THE NSHIEGO MBOUVÉ--BALD-HEADED APES--THEIR HOUSES IN THE
TREES--LYING IN WAIT FOR THEM--WE KILL A MALE--THE SHRIEKS OF HIS
MATE--DESCRIPTION OF THE ANIMAL--FAREWELL TO SHIMBOUVENEGANI.
AS I was trudging along one day in the woods, rather tired of the
sport, and on the point of going back to the camp, I happened to look
up at a high tree which we were passing and saw a most singular
shelter or home built in its branches. I immediately stopped and asked
Okabi why the hunters slept in that way in the woods. Okabi laughed,
after looking at me quizzically, and then he told me that no man had
ever built that shelter. He said that it was made by a kind of man
of the woods, called nshiego mbouvé, an animal which had no hair on
the top of its head. I really thought Okabi was joking. An animal--a
man-monkey--with no hair on the top of his head? a bald-headed ape? It
was now my turn to laugh, for I did not believe Okabi's story about the
bald-headed animal, though I believed what he said about the shelter in
the tree.
I saw at once that I was on the trail of an animal which no civilized
man had ever seen before. I no longer felt tired, but pushed on through
the woods with renewed ardour, and with increased caution, so as not to
alarm our prey. The shelter we had seen was an old one, which had been
abandoned, but we had a hope of finding another which should be still
occupied.
We were not disappointed. We soon found two more shelters. They were
about twenty feet from the ground, and were on two trees, which stood a
little apart from the others, and which had no limbs below the one on
which the nests were placed. This location for its house is probably
chosen by the animals to secure them at night from beasts and serpents,
and from the falling limbs of surrounding trees. They build only in the
loneliest part of the forest. They are very shy, and are seldom seen,
even by the negroes.
Okabi, who was an old and intelligent hunter, told me that the male
and female together select the material for their nest or shelter. It
is constructed in part of the branches of the tree itself, which they
twist in with the boughs of other trees collected by them for the
purpose. The shelters I saw had the shape of an umbrella.
We concealed ourselves by lying flat on the ground amidst the bushes
near by, and keeping perfectly still. My patience was sorely tried.
Mosquitoes and flies were continually biting me. Ants now and then were
creeping upon me, and some of them managed to get under my clothes.
Besides, I had some fear of the bashikonay, or of the white ants,
coming to disturb me, or of snakes creeping upon me. So, as you may
imagine, I was not comfortable, neither had I pleasant thoughts.
At length, just at dusk, we heard the loud peculiar "hew, hew, hew,"
which is the call of the male to his mate. I was glad to know I had not
waited in vain; and looking up I saw a nshiego mbouvé sitting under his
nest. His feet rested on the lower branch; his head reached quite into
the little dome of a roof; and his arm was clasped firmly about the
tree trunk. This, I suppose, is the position in which they sleep. Soon
after his mate came and ascended the tree.
After gazing till I was tired, I saw that one of the animals showed
signs of being alarmed. Had they smelt us? had we made a noise that
excited their suspicions? Anyhow, we raised our guns and fired through
the gloom at the one that seemed asleep. I almost felt sorry for the
unfortunate beast, which fell with a tremendous crash, and died without
a struggle. The other uttered an awful shriek and came down the tree
with the utmost rapidity. I fired but missed the animal, and in less
time than I take to write it the poor creature had disappeared in the
woods.
I was very hungry, for I had eaten nothing since breakfast. We built
a fire at once, and made our camp. Then we built several more fires,
to prevent an attack of the bashikonay ants, in case they should come
that way. The poor ape was hung up to a limb out of reach. During the
night, I could hear now and then, in the distance, the piercing shriek
of its mate, which no doubt was calling for the absent one. At last I
fell asleep on my bed of leaves and grass, as pleased a man perhaps as
any in the world.
The next morning I examined the nshiego mbouvé. Okabi, pointing to
the head triumphantly, exclaimed, "See, Chaillie, is not the animal
bald-headed? Did I not tell you the truth?" So it was. The nshiego
mbouvé was quite bald; not a hair could be seen on the top of his head.
He was a full-grown specimen, and measured three feet and eleven inches
in height. His colour was intensely black, and the body was covered
with short, rather blackish hair. On the legs the hair was of a dirty
grey, mixed with black. On the shoulders and back the hair grew two
or three inches long. This animal was old, and his hair was a little
mixed with grey. The arms also, down to the wrists, were covered with
long black hair. The hair is much thinner than on the gorilla, and is
blacker, longer, and glossier. The nose, also, is not so prominent.
Though only three feet and eleven inches in height, the animal had an
extremely broad chest, though not so powerful as that of the gorilla.
The fingers, also, were much longer, and not large; and the hand was
longer than the foot; while the gorilla, like man, has the foot longer
than the hand.
Some of the teeth were decayed. So the poor fellow must have had the
toothache badly; and I suppose there were no dentists among the nshiego
mbouvés. I have killed several of these animals. One of them was a very
old one; he had silvery hair; nearly all his teeth were decayed, and
some were missing which had dropped out with age. He was getting so
infirm that he had not strength enough to pick berries or break nuts;
and, when killed, he had only leaves in his stomach.
After enjoying myself thoroughly at the olako of Shimbouvenegani, we
returned to the village of Damagondai. Shimbouvenegani dressed himself
again in state, that is to say, he put on his swallow-tailed coat and
his beaver hat. In this regal costume he accompanied us to our canoes,
and there bid us good-bye.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: EXPIRATION OF MOURNING.]