Kitabı oku: «In African Forest and Jungle», sayfa 7

CHAPTER XIX

WE CROSS THE RIVER AND HIDE OUR AXES – NDOVA'S FRIGHT AT A PYTHON – ANDEKKO FINDS A LEOPARD'S LAIR – WE CAPTURE TWO LEOPARD CUBS – A VISIT FROM SAVAGES – THEY ARE FRIGHTENED BY MY WATERBURY CLOCK

Now that I knew from my astronomical observations where I was, and what was the day of the month and week, I said to Rogala: "Let us go and hunt in the forest, for possibly I may kill some animals or birds I have never seen before. I have done talking to the stars, the moon, and the sun for some time now."

As we were ready to go across the river, I said to Rogala: "We must take our axes with us, for who knows if some wandering natives may not be roaming here and take our raft? If we have our axes, we can make another one quickly." Then we embarked, taking also Andekko and Ndova with us.

After landing, we hid our axes carefully in two different places; one was put in the hollow of a tree, the other under dried leaves. We were walking silently, Rogala leading, for the path was very difficult to follow, being often obliterated by the jungle or fallen branches.

All at once Ndova ran towards me, seeming very much frightened. His eyes were almost starting out of his head, and he sprang upon me and held fast and close to my clothing. He looked in a certain direction, then uttered a cry of anger and defiance towards the place. I whispered to Rogala: "What can be the cause of Ndova's fright and anger? Look at his hair! It is standing up all over his body."

"Probably a snake," replied Rogala.

We went carefully towards the spot whence Ndova had come, and saw a huge python coiled round a tree, watching for prey. We killed the reptile, which was nearly twenty feet long. Rogala cut it into many pieces, packed them together in large leaves, and hung the parcel on the branch of a tree, and said with evident glee: "When we return I will take the parcel with me, for the snake is fat, and will make good soup."

We continued to follow the path, looking all around us for game, and walked as lightly as we could. The footsteps of Rogala, who wore no shoes, could not be heard.

Soon Ndova began to call for monkeys. His power of scent or of hearing was so great that he had detected the presence of monkeys, though we could hear nothing. His calls were soon answered. Then we made him fast to a cord, for fear that he would go away from us. Each side kept on talking and answering each other, and the cries of the flock of monkeys to which he was talking came nearer and nearer. Then they suddenly stopped. Had Ndova warned them not to come nearer? I thought I had detected a peculiar sound that was unlike those he always uttered when he wanted ndovas to come. I might be mistaken, but, after all, they did not come, and we did not hear them utter a single cry.

We continued on our way. After a while we heard in the distance the fierce and angry barking of Andekko. We listened, then shouted at the top of our voices, "Andekko, Andekko," so that he might know we were not far from him. He was evidently not pursuing game, for the barking was stationary.

Rogala said to me: "Let us go through the jungle towards him and see what causes this fierce barking."

"Yes," said I, "let us go and see what is the matter."

So we left the path, and went through the thick jungle, breaking some of the branches as we went along to guide us on our way back.

Louder and louder became Andekko's barking as we neared the spot where he was, when suddenly the barking ceased. The face of Rogala became anxious, and he said to me in a low voice: "Perhaps Andekko has been pounced upon by a snake, which is now coiled round him, and has squeezed him to death."

"That may be so," I replied. "Let us hurry." So we went, careless of the noise we made. We had only our dear Andekko in our minds, and we wanted to save his life, and, if too late, wreak our vengeance upon his destroyer.

"Dear Andekko," I said to myself, "I think a great deal of you, for you have been such a faithful dog, and have rescued us so often from starvation. I will surely kill the animal that has killed or even hurt you."

As we approached the spot, I thought I heard a peculiar noise. I listened. There was no mistake about it. Andekko was alive, and seemed to be busy choking some animal or other.

Rogala and I advanced towards the spot, and came to a dark place in the forest, where a number of big trees had fallen upon each other. Under all was a dark recess, a sort of den, and the dog was there. We shouted "Andekko, Andekko," and he came out with a small leopard in his mouth. We were before a leopard's den; both the father and mother of the cubs had gone in search of prey for them.

"There is no time to be lost," said Rogala to me. "I will go into the den and get the leopard's cubs if Andekko has not killed them all. Watch carefully, Oguizi, while I am in, and if the leopards come, let 'Bulldog' send them their death-blow."

Rogala had perfect faith in "Bulldog," and believed in its supernatural powers.

In the meantime Andekko was barking furiously outside, and it was all we could do to prevent him from again going inside. If he did, he would surely kill the rest of the young leopards, if he had not done so before. I watched carefully while Rogala was getting within; my eyes were everywhere around; "Bulldog" was cocked, and I was ready for any sudden coming of papa and mamma leopard. I felt that I must be quick in aiming at them in case they made their appearance together.

In the twinkling of an eye, however, Rogala came out of the den holding two little live leopards by the neck. There were two others, he said, that were dead, and Andekko had had hold of these two.

Rogala looked at me anxiously, and said: "Oguizi, if the leopards are on their way back with food for their little ones, we shall have a bad time. Their anger will be terrible when they see some of their young dead and torn to pieces, and others missing. They will scour the forest in search of their enemy. They move very fast if they have the scent, making one immense bound after another."

"I will set fire to the leopard's den," I replied; "there are many dead branches, and the fire will spread quickly, and the leopards will not know about our being here." At the same time I lighted a match, and set fire to a spot where there were many dead branches and dried leaves. Soon everything was in a blaze, but in that great and damp forest fires never spread far. We left the spot, and as soon as we were in the path we ran as fast as our feet and legs could carry us towards the river and our island, with visions of leopards bounding at full speed after us. Once in a while I could hear the voice of Rogala say: "Go on, Oguizi, go on!" At other times when I saw him flagging, I would shout: "Come on, come on, Rogala!"

I was quite ahead after a while, and as I came in sight of the river I saw a number of savage-looking men on our island. I counted twenty of them. They looked fierce, and their bodies were covered with war-paint. They carried ugly-looking barbed spears and shields made of elephant skins. Their leader walked ahead of them. He was short, and looked fiercer than the rest. They advanced cautiously, and suddenly they stopped and looked frightened. They were looking at my Waterbury clock, and as soon as they heard the tick-tock they turned suddenly and fled in great haste towards their canoe. In a jiffy they left, filled with fear, and paddled away down the river with the greatest speed. I followed them with my eyes until they disappeared behind a bend of the river.

When Rogala rejoined me, I told him what I had seen, and he said: "Those people live higher up the river, and are going to visit their friends."

I drew a long breath of relief as soon as we got upon our raft, for we did not know but that the leopards were after us.

Suddenly Rogala said: "I have forgotten the snake."

"Never mind," I said to him, "we will go after turtle's eggs."

We had reached the island just in good time, for soon after we heard the roaring of the leopards. They had scented us.

Happily the water was between us. Their rage knew no bounds, for they saw the impassable barrier between us. I said to Rogala: "Hold one of the little leopards up by the neck so that they can see him." Then I fired and succeeded in killing one of the leopards. The other then fled, and we never heard of it again.

That night I slept with "Bulldog" within my arms, and rested my head on the belt holding my revolvers to be ready in case the men we had seen should come back.

The following day we went into the forest in search of game, in spite of our fear that the leopard might still be in the neighborhood. The first thing we did was to collect berries and nuts for Ndova. Finding no game, we returned to our island. Ndova was delighted when we brought him berries. When he could eat no more, he filled his two pouches to their full capacity.

CHAPTER XX

LEAVE THE ISLAND FOR OUR CAMP – MONKEYS AMONG THE TREES – FIND EVERYTHING UNTOUCHED – I GET LOST FOLLOWING NGINAS – AM LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND KOOLA NUTS – CAMP UNDER THE KOOLA TREE – ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE FOREST

The time had come for us to leave the island and go back to our camp. I was very much pleased with our trip. Now I kept the days carefully. We cooked hard all the turtle's eggs we had and roasted the fish we had caught. Fish tasted very good, for we had been so long without it. Rogala loaded the raft with our outfit. On his return, after landing the latter, I embarked and bade good-bye to the island and to the sun, the moon, and the stars.

It was not long before I heard in the distance a noise like a storm amongst the branches of the trees. The sound was peculiar. Monkeys were coming towards me. This noise always proclaimed their approach. When they came in sight, I saw there was a troop of about thirty of them; they were ndovas. On their march onward, they flung themselves from branch to branch, travelling with very great speed. The branch upon which they alighted bent sometimes ten and fifteen feet under their weight, and rebounded with great force after they had sprung to another. Sometimes they were high up in the tree-tops. Then they descended, to go up higher again. They never sprang upon a branch that could not rebound, and it was during the rebound that they leaped to another, never making a mistake. Their eyes were too quick to miss their mark. They calculated the distance they could spring with marvellous accuracy.

They followed their leader, a big fellow, in quick succession and in silence, and seemed to go four or five abreast. They used chiefly their arms to grasp the branches upon which they alighted and their legs to support themselves. They were so quick in their motion that my eyes often could not follow the movement of their limbs. The end of branches often struck against their faces, but apparently did them no harm, as they swung in the same direction. So they went forward, leaving behind them branches of the trees still swaying for quite a while, filling the forest with their tremor.

They were travelling parallel with the hunting-path, and seemed to go at the rate of fifteen miles or more an hour. Soon they were out of my sight. Gradually the noise they made became less and less and less and then ceased. They were far away. I continued on my way towards the plantation. After a few miles I heard the chatter of ndovas, and came upon a tree upon which they were feeding. They seemed to be having a great carnival of joy amongst themselves. I was interested in looking at them, hidden in a thick bush, and did not wish to kill any, as we had food enough in the camp. They made queer faces at each other; the leader would give now and then a fruit to one of his female companions.

When we got sight of our camp, we looked around and listened awhile, but nobody was there. We went after the ladder, climbed it, and soon were within the enclosure. Ndova's house was just as it was. Rogala's house for the new moon was intact. The large stock of firewood we had gathered was all there. Nothing had been disturbed. Our abode had been discovered by no one.

Two days after Shinshooko and Alapai returned loaded with plantains. We were glad to see them again, and enjoyed the plantains prodigiously.

A few days after our return I went into the forest in search of game. Towards noon I heard, at some distance from the path, a noise made by some animal. I left the path and went in the direction of the noise. The jungle in that part of the forest was not thick, and I could walk fast.

After a while I saw amidst the trees some black objects moving ahead of me. At first I thought they were men, but soon discovered they were nginas. I hid behind the trunk of a tree and watched them. There were three nginas. I saw the biggest take a young tree several inches in diameter, break it in two, and eat the heart of the wood.

The nginas were not old, and looked extremely human. They moved away a little further, and where a fruit called tonda by the natives was growing, they uttered chuckles of delight at their discovery. One handed a tonda to one of the others. I was much afraid they would see me, but after eating the tondas they moved further off and got into the midst of some pineapples, which drew from them more guttural sounds of content. The pineapples disappeared quickly. They ate at least ten each. Then they rested and looked at one another.

Before long, however, they became suspicious, and moved away. I followed in their tracks, but, in my eagerness to pursue them, I omitted to make marks of any kind as I went along so that I could find my way back. It was a great mistake.

Twice I came within sight of the nginas, but intervening branches and overhanging lianas prevented me from using "Bulldog" and getting a shot at them. Finally, I gave up the chase. Then I remembered that during my excitement I had forgotten to mark the trees in order to find my way back, and soon I realized that I was lost. I was in a great dilemma, and I reproached myself for being so careless, and for not having followed the advice that had been given me in the forest.

I walked one way, then another, but could see no traces whatever of where I had been. I was lost, and the remembrance of my former experience while hunting with Oshoria, the slaves of King Mombo, and my other hunters, came vividly before me.

I began to be hungry also. I saw two big koola trees, but the boars had been there, and eaten all the nuts that had fallen. I wished I could have had a peep at these boars, I would have fired at them. Suddenly down came a nut. I made for it at once. Then I said to myself: "I will stay under this tree the rest of the day and camp here to-night, for probably more nuts will fall during that time." I looked for water, and found a little rivulet near by, which confirmed me in thinking this a good place for a camp.

Another nut fell. I rushed towards it, broke it, and soon the kernel was in my mouth. Then another nut fell, and another. No sound seemed to me sweeter than that of the falling of the koola nuts. A strong wind was evidently blowing, for the tops of the trees were shaking and the leaves were quivering. "Blow hard," said I to the wind, "blow hard, for the nuts will fall."

Listening to the sound of the nuts as they fell one after another, and putting a lot of wood on the fire, I lay down to sleep, feeling a great deal better after my meal.

The next morning I awoke perfectly fresh. During the day I came to a tolerably well-trodden path, which was more used than all those I had seen since I had been in my forest home. But I did not know in which direction to follow it. Finally, I determined to follow the right. I walked the rest of the day, but I found nothing to show me where I was going. I was very hungry, but the koola nuts had kept me alive, with the help of water.

I camped again that night in the forest. I put under my head as a pillow my revolvers, and laid "Bulldog" by my side.

CHAPTER XXI

PLANTAIN PEELINGS TO EAT – HUMAN FOOTPRINTS LEAD ME TO A VILLAGE – THE VILLAGERS EVIDENTLY WARLIKE – ADMITTED WITHIN THE GATE – AWE OF THE PEOPLE AT SIGHT OF THE OGUIZI

Early the next morning I was up, and followed the path until I came to another which crossed it. This one was well trodden, showing that it was quite frequented. The question again arose, which side must I take. I concluded to take again the right. Soon after, I discovered some plantain peelings and the remains of a fire. I was delighted at the discovery, and stopped and roasted the peelings, which were better than nothing. I did not like them, but I was very thankful that I had found them. Further on I came to a place where the ground was soft, and saw before me four well-marked human footprints. Two were much larger than the others, and were evidently the marks of a full-grown man; the others looked as if they were those of a woman.

I continued until I came to a place where these two people had rested. I was overjoyed at this discovery, for I knew that they were going to some village or plantation. Soon after I heard voices. I stopped, and left the path and hid in the jungle behind a tree, watching for people to pass. I waited and waited; no one passed. So I left my hiding-place and returned to the path. A little further on I heard more voices; then I left the path again, but I walked parallel with it and was exceedingly careful, looking around everywhere constantly. I had learned from the natives to walk parallel with a path and at some distance from it in case one does not wish to meet people.

After a while I heard voices again, and this time many people were talking together. Evidently I was near an encampment or a village. A village at last came in sight. The houses had no back doors, and numerous dead branches of trees were scattered round, so that it was impossible for any one to come near without making a noise and so being discovered. Apparently the people were holding a meeting, for now and then I could hear a number of voices say, "Yo, Yo," in token of approval of what the speaker was saying.

I went carefully round and saw that each end of the street was closed by a fence made of strong poles varying in height from twelve to fifteen feet and even more. At the top of many of the poles were skulls of wild beasts. Clearly this village belonged to a warlike tribe, whose people were always fighting. In the middle of the fence was the gate, on each side of which stood two big idols of human size and representing two women. How ugly they were! Each had a tongue of iron coming out of the mouth about six inches long, sharp as a razor; their eyes were of iron, they wore big ear-rings of copper of the circumference of an ordinary plate; both wore head-dresses of brilliant feathers. Their bodies were painted of different colors. One held a stick in her hand, which she was brandishing; the other a snake, which she was swinging. At their feet were bones of different animals, talons and heads of eagles, heads of snakes, and many other things.

There was a great noise inside. Soon I heard the tomtoms beat. They sounded to me very warlike. As it was getting late, I decided not to enter the village until the following morning, and retired noiselessly into the forest at quite a distance from the village, and after lighting my fires I went to sleep, wondering what sort of people I was to encounter the following day.

At daylight I was up, but waited until the day was more advanced before going to the village. I kept pondering whether the natives would receive me well, run away, or show fight. At last I left my hiding-place, and a short time afterwards I stood before the village gate and between the two idols. I could hear numerous voices in the distance, sometimes shouts, and the beating of the tomtoms. I judged that the people belonged to the Bakalai tribe.

Then hearing the voices of two women inside close to me, I said to them: "Please open the gate to the Oguizi, who is your friend."

When they heard me, they ran away; but soon three men came up and talking through the palisades, asked who I was, for they could not see my face.

I replied: "I am the Oguizi; I come to see you."

When they opened the gate, I found myself in presence of three fierce-looking fellows, armed with barbed spears, bows, and poisoned arrows. They were tall and young and looked like warriors. Closing the gate behind me, they looked at me with signs of awe, and one of them said: "Are you the Oguizi who has come to see the people of the forest?"

I answered, "I am."

It was fortunate that I could talk the Bakalai language. The three men told me to follow them. As soon as the villagers got a glimpse of me there was a great commotion; the meeting was suspended, the tomtoms beat with greater fury than before, and soon I found myself surrounded by savage men.

The people formed a great circle, and danced round me, singing, at the same time taking most beseeching postures and making invocations to me, asking me to do them no harm. They acted as if I were an idol. When they stopped, I learned that the name of the chief was Penday. I asked to see him. Some of the men went after him, but came back without him. He sent the following message to me: How could he dare to come before the great Oguizi, whom his forefathers had never seen? He would surely drop dead at the sight. He knew that I was coming, because for several nights a gentle wind hovered over the house where he slept and murmured, "The great Oguizi is coming! the great Oguizi is coming!" But he sent word that in three days he would come before me.

Soon after bunches of plantain, two chickens, some eggs, and a dead monkey were laid at my feet, which showed that I was welcomed, and then a hut was given to me that I could occupy by myself.