RETURNING TO THE COAST--CAVERNS AND WATERFALLS IN THE
HIGHLANDS--CROSSING A RIVER ON MANGROVE ROOTS--STIRRING UP A BIG
SNAKE--A MUTUAL SCARE.
I left the good villagers of Yoongoolapay, and pursued my way to the
seashore. On the route we came to a high ridge, or plateau. This was
the highest land I had seen between the Moonda and the Mani, and it is
probable that, if it had not been for the trees, I should have seen
the ocean very well. Along this ridge were strewn some of the most
extraordinary boulders I ever saw. These immense blocks of granite
covered the ground in every direction. Several of them were between
twenty and thirty feet high, and about fifty feet long.
Near the largest of these granite masses a huge rock rose some forty
or fifty feet out of the ground. I saw an opening in the solid rock,
leading to a fine large cavern. It had no doubt been made by the hands
of man; it was not of natural formation, for the entrance had evidently
been cut out of the solid rock by human beings; and now it was much
used by the natives as a house to stop in over night when they were
travelling to and fro. Its vast opening admits such a flood of sunlight
and air that it is not likely to be used as a lair for wild beasts. We
saw the remains of several fires inside, but I am bound to say we saw
also the tracks of leopards and other dangerous beasts on the outside,
for which reason I did not care to sleep there.
While exploring the cavern I thought several times I heard a trickling,
which was almost like the noise of rain, and which I had not noticed
before, probably on account of the great shouting of my men. But when
we got out I was surprised to find not a cloud in the sky. Turning
for an explanation to Alapay, he led me along a path, and as we went
forward the trickling noise gradually grew into the sound of rushing
waters. Presently we came to the edge of a steep declivity, and here I
saw before and around me a most charming landscape, the centre of which
was a most beautiful waterfall. A little stream, which meandered along
the slope of the plateau, and which had hitherto escaped our view, had
here worn its way through a vast granite block which barred its course.
Rushing through the narrow and almost circular hole in this block, it
fell in one silvery leap perpendicularly forty or fifty feet. The
lower level of the stream ran along between high, steep banks covered
with trees, the right bank being quite abrupt. It was a miniature
Niagara. Clear, sparkling, and pure as it could be, the water rushed
down to its pebbly bed--a sight so charming that I sat down for some
time and feasted my eyes upon it.
I then determined to have a view from below. After some difficult
climbing we got to the bottom, and there beheld, under the fall, a
large hole in the perpendicular face of the rock, which evidently
formed the mouth of a cavern. The opening of the cavern was partly
hidden by the waterfall, and was cut through solid rock. Between the
opening and the waterfall there were a few feet of clear space, so that
by going sideways one could make good his entrance into the cavern
without receiving a shower bath.
I determined to enter this cavern; but before venturing I went first
and tried to get a peep at the inside. It was so dark that I could
see nothing, so it was not very inviting. We lit torches; I took my
revolver and gun, and, accompanied by two men, who also were armed
with guns, we entered. How dark it was! Once inside, we excited
the astonishment of a vast number of huge vampire bats. There were
thousands and thousands of them. They came and fluttered around our
lights, threatening each moment to leave us in darkness, and the motion
of their wings filled the cavern with a dull thunderous or booming
roar. It really looked an awful place, and the dim light of our torches
gave to every shadow a fantastic form.
The cavern was rather rough inside. When we had advanced about one
hundred yards we came to a stream, or puddle of water, extending
entirely across the floor, and barring our way. My men, who had gone
thus far under protest, now desired to return, and urged me not to go
into the water. It might be very deep; it might be full of horrible
water snakes; all sorts of wild beasts might be beyond, and land snakes
also. At the word snake I hesitated, for I confess to a great dread
of serpents in the dark, or in a confined place, where a snake is
likely to get the advantage of a man. A cold shudder ran through me at
the thought that, once in the water, many snakes might come and swim
round me, and perhaps twist themselves about me as they do around the
branches of trees. So I paused and reflected.
While peering into the darkness beyond I thought I saw two eyes, like
bright sparks or coals of fire, gleaming savagely at us. Could it be
a leopard, or what? Without thinking of the consequences, I levelled
my gun at the shining objects and fired. The report, for a moment,
deafened us. Then came a redoubled rush of the great hideous bats.
It seemed to me that millions of these animals suddenly launched out
upon us from all parts of the surrounding gloom. Some of these got
caught in my clothes. Our torches were extinguished in an instant,
and, panic-stricken, we all made for the cavern's mouth. I had visions
of enraged snakes springing after and trying to catch me. We were all
glad to reach daylight once more, and nothing could have induced us to
try the darkness again. I confess that, though I think it takes a good
deal to frighten me, I did not at all relish remaining there in entire
darkness.
The scene outside was as charming as that within was hideous. I stood a
long time looking at one of the most beautiful landscapes I ever beheld
in Africa. It was certainly not grand, but extremely pretty. Before me,
the little stream whose fall over the cliff filled the forest with a
gentle murmur, resembling very much, as I have said, when far enough
off, the pattering of a shower of rain, ran along between steep banks,
the trees of which seemed to meet above it. Away down the valley we
could see its course, traced like a silver line over the plain, till it
was lost to our sight in a denser part of the forest.
I have often thought of these caverns since I saw them, and I have
regretted that I did not pay more attention to them. If I had made
my camp in the vicinity, and explored them and dug in them for days,
I think that I should have been amply rewarded for the trouble. At
that time I did not feel greatly interested in the subject. I had not
read the works of M. Boucher de Perthes and others, or heard that the
bones of animals now extinct had been discovered in caverns in several
parts of Europe, and that implements made of flint, such as axes,
sharp-pointed arrows, etc., etc., had been found in such places. If I
had excavated I might perhaps have found the remains of charcoal fires,
or other things, to prove that these caverns had been made by men who
lived in Africa long before the negro. I feel certain these caverns
must have been human habitations. I do not see how they could have been
made except by the hand of man.
On my last journey I thought once or twice of going to them from the
Fernand-Vaz, to explore and dig in them. I thought I might be rewarded
for labour by discovering the bones of unknown beasts, or of some
remains of primitive men.
These caverns are fortunately not far away from the sea--I should think
not more than ten or fifteen miles--and are situated between the Muni
and the Moonda rivers. Anyone desiring to explore them would easily
find the way to them. The cavern under the waterfall would be extremely
interesting to explore.
The valley itself was a pleasant wooded plain, which, it seemed, the
hand of man had not yet disturbed, and whence the song of birds, the
chatter of monkeys, and the hum of insects came up to us, now and then,
in a confusion of sounds very pleasant to the ear.
But I could not loiter long over this scene, being anxious to reach
the seashore. After we set off again we found ourselves continually
crossing or following elephant tracks, so we walked very cautiously,
expecting every moment to find ourselves face to face with a herd.
By-and-by the country became quite flat, the elephant tracks ceased,
and presently, as we neared a stream, we came to a mangrove swamp. It
was almost like seeing an old friend, or, I may say, an old enemy, for
the remembrances of mosquitoes, tedious navigation, and malaria which
the mangrove tree brought to my mind were by no means pleasant. It is
not very pleasant to be laid up with African fever, I assure you.
From a mangrove tree to a mangrove swamp and forest is but a step. They
never stand alone. Presently we stood once more on the banks of the
little stream, whose clear, pellucid water, had so charmed me a little
farther up the country. Now it was only a swamp, a mangrove swamp. Its
bed, no longer narrow, was spread over a flat of a mile, and the now
muddy water meandered slowly through an immense growth of mangroves,
whose roots extended entirely across, and met in the middle, where they
rose out of the mire and water like the folds of some vast serpent.
It was high tide. There was not a canoe to be had. To sleep on this
side, among the mangroves, was to be eaten up by the mosquitoes, which
bite much harder than those of America, for they can pierce through
your trousers and drawers. This was not a very pleasant anticipation,
but there seemed to be no alternative, and I had already made up
my mind that I should not be able to go to sleep. But my men were
not troubled at all with unpleasant anticipations. We were to cross
over, quite easily too, they said, on the roots which projected above
the water, and which lay from two to three feet apart, at irregular
distances.
It seemed a desperate venture, but they set out jumping like monkeys
from place to place, and I followed, expecting every moment to fall in
between the roots in the mud, there to be attacked, perhaps, by some
noxious reptile whose rest my fall would disturb. I had to take off
my shoes, whose thick soles made me more likely to slip. I gave all
my baggage, and guns, and pistols to the men, and then commenced a
journey, the like of which I hope never to take again. We were an hour
in getting across--an hour of continual jumps and hops, and holding on.
In the midst of it all a man behind me flopped into the mud, calling
out, "Omemba!" in a frightful voice.
Now, _omemba_ means snake. The poor fellow had put his hands on an
enormous black snake, and, feeling its cold, slimy scales, he let go
his hold and fell. All hands immediately began to run faster than
before, both on the right and the left. There was a general panic, and
every one began to shout and make all kinds of noises to frighten the
serpent. The poor animal also got badly scared, and began to crawl away
among the branches as fast as he could. Unfortunately his fright led
him directly towards me, and a general panic ensued. Everybody ran as
fast as he could to get out of danger. Another man fell into the mud
below, and added his cries to the general tumult. Two or three times I
was on the point of getting a mud bath myself, but I luckily escaped.
My feet were badly cut and bruised, but at last we were safe across,
and I breathed freely once more, as soon after I saw the deep blue
sea.
[Illustration: SLAVE BARRACOONS. BURIAL GROUND.
CHAP. XIII.]
[Illustration]