - -Suddenly a man I had not seen before made his appearance. I noticed that -the people looked upon him with reverence. He was entirely covered with -charms, and his body was painted in different colors. He was old, tall, -very dark, his teeth had been filed to a point. His body was tattooed -all over with strange figures of beasts and men. His name was Angooka, -and he was a great medicine-man who had the reputation of making most -powerful charms by incantations. He made “mondahs” to protect men -against witchcraft, and to make them invulnerable against spears, -arrows, or bullets; others of his “mondahs” were supposed to give long -life, and luck in hunting and fishing. When men started for warlike or -hunting expeditions, they would always send for Angooka beforehand, and -after numerous incantations he would tell whether they should go or not. -Above all he could find out who were sorcerers or witches. - -Angooka, who was on one of his plantations, had come with his slaves to -see the Oguizi. The first thing he did was to look at the clock and -music-box and listen to them; but after all, though a great -medicine-man, he was not braver than the rest of the people on this -occasion and he would not come near the clock or music-box. - -To all the natives the clock and music-box were supernatural things far -above their idols; spirits dwelt there talking to me in a language that -was very peculiar and that nobody but I could understand. I did not -wonder at their wonder, for they never had seen a clock or music-box in -their lives. How could such noise come out unless there were life -inside? - -Raising my voice, I said: “Men and women look at me.” Then I took my box -of matches, and lighted one before them. A wild shout was uttered by all -at the same time. They did not seem to believe their own eyes. I shouted -again, “Look at me.” Then came a profound silence. I lighted another -match. Another shout of astonishment. Then with one voice they cried, -“Great indeed is our Oguizi, the friend of King Mombo.” - -Then I took my magnet, and I told Regundo to give me the small knife he -had by his side. He did so. I placed it next the magnet where it held -fast. Another wild shout of wonder was the result. Then I told Ashoonga, -Regundo’s wife, to bring me an iron needle, one of their own make. Then -they saw the needle hang to the magnet without falling, and as I put the -needle upon the stool, upon which I had been seated, they saw the needle -fly to the magnet. There was a great silence during this exhibition of -the power of the magnet. Then rose a mighty shout from the throats of -all, even from Angooka, the great medicine-man. - -I did not want Angooka to be jealous, so I made friends with him and -presented him with five matches. In his eyes it was a very great gift, -for which he thanked me and then he invited me to come to his -plantation. Then I called Regundo and Oshoria, and told them to fill -their pipes with tobacco, which they did. “Put them in your mouths, I -will light them with this,” I said to them, showing them a match at the -same time. As they seemed afraid, I said, “Be without fear, for I, the -Oguizi, am your friend.” - -[Illustration: “_Then came a profound silence. I lighted another -match_”] - -I lighted a match, put it over the pipe of Regundo and ordered him to -smoke. When they saw the smoke coming out of the pipe, a tremendous -shout rose. There was no mistake, their eyes did not deceive them; it -was real fire. Then Oshoria wanted his pipe lighted also and after him -nearly all the men and women filled their pipes and asked me to light -theirs for them also. I lighted over fifty pipes. - -After this I called the great medicine-man, and taking my watch out of -my pocket held it to his ear. He jumped when he heard it tick, and -shouted his astonishment. Then I went into my little house and came out -with “Omemba,” the stick of King Mombo, and at its sight they all -shouted “We will obey you.” The penalty for any man taking “Omemba” -without its being given to him by King Mombo was death. - -The hunters and I became good friends at once, and almost every evening -some of them came to see me. One evening as I was seated by a blazing -fire which threw its light around us, I said to those about me, “Tell me -how you travel and how you go hunting in this great forest.” Regundo got -up and replied, “In the forest there are many paths. These lead from one -village to another, or from one tribe to another, or to the plantations. -Among many tribes the paths used as highways of communication have to -pass through the villages, and if one wishes to avoid those villages he -has to go through the forest until he gets by. There are many hunting -paths. These are not easy to follow, for they are little used, and often -they are very intricate, and it is difficult to find the way back. There -are also paths used to mislead people. Often these end abruptly in the -forest, just as hunting paths do.” - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - KING MOMBO’S PLANTATION—WORK OF THE SLAVES IN CLEARING AND - CULTIVATING THE FOREST—STRANGE VILLAGE OF THE SLAVES—HOUSES OF - THE SPIRITS—REGUNDO’S ACCOUNT OF WITCHCRAFT AND ITS - PUNISHMENT—OVENGUA. - - -In the midst of this forest, far away from their master, lived these -slaves of King Mombo, and none tried to escape, because they were sure -to be caught by the people of some other tribes, and become the slaves -of their captors, and having a good master they knew that it was better -for them to be under his protection. - -The plantains or cassava or manioc fields were scattered all over the -forest. One day, as Regundo and I were seated together, he said, “I am -an old man. I rule over the slaves of King Mombo, and tell them what to -do on the plantation. My wife and I are Apinjis, and I remember that we -passed through several tribes coming down a big river, changing masters -at different times until we came to King Mombo. But that was long ago; -many rainy seasons have passed away since, for I was then a boy and now -I am gray-headed.” - -The slaves had a great deal to do to clear the forest. These clearings -were in large patches. In some the trees had been cut and burned and -only the huge trunks were standing. Thousands of plantain trees had been -planted. In some patches or fields the plantain trees were large and -bore heavy bunches, some bunches weighing over one hundred and fifty -pounds each. In other patches the plantain trees were on the point of -bearing; in others the trees were smaller. In a word, the plantations or -patches were so arranged as to bear fruit all the year round. The -plantain tree, like the banana tree, bears only one bunch and then dies. -During its life several shoots spring from the ground from the base of -the trunk, and these are transplanted and in time bear fruit. No two -crops are gathered on the same spot, for the bunches become quite small. -So new parts of the forest have to be constantly cleared for new -plantations. - -There were also large fields of cassava or manioc. The manioc yields a -large return. It is cultivated by cuttings, and one little stem is stuck -carelessly into the ground, and produces in a season two or three large -roots of the size of a yam. The natives boil the roots. When taken from -the ground, they are very poisonous and have to be laid in running -streams from three to five days before being eaten. Near the dwellings -were large patches of ginger, of sweet potatoes, of yams, Indian corn, -tobacco, peanuts, and wild hemp which the natives smoke. The ground in -many places was covered with squashes and gourds of different sizes and -shapes. There were vines running in every direction. The gourds were -used as water vessels, or to hold palm oil and other kinds of vegetable -oils made from the nuts of the forest. - -These fields were cultivated by the women. Numerous lime trees, covered -with limes of different sizes were to be seen in different directions. -There were many plants covered with small red peppers. - -Almost every day one or two canoes were loaded with the products of the -plantations, and with game, and were despatched to King Mombo. - -Not far from Regundo’s house was the sacred or holy tree. It was a kind -of india-rubber tree, which had grown to its present size from a cutting -Regundo had planted years before. The people believed that as long as -the tree flourished the place where they lived was a good one for their -settlement; but if the tree were to die it would be a sign that the spot -had become unlucky, and that witchcraft had taken possession of the -place. If the cutting when planted dies, it is an omen that the place -chosen will not be a lucky one and in that case the place is abandoned -at once. - -As usual on such occasions, a powerful charm or “mondah” had been buried -by the medicine doctor, with many incantations to keep witchcraft away -from the settlement. - -“The ‘mondah’ that is buried there,” said Regundo, “was made of three -skulls of chimpanzees, five heads of monkeys, three heads of snakes, one -leopard’s skull, the talons of several eagles, and charms made by the -medicine doctor, of which nobody but he knew the composition. Under the -gate or arch through which you passed when you came, another powerful -‘mondah’ was buried by another great medicine-man, who had come from a -far country and had been sold to King Mombo. He is now dead, but the -power of the ‘mondah’ he made, and which is buried there, is very -great.” - -Regundo had implicit faith in the powers of these two “mondahs” under -the arch and by the india-rubber tree, for he and his wife had always -been well since he had settled on that spot. - -Not far from Regundo’s house were several little houses, standing by -themselves, and not big enough for human beings to live in. Calling -Regundo, I asked him what these houses were for? He answered with a -great deal of solemnity—“The nearest one to us, which is also the -largest, is the house of Okookoo, a great spirit; the second is that of -Abamboo, called also Jockoo by some of the slaves; the third one is that -of Mbuiri, another spirit; and the fourth is the great and powerful idol -Makambi, who watches over us and often talks to us during the night.” - -On our way back to his house Regundo said: “Oguizi, we all dread -Ovengua.” - -“Who is Ovengua, and to what tribe does he belong?” I asked. - -“Oh,” replied Regundo, “if he were a man I should not be afraid of him, -for I am afraid of no man when I have my gun with me. He is a spirit, -and we dread him very much. He is a great catcher of men. He wanders -incessantly through the forest, seeking always to kill men. We never see -again those who are caught by him. By day he lives in a dark cavern, but -at night he roams freely, and sometimes even gets into the body of a -man, and beats and kills all those who come out in the dark. When -Ovengua gets into the body of a man, that man must be killed and his -body burned to ashes—not a single piece of bone must remain, lest a new -Ovengua arise from it. When a bad man dies, the bones of his body leave -the place where he was left, one by one, and become an Ovengua. There is -much witchcraft in our land, Oguizi. You have seen slaves of many -different countries here; witchcraft is in their country also. There is -witchcraft in all the countries inhabited by the black man.” - -Then, after a pause, he added: “Wizards and witches are the worst kind -of people, for they bewitch men and women and cause them no end of -sickness and trouble, and make them die. The spirit of witchcraft goes -into the body of a man or woman, sometimes against his will; but often -envy and hatred cause men and women to become wizards and witches. These -are so cunning that they carry out their evil designs unknown to the -people for months, nay, even for years, and keep on killing and giving -bad luck to people without detection. They smile and appear friendly to -those they want to bewitch, so they may not be suspected. When -witchcraft enters people and gets possession of them, it gives them the -greatest power for evil and they can do all they wish. They can make one -have a long and painful illness, or make one die suddenly. They can also -give one bad luck in hunting and fishing, they can bewitch your food and -water and the road upon which you pass. Through witchcraft people -sometimes appear in the eyes of other people to be animals or birds.” -Then he shouted, with fierceness in his eyes, “Yes, our medicine doctors -can find out wizards and witches after they have drunk the ‘mboundou.’” - -“What is the ‘mboundou?’” I asked Regundo, though I had of course -learned about it at the village of King Mombo. - -“It is a tree,” he answered, “that Aniambie, the good spirit, has given -to us poor black men to enable us to discover those who possess the -power of witchcraft. Our doctors drink the ‘mboundou’ without dying, and -when they are under the influence of it, they have the power of -divination, and find out who the sorcerers are. Then those accused of -witchcraft appeal to the ‘mboundou’ to prove their innocence, and they -drink it in presence of the people and of the doctor, who drinks it from -the same bowl. If the accused falters and falls to the ground, he is a -sorcerer, and we kill him and put him on a road where the bashikouay ant -is, or we tie him to a tree and make cuts in different parts of his -body, and fill these cuts with those little red peppers that are so -strong, or we burn him slowly, or we cut him to pieces as soon as he -falls.” - -“But,” I said, “Regundo, this is terribly wicked, to make poor creatures -die by being eaten slowly by the bashikouay ants, or from the fearful -tortures of red peppers in their wounds, or by slow burning. If I were -present, I think I would take ‘Bulldog’ with me and shoot the -perpetrators of such deeds.” - -“But,” Regundo replied, with much animation, “no punishment is big -enough for wizards and witches. Our land is full of them. Still,” he -added, as if to soften my displeasure and sorrow at such a story, -“Oguizi, wizards and witches are almost always sold to the people of -other tribes instead of being killed.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - THE NATIVE DOGS—HOW THEY HUNT THEIR OWN GAME WHEN THEY ARE NOT - FED—THEIR WAYS OF ATTACK—THEIR USEFULNESS TO THEIR MASTERS IN - WAR-TIME—OSHORIA’S STORY. - - -One morning I was surprised not to see a single dog on the plantation, -and I wondered where they could have gone. - -“Where are all the dogs?” I asked Regundo. - -“Oguizi,” he replied, “all the dogs have gone to the forest. They act in -this way when they are hungry. They found that we had no food for them, -and, having gnawed all the bones they had hidden in the ground, they -thought it was time to go and hunt by themselves, and feed on what they -could catch. Often they spend the whole day hunting, and do not return -before sunset, sometimes not until the next day, when they find out an -old camp to sleep in. Dogs are very sly. They have a leader; they -understand him, and they understand each other. One by one they leave -the plantation and meet outside.” - -I had been wondering, since I came, what the poor dogs had to eat, for -no one ever gave them food. They seemed to feed only on the bones that -were thrown to them. The hungry dogs were always watching the movements -of the people, though they appeared as if asleep. But this was only a -blind, for as soon as a house was left vacant, they immediately got up -and entered the place to see if there were any food to steal. All these -native dogs are great thieves, and wherever they have a chance they -steal, and it is very seldom they miss the opportunity offered. As soon -as they get a bone they go to a lonely spot where they are safe from the -other dogs, and when tired of gnawing it, they hide it in the ground, -and never forget the spot where they have left it when they want it -again. - -In the evening the dogs made their appearance before the houses of their -respective masters. They had evidently been unsuccessful in their hunt, -and had had nothing to eat, to judge by the pinched appearance of their -stomachs. A few pieces of manioc, just enough to prevent them from dying -of starvation, were thrown to them, after which they fell asleep, as -they were very tired. - -“It is not good for dogs to be too well fed,” said Regundo to me. - -After what Regundo had told me, I watched the dogs every day, and found -that, though they belonged to different masters, they formed a pack -amongst themselves, and that they understood each other thoroughly. I -discovered that “Fierce” was their leader. When they wanted to go a -hunting together, they did not bark. On the contrary, they were very -sly, and looked at each other with a peculiar expression of their eyes, -which meant one thing or another to them. - -How “Fierce” had become their leader I could not tell, except that he -could attack with fierceness, and could bite savagely. Physically he was -the strongest of all the dogs; hence he ruled over the others. He was -always the first to leave, and the others followed. He generally went to -see the other dogs before they started. He always led in the attack, and -seemed to prevent the other dogs from being too forward in the fray. -When he retreated, they retreated, and in some way, unknown to me, each -dog was given his proper position in the attack. - -One morning when I got up I found that the dogs had again left, and no -one had seen them go away, or could tell whither they had gone. “They -are very hungry,” said Regundo, “and will continue to go into the forest -until they have killed some game, and thus have their hunger satisfied.” - -Towards sunset the dogs returned. What a sight they presented! their -muzzles were red with the blood of the animals they had killed and -eaten. Some were wounded. One had its ears cut almost in two. Another -had the end of one of its ears bitten off. Another had the upper lip -cut. Three had their backs somewhat lacerated. Suddenly Rogola said, -“Where is my dog ‘Spear’? I do not see him among the others; he must -have been killed in his fight with the wild beasts.” It was no doubt so, -for “Spear” was never seen again. Regundo gave it as his opinion that -the dogs that came in with their ears and lips cut, had fought with -monkeys they had surprised on the ground. Those whose backs were -lacerated had been wounded by wild boars; and they had succeeded in -killing some animal, and had devoured it; hence their bloody muzzles. - -Some of the men attended to the wounded dogs, and said that in a few -days they would be all right again. The dogs had evidently fed well that -day; soon after their return they all were fast asleep under the piazzas -of their masters’ houses. Three days afterwards all the dogs that were -not wounded disappeared again and went to the forest to hunt. They were -evidently on the scent of game, for we heard them barking. Regundo took -his gun, to be ready, but gradually their bark became fainter and -finally died away. The game had escaped them. - -“Sometimes the dogs have great trouble in chasing an antelope,” said -Regundo to me, “for these animals are very fleet. Often they tire the -dogs; these then gradually fall behind, and the antelope escapes.” - -Early the following morning Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, and I went -after antelopes. The men had their dogs with them. These were soon out -of sight, and as we went along on the hunting path, my hunters would -call them. After walking about three hours we heard the dogs bark. “They -are running after an antelope,” said Oshoria. The barking came nearer. -Soon it was very close to us and we were watching intently when an -antelope, followed closely by the dogs, dashed by us. We fired, and the -beautiful animal fell dead. We had the greatest trouble to keep the dogs -at a distance, and we could not do so until we had cut off the legs and -some of the meat of the animal and thrown these to them. - -In the evening, as my hunters and I were seated by a bright fire, they -told stories of dogs. - -Oshoria’s story, which was the longest, was as follows: “Some dogs are -very useful in time of war, for they can find men hiding behind trees, -and warn us of their presence. One day, years ago, I was on the -war-path. I had then a dog called ‘Idombe.’ He was very cunning, and -followed me always in the forest in war times. I had trained him never -to bark when he discovered a stranger, but to come back to me. At that -time the enemies of King Mombo would lie in wait for his people along -the paths in the forest, then attack them suddenly. Sometimes there were -two or three together, and sometimes but one. I had gone to reconnoitre, -and had Idombe with me. He was scouring the forest in every direction -ahead of me as I went along. Sometimes I lost sight of him. Once when he -reappeared and came towards me, when he was near enough he looked at me -and made me signs to follow him, which I did, for I knew that he had -seen something unusual. Suspecting danger, and fearing a sudden attack, -I walked most carefully, at the same time stopping every few steps and -looking around and even up into the trees. Suddenly Idombe barked -fiercely, looking in a certain direction, turning towards which I saw a -spear fly out and graze Idombe’s body. This was followed by an arrow, -which imbedded its head in a tree near him. - -“I looked all around. At first I could see no enemy. Then I saw two men -near together lying flat on the ground among the leaves; one had a bunch -of barbed spears by his side, the other a bow and a bag filled with -arrows. I came forward, giving the cry of King Mombo. This was -immediately answered by the same cry, which meant peace. These two men -belonged to a friendly clan, whose warriors had come to side with King -Mombo. Poor Idombe had a narrow escape. - -[Illustration: “_Just in time to see a huge male leopard spring upon one -of the dogs_”] - -“The next day I went again into the forest with Idombe. I had lost sight -of him and wondered where he had gone, when I heard him give a certain -cry of pain, as if some one were choking him. I went in that direction -and came to a little pool of water where animals came to drink, for -there were many footprints round it. Then I saw a very large python -squeezing poor Idombe tightly within its powerful folds. The dog was -dead, its head was already in the mouth of the big snake. It is the -habit of these big pythons to lie by pools coiled round a tree of the -color of their skin and wait for their prey; then they spring upon their -victims and, squeezing them to death, swallow them slowly. - -“Our dogs are brave and a number of them are not even afraid of -leopards. These leopards, when they become man-eaters, like the meat of -man better than any other. Some years ago a leopard prowling near our -plantation succeeded, to our great sorrow, in killing and devouring two -people, a man and a woman. Our idol said that we must go and hunt the -leopard. Then, taking our dogs with us, we went in search of him. After -a while we heard the fierce barking of the dogs. They had discovered the -leopard’s lair, and we came up just in time to see a huge male leopard -spring upon one of the dogs and crush him between his jaws. With fierce -glaring eyes he looked at us, then he let the dog drop from his mouth -and lay flat on the ground ready to spring on one of us. But we were -ready for the beast, and before he had time to spring we fired and -killed him on the spot. The belt I wear is from the skin of this -leopard.” - -When the leopard story was ended it was time to go to sleep, and we all -left for our respective quarters bidding each other good-night. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - A GREAT HUNTING-FEAST—“ROONDAH”—DIFFERENT VIANDS OF THE MENU—SPEECHES - AT THE BANQUET—MUSIC AND DANCING—A WEIRD FOREST-SCENE IN THE - TORCHLIGHT. - - -One afternoon Regundo said to me: “Oguizi, all the hunters and all the -men on the different plantations have gone into the forest to hunt, for -we want to give a big feast. They will not return for three days. Some -have gone net-hunting, others will make traps to catch game, and some -hunters have gone with their guns.” - -I had accustomed myself to eat the food of the natives. I often fed, -while hunting, on fruits, berries and nuts. I ate all that came in my -way—elephant, crocodile, buffalo, antelope, monkey, and all kinds of -strange animals—and, when starving, I ate even snakes. Bread had been -unknown to me since I had lived in the country. Plantain and manioc were -my bread when I could get them. In a word, I ate whatever I could get; -it was better to do so than to die of starvation. - -During the absence of the men, I saw that the women were preparing food; -large wooden mortars were filled up with manioc, a root which had been -left to soak in the water. The manioc was pounded into a paste which was -boiled and became thick and firm. This paste was then shaped into long -loaves, enveloped with plantain leaves, these being used instead of the -paper we should use at home. These loaves can be kept quite a number of -days. To the palate the manioc is somewhat sour. - -Some women had been collecting njavi nuts, which come from one of the -most beautiful and largest trees of the forest. They boiled the seed, -which they mashed afterward on hollowed-out boards, squeezing the paste -with their hands, thus extracting the oil, which they poured into -gourds. - -The small children were busy skinning the squash-seeds, after which the -seed was put into a mortar and pounded, forming a very fine paste to -which, from time to time, a little njavi oil was added. This is mixed -with meat afterwards. - -One woman was busy making ndica. She had put seeds of the wild mango -into a mortar, and pounded these into a paste, after which the paste was -kneaded into the form of a big square cake and left to dry. - -“I hope,” said Regundo to me, “the men will return with much game, for I -have ‘gouamba.’” - -“What is ‘gouamba’?” I asked. - -[Illustration: “_The women were preparing food_”] - -He replied, “It is a craving for meat. When plantain or manioc is set -before us day after day without meat or fish, we begin to look at the -food with disgust.” - -Regundo was right in his description. I had had “gouamba” many times, -and I longed for meat, experiencing the same effect as if at home one -were fed day after day on bread and water. - -But Regundo’s wish was gratified. The hunters returned with a great -quantity of game. The most successful were those who had gone -net-hunting. Great numbers of long nets tied together had been spread in -the forest, and the game had been driven into them. - -Everybody was happy. Thank-offerings of game to the spirits “Olombo” and -“Mombo” were taken into the forest for them to eat. - -That day Regundo made a great offering of food to “Abamboo,” game, -plantains, nuts, sugar-cane, ground-nuts, and placed them carefully in -the forest. On his return he shouted, “Abamboo, I love you. I offer the -best of the food I have to you. Be good to me. Do not let sickness come -to me, Abamboo. Kill my enemies, those who wish me evil by witchcraft.” - -He also made a sumptuous offering to “Mbuiri.” - -The following morning the plantation wore an unusual aspect. Every woman -was busy cooking something. I waited around to see what. - -In one pot a piece of elephant was boiling; in another a piece of -antelope was being cooked. Further on a big fat monkey was roasting on a -bright charcoal fire. In another place, the ribs of a huge boar were -being roasted in the same manner. Not far from where the boar was being -cooked, a big piece of smoked hippopotamus was being boiled. Still -further, a piece of smoked buffalo was also boiling, and the cook was -scraping ndica into the pot, to add to the flavor of the meat, while -another woman was mixing njavi oil with some other kind of meat. In one -pot a piece of a large python was boiling. - -When all the meats were nearly ready, the women cooked green plantains, -took their skins off, cut them in two or three pieces, and then put them -in earthenware pots, covering them with green plantain leaves, and in -less than half an hour they were ready to be eaten. The plantain must be -eaten when quite warm; then it is mealy; when cold it becomes hard, and -is not very good. - -In the meantime, some of the men were beating tomtoms furiously. Then -men appeared with calabashes filled up with palm wine, a liquid coming -from the sap of a species of palm-tree which, after it has fermented, -becomes intoxicating. - -Mats had been spread upon the ground. Baskets and home-made earthenware -pots were to be used as dishes. Leaves took the place of plates, gourds -of goblets, and fingers of forks. - -When everything was ready, we seated ourselves cross-legged on the -ground, upon the mats that had been spread. Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, -Ogoola, Quabi, the medicine doctor, or ouganga, and I were close -together. Dishes containing the meat of the animals I have mentioned -were put before us. I offered to Regundo some buffalo meat. - -“No, Oguizi,” said Regundo; “I never touch buffalo meat when it is -before me, for it is ‘roondah’ [a forbidden thing]. In the days of old, -one of my ancestresses gave birth to a buffalo, and since that time it -is ‘roondah’ to all the people that belong to our camp to eat of the -buffalo. A vessel in which buffalo has been cooked is never used by our -clan. I can eat all other animals.” - -Then the ouganga, or medicine-man, exclaimed: “The wild boar is -‘roondah’ to me and to my clan;” and as I was on the point of putting a -piece of hippopotamus on the leaf of Oshoria, the latter said: “No, no, -Oguizi. I never eat hippopotamus meat. It is ‘roondah’ to me, because in -the days of old one of my clan gave birth to a hippopotamus.” - -I laughed so much after he said this, shouting, “Never did a human being -give birth to a hippopotamus!” that Oshoria said, very seriously: “I -speak the truth, Oguizi, believe me.” - -Every man had a “roondah,” and never used the vessel in which his -forbidden meat had been cooked. - -We all had voracious appetites. Big pieces of meat disappeared fast one -after another. The men did not seem to take time to chew their food—they -took such big mouthfuls. I did not wonder at the size of the pieces they -seemed to swallow, for the mouths of most of them, when they laughed -almost spread from ear to ear. - -Once in a while they would look suspiciously towards the Waterbury -clock. They could not get accustomed to it, for it was in their eyes a -supernatural thing that was always talking. As to myself, to show them -that I had no “roondah,” I tasted of every dish, but ate most of the -monkey, for its meat was fat and juicy, and tasted very good. - -The dogs surrounded us, and with expectant look were waiting for a bone, -and as soon as one got a bone he disappeared to eat it alone. - -After every dish had been cleared of its contents I got up from my seat -and said: “Slaves of King Mombo, and you belonging to other masters, the -Oguizi loves you all.” - -Thereupon all shouted at the same time: “We love you also, for you are -good, Oguizi. Stay with us all the time.” - -At these words Regundo rose and said: “You will not be hungry, Oguizi, -while you are with us. The hunters will go and hunt with you; there is -plenty of game in the forest—plenty of plantain trees and manioc in the -ground.” - -“Yes,” shouted all the hunters, “we will go and hunt and kill game for -you. Stay with us, good Oguizi.” - -At this I got up, telling them not to go away, went into my house, and -came out with some beads, looking-glasses, files, fire-steel, flints and -powder, and distributed these among them, giving to the women beads and -looking-glasses, and to the men the rest. Great excitement ensued. They -shouted: “We can die for you, Oguizi, for we love you.” Then in a -quieter manner they added: “Every evening after our day’s work is over -we will come and talk to you, for it does us good to see you.” - -In the evening the slaves came with strange-looking musical instruments. -I was to be present at an African concert. The first musician played on -a “handja.” How queer the instrument looked! It consisted of a frame -about three feet and a half long, and two feet broad, in which were set -some ten or twelve hollow gourds covered by thin strips of hardwood. -These gourds and the strips of wood were of different sizes and so -graduated that they formed a regular series of notes. The tone was clear -and good. - -When the player had finished his piece, another got up and played upon a -kind of harp, covered with the skin of a gazelle, and sang at the same -time. - -Then another man took his place and played on what we might call a small -guitar, covered with a snake skin, singing at the same time. The strings -of these instruments were of vegetable fibre. - -Ten men then came on with their tomtoms, which varied in size and length -according to the fashions of the tribes to which they belonged. The -cylinder of the longest was about six feet in length, of the shortest -about four feet. The wood was hollowed out quite thin, and antelope skin -stretched over both ends tightly. The drummers beat furiously on the -upper or larger end with two sticks. The more excited the people became, -the louder the drummers beat. No music can excite the savage more than -these tomtoms. The singing became terrific; the women, as well as the -men, made the wildest contortions and gesticulations as they danced. By -the light of the torches, with the great forest surrounding us, the -scene appeared weird and fantastic, as if it did not belong to this -world. It was almost morning when the festivities ended. - -[Illustration: “_The first musician played on a ‘handja’_”] - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - A TALK WITH KING MOMBO’S SLAVES—WHY SLAVES DO NOT RUN AWAY—VARIOUS - FEATURES OF THE TRAFFIC—THE CANNIBALS OF THE INTERIOR—MY DAILY - OCCUPATIONS. - - -After the feast the slaves and I became more friendly than ever. The -following evening they all came to see me. I told them to fill their -pipes and sit down—that I was going to light the pipe of every one with -my sticks giving fire. The matches gave them great delight. Some wanted -their pipes lighted several times, but I could not afford this great -extravagance. I did not want to run short of matches. - -We made a big blazing fire and I stood under the little piazza having -Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, Quabi, and the medicine-man by me. I -had made friends with the medicine-man by giving him four of my long -hairs. The men and women and children formed a group in the shape of a -horseshoe. - -At first nobody uttered a word, but all looked at me, and I said with a -loud voice, so that every one could hear me: “I have wandered in this -great forest for a long time—can any one here tell me how large it is, -and where it ends?” Then all shouted at the same time: “No one amongst -us can tell where this forest ends, but we think that it goes as far as -the country where the sun rises in the morning.” - -A queer-looking slave tattooed all over then got up and said: “Oguizi, -it is so. Here are slaves that have come from very far countries, but -none of them has ever been out of this great forest. There are prairies, -but as soon as you get out of them you are once more in the forest. -Those prairies are like the islands, found in the rivers. When you leave -them there is water all round; when we leave the prairie there is the -forest all round.” - -Next another slave rose and said: “Oguizi, I had to walk many months in -the forest before I came here. I was sold from tribe to tribe, and I had -to follow many of the paths. Sometimes I journeyed by rivers, at other -times by land. Once I was given with four other men as payment for -canoes. At another time I was sold for some salt—and still another, I -was exchanged for a tusk of ivory. It took me five rainy seasons [years] -on the way before I came here to belong to King Mombo. I thought all the -time I was travelling that I was coming to the country where the sun -set. King Mombo took me to see the big water [the sea]. I was much -frightened when I saw the big waves strike the land. I made sure they -would break the land and engulf me, but what frightened me more was to -see the sun disappear under the water. Then it became dark. In my -country we had never heard of the sea.” - -I asked him where then he thought the rivers were going to; and he -replied: “Our people thought they became smaller and smaller as they ran -down and that they finally disappeared in the earth.” - -Another slave who then rose said: “I was sold on account of witchcraft. -The people of my tribe thought I was a sorcerer. I was not, but they -sold me, and before I came here, I passed through many tribes. I am so -glad I am here, for I am contented. My only fear is that perhaps one of -these days King Mombo will sell me. He has been kind to me, for he has -given me a nice wife, and I have fine children, and I am happy to know -that my children cannot be sold, for the children of us slaves are free. -They are called ‘bambais.’ That is the name the free people give us,—and -the ‘bambais’ remain under their protection, and have to fight with the -men to whom their parents belonged; they belong to his clan and tribe, -but if King Mombo dies before we do, his slaves will be divided among -his brothers, and if his brothers are dead, among nephews or the nearest -of kin.” - -He pointed out to me his wife and children, and had them come and sit by -me. - -“When you are on the way from one tribe to another, don’t you sometimes -have chances to escape?” I asked. - -“What is the use of trying to escape?” they replied. “Some men, it is -true, are foolish enough to try. But when you run away from your tribe -or from your master, you have no friends. Every man is against you. When -you have a master, he is like your father; he takes your part. A slave -that runs away is sure to be captured and be made a slave again. -Sometimes, when they think they are to be killed, they run away to save -their lives.” - -One of the slaves then rose and said: “Oguizi, I do not come from a far -country,—only four tribes inland from here,—but I was sold by my -parents.” - -“What?” said I. “Sold by your parents?” - -“It is so, Oguizi. Not only in my tribe, but in many other tribes, -parents sell their children.” - -“It is so, Oguizi,” all shouted with one voice. “Yo, yo, yo, it is so.” - -Then the slave continued: “When we are small and helpless, our parents -love us, and would not part from us, but as we grow to be big boys and -can help ourselves, they often sell us. This is the custom among many -tribes.” - -“Do they sell their daughters also?” I asked. - -“Yes, they do, but not as often as they do their sons, because when they -give their daughters in marriage, the suitor has to give them one or -more slaves for her. The more daughters they have, the richer they -become. A man has to give several slaves in order to marry the daughter -of a chief.” - -Then another slave got up and said: “I was given away in that way. My -old master married one of King Mombo’s daughters, and I was given to the -king with three other slaves, as payment, before he could take her away. -Oguizi, when people want to sell their children or grown people, they -find plenty of excuses. The best of all is that you are a sorcerer, or a -witch; people would rather be sold as slaves than be killed as -sorcerers. But people cannot hold slaves of their own tribe, their -slaves must always belong to some other tribe.” - -“What do people buy slaves with?” I asked. - -“With guns, brass kettles, copper rods, iron bars, beads, and other -things. Far inland, sometimes a man is sold for salt.” - -At these words, a slave got up and said: “I was sold for salt and -nothing else. My family wanted to get rid of me.” - -After this, Regundo himself rose and said: “King Mombo is very good to -us all. He has given to each of us a wife, and when a man has no wife, -he buys one for him, and if one of our women has no husband, he buys a -man for her. He loves me, for I was given to him when a child as part -payment by my former master who married his daughter. He had to give -four more slaves to him before he took her to his village. - -“Our wives attend to the cultivation of the soil, go fishing, and smoke -the fish. They prepare food for our master. We men cut down the trees -and burn them, for you see there are no open spaces in the forest. -Cutting down trees is very hard work. Only our wives cultivate the soil. -Plantain trees and manioc are only planted once in the same spot. Often -the wives of King Mombo come here. They also cultivate the soil.” - -One old slave said: “Very few of us like to go to King Mombo, for fear -that if somebody should die while we are there we might be accused of -witchcraft, and our master might take it into his head to kill us -without trial, or to sell us. But our master always takes the part of -the slaves he loves and insists that they shall be tried by the poison -ordeal, the ‘mboundou,’ the same as if they were freemen.” - -Then they all looked at the moon and thought it was time to go to bed, -and said good-night. When they left I said to them, “Come again -to-morrow evening,” to which they replied, “We will come.” - -The following evening the slaves came again and seated themselves on the -ground. They said never a word, but kept gazing at me and looking at the -Waterbury clock by turns. - -Then I said to them: “Friends of mine, yesterday we talked about the big -forest and about yourselves. Now tell me all about the people who live -in the great forest.” - -A big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was tattooed all over and had -teeth that were filed sharp to a point. It was believed by all that he -had come from the furthest part of the interior of the continent. After -a deep silence he said: “There are many tribes of men in the forests, -Oguizi. Some are fierce and warlike. There are also tribes of men that -are cannibals, who eat human flesh. These are the fiercest of all. They -are always fighting, and they eat many of the prisoners they capture, -for they prefer eating to selling them. They are great, powerful men. -Their villages are fenced outside with long poles, and on the top of -many poles are seen human skulls and skulls of wild beasts. They have -many powerful idols and are great witchcraft men. They are great smiths, -and make many terrible implements of war. Their spears are barbed. They -carry crossbows and use poisoned arrows; they have also many -terrible-looking axes of strange shape, which they can throw through the -air and with the sharp edge split in two the skulls of their enemies. -Their shields are square and are often made of the skin of the elephant; -they are as hard as iron. - -[Illustration: “_A big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was tattooed -all over_”] - -“A cannibal bought me. He belonged to the Osheba tribe. I was dreadfully -afraid that I should be eaten up, but a few days afterwards he sold me -for some pieces of copper and beads to a man who belonged to a -neighboring tribe that was not cannibal.” - -“Do you know by what name those cannibal tribes are called?” I asked. - -“I know the names of two of them,” he replied. “One is called Fan, the -other Osheba.” - -“We have an Osheba man and woman amongst us, also a Fan and his wife,” -they all shouted at once. Regundo told these two couples to get up and -come before me. I looked at them. The men were fierce-looking fellows -and as fine negroes as I had ever seen. They were very tall, over six -feet in height, and their skin was of the color of chocolate. Their -front teeth were filed to a fine point and colored black. The mouths of -these two cannibals looked horrid when they laughed. Each wore a long -queue of hair hanging down his back. They wore round their ankles two -large, heavy iron rings. Their bodies were tattooed. They had been owned -by King Mombo for over twelve years, and were amongst his bravest -warriors. When they went out to fight they would not use guns, but armed -themselves with barbed spears which they made themselves, turning the -iron into steel by forging it in charcoal. Their shields were made of -the hide of an elephant that they had trapped in a pit. - -I asked them where they came from, and they said that their village was -situated on the shores of a big river, that they had been sold for two -brass kettles, and had come to King Mombo all the way by water, being -bartered from one tribe to another, each tribe giving more and more -goods for them as they came down the river, the price of slaves -increasing always as they come nearer the sea. - -Here an Ishogo slave got up, and said: “Oguizi, the strangest people who -live in the forest are the Obongos, a race of pigmies. They never grow -tall, never plant anything like other men, and live only on fruits, -berries, and nuts. They wander continually in the forest in search of -these, and do not even live one moon [month] at the same place. - -“They have little villages, but their houses are not like ours, they are -so small”—and, raising his hands to a certain height, I understood that -the houses of the pigmies were not more than three feet in height, and -the doors or openings of these through which they go inside were not -more than twelve or fifteen inches from the ground. - -“How can that be?” I said. “Then the Obongos must be scarcely more than -a foot in height.” - -“They are taller than that,” the Ishogo replied, “but when they enter -their houses they lie flat on their stomachs and creep like snakes, or -bend very low.” Then, making a gesture with his hands, he gave me to -understand that they were between three feet and a half and four feet -tall. - -Then an Apinji and an Oshango slave rose and testified to the truth of -the narrative and the Apinji said: “These little people are called -Ashoongas by us.” - -“Who amongst all the tribes are the best fighters?” I inquired. - -“The cannibals first,” they all shouted—“then the Bakolai, then the -Shekianis.” - -“Do all the tribes when they make war kill only warriors?” - -“No,” they replied; “they kill old men, women, and children also.” - -It was getting late, and time for them to disperse, and as they rose to -do so they gave a last suspicious glance at the Waterbury clock. - - -The mode of life I led on the plantation was the same every day. I got -up before sunrise and bathed in a little stream of clear water running -in the forest at a short distance from my little cabin. By that time -Regundo’s wife had my breakfast ready. The meal varied according to the -game on hand—but I always had plantain. Immediately after this early -breakfast, generally about 6.30 A. M., I started for the forest. - -Some days I went for birds, others for butterflies and other insects, -and once in a while for big game. I generally returned towards noon, -then had another meal—after which I went into the shade of trees and -stuffed the birds I had killed. I often went again into the forest in -the afternoon. I had a very busy life, and very little time to feel -lonely. Every morning when I awoke I was filled with the hope of -discovering some new animals or birds. When I had time to spare I -studied the habits of the people, and their ways of thinking. Still, -though I was much occupied, I often thought of my friends, and at times -was homesick enough. - -Part of my time was also spent in learning from different slaves the -languages of their tribe, so that I might be able to speak to people -during my wanderings. None, of course, had a written language. So I had -to write the words, with my pencil, on paper. I made a sort of -dictionary, writing the words as I understood the people to pronounce -them. There were many dialects, belonging, no doubt, to a single -language in former times. They had not many words, as their needs were -few, but all these languages had grammatical forms, handed down from one -generation to another. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - THE ANIMALS OF THE FOREST—FIVE KINDS OF APES—THE NGINA OR GORILLA—HIS - GREAT STRENGTH AND FIERCENESS—HOW HE ATTACKS MAN AND OTHER - ANIMALS—OSHORIA’S ACCOUNT OF HIM. - - -The slaves assembled the next evening. I said to them: “Yesterday I -heard about the people living in the big forest. Now tell me of the -strange beasts that roam amongst the trees.” - -Regundo replied: “Oguizi, there are many strange creatures living in the -forest. Some of them resemble people. We call them men and women of the -woods, for they have no tails and have faces like human beings. There -are five kinds of them, nginas [gorillas], nshiego-mbouvés, -nshiego-kengos, nshiegos, and kooloo-kambas. The ngina is the blackest -of all. Some of the nshiegos have faces almost of the same color as -yours, Oguizi. - -“The one amongst these we dread more than all the others is the ngina, -for he is very fierce and has the strength of many men. So we call him -the ‘giant of the forest.’ There is the skull of a ‘man’ ngina on the -top of my house. Look at it. I killed the creature several years ago, -when I was younger. By its side is the skull of his mate.” - -I looked up and in the moonlight I saw a strange-looking head with a -crest on the top and powerful teeth. Its jaws had apparently more power -than those of a lion. - -Regundo got up, went into his house and, coming back with a gun, said: -“Oguizi, this gun has killed several nginas, many elephants. The -‘mondah’ [charm] attached to it is very powerful. It has brought me good -luck in hunting and is the cause of my always having killed the animals -I shot, no matter how strong or how fierce they were.” - -Then Oshoria rose and said: “When a hunter comes before a big adult man -ngina, he feels that he must kill the ngina or be killed by him. It is -sure to be one or the other.” Then after a short pause he continued: -“Strange to say, the ngina has the same number of bones that we have. -The babies have twenty teeth like our children; later they have -twenty-eight. Then they get four more and have thirty-two teeth, like -adult human beings. - -“The ngina lives in the dense and most solitary parts of the forest; it -is a restless creature, wandering from place to place in search of food. -They never kill animals to eat them, for they feed only on berries, -nuts, and fruits of the forest, and on the sugar-cane, plantains, and -bananas, which they steal from our plantations, thus causing us often to -go hungry. A full grown ngina can easily eat twenty or thirty bunches of -green plantains or bananas a day, many scores of pine-apples, and big -heaps of berries, nuts, and fruits. They eat all the time, from morning -until dark. So they have to roam about in search of food, unless they -discover a field of plantain trees bearing fruit; then they remain near -the place until they have eaten up everything. - -“A man ngina is so strong that no number of men can ever capture him. He -would tear to pieces those attacking him. He can bend the barrel of a -gun, and break trees, or branches of trees, that are much bigger than -his thighs just as if they were reeds.” - -“Tell me, Oshoria,” said I, “how nginas attack the hunters that pursue -them.” - -Oshoria replied: “If the man ngina is with his mate, the latter always -runs away, giving a shrill cry of alarm. Then the man ngina gets up on -his hind legs, standing like a man, and looks around to see where his -enemy is. Then he gives yell after yell, roar after roar, until the -whole forest is filled with the din of his big voice. Then he comes -forward to attack, walking erect, and roaring all the time. Sometimes -the yell resembles that of an angry dog, though a hundred times louder. -His big vindictive gray eyes look his antagonist straight in the face, -glaring vengeance, and meaning death. The hair on the top of his head -moves up and down, and the hair on his body stands erect. Then he beats -his chest with his huge and powerful hands. They have such big hands, -Oguizi, and these are so powerful, that when they strike a man they -almost cut him in two. Once I killed a big ngina, who had one arm -shorter than the other, for it had been broken, probably by the blow of -another ngina fighting him, but, strange to say, the arm had knitted -together of itself. - -“It takes a stout heart to face the monster when he comes to the attack. -It is of no use to try to run away, for a ngina runs faster than a man. -When he looks at his enemy he seems to say to him, ‘I am going to kill -you. You are soon to die. How do you dare to come and disturb me in my -solitude.’ His wrinkled black face is terrible to look at, and every -time he roars, he shows his powerful teeth, which can crush the arm of a -man in an instant.” - -“Do they fight with their teeth,” I inquired. - -“No,” he replied, “their great weapons are their big, long muscular -arms, and their hands, their legs, and their feet, but especially their -arms. When they have disabled or seized their antagonists, they often in -their rage give a bite or two, but one way or the other it is all over -with a man when he is in the clutches of the ngina. Oguizi, the huge -creature has nails like those of a man.” - -“How big are the nginas?” I asked. - -“They are as tall as men, and vary in size also, but they have such big -chests that two grown men put side by side at the back of the ngina -could not be seen by a man coming from the opposite direction.” - -“Where do you aim when you are going to shoot a ngina?” - -“In the direction of the heart. When shot there he dies instantly, and, -like men who are shot through the heart, he falls forward. Then comes a -great sight. He groans, the long arms stretch out. His fingers twitch, -his hands open and shut several times, and woe to the man who should -find himself in his grip at that time. - -[Illustration: “_A little before dark she goes up a tree with the baby -to sleep_”] - -“When a ngina roams in the forest where men have only spears or poisoned -arrows,” continued Oshoria, “he roams undisturbed and at leisure, for no -body of warriors, however brave, would dare to attack him. Though he -might fall under the weight of many spears, he would succeed in killing -many men first. Only guns can kill nginas. The nginas are very -suspicious, and when they hear a noise in the forest they move away from -it, but when they tire of being tracked they show fight. When old, the -man ngina and his mate travel together with the baby. When very old the -man of the woods is always alone. There is a great danger when we walk -in the forest in coming suddenly upon a man ngina. Then he is sure to -attack us, and if a man has no gun he is sure to be killed. - -“I wish you could see a ‘woman’ ngina with her baby. They look like -human beings. Just a little before dark she goes up a tree with the baby -to sleep. The big fellow sleeps at the foot of the tree to keep watch, -and woe to the animal that comes near.” - -“Tell me, Oshoria,” said I, “do leopards attack the ngina?” - -“They do sometimes. The leopards move so silently in the forest that the -nginas cannot hear them approach; then the leopard springs upon the back -of the ngina and fastens his teeth into his neck, while his claws are -deeply imbedded in his back. Then the combat is soon over, for the neck -of the ngina is torn to pieces, and he succumbs. But woe to the leopard -if the ngina can seize him with his powerful hands. - -“When a ngina sees a leopard on the ground, he runs towards a tree, and, -setting his back against the trunk, stands in an erect posture, or seats -himself. There he feels strong, and can withstand the attack of the -leopard. He watches with deep, gray, sunken eyes every movement of his -antagonist, trying to scare him with his yells and roars. We believe -that if a leopard is bold enough to spring upon a ngina when he has his -back against a tree, the ngina often succeeds in seizing the leopard by -his tail as the latter springs. Then he swings the animal round and -round by the tail, striking it at last against a tree, and killing his -enemy instantly in that way. At other times, when a ngina succeeds in -jumping upon a leopard, he puts one of his powerful hands upon his neck -to prevent him from turning his head and biting him, then holding the -beast with his feet, which are like hands, he breaks his spine, and -tears him to pieces, biting him terribly at the same time. Just look at -his teeth!” concluded Oshoria, pointing at the same time at the head on -the top of the house. - -“Does the ngina attack elephants?” I asked. - -“I do not think the ngina attacks elephants, Oguizi. I hope you will see -and kill a ngina with ‘Bulldog’ while you are with us. There are not -many in the forest.” - -“We _must_ see some nginas,” I cried. - -“You will meet some,” shouted the hunter in response. - -When Oshoria had finished his narrative the perspiration was fairly -running down his face, he had become so excited. I did not wonder, for -he remembered how the huge beasts had attacked him, and he fancied that -the animal was before him and that he heard his fearful yells and -tremendous roars. - -I said to him: “Now fill your pipe, and I will light it with my -fire-stick.” After he had rested a while I said to him: “Do nginas build -houses, or any shelter whatever?” - -“No,” he replied, “and if any one says that he has seen a shelter built -by a ngina, he lies.” - -By this time it had grown late and soon all the slaves left after -bidding me good-night. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - -THE OTHER APES OF THE GREAT FOREST—OSHORIA TELLS ABOUT THE NSHIEGO -MBOUVÉS—CAPTURE OF A BABY “MAN OF THE WOODS”—HIS MOTHER -KILLED—CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIFFERENT APES WITH THE VARIOUS HUMAN -RACES. - -The next evening the slaves again made their appearance, and to amuse -them I told them again to fill their pipes, and lighted them with my -matches, to their great delight. While they were smoking I said: “I -heard yesterday about the strong and fierce ngina. Tell me this evening -something about the nshiego, nshiego mbouvé, nshiego kengo, and -kooloo-kamba. Tell me how you can distinguish the different kinds among -these ‘men of the woods,’ as you call them.” - -“We easily recognize each kind,” replied Oshoria, for he was again to be -the spokesman. “I will tell first of the nshiego mbouvé. He is far from -being as tall and powerful as the ngina. The nshiego mbouvé is the -bald-headed man of the woods—he is born with thin hair on his head, but -as he grows older the hair drops off entirely. He is the only one -amongst the nshiegos that becomes bald. But, Oguizi, the nshiego mbouvé -when very young has a face whiter and paler than yours—though his mother -and father are as black as the blackest among us. Strange to say, as the -baby nshiego mbouvé grows older, his pale face grows darker and darker, -and after a time comes to be as black as that of his father and mother. - -“But, Oguizi,” added Oshoria, with emphasis, “they are so shy that it is -very difficult to approach them. The best way is to discover their -shelter and lie in wait for them.” - -After a pause, he said: “The nshiego kengo is born pale yellow, and has -a pale face also; the blood does not go through its skin, as your blood -does through yours; no matter how warm they are, how much they have run, -they always remain pale. The nshiego mbouvé and the nshiego kengo are -more intelligent than the ngina. They make a shelter for themselves on -trees, about five or six arms’ lengths from the ground. There they rest -at night, as they are afraid of the leopards. The ‘man’ has one shelter, -the ‘woman’ another, on two different trees close together. They do not -attack men, and run away at the least noise. - -“Then comes the kooloo-kamba, another kind of nshiego. This kind is very -rare. He is different from the nshiego mbouvé and nshiego kengo. He is -born black. We call him kooloo-kamba because his cry is ‘kooloo-kooloo.’ - -“Then comes the last of the men of the woods, and the most numerous -species. He goes by the name of nshiego. He is born pale-faced and -gradually becomes black. He also is very intelligent. We can tame easily -all the species of young nshiegos, and we capture them by killing their -mothers when we find them together. - -“The reason we call all this kind of ‘men of the woods’ ‘nshiego’ is -because they are much alike in some respects: they all have elongated -hands with long fingers, and long and narrow feet. All nshiegos have big -ears, too, while the ngina has very small ears and much shorter hands -and feet. All the nginas and the nshiegos are tailless; they have a -spine, like man. The nshiegos spend much of their time on trees; they -are great tree-climbers—that is the reason that they have long hands and -fingers. With these they readily seize the branches of trees; their feet -are also on that account more flexible than those of the ngina.” - -When Oshoria had done speaking about all the “men of the woods” found in -this great African forest, I thought of the strange orang-outangs, which -I had seen alive at home in New York and Boston, and how wonderfully -human they looked, with their high foreheads. These also live in big -forests in the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They are another kind of -“men of the woods,” without tails. “How strange it is,” I said to -myself, “that amongst the ‘men of the woods,’ there are three colors, as -with human beings. The orang-outang has hair that is brown and a face of -almost the same color, and corresponds to the brown races. The nshiego -kengo has somewhat the color of the white man, and the ngina and the -kooloo-kamba have that of the black man.” - -Two days after our conversation about the nshiegos I heard a great -uproar near Regundo’s house, just as I was emerging from the forest -after my morning’s hunting. I saw a big crowd of slaves, and heard loud -exclamations of astonishment, and the words “nshiego mbouvé” and “baby -nshiego mbouvé.” I hurried up and saw Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, -and Quabi coming to meet me. They said: “Oguizi, we have killed a -nshiego mbouvé and captured her baby, which is alive and well. Come and -see them.” Soon after I stood by the side of the dead nshiego mbouvé, -which was perfectly black, and looked with wonder at the very white face -of the baby nshiego mbouvé. I thought I had never seen amongst wild -creatures such a human face as I did in that little old face of the -baby; he looked so pale that one might have thought he had just left a -sick bed or the hospital. He crept over the body of his mother and -moaned, “Whoe, whoe,” as if he were a human being. It was his mode of -crying. He knew that his mother was dead. - -In the evening Oshoria and the slaves assembled and we talked about -nshiego mbouvés and the other “men of the woods.” Pointing to the little -nshiego mbouvé fast asleep on a bed of dry leaves, Oshoria said: “The -pale-faced nshiego mbouvé and the other ‘men of the woods’ have in many -respects better luck than we poor black men have. They have not to work -hard as we do, they have not to dig the ground, to cut down the trees of -the forest, to sow or to plant, in order to live. If we did not do this -we should die of hunger. Food grows of itself for them in the forest; -they can always find something to eat. It is true that there is the race -of pigmies, who are human beings like us and live chiefly, like the ‘men -of the woods,’ on the nuts, berries, and fruits of the forest and do not -plant or sow anything, but then the pigmies can trap game and exchange -it with the big people for plantains. They know the use of fire and cook -their food. - -“These ‘men of the woods’ do not have to go into the forest and collect -firewood; they do not have to carry big loads on their backs; they do -not have to cook food. There are a number of things we can do and they -cannot. They cannot make fire. They cannot make intoxicating drinks and -get drunk. They cannot smoke. They have no idols, no ‘mondahs,’ no -witchcraft. They do not sell each other into slavery. They do not beat -their mates, as we do our wives. - -“These ‘men of the woods’ look so much like human beings that there are -tribes of men who do not eat them, for to them it would seem like eating -people. But there are many tribes who eat them, just as there are tribes -of men who eat people as they eat game. - -“The monkeys,” he continued, “are the relations of the ‘men of the -woods.’ What human faces they have! When they are travelling in the -woods, they have their leaders and follow them. They all understand each -other. When we walk in the forest, they look down upon us as if they -were human beings. When we shoot and kill them with our bows and arrows, -they look at us with their dying eyes as if to say: ‘Why did you hurt -me? Have I ever done you any harm?’ But how angry they look when in -captivity if we do something that does not please them. Strange to say, -Oguizi, we can trap monkeys, but can never trap the ‘men of the woods.’ -I do not know that a ‘man of the woods’ has ever been caught in a trap. - -“Oguizi, do you remember this morning, how the baby nshiego mbouvé -moaned after his mother,—how he walked over her dead body; he knew that -she was dead. - -“There is a great difference between the baby human being and the baby -of a nshiego mbouvé and of the other ‘men of the woods.’ Almost as soon -as a baby of the ‘men of the woods’ is born, his fingers can clutch and -cling to his mother. Our babies cannot; they are helpless.” - -It was late when our talk ended. The slaves rose and bade me good-night. -The dear slaves were my only companions. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - ANGOOKA, THE MEDICINE-MAN—HIS STRANGE APPEARANCE—EAVESDROPPING—I - OVERHEAR THE CONVERSATION OF THE SLAVES—THEY TALK AMONG THEMSELVES - ABOUT THE OGUIZI. - - -Early the next morning all the slaves on the plantation gathered near -Regundo’s house, for I had gone hunting by myself, and they thought I -was far away. Suddenly I changed my mind and returned. As I approached -the village, I heard voices. I approached cautiously, and when I got a -glimpse of the talkers I hid myself in order not to be seen. - -Angooka was easily recognized, for he was dressed in the garb of the -medicine-man. He wore a headdress of gaudy red feathers from the tails -of gray parrots. Among these were also eagles’ and hawks’ feathers. On -his neck was a necklace made of the beaks of eagles between which were -leopards’ claws, while as a pendant hung four leopards’ teeth. Round his -waist was a belt to which were fastened cowry shells filled with charmed -powder. His body was painted all over with white ochre (chalk), over -which were scattered round yellow spots. Upon each of his cheeks were -two flaming red spots. In his hand he held several charmed skins tied -together, holding precious and powerful powders. - -At a little distance a man was stationed on the top of a slender tree. -From there he addressed the medicine-man, and asked him questions about -Jockoo or Abamboo, shaking the tree at the same time, to which Angooka -replied in a sonorous manner. The business of Angooka was to keep away -the evil spirits and destroy witchcraft in the plantation. Angooka -suddenly danced in the wildest manner, uttered all sorts of -incantations, peered into the face of every one as if to divine their -thoughts, and then declared that there were no witches or wizards with -them. Then the ceremony came to an end. Near Angooka were Oshoria, -Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi. I heard the medicine-man say to them: “Great -indeed is the Oguizi that we have with us. How strange he looks, with -his long, straight black hair. His eyes seem to find out the thoughts of -a person. Strange that the Oguizi has come to the country of King Mombo, -and to you his slaves.” - -“Where do you think the Oguizi lives?” asked the men of Angooka, who -replied: - -“The Oguizi can disappear from our sight when he wishes. He has come to -see our land, and one of these days he will go and we shall never see -him any more. He will rise in the air unseen and go to the moon.” - -Regundo then said to the medicine doctor: “Last night we heard a -rumbling noise in his house, the striking of a hammer upon an anvil, and -saw flashes of light inside through the cracks in the walls. We heard -the Oguizi’s incantations. He was then making the things he gives away. -When I went into the house in the morning the anvil and hammer were -gone, and no remains of fire were to be seen. How strange is the piece -of iron which he holds in his hands, to which our knives hang without -dropping! How wonderful are his little sticks from which fire springs! -How wonderful are the strange boxes [the Waterbury clock and the musical -box] full of spirits that are talking to him.” - -I did not want them to know that I had been listening to them, and when -I finally revealed myself and went toward them, I acted as if I had -heard nothing. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - NEWS BROUGHT THAT GORILLAS ARE NEAR BY IN THE FOREST—THE DOGS GOT - READY FOR THE HUNT—THEIR NAMES—A GRAND HUNTING COUNCIL—REGUNDO’S - WISE ADVICE—CAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED. - - -One morning just as I shouldered “Bulldog,” and was ready to go into the -forest, Regundo came to me much excited, and said: “Oguizi, I have great -news to tell you. Some men have just arrived with the news that there -are nginas in the forest, and near the plantain trees.” - -“Great news, indeed, you tell me, Regundo,” I replied, “and we must get -ready to go and attack them. Send for Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and -Quabi.” - -“Yes,” said Regundo, “for they are your hunters, and wherever you go -they must follow you.” - -Soon my four hunters were on hand; they had also received the news about -the nginas and came to tell us of what they had heard. There was great -excitement among the people. - -While we were sitting together Regundo said thoughtfully: “If the nginas -were only contented to eat two or three big bunches of plantains or -bananas, and then go away, it would not be so bad. But they pull the -trees down, give two or three bites to a bunch, leave the rest, then go -to another tree and do likewise, so that in a short time they have -plucked twenty or thirty bunches. When tired of eating they go back into -the forest and the following morning they come again and take another -meal, return into the forest and late in the afternoon make their -appearance again for still another meal, after which they go into the -forest to sleep. But the elephants are our worst enemies; when a herd of -them go into a plantain field they destroy it utterly, and often cause -widespread hunger in the country.” - -It was agreed that early the following morning Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, -Quabi, and I should start with the men who had brought the news, and -that we should take dogs with us. So we made preparations at once. -Towards sunset fourteen of the best hunting-dogs—the fiercest and -bravest, which were afraid of no beast—were tied together. Names had -been given to them that denoted the qualities they possessed. They were -called “Fierce,” “Never Sleepy,” “The Attacker,” “He who never runs -away,” “The Catcher,” “The Never Afraid,” “The Pouncer,” “The Defier,” -“The Sly,” “The Biter,” “The Jumper,” “The Runner,” “The Watchful,” “The -Bloody.” They were indeed a fierce set of dogs, covered with scars, -marks of the wounds they had received from the wild beasts they had -attacked. They were all descended from fierce hunting-dogs. They seemed -to know that they were to be led out to the fray, for they were all -yelping, barking, and jumping about. They were strange-looking animals; -small, with short hair, straight ears, twisted tails, and yellow and -black in color. - -As Regundo looked at them he said: “Oguizi, if you encounter any nginas -some of these dogs will not come back; they will be killed in the -fight.” - -To this Oshoria returned: “Perhaps it will be so, perhaps not; for these -dogs are very knowing. They know how to retire or advance; their eyes -are sharp, and they will watch every motion of the nginas.” - -In the evening a large idol was set in front of Regundo’s house. Women -came with lighted torches, the tomtoms were brought out, and soon a -dance began, accompanied by wild singing. - -Later in the evening, as Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, Quabi, and I -were seated by a bright blazing fire, Regundo broke the silence and -said: “Oguizi, when people go hunting, they have to be careful about not -getting lost in the great forest. Often hunters have to leave the paths -or have to walk in small streams for a long time, to get to a path -further on. Their eyes have to be very sharp in order not to pass it by. -In many places the hunting paths are very difficult to follow as there -are hardly any traces of them, or they disappear entirely for a while on -account either of the growth of the jungle over them, or of fallen -trees. Many of these paths are seldom trodden and have to be followed -with the greatest of care. At certain places a number of paths come -together or diverge in different directions. In this case it is very -important to make no mistake, otherwise one goes entirely out of his -way. So when one gets into a path that is almost entirely obliterated, -or leaves the hunting path, his eyes must notice everything round him, -every peculiar tree, every stream, every rock. - -“But this is not enough, for often when one is lost he fancies that he -has seen such and such a tree before, though really he has not. It is -necessary therefore to make marks with your knife upon the bark of -trees; to break now and then young boughs of trees on your right and on -your left; to collect big handfuls of leaves and to put them together on -the ground; to cut off branches and lay them across the path. By doing -this carefully people do not get lost. By following these marks one -returns to the point whence he started. One can never be too careful, -for it is very dangerous to be lost in the great forest. If you have -been bewitched you may die of starvation, find neither wild honey, -berries, nor nuts. Or you may go so far out of your way that you come to -a land inhabited by another tribe than yours and then you are captured -and made a slave. Once lost it is very difficult to get back to your -starting-point. You turn round and round without knowing it. Once I was -lost, and when evening came I found myself by the same big tree I had -left in the morning.” - -Here Regundo took a long breath and lighted his pipe, which had gone out -while he was speaking. - -Then he resumed: “Hunters must be very careful in the handling of their -guns; for the forest is full of creepers and vines of all kinds. -Branches continually get in the way, and any of these may catch the -trigger, and the gun go off. Never have the muzzle of your guns pointed -towards your body or in the direction of your neighbor.” - -“You are right, Regundo,” I exclaimed. “Besides one man must never point -his gun at another, even though he calls it playing. It is a very bad -sort of playing. People are often killed in that manner. Then the man -who was playing with his gun, says that he thought it was not loaded. A -man who points his gun towards another man ought to be punished.” - -“Yes, he ought,” shouted the hunters with one voice. “We hunters never -play in that way with our guns.” - -Then came another pause, after which Regundo continued: “A man who has -not a cool head must never be a hunter. In the presence of a dangerous -beast he is lost himself if he loses his head, for he cannot shoot -straight. A cool head is very necessary in the presence of an elephant, -a ngina, a buffalo, or a leopard, especially if you come suddenly upon -them, or when they attack or charge you.” - -At the end of these words of wisdom from Regundo, all shouted: “That is -so, that is so.” - -“Yes,” I said, “no man is a good hunter unless he has a cool head; -otherwise he is sure to be killed.” - -After this little interruption Regundo continued: “Hunters have to be -particularly careful when they hunt elephants, especially a bull or -‘rogue elephant,’ for these often charge even when the bullet is sure to -cause their death afterwards. The best thing that can happen is to kill -them on the spot, then there is no danger ahead. A man must be -particularly cool-headed when an elephant charges. He must stand -perfectly still, looking at the beast when he comes towards him and must -know exactly the time to move, and then retreat three steps, if he is -not protected by a tree, just in time for the elephant to pass before -him. Elephants cannot make a sudden sharp turn or stop at once when they -charge. They go straight ahead and they do not return to charge the -enemy a second time. One must be exceedingly careful not to approach the -elephant, though he appears to be dead, for sometimes he gets up -suddenly and charges, and if the hunter has not a clear field, or is -encumbered by creepers or trees and cannot step backward, then the -elephant will impale him, trample upon his body, or kill him with his -trunk.” - -“Yes, yes, that is surely so,” shouted the hunters. “Mbango was killed -in that manner, two dry seasons ago. We found him dead, the elephant -having trampled upon him. One of his feet had been entangled in a -creeper, and he could not step backward in time.” - -Regundo finished his speech by saying: “Hunters must always be very -careful in shooting, so that the bullet does not hit on its way some -young tree or creeper, for then the bullet not only loses its force, but -deviates from its course. But,” he added thoughtfully, “all precautions -are useless if witchcraft comes in, for misfortune follows the man who -has been bewitched.” - -[Illustration: “_Sometimes he suddenly gets up and charges_”] - -As the men got up they invoked Mombo and Olombo to give them good luck. -“You know that we love you, that every time we kill game we give you -some,” they shouted. Then we bade each other good-night. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - WE START AFTER THE GORILLAS—CAUTIOUS WALKING THROUGH THE FOREST—THE - DOGS FIND THE NGINA—YELLS OF THE MONSTER BROUGHT TO BAY—HE - SLAUGHTERS TWO OF THE DOGS—TAUNTS OF THE HUNTERS—SHOT THROUGH THE - HEART AT LAST. - - -Early in the morning, just at dawn of day, I was ready for the start. -Soon Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi made their appearance. What a -sight they were! Their bodies were daubed all over with ochre of -different colors, a sign that they were on the war-path. Each wore a -broad belt of charmed leopard skin over which incantations from the -medicine doctor had been made the day before, and which were thereupon -pronounced by him invulnerable against spears, arrows, and bullets. They -were all covered with “mondahs,” which also had been made powerful by -incantations and were to protect their lives. They would never have -started for the hunt without these. - -These charms were made of skins of rare animals which enclosed the dried -flesh and brains of rare monkeys and birds, teeth of crocodiles and -leopards, feathers of birds, fangs and brains of snakes, ashes of -animals’ intestines that had been burned by the medicine doctor, and -rare and precious land shells, filled with charmed ingredients. - -Oshoria wore a charmed iron chain which had been forged in a far -country. This chain was looked upon by all the slaves as the most -invincible of all charms, for Oshoria had met many dangerous and -ferocious beasts, he had killed several nginas, and had never been -wounded. This chain ran from his left shoulder to his right side. - -The men had left that morning in the forest an offering of a leg of an -antelope to the spirits Olombo and Mombo to propitiate their good will, -so that they should give them good luck. - -Before starting, my hunters cut the backs of their hands in several -places before one of the idols, and mixed their blood with earth and -some kind of dust and clay, with which each filled a land shell, carried -by every man in a bag, that also contained a special little idol, to -guard and protect them from harm. - -They neglected nothing to insure their lives. Regundo invoked the -spirits of his ancestors in a loud voice and called upon them to follow -us and protect us. - -When everything was ready we went to the canoes that were waiting for -us. Into one we put the dogs, Ogoola and Ngola going with them; Oshoria -and Quabi, and the two men who had brought us news of the presence of -the nginas and were to act as our guides were in my canoe. Regundo -followed us to the river and, taking my hands, blew on them and wished -me success. - -We paddled along until we came to a tree under which the spirit called -Mbuiri was supposed to rest sometimes and look at the river. The men -danced and sang under it. - -Then we continued our way upon the silent river—lined all along with the -dense forest. We saw two huge black and yellow snakes in the water. -Afterwards we met a troop of monkeys which from a tree were looking -towards the other side of the river. They were chattering among -themselves in great earnest. They wanted, I thought, to cross to the -other side—but the river was too wide. When we came near them they -stopped chattering, and looked down upon us as we passed. When far -enough away we heard them chattering again. - -Further up we landed near a large tree, where I saw a path. We partook -of a light meal, and then, making our canoes secure among the reeds that -hid them from sight, we started. This path led to the plantation of the -two men who had brought the news of the nginas. The dogs were led by -leashes, for we did not want them to run in the forest. - -As we marched in single file, not one of us spoke a word. Two or three -times we heard troops of monkeys travelling in the forest. Once we heard -the shrill cries of a flock of parrots. Suddenly we came upon a great -number of pineapple plants; many of the pine-apples had been eaten up. -Oshoria looked at me and said: “Nginas have been here,—not to-day, but -two or three days ago.” - -We continued our way and discovered in a muddy part of the path four -footprints of nginas. Their heel-prints were deep in the mud—but the -toe-prints were hardly visible. Two of the heels were much larger than -the other two. “The big footprints are those of a man ngina,” said -Oshoria; “the smaller ones are those of his wife.” When looking round I -saw two tiny footprints and pointed them out to Oshoria who said: “Those -are the footprints of the baby ngina.” - -Further on we saw along the path a place where the nginas had tarried, -for the jungle was much broken, and some of the saplings had been broken -and partly chewed or eaten up. This looked as if it had been done the -day before. We all agreed that the nginas were in the neighborhood. - -We slept in the forest that night. Before daylight we were up. I painted -my face and hands black with powdered charcoal mixed with oil so that I -might not be easily seen. Men from the plantation, who had come to meet -us, took charge of the dogs. - -After two hours’ walk we stopped, and one of the guides said something -to Oshoria in a very low voice which I could not hear. Then Oshoria -said: “We had better loose the dogs and let them go.” In the twinkling -of an eye they were in the forest and out of sight. - -We entered a large field of plantain trees. Oshoria led, I followed, -then came Ngola, Ogoola, and then Quabi. We walked very silently, and -our excitement was so great that we could hear each other pant. After a -while Oshoria was quite a distance ahead of all of us. He was the scout, -and we had lost sight of him through the crookedness of the path. I -stopped to see if we were all at hand and then we continued our way, -when, after passing a bend in the path, I saw Oshoria standing still -waiting for us. As soon as he saw us he gave the cluck of danger, “Kluk, -kluk,” put his hand on his mouth as a sign not to speak, then his hand -towards his ear as a sign for us to listen. We walked towards him -without uttering a word, but looked towards each other. Then Oshoria -pointed with his finger in a certain direction. He had evidently heard -something that had attracted his attention there. - -Soon we heard the peculiar shrill piercing cry of fear of a ngina. -Oshoria whispered to me: “That is the cry of a female gorilla who is -afraid and has fled. Probably she has scented the dogs and given the cry -of distrust and fear to her mate.” - -Immediately after we heard the barking of our dogs, followed by the -tremendous yells of defiance and fight of a huge male gorilla “Whoah, -whoah;” then roars that filled the forest with their din, and seemed to -be like the sound of thunder along the sky. These roars almost entirely -drowned the fierce barking of the fourteen dogs. “It is a man ngina,” -whispered Oshoria. “His mate has fled. Let us prepare ourselves for a -fight.” Instinctively we came still nearer together and looked at our -guns; my hunters’ guns were loaded with plugs of iron, plugs which they -use to kill elephants. I looked at “Bulldog” and said: “Thou faithful -rifle, which hast never failed me before in time of danger, be true to -me to-day, be true to me!” - -“Let us go and fight this man ngina,” shouted my men with eagerness in -their eyes and a sort of ferocious joy. This time they were not afraid -of being heard, for they knew that the huge beast was brought to bay and -would not run away, but attack. We advanced through the plantain trees, -many of which had been pulled down by the two nginas. Every step forward -increased the terrific din made by the fierce barking of the dogs and -the angry roars of the ngina. We came nearer and nearer the border of -the forest, and soon caught sight of the dogs. Looking in the direction -where the most forward and daring of them were barking, we saw a huge -male gorilla with his back against a tree and following with his eyes -the dogs that surrounded him. Evidently the huge fiendish creature had -never been attacked by dogs before. He was bewildered by their number -and did not know what to do except to yell and roar at them. He was -seated, ready to use his powerful long arms or his feet, catching the -dogs with his terrible manlike hands if they came near him. The dogs -knew this and were cautious in their attack; they advanced and -retreated, led by “Bloodthirsty” and “Pouncer,” closely followed by the -others. - -Suddenly the gorilla’s yells and roars stopped. He had seen us, and he -did not know what to make of these new enemies. His eyes glanced from -the dogs to us—he seemed to know that if he went after one of the dogs -the others would fall on him from everywhere. - -What a sight! The huge creature seemed the incarnation of ugliness. “No -other creature in the world can look so ugly,” I said to myself. His -legs were short and bent, he had such a broad chest and such a -protruding abdomen, that it appeared to contain at least a barrel of the -food he had devoured. He had big, powerful, muscular long arms, and huge -paws, of which the fingers were short and thick. His huge foot had four -toes and one thumb. His body was thinly covered with hair, his face was -intensely black—blue-black—his eyes were deeply sunken in his head, and -he looked straight at us, as if he were a human being. Tigers, lions, -dogs, and other animals never can look in that way. The sockets of his -eyes were evidently like those of man, allowing him to look in the same -manner. His hair stood erect all over his body owing to his rage—and -that on his head moved up and down, and he beat his breast. But in spite -of all that he had an anxious expression in his eyes, which were looking -all round, for he had never been surrounded by so many enemies before, -dogs and men, and this was the reason he had put himself against a -tree—so that no dog could attack him from behind—and thus placed he -could see all his foes. - -Our guns were pointed at him in the direction of his heart, and at the -least advance he made towards us we would have fired. The only thing I -feared was that instead of advancing erect to attack us, he would drop -on all fours, being surrounded by so many enemies, and would run towards -us in that posture; then it would have been far more difficult to shoot -at and wound him mortally. I noticed blood on one of his hands and then -I saw at about five or six feet from him the prostrate form of one of -the dogs. It was “Fierce.” My men saw the dog at the same time—“Fierce” -was one of the most intrepid of their dogs. They shouted to the ngina: -“You have killed fierce ‘Fierce.’ We will kill you also.” The gorilla -became so hard pressed by the dogs that he had no time to yell, for he -was too busy looking round for them; he only uttered now and then, when -one came too near, a “Whoah wah.” The dogs were ready to spring on him -as soon as they had an opportunity. They watched their time, but the -huge ngina was watching them also; he knew what they were about, and as -soon as they came within his reach he would, by a sudden motion of his -long arm shoot it forward and try to catch the most daring one that came -near him, sometimes using his legs and feet instead. My hunters were -cool—but they were on the war-path and had met their enemy. Oshoria, -Ngola, Ogoola, Quabi, shouted words of defiance to the gorilla such -as—“We are men. Yes, we are men. Come towards us, if you dare. We are - -[Illustration: "_The big monster ... seized 'Bloodthirsty' and threw him -dead on the ground_"] - -ok at us straight in the face. We laugh at you. How do you dare to yell -at the Oguizi. Soon you will hear ‘Bulldog’ talk to you. Our guns will -talk to you also. Ngina, you are a coward—come towards us if you are not -afraid. You have only a short time to live; soon you will lie dead at -the feet of the Oguizi.” - -Then they gave a terrific war-cry, the one used before attacking their -enemy, and the gorilla uttered a terrific yell of defiance in response. -The dogs had become bolder and bolder, and more and more angry. Suddenly -“Bloodthirsty” came too near the ngina, and before he had time to -retreat, and quicker than the eye could follow, the big monster had sent -his powerful arm forward and with his huge hand seized “Bloodthirsty” -and threw him dead on the ground. At this the other dogs, enraged by the -loss of their two companions, lost control of themselves—forgot all -prudence—and as they were on the point of jumping on the huge beast, -which now was uttering terrific yells, I, not wishing the men to lose -more dogs, said “Fire!” and we all shot at the same time. The huge -monster fell forward on his face, shot through the heart. In the -twinkling of an eye the dogs jumped on him and he was torn to pieces. - -Poor “Fierce” and “Bloodthirsty,” were dead. Regundo was right when he -said that if we met with nginas all the dogs would not return. - -Then my hunters went round the ngina, and, looking at him, shouted: “We -were not afraid of you. When the Oguizi looked at you, it was just the -same as if you were dead, for he had made up his mind to kill you as -soon as he saw you.” - -Then I cut off his head, as a trophy, and, carrying it with us, we went -back to the plantation and saw our three guides, who had left us as soon -as they thought the nginas were near. We laughed at them. - -The following day we were on our way back to my hunters’ home. When we -reached the plantation, Oshoria carried the head of the gorilla on a -pole, Regundo and the other people welcoming us back with great -expressions of joy. In the meantime, my clock had stopped, and was -silent under the veranda, and Regundo and the other people thought that -the spirits that were in it had followed me. Their belief in this -increased when they saw that after my return the tick of the clock began -again. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - SINGULAR SIGHT IN THE FOREST—ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS FLEEING IN ONE - DIRECTION—A TERRIBLE ANT—THE BASHIKOUAY ARMY—ATTACKED EVERYWHERE - AT ONCE—HOW I ESCAPED THE TORMENTORS. - - -A few days after my return from the gorilla hunt I found myself one -morning all alone. Regundo had gone for the day. The men were cutting -trees for a new plantation; the women were weeding the fields. Feeling -somewhat lonely, I left for the forest, armed with a gun. I became so -interested on my way in collecting insects and butterflies that the time -passed quickly, and before I was aware of it the greater part of the day -had gone, and I could not reach the plantation before dark. Knowing this -I decided to remain and camp in the forest, for it was impossible to -follow the path in the darkness. I had no torch with me, and a leopard -might pounce upon me while on my way. So I lighted a fire, collected -large leaves, built my camp, and gathered a lot of dead wood, for I -intended to surround myself by four fires during the night to make sure -that no wild beasts or snakes should come near me. I slept well, waking -two or three times during the night to attend to the fires. The -following morning I determined to go a little further before I retraced -my steps towards the plantation. - -After a while I noticed a number of snakes which seemed to follow each -other in rapid succession, creeping as fast as they could, and all going -in the same direction. Two or three of these passed close to me. - -Suddenly I heard the tramping of elephants through the jungles breaking -down everything before them, and apparently running as fast as they -could. One of them crossed the path in sight of me. They were going in -the same direction as the snakes. - -These were followed by a number of gazelles, antelopes and wild boars. -The forest seemed alive with beasts. These went also in the same -direction that the snakes and elephants had gone. - -I stood still for a moment, for I had never seen such a sight before, -when to my utter astonishment a leopard passed near by, bounding and -running as fast as it could in the direction of the other animals. “What -is the cause of this leopard leaving his lair during the day time, for -they generally sleep during the day?” I asked myself. A strange feeling -of fear and awe came over me. I thought that some great convulsion of -nature was about to take place. The earth was perhaps to open, and a -volcano burst out at the spot where I stood. An involuntary dread that -something grave was to happen came over me. The forest became alive with -multitudes of insects and butterflies. They too were fleeing, and in the -same direction which the animals had taken before them. A great number -of insectivorous birds followed them, preying on them in their flight. -In a word, all the living creatures of the forest were in a panic, and -were all fleeing in the same direction. - -Just as I was about to retrace my steps and run as fast as I could -towards the plantation, I found myself suddenly covered with countless -ants, which bit me with the greatest ferocity. In an instant they were -biting me everywhere,—on my legs, on my arms, on my back, on my neck, -they were in my hair. As I ran I tried to kill those that were on my -body, those that were outside had their pincers fast in my clothes. They -were also everywhere around me, on the ground and on the trees. - -These ants were the fierce bashikouays. They were on the war-path, and -attacked on their march every leaving creature. Fortunately I could run -away in the path faster than they could advance, but I could not get rid -of those that were already on me. After about one hour’s run I came to a -stream, took off my watch and put it on the ground, and then lay flat at -the bottom of the shallow water, in order that it might cover me -entirely, and drown the ants. I did not dare to stay too long in the -water, for fear that the bashikouay army would overtake me. Fortunately -I succeeded ere long in drowning them, for I did not feel any more -bites. - -Panting and out of breath I reached the plantation before dark, and I -told Regundo about the bashikouays, and how animals and insects had fled -at their approach, but did not tell him how I had been bitten by them. - -Regundo said: “These ants are called bashikouays, and they were on the -war-path.” - -“What do you mean, Regundo, when you say that the bashikouays were on -the war-path?” I asked. - -“When they are not on the war-path,” he replied, “they walk close -together in a line. They are as thick as the grains of dry earth or of -sand on the sandy shores of a river; then they are harmless, for they -attack no one. But when they scatter, they attack every living thing -that comes in their way. They even climb trees, going after insects. -Gorillas, elephants, leopards, all living things, flee before them. When -they come into our villages or into our houses, we have to protect -ourselves, our children, and our babies, by boiling water, fire, and hot -ashes.” - -Two or three days after my adventure with the bashikouays, Regundo came -to me, saying: “Follow me, and you will see the bashikouay ants in -marching order; they are harmless, for they are not on the war-path.” - -I followed him, and soon after he stopped and said: “Here they are,” and -I saw a moving line of bashikouays crossing the pass, the line being -about two inches in width. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - A JOURNEY TO THE ELEPHANT COUNTRY—SERIOUS ANNOYANCE FROM FLIES, WASPS, - AND MOSQUITOES—IN THE MIDST OF A DROVE OF HIPPOPOTAMI. - - -I was anxious to go on a long hunting expedition. One day when Regundo, -Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, and I were seated under a big tree, I -said to them: “We must go and hunt elephants, hippopotami, crocodiles, -and other big game.” This suggestion was received with sonorous grunts -of approbation by them all, and it was agreed that we should prepare -ourselves for a long expedition. - -The following day I saw Oshoria slyly entering the idol house, and after -he had closed the door behind him I approached the house and, peeping -through a crack, saw that he was marking his body with ochre of -different colors. Then he muttered words to the idol that I could not -understand. Afterwards he took from a little wooden box a piece of red -ochre and made a mark with it between his eyes, and another mark in the -hollow of his chest, and then spoke very fast. Then he went to another -box, and took from it a charmed necklace, to which was hung a sort of -small iron bell, which was filled with charmed powder and which he put -around his neck. When I saw that he was ready to come out I retired as -quickly as possible. - -For three days great preparations were made for our hunting expedition. -The wives of the hunters prepared food for us. Dear Regundo invoked -every evening the spirits of his ancestors to protect us. The ouganga or -medicine doctor, made incantations for our success, and said that we -were to be lucky. - -We started with two canoes, the people following us to the banks of the -river. As the day advanced it became very warm, for there was not a -breath of wind on the river. It was a good day for flies; they plagued -us sadly, attacking us with great persistency. I was kept busy all the -time handling my elephant-tail to protect myself against them, but when -they got between its long, coarse, black hairs it meant death to them. -My eyes had to be everywhere in order to watch for them, and my ears -very quick to find out where they were flying; but in spite of all my -watchfulness they succeeded in giving me now and then a sting. - -Suddenly we would hear a sharp whiz; then the men would shout at once: -“Look out, there is an ibolay flying around.” They were not mistaken. -There was an ibolay, flying with such rapidity that he was no sooner -seen than lost to sight. I kept a sharp lookout for him, ready to strike -with my elephant’s tail, but I was stung twice by one during the day. It -was worse than the sting of a bee. I had to be quiet, for it would not -have done for an Oguizi to utter cries of pain, but it was very hard -sometimes not to do so. - -Another fly, the iboca, of the size of a hornet, also quick in its -motion, gave the severest bite of all; my clothes were no protection -whatever. Often the blood ran down the face or body of the men that were -bitten. The fly that annoyed us most was the nchouna, which was very -numerous. We could not tell of its approach, for it came unobserved and -silently and had inserted its bill so gently that it got its fill of -blood before we knew we were bitten. Afterwards the itching began, and -lasted several hours, varied at intervals by certain sharp stabs of -pain. We paddled as often as we could under the branches of trees -overhanging the water, to be protected from the powerful sun. Once, to -our utter dismay, our canoe went bang into an elonay’s nest. The elonay -is a very fierce wasp. There are no flies the natives dread so much. The -men shouted: “The elonays are after us; let us get out of the way,” and -we paddled as fast as we could, to be out of their reach. Ogoola, Ngola, -and Quabi seemed to be the men they chiefly attacked. These threw -themselves into the water. They did not think of crocodiles or anything -else. They kept under water quite a while, and after a time came back on -board. The bite of the elonays is very painful. It leaves an acrid -poison, which causes pain for two or three days. At intervals the poison -seems to gather fresh force, and the wound begins to throb. - -That night we slept in our canoes. During the night there was a constant -howling of wild beasts. I thought the forest was full of leopards, -hyenas, and unknown fierce creatures. Fortunately, our canoes were at -anchor far away from the banks, and the hungry animals could not reach -or spring upon us. Evidently they scented us, and would have been -delighted to make a meal of some of our number. - -The mosquitoes troubled us so much that we were glad when morning came. -Then we were bothered by sand-flies. These disappeared when the sun -became powerful enough to drive them away, but the flies that delight in -the sun and the heat of the day took their place. The rivers are far -worse than the forest in regard to flies. - -Suddenly Oshoria, who steered my canoe, shouted: “Ngooboos [hippopotami] -ahead.” Then he added: “They are in the middle of the stream; let us go -near the shore.” The men stopped paddling, and we all looked in the -direction in which Oshoria pointed, and saw a herd of hippopotami, -looking like stranded logs on the water, for they did not move. We -paddled slowly and noiselessly close to the shore, so that the huge -beasts could not see us. We came nearer and nearer to them every minute. -I counted twenty-two hippopotami. - -My attention was suddenly attracted to a part of the river where I heard -peculiar loud sounds, or grunts. Looking in that direction, I saw two -bull hippopotami by themselves, fighting with each other. They rushed -towards each other,—then disappeared under the water, and reappeared -again. Their big, ugly mouths, when opened, showed us their tusks. They -attacked with great fierceness, lacerating each other’s bodies with -their crooked tusks. Finally one was victorious, and the other swam away -as fast as he could. - -[Illustration: “_Their big, ugly mouths when opened, showed us their -tusks_”] - -We approached the hippopotami slowly and with caution, to within fifty -yards of the herd, without seeming to attract their attention. “Let us -paddle nearer,” I said to the men. We came within twenty-five yards, and -then I took “Bulldog,” and aiming at the ear, as one of their vulnerable -spots, I fired. The animal sank. I found that it was of no use to kill a -hippopotamus in the water, for they sink to the bottom. The whole herd -of hippopotami became much excited at the shot, snorted and plunged -under the water,—disappearing and reappearing,—and soon the animals were -seen scattered in every direction around us. They dived, and when they -rose some of them came dangerously near. I became fearful they would -upset our canoes, and that if they succeeded in doing so, they would -attack us, and their big crooked tusks were sure to make short work of -our poor bodies. Oshoria ordered that we should paddle as fast as we -could to get out of their way. One of the hippopotami swam under our -canoe, and rose about three yards from us. But we kept on our way -untouched, and a few miles further upstream we came to another herd of -these unwieldy creatures, sporting and snorting in the water, now -popping their huge unshapely heads out, then diving to the bottom. - -We passed this herd, and after paddling two or three miles further we -saw two cow hippopotami, with their little ones apparently resting on -their backs. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - MUDBANKS COVERED WITH CROCODILES—HOW THEY STALK THEIR PREY—AN - UNSUSPECTING BOAR SUDDENLY SWALLOWED UP—HABITS OF THE HUGE - CREATURES. - - -We continued on our way, and about two hours afterwards entered a small -creek, and then got into very tall and dense reeds, through which we had -great difficulty in advancing. Suddenly we emerged into a shallow lake, -and I saw a strange sight. - -I could hardly believe my own eyes. Hundreds of huge crocodiles, and -other hundreds of smaller ones were to be seen everywhere resting on the -muddy islands basking in the powerful rays of the sun. At first I -thought they were logs of dark wood stranded on the mud. In some places -the crocodiles were solitary,—in others, three or four, and sometimes -ten or twelve were together. I had never seen so many crocodiles before. - -Paddling cautiously, we kept gazing at the crocodiles. I did not wish to -fire a shot at them, for I did not want to disturb, but to watch them. -Oshoria, who was steering, said: “Oguizi, look there!” pointing at the -same time with his finger in the direction towards which he wanted to -draw my attention. Following his gesture, I saw a herd of yellow wild -boars standing near the shore. Watching them in the water was a large -crocodile. His big head was the only part of his body that could be -seen. After a while we noticed his head moving slowly towards the shore. -He left hardly a ripple behind him. Then the head became stationary once -more. - -The boars grunted as they advanced towards the water, headed by their -leader. Suddenly they stopped and gave peculiar grunts unlike those they -had first given. They were talking among themselves. Then all went on -the muddy bank. They were evidently having a grand time in the mud. - -Once more we saw the head of the crocodile moving and getting nearer and -nearer the boars. The boars appeared to feel uneasy. Suddenly the head -of the crocodile disappeared entirely under the water. The boars became -quieter, and continued to enjoy themselves. - -Oshoria said: “The crocodile is swimming under the water. It has done -this to fool the boars. Watch, Oguizi. Soon you will see the crocodile -again.” - -I watched intently and all at once I saw the crocodile’s head reappear -on the surface of the water. It was hardly perceptible, and quite near -the shore this time. Before I had time to think, I saw a huge crocodile -amidst the boars and seizing one of them in its powerful jaws. All the -rest gave a squeal of fear and fled. - -The teeth of the crocodile were fastened into the boar’s body and as -quickly as he had come the monster disappeared in the thick reeds which -were close by to devour his prey. The men, laughing, said: “How much -better lodged the meat of the boar would have been in our stomachs -instead of in that of the crocodile.” - -We left this spot and continued to paddle amid muddy black islands -covered with crocodiles. I said to my hunters: “We must not camp on the -shores of the lake, for we shall surely be attacked by crocodiles.” -Pointing to one that seemed to be eighteen or twenty feet long, I said: -“Look at his big jaws; he would make short work of one of you if you got -between them.” - -“He would!” they all shouted with one voice, “but we won’t give him a -chance.” - -“We will camp on the top of that high hill yonder,” said Oshoria, at the -same time pointing out the place to me, “for that is near the path that -will lead us to the elephants’ hunting-ground.” He had hardly uttered -these last words when we passed near a muddy bank just above the water, -upon which I counted nine big crocodiles; not one of them seemed less -than fifteen feet in length. They were perfectly motionless and looked -exactly as if they were dead. - -Oshoria said: “How quiet they are, Oguizi! They seem so harmless and so -sleepy, but they look round slyly with their cunning eyes. When hungry -they often hide among the reeds. Once I came here to hunt, and three of -my dogs were eaten by them. The dogs when thirsty come to the lake to -drink, and then are seized by the crocodiles.” - -“Oguizi,” said Ogoola, “when a crocodile knows a spot where animals come -to drink he remains quiet near by and watches constantly. When he sees -the game he dives away to make the beast unsuspicious, as we have seen -one do with the boars,—then quick as a bird of prey he pounces upon his -victim, seizes it in his powerful jaws and carries it to some retired -spot to devour it.” - -In the evening we camped on the top of the hill just by the path that -led to the elephant country. We lighted big fires, and after supper I -said: “To-morrow we will take to the lake and kill some of the big -crocodiles.” - -“You are our Oguizi; we will follow you everywhere,” they replied. - -As we were seated by the fire Oshoria said: “There was a time when there -were several villages on Crocodile Lake, for the land around is good for -cultivating and there is much game in the forest. There are yet two or -three villages left, which we cannot see from here. - -“Now, Oguizi, I am going to tell you a sad story. Years, years ago, -there lived in a village by Crocodile Lake a beautiful woman, the wife -of a great hunter. All the people loved them, for they were kind, and -when the man killed game he always used to divide the meat with other -people. He loved his wife dearly. One day as they were crossing the lake -a tornado overtook them and upset their canoe. Just as they were on the -point of reaching the shore, a crocodile that was in the weeds near by, -in the twinkling of an eye seized the man’s wife and disappeared, the -poor woman uttering a fearful shriek; then all became silent. - -“Oguizi,” he added, “a man who loved that woman had changed his shape -into that of a crocodile and carried her off. That man, who lived in the -same village, was never seen afterward.” - -“But,” I said, “Oshoria, that man was probably devoured by a leopard or -a crocodile.” - -“No,” Oshoria replied, “it was witchcraft.” - -[Illustration: “_We dragged the board with the crocodile upon it into -the water_”] - -After this story we went to sleep. The following morning we were once -more on the lake. The crocodiles were far more lively than the day -before. They disappeared constantly under the water and reappeared. -Oshoria was forward in my canoe, watching for crocodiles. We wanted to -kill one that we could haul easily. We paddled along until we saw one -that was in the right place, and then steered towards the big, ugly, sly -creature. - -When Ngola saw me take “Bulldog” he said, “Crocodile, your days are -numbered. ‘Bulldog’ will kill you, and you will eat no more wild boars, -antelopes, and gazelles. What a nice necklace your teeth will make!” - -We paddled in such a manner as to keep in the rear of the crocodile, for -I wanted to shoot him behind one of his forelegs. The beast was -apparently asleep. The men used their paddles so carefully that we could -hardly hear them going through the water. Coming into position, I aimed -behind the right shoulder and fired. Dear “Bulldog” did his work well. -The monster advanced about a yard towards the water, slamming his tail -to help him, but he died before he could reach it. - -“Let us try to get at the crocodile,” I said to Oshoria, to which he -replied: “We will try, but it will be difficult, for the mud is very -soft and dangerous.” - -“It is sure death,” they all shouted. - -“Then,” I answered, “we will not try to get the crocodile into our -canoe. Let us go back and get that old abandoned canoe we saw near the -shore on our way here, break it up into three boards, bring them with -us, lay them on the mud and walk upon them to where the beast lies; then -with the help of a rope we will haul him off.” The suggestion was -received with shouts of approval and we went for the old canoe to carry -out my suggestion. - -On our return we succeeded in putting the crocodile upon one of the -boards and then after a great deal of work we dragged the board with the -crocodile upon it into the water and towed our prize towards our camp. - -Near the landing I spied a very large crocodile on the shore. When we -came near enough, we all took aim and fired at the same time, and killed -the beast instantly. He hardly moved. It was an enormous one, over -twenty feet long. What powerful jaws, what tremendous, long round teeth! -We ate crocodile for supper. Before going to sleep, the men rubbed their -bodies with oil, for their skin was blistered by the sun, and they -seemed very comfortable afterwards. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - DIFFICULTY OF MAKING OUR WAY—FALLEN TREES AND DENSE THICKETS—OUR MEAT - GIVES OUT—LOOKING FOR KOOLA TREES—A MEAL OF THEIR NUTRITIOUS - NUTS—THEIR IMPORTANCE TO THE TRAVELLER IN THE FOREST. - - -Next morning we determined to leave Crocodile Lake and go at once to the -elephant country. - -We breakfasted on crocodile, to save our provisions. We hauled up our -canoes and hid them in the forest. Then we started. Once more we were in -the great forest; the foliage was so thick that no one could see the sun -or the sky. - -We could not walk fast enough to please me, for I wished to reach the -elephant hunting-ground. The path was difficult to follow, for it was so -little used. Our advance was impeded by fallen trees blocking the path. -The big ones had brought down with them many others. So we had sometimes -to go through acres of broken branches, losing the path. In many places -we had to creep under low branches with our bodies bent, looking more -like apes than human beings. We had to climb or go under fallen trees, -or jump from one root to another, these often being over a foot above -the ground,—or else we walked for hours in the bed of a stream. - -Fortunately I was in my teens, and weighed only a little over one -hundred pounds. I was then only five feet two inches tall. Had I been a -tall and heavy fellow I should have had an awfully hard time to creep -through the jungle. To-day I am but five feet four inches and a half in -height. - -We travelled the whole day in a northern direction towards a prairie -country. A little before sunset we built our camp. The fires were kept -blazing all night, for in the region were many leopards, besides snakes -crawling at night. We built fifteen fires in a circle, and slept in the -centre, the smoke driving the mosquitoes away. - -During the night the men on the watch were startled by a rustling in the -jungle. They awoke me at once—the noise was close to our camp. The men -thought some one was trying to approach our place and to surprise us. We -could not see far away, for the bright fires blinded us. An unseen enemy -in the dark could see us, while we could not discover him. The men went, -with their fingers on the triggers of their guns, to the place whence -they thought the noise proceeded. There was no one there. - -Another time our suspicions were aroused by a rustling of branches; this -one was far more pronounced than the first. We looked at each other, and -pointed our guns in the direction of the noise. Then the men gave a -terrific war-cry—and fired towards the suspected spot, and with a rush -made for it. There was no trace whatever of men having been there. - -“This noise must have been made by some huge snake,” said Ogoola. - -“Yes,” replied Quabi, “it must have been a huge python, or perhaps some -night animals.” - -We put more wood on the fires, then Oshoria and Ogoola relieved the -watch, and the rest of us went to sleep again. I had not been long -asleep when I suddenly jumped up—I thought I had heard a noise—but the -forest was still. I had been dreaming, I suppose. Oshoria and Ogoola -looked at me in astonishment and said: “Only a big leaf fell on the -ground, Oguizi.” - -The least noise awakened me in the forest. My sleep was as light as a -watch-dog’s. - -At dawn of day, after a breakfast of crocodile meat, we were again on -the march. Towards noon we rested a while to eat, after which we -continued our march, and looked for elephants; but no traces of them -could be seen. The day was sultry, and I became very thirsty, which was -seldom the case, for I had trained myself not to drink between meals. By -and by we came upon a little stream the water of which was as clear as -crystal. I plucked a big leaf, which I rolled up into a cornucopia, -filled with the cool water, and took a big drink. Rising, I saw what I -had not noticed before—a number of human footprints. My men were behind -and I waited for them. When they came in sight I bade them come towards -me. The fellows’ feet seemed to glide over the ground—I could not hear -their footsteps. I pointed out the footprints to them. Their looks -betrayed their feelings. They thought evidently that there were people -in the neighborhood. Oshoria said: “It is strange that we should see the -footprints of men here.” - -We continued our march until it was near sunset. Then Oshoria stopped -and said: “Let us stop here for the night, for the light in the forest -is getting less bright, and warns us that it will be dark soon.” - -The crocodile meat was getting somewhat tainted. We had got to the last -piece. Henceforth we should have to rely upon berries, nuts, and fruits. -After our meal the men filled their pipes and seated themselves by the -fire. “To-morrow,” said Oshoria, “we must be most careful. Our eyes must -look everywhere, and our ears must be listening. Sometimes men lie in -wait in the trees along the path, and you are only aware of their -presence when they throw a spear or a poisoned arrow, fire a gun at you, -or capture you; then it is too late to look out.” - -[Illustration: “_I pointed out the footprints to them_”] - -In the morning we started without breakfast. “Further on,” said Oshoria, -“we shall come to the koola trees. This is the time of the year when -they bear nuts. These are the best nuts found in the forest and we shall -have plenty of food. The koola nut satisfies a man’s hunger better than -any other berries or nuts. They taste so good. A man gets so much -strength after he has eaten them.” - -We were getting more and more hungry as the hours passed away, and had -to drink water to keep up our strength. At last Ogoola said: “We are -near the koola trees.” He was right. A little further on he pointed out -to me a grove of four magnificent koola trees. They towered above the -other trees round them, and as I was looking at them nut after nut fell. -These nuts were dark, quite round, and of the size of a walnut. - -The men immediately began to break them with stones. The shell is very -hard and thick. The kernel is as large as that of a cherry. My dear -hunters, even before they ate a single one, poured them upon my lap, and -said: - -“Oguizi, eat, eat; you are hungry.” - -“No,” said I, “we will eat together.” They broke the shells of a lot of -the nuts and afterwards we began to eat them. The kernel was whitish and -as condensed in substance as the almond. After I had eaten some thirty -of them I could not eat one more. We all laid ourselves flat on the -ground and took a nap, for we were exhausted from hunger. When we awoke -we could hear the nuts falling on the ground—sometimes one by one, -sometimes a lot together. This delighted our hearts, for no man could go -up the trees, they were so tall and their trunks were so big. - -That day we collected all the nuts that fell on the ground and made our -supper of them. After our meal we seated ourselves in the centre of our -fires; then the men filled their pipes. Ogoola, who had been the first -to see the koola trees, said: “Oguizi, if it were not for the koola -trees we hunters would often die of hunger in the forest. Aniembié [the -good spirit] made them grow for us. Men cannot subsist on berries and -fruits; not only are they not strengthening—though they prevent a man -from starving—but if you eat too much of them you are sure to be ill -with dysentery. We are never ill from eating koola nuts.” - -I found afterwards that thirty nuts were enough for one meal and would -keep a man vigorous from morning until evening. - -“The koola trees,” continued Ogoola, “are sometimes found like those in -this place, three or four together, but oftener they are single. They -are easily recognized, for they are among the big trees of the forest. -We generally make our paths pass by where they are, for it is hard to -carry food enough for a long journey,—the plantain gets ripe so soon and -the bunches are so heavy, and the igouma is also very heavy. During the -season of the koola nuts, we carry very little food with us. Our -greatest enemies at that time are the boars, for they like the nuts as -well as we do, and feed much upon them. Then they become very fat -however, and are delicious to eat. The gorillas and other ‘men of the -woods’ are also very fond of koola nuts.” - -Then the men added a lot of wood to the fires and we went to sleep. -Nothing happened during the night to disturb us, and the next morning we -collected the nuts that had fallen during the night, cracked them, and -started again for the elephant hunting-ground. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - LOST IN THE FOREST—A HERD OF ELEPHANTS LURES ME ON—SEPARATED FROM MY - HUNTERS—TWO NIGHTS ON THE GROUND AND ONE IN A TREE—FOUND AT - LAST—JOY OF THE MEN. - - -We had not left our encampment two hours when we fell in with a great -number of elephant tracks. These seemed to show that the elephants had -been there during the night. Further on the tracks became so numerous -that we thought several herds must have followed each other, for the -jungle was trodden down in every direction. We held a council. The men -said that the elephants were not very far away, and agreed to leave the -path and hunt the huge beasts, meeting in the evening in the spot where -we then stood. We made marks on the trees, and cut a number of boughs -and broke others, in order that we might recognize the place. - -Oshoria and I were to hunt together. Quabi, Ogoola, and Ngola made up -the other party. We left the path and got into thick forest. I had never -seen so many elephant tracks before. There must have been at least one -hundred elephants together. - -After two hours’ walk, we heard the tramping of the elephants ahead of -us. They were breaking the branches of trees and feeding upon the -leaves. Soon after we heard them trumpeting. I looked at “Bulldog,” -Oshoria looked at his gun also, and we marched carefully in the -direction of the elephants. I got a glimpse of several, and went towards -them. Just as I was on the point of taking aim, the elephants fled, -breaking and treading down the saplings that were in their way. I -followed the track they had left behind them, in the hope of seeing them -again. Ere long I spied a bull elephant, and seven cows. These fled -also. I chased them but was not able to overtake them. - -Without my being aware of it, time had passed more quickly than I -thought. It was getting late, and I retraced my steps towards the place -where we had agreed to meet. I had lost sight of Oshoria. After a while -I found I did not recognize some of the trees I had especially noticed, -and did not see the marks we had made when following the elephants. I -began to suspect that I was walking in a wrong direction. I had not met -two ebony trees which had particularly attracted my attention on account -of their size. Surely I had gone the wrong way. I shouted after Oshoria, -but received no answer back. - -Finally I came to a path which I thought was the one upon which we had -agreed to meet, but I could not tell whether I was beyond or lower down -than our place of meeting. I walked on for a while to see if I could -recognize some of the trees, but I could not. - -I seated myself on the trunk of a tree that had fallen across the path -and waited for Oshoria and the other men. I had hardly seated myself -when the bloody head of a monkey with its eyes plucked out fell within a -yard in front of me, and I knew that a guanionien, the largest eagle of -the forest, was devouring his prey, perched on a giant tree, though the -foliage was so thick that I could not see the bird, called by the -natives the leopard of the air. Then I tried to call to mind how it had -happened that I had lost Oshoria, and I remembered that we had not -before seen the fallen tree upon which I was seated. This made me -believe that I was further on. I waited but Oshoria did not come. Then I -thought that perhaps he was waiting for me still further ahead, and -decided to go on myself. I broke a few branches on each side of the path -and made marks on the bark of the trees with my hunting knife. I put a -big handful of leaves on the tree upon which I had been seated, and I -laid parallel with the path three sticks, with sharp points at one end, -indicating the direction I was to take. Thus Oshoria would be sure to -know where I had gone when he passed the place. - -I walked slowly. Time passed; but no Oshoria came, and night was near. -To add to my difficulties, I came to a place where the path forked into -three distinct branches. I determined to go no further that day, but to -camp for the night at the junction of these paths. - -I shouted with all my might after Oshoria and the rest of my hunters, -but only the echo of my voice came back. I fired a gun, but the same -silence continued. - -Fortunately I had some koola nuts with me, but before eating them, as it -was getting late, I collected a lot of dead branches, of which the -forest is full, and made four separate piles of wood for fires,—when lo! -I remembered that Oshoria had my steel and flint. I had lent them to him -to light his pipe before we started in the morning, and he had forgotten -to return them to me; and I had left my matches at Regundo’s. - -I took two pieces of very dry wood, a large and a small one, and after -rubbing them rapidly and vigorously together I succeeded in getting a -little fire, to which I added some dried fungus, and soon my four fires -were in full blaze. I slept surrounded by them. During the night a dead -branch fell with a great crash and awoke me. I put more wood on the -fires to keep away the wild beasts, and went to sleep again. - -When I awoke in the morning I thought of Oshoria and of my hunters and -said to myself: “Surely we shall find one another to-day.” - -Taking from my bag twenty koola nuts, I ate them for breakfast; I -counted the others, and found that I had enough for a day and a half, -that is, for three meals. - -When I was ready to start, I chose the centre path out of the three -branching ones, cut tree-limbs on each side, then again sharpened three -sticks at one end and laid them parallel with the path, the sharp end -designed to show the direction I had taken. I shouted now and then with -the whole strength of my lungs, “Oshoria, Oshoria,” but the forest -remained silent. Then I gave the peculiar native cry of “Whoo, whoo, -whoo—a,” which reaches very far, but no answer came back. I fired -“Bulldog,” but only its echo returned to me. - -I kept on walking slowly, and towards noon I took a meal of koola nuts, -but ate only ten of them. While I was eating, “Bulldog” lay at my side. -I looked at the dear old rifle, and said to it: “‘Bulldog,’ you are the -only friend I have now: I think a great deal of you, and I love you. Do -not fail me in time of danger or hunger.” - -Then, taking the precious rifle on my shoulders, I continued my way. -After a while, I heard a rustling in the jungle, and looking in that -direction, a strange sight met my eyes. I saw a bald-headed ape, the -nshiego mbouvé, with a baby. The mother had a very black face, while the -face of the baby was so white that the little fellow looked quite human. -The mother was seated on the ground eating some fruit and giving some to -the little nshiego mbouvé, that was looking in her face, seated between -her legs. I hid behind a tree and watched the two. - -Then the little fellow lay on his back and his mother cleaned his skin -with her nails, taking off dandruff, or killing little insects. Once or -twice the baby nshiego mbouvé said, “Woe, woe,” and afterwards clung to -his mother’s breast. Then he climbed to her shoulders, the mother -uttering low, guttural sounds of happiness or contentment. - -How human they both looked! The little fellow’s face was so pale that -one might have thought he had just recovered from a long illness. But it -was his natural color. Suddenly the big nshiego mbouvé gave a shrill, -piercing cry and with her baby holding on to her ran away into the thick -of the forest. She had evidently seen me. - -I continued my way. I do not know why, but the forest seemed to me more -silent than before. I began to feel very anxious at the non-appearance -of Oshoria and my hunters. “Paul,” I said, “are you going to be lost in -this great forest, and die of starvation or illness? Your ammunition -cannot last forever, and the fever may come at any time and you may be -so feeble afterwards that you cannot help yourself. Then it will be all -over with you.” - -The day went by. The path still led on—and no answer had come to my -cries of “Whoe—whoe—whoe—a.” The dim light of the forest told me that -the day was coming to its close and that it was about time to make my -camp. I stopped beside a little stream of clear water. I thought of -Oshoria, of Ngola, Quabi, and Ogoola. I wondered if they also were lost -and making their camp, and whether they were separated or together. I -looked for two pieces of dry wood, and lighted four fires, as the day -before, in the midst of which I lay down. I was very tired, for -“Bulldog” was very heavy. I was soon lulled to sleep by the murmur of -the little rivulet winding its way to some bigger one. I dreamt of home, -of friends, of corn-bread, of turkey, of roast beef. When I awoke it was -broad daylight—and only the embers of the fires remained. It was -fortunate that no leopards had been round during the night, this unusual -sleep had done me good. - -I ate the last of my koola nuts, and before starting for the day I made -the same kind of marks I had made each morning, so that my men could -know the direction I had taken. I hoped I should find some koola trees, -for I was hungry. I had not left the camp ten minutes before I came to -two koola trees under which the path passed. There were but few nuts on -the ground, as the wild boars had been there but a short time before, -judging from the freshness of their tracks. - -I collected what nuts there were. I was sure not to starve on that day. -“Providence,” I exclaimed, “thou art kind to me. Thou hast always been -kind to me.” - -After a hearty meal of nuts I continued on my way. The path seemed -endless and was very crooked. Many a time I shouted “Oshoria, Ogoola, -Ngola, Quabi,” but got no answer. Taking courage, I said: “This path -must come to an end or reach some inhabited place.” I only fired -“Bulldog” once that day, for I had become chary of my ammunition. Again -the day passed without sight of any of my hunters. The country I -traversed was in many places very marshy, which made me believe that a -river was not far off. Before dark I built my camp. I then tried to make -a fire with two pieces of wood. I rubbed them against each other; the -little piece dug quite a hole in the big one, but no smoke came; either -it was not the right sort of wood, or it was too damp. I took some other -wood but succeeded no better. Night was fast coming on. Then I said to -myself: “I cannot sleep on the ground in the dark, for if a leopard -passes by he is sure to spring on me and devour me. Even if I climb a -tree and rest in the midst of its branches, he is sure to climb also if -he scents me.” The leopards are great tree-climbers. The only way for me -was to ascend a tall and very slim tree that no leopard could climb on -account of the small size of its trunk. Looking ahead in the path I saw -three very slender trees close together. Their branches intertwined with -each other, after a certain height. I saw that from the first tree I -could reach the second by creeping on one of its branches, and would be -able to reach the third tree, that was the highest, in the same manner. -I spied a branch about thirty feet from the ground, upon which I could -rest for the night. There the prowling leopards could not reach me. I -cut a slender creeper for a strap with which to fasten “Bulldog” on my -back when I ascended the trees; then unloaded the dear rifle, to guard -against accident. I climbed the first tree, took hold of one of its -branches and lifted myself up; but not without great trouble, for -“Bulldog” was much in the way. I succeeded, however, in reaching the -second tree; I was then about fifteen feet above the ground. To reach -the third tree from the second one was a very hazardous undertaking, and -I ran great risk of tumbling down and breaking my neck, for the branch -that was to help me to cross over was very slender; and I had some doubt -if it would carry me safely. At first I thought I would drop “Bulldog” -down, but I said upon reflection, “Paul, whatever you do, do not let -your rifle be separated from you; an elephant might come and get hold of -it with his trunk and break it; some leopard or other wild beast might -beset you.” - -With some hesitation I crept upon the transverse limb—but finally -succeeded in reaching the third tree. Then I took a long breath and -rested a while, after which I ascended still higher until I reached a -height of about thirty feet, where I found a branch upon which I could -rest for the night. There the prowling leopard could not reach me. A -slender liane hung from a tree above my head, looking exactly like a -snake, and I cut off about eight feet of it, and using it as a rope, -made it fast round my waist and the trunk of the tree, so that, in case -I fell asleep, I should not fall to the ground. I should have to remain -on the tree eleven hours, for daylight would not come before that time. -Soon darkness set in. - -In the silence of the night I could hear the slightest noise. Two or -three times I thought I heard little night animals walking on the dead -leaves in search of prey, but I could not see two feet ahead of me, it -was so dark. Once I thought I saw through the darkness the shining eyes -of a leopard. I thought he was looking at me. The cold perspiration -dropped from my forehead at the idea, but I was mistaken. The eyes were -two big fireflies. - -[Illustration: “_With some hesitation I crept upon the transverse -limb_”] - -Time seemed so long I thought the night would never come to an end. At -last I heard the cackling of the guinea fowl, the forerunner of morning, -and dawn came at last! I came down the same way I had ascended. After -reaching the ground I stretched my legs, for they were very stiff, then -ate some koola nuts. I did not like them any more; I had “gouamba,” or -hunger for meat. I shouted with all my might, “Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, -Quabi.” No answer. Then I fired “Bulldog,” and lo! in less than two -minutes I heard what I thought to be the detonation of a gun, far, far -off. It was certainly not the echo of “Bulldog.” A thrill of joy ran -through me. It was an answer from one of my hunters. But I did not dare -to trust my ears. Perhaps I was mistaken. To make sure, I loaded two -cartridges with twice the usual amount of powder, and then fired. The -charge was so heavy that it almost threw me over. Soon after I heard two -guns. There was no mistake this time. These were answers to mine. - -I followed the path in the direction where I thought the sound came -from. After a while I fired another shot; then I heard another in -answer. This time it was much nearer. Forward I went, and after a little -while I fired again. The firing of another gun responded to mine, and -this time the detonation was quite near. I shouted, “Oshoria, Ogoola, -Ngola, Quabi,” and heard the shouts of “Oguizi, Oguizi,” in answer. A -short time after I saw in the path Oshoria, Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola. -They were all there. In the twinkling of an eye we were in each other’s -embrace, after which the men shouted: “We are men! we are men!” Then -Oshoria seated himself on the ground, took his idol from his bag, -muttered words I could not understand, and said, “Oguizi, the idol told -me this morning that we should meet you to-day.” - -Soon after a big blazing fire was burning, and a great quantity of wood -was piled upon it, and when it was reduced to charcoal, three men put -some large pieces of boar upon the embers. They had killed the animal -while searching for me. The smell of the roasted boar was delicious to -me, for I had “gouamba” badly. - -Oshoria was the salt carrier. Salt was very precious to us, and it made -the boar’s meat taste so good. After our meal I recounted to them how I -had lost Oshoria, and what had happened to me. - -Then came the turn of Oshoria, who said: “The elephants are the cause of -the Oguizi and me becoming separated. I followed that day the track -which I thought the Oguizi had taken, but it was the wrong one. The -second day I saw in one place the marks of the Oguizi’s shoes, but when -the ground became hard I lost them. The second day in the morning I came -to the place where we had agreed to meet. There I found Ngola, Ogoola, -and Quabi waiting for us. They asked me: ‘Where is the Oguizi?’ I -replied: ‘He is gone, he has disappeared.’ We followed the path, and saw -the marks you had left to guide us. How glad we were this morning when -we heard ‘Bulldog’ talk. Then our guns talked to ‘Bulldog.’ Our hearts -were filled with joy, for we thought we should never see the Oguizi any -more.” - -Then they all cried: “Here we are once more with the good Oguizi!” - -Oshoria said: “Oguizi, we thought you had changed shape, and left us. -Then we said: ‘The good Oguizi would not leave us without saying -good-by, for he told us that he loved us.’” - -“You are right, my hunters,” I replied, “the Oguizi would not go away -without saying good-by to you, for you are his friends, and he loves -you.” - -At my words they came forward closer to me and all looked in my face, -with great wonder. I wished I could know what their thoughts were. - -“Oguizi,” said Oshoria, “though I have hunted many dry and rainy seasons -in the forest, I have never seen so many elephant tracks before. The -animals must have been driven here by being too much hunted further -inland, or by the bashikouay ants. To-morrow the path will end in a -beautiful prairie, and there we shall meet, I think, many elephants.” - -We were so tired that we determined to remain where we were for the rest -of the day, as there was a clear rivulet of water close by. We had some -boar’s meat for supper, and after our meal, my hunters lay flat on their -backs upon the ground, and held the soles of their feet within a few -inches of the fire. The sole of the foot often becomes very sore from -walking upon pebbles, or upon the roots of trees, and that was the way -the natives cured the soreness of their feet. Before we knew it we were -all fast asleep. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - THE ELEPHANT HUNTING-GROUND—THE BEAUTIFUL PRAIRIE SKIRTING THE - FOREST—THE WELCOME SKY AND SUN AND STARS AFTER THE FOREST - GLOOM—HUNTING ELEPHANTS BY MOONLIGHT—THREE LARGE HERDS—NARROW - ESCAPE OF OSHORIA AND MYSELF—DEATH OF THE HUGE TUSKER. - - -We took up our march again at dawn, walking at a very quick pace, for we -were all anxious to reach the prairie. After travelling about eight -miles I noticed that the light in the forest was getting brighter. This -was the sure indication that we were coming to an open space. A moment -after, we came out on a lovely prairie, which, after the dark forest, -looked the more beautiful. It was so pleasant to see again the blue sky, -the white floating clouds, and the sun, to feel the wind blowing in our -faces,—for the forest is all the time as quiet as if wind did not exist. -“To-night,” I thought, “how happy I shall be, for I shall see the stars -and the moon.” - -The waving grass looked very lovely to me, for I was tired of seeing -nothing but trees day after day, month after month, and the world had -never appeared more beautiful than it did that morning. Perhaps also it -was because I had found my friends again. - -I stood still for a while, gazing at the sky, and said: “Sunshine makes -the heart of man happy. I do not wonder that in ancient times men -worshipped the sun, for it is the source of all life upon earth. Without -sun no vegetation or life would exist.” - -Along the borders of the forest were groups of plantain trees, some -standing not far from us. - -“The elephants are, as we know, in the neighborhood,” said Oshoria. -“They will surely come here to eat the young leaves of the plantain -trees and their fruit. We could not be here at a better time, for the -moon is on the wane and we shall be able to see the elephants well and -at the same time the moon will not be too bright. Let us build our camp -on the border of the forest.” - -To this we all agreed, and the rest of the day we were busy collecting -material for our camp. Afterwards we cleaned our guns, and swore that we -would not return to the plantation before killing an elephant or two. -That night we slept soundly, for we needed rest. In the morning I left -my men in the camp, as I loved to hunt alone. I walked along the border -of the forest, thus having all the way a good sight of the prairie, -while at the same time I was hidden by the trees. - -I had walked hardly two hours before I thought I heard the booming tramp -of elephants. I lay down upon the ground, my right ear to the earth in -order to make sure that I was not mistaken. I heard nothing, however, -and thought I must have been mistaken. But, continuing my way, I -suddenly heard a great racket in the forest. Elephants were breaking -branches of trees. I looked at “Bulldog”; it was all right. I advanced -cautiously in the direction of the noise, and soon saw under the trees -bordering the prairie five elephants,—a bull and four cows. I crawled -towards them like a snake. I drew nearer and nearer. Now and then I -would raise my head above the grass to get a look at the elephants. The -bull was a huge creature and seemed to be over ten feet in height,—the -cows from nine to nine feet and a half. Finally I hid behind a tree, for -I wanted to watch the noble animals at my ease. I noticed the big tusks -of the bull and thought of his charging a man and impaling him upon -them. - -The animals were feeding upon the fruit growing upon a cluster of trees. -One was shaking a tree with its trunk entwined round the slender stem. -Another was butting its head against a tree, and after a lot of the -fruit had fallen they picked it up, uttering occasionally a gentle -trumpeting of contentment. - -I was so intensely interested in watching them, that I forgot that I had -“Bulldog” with me. All at once the bull trumpeted loudly and they all -fled, plunging headlong into the forest. I immediately returned to the -camp and told of the news. We held a council, and it was agreed that we -should set out on an elephant hunt that night. - -We took a survey of the surrounding country and saw that the forest -advanced here and there into the prairie just as the land does into the -sea, and formed in a number of places what might be called capes. These -capes were splendid places from which to watch for elephants. We waited -impatiently for the night and lighted no fire that day. We agreed to -divide into two parties, Oshoria and I going to the nearest cape on our -right, which was near a fine field of plantain trees. Ogoola, Quabi, and -Ngola were to go to another cape on our left, from which they could also -have a good view of the surrounding country. They could see far towards -the north, we towards the south. - -When evening came we bade each other good-night and started for our -respective places. When I looked back I saw the dark forms of Ogoola, -Quabi, and Ngola moving away from us. We reached our place and hid under -a tall tree, the branches of which extended over the grass. We were at -the extreme end of the point, near a big field of plantain trees, a -great many of these bearing fruit not yet full grown. The stars were -shining brightly in the blue sky and multitudes of fireflies were moving -above the grass, almost illuminating the prairie. - -By the brighter light above the trees we knew that the moon had risen. -After a while it appeared just above the forest, and gradually rose -higher and higher and shed its tempered light over the country. - -Soon life began to show itself—I saw a few antelopes emerging from the -forest. They were fine animals, with long spiral horns, but we let them -alone, for we were after larger game. On the other side of the prairie -we saw a large herd of buffaloes—I counted thirty-seven of them. Their -bulls are very dangerous animals; they charge furiously, and only a very -powerful gun can be effective with a shot in front, on account of the -formation of their horns. I always took very careful aim when shooting -them—they were among the animals I dreaded most. They hide during the -day in the forest, and come out at night. But we left the buffaloes also -alone. - -How impressive was the night on the prairie. We could hear once in a -while the cry of the owl, and see flying squirrels above our heads. The -sky and the dear twinkling stars were looking down upon us. - -The time seemed very long, as it always does when one is kept waiting. -Three hours passed away. No elephants had come in sight. I scanned the -prairie carefully as far as my eye could reach. Suddenly my attention -was drawn, in the far distance, towards a big black spot in the grass -which I took to be a cluster of shrubs, but wondered that I had not -noticed it before. I watched the black spot, for I was not sure that it -was formed by young trees. Soon I saw it moving slowly and advancing -towards our side of the prairie. I thought they were elephants, but they -might also have been hippopotami, for there might have been a river in -the neighborhood. The animals were so far away I could not distinguish -them. - -I looked for Oshoria, but he was not in sight. Where had he gone? - -[Illustration: _“I distinguished a huge bull which was leading them”_] - -The black mass kept moving slowly, and I watched it intently. After a -while, I made out certainly that it was a herd of elephants. Later I -distinguished a huge bull which was leading them. I counted twenty-three -elephants. Looking again for Oshoria, I saw him standing close to me, -also watching the elephants. He made a sign for me to follow him, which -I did. Then he pointed out to me a big, moving black mass. It was -another herd, but much larger than the one I had discovered. They were -walking slowly in the direction of Quabi, Ngola, and Ogoola. I could see -the herd sidewise. The elephants were led by a huge bull, which looked -larger than any of the others. I made out forty-three elephants. As they -stood still, their bodies slowly rocked and swayed to and fro. Once in a -while their big ears pricked up. Their trunks were in motion, curling -and uncurling themselves. Their tails with the long, coarse, black hair -beat their flanks. Now and then the cows squealed, and their squeals -were followed by the violent trumpeting of the bulls, which sounded -strange in the midst of the silence of the night. - -Suddenly the herd stopped, and the bull uttered a piercing trumpeting. -Did he scent danger? Was he aware of our presence? What was the cause of -the sudden halt? These were questions I asked myself. After a while I -heard another trumpeting, unlike the first one we heard. Then a general -trumpeting of all the herd filled the prairie with its sound. This was -responded to by a loud, angry trumpeting from the bull of the other -herd. Were these two bulls to fight for the mastery of the two herds? A -fight between two such monsters would be fine to look at. “If the bulls -fight,” I whispered very low to Oshoria, “we must look on and not fire -at them.” - -I had hardly uttered these words when a big cloud hid the moon, and the -herd of elephants could not be seen. When the cloud had passed over, we -saw the elephants moving slowly. - -Just then I was startled by a great crash of trees in our rear. -Elephants were in the forest and were going out on to the prairie. The -noise they made as they tramped in the jungle came nearer and nearer; -the huge creatures were evidently coming our way. Oshoria came close to -me and took me to a very large tree, so as to be protected by its size, -which would prevent us from being trampled upon by the elephants. -Suddenly the elephants stopped, the bull uttered a sharp and shrill -trumpeting. The bulls of the two other herds answered also with -trumpetings of defiance. There was to be a great battle. For one reason -or another the elephants in the forest changed their course and entered -the prairie on our right. I counted seventeen of them; they were walking -in single file, led by the bull, which after a while stopped; the herd -then came together into a group. The bull uttered another loud -trumpeting, which was answered by the trumpeting of the other two bulls. -Not a buffalo was in sight; at the appearance of the elephants they had -moved away. - -It was a fine sight to see these three herds walking slowly in the -prairie, with the dim light of the moon shining upon them. They were the -very emblem of strength among the animals of the earth. The herd that -had been in our rear was the first to enter a plantain field. Soon after -we heard them breaking the plantain trees, while the animals now and -then gave forth low trumpetings of satisfaction. - -We left our hiding-place and crept towards the plantain trees. Oshoria -looked at his guns,—I looked at mine. The cartridges were in place. Soon -we were in the midst of the scattered elephants. I had hardly seen them -when I thought I heard the trampling of one of the two other herds -coming in our direction. If that was the case, we should be in great -danger, for we should find ourselves between the two herds. If they met, -it was probable that the two bulls would fight. “Who knows,” I said to -myself, “perhaps the third herd is coming here also. Then there may -ensue a grand battle among the bulls for the mastery of the herds,—and -the cow elephants may run in every direction.” - -There was no time to be lost, if we did not wish to have elephants all -around us; either we must kill one of those in sight, or fire a gun to -scare them. In either case there was danger. - -I noticed that the bull and cow elephants were restless,—they evidently -thought the two other herds were coming towards them. - -Oshoria, who was within a few feet from me, was in a better position to -shoot, for I had a number of plantain trees in my way. I could not get a -good aim. - -The gun of Oshoria rose slowly,—then I saw a flash and heard a terrific -detonation, and, to my consternation, the bull charged in my direction. -He had had a glimpse of me. He was coming at full speed, while the crash -made by the frightened and fleeing elephants added to the confusion. - -In the twinkling of an eye I took three steps backward, and was -protected by the burned trunk of a tree. I was just in time. The -infuriated animal passed close by me. As he did so, I fired behind his -right shoulder, but he did not fall, and went on into the forest -followed by the cow elephants. I was sure “Bulldog” had hit the huge -beast, and Oshoria was much surprised that the elephant had not fallen -dead. He eyed “Bulldog,” as if to say: “I do not understand why you did -not kill the elephant outright.” - -In the meantime, the detonation of our guns had scared the two other -herds; we heard them tearing down everything in the forest that opposed -their flight. This was a narrow escape of mine; but for the tree I -should have been trampled upon or impaled,—so quick was the charging of -the bull. Then the advice of Regundo came into my mind, that a hunter -should never lose his head before sudden danger. I was covered with -perspiration, and my heart beat quickly from the excitement. - -We returned to the camp, and Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi came back at dawn, -reporting that they had been watching the two herds of elephants, and -fully expected to kill one, but the firing of our guns had blighted -their hopes. - -After breakfast, Oshoria and I went in search of the bull we had shot, -for we were sure he was wounded. We came to the track the elephant had -left behind him, and after a short time, not five hundred yards from the -place where we had shot him, Oshoria gave a cluck to draw my attention, -and pointed ahead. I looked and saw a huge bull elephant lying on the -ground upon his stomach, with his head downward, but facing us. Our -coming seemed to rouse him. He raised his head and looked at us. He -evidently recognized in us his enemies of the night, who had inflicted -his deadly wound,—and before we had even time to think, and while I was -pitying the poor beast, he rose and charged us at furious speed. We had -just time to get out of his way. He dashed past us and fell down, -exhausted by his efforts. He wanted revenge before dying. Oshoria fired -at the elephant and shouted to me to fire, for he was not sure that he -would not rise again. The magnificent beast was dead when we came near. -He was over ten feet in height, and had very large tusks. We found that -he had been wounded. His charge had been so unexpected that I wondered -that one of us had not been killed. This was the narrowest escape I ever -had with elephants. - -I looked at the huge bull. His thick hide was covered with scars,—most -of them healed, but two or three new. All bore witness to the numerous -fights he had had with other bulls for the mastery of the herd. He had -had to assert his supremacy by constant fighting, and had he not been -killed by us, the day was sure to come, as he grew old, when he would at -last find a bull stronger than he was. - -At the sound of our guns Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi left their camp and -soon came up. Oshoria and I were seated on the huge beast when they -appeared. Oshoria shouted to them: “We are men! We are men!” and they -responded: “You are men! You are men indeed!” - -Quabi went after an axe and the big hunting-knives. The first thing we -did on his return was to take off the fine tusks from the elephant’s -head. It was hard work, for they were embedded in the skull for nearly -three feet. One tusk weighed ninety-seven, the other ninety-one pounds. -The tusks are never of the same weight. Then we brought a great deal of -the meat to the camp, for we had nothing to eat, and the men took two -large pieces into the forest for Mombo and Olombo. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - THE KILLING OF A SECOND ELEPHANT—HOW BULL ELEPHANTS FIGHT—THE CONTEST - FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE HERD—OSHORIA’S GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF A - BATTLE ROYAL WITNESSED BY HIM—RETURN TO THE PLANTATION. - - -Quabi and Ngola went to reconnoitre during the day, and came back with -the news that further down the prairie there was a little lake, the -shores of which were entirely covered with elephants’ tracks, and that -the forest near there showed that elephants had been in that region -during the night. - -We all went to sleep, so that we might be in good trim for the coming -night. When we awoke, the sun had disappeared in the west behind the -trees of the forest. We cut some of the meat of the bull elephant we had -killed into thin slices, and roasted these on charcoal. The meat was -very tough, but fortunately I had good teeth and a splendid digestion. - -The eating of coarse food is very healthful and helped me to lay in a -good store of health for future years; and to this day I have never -suffered from a single attack of dyspepsia. During my explorations, I -only drank the delicious water of the springs, or crystal-like rivulets -of the forest. - -After our supper we left for the little lake of which Quabi and Ngola -had told us. Night overtook us on our way. We skirted the border of the -forest, so as to be in the shadow of the trees and so as not to be -discovered by elephants or other animals. The grass was not more than a -foot and a half in height, and it was pleasant to walk freely without -meeting fallen trees, or stepping upon roots, and without bending over, -jumping, or climbing, and it was pleasant, too, to have for companions -the lovely stars twinkling above our heads. - -After walking about six miles we came in sight of a little lake nestled -in the midst of undulating hills. We concluded not to remain by the -lake, but to hide under the trees near by. There we waited for the -rising of the moon with the expectation of seeing elephants again. -Towards eleven o’clock the moon rose, and as it was on the wane it was -not as light as the preceding night. - -We waited and waited, but no elephants came, and it got to be nearly -four o’clock. We were on the point of giving up the hope of seeing any -when we discerned the black form of one walking toward the lake. We -looked all round to discover if there were any herd in sight, but there -was none. The one before us was evidently a bull that had been driven -away from a herd by a stronger bull and was wandering solitary. Then I -said: “Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola, upon you will devolve the task of -killing this elephant, as Oshoria and I have killed one. Prove that you -are great hunters.” - -Oshoria, with an imploring look said to me: “May I not go also?” - -“No,” I replied. “Three men even are too many, for the grass is so -short; besides, we must give them a chance to say, on their return, that -they killed an elephant when they were hunting with the Oguizi. We will -watch them.” - -“You are right, Oguizi,” replied Oshoria. - -I was always right with these dear fellows. - -The three hunters started. They bent over so low that their heads and -shoulders only appeared above the grass; they were going directly -towards the lone elephant. At times they would lie flat on the ground -and disappear entirely from sight, then reappear again. The wind was in -their favor, for it blew from the elephant towards them, so the huge -beast could not scent danger. Fortunately also, they and he were going -in the same direction, towards the lake. I whispered to Oshoria: “I am -glad that the men will be in such a position that when they shoot the -elephant, he will not be able to see them and charge.” - -For before saying this it had suddenly come across my mind that the -elephant might suddenly turn and follow them and that it would have -perhaps been better if we had shared the danger with them, for nothing -can be more dangerous than to face an elephant in an open space, and -give him a straight shot. It requires then a very cool head, and a very -quick eye to move just in time to avoid the charge of the huge creature. - -The three men approached nearer and nearer, for the elephant had stopped -several times, evidently to find out if there were any cows near that -loved him better than the bull that had driven him away from the herd. -At last the men came within gunshot. The elephant stood still, looking -at the water of the lake. He was evidently thinking of taking a bath. -Two of the hunters were on his left side, the other on his right. We -watched them with breathless attention. All at once we saw them stand -up,—then three flashes, followed by the detonations of their guns. Then -we saw the huge beast falter and fall. We ran towards our three friends -as fast as our legs could carry us, and when we came near them the three -were seated on the body of the elephant. They shouted to us: “We are -men! We are men!” And we shouted back to them: “You are men! You are -men!” Then we all shouted together: “We are men!” - -The elephant was a bull, but not so large as the one killed the night -before. We had our axes with us and after some hard blows succeeded in -getting out the two small tusks. We took no meat with us, for we had all -we wanted. When we returned to our camp it was broad daylight, and we -turned in and slept almost the whole day. - -That evening, as we were seated silently round a huge fire, Oshoria -suddenly said: “Oguizi, it is a great sight to see two bull elephants -fight together for the mastery of the herd. The solitary one has -generally been driven away from another herd by a stronger bull, and -wanders in the forest all alone until he sees another herd; then he -tries his luck again with the ruling bull. Twice in my life I have seen -such a fight.” - -“Tell me all about it,” I said. - -“I will,” he replied, and after a pause he began: “One evening at dusk, -not far from where we stand, I saw a big herd of elephants emerging from -the forest. They walked slowly and silently in the middle of the prairie -on their way towards the lake. They stopped twice, squealed and -trumpeted, and then continued their march. Suddenly the bull stopped -again, and the cow elephants came near him. - -“At the same time I saw emerging from the forest on the opposite side a -huge bull elephant. He was alone, and no herd followed him. The bull -which had a herd trumpeted fiercely, as they do when they are angry and -want to fight. The solitary bull answered in the same way, signifying -that he also was ready to fight. The cows gave forth piercing squeals, -and remained by themselves. - -“Then the two bulls ran towards each other. It was fine to see them. The -solitary bull had evidently not forgotten his previous ignominious -defeat, and wanted to avenge himself, hoping to be the victor this time -and have a herd of his own. They squealed and trumpeted in the fiercest -manner as they approached each other. I could see that the cow elephants -were very uneasy, for they rocked and swayed quickly to and fro, their -trunks also waving rapidly. - -“As the two bulls neared each other their speed increased. Then I heard -a thumping, booming sound, like two big trees knocking against each -other. Their heads had met with terrific force. For a while they pushed -each other, neither of them moving backward or forward, but at last the -solitary bull retreated slowly, facing his enemy. He proved the weaker. -The victorious elephant stood his ground looking at his enemy, who -halted after a while, and stood still. They looked at each other -steadily, then each uttered a long trumpeting of defiance. - -“The cows remained at the same place all the time, waiting for the -victor to come to them. Then the two bull elephants charged again. The -leader of the herd by a clever movement succeeded in grazing the body of -his antagonist, inflicting a fearful gash with his right tusk all along -his side. The great object of the bull elephant in fighting is to -exhaust his rival and pierce his side with his tusks. Elephants when -they charge cannot stop suddenly and turn back, the momentum occasioned -by their weight being too great to allow them to do so. - -“Once more the two bulls looked at each other. The wounded elephant did -not want to give up the fight before another trial of strength. He felt -that this was his last chance. They came towards each other at a furious -rate. The two heads met with tremendous force, and a sound like the -sudden rolling of thunder far away in the forest. A man caught between -those two heads would have been mashed as flat as the hide of an -antelope. The solitary bull was stunned by the blow. He staggered an -instant, and it was all over with him. He had not the strength to flee -for his life, and at that moment the other charged him on the flank. The -two enormous tusks went through his side, and he fell dead. The tusks -had penetrated nearly three feet into the body. The victor returned to -his herd, which received him with loud trumpetings of joy. - -[Illustration: “_The two enormous tusks went through his side_”] - -“Often,” concluded Oshoria, “one finds big tusks of ivory in the forest. -These come from elephants killed in like manner. Some also come from -elephants who have died of old age or of their wounds some time -subsequent to such a fight as this one.” - -We remained three more days on the prairie; but no more elephants were -to be seen. They had all evidently left that part of the country. So we -determined to return to the plantation, with our four tusks. When we -came to Crocodile Lake we found our canoes; we were glad to continue our -journey by water, for not only had we the tusks to carry, but also -plenty of smoked elephant meat. - -When we reached King Regundo’s plantation we were received with great -demonstrations of joy by Regundo, his wife, and all the slaves. They -exclaimed: “Will not our master’s heart be glad when he sees these large -tusks, for he will get many goods when he barters for them.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - DEPARTURE FROM THE SLAVES’ PLANTATIONS—ARRIVAL AT KING MOMBO’S—A WARM - GREETING FROM THE OLD KING—HIS SACRED PROMISE NEVER TO PART WITH - HIS SLAVES—FAREWELL TO HIM AND HIS PEOPLE. - - -The evening of our arrival, all my hunters and their wives, and all the -slaves on the plantations came to spend the evening with me. Regundo, -Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi stood beside me. Before us on the -ground were the four tusks of the elephants we had killed, and their two -tails. - -There was great excitement among the people; they had remarked this time -also that after my departure the clock had stopped; and were persuaded -more than ever that the noise of its tick was made by spirits inside; -that these had left to follow me, but that now I had returned they also -had come back to dwell therein again. The same had happened before, when -I had gone with my hunters to shoot nginas. No one during my absence had -dared to come near the clock. They were even afraid to go under the -veranda of the house. All my goods I found where I had left them. - -In the midst of deep silence my hunters recounted all that had taken -place since we had left the plantation. They omitted nothing, and the -dear slaves thought they were the greatest men that had ever existed, -for they had travelled with the Oguizi. It was very late when they all -bade me good-night and left. After they were gone, and I had retired, I -heard the voice of Regundo thanking the spirits of his forefathers that -every one had come back safely; and he told them also how happy he was -to see the Oguizi once more. - -After a few days’ hunting and shooting in the neighborhood of the -plantation, seeing only birds and animals that I found before, I -considered it time to leave the place, and one day I said to Regundo and -to my faithful hunters that I must return to King Mombo. - -I began to pack the birds and animals I had stuffed, also the -butterflies and insects I had collected. The news spread fast among the -people that I was getting ready to go away. Preparations were -immediately made for my departure. A great quantity of food was prepared -for King Mombo. - -That evening, every man, woman, and child had gathered round my little -house. Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi were seated as close -to me as they could get. All were silent, and sadness was on their -faces. They knew that the Oguizi was going away, and that they would -never see him again. They loved me and I loved them in return. We love -those who love us; and if one has friends, he is sure to be friendly -himself. Above all, we love those who are kind to us. - -I broke the painful silence, and said aloud: “Regundo and Oshoria, -Ngola, Quabi, Ogoola, and you men, women, and children that are round me -to-night, you have all been kind to me. I love you all.” - -At these words they all shouted with one voice: “Oguizi, we love you! We -love you!” - -Then came again another pause, and I said: “We have all had a good time -together. You have taken great care of me. I have been very happy when -with you. The best you had you have given to me. No man has trapped or -killed game that he has not brought to me first. I would have a bad -heart if I did not love you, but the Oguizi must soon leave you, for he -must go and see other countries. I will tell Mombo how good you have -been to me, and that you are all my friends, and I will make him promise -me, and take as his witnesses the spirits of his ancestors, that he will -let you die on his plantations, and never sell you, or give you away as -payment for wives, for indemnity, or in exchange for canoes or anything -else.” They listened to my words in breathless silence, and then with -one voice cried, “Thank you, Oguizi. You are a good Oguizi.” - -After they had become quiet again, I continued: “To-morrow I shall leave -you and go back to King Mombo,” at which my hunters, Regundo, and others -shouted; “We are going with you.” - -“After I have left you,” I continued, “I want you to remember the -Oguizi, for I shall never forget you, and when I go back to the country -of the Oguizis I will tell them what friends we were, how we hunted -together, and how we spent many evenings round the bright fires.” - -When I spoke these words one could have heard a leaf fall on the ground. -Then an old slave got up and said: “Oguizi, stay with us a little -longer.” And my hunters, looking tenderly at me added: “We will go again -with you into the great forest and hunt elephants and nginas, and other -wild beasts.” But I replied: “I have to go far, far away towards the -country where the sun rises, before I return to the land of the Oguizis, -who are waiting for me to hear the news about what I have seen in the -great forest.” - -Then another slave arose and said: “Oguizi, give to each of us some of -your hair; we will keep it to remember you by, and show it to strangers -to prove that you have been amongst us. Otherwise they will not believe -us; but when they see the hair they will know that they have never seen -the like.” - -These words were greeted with a great shout of approbation. I began to -pull my hair out one hair at a time; I gave to each man one hair. My -hair had grown very long and hung on my shoulders. I could not have -given a greater present to these people. No brass kettle even had the -same value in their eyes. To Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi, -who had been my constant companions, I gave three hairs each. - -After this, I distributed among the women all the beads I had. To -Regundo’s wife and to each of the wives of my hunters I gave a small -looking-glass. Then they all went to their quarters, saying: “Good -night, good Oguizi.” - -Early the next morning every one was on the river bank to bid good-by to -me, the women bringing presents of mats and food. Regundo, Oshoria, -Ngola, Quabi, and Ogoola were in my canoe, with the elephant-tusks and -tails. After I was in the canoe I stood up and held “Omemba” in my right -hand, so that all the people could see the stick of King Mombo. - -I gave the order for departure and immediately my hunters fired their -guns, while ashore other men fired also, and others beat the tomtoms. -The noise was deafening as gun after gun was fired. - -[Illustration: “_I stood up and held ‘Omemba’ in my right hand_”] - -The last words I heard after the guns ceased firing and the tomtoms were -still, were: “Good-by, Oguizi, come back to us.” Three canoes loaded -with bunches of plantains, manioc, and all kinds of food for King Mombo -followed us. The little American flag which I always carried with me -floated proudly on the breeze at the stern of my canoe, and displayed -its stars and stripes. Wherever I went I took the precious flag with me. - -My hunters were in a high glee, for they knew that the heart of King -Mombo their master would be glad when he saw the big elephant-tusks, and -Oshoria said: “I think King Mombo will be able to buy six slaves with -the goods he will get for the four tusks, and marry several women also.” - -Ngola suggested that possibly Mombo might barter the tusks for guns, so -that he could arm his people and be more powerful in case of war. - -Then came a pause and all shouted: “We are men, we are men; the great -Oguizi is our friend.” They fired their guns and the tomtoms beat louder -than ever. The paddling was renewed with more vigor than before. At last -King Mombo’s village came in sight. The men sang louder than ever as we -neared the place. The tomtoms beat. Regundo and Oshoria stood up and -began to gesticulate in the wildest possible manner. My other hunters -followed their example and all sang: “We come back with the Oguizi. -Great, indeed, is King Mombo,” and repeated the same thing over and over -again. - -The men paddled with such force that two-thirds of our canoe was out of -the water when we landed, the men shouting again as they stepped ashore: -“We are men, we are men.” - -I landed, holding “Omemba” in my right hand. - -King Mombo was on the shore to receive me, beating his kendo and calling -on the spirits of his ancestors to come and see the sight. Mombo wore a -waistcoat and a coat, but had no shirt or trousers. We embraced each -other amid the shouts of his people, who had also come to welcome me -back. Many tomtoms were beating violently in the village, and guns were -fired to celebrate my return. The people were wild with excitement. - -King Mombo led me to the big building where the people were accustomed -to meet, and bade me take a seat by his side. We were surrounded by a -great crowd. Then Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi came -forward with the four elephant-tusks and laid them on the ground at the -feet of King Mombo, whose face beamed with pleasure at the sight. “The -two big tusks,” said Oshoria, “are from an elephant the Oguizi and I -killed. The two others are from another elephant which Ngola, Ogoola, -and Quabi killed. Here are the tails, they are not yet quite dried.” - -Other slaves followed and laid before the king two boars, an antelope, -two gazelles, three monkeys, and a quantity of dried fish. The sight -delighted the old king, who was fond of good living, and disliked -“gouamba.” - -“I can see that you love me, and that you do not forget me, my slaves,” -said he, pointing to the pile of food. - -Then ensued a great stillness. King Mombo rose and shouted: “Look at me, -my people! Look at Mombo, your chief! Look at the Oguizi! Never did an -Oguizi visit our forefathers.” To which the people shouted in return: -“Great indeed is King Mombo.” - -Then Regundo recounted in a loud voice, so that everybody could hear, -how I arrived at the plantation, how I showed him King Mombo’s stick and -all that had happened during the time I was with them. The King -congratulated Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi on their success in -hunting elephants. Turning to Regundo, he said: “You, my old and -faithful slave, I love you and I trust you. I am glad you came with the -Oguizi. In your days you were a great elephant hunter also. You and I -have grown old together.” - -Oshoria next arose and told of our hunting, and how one day I -disappeared in the forest and they did not see me for three days, during -which they all believed I had changed my form. In the evening there was -a great war dance, for which the men put on their war paint. Several -times they formed a ring round me, dancing and bending low their bodies -and singing: “You are a great Oguizi! You are a good Oguizi! You are the -friend of King Mombo. King Mombo is a great king above all other kings.” - -Two days after my reception found me again under the big roof seated by -the side of King Mombo with a great crowd of people round us. - -I rose from my seat and said: “King Mombo, soon I am going to leave your -country. I return to you ‘Omemba.’ It has been of great service to me. I -thank you for it. King, you have been good and kind to me. I love you. -You have given me food when I was hungry, water when I was thirsty, a -house to rest and sleep in. All your people have been kind and good to -me.” - -Then I called Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi, and bade them -stand by my side. I bade the other slaves that had come with me come -near me. - -A deep silence followed, and in a loud voice, so that all the people -could hear, I said: “King Mombo, the Oguizi wants you to make him a -solemn promise, and to call on the spirits of your forefathers whom you -venerate and worship, to be witnesses of your promise. Promise me, King -Mombo, that no matter what happens, you will never sell Regundo, -Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, or their wives, or any of the other -slaves living on the plantations where I have been. Promise me that you -will let them die where they have their home. These men and women were -born free as you were and were sold into slavery, by their parents, -relations, or by the people of their tribe for one reason or another.” - -Then I stopped. The tomtoms began to beat furiously, the drummers -singing war-songs at the same time. Then came a great silence, in the -midst of which King Mombo rose, and spoke in a loud voice as follows: -“Oguizi, I promise that I will never sell Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, -Ngola, or Quabi, or their wives,—that I will never sell the slaves that -are your friends and are living to-day on the plantations where you have -been.” - -After these words he paused, then he called upon the spirits of his -ancestors to witness the promise he had just made to me. He called first -on the spirit of Olenda, then on that of Ratenoo, then upon the spirit -of Ronpano twice, of Sholomba three times, of Adooma four times. These -had been great men and had accomplished valiant deeds in their day, -which had been repeated to the people generation after generation. The -spirits upon which he called several times had died long ago, and -Adooma, upon whom he had called four times, was the father of the clan -and had died long, long ago. In the great forest each tribe is divided -into a number of clans, each clan having its chief. - -After King Mombo had sat down a great shout arose, and Regundo, and my -hunters, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi fell at my feet and clasped -them, and looked me in the face without saying a word. But their eyes -spoke and told me of their gratitude. Then they prostrated themselves -before King Mombo, and said to him: “Master, we love you, and we are -your faithful slaves,” and took hold of his feet. - -I thanked King Mombo for his promise, and when I embraced him a great -shout rose among his people. Then the tomtoms beat violently and we all -separated. - -[Illustration: “_My hunters ... fell at my feet and clasped them_”] - -The following evening, when it was quite dark, Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, -Ngola, and Quabi came into my hut, as I had told them to do. All the -people were asleep and no one had seen them come in. I gave them powder -and presents for them and their wives. They implored me to tell to no -one that I had given them presents, saying people might become jealous -and bewitch them. - -A few days afterwards, Regundo, my hunters, and all the people who had -come with me returned to King Mombo’s plantation. I accompanied them to -their canoe and bade them a friendly farewell. - -After they had gone I made preparations for my departure. King Mombo was -to give me canoes and men to take me to Rotembo, a great chief living -far up the Ogobai river. When I had bid farewell to King Mombo, he and -his people followed me to the bank of the river. Before I embarked in my -canoe, Mombo took hold of both my hands. His mouth was filled with the -ochre upon which the skull of his ancestor rested, and he blew it over -my hands, invoking at the same time his ancestors’ spirits. - -Soon after I was out of sight. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - 3. 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