HE
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Explorations and adventures
in equatorial Africa
Paul Belloni Du Chaillu








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Equatorial Africa.
Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa; with Accounts of the Man-
ners and Customs of the People, and of the Chase of the Gorilla, the Croco-
dile, Leopard, Elephant, Hippopotamus, and other Animals. By Paul Dr
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iul BiW YGHJC
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A3TOR, LENO<


EXPLORATIONS AND ADVENTURES
EQUATORIAL AFRICA;
ACCOUNTS OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OP THE PEOPLE, AND OF TOE CIIASK
OF THE GORILLA, THE CROCODILE, LEOPARD, ELEPHANT,
HIPPOPOTAMUS, AND OTHER ANIMALS.
BT
PAUL B/bTT CHAILLU,
COB. MEMBER Or THE AMERICAN ETHKOLOGIOAL SOCIETY: Or THE GEOGRAPHICAL AMP
STATISTICAL SOCIETY Or HCTT YORK; AMD OT TOR BOST0S SOCIETY
Or NATURAL HISTORY.
toitl) Jfanterons Jliostrotions.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1861. } ■


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-one, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.


PREFACE.
The singular region of Equatorial Africa, which it was my for-
tune to be the first to explore, and of whose people and strange
animal and vegetable productions I have given some account in
the following pages, is remarkable chiefly for its fauna, which
is, in many respects, not only extraordinary, but peculiar. In
this comparatively narrow belt is found that monstrous and fe-
rocious ape, the gorilla. Here, too, and here only, is the home
of the very remarkable nest-building ape, the Troglodytes calvus,
the nshiego mbouve of the natives; of the hitherto unknown hoo-
loo-kamba, another ape no less remarkable than the T. calvus, and
of the chimpanzee. North, south, and east of this region, the lion
lords it in the forests and the desert: only in this tract he is not
found. Here, too, I discovered no less than twenty new species of
quadrupeds, and upward of sixty new species of birds, many as
strange as others were beautiful.
Thus it will be seen that this region formed a peculiarly rich
field for an ardent naturalist. Game is not found in such plenty
as on the vast plains of Southern Africa; there is less butcher-
ing; but, if the larder is not so well supplied, the half-starved ex-
plorer experiences many happy days, when the discovery of a
hitherto unknown animal rewards him for all his toils, dangers,
and sufferings.
Not only has the fauna of this region, for its limits, a very un-
usual number of species peculiar to itself, but even some of those
animals which it has in common with the regions to the north
and south seemed to me varieties. Thus I am almost certain


vi
PREFACE.
that the elephant of this region is a variety distinct in several
particulars from his South African brother.
Doubtless the peculiar formation of the country causes this ex-
ceptional condition. Instead of the vast thinly-wooded and arid
or sparsely-watered plains of Northern, Eastern, and Southern
Africa, the explorer finds here a region very mountainous, and so
densely wooded that the whole country may be described as an
impenetrable jungle, through which man pushes on only by hew-
ing his way with the axe. These forests, which have been rest-
ing probably for ages in their gloomy solitude, seem unfavorable
even to the rapid increase of the beasts who are its only denizens.
There are no real herds of game; nor have the people of this re-
gion yet attained that primitive step in the upward march of
civilization, the possession of beasts of burden. Neither horses
nor cattle are known here: man is the only beast of burden.
The river system of this region seems to me extremely well
adapted for the prosecution of commercial enterprise. Until I
explored them, the rivers known to Europeans and Americans as
the Nazareth, Mexias, and Fernand Vaz, were supposed to be
three distinct streams; but the reader will perceive, by reference
to my map, that they are connected with each other. The Mex-
ias and Nazareth are only outlets of the Ogobay River, which
also throws a portion of its waters into the Fernand Vaz, chiefly
through the Npoulounay. Thus these three rivers are, in fact,
mouths of the Ogobay; and they form, with the intervening low-
lands (which are evidently alluvial deposits), an extensive and
very complicated net-work of creeks, swamps, and dense forests,
which I propose to call the delta of the Ogobay. This delta is
bounded on the north by the Nazareth, which enters the sea in
lat. 0° iV S. and long. 9° 3' E., and on the south by the Fernand
Vaz, which falls into the sea in lat. 1° 17' S., and long. 5° 58' E.
The mouth of the Mexias lies between, in lat. 0° 56' S., and long.
8° 47' E.
I have not given in the narrative any account of my explora-
tion of this labyrinth, because it was extremely barren of incidents


PREFACE.
vii
interesting to the reader. It was a most tedious undertaking, and
resulted only in the knowledge that this large tract is entirely un-
inhabited; that in the rainy season, when the rivers and their di-
vergent creeks are swollen, the whole country is overflowed; and
that the land is covered with immense forests of palm, there being
found none of the customary mangrove swamps. Land and wa-
ter are tenanted only by wild beasts, venomous reptiles, and in-
tolerable swarms of musquitoes.
The entrance of the Fernand Vaz, which is one of the keys to
this region, is rendered intricate by shifting sand-bars and a very
crooked channel, which, however, carries from fifteen to twenty
feet of water at all times. It, as well as the Mexias, throws a tre-
mendous quantity of fresh water into the ocean during the rainy
season. So vast is this supply, and so rapid the current, that,
though the mouths of these streams are but half a mile wide, the
body of fresh water launched from each, during the rains, forces its
separate way through the ocean for at least four or five miles be-
fore it becomes absorbed; and I have seen days when the tide had
no effect at all upon the vast column of water pushing seaward.
Above Monwé for about thirty miles, the Fernand Vaz, which
here takes the name of Bembo, flows through a country so flat
that in the rainy season its banks are overflowed for many miles,
and in parts scarce a foot of dry land is in sight. Farther up,
the country becomes hilly, and the upper parts of the Rembo and
Ovenga rivers flow between steep banks, and through a decidedly
mountainous region. But even here the magnificent mountains
are divided by plains or broad valleys, which are overflowed dur-
ing the season of rains. On the return of the dry season, these
overflows leave great quantities of decayed or decaying matter,
which, though enriching the ground, also cause fevers. But the
interior fevers are not so frequent nor so dangerous as those
caused by the mixed salt and fresh water vegetation of the sea-
shore; and when this region becomes settled, the mountains will
afford a convenient sanitarium for white men.
Leaving the Fernand Vaz, which, though partly fed by the Ogo-


Tjii PREFACE.
bay, is an independent stream, having its source in the Ashankolo
Mountains, we come to the Ogobay, probably the largest river of
western equatorial Africa. The Ogobay is formed by the junction
of two considerable streams of the interior—the Kembo Ngouyai
and the Rembo Okanda. The first I partly explored; of the
Rembo Okanda I know only by report of the natives, who state
that it is much larger than the Ngouyai, and that its navigation
is in some places partly obstructed by vast rocky boulders, which,
scattered about the hill-sides and on the higher plains of the in-
terior, form a very remarkable and peculiar feature of the land-
scape. The banks of the Ogobay, so far as I have explored them,
are in many parts subject to annual overflow.
The Rembo Ngouyai is a large stream, flowing through a mount-
ainous and splendidly wooded country, which is the most magnifi-
cent I saw in Africa. It has numerous smaller feeders. Its navi-
gation is unfortunately interrupted by the great Eugenie or Samba
Nagoshi fall; but it is quite possible for steamers to reach this
fall from the sea; and the upper portion, above the fall, is navi-
gable for the largest class of river steamers during the greater part
of the year, and flows through a region the tropical magnificence
of which is quite unrivaled, and which abounds in many precious
woods, while it is also well calculated for a rich agricultural
country. I could not help longing heartily for the day to come
when this glorious stream will be alive with the splash of pad-
dle-wheels, and its banks lined with trading and missionary posts.
Ebony, bar-wood, and India-rubber, palm-oil, beeswax, and ivory,
are the natural products of this region, so far as my limited op-
portunities allowed me to ascertain. But any tropical crop will
grow in this virgin soil; and it needs only the cunning hand and
brain of the white man to make this whole tract become a great
producing country.
My little knowledge of geology, and the impossibility of carry-
ing heavy specimens, prevented me from making useful observa-
tions on the geological structure of this region; and I can only
say that micaceous schist, talcose shale, and quartz, are found


PREFACE. ix
abundantly in the mountains, together with conglomerates and
various sandstones, while a red sandstone seems most to abound
in the Ashira country. Iron is plentiful; the ore, which is rich,
is found cropping out of the ground in many parts. Copper 1
did not meet with, though it is brought by the Loando negroes
from the southern interior to the sea-shore, where it is purchased
by Europeans.
The mountain range which I explored on my last journey, and
which is laid down on the map as far as my extreme point, or
terminus, seems to me, beyond doubt, to be part of a great chain
extending nearly across the continent without ever leaving the line
of the equator more than two degrees. Not only were the appear-
ances such, as far as I was able to penetrate, but all accounts of the
natives and of their slaves tend to make this certain. Some of
the slaves of the Apingi are brought from a distance to the east-
ward which they counted as twenty days' journey; and they in-
variably protested that the mountains in sight from their present
home continue in an uninterrupted chain far beyond their own
country—in fact, as far as they knew.
Judging, therefore, from my own examination, and from the
most careful inquiries among people of the far interior, I think
there is good reason to believe that an important mountain range di-
vides the continent of Africa nearly along Vie line of the equator, start-
ing on tlie west from the range which runs along the coast north and
south, and ending in the east, probably, in the southern mountains of
Abyssinia, or perhaps terminating abruptly to the north of Captain
BurtorCs Lake Tanganyika.
In the northern slope of this great range originate probably
many of the feeders of the Niger, the Nile, and Lake Tchad;
while of the streams rising in the southern slope, it is probable
that some join their waters to the Rembo Okanda, the Rembo
Ngouyai, and the Congo, and others flow south into the Zam-
besi, and into the great lake or chain of lakes in the eastern part
of Africa.
To this mountain range, so far as I have followed it and ascer


X
PREFACE.
tained its existence, I propose that the native name, Nkoomoo-
nabouali, be given, from the splendid peak which I discover-
ed, and which forms the western point of the range. I think it
probable that the impenetrable forests of this mountain range
and its savage inhabitants together put a stop to the victorious
southward course of the Mohammedan conquest. South of the
equator, at any rate, these have never penetrated.
Of the eight years which I have passed in Africa, the present
volume contains the record of only the last four, 1856, '7, '8, and
'9, which alone were devoted to a systematic exploration of the
interior. As a traveler, I had the very great advantages of toler-
ably thorough acclimation, and a knowledge of the languages and
habits of the sea-shore tribes, which proved of infinite service to
me among the tribes of the interior, with whom I was in every
case able to hold converse, if not by word of mouth, then by a na-
tive interpreter with whose language I was familiar.
A brief summary of the results of my four years' travel will
perhaps interest the reader. I traveled—always on foot, and
unaccompanied by other white men—about 8000 miles. I shot,
stuffed, and brought home over 2000 birds, of which more than
60 are new species, and I killed upward of 1000 quadrupeds, of
which 200 were stuffed and brought home, with more than 80
skeletons. Not less than 20 of these quadrupeds are species hith-
erto unknown to science. I suffered fifty attacks of the African
fever, taking, to cure myself, over fourteen ounces of quinine.
Of famine, long-continued exposures to the heavy tropical rains,
and attacks of ferocious ants and venomous flies, it is not worth
while to speak.
My two most severe and trying tasks were the transportation
of my numerous specimens to the sea-shore, and the keeping of a
daily journal, both of which involved more painful care than I
like even to think of.
The volume now respectfully presented to the public has been
written out from my faithfully-kept journals. I have striven only
to give a very plain account of a region which is yet virgin ground


PREFACE.
xi
to the missionary and the trader—those twin pioneers of civiliza-
tion—and which affords a fertile field for the operations of both.
Before closing, it is my duty as well as pleasure to acknowledge
gratefully very many kindnesses received from the officers and
members of the Boston Society of Natural History, whose cheer-
fully-given aid greatly lightened for me the tedious task of cata-
loguing my large collection of specimens of Natural History.
Also I owe especial thanks to my friend, Dr. Jeffries Wyman,
the eminent Professor of Comparative Anatomy in Harvard Uni-
versity, for much valuable assistance; to Dr. S. Kneeland, the
able recording secretary of the Boston Society of Natural His-
tory; to the Geographical and Ethnological Societies of New
York; to my publishers, Messrs. Harper & Brothers, who have
borne with kindly patience the many delays and troubles caused
by my inexperience in the labors of authorship; and, lastly, to
the many friends whose kind memories were proof against my
long absence in Africa, and whose welcome on my return lent
additional force to my gratitude to that God who watched over
and preserved me in my wanderings.
The long and tedious labor of preparing this book for the press
leaves me with the conviction that it is much easier to hunt go-
rillas than to write about them—to explore new countries than to
describe them. In the year which has passed since my return to
the United States I have often wished myself back in my African
wilds. I can only hope that the reader will not, when he closes
the book, think this labor wasted; and with this hope I bid him
a friendly farewell.






FAN SHIELD. OF ELEPHANT HIDE, AN1) UPKaKS.





CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Purpose of my Explorations.—Facilities.—Nature of the Country to be explored.—
The Gaboon.—The Mpongwe People.—Their Jealousy of Travelers.—Trade Pe-
culiarities.—Missionaries.—Baraka.—Manner in which the Missionaries teach.—
A day's Work on the Station Page 25
CHAPTER n.
The Gaboon People. — Mysterious Disappearance of African Tribes. — Mpongwe
Villages.—Houses, how built.—A Mpongwe Interior.—Costume.—An African
Trader.—Monopolies.—The commission Business among the Negroes.—"Trust."
—Extensive System of Credit.—Native Jealousy.—A Day with an African Trader.
—Time of no value.—Mpongwe Coasting-trade.—Their Vessels.—Products of
the Gaboon.—The Ivory-trade 31
CHAPTER III.
Some Causes of the Decrease of the Mpongwe.—Restrictions asUo Intermarriage.—
Last Days of King Glass.—Public Opinion on the Gaboon.—Mourning for a King.
—" Making" a new King.—Character of the Mpongwe.—An African Gentleman.
—Food.—Agriculture 41
CHAPTER IV.
Corisco the Beautiful.—The Mbingas.—Missionary Stations.—African Wake.—Set
out for the Muni.—An Explorer's Outfit.—Plan of Operations.—Poor Debtor in
Africa.—Lynch Law.—My Canoe.—The Muni.—Mangrove Swamps.—Lost.—
King Dayoko.—Salutations 48
CHAPTER V.
Dayoko.—African Royalty.—Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in the Interior.—
The Value of a Wife.—Negotiations.—The dry Season.—The Mbousha Tribe.—
A Wizard.—A fetich Trial and a Murder.—Progress.—Excitement of the She-
kianis at my supposed Wealth.—The Ntambounay.—The Sierra del Crystal.—
Lost again.—Approaches of interior Village.—Agricultural Operations.—Fam-
ine 59
CHAPTER VI.
Hold of a Traveler on the Natives. — Fruits. — The Mbondemo. — Their Towns.
—Houses.—Morals of War.—Condition of Women.—Women as Bearers.—The
Hills.—A Caravan.—Mutiny.—Rapids of the Ntambounay.—Summit of the Sier-
ra.—Contemplations interrupted by a Serpent.—The first Gorilla.— Appearance
in Motion.—Famine in the Camp.—Native Stories of the Gorilla.—Superstitious
Notioas about the Animal.—Lifelessness of the Forest.—A Beetrai 72


xvi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
Famine.—Encounter with the Fan.—A desperate Situation.—Fright at my Appear-
ance.—A Fan Warrior.—His Weapons.—Fetiches.—Women.—I am closely ex-
amined.—Gorilla-hunt.—Signs of the Animal's Presence.—Appearance of the
Male.—Roar.—Conduct.—My first Gorilla.—Division of the Spoils.—Supersti-
tions.—Wandering Bakalai.—Mournful Songs. — Their Fear of Night.—Cook-
ing.—Fan Town.—Cannibal Signs.—Presented to his cannibal Majesty.—The
King is scared at my Appearance. — Description of his Majesty. — Mbene's
Glory.—The King in his War-dress.—Arms of the Fan.—A grand Dance.—The ..
Music Page 91
CHAPTER VHL
The grand Hunt.—Fan Mode of capturing Elephants.—A pitched Battle.—Man
killed by an Elephant.—Grace before Meat among the Fan.—The use of a dead
Hunter.—Habits of the Elephant.—TIanou, or Elephant-trap.—Elephant Meat.—
Condition of Women.—Marriage Ceremonies.—A Fan Wedding.—Musical In-
strument.—Corpse brought in to be eaten.—Human Flesh prized.—Stories of
Fan Cannibalism.—Encroachments westward of the Fans.—Their Origin.—
Color.—Tattooing.—Trade.—Iron-smelting.—Fan Blacksmiths. —Bellows and
other Tools.—Pottery.—Agriculture.—Food.—Slavery.—The Oshebo.—Beyond.
—Superstitions.—Sorcery.—Charms.—Idols 112
CHAPTER Et.
The return Trip.—Climate of the mountain Region.—Native Courage.—Mode of
Warfare.—Heavy Rains.—On the Nova.—Visits to native Chiefs.—Ezongo.—
Attempt at Black-mail.—Alapay.—The Mbicho.—Net-hunting.—Bad Shooting of
the Negroes.—Attacked by the Bashikouay Ants.—Toilet of the Mbicho.—Super-
stition about the Moon.—Ivory of this District peculiar.—Igouma.—Fan of the
Country.—An immense Cavern.—Crossing a mangrove Swamp 130
CHAPTER X.
Up the Moondah.—Vexations of a Traveler in Africa.—Mangrove Swamps.—
Mbicho Men run off.—Bashikouay again.—Missionary Station.—The Bar-wood
Trade.—Manner of getting Bar-wood.—The India-rubber Vine.—How Rubber is
gathered.—Torturing a Woman.—Adventure with a wild Bull.—Lying out for
Game.—Bullock and Leopard.—Birds 150
CHAPTER XI.
Creek Navigation.—Nocturnal Habits of the Negroes.—A royal Farm.—Beach-
travel.—Canoe-building.—Ogoula-Limbai.—A great Elephant-hunter.—In the
Surf.—Shark River.—Prairies.—Sangatanga.—King Bango.—An Audience of
Royalty.—A Ball.—Barracoons.—Unwelcome Guest.—A Slaver in the Offing.—
Decline of the Slave-trade on this Coast.—Idols 163
CHAPTER XII.
Set out for the Interior.—Prairies.—Odd Mistake.—Hippopotami.—Ngola.—Ne-
gro Theology.—Hunts.—Torture of a Woman.—Rum.—The Shekiani.—Appear-
ance, Manners,.and Customs.—Polygamy.—Marriage.—Superstitions.—Bos bra-
cliicheros.—Camp in the Woods.—African Humor.—Solid Comfort.—Hunting with
a Leopard.—Great Jollification.—Superstition about the Leopard.—Elephant-


CONTENTS.
xvii
shooting.—Meeting a Boa.—Stalking the wild Bull.—Return to Sangatanga.—I
am accused of Sorcery.—Idols.—Bango's Treasures.—Burial-ground of the Bar-
racoons.—Disgusting Sights.—Status of Slaves in Africa.—Oroungou Cemetery.
—An African Watering-place.—Fetich Point Page 184
CHAPTER XIIL
The "Camma Country."—Coast.—Surf.—Trade.—The Caroline.—A mixed Crew.
—A dusky Bride.—A Squall.—On her Beam-ends.—Native Traders.—Ranpano.
—Sangala Troubles.—Nearly a Fight.—The City of Washington.—Attempt at As-
sassination.—The Camma People.—Aniambie.—River Navigation.—Men refuse
to advance.—King Olenga-Yombi.—A Dance.—Fetich-houses.—Spirit Wor- >i
ship.—A mad Bull.—Cheating the King.—Live Gorilla brought in.—How caught.
—Ferocity of the Animal.—Joe escapes.—Is recaptured.—Habits and Peculiari-
ties of Joe.—Hippopotamus-shooting.—Night-hunting.—Hippopotamus Meat.—
Habits of the Animal.—Hide.—Use of the Tusks.—They capsize Boats.—Peace-
able if not attacked.—Voice.—Combative.—Adventures with Hippopotami... 221
CHAPTER XIV.
To the Anengue.—Canoes.—River Scenery.—Nature of the Country.—The La-
goons.—Navigation.—India-rubber Vines.—Mercantile Products and Facilities.
—Porcupine-hunts.—Quengueza, the great King.—Change of Season.—Variety
in animal Life.—Birds of Passage.—Fish.—Bee-eater.—Curious Habits of this
Bird.—Serpents.—The Rivers in the dry Season.—The Lagoons in the dry Sea-
son.—Immense Numbers of Crocodiles.—Damagondai.—Witchcraft.—A Caudle
Lecture.— Shimbouvenegani.—An Olako.—Royal Costume.—- Discover a new
Ape.—The Nshiego Mbouve, or nest-building Ape (Troglodytes Calvus).—How
they build.—Habits.—Food.—Description of the first Specimen.—A Crocodile-
hunt.—Anengue Canoes.—The Ogata.—Turtle.—How the Crocodile gets his
Prey.—A Fight looms up ahead.—Oshoria backs down.—People of the Anen-
gue.—Family Idols.—Worship.—Sickness.—Bola Ivoga African Festivals.—A
clear Case of Witchcraft.—A native Doctor.—Exorcising a Witch.—My Town
is deserted.—I am made a Chief.—We get a second young Gorilla.—I am poi-
soned with Arsenic.—Trial of the Poisoner.—Singular Effect of Arsenic 254
CHAPTER XV.
Message and Hostage from Quengueza.—Outfit.—Makondai.—Fame of Mr. Colt.—
Goumbi.—Reception.—Family Arrangements in Africa.—Intermarriage,—Driv-
ing out a Witch.—Riches among the Camma.—African Shams.—A Sunday Lec-
ture.—Gorilla shot.—The poison Ordeal.—Mboundou.—Effects of the Poison.—
Native Gorilla Stories.—Charms.—Yonng female Gorilla caught.—Superstitious
Belief.—Trouble in the Royal Family.—A holy Place.—Oblndji's Town.—A royal
Introduction.—Houses.—Decency in Obindji's Town.—Surprise of the Negroes
at my Appearance.—Ordeal of the Ring boiled in Oil.—Bashikouay.—Kooloo-
kamba. — Another new Ape. — Gouamba, or Hunger for Meat. — Grace before
Meat.—A Day's Work in Africa.—Checks.—I am counted a Magician 290
CHAPTER XVI.
Venomous Flies.—Gorilla.—Cutting Ebony.—The Ebony-tree.—Anguilai's Town.
— Superstitions. — Severe Sickness. — Kindness of the native Women to me.
—Child murdered for Sorcery.—New Cure for Sterility.—Ivorv-eaters.—Manioc,
B


xviii
CONTENTS.
—Capture a young Nshiego Mbouve.—Its Grief for its Mother.—Biography of
Nshiego Tommy.—Easily tamed. — His Tricks.—Habits.—Lore for Wine and
Scotch Ale.—His Death.—Curious Color.—Famine.—Njavi Oil.—Gorilla.—Ev-
idence of their vast Strength.—Guaniony.—Return to Obindji's.—Letters and
Papers from home.—Astonishment of the Negroes at my Heading.—The Ofoabon
River.—Starvation.—Njalic-Coody.—The Njambai Festival.—Woman's Right*
among the Bakalai.—A midnight Festival.—A Mystery.—An Attempt at Black-
mail.—Nature of the Njambai, or Guardian Spirit.—Hunter killed by Gorilla.—
Native Superstitions.—The Dry Season.—Gouamba.—The Eloway Fly.—Huge
Serpents.—Enormous Gorilla killed.—Curious Superstition'about the Gorilla and
a pregnant Woman.—Animals peculiar to this Region.—Generosity of the Blacks.
—The Superstition of Roondah.—Return .1 Page 321
CHAPTER XVII.
The Ants of Equatorial Africa.—The Bashikouay.—The red Ant.—The Nchelle-
lay.—The little Ant.—The red Leaf-ant.—The nest-building Ant 359
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Seasons and the Fevers of Equatorial Africa 366
CHAPTER XIX.
Politics: the Government, Superstitions, and Slave System of Equatorial Africa 377
CHAPTER XX.
Summary Account and Comparison of the great Apes of Africa: the Troglodytes
Gorilla, the T. Kooloo -Kamba, the Chimpanzee (7*. niger), and the Nshiego
Mbouve, or T. calvus '. 388
CHAPTER XXI.
On the Bony Structure of the Gorilla and other African Apes Ill
CHAPTER XXII.
The Bakalai.—Extent of Region in which they are met.—Qualities.—Reasons for
Intermixture of Tribes.—The Bakalai are Rovers.—Fear of Death.—Old People
abandoned.—Treachery.—Case of Retaliation.—Women-palavers.—Arbitration.
—A fetich Palaver.—Appearance of the Bakalai.—Property.—Duties of a Wife.
—Restrictions on Marriage.—Slaves.—Costume.—Grass-cloth.—Hunters.—Fish-
ing.—Great Traders.—Diseases.—Leprosy.—Music 430
CHAPTER XXIII.
Departure for the Interior.—Meeting of the People.—Address of Ranpano.—I am
made a Makaga.—Use of Quinine.—A sick Friend.—Death in Goumbi.—Sor-
cery, and how it is discovered.—Great Excitement.—Terrible Tragedy.—The
Victims. —The Accusations. — The Poison-cup. —The Execution. —Visit from
Adouma.—Sincerity of the Doctors ?—Up the River.—Manga-hunts.—A Manga
Doctor.—Keeping a Creditor.—Querlaouen.—An African Tragedy.—Fight on
the River.—Toward Ashira-land.—The Ashira Plains.—Splendid View *39
CHAPTER XXIV.
We enter Ashira-land.—Astonishment of the People at my Appearance.—Their
Fear of my Eyes.—Grand Reception.—Message and Presents from the Ashira


CONTENTS.
XIX
King.—Kendo.—King Olenda.—His Address to me.—I am an Object of great
Wonder.—My Clock a Fetich.—Features of the Plain.—Villages.—Houses.—
Agriculture.—Appearance of the Ashira.—Dress.—Grass-cloth.—Loom.—Curi-
ous Custom of young Women.—Operation of Dyeing.—Manner of Hair-dressing.
—Peculiarities.—Fears of the Slaves.—Condition of Women.—Marriage.—Splen-
did Water-fall.—Mount Nchondo.—A Superstition about it.—A Case of Insanity.
—Ascent of Mount Andele.—Meet a Nshiego Mbouve.—How it rests at Night.—
Attempt to ascend the Nkoomoo-nabonali.—Gorilla killed.—Difficulties of the
Ascent.—Starvation Page 456
The Ashira grow jealous of my Projects.—Set out for the Apingi Country.—Olenda
blesses us.—The Passage of the Ovigui.—Rude Bridge.—Features of the Coun-
try.—We meet Gorillas.—The Roar of the Gorilla.—His Walk.—Great Strength.
—Meet the Apingi King.—I fall into an Elephant-hole.—Famine.—Musquitoes.
—We see the Rembo Apingi River.—Reception among the Apingi.—Address of
the King.—I am offered a Slave for my Supper.—Wonder of the People at my
Appearance.—The mysterious Sapadi, a cloven-footed Race.—My Clock is thought
a guardian Spirit.—I am asked to make a Mountain of Beads and Trade-goods.
—Fruitfulness of the Women.—Appearance of the People.—A Leopard-trap.—
Invested with the Kendo.—Palm-oil. — Palm-wine.— Drunkenness universal.—
Tattooing.—Dress of the Women.—Lack of Modesty.—I am claimed as a Hus-
band. — Weaving of Grass-cloth. — Property among the Apingi. — The Apingi
Loom.—The Ndengui.—Fetich to kill Leopards.—War Belt 478
Bible-reading.—The Negroes are frightened and run away.—The Ceremony of
Bongo.—Its Importance.—Curious Phase of African Slavery.—Preparations to
ascend the River.—Apingi Villages.—Fetiches.—Superstitions.—Spiders.—Curi-
ous Manner of catching their Prey.—New Animals.—Capsized.—Putrid Corpse
in a Village.—Curious Manner of Burial.—Leave the River.—The Region be-
yond.—Return to Remandgi's Town.—Explore the Mountains.—The Isogo.—Be-
yond the Isogo.—Ultima Thule.—My Shoes give out.—Starvation.—Great Suffer-
ing.—Shoot a Gorilla.—Illness.—Home-sick.—The Return to the Sea-shore.—
Etita: a very singular Disease.—The Remedy.—Heavy Rains.—An uncomforta-
ble Night.—Fierce Attack of Bashikouay Ants.—Difference of Seasons.—Arrival
in Biagano.—Close 500
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVI.
APPENDIX.
A. The Fauna op Equatorial Aprica
B. Thk Languages op Equatorial Aprica
523
526


,


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. The Gorilla Frontispiece.
2. Fan Shield and Spears Page xiii
3. Ndiayai, King of the Cannibal tribe, the Fans 24
4. Mpongwe Woman, showing the Manner of dressing Hair 30
5. Head-waters of the Ntambounay 81
6. Mbondemo Man, and Woman carrying her Child 89
7. Fan Warrior 92
8. Grand Reception by the Cannibals 95
9. My first Gorilla 100
10. Fan Bowman 107
11. Poisoned Arrows of the Fan 108
12. Fan Knife and Battle-axes 109
13. Fan Drummer and Handja-player Ill
14. Elephant Battne among the Fan 113
15. The Handja, Fan musical Instrument 119
16. Fan Blacksmiths 123
17. Fan Pottery 124
18. Fan Pipes 124
19. Fan Spoon 129
20. Crossing a Mangrove Swamp 147
21. To keep the Devil out 149
22. The Leopard and his Prey 160
23. Shekiani Spoons 196
24. Wambce, the Shekiani Banjo 198
25. Ncheri, a diminutive Deer 202
26. Niare, the wild Bull of Equatorial Africa 210
27. Comma Man and Woman 231
28. Tossed by a wild Bull 239
29. Young Gorilla 242
30. River Navigation in Central Africa 255
31. Nshiego Mbouve in its Nest. 269
32. Young Nshiego Mbouve 272
33. Crocodile-hunting on Lake Anengue 275
34. Idol of the Slaves 280
35. Ouganga exorcising a Sorcerer 284
36. Reception at Gonmbi 293
37. Mbonndou Leaf • 302
38. Obindji in his Easy-chair 311
39. The Koolo-kamba 315


Xxii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
40. Ebony Leaves, male and female Page 324
41. The Mboeo, or Ivory-eater 328
42. Harp of the Bakalai 339
43. Hunter killed by a Gorilla 343
44. The Bongo Antelope 353
45. The Bashikouay Ant 359
46. Whip for the Women 382
47. Head of Gorilla 402
48. Nshiego Mbouve and Young 406
49. Head of Kooloo-kamba 408
50. Ear of Kooloo-kamba 409
51. Skeletons of Man and the Gorilla 418
52. Front View of young Gorilla's Skull 419
53. Front View of Gorilla's Skull, male and female 420
54. Skull of Red-rump Gorilla 421
55. Skull of young T. Calvus (front and side views) 421
56. Negro Skull 422
57. Caucasian Skull 422
58. Skull of female Gorilla (side view) 422
51). Skull of male Gorilla (side view) 422
60. Skull of T. Kooloo-kamba 425
61. Human Skull 425
62. Decapitation Scene at Goumbi 445
63. The Kendo 458
64. Ashira Tobacco 461
65. Ashira Thread and Needle 462
66. Ashira Weapons 463
67. Ashira Belles 464
68. LiambaLeaf 467
69. White-fronted wild Hog 471
70. Ashira Housekeeper..' 476
71. An A pingi Village 479
72. Bridge over tho Ovigui 482
73. Death of the Gorilla 486
74. Apingi Man and Woman 494
75. The Kendo Squirrel 504
76. The Anomalurus Beldeni 506
77. Apingi Tools 515
78. Ibeka, Bakalai musical Instrument > 518
79. Rattle, to drive the Devil out 521
80. Map of Equatorial Africa, showing the line of M. Du Chaillu's Explora-
tions at the end.


«


N1UAYAI, KIHtt OF THB « A .\ N l |i U.S.


EXPLORATION AND ADVENTURE
IN
EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
CHAPTER I.
Purpose of my Explorations.—Facilities.—Nature of the Country to bo explored.—
The Gaboon.—The Mpongwe People.—Their Jealousy of Travelers. —Trade Pe-
culiarities.—Missionaries.—Baraka.—Manner in which the Missionaries teach.—
A day's Work on the Station.
I left America for the western coast of Africa in the month
of October, 1855. My purpose was to spend some years in the
exploration of a region of territory lying between lat. 2° north
and 2° south, and stretching back from the coast to the mountain
range called the Sierra del Crystal, and beyond as far as I should
be able to penetrate.
The coast-line of this region is dotted here and there with ne-
gro villages, and at a few points "factories" have been establish-
ed for the prosecution of general trade. The power and knowl-
edge of the white man extend to but a very few miles from
the coast, and the interior was still a terra incognita. Of its tribes,
several of whom were reported cannibals, nothing was known,
though terrible stories were told of their dark superstitions and
untamable ferocity; of its productions only a rough gues3 could
be made from the scant supplies of ivory, ebony, bar-wood, and
caoutchouc which were transmitted to the coast by the people
inhabiting the river banks. Of the natural history, that which
interested me most, sufficient was known to assure me that here
was a field worthy of every effort of an explorer and naturalist.
This unexplored region was the home of the fierce, untamable
gorilla, that remarkable ape which approaches nearest, in physical
conformation and in certain habits, to man, and whose uncon-


26
THE GABOON.
querable ferocity has made it the terror of the bravest native
hunters—an animal, too, of which hitherto naturalists and the
civilized world knew so little that the name even was not found
in most natural histories. Here, too, in these dense woods, were
to be found—if the natives told aright—the nest-building nshiego,
an ape next in the scale to the gorilla; several varieties of other
apes; hippopotami and manatees, or sea-cows, in the rivers; and
birds and beasts of many and various kinds, many entirely un-
known to us, in the forests and among the hills.
To ascend the various rivers, hunt in the woods, and acquaint
myself alike with the haunts and habits of the gorilla, and with
the superstitions, customs, and modes of life of the black tribes,
who had not hitherto been visited by white men: this was one
object of my present visit to the African coast. Another purpose
I had in view was to ascertain if in the interior, among the
mountainous ranges in which the rivers took their rise, there was
not to be found a region of country fertile and populous, and, at
the same time, healthy, where the missionaries, who now suffer
and die on the low coast, could work in safety and to advantage,
and where might be established profitable trading-stations, which
would benefit alike whites and natives.
Several years' residence on the coast, where my father had for-
merly a factory, had given me a knowledge of the languages, hab-
its, and peculiarities of the coast natives, which I hoped to find
serviceable in my interior explorations, and had also sufficed to
inure my constitution in some degree to the severities of an Afri-
can hot season, or at least to familiarize me with the best means
for preserving health and life against the deadly fevers of the coast.
The Gaboon River, which takes its rise among the Sierra del
Crystal mountains, empties its sluggish waters into the Atlantic a
few miles north of the equator. Its mouth forms a bay, which is
the finest harbor on the west coast; and here on the right bank
the French formed a settlement and built a fort in the year 1842.
It was under the protection of this fort that my father for several
years carried on a trade with the natives, and here I gained my
first knowledge of Africa and my first acquaintance with the Ga-
boon tribes.
When I returned now, after an absence of some years, my ar-
rival was hailed with joy by my former acquaintances among the
blacks, who thought that I had come back to trade. The ne-


THE MPONGWE.—TRADE.
27
groes of the west coast are the most eager and the shrewdest
traders I have ever met; and they were overjoyed at the pros-
pect of dealing with, and perhaps cheating, an old friend like
myself. Their disappointment was great, therefore, when I was
obliged to inform them that I had come with no goods to sell,
but with the purpose to explore the country back, of which I
had heard so many wonderful stories from them, and to hunt
wild birds and beasts.
At first they believed I was joking. When they saw landed
from the vessel which brought me no "trade," but only an outfit
of all things necessary for a hunter's life in the African wilds,
they began perforce to believe in my stated purpose. Then their
amazement and perplexity knew no bounds.
Some thought I was out of my senses, and pitied my father,
whom they all knew, for being troubled with such a good-for-
nothing son.
Some thought I had ulterior objects, and were alarmed lest I
should secretly try to wrest the trade of the interior out of their
hands.
These Mpongwes, or coast tribes, hold in their hands, as will
be explained farther on, the trade with the back country of the
Gaboon River; and the slightest suspicion that I was about to
interfere with this profitable monopoly sufficed to create great
terror in their trade-loving souls. They surrounded me, each
with his tale of the horrors and dangers of a voyage "up the
country," asserting that I would be eaten up by cannibals, drowned
in rivers, devoured by tigers and crocodiles, crushed by elephants,
upset by hippopotami, or waylaid and torn to pieces by the gorilla.
But when I convinced them that I had no designs upon their
trade, and that my purposed travels and hunts would not affect
their interests, all but a few steadfast old friends left me to my fate.
As I intended to remain a little time on the Gaboon to more
perfectly acclimate myself, I took up my residence among my
friends of many years, the American missionaries, whose station
is at Baraka, eight miles from the mouth of the river. Here I
found a welcome in the hospitable home of my friend, the Bev.
William Walker, and was able to enjoy for a little while longer
the comforts of civilized life and the consolation of a Christian
social circle, which were soon to be left behind me for a long time.
Baraka is the head station of the American Board of Foreign


28
BARAKA.—MISSIONS.
Missions on the Gaboon Kiver, and, indeed, the only mission, the
board has as yet on the western coast. It was established, in
1842 by Rev. J. L. Wilson.
Baraka is a Mpongwe word, derived from baracoon, a slave fac-
tory or inclosure. Strangely enough, the very site whence now
the Gospel is taught to these benighted Africans, and where their
children are instructed in the knowledge and duties of Christian-
ity and civilized life—this very place was once, and not many-
years ago, the site of a slave factory, where the cruel slave-trade
was carried on with much energy and success.
Baraka is situated at the summit of a beautiful hill, distant a
few hundred yards from the shore, and about eight miles above
the river's mouth. The native villages surround the base of the
hill, and are scattered along the river bank, and are thus easily ac-
cessible to the missionaries, who visit them at all times, and preach
to the natives several times a week.
The missionary grounds are spacious, and are surrounded with
a noble hedge of fragrant lime-trees. The buildings, which are
mostly of bamboo, which is the best building material on this part
of the coast, consist of two dwellings occupied by the missionary
families; the church building, which has some fine shade-trees in
front; the storehouse, the schoolhouse, a little building containing
the missionary library, houses where the children attached to the
mission are lodged; and, finally, the kitchen—kitchens being in
the tropics necessarily separate from the dwellings—and the other
necessary offices, among which figure fowl-houses, etc. Back of the
houses is a fine orchard, containing various fruit-trees, all planted
by the missionaries, as were also the fine cqcoanut, mango, and
other trees which are scattered about the premises, and beneath
whose grateful shade the houses are built.
The missionary establishment begins its day with prayers, con-
ducted, for the benefit of the children, in the Mpongwe language.
After prayers the girls and boys clear up their dormitories and
the school-rooms, and arrange every thing for the day's labors.
This is carried on under the superintendence of the missionary
ladies.
Next comes breakfast, when the children are arranged about
the tables in their neat dresses, and taught to eat after the manner
of civilized people.
A little before nine o'clock the ringing of a bell calls the chil-


A DAY AT THE MISSIONS.
29
dren who live at home in the villages to assemble in the school-
room, and here, presently, the work of instruction goes busily on,
being begun with prayers and the singing of a hymn in the native
tongue. The missionaries and their wives are here assisted by
native teachers, who are able to take charge of the less advanced
classes. The children are taught in their native tongue first, and
after mastering their A B C go on to reading the Scriptures in the
Mpongwe. Then follow lessons in geography, arithmetic, history,
and writing, and English lessons. Many of the scholars are bright
and well advanced, reading English well, and having a good un-
derstanding of history and geography, and even writing in En-
glish. There is, of course, much attention given to religious in-
struction; and, by reading, explanations, and inculcation of Bible
precepts, efforts are made to settle the rising generation firmly in
the great life-principles of the religion of Christ.
It is only the children on whom it may be hoped the labors
of the missionaries can have very important effects. The older
natives are dull, lazy, and distrustful. They adhere to their vile
superstitions, and are with difiiculty influenced. If they come to
church, it is too often out of curiosity, or to please the preacher, or
from some fancied advantage to themselves. The children, on
the contrary, as all children, are bright, docile, easily trained; and
in these the hope of Christianizing Africa rests.
On two or three afternoons in the week the girls are collected
in a sewing-circle, where the ladies of the mission instruct them
in the use of the needle, and practice them in making their own
dresses and clothing for their brothers.
Several times during the week there are prayer-meetings, when
the word of God is explained to the heathen who attend.
Saturday is a holiday for the children, who then play, and pre-
pare themselves for the Sabbath. Sunday, finally, is the great day
of the week; then the bell calls all who will come together in the
little bamboo church. The missionary children and employés
attend, dressed in their best; and even the heathen of the village
follow this custom, and are found in church with their best gar-
ments, perhaps their only ones, on. There the preacher speaks
to them of the wisdom and goodness of God, and all, heathen and
Christian, join in singing praises to His holy name. The audi-
ence is generally attentive and interested. But the positive success
of the mission is so far not great. How should it be? To bring


30
MPONGWE HAIE-DEESSING.
light out of such darkness, to remove the superstitions, the igno-
rance, the idleness and wickedness in which these poor heathen
are steeped is a labor of many years. Many times, doubtless, my
poor friends the missionaries are discouraged at the slight result
of their hard labor; but they do their best and wisely leave the
rest to God, knowing that He works in his own good time, and
often effects great ends with slightest means.
I can not close this chapter without recording my gratitude to
the Rev. Wm. Walker, missionary of the American Board on the
Gaboon River, whose house was my home during my stay in Af-
rica, and from whom I received very many kindnesses.

MPOSOWK WOMAN, SHOWLNO THE MANNER OF DIEBSUIfl JIA1R.


MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AFRICAN TRIBES. 31
CHAPTER II.
The Gaboon People. — Mysterious Disappearance of African Tribes. — Mpongwc
Villages.—Houses, how built.—A Mpongwe Interior.—Costume.—An African
Trader.—Monopolies.—The commission Business among the Negroes.—"Trust."
—Extensive System of Credit.—Native Jealousy.—A Day with an African Trader.
—Time of no value.—Mpongwe Coasting-trade.—Their Vessels.—Products of
the Gaboon.—The Ivory-trade.
The object of my stay at this time (January, 1856) was to be
thoroughly acclimated before setting out on my interior explora-
tions. I had known the Gaboon country and people for several
years, but took occasion at this time to study closely the habits
and customs of this tribe—the Mpongwe—who, once numerous,
are now, like so many of the African tribes, from various reasons,
entirely disappearing.
The causes for this mysterious and, to some extent, unaccounta-
ble extermination of certain tribes, who die out, leaving no mark
behind them, I shall consider in some future chapter. The fact is
patent to every observer.
The Mpongwe are a branch of one of the great families of the
negro race, which has moved gradually from the head-waters of
the Nazareth down toward the sea-shore, extending its limits
meantime to the north and south, till now they are found from
the Gaboon River on the north to Cape St. Catherine on the south.
A portion have taken possession of the sea-shore, and others are
located inland. They have probably taken the place of other
tribes who have disappeared in the strange way in which even
the Mpongwe are now gradually lessening, while the Ndina tribe
is nearly gone, only three persons remaining of what was once a
numerous people. They die, and little more can be said.
All the divisions of the Mpongwe speak the same language,
with a difference of but a few words; though others again, sand-
wiched between, speak an entirely different tongue. The migra-
tions of the great African nations can not be understood till we
know more about the interior. I know only that there are eight
different tribes now settled along the coast south of the Gaboon


32
MPONGWE VILLAGES.
and in the interior, who speak the same language and have evi-
dently a common origin.
The Mpongwe inhabit mostly the right side of the Gaboon for
about thirty miles up. They live in villages, which are generally
located with particular regard to the trading facilities afforded by
the position, for these negroes are inveterate traders—in fact, the
most intelligent and acute merchants on the coast.
The Mpongwe villages, though not extensive, are the neatest
and best arranged I have seen in Africa. They have generally
but one main street, on both sides of which the houses are built.
Sometimes there are a few short cross-streets. In a considerable
village, the main street is often 20 yards, wide and 200 yards
long. The houses, of course, vary in size according to the wealth
of the owner. They are built of a kind of bamboo, which is ob-
tained from a species of palm very plentiful hereabouts, and whose
leaves also furnish them mats for the roofs. Indeed, this palm
is one of the most generally useful products of the country to the
negroes.
The houses are always of quadrangular form, and from 20
to 100 feet in length or breadth. The principal room is in the
centre. The floor is of clay, which is pounded hard, and by long
use becomes a hard and clean flooring. Both houses and street
are neatly kept.
The walls are built up by first driving stakes into the ground,
and to these stakes neatly tying the split bamboos. One set is
tied outside and another inside, and the crevices which are left
between are made close with the leaves of the palm-tree. Thus
the walls are smooth and glossy, and perfectly clean. Near the
creeks they get a large yellowish-white bamboo, which has a par-
ticularly fine appearance.
The building of such a house is a matter of considerable im-
portance to a Mpongwe man. He has great quantities of mpavo
—the matting for the roof—made up ready, then collects a suf-
ficiency of the bamboo, which has sometimes to be brought a
considerable distance up the river, and finally, getting all his
slaves together, marks out his ground-plan, drives in his stakes,
and puts up the walls. Then comes the question of doors and
windows, in which each man exercises his own taste, which gives
a certain pleasing variety to the outsides. As for the interior,
the various rooms are fitted up with all the riches of their owner;


MPONGWE COSTUME.
33
and on the coast it is not uncommon to see them adorned with
looking-glasses, chairs, tables, sofas, and very often a Yankee
clock.
There is a great contrast between such neat dwellings and the
low, circular, dark, and dirty hovels of the negroes between the
Niger and Senegambia, with their rude high-peaked roofe and
clay walls.
They are the best-looking people I have seen, looking very
much like the Mandigoes; of ordinary size and with pleasant ne-
gro features, but handsomer than the Congo tribes. The men
wear a shirt, generally of English, French, or American calico, over
which is wrapped a square cloth, which falls to the ankles. To
this is added a straw hat for the head. Only the king is allowed
to wear the silk hat, of American or European manufacture. The
wealthier men and chiefs, however, are fond of dress, and, when
they can afford it, delight to show themselves in a bright military
costume, sword and all.
The chief, and, in most cases, only garment of the women is a
square cloth, which is wrapped about the body, and covers them
from above the hips to just below the knees. On their bare legs
and arms they delight to wear great numbers of brass rings, often
bearing from twenty-five to thirty pounds of brass on each ankle
in this way. This ridiculous vanity greatly obstructs their loco-
motion, and makes their walk a clumsy waddle.
Both sexes are extremely fond of ornaments and of perfumery,
with which they plentifully besprinkle themselves, with little re-
gard to kind.
The most characteristic point about the Mpongwe—indeed of
all the negro tribes I have seen—is their great eagerness and love
for trade. My friends the Mpongwe live by trade. Their posi-
tion at and near the mouth of the Gaboon gives them such facili-
ties and such a command of the interior as they know but too
well how to use and misuse to their own advantage.
Let me here give the reader an idea of African commerce.
The rivers, which are the only highways of the country, are, of
course, the avenues by which every species of export and import
must be conveyed from and to the interior tribes. Now the
river banks are possessed by different tribes. Thus, while the
Mpongwe hold the mouth and some miles above, they are suc-
ceeded by the Shekiani, and these again by other tribes, to the
C


Si
TRADE MONOPOLIES.
number of almost a dozen, before the Sierra del Crystal mountains
are reached. Each of these tribes assumes to itself the privilege
of acting as go-between or middle-man to those next to it, and
charges a heavy percentage for this office; and no infraction of
this rule is permitted under penalty of war. Thus a piece of
ivory or ebony may belong originally to a negro in the far in-
terior, and if he wants to barter it for "white man's trade," he
dares not take it to a market himself. If he should be rash
enough to attempt such a piece of enterprise his goods would be
confiscated, and he, if caught, fined by those whose monopoly he
sought to break down, or most likely sold into slavery.
He is obliged by the laws of trade to intrust it to some fellow
in the next tribe nearer than him to the coast. He, in turn, dis-
poses of it to the next chief or friend, and so ivory, or ebony, or
bar-wood, or whatever, is turned and turned, and passes through
probably a dozen hands ere it reaches the factory of the trader on
the coast
.
This would seem to work against the white trader by increas-
ing the price of products. But this is only half the evil. Al-
though the producer sold his ivory, and though it was resold a
dozen times, all this trade was only a commission business with
no advances. In fact, the first holder has trusted each successive
dispenser with his property without any equivalent or "collater-
al" security. Now, when the last black fellow disposes of this
piece of ebony or ivory to the white merchant or captain, he re-
tains, in the first place, a very liberal percentage of the returns
for his valuable services, and turns the remainder over to his next
neighbor above. He, in turn, takes out a commission for his
trouble and passes on what is left; and so, finally, a very small
remainder—too often nothing at all—is handed over to the poor
fellow who has inaugurated the speculation or sent the tusk.
Any one can see the iniquity of this system and the fatal clog
it throws on all attempts at the building up of a legitimate com-
merce in a country so rich in many products now almost indis-
pensable to civilized nations. The poor interior tribes are kept
by their neighbors in the profoundest ignorance of what is done
on the coast. They are made to believe the most absurd and hor-
rid stories as to the ferocity, the duplicity, and the cunning of the
white traders. They are persuaded that the rascally middle-men
are not only in constant danger of their lives by their intercourse


HONESTY IS THE WORST POLICY.
35
with the whites, but that they do not make any profit on the goods
which they good-naturedly pass on to a market, so that I have
known one of these scoundrels, after having appropriated a large
share of the poor remainder of returns for a venture of ivory, act-
ually, by a pitiful story, beg a portion of what he had handed over
to his unsuspicious client. Each tribe cheats its next neighbor
above, and maligns its next neighbor below. A talent for slan-
dering is, of course, a first-rate business talent; and the harder
stories one can tell of his neighbors below the greater profit he
will make on his neighbor above.
The consequence is that the interior tribes—who own the most
productive country—have little or no incentive to trade, or to
gather together the stores of ivory, bar-wood, ebony, etc., for which
they get such small prices, and these at no certain intervals, but
often after long periods, even years elapsing sometimes before a
final settlement is found convenient. Thus these are discouraged,
and perforce remain in their original barbarism and inactivity.
The trade in slaves is carried on in exactly the same way, ex-
cept that sometimes an infraction of trade-laws, or some disturb-
ance on account of witchcraft, causes a war between two tribes
in the commission business, when, of course, each side takes all it
can of the opposite and ships them direct to the coast—to the
barracoons, or slave depots, of which I shall have something more
detailed to say farther on.
There are, however, other obstacles to the prosecution of a reg-
ular commercial enterprise even by the shrewder among the ne-
groes. It is not permitted that any member of a tribe shall get
into his hands more than his share of the trade. It occurred some
years ago to a shrewd Mpongwe fellow that in trade transactions
honesty might be the best policy, and he followed the suggestion
so well that presently both the whites and the interior natives
threw a very considerable trade into his honest hands. But no
sooner was this observed than he was threatened with poisoning,
accused of witchcraft, and such a hullaballoo raised about his ears
that he was forced to actually refuse the trade offered him, and, in
a measure, retire from business to save his life.
More recently still, there were three or four men in the river
who had obtained, by long good conduct, quite a character for
honesty, and also, in consequence, got a good deal of business. At
last a captain came for a load of bar-wood, and declared that he


36
THE CREDIT SYSTEM.
would trust only the three or four men in question, to the bitter
disappointment of other traders. The vessel was quickly filled
and departed; and there arose a great " palaver"—the Portuguese
cant for a quarrel—in which the kings and chiefs and all the disap-
pointed trading fellows met together at Glass Town—the residence
of my honest friends—to advise about such an outrage. The men
were called up for trial. They had been educated at the Amer-
ican mission, and knew how to write; and the charge made against
them now was that they had written to the white man's country
to say that there were no good men in Gaboon but themselves.
To this the accused shrewdly replied that the white men would
not believe men who should thus praise themselves.
But reply was useless. They were threatened that if they took
the next ship that came, the malcontents would " make a boondgi,"
or work a spell of witchcraft upon them, and kill them. Fortu-
nately, in this case, the honest fellows had learned at the mission
not to fear such threats; and the French commander for once
stepped in and protected them against their envious fellows, so
that for this time, on the west coast of Africa, honesty seems likely
to get its reward.
Again, through the anxiety of white traders to secure " trade,"
there has sprung up along the coast an injurious system of "trust."
A merchant, to secure to himself certain quantities of produce yet
to come down from the interior, gives to such black fellows as he
thinks he can depend on advances of trade goods, often to very
considerable amounts. In this way, on the Gaboon and on the
coast, often many thousand dollars' worth of goods are in the hands
of natives, for which no consideration has been received by the
white trader, who meantime waits, and is put to trouble and ex-
pense, and thinks himself lucky if he do not eventually lose a part
of his investment.
This system of " trust," as it is called, does great injury to the
natives, for it tempts them to practice all sorts of cheats, for which
they are sharp enough—indeed, much too shrewd often for the
white man. Of course, his only dependence lies in the knowledge
of his black debtor that if he cheats too badly his future supplies
will be stopped entirely. But the practice develops all kinds of
overtrading as well as rascality—negroes seldom hesitating to
contract to supply much greater quantities of produce than they
can hope to procure during a season.


A DAY WITH THE TRADERS.
37
Even the slave-trade, I found, on my visit to Cape Lopez, is
burdened with this evil of " trust," and some of the Portuguese
slavers, I was told, get preciously cheated in their advances on
shipments of slaves sold "to arrive," but which do not come to
hand.
I have heard the negroes called stupid, but my experience
shows them to be any thing else than that. They are very
shrewd traders indeed; and no captain or merchant who is a new
hand on the coast will escape being victimized by their cunning
in driving a bargain.
Say that to-day the good ship Jenny has arrived in the river.
Immediately every black fellow is full of trade. The ship is
boarded by a crowd of fellows, each jabbering away, apparently
at random, but all telling the same story.
Never was there such dearth of ivory, or whatever the cap-
tain may want!
Never were the interior tribes so obstinate in demanding a
high price!
Never was the whole coast so bare!
Never were difficulties so great!
There have been fights, captain!
And fever, captain!
And floods, captain!
And no trade at all, captain!
Not a tooth!
This point settled, they produce their "good books," which are
certificates of character, in which some captain or other white
trader who is known on the coast vouches for the honesty—the
great honesty and entire trust-worthiness—of the bearer. It is
not worth while for a fellow to present himself without a certifi-
cate, and the papers are all good, because when "the bearer" has
cheated he does not apply for a "character." Now these certifi-
cates help him to cheat. When he finds the need of a new set of
papers, he conducts himself with scrupulous honesty toward two
or three captains. These, of course, "certify" him, and then he
goes into the wildest and most reckless speculations, upheld by
the "good books," which he shows to every captain that comes.
Now, while they are pretending that nothing is to be bought,
that there is no ivory on the coast, all this time the lying ras-
cals have their hands full, and are eager to sell. They know


33
EVILS OF "TEUST."
the captain is in a hurry. The coast is sickly. The weather is
hot. He fears his crew may fall sick or die, and he be left with a
broken voyage. Every day is therefore precious to him; but to
the black fellows all days are alike. They have no storage, no
interest account, no fever to fear, and, accordingly, they can tire
the captain out. This they do. In fact often, if they have an
obstinate customer to deal with, they even combine and send all
the trade a day's journey up river, and thus produce a fair show
of commercial scarcity. At last, when high prices have been
established, when the inroads of fever on his crew or the advance
of the season have made the poor captain desperately willing to
pay any thing, the ivory comes aboard, and the cunning black
fellows chuckle.
Even then, however, there are tedious hours of chaffering. A
negro has perhaps only one tooth to sell, and he is willing—as he
must live on this sale for a long period of idleness—to give much
time to its proper disposal. He makes up his mind beforehand
how much more he will ask than he will eventually take. He
brings his tooth alongside; spends the afternoon in bargaining,
and probably takes it back ashore at dusk, to try again the next
day; till at last, when he sees he can not possibly get more, he
strikes the trade. I have known several days to be spent in the
selling of a single tooth or a single cask of palm-oil.
Of course the captain protests that he is not in a hurry—that
he can wait—that they shan't tire him out. But the. negroes
know better; they know the fatal advantage their climate gives
them.
When it is supposed that a captain or trader will return to the
coast no more after his present voyage, then he is properly vic-
timized, as then the native has no fear of future vengeance before
him; and I have known many individuals who, by the system of
"trust," were all but ruined—getting scarce any return at all.
It is much to be wished that white traders would combine to
put down at least this abuse. But until the spread of commerce
shall break down the scoundrelly system of middle-men in this
land, there will be no really prosperous trade there. And this
will not happen till the merchants themselves visit the head-
quarters whence the produce is brought, and until the rude tribes
shall be somewhat civilized by lengthened contact with the whites.
At present things are in a state of utter disorganization, and the


MPONGWE COASTERS.
89
"trust" abuse seems a real necessity. For so hardly and often
have the interior tribes been cheated of all returns for their wares,
that now they have come to demand at least part payment in ad-
vance; and, of course, this advance is exacted of the white trader
on the coast, to lure whom great rumors are spread through the
tribes of teeth of a marvelous size lying ready for purchase, etc.
Too often, when an advance has been made for a specific pur-
chase, of a tooth, say, it is, after all, seized for some intermediate
party's debt on its way down, and thus the poor trader is again
victimized.
So eager are the Mpongwe for trade that they have even set
up a regular coasting business. Every considerable negro trader
owns several canoes; but his great ambition is to buy or build a
larger vessel, in which he may sail along the coast, and, getting
goods on trust from white merchants, make his regular voyage,
or establish his little factory on some out-of-the-way point on the
shore. The splendid harbor of the Gaboon has made them toler-
ably fearless in the water, and their rage for trade leads them to
all manner of adventures.
Their coasting vessels are only large boats, but I have seen
some of so considerable size as to hold conveniently eight to ten
tons. To make one of these they cut down an immense tree,
sharpen it at the ends, then burn out the interior, guiding the fire
so as to burn the heart of the tree and leave them the shell they
need. For this hull, which is then scraped smooth, and otherwise
finished and strengthened, they next make masts and sails, the
latter being of matting, and then they are ready for sea. These
cockle-shells stand the wind and sea remarkably well, as is evi-
dent when the squally and blustery weather of this country is
considered, and when we know that they make voyages from the
Gaboon as far as Cape St. Catherine's south, and as far as Banoko
and Cameroon north.
The start for one of these voyages is a great occasion. Guns
are fired, and the people shout and wish a pleasant voyage; and
the lucky vessel is received at her port of destination with similar
ceremonies.
The great aim of a Mpongwe trader, however, is to get " trust"
from a white man, with authority to go off up or down the coast
and establish a factory. Then there is double rejoicing. But the
poor white trader is generally sadly victimized; for his agent goes


40
MPONGWE FACTORIES.
to some spot where he thinks he can get ivory and other trade
and settles down. Then, first, he mostly picks out the best and
most valuable of the goods with which he has been intrusted, and
secrets these for his own use. His next step is to buy himself
some slaves and to marry several wives; all which being accom-
plished, it is at last time to think of the interests of his principal.
Thus, after many months, perhaps he makes returns of his sales,
or perhaps he fails altogether to make returns, if he thinks he can
cheat so badly with impunity.
These fellows understand all the dialects spoken on the coast,
as well as English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. On their
voyages, as they go poorly provisioned, and depend more on luck
than real skill, they often suffer extreme hardships, but they are
seldom drowned.
The chief product of the Gaboon country is its ivory. This is
said to be the finest on the western coast. It produces also bar-
wood, a red dye-wood, from which is obtained a dark red dye, and
ebony, the last taken from the great forests of this wood which
abound near the head-waters of the Gaboon River. I have seen
very large sticks brought thence, but the supply is not yet large.
The bar-wood-tree is found in great plenty along the shores of
the river and its numerous tributary creeks. It is also found on
the Moondah and Danger rivers. Copal is another product of this
country, but it is of inferior quality, and is not sought.
Ivory comes down the river from the interior by inland jour-
neys in great quantities. Upward of 80,000 pounds are taken
from the Gaboon River yearly when home prices are good; for
the ruling prices here are so high that traders can not buy to ad-
vantage unless the home demand is very brisk. I suppose that
the country from Banoko to Loango furnishes in brisk years at
least 150,000 pounds of ivory.
But however important may be these commercial resources of
the Gaboon country, I am convinced that the people will never
prosper till they turn their attention more to agricultural operations,
for elephants must finally disappear. This, indeed, is the great
evil of all the nations of Western Africa. The men despise labor,
and force their women and slaves to till the fields; and this tillage
never assumes the important proportions it deserves, so that the
supply of food is never abundant; and, as will be seen farther on,
the tribes, almost without exception, live from hand to mouth, and.
with a fertile soil, are half the time in a state of semi-starvation.


DECREASE OF THE MPONGWE.
41
CHAPTER HI.
Some Causes of the Decrease of the Mpongwe.—Restrictions as to Intermarriage.—
Last Days of King Glass.—Public Opinion on the Gaboon.—Mourning for a King.
—" Making" a new King.—Character of the Mpongwe.—An African Gentleman.
—Food.—Agriculture.
To return to the Mpongwe, who, as the leading tribe on the
Gaboon, deserve a few words more. I have said before that this,
in common with most of the tribes, is slowly decreasing in num-
bers. Polygamy and the numerous murders, or accusations for
witchcraft, do more to cause this decrease than aught else visible,
as will be shown in the course of this narrative; much more than
fevers and irregular habits.
The coast tribe is much divided into classes, whose distinction
is kept up chiefly by the restraints in intermarriage. Of Mpong-
we of pure blood there are at present not more than three hund-
red. Next to these in rank come the descendants of Mpongwe
fathers by Mbinga, Shekiani, or Bakalai women; these amount
to about 800. Next come the children of Mpongwe men by
their slave women. These are called barnbai; and, though they
enjoy little less consideration than the purer blood, are not per-
mitted to marry with that privileged class. These may number
1000. Then come the children of slaves, who form a great pro-
portion of the population, numbering not less than 1000; and,
finally, the lowest of all, the slaves, who number, I suppose, three
or four thousand.
They live chiefly on the right side of the Gaboon River, hav-
ing their villages, called Kringd, Qua-ben, Louis, or Dowd Glass,
Prince Glass, and two more, on Point Olinda and Parrot Island.
On the left side are the villages of Roi Dennis, otherwise called
King William, King George, and King Lucan. These dignitaries
are petty chiefs, who govern after a fashion, and with considerable
limitations, the towns named after them. The whole tribe seems
to be ruled by four of the principal kings; but when disputes
arise, which is constantly, there must be a palaver in the village,
in which the old men join and advise. King Qua-ben is held to


42 AN AFRICAN TYRANT.
be the father of the Aguegueza, to which family King Glass also
belongs. The Point Olinda villages belong to the Ogongo fam-
ily. King William (or Rompochembo) belongs to the Ashiga fam-
ily, and is the most intelligent of all the kings.
While I was in the Gaboon old King Glass died. He had
been long ailing, but stuck to life with a determined tenacity
which almost bade fair to cheat death. He was a disagreeable
old heathen, but in his last days became very devout—after his
fashion. His idol was always freshly painted and brightly dec-
orated; his fetich was the best cared for fetich in Africa; and
every few days some great doctor was brought down from the in-
terior, and paid a large fee for advising the old king. He was
afraid of witchcraft—thought every body wanted to put him out
of the way by bewitching him; and in this country your doctor
does not try to cure your sickness; his business is to keep off the
witches.
The tribe had got tired of their king. They thought, indeed,
that he was himself a most potent and evil-disposed wizard, and,
though the matter was not openly talked about, there were few
natives who would pass his house after night, and none who
would be tempted inside by any slighter provocation than an ir-
resistible jug of rum. Indeed, if he had not belonged to one of
the most noble families of the Mpongwe tribe, I think he would
perhaps have been killed, so rife was suspicion against him.
When ho got sick at last every body seemed very sorry; but
several of my friends told me in confidence that the whole town
hoped he would die; and die he did. I was awakened one morn-
ing early by the mournful cries and wails with which the African
oftener assumes a sham sorrow than eases a real grief. All the
town seemed lost in tears/ It is a most singular thing to see the
faculty the women of Africa have for pumping up tears on the
slightest occasion, or for no occasion at all. There needs no grief
or pain to draw the water. I have seen them shed tears copious-
ly, and laughing all the while.
The mourning and wailing lasted six days. On the second the
old king was secretly buried. The Mpongwe kings are always
buried by a few of the most trustworthy men of the tribe in a
spot which they only know of, and which is forever hidden from
all others. This custom arises from a vain belief of the Mpongwe
that, as they are the most able and intelligent people of Africa,


MAKING A KING.
43
the other tribes would like much to get the head of one of their
kings, with the brains of which to make a powerful fetich.
Such an advantage they are not willing to give to their neigh-
bors. Now, as it is customary to hang a flag or a piece of cloth
where a Mpongwe is buried, these old men hung also a large
piece of bright cloth over a spot where the king was not laid.
Where he was put I can not tell, because the secret was not told
even, to me.
During the days of mourning the old men of the village busied
themselves in choosing a new king. This also is a secret opera-
tion. The choice is made in private, and communicated to the
populace only on the seventh day, when the new king is to be
crowned. But the king is kept ignorant of his good fortune to
the last.
It happened that Njogoni, a good friend of my own, was elected.
The choice fell on him, in part because he came of a good family,
but chiefly because he was a favorite of the people and could get
the most votes. I do not know that Njogoni had the slightest sus-
picion of his elevation. At any rate he shammed ignorance very
well. As he was walking on the shore, on the morning of the
seventh day, he was suddenly set upon by the entire populace,
who proceeded to a ceremony which is preliminary to the crown-
ing, and which must deter any but the most ambitious men from
aspiring to the crown. They surrounded him in a dense crowd,
and then began to heap upon him every manner of abuse that the
worst of mobs could imagine. Some spit in his face; some beat
him with their fists; some kicked him; others threw disgusting
objects at him; while those unlucky ones who stood on the out-
side, and could reach the poor fellow only with their voices, as-
siduously cursed him, his father, his mother, his sisters and broth-
ers, and all his ancestors to the remotest generation. A stranger
would not have given a cent for the life of him who was present-
ly to be crowned.
Amid all the noise and struggle, I caught the words which ex-
plained all to me; for every few minutes some fellow, adminis-
tering an especially severe blow or kick, would shout out, "You
are not our king yet; for a little while we will do what we please
with you. By-and-by we shall have to do your will."
Njogoni bore himself like a man and a prospective king. He
kept his temper, and took all the abuse with a smiling face.


44
A ROYAL RECEPTION.
When it had lasted about half an hour, they took him to the house
of the old king. Here he was seated, and became again for a lit-
tle while the victim of his people's curses.
Then all became silent; and the elders of the people rose and
said, solemnly (the people repeating after them), "Now we choose
you for our king; we engage to listen to you and to obey you."
A silence followed, and presently the silk hat, which is the em-
blem of Mpongwe royalty, was brought in and placed on Njo-
goni's head. He was then dressed in a red gown, and received
the greatest marks of respect from all who had just now abused
him.
Now followed a six days' festival, during which the poor king,
who had taken with the office also the name of his predecessor,
was obliged to receive his subjects in his own house, and was not
allowed to stir out. Six days of indescribable gorging of food
and bad rum; of beastly drunkenness and uproarious festivity.
Numbers of strangers came in from surrounding villages to pay
their respects; and all brought more rum, more palm wine, and
more food. Every thing that tended toward festivity was given
away, and all who came were welcome.
Old King Glass, for whom for six days no end of tears had been
shed, was now forgotten; and new King Glass, poor fellow, was
sick with exhaustion, for day and night he had to be ready to re-
ceive and be civil to all who came.
Finally, the rum was drunk up, the allotted days were expired,
and quiet once more began to reign. Now, for the first time, his
new majesty was permitted to walk out and view his domains.
By long intercourse with traders, and the commercial necessity
for mild manners, the coast Mpongwe have, as a people, acquired
a polish and politeness of address which astonishes strangers very
greatly. They know perfectly how to make themselves at home
with all the whites they meet, and understand how to flatter the
peculiarities of the different nationalities, the American, English,
French, and Spanish, in a very amusing and extremely shrewd
way. In fact, they are a mercantile people, and recognize out-
ward politeness as a valuable commercial quality; but, with all
their smoothness, they are inwardly great rascals and keen dis-
simulators.
It is to be hoped that the efforts of the missionaries will have
some effect upon the rising generation, among whom chiefly they


AN AFRICAN GENTLEMAN.
45
must expect to labor; for of the grown negro, in whom the love
of idleness and chicanery are already habits, it is next to impossi-
ble to make any thing.
But it would be wrong to condemn the whole people. As fu-
ture pages will show, I met every where in my travels men and
women honest, well-meaning, and in every way entitled to respect
and trust; and the very fact that a white man could travel alone,
single-handed and without powerful backers, through this rude
country without being molested or robbed, is sufficient evidence
that the negro race is not unkindly-natured.
One of the chief men of Glass Town, a man whom I knew and
loved, was a remarkable exception to the general dishonesty of
the coast Mpongwe. This man was respected and trusted by all
the traders of the various nations who came to the Gaboon, and
enjoyed as well the esteem of his countrymen and of the whites.
Though not a professing Christian, his long intercourse with the
missionaries had opened his eyes to the deceits and cruelties of
fetdchism. He adhered to polygamy, probably because he saw no
way to rid himself of his numerous family. But he was really,
in manners and conduct, a black gentleman; genial, affable, po-
lite, kind, and benevolent. No stranger or poor person ever pass-
ed his bamboo house without help from him. No one asked in
vain for a share of his means or his influence. As a trader, ev-
ery white man liked him; and he was never known to "make
palaver," as is too much the custom among his fellows. He
died when I was in the Commi country; and, as an extraordinary
proof of his benevolence and enlightenment, with his last words
he forbade strictly that any of his slaves should be killed over
his grave: unlike one of his fellow-chiefs, Toko, who, dying but
a little while before, had a great number of poor wretches tortured
and killed at his funeral.
Poor Will Glass! He lies in the mission burying-ground, near
the men whom he loved in life, and who had before him fallen
victims to their zeal for Christ and their love for their fellow-
men.
I sat one day in Will Glass's house, when he began to speak
of his friends, missionaries who had returned home, and whose
absence he grieved over. Especially he seemed to feel the loss
of the Rev. J. Leighton Wilson, our common friend, and now the
Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Mr.


46
FOOD.—PLANTATIONS.
Wilson's memory is still cherished among the people of the Ga-
boon; and "Will Glass told me how the natives in crowds escort-
ed Mr. and Mrs. Wilson to the boat when they were about to
leave the coast. "Little did I think we should never see him
again," said he; then, after a pause, "I shall never see him
again."
And looking up, I saw two great tears rolling down the wrin-
kled cheeks of this old black man, who had probably known no
tears for many years before. Such is the affection which that
missionary and others inspired in the breasts of natives who are
not even their converts.
The vegetable food of the Mpongwe, and with little variation
of most of the other tribes of this region near the sea-shore, con-
sists of Indian corn, the plaintain, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava
(manioc), tania, pumpkins, and ground or pea-nuts. The last pro-
duce enormously, and considerable oil could be made if any one
would give attention to their cultivation for this purpose. The
forests abound in wild fruits and nuts, some of which are eaten;
for instance, the pine-apple grows wild in all parts of this region,
and is a delicious fruit.
Their plantations are never near their villages, and often many
miles away. The consequence is, that during the dry season
the Mpongwe villages are mostly deserted, all hands, men, wom-
en, and slaves, being busily engaged on their farms in preparing
the soil for the crop, which must be put down by the beginning
of the rainy season. This is a busy time, as generally new clear-
ings have to be made, for which the men cut down the trees and
burn them, when the women come in and put in the crop. They
use no plows or hoes, but only a little tool like a gardener's dib-
ble, with which they turn up a piece of sod, put in a seed, cover
it over, and pass on to the next. But, rude as their agricultural
knowledge is, they sometimes raise good crops.
The soil is well fitted for raising many valuable articles of com-
merce. Sugar-canes grow luxuriantly on the banks of the Ga-
boon. Coffee-plants were first introduced by the Rev. J. L. Wil-
son, fifteen years ago, and now bear finely, those about the mis-
sion-grounds being particularly loaded with berries. And I have
no doubt other valuable tropical plants not indigenous would
succeed, if only the labor necessary for proper culture were at-
tainable.


ANIMAL FOOD.
47
The Mpongwe eat the meat of almost every animal found in
the forest and river—deer, antelopes, wild boar. Civilization has
taught them not to eat animals of other orders like the other na-
tives, such as chimpanzee, crocodile, monkeys, rats, and so forth;
such food is eaten by their slaves. Often, when hunters succeeded
in killing for me a rare and unknown bird, I was disappointed of
preserving it, because they would slyly eat the meat and ruin the
skin.


48
CORISCO THE BEAUTIFUL.
CHAPTER IV.
Corisco the Beautiful.—The Mbingas.—Missionary Stations.—African Wake.—Set
out for the Muni.—An Explorer's Outfit.—Plan of Operations.—Poor Debtor in
Africa.—Lynch Law.—My Canoe.—The Muni.—Mangrove Swamps.—Lost.—
King Dayoko.—Salutations.
The Gaboon, being old and beaten ground, did not need my
explorations. It was useful to me as a starting-place or point of
departure, because here only could I lay in such supplies of goods
as I needed from time to time to make my way into the interior;
and hither I returned to rest and regain health and strength after
each of my tours. Beyond this we shall have nothing to do with
the Gaboon henceforth.
It was my intention to proceed first on an exploration of the
River Muni, and for this purpose I sailed from Gaboon for Corisco
Island, where I was to get canoes and men to help me at least a
part of the way up river. Corisco—the picturesque Corisco it de-
serves to be called—is an island situated in the bay of the same
name, and at about twelve miles from the main land of Cape St.
John, between that and Cape Steiras. It is a tolerably high and
well-wooded island, and its shores are lined chiefly with cocoanut-
palms, the produce of some cocoanuts floated hither from the
isles of Prince's and St. Thomas, where they are very plenty,
whereas here the cocoanut is scarce known.
Though but a small island, Corisco has its hills and valleys, for-
ests and prairies, and has even a little lake or pond, where ducks
often come to bathe and fish. It seems a little world, and a very
lovely little world at that. The shores are sometimes rocky and
steep, presenting a firm front to the waves which rage and dash
against its sides; and then again flat and sandy, forming beautiful
white shell-strewn beaches backed by lovely palms, among which
the little native villages are clustered, with their plantations of
plaintain, manioc, peanuts, and corn showing through the palm-
groves.
The villages are scattered all along the shore, so that, which-


THE MBINGA.
49
ever side you sail past, you see the smoke pleasantly curling above
the tree-tops. Great quantities of beautiful shells are found on
the shores, and among the rocks at low tide sea-birds also abound,
and on almost any steep rock overhanging the water the hunter
may see fish-hawks and eagles patiently sitting and watching for
their finny prey below. Great quantities of fish are caught by
the natives, and at certain seasons turtle frequent the shores, and
are "turned" in considerable numbers. The interior forests
abound in parrots and smaller birds.
The climate of the island is healthier than that of the neighbor-
ing coast. Water is scarce at certain seasons, though there are a
few springs and little rivulets of pure water in the centre of the
island which never run dry. The soil produces, besides cocoa-
nuts, manioc, plantain, sweet potatoes, yams, and ground-nuts;
limes are also abundant. Manioc is, however, the chief food of
the people. Palm-oil-trees grow abundantly, but not much palm-
oil is made, and the natives consume all the island produces.
But the palm adds another grace to a landscape of which my
eyes never tired, and the bright-feathered parrots and other beau-
tiful birds, and squirrels who constantly run about this palm and
feed on its bunches of yellow nuts, make the tree a favorite with
lovers of nature.
The island is not more than twelve miles in circumference.
Its population, of about 1000 souls, is scattered all over the
island. They are a quiet, peaceable people, hospitable to strangers
and fond of white men, particularly of the missionaries who have
settled among them. They belong to the Mbenga tribe, who are
the most enterprising traders and the most daring boatmen of the
coast . They were formerly the most warlike tribe of this part of
the country, and, when I first came on the coast, were continually
fighting with their neighbors. About ten years ago the Presby-
terian Board of Missions sent out some missionaries, and the labors
of these worthy gentlemen have almost entirely changed the char-
acter of the Mbenga. They are no longer so quarrelsome, and
have lost that reputation for ferocity which formerly they prided
themselves on.
This tribe inhabits not only Corisco, but also the land about
the neighboring Capes Steiras and St. John. Their language dif-
fers somewhat from the Bakalai, but has, like that, no letter R,
while the Mpongwe and its dialects abound in the use of this letter.
D


50
MISSIONARY LABORS.
Corisco has no cattle nor wild beasts, the only quadrupeds
found being three varieties of squirrels. Snakes, however, are
common, particularly a venomous black snake. The island pro-
duces little that can be traded away except vegetables. The
meat of the inhabitants consists of fish and turtle. The energies
of the Mbenga, finding no field in their little island, carry them to
the main land, where they are in great repute as traders. In their
canoes they sail up the Muni and Moondah rivers, and as far as
Banoko, and many of them are regularly employed by the white
merchants to do their trading.
There are three missionary stations on the island, Evangasimba,
Ngobi, and Olongo. There is a school at each station, and when
I was last there these schools were attended during the week by
about 100 scholars, and on Sunday by about 125. Many of the
children are growing up in Christian habits of life, and it is not
too much to hope that the next generation will live a different
life from this poor heathen and ignorant existence of their fa-
thers. There are about 75 church members.
The missionaries have scholars in the schools from tribes on
the main land, and these they hope to send out by-and-by to tell
the glad tidings of salvation, each to his own people.
But much remains to be done. It is almost impossible to rout
superstitious customs out of the hearts of those who have grown
old in their practice. Upon such the missionaries can have but
little influence. They say "Yes, yes," but they go ahead in their
old ways. They respect and love the missionaries; they see the
absurdity of their fetich worship; they are convinced of the wick-
edness of slave-killing and other cruelties; and then at the first
excitement they sink back supinely into every superstitious or
cruel custom. It is to the rising generation that the good mis-
sionaries have to look for the full, reward of their faithful labors.
A few days before I left the island, Tonda, a Mbenga fellow
who had traveled with me on the Muni, died, and at his funeral
I was witness to a singular ceremony, akin to the "waking" of
the body.
The mother of poor Tonda, who heard that I wished to see
him once more, led me to the house where the body was laid.
The narrow space of the room was crowded; about two hund-
red women were sitting and standing around, singing mourning
songs to doleful and monotonous airs. They were so huddled


A MBINGA FUNERAL.
51
together that for a while I could not distinguish the place of the
corpse. At last some moved aside, and behold! the body of my
friend.
It was seated in a chair.
It was dressed in a black tail-coat and a pair of pantaloons.
It had several strings of beads about the neck.
Altogether, it was a ghastly sight, though the pallid face of
death can not be seen in the negro.
As I stood looking, filled with solemn thoughts, in spite of, or
rather because of, perhaps, the somewhat ludicrous contrasts about
me, the mother of Tonda approached.
She threw herself at the feet of her dead son, and begged him
to speak to her once more.
And then, when the poor corpse did not answer, she uttered a
shriek, so long, so piercing, such a wail of love and grief, that the
tears came into my eyes. Poor African mother! she was literally
as one sorrowing without hope; for these poor people count on
nothing beyond the present life. For them there is no hope be-
yond the grave. "All is done," they say, with an inexpressible
sadness of conviction that sometimes gave me a heartache. Truly,
it is worth while to bear words of comfort and promise to such as
these.
As I left the hut, thinking these things, the wailing recom-
menced. It would be kept up by the women, who are the official
mourners on these occasions, till the corpse was buried. Then
the family and friends would lay aside their ornaments for many
months, would refrain from dancing and all manner of merry-
making, till at last all is forgotten again.
At the funeral the friends of poor Tonda wished to bury with
him a quantity of goods; but as the poor fellow was being buried
according to the Christian manner, Kev. Mr. Mackey properly ob-
jected. The good missionary preached words of hope to the
many hundreds standing about the grave, and perhaps the poor
lone grieving mother found some comfort in her heart when she
went away. I was glad to hope so at any rate.
The Bay of Corisco, across whose mouth lies the island of the
same name, is one of the loveliest bays on the whole African coast.
It would be also one of the finest for mercantile purposes were it
not for its numerous shallows. It is about twelve miles deep,
by twenty-five miles across at the mouth, and contains several


52
UP THE MUNI.
lesser islands and some sandy islets, which afford shelter for sea-
birds, and are famous places for picking up fine sea-shells. The
rivers Muni and Moondah empty their waters into the bay; and
on a clear day one can see from the hill-tops of Corisco the distant
highlands of the interior main land, and the high mountains yet
farther back in which the Muni has its source.
This bay was formerly much frequented in the season (July and
August) by whales, who came here to drop their young; but the
whale-ships have pursued them so regularly that now they are very
shy, and no longer come in such quantities as formerly. I have
known a vessel to get in two months sixteen or eighteen whales.
At Corisco I enjoyed the hospitality of the missionaries, and
take this occasion to offer my grateful acknowledgments to the
Rev. Messrs. James Mackey and Clemens for many kind attentions
received from them.
It was here that I made preparations for a long journey, in
which I intended to explore the Muni to its head-waters; to cross,
if possible, the Sierra del Crystal, and see what kind of country
and what manner of people were to be found there. I wanted
particularly to visit the cannibal tribes in the Sierra, and to ascer-
tain if the Congo, which had been supposed to flow northward
back of these mountains, was there to be found.
My voyage was to be made alone, so far as white companions
were concerned. Mbango, a chief or head-man among the Corisco
people, was engaged to accompany me, to introduce me to. a friend
of his, an influential king on the Muni.
We set out in Mbango's canoe on the 27th of July. The canoe
was hewn out of a single tree, and, though narrow, was commo-
dious and safe enough for so rough a journey.
My crew consisted of twelve black fellows, besides Mbango, all
armed with guns. I foresaw that, from the dread all the coast na-
tives have of the cannibal tribes, I should have difficulty in car-
rying all my baggage. I therefore determined not to encumber
myself with supplies of provisions or any thing else that could be
spared. My outfit consisted only of the following articles: A
chest containing 100 fathoms of prints, 19 pounds of white beads,
a quantity of small looking-glasses, fire-steels and flints, a quan-
tity of leaf tobacco. In addition to which came my greatest de-
pendence, viz.: 80 pounds of shot and bullets, 25 pounds of pow-
der, and my guns.


NEW WAY TO COLLECT A DEBT. 53
The day on which we sailed was beautiful. There was a fine
breeze, and we passed in rapid succession the islets which dot the
Bay of Corisco, Leval, Banian, and Big and Little Alobi. We
were making fine progress, and I was in high spirits at the aus-
picious commencement of my trip, when one of those peculiar de-
tentions occurred which arise out of the ill-regulated trade sys-
tem of Africa, and which would be laughable were they not vex-
atious.
Mbango was a great trading man. Therefore Mbango had
debts owing him. Now Mbango's debtors, like most debtors on
the African coast, were not fond of paying, and I found that
Mbango made a practice of lying in wait for them, seizing them,
and robbing them of what they happened to have with them, as
a kind of new way to pay old debts.
Accordingly, as we were sailing along, my steersman kept an
unusually sharp look-out ahead. His care was presently reward-
ed. We saw a large boat sailing along down toward us careless-
ly, as though they had no enemies to dread. No sooner, howev-
er, were the boatmen near enough to recognize us than, with a
little shout of surprise, they put about and sailed and paddled off
in the utmost haste.
But Mbango also gave a little shout. He recognized in the
same moment in the other boat a veteran poor debtor of his.
Turning our boat after the other, he urged his men to paddle,
and meantime shouted to the others to stop.
But the more he called "stop," the harder they paddled off.
Now our side became excited. Mbango called that he would
fire upon them.
This only frightened them more.
Our men seized their guns, and (slyly shaking the powder out
of the touchholes, I must say to their credit) pointed directly at
the flying boat.
Now the women even seized paddles and plied them vigor-
ously.
Then our side fired a few random shots over the heads of the
flying debtors. Still they paddled on.
By this time, however, it became apparent that our boat was
the fastest. Presently, indeed, we overtook the other.
I had been sitting quietly watching the fun; but now, as wo
hauled alongside the enemy's boat, and I saw a good deal of


54
A CHASE AND SCUFFLE.
fierce blood up on both sides, I began to remonstrate. I did not
wish to see blood spilt, nor did I care to be upset in the scuffle;
but my voice was drowned in the uproar. A desperate hand-to-
hand fight began at once as we ranged alongside. How we
escaped upsetting I do not yet understand, but I suppose these
fellows instinctively poise themselves aright. I was wet through;
the canoe took in water, and murder was imminent, when sud-
denly the other canoe again gave us the slip.
Now the chase began again. Again we shouted, and the other
side paddled as for dear life; but it was of no avail. Presently
we again hauled alongside, and this time we made fast . Then
came another fight, in the midst of which the boatmen, seeing
they were about to be overpowered, suddenly leaped into the wa-
ter and swam off. Though we were some miles from shore,
they had no uneasiness as to the result. Mbango caught two of
them, and took, besides, a woman prisoner; then coolly turned on
his course again, saying to me with a smile that he had done a
very good day's work. He explained that these people had long
owed him a quantity of bar-wood, for which he had paid in ad-
vance, and, now that he had some of the party prisoners, they
would soon settle up.
About a mile from the mouth of the Muni are Big and Little
Alobi, two small islets. The first has a few native villages, ruled
by King Mbapay, who this day presented me with a chicken and
a bunch of plantains, on which I made my dinner. In return I
gave his negro majesty some heads of tobacco.
Little Alobi is uninhabited, and is used by the whites as a des-
pot for bar-wood, for which it is convenient, as vessels can anchor
close alongside the shore.
Here we remained over night, I sleeping ashore, while Mban-
go's favorite slave man kept watch over the boat, Mbango threat-
ening to "sell him to the white man's country" if any thing was
stolen.
Next day I had a chill, and laid over, not caring to enter the
Muni but in perfect health. I took the usual doses of quinine.
The following morning several Muni River men came down
to see me, having heard that I was about to go up the river;
and in the afternoon we sailed with a favoring tide for the vil-
lage of Mbango's friend, Dayoko. We had a fair wind, and the
boat fellows availed themselves of it to lie about and do nothing,


TRIBUTARIES OF THE MUNI.
o5
which they perfectly know how to do. These canoes do not sail
on the wind at all; but before it, with their sails of country-mat-
ting, they make very good headway.
Yesterday I measured our canoe. She is thirty-five feet long,
three feet wide, and about three and a half feet deep; made, as
before said, out of one immense tree. The Muni, the river which
I was now to ascend, empties its waters into the Bay of Corisco,
in lat. 1° 2' N., and long. 9° 33'. It is formed by the confluence
of three other streams, the Ntongo, a stream of forty miles length,
whose course is S.W. by W.; the Ntambounay, which runs an
easterly course for thirty miles, and then turns to the S.W. for
forty miles more, when it disappears in the mountains; and the
Noya, which runs from its rise sixty miles to the northeast, and
then west for twenty miles more. The Ntambounay and the Noya
have both their sources in the Sierra del Crystal. Their banks
are sparsely populated by various tribes, speaking different dia-
lects.
The Muni is, like most of the rivers of the coast, bounded by
mangrove swamps; but near the mouth, where we sailed to-day,
the highlands back were visible, and made up quite a picturesque
scene. The point forming one side of the bank at the mouth is
high land, and on it several Shekiani villages are located, which
look very pretty from the river.
As we ascended the river the banks became more swampy;
and, at the distance of seventeen miles from the mouth, we came
to a beautiful little island, formed by the junction of the Ntongo
with the Muni.
The Ntongo flows from the northeast; is a considerable stream,
on or near whose banks are formed villages of the Ibouay, Itai-
mon, and Shekiani tribes. It has probably a course or length
of forty miles, and rises in the hills which form, in the interior,
one of the spurs of the Sierra del Crystal. The chief product of
the Ntongo country is India-rubber, of which, some years ago,
considerable quantities were brought down to the coast by the
natives.
Some miles above the mouth of the Ntongo, the Ndina, a creek,
empties its sluggish waters into the Muni. The Ndina is but a
swampy creek, overrun with mangrove jungles, back of which are
to be found some villages, to which the well-guided traveler is led
by native paths, which no one but an experienced woodman would


56
LOST IN THE SWAMP.
perceive. It was the Ndina which we were now to ascend. As
the tide was against us, and was stronger than the wind, we put
down our sail, which had carried us along thus far, and the crew
took to their paddles.
When we had pulled about twelve miles up the creek, through
a continuous mangrove swamp, in which the sluggish current of
the river often lost itself, I saw that my men began to look uneasy.
Presently it leaked out that they had lost their reckoning. They
had thought ere now to have arrived at Dayoko's village—our
destination—and began to be discouraged.
So here was a pleasant prospect of passing the night in the
swamp, where we were like to be eaten up by musquitoes, whose
buzz was already noisy, and whose sharp bills began to make
themselves felt thus early in the afternoon.
In the midst of our perplexity a Mbenga boat came down the
stream, and, on inquiry,, its crew told us that Dayoko's village was
yet a considerable way off. They gave us, however, the right di-
rection—an important matter,-as in the approaching gloom we
were like to glide out of the main channel into some of the numer-
ous side " reaches," or bayous, which lead in from the main stream.
Thus encouraged the men again took to their paddles, and, to
show their joy, began to sing one of their discordant chants, ren-
dered doubly discordant by the echoes of the woods.
Presently we came to a very small collection of huts; and here
I asked a fellow standing on the bank to guide us up to Dayoko's.
He was ready to do so, but seeing probably that I was anxious to
get ahead, thought to make a good bargain with me. He wanted
two fathoms of cloth, two heads of tobacco, and two pipes. This
was unreasonable, and I at once refused to have any thing to do
with him.
Nothing gives these people so poor an opinion of a white man
as the discovery that they can victimize him in a bargain; and
accordingly I was always careful to let no one get the better of
me even in trifles. Fortunately the moon presently rose, and we
were enabled to thread our way up the crooked creek, and found
by-and-by the mouth of a smaller creek, at whose head Dayoko
lives.
About ten o'clock we arrived at the village, having traveled
that day about forty-five miles.
When we arrived the tide was out, and I had, in consequence,


DAYOKO'S RECEPTION.
57
to wade through the stinking mud-bank which lay before and, to
some extent, defended the village. All along the shores of the
Ndina are composed of such mud-banks, which at low tide are
dry, and emit a most offensive smell, and doubtless cause much
sickness.
The noise of our approach awakened the whole village, and the
men came down toward us, with their old trade muskets loaded,
and ready for a fight should it prove, as often happens, a midnight
raid of the enemy. These people have the luck of Cain; every
man's hand seems against them, and their hand is against every
man. They are constantly quarreling, and scarce ever sleep with-
out fear of a hostile incursion. The treacherous enemy comes
down upon a sleeping village, and shoots the unsuspecting inhab-
itants through the chinks in their bamboo houses, then escapes
under cover of the darkness. This is the style of warfare all over
this part of Central Africa, except, perhaps, among some of the
coast tribes, who have gained, in manliness at least, by contact
with the whites.
They were greatly rejoiced when they found us to be their
friends the Mbinga. Visions of "trade" began to loom before
them; they opened their arms, set up a shout of gladness, and
immediately conducted us in state through the village to the house
generally set apart in every considerable negro town for strangers.
Here a great fire was kindled, and presently Dayoko himself
came in, his eyes not half opened, for he had but just waked up.
Then came all his wives to see the white man, whose presence
was already known, and pretty soon the house was filled and sur-
rounded by most of the men and women of the village.
Then began the "salutation"—a tedious formality among the
African tribes which our American people seem to copy in their
"public receptions" of distinguished or notorious men. All the
chief men of Dayoko, together with himself and his wives, sat
round the fire, and, when all was hushed, Mbango, our head-man,
began his oration. In this it is required that every most minute
adventure and incident of the voyage up river shall be alluded
to, and thus a catalogue made of every thing that has happened
"from port to port." The speaker delivers himself in short sen-
tences, each containing one of the many hundred memorable facts
of the day's journey. All sit round silent and open-mouthed,
and at intervals the chief men give little grunts of approbation.


58
AN ORATION BEFORE SUPPER.
At last all was told, and, to my great satisfaction, Mhango sat
down.
Immediately all ceremony was dropped; every man carried off
his friend to have a talk about trade, night seeming no objection,
and the women began to prepare some food, of which I stood in
much need.
About twelve o'clock (midnight) supper was ready, and I sat
down before an immense basket of boiled plantains and a few
boiled fish, and made a very hearty meal. And, this done, I was
shown to my place in the house assigned me for sleeping, when I
was glad enough to wrap myself in my musquito-netting and sleep
till daybreak.


AFRICAN ROYALTY.
59
CHAPTER V.
Dayoko.—African Royalty.—Foreign Relations and Diplomacy in the Interior.—
The Value of a Wife.—Negotiations.—The dry Season.—The Mbousha Tribe.—
-A. Wizard.—A fetich Trial and a Murder.—Progress.—Excitement of the She-
kianis at my supposed Wealth.—The Ntambounay.—The Sierra del Crystal.—
Xiost again.—Approaches of interior Village.—Agricultural Operations.—Fam-
ine.
My first business on the following day was' to talk to Dayoko
about my expedition into the interior; in fact, to ask his permis-
sion to go, and to obtain from bim an escort.
A stranger going into an African village and seeing the chief
or king living in a manner as simple and as needy as any of his
subjects—in fact, in no way conspicuous above the herd of blacks,
and receiving even but little of the respect or precedence which
is usually accorded to the most shadowy monarchs, would little
expect that such a king possessed great authority in his own
tribe, and wields great influence among his neighbors. Dayoko,
for instance, was chiefly remarkable as the oldest living man in
his village. lle was a trader like the rest, a beggar like the rest,
and was very glad to accept from me a propitiatory offering of an
old dress-coat which, having done duty for a whole winter in
New York, had been put away, with other cast-off garments, for
this very purpose. So far Dayoko, when placed in contact with
civilization.
But Dayoko is the oldest and most influential chief among the
Mbousha tribe. His age gives him great authority among his
own people, and a judicious culture of the marriage relation has
given the shrewd old fox no end of fathers-in-law in every tribe
within a hundred miles. Now to have a father-in-law in Africa
means to have a friend in need, a man to whom you can confi-
dently send a bit of ivory or bar-wood to sell, and whom you call
on in any emergency where he can help you. In fact, the more
wives a man has the more power he gains in this way, and wom-
en are chiefly valuable because by their means amicable and
commercial relations are cultivated and subsist between the tribes.


60 THE MARRIAGE RELATION.
Dayoko was quite old. He had begun to marry when quite
young, had married, right and left, all about him ever since, and
was now related to one or two great men -in every tribe which he
could by any means reach. Thus he promised to prove a most
useful man to me.
Though Dayoko's palace was no bigger than the hut of any of
bis well-to-do subjects, I found, as was to be expected, that he had
more wives and more slaves than the others. And I found, too,
that his voice in the councils was of great weight, and that, in
certain cases, he possessed a veto power which rendered him su-
preme. I felt, therefore, that if I could gain over the king to my
project I need not care for the people, or even for the chiefs who
were his relatives, farther up the river.
My first aim was to convince every body that I did not want
to trade. This, thanks to my previous hunts on other branches
of the Muni, and to my never having traded or shown a desire to
make money, was not so difficult to do. I was already known as
a great hunter.
Having established this point, I called Dayoko into my house
and gave him the present with which a negotiation is generally
opened. I gave him the coat before mentioned, about twenty
yards of cotton cloth, some powder, some looking-glasses for his
wives, and some gun-flints.
His majesty accepted graciously all my offering.
Then I spoke of going into the Fan country.
Dayoko thought my project impossible.
I would die on the way, and he should have my death on his
soul—a consideration which seemed to affect him greatly.
I should be murdered by the cannibals and eaten.
There was war on the river, and the tribes would not let me
pass.'
The country was sick.
And so on.
Seeing that I exhibited no signs of repentance, the old sinner
turned on a new tack. His country was full of beasts and birds.
Why not hunt here? and he would give me as many men as I
wanted.
Finally, I told him, with a great show of firmness, that go I
would, if not with his people, then with some one else.
Hereupon he relented, fearing probably that I would leave him,


NATIVE CURIOSITY.
Gl
and that thus he should not make so much out of me as he cal-
culated.
It is as well to add that I did not let any of his fellows peep into
my chest. They are all greedy, and think that every white man
is by nature a Croesus, and owner of an untold wealth of cloth,
looking-glasses, gun-flints, powder, and tobacco. And besides,
their fear of some white man beginning a direct trade with the
interior tribes makes them excessively jealous of every one who
attempts to reach the interior. Dayoko's people did not cease to
warn me that I must carry nothing into the up-country, to all
which, of course, I said yes.
It was at last determined that I should go under Dayoko's pro-
tection. So on the third day after my arrival I sent my Mbinga
men back, and was now left alone among my new friends. I am
to wait for a party going to Mbene's people, who live farther up
river, and in whose charge Dayoko proposes to put me. If they
do not come, I shall get an escort of his Mbousha men.
Meantime numbers of the neighboring tribes come daily to
see me. Most of these have never seen a white man before, and
are filled with astonishment at my long hair, at my white skin—
it is really tanned a very dark brown by this time—and at the
clothes I wear. They stand about me in such crowds that often
I am half suffocated with the stench which their uncleanly bodies
give out.
While waiting, I amused myself with hunting. The country
about here affords to the naturalist little but birds; but some of
these are splendid. To-day (August 16th) I shot a superba, a
bird well named, for its feathers of green and gold and bright
purple are a superb sight as it flies about through the dark-green
foliage of the woods.
I have still to wait for the people Dayoko promises. This will
make some detention, as they are here on agricultural intents,
and the men are out all day cutting trees, and the women clean-
ing the ground; every thing is busy bustle. This is the dry sea-
son, and now all planting must be done, for in a few weeks the
rains come on, and then it is too late.
The dry season is delightful in Africa. It is the season of
flowers, of humming-birds—who flit through bushes at all hours,
and charm one with their meteor-like flight—of every thing
pleasant.


G2
A MBOUSHA WIZARD.
These Mbousha people look very much like the Shekiani
tribe. They have the usual negro features, and are of medium
height. They are less warlike than the Shekianis, but quite as
superstitious and cruel, as I had occasion to know. I heard one
day, by accident, that a man had been apprehended on a charge
of -causing the death of one of the chief men of the village. I
went to Dayoko and asked about it. He said yes, the man was
to be killed; that he was a notorious wizard, and had done much
harm.
So I asked to see this terrible being.
I was taken to a rough hut, within which sat an old, old man,
with wool white as snow, wrinkled face, bowed form, and shrunk-
en limbs. His hands were tied behind him, and his feet were
placed in a rude kind of stocks. This was the great wizard.
Several lazy negroes stood guard over him, and from time to time
insulted him with opprobrious epithets and blows, to which the
poor old wretch submitted in silence. He was evidently in his
dotage.
I asked him if he had no friends, no relations, no son, or daugh-
ter, or wife to take care of him. He said sadly, "No one."
Now here was the secret of this persecution. They were tired
of taking care of the helpless old man, who had lived too long,
and a charge of witchcraft by the greegree man was a convenient
pretext for putting him out of the way. I saw at once that it
would be vain to try to save him.
I went, however, to Dayoko, and argued the case with him. I
tried to explain the absurdity of charging a harmless old man with
supernatural powers; told him that God did not permit witches
to exist; and finally made an offer to buy the old wretch, offer-
ing to give some pounds of tobacco, one or two coats, and some
looking-glasses for him—goods which would have bought me an
able-bodied slave.
Dayoko replied that, for his part he would be glad to save him,
but that the people must decide; that these were much excited
against him; but that he would, to please me, try to save his life.
During the night following I heard singing all over the town
all night, and a great uproar. Evidently they were preparing
themselves for the murder. Even these savages can not kill in
cold blood, but work themselves into a phrensy of excitement
first, and then rush off to do the bloody deed.


AN EXECUTION.
63
Early in the morning the people gathered together, •with the
fetich-man—the infernal rascal who was at the bottom of the mur-
der—in their midst. His bloodshot eyes glared in savage excite-
ment as he went around from man to man getting the votes to
decide whether the old man should die.
In his hands he held a bundle of herbs, with which he sprin-
kled three times those to whom he spoke. Meantime a man was
stationed on the top of a high tree, whence he shouted from time
to time, in a loud voice, "Jocou ! jocou /" at the same time shak-
ing the tree strongly.
"Jocou" is devil among the Mbousha, and the business of this
man was to keep away the evil spirit, and to give notice to the
fetich-man of his approach.
At last the sad vote was taken. It was declared that the old
man was a most malignant wizard; that he had already killed a
number of people; that he was minded to kill many more, and
that he must die. No one would tell me how he was to be killed,
and they proposed to defer the execution till my departure, which
I was, to tell the truth, rather glad of. The whole scene had con-
siderably agitated me, and I was willing to be spared the end.
Tired and eick at heart, I lay down on my bed about noon to
rest and compose my spirits a little. After a while I saw a man
pass my window, almost like a flash, and after him a horde of si-
lent but infuriated men. They ran toward the river.
Then, in a little while, I heard a couple of sharp, piercing cries,
as of a man in great agony, and then all was still as death.
I got up, guessing the rascals had killed the poor old man, and
turning my steps toward the river, was met by the crowd return-
ing, every man armed with axe, knife, cutlass, or spear, and these
weapons and their own hands, and arms, and bodies, all sprinkled
with the blood of their victim. In their phrensy they had tied
the poor wizard to a log near the river bank, and then deliber-
ately hacked him into many pieces. They finished by splitting
open his skull and scattering the brains in the water. Then they
returned, and to see their behavior, it would have seemed as
though the country had just been delivered from a great curse.
By night the men—whose faces for two days had filled me with
loathing and horror, so blood-thirsty and malignant were they—
were again as mild as lambs, and as cheerful as though they had
never heard of a witch tragedy.


64
AFRICAN FONDNESS FOR FIRE.
These tribes suppose that no cruelty is too great to practice
upon a wizard; and this kind of legalized murder, though it tem-
porarily excites their passions, does not seem to afflict them with
any remorseful feelings at all.
I was glad to take refuge in the woods during the heats of
the day, my house, an eight by ten bamboo structure, low-roofed
and close, being uncomfortably heated. Yet the natives pass
their idle hours near a large fire, and this from a desire for
warmth, though the thermometer stands at 88°. It is curious to
see how the negro relishes a fire. I have nowhere found them
assembled, even in the'hottest days, but about a great blaze; and
the first thing done, when a council or assemblage of any kind is
to be held, is to build a fire that would seem to be sufficient to
thaw out the north pole.
August 17th being Sunday, I spent the day in my hut reading
the Bible, to the great surprise of two fellows who were "town-
keepers," the rest of the village having gone out to the fields to
labor. I tried to explain to them that this was a book given to
us by the true God, and that there was but one God.
They gave me the answer I have heard so often on the coast,
"Oh yes, that is true for you, but white man's God is not our
God; we are made by a different God." And to this they stick
pertinaciously.
The following day (18th) we were to start for the interior.
Dayoko gave me two of his sons to be of my party—a piece of
real good luck for me. Also he sent messages to all the neigh-
boring tribes to command good treatment for me.
The men asked to be paid before we started—a dangerous prac-
tice, as they arc like to run away. But as they were Dayoko's
men, and he had treated me well, I thought best to agree. They
are real extortioners. I had to pay for canoes, for mat sails, for
paddles, for every least thing necessary for the outfit; and every
fathom of cloth or string of beads that could be got from me on
any pretext I was relieved of. I finally agreed to give to each
man ten yards of cloth and a few leaves of tobacco. With this
they were content. Then, to make them happier, I went to their
wives, who had all been very kind to me, and gave each some to-
bacco to solace her in her husband's absence.
At last, and just before we were to start, when all was ready
and the men were gathered, I had again to assure Dayoko that I


ON THE NTAMBOUNAY.
65
did not at all intend to trade, but only to hunt for the gorilla, and
visit the mountains and their inhabitants. Happily, my person
and pursuits are well known to all the tribes, who have given me
the name of "Mona dee Chaillee," meaning "the child of Chail-
lee," remembering me as my father's son.
So at last we were off. My party consisted of two sons of
Dayoko, myself, and several men to carry my chests and guns.
Mbene, the Mbondemo chief, for whose place we are bound, is to
take me into the heart of the Sierra del Crystal, and then "per-
haps we shall cross over beyond," I note in my journal, for I de-
sire and hope to reach the sources of the Congo by this route.
We started in canoes, and paddled up a creek which led into
the Muni about ten miles above the Ndina's mouth. It was a
most intricate piece of navigation, through mangrove swamps,
which sometimes almost barred the way even to our little canoes;
sometimes with the current against, and sometimes for us, and
with so many turns and twists that I think I should have been
puzzled to get back alone.
When, at last, we reached the Muni, the tide was setting down
so strongly that we were two and a half hours paddling about
four miles. After a stop at a little village situated two miles be-
low the point where two rivers—the Noya and the Ntambounay
—-join and form the Muni, we began to ascend the Ntambounay.
We had the tide with us; for though the water here is fresh, the
influence of the tides is felt so far back as here, more especially in
the dry season, when the stream is low and the current sluggish.
For the first twenty miles we ascended the river in an E.S.E. di-
rection. It continued wide, being at least 200 yards across, all
the way, and its banks formed a most charming landscape. The
course of the stream was dotted and interrupted by many small
islands, whose shores were bordered with graceful palms. Evi-
dently we had got out of the dull and dreary region of mangrove
swamps.
Toward night we reached a Shekiani village, where we had to
stop all night. It was one of the most uncomfortable nights of
my life. I never saw natives so excited as were these savages at
the appearance of my chests and traveling-bag. Their cupidity
was excited by what they thought must be fabulous riches in my
possession, and I was told at once by a head-man that I could not
pass to the interior without paying to this Shekiani town a
E


66
EXCITEMENT OF THE NEGROES.
tribute of six shirts, 100 fathoms cloth, three great-coats, and a
great quantity of looking-glasses, files, and beads. This would
have entirely ruined me, and of course I paid no attention to the
demand.
As the excitement seemed to grow the longer I staid, I ordered
my men to lie in my hut, thinking that the fear of killing mem-
bers of a friendly tribe might deter them from firing in upon me
during the night. I certainly expected to be robbed, and had
only a hope that the affair would be no more serious. I lay-
quietly down, with my double-barreled gun by my side, ready for
instant action, fully resolved to sell my life at as dear a rate as
possible. Meantime Dayoko's sons went out to palaver with the
chief.
I did not sleep a wink all night. All night the crowd sur-
rounded my house, talking, shouting, singing, and in the greatest
excitement . At last, about four o'clock, things became a little
quieter, and toward daylight those who were not asleep were
still.
As early as I could go out I called on the king, and told him
that my chests contained only powder, shot, and other heavy
things necessary for my journey; and also I gave his majesty a
few fathoms of cloth, and distributed a few leaves of tobacco
among his big-men; at which all were much satisfied. They
asked for rum, but that I never give to these natives, and so re-
fused, of course. Finally we left them, many of the people fol-
lowing us along the river, and wishing us good luck and speedy
return. I was happy enough to get out of the scrape.
We left our large canoe at the Shekiani village, and passed
up the Ntambounay into the Noonday River, making in this day,
Tuesday, August 19th, a toilsome journey of twenty-nine miles,
twelve of which were on the Noonday.
The Ntambounay was ascended in a direction S.E. by E. till its
junction with the Noonday. Here it takes a turn N. by E., and,
as we did not want to go this way, we turned into the Noonday,
ascending this in a general direction to the S.E.
The landscape continued beautiful on the Ntambounay. The
palms lining the river banks, and the numerous small islands
which stud its smooth and glass-like bosom, the occasional deers
which started away from the water-side as our canoe swept into
sight, the shrill cries of various monkeys gazing at us in aston-


AFRICAN RIVER TRAVEL.
67
ishment and terror, the clear sky and the magnificent solitude of
these forests which surrounded us, and through whose trees we
saw only at considerable intervals the smoke curling up, which
announced a village hid in the wilderness: all this was a constant
delight to every sense.
As we were lazily sailing along, I espied two eagles sitting on
some high trees about eighty yards off. Willing to give my fel-
lows a taste of my quality I called their attention to the birds,
and then brought both down with my double-barrel. They could
hardly believe their eyes for surprise, such shooting being almost
miraculous to them. When they had got a little over their
astonishment, I heard them say, "Ah! if he had fought those
Shekiani fellows last night, how many he would have killed."
In the far distance the ranges of the Sierra del Crystal could be
seen, the second and higher range rising above the first. The
river we were ascending seemed to abound in fish, which jumped
frequently out of the water in pursuit of their insect prey; and the
bright-blue king-fishers shot across the water hither and thither,
breaking the quiet with their shrill screams.
As we got higher up the Noonday the stream became narrow,
and finally almost dwindled away. Part of its course lay through
a tangled thicket or jungle of aloe-trees, whose sharp thorns tore
our clothes, and wounded me so that I was covered with blood.
We had here a fair sample of African "river" travel. The aloe
jungle grew, in many places, right into the narrow stream, and so
filled it up that, had I not seen it, I should never have believed
that a canoe could pass through. In several places we had to get
out and carry the canoe over fallen trees which entirely barred
our progress, and all through it was a battle with the jungle, and
a passage through a swamp rather than fair navigation. Yet this
is the only highway of this country, and the natives bring all their
ivory, ebony, and India-rubber to the coast over just such diffi-
cult roads as this; for even this is better than traveling through
the almost impenetrable jungle on foot, in which case their poor
women have to bear the heavy loads on their shoulders.
Dark came on before we had reached Mbene's town, which was
the nearest settlement, and I had the ugly prospect before me of
passing the night in this deadly swamp. Fortunately I had fall-
en in, at the Shekiani town, with a son of King Mbene; and
this good fellow, now, seeiDg my men wearied out and unable to


68
VILLAGE DEFENSES.
go farther, volunteered to hurry on to his father's town and bring
assistance. How far it was we knew not; but he went off.
We waited an hour, but no help arrived. Then I sent out two
of my men to meet the party and hurry them on. Two hours
more passed, and I had begun to despair of help, when loud
shouts ringing through the woods gave us notice of the approach
of our friends; and presently rushed in among us King Mbene
himself, his face radiant with smiles, and shouting a welcome to
me. He was followed by a large party of men and women, who
took up my boxes and other things; Mbene took one of my
guns, and thus relieved, we hurried on to the town or encamp-
ment of my royal friend, which proved to be about six miles off.
The people had been here so little time that they had not had
time to cut a road to the river, so that the few miles we traversed
from the river-side were of the roughest. Happily, elephants are
plenty hereabouts, and when we could we walked in their huge
tracks—the rushing of a herd effecting quite a clearing in the
woods, though every thing grows up again with marvelous ra-
pidity.
I thought to come to a town. My astonishment was great
when I found, instead of the usual plantations of plantain-trees
which surround the collection of huts which make up an African
village, an immense mass of timber thrown down helter-skelter,
as though a hurricane had passed through this part of the forest
.
It appeared that Mbene's people had their village at some dis-
tance off, but came here to make new plantations, and this was
their way of making a clearing. It is the usual way among these
tribes. The men go into the forest and choose a site for the plant-
ation; then cut down the trees in any way, just as luck or fancy
may direct; let every thing lie till the dry season has sufficiently
seasoned the great trees, when they set fire to the whole mass,
burn it up, and on its site the women now plant their manioc,
maize, and plantains.
It was only with the greatest difficulty, and with many tears
from thorns and trips from interposing boughs, that I got through
this barrier, than which they could not have made, a better wall
of defense for their village. For once get an enemy entangled in
such a piece of ground, and they could pepper him at their con-
venience, without fear of retaliation.
At last, when my patience was entirely gone, and my few


MBENE'S VILLAGE.
69
clothes were literally hanging in ribbons about me, we arrived at
the camp. Here we were received in grand African style. Guns
"were fired, the people shouted and danced, every body was as
jolly as though every body's brother had just come back rich,
and I was immediately installed under a shed, whither the king
graciously followed me with a present—very welcome indeed—of
a goat and some bunches of plantains.
The plantain is the bread of all these tribes. Lucky would
they be if they always had such bread to eat. It will be seen
farther on how frequently their thriftless habits leave them with-
out even the easily cultivated plantain, and force them to eke out
a wretched subsistence of the wild roots "which are found in the
forests.
I had seen Mbene before, and several of his people recognized
me, having seen me when, some years ago, I attempted an explo-
ration of this region in company with the Rev. Mr. Mackey.
These good fellows now manifested extraordinary joy, and wel-
comed me to their town with all sorts of dances and songs, and
offers of services.
Mbene's village or encampment is situated at the foot of the
first granite range of the Sierra del Crystal. The forest-clad hill-
sides were visible in the distance, and were to me a delightful
spectacle, for I saw that I was now approaching the goal of my
desires. The people had not as yet built themselves houses, but
were living in camp, under rude sheds composed of leaves spread
thickly over four forked sticks planted in the ground. Here
each head of a family gathered his wives, children, and slaves
about him, and rested in safety and peace. One of the best con-
structed of these sheds—one whose sticks stood upright, and
whose leafy roof was water-tight—was given me, and here I pres-
ently fell soundly asleep, after first placing my two chests near
my head.
On rising the next morning, I found that we were really not
more than ten or fifteen miles from the hills. Yesterday evening
we could see two ranges; the lower and nearer 500 or 600 feet
high, and the farther and higher from two to three thousand feet
high. It is among these hills that the Fans—the cannibal tribe
—live, and the gorilla has here also his home.
Mbene excused himself for what he thought a shabby reception
of me. He said that his people had but just come here; that the


70
AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS.
men had been busy all the dry season cutting down trees and
clearing the woods, so that in the wet season the women might
plant their manioc, plantains, etc. The clearing of ground is the
men's work among these people. The women have the sole care
of the planting. He said that they had had very little to eat;
had been obliged to beg food of the neighboring tribes, and half
the time had nothing to eat but the nut of a kind of palm, of
which they also make a kind of wine. This nut is very bitter;
I could never eat it. It is shaped like an egg, with rounded ends.
To prepare it it is divested of its husk and soaked in water for
twenty-four hours, when it loses in part its exceedingly bitter taste,
and becomes tolerably palatable to a hungry man. Sometimes
hunger presses them to eat the nut without soaking it—I have
been compelled to do so—and it is then excessively disagreeable.
I saw at once that it would not do for me to stay long with
Mbene, for I could not live as these people do; and of my own
stores, though I had a few crackers and sea-biscuit left, these
would not last long, and ought to be kept for possible sickness.
The negro tribes of this region are half the time in a state of
starvation by their utter improvidence. They seem unable to
cope with want, even with so fertile a country as theirs to help
them. Such encampments as this of Mbene's are common among
all the tribes. Their agricultural operations are of the rudest
kind, and, from the necessity of seeking out the most fertile soil
as well as from general habit, they prefer to go to a distance from
their villages to clear and plant the ground. They never plant
two successive years in the same place, and have, therefore, much
labor in clearing the ground every time. And, after all, it is not
uncommon for a village to lose all the fruits of its labors by the
incursions of a herd of elephants, who trample down what they
do not eat up. This happens especially to plantain plantations.
The encampment is called an olako, this word signifying also a
new site for a village or any place of temporary sojourn. An
olako is a romantic scene to look at, particularly in the night, when
every family has its fire, near which its beds are made under the
shades before described. But hunger spoils the prettiest romance;
and I would have given up the camp willingly for a good roast
fowl or a sufficient supply of bread.
I told Mbene that as his place had no food to offer I must go
farther; explained to him my objects; and finally it was agreed


OFFER OF A WIFE.
71
that his brother Ncomo should accompany me with a party as far
as the Fan tribe. So much was settled without difficulty; but
still several weeks passed ere my company was ready to start.
Meantime I made myself as comfortable as possible under the cir-
cumstances. The king's wives supplied me with mats for my bed,
and under these I put dry leaves enough to make a soft couch.
On each side of the bed I built a fire to keep off the musquitoes,
which were very troublesome, and thus I tried to sleep at night.
My weary days were spent in hunting.
I ought to add that, with usual African hospitality, my kingly
friend offered me a wife on my arrival at his place. This is the
common custom when the negroes wish to pay respect to their
guests, and they can not understand why white men should de-
cline what they consider a mere matter of course. I endeavored
to explain to Mbene and his wives what our own customs were
in regard to marriage; but neither men nor women seemed to
understand or appreciate the Christian idea of marriage.
The musquitoes penetrated through the smoke of my fires, and
bit me so that I could scarce sleep on the first night after my ar-
rival, and, to make matters yet more unpleasant, the rain poured
on me through a leaky place in my leafy shelter, so that I arose
next morning wet, sore, hungry, but withal feeling unusually
well.
I went to make arrangements with Ncomo for an early start.
Found that his women had gone out to beg food for their trip.
Mbene gave me a chicken for my dinner—an unusual luxury.
But I had to shoot my fowl before eating it. The natives build
no perches for their poultry, and the consequence is that the
chickens fly to roost in the topmost branches of the trees, where
they are safe from predatory attacks of all kinds, either by their
owners or by wild beasts.
When I declined Mbene's offer of a "wife," he said, "Oh well,
she can at any rate wait on you and cook for you;" and so I am
lucky enough to have a good cook. The negroes use a good deal
of pepper in their cooking, which I think healthy for this climate;
otherwise my chicken-soup was good enough, and, with the addi-
tion of some plantain boiled, and some remains of the goat which
had been given to me yesterday, I made a very good dinner—
probably the last I shall get for a good many days, unless we are
unusually lucky and kill some deer or elephant on our road.


72
"MBENE'S WHITE MAN."
CHAPTER VI.
Hold of a Traveler on the Natives. — Fruits. — The Mbondemo. — Their Towns.
—Houses.—Morals of War.—Condition of Women.—Women as Bearers.—The
Hills.—A Caravan.—Mutiny.—Rapids of the Ntambounay.—Summit of the Sier-
ra.—Contemplations interrupted by a Serpent.—The first Gorilla.—Appearance
in Motion.—Famine in the Camp.—Native Stories of the Gorilla.—Superstitions
Notions about the Animal.—Lifelessness of the Forest.—A Bee-hive.
To-day (August 20th) I sent back Dayoko's men, and am now
in Mbene's power and at his mercy. He is a very good fellow,
and I feel myself quite safe among his rough but kindly people.
I have found it the best way to trust the people I travel among.
They seem to take it as a compliment, and they are proud to
have a white man among them. Even if a chief were inclined to
murder, it would not be profitable in such a case, for the exhibi-
tion of his white visitor among the neighboring tribes does more
to give him respect and prestige than his murder would.
They speak of me now as "Mbene's white man." Before I
was "Dayoko's white man." The title has comfort and safety in
it, for it would be a great insult to Mbene for any stranger to mo-
lest his white man, and it is to his own honor to feed him as well
as he can.
Of course, one must have tact enough to satisfy the chief with
occasional little presents, given him generally in private so that
his people may not beg from him, and given, also, not as though
you wished to conciliate—for it will not do to show any symp-
toms of fear however much cause there may be—but apparently
as friendly gifts.
This is the only safe way to get ahead in this country, and I
never found a chief whose " white man" I was for the time but
would help and further my plans and journeys.
Dayoko's men are to return to Mbene's camp in three months
to look for me, and I have to be back, if possible, by that time.
The women have brought in a supply of the bitter palm-seeds
and of other fruits, mostly more palatable than that bitter abom-
ination, but unfortunately not so plentiful. Among these is a


MBONDEMO SQUATTERS.
73
round nut the bigness of a large walnut, containing three or four
oily kernels, each of the size of a peanut; when these were roast-
ed they were not disagreeable. And there was a remarkably
magnificent fruit which I never saw before, resembling in general
shape a bunch of grapes, each grape olive-shaped, and the whole
of a bright scarlet color. It was really a splendid sight to see
these glowing bunches hanging from the trunks of the trees
which bear them. The seed is larger than that of the olive; the
skin not so thick as that; and the pulp is quite juicy and of a
pleasant flavor.
The Mbondemo tribe is allied to the Mbisho, Mbiki, Mbousha,
Ibouay, Acoa, and Shekiani tribes. The speech of all these tribes
is nearly alike. They can all understand each other. Also they
have the same general customs and superstitions, and the same
nomadic habits. The Mbondemo live or have their towns in the
mountains of the interior east of Cape Lopez, and in that tract of
country which extends from north of the Muni to the Moondah
River.
Since I first knew Mbene he had moved his village twice, his
present removal making the third. I asked what reasons moved
him to these changes. The first time, he said, a man had died
there, and the place was " not good" after that. The second time
he was forced to move because they had cut down all the palm-
trees, and could get no more mimbo (palm wine), a beverage of
which they are excessively fond, though they take no pains to
preserve the trees out of the soft tops of which it is made. But
these are very plentiful all over the country; and it seems eas-
ier for them to move than to take care of the trees surrounding
their settlements, useful as they are to them; for they furnish
not only the wine they love, but the very bitter nut I mention-
ed before, which often keeps them from starvation; while of its
trunk, split up, they make the sides of their houses. A country
which has plenty of palm-trees, plenty of game, a good river,
and plenty of fish, is the ideal region of a Mbondemo settler or
squatter.
The Mbondemo villages differ materially in their arrangements
from those of the sea-shore tribes I have already described. The
houses are mostly of uniform size, generally from twelve to fifteen
feet long, and eight or ten feet wide. They are built on both sides
of a long and tolerably wide street, and invariably join each other.


7±
A MBONDEMO INTERIOR.
The chiefs house and the palaver-house are larger than the others.
The ends of the street are barricaded with stout sticks or pali-
sades, and at night the doors or gates of the village are firmly
closed, and persons approaching, if they can not explain their in-
tentions, are remorselessly shot down or speared. The houses
have no windows, and doors only on the side toward the street;
and when the door of the street is locked, the village is, in fact, a
fortress. As an additional protection, however, they often cut
down thorny brushwood and-block up the surrounding ap-
proaches; and, also, they always locate the village on the top of
the highest hill they can find in the region where for the time be-
ing they squat. All this shows—what is the truth—that they
are a quarrelsome, though not a brave race. They are continu-
ally in hot-water with their neighbors, and never know when they
are to be attacked.
Interiorly the Mbondemo house is divided by a bark partition
into two rooms; one the kitchen, where also every body sits or
lies down on the ground about the fire; the other the sleeping
apartment. This last is perfectly dark; and here are stowed their
provisions and all their riches. To ascertain how large a family
any Mbondemo householder has, you have only to count the lit-
tle doors which open into the various sleeping apartments: "So
many doors so many wives," it was explained to me. The houses
are made of bark and a kind of jointless bamboo, which is got
from the trunk of a particular palm. The strips are tied to posts
set firmly into the ground, with rope made from the vines of the
forest. The roofing is made of matting. The houses are neither
so large, so substantially built, nor so good-looking as those of the
Mpongwe.
To-day (21st) my men have been getting ready their guns for
enemies or game. The tribes of Africa have so many petty causes
of quarrel, that they are always in danger of a fight. They are
so bound together by ridiculous superstitions of witchcraft, and
by the entangling alliances of polygamy, and greatly also by their
want of good faith in trade, that no man can say where or why an
enemy is waiting for his life.
I have already spoken of the system of intermarriages by which
a chief gains in power and friends. But there are other means
of securing allies. For instance, two tribes are anxious for a fight,
but one needs more force. This weakling sends one of its men


THE WOMAN'S QUESTION.
75
secretly to kill a man or woman of some village living near, but
having no share in the quarrel. The consequence is, not, as
would seem most reasonable, that this last village takes its re-
venge on the murderer, but, strangely enough, that the murder-
er's people give them to understand that this is done because an-
other tribe has insulted them, whereupon, according to African cus-
tom, the two villages join, and together march upon the enemy.
In effect, to gain a village to a certain side in a quarrel, that side
murders one of its men or women, with a purpose of retaliation
on somebody else.
Their women they keep only to minister to their pride, influ-
ence, pleasure, and sloth. A man pays goods or slaves for his
wife, and regards her therefore as a piece of merchandise. Young
girls—even children in arms—are married to old men for political
effect. The idea of love, as we understand it, seems unknown
to these people. On the sea-shore a man will hire you his moth-
er, wife, or sister for the vilest uses, and the women are never
averse if they can only obtain the wages of prostitution. And I
will add that the whites who come to the coast, sailors and others,
do more to debauch and demoralize these poor, ignorant natives
than even their own ignorance and brutality would do.
Adultery with a black man is a punishable fine among all the
tribes, and this law, which is strictly executed, is the cause of a
most singular state of things. Husband and wife combine to rob
some fellow with whom the woman pretends to carry on an in-
trigue, making sure of being discovered by the husband, who
thereupon obtains a recompense sufficient to heal his wounded
honor, and for him and his wife and accomplice to five upon for
some time. In short, it is the original of the "panel" game of
New York.
Unlawful intercourse with the women of a neighboring tribe or
village is the cause of nearly all the "palavers," and wars, and
fights in Africa. If a tribe wants to fight, they make this the
cause by getting one of their women to intrigue with a man of the
other tribe or village; and if they do not want to fight even, they
are often forced into it.
Then the system of intermarrying involves half a dozen tribes
in the quarrel of two. Each chief calls on his fathers-in-law to as-
sist, and thus the country is thrown into uproar; property is un-
safe, and becomes almost valueless to them; agricultural opera-


76
MORALS OF WAR.
tions are impeded, and whole villages gradually disappear from
the scene of contention, either by migrating, starving out, or being
killed out.
The women not only provide all the food, they are also the
beasts of burden in this part of Africa. My party from Mbene's
town consisted of Mbene's two sons, Miengai and Maginda, twelve
men, who were hunters, and half a dozen stout women to bear my
heavy chests and other luggage, and food for the journey.
We started at length on the morning of August 24th. The na-
tives had done what they could to gather food beforehand for the
trip, but the result was poor enough. My own supplies were by
this time completely exhausted. The half dozen crackers I had
in reserve were for sickness or a great emergency. Besides this,
they had succeeded in getting several large bunches of plantains
(the bread of this country) and a good many of the bitter palm-
nuts, and that was all the commissariat
.
I took along 70 pounds of shot, 19 pounds of powder, and 10
pounds of arsenic for killing and preserving my specimens; also
my chests, containing cloth, tobacco, beads, etc., for trade and
presents to the natives we should meet. I made Miengai carry
the shot, as the women had already enough. But my men were
all loaded with trade on their own account, consisting of brass
kettles, iron pots, jugs, etc., and about 100 pounds of salt, put up
in little packages of three or four pounds.
The packing of the women is a subject of great importance.
They carry their loads in heavy rude baskets suspended down the
back; and it is necessary that these should be carefully arranged,
with three or four inches of soft tree-fibre next to the back to
prevent chafing.
When all was arranged—when every body had taken leave of
all his friends, and come back half a dozen times to take leave
over again, or say something before forgotten—when all the'shout-
ing, and ordering, and quarreling were done, and I had complete-
ly lost patience, we at last got away.
In about five miles' travel we came to the banks of the Noon-
day River, which is here a narrow, but clear and beautiful stream,
so clear that I was tempted to shoot a fish of curious shape I saw
swimming along as we stood on the bank.
I fired a charge of small shot into him; but no sooner had I
pulled the trigger than I heard a tremendous crash on the oppo-


THE SIERRA DEL CRYSTAL. 77
site bank, above six or seven yards across, saw some small trees
torn violently down, and then came the shrill trumpetings of a
party of frightened elephants. They had been standing in a dead
silence on the opposite bank in the jungle, whether watching us
or not we could not tell. I was sorry I fired, as we crossed the
stream just here, and we might have killed one but for this fright
they got, which sent them out of our reach.
After crossing the Noonday, and traveling ten miles in a north-
east direction, we reached a range of granite hills, which are a
part of the Sierra del Crystal mountains. The hills were very
steep, and to ascend them in as good style as possible, we sat
down and took our dinners first. I ate a few boiled plantains,
not very strengthening, but the best we could get, and then we
essayed the crooked and poorly-marked path up hill, which wound ■
its devious course about immense boulders of granite and quartz,
which, scattered along the declivity, gave the country a very
strange look.
This range was about 600 feet high, and the summit formed a
table-land three miles long, which also was strewed with the im-
mense quartz and granite boulders.
Passing this table-land, we came to another tier of hills, steeper
and higher than the first, which also had to be surmounted. In
this kind of traveling I find that the natives have a great advant-
age over me. They use their bare feet almost like monkeys do
theirs. Long practice enables them to catch hold of objects with
their toes, and they could jump from rock to rock without fear
of falling, while I, with thick shoes on, was continually slipping,
and got along very slowly.
We were yet on the first plateau when Miengai suddenly made
me a sign to keep very still. He and I were in advance. I
thought he had discovered a herd of elephants, or perhaps a tiger.
He cocked his gun, and I mine, and there we stood for five min-
utes in perfect silence. Suddenly Miengai sent a "hurrah" roll-
ing through the forest, which was immediately answered by shouts
from many voices at no great distance, but whose owners were
hid from us by the rocks and trees. Miengai replied with the
fierce shout of the Mbondemo warriors, and was again answered.
Going a little farther on, we came in sight of the encampment of
a large party, who proved to be some of Mbene's people just re-
turning from a trading expedition to the interior.


78
MBONDEMO CARAVAN.
It was a curious picture. They lay encamped about their fires
to the number of about a hundred—young and old, men and
women; some gray and wrinkled, and others babes in arms.
They had evidently traveled far, and were tired out. They had
collected India-rubber, and had in charge some ivory, and were
now about to take these goods to Mbene or some other river
chief, to be sent down from hand to hand to the "white-man
market."
Here even I noticed the laziness of the black men, and the cruel
way in which the women are obliged to work. The Mbondemo
men lay about the fires, handling their spears and guns, and talk-
ing or sleeping, while the women were doing the cooking and
making the camp comfortable, and such of the children as could
walk were driven out to collect firewood for the night. The
poor things seemed to be very weary, but they got no mercy.
Being tired ourselves, we built our camp-fires near the party,
and I had the opportunity next day to see them get under way.
The men carried only their arms, and most of them were armed
to the teeth. The women and larger children carried, in the usu-
al baskets, suspended along the back, the food—of which they
seemed to have a good supply—the ivory and India-rubber, and
besides—still in the basket—such of the babies as could by no
means get along alone. The old people were not exempt from
light burdens, though they had to totter along with the help of
long sticks.
The whole party were very thinly clothed, even for Africa..
They had with them an old chief, to whom they seemed to pay
much reverence, and lie was constantly waited upon by his wives,
of whom he seemed to have several with him. I gave them a
little salt, for which they seemed very grateful.
Next morning we broke up before daylight, after eating a very
scanty breakfast of a few cooked plantains. It rained all day,
and consequently we tramped all day in the mud, wet through,
and chilly. About noon we met another large party of traveling
Mbondemo returning from the interior. They had never seen a
white man before, and stared at me with all the eyes they had,
though they did not seem frightened. I fear my appearance
gave them but a poor idea of white people. I was clothed in
only a blue drilling shirt and trowsers, both wet, and the latter
muddy. They begged me for some tobacco "to warm them-


CAMPING IN THE BUSH.
79
selves," and a few leaves which I gave them made them perfectly
happy. They seemed to suffer from the rain much more than I
did, especially the women, who I took care should have their
share of the tobacco.
Among this party were two fellows, named Ngolai and Yeava,
who were from Mbene's village, and well known to Mbene's sons.
These offered to go with us if we would give them food, as theirs
was nearly gone, and Miengai and Maginda promising this much,
they at once joined our party.
After a walk of about eighteen miles in the rain, through thick
woods, and over a rough hilly country (and in a general direction
of E.S.E), we came to our camp, and to my delight found very
large and commodious huts ready for us. This is a highway, it
seems, of this country, though no signs of a road are visible, and
different parties of traders had built and kept up these very neat
and comfortable sheds. They were built of sticks, as in Mbene's
village, but were better roofed, and larger. Large leaves were
laid over the sticks, and being carefully disposed shinglewise kept
out the rain completely.
We built great fires and made ourselves comfortable. I had
three fires lit about my bed of brush, hung up my wet clothes to
dry, and, after comforting myself with a little brandy, went to
sleep in much more than usual snugness, not knowing the "pa-
laver" which was in store for me on the morrow.
When we got up, much refreshed, my men came and said they
were tired, and would not go a step farther if I did not pay them
more cloth.
They seemed in earnest, and I was, as may be imagined, in con-
siderable trouble of mind. To return now, when I had got so far
along, was not to be thought of. To be left alone would have
been almost certain death, and to give what they demanded was
to rob myself and set a bad precedent to my guides. Finally, I
determined to put on a bold front. I went into the crowd, told
them—pistols in hand—that I should not give them any more
cloth; that neither could I permit them to leave me, because their
father, Mbene, had given them to me to accompany me to the Fan
tribe. So far, I told them, they must go with me, or else—here I
motioned with my pistols—there would be war between us. But,
I added, if they were faithful, I would give each something addi-
tional when the trip was done.


80
FAMINE.
After a consultation among themselves, they finally said that
they were pleased with what I said, and were my friends. Here-
upon, with great lightness of heart at my escape from an ugly
dilemma, I shook hands with them, and we set out on the jour-
ney.
It was ten o'clock before we made a start on this day. We
were now approaching the second mountain range of the Sierra
del Crystal, and passing through a wild country, densely wooded,
rough, and strewn along the higher ground with immense boul-
ders, which gave an added wildness to the scene. Up, and up,
and up we struggled, through a forest more silent than I recollect
to have noticed in Africa before or since. Not even the scream
of a bird or the shrill cry of a monkey to break the dark solitude
—and either would have been welcome; for, though I generally
abominate monkey, which, roasted, looks too much like roast-
baby, I was now at that point of semi-starvation when I should
have very much delighted in a tender bit even of gorilla.
Nothing was heard but the panting breaths of our party, who
were becoming exhausted by the ascent, till, at last, I thought I
heard a subdued roar as of a fall of water. It grew plainer as
we toiled on, and finally filled the whole air with its grand rush;
and turning a sharp corner of a declivity and marching on a little
way, the fall literally burst upon our sight—one of the grandest
views I ever saw. It was not a waterfall, but an immense mount-
ain torrent dashing down hill at an angle of twenty-five or thirty
degrees, for not less than a mile right before us, like a vast, seeth-
ing, billowy sea. The river-course was full of the huge granite
boulders which lie about here as though the Titans had been play-
ing at skittles in this country; and against these the angry waters
dashed as though they would carry all before them, and, breaking
up, threw the milky spray up to the very tops of the trees which
grew along the edge.
Where we stood at the foot of the rapids the stream took a
winding turn down the mountain ; but we had the whole mile of
foaming rapid before us, seemingly pouring its mass of waters
down upon our heads.
This was the head-waters of the Ntambounay.
Drinking a few handfuls of its pure, clear, cool waters, we trav-
eled onward, still up hill and partly along the edge of the rapids.
In another hour we reached a cleared space where a Mbondemo








84 GORILLA TRACKS.
chew it for the little sweetness it had. But as we were plucking
my men perceived what instantly threw us all into the greatest
excitement. Here and there the cane was beaten down, torn up
by the roots, and lying about in fragments which had evidently
been chewed.
I knew that these were fresh tracks of the gorilla, and joy fill-
ed my heart. My men looked at each other in silence, and mut-
tered Nguyla, which is as much as to say in Mpongwe Ngina, or,
as we say, gorilla.
We followed these traces, and presently came to the footprints
of the so-long-desired animal. It was the first time I had ever
seen these footprints, and my sensations were indescribable. Here
was I now, it seemed, on the point of meeting face to face that
monster of whose ferocity, strength, and cunning the natives had
told me so much; an animal scarce known to the civilized world,
and which no white man before had hunted. My heart beat till
I feared its loud pulsations would alarm the gorilla, and my feel-
ings were really excited to a painful degree.
By the tracks it was easy to know that there must have been
several gorillas in company. We prepared at once to follow
them.
The women were terrified, poor things, and we left them a
good escort of two or three men to take care of them and re-
assure them. Then the rest of us looked once more carefully at
our guns—for the gorilla gives you no time to reload, and woe to
him whom he attacks! We were armed to the teeth. My men
were remarkably silent, for they were going on an expedition of
more than usual risk; for the male gorilla is literally the king of
the African forest. He and the crested lion of Mount Atlas are the
two fiercest and strongest beasts of this continent. The lion of
South Africa can not compare with either for strength or courage.
As we left the camp, the men and women left behind crowded
together, with fear written on their faces. Miengai, Makinda, and
Ngolai set out in one party, and myself and Yeava formed anoth-
er, for the hunt. We determined to keep near each other, that in
emergency we might be at hand to help each other. And for the
rest, silence and a sure aim were the only cautions to be given.
As we followed the tracks we could easily see that there were
four or five of them; though none appeared very large. We saw
where they had run along on all fours, the usual mode of pro-


HUNTING GOKILLAS.
85
gression of these animals, and where, from time to time, they had
seated themselves to chew the canes they had borne off. The
ctiase began to be very exciting.
"We had agreed to return to the women and their guards, and
consult upon final operations, when we should have discovered
their probable course; and this was now done. To make sure of
not alarming our prey, we moved the whole party forward a little
way to where some leafy huts, built by passing traders, served for
shelter and concealment. And having here bestowed the women
—who have a lively fear of the terrible gorilla, in consequence
of various stories current among the tribes, of women having been
carried off into the woods by the fierce animal—we prepared once
more to set out in chase, this time hopeful to catch a shot.
Looking once more to our guns, we started off. I confess that
I never was more excited in my life. For years I had heard of
the terrible roar of the gorilla, of its vast strength, its fierce cour-
age if, unhappily, only wounded by a shot. I knew that we were
about to pit ourselves against an animal which even the tiger of
these mountains fears, and which, perhaps, has driven the lion out
of this territory; for the king of beasts, so numerous elsewhere in
Africa, is never met in the land of the gorilla. Thus it was with
no little emotion that I now turned again toward the prize at
which I had been hoping for years to get a shot.
We descended a hill, crossed a stream on a fallen log, and pres-
ently approached some huge boulders of granite. Alongside of
this granite block lay an immense dead tree, and about this we
saw many evidences of the very recent presence of the gorillas.
Our approach was very cautious. We were divided into two
parties. Makinda led one and I the other. We were to sur-
round the granite block behind which Makinda supposed the
gorillas to be hiding. Guns cocked and in hand, we advanced
through the dense wood, which cast a gloom even in midday over
the whole scene. I looked at my men, and saw plainly that they
were in even greater excitement than myself.
Slowly we pressed on through the dense brush, fearing almost
to breathe for fear of alarming the beasts. Makinda was to go
to the right of the rock, while I took the left. Unfortunately, he
circled it at too great a distance. The watchful animal saw him.
Suddenly I was startled by a strange, discordant, half human,
devilish cry, and beheld four young gorillas running toward the


86
MAN-LIKE APPEARANCE OF THE GORILLA.
deep forests. We fired, but hit nothing. Then we rushed on in
pursuit; but they knew the woods better than we. Once I caught
a glimpse of one of the animals again, but an intervening tree
spoiled my mark, and I did not fire. We ran till we were ex-
hausted, but in vain. The alert beasts made good their escape.
When we could pursue no more we returned slowly to our camp,
where the women were anxiously expecting us.
I protest I felt almost like a murderer when I saw the gorilla
this first time. As they ran—on their hind legs—they looked
fearfully like hairy men; their heads down, their bodies inclined
forward, their whole appearance like men running for their lives.
Take with this their awful cry, which, fierce and animal as it is,
has yet something human in its discordance, and you will cease to
wonder that the natives have the wildest superstitions about these
"wild men of the woods."
In our absence the women had built large fires and prepared
the camp, which was not so comfortable as last night's, but yet
protected us from rain. I changed my clothes, which had be-
come wet through by the frequent torrents and puddles we ran
through in our eager pursuit, and then we sat down to our sup-
per, which had been cooked meantime. And now I noticed that,
by the improvidence of the women, who are no better managers
than the men (poor things), all my plantains were gone—eaten up.
So that I had to depend for next day—and in fact for the remain-
der of our passage to the Fan tribe—on two or three biscuit
which, luckily, I yet possessed.
As we lay about the fire in the evening before going to sleep,
the adventure of the day was talked over, and of course there fol-
lowed some curious stories of the gorillas. I listened in silence to
the conversation, which was not addressed to me, and was reward-
ed by hearing the stories as they are believed, and not as a stran-
ger would be apt to draw them out by questions.
One of the men told a story of two Mbondemo women who
were walking together through the woods, when suddenly an im-
mense gorilla stepped into the path, and, clutching one of the
women, bore her off in spite of the screams and struggles of both.
The other woman returned to the village, sadly frightened, and
related the story. Of course her companion was given up for
lost. Great was the surprise, therefore, when, a few days after-
ward, she returned to her home. She related that the gorilla had


GORILLA STORIES.
87
forced her to submit to his desires, but had not otherwise injured
her, and that she had easily escaped from him.
"Yes," said one of the men, "that was a gorilla inhabited by a
spirit."
Which explanation was received with a general grunt of ap-
proval.
They believe, in all this country, that there is a kind of gorilla
—known to the initiated by certain mysterious signs, but chiefly
by being of extraordinary size—which is the residence of certain
spirits of departed negroes. Such gorillas, the natives believe,
can never be caught or killed; and, also, they have much more
shrewdness and sense than the common animal. In fact, in these
"possessed" beasts, it would seem that the intelligence of man is
united with the strength and ferocity of the beast. No wonder
the poor African dreads so terrible a being as his imagination
thus conjures up.
One of the men told how, some years ago, a party of gorillas
were found in a cane-field tying up the sugar-cane in regular
bundles, preparatory to carrying it away. The natives attacked
them, but were routed, and several killed, while others were car-
ried off prisoners by the gorillas; but in a few days they return-
ed home uninjured, with this horrid exception: the nails of their
fingers and toes had been torn off by their captors.
Some years ago a man suddenly disappeared from his village.
It is probable that he was carried off by a tiger; but as no
news came of him, the native superstition invented a cause for his
absence. It was related and believed that, as he walked through
the wood one day, he was suddenly changed into a hideous large
gorilla, which was often pursued afterward but never killed,
though it continually haunted the neighborhood of the village.
Here several spoke up and mentioned names of men now dead
whose spirits were known to be dwelling in gorillas.
Finally was rehearsed the story which is current among all the
tribes who at all know the gorilla: that this animal lies in wait
in the lower branches of trees, watching for people who go to and
fro; and, when one passes sufficiently near, grasps the luckless
fellow with his powerful feet and draws him up into the tree,
where he quietly chokes him.
All the natives agree, I say, in ascribing to the animal this
trait of lying in wait for his enemies and drawing them up to him


88
A JOURNEY ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
by his "lower hands," as they may properly be called. But I
have little doubt that this story is incorrect. Of course, the se-
cluded habits of this animal, which lives only in the darkest for-
ests, and carefully shuns all approach to man, help to fill the na-
tives with curious superstitions regarding it
.
This day we traveled fifteen miles, ten of which were easterly,
and five to the southeast.
The next day we went out on another gorilla-hunt, but found
no traces at all. I came in very tired; ate all my sea-bread;
and though we tried our best, we did not manage to reach a cer-
tain settlement which Makinda had assured me was near. I was
now at the end of my provisions—have never been able to eat
the wild nuts which the natives miserably subsist on in such
straits—and began to feel anxious to reach some village. For
traveling on an empty stomach is too exhausting to be very long
endured, as former experience had taught me.
We rose early next morning, and-trudged off breakfastless.
There was not a particle of food among us. Singularly enough,
I thought yesterday was Saturday, and only discovered to-day
that it was Thursday. We crossed several streams, and traveled
all day through a forest of an almost chilling gloom and soli-
tude, ascending, in the midst, the steepest and highest hill we
have so far met. I suppose it to be part of the third range of the
Sierra.
I felt vexed at the thoughtlessness of my men, who ought to
have provided food enough to last us. But I ought to praise the
poor fellows, for, though long hungry themselves, they gave me
the greater part of the few nuts they found. But there is no
nourishment for my poor civilized blood in these rude things.
This is one of the hardest days' travel I ever accomplished.
We made twenty miles in a general direction of east, though some
deductions must be made for deviations from a straight line.
The forest seemed deserted. Not a bird even to kill. We
heard the chatter of a few monkeys, but sought in vain to get
near them for a shot. When we camped I took a swallow of
brandy and went to sleep, as the best way to forget my miseries.
The next morning I woke up feeble, but found that the fel-
lows had killed a monkey, which, roughly roasted on the coals,
tasted delicious, though I think, under average cirumstances, the
human look of the animal would have turned me from it. To


A FEED ON HONET. * 89
add to our satisfaction, Makinda presently discovered a bee-hive
in the hollow of a tree. We smoked the bees out and divided the
honey, which was full of worms, but was nevertheless all eaten
up. We were so nearly famished that we could scarce wait for
the hive to be emptied. No sooner was the honey spread out on
leaves and laid on the grass, than every one of the men was ready
to clutch the biggest piece he could lay his hand on and eat
away. There might have been a fight, to prevent which I inter-
posed, and divided the whole sweet booty into equal shares, re-
serving for myself only a share with the rest. This done, every-
one—myself included—at once sat down and devoured honey,
wax, dead bees, worms, dirt, and all, and our only sorrow was that
we had not more.
"We had a hard time getting through old elephant tracks, which
—v 1
a steadier and more influential man than his sons. He was ex-
hausted from his travels, and when I told him we needed food, he
immediately set off" to a Fan village a few miles off for a supply.
Unable to wait for his return, I started off with my men to meet
him on his return, hoping perhaps to shoot something by the
i way. My hunger accelerated my movements, and pretty soon I
found myself half a mile ahead of my companions and in sight of
a chattering monkey, who dodged me whenever I took aim at
him, and whom I vainly tried to get down out of his perch on the
high tree where he lived.
After watching this animal for some time, I happened to look
down before me, and beheld a sight which drove the monkey out
of my mind in an instant. Judge of my astonishment when be-
fore me I saw a Fan warrior, with his two wives behind him. I
was at first alarmed, but immediately saw that all three were
quaking with deadly terror. The man's shield shook and rat-
tled, to such a degree was he frightened; his mouth stood open
—the lips were fairly white; one of his three spears had fallen to
the ground, and the other two he held in a manner betokening
abject fear.
The women had been carrying baskets on their heads, but these
had been thrown to the ground, and they stood in perfect silence
and terror looking at me.
They all thought, it appeared afterward, that I was a spirit who
had just come down out of the sky. As for me, my first thought,


90
A DESERTED VDLLAGE.
were the best road through the jungle. Saw no animals, but met
several gorilla tracks.
Toward two o'clock the men began to be very jolly, which I
took to be a sign of our approach to a village. Presently they
shouted, and, looking up toward the face of a hill before us, I
saw the broad leaves of the plantain, the forerunner of an African
town. Since we left Mbene's town these were the first human
habitations we had met, and I was no little rejoiced.
But alas! as we approached we found no one coming out to
meet us, as is the hospitable way in Africa, and when we got to
the place we found it entirely deserted. It was an old town of
Mbene's people. Presently, however, some Mbicho people living
near, relatives of Mbene's, came to see us, and gave us some plant-
ains. But I could not get what I needed most—a fowl.
. TKpi Mbichos were in great amazement. TC^2/^.L"ror/-Te*ig\
endured, as former experience had taught me.
We rose early next morning, and- trudged off breakfastless.
There was not a particle of food among us. Singularly enough,
I thought yesterday was Saturday, and only discovered to-day
that it was Thursday. We crossed several streams, and traveled
all day through a forest of an almost chilling gloom and soli-
tude, ascending, in the midst, the steepest and highest hill we
have so far met. I suppose it to be part of the third range of the
Sierra.
I felt vexed at the thoughtlessness of my men, who ought to
have provided food enough to last us. But I ought to praise the
poor fellows, for, though long hungry themselves, they gave me
the greater part of the few nuts they found. But there is no
nourishment for my poor civilized blood in these rude things.
This is one of the hardest days' travel I ever accomplished.
We made twenty miles in a general direction of east, though some
deductions must be made for deviations from a straight line.
The forest seemed deserted. Not a bird even to kill. We
heard the chatter of a few monkeys, but sought in vain to get
near them for a shot . When we camped I took a swallow of
brandy and went to sleep, as the best way to forget my miseries.
The next morning I woke up feeble, but found that the fel-
lows had killed a monkey, which, roughly roasted on the coals,
tasted delicious, though I think, under average cirumstances, the
human look of the animal would have turned me from it . To


MEETING THE FANS.
91
CHAPTER Vn.
Famine.—Encounter with the Fan.—A desperate Situation.—Fright at my Appear-
ance*—A Fan Warrior.—His Weapons.—Fetiches.—Women.—I am closely ex-
amined.—Gorilla-hunt.—Signs of the Animal's Presence.—Appearance of the
Male.—Roar.—Conduct.—My first Gorilla.—Division of the Spoils.—Supersti-
tions.—Wandering Bakalai.—Mournful Songs.—Their Fear of Night.—Cooking.
—Fan Town.—Cannibal Signs.—Presented to his cannibal Majesty.—The King
is scared at my Appearance.—Description of his Majesty.—Mbene's Glory.—The -
King in his War-dress.—Arms of the Fan.—A grand Dance.—The Music.
Next day Mbene came, which gave me great relief, for he is
a steadier and more influential man than his sons. He was ex-
hausted from his travels, and when I told him we needed food, he
immediately set off to a Fan village a few miles off for a supply.
Unable to wait for his return, I started off with my men to meet
him on his return, hoping perhaps to shoot something by the
way. My hunger accelerated my movements, and pretty soon I
found myself half a mile ahead of my companions and in sight of
a chattering monkey, who dodged me whenever I took aim at
him, and whom I vainly tried to get down out of his perch on the
high tree where he lived.
After watching this animal for some time, I happened to look
down before me, and beheld a sight which drove the monkey out
of my mind in an instant. Judge of my astonishment when be-
fore me I saw a Fan warrior, with his two wives behind him. I
was at first alarmed, but immediately saw that all three were
quaking with deadly terror. The man's shield shook and rat-
tled, to such a degree was he frightened; his mouth stood open
—the lips were fairly white; one of his three spears had fallen to'
the ground, and the other two he held in a manner betokening
abject fear.
The women had been carrying baskets on their heads, but these
had been thrown to the ground, and they stood in perfect silence
and terror looking at me.
They all thought, it appeared afterward, that I was a spirit who
had just come down out of the sky. As for me, my first thought,


92
MUTUAL EMBARRASSMENT.
when I took in the situation, was, suppose these people grow des-
perate with fear, then I may have a poisoned arrow launched at
me. And if they got over their terror ere my companions ar-
rived, then I was likely to have a spear sent through me, unless
I were quicker than my antagonist and shot him, which I by no
means desired to do; for, aside from the hatred of unnecessary
bloodshed, I should by such a course have endangered my life
among his countrymen.
I smiled and tried to look pleasant, in order to reassure them a
little; but this only made matters worse. They looked as though
upon the point of sinking to the ground.

FAN WABBIOK.
Then I heard the voices of my men behind coming up, and
presently I was safe, and the Fan people were relieved of their
terror. Miengai smiled to see it, and told the man he need not
regard me as a spirit, for I was his father's white man, come from
the sea-shore on purpose to visit the Fan. Then I gave the wom-
en some strings of white beads, which did more than any thing
else to ease their fears.


APPEARANCE OF THE CANNIBALS.
98
On our return we found that Makinda had brought some plant-
ains but no fowl. I had now been a week without tasting flesh,
except only the wretched monkey we shot on the way, and felt
very much in need of something hearty.
For the rest of the day we held levee in my house. Great
crowds of Fan from the neighboring villages came to see me.
The men did not appear very much frightened, but the women
and children were excessively so. But all kept at a very respect-
able distance. One glance from me toward a woman or child suf-
ficed to make these run off.
If I was not frightened, I was at least as much surprised by all
I saw as the Fan could be. These fellows, who now for the first
time saw a white man with straight hair, were to me an equal
surprise, for they are real, unmistakable cannibals. And they
were, by long odds, the most remarkable people I had thus far
seen in Africa. They were much lighter in shade than any of
the coast tribes, strong, tall, well made, and evidently active; and
they seemed to me to have a more intelligent look than is usual
to the African unacquainted with white men.
The men were almost naked. They had no cloth about the
middle, but used instead the soft inside bark of a tree, over which,
in front, was suspended the skin of some wild-cat or tiger. They
had their teeth filed, which gives the face a ghastly and ferocious
look, and some had the teeth blackened besides. Their hair or
"wool" was drawn out into long thin plaits; on the end of each
stiff plait were strung some white beads, or copper or iron rings.
Some wore feather caps, but others wore long queues made of
their own wool and a kind of tow, dyed black and mixed with it,
and giving the wearer a most grotesque appearance.
Over their shoulders was suspended the huge country knife,
and in their hands were spears and the great shield of elephant-
hide, and about the necks and bodies of all were hung a variety of
fetiches and greegrees, which rattled as they walked.
The Fan shield is made of the hide of an old elephant, and only
of that part which lies across the back. This, when dried and
smoked, is hard and impenetrable as iron. The shield is about
three feet long by two and a half wide.
Their fetiches consisted of fingers and tails of monkeys; of hu-
man hair, skin, teeth, bones; of clay, old nails, copper chains,
shells; feathers, claws, and skulls of birds; pieces of iron, copper,


94
FAN WOMEN.
or wood; seeds of plants; ashes of various substances; and I can
not tell what more. From the great variety and plenty of these
objects on their persons, I suppose these Fan to be a very super-
stitious people.
The women, who were even less dressed than the men, were
much smaller than they, and, with the exception of the inhabitants
of Fernando Po, who are called Boobies, I never saw such ugly
women as these. These, too, had their teeth filed, and most had
their bodies painted red, by means of a dye obtained from the
bar-wood. They carried their babies on their backs in a sling or
rest made of some kind of tree-bark and fastened to the neck of
the mother.
Such were the strange people who now crowded about me, exam-
ining every part of my person and dress that I would allow to be
touched, but especially wondering at my hair and my feet. The
former they could not sufficiently admire. On my feet I had boots;
and as my trowsers lay over these, they thought, naturally enough,
that these boots were my veritable feet, and wondered greatly
that my face should be of one color and the feet of another. I
showed myself to as good advantage as I knew how, and sur-
prised them very much—as I wished to indeed—by shooting a
couple of swallows on the wing in their presence. This was
thought a wonderful feat. They all went off at four o'clock,
promising to return to-morrow and bring me some fowls.
These Fan belong, I should think, to a different family of the
negro race from the coast natives, or indeed any tribes I have
seen before. Their foreheads do not seem so compressed; but it
is curious that in many the head runs up into a kind of peak or
sugar-loaf. This indicates a low scale of intelligence; but it
must be said, to these people's credit, that they are in some things
much more ingenious than their neighbors. They extract iron
from the ore, and show great ingenuity, with such poor imple-
ments as they have, in making their weapons, as the illustrations
I give of those in my collection will show.
The next day my men started for a gorilla-hunt. I saw them
load their guns, and wonder why the poor cheap "trade" guns
do not burst at every discharge. They put in first four or five
"fingers" high of coarse powder, and ram down on this four or
five pieces of iron bar or rough broken iron, making the whole
charge eight to ten fingers high. But they are not great marks-





IN THE JUNGLE.
07
men, and my skill with the rifle often calls out expressions of
wonder, and almost of superstitious fear from the best among
them.
I killed some birds to-day, but I spent the day chiefly in look-
ing about the town and neighborhood—really doing nothing.
A a I walked along a Fan woman gravely asked me why I did
not take off my clothes? She felt sure they must be a great hin-
drance to me, and if I would leave off these things I should be
able to walk more easily.
The next day we went out all together for a gorilla-hunt.
The country hereabouts is very rough, hilly, and densely crowd-
ed; consequently, hunting is scarcely to be counted sport. But
a couple of days of rest had refreshed me, and I was anxious to
be in at the death of a gorilla.
We saw several gorilla tracks, and about noon divided our
party, in the hope of surrounding the resting-place of one whose
tracks were very plain. I had scarce got away from my party
three hundred yards when I heard a report of a gun, then of
three more, going off one after the other. Of course, I ran back
as fast as I could, and hoped to see a dead animal before me,
but was once more disappointed. My Mbondemo fellows had
fired at a female, had wounded her, as I saw by the clots of
blood which marked her track, but she had made good her es-
cape. We set out at once in pursuit; but these woods are so
thick, so almost impenetrable, that pursuit of a wounded animal
is not often successful. A man can only creep where the beast
would run.
Night came upon us while we were still beating the bush, and
it was determined to camp out and try our luck again on the
morrow. Of course, I was only too glad. We shot some mon-
keys and birds, built our camp, and, while the men roasted their
monkey meat over the coals, I held my birds before the blaze on
a stick. Fortunately we had food enough, and of a good kind,
for next day.
We started early, and pushed for the most dense and impene-
trable part of the forest, in hopes to find the very home of the
beast I so much wished to shoot. Hour after hour we traveled,
and yet no signs of gorilla. Only the everlasting little chattering
monkeys—and not many of these—and occasionally birds. In
fact, the forests of this part of Africa—as the reader has seen by
G


ys
THE ONSET OF A GORILLA
this time—are not so full of life as in some other parts to the
south.
Suddenly Miengai uttered a little cluck with his tongue, which
is the native's way of showing that something is stirring, and that
a sharp look-out is necessary. And presently I noticed, ahead of
us seemingly, a noise as of some one breaking down branches or
twigs of trees.
This was the gorilla, I knew at once, by the eager and satisfied
looks of the men. They looked once more carefully at their
guns, to see if by any chance the powder had fallen out of the
pans; I also examined mine, to make sure that all were right; and
then we marched on cautiously.
The singular noise of the breaking of tree-branches continued.
We walked with the greatest care, making no noise at all. The
countenances of the men showed that they thought themselves
engaged in a very serious undertaking; but we pushed on, until
finally we thought we saw through the thick woods the moving
of the branches and small trees which the great beast was tear-
ing down, probably to get from them the berries and fruits he
lives on.
Suddenly, as we were yet creeping along, in a silence which
made a heavy breath seem loud and distinct, the woods were at
once filled with the tremendous barking roar of the gorilla.
Then the underbrush swayed rapidly just ahead, and presently
before us stood an immense male gorilla. He had gone through
the jungle on his all-fours; but when he saw our party he erect-
ed himself and looked us boldly in the face. He stood about a
dozen yards from us, and was a sight I think never to forget.
Nearly six feet high (he proved two inches shorter), with immense
body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with fiercely-glaring
large deep gray eyes, and a hellish expression of face, which seem-
ed to me like some nightmare vision: thus stood before us this
king of the African forests.
He was not afraid of us. He stood there, and beat his breast
with his huge fists till it resounded like an immense bass-drum,
which is their mode of offering defiance; meantime giving vent
to roar after roar.
The roar of the gorilla is the most singular and awful noise
heard in these African woods. It begins with a sharp bark, like
an angry dog, then glides into a deep bass roll, which literally and








MY FIRST GORILLA.
101
closely resembles the roll of distant thunder along the sky, for
which I have sometimes been tempted to take it where I did not
see the animal. So deep is it that it seems to proceed less from
the mouth and throat than from the deep chest and vast paunch.
His eyes began to flash fiercer fire as we stood motionless on
the defensive, and the crest of short hair which stands on his fore-
head began to twitch rapidly up and down, while his powerful
fangs were shown as he again sent forth a thunderous roar. And
now truly he reminded me of nothing but some hellish dream
creature—a being of that hideous order, half man half beast,
which we find pictured by old artists in some representations of
the infernal regions. He advanced a few steps—then stopped to
utter that hideous roar again—advanced again, and finally stop-
ped when at a distance of about six yards from us. And here,
as he began another of his roars and beating his breast in rage,
we fired, and killed him.
With a groan which had something terribly human in it, and
yet was full of brutishness, it fell forward on its face. The body
shook convulsively for a few minutes, the limbs moved about in
a struggling way, and then all was quiet—death had done its
work, and I had leisure to examine the huge body. It proved to
be five feet eight inches highland the muscular development of the
arms and breast showed what immense strength it had possessed.
My men, though rejoicing at our luck, immediately began to
quarrel about the apportionment of the meat—for they really eat
this creature. I saw that we should come to blows presently if I
did not interfere, and therefore said I should myself give each
man his share, which satisfied all. As we were too tired to re-
turn to our camp of last night, we determined to camp here on
the spot, and accordingly soon had some shelters erected and din-
ner going on. Luckily, one of the fellows shot a deer just as we
began to camp, and on its meat I feasted while my men ate go-
rilla.
I noticed that they very carefully saved the brain, and was
told that charms were made of this—charms of two kinds. Pre-
pared in one way, the charm gave the wearer a strong hand for the
hunt, and in another it gave him success with women. This even-
ing we had again gorilla stories—but all to the same point al-
ready mentioned, that there are gorillas inhabited by human spir-
its.


102
BAKALAI MOURNERS.
We returned to our deserted village next day, and found a
division of traveling Bakalai in possession. These people, with
whom fortunately I could speak, had lived on the Noya, some
distance from here. They were now moving, to be near some of
their tribe. I asked why they left their former village, and learn-
ed that one morning one of their men, while out bathing in the
river, had been shot. Hereupon they were seized with a panic,
believed the town attacked by witches, and at once resolved to
abandon it and settle elsewhere. They had all their household
goods with them—chests, cloth, brass kettles, wash-basons, pans,
etc., as well as a great quantity of yams, plantains, and fowls.
They were glad-to get some tobacco from me, and I was glad >
to trade a little away for provisions.
At sunset every one of them retired to within doors. The
children ceased to play, and all became quiet in the camp where
just before had been so much life and bustle. Then suddenly
arose on the air one of those mournful, heart-piercing chants
which you hear among all the tribes in this land—a wail whose
burden seems to be, "There is no hope." It was a chant for their
departed friends; and as they sang tears rolled down the cheeks
of the women, fright marked their faces and cowed their spirits—
for they have a belief that at the sunset hour the evil spirits walk
abroad among them.
I listened to try to gather the words of their chants; but there
was a very monotonous repetition of one idea—that of sorrow at
the departure of some one.
Thus they sang:
We cM noli lubella pe na beshe.
"Oh, you will never speak to us any more,
We can not see your face any more;
You will never walk with us again,
You will never settle our palavers for us."
And so on.
I thanked God that I was not a native African. These poor
people lead dreadful and dreary lives. Not only have they to
fear their enemies among neighboring tribes, as well as the vari-
ous accidents to which a savage life is especially liable, such as
starvation, the attacks of wild beasts, etc., but their whole lives
are saddened and embittered by the fears of evil spirits, witch-
craft, and other kindred superstitions under which they labor.
After they had chanted for half an hour, they came over to my


BAKALAI COOKERY.
103
house with various fowls and other food to buy "white man's to-
bacco" to cheer them on their journey. 1 was very glad to trade
with them, and bought fowls, plantains, sugar-cane, and pine-ap-
ples. In Western Africa, men, women, and children all smoke.
They never chew, unless they learn the practice of the whites;
but smoking seems to be a very grateful occupation to them.
To-night I found Miengai and Makinda, the unworthy sons of
King Mbene, stealing my plantains. They had got off once be-
fore, so this time I pitched into them with my fists, and gave them
as much punishment as I thought would answer them as a warn-
ing.
The next morning all was bustle in camp. The Bakalai were
cooking a meal before setting out on their travels. It is astonish-
ing to see the neatness with which these savages prepare their
food. I watched some women preparing to boil plantains, which
form the bread of all this region. One built a bright fire between
two stones. The others peeled the plantains, then carefully wash-
ed them—-just as a clean white cook would—and, cutting them in
several pieces, put them in the earthen pot; this was then half
filled with water, covered over with leaves, over which were
placed the banana peelings, and then the pot was placed on the
stones to boil. Meat they had not, but roasted a few ground-nute
instead; but the boiled plantains they ate with great quantities
of Cayenne pepper.
Next day we had promised to go among the Fans to live, so
to-day we went hunting again. I had no padlock to my house,
and was in a quandary how to leave what would certainly be
stolen—all my provisions. Fortunately, I bethought me of some
sealing-wax, and went to work to seal up my door with pieces of
twine, to the great amusement of the rascally Miengai, who saw
his game balked, but could not help laughing. This evening, as.
I sat in my house, tired, I perceived a smell of burning meat.
Stealing out, I found my fellows sitting about a fire and roasting
an animal which I could not recognize. Their duty is to bring
me all they kill, but they evidently did not. They seemed much
ashamed, and I told them they need come to me for no more
powder.
The next morning we moved off for the Fan village, and now
I had the opportunity to satisfy myself as to a matter I had cher-
ished some doubt on before, namely, the cannibal practices of


104
THE KING OF THE CANNIBALS.
these people. I was satisfied but too soon. As we entered the
town I perceived some bloody remains which looked to me to be
human; but I passed on, still incredulous. Presently we passed
a woman who solved all doubt. She bore with her a piece of the
thigh of a human body, just as we should go to market and carry
thence a roast or steak.
The whole village was much excited and the women and chil-
dren badly scared at my presence. All fled into the houses as we
passed through what appeared the main street—a long lane—in
which I saw here and there human bones lying about
.
At last we arrived at the palaver-house. Here we were left
alone for a little while, though we heard great shoutings going on
at a little distance. I was told by one of them afterward that
they had been busy dividing the body of a dead man, and that
there was not enough for all. The head, I am told, is a royalty,
being saved for the king.
Presently they flocked in, and before long we were presented to
the king. This personage was a ferocious-looking fellow, whose
body, naked with exception of the usual cloth about the middle,
made of the bark of a tree, was painted red, and whose face,
chest, stomach, and back were tattooed in a rude but very effective
manner. He was covered with charms, and was fully armed, as
were all the Fans who now crowded the house to see me.
I do not know if the king had given himself a few extra horrid
touches to impress me; but if so, he missed his mark, for I took
care to retain a look of perfect impassiveness.
All the Fans present wore queues, but the queue of Ndiayai,
the king, was the biggest of all, and terminated in two tails, in
which were strung brass rings, while the top was ornamented
with white beads. Brass anklets jingled as he walked. The
front of his middle-cloth was a fine piece of tiger-skin. His beard
was plaited in several plaits, which also contained white beads,
and stuck out stiffly from the body. His teeth were filed sharp,
and colored black, so that the mouth of this old cannibal, when he
opened it, put me uncommonly in mind of a tomb.
The royal name is, as before said, Ndiayai. The queen, who
accompanied her lord, and who was decidedly the ugliest woman
I ever saw, and very old, was called Mashumba. She was nearly
naked, her only article of dress being a strip of the Fan cloth,
dyed red, and about four inches wide. Her entire body was tat-


THE CANNIBAL TOWN.
105
tooed in the most fanciful manner; her skin, from long exposure,
had become rough and knotty. She wore two enormous iron
anklets—iron being a very precious metal with the Fan—and had
in her ears a pair of copper ear-rings two inches in diameter, and
very heavy. These had so weighed down the lobes of her ears
that I could have put my little finger easily into the holes through
which the rings were run.
I think the king was a little shaken at sight of me. He had
been originally much averse to the interview, from a belief that he
would die in three days after seeing me. Finally Mbene per-
suaded him.
Mbene was in his glory. He had charge of a white man, and
among a people whom he himself feared, but who he saw feared,
in turn, me, whom he knew very well. He told the Fan king
that he had brought him a spirit, or white man, who had come
many thousands of miles across the big water to see the Fans.
The king replied that this was well, and sent off his queen—
the ugly one—to prepare me a house. And after a few more
civilities, but very little formality of any kind, his majesty with-
drew.
Presently I was conducted to my house. The village was a
new one, and consisted mostly of a single street about 800 yards
long, on which were built the houses. The latter were small, be-
ing only eight or ten feet long, five or six wide, and four or five
in height, with slanting roofs. They were made of bark, and the
roofs were of a kind of matting made of the leaves of a palm-
tree. The doors run up to the eaves, about four feet high, and
there were no windows. In these houses they cook, eat, sleep,
and keep their store of provisions, chief of which is the smoked
game and smoked human flesh, hung up to the rafters.
All the Fan villages are strongly fenced or palisadoed; and by
night they keep a careful watch. They have also a little native
dog, whose sharp bark is the signal of some one approaching from
without. In the villages they are neat and clean, the street be-
ing swept, and all garbage—except, indeed, the well-picked bones
of their human subjects—is thrown out.
After visiting the house assigned me, I was taken through the
town, where I saw more dreadful signs of cannibalism in piles
of human bones, mixed up with other offal, thrown at the sides
of several houses. I find that the men, though viewing me with


106 SIGNS OF CANNIBALISM.
great curiosity, are not any longer afraid of me, and even the
women stand while I approach them. They are a more manly
and courageous race than the tribes toward the coast.
Then we returned to the king, where we were presented to
his four wives, who showed uncommon dislike to my presence.
Mbene is in great glee, as wherever he goes he is surrounded with
Fan fellows, who praise him for being the friend of white men.
Indeed, he has always been proud of this, and tells now, with no
little pleasure, to the astonished Fan, that two before me have vis-
ited him, which is a fact.
Toward evening we retired to our houses. I called the king
into mine, and gave him a large bunch of white beads, a looking-
glass, a file, fire-steel, and some gun-flints. His face was fairly
illuminated with joy, and he took his leave, highly pleased. Pres-
ently afterward one of the queens brought me a basket full of
bananas. Some of these were already cooked, and these I at
once refused, having a horrid loathing of the flesh-pots of these
people. I stated at once my fixed purpose to have all cooking
done for me in my own kettles, and mean to be involved in no
man-eating—even at second-hand.
Shortly after sunset all became silent in the village, and every
body seemed inclined to go to sleep. I barred my door as well
as I could with my chest, and lying down on the dreadful bed
which was provided for me, placed my gun by my side ready for
use. For though they be ever so friendly, I can not get it out of
my head that these people not only kill people, but eat them, and
that some gastronomic caprice might tempt them to have a white
man for dinner while I am among them.
I said dreadful bed. It was a frame of bamboos, each about an
inch in diameter. Of course it was rough; and I found my bones
aching so in the morning that I might as well have slept on a
nail-heap or on a pile of cannon balls. But I slept, and was not
interrupted, though, on going out next morning, I saw a pile of
ribs, leg and arm bones, and skulls (human) piled up at the back
of my house, which looked horrid enough to me. In fact, symp-
toms of cannibalism stare me in the face wherever I go, and I can
no longer doubt
.
I had told the king that I should like to see him dressed in
war array, so this morning (September 1st) he called upon me
with his queen and a cortege of his chiefs. The body was again


ARMS OF THE CANNIBALS.
107
painted red; he wore a shield of elephant's hide, and was armed
for the offensive with three spears and a little bag of poisoned ar-
rows. His head was splendidly decorated with the red feathers of
the touracaw (corythaix); his teeth were painted very black; and
his "whole body was covered with greegrees and fetiches, to protect
him from death by spears, guns, and witches.
Every body admired the head-dress of Mashumba, the queen.
It was a cap of white beads. These beads form the most desired
ornaments of the blacks, and, with tobacco and powder, are the
best trade a traveler can take into the interior.
Ndiayai remarked that, while surrounded by his warriors, he
feared nothing, and spoke of the bravery of his people; and I am
ready to believe them an unusually warlike tribe. They pointed
out one man to me who bore the name of " Tiger" because of his
bravery. He had killed many of their enemies, and also many
elephants.

FAN BOWMAN.
They have a great diversity of arms. Among the crowd to-
day I saw men armed with cross-bows, from which are shot ei-
ther iron-headed arrows, or the little insignificant-looking, but
really most deadly poison-tipped arrows. These are only slender,
harmless reeds, a foot long, whose sharpened ends are dipped into
a deadly vegetable poison which these people know how to make.
The arrows are so light that they would blow away if simply laid
in the groove of the bow. To prevent this they use a kind of
sticky gum, a lump of which is kept on the under side of the bow.
and with which a small spot in the groove is lightly rubbed. The


108
POISONED ARROWS.
handle of the bow is ingeniously split, and by a little peg, which
acts as a trigger, the bow-string is disengaged, and, as the spring
is very strong, sends the arrow to a great distance, and, light as it
is, with great force. But the merest puncture kills inevitably.
They are good marksmen with their bows; and these require, be-
sides, great strength to bend. They have to sit on their haunches,
and apply both feet to the middle of the bow, while they pull with
all their strength on the string to bend it back.
The larger arrows have an iron head, some-
thing like the sharp barbs of a harpoon. These
are used for hunting wild beasts, and are about
two feet long. But the more deadly weapon is
the little insignificant stick of bamboo, not more
than twelve inches long, and simply sharpened
at one end. This is the famed poison-arrow—
a missile which bears death wherever it touch-
es, if only it pricks a pin's-point of blood. The
poison is made of the juices of a plant which
was not shown me. They dip the sharp ends
of the arrows several times in this sap, and let
it get thoroughly dried into the wood. It gives
the point a red color. The arrows are very
carefully kept in a little bag, made neatly of the
skin of some wild animal. They are much
dreaded among the tribes about here, as they
can be thrown or projected with such power as
to take effect at a distance of fifteen yards, and
with such velocity that you can not see them at
all till they aTe spent. This I have often proved
myself. There is no cure for a wound from one of these harm-
less-looking little sticks—death follows in a very short time.
Some of the Fans bore on their shoulders the terrible war-axe
figured opposite, one blow of which quite suffices to split a human
skull. Some of these axes, as well as their spears and other iron-
work, were beautifully ornamented with scroll-work, and wrought
in graceful lines and curves which spoke well for their artisans.
The war-knife, which hangs by the side, is a terrible weapon
for a hand-to-hand conflict, and, as they explained to me, is de-
signed to thrust through the enemy's body. There is another
huge knife also worn by some of the men now in the crowd be-

POISONED ABBOWS.


TOMAHAWK.
109

PAN KNIFE AND AXES.
1. Tomahawk. 3. Knife three feet long. 3. Sheath. 4. War-axe.
fore me. This is over a foot long, by about eight inches wide,
and is used to cut down through the shoulders of an adversary.
It must do tremendous execution.
Then there is a very singular pointed axe, which is thrown
from a distance, as American Indians are said to use the toma-
hawk. The figure (1) will give the reader an idea of the curious
shape of this weapon. When thrown it strikes with the point
down, and inflicts a terrible wound. They use it with great dex-
terity. The object aimed at with this axe is the head. The
point penetrates to the brain, and kills the victim immediately;
and then the round edge of the axe is used to cut the head off,
which is borne off by the victor as a trophy.
The spears, which are six to seven feet in length, are thrown
by the natives with great force, and with an accuracy of aim
which never ceased to surprise me. They make the long slender
rod fairly whistle through the air. Most of them can throw a
spear effectively to the distance of from twenty to thirty yards.
Most of the knives and axes were ingeniously sheathed in cov-
ers made of snake-skins, or human skin taken from some victim


110
GRAND CELEBRATION.
of battle. Many of these sheaths are ingeniously made, and are
slung round the neck by cords, which permit the weapon to hang
at the side out of the wearer's way.
Though so warlike, they have no armor. In fact, their work-
ing in iron is as yet too rude for such a luxury. The only weap-
on of defense is the huge shield of elephant's hide; but this is
even bullet-proof; and as it is very large—three and a half feet
long by two and a half broad—it suffices to cover the whole body.
Besides their weapons, many of the men wore a smaller knife
—but also rather unwieldy — which served the various offices of
a jack-knive, a hatchet, and a table-knife. But, though rude in
shape, they used it with great dexterity.
It was a grand sight to see so many stalwart, martial, fierce-
looking fellows, fully armed and ready for any desperate foray,
gathered in one assemblage. Finer looking men I never saw;
and I could well believe them brave, did not the completeness of
their armory prove that war is a favorite pastime with them. In
fact, they are dreaded by all their neighbors, and, if they were
only animated by the spirit of conquest, would soon make short
work of the tribes between them and the coast.
To-day several hundred Fans from the surrounding village
came in to see me. Okolo, a great king among them, gave me
his knife, saying it had already killed a man. To-night there is
a great dance in honor of the arrival of a spirit (myself) among
them. This dance was the wildest scene I ever saw. Every
body was there; and I, in whose honor the affair was, had to as-
sist by my presence. The only music was that of a rude drum—
an instrument made of a certain kind of wood, and of deer or
goat skins. The cylinder was about four feet long, and ten inch-
es in diameter at one end, but only seven at the other. The
wood was hollowed out quite thin, and the skin stretched over
tightly. To beat it the drummer held it slantingly between his
legs, and with two sticks beat furiously upon the upper, which
was the larger end of the cylinder.
This music was accompanied with singing, which was less me-
lodious even than the drumming. As for the dancing, it was an
indescribable mixture of wildness and indecency.
One of the consequences of the dance is that we are to have a
great elephant-hunt, and women are busied in cooking food, and
men in preparing arms for this great game. The few guns own-


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
Ill

ed by the Fans have been carefully furbished up, and I have pre-
pared my two for action, expecting great things from such des-
perate hunters as these.


112
ELEPHANT-TRAPS.
CHAPTER VIII.
The grand Hunt.—Fan Mode of capturing Elephants.—A pitched Battle.—Man
killed by an Elephant.—Grace before Meat amoVg the Fan.—The use of a dead
Hunter.—Habits of the Elephant.—Hanou, or Elephant-trap.—Elephant Meat.—
Condition of Women.—Marriage Ceremonies.—A Fan Wedding.—Musical In-
strument.—Corpse brought in to be eaten.—Human Flesh prized.—Stories of
Fan Cannibalism.—Encroachments westward of the Fans.—Their Origin.—
Color.—Tattooing.—Trade.—Iron-smelting.—Fan Blacksmiths.—Bellows and
other Tools.—Pottery.—Agriculture.—Food.—Slavery.—The Oshebo.—Beyond.
—Superstitions.—Sorcery. —Charms. —Idols.
About five hundred men assembled for the hunt on the morn-
ing of September 4th. They were divided into different parties,
each of which set out for the part of the forest assigned it. Mean-
time Ndiayai and I went together to the general rendezvous, a walk
of about six hours through the woody and mountainous country
which I have already described. The march was conducted in
great silence, and every care was taken not to alarm any game
which might be near our track. Arrived at our halting-place,
we immediately began to build our camp, and had hardly got our
shelters constructed when it began to rain.
The next morning we set out for the hunting-ground. And
here a most remarkable sight presented itself. The elephant, like
most other great beasts, has no regular walk or path, but strays
somewhat at random through the woods in search of food; but it
is his habit, when pleased with a neighborhood, to remain there
for a considerable time, nor let any small matter drive him away.
Now of this the Fan take advantage. The forests here are full
of rough, strong, climbing plants, which you will see running up
to the tops of the tallest trees. These they twist together, and
with them ingeniously, but with much labor, construct a kind of
huge fence or obstruction, not sufficient to hold the elephant,
but quite strong enough to check him in his flight and entangle
him in the meshes till the hunters can have time to kill him.
Once caught, they quietly surround the huge beast, and put an
end to his struggles by incessant discharges of their spears and
guns.


>





MAN KILLED BY AN ELEPHANT.
115
Presently a kind of hunting-horn was sounded, and the chase
began. Parties were stationed at different parts of the harrier or
"tangle," as we will call it, which had an astonishing extent, and
must have cost much toil to make. Others stole through the
woods in silence and looked for their prey.
"When they find an elephant they approach very carefully.
The object is to scare him and make him run toward some part
of the barrier—generally not far off. To accomplish this, they
often crawled at their full length along the ground, just like
snakes, and with astonishing swiftness.
The first motion of the animal is flight. He rushes ahead al-
most blindly, but is brought up by the barrier of vines. En-
raged, and still more terrified, he tears every thing with his trunk
and feet. But in vain; the tough vines, nowhere fastened, give
to every blow, and the more he labors the more fatally he is held.
Meantime, at the first rush of the elephant the natives crowd
round; and while he is struggling in their toils they are plying
him with spears, till often the poor wounded beast looks like a
huge porcupine. This spearing does not cease till they have kill-
ed their prey. ,
To-day we killed four elephants in this way. It was quite an
exciting time to the natives, though I confess of less interest to
me after I had seen the first killed. It seemed monotonous, and
somewhat unfair; nevertheless, there is sufficient danger about it.
The elephants about here have the reputation of holding man in
slight fear, and the approach and attack are work for the greatest
courage and presence of mind. Even then fatal accidents occur.
To-day a man was killed. I was not present at the accident, but
he seems to have lost his presence of mind, and when the ele-
phant charged with great fury at a crowd of assailants, he was
caught and instantly trampled under foot.
When his companions saw that he was dead, they in turn grew
furious, and actually pursued the elephant, which was making its
escape, charged upon it, and so beset it with spears that in a few
minutes it was dead. I never saw men so excited with rage.
They began even to cut the dead animal to pieces for revenge.
They have certain precautionary rules for these hunts, which
show that they understand the animal. For instance, they say
you must never approach an elephant but from behind, as he
can not turn very fast, and you have time to make your escape


116
A CANNIBAL "GRACE BEFORE MEAT."
after firing. Great care is necessary that the vines, which are so
fatal to the elephant, do not also catch their enemies. I was told
that it was not unfrequent for a man to be thus hopelessly en-
tangled, and then deliberately killed by the elephant. Often it
becomes necessary for the pursuers to retreat, and, as they can
scarce outrun the great heavy animal, at such times all hands
take refuge in trees, which they climb with astonishing swiftness
—almost like monkeys. Even then, however, a man must select
a stout tree; and Ndiayai told me of a case where a small sapling
was pulled down by an enraged beast, and the occupant had a
narrow escape for his life.
Now followed the rites with which they offer thanks for a good
day's hunt to the idol who, in their belief, guides their fortunes.
Without these preliminary rites no meat is touched.
First comes the whole party and dances around the elephant,
while the medicine or greegree men cut off a portion—invariably
from one of the hind legs—of each elephant. This was the meat
intended for an offering to the idol. This meat was put into bas-
kets, afterward to be cooked under the direct superintendence of
the greegree man and the men who killed the particular animal.
Finally, the whole party danced about the baskets and sung
songs to their idol, begging for another such good hunt as this
one.
The king was of opinion that if this ceremony were neglected
they would get nothing next time; but thought their songs and
dances would please the idol, who would give them even more
elephants in future.
The sacrificial meats are taken into the woods, where it is
probable they regale some panther—if the shrewd medicine-man
does not himself come and eat them. And the body of the poor
fellow who was killed to-day is, I am told, to be sent to another
Fan village, to be sold and eaten. This seems the proper and usual
end of the Fans.
The elephants were cut up the next day, and the meat was all
hung up to be smoked, which these natives understand how to do.
The persistence with which the elephant in this part of the
country sticks to a spot which affords him such leaves as he best
likes, is very remarkable. It is in part, probably, from a scarcity
of his favorite trees. I have seen them remain for days in the
immediate vicinity of such a set of fences as I have described,


ELEPHANT MEAT.
117
where the natives, of course, each day killed some. Sometimes,
too, they will almost enter the towns, pulling down the small
trees, and breaking branches off the larger, to get the food which
best suits their taste. Often, however, they leave a neighbor-
hood at the first attack, when the natives follow and make new
fences.
They have another way, which I saw used in the woods this
day, and have often seen since, to kill elephants. • They discover a
walk or path through which it is likely that a herd or single ani-
mal will soon pass. Then they take a piece of very heavy wood,
which the Bakalai call hanou, and trice it up into a high tree,
where it hangs, with a sharp point, armed with iron, pointing
downward. It is suspended by a rope, which is so arranged that
the instant the elephant touches it—which he can not help doing
if he passes under the hanou—it is loosed, and falls with tremen-
dous force on to his back, the iron point wounding him, and the
heavy weight generally breaking his spine.
It is generally supposed that the elephant is found only in the
plains; but, from various observations in this region, I conclude
that the animal also frequents the mountains and rough high
country. Their tracks are frequently met with among the mount-
ains, and several times I have scarcely been able to believe my
eyes when I saw plainly the footprints of the huge animal in
spots which it could only have attained by the ascent of almost
precipitous hill-sides—ascents which we found it difficult to make
ourselves.
The elephant meat, of which the Fan seem to be very fond,
and which they have been cooking and smoking for three days
now, is the toughest and most disagreeable meat I ever tasted. I
can not explain its taste, because we have no flesh which tastes
like it; but it seems full of muscular fibre or gristle, and when it
has been boiled for two days, twelve hours each day, it is still
tough. The flavor is not unpleasant; but, though I have tried
at different times to accustom myself to it, I found only that my
disgust grew.
It rained all the time we were in the bush, which made me
rather glad when the time came for our return to the town, where
I once more got on dry clothes and slept in a dry place.
As we were returning, I learned from the king a very curious
particular of the Fan customs, which I did not suspect any of


118 MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.
these West African tribes of. It appears that they never marry
their girls before they have arrived at the age of puberty, and
that they have a care for the chastity of their young women. In
most of the tribes it is common for children of three or four
years to be married to men grown—who, of course, have thence-
forth a claim on all the relatives of this baby-wife—and it is not
at all infrequent to find a female child betrothed at birth. I had
already remarked, what I suppose is the natural result of the Fan
custom, that these people have more children by far than either
the Shekiani, Bakalai, Mbicho, Mbondemo, Mbousha, or any of the
interior tribes I have seen north of the equator. Those tribes are
gradually but surely disappearing, but the Fans seem likely to
survive.
The Fan marriage ceremonies are very rude, but are a time of
great jollity. Of course, the husband has to buy his wife, and the
shrewd father makes a bargain with him as well as he can, put-
ting on a great price if the man's love is very ardent; so that I
was told it sometimes took years before a man could buy and
marry his wife. If trade with the sea-shore were better it would
not be so hard; but as " trade" is the most precious thing, "trade-
goods" are always expected as payment for a wife. Hence their
bravery as hunters; for ivory is one of the chief articles they send
down to the coast; and though, after a hunt like that before re-
lated, the meat is shared, the ivory belongs to those who killed
the animal, who have, however, to divide the proceeds with their
immediate relatives. Copper and brass rings, white beads, and
the copper pans called neptunes on the coast, are the chief articles
of trade which are a legal tender for a wife among the Fans.
When a wedding is in prospect the friends of the happy eouple
spend many days in obtaining and laying in great stores of pro-
visions—chiefly elephant meat, smoked, and palm wine. They
engage hunters to keep up the supply, and accumulate enough to
feed the great numbers who are expected to come. When all is
ready the whole town assembles, and, without any ceremony, but
merely as a public sale, as it were, the father hands his daughter
to her husband, who has generally already paid her price.
The "happy pair" are, of course, dressed finely for the occasion.
The bridegroom is attired in a feather head-dress of glowing col-
ors; his body is oiled; his teeth are black and polished as ebony;
his huge knife hangs at his side; and if he can kill a leopard or


FAN MUSIC.
119
, panther, or other rare animal, its skin is wrapped about his mid-
dle in a graceful way. The bride is very simply dressed, or rath-
er she is (like all the Fan women) not dressed at all. But for
this occasion she is ornamented with as many bracelets as she can
get, of brass or copper, and wears her woolly locks full of white
beads.
"When all are assembled, and the bride is handed over to her
lord, a general jollification ensues, which lasts sometimes for many
days. They eat elephant meat, get tipsy on palm wine, dance,
sing, and seem to enjoy themselves very much, until at last wine
grows scarce, and the crowd returns to an unwilling sobriety.
Their dances I have already alluded to, as well as the drum
which figures on such occasions, and which is the more highly
valued the greater noise it makes. But I found them also play-
ing upon an instrument of another kind, and of so ingenious con-
struction that it is not altogether unworthy of more civilized peo-
ple. This, which they call the handja, consists of a light reed
frame, 3 feet long by 1£ broad, into which are set and securely

fastened a set of hollow gourds covered by strips of a hard red
wood found in the forests. Each of these cylinders is of a differ-
ent size, and all are so graduated that the set form a regular se-
ries of notes. A handja generally contains seven. The perform-
er sits down, lays the frame across his knees, and strikes the strips
lightly with a stick. There are two sticks, one hard, the other
soft, and the principle is the same on which music has been pro-
duced in France from a series of glasses. The tone is very clear
and good; and though their tunes are very rude, they can play
them with considerable skill.


120 CANNIBAL PRACTICES.
While I was talking to the king to-day (9th), some Fans,
brought in a dead body which they had bought in a neighboring
town, and which was now to be divided. I could see that the
man had died of some disease. I confess I could not bear to stay
for the cutting up of the body, but retreated when all was ready.
It made me sick all over. I remained till the infernal scene was
about to begin, and then retreated. Afterward I could hear them
from my house growing noisy over the division.
This is a form of cannibalism—eating those who 'have died
of sickness—of which I had never heard in any people, so that I
determined to inquire if it were indeed a general custom, or mere-
ly an exceptional freak. They spoke without embarrassment
about the whole matter, and I was informed that they constantly
buy the dead of the Osheba tribe, who, in return, buy theirs.
They also buy the dead of other families in their own tribes, and,
besides this, get the bodies of a great many slaves from the Mbi-
chos and Mbondemos, for which they readily give ivory, at the
rate of a small tusk for a body.
Until to-day I never could believe two stories — both well
authenticated, but seeming quite impossible to any one unac-
quainted with this people—which are told of them on the Gaboon.
A party of Fans who came down to the sea-shore once to see the
sea actually stole a freshly-buried body from the cemetery, and
cooked it and ate it among them; and another party took anoth-
er body, conveyed it into the woods, cut it up, and smoked the
flesh, which they carried away with them. The circumstances
made a great fuss among the Mpongwe, and even the mission-
aries heard of it, but I never credited the stories till now, though
the facts were well authenticated by witnesses.* In fact, the Fans
seem regular ghouls, only they practice their horrid custom un-
blushingly and in open day, and have no shame about it . I have
seen here knives covered with human skin, which their owners
valued very highly.
To-day the queen brought me some boiled plantain, which
* These stories seem so incredible, and even the fact that these people actually
bny and cat the corpses of their neighbors — resting as it does upon my state-
ment alone—has excited so much evident disbelief among friends in this country to
whom I have mentioned this custom, that I am very glad to be able to avail myself
of the concurrent testimony of a friend, the Rev. Mr. Walker, of the Gaboon mission,
who authorizes me to say that he vouches for the entire truth of the two storie*
above related.


ENCROACHMENTS OF THE FANS.
121
looked very nice; but the fear lest she should have cooked it in
some pot where a man had been cooked before—which was most
likely the case—made me unable to eat it. On these journeys I
have fortunately taken with me sufficient pots to do my own
cooking.
They are the finest, bravest-looking set of negroes I have seen
in the interior, and eating human flesh seems to agree with them,
though I afterward saw other Fan tribes whose members had not
the fine air of these mountaineers. As every where else, location
seems to have much to do with it. These were living among the
mountains, and had all the appearance of hardy mountaineers.
The strangest thing about the Fans (next to their hideous can-
nibalism) is their constant encroachments upon the land west-
ward. Year by year tribes of Fan are found nearer the sea-
shore; town after town is being settled by them on the banks of
the Gaboon; and in the country between the Gaboon and the
Moondah they have come down to within a few miles of Point
Olinda. In fact they seem a stirring race, and more enterprising
than the Bakalai, Mbondemo, Mbicho,-and even the Mpongwe;
and I think will leave these gradually behind and take possession
themselves of the whole line of sea-shore—when they may degen-
erate, though it is to be hoped they will not.
It has been supposed that these Fans are, in fact, the Gtaghi or .
Jaga, who formerly invaded the kingdom of Congo, and who seem
to have been much such a people. The fact is, however, that in
my later journeys to the head-waters of the Nazareth, and into the
interior, south of the present location of the Fans, I could find no
tribes who knew any thing of such a people. Now the migration
of the Fans is so slow a process that, whichever way they move, it
is impossible they should not be remembered by the tribes among
whose villages they have scattered their own; and were they,
indeed, the Jaga of the south, I must have come on their traces
somewhere. Moreover, all the Fans, when asked whence they
came, point to the northeast. No matter how many different men
or villages you put this question to, the answer is always the
same.
The Fans are in color dark brown rather than black, but have,
as before said, curly or woolly hair. They are lighter in color
than the Bakalai, Shekiani, and other surrounding tribes. They
tattoo themselves more than any of the other tribes I have met


122
IRON-WORKS.
north of the equator, but not so much as some to the south- The
men are less disfigured in this way than the women, who take
great pride in having their breasts and abdomen entirely cover-
ed with the blue lines and curves. Their cheeks also are fully
marked in various figures, and this, with the immense copper and
iron rings which weigh down the lobes of their ears, gives them a
hideous appearance.
They have considerable ingenuity in manufacturing iron. The
articles of trade which they wish for most seem to be white beads
—used for ornaments every where in this part of Africa—and
vessels of copper and brass. The "neptune"—a plate of yellow
copper, which has long been one of the standard articles of trade
imported hither by the merchants, and which is found very far in
the interior—the Fans cut up, and it seems to pass as a kind of
medium of exchange.
Iron ore is found in considerable quantities through the Fan
country cropping out at the surface. They do not dig into the
ground for it, but gather what lies about. To get the iron they
build a huge pile of wood, pile on this a considerable quantity of
the ore broken up, then comes more wood, and then fire is applied
to the whole pile. As it burns away wood is thrown on contin-
ually, till at last they perceive, by certain signs, that' they have
made the iron fluid. All is then permitted to cool, and they have
now cast iron. To make this malleable and give it temper, they
put it through a most tedious series of heatings and hammerings,
till at last they turn out a very superior article of iron and steel,
much better than that which is brought to them from Europe. It
is a fact that, to make their best knives and arrow-heads, they
will not use the European or American iron, but prefer their own.
And many of their knives and swords are really very finely made,
and, for a rude race, beautifully ornamented by scroll-work on the
blades.
As blacksmiths, they very far surpass all the tribes of this re-
gion who have not come in contact with the whites. Their war-
like habits have made iron a most necessary article to them; and
though their tools are very simple, their patience is great, and, as
the reader will perceive from the pictures of their arms, they pro-
duce some very neat workmanship.
The forge is set up any where where a fire can be built. They
have invented a singular bellows, composed of two short, hollow-



FAN BLACKSMITHS.
ed cylinders of wood, surmounted by skins accurately fitted on,
and having an appropriate valve and a wooden handle. The bel-
lows-man sits down, and moves these coverings up and down
with great rapidity, and the air is led through small wooden pipes
into an iron joint which emerges in the fire.
The anvil is a solid piece of iron of the shape seen in the illus-
tration. The sharp end is stuck into the ground, and the black-
smith sits alongside of his anvil and beats the iron with a singular
hammer, which is simply a piece of iron weighing from three to
six pounds, and in shape a truncated cone. It has no handle,
but is held by the smaller end, and, of course, the blows require
much more strength. It is a little curious that, with all their in-
genuity, they should not have discovered so simple a thing as a
handle for a hammer.
Time is of no value to a Fan, and the careful blacksmith spends
often many days and even weeks over the manufacture of a small
knife, while weeks and months are used to turn out a finished
war-knife, spear, or brain-hatchet. The small, graceful, and oft-


124
POTTERY.
en intricate lines with which the surfaces of all their best weapons
are very beautifully ornamented, are all made by the hand and a
chisel-like instrument, struck with the hammer. They evince a
correct eye, and a good deal of artistic taste.
They have also some skill in forming pottery, though the only
objects of clay they use are the cooking-pot and the pipe. The
former is in shape much like our common iron cooking-pot. It
is remarkable chiefly for the very regular shape they give it
merely by hand, for of the lathe they are, of course, ignorant
When the clay is moulded it is set in the sun to dry, and after-

FAN POTTF.rY.
L Cooking-pot. 2. Wnter-jar. 3. Palm-wine Bottle.
ward thoroughly baked in the fire. Pipes are made in the same
way, but the stems are always of wood. Many of the Fan had
iron pipes, which they seemed to prefer to those of clay.

I AS PIPES.
Water is carried or kept in gourds, and in jugs made of a kind
of reed tightly woven and afterward coated with a kind of gum.
This gum is first softened in the fire, and then thickly laid over


AGRICULTURE.
125
the outside of the vessel. "When completed it forms a durable,
water-tight vessel; but it is necessary, before using it, to keep it
standing in water for a fortnight to take away the disagreeable
taste of the gum.
They smoke leaves which looked to me like a kind of wild
tobacco, and which seem to grow plentifully here.
They kill a great many elephants, which abound in this region,
and whose meat is their chief subsistence, while the ivory is their
only export article, and, therefore, very important to them, as
thereby they get their brass, copper, kettles, looking-glasses, flints,
fire-steels, and beads, which have become almost necessities to
them. Of all these, however, they set the greatest value on cop-
per and brass.
Their agricultural operations are very rude, and differ but little
from those of the surrounding tribes. Like them, they cut down
the trees and brush to make a clearing, burn every thing that is
cut down, and then plant their crop in the cleared space. The
only agricultural instrument they have is a kind of heavy knife
or cutlass, which serves in place of an axe to cut down trees, and
for many other purposes, such as digging the holes in which they
plant their manioc or plantains. After the clearing is made, the
women go around among the burned logs and tree-roots, and stick
in their roots and shrubs wherever they can find space; and na-
ture does the rest.
Their staple food is the manioc, a very useful plant, because it
yields a large return, and is more substantial food than the plant-
ain. It is cultivated by cuttings; and one little stem stuck care-
lessly into the ground in their manner, produces in a season two
or three large roots the size of a yam. They also boil the leaves
and eat them, and they make excellent "greens."
Besides manioc they have plantains, two or three kinds of
yams, splendid sugar-cane, and squashes, all of which they culti-
vate with considerable success; but the manioc is the favorite.
Enormous quantities of squashes are raised, chiefly for the seeds,
which, when pounded and prepared as they know how to do, are
much prized by them, and by me too. At a certain season, when
the squash is ripe, their villages seem covered with the seeds,
which every body spreads out to dry. When dried, they are
packed in leaves and placed over the fire-places in the smoke, to
keep off an insect which also likes them. The process of prepa-


126 THE OSHEBAS.
ration is very tedious. A portion of seeds is boiled, and each seed
is divested of its skin. Then the mass of pulp is put into a rude
wooden mortar and pounded, a vegetable oil being mixed with it
.
When all is well mixed, a portion is finally cooked over a char-
coal fire, either in an earthen pot or in a plantain-leaf. It is then
very sweet, and I think nourishing, and certainly quite pleasant.
Of the mortars above mentioned every Fan family possesses at
least one. They are of wood, and are in fact troughs, being two
feet long by two or three inches deep and eight wide. Besides
these, every village owns and uses in common two or three im-
mense mortars (also of wood), which are needed to pulverize the
manioc-root. When it is reduced to flour it is made into little
cakes, which may be kept for several days. They are also very
fond of red pepper, which plant is found in abundance near all
the villages.
While on the subject of food, I ought to say that they do not
sell the bodies of their chiefs, kings, or great men. These receive
burial; and consequently they do not eat every body that dies.
Slavery does not seem very prominent among them, though a
great many of the Fans themselves are yearly sold for slaves to
the coast traders on account of witchcraft accusations, debts, adul-
tery, etc. Of late years the French "emigrant" ships have been
filled with Fans to a very great extent.
On September 10th, Ndiayai, the king, took me over to an
Osheba town some miles away, whose king was his friend. The
town, the people, the arrangements, every thing looked just as in
the Fan town. I should not have known they were of a different
tribe had not Ndiayai assured me it was so. I imagine they are
not very far apart, however. Like the Fans, the Osheba look
warlike, and are tall; their women, too, are smaller, and hideous-
ly ugly, and tattooed all over their bodies. A large part of their
intercourse with the Fan village consists in the interchange of
dead bodies, and I saw as many human bones lying about the
Osheba village as among the Fans.
King Bunbakai, the Osheba chief, seeing that his friend Ndia-
yai did not die after having seen me, concluded to come out and
have a look himself. He was a sociable old fellow, dressed in
the Fan style, and every way acting like a Fan king might. We
staid with him several days, as I had come in great part to see
what lay farther east toward the interior, and how I should get


MY ULTIMA THULE.
127
farther. But I was now come to my ultima thule. After every
inquiry, made with the help of my Mbondemo followers, I could
get only this information:
That beyond the Osheba village, two or three day's journeys
off, there lived other tribes, also cannibals, whose names my in-
formants did not know. It was said, however, that they were
warlike, and used poisoned arrows. When I desired to advance
in that direction the people seemed unwilling, even afraid to ac-
company me; assuring me that on account of the wars at present
in existence between tribes there, any party attempting to visit
either side would run the risk of being waylaid with poisoned ar-
rows by the other.
I had a great desire to go on, but confess that these stories and
some other considerations cooled my ardor. I was completely at
the mercy of the Fans, and should be still more so if I advanced,
for Mbene's men would not go farther. And I could not forget
that the Fan, though apparently well disposed toward me, had a
great penchant for human flesh, and might—by one of those cu-
rious freaks which our tastes play us—be seized by a passionate
desire to taste of me. To fall sick among them would be to
tempt them severely and unjustifiably. Then I had not goods
enough to carry me among a strange people and also bring me
back; and I feared that, left in poverty, I should fail to receive
among them the respect and obedience which the beads, tobacco,
and powder, copper and brass rings of a white man always ob-
tain him. Moreover, the Fan language is such a collection of
Ikroal sounds that I not only could not get to understand it, but
could not for some time distinguish any words. The Osheba is
yet worse; and harsher, ruder, or more guttural sounds I never
heard made. Now, as Mbene's men would not go with me, nor
even stay long here, I was like to be left without an interpreter;
and to go among any new tribes beyond the mountains entirely
unable to hold communication with them would have been labor
almost altogether in vain. I therefore determined to make some
longer stay with King Ndiayai, and then return by a new route
to the sea-shore.
And so vague and unsatisfactory were the rumors I heard of
country and people in the farther interior that I shall not make
any guess at the condition of that vast region. Only I think it
quite likely that, as the Fan and Osheba tribes point eastward as


128
SUPERSTITIONS.
the place of their origin, their manners and customs, with such
knowledge as they have of iron and of poison, and such changes
in life as the different circumstances of the country may necessi-
tate, may be characteristic of the tribes beyond.
The Fans are a very superstitious people. Witchcraft seems to
be a very common thing to be accused of among them, and the
death penalty is sternly executed. They set little value on life;
and as the dead body has its commercial value, this consideration
too, probably, has its weight in passing sentence of death.
Polygamy is a fertile source of quarrels and bloodshed among
them; and the growing desire for "white man's goods," to pay
for which, in the present miserable system of trade, they can not
get sufficient ivory, induces them to send many of their criminals
to the coast to be sold to the slavers. As before mentioned, they
have but few slaves—a circumstance which is probably in part
accounted for by the fact that they eat the prisoners taken in war,
whereas other tribes only enslave them.
They have a great reverence for charms and fetiches, and even
the little children are covered with these talismans, duly conse-
crated by the doctor or greegree man of the tribe. They place
especial value on charms which are supposed to have the power
to protect their owner in battle. Chief among these is an iron
chain, of which the links are an inch and a half long by an inch
wide. This is worn over the left shoulder, and hanging down
the right side. Besides this, and next to it in value, is a small
bag, which is suspended round the neck or to the side of the
warrior. This bag is made of the skin of some rare animal, and
contains various fragments of others, such as dried monkey's tails,
the bowels and claws of other beasts, shells, feathers of birds, and
ashes of various beasts. All these are of the rarer animals, in or-
der that there may not be too many charms of one kind, which
would diminish their value and power.
The chief village of each family of the Fans has a huge idol, to
whose temple all that family gather at certain periods to worship.
This worship consists of rude dances and singing. The idol-
houses are mostly surrounded by a number of skulls of wild ani-
mals, .prominent among which I recognized the skull of the goril-
la. To take away or disturb these skulls would be counted sac-
rilege, and worthy of death. I do not think they offer human
sacrifices.


INTERMARRIAGES.
129
The cannibal tribes do not intermarry with their non-cannibal
neighbors, as their peculiar practices are held in too great abhor-
rence. Trade is, however, like to break down this barrier. With-
in two or three years the ivory of the Fans has so far excited the
cupidity of their neighbors that two or three chiefs, among whom
Mbene was one, have been glad to take Fan girls to wife, in order
thus to get the influence of a Fan father-in-law. The poor Fans,
who are farthest of all from the coveted white trade, are but too
glad to get a son-in-law nearer the sea-shore; and I have little
doubt but in a few years they will even succeed in intermarrying
with other tribes to a considerable extent.
Notwithstanding their repulsive habit, the Fan have left the im-
pression upon me of being the most promising people in all West-
ern Africa. They treated me with unvarying hospitality and
kindness; and they seem to have more of that kind of stamina
which enables a rude people to receive a strange civilization than
any other tribe I know of in Africa. Energetic, fierce, warlike,
decidedly possessing both courage and ingenuity, they are dis-
agreeable enemies; and I think it most probable that the great
family or nation of which they are but a small offshoot, and who
should inhabit the mountainous range which subsequent explora-
tions convince me extends nearly if not quite across the continent
—that these mountaineers have stayed in its course the great
sweep of Mohammedan conquest in this part of Africa.
It should be added here that the Fan are known on the coast
as the Paonen.

PAM Broox.
I


130
CLIMATE OF THE MOUNTAINS.
CHAPTER LX
The return Trip.—Climate of the mountain Region.—Native Courage.—Mode of
Warfare.—Heavy Rains.—On the Noya.—Visits to native Chiefs.—Ezongo.—
Attempt at Black-mail.—Alapay.—The Mbicho.—Net-hunting.—Bad Shooting of
the Negroes.—Attacked by the Bashikouay Ants.—Toilet of the Mbicho.—Super-
stition about the Moon.—Ivory of this District peculiar.—Igouma.—Fan of the
Country.—An immense Cavern.—Crossing a mangrove Swamp.
We now began to make ready for our return to the sea. I
was to go as far as his village with Mbene, and thence take my
new route. Mbene had since our arrival obtained a daughter of
King Ndiayai for his wife; a point of great exultation to this pol-
itic old negro, who rejoiced that so rare an honor should fall to
him, and hoped to receive large consignments of ivory from his
father-in-law's people, on which he would pocket a profitable per-
centage. Mbene, therefore, had relatives to take leave of—not a
very affecting circumstance, however.
The Fans seemed very sorry that I was about to leave them,
and all expressed a wish for my return. Ndiayai gave me a na-
tive knife as a token of remembrance, which was as much as re-
ceiving a be-diamonded snuff-box from another sovereign—for
knives are precious in Africa. I offered a large price to another
man for a superb knife he had, but could not get it. His father
had given it to him, he said, and he could not part with it.
So at last we were fully ready, and left the Fans and their mount-
ains. These mountains have a climate which is by no means Af-
rican in the popular conception. Since we have been here we
have had rain during every night; and it has been so much cloud-
ed that I do not think the sun has shone clearly for three consec-
utive hours on any day in as many weeks. The country seems
well watered, and the soil is exceedingly fertile. The climate is,
of course, much healthier than it is on the rivers near the coast,
and the people in consequence are more robust and energetic.
It is a most promising country for the labor and settlement of
white men at some time, or of civilized black men.
Mbene had spent some days before our start in collecting pro-


MODES OF WARFARE.
131
visions. But, though we had a good supply, he asked me to stop
at a Mbicho village not far on our route for more. I consented,
and found that he was more desirous of exhibiting me to another
father-in-law of his, the Mbicho chief, Imana by name, who was
hugely pleased to find his son-in-law in such creditable company,
and presented me with two fowls and two bunches of plantains in
token of his pleasure, besides supplying our whole party with
abundant provisions next morning, when we went rejoicing on
our way, the men singing songs as they marched through the
woods.
The Mbicho are like the Mbondemo in looks, and their lan-
guage is also like the Shekiani. They are not a very numerous
tribe.
Our party from here consisted of twenty men, thirteen women,
and two boys. I caused the women to be relieved of their loads, to
their surprise and that of their idle husbands, who could not un-
derstand why I should object to a woman doing all the drudgery.
As we marched along gayly enough, about two P.M. one day
my men seemed suddenly uneasy. I asked what was the matter,
and received for reply that a party of Shekianis were approaching,
they thought, and then there would be trouble, as some Shekiani
men had had a palaver lately with Mbene. I felt very uncomfort-
able, for, on listening, I too heard sounds as of men approaching, and
I knew that if there was a fight it would be of the cruel, treacher-
ous kind which the negroes affect—not open, but a sudden sur-
prise, which would give no chance for me to interfere and prevent
bloodshed. I therefore determined to stop the palaver if I could,
but meantime to stick to my party as the safest way. We got
ready our guns, and then cautiously advanced. After about half
an hour's suspense we discovered the enemy—not a party of
Shekianis, but a large party of chattering monkeys, of which we
immediately shot half a dozen, which were roasted by the men
for their suppers.
The warriors of this part of Africa—with the exception of the
Fans and Osheba—are not overstocked with courage. They ap-
plaud tricks that are inhumanly cruel and cowardly, and seem to
be quite incapable of open hand-to-hand fight. To surprise man,
woman, or child in sleep, and kill them then; to'lie in ambush in
the woods for a single man, and kill him by a single spear-thrust
before he can defend himself; to waylay a woman going to the


132
THE RAINY SEASON.
spring for water, and kill her; or to attack on the river a canoe
much smaller and weaker than the attackers: these are the war-
like feats I have heard most praised, and seen oftenest done in
this part of Africa. No rude or barbarous people seems fairly
brave. Even the North American Indians dealt in surprises,
fought, like these negroes, from behind trees, and were cruel
rather than brave; so that my ideas of a fair fight were not un-
derstood or appreciated by the negroes.
The night of September 19th was one of the most uncomforta-
ble of my journey. It rained in the evening when we began to
arrange our camp, and I built two large fires to keep me dry, and
got under shelter as well as I could. But about nine o'clock it
came on a rain so heavily that it was scarcely possible to keep our
fires alight. I had to use my neighbor's wood, which was readily
given me. It rained thus till four o'clock, pouring down in one
continuous stream, as though another deluge had come.
Then we all fell asleep, wet as we were, and when we waked
up saw the sun peeping at us through the dark, glistening, rain-
refreshed foliage of the trees.
The rainy season had by this time fairly set in in these mount-
ains, and the thunder, lightning, and heavy showers are common
both day and night. We find great comfort in using the shelters
erected, and conscientiously kept in repair by the caravans or
trading-parties of negroes who pass over this track. They give
at least some shelter from the everlasting rains. We have found
them kept in good repair wherever we have been. It is custom-
ary for every party to do what repairs are necessary.
On the 29th we saw many elephant-tracks but no animals;
and as we were now bound in we did not stop to hunt. On the
30th we crossed the Noonday River, and now a messenger was
sent forward to announce our arrival. We arrived at the town
about eight P.M., amid salvoes of old muskets and very general
rejoicing, and singing and dancing. I was tired, and was glad to
get to bed in a house once more after eating something. But
unfortunately two or three of the king's babies, who were sepa-
rated from me only by a few feet, cried all night, so that I did not
get much sleep.
Mbene's people had not time now to attend even their own chil-
dren. The rainy season had fairly come, and their crop was not
yet in the ground, and they had to strain every nerve to get done.


FAREWELL TO MBENE.
133
Accordingly, the next day every body but the children went into
the fields; and the poor little ones—all who had been weaned—
had but a dreary time of it playing around in the mud, and greed-
ily munching the few ground-nuts their mothers had left them.
I found now that I must not stay long with Mbene; for, though
he had enough to eat for himself, I could not live on nuts, and he
found it hard to get plantains or fowls for me. The poor fellow
was sorry, and even ashamed at his poverty, which in this case
he could not help, as he had but moved his village lately, and
they were only to plant now; so I determined to bid good-by to
him without loss of time. I gave him such presents as satisfied
him for his trouble and his faithfulness to me, rewarded my men
according to promise and also to their gratification, and then
made arrangements with Mbene to transport me to the banks of
the Noya River instead of the banks of the Ntambounay River,
by which I had come, for I desired to see this river also.
So for the last time Mbene and I broke together the plantain
of friendship, and then I went on my way, followed by protesta-
tions of love from him which I was glad enough sincerely to re-
ciprocate.
We were now journeying toward the Noya. About five o'clock
on the first day we had a storm, whose approach caused us to
stop and build ourselves a comfortable camp. Thanks to the huge
leaves with which Providence has provided so many of the trees
and shrubs of the African forests, this was an easy matter; and
we lay comfortably sheltered, and near a cheering fire, while the
thunder rolled, and a heavy rain poured down, and occasional
flashes of lightning revealed grand masses of the gloomy old for-
est . Gradually the storm passed over; and as we lay there talk-
ing, one by one the men sank back in silence asleep. I was soon
asleep myself, leaving all care to those who had the watch, and
whose duty it was to see to the fires.
About midnight the screams of several leopards awoke me;
but they were not very near us, our fires probably keeping them
of£ I had four distinct fires about my shed, and these I now
carefully poked up and fed, that no hungry leopard might be
tempted to rush across the lines; and then returned to sleep.
The next day we saw numerous elephants' tracks; but the
great beasts avoided us, and fled in great haste when they heard
us coming. They had probably been hunted, and had a watch


134
DOWN THE NOYA.
out. We saw, too, a strange water-snake, whose body was black,
with rings of bright yellow along the whole length. My men
were much alarmed when they saw it, for they said its bite was
mortal; they tried to kill it with their spears, but it managed to
escape them. They told me that besides being poisonous it was
very good to eat, and gave as a caution that the head must be
cut off immediately it is killed, in order, I suppose, to prevent its
fangs from fastening on any part of the body.
At last, after some hard traveling, the forest being very dense
and often swampy, while numerous streams, bridgeless, of course,
had to be crossed on crazy logs, we came to a small creek leading
into the Noya, which was only two or three hundred yards dis-
tant. We seized on two canoes we found empty on the creek;
and as these would not hold all our party, I put in all my goods
and as many men as I could make room for, and made the others
promise to wait till we sent a canoe for them, which was likely
to be soon. Sure enough, scarce had we emerged into the Noya,
a noble stream refreshing to look upon after the wretched creeks
which had been crossed for two days at very frequent intervals,
than we met a couple of women fishing in two canoes. I prom-
ised them some leaves of tobacco if they would go and bring
along the men, and they were only too glad to do so.
Thus we descended the Noya. The banks are clothed in this
part with trees of a pleasant shape and a dark evergreen verdure,
which made a favorable contrast to the immense gloomy man-
grove swamps which line all these rivers near the sea-shore.
Here and there we saw little native villages peeping through the
woods, looking so quiet and pleasant that for the moment I could
forget the horrors of witchcraft, polygamy, and other cruelties
which rule even in these peaceful groves.
Toward afternoon we came to the village of a chief, Mbene's
friend, who had sent a message to me to stop at his place on my
way down. We were received with acclamations; all the people
turned out to see me, and there was the usual singing, dancing,
and cutting capers. The chief took me immediately to his own
house, the best in the town; but I was not destined to remain
quiet, for presently the house and all the neighborhood began to
fill up with people eager to take a look at me. I was this time
doubly a hero; for they had heard of my trip to the Fan country,
and had prophesied that I should be killed and eaten by those


INDIA-RUBBER VINES.
135
terrible people, of whom all these tribes seem to stand in great
awe. Now that I was come back in safety, they openly proclaim-
ed that I must be the lucky owner of a fetich of very remarkable
powers. The king complimented me on my safe return, and ask-
ed why I cared to see the cannibals and go to their country.
When I answered that I went there to shoot birds and animals
strange to me, there went up a general shout of astonishment, and
I fear I lost somewhat of the confidence and admiration of the
hearers, for they could scarce give credence to what appeared so
foolish. Nevertheless, Wanga, the chief, invited me to stay as
long as I pleased with him.
I got up early the next morning to take a look at the country,
and try to shoot some birds for my collection and also some pig-
eons for breakfast. It was a fine clear morning, and I now for
the first time noticed the beautiful situation of Wanga's town,
which I had been too weary to appreciate the night before. It
lay on the edge of a bluff, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet
high, which overhung the Noya, and from whose summit I had a
view of this river's course for several miles up and down. Im-
mediately back of the town was a heavy forest of grand old trees,
many of vast size both for height and thickness. The under-
brush was tolerably dense, and huge vines stretched from tree to
tree like gigantic snakes. Among these vines I noticed the In-
dia-rubber vine, and found it to be very plentiful in this region.
The natives looked at me as I was stuffing the birds I had kill-
ed, and were lost in wonder at what seemed to them very remark-
ably foolish.
I spent several days in the villages near here, and was every
where received with kindness and also with curiosity. They had
never seen a white man before, and of course were full of surprise,
and alarm too, for a time. Others, who were more experienced,
asked curious questions about the manners and customs of the
white people. When I told them that a man was put into prison
for having two wives, both men and women set up a shout of
wonder, but seemed to think that, though the white man's coun-
try must be a great country, the white men were themselves more
lucky than wise.
Wanga had promised me a new set of guides if I would stay
some days with him; accordingly, I sent Mbene's men back, with
proper acknowledgments, and prepared for a start with my new
guides.


136
THE PEOPLE OF THE NOYA.
We were to go down the Noya for a few miles and then take
the land, leaving our canoes to return.
I wanted very much to go off privately, but that would not do.
The king and the whole village, male and female, about two
hundred people, came down to bid me good-by, and I had to shake
hands all round, which took more time than I cared to spare for
the purpose. But it was the last pleasure I was ever likely to do
to a people who had received me with very great kindness. One
feels a strange softness about the heart on leaving one of these
simple African villages, where, stranger in a strange land, he has
yet been treated kindly, and all his wants supplied. The people
seem really sorry to see you go; and as you leave, thinking that
in all human probability you will never meet these kind people
again, you feel sorrier than you expected.
We descended the Noya for a few miles, hailed at every turn
by the inhabitants of villages who wished us to stop; and then
abandoned our canoes and took to the land. For some miles it
was very swampy, and the loads of my men made traveling diffi-
cult and tedious. I had now with me the entire results of this
expedition, and this formed no light burden even for the stout,
finely-made negro fellows I had. The people along the Noya are
a fine-looking race, not above, but up to the "middle height,"
with rather intelligent features, and not very black. They seem
to live very happily in their villages, though, of course, all the
vices and superstitions of Africa infect them, and, once in a while,
make brutes of them.
Presently we came to high land, and then the landscape re-
gained somewhat of the beauty it had about Wanga's village,
while we were able to push ahead faster over the solid ground.
Toward sunset we reached a place called Ezongo, where the in-
habitants, seeing our heavy loads, and supposing that I brought
them vast and unheard-of amounts of trade, turned out with the
greatest amount of enthusiasm to welcome me.
Their ardor cooled somewhat when they learned the contents
of my packages, and I found in the course of the evening that the
rascally chief or king of Ezongo, thinking I must place a great
value on things I had gone so far to get, had determined to hold
me till I paid a heavy price to get away.
I was very angry at this outrage; but for a while things look-
ed as though I should have trouble. I determined not to submit


ATTEMPT AT BLACK-MAIL. 137
to an imposition which would leave me empty-handed and de-
fenseless, even if it would have answered to let any one of these
fellows impose on me under any circumstances. There seemed
likely to be a palaver. I determined to fight for my rights, but
was, of course, anxious to get all settled peaceably. The king,
urged on by his people, who seemed a greedy set of rascals, insist-
ed on his price. At last, my Mbicho guides from the Noya tried
to settle the matter. They were wise enough to get the king to
come to me with them alone. I gave the rascal a coat and an old
shirt, and told him, what was literally true, that I was very poor,
and could not pay what his people wanted, and that he must be
on my side. He went out at once and harangued the turbulent
extortioners. I watched the result with considerable anxiety; but
at last, seeing that he would succeed, paid my Wanga-town guides,
and prepared to set out for Yoongoolapay, a village whose chief
I had seen on the coast some time before, when he made me prom-
ise to pay him a visit on my return from the interior.
I was now really so reduced in trade that I had only a few
white beads left to pay to my guides, and was glad enough to be
getting down toward the territory of a man who knew me, and
would probably trust me.
We arrived at our destination late in the afternoon, and were
received with great demonstrations of joy. My old friend, King
Alapay, was very glad to see me, and asked me to stay some days,
which, being very much worn out with constant exposure and
anxieties, I determined to do. His village is situated upon a high
hill overlooking the surrounding country, and a beautiful stream
skirts the foot of the hill. It is a charming situation, and the peo-
ple who hold it I found very kind, peaceable, and hospitable.
A considerable number of independent Mbicho villages lie here
within a circuit of a few miles, and live in great harmony with
each other, all having prudently intermarried to such a degree
that they are really one large family. I was made welcome
among them all, and spent some very pleasant days in hunting,
and particularly in that kind of sport called here asheza-hunting,
or net-hunting — a practice very common among the Bakalai
tribes.
This singular sport is very much practiced in this part of Af-
rica, and, as it is generally successful, is a local amusement, and
brings out the best traits of the natives. I was always very fond
of it.


138
NET-HUNTING.
The nets are made of the fibre of the pine-apple plant, and also
with the fibres of a kind of tree, which are twisted into stout
threads. They are from sixty to eighty feet long and four to
five feet high, and every village owns several. But as few vil-
lages have sufficient to make a great spread, generally several unite
in one grand hunt and divide the proceeds, the game caught in
any net being the share of its owners.
The first day we went out, half a dozen villages met together at
an appointed place, the men of each bringing their nets. Then
we set off for a spot about ten miles off, where they had a clearing
in the dense woods which had been used before. We moved
along in silence, so as not to alarm the animals who might be near
our ground. The dogs—for dogs are used for this hunt—were
kept still and close together.
Finally we arrived on the ground, and the work of spreading
the toils began. Each party stretched a single net, tying it up by
vines and to the lower branches of trees; but as all worked in
one direction, and each took care to join his and his neighbor's net
together, we in a very short time had a line of netting running in
a wide half circle, and at least half a mile long.
This done, a party went out on each side to guard the sides and
prevent escape, and the balance of us were then ready to beat the
bush. We started at about a mile from the nets, and, standing
about fifty yards from each other, advanced gradually, shouting
and making what noise we could, at the same time keeping our
guns in readiness to pop down any thing which should come in
our way. The sport would have been less exhausting had not
the jungle been so dense. Though this very spot was frequently
used for net-hunting, and therefore more cleared than the neigh-
boring wilder wood, yet we were obliged to proceed almost step
by step, and every native was armed, besides his gun, with a kind
of heavy cutlass or machete, with which it was necessary literally
to hew out a way, the vines making a net-work which only the
beasts of the forests could glide through without trouble.
As we advanced, so did the men who guarded the flanks, and
thus our party gradually closed on the prey, and presently we be-
gan to hear shots. I heard the shots, but could see nothing, and
had only to hold my own gun in readiness, and pray that my
neighbor might not shoot me by mistake; for they are fearfully
reckless when on a chase.


NEGRO GUNNERY.
139
At last we came in sight of the nets. We had caught a deer
of a very minute size—a pretty little animal—in every respect
like the common deer, except that it does not grow to be larger
than a pointer. It is very graceful, and ought to make a pretty
p,et, though I have never seen one tamed. Also, a large antelope
was held and shot before I came up; and another antelope, being
shot at and missed, rushed forward and got entangled in the net.
Having drawn this cover, we gathered up the nets and the
dogs—who enjoyed the sport vastly—and walked off to try an-
other place.
I do not wonder at all at the bad shots the natives make. Wher-
ever I have been among them my shots have excited astonish-
ment; and this not so much because my guns are better, as be-
cause I have good powder, and they do not know how to load a
gun. The negro idea is to put in as much powder as he dares,
and on top of this as much old iron as he can afford to throw
away in one shot. If the powder was of only average strength
they would blow themselves to pieces, but the traders on the
coast make it very mild by adulterations; and I have actually
seen bits of iron of various shapes rammed into a gun till it was
loaded to within a few inches of the muzzle. Consequently, the
recoil is heavy; they dare not hold the guns to their shoulders,
and blaze away very much at a venture.
Walking over to another part of the forest, about three quar-
ters of an hour distant, we again spread our nets. Here we had
better luck, catching quite a number of antelopes, deer, and some
smaller animals. This seemed enough for one day, of which I
was very glad, for I was tired out.
Before breaking up, all the game caught was laid together, that
all might see it. And now I had opportunity to notice the curi-
ous little dogs, about a foot high, and sharp-eared, who had been
of such material assistance driving the animals into our toils.
They were standing looking at their prizes with eager and hungry
eyes. They do not look very intelligent, but are of the greatest
use in this sport, because when they bark the game is never far
off, and thus they warn the hunters. Often they go out on hunts
for themselves; and it is no unusual thing for half a dozen dogs
to drive an antelope to the neighborhood of their village, where
they give tongue, and the hunters come out and kill their quarry.
When we returned to the village, one antelope was put aside


WELCOME TO THE NEW MOON.
141
The negroes of the villages differ in little from those on the
coast whom the reader has already been introduced to, except
that they are dirtier. There is nothing more disgusting than the
toilet of one of these Mbicho fellows, except it be the toilet of his
wife. The women seem to lay on the oil and red earth thicker
than their husbands; seem to wear dirtier cloths about their mid-
dles, and are actually less endurable when gathered in a crowd
about a fire, as is their wont, than the men. Every day almost a
party of men and women crowd into my hut to see my stuffing
operations, and scarce are they there than I have to leave, the
odor is so insufferably sickening.
But they are kind-hearted, and, though tempted sometimes to
steal, the mere fact that I, a stranger and a white man, supposed
to be the possessor of untold wealth, could travel through all
these tribes alone and remain unmolested, is evidence enough
that the black fellows of this part of Africa are not such a bad
set.
I noticed in this village a custom or superstition which is com-
mon to all the tribes I have visited, and the reason, or supposed
reason for which I have never been able to persuade any one to
tell me. On the first night when the new moon is visible all is
kept silent in the village; nobody speaks but in an under-tone;
and in the course of the evening King Alapay came out of his
house and danced along the street, his face and body painted in
black, red, and white, and spotted all over with spots the size of a
peach. In the dim moonlight he had a frightful appearance,
which made me shudder at first. I asked him why he painted
thus, but he only answered by pointing to the moon, without
speaking a word.
There are other and varying ceremonies in different tribes to
welcome the new moon; but in all the men mark their bodies
with charmed chalk, or ochre; and no one has ever been prevailed
on to tell me the meaning of the rites or the particulars of the
belief. I suppose the common men do not know it themselves.
After a stay of a week with Alapay, I determined to move on,
and gave the king to understand that he must give me men to
carry my baggage, which was now very considerable; for I had
added some birds and animals to it here, and had already a great
deal when I arrived.
A day was accordingly appointed, and the king proposed to go


142
PECULIARITIES OF THIS REGION.
along with me, of which I was but too glad. The poor villagers
came in a body and asked me to stay longer; and on the morn-
ing of my departure all hands assembled to bid me good-by. I
gave each some leaves of tobacco, with which they were immensely
delighted, and then shook hands all round. Our departure took
place amid the firing of guns and the shouts of the people, some
of whom were almost moved to tears. The African's affections
are easily excited; and these people had been so kind to me. they
felt as though they had a great interest in me.
Our path lay through an immense forest—a grand solitude,
gloomy and, even at midday, unpenetrated by the sun. Here
the silence was only made more striking by the occasional shrill
scream of a parrot or the chatter of a monkey. We saw no other
animals, though elephant-tracks abounded, and the leopard is
known to frequent these woods.
It is a most singular thing that no hippopotami are found be-
tween the Gaboon and the Moondah, whereas south of the equator
they abound in all the rivers and lakes, particularly—as we shall
see farther on — in the Nazareth and the Cape Lopez rivers.
Also, they reappear at a certain distance north of the equator, so
that there is this narrow tract or belt which they avoid. The
same may be remarked of the ostrich; while the elephant of this
narrow belt should be a variety, if one may judge of the ivory,
which is that peculiar and highly-valued kind which, on being
first cut, is greenish rather than white; and when turned white
retains its color and does not quickly turn yellow, as is so com-
mon with ivory. The biggest ivory of the coast comes from this
belt under the equator. I have seen a tusk whose weight was
110 pounds, but this was an extraordinary instance; the most
weigh from twenty to fifty pounds. They are mostly of a shin-
ing coffee color outside, and I have seen some which were as
black as coal.
Alapay's wife (his head-wife) made me a quantity of igouma, or
cassava-bread, the day before we started, so that with a little fish
and some plantains I was not likely to starve, even if we did not
enter any villages on the way. The igouma is made by pounding
and making a paste of the cassava. This paste is boiled, and be-
comes then very thick and firm. It is now shaped into loaves a
foot long and four or five inches in circumference, and permitted
to dry, when it becomes hard and tough, and may be kept sever-


A FINE WATERFALL.
143
al weeks, though it sours and becomes unfit for a civilized stom-
ach generally after two or three days. But it will not do to be
squeamish in Africa, which, with all its tropical richness of vege-
tation, is as good a place to starve in as any man could desire.
In the afternoon, shortly after eating our dinner of igouma and
dried fish, we came to a Mbicho village, where the people all
turned out to get a look at me, as they had never seen a white
man before. They were a wild set, and evidently regarded me as
a very strange monster.
Some hours after leaving this village we came to a high ridge
ot plateau, along which were strewn some of the most extraordi-
nary boulders I ever saw; immense blocks of granite covering
the ground in every direction, and many of them between thirty
and forty feet high by one hundred long or more. This hill or
ridge was the highest I had seen between the Moondah and the
Muni; and I think if it had not been for the trees which ob-
structed even this view, I should have been able to see the ocean.
Near to the largest of these granite masses, a huge rock rising
some fifty feet out of the ground, I saw the entrance—between
solid rocks—to a fine large cavern, much used by the natives as
a house to stop in over night when they are traveling back and
forth, and very comfortable, as it is open to the light, and its vast
opening admits such a flood of sunlight and air that it is not like-
ly to be used as a lair for wild beasts. We saw the remains of
various fires inside; but I am bound to say we saw also the tracks
of various leopards and other dangerous beasts on the outside, for
which reason I did not care to sleep there.
While exploring the cavern I thought several times I heard a
trickling which seemed almost like the noise of rain; in fact,
when we got out I was surprised to find not a cloud in the sky.
Turning for an explanation to Alapay, he lead me along a path
which evidently led to the trickling, which soon grew in our ears
to the sound of rushing waters. Presently we came to the edge
of a steep declivity, and here I saw before and around me a most
charming landscape, the centre of which was a most beautiful wa-
terfall. A stream which meandered along the slope of the plateau,
and which had until now escaped us, had here made its way through
a vast granite block which barred its course, and, rushing through
the narrow round hole in this block, fell in one silvery cascade for
fifty feet down to the lower level. Clear, sparkling, and pure as


144 A PANIC.
water could be, it rushed down to its pebbly bed—a sight so
charming to my eyes, long wearied of the monotony of the interior
forests, that I sat for some time and literally "feasted my eyes"
upon it.
Then came an attempt to have a view from the bottom. Aft-
er some difficult climbing we got to the bottom, and looking up,
beheld, under the fall, a hole in the perpendicular face of the
rock, which formed evidently the mouth of a cavern.
I determined to enter this. We lit some torches. I took my
revolver and gun, and, accompanied by two men, made good my
entrance without getting wet. Once inside, where probably man
had never before stood, we excited the astonishment of vast num-
bers of huge vampire bats, who fluttered around our lights, threat-
ening each moment to leave us in darkness, and the motion of
whose wings filled the cavern with a kind of dull thunderous roar.
When we had advanced about one hundred yards from the
mouth we came to a stream or puddle of water extending entire-
ly across the floor and barring our way. My men, who had gone
thus far under protest, now desired to return, and urged me not
to go into the water or beyond, because all sorts of wild beasts and
snakes were sure to be lying in wait for us. At the word snakes
I hesitated, for I confess to a great dread of serpents in the dark
or in confined places, where a snake is likely to get the advantage
of a man.
Peering into the darkness beyond, I thought I saw two bright
sparks or coals of eyes gleaming savagely at us. Without think-
ing of the consequences, I leveled my gun at the shining objects
and fired. The report for a moment deafened us. Then came a
redoubled rush of the great hideous bats; it seemed to me millions
on millions of these animals suddenly launched out on us from all
parts of the surrounding gloom; our torches were extinguished
in an instant, and, panic-struck, we all made for the cavern's mouth
—I with visions of enraged snakes springing after and trying to
catch up with me. We were all glad enough to reach daylight
once more, and I think my men could not have been persuaded to
try the darkness again.
The scene outside was as charming as that within was hideous.
I stood long looking at one of the most beautiful landscapes I
met in Africa. Before me, the little stream, whose fall over the
cliff behind me filled the whole forest with a gentle roar, ran on


ELEPHANT-TRACKS, 145
between steep banks which sometimes seemed almost to meet and
hide it. Away down the valley we could see its course, traced
like a silver line over the plain, finally losing itself to our sight in
a denser part of the forest . The valley itself was a pleasant wood-
ed plain, which it seemed the hand of man had not yet disturbed,
and whence the song of birds, and the chatter of monkeys, and
hum of insects came up to us in a confusion of sounds very pleas-
ant to the ear.
We could not loiter long over this scene, however. I was anx-
ious to get to the sea-shore, and we set off again to make as good
progress before dark as possible. The forest abounded in vines,
which were every moment getting in our way, and briers, which
were even worse, so that traveling in the dark, if we had to do it,
was like to be very unpleasant. The whole of this country
abounds in little rivulets and streams, which take their rise in
these first hills which we were crossing this afternoon and run
down toward the sea-shore, some losing themselves ere getting
there, and others emptying their tiny loads of fresh water into the
great Atlantic.
I suppose the elephants like plenty of water; we found our-
selves almost continually crossing or following elephants' tracks.
Indeed, my men walked very cautiously, expecting every mo-
ment to find ourselves face to face with a herd. But they are
very shy in this part of the country, being much chased for the
ivory; and keep a good watch for their enemy, man.
At last the country became quite flat, the elephant-tracks
ceased, and presently, as we neared a stream, we came to a man-
grove swamp. It was almost like seeing an old friend, or an old
enemy, for the reminiscences of musquitoes, tedious navigation,
and malaria which the mangrove-tree brought up in my mind,
were by no means pleasant. From a mangrove-tree to a man-
grove swamp is but a step. They never stand alone.
Presently we stood once more on the banks of the little stream
whose clear, pellucid waters had so charmed me a little farther up
country. Now it was only a swamp. Its bed, no longer narrow,
was spread over a flat of a mile, and the now muddy waters me-
andered slowly through an immense growth of mangroves, whose
roots extended entirely across and met in the middle, showing their
huge rounds above the mire and water, like the folds of some vast
serpent.


146
CROSSING A MANGROVE SWAMP.
It was high tide, and there was not a canoe to be had. To
sleep on this side among the mangroves and be eaten up by mus-
quitoes, was not a pleasant prospect, and to me there seemed no
other. But my men were not troubled at all. We were to cross
over, quite easily too, on the roots which projected over the wir
ter's edge, and which lay from two to three feet apart at irregular
distances. It seemed a desperate venture; but they set out, jump-
ing like monkeys from place to place, and I followed, expecting
every moment to fall in between and stick in the mud, perhaps to
be attacked by some noxious reptile whose rest my fall would dis-
turb. I had to take off my shoes, whose thick soles made me
more likely to slip. I gave all my baggage, and guns, and pis-
tols to the men, and then commenced a journey whose like I hope
never to take again. We were an hour in getting across—an
hour of continual jumps and hops. In the midst of it all a man
behind me flopped into the mud, calling out" Omemba" in a fright-
ened voice.
Now "omemba" means snake. The poor fellow had put his
hand on an enormous black snake, and, feeling its cold, slimy
scales, let go his hold and fell through. All hands immediately
began to run faster than before, and to shout and make all kinds
of noises to frighten the serpent. But the poor animal also took
fright, and began to crawl away among the branches as fast as he
could. Unfortunately, his fright led him directly toward some
of us; and a general panic now ensued, every body running as
fast as he could to get out of the way of danger. Another man
fell into the mud below, and added his cries to the general noise.
I came very near getting a mud-bath myself, but luckily I escaped.
But my feet were badly cut up.
At last we were safe across, and I breathed freely once more.
A little way from the edge of the swamp we came to our resting-
place, the village of an old friend of mine, named King Apouron.
He came out to meet me; guns were fired, and the usual African
welcome of shouts and dances gone through with, and then we
entered the village, where Alapay and Apouron began the cere-
monies of introduction; the former giving a short account of my
various adventures in his village, and the latter listening with ap-
parent interest, and once in a while exclaiming, in a wondering
way, "I do not know why our white man went to your bush-
country! I do not know why he should go there!"





THl rj«j
PUBLIC ufetfART
TTtDB* FO!JN DATtOITS


TO KEEP THE DEVIL OUT.
149
While these ceremonies were going on, I walked to the edge of
the village and took a long look, for before me lay once more the
ocean and Corisco Bay. I had often on this trip wished myself
back here, and it was with no slight feeling of gratitude to God,
who had preserved me through all, that I looked once more at
the ocean.

TO KEEP TBI DEVIL OCT.


150
TROUBLES OF A TRAVELER.
CHAPTER X.
Up the Moondah.—Vexations of a Traveler in Africa.—Mangrove Swamps.—
Mbicho Men ran off.—Bashikouay again.—Missionary Station.—The Bar-wood
Trade.—Manner of getting Bar-wood.—The India-rubber Vine.—How Rubber is
gathered.—Torturing a Woman.—Adventure with a wild Bull.—Lying out for
Game.—Bullock and Leopard.—Birds.
It was now near the end of October, and the rainy season had
fairly set in. I determined, after some consideration, to make
a trip up the Moondah before going to the Gaboon; hoping, in-
deed, to run up the Moondah and cross the narrow land which
separates that stream from the Gaboon, and thus return down the
latter to my head-quarters.
My specimens were sent to Corisco. I received a supply of
goods which would suffice for buying food up the Moondah; and
having settled, after some palaver, with Apourou, who thought
the less goods I took with me the better he should be off, I at last
got off on the 30th of October.
The process of making ready for such an expedition as this is
very tedious, especially if the traveler is at the mercy of the king
of a small village. I had to rent my canoe, buy my masts, make
my sails, go round through the village and purchase my pad-
dles, and finally I had to engage my men. When all this was
done, the goods packed aboard, and good-by said, I had been ten
days engaged in preparations. Time is of no value to the Af-
rican.
We had a head wind, but nevertheless saw the mouth of the
Moondah toward afternoon of our sailing day. The tide was run-
ning out, and against us, and, as the wind was still ahead, our
progress was slow; but it gave me an opportunity to kill some of
the birds which come down here to get their living, on account
of the abundance offish found here. The shore, the mud islands,
and the waters all around were alive with these birds. Here a
flock of pelicans swam along majestically, keeping at a good dis-
tance from pur boat; there a long string of flamingoes stretch-
ed along the muddy shore, looking, for all the world, like a line


MY MEN DESERT.
151
of fire; and wherever the mud peeped out of the water there were
herons, cranes, gulls of various kinds, while a tree on the shore
was covered with a flock of the beautiful Egretta flavirostris, whose
pure white feathers looked like snow in the distance.
Toward sunset we arrived at the Shekiani village where I in-
tended to stop. The king I had known before, and thought he
would help me up farther. This village lay at the top of one of
the only two hills I saw on the Moondah, and these are both at
its mouth. It is throughout a low-banked, swampy stream, over-
run with mangroves, and half dry when the tide runs out. It
used to afford a good deal of India-rubber, and the bar-wood trade
is always very brisk; also it produces a little beeswax, and a trifle
of ebony and ivory. Thus the Shekianis are known to white men,
who come there often in their vessels to trade with them. Sev-
eral thousand tons of bar-wood are taken annually.
On the 5th of November I started with a new crew up river.
I found one vast, continuous mangrove swamp, in which no vil-
lages could be found—these lying mostly away from the main
stream on little creeks, which, being dry at low tide, could be vis-
ited only with difficulty. From these gloomy mangrove forests
went up a stench of decaying matter which was not only un-
healthy, but unpleasant. Add to this the constant risk of getting
our canoe on a mud-bank, and a persistent drizzle with which wc
were favored all day, and you will see that the day's journey was
not pleasant.
Near sunset we came to a Mbicho village. The Mbicho speak
a variety of the Shekiani, and we could therefore make ourselves
understood. I spent the night here, and found in the morning
that my men had run away with the canoe, leaving me, fortunate-
ly, my goods, but no means of getting ahead. I had paid them
beforehand. I learned that they had had trouble with a village
we should have to pass, and did not dare to go higher.
The Mbicho, of course, were delighted to have me at their mer-
cy, and determined, good fellows, to make as much out of me as
possible. I began operations by feeing the king—privately, of
course—who thereupon told his people that I wanted men and a
canoe, and that I was his dearest friend. There was much squab-
ling; and, finally, I succeeded in engaging four men to go with
me for ten yards of prints each; but not to-day—to-morrow. To-
morrow is the favorite word in Africa.


ATTACKED BY BASHIKOUAY.
153
We had not gone far with our torches when I had the misfor-
tune to step into an army of bashikouay ants. I was covered
with them in an instant, and screamed for help. The men rush-
ed for me and helped me to strip myself, which done, we killed
what remained on my body. For a few minutes I suffered the
most frightful torments, and was glad enough to have all the help
I could against these terrible animals.
Having well shaken out my clothes, I put them on again—
having gotten out of the way of the ants, of course—and we pro-
ceeded.
We next found that we were on the wrong road. We retraced
our steps and got into the right path, but had gone but a little
way when once more I had the misfortune to step into an army
of bashikouay. This time I was prepared. In an instant I was
stripped, and, though I was severely bitten, yet I got off easier
than before.
By this time my clothes were all torn to pieces by the sharp
thorns, and I was beginning to think that the company of the
Bakalai rascals would have been better than this traveling by
night; when the men announced that we were now nearing the
Ikoi village. I was completely exhausted, and could not have
walked another mile, and I made up my mind never to travel
through the woods again by night.
The natives were still lying about their fires when we arrived
in the village, and I was shown the missionaries' house, knock-
ing whom up, I found to my joy that these missionaries who now
resided here were both old friends of mine, Rev. Messrs. Best
and Pierce, of the A. B. C. F. M. They were filling the place
formerly occupied here by my friend Rev. Mr. Preston and his
good wife.
Here I found a welcome, and, at last, once more a real bed to
sleep upon, and had some opportunity to rest my wearied limbs.
Mr. and Mrs. Best, and Mr. and Mrs. Preston, and Mr. Pierce had
labored for some years among the Bakalai about the Ikoi. They
understood the Bakalai language, and taught the children here in
the Scriptures and other branches of knowledge with considerable
success. Let me give here an account of a day of the life of these
missionaries.
Every body rose at daybreak, and presently after a little bell
called the servants and strangers into a little room which serves


154
BAR-WOOD.
as parlor, and sitting-room, and library, where morning prayers
were offered in the Bakalai language; the Bible being read also
in Bakalai from a translation made by Messrs. Best and Preston.
Then came breakfast; after which the scholars played until
nine o'clock, when the ringing of a bell called them to school.
School was opened by a hymn sung by all the children, followed
by prayer. Then came recitations of the classes. They seemed
particularly well up in geography when I was there, but had just
begun arithmetic, and were doing immense sums in addition.
The children seemed to enjoy the schooling; and as the mission-
aries are kind to them, and their studies are not very difficult,
while their play-hours are long, it seems natural that they should
like it. From twelve to two was recess; and then the girls took
lessons in sewing, their great ambition being to sew well enough
to make shirts. Also in the afternoon the boys were taught writ-
ing, and I remarked that some of them wrote beautiful hands.
The people about here are engaged in the bar-wood trade, and
a good deal of this dye-wood is shipped down this creek to the
Gaboon, and also down to the Moondah.
Bar-wood, as I have before explained, is a red dye-wood. It is
the trunk of what the natives call the ego-tree, a large, tall, very
graceful tree, with abundant branches high up, small bright-green
leaves, and a beautiful smooth reddish-colored bark. It is very-
abundant in the forests of this part of Africa. In fact, the supply
may be considered as inexhaustible, the labor of bringing it to
market being the most costly part of its production.
Though great traders, these natives have no ideas about laying
up a store of their products before it is wanted. This is what de-
tains trading-vessels so long on the coast. When a vessel comes
for bar-wood, the news immediately spreads all about the neigh-
borhood, and the men bestir themselves to get a supply down.
There is great excitement among the villages; and this particu-
larly if it happens that the chief of the village has friends among
those to whom the captain has "given his trust"—that is to say,
those with whom he is going to deal, and for whom he has brought
goods.
Every man immediately goes out to the forest and selects a
tree for himself, which he begins to cut down. The bar-wood of
commerce is the heart or main part of the trunk, and is red. The
useful wood is surrounded by a covering of white sap-wood about


THE INDIA-RUBBER VINE
155
two inches thick, which is useless, and is carefully cut off. Then
the wood is cut into lengths of three feet, each piece weighing
from fifteen to twenty pounds. The father and his children cut
and split the wood, and the wives carry it into the villages, and
the latter thereupon claim a distinct part of the returns, which
they get, though often unwillingly. Bar-wood is so low-priced in
Europe that the natives here get but very small prices, and five
dollars for a hundred billets is already a high rate. As they
have to carry every thing down to the sea on their backs, unless
they are lucky enough to live near rivers or creeks, they have to
work hard enough for the little they get.
The India-rubber vine afforded once one of the largest exports
of this part of the coast. The caoutchouc of Africa is obtained
from a vine (called dambo by the natives), and not from a tree.
This vine is of immense length, and has singularly few leaves,
and only at the extremity of the vine. The leaves are broad,
dark green, and lance-shaped. The bark is rough, and of a brown-
ish hue. A large vine is often five inches in diameter at the base.
To get the best India-rubber, the milk must be taken from the in-
cision in the bark, without wounding the wood, as this has a juice
of its own, which, mixing with the milk, spoils it.
The recently-growing demand for this product has induced the
natives to adulterate it with the milky juice of various trees and
vines found in these forests. This has seriously injured their
trade, but will probably result in saving this valuable vine from
total extinction in this part of the country. This disaster was like
to be caused by the foolish improvidence of the native caoutchouc
collectors, who bled the vines at so many pores as to exhaust
them of their life-blood. Thus, some years ago, thousands of
vines were destroyed annually; and as the vine is of slow growth,
and the milk of the young vine is thin, watery, and less valuable,
they have very much injured themselves and the reputation of
their goods by even tapping these.
For some years the trade was entirely stopped; but more re-
cently the French have recommenced it, and in 1859 an Amer-
ican vessel was sent out by a New York house, Messrs. James
Bishop & Co., to get a cargo.
The caoutchouc-vine grows equally well in low and high
ground, but is found most plentiful in the valleys and bottom-
lands along the Muni and other rivers. The milk taken from the


156
NEGRO BARBARITY.
vines growing on high lands is, however, thicker, and yields a bet-
ter article of India-rubber.
It is a pleasant sight to see a party of natives setting out to
gather India-rubber. I once accompanied such a party, my ob-
ject being game, while theirs was caoutchouc. For several days
before setting out the women were busied in preparing food, and
smoking the boiled manioc which is their principal subsistence.
The men meantime were making ready to defend themselves
against the attacks of wild beasts by furbishing up their spears
and guns. Cutlasses and knives were sharpened, and the wooden
pots in which the precious juice was to be gathered were careful-
ly collected and made ready for transportation; while others still
prepared the wooden moulds in which the juice is permitted to
solidify. It was a pleasant scene of industry and excitement
.
The negroes rejoiced beforehand on the good luck they hoped to
have.
But all this innocent joy was destroyed for me the morning be-
fore we set out, by accidentally stumbling across one of those acts
of barbarism which chill the blood of a civilized man, though but
slightly regarded by the negroes. I was hunting in the woods
near the village, and saw sitting on a tree at some distance a pair
of beautiful green pigeons (treron nudirostris), which I wanted
much for my collection of birds. By dint of much exertion I
penetrated the jungle to the foot of the tree, and here a ghastly
sight met my eyes. It was the corpse of a woman, young evi-
dently, and with features once mild and good. She had been tied
up here on some infernal accusation of witchcraft and tortured.
The torture consisted in lacerations of the flesh all over the body,
and in the cuts red peppers had been rubbed. This is a common
mode of tormenting with these people, and as devilish in ingenu-
ity as any thing could well be. Then the corpse was deserted.
I could only hope the poor girl died of her wounds, and had not
to wait for the slower process of agonized starvation to which
such victims are left. Will the reader think hard of me that I
felt it in my heart to go back to the village and shoot every man
who had a hand in this monstrous barbarity? But what would
have been the use? Such scenes are constantly occurring in all
parts of heathen Africa, and will • continue till Christianity is
spread abroad here, and in its light these heathen barbarisms per-
ish. I fear it will be many a long year yet
.


MODE OF GATHERING INDIA-RUBBER.
157
Gloomy and savage with this remembrance, I set out with the
negroes, whose cheerful songs grated harshly on my ears. I won-
dered how people could sing and laugh after committing such a
crime.
The party were in high spirits. The women bore on their de-
voted backs the cooking utensils and other necessary camp equi-
page. The men carried only their arms. We traveled all day,
and part of the second day, ere the ground was reached. At last
the vines grew plenty, and the party stopped to reconnoitre.
After a two hours' exploration the men returned satisfied, great-
ly exaggerating, of course, the abundance of the vines—they ex-
aggerate every thing — but all agreeing that we must encamp
where we were.
Men and women at once set out to gather large leaves with
which to form shelters for ourselves, as it was the rainy season,
and we needed to be protected from the showers. Branches and
leaves were also collected for our beds; and a huge fire was built
to protect us from the incursions of leopards, who are plentiful in
these woods, and quite daring enough to attempt a meal even from
so large a party as ours.
"We slept close around the camp-fire, with our guns in readiness
to resist any venturesome leopards; but, for this night, only heard
the terrible roar of the beast at a distance.
The next morning each man took his own family and went out
on an independent prospecting tour. These negroes have no idea
of working together. Though they set out in a large company,
this is only to protect themselves against wild beasts. Once on
the ground, every family works for itself, hunting up its own vines,
and carrying away separately the fruits of its toil. Thus it comes
about that some are lucky and others unlucky; whence originate
quarrels, accusations of theft, often fights, in which the weaker,
of course, is the sufferer. The scene is not so pastoral as it might
be.
The negroes staid out all day, and at night came in, each bear-
ing little jars of milk gathered during the day. The milk was
now poured into the wooden cylinders in which it is permitted to
congeal; and then all once more gathered about the fire, and re-
lated, with much noisy declamation, the adventures of the day.
On this first day I shot several maré or wild buffalo (Bos
brachicheros). It is a very savage beast, and one, which I only


158
FIGHT WITH A BUFFALO.
wounded, attacked me. I had taken good aim, but my bullet
struck a vine on its way and glanced aside, so that, instead of hit-
ting the beast between the eyes, I only wounded him in the body.
It was a huge bull, and, turning fiercely, he came for me with-
out stopping to think. I had but a moment to consider, and pru-
dently determined to run, for, though I had my second barrel in
reserve, the crash of the infuriated bull was too powerful. As I
turned to make my escape, I found my foot hopelessly caught in
a tough vine. I was a prisoner, and the bull dashing toward me,
head down and eyes aflame, tearing asunder the vines which bar-
red his progress as though they had been threads. I had been
nervous a moment before; but now, turning to meet the enemy,
felt at once my nerves firm as a rock, and my whole system braced
for the emergency.
All depended on one shot, for, entangled as I was, if I missed
the bull would not. I waited a second more till he was within
five yards of me, and then fired at his head. He gave one loud,
hoarse bellow, and then (thank God!) tumbled at my feet, almost
touching me, a mass of dead flesh.
The hunt after wild boar was my daily amusement, and by its
means I supplied the whole camp with meat; but the finest ex-
perience of this trip I must now relate. Arming myself one even-
ing and blacking my face with charcoal, as was my fashion in all
my hunts—nothing seems to catch the eye of a wild beast of this
country so quickly as a white face—I went out of sound of the
encampment, and in what I knew to be a walk of the buffalo, and
lay down under the shelter of a huge ant-hill to watch for game. It
was a starlight night, but in the forest there was a sombre light, in
which such a spectacle as I wished for would have shown to advan-
tage. Here I lay for one hour, two hours, three hours, and heard
no sound but the indistinguishable medley which so eloquently
tells of the night-life of the woods. Once in a while the cracking
of a twig and a grunt told of some perambulating pig; and once a
whole herd of deer filed past me in fine array, never knowing my
presence, as I was luckily to windward of them. At last, I am
ashamed to say, I fell asleep. How long I dozed I do not know,
but was awakened with a start by an unearthly roar—a yell—aa
of some animal in extreme terror and agony.
I started up, looked hurriedly about the narrow space which
was open around me, but saw nothing. The woods were yet re-


THK Nt;w rQKX!
PUBLIC library!





THE LEOPARD AND HIS PREY.
161
sounding with the cry which had so startled me. And now a
dull booming roar succeeded, and I could guess that beyond my
sight, out in some other open space, some fortunate leopard had
gained a meal. Determined to see the fight if possible, I made
toward the sounds, and, emerging from a piece of wood, saw scud-
ding across the plain, and at but little distance from me, a wild
bull, on whose neck was crouched what I instantly knew, from
the natives' description, to be a leopard. Vainly the poor beast
reared, tossed, ran, stopped, roared, and yelled. In its blind ter-
ror it at last even rushed against a tree, and nearly tumbled over
with the recoil. But once more anguish lent it strength, and it
set out on another race. I took as good aim at the leopard's fig-
ure as I could and fired, but with no effect that I could discover.
The exciting spectacle lasted but a minute; then the bull was
lost to my sight, and presently his roars ceased. Probably the
leopard had sucked away his life, and was now feasting on his
prey.
We staid a week. In that time the party collected five hund-
red pounds of India-rubber, and then returned with cheery songs
to the village, each one expecting to make great bargains with the
Mpongwe traders, or with white men.
To return, now, to my regular route, from which this has been
a very long digression.
The country about the Ikoi Creek seems to be a great bird
country. During my stay at Mr. Best's I killed a great many
beautiful birds, some rare, and two of hitherto unknown varieties.
One was a variety of the partridge, the Francolin squamatus, a
gray bird, whose loud call was heard in the forests every evening
calling its mate. They sleep side by side on a particular branch
of some tree where they have their home, and one does not cease
to call until the other arrives at this rendezvous. The other—
a very curious bird—has been since named the Barbatula du
Chaillu. It is a really beautiful animal; throat and breast a
glossy blue-black; head scarlet; a line of canary-yellow running
from above the eyes along the neck; and the back, which is
black, covered with canary-yellow spots. This singular little
bird makes its nest with great pains and long toils with wood of
dead trees. The male and female settle upon a tree which seems
to have been dead a sufficient time to soften the wood a little,
and then going to work with their bills, peck out a circular open-
L


162
SINGULAR BIRDS' NEST.
ing two inches in diameter, and perhaps two inches deep. This
done, they dig perpendicularly down for about four inches. The
cavity thus made is their nest. Of course, as they are small birds,
it takes them a long time to perform this piece of carpentering—
often two or three weeks. Then it is lined softly, and the female
lays her eggs and hatches them in security.
From the Ikoi Creek I returned without incident or adventure
to the Gaboon.


PLANTATION LITE.
163
CHAPTER XL
Creek Navigation.—Nocturnal Habits of the Negroes.—A royal Farm.—Beach-
travel.—Canoe-building.—Ogoula-Limbai.—A great Elephant-hunter.—In the
Surf.—Shark River.—Prairies.—Sangatanga.—King Bango.—An Audience of
Royalty.—A Ball.—Barracoons.—Unwelcome Guest.—A Slaver in the Offing.—
Decline of the Slave-trade on this Coast.—Idols.
My stay in Gaboon was only long enough to enable me to se-
cure my specimens and send them on, and to prepare myself for
a trip to Cape Lopez. I was anxious to see for myself the barra-
coons of the slave-traders, as well as to hunt the wild buffalo,
which is found in great numbers on the prairies of that part of
the interior.
When all was ready, I placed all my goods, and guns, and
ammunition in one of the immense canoes which the Mpongwe
make, and we started for Mbata Creek, on which lay the planta-
tion of my old friend King Rompochombo, or Roi Dennis, as the
French call him.
We entered the Mbata Creek at four P.M., and paddled up and
up, the stream growing narrower all the time, and more overhung
with trees, till about midnight the men had to pull the canoe
through the brushwood, which made more swamp than creek.
This brought us pretty soon to where there was no more creek,
and then we found ourselves on the royal plantation.
My baggage was immediately taken to the king's first wife's
house. Though so late, or rather now getting early, the people
were not asleep. It is a singular habit the Africans have, and
very like the highest class of society in our own cities—they do
not sleep at night, but lie about their fires and smoke and tell
stories, dozing off all day afterward. I was not surprised, there-
fore, to find the Princess Akerai lying, with three or four other
women, near a huge fire (the thermometer was at 85°) smoking
her pipe, and saying she was glad to see me.
However, all was busy in an instant. The princess hurried off
to cook me some plantains and fish which her slaves were pre-
paring, and which I greatly enjoyed, for our day's journey had


164
THE KING'S FARM.
made me hungry. A fire was built in the centre of the floor of
the house which I was to occupy, and around this several of the
king's wives assembled, while the queen busied herself in prepar-
ing a corner for my sleeping accommodations. For bed I had a
mat—simple enough, but not so hard for the bones as the bamboo
couch I had enjoyed at Mbene's; and there was added to my
mat, in this case, the unusual luxury of a musquito netting, by
help of which I was able to enjoy a good sleep.
The negroes are very hospitable and kind, but generally very
poor and dirty. However, it does not seem dirt to them; and as
for their poor half-starved lives, they enjoy them as though no
misery was in the world; till death or great distress comes, and
then their sorrow is something terrible—literally a sorrow with-
out hope.
King Rompochombo's people are among the most thriving of
the Mpongwe. The plantations where I now was belong to them,
and are the most flourishing I saw any where on the coast. The
village, which lies at the head of the Mbata Creek, is surrounded
by a fertile prairie, which was now in full cultivation. The people
have a great many slaves, and the women seem really to have a
taste or liking for agricultural operations—perhaps because in their
Gaboon villages they have before them only Sandy Point, a long
sandy flat, where nothing will grow. Here I saw on every hand,
and for several miles in all directions, fields of ground-nuts, plant-
ains, corn, sugar-cane, ginger, yams, manioc, squash (a great favor-
ite with all the negroes); while near their little huts were growing
the paw-tree, the lime, the wild orange, together with abundance
of plantains and pine-apples. The life of peaceful industry they
led here really gave me a high opinion of this little nation, who
have greater persistence in this direction than any of their fellows
I have seen. They seemed even to care for animals, for every
where I saw goats, and the diminutive African chickens.
The king was at his town on the coast, but had given orders
to have me forwarded on to Cape Lopez, Sangatanga, the chief
town of the Cape, being about sixty miles from Mbata. The king
gives himself no trouble about this beautiful plantation, and visits
it only during the dry season. Indeed, I suspect that he has lit-
tle authority there, the queen ruling supreme, managing every
thing, and ordering the labor of the slaves and the succession of
the agricultural operations. Occasionally she sets her own hand


MPONGWE AGRICULTURE.
165
to the planting, which is the labor of the women, the men cutting
down and burning the bushes, which spring up with such terrible
rapidity wherever the African soil is left for a season untouched.
A a I intended to spend some months in the Cape Lopez coun-
try, I had brought from Gaboon a very inconvenient quantity of
luggage, which was to be transported overland to Sangatanga
from, here, Mbata being the head of navigation in this direction.
To carry my three heavy chests of trade-goods, 200 pounds of
coarse powder, half a hundred-weight of tobacco, 50 pounds of
shot, three double-barreled guns, together with hams, boxes of
crackers, bottles of wine, brandy, and oil, woolen blankets for
camping, and camp cooking utensila (I never dared to eat food
cooked in the native pots, from a fear of what was in them before)
—to carry all this required some thirty men. These I asked the
queen for next morning, saying that I would give each man five
fathoms of cotton cloth, some beads, and tobacco. She made no
difficulty, but, of course, several days were required to get every
thing ready for a start.
Finally all was prepared, and we started. Our way led us for
ten or twelve miles of fine prairie, interspersed with occasional
hills, and making altogether a beautiful country for agriculture.
South of the Gaboon the country changes very much, and is gen-
erally less rough, and better adapted to the growing of yams
and other farm products than any I saw to the north. Here, as
we traveled along, we came occasionally upon the bamboo huts
of slaves who lived here, far away from their Mpongwe masters
on the coast, and tilled the soil on their own account, sending a
tribute of its products down to the sea-side whenever canoes came
up the Mbata for it. They seemed quite happy, as they were
certainly independent, for slaves. The old men and women lay
lazily in front of their little huts smoking; and on every hand
were smiling fields of plantains, manioc, peanuts, and yams.
Toward twelve o'clock we approached the sea, and could hear
the distant boom of the surf. Presently the sky, before clear, be-
came overcast, and before long we were in the midst of a wild
storm—almost a tornado. It thundered and lightened violently,
and rained as it rains only in Africa. We rushed for a little
hut we saw before us, and were kindly received by an old negro
and his wife, who lived there. In about an hour all was over,
and the sky was again clear. These storms are frequent here in


166
ALONG THE SHORE.
the season, and sometimes do much damage, tearing down trees,
and overwhelming the plantations in ruin.
Half an hour's walk brought us to the beach, along which we
now had to walk. The soft sand made our travel exhausting; I
was forced to take off my shoes, as I sank down above my ankles
at every step. This lasted the whole day, and I was glad when
night came and we stopped. My men bore it better than L,
though they had heavy loads to carry. Though our walking was
bad, the scenery was often very fine. On one side was the roll-
ing sea, and on the other the dark-green forests, coming down in
seemingly impenetrable masses nearly to the shore. Every mile
or so a creek cut its way through this mass of green, and wound
its devious course into the interior, having a curious appearance
—canal-like—from the way in which the vegetation began on
the very banks, in the same solid masses which presented their
fronts seaward. It was a real solitude, the roar of the sea break-
ing the grim silence of the forest only to make that more im-
pressive. From time to time we recognized the lonesome cry of
the chimpanzee, who is the chief inhabitant of these wilds.
Just at sunset we came upon a beautiful little prairie or natural
clearing set right into the middle of the woods, and received an
unexpected welcome from the owner of some huts we saw in front
of us. He proved to be a Mpongwe named Mbouma, whom I
had known at Gaboon. He had come hither to spend the dry
season in making canoes, the trees surrounding his little clearing
being of unusual size. He had chosen for the scene of his labors
one of the prettiest spots I ever saw in Africa. The little prairie
was a mile long by perhaps one third of a mile wide, perfectly
clean, and covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, which, when
the sun lay on it next morning, shone with a golden glory. The
very beasts of the forest seemed to rejoice in its prettiness; mon-
keys leaped nimbly along the trees on its skirts, and the song of
the birds in the morning gave a charm to the whole scene which
few of the African wilds can boast.
Mbouma had moved hither temporarily, but with his whole
family, wives, children, and slaves. They had built temporary
shelters, rude but sufficient leaf-roofed huts, and lived in a kind of
extended picnic. He showed me some immense trees he had cut
down, and which were intended for canoes. Several of these ves-
sels were already completed and ready to launch. A Mpongwe ca-
*


A MPONGWE BOAT-BUILDER.
167
noe is sometimes of very considerable size. Mbouma had one fin-
ished, which was 60 feet long, 3£ feet wide, and 3 feet deep. The
process of canoe-building is very simple. The tree is felled, cut
to the requisite length, divested of limbs, if any are in the way,
and then fire is applied to burn out the inside. This fire is care-
fully watched and guided till all the inside is eaten away. Then
the mpano, the native adze, is used to trim all off neatly, and to
give shape to the outside. They know very well how to do this;
and their larger canoes are very stout and reliable craft, in which
considerable coasting voyages are sometimes made. Unfortu-
nately the making of the canoe is mostly the least part of the
work. The canoe-tree (for only one kind of tree is used for this
purpose) grows almost invariably some miles away from the wa-
ter, and the unlucky boat-builder's greatest undertaking is the
launch. Often they have to transport a sixty-foot canoe eight or
ten miles overland to the nearest creek or river. In this case
they cut a path through the woods, and on this lay rollers at two
feet apart, on which, with much trouble, the little vessel is push-
ed along.
Mbouma was very fortunate in his choice of locality. His far-
thest canoe was but two miles from the sea-shore, and he thought
his labor easy enough. But he was forced to send all his canoes
by sea to the Gaboon.
Little prairies like this of Mbouma's occurred constantly be-
tween this and Sangatanga, and gave me a good opinion of the
value of this country for purposes of civilized life. They were
great reliefs to the dreary journey.
We continued to skirt the sea-shore, our aim being to gain a
Shekiani village where we purposed to stop the night. In the
forenoon I shot a beautiful black and white fishing-eagle (the
Gypohierax angohnsis), which sat at the very top of a huge cotton-
wood-tree looking gravely down into the blue sea below, medi-
tating its finny prey.
At three o'clock we reached a village where the chief, Ogoula-
Limbai by name, turned out to meet us at the head of his whole
nation, which consisted of thirty men, sixty or seventy women,
and a prodigious number of children. I was welcomed and con-
ducted to a house—a real house—the most convenient and sub-
stantial I had met among the wild negroes. It was high, had a
plank floor, and was really wonderful for a savage chief's abode.


168
OGOULA-LIMBAI.
It had several rooms partitioned off with plank; and when I had
rested and talked a while I was asked into another room, where a
new surprise awaited me. The walls of this room were covered
with wall-paper, and all around were hung little pictures of saints.
A table was covered with a real cotton cloth, on which was my
dinner, which I was now asked to eat. The piece de resistance
was a splendid roast of boar meat, juicy and fragrant. The wild
boar is very plenty hereabouts, and makes a very fine roast.
I ate unquestioning, determined to satisfy my body, before I at-
tempted to satisfy my mind about this mystery of civilization in
a rude African village far from white settlements.
Finally Ogoula-Limbai explained all. A Portuguese carpen-
ter, left sick by some passing slaver, had lived with him for a
while and built him this astonishing house; and I suppose of the
Portuguese, too, my black friend must have learned the table ar-
rangements and the art displayed in cooking that delicious boar
roast. I suppose Ogoula-Limbai may probably have been onoe
concerned in the slave-trade; and, though he did not mention it,
this would account for several evidences of civilization I saw
about me. However, whatever he had done, he does not dare
now to set up a slave-factory, although, doubtless, his heart longs
to do so. He is a vassal of the king of Cape Lopez, who claims a
monopoly of that business, and would soon drive him off were he
to attempt to set up on his own hook. Ogoula is the only Sheki-
ani chief who has been permitted to settle directly on the sea-
shore between Gaboon and Cape Lopez — the king of the latter
place suffering no such attempt, which he fears may interfere with
his present sole possession of a most lucrative trade. None of
these Shekiani fellows dare trade directly with the white men.
They must all submit to the extortions of their neighbors who
are so fortunate as to possess the sea-shore; and if Ogoula were to
attempt direct trade—though he has the finest chances—his town
would be burned down in a week.
Ogoula has the reputation of being the greatest hunter of ele-
phants in all the country about here. As he could speak Mpon-
gwe, he told me some of his adventures, which proved indeed that
he was a daring and expert fellow. Going out to the hunt one
day he met two elephants. Being alone, he had carried but one
gun, and would have retreated and watched for a safer chance;
but the great beasts saw him and did not give him opportunity.


A DARING ELEPHANT-HUNTER.
He was obliged to make a stand, and, taking good aim, killed one
elephant. Unfortunately it was the female, and the male, seeing
its partner fall, immediately rushed at him. He turned to retreat,
and caught his foot in a trailing vine. The more he struggled
the less he got loose, and meantime his pursuer was tearing down
every thing in its way, and was almost on top of him when he got
his foot loose, and in desperation swung himself into a young sap-
ling which stood at hand. Scarce had he done this when the ele-
phant, trumpeting with rage, was beneath him. He seized the
sapling with his trunk, and swayed it violently back and forth,
determined to pull it down. But as it swung on one side, Ogou-
la, nimble through desperation, was able to catch at another which
stood near, and when the elephant seized this he gave himself a
great swing and caught the outstretched branch of a huge full-
grown tree, climbing to a safe height in which he could afford to
laugh at the vain rage of his enemy.
The negroes are not generally good marksmen, but they have
great nimbleness and considerable presence of mind, and often
escape in situations where a white man would most likely be
killed.
As my men were very much exhausted with the weight of my
baggage, I asked Ogoula to let me have a canoe, which he did.
The road to Sangatanga by sea was a little farther, but a good
deal easier than along the yielding sand of the sea-shore; so the
luggage was to be put in the canoe, and I and part of the people
to go with it.
I slept on a sofa-bed—another relic of the Portuguese—with
a negro boy to fan me, and a torch by whose smoke it was hoped
the musquitoes would be driven off. As the natives here, includ-
ing Ogoula himself, are great thieves, my things were placed in a
room near mine, where my men slept.
About one o'clock I woke up, roused up the men, and we pro-
ceeded to the sea-shore. Here we found ourselves in a position
so usual, and so characteristic of the negroes' dealings, that I will
describe it. I had bargained for a canoe and paid for it, expect-
ing, of course, to have it in such condition that we could use it.
Now we could find no paddles. I went to Ogoula, who said
they must have been stolen, but offered a new set for two fath-
oms of cloth and two bottles of rum.
I refused, point blank, to be cheated.


170 A PALAVER AND A DUCKING.
Ogoula frowned—looked blacker than usual, in fact, and de-
clined to help us.
There was much "palaver," and finally one of my men gave
his own cloth and got the paddles. I was very angry, but could
do nothing; and happily Ogoula was just in the same state. He
thought himself ill used that I had given him no rum (which I
never carried for the natives), but could do nothing—but cheat
.
Had I not been escorted by Rompochombo's men, no doubt I
would have had trouble—probably been robbed.
We now put our things aboard, got in, and put off. The surf
was high, the boat deep laden, and, unluckily, we got caught in a
mountain of a breaker, which turned us over in an instant but a
few yards from the shore, and sent us all into the water, which,
fortunately for me, was not deep.
Here was another mess. We got ashore again, kindled an im-
mense fire, and then my men, who were, as all the coast negroes
are, good divers, set out, and in an amazingly short time fished up
every thing we had lost but one or two small packages. I was
very glad to find my guns again, for without them I should have
been in a bad box. The powder, fortunately, had been so care-
fully packed that it was not injured; and, as for the rest, I came
off very nicely.
Last of all the paddles were hunted up. They had been wash-
ed ashore a long distance off. Then we lay down by the fire till
dawn and dried ourselves, and, when day broke, I had all the
things again put into the boat, and sent the men off to make their
way around, determining myself to walk overland.
While we lay about the fire I kept a good look-out for my
friend Ogoula, and was rewarded by seeing his rascally face peer-
ing at us through the darkness. He came down when he saw
himself discovered, and expressed himself very sorry; but I felt
certain that if we had been in confusion I should have been
plundered. These negroes seem to be unable to keep their
hands off property that has been cast ashore by the sea, no mat-
ter how slight the accident.
I set out with one party to carry my gun and show me the way.
Toward noon we came to a village, where, fortunately, we got
something to eat, for I was very hungry. In the afternoon we
came to the Shark River; rightly named, for its mouth was actu-
ally alive with huge sharks, who swam about our frail canoe as


SHARKS.—SANGATANGA.
171
we crossed in such an outrageously familiar manner that I was
rather glad to get safely across.
The negroes boast that they can swim the river without dan-
ger if only they have nothing red about them; and, in fact, all
my men swam across without accident, first carefully concealing
those parts of their scanty dress which might have the obnoxious
color. They also offered to take me over on their backs; but this
I refused, from a fear that the sharks might make an exception in
my case to their general rule. These fish are here held sacred—
which may have something to do with their harmlessness. The na-
tives believe that if they should kill one there would be no safety
from their attacks thereafter. It is certainly very singular that
they should not attack men in the water, for on any other of the
numerous points on the coast where they abound a man would
be instantly killed did he venture among them.
I did not reach Sangatanga till a little before dark, having trav-
eled sixteen hours, counting an hour's rest on the way, and I never
was so tired and footsore in my life. The people were greatly
surprised at the feat—no inconsiderable one under an African
sun and over beach-sand, for the distance is quite forty miles.
The prairies grow larger and more important as the traveler
approaches Sangatanga, and in the interior they form a still larger
portion of the country. The change is very curious and very de-
cided; as north of the Gaboon such a thing as a clear patch is al-
most unknown; all being vast, dense, hardly penetrable forest.
All the interior, from Gaboon to Sangatanga and Nazareth River,
is hilly, rolling land, and contains immense prairie tracts, where
the buffalo has his home and pasture. Each clearing is lined
with dense evergreen forests, where the buffalo spends his days,
grazing only by night; and these forests shelter the elephant, leop-
ard, and all the varied fauna of these woods, which abound great-
ly more in game than the country north of the Gaboon.
The hills above Sangatanga assume very fantastic shapes, and
are many of them quite steep. Along their sides, where they are
bare, they are covered with thousands of the curious hills of the
white ants which abound hereabouts. These hills or nests arc
about two feet high, and, being formed like flat-topped toad-stools,
such as are common in our meadows after a rain, look in reality
like a vast assemblage of gigantic mushrooms.
My men found me shelter for the night, and I saw nothing of
the town or its people till next morning.


172
CAPE LOPEZ.
Sangatanga is set upon a tolerably high hill fronting the sea-
shore, between which and the town, a distance of about two miles,
stretches a lovely prairie, about which are scattered numerous lit-
tle villages. The view is charming, for, turning the eye upward
from the landscape which lies at one's feet, the beholder sees be-
fore him the boundless stretch of the ocean, whose billows seem
pouring in to overwhelm the shore. I never tired of this fine
landscape, which was doubly refreshing after my long and tedious
journeys in the unpicturesque regions north of the Gaboon,
where the coast-line almost every where is a deadly swamp, and
the interior an almost lifeless wilderness.
At the top of the hill on which I stood was the royal residence,
where dwelt the king of the Oroungou tribe—called the Cape Lo-
pez people by the whites. He is a powerful chief, and his tribe—
over whom he rules almost as a despot, by his personal influence
—are a thriving and influential people.
Cape Lopez proper is in lat. 0° 36' 10" S. and long. 8° 40' E.
from Greenwich. It takes its name from the Portuguese, who
formerly called it Cape Lope Gonsalvez. It is chiefly a long
sandy point projecting into the sea, on which it gains somewhat
every year. This point protects the bay, which is quite large
and full of shallows and banks, so that vessels are obliged to an-
chor far from the shore. The cape looks from the sea something
like overflowed land. The point is so low that the bushes and
trees growing on it seem from a distance seaward to be set in the
water.
The bay is about fourteen miles deep, and several small rivers
empty their waters into it at or near its base. The Nazareth, a
more considerable stream, also has its mouths here, as well as the
Fetich River, one of its branches—which takes its name from Fe-
tich Point, a remarkable locality at its mouth. The bay has fre-
quent banks and shallows; but the water is very deep near the
cape itself, and vessels of large size may sail in, almost or quite
touching the land, without danger. There is no surf in the bay;
but outside the cape, along the shore to the south, it beats in so
heavily that in many places even the most experienced boatmen
can not land except during a few days of each month.
The bottom of the bay is swampy and overgrown with man-
groves, which come quite down to the shores, in their usual
gloomy and impenetrable masses. The water here is brackish,


KING BANGO.
173
from the large quantity of fresh water brought down by the Naz-
areth and other streams. The rivers are all lined for a short dis-
tance up with mangrove swamps, and this part of the country has
a gloomy, dirty, sickly appearance — the black waters rushing
into the sea, the long mangrove flats sending up noisome exhala-
tions, and filling the air with a pungent and disagreeable odor of
decaying vegetation.
The bay abounds with all sorts of delicious fish, and the cape
itself is a famous place for turtle. Near the right bank of the
mouth of the Nazareth there is a little village called Fishtown,
where great quantities of fish are taken every year.
There is a safe channel through the shallows from the cape to
the mouth of the Nazareth, but otherwise the bay is not easily
navigable.
The region known generally as the Cape Lopez country in-
cludes all the shores of the bay, and the interior for thirty or forty
miles. It has much fine land, and King Bango, if he were not a
drunken vagabond, might be a prosperous king. Back from the
sea-shore the land becomes higher and hilly, the mangroves give
place to forests of palm and more useful woods, and fine prairies
dot the country quite thickly. The whole of this district is given
to the slave-trade. It produces small quantities of ivory, ebony,
wax, etc.; but the slave-factory is the chief commercial establish-
ment, and the buying, selling, and transporting of slaves for the
barracoons at the cape is the most profitable business.
About ten o'clock of the morning after my arrival the king sent
his mafouga (his intendant, major-domo, herald, and secretary of
state) to the village where I had stopped, to ascertain who was
the white man who had come, and what was his business.
The Oroungou language being almost identical with the Mpon-
gwe, I was able to converse with the mafouga, and informed him
that I was too tired to speak or see any one, but that next day I
would see the king; with which he went off satisfied, expressing
his astonishment that any white man could walk on foot the dis-
tance I did yesterday.
At eight o'clock the following morning I accordingly pre-
pared for my visit to King Bango, or Passall—the last the name
given him by the traders. His majesty lives at the top of the
hill, and the royal palace is surrounded by a little village of
huts, in which reside the royal wives, of whom there are really a


174
A ROYAL AUDIENCE.
vast number (over 300), as the king takes pride in keeping up the
largest harem to be found on this part of the coast
.
As I entered the village the mafouga met me, with the king's
cane borne aloft, and inquired, in an official voice, my business,
and if I desired to see the king.
I answered yes—somewhat disgusted at so much ceremony,
though the crowd of loyal subjects who had followed me up were
hugely pleased.
I was asked to wait a while, and presently (the royal wives
having put the finishing touches to their toilets, perhaps) I was
admitted to the palace.
It was an ugly hole of a house, set on pillars, and of two sto-
ries. The lower story consisted of a dark hall, flanked on each
side by rows of small, dark rooms, looking uncommonly like cells.
At the end of the hall was a staircase, steep and dirty, up which
the mafouga piloted me. When I had ascended, I found myself
in a large room, at one end of which was seated King Bango, sur-
rounded by about a hundred of his wives, and with his interpreter
and some of his principal men standing near him.
The king—a middle-sized, not over-clean, dissipated-looking
negro, dressed very lightly in a shirt and a dilapidated pair of
pantaloons—wore on his head a crown which had been presented
to him by some of his friends the Portuguese slavers, and over
his shoulders a flaming yellow coat with gilt embroidery all over
it—apparently the cast-off coat of some rich man's lackey in Por-
tugal or Brazil. The crown was shaped like those commonly
worn by actors on the stage, and was probably worth when new
about ten dollars. But his majesty had put around it a new band
or circlet of pure gold, which must have been worth at least two
hundred dollars. He was very proud of this crown. He sat on
a sofa, and held in his hand a cane, which officiated as sceptre.
Most of his wives present wore silks. I was presented to the
queen or head wife, an old woman, and by no means pretty.
The king remarked that the slave-trade no longer prospered.
He complained of the English, who were the cause of this stagna-
tion, and feared much that in a' few years more he would be left
without customers.
He next addressed me in French, and told me he had been to
Brazil and also to Portugal, having lived two years in Lisbon,
and knew how to read Portuguese—a bit of knowledge which


A VISIT FROM KING BANGO.
175
must have been handy in his business affairs. It was easy to see
that his foreign travel had done him little good. To his original
ignorance he had added only what he thought European man-
ners, and some kinds of dissipations perhaps previously unknown
to him.
He told me that the entire village on the hill was occupied by
bis family and slaves, and that about two hundred of his men
were now in the country on his plantation. To my question of
how many children he had, he replied that he did not know the
exact number, but at least six hundred, which, from after observa
tion, I judge a fair estimate.
The next morning that absurd personage, the mafouga, who
was evidently the result of his royal master's visit to Lisbon, came
down to my house to announce that the king would return my
visit in the afternoon. Accordingly, at two o'clock I arranged
my little bamboo house, and presently a great beating of drums
announced that King Bango was under weigh. Soon a great pro-
cession of people appeared, at the head of whom the king was
borne in a hammock. I went out to meet him, and found, to my
surprise, that he could not move. I thought at first that he was
dead drunk, but was presently informed that his left arm and leg
were paralyzed, and thus half his body was dead. His people
lifted him out of his hammock and seated him on a seat which I
had prepared, and here six of his wives surrounded him with
fans. The rest of his family who were present also crowded
around, and I soon perceived that all the women were drunk.
TTia majesty had called at one of the slave-factories on his way to
my house, and there rum had been served out to the whole cor-
tege. Evidently the royal ladies had managed to get more than
their share.
Bango was dressed as yesterday, except that he had on a new
crown, which I asked to see. He took it off. I found that it was
also a tawdry concern, but enriched with gold to the value of at
least a thousand dollars. It contained some poor imitations of
precious stones, and was evidently thought an object of great
value and beauty by its possessor. After praising its beauty, I
returned it; whereupon his majesty tried to pick a quarrel, say-
ing that neither Portuguese, English, French, Spaniards, or Amer-
icans had ever before asked him to take off his crown, and that
he thought I intended to insult him. Of course I said I had a


176
A BALL AT THE PALACE.
great desire to behold, near to, such a beautiful object; which
seemed to pacify him. He informed me that this crown had
been given him by a celebrated slave-trader on the coast, well
known under the name of Don Jose; and that it was sent as a
special gift from one of the richest firms of Bio Janeiro, who had
dealt largely with him.
While we were talking one of the women was slyly kicking
me on the shins and winking at me, which I sincerely hoped the
king, her husband, would not see, as I had no desire to arouse his
jealousy. When we ceased, all the women began to ask for rum,
which I refused, but gave them instead several heads of tobacco,
and then formally presented the king with two large pieces of
cloth. This put him in good humor, and after some refreshments
he set out for home. It was not without great trouble that his huge
carcass was hoisted into the hammock. As he left my men saluted
him with a salvo of musketry, which, too, flattered his vanity.
The next night a ball was given by the king in my honor.
The room where I had been first received was the ball-room.
When I arrived, shortly after dark, I found about one hundred
and fifty of the king's wives assembled, many of whom were ac-
counted the best dancers in the country. Shortly afterward sing-
ing began, and then a barrel of rum was rolled in and tapped.
A good glassful was given to each of the women, and then the
singing recommenced. In this the women only took part, and
the airs were doleful and discordant. The words I could not al-
ways catch; but here is a specimen:
"When we are alive and well,
Let us be merry, sing, dance, and laugh;
For after life comes death;
Then the body rots, the worms eat it,
And all is done forever."
When every body was greatly excited with these songs, the king,
who sat in a corner on a sofa with some of his favorite wives next
him, gave the signal for the dance to begin. Immediately all
rose up and beat a kind of tune or refrain to accompany the noise
of the tam-tams or drums. Then six women stepped out and be-
gan to dance in the middle of the floor. The dance is not to be
described. Any one who has seen a Spanish fandango, and can
imagine its lascivious movements tenfold exaggerated, will have
some faint conceptions of the postures of these black women.


AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE.
177
To attain the greatest possible indecency of attitude seemed to be
the ambition of all six. These were relieved by another set of
six in course of time, and so the ball went on for about two hours,
when, what with occasional potations of rum and the excitement
of the dance and noise, the whole assemblage got so uproarious
that I had thoughts of retreating; but the king would not suffer
it . He and all the people seemed to enjoy it all exceedingly.
Next women came out, one at a time, and danced their best (or
worst) before a closely-critical audience, who, watching every mo-
tion with jealous eyes, were sure to applaud by audible murmurs
of pleasure at every more than usually lewd pas. At last this
ceased, and two really pretty young girls came out hand in hand
and danced before me. I was told that they were daughters of
the king, and he desired that I should take them for my wives—
an offer which I respectfully but firmly declined.
Finally the room began to smell too high for me, and as the
revelries were getting madder all the time, I slipped out and be-
took myself to my house to sleep.
The next day I made a visit to the barracoons or slave-pens.
Cape Lopez is a great slave depot—once one of the largest on the
whole coast—and I had, of course, much curiosity to see how the
traffic is carried on.
My way led through several of the villages which are scattered
about the extensive plain. Every head of a family makes a sep-
arate little settlement, and the huts of his wives and slaves which
surround his own make mostly quite a little village. Each of
these groups is hidden from view by surrounding clumps of bush-
es, and near each are the fields cultivated by the slaves. The ob-
ject of building separately in this way is to prevent the destruc-
tion which used frequently to fall upon their larger towns at the
hands of the British cruisers, who have done their best several
times to break up this nest of slave-dealing. A town could be
shelled and burned down. These scattered plantations afford no
mark.
Cape Lopez boasts of two slave-factories. Of these I now vis-
ited that kept by the Portuguese. It was, from the outside,.an
immense inclosure, protected by a fence of palisades twelve feet
high, and sharp-pointed at the top. Passing through the gate,
which was standing open, I found myself in the midst of a large
collection of shanties surrounded by shade-trees, under which
M


178
THE SLAVE-PENS OF CAPE LOPEZ.
were lying about, in various positions, people enough to form a
considerable African town.
An old Portuguese, who seemed to be sick, met and -welcomed
me, and conducted me to the white men's house, a two-story frame
building, which stood immediately fronting the gate. This was
poorly furnished, but contained beds, a table, chairs, etc.
Unfortunately I do not speak either Spanish or Portuguese,
and my conductor understood neither French nor English. WV
had, therefore, to make use of a native interpreter, who made slow
work of our talk. The Portuguese complained that it was now
very hard to land a cargo in the Brazils, as the government was
against them, and that each year the trade grew duller. To put
myself on a right footing with him, I told him I had not come to
trade, but to collect objects in natural history, and to see the coun-
try and hunt.
I was now led around. The large house I have mentioned
was surrounded by a separate strong fence, and in the spacious
yard which was thus cut off were the male slaves, fastened six to-
gether by a little stout chain which passed through a collar se-
cured about the neck of each. This mode of fastening experience
has proved to be the most secure. It is rare that six men are
unanimous in any move for their own good, and it is found that
no attempts to liberate themselves, when thus fastened, succeed.
They reposed under sheds or shelters built about the yard, and
here and there were buckets of water from which they could
drink when they felt inclined.
Beyond this yard was another for the women and children,
who were not manacled, but allowed to rove at pleasure through
their yard, which was also protected by a fence. The men were
almost naked. The women wore invariably a cloth about their
middle.
Back of the great houses was the hospital for sick slaves. It
was not ill-arranged, the rooms being large and well-ventilated,
and the beds—structures of bamboo covered with a mat—were
ranged about the walls.
Outside of all the minor yards, under some trees, were the
huge caldrons in which the beans and rice, which serve as slave-
food, were cooked. Each yard had several Portuguese overseers,
who kept watch and order, and superintended the cleaning out of
the yards, which is performed daily by the slaves themselves.


AN UNWELCOME BEDFELLOW.
179
From time to time, too, these overseers take the slaves down to
the sea-shore and make them bathe.
I remarked that many of the slaves were quite merry, and
seemed perfectly content with their fate. Others were sad, and
seemed filled with dread of their future; for, to lend an added
horror to the position of these poor creatures, they firmly believe
that we whites buy them to eat them. They can not conceive of
any other use to be made of them; and wherever the slave-trade
is known in the interior, it is believed that the white men beyond
sea are great cannibals, who have to import blacks for the market.
Thus a chief in the interior country, having a great respect for
me, of whom he had often heard, when I made him my first visit,
immediately ordered a slave to be killed for my dinner, and it
was only with great difficulty I was able to convince him that I
did not, in my own country, live on human flesh.
The slaves here seemed of many different tribes, and but few
even understood each other. The slave-trade has become so
great a traffic (here I speak of the country and foreign trade alike)
that it extends from this coast quite to the centre of the conti-
nent; and I have met slaves on the coast who had been brought
from much farther in the interior than I ever succeeded in reach-
ing. The Shekiani, Bakalai, and many other tribes far inland
sell their fellows into slavery on various pretexts (chiefly witch-
craft), and thus help to furnish the Sangatanga slave barracoons.
The large rivers which, joining, form the Nazareth, provide an
easy access to the coast, and give Cape Lopez great advantages
for obtaining a regular supply of slaves; and the creeks which
abound hereabouts afford the vessels good chances to conceal
themselves from the watchful cruisers.
I wandered about the town the rest of the day watching the
lazy negroes, and did not return to my house till after dark. I
struck a match and set fire to a torch to go to bed by; and cast-
ing my eyes about to see if any thing had been disturbed, noticed
something glittering and shining under my akolco or low bamboo
bedstead. I did not pay much attention to the object, which did
not seem important by the dim light 6f the torch, till, just as I ap-
proached the bed to arrange it, I saw that the glitter was pro-
duced by the shining scales of an enormous serpent which lay
quietly coiled up there within two feet of me. My first motion
was to retreat behind the door; then I bethought me to kill it.


180
PURCHASE OF SLAVES.
But unfortunately my two guns were set against the wall back of
the bed, and the snake was between me and them. As I stood
watching and thinking what to do, keeping the doorway fairly in'
my rear for a speedy retreat, I noticed that my visitor did not move,
and finally mustered up courage to creep along the floor to the
bedside and quickly grasp one gun. Happily it was loaded very
heavily with large shot. I placed the muzzle fairly against one
of the coils of the serpent and fired, and then ran out.
At the report there was an instant rush of negroes from all
sides, eager to know what was the matter. They thought some
one had shot a man, and then run into my house for concealment
Of course they all rushed in after, helter-skelter; and as quickly
rushed out again, on finding a great snake writhing about the
floor. Then I went in cautiously to reconnoitre; happily my
torch had kept alight, and I saw the snake on the floor. My
shot had been so closely fired that it had cut the body fairly in
two, and both ends were now lopping about the floor. I gave
the head some blows with a heavy stick, and thus killed the ani-
mal; and then, to my surprise, it disgorged a duck, which it had
probably swallowed that afternoon, and then sought shelter in
my hut to digest it quietly. This pretty sleeping companion
measured eighteen feet in length. I must confess that I dreamed
more than once of serpents that night, for they are my horror.
The next morning I paid a visit to the other slave-factory. It
was a neater place, but arranged much like the first. While I
was standing there, two young women and a lad of fourteen were
brought in for sale, and bought by the Portuguese in my pres-
ence. The boy brought a twenty-gallon cask of rum, a few fath-
oms of cloth, and a quantity of beads. The women sold at a
larger rate. Each was valued at the following articles, which
were immediately paid over: one gun, one neptune (a flat disk of
copper), thirty fathoms of cloth, two iron bars, two cutlasses, two
looking-glasses, two files, two plates, two bolts, a keg of powder,
a few beads, and a small lot of tobacco. Rum bears a high price
in this country.
At two o'clock this afteAoon a flag was hoisted at the king's
palace on the hill, which signifies that a slaver is in the offing.
It proved to be a schooner of about 170 tons' burden. She ran
in and hove to a few miles from shore. Immediately I saw issue
from one of the factories gangs of slaves, who were rapidly driven


SHIPPING SLAVES.
181
down to a point on the shore nearest the vessel. I stood and
watched the embarkation. The men were still chained in gangs
of six, but had been washed, and had on clean cloths. The ca-
noes were immense boats, managed by twenty-six paddles, and
carrying besides each about sixty slaves. Into these the poor
creatures were now hurried, and a more piteous sight I never
saw. They seemed terrified almost out of their senses; even
those whom I had seen in the factory to be contented and happy,
were now gazing about with such mortal terror in their looks as
one neither sees nor feels very often in life. They had been con-
tent to be in the factory, where they were well treated and had
enough to eat. But now they were being taken away, they knew
not whither, and the frightful stories of the white man's cannibal-
ism seemed fresh in their minds.
But there was no time allowed for sorrow or lamentation.
Gang after gang was driven into the canoes until they were full,
and then they set out for the vessel, which was dancing about in
the sea in the offing.
And now a new point of dread seized the poor wretches, as I
could see, watching them from the shore. They had never been
on rough water before, and the motion of the canoe, as it skim-
med over the waves and rolled now one way now another, gave
them fears of drowning, at which the paddlers broke into a laugh,
and forced them to he down in the bottom of the canoe.
I said the vessel was of 170 tons. Six hundred slaves were
taken off to her, and stowed in her narrow hold. The whole em-
barkation did not last two hours, and then, hoisting her white
sails, away she sailed for the South American coast. She hoisted
no colors while near the shore, but was evidently recognized by
the people on shore. She seemed an American-built schooner.
The vessels are, in fact, Brazilian, Portuguese, Spanish, some-
times Sardinian, but oftenest of all American. Even whalers, I
have been told, have come to the coast, got their slave cargo, and
departed unmolested, and setting it down in Cuba or Brazil, re-
turned to their whaling business no^one the wiser. The slave-
dealers and their overseers on the coast are generally Spanish and
Portuguese. One of the head men at the factories here told me
be had been taken twice on board slave vessels, of course losing
his cargo each time. Once he had been taken into Brest by a
French vessel, but by the French laws he was acquitted, as the


182
DECAY OF THE SLAVE-TRADE.
French do not take Portuguese vessels. He told mc he thought
he would make his fortune in a very short time now, and then
he meant to return to Portugal.
The slave-trade is really decreasing. The hardest blow has
been struck at it by the Brazilians. They have for some years
been alarmed at the great superiority in numbers of the Africans
in Brazil to its white population, and the government and people
have united to discourage the trade, and put obstacles in the way
of its successful prosecution. If now the trade to Cuba could
also be stopped, this would do more to put an end to the whole
business than the blockading of all the navies of the world-
It is impossible for any limited number of vessels to effectually
guard 4000 miles of coast. Eight or ten years ago, when I first
arrived on this coast, the British kept some twenty-six vessels
of light draught on the coast, several of which were steamers,
while the rest were good sailers. The French also had 26 vessels
there, and the Americans their complement. But, with all this
force to hinder, the slave-trade was never more prosperous. The
demand in Brazil and Cuba was good, and barracoons were estab-
lished all along the coast. Many vessels were taken, but many
more escaped. The profits are so great that the slave-dealers
could afford to send really immense fleets, and count with almost
mathematical certainty on making a great profit from those which
escaped the cruisers. The barracoons were shifted from place to
place to escape the vigilance of the men-of-war; and no sooner
was one of these depots broken up than another was established
in some neighboring creek or bay. So great was the demand
that great atrocities were sometimes practiced on innocent ne-
groes by shrewd captains, who begrudged even the small price
they had to pay for slaves. Thus it is related of one that he in-
vited a number of friendly natives on board of his vessel, then
shut them under hatches, and sailed away with them to Cuba to
sell them.
A pregnant sign of the decay of the business is that those en-
gaged in it begin to cheat each other. I was told by Portuguese
on the coast that within two or three years the conduct of Bra-
zilian houses had been very bad. They had received cargo after
cargo, and when pressed for pay had denied and refused. Similar
complaints are made of Cuban houses; and it is said that now a
captain holds on to his cargo till he sees the doubloons, and takes


IDOL WORSHIP.
183
the gold in one hand while he sends the slaves over the side with
the other. While the trade was brisk they had no occasion to
quarrel. As the profits become more precarious each will try to
cut the other's throat.
Now there are not many barracoons north of the equator, and
the chief trade centres about the mouth of the Congo. The law-
ful trade has taken the place of the slave traffic to the northward;
and if the French government will only abolish the system of
''apprenticeship," lawful trade will soon make its way to the
south.
When the schooner sailed I visited the king, and was an-
nounced to his majesty by the great mafouga. On my way to
the king's house I passed three little houses, in which I was then
told were deposited five idols, who, I knew, were considered the
most powerful on all the coast from Banoko to Mayombai. They
are thought to be the great protectors of all the Oroungou tribes,
and are themselves placed near the king's house, who delights to
do them honor, and whom they protect from all evil.
The five idols are deposited in three houses. Pangeo, a male
idol, is married to Aleka, and the two stand together in one
house. Pangeo is the special protector of the king and his peo-
ple, and watches over them by night, keeping off every evil.
Makambi, a second male idol, is married to Abiala, and they
have a second house to themselves. Poor Makambi is a power-
less god, his wife having usurped the power. She holds a pistol
in her hand, with which it is supposed she can kill any one she
pleases: for which reason the natives fear her greatly. She pro-
tects them from various evils; and when they are sick they im-
plore her to make them well, and bring her presents of food to
propitiate her.
Last comes a bachelor-god, Numba, who is the Oroungou
Neptune and Mercury in one, keeping off the evils which are to
come from beyond sea and ruling the wave. He has the third
house all to himself.
These idols are all large, and very rudely carved and orna-
mented. The people seem to place great value upon them. I
offered $20 for one, but was told I could not buy it for 100 slaves
even, which is as much as to say that it was not to be bought.


184
START FOR THE INTERIOR.
CHAPTER Xn.
Set out for the Interior.—Prairies.—Odd Mistake.—Hippopotami.—Ngola.—Ne-
gro Theology.—Hunts.—Torture of a Woman.—Rum.—The Shekiani.—Appear-
ance, Manners, and Customs.—Polygamy.—Marriage.—Superstitions.—Bos bra-
chicheros.—Camp in the Woods.—African Humor.—Solid Comfort.—Hunting with
a Leopard.—Great Jollification.—Superstition about the Leopard.—Elephant-
shooting.—Meeting a Boa.—Stalking the wild Bull.—Return to Sangatanga.—I
am accused of Sorcery.—Idols.—Bango's Treasures.—Burial-ground of the Bar-
racoons Disgusting Sights.—Status of Slaves in Africa.—Oroungou Cemetery.
—An African Watering-place.—Fetich Point.
When I asked the king for permission to go into the interior
on a hunt, he immediately gave me twenty-five men along, to carry
my luggage and help me in hunting. Of these three were his
majesty's own slaves, and reputed the greatest hunters in the
country. They were the providers of the royal table, and passed
their lives in the hunt and in the bush. They killed elephants
on his account, bringing him home the ivory.
I desired to penetrate into the hitherto unexplored interior of
this latitude till we should meet the Nazareth River, which I was
told we should do at the distance of about one hundred miles to
the east. For their services I agreed to give the men twenty
fathoms of cotton cloth each, if they behaved themselves faithful-
ly toward me. They seemed very willing to go, and satisfied
with the bargain.
In two days I was fully prepared for a start. As we were to
meet elephants, leopards, buffaloes, and the gorilla, I provided my-
self with a good supply of bullets. I was told that game was
very plentiful in all the region I was now to visit, people being
scarce, and the country more favorable than in those regions north
of the Gaboon which I had just explored; and this report I found
correct.
The night before we were to start I slept in a dirty room at the
king's house, at his majesty's request, who apparently thought he
was doing me a great grace. Finally, on the morning of the 23d,
we got under weigh. I had slept scarcely at all during the night


A SINGULAR MISTAKE.
185
on account of the assaults and gambols of a prodigious number
of rats, who seemed anxious to dispute possession with me of my
room, so that I astonished my men by getting them up at an un-
usually early hour. At half-past five we were already on the
march, myself ahead, with Aboko, my head man, and Niamkala,
the next best, at my side, and four other hunters, and twenty-
three young men, as bearers and assistants, following us.
The way led through some beautiful prairies, each surrounded
by dark forests, and seeming like natural gardens planted in the
wilderness. It does not need much time to get into the "back-
woods" here. By three o'clock Aboko announced to me that we
were now where any moment we might come upon elephants or
buffalo; and in a short time, sure enough, we saw a bull standing
deer-like upon the edge of the wood, watching us. He stood for
some minutes, safe out of range, and then turned into the wood,
evidently not liking our appearance. We ran around to intercept
its track, and I waited at one pass in the wood for Aboko and
two others to get clear around and drive the bull toward me.
Suddenly I saw something approaching me out of the deep gloom
of the forest, but, looking closely, took it to be one of my men. It
came toward me, and I walked unsuspiciously forward to a clear
space. Here the thing caught sight of me, and, with a shrill
scream, ran back into the woods. Then first I knew that in the
dark (for in these forests daylight is almost shut out) I had mis-
taken a chimpanzee for a man. I was vexed; for the beast was
but about thirty yards off when it ran, and I could have shot it
easily. Presently my men returned, and had a hearty laugh at
me for my mistake, which they did not take unkindly, seeing no
resemblance, but imputing the mistake to my ignorance, and in
part, I afterward found, to lack of courage on my part. Of their
mistake in this last regard I fortunately had a chance to convince
them afterward.
Starting on again, we shortly killed a deer, which was taken
along for supper. And now we seemed to be really in a game
country. For the first time I enjoyed my prospects; for though
we saw only single beasts—now a chimpanzee rushing into the
woods at a great distance ahead, then a ngivo (a singular animal,
of the size of a donkey, with shorter legs, no horns, and black,
with a yellow spot on the back), and again a deer or two, flying
craickly out of range—yet we saw also abundance of tracks, par-


186
A CAMP IN THE PRAIRIE.
ticularly of the elephant; and, on the whole, I could see that we
should have some famous hunts. But I felt that I should have
brought my rifle, at least for this country, for the grass was so
short that on the prairies it was impossible to approach an animal
within the range of my double-barrel guns, which were better cal-
culated for close quarters.
At six we camped in the midst of a prairie, my men collecting
from the nearest forest an immense quantity of firewood, and
building fires which must have been visible at a great distance.
Our supper was of roast vension and plantains—good enough for
such hungry fellows as we; and shortly after seven we all turned
in; that is to say, we stretched ourselves with our feet to the fires,
and wrapped up, I in my blankets, and the men in whatever they
could get together of leaves and grass. No wonder the poor fel-
lows love a fire. They are very lightly dressed, and the winds
here, near the equator as it is, in the dry season are very bleak
and cold when the sun is not up to warm them. I could not
rest well for cold, though I had a thick blanket about me.
"We had traveled about twenty-five miles — ten toward E.N.E.
— through a really beautiful country, rolling and hilly, mostly
prairie, as I have said, with a light sandy soil, and with forests
looking rather like beautiful green islands in the midst of the
clear spaces. The woods are the safe retreats of great herds of
the wild buffalo (Bos brachicheros), of deer, and antelopes, who come
into the great grass-fields by night to play and feed.
Withal the country was much broken up, and the highest hills
broke off in abrupt precipices, on which one would come sudden-
ly, and look down sometimes a hundred feet and even more into
little vales which led to other hills, and in whose quiet gloom we
could sometimes distinguish animals walking or lying down.
One gorge we had to cross on a huge tree; but this was a stream
which flowed down toward the sea. We crossed three or four
little streams, all clear and beautiful; but, unless the deeper dales
have more water (as I imagine they have), the country is not well
watered.
The night was clear and almost frosty, and I could not sleep,
though I had placed my boxes to windward for shelter. So
about two o'clock I roused every body up to move on, thinking
it easier to keep warm in motion than while lying still. The men
were very glad. Poor fellows! they had suffered more than I.


A CARAVAN.
187
Happily it was bright moonlight, and we could see our way clear-
ly across the prairie. A couple of hours' sharp walking brought
us to a thick wood so situated as to shelter us from the wind. Here
we quickly built a tremendous fire, and again stretched out for a
short nap, which lasted till six, or sunrise, when the cry of the
gray partridge (Francoliiius squamatus) aroused us.
Sunrise found us under weigh again; and before us a fine
stretch of prairie, on whose farther borders were quietly grazing
several herds of buffalo, which quickly ran into the woods.
While they remained they gave the wild a singularly civilized
appearance. It looked like a great grazing farm in June, with
cattle, and hay almost ready for harvest; a fine, quiet, old-country
picture here in the wilds of Africa.
Toward nine o'clock we came to a large pool or lakelet, and here
I saw for the first time a hippopotamus. A dozen of the vast un-
wieldly creatures were sporting and snorting in the water, now
popping their huge unshapely heads out and then diving to the
bottom. Aboko persuaded me not to kill any of them, as he
justly remarked we could not have got them out of the water;
and the proper way is to take them when they come on shore at
night to feed.
Shortly after we came to an open space, and saw in the dis-
tance what I took at first to be a herd of buffalo, but which proved
to be a caravan approaching us. When they saw us they pre-
pared for trouble—for here there is no law, and every man's hand
is against his brother. The greater number hid in the grass; and,
after some reconnoitring, four fellows, well armed, came toward
us to ask if it was peace or war. When they saw me they were
at once filled with surprise, and, losing their fears in their amaze-
ment at seeing a white man far in the interior, began to shout out
to their company to come and see the Otangani.
I was immediately surrounded by a curious crowd, most of
whom had never seen a white man before, though it was evident
they had had dealings with their black agents. They were bound
south and east with tobacco, salt, and goods, and intended to bring
back slaves and ivory. Of course, they were Shekianis, who are
the prevailing people in the interior hereabouts.
We left them in the midst of their wonder, being anxious to
get on to a village which we reached about the middle of the aft-
ernoon. This village, Ngola by name, was the residence of a


188
NGOLA.
Shekiani chief named Njambai, a vassal of King Bango, who had
sent word by Aboko that I was to be entertained as long as T
liked to stay and hunt. It contained about fifty neat bamboo
houses, running in a double row along a long street, in the Afri-
can fashion. But the whole place had a pleasing look of neat-
ness which was not peculiarly African. It lies fifty-two miles due
east from Sangatanga.
As we approached the women caught sight of me, and ran
screaming into the houses. It is curious that nothing excites so
much terror in an interior African village as the appearance of a
white man. The women and children run for their lives, and
seem to be afraid that the mere sight of a white is enough to kill
them. Here, however, the men did not seem to be afraid, as my
cannibal friends were; and, though Njambai had never before
seen a white man, he received me very courteously. Aboko de-
livered King Bango's message, to which Njambai replied to me
that he owned all the country hereabouts, and I should have as
many men to help me hunt it as I wished. All which being sat-
isfactorily arranged, I was escorted to the house of the king's
brother, which, being the most commodious in the town, was set
apart for my use.
Njambai's house was built, as the rest, of bamboo, roofed with
palm-leaves, and floored with hardened clay. Every thing inside
was very neat; the walls were hung with a few colored pictures,
sent probably by Bango; and, though there were no chairs, there
were two wooden benches, covered with mats, on which the king
and I sat while conversing. The house was about twenty feet
long, by ten high and ten deep, and had a neat veranda in front.
I could see that the old fellow was vastly delighted at my vis-
it, for it was an honor that had hitherto (luckily for me) befallen
none of his rival chiefs. I was sure, therefore, to be well treated.
In fact, I had the best house, and had hardly arranged my things
when dinner was ready for me, consisting of boiled and roast
plantains, sweet potatoes, boiled fowls, and roast monkey—of
which last I did not on this occasion partake, as monkey seems
too much like man until you get very hungry. After dinner I
sent the king some heads of Virginia tobacco, which was the most
welcome present I could make him, American tobacco being very
scarce in the interior, and much better than the native weed.
He sent me, in return, a splendid bundle of sugar-cane.


NEGRO THEOLOGY.
18P
Altogether, Ngola surprised me. So much neatness I did not
expect to find among the natives. The long street had not even
a weed. Shinshooko's house, in which I was living, was large
and commodious, equal to the Sangatanga houses; and the door
was even provided with lock and key, so that when my baggage
was all stored away the worthy Shinshooko brought me the
key, and gave me to understand that his people might steal if
they were tempted by open doors. The village is sixty miles
nearly due east from Sangatanga, and, though no white man had
ever been seen here, I yet saw many marks of white civilization
around me.
The next day was Sunday, and I remained quietly in my house
reading the Scriptures, and thankful to have a day of rest and re-
flection. My hunters could scarcely be prevailed upon not to
hunt; they declared that Sunday might do for white people, but
the blacks had nothing to do with it. Indeed, when customs
thus come in contact, the only answer the negro has to make—
and it applies to every thing—is, that the God who made the
whites is not the God who made the blacks.
Then the king and a good many of his people gathered about
me, and we astonished each other with our talk. I told them
that their fetiches and greegrees were of no use, and had no pow-
ers, and that it was absurd to expect any thing of a mere wooden
idol that a man had made and could burn up. Also, that there
was no such thing as witchcraft, and that it was very wrong to
kill people who were accused of it; that there was only one God,
whom the whites and blacks must alike love and depend on.
All this elicited only grunts of surprise and incredulity.
Then the king took up the conversation, and remarked that
we white men were much favored by our God, who was so kind
as to send us guns and powder from heaven.
Whereupon the king's brother remarked that it must be very
fine to have rivers of alougou (rum) flowing through our country
all the year round, and that he would like to live on the banks of
such a river.
Hereupon I said that we made our own guns—which no one
present seemed to believe; and that there were no rivers of rum
—which seemed a disappointment to several.
Next the king, who is a man of a kind heart, and given to
hursts of liberality, informed me that, in honor of my coming to


190
UNLIMITED OFFERS OF MARRIAGE.
stay with him, he would place all the women of the village at mv
command. This I declined, saying that white men thought it
very wrong to abuse women, and that in my country every man
had but one wife (I did not mention the Mormons), and was not
allowed to have two or more. This seemed to them the toughest
yarn of all. They gave a general shout of astonishment, and
even the women said this was a curious law, and not good. Al-
together, I think they must have thought white men a very sin-
gular people, and perhaps a negro's account of America would be
quite as curious, and interesting, and one-sided as a white man's
account of Africa.
The next day my hunters started out before daylight, saying
they were determined to lose no time, for fear I should want
to stay in the house another day. They have a species of dry
humor, these black fellows, and this was a specimen of it. There
was a large party of us, as some of the best hunters of the
town were to go with us. I gave them all powder; guns they
all have, such as they are, and we divided into two parties,
Aboko going separately, with one or two attendants, on a leop-
ard-hunt, while I took the great crowd with me into the forest for
what we should find. By noon we were back with more game
than I had ever shot before in one day in Africa, though, to be
sure, none of it was large. But my joy was great, for among the
animals I myself killed was a new and hitherto unknown variety
of the Guinea-fowl, and a most beautiful bird at that. Only a
naturalist can conceive of my pleasure at this discovery.
The crested Guinea-fowl {Numida plumifera), as this bird is
called, is a new bird. It is one of the handsomest of all the
Guinea-fowls yet discovered. Its head is naked, the skin being
of a deep bluish-black tinge, and is crowned with a tuft of straight,
erect, narrow, downy feathers standing in a bunch close together.
The upper part of the neck, the throat, and the occiput are cover-
ed with short dark feathers in the male, and are naked in the fe-
male. The plumage of the body is of a fine bluish-black ground,
variegated with numerous eyes of white slightly tinged with blue.
The bill and legs are colored a blue-black similar to the skin of
the head. The secondary quills of the wings have the outer
nibs white. The total length of the bird I shot this day was sev-
enteen inches.
This bird is not found in the forests near the sea-shore, but is


TOILS OF A NATURALIST.
191
first met with, as I afterward ascertained, about fifty miles east of
Sangatanga. It is very shy, but marches in large flocks through
the woods, where the traveler hears its loud voice. It utters a
kind of " quack," hoarse and discordant, like the voices of other
Guinea-fowls. It avoids the path left by travelers; but its own
tracks are met every where in the woods it frequents, as the flock
scratch and tear up the ground wherever they stop. It is strong
of wing, and sleeps by night on the tops of high trees, a flock
generally roosting together on the same tree. When surprised
by the hunter they do not fly in a body, but scatter in every di-
rection. Thus it is a difficult bird to get, and the natives do not
often get a shot at it.
I had eaten nothing before going out in the morning, and was
therefore glad to get my dinner and breakfast in one before com-
mencing to stuff my prizes. And I am sure never bird-fancier or
stuffer took more pains with a specimen than I with my brilliant
Guinea-fowl. It was carefully put away with a curious black
monkey which I also stuffed, and both sent to Sangatanga by the
most careful man I could find. By the time I was done I had a
bad headache, and not sorry when Aboko came in without having
shot any thing. For in these latitudes when an animal is shot it
must be stuffed without loss of time, else the ants eat it up.
I was so tired that I went to bed early, but got scarcely any sleep
at all. The whole town was in uproar all night. The people
had a general jollification in honor of my staying among them so
long. Fortunately I was not called out to make a speech, or take
any other part in the ceremonies. It was bad enough to listen to
the singing, shouting, dancing, and uproarious merriment. The
next day I had a worse headache, and did not hunt; but staid in
town, and was exhibited to great numbers of curious Shekianis
who trooped in from neighboring villages to see the white man.
Of course, Njambai was in ecstasies over the excitement. These
people had never seen a white man before, and examined me
with a curious mixture of fear and wonder. My hair especially
excited their astonishment. Many of them said I must be a spirit
[mbuiri), and seemed to hold me in great awe.
My hunters brought in toward evening a great quantity of
monkeys, on whose flesh they feasted, while I had to sit down
and stuff eight of the rarest specimens before going to bed, as
they would not keep. Fortunately all was quiet; and when my


192 A WOMAN TORTURED.
work was done I was able to go to sleep. It was one of their su-
perstitious times. There was something the matter with the
moon. I was unable to learn what, nor do I believe they knew
exactly themselves; but every man covered his body with red
and white chalk-marks, and went to bed.
I did not go out either the next day, and counted myself lucky
that I did not, for I was able to save the life of a poor woman
who was being killed with the most horrible tortures. After
dinner, as I was reading, I heard a woman crying out as if in
great pain. Asking what was the matter, a man told me the
king was punishing one of his wives; and some others hinted
that I had better go and try to save her life. I hurried over to
the king's house, and there, in front of the veranda, a spectacle
met my eyes which froze my blood with horror. A woman,
naked, was tied by the middle to a stout stake driven into the
ground. Her legs were stretched out and fastened to other small-
er stakes, and stout cords were bound round her neck, waist, an-
kles, and wrists. These cords were being twisted with sticks, and
when I arrived the skin was already bursting from the terrible
compression. A great crowd of spectators were standing around,
not much excited. I suppose they were used to such scenes.
I walked up, and, taking the king by the arm, asked him to re-
lease the poor wretch for my sake, and not to kill her. When I
spoke the twisting ceased. The executioners were willing enough
to suspend operations, it seemed to me. The king seemed to hes-
itate—was not willing to be balked of his revenge. He walked
into his house. I followed him, and threatened to leave his town
immediately if he did not release her. Finally he gave in, and
said, "Let her loose yourself. I give her to you."
I rushed immediately, and, being unable to untie the savage
cords, cut them with my knife. The poor creature was covered
with blood. Some of the ropes had penetrated so deeply that the
flesh had burst open, and she bled freely. However, she was not
seriously hurt; and I thanked God in my heart that I had been
able to save her life. I went immediately in to the king and made
him promise me that he would not touch her again. Then I ask-
ed what she had done to deserve such punishment. He said she
had stolen the bead belt which he usually wore around his waist
and given it to her lover—a heinous offense truly.
Then, to change the current of his ebony majesty's thoughts, I


PHASIDUS NIGEK.
193
pointed out to him a small bird sitting upon the top of a high tree
near his house, and said I could kill that bird. He said it was
impossible, as I knew he would. The negroes are poor marks-
men. I sent for my gun, took aim, and brought down the bird,
amid the loud shouts of his majesty and the populace. They ex-
amined my gun, which had a cap-lock, and was a great wonder to
them, as, of course, they use only flint-locks. Then they said I
had a greegree or fetich to help me shoot. No one who had not
a powerful charm could do such things, they thought.
Then, to clinch their good-humor, I brought out my matchbox
and struck a light. This has never failed to get me a great rep-
utation among the interior negroes. It is a trick which seems
to them the most marvelous of all, and these Shekianis were
never tired of seeing me "make fire."
The next day I went out hunting myself, and, to my great
joy, shot another new bird, a black pheasant (Phasidus niger),
one of the most singular birds I have seen in Africa, and the
discovery of which I rank as next in importance to that of the
new Guinea-fowl described before. Indeed, of the sixty odd new
birds I was able to add to the list of known African birds, these
two seem to me the most interesting.
Phasidus niger is about eighteen inches long, including the tail
feathers. Its head and the upper part of its neck are bare or
naked, with the exception of a longitudinal strip of short black
feathers which runs from the base of the bill to the occiput, end-
ing abruptly. The head, where it is bare, is in the female of a
pink hue, and in the male a bright scarlet. The throat, in front,
has very short feathers. When I saw this bird for the first time
in the woods, I thought I saw before me a domestic chicken. The
natives have noticed the resemblance too, as their name for it
shows: couba iga, signifying wild fowl. Wild they are, and most
difficult to approach; and also rare, even in the forests where
they are at home. They are not found at all on the sea-coast,
and do not appear until the traveler reaches the range of fifty or
sixty miles from the coast. Even there they are so rare that,
though I looked out for them constantly, I killed but three in all
• my expeditions. It is not gregarious, like the Guinea-fowl, but
wanders through the woods, a male and one, or, at most, two fe-
males in company. Also it is very watchful, and flies off to its
retreats in the woods at the slightest alarm.
N


194
"MORE RUM."
I begin now to have so many animals on hand that I find I can
not go as far as the Nazareth. The risk of losing all my collec-
tion is too great; and the trouble of taking care of it is greater
yet. The ants—those little pests—are constantly on the look-ont
for prey; and it is impossible to leave an animal about for the
shortest time without imminent risk of having it destroyed. Let
the reader bear in mind that not only has the hunter-naturalist
in these African backwoods to kill his game, which may occupy
all day, but when he comes home tired he must immediately stuff
it that it may not spoil, and then it must be suspended by strings
from the rafters of the house to keep the ants off. The slightest
carelessness brings ruin upon his most cherished specimens; and
I have more than once been reduced to the brink of despair by
finding a choice bird or other animal in one night, and through
one slight oversight in the preparation of the suspending cord,
completely riddled and ruined by the ants before morning.
I told the king that I must return to Sangatanga, and then be-
gan to pack my animals and skeletons in such parcels as would
be handy to carry. We are to start early to-morrow (30th), and
this evening I distributed all my tobacco among the people of the
village. They have treated me well, and deserved this trifle,
which is to them a great favor.
The king gave me, as provision for my route, a chicken, half a
dozen eggs, and twelve bunches of plantains. I promised to
send him from Sangatanga 25 heads of tobacco, a piece of cloth,
a glass full of powder, three pipes, and some beads. He added a
particular request for some rum, to which I did not agree.
Then he said that I must come again and see him, and stay
longer, and I should have his best hunters to help me. "But,"
added he, "when you come don't forget to bring some rum.''
And so he went on, begging this and promising that, but always
recurring to the rum. Poor old king, how he would have enjoy-
ed a trip to Sangatanga, where he might have got his fill of his
beloved rum. For my part, I made it a point of principle during
my travels in Africa never to give a negro rum.
When we were ready to start the king gave me his son along,
to bring back his presents, and desired me particularly not to for-
get the rum. Saying which, he gave me, as a souvenir, an old
clay pipe, black with age and use, which he seemed to have a
great affection for. He desired me to carry it to my own coun-


PECULIARITIES OF THE SHEKIANIS.
195
try, and tell the people that this had been the favorite pipe of
King Njambai.
I penetrated, on different occasions, as far as twenty miles due
east of Njambai's town, but found the country no wise different
from that already described. As this is the last time we are to
come in contact with the Shekiani tribe in these pages, it seems
a proper place to give the reader some general information con-
cerning this large and important tribe.
The Shekiani tribe, and those people who are closely allied to
them and speak various dialects of their language, occupy a por-
tion of the sea-shore and interior as far as 80 miles from the sea
—from the banks of the Muni and Moondah down as far south
as the banks of the Ogobay. Through this great extent of coun-
try they are scattered in villages, having nowhere any central
point of union, and living, for the most part, in the neighborhood
of Mpongwe and Bakalai people. Still they manage to keep up
their nationality. In some parts they are most numerous near
the coast; in others they range as the second, third, and even
fourth tribe inland. Thus they are settled near the mouth of the
Muni and Moondah, and inhabit the sea-shore between the latter
river and the Gaboon; while south of the Gaboon they have
given way to the Mpongwe, and have their villages in the interior.
In person they are of ordinary size, generally light-colored for
negroes, and not so fine-looking as the Mpongwe or Mbingas.
They are warlike, treacherous, much given to trading, and are
real cheats. They are ardent hunters, and have sufficient cour-
age and great skill in wood-craft, being very lithe and active, light
of foot, and cunning in their manoeuvres to approach their prey.
They are quarrelsome, and have constant "palavers" either with
their own villages or those of other tribes. They have but little
clan feeling, and the intercourse between neighboring villages of
Shekiani is not always friendly, and scarce ever intimate. The
men, in common with all other African men I have met, have
little or no taste for agriculture; they leave the culture of the
ground to their women and slaves. The sea-shore Shekianis own
many slaves, but those of the interior but few.
In their warfare cunning has a most important part. They
laugh at the courage of the white man who faces his enemy, and
delight most in ambushes and sudden surprises. If one has a
quarrel with another he lies in wait for him, shoots him as he is


196
MODE OF WARFARE.
passing by the way, and immediately retreats. - Then, of course,
the dead man's friends take up his quarrel; then ensue other

ambushes and murders; frequently a dozen villages are involved
in the palaver, and the killing and robbing goes on for months
and even years, each party acting as occasion offers. This breeds
a feeling of insecurity which is destructive to all settled habits.
Often, to escape assassination, a whole village moves away and
builds anew at some distance; and perhaps then the enemy
reaches them, or new complications arise, lending cause for new
murders.
Withal they are not bloodthirsty, but simply careless of human
life, passionate, and revengeful.
Polygamy of course prevails among them, and takes rank as a
political institution, as has been already explained. A man finds
it to his interest to marry into as many influential families in his
own and other tribes as he can, and then extends his trade con-
nections, and his influence and authority. But, on the other hand,
it is the cause of nearly all the palavers and wars they have.
The men are continually intriguing with strange women, and
when caught are murdered, or get their town in trouble. Female
chastity is little valued; and one great cause of the gradual de-
crease of this and other tribes is found in the fact that they force
their females to marry at such an age that they never become
mothers. Children are promised in marriage at the age of three
or four years, or even at birth; and girls are actually wives at
eight and nine, and sometimes earlier. They have children at
eleven or twelve, but of course the women age early, and the ma-
jority die young and childless.


THE MARRIAGE RELATION.
197
Though, chastity is not valued for itself, adultery is a serious of-
fense among townsmen. It is punished by fines, graduated ac-
cording to the means of the offender; and many men are sold an-
nually into slavery where the fine can not be levied in any other
way. Sometimes the guilty man compromises by working for a
certain time for the injured husband, and sometimes blood alone
heals the difficulty.
The man has generally a head or chief wife—mostly the wom-
an he married first; and to have criminal intercourse with this
woman ranks as a most heinous crime, for which the offender is
at least sold into slavery. When the husband forms new mar-
riage connections, and, as often happens, his new bride is but a
child, she is then put under the care and guardianship of the head
wife, who brings her up to the proper age. They marry also
with their slave women; but the children of these women, though
free, have less influence and regard among the people than the
children of free women. Frequently the women desert their hus-
bands for abuse or other causes, and run off to other villages;
and as it is a point of honor to return no fugitives of this kind,
here is another fertile source of palaver and war.
They are treated very harshly. The men take care to put all
the hardest work on their wives, who raise the crops, gather fire-
wood, bear all kinds of burdens; and, where the bar-wood trade
is carried on, as it is now by many Shekiani villages, the men
only cut down the trees and split them into billets, which the
women are then forced to bear on their backs through the forests
and jungle down to the river-banks, as they have but rude paths,
and beasts of burden are unknown in all this part of Africa.
This is the most severe toil imaginable, as the loads have to be
carried often six or seven miles or more.
The Shekiani tribe is divided into clans, and, though these
families grow very large sometimes, marriage between members
of the same clan is prohibited. Children add much to a man's
consequence, especially boys; and a fruitful woman enjoys, for
this reason, great favor. In cases where, as frequently happens,
the head of the family is old and decrepit, the mother of many
children has no questions asked her. They know nothing scarce-
ly of the care of children, and lose a great proportion through
mistaken treatment in infancy.
Though they have villages, they may almost be called a no-


198 SUPERSTITIONS.
madic people. They are continually moving about the country,
'shifting their quarters for such causes as a palaver with a neigh-
boring town, the death of the chief, or a belief that their present
village is bewitched. Then they gather up all their household
goods, and, collecting what provision they can, move off in a body,
sometimes many weary miles away.
Their superstitions are of the most degrading and barbarous.
I shall mention here only that the belief in witchcraft is general
and causes much misery; while of idols, evil and good spirits,
greegrees,, fetiches, and charms, there seems no end. The whole
subject of religious superstitions I shall treat in detail in another
chapter.

In different localities the Shekianis are known by sub-names,
and the chief of these are the Mbondemo or Ndemo, the Mbicho,
the Ntaimou, and the Acoa—the last inhabiting the interior be-
tween Gaboon and Cape Lopez—the Mbiki, the Mbousha, and
the Ibouay. All these speak dialects of the Shekiani, but hold
themselves to be separate tribes. The location of all these little
nations will be found on the map.
We set out on our return to Sangatanga on the 30th. I did
not intend to proceed immediately to the coast, but desired to re-
main a couple of weeks at least in the forests and prairies by the
way, as I saw that away from the villages I should have better
chances to hunt the shyer animals, and those which I was most
anxious to procure. I made arrangements by which the king
promised to give such men as I sent in supplies of food for my
party from time to time; and having thus provided against that
trouble which is the most constantly besetting the traveler in this
country, and secured myself against actual starvation, even if we


A PERMANENT CAMP. 199
had poor success in hunting, I set out in good spirits. We pass-
ed by a road or path slightly diverging from the one I had come,
out on, which gave me a chance to see some new landscapes. It
was a beautifully clear day, with, a cool breeze blowing, which
made the long prairies quite endurable.
Toward three o'clock we saw before us a little lake on the bor-
ders of the prairie, and, while looking at the water, I saw between
it and ourselves a solitary buffalo. I was a little in advance of
my party, who lay down while I tried to approach. The grass
was very short, and I was afraid of being seen; but fortunately
the bull presently entered a patch of high grass through which he
could not see me, and now I advanced quickly within range.
Just as he emerged into the open I fired. He gave a deep roar
of rage, and without a moment's hesitation dashed toward me. I
had my other barrel ready, and had raised my gun to give him
the second bullet, when he gave a little leap and tumbled down
head first—dead.
When my fellows saw this they set up a hurrah of joy and hur-
ried to the prize. It was at once skinned, and the best parts of
the meat taken off. We camped at the lake-side, and had roast
buffalo for supper. My men are all as fat as pigs, having lived
high on monkeys and other game ever since we left Sangatanga.
They account me a great and successful hunter, and seem to think
they have never had such a "good time."
We were now about fifteen miles from Njambai's village; and
after sleeping a night over the matter, I concluded to make my
permanent camp in this pretty prairie, where we were near water
and had a wide stretch of forest on one side of us for our hunts.
The men thought it a good place, one likely to afford us good
sport, especially as the lake was likely to draw beasts to its banks
to drink. Accordingly, we spent a whole day in arranging our
encampment in such a way as to make every thing comfortable
and secure. Fortunately it is now the dry season, and we have
no rain, but only the cold night-winds to fear. With branches of
trees we built ourselves shelters which should protect us from the
wind. I had my boxes piled in a solid mass to windward of my
own bed; and, having locked every thing up, threatened to shoot
the first man who stole any thing from me. Then we built light
roofs of leafy branches over our sleeping-places, arranged the
fires, and behold! a village. In the midst of our work came


200
AN EVENING IN THE WOODS.
ten slaves of Njambai laden with plantains, which the good fel-
'low had sent after me—a most welcome supply, for the plantain
is the bread of these regions.
When all was done, and we were ready for supper, I again
warned my men to be honest and keep their fingers at home.
They are good fellows; but I have found that while all savages
steal, in this part of the country where the slave-trade prevails,
and where the negroes have come in contact with the lowest class
of whites, they are much greater thieves than is even usual with
them. So I threatened to kill the first man I caught troubling
my property—to shoot without mercy; "and then," said I, with
great sternness, "when I have blown your brains out, I will settle
the matter with your king."
To which Aboko coolly replied that the settlement was not
likely to do them any particular good—another little specimen
of African humor.
Of course, they all protested loudly that they were honest; buf
I knew their temptations, poor fellows! and had more confidence
in their faith that I would certainly kill the thief than in then-
good resolutions.
When this little matter was settled we drew around the fire.
The sun was just setting. In a huge kettle suspended over the
fire was boiling a quantity of the juicy buffalo meat; before us
was a great pile of roasted plantains; and so, seating ourselves
about the immense fire, for it was growing chilly, we took a
hearty supper together; I eating off a plate and using a fork—
which vestiges of civilization I have always managed to carry
along—while the black fellows took fresh leaves for plates and
used the "black man's fork," as they call their five fingers.
After dinner they drank a jug of palm wine, which had been
brought from Ngola; and then, to crown their feast with the
greatest delight of all, I went to my box and, lifting the lid, while
the shining black faces peered at me with saucer-eyes of expecta-
tion, took out a huge head of Kentucky tobacco. This "brought
down the house," so to speak; there was a wild hurrah of joy as
I distributed a good portion to each, and in a few minutes all were
lying about the fire smoking, with that peculiar air of utter con-
tent into which the African falls so readily at the slightest oppor-
tunity of fire and tobacco-smoke. Then ensued wild stories of
hunting adventures, of witchcraft, and evil spirits, well fitting the


THE HUNTER HUNTED.
201
rude picturesque surroundings; and they lay there talking and
talking, till at last I was obliged to remind them that it was one"
o'clock, and time to feel sleepy.
The negroes have a particular delight in lying around a com-
fortable fire at night and telling stories, and I have often found
them thus engaged late at night when entering a village.
The next morning (June 1st) Aboko and I went out in search
of elephants, while Niamkala went with some other men to hunt
for wild pigs, and, if he could find them, gorilla and chimpanzee.
I had poor luck, killing only a few small monkeys and birds, of
no value; but as we were returning to the camp I had quite un-
expectedly, as such good luck generally comes, the great shot of
the day. As Aboko and I were walking carelessly along I heard
the cry of a gray partridge near by, and turned back to get a shot
if possible, as they are fine eating. As I pushed into the grass—
we were just on the edge of the forest—I saw suddenly several
buffalo, one of which I made sure of, as he stood a little in ad-
vance of the rest, and the grass was high enough for a stealthy
approach. Aboko and I advanced slowly toward the uncon-
scious bull, who stood a fair mark; and I was about to raise my
gun when Aboko made a quick sign to hold still and listen. As
we stood perfectly motionless I heard, at apparently a little dis-
tance before us, a low purring sound, which might have been
taken by a careless ear for the sound of the wind passing through
the grass. But to Aboko's quick ear it said something else. His
face grew very earnest, and he whispered to me "Njego," which
is Shekiani for leopard.
The noise continued, and we moved slowly and very cautiously
a few steps ahead to get a position where we could see over the
grass. The position was not a pleasant one. The leopard comes
out generally by night only, and nothing but extreme hunger
will bring him out of his lair in open day. Now, when he is hun-
gry, he is also unusually savage and quick in his motions. We
knew the animal was near, but could not by any means get a
sight of him. As the wind blew from it toward us, I perceived
plainly a strong and peculiar odor which this animal gives out,
and this proved more decidedly that it could not be far off. The
thought passed through my mind—was it watching us? Did its
eyes penetrate the grass which we could not see through? If so,
was it perhaps getting ready to spring?


202
STALKING A LEOPARD.
Meantime our buffalo-bull stood stupidly before his herd not
twenty yards from us, utterly innocent of the presence of so many
of his formidable enemies, and little suspecting the curious cir-
cumstances to which he was about to owe his life.
Just then, luckily, we moved a little to one side, and, peering
through an opening in the grass, I beheld an immense leopard, a
female, with a tiny little leopardling near her side. The beast
saw us at the same moment, turning her head quickly at some
slight noise we made. She had been watching the buffalo so in-
tently as not to notice our approach. As I watched her, it seem-
ed to me as though a curious look of indecision passed over her
face. She, too, had more game than she had looked for, and was
puzzled which to attack first. Her long tail wagged from side to
side, and her eyes glared as she sought for a moment for a de-
cision. But I saved her the trouble; for in less time than it takes
to write it down I had put a ball into her head, which, luckily for
us, relieved her of farther care for prey. At the same time Abo-
ko fired into the little leopard and killed that.
I thought the men would have lost their senses for joy when
we called them to get our prizes. The leopard is one of the most
feared animals of these forests. The gorilla is said to kill the leop-
ard, but is not so dangerous to man as this great cat. Thus it is
considered a great feat to kill one of these animals, and the whole
camp was alive with excitement. Guns were fired, and every
body shouted aloud. In the midst of this noise Niamkala came

M iit UI—A DIMINUTIVE DKEH.
into camp with some wild boars and a ncheri—a curious little
deer—which were a welcome addition to our bill of fare.


SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT THE LEOPARD.
203
Then, after supper, the men painted themselves and sung songs
over the leopards till I made them go to sleep, which was not till
toward morning. They danced, they sung songs of victory, they
abused and exulted over the deceased leopard. They addressed
comical compliments to its beauty—and it is really a most beauti-
ful animal. They shouted, " Now you will kill no more people!
Now you will eat no more hunters! Now you can not leap on
your prey!" And so on, till the mummery grew past laughing
at.
The next morning, however, I first learned the full extent of
their rejoicing, and the great importance attached to the killing
of this feared beast. I was drawn to where we had suspended
the body to keep the ants from it by a noise of angry quarreling,
and found Niamkala asserting his determination to have the end
of the leopard's tail, while the rest of the hunters were all assert-
ing equal rights to it, and the non-combatants, the bearers of our
luggage, looked on in envious silence, evidently wishing they
could also put in claims. On inquiry, I found that the lucky
possessor of the end of a leopard's tail was sure to be fortunate
among the women, and could, in virtue of this powerful charm,
win as many hearts as he might desire.
Laughing at them, I reserved the desired tail for him among
them who should behave best, and thought I had settled the quar-
rel. But now came a fresh division. Aboko, Niamkala, and Fa-
siko, each wanted the whole brain of the animal. For a few min-
utes a fight seemed imminent on this head, which seemed even
more strenuously disputed than the other. I discovered that the
brain, if properly dried and mixed with some other charm called
monda, and the nature of which I could not understand, gave its
possessor dauntless courage and great fortune on the hunt. And
I was so happy as to persuade my three hunters—who really
needed no such amulet to patch up their courage — that a part
was in this case as good as the whole.-
This settled, I found that the liver was laid before me. As
this had no value or interest for me, I was going to kick it aside
and walk off, but was stopped and entreated to take off the gall,
and myself destroy it. This was to be done to save the whole
party from future trouble. It appears that the negroes believe
the gall of the leopard to be deadly poison, and my men feared
to be suspected of having concealed some of this poison by their


204
TOUCAN.
friends or enemies at Sangatanga. To settle which beforehand I
was now to destroy it, and afterward to bear witness for them, if
by chance they were accused of poisoning. Of course I did so,
though convinced that this is a mere superstitious belief.
This day (2d) my men were all day smoking the great quan-
tity of meat we have on hand. It is magnificent weather for
hunting and for living in the woods. The air is cool and refresh-
ing, the sky clouded, which prevents the sun from being oppress-
ive; the forest trees are in bloom, and, as many are fragrant, this
adds to our pleasure. The nights are very cold indeed, but
against that we manage to protect ourselves. The dews are light,
not near so heavy as they are in the rainy season. The grass is
in great part burned off the prairies, and this affords us much bet-
ter chances and at much less risk than if it were high; for though
our approach is sometimes more difficult, I find that if we get to
leeward of our game and manage cautiously, there is little dif-
ficulty. Every day we shot more or less small and unimportant
game, among which must be counted deer, wild boars, monkeys
without number, and birds. Thus our camp was full of meat
.
As these hunts are commonplace I shall not give them place here,
mentioning only the getting of the new and more important an-
imals.
This day I killed another new bird, a species of toucan, the
Tockus camurus. This is the smallest toucan yet discovered,
the length of my specimen being but fourteen inches. Its bill is
red. The entire throat and breast are amber-brown, tinged with
purple on the rump, and with greenish-bronze on the wings and
tail. The wing-coverts are tipped with white, and this formed
two conspicuous white bars crossing the wings diagonally. The
primary feathers have a single spot of pale purple on each web,
larger on the inner side; the tertiaries are edged with pale pur-
ple on both webs; the under part of the wings is white; the tail
is tipped with white, and the shafts in the tail feathers are yellow-
ish-white, inclining to golden above and white below. This, the
smallest of the known toucans, is an inhabitant of the forests, and
avoids the prairie. It is shy, flies in flocks of from five or six to
a dozen, and is not found north of the equator, at least so far as
I know.
This is the third new bird I have shot in the Cape Lopez coun-
try. Most of the birds found in these woods are common also to


ELEPHANT-HUNT.
205
Southern Africa, and are already described. It is therefore use-
less to mention them here.
On the 5th Aboko and Niamkala brought in a fine boar, and
reported that they had come upon fresh elephants' tracks, where-
upon it was immediately resolved that wc should all turn out
after elephants to-morrow.
Accordingly we hunted all the 6th, but in vain, and slept out
in the woods, determined to try again next day. Elephants are
not very plentiful in this region, at least at this season, and seem
to travel a good deal, not finding their feed in such abundance as
to induce them to stay long in one place. We had traveled near-
ly the whole of the 7th, when at last, late in the afternoon, we
came across our quarry. Emerging from a thick part of the for-
est into the plain which bordered it, we saw to our left, just upon
the edge of the wood, a solitary bull elephant. I had seen the
great beast in menageries, and also in the wild hunt among my
friends the Fans, where all was such confusion that one could not
be said to see any thing distinctly. But here all was still. The
huge animal stood quietly by a tree, innocent of our presence.
And now for the first time in my life I was struck with the vast
bulk of this giant of the forests. The eye and mind had leisure
to dwell upon his size, and the place was well adapted to compar-
isons. Great trees seemed but small saplings to me when I meas-
ured them with the immense beast which was standing placidly
near them.
But there was not much time for this feeling. What we were
to do was to kill him, though I felt a sense of pity at destroying
so great a life. I was very anxious to get the first shot myself,
but, after taking in all the chances of approach, was compelled to
admit that I could not manage it with any certainty. The grass
was burned in every direction to leeward of him, and we dared
not risk approaching him from the windward for fear he should
smell us.
I was therefore reluctantly compelled, as a sensible hunter, to
resign in favor of Aboko, whose eyes glistened with pleasure, as
he thought now to show his skill.
Cocking his musket, he dropped down into the short grass, and
began to creep up to the elephant, slowly, and on his belly. It
was a splendid piece of wood-craft. We stood behind some trees,
whither we had all retired to consult, and watched Aboko as he


206
DIVIDING THE PLUNDER.
glided through the grass, for all the world like a huge boa con-
strictor; for the slight glimpses we caught of his back, as he
moved farther and farther away from us, resembled nothing so
much as the folds of a great serpent winding his way on.
Finally we could no longer distinguish any motion. Then all
was silence and impatient waiting, suddenly broken by the sharp
report of a gun ringing through the wood and over the plain, and
eliciting screams of surprise from sundry scared monkeys and
birds who had perhaps watched the secret approach with us,
though from a better point of view. As the smoke cleared away
I saw the huge beast helplessly tottering, till it finally threw up
its trunk and fell in a dead mass at the foot of a tree. The men
began to shout with excitement at such a good shot, and we all
hurried up to the shapeless black mass, whose flesh was yet quiv-
ering with the death-agony. Aboko's bullet had entered its head
below the ear, and, striking the brain, was at once fatal.
Aboko began to make fetich-marks on the ground around the
body, and this done we took an axe which we had carried along
and broke the skull, in order to get out the two tusks. These
belonged to Aboko of right, but, as he was King Bango's slave,
he was bound to give one to that sable tyrant. The proceeds of
the other would be divided among the party, Aboko retaining, of
course, the most considerable share. The tusks weighed but 30
pounds each.
We slept that night near our prize, about which the natives
built a ring of fire to keep off intruders. The next morning,
when news came into camp of our luck, all the fellows hurried
out to bring in the meat, which was immediately smoked, and
was to be carried into Sangatanga to be sold and given away.
I never saw men happier than these poor fellows. They ate
nothing but meat, but ate such quantities that several of them
have got sick, and I have been obliged to give them laudanum in
brandy to cure their diarrhoea. The camp is full of meat, and as
we have no salt it does not smell particularly well. Indeed, I
had to have a separate shanty built on one side and to leeward
of the camp, where all the meat is now smoked and kept, as I
could not stand the smell. At night the negroes lie around the
fires, the jolliest of mortals, drinking palm wine, which they col-
lect regularly from neighboring trees, and smoking tobacco when
I am generous to them.


RUN AGAINST A BOA.
207
Meantime I stuffed such animals as were worth taking along •
and as provisions were plenty and the weather incomparably fine,
my men in good spirits and myself healthy, we were in no hurry
at all, and could afford to lose a day or two in idleness. Differ-
ent work this from traveling in the forests of the Moondah and
Gaboon, where starvation stares one in the face the whole time,
and there is no time to idle from point to point.
On the 14th I went out on a boar-hunt. Fresh tracks had
been found near the camp, and three of us went out to get a shot.
"We had not gone far when we heard to the right of us the grunts
of some pigs. As they are very wild, we jumped hastily behind
some trees to conceal ourselves. My horror may be imagined,
when, stepping quickly without looking, I stumbled over some-
thing in my path, and, looking down, found myself running
against an immense serpent of the boa kind which lay snugly
coiled up beside my tree. A look showed me that the thing was
in a state of stupefaction, consequent, probably, on having eaten
too heavy a dinner. It scarcely moved, and did not raise its head.
I ran to Niamkala and borrowed a kind of heavy cutlass he car-
ried with him, and with a blow of this cut the pithon in two
pieces, which instantly began to squirm about in a very snaky
and horrible way. During this death-struggle the monster void-
ed the body of a young deer, which was in a half-digested condi-
tion, but still sufficiently firm to enable us to distinguish what
kind of animal it was.
The noise made in killing the snake, which proved, by the way,
to be not quite 20 feet long, of course frightened off the wild pigs.
We pursued them, and by good management came up with the
herd, ten in number, in about an hour's time, and managed to bag
two. Besides these pigs, my hunters carried the two halves of
the serpent to the camp. They make a kind of soup or stew of
boa, of which they are very fond. I have never tasted it, and
can therefore say nothing against it.
After this day of hard hunting I slept sweetly on my primitive
couch, which consists, I may as well explain, of a couple of mats
spread on the bare and soft earth, and a thick blanket for cover,
the blue star-lit sky being my canopy and roof.
The 16th and 17th were passed in shooting birds about the
camp, some of which I have stuffed, but no new ones. The men
had meantime been hunting and exploring in various directions;


208
LYING OUT FOR BUFFALO.
and as they reported that great herds of buffalo (Bos brachicheros)
frequented every night a prairie situated about ten miles from
our camp, I determined to have a set-to with these gentlemen.
We set out toward sunset of the 17th, and by 8 o'clock reached
the forest which bounded the prairie in which we hoped to find
our game. Securing for ourselves safe hiding-places in the woods
on the edge of the plain, we lay down and waited.
Now waiting is tedious; but waiting in a cold night from 8 to
2 o'clock, every moment expecting what does not come, is apt to
try the patience. Mine was entirely gone, and I wished myself
comfortably under my blanket in camp, when suddenly they
came. Aboko heard them coming, and presently a herd of about
25 stately animals emerged from the woods and scattered quietly
about the grassy plain. The moon was going down, and we
could see from our hiding-place the long shadows of the buffaloes
silently gliding one way and another, but never near enough to
us for a shot. Soon they felt quite at ease and began feeding,
ever and anon gamboling sportively with each other. Seeing
them engaged, we crawled upon them with great care, and at a
snail's speed. We had almost got within safe range when a sud-
den change of wind discovered us to them. They snuffed up the
air suspiciously, and instantly gathering together disappeared in
the woods.
Here was ill-luck. My hunters cursed in Shekiani, and I grum-
bled in several languages. But there was still hope. Silently
we crawled back to our lair, and waited patiently for two mortal
hours more; when at last two, a male and female, stalked leisure-
ly into the field and began to crop the grass. It was now dark.
The moon had gone down, leaving us only the uncertain light of
the stars. We watched the motions of the buffaloes until we
thought we could venture, and silently crawled toward them
again. This time we got within range. I chose the bull for my
shot, and Niamkala took the cow, while Aboko was ready to sec-
ond me with his gun in case I should not kill my animal. We
fired both at once, and, by pure good luck, for the light was not
enough to afford a chance for a fair shot, both the animals fell
down dead.
It was now nearly daylight, and we concluded to return to the
camp and send men to bring in the meat, thinking that no wild
beasts would trouble our prizes at such unseasonable hours. But


THE BOS BRACHICHEROS.
209
we reckoned without a hungry leopard; for, though the men made
haste and arrived early, the cow was already half eaten. The
poor leopard who ventured out so early in the morning must
have been nearly famished, and I did not much grudge him his
meal, though I should have liked to have watched for him and
shot him, had I thought of his coming.
On the 22d we broke up the camp and started for Sangatanga.
The day before was a busy day. The men were packing their
meat, which they thought to make much profit from in Sanga-
tanga. They made baskets of palm-leaves, in which it was solid-
ly packed away. And all the time they were working at this
they were boasting of how much tobacco, rum, and other dainties
they would get for all this. I was glad to let them carry it,
though it did interfere with my time and delayed my progress;
for they work better when their master gives them such little
privileges, which make them quite happy. But I knew their
plans were of little account. As I foresaw, they gave half of their
meat away to their friends; and of the rest, what they did not eat
themselves, or waste, or give away to begging friends, was a very
trifle indeed, and not enough to trade.
For myself, I had my stuffed specimens to pack securely in
such a way that they would be portable. The monkeys and birds,
and even the deer, were easily carried; but the valuable speci-
mens of the Bos brachicheros were an inconvenient load. And
with these, as they are a quite new and hitherto undescribed spe-
cies of buffalo, and a very singularly formed animal, I was obliged
to be most careful.
All which puts me in mind that the reader has not yet had a
description of this animal. It is the wild buffalo of this part of
Africa, and a fierce and shy beast; terrible if only wounded, when
it often attacks the hunter with headlong fury; and very hard
to come up with when it has been much hunted. It remains in
the forest thicknesses by day, but comes out into the open prairie
by night in herds of from ten to twenty or twenty-five. I have
seen them in the prairie in the daytime, but very seldom; while,
in many parts, these great grass-fields are alive with them every
night. Here they were shy; but in one of my later trips I met
great herds which had evidently never been chased. Here, on
my appearance, the bull, who is easily distinguished by the dark-
er color of the short thin hair, would rise up, straighten up his
O


210
THE NIARE.
fine fringed ears, and his thin, wiry tail, and gaze at me with blank
astonishment, until, if I waited long enough, all would slowly
move off into the forest. A wounded bull is a dangerous ani-
mal, and pretty sure to attack the hunter if it can get at him.
When much hunted they become very shy, and forsake the prai-
rie altogether by day.
The Bos brachicheros is an animal in size and weight equal to our
lighter cattle, but having greater strength. In the female, the
body is covered with a coat of thin red hair, which grows longer
along the spine, and is there of a reddish-black. In the bull the
hair is generally darker. The legs, below the knees, are of a dark
brown; lighter in the female. The hoofs are longer and sharper

BOS BBAOinCIlEBOS, OK MA1LL: WILD BULL Or EQ.UATOKLAL AFBICA-


CONCEALING MEAT.
211
than those of our tame cattle. The tail is nearly bare to its end,
where there is a considerable tuft of black hair several inches
long.
The head is very pretty, and has something of the lightness of
the deer's. The muzzle is black; ears long and pointed, and
fringed with beautiful silky hair several inches long, which adds
much to the grace of the animal. The horns are thrown back-
ward in a graceful curve, are ten or twelve inches long, black,
flat at their base, and rounded near the end. For about five inch-
es from the face the horns are corrugated, the wrinkles being in
four distinct rows, and apparently giving strength to the horn.
Where the corrugations cease the horn grows suddenly smaller,
and round and smooth, terminating finally in a sharp point. This
smooth portion has a polish like black ebony.
The proportions of the animal are fine and graceful. It is fleet
of foot, and has not the clumsiness of the buffalo. Indeed, in ex-
pression and general shape, it gives one the idea of a mixture be-
tween the antelope and the common cow.
Having packed every thing, we finally made a start for Sanga-
tanga on the 22d. My men are loaded down, and groan at every
step. They have, besides my skins and stuffed animals, about a
thousand pounds of meat of their own; and it seems lucky that
our powder and shot began to run out, for, if we had shot much
more, we should have had to send for re-enforcements of men to
carry off the spoils. This is the finest game country I have met
in this part of Africa, and is greatly encouraging to a poor fellow
who like me has been starving, and shooting scarce any thing, in
the wilds north of the Gaboon.
My men seem very jolly, though groaning under their burdens,
and I am glad to see them happy. When we got within three
miles of Sangatanga they buried the greater part of their meat in
the forest, and begged me to say nothing about it to their people
or to King Bango, that they might not be robbed by the king
and people. Of course, I readily promised. They described how
they would go out by night and bring their meat to the little
plantation, of which nearly all these people own one; there it
would be eaten at leisure.
We reached King Bango's residence on the afternoon of the
23d. The men, who were his slaves, immediately surrendered to
him a great part of what they had brought in, whether meat or


212 AT KING BANGO'S.
ivory; and then, protesting that this was all, were let go about
their business, and to tell their adventures to their excited towns-
men, amid whose enthusiastic acclamations we had entered the
town.
Then I was left alone with the king, who seemed worse than
when I left. He was alarmed—feared to die; and remarked that
it was very singular that he had been taken worse immediately
after my departure, and that, in fact, he grew sick even on that
night when I slept in bis house. I saw that the old fellow thought
I had bewitched him. It would be curious if even I should be
really accused of witchcraft in this country. I replied that I did
not know what caused his sickness, but that I also had been ill;
and that doubtless the season had something to do with it, this
being the cold month. He still looked unpleasant; and to put a
stop to a discussion which would never have been settled, I told
him that I was not a wizard, and that I was very hungry and
tired. ,
Hereupon he ordered one of his wives to make coffee for me;
which was done by building a fire in a half barrel filled with earth
which stood in one corner of the room. By the time my eyes
were nearly smoked out of my head my coffee was ready, and, as
there were added to it some crackers and butter, I made quite a
meal, having eaten nothing before since breakfast.
My house was too far off to reach it with my specimens that
night, and, remembering King Bango's rats, I staid with him
only with great fear and trembling, carefully hanging up my an-
imals.
I slept scarce any, but enjoyed the rest amazingly. My whole
body was sore, and my legs ached with real pains. This was the
effect of so much walking. I had not felt it so much while on
the way, but, now that rest came, I could not sleep for these pains.
The next two days I did nothing but lie in the sun. My men
sent word that they, too, could not walk as far as my house to get
their pay, so that I am not alone in my sufferings. Meantime
people come in from all the country round to see me. They say
they never saw such a white man before; and the majority have
doubts about my sanity, which are expressed and discussed in my
hearing with the greatest earnestness.
My men came on the 27th to be paid. They were nearly re-
covered, but said they never saw a man walk so much as I did.


FETICH WORSHIP.
213
We parted with great good-feeling. If I ever want them they
will be glad to come with me; and I should be glad to have
them, for they were a very good set of fellows. Meantime I suf-
fered a good deal from inflammation in my legs, and was obliged
to lay up, so that it was July before I was able to go any where
beyond the village.
"Walking down the village one day I saw a negro carpenter
fellow go into his private fetich-house, and was lucky enough to
be able to watch his motions without being discovered. He first
built a little fire in the middle of the hut, then stripped and mark-
ed his body with white chalk, making very peculiar and careful
stripes on one of his arms and in the centre of his breast. While
doing this, which took some time, he kept up a constant mum-
bling of words which I could not understand, but which were
doubtless prayers addressed to his fetich. Then the fire was ex-
tinguished and the hut was shut. When he came out I laughed
at him; but he took the whole matter very seriously, of course,
and told me that the spirit Numba, which has its dwelling in the
ocean, had gone into his chest, and would kill him if he had not
exorcised it by the ceremony I saw. This spirit Numba has also
something to do with the moon, but what I could not discover.
On the 29th the king announced to his faithful subjects that
bis big fetich had informed him that within a month a slave-ship
would come in for a cargo. Of course, eveiy body firmly believes
this; and if by any chance it should turn out differently, they
would yet believe the next prophecy which the royal fetich or
any other shall make. I suppose the king had a dream, and
thought his fetich spoke.
I find it difficult to get any thing to eat here, as I have no rum
and the factories have, and rum is the chief article of demand
among the negroes. In fact, I was in such straits that I was
obliged to ask one of the factory-people to buy some food for me,
I paying him in articles which the natives use, but would not buy
of me because I had no rum to give.
The king sent his mafouga to ask if I would give him a few
heads of tobacco. King Bango is not only a great beggar, but a
great miser. He is the richest negro on this part of the coast, for,
besides his hundreds of slaves and his three hundred wives, he
has in his store-rooms, securely piled up, very considerable quan-
tities of goods, which he delights to see increased, and to which


214
A FETICH BIRD.
only one person besides himself has access. This is an old wom-
an, who was the wife of his father, and is now his own wife by
right of inheritance. The slavers he has in his power, as he could
destroy their factories if they offend him, and they would have
no remedy; to them, therefore, he is very exacting, forcing them
to give him considerable quantities of muskets, powder, and cal-
ico. When I came, knowing the king's rapacity, I made haste
to tell him that I did not come to buy slaves, and that I should
not have much to give him. He, nevertheless, begs all he can of
me.
As I came from seeing the king I shot at a bird sitting upon a
tree, and missed it. I had been taking quinine, and was nervous.
But the negroes standing around at once proclaimed that this was
a fetich-bird, and therefore I could not shoot it.
I fired again, and missed again. Hereupon they grew triumph-
ant in their declarations, while I, loth to let the devil have so good
a witness, loaded again, took careful aim, and, to my own satis-
faction and their dismay, brought my bird down.
Immediately they explained that I was a white man, and not
entirely amenable to fetich laws, so that I do not suppose my shot
proved any thing to them after all.
The grass has been for some time very dry, and by regular
custom the people should ere now have mowed down a broad
strip of it surrounding each house. This, for some reason, has
been omitted, and the consequence was that, on the last of June,
a high wind blowing from the sea, some grass accidentally caught
fire near the shore, and in a very short time the whole village
was in flames, and burned to the ground. I never heard such
screams and lamentations, though the loss was trifling, most of the
natives keeping any valuables they may have out at their planta-
tion-houses, where they are safe from the attacks of their most
feared enemy, the men-of-war, who, if they come, might throw a
few shells into the town, and burn every thing in short order.
During my stay in the village, as I was one day out shooting
birds in a grove not far from my house, I saw a procession of
slaves coming from one of the barracoons toward the farther end
of my grove. As they came nearer I saw that two gangs of six
slaves each, all chained about the neck, were carrying a burden
between them, which I presently knew to be the corpse of anoth-
er slave. They bore it to the edge of the grove, about 300 yards


216
A PLEASURE TRIP.
in this rude Cape Lopez country to be born of a slave mother is
a disgrace, and debars the unfortunate from much of the respect
and authority which his daily companions enjoy, and this though
the child so born is in reality free, as it follows the condition of
the father. The slave, in Africa, does not speak for himself. If
he is in trouble, if there is an "adultery palaver," a " stealing pa-
laver," or "trading palaver," his master must speak for him, and
clear him if possible. And as for burial, the funeral of a free
Oroungou man is a very ceremonious affair, and he is laid away on
the ground with the utmost care, and in a very specially prepared
place. No worse insult could be offered to him than to suppose
that his remains would rest in such a spot as this horrible barra-
coons burying-ground.
Indeed, the Oroungou cemetery, where the Cape Lopez people
are laid away to rest, is a place very well worth a visit. I passed
it on my way down to the extreme sandy point of the cape,
where King Bango's people fish in the dry season, and whither I
went to see their operations.
My old hunting-friend Fasiko got together a party of about
forty men to accompany me on a visit to Fetich Point, the Fe-
tich River, and the end of Cape Lopez, the bearings of which
places from Sangatanga the reader will find easily on the map.
We were to travel through a barren country, and the women,
therefore, prepared for us a great quantity of farina (powdered
manioc), baskets of ground-nuts, and sweet potatoes, and bunches
of plantains. Fasiko got together a lot of mats to sleep on, and
brass kettles to cook in, and the men were laden with salt to
salt the fish which they were to catch, and with the large copper
dishes called neptunes, in which they were to boil down salt wa-
ter to get other supplies of salt, which is made in considerable
quantities here in the dry season.
It was a very jolly party, for Cape Lopez is the Cape May or
Nahant of Sangatanga and the dry season answers to our July,
when every body that is any body is supposed to be out of town
and " down at the sea-side;" with this difference, however, that the
Sangatangians, having no civilized amusements, and in fact little
amusement of any kind, make a good thing of their " summer out
of town" by catching, salting, drying, and smoking great quanti-
ties of good fish, which abound about Cape Lopez. So the wom-
en carried fish-baskets instead of trunks, and the men were armed


OROUNGOU BURYING-GROUND.
217
with fish-nets—made by them of the fibre of a vine—and guns.
For leopards lurk in the jungle on the south side of the cape; the
boa hangs from the trees waiting for its prey; and if you get up
early, as every body at a watering-place should, you may see
huge elephants trotting down along the beach and cooling their
tender toes in the surf.
Fetich Point was our first place of call. We set out across the
wide bay one fine, clear, bright morning, in four crowded canoes.
We reached the point a little before dark, and the men, who seem-
ed alive and jolly as could be, at once cast their net in a way not
materially different from our hand-nets, and made a great haul of
fish.
Fetich River is one of the numerous mouths which form the
delta of the Nazareth; which important stream, striking the low
country about thirty miles back, is lost and divided into numerous
little streams, which fall into the bay through a tangled, dreary,
and poisonous tract of mangrove swamp where no one lives, and
where I doubt if even beasts, except serpents, are to be found. -
This tract of swamp, interspersed with occasional marshes of stand-
ing water, extends for many miles along here, and is, in its pres-
ent state, entirely useless, and an injury to the otherwise pleasant
coast-line.
The fish caught, we landed, lighted fires, and, having eaten our
suppers, prepared for a night's rest by spreading mats upon the
sand.
Near Fetich Point is the Oroungou burying-ground, and this I
went to visit the following morning. It lay about a mile from
our camp toward Sangatanga, from which it was distant about
half a day's pull in a canoe. It is in a grove of noble trees, many
of them of magnificent size and shape. The natives hold this
place in great reverence, and refused at first to go with me on my
contemplated visit, even desiring that I should not go. I explain-
ed to them that I did not go to laugh at their dead, but rather to
pay them honor. But it was only by the promise of a large re-
ward that I at last persuaded Niamkala, who was of our party,
to accompany me. The negroes visit the place only on funeral
errands, and hold it in the greatest awe, conceiving that here the
spirits of their ancestors do wander about, and that these are not
lightly to be disturbed. I am quite sure that treasure to any
amount might be left here exposed in perfect safety.


218 MODE OF OROUNGOU BURIAL.
The grove stands by the sea-shore. It is entirely cleared of
underbrush, and, as the wind sighs through the dense foliage of
'the trees and whispers in the darkened, somewhat gloomy grove,
it is an awful place, even to an impressible white man. Niam-
kala stood in silence by the strand while I entered the domains
of the Oroungou dead.
They are not put below the surface. They lie about beneath
the trees in huge wooden coffins, some of which, by their new
look, betokened recent arrivals; but by far the greater number
were crumbling away. Here was a coffin falling to pieces, and
disclosing a grinning skeleton within. On the other side were
skeletons, already without covers, which lay in dust beside them.
Every where were bleached bones and mouldering remains. It
was curious to see the brass anklets and bracelets in which some
Oroungou maiden had been buried still surrounding her whiten-
ed bones, and to note the remains of goods which had been laid
into the same coffin with some wealthy fellow, now mouldering to
• dust at his side. In some places there remained only little heaps
of shapeless dust, from which some copper, or iron, or ivory orna-
ment gleamed out to prove that here, too, once lay a corpse.
Passing in to a yet more sombre gloom, I came at last to the
grave of old King Pass-all, the brother of the present majesty.
The coffin lay on the ground, and was surrounded on every side
with great chests, which contained the property of his deceased
majesty. Among these chests and on top of them were piled huge
earthenware jugs, glasses, mugs, plates, iron pots and bars, brass
and copper rings, and other precious things which this old Pass-
all had determined to carry at last to the grave with him. And,
also, there lay around numerous skeletons of the poor slaves who
were, to the number of one hundred, killed when the king died,
that his ebony kingship might not pass into the other world with-
out due attendance.
It was a grim sight, and one which filled me with a sadder awe
than even the disgusting barracoons ground.
Between Fetich Point and the river lay formerly the village of
the Cape Lopez people; but now the king and all his subjects
have moved to Sangatanga, and this whole district is deserted, ex-
cept in the fishing season.
The land-breeze blowing when I returned, we started for the
sandy point of the cape. It is a curious beach, very low, and so


AN AFRICAN WATERING-PLACE.
219
covered with a short scrub which hides a part of the view, while
the sand ahead is undistinguishable at a distance from the water,
which it barely rises above, that I was repeatedly disappointed;
thinking we had come to the end, when in fact we had still be-
fore us a long, narrow sand-spit. Finally we reached the extreme
end, and landed in the smooth water on the inside of the spit in a
kind of harbor.
The point gains continually upon the sea, and every year a lit-
tle more sand appears above the water; while the line of short
shrubs, which acts as a kind of dam or breakwater, is extended,
and holds the new land against old Neptune's attacks.
Among these shrubs we built our camp; and here, for some
days, we had a very lively time. The women were all day on
the shore making salt; and the poor children had hard work too,
for their share was to gather brushwood for the fires. Some of
the men took fish in their nets; and others split them, cleaned,
salted, dried, and smoked them, which done, they were put away
in baskets. The salt, too, when made, was packed securely in
baskets, and placed near the fire to keep it dry.
Others went out early in the morning to turn turtles. These
animals come on the beach to lay their eggs in the sand, where
the sun hatches them out. The negroes lie in wait for them in
parties, and often turn twenty in a morning. Two or three men
rush upon an unwieldly turtle, and, with one jerk, roll it over on
its back, where it lies, vainly struggling to recover its legs, until
the turning is done, when all hands begin to kill and clean. The
meat is smoked.
As for myself, I had brought along an immense shark-hook
and a stout rope, and amused myself by hooking up occasionally
one of the vast numbers of sharks which swarm in the waters
about the cape, and are often almost washed upon the beach by
the waves. I never saw such immense numbers of sharks as are
found here. The Chinese, who eat shark-fins, would find here
enough to glut the Canton market for a season.
But there was hunting too. South of the cape was a dense for-
est, in which might be found all the animals which live in an
African wood. We saw elephants on the beach, but shot none.
I shot great numbers of sea-fowl, which fly about here in such
flocks as almost darken the air. And returning one evening from
'he forest, whither Aboko, Niamkala, and I had been on a fruit-


220 KILLING A LEOPARD.
less hunt, we fell in with larger game. Passing along the edge
of the forest, we were suddenly startled by a deep growl, and,
looking quickly about, perceived an immense male leopard couch-
ing for a spring into our party. Fortunately we were loaded with
ball, and in a flash we all three fired into the beast. It was al-
ready upon the spring, and our shot met it as it rose. It fell,
dead and quivering, within a foot of Aboko, who may be said to
have had a very narrow escape. It was an immense animal; and
its skin, which I preserved as a trophy, is most beautifully shaded
and spotted. In fact, there is scarcely a more beautiful animal ill
the world than the African leopard.
On my return to Cape Lopez, I sailed back with my specimens
to the Gaboon, whither I was glad to return once more to take a
little civilized comfort. I remained several months near the Ga-
boon, exploring the course of that river and the country about
its borders, and finally set off on my longest and most adventur-
ous journey.


THE CAMMA COAST.
221
CHAPTER XIII.
The "Camma Country."—Coast.—Surf.—Trade.—The Caroline.—A mixed Crew.
—A dusky Bride.—A Squall.—On her Beam-ends.—Native Traders.—Ranpano.
—Sangala Troubles.—Nearly a Fight.—The City of Washington.—Attempt at As-
sassination.—The Camma People.—Aniambia.—River Navigation.—Men refuse
to advance.—King Olenga-Tombi.—A Dance.—Fetich-houses.—Spirit Wor-
ship.—A mad Bull.—Cheating the King.—Live Gorilla brought in.—How caught.
—Ferocity of the Animal.—Joe escapes.—Is recaptured.—Habits and Peculiari-
ties of Joe.—Hippopotamus-shooting.—Night-hunting.—Hippopotamus Meat.—
Habits of the Animal.—Hide.—Use of the Tusks.—They capsize Boats.—Peace-
able if not attacked.—Voice.—Combative.—Adventures with Hippopotami.
During a somewhat protracted stay at the Gaboon, I prepared
myself thoroughly for my next and most important tour. I had
long "been anxious to explore thoroughly the tract known as the
Camma country; a region, like those I had just visited, totally un-
known to white men, but much more interesting and important—
to judge it by its products—than the others, as it is also more ex-
tensive, and watered by larger streams.
The "Camma country" begins to the south of Cape Lopez in
lat. 0° 40' S., and extends to the southward as far as the River
Camma, in lat. 1° 50' S., and to the east for about fifty miles
from the coast. It is a well-watered region; the Mexias, and
some minor branches of the great Ogobay River, running into the
sea in its northern bounds, while the Fernand Vaz, the Camma,
and the Setti have their mouths farther down, at various points
of the Camma coast.
The coast-line is generally low and swampy; a heavy surf
makes landing difficult, except at a few points protected by the
shape of the land, and the shore, viewed from the sea, has so mo-
notonous an aspect that seamen find it difficult to recognize their
whereabouts, even after considerable experience of the coast.
The mouths of the rivers, however, are readily recognized by the
great streams of fresh water which they send with considerable
force into the sea, discoloring it for some distance from shore, as
also by the breakers on the bars which line these mouths.
The surf on the coast is much worse during the dry season, or


222
NATIVE SEAMANSHIP.
from June to September. During the rains landing is much
easier; but even then one needs skillful natives and the best ca-
noes. For this reason the trade along this part of the coast is not
very brisk; vessels touch but seldom; and I found that I was
even obliged to purchase a little vessel to carry me from the Ga-
boon to the scene of my first (intended) settlement . This was a
cutter, open or undecked, of about seven tons burden. Her I in-
tended to use in case it should be desirable to return at any time
when no ship offered.
I knew by experience that I should meet with more than usual
difficulties in my attempts to penetrate into the interior. The
natives here had never heard of me; they had had so little in-
tercourse with whites that they were even more jealous than
those to the north; and I expected nothing less than to have, in
the first place, to win their confidence and respect by living among
them near the coast for a considerable time. For this reason I
made preparations for an absence of from fourteen to twenty
months from the Gaboon.
I loaded the Caroline, a schooner of forty-five tons, with two
hogsheads of tobacco, several large bales of prints, a great quan-
tity of plates, jugs, and other earthenware vessels; a hundred
muskets, together with powder; beads, swords, brass kettles, nep-
tunes, etc., and a considerable stock of provisions for myself.
When all was ready I went aboard—and should have been glad
to have come immediately ashore again. My captain was a Port-
uguese negro, Cornillo by name. The crew, who numbered no
less than seven, were Mpongwe, Mbinga, and Croomen, no more
than two of whom could understand each other, and not a soul
could understand the captain. To add a little more to this con-
fusion of tongues, I brought aboard two Mpongwe men and their
wives, who were to serve me as head-men, interpreters, and for
other purposes in my new trading location.
We got aboard at daylight, and by dint of steady shouting and
a great deal of standing around, with a little work now and then,
got the anchor up just at dusk. The captain did not much like
that we should leave port on Friday, but I told him I would take
the responsibility. No sooner had we got out into the swell than
every man (and woman) aboard except the captain got sea-sick.
The cook was unable to make breakfast next morning, the men
were lying about looking like dying fish, and in the canoe which


A TOUGH TIME.
223
we had on deck, Oyaya, one of my Mpongwe men, sea-sick him-
self, was vainly striving to comfort his newly-married wife, who
was more sea-sick than he. It was good fun to look at the poor
fellow, who was really in love with his spouse, a young woman
of twenty, who, to my knowledge, had already been married three
times, and must have been gratified at the way she swayed poor
Oyaya.
"We hoped to get down to the Comma region in five days. But
on the 5th, our sailing-day, and for three successive days there-
after, we had light head winds and a head current, and on Feb-
ruary 10th we were caught in such a storm as I hope never to
see at sea again.
The steering had gone on so badly when the captain was below
that I was forced to stand watch. I was sleeping soundly, hav-
ing steered four hours, and had been perhaps an hour in my
berth, when I was awakened by the captain's voice giving orders
to. take down the mainsail. I jumped on deck immediately,
knowing there must be at least a heavy squall coming. But no
sooner did I cast my eye to leeward than I saw how imminent
the danger was. This coast is troubled by frequent squalls of
wind, lasting, in general, but a short time, but of terrible violence,
and followed by torrents of rain. Such a squall was now coming
up. The black clouds which had gathered about the horizon
were becoming lurid white with startling quickness. It seemed
almost as though they were lit up by lightning. This was the
wind, which would now in a moment be upon us. As yet, all
was still.
I turned to see if the mainsail was down, but found nothing
done to meet the squall. The captain was shouting from the
wheel, the men were running about, half scared to death, also
shouting, and in the pitchy darkness (for I could not actually see
my hands when held close before my eyes) no one could find the
halliards. In the midst of our trouble the wind came roaring
down. I seized a knife, determined to cut every thing away; but
just then somebody let go the halliards, and, in the nick of time,
the mainsail came half way down. Just then the squall broke
upon us with the roar and force of a tornado. The jibs flew
away in rags in a moment. The vessel sank over on her beam-
ends. The water rushed on to her decks, and the men sung out
that we were drowning, as, in fact, we should have been in a very


224
NEGRO SPECULATORS.
few minutes. Happily the wind shifted a little, and by the light
of some very vivid lightning we seized on the mainsail and
pulled it down, holding it so that the wind should not catch it
again.
So she righted, and in about twenty minutes the squall died
off, and was succeeded by a rain so driving, pouring down in
such torrents, that we could get no protection from it even below.
The next morning we had no jibs, and our other sails were se-
verely damaged. This did not help us along very fast . It was
not till the 13th that we made the land; but now no one aboard
knew where we were; not even our captain, who brings up every
day an old quadrant, about the use of which he knows as much
as a cow does about a musket. At last a canoe came off to ask
me to come ashore to start a factory, as they had plenty of ivory
and palm-oil and other trade. If I had gone ashore I should
probably have found not a gallon of oil, not the smallest tusk of
ivory. The great anxiety of every one of these negroes is for a
factory, just as a Western town-builder's chief desire is for a rail-
road. They lie, and beg, and almost force a white man ashore,
thinking themselves safe if they can induce him to set up a little
factory and trust them with some goods; for they do not, as a gen-
eral thing, intend to pay him.
However, our speculative friend in the canoe informed us we
were off Cape St. Catherine, and therefore a good many miles
south of the mouth of the Fernand Vaz; so we turned about to
retrace our steps. Sailing close in shore, at every village we pass-
ed we were hailed by canoes full of negroes begging us to start
a factory in their place. In some villages we could even see the
large house, looking very fine from the sea, but doubtless poor
enough seen close to, which was intended for the great factory
which should make every body rich. This house was generally
surrounded by huts, in which lived the natives waiting for their
commercial millennium, which, alas, never comes. I paid no at-
tention to their entreaties, and was even firm enough, to the sur-
prise of every body, to decline a magnificent offer of two slaves
made by the natives of Aniambia, or Big Camma, who came off
with a message from their king.
At last we came to the mouth of the Fernand Vaz, and our
fame and the disappointment of the natives had gone before us.
It had been determined in the Gaboon that I should set up my


MISTAKEN FOR A SLAVER.
225
factory in the town of King Ranpano, who was a friend of Will
Glass, one of my Gaboon allies. As the Caroline passed Ran-
pano's sea-village, of course a canoe came off to beg me to land.
But they evidently had little hope; and their surprise was ex-
travagant when I assented, and told them I had come on purpose
to set up a factory with them.
I never saw men so anxious for trade as these wild Africans
are. They remind me of what is said of Western land specula-
tors; and really they have quite as much enterprise and quite as
sanguine a temperament as those worthies.
Eanpano's men wanted much to hug me, and were so extrava-
gant in their joy that I had to order them to keep their hands off.
I sent one of my men in their boat to bear a message to the king,
and took one of theirs for a pilot, being now anxious to get across
the intricate bar and fairly into the river before dark. As we
sailed along into the river, boats shot out to meet us belonging to
different villages, and presently I had a crowd alongside anxious
to board us, and sufficient almost to sink us. They took me for
a slaver at first, and immediately called out their names in Portu-
guese. One was Don Miguel, another Don Pedro, another Don
Francisco. They began to jabber away in Portuguese, which I
do not understand, so I set my captain at them, who had some
difficulty in persuading them that I came on no such errand.
Then they insisted that I should set up my factory in their place.
They belonged to Elindé, a town just at the mouth of the Fer-
nan Vaz, whose king is named Sangala. They praised the great-
ness and power of Sangala, and decried poor Eanpano, until I had
to order all hands ashore for the night, being anxious to get a
good quiet sleep to prepare for to-morrow.
From Cape St. Catherine to the Fernand Vaz is about forty-five
miles, reckoning in the windings of the shore. The whole coast
along here is low, covered with prairies, wooded here and there.
The landscape has a great sameness, and it is difficult to know
the land. The shore is all along defended by breakers, which
become very formidable in the dry season.
During the night a fellow named Nchouga came off to see me.
He was brother to that King of Cape Lopez of whom I have be-
fore given some account. The king falling sick, accused this
Nchouga of bewitching him; whereupon the latter, to save his life,
fled the country and came down to get protection from Sangala,
P


226
PALAVER AT ELINBE.
his father-in-law. This is one of the uses of fathers-in-law in this
country.
Nchouga now came off to tell me that Sangala was master of
all the river, and that he would not let me go up to Ranpano's,
who was only a vassal of the great Sangala. Therefore he ad-
vised me as a friend to go ashore at Elindé. Fortunately I knew
Mr. Nchouga.
Next morning (14th) Sangala sent off a boat for me. I took two
interpreters, and, on my arrival in Ehudé, which is about two miles
from the river's mouth, was conducted to the best house. Hither
came Sangala presently, drunk, and attended by a great crowd of
eager subjects. He grew very angry when I stated my intention
of passing up the river and going into the interior; declared I
should not; he was the big king there, and I must settle in his
town.
We had some sharp words, and I explained to his majesty that
I was an old African, and saw through all his lies. Then he said
he would not make any palaver if I would have a factory in his
town too.
I refused, but offered to dash him (give him some presents).
He refused this offer. And now, Ranpano having come, and
assuring me that I should be backed up, I told Sangala I should
force my way up.
All this time it was pouring down rain. When the talk end-
ed Ranpano took me in his canoe to his river-village, a town
which the people had but just started, their real town being on
the sea. Thither (to the sea-town) we went next day. I found
it a very substantial place for an African town, having some good
houses, and looking much like a Mpongwe village. But I saw
that my goods could not be brought hither without great trouble,
nor my specimens shipped through the surf without great danger,
and so told Ranpano I must live on the river; whereupon he
gave me at once as much land as I wanted, and I am to have
a house built for myself.
Meantime the excitement had spread over the country, and
all Ranpano's friends gathered to help fight Sangala. It was
really a droll but exciting scene to see canoe after canoe come in,
loaded with armed men, drums beating, and all hands shouting
and waving swords, guns, and spears. All were prepared to as-
sist Ranpano's white man, and all were anxious to burn and plun-


READY FOR BATTLE.
227
der Elindd King Ritimbo, who has a factory in his own town,
kept by a Mpongwe fellow, and belonging to a New York house,
had two canoes and fifty men. King Mombo, from Sanguibui-
ri, had also two canoes; in short, we had in all no less than
twenty big canoes, and could muster, on the morning of the 17th,
about three hundred men, most of whom were drunk on mimbo
wine, and as noisy and as ready for fight as drunkenness will
make an African.
Drams were beat, and songs sung, and guns fired, as we pad-
dled down the river; all hands had their faces painted white—
which is a sign of war—and were covered with fetiches, greegrees,
and other amulets. The white paint had been blessed, and was
also a sovereign protection against danger. One who did not
know the genuine and never-failing cowardice of the Africans,
would have supposed these terrible fellows bent upon the most
bloody of raids. I was not disappointed when, sighting Sangala's
town, they pushed over to the other shore out of the way, and
took care to keep the Caroline between the enemy and them-
selves.
We found that Sangala had also gathered his friends, and had
about one hundred and fifty men ready for fight. These fellows
were painted more outrageously than my side, having red as well
as white applied in broad stripes. They looked like so many
devils, shouting and firing off guns — each side knowing the
common lack of courage, and thinking it prudent to scare the
other in advance.
There was a grand palaver, in the midst of which I sent word
to Sangala that if he stopped me I would blow his canoes out of
water with grape-shot, and then go and bring a man-of-war to
finish him up. (This threat of a man-of-war strikes terror into
their guilty consciences.) I loaded my guns and pistols, and
made my men put good charges into their pieces, and awaited the
event
.
Presently a boat came to ask me ashore, Sangala sending his
chief wife to be hostage for my safety. I determined to go
ashore, and, to show these negroes that I had no fear of them,
took the woman along with me, to her great joy. Ranpano and
his brother kings protested against my rashness, as they thought
it; but I assumed an air, and told them it was not the fashion of
white people to fear any thing. All this has its effect upon


228
HOUSE-BUILDING IN AFRICA.
them, and Ranpano was evidently impressed, as also was old
Sangala.
We met on neutral ground outside his town. His army was
drawn up in battle array, and made a fine savage display, many
of the men, in addition to their paints, wearing beautiful leopard-
skins about their waists. They came up to us at a full trot when
we were seated, and made as though they would spear us all; but
it was only a kind of military salute. After this Sangala said he
would let me pass up for a barrel of rum. I refused to give rum,
but was obliged to give him $16 to go off and buy a barrel. Also
I gave him a number of pieces of cloth and other things, and
then the great quarrel was settled.
Ranpano was delighted. He said he would no more be king,
but install me in his place, and made the greatest promises of good
treatment. We loaded seventeen canoes from the Caroline,
and pulled up to the village where I was to make my home
and head-quarters for some time, and, to my great astonishment,
though we did not reach the town till after dark, not a thing was
stolen. The next day the schooner was emptied, and, I am glad to
say, they stole not a single article of me. I never saw or heard
of such a case of honesty in Africa. Every thing being now at
Ranpano's town, my first work was to prepare my quarters,
where I was to spend some portion, at least, of the next twenty
months, and would leave my possessions in my absence. While
I was thinking over a plan for my house, on the evening of my
arrival, in came Ranpano with his head wife to get his present
.
He came slyly, that his people might not see him, and I made
him happy with ten pieces of cloth, a gun, a neptune, a kettle, and
some beads and other trifles.
The next day every body was set to work. I chose the site
for the house, a beautiful little spot in the high prairie about 150
yards distant from the huts of the village; the very prettiest little
piece of ground, taking in view and all, that I saw in all Africa.
It faced the river which I was to explore, and where a school of
hippopotami were playing about every day on a shoal; had a
grove at its back, and a rivulet of clear spring water rippling
along one side.
Hither every day the men brought me the long straight
branches of a kind of palm growing by the river-side, which are
used for the sides of a native house. Others gathered the leaves


MY LIFE IS THREATENED. 229
of the same tree, from which mats for roofing are made, and yet
others went through the woods collecting wild vines, with which
to tie trie poles or bamboos together, and long slender poles to
set up at the corners to tie the bamboo sides up to. The women
cleaned the ground, and every evening huge piles of building
material were laid at my feet, of which I accepted what was good,
and sent away the poor.
In Africa every room is a separate house; so I had a kitchen in
one corner of my place, a house to keep my goods in another, a
house for my specimens in another, and fowl and goat houses;
my own living house, and huts for my men, whom I intended to
keep with me, all crowded together, and making altogether quite
a little colony. The native carpenter, with his mpano, or native
axe, a hammer, and a knife, made me a rude sort of windows and
doors, for which I had brought hinges and locks with me.
Every thing went on very pleasantly until the 10th of April,
when pay-day came for my men. I had settled with some, when
a fellow who had built my preserving and preparatory house for
animals, for which labor I had promised him $24 in goods, had
the impudence to ask forty for his party. I refused, where-
upon one of the workmen threatened me with his knife. Here
was a very bad case indeed, and one of which I felt that I must
make an example. I ran for my gun, and threatened to shoot
the fellow, who was put out of my way by his friends. Then I
called for the king, and demanded that the rascal should be sent
to my house in chains.
He said " Yes," but evidently did not want to find him; and I,
who felt that I must make an example of the man if I looked
for peace and respect in the future, only insisted the more that
they should catch him.
At last, seeing that they only pretended, I sent for my Croo-
men and began to pack up my goods, saying I would go back to
Gaboon, and would not stay among such men. Just then an
American whale-ship appeared in the offing, and I sent word im-
mediately that I would take passage in her.
The king came to me and upon his knees begged me not to go;
and finally, seeing I was determined, set off with some men for
the plantation where they had stowed the offender. He was one
of the oldest and most influential people of the town, and they
were very loth to give him up.


.230
THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON.
On the next day (the 12th) the man, whose name was Ovenga.
was brought in. The excitement was intense. The people were
gathered in a crowd, and talked over- the matter; the king look-
ed almost pale with anxiety, and Ovenga himself shook like a leaf.
I demanded that he be tied, brought to my house, and severely
flogged. They begged that his cloth might not be taken off, as it
would be a disgrace to expose an old man. To this I consented;
but sat, with a hard, stern face, waiting for the poor criminal.
When at last he stood bound before me, I scolded him well for
his attempt to cheat, and made much of the enormity of his threat
Then I said I could pay only what I had promised; that it was a
great outrage to threaten with a knife; that his own people ac-
knowledged my justice in flogging him; but that, as they did not
know "white man's fashions" in such matters, I had determined
to forgive him, and not flog him at all; with which I set him
free.
Instantly thunders of applause ran through the village, guns
were fired, singing and dancing began all over, and never were
such a set of jolly fellows. It was the only way to treat them.
If I had passed Ovenga's threat by, I should probably have been
murdered at some future time. Now they think more highly of
me than ever for my little piece of justice tempered with mercy.
On the 13th of April I took possession of my new place, which,
being quite a village, I have called Washington. It consists of
my own house, which has five rooms, is forty-five feet long by
twenty-five wide, and cost fifty dollars; my kitchen, four dollars;
fowl-house, containing a hundred chickens and a dozen ducks;
the goat-house, with eighteen goats; a powder-house; two other
tolerably-sized houses for stores, etc., and a dozen huts for my
men. This is Washington in Africa.
Back of me is a wide extent of prairie. In front is the River
Npoulounai winding along; and I can see miles on the way which
I shall soon explore. Its banks are lined with mangroves; and,
looking up stream almost any time, I can see schools of hippopot-
ami tossing and tumbling on the flats.
As I am entirely at the mercy of the negroes now, I am very
strict, but entirely just, in my dealings; making myself obeyed,
and that without loss of time. I made them stop their drumming
at night, and do not let my own men go off without asking leave;
which last seemed a dreadful trouble to them, but one to be en-


THE CAMMA PEOPLE. 231
dured, as I pay them regularly at every full moon their fourteen
fathoms of cloth, besides keeping them in tobacco.
And now, having finished my village, let me say a word about

t AMU A MAM AND WOMAN.
the people. They are very much like the Mpongwe, and have
the same language, with a few local variations. They are divided
into several families, some of which own the right to the sea-
shore, while others are forced by these to remain in the interior,
and send their goods to them to trade off. These are called bush-
men; and, as might be expected, they are poor, as their sea-shore
brethren take care to pick the best of all the trade. They are all
ncute, intelligent, and smart traders, though they have had, even at
the Tiver's mouth, but very little intercourse, so far, with whites.


232
UP THE FERNAND VAZ.
They call themselves the Commi, though we call them Camma
They possess the sea-shore from south of Cape Lopez to Cape St
Catherine, having also one or two villages on the Mexias. Their
chief town is Aniambia, once a large and flourishing place for
these people. But their chief villages are on the banks of the
Fernand Vaz, which is called by the natives the EUva.
The mouth of the Fernand Vaz is obstructed by bars, on which
the sea breaks with considerable violence. But the channel has
generally three, and, in the rainy season, four fathoms water. The
banks at the mouth are low; and it is not only a difficult land-
fall to make from sea, but a very dreary piece of land when
made.
The Camma people are even more anxious for trade than the
Mpongwe; probably because they have not yet had so much com-
merce with white people. Every enterprising Camma fellow
builds a few huts for a village in what he thinks an advantageous
situation; then builds a big house for the factory which is to
come; and then does nothing for the balance of his life but wait
for this blissful coming. It does not occur to him to collect ivory,
or oil, or India-rubber. He prefers rather to lie in wait for pass-
ing vessels, and try with his most honeyed words to persuade some
luckless captain ashore.
It will be seen that the negro tribes about here are much alike
in their general characters. A description of the Mpongwe will
answer tolerably well for all the sea-shore tribes from the Moon-
dah to Cape St. Catherine, making allowance for the greater rude-
ness of those who, like these Camma, have not had much acquaint-
ance with Europeans.
On the 13th of April I bought, for thirty dollars' worth of
goods, a really splendid canoe, which I hoped would be service-
able to me in my up-river explorations. I was now anxious to
be off; and determined to make a short trip to the sea-shore by
way of Aniambia. This would carry me first about thirty-five
miles up the Fernand Vaz, and then across the land, as the reader
will see by referring to the map.
My men were ready, and on the moming of the 14th we set
out. I had satisfied myself that Ranpano was anxious to have
me remain in his town, as were also his people; and I had little
fear of injury to my things in my absence so long as this good
opinion of me was kept up. I therefore called them together be-


APPEARANCE OF THE RIVER.
233
fore my departure, and said that I had perfect confidence in them;
that I -was their white man, and had come to them through much
difficulty and danger {cheers); that Sangala people wanted me, but
I was determined to live /with the honest folks of Biagano [violent
cheering); that I was going away for a few days, and hoped to find
my goods all safe when I came back.
At this there were great shoutings of " You can go!" "Do not
fear!" "We love you!" "You are our white man!" "We will
take care!" and so on; amid which my sixteen men seized their
paddles and shoved off.
Five or six miles above Biagano are some little islands. Aft-
er passing these the river widened, until at Sanguibuiri, twenty
miles above the mouth, it is about three miles wide. The coun-
try was low here, but as we ascended it got higher, and the riv-
er narrowed, often suddenly, till in a few miles it was but half
a mile wide. At nine the moon rose, and we pulled along
through what seemed a charmed scene; the placid stream shaded
by the immense trees which overhung its banks, and the silence
broken now and then by the screech of some night-prowling
beast, or more frequently by the sudden splurge of a playful herd
of hippopotami.
Toward midnight my men became tired, and we went ashore
at a little village which was nearly empty. We could find only
three old women, who were fast asleep, and not particularly anx-
ious to make us welcome. I was too sleepy to stand upon cere-
monies, and stowed myself away under a rough shed without
walls, first building a good fire in front and arranging my mus-
cfuito-bar so as to keep out those buzzing intruders. But I had
hardly laid down when there came up suddenly one of those
fierce tornadoes which pass over these countries in the rainy sea-
son. Fortunately it was a dry tornado, and one discomfort was
thus saved us; but while it lasted I had to stand out in the clear
street, lest some house should fall on me.
Shortly after we left the village next morning (having paid for
our lodgings with the ever-welcome tobacco), we came to a part
of the river where it widened into a considerable and very pretty
bay. This was studded with little green islets, which lie so thick-
ly in places as to form the sluggish stream into numerous little
lakelets, creeks, and narrow straits.
All this while, though we were going up stream, we were not


234
ANIAMBIA.
diverging greatly from the coast-line, and were, in fact, going
down the coast rather than into the interior. The sluggish river
runs through these sandy low banks, unable at any point to force
its way through to the sea, which is, in places, so near that one
may hear its roar.
About ten o'clock of the second day we came to another bay
or lagoonj on whose banks, on a high hill, lies the pretty village
of Igalé Mande\ Hereabouts the river is charming. Thick for-
ests border the banks; and on the trees, as we passed beneath,
sat or skipped about that graceful and curious little monkey, the
mangabel d colier, whose white whiskers give him a very peculiar
and venerable appearance. This town is about forty miles from
the mouth. We found but one man and his wife at home. The
rest had gone to make palm-oil.
Here a part of my crew refused to proceed. It leaked out that
they had been intriguing with some women in Aniambia, and
now they were afraid of being caught by the irate husbands. So
I left them behind, not caring to get into a row by protecting
them, as I should certainly have done if they had gone along. It
would be fatal to a traveler in Africa to let any one, for any
cause, interfere with the men he employs. I never permitted it,
even when my men were in fault.
From Igale' to Aniambia was a two hour's walk through grass-
fields, in which we found numerous birds, some of them new to
me. One in particular, the Mycteria Senegalensis, had such long
legs that it fairly outwalked me. I tried to catch it, but, though
it would not take to the wing, it kept so far ahead that I did not
even get a fair shot at it.
Aniambia lies on the sea-shore, near a point north of Cape St
Catherine; which point makes a safe landing-place. Here was
once the head-quarters of the now scattered Camma people.
Twenty years ago, when King Regundo reigned here, it had
probably a population of nearly three thousand, and was a noted
place for slave-factories, and for ivory and other African produce.
The natives still speak with reverence of their great king. After
his death the chief men in the leading families spread, the town
broke up, and gradually the tribe has become scattered, till it oc-
cupies the wide range of country before noted. The death of
their king was a death-blow to all their prosperity. They have
had but few factories since, and have robbed most of them; and.


KING OLENGA-TOMBI. 235
as they own no king nor head chief, no redress is to be got, and
white men have ceased to come among them. Once in a great
while they get hold of some unlucky captain, ignorant of their
character, whom they fleece without mercy and generally send
away only when they have ruined him.
Still they are as eagerly on the look-out for shipping as ever.
The big trade-house stands in the midst of the village in all its
glory; trie English flag floated to the breeze on the high pole
which every Camma village has, a flag being the sign of a ship
in the offing; and the canoe was ready to launch at short notice to
board some passing merchantman.
The present king, Olenga-Yombi, came in from his plantation
when he heard the joyful news that a white man had arrived, and
I made him a formal visit. He was a drunken old wretch, sur-
rounded by a crowd of the chief men of the town. His majesty
Lad on a thick overcoat, but no trowsers; and, early as it was,
had already taken a goodly quantity of rum or palm wine. I
was invited to sit at his right hand. I told him I had come to
purchase a little ivory and to hunt, having heard that there was
game in his country. After presenting him a few strips of cloth,
some pipes, and several heads of tobacco, which put him in a
good temper, he declared I was a good white man, and should go
wherever I chose.
Accordingly, I went out in the afternoon, but found all around
here a very low country, perfectly flat, and mostly prairie. The
long grass was full of birds, and the long-legged Micteria was in
great numbers. There were also great flocks of a beautiful bird
whose dark golden body-plumage, and snow-white, long, downy
neck, made a very fine and marked contrast with the green grass.
Next to these, in point of numbers, was the snow-white egretta,
which is found in vast flocks all along this coast.
At nightfall I got a guide and went out to see if I could get a
shot at something larger than a bird. Gorilla are said to be found
in the country back of here; but I had no hope of getting a shot
at one here, and was prepared for game of less note. We had
gone but a little way when my guide pointed out to me a couple
of bright glowing spots visible through a piece of thick brush.
The fellow trembled as he whispered "Leopard;" but I saw at
once that it was only the light of a couple of fire-flies who had
got in proper position to make a tolerable resemblance to the
glowing eyes of the feared leopard.


236
NEGKO FANDANGO.
About two o'clock in the morning we at last heard a grunting
which announced the approach of a herd of wild hogs. I lay
in wait near the track they had to pass along, and was fortu-
nate enough to kill the big boar of the pack. The rest of the
herd made off without showing a desire for fight, as these mali-
cious animals do sometimes, and we returned to town with our
trophy.
On the next evening (17th) the king held a grand dance in my
honor. This is an honor I abominate, but one which can not be
declined, because the natives enjoy it too much themselves. All
the king's wives, to the number of forty, and all the women of
the town and neighborhood, were present. Fortunately the dance
was held out in the street, and not in a room, as in Cape Lopez.
The women were ranged on one side, the men opposite. At the
end of the line sat the drummers beating their huge tam-tams,
which make an infernal and deafening din, enough to distract a
man of weak nerves. And, as though for this occasion the tam-
tams were not entirely adequate, there was singing, and shouting,
and a series of brass kettles, which also were furiously beaten;
while as a last, and most ingenious addition, a number of boys
sat near the drummers beating on hollow pieces of wood. It
is curious what a stirring effect the sound of the tam-tam has
on the African. It works upon him like martial music does upon
excitable Frenchmen; they lose all control over themselves at its
sound, and the louder and more energetically the horrid drum is
beaten the wilder are the jumps of the male African, and the
more disgustingly indecent the contortions of the women.
As may be imagined, to beat the tam-tam is not a labor of love.
The stoutest negro is worn out in an hour at farthest, and for
such a night's entertainment as this a series of drummers are re-
quired.
The people enjoyed it vastly, their only regret being that they
had not a barrel of rum to drink in the pauses of the dance. But
they managed to get just as drunk on palm wine, of which a great
quantity was served out. The excitement became greatest when
the king danced. His majesty was pretty drunk, and his jumps
were very highly applauded. His wives bowed down to his feet
while he capered about, and showed him the deepest marks of
veneration, while the drums and kettles were belabored more fu-
riously than ever.
-


FETICHES AND THEIR HOUSES.
237
After standing it as well as I could for two hours, I left; but
though. I lay down I could not sleep all night, for they kept it up
till nearly daylight.
The next day I visited the two fetich-houses. Aniambia en-
joyed the protection of two spirits of very great power, named
Abambou and Mbuirri. The former is an evil spirit, the latter is
beneficent. They are both worshiped; and their accommoda-
tions, so far as I was permitted to see, were exactly alike.
They were housed in little huts, each about six feet square and
six. feet high. The fetich-man, who is also doctor and town-ora-
cle, led me to where they stood together at the end of the village,
and. respectfully opened the doors for me to look into his holy
places.
In the house of Abambou I saw a fire, which I was told is not
permitted to go out. I saw no idol, but only a large chest, on the
top of which lay some white and red chalk and some red parrot-
feathers. The chalk is used to mark the bodies of the devout on
certain occasions when vows are made. The feathers were prob-
ably part of the trappings of the spirit.
Abambou is the devil of the Camma. He is a wicked and mis-
chievous spirit, who lives near graves and in burial-grounds, and
is most comfortably lodged among the skeletons of the dead. He
takes occasional walks through the country; and, if he is angry
at any one, has the power to cause sickness and death. The
Camma cook food for him, which is deposited in lonely places in
the woods; and then they address him in a flattering manner,
and ask him to be good to them, and, in consideration of their
gifts, to leave them alone. I was present once at a meeting where
Abambou was being addressed in public. They cried continu-
ally, "Now we are well! Now we are satisfied! Now be our
friend, and do not hurt us!"
The offerings of plantain, sugar-cane, and ground-nuts, are wrap-
ped in leaves by the free men, but the slaves lay them on the bare
ground. Sometimes Abambou is entreated to kill the enemies of
him who is making the sacrifice. A bed is made in Abambou's
house, and here he sometimes comes to rest himself when he is
tired of going up and down the coast. At the new moon great quiet
reigns in the Camma villages, and then the people pray to their
spirits, of whom each family or subdivision of the tribe owns two,
kept in a small hut in the village of the oldest chief of that family.


238
IFOUTA TOSSED.
Mbuirri, whose house I next visited, is lodged and kept much
as his rival. He is a good spirit, but has powers much the same
as Abambu, so far as I could see. Being less wicked, he is not so
zealously worshiped.
There is a third and much dreaded spirit, called Ovengua.
This is the terrible catcher and eater of men. He is not worship-
ed, and has no power over diseases. But he wanders unceasing-
ly through the forests, and catches and destroys luckless travel-
ers who cross his path. By day he lives in dark caverns, but at
night he roams freely; and even sometimes gets into the body of
a man, and beats and kills all who come out in the dark. Some-
times, they relate, such a spirit is met and resisted by a body of
men, who wound him with spears, and even kill him. In tins
case his body must be burned, and not even the smallest bone
left, lest a new Ovengua should arise from it. There are many
spots where no object in the world would induce a Camma negro
to go by night, for fear of this dreadful monster. It is really a
frightful superstition to an ignorant and credulous people, and I
do not wonder at their fear.
They have a singular belief that when a person dies who has
been bewitched, the bones of his body leave the grave one by
one, and form in a single line, which line of bones gradually be-
comes an Ovengua.
It is not an easy matter to get at the religious notions of these
people. They have no well-defined ideas of them themselves,
and on many points they are not very communicative.
I started out early on the 19th to try and get a shot at some
buffalo which were said to be in the prairie back of the town.
Ifouta, a hunter, accompanied me, and met with an accident
through losing his presence of mind. We had been out about an
hour, when we came upon a bull feeding in the midst of a little
prairie surrounded by a wood which made our approach easy.
Ifouta walked around opposite to where I lay in wait, that if the
animal took alarm at him it might fly toward me; and then began
to crawl, in the hunter fashion, through the grass toward his prey.
All went well till he came near enough for a shot . Just then,
unluckily, the bull saw him. Ifouta immediately fired. The
gun made a long fire, and he only wounded the beast, which,
quite infuriated, as it often is at the attack of hunters, immedi-
ately rushed upon him.








THE KING IS TRICKED. 241
It was now that poor Ifouta lost his presence of mind. In
such cases, which are continually happening to those who hunt
the Bos brachicheros, the cue of the hunter is to remain perfectly
quiet till the beast is within a jump of him, then to step nimbly
J to one side and let it rush past. But Ifouta got up and ran.
'Of course, in a moment the bull had him on his horns. It toss-
ed him high into the air once, twice, thrice, ere I could run up,
and, by my shouts, draw its fury to myself. Then it came rush-
ing at me. But my guns do not hesitate, and, as I had a fair shot,
I killed it without trouble.
Ifouta proved to be considerably bruised, but, on the whole,
more scared than hurt; and when I had washed him off in a
creek near by, he was able to walk home.
The next day (20th of April) I was to go home, and the king
came to take leave of me, when a funny scene occurred. His
majesty made a long stay, and his subjects, some of whom were
awaiting his departure to do a little private trading with me, as
they dared not let the king see the goods they got of me, got out
of patience; so they sent in a messenger to say that a man was
anxious to speak to his majesty in his house. The king went
off, and had no sooner gone than in rushed the men, handed me
their ivory, and begged me to hurry and give them their goods.
I had just done so when the king reappeared, with a stout stick
in his hands, and laid about him in a great rage at having been
made a fool of; while the poor wretches dropped their little bun-
dles and made their escape as best they might.
To return to Ranpano's town we took a different road, by which
we reached the river much quicker. The whole country here-
abouts is a beautiful prairie-land, well wooded at frequent inter-
vals. On the road we passed a place in a forest which is supposed
to be haunted by the spirit of a crazy woman who, some genera-
tions ago, left her home in a neighboring village to live here, and
who has been an object of dread to the negroes ever since. They
believe that she still cultivates her plantation in some hidden cor-
ner of the forest, and that she often lies in wait for travelers,
whom she beats and kills out of pure malice.
On the borders of the river we found the village of Makaga-
Oungion, the chief of which had come down to help fight the San-
gala people on my account, for which reason I was glad to be
civil to him. The town was situated in a lovely spot, with a fine
Q


242
TOWN REMOVED.
sandy prairie on one side and a forest on the other. The scenery
was very enticing. I should like to have staid here some time
—the more so, as Makaga told me that the cry of the gorilla is
heard frequently in these woods, and the animals are daring
enough to come down and rob the plantain and sugar-cane plant-
ations.
We paddled all night, and reached Biagano on the morning of
the 24th. Canoe navigation is not at any time pleasant, least of
all by night. But this time we had an added unpleasantness in
getting by accident among a school of gamboling hippopotami,
who rose all around us, and, by their boisterous motions, several
times nearly capsized us.
I found, on my return, that all the Biagano people had moved
from the sea-shore and built them huts near my house. I had
reason to fear for my fowls and goats; but, on remonstrating, was
assured by all hands that they would not steal from me, and that
they did not want to live away from their white man. Tobacco
was what brought them to me. They thought they would get
none unless they were near me. I was forced to be satisfied;
and, indeed, must acknowledge that they behave with great pro-
priety.
On the 4th of May I had one of the greatest pleasures of my
whole life. Some hunters who had been out on my account

YOUNQ GORILLA.
brought in a young gorilla alive! I can not describe the emo-
tions with which I saw the struggling little brute dragged into


WE CATCH A LIVE GORILLA
243
the village. All the hardships I had endured in Africa were re-
warded in that moment.
It was a little fellow of between two and three years old, two
feet six inches in length, and as fierce and stubborn as a grown
animal could have been.
My hunters, whom I could have hugged to my heart, took him
in the country between the Rembo and Cape St. Catherine. By
their account, they were going, five in number, to a village near
the coast, and walking very silently through the forest, When they
heard what they immediately recognized as the cry of a young
gorilla for its mother. The forest was silent. It was about noon;
and they immediately determined to follow the cry. Presently
they heard it again. Guns in hand, the brave fellows crept noise-
lessly toward a clump of wood, where the baby gorilla evidently
was. They knew the mother would be near; and there was a
likelihood that the male, the most dreaded of all, might be there
too. But they determined to risk all, and, if at all possible, to
take the young one alive, knowing what a joy it would be for
me.
Presently they perceived the bush moving; and crawling a lit-
tle farther on in dead silence, scarce breathing with excitement,
they beheld, what has seldom been seen even by the negroes, a
young gorilla, seated on the ground, eating some berries which ,
grew close to the earth. A few feet farther on sat the mother,
also eating of the same fruit.
Instantly they made ready to fire; and none too soon, for the
old female saw them as they raised their guns, and they had only
to pull triggers without delay. Happily they wounded her mor-
tally.
She fell. The young one, hearing the noise of the guns, ran to
his mother and clung to her, hiding his face, and embracing her
body. The hunters immediately rushed toward the two, hallooing
with joy as they ran on. But this roused the little one, who in-
stantly let go his mother and ran to a small tree, which he climb-
ed with great agility, where he sat and roared at them savagely.
They were now perplexed how to get at him. No one cared
to run the chance of being bitten by this savage little beast, and
shoot it they would not. At last they cut down the tree, and, a=
it fell, dextrously threw a cloth over the head of the young mon-
ster, and thus gained time to secure it while it was blinded. With


244
FEKOCITY OF THE YOUNG BEAST.
all these precautions, one of the men received a severe bite on the
hand, and another had a piece taken out of his leg.
As the little brute, though so diminutive, and the merest baby
for age, was astonishingly strong and by no means good-temper-
ed, they could not lead him. He constantly rushed at them. So
they were obliged to get a forked stick, in which his neck was in-
serted in such a way that he could not escape, and yet could be
kept at a safe distance. In this uncomfortable way he was
brought into the village.
There the excitement was intense. As the animal was lifted
out of the canoe in which he had come a little way down the riv-
er, he roared and bellowed, and looked around wildly with his
wicked little eyes, giving fair warning that if he could only get
at some of us he would take his revenge.
I saw that the stick hurt his neck, and immediately set about
to have a cage made for him. In two hours we had built a strong
bamboo house, with the slats securely tied at such distances apart
that we could see the gorilla and it could see out. Here the thing
was immediately deposited; and now, for the first time, I had a
fair chance to look at my prize.
It was a young male gorilla, evidently not yet three years old,
fully able to walk alone, and possessed, for its age, of most extra-
ordinary strength and muscular development. Its greatest length
proved to be, afterward, two feet six inches. Its face and hands
were very black, eyes not so much sunken as in the adult. The
hair began just at the eyebrows and rose to the crown, where it
was of a reddish-brown. It came down the sides of the face in
lines to the lower jaw much as our beards grow. The upper lip
was covered with short coarse hair; the lower lip had longer
hair. The eyelids very slight and thin. Eyebrows straight, and
three quarters of an inch long.
The whole back was covered with hair of an iron-gray, becom-
ing dark nearer the arms, and quite white about the anus. Chest
and abdomen covered with hair, which was somewhat thin and
short on the breast. On the arms the hair was longer than any
where on the body, and of a grayish-black color, caused by the
roots of the hair being dark and the ends white. On the hands
and wrists the hair was black, and came down to the second
joints of the fingers, though one could see in the short down the
beginning of the long black hair which lines the upper parts of


246
MY PRIZE IS UNTAMABLE.
of rage in his little face and body, got out from beneath, the bed
We shut the door at the same time and left him master of the
premises, preferring to devise some plan for his easy capture than
to expose ourselves to his terrible teeth.
How to take him was now a puzzling question. He had shown
such strength and such rage already, that not even I cared to run
the chance of being badly bitten in a hand-to-hand struggle.
Meantime Joe stood in the middle of the room looking about for
his enemies, and examining, with some surprise, the furniture. I
watched with fear lest the ticking of my clock should strike his
ear, and perhaps lead him to an assault, upon that precious article.
Indeed, I should have left Joe in possession, but for a fear that he
would destroy the many articles of value or curiosity I had hung
about the walls.
Finally, seeing him quite quiet, I dispatched some fellows for a
net, and, opening the door quickly, threw this over his head. For-
tunately we succeeded at the first throw in fatally entangling the
young monster, who roared frightfully, and struck and kicked in
every direction under the net. I took hold of the back of his
neck, two men seized his arms and another the legs, and thus
held by four men this extraordinary little creature still proved
most troublesome. We carried him as quickly as we could to
the cage, which had been repaired, and there once more locked
him in.
I never saw so furious a beast in my life as he was. He dart-
ed at every one who came near, bit the bamboos of the house,
glared at us with venomous and sullen eyes, and in every motion
showed a temper thoroughly wicked and malicious.
As there was no change in this for two days thereafter, but
continual moroseness, I tried what starvation would do toward
breaking his spirit; also, it began to be troublesome to procure his
food from the woods, and I wanted him to become accustomed to
civilized food, which was placed before him. But he would touch
nothing of the kind; and as for temper, after starving him twen-
ty-four hours, all I gained was that he came slowly up and took
some berries from the forest out of my hand, immediately retreat-
ing to his corner to eat them.
Daily attentions from me for a fortnight more did not bring
me any farther confidence from him than this. He always snarl-
ed at me, and only when very hungry would he take even his


DEATH OF JOE.
247
choicest food from my hands. At the end of this fortnight I
came one day to feed him, and found that he had gnawed a bam-
boo to pieces slyly and again made his escape. Luckily he had
but just gone; for, as I looked around, I caught sight of Master
Joe making off on all fours, and with great speed, across the little
prairie for a clump of trees.
I called the men up, and we gave chase. He saw us, and be-
fore we could head him off made for another clump. This we
surrounded. He did not ascend a tree, but stood defiantly at the
border of the wood. About one hundred and fifty of us surround-
ed, him. As we moved up he began to yell, and made a sudden
dash upon a poor fellow who was in advance, who ran, tumbled
down in affright, and, by his fall, escaped, but also detained Joe
sufficiently long for the nets to be brought to bear upon him.
Four of us again bore him struggling into the village. This
time I would not trust him to the cage, but had a little light
chain fastened around his neck. This operation he resisted with
all his might, and it took us quite an hour to securely chain the
little fellow, whose strength was something marvelous.
Ten days after he was thus chained he died suddenly. He was
in good health, and ate plentifully of his natural food, which was
brought every day for him; did not seem to sicken until two days
before his death, and died in some pain. To the last he contin-
ued utterly untamable; and, after his chains were on, added the
vice of treachery to his others. He would come sometimes quite
readily to eat out of my hand, but while I stood by him would
suddenly—looking me all the time in the face to keep my atten-
tion—put out his foot and grasp at my leg. Several times he
tore my pantaloons in this manner, quick retreat on my part sav-
ing my person; till at last I was obliged to be very careful in my
approaches. The negroes could not come near him at all with-
out setting him in a rage. He knew me very well, and trusted
me, but evidently always cherished a feeling of revenge even
toward me.
After he was chained, I filled a half barrel with hay and set it
near him for his bed. He recognized its use at once, and it was
pretty to see him shake up the hay and creep into this nest when
he was tired. At night he always again shook it up, and then
took some hay in his hands, with which he would cover himself
when he was snug in his barrel.


248
HIPPOPOTAMUS-HUNTING.
On the 20th of May I went up the river about five miles to
shoot hippopotami. There was here a place in the river shallow
enough for them to stand in and play around; and here they re-
mained all day, playing in the deep water, diving, but for the
most part standing on the shallows, with only their ugly noses
pointed out of the water, and looking, for all the world, exactly
like so many old weather-beaten logs stranded on a sand-bar.
We approached slowly, and with caution, to within thirty yards
of the school, without seeming to attract the slightest attention
from the sluggish animals. Stopping there, I. fired five shots,
and, so far as I could see, killed three hippopotami. The ear is
one of the most vulnerable spots, and this was my mark every
time. The first shot was received with but little attention; but
the struggles of the dying animal, which turned over several
times, and finally sank to the bottom, seemed to rouse the herd,
who began to plunge about and dive down into the deep water.
The blood of my victims discolored the water all around, and we
could not see whether those who escaped were not swimming
for us.
Presently the boat received a violent jar, and, looking over-
board, we perceived that we were in the midst of the herd. They
did not, however, attack us, but were rather, I imagine, anxious
to get away. We, too, pulled out of the way as fast as we could,
as I was not anxious to be capsized. Of the dead animals we re-
covered but one, which was found two days after on a little isl-
and near the river's mouth. I think it likely that the negroes se-
cretly ate up the others as they washed ashore, fearing to tell me.
lest I should claim the prizes.
This was such poor sport that after Joe Gorilla died I determ-
ined to go on a night hunt after hippopotami. These animals
come ashore by night to feed. As I have said before, the Fernand
Vaz runs for many miles parallel with the sea-shore, separated
from the sea by a strip of sandy prairie. On this prairie the
river horses feed, and the "walk" of a herd is easily discernible
at a great distance, looking very much like a regular beaten road,
only their immense tracks showing who are its makers. In the
path no grass grows; but the ground is hard, and solidly beaten
down by their constant passage to and fro. It is curious that
they will not even leave such a walk if they have been attacked
there, but come back without fail. This gives the hunter a great
advantage.


A NIGHT HUNT.
249
We chose a moonlight night, and paddled up to the vicinity of
one of these "walks," where Igala, my hunter, and I set out by
ourselves. I had painted my face with a mixture of oil and soot,
which is a prudent measure in a white hunter in Africa, where
the beasts seem to have a singularly quick eye for any thing
white. We chose the leeward side of the track, for the hippopot-
amus has a very nice smell, and is easily alarmed at night, feeling,
probably, that on land his sluggish movements and huge bulk
have their disadvantages. We lay down under shelter of a bush
and watched. As yet none of the animals had come out of the
water. We could hear them snorting and plashing in the dis-
tance, their subdued, snort-like roars breaking in upon the still
night in a very odd way. The moon was nearly down, and the
watch was getting tedious, when I was startled by a sudden groan,
and, peering into the half light, saw dimly a huge animal, looking
doubly monstrous in the uncertain light. It was quietly eating
grass, which it seemed to nibble off quite close.
There was another bush between us and our prey, and we
crawled up to this in dead silence. Arrived there, we were but
about eight yards from the great beast. The negroes who hunt
the hippopotamus are sometimes killed. The animal, if only
wounded, turns most savagely upon its assailant; and experience
has taught the negro hunters that the only safe way to approach
it is from behind. It can not turn quickly; and thus the hunter
has a chance to make good his escape. This time we could not
get into a very favorable position; but I determined to have my
shot nevertheless, eight yards being safe killing distance, even
with so poor a light as we had by this time.
Igala and I both took aim. He fired; and, without waiting to
see the result, ran away as swiftly as a good pair of legs could
carry him. I was not quite ready, but fired the moment after
him; and, before I could get ready to run—in which I had not
Igala's practice — I saw there was no need. The beast tottered
for a moment, and then fell over dead.
This closed our night's sport, as none of the herd would come
this way while their companion lay there. So we returned home,
poor Igala remonstrating with me for not running as he did, this
being, as it appeared, considered one of the chief accomplishments
of the hippopotamus-hunter. Our good-luck created great joy in
the village, where meat was scarce. The men went out at day-


250
HABITS OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
light and skinned the prize, and brought in the meat and hide.
The latter I stuffed, and it is now in my collection.
The meat does not taste unlike beef. It is rather coarse-grain-
ed, and not fat, and makes a welcome and wholesome dish. The
blacks are very fond of it.
The hippopotamus is found in most of the rivers of Africa
which empty into the Atlantic or Indian Ocean; but in none but
the Nile of those which empty into the Mediterranean. And in
the Nile it is only met far up. It is found in greatest abundance
south of the equator and in the interior. Frequent as they were in
the Fernand Vaz, I found them more numerous in the Ogobay and
other of the interior streams, and have reason to believe that, in the
far and as yet unexplored centre, they are more numerous still It
is a very clumsily-built, unwieldy animal; but remarkable chiefly
for its enormous head, whose upper mandible seemed to me mov-
able like the crocodile's, and for its disproportionately short legs.
The male is much larger than the female; indeed, a full-grown
male sometimes attains the bulk, though not the height, of the
elephant. In the larger specimens the belly almost sweeps the
ground as they walk.
The feet are curiously constructed, to facilitate his walking
among the reeds and mud of the river-bottoms, and swimming
with ease. The hoof is divided into four short, apparently clum-
sy, and unconnected toes; and they are able, by this spread of
foot, to walk rapidly even through mud. I have seen them make
quick progress, when alarmed, in water so deep that their backs
were just on the river-level.
The skin of an adult hippopotamus is from one and a half to
two inches thick, and extremely solid and tough—quite bullet-
proof, in fact, except in a few thinner spots, as behind the ear
and near the eyes. It is devoid of hair, with the exception of a
few short bristly hairs in the tail, and a few scattered tufts, of four
or five hairs each, near the muzzle. The color of the skin is a
clayey yellow, assuming a roseate hue under the belly. In the
grown animal the color is a little darker. The teeth are:
Incisors, -r; canines, \—\; molars, ^—^ = 36 in all.
4 1—1' '6—6
After watching for a great many times the movements of the
hippopotamus, I became assured that the huge crooked tusks.
which give their mouths so savage an appearance, are used and


FOOD OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 251
designed chiefly to hook up the long river-grasses on which these
animals feed in great part. Often I have seen one descend to the
bottom, remain a few minutes, and reappear with these tusks
strung with grass, which was then leisurely chewed up. They
make the whitest of all ivory: and in the Camma country the
beasts are much hunted on their account, as the dentists of Eu-
rope make a demand for this white ivory.
The animals consort together in flocks of from three to thirty.
They choose shallows in the rivers, where the depth of the water
allows them to keep their footing, and yet have their whole bodies
submerged. Here they remain all day, swimming off into the
deeps and diving for their grassy food, gamboling in the waves,
and from time to time throwing up a stream of water two or
three feet high. This is done with a noise like " blowing," and is
doubtless an effort for breath. It is pleasant to watch a flock
peacefully enjoying themselves, particularly when they have two
or three young among them. The little fellows, who are comi-
cally awkward, play about their dams, and I have often seen them
seated on the back of the mother, and chasing each other about
the shoals.
They prefer parts of the rivers where the current is not very
swift, and are therefore to be found in all lakes in the interior.
Also, they prefer to* be near their grass-fields. They are very
fond of a particular coarse grass which grows on these prairies,
and will travel considerable distances to hunt this up, always re-
turning, however, before daylight. Their path overland is very
direct. Neither rocks, nor swamps, nor bushes can prove formi-
dable obstacles to a water-beast of such bulk; and one of their pe-
culiarities is that they will always return to the water by the same
road they came. Unless much pursued and harassed, they are
not very much afraid of man. Some of their favorite grass was
growing on a little plain back of my house, and several times I
found hippopotamus-tracks not more than fifty yards from the
. house. They had not feared to come as near as this, though,
probably, if the wind had been from me to them they would have
avoided the place.
They always choose a convenient landing-place, one where the
bank has a long and easy incline, and this they use till they have
eaten up all the provender which lies in that vicinity. Before
going ashore they watch for an hour, and sometimes for two


252 COMBATIVENESS OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
hours, near the landing, remaining quiet themselves and listening
for danger. The slightest token of the hunter's presence on such
occasions sends them away for that night. If no danger appears,
they begin to wander ashore in twos and threes. I never saw
more than three of a flock grazing together; and during their
stay ashore they place more dependence on their ears than on
their eyes. I have watched closely in many hunts, and am con-
vinced that the beast walks along with his eyes nearly shut.
This makes the approach easier, though their hearing is very
quick; and it is common to get within three or four yards before
firing. I generally tried to get at least as near as four yards, and
found my most successful aim to be at a spot near the shoulder,
and one just behind the ear.
When playing in the water this animal makes a noise very
much resembling the grunt of a pig. This grunt it also utters
when alarmed at the near approach of man. The stuffed skin
loses its original color, so that our stuffed specimens do not give
a true idea of the clay-color of the live beast. Its excrement is
like the horse's, but smaller and dryer.
When enraged, or suddenly disturbed, it utters a kind of groan,
a hoarse sound, which can be heard at a considerable distance.
They are quite combative among themselves, and I often saw
marks on their bodies of desperate conflicts. One, a male which
I killed, had its thick hide lacerated in a frightful manner in nu-
merous stripes, from a fight. The young males suffer particular-
ly in these encounters, as they are much imposed upon by the
grown males, who are jealous of them. Their principal weapons
of offense are their huge tusks, with which they strike most savage
blows.
It was my good fortune to be witness once to a combat be-
tween two hippopotami. It occurred in broad daylight. I was
concealed on the banks of the stream, and had been for some time
watching the sports of a herd, when suddenly two huge beasts
rose to the surface of the water and rushed together. Their vast
and hideous mouths were opened to their widest possibility; their
eyes were flaming with rage, and every power was put forth by
each to annihilate the other. They seized each other with their
jaws; they stabbed and punched with their strong tusks; they
advanced and retreated; were now at the top of the water, and
again sank down to the bottom. The blood discolored the river,


THEIR IIARMLESSNESS.
253
and their groans of rage were hideous to listen to. They showed
little powers of strategy, but rather a piggish obstinacy in main-
taining their ground, and a frightful savageness of demeanor.
The combat lasted an hour. It was evident that their tusks could
not give very dangerous wounds to such thickly-protected bodies
as theirs. At last one turned about and made off, leaving the
other victorious and master of the field.
My observations lead me to believe that in general the hippo-
potamus will not wantonly attack a canoe passing on the river.
They either do not seem to notice it at all, or else avoid it by div-
ing under water. They are troublesome beasts, however, to the
traveler paddling along in a frail canoe, for they are very apt to
rise suddenly under a boat and throw it over, to their own alarm,
but to the inconvenience and danger of the passengers. In some
such cases the huge beast becomes desperate from fright, thinks
himself attacked, and with great rage demolishes the canoe. But
even in such cases I have not heard of their ever touching the
swimming passengers, who have only to keep away from the ca-
noe to make sure their escape. One of my men related an ad-
venture of this kind which happened to him and others a few
years ago. They were capsized by a hippopotamus which rose
suddenly under their canoe. In an instant, and with the greatest
fury, the animal turned upon the canoe, which he did not leave
till he had broken it into tolerably small pieces. But he did not
even seem to see the men, who swam off, and reached the shore
without hurt.
The negroes hunt the hippopotamus only with guns. In those
parts where they have not yet obtained guns they never attack
it, but leave it undisputed master of the forest and river; for they
can but very seldom indeed succeed in entrapping it into the pits
■which are dug for this and some other of the larger animals.


254
UP THE RIVER.
CHAPTER XIV.
To the Anengue.—Canoes.—River Scenery.—Nature of the Country.—The La-
goons.—Navigation.—India-rubber Vines.—Mercantile Products and Facilities.
—Porcupine-hunts.—Quengueza, the great King.—Change of Season.—Variety
in animal Life.—Birds of Passage.—Fish.—Bee-eater.—Curious Habits of tins
Bird.—Serpents.—The Rivers in the dry Season.—The Lagoons in the dry Sea-
son.—Immense Numbers of Crocodiles.—Damagondai.—Witchcraft.—A Candle
Lecture.— Shimbouvenegani.—An Olako.—Royal Costume.— Discover a new
Ape.—The Nshiego Mbouve, or nest-building Ape (Troglodytes Calvus).—How
they build.—Habits.—Food.—Description of the first Specimen.—A Crocodile-
hunt.—Anengue Canoes.—The Ogata.—Turtle.—How the Crocodile gets his
Prey.—A Fight looms up ahead.—Oshoria backs down.—People of the Anen-
gue.—Family Idols.—Worship.—Sickness.—Bola Ivoga.—African Festivals.—A
clear Case of Witchcraft.—A native Doctor.—Exorcising a Witch.—My Town
is deserted.—I am made a Chief.—We get a second young Gorilla.—I am poi-
soned with Arsenic.—Trial of the Prisoner.—Singular Effect of Arsenic
When poor Joe Gorilla died I was ready to go ahead upon my
explorations up river. The hope of taming him kept me at Bia-
gano till then.
We were to make a start on the evening of May 27th, and on
that morning I called king and people together, and gave them
charge of my property; declaring that if any thing was stolen
during my absence I would surely shoot the thief.
They all protested that I need not even lock the doors of my
house. But I thought it not best to expose them to too much
temptation.
I next counted my ten goats in their presence, and told them I*
wanted no leopard stories told me when I came back—at which
they shouted and laughed, and declared neither they nor the
leopard should touch them. Then I gave one of my men some
goods to trade for ivory, another some with which to buy ebony,
and left one of my Mpongwe fellows in charge of my entire prem-
ises, locking the doors. And then I was ready to go off.
I had six stout paddlers in each canoe. These were laden pret-
ty deeply with provisions for myself, and with trade-goods for the
people I was to meet. My object was on this trip to ascend the


t - . , •





DIFFICULT NAVIGATION.
257
Npoulounay, a branch of the Ogobay, as far as a great swampy
country which the Camma fellows were always talking of, and
which no white man had yet seen. The reader can follow my
course on the chart.
W- We found the Npoulounay for the first eight miles to run
pShrough the mangrove swamps, which renders navigation so dis-
agreeable. Above that the banks became higher and clearer.
Starting about three o'clock in the afternoon, we pulled till four
next morning, when all hands were worn out, and we went
ashore on a little island to get a nap. But here the musquitoes
assailed us in such numbers that, though we could stretch our
legs, sleep was out of the question. As soon as daylight came
we were off again.
At about sixty miles from Biagano we came to a fork in the »
river. We took the right branch. A few miles farther up there
was another tributary, which we entered, as this led to the lake.
This stream was here about two hundred yards wide, but with
very low, marshy banks, and no wood. Immense fields of reeds
and other water weeds covered the marshy soil as far as we could
see from our little canoe, and gave the landscape an aspect of ut-
ter desolation. The stream had scarce any current, the water
was turbid, and the smell of decaying vegetation exceedingly un-
pleasant. In the far distance beyond the plains we could see the
outlines of hills and higher plains. Where these join the marsh
crocodiles are found in great plenty, as I was told now by the na-
tives, and found for myself afterward.
While I was wondering at the change in this sluggish river
from the rapid-flowing Ogobay, we came suddenly to what seem-
ed the end of navigation in this direction. The river was here
as wide as at the mouth, but closed suddenly. Paddling round
the shore, to try for some possible outlet, for it would be too
bad to have taken so much trouble to get into this nasty cul-
de-sac, we found at length a stream, not more than six yards
wide, which poured with a tolerably rapid current into what
seemed to me now only a lagoon. Up this narrow avenue we
pushed, much doubting where it would lead us, for none of my
men had been here before, and I was going by guess-work.
As we ascended the narrow, deep little stream, it branched off
in several places, and became gradually narrower, till at last we
were pushing our canoe laboriously along through a deep, crook-
R


258
AN AFRICAN JOKE.
ed ditch, not more than two yards wide, and overhung with tall
reeds, on which great numbers of birds were balancing them-
selves, as though enjoying our dilemma.
For two hours we pushed along in this way, and I was upon
the point of giving up and returning, when we suddenly emerged
into the long-looked-for lake of Anengue. A vast body of wa-
ter, at least ten miles wide, and dotted with various beautiful
wooded isles, was spread suddenly before our glad eyes. We lay
on our paddles and gazed about us. On one side the lake is
bounded by hills which come close down to the shore. On the
other the hills recede, and between them and the water lies a
dreary extent of low marsh. Several towns were in sight, all lo-
cated at the summits of hills, and toward one of these we pushed
with what speed we could, for all hands were tired and hungry.
For though we had breakfasted on bananas and sugar-cane early
in the morning at a deserted village, this is not very substan-
tial food; and of meat none of us had partaken since leaving
Biagano.
This deserted village deserves to be mentioned, if only for a
cheerful joke upon it by one of my men. It is general in this
country for the people to leave their town if the chief dies under
suspicion of having been bewitched, and such lonely huts and
abandoned plantations are therefore common wherever the trav-
eler goes. The natives in general regard such with a supersti-
tious fear, believing that the spirits of the departed remain and
keep guard over the property left. But my men were "sick of
hunger," as they call it, and had now, from contact with me, be-
come somewhat less superstitious; so that no one refused to go
ashore, or, when there, to eat, as well as we could eat for the sav-
age onslaught of the musquitoes. While we were grumbling at
finding so little comfort, one of them said it was evidently not
the spirits which had driven off the people here, but the musqui-
toes; which was thought, and was really, a tremendous joke for
this latitude, and set us all into good-humor again.
About two o'clock we arrived at the village of King Damagon-
dai. A great crowd was assembled to receive us, visitors not be-
ing frequent here; and when the presence of a wonderful white
man became known, the anxiety of the people to see me knew no
bounds. Quarters were provided for me by the king, who was
rejoiced to see me, and sent me a goat; which, in this part of the


GREAT INDIA-RUBBER COUNTRY.
259
country, where they have no tame cattle, is as much as half a
dozen bullocks would be in South Africa.
From the 1st to the 10th of June I spent in exploring the
lake and its islands. I find every where deep water enough for
steamers of moderate draught to have free play, though in the
dry season I was told there are a good many shoals, though not
enough, I should think, to interfere with navigation. The whole
country around is literally filled with the India-rubber vine.
Immense quantities of the best caoutchouc might here be got, and
with very little trouble, if only the natives had some one to show
them how to gather it without destroying the vines, and without
getting it so mixed with impure matter as to destroy its commer-
cial value. It was enough to make a trader's mouth water to see
the immense quantity of land covered with this vine. Here are
chances for a commerce which I think our American merchants
will not long leave unworked. And then we may hope to see a
real and enduring civilization step in and help these poor natives
upward a little.
For the present they are a lazy but good-natured people here-
abouts; ready enough to work, if they could only be sure to get
some pay for their labor, but with little energy, because they see
no possibility of a direct connection with the sea-shore.
Game is not very abundant in this part of the country, and the
animal most hunted is a porcupine. They hunt with dogs, who
track the truculent little beast to its lair or burrow, whence it is
dug out by the men. The hunt was too laborious to be counted
sport, though the natives seemed to enjoy it amazingly. The dogs
hunted by scent, and never barked at a deserted hole.
The porcupine is only found at . the foot of the range of hills
which rises about ten miles from the village I was stopping at.
Here it burrows among the huge boulders which cover the
ground. Several times we came upon them wandering about,
and shot them outright. I noticed that the dogs were very care-
ful not to touch the animal till they were sure it was dead, hav-
ing probably had sad experience of its sharp spines.
It is as well to add here that, though most of the West African
villages have crowds of dogs, I could never learn of a case of hy-
drophobia, nor did the natives even know of such a disease as
madness in dogs.
While on a porcupine-hunt the tube of one of my guns was ac-


260
KING QUENGUEZA.
cidentally broken, and on June 10th I had the misfortune to
break my remaining gun by a vexatious accident in hunting a
marabout. I had wounded the bird, and was running after it,
but it could run faster than I. When quite near it, in my eager-
ness I struck at it with my gun, missed my aim, and shattered
the stock and bent the barrel on a stone. This made it necessary
to return to Biagano.
My coming back was fortunate, for in a few days after came a
high and mighty visitor from far up the River Rembo. King
Quengueza, of whom I had often heard from the Comma men,
lives up the Rembo about ninety miles, and is sovereign over a
large tribe of people. He was a man whom I had not even hoped
to see here, and whose influence and friendship I was very glad
to have. He camp down in considerable state, in three canoes,
with three of his favorite wives, and about one hundred and
thirty men. When he saw me he was much astonished, and said
he had heard of me for a great hunter, and had expected to see a
tall and stout man, and not such a feeble body as mine. He was
now convinced, he said, that I must have a brave heart, to hunt
as I did.
Fortunately the king and I could talk together without an in-
terpreter, so that I did not need any rascally Camma to confound
my words and misrepresent my wishes, as they are apt to do, not
caring to have white men trade with the interior, or even ex-
plore it.
He told me there were plenty of gorilla and nschiegos in his
country, and that if I would come I should have liberty and pro-
tection to hunt and do what I pleased. I was ready to go imme-
diately, but he said the fall of the rainy season would be the best
time, and so I put it off.
I sent the kind-hearted old fellow off well contented, with his
canoes full of presents of iron bars, brass rods, etc., and about one
hundred dollars' worth of goods on trust to buy me ebony with.
He promised me great sport, and an introduction to some tribes
of whom even these Camma knew nothing, and who are, there-
fore, beyond even their ultima iliule. To do him greater honor,
my people fired a salute as he started off, with which he was
highly delighted—as an African is sure to be with noise.
The dry season was now setting in in earnest, and I devoted
the whole month of July to exploring the country along the sea-


THE COAST IN THE DRY SEASON.
261
shore. It is curious that most of the birds which were so abun-
dant during the rainy season had by this time taken their leave,
and other birds, in immense numbers, flocked in to feed on the
fish, which now leave the sea-shore and the bars of the river-
mouth and ascend the river to spawn.
The breakers on the shore were now frightful to see. The
coast was rendered inaccessible by them even to the natives, and
the surf increased to that degree at the mouth of the river even,
that it was difficult to enter with a canoe. Strong breezes pre-
vailed, and, though the sky was constantly overcast, no drop of
rain fell. The thermometer fell sometimes to 64° of Fahrenheit,
and I suffered from cold, as did also the poor natives, who make
no provision of .thick clothing for such weather, though it is the
same every year. The grass on the prairies was dried up to pow-
der. The ponds are dried up; only the woods keep their resplen-
dent green.
At this season the negroes leave their villages and work on their
plantations. Biagano was almost deserted; all hands were on
their farms; the women harvesting the crop of ground-nuts, one
of the staples of this country, and the men building canoes and
idling around. Their farms are necessarily at some distance off,
as the sandy prairie is not fit to cultivate, being only, in fact, a de-
posit of the sea.
Fish, particularly mullet, were so abundant in the river that
sometimes, when I took my evening constitutional in a canoe on
the water, enough mullet leaped into the boat to furnish me a
breakfast next day.
Birds flocked in immense numbers on the prairies, whither they
came to hatch out their young.
The ugly marabouts, from whose tail our ladies get the splendid
feathers for their bonnets, were there in thousands. Pelicans
waded on the river-banks all day in prodigious swarms, gulping
down the luckless fish which came in their way. I loved to see
them swimming about in grave silence, and every while grabbing
up a poor fish, which, if not hungry, they left in their huge bag,
till sometimes three or four pounds of reserve food thus awaited
the coming of their appetite.
And on the sandy point, one morning, I found great flocks of
the Ibis rdigtosa (the sacred Ibis of the Egyptians), which had ar-
rived over night, from whence I could not tell.


262
NATURE IS THE DRY SEASON.
Ducks of various kinds built their nests in every creek and on
every new islet that appeared with the receding waters. I used
to hunt these till I got tired of duck meat, fine as it is. Cranes,
too, and numerous other water-fowl flocked in, every day bringing
new birds. All come, by some strange instinct, to feed upon the
vast shoals of fish which literally filled the river.
On the sea-shore I sometimes caught a bird, the Sula capmsis,
which had been driven ashore by the treacherous waves to which
it had trusted itself, and could not, for some mysterious reason, get
away again.
And, finally, every sand-bar is covered with gulls, whose shrill
screams are heard from morning till night as they fly about greed-
ily after their finny prey. It is a splendid time now for sports-
men; and I thought of some of my New York friends who would
have enjoyed such great plenty of game as was now here.
Land birds are equally plenty; but I have time to enumerate
only one curious species. This is the bee-eater, of which I dis-
covered two new species. One of these—the Meropicus bicolor—
is a splendid little fellow, whose breast, of a gorgeous roseate hue,
looks as he flies about like a lump of fire. Both these birds feed
on bees and flies, and are remarkable for the nests they build.
These are holes in the ground, always on the edge of some bank
or acclivity, and from three to four feet deep. Great numbers of
these nests are found in every hill-side, and in these they sleep at
night.
Serpents are not so common as in the rainy season, but do not
altogether abandon the country, as I had reason to discover one
night. I had retired to rest, but was roused by a tremendous
fluttering among my chickens. I rushed out immediately to
catch a thief, but found nobody; and, as the houses were not
broken into, returned to my own room, thinking it was only a
false alarm. But I was no sooner in than I rushed out again, for,
in the dim light, I found myself upon the point of stepping upon
a huge black snake which had come in during my absence. I
had my gun in my hand, and lost no time in blowing his head to
pieces with cold lead. He was ten feet long, and of a kind whose
bite is said by the negroes to be mortal. The hideous beast was
just swallowing one of my chickens when I killed it. It had
been among the fowls, which accounted for the noise I heard.
The negroes rushed in when they heard the report of my gun,


TO THE ANENGUE AGAIN.
263
and with great joy cut off the head of their enemy. This was
thrown into the river, but the slaves cooked the body and ate it.
As Quengeza could not be visited till the rainy season returned,
I determined to make another trip to the Anengue country; and
to this I was the more induced, as I wished to ascertain what
chances there were for steam navigation in the dry season, when
the water is at its lowest. At high water it is deep enough all
the way up.
Accordingly, on the 1st of August, I started, with the canoes
and a crew well-armed, for fear we might be interrupted, as some
of the people come up this way to make plantations in the dry
season, and might dispute our advance. I determined to let no
man bar the road to me. I found the Npoulounay shallower, but
yet quite practicable for a steamer of light draught; and when
•we got into the Ogobay the water was still deeper—this being in
every way a nobler stream. Yet there is a difference in the depth
of the Ogobay between dry and rainy seasons of about fifteen
feet. Now the river was covered with muddy islands, left dry
and covered with reeds; among which sported the flamingo—a
bird not seen here in the wet season. All these reedy islets were
submerged when I passed up last May.
There are curiously few villages between Biagano and the
Anengue—we counted but seven; and yet the country seems
habitable enough. I was struck with the immense height of
some of the palm-trees which lined the banks. They were really
giants, even in these primitive woods.
We slept the first night on an island in the Ogobay, under our
musquito-nets, of which I had laid in a store. These nets, which
the natives also use, are made of a grass-cloth which comes from
the far interior, and which is too thick to be comfortable in the
house, but does very well out-doors, where it keeps out the dews
as well, and protects the sleeper against the cold winds which pre-
vail. The next morning I saw, for the first time, a fog in this
part of Africa. It was very thick, but the sun soon drove it off.
I sent out my net, and, in a few minutes, the men caught fish
enough for supper and breakfast.
The low banks of the Ogobay were now dry, and covered with
reeds. The river ran in its regular channel, and was about four-
teen or fifteen feet lower than last May, though still practicable for
light-draught steamers. These low banks, which are submerged


264
CROCODILES.
in the rainy season, will make splendid rice-fields when all this
country comes to be civilized. Here might be grown rice enough
to supply all the country round, even if thickly settled.
Coming to where the Ogobay is divided by an island into two
channels, we took the one I passed last May, but found ourselves
nearly stopped by a sand-bank which reached clear across, and
had but three feet of water on it. But it was a narrow bar, and
could be easily cut in two. Then we entered the Anengne; but
this river we found entirely changed from last May. Then it was
a deep, swift stream; now its surface was dotted with numberless
black mud-banks, on which swarmed incredible numbers of croco-
diles. We actually saw many hundreds of these disgusting mon-
sters sunning themselves on the black mud, and slipping off into
the water to feed. I never saw so horrible a sight. Many were
at least twenty feet long; and, when they opened their frightful
mouths, looked capable of swallowing our little canoes without
trouble.
I determined to have a shot at these beasts, who seemed noways
frighted at our approach. Making my men paddle pretty well
in, I singled out the biggest of a school, and lodged a ball in his
body by way of the joints of his fore legs, where the thick armor
is defective. He tumbled over, and, after struggling in the water
for a moment, sank into the mud. His companions turned their
hideous snaky eyes down at him in momentary surprise, but did
not know what to make of it, and dropped back to their sluggish
comfort. I shot another, but he sank also; and as my men did
not like to venture into the black mud after them, we got nei-
ther.
When we came to the narrow and intricate channel of last May,
we found, to my surprise, a tremendous current running. Last
May the water of the lake had overflowed its shores, and its reg-
ular outlets had, therefore, no great pressure upon them. Now
this outlet was crowded with water, which rushed through at such
a rate that, at some of the turns in the crooked channel, we were
actually swept back several times before we could make our way
good. At one point, where two outlets joined, we could not pass
till I made the men smoke their condouquai (a long reed pipe),
which seems to give them new vigor, and gave them also a swal-
low of my brandy. This done, they gave a great shout and push-
ed through; and, in a short hour, we emerged upon the lake.


THE L^KE.
265
The lake, alas! had changed with the season, too. It was still
a beautiful sheet of water, and good enough for navigation. But
all over its placid face the dry season had brought out an erup-
tion of those black mud islands which we had noticed below;
and on these reposed, I fear to say what numbers of crocodiles.
Wherever the eye was turned these disgusting beasts, with their
dull leer and huge, savage jaws, appeared in prodigious numbers.
The water was alive with fish, on which I suppose the crocodiles
had fat living. But pelicans and herons, ducks, and other wa-
ter-birds also abounded, drawn hither by the abundance of their
prey.
Paddling carefully past great numbers of crocodiles, into whose
ready jaws I was by no means anxious to fall, and past several
native villages, we at last reached the town of my old friend Da-
magondai, who stood upon the shore ready to receive me. He
was dressed in the usual middle-cloth of the natives, and a tar-
nished scarlet soldier-coat, but was innocent of trowsers. But his
welcome was none the less hearty, if the unmentionables were
lacking.
His town, which contains about fifty huts, lies on some high
ground at a little distance from the water; and the people came
to meet us on the shady walk which connects them with the lake.
Every body seemed glad to see us. I distributed presents of to-
bacco, gave the king some cloth, and put him in a good-humor,
though he could scarce forgive me for not bringing him rum also.
I noticed in the middle of the village a strongly-built goat-house,
which is a sign that leopards sometimes come this way.
Damagondai put all his town at my disposal, and suggested
that I had better pick out two or three of the best-looking girls
for wives for myself. He was somewhat amazed when I declined
this pleasant offer, and insisted upon it that my bachelor life must
he very lonely and disagreeable.
The king is a tall, rather slim negro, over six feet high, and
well put together, as most of these men are. I suppose, in war or
in the chase, he had the usual amount of courage, but at home he
was exceedingly superstitious. As night came on he seemed to
get a dread of death. He grew querulous; told the men to stop
their noise; and at last began to groan out that some of the peo-
ple wanted to bewitch him in order to get his property and his
authority. Finally he got excited, and began to curse all witches


266
A NIGHT WITH AN AFRICAN KING.
and sorcerers; said no one should have his wives and slaves; and,
in fact, became so maudlin that I interfered, and declared there
were no witches, and his fears were absurd.
Of course, I received the stereotyped answer, "There may be
none among your white people; but it is very different among us,
because we have known many men who were bewitched and
died." To such an argument there is no reply. They always in-
sist that we are a distinct race, and have few things in common
with them. Those ethnologists who hold to diversity of races of
men would receive readier credence here in savage Africa than
they have in America or Europe.
When my objections had been settled, the old fellow began to
lecture his wives, telling them to love him and to feed him well,
for he had given a great deal of money and goods to their parents
for them, and they were a constant expense and uneasiness to him;
to all which the poor women listened with great respect; and no
doubt made up their grateful hearts to give their lord and master
a good breakfast next morning.
At last this dreariest of African nights got too slow for the peo-
ple, who suddenly struck up a dance and forgot all about witch-
craft. And I, too, was tired, and went to my dreams.
The Anengue people, though they intermarry with their neigh-
bors the Comma, are not permitted to come down to the sea-shore
for trade. This would disturb the monopoly, and monopoly is
the most sacred thing in West Africa. The consequence is that
they have no energy or life among them. They are idle, and lie
about doing absolutely nothing day after day. Once in a great
while they kill an elephant and dispatch its tusks down to the
sea; but the small returns they get, after the Camma have taken
off their rascally percentage, does not encourage them to trade.
They are not great hunters, the vast shoals of fish in the lake
giving them a sufficiency of food without hunting for it. They
also eat the meat of crocodiles, which they harpoon with a rude
kind of jagged spear. During my stay I and my crew lived al-
most entirely on fish, which were caught in a net I had brought
along. There is one fine fish, called the condo, which is really
delicious, and fit for the table of the finest gourmand.
On the 5th, the next day after our arrival, Damagondai took
me across the lake to the village of one Shimbouvenegani, a king
with a long name and a small village, who lives fifteen miles off,


KING SHIMBOUVENEGANI.
267
at the eastern end of the lake. I found the water now very shal-
low in places, though affording passage still for light-draught ves-
sels. The little islets were quite numerous. On the hills which
formed the boundary of the lagoon at high water, I saw plenty of
ebony-trees on the side I had not before visited. Thus ebony and
India-rubber are both to be got here.
We found the king with the long name not at his village, but
at his olako, a place temporarily erected in the woods when a vil-
lage wants to hunt, or fish, or pursue agriculture. They had
chosen a charming spot in the woods just upon the shores of the
lake, which here had high abrupt banks, and looked more like a
pleasant river than a lagoon. Their musquito-nets were hung up
under the trees, and every family had a fire built, and from the
pots came the fragrant smell of plantains and fish cooking. We
were seated at a rude table, and presently Shimbouvenegani came
up, rejoiced to see me. The usual ceremony of introduction was
gone through, Damagondai relating that he had brought his white
man over here because game was plenty, and to do a favor to his
friend the king.
The latter was a meagre negro of between sixty and seventy years
old, dressed in a very dirty swallow-tailed coat, and what was—
so I judged—some thirty or forty years ago a silk or beaver hat.
This is an article which only kings are permitted to wear in West
Africa, and my friend the king seemed very proud of it. His
dress did not amount to much, from the New York stand-point,
but I doubt not it had cost him several hundred dollars' worth of
ivory—and so he had a fashionably-recognized right to feel that
his appearance was "the thing."
The people gathered about to examine my hair—that constant
marvel to the interior negroes; and presently some large pots of
palm wine were brought, on which all hands proceeded to cele-
brate my arrival among them. I added some tobacco, and then
their happiness was complete.
Meantime Damagondai had presented me to his eldest son,
Okabi, who lived in this village. It is curious that the eldest son
of a chief always lives abroad in this country. Okabi hurried off
to fix a little privacy of tree-branches for my use, put up a table
for me, and arranged his akoko or bed for my sleeping; then gave
iue in charge to his two wives, who were to take care of me.
It was charming weather, and I enjoyed all this very much.


268 THE NSHIEGO MBOUVE.
The next morning Shimbouvenegani sent me some plantains
and a quantity of sugar-cane by the hands of a young black
woman, who bore also the message that she was to be my
wife. I had to decline the matrimonial proposal, which, zz:
to grieve the black nymph, while her royal master was merely
surprised, but evidently thought that it was right I should do as
I pleased.
This day we went out on a hunt—one of those hunts which are
marked with the brightest of red ink in my calendar. On this
day I discovered a new and very curious ape. We had been
traveling some hours, when we came upon a male and female of
the Bos brachicheros. I shot the bull, a splendid fellow, who fur-
nished us dinner and supper. After dinner we marched on, and
had a weary time of it for some hours, the ground being swampy
and no game in sight. As I was trudging along, rather tired of
the sport, I happened to look up at a high tree which we were
passing, and saw a most singular-looking shelter built in its
branches. I asked Aboko whether the hunters here had this
way to sleep in the woods, but was told, to my surprise, that this
very ingenious nest was built by the nshiego rribouvt, an ape, as I
found afterward, which I put in the genus Troglodytes, and called
Troglodytes calvus; an animal which had no hair on its head—so
Okabi told me.
I saw at once that I was on the trail of an animal till now
unknown to the civilized world. A naturalist will appreciate the
joy which filled me at this good fortune. I no longer felt tired,
but pushed on with renewed ardor and with increased caution,
determined not to rest till I killed this nest-building ape. One
such discovery pays the weary naturalist-hunter for many months
of toil and hardship. I felt already rewarded for all the incon-
veniences and expenses of my Camma trip. I have noticed that
it is always at the most unexpected moment that such a piece of
luck befalls a poor fellow.
I saw many of these nests after this, and may as well say here
that they are generally built about fifteen or twenty feet from the
ground, and invariably on a tree which stands a little apart from
others, and which has no limbs below the one on which the nest
is placed. I have seen them at the height of fifty feet, but very
seldom. This choice is probably made that they may be safe at
night from beasts, serpents, and falling limbs. They build only








HABITS OF THE NSHIEGO.
271
in the loneliest parts of the forest, and are very shy, and seldom
seen even by the negroes.
Okabi, who "was an old and intelligent hunter, was able to tell
me that the male and female together gather the material for their
nests. This material is leafy branches with which to make the
roof, and vines to tie these branches to the tree. The tying is
done so neatly, and the roof is so well constructed, that until I
saw the nshiego actually occupying his habitation, I could scarce
persuade myself that human hands had not built all. It sheds
rain perfectly, being neatly rounded on top for this purpose.
The material being collected, the male goes up and builds the
nest, while the female brings him the branches and vines. The
male and female do not occupy the same tree, but have nests not
far apart.
From all I have observed, I judge that the nshiego is not gre-
garious. The nests are never found in companies; and I have
seen even quite solitary nests occupied by very old nshiegos,
whose silvery hair and worn teeth attested their great age. These
seemed hermits who had retired from the nshiego world.
They live on wild berries, and build their houses where they
find these. "When they have consumed all that a particular spot
affords, they remove and build new houses, so that a nest is not
inhabited for more than eight or ten days.
We traveled with great caution, not to alarm our prey, and had
a hope that, singling out a shelter and waiting till dark, we should
find it occupied. In this hope we were not disappointed. Lying
quite still in our concealment (which tried my patience sorely),
we at last, just at dusk, heard the loud peculiar "Hew! Hew!
Hew!" which is the call of the male to his mate. We waited till
it was quite dark, and then I saw what I had so longed all the
weary afternoon to see. A nshiego was sitting in his nest. His
feet rested on the lower branch; his head reached quite into the
little dome of a roof, and his arm was clasped firmly about the
tree-trunk. This is their way of sleeping.
After gazing till I was tired through the gloom at my poor
sleeping victim, two of us fired, and the unfortunate beast fell at
our feet without a struggle, or even a groan.
We built a fire at once, and made our camp in this place,
that when daylight came I might first of all examine and skin
my prize. The poor ape was hung up, to be out of the way


272
DESCRIPTION OF THE NSHIEGO.
of the bashikouay and other insects, and I fell asleep on my
bed of leaves and grass, as pleased a man as the world could
well hold.
Next morning I had a chance to examine the nshiego. I was
aft once struck with the points of difference between it and the
chimpanzee. It was somewhat smaller than the chimpanzee I
had killed; but its great distinction was its bald head. This is
its mark. This specimen was 3 feet 11 inches high or long. It
was an adult. Its skin, where there is no hair, is black, in its
natural state. The throat, breast, and abdomen are covered with
short, and rather thin blackish hair. On the lower part of the
abdomen the hair is thinnest; but this is not perceived unless
looked at carefully, as the skin is the color of the hair. On the
legs the hair is of a dirty gray mixed with black.

KSHIECO MDOtTVS (YOUNU).
The shoulders and back have black hair between two and three
inches long, mixed with a little gray. The arms, down to the
wrist, have also long black hair, but the hands are covered with
gray hair. The hair is much thinner, in general, than on the go-
rilla, and the skin is not so tough. I noticed that the bare places,


A CROCODILE hunt.
273
where the hair is worn off by contact with hard substances in
sleeping, were different from the bare places which are so con-
spicuous on the chimpanzee.
There is a yet greater difference "between this animal and the
gorilla. It is not nearly so powerful as that monster. Its chest
is of far less capacity; its muscular development is not on the
same prodigious scale; its arm is much longer; and the fingers
of the gorilla are not only shorter, but also much more powerful
than those of the milder nshiego. There is also a similar differ-
ence in the fingers of the feet. The largest nshiego I shot meas-
ured a few inches over four feet in height, and its spread of arms
was quite seven feet
.
The hair of the nshiego is blacker, longer, and glossier than
that of the gorilla. The latter has his head covered with hair,
while the former is bald, both male and female. The nose of the
nshiego is not so prominent as the gorilla's; the mouth is wider;
the ears are much larger; the chin is rounder than that of the go-
rilla, and has some thin short hairs on it. The posteriors of the
nshiego are bare, and there the skin is white. The eyebrows of
the nshiego are of thin black hair, but long. The side of the face
is thinly covered with hair, commencing about the middle of the
ear.
I sent my prize into the olako, and on our way back we had
the good luck to kill another. This was a very old animal, with
venerable aspect, silvery hair, and decayed teeth. It measured 4
feet 4 inches. Its weight was so considerable that, to carry it, we
had to take out its intestines. I found in the stomach only some
leaves. On my return to the olako I stuffed my two prizes, ready
to send home.
On the 9th we had a great crocodile-hunt. The people were
very glad, as they seem extravagantly fond of the meat. They kill
more or less every day at this village, and so at the others; but the
negroes are so lazy that they were glad to have me go and save
them the trouble. The crocodile has not much meat on him, so
that, though some were killed every day, the village was never
sufficiently supplied.
We went in canoes. These canoes are of a very singular con-
struction; quite flat-bottomed, very light draught, about fifty feet
long, and not more than two broad. They are ticklish craft. The
oarsmen stand up and use paddles seven feet long, with which
S


274
NATIVE CANOES AND HARPOONS.
they can propel one of these boats at a very good rate. The ca-
noes are, of course, easily capsized—the gunwale being but a few
inches above the water'; but they do not often tip over. What
surprised me most was the way the negro paddlers stood up at
their work all day without tiring.
The negroes hunt the crocodile both with guns and a kind of
harpoon. They have very poor guns, and powder is a scarce arti-
cle with them; so the harpoon is most used. The vulnerable part
of the animal is near the joints of his fore legs, and there they en-
deavor to wound it. Though so many are killed, they do not de-
crease in numbers, nor, strange enough, do they seem to grow
more wary. As we started out we saw them swimming about in
all directions, and lying on the mud-banks sunning themselves.
They took no notice of our boat at all. As we were to shoot, wc
were obliged to look for our prizes on the shore, for, if killed in
the water, they sink and are lost. Presently we saw an immense
fellow extended on the bank'among some reeds. We approached
cautiously; I took good aim, and knocked him over. He strug-
gled hard to get to the water, but had been hit too surely. His
strength gave out ere he could reach it, and, with a few final kicks,
he was dead. We got one more, and -then they brought another
canoe along, and, capsizing it along the shore, rolled the dead mon-
sters in and paddled off for the village. One measured eighteen
and the other twenty feet in length. I never saw more savage-
looking jaws. They were armed with most formidable rows of
teeth, and looked really as though a man would be a mere bite for
them.
During the heat of the day these animals retire to the reeds,
where they lie sheltered. In the morning and late afternoon
they come forth to seek their prey. They swim with great si-
lence, making scarce even a ripple on the water, and make pretty
good progress through the water. The motion of the paws in
swimming is like that of a dog, over and over. They can stand
quite still on top of the water, when they may be seen looking
about them with their dull, wicked eyes. They sleep in the reeds,
not for long in the same place. Their eggs they lay in the saud
on the islands in the lake, covering them over with a layer of
sand. The great abundance of fish in the lake makes them in-
crease so fast as they do. The negroes seemed rather indifferent
to their presence, and certainly did not view them with the loath-
ing and horror they inspired in me.








HABITS OF THE OGATA.
277
On the 11th I went on a hunt, but killed only a mkago—a beau-
tiful little monkey, whose head is crowned with a fillet of bright
red hair. They are in great numbers in these woods. Coming
home, I found near the water the hole or burrow of an ogata.
This is a species of cayman which lives near pools, and makes a
long hole in the ground with two entrances, in which it sleeps
and watches for prey. The ogata is a night-roving animal, and
solitary in its habits. It scrapes this hole with its paws with con-
siderable labor. It lives near a pool for the double reason, I
imagine, that it may bathe, and because thither come deer, for
whom it lies in wait in its hole. The negroes tell me that they
rush out with great speed upon any wandering animal, and drag
it into the hole to eat it. When they discover one of these holes
they come with their guns—which are generally loaded with iron
spikes—and watch at one end, while a fire is built at the other
entrance. When it becomes too hot, the ogata rushes out and is
shot. I killed one, which proved to be seven feet long. It had
great strength in its jaws, and very formidable teeth. Like the
crocodile, its upper jaw is articulated, and is raised when the
mouth is opened.
On the 13th I bought a few sticks of ebony, and one of the men
brought me a piece of izomba meat. The izomba is a turtle.
The meat is excellent; and when I inquired about the animal, I
found reason to believe it a new species. The best way to take it
is to watch for it on some of the islands in the lake, whither it goes
to lay its eggs by night. I went out in a boat the same night,
and we were so lucky as to turn one great turtle just as she was
done laying. She had noticed us, silent as our approach was, and
had nearly escaped. I found to my joy next morning that it was .
really a new species.
On the 14th I gave Shimbouvenegani two pieces of cotton cloth,
some tobacco, and beads, and returned to Damagondai's town.
Here I found a canoe from King Ranpano, to say that a vessel
was on the coast by which I could send things to America if I
wished. I determined to go down immediately and send some
specimens off.
On our return to Damagondai's town, as we were paddling
along, I perceived in the distance ahead a beautiful deer, looking
meditatively into the waters of the lagoon, of which from time to
time it took a drink. I stood up to get a shot, and we approach-


278
CROCODILE AND DEER.
ed with the utmost silence. But, just as I raised my gun to fire,
a crocodile leaped out of the water, and, like a flash, dove back
again with the struggling animal in his powerful jaws. So quick-
ly did the beast take his prey that, though I fired at him, I was
too late. I do not think my bullet hit him. If it did, it struck
some impenetrable part of his mail. I would not have believed
that this huge and unwieldy animal could move with such veloci-
ty; but the natives told me that the deer often falls prey to the
crocodile. Sometimes he even catches the leopard, but then there
is a harder battle than the poor little deer could make.
In the afternoon news came that Oshoria, the king of a town
situated at the junction of the Anengue and Ogobay Hi vers, in-
tended to stop me on my way down and exact tribute for my pas-
sage. Poor King Damagondai was much troubled. He sent his
brother down with a present of a plate, a mug, and a brass pan to
propitiate him. I was very angry, and determined to put down
Mr. Oshoria. We cleaned our guns, and I prepared my revolver;
and next morning we set out without waiting for the king's broth-
er's return, greatly to the dismay of these peaceable people.
When we came in sight of Guabuirri, Oshoria's town, I saw
that some of my fellows began to show the white feather. I
therefore told them I would blow out the brains of the first man
who failed to fight to the death, at the same time pointing to my
revolver as the intended instrument of death. They have a great
respect for this wonderful revolver; and immediately answered
me, "We are men."
So we pulled up to the town. On the shore stood about one
hundred and fifty fellows armed with spears and axes, led by ten
men who had guns. I went immediately up to them, revolver in
one hand and double-barreled gun in the other. At this piece of
bravado they became very civil, and instead of firing at my party
received us peaceably.
Damagondai's brother hurried down to meet me, and announced
that there was no palaver. I was then led to where the quarrel-
some Oshoria stood, whom I reproached for his conduct, telling
him that if any body had been killed the palaver would have
been on his head. He said he had been vexed that I did not stop
to see him on my way up; and after making farther excuses,
added, " Aoué Glomé;" which means, "Thou art a man;" an ex-
pression used in several ways, either to designate a smart man, or


THE TRIBE OF THE LAKE.
279
a rascal, or, in the best sense, a very brave man. I was content to
accept it as an intended compliment.
I was presented with fruits and fowls, and we were presently
the best of friends; and when I brought down a little bird which
sat on a very high tree, they all declared I must have a very big
sbooting-fetich, and respected me accordingly.
Leaving there, we got back to Biagano without farther trouble.
The people of the Ogobay and the Anengue are of the same
tribe with the sea-shore Comma, They intermarry; their cus-
toms and superstitions are the same; their palavers are the same;
and, though they are more peaceable, they have the will to be just
as great rascals. The country back of the river-swamps is very
rich in all manner of tropical products. The ebony is found in
the hills; but to transport heavy substances twenty miles to the
river or lake-shore, in a country where there are no roads, is too
much trouble for these lazy fellows—for which reason very lit-
tle is cut. The copal-tree is also found, as well as the India-
rubber vine. They raise sugar-cane in great quantities,, yams,
ground-nuts, plantains, manioc, and sweet potatoes. The chief
commercial produce of the country at present is ivory, of which
a small quantity is brought down every year.
In their religious notions they do not differ from their neigh-
bors, the Fernand Vaz Camma, or indeed from the natives of this
region generally. In Damagondai's town I was so fortunate as to
become possessed of one of their idols or mbuitis. It is a mistake
to suppose that these people worship their greegrees and fetiches.
Wherever I have been I have found the head-man or chief town
of each family in possession of an idol, which was worshiped by
that family. This whole matter is kept so secret that, unless the
traveler pays particular attention, he may live , in a village for
weeks and not know of this idol's existence. And for this reason
some have asserted that they have no idols.
The family of King Glass, in Gaboon, has an idol which is sev-
eral generations old, I am certain. So in Cape Lopez the reigning
family has an ancient idol. Mention has been made before this
of others. Damagondai's idol was a female figure, with copper
eyes, and a tongue made of a sharp sword-shaped piece of iron.
This explained her chief attributes: she cuts to pieces those with
whom she is displeased. She was dressed in a Shekiani cloth, cov-
ering her from the neck down. She is said to speak, to walk, to


280
BUYING AN IDOL.
foretell events, and to take vengeance on her enemies. Her house
is the most prominent one in the whole village
She comes to the people by night and tells them
in their sleep what is going to happen. In this
way, they asserted, my coming had been fore-
told. They worship her by dancing around
her and singing her praises and their requests.
Sometimes a single man or woman comes to pre-
fer a request; and once I saw the whole village
engaged in this rite. They offer her sugar-cane
and other food, which they believe she eats.
I tried to buy this goddess, but, ugly as she
was, Damagondai said no money would pur-
chase her. But he insinuated that for a proper
price I could have the goddess of the slaves.
These poor fellows were absent on the planta-
tions, and after council with his chief men, the
king determined to tell them that he had seen
their mbuiti walk off into the woods. I packed
her up and took her off with me, and here is her
portrait.
From August 18th to the 31st I was badly
sick with dysentery and symptoms of malignant
fever, contracted, probably, in the Anengue
marshes. In three days I took one hundred and
fifty, grains of quinine, and thus, happily, suc-
ceeded in breaking the force of the fever, which
was the most dangerous of the two diseases.
By September 9th I was pretty strong again,
and the people came to ask me if I was willing
for them to bola ivoga, that is, to make a terrible
noise with their ceremonious breaking of the
mourning-time. I gave my consent, and next
day great numbers of canoes came down to help
in this ceremony. When any one of importance
dies, the tribe or town cease to wear their best
clothes, and make it a point to go unusually
dirty. This is to mourn. Mourning lasts from a
year to two years. As for the breaking up of
mourning, this shall now be described.


BOLA IVOGA.
281
The man who had died left seven wives, a house, a plantation,
and other property. All this the elder brother inherits, and on
him it devolves to give the grand feast. For this feast every ca-
noe that came brought jars of mimbo or palm wine. Sholomba
Jombuai, the heir, had been out for two weeks fishing, and now
returned with several canoe-loads of dry fish. From his planta-
tions quantities of palm wine were brought in. Every one in the
village furbished up his best clothes and ornaments. Drums and
kettles were collected; powder was brought out for the salutes;
and at last all was ready for bola ivoga.
The wives of the deceased seemed quite jolly, for to-morrow
they were to lay aside their widows' robes and to join in the jol-
lification as brides. The heir could have married them all, but
he had generously given up two to a younger brother and one to
a cousin.
At seven o'clock in the morning three guns were fired off to
announce that the widows had done eating a certain mess, mixed
of various ingredients supposed to have magical virtues, and by
which they are released from their widowhood. They now put
on bracelets and anklets, and the finest calico they had. About
nine all the guests sat down on mats spread about the house of
deceased and along the main street. They were divided into lit-
tle groups, and before each was set an immense jar of mimbo.
All began to talk pleasantly, till suddenly the Biagano people fired
off a volley of about one hundred guns. This was the signal for
the drinking to begin. Men, women, and children set to; and
from this time till next morning the orgies were continued with-
out interruption. They drank, they sung, they fired guns, and
loaded them so heavily as they got tipsy that I wonder the old
trade-guns did not burst; they drummed on every thing that
could possibly give out a noise; they shouted; and the women
danced—such dances as are not seen elsewhere. They are inde-
cent in their best moments. The reader may imagine what they
were when every woman was furiously tipsy, and thought it a
point of honor to be more bawdy than her neighbor.
Next day, about sunrise, Jombuai came to ask me to assist at
the concluding ceremony. His brother's house was to be torn
'lown and burned. When I came they fired guns, and then,
m a moment, hacked the old house to pieces with axes and cut-
lasses. "When the ruins were burned the feast was done. And
mis is to go out of mourning among the Camma.


282
PHYSIC AMONG THE CAMMA.
Hardly were the rejoicings done, when Ishungui, the man who
had faithfully taken care of my house in my absence, lay at death's
door. He had gone out on Jombuai's fishing excursion, caught
cold, and had now a lung fever. I knew when I saw him that
he must die, and tried to prepare his mind for the change. But
his friends by no means gave him up. They sent for a distin-
guished fetich-doctor, and under his auspices began the infernal
din with which they seek to cure a dying man.
The Camma theory of disease is that Okamboo (the devil) has
got into the sick man. Now this devil is only to be driven out
with noise, and accordingly they surround the sick man and beat
drums and kettles close to his head; fire off guns close to his cars;
sing, shout, and dance all they can. This lasts till the poor fel-
low either dies or is better—unless the operators become tired out
first, for the Camma doctors either kill or cure.
Ishungui died. He left no property, and his brother buried
him without a coffin in a grave in the sand, so shallow that, when
I chanced upon it some days after, I saw that the wild beasts had
been there and eaten the corpse. The mourning lasted but sis
days; and, as there were no wives or property, so there was no
feast. The relatives of the deceased slept one night in his house,
as a mark of respect; and then all that remained was to discover
the person who had bewitched the dead man. For that a young
man, generally healthy, should die so suddenly in course of na-
ture was by no means to be believed.
A canoe had been dispatched up to the lake tq bring down a
great doctor. They brought one of Damagondai's sons, a great
rascal, who had been foremost in selling me the idol, and who was
an evident cheat. When all was ready for the trial, I went down
to look at the doctor, who looked literally like Hie devil. I never
saw a more ghastly object. He had on a high head-dress of
black feathers. His eyelids were painted red, and a red stripe,
from the nose upward, divided his forehead in two parts. An-
other red stripe passed round his head. The face was painted
white, and on each side of the mouth were two round red spots.
About his neck hung a necklace of grass and also a cord, which
held a box against his breast. This little box is sacred, and con-
tains spirits. A number of strips of leopard and other skins
crossed his breast and were exposed about his person; and all
these were charmed, and had charms attached to them. From








HOW TO DISCOVER A WITCH.
285
each shoulder down to his hands was a white stripe, and one hand
was painted quite white. To complete this horrible array, he
wore a string of little bells around his body.
He sat on a box or stool, before which stood another box con-
itaining charms. On this stood a looking-glass, beside which lay
a buffalo-horn containing some black powder, and said, in addi-
ction, to be the refuge of many spirits. He had a little basket of
snake-bones, which he shook frequently during his incantations;
as also several skins, to which little bells were attached. Near
by stood a fellow beating a board with two sticks. All the peo-
ple of the village gathered about this couple, who, after continu-
ing their incantations for quite a while, at last came to the climax.
Jombuai was told to call over the names of persons in the vil-
lage, in order that the doctor might ascertain if any one of those
named did the sorcery. As each name was called the old cheat
looked in the glass to see the result.
During the whole operation I stood near him, which seemed to
trouble him greatly. At last, after all the names were called, the
doctor declared that he could not find any " witch-man," but that
an evil spirit dwelt in the village, and many of the people would
die if they continued there. I have a suspicion that this final
judgment with which the incantations broke up was a piece of
revenge upon me. I had no idea till next day how seriously the
words of one of these (ouganga) doctors is taken.
The next morning all was excitement. The people were
scared: they said their mbuiri was not willing to have them live
longer here; that he would kill them, etc. Then began the re-
moval of all kinds of property and the tearing down of houses;
and by nightfall I was actually left alone in my house with my
Mpongwe boy and my little Ogobay boy, Makondai, both of
whom were anxious to be off.
Old Ranpano came to beg me not to be offended; that he dared
not stay, but would build his house not too far away; that the
mbuiri was now in town: he advised me as a friend to move
also; but nobody wished me ill—only he must go, etc.
I did not like to abandon my houses, which had cost me money
and trouble, and where I was more comfortably fixed than I had
ever before been in Africa. So I called a meeting of the people,
and tried to induce some of them to come over and five with me.
Now, though they loved tobacco, though they worshiped trade,


286
GORILLA HUNTS.
though they had every possible inducement to come and live
near me, "their white man," as they called me, it was only with
the greatest difficulty I could get some men who had already
worked for me to come over and stay in my place. These began
immediately to build themselves houses, and by October 8th the
little village was built, of which I was now, to my great surprise,
offered the sovereignty. I remembered how the new king was
made in the Gaboon; and though it seemed romantic to be the
chief of a negro town in Africa, the thought of the contumely
which precedes the assumption of royalty deterred me. Finally
the men determined to have me as the chief next to Kanpano,
and with this my ambition was satisfied.
On the 1st of November I went in a canoe, with guns and pro-
visions, up to Irende, a town about forty miles up the Fernand
Vaz. Hereabouts there was likelihood of some good hunts; so I
had been told. In fact we killed a number of wild red pigs, and
some beautiful, but very shy red deer. It is a curious circum-
stance—which I think I ascertained to be a fact—that on this part
of the Fernand Vaz the gorilla lives only near the left bank, and
the chimpanzee only near the right bank of the stream, until one
reaches the Rembo River.
On the 9th I started for the town of my old friend Makaga,
where I was heartily received. We went out on a gorilla-hunt
on the 10th, but took too many men, and probably made too
much noise; for we saw none, and returned next day with our
trouble for our pains. On the 13th I went out with only one
hunter, and he took me to a part of the country full of the wild
pine-apple. The gorilla is very fond of the leaves of this plant,
of which it eats the white stems. We saw great quantities thus
eaten away, therefore we hoped to find here the beasts them-
selves.
About noon, Mbele, my hunter, was some distance ahead, when
suddenly I heard his gun fired. I ran up, and found he had shot
and killed a female gorilla about half grown.
Coming back we heard the cry of the gorillas off at one side of
our path. We approached, but were discerned, and came up only
to see four young animals making off on their all-fours into the
woods. I noticed that in their trot their hind legs seemed to play
in between their arms; but they made very good speed.
Before we got to town again I shot a mboyo, a very shy ani-


CAPTURE OF A YOUNG GORILLA.
287
mal of the wolf kind, with long yellowish hair and straight ears. I
have often watched these beasts surrounding and chasing small
game for themselves. The drove runs very well together; and as
their policy is to run round and round, they soon bewilder, tire
out, and capture any animal of moderate endurance.
I found this a great gorilla country; the animals even approach-
ed the town early in the morning, and I found that I need not
make long journeys in order to reach the hunting-ground. But
they are very difficult of approach; the slightest noise alarms
them and sends them off. It is only once in a while that you
can surprise an old male; and then he will fight you.
On the 25th I got a second young gorilla. This time I was ac-
cessory to its capture. We were walking along in silence, when
I heard a cry, and presently saw before me a female gorilla, with
a tiny baby-gorilla hanging to her breast and sucking. The
mother was stroking the little one, and looking fondly down at it;
and the scene was so pretty and touching that I held my fire, and
considered—like a soft-hearted fellow—whether I had not better
leave them in peace. Before I could make up my mind, how-
ever, my hunter fired and killed the mother, who fell without a
struggle.
The mother fell, but the baby clung to her, and, with pitiful
cries, endeavored to attract her attention. I came up, and when
it saw me it hid its poor little head in its mother's breast. It
could neither walk nor bite, so we could easily manage it; and I
carried it, while the men bore the mother on a pole. When we
got to the village another scene ensued. The men put the body
down, and I set the little fellow near. As soon as he saw his
mother he crawled to her and threw himself on her breast. lie
did not find his accustomed nourishment, and I saw that he per-
ceived something was the matter with the old one. He crawled
over her body, smelt at it, and gave utterance, from time to time,
to a plaintive cry, "hoo, hoo, hoo," which touched my heart.
I could get no milk for this poor little fellow, who could not
eat, and consequently died on the third day after he was caught.
He seemed more docile than the other I had, for he already rec-
ognized my voice, and would try to hurry toward me when he
saw me. I put the little body in alcohol, and sent it to Dr. Wy-
man, of Boston, for dissection. His remarks will be found in my
chapter on the gorilla.


288
POISONED BY MY COOK.
The mother we skinned; and, when I came to examine her. I
found her a very singular specimen. Her head was much small-
er than that of any other gorilla I ever saw, and the rump was of
a reddish-brown color. These are peculiarities which made this
specimen different from all others I have seen. I called her, there-
fore, the gorilla with the red rump.
On the 29th and 30th of November I took my last hunts near
Makaga's place. I found gorilla growing scarce. I had hunted
them too perseveringly; so I determined to return to Biagano to
make ready for my trip up the Rembo.
I found all safe, and at once prepared for my next trip. This,
however, was put off by one of those accidents which happen in
these barbarous countries once in a while. On the 5th of Decem-
ber I was poisoned by my cook. He was a Sangatanga fellow,
who had been sent to me from the Gaboon because I could not
stand the cooking of my Biagano friends. He had served in the
Cape Lopez slave-factories, and had there learned treachery and
thieving. For a while he behaved well; but by-and-by I began
to miss things, and made sure, after watching the Comma fellows
pretty closely, that the thief could be nobody but my cook.
On this day I was preparing a tiger's skin which Igala, my hunt-
er, had killed the night before, and had to send cook for some-
thing in my store-house. He came back without the key, which
he said was lost. I told him if he did not get it before night I
would punish him.
I had Sholomba, a native prince, to dine with me, and we had
fowls, chicken soup, and a goat for dinner. It happened that Sho-
lomba's family hold chickens in abhorrence as food, believing that
one of their ancestors had been cured of a deadly disease by the
blood of a fowl. Therefore he ate of the goat. I took two plates
of chicken broth, and had scarce finished the last when I was seized
with frightful pains and vomiting, and diarrhoea set in, and lasted
all night. I never suffered such frightful torments.
When I was first taken sick I called Boulay, the cook, who said
he had put nothing in the soup; but, when charged with poison-
ing, turned and fled into the woods. The next afternoon, when
I was somewhat easier, my people brought the wretch in. He
had fled down river, but had been caught. Ranpano and all
were very angry, and demanded the life of him who had tried to
kill their white man. It was proved that he had gone into my


TRIAL OF BOULAY.
289
store-house with the key he said was lost; and, after some pre-
varication, he admitted that he had taken two table-spoonfuls of
the arsenic I always had setting there and put it in my soup. I
owe my life to his over-dose; consequently to a kind Providence.
Ranpano kept Boulay in chains till I was well enough to sit in
judgment over him. Then it was determined that he should
suffer death. But I interfered, and desired that he should be let
off with 110 lashes with a whip of hippopotamus-hide. Eleven
of the stoutest freemen of the town were chosen to administer the
punishment; and when it was over Boulay was again put in
chains.
Ill news travels even in this country, where there are neither
mails nor post-roads. Boulay had brothers in Cape Lopez, who
in some way heard of his rascality. They were troubled at this
disgrace to their family, and appeared before me one day with
four slaves in their train. They thanked me for not killing their
brother, which, they said, I had a right to do. They said, "Bou-
lay has conducted himself as a slave in trying to poison his mas-
ter." Then they begged me to give him to them and to spare his
life, and handed over to me the four slaves they had brought as
an equivalent.
The brothers were old, venerable, and honest-looking men.
They evidently grieved deeply for the crime of their kinsman.
I told them that in my country we did not "make palaver for
money;" that I might have killed their brother, according to their
own laws. Then I called Boulay, and told him how meanly he
had treated me; then, taking his chains off myself, I handed him
over to his brothers, with the four slaves they had given me.
They thanked me again and again. Banpano forbade Boulay
ever to return, and so they went back to Cape Lopez.
I found myself, after some weeks, not only entirely recovered
from the effects of the ajsenic, but also cured of a fever which had
long beset me. I have mentioned, in another place, that, where
quinine has ceased to affect the traveler in Africa, small doses of
arsenic are sometimes administered, and with good effect, in fever
cases.
T


290
QUENGUEZA SENDS A HOSTAGE.
CHAPTER XV.
Message and Hostage from Quengneza.—Outfit.—Makondai.—Fame of Mr. Colt—
Gourabi.—Reception.—Family Arrangements in Africa.—Intermarriage.—DriT-
ing out a Witch.—Riches among the Camma.—African Shams.—A Sunday Lec-
ture.—Gorilla shot.—The poison Ordeal.—Mbonndou.—Effects of the Poison.—
Native Gorilla Stories.—Charms.—Young female Gorilla caught.—Superstition!
Belief.—Trouble in the Royal Family.—A holy Place.—Obindji's Town.—A royal
Introduction.—Houses.—Decency in Obindji's Town.—Surprise of the Negroes
at my Appearance.—Ordeal of the Ring boiled in Oil.—Bashikonay.—Hooloo-
kamba. — Another new Ape. — Gouamba, or Hunger for Meat. — Grace before
Meat.—A Day's Work in Africa.—Checks.—I am counted a Magician.
Toward the close of January, 1858, when I was thinking of
King Quengueza and of my approaching visit to him, the old fel-
low sent down his eldest son to me with a lot of ebony, and his
youngest son, a boy of ten, who was to be left with me. Quen-
gueza sent word that I must come soon; that I should have his
escort to go to the far interior, and that he was ready to cut ebo-
ny for me. Meantime, lest I should be afraid to trust myself in
his hands, he sent his young son, who was to remain in Kan-
pano's hands as hostage for my safety. "You see," he sent word,
"I am not afraid of you. You may trust me."
This message determined me to get ready at once for my trip.
I packed my goods and put my house in order, and at last called
together the people of Biagano for a serious talk. I knew they
were opposed to my taking trade-goods to the interior, but I could
not go without. I therefore told them that I not only now was,
but intended to remain their white man; that I took goods only
to pay my way, and that my explorations would help their trade,
while I only wanted to hunt. At the same time, I told them if
they did not help me with canoes I should leave them and never
come back. They were glad to let me go where I wished, and to
help me as far as I needed help.
Next day I had a more formal ceremony still. In my houses
remained about two thousand dollars' worth of ebony and goods,
together with ivory, all my specimens not sent to America, and
various other things of value. These were to remain, and I


A TRADER'S OUTFIT.
291
had to trust to the honor of a parcel of black fellows for their
safety.
Accordingly, I took Ranpano and some of his head-men all
over the premises, showed them every thing I had which was to
remain; then said, "Give me a man to keep all safe, that I, who
am your white man, may lose nothing."
They gave me at once old Rinkimongami, the king's brother,
to whom I promised good pay if my things were kept safe.
Then I distributed tobacco to all the people; and next morn-
ing (February 26th) we set off for Goombi, Quengueza's place.
I had to take my big boat, because no canoe would hold all the
goods, powder and shot, guns and provisions I took along. I had
26 guns, 150 pounds of lead, 200 pounds of coarse trade-powder,
30 pounds fine powder for myself, about 10,000 yards of cotton
cloth, 400 pounds beads, and quantities of iron and brass pots,
kettles, and pans; caps, coats, shirts, looking-glasses, fire-steels,
flints, knives, plates, glasses, spoons, hats, etc., etc. This is an Af-
rican trader's outfit. For this I hoped to get not only friendly
treatment, but ebony, ivory, and wax, and perhaps India-rubber.
But all that was only by the way. Gorillas were my chief object,
and the exploration of the far interior. Quengueza had promised
me safe conduct to points very far back toward the unknown
centre of the continent. And as I was the first white man to
venture up in this direction, so I was anxious to get as far as
possible.
We were fifteen, in all, in my boat. Another canoe, with other
fifteen men, followed us. In my own boat, Jombuai, a fellow
from my own town, and who had married some wives up the
Rembo, was the head-man; Quengueza's little boy was along too,
and also the brave little Makondai, whom I had at first determined
to leave behind, as being too small to stand the fatigues of such a
journey. The little fellow entreated so to be taken along, that I
at last consented. He behaved like a trump, and I had no occa-
sion to regret my confidence in him.
We started on the morning of February 26th, 1858. When
we had got a few miles up river the slaves of Jombuai came down
to bid him good-by, and brought him quite a quantity of plant-
ains—a welcome accession to our provision-list. A few miles up
and we were clear of the mangroves, and the river began to
widen, and its shores became beautiful. Fine palms lined the


292
VILLAGE OF "CHARLEY."
banks, and seemed even to guard them from the encroachments
of the full river, which ran along quite level with its banks.
We pulled nearly all night, and by noon of the next day reach-
ed Monwé Island, thirty-five miles from the mouth of the river,
but only about ten miles from the sea, as the reader will see by
the map. Here we took a rest, the heat being excessive.
A little above Monwé the Fernand Vaz becomes much nar-
rower. It then takes an easterly direction; and from this point
upward it is known to the natives as Rembo, which means "The
River." At Quayombi several small islands divide the river
temporarily into different channels, without, however, seriously
obstructing the navigation.
The land which divides the river into three here we found to
be mere mud-banks, half overflowed, and covered with reeds.
When we got into the main stream I found it suddenly narrow-
er, but a full rushing tide, two hundred yards wide, and from four
to five fathoms in depth all along, with no shallows or other im-
pediments to navigation.
On the 28th we passed numerous towns, my men shouting,
singing, and firing guns at every inhabited place, and the people
gazing at us from shore in great wonder. In the afternoon I
went ashore at the village of " Charley," a quarrelsome fellow,
who had become known to white traders some years before by
seizing and imprisoning a whole canoe-load of negroes who had
been sent up on a trading expedition. He put them into a very
uncomfortable kind of stocks, called ntchogo, which consists of a
heavy billet of wood in which the feet are stuck, and a lighter
billet into which the hands are secured. Thus the man is help-
less both against men and against musquitoes and flies. And
here the poor fellows were kept till the trader, who was waiting
in a ship, sent up a ransom for them.
The two chiefs treated me very well, and said they felt friendly
toward me, as indeed they showed by killing in my honor the
fatted calf (it was a goat), and sending besides some chickens
and plantains. They were much alarmed at the charmed pistol
(one of Colt's revolvers) which I fired off to show them how many
of them I could kill without stopping; and I owe my safety, in
fact, to Mr. Colt, whose wares have a great reputation wherever I
have been in Africa.
We slept all day, and toward sunset set out up river again. I


-'<Ti •• ,





, RECEPTION AT GOUMBI. 295
made the men pull all night, giving them tobacco to keep them
awake. They smoked, sung their most exciting songs, and, when-
ever we passed a town, fired off guns; being determined, so they
said, to let all the country know that their white man was ascend-
ing the Rembo.
About one o'clock the next day (the 29th) we came to Goumbi,
the residence of King Quengueza. Here we were received in a
most triumphant manner. I could not make myself heard for
shouts and the firing of guns. The whole population of Goumbi
crowded down to the shore to see me; and I was led up in pro-
cession to an immense covered space, capable of holding at least a
thousand people, and surrounded by seats. These were quickly
filled up by the people, among whom I presently found there were
strangers from various parts of the interior, drawn thither by the
news that I was coming up to Goumbi, and now gazing at me, and
especially at my hair, with the greatest wonder in their counte-
nances.
A large high seat was appointed for me, and another close to
it was for Quengueza, who presently arrived, and, with a face
beaming with joy, shook hands with me.
He is an old, white-wooled negro, very tall, spare, and of a se-
vere countenance, betokening great energy and courage, which he
has, and for which he is celebrated all over this country. He is
a very remarkable man, for his opportunities; and has more nat-
ural intelligence than any other negro I met in Africa. He made
haste to explain to me that he was in mourning for his brother,
who had died two years ago, and could not, therefore, dress fine-
ly. He had on a finely-knit black cap, and a cloth of black also,
both of Ashira make, and really beautiful; no shirt—which ar-
ticle is not allowed to mourners—and an American coat too small
for him.
When he was done welcoming me, I called his little son, Akoon-
ga, whom he had sent me as a hostage, and who had been brought
up in my canoe. When he came forward, I said to the king, in a
loud voice, that the people might hear, "You sent your son to me
to keep, so that I might feel safe to come to you. I am not
afraid. I like you, and can trust you. I believe you will treat
me and my men rightly; and therefore I have brought your lit-
tle son back to you. I do not want him for safety."
At this there was tremendous shouting, and all the people seem-
ed overjoyed.


296
QUENGUEZA'S ADDRESS.
Then I reminded the king of his promise to let me go into the
interior, and to help me. The king and the people shouted ap-
proval. Then I said I had come to benefit them. I had brought
goods, and would buy their ebony and ivory, as much as they
would get. At this announcement the shouts and rejoicings grew
boundless and obstreperous. I had touched—as I expected—
their most vital nerve.
The king then rose to reply. There was immediately a dead
silence—for Quengueza is honored by his people. He first gave
me a large house, which he pointed out to me. It had a veranda
with seats in front. Then he turned to the people, and said:
"This is my ntangani (white man). He has come from a far
country to see me. I went down to beg him to come up to me.
Now he has come. Let no one do any harm to his people. For
him, I need not speak. Give food to his people. Treat them
well. Do not steal any thing. A big palaver would come on
you."
Then he addressed himself to the Ashira and Bakalai, who
were present, saying, "Beware! Do not steal my white man, for,
if you should make the attempt, I would sell you all."
This closed the ceremonies. I was permitted to go to my house;
and the people were ordered to go down and unload my boat, and
bring my things up to the house.
Goumbi is ninety-five miles from the mouth of the river. It is
the last town of the Camma; and is important because it com-
mands the whole of the up river, so far as the natives are con-
cerned, by an hereditary right. The Abouya family, who reside
in Goumbi, and of whom Quengueza is the chief, claim, and are
allowed to have, the sole right of trading up river. Sometimes
they allow a few down-river Camma who have wives in Goumbi
to go up and cut ebony; but even this privilege is sparingly
granted, and for all intents and purposes Quengueza has a mo-
nopoly of all the commerce with the rich country beyond, and
really considers the people who live above him as his vassals.
It is very singular that among all these people descent and in-
heritance are taken from the mother. The son of a Camma man
by a woman of another tribe or nation is not counted a Camma;
and, to narrow it down to families, to be a true Abouya (citizen
of Goumbi), it is necessary to be born of an Abouya mother. If
only the father were Abouya, the children would be considered
half-breeds.


QUENGUEZA'S SUPERSTITIONS.
297
Up to Goumbi there is safe navigation for little steamers in
almost every month of the year, and with light-draught steamers
at any time. The river is deep and narrow, and the banks steep
all the way up. About fifteen miles above Quayombi the cur-
rent becomes stronger. Here the hills come down to the river,
receding, however, above. The country seemed fertile and pro-
ductive; and the number of villages we passed on our way ar-
gues well for its fertility.
On the 1st of March I received a visit from one Igoumba, a
chief of the Ashiras, an interior people. He had fled from his
home because he had been accused of practicing sorcery. Also
several Bakalai chiefs came to see me, and asked me to visit their
country.
Quengueza was all this time perfectly happy. He danced, and
sung, and made jokes, and altogether was as jolly as though all
bis wishes and desires had been gratified at once. He gave me
back his little boy, Akoonga, to stay with me; and as Hakon-
dai is already my steward, the young prince has been appointed
to wash my dishes. I gave Quengueza his present of fifty yards
of cloth, a gun, a neptune, and some beads, etc. He was greatly
pleased, and promised again that I should go into the interior as
far as he had authority and influence. He is an unusually sens-
ible negro, and sees how my explorations may be of great benefit
to him so long as he holds the key of the country.
Nevertheless, he is curiously superstitious. For a year he had
not passed down a street which leads most directly to the water,
but had gone always a roundabout way. This, because when he
came to the throne this street was pronounced to.be bewitched by
an enemy of his; and he was persuaded that if he passed by it he
would surely die. Several times efforts had been made by dis-
tinguished doctors to drive away the witch which there lay in
wait; but the king, though he believed in sorcery, did not have
much faith in the exorcisers or doctors.
A last attempt to drive off the aniemba or witch was made
on the night of March 2d-3d. A famous doctor from the far-off
Bakalai country had been brought down to perform this act
.
His name was Aquailai. The people gathered in great numbers
under the immense hangar or covered space in which I had been
received, and there lit fires, around which they sat. The space
thus covered was dne hundred and fifty feet long by forty wide,


298
EXORCISING A WITCH.
and roofed with bamboo and leaves. About ten o'clock, when it
was pitch dark, the doctor commenced operations by singing some
boasting songs, recounting his power over witches. This was the
signal for all the people to gather into their houses and about
their fires under the hangar. So much haste did they make, that
two women, failing to get home, and afraid to go farther through
the streets, took refuge in my house.
Next all the fires were carefully extinguished, all the lights put
out; and in about an hour more not a light of any kind was in
the whole town except mine. I gave notice that white men were
exempted from the rules made in such cases, and this was allowed
The most pitchy darkness and the most complete silence reigned
every where. No voice could be heard, even in a whisper, among
the several thousand people gathered in the gloom.
At last the curious silence was broken by the doctor, who,
standing in the centre of the town, begim some loud babbling
which I could not make out the meaning of. From time to time
the people answered him in chorus. This went on for an hour,
and was really one of the strangest scenes I ever took part in. I
could see nothing but the faces of the two women in my house,
who were badly frightened, poor things, as, in fact, all the people
were. The hollow voice of the witch-doctor resounded curiously
through the silence; and when the answer of many mingled voices
came through the darkness, it really assumed the air of a serious,
old-fashioned incantation scene.
At last, just at midnight, I heard the doctor approach. He had
bells girded about him, which he jingled as he walked. He went
separately to every family in the town, and asked if to them be-
longed the witch which obstructed the king's highway. Of
course all answered no. Then he began to run up and down the
bewitched street, calling out loudly for the witch to go off. Pres-
ently he came back and announced that he could no longer see
the aniamba, and that doubtless she had gone never to come back.
At this all the people rushed out and shouted, "Go away! go
away! and never come back to hurt our king!"
Then fires were lit, and we all sat down to eat . This done, all
the fires were once more extinguished, and all the people sung
wild songs until four o'clock. Then the fires were again lit
.
At sunrise the whole population gathered to accompany their
king down the dreaded street to the water.


WEALTH AT GOUMBI.
299
Quengueza, I know, was brave as a hunter and as a warrior.
He was also intelligent in many things where his people were
very stupid. But the poor old king was now horribly afraid.
He was assured that the witch was gone; but he evidently thought
himself walking to almost certain death. He would have refused
to go if it had been possible. He hesitated, but at last determined
to face his fate, and walked manfully down to the river and back
amid the plaudits of his loyal subjects.
By the 6th matters began to be put in train for some hunting
expeditions. Food was scarce in town on account of the great
number of strangers present; but the king's thirty wives—he has
only this moderate number—bring food for me and my men ev-
ery day. Quengueza has given me Etia, his favorite hunter and
slave, for a guide in the bush. This Etia is a fine-looking old
man, belonging far in the interior, whence the king bought him
many years ago. He lives now on a little plantation outside of
town, where he has a neat house and a nice old wife, who always
treated me in a kind motherly way. Etia's business is to supply
the royal larder with "bush-meat;" and he hunts almost every
week for this purpose.
Also, Quengueza gave me Mombon, his overseer, chamberlain,
steward, man of business—factotum; the man whose place it
was to take care of the king's private affairs, set his slaves to
work, oversee his plantations, and who had the care of the keys
of the royal houses. Mombon was to see that I was made com-
fortable in town.
A man's wealth is reckoned here, first by the number of slaves
he owns, next by the number of wives, and then by the number
of chests. Chests are used to secure goods in. Therefore chests
have come to be the synonym here for property of this kind, as
banks signify money with us. Now chests, to be secure, must
have locks, and therefore locks of American make are in great
demand all over this country. Native locks are not very secure.
But as locks secure chests, so keys are worn in great numbers as
the outward symbol of ownership in locks, and chests, and prop-
erty. And I found shams even in Goumbi, for several of my
Camma friends had a great array of chests, most of which were
empty; and indeed it is the mode to collect as many boxes as you
can, no matter if you have nothing to put in them.
Some of their houses have locks also. But to have a lock you


300
A HUNTING PAETY.
must have a door; and though this door is but a very narrow,
shabby affair, a whole great tree must be whittled down with their
rude axes to make the board which shall answer for a door.
Therefore doors are a luxury in Goumbi, as indeed also on the
coast.
On Sunday, the 7th, I rested, and had a talk with the people, try-
ing to explain to them something about the one true God, and the
absurdity of their superstitions. They have always one answer to
every thing a white man says against their customs, and this was
brought forward this day, as usual. An old man said, " You are
white, we are black. The God who made you did not make us.
You are one kind of people, we are another. You are mbuiri
(spirits), and do not need all the fetiches and idols that we have.
We are poor people, and need them. God gave you the good
things. To us he has not given any thing."
It is difficult to meet this point of difference of race, which is
asserted in all good faith by every honest negro you meet in Af-
rica. You can not convince them that they and we are all men
and brethren. And till you do this, they remain strong in their
superstitions. .
On the 8th we started out for a two days' hunt. Etia and
Gambo, the latter a son of Igoumba, an Ashira chief, and a noted
hunter, and a few others, with myself, made up the party. We
set out from Etia's house, where the old fellow had skulls of ele-
phants, hippopotami, leopards, and gorillas ranged around as tro-
phies of his prowess. Gambo was an ill-looking fellow, by rea-
son of being much pitted with the small-pox; but he had fiery
eyes, good courage, and a kind heart, as I discovered.
I was amused at a remark Quengueza made, as we started from
the town together. "See," said he, to some people, "how hunt-
ers love each other. No matter if they come from different na-
tions, and are different people. See how my white man loves
these black hunters."
We had been going through the woods about three hours, when
at last we came upon fresh gorilla-tracks. Etia now set out for
himself, while Gambo and I walked silently in another direction.
The gorilla is so difficult of approach that we had literally to
creep through the thick woods when in their vicinity. The dead
silence and the tediousness of the approach, together with the fact
that the hunter can not expect to see his enemy till he is close


FEMALE GORILLA KILLED.
301
•upon him, while even then the gloom of the forest makes him
but dimly visible—all this makes the hunt of this animal most
trying to the nerves. For it is'in the hunter's mind that if
he misses—if his bullet does not speed to the most fatal point,
the -wounded and infuriated animal will make short work of his
opponent.
.As we crept silently along, suddenly the woods resounded with
the report of a gun. We sped at once toward the quarter whence
the report came, and there found old Etia sitting complacently
upon the dead body of the largest female gorilla I ever saw. He
had hit her fatally with his first ball. The total height of the an-
imal was 4 feet 7 inches; length of the hand, 7£ inches; length of
the foot from the hair comprising the heel, 8£ inches; round of
hand above the thumb, 9J inches; do. do. under the thumb, 9
inches. Length of the fingers (hands): thumb, If inches; first fin-
ger, 4 inches; second do., 4J inches; third do., 3f inches; fourth
do., 3£ inches. Circumference of the fingers (hands): thumb, 2f
inches; first finger, 3£ inches; second do., 4 inches; third do., 3£
inches; fourth do., 3 inches. Circumference of the toes: thumb, 3£
inches; first finger, 2f inches; second do., 2J inches; third do., 2-^
inches; fourth do., If inches. This was a huge animal for a fe-
male, for these are always much smaller than the males.
The next morning I heard a great commotion on the planta-
tion, and learned that an old doctor, named Olanga-Condo, was to
drink the mboundou. This is an intoxicating poison, which is
believed by these people to confer on the drinker, if it do not kill
him, the power of divination. It is much used in all this part of
the country to try persons accused of witchcraft A poor fellow
is supposed to have bewitched his neighbor, or the king, and he
is forced to drink mboundou to establish his innocence. If the
man dies he is declared a witch. If he survives he is innocent.
This ordeal is much dreaded by the negroes, who often run away
from home and stay away all their lives rather than submit to
it. The doctors have the reputation of being unharmed by the
mboundou; and I am bound to admit that Olanga drank it with-
out serious consequences. Nevertheless, it is a deadly and speedy
poison. I have seen it administered, and have seen the poor
drinker fall down dead, with blood gushing from his mouth, eyes,
and nose in five minutes after taking the dose. I was told by a
native friend that sometimes, when the mboundou-drinker is real-


802
POISON OBDEAL.
ly hated, the dose is strengthened secretly; and this was the ease.
I suppose, in those instances where I saw it prove fatal.
This time I overlooked the whole operation. Several of the
natives took the root and scraped it into a bowl. To this a pint

of water was poured. In about a minute fermentation took place.
When this subsided, Olanga was called by his friends. The
drinker is not permitted to be present at the preparation of the
mboundou, but he may send two friends to see that all is fair.
When Olanga came, he emptied the bowl at a draught In
about five minutes the poison took effect. He began to stagger
about. His eyes were injected. His limbs twitched convulsive-
ly. His speech grew thick. Then his urine passed from him in-
voluntarily several times. This is considered a sign that the poi-
son will not be fatal. The man's whole behavior now was that
* I gave to Prof. John Torrey, of New York, some of the leaves and root of this
remarkable plant for chemical analysis, and insert here the note in which he commu-
nicates his opinion as to its properties and chemical affinities.
"96 St. Mark's Place, New York, Nov. 27tb, 1SC0.
"Mr dear Sir,—The leaf and root of the mboundou which you placed in my hands
for examination are insufficient materials for determining with certainty the plant to
which they belong. From the intensely poisonous quality of the root, and the symp-
toms which result from its administration, there can be little doubt that the active
principle is a vegeto-alkali belonging to the Strychnine group. Under a powerful
glass, I have not been able to detect any crystalline salt in the bark. The taste of
the infusion is extremely bitter. The ligneous portion of the bark is mnch less active,
is very hard, and, from the numerous annual rings, it must be of very slow growth.
"The mboundou pretty certainly belongs to a natural order that contains many
venomous plants — viz., the Loganiace*; and, from the peculiar veining of the
leaves, it is probably a species of Strychnos, belonging to that section of the genus
which includes S. nux vomica. Yours truly, Jonn Torbbt.
"Mr. Paul B. Dd Chaillu."


A MBOUNDOU PROPHET. 303
of a drunken man. He began to babble wildly; and now it was
supposed that the inspiration was upon him. Immediately they
began to ask him whether any man was trying to bewitch Quen-
gueza. This question was repeated several times. At last he said,
Yes, some one was trying to bewitch the king. Then came the
query, "Who?" But by this time the poor fellow was fortunate-
ly hopelessly tipsy, and incapable of reasonable speech. He bab-
bled some unintelligible jargon, and presently the palaver was
declared over.
While he was being questioned, about one hundred people sat
around with sticks in their hands. These they beat regularly
upon the ground, and sung in a monotone,
"If he is a witch, let the mboundou kill him.
"If he is not, let the mboundou go out."
The whole ceremony lasted about half an hour; and when it
was over the people dispersed, and Olanga, who had by that time
partially recovered, lay down to sleep. I was told that this old
Olanga could drink the poison in very considerable quantities
and at frequent intervals, with no other ill effect than this intox-
ication. This gave him, of course, a great name among these
superstitious people.
When the mboundou ceremony was over we returned to Goum-
bi. Next day (the 10th) we were to go to a considerable distance,
to a spot where Etia gave me hopes we should catch a young go-
rilla alive, perhaps. This I was most anxious of all to do. I
would have gone through any hardships and peril to get one
large enough to be kept alive.
This time we had a large party: Etia, Gambo, myself, and ten
men, each armed and laden with provisions for a couple of days.
The men were covered with fetiches and charms. They had
painted their faces red, and had cut their hands—this bleeding of
the hands being done for luck. The fellows were very nearly
naked—but this is their usual habit.
As for me, I had also made extra preparations. I had black-
ened my face and hands with powdered charcoal and oil, and my
blue drilling shirt and trowsers and black shoes made me as dark
as any of them. My revolver hung at my side, with ammunition-
bag and brandy-flask. My rifle lay upon my shoulder. All this
excited the admiration of the crowd who assembled to see us go
out
.


304
NEGRO STORIES OF THE GORILLA.
Quengueza was greatly delighted, and exclaimed, "What kind
i of ntangani (white man) is this? He fears nothing; he cares for
neither sun nor water; he loves nothing but the hunt."
The old fellow charged the people to take great care of his
white man, and to defend him with their lives if need be.
We traveled all day, and about sunset came to a little river.
Here we began at once to make a fire and leafy shelters for the
night. Scarce was the firewood gathered, and we safely bestowed
under our shelters, than a storm came up, which lasted half an
hour. Then all was clear once more. We cooked plantains and
smoked fish. I fried a piece of ham for myself; and, with tobac-
co afterward, we were as jolly as could be. Now came stories of
gorillas, to which I always listened with great interest. The na-
tives of the whole gorilla region have like superstitions about
these ferocious beasts, though each relater speaks from different
authority.
"I remember," said one, "my father told me he once went out
to the forest, when just in his path he met a great gorilla. My
father had his spear in his hands; when the gorilla saw the spear
he began to roar. Then my father was terrified and dropped his
spear. When the gorilla saw that my father dropped the spear
he was pleased. He looked at him, then left him and went into
the thick forest . Then my father was glad, and went on his
way."
Here all shouted together, "Yes! so we must do when we meet
the gorilla. Drop the spear. That appeases him."
Next Gambo spoke: "Several dry seasons ago a man suddenly
disappeared from my village after an angry quarrel. Some time
after an Ashira of that village was out in the forest. He met a
very large gorilla. That gorilla was the man who had disap-
peared. He had turned into a gorilla. He jumped on the poor
Ashira, and bit a piece out of his arm. Then he let him go.
Then the man came back, with his bleeding arm. He told me
this. I hope we shall meet no such man-gorillas. They are very
wicked. We would have terrible times."
Chorus. "No, we shall not meet such wicked gorillas."
Then one of the men spoke up: "If we kill a gorilla to-mor-
row, I should like to have a piece of the brain for my fetich.
Nothing makes a man so brave as to have a fetich of gorilla's
brain. This gives a man strong heart."


306
HABITS OF THE YOUNG GORILLA.
but the nuts and berries which they eat in the forest, and which
my men were obliged to gather daily for its use. It was not so
ferocious as the male I.had before, but quite as treacherous and
quite as untamable. It permitted no one to approach it without
making offensive demonstrations. Its eyes seemed somewhat
milder, but had the same gloomy and treacherous look; and she
had the same way as my other intractable captive of looking you
straight in the eyes when she was meditating an attack. I re-
marked also the same manoeuvre practiced by the other when
she wished to seize something—say my leg, which, by reason of
her chain, she could not reach with her arm: she looked me
straight in the face, then quick as a flash threw her body on one
leg and arm, and reached out with the other leg. Several times
I had narrow escapes of a grip from her strong great toe. I
thought I saw sometimes that when she looked at me it was as
though she was cross-eyed, but of this I could not make certain.
All her motions were remarkably quick, and her strength, though
so small and young, was extraordinary.
While she was alive no woman who was enciente, nor the hus-
band of such woman, dared approach her cage. They believe
firmly that should the husband of a woman with child, or the
woman herself, see a gorilla, even a dead one, she would give
birth to a gorilla, and not to a man child. This superstition I
have noticed among other tribes too.
When we returned to town I found the king making a tre-
mendous row about the misconduct of a piece of property he had
inherited from his deceased brother. I have already explained
that in this country the children do not inherit. When a man
dies, his brothers, if he has any, come into possession of his prop-
erty. If there are no brothers, then cousins, uncles, and only in
the last resort children. It should be added that property means
chiefly slaves and wives. The house remains to the widows till
the mourning-time is over, and is then burned down. Plantations
itre not property, because any man may cultivate any piece of
land, but holds only during use. Guns and such personal prop-
erty are all divided immediately after death.
Now the piece of property which had caused Quengueza's ire
was the favorite wife of the deceased king. The mourning-time
was nearly over, and Quengueza had announced that the royal
widows should be divided among his male relatives—cousins—he


A WOMAN PALAVER
307
reserving to himself only one or two of the best-looking. Now
the royal fancy had been set particularly upon this one in ques-
tion, and she, with feminine perverseness, had been caught in
an intrigue with a common—but very good-looking—fellow of the
town. Quengueza was highly enraged. He swore he would not
take a single one of his brother's widows. He swore revenge on
the fellow who had so displaced him. The people were very
much distressed. They came in a body and begged him to take
at least two of his brother's wives. The town was agitated the
whole day upon the important question; and I was pleased to
hear at sunset that Quengueza had at last thought it best to ac-
cede to the wishes of his people. So that fuss was over.
The poor fellow who caused such a popular commotion sent
slaves to his majesty as a peace-offering. But his majesty grand-
ly sent them back, and with them word that he would receive
nothing from one who had so injured him.
For several days I hunted the woods near Goumbi, shooting
chiefly birds. I find the birds and also the quadrupeds of this
region very much the same as in the Cape Lopez interior. The
soil appears rich, and thick forests prevail hereabouts. Ebony is
cut a little farther up the river. India-rubber vines I have not
seen in such plenty here. Elephants are abundant some twenty
miles off. But ebony is like to be the chief produce of the vicin-
ity of Goumbi.
On the 18th of March I asked Quengueza to expedite me to
the interior. The Bakalai and Ashira chiefe had both asked me
to come to their country, assuring me good hunts and kind treat-
ment. Quengueza spoke of more presents, as a way of enhancing
his importance among the neighboring tribes. I gave him some
things, and "trusted" him with $200 worth of goods, for which he
is to give me ebony when I return from the interior. I also trust-
ed four of the chief men of the town. At this the whole popula-
tion was extravagantly delighted, for this gave them all profitable
employment at cutting ebony.
At last, on the 22d, we got off for up the river. Quengueza and
I with my baggage were in a large canoe, which had twenty-two
paddlers. The Ashira and Bakalai chiefs followed in other ca-
noes, and to them followed several Goumbi canoes. It was in-
tensely hot. Even the negroes suffered; and, though I had a
thick umbrella over my head and sat quite still, I had frequently
to bathe my head, for I feared a sun-stroke.


OBINDJI.
309
what like an umbrella, but could not give much shade, being so
high. I found that this tree was highly venerated by the people,
who call it the ohumi. Its kind are not common even here,
where its home is said to be. Its bark is said to have certain
healing properties, and is also in request from a belief that if a
man going off on a trading expedition washes himself first all
over in a decoction of its juices in water, he will be lucky and
shrewd in making bargains. For this reason great strips were
torn off this tree to the height of at least twenty feet.
In the afternoon we passed a creek or bayou, called the Eliva-
monos—so called because of the exceeding abundance there of
that delicious fish the mullet. Bakalai villages now became
more frequent; and I see that these people are more energetic
and provident than the sea-shore tribes. At Mpopo I saw thou-
sands of plantain-trees surrounding the village. Finally we ar-
rived at the village of Obindji, a chief who is a great friend of
Quengueza's, and with whom we shall make our head-quarters
for a while.
The people rushed down to the banks to see me, none of them
having ever seen a white man before. They looked at me with
great curiosity, and particularly admired my hair, which is al-
ways an object of curiosity to the Africans.
We came up firing guns and singing songs. When we ap-
proached the shore Obindji came down in great state, dressed in
his silk hat (the crown), a coat and shirt, and a nice cloth. He
was ringing his kendo, a bell, which is the insignia of kingship
here—something like a royal sceptre.
I said, "Why do you ring your kendo?"
He replied, "Obindji's heart is glad, and he thanks his
Mboundji that he has to-day come up higher than he ever stood
before. A white man has come to see Obindji."
When we were landed, and the two kings and I were seated in
chairs, the grand reception began. Quengueza gave a relation of
his entire intercourse with me from the time he came down to see
me to the present hour. All was said in short sentences; and
the people who listened gave frequent approval. Then Obindji
replied, giving, in like manner, a statement of his feelings when he
heard that Quengueza was about to bring a white man to see him,
etc. Then they clapped hands; Obindji shook hands with me
(very awkwardly); and then the ceremony, which had lasted
three quarters of an hour, was over.


310
TRAITS OP THE BAKALAI.
The town of Obindji is, by my reckoning, about 140 miles from
the mouth of the river. It is a recent settlement, and not very
large. The family is quite powerful; but when their chief wish-
ed to remove to the river from his inland settlement, most of his
people refused. These Bakalai are reputed to be very warlike,
and various circumstances show that they are so. They are much
dreaded by other tribes; and I find that these others have left all
the right side of the river to their fighting neighbors. Those
who live on the river-bank, however, are in some sort bound to
keep the peace; for they have no right near the water but with
the leave of Quengueza, and this they get only on promise of
peaceable behavior.
Their houses also show their prominent trait. They are not
built of split bamboos, like those farther down the river, but of
bark, which is peeled off large trees in slips four to five feet long
and a foot wide, and securely lashed on the sides. This makes
them tight. The bamboo walls always have open strips, through
which an enemy can see to shoot those inside. From this dan-
ger the bark walls protect them. The houses here are small,
however, not more than twelve feet long by eight wide. They
are generally two rooms deep, and in the back room the family
sleep, while in front their goods are kept. In war-time they
change their sleeping-places in the house every night, so that the
enemy may be at a loss where to fire when attacking from the
outside.
They have a few guns among them; but a man who owns a
gun and some powder is rich. They were much astonished at
my percussion-locks, and yet more at my revolver, which was a
constant marvel to them. Bevolvers of simple construction
would bring almost any price among these people.
The town, and another which lay just above, separated from
Obindji's by a narrow creek, were surrounded with extensive
manioc plantations. Here I notice again that the Bakalai raise
better crops than the lower tribes.
During the week so many people came from up the river that
food grew scarce, and Quengueza sent down to Goumbi for sup-
plies for our party. One very old chief came down from his
town, over a hundred miles farther up the river. 'When he came
ashore Quengueza and I went to see him in his house, waiving
ceremony on account of his age. When he saw me he started


QUENGUEZA'S POLITENESS.
311
back, and was much moved. He exclaimed, "You are not a
man. You are a mbuiri" (spirit). He had come the long jour-
ney, he said, to see the man who made guns and powder; and I
saw clearly he wished to ask me, as the Fan people did, to sit
down and make him some guns.
I had a laugh at Quengueza, who endeavors to teach all his
neighbors the ideas he gets from me. In common with many of
his subjects, the old fellow was much troubled with fleas, and
when, as he stood talking with me, a flea became too trouble-
some, he used to adroitly catch him, and gravely crack him on his
thumb-nail. This disgusted me so that I remonstrated, and at
last succeeded in reforming this one of his abuses. But no soon-
er had he quit the disgusting practice himself, than he at once
forbade it to all his own subjects, and became a most zealous ad-
vocate of decency among our Bakalai friends.
"Why do you crack your fleas before my white man, eh?
Dirty fellow! Go away! You make my white man sick!" he
used to cry out. And to-day, when we had our interview with
the up-river chief, Quengueza was equally zealous—though more
polite—with him. But the old man replied, " Thus have I done
all my life—it is now too late;" and gravely continued his mas-
sacre.
As Obindji is to be our head-quarters, we are having houses

OBUTOJI IN HIS EAHY-CHAIE.
built. The men have gone out into the forest to collect bark,
and leaves, and posts. Meantime the 28th was Sunday, and I re-


312
WONDER OF MY VISITORS.
quested Quengueza to make the men rest on this day, explaining
to him the nature of our Sabbath.
The old man was puzzled for a moment, then said,
"We are much hurried now. Suppose you put off the Sunday
for three or four weeks; then we can have as many Sundays as
you want."
I had a slight attack of fever, caused doubtless by the great
heat we suffered from on the river. Some of the men had fever,
too, and also Quengueza's brother. I gave them quinine, which
cured them and relieved me too.
Up-river chiefs continue to come in with their wives, slaves,
and people—all anxious to see the man who makes guns, beads,
iron and brass kettles, etc.; and all rapt in astonishment at my
strange appearance. They seem really to find a much greater
contrast between myself and them than I can see. Most of them
regard me as a powerful spirit, and all admire at Quengueza's for-
tune, who has the care of me, and whose friend I am. Many of
the chiefs are fine-looking fellows, well armed with spears and
bows. They seem brave and warlike. Some of their caps and
grass-cloth are very finely made; and I am really anxious, the
more I see, to get among the Ashira, who seem to be the most in-
genious of all these people. All these visitors had heard of my
trusting Quengueza, and now came to beg goods from him, for
which they would help him cut ebony.
On the 30th my house was done, and I set up my bed and oth-
er household goods. I had with me an American clock; and this
excited the constant wonder and awe of the people, who could not
be persuaded but it was a spirit, and a very powerful spirit,
keeping watch over me. This day, also, a Bakalai chief who is
to hunt with me brought me in a female gorilla which he had
killed in the woods. This female was not quite grown. It meas-
ured three feet eleven inches. Its canine teeth had not attained
their full size. The face was intensely black, as were also the
hands and feet. The hair on the crown was reddish, but not so
deep a color as in some older females I have. On the body the
hair was a blackish-red, and no longer on the arms than on the
rest of the body. The breast was covered only with very light
down.
The heat is still excessive. It rains every night, and that
somewhat cools the air; but in the afternoon, my thermometer,


OBDEAL OF THE HOT RING. 313
standing in a well-shaded place, ranges from 106° to 98°. There
is but little breeze, and the air is oppressively hot. On the 2d of
April I saw another trial by ordeal performed. A little boy, son
to Aquailai, the doctor who had driven the witch from the main
street of Goumbi, reported that one of Quengueza's men had dam-
aged a Bakalai canoe. The owner required to be paid for the in^
jury. The Goumbi man denied the act, and asked for trial. An
Ashira doctor was called in, who said that the only way to make
the truth appear was by the trial of the ring boiled in oil. Here-
upon the Bakalai and the Goumbi men gathered together, and
the trial was at once made.
The Ashira doctor set three little billets of bar-wood in the
ground with their ends together, then piled some smaller pieces
between, till all were laid as high as the three pieces. A native
pot half full of palm-oil was set upon the wood, and the oil was
set on fire. When it burned up brightly a brass ring from the
doctor's hand was cast in the pot; the doctor stood by with a lit-
tle vase full of grass soaked in water, of which he threw in now
and then some bits. This made the oil blaze up afresh. At last
all was burned out, and now came the trial. The accuser, the
little boy, was required to take the ring out of the pot. He hesi-
tated, but was pushed on by his father. The people cried out,
"Let us see if he lied or told truth."
Finally he put his hand in, seized the red-hot ring, but quick-
ly dropped it, having severely burnt his fingers. At this there
was a shout, "He lied! he lied!" and the Goumbi man was de-
clared innocent.
I ventured to suggest that he also would burn his fingers if he
touched the ring; but nobody seemed to consider this view. I
judge that where an accuser has to substantiate a charge in this
way information is not easily to be got.
On the 6th, at last, we set off for a two or three days' hunt.
We went up river for about ten miles, and then struck inland to
a deserted Bakalai village, where we made our camp. When
that was arranged we went out to look for gorilla-tracks. It was
too late to hunt; but Querlaouen, my chief hunter, wanted to be
ready for the morrow. I saw nothing; but Malaouen, another
hunter, came in after dark, and said he had heard the cry of the i
kooloo, and knew where to find it in the morning.
Of course I asked what this kooloo was, and received for an-


314
THE KOOLOO-KAMBA.
swer a circumstantial description of the animal, which threw me
into the greatest excitement; for I saw that this was most certain-
ly a new species of ape, of which I had not even heard as yet. It
was called kooho-kamba by the Goumbi people, from its noise
or call, "kooloo," and the Camma word karaba, which means
"speak." The Bakalai call it simply Koola.
I scarce slept all night with fidgeting over the morrow's pros-
pects. The kooloo was said to be very rare here, and there was a
chance only that we should find that one whose call had been
heard.
At last the tedious night was gone. At the earliest streak of
dawn I had my men up. We had fixed our guns the night be-
fore. All was ready, and we set out in two parties. My party-
had been walking through the forest about an hour, when sudden-
ly I stepped into a file of bashikouay ants, whose fierce bites
nearly made me scream. The little rascals were infuriated at my
disturbance of their progress, and held on to my legs and to my
trowsers till I picked them off. Of course I jumped nimbly out
of the way of the great army of which they formed part, but I
did not get off without some severe bites.
We had hardly got clear of the bashikouays when my ears
were saluted by the singular cry of the ape I was after. "Koola-
kooloo, koola-kooloo," it said several times. Gambo and Malaou-
en alone were with me. Gambo and I raised our eyes, and saw,
high up in a tree-branch, a large ape. We both fired at once,
and the next moment the poor beast fell with a heavy crash to
the ground. I rushed up, anxious to see if, indeed, I had a new
animal. I saw in a moment that it was neither a nshiego, nor a
chimpanzee, nor a gorilla. Again I had a happy day—marked
forever with red ink in my calendar.
We at once disemboweled the animal, which was a male. I
found in its intestines only vegetable matter and remains. The
skin and skeleton were taken into camp, where I cured the former
with arsenic sufficiently to take it into Obindji.
The animal was a full-grown male four feet three inches high.
It was less powerfully built than the male gorilla, but as power-
ful as either the chimpanzee or nshiego mbouve. When it was
brought into Obindji, all the people, and even Quengueza, at once
exclaimed, " That is a kooloo-kamba." Then I asked them about
the other apes I already knew; but for these they had other



ME KOOLOO-KAMBA.


THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRART
ASTOK. LKNOX


GOUAMBA.
317
names, and did not at all confound the species. For all these
reasons I was assured that my prize was indeed a new animal,
and not a variety of any of those before known.
The kooloo-kamba has for distinctive marks a very round head;
whiskers running quite round the face and below the chin; the
face is round; the cheek-bones prominent; the cheeks sunken;
the jaws not very prominent—less so than in any of the apes.
The hair is black; long on the arm, which was, however, partly
bare.
The chimpanzee is not found in the woods where I shot this
kooloo-kamba. The gorilla is evidently much the most power-
ful animal of the two. The kooloo is, however, the ape, of all
the great apes now known, which most nearly approaches man in
the structure of its head. The capacity of the cranium is some-
what greater, in proportion to the animal's size, than in either
the gorilla or the nshiego mbouve. Of its habits these people
could tell me nothing, except that farther interior it was found
more frequently, and that it was, like the gorilla, very shy and
hard of approach.
Meat was now becoming scarce, and I was glad to go back to
town; and happier yet when Querlaouen overhauled us with a wild
pig as a prize, of which the good fellow gave me half. The ne-
groes were feasting on the kooloo meat, which I could not touch.
So the pig was welcome to me, as indeed it was to Quengueza,
whom we found almost crying with an affection which is common
in Africa, and is called gowarriba—but for which we, happily, have
no name. Gouamba is the inordinate longing and craving of ex-
hausted nature for meat. The vegetable diet here is not of a
satisfying nature at best. Just now all provisions were scarce in
Obindji, and even Quengueza had not tasted meat for four days.
He was exhausted, nervous, and, though a stout old fellow, really
whimpering. This was gouamba, of which I have suffered often
enough in these wilds to vouch that it is a real and frightful tor-
ture.
The rainy season is now at its height. The river is swollen; the
water rushes down in a yellow muddy stream, and on a level with
the banks. My house is but about four feet above the water-level,
and it stands on high ground. Below, at this time, all is over-
flowed; and on the Anengue Lake the crocodiles have probably
retired to the reeds.


318
NEGRO DOCTOBS OR PROPHETS.
Accusations of sorcery are really the cause of very many
troubles and miseries among these people. On the 11th Obind-
ji's younger brother was brought up on a charge of having
witched to death his elder brother, Obindji's predecessor. This
man had been dead a year, and his poor brother had already
drunk mboundou three times to establish his innocence. Still the
charge was pushed. He gave away some slaves for peace' sake.
But now his brother-in-law demanded another trial. I interfered,
and procured his release, at least while I am here.
On the 12th Quengueza went down to Goumbi to attend to an-
other case of mboundou-drinking. A young girl is accused of
having bewitched some fellow who died, and has now to undergo
the ordeal. God help herl I made the king promise me she
should not be killed. More I could not do.
I meantime went off to a neighboring town, where a friend of
mine had killed three elephants. These animals are not very
plentiful hereabouts, but they are not much hunted either. The
natives are too idle to take the trouble, and would rather suffer
gouamba often than go hunt. Besides this, guns have become so
much the use here that they no longer entrap or spear the huge
beast, but trust to their hunters for supplies. Those only have
guns. It is strange how even here, where no white man has ever
been, guns and powder, brass and iron pots, beads, etc., are not at
all uncommon. Of course all such things have an extravagant
value, which is an advantage to the trader, or would be, could he
come up here.
I came into the town just when the ceremonial dance was about
to be performed which precedes the division of the meat. This
is a thank-offering to two spirits, Hondo and Obmbo, who seem to
have an influence on the hunt. An Ashira doctor was leading
in the ceremonies. I find here, as I have heard it said also in
more civilized countries, that the prophet gains in repute the far-
ther he travels from home. In Goumbi a Bakalai doctor was
held in high esteem. In Biagano a Goumbi doctor was chief of
all the prophets. Here, among the Bakalai, only an Ashira doc-
tor was thought worthy. So it goes.
They had three pieces, cut from the hind-quarters of the ele-
phants, boiling in large pots. Around these they danced, while
the Ashira doctor chanted praises and petitions to the spirits. A
piece was cut off and sent into the woods to appease the hunger


A DEVIL-BIRD. 319
of these deities (or more likely of their representatives, the leop-
ards), and then the rest was eaten. Next came the division of the
great heaps of uncooked meat. The town, the town's friends, the
hunters, the hunters' friends, and their friends, all came and got
shares. I received fifty pounds for myself; and though the meat
is unpleasant to the taste, tough to chew, and in every way un-
palatable, as I knew to my cost by former sad experience, I was
glad to have it; for meat was scarce, and I had the appetite of a
hunter.
The killing of an elephant is an event among the Bakalai, not
only for the meat, but because the ivory is sent down to the coast,
and procures for them the cloth, powder, guns, trinkets—whatev-
er they get of civilized people; for they do not yet cut much eb-
ony or bar-wood.
Hunting back of the village, on the 15th, I shot a curious bird,
the Alethe casianea—a new species. It is said by the natives to
have a devil in it—for what reason I could not discover; proba-
bly for none. But its habit makes it singular. They fly in a
small flock, and follow industriously the bashikouay ants in their
marches about the country. The bird is insectivorous; and when
the bashikouay army routes before it the frightened grasshoppers
and beetles, the bird, like a regular camp-follower, pounces on the
prey and carries it off". I think it does not eat the bashikouay.
My old enemies the snakes are quite abundant in these woods.
As we push through the bush we often see some great anaconda
hanging from a projecting bough, waiting its prey. The other
day I shot a little bird which, in its fall, lodged among some
vines. I was anxious to get it, and began to climb up after it.
Just as I was reaching out for my bird, a snake, belonging to one
of the most venomous kinds found in this part of Africa, stuck
out his head at me from the thick vine foliage. I was very much
startled, and dropped down to the ground without loss of time.
Fortunately I had only to drop a few feet. It was one of the
narrowest escapes I had in Africa—for there is no cure for this
serpent's bite, and I could literally feel its breath against my face
before I saw it.
Singularly few accidents happen from snake-bites among the
natives. They wander every where barefooted, and seem to have
no dreadtill they see a snake, when they scamper off fast enough
u° it is very venomous. The anaconda they kill because they


320
A DAY'S WORK.
like its meat, which, they say, makes a delicious soup. I have
never tasted it.
When, as here, I am hunting regularly, I get up at five in the
morning. Monguilomba then makes me a strong cup of coffee,
which is served by Makondai. This drunk, I start for the bush
and hunt until ten, which is my breakfast-hour. After breakfast
I stuff the birds shot in the morning, and rest till three. Then
out again into the bush till six, which is sunset and dark here,
when I get back and find my dinner ready, with Makondai to
wait on me. After dinner bird-stuffing goes on again, till all the
prizes of the day are secure. That done, I go among the people
and hear them talk until it is time to go to sleep.
This is the average day. Of course, when we go out on great
hunts, all orderly arrangements are broken up; and I have often
to sit up half or all the night to prepare my prizes, which will not
keep till next day in this hot climate.


VENOMOUS FLIES.
321
CHAPTER XVI.
Venomous Flies.—Gorilla.—Cutting Ebony.—The Ebony-tree.—Angnilai's Town.
— Superstitions. — Severe Sickness. — Kindness of the native Women to mc.
—Child murdered for Sorcery.—New Cure for Sterility.—Ivory-eaters.—Manioc.
—Capture a young Nsfaego Mbouve.—Its Grief for its Mother.—Biography of
Nshiego Tommy.—Easily tamed. — His Tricks.—Habits.—Love for Wine and
Scotch Ale.—His Death.—Curious Color.—Famine.—Njani Oil.—Gorilla.—Ev-
idence of their vast Strength.—Guaniony.—Return to Obindji's.—Letters and
Papers from home.—Astonishment of the Negroes at my Reading.—The Ofonbou
River.—Starvation.—Njalie-Coody.—The Njambai Festival.—Woman's Rights
among the Bakalai.—A midnight Festival.—A Mystery.—An Attempt at Black-
mail.—Nature of the Njambai, or Guardian Spirit.—Hunter killed by Gorilla.—
Native Superstitions.—The Dry Season.—Gouamba.—The Eloway Fly.—Huge
Serpents.—Enormous Gorilla killed.—Curious Superstition about the Gorilla and
a pregnant Woman.—Animals peculiar to this Region.—Generosity of the Blacks.
—The Superstition of Roondah.—Return.
On Tuesday, the 20th of April, we set out for one of our
great hunts, going up the river a short distance and then strik-
ing into the forests. We found many open spots in these woods,
where the soil was sandy, and the grass was not very luxuri-
ant, growing not more than two feet high. The sun is very op-
pressive in these clear spots.
We were troubled, too, on the prairie by two very savage flies,
called by the negroes the boco and the nchouna. These insects
attacked us with a terrible persistency which left us no peace.
They were very quiet blood-suckers, and I never knew of their
attacks till I felt the itch which follows the bite when the fly has
left it. This is again followed by a little painful swelling.
The next day we were out after gorillas, which we knew were
to be found hereabouts by the presence of a pulpy pear-shaped
fruit, the tondo, of which this animal is very fond. I also am very
fond of the subdued and grateful acid of this fruit, which the ne-
groes eat as well as the gorilla. It is curious that that which
grows in the sandy soil of the prairie is not fit to eat.
We found every where gorilla-marks, and so recent that we
began to think the animals must be avoiding us. This was the
case, I think, though I am not sure. At any rate we beat the
bush for two hours before, at last, we found the game. Suddenly
X


322
MEETING A GOBILLA.
an immense gorilla advanced out of the wood straight toward us,
and gave vent as he came up to a terrible howl of rage—as much
as to say, "I am tired of being pursued, and will face you."
It was a lone male—the kind who are always most ferocious:
and this fellow made the woods ring with his roar, which is real-
ly an awful sound, resembling very much the rolling and mut-
tering of distant thunder.
He was about twenty yards off when we first saw him. "We at
once gathered together, and I was about to take aim and bring
him down where he stood, when Malaouen stopped me, saying, in
a whisper, " Not time yet."
We stood therefore in silence, guns in hand. The gorilla look-
ed at us for a minute or so out of his evil, gray eyes, then beat
his breast with his gigantic arms, gave another howl of defiance,
and advanced upon us.
Again he stopped, now not more than fifteen yards away.
Still Malaouen said, "Not yet."
Then again an advance upon us. Now he was not twelve yards
off. I could see plainly the ferocious face of the monstrous ape.
It was working with rage; his huge teeth were ground against
each other so that we could hear the sound; the skin of the fore-
head was moved rapidly back and forth, and gave a truly devil-
ish expression to the hideous face; once more he gave out a roar
which seemed to shake the woods like thunder, and, looking us
in the eyes and beating his breast, advanced again. This time
he came within eight yards of us before he stopped. My breath
was coming short with excitement as I watched the huge beast
Malaouen said only "Steady," as he came up.
When he stopped, Malaouen said, "Now." And before he
could utter the roar for which he was opening his mouth, three
musket balls were in his body. He fell dead almost without a
struggle.
"Don't fire too soon. If you do not kill him he will kill you,"
said Malaouen to me—a piece of advice which I found afterward
was too literally true.
It was a huge old beast indeed. Its height was 5 feet 6 inch-
es. Its arms had a spread of 7 feet 2 inches. Its huge brawny
chest measured 50 inches around. The big toe or thumb of its
foot measured 5f inches in circumference. Its arm seemed only
immense bunches of muscle, and its legs and claw-like feet were


THE EBONY-TREE.
323
so well fitted for grabbing and holding, that I could see how easy
it was for the negroes to believe that this animal conceals itself in
trees, and pulls up with its foot any living thing, leopard, ox, or
man, that passes beneath. There is no doubt the gorilla can do
this, but that he does I do not believe. They are ferocious, mis-
chievous, but not carnivorous.
The face of this gorilla was intensely black. The vast chest,
which proved his great power, was bare, and covered with a
parchment-like skin. Its body was covered with gray hair.
Though there are sufficient points of diversity between this ani-
mal and man, I never kill one without having a sickening reali-
zation of the horrid human likeness of the beast. This was par-
ticularly the case to-day, when the animal approached us in its
fierce way, walking on its hind legs, and facing us as few animals
dare face man.
On the 27th April Quengueza and I, with about twenty slaves
and some hunters, started up river for the ebony country, where
the king wished to cut wood, while I should hunt. All the for-
ests up here are full of precious woods. Ebony is found in great-
est plenty at the top of the hills which line, at some distance, the
river-course. Bar-wood is found every where, and in great abund-
ance. The natives have not yet cut much of it, and there is
enough here for a brisk trade for years. The India-rubber-vine
is found on all hands; and when a regular trade is once establish-
ed, this will be one of the great staples of the river. There are
also many other varieties of hard woods, some pink, some chest-
nut, some yellow in color, and all susceptible of a high polish,
many of which would no doubt have a commercial value were
this region opened to white trade.
As we were to stay a month, the king took some of his wives
with him. We pulled up the river against the strong current as
before; and I learned that the country where we killed the go-
rilla is called Kanga-Niare.
The ebony-tree is not found on low ground, or near the river.
It is met with all along the ridges and hills which run here north
and south. It is one of the finest and most graceful trees of the
African forest. Its leaves are long, sharp-pointed, dark-green,
and hang in clusters, producing a grateful shade. Its bark is
smooth, and of a dark green. The trunk rises straight and clean
to a considerable height—often fifty or sixty feet; then large


324
THE EBONY OF COMMERCE. •
heavy branches are sent out. I have seen one of these trees
which had a diameter of five feet at the base. The mature ebo-
ny-tree is always found hollow, and even its branches are hollow.
Next the bark is a white "sap-wood," which is not valuable.
This, in an average tree, is three or four inches thick, and next
to this lies the ebony of commerce. The young trees are white
or sappy to the centre; and even when they attain a diameter
of nearly two feet the black part is streaked with white. Trees
less than three feet in diameter are not cut down.

F.HONY LEAVES: MALE AND FEMALE (HALF THE NA1TEAL GOT).
The ebony-tree is found intermixed with others in the forest.
Generally three or four trees stand together, and none others
within a little distance. Thus the cutters move through the
woods constantly seeking trees.
We were bound to the town of a chief named Anguilai,
whom I had met at Obindji's town. The place was called N'ca-
lai-Boumba, and was a considerable town, though very lately
built. We were nearly all day on our journey. On the way we
passed several villages, the largest of which, Npopo, I afterward
visited. The river-banks all the way up are densely wooded, but
very sparsely inhabited by the animal creation. We saw but one
monkey and a few birds the whole day.
Two hours before reaching this point we had been drenched
by a severe rain-storm. Great, therefore, was our surprise, when,
having climbed over the trees which had been cut down in front
of the town, and which lay there a very formidable barrier to any
one's approach, we found the street dry; and the people were as
much surprised at seeing us wet. We had only happened under
a rain-cloud.


AN ATTACK OF FEVER.
325
.Anguilai's town is the hottest place I saw in Africa. Most of
the negroes have wit enough to build on top of some hill, where
they get a breeze. But this town was set in a hollow, and the
houses were so small and close as to be quite unendurable to me.
All these Rembo Bakalai are but lately from the interior. They
have been induced to move to the river by Quengueza, who
makes them useful to him, and they are not yet at home there.
N'calai-Boumba was not yet a year old. The people were still
awkward canoe-men; and in other matters were evidently not at
home in the country.
On the 29th I went down to a little village called Npopo, and
found the people all gone into the bush. Every thing was
open and exposed to thieves; chickens and goats were walking
about, and I wondered to see such carelessness in the village.
But in the centre, looking down on every thing, stood the mbuiti,
or god of Npopo, a copper-eyed divinity, who, I was informed,
safely guarded every thing. It seemed absurd; but I was as-
sured that no one dared steal, and no one did steal, with the eyes
of this mbuiti upon him.
This uncommonly useful divinity was a rudely-shaped piece of
ebony about two feet high, with a man's face, the nose and eyes
of copper, and the body covered with grass.
On the last of April I was brought down to my bed with fe-
ver. In three days I took 150 grains of quinine and two heavy
doses of calomel. This was the severest attack I had yet had in
Africa. I suffered very much from the heat in the little houses,
and was glad when Quengueza had his shades built on the ebony-
ground and we moved thither.
While I lay sick the people came and entreated me not to hunt
so much and so constantly. They said, "Look at us; we hunt
one day and rest two. When we hunt three days we rest a week
after it. But you go out every day!" I think they are right,
and shall follow their rule.
I shall never forget the kindness of the women to me while I
was sick. Poor souls! they are sadly abused by their taskmas-
ters; are the merest slaves, have to do all the drudgery, and take
blows and ill usage besides; and yet at the sight of suffering
their hearts soften just as in our own more civilized lands; and
here, as there, no sooner did sickness come than these kind souls
came to nurse and take care of me. They tried to cook nice


326
MURDER OF A BOY.
food for me; they sat by me to fan me; they brought more mats
for my bed; brought me water; got me refreshing fruits from tke
woods; and at night, when I waked up from a feverish dream. I
used to hear their voices as they sat around in the darkness, and
pitied me and devised ways for my cure. They thought some
aniamba had entered my body, and could not be persuaded that
I was not bewitched.
Poor Anguilai was sadly alarmed at my illness. He accused
his people of wickedly bewitching me; and one still night walk-
ed up and down the village threatening, in a loud voice, to kill
the sorcerers if he could only find them.
On the 5th of May I was able to walk again a little, and went
to see an ebony-tree which had been cut down not far from the
town. It was a magnificent tree, four feet and over in diameter
at the base, and furnished eleven splendid billets, weighing 1500
pounds. I took particular pains with these, and they went to
America afterward in fine condition, and arc of a size that large
wide boards could be sawn from them.
To cut down such a tree is no small undertaking for these ne-
groes with their slight, rude axes. They cut only on one side.
Several get to work together, and many hours pass of steady la-
bor ere the tree at last falls. To get my logs down to the river
I had to call in the help of the Bakalai, and we cut a road down
to the shore, along which the logs were drawn. Some weighed
nearly three hundred pounds, and were by far the largest ever
taken from here.
On the 6th one of those barbarous scenes occurred in the vil-
lage which show how even these kind-hearted negroes are
wrought to horrid cruelties by their devilish superstitions. A
little boy of ten years had been accused of sorcery. On being
examined, he confessed that he had "made a witch." Hereupon
the whole town seemed to be seized of the devil. They took
spears and knives, and actually cut the poor little fellow to
pieces. I had been walking out, and returned just as the
dreadful scene was over. I doubt if I could have saved his
life even had I been on the spot. As it was, I could not even
make the wretched men feel shame at their bloody act. They
were still frantic with rage, and were not quiet for some hours
after.
The next day (7th) I witnessed another curious scene of super-


NEW CUBE FOR STERILITY. 327
stition. One of the king's wives stood up in the open street and
had herself cut on the back of her hands with knives. She bled
very freely, and seemed to be very glad in her heart at the pain
inflicted on her. I asked what was the reason for such conduct;
and she explained, with a smiling face, that she was weakly and
barren, and that now she would be strong and have children. It
seems to be their method of letting blood.
At last, on the 8th, we started for the ebony-woods. Our new
location was about nine miles from the river, on the side of a long
bill, and close by where a cool sparkling rivulet leaped from rock
to rock down into the plain, making pleasantest music for me as
I lay, weak and sick, in camp. Five huge ebony-trees lifted their
crowned heads together in a little knot just above us. All around
were pleasant and shady woods. It was a very pleasant camp,
but proved to have one drawback: we nearly starved to death.
I sent out the hunters immediately on our arrival. They were
gone two days, but brought back nothing. Game is scarce here,
and without an ashinga or net, such as the Gaboon Bakalai have,
not much is to be got. On the 11th we began to suffer from
gouamba, and got no meat. So I went out myself and shot sev-
eral birds—two new: the Camaroptera caniceps and the Geocidila
compsonota—and a very remarkable animal of the squirrel kind,
called by the natives the mboco, and which eats ivory. I have
called it the "ivory-eater," as the fact that it hunts in the woods
the carcasses of elephants and gnaws the ivory, often destroying
the finest tusks, can not be disputed. All the negroes of different
tribes tell this story about it. It has very sharp and large cut-
ters, well adapted to its business.
The birds and the ivory-eater I ate, preserving their skins, and
this relieved my gouamba for the time. On the 12th our hunt-
ers returned. They had killed a deer, but, being famished them-
selves, had eaten it. Their hands were empty, and I was nearly
in despair, for we could not buy either fowl or goat; and though
the sister of Anguilai sent me out daily plantains and yams, I
needed meat. All the rest, poor fellows, were suffering with me;
and they had to live on manioc, which is worse than gouamba
for me.
Manioc is the bread of these people, and a very poor kind of
bread it is. It is a root, and is poisonous when first dug from
the ground. It must, therefore, be laid to soak in water for from


328
GOUAMBA.

Mtioco, or ivusy-eateu (Sciurui Eborimrus).
three to five days, according to the season. By this time it is
rotted, or in a fermented condition, and quite soft, and now it is
ready for cooking; or, if it is for a journey, for drying and smok-
ing. Thus prepared it will keep for six weeks or two months.
But I never could get to like the tasteless sour stuff, and never ate
it when any thing else was to be got.
At last I could stand it no longer, and determined to make up
a regular hunting-party, and stay out till we got something to
eat. Malaouen told me that if we went off about twenty miles
we should come to a better game country; and so we started in
the direction he pointed out, where, he thought, we should also
find the gorilla, or perhaps the nshiego mbouve.
The men were covered with greegrees and fetiches, and had
cut their hands for luck. Anguilai told me that his ogana (idol)
had told him that to-morrow the heart of otanga (the white man)
would be glad, for we would kill game.
For some hours after we started we saw nothing but old tracks
of different wild beasts, and I began to think that AnguilaiV


CAPTURE OF A YOUNG NSHIEGO MBOUVE.
329
ogana had been too sanguine. Finally, toward twelve o'clock,
when we were crossing a kind of high table-land, we heard the
cry of a young animal, which we all recognized to be a nshiego
rabouve. Then all my troubles at once went away out of mind,
and I no longer felt either sick or hungry.
We crawled through the bush as silenlty as possible, still hear-
ing the baby-like cry. At last, coming out into a little cleared
space, we saw something running along the ground toward where
we stood concealed. When it came nearer we saw it was a fe-
male nshiego running on all-fours, with a young one clinging to
her breasts. She was eagerly eating some berries, and with one
arm supported her little one.
Querlaouen, who had the fairest chance, fired, and brought her
down. She dropped without a struggle. The poor little one
cried Hew! hew! hew! and clung to the dead body, sucking the
breasts, burying its head there in its alarm at the report of the
gun.
We hurried up in great glee to secure our capture. I can not
tell my surprise when I saw that the nshiego baby's face was
pure white—very white indeed—pallid, but as white as a white
child's.
I looked at the mother, but found her black as soot in the
face. The little one was about a foot in height. One of the men
threw a cloth over its head and secured it till we could make it
fast with a rope; for, though it was quite young, it could walk.
The old one was of the bald-headed kind, of which I had secured
the first known specimen some months before.
I immediately ordered a return to the camp, which we reached
toward evening. The little nshiego had been all this time sepa-
rated from its dead mother, and now, when it was put near her
body, a most touching scene ensued. The little fellow ran in-
stantly to her, but, touching her on the face and breast, saw evi-
dently that some great change had happened. For a few minutes
he caressed her, as though trying to coax her back to life. Then
he seemed to lose all hope. His little eyes became very sad, and
he broke out in a long, plaintive wail, "Ooee! ooee! ooee!"
which made my heart ache for him. He looked quite forlorn,
and as though he really felt his forsaken lot. The whole camp
was touched at his sorrows, and the women were especially
moved.


330
JOKES OF THE NEGROES.
All this time I stood wonderingly staring at the white face of
the creature. It was really marvelous, and quite incomprehensi-
ble; and a more strange and weird-looking animal I never saw.
While I stood there, up came tfto of my hunters and began to
laugh at me. "Look, Chelly," said they, calling me by the name
I was known by among them, "look at your friend. Every time
we kill gorilla, you tell us look at your black friend. Now, you
see, look at your white friend." Then came a roar at what they
thought a tremendous joke.
"Look! he got straight hair, all same as you. See white face
of your cousin from the bush! He is nearer to you than gorilla
is to us."
And another roar.
"Gorilla no got woolly hair like we. This one straight hair,
like you."
"Yes," said I; "but when he gets old his face is black; and do
not you see his nose how flat it is, like yours."
Whereat there was a louder laugh than before. For, so long
as he can laugh, the negro cares little against whom the joke
goes.
I may as well add here some particulars of the little fellow who
excited all this surprise and merriment. He lived five months,
and became as tame and docile as a cat. I called him Tommy,
to which name he soon began to answer.
In three days after his capture he was quite tame. He then
ate crackers out of my hand; ate boiled rice and roasted plant-
ain; and drank the milk of a goat. Two weeks after his capture
he was perfectly tamed, and no longer required to be tied up.
He ran about the camp, and, when we went back to Obindji's
town, found his way about the village and into the huts just as
though he had been raised there.
He had a great affection for me, and used constantly to follow
me about. When I sat down, he was not content till he had
climbed upon me and hid his head in my breast. He was ex-
tremely fond of being petted and fondled, and would sit by the
hour while any one stroked his head or back.
He soon began to be a very great thief. When the people left
their huts he would steal in and make off with their plantains or
fish. He watched very carefully till all had left a house, and it
was difficult to catch him in the act. I flogged him several times,


THE STORY OF NSHIEGO TOMMY. 331
and, indeed, brought him to the conviction that it was wrong to
steal; but he could never resist the temptation.
From me he stole constantly. He soon found out that my hut
was better furnished with ripe bananas and other fruit than any
other's; and also he discovered that the best time to steal from
me was when I was asleep in the morning. At that time he
used to crawl in on his tiptoes, move slyly toward my bed, look at
my closed eyes, and, if he saw no movement, with an air of great
relief go up and pluck several plantains. If I stirred in the least
he was off like a flash, and would presently re-enter for another
inspection. If my eyes were open when he came in on such a
predatory trip, he at once came up to me with an honest face, and
climbed on and caressed me. But I could easily detect an occa-
sional wishful glance toward the bunch of plantains.
My hut had no door, but was closed with a mat, and it was
very funny to see Tommy gently raising one corner of this mat
to see if I was asleep. Sometimes I counterfeited sleep, and then
stirred just as he was in the act of taking off his prize. Then he
would drop every thing, and make off in the utmost consterna-
tion.
He kept the run of meal-times, and was present at as many
meals as possible; that is, he would go from my breakfast to
half a dcfeen others, and beg something at each. But he never
missed my breakfast and dinner, knowing by experience that he
fared best there. I had a kind of rude table made, on which my
meals were served in the open part of my house. This was too
high for Tommy to see the dishes; so he used to come in before
I sat down, when all was ready, and climb up on the pole which
supported the roof. From here he attentively surveyed every
dish on the table, and, having determined what to have, he would
descend and sit down at my side.
If I did not immediately pay attention to him he began to
howl, "Hew! hew! hew!" louder and louder, till, for peace' sake,
his wants were satisfied. Of course, I could not tell what he had
chosen for dinner of my different dishes, and would offer him first
one, then another, till the right one came. If he received what he
did not want, he threw it down on the ground with a little shriek
of anger and a stamp of his foot; and this was repeated till he was
served to his liking. In short, he behaved very much like a bad-
ly-spoiled child.


332
TOMMY'S TRICKS.
If I pleased him quickly, he thanked me by a kind of gentle
murmur, like "hoohoo," and would hold out his hand to shake
mine. He was very fond of boiled meat—particularly boiled fish,
and was constantly picking bones he picked up about the town.
He wanted always to taste of my coffee, and when Hakondai
brought it, would beg of me, in the most serious manner, for
some.
I made him a little pillow to sleep on, and this he was very
fond of. When he was once accustomed to it he never parted
from it more, but dragged it after him wherever he went . If by
any chance it was lost, the whole camp knew it by his howls; and
sometimes I had to send people to look for it when he had mis-
laid it on some forest excursion, so that he might stop his noise.
He slept on it always, coiled up into a little heap, and only relin-
quished it when I gave him permission to accompany me into the
woods.
As he became more and more used to our ways, he became
more impatient of contradiction, and more fond of being caressed;
and whenever he was thwarted he howled in his disagreeable
way. As the dry season came on it became colder, and Tommy
began to wish for company when he slept, to keep him warm.
The negroes would not have him for a companion, for he was for
them too much like one of themselves. I would not give him
room near me. So poor Tommy was reduced to misery, as he
seemed to think. But soon I found that he waited till every
body was fast asleep at night, and then crawled in softly next some
of his black friends, and slept there till earliest dawn. Then he
would up and away undiscovered. Several times he was caught
and beaten, but he always tried it again.
He showed an extraordinary fondness for strong drink. When-
ever a negro had palm wine Tommy was sure to know it. He
had a decided taste for Scotch ale, of which I had a few bottles,
and even begged for brandy. Indeed, his last exploit was with a
brandy bottle, which, on going out, I had carelessly left on my
chest. The little rascal stole in, and seeing it, and being unable
to get out the cork, in some way broke it. When I returned,
after some hours' absence, I found my precious bottle—it was the
last, and to the African traveler brandy is as indispensable as
quinine—broken in pieces, and master Tommy coiled up on the
floor by the side of the fragments in a state of maudlin drunken-


DEATH OF TOMMY.
333
ness. When he saw me he got up and tried to stagger up to me,
but his legs tottered, and he fell down several times. His eyes
had. a glare of human drunkenness; his arms were extended in
vain attempts to reach me; his voice came thick; in fact, he
looked disgustingly and yet comically human. It was the maud-
lin and sentimental stage of human drunkenness very well repre-
sented. I gave him a severe thrashing, which served to sober
the little toper somewhat; but nothing could cure him of his love
for liquor.
He had a great deal of intelligence; and if I had had leisure I
think I might have trained him to some kind of good behavior,
though I despaired of his thieving disposition. He lived so long,
and was growing so accustomed to civilized life, that I began to
have great hopes of being able to carry him alive to America.
But alas! poor Tommy. One morning he refused his food, seem-
ed downcast, and was very anxious to be petted and held in the
arms. I got all kinds of forest berries for him, but he refused all.
He did not seem to suffer, but ate nothing; and next day, with-
out a struggle, died. Poor fellow! I was very sorry, for he had
grown to be quite a pet companion for me; and even the ne-
groes, though he had given them great trouble, were sorry at his
death.
The mother of Thomas was an adult female, aged, to judge by
her teeth, which were much worn; but quite black in the face and
hands. She was of the bald-headed variety of the nshiego—the
nshiego mbouve of the Bakalai. Eyebrows thin, and from half
to three quarters of an inch long. Eyelids thin and short. Up-
per and lower lips and chin sparsely covered with short gray
hairs. Neck hairy. Thin hair on the cheeks, beginning at the
temples parallel with the upper part of the ear. Ears large. The
head entirely bald down to a line drawn from the middle part of
the ears behind; this bald skin was quite black. On the back
fine black hair. Rump partly bare, and where bare the skin was
quite while. Hair on the chest grayish-black, and thin, growing
thicker on the abdomen, and grayer on the legs. Height 3 feet 9
inches. This female differed very decidedly from the female of
the gorilla or chimpanzee.
Tommy turned darker as he grew older, and at his death was
yellow rather than white.
To return now to our camp. On the next day, May 15th, we


334
STARVATION.
set out again, in hopes to kill at least a deer. It was already late
in the afternoon when we saw our first piece of game, a beautiful
little monkey, called by the negroes the mdova. He poked his
white nose out of a bush and chattered at us, and Malaouen, with-
out loss of time, replied with a charge of buck-shot, which tum-
bled him over. With this we were obliged to return to camp,
having taken no provisions along. Gouamba was very strong in
me to-day, and I determined to have soup made of the monkey,
and try it. The animal was very fat; and as hunger stifled my dis-
gust, I made a pretty good meal. I shared with Quengueza and
his wives, who did not touch the nshiego meat. This made a fat
feast for the Bakalai and the slaves, who were exceedingly re-
joiced. I could not stomach it; it was too much like cannibal-
ism. Nor have I ever but once tasted the meat of any of these
great apes, though necessity compelled me, after this, to dine off
monkey.
My men were now getting short of every kind of provisions,
and I was obliged to purchase for them from the villages. The
chief articles brought were some loaves of ndica, a kind of bread
made of the seeds of the mango-tree pounded and dried. It does
not taste unpleasantly, but I could not live on it. There was also
a clear yellow oil, which, when cool, had the color and consistency
of scorched lard, and was called agali njavi (njavi oil). It is
made with infinite labor from the seeds of a certain tree which if
abundant here, and is one of the finest ornaments of these forests.
They boil the seed, then mash it on a hollowed-out board, and
then squeeze out the not very abundant oil with their hands. It
makes a nice-looking oil, which is used to cook meat in, and thus
prepared meat does not taste badly.
They also mix the oil with a kind of odoriferous powder call-
ed yombo, and this mixture is then applied in great quantities
upon their wool. They think it gives out a pleasant fragrance,
but in reality it makes an abominable stench.
But another use of the oil is really sensible. When the men
have been for some time out in inclement weather, or are dusty,
or parched with working in the sun, their skin becomes dried up.
cracked, and reddish in color. Then they come home, wash off
clean, and oil themselves all over with this soft oil. The dried-
up skin becomes in a little time smooth, and of a shiny, healthy
black again. Palm-oil is used elsewhere for this purpose: but


THE ROAR OF THE GORILLA.
335
the palm-oil-tree is very scarce here, and the little of the oil they
have is brought from the Ashira country to the east, which is now
my Promised Land, toward which I daily lift longing eyes.
On the 16th I went out by myself and shot some birds, and, to
my great joy, a nchombi, a beautiful bush-deer. Now gouamba
was put off for some days. The meat was carefully smoked, and
the next day Malaouen returned to the village, and Querlaouen
came out to hunt with me. This changed the luck, it seemed, for
we had hardly gone an hour's walk from camp when we came
upon a herd of wild pigs, and bagged two.
Unfortunately my salt has given out. I have been able to buy
a little, but it is a very dear article here, as they have to get it
from the sea-shore natives, and the trade is very irregular.
On the 18th, as we were hunting, I heard in the far distance ■
what I at first took to be muttering thunder. I hurried on to
reach some shelter in an ebony-grove at a distance before the
storm should break, but presently perceived the noise to be caused
by a male gorilla which was roaring to its female; which latter,
after a while, could be heard answering with a weaker roar. The
forest fairly shook with the tremendous voice of this animal.
The echoes swelled and died away from hill to hill, until the
whole forest was full of the din.
Unluckily I had gone out with my smallest gun loaded with
shot to shoot birds. I put in a ball instead of the shot, and de-
termined to follow up the animals. By-and-by I could hear the
deep drum-like sound which the male gorilla causes by beating
his breast with his huge fists. The jungle was quite thick, and
our advance slow. Poor Makondai was in a great fright as we
heard the animal, which kept up its terrible roaring, waiting ev-
ery few minutes to hear the replies of its female.
Presently I heard trees cracking, and saw through the woods
how every few minutes a sapling was swung about and then
broken off. While I was watching these actions I suppose the
animal became aware of the presence of danger, for presently a
dead silence followed on the loud roars; and when, gun in hand,
I broke through the wood, my gorilla was gone.
I am sure that I must have heard this gorilla's roar three miles
off, and the noise of beating his breast at least a mile. No words
can describe the thunderous noise which it produces.
In examining the piece of wood where these gorillas were mov-


336
NEWS FROM HOME.
ing and feeding, I learned, for the first time, the cause of the great
wear there is on the canine teeth of this animal, and especially of
the male, which I could not before account for, and also saw some
surprising evidences of their strength. Several trees, each of
which was from four to six inches in diameter, had been broken
down by these animals; and I found that they had bit into the
heart of these trees and eaten out the pith. Now the wood is
hard, and by the peculiar form of the gnawing I saw at once
that it was by this work that the very singular abrasion of the
canines is caused.
The Rembo is still deep and rapid as far as we ascended, and
the land becomes more mountainous, the hills approaching near-
er and nearer to the banks of the river. When we returned, the
town was filled with joy at our success on the hunt. Quengueza
made himself sick carousing on four hams which I gave him from
my share of some wild pigs we had shot. The old fellow has
brought all the ebony down—a heavy job, as the pieces weighed
from twenty to sixty pounds, and had to be carried on men's
shoulders over a very rough and woody country.
I ought to mention that on our way up river the people point-
ed out to me a tree which contained a nest, which they said be-
longed to a bird called the guanionian, an immense eagle, accord-
ing to their description, which preys on monkeys. I could not
see the bird — nor did I ever see it—though once a bird was
pointed out to me as this mysterious eagle; but it was so high
in the air that I could not say what it was.
On the 28th of May we started down the river for Obindji's
town. I bade good-by to all my good friends, and distributed
presents to them, remembering particularly the women who had
been so kind to me. Our canoes were loaded with ebony; and in
the stern of mine was perched, near my shoulder, little Tommy,
the nshiego. ■
When we got to Obindji's, I found a man who had come all
the way from Biagano with a package of eight letters and a file
of New York papers, which had been forwarded to me by my
friends the missionaries at the Gaboon. I had now been many
months in utter ignorance of the doings of the great civilized
world; and while the letters from friends and home were most
eagerly opened and read, the file of papers lay before me like
some great mystery about to be revealed—a mystery of no very


338
SURPRISE AT MY APPEARANCE.
advent soon created a famine. The staples of this country are
plantains and manioc. New plantains, even if plucked green,
will soon ripen and rot. They do not know how to dry and pre-
serve them. Manioc may be dried, and thus made to last two
months at farthest; but long before that it is poor eating. Of
course, there are periods every year when these perishable pro-
visions are eaten up, and when even a prudent town suffers foi
want of food; for fish are not very plenty here, and as for game,
they are not very good hunters, and even I found it a poor game
country. Often I wished for a few ears of Indian corn to estab-
lish a new order of things among these poor people; but corn is
not planted at all in these parts.
Mbango had been notified of our coming, and had built for me
a very neat, commodious bark house, with a clay floor pounded
hard, and all very clean and comfortable. The village itself is
one of the neatest I have seen among the Bakalai. When I had
eaten my dinner, the people came in crowds to see me. My hair
was, as usual, the most singular part of my person to them. A
considerable number of female strangers were in the town to cel-
ebrate the feast of Njambai, one of their spirits; and these could
not look at me or wonder at my appearance enough.
There was such a crowd, indeed, that next day food began to
grow scarce, and I had to send Makondai over, with thirty men
and some goods, to buy some plantains. In buying food beads
are the best trade. The women cultivate the ground and sell the
surplus products, and they prefer beads above every thing else.
The women in all this country seem to have a good deal of priv-
ilege in this way. They are expected to feed their husbands;
and Quengueza frequently tells his wives to feed him well and
take good care of him, because he treats them well. But what is
left or not needed of the fruits thus raised the men have no right
to. The women sell and keep for themselves the articles re-
ceived. Makondai returned next day with forty-five bunches of
plantains and two fowls—a very good supply for the time.
Meantime the feast went on, and gave me a sleepless night, as
no African feast or ceremony is complete without shouting, sing-
ing, drumming, and dancing, and playing on such a harp as is
shown in the picture. Mbango, it appears, is the head or chief
of his clan or family, which includes half a dozen towns within
thirty miles around. As chief, Mbango keeps the idol of the


NEGRO WORSHIP.
339

HARP OP TUB nAKALAL.
clan, and all come hither at regular periods to sing songs of invo-
cation to it . It is a female figure, of wood, nearly life size, and
with cloven feet like those of a deer. Her eyes were of copper;
one cheek was painted red and the other yellow. About her
neck hung a necklace of tiger's teeth. She is said to have great
power, and the people believe that on certain occasions she nods
her head. She is said to talk quite frequently—as might, in-
deed, be expected. She is very highly venerated by the people.
I told Mbango that the noise near my house disturbed my sleep,
and the good fellow ordered his people to celebrate a little farther
away. On the 30th and 31st, however, there was a dead silence
and a great darkness. No light was allowed but my own. The
mbuiti was set out in the middle of the street, and the people
stood all around her. She is said to have bowed, walked about,
and spoken to some one, expressing her pleasure at two bush-
deer which had been offered her the night before. She ate some
of the meat—so I was assured—and left the rest for the people.
On the 2d (June) the women began their peculiar worship of
Njambai, which, it seems, is their good spirit; and it is remarkable
that all the Bakalai clans, and all the females of tribes I have met
during my journeys, worship or venerate a spirit with this same
name. Near the sea-shore it is pronounced Njembai, but it is
evidently the same.


340
SPYING OUT A MYSTERY.
This worship of the women is a kind of mystery; no men be-
ing admitted to the ceremonies, which are carried on in a house
very carefully closed. This house was covered with dry palm
and banana leaves, and had not even a door open to the street.
To make all close it was set against two other houses, and the en-
trance was through one of these. Quengueza and Mbango warn-
ed me not to go near this place, as not even they were permitted
so much as to take a look. All the women of the village paint-
ed their faces and bodies, beat drums, marched about the town,
and from time to time entered the idol-house, where they danced
all one night, and made a more outrageous noise than even the
men had made before. They also presented several bush-deer to
the goddess; and on the 4th all but a few went off into the woods
to sing to Njambai.
I noticed that half a dozen remained, and in the course of the
morning entered the Njambai-house, where they staid in great
silence. Now my curiosity, which had been greatly excited to
know what took place in this secret worship, finally overcame me.
I determined to see. Walking several times up and down the
street past the house to allay suspicion, I at last suddenly pushed
aside some of the leaves and stuck my head through the wall.
For a moment I could distinguish nothing in the darkness.
Then I beheld three perfectly naked old hags sitting on the clay
floor, with an immense bundle of greegrees before them, which
they seemed to be silently adoring.
When they saw me they at once set up a hideous howl of
rage, and rushed out to call their companions from the bush. In
a few minutes these came rushing in, crying and lamenting; rush-
ing toward me with gestures of anger, and threatening me for my
offense. I quickly reached my house, and, seizing my gun in one
hand and a revolver in the other, told them I would shoot the
first one that came inside my door. The house was surrounded
by above three hundred infuriated women, every one shouting
out curses at me; but the sight of my revolver kept them back.
They adjourned presently for the Njambai-house, and from there
sent a deputation to the men, who were to inform me that I must
pay for the "palaver" I had made.
This I peremptorily refused to do, telling Quengueza and
Mbango that I was their stranger, and must be allowed to do as
I pleased, as their rules were nothing to me who was a white


A PALAVER SETTLED.
341
man and did not believe in their idols. In truth, if I had once
paid for such a transgression as this, there would have been an
end of all traveling for me, as I often broke through their absurd
rules without knowing it, and my only course was to declare my-
self irresponsible.
However, the women would not give up, but threatened ven-
geance not only on me, but on all the men of the town; and as I
as positively refused to pay any thing, it was at last, to my great
surprise, determined by Mbango and his male subjects that they
•would make up from their own possessions such a sacrifice as the
women demanded of me. Accordingly Mbango contributed ten
fathoms of native cloth, and the men came one by one and put
their offerings on the ground, some plates, some knives, some
mugs, some beads, some mats, and various other articles. Mban-
go came again and asked if I too would not contribute some-
thing; but I refused. In fact, I dared not set such a precedent.
So when all had given what they could, the whole amount was
taken to the ireful women, to whom Mbango said that I was
his and his men's guest, and that they could not ask me to pay
in such a matter; therefore they paid the demand themselves.
With this the women were satisfied, and there the quarrel ended.
Of course I could not make any farther investigations into their
mysteries. The Njambai feast lasts about two weeks. I could
learn very little about the spirit which they call by this name.
Their own ideas are quite vague. They know only that it pro-
tects the women against their male enemies, avenges their wrongs,
and serves them in various ways if they please it.
On the 6th I went out to see the mbando, or olako, of Igoumba,
the Ashira chief of whom I made mention at Goumbi. It lies
about ten miles east from Mbango's town, and the people were
engaged in cutting ebony, which was to be given to Quengueza.
The camp was placed in a very beautiful spot, a half clearing on
the hill-side, not far from where the Niama Bembai falls down
through the hills by several pretty cascades. This is a very pret-
ty stream, which has its rise eastward in the Ashira country, and
flows into the Ofoubou. Its bed is gravelly, and its waters clear
and purling like some northern brook. Here it affords plenty of
water-power, waiting for factories.
On the way I killed a beautiful bird, the Apolodernia marina,
the size of the common clove, but with a splendid crimson breast,


342
MAN KILLED BY A GORILLA
golden green on the back, and wings colored a fine pearl gray.
Also one of the men shot a young T. Calvus, female. It was 2
feet 11 inches high, and was of a curious mulatto color.
The next day, 7th, we went on a gorilla-hunt. All the olako
was busy on the evening of my arrival with preparations; and
as meat was scarce, every body had joyful anticipations of hun-
ger satisfied and plenty in the camp. Little did we guess what
frightful death was to befall one of our number before the next
sunset.
I gave powder to the whole party. Six were to go off in one
direction for bush-deer, and whatever luck might send them, and
six others, of whom I was one, were to hunt for gorilla. We set
off toward a dark valley, where Gambo, Igoumba's son, said we
should find our prey. The gorilla choose the darkest, gloomiest
forests for its home, and is found on the edges of the clearings
only when in search of plantains, or sugar-cane, or pine-apple.
Often they choose for their peculiar haunt a piece of wood so
dark that even at midday one can scarce see ten yards. This
makes it the more necessary to wait till the monstrous beast ap-
proaches near before shooting, in order that the first shot may be
fatal. It does not often let the hunter reload.
Our little party separated, as is the custom, to stalk the wood
in various directions. Gambo and I kept together. One brave
fellow went off alone in a direction where he thought he could
find a gorilla. The other three took another course. "We had
been about an hour separated when Gambo and I heard a gun
fired but little way from us, and presently another. We were al-
ready on our way to the spot where we hoped to see a gorilla
slain, when the forest began to resound with the most terrific roars.
Gambo seized my arms in great agitation, and we hurried on,
both filled with a dreadful and sickening fear. We had not gone
far when our worst fears were realized. The poor brave fellow
who had gone off alone was lying on the ground in a pool of his
own blood, and I thought at first quite dead. His bowels were
protruding through the lacerated abdomen. Beside him lay his
gun. The stock was broken, and the barrel was bent and flatten-
ed. It bore plainly the marks of the gorilla's teeth.
We picked him up, and I dressed his wounds as well as I
could with rags torn from my clothes. When I had given him a
little brandy to drink he came to himself, and was able, but with


i «,„ - -cW y.j.



,


GORILLA- HUNTERS.' 345
great difficulty, to speak. He said that he had met the gorilla
suddenly and face to face, and that it had not attempted to escape.
It was, he said, a huge male, and seemed very savage. It was in a
very gloomy part of the wood, and the darkness, I suppose, made
him miss. He said he took good aim, and fired when the beast
was only about eight yards off. The ball merely wounded it in
the side. It at once began beating its breasts, and with the great-
est rage advanced upon him.
To run away was impossible. He would have been caught in
the jungle before he had gone a dozen steps.
He stood his ground, and as quickly as he could reloaded his
gun. Just as he raised it to fire the gorilla dashed it out of his
hands, the gun going off in the fall, and then in an instant, and
with a terrible roar, the animal gave him a tremendous blow with
its immense open paw, frightfully lacerating the abdomen, and
with this single blow laying bare part of the intestines. As he
sank, bleeding, to the ground, the monster seized the gun, and the
poor hunter thought he would have his brains dashed out with it.
But the gorilla seemed to have looked upon this also as an enemy,
and in his rage flattened the barrel between his strong jaws.
When we came upon the ground the gorilla was gone. This
is their mode when attacked—to strike one or two blows, and
then leave the victims of their rage on the ground and go off into
the woods.
We hunted up our companions and carried our poor fellow to
the camp, where all was instantly excitement and sorrow. They
entreated me to give him medicine, but I had nothing to suit his
case. I saw that his days were numbered; and all I could do
was to make him easy by giving him a little brandy or wine at
intervals. He had to tell the whole story over again; and the
people-declared at once that this was no true gorilla that had at-
tacked him, but a man—a wicked man turned into a gorilla.
Such a being no man could escape, they said; and it could not
be killed, even by the bravest hunters. This principle of fatal-
ism and of transmigration of souls is brought in by them in all
such cases, I think, chiefly to keep up the courage of their hunt-
ers, on whom such a mischance exercises a very depressing influ-
ence. The hunters are the most valued men in these negro vil-
lages. A brave and fortunate one is admired by all the women;
loved—almost worshiped—by his wives; and enjoys many priv-


346
ANIMAL LIFE IN THE DRY SEASON.
ileges among his fellow-villagers. But his proudest time is when
he has killed an elephant or a gorilla and filled the village with
meat. Then he may do almost what he pleases. The next day
we killed a monster gorilla, which I suppose is the same one that
killed my poor hunter.
June 11th. Yesterday I had a very severe chill, but was able
to check it with quinine, fortunately. The dry season has now
definitely set in here, and the days are cloudy and the nights
somewhat cool. We are no longer obliged to build shelters
when sleeping out in the woods; and can hunt all day without
being wet through as formerly—all which gives me a good deal
of comfort.
The poor fellow who was hurt by the gorilla died on the 9th;
and some men went out on the 10th and shot a large gorilla, whose
remains were brought into camp with great rejoicings on their
parts, but great rage on mine. My hunters had seen me skin go-
rillas and other animals so often that they thought they could do
this for me, and, wanting the meat of this one, they took off the
hide. So far so good; but the fellows did not know what a
value I placed upon the bones, and, to save themselves time and
labor, they broke the bones of the legs and of the pelvis. Thus a
fine specimen was spoiled for me, or at least made incomplete. I
scolded them so that they ran away into the woods, as they said,
to get out of hearing of my tongue.
This gorilla was an adult male, and measured five feet seven
inches in height.
With the dry season, which has now regularly set in, various
migratory birds return from their wanderings, and enliven the
forests and rivers, which are inhabited by other species during
the rainy season. All nature has brightened up, and the long-
dreary forest is alive with the chatter and song of birds. The
spurred quail (Peliperdrix LaOiami), with its pretty spotted breast,
I met at every turn in the wood. The splendid Numida plu-
mifera is more abundant; great numbers of kingfishers occupy
the logs and overhanging branches on the rivers, watching for
prey; and doves are cooing to each other all day long. In the
little purling streams in the hill country a beautiful little otter
has made his appearance, and watches, beneath rocks and in dark
pools, for passing fish; while on the Ofoubou and the Rembo a
larger otter, with fine brown fur, plunges into the water almost


r"
VENOMOUS FLIES.
before one can get even a sight of him. Several varieties of swal-
lows twitter and skip over the water, and one flies, like the lark,
so high that it can scarce be distinguished. Parrots, of varied
colors and size, are screaming and chattering all day in the open
woods. One in particular, the gray parrot, flies in flocks of hund-
reds together, and makes the whole wood alive with its screams.
These birds build their nests in hollow trees, and are very socia-
ble in their nature.
Until the 1st of July we moved at random almost about the
country between Mbango's town and the Rembo. Game is not
at all plenty, and we suffered occasionally from gouamba, I par-
ticularly, who do not like the meat of either the elephant or the
crocodile—on which, nevertheless, I had to live by turns for a
week at a time. The meat of the elephant is very tough and
stringy. The natives smoke it, which makes it tougher yet, and
we had sometimes to boil it two days before it was masticable.
It tastes rank and coarse, and has not a bit of the delicate flavor
of hippopotamus meat. As for the flesh of the crocodile, nothing
but hunger could make me eat it; but necessity of that kind
knows no law. It is really very white, and also tender; and the
negroes think it delicious. But I could never conquer my dis-
gust; and it seemed to me, besides, tasteless and dry.
This upper country has few musquitoes, but, in their stead, sev-
eral varieties of flies, which are exceedingly troublesome. The
igoogouai is a small, almost imperceptible gnat, which appears in
great numbers in the morning until ten o'clock, from which time
it is seen no more till four, when its operations are recommenced,
and last till sunset. These little flies are most determined blood-
suckers, very sly in their approaches, but leaving behind them a
bite which itches terribly and for a considerable time. Small as
they are, even the thick hides of the negroes are punctured by
them. In hunting they are very troublesome, and often made
my men so nervous that they could hit nothing.
Another is the ibolai, an insect twice as large as our common
house-fly. It approaches you with a sharp whistle, and its sting
is long and strong enough to pierce the thickest clothes one can
wear in the heat of an African summer. The sting is so sharp
that I have often jumped up with the sudden pain, which was as
if a pin had been stuck savagely into my person. But the bite of
this insect, if painful, does not last, like that of another of the same
347


348 THE ELOWAY.
size, which is called the ncliouna. This animal makes no noise to
warn you of its approach, and inserts its bill so gently that often
it gets its fill of blood before you know you are bitten. Present-
ly, however, the itching begins, and lasts for several hours, varied,
at intervals, by sudden sharp stabs of pain, as though a scorpion
had bitten you. Often this lasts the whole day. These last-
named animals are found mostly on the rivers.
The iloco, another fly, is the size of a hornet, and very quick
in its motions. Its bite is the most severe of all, and clothing is
no protection from them. Often the blood has run down my face
or arm from one of their savage attacks, and even the well-tanned
skin of the negroes is punctured till it bleeds, so that one would
think a leech had been at his work on them.
But most dreadful of all is the eloway, a nest-building fly which
frequents the water-side, where its clay hives are hung to the
pendent branches of trees. This fly is really a monster of feroci-
ty, and the natives run from it as they do from no other animal
or insect of these woods. The eloway is a little fly, shaped much
like a bee, but not quite so big. The body is longer in propor-
tion than that of a bee. Their hives are made of clay, and evi-
dently have separate -apartments, as the whole pendent bottle-
shaped mass is filled with holes, each of which has a little roof
over it. They generally choose a branch which is full of leaves
for their nago or nest, and thus are hidden from view. The clay
of the nest is so hard that even a bullet fired from a reasonable
distance made no impression upon it, as I found by several trials.
The hives seem to be very full; when disturbed I have seen them
issuing in large swarms, and several from each hole.
When troubled they are very savage, and attack with a kind of
blind rage. Sometimes when paddling down the Rembo a ca-
noe accidentally strikes against a tree containing an eloway nago.
Instantly they fall ferociously upon the men. The natives al-
ways dive into the water and swim under water for a little dis-
tance; but I noticed that if one of these venomous little insects
had settled on a man, he clung to him even in the water, and had
literally to be picked off. In such cases I always covered myself
up with matting and lay still till they retired. Happily, they do
not pursue far; and when the enemy is out of their sight they re-
turn quietly to their nests.
Their bite is exceedingly painful, and they leave in the wound


SERPENTS.
349
an acrid poison, which pains for two or three days. At intervals
of an hour the poison seems to gather fresh force, the wound be-
gins to throb, and for a little while is excessively painful. The
natives fear these eloways very much, and retreat with all expe-
dition when they have accidentally disturbed a nest. When they
see a nest, also, they always paddle to the opposite side of the
stream. Going nearly naked, they are very much exposed to its
attacks; and its motions are so very quick that even a speedy
tumble overboard does not generally save them from one or two
bites.
Of snakes all this back country has a great abundance. A few
are harmless; some of the large species attack the larger beasts
and crush them in their folds; or, if smaller, they have poison
fangs. It is curious that the negroes have no vegetable or other
remedy for a snake-bite; but they are not often bitten. The
snakes are easily alarmed, and the noise of an approaching hunt-
er scares them out of his path. Sometimes they hang from the
limbs of trees, waiting, probably, for prey to pass beneath, and
several times such a pendent animal has given me a fright by
falling down beside me as I stood under a tree. But they never
attack man, so far as I have seen. I saw and killed on several
occasions boas measuring from 20 to 25 feet; but the largest I
ever saw had been killed by a party of natives, and was just skin-
ned as I came up. This was on the Kembo. The skin meas-
ured a little over 33 feet in length.
The smaller snakes feed on birds, and squirrels, and rats, which
I am convinced, from frequent observation, they are able to charm
with their look. This power of charming I had always doubted,
but was convinced by one day watching a venomous black snake,
over four feet long, subduing and catching a squirrel which sat
on the lower branch of a tree. It was back of Obindji's town.
I had gone out to shoot birds, and my attention was attracted by
the very peculiar and continued chattering of a squirrel. When
I saw it I did not know what to make of its movements. It
seemed as though tied to its branch and very anxious to get
away. Its head was thrust forward, its eyes fixed and glaring:
but its body trembled, and was jerked about from side to side.
All the time it was screaming and chattering in a really pitiable
manner. Following the direction of its glance I saw the cause
of its alarm. The black snake was slowly creeping out on the


A LAKGE GORILLA KILLED.
351
which I saw must be a very large one. These tracks we follow-
ed, cautiously, and at last, in a densely wooded and quite dark ra-
vine we came suddenly upon the beast. There were two gorillas,
a male and female. Owing to the dense jungle, in a nook of
which they were concealed, they saw us first. The female utter-
ed, a cry of alarm, and ran off before we could get a shot at her,
being lost to sight in a moment in the bush. The male, howev-
er, whom I particularly wanted, had no idea of running off. He
rose slowly from his haunches and at once faced us, uttering a
roar of rage at our evidently untimely intrusion. Gambo and I
were accompanied only by a single hunter and an Ashira boy,
who bore an extra gun. The boy fell back, and we stood side
by side and awaited the advance of the hideous monster. In the
dim half light of the ravine, his features working with rage, his
gloomy, treacherous, mischievous gray eyes, his rapidly-agitated,
and frightful, satyr-like features had a horrid look, enough to
make one fancy him really a spirit of the damned.
He advanced upon us by starts, as is their fashion, pausing to
beat his fists upon his vast breast, which gave out a dull, hollow
sound like some great bass-drum with a skin of ox-hide. Then
he roared, making the forest ring with his short bark and the re-
frain, which is singularly like the loud muttering of thunder.
We stood at our posts for at least three long minutes, guns in
hand, before the great beast was near enough for a safe shot. In
this time I could not help thinking of the misfortune of my poor
hunter but a few days ago; and, as I looked at the gorilla before
\is, I could fancy the horror of the situation when, with empty
gun, the poor fellow stood before his remorseless enemy, who
came upon him, not with a sudden spring like the leopard, but
with a slow, vindictive certainty which is like fate.
At last he stood before us at a distance of six yards. Once
more he paused, and, raising his head, began to roar and beat his
breast. Just as he took another step toward us we fired, and
down he tumbled, almost at our feet, upon his face, dead.
I saw at once that we had the very animal I wanted. It is
the oldest of all my collection, and very near the largest I ever
saw. Gambo, who, though a young man, was still an old hunter,
said a few were larger, but not many. It height was five feet
nine inches. Its arms spread nine feet. Its chest had a circum-
ference of sixty-two inches. The hands, those terrible claw-like


352 THE FAUNA OF THE EEMBO REGION.
weapons, with one blow of which it tears out the bowels of a man
or breaks his arms, were of immense muscular power, and bent
like veritable claws. I could see how frightful a blow could be
struck with such a hand, moved by such an arm, all swollen into
great bunches of muscular fibre, as this animal possessed. The
big toe was no less than six inches in circumference.
As we brought it into the olako, three women, who were preg-
nant, hastened out at the other end with their husbands, and
nothing could induce them to return till the skin was dried and
put away. They could not be convinced but that, if even the
husband saw the beast, the wife would bear a young gorilla.
The people were very glad of the meat; and I was wishing I
could eat it as they do—for I had no meat, and felt gouamba a
little—when old Querlaouen sent me half a bush-deer he had kill-
ed, which placed me beyond need for the present.
On the 13th of July we started for Obindji's town, on my re-
turn. Going down the Ofoubou, a canoe of Bakalai, strange to
the river, were a little before us. Suddenly we saw them stop
paddling and pitch headlong out of the canoe. My men said
they had disturbed a nest of eloway, which we found afterward to
be the truth. Our canoe was immediately shot up stream for a
quarter of a mile, and we waited an hour before the crew would
venture past the dreaded eloway's nest; such is their fear of this
revengeful little fly. Even then they were very careful to pad-
dle quite over to the farther bank of the river.
The Rembo has lost a good deal of its waters since I was here
on my way up. It has fallen from twelve to fifteen feet, but is
yet deep enough for navigation. The numerous aquatic birds
and waders which come in with the dry season now give the
river a lively, pleasant air. The white sand which lines the
shores is clean and bright, and with the cool mornings, which are
sometimes foggy, and the bright green of the well-wooded banks,
the traveler has a charming scene before him. The stream is
still yellow, but is much clearer than it was a month ago. Then
the rains were driving down a turbulent tide, laden with mud;
now the clear waters roll on placidly, as though all was peace and
civilization at their borders.
The country about here is probably the richest field for an en-
terprising naturalist now remaining in the world. Equatorial
Africa seems to have a fauna of its own. The lion, common


354
RETURN TO BIAGANO.
ceedingly graceful in its motions, though more heavily built than
most of the antelope kind. Among the carnivora, the leopard
takes the first rank. It is a very large and majestic animal here.
I have killed several over five feet long. There is also a hyena,
whose raids among the goats are often troublesome; and several
varieties of tiger-cats, of which the Genetta avbryana and Fieldi-
ana are of the finest species yet known. The crocodile is found in
the swamps and lagoons which border the Rembo; the iguana is
found in the woods; while of monkeys there were a dozen new
varieties; of squirrels upward of half a dozen; and of rats sever-
al, the chief of which was fifteen inches long. Most of these are
peculiar to this part of the continent, and are unknown to the
north and south. ■
Among the most peculiar of the monkeys is the little oshingui,
one of the smallest of the monkey tribe. It is a frolicsome and
innocent little animal, and remarkable for its fondness for the wa-
ter; so that where you meet one of them hopping about the
branches overhead, you may be sure water is not far off. They
always sleep on some tree whose branches overhang a water-
course. This little monkey is also a great favorite with the mon-
key-birds (Buceros albocryslaius), whom I often saw playing with it
Of birds, the most remarkable which I shot in this region was
the "nchalitoguay"—so called by the negroes. It resembles
somewhat the Asiatic bird of Paradise, and is one of the most
graceful and lovely birds I ever saw. Its back, tail-cover, and
very long flowing tail are pure milk-white; its crested head and
breast are greenish-black, and abdomen an ashy-brown. The
white feathers of the back seem to form a fine mantle, and give
the bird a very singular appearance. This little bird has been
named after myself, the Muscipeta du Chaittui.
At last, on the 2d of August, I began to make preparations for
a return to Biagano. It was high time. I was still suffering
from fever attacks, and had not quinine enough left for one large
dose, which might have put a stop to it. Arsenic I did not like
to take much of. As a febrifuge, it must be carefully used, and
not very often, or it leaves its effects on the system.
Not only was I sick, but also poor and ragged. My clothes
were torn and patched, and I looked, in reality, very little better
or more civilized than my negro friends. Food was scarce; and
though my friends and hunters, Querlaouen, Obindji, and others


THE SUPERSTITION OF ROONDAH.
355
gave me what they had, it was robbing them, I felt; and even
then I did not get such food as I began to need. My goods, too,
were all gone, so that even if I had been well I could not have
gone farther into the interior. But the numerous hardships of
this long trip, the sleeping night after night in wet clothes, the
tramping through rain and hot sun, the sufferings from the intol-
erable gouamba, and the yet less tolerable total starvation—all
these had done their work upon me, and I began to feel like tak-
ing a long rest. So I told Quengueza we must go.
Obindji was very sorry. I believe he and many of the others,
particularly Querlaouen and his fellow-hunters, had conceived a
real affection for me. They gave me of their poor store without
ever asking for a return, and took all pains to please me and
make me comfortable, even when they saw that my goods were
getting very low. And I must own that I had a kind of affection
for a country where, in the discovery of new and strange animals,
I had enjoyed one of the greatest pleasures possible to man. The
rough life was forgotten when I looked at my precious collec-
tions; and the thought of a gorilla even now enabled me to shake
off the fever.
I need not say that the faithfulness of the poor natives touched
me nearly. Not one but had treated me as though I was his own
brother; and I should have been a brute had I not heartily re-
turned all their affection.
My little boys, Makondai and Monguilomba, who had acted so
bravely during all these months, were overjoyed when they saw
my preparations for returning to the sea-shore. Quengueza, too,
was tired of bush-life, as he called it—calling these Bakalai his
bush-men. He is to go down to Biagano with me, where I can
reward him for all his kindness and faithfulness to me. He had
done royally for me in every thing. Every fowl or goat he got
as present up here he gave me, I, in return, hunting for him.
We always ate together at a table which I had made, and which
was covered, when we were in town, always with a clean white
cloth. I was anxious to show these people the difference between
civilized and savage life, and this was one of the points most apt
to strike them; for, like all rude people and little children, they
are very observant in small things.
This day I had a glimpse at another curious superstition of
these people. One of the hunters had shot a wild bull, and when


GOOD-BY TO QUERLAOUEN.
357
sweet potatoes, and manioc are brought as free-will offerings, for
they know I have little to give in return.
At last, on the evening of the 6th, I gave Obindji a present I
had reserved for him, and which he well deserved, and on the fol-
lowing day we started in the canoes for Goumbi. All the chief
people came to the shore to shake hands and say good-by. All
said I must come again and bring trade. Also, they said, I had
spoken to them of white men coming to teach poor black people;
and they would like to have some such teachers. They all had
a look of regret at our parting, and nearly every one came with
some little parting gift. I was very much touched myself at their
simple affectionate ways.
When all was ready for a start Makondai fired a gun, and then
I swung out the American flag to the breeze, the first time that it
or any other flag of a civilized nation had floated over these wa-
ters. The people shouted, and we were off.
Presently, several miles down stream, we passed Querlaouen's
plantation. He and his kind old wife and their children stood
on the shore and beckoned me to stop. We paddled in, and the
good fellow silently put into my boat another smoked boar ham,
while his wife gave me a great basket of sweet potatoes. As we
started away again the wife shouted, "When you come back
bring me some beads." The children cried out, "When you
come back bring us some cloth." But old Querlaouen stood still
and silent like a black statue, until, by a turn of the river, he was
lost to our sight.
On the next day we made a triumphant entry into Goumbi,
where we remained two days to lay in provisions.
From Goumbi to Biagano our voyage was a triumphal pro-
cession. Quengueza accompanied me to show to Ranpano that
he brought me back safe; and all of Goumbi that had canoes ac-
companied Quengueza for fun's sake, beating tam-tams, singing
songs, and firing guns.
At last, on the 13th of August, I got back to Biagano, where
the whole population turned out to receive me, headed by Ran-
pano and old Rinkimongami, my housekeeper. I found my house
undisturbed, and my live stock on hand and in good condition,
and made old Rinkimongami very proud by expressing my satis-
faction. He said, "Now you tell me what I stole?" And Ran-
pano exclaimed, "Ah! we don't steal from our white man."


358
SICKNESS.—RETURN TO THE GABOON.
And now came the time when I was to pay for my long tour.
It is quite usual for natives of the interior coming to the sea-
shore to be seized with fever. It is a great change, and I expect-
ed to be affected by it in some measure. Nor were my expecta-
tions ungrounded. Day after day my fever attacks grew worse,
until, having no proper medicines, and living necessarily here
without many of the comforts a sick man needs, I was quite pros-
trated. Then, luckily, one day came by a vessel. Some of my
men boarded her with a note to the captain. He was going to
the Gaboon, and I gladly accompanied him. There, under the
kind care of my missionary friends, I managed, in a short time, to
recover my health sufficiently to think of another trip, in which I
hoped to make a thorough geographical exploration of the farther
interior.


THE BASHIKOUAY.
359
CHAPTER XVII.
The Ants of Equatorial Africa The Bashikonay.—The red Ant.—The Nchelle-
lay.—The little Ant.—The red Leaf-ant.—The nest-building Ant.
In the forests of this part of Africa are found vast numbers of
ants, some of whose tribes are so terrible to man, and even to the
beasts of the wood, from their venomous bites, their fierce tem-
per and voracity, that their path is freely abandoned to them, and
they may well be called lords of the forest.
I know of ten different species of ants found in these regions,
all differing widely in their choice of food, the quality of their
venom, the manner of their attack, or the time of their operation.
The most remarkable and most dreaded of all is the bashikouay.
Tin BASHIKOUAY ANT. MAQKIfTKD TO TWICZ ITS NATURAL SIZE.
This ant, also called nchounou by the Mpongwe, is very abund-
ant in the whole region I have traveled over in Africa, and is the
most voracious creature I ever met. It is the dread of all living
animals from the leopard to the smallest insect.
I do not think that they build a nest or home of any kind.
At any rate they carry nothing away, but eat all their prey on
the spot. It is their habit to march through the forests in a long
regular line—a line about two inches broad and often several
miles in length. All along this line are larger ants, who act as
officers, stand outside the ranks, and keep this singular army in


360
FEROCITY OF THE BASHIKOUAY.
order. If they come to a place where there are no trees to shel-
ter them from the sun, whose heat they can not bear, they im-
mediately build underground tunnels, through which the whole
army passes in columns to the forest beyond. These tunnels are
four or five feet underground, and are used only in the heat of
the day or during a storm.
When they get hungry the long file spreads itself through the
forest in a front line, and attacks and devours all it comes to with
a fury which is quite irresistible. The elephant and gorilla fly
before this attack. The black men run for their lives. Every
animal that lives in their line of march is chased. They seem to
understand and act upon the tactics of Napoleon, and concentrate,
with great speed, their heaviest forces upon the point of attack.
In an incredibly short space of time the mouse, or dog, or leop-
ard, or deer is overwhelmed, killed, eaten, and the bare skeleton
only remains.
They seem to travel night and day. Many a time have I been
awakened out of a sleep, and obliged to rush from the hut and
into the water to save my life, and after all suffered intolerable
agony from the bites of the advance-guard, who had got into my
clothes. When they enter a house they clear it of all living
things. Roaches are devoured in an instant. Rats and mice
spring round the room in vain. An overwhelming force of ants
kills a strong rat in less than a minute, in spite of the most fran-
tic struggles, and in less than another minute its bones are strip-
ped. Every living thing in the house is devoured. They will not
touch vegetable matter. Thus they are in reality very useful (as
well as dangerous) to the negroes, who have their huts cleaned of
all the abounding vermin, such as immense roaches and centi-
pedes, at least several times a year._
When on their march the insect world flies before them, and I
have often had the approach of a bashikouay army heralded to
me by this means. Wherever they go they make a clean sweep,
even ascending to the tops of the highest trees in pursuit of their
prey. Their manner of attack is an impetuous leap. Instantly
the strong pincers are fastened, and they only let go when the
piece gives way. At such times this little animal seems animated
by a kind of fury which causes it to disregard entirely its owe
safety, and to seek only the conquest of its prey. The bite is
very painful.


THE GRAY BASHIKOUAY.
361
The negroes relate that criminals were in former times exposed
in the path of the bashikouay ants, as the most cruel manner of
putting to death.
Two very remarkable practices of theirs remain to be related.
When, on their line of march, they must cross a stream, they
throw themselves across and form a tunnel—a living tunnel—
connecting two trees or high bushes on opposite sides of the little
stream. This is done with great speed, and is effected by a great
number of ants, each of which clings with its fore claws to its
next neighbor's body or hind claws. Thus they form a high, safe
tubular bridge, through which the whole vast regiment marches
in regular order. If disturbed, or if the arch is broken by the
violence of some animal, they instantly attack the offender with
the greatest animosity.
The bashikouay have the sense of smell finely developed, as
indeed have all the ants I know of, and they are guided very
much by it. They are larger than any ant we have in America,
being at least half an inch long, and are armed with very power-
ful fore legs and sharp jaws, with which they bite. They are red
or dark-brown in color. Their numbers are so great that one
does not like to enter into calculations; but I have seen one con-
tinual line passing at good speed a particular place for twelve
hours. The reader may imagine for himself how many millions
on millions there may have been contained here.
There is another species of bashikouay which is found in the
mountains to the south of the equator. It is of great size. The
body is grayish-white in color; the head of a reddish-black. Its
fangs are very powerful, and it is able to make a clean bite out of
a piece of flesh. It is thus a very formidable animal; but fortu-
nately its motions are not so quick as those of its fierce brother;
it does not march in such vast armies, nor does it precipitate it-
self upon its prey with such irresistible fury. In its motions it is
almost sluggish. They do not invade villages, nor climb trees in
pursuit of prey; and I do not think them nearly so voracious as
their fellows before-mentioned. If they were, they could doubt-
less clear the country of every living thing, for they are much
more powerful. They are, in fact, to ants what whales are to
fishes.
Next to the bashikouay come the nchellelay, or white ants.
These troublesome animals do not bite or attack living things at


362
THE NCHELLELAT.
all. They live on vegetable substances, and are particularly fond
of cotton cloth, paper, and old wood. They have a great aversion
to daylight, and use all means possible to avoid it. To reach an
object which is situated in the light they build a clay tunnel,
through which they pass in safety. The clay seems to be moist-
ened with some juices of their own, and becomes quite firm on
exposure to the air. Their nests, which are curiously shaped,
with overhanging flat roofs (exactly like a toad-stool), are con-
structed in the same manner, and are built up from within, the un-
derground excavations doubtless furnishing clay for this purpose.
It is almost impossible to keep any thing safe from these de-
stroyers. They work in silence, unseen, and with wonderful ra-
pidity. One night's negligence suffices to spoil a box of clothing
or books. They seem to be attracted by smell rather than sight
to their prey. They are always near; and they cut through any
—the hardest—wood, in order to reach the object of their desires.
I have noticed that they always cut through the middle of a piece
of cloth first, as though .they were trying to do as much mischief
as possible. Such is their perseverance and destructiveness, that
I think one of the greatest boons to this part of Africa would be
to rid it of this pest.
The earth of which they build their houses becomes so hard,
after it has been mixed with their saliva, that it stands the hard-
est and longest rain-storms without melting or breaking away,
and they last many rainy seasons. They leave no opening in
their house for air or light, both which they seem to have a par-
ticular aversion for. And thus, too, they are protected from oth-
er ants who are their enemies, and against whom, being unarmed,
they would find it difficult to defend themselves.
Among these enemies the chief is the bashikouay ant, which
pursues the white ant with great fury. I have sometimes, when
I noticed some of these white-ant-hills in the track of an army of
bashikouay, knocked away the top. No sooner was this done
than the bashikouay rushed to their work, and in a short time
not a white ant was left.
When the house is only slightly injured, the working-ants are
called, and immediately set to work to mend the hole, using clay
brought from the interior.
These ants, though called white, are really of a straw color.
They emit a strong smell, especially if crushed.


THE RED LEAF-ANT.
363
The Little Ant.
This is a minute house-ant, found in myriads in every African
village in this region, and a great plague; for the least carelessness
with food on your part will bring them on you, and ruin every
thing you have eatable to which they can gain access. In an Af-
rican's house all food is suspended from the ceiling by cords
which are limed (tarred on the coast) to make the ants' passage
impossible. But even then they sometimes drop down on their
prey. Tables are set in cups of water on the coast to keep off
these troublesome visitors. I was unfortunate enough once to
leave my sugar-bowl out in their- reach. I returned in less than
half an hour for it, and then already it was covered, inside and
out, with countless thousands of these little scavengers. The
whole bowl, inside and out, was one living, heaving mass of
black.
They seem to have a very acute smell. They are never seen
till something to eat is within their reach, and then they come
—where from I do not know—in such vast numbers that the
traveler is not only astonished, but alarmed at such a besieging
army.
There are two kinds of these little ants, one red and the other
black; but in other respects, so far as I know, alike.
The Black Ant
lives in the forests, generally in rotten trees, and is not trouble-
some, as it mostly hunts singly, not in swarms, and does not at-
tack man unless it is first disturbed. When it does attack, its
bite, as I have experienced, is very sharp and painful; but the
pain does not last long, and the poison, if there is any, is not very
virulent.
TJie Bed Leaf-ant.
This animal has a singular manner of building its nest. It
prefers to live in certain trees, which very often are completely
killed by these ingenious house-builders. They choose the end
of a branch where there is generally a thick bunch of leaves.
These leaves they glue one to the other by their edges in such a
way that they make a bag the size of an orange, and this is the
nest. It is a very singular sight to see a number of trees in the


364
NEST-BUILDING ANT.
forests with pendants of this kind to every limb and branch; for
they will build all over a tree, and so occupy and abuse it as very
shortly to kill it . The bite of these ants is very painful, and
their temper, as with most ants who can defend themselves, very
vindictive. Woe to the traveler who inadvertently shakes a tree
or branch on which these fellows have built. They immediately
fall upon him in great numbers, and bite him without mercy.
There is a reddish-black ant, of medium size, which builds its
nest about the roots of certain trees, which it ascends to eat the
tender shoots of the branches. Its bite is rather painful, and it
often kills the trees on whose shoots it feeds, and about whose
roots it lives.
The common Black Sand-ant.
This is, next to the bashikouay, the most to be dreaded of any
ant I met in Africa. It is a little black ant, living chiefly in the
Camma country near the villages, and found traveling solitarily
through the sand of the prairie. Fortunately it is not very nu-
merous.
Its bite is not felt at the time, but in a little while after there is
a very severe and distressing pain as though a scorpion had bit-
ten you; and this lasts, with intermissions, sometimes for many
hours. After suffering half a dozen times from the bite of this
little plague, I came to dread it more than any other ant or other
venomous insect of Africa. The bashikouay gives you warning,
and the bite is only painful at the moment; but this Camma ant
attacks singly and unperceived, and you are bitten before you
know it
.
A Nest-building Ant.
There is also a black ant, which builds a very ingenious hang-
ing nest, suspending it from the branches of trees. This nest is
generally two feet long by a foot in diameter, and inside is full of
galleries and highways, where work is done, and food is stored,
and eggs are laid, and the young are raised. To make these nests
safe and water-proof in the heavy rains which prevail here, the
ants construct them just as our houses are roofed or shingled,
with this difference, that while the tiers of leaf which they use to
shingle their building overlap each other, and thus shed the wa-
ter, they do not touch each other—by which means a line system
of ventilation is kept up in the nest
.


UNDERGROUND BASHIKOUAY.
365
Small Underground Bashikouay.
This ant is not so much dreaded as the formidable reddish-
black bashikouay. It is smaller, of a reddish color, and does not
live in the forest, but in the villages and houses among men. It
does not appear in numbers aboveground till it smells food near.
Then they issue from a great number of little holes in the ground,
whose passages seem all to communicate with each other below
the ground. Its bite, though not so terrible as that of the bashi-
kouay, is still very painful. It is not a roving ant.
The large Red Ant.
This, though one of the largest of the African ants, does not at-
tack man. It is a night ant, and is never seen by day; it even
avoids candlelight. This ant is excessively fond of cooked meat,
and also of sugar. It chooses its habitation in dark corners and
bidden closets, where the light will not disturb it.


366
THE SEASONS.
CHAPTER XVni.
The Seasons and the Fevers of Equatorial Africa.
The western coast of Africa has two seasons, the dry and the
rainy season. Both the time and the duration of these seasons
depend on the latitude and longitude of the place. That is to
say, the sun rules the season; and whenever the sun is in the
zenith of any given place, that spot has then its rainy season.
Thus, when the rains are at their height in Senegambia, it is dry
under the equator.
But the duration of the rains is also ruled somewhat by the
general formation of the country. A wide open country or sandy
desert has less rain and a shorter rainy season than a wooded
tract, and the mountain ranges have the most rain of all. Thus,
on the mountains in the interior, it rains much more and consid-
erably longer than in the same latitude near the sea-shore.
The rainy season begins in the interior among the mountains,
and gradually approaches the sea-shore; and on the other hand,
the dry season commences on the sea-board and passes to the in-
terior. There is almost a month of difference in the seasons in
these countries, though situated in the same latitude, and only
about one hundred and fifty miles apart.
The tract nearest the equator on both sides has the longest
rainy season; and as we approach the tropics the rains become
shorter and the dry season longer.
Near the equator the rains begin about the middle or end of
September, and terminate in the beginning, or sometimes not till
the close of May. The dry season lasts from May to September.
But on or near the equator this long rainy season is interrupted
by a short period, when the rains cease. This " little dry season"
lasts from a month to six weeks, and sometimes even longer. It
occurs in the middle or end of December, lasting into January or
the beginning of February. During this time it rains very little.
The period of the "little dry season" is, therefore, that at which
the sun is nearest the southern tropic. As by the revolution of


THE RAINS.
367
the earth the sun becomes non-vertical near the equatorial line,
the rains again begin, and grow heaviest when the sun is on the
line.
Though the rains are heavy before this little dry season, they
are as nothing compared with those which follow. Tornadoes
then become frequent, and blow with extraordinary force during
February, March, and April.
During the rainy season the streams become swollen and over-
flow their banks, covering the flat country which borders their
courses. The bush vegetation and the grass of the prairies grow
luxuriantly; and when the waters retire a heavy deposit of fer-
tile mud remains to enrich the soil, and also to breed fevers and
other diseases.
During the rainy season on the coast the prevailing wind is
from the southwest.
The hottest part of the year is during the rains. Near the
equator the hot months are December, January, February, March,
and part of April, though on the coast the thermometer ranges
no higher than from 85° to 90°. A few weeks before the dry
season sets in the days and nights become cooler, and the wind
veers gradually from southwest to south. After the first month
of the wet season it rains mostly only at night.
The dry season is the coolest part of the year in this part of
Africa, and the natives often suffer from cold. The thermometer
ranges as low sometimes, early in the morning, as 64°; the sky is
overcast, which is peculiar to this season; the wind on the coast,
which had blown from the land in the morning and from the sea
by night, now almost turns into one steady sea-breeze, which
blows strongly, especially in the afternoon and evening. This is
the sickly season in Africa for the negroes, who at this time suffer
much from pleurisies and fevers; and it is an uncomfortable fact
that it is much healthier and safer for white men to explore the
'rivers in the dreary rainy season than in the many ways charm-
ing dry season.
This dry season is to the negroes what summer is to us. They
go more frequently on travels and trading-tours into the interior;
their villages are deserted, every body going out to the planta-
tions; they burn the dry brush, cut down trees, and clear the
ground for agricultural operations; and when the streams have
fairly receded within their banks go out in search of ivory, which


FEVER.
369
I may as well state here that all white residents on the coast
have the fever more or less. None escape altogether—too many
die. That a good constitution, managed with prudence, will
stand a good many attacks, is proved by my own experience and
that of others. I suffered, in the four years over which this nar-
rative extends, from no less than fifty attacks, and have swallow-
ed quite fourteen ounces of quinine.
I will here relate the treatment which I found, after much ex-
perience, to answer best, both as preventive and curative; and
by following which and living carefully, I was able to undergo
with impunity such hardships and exposures as are too often fatal
to white men on the African coast.
From the day of my arrival on the Gaboon I took quinine,
morning and evening, in doses of three or four grains. This I
have found a good preventive. When languor, headache, and
aching of the limbs appeared as premonitory symptoms of fever,
I increased the dose to eight or ten grains. Thus for the first
month I took daily doses of quinine; and for the next month oc-
casional doses, generally every two days. During my whole stay
in Africa I took from time to time, even when in perfect health,
doses of quinine or quinine wine as a prophylactic or preventive
against malaria. Also I took daily, while near the coast, where
such articles were, with care, attainable, either port or sherry wine,
ale, or claret, in moderation. When at my depot for the time be-
ing, I always took care to have these articles on hand. In my
journeys to the far interior I could not, however, encumber my-
self with such supplies. But I always provided a sufficient store
of pure brandy to afford me at least a thimbleful daily. This I
found an excellent remedy for cramps occasioned by bad food
and indigestion, or exposure to wet and cold, and a very valuable
tonic for the debilitated system of a half-starved explorer and
hunter. Brandy and strong coffee, both daily, but in the greatest
moderation, are, next to good habits and a good constitution, the
best safeguards against disease to the traveler in Central Africa.
Some of my good friends the missionaries sometimes remonstra-
ted with me for what they thought setting a bad example to the
natives, and I am bound to say they religiously abstained them-
selves, except when absolutely necessary. But they do wrong;
and a proof of this is, that many of them succumb to the climate
and the fevers, and not one enjoys as good general health as was
A A


370
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FEVER.
my good fortune; although the life of a traveler like myself was
necessarily more exposed than that of one living steadily in one
place, and not subject to extremes of exertion and of hunger.
The fact is that our American missionaries too often carry with
them into the tropics the habits of our temperate and healthy cli-
mate, and make it a matter of conscience to adhere to such cus-
toms as are not at all calculated to preserve health under changed
circumstances. Total abstinence may perhaps do for the tem-
perate clime of the United States; but I have no hesitation in
saying that a little wine, brandy, or ale every day is absolutely-
necessary to keep up the tone of the system in a white person
in Africa. One esteemed friend, a missionary on the coast, had
been a vegetarian at home. He adhered almost literally to this
habit in his new field of labor, notwithstanding the advice of those
who had experience of the coast. He ate nothing but fruits and
vegetables, and, of course, presently contracted a dangerous dys-
entery. "Circumstances alter cases."
The climate of the west coast is sickly and exhausting, not be-
cause of its extreme heats, but because of its high average tem-
perature and moisture, and the universal prevalence of malaria.
Owing to the prevalence of a sea-breeze, the mercury is rarely
higher than 90° in the shade; but then it rarely falls below 80°
for nine months in the year; and even in the remaining three—
the dry season—it never gets below 64°. Thus the body gets
no relief at all, and is gradually weakened until, finally, fever is
brought on by some incautious exposure to the ever-present
malaria.
Exposure to the mid-day sun must be carefully avoided. When-
ever I walked in the sun, even mornings and evenings, I carried
an umbrella over my head and a handkerchief in my hat. In
fact, the theory of the turban—hot as that head-covering looks—
is the true one for a tropical sun. White men can not work
much on the coast. They must rest a great part of every day.
Nevertheless, regular exercise is highly beneficial; and those who
walk or ride mornings and evenings always enjoy the best health.
Between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. exposure to the sun is dangerous,
and should be carefully avoided.
Finally, coffee is a healthy beverage. And when the system
becomes accustomed to quinine, and this medicine ceases to oper-
ate, sometimes a small dose of Fowler's solution of arsenic will be
found very successful in stopping the chills.


CAUSES OF FEVER.
371
The African coast fever is caused-by the miasms which rise
from the immense swamps which line this part of the coast, and
which are, in fact, the mouths of the various rivers and their low-
er tributary creeks. These, falling into the low lands, are there
dispersed, and become sluggish. Their beds are filled with decay-
ing vegetable matter brought in immense masses from the upper
country during the rainy season. The banks are lined and over-
grown with dense masses of mangroves, bamboos, and other wa-
ter-loving trees and jungle, which keep out the light of the sun;
and now, when the dry season comes on, the miasms rise and
are dispersed, so that no part of the coast is free from their influ-
ence.
The heavy rains which prevail during the long rainy season of
eight or nine months suffice to saturate the soil, and to decay the
mouldering vegetable substance which meanwhile accumulates.
The heats of the dry season drain the creeks and expose their
beds, which now exhale such poisonous vapors as even the natives
can not withstand. These find the dry season the most sickly;
and most white residents have a similar experience—contrary to
the commonly received opinion. I have no doubt that the great
mortality of several African exploring expeditions arose, in a
measure, from the mistaken supposition that the dry season was
the safest for such ventures.
The beginning of the rainy season is another period of especial
unhealthiness. Then the river-beds are still heated, and the first
rains are immediately exhaled into feverish vapors. It is only
after a severe and continued drenching, when the rainy season is
fully set in, that African rivers should be explored.
The preliminary symptoms of fever, which are of the utmost
importance for preventive purposes, are too generally overlooked
by those newly arrived on the coast. To old stagers, who have
had experience, they afford the opportunity, by care and a consid-
erable dose of quinine, to stave off the attack.
These symptoms set in generally a few hours before the chill.
Incautious exposure to the mid-day sun, sitting in wet clothes, or
unusual excitement, however, often precipitate the attack. I have
seen a man lose his temper, and almost instantly fall into a chill.
In fact, the mind must be guarded as well as the body when ill-
ness is threatened.
The premonitory symptoms are: loss of appetite and irritabil-


372
PREMONITORY SYMPTOMS.
ity of temper; then heaviness of the head, languor, aching of the
limbs, an unpleasant taste in the mouth, continual yawning and
stretching, and general prostration.
If these are neglected, there follows gradually a slight sensa-
tion of cold. The sufferer seeks shelter from the breeze and puts
on an overcoat. Finally comes the regular chill, which is some-
times light, but oftener very severe.
When the chill has lasted for a considerable but variable time,
it disappears, and fever sets in. Often the close of the chill is
varied with sudden flashes of heat, succeeded by the cold. The
hot stage generally lasts about six hours, and subsides gradually.
On its cessation the patient feels relieved, but finds himself great-
ly prostrated. His face is shrunken and pallid, and he has a gen-
erally cadaverous appearance.
In some cases fevers begin without chills, but only preceded
by headache, nausea, pains in the back and limbs, etc. I have
had many more fevers than chills, and was often taken first by
fever.
Meantime, between the attacks of fever, quinine must be imme-
diately given, and in as large doses as the system can bear; for
Africa is not af place for small doses. The medicine may be
taken internally, which is the usual way; or the body may be
rubbed with it, in which case a larger quantity must be used, as
the pores do not imbibe it readily; or, finally, it may be used by
injection.
Frequently the medicine does not prevent a return of the chill
for one or even two paroxysms, and at periods of from twelve to
twenty-four hours. In this case the symptoms are increased. In
the fever stage the skin becomes red and hot, the face turgid, the
eyes bright and watery; there is violent pain in the head, great
thirst, and often distressing and continued nausea. Sometimes
nausea is so severe as to make the internal application of quinine
impossible, in which cases rubbing it into the skin and taking it
by injection will be found useful. But long-continued nausea
often seriously complicates the disease and weakens the body,
thus making it less able to resist attacks.
During the fever the pulse is always increased in frequency
and force; but the range is great, varying from 80 to 130 beats per
minute, even in simple and uncomplicated fevers. To allay
thirst, weak lemonade is given. The period of recovery varies,


MALIGNANT FEVER.
373
of course, with the severity of the attack; but even in very mild
cases several days are required to re-establish the patient's health.
The disease I have described is the common and mild form of
coast-fever, the simplest and least dangerous of all. Often, how-
ever, other symptoms appear with these, and cause a complica-
ted intermittent, which is much more serious, because more diffi-
cult to treat when it has once become chronic.
This is occasioned by inflammation of the spleen and liver.
The spleen is subject to a chronic enlargement where patients
have suffered from intermittent fever, and persons suffering from
such enlargement should not remain on the coast. Affections
of the spleen can not always be known without percussion; but
affections of the liver are easily recognized by their effect upon
the complexion. The white of the eyes becomes yellow, and the
whole complexion is sallowed.
Intermittent fever often approaches very insidiously, the first
chills being so light as to be almost invariably neglected, until
finally a decided chill proclaims that the fever-demon has gained
possession.
But the most dangerous form of fever in Africa is that known
as malignant or pernicious fever. To this violent disease stout
and full-blooded men are much more subject than lean and thin
persons. It is noticeable that the African climate is much more
fatal to full-blooded, robust, hearty people, than to those who are
lank and thin. No length of residence or completeness of ac-
climation exempts a man from this last-mentioned form of fever.
The oldest residents are sometimes carried off with a speed which
is truly frightful. The disease not unfrequently runs its course in
twenty-four to thirty-six hours.
The approach of malignant fever is very insidious. An attack
begins mostly with an ordinary chill, attended by no unusual or
marked symptoms. Sometimes the patient has had a light chill
a day or two before this, which he has neglected. Sometimes he
has felt slightly unwell for ten or fourteen days; has complained
of loss of appetite and general weariness; but, as these symptoms
are not very marked, they are very apt to be overlooked, especial-
ly with new-comers. It requires one fully on his guard and fa-
miliar with all the symptoms to detect its approach.
The real attack may begin with a chill or with a fever, but its
effects are, in either case, at once evident in a peculiarly yellow


374
TREATMENT OF MALIGNANT FEVER.
skin and haggard countenance. In fever there is profuse per-
spiration, a rush of blood to the head, high and irregular pulse,
and general prostration. Sometimes the body is hot, but dry.
Thirst is urgent, but the stomach rejects whatever is swallowed.
Now is the time to give quinine in large doses. In such cases
I have stopped the attack by taking this medicine at the rate of
tjO grains per day, 20 grains at a dose; and if I were suffering
from a severe attack, I should not hesitate to take in one day 150
grains.
If the paroxysm of fever returns, it is with renewed force, and
the third attack is commonly fatal. Before death the patient
becomes insensible; there is violent vomiting, which is, in fact,
but a regurgitation of the ingesta, mixed with green and yellow
fluids. Immediately after the chill, and even before this has pass-
ed off, the urine becomes dark red or black. The pulse is very
irregular, the breathing slow, and finally the patient sinks away
into a state of coma, and dies without a struggle.
There is another form of attack which ends even more quickly
than the one just described. In this there is no yellowness. The
countenance is pale, and has a peculiar ghastliness and wildness
of expression. The skin is cold to the touch, though the patient
does not complain of cold. The whole surface is almost insensi-
ble to stimulants. The pulse is generally small and very fre-
quent, particularly in the beginning. Under these symptoms
sometimes a patient sinks away, reaction never occurring. The
treatment here must be stimulating. In the last stages there is
sometimes blindness and deafness; in others there is not only en-
tire prostration of the intellect, but raving delirium; and the pa-
tient must be held in bed by force. This soon ends in stupor and
death.
The natives sometimes suffer from fever, though by no means
as frequently as the whites. With them the chills return some-
times every third or seventh day for some weeks, and finally wear
out of themselves. I have known a few—four or five—instances
where natives died of malignant fever, but this does not happen
often. In the cases I saw they had first, for a few days, the usual
chills, which then turned into malignant fever, under which they
sank.
In cases of malignant fever, inflammatory complications of the
liver, spleen, or brain greatly aggravate the attack, and almost al-
ways give the disease a fatal turn.


CARE OF HEALTH IN AFRICA.
375
If the chills are broken by medicine they are apt to return at
longer but regular intervals, mostly in seven, fourteen, or twenty-
one days, and precautions should be used against such returns.
It is well to take quinine twelve or twenty-four hours before the
periodical return of the chill.
Persons residing permanently in any fever district are more
liable to attacks than those who are moving about, and in this I
had an advantage, though on several occasions a return to the
coast from the interior brought on a fever which probably I
should have escaped had I remained all the time on the coast.
Where a fever is not broken readily by medicine, it is prudent to
try a temporary change of locality.
I will conclude this chapter by a summary account of my
course of treatment of myself in a fever attack. When the chill
was felt I covered myself heavily to induce perspiration. Then
my extremities were severely rubbed with pepper and mustard to
restore their temperature. The thirst of fever was quenched with
cold lemonade. Costiveness was averted by cathartics. For
headache cold water was applied, and when this was without ef-
fect, leeches, which are very abundant almost every where in this
region. If my liver was affected I took calomel, and also applied
leeches. Meantime quinine was taken in doses of from 4 to 12
grains, and at the rate of from 1,2 to 60 grains per day, according
to the violence of the attack. And when the fever was broken I
continued to take four or five grain doses daily for some weeks,
as a preventive.
The treatment must be energetic. Delays are most dangerous;
and I have found it well to meet every individual symptom, so
far as possible, with a remedy. In intermittent chills, where the
paroxysm returns generally after seven days, I was very careful
to take quinine the day before and on the day of the chill a few
hours before it came on. Patients should not be frightened by
the slight deafness and ringing in the ears, which is one of the
immediate effects of quinine. These effects go off presently, and
they are useful as evidence that the drug has taken effect.
In my ten years' residence in Africa I paid much and close at-
tention to the phases of fever; but it was not till after some years
of careful study of my own symptoms that I became able to de-
tect its insidious approach with any degree of certainty, and thus,
by timely preventives and care, ward off many attacks.


376 EXPLANATION.
In justice to myself, my readers, and particularly the medical
profession, I must say, in conclusion, that I have never studied
medicine, and know nothing of diseases or their remedies beyond
what my necessities, as a traveler in a barbarous and sickly coun-
try, have compelled me to learn experimentally. But necessity
is an able teacher.


SUBDIVISIONS OF THE TRIBES.
377
CHAPTER XIX.
Politics: the Government, Superstitions, and Slave System of Equatorial Africa.
I have found it most convenient to consider these three sub-
jects together, because each is intimately affected by the other;
and to treat of them separately would be almost impossible.
Among the tribes which I visited in my explorations I found
but one form of government, which may be called the patriarch-
al. There is not sufficient national unity in any of the tribes to
give occasion for such a despotism as prevails in Dahomey, and
in other of the African nationalities. I found the tribes of Equa-
torial Africa greatly dispersed, and, in general, no bond of union
between parts of the same tribe. A tribe is divided up into nu-
merous clans, and these again into numberless little villages, each
of which last possesses an independent chief. The villages are
scattered; are often moved for death or witchcraft, as I have al-
ready explained in the narrative; and not unfrequently are en-
gaged in war with each other.
The chieftainship is, to a certain extent, hereditary, the right
of succession vesting in the brother of the reigning chief or king.
The people, however, and particularly the elders of the village,
have a veto power, and can, for sufficient cause, deprive the lineal
heir of his succession, and put in over him some one thought of
more worth. In such cases the question is put to the vote of the
village; and where parties are equally divided as to strength,
there ensue sometimes long and serious palavers before all can
unite in a choice. The chief is mostly a man of great influence
prior to his accession, and generally an old man when he gains
power.
His authority, though greater than one would think, judging
from the little personal deference paid to him, is final only in mat-
ters of every-day use. In cases of importance, such as war, or
any important removal, the elders of the village meet together
and deliberate in the presence of the whole population, which last
finally decide the question.


SLAVERY.
379
mestic service or for the foreign trade; wanton or vindictive ac-
cusations of sorcery; and often out of mere commercial or social
jealousy of the neighbors' superior prosperity.
In war they show no bravery, although on the hunt they are
certainly brave enough. They despise boldness and admire cun-
ning; prefer to gain by treachery, if possible; have no mercy or
consideration for the enemy's women and children; are cruel to
those who fall in their power.
The system of slavery, as it prevails here, is not at all under-
stood, and I shall endeavor to make it plain to my readers. In
the first place, I ought to state that its existence has no connec-
tion at all with the foreign slave-trade. There were slaves held
here long before a barracoon was built on the coast—probably
long before the good priest Las Casas thought of relieving his
poor Indians by substituting black men in their place. History
testifies of this. Nor is it continued because of the present for-
eign slave-trade. It has an independent existence, and is ruled
by laws of its own.
There are two kinds of slaves in all the tribes I met. One
class are domestic servants, who are not sold out of the tribe, and
who, while suffering some disabilities as slaves, have yet a large
portion of liberty, and a certain voice and influence in the village
where they are owned. They are protected by their master;
have often property of their own; and their chief duty is to pro-
vide him with food, either by hunting or by assisting in the till-
age of the ground, which is the labor of free women and the fe-
male slaves.
Masters are seldom very severe with their slaves, and this be-
cause they fear the slave will in revenge bewitch them. The
slave is held to be in a very inferior position to a free man; and
the master may kill his slave if he will, no one having the right
of interfering between them. The laws or customs of the coun-
try protect him in this privilege, which I have myself known to
be exercised. Many slaves enjoy the confidence of their masters
to that degree that they are sent on long trading-journeys with
much valuable property. They are generally faithful to such
trusts.
Those tribes which have a connection with the coast, and a for-
eign market for their slaves, also employ themselves in purchas-
ing slaves from other tribes to supply this trade. This is a dis-


380
FOREIGN SLAVE-TRADE.
tinct kind of slavery, however; and the domestic slave is, in most
cases, in no fear of being sold to the coast so long as he is accused
of no crime; The foreign slave-trade is now supplied almost en-
tirely from the interior. Thus many of that singular people, the
Fans, have been recently brought down to the coast. So the
Ashira and Apingi, and members of tribes living even beyond
them, and totally unknown to the whites, find their way down to
the Cape Lopez and other barracoons, handed along from tribe to
tribe just like a tusk of ivory or a stick of ebony.
It is easily supposable that the effect of this foreign demand on
the tribes living nearest the coast is to multiply accusations of
witchcraft and other crimes, for which slavery is a punishment,
and thus to enlarge the evils of this system. But it must also be
admitted that, whereas now a man is too valuable to kill and is
sold, if the foreign demand did not exist, all men accused of sor-
cery would be barbarously murdered.
Inquire of the men of any tribe in this region, and they will
tell you that they do not sell their own people, but that they arc
all freemen. Nevertheless, the observer will find that debtors
are often sold; sorcerers, adulterers, and cheats are either sold or
killed; and in all palavers, of whatever kind, the man who goes
to the wall is pretty sure to be sold off. They do not keep such
people in their own tribes, but sell them to the next tribe.
No better illustration could be given of the way in which the
slave system has ingrafted itself upon the life and policy of these
tribes than this, that, from the sea-shore to the farthest point in the
interior which I was able to reach, the commercial unit of value
is a slave. As we say dollar, as the English say pound sterling,
so these Africans say slave. If a man is fined for an offense, he
is mulcted in so many slaves. If he is bargaining for a wife, he
contracts to give so many slaves for her. Perhaps he has no
slaves; but he has ivory or trade goods, and pays of these the
value of so many slaves—that is to say, as much ivory, or ebony,
or bar-wood, or the amount in trade goods which would, in that
precise place, buy so many slaves. For it must not be forgotten
that at every short remove into the interior the slave's value
diminishes; so that, among the Apingi, a slave is worth only
about one seventh what he would bring at Cape Lopez. This de-
terioration, however, is balanced by the increased value of trade
goods, for which the demand always exceeds the supply, and
which, therefore, to some extent, rule the market
.


THE SLAVE A UNIT OF VALUE.
381
If a man is fined a certain number of slaves, he may pay in
"trade" of any kind. If he has no slaves or goods, then he is
often sold himself, and the proceeds, be it ivory or other "trade,"
is divided among those to whom the fine was incurred.
It is a mistake to suppose that the slave-trade is the cause of
all the wars and quarrels of the African tribes and nations.
Where it plays a part, it doubtless aggravates these; but the total
absence of any law but that of the strongest—the almost total ig-
noring of the right of property, and the numerous superstitions
of the people, are the fertile causes of constant warfare.
A greater development of regular civilized trade would be a
great boon to these people. Many articles, such as guns, powder,
tobacco, brass, and iron in various shapes, etc., have become ne-
cessities to the tribes who are within reach of white trade; but
they are never obtainable in nearly sufficient quantities, and con-
sequently are held very precious. Now the high prices are a
great temptation to the cupidity of the African, who, having by
custom rights of property in his children, often does not hesitate
to sell these where other produce is lacking. He finds that one
of his children is not bright, that it has no sense, or that it wants
to bewitch the father. Then a consultation ensues with the rela-
tives of the mother; they are promised a share in the produce of
the sale—for they have rights also in the child—and, when they
are brought to consent, the unhappy child is sold off.
With the increase of legitimate trade such temptations will be
done away with. At the same time, I am convinced that the in-
troduction of agricultural industry, the planting of cotton and sug-
ar for export, when these ends are accomplished will only serve
to rivet the bonds of the slave by so much as they will increase
his value to the master. Now, the slave only adds to his master's
ease and consequence; then, he will appeal to his cupidity. Show
him that he can make a profit on his labor, and he will never con-
sent to set him free.
Polygamy exists every where. A man's great ambition is to
have a great many wives. These cultivate the ground for him,
and it is, in fact, their duty to feed him. He does not interfere
with their labors on the soil. They are responsible for his daily
food. The man buys his wife of her father for a sum agreed on,
often when she is but a child. She becomes his wife sometimes
at the age of five, and sometimes still younger. Often the young


382
WOMEN.
child is placed under care of the future husband's chief wife, a
privileged personage, who superintends her husband's affairs,
shares his secrets, rules his other wives, and to intrigue with
whom is a special and greater offense than adultery with the oth-
ers. A man's claims on his father-in-law for help in trade, or in
a palaver, are rigidly respected, and this gives additional value to
a great number of wives. I have found that the wives rarely dis-
agreed among themselves. Early marriage and hard treatment
makes many of the women childless; and greegrees, which are
believed to cure sterility, are in great demand all over the coun-
try. Children, whether male or female, are thought a great bless-
ing, not only to the father, but to his village, whose consequence is
increased by every birth. They know very little of the right care
of children, and a great proportion of the infants die.
Men marry at every opportunity, and at all ages up to seventy
or eighty. As long as he can buy wives, this is his great ambi-
tion. Obedience is the wife's first duty, and it is enforced with-
out mercy. Such a whip as is figured below is an important in-
strument found in every house. It is made of the hide of the
hippopotamus or manatee, and is a barbarous weapon, as stiff, and
hard, and heavy as iron. This is laid on with no light hand, the
worthy husband crying out,"Rascal, do you think I paid my
slaves for you for nothing?" The wives are more harshly treat-
ed than the slaves—a stroke of the whip often leaves a life-long
mark; and I saw very few women in all my travels who had not
some such marks on their persons.

The women in all the tribes are much given to intrigue, and
chastity is an unknown virtue. As they are not confined in their
movements, but roam about freely and till the soil, opportunity is
never wanting. And if a woman has many children, her many
sins are easily forgiven her. Then she is the pride, not only of
her husband, but of the whole village.


FETICHISM. 383
Fetichism is the name applied by Europeans to the religion of
the tribes and natives of western and southern Africa. It is de-
rived from the Portuguese term feiticdo, signifying magic; and
this, in turn, comes from the Nigritian feitico, which means "a
magic thing." Among the tribes with which I am familiar, there
is no native generic term equivalent to our word religion, and no
necessity for one, as they have no idea of a system of belief By
fetichism is understood the worship of idols, and animate and in-
animate objects, such as serpents, birds, rocks, mountain peaks,
feathers, teeth, etc.; and the belief in good and evil spirits, in the
power of charms (called monda), and in the significance of
dreams.
Their religious notions are of the loosest and vaguest kind, and
no two persons are found to agree in any particulars about which
the traveler seeks information. After the most careful and ex-
tensive inquiries, I am unable to present an array of items from
which the reader may make up a theological system. Supersti-
tion seems in these countries to have run wild, and every man be-
lieves what his fancy, by some accident, most forcibly presents to
him as hurtful or beneficial.
The only point on which I have come to a determinate convic-
tion is that, though these people lay offerings upon the graves of
their friends; though they even sometimes shed the blood of
slaves on the grave of a chief or of a father of a family; though
they fear the spirits of the recent dead; though their belief in
sorcery is very strong: yet they are sunk in an utter materialism,
and not only have no definite ideas as to the state of the soul aft-
er death, but do not even believe in its existence for any consid-
erable time after it leaves the body.
They fear the spirits of the recency-departed; and besides plac-
ing furniture, dress, and food at their graves, return from time to
time with other supplies of food. When men and women are
slain over a grave, they even believe that their spirits join that
of him in whose honor they have been killed. During the season
appointed for mourning, the deceased is remembered and feared;
but when once his memory grows dim, the negro ceases to be-
lieve in the prolonged existence of the departed spirit.
Ask a negro where the spirit of his grandfather or great-grand-
father, whom he did not know, is, and he will reply confidently
that it is "done," "gone out," no more, or that he does not know
where it has gone.


384
FEAR OF SPIRITS.
I have frequently held such conversation as this:
"Do you believe there is a God?"
"Yes."
"Do you think you will see this God when you die?"
"No."
"After death all is done," is a proverb always in their months.
The fear of spirits of the departed seems an instinctive feeling for
which they do not attempt to account to themselves, and about
which they have formed no theory. They believe the spirit is
near and about them; that it requires food and property; that it
can and sometimes does harm them. They think of it as a vin-
dictive thing, to be feared and to be conciliated. But as the mem-
ory of the departed grows dim, so does this fear of his spirit van-
ish. Ask a negro about the spirit of his brother who died yes-
terday, and he is full of terror; ask him about the spirit of those
who died long ago, and he will tell you carelessly, "It is done;"
that is to say, it has no existence.
This total lack of generalization or systematizing a belief is
very curious, and goes through all their individual superstitions.
Thus a negro told me such a man's soul (whom he knew), when
he died, went to the woods, and now inhabited a certain bird,
which was therefore sacred. But when I asked if he believed in
the transmigration of souls, he confidently told me no. He be-
lieved in this particular case, and for some special reason, but no
farther. The ouganga or doctor had said so, or he had dreamt
it, or it was the current belief. But beyond that he did not
think.
I found in all the tribes I visited a faith in the existence and
power of two great spirits, one called Abambou or Ocoucou, and
the other Mbuirri. They have other names in various tribes, but
wherever I journeyed I found this belief. Both appear to be
evil spirits, though sometimes willing to do good. They are not
represented by idols, but have houses built for their occupation
when tired of wandering, food offered to them, and are feared and
implored to do no harm. One is generally counted so much less
evil than the other, that he may be called a good spirit in some
cases, and by comparison. Some tribes believe them to be mar-
ried to two female spirits. They are said sometimes to walk into
the village by night and to let their voices be heard. These two
spirits are the potent ones; they seem to be more powerful than


IDOL WORSHIP.
385
all the others. In sickness and on other grave occasions they are
always invoked.
The name Aniambie stands, I think, for God. But yet they
have no idea of a supreme and almighty spirit, Creator and Pre-
server. The word aniemba, which sounds much like the pre-
viously-named, and is probably derived from the same root, sig-
nifies "possessed by a witch."
The large idol of a clan is kept in a house made for the pur-
pose, and hither come its worshipers when they are about to pre
oeed on a hunting or other important expedition. They present
food, and then invoke its protection by dancing and singing be-
fore it.
Such idols are handed down from generation to generation,
and are much feared. There are also private idols, possessed and
worshiped by individuals; but these have less authority.
Their idols, which are always repulsive figures, are believed to
speak, to walk about, to eat and drink—in short, to perform all,
or nearly all the functions of a man. It is remarkable that they
have no priests. The onganga or doctor is their wise man and
medicine man—he who exorcises evil spirits and puts power into
their charms; but he has nothing to do with the idol.
Next in order, after the idols, come the charms or greegrees,
called by them monda. Greegree, like fetich, is a term of Euro-
pean origin. In these mondas they have implicit faith. No ne-
gro in all this region but has about his person one or more of
these articles. The preparation gives a considerable revenue and
much honor to the doctors, who have, however, themselves the
greatest confidence in these things. They are generally worn
about the neck or waist; are made of the skins of rare animals,
of the claws of birds, the teeth of crocodiles or leopards, of the
dried flesh and brains of animals, of the feathers of rare birds, of
the ashes of certain kinds of wood, of the skin and bones of ser-
pents, etc., etc. Every greegree has a special power. One pro-
tects from sickness; another makes the heart of the hunter or war-
rior brave; another gives success to the lover; another protects
against sorcery; some cure sterility, and others make the moth-
er's breast abound in milk for her babe. The charmed leopard's
skin worn about the warrior's middle is supposed to render that
worthy spear-proof; and with an iron chain about his neck no
bullet can hit him. If the charm fails his faith is none the less
B B


THE OUGANGA A DOCTOR.
387
him, for now he has his revenge. His decisions follow often the
prejudices of the multitude, who have suspected beforehand those
that are thought to be possessed of the aniemba. From the doc-
tor's decision there is no appeal but that of the mboundou.
The ogounga, or doctor, is a personage whose chief powers are
the ability (which is real) to drink great quantities of the mboun-
dou poison, and the power (which is imaginary) to discover sor-
cerers, and to confer powers on greegrees and charms, which,
without his manipulations, are worthless. This personage enjoys,
therefore, great consequence in his tribe or .village. His word is
potent for life or death. At his command—or rather at his sug-
gestion—the village is removed; men, women, and children are
slain or enslaved; wars are begun and ended. I was never able
to satisfy myself on the interesting point whether these doctors
were themselves deceived; but, after close observation and many
trials, I conclude that they are in most cases. One or two I knew
to be so great rascals that I felt pretty sure they were also hum-
bugs. But the great majority were, I am confident, victims to
their own delusions. The African has a peculiarly excitable tem-
perament. I noticed that doctors, like other men, when on their
death-beds, always laid their death at the door of some malignant
sorcerer, and called for vengeance upon him. They are subject
to the same fears as their dupes, and have as great confidence in
their own dreams.
The region in which I traveled is so amply blessed with rains
that there is no necessity for the "rain-maker," who is so import-
ant a member of a South African tribe. But in some tribes there
are ougangas who pretend to the power to stop the rains, and
gain great honors by these pretensions in the rainy season, when,
if they really owned the skill they aspired to, they would often
be most useful to the poor wet, uncomfortable traveler.
On the eve of all the more important undertakings of the vil-
lage or tribe a doctor is consulted, who pretends to be able, by
certain ceremonies of divination, to foretell the issue, and by this
they shape their conduct. It sometimes happens, too, that a
negro, not a doctor, is seized with the belief that Obambou (a
devil) is in his body. The bowels are the seat of this possession;
and the possessed goes about in a wild way—sees visions, dreams
dreams, and pretends to foresee future events, gaining sometimes
considerable temporary prestige.


388 FIEST KNOWLEDGE OF ANTHROPOID APES.
CHAPTER XX.
Summary Account and Comparison of the great Apes of Africa: the Troglodytes
Gorilla, the T. Kooloo - Kamba, the Chimpanzee (T. mger), and the Nshiego
Mbouve, or T. calms.
In this chapter I propose to give the reader, in a collected
form, the results of my researches into the habits of those species
of man-like apes which I met in the forests of Equatorial Africa.
Of these the gorilla is the chief; and I was the first white man
who has systematically hunted this beast, and who has at all pen-
etrated to its haunts. The others — the Troglodytes calvus, or
nshiego mbouve, and the T. Kooloo-Kamba—I had the satisfac-
tion to be the first to make known, by preserved specimens and
by description. Such particulars as have been mentioned already
in the course of this narrative I shall not repeat here, it being my
wish to give in this place only a general view of these animals—
their structure, habits, and modes of life—such as would have un-
duly interrupted the narrative, and been less satisfactory to the
reader, had it been interspersed in various places there.
For several centuries naturalists had been vaguely cognizant
of the existence of a very peculiar and remarkable species of ape
in "Western Africa. . It was named by Tyson, in 1699, the Homo
sylvestris, or Pigmy. Linnaeus, in some of the editions of his
Systema Natures, calls it the Homo Troglodytes. Blumenbach
named it the Simia Troglodytes, and under this name the chim-
panzee afterward became generally known. This—the chimpan-
zee—was the first species of anthropophoid ape known to the
scientific world.
Later, naturalists became acquainted with another species,
brought from Borneo—the orang-outang. This animal differed
from the African ape in being covered with reddish-brown hair.
It was called Simia satyrus.
In 1780 the skeleton of another large ape was sent from Ba-
tavia to Holland by Baron Wurmb, the resident governor, who


DISCOVERY OF THE GORILLA.
389
called it the pongo. It received from naturalists the name Pongo
Wurmbi.
Up to the year 1829, when Cuvier revised his summary of our
knowledge of the animal kingdom in his Begne Animal, our knowl-
edge of the anthropophoid apes was limited to these three species.
It was long suspected by eminent naturalists that the pongo oi
Wurmb was but the adult form of the orang. On the other
hand, it was found that the facial angle of the young orang of
Borneo, and of the young chimpanzee of Africa, by the predom-
inant cranium and small jaws and teeth, approached nearer than
any other known mammalian to the human species, and especially
to the lower negro forms. This was the opinion of leading com-
parative anatomists, some of whom maintained that these form?
belonged to or denoted separate and advanced species, until, in
1835, Professor Richard Owen, the illustrious British comparative
anatomist, investigated the state of dentition of these heads, and
established the fact that they belonged to the young of a larger
species.
In 1812 Geoffroy St. Hilaire made the genus Troglodytes for the
chimpanzee, and this classification has been adopted by all who
have come after him.
Meantime there had been vague rumors of the existence in Af-
rica of another and larger species of ape. It was not, however,
till 1847 that the scientific world was startled by unexpected evi-
dence of the existence of this new species. A skull was discov-
ered accidentally, toward the close of the year 1846, by Rev. Dr.
J. Leighton Wilson, now of New York, and then a missionary of
the A. B. C. F. M. on the Gaboon, West Africa. Dr. Wilson after-
ward obtained another skull and part of a skeleton, which he pre-
sented to the Boston Natural History Society.
The first discovered skull Dr. Wilson presented to Dr. Savage,
of Boston, who afterward procured another, the skull of a female;
and from these various bones Dr. Savage and Professor Jeffries
Wyman made the descriptive memoirs printed in vol. v. of the
Boston Journal of Natural History, by which the existence of this
new and singular animal was first announced to the scientific
world.*
* Other memoirs are in vols. v. and vi. of the Bost. Jour, of Nat. Hist., by Prof.
Jeffries Wyman, describing four crania and a skeleton; in vols. iii. and iv. of the
Transact, of the Zoological Soc. of London, by Prof. Richard Owen, describing the


390
HANNO'S VOYAGE.
This brings me to an examination of the accounts brought by
various travelers, from Hanno down to a recent period, of an ani-
mal resembling more or less the real gorilla, and which have been
supposed to allude to that animal, and to be evidence that they
saw and killed it. The record of Hanno's voyage is one of the
most curious fragments of antiquity remaining to us. His voy-
age is supposed to have taken place in the sixth century before
Christ, though some critics place it at a much later period. He
was sent out by the government of Carthage to circumnavigate
the African continent. His journal begins with the following
sentence, .which sufficiently relates the object of his voyage: "It
was decreed by the Carthaginians that Hanno should undertake a
voyage beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and found Lybo-Phoeni-
cian cities. He accordingly sailed with sixty ships of fifty oars
each, and a body of men and women to the number of thirty
thousand, with provisions and other necessaries." According to
Pliny, he was to follow the coast-line of the continent till he reach-
ed the Arabian Gulf.
The passage in the Periplus, or voyage of Hanno, in which it is
supposed he alludes to the animal now known as the gorilla, reads
as follows: "On the third day, having sailed from thence, passing
the streams of fire, we came to a bay called the Horn of the South.
In the recess was an island like the first, having a lake, and in
this there was another island full of wild men. But much the
greater part of them were women with hairy bodies, whom the
interpreters called gorillas. * * But pursuing them, we were
not able to take the men; they all escaped from us by their great
agility, being cremnobates (that is to say, climbing precipitous
rocks and trees), and defending themselves by throwing stones at
us. We took three women, who bit and tore those who caught
them, and were unwilling to follow. We were obliged, therefore,
to kill them, and took their skins off, which skins were brought
to Carthage, for we did not navigate farther, provisions becoming
scarce."
According to Pliny, the skins were hung in the temple of Juno,
skeleton; in vols, xxxvi. and xxxvii. of the Comptes Rendus de PAcademie des Sci-
ences, by Duvernay; and in vol. x. of the Archives du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle,
by Isidore Geoffi-oy St. Hilaire. Dr. Wyman and Dr. Savage named the new ani-
mal the gorilla, a name applied by Hanno, an old Carthaginian navigator, to the
wild hairy men which he fonnd on the coast of Africa.


HANNO DID NOT SEE THE TRUE GORILLA. 391
and the name gorillas was changed to gorgones. Two of these
skins were yet in the temple at the time when Carthago was
taken. "Penetravit in eas (Gorgades Insulas) Hanno Pcenorum
imperator, prodiditque hirta feminarum corpora, viros pernicitate
evassisse, duarumque gorgonum cutes argumenti et miraculi gra-
tia in Junonis templo posuit, spectatas usque ut Carthaginem
captam."
Comparing this account with the habits of the gorilla, as set
forth farther on, I believe the reader will join me in the conclusion
that the animal seen and captured by Hanno was not the gorilla
of our day, though it may have been the chimpanzee. The huge
gorilla consumes so great an amount of vegetable food that no
considerable number could have found sustenance on an island
such as Hanno mentions. Moreover, unless its habits have un-
dergone a very great change, it is not likely that the males would
have retreated and left their females in the lurch. In my expe-
rience, the male invariably advances toward the foe, and secures
the safe retreat of its female, and on such occasions acts with fero-
cious courage. Again, to capture even a female gorilla by hand
and by simple force is, I think, impossible. No one who has seen
the animal in its native forests, and watched the exhibition of its
enormous strength, would believe it.
It seems probable, therefore, that Hanno met only the Troglo-
dytes niger, or chimpanzee, which is common in the mountains
and forests of Senegambia, and which does not attack man.
Even of this, however, I doubt if his men captured any adult
specimens. They took, probably, some half-grown females, who
were not active enough to get away.
Andrew Battel, an African traveler, whose adventures were
taken down by Purchas, and printed in his "Pilgrims," is the
tirst in modern times who makes mention of two different African
apes, the pongo and the engeco. He was for a while prisoner to
the Portuguese in Angola, and has this passage on the apes:
"The greatest of these two monsters is called pongo in their
language, and the lesser is called engeco. The pongo is in all
proportions like a man, for he is very tall, and hath a man's face,
hollow eyed, with long haires upon his brows. His body is full
of haire, but not very thicke, and it is of a dunnish color. He
differeth not from man but in his legs, for they have no calfe.
He goeth alwaies upon his legs, and carrieth his hands clasped on


392
BATTEL'S ACCOUNT.
the nape of his necke when he goeth upon the ground They
sleepe in trees, and build shelter for the raine. They feed upon
the fruit that they find in the woods, and upon ants, for they eate
no kind of flesh. They can not speake, and have no understand-
ing more than a beast. The people of the countrie, when they
travaile in the woods, make fires where they sleepe in the night,
and in the morning, when they are gone, the pongos will come and
seat about the fire till it goeth out, for they have no understand-
ing to lay the wood together. They goe many together, and kill
many negroe that travaile in the woods. Many times they fall
upon elephants which come to feed where they be, and so beat
them with their clubbed fists and pieces of wood that they will
runne roaring away from them. The pongos are never taken
alive, because they are so strong ten men can not hold one of
them; but they take many of their young ones with poisoned ar-
rows. The young pongo hangeth on his mother's belly with his
hands fast clasped about her, so that, when the country people
kill any of the females, they take the young which hangs fast
upon the mother. When they die among themselves, they cover
the dead with great heapes of boughs and wood, which is com-
monly found in the forests."*
This description of Battel seems to me the nearest correct of
any down to Bowditch, of whom I am presently to speak. I be-
lieve that the gorilla is not found south of the Setti-Camma River,
this being the last point to which I have been able to trace it.
The language of the Mayomba people has some affinity to that
of the Mpongwe, though greatly differing from it. The word
engeco, which is applied by Battel to the smallest of the monster
apes, is undoubtedly the nshiego of the Mpongwe and Gamma
tribes of this day. As for the word pongos, I am at a loss. It
can not apply to the Mpongwe tribe, for this tribe has emigrated
to the Gaboon within this century; three of the Ndina, the former
possessors of the river, remaining alive to this day; and in An-
drew Battel's time the Mpongwe tribe were living far in the in-
terior, and their name was unknown, supposing them to have had
even existence as a tribe then. Unfortunately, I was unacquaint-
ed with Battel's story when I was in Africa, or I should have in-
quired among the Mayomba people as to the origin and meaning
of the name, if, indeed, any traces of the word remain after more
* Purchas, His Pilgrims, Part ii., p. 984. London, 1623.


BOSMAN'S ACCOUNT.
393
than three centuries, 'which seems to me very doubtful. Allow-
ing that Battel knew the gorilla and chimpanzee, the reader will
see that he made many serious errors in his descriptions of their
habits and appearance. His stories are mere travelers' tales, and
are untrue of any of the great apes of Africa.
After him come other travelers, who tell, however, such absurd
and incredible stories that it is plainly to be perceived how they
added themselves to the already sufficiently exaggerated reports
of the negroes.
Temminck quotes, in his Esquisses Zoologiques upon the coast
of Guinea, a passage of Bosman, which seems to refer to the go-
rilla and chimpanzee. If it is to be counted any thing more than
a fable, it is a very exaggerated and untrustworthy account.
Bosman says: "They [these apes] are in this country by thou-
sands. The first and most common are those which are called
by our people smitten. They are fawn-colored, and become very
talL I have seen some with my own eyes who are five feet high,
and somewhat smaller than a man. They are very wicked and
bold; and what an English merchant told me appears incredible,
that there is, back of the fort the English have at Wimba, a great
quantity of these monkeys, who are so bold that they attack men."
Boeman continues: "There are negroes who affirm that these
monkeys can speak, but that they will not, in order not to work.
These monkeys have an ugly face," and so on. "The best thing
about these kind of monkeys is that they can be taught every
thing their master desires."
Passing by several other travelers' tales of this kind, we come
at last to the first real account of the gorilla. This was given
by T. E."Bowditch, in his account of a mission from Cape Coast
Castle to Ashantee, published in London, 1819. He, too, is the
first to call it by its Mpongwe name. In that part of his work
relating his visit to the Gaboon, he says: "The favorite and most
extraordinary subject of our conversation on natural history was
the ingena, an animal like the orang-outang, but much exceeding
it in size, being five feet high and four across the shoulders. Its
paw was said to be even more disproportioned than its breadth,
and one blow of it to be fatal. It is seen commonly by them
when they travel to Kaybe, lurking in the bush to destroy pas-
sengers, and feeding principally on wild honey, which abounds.
Among other of their actions reported without variation by men.


394
GORILLA STORIES.
women, and children of the Mpongwe and Sheekai [Shekiani], is
that of building a house in rude imitation of the natives, and
sleeping outside on the roof of it."*
So far all travelers spoke either of the chimpanzee (Troglody-
tes niger), or related hearsay accounts of the gorilla. It remain-
ed for Rev. Dr. Wilson, an American missionary, to present to the
world the first real evidence of the existence of this monstrous
animal; and for Dr. Savage and Prof. Jeffries Wyman, the cele-
brated comparative anatomist, of Boston, to give to natural his-
tory the first memoirs of the skeleton and cranium. Still, no
traveler or resident had succeeded in following the animal to its
haunts in the unknown regions of the interior, and such particu-
lars of its habits as came to Europe and America-were obtained
from the natives, whose dread of the monstrous beast fills their
minds with superstitious ideas of its nature, and exaggerated no-
tions of its habits.
My long residence in Africa gave me superior facilities for in-
tercourse with the natives, and as my curiosity was greatly ex-
cited by their reports of this unknown monster, I determined to
penetrate to its haunts and see with my own eyes. It has been
my fortune to be the first white man who can speak of the gorilla
from personal knowledge; and while my experience and obser-
vation prove that many of the actions reported of it are false and
vain imaginings of ignorant negroes and credulous travelers, I
can also vouch that no description can exceed the horror of its
appearance, the ferocity of its attack, or the impish malignity of
its nature.
I am sorry to be the dispeller of such agreeable delusions; but
the gorilla does not lurk in trees by the roadside, and drag up un-
suspicious passers-by in its claws, and choke them to death in its
vice-like paws; it does not attack the elephant and beat him to
death with sticks; it does not carry off women from the native
villages; it does not even build itself a house of leaves and twigs
in the forest-trees and sit on the roof, as has been confidently re-
ported of it. It is not gregarious even; and the numerous sto-
ries of its attacking in great numbers have not a grain of truth in
them.
It lives in the loneliest and darkest portions of the dense African
jungle, preferring deep wooded valleys and also rugged heights.
* Mission to Ashantee, p. 440.


HABITS OF THE GORILLA.
895
The high plains also, whose surface is strewn with immense boul-
ders, seem to be favorite haunts. Water is found every where in
this part of Africa, but I have noticed that the gorilla is always
found very near to a plentiful supply.
It is a restless and nomadic beast, wandering from place to
place, and scarce ever found for two days together in the same
neighborhood. In part, this restlessness is caused by the struggle
it has to find its favorite food. The gorilla, though it has such
immense canines, and though its vast strength doubtless fits it to
capture and kill almost every animal which frequents the for-
ests, is a strict vegetarian. I examined the stomachs of all which
I was lucky enough to kill, and never found traces there of aught
but berries, pine-apple leaves, and other vegetable matter. It is
a huge feeder, and no doubt soon eats up the scant supply of its
natural food which is found in any limited space, and is then
forced to wander on in constant battle with famine. Its vast
paunch, which swells before it when it stands upright, proves it
to be a great feeder; and, indeed, its great frame and enormous
muscular development could not be supported on little food.
It is not true that it lives much or at all on trees. By the ex-
amination of the stomach of many specimens, I was able to ascer-
tain with tolerable certainty the nature of its food, and I discov-
ered that for all/found it had no need to ascend trees. It is
fond of the wild sugar-cane; especially fond of the white ribs of
the pine-apple leaf; and it eats, besides, certain berries which
grow close to the ground; the pith of some trees, and a kind of
nut with a very hard shell. This shell is so hard that it requires
a strong blow with a heavy hammer to break it; and here is
probably one purpose of that enormous strength of jaw which
long seemed to me thrown away on a non-carnivorous animal,
and which is sufficiently evidenced by the manner in which the
barrel of the musket of one of my unfortunate hunters was flat-
tened by an enraged male gorilla.
Only the young gorillas sleep on trees, for protection from wild
beasts. I have myself come upon fresh traces of a gorilla's bed
on several occasions, and could see that the male had seated him-
self with his back against a tree-trunk. In fact, on the back of the
male gorilla there is generally a patch on which the hair is worn
thin from this position, while the nest-building Troglodytes calvus,
or bald-headed nshiego, which constantly sleeps under its leafy


396
COUKAGE OF THE MALE GORILLA
shelter on a tree-branch, has this bare place at its side, and in quite
a different way. I believe, however, that while the male always
sleeps at the foot of a tree, or elsewhere on the ground, the female
may sometimes ascend to the tree-top, as I have seen marks of
such ascension.
Those apes which live much in trees, as the chimpanzee, have
fingers on both their fore and hind feet much longer than the go-
rilla's, which, indeed, approximate much nearer to the construc-
tion of the human hand and foot, and are, by reason of this differ-
ent construction, greatly unfitted for tree-climbing.
The gorilla is not gregarious. Of adults, I found almost al-
ways one male with one female, though sometimes the old male
wanders companionless. In such cases, as with the "rogue" ele-
phant, he is particularly morose and malignant, and dangerous to
approach. Young gorillas I found sometimes in companies of
five; sometimes less, but never more. The young always runs
off, on all fours, shrieking with fear. They are difficult to ap-
proach, as their hearing is acute, and they lose no time in making
their escape, while the nature of the ground makes it hard for the
hunter to follow after. The adult animal is also shy, and I have
hunted all day at times without coming upon my quarry, when I
felt sure that they were carefully avoiding me. When, however,
at last fortune favors the hunter, and he comes accidentally or by
good management upon his prey, he need not fear its running
away. In all my hunts and encounters with this animal, I never
knew a grown male to run off. When I surprised a pair of go-
rillas, the male was generally sitting down on a rock or against a
tree, in some darkest corner of the jungle, where the brightest
sun left its traces only in a dim and gloomy twilight. The fe-
male was mostly feeding near by; and it is singular that she al-
most always gave the alarm by running off, with loud and sud-
den cries or shrieks. Then the male, sitting for a moment with
a savage frown on his face, slowly rises to his feet, and, looking
with glowing and malign eyes at the intruders, begins to beat Ins
breast, and, lifting up his round head, utters his frightful roar.
This begins with several sharp barks, like an enraged or mad
dog, whereupon ensues a long, deeply guttural rolling roar, con-
tinued for over a minute, and which, doubled and multiplied by
the resounding echoes of the forest, fills the hunter's ears like the
deep rolling thunder of an approaching storm. I have reason to


THE ATTACK OF THE MALE GORILLA
397
believe that I have heard this roar at a distance of three miles.
The horror of the animal's appearance at this time is beyond de-
scription. It seems as monstrous as a nightmare dream—so im-
possible a piece of hideousness that, were it not for the danger of
its savage approach, the hunter might fancy himself in some ugly
dream. At such a sight I could forgive my brave native hunt-
ers that they were sometimes overcome with superstitious fears,
and ceased to wonder at the strange, weird " gorilla stories" of the
negroes.
It is a maxim with the well-trained gorilla-hunters to reserve
their fire till the very last moment. Experience has shown them
that—whether the enraged beast takes the report of the gun for
an answering defiance, or for what other reason unknown—if the
hunter fires and misses, the gorilla at once rushes upon him; and
this onset no man can withstand. One blow of that huge paw,
with its bony claws, and the poor hunter's entrails are torn out,
his breast-bone broken, or his skull crushed. It is too late to re-
load, and flight is vain. There have been negroes who in such
cases, made desperate by their frightful danger, have faced the
gorilla, and struck at him with the empty gun. But they had
time for only one harmless blow. The next moment the huge
arm came down with fatal force, breaking musket and skull with
one blow. I imagine no animal is so fatal in its attack on man
as this, for the reason that it meets him face to face, and uses its
arms as its weapons of offense, just as a man or a prize-fighter
would—only that it has longer arms, and vastly greater strength
than the strongest boxer the world ever saw.
Now the gorilla is only met in the most dark and impenetra-
ble jungle, where it is difficult to get a clear aim, unobstructed by
vines and tangled bushes, for any distance greater than a few
yards. For this reason, the gorilla-hunter wisely stands still and
awaits the approach of the infuriated beast. The gorilla advances
by short stages, stopping to utter his diabolical roar and to beat
his vast breast with his paws, which produce a dull reverbera-
tion as of an immense bass-drum, which sound I have heard at
the distance of a mile. His walk is a waddle, from side to side,
his hind legs—which are very short—being evidently somewhat
inadequate to the proper support of the huge superincumbent
body. He balances himself by swinging his arms, somewhat as
sailors walk on shipboard; and the vast paunch, the round bul-


398
DEATH OF THE GORILLA
let-head joined awkwardly to the trunk with scarce a vestige of
neck, and the great muscular arms, and deep, cavernous breast,
give to this waddle an ungainly horror, which adds to his ferocity
of appearance. At the same time, the deep-set gray eyes sparkle
out with gloomy malignity; the features are contorted in hideous
wrinkles; and the slight, sharply-cut hps, drawn up, reveal the
long fangs and the powerful jaws, in which a human limb would
be crushed as a biscuit.
The hunter, looking with fearful care to his priming, stands
still, gun in hand, often for five weary minutes, waiting with grow-
ing nervousness for the moment when he may relieve his sus-
pense by firing. I have never fired at a male at greater distance
than eight yards, and from fourteen to eighteen feet is the usual
shot. At last the opportunity comes; and now the gun is quick-
ly raised, a moment's anxious aim at the vast breadth of breast
.
and then pull trigger.
In shooting the hippopotamus at night and on shore, the ne-
gro always scampers off directly he has fired his gun. When he
has 'fired at the gorilla he stands still. I asked why they did not
run in this case too, and was answered that it was of no use.
To run would be fatal. If the hunter has missed, he must battle
for his life face to face, hoping by some piece of unexpected good
fortune to escape a fatal blow, and come off, perhaps, maimed for
life, as I have seen several in the up-river villages. Fortunately,
the gorilla dies as easily as man; a shot in the breast, if fairly de-
livered, is sure to bring him down. He falls forward on his face,
his long, muscular arms outstretched, and uttering, with his last
breath, a hideous death-cry, half roar, half shriek, which, while it
announces his safety to the hunter, yet tingles his ears with a
dreadful note of human agony. It is this lurking reminiscence
of humanity, indeed, which makes one of the chief ingredients of
the hunter's excitement in his attack of the gorilla.
The common walk of the gorilla is not on his hind legs, but on
all-fours. In this posture, the arms are so long that the head and
breast are raised considerably, and as it runs the hind legs are
brought far beneath the body. The leg and arm on the same
side move together, which gives the beast a curious waddle. It
can run at great speed. The young, parties of which I have oft-
en pursued, never took to trees, but ran along the ground, and at
a distance, with their bodies half erect, looked not unlike negroes


THE GORILLA UNTAMABLE.
399
making off from pursuit. I have never found the female to at-
tack, though I have been told by the negroes that a mother with
a young one in charge will sometimes make fight . It is a pretty
thing to see such a mother with the baby gorilla sporting about
it. I have watched them in the wood, till, eager as I was to ob-
tain specimens, I had not the heart to shoot. But in such cases
my negro hunters exhibited no tender-heartedness, but killed their
quarry without loss of time.
When the mother runs off from the hunter, the young one
grasps her about the neck, and hangs beneath her breasts with its
little legs about her body.
I think the adult gorilla utterly untamable. In the course of
the narrative the reader will find accounts of several young go-
rillas which my men captured alive, and which remained with me
for short periods till their deaths. In no case could any treatment
of mine, kind or harsh, subdue these little monsters from their
first and lasting ferocity and malignity. The young of the nshie-
go bouve (T. calvus), on the contrary, is very easily tamed, and I
had one for some months as a companion. The young orang and
chimpanzee have been frequently tamed. Of the new and rare
kooloo-kamba I was not so fortunate as to secure a living speci-
men. But the gorilla is entirely and constantly an enemy to
man; resenting its captivity, young as my specimens were; re-
fusing all food except the berries of its native woods, and attack-
ing with teeth and claws even me, who was in most constant at-
tendance upon them; and finally dying without previous sick-
ness, and without, other ascertainable cause than the restless chaf-
ing of a spirit which could not suffer captivity nor the presence
of man.
The young of the chimpanzee is yellow; that of the nshiego
bouve is a very pale white; but the young gorilla is coal-black.
Even the youngest I got, which was a mere baby in arms, and
could not walk, was black as jet.
The strength of the gorilla is evidently enormous. A young
one of between two and three years of age required four stout
men to hold it, and even then, in its struggles, bit one severely.
That with its jaws it can dent a musket barrel, and with its arms
break trees from four to six inches in diameter, sufficiently proves
that its vast bony frame has corresponding muscle. The negroes
never attack them with other weapons than guns; and in those


APPEARANCE OF THE GORILLA.
401
some time one of their female ancestors has brought forth a
gorilla. The skin is thick and firm as an ox-hide.
I do not give here any account of other superstitions of the ne-
groes concerning the gorilla, because they are fully detailed in
other parts of the book.
In height adult gorillas vary as much as men. The adult
males in my collection range from five feet two inches to five feet
eight; and the parts of a skeleton which my friend Prof. Jeffries
Wyman has, are so much larger than any in my possession, that
I am warranted in concluding the animal to which it belonged to
have been at least six feet two inches in height. The female is
much smaller, less strong, and of lighter frame. One adult female
in my collection measured, when shot, four feet six inches.
The color of the skin in the gorilla, young as well as adult, is
intense black. This color does not appear, however, except in
the face, on the breast, and in the palms of the hands. The hair
of a grown, but not aged specimen, is in color iron-gray. The
individual hairs are ringed with alternate stripes of black and
gray, which produces the iron-gray color. On the arms the hair
is darker and also much longer, being sometimes over two inches
long. It grows upward on the fore arm and downward on the
main arm. Aged gorillas, the negroes told me, turn quite gray
all over; and I have one huge male in my collection whose worn-
out tusks show great age, and whose color is, in fact, a dirty gray.
The head is covered with reddish-brown hair, short, and extend-
ing almost to the neck, or where the neck should be.
In the adult male the chest is bare. In the young male it is
thinly covered with hair. In the female the mammse have but a
slight development, and the breast is bare. The color of the hair
in the female is black, with a decided tinge of red. The hair on
the arms is but little longer than that on the body, and is of a
like color. The reddish crown which covers the scalp of the
male is not apparent in the female till she is grown.
In both male and female the hair is found worn off on the back.
This is occasioned, I suppose, by their resting at night against
trees, at whose base they sleep.
The eyes of the gorilla are deeply sunken, the immense over-
hanging bony frontal ridge giving to the face the expression of a
constant savage scowl. The mouth is wide, and the lips are
sharply cut, exhibiting no red on the edges, as in the human face.
Cc


THE BODY OF THE GORILLA. 403
toral regions show slightly projecting a pair of nipples, as in the
other apes and in the human species. The abdomen is of im-
mense size, very prominent, and rounding at the sides. The
arms have prodigious muscular development, and are very long,
extending as low as the knees. The fore-arm is nearly of uni-
form size from the wrist to the elbow. The great length of the
arms and the shortness of the legs form one of the chief devia-
tions from man. The arms are not so long when compared with
the trunk, but they are so in comparison with the legs. These
are short, and decrease in size from below the knee to the ankle,
having no calf. The superior length of the arm (humerus) in
proportion to the fore-arm, brings the gorilla, in that respect, in
closer anthropoid affinities with man than any of the other apes.
The hands of the animal, especially in the male, are of immense
size, strong, short, and thick. The fingers are short and of great
size, the circumference of the middle finger at the first joint being
in some gorillas over six inches. The skin on the back of the
fingers, near the middle phalanx, is callous and very thick, which
shows that the most usual mode of progression of the animal is on
all-fours, and resting on the knuckles. The thumb is shorter
than in man, and not half so thick as the fore-finger. The hand
is hairy as far as the division of the fingers, those, as in man, be-
ing covered with short thin hairs. The palm of the hand is na-
ked, callous, and intensely black. The nails are black, and shaped
like those of man, but smaller in proportion, and projecting very
slightly beyond the ends of the fingers. They are thick and
strong, and always seem much worn. The hand of the gorilla
is almost as wide as it is long, and in this it approaches nearer
to those of man than any of the other apes.
The foot is proportionally wider than in man. The sole is cal-
lous and intensely black, and looks somewhat like a giant hand
of immense power and grasp. The transverse wrinkles show
the frequency and freedom of movement of the two joints of the
great toe, proving that they have a power of grasp. The mid-
dle toe, or third, is longer than the second and fourth, the fifth
proportionally shorter, as in man.
The toes are divided into three groups, so to speak. Inside the
great toe, outside the little toe, and the three others partly united
by a web. The two joints of the great toe measured, in one spec-
imen, six and a half inches in circumference. As a whole, the


404
THE CHIMPANZEE.
foot Of the gorilla presents a great likeness to the foot of man,
and by far more so than in any other ape. In no other animal
is the foot so well adapted for the maintenance of the erect po-
sition. Also, the gorilla is much less of a tree-climber than any
other ape. The foot in the gorilla is longer than the hand, as in
man, while in the other apes the foot is somewhat shorter than
the hand. The hair on the foot comes to the division of the toes,
and those are slightly covered with thin hair.
Of the chimpanzee (Troglodytes niger), an animal long, though
not very thoroughly known to naturalists, I regret that I have
nothing new to state. Though found in all the regions which I
visited, it is every where very rare. I killed one and saw anoth-
er in my Cape Lopez expedition, and, in my earlier days in Af-
rica, I for a short time owned two young living specimens. Both
of these died, however, before I was able to make any observations
upon their peculiarities. The zoological gardens and menageries
of Europe have at different .times had several specimens of the
young of this ape. .
The chimpanzee differs from the gorilla in these chief particu-
lars: It is a great tree-climber, passing much of its time among
the branches of the great trees of tropical Africa. It is, though
untamable when grown, still not fierce and malign like the goril-
la. It has never been known to attack man, and its young are
tractable and easily tamed. Where the gorilla resists man, the
chimpanzee flies to the densest woods. It is therefore hunted
with even greater difficulty than the gorilla.
Like its great congener, it is not gregarious. The young con-
sort in small companies, but the adults go in pairs or singly. The
young have a yellow face, which changes to-an intense black as
they grow older. They are difficult to keep in a state of captivi-
ty, dying almost invariably of consumption or dysentery.
I do not know of an instance of an adult chimpanzee being
caught alive, and think, on account of their shyness and activity,
it would be a very difficult animal to capture. Here I may ob-
serve that, though the negroes are very ingenious in their con-
trivance of traps for nearly all the greater beasts of the forest
catching by various devices not only the elephant, hippopotamus,
antelope, and deer, but even the leopard, I know of no case in
which an ape of any kind was caught in this way.
The chimpanzee is remarkable for its unusually great geograph-


THE NEW YOBC
PUBLIC LIBRARY
A3TOK. LRNOI





408
THE KOOLO-KAMBA.
chimpanzee yellow. Its head is nearly round, and bullet-formed:
the nose is very flat; the ears larger than in the gorilla, but small-
er than in the kooloo-kamba and chimpanzee; the eyes sunken;
the teeth and canines small when compared with the gorilla's.
The arms reach a little below the knee. The hands are long and
slender; the foot shorter than the hand. The toes are free. The
callosities on the back of the fingers show that this animal goes
commonly on all-fours, and rests its weight on the doubled-up
hands. The hair is of one uniform rusty-black color. The male
is larger than the female.
I can not tell if this animal would attack man if it were only
wounded, but I doubt. Its docility, when young, makes it very
strikingly different from the gorilla.
Lastly, we come to the kooloo-kamba. This ape, whose singu-
lar cry distinguishes it at once from all its congeners in these
wilds, is remarkable, as bearing a closer general resemblance to
man than any other ape yet known. It is very rare, and I was
able to obtain but one specimen of it. This is smaller than the
adult male gorilla, and stouter than the female gorilla. The
head is its most remarkable point. This struck me at once as

HEAD Or KOOLOO-KAMBA.
having an expression curiously like to an Esquimaux or China-
man. The face is bare and black. The forehead is higher than
in any other ape, and the cranial capacity greater by measure-
ment. The eyes are wider apart than in any other ape. The
nose is flat. The cheek-bones are high and prominent, and the
cheeks sunken and "lank." The ridge over the eyes is well
marked. The muzzle is less prominent and broader than in the


410
NATIVE NAMES.
Camma name, which, according to our English mode of spelling,
should be, as I have given it, "nshiego. The nshiego is the ne-
gro name for the true chimpanzee; and the new species, which
I first discovered, and to which the name Troglodytes calvus has
been given, they call the nshiego mbouve, or bald-headed nshiego.
The Troglodytes kooloo-kamba they know as the kooloo-kamba,
or simply as the koola.


AUTHORITIES.
411
CHAPTER XXI.
On the bony Structure of the Gorilla and other African Apes.
We come now to consider the anatomy of the great African
apes; and I propose to speak more especially of those points
of structure wherein these animals most nearly resemble man.
I should state here that naturalists have not, thus far, been able
to agree on this question. Some have given to the gorilla the
honor of approximating nearest to man in structure, while others
reserve this for the chimpanzee. Dr. Jeffries Wyman, the ac-
complished and distinguished comparative anatomist of Harvard
University, was the first to give a scientific account of the cra-
nium and of a part of the skeleton of the gorilla in 1847. To
him belongs the honor of having first brought to the knowledge
of the scientific world this wonderful animal. In 1849, Dr.
Wyman gave another description of two additional crania of the
gorilla. In these memoirs he classified this animal in the genus
Troglodytes.
In 1848, Professor Richard Owen, the learned curator of the
British Museum, published an account of the gorilla in the Trans-
actions of the Zoological Society of London, and in this he agreed
with Dr. Jeffries Wyman, and retained the gorilla in the genus
Troglodytes. Since 1848, that illustrious zootomist has written
several memoirs, giving extended definitions of the anatomical
structure of the gorilla.
Professor Duvernay and Professor Isidore Geoffrey St. Hilaire,
of Paris, have written long memoirs on the comparative anatomy
of this wonderful animal; and both, after very able scientific de-
scription, consider the differences in the osteology, dentition, and
outward character of the gorilla to be of sufficient generic im-
portance to create the genus gorilla. They give the trivial name
of ngina to the animal.
Professors Duvernay, St. Hilaire, and Dr. Jeffries Wyman agree
in putting the gorilla below the chimpanzee in its anthropoid
character, while Professor Owen is of opinion that the gorilla is


412 ANTHROPOID CHARACTERISTICS OF T. GORILLA.
nearer akin to man than the T. niger or chimpanzee, and does not
think that the anatomical peculiarities of the animal are sufficient
to make a new genus. On this last point he agrees with Dr.
Wyman.
The most important anthropoid characters of the gorilla, which
are referred to by Professor Owen in his first memoir, are the fol-
lowing:
"1st . The coalesced central margins of the nasals are projected
forward, thus offering a feature of approximation to the human
structure, which is very faintly indicated, if at all, in the T. niger
[or chimpanzee].
"2d. The inferior or alveolar part of the premaxillaries, on the
other hand, is shorter and less prominent in the T. gorilla than
in the T. niger; and in that respect the larger species deviate less
from man.
"3d. The next character, which is also a more anthropoid one,
though explicable in relation to the greater weight of the skull to
be poised on the atlas, is the greater prominence of the mastoid
processes in the T. gorilla, which are only represented by a rough
ridge in the T. niger.
"4th. The ridge which extends from the eeto-pterygoid along the
inner border of the foramen ovale terminates in the T. gorilla by
an angle or process answering to that called 'styliform' or spinous
in man, but of which there is no trace in the T. niger.
"5th. The palate is narrower in proportion to the length in
the T. gorilla, but the premaxillary portion is relatively longer in
the T. niger."*
In 1849, Dr. Wyman, in referring to the above memoir of Prof.
Owen, says, in refutation, and claiming for the chimpanzee a
nearer affinity to man: "If, on the other hand, we enumerate
those conditions in which the enge-ena [gorilla] recedes farther
from the human type than the chimpanzee, they will be found by
far more numerous, and by no means less important.
"The larger ridge over the eyes, and the crest on the top of
the head and occiput, with the corresponding development of the
temporal muscles, form the most striking features. The submax-
illary bones articulating with the nasals, as in the other quadru-
mana and most brutes; the expanded portion of the nasals be-
tween the frontals, or an additional osseous element of this prove
* Op. cit, vol. iii., Transactions of the Zoological Society, 1848.


414 COMPARISON OF T. GORILLA AND T. NIGER.
Humerus. Femux.
Man 15.0 18.5
Chimpanzee 10.9 11.0
Enge-ena 17.0 14.0
"Thus in man the femur is three inches longer than the hu-
merus. In the chimpanzee these bones are nearly of the same
length; and in the enge-ena the humerus is three inches longer
than the femur, indicating, on the part of the enge-ena, a less per-
fect adaptation to locomotion in the erect position than in the
chimpanzee."
My own observations have led me to the conclusion that the
gorilla walks more often in the erect posture than the chimpan-
zee, and in this I agree with the conclusion of Prof. Owen.
In 1853,1855, and 1859, Prof. Owen wrote several very minute
memoirs from the entire skeleton, and in these is always of the
opinion that the gorilla is the nearest akin to man.
"Among the closer anthropoid affinities of the gorilla," he says,
"very significant of the closer affinities of the gorilla is the su-
perior length of arm (humerus) to the fore-arm, as compared with
the proportions of those parts in the chimpanzee."
"In the hind limbs, chiefly noticeable was the first appearance,
in a quadrumanous series, of a muscular development of the glu-
teus, causing a small buttock to project over each tuber ischii.
This structure, with the peculiar expanse (in quadrumana) of the
iliac bones, leads to an inference that the gorilla must naturally,
and with more ease, resort occasionally to station and progression
on the lower limbs than any other ape."*
This statement, as quoted above, agrees entirely with my own
observations.
"The arms in man reach to below the middle of the thigh;
in the gorilla they reach nearly to the knee, and in the chimpan-
zee they reach below the knee. * * * * The humerus in
the gorilla, though less long, compared with the ulna, than in
man, is longer than in the chimpanzee."!
"The scapulae are broader in the gorilla than in the chimpan-
zee, and come nearer to the proportion of that bone in man. But
a more decisive resemblance to the human structure is present-
ed by the iliac bones. In no other ape than the gorilla do they
* On the Classification and Geographical Distribution of the Mammalia, etc., etc..
1859, pp. 70 and 71. t Ibid., p. 78.


PLACE OF THE GORILLA. 417
"Les canines enorrnes, les incisores presque rangé en ligne
droite, les trois mdcheliires inferieures allongees d'avant en airier e et
d talon.
"Les caracteres qui sont indiques en italiques sont ceux que
distinguent particuHerement le genre gorilla du genre troglo-
dytes."
For these and other reasons, Prof. St. Hilaire makes of the go-
rilla the genus Gorilla, and places it nearer the Simians in some
respects than the Troglodytes niger. His arrangement or order is
as follows: Homo, Troglodytes, Gorilla, Simia, Hylobates.
I must own that, at first sight, judging from the living speci-
men and from its cranium, the gorilla presents all the features of
a far more bestial animal than the T. calvus, T. kooko-kamba, T.
niger, or the orang. All the features of the gorilla, especially in
the male, are exaggerated; the head is longer and narrower; the
brain is backward; the cranial crests are of immense size; the
jaws are very prominent, and show great power; the canines are
very large. The proper cavity of the brain is marked by the im-
mense occipital ridges. But the remainder of the skeleton of the
gorilla comes much nearer to that of man than that of any other
ape.
And, after a careful examination of the osteological facts which
have been mentioned; after having observed the live gorilla and
studied carefully its mode of progression, I came to the convic-
tion that in its mode of progression the gorilla is the nearest akin
to man of all the anthropoid apes.
In size the gorilla varies as much as does man. Adult male
gorillas measure from five feet two inches to six feet two inches.
Part of a skeleton in the possession of Dr. Wyman shows that the
animal might have reached the latter size when extended on the
ground in a perfectly straight position; but as the gorilla is un-
able to stand erect, the legs being somewhat bent and the body
thrown forward, the largest specimen would not appear higher
than five feet nine inches.
To show the reader the contrast between the bony structure of
man and the gorilla, I place diagrams of their skeletons side by
side on the following page. The accompanying table of measure-
ments shows the points of similarity and of difference:
Dd


418
SKELETON OF T. GORILLA.


The Gorilla has
13 pairs of ribs.
7 cervical vertebra (the- true
vertebra:).
13 dorsal do.
4 lumbar do.
5 sacral do.
8 carpal (wrist) bones.
Man haa
12 (and sometimes 13) pairs of ribs.
7 cervical vertebrae.
12 dorsal do.
5 lumbar do.
5 sacral do.
8 carpal (wrist) bones.
The T. calvus has sometimes fourteen pairs of ribs. Man has


ANTHROPOID CHARACTER OF SKELETON.
419
sometimes thirteen pairs of ribs; but what is termed ribs are
vertebral elements, which are so called when long and free, and
this is merely due to the coalescing of the last lumbar to the first
sacral vertebrae.
The cervical series departs most from that of man. All the
apes possess the same number of vertebrae as man.
The gorilla skeleton, the skull excepted, resembles the bony frame
of man more than that of any other anthropoid ape. In the form
and proportions of the pelvis, the number of ribs, the length of the
arm, the width of the hand, and the structure and arches of the
feet—all these characteristics, and also some of its habits, appear
to me to place the gorilla nearer to man than any other anthro-
poid ape is placed.
Among all the anthropoid apes, the number of teeth corre-
sponds with that in the human species, but the canines are much
larger, especially in the male gorilla. The incisors also are large.
In the ape the bicuspids are implanted by three distinct fangs,
two external and one internal, and the external one is divided.
In man they are implanted by one external and one internal;
and in the Caucasian race the two fangs are sometimes united.
The skull here represented is that of a gorilla shedding his milk

FEOST TOW OP A YOUNG GOEILLA'S SKULL.
teeth. The upper incisors have fallen, and the four permanent
ones of that jaw have made their appearance, while in the lower
jaw the two lateral milk or first incisors are yet firmly in place,
and the two central incisors of the second growth have made their
appearance and are half grown.
The milk or first canines are yet firmly in place, and, on ex-
tracting one of them, the nucleus of the second or permanent


420 DENTAL ARRANGEMENT.
tooth is scarcely discoverable. On withdrawing one of the bicus-
pids and one of the first molars of the lower jaw, the rudiments
of the permanent ones are perceptible. In the upper jaw, the
first set of bicuspids and molars have already been displaced by
the permanent set, and the four wisdom teeth of this jaw have
already made their appearance, and are in a more advanced con-
dition than in the lower jaw.
The large ridge over the eyes and the crest on the top of the
head, and extending over upon the occiput, together with the cor-
responding development of the temporal muscles and the large

canines, are the main outward characters which seem to remove
the gorilla farther from man than the chimpanzee, and give to
this animal so ferocious a look.
But in the female gorilla the canines are not much larger, in
proportion to the relative size of the animals, than in the chimpan-
zee; the frontal and occipital ridges of the head are but slightly
marked.
In the female gorilla "with the red rump," the head of which
seems somewhat deformed, the space between the eyes is much
narrower.
The skulls of the T. niger, or chimpanzee, and T. calvus (nschiego
mbouve), are smaller and rounder than that of the gorilla, and
show more capacity relatively to their size than that of the male


CRANIAL CAPACITY.
421

gorilla, but I think not much more than that of the female gorilla.
That of the kooloo-kamba has a greater relative capacity than
any other of the apes.
The corresponding small amount of brain in the male gorilla,
and the excessive preponderance of the cerebellum or back brain,
would seem to corroborate our opinion of the excessive brutality
of this beast.

Front View. Side View.
BKULL Or VOTSO T. C.U.VU8.
The changes which occur in the development of the female
gorilla's skull from early youth to adult life are not so great by
far as they are in the male gorilla's skull, which may be called a
complete metamorphosis.
The skulls of young gorillas, female and male, and of the young
of the chimpanzee and other apes, are much alike, and could hard-
ly be recognized one from another. When young, the head is
more round and more human. As the animal grows older, the
occiput becomes long and compressed; the muzzle becomes large
and projecting; the frontal ridge, which was small, becomes prom-


SKULL OF T. KOOLOO-KAMBA
425
either the chimpanzee or calvus. In the kooloo-kamba the inci-
sors strike squarely upon each other, and present a broad grind-
ing surface.
Measured from the supra-orbital ridge above the eyes back-
ward to the occipital ridge, the plain dividing that section of the
skull would have more than one third of the brain superior to
that line. The bis-temporal diameter is greater in proportion
than in either the gorilla, the chimpanzee, or the calvus.
The kooloo-kamba skull being placed in situ upon the lower
jaw, the whole head preserves, unsustained, its erect position.

The peculiar development of the cheek-bones gives a great
Hreadth to the face; the muzzle is not so prominent as in the
other apes; the head is rounder; the capacity of the cranium is
greater than the nshiego, as shown by the table of measurement
of the crania. The skull approaches somewhat nearer in shape
to the human skull. The width of the pelvis is greater than its
height, but it has somewhat the general form of that of the T. niger
and T. calvus. In the chimpanzee and in the nshiego mbouve the
height of the pelvis exceeds its width.
Two more points of difference I must remark on, which still
farther establish, in my opinion, the vast chasm which lies between
even the most inferior forms of the human race and the most
superior of the apes. One of these is that, in the apes, the verte-
bral column has a single curvature in the form of a bow, and is
thus enabled to act like an elastic spring, which preserves the
animal from sudden shocks in running or leaping on all-fours,


426
MAN AND THE APES.
while in man the spinal column has three opposite curvatures,
which answer the same purpose so long as the body is in the
erect position, but are not calculated for progression on all-fours.
Moreover, the manner, the mode of articulation of the head with
the spinal column obliges man to maintain himself erect, while in
the ape it is such that the head must be thrown backward when
in an erect position, in order to maintain the balance of the body;
and I have frequently observed the fact that the gorilla is not able
to preserve himself for any considerable length of time in an
erect posture.
In man, therefore, both the position of the head and the curves
of the vertebral column make the erect posture the only natural
one, and any other is quite painful, even if assumed only for a
short time; and this difference is an organic one, resulting, not
from the force of habit, but from a difference in original structure.
The whole frame-work of man proclaims that he is created to
carry himself erect; and, unlike all the quadrumana, his superior
extremities do not perform any service in the act of locomotion.
Then comes the head, with its enormous expansion of the
brain. The condyles of the occiput are brought forward to the
base of the skull, and by this the balance of the head on the
neck-bone, which has a slight tendency forward. The arms in
man are in more symmetrical proportion with the length of the
legs. The femur in man is longer in proportion to the leg than
in any other animal; the lower limbs (legs) are longer than in
any of the apes; the pelvis is broader than it is long; the iliac
bones are bent forward; the humerus is longer than the fore-
arm; the thumb is much longer than in any ape, and is the most,
useful member of the hand.
The second point is made by Dr. P. Gratiolet, in a very able
paper, read before the Societe Anthropologic of Paris, on micro-
cephalus considered in its relations to the characteristics of tht
human race. In this able paper he has the following remarks:
"The study of the brain of microcephalic persons [or small-
brained persons] has provided me with other elements, by the
aid of which the absolute distinction of man is evidently and an-
atomically proved. In comparing attentively the brain of mon-
keys with that of men, I have found that, in adult age, the ar-
rangement of cerebral folds is the same in one group as in the
other; and, were we to stop here, there would be no sufficient


DIFFERENCE IN STRUCTURE OF BRAIN.
427
ground for separating man from animals in general; but the
study of development calls for an absolute distinction."
Speaking of the anatomical development and structure of the
brain, he then continues: "In fact, the tempero-sphenoidal convo-
lutions appear first in the brain of monkeys, and are completed by
the frontal lobe, while precisely the inverse order takes place in
man; the frontal convolutions appear first, the tempero-sphenoidal
show themselves last; thus the same series is repeated in the one
case from a to w, in the other from w to a. From this fact, rigor-
ously verified, a necessary consequence follows: no arrest in the
progress of development could possibly render the human brain
more similar to that of monkeys than it is at the adult age; far
from that, it would differ the more the less it were developed."
Thus we see that, even in the lowest idiots, the brain preserves
the material and zoological characters of man; and, though often
inferior in appearance to that of the chimpanzee, gorilla, or orang,
is nevertheless an undeniable human brain. Disease, or degra-
dation in continued reproduction (astheniogeny), may dwarf a man,
but will never make of him an ape; and, moreover, modern ob-
servations have demonstrated that idiots do not breed.
I close this chapter with the following tables of measurements
of the gorilla skeleton, carefully made from one of my most per-
fect specimens, an adult male, which, when first shot, measured
five feet eight inches in extreme length.
MEASUBEMENTS OF TIIE GOBILLA'S SKELETON.
Lower Jaw. Inches.
Length of the inferior maxillary bone, from the inferior angle of the
ramus to the canine tooth 6
Do. to the median line, measured around to a point between the mid-
dle incisors 7
Perpendicular height of the ramus of the jaw 4
Greatest breadth of do 2}
Length of alveolus (in a straight line of the teeth) 3|
Width across the jaw from the outer margin of the last molars 2\
Do. do. at the canine or bicuspids 21
Upper Jaw.
Length of alveolus from the last molar to the canine
Do. do. around to the median line
Breadth across the jaw at the molars
Do. do. at the extremities of canine
Skull.
Diameter of nasal aperture li
Distance from lower margin of do. to the margin of the eye-socket 3
Width of the face, measured across the eyes to the outer margins of
the lateral orbital ridges 5}
3}
H
23
21


MEASUREMENTS OF SKELETON OF T. GORILLA.
Width of the face, measured at the molar protuberances 6}
Depth of the eye-socket to the optic foramen Sj
Greatest length of the face, measured in a straight line from the sum-
mit of the orbital ridge to the lowest point of the chin 7}
Distance from the base of the nose to the top of the orbital ridge on
the median line 2}
Distance from do. to the outer angle of do 3}
Distance on the median line from the middle incisor of the upper
jaw to the foramen magnum (spinal opening) 7}
Diameter of the foramen magnum or spinal opening 1$
Distance from the posterior margin of that opening to the lateral term-
ination of the occipital crest 8}
Distance on the median line, measured from the middle incisor of
the upper jaw across the spinal opening to the outer point of the
occipital crest 1 - r
Transverse diameter of the base of the skull from the mastoid protu-
berances 6
Length of the occipital crest on its summit 11
Greatest height of this crest, measured perpendicularly from the sur-
face of the skull 1
Length of the median crest on the top of the skull :5
Distance from the summit of the orbital ridge to the point oj junction
of the crests on the occipat 7
(Measured from the highest points of the orbital ridge and the occip-
ital junction of the crests, a line will not touch the skull.)
Measurement around the entire skull, within the zygomatic arch, on
the depressed line just posterior to the eye-sockets, and anteriorly to
the crests 11
Lateral diameter of the space beneath the zygomatic arches 2
Antero-posterior do. do 2}
Length of Spinal Column.
Length of the cervical vertebra 4i
"from first dorsal vertebra to extremity of the 6acrum 21J
Total - 2U}
Add for shrinkage of the intervertebral cartilages (nearly one sixth of
total length) _4}
Total length of spine 31
Measurements of Thorax.
Length of the fourth rib, measured from the spine of its vertebra to
the articulation with cartilage 13}
Length of its dry cartilage 2
Breadth of sternum (breast-bone) li
Length of the sixth rib 15
"of cartilage of the sixth rib to its ensiform articulation (dried).. 4}
Pelvis.
Greatest breadth of pelvis, from crests of the iliac bones 15}
Hreadth of pelvis, measured outwardly and posteriorly from the same
points as above 18
Height of pelvis (perpendicular measurement) 14
(sacro-pubic, or antero-posterior 6}
Diameters of pelvic strait < oblique 5j
(bis-iliac, or transverse 6 J
Upper Extremities.
Greatest length of the scapula plate 9
Length measured from coracoid process to the inferior extremity of the
scapula 12}


430
THE BAKALAI TRIBE.
CHAPTER XXn.
The Bakalai.—Extent of Region in which they are met.—Qualities.—Reasons for
Intermixture of Tribes.—The Bakalai are Rovers.—Fear of Death.—Old People
abandoned.—Treachery.—Case of Retaliation.—Women-palavers.—Arbitration.
—A fetich Palaver.—Appearance of the Bakalai.—Property.—Duties of a Wife.
—Restrictions on Marriage.—Slaves.—Costume.—Grass-cloth.—Hunters.—Fish-
ing.—Great Traders.—Diseases.—Leprosy.—Music.
Before resuming the narrative, I think it well to give the
reader some account of the Bakalai, the people among whom I
had spent now so many months in hunting and exploration.
They are one of the most numerous, widely extended, and im-
portant tribes I met in Equatorial Africa. From the Muni on
the north to the Fernand Vaz on the south, and from the sea-
shore to the Apingi country, I met settlements of Bakalai. To
the north they approach the sea-shore, and live on the rivers;
but, as I made my way south, I found that they receded from the
ocean, and were met farther inland. Their settlements are wide-
ly scattered, and they are often found living in independent towns
in regions chiefly occupied by other tribes. How far they reach
inland I can not tell. To the Ashira they were known as neigh-
bors, and even the Apingi pointed eastward toward the unknown
centre of the continent when I inquired for Bakalai
On the Rembo they are so entirely inland people that they did
not know much even of the management of canoes. Between
the Gaboon and Corisco some of them live on the banks of the
rivers, as I have said, and are extraordinary boatmen; but, wher-
ever they are, they are great hunters and traders, and treacherous
warriors.
The tribes of western Africa are curiously intermixed, as the
reader will have seen ere this from the accounts of my wander-
ings among them. This happens because the most enterprising
are always striving to get possession of the rivers, which are the
only highways of the country. From these they drive away the
weaker tribes, or rather portions of tribes, as on the Ikoi some
Bakalai had to desert their towns, where they drove a brisk


THEIR ROVING PROPENSITY.
431
trade, because of the jealous rage of other villages of the same
tribe "who were stronger, and determined to have the trade in
their own hands. There is nowhere in this region any owner-
ship in land, so that any family of any tribe has a right to settle
on any unoccupied territory, and if there is a dispute it is settled
by the strong arm.
But one of the peculiar traits of the Bakalai, which distin-
guishes them from other tribes with whom they are intermixed,
is their roving character. They never stay long in one place. A
Bakalai village is scarce built—often the plantations have not
borne fruit the first time—when they feel impelled to move.
Then every thing is abandoned; they gather up what few stores
of provisions they may have, and start off, often for great dis-
tances, to make with infinite pains a new settlement; which will
be abandoned in turn sometimes after a few months; though
sometimes they remain a year or two, and even more, in the same
place. Thus, on the head-waters of the Gaboon and its tribu-
taries, the favorable position for trade obliges them to remain in
the same neighborhood. But even there they shift from one place
to another, distant only a mile or two from each other.
Many things contribute to this roving tendency, but first of all
is their great fear of death. They dread to see a dead person.
Their sick, unless they have good and near friends, are often
driven out of the village to die in loneliness in the forest. I
have twice seen old men thus driven out, nor could I persuade
any one to give shelter or comfort to these friendless wretches.
Once an old man, poor and naked, lean as death himself, and
barely able to walk, hobbled into a Bakalai village where I was
staying. Seeing me, the poor old fellow came to beg some to-
bacco—their most cherished solace. I asked him where he was
going.
"I don't know."
"Where are you from?"
He mentioned a village a few miles off.
"Have you no friends there?"
"None."
"No son, no daughter, no brother, no sister?"
"None."
"You are sick?"
"They drove me away for that."


432
REMOVAL OF VILLAGES.
"What will you do?"
"Die."
A few women came up to him and gave him water and a little
food. But the men saw death in his eyes. They drove him
away. He went sadly, as though knowing and submitting to bis
fate. A few days after his poor lean body was found in the
wood. His troubles were ended.
When a man dies in a Bakalai village the stability of that set-
tlement has received a violent shock. If a second dies, then the
people at once move away. They think the place bewitched:
they fancy death, dreaded death, stalking in their midst. A doc-
tor is called, who goes through his incantations, and some poor
wretch is condemned to drink the mboundou. Often several
friendless creatures are accused and condemned in a breath, and
murdered in cold blood. Then the village is broken up; the
people set out again upon their wanderings, and fix upon some
lonely spot for new plantations and a new home.
It is as though they were all their lives vainly fleeing from
the dread face of death. This, indeed, is the refrain of all their
sad songs, the burden of every fear. Having little else to lose,
they seem to dread, more than any other people I ever saw.
the loss of life. And no wonder; for after death is to them
nothing.
"Death is the end." "Now we live; by-and-by we shall die;
then we shall be no more." "He is gone; we shall never see
him more; we shall never shake his hand again; we shall never
hear him laugh again." This is the dolorous burden of their
evening and morning songs.
And yet, by a strange contradiction, they are extravagantly
superstitious. Believing that there is no life beyond this, they
yet fancy a ghost or spirit in every moving tree or bush after
night, and in the twilight hour are sometimes overpowered with
an undefinable dread, which makes them fear to come even out-
side their huts.
Another cause of fear is their treacherous and quarrelsome
disposition. They are constantly quarreling with their neigh-
bors. I have already explained the singular ideas they have of
retaliation. Once I was in a village, when, on a sudden, I heard
great wailing among the women. I found that two women had
been killed by some persons unseen, while they were standing in


TREACHERY.
433
the creek near by, washing. The murderers were not known for
some days. All was consternation in the village.
Then it came somehow to their ears that these women had
been killed by men who had come from a village fifty miles off.
This village had a palaver or quarrel with one nearer. They
came down and killed two women of a village which they had
no quarrel with, and this made the villagers whose relatives they
had thus murdered their allies. This singular doctrine of alli-
ance seems to be accepted by most of the tribes.
Many of their quarrels and palavers arise about women. Po-
lygamy prevails extensively; female chastity is not valued, ex-
cept as an article of merchandise; the women have great freedom
and an intriguing spirit, and the consequence is that a faithful
wife is an unheard of thing. The crime of adultery with a head-
wife, however, is considered a very serious misdemeanor, for which
the offender may be heavily fined if he is rich, sold into slavery
if he is poor, or perhaps killed.
Now, when a man is caught in such a difficulty, he makes his
escape, if possible, to the next village. It is considered dishonor-
able to give up a fugitive, and if he gets safely there he is safe for
the time. Then begins quarreling, succeeded presently by mur-
der; then the curious process of securing allies breeds more mur-
der and retaliation, and so in a few days a large tract of country
is interested in a quarrel, and fights and assassinations continue
till some villages are almost annihilated, and others are removed
afar off, only to be mixed up with new strifes.
When war has really broken out in the country once, there is no
rest nor safety. No man or woman in any village can take a step
in any direction, day or night, without fear of death. They lay
ambuscades to surprise each other's villages. They shoot through
the tree-bark of which their houses are made, and kill sleeping
persons. They use every unfair means of warfare; and the mean-
er the attack and the greater the treachery, the more glory they
have won. In such times of war fires are put out after dark, be-
cause they give light to the enemy; the people keep a dead si-
lence, lest their voices should betray their whereabouts; the hunt-
ers fear to hunt, the women and slaves to plant, and, by conse-
quence, every body is in a condition of semi-starvation. This
lasts sometimes for months. At last whole districts are depopu-
lated; those who are not killed desert their villages, and all, per-
E E


434
APPEARANCE OF THE BAKALAL
haps, because a man in one village stole from one in another and
refused satisfaction. Another frequent cause of war is cheating in
trade. Whenever they think themselves strong enough, they try
to keep the produce which has been intrusted to them for trade.
On the banks of the Rembo Ovenga I found that the Bakalai
had agreed among themselves to settle their quarrels by arbitra-
tion. I was much surprised to find that not only was this the
rule, but the practice. But I found that Quengueza, who is mas-
ter of all this country, and makes his rule felt, was at the bottom
of this salutary change. He would not allow them to fight. He
understood very well that trade and war could not go on togeth-
er; and, though the trade was insignificant from our point of
view, it was important to him.
While I was in Obindji's town, the Bakalai chiefs and people,
to the number of several hundreds, met together to ask justice on
the head of Pendé, Obindji's brother, who was charged with hav-
ing stolen the bones of a dead person to make a fetich, which fe-
tich would keep trade away from a particular town. This pala-
ver was very violent; and I think, if Quengueza had not been
on the spot, would have ended in bloodshed. Pende- denied hav-
ing done what he was charged with, and I do not believe that
any body thought him guilty, toward the end of the fuss. Nev-
ertheless, to obtain quiet, the poor fellow had to give three slaves
to the three chiefs who were the chief accusers.
The Bakalai are of the ordinary size. The men are generally
well made; some are of small stature; and I have seen among
them some splendid specimens of manhood. They are not very
black, though they have full negro features. They are not very
strong, chiefly, I suppose, because they live poorly; but they
have great powers of endurance, and on this account make ad-
mirable hunters. Considering their numerous superstitions and
their poor markmanship, they must be considered brave fellows
on the hunt. To face a gorilla, and calmly await his approach
till you know that if you miss him you will certainly be his prey,
must be counted an act of no common courage. And this is the
manner in which the Bakalai hunt this terrible beast.
Wives and slaves are their only property. A man's standing
is according to the number of his wives. As soon as a Bakalai
has acquired some European goods in return for ivory or ebony,
he immediately sets out to buy a new wife. They generally pre-


COSTUME OF THE BAKALAI.
435
fer to marry very young girls; and often young children are reg-
ularly bargained away. In this case they remain with their
parents till the age of puberty.
When a man has chosen a girl, he calls on her parents and ex-
plains his wishes. They put a price upon her, which he pays,
and then the poor girl is turned over to him. The more chil-
dren she has, the more her husband loves her, and the greater is
her importance in the town. The population being small in
nearly all the villages, every birth is hailed with joy; and as
girls have a money value, they are as highly thought of as boys,
who make hunters and warriors. Few Bakalai women have
many children. Those who do have their own way in many
things, and are able to tyrannize over their own household and
rival wives.
The duties of a wife are to labor for her husband, to cook
for him, to work in the fields, and to be generally his beast of
burden and superior slave. When the husband dies his wives
and slaves are divided among his relatives; his brothers taking
preference, but even his sons inheriting sometimes.
It is a curious fact, that, though they will take their brother's
or father's wives in marriage, they will not marry a woman of
the same family or clan with themselves. This is the case, also,
among other tribes.
Of slaves the Bakalai have not many. The wants of the white
traders on the coast, and their own need for white men's goods,
make them sell most of those they get to the tribes nearer the
coast. People caught in adultery—particularly with a "head-
wife"—are sold into slavery in certain cases. Those accused of
sorcery are killed or sold into slavery. Also a debtor may be
sold by his creditor.
Their costume is very light. Where they can get American
or European goods, they so greatly prefer those, because, it may
be supposed, of their rarity, that a Bakalai will wear a filthy rag
of cotton print for months without washing, rather than throw it
aside for a clean native grass-cloth wrapper. The women are ex-
travagantly fond of European beads, and wear also anklets and
bracelets of copper or iron. The rude mat which is worn round
the middle by the men is made of grass, and very ingeniously
constructed. But the fine grass-cloth, some of which is really
beautiful, is not made among them. That they get from the


436
FOOD OF THE BAKALAI.
Ashira, a people farther interior—or from other interior tribes, of
whom more will be said farther on.
In their general habits, it must be admitted that they are very
filthy. The inland people hardly know what it is to wash. They
oil themselves frequently; and when the deposit of oil on the
wool gets stale, the smell and appearance are very disgusting and
nauseating.
They are great hunters; but, as game is scarce in this part of
the country, gouamba is their natural state. They do any thing
for meat, and it is horrible to see the voracity with which they
precipitate themselves on a portion of meat when any is brought
into camp. The few goats and chickens they keep are not suf-
ficient for their use, and they seem to have no idea of cultivating
them and increasing them. Those who live on the river have
great fishing excursions, which furnish them with a portion of
their sustenance. When the rivers recede at the approach of the
dry season, the waters remain behind on the plains in pools. To
one of these pools a village of Bakalai comes—men, women, and
children—and, with earthenware baskets and bowls, empty out
the water. The poor fish, for whom no way of escape is open,
srruggle vainly against their enemy, who finally, having thrown
out nearly all the water, rush in pellmell and take out the fish.
These are killed, and what are not eaten on the spot are smoked
for future use, and thus a considerable store is often laid by for
a needy time.
For hunting, almost all, even of those who live far beyond where
white men penetrate, make use of guns and powder. These are
the chief articles of trade, and are most sought for by them every
where. For the women beads are the most valued; and even the
men do not despise ornaments.
They are, like all the tribes of this country, great traders; and
if the rivers were once opened and kept open by white men, this
eagerness for trade would help much to develop the abundant re-
sources of the country. Before I ascended the Rembo, the whole
river was divided by petty chieftains, who maintained their trad-
ing monopoly, and prevented the sea-shore people from direct
trade with the up-river. Now, I prevailed upon Quengueza at
last to let the sea-shore men come up with their goods, showing
him that the trade would be much greater, and would really be
in his hands; so that now the river is open one way. Still, no


ANXIETIES OF RANPANO. 439
CHAPTER XXIII.
Departure for the Interior.—Meeting of the People.—Address of Ranpano.—I am
made a Makaga.—Use of Quinine.—A sick Friend.—Death in Goumbi.—Sor-
cery, and how it is discovered.—Great Excitement.—Terrible Tragedy.—The
Victims. —The Accusations. — The Poison-cup. —The Execution. —Visit from
Adouma.—Sincerity of the Doctors ?—Up the River.—Manga-hunts.—A Manga
Doctor.—Keeping a Creditor.—Querlaouen.—An African Tragedy.—Fight on
the River.—Toward ABhira-land.—The Ashira Plains.—Splendid View.
At last I was ready to make another start; my health restored,
my spirits in some measure recovered, and eager for the new
region.
On the 10th of October, 1859, Quengueza was still too weak to
travel, so I determined to start without him.
Ranpano and his people had been urging me for some time
not to go; and now, when I was all ready, the old king called a
grand palaver, which I attended, and of which the chief purpose
was to persuade me not to venture into the interior.
My good old friend Ranpano was really solicitous about me.
He made me an address, in which he informed me that he had
heard the interior people wanted to get me in their power. They
wanted to kill me, in order to make a fetich of my hair. They
had very many fetiches already, and were very anxious to make
their collection complete—so it appeared.
I replied that I had no fear of them; that, so far, I had been
brought back safely to them, and I was willing to trust my God
again.
Then he said, "We love you. You are our white man. What
you tell us we do. When you say it is wrong, we do not do it.
We take care of your house, your goats, your fowls, your parrots,
your monkeys. You are the first white man that settled among
us, and we love you."
To which all the people answered, "Yes, we love him! He is
our white man, and we have no other white man."
Then the king said, "We know that writing talks. Write us,
therefore, a letter to prove to your friends, if you do not come
back, that it was not we who hurt you."


TREATMENT OF THE SICK.
441
let no man travel in Western Africa. I know the prejudice
which exists against this remedy; but I have within this last four
years taken fourteen ounces, and live as a proof that it is a useful
medicine and a very slow poison.
We arrived at Goumbi on the 13th, after, meeting with two
very heavy storms of wind and rain on the way. The people
asked after their king, who had gone away well, and whom, they
thought, I ought to have brought back in the same condition.
I was asked to go and see an old friend of mine, Mpomo, who
was now sick. They had spent the night before drumming
about his bedside to drive out the devil. But I soon saw that
neither drumming nor medicine would help the poor fellow.
The film of death was already in his eyes, and I knew he could
scarce live through the approaching night. He held out his hand
to me in welcome, and feebly said, "Chally, save me, for I am
dying."
He was then surrounded by hundreds of people, most of them
moved to tears at their friend's pitiable condition.
I explained to him that I had no power to save him; that my
life and his were alike in the hands of God; and that he should
commend both body and soul to that one God. But he and all
around had the conviction that, if only I wished, I could cure
him. They followed me to my house, asking for medicine; and
at last, not to seem heartless, I sent him a restorative—something,
at least, to make his remaining moments easy. At the same time
I warned them that he would die, and they must not blame me
for his death. This was necessary, for their ignorance makes
them very suspicious.
When I awoke next morning I heard the mournful wail which
proclaimed that poor Mpomo was gone to his long rest. This
cry of the African mourners is the saddest I ever heard. Its bur-
den is really and plainly, "All is done. There is no hope. We
loved him. We shall never see him again." They mourn liter-
ally as those who have no hope.
In the last moments of a Camma man who lies at the point of
death, his head wife comes and throws herself by him on his bed.
Then, encircling his form with her arms, she sings to him songs
of love, and pours out a torrent of endearing phrases, all the vil-
lage standing by uttering wailings and shedding tears. Such a
scene was always very touching to me.


442
INCANTATIONS TO DISCOVER A SORCERER.
When I went to his house I saw his poor wives sitting in tears
upon the ground, throwing moistened ashes and dust over their
bodies, shaving their heads, and rending their clothes.
In the afternoon I heard talk of witchcraft.
The mourning lasted for two days. On the 17th the body, al-
ready in a state of decomposition, was put in a canoe and taken
to the cemetery of the Goumbi people down the river some fifty
miles. It was pitiable to see the grief of his poor wives. They
seemed to have really loved him, and sorrowed for him now that
he was dead, as they had carefully and lovingly attended upon
him till he died. I saw them, on the night of his death, weeping
over him, one after the other taking him in her arms. It was a
strange sight. In these sorrowful moments there was no sign of
jealousy between the poor women, that I could see. All were
united by their love for the same object.
It is curious how easily the African women cry. At death all
shed copious tears, even when they do not know nor care for the
deceased. It is a fashion, and they have really the power to
pump up tears on the slightest occasion, or for no occasion at all.
On the day Mpomo was buried proceedings were begun to dis-
cover the persons who had bewitched the poor fellow. They
could not be persuaded that a young man, hale and hearty but a
few weeks ago, could die by natural causes. A great doctor was
brought from up the river, and for two nights and days the rude
scenes which I have already once given an account of were re-
peated.
At last, on the third morning, when the excitement of the peo-
ple was at its height—when old and young, male and female, were
frantic with the desire for revenge on the sorcerers, the doctor as-
sembled them about him in the centre of the town, and began his
final incantation, which should disclose the names of the murder-
ous sorcerers.
Every man and boy was armed, some with spears, some with
swords, some with guns and axes, and on every face was shown
a determination to wreak bloody revenge on those who should be
pointed out as the criminals. The whole town was rapt in an
indescribable fury and horrid thirst for human blood. For the
first time I found my voice without authority in Goumbi. I did
not even get a hearing. What I said was passed by as though
no one had spoken. As a last threat, when I saw proceedings


CALLING OUT THE VICTIMS. 443
begun, I said I would make Quengueza punish them for the mur-
ders done in his absence. But alas! here they had outwitted
me. On the day of Mpomo's death they had sent secretly to
Quengueza to ask if they could kill the witches. He, poor man,
sick himself, and always afraid of the power of sorcerers, and
without me to advise him, at once sent back word to kill them all
without mercy. So they almost laughed in my face.
Finding all my endeavors vain, and that the work of blood-
shed was to be carried through to its dreadful end, I determined,
at least, to see how all was conducted.
At a motion from the doctor, the people became at once quite
still. This sudden silence lasted about a minute, when the loud,
harsh voice of the doctor was heard:
"There is a very black woman, who lives in a house"—describ-
ing it fully, with its location—" she bewitched Mpomo."
Scarce had he ended when the crowd, roaring and screaming
like so many hideous beasts, rushed frantically for the place indi-
cated. They seized upon a poor girl named Okandaga, the sister
of my good friend and guide Adouma. Waving their weapons
over her head, they tore her away toward the water-side. Here
she was quickly bound with cords, and then all rushed away to
the doctor again.
As poor Okandaga passed in the hands of her murderers, she
saw me, though I thought I had concealed myself from view. I
turned my head away, and prayed she might not see me. I could
not help her. But presently I heard her cry out, "Chally, Chal-
ly, do not let me die!"
It was a moment of terrible agony to me. For a minute I was
minded to rush into the crowd and attempt the rescue of the poor
victim. But it would have been of not the slightest use. The
people were too frantic and crazed to even notice my presence.
I should only have sacrificed my own life without helping her.
So I turned away into a corner behind a tree, and—I may con-
fess, I trust—shed bitter tears at my utter powerlessness.
Presently silence again fell upon the crowd. Then the harsh
voice of the devilish doctor again rang over the town. It seemed
to me like the hoarse croak of some death-foretelling raven:
"There is an old woman in a house"—describing it—" she also
witched Mpomo."
Again the crowd rushed off. This time they seized a niece of


444
RECITAL OF CHARGES.
King Quengueza, a noble-hearted and rather majestic old woman.
As they crowded about her with flaming eyes and threats of
death, she rose proudly from the ground, looked them in the face
unflinchingly, and motioning them to keep their hands off, said,
"I will drink the mboundou; but woe to my accusers if I do not
die."
Then she, too, was escorted to the river, but without being
bound. She submitted to all without a tear or a murmur for
mercy.
Again, a third time the dreadful silence fell upon the town, and
the doctor's voice was heard:
"There is a woman with sjx children. She lives on a planta-
tion toward the rising sun. She, too, witched Mpomo."
Again there was a furious shout, and in a few minutes they
brought to the river one of Quengueza's slave-women, a good and
much-respected woman, whom also I knew.
The doctor now approached with the crowd. In a loud voice
he recited the crime of which these women were accused. The
first taken, Okandaga, had—so he said—some weeks before asked
Mpomo for some salt, he being her relative. Salt was scarce, and
he had refused her. She had said unpleasant words to him then,
and had by sorcery taken his life.
Then Quengueza's niece was accused. She was barren, and
Mpomo had children. She envied him. Therefore she had be-
witched him.
Quengueza's slave had asked Mpomo for a looking-glass. He
had refused her. Therefore she had killed him with sorcery.
As each accusation was recited the people broke out into curses.
Even the relatives of the poor victims were obliged to join in this.
Every one rivaled his neighbor in cursing, each fearful lest luke-
warmness in the ceremony should expose him to a like fate.
Next the victims were put into a large canoe with the execu-
tioners, the doctor, and a number of other people, all armed.
Then the tam-tams were beaten, and the proper persons pre-
pared the mboundou. Quabi, Mpomo's eldest brother, held the
poisoned cup. At sight of it poor Okandaga began again to cry,
and even Quengueza's niece turned pale in the face—for even the
negro face has at such times a pallor which is quite perceptible.
Three other canoes now surrounded that in which the victims
were. All were crowded with armed men.


DECAPITATION OF THE VICTIMS.
447
Then a mug of mboundou was handed to the old slave-woman,
next to the royal niece, and last to Okandaga. As they drank,
the multitude shouted, "If they are witches, let the mboundou
kill them; if they are innocent, let the mboundou go out."
It was the most exciting scene of my life. Though horror al-
most froze my blood, my eyes were riveted upon the spectacle.
A dead silence now occurred. Suddenly the slave fell down.
She had not touched the boat's bottom ere her head was hacked
off by a dozen rude swords.
Next came Quengueza's niece. In an instant her head was
off, and the blood was dying the waters of the river.
Meantime poor Okandaga staggered, and struggled, and cried,
vainly resisting the working of the poison in her system. Last
of all she fell too, and in an instant her head was hewed off.
Then all became confused. An almost random hacking en-
sued, and in an incredibly short space of time the bodies were
cut in small pieces, which were cast into the river.
When this was done the crowd dispersed to their houses, and
for the rest of the day the town was very silent. Some of these
rude people felt that their number, in their already almost extin-
guished tribe, was becoming less, and the dread of death filled
their hearts. In the evening poor Adouma came secretly to my
house to unburden his sorrowing heart to me. He, too, had been
compelled to take part in the dreadful scene. He dared not even
refrain from joining in the curses heaped upon his poor sister.
He dared not mourn publicly for her who was considered so
great a criminal.
I comforted him as well as I could, and spoke to him of the
true God, and of the wickedness of the conduct we had witnessed
that day. He said at last, " Oh, Chally, when you go back to
your far country, let them send men to us poor people to teach
us from that which you call God's mouth," meaning the Bible.
I promised Adouma to give the message, and I now do so.
I have often endeavored to get at the secret thoughts of the
doctors or wonder-workers among these people. They lead the
popular superstition in such manner that it is almost impossible
to suppose they are themselves deceived, and yet it is certain that
most of them have a kind of faith in it. Nevertheless, it is not
likely that they are imposed upon to the same extent as the com-
mon people, and this because they are most barefaced impos-


"ASKING ILOGO."
tors themselves. They go about covered with charms, •which
they themselves give importance to. They relate most wonder-
ful dreams and visions, which are most certainly spun out of
their own brains. They practice all manner of cheats; and when
they fasten a charge of sorcery on any person, it is scarce possible
to conceive that in such a case they are the victims of delusions
which they themselves create. I have never found them very
friendly to myself, and never disposed to assert or deny any
thing. One thing only I can assert about them: they can drink
great quantities of mboundou without taking harm from it. And
this is one great source of their power over the people.
Before leaving Goumbi, a grand effort was made by the people
to ascertain the cause of their king's sufferings. Quengueza had
sent word by my men to his people to consult Ilogo, a spirit said
to live in the moon. The rites were very curious. To consult
Ilogo, the time must be naer full moon. Early in the evening the
women of the town assembled in front of Quengueza's house, and
sung songs to and in praise of Ilogo, the spirit of Ogouayli (the
moon), the latter name being often repeated. Meantime a woman
was seated in the centre of the circle of singers, who sung with
them, and looked constantly toward the moon. She was to be
inspired by the spirit, and to utter prophecies.
Two women made trial of this post without success. At last
came a third, a little woman, wiry and nervous. When she seat-
ed herself the singing was redoubled in fury; the excitement of
the people had had time to become intense; the drums beat; the
outsiders shouted madly. Presently the woman, who, singing
violently, had looked constantly toward the moon, began to trem-
ble. Her nerves twitched; her face was contorted; her muscles
swelled; and at last her limbs straightened out, and she lay ex-
tended on the ground, insensible.
The excitement was now intense and the noise horrible. The
songs to Ilogo were not for a moment discontinued. The words
were little varied, and were to this amount:
"Ilogo, wc ask thee!
Tell who has ben-itched the king!
"Ilogo, we ask thee,
What shall we do to cure tho king?
"The forests are thine, Ilogo!
The rivers are thine, Ilogo!


450
SINGULAR NAMES.
"Your women are dirty and ugly!"
"You have no food in your village, poor fellows. Ho! ho!"
And so they went on, pouring out ridicule upon the discomfit-
ed foe. Nothing touches a negro so quickly as ridicule, and I
fancy my men will have to pay for theirs when they return
Their words were felt to be sharper than their blows.
On the 21st I sent my Biagano people back. On the next day
I left for Obindji's town and the far interior, with thirty-five
Goumbi men and Adouma for my head-man. The men I had
to pay each about six dollars' worth of cloth. To Adouma I
only promised that I would "make his heart glad," which means
that he should be well paid.
I was glad to take poor Adouma along, not only to cheer him up,
but because thus I was likely to save him, for a while, at leasts
from his sister's fate. These tribes have a belief that the powers
of sorcery are inherited, and go from generation to generation in
certain families. Now several of Adouma's ancestors had been
killed for witchcraft at different times; his sister had but just met
the same fate, and the poor fellow himself was quite likely to be
a victim when the next sorcery row took place.
While I remained in the town I refused to speak to the men
who had been most active in the killing of the women. They
felt ashamed when they saw that I was not inclined to notice
them, and tried to express their sorrow; but I would hear noth-
ing from them. I was determined to show my horror at their
conduct, and to hold out to them the threat that if they would do
so they need expect nothing from me.
While I staid at Goumbi this time I noticed again that the
people do not like to drink of the water of the river. This dis-
like is found in all the tribes that live on the larger streams.
Their women have to bring water for drinking from the springs
and streamlets, often at considerable distances. This is because
they have a horror of drinking from water into which slaves who
die and persons executed for witchcraft are thrown.
On the 22d we at last got off. My goods were so heavy that
I required several canoes. I carried, besides plenty of ammuni-
tion, a large supply of beads, tobacco, calico, looking-glasses, files,
fire-steels, etc. Some of the men who are with me this time have
most curious names, such as Gooloo-Gani, Biembia, Agambie-Mo.
Jombai, Manda, Akondogo.


MANGA-HUNTING. 451
We left the shores of Goumbi without the customary singing.
Scarce a word was said. We were going to explore an un-
known, and, to the negroes, fearful region; and, moreover, Mpo-
mo's death made singing out of order.
The day was very hot, and toward evening we were overtaken
by a terrible storm of rain and wind. I was glad when, toward
sunset, we reached the village of Acaca, where my friend Acoun-
die soon made me comfortable and dry. I was prevailed upon to
spend a day here to hunt the manga, a species of manatee, of
whose meat the people are very fond.'
During the day we passed the celebrated oloumi-tree; and here
the men fortified their courage by a curious superstitious rite.
They went ashore, and presently stripped bark from the tree,
which they boiled in water. With this water they then washed
themselves thoroughly, thus securing to themselves good fortune
for the trip, and success in certain speculations which they hoped
to be able to make in the Ashira country, where they expect
to get "trusted" with slaves, and ivory, and cloth to sell on the
coast.
The morning after our arrival at Acaca we set off in small,
very flat canoes, made on purpose for this sport. A manga doc-
tor accompanied us. We went into the Niembai, on whose grassy
bottom the manga dwells, and here stationed the boat among the
high reeds which lined the shore. The doctor spread a powder he
had in a pouch thickly on the water, and returned then toward
the reeds. Presently, while we kept silence, a great beast came
to the surface, and began greedily sucking in the powder. Im-
mediately they stole upon it with the canoe, and, when they got
near enough, fastened a harpoon to it. To this was attached a
long strip of native rope. The animal immediately made for the
bottom, but in a few minutes came to the top, and presently, after
some struggles, died. Then they brought an empty canoe, which
was upset, and the body of the animal put into it, whereupon we
returned to the village.
Before it was cut up the manga doctor went through some cer-
emonies which I did not see, and nobody was permitted to see
the animal while he was cutting it up.
This manga is a new species of manatee. Its body is of a
dark lead color; the skin is smooth, very thick, and covered in
all parts with single bristly hairs from half an inch to an inch in


ft
454 GREAT EXPECTATIONS OF MY MEN.
with the immense boulders which I had noticed in my journey
to the Fans, only here quartz rock was more abundant Nu-
merous streams of the purest and most crystalline water rolled
in every direction, tumbling over the rocks in foaming cascades,
or purling along in a bed of white pebbles, which was delightfully
reminiscent of the hill-streams and trout-brooks of home.
This night we had no rain-storm, which was very lucky, as,
when camping-time came, we were too tired to build ourselves
shelters. Before this there had not a night passed since I started
from Biagano that we did not have one of the powerful storms of
mixed wind and rain for which this is the proper season. Sev-
eral times they even overtook us by day.
Our camp was full of life this evening. The men were rejoic-
ing in anticipation of great trade in slaves and ivory, and gave
their imagination full swing. When trade was exhausted, they
rejoiced over the wives they would get among the Ashira, where
they expect, as strangers from a far land, to be sumptuously en-
tertained. And at last Okendjo capped their pleasure by prom-
ising them great feasts of goats and plantains, the Goumbi and Ba-
kalai regarding Ashira-land as the country of goats and plantains.
We were kept awake between one and three o'clock by the
roarings of a leopard, which, however, could not face the fire,
which we had kept bright, so he could not make his breakfast
from one of us as he desired. But neither did I think it quite
safe to venture into the gloom after him. The leopard is a beast
that can not be trifled with even by white men. As for the ne-
groes, they are very much afraid of him; and I have known
cases where so many persons were carried away out of a village
by a persistent leopard, who had got a taste of black meat and
liked it, that the survivors had to move away.
Next morning (29th) I found out that the fellows had slyly
thrown away a quantity of my plantains, to be relieved of the
burden. I warned them that, if we were short of food, they would
have to starve first.
This day the country was much as yesterday. Ebony grows
in great abundance on all hands. The poorer the soil, the taller
the trees, and the more numerous. In many places the rains had
washed away the soil from the immense and wide-spreading
roots, which ran along the ground looking like huge serpents.
To-day we saw for the first time a tree new to me, and which my


VAST BOULDERS.
455
men called the indoonoo. It has an immense girth, and is a much
taller and better shaped tree than the baobab, which is not found
in this part of Africa. I measured one, of only moderate size,
which had fallen down, and found it, at some feet from the base,
eight feet in diameter. This tree is not known on the Rembo,
and was as new to my Bakalai as to me. The Ashira fellows,
however, knew it very well.
I think the blocks of quartz grow more and more immense as
we proceed. To-day there were some which were really stu-
pendous masses, and it was a most curious sight to see our cara-
van filing between two such ponderous blocks, looking like pig-
mies alongside of these huge boulders.
Toward evening, at last, we began to see signs of a change in
the face of the country. Plantations could be seen from time to
time; the soil became more clayey; and at last we emerged from
the immense forest. I saw spread out before me the great Ashira
prairie-land, dotted plentifully with villages, which looked in the
distance like ant-heaps. I stood for a long time on the edge of a
bluff, taking in this, one of the finest landscapes I ever saw in my
life. Far as the eye could reach was a high rolling prairie. As
I afterward discovered, the plain is about fifty-five miles long by
ten wide. All over this vast plain were scattered collections of
little Ashira huts. The hills and valleys were streaked with rib-
bon-like paths, and here and there the eye caught the silver sheen
of a brook winding along through the undulating land. In the
far distance loomed up mountains higher than any I had yet seen,
and whose peaks were lost in the clouds. It was a grand sight.


PLEASANT RECEPTION.
457
makes the guns, the cloth, the beads, the brass rods, and the cop-
per rings?"
Okendjo replied, "He is the man. This is he of whom you
have heard so much. He comes from a far country to see us."
Then the people shouted out their surprise. A house was
given me, and when I had taken possession the chief came, fol-
lowed by ten of his wives, each bearing two bunches of plantains,
which, with fear and trembling, they deposited at my feet. Next
were brought four goats, twenty fowls, several baskets of ground-
nuts, and many bunches of sugar-cane.
When these were delivered, Akoonga said to Okendjo, "Tell
the spirit that I thank him that he stays in my village a night.
Tell him he is welcome, and all those who follow him. He is the
master while he is here. This food is for him. As for his peo-
ple, my women will cook for them."
I thanked him.
Then, showing me the house, he said, "It is your house; my
wives are yours; my slaves are yours; my people are yours."
Then, at last, I had a chance to refresh myself with supper.
After supper, being tired, I lay down, but was not yet asleep
when I heard' the chief say to his people, "Be silent; do not
trouble the spirit; do not speak lest you awake him. Our fore-
fathers nor ourselves ever saw such a wonder as this."
The consequence of this kind and very unusual forethought
was that I enjoyed a very good night's rest.
By my reckoning, the village of Akoonga is two hundred and
forty miles east from Cape Lopez.
Early next morning the rush of people began. They were less
afraid than on the evening before, and crowded around me in
such masses that I was nearly stifled. As usual, my hair was the
great object of wonder to them. I stood it as long as I could,
but at last had to ask the chief to send them away. Not to dis-
appoint their curiosity too much, I consented to walk through
the streets at intervals of an hour or two, and thus give all an op-
portunity to look at me. This piece of complaisance gratified
them immensely.
In the morning, Olenda, the king or head chief of the Ashiras,
sent two messengers with presents of goats and plantains, and a
desire that I should come to his town. I sent back word that I
would the day after to-morrow; to-day my feet were too sore.


ROYAL ADDRESS TO ME.
459
byOkendjo. He said, "I have no bowels. I am like the Ovenga
River; I can not be cut in two. But also I am like the Niembai
and Ovenga rivers, which unite- together. Thus my body is
united, and nothing can divide it."
This gibberish, which may possibly have had some mystic sig-
nificance at one time, I afterward discovered was the regular and
invariable salutation of the Ashira kings, Olenda's predecessors,
time out of mind. Each chief and important person has such a
salutation, which they call kombo.
Then he continued: "You, the spirit, have come to see Olenda.
You, the spirit, have put your feet where none like you have
ever been. You are welcome."
Here the old king's son, also a very old negro, with snow-white
wool, handed over to the king two slaves, which the king formal-
ly presented to me, together with three goats, twenty bunches of
plantains, twenty fowls, five baskets of ground-nuts, and several
bunches of sugar-cane.
"This," said he, "is to salute you. Whatever else you want,
tell me. I am the king of this country. Whatever else you
wish, let it be known to me."
I replied that slaves I did not want, but that if any of his peo-
ple were on the coast I should be glad to have them taught in
the knowledge of the white man, that they might come and tell it
to their people.
Then more of the old man's children came, all old, and wrink-
led, and white-headed men. They stood before me, regarding me
with wonder and awe; while the people, of whom thousands
were gathered from all the villages of the plain, looked on in si-
lence, and expressed their surprise in whispers.
At last the old king turned to his people and said, "I have
seen many things in my life, and many wonderful things, and
now I am ready to die, for I have seen the spirit from whom we
receive all things. It will always be said in our nation by those
coming after us, that in the time of Olenda the spirit first appear-
ed and dwelt among us. You are welcome" (turning to me).
"Keep this spirit well (to his people); he will do us good."
It was a very impressive scene, and all was conducted with
threat decorum and dignity.
Nov. 9th. The last week has been devoted to seeing and being
seen. From all the one hundred and fifty villages of the plain


460 I ASTONISH THE NATIVES.
the people have streamed to Olenda's town to see "the spirit.''
They come in the night, sleep on the ground outside the town,
and in the morning crowd about me, following me with curious
gaze, wondering at my hair, and trying, unobserved, to get a
glance at my eyes. The moment I look at them they run off,
especially the women and children. The African has a great
dread of the steady look of a white man's eye. They believe it
has an evil-working influence, and it is certainly a potent weap-
on to reduce a refractory or turbulent crowd. Even the bravest
warrior will quail beneath the steady glance of a white man.
My clock is an object of constant wonder to them. They think
it watches over me. Its constant ticking day and night is no-
ticed, and this, to them, denotes the watchfulness of my familiar.
Nothing could persuade them that a musical box which I some-
times wound up, and caused to play for them, was not a very
powerful devil in my employ. And, though they have a few
guns, and know their use, my revolver excited not only their ad-
miration, but a superstitious kind of reverence. They could not
comprehend a machine which could fire right ahead without
stopping.
The Ashira plain, which I have in this week to some extent
explored, is the finest and most delightful country I have seen in
Africa. The soil is light, but tolerably good. It is well watered
with small brooks. The undulations of the prairie, which is, in
fact, a table-land surrounded on all sides by higher mountains,
give the landscape a charming variety. The surrounding mount-
ains, the splendid peak of the Nkoomoo-nabouali on the north,
the Andele and Ofoubou to the south, the peaks of Ococoo to the
east, are all covered with dense masses of forest, and lend a solemn
majesty to the scene, from whatever point it is viewed. They
thoroughly inclose the great prairie, their forests reaching to the
very feet of the hills, and marking, with curious distinctness, the
boundary beyond which man has not encroached.
I learned from the natives that beyond the Nkoumou-nabouali
range a superb cataract was known. A stream called the Rembo
Ngouyai runs through a high defile, and finally falls into the
plain down an abrupt precipice, resuming its course around the
very base of the mountain. Its roar fills the whole surrounding
country, and its vapor rises along the sides of the mountain into
a magnificent rainbowed column visible at a great distance. This


ASH1RA VILLAGES.
461
great fall, called the Samba Nagoshi, I hoped afterward to see,
but the reader will see that the fates denied me this pleasure. I
floated on the Rembo Ngouyai, within sight of the vapor rising
from the cataract, and listened to its sublime roar, but in my light
canoe I did not dare risk a near approach through turbulent wa-
ters; while the approach overland was found too difficult for my
time, and strength, and limited supplies. The negroes of this re-
gion are full of wonderful stories of its fury. They believe that
beyond the mountains lives a great spirit who sends down this
torrent.
The villages were so scattered at random that I could not
make an accurate count of them, but there are between 150 and
*200. They are the neatest I have seen in Africa. The houses
are small, but cleanly, and built of tree-bark. The village is gen-
erally composed of one long street, with houses on each side.
The streets are kept very clean; and this is the only tribe where
the ground back of the houses is also cleared off. The villages
are surrounded by thousands of plantain-trees, and regular paths
connect them with each other. I learned that villages are re-
moved, as among other tribes, for death or witchcraft, but not be-
yond the plains.
Back of each village, in particular near the boundary of the
forest, are great plantations, carried on with much industry, and
where tobacco, peanuts, plantains, yams, and sugar-cane are grown,

ASHUU TOUACCU.
in quantities which make this a land of plenty, where no man
starves. Bushes of wild cotton were seen now and then, but not
in great plenty. As I stood on one of the highest hills which di-
versify the plain, and cast my eyes over the scene, the yellow
waving grass and cane-fields contrasting with the dark green of
the forest, reminded me strongly of the harvest-fields of my home,


462
THE ASHIRA PEOPLE.
arid gave the landscape a charm of homely rural beauty which is
lacking elsewhere in Africa, where all is wild and grand, but
where the traveler's heart often aches for something which shall
remind him of home.
The people are the finest I have seen in Africa. They are evi-
dently a separate nation, for the Bakalai and other tribes who
surround them are much lighter colored. The Ashira are inva-
riably coal-black. The women, in particular, have fine forms, and,
though they have full negro features, many of the young women
have a grace of carriage and a sprightliness of manner which is
something quite un-African.
The dress of the men and married women consists of a flowing
garment called a ndengui, which is made of a kind of grass-cloth
woven by them, and which I found, in many cases, of very fine
and tolerably even texture. The loom is a complicated struc-
ture, which is suspended between two trees, or at the front of the
house. It is worked on the same principle on which seamen
make their mats on board ship, having two sets of " dividers," to
separate the web and admit the shuttle with the warp. The
thread which is used is obtained from a species of palm which I
saw only here and among the Apingi. They take the leaf, which
is from two to three feet long, and strip off from it the thin cuti-
cle, which is then twisted, and becomes a tolerably firm yarn.
They told me that this tree is very short-lived, dying after hav-
ing borne fruit but once.
They sew very neatly with a wooden needle and grass thread,
a skein of which is here represented.

ABBIEA THEEAD AND XEEDLP.
By a singular fashion, which I never saw elsewhere, girls and
young women, till they are married, are not permitted to wear any
clothing except the narrow grass-cloth girdle about the middle.
It is only when she marries that an Ashira belle is permitted to
assume a garment which conceals her ebony charms. They wan-
der about as freely as a total absence of the sentiment of modesty


COSTUME OF THE ASHIRA
463
can let them. Their scant toilet was simply a fashion of such
long standing that it was taken as a matter of course.
The men, who are not nearly as finely built as the women,
though they too are superior to the men of the surrounding
tribes, wear on their heads caps of grass-thread knit in a most
beautiful manner, something in the style of the crochet work
which is the amusement of our ladies. The cap is called ashita.
From their shoulders hangs a bag, made something after the
fashion of our game-bags, with a mass of pendent strings sur-
rounding the bag. It is a very pretty thing, and is used to carry
whatever they may have, which we would put in our pockets.

ASIIIBA WEAlWiS.
Both men and women are very fond of copper ornaments, such
as bracelets and anklets, which they manufacture from the copper
brought hither by the Bakalai from the sea-shore.
Some of their grass-cloth remains of its natural color, which is
a dark buff. Other articles are dyed black in a very ingenious
manner. A beautiful bush, which grows in abundance here,
bears a profusion of small berries, in which the dye is secreted.
To obtain it, however, it is necessary first to rub the cloth thor-
oughly with clay until it is quite covered, and then put it to soak
for a day in running water. After soaking twenty-four hours it
is put in a kettle with water and the berries and bark, and some
leaves of the same tree. The whole is boiled for three or four
hours. When" the cloth is taken out it is of a light black or
brown color. It does not turn of the peculiar deep shining black
till it is once more rubbed in clay and soaked in running water. -
The Ashira women dress their hair in a very curious way,


464
SINGULAR HAIR-DRESSING.
and quite differently from any negroes I have seen. The pic-
tures here given make an explanation unnecessary, except to say
that the protuberance on the top of the head and the projecting
horns are their own wool, made stiff by being strung over such
substances as plantain leaves or sticks. The toilet of an Ashira
lady's head is rather a complicated affair; but then a head "lasts''
a good while. The hair is covered with palm oil.

ASH1IU IIF.lI.ES.
The women paint their bodies red with the dye obtained from
the bar-wood-tree. They are particularly fond of wearing copper
rods about their necks, which makes them look as though ready
collared for the slave-market. Both men and women file their
teeth slightly in the middle, and it does not produce an unpleas-
ant impression on the stranger. Occasionally I saw an old man
with teeth filed to a point, as is the savage custom in many of the
African tribes. It gives the countenance a peculiar look of fe-
rocity which is not soon forgotten.


MANNERS OF THE ASHffiA.
465
Seeing no slaves when I had been some days at Olenda's town,
I began to think they had none. But I soon discovered that the
poor slaves, on hearing of my arrival, had been panic-struck.
They thought, poor fellows, that I had come to carry them off to
the sea-shore to be fattened, and then carried off to the white
man's country to be eaten, and that I myself intended to eat a
few, which is the use they fancy we make of slaves. According-
ly, they retreated to the plantations, where they hid themselves,
and resolutely refused to make their appearance; nor would any
assurances or entreaties of mine induce them to come forth. The
masters only laughed.
The women cultivate the soil among the Ashira, as among the
other tribes. They are quite industrious, and seemed to me mild-
er mannered, as they certainly were healthier than elsewhere in
Africa. They do not become wives till they have arrived fully
at the age of puberty, which is one sufficient reason for the greater
beauty of the little nation, and for its intellectual superiority, as
denoted by the cloth manufactures, and their settled and provi-
dent mode of life. Polygamy, of course, prevails; and parents
sometimes sell their children, which is not thought a crime. The
less I say about the morals of the women, the better. Let it suf-
fice that chastity is not one of the virtues of the Ashira.
This whole country is well watered. Along every distant
mountain side rivulets are dancing downward, and are lost in the
plain, or eventually fall into the Ovenga or Ovigui, which flow
past, the last emptying into the Rembo Apingi.
Nov. 10th. To-day I set out for the mountains to the south, the
Ofoubou, Andele, and Orere Mountains, among which the Ofou-
bou River has its source. I left my luggage with King Olenda,
and took only a few presents for the chiefs who had invited me
to visit their towns in the mountains. Olenda gave me one of
his sons as guide, and told all his people to take great care of
"the spirit."
After a march of about a mile and a half in a general direc-
tion of south, we came to the foot of Mount Nchondo, one of
the highest peaks in the prairie. It is much venerated among
the Ashira, who believe that from here goats came to them.
Many assured me that their friends had received these animals
from the mountain; and I suppose that formerly it was, in
fact, sometimes the hiding-place of wild-goats, who, issuing forth


466
AN INSANE NEGRO.
from some unknown recesses, gave rise to this singular super-
stition.
After some miles of skirting the base and top of these hills, we
came to the foot of the cloud-capped Mount Andele. Here was
the village of Mooendo, whose chief, Mandji, came forth with
great joy to meet me, his people singing, "It is good that the
white man comes to see our town."
They brought me presents of food, as usual, and seemed great-
ly to wonder at my hands, my hair, etc.
In the country we crossed to-day I saw some deserted villages.
Here death had come, followed by witchcraft; for the poor Ashira
too are stricken with the belief that death is a violence, and must
have been caused by the wicked machinations of sorcerers.
Wherever I went the villages were remarkably neat . The
houses are small, but clean. The lack of the mpavo, of which
the houses of most of the other tribes are built, accounts for their
diminutive size here. They have to carry this unwieldy build-
ing material often many miles, and on their backs, as they have
no beasts of burden. The streets were always scrupulously neat,
not a weed or a piece of offal to be seen.
While I was resting in one of the villages, a poor crazy fellow
came capering and singing along the street. I was so much
amused at his antics, and at the forbearance of the people with
him, that I gave him an old torn coat I had with me. At this he
was hugely delighted, and redoubled his jumps and songs, while
the villagers were also much pleased. The poor fellow followed
me for several days, and tried to show his gratitude by dancing
and singing for my diversion. In this part of Africa idiots—
those who are dull, stupid, senseless, and gloomy—are much dis-
liked and soon got rid of. Generally they are sold away to an-
other tribe as slaves. But such poor light fellows as this was
are kindly treated, and I think regarded with a certain supersti-
tious reverence. I have seen but three such in all my journeys,
but have seen many brutish idiots. I may as well add here that
cases of deafness are very rare. I do not remember to have met
any, except very aged people. Among the Bakalai I found one
mute, and I have seen in another tribe two hump-backs—both, by
the way, remarkably cunning fellows. I do not remember a
single case of blindness in all my journeys, not even among the
very aged.


GORILLA STORIES.
469
seized his foe by the tail, and whirled him round his head till the
tail broke off, and the animal escaped, leaving his brush in the
hands of the gorilla.
The leopard ran away to his companions, who, when they saw
him, asked, "What is the matter?" whereupon the unfortunate
recounted his defeat. At this the chief ngego howled and howl-
ed till all the leopards of the forest came, who, when they saw
their brother's injury, vowed vengeance, and set out to find the
gorilla.
They had not long to hunt. When the gorilla saw them com-
ing he broke down a tree, of which he made a club, which he
swung round and round his head, and kept the troop of leopards
at bay. At last, however, he grew tired, and then the leopards
rushed on him with one accord and soon killed him.
Next came a story of a gorilla and an elephant, told with a
good deal of dramatic force. As the gorilla was walking in the
forest with his wife and baby, they came suddenly upon a huge
elephant, who said, "Let me pass, gorilla, for these woods belong
to me."
"Oh! oh!" said the gorilla. "How do the woods belong to
thee? Am I not master here? Am I not the man of the
woods? Do I not roam where I please?"
And, ordering his wife and baby to go aside, he broke down a
large tree, and, brandishing it like a club, made at the elephant,
whom he soon killed. The body of the elephant was found by a
man a few days afterward, with the club of the gorilla lying by
its side."
This story, the narrator assured me, was a fact; and I think he
firmly believed it. These two fables seemed to me to evince
more imagination than any I had heard before, and I have given
them here for that reason.
The next morning I succeeded in bagging a wild boar and sev-
eral pigs. These animals are not only very savage, but singular-
ly active. When I brought down the boar, three others which
were with him were much startled, and, in their fright, made a
leap which must have measured over ten yards. I have seen
them repeatedly leaping across the Ovenga, where, by my own
measurement, it was more than eight yards across. Once I saw
one miss the opposite bank, and I shot it in the water.
This wild hog is peculiar to this part of Africa, and is a new


470
AFRICAN WILD HOG.
species. I have called it Potamochcerus albifrons. It is a very
remarkable-looking animal, reaching a great size, and conspicu-
ous for a curious white face, adorned with several large warty
protuberances on each side of the face, half way between the nose
and eyes. These, and the singular long bristles which surround
the eyes and the long ears, ending in a tuft of coarse hair, give
the animal a very remarkable expression. The color of the body
is red.
We got no gorillas on this hunt, but I killed a very remark-
able animal, the Oynogale velox, a kind of otter, and the only ani-
mal of this genus known, so far, I believe, in Africa. It resem-
bles somewhat the Asiatic Cynogale Bennetti (Gray), the only one
of the genus hitherto described; but the size of the animal, the
length and character of the tail, and the habitat indicate a dis-
tinct species. I have called it velox because of the extreme rapid-
ity with which it darts through the water after its prey. Of its
habits I unfortunately could learn nothing*
On the 12th I set out to ascend the principal peak of Mount
Andele. We were two days about the ascent, which was a tedi-
ous affair, and without its reward, as, when I reached the summit,
I found it enveloped in clouds, and mist, and forests, and could
get no view at all.
On our way down, at sunset of the third day, we heard the call
of a nshiego mbouve (Troglodytes calvus). I immediately caused
my men to lie down, and was just getting into a hiding-place my-
self, when I saw, in the branches of a tree at a little distance, the
curious nest or shelter of this ape; near by, on another tree, was
another shelter. We crept up within shot of this nest, and then
waited, for I was determined to see once more the precise manner
in which this animal goes to rest. We lay flat on the ground,
and covered ourselves with leaves and brush, scarce daring to
breathe, lest the approaching animal should hear us.
From time to time I heard the calls. There were evidently
two, probably a male and female. Just as the sun was setting I
saw an animal approach the tree. It ascended by a hand over
hand movement, and with great rapidity; crept carefully under
the shelter, seated itself in the crotch made by a projecting
bough, its feet and haunches resting on this bough; then put one
* For full description of this curious animal, naturalists are referred to the Proc
.
of Bottom Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. vii., p. 353.





NEST OF THE KSHIEGO MBOUVE. 473
arm about the trunk of the tree for security. Thus, I suppose,
they rest all night; and this posture accounts for some singular
abrasions of hair on the side of the nshiego mbouve. In the go-
rilla, which sleeps on the earth, with its back resting against a
tree-trunk, the hair is generally worn off on the back.
No sooner was it seated than it began again to utter its call.
It was answered, and I began to have the hope that I should
shoot both animals, when an unlucky motion of one of my men
roused the suspicions of the ape in the tree. It began to prepare
for descent, and, unwilling to risk the loss of this one, I fired. It
fell to the ground dead.
It proved to be a male, with the face and hands entirely black.
As we were not in haste, I made my men cut down the trees
which contained the nests of these apes. I found them made
precisely as I have before described, and as I have always found
them, of long branches and leaves laid one over the other very
carefully and thickly, so as to make the structure capable of
shedding water. The branches were fastened to the tree in the
middle of the structure by means of vines and creepers, which are
so abundant in these forests. The projecting limb on which the
ape perched was about four feet long.
There remains no doubt in my mind that these nests are made
by the animal to protect it from the nightly rains. When the
leaves begin to dry to that degree that the structure no longer
sheds water, the owner builds a new shelter, and this happens
generally once in ten or fifteen days. At this rate the nshiego
mbouve is an animal of no little industry.
On the 18th I told Olenda, to whom I had returned, that I wish-
ed for men to help me ascend the high peak of Nkoumou-nabou-
ali, which was about forty miles off. He laughed, and said I
could not do it; I should starve in the attempt; besides, there
was a mighty spirit living there which would prevent us from
passing. However, I had set my heart on ascending this peak:
and though it proved impossible to get the slaves from their con-
cealment, I managed to bribe a sufficient number of freemen to
be my guides through the impenetrable forest which lay between
the prairie and the mountain-top, and to helj. me in the ascent.
The negroes are excellent woodmen, and are very rarely lost,
even in a forest where they are strangers.
We set out on the 21st, taking with us food for several days.


476
RETURN TO THE PRAIRIE.
up as fast as it could be cooked. I feared I should be sick from
putting too large a share on my so long empty stomach; but, hap-
pily, the goat did not disagree with any of us. Probably there
was not enough of it
.
The next day we returned to Olenda's town, and were received
with all the honors due to such a starvation adventure. Makon-
dai came with tears of joy in his eyes to welcome me back. He
told me that in my absence a boy had been accused of witchcraft,
and was to be killed the next day. I went to the king, and told
him nobody must be murdered on such nonsensical account
while I was there, for I should leave instantly, and never come
back. So, after some hesitation, they gave the boy to me, and he
is to-night safe in my house.

ArUM.A ilA:-i:kl l i'lX
The weather has been very hot lately, and, as my hair was too
long for comfort, I told Makondai one day to cut it for me, giv-
ing him a pair of scissors I had in my kit. He-did not do it very
artistically, but, in the interior of Africa, one comes to care little
for looks or fashions. When he was done, he gathered the cut
hair up and threw it out into the street. I was not attending to


ASHERA HOUSEKEEPER.
477
what he was doing, and was surprised presently at a noise of
scuffling and fighting in front of my house.
I looked out, and beheld a most laughable scene. The men
were busily picking up the scattered hairs, and those who could
not get at them were disputing possession with their luckier
neighbors. Even the old king, Olenda, was in the midst, eager
for a share. As each got what he could, he would tie them up
carefully in the corner of his ndengui, and walk off very content-
edly.
I called Olenda and asked what was the use of this hair. He
replied, "Oh, spirit! these hairs are very precious; we shall make
mondas (fetiches) of them, and they will bring other white men
to us, and bring us great good luck and riches. Since you have
come to us, oh spirit! we have wished to have some of your hair,
but did not dare to ask for it, not knowing that it could be cut."
I was happy that it had not occurred to them to appropriate vio-
lently my whole head, hair and all, and was glad enough to let
the old king walk off with his precious lock of a white man's hair.
On going one day into the house of an Ashira chief I saw an
idol, which, after much urging and for good pay, he sold me. Its
likeness is given on the preceding page. Its office is to watch
over the property of its owner, and keep thieves out of the house;
and I was assured that no one could, and, what is better, no one
did steal while this "housekeeper" was cared for, and kept in the
house.


KING OLENDA'S BLESSING.
481
with the farther interior. It is curious to see how greatly slaves
are trusted in this country. The owners of these fellows had no
security for their return, nor for the goods they intrusted to them,
for I, of course, would not become responsible for them. But they
were sure to return. They, who were originally themselves from
an interior tribe, have come to feel greatly attached to Goumbi,
and look down with contempt on the Ashira, whom they call
"men of the woods."
Dec. 4:th. Food has been collected and cooked for my trip. I
am to give the Ashira men six fathoms of cloth each to go with
me to the Apingi country and wait for me there. Olenda gave
me three of his sons to take along, Minsho, Iguy, and Aiaguy,
the latter a very common name here
It rains nearly every day, and every few days we have tre-
mendous storms of wind and rain. All the rivers are swollen,
and the prairie looks very green and beautiful.
We set out on Dec. 6th. Early in the morning Olenda called
us around him, and after telling his sons to take good care of
me, the venerable old fellow proceeded formally to bless us, wish-
ing us good success. It was a touching scene. At the close he
took a sugar-cane, bit a piece of the pith, and spat a little of the
juice in the hand of each one of the party, at the same time blow-
ing on the hand. Then he said solemnly, "Let all have good
speed with you, and let it be as smooth (pleasant) as the breath
I blow on your hand." Then Minsho received the cane, which
he is to bring back.
I found that the prairie was much more swampy to the east-
ward, toward the foot of the hills, than I had supposed. We had
to walk through much mud, and often to wade through consider-
able pools and swamps of standing water, produced by the con-
stant heavy rains. In one of these swamps we had to wade up
to our middles in muddy water, and some of the party slipped
down on the roots with which the bottom is covered.
The forest beyond the line of the prairie is also inhabited. We
passed over a dozen villages, the people of which flocked out to
see the "white spirit." They were all Ashira.
Toward noon we approached the Ovigui River, a mountain
torrent, which was to be crossed by a rude and very dangerous
bridge. This bridge I had dreaded all day, and when at last I
saw it I was by no means reassured. The stream was about thir-
H H


482
DANGEROUS BRIDGE.
ty yards wide, and rushed through the forest, overflowing its
banks. The waters were very swift, and I saw that even a good
swimmer would be helpless here, and would soon be dashed to
pieces against the fallen trees which jutted out in every direction.
Now I swim but very little.
The bridge was a complicated, shaky structure, of which the
engraving will give the reader some idea.

BUDE BRIDGE OVER THE OVIGtn.
It appears that the Ovigui had its bed, till some years ago, not
here, but some hundreds of yards on the other side. This is a
trick that some of the mountain streams of Africa have. Now in
the new bed stood certain trees which native ingenuity saw could
be used as the piers for a bridge. In this place two trees, stand-
ing each about seven or eight yards from one side, were chosen.


484 KOAE OF THE GORILLA.
A few miles farther on the path led over a curious steep mount
called Mount Ococoo. We had to climb the almost perpendic-
ular sides, and I had to grasp branches or vines as I ascended the
face of this high hill. Having surmounted that and three others,
with intervening plains and valleys, all covered with dense forests,
we at last found ourselves on the banks of another little purling
mountain brook which skirted the base of our last hill, the Alou-
my. Here we lit fires, built shelters, and camped for the night.
This day we made but twenty miles, fifteen of which were due east.
Dec. 7th. As we advance the country becomes more rugged
and mountainous. On every side brooks, and rills, and small
streams are wending their way down to the Ovigui, or toward
the Apingi river, and very frequently we have to march along
the bed of a purling brook, the only way which the broken and
rocky country leaves us. This day was exceedingly trying for
our feet. We picked our way through a forest dense and gloomy,
every step obstructed by rocks and broken ground. This is
evidently the favorite haunt of gorilla. Several times during
the day we heard his roar in the distance. We heard also the
cry of a nshiego mbouve at a little distance, and started in pur-
suit, but the animal made its escape, having probably heard us.
At the foot of a tree we found some leafy branches gathered,
while in another tree was a shelter completed. No doubt a pair
had been at work together. The negroes here told me also that
these apes work in pairs, both collecting branches, and the male
building the shelter when the material is brought together, while
the female carries it up to him.
Judging from his cry, one of the gorillas we heard in the after-
noon seemed to be so near that I was tempted to hunt him up.
He proved farther off than any of us thought. We wandered
nearly three quarters of an hour through the forest before we
reached him. His almost incessant roars, which seemed to de-
note that he was enraged at something, gave us a good clew to his
whereabouts.
I find that I do not get accustomed to the roar of the gorilla.
As many as I have hunted and shot, it is still an awful sound to
me. The long reverberations, like the muttering of distant thun-
der; the vindictive bark with which each roar is begun; the hol-
low monotone of the first explosion, all are awe-inspiring, and
proclaim this beast the monarch of these forests.





ACTIONS OF THE GORILLA.
487
When the animal became aware of our approach he at once
came toward us, uttering a succession of the short bark-like yells
which denote his rage, and which have a peculiarly horrible
effect . They remind one only of the inarticulate ravings of a
maniac.
Balancing his huge heavy body with his arms, the animal came
toward us, every few moments stopping to beat his breast, and
throwing his head back to utter his tremendous roar. His fierce
gloomy eyes glared upon us; the short hair was rapidly agitated,
and the wrinkled face seemed contorted with rage. It was like a
very devil, and I do not wonder at the superstitious terror with
which the natives regard it.
His manner of approach gave me an opportunity to see with
how much difficulty he supports himself in the erect posture.
His short and slender legs are not able firmly to sustain the vast
body. They totter beneath the weight, and the walk is a sort of
waddle, in which the long arms are used, in a clumsy way, to bal-
ance the body and keep up the ill-sustained equilibrium. Twice
he sat down to roar, evidently not trusting himself to this exer-
tion while standing.
My gun was fresh loaded, and could be depended upon, so I
stood in advance. I waited, as the negro rule is, till the huge
beast was within six yards of me; then, as he once more stopped
to roar, delivered my fire, and brought him down on his face
dead.
It proved to be a male, full grown, but* young. His huge ca-
nine tusks, his claw-like hands, the immense development of mus-
cle on his arms and breast, his whole appearance, in fact, proclaim-
ed a giant strength. There is enough likeness to humanity in
this beast to make a dead one an awful sight, even to accustomed
eyes, as mine were by this time. I never quite felt that matter-of-
course indifference, or that sensation of triumph which the hunt-
er has when a good shot has brought him a head of his choice
game. It was as though I had killed some monstrous creation,
which yet had something of humanity in it. Well as I knew
that this was an error, I could not help the feeling.
This animal was five feet eight inches high. In the evening,
Minsho brought in a young female he had shot, which measured
three feet eight inches.
As we advanced, the scenery became even more grand and pic-


438
FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY.
turesque. We were already on a high plain or table-land, but
our route led us continually to higher levels by regular grada-
tions of ascent. Some of the hills we had to surmount were from
two to three thousand feet high. The higher we got, the vaster
became the piles and boulders of quartz and granite, which seem
to have been scattered over the face of all this country by some
vast convulsion of nature ages ago.
The scenery was already Alpine. It lacked only the snow-
capped peaks, of which I have not yet met any. This country is
very abundantly watered, and in the afternoon we met some con-
siderable streams. One of these we traced upward for several
miles, as it ran along the foot of some huge hills which we had
to ascend one after another. The two highest peaks of this range
were called the Kayambie and the Boundou. Where we crossed
the stream finally it was about one hundred and twenty feet
wide. It is called the LouvandjL
Passing this, we came at sunset to a bando—a travelers house
—a rude shelter left by former caravans at the foot of a high hill
called Koungou.
The bando was occupied by a party of Apingi, who, when they
saw me, instantly ran off, very much scared. It was only after
many persuasions that they could be brought back. Presently a
tremendous tornado came up, followed by rain, which made us
glad we had reached shelter. Such storms frequently do great
damage to the woods, and are very dangerous to travelers, as trees
are uprooted, and branches fall on every side.
The bando here was roofed with peculiar and very large leaves
from two trees, which are called here the shayskayray and the
quaygayray.
This day we traveled about twenty-five miles in a general di-
rection of east.
Dec. 8ih. This day the country was less wild, and but very little
hilly. We saw in the distance about midday some Bakalai vil-
lages, situated on a little prairie, but my people were afraid to
approach them. No persuasions of mine would induce them to
go near. They were afraid, Minsho said, of trouble with the Ba-
kalai, who are here a warlike people, and we encamped on the
border of the prairie.
Dec. 9th. Last night, fortunately for me, it was clear and bright
starlight. About midnight our camp was awakened by a tremen-


SERPENTS.
489
dous roaring, and, jumping up, I saw in the plain before me a
grand and exciting scene. A wild buffalo had been wandering
in the woods, and a leopard had leaped upon him. The poor an-
imal rushed, with roar after roar of agony and fright, into and
across the plain, vainly plunging and striving to loose the claws
of his enemy, who sat upon his hump, and was, as we could see,
sucking the blood from his neck. The poor beast doubtless fell
a victim to the leopard, whose attack is generally fatal. It was a
splendid sight, though it lasted but for a few minutes. This is
the second scene of this kind which I have been favored with.
This day, and also the next (10th), we journeyed along to the
eastward, hurried by a lack of food. As usual in Africa, all the
provisions we could carry could not be made to last above three
days.
As we were walking along through some grass, I came sudden-
ly upon a large specimen of the most poisonous serpent possessed
by this part of Africa: the Echidna nasicornis. This and a spe-
cies of naja are much dreaded by the negroes. I saw it, fortunate-
ly, when a few feet from it, and, as it is a sluggish beast and slow
of movement, I had time to fire and kill it before it could make
a spring. -Fortunately, I did not destroy the head, and had there-
fore an opportunity to examine its really enormous poison fangs,
which lay imbedded in the sheaths on each side of the mouth.
The habits of this serpent make it dangerous to the incautious
traveler. It does not climb trees, as do most African serpents,
but lies in the grass, or in little open spaces in the woods, in a
state of semi-torpidity. It leaps with a quick motion when ex-
cited, and is not easily scared by approaching noises. It is short
— few, I should say, reach even four feet in length — but very
stout, some specimens I killed being six and eight inches in their
greatest diameter. It is splendidly marked, and on each side of
the flat, large muzzle it has three horny projections; the poste-
rior one is situated over the nostril, and is the largest. The head
is triangular, the nostrils very large, the tail short and pointed.
The natives say that its bite causes sure, and almost instant and
painful death. They hold it in great fear.
On the afternoon of the 10th, as we were passing through a
dense wood, we heard people talking not far from us, and pres-
ently we stood before Remandji, the king of the Apingi tribe.
He was a fine-looking old negro. At sight of me he and his com-


492
THE CLOVEN-FOOTED SAPADI.
nor could his majesty be, by any skill of mine, inducted into the
mysteries of our labor system, and of its rules of demand and
supply.
When at last my meal was cooked and served for me, Remand-
ji came in to taste of what was provided, and to drink of the wa-
ter that was set for me. This is a custom observed in every tribe
I have visited, and is to show the guest that he runs no risk of
being poisoned. Even the wives taste of the food they set before
their husbands, they not being permitted to eat with the gentle-
men of the house.
I may add here that the negroes have no prejudices on the sub-
ject of meat which has died a natural death. Even if it is very
high they relish it, and if the beast has died of disease, that makes
no odds to their catholic stomachs.
As usual, the people are full of wonder at my appearance.
They avoid my glance, they admire my wonderful straight hair,
my white skin (which is pretty black by this time), and my cloth-
ing; and at last several urgently requested me to take off my
"foot coverings," that they might see if I had like toes with them.
I asked with surprise why they had a doubt upon the subject,
and was then informed that they had thought perhaps I was like
a people far away in the interior, whom they call the Sapadi, and
who have cloven feet, like a bush deer.
Now, wherever I have been in Africa, I have heard this legend;
and the nation called Sapadi are always located in much the same
place—in Central Equatorial Africa. At Cape Lopez slaves from
the interior had told me of such a people; among the Camma
the curious legend is devoutly believed; Quengueza's people
mentioned them; and now these Apingi proved believers. I al-
ways questioned every body to get at all they thought or believed
upon the subject.
Remandji immediately called one of his slaves and a man of
the Shimba tribe, both of whom declared positively, and with a
look of great truthfulness, that they had seen the Sapadi; that
they were people, black, and in all things like themselves, only
they had feet split like a bush deer's.
I asked why they did not capture these people and send them
to the coast as slaves; to which was answered that they were so
far off that they did not reach to them.
That there was a nation cloven-footed they were firmly per-


COSTUME OF THE WOMEN.
497
in an acute angle in the hollow of the chest. Other stripes are
drawn in curves along the back, and from the breast down over
the abdomen. The more of these marks, the greater is the
beauty, lare is about •. et long and eighteen inches in width.
W hen sent off to sell* uiiey are tied up in packages of twenty or
thirty. In this shape they find their way even down to the
coast, and are every where used for garments, and also for mus-
quito-bars. My bars were always of this stuff. The natives pre-
fer it to our common trade-cottons; and here, in Apingi-land, the
people did not care to trade their cloth for mine, for which I did
not blame them.
To make a ndengui several of the mbongo pieces are sewed
together with grass thread and a wooden needle, and the sewing
is done quite as neatly as ours. The men are the tailors. From
six to nine cloths go to a ndengui. The dandies among the
Apingi wear sometimes a cloth thrown over the shoulder, more
for ornament than use. The women are strictly restricted to the
very moderate costume I have already described.
18th. Yesterday I told Kemandji_Ijyanted to go on a leopard-
I had quite an adventure with another of the women. The
king, on my arrival, signified to me, with the usual liberality of
African kings, that any of his wives, or any of any body else's
wives that pleased my eyes, I was requested to consider my own.
I, of course, replied that white men did not marry in this off-hand
way; which he could not at all understand. As, however, the
women are the housekeepers, when I was settled a little I chose
one of the oldest and ugliest that I saw, and installed her as my
housekeeper, cook, and maid of all work. For two or three days
all went well. But one morning I was waited upon by quite a
deputation of men and women, who hailed me with much joy as
their relative; thanked me for the honor I had done them in tak-
ing their relative to wife; and gravely asked me for presents to
make their hearts glad on such a joyful occasion.
I confess that for once I lost my temper. I took a stick and
drove my new relatives out of the village, packed off my slander-
ing housekeeper after them, and heaped all the abuse upon them
I was master of in Apingi. They fled with the utmost conster-
nation.
When I told Eemandji of the affair, he laughed and said,
"You see—why don't you take my advice?"
I I


496
I AM CHOSEN KING.
are but poor people when we see you. You are of those whom
we have often heard of, who come from nobody knows where,
and whom we never hoped to see. You are our king and ruler;
stay with us always. We love you, and will do what you wish."
Whereupon shouts and rejoicings; palm wine was introduced,
and a general jollification ensued, in the orthodox fashion at cor-
onations. From this day, therefore, I may call myself Du Chail-
lu the First, Bang of the Apingi. Few sovereigns have assumed
rule with so general approval of their subjects, I imagine. Of
course, I would not submit to the ill usage which the king elect
has to undergo here, as in the Gaboon or other tribes, before his
investiture; therefore it was omitted in my case.
The kendo used here is made by the Shimba, a tribe still farther
east, who are reputed the greatest workers in iron in all this re-
gion. From them all these interior tribes obtain the few iron
articles they possess.
This country is full of palm-trees, of the kind the fruit of which
yields oil. I never saw such vast quantities of palms, all hang-
ing full of ripe nuts. Thousands of tuns of oil might easily be
scribed in this book a town is only alernporary resting-place,
abandoned at the first death; land and trees, of whatever kind,
are free to any one; and even with the Mpongwe of the Gaboon,
who have long been under trading influence, though they can not
afford to remove a whole town, the house in which a man has died
is destroyed, never to be raised again on the same spot . The read-
er will appreciate the delight with which I hailed a people who
live on the same spot for several generations; who cultivate and
acknowledge private property in trees; and who make cloth.
The men are the weavers among the Apingi. The loom is a
complicated instrument, much resembling that used by the Ashi-
ra, who have, no doubt, got it from these neighbors of theirs.
The loom is stretched under the piazza of the house, and it is a
very pretty and cheering sight, as one walks along the street, to
see a number of busy weavers weaving this fine and very useful
cloth.
The Apingi have the reputation of making the softest grass-
cloth in all this region. Some of their colored patterns are very
pretty. The pieces, owing to the short staple of the fibre used,
and their inability to give it a longer twist, are never more than
three feet long by about two wide. To work in colors, they first


COSTUME OF THE WOMEN. 497
in an acute angle in the hollow of the chest. Other stripes are
drawn in curves along the back, and from the breast down over
the abdomen. The more of these marks, the greater is the
beauty, uare is about..- - et long and eighteen inches in width.
W hen sent off to seJu they are tied up in packages of twenty or
thirty. In this shape they find their way even down to the
coast, and are every where used for garments, and also for mus-
quito-bars. My bars were always of this stuff. The natives pre-
fer it to our common trade-cottons; and here, in Apingi-land, the
people did not care to trade their cloth for mine, for which I did
not blame them.
To make a ndengui several of the mbongo pieces are sewed
together with grass thread and a wooden needle, and the sewing
is done quite as neatly as ours. The men are the tailors. From
six to nine cloths go to a ndengui. The dandies among the
Apingi wear sometimes a cloth thrown over the shoulder, more
for ornament than use. The women are strictly restricted to the
very moderate costume I have already described.
18th. Yesterday I told Remandji I wanted to go on a leopard-
hunt. He immediately brought me a man who had a fetich
which enabled him to kill leopards ad libitum, and without per-
sonal danger. I laughed. The man said, "Laugh, oh white
man, but you will see."
He went through a mass of ceremonies, then told me I must
not accompany him, but that next day I should see a leopard.
His big monda would help him.
This morning he started, and, to my surprise, came in in the
afternoon with a handsome leopard. He asked so much for the
skin, which they value for ornaments, that I would not buy it.
I suppose they must be plenty in the forest, and shall go out and
kill for myself.
The strip of skin cut from the head along the spine to the tail
is used here as a war-belt, after being charmed by the fetich-man
or ouganga. This makes them invulnerable, they say. No spear,
or arrow, or bullet can hit a man who has such a belt on. Of
course, as only one belt can be made from each skin, and nothing
but a leopard's skin will answer, these bear a high price, every
warrior placing a great account upon his personal safety.


THE CEREMONY OF BONGO.
501
can slavery. It obtains more or less in all the tribes. When a
slave gets hard treatment from his master, and has reason to be
dissatisfied, he slips off to another village and chooses for him-
self a new master. This man is obliged to accept and protect
him. He can not refuse. Nor is any "palaver" made on this
account. No one, for instance, could hold Remandji responsible
for this act. He may even visit immediately the village from
which the slave has run away; only the slave himself must not go
back thither, else he exposes himself to be reclaimed. The bongo
is given always to a person of another village, and always to one
of another family or clan in the same tribe. The technical term
is to "beat bongo," in allusion to the laying on of hands. This
singular custom has a marked influence on the condition of the
slaves, who have always open to them this legitimate and tolera-
ably easy avenue of escape from tyranny. It prevents families
being separated, in particular, for nothing will make a slave leave
his master so quickly as to have his wife sold away from him.
To-day canoes were being procured for an ascent of the river.
They got quite a little fleet together for me; but all are small, and
so easily capsized that navigation is by no means comfortable to
me, who can scarce swim a stroke. However, there was no help
for it, so I prepared for accidents by tying my compass to a cord
fastened about my neck, then tied my gun fast by a long rope to
the canoe, which would float in any case, and took, besides this,
only a little box containing a change of clothes and two pairs of
shoes (the most necessary article hereabouts to the traveler).
Then Remandji, myself, and a paddler got in and started, follow-
ed by the fleet.
The canoes are quite flat in the bottom, sit almost entirely
above water, and are very well designed to stem the swift cur-
rent of this river, which runs, at this time of the year, at the rate
of four or five miles per hour.
Before we started necessity compelled me to spend a morning
at the river-side washing my clothes. The negroes have so little
idea of even the commonest cleanliness, that they never wash
their scanty garments. When I make a considerable stay with
any tribe I generally manage to teach some woman how to wash.
It is a disagreeable labor, which I can not bear. I would much
rather cook, though that generally falls to some one else.
We ascended the river at very slow speed, passing the shores


IMMENSE SPIDERS.
503
In the evening we had a dance, and Agoby, bent on the utmost
civility, sent some women to dance for my especial delectation. I
quickly sent them back, preferring to take my amusements with
the mass. The African dances are much alike every where, and
had long ceased to amuse me.
As I was walking through the forest on a hunt the next day,
I was bitten by one of the immense yellow-spotted spiders which
are so numerous in all the African woods and openings, and in
the huts of the natives as well. Some of the spiders of this coun-
try grow to an immense size. I have frequently seen them with
a body as large as a sparrow's egg. The house-spider, which
lives chiefly on flies and roaches, is mostly of a dull gray, which
conceals its approach in the gloom of the hut. One species of
house-spider does not make a web for its prey, so far as I have
been able to discover. It conceals itself during the day in the
crevices of the hut, and preys only by night. At the approach
of evening, the roaches, which so swarm in every African hut,
come forth to act their part of scavengers. Then, by the dim
light of a torch, and half smothered with the heat, I have, for
hours at a time, watched the motions of this spider. It comes out
very carefully from its lair, and, having got a good station, re-
mains perfectly rigid and motionless often for half an hour, wait-
ing for some unlucky roach to pass by. At last the roach rushes
past. In an instant the spider has pounced upon him. Now en-
sues a tug and battle which is of the greatest interest, and which is
often prolonged for half an hour. The great African roach grows
to the size of an almost-grown mouse, and is a strong and some-
what formidable animal to the spider. The latter fastens on its
back, and, to prevent being borne off, clings with two of his hairy
legs to the floor or sides. All the roach's endeavors are to escape.
He tugs and jerks, and often succeeds in dragging his enemy off
for some distance. Then the spider succeeds in catching hold
with his feet again, and once more the struggle is renewed. All
this time, however, the spider is sucking away at the juices of the
roach, and so presently the struggles grow weaker and weaker,
and the poor roach succumbs; whereupon his enemy drags off
the body to some corner, where it can be finished at leisure.
Another very large house-spider spins a web, and catches its
prey of flies and roaches as ours do.
But the largest and most numerous species are found in the


508
NEW-BORN CHILDREN MURDERED.
While I was in this village a woman gave birth to twins, and
one of the children was immediately killed, the negroes of this
and most of the other tribes holding that if both are permitted to
live the mother will die. In Obindji's town I once saw two boys,
seven years old, who had both escaped, and their mother too;
but all the people looked upon her as a remarkable woman.
Salt is very scarce here, and bears a high value. It is all
brought from the sea-shore, the Cape Lopez people making con-
siderable quantities yearly, which is then scattered over the inte-
rior. Here, among the Apingi, it is so scarce that ten pounds of
poor salt will buy a boy slave. It is a great luxury; I have little
doubt that they suffer for the lack of it. I think the frequency
of skin diseases and ulcers here is caused, partly, by lack of salt.
Yet the Apingi have less disease of these kinds than the Bakalai.
But they do not, like the Bakalai, eat so much tainted and dis-
eased meat, and they consume a great deal more oil than those,
this being a poor country for hunting, but abounding in palm-oil
palms, which furnish them a considerable portion of their food.
Dec. 23d Having no fit canoe, I am obliged to give up my
projected farther ascent of the river. So far as I have ascended,
the Rembo Apingi runs nearly due south. It is from three to
four hundred yards wide, of good depth, and with a rapid cur-
rent . The villages are mostly situated on heights a little back
from the river banks. There is no change in their habits, nor do
the women improve either in beauty or in variety of costume as
the traveler ascends.
We returned to Remandji's town on the evening of the 24th,
and next day, having procured the largest, stoutest canoe I could
find, I set off down the river to try to get a glimpse of the great
wonder of this region, the great fall of Samba Nagoshi, of which
I had already heard so much.' I was accompanied by a dozen
canoes full of negroes. The stream is very rapid. This was the
rainy season, and the banks were filled, the water turbid and yel-
low, and the current swift, running at the rate of about five miles
an hour. We swept rapidly down stream past the villages of
the Kamba, Aviia, Osounga, and Njavi tribes.
The scenery grew grander and bolder as we advanced. The
mountains neared; the banks became high and precipitous; the
force of the current increased; and every mile of downward prog-
ress seemed to bring us to a more magnificent country. At last


STARVATION AND SUFFERING.
513
no sign of an inhabited country. Far as we could see below us
and ahead—and this was not far—we saw only dense forests.
The pain obliged me to lie down near a brook where I had
stopped to bathe my wounded feet. We built a fire, and, keep-
ing my gun in readiness for any passing game, I sent my men
ahead to see if they could spy out a village. Evidently the vague
report of a three days' journey was a delusion and a snare. The
men were themselves ignorant of localities, and only kept up their
spirits because I showed no signs of alarm.
They returned after an hour, reporting nothing in sight. Then
we made our camp for the night. I tied up my shoes as well as
I could for to-morrow's journey; we ate the last of our plantains;
I took a swallow of brandy, and we went to sleep.
Thus ended New Year's day, 1859. Next morning my poor feet
were more swollen than ever. They would not fit into the torn
shoes at all. How to progress I did not know. To advance was
plainly impossible without provisions. The men gathered a few
wild berries and nuts, on which we made a kind of breakfast, and
then I took out from a little sack, in which it had long been laid
away, an American flag, which I had meant to plant upon my far-
thest point. I did not think, when months ago I sewed it snugly
in its cover, that I should feel so bitterly disappointed at having
to use it.
Keeping one man with me, I sent the rest to ascend a little
peak which rose not far on my right. Even from its top the
view could not but be confined, on account of the thick forest.
I gave them my gun to shoot any thing alive they might see to
make the pot boil; commanded them to hang the bright little
flag from the top of the highest tree they could climb, and then
to report to me what they saw beyond this, our farthest point.
The good fellows were gone two hours. They came back with
a small monkey and a serpent nearly twelve feet long, of the boa
species. The monkey they gave me. The snake made them a
meal, and something over.
Then, finding it impossible to advance farther, I sent two men
to climb the highest tree in sight, and fasten the American flag at
its top. When it floated out on the breeze, I made my men give
three cheers for the star-spangled banner, and divided the remains
of my brandy among them.
Having eaten our dinner, and breakfast, and supper all in one,
Kk


A NIGHT IN THE DARK.
517
muddy. We passed the first night (16-17th) at a Bakalai vil-
lage, where I received a present of a deer. In the night the roof
of my hut was swept off by a tornado, and I stood in the street a
couple of hours for fear of being buried in the ruins of the village.
It rained in torrents the whole night and the greater part of
the next day, and when we came to the banks of the Louvandji
we found, instead of the pleasant and easily-fordable stream it
had been on our outward passage, a fierce torrent, utterly impass-
able. We had, therefore, to remain there all night, and it was
not till late next afternoon that we managed to cross. The flies
and bees were here so bad that I was fairly driven from the camp
into the woods. They were attracted in vast swarms by our ripe
plantains.
When we came to cross the Louvandji the next day the stream
was yet very full, the current extremely rapid, and the river almost
unfordable. The water was up to my neck, and we had to support
ourselves with long poles, which, being firmly set in the bottom be-
low us, bore us up against the impetuous torrent. Happily, though
I lost my footing once, being the shortest man of the party, I man-
aged to get safely across. That night it came on to rain before we
reached our camping-ground. The consequence was that we were
unable to light a fire—the first time I have ever known this occur
on my travels. It was a stupid blunder, which caused us to spend
the night in a most uncomfortable manner, I seated, gun in hand,
on my chest, and the negroes firing guns and shouting all night to
keep off the leopards, several of which we heard about us. It was
the most uncomfortable night I ever spent. My feet were by no
means tough, and pained me; and it was not easy to sit still,
awake, in the pouring rain, and await the yell and spring of some
leopard, who could probably see us quite well in the darkness.
At last day dawned, and we pushed on. After crossing the frail
Ovigui bridge, we reached the plains without farther mishap. My
home-sickness—a strange longing which I never experienced be-
fore—still made me miserable. I was impatient to push on, but
was so weak, what with fever attacks, occasioned by hardships and
by my sore feet, that I had perforce to lie still.
On the 22d I finally managed to get off. Olenda and his peo-
ple gave me plenty of presents, arms, a loom, fetiches, an idol, and
provisions to last me to Obindji's town. Makondai was glad to
return, and I longed constantly for the sea.


WELCOME IN BIAGANO. 519
gan to creep on me. Quinine I had taken to the amount of
fourteen ounces, till now it had almost ceased to affect me, ex-
cept by taking great quantities. Fowler's solution of arsenic
seemed also powerless. I had grown to be an unhappy Mithri-
dates—poison-proof. Daily I seemed to get weaker, and daily
I longed more to feel the fresh sea-breeze which should bear me
to America.
Four long months were yet to elapse, however, before at last
my vessel came in sight. In this dull time of packing, writing,
and illness, many weary hours were relieved by watching the
singular actions of a very curious bird, the Sycobius nigerrimus,
which had, in immense numbers, colonized a little grove of trees
near my house during my last absence. The habits of these lit-
tle twitterers are most remarkable, and I never wearied of watch-
ing their various and very skillful and intelligent manoeuvres in
nest-building and gathering food.
There are two species, but both live in the same trees, and in-
discriminately among each other, though not, of course, in the
same nests. The male of one species is entirely black, and the
female a dark gray, while in the other the male is yellow, with■
black and yellow throat. The eggs of the first-mentioned are
bluish, with black spots, while those of the last are light pink,
with dark spots.
They are extremely sociable birds, and not only establish them-
selves in vast colonies, but prefer always to live in the neighbor-
hood of a village, and, at any rate, not far from where the palm
and the plantain abound. They seem fond of the society of man,
something as our own swallows are.
They are singularly industrious birds. When they have set-
tled upon a tree on which to plant a colony, they labor from day-
light till dark, day after day, with the utmost joy, and fun, and
perseverance at their very singular pendent nests, which I will
now proceed to describe. The nest is in shape round, or nearly
so, with a narrow passage for entrance and exit, leading down one
side and opening beneath. It is securely fastened to an out-
stretched twig, probably for safety from monkeys and serpents;
and I have counted on one tree near my house over two thousand
of such pendent little balls, each inhabited by a family of the
birds.
The birds, when building, strip the tough outside fibre of the





APPENDIX.
THE FAUNA OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA.
Fob the use of naturalists, I give here a list of the animals collected by me dur-
ing the explorations described in the body of the book. New species I have, for con-
venience of reference, put by themselves. For detailed description of the new ani-
mals the scientific reader is referred to the Proceedings of the Boston Society of
Natural History for 1860.
Troglodytes calvus.
"Koolo-kamba.
Tragclaphus albo-virgatus.
Potamochcerus albifrons.
Genetta Fieldiana.
Anomalurus Beldeni.
MAMMALIANS.
SPECIES DISCOVERED BT P. B. DU CHAILLC.
Cercopithecus nigripes. Sciurus subalbidus.
Otolicnus apicalis. "rubripes
Cynogale velox. "minimis.
Sciurus Nordhoffi.
'cborivorus.
'Wilsoni.
Manatus Oweni.
Aspidonectes aspilus
(TtnrrLE).
T. Gorilla.
T. Niger (Chimpanzee).
Elephas Africanus.
Hippopotamus.
Bos brachicheros.
Tregalaphus silvicultrix.
"(species not de-1
termined).
Leopardus varius.
Gazella (four species, not
determined).
Crocodilus vulgaris.
Can is aureus.
KNOWN SPECIES.
Genetta Aubryana.
"poensis.
Hvama striata.
Hystrix cristata.
Colobus Satanus.
Presbytes albigena.
Cercopithecus melanogenys.
"cephus.
"(species not
determined).
Mangabct a colier (Cerco-
pithecus).
Cynocephalus Mormon.
Otolicnus Pelii.
Sciurus (three species, not
determined).
Sorex odoratus.
Vespcrtilio mimitus.
"(two other spe-
cies, not determined).
Anomalurus Fraseri.
Lutra (species not determ-
ined).
Pangolin.
Kinixys
TURTLES.
Stcrnothaxus Derbianus. Tryonix Aubryii.
SEHPENTS AND OTHEK REPTILES.
Python bivittatus.
Thrasops flavigularis or Bu-
cephalus capensis.
Chlorophis heterodermus.
Boeedon quadrivirgatum.
Toxicodryas Blandingii.
Echidna nasicomis.
A species of naja.
Brachycranion
(snake).
Coluber Philips!.
corpulentum Euprepes
Dryophis Kirtlandi.
Dipsas or Toxicodryas Blan
dingii.
Leptophis smaragdinus.
Dcndrophis flavigularis.
Sphenorhina clcgans.
Gcrrhosaurus Bibronii.
nigro lineatus
striata.
Blandingii.
albilabris.
Bufo maculatus.
Dactylethra Miilleri.
Hyla puntata.
liana Bibronii.
"albolabris (discovered
by me).
Hetcroglossa Africana.
Chamalco dilepsis.
"granulosus.


APPENDIX.
525
Bias musicus.
Campephaga nigra.
Estrelda rubriventris.
"atricapilla.
"melpoda.
"rubriventris.
Passer Swainsonii.
Corythaix meriani.
"(species not de-
termined).
Tnractis gigantens.
Tockus fasciatus.
Turtur erythrophrys.
Buceros albocristatus.
"atratns.
"cylindricus.
"fistalator.
"poensis.
Apaloderma narina.
Treron calva.
"nudirostris.
Pcristera chalcospilos (Co-|
Inmba).
Pcristera puella.
"tympanistria.
"afra.
"Malherbi.
Sqtiatarola helvetica.
Charadrius zonatus.
Hiaticula peenaria.
Harpiprion olivaceus.
Totanus bypoleacas.
Calidris arenaria.
Sterna Sencgalensis.
Podica Senegalensis.
Numenius pha;opus.
Strepsilas interpras.
Fraseria ocreata.
"cinerascens.
Platystira raelanoptera.
"leucopygialis.
Pratincola salax.
Macronix flaviventris.
Stiphornis erythrothorax.
Sylvietta microura.
Cisticola cursitans.
Spermestes cucullata.
"poensis.
Ortygospiza atricollis.
Fringillaria tahapisi.
Foudia erythrops.
Hyphantornis flavigula.
"Grayi (female
of flavigula).
Hyphantornis textor.
Hyphanturgus personatus.
Coliostruthus macrourus.
Centropus monachus.
Dendrobates Caroli.
Pogonias hirsutus.
Oxylophus Jacobinns.
Francolinus Lathami.
Bubo lencostictus.
Syrnium Woodfordii.
Eurystomus afer.
"gularis.
Drymoica ruficeps.
'nocvia.
'fortirostris.
'lateralis.
Hylia prasina (Styphrornis
superciliaris).
Phyllopneuste umbrovirens.
Cisticola cursitans.
Turdus Pelios.
Xenocichla syndactila.
Pyrrhurus pallcscens.
Hyliota violacea.
Dryoscopus aflinis.
"major (Telopho-|
nus major).
Nigrita canicapila.
luteifrons.
fusconota.
bicolor.
Vidua principalis.
Spcrmospiza guttata.
Psittacus pachyrhynchus.
Barbatula subsulfurea.
"scolopacea(.Xyfo-|
Aacco).
Gymnobucco calvus.
Tracliyphonus purpuratus.
Dendropicus Gabonensis.
"nigriguttatus.
Dendromus Caroli.
'' brachyrhynchns.
Dendromus Africanus.
"(several species,
not yet determined).
Indicator maculatus.
Centropus Francisci.
'monachus.
Cuculus Gabonensis.
Chrysococcyx smaragdiu-
eus.
Synoicus Adansonii.
(Edienemus Sencgalensis.
Glareola cinerca.
Lobivancllus albiceps.
jJCgialites marginatus.
'pecuarius.
Ardea goliath.
Egretta flavirostris.
bulbucus.
Butorides atricapilla.
Ciconia Ieucocephala.
Mycteria Sencgalensis.
Leptotilos crumenifera.
Scopus umbretta.
TantaluB ibis.
Geronticus hagedash.
"olivaceus.
Ibis religiosa.
Numcnius phsophos.
Actitis hypoleucus.
Parra Africans.
Rallus oculeus.
Himantornis hffimatopus.
Phorphyrio Alleni.
Limnocorax flavirostris.
Phcenicopterus erythrcens.
Ncttapus Madagascariensis.
Dendrocygna viduata.
Querquedula Hartlaubii
(Annas cyanoptera).
Podica Senegalensis.
Sterna Caspia.
"cantiaca.
"Senegalensis.
Rhynchops orientalis.
Plotus Levaillantii.
Sula Capensis.
Carbo Africanus.
Nycticorax Europajus.


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