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King Mombo 
 
"These . . . inquired if we wanted to barter for 
 ivory with them " 
 
King Mombo 
 
 By 
 Paul Du Chaillu 
 
 Author of "The World of the Great Forest," " The Viking Age," "The 
 
 Land of the Long Night," "Ivar the Viking," "The Land of the 
 
 Midnight Sun," " Explorations in Equatorial Africa," " Stories 
 
 of the Gorilla Country," "Wild Life under the Equator," 
 
 "Lost in the Jungle," "My Apingi Kingdom," 
 
 " The Country of the Dwarfs," etc., etc. 
 
 Illustrated by Victor Perard 
 
 New York 
 Charles Scribner's Sons 
 
 1902 
 
Copyright, 1902 
 BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Published, September, 
 
 UNIVERSITY PRESS JOHN WILSON 
 AND SON CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 
 
?27 
 
 i . 
 
 ro 
 
 SOLOMON SOUS COHEN, M.D. 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 MT DEAR SOLIS, Looking back through the vista of years, and 
 remembering your solicitude when I came to you broken in health, 
 and the care, professional and other, through which your affection and 
 skill restored me to health and permitted the resumption of my literary 
 labors, my heart overflows. I take great pleasure in dedicating this 
 volume to you as a partial evidence of the gratitude and brotherly 
 affection of 
 
 Ever your flrm friend, 
 
 PAUL DU CHAILLU. 
 
 New York, "June /<?, 
 
 101 
 
Letter of Friend Paul to the 
 Young Folks 
 
 MY DEAR YOUNG FOLKS, In writing the books 
 I have written for you in years past I left 
 untold many of the adventures that happened to 
 me in the great African forest, either with the wild 
 men and savage tribes I encountered or in hunting 
 the wild beasts. I could write many more volumes 
 upon these subjects, and still there would be much left 
 unsaid. 
 
 " Stories of the Gorilla Country," " Lost in the 
 Jungle," "Wild Life under the Equator," "My 
 Apingi Kingdom," "The Country of the Dwarfs," 
 did not tell all I saw or all that happened to me 
 during the many years of my African life. 
 
 I am to travel in Russia, and I have put into the 
 hands of my friends and publishers, Messrs. Charles 
 Scribner's Sons, the manuscripts of two further books 
 I have written for you, telling more of my adventures 
 in the Great Forest. These two volumes, of which 
 " King Mombo " is the first, will be published during 
 my absence, and will be companions to "The Land 
 of the Long Night " and " The World of the Great 
 Forest." 
 
 In the meantime I say good-by. Do not forget 
 
 FRIEND PAUL. 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I leave New York for Africa Narrow quarters on the schooner 
 Our cargo Out of sight of land The sea and all that 
 therein is A storm brewing I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A storm at sea A tempest-tossed little bird Fine weather 
 
 again Fight between a sword-fish and a whale . . . . I o 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The Sargasso Sea The northeast trade-winds Dolphins and 
 
 bonitas New stars come into view 17 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The "Doldrums" Fierce heat of the sun Strong local 
 currents The southwest trade-winds Huge sharks all 
 around us 22 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Crossing the equator The southeast trade- winds The equa- 
 torial current The Gulf Stream Struck by a tornado 
 Land in sight Africa at last The great forest ... 28 
 
 ix 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Wandering through the forest and learning the country I reach 
 
 King Mombo's village Received by the king His fear 
 of witchcraft Visits my dwelling and receives presents 
 from me 35 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Superstitions of King Mombo Visits to the house of his idols 
 and his ancestors A strange meal followed by a strange 
 dance 41 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Bad luck of Mombo's village Ascribed to witchcraft Arrival 
 of a great medicine man His incantations The accused 
 sold as slaves 50 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 King Mombo gives me the stick " Omemba " I leave the 
 village on a hunting trip Parting injunctions A herd of 
 hippopotami 55 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Sounds of human voices I encounter Regundo and his wife, 
 slaves of King Mombo Other slaves Hunters and 
 warriors of Mombo 63 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Wonder of the natives at my Waterbury clock, magnet, matches, 
 
 and music-box Character of Mombo's plantation ... 72 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 King Mombo's plantation Work of the slaves in clearing and 
 cultivating the forest Strange village of the slaves 
 Houses of the spirits Regundo's account of witchcraft 
 
 and its punishment Ovengua 79 
 
 / 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 The native dogs How they hunt their own game when they 
 are not fed Their ways of attack Their usefulness to 
 their masters in war time Oshoria's story 87 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A great hunting- feast " Roondah " Different viands of the 
 menu Speeches at the banquet Music and dancing 
 A weird forest scene in the torchlight 95 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A talk with King Mombo's slaves Why slaves do not run 
 away Various features of the traffic The cannibals of 
 the interior My daily occupations 1 04 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 The animals of the forest Five kinds of apes The ngina or 
 gorilla His great strength and fierceness How he 
 attacks man and other animals Oshoria's account of him 116 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 The other apes of the great forest Oshoria tells about the 
 nshiego mbouves Capture of a baby " man of the woods " 
 His mother killed Correspondence of the different 
 
 apes with the various human races 124 
 
 xi 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Angooka, the medicine man His strange appearance Eaves- 
 dropping I overhear the conversation of the slaves 
 They talk among themselves about the Oguizi . . . . 131 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 News brought that gorillas are near by in the forest The dogs 
 got ready for the hunt Their names A grand hunting 
 council Regundo' s wise advice Cautions to be observed 134 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 We start after the gorillas Cautious walking through the forest 
 The dogs find the ngina Yells of the monster brought 
 to bay He slaughters two of the dogs Taunts of the 
 hunters Shot through the heart at last 142 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Singular sight in the forest All kinds of animals fleeing in one 
 direction A terrible ant The bashikouay army At- 
 tacked everywhere at once How I escaped the tormentors 153 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A journey to the elephant country Serious annoyance from 
 flies, wasps, and mosquitoes In the midst of a drove of 
 hippopotami 158 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 Mudbanks covered with crocodiles How they stalk their 
 prey An unsuspecting boar suddenly swallowed up 
 
 Habits of the huge creatures 164 
 
 xii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Difficulty of making our way Fallen trees and dense thickets 
 Our meat gives out Looking for koola trees A 
 meal of their nutritious nuts Their importance to the 
 traveller in the forest 171 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 Lost in the forest A herd of elephants lures me on Separ- 
 ated from my hunters Two nights on the ground and one 
 in a tree Found at last Joy of the men . . . . 178 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 The elephant hunting-ground The beautiful prairie skirting 
 the forest The welcome sky and sun and stars after the 
 forest gloom Hunting elephants by moonlight Three 
 large herds Narrow escape of Oshoria and myself 
 Death of the huge tusker 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 The killing of a second elephant How bull elephants fight 
 The contest for the leadership of the herd Oshoria' s 
 graphic account of a battle royal witnessed by him Return 
 to the plantation 206 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Departure from the slaves' plantations Arrival at King Mom- 
 bo's A warm greeting from the old king His sacred 
 promise never to part with his slaves Farewell to him and 
 his people 214 
 
 xiu 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 " These . . . inquired if we wanted to barter for ivory with 
 
 them ' * Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGB 
 
 In the cabin of the schooner 2 
 
 " The captain shouted to me : * A swordnsh is righting a 
 
 whale '" / - - 14 
 
 " When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy " . . 38 
 
 "The king and I sat down opposite each other" .... 48 
 
 "Then he handed me 'Omemba' " 59 
 
 " The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe " . . . 60 
 
 "He had a very determined face " 68 
 
 " Then came a profound silence. I lighted another match " . 76 
 "Just in time to see a huge male leopard spring upon one of the 
 
 dogs" . . 92 
 
 " The women were preparing food " ....... 96 
 
 "The first musician played on a < handja ' ; 102 
 
 ' ' A big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was tattooed all 
 
 over " no 
 
 " A little before dark she goes up a tree with the baby to sleep " 1 20 
 
 " Sometimes he suddenly gets up and charges'* . , . . 140 
 " The big monster . . . seized ' Bloodthirsty ' and threw him 
 
 dead on the ground " 150 
 
 " Their big, ugly mouths when opened, showed us their tusks " 162 
 
 xv 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 " We dragged the board with the crocodile upon it into the 
 
 water" . . . . . .... . . . . . 168 
 
 "I pointed out the footprints to them" . . . .. . . . 174 
 
 "With some hesitation I crept upon the transverse limb" . . 188 
 
 "I distinguished a huge bull which was leading them" . , . 198 
 
 "The two enormous tusks went through his side " . . . . 212 
 
 "I stood up and held ' Omemba* in my right hand" . . . 218 
 
 "My hunters . . . fell at my feet and clasped them" . . 224 
 
 xvi 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 I LEAVE NEW YORK FOR AFRICA NARROW QUARTERS 
 ON THE SCHOONER OUR CARGO OUT OF SIGHT 
 OF LAND THE SEA AND ALL THAT THEREIN IS 
 A STORM BREWING. 
 
 ONE summer morning I found myself on board 
 a small schooner lying at anchor in the beau- 
 tiful bay of New York. This little vessel, though so 
 small, was large enough to sail safely across the Atlan- 
 tic to the west coast of Africa, to which part of the 
 world we were bound. 
 
 On account of the small size of the schooner, the 
 accommodations on board were not very comfortable. 
 The tiny cabin had three narrow bunks one for the 
 captain, another for the mate, the third for myself. A 
 little cupboard, containing the plates, glasses, forks, 
 spoons, knives, etc., secured against the rolling of the 
 ship, was near one of the bunks. 
 
 A small table upon which our meals were served 
 stood in the centre, and was the only piece of fur- 
 niture we had, for box-like benches along the bunks 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 were our seats, and these were also used as places of 
 storage for different things that had to be handy. 
 Besides these there was a medicine chest. 
 
 The only place where one could stand upright was 
 under the skylight. Our toilet or the washing of our 
 faces and hands took place on deck, and when it was 
 raining or stormy the tin wash-basin had to be used 
 in the cabin, though we tried to avoid this as much 
 as possible, it made such a mess. 
 
 The forecastle had accommodation for the crew of 
 four sailors and the cook the latter being also the 
 steward, and having therefore to set the table, serve 
 the meals, wash the dishes, towels, and napkins, and 
 attend to our bunks. 
 
 On the deck stood the galley or kitchen, close by, 
 a large cask containing fresh water, with a dipper. 
 Some other casks were safely stored in the hold. 
 These contained water, to us more precious than 
 gold, for what would gold have availed us if we 
 had had no water to drink? 
 
 Our cargo was composed of many things, such as 
 brass kettles, guns, small kegs of powder, brass rods, 
 looking-glasses, files, knives, plates, and a great num- 
 ber of beads of all sizes and colors, bright colored cot- 
 ton umbrellas, coats of gaudy hues, each coat having 
 sleeves and backs of different tints, brilliant colored 
 
In the cabin of the schooner 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 waistcoats and many other objects. All these were to 
 buy for me the right of way with the African kings, 
 or to give away to the natives, or pay for food or pay 
 my porters. 
 
 When the tide served for our departure the captain 
 gave the order to unfurl the sails and raise the anchor. 
 Our ship then glided out into the bay, passed through 
 the Narrows and breasted the broad Atlantic. When 
 we began to lose sight of land, strange sensations crept 
 over me. Before me was the bright future, the great 
 African forest with its tribes of wild men, strange 
 beasts, birds, and insects. Looming above these was 
 the wonderful unknown, so fascinating to me and to 
 all men, especially to lads. Behind me were those I 
 had left, who were dear to me, and to them I whispered 
 a silent farewell, telling them that I would continue to 
 love them and that I would never forget them. That 
 evening with conflicting emotions, and a sad heart I 
 fell asleep. 
 
 The following morning when I came on deck there 
 was no land to be seen. The sea with its apparently 
 boundless horizon surrounded our little ship. Long 
 heaving swells rose one after another, and with great 
 wonder my eyes followed them until they faded away 
 in the distance. It seemed as if some great unseen 
 giant were asleep at the bottom of the sea, and that 
 
 3 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 his breathing caused this up-heaving of the ocean into 
 these long swells. 
 
 Gulls were our only companions, and followed our 
 little ship ; they seemed to fly without any effort what- 
 ever, their spread wings remaining perfectly still for 
 minutes at a time. As I watched them, I said musingly : 
 " Dear harmless gulls, where is your home ? " And 
 it seemed to me that they answered : " We have no 
 home ; we wander far and wide over the ocean, which 
 gives us our food. We rest on the waves now and 
 then, we care not for wind and storms. We often 
 follow ships, watching for things thrown over- 
 board. But every year we go to the sea cliffs to lay 
 our eggs, and take care of our young. Then we are 
 a great throng together. 1 ' 
 
 I thought of the many birds of the sea, and of the 
 giant albatross, closely allied to the gulls the largest 
 and strongest of all sea-birds, measuring sometimes 
 sixteen and seventeen feet between the tips of their 
 extended wings. 
 
 My mind was full of reflections as I was looking at 
 the sea, and I said to myself: " How apparently bound- 
 less is this great Atlantic Ocean, and how wonderful ! 
 In the far north a gigantic barrier of ice prevents the 
 mariner with his ship from reaching the North Pole." 
 And I thought of all the heroes who had made the 
 
 4 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 attempt in vain. In the far south a still more forbid- 
 ding and more extended wall of ice prevents the 
 mariner also from reaching the South Pole. I thought 
 of the white bears, the sea-lions, the walrus. I thought 
 of the Esquimaux, of his dogs, of his kayak or skin 
 canoe, and wondered how men could choose such 
 regions to live in ; for life, there, is a battle all the 
 time; dangers meet man on every side. The elements 
 and the country are against him ; but in spite of all 
 that, the Esquimaux loves the dreary ice and barren 
 rocks where he was born. 
 
 How strange, I thought, that no inhabitant had 
 been found in the southern polar regions, and that no 
 bears had ever been discovered there ; and how won- 
 derful it was that at the poles, the sun was in sight for 
 six months, and remained unseen during the six other 
 months of the year, so that a day of light and a day 
 of darkness made one year. When the sun shone 
 at the North Pole, it was dark at the South Pole, and 
 vice versa. 
 
 I could not help it, but the view of the great ocean 
 that surrounded us set me continually thinking that 
 day. I wondered at the great depth of the sea, and 
 that the Pacific Ocean was even deeper than the Atlan- 
 tic the former in some places having been found to 
 be thirty thousand feet deep, and in a number of places 
 
 5 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the lead having failed to reach the bottom. The pres- 
 sure of the water is so great that often the wire hold- 
 ing the lead breaks before reaching such great depths ; 
 but if our eyes could pierce through this immense 
 mass of water, we should see that the configuration 
 of land at the bottom of the oceans is very much 
 like that of the earth above the sea. We should 
 behold high mountains, deep ravines, and precipices, 
 and large plains or plateaux, and see that in some 
 places the bottom of the sea is changing constantly, 
 owing to drifting deposits. These have been re- 
 vealed to us by soundings. 
 
 Strange to say, under that great mass of water, as 
 upon the land, sudden volcanic eruptions take place 
 which cause islands to rise high above the sea and to 
 disappear again. Many islands to this day have re- 
 mained as witnesses of these volcanic eruptions, and be- 
 come, in the course of ages, covered with forests and 
 other vegetation, and are now inhabited by man. 
 
 There is about three times as much sea as there is 
 land ; and if it were not for the sea bringing moisture, 
 neither tree, beast, nor man could live on the earth. 
 Though the oceans bear different names, they all com- 
 municate with each other. 
 
 Then I thought of the rain, and all the rivers 
 pouring their waters into the sea, and I wondered why 
 
 6 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the sea did not get higher, and, in the course of time, 
 overflow the land. It is because of the evaporation 
 of the water. Do we not see, every morning, the dew- 
 drops glitter in the sun and then disappear ? They 
 have evaporated, and gone back to help form the 
 clouds, as well as the sea. 
 
 Then I thought of the whales, and of their huge 
 size ; that on land the elephant was the largest animal, 
 and that in the sea the whale was the largest creature ; 
 and that, though the whale was so much larger that 
 in the comparison the elephant was but a pigmy, yet 
 the home of the whale is correspondingly greater than 
 that of the elephant. 
 
 There are several varieties of whales. The Arctic 
 and Greenland whale is from forty to fifty feet in 
 length. Its enormous head is a third of the whole 
 creature. There is also a species of whale which 
 attains a length of eighty, and even eighty-five, feet. 
 
 How strange that several species of these huge crea- 
 tures, on account of the peculiar formation of their 
 throats, can only feed on the most minute crustaceans 
 and pteropods. The fecundity of some of the species 
 of the latter is so wonderful that they cover large 
 areas of the northern and southern Atlantic and Pacific, 
 and swarm in vast shoals, covering the sea for miles, 
 showing their presence by a ruddy hue contrasting 
 
 7 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 with the color of the water. What a feast the whales 
 have when they come where these small creatures are ! 
 Their big mouths allow them to take in barrels of 
 water filled with these minute organisms, and they are 
 provided with a peculiar and delicate sieve, by which 
 the water is drained off and the mass of pteropods 
 taken into their stomachs. 
 
 I said to myself: " I am now sailing over the home 
 of the whales, and I am going to the home of the 
 elephants." 
 
 But the poor whales and elephants are so much 
 hunted that they become fewer in number every year ; 
 and I remembered how my grandmother used to worry 
 at the thought of the disappearance of the whale, for 
 no oil for lamps could then be procured, and what 
 would people then do for light ? 
 
 After thinking of the whales, I thought of the count- 
 less millions and varieties of fish that swim in the sea. 
 I thought of the codfish, of the herring, and of the 
 mackerel, and of their innumerable numbers, and of 
 the many millions that are caught every year by man. 
 Their vast shoals seem not to diminish in spite of all. 
 
 How intelligent are the codfish, and other fishes, in 
 their migration. The cod come by countless millions 
 to the same place to spawn. They make their appear- 
 ance at the same time, year after year, often coming 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the very same day as the year before, and rarely more 
 than a week before or after their usual time of arrival. 
 After spawning they disappear, leaving stragglers 
 remaining behind. No one knows where they go. 
 
 Then I thought of the relentless warfare among 
 fishes, the big fish feeding on the smaller ones, one 
 single big fish eating hundreds of little ones in one 
 day, the very big ones thousands. The number eaten 
 every day is so great that no calculation can be made 
 of those destroyed. But if it were not for this great 
 destruction among themselves, the sea would become 
 so thick with them, the water would become poisoned 
 and they would all die, and the stench would spread 
 the plague over the world and destroy man. 
 
 The second day we saw a sail in the offing, which 
 relieved the loneliness of the sea. Human beings 
 were on board. Man loves the sight of man. The 
 ship passed close to ours and then the wake it left 
 behind disappeared forever. 
 
 Towards evening the breeze freshened, the sky be- 
 came dark, and clouds hung low and sped rapidly. 
 During the night the whistling of the wind and the 
 tossing of the ship told me that a storm was raging. 
 We had entered in the meantime the wonderful Gulf 
 Stream, with its warm water flowing northward. The 
 gale was from the southwest. 
 
 9 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A STORM AT SEA A TEMPEST-TOSSED LITTLE BIRD 
 FINE WEATHER AGAIN FIGHT BETWEEN A SWORD- 
 FISH AND A WHALE. 
 
 WHEN I came on deck in the morning there 
 was a great storm raging. The sky above 
 our heads was dark and threatening. The clouds 
 were low and moved with great swiftness. The wind 
 blew with the fury of a hurricane and hissed through 
 the rigging. The sails were furled except two, which, 
 however, had three reefs in them. The sea looked 
 fiercely angry and the big waves broke one after an- 
 other in foaming white crests. The ocean was one mass 
 of foam and spray. The rain was pouring in torrents. 
 Our little ship was tossed as if she had been a walnut- 
 shell. Wave after wave broke upon her side or buried 
 her prow, pouring tons of water on our deck and 
 enveloping us at the same time in spray. At times 
 the men were lashed to keep them from being washed 
 overboard. The gulls were flying over our heads, 
 and the stormy petrel had made its appearance. For 
 a few hours it looked as if our ship could not with- 
 
 10 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 stand the storm and would founder under a big wave. 
 I thought at that time that I should never see home 
 again. 
 
 For three days we were buffeted over the great sea. 
 Then the storm ceased. The sails were unreefed and 
 the carpenters and the sailors made the necessary re- 
 pairs upon our battered little ship. 
 
 Suddenly I thought I heard the cry of distress of 
 a bird, and looking upward I saw a little bulfinch fly- 
 ing near the ship. The bird wanted to perch on the 
 rigging but did not dare. He came near, and then 
 moved away, uttering little cries of anguish. Evidently 
 the sails scared him for he had never seen a ship 
 before and he knew that it was not a tree. The 
 tempestuous wind, blowing from the land, had driven 
 this little wanderer far out to sea; he had lost his 
 reckoning and did not know where the land was. For 
 several days and nights he had been flying, finding no 
 trees to rest upon, no water to drink, no berries, fruits 
 or seeds to eat. He was exhausted, for he had had 
 no rest and no food. Fear was in his little heart. I 
 got water and bread ready for him in case he came on 
 board and we could catch him. 
 
 During the day he followed us, uttering his little 
 cries of distress, but did not dare to alight upon the 
 ship, though he knew that the sea was his enemy 
 
 ii 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 and that if he fell into the water he would meet his 
 death. Perhaps he thought of the land he had left 
 behind of his dear mates, of trees, of water and of 
 food, of lovely dales and little brooks. 
 
 I noticed, as the day advanced, that the little bul- 
 finch did not fly so high above the sea as in the morn- 
 ing ; lower and lower became his flight. The motion 
 of his wings in his despair became quicker and quicker 
 as his strength diminished. At times he almost 
 touched the water, then, uttering a shrill cry, he 
 would rise, only to come down again. I shouted : 
 " Come and rest upon our little ship, dear little bul- 
 finch. Come on deck ; I will take good care of you. 
 Here are food and water waiting for you. Nobody on 
 board is so wicked as to kill you, or harm you." 
 
 But the little bird kept on, and at last his body 
 touched the sea, and as he rose he uttered a most 
 piercing cry of distress, then, taking an upward flight, 
 he hovered over the ship. His strength was gone, his 
 wings refused to move, and he fell upon the deck. I 
 rushed quickly towards him he was panting. I took 
 him in my hands how quickly his heart was beat- 
 ing ! I gave him some water ; he drank it, then 
 dropped dead. His struggles for dear life were over. 
 Then I put the little bulfinch in a small wooden box ; 
 it was his coffin, and I closed the top and buried him 
 
 12 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 at sea just as the sun was disappearing below the 
 horizon. 
 
 The following day the weather was very beautiful, 
 a lovely blue sky was over our heads. What a change 
 between this and the great storm we had passed 
 through ! The sea was a mass of beautiful " white 
 caps," each one with its own changing form. Strange 
 as it seems, there are no two things exactly alike in the 
 world not even two white caps, two blades of 
 grass, two leaves, neither two men nor two women. 
 
 We sailed merrily along day after day, carried on 
 by variable winds, our course being one point south 
 of east, and one afternoon gazing over the ocean, I 
 saw a number of whales disporting and spouting water 
 high in the air. Looking over the rail my attention 
 was suddenly attracted to a large, dark, elongated fish, 
 that was swimming fast, as if in quest of something. 
 As it neared the ship and swam alongside I recognized 
 it to be a powerful swordfish, which I thought was 
 about twelve or fifteen feet in length. Its sword 
 seemed about three feet long, and was a continuation 
 of its upper jaw. The sword was flat and pointed at 
 the end. The very shape of the fish showed that it 
 could swim with great rapidity. 
 
 The swordfish is the most fearless of all fishes, I 
 reflected ; he is afraid of nothing and might take 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 our little ship for a whale, and attack us ; for the 
 whale and the swordfish are sworn enemies. There 
 are many instances on record of ships being attacked 
 by swordfish, and their thick oak hulls pierced through, 
 the sword remaining in the wood, the fish not having 
 strength enough to draw it out when deeply imbedded 
 in the hull. There have also been instances in which 
 small vessels have been sunk by them. 
 
 Soon I noticed another swordfish, and saw both of 
 them leap out of the water, pursuing each other and 
 then discovered that they were fighting. They were 
 swimming with the rapidity of an express train at the 
 rate, I thought, of thirty or forty miles an hour. They 
 were so quick in their movements that they could not 
 hit each other with their swords. Their dorsal fins as 
 they cut through the surface of the water made a 
 peculiar noise like a sharp boat with sails set cutting 
 through the sea. They would disappear under the 
 water and then reappear on the surface, then swim 
 towards each other with such extraordinary velocity 
 that my eyes could hardly follow them. They seemed 
 to know that their vulnerable point was the side, 
 and wheeled with astonishing quickness, so that they 
 would always face each other. 
 
 A short time afterwards I saw ahead of us a great 
 commotion in the water the sea was white with 
 
 14 
 
1 
 
 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 foam. The captain shouted to me : cc A swordfish 
 is fighting a whale." I went up the rigging to see the 
 fight. The whale spouted big streams of water in the 
 air, its tail was slapping the sea with terrific force, 
 beating the water into white spray all around. At 
 times everything was like a white mist round the huge 
 creature, which seemed to be going in every direction, 
 as if bewildered. It was fighting for dear life, and 
 was trying to hit its antagonist with its powerful tail. 
 If it only succeeded in striking the swordfish, then 
 the greatest creature of the sea would be the victor. 
 
 Unfortunately, the whale is unwieldy and the sword- 
 fish is very quick in its movements. Every frantic 
 motion the whale made was a sign that the swordfish 
 had plunged its long, pointed sword into its body. 
 The fight went on for a while, the swordfish getting 
 evidently the better of the whale, for the blows of 
 the latter's huge tail did not strike the water with as 
 much force as before, and the sea did not look so 
 disturbed. Then suddenly I saw a great spout of 
 water rise above the sea, and all became quiet. The 
 fight was over ; the whale had been vanquished and 
 had received its death-thrust from the swordfish, and 
 it must have received many wounds, for as we sailed 
 over the place where they had been fighting, the sea 
 was red with blood. 
 
 '5 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " In these conflicts between the swordfish and the 
 whale, it is said that the whale is oftener the victor," 
 said the captain to me, " for if the whale succeeds 
 in striking the swordfish with its tail, the latter is 
 either killed or so much stunned that the combat is 
 not renewed." 
 
 16 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE SARGASSO SEA THE NORTHEAST TRADE-WINDS 
 DOLPHINS AND BONITAS NEW STARS COME INTO 
 VIEW. 
 
 A FEW days after the fight between the sword- 
 fish and the whale, as I came on deck early in 
 the morning, a strange sight met my eyes. I could 
 not see the water of the ocean, the vessel appeared as 
 if it had been stranded and left by the tide on a land 
 covered with seaweed. We had entered during the 
 night that part of the Atlantic which was called by 
 Columbus and other early Spanish navigators " Mar 
 de Sarga^o " and which is known to us now under 
 the name of the Sargasso Sea. 
 
 The Sargasso Sea lies in that quiet area of the At- 
 lantic Ocean between 28 and 32 north latitude, 
 and 35 and 55 west longitude, varying slightly in its 
 position at times on account of long prevailing winds, 
 or currents caused by those winds. This sea comprises 
 an area of about one hundred and fifty miles from 
 north to south, and about four hundred and fifty 
 miles from east to west. This space is entirely cov- 
 ered with seaweed and in many places so thick that 
 for hundreds of acres the water is hidden from view. 
 
 17 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 The stem of the Sargasso weed attains often a length 
 of several hundred feet and has many branches grow- 
 ing from the stem, which in the course of time break 
 in many places. These vines are covered with berries, 
 which have the appearance of bunches of grapes. On 
 that account the seaweed is called by the sailors by 
 the different names of grape weed, grape of the trop- 
 ics, and the Sargasso weed. We sailed through this 
 remarkable area of the ocean, carried onwards by light 
 variable winds sometimes making but little headway. 
 
 One day we met the Northeast trade-winds, which 
 are generally encountered at about the fortieth de- 
 gree of longitude west of Greenwich, and 30 north 
 latitude. I thought how wonderful it was that these 
 northeast trade-winds had been blowing constantly 
 without intermission over a part of the Atlantic, as long 
 as men remembered, for thousands of years and, in 
 fact, from the time the great desert of Sahara appeared 
 upon our earth. These northeast trade-winds blow 
 across the Atlantic Ocean as far south as the tenth 
 degree of north latitude and at certain times of the year 
 as far as the fifth and sixth degrees, and lose their 
 force as they reach the West Indies. 
 
 We sailed somewhat parallel to the coast which forms 
 the western part of the great desert of Sahara, which 
 begins south of Morocco, latitude 30 north and fol- 
 
 18 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 lows the Atlantic near to the Senegal river 15 north 
 a distance on a straight line of nine hundred miles. 
 
 One morning as I came on deck, before it had been 
 washed, I noticed some minute particles of sand that 
 had fallen from the sky, and were still falling, though 
 we were hundreds of miles at sea. It was sand from 
 the great Sahara, which had been carried high into the 
 atmosphere by the wind, and the captain said to me 
 when he saw my astonishment: "Sometimes the sand 
 from the Sahara is carried a thousand miles out to sea, 
 and we are now about seven hundred miles from the 
 coast/' 
 
 The lively northeast trade-winds carried us south- 
 ward day after day and how beautiful was the sky ! 
 White fleecy clouds, looking like gigantic flashes of 
 cotton, often diaphanous, floated rapidly by, borne on 
 the wind in the blue heavens which were reflected in 
 the sea. There was no rain to disturb us. No 
 weather could have been more beautiful. 
 
 Almost every day we saw immense shoals of por- 
 poises swimming at a great rate and jumping out of 
 the water, many amusing themselves in swimming 
 round our little ship. They seemed always to swim 
 against the wind. At other times dolphins and bonitas 
 followed us. The dolphin is the most beautiful of all 
 fishes, and they added to our larder, for they were 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 voracious and eagerly bit at the hooks. In its death 
 throes the dolphin changed into hues of marvellous 
 colors. Once in a great while we would see a turtle 
 floating on the sea. Days passed away, our little ves- 
 sel sailing under a most beautiful sky with a lovely 
 breeze. I had noticed a change in the firmament. 
 The heavens at night were not like those at home. 
 Some of the stars that were south in the northern 
 states were now north, and stars appeared daily 
 which were unknown to me. The constellations had 
 changed their shape also. The north star reached its 
 meridian altitude lower every day, and came nearer 
 and nearer the horizon. Other stars of our northern 
 latitude followed in its wake. 
 
 At last, one night the north star was very near the 
 horizon and showed itself for a short time only. The 
 next night as I watched for it, it suddenly appeared, 
 and for the last time, as it was on the point of 
 disappearing under the horizon. It seemed as if 
 I heard the dear north star say to me : " Good-by, 
 Paul : you will not see me again until you come back 
 home," and I answered : " Good-by, little north star, 
 I hope to come home again and look at you when 
 you twinkle in the sky," and at those words of mine, 
 the star vanished from my sight. The next night I 
 watched in vain for its appearance ; it never came. 
 
 20 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 As we sailed southward the constellation of the 
 southern cross appeared, four brilliant stars making 
 the perfect shape of a cross, Sirius resplendent in 
 light and the most brilliant star in the heavens, called 
 also the Dog Star. All the southern stars seemed to 
 say " Welcome, Paul, to our southern latitudes." But 
 they were strangers to me. Though I admired their 
 brilliancy I longed for our northern stars, for we 
 love the stars which shine upon the country where we 
 were born. 
 
 21 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE " DOLDRUMS" - FIERCE HEAT OF THE SUN- 
 
 STRONG LOCAL CURRENTS THE SOUTHEAST TRADE- 
 WINDS HUGE SHARKS ALL AROUND US. 
 
 OUR happy days in this enchanted region of the 
 Atlantic Ocean were coming to an end. The 
 northeast trade-winds became less strong as we neared 
 the equator, and soon died away. Then came a great 
 calm ; we had entered that area of the Atlantic which 
 is the dread of the mariner with sailing ships and 
 known under the name of " Doldrums," a region of 
 calms, baffling winds, and squalls accompanied by 
 thunder and lightning. 
 
 I shall never forget the " Doldrums " as long as I 
 live, and the days I spent crossing it. It lies between 
 the northeast and southeast trade-winds, and we had to 
 sail through it to reach the southeast trade-winds. 
 
 " Doldrums," in the language of the sailor, means 
 dull and low-spirited, and well deserved is the name. 
 It is also known by them as the horse latitudes, for 
 when ships linger there for weeks, horses, cattle, live 
 stock have to be thrown overboard for lack of water 
 
 22 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 and food. When unlucky, vessels are detained several 
 weeks within its belt. The area varies more or less 
 according to the strength of the trade-winds. 
 
 No northeast trade-winds cooled the atmosphere. 
 The reflection of the powerful rays of the sun from 
 the warm ocean made the heat intense during the day. 
 During the night our cabin was unbearable. Not a 
 breath of wind came to our relief, not a ripple was 
 seen on the deep-blue ocean, which looked like a sea 
 of glass. For five days two empty flour barrels that 
 had been thrown overboard remained alongside of 
 our ship. Long, heavy swells followed each other 
 and made the vessel roll in such a terrible manner 
 that I thought at times that the ends of the main-yards 
 would touch the sea. The calm was so great that the 
 steering gear was of no use, the sails had to be furled 
 to protect them from being torn to pieces, as they 
 struck the mast at each roll of the ship with tre- 
 mendous force. We lay often athwart these swells, 
 the vessel rolling in such manner that we could not 
 stand on the deck, and had to hold to the rigging or 
 something fast in order not to be dashed to one side 
 or another or against the bulwarks. 
 
 The unprotected parts of the ship that came under 
 the rays of the sun became so hot that we could not 
 rest our hands upon them. If we had had no tents 
 
 2 3 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 protecting the decks and ourselves we should not have 
 been able to live through the " Doldrums." It was out 
 of the question to sleep below decks, for there the atmos- 
 phere was suffocating and the ventilators had become 
 useless for want of air. We always longed for the 
 night, and rejoiced each time the sun disappeared 
 below the horizon. In the morning we dreaded its 
 appearance. To go into the cabin for our meals, to 
 hold on to the table while eating, was often impossible 
 on account of the terrific rolling; our drinking water 
 became tepid, for we had no ice to cool it. In a word, 
 life was a burden. 
 
 After a few days of dead calms we encountered baf- 
 fling winds and squalls day after day. A squall would 
 rise, push us on our way towards the southeast trade- 
 winds, another would come in another direction and 
 send us back where we had come from. Between the 
 squalls came a dead calm. 
 
 The captain often mistrusted the strength of the 
 squalls, and when he saw the black clouds gather on 
 the horizon, the forerunner of the squall, the sails 
 were furled, for fear that the power of the wind 
 might dismast or capsize the ship. Sometimes when 
 he thought the squall would not be a heavy one and 
 when it came from the right direction, he would have 
 the men at the halliards ready to spread the sails, in 
 
 24 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 case he was mistaken in his judgment, for he wanted 
 to take every advantage and not lose one minute of 
 fair wind that would help us to get away from the 
 regions of the " Doldrums/' 
 
 Once in a while we encountered strong local cur- 
 rents. How strange are these currents found in the 
 middle of the ocean an independent body of water 
 moving at times with a velocity of three and four 
 miles an hour a wide, rippling river with its own 
 eddies and white caps flowing in an ocean often as 
 smooth as a looking-glass ! 
 
 When I could hardly stand the stifling heat, I 
 looked with a longing eye at the sea, and wished 
 that I could plunge into it and take a swim, but the 
 sharks were there watching for food and prey. 
 
 After entering the c< Doldrums," sharks had become 
 far more numerous than before and were hardly ever 
 out of sight. They swam round our vessel when we 
 did not move, and when we did move they followed in 
 our wake. The sharks frequenting the equatorial 
 regions are more voracious than in other parts of 
 the ocean, they are the tigers and leopards of the 
 sea. Woe to the man who falls into the water when 
 they are about, for he is sure to be devoured by 
 them. 
 
 The sailors have a superstition that when a man is 
 
 25 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 ill on board, the sharks know it, and follow the ship 
 until the man dies and is thrown overboard. 
 
 Many of these sharks were surrounded by tiny little 
 fish which the sailors call pilots. These seem to feed 
 on the vermin which adhere to the skin of the sharks. 
 These little pilot fish were not more than four or five 
 inches in length and were very pretty to look at. 
 
 The structure of the mouth of the sharks is such 
 that they have to turn on their backs in order to swal- 
 low. What terrible rows of teeth they have, so 
 sharp, just like the teeth of a saw ! With a heavy 
 hook made fast to a chain we captured one that had 
 seven rows of teeth. 
 
 I often shuddered when I looked at some huge shark 
 following the ship, and retired instinctively from the 
 stern for fear lest something should give way and I 
 should fall into the sea. Nothing could then have 
 saved my life I should have been dragged down by 
 one of those voracious creatures, and then eaten piece- 
 meal. 
 
 Once in a while there was not a shark in sight 
 they were simply hovering around under the surface 
 of the water waiting for prey. The sailors often said : 
 " Let a man fall overboard, and they will appear soon 
 enough ! " 
 
 Some sharks love the solitude of the open sea 
 
 26 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 others like to be near the shore. There are many 
 kinds of these fierce creatures. Some, which are called 
 the pelagic sharks, are the largest inhabitants of 
 the sea, after the whale, and there are several species 
 or varieties. Some of these attain a length of from 
 twenty-five to forty feet. 
 
 As I watched the water, I would see a hammer 
 shark, so named on account of his head, with a 
 thick body of about nine feet in length ; this species 
 is reputed one of the most ferocious. Then a blue 
 shark would make its appearance, and one day I saw a 
 specimen belonging to the genus Carcharodon. He 
 was an enormous one ; the captain said that some- 
 times they attain a length of forty feet. But the 
 largest of all these monsters of the deep are found in 
 the Pacific Ocean, and attain a length of fifty feet. 
 
 27 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 CROSSING THE EQUATOR THE SOUTHEAST TRADE- 
 WINDS THE EQUATORIAL CURRENT THE GULF 
 STREAM STRUCK BY A TORNADO LAND IN SIGHT 
 AFRICA AT LAST THE GREAT FOREST. 
 
 IN spite of the counter currents and contrary squalls, 
 we crept slowly southward to meet the south- 
 easterly winds, the captain taking advantage of every 
 opportunity offered by the weather. After many dis- 
 couragements and setbacks, we at last crossed the 
 equator. 
 
 One afternoon a squall rose and drove us southward. 
 After it had blown over, it became calm again. Then 
 we saw, far away, ripples on the ocean, which gradually 
 came nearer and nearer. These ripples were the fore- 
 runners of the southeast trade-winds that were coming 
 towards us. Soon after we felt a cool, gentle breeze, 
 and a shout of joy came from all on board. Our 
 imprisonment in the " Doldrums " was over ! 
 
 The southeast trade-winds were at first very light, 
 for we had reached just where they were dying away, 
 close to the region of the " Doldrums," but towards 
 
 28 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 evening the breeze freshened. The next day white caps 
 covered the sea, and life became pleasant once more. 
 The southeast trade-winds were strong, and now we had 
 the same beautiful blue sky as under the northeast 
 trade-winds, and the same beautiful white and often 
 transparent clouds. 
 
 These southeast trade-winds have also blown from 
 time immemorial the hot air of the South African 
 continent bringing about the same results as the hot 
 air of the desert of Sahara. 
 
 Then we tacked ship, and laid our course towards 
 the west coast of Africa. I asked the captain if I 
 should have to pass again through such dreadful re- 
 gions as that of the "Doldrums" when I returned home. 
 " No/' he replied ; " on the return trip from the equa- 
 torial regions of Africa, we sail with the southeast 
 trade-winds, south of the equator, to avoid these 
 dreaded c Doldrums/ carried onward by the southeast 
 trade-winds until a few hundred miles off the coast of 
 Brazil ; then we get into variable, and often light 
 winds." 
 
 Then I thought that if our little ship were left to 
 drift within the area of the northeast or southeast 
 trade-winds, in the course of time she would reach the 
 South American coast, then drift gradually northward, 
 and, if not stranded on the way, would get into the 
 
 29 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Gulf Stream, then be carried northward, passing the 
 latitude of New York, whence we came. 
 
 The northeast and southeast trade-winds cause the 
 initial movement of the currents which, in their 
 course, make the current known to us as the Gulf 
 Stream. 
 
 The two trade-winds, blowing continually from the 
 hot regions of Africa, drive the hot water of the 
 tropics from Africa westward, towards South America, 
 and this current is known as the equatorial current. 
 
 The Bight of Biafra, in the Gulf of Guinea, may be 
 considered the head waters of this equatorial current, 
 which runs all the way from about eighteen to twenty- 
 five miles every twenty-four hours, until it strikes the 
 South American coast. 
 
 This equatorial current, or stream, is a shallow river 
 of warm water, not deeper than three hundred feet. 
 The temperature of the water is between 75 and 80 
 Fahrenheit at the surface, and not more than 60 at 
 the depth of six hundred feet, the deeper water not 
 being so heated by the sun, of course, as the surface 
 water. Besides, from below there is a continual rising 
 or flow of cold polar water. 
 
 This equatorial current strikes the American coast 
 about Cape St. Roque, some three hundred miles 
 south of the equator. The obstruction of the land 
 
 30 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 divides the current into two parts, one going south- 
 ward, but the greater volume of water going northward, 
 with great increase of velocity, for the simple reason 
 that any current, even in a river, that finds an obstruc- 
 tion, runs more rapidly along the obstruction. So the 
 equatorial current, which presses northward along the 
 coast from Cape St. Roque and the Orinoco River, 
 flows with great rapidity from sixty to eighty miles in 
 twenty-four hours. Then it passes the Caribbean Sea, 
 turns westward, and follows the shores of the Gulf of 
 Mexico at the rate of from thirty to sixty miles a day. 
 
 The Gulf Stream flows along the American coast, 
 from which it is separated by a cold current from the 
 icy north, forming what might be called a wide band 
 separating the Gulf Stream from our shores. We 
 ought to be thankful to this cold-water band, other- 
 wise our climate would be much warmer. 
 
 Now we were sailing towards the west coast of 
 Africa, the innermost part of the Gulf of Guinea, 
 situated somewhat near the equator. At last came the 
 day when we were not more than one hundred and 
 fifty miles from the mainland. In the afternoon of 
 that day a dark, compact mass rose from the east, over 
 the horizon, and became larger and larger, in spite of 
 the contrary winds that struck against it. There was 
 a contest between the two, and one had to get the mas- 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 tery over the other. The captain was watching 
 anxiously that part of the horizon. Finally he turned 
 to me and said : cc A tornado is going to burst upon us 
 very soon. We must be ready when it strikes us." 
 So all the sails were furled. The muttering of the 
 thunder could be heard. The wind had died away, 
 and the calm was the forerunner of the tornado. 
 
 In the meantime a grayish spot rose from the hori- 
 zon under the black mass. Soon after, this great spot 
 rose with great rapidity, driving and breaking the dark 
 mass into black clouds that flew wildly in every direc- 
 tion. The tornado was coming. We saw the sea 
 enveloped with spray, and in an instant it was upon 
 us. Fortunately we were ready. The wind blew 
 with terrific force, our little vessel careened over, the 
 gunwales on the starboard side almost reaching the 
 sea. The force of the wind was so great that it pre- 
 vented the sea from rising into big waves. 
 
 Then came rain, lightning, and thunder. Never in 
 my life before had I heard such thunder, or seen such 
 vivid lightning, or such pouring rain. I was constantly 
 afraid that we would be struck by lightning, and I 
 had powder enough on board to blow the ship to 
 pieces. Gradually the thunder and lightning moved 
 away from us, and the wind, though strong, moder- 
 ated. By that time it was night, and as dark as pitch. 
 
 32 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 When I awoke in the morning the wind had gone 
 down, and I saw an island covered with forest. After 
 a noon observation we found that it was Princess 
 Island, belonging to Portugal, and situated about one 
 hundred and fifty miles from the coast of Africa. 
 
 Two days after we came in sight of the mainland, 
 and saw the great African equatorial forest as if rising 
 from the sea. Far inland were mountains clad with 
 trees to their very tops. The forest was inhabited by 
 numerous savage tribes who had never seen a white 
 man, and ferocious and strange looking beasts, seen 
 in no other part of the world. In that great forest I 
 was to live, and we skirted the shore until we found a 
 proper anchorage. Then we saw numerous canoes, 
 filled with men paddling towards us. These came on 
 board and inquired if we wanted to barter for ivory 
 with them. They had, they said, a number of big 
 elephants' tusks in their village. I replied that I did 
 not want to trade with them, but would like to stay 
 with them and kill wild beasts and birds, and stuff them, 
 and collect also all the butterflies and insects I could, 
 and keep them, and take these to the country of the 
 white man. We told them to go back and to tell 
 their king that I was coming. One canoe remained 
 behind to take me ashore. 
 
 How strange was that great forest! Not a tree 
 3 33 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 was like those we had at home. Their leaves were 
 different in shape, and some of them were large and 
 beautiful. Many of these trees bore brilliant flowers. 
 Some were as big as the California trees. The foliage 
 was so thick that for long distances in the forest the 
 sun, the moon, the stars, and the sky could not be 
 seen. 
 
 There were hunting and other paths leading from 
 one village to another. The way from one tribe to 
 another was often very tedious. At a certain season 
 of the year there was great thunder, lightning, and 
 rain, preceded by tornadoes. This was called the 
 rainy season. Then there was a time without rain. 
 This was called the dry season, or enomo. 
 
 I had no white man with me and as time went 
 on I learned many languages or dialects, so that I 
 could talk to the people. When I was absent, the 
 kings or other friends took care of the goods I left 
 in their hands. 
 
 34 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 WANDERING THROUGH THE FOREST AND LEARNING 
 THE COUNTRY I REACH KING MOMBO's VILLAGE 
 RECEIVED BY THE KING HIS FEAR OF WITCH- 
 CRAFTVISITS MY DWELLING AND RECEIVES 
 PRESENTS FROM ME. 
 
 \ FTER wandering in that part of the great forest 
 -* ^ north of the equator and seeing many of its 
 wild and fierce inhabitants and hunting and killing 
 many strange animals and birds I came back to the 
 coast and sailed along its shore southward until I 
 came to several large rivers, the Nazareth, the Mexias 
 and the Fernan-Vaz, the Nazareth forty miles, 
 and the Fernan-Vaz seventy miles south of the 
 equator. These rivers pour forth a great quantity 
 of fresh water far out to sea. They flow through the 
 great forest, and their shores are inhabited by many 
 tribes. I lived among them a long while, and was 
 greatly beloved by the people and their chiefs, many 
 of whom became my good friends. Wherever I went 
 I was sure of a hearty welcome. I felt perfectly safe 
 among them. My word was law. I was known all 
 over the land as the Oguizi, or " Spirit." 
 
 35 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Often I used to go all alone in my canoe from one 
 place to another. Strange indeed was the life I led. 
 I loved to roam alone and be by myself, and often I 
 slept in the forest without any companion. It hap- 
 pened that one day I came to a village where I landed 
 and asked the people who had seen my canoe arrive and 
 had come to meet me if the place was the residence of 
 King Mombo for I knew that I had come to that part 
 of the forest where he ruled. They answered that it was 
 and told me to follow them. We walked together 
 through the strange-looking street that made up the vil- 
 lage. The houses were small, built of the bark of 
 trees, each having one door but no windows. 
 
 Back of the houses and between them and the for- 
 est were numerous plantain trees with here and there a 
 banana tree. The leaves of these were very large ; 
 some were over six feet in length and eighteen or 
 twenty inches wide. The plantain is much like a 
 banana, only much larger, and is cooked by the 
 natives when green and used by them as bread is by us 
 at home. I was led to a large building where the 
 people met to discuss subjects of importance. It was 
 simply a roof supported by a number of pillars. A 
 stool made of a single piece of a tree was brought in 
 for me and another one for King Mombo. 
 
 After I was seated, some man went to tell the king 
 
 36 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 that a stranger had come to see him. King Mombo 
 and his people had heard of me, for my reputation 
 had gone far and wide, as I have said, and whoever 
 met me knew from the description they had heard of 
 me that I was the good Oguizi, with long, straight black 
 hair hanging over his shoulders, who did harm to 
 nobody and was the friend of so many people. 
 
 Soon after, I heard the sound of the "kendo" an 
 emblem only worn by chiefs a rude bell of iron in 
 one piece with a long handle of iron also and sounding 
 like a cow-bell. The sound grew louder and louder, 
 until King Mombo stood before me. He was tall 
 and slender ; on his body were several scars from 
 wounds he had received in wars, but he had a kind 
 face, and was gray-headed. Round his neck was a 
 necklace of leopards' teeth and round his waist a belt 
 of leopard skin on which hung a number of amulets 
 or charms called by the people " mondahs." These 
 were to protect him from harm. 
 
 Some of his slaves and several of his wives set 
 before me a number of bunches of plantains, several 
 baskets of sweet potatoes, a goat, several chickens, 
 and nine eggs. These presents showed that I was 
 welcomed. 
 
 After a short pause King Mombo said : " Oguizi, 
 I am very glad you have come to see me. Remain 
 
 37 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 with me a long time. There is plenty of game in the 
 forest, and among my people and slaves are great 
 hunters." 
 
 Looking at his people, he said to them : " Take 
 good care of our Oguizi." Then he shouted aloud : 
 " See how far my name and my fame are known. The 
 Oguizi has come to see me/' and as he said these 
 words he raised his head proudly. The people shouted : 
 " Great indeed is Mombo our king. Great is the 
 Oguizi." The tomtoms made a great noise in 
 honor of my arrival. 
 
 Then King Mombo called three of his wives and 
 six of his slaves, and said to me : " These women are 
 yours ; they will cook for you, get water for you, and 
 keep your house clean. These slaves are yours, and 
 will do what you order them to do. I and my people 
 will all do whatever you wish us to do." 
 
 Then the king's men went to fetch the things I 
 had in my canoe. Among them were presents for the 
 king. 
 
 A house was given to me not far from the one 
 where King Mombo slept. It was divided into two 
 rooms, and there were two beds in one of the rooms. 
 These beds were simply flat surfaces made of the bark 
 of trees, upon which were several pretty mats made by 
 the king's wives. In the evening I went to see King 
 
 38 
 
"When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Mombo, and said to him : " To-morrow morning I 
 will make your heart glad, for I have some presents 
 for you." 
 
 " Not in the morning,'* he replied, " for I do not 
 want my people to see what you are going to give me, 
 for there is much witchcraft in our land, and many are 
 killed by it. Often relatives bewitch those from 
 whom they expect to inherit, and cause their death. 
 Oh," he added, with fierceness in his eyes, " when 
 we find wizards and witches we put them to death." 
 After a pause, he resumed : " Kokolo, Kokolo," 
 (which meant " Please ") " do not tell any one that you 
 gave me presents." Then he took hold of my right 
 foot to add force to his request. Slaves do that to 
 their masters when imploring for their lives, or asking 
 not to be sold. I promised him not to tell, and he 
 gave a great sigh of relief at my words. And as he 
 left me he whispered in my ear, " Wait until it is dark, 
 very dark, to-morrow before you send for me to give 
 m my presents." 
 
 <c It will be very dark when I send for you, King 
 Mombo," I replied, and at my words he shook my 
 hand gratefully. 
 
 In the middle of the night when everybody was 
 asleep I saw in the dark two people entering my hut, 
 and heard in a whisper: "It is I, King Mombo, 
 
 39 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 and my faithful slave Rabolo. I come to get my 
 presents." 
 
 I lighted a torch. It was Mombo. He had not 
 had the patience to wait longer. His face and body 
 were painted in different colors, and he was covered 
 with charms to protect him against witchcraft. I set 
 at his feet two brass kettles, a gun, a big bunch of 
 white beads, three files, two discs of steel with flint for 
 making fire, a red woollen cap, and two looking-glasses. 
 When he saw these presents his face beamed with joy, 
 and after thanking me profusely he and his slave 
 Rabolo left, carrying with them the precious gifts. 
 The king implored me again to tell no one of the 
 things I had given him. 
 
 40 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SUPERSTITIONS OF KING MOMBO VISITS TO THE 
 HOUSE OF HIS IDOLS AND HIS ANCESTORS A 
 STRANGE MEAL FOLLOWED BY A STRANGE DANCE. 
 
 POOR King Mombo was, you will see, excessively 
 superstitious. He was often unhappy on that 
 account. He was thinking almost all the time that 
 some of his relations wanted to bewitch him in order 
 to inherit his wealth, which was composed chiefly of 
 wives and slaves. He wore what he firmly believed 
 to be most potent " mondahs," charms against witch- 
 craft and evil spirits. He had a little idol, having 
 the shape of a woman, called Makaylay, which he 
 always carried with him wherever he went. At night 
 he kept her by his side. 
 
 He was also a great believer in dreams, for these 
 foretold to him what was to happen, and forewarned 
 him of dangers to come. Often after something had 
 taken place he would say to his people that he had 
 had a dream in which the spirits of his ancestors came 
 to him and told him of what was about to happen. 
 He was most particular about his food. His for- 
 bidden food was buffalo meat, and no amount of gifts 
 on my part could have tempted him to eat buffalo. 
 
 41 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Here and there throughout the village were sacred 
 houses, where spirits came to dwell during the night, 
 while others had been built for idols. 
 
 One day King Mombo and I entered the house of 
 Abamboo, one of the wandering spirits in which they 
 believe. The face of the king showed that he was 
 inspired with deep reverence. A little fire was burn- 
 ing. On one side was a bed for Abamboo to sleep 
 on when he came to visit the village at night. 
 
 "Abamboo is a spirit which can send to men a 
 great deal of evil," said Mombo. " We have to do a 
 great many things to propitiate his good will. He 
 lives in many places, especially among the skeletons 
 of the dead. He walks through the country, and if 
 he is angry at any one he causes him to fall sick, and 
 often condemns him to die. We cook food for him. 
 We give him game, plantain, and sugar-cane, which 
 we deposit in the forest." 
 
 Next we entered the house where Pangeo and his 
 wife Aleha dwelt. Pangeo was about two feet high. 
 His tongue was of iron, sharp-pointed and came out 
 about two inches from his mouth. His eyes were of 
 iron ; his legs were short and he had a very big 
 stomach ; his body was painted of different colors. 
 
 Aleha was of the same size. Her eyes were made of 
 pieces of looking-glass. She wore enormous earrings 
 
 42 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 of brass, had bracelets of brass, and her ankles were 
 adorned with brass rings. She wore a necklace of cowry 
 shells. King Mombo stood in awe before the idol ; 
 he spoke to Pangeo and told him how much he loved 
 him, and then spoke to Aleha, saying the same to her. 
 
 After that, we entered the house of Makambi and 
 Abiala. Makambi was a big idol, about three feet 
 high. He wore a feather headdress and held a spear 
 in his hand which he was ready to throw ; his eyes 
 were carved and painted red. 
 
 Abiala, his wife, held a pistol in her hand which 
 she had taken from her husband, as Mombo said to 
 me in a whisper. 
 
 The king stood before Makambi and Abiala and 
 told them how much he loved them as he had done 
 to Pangeo and Aleha. " You know I love you both," 
 he added in a loud voice. " I bring to you the 
 products of the hunt and of the earth. Take good 
 care of me watch over me." 
 
 After leaving the house of Makambi and Abiala, 
 King Mombo returned to his house and I to mine. 
 
 The head wife of King Mombo was called Ogan- 
 daga ; she was dressed with three strings of beads round 
 her waist, and wore over thirty heavy brass rings on 
 each of her legs. She it was who cooked the food of 
 the king. 
 
 43 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Often Mombo would walk in the street when it was 
 quite dark, and talk about me to his people, and say 
 how much he loved me. Then he would shout aloud, 
 so that all his people could hear: " Chally the 
 Oguizi, I love you. I am your friend. All I have 
 is yours my slaves are yours my plantations are 
 yours my wives are yours my daughters, my 
 sons, and my nephews are yours. You can say to them 
 c Follow me/ and they will all follow you. Oguizi, 
 all my people love you." And when the people heard 
 this, they would shout "Yo yo." ("That is so, 
 that is so.") 
 
 Not far from King Mombo's sleeping-house, and 
 back of it, was a strange little building which was called 
 the Alumbi house. Every time I saw the king enter 
 this place he came out of it with his body painted with 
 ochre of different colors, and his face always looked 
 very thoughtful. When inside I could hear him 
 making loud invocations. One day he came out 
 more daubed than I had ever seen him before. His 
 body was covered with white, red, and yellow. I 
 thought he looked savage and awful. 
 
 My curiosity became very much aroused in regard 
 to the Alumbi house. One day, as King Mombo came 
 out of it I went up to him and said : " King, show me 
 the inside of the Alumbi house." 
 
 44 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 After hearing my words, he looked at me, as if trying 
 to read my thoughts. He remained silent for a little 
 while, and then said : " Oguizi, you can go inside and 
 see for yourself, and I will accompany you." He 
 opened the door ; we entered, and he shut the door 
 behind us. 
 
 What a strange and unexpected sight met my eyes ! 
 Along the walls were large cakes of colored clay. 
 These were black, white, and of different shades of 
 yellow and red. Upon each stood the skull of a man 
 which seemed to look at me and say : " What are you 
 doing in our abode? You do not belong to our race." 
 Mombo marked his body with the ochre of two of the 
 cakes, muttering words I could not understand. Then 
 he said to me in a whisper: "The skulls you see 
 here are those of my kinsmen. They were great and 
 valiant men in their day. It is the custom in our 
 country when a man much greater than all other men 
 dies to cut his head off after his death and then put it 
 on a cake of clay and let it decay there. Then the 
 mass of ochre is kneaded together and dyed and the 
 skull is always kept on the cake that belongs to it. 
 Oh, Oguizi, these skulls belonged to great forefathers of 
 mine. They were never afraid of war. Here on the 
 cake of white clay is the skull of Olenga-Yombee. He 
 died a very old man, and when young he was the 
 
 45 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 greatest warrior of his time. He founded our clan and 
 our tribe. He was the most dreaded by our enemies of 
 all their foes. He burned many villages. His people 
 believed all he said, for he was wise. He had many 
 wives and many slaves, and his c oyana ' [idol] granted 
 him all he asked. He lived about three hundred 
 rainy seasons ago. At that time our tribe was much 
 further inland, towards the country where the sun 
 rises." 
 
 Then, pointing out to me a cake of a deep yellow 
 color, he said : " Oguizi, the skull there is that of 
 Jombouay. He led us through the forest and had 
 many wars, for our ancestors had to fight many tribes 
 who opposed them before coming to this part of the 
 forest where we are now settled." 
 
 When he had finished telling the history of the men 
 whose skulls were before me, he said : cc Oguizi, the 
 spirits of these men are hovering in the air above us ; 
 when I invoke them to protect me and our clan and 
 tribe, they come round us and protect us. They have 
 saved my life many times." 
 
 Then we left the Alumbi house. That evening 
 Mombo walked in the street of the village and invoked 
 the spirits of his ancestors, calling each by name. He 
 invoked especially the spirits of Olenga-Yombee and 
 of Jombouay, saying to them: "Look at the Oguizi; 
 
 46 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 you never saw him during your lives. But Mombo, 
 your kinsman, has him in his village." 
 
 The following day King Mombo came to me and 
 said : " Oguizi I want you to eat with me to-morrow 
 I will have the fattest of my goats killed and some 
 chickens. These will be cooked in fresh palm oil 
 that has just been made." "I will," I replied. 
 Then he called Ogandaga, his head wife, and said to 
 her: " Prepare a meal for to-morrow. Have the fat 
 goat killed and also a few chickens, for the Oguizi and 
 I are going to eat together." When I had accepted the 
 invitation we separated, the king looking happier than 
 usual. 
 
 Little did I know what King Mombo intended to 
 do, and why he had invited me to eat with him, and 
 his reasons for doing so. I will however recount to 
 you now what I was told afterwards. 
 
 The following day, while Ogandaga was cooking 
 our dinner, Mombo went into the Alumbi house and 
 took in his hands the skull of his great ancestor, 
 Olenga-Yombee, and said : " Olenga-Yombee, my 
 great beloved ancestor, see that I make the great 
 Oguizi love me." Then he scraped with a knife a 
 little of the forehead of the skull. The scrapings fell 
 into a small wooden bowl which he had taken with 
 him. He replaced the skull on its own cake of ochre, 
 
 47 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 and went to where his wife was cooking, and told her 
 to go and fetch a bag that was in his sleeping-house. 
 When she had gone he put the scrapings of the skull 
 of Olenga-Yombee into the pot which contained the 
 goat's-meat, stirred it with the wooden spoon that was 
 near by, and went away. 
 
 After a while Ogandaga told us that the meal was 
 ready. The bottom of a canoe put on two mortars 
 made our table ; baskets on which were large leaves 
 were our plates, and cocoanuts cut in two were our 
 glasses ; our fingers were to be our forks. According 
 to the custom of the country, Ogandaga tasted of 
 every dish before our eyes, and drank of the water 
 that was in the jug before we did, and then bade us 
 eat and drink. 
 
 The king and I sat down opposite each other. 
 Then he gave me some of the meat of the goat which 
 had been served in a wooden dish used for the first 
 time. As soon as he saw that I had eaten all I had on 
 my plate he seemed overjoyed, for now he was sure I 
 would love him. 
 
 Then he invoked in a loud voice the spirit of his 
 great ancestor, Olenga-Yombee, and called upon him 
 to make me love him. 
 
 There is a belief amongst the people that after the 
 scraped skull is in the body it turns into the blood of 
 
 48 
 
" The king and I sat down opposite each other " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 that ancestor, which then becomes part of your own 
 blood. Hence you must love the person who is a 
 descendant of the man to whom the skull belonged. 
 
 The whole population of the village was present 
 while we were eating, and shouted : " Great is Mombo, 
 the friend of the Oguizi ! " 
 
 After our meal the king disappeared and went into 
 the Alumbi house. When he came out, his appear- 
 ance had quite changed. Now his body was painted 
 in different colors. He was covered with " mondahs," 
 or charms. He was chewing some of the clay which 
 dyed his lips yellow. Then taking my two hands, he 
 blew the ochre from his mouth upon them until they 
 were entirely covered with it, and invoked the spirits 
 of his ancestors, Kombe-Ratenon-Olenda and Olenga- 
 Yombee, to be my friends, and watch over me. 
 
 That night there was a great dance. Singing and 
 dancing went on together. At times women danced 
 alone, and moved the muscles of their bodies in most 
 ridiculous fashion. At other times men and women 
 danced and sang together. The noise was very great, 
 for there were over twenty tomtoms beating at the 
 same time. 
 
 49 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 BAD LUCK OF MOMBO's VILLAGE ASCRIBED TO WITCH- 
 CRAFTARRIVAL OF A GREAT MEDICINE-MAN 
 HIS INCANTATIONS THE ACCUSED SOLD AS SLAVES. 
 
 THE people had been filled for some time with 
 the fear of witchcraft. Two men had died 
 away from the village ; and, since, they had been un- 
 lucky in fishing and hunting. Certainly all this could 
 not have happened without some one wishing the vil- 
 lage bad luck. A great medicine doctor living far 
 away had been sent for, and had arrived, and the 
 ceremony to find out who were the sorcerers was 
 about to take place. 
 
 One morning King Mombo and all his men as- 
 sembled to listen to the words of the great medicine- 
 man, and were seated cross-legged on the ground 
 around him, all looking excited and with hatred in 
 their eyes. 
 
 The medicine-man, whose reputation for power to 
 find out sorcerers was known all over the country, was 
 extremely ugly to look upon, and was weirdly dressed 
 for the occasion. His teeth were filed sharp to a 
 point. He was tall and slender, and about fifty years 
 
 5 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 old. He had a treacherous and cunning eye. I 
 could tell by his face that he would denounce people 
 as guilty of witchcraft about whom he really knew 
 nothing. His head, chest, and arms were painted with 
 sacred ochre of different colors, likewise his eyelids. 
 He wore around his waist a string of long grass upon 
 which were hung several bells of iron. Near the medi- 
 cine-man was the horn of a buffalo filled up with a sort 
 of black powder made of skins and bones of snakes, 
 dried brains of monkeys, and intestines of rare ani- 
 mals. He held in his hand a wicker rattle filled 
 with snakes' bones, eagles' talons and monkeys' nails, 
 which he shook during his incantations. 
 
 After each incantation the people shouted, " Ou- 
 ganga, tell us who are sorcerers amongst us, so that 
 we may kill them." 
 
 Another man was on the top of a slender tree, call- 
 ing now and then upon Joko, a powerful spirit, and 
 shaking the tree at the same time. 
 
 The medicine-man remained silent for awhile, as if 
 in deep thought ; then he made all kinds of contortions, 
 and muttered unintelligible words. He took a knife 
 and cut his hands in different places. The blood fell 
 into a little wooden vessel, and he looked intently at 
 his own blood, as if trying to find out something ; then 
 he danced, the queer bells round his waist making a 
 
 5' 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 strange sound. The people kept shouting: "Tell 
 us, Ouganga, who are the witches and sorcerers that 
 have brought bad luck to us in the hunt and in fish- 
 ing, who made some of our people sick, and some of 
 our people die ? Ouganga, drink the f mboundou,' 
 then you will be able to tell us who they are." 
 
 Then roots of a tree called the " mboundou " were 
 laid at his feet, and also a wooden bowl filled with 
 water. The ouganga scraped the root of the " mboun- 
 dou " into the water, which turned the color of the root, 
 which was reddish, and then bubbled. He made in- 
 cantations, and then drank the potion. Soon after his 
 countenance changed, his eyes became bloodshot and 
 glared. His veins swelled, and he looked as if he 
 were drunk. Such was the effect of the " mboundou " 
 upon him. 
 
 A man from the village named several of their own 
 people whom they suspected of being sorcerers, and 
 asked the ouganga to say if they were the ones. The 
 ouganga seemed at first to speak incoherently. Then 
 he said : " There are no witches or sorcerers in your own 
 village. The guilty ones are living in another village." 
 
 At these words they shouted with one voice : " Tell 
 us their names and the name of the village, for we 
 want to make war on that village, unless they deliver 
 up the sorcerers to us." 
 
 5 2 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Then the hollow voice of the ouganga was heard 
 saying : " Okabi and Aquailay are those who are sor- 
 cerers. They are full of witchcraft." 
 
 " Death to Okabi and Aquailay ! " shouted the 
 people. 
 
 Okabi and Aquailay lived in a neighboring village, 
 and were well known to all present, and, moreover, 
 whispers charging them with sorcery had been rife 
 for several years. 
 
 That night there was a great war-dance. The 
 people invoked their guardian spirits. The next day 
 they were going to get Okabi and Aquailay and 
 make them stand the "mboundou" trial, and if the 
 people of the village where these two men lived re- 
 fused to deliver them up, then they would make war 
 upon them and take them by force. Not only must 
 the two men be delivered, but indemnity, in the form 
 of slaves, must be given for the mischief, deaths, sick- 
 ness, and bad luck generally these two men were sup- 
 posed to have caused. 
 
 The next day, however, on their formal request, the 
 two men were at once delivered up by their people, who 
 had long suspected them of witchcraft. The brother 
 of Okabi came and talked in his behalf, and finally, 
 after a most eloquent speech, persuaded the people 
 not to kill them, but to sell them as slaves. This 
 
 53 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 was acquiesced in by the leading people of the two 
 towns, and it was arranged that the relatives of the 
 two men should share equally the proceeds of the sale. 
 Both were to pay a certain part of their goods to the 
 families of the men who had died. The accused could 
 have submitted to the ordeal of trial by " mboundou "- 
 drinking which is almost always mortal, except to 
 doctors but they preferred to be sold as slaves. 
 
 54 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 KING MOMBO GIVES ME THE STICK. " OMEMBA " I 
 LEAVE THE VILLAGE ON A HUNTING TRIP PART- 
 ING INJUNCTIONS A HERD OF HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 SOME days after the sorcery trial King Mombo 
 sent for me. 
 
 When I arrived I saw that there were a great many 
 people who had come from many different villages. 
 The king was seated, and bade me sit by his side. 
 He had an old silk hat on his head. His coat was 
 split up the back to let the air in. Then ensued a 
 great silence ; no one dared to speak. 
 
 King Mombo rose. He held a stick in his hand, 
 and said to me : " Oguizi, the stick I hold in my 
 hand is known all over my country as belonging to 
 me, and when I send word anywhere I send it with 
 the messenger. This stick is called c Omemba,' the 
 snake, for it is twisted, and the carved head of a snake 
 is at the top. Whoever carries c Omemba' is my rep- 
 resentative, and my people have to listen to him. 
 Take this stick, and wherever you go carry it with 
 you." 
 
 55 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Then he handed me " Omemba," in the midst of 
 great shouts of approbation from his people and of 
 the beating of the tomtoms. 
 
 " When you leave the country, return c Omemba' to 
 me/* added the king. 
 
 I thanked Mombo for his important gift, and the 
 people dispersed. 
 
 A few days after I had received " Omemba," I 
 went to King Mombo, and said to him, " I am going to 
 leave you soon. I wish to go all alone in a small canoe, 
 so do not be astonished, if, when you awake some 
 morning, you find that I am gone, but I shall not fail, 
 before I leave your country, to bring back c Omemba ' 
 to you, and say good-by." 
 
 Then I prepared my outfit and packed the things I 
 wanted, among them a small round Waterbury clock, 
 a powerful magnet, a music-box, and lots of matches, 
 for these things added much to my power. When 
 the people heard the clock and music-box, they thought 
 they were spirits talking to me, and were full of won- 
 der, and often afraid of them. 
 
 I took some ammunition and fish hooks, for I had to 
 depend on fishing and hunting for my food. I had 
 also some brass rods, and quite a number of bright- 
 colored beads to give away to those who were friendly 
 to me, for I should very soon have become a very 
 
 56 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 poor oguizi if I had had nothing to give them. I 
 also took a frying-pan, some quinine, and salt. 
 
 Among my weapons I had a double-barrelled breech- 
 loading rifle, which I loved better than all my other 
 rifles, for it was the most powerful weapon I had. . I 
 could load it either with steel pointed bullets, or with 
 explosive shells. I had named this rifle " Bulldog." 
 The only fault I found with " Bulldog " was that it 
 was too heavy to carry, for it weighed sixteen pounds, 
 on account of the thickness of the barrels and of its large 
 calibre. " Bulldog " was somewhat short. When I 
 carried it I always had a feeling that I was with 
 my best friend, and one I could rely upon in case 
 of great danger. No matter how huge or fierce the 
 animals I encountered might be, I felt that " Bull- 
 dog " could kill them, for the steel-pointed bullets 
 were large and powerful, and I had found out that they 
 could pierce through four or five inches, and even 
 more, of the hardest wood. So I knew what " Bull- 
 dog " could do. This feeling gave me confidence, 
 and I aimed with greater steadiness, and I knew I had 
 a shot to spare in case of merely wounding an animal. 
 
 "Bulldog" was well known among my native 
 hunters, who looked at it with wonder and superstitious 
 awe. They were always glad when " c Bulldog* was 
 going with us. They used to say, " c Bulldog * never 
 
 57 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 misses, and always brings death in its path. The ele- 
 phants, hippopotami, and all the wild beasts fall 
 dead when hit by the bullets of c Bulldog.' " They 
 knew "Bulldog" among all my other rifles, and 
 there was always great rejoicing among my men when, 
 before our departure, I said to one of them, " Go and 
 fetch c Bulldog/ and carry it until we reach the 
 hunting-ground," or when I carried it myself. " Bull- 
 dog" was so heavy that by the end of the day my 
 shoulders, especially my left one, felt very sore. In 
 the course of time my left shoulder became quite black 
 from the effects of carrying " Bulldog," and other guns. 
 A gun that is quite light to carry the first hour be- 
 comes heavy enough by the end of the day. 
 
 The eve of my departure I called Ogandaga, the 
 head wife of King Mombo, and pointing out a box to 
 her, I said : <c Here is a box which is very precious, 
 and I want you to take care of it. No man or woman 
 must open it neither King Mombo, nor yourself 
 for misfortune will befall whoever opens it. This 
 precious box was of tin, waterproof, and contained 
 the scientific instruments and books necessary to find 
 my latitude and longitude, also the days of the week, 
 of the month, the exact time in Greenwich or 
 Washington, and wherever I was. In that box were 
 also four watches, which had been made especially for 
 
 58 
 
"Then he banded me ^Omemba ' " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 use in astronomical observations. Ogandaga said that 
 she would take great care of the precious box, and 
 then, pointing out to her all the boxes containing my 
 goods, I said : " These are also under your care." I 
 gave her a beautiful necklace of large beads, for which 
 she thanked me, and went away, and soon after re- 
 turned with a slave to take the precious box to her 
 house. 
 
 Then I called King Mombo, and said to him : "All 
 my things that you see here I leave in care of Ogan- 
 daga.'* "They are safe," he replied. 
 
 That evening the king walked from one end of the 
 village to the other, and shouted, so that everybody 
 could hear : " The Oguizi will soon leave us for a 
 while. I and Ogandaga will take care of his things 
 during his absence. Let no one ever dare to touch 
 them, and if any one tries to take any of them, he 
 will have his head cut off." 
 
 The people answered : " He is our Oguizi. His 
 things are safe, and would be even if we were not 
 threatened with having our heads cut off." 
 
 Towards four o'clock in the morning, by moonlight, 
 and when every one was asleep, I carried my outfit 
 to a small canoe made of the trunk of a tree, and 
 departed, paddling along the shore of the river. Just 
 at daylight I heard the grunt of the hippopotami. 
 
 59 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 These animals are called river horses, because their 
 heads in a certain profile look very much like that of 
 a horse. 
 
 At the sight of my canoe they gave a peculiar grunt 
 and disappeared under the water and reappeared some- 
 where else, and did this several times. At times they 
 rose so near me that I was afraid they would rise right 
 under my canoe and overturn it. Then they might 
 come and attack me in the water, which certainly 
 would have been the end of me. Further on I met 
 several other herds, but kept quite out of their way. 
 
 Leaving the hippopotami behind me I continued 
 my way, when suddenly I thought I heard the sound 
 of paddles and of human voices. I pulled my canoe 
 as fast as I could among the thick reeds which lined 
 the banks of the river, and was soon out of sight. 
 I was hardly there when I thought of crocodiles. It 
 was just the spot for them, for the river was here slug- 
 gish and with muddy banks. I felt very uncomforta- 
 ble, for my canoe was not so very much above 
 water and I might be attacked by a crocodile, hid- 
 ing among the reeds. They are very voracious when 
 hungry. 
 
 The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe 
 through a small opening. I counted twenty paddlers 
 and saw three captives fettered with chains round 
 
 60 
 
"The voices came nearer and I saw a large canoe" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 their necks. They were evidently slaves that came 
 from some tribes further up the river. I waited 
 a while and when I thought the canoe was out of 
 sight I left my hidingplace. 
 
 I paddled close to the shore, often under the over- 
 hanging branches of the trees. I began to notice that 
 a large eagle was following me, soaring above my 
 head. Not knowing exactly what the eagle intended 
 to do, and becoming suspicious that the big bird of 
 prey might perhaps pounce upon me and tear my 
 eyes out, I stopped, put my shot-gun to my shoulder 
 and, as the great bird soared over my head, I fired. 
 The eagle uttered a scream, then plunged downward 
 and fell into the water near me. I took his talons 
 as a trophy. 
 
 Ere-long it became so hot that I filled my panama 
 hat with green leaves and dipped it now and then into 
 the water to keep my head cool. Further along the 
 heat became so great that I hauled my canoe ashore 
 to rest in the shade of the forest. I found a rivulet 
 of clear water close by, and there I lighted a fire and 
 roasted two plantains and a part of a monkey King 
 Mombo had given me. Then I lay under a tree and 
 soon after fell asleep with " Bulldog " in my arms. 
 When I awoke I looked at my watch it was three 
 o'clock. Soon after, I was paddling again. I was so 
 
 61 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 interested in looking round that the time passed 
 quickly. The height of the sun warned me that in 
 about one hour more it would be sunset, and dark 
 shortly afterwards, for under or near the equator the 
 days and the nights are about equal, and it is nearly 
 twelve hours between sunrise and sunset. 
 
 A short time after I saw a few plantain trees on the 
 shore of a small creek. I paddled in their direction, 
 when, a little further on, hundreds of plantain trees 
 came in sight then I saw a path through them, 
 and hauling my canoe by its side, I landed, taking 
 " Omemba " and " Bulldog " with me. 
 
 62 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 SOUNDS OF HUMAN VOICES I ENCOUNTER REGUNDO 
 AND HIS WIFE, SLAVES OF KING MOMBO OTHER 
 SLAVES HUNTERS AND WARRIORS OF MOMBO. 
 
 T FOLLOWED the path. I had hardly walked 
 * fifteen steps when I heard the sound of an axe 
 some one evidently was chopping wood. The path 
 was a well beaten one, showing that many people 
 passed over it. The sound made by the axe became 
 louder and louder as I advanced inland. Then I 
 heard human voices, and stopped to listen. After 
 a while I found that two people were talking to each 
 other, but I was too far away to hear the language 
 they spoke. I wondered if these two people would 
 be friendly, or would run away at sight of me. 
 
 I advanced cautiously, and soon saw the roof of a 
 house, then the whole house, which had a veranda ; and 
 under the veranda were a man and a woman talking 
 to each other. The house was built of the bark of 
 trees. The man was gray-headed, the woman likewise ; 
 they were almost naked and only wore a little strip of 
 soft bark round their loins. 
 
 63 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I appeared suddenly before them, so that they did 
 not even have time to rise. Both looked at me, ap- 
 pearing dumbfounded. They tried to get up, but fear 
 had paralyzed both and they could not rise. I showed 
 to them " Omemba, " the stick of King Mombo, which 
 they recognized at once. Then I saluted them in the 
 Commi language by saying, "Mbolo." They an- 
 swered, " A-ee," and returned the salutation by saying 
 "Mbolo," and I answered " A-ee." This is the mode 
 of salutation in King Mombo's country. 
 
 The sight of "Omemba" had somewhat calmed 
 their fears. I saw by their appearance that they were 
 slaves, for both had their front teeth filed to a point. 
 The Commi people do not file theirs these two 
 people came evidently from a far country. The man 
 said to me, in the Commi language, " Both my wife 
 and I are slaves of King Mombo, and many more 
 slaves owned by him are in the neighborhood, on dif- 
 ferent plantations." 
 
 His wife went inside of her house and brought me 
 out a stool and the tail of an elephant to kill the flies 
 which bothered me, and they both bade me welcome 
 and asked me to stay with them. 
 
 Strange indeed was the appearance of Regundo, for 
 such was the man's name. One side of his face was 
 painted with red ochre, the other with white ; a broad 
 
 64 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 yellow stripe adorned the middle of his chest ; the cir- 
 cuits of his eyes were also daubed with color. In the 
 middle of his forehead was a round, white spot. He 
 had evidently just made his toilet, for the colors 
 looked fresh. He was also covered with charms or 
 "mondahs." His wife's face was also painted. She 
 wore large iron rings in her ears. 
 
 On the roof of Regundo's house were skulls of an- 
 telopes with their horns, skulls of wild boars, leopards, 
 monkeys, and other animals, evidently apes, unknown 
 to me, but the heads of which resembled, somewhat, 
 human heads. Six large elephants' skulls were lying 
 in front of the veranda under which hung in a line 
 sixty-three elephants' tails. 
 
 As I was looking at them, Regundo said, " These are 
 the tails of the elephants I have killed. I have been a 
 great hunter all my life, but now I have given up 
 hunting, and I send but very little game to my master, 
 King Mombo. But there are hunters here who 
 are younger than I am, and who go much into the 
 forest in search of elephants and other game." 
 
 While Regundo was talking his wife went away, 
 but soon returned with a chicken that was a kind of 
 bantam, tied by the legs, a basket of sweet potatoes, 
 a bunch of plantains, and four eggs, and laid these at 
 my feet. My talking to them in a language they 
 5 65 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 could understand, and the sight of " Omemba," had 
 reconciled them to me. They had also heard, before 
 I came, that I was a great friend of King Mombo. 
 
 I looked round. I saw, at a little distance, a num- 
 ber of small houses together, also built of the bark of 
 trees. As soon as Regundo saw me looking at them 
 he said: "Those are houses of slaves belonging to 
 King Mombo. He has many slaves ; some of them 
 are old, and he has inherited them from one of his 
 brothers." 
 
 He had hardly uttered these words when I saw a 
 number of men and women coming towards the 
 houses. The women carried heavy bunches of plan- 
 tains, or baskets filled with manioc roots. Most of 
 the men had axes with them, and were returning from 
 the forest, where they had been felling trees for new 
 plantations. 
 
 " Those people are the slaves of King Mombo," 
 said Regundo. " There are others that live further 
 on in the forest. The brothers of the king, and some 
 of his people, also have plantations and slaves not very 
 far from here, higher up the river and in the forest." 
 
 I went towards them, and when they saw me they 
 stood still. I raised " Omemba," which they recog- 
 nized at once as the stick of King Mombo, their mas- 
 ter, and which reassured them. 
 
 66 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 These slaves, from their appearance, seemed to be- 
 long to many different tribes. Some belonged to 
 tribes which filed their front teeth sharp to a point. 
 Others had their four upper and lower front teeth 
 pulled, this being considered beautiful among some 
 tribes. Some had two upper middle front teeth some- 
 what filed in the middle. They also varied in the color 
 of their skins ; some were quite black, others less so, 
 and some dark-brown color. Many shaved their eye- 
 brows, and two women wore rings in their noses. 
 
 They were all more or less tattooed. This form of 
 adornment among the Africans is not done without 
 pain ; the skin is cut in such a manner that it is made 
 to stand up in small ridges. 
 
 Regundo soon rejoined me, and told the slaves that 
 the great Oguizi, of whom they had heard, was before 
 them. 
 
 When I was talking to these slaves, four or five 
 men made their appearance. They looked like great 
 warriors. They carried with them long, single- 
 barrelled flint-lock guns, of heavy calibre the only 
 kind of guns the natives like. They are called 
 " tower guns," and are made in England especially 
 for the West African trade. 
 
 They were followed by queer-looking hunting dogs, 
 which at once began to bark furiously at me. 
 
 67 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 These dogs seemed half starved, they were so lean. 
 They had short hair, straight ears, a somewhat elon- 
 gated muzzle, with powerful jaws and sharp teeth. 
 Their tails were curly, a sign of their being thorough- 
 bred. They were not large, and had rather long legs 
 for their size. They were yellow and white, or black 
 and white. Some were almost all of one color. 
 
 Then Regundo, pointing to one of these four men, 
 said : " This man is Oshoria ; he is the greatest hunter 
 among us all, and knows not what fear is. He hunts 
 all the time, and spends many days in the forest by 
 himself; and when he finds no game he has to feed 
 on berries, nuts, and fruit. He knows every part of 
 the forest for a long way." 
 
 I looked at Oshoria. He was a fine-looking man, 
 about five feet seven in height, well proportioned, with 
 broad chest, and strong, muscular arms and legs, and 
 small feet. He had broad, thick lips, deep, searching, 
 and suspicious-looking eyes, which seemed to look all 
 round at the same time, as if expecting danger every- 
 where, and he had a very determined face. He was 
 not much tattooed. His teeth were not filed. After 
 eying him I said to myself: "Regundo is right. 
 The whole appearance of Oshoria shows that he is 
 a cool and brave man, who knows not what fear is." 
 
 Then Regundo, pointing out three other men, 
 
 68 
 
He had a very determined face" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 who had come with Oshoria, said to me : " These 
 three men are great hunters also, and the equal of 
 Oshoria in fearlessness, but are not quite as successful 
 in killing game. Their names are Ogoola, Ngola, and 
 Quabi. When King Mombo makes war, he always 
 calls upon these four men to follow him, and they are 
 always in his canoe." 
 
 I looked at Ngola. He was tall, very thin, of red- 
 dish-black color, with piercing eyes and a bold, daring 
 countenance. The scars on his body showed that he 
 had followed King Mombo in war. One cut on one 
 of his shoulders had been a terrible one, judging from 
 the scar, and had been inflicted by a heavy machete. 
 
 Quabi was thick and short, the counterpart of 
 Ngola, and was very black. No negro could have 
 been blacker. He was blue-black. He also had 
 scars on his body from the wounds he had received 
 when he followed King Mombo in warfare. He 
 came from a far country and had been sold by his 
 relations when very young, so he had forgotten the 
 language of his people. By merely looking at him 
 one could see that he was brave. 
 
 Ogoola was of medium height, with a bold counte- 
 nance, a real fighting chin ; his eyes like those of 
 Oshoria seemed to look all around at the same time in 
 the same wandering and restless way. No scars were 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 to be seen on his body, for he was so quick of motion 
 and so expert with his shield that no spears, arrows, or 
 bullets had ever been able to strike him. So quick 
 were his eyes when watching the motions of his an- 
 tagonist, that he seemed always to guess the time when 
 a spear was thrown or an arrow shot or a gun fired 
 at him. Then he would either jump sideways, or bend 
 low, or even fall on the ground to escape the shot. He 
 attributed his escape to a powerful " mondah," or 
 charm, in which he had great faith. He was of medium 
 height, and he had come into the possession of King 
 Mombo when a boy. 
 
 " No leopard," said Regundo to me, cc can approach 
 its prey as these hunters can the wild beasts. They 
 are the bravest and best hunters of King Mombo." 
 
 I called these four fierce-looking fellows to me and 
 shook hands with them. They looked shyly at me, 
 for they had never seen a white man before, though 
 Regundo had. I gave each of them a steel disc and 
 a flint, to make fire with, with which they were 
 delighted. When I returned to Regundo's house his 
 wife had prepared a meal for me of boiled antelope 
 meat and plantains. In the meantime she had made 
 ready the little house that I was to occupy while with 
 them. It was quite small, about nine feet long and 
 six feet wide. The walls, made of bark, were about 
 
 70 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 five feet in height, the top of the roof about eight feet, 
 and made of palm leaves; the sticks supporting the 
 leaves were close together and made very secure to 
 prevent leopards at night getting through and seizing 
 the inmates in their sleep. The door was made of 
 the bottom of an old canoe. 
 
 Being tired, I bade good-night to Regundo, who 
 handed me a lighted torch, and after getting inside I 
 looked carefully all round and under the bed to see if 
 there were snakes, scorpions, or centipedes about. 
 Then I lay down to sleep without undressing, wearing 
 my shoes. I took my two revolvers from my belt 
 and put them under my head, and laid " Bulldog " 
 by my side. Such was the way I went to sleep 
 almost every night, and even without fearing danger, 
 prudence made me do so. In that way I was ready 
 for a fight at once in case of any sudden emergency. 
 As I fell asleep I heard the voice of Regundo calling 
 on the spirits of his ancestors. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 WONDER OF THE NATIVES AT MY WATERBURY CLOCK, 
 MAGNET, MATCHES AND MUSIC-BOX CHARACTER 
 OF MOMBO'S PLANTATION. 
 
 following morning I got up before any one, 
 -*- and immediately wound my Waterbury clock 
 and hung it on the wall under the veranda. " Tick- 
 tock," it went. Close to it I put my music-box, 
 which immediately began to play, my magnet, and a 
 box of matches. Then I went back into my little 
 house and kept quiet there watching through a crack 
 to see what would happen outside. 
 
 After a while Regundo came out. The noise of 
 the clock and of the music-box attracted his attention. 
 He looked at them with wonder, but did not dare to 
 approach them. He went to his house and soon 
 came back with his wife, and the two kept looking and 
 listening to the music and the tick of the clock. Soon 
 Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola and Quabi made their 
 appearance and these warriors, who had faced death 
 so many times without fear, were afraid. They all 
 remained silent and spellbound before the Waterbury 
 clock and the music-box. 
 
 72 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I came out and we saluted each other. Regundo, 
 pointing with his finger to the clock, said : " Oguizi, 
 are there many spirits in this box ? Are they speak- 
 ing to you now, or are they talking among them- 
 selves?" 
 
 I did not answer, but laughed at his question. Then 
 they all went away. 
 
 It is wonderful how fast news travels in the forest, 
 and the news of my arrival, and of the clock, the music- 
 box, and the matches had spread far and wide, and 
 all the slaves of King Mombo, of his brothers, and of 
 other great men of the neighborhood came in the 
 afternoon to see the Oguizi and the wonderful things 
 he had with him. 
 
 Quite a change had taken place in the appearance 
 of all the women from the day before. They had 
 made their toilet in order to appear beautiful before 
 me. They had rubbed their bodies with a compound 
 called " yombo," composed of oil and the powder 
 made from a kind of odoriferous red wood which made 
 their bodies fragrant ; each wore a string of beads 
 round her waist; their hair was filled with little clay- 
 balls of the size of peas mixed with " yombo." They 
 were more or less tattooed. Some had tattooing peculiar 
 to the tribe to which they belonged, which was thought 
 most beautiful among the people who used it. Some 
 
 73 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 had two broad stripes made of a mass of small spots 
 drawn from the back of the neck, joining another 
 broad stripe imitating a belt which went round their 
 waists. Others had different figures on their stomachs, 
 others broad stripes starting from their shoulders, 
 forming a triangle with the apex downward. 
 
 Each woman brought a present of food to me, 
 a bunch of plantains, or a chicken, a basket of sweet 
 potatoes, of peanuts, or eggs. I thanked them for 
 their gifts and gave to each a string of beads to put 
 round her waist. Then Regundo gave me a goat. 
 Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, laid before me a 
 huge python about eighteen feet long, two monkeys, a 
 gazelle they had killed in the morning, and said, 
 "Oguizi, eat those." And the crowd shouted, " You 
 shall never be hungry while you are with us." 
 
 Suddenly a man I had not seen before made his 
 appearance. I noticed that the people looked upon 
 him with reverence. He was entirely covered with 
 charms, and his body was painted in different colors. 
 He was old, tall, very dark, his teeth had been filed to 
 a point. His body was tattooed all over with strange 
 figures of beasts and men. His name was Angooka, 
 and he was a great medicine-man who had the reputa- 
 tion of making most powerful charms by incantations. 
 He made " mondahs " to protect men against witch- 
 
 74 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 craft, and to make them invulnerable against spears, 
 arrows, or bullets ; others of his " mondahs " were 
 supposed to give long life, and luck in hunting and 
 fishing. When men started for warlike or hunting 
 expeditions, they would always send for Angooka 
 beforehand, and after numerous incantations he would 
 tell whether they should go or not. Above all he 
 could find out who were sorcerers or witches. 
 
 Angooka, who was on one of his plantations, had 
 come with his slaves to see the Oguizi. The first thing 
 he did was to look at the clock and music-box and 
 listen to them ; but after all, though a great medicine- 
 man, he was not braver than the rest of the people on 
 this occasion and he would not come near the clock 
 or music-box. 
 
 To all the natives the clock and music-box were 
 supernatural things far above their idols ; spirits dwelt 
 there talking to me in a language that was very pecu- 
 liar and that nobody but I could understand. I 
 did not wonder at their wonder, for they never had seen 
 a clock or music-box in their lives. How could such 
 noise come out unless there were life inside ? 
 
 Raising my voice, I said : " Men and women look 
 at me/' Then I took my box of matches, and lighted 
 one before them. A wild shout was uttered by all at 
 the same time. They did not seem to believe their 
 
 75 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 own eyes. I shouted again, " Look at me." Then 
 came a profound silence. I lighted another match. 
 Another shout of astonishment. Then with one voice 
 they cried, " Great indeed is our Oguizi, the friend of 
 King Mombo." 
 
 Then I took my magnet, and I told Regundo to 
 give me the small knife he had by his side. He did 
 so. I placed it next the magnet where it held fast. 
 Another wild shout of wonder was the result. Then 
 I told Ashoonga, Regundo's wife, to bring me an iron 
 needle, one of their own make. Then they saw the 
 needle hang to the magnet without falling, and as 
 I put the needle upon the stool, upon which I had 
 been seated, they saw the needle fly to the magnet. 
 There was a great silence during this exhibition of the 
 power of the magnet. Then rose a mighty shout from 
 the throats of all, even from Angooka, the great 
 medicine-man. 
 
 I did not want Angooka to be jealous, so I made 
 friends with him and presented him with five matches. 
 In his eyes it was a very great gift, for which he 
 thanked me and then he invited me to come to his 
 plantation. Then I called Regundo and Oshoria, 
 and told them to fill their pipes with tobacco, which 
 they did. " Put them in your mouths, I will light them 
 with this," I said to them, showing them a match at the 
 
 76 
 
I 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 same time. As they seemed afraid, I said, " Be with- 
 out fear, for I, the Oguizi, am your friend." 
 
 I lighted a match, put it over the pipe of Regundo 
 and ordered him to smoke. When they saw the smoke 
 coming out of the pipe, a tremendous shout rose. 
 There was no mistake, their eyes did not deceive 
 them ; it was real fire. Then Oshoria wanted his pipe 
 lighted also and after him nearly all the men and 
 women filled their pipes and asked me to light theirs 
 for them also. I lighted over fifty pipes. 
 
 After this I called the great medicine-man, and tak- 
 ing my watch out of my pocket held it to his ear. 
 He jumped when he heard it tick, and shouted his 
 astonishment. Then I went into my little house and 
 came out with " Omemba," the stick of King Mombo, 
 and at its sight they all shouted " We will obey you." 
 The penalty for any man taking " Omemba " with- 
 out its being given to him by King Mombo was death. 
 
 The hunters and I became good friends at once, and 
 almost every evening some of them came to see me. 
 One evening as I was seated by a blazing fire which 
 threw its light around us, I said to those about me, 
 " Tell me how you travel and how you go hunting in 
 this great forest." Regundo got up and replied, "In 
 the forest there are many paths. These lead from one 
 village to another, or from one tribe to another, or to 
 
 77 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the plantations. Among many tribes the paths used 
 as highways of communication have to pass through 
 the villages, and if one wishes to avoid those villages 
 he has to go through the forest until he gets by. 
 There are many hunting paths. These are not easy 
 to follow, for they are little used, and often they are 
 very intricate, and it is difficult to find the way back. 
 There are also paths used to mislead people. Often 
 these end abruptly in the forest, just as hunting 
 paths do." 
 
 78 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 i 
 
 KING MOMBO'S PLANTATION WORK OF THE SLAVES 
 IN CLEARING AND CULTIVATING THE FOREST 
 STRANGE VILLAGE OF THE SLAVES HOUSES OF THE 
 SPIRITS REGUNDO'S ACCOUNT OF WITCHCRAFT AND 
 ITS PUNISHMENT OVENGUA. 
 
 IN the midst of this forest, far away from their 
 master, lived these slaves of King Mombo, and 
 none tried to escape, because they were sure to be 
 caught by the people of some other tribes, and be- 
 come the slaves of their captors, and having a good 
 master they knew that it was better for them to be 
 under his protection. 
 
 The plantains or cassava or manioc fields were 
 scattered all over the forest. One day, as Regundo 
 and I were seated together, he said, " I am an old man. 
 I rule over the slaves of King Mombo, and tell them 
 what to do on the plantation. My wife and I are 
 Apinjis, and I remember that we passed through 
 several tribes coming down a big river, changing 
 masters at different times until we came to King 
 Mombo. But that was long ago ; many rainy sea- 
 sons have passed away since, for I was then a boy and 
 now I am gray-headed." 
 
 79 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 The slaves had a great deal to do to clear the forest. 
 These clearings were in large patches. In some the 
 trees had been cut and burned and only the huge 
 trunks were standing. Thousands of plantain trees 
 had been planted. In some patches or fields the 
 plantain trees were large and bore heavy bunches, 
 some bunches weighing over one hundred and fifty 
 pounds each. In other patches the plantain trees 
 were on the point of bearing ; in others the trees were 
 smaller. In a word, the plantations or patches were 
 so arranged as to bear fruit all the year round. The 
 plantain tree, like the banana tree, bears only one 
 bunch and then dies. During its life several shoots 
 spring from the ground from the base of the trunk, and 
 these are transplanted and in time bear fruit. No two 
 crops are gathered on the same spot, for the bunches 
 become quite small. So new parts of the forest have 
 to be constantly cleared for new plantations. 
 
 There were also large fields of cassava or manioc. 
 The manioc yields a large return. It is cultivated by 
 cuttings, and one little stem is stuck carelessly into the 
 ground, and produces in a season two or three large 
 roots of the size of a yam. The natives boil the 
 roots. When taken from the ground, they are very 
 poisonous and have to be laid in running streams from 
 three to five days before being eaten. Near the dwell- 
 So 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 ings were large patches of ginger, of sweet potatoes, 
 of yams, Indian corn, tobacco, peanuts, and wild 
 hemp which the natives smoke. The ground in 
 many places was covered with squashes and gourds of 
 different sizes and shapes. There were vines running 
 in every direction. The gourds were used as water 
 vessels, or to hold palm oil and other kinds of vege- 
 table oils made from the nuts of the forest. 
 
 These fields were cultivated by the women. Numer- 
 ous lime trees, covered with limes of different sizes 
 were to be seen in different directions. There were 
 many plants covered with small red peppers. 
 
 Almost every day one or two canoes were loaded 
 with the products of the plantations, and with game, 
 and were despatched to King Mombo. 
 
 Not far from Regundo's house was the sacred or 
 holy tree. It was a kind of india-rubber tree, which 
 had grown to its present size from a cutting Regundo 
 had planted years before. The people believed that 
 as long as the tree flourished the place where they 
 lived was a good one for their settlement ; but if the 
 tree were to die it would be a sign that the spot had 
 become unlucky, and that witchcraft had taken pos- 
 session of the place. If the cutting when planted dies, 
 it is an omen that the place chosen will not be a lucky 
 one and in that case the place is abandoned at once. 
 6 81 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 As usual on such occasions, a powerful charm or 
 " mondah " had been buried by the medicine doctor, 
 with many incantations to keep witchcraft away from 
 the settlement. 
 
 "The c mondah ' that is buried there," said Regundo, 
 "was made of three skulls of chimpanzees, five heads of 
 monkeys, three heads of snakes, one leopard's skull, the 
 talons of several eagles, and charms made by the medi- 
 cine doctor, of which nobody but he knew the compo- 
 sition. Under the gate or arch through which you 
 passed when you came, another powerful 'mondah' was 
 buried by another great medicine man, who had come 
 from a far country and had been sold to King Mombo. 
 He is now dead, but the power of the c mondah ' he 
 made, and which is buried there, is very great." 
 
 Regundo had implicit faith in the powers of these 
 two "mondahs " under the arch and by the india-rubber 
 tree, for he and his wife had always been well since he 
 had settled on that spot. 
 
 Not far from Regundo's house were several little 
 houses, standing by themselves, and not big enough 
 for human beings to live in. Calling Regundo, I asked 
 him what these houses were for? He answered with a 
 great deal of solemnity "The nearest one to us, which 
 is also the largest, is the house of Okookoo, a great 
 spirit; the second is that of Abamboo, called also 
 
 82 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Jockoo by some of the slaves ; the third one is that of 
 Mbuiri, another spirit ; and the fourth is the great and 
 powerful idol Makambi, who watches over us and 
 often talks to us during the night." 
 
 On our way back to his house Regundo said : 
 " Oguizi, we all dread Ovengua." 
 
 "Who is Ovengua, and to what tribe does he be- 
 long ? " I asked. 
 
 " Oh," replied Regundo, " if he were a man I should 
 not be afraid of him, for I am afraid of no man when 
 I have my gun with me. He is a spirit, and we dread 
 him very much. He is a great catcher of men. He 
 wanders incessantly through the forest, seeking always 
 to kill men. We never see again those who are caught 
 by him. By day he lives in a dark cavern, but at 
 night he roams freely, and sometimes even gets into 
 the body of a man, and beats and kills all those who 
 come out in the dark. When Ovengua gets into the 
 body of a man, that man must be killed and his body 
 burned to ashes not a single piece of bone must 
 remain, lest a new Ovengua arise from it. When a 
 bad man dies, the bones of his body leave the place 
 where he was left, one by one, and become an Oven- 
 gua. There is much witchcraft in our land, Oguizi. 
 You have seen slaves of many different countries 
 here ; witchcraft is in their country also. There is 
 
 83 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 witchcraft in all the countries inhabited by the black 
 man." 
 
 Then, after a pause, he added : " Wizards and 
 witches are the worst kind of people, for they bewitch 
 men and women and cause them no end of sickness 
 and trouble, and make them die. The spirit of witch- 
 craft goes into the body of a man or woman, sometimes 
 against his will ; but often envy and hatred cause men 
 and women to become wizards and witches. These are 
 so cunning that they carry out their evil designs un- 
 known to the people for months, nay, even for years, 
 and keep on killing and giving bad luck to people 
 without detection. They smile and appear friendly 
 to those they want to bewitch, so they may not be 
 suspected. When witchcraft enters people and gets 
 possession of them, it gives them the greatest power 
 for evil and they can do all they wish. They can 
 make one have a long and painful illness, or make one 
 die suddenly. They can also give one bad luck in 
 hunting and fishing, they can bewitch your food and 
 water and the road upon which you pass. Through 
 witchcraft people sometimes appear in the eyes of 
 other people to be animals or birds." Then he 
 shouted, with fierceness in his eyes, " Yes, our medicine 
 doctors can find out wizards and witches after they 
 have drunk the c mboundou.' ' 
 
 84 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " What is the c mboundou ? ' ' I asked Regundo, 
 though I had of course learned about it at the village 
 of King Mombo. 
 
 " It is a tree," he answered, " that Aniambie, the good 
 spirit, has given to us poor black men to enable us to 
 discover those who possess the power of witchcraft. 
 Our doctors drink the 'mboundou ' without dying, and 
 when they are under the influence of it, they have the 
 power of divination, and find out who the sorcerers 
 are. Then those accused of witchcraft appeal to the 
 ' mboundou* to prove their innocence, and they drink it 
 in presence of the people and of the doctor, who drinks 
 it from the same bowl. If the accused falters and falls 
 to the ground, he is a sorcerer, and we kill him and 
 put him on a road where the bashikouay ant is, or 
 we tie him to a tree and make cuts in different parts of 
 his body, and fill these cuts with those little red pep- 
 pers that are so strong, or we burn him slowly, or we 
 cut him to pieces as soon as he falls." 
 
 " But," I said, " Regundo, this is terribly wicked, 
 to make poor creatures die by being eaten slowly by 
 the bashikouay ants, or from the fearful tortures of red 
 peppers in their wounds, or by slow burning. If I 
 were present, I think I would take f Bulldog * with 
 me and shoot the perpetrators of such deeds." 
 
 " But," Regundo replied, with much animation, 
 
 85 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " no punishment is big enough for wizards and witches. 
 Our land is full of them. Still," he added, as if to 
 soften my displeasure and sorrow at such a story, 
 " Oguizi, wizards and witches are almost always sold to 
 the people of other tribes instead of being killed/' 
 
 86 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE NATIVE DOGS HOW THEY HUNT THEIR OWN 
 GAME WHEN THEY ARE NOT FED THEIR WAYS OF 
 ATTACK THEIR USEFULNESS TO THEIR MASTERS 
 IN WAR-TIME OSHORIA'S STORY. 
 
 ONE morning I was surprised not to see a single 
 dog on the plantation, and I wondered where 
 they could have gone. 
 
 " Where are all the dogs ? " I asked Regundo. 
 
 " Oguizi," he replied, " all the dogs have gone to 
 the forest. They act in this way when they are hungry. 
 They found that we had no food for them, and, having 
 gnawed all the bones they had hidden in the ground, 
 they thought it was time to go and hunt by themselves, 
 and feed on what they could catch. Often they spend 
 the whole day hunting, and do not return before 
 sunset, sometimes not until the next day, when they 
 find out an old camp to sleep in. Dogs are very sly. 
 They have a leader ; they understand him, and they 
 understand each other. One by one they leave the 
 plantation and meet outside." 
 
 I had been wondering, since I came, what the poor 
 dogs had to eat, for no one ever gave them food. 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 They seemed to feed only on the bones that were 
 thrown to them. The hungry dogs were always watch- 
 ing the movements of the people, though they appeared 
 as if asleep. But this was only a blind, for as soon as 
 a house was left vacant, they immediately got up and 
 entered the place to see if there were any food to 
 steal. All these native dogs are great thieves, and 
 wherever they have a chance they steal, and it is very 
 seldom they miss the opportunity offered. As soon 
 as they get a bone they go to a lonely spot where they 
 are safe from the other dogs, and when tired of gnawing 
 it, they hide it in the ground, and never forget the spot 
 where they have left it when they want it again. 
 
 In the evening the dogs made their appearance 
 before the houses of their respective masters. They had 
 evidently been unsuccessful in their hunt, and had had 
 nothing to eat, to judge by the pinched appearance of 
 their stomachs. A few pieces of manioc, just enough 
 to prevent them from dying of starvation, were thrown 
 to them, after which they fell asleep, as they were very 
 tired. 
 
 "It is not good for dogs to be too well fed/' 
 said Regundo to me. 
 
 After what Regundo had told me, I watched the 
 dogs every day, and found that, though they belonged 
 to different masters, they formed a pack amongst 
 
 33 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 themselves, and that they understood each other 
 thoroughly I discovered that " Fierce " was their 
 leader. When they wanted to go a hunting together, 
 they did not bark. On the contrary, they were very 
 sly, and looked at each other with a peculiar expression 
 of their eyes, which meant one thing or another to 
 them. 
 
 How " Fierce " had become their leader I could not 
 tell, except that he could attack with fierceness, and could 
 bite savagely. Physically he was the strongest of all 
 the dogs ; hence he ruled over the others. He was 
 always the first to leave, and the others followed. He 
 generally went to see the other dogs before they 
 started. He always led in the attack, and seemed 
 to prevent the other dogs from being too forward in the 
 fray. When he retreated, they retreated, and in some 
 way, unknown to me, each dog was given his proper 
 position in the attack. 
 
 One morning when I got up I found that the dogs 
 had again left, and no one had seen them go away, or 
 could tell whither they had gone. " They are very 
 hungry," said Regundo, " and will continue to go 
 into the forest until they have killed some game, and 
 thus have their hunger satisfied." 
 
 Towards sunset the dogs returned. What a sight 
 they presented ! their muzzles were red with the blood 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 of the animals they had killed and eaten. Some were 
 wounded. One had its ears cut almost in two. An- 
 other had the end of one of its ears bitten off. An- 
 other had the upper lip cut. Three had their backs 
 somewhat lacerated. Suddenly Rogola said, " Where 
 is my dog c Spear ' ? I do not see him among the 
 others ; he must have been killed in his fight with 
 the wild beasts." It was no doubt so, for cc Spear " 
 was never seen again. Regundo gave it as his opinion 
 that the dogs that came in with their ears and lips cut, 
 had fought with monkeys they had surprised on the 
 ground. Those whose backs were lacerated had been 
 wounded by wild boars ; and they had succeeded in 
 killing some animal, and had devoured it ; hence their 
 bloody muzzles. 
 
 Some of the men attended to the wounded dogs, 
 and said that in a few days they would be all right 
 again. The dogs had evidently fed well that day ; 
 soon after their return they all were fast asleep under 
 the piazzas of their masters' houses. Three days 
 afterwards all the dogs that were not wounded dis- 
 appeared again and went to the forest to hunt. They 
 were evidently on the scent of game, for we heard 
 them barking. Regundo took his gun, to be ready, 
 but gradually their bark became fainter and finally 
 died away. The game had escaped them. 
 
 90 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " Sometimes the dogs have great trouble in chasing 
 an antelope/* said Regundo to me, " for these animals 
 are very fleet. Often they tire the dogs ; these then 
 gradually fall behind, and the antelope escapes." 
 
 Early the following morning Oshoria, Ogoola, 
 Ngola, Quabi, and I went after antelopes. The men 
 had their dogs with them. These were soon out of 
 sight, and as we went along on the hunting path, my 
 hunters would call them. After walking about three 
 hours we heard the dogs bark. " They are running 
 after an antelope," said Oshoria. The barking came 
 nearer. Soon it was very close to us and we were 
 watching intently when an antelope, followed closely 
 by the dogs, dashed by us. We fired, and the beauti- 
 ful animal fell dead. We had the greatest trouble to 
 keep the dogs at a distance, and we could not do so 
 until we had cut off the legs and some of the meat of 
 the animal and thrown these to them. 
 
 In the evening, as my hunters and I were seated by 
 a bright fire, they told stories of dogs. 
 
 Oshoria's story, which was the longest, was as fol- 
 lows : " Some dogs are very useful in time of war, for 
 they can find men hiding behind trees, and warn us of 
 their presence. One day, years ago, I was on the war- 
 path. I had then a dog called c ldombe.' He was very 
 cunning, and followed me always in the forest in war 
 
 9' 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 times. I had trained him never to bark when he dis- 
 covered a stranger, but to come back to me. At that 
 time the enemies of King Mombo would lie in wait 
 for his people along the paths in the forest, then 
 attack them suddenly. Sometimes there were two 
 or three together, and sometimes but one. I had gone 
 to reconnoitre, and had Idombe with me. He was 
 scouring the forest in every direction ahead of me as 
 I went along. Sometimes I lost sight of him. Once 
 when he reappeared and came towards me, when he 
 was near enough he looked at me and made me signs 
 to follow him, which I did, for I knew that he had 
 seen something unusual. Suspecting danger, and fear- 
 ing a sudden attack, I walked most carefully, at the 
 same time stopping every few steps and looking around 
 and even up into the trees. Suddenly Idombe barked 
 fiercely, looking in a certain direction, turning towards 
 which I saw a spear fly out and graze Idombe's body. 
 This was followed by an arrow, which imbedded its 
 head in a tree near him. 
 
 c< I looked all around. At first I could see no enemy. 
 Then I saw two men near together lying flat on the 
 ground among the leaves ; one had a bunch of barbed 
 spears by his side, the other a bow and a bag filled 
 with arrows. I came forward, giving the cry of King 
 Mombo. This was immediately answered by the same 
 
 92 
 
Just in time to see a huge male leopard spring upon 
 one of the dogs " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 cry, which meant peace. These two men belonged to 
 a friendly clan, whose warriors had come to side with 
 King Mombo. Poor Idombe had a narrow escape. 
 
 " The next day I went again into the forest with 
 Idombe. I had lost sight of him and wondered where 
 he had gone, when I heard him give a certain cry of 
 pain, as if some one were choking him. I went in 
 that direction and came to a little pool of water where 
 animals came to drink, for there were many foot-prints 
 round it. Then I saw a very large python squeez- 
 ing poor Idombe tightly within its powerful folds. 
 The dog was dead, its head was already in the mouth 
 of the big snake. It is the habit of these big pythons 
 to lie by pools coiled round a tree of the color of 
 their skin and wait for their prey ; then they spring 
 upon their victims and, squeezing them to death, swal- 
 low them slowly. 
 
 " Our dogs are brave and a number of them are not 
 even afraid of leopards. These leopards, when they 
 become man-eaters, like the meat of man better than 
 any other. Some years ago a leopard prowling near 
 our plantation succeeded, to our great sorrow, in kill- 
 ing and devouring two people, a man and a woman. 
 Our idol said that we must go and hunt the leopard. 
 Then, taking our dogs with us, we went in search of 
 him. After a while we heard the fierce barking of 
 
 93 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the dogs. They had discovered the leopard's lair, 
 and we came up just in time to see a huge male 
 leopard spring upon one of the dogs and crush him 
 between his jaws. With fierce glaring eyes he looked 
 at us, then he let the dog drop from his mouth and 
 lay flat on the ground ready to spring on one of us. 
 But we were ready for the beast, and before he had 
 time to spring we fired and killed him on the spot. 
 The belt I wear is from the skin of this leopard." 
 
 When the leopard story was ended it was time to 
 go to sleep, and we all left for our respective quarters 
 bidding each other good night. 
 
 94 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 " DIFFERENT 
 VIANDS OF THE MENU SPEECHES AT THE BANQUET 
 MUSIC AND DANCING A WEIRD FOREST-SCENE 
 IN THE TORCHLIGHT. 
 
 ONE afternoon Regundo said to me : " Oguizi, 
 all the hunters and all the men on the different 
 plantations have gone into the forest to hunt, for we 
 want to give a big feast. They will not return for 
 three days. Some have gone net-hunting, others will 
 make traps to catch game, and some hunters have gone 
 with their guns." 
 
 I had accustomed myself to eat the food of the 
 natives. I often fed, while hunting, on fruits, berries 
 and nuts. I ate all that came in my way elephant, 
 crocodile, buffalo, antelope, monkey, and all kinds of 
 strange animals and, when starving, I ate even snakes. 
 Bread had been unknown to me since I had lived in the 
 country. Plantain and manioc were my bread when I 
 could get them. In a word, I ate whatever I could 
 get ; it was better to do so than to die of starvation. 
 
 During the absence of the men, I saw that the 
 women were preparing food ; large wooden mortars 
 
 95 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 were filled up with manioc, a root which had been left 
 to soak in the water. The manioc was pounded into 
 a paste which was boiled and became thick and firm. 
 This paste was then shaped into long loaves, enveloped 
 with plantain leaves, these being used instead of the 
 paper we should use at home. These loaves can be 
 kept quite a number of days. To the palate the ma- 
 nioc is somewhat sour. 
 
 Some women had been collecting njavi nuts, which 
 come from one of the most beautiful and largest trees 
 of the forest. They boiled the seed, which they 
 mashed afterward on hollowed-out boards, squeezing 
 the paste with their hands, thus extracting the oil, 
 which they poured into gourds. 
 
 The small children were busy skinning the squash- 
 seeds, after which the seed was put into a mortar and 
 pounded, forming a very fine paste to which, from 
 time to time, a little njavi oil was added. This is 
 mixed with meat afterwards. 
 
 One woman was busy making ndica. She had put 
 seeds of the wild mango into a mortar, and pounded 
 these into a paste, after which the paste was kneaded 
 into the form of a big square cake and left to dry. 
 
 " I hope," said Regundo to me, cc the men will 
 return with much game, for I have c gouamba.' ' 
 
 " What is c gouamba ' ? " I asked. 
 
 96 
 
u The women were preparing food" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 He replied, " It is a craving for meat. When 
 plantain or manioc is set before us day after day with- 
 out meat or fish, we begin to look at the food with 
 disgust." 
 
 Regundo was right in his description. I had had 
 " gouamba " many times, and I longed for meat, ex- 
 periencing the same effect as if at home one were fed 
 day after day on bread and water. 
 
 But Regundo's wish was gratified. The hunters 
 returned with a great quantity of game. The most 
 successful were those who had gone net-hunting. 
 Great numbers of long nets tied together had been 
 spread in the forest, and the game had been driven 
 into them. 
 
 Everybody was happy. Thank-offerings of game 
 to the spirits " Olombo " and " Mombo " were taken 
 into the forest for them to eat. 
 
 That day Regundo made a great offering of food 
 to " Abamboo," game, plantains, nuts, sugar-cane, 
 ground-nuts, and placed them carefully in the forest. 
 On his return he shouted, " Abamboo, I love you. I 
 offer the best of the food I have to you. Be good to 
 me. Do not let sickness come to me, Abamboo. 
 Kill my enemies, those who wish me evil by witch- 
 craft." 
 
 He also made a sumptuous offering to " Mbuiri." 
 * 97 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 The following morning the plantation wore an un- 
 usual aspect. Every woman was busy cooking some- 
 thing. I waited around to see what. 
 
 In one pot a piece of elephant was boiling ; in an- 
 other a piece of antelope was being cooked. Further 
 on a big fat monkey was roasting on a bright charcoal 
 fire. In another place, the ribs of a huge boar were 
 being roasted in the same manner. Not far from 
 where the boar was being cooked, a big piece of smoked 
 hippopotamus was being boiled. Still further, a piece 
 of smoked buffalo was also boiling, and the cook was 
 scraping ndica into the pot, to add to the flavor of the 
 meat, while another woman was mixing njavi oil with 
 some other kind of meat. In one pot a piece of a 
 large python was boiling. 
 
 When all the meats were nearly ready, the women 
 cooked green plantains, took their skins off, cut them 
 in two or three pieces, and then put them in earthen- 
 ware pots, covering them with green plantain leaves, 
 and in less than half an hour they were ready to be 
 eaten. The plantain must be eaten when quite warm ; 
 then it is mealy ; when cold it becomes hard, and is 
 not very good. 
 
 In the meantime, some of the men were beating 
 tomtoms furiously. Then men appeared with cala- 
 bashes filled up with palm wine, a liquid coming 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 from the sap of a species of palm-tree which, after it 
 has fermented, becomes intoxicating. 
 
 Mats had been spread upon the ground. Baskets 
 and home-made earthenware pots were to be used as 
 dishes. Leaves took the place of plates, gourds of 
 goblets, and fingers of forks. 
 
 When everything was ready, we seated ourselves 
 cross-legged on the ground, upon the mats that had 
 been spread. Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, 
 Quabi, the medicine doctor, or ouganga, and I were 
 close together. Dishes containing the meat of the 
 animals I have mentioned were put before us. I 
 offered to Regundo some buffalo meat. 
 
 " No, Oguizi," said Regundo ; " I never touch 
 buffalo meat when it is before me, for it is ( roondah ' 
 [a forbidden thing]. In the days of old, one of my 
 ancestresses gave birth to a buffalo, and since that time 
 it is c roondah ' to all the people that belong to our 
 camp to eat of the buffalo. A vessel in which buffalo 
 has been cooked is never used by our clan. I can eat 
 all other animals." 
 
 Then the ouganga, or medicine-man, exclaimed : 
 " The wild boar is * roondah * to me and to my clan ; " 
 and as I was on the point of putting a piece of hippo- 
 potamus on the leaf of Oshoria, the latter said : " No, 
 no, Oguizi. I never eat hippopotamus meat. It is 
 
 99 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 * roondah ' to me, because in the days of old one of 
 my clan gave birth to a hippopotamus." 
 
 I laughed so much after he said this, shouting, 
 " Never did a human being give birth to a hippo- 
 potamus ! " that Oshoria said, very seriously : " I speak 
 the truth, Oguizi, believe me." 
 
 Every man had a " roondah," and never used the 
 vessel in which his forbidden meat had been cooked. 
 
 We all had voracious appetites. Big pieces of meat 
 disappeared fast one after another. The men did not 
 seem to take time to chew their food they took 
 such big mouthfuls. I did not wonder at the size of 
 the pieces they seemed to swallow, for the mouths of 
 most of them, when they laughed almost spread from 
 ear to ear. 
 
 Once in a while they would look suspiciously 
 towards the Waterbury clock. They could not get 
 accustomed to it, for it was in their eyes a supernatural 
 thing that was always talking. As to myself, to show 
 them that I had no " roondah," I tasted of every 
 dish, but ate most of the monkey, for its meat was fat 
 and juicy, and tasted very good. 
 
 The dogs surrounded us, and with expectant look 
 were waiting for a bone, and as soon as one got a 
 bone he disappeared to eat it alone. 
 
 After every dish had been cleared of its contents I 
 
 100 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 got up from my seat and said : " Slaves of King 
 Mombo, and you belonging to other masters, the 
 Oguizi loves you all." 
 
 Thereupon all shouted at the same time : " We 
 love you also, for you are good, Oguizi. Stay with us 
 all the time." 
 
 At these words Regundo rose and said : " You will 
 not be hungry, Oguizi, while you are with us. The 
 hunters will go and hunt with you ; there is plenty of 
 game in the forest plenty of plantain trees and 
 manioc in the ground." 
 
 " Yes," shouted all the hunters, " we will go and 
 hunt and kill game for you. Stay with us, good 
 Oguizi." 
 
 At this I got up, telling them not to go away, went 
 into my house, and came out with some beads, look- 
 ing-glasses, files, fire-steel, flints and powder, and 
 distributed these among them, giving to the women 
 beads and looking-glasses, and to the men the rest. 
 Great excitement ensued. They shouted : " We can 
 die for you, Oguizi, for we love you." Then in a 
 quieter manner they added : " Every evening after 
 our day's work is over we will come and talk to you, 
 for it does us good to see you." 
 
 In the evening the slaves came with strange-looking 
 musical instruments. I was to be present at an 
 
 101 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 African concert. The first musician played on a 
 "handja." How queer the instrument looked! It 
 consisted of a frame about three feet and a half long, 
 and two feet broad, in which were set some ten or 
 twelve hollow gourds covered by thin strips of hard- 
 wood. These gourds and the strips of wood were of 
 different sizes and so graduated that they formed a 
 regular series of notes. The tone was clear and 
 good. 
 
 When the player had finished his piece, another 
 got up and played upon a kind of harp, covered with 
 the skin of a gazelle, and sang at the same time. 
 
 Then another man took his place and played on 
 what we might call a small guitar, covered with a 
 snake skin, singing at the same time. The strings of 
 these instruments were of vegetable fibre. 
 
 Ten men then came on with their tomtoms, which 
 varied in size and length according to the fashions of 
 the tribes to which they belonged. The cylinder 
 of the longest was about six feet in length, of the 
 shortest about four feet. The wood was hollowed 
 out quite thin, and antelope skin stretched over both 
 ends tightly. The drummers beat furiously on the 
 upper or larger end with two sticks. The more 
 excited the people became, the louder the drummers 
 beat. No music can excite the savage more than 
 
 102 
 
"The first musician played on a 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 these tomtoms. The singing became terrific ; the 
 women, as well as the men, made the wildest con- 
 tortions and gesticulations as they danced. By the 
 light of the torches, with the great forest surrounding 
 us, the scene appeared weird and fantastic, as if it did 
 not belong to this world. It was almost morning 
 when the festivities ended. 
 
 103 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 A TALK WITH KING MOMBO's SLAVES WHY SLAVES 
 DO NOT RUN AWAY VARIOUS FEATURES OF THE 
 TRAFFIC THE CANNIBALS OF THE INTERIOR 
 MY DAILY OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 AFTER the feast the slaves and I became more 
 friendly than ever. The following evening they 
 all came to see me. I told them to fill their pipes and 
 sit down that I was going to light the pipe of every 
 one with my sticks giving fire. The matches gave them 
 great delight. Some wanted their pipes lighted several 
 times, but I could not afford this great extravagance. 
 I did not want to run short of matches. 
 
 We made a big blazing fire and I stood under the 
 little piazza having Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, 
 Quabi, and the medicine-man by me. I had made 
 friends with the medicine-man by giving him four 
 of my long hairs. The men and women and children 
 formed a group in the shape of a horseshoe. 
 
 At first nobody uttered a word, but all looked at 
 me, and I said with a loud voice, so that every one 
 could hear me : cc I have wandered in this great forest 
 
 104 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 for a long time can any one here tell me how large it 
 is, and where it ends ? " Then all shouted at the same 
 time : " No one amongst us can tell where this forest 
 ends, but we think that it goes as far as the country 
 where the sun rises in the morning." 
 
 A queer-looking slave tattooed all over then got up 
 and said : " Oguizi, it is so. Here are slaves that 
 have come from very far countries, but none of them 
 has ever been out of this great forest. There are 
 prairies, but as soon as you get out of them you are 
 once more in the forest. Those prairies are like the 
 islands, found in the rivers. When you leave them 
 there is water all round ; when we leave the prairie 
 there is the forest all round.'* 
 
 Next another slave rose and said : " Oguizi, I had 
 to walk many months in the forest before I came here. 
 I was sold from tribe to tribe, and I had to follow 
 many of the paths. Sometimes I journeyed by rivers, 
 at other times by land. Once I was given with 
 four other men as payment for canoes. At another 
 time I was sold for some salt and still another, I 
 was exchanged for a tusk of ivory. It took me five 
 rainy seasons [years] on the way before I came here to 
 belong to King Mombo. I thought all the time I 
 was travelling that I was coming to the country where 
 the sun set. King Mombo took me to see the big 
 
 105 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 water [the sea]. I was much frightened when I saw 
 the big waves strike the land. I made sure they 
 would break the land and engulf me, but what frightened 
 me more was to see the sun disappear under the 
 water. Then it became dark. In my country we 
 had never heard of the sea." 
 
 I asked him where then he thought the rivers were 
 going to ; and he replied : cc Our people thought they 
 became smaller and smaller as they ran down and that 
 they finally disappeared in the earth." 
 
 Another slave who then rose said : " I was sold on 
 account of witchcraft. The people of my tribe 
 thought I was a sorcerer. I was not, but they 
 sold me, and before I came here, I passed through 
 many tribes. I am so glad I am here, for I am 
 contented. My only fear is that perhaps one of 
 these days King Mombo will sell me. He has been 
 kind to me, for he has given me a nice wife, and I have 
 fine children, and I am happy to know that my 
 children cannot be sold, for the children of us slaves 
 are free. They are called c bambais.' That is the 
 name the free people give us, and the c bambais ' 
 remain under their protection, and have to fight with 
 the men to whom their parents belonged ; they belong 
 to his clan and tribe, but if King Mombo dies before 
 we do, his slaves will be divided among his brothers, 
 
 106 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 and if his brothers are dead, among nephews or 
 the nearest of kin." 
 
 He pointed out to me his wife and children, and 
 had them come and sit by me. 
 
 " When you are on the way from one tribe to 
 another, don't you sometimes have chances to escape ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " What is the use of trying to escape ? " they 
 replied. " Some men, it is true, are foolish enough 
 to try. But when you run away from your tribe or 
 from your master, you have no friends. Every man 
 is against you. When you have a master, he is like 
 your father; he takes your part. A slave that runs 
 away is sure to be captured and be made a slave 
 again. Sometimes, when they think they are to be 
 killed, they run away to save their lives." 
 
 One of the slaves then rose and said : " Oguizi, I do 
 not come from a far country, only four tribes inland 
 from here, but I was sold by my parents." 
 
 " What ? " said I. " Sold by your parents ? " 
 
 " It is so, Oguizi. Not only in my tribe, but in 
 many other tribes, parents sell their children." 
 
 C It is so, Oguizi," all shouted with one voice. 
 " Yo, yo, yo, it is so." 
 
 Then the slave continued : " When we are small 
 and helpless, our parents love us, and would not 
 
 107 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 part from us, but as we grow to be big boys and can 
 help ourselves, they often sell us. This is the custom 
 among many tribes/* 
 
 " Do they sell their daughters also ? " I asked. 
 
 " Yes, they do, but not as often as they do their 
 sons, because when they give their daughters in 
 marriage, the suitor has to give them one or more 
 slaves for her. The more daughters they have, the 
 richer they become. A man has to give several 
 slaves in order to marry the daughter of a chief. " 
 
 Then another slave got up and said : c< I was given 
 away in that way. My old master married one of King 
 Mombo's daughters, and I was given to the king with 
 three other slaves, as payment, before he could take 
 her away. Oguizi, when people want to sell their 
 children or grown people, they find plenty of excuses. 
 The best of all is that you are a sorcerer, or a witch ; 
 people would rather be sold as slaves than be killed 
 as sorcerers. But people cannot hold slaves of their 
 own tribe, their slaves must always belong to some 
 other tribe." 
 
 " What do people buy slaves with ? " I asked. 
 
 " With guns, brass kettles, copper rods, iron bars, 
 beads, and other things. Far inland, sometimes a 
 man is sold for salt." 
 
 At these words, a slave got up and said : " I was 
 
 1 08 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 sold for salt and nothing else. My family wanted to 
 get rid of me." 
 
 After this, Regundo himself rose and said : " King 
 Mombo is very good to us all. He has given to each 
 of us a wife, and when a man has no wife, he buys one 
 for him, and if one of our women has no husband, he 
 buys a man for her. He loves me, for I was given 
 to him when a child as part payment by my former 
 master who married his daughter. He had to give 
 four more slaves to him before he took her to his 
 village. 
 
 " Our wives attend to the cultivation of the soil, go 
 fishing, and smoke the fish. They prepare food 
 for our master. We men cut down the trees and 
 burn them, for you see there are no open spaces in the 
 forest. Cutting down trees is very hard work. 
 Only our wives cultivate the soil. Plantain trees and 
 manioc are only planted once in the same spot. 
 Often the wives of King Mombo come here. They 
 also cultivate the soil." 
 
 One old slave said : " Very few of us like to go to 
 King Mombo, for fear that if somebody should die 
 while we are there we might be accused of witchcraft, 
 and our master might take it into his head to kill us 
 without trial, or to sell us. But our master always 
 takes the part of the slaves he loves and insists that 
 
 109 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 they shall be tried by the poison ordeal, the c mboun- 
 dou,' the same as if they were freemen." 
 
 Then they all looked at the moon and thought it 
 was time to go to bed, and said good night. When 
 they left I said to them, " Come again to-morrow 
 evening," to which they replied, "We will come." 
 
 The following evening the slaves came again and 
 seated themselves on the ground. They said never a 
 word, but kept gazing at me and looking at the Water- 
 bury clock by turns. 
 
 Then I said to them : " Friends of mine, yesterday 
 we talked about the big forest and about yourselves. 
 Now tell me all about the people who live in the great 
 forest." 
 
 A big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was tattooed 
 all over and had teeth that were filed sharp to a point. 
 It was believed by all that he had come from the 
 furthest part of the interior of the continent After a 
 deep silence he said : " There are many tribes of men 
 in the forests, Oguizi. Some are fierce and warlike. 
 There are also tribes of men that are cannibals, who 
 eat human flesh. These are the fiercest of all. They 
 are always fighting, and they eat many of the prisoners 
 they capture, for they prefer eating to selling them. 
 They are great, powerful men. Their villages are 
 fenced outside with long poles, and on the top of many 
 
 no 
 
big fellow, tall and slender, rose. He was 
 tattooed all over " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 poles are seen human skulls and skulls of wild beasts. 
 They have many powerful idols and are great witch- 
 craft men. They are great smiths, and make many 
 terrible implements of war. Their spears are barbed. 
 They carry crossbows and use poisoned arrows ; they 
 have also many terrible-looking axes of strange shape, 
 which they can throw through the air and with the sharp 
 edge split in two the skulls of their enemies. Their 
 shields are square and are often made of the skin of the 
 elephant ; they are as hard as iron. 
 
 " A cannibal bought me. He belonged to the 
 Osheba tribe. I was dreadfully afraid that I should 
 be eaten up, but a few days afterwards he sold me for 
 some pieces of copper and beads to a man who be- 
 longed to a neighboring tribe that was not cannibal." 
 
 " Do you know by what name those cannibal tribes 
 are called ? " I asked. 
 
 " I know the names of two of them," he replied. 
 " One is called Fan, the other Osheba." 
 
 " We have an Osheba man and woman amongst us, 
 also a Fan and his wife," they all shouted at once. 
 Regundo told these two couples to get up and come 
 before me. I looked at them. The men were fierce- 
 looking fellows and as fine negroes as I had ever seen. 
 They were very tall, over six feet in height, and their 
 skin was of the color of chocolate. Their front teeth 
 
 in 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 were filed to a fine point and colored black. The 
 mouths of these two cannibals looked horrid when 
 they laughed. Each wore a long queue of hair hang- 
 ing down his back. They wore round their ankles 
 two large, heavy iron rings. Their bodies were tat- 
 tooed. They had been owned by King Mombo for 
 over twelve years, and were amongst his bravest war- 
 riors. When they went out to fight they would not use 
 guns, but armed themselves with barbed spears which 
 they made themselves, turning the iron into steel by 
 forging it in charcoal. Their shields were made of 
 the hide of an elephant that they had trapped in a 
 pit. 
 
 I asked them where they came from, and they said 
 that their village was situated on the shores of a big 
 river, that they had been sold for two brass kettles, 
 and had come to King Mombo all the way by water, 
 being bartered from one tribe to another, each tribe 
 giving more and more goods for them as they came 
 down the river, the price of slaves increasing always as 
 they come nearer the sea. 
 
 Here an Ishogo slave got up, and said : " Oguizi, 
 the strangest people who live in the forest are the 
 Obongos, a race of pigmies. They never grow tall, 
 never plant anything like other men, and live only on 
 fruits, berries, and nuts. They wander continually in 
 
 112 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the forest in search of these, and do not even live one 
 moon [month] at the same place. 
 
 " They have little villages, but their houses are not 
 like ours, they are so small'* and, raising his hands 
 to a certain height, I understood that the houses of the 
 pigmies were not more than three feet in height, and 
 the doors or openings of these through which they go 
 inside were not more than twelve or fifteen inches from 
 the ground. 
 
 " How can that be ? " I said. " Then the Obongos 
 must be scarcely more than a foot in height." 
 
 " They are taller than that," the Ishogo replied, 
 " but when they enter their houses they lie flat on 
 their stomachs and creep like snakes, or bend very 
 low." Then, making a gesture with his hands, he 
 gave me to understand that they were between three 
 feet and a half and four feet tall. 
 
 Then an Apinji and an Oshango slave rose and 
 testified to the truth of the narrative and the Apinji said : 
 " These little people are called Ashoongas by us." 
 
 " Who amongst all the tribes are the best fighters ? " 
 I inquired. 
 
 " The cannibals first," they all shouted " then the 
 Bakolai, then the Shekianis." 
 
 " Do all the tribes when they make war kill only 
 warriors ? " 
 
 8 "3 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " No," they replied ; " they kill old men, women, 
 and children also." 
 
 It was getting late, and time for them to disperse, 
 and as they rose to do so they gave a last suspicious 
 glance at the Waterbury clock. 
 
 The mode of life I led on the plantation was the 
 same every day. I got up before sunrise and bathed 
 in a little stream of clear water running in the forest 
 at a short distance from my little cabin. By that 
 time Regundo's wife had my breakfast ready. The 
 meal varied according to the game on hand but I 
 always had plantain. Immediately after this early 
 breakfast, generally about 6.30 A. M., I started for the 
 forest. 
 
 Some days I went for birds, others for butterflies 
 and other insects, and once in a while for big game. 
 I generally returned towards noon, then had another 
 meal after which I went into the shade of trees and 
 stuffed the birds I had killed. I often went again 
 into the forest in the afternoon. I had a very busy 
 life, and very little time to feel lonely. Every morn- 
 ing when I awoke I was filled with the hope of discov- 
 ering some new animals or birds. When I had time 
 to spare I studied the habits of the people, and their 
 ways of thinking. Still, though I was much occupied, 
 
 114 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I often thought of my friends, and at times was home- 
 sick enough. 
 
 Part of my time was also spent in learning from 
 different slaves the languages of their tribe, so 
 that I might be able to speak to people during my 
 wanderings. None, of course, had a written language. 
 So I had to write the words, with my pencil, on paper. 
 I made a sort of dictionary, writing the words as I 
 understood the people to pronounce them. There 
 were many dialects, belonging, no doubt, to a single 
 language in former times. They had not many words, 
 as their needs were few, but all these languages had 
 grammatical forms, handed down from one generation 
 to another. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE ANIMALS OF THE FOREST FIVE KINDS OF APES 
 THE NGINA OR GORILLA HIS GREAT STRENGTH 
 AND FIERCENESS HOW HE ATTACKS MAN AND 
 OTHER ANIMALS OSHORIA's ACCOUNT OF HIM. 
 
 THE slaves assembled the next evening. I said to 
 them : " Yesterday I heard about the people 
 living in the big forest. Now tell me of the strange 
 beasts that roam amongst the trees/' 
 
 Regundo replied : " Oguizi, there are many strange 
 creatures living in the forest. Some of them resemble 
 people. We call them men and women of the woods, 
 for they have no tails and have faces like human 
 beings. There are five kinds of them, nginas [goril- 
 las], nshiego-mbouves, nshiego-kengos, nshiegos, and 
 kooloo-kambas. The ngina is the blackest of all. 
 Some of the nshiegos have faces almost of the same 
 color as yours, Oguizi. 
 
 "The one amongst these we dread more than all the 
 others is the ngina, for he is very fierce and has 
 the strength of many men. So we call him the c giant 
 of the forest/ There is the skull of a c man ' ngina 
 on the top of my house. Look at it. I killed the 
 
 116 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 creature several years ago, when I was younger. By its 
 side is the skull of his mate." 
 
 I looked up and in the moonlight I saw a strange- 
 looking head with a crest on the top and powerful 
 teeth. Its jaws had apparently more power than 
 those of a lion. 
 
 Regundo got up, went into his house and, coming 
 back with a gun, said : " Oguizi, this gun has killed 
 several nginas, many elephants. The c mondah ' 
 [charm] attached to it is very powerful. It has 
 brought me good luck in hunting and is the cause of 
 my always having killed the animals I shot, no matter 
 how strong or how fierce they were." 
 
 Then Oshoria rose and said : " When a hunter 
 comes before a big adult man ngina, he feels that he 
 must kill the ngina or be killed by him. It is sure 
 to be one or the other." Then after a short pause 
 he continued : " Strange to say, the ngina has the same 
 number of bones that we have. The babies have 
 twenty teeth like our children ; later they have twenty- 
 eight. Then they get four more and have thirty-two 
 teeth, like adult human beings. 
 
 " The ngina lives in the dense and most solitary 
 parts of the forest; it is a restless creature, wandering 
 from place to place in search of food. They never 
 kill animals to eat them, for they feed only on berries, 
 
 117 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 nuts, and fruits of the forest, and on the sugar-cane, 
 plantains, and bananas, which they steal from our 
 plantations, thus causing us often to go hungry. A 
 full grown ngina can easily eat twenty or thirty 
 bunches of green plantains or bananas a day, many 
 scores of pine-apples, and big heaps of berries, nuts, 
 and fruits. They eat all the time, from morning 
 until dark. So they have to roam about in search 
 of food, unless they discover a field of plantain trees 
 bearing fruit ; then they remain near the place until 
 they have eaten up everything. 
 
 " A man ngina is so strong that no number of men 
 can ever capture him. He would tear to pieces 
 those attacking him. He can bend the barrel of 
 a gun, and break trees, or branches of trees, that 
 are much bigger than his thighs just as if they 
 were reeds." 
 
 " Tell me, Oshoria," said I, " how nginas attack 
 the hunters that pursue them." 
 
 Oshoria replied : " If the man ngina is with his 
 mate, the latter always runs away, giving a shrill 
 cry of alarm. Then the man ngina gets up on his 
 hind legs, standing like a man, and looks around to 
 see where his enemy is. Then he gives yell after 
 yell, roar after roar, until the whole forest is filled 
 with the din of his big voice. Then he comes 
 
 118 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 forward to attack, walking erect, and roaring all the 
 time. Sometimes the yell resembles that of an 
 angry dog, though a hundred times louder. His 
 big vindictive gray eyes look his antagonist straight 
 in the face, glaring vengeance, and meaning death. 
 The hair on the top of his head moves up and down, 
 and the hair on his body stands erect. Then he 
 beats his chest with his huge and powerful hands. 
 They have such big hands, Oguizi, and these are so 
 powerful, that when they strike a man they almost 
 cut him in two. Once I killed a big ngina, who 
 had one arm shorter than the other, for it had been 
 broken, probably by the blow of another ngina 
 fighting him, but, strange to say, the arm had knitted 
 together of itself. 
 
 " It takes a stout heart to face the monster when 
 he comes to the attack. It is of no use to try to run 
 away, for a ngina runs faster than a man. When 
 he looks at his enemy he seems to say to him, 
 c I am going to kill you. You are soon to die. 
 How do you dare to come and disturb me in my 
 solitude/ His wrinkled black face is terrible to look 
 at, and every time he roars, he shows his powerful teeth, 
 which can crush the arm of a man in an instant." 
 
 "Do they fight with their teeth," I inquired. 
 
 " No," he replied, " their great weapons are their 
 
 119 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 big, long muscular arms, and their hands, their legs, 
 and their feet, but especially their arms. When they 
 have disabled or seized their antagonists, they often 
 in their rage give a bite or two, but one way or 
 the other it is all over with a man when he is in 
 the clutches of the ngina. Oguizi, the huge creature has 
 nails like those of a man." 
 
 " How big are the nginas ? " I asked. 
 
 " They are as tall as men, and vary in size also, but 
 they have such big chests that two grown men put side 
 by side at the back of the ngina could not be seen by 
 a man coming from the opposite direction." 
 
 " Where do you aim when you are going to shoot a 
 ngina ? " 
 
 " In the direction of the heart. When shot 
 there he dies instantly, and, like men who are 
 shot through the heart, he falls forward. Then comes 
 a great sight. He groans, the long arms stretch out. 
 His fingers twitch, his hands open and shut several 
 times, and woe to the man who should find himself 
 in his grip at that time. 
 
 " When a ngina roams in the forest where men have 
 only spears or poisoned arrows," continued Oshoria, 
 " he roams undisturbed and at leisure, for no body of 
 warriors, however brave, would dare to attack him. 
 Though he might fall under the weight of many 
 
 120 
 
u A little before dark she goes up a tree with the 
 baby to sleep " 
 
KIMG MOMBO 
 
 spears, he. would succeed in killing many men first. 
 Only guns can kill nginas. The nginas are very 
 suspicious, and when they hear a noise in the forest 
 they move away from it, but when they tire of 
 being tracked they show fight. When old, the man 
 ngina and his mate travel together with the baby. 
 When very old the man of the woods is always 
 alone. There is a great danger when we walk in the 
 forest in coming suddenly upon a man ngina. Then 
 he is sure to attack us, and if a man has no gun he is 
 sure to be killed. 
 
 " I wish you could see a c woman ' ngina with her 
 baby. They look like human beings. Just a little 
 before dark she goes up a tree with the baby to sleep. 
 The big fellow sleeps at the foot of the tree to keep 
 watch, and woe to the animal that comes near." 
 
 " Tell me, Oshoria," said I, " do leopards attack 
 the ngina ? " 
 
 " They do sometimes. The leopards move so 
 silently in the forest that the nginas cannot hear them 
 approach ; then the leopard springs upon the back of 
 the ngina and fastens his teeth into his neck, while his 
 claws are deeply imbedded in his back. Then the 
 combat is soon over, for the neck of the ngina is torn 
 to pieces, and he succumbs. But woe to the leopard 
 if the ngina can seize him with his powerful hands. 
 
 121 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 cc When a ngina sees a leopard on the ground, he 
 runs towards a tree, and, setting his back against the 
 trunk, stands in an erect posture, or seats himself. 
 There he feels strong, and can withstand the attack of 
 the leopard. He watches with deep, gray, sunken 
 eyes every movement of his antagonist, trying to scare 
 him with his yells and roars. We believe that if 
 a leopard is bold enough to spring upon a ngina 
 when he has his back against a tree, the ngina often 
 succeeds in seizing the leopard by his tail as the 
 latter springs. Then he swings the animal round and 
 round by the tail, striking it at last against a tree, and 
 killing his enemy instantly in that way. At other times, 
 when a ngina succeeds in jumping upon a leopard, he 
 puts one of his powerful hands upon his neck to prevent 
 him from turning his head and biting him, then hold- 
 ing the beast with his feet, which are like hands, he 
 breaks his spine, and tears him to pieces, biting him 
 terribly at the same time. Just look at his teeth ! " 
 concluded Oshoria, pointing at the same time at the 
 head on the top of the house. 
 
 " Does the ngina attack elephants ? " I asked. 
 
 " I do not think the ngina attacks elephants, 
 Oguizi. I hope you will see and kill a ngina with 
 c Bulldog ' while you are with us. There are not 
 many in the forest." 
 
 122 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 " We must see some nginas," I cried. 
 
 " You will meet some," shouted the hunter in 
 response. 
 
 When Oshoria had finished his narrative the per- 
 spiration was fairly running down his face, he had 
 become so excited. I did not wonder, for he remem- 
 bered how the huge beasts had attacked him, and 
 he fancied that the animal was before him and that 
 he heard his fearful yells and tremendous roars. 
 
 I said to him : " Now fill your pipe, and I will light it 
 with my fire-stick." After he had rested a while I 
 said to him : " Do nginas build houses, or any shelter 
 whatever ? " 
 
 " No," he replied, " and if any one says that he has 
 seen a shelter built by a ngina, he lies." 
 
 By this time it had grown late and soon all the slaves 
 left after bidding me good night. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE OTHER APES OF THE GREAT FOREST OSHORIA 
 TELLS ABOUT THE NSHIEGO MBOUVES CAPTURE 
 OF A BABY " MAN OF THE WOODS " -HIS MOTHER 
 KILLED CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIFFERENT APES 
 WITH THE VARIOUS HUMAN RACES. 
 
 THE next evening the slaves again made their 
 appearance, and to amuse them I told them 
 again to fill their pipes, and lighted them with my 
 matches, to their great delight. While they were 
 smoking I said : " I heard yesterday about the strong 
 and fierce ngina. Tell me this evening something 
 about the nshiego, nshiego mbouve, nshiego kengo, 
 and kooloo-kamba. Tell me how you can distinguish 
 the different kinds among these c men of the woods/ as 
 you call them." 
 
 " We easily recognize each kind/' replied Oshoria, 
 for he was again to be the spokesman. " I will tell 
 first of the nshiego mbouve. He is far from being 
 as tall and powerful as the ngina. The nshiego 
 mbouve is the bald-headed man of the woods he 
 is born with thin hair on his head, but as he grows 
 older the hair drops off entirely. He is the only one 
 
 124 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 amongst the nshiegos that becomes bald. But, 
 Oguizi, the nshiego mbouve when very young has a 
 face whiter and paler than yours though his mother 
 and father are as black as the blackest among us. 
 Strange to say, as the baby nshiego mbouve grows 
 older, his pale face grows darker and darker, and after 
 a time comes to be as black as that of his father and 
 mother. 
 
 " But, Oguizi," added Oshoria, with emphasis, " they 
 are so shy that it is very difficult to approach them. 
 The best way is to discover their shelter and lie in 
 wait for them." 
 
 After a pause, he said : " The nshiego kengo is 
 born pale yellow, and has a pale face also ; the blood 
 does not go through its skin, as your blood does 
 through yours ; no matter how warm they are, how 
 much they have run, they always remain pale. The 
 nshiego mbouve and the nshiego kengo are more 
 intelligent than the ngina. They make a shelter for 
 themselves on trees, about five or six arms' lengths 
 from the ground. There they rest at night, as they 
 are afraid of the leopards. The ' man ' has one shelter, 
 the * woman ' another, on two different trees close to- 
 gether. They do not attack men, and run away at the 
 least noise. 
 
 " Then comes the kooloo-kamba, another kind of 
 
 1*5 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 nshiego. This kind is very rare. He is different from 
 the nshiego mbouve and nshiego kengo. He is born 
 black. We call him kooloo-kamba because his cry 
 is c kooloo-kooloo/ 
 
 " Then comes the last of the men of the woods, and 
 the most numerous species. He goes by the name 
 of nshiego. He is born pale-faced and gradually be- 
 comes black. He also is very intelligent. We can 
 tame easily all the species of young nshiegos, and we 
 capture them by killing their mothers when we find 
 them together. 
 
 " The reason we call all this kind of c men of the 
 woods ' c nshiego ' is because they are much alike in 
 some respects : they all have elongated hands with 
 long fingers, and long and narrow feet. All nshiegos 
 have big ears, too, while the ngina has very small ears 
 and much shorter hands and feet. All the nginas 
 and the nshiegos are tailless ; they have a spine, 
 like man. The nshiegos spend much of their time 
 on trees ; they are great tree-climbers that is the 
 reason that they have long hands and fingers. With 
 these they readily seize the branches of trees ; their 
 feet are also on that account more flexible than those 
 of the ngina." 
 
 When Oshoria had done speaking about all the 
 " men of the woods " found in this great African forest, 
 
 126 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I thought of the strange orang-outangs, which I had 
 seen alive at home in New York and Boston, and how 
 wonderfully human they looked, with their high fore- 
 heads. These also live in big forests in the islands of 
 Borneo and Sumatra. They are another kind of 
 " men of the woods," without tails. " How strange it 
 is/' I said to myself, cc that amongst the c men of the 
 woods/ there are three colors, as with human beings. 
 The orang-outang has hair that is brown and a face of 
 almost the same color, and corresponds to the brown 
 races. The nshiego kengo has somewhat the color 
 of the white man, and the ngina and the kooloo-kamba 
 have that of the black man/' 
 
 Two days after our conversation about the nshiegos 
 I heard a great uproar near Regundo's house, just as 
 I was emerging from the forest after my morning's 
 hunting. I saw a big crowd of slaves, and heard loud 
 exclamations of astonishment, and the words " nshiego 
 mbouve " and " baby nshiego mbouve." I hurried up 
 and saw Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi 
 coming to meet me. They said : " Oguizi, we have 
 killed a nshiego mbouve and captured her baby, which 
 is alive and well. Come and see them." Soon after I 
 stood by the side of the dead nshiego mbouve, which 
 was perfectly black, and looked with wonder at the 
 very white face of the baby nshiego mbouve. I 
 
 127 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 thought I had never seen amongst wild creatures such 
 a human face as I did in that little old face of the 
 baby ; he looked so pale that one might have thought 
 he had just left a sick bed or the hospital. He crept 
 over the body of his mother and moaned, " Whoe, 
 whoe," as if he were a human being. It was his mode 
 of crying. He knew that his mother was dead. 
 
 In the evening Oshoria and the slaves assembled 
 and we talked about nshiego mbouves and the other 
 " men of the woods." Pointing to the little nshiego 
 mbouve fast asleep on a bed of dry leaves, Oshoria 
 said : " The pale-faced nshiego mbouve and the 
 other c men of the woods ' have in many respects 
 better luck than we poor black men have. They 
 have not to work hard as we do, they have not to dig 
 the ground, to cut down the trees of the forest, to sow 
 or to plant, in order to live. If we did not do this we 
 should die of hunger. Food grows of itself for them 
 in the forest ; they can always find something to eat. 
 It is true that there is the race of pigmies, who are 
 human beings like us and live chiefly, like the c men 
 of the woods/ on the nuts, berries, and fruits of the 
 forest and do not plant or sow anything, but then the 
 pigmies can trap game and exchange it with the big 
 people for plantains. They know the use of fire and 
 cook their food. 
 
 128 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 "These c men of the woods' do not have to go into 
 the forest and collect firewood ; they do not have to 
 carry big loads on their backs ; they do not have to 
 cook food. There are a number of things we can do 
 and they cannot. They cannot make fire. They can- 
 not make intoxicating drinks and get drunk. They 
 cannot smoke. They have no idols, no c mondahs/ no 
 witchcraft. They do not sell each other into slavery. 
 They do not beat their mates, as we do our wives. 
 
 " These c men of the woods ' look so much like human 
 beings that there are tribes of men who do not eat 
 them, for to them it would seem like eating people. 
 But there are many tribes who eat them, just as there 
 are tribes of men who eat people as they eat game. 
 
 " The monkeys/' he continued, " are the relations 
 of the ' men of the woods/ What human faces they 
 have! When they are travelling in the woods, they 
 have their leaders and follow them. They all under- 
 stand each other. When we walk in the forest, they 
 look down upon us as if they were human beings. 
 When we shoot and kill them with our bows and arrows, 
 they look at us with their dying eyes as if to say : Why 
 did you hurt me ? Have I ever done you any harm ? ' 
 But how angry they look when in captivity if we do 
 something that does not please them. Strange to say, 
 Oguizi, we can trap monkeys, but can never trap the 
 9 129 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 c men of the woods/ I do not know that a c man of 
 the woods ' has ever been caught in a trap. 
 
 " Oguizi, do you remember this morning, how the 
 baby nshiego mbouve moaned after his mother, 
 how he walked over her dead body ; he knew that she 
 was dead. 
 
 " There is a great difference between the baby 
 human being and the baby of a nshiego mbouve and 
 of the other c men of the woods/ Almost as soon as 
 a baby of the c men of the woods * is born, his fingers 
 can clutch and cling to his mother. Our babies can- 
 not ; they are helpless/* 
 
 It was late when our talk ended. The slaves rose 
 and bade me good-night. The dear slaves were my 
 only companions. 
 
 130 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ANGOOKA, THE MEDICINE MAN HIS STRANGE AP- 
 PEARANCE EAVESDROPPING I OVERHEAR THE 
 CONVERSATION OF THE SLAVES THEY TALK 
 AMONG THEMSELVES ABOUT THE OGUIZI. 
 
 EARLY the next morning all the slaves on the 
 plantation gathered near Regundo's house, for 
 I had gone hunting by myself, and they thought I 
 was far away. Suddenly I changed my mind and 
 returned. As I approached the village, I heard 
 voices. I approached cautiously, and when I got a 
 glimpse of the talkers I hid myself in order not to 
 be seen. 
 
 Angooka was easily recognized, for he was dressed 
 in the garb of the medicine man. He wore a head- 
 dress of gaudy red feathers from the tails of gray 
 parrots. Among these were also eagles' and hawks* 
 feathers. On his neck was a necklace made of the 
 beaks of eagles between which were leopards' claws, 
 while as a pendant hung four leopards' teeth. Round 
 his waist was a belt to which were fastened cowry shells 
 filled with charmed powder. His body was painted all 
 over with white ochre (chalk), over which were scattered 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 round yellow spots. Upon each of his cheeks were 
 two flaming red spots. In his hand he held several 
 charmed skins tied together, holding precious and 
 powerful powders. 
 
 At a little distance a man was stationed on the top 
 of a slender tree. From there he addressed the medi- 
 cine man, and asked him questions about Jockoo 
 or Abamboo, shaking the tree at the same time, 
 to which Angooka replied in a sonorous manner. 
 The business of Angooka was to keep away the evil 
 spirits and destroy witchcraft in the plantation. An- 
 gooka suddenly danced in the wildest manner, ut- 
 tered all sorts of incantations, peered into the face of 
 every one as if to divine their thoughts, and then 
 declared that there were no witches or wizards with 
 them. Then the ceremony came to an end. Near 
 Angooka were Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi. 
 I heard the medicine man say to them : " Great indeed 
 is the Oguizi that we have with us. How strange he 
 looks, with his long, straight black hair. His eyes 
 seem to find out the thoughts of a person. Strange 
 that the Oguizi has come to the country of King 
 Mombo, and to you his slaves." 
 
 " Where do you think the Oguizi lives ? " asked 
 the men of Angooka, who replied : 
 
 "The Oguizi can disappear from our sight when 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 he wishes. He has come to see our land, and one 
 of these days he will go and we shall never see him any 
 more. He will rise in the air unseen and go to the 
 moon." 
 
 Regundo then said to the medicine doctor : " Last 
 night we heard a rumbling noise in his house, the 
 striking of a hammer upon an anvil, and saw flashes 
 of light inside through the cracks in the walls. We 
 heard the Oguizi's incantations. He was then making 
 the things he gives away. When I went into the house 
 in the morning the anvil and hammer were gone, and 
 no remains of fire were to be seen. How strange is 
 the piece of iron which he holds in his hands, to 
 which our knives hang without dropping ! How 
 wonderful are his little sticks from which fire springs ! 
 How wonderful are the strange boxes [the Waterbury 
 clock and the musical box] full of spirits that are talk- 
 ing to him." 
 
 I did not want them to know that I had been listen- 
 ing to them, and when I finally revealed myself and 
 went toward them, I acted as if I had heard nothing. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 NEWS BROUGHT THAT GORILLAS ARE NEAR BY IN THE 
 FOREST THE DOGS GOT READY FOR THE HUNT 
 THEIR NAMES A GRAND HUNTING COUNCIL 
 REGUNDO'S WISE ADVICE CAUTIONS TO BE OB- 
 SERVED. 
 
 ONE morning just as I shouldered " Bulldog," and 
 was ready to go into the forest, Regundo came 
 to me much excited, and said : " Oguizi, I have great 
 news to tell you. Some men have just arrived with 
 the news that there are nginas in the forest, and near 
 the plantain trees." 
 
 " Great news, indeed, you tell me, Regundo," I 
 replied, " and we must get ready to go and attack them. 
 Send for Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi." 
 
 " Yes," said Regundo, " for they are your hunters, 
 and wherever you go they must follow you." 
 
 Soon my four hunters were on hand ; they had also 
 received the news about the nginas and came to tell 
 us of what they had heard. There was great excite- 
 ment among the people. 
 
 While we were sitting together Regundo said 
 thoughtfully : "If the nginas were only contented 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 to eat two or three big bunches of plantains or bana- 
 nas, and then go away, it would not be so bad. But 
 they pull the trees down, give two or three bites to a 
 bunch, leave the rest, then go to another tree and do 
 likewise, so that in a short time they have plucked 
 twenty or thirty bunches. When tired of eating they 
 go back into the forest and the following morning 
 they come again and take another meal, return into 
 the forest and late in the afternoon make their ap- 
 pearance again for still another meal, after which they 
 go into the forest to sleep. But the elephants are our 
 worst enemies ; when a herd of them go into a plan- 
 tain field they destroy it utterly, and often cause wide- 
 spread hunger in the country." 
 
 It was agreed that early the following morning 
 Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, Quabi, and I should start 
 with the men who had brought the news, and that 
 we should take dogs with us. So we made prepara- 
 tions at once. Towards sunset fourteen of the best 
 hunting-dogs the fiercest and bravest, which were 
 afraid of no beast were tied together. Names had 
 been given to them that denoted the qualities they 
 possessed. They were called " Fierce," " Never 
 Sleepy," " The Attacker," " He who never runs 
 away," "The Catcher," "The Never Afraid," "The 
 Pouncer," " The Defier," " The Sly," " The Biter," 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 "The Jumper," "The Runner," "The Watchful," 
 " The Bloody." They were indeed a fierce set of 
 dogs, covered with scars, marks of the wounds they 
 had received from the wild beasts they had attacked. 
 They were all descended from fierce hunting-dogs. 
 They seemed to know that they were to be led out 
 to the fray, for they were all yelping, barking, and 
 jumping about. They were strange-looking animals ; 
 small, with short hair, straight ears, twisted tails, and 
 yellow and black in color. 
 
 As Regundo looked at them he said : " Oguizi, if 
 you encounter any nginas some of these dogs will 
 not come back ; they will be killed in the fight." 
 
 To this Oshoria returned : " Perhaps it will be so, 
 perhaps not ; for these dogs are very knowing. They 
 know how to retire or advance ; their eyes are sharp, 
 and they will watch every motion of the nginas." 
 
 In the evening a large idol was set in front of Re- 
 gundo's house. Women came with lighted torches, 
 the tomtoms were brought out, and soon a dance 
 began, accompanied by wild singing. 
 
 Later in the evening, as Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, 
 Ogoola, Quabi, and I were seated by a bright blazing 
 fire, Regundo broke the silence and said : " Oguizi, 
 when people go hunting, they have to be careful about 
 not getting lost in the great forest. Often hunters 
 
 136 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 have to leave the paths or have to walk in small 
 streams for a long time, to get to a path further on. 
 Their eyes have to be very sharp in order not to pass 
 it by. In many places the hunting paths are very 
 difficult to follow as there are hardly any traces of 
 them, or they disappear entirely for a while on 
 account either of the growth of the jungle over them,, 
 or of fallen trees. Many of these paths are seldom 
 trodden and have to be followed with the greatest of 
 care. At certain places a number of paths come 
 together or diverge in different directions. In this 
 case it is very important to make no mistake, other- 
 wise one goes entirely out of his way. So when one 
 gets into a path that is almost entirely obliterated, or 
 leaves the hunting path, his eyes must notice every- 
 thing round him, every peculiar tree, every stream, 
 every rock. 
 
 " But this is not enough, for often when one is lost 
 he fancies that he has seen such and such a tree before, 
 though really he has not. It is necessary therefore 
 to make marks with your knife upon the bark of 
 trees ; to break now and then young boughs of trees 
 on your right and on your left ; to collect big handfuls 
 of leaves and to put them together on the ground ; to 
 cut off branches and lay them across the path. By 
 doing this carefully people do not get lost. By fol- 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 lowing these marks one returns to the point whence 
 he started. One can never be too careful, for it is 
 very dangerous to be lost in the great forest. If you 
 have been bewitched you may die of starvation, find 
 neither wild honey, berries, nor nuts. Or you may 
 go so far out of your way that you come to a land 
 inhabited by another tribe than yours and then you 
 are captured and made a slave. Once lost it is very 
 difficult to get back to your starting-point. You turn 
 round and round without knowing it. Once I was 
 lost, and when evening came I found myself by the 
 same big tree I had left in the morning." 
 
 Here Regundo took a long breath and lighted his 
 pipe, which had gone out while he was speaking. 
 
 Then he resumed : " Hunters must be very careful 
 in the handling of their guns ; for the forest is full of 
 creepers and vines of all kinds. Branches continually 
 get in the way, and any of these may catch the trigger, 
 and the gun go off. Never have the muzzle of your 
 guns pointed towards your body or in the direction 
 of your neighbor." 
 
 " You are right, Regundo." I exclaimed. ce Besides 
 one man must never point his gun at anather, even 
 though he calls it playing. It is a very bad sort of 
 playing. People are often killed in that manner. 
 Then the man who was playing with his gun, says 
 
 1*8 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 that he thought it was not loaded. A man who 
 points his gun towards another man ought to be 
 punished." 
 
 " Yes, he ought," shouted the hunters with one 
 voice. " We hunters never play in that way with our 
 guns." 
 
 Then came another pause, after which Regundo 
 continued : " A man who has not a cool head must 
 never be a hunter. In the presence of a dangerous 
 beast he is lost himself if he loses his head, for he 
 cannot shoot straight. A cool head is very necessary 
 in the presence of an elephant, a ngina, a buffalo, or 
 a leopard, especially if you come suddenly upon them, 
 or when they attack or charge you." 
 
 At the end of these words of wisdom from Regundo, 
 all shouted : " That is so, that is so." 
 
 " Yes," I said, " no man is a good hunter unless he 
 has a cool head; otherwise he is sure to be killed." 
 
 After this little interruption Regundo continued : 
 " Hunters have to be particularly careful when they 
 hunt elephants, especially a bull or c rogue elephant,' 
 for these often charge even when the bullet is sure to 
 cause their death afterwards. The best thing that can 
 happen is to kill them on the spot, then there is no 
 danger ahead. A man must be particularly cool- 
 headed when an elephant charges. He must stand 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 perfectly still, looking at the beast when he comes 
 towards him and must know exactly the time to move, 
 and then retreat three steps, if he is not protected by 
 a tree, just in time for the elephant to pass before him. 
 Elephants cannot make a sudden sharp turn or stop 
 at once when they charge. They go straight ahead 
 and they do not return to charge the enemy a second 
 time. One must be exceedingly careful not to ap- 
 proach the elephant, though he appears to be dead, for 
 sometimes he gets up suddenly and charges, and if the 
 hunter has not a clear field, or is encumbered by 
 creepers or trees and cannot step backward, then the 
 elephant will impale him, trample upon his body, or 
 kill him with his trunk." 
 
 " Yes, yes, that is surely so," shouted the hunters. 
 cc Mbango was killed in that manner, two dry seasons 
 ago. We found him dead, the elephant having 
 trampled upon him. One of his feet had been 
 entangled in a creeper, and he could not step back- 
 ward in time." 
 
 Regundo finished his speech by saying : " Hunters 
 must always be very careful in shooting, so that the 
 bullet does not hit on its way some young tree or 
 creeper, for then the bullet not only loses its force, 
 but deviates from its course. But," he added thought- 
 fully, " all precautions are useless if witchcraft comes 
 
 140 
 
Sometimes he suddenly gets up and charges " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 in, for misfortune follows the man who has been 
 bewitched." 
 
 As the men got up they invoked Mombo and 
 Olombo to give them good luck. " You know that 
 we love you, that every time we kill game we give you 
 some," they shouted. Then we bade each other good- 
 night. 
 
 141 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 WE START AFTER THE GORILLAS CAUTIOUS WALKING 
 THROUGH THE FOREST THE DOGS FIND THE 
 NGINA YELLS OF THE MONSTER. BROUGHT TO 
 BAY HE SLAUGHTERS TWO OF THE DOGS TAUNTS 
 OF THE HUNTERS SHOT THROUGH THE HEART 
 AT LAST. 
 
 EARLY in the morning, just at dawn of day, I 
 was ready for the start. Soon Oshoria, Ogoola, 
 Ngola, and Quabi made their appearance. What a 
 sight they were ! Their bodies were daubed all over 
 with ochre of different colors, a sign that they were on 
 the war-path. Each wore a broad belt of charmed 
 leopard skin over which incantations from the medi- 
 cine doctor had been made the day before, and which 
 were thereupon pronounced by him invulnerable against 
 spears, arrows, and bullets. They were all covered 
 with " mondahs," which also had been made power- 
 ful by incantations and were to protect their lives. 
 They would never have started for the hunt without 
 these. 
 
 These charms were made of skins of rare animals 
 which enclosed the dried flesh and brains of rare 
 monkeys and birds, teeth of crocodiles and leopards, 
 
 142 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 feathers of birds, fangs and brains of snakes, ashes of 
 animals' intestines that had been burned by the medi- 
 cine doctor, and rare and precious land shells, filled with 
 charmed ingredients. 
 
 Oshoria wore a charmed iron chain which had been 
 forged in a far country. This chain was looked upon 
 by all the slaves as the most invincible of all charms, 
 for Oshoria had met many dangerous and ferocious 
 beasts, he had killed several nginas, and had never 
 been wounded. This chain ran from his left shoulder 
 to his right side. 
 
 The men had left that morning in the forest an 
 offering of a leg of an antelope to the spirits Olombo 
 and Mombo to propitiate their good will, so that 
 they should give them good luck. 
 
 Before starting, my hunters cut the backs of their 
 hands in several places before one of the idols, and 
 mixed their blood with earth and some kind of dust 
 and clay, with which each filled a land shell, carried by 
 every man in a bag, that also contained a special 
 little idol, to guard and protect them from harm. 
 
 They neglected nothing to insure their lives. Re- 
 gundo invoked the spirits of his ancestors in a loud 
 voice and called upon them to follow us and protect 
 us. 
 
 When everything was ready we went to the canoes 
 
 *43 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 that were waiting for us. Into one we put the dogs, 
 Ogoola and Ngola going with them; Oshoria and 
 Quabi, and the two men who had brought us news of 
 the presence of the nginas and were to act as our guides 
 were in my canoe. Regundo followed us to the river 
 and, taking my hands, blew on them and wished me 
 success. 
 
 We paddled along until we came to a tree under 
 which the spirit called Mbuiri was supposed to rest 
 sometimes and look at the river. The men danced 
 and sang under it. 
 
 Then we continued our way upon the silent river 
 lined all along with the dense forest. We saw two 
 huge black and yellow snakes in the water. After- 
 wards we met a troop of monkeys which from a tree 
 were looking towards the other side of the river. 
 They were chattering among themselves in great ear- 
 nest. They wanted, I thought, to cross to the other 
 side but the river was too wide. When we came 
 near them they stopped chattering, and looked down 
 upon us as we passed. When far enough away we 
 heard them chattering again. 
 
 Further up we landed near a large tree, where I saw 
 a path. We partook of a light meal, and then, making 
 our canoes secure among the reeds that hid them from 
 sight, we started. This path led to the plantation of 
 
 144 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the two men who had brought the news of the nginas. 
 The dogs were led by leashes, for we did not want 
 them to run in the forest. 
 
 As we marched in single file, not one of us spoke a 
 word. Two or three times we heard troops of mon- 
 keys travelling in the forest. Once we heard the shrill 
 cries of a flock of parrots. Suddenly we came upon a 
 great number of pineapple plants ; many of the pine- 
 apples had been eaten up. Oshoria looked at me and 
 said : " Nginas have been here, not to-day, but two 
 or three days ago." 
 
 We continued our way and discovered in a muddy 
 part of the path four footprints of nginas. Their 
 heel-prints were deep in the mud but the toe-prints 
 were hardly visible. Two of the heels were much 
 larger than the other two. " The big footprints are 
 those of a man ngina," said Oshoria; "the smaller ones 
 are those of his wife." When looking round I saw two 
 tiny footprints and pointed them out to Oshoria who 
 said: "Those are the footprints of the baby ngina." 
 
 Further on we saw along the path a place where the 
 nginas had tarried, for the jungle was much broken, 
 and some of the saplings had been broken and partly 
 chewed or eaten up. This looked as if it had been 
 done the day before. We all agreed that the nginas 
 were in the neighborhood. 
 10 MS 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 We slept in the forest that night. Before daylight 
 we were up. I painted my face and hands black 
 with powdered charcoal mixed with oil so that I might 
 not be easily seen. Men from the plantation, who had 
 come to meet us, took charge of the dogs. 
 
 After two hours 1 walk we stopped, and one of the 
 guides said something to Oshoria in a very low voice 
 which I could not hear. Then Oshoria said : " We 
 had better loose the dogs and let them go." In the 
 twinkling of an eye they were in the forest and out of 
 sight. 
 
 We entered a large field of plantain trees. Oshoria 
 led, I followed, then came Ngolo, Ogoola, and then 
 Quabi. We walked very silently, and our excitement 
 was so great that we could hear each other pant. 
 After a while Oshoria was quite a distance ahead of all 
 of us. He was the scout, and we had lost sight of him 
 through the crookedness of the path. I stopped to see 
 if we were all at hand and then we continued our way, 
 when, after passing a bend in the path, I saw Oshoria 
 standing still waiting for us. As soon as he saw us he 
 gave the cluck of danger, " Kluk, kluk," put his hand 
 on his mouth as a sign not to speak, then his hand 
 towards his ear as a sign for us to listen. We walked 
 towards him without uttering a word, but looked 
 towards each other. Then Oshoria pointed with his 
 
 146 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 finger in a certain direction. He had evidently heard 
 something that had attracted his attention there. 
 
 Soon we heard the peculiar shrill piercing cry of 
 fear of a ngina. Oshoria whispered to me : " That is 
 the cry of a female gorilla who is afraid and has fled. 
 Probably she has scented the dogs and given the cry 
 of distrust and fear to her mate." 
 
 Immediately after we heard the barking of our dogs, 
 followed by the tremendous yells of defiance and fight 
 of a huge male gorilla " Whoah, whoah;" then roars 
 that filled the forest with their din, and seemed to be 
 like the sound of thunder along the sky. These roars 
 almost entirely drowned the fierce barking of the four- 
 teen dogs. " It is a man ngina," whispered Oshoria. 
 " His mate has fled. Let us prepare ourselves for a 
 fight." Instinctively we came still nearer together 
 and looked at our guns ; my hunters' guns were 
 loaded with plugs of iron, plugs which they use to 
 kill elephants. I looked at "Bulldog" and said: 
 " Thou faithful rifle, which hast never failed me before 
 in time of danger, be true to me to-day, be true to 
 me ! " 
 
 " Let us go and fight this man ngina," shouted 
 my men with eagerness in their eyes and a sort of 
 ferocious joy. This time they were not afraid of 
 being heard, for they knew that the huge beast was 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 brought to bay and would not run away, but attack. 
 We advanced through the plantain trees, many of 
 which had been pulled down by the two nginas. 
 Every step forward increased the terrific din made by 
 the fierce barking of the dogs and the angry roars of 
 the ngina. We came nearer and nearer the border of 
 the forest, and soon caught sight of the dogs. Look- 
 ing in the direction where the most forward and daring 
 of them were barking, we saw a huge male gorilla with 
 his back against a tree and following with his eyes the 
 dogs that surrounded him. Evidently the huge fiend- 
 ish creature had never been attacked by dogs before. 
 He was bewildered by their number and did not know 
 what to do except to yell and roar at them. He was 
 seated, ready to use his powerful long arms or his feet, 
 catching the dogs with his terrible manlike hands if 
 they came near him. The dogs knew this and were 
 cautious in their attack ; they advanced and retreated, 
 led by " Bloodthirsty " and " Pouncer," closely fol- 
 lowed by the others. 
 
 Suddenly the gorilla's yells and roars stopped. He 
 had seen us, and he did not know what to make of 
 these new enemies. His eyes glanced from the dogs 
 to us he seemed to know that if he went after one of 
 the dogs the others would fall on him from everywhere. 
 
 What a sight ! The huge creature seemed the incar- 
 
 148 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 nation of ugliness. " No other creature in the world 
 can look so ugly/* I said to myself. His legs were short 
 and bent, he had such a broad chest and such a protrud- 
 ing abdomen, that it appeared to contain at least a 
 barrel of the food he had devoured. He had big, power- 
 ful, muscular long arms, and huge paws, of which the 
 ringers were short and thick, fiis huge foot had four 
 toes and one thumb. His body was thinly covered 
 with hair, his face was intensely black blue 
 black his eyes were deeply sunken in his head, and 
 he looked straight at us, as if he were a human being. 
 Tigers, lions, dogs, and other animals never can 
 look in that way. The sockets of his eyes were evi- 
 dently like those of man, allowing him to look in the 
 same manner. His hair stood erect all over his body 
 owing to his rage and that on his head moved 
 up and down, and he beat his breast. But in spite 
 of all that he had an anxious expression in his eyes, 
 which were looking all round, for he had never been 
 surrounded by so many enemies before, dogs and men, 
 and this was the reason he had put himself against 
 a tree so that no dog could attack him from be- 
 hind and thus placed he could see all his foes. 
 
 Our guns were pointed at him in the direction of his 
 heart, and at the least advance he made towards us we 
 would have fired. The only thing I feared was that 
 
 149 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 instead of advancing erect to attack us, he would drop 
 on all fours, being surrounded by so many enemies, 
 and would run towards us in that posture ; then it 
 would have been far more difficult to shoot at and 
 wound him mortally. I noticed blood on one of his 
 hands and then I saw at about five or six feet from 
 him the prostrate form of one of the dogs. It was 
 " Fierce." My men saw the dog at the same time 
 <c Fierce " was one of the most intrepid of their dogs. 
 They shouted to the ngina : " You have killed fierce 
 c Fierce/ We will kill you also." The gorilla became 
 so hard pressed by the dogs that he had no time to 
 yell, for he was too busy looking round for them ; he 
 only uttered now and then, when one came too near, a 
 " Whoah wah." The dogs were ready to spring on him 
 as soon as they had an opportunity. They watched 
 their time, but the huge ngina was watching them also; 
 he knew what they were about, and as soon as they 
 came within his reach he would, by a sudden motion of 
 his long arm shoot it forward and try to catch the most 
 daring one that came^near him, sometimes using his 
 legs and feet instead. My hunters were cool but 
 they were on the war-path and had met their enemy. 
 Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, Quabi, shouted words of 
 defiance to the gorilla such as " We are men. Yes, 
 we are men. Come towards us, if you dare. We are 
 
The big monster . . . seized ^Bloodthirsty ' and threw 
 him dead on the ground" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 ready for you. We are not afraid of you though 
 you look at us straight in the face. We laugh at 
 you. How do you dare to yell at the Oguizi. Soon 
 you will hear c Bulldog ' talk to you. Our guns will 
 talk to you also. Ngina, you are a coward come 
 towards us if you are not afraid. You have only a 
 short time to live ; soon you will lie dead at the feet 
 of the Oguizi." 
 
 Then they gave a terrific war-cry, the one used 
 before attacking their enemy, and the gorilla uttered a 
 terrific yell of defiance in response. The dogs had 
 become bolder and bolder, and more and more angry. 
 Suddenly " Bloodthirsty " came too near the ngina, 
 and before he had time to retreat, and quicker than 
 the eye could follow, the big monster had sent his 
 powerful arm forward and with his huge hand seized 
 " Bloodthirsty " and threw him dead on the ground. 
 At this the other dogs, enraged by the loss of their 
 two companions, lost control of themselves forgot 
 all prudence and as they were on the point of jumping 
 on the huge beast, which now was uttering terrific 
 yells, I, not wishing the men to lose more dogs, said 
 " Fire ! " and we all shot at the same time. The huge 
 monster fell forward on his face, shot through the 
 heart. In the twinkling of an eye the dogs jumped on 
 him and he was torn to pieces. 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Poor " Fierce " and <c Bloodthirsty," were dead. 
 Regundo was right when he said that if we met with 
 nginas all the dogs would not return. 
 
 Then my hunters went round the ngina, and, look- 
 ing at him, shouted: "We were not afraid of you. 
 When the Oguizi looked at you, it was just the same 
 as if you were dead, for he had made up his mind to 
 kill you as soon as he saw you." 
 
 Then I cut off his head, as a trophy, and, carrying 
 it with us, we went back to the plantation and saw 
 our three guides, who had left us as soon as they thought 
 the nginas were near. We laughed at them. 
 
 The following day we were on our way back to my 
 hunters' home. When we reached the plantation, 
 Oshoria carried the head of the gorilla on a pole, 
 Regundo and the other people welcoming us back 
 with great expressions of joy. In the meantime, my 
 clock had stopped, and was silent under the veranda, 
 and Regundo and the other people thought that the 
 spirits that were in it had followed me. Their belief 
 in this increased when they saw that after my return 
 the tick of the clock began again. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SINGULAR SIGHT IN THE FOREST ALL KINDS OF ANI- 
 MALS FLEEING IN ONE DIRECTION A TERRIBLE 
 ANT THE BASHIKOUAY ARMY ATTACKED EVERY- 
 WHERE AT ONCE HOW I ESCAPED THE TORMEN- 
 TORS. 
 
 A FEW days after my return from the gorilla 
 hunt I found myself one morning all alone. 
 Regundo had gone for the day. The men were cut- 
 ting trees for a new plantation,; the women were weed- 
 ing the fields. Feeling somewhat lonely, I left for the 
 forest, armed with a gun. I became so interested on 
 my way in collecting insects and butterflies that the 
 time passed quickly, and before I was aware of it 
 the greater part of the day had gone, and I could 
 not reach the plantation before dark. Knowing this 
 I decided to remain and camp in the forest, for it was 
 impossible to follow the path in the darkness. I had 
 no torch with me, and a leopard might pounce upon 
 me while on my way. So I lighted a fire, collected 
 large leaves, built my camp, and gathered a lot of dead 
 wood, for I intended to surround myself by four fires 
 during the night to make sure that no wild beasts or 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 snakes should come near me. I slept well, waking two 
 or three times during the night to attend to the fires. 
 The following morning I determined to go a little further 
 before I retraced my steps towards the plantation. 
 
 After a while I noticed a number of snakes which 
 seemed to follow each other in rapid succession, creep- 
 ing as fast as they could, and all going in the same 
 direction. Two or three of these passed close to me. 
 
 Suddenly I heard the tramping of elephants through 
 the jungles breaking down everything before them, 
 and apparently running as fast as they could. One of 
 them crossed the path in sight of me. They were 
 going in the same direction as the snakes. 
 
 These were followed by a number of gazelles, ante- 
 lopes and wild boars. The forest seemed alive with 
 beasts. These went also in the same direction that the 
 snakes and elephants had gone. 
 
 I stood still for a moment, for I had never seen 
 such a sight before, when to my utter astonishment a 
 leopard passed near by, bounding and running as fast 
 as it could in the direction of the other animals. 
 " What is the cause of this leopard leaving his lair during 
 the day time, for they generally sleep during the day ? " 
 I asked myself. A strange feeling of fear and awe 
 came over me. I thought that some great convulsion 
 of nature was about to take place. The earth was per- 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 haps to open, and a volcano burst out at the spot where 
 I stood. An involuntary dread that something grave 
 was to happen came over me. The forest became 
 alive with multitudes of insects and butterflies. They 
 too were fleeing, and in the same direction which the 
 animals had taken before them. A great number 
 of insectivorous birds followed them, preying on 
 them in their flight. In a word, all the living creatures 
 of the forest were in a panic, and were all fleeing in 
 the same direction. 
 
 Just as I was about to retrace my steps and run as 
 fast as I could towards the plantation, I found my- 
 self suddenly covered with countless ants, which bit 
 me with the greatest ferocity. In an instant they were 
 biting me everywhere, on my legs, on my arms, on 
 my back, on my neck, they were in my hair. As I 
 ran I tried to kill those that were on my body, those 
 that were outside had their pincers fast in my clothes. 
 They were also everywhere around me, on the ground 
 and on the trees. 
 
 These ants were the fierce bashikouays. They 
 were on the war-path, and attacked on their march 
 every leaving creature. Fortunately I could run away 
 in the path faster than they could advance, but I 
 could not get rid of those that were already on me. 
 After about one hour's run I came to a stream, took 
 
 '55 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 off my watch and put it on the ground, and then 
 lay flat at the bottom of the shallow water, in order 
 that it might cover me entirely, and drown the ants. 
 I did not dare to stay too long in the water, for fear 
 that the bashikouay army would overtake me. For- 
 tunately I succeeded ere long in drowning them, for 
 I did not feel any more bites. 
 
 Panting and out of breath I reached the plantation 
 before dark, and I told Regundo about the bashikouays, 
 and how animals and insects had fled at their approach, 
 but did not tell him how I had been bitten by them. 
 
 Regundo said : " These ants are called bashikouays, 
 and they were on the war-path." 
 
 " What do you mean, Regundo, when you say that 
 the bashikouays were on the war-path ? " I asked. 
 
 " When they are not on the war-path," he replied, 
 "they walk close together in a line. They are as 
 thick as the grains of dry earth or of sand on the 
 sandy shores of a river ; then they are harmless, for 
 they attack no one. But when they scatter, they 
 attack every living thing that comes in their way. 
 They even climb trees, going after insects. Gorillas, 
 elephants, leopards, all living things, flee before them. 
 When they come into our villages or into our houses, 
 we have to protect ourselves, our children, and our 
 babies, by boiling water, fire, and hot ashes." 
 
 156 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Two or three days after my adventure with the 
 bashikouays, Regundo came to me, saying : " Follow 
 me, and you will see the bashikouay ants in marching 
 order ; they are harmless, for they are not on the war- 
 path." 
 
 I followed him, and soon after he stopped and said : 
 " Here they are," and I saw a moving line of bashi- 
 kouays crossing the pass, the line being about two 
 inches in width. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A JOURNEY TO THE ELEPHANT COUNTRY SERIOUS 
 ANNOYANCE FROM FLIES, WASPS, AND MOSQUITOES 
 IN THE MIDST OF A DROVE OF HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 1WAS anxious to go on a long hunting expedition. 
 One day when Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, 
 Quabi, and I were seated under a big tree, I said to 
 them : " We must go and hunt elephants, hippopot- 
 ami, crocodiles, and other big game/* This suggestion 
 was received with sonorous grunts of approbation by 
 them all, and it was agreed that we should prepare 
 ourselves for a long expedition. 
 
 The following day I saw Oshoria slyly entering the 
 idol house, and after he had closed the door behind 
 him I approached the house and, peeping through a 
 crack, saw that he was marking his body with ochre 
 of different colors. Then he muttered words to the 
 idol that I could not understand. Afterwards he took 
 from a little wooden box a piece of red ochre and 
 made a mark with it between his eyes, and another 
 mark in the hollow of his chest, and then spoke very 
 fast. Then he went to another box, and took from it 
 a charmed necklace, to which was hung a sort of small 
 
 158 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 iron bell, which was filled with charmed powder and 
 which he put around his neck. When I saw that he 
 was ready to come out I retired as quickly as possible. 
 
 For three days great preparations were made for 
 our hunting expedition. The wives of the hunters 
 prepared food for us. Dear Regundo invoked every 
 evening the spirits of his ancestors to protect us. The 
 ouganga or medicine doctor, made incantations for 
 our success, and said that we were to be lucky. 
 
 We started with two canoes, the people following 
 us to the banks of the river. As the day advanced it 
 became very warm, for there was not a breath of wind 
 on the river. It was a good day for flies ; they plagued 
 us sadly, attacking us with great persistency. I was 
 kept busy all the time handling my elephant-tail to 
 protect myself against them, but when they got 
 between its long, coarse, black hairs it meant death to 
 them. My eyes had to be everywhere in order to 
 watch for them, and my ears very quick to find out 
 where they were flying ; but in spite of all my watch- 
 fulness they succeeded in giving me now and then a 
 sting. 
 
 Suddenly we would hear a sharp whiz ; then the men 
 would shout at once : " Look out, there is an ibolay 
 flying around." They were not mistaken. There 
 was an ibolay, flying with such rapidity that he was no 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 sooner seen than lost to sight. I kept a sharp look- 
 out for him, ready to strike with my elephant's tail, 
 but I was stung twice by one during the day. It was 
 worse than the sting of a bee. I had to be quiet, for 
 it would not have done for an Oguizi to utter cries of 
 pain, but it was very hard sometimes not to do so. 
 
 Another fly, the iboca, of the size of a hornet, also 
 quick in its motion, gave the severest bite of all ; 
 my clothes were no protection whatever. Often the 
 blood ran down the face or body of the men that were 
 bitten. The fly that annoyed us most was the 
 nchouna, which was very numerous. We could not tell 
 of its approach, for it came unobserved and silently 
 and had inserted its bill so gently that it got its 
 fill of blood before we knew we were bitten. After- 
 wards the itching began, and lasted several hours, 
 varied at intervals by certain sharp stabs of pain. We 
 paddled as often as we could under the branches of 
 trees overhanging the water, to be protected from the 
 powerful sun. Once, to our utter dismay, our canoe 
 went bang into an elonay's nest. The elonay is a very 
 fierce wasp. There are no flies the natives dread so 
 much. The men shouted : " The elonays are after 
 us ; let us get out of the way," and we paddled as fast 
 as we could, to be out of their reach. Ogoola, Ngola, 
 and Quabi seemed to be the men they chiefly 
 
 1 60 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 attacked. These threw themselves into the water. 
 They did not think of crocodiles or anything else. 
 They kept under water quite a while, and after a time 
 came back on board. The bite of the elonays is very 
 painful. It leaves an acrid poison, which causes 
 pain for two or three days. At intervals the poison 
 seems to gather fresh force, and the wound begins to 
 throb. 
 
 That night we slept in our canoes. During the 
 night there was a constant howling of wild beasts. I 
 thought the forest was full of leopards, hyenas, and 
 unknown fierce creatures. Fortunately, our canoes 
 were at anchor far away from the banks, and the hun- 
 gry animals could not reach or spring upon us. Evi- 
 dently they scented us, and would have been delighted 
 to make a meal of some of our number. 
 
 The mosquitoes troubled us so much that we were 
 glad when morning came. Then we were bothered 
 by sand-flies. These disappeared when the sun became 
 powerful enough to drive them away, but the flies that 
 delight in the sun and the heat of the day took their 
 place. The rivers are far worse than the forest in 
 regard to flies. 
 
 Suddenly Oshoria, who steered my canoe, shouted : 
 " Ngooboos [hippotami] ahead/' Then he added : 
 " They are in the middle of the stream ; let us go near 
 ii 161 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the shore." The men stopped paddling, and we all 
 looked in the direction in which Oshoria pointed, and saw 
 a herd of hippopotami, looking like stranded logs on the 
 water, for they did not move. We paddled slowly 
 and noiselessly close to the shore, so that the huge 
 beasts could not see us. We came nearer and nearer 
 to them every minute. I counted twenty-two hippo- 
 potami. 
 
 My attention was suddenly attracted to a part of the 
 river where I heard peculiar loud sounds, or grunts. 
 Looking in that direction, I saw two bull hippopotami 
 by themselves, fighting with each other. They rushed 
 towards each other, then disappeared under the 
 water, and reappeared again. Their big, ugly mouths, 
 when opened, showed us their tusks. They attacked 
 with great fierceness, lacerating each other's bodies 
 with their crooked tusks. Finally one was victori- 
 ous, and the other swam away as fast as he could. 
 
 We approached the hippopotami slowly and with 
 caution, to within fifty yards of the herd, without 
 seeming to attract their attention. " Let us paddle 
 nearer," I said to the men. We came within twenty- 
 five yards, and then I took " Bulldog," and aim- 
 ing at the ear, as one of their vulnerable spots, I 
 fired. The animal sank. I found that it was of no 
 use to kill a hippopotamus in the water, for they sink 
 
 162 
 
I 
 
 _J 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 to the bottom. The whole herd of hippopotami 
 became much excited at the shot, snorted and plunged 
 under the water, disappearing and reappearing, 
 and soon the animals were seen scattered in every 
 direction around us. They dived, and when they 
 rose some of them came dangerously near. I became 
 fearful they would upset our canoes, and that if they 
 succeeded in doing so, they would attack us, and their 
 big crooked tusks were sure to make short work of 
 our poor bodies. Oshoria ordered that we should 
 paddle as fast as we could to get out of their way. One 
 of the hippopotami swam under our canoe, and rose 
 about three yards from us. But we kept on our way 
 untouched, and a few miles further upstream we came 
 to another herd of these unwieldy creatures, sporting 
 and snorting in the water, now popping their huge 
 unshapely heads out, then diving to the bottom. 
 
 We passed this herd, and after paddling two or three 
 miles further we saw two cow hippopotami, with their 
 little ones apparently resting on their backs. 
 
 163 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 MUDBANKS COVERED WITH CROCODILES HOW THEY 
 STALK THEIR PREY AN UNSUSPECTING BOAR SUD- 
 DENLY SWALLOWED UP HABITS OF THE HUGE 
 CREATURES. 
 
 WE continued on our way, and about two hours 
 afterwards entered a small creek, and then 
 got into very tall and dense reeds, through which we 
 had great difficulty in advancing. Suddenly we emerged 
 into a shallow lake, and I saw a strange sight. 
 
 I could hardly believe my own eyes. Hundreds 
 of huge crocodiles, and other hundreds of smaller ones 
 were to be seen everywhere resting on the muddy 
 islands basking in the powerful rays of the sun. At first 
 I thought they were logs of dark wood stranded on the 
 mud. In some places the crocodiles were solitary, in 
 others, three or four, and sometimes ten or twelve were 
 together. I had never seen so many crocodiles before. 
 
 Paddling cautiously, we kept gazing at the croco- 
 diles. I did not wish to fire a shot at them, for I 
 did not want to disturb, but to watch them. Oshoria, 
 who was steering, said : " Oguizi, look there ! " point- 
 ing at the same time with his finger in the direction 
 
 164 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 towards which he wanted to draw my attention. Fol- 
 lowing his gesture, I saw a herd of yellow wild boars 
 standing near the shore. Watching them in the water 
 was a large crocodile. His big head was the only 
 part of his body that could be seen. After a while we 
 noticed his head moving slowly towards the shore. 
 He left hardly a ripple behind him. Then the head 
 became stationary once more. 
 
 The boars grunted as they advanced towards the 
 water, headed by their leader. Suddenly they stopped 
 and gave peculiar grunts unlike those they had first 
 given. They were talking among themselves. Then 
 all went on the muddy bank. They were evidently 
 having a grand time in the mud. 
 
 Once more we saw the head of the crocodile moving 
 and getting nearer and nearer the boars. The boars 
 appeared to feel uneasy. Suddenly the head of the 
 crocodile disappeared entirely under the water. The 
 boars became quieter, and continued to enjoy them- 
 selves. 
 
 Oshoria said : " The crocodile is swimming under 
 the water. It has done this to fool the boars. Watch, 
 Oguizi. Soon you will see the crocodile again." 
 
 I watched intently and all at once I saw the croco- 
 dile's head reappear on the surface of the water. It 
 was hardly perceptible, and quite near the shore this 
 
 165 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 time. Before I had time to think, I saw a huge croco- 
 dile amidst the boars and seizing one of them in its 
 powerful jaws. All the rest gave a squeal of fear 
 and fled. 
 
 The teeth of the crocodile were fastened into the 
 boar's body and as quickly as he had come the mon- 
 ster disappeared in the thick reeds which were close 
 by to devour his prey. The men, laughing, said : 
 "How much better lodged the meat of the boar 
 would have been in our stomachs instead of in that 
 of the crocodile." 
 
 We left this spot and continued to paddle amid 
 muddy black islands covered with crocodiles. I said 
 to my hunters : " We must not camp on the shores 
 of the lake, for we shall surely be attacked by croco- 
 diles." Pointing to one that seemed to be eighteen 
 or twenty feet long, I said : " Look at his big jaws ; 
 he would make short work of one of you if you got 
 between them." 
 
 "He would ! " they all shouted with one voice, 
 " but we won't give him a chance." 
 
 "We will camp on the top of that high hill yon- 
 der," said Oshoria, at the same time pointing out the 
 place to me, " for that is near the path that will lead 
 us to the elephants' hunting-ground." He had hardly 
 uttered these last words when we passed near a muddy 
 
 166 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 bank just above the water, upon which I counted nine 
 big crocodiles ; not one of them seemed less than fifteen 
 feet in length. They were perfectly motionless and 
 looked exactly as if they were dead. 
 
 Oshoria said : " How quiet they are, Oguizi ! 
 They seem so harmless and so sleepy, but they look 
 round slyly with their cunning eyes. When hungry 
 they often hide among the reeds. Once I came here 
 to hunt, and three of my dogs were eaten by them. 
 The dogs when thirsty come to the lake to drink, and 
 then are seized by the crocodiles." 
 
 " Oguizi," said Ogoola, " when a crocodile knows a 
 spot where animals come to drink he remains quiet 
 near by and watches constantly. When he sees the 
 game he dives away to make the beast unsuspicious, 
 as we have seen one do with the boars, then quick 
 as a bird of prey he pounces upon his victim, seizes it 
 in his powerful jaws and carries it to some retired spot 
 to devour it." 
 
 In the evening we camped on the top of the hill 
 just by the path that led to the elephant country. 
 We lighted big fires, and after supper I said : " To- 
 morrow we will take to the lake and kill some of the 
 big crocodiles." 
 
 " You are our Oguizi ; we will follow you every- 
 where," they replied. 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 As we were seated by the fire Oshoria said : " There 
 was a time when there were several villages on Croco- 
 dile Lake, for the land around is good for cultivating 
 and there is much game in the forest. There are yet 
 two or three villages left, which we cannot see from here. 
 
 " Now, Oguizi, I am going to tell you a sad story. 
 Years, years ago, there lived in a village by Croco- 
 dile Lake a beautiful woman, the wife of a great 
 hunter. All the people loved them, for they were 
 kind, and when the man killed game he always 
 used to divide the meat with other people. He loved 
 his wife dearly. One day as they were crossing the 
 lake a tornado overtook them and upset their canoe. 
 Just as they were on the point of reaching the shore, 
 a crocodile that was in the weeds near by, in the 
 twinkling of an eye seized the man's wife and disap- 
 peared, the poor woman uttering a fearful shriek ; 
 then all became silent. 
 
 " Oguizi," he added, "a man who loved that 
 woman had changed his shape into that of a crocodile 
 and carried her off. That man, who lived in the same 
 village, was never seen afterward." 
 
 " But," I said, " Oshoria, that man was probably 
 devoured by a leopard or a crocodile." 
 
 " No," Oshoria replied, " it was witchcraft." 
 
 After this story we went to sleep. The following 
 
 168 
 
I 
 
 - 
 
 s- 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 morning we were once more on the lake. The croco- 
 diles were far more lively than the day before. They 
 disappeared constantly under the water and reappeared. 
 Oshoria was forward in my canoe, watching for croco- 
 diles. We wanted to kill one that we could haul 
 easily. We paddled along until we saw one that was 
 in the right place, and then steered towards the big, 
 ugly, sly creature. 
 
 When Ngola saw me take " Bulldog " he said, 
 " Crocodile, your days are numbered. c Bulldog ' 
 will kill you, and you will eat no more wild boars, 
 antelopes, and gazelles. What a nice necklace your 
 teeth will make!" 
 
 We paddled in such a manner as to keep in the 
 rear of the crocodile, for I wanted to shoot him 
 behind one of his forelegs. The beast was appar- 
 ently asleep. The men used their paddles so care- 
 fully that we could hardly hear them going through 
 the water. Coming into position, I aimed behind the 
 right shoulder and fired. Dear " Bulldog " did his 
 work well. The monster advanced about a yard 
 towards the water, slamming his tail to help him, but 
 he died before he could reach it. 
 
 " Let us try to get at the crocodile " I said to 
 Oshoria, to which he replied : " We will try, but it will 
 be difficult, for the mud is very soft and dangerous/ ' 
 
 169 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 cc It is sure death," they all shouted. 
 
 "Then," I answered, " we will not try to get the 
 crocodile into our canoe. Let us go back and get 
 that old abandoned canoe we saw near the shore on 
 our way here, break it up into three boards, bring 
 them with us, lay them on the mud and walk upon 
 them to where the beast lies ; then with the help of a 
 rope we will haul him off." The suggestion was 
 received with shouts of approval and we went for the 
 old canoe to carry out my suggestion. 
 
 On our return we succeeded in putting the croco- 
 dile upon one of the boards and then after a great deal 
 of work we dragged the board with the crocodile upon 
 it into the water and towed our prize towards our 
 camp. 
 
 Near the landing I spied a very large crocodile on 
 the shore. When we came near enough, we all took 
 aim and fired at the same time, and killed the beast 
 instantly. He hardly moved. It was an enormous 
 one, over twenty feet long. What powerful jaws, 
 what tremendous, long round teeth ! We ate croco- 
 dile for supper. Before going to sleep, the men 
 rubbed their bodies with oil, for their skin was blistered 
 by the sun, and they seemed very comfortable after- 
 wards. 
 
 170 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 DIFFICULTY OF MAKING OUR WAY FALLEN TREES AND 
 DENSE THICKETS OUR MEAT GIVES OUT LOOK- 
 ING FOR KOOLA TREES A MEAL OF THEIR NUTRI- 
 TIOUS NUTS THEIR IMPORTANCE TO THE TRAV- 
 ELLER IN THE FOREST. 
 
 NEXT morning we determined to leave Crocodile 
 Lake and go at once to the elephant country. 
 
 We breakfasted on crocodile, to save our provis- 
 ions. We hauled up our canoes and hid them in the 
 forest. Then we started. Once more we were in the 
 great forest ; the foliage was so thick that no one could 
 see the sun or the sky. 
 
 We could not walk fast enough to please me, for I 
 wished to reach the elephant hunting-ground. The 
 path was difficult to follow, for it was so little used. 
 Our advance was impeded by fallen trees blocking the 
 path. The big ones had brought down with them 
 many others. So we had sometimes to go through 
 acres of broken branches, losing the path. In many 
 places we had to creep under low branches with our 
 bodies bent, looking more like apes than human be- 
 ings. We had to climb or go under fallen trees, or 
 
 171 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 jump from one root to another, these often being 
 over a foot above the ground, or else we walked for 
 hours in the bed of a stream. 
 
 Fortunately I was in my teens, and weighed only a 
 little over one hundred pounds. I was then only five 
 feet two inches tall. Had I been a tall and heavy fel- 
 low I should have had an awfully hard time to creep 
 through the jungle. To-day I am but five feet four 
 inches and a half in height. 
 
 We travelled the whole day in a northern direction 
 towards a prairie country. A little before sunset we 
 built our camp. The fires were kept blazing all night, 
 for in the region were many leopards, besides snakes 
 crawling at night. We built fifteen fires in a circle, 
 and slept in the centre, the smoke driving the mos- 
 quitoes away. 
 
 During the night the men on the watch were 
 startled by a rustling in the jungle. They awoke me 
 at once the noise was close to our camp. The 
 men thought some one was trying to approach our 
 place and to surprise us. We could not see far away, 
 for the bright fires blinded us. An unseen enemy in 
 the dark could see us, while we could not discover 
 him. The men went, with their fingers on the triggers 
 of their guns, to the place whence they thought the 
 noise proceeded. There was no one there. 
 
 172 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Another time our suspicions were aroused by a rust- 
 ling of branches ; this one was far more pronounced 
 than the first. We looked at each other, and pointed 
 our guns in the direction of the noise. Then the men 
 gave a terrific war-cry and fired towards the sus- 
 pected spot, and with a rush made for it. There was 
 no trace whatever of men having been there. 
 
 " This noise must have been made by some huge 
 snake," said Ogoola. 
 
 " Yes," replied Quabi, " it must have been a huge 
 python, or perhaps some night animals/' 
 
 We put more wood on the fires, then Oshoria and 
 Ogoola relieved the watch, and the rest of us went to 
 sleep again. I had not been long asleep when I sud- 
 denly jumped up I thought I had heard a noise 
 but the forest was still. I had been dreaming, I sup- 
 pose. Oshoria and Ogoola looked at me in astonish- 
 ment and said : " Only a big leaf fell on the ground, 
 Oguizi." 
 
 The least noise awakened me in the forest. My 
 sleep was as light as a watch-dog's. 
 
 At dawn of day, after a breakfast of crocodile 
 meat, we were again on the march. Towards noon 
 we rested a while to eat, after which we continued our 
 march, and looked for elephants ; but no traces of 
 them could be seen. The day was sultry, and I be- 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 came very thirsty, which was seldom the case, for I had 
 trained myself not to drink between meals. By and 
 by we came upon a little stream the water of which 
 was as clear as crystal. I plucked a big leaf, which I 
 rolled up into a cornucopia, filled with the cool water, 
 and took a big drink. Rising, I saw what I had not 
 noticed before a number of human footprints. My 
 men were behind and I waited for them. When they 
 came in sight I bade them come towards me. The 
 fellows' feet seemed to glide over the ground I could 
 not hear their footsteps. I pointed out the footprints 
 to them. Their looks betrayed their feelings. They 
 thought evidently that there were people in the neigh- 
 borhood. Oshoria said : " It is strange that we should 
 see the footprints of men here." 
 
 We continued our march until it was near sunset. 
 Then Oshoria stopped and said : " Let us stop here 
 for the night, for the light in the forest is getting less 
 bright, and warns us that it will be dark soon." 
 
 The crocodile meat was getting somewhat tainted. 
 We had got to the last piece. Henceforth we should 
 have to rely upon berries, nuts, and fruits. After our 
 meal the men filled their pipes and seated themselves 
 by the fire. " To-morrow," said Oshoria, " we must 
 be most careful. Our eyes must look everywhere, 
 and our ears must be listening. Sometimes men lie 
 
"I pointed out the footprints to them" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 in wait in the trees along the path, and you are only 
 aware of their presence when they throw a spear or a 
 poisoned arrow, fire a gun at you, or capture you ; 
 then it is too late to look out." 
 
 In the morning we started without breakfast. 
 "Further on," said Oshoria, "we shall come to the 
 koola-trees. This is the time of the year when they 
 bear nuts. These are the best nuts found in the forest 
 and we shall have plenty of food. The koola nut 
 satisfies a man's hunger better than any other berries 
 or nuts. They taste so good. A man gets so much 
 strength after he has eaten them." 
 
 We were getting more and more hungry as the 
 hours passed away, and had to drink water to keep 
 up our strength. At last Ogoola said : " We are near 
 the koola-trees." He was right. A little further on 
 he pointed out to me a grove of four magnificent koola 
 trees. They towered above the other trees round 
 them, and as I was looking at them nut after nut fell. 
 These nuts were dark, quite round, and of the size of 
 a walnut. 
 
 The men immediately began to break them with 
 stones. The shell is very hard and thick. The kernel 
 is as large as that of a cherry. My dear hunters, even 
 before they ate a single one, poured them upon my 
 lap, and said : 
 
 '75 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 <c Oguizi, eat, eat; you are hungry." 
 
 " No," said I, " we will eat together." They broke 
 the shells of a lot of the nuts and afterwards we began 
 to eat them. The kernel was whitish and as con- 
 densed in substance as the almond. After I had 
 eaten some thirty of them I could not eat one more. 
 We all laid ourselves flat on the ground and took a 
 nap, for we were exhausted from hunger. When we 
 awoke we could hear the nuts falling on the ground 
 sometimes one by one, sometimes a lot together. 
 This delighted our hearts, for no man could go up the 
 trees, they were so tall and their trunks were so big. 
 
 That day we collected all the nuts that fell on the 
 ground and made our supper of them. After our 
 meal we seated ourselves in the centre of our fires; 
 then the men filled their pipes. Ogoola, who had been 
 the first to see the koola trees, said : " Oguizi, if it were 
 not for the koola trees we hunters would often die of 
 hunger in the forest. Aniembie [the good spirit] 
 made them grow for us. Men cannot subsist on 
 berries and fruits ; not only are they not strengthen- 
 ing though they prevent a man from starving but 
 if you eat too much of them you are sure to be ill 
 with dysentery. We are never ill from eating koola 
 
 nuts." 
 
 I found afterwards that thirty nuts were enough for 
 
 176 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 one meal and would keep a man vigorous from morn- 
 ing until evening. 
 
 " The koola trees/ 1 continued Ogoola, " are some- 
 times found like those in this place, three or four 
 together, but oftener they are single. They are easily 
 recognized, for they are among the big trees of the 
 forest. We generally make our paths pass by where 
 they are, for it is hard to carry food enough for a long 
 journey, the plantain gets ripe so soon and the 
 bunches are so heavy, and the igouma is also very 
 heavy. During the season of the koola nuts, we 
 carry very little food with us. Our greatest enemies 
 at that time are the boars, for they like the nuts as 
 well as we do, and feed much upon them. Then they 
 become very fat however, and are delicious to eat. 
 The gorillas and other c men of the woods ' are also 
 very fond of koola nuts." 
 
 Then the men added a lot of wood to the fires and 
 we went to sleep. Nothing happened during the 
 night to disturb us, and the next morning we collected 
 the nuts that had fallen during the night, cracked them, 
 and started again for the elephant hunting-ground. 
 
 12 
 
 '77 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 LOST IN THE FOREST A HERD OF ELEPHANTS LURES 
 ME ON SEPARATED FROM MY HUNTERS TWO 
 NIGHTS ON THE GROUND AND ONE IN A TREE 
 FOUND AT LAST JOY OF THE MEN. 
 
 WE had not left our encampment two hours 
 when we fell in with a great number of ele- 
 phant tracks. These seemed to show that the ele- 
 phants had been there during the night. Further on 
 the tracks became so numerous that we thought sev- 
 eral herds must have followed each other, for the 
 jungle was trodden down in every direction. We held 
 a council. The men said that the elephants were not 
 very far away, and agreed to leave the path and hunt 
 the huge beasts, meeting in the evening in the spot 
 where we then stood. We made marks on the trees, 
 and cut a number of boughs and broke others, in order 
 that we might recognize the place. 
 
 Oshoria and I were to hunt together. Quabi, 
 Ogoola, and Ngola made up the other party. We 
 left the path and got into thick forest. I had never 
 seen so many elephant tracks before. There must 
 have been at least one hundred elephants together. 
 
 178 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 After two hours* walk, we heard the tramping of 
 the elephants ahead of us. They were breaking the 
 branches of trees and feeding upon the leaves. Soon 
 after we heard them trumpeting. I looked at " Bull- 
 dog,'' Oshoria looked at his gun also, and we marched 
 carefully in the direction of the elephants. I got a 
 glimpse of several, and went towards them. Just as I 
 was on the point of taking aim, the elephants fled, 
 breaking and treading down the saplings that were in 
 their way. I followed the track they had left behind 
 them, in the hope of seeing them again. Ere long I 
 spied a bull elephant, and seven cows. These fled 
 also. I chased them but was not able to overtake 
 them. 
 
 Without my being aware of it, time had passed 
 more quickly than I thought. It was getting late, 
 and I retraced my steps towards the place where we 
 had agreed to meet. I had lost sight of Oshoria. 
 After a while I found I did not recognize some of the 
 trees I had especially noticed, and did not see the 
 marks we had made when following the elephants, 
 I began to suspect that I was walking in a wrong 
 direction. I had not met two ebony trees which had 
 particularly attracted my attention on account of their 
 size. Surely 1 had gone the wrong way. I shouted 
 after Oshoria, but received no answer back. 
 
 179 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Finally I came to a path which I thought was the 
 one upon which we had agreed to meet, but I could 
 not tell whether I was beyond or lower down than 
 our place of meeting. I walked on for a while to see if 
 I could recognize some of the trees, but I could not. 
 
 I seated myself on the trunk of a tree that had fallen 
 across the path and waited for Oshoria and the other 
 men. I had hardly seated myself when the bloody 
 head of a monkey with its eyes plucked out fell within 
 a yard in front of me, and I knew that a guanionien, 
 the largest eagle of the forest, was devouring his prey, 
 perched on a giant tree, though the foliage was so thick 
 that I could not see the bird, called by the natives 
 the leopard of the air. Then I tried to call to mind 
 how it had happened that I had lost Oshoria, and I 
 remembered that we had not before seen the fallen 
 tree upon which I was seated. This made me believe 
 that I was further on. I waited but Oshoria did not 
 come. Then I thought that perhaps he was waiting 
 for me still further ahead, and decided to go on myself. 
 I broke a few branches on each side of the path and 
 made marks on the bark of the trees with my hunting 
 knife. I put a big handful of leaves on the tree upon 
 which I had been seated, and I laid parallel with the 
 path three sticks, with sharp points at one end, indicat- 
 ing the direction I was to take. Thus Oshoria would 
 
 180 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 be sure to know where I had gone when he passed the 
 place. 
 
 I walked slowly. Time passed ; but no Oshoria 
 came, and night was near. To add to my difficulties, I 
 came to a place where the path forked into three dis- 
 tinct branches. I determined to go no further that 
 day, but to camp for the night at the junction of 
 these paths. 
 
 I shouted with all my might after Oshoria and the 
 rest of my hunters, but only the echo of my voice 
 came back. I fired a gun, but the same silence 
 continued. 
 
 Fortunately I had some koola nuts with me, but 
 before eating them, as it was getting late, I collected 
 a lot of dead branches, of which the forest is full, and 
 made four separate piles of wood for fires, when 
 lo ! I remembered that Oshoria had my steel and flint. 
 I had lent them to him to light his pipe before we 
 started in the morning, and he had forgotten to 
 return them to me ; and I had left my matches at 
 Regundo's. 
 
 I took two pieces of very dry wood, a large and 
 a small one, and after rubbing them rapidly and vig- 
 orously together I succeeded in getting a little fire, to 
 which I added some dried fungus, and soon my four 
 fires were in full blaze. I slept surrounded by them, 
 
 181 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 During the night a dead branch fell with a great 
 crash and awoke me. I put more wood on the fires 
 to keep away the wild beasts, and went to sleep 
 again. 
 
 When I awoke in the morning I thought of 
 Oshoria and of my hunters and said to myself: 
 " Surely we shall find one another to-day." 
 
 Taking from my bag twenty koola nuts, I ate 
 them for breakfast ; I counted the others, and found 
 that I had enough for a day and a half, that is, for 
 three meals. 
 
 When I was ready to start, I chose the centre path 
 out of the three branching ones, cut tree-limbs on each 
 side, then again sharpened three sticks at one end and 
 laid them parallel with the path, the sharp end de- 
 signed to show the direction I had taken. I shouted 
 now and then with the whole strength of my lungs, 
 " Oshoria, Oshoria," but the forest remained silent. 
 Then I gave the peculiar native cry of " Whoo, 
 whoo, whoo a," which reaches very far, but no answer 
 came back. I fired " Bulldog," but only its echo 
 returned to me. 
 
 I kept on walking slowly, and towards noon I took 
 a meal of koola nuts, but ate only ten of them. 
 While I was eating, " Bulldog" lay at my side. I 
 looked at the dear old rifle, and said to it : " c Bulldog/ 
 
 182 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 you are the only friend I have now : I think a great 
 deal of you, and I love you. Do not fail me in time 
 of danger or hunger." 
 
 Then, taking the precious rifle on my shoulders, I 
 continued my way. After a while, I heard a rustling 
 in the jungle, and looking in that direction, a strange 
 sight met my eyes. I saw a bald-headed ape, the 
 nshiego mbouve, with a baby. The mother had 
 a very black face, while the face of the baby was so 
 white that the little fellow looked quite human. The 
 mother was seated on the ground eating some fruit 
 and giving some to the little nshiego mbouve, that was 
 looking in her face, seated between her legs. I hid 
 behind a tree and watched the two. 
 
 Then the little fellow lay on his back and his 
 mother cleaned his skin with her nails, taking off 
 dandruff, or killing little insects. Once or twice the 
 baby nshiego mbouve said, " Woe, woe," and after- 
 wards clung to his mother's breast. Then he climbed 
 to her shoulders, the mother uttering low, guttural 
 sounds of happiness or contentment. 
 
 How human they both looked ! The little fel- 
 low's face was so pale that one might have thought 
 he had just recovered from a long illness. But it 
 was his natural color. Suddenly the big nshiego 
 mbouve gave a shrill, piercing cry and with her baby 
 
 183 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 holding on to her ran away into the thick of the 
 forest. She had evidently seen me. 
 
 I continued my way. I do not know why, but the 
 forest seemed to me more silent than before. I be- 
 gan to feel very anxious at the non-appearance of 
 Oshoria and my hunters. " Paul," I said, fc are you 
 going to be lost in this great forest, and die of star- 
 vation or illness ? Your ammunition cannot last 
 forever, and the fever may come at any time and 
 you may be so feeble afterwards that you cannot 
 help yourself. Then it will be all over with you." 
 
 The day went by. The path still led on and 
 no answer had come to my cries of " Whoe whoe 
 whoe a." The dim light of the forest told me that 
 the day was coming to its close and that it was about 
 time to make my camp. I stopped beside a little 
 stream of clear water. I thought of Oshoria, of Ngola, 
 Quabi, and Ogoola. I wondered if they also were 
 lost and making their camp, and whether they were 
 separated or together. I looked for two pieces of 
 dry wood, and lighted four fires, as the day be- 
 fore, in the midst of which I lay down. I was very 
 tired, for " Bulldog " was very heavy. I was soon 
 lulled to sleep by the murmur of the little rivulet 
 winding its way to some bigger one. I dreamt of 
 home, of friends, of corn-bread, of turkey, of roast 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 beef. When I awoke it was broad daylight and 
 only the embers of the fires remained. It was fortu- 
 nate that no leopards had been round during the 
 night, this unusual sleep had done me good. 
 
 I ate the last of my koola nuts, and before starting 
 for the day I made the same kind of marks I had made 
 each morning, so that my men could know the direc- 
 tion I had taken. I hoped I should find some 
 koola trees, for I was hungry. I had not left the 
 camp ten minutes before I came to two koola trees 
 under which the path passed. There were but few 
 nuts on the ground, as the wild boars had been there 
 but a short time before, judging from the freshness of 
 their tracks. 
 
 I collected what nuts there were. I was sure not 
 to starve on that day. " Providence," I exclaimed, 
 " thou art kind to me. Thou hast always been kind 
 to me." 
 
 After a hearty meal of nuts I continued on my way. 
 The path seemed endless and was very crooked. 
 Many a time I shouted " Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, 
 Quabi," but got no answer. Taking courage, I said : 
 " This path must come to an end or reach some 
 inhabited place." I only fired "Bulldog" once that 
 day, for I had become chary of my ammunition. 
 Again the day passed without sight of any of my 
 
 '85 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 hunters. The country I traversed was in many places 
 very marshy, which made me believe that a river was 
 not far off. Before dark I built my camp. I then 
 tried to make a fire with two pieces of wood. I 
 rubbed them against each other ; the little piece dug 
 quite a hole in the big one, but no smoke came ; 
 either it was not the right sort of wood, or it was too 
 damp. I took some other wood but succeeded no 
 better. Night was fast coming on. Then I said to my- 
 self: " I cannot sleep on the ground in the dark, for if 
 a leopard passes by he is sure to spring on me and 
 devour me. Even if I climb a tree and rest in the 
 midst of its branches, he is sure to climb also if he 
 scents me." The leopards are great tree-climbers. The 
 only way for me was to ascend a tall and very slim 
 tree that no leopard could climb on account of the 
 small size of its trunk. Looking ahead in the path I 
 saw three very slender trees close together. Their 
 branches intertwined with each other, after a certain 
 height. I saw that from the first tree I could reach 
 the second by creeping on one of its branches, and 
 would be able to reach the third tree, that was the 
 highest, in the same manner. I spied a branch about 
 thirty feet from the ground, upon which I could rest 
 for the night. There the prowling leopards could not 
 reach me. I cut a slender creeper for a strap with 
 
 186 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 which to fasten " Bulldog " on my back when I as- 
 cended the trees ; then unloaded the dear rifle, to guard 
 against accident. I climbed the first tree, took hold of 
 one of its branches and lifted myself up ; but not 
 without great trouble, for " Bulldog " was much in 
 the way. I succeeded, however, in reaching the 
 second tree ; I was then about fifteen feet above the 
 ground. To reach the third tree from the second 
 one was a very hazardous undertaking, and I ran 
 great risk of tumbling down and breaking my neck, 
 for the branch that was to help me to cross over 
 was very slender ; and I had some doubt if it would 
 carry me safely. At first I thought I would drop 
 " Bulldog " down, but I said upon reflection, " Paul, 
 whatever you do, do not let your rifle be separated from 
 you ; an elephant might come and get hold of it with 
 his trunk and break it ; some leopard or other wild 
 beast might beset you." 
 
 With some hesitation I crept upon the transverse 
 limb but finally succeeded in reaching the third 
 tree. Then I took a long breath and rested a while, 
 after which I ascended still higher until I reached a 
 height of about thirty feet, where I found a branch 
 upon which I could rest for the night. There the 
 prowling leopard could not reach me. A slender 
 liane hung from a tree above my head, looking 
 
 187 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 exactly like a snake, and I cut off about eight feet of 
 it, and using it as a rope, made it fast round my 
 waist and the trunk of the tree, so that, in case I 
 fell asleep, I should not fall to the ground. I should 
 have to remain on the tree eleven hours, for daylight 
 would not come before that time. Soon darkness 
 set in. 
 
 In the silence of the night I could hear the slightest 
 noise. Two or three times I thought I heard little night 
 animals walking on the dead leaves in search of prey, 
 but I could not see two feet ahead of me, it was so 
 dark. Once I thought I saw through the darkness 
 the shining eyes of a leopard. I thought he was 
 looking at me. The cold perspiration dropped from 
 my forehead at the idea, but I was mistaken. The 
 eyes were two big fireflies. 
 
 Time seemed so long I thought the night would 
 never come to an end. At last I heard the cack- 
 ling of the guinea fowl, the forerunner of morning, 
 and dawn came at last ! I came down the same 
 way I had ascended. After reaching the ground I 
 stretched my legs, for they were very stiff, then ate 
 some koola nuts. I did not like them any more; 
 I had "gouamba," or hunger for meat. I shouted 
 with all my might, " Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, Quabi." 
 No answer. Then I fired " Bulldog," and lo ! in 
 
 iSS 
 
I 
 
 some hesitation I crept upon the transverse limb" 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 less than two minutes I heard what I thought to be 
 the detonation of a gun, far, far off. It was cer- 
 tainly not the echo of " Bulldog." A thrill of joy 
 ran through me. It was an answer from one of 
 my hunters. But I did not dare to trust my ears. 
 Perhaps I was mistaken. To make sure, I loaded 
 two cartridges with twice the usual amount of pow- 
 der, and then fired. The charge was so heavy that it 
 almost threw me over. Soon after I heard two guns. 
 There was no mistake this time. These were an- 
 swers to mine. 
 
 I followed the path in the direction where I thought 
 the sound came from. After a while I fired another 
 shot ; then I heard another in answer. This time it 
 was much nearer. Forward I went, and after a little 
 while I fired again. The firing of another gun re- 
 sponded to mine, and this time the detonation was 
 quite near. I shouted, "Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, 
 Quabi," and heard the shouts of " Oguizi, Oguizi," 
 in answer. A short time after I saw in the path 
 Oshoria, Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola. They were all 
 there. In the twinkling of an eye we were in each 
 other's embrace, after which the men shouted : " We 
 are men ! we are men ! " Then Oshoria seated him- 
 self on the ground, took his idol from his bag, mut- 
 tered words I could not understand, and said, cc Oguizi, 
 
 189 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the idol told me this morning that we should meet 
 you to-day/* 
 
 Soon after a big blazing fire was burning, and a 
 great quantity of wood was piled upon it, and when 
 it was reduced to charcoal, three men put some large 
 pieces of boar upon the embers. They had killed 
 the animal while searching for me. The smell of 
 the roasted boar was delicious to me, for I had 
 " gouamba " badly. 
 
 Oshoria was the salt carrier. Salt was very precious 
 to us, and it made the boar's meat taste so good. 
 After our meal I recounted to them how I had lost 
 Oshoria, and what had happened to me. 
 
 Then came the turn of Oshoria, who said : C( The 
 elephants are the cause of the Oguizi and me becoming 
 separated. I followed that day the track which I thought 
 the Oguizi had taken, but it was the wrong one. 
 The second day I saw in one place the marks of the 
 Oguizi's shoes, but when the ground became hard I 
 lost them. The second day in the morning I came 
 to the place where we had agreed to meet. There I 
 found Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi waiting for us. 
 They asked me : ' Where is the Oguizi ? ' I replied : 
 c He is gone, he has disappeared/ We followed the 
 path, and saw the marks you had left to guide us. 
 How glad we were this morning when we heard 
 
 190 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 f Bulldog ' talk. Then our guns talked to c Bulldog/ 
 Our hearts were filled with joy, for we thought we 
 should never see the Oguizi any more/' 
 
 Then they all cried : " Here we are once more with 
 the good Oguizi ! " 
 
 Oshoria said : " Oguizi, we thought you had 
 changed shape, and left us. Then we said : The 
 good Oguizi would not leave us without saying good- 
 by, for he told us that he loved us/ ' 
 
 " You are right, my hunters," I replied, " the Oguizi 
 would not go away without saying good-by to you, 
 for you are his friends, and he loves you." 
 
 At my words they came forward closer to me and 
 all looked in my face, with great wonder. I wished I 
 could know what their thoughts were. 
 
 " Oguizi," said Oshoria, cc though I have hunted 
 many dry and rainy seasons in the forest, I have never 
 seen so many elephant tracks before. The animals 
 must have been driven here by being too much 
 hunted further inland, or by the bashikouay ants. 
 To-morrow the path will end in a beautiful prairie, 
 and there we shall meet, I think, many elephants." 
 
 We were so tired that we determined to remain 
 where we were for the rest of the day, as there was a 
 clear rivulet of water close by. We had some boar's 
 meat for supper, and after our meal, my hunters lay 
 
 191 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 flat on their backs upon the ground, and held the soles 
 of their feet within a few inches of the fire. The sole 
 of the foot often becomes very sore from walking upon 
 pebbles, or upon the roots of trees, and that was the 
 way the natives cured the soreness of their feet. Before 
 we knew it we were all fast asleep. 
 
 192 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 / / 
 
 THE ELEPHANT HUNTING-GROUND THE BEAUTIFUL 
 PRAIRIE SKIRTING THE FOREST THE WELCOME 
 SKY AND SUN AND STARS AFTER THE FOREST 
 GLOOM HUNTING ELEPHANTS BY MOONLIGHT 
 THREE LARGE HERDS NARROW ESCAPE OF OSHORIA 
 AND MYSELF DEATH OF THE HUGE TUSKER. 
 
 WE took up our march again at dawn, walking at 
 a very quick pace, for we were all anxious to 
 reach the prairie. After travelling about eight miles I 
 noticed that the light in the forest was getting brighter. 
 This was the sure indication that we were coming to 
 an open space. A moment after, we came out on a 
 lovely prairie, which, after the dark forest, looked the 
 more beautiful. It was so pleasant to see again the 
 blue sky, the white floating clouds, and the sun, to feel 
 the wind blowing in our faces, for the forest is all 
 the time as quiet as if wind did not exist. " To-night," 
 I thought, " how happy I shall be, for I shall see the 
 stars and the moon." 
 
 The waving grass looked very lovely to me, for I 
 was tired of seeing nothing but trees day after day, 
 month after month, and the world had never appeared 
 '3 193 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 more beautiful than it did that morning. Perhaps 
 also it was because I had found my friends again. 
 
 I stood still for a while, gazing at the sky, and said : 
 " Sunshine makes the heart of man happy. I do not 
 wonder that in ancient times men worshipped the sun, 
 for it is the source of all life upon earth. Without 
 sun no vegetation or life would exist." 
 
 Along the borders of the forest were groups of 
 plantain trees, some standing not far from us. 
 
 " The elephants are, as we know, in the neighbor- 
 hood," said Oshoria. " They will surely come here to 
 eat the young leaves of the plantain trees and their fruit. 
 We could not be here at a better time, for the moon is on 
 the wane and we shall be able to see the elephants well 
 and at the same time the moon will not be too bright. 
 Let us build our camp on the border of the forest." 
 
 To this we all agreed, and the rest of the day we 
 were busy collecting material for our camp. After- 
 wards we cleaned our guns, and swore that we would 
 not return to the plantation before killing an elephant 
 or two. That night we slept soundly, for we needed 
 rest. In the morning I left my men in the camp, as 
 I loved to hunt alone. I walked along the border of 
 the forest, thus having all the way a good sight of the 
 prairie, while at the same time I was hidden by the 
 
 trees. 
 
 194 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I had walked hardly two hours before I thought I 
 heard the booming tramp of elephants,, I lay down 
 upon the ground, my right ear to the earth in order to 
 make sure that I was not mistaken. I heard nothing, 
 however, and thought I must have been mistaken. 
 But, continuing my way, I suddenly heard a great 
 racket in the forest. Elephants were breaking branches 
 of trees. I looked at " Bulldog " ; it was all right. I 
 advanced cautiously in the direction of the noise, and 
 soon saw under the trees bordering the prairie five 
 elephants, a bull and four cows. I crawled towards 
 them like a snake. I drew nearer and nearer. Now 
 and then I would raise my head above the grass to 
 get a look at the elephants. The bull was a huge 
 creature and seemed to be over ten feet in height, 
 the cows from nine to nine feet and a half. Finally I 
 hid behind a tree, for I wanted to watch the noble ani- 
 mals at my ease. I noticed the big tusks of the bull 
 and thought of his charging a man and impaling him 
 upon them. 
 
 The animals were feeding upon the fruit growing 
 upon a cluster of trees. One was shaking a tree with 
 its trunk entwined round the slender stem. Another 
 was butting its head against a tree, and after a lot 
 of the fruit had fallen they picked it up, uttering 
 occasionally a gentle trumpeting of contentment. 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 I was so intensely interested in watching them, that 
 I forgot that I had " Bulldog " with me. All at once 
 the bull trumpeted loudly and they all fled, plunging 
 headlong into the forest. I immediately returned to the 
 camp and told of the news. We held a council, and 
 it was agreed that we should set out on an elephant 
 hunt that night. 
 
 We took a survey of the surrounding country and 
 saw that the forest advanced here and there into the 
 prairie just as the land does into the sea, and formed 
 in a number of places what might be called capes. 
 These capes were splendid places from which to watch 
 for elephants. We waited impatiently for the night 
 and lighted no fire that day. We agreed to divide 
 into two parties, Oshoria and I going to the nearest 
 cape on our right, which was near a fine field of plan- 
 tain trees. Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola were to go to 
 another cape on our left, from which they could also 
 have a good view of the surrounding country. They 
 could see far towards the north, we towards the south. 
 
 When evening came we bade each other good-night 
 and started for our respective places. When I looked 
 back I saw the dark forms of Ogoola, Quabi, and 
 Ngola moving away from us. We reached our place 
 and hid under a tall tree, the branches of which ex- 
 tended over the grass. We were at the extreme end 
 
 196 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 of the point, near a big field of plantain trees, a great 
 many of these bearing fruit not yet full grown. The 
 stars were shining brightly in the blue sky and multi- 
 tudes of fireflies were moving above the grass, almost 
 illuminating the prairie. 
 
 By the brighter light above the trees we knew that 
 the moon had risen. After a while it appeared just 
 above the forest, and gradually rose higher and higher 
 and shed its tempered light over the country. 
 
 Soon life began to show itself I saw a few ante- 
 lopes emerging from the forest. They were fine ani- 
 mals, with long spiral horns, but we let them alone, 
 for we were after larger game. On the other side of 
 the prairie we saw a large herd of buffaloes I counted 
 thirty-seven of them. Their bulls are very dangerous 
 animals ; they charge furiously, and only a very power- 
 ful gun can be effective with a shot in front, on account 
 of the formation of their horns. I always took very 
 careful aim when shooting them they were among 
 the animals I dreaded most. They hide during the 
 day in the forest, and come out at night. But we left 
 the buffaloes also alone. 
 
 How impressive was the night on the prairie. We 
 could hear once in a while the cry of the owl, and see 
 flying squirrels above our heads. The sky and the 
 dear twinkling stars were looking down upon us. 
 
 197 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 The time seemed very long, as it always does when 
 one is kept waiting. Three hours passed away. No 
 elephants had come in sight. I scanned the prairie 
 carefully as far as my eye could reach. Suddenly my 
 attention was drawn, in the far distance, towards a big 
 black spot in the grass which I took to be a cluster 
 of shrubs, but wondered that I had not noticed it 
 before. I watched the black spot, for I was not sure 
 that it was formed by young trees. Soon I saw it mov- 
 ing slowly and advancing towards our side of the prairie. 
 I thought they were elephants, but they might also have 
 been hippopotami, for there might have been a river 
 in the neighborhood. The animals were so far away 
 I could not distinguish them. 
 
 I looked for Oshoria, but he was not in sight. 
 Where had he gone? 
 
 The black mass kept moving slowly, and I watched 
 it intently. After a while, I made out certainly that 
 it was a herd of elephants. Later I distinguished a 
 huge bull which was leading them. I counted twenty- 
 three elephants. Looking again for Oshoria, I saw 
 him standing close to me, also watching the elephants. 
 He made a sign for me to follow him, which I did. 
 Then he pointed out to me a big, moving black mass. 
 It was another herd, but much larger than the one I 
 had discovered. They were walking slowly in the 
 
 198 
 
L 7 distinguished a huge bull which was leading them 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 direction of Quabi, Ngola, and Ogoola. I could see 
 the herd sidewise. The elephants were led by a huge 
 bull, which looked larger than any of the others. I 
 made out forty-three elephants. As they stood still, 
 their bodies slowly rocked and swayed to and fro. Once 
 in a while their big ears pricked up. Their trunks 
 were in motion, curling and uncurling themselves. 
 Their tails with the long, coarse, black hair beat their 
 flanks. Now and then the cows squealed, and their 
 squeals were followed by the violent trumpeting of 
 the bulls, which sounded strange in the midst of the 
 silence of the night. 
 
 Suddenly the herd stopped, and the bull uttered a 
 piercing trumpeting. Did he scent danger ? Was 
 he aware of our presence ? What was the cause of the 
 sudden halt ? These were questions I asked myself. 
 After a while I heard another trumpeting, unlike the 
 first one we heard. Then a general trumpeting of all 
 the herd filled the prairie with its sound. This was re- 
 sponded to by a loud, angry trumpeting from the bull 
 of the other herd. Were these two bulls to fight for 
 the mastery of the two herds ? A fight between two 
 such monsters would be fine to look at. " If the bulls 
 fight," I whispered very low to Oshoria, "we must 
 look on and not fire at them." 
 
 I had hardly uttered these words when a big cloud 
 
 199 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 hid the moon, and the herd of elephants could not be 
 seen. When the cloud had passed over, we saw the 
 elephants moving slowly. 
 
 Just then I was startled by a great crash of trees in 
 our rear. Elephants were in the forest and were 
 going out on to the prairie. The noise they made as 
 they tramped in the jungle came nearer and nearer ; 
 the huge creatures were evidently coming our way. 
 Oshoria came close to me and took me to a very large 
 tree, so as to be protected by its size, which would 
 prevent us from being trampled upon by the elephants. 
 Suddenly the elephants stopped, the bull uttered a 
 sharp and shrill trumpeting. The bulls of the two 
 other herds answered also with trumpetings of defiance. 
 There was to be a great battle. For one reason or 
 another the elephants in the forest changed their 
 course and entered the prairie on our right. I counted 
 seventeen of them ; they were walking in single file, led 
 by the bull, which after a while stopped ; the herd then 
 came together into a group. The bull uttered another 
 loud trumpeting, which was answered by the trumpeting 
 of the other two bulls. Not a buffalo was in sight; at 
 the appearance of the elephants they had moved away. 
 
 It was a fine sight to see these three herds walking 
 slowly in the prairie, with the dim light of the moon shin- 
 ing upon them. They were the very emblem of strength 
 
 200 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 among the animals of the earth. The herd that had 
 been in our rear was the first to enter a plantain field. 
 Soon after we heard them breaking the plantain trees, 
 while the animals now and then gave forth low trum- 
 petings of satisfaction. 
 
 We left our hiding-place and crept towards the 
 plantain trees. Oshoria looked at his guns, I 
 looked at mine. The cartridges were in place. Soon 
 we were in the midst of the scattered elephants. I 
 had hardly seen them when I thought I heard the 
 trampling of one of the two other herds coming 
 in our direction. If that was the case, we should 
 be in great danger, for we should find ourselves 
 between the two herds. If they met, it was probable 
 that the two bulls would fight. " Who knows," I 
 said to myself, " perhaps the third herd is coming here 
 also. Then there may ensue a grand battle among 
 the bulls for the mastery of the herds, and the cow 
 elephants may run in every direction." 
 
 There was no time to be lost, if we did not wish to 
 have elephants all around us ; either we must kill one 
 of those in sight, or fire a gun to scare them. In 
 either case there was danger. 
 
 I noticed that the bull and cow elephants were rest- 
 less, they evidently thought the two other herds 
 were coming towards them. 
 
 201 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Oshoria, who was within a few feet from me, was in 
 a better position to shoot, for I had a number of plan- 
 tain trees in my way. I could not get a good aim. 
 
 The gun of Oshoria rose slowly, then I saw a flash 
 and heard a terrific detonation, and, to my consternation, 
 the bull charged in my direction. He had had a glimpse 
 of me. He was coming at full speed, while the crash 
 made by the frightened and fleeing elephants added to 
 the confusion. 
 
 In the twinkling of an eye I took three steps back- 
 ward, and was protected by the burned trunk of a tree. 
 I was just in time. The infuriated animal passed close 
 by me. As he did so, I fired behind his right shoul- 
 der, but he did not fall, and went on into the forest 
 followed by the cow elephants. I was sure " Bull- 
 dog " had hit the huge beast, and Oshoria was much 
 surprised that the elephant had not fallen dead. He 
 eyed " Bulldog," as if to say : " I do not understand 
 why you did not kill the elephant outright.'* 
 
 In the meantime, the detonation of our guns had 
 scared the two other herds ; we heard them tearing 
 down everything in the forest that opposed their flight. 
 This was a narrow escape of mine ; but for the tree I 
 should have been trampled upon or impaled, so 
 quick was the charging of the bull. Then the advice 
 of Regundo came into my mind, that a hunter should 
 
 202 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 never lose his head before sudden danger. I was 
 covered with perspiration, and my heart beat quickly 
 from the excitement. 
 
 We returned to the camp, and Ngola, Ogoola, and 
 Quabi came back at dawn, reporting that they had been 
 watching the two herds of elephants, and fully expected 
 to kill one, but the firing of our guns had blighted their 
 hopes. 
 
 After breakfast, Oshoria and I went in search of 
 the bull we had shot, for we were sure he was wounded. 
 We came to the track the elephant had left behind 
 him, and after a short time, not five hundred yards 
 from the place where we had shot him, Oshoria gave 
 a cluck to draw my attention, and pointed ahead. I 
 looked and saw a huge bull elephant lying on the 
 ground upon his stomach, with his head downward, 
 but facing us. Our coming seemed to rouse him. 
 He raised his head and looked at us. He evidently 
 recognized in us his enemies of the night, who had 
 inflicted his deadly wound, and before we had even 
 time to think, and while I was pitying the poor beast, 
 he rose and charged us at furious speed. We had 
 just time to get out of his way. He dashed past us 
 and fell down, exhausted by his efforts. He wanted 
 revenge before dying. Oshoria fired at the elephant 
 and shouted to me to fire, for he was not sure that he 
 
 203 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 would not rise again. The magnificent beast was dead 
 when we came near. He was over ten feet in height, 
 and had very large tusks. We found that he had been 
 wounded. His charge had been so unexpected 
 that I wondered that one of us had not been killed. 
 This was the narrowest escape I ever had with 
 elephants. 
 
 I looked at the huge bull. His thick hide was 
 covered with scars, most of them healed, but two or 
 three new. All bore witness to the numerous 
 fights he had had with other bulls for the mastery 
 of the herd. He had had to assert his supremacy by 
 constant fighting, and had he not been killed by us, 
 the day was sure to come, as he grew old, when he 
 would at last find a bull stronger than he was. 
 
 At the sound of our guns Ogoola, Ngola, and 
 Quabi left their camp and soon came up. Oshoria 
 and I were seated on the huge beast when they 
 appeared. Oshoria shouted to them : " We are 
 men ! We are men ! " and they responded : " You 
 are men ! You are men indeed ! " 
 
 Quabi went after an axe and the big hunting- 
 knives. The first thing we did on his return was to 
 take off the fine tusks from the elephant's head. It 
 was hard work, for they were embedded in the skull 
 for nearly three feet. One tusk weighed ninety- seven, 
 
 204 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the other ninety-one pounds. The tusks are never of 
 the same weight. Then we brought a great deal of 
 the meat to the camp, for we had nothing to eat, and 
 the men took two large pieces into the forest for 
 Mombo and Olombo. 
 
 205 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE KILLING OF A SECOND ELEPHANT HOW BULL ELE- 
 PHANTS FIGHT THE CONTEST FOR THE LEADER- 
 SHIP OF THE HERD OSHORIA's GRAPHIC ACCOUNT 
 OF A BATTLE ROYAL WITNESSED BY HIM RETURN 
 TO THE PLANTATION. 
 
 OUABI and Ngola went to reconnoitre during 
 the day, and came back with the news that 
 further down the prairie there was a little lake, the 
 shores of which were entirely covered with elephants' 
 tracks, and that the forest near there showed that 
 elephants had been in that region during the night. 
 
 We all went to sleep, so that we might be in good 
 trim for the coming night. When we awoke, the sun 
 had disappeared in the west behind the trees of the 
 forest. We cut some of the meat of the bull ele- 
 phant we had killed into thin slices, and roasted these 
 on charcoal. The meat was very tough, but fortun- 
 ately I had good teeth and a splendid digestion. 
 
 The eating of coarse food is very healthful and helped 
 me to lay in a good store of health for future years ; 
 and to this day I have never suffered from a single 
 attack of dyspepsia. During my explorations, I only 
 
 206 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 drank the delicious water of the springs, or crystal- 
 like rivulets of the forest. 
 
 After our supper we left for the little lake of which 
 Quabi and Ngola had told us. Night overtook us on 
 our way. We skirted the border of the forest, so as 
 to be in the shadow of the trees and so as not to be 
 discovered by elephants or other animals. The grass 
 was not more than a foot and a half in height, and 
 it was pleasant to walk freely without meeting fallen 
 trees, or stepping upon roots, and without bending 
 over, jumping, or climbing, and it was pleasant, too, 
 to have for companions the lovely stars twinkling 
 above our heads. 
 
 After walking about six miles we came in sight of 
 a little lake nestled in the midst of undulating hills. 
 We concluded not to remain by the lake, but to hide 
 under the trees near by. There we waited for the 
 rising of the moon with the expectation of seeing 
 elephants again. Towards eleven o'clock the moon 
 rose, and as it was on the wane it was not as light as 
 the preceding night. 
 
 We waited and waited, but no elephants came, and 
 it got to be nearly four o'clock. We were on the 
 point of giving up the hope of seeing any when we 
 discerned the black form of one walking toward the 
 lake. We looked all round to discover if there were 
 
 207 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 any herd in sight, but there was none. The one before 
 us was evidently a bull that had been driven away 
 from a herd by a stronger bull and was wandering 
 solitary. Then I said : " Ogoola, Quabi, and Ngola, 
 upon you will devolve the task of killing this elephant, 
 as Oshoria and I have killed one. Prove that you 
 are great hunters." 
 
 Oshoria, with an imploring look said to me : 
 " May I not go also ? " 
 
 " No," I replied. cc Three men even are too 
 many, for the grass is so short ; besides, we must give 
 them a chance to say, on their return, that they killed 
 an elephant when they were hunting with the Oguizi. 
 We will watch them." 
 
 "You are right, Oguizi," replied Oshoria. 
 
 I was always right with these dear fellows. 
 
 The three hunters started. They bent over so 
 low that their heads and shoulders only appeared 
 above the grass ; they were going directly towards 
 the lone elephant. At times they would lie flat on 
 the ground and disappear entirely from sight, then 
 reappear again. The wind was in their favor, for it 
 blew from the elephant towards them, so the huge 
 beast could not scent danger. Fortunately also, they 
 and he were going in the same direction, towards the 
 lake. I whispered to Oshoria : " I am glad that the 
 
 208 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 men will be in such a position that when they shoot 
 the elephant, he will not be able to see them and 
 charge." 
 
 For before saying this it had suddenly come across 
 my mind that the elephant might suddenly turn and 
 follow them and that it would have perhaps been 
 better if we had shared the danger with them, for 
 nothing can be more dangerous than to face an ele- 
 phant in an open space, and give him a straight shot. 
 It requires then a very cool head, and a very quick 
 eye to move just in time to avoid the charge of the 
 huge creature. 
 
 The three men approached nearer and nearer, for 
 the elephant had stopped several times, evidently to 
 find out if there were any cows near that loved him 
 better than the bull that had driven him away from 
 the herd. At last the men came within gunshot. 
 The elephant stood still, looking at the water of the 
 lake. He was evidently thinking of taking a bath. 
 Two of the hunters were on his left side, the other 
 on his right. We watched them with breathless 
 attention. All at once we saw them stand up, then 
 three flashes, followed by the detonations of their guns. 
 Then we saw the huge beast falter and fall. We ran 
 towards our three friends as fast as our legs could 
 carry us, and when we came near them the three were 
 J 4 209 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 seated on the body of the elephant. They shouted 
 to us : " We are men ! We are men ! " And we 
 shouted back to them : " You are men ! You are 
 men ! " Then we all shouted together : " We are 
 men ! " 
 
 The elephant was a bull, but not so large as the 
 one killed the night before. We had our axes with 
 us and after some hard blows succeeded in getting out 
 the two small tusks. We took no meat with us, for 
 we had all we wanted. When we returned to our 
 camp it was broad daylight, and we turned in and 
 slept almost the whole day. 
 
 That evening, as we were seated silently round a 
 huge fire, Oshoria suddenly said : " Oguizi, it is a 
 great sight to see two bull elephants fight together for 
 the mastery of the herd. The solitary one has 
 generally been driven away from another herd by a 
 stronger bull, and wanders in the forest all alone until 
 he sees another herd ; then he tries his luck again with 
 the ruling bull. Twice in my life I have seen such 
 a fight/' 
 
 " Tell me all about it," I said. 
 
 " I will," he replied, and after a pause he began : 
 " One evening at dusk, not far from where we stand, 
 I saw a big herd of elephants emerging from the forest. 
 They walked slowly and silently in the middle of the 
 
 2IO 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 prairie on their way towards the lake. They stopped 
 twice, squealed and trumpeted, and then continued 
 their march. Suddenly the bull stopped again, and 
 the cow elephants came near him. 
 
 " At the same time I saw emerging from the forest 
 on the opposite side a huge bull elephant. He was 
 alone, and no herd followed him. The bull which 
 had a herd trumpeted fiercely, as they do when they 
 are angry and want to fight. The solitary bull an- 
 swered in the same way, signifying that he also was 
 ready to fight. The cows gave forth piercing squeals, 
 and remained by themselves. 
 
 " Then the two bulls ran towards each other. It was 
 fine to see them. The solitary bull had evidently not 
 forgotten his previous ignominious defeat, and wanted 
 to avenge himself, hoping to be the victor this time 
 and have a herd of his own. They squealed and 
 trumpeted in the fiercest manner as they approached 
 each other. I could see that the cow elephants were 
 very uneasy, for they rocked and swayed quickly to 
 and fro, their trunks also waving rapidly. 
 
 "As the two bulls neared each other their speed 
 increased. Then I heard a thumping, booming sound, 
 like two big trees knocking against each other. Their 
 heads had met with terrific force. For a while they 
 pushed each other, neither of them moving backward 
 
 2TI 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 or forward, but at last the solitary bull retreated slowly, 
 facing his enemy. He proved the weaker. The 
 victorious elephant stood his ground looking at his 
 enemy, who halted after a while, and stood still. They 
 looked at each other steadily, then each uttered a long 
 trumpeting of defiance. 
 
 <c The cows remained at the same place all the time, 
 waiting for the victor to come to them. Then the two 
 bull elephants charged again. The leader of the herd 
 by a clever movement succeeded in grazing the body 
 of his antagonist, inflicting a fearful gash with his 
 right tusk all along his side. The great object of 
 the bull elephant in fighting is to exhaust his rival 
 and pierce his side with his tusks. Elephants when 
 they charge cannot stop suddenly and turn back, 
 the momentum occasioned by their weight being too 
 great to allow them to do so. 
 
 " Once more the two bulls looked at each other. The 
 wounded elephant did not want to give up the fight 
 before another trial of strength. He felt that this was 
 his last chance. They came towards each other at a 
 furious rate. The two heads met with tremendous 
 force, and a sound like the sudden rolling of thunder 
 far away in the forest. A man caught between those 
 two heads would have been mashed as flat as the 
 hide of an antelope. The solitary bull was stunned 
 
 212 
 
" The two enormous tusks went through his side " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 by the blow. He staggered an instant, and it was all 
 over with him. He had not the strength to flee for his 
 life, and at that moment the other charged him on the 
 flank. The two enormous tusks went through his side, 
 and he fell dead. The tusks had penetrated nearly 
 three feet into the body. The victor returned to his 
 herd, which received him with loud trumpetings of joy. 
 
 " Often," concluded Oshoria, " one finds big tusks 
 of ivory in the forest. These come from elephants 
 killed in like manner. Some also come from elephants 
 who have died of old age or of their wounds some 
 time subsequent to such a fight as this one." 
 
 We remained three more days on the prairie ; but 
 no more elephants were to be seen. They had all 
 evidently left that part of the country. So we deter- 
 mined to return to the plantation, with our four tusks. 
 When we came to Crocodile Lake we found our 
 canoes ; we were glad to continue our journey by 
 water, for not only had we the tusks to carry, but also 
 plenty of smoked elephant meat. 
 
 When we reached King Regundo's plantation we 
 were received with great demonstrations of joy by 
 Regundo, his wife, and all the slaves. They ex- 
 claimed : " Will not our master's heart be glad when 
 he sees these large tusks, for he will get many goods 
 when he barters for them." 
 
 213 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM THE SLAVES* PLANTATIONS ARRIVAL 
 AT KING MOMBO'S A WARM GREETING FROM THE 
 OLD KING HIS SACRED PROMISE NEVER TO PART 
 WITH HIS SLAVES FAREWELL TO HIM AND HIS 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 THE evening of our arrival, all my hunters and 
 their wives, and all the slaves on the plantations 
 came to spend the evening with me. Regundo, 
 Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi stood beside me. 
 Before us on the ground were the four tusks of the 
 elephants we had killed, and their two tails. 
 
 There was great excitement among the people ; they 
 had remarked this time also that after my departure 
 the clock had stopped ; and were persuaded more than 
 ever that the noise of its tick was made by spirits in- 
 side ; that these had left to follow me, but that now 
 I had returned they also had come back to dwell 
 therein again. The same had happened before, when I 
 had gone with my hunters to shoot nginas. No 
 one during my absence had dared to come near the 
 clock. They were even afraid to go under the 
 veranda of the house. All my goods I found where 
 
 I had left them. 
 
 214 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 In the midst of deep silence my hunters recounted 
 all that had taken place since we had left the plantation. 
 They omitted nothing, and the dear slaves thought they 
 were the greatest men that had ever existed, for they 
 had travelled with the Oguizi. It was very late when 
 they all bade me good-night and left. After they were 
 gone, and I had retired, I heard the voice of Re- 
 gundo thanking the spirits of his forefathers that 
 every one had come back safely ; and he told them 
 also how happy he was to see the Oguizi once more. 
 
 After a few days' hunting and shooting in the 
 neighborhood of the plantation, seeing only birds and 
 animals that I found before, I considered it time to 
 leave the place, and one day I said to Regundo and 
 to my faithful hunters that I must return to King 
 Mombo. 
 
 I began to pack the birds and animals I had stuffed, 
 also the butterflies and insects I had collected. The 
 news spread fast among the people that I was getting 
 ready to go away. Preparations were immediately 
 made for my departure. A great quantity of food 
 was prepared for King Mombo. 
 
 That evening, every man, woman, and child had 
 gathered round my little house. Regundo, Oshoria, 
 Ngola, Ogoola, and Quabi were seated as close to me 
 as they could get. All were silent, and sadness was 
 
 2I 5 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 on their faces. They knew that the Oguizi was going 
 away, and that they would never see him again. 
 They loved me and I loved them in return. We 
 love those who love us ; and if one has friends, he is 
 sure to be friendly himself. Above all, we love those 
 who are kind to us. 
 
 I broke the painful silence, and said aloud : " Re- 
 gundo and Oshoria, Ngola, Quabi, Ogoola, and you 
 men, women, and children that are round me to-night, 
 you have all been kind to me. I love you all." 
 
 At these words they all shouted with one voice: 
 " Oguizi, we love you ! We love you ! " 
 
 Then came again another pause, and I said : " We 
 have all had a good time together. You have taken 
 great care of me. I have been very happy when with 
 you. The best you had you have given to me. No 
 man has trapped or killed game that he has not 
 brought to me first. I would have a bad heart if I 
 did not love you, but the Oguizi must soon leave you, 
 for he must go and see other countries. I will tell 
 Mombo how good you have been to me, and that 
 you are all my friends, and I will make him promise 
 me, and take as his witnesses the spirits of his an- 
 cestors, that he will let you die on his plantations, 
 and never sell you, or give you away as payment for 
 wives, for indemnity, or in exchange for canoes or 
 
 216 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 anything else." They listened to my words in breath- 
 less silence, and then with one voice cried, " Thank 
 you, Oguizi. You are a good Oguizi." 
 
 After they had become quiet again, I continued : 
 " To-morrow I shall leave you and go back to King 
 Mombo," at which my hunters, Regundo, and others 
 shouted ; " We are going with you." 
 
 " After I have left you," I continued, " I want you 
 to remember the Oguizi, for I shall never forget you, 
 and when I go back to the country of the Oguizis 
 I will tell them what friends we were, how we hunted 
 together, and how we spent many evenings round the 
 bright fires." 
 
 When I spoke these words one could have heard 
 a leaf fall on the ground. Then an old slave got up 
 and said : " Oguizi, stay with us a little longer." And 
 my hunters, looking tenderly at me added : " We will 
 go again with you into the great forest and hunt ele- 
 phants and nginas, and other wild beasts." But I 
 replied : " I have to go far, far away towards the coun- 
 try where the sun rises, before I return to the land of 
 the Oguizis, who are waiting for me to hear the news 
 about what I have seen in the great forest." 
 
 Then another slave arose and said : " Oguizi, give 
 to each of us some of your hair ; we will keep it to 
 remember you by, and show it to strangers to prove 
 
 217 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 that you have been amongst us. Otherwise they will 
 not believe us ; but when they see the hair they will 
 know that they have never seen the like." 
 
 These words were greeted with a great shout of 
 approbation. I began to pull my hair out one hair at 
 a time ; I gave to each man one hair. My hair had 
 grown very long and hung on my shoulders. I could 
 not have given a greater present to these people. No 
 brass kettle even had the same value in their eyes. 
 To Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi, 
 who had been my constant companions, I gave three 
 hairs each. 
 
 After this, I distributed among the women all the 
 beads I had. To Regundo' s wife and to each of the 
 wives of my hunters I gave a small looking-glass. 
 Then they all went to their quarters, saying : " Good 
 night, good Oguizi." 
 
 Early the next morning every one was on the river 
 bank to bid good-by to me, the women bringing 
 presents of mats and food. Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, 
 Quabi, and Ogoola were in my canoe, with the ele- 
 phant tusks and tails. After I was in the canoe I 
 stood up and held C Omemba " in my right hand, so 
 that all the people could see the stick of King Mombo. 
 
 I gave the order for departure and immediately my 
 hunters fired their guns, while ashore other men fired 
 
 218 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 also, and others beat the tomtoms. The noise was 
 deafening as gun after gun was fired. 
 
 The last words I heard after the guns ceased fir- 
 ing and the tomtoms were still, were : " Good-by, 
 Oguizi, come back to us." Three canoes loaded with 
 bunches of plantains, manioc, and all kinds of food 
 for King Mombo followed us. The little American 
 flag which I always carried with me floated proudly 
 on the breeze at the stern of my canoe, and displayed 
 its stars and stripes. Wherever I went I took the 
 precious flag with me. 
 
 My hunters were in a high glee, for they knew that 
 the heart of King Mombo their master would be glad 
 when he saw the big elephant-tusks, and Oshoria 
 said : " I think King Mombo will be able to buy six 
 slaves with the goods he will get for the four tusks, 
 and marry several women also." 
 
 Ngola suggested that possibly Mombo might 
 barter the tusks for guns, so that he could arm his 
 people and be more powerful in case of war. 
 
 Then came a pause and all shouted : " We are men, 
 we are men ; the great Oguizi is our friend." They 
 fired their guns and the tomtoms beat louder than 
 ever. The paddling was renewed with more vigor 
 than before. At last King Mombo's village came in 
 sight. The men sang louder than ever as we neared 
 
 219 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 the place. The tomtoms beat. Regundo and 
 Oshoria stood up and began to gesticulate in the 
 wildest possible manner. My other hunters followed 
 their example and all sang : " We come back with the 
 Oguizi. Great, indeed, is King Mombo," and repeated 
 the same thing over and over again. 
 
 The men paddled with such force that two-thirds of 
 our canoe was out of the water when we landed, the 
 men shouting again as they stepped ashore : " We are 
 men, we are men." 
 
 I landed, holding " Omemba " in my right hand. 
 
 King Mombo was on the shore to receive me, beat- 
 ing his kendo and calling on the spirits of his ances- 
 tors to come and see the sight. Mombo wore a 
 waistcoat and a coat, but had no shirt or trousers. 
 We embraced each other amid the shouts of his 
 people, who had also come to welcome me back. 
 Many tomtoms were beating violently in the village, 
 and guns were fired to celebrate my return. The 
 people were wild with excitement. 
 
 King Mombo led me to the big building where the 
 people were accustomed to meet, and bade me take a 
 seat by his side. We were surrounded by a great 
 crowd. Then Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, 
 and Quabi came forward with the four elephant-tusks 
 and laid them on the ground at the feet of King 
 
 220 
 
f 
 
 KING MOMBO 
 
 Mombo, whose face beamed with pleasure at the sight. 
 " The two big tusks," said Oshoria, " are from an ele- 
 phant the Oguizi and I killed. The two others are 
 from another elephant which Ngola, Ogoola, and 
 Quabi killed. Here are the tails, they are not yet 
 quite dried." 
 
 Other slaves followed and laid before the king two 
 boars, an antelope, two gazelles, three monkeys, and a 
 quantity of dried fish. The sight delighted the old 
 king, who was fond of good living, and disliked "gou- 
 amba." 
 
 " I can see that you love me, and that you do not 
 forget me, my slaves/* said he, pointing to the pile of 
 food. 
 
 Then ensued a great stillness. King Mombo rose 
 and shouted : " Look at me, my people ! Look at 
 Mombo, your chief ! Look at the Oguizi ! Never 
 did an Oguizi visit our forefathers." To which the 
 people shouted in return : " Great indeed is King 
 Mombo." 
 
 Then Regundo recounted in a loud voice, so that 
 everybody could hear, how I arrived at the planta- 
 tion, how I showed him King Mombo's stick and all 
 that had happened during the time 1 was with them. 
 The King congratulated Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and 
 Quabi on their success in hunting elephants. Turn- 
 
 221 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 ing to Regundo, he said : " You, my old and faithful 
 slave, I love you and I trust you. I am glad you 
 came with the Oguizi. In your days you were a great 
 elephant hunter also. You and I have grown old to- 
 gether." 
 
 Oshoria next arose and told of our hunting, and how 
 one day I disappeared in the forest and they did not 
 see me for three days, during which they all believed I 
 had changed my form. In the evening there was a 
 great war dance, for which the men put on their war 
 paint. Several times they formed a ring round me, 
 dancing and bending low their bodies and singing: 
 " You are a great Oguizi ! You are a good Oguizi ! 
 You are the friend of King Mombo. King Mombo is 
 a great king above all other kings." 
 
 Two days after my reception found me again under 
 the big roof seated by the side of King Mombo with a 
 great crowd of people round us. 
 
 I rose from my seat and said : " King Mombo, 
 soon I am going to leave your country. I return to 
 you c Omemba/ It has been of great service to me. 
 I thank you for it. King, you have been good and 
 kind to me. I love you. You have given me food 
 when I was hungry, water when I was thirsty, a house 
 to rest and sleep in. All your people have been kind 
 and good to me." 
 
 222 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Then I called Regundo, Oshoria, Ngola, Ogoola, 
 and Quabi, and bade them stand by my side. I bade 
 the other slaves that had come with me come near me. 
 
 A deep silence followed, and in a loud voice, so that 
 all the people could hear, I said : " King Mombo, 
 the Oguizi wants you to make him a solemn promise, 
 and to call on the spirits of your forefathers whom you 
 venerate and worship, to be witnesses of your promise. 
 Promise me, King Mombo, that no matter what hap- 
 pens, you will never sell Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, 
 Ngola, Quabi, or their wives, or any of the other slaves 
 living on the plantations where I have been. Prom- 
 ise me that you will let them die where they have their 
 home. These men and women were born free as you 
 were and were sold into slavery, by their parents, 
 relations, or by the people of their tribe for one reason 
 or another." 
 
 Then I stopped. The tomtoms began to beat furi- 
 ously, the drummers singing war-songs at the same 
 time. Then came a great silence, in the midst of 
 which King Mombo rose, and spoke in a loud voice 
 as follows : " Oguizi, I promise that I will never sell 
 Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, or Quabi, or their 
 wives, that I will never sell the slaves that are your 
 friends and are living to-day on the plantations where 
 you have been/* 
 
 223 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 After these words he paused, then he called upon 
 the spirits of his ancestors to witness the promise he 
 had just made to me. He called first on the spirit 
 of Olenda, then on that of Ratenoo, then upon the 
 spirit of Ronpano twice, of Sholomba three times, of 
 Adooma four times. These had been great men and 
 had accomplished valiant deeds in their day, which had 
 been repeated to the people generation after genera- 
 tion. The spirits upon which he called several times 
 had died long ago, and Adooma, upon whom he had 
 called four times, was the father of the clan and had 
 died long, long ago. In the great forest each tribe is 
 divided into a number of clans, each clan having its 
 chief. 
 
 After King Mombo had sat down a great shout 
 arose, and Regundo, and my hunters, Oshoria, Ogoola, 
 Ngola, and Quabi fell at my feet and clasped them, 
 and looked me in the face without saying a word. 
 But their eyes spoke and told me of their gratitude. 
 Then they prostrated themselves before King Mombo, 
 and said to him : " Master, we love you, and we are 
 your faithful slaves," and took hold of his feet. 
 
 I thanked King Mombo for his promise, and when 
 I embraced him a great shout rose among his people. 
 Then the tomtoms beat violently and we all separated. 
 
 The following evening, when it was quite dark, 
 
 224 
 
"My hunters . . . fell at my feet and clasped them " 
 
KING MOMBO 
 
 Regundo, Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi came 
 into my hut, as I had told them to do. All the 
 people were asleep and no one had seen them come in. 
 I gave them powder and presents for them and their 
 wives. They implored me to tell to no one that I 
 had given them presents, saying people might become 
 jealous and bewitch them. 
 
 A few days afterwards, Regundo, my hunters, and 
 all the people who had come with me returned to 
 King Mombo's plantation. I accompanied them to 
 their canoe and bade them a friendly farewell. 
 
 After they had gone I made preparations for my 
 departure. King Mombo was to give me canoes and 
 men to take me to Rotembo, a great chief living far 
 up the Ogobai river. When I had bid farewell to 
 King Mombo, he and his people followed me to the 
 bank of the river. Before I embarked in my canoe, 
 Mombo took hold of both my hands. His mouth was 
 rilled with the ochre upon which the skull of his an- 
 cestor rested, and he blew it over my hands, invoking 
 at the same time his ancestors' spirits. 
 
 Soon after I was out of sight. 
 
 225 
 
for |?0tmg 
 
 By PAUL DU CHAILLU 
 
 THE WO RLD OF 
 THE GREAT FOREST 
 
 HOW ANIMALS, BIRDS, REPTILES, IN- 
 SECTS, TALK, THINK, WORK, AND LIVE 
 
 With over Fifty Illustrations by C. R. KNIGHT and J. M. GLEESON 
 8vo. $2.00 
 
 New York Evening Sun 
 
 Another capital book that will appeal especially to sound, 
 lively boys. . . . Mr. Du Chaillu has the rare gift of being 
 able to endow the lower animals with very pleasant and inter- 
 esting personalities. And when you have finished his book 
 you feel that you have added materially to the list of your 
 acquaintances. 
 
 Philadelphia Public Ledger 
 
 M. Du Chaillu, in this delightful volume, enters into their 
 lives when concealed in dark recesses and impenetrable 
 jungles, and interprets to profane ears how animals, birds, 
 reptiles, insects, talk, think, work, and live. He introduces 
 us to a strange, mysterious world, and entertains us with a 
 myriad of amusing and wonderful stories of the intelligence 
 and dexterity of these tropical animals whom he knows so 
 intimately. 
 
iiy Ptttl IBtt CftiTtllu 
 
 LAND of the 
 LONG NIGHT 
 
 WITH 24 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 BY M. J. BURNS. Square lamo, $2.00 
 
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 The record of a winter journey from Southern Sweden up through 
 Lappmark, Finland, and Finmark to Nordkyn, the extreme end of 
 the European mainland. To say that it will interest its youthful 
 readers from beginning to end is well-nigh superfluous. 
 
 New York Tribune. 
 
 Happy is the winter evening of that young person who, forgetting 
 time and space and the household gods about him, goes forth into 
 strange countries with Paul Du Chaillu. For that most kindly of 
 travellers has in narrative a beguiling simplicity and realism which 
 enables him to hold his readers closely to the end. 
 
 New York Times Saturday Review. 
 
 It is a capital book for boys or girls or anybody, and Mr. Burns 
 has contributed a great many excellently drawn and very telling illus- 
 trations. 
 
 The Outlook. 
 
 Here are information, stories, and incidents of adventure in Arctic 
 regions strung together by a personal narrative of travel all readable, 
 unconventional, entertaining. 
 
 Philadelphia Public Ledger. 
 
 His narrative is engagingly frank, full of information, and with no 
 lack of adventure and incident. It will prove a treasure to readers 
 young and old. 
 
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 J53-157 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 
 
IStt 
 
 IVAR THE VIKING 
 
 A ROMANTIC HISTORY, BASED 
 UPON AUTHENTIC FACTS OF THE 
 THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURIES 
 
 I2mo, $1.50 
 
 Richard Henry Stoddard. 
 
 There is that in Mr. Paul Du Chaillu's " Ivar the Viking " which 
 not only satisfies the lover of romantic adventure, but carries the 
 scholar back into the remotest period of Scandinavian history. Beyond 
 all living writers this traveller in and explorer of many countries has 
 collected the documents and discovered the secrets of the Norselands. 
 
 New York Times. 
 
 The reader who has begun with a blank mind closes the volume 
 with a tolerably clear expression of a very energetic, powerful, and 
 wealthy young Viking, capable of strong affection, foremost in games 
 and fights requiring physical force, and with a vast number of habits 
 and customs. It is a history that interests through its simplicity. 
 
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 is characteristically spirited, and the romantic part leaves nothing to be 
 desired. 
 
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 J53-J57 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
 
ffiattl IBu CftatHu'g (great 
 
 THE VIKING AGE 
 
 THE EARLY HISTORY, MANNERS, <Sr> 
 CUSTOMS OF THE ANCESTORS OF 
 THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING NATIONS 
 
 WITH 1400 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP 
 2 vols. 8vo. $7.50 
 
 New York Tribune. 
 
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 ground. This extensive and important work must be of high interest 
 to all English-speaking people." 
 
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 " What is really valuable in these volumes is the exhaustive digest 
 which they contain of the extant information respecting the manners 
 and character of the ancient people of Scandinavia. The work deals 
 with the entire field of Scandinavian archaeology. In the main, -we 
 believe the picture he has drawn fo the manner of life of the Vikings 
 and their countrymen to be as accurate as it is undoubtedly full of 
 interest." 
 
 Edinburgh Review. 
 
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 perplexing difficulties. We have shown that its author has collected 
 a store of valuable information, a great part of which has hitherto been 
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 ful effect if it leads the people of this country to study and admire the 
 ancient civilization and the splendid literature of our Scandinavian 
 kinsmen." 
 
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 " The chapters on the mythology and cosmogony of the Norsemen, 
 on the superstitions, slavery, graves, finds, weapons, occupations, 
 feasts, etc., are intensely interesting." 
 
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