You will be surprised to hear, that I was not far more frightened than
he. It would have been natural that I should--being younger and less
courageous, but in reality I was not. In fact, after a little terror
which I experienced at the first shock, I was not frightened at all.
Of course such a wild, hideous spectacle--those three skeleton forms,
with rigid limbs and bodies, and rows of white grinning teeth--was
calculated to produce fear in any one, particularly when discovered in
such a singular place, and seen, as we saw them, under the glaring light
of a torch: and I will not deny, that at the first glance I was as badly
terrified as my companion, and perhaps even worse.
But my terror was short-lived, for almost in the next moment I was quite
free from it; and I stood regarding the skeleton bodies with no other
feelings than those of a keen curiosity--just as if I had been looking
at mummies in a museum.
I know you will be surprised at this exhibition of _sangfroid_ on my
part, and deem it extraordinary; but there is nothing extraordinary
about it. It was easily explained, and I proceed to give the
explanation.
My "wonder book" is again the key--it was to this I was indebted for
ridding me of my fright, and once more giving me the advantage over my
unlettered companion. In that book I remembered having read--of course
in the same chapter that treated of the baobab--how a curious practice
existed among some tribes of negroes, of hollowing out the great trunks
of these trees into vaults or chambers, and there depositing their dead.
It was not those who died naturally who were thus disposed of, but
malefactors--men who had been executed for some great crime; and whose
bodies were denied the right of burial in the regular way; for these
savage people have strong prejudices in such matters, just as we find
among the most Christian and civilised nations.
Instead therefore of flinging the bodies, of those upon whom capital
punishment has been inflicted, to the hyenas and jackals, and leaving
them to be devoured by these voracious brutes, the negroes give them a
species of sepulture; and that is as described, by closing them up in
vaults hewn in trunks of the baobab--and in my opinion a very
comfortable kind of tomb it is. The bodies thus deposited do not
decompose or decay as those buried in the ordinary way; on the contrary,
from some preservative quality in the wood, or the atmosphere of the
place, they become desiccated, or dried up very much after the manner of
mummies, and in this state remain for hundreds of years.
You may wonder why the negroes, for the sake of mere criminals, take so
much trouble as to form these large vaults in the solid trunks of trees;
and especially with such rude implements as they are used to make them
with. But this wonder will cease when I inform you, that the hallowing
out of a chamber in the trunk of a baobab is a mere bagatelle, and costs
but trifling labour. The wood of this great tree is remarkably soft and
porous, and a cavity can be scooped out in it, almost as easily as in
the side of a turnip--at all events with not greater difficulty than in
a hard bank of clay or earth; and it is not uncommon for the negroes to
hew out large chambers in the trunks of the baobab for other purposes
besides the one above-mentioned.
Remembering to have read the account of all these matters, I had,
therefore, quite the advantage of my companion, who had never read a
word about them; and, when Ben turned round and perceived that I was
regarding the scene with perfect coolness, while he himself was shaking
in his shoes, he appeared quite astonished at my behaviour.
I soon explained to him the reason why I was so brave; on hearing which
Ben grew brave himself; and, after replenishing our torch by fresh
faggots from the fire, we both squeezed ourselves through the narrow
entrance, and stood within the chamber of the dead. We were no longer
afraid, even to lay our hands upon the skeletons--which we found
perfectly dry and in no way decayed, either by being eaten with moths,
ants, or destroying insects of any kind--all of which must have been
kept away from them by the peculiar odour of the wood by which they were
surrounded.
Like enough the hyenas and jackals would have regarded this but little,
and would long since have dragged the bodies forth; but as already
stated there was a door--and a strong one, which had fitted exactly to
the entrance of the chamber, and which was evidently the thick, bark of
the tree, that had been carefully cut out, at the making of the chamber,
and then replaced. This door fitting exactly had no doubt been firm
enough to resist any attack of wild beasts--at the time the bodies had
been first deposited within--but being now dry it had got loose, and
easily yielded to the sturdy kick of the sailor.
We remained for some time inside this curious apartment and examined
every corner of it minutely. It was evident to us that it had not been
entered for years--as there was no sign of anything having been
disturbed in it. Perhaps no human being had ever opened the door since
the dead had been deposited within; and although there was no means of
telling how long since that event might have taken place, the appearance
of the dry withered bodies plainly pointed to a very ancient date for
their interment. Perhaps it may have occurred at a time when the
country around was thickly peopled with inhabitants; or at all events
when some tribe dwelt in the neighbourhood, who had long ago perished by
the hands of their enemies, or what is more likely had been made
captive, sold into slavery, and carried across the Atlantic to the
colonies of America.
Such reflections were passing through my mind as I stood within that
singular chamber, and gazed upon the three strange creatures that had so
long been its tenants. I think the reflections of my companion were of
a different character. I suspect he was at that moment thinking,
whether there might be some treasure entombed along with them, for he
was carrying his torch into every corner of the apartment, and eagerly
searching every crack and cranny with his eyes, as if he expected
something to turn up--perhaps a bag of gold-dust, or some of those
precious stones that are often found in possession of the savages.
If he had any such expectations, however, he was doomed to
disappointment; for, with the exception of the three skeletons
themselves, not one article of any kind--neither of dress or ornament--
was found in the place.
Having satisfied himself about this, and taken one more glance at the
three silent denizens of the tree-chamber, Ben, in a serio-comic
fashion, made a salaam to them, and wished them good-night.
We now returned to our fire with the intention of going to sleep; for
although it was not yet late, we felt wearied after the day's wandering
about and, stretching ourselves along the dry ground by the side of the
blazing faggots, we composed ourselves for the night.