In African Forest and Jungle

CHAPTER III

PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE – OFF FOR FOREST AND JUNGLE – A HERD OF ELEPHANTS – WE CAMP FOR THE NIGHT – NDOVA CALLS MONKEYS OF HIS TRIBE WITHIN RANGE – WE KILL TWO OF THEM – FEEDING ON ROAST MONKEY – A DESERTED HOUSE – A STORY OF WITCHCRAFT

A short time after I received these gifts from Rotembo, I made preparations to enter the great forest, to live with Rogala, Shinshooko, and Alapai, and Andekko the dog, and Ndova the monkey.

I put all my things together, – the precious tin box containing my sextant, etc., matches, and a bottle containing my quicksilver, a little iron pot, a frying-pan, a small coffee-pot, three pairs of laced boots, some fire steel with flints, files, two axes, one machete, and some medicines. I took also a shot-gun, my rifle "Bulldog," and a lighter rifle, powder, and ammunition.

When everything was ready, I called Rogala, and showing him the "precious box," I said to him: "Of all the things I possess, I think most of this box. You alone shall carry it on your back,, and no one must ever open it, for if he does, great misfortune will happen to him."

At daylight the following morning we loaded our canoe with my outfit, Rogala carrying my "precious box." Rotembo and his people followed us to the shore, and when we were ready to start, in a loud voice Rotembo invoked the spirits of his ancestors, Kombe and others, to follow me. After we had left I saw him seated on the ground before his little idol, talking to it. The last words we heard from him were: "Rogala, take good care of the Oguizi. Good-bye, Oguizi;" and after passing a bend of the river we lost sight of the village.

The prow of our canoe was a carved crocodile head with an open mouth holding a man between its jaws.

Ndova and Andekko had been tied near it. Ndova uttered the peculiar intonation meaning pleasure. Andekko was wagging his tail and looking at Rogala. Both seemed to know that they were going home.

During the day we saw swimming in the stream a number of elephants. They were playing and throwing water high into the air with their trunks. They swam hither and thither, and as we came nearer we saw that each elephant had a little baby elephant apparently standing on the back of its mother. Rogala was in a state of great excitement; he wanted to land and walk along the banks of the river and have a shot at the elephants. "No," said I, "each of these elephants has a little one to care for."

Further on we saw in the distance, near the other bank of the river, two canoes descending the stream. They were full of men in war-paint and armed with spears and war-axes. They were singing their war-songs and beating their tomtoms fiercely. Rogala's face became anxious. I asked who they were.

"I do not know, Oguizi," he replied.

Instantly we laid hands upon our guns ready to fight, but when we were near enough to hear the warriors' song of victory, Rogala recognized that they belonged to the clan of Rotembo. But we were paddling so near the banks of the river that they did not see us.

Towards evening Rogala, pointing to a spot near the river, said: "Oguizi, this is a place where I camp for the night when I am on the river. Close by is a beautiful little spring of clear water coming out of the earth, cool and delicious to drink. We never drink the water from running rivers when we can help it."

I answered: "All right, Rogala; we will camp where you say."

Accordingly we made camp here and passed the night. The following afternoon we entered a narrow river and left the large Ogobai. We had not been two hours on our way up the river when Ndova began to utter loud and peculiar sounds.

"Ndova is calling the monkeys to come to him," said Rogala. "If they come we shall have monkey meat for our evening meal."

As he spoke, he grinned with delight; but there were no monkeys within the sound of Ndova's voice.

After a while, however, the call of Ndova was answered by a troop of monkeys, and they seemed to have quite a conversation together, though the voices of the monkeys did not seem to come nearer.

"The monkeys are trying to make Ndova come to them," Rogala said.

Then came a pause, and the forest became still again. But soon Rogala's quick ears heard the noise made by the shaking of the branches of trees. The monkeys were travelling towards us, leaping from branch to branch, bending them by their weight as they alighted upon them.

Ndova was making an awful noise and was very excited. The monkeys answered him, and he kept on calling them. We were paddling silently along the banks of the river, and as soon as we saw the monkeys on a tree above our canoe we stopped. They were many in number, and looked at Ndova without uttering a sound, they seemed so astonished. We raised our guns and aimed at the two biggest white-nosed ones and fired. One fell into our canoe, the other dropped dead by the shore. The rest scuttled away in a trice.

"Good for you, Ndova," I said to him.

Ndova was in a great state of excitement. Rogala, holding his cord, took him towards the two dead monkeys. When he came near them he uttered other sounds, quite unlike those he had made when he called the monkeys to us. What he meant neither Rogala nor I could tell. But I said to myself: "Rotembo is right. Ndova will be the cause of our having food and we shall feed often on monkey meat. We shall not starve as long as Ndova is with us. Great, indeed, is the gift of Chief Rotembo!"

A few miles further on we landed. In a short time we were seated by a bright fire, and when it had been reduced to a great mass of charcoal we roasted one of the monkeys and with our roasted plantains made a delicious meal. Andekko fed on some of the bones, and Ndova on a ripe plantain.

At dawn of day we left our encampment. About two hours afterwards we came upon three little houses surrounded by plantain trees. The houses were in a dilapidated state and had been abandoned. The large bunches of plantain that were hanging from the trees were untouched, for the elephants and the big apes, the "men of the woods," had not found the plantation.

Some time before we had reached the place Rogala's face had become uneasy. He took to the opposite bank of the river. I could see fear on his countenance. He paddled faster than ever, and his mind seemed quite relieved when we had left the spot far behind us. Then he stopped, tied the canoe to a tree to rest a while, and said: "Two dry seasons ago there lived on the plantation we have passed a man by the name of Igala. His wife was called Yienoo. Both were sorcerers, and had been so for a long time, though the people did not know it. Near them was a village. One day one of the men of the village was trampled to death by a bull elephant, and there was great sorrow among the people. The day after a leopard came into the village at night and carried away a woman. The people began to think it was strange that those two deaths should occur one immediately after the other, and they became much alarmed, and believed that witchcraft was the cause of the trouble, but no one suspected who the sorcerers were. Some time afterwards a man disappeared and never came back. After this the people were so much excited that they sent a messenger to a celebrated 'medicine man' who was known all over the country for his skill in discovering sorcerers. They promised to pay him two slaves if he would come. The name of this great 'ooganga,' or medicine man, was Makoonga; he is living now. He sent word by the messenger that he would come after his return from another village where he was going to find out who had killed by witchcraft the brother of the chief.

"There was great joy in the village when the messenger brought back word that Makoonga was coming. Three days after the return of the messenger another man disappeared, and remains of his body were discovered, showing that he had been devoured by a leopard. Then all the people said that some one among them had changed his shape and turned into a leopard, that he had eaten up the three persons who had disappeared, and had also taken the shape of an elephant and trodden upon the man who had been killed in that way.

"There was no more sleep in the village. The people danced all night, and called upon the spirits of their ancestors to protect them from witchcraft. They made invocation to their idol and to the spirits Mburu and Abambo.

"Then Makoonga came, and the following day the people met, and he drank the 'mboundou' before them, and after drinking it he became possessed of the power of divination, and told them that Igala and Yienoo through witchcraft had taken the shape of leopards and eaten up the three people, and that Igala had taken the shape of an elephant and trampled the man.

"There was a great uproar amongst the people when they heard this. They went to the home of Igala and Yienoo and brought them to the village. They had to drink the 'mboundou' to prove their innocence in the presence of all the people. Makoonga made the potation, drank part of it first, and then handed the bowl to Igala and Yienoo. They had hardly tasted it when they fell on the ground. That was the proof that they were guilty, and the people surrounded them and cut their bodies into a hundred pieces and then threw them into the river. Oh, Oguizi," exclaimed Rogala, in concluding his story, "often witchcraft comes into people without their wishing it and against their will."

After this narrative he untied our canoe and we continued our ascent of the river. After a long pull he suddenly headed our canoe towards the shore, and after passing under the branches of trees that almost touched the water we came to a path which no one coming up or down the river could detect. This path led to Rogala's place. Ndova uttered grunt-like sounds of satisfaction; Andekko barked to show his joy. They knew they had come home; they were well acquainted with this spot.

CHAPTER IV

THE HOME OF ROGALA – HIS HUNTING-TROPHIES – A WEIRD SPOT – ASPECT OF THE SURROUNDING FOREST – SHINSHOOKO AND ALAPAI – LEOPARDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

After a few minutes' walk we came to a grove of plantain trees, and there saw the home of Rogala, which was composed of four small structures. The dwelling-house had a veranda in front. It was built of bark with a roof thatched with palm leaves, and was about eighteen feet long and twelve wide. It had only one door.

Under the veranda hung the tails of nearly all the elephants he had killed. I counted ninety-five of them. Some of the tails he had got went to Chief Rotembo. All along the roof were skulls of antelopes with the graceful spiral horns, two skulls of male gorillas, several skulls of nshiegos or chimpanzees, of wild boars, of buffaloes, of leopards and other wild animals.

Four elephant skulls stood at each corner of the house. These elephants had been killed near the plantations. Rogala was the greatest elephant hunter of his day.

One building was composed of a single roof merely, under which cooking was done. Here also people were received, and the space it covered was the dining-room.

A small house near by was for Mburu, a spirit, who sometimes came to rest there during the night. His bed lay on the ground, and was composed of dry leaves covered with a mat. His pillow was a smooth round piece of wood. In the fourth small house was the idol. There were also a chicken-coop and a goat-house.

"We have chosen this spot," said Rogala, "because at a certain time of the year the country is full of elephants. They come to eat the leaves of a tree that is more plentiful around here than in other parts of the forest."

A little further on I saw several other small houses; those belonged to Shinshooko and Alapai.

The place was entirely deserted, for all the people had gone into the forest, – the men to cut trees for new plantations, and the women to attend to the crops that had been planted and bring back bunches of plantain or cassava roots.

What a weird spot the hunters had chosen for their home! The little houses of bark looked small indeed compared with the tall trees that surrounded them. The plantain trees and the cassava grew in the midst of branches of the trees that had been felled and burned afterwards. Not far off was the river, flowing in the midst of the dark silent forest, which was only disturbed now and then by the shrill cries of parrots, or the chatter of a troop of monkeys or the tap of the woodpecker. In the forest surrounding the houses hung huge lianas which looked like gigantic swinging snakes. Some of the trees had gorgeous flowers, and orchids grew on the bark of many. The foliage was greatly diversified.

On the border of the clearing stood a gigantic elimi tree; along its trunk came out a soft sticky whitish gum, which the people use to make torches with. The forest seemed to be made of three or four layers of trees growing on the top of each other, while here and there, towering above all, rose an immense one that seemed to look down on the great forest from its own lofty height. Under all the trees was the thick jungle, in which roamed wild and often ferocious beasts.

Rogala brought a stool and invited me to a seat under the veranda of his house. Towards sunset Rogala's wife returned with three boys, their children. She carried an infant in a sling on her back. She looked at me in fear and trembling, and she and the children ran to hide. This annoyed Rogala very much, and he called her back in an angry tone. Then he became milder, and told her and the children not to be afraid of his friend the Oguizi.

Soon after two men and their wives, loaded with two large bunches of plantain, and their children made their appearance. These men were Shinshooko and Alapai.

Rogala bade them approach. Shinshooko was over six feet two in height, very thin, and brown in color. He came from a country called Ashango. Alapai was short, thickset, and very black. He came from a tribe called Apono. These two tribes had the same language. Shinshooko and Alapai looked at me constantly, but avoided the glance of my eyes, of which they were afraid. But Rogala allayed their fears by telling them that I was a good Oguizi and a great friend of their master Rotembo, who sent word by him that they must go and hunt with me in the forest.

The three then went away to our canoe and brought back my things with them. Shinshooko and Alapai were eager to hear what had occurred since Rogala had left them, and how it happened that I came with him.

Rogala told all that had taken place, how his master Rotembo had given him to me, that I was a great hunter, and that I came to hunt with them.

Shinshooko and Alapai and their families listened in profound silence to the wonderful story of Rogala, and when he had finished it was the turn of Shinshooko and Alapai to tell what had happened during the absence of Rogala. Shinshooko was the speaker, and began thus: "Leopards have made their appearance in the neighborhood since you left, Rogala. What has brought the leopards so suddenly into our neighborhood we cannot tell, but it must be that the bashikouay ants have invaded and scoured a great part of the forest and driven them away, and they have fled towards us. We have seen many tracks of their big paws. We must look out for these leopards and make traps and catch them and hunt them. Fortunately our goat-house is so strong and so secure that leopards cannot break through. But we must do all we can to kill them, for fear that some one of them might be a man-eater and devour some of us or some of our children."

That night numerous fires were lighted to scare away the leopards. I went into my little hut, but kept awake with "Bulldog" by my side, for I thought a leopard might easily come through the thin roof of palm leaves over my head. We all hoped that there was no man-eater among the leopards, for if there were we were sure that he would lie in wait for some one. When once they have tasted human flesh, they like it better than anything else. But no leopard paid us a visit during the night.

CHAPTER V

WE BUILD A LEOPARD TRAP – A NIGHT ON THE WATCH – THE BEAST APPEARS AT LAST – CAUGHT IN THE TRAP AND SOON DESPATCHED – HER MATE KILLED THE FOLLOWING NIGHT – EXCITEMENT OF ANDEKKO AND NDOVA

Early the next morning the men went into the forest to cut poles, and after we had a sufficient number we built a trap to catch the leopard.

We constructed the trap in the following manner according to the plan of Shinshooko, who had the reputation of great skill and ingenuity in making all sorts of traps.

We built with the poles a long narrow funnel-like alley, which became gradually smaller and smaller towards the end, so that it was impossible for the leopard to go entirely through. At the entrance Shinshooko constructed a trap-door which was to fall after the leopard was fairly in. The end of this funnel-like structure communicated with the goat-house, which we surrounded with a double row of poles, so that the leopard could not get through. The roof was made entirely of poles strongly fastened together. The structure was about twenty feet long.

I said to Rogala, Shinshooko, and Alapai: "Tonight I shall not sleep, but will watch for leopards near the goat-house. Perhaps some of them will come when they scent the goats; so do not be afraid if you hear the detonation of a gun. I want all the dogs to be shut up indoors."

When evening came, I took a nap, for I knew that it was the habit of the leopards not to prowl before midnight, unless famished.

Towards eleven o'clock I awoke, and then made ready for the leopards. I took up a position opposite the goat-house under the veranda of a little house, where I was partly hidden from view. I surrounded myself with branches of trees I had gathered during the day. There I waited.

The moon, that was on the wane, rose and threw a dim light all around. It was an ideal night for lying in wait for a leopard.

One o'clock came and no leopard had made his appearance. Time went on slowly. Two o'clock, no leopard. I began to think that they would not call, when suddenly the goats began to bleat. They had scented the approach of a beast of prey and become terrified. Suddenly I saw from behind one of the houses and among three or four plantain trees something moving. It was the leopard. He was coming. His eyes shone as if they were burning coals. Then slowly he advanced towards the trap. I did not wonder that Rogala had admonished me to make no noise. The leopard was slowly crawling near, his belly almost touching the ground.

I watched him carefully to see what he was going to do. His long tail beat his flanks. He sniffed at the goat, and finding that he could not reach the frightened creature, he went round the trap. I watched with breathless attention.

Then he came to the opening, and entered. Soon after I heard the trap-door close behind him. That did not disturb him, for all he thought of was the goat. He went on until he got so jammed in that he could not advance further. Then he became excited as he tried to extricate himself, and roared with anger. He could not turn back, and I fired and killed him.

In an instant Rogala, Shinshooko, and Alapai were out of their cabins, guns in hand, running towards the goat-house. We lighted torches to frighten other leopards, and came out with them. The men gave a terrific war-cry, and shouted: "Leopard, you will not eat more of our goats!" In a short time everybody was around the leopard, looking at him.

I opened his mouth and looked at his terrible-looking canines. "These four canines," I said, "I will send to Rotembo. I hope we shall kill leopards enough to have canines for a big necklace for him."

"Yes," they all shouted, "let us kill all the leopards in the country."

Then all the people danced around the leopard, singing at the same time: "You wicked leopard, your days are over, you will not make any one now fear you. The antelopes and gazelles of the forest would be glad if they knew that you have been killed by the great Oguizi."

The dance lasted until daylight, when we skinned the beast. "Let us make a belt of his skin for Chief Rotembo," I said; and we accordingly did so. The tail I gave to Rogala. We divided the liver into several parts.

Later in the day Rogala, Shinshooko, and I went into the forest with Andekko in search of the lair of the leopard, which was a female, hoping to take the young ones. But we were not successful, and were obliged finally to return without accomplishing our object.

"When night comes," I said to my hunters, "I will lie in wait for the male leopard; perhaps he will come here in search of his mate."

To this the man replied: "Yes, a male leopard is more likely to come and seek for his mate than a female is."

That night as I was watching I suddenly saw a dark spot moving not far from where I stood. Suddenly I saw the eyes of a leopard looking like burning coals. He had come to look for his mate. But he had not advanced far towards the houses when I fired and killed him.

Andekko, who had been fastened inside Rogala's house, was let loose and came bounding towards us. He had heard the sound of the gun, and knew that something was up. At the sight of the dead leopard his hair stood straight up, and then before we knew it he was on the body of the beast with his teeth fastened in its throat.

In the morning I said to Rogala, "Bring Ndova to look at the leopard." He went after the monkey and soon came back with Ndova in his arms. At the sight of the leopard Ndova sprang from Rogala's arms, and in an instant was up a young tree, the hair all over his body standing upright. He glared at the dead leopard, uttering at the same time sounds of rage. We could not make him come down from the tree until we had taken away the leopard from the place. Then he descended and hid away in the house of Rogala.