with him. I was anxious to see what I could of the people and agreed
to go. Later on I was surprised to see B. in full evening dress. He
explained that everyone dressed. Now, as I had not brought mine, it was
very awkward. But B. said it would be all right. As we were changing, a
fine buxom black girl burst into our house and marched straight upstairs
to B.’s room, throwing wide the door. There was B. with his white shirt
and nothing else. I closed my door, but could hear the lady engaging B.
for some of the dances. She then asked for the white man who had arrived
that day, and then my door was thrown open. I was far from dressed
myself, and something about my appearance seemed to tickle the lady
immensely, for she went into peals of the jolliest laughter. She spoke
English with a strong American accent, as nearly all the Liberians do.
She made me promise to dance with her that night, in spite of my protests
that I could not dance at all. She turned the place upside down and then
departed. I hastened to ask B. what kind of dances they had, and he told
me they liked waltzing best.
After dinner we sauntered off to a large barn, where a musical din
denoted the dance. Here we found a fine lay-out. Lavish refreshments,
chiefly composed of cakes, cold pork, gin and beer, were provided for
all. Everybody was very jolly, and they _could_ dance, or so it seemed
to me. The girls were nearly all in white or pink dresses, but not very
_décolleté_. A tall coal-black gentleman in full evening dress was master
of ceremonies, but introductions soon became unnecessary. Round the
refreshments gathered the old men, some in frock coats of a very ancient
cut, others in more modern garments. I was hospitably pressed to drink.
The musicians drank without pressing. Everybody drank, women and all.
What added zest was the fact that _the fines inflicted on the steamer
captain and his officer paid for the feast_. German export beer and
Hamburg potato spirit were then only a few pence per bottle, consequently
the dance became a debauch, seasoned drinkers though they were. The din
and heat became terrific. Starched collars turned to sodden rags and
things indescribable happened. Thus ended my first day in the Black
Republic.
As notice had been sent the Governor of my intended visit, and I had
bought the necessary beer and Kola wine, next day I set off to visit him
at his residence, some little way out of town. Bush, with clearings
planted with coffee, describes the country between the town and the
Governor’s residence, itself situated in a large coffee plantation.
The house was of lumber construction and two storeys high, well built,
and the largest I had yet seen. I marched up, followed by B’s two boys
carrying the present, to the front door. I was met immediately by a
splendid-looking old black, very tall, very black, dressed in a long
black frock coat, high starched collar and black cravat. With snow-white
hair and Uncle Sam beard and accent to match, he received me in a really
kind and hearty manner. I must confess that I felt rather diffident
with my two cases of cheap liquor in the background, while I fingered
a few hot sovereigns in my pocket. However, the bluff old fellow soon
put me at my ease. Seeing the stuff out there on the boys’ heads, he
beckoned them in, helped them to lower their load, shouted to someone to
come and open the boxes, sent the boys in to get a drink, and ushered
me into his sitting-room, all in the jolliest manner possible. Here we
talked a bit, and then I told him what I had come for. A permit to hunt
elephant! Ha! ha! ha! he roared. Of course I should have a permit to
hunt elephant. He wrote it there and then. Would I stop for dinner? I
said I would be delighted. Then we had beer and Kola wine mixed until
lunch was announced. Then the old boy took off his coat and invited me
to do likewise. I did so and followed my host into the eating-room. Here
was a long trestle table laid for about twenty people—white tablecloth,
knives, forks, etc. As we seated ourselves, in trooped enchanting little
black girls, all dressed neatly in moderately clean print dresses, with
arms, necks, and legs bare. And then Mrs. Governor appeared with some
larger girls. After shaking hands we all sat down to a very substantial
meal. It was perfectly charming. Everyone was at ease. The old man was
an excellent host and the old lady just as good a hostess. Conversation
never flagged. The old man was full of his brother’s doings. It appeared
that his brother was a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow, who would let his
cows stray on to his neighbours’ plantations. My host had repeatedly
remonstrated, but without effect. So that morning, having discovered
some of his brother’s cows meandering about the plantation, he had gone
straight for his shot-gun and had rendered at least one incapable of
further depredations. This act had, it appeared, stirred the brother
profoundly, but in an unusual way, for he could be heard for miles
bawling religious songs from his bedroom window. Whenever there was a
lull during lunch we heard the monotonous chant, which appeared to amuse
my host immensely.
All the little girls were called their children, but I subsequently
found that the old couple were quite childless, and that these were bush
children from the interior and were now adopted.
My host told me that he had been a slave in the Southern States; he said
he could remember well being flogged. He said that elephant were numerous
in the interior, also bush-cow (the little red buffalo), leopard, and the
pigmy hippo. As regards the tribes, he laughed and said that they were a
rough lot. He said that Liberia was almost continually at war with them.
In this connection I heard afterwards that the bush men had been down
on a raid to a neighbouring town. They had seized, stripped, and tarred
and feathered the Governor, raided and carried off all the liquor in the
trading stores, and enjoyed themselves generally.
Altogether, Liberia was, at the time of which I write, about the funniest
show it has ever been my lot to see. When they set up their Customs to
levy import duty on spirits, etc., they soon discovered that an extensive
and very lucrative trade in smuggling started up. Steamers used to draw
in close to the coast and sell for spot cash and gold dust whole cargoes
of gin, gunpowder, caps, and articles of general trade. Natives would put
off in their canoes in clouds, and in a very short time the cargo would
be sold on deck and landed. In order to stop this the Republic bought a
second-hand steam yacht which had originally belonged to King Leopold,
I believe. For the following account of the doings of this navy I am
indebted to B.; for its accuracy I cannot vouch.
According to B., then, the yacht was armed with a light gun and some
machine guns. The crew were all blacks, with the exception of the
captain, who was an Englishman. This Englishman was admiral of the fleet,
captain and commander all in one. Evidently his gunners were so bad
that he found it necessary to fire the gun himself whenever it had to
be fired. As his salary was never forthcoming when due, he used to take
it out of the fines he imposed on ships caught in the act. That he was
energetic is shown by his first encounter with a smuggling ship. This
happened to be a German, well inside the three-mile limit. The Liberian
navy signalled her to stop. She disregarded this and carried on. The
admiral jumped to his gun and let fly a shot across her bows. She still
carried on. So then the admiral let rip and carried away a part of her
bridge with the first shot. One can imagine the guttural curses and funk
on that German bridge. Nothing more was needed, she hove to. The game
ceased to be so popular after this encounter. Smuggling by the shipload
was stopped. Passing through the French West African port, Dakkar, some
time after my visit to Liberia, I saw the Liberian navy—a beautiful
little craft—lying at anchor. In answer to my enquiries I was told that
she had been in dock for repairs, that the bill for these amounted to
some £600, that the Republican Treasury had been unable to meet it, and
that the repairers refused to let her sail until it was met. How long she
remained there I cannot say.
With the acquisition of the hunting permit and the hiring of some lads
from the interior, I was soon ready for the road. For ten miles or so we
passed through lazily-kept coffee plantations, mostly worked by slave
labour. The coffee is excellent, but produced without system. After this
we began to rise gradually through virgin forests, with no inhabitants.
Our road was a mere footpath. There were no flies, which was pleasant.
Throughout the forest country there were neither flies nor mosquitoes, in
spite of the dampness.
The first night we camped in the bush, where there were three huts. In
one of these huts there lived a sort of “medicine” man. I got hold of him
and asked him about my prospects of finding elephant. He was the most
wide-awake business man I had met since leaving London, for he at once
offered to make such “medicine” as would lead to my killing elephant
with large tusks in great numbers. I told him to fire away, but before
doing so he asked what I would give him. I promised that if I got large
tusks I would give him a case of gin. He was delighted, but wanted a
few heads of tobacco added. This was also agreed to. He said I might
consider the whole thing arranged. Then he asked me if I would care to
buy gold dust. I said yes. He then produced a tiny skin bag of the stuff.
I scoffed and said that I could not be troubled with quantities so small.
Turning indifferently away, I was about to leave him, when he said he
had some more. He produced more of it, little by little, until there was
perhaps £80 worth. Then I became more interested and asked him what he
wanted for it. Gunpowder came the answer at once. I told him I had none.
When he had brought himself to believe this he said he would exchange it
for an equal weight of golden sovereigns. Had his stuff been pure this
“trade” might have shown a small profit; but as it was obviously not so
I, of course, refused to buy. As a matter of curiosity I bought a pinch
of his dust and subsequently found that it contained about 25 per cent.
of brass filings. There were certainly no flies on that magic-monger.
To his business of making medicine this hoary old rascal added the,
perhaps, more lucrative one of slave dealing; for when I had retired to
my camp-bed my boy came to tell me that the medicine man wished to see
me. I told the boy to tell him to go now and come in the morning. The
answer came that he wanted to see me very particularly. He was let in and
came with a pleasant-looking young native girl following. She carried a
small calabash, which the old man took from her and gave it to me, saying
it was a present of honey. The girl remained kneeling and sitting on her
heels. The old ruffian kept leering at her and then leering at me. He
wished to sell her.
As we expected to reach the first village of the bush people that day, we
were off early in the morning. As a rule, in forest country it is as well
not to start too early. Until ten or eleven o’clock the bush bordering
the narrow native trails is saturated with moisture and remains wet even
after the passage of several people; then there is no sun to contend
with, as in open country.
On the way we saw monkeys of several kinds and tracks of bush-buck and
bush-cow. Hornbills were common and various kinds of forest birds. The
country was in ridges, heavily wooded, with running streams of clear
cold water in the hollows. Here and there could be seen scratchings
where natives had been looking for gold. The whole of this country is
auriferous, I believe. The gold is alluvial, and the particles widely
separated by dirt; too widely for Europeans, I expect.
Late in the afternoon we arrived at the village. They knew of our coming,
and the headman met us with a crowd of his people, and jolly independent
in manner they were. Among the crowd there was quite a sprinkling of
trade guns of the percussion cap type. Almost immediately I was shown to
the hut allocated to travellers, and very grateful its shade and coolness
were after the long and hilly march. Water and firewood were brought, and
the cook got busy. The construction of the huts was new to me and quite
excellent. The floor of the hut was raised some four feet off the ground
and consisted of stout bamboo mats tightly stretched over poles. As the
mats were rather loosely woven, all dirt and water simply fell through
to the ground. If a bath is required you squat on the floor and dash the
water over yourself; it all runs through and soon dries up again. Then
the mats, being springy, make a most excellent bed. Vermin are absent.
One is obliged to have one of the huts, as the bush runs close up to the
villages, leaving no room for a tent, besides which the ground is so damp
as to make a floor well off the ground desirable.
After refreshment I called the headman and told him I had come to hunt
elephant. He asked to see my rifle. I showed it to him, my ·318. He
smiled and said it would not do, peering into the small muzzle. He called
for his own to show me, a huge affair, muzzle-loading and shooting a
long wooden harpoon with an iron head heavily poisoned. But, he said, my
rifle might do for bush-cow, of which there were plenty near at hand. He
asked me if I would go after them next morning. I did not wish to a bit,
but I thought it might be as well to create a good impression by killing
something, so I promised to try. He then left me, and presently a nice
present of food, a couple of fowls and eggs, arrived.
On the morrow I left for the bush with some local guides. We soon found
fresh bush-cow tracks and took them up. They led through a lot of deadly
thick stuff, wet and cold. The guides made such a noise that I thought
any bush-cow that allowed us near enough to see them would have to be
both sound asleep and deaf; and so it turned out, for presently we heard
them stampeding through the bush. I gave it up at once, and consoled
the natives by promising to kill some monkeys for them on the way back,
which I had no difficulty in doing. Arrived back in the village, I gave
the headman a couple of monkeys and some tobacco in return for the
hospitality we had enjoyed. Then we set off forward for the hunting
grounds. We had a set-back about half way, as our guides deserted us,
saying they were at war with the people we were going to. This is always
awkward in Africa, for the paths are so misleading. There was nothing for
it but to trust to luck and push on.
After some miles of chancing our way along we saw a native on the path.
As soon as we saw him he saw us and dived into the bush, trailing his
long gun dangerously behind him. The alarm was out, and it was imperative
to arrive at the village before anything could be organised. I gave my
rifle to a boy to carry and on we went. Luckily the village was handy,
and we marched straight into the middle of it and sat down, the natives,
who had been having a pow-wow, scattering right and left. This is always
a very disconcerting thing for natives; they seemed quite lost to see
what they had regarded as an enemy an instant before sitting quietly
right in the middle of their town. It is necessary on these occasions to
suppress any signs of nervousness on the part of one’s followers, which
is not always easy. When this is done and there is no flourishing of
lethal weapons I have never known it to fail. In a short time up came
the headman, in an awful funk, but outwardly composed. He demanded of
me what I wanted. I said, “Sit down!” He continued to stand. I told one
of my boys to bring a mat, and beckoned the headman to sit down. He did.
Then I told him why we were there, and that if they showed us elephant
they should have the meat. He went away and had a talk with some of his
men, who had returned from the bush. I noticed that nearly all of them
were armed with guns. Presently he came back and led me to a hut. I got
the thing made habitable, and the usual procedure of peaceful travellers
went on. No notice was taken by us of anyone, and presently the native
women began to be once more visible, a pretty fair indication that no
hostilities were intended, for the moment, at any rate. In an hour or
two the headman came in most cordial mood. He had been pushing enquiries
among my boys, I knew. Apparently all was well. He said I could not have
come to a better spot for elephant, or to a better man than himself. He
presumed that I had heard of him; he seemed to think that London must be
ringing with his prowess. I did not tell him I had never heard of him; I
merely smiled.
His news was most inspiring, although I knew enough of Africans to
discount 75 per cent. of it. He said the bush was full of elephant. I
decided to try next day for them, and told the headman so. He laughed
and said we would have to sleep some nights in the bush and that food
would have to be taken. Therefore, the following day was devoted to
preparing food for the journey. In the evening I warned the people that
I was going to fire, and showed them the penetration of a modern rifle
with solid bullet. I chose for this purpose a certain white-barked tree,
the wood of which I knew, from former trials, set up less resistance to
the passage of a bullet than that of other trees. This particular tree
was very thick, and I hoped the bullet would not fail to come out on the
other side. It traversed it easily, to my relief and the astonishment
of the natives, who came in crowds to see the exit hole. Of course,
none of their guns would have looked at it. It is just this kind of
childish little thing that impresses Africans, and when done quietly and
indifferently enough is most useful. In this case the effect was doubled
by the fact that in their mode of waging war the taking of cover behind
trees was more than half the game. Luckily, no one was sufficiently acute
to ask me to fire through some of the smaller but much tougher trees.
They began to think that my rifle might kill elephant after all.
On the morrow we stored our heavy loads in the headman’s hut and left
for the bush. I took my camp-bed, and a ground-sheet which could be
slung on a stick over it when it rained. These, with some plain food and
200 rounds of cartridges, comprised the loads, and, as we had plenty of
followers, each man was lightly laden.
After passing through some plantations we were almost immediately in
the virgin forest. We trekked hard all that day without seeing anything
more interesting than monkeys and forest pig, but on the following day
the country began to show signs of game. Bush-cow tracks became common,
and we crossed several elephant paths, but devoid of recent tracks.
This day I saw for the first time the comparatively tiny tracks of the
pigmy hippo. In one place quite a herd of them had passed in the night.
I gathered from the natives that they sometimes remained throughout the
day in the dark pools of the smaller forest streams, but that usually
they passed the daytime in the larger streams, when they would come up
to breathe under the overhanging banks, only the nostrils emerging from
the water. The reason for this extreme shyness appeared to be that the
natives possessed firearms, the animals were quite defenceless, and the
price of meat was high in all this stockless country. There exists such
a dearth of flesh food that cannibalism is practised. Towards evening we
reached a stream, on the bank of which it was decided we should camp.
While a clearing was being made someone spotted a python coiled up on a
rock a few feet out in the stream. They called me to come and shoot it.
I ran up with my rifle to do so, and arrived just as the great snake
was beginning to uncoil itself. First its head came, more and more of
its body uncoiling behind it until the head reached the shore, the body
bridging the space between it and the rock, where there still remained
several coils. It landed in face of us, and I was waiting till enough of
it had reached hard ground before firing. Meanwhile the boys, who had
been clearing bush, rushed up with their slashers and attacked the huge
serpent vigorously. It appeared to make no attempt to defend itself and
was soon disabled by a few dozen blows on the head and neck. Although
dead, the body continued to writhe with great force as it was being cut
up into sections. All the natives were in high glee at securing so much
good food. They said it was very good to eat, and certainly the flesh
looked all right. When cooked, it became as white as boiled cod and
seemed to lie in layers in the same way. The python was about 16 ft. long
and contained the almost digested remains of one or more monkeys.
As I had killed two or three monkeys for them during the day the boys
had a splendid feast with the python added. I noticed that they ate the
python and roasted the monkeys whole to carry forward cold. I gathered
that elephant might be expected next day.
It poured hard most of the night, and it was quite cold. Luckily, the
forest was a splendid wind break, and but little rain reached my snug
camp-bed. The boys made little shelters with under-bush, kept the fires
going and ate python all night.
As soon as we were warmed up a bit next morning we started. Now, when
the bush is wet and the cold of the early morning is still on, it is
very hard to get a native to go ahead. Being naked, they come in for a
shower bath every time they touch a branch. They simply loathe it. With
difficulty one will eventually be pushed in front, but in a very short
time he will pretend to have a thorn in his foot or some other pressing
reason for stopping, and another has to be pushed forward. This continues
until things heat up with the heightening of the sun. Not that you can
see the sun when in this kind of forest; but, somehow, its heat rays
penetrate the dense roof of foliage, although quite invisible.
We soon reached a lot of fresh elephant tracks. I examined them
carefully, but could find no bull tracks at all. I could not even find
one moderately big cow track. I was puzzled. All the tracks appeared to
have been made by calves and half-grown animals. The boys were very
pleased with them, however, and when I said I was not going to follow
such small stuff they assured me that the smaller the track the bigger
the teeth. This belief I have found to be common all over Africa, not
only among native hunters, but also among whites. In my experience it
has failed to stand the test of careful observation. But it is so widely
held and so firmly believed in that it may be interesting to state the
conclusion I have arrived at after very many opportunities of testing it.
It is, of course, merely one man’s experience, but I give it for what it
is worth.
Very large and bulky elephants _appear_ to carry small tusks. Why they
appear small is this: A tusk reaches a great length and a great lip
diameter in a comparatively small number of years, but is very hollow
and weighs light. At this stage the bearer is still young and slim, as
with man. Therefore, his tusks look enormous in proportion to his general
bulk. Therefore, however, his tusks gain but little either in length or
girth, but the hollows fill up more and more with the decades; while his
body continues to fill out, he stops chasing the cows, takes less and
less exercise, becomes bulkier and sourer in the temper, suffers from
gout, for all I know, gets a liver—for I have found them diseased in very
old elephant—and now his tusks look small in proportion to his general
size. To bear me out I would point to the enormously heavy tusk in the
Victoria and Albert Museum. It is only some 9 ft. long and only just over
24 ins. diameter, yet it weighs 234 lb. I have had heaps of tusks 9 ft.
long and 23½ ins. in diameter which weighed a mere 100 lb. to 150 lb.
Pointing to a track which in any other country would have indicated
a young cow, the headman said that its maker would be found to carry
enormous tusks. I knew this was bunkum; all he wanted was meat. But it
began to dawn on me that perhaps the elephant of Liberia were, like its
hippo, a dwarf race. This decided me to go and have a look, so off we
started.