We travelled on for two days, and still the mountains were not reached;
but they grew higher and clearer as we advanced, and we had hopes of
getting to them at last. My young cousins bore the journey wonderfully
well. When we came to difficult places, her brothers and I helped Kate
along, making a seat for her with our joined hands. We could thus make
but slow progress, and she entreated us to allow her to walk, declaring
that she was not at all fatigued; while Timbo or Jack carried Bella on
their back, and with long sticks in their hands trudged on merrily. We
caught sight of several wild animals. On two or three occasions
buffaloes crossed our path, but at too great a distance for a shot. We
killed, however, a wild boar, which afforded a fine meal for our party.
Natty and I were a little in advance, when we came to a large village of
white ants, such as I have before described. We were examining them,
when I saw a troop of gazelles come bounding across the prairie towards
us. The wind blew from them to us, and as we were behind the hill, they
did not observe us. Our larder at the time was ill-supplied, and so I
was anxious to kill one. I rested my gun on one of the turrets of the
hill. I was not much of a shot, but I was improving. The herd came by
within thirty yards of us. Just then the leader caught sight of the
rest of the party, who were coming up. I saw that I must now fire, or
lose my chance. I took aim at the nearest--a doe, with her young one by
her side. The mother escaped, but the little creature fell to the
ground. In spite of my hunger I felt almost sorry for what I had done,
when, running forward, the dying animal turned up its large languishing
eyes towards me as it stretched out its limbs quite dead. I am afraid
it was but a clumsy shot at best, as I ought to have killed the larger
animal. Natty and I, placing it on my pole between our shoulders, bore
it in triumph to our friends, who received us with shouts of
satisfaction. Stanley also shot a beautiful little squirrel and a
number of birds--indeed, a good sportsman in health, with a supply of
ammunition, need never, in that part of Africa, be without abundance of
animal food; but some of the natives, who have no firearms and are very
improvident, often suffer from famine even in that land of abundance.
The buffalo of Tropical Africa--_Bos brachicheros_--is about the size of
an English ox. His hair is thin and red, and he has sharp and long
hoofs, his ears being fringed with soft silky hair. His chief ornaments
are his horns, which gracefully bend backwards. In shape he is somewhat
between a cow and an antelope. A herd feeding at a distance had very
much the appearance of English cattle grazing in a meadow. They differ
greatly from the Cape buffalo, to be met with further south.
Evening was approaching, when the head man of our bearers spoke to
Senhor Silva, who instantly called a halt. The black's quick ears had
detected sounds in the distance. "He thinks there are elephants out
there," said Senhor Silva, pointing ahead. We were then in a
thinly-wooded country, and a charge from those monsters would have been
dangerous. We saw, however, a clump of trees on one side, behind which
Senhor Silva advised that we should take post till we had ascertained
the state of the case. The blacks were eager for us to attack them,
hoping to enjoy a feast off the huge bodies of any we might kill. As it
might expose the young ladies to danger should we do so, even Stanley
resolved to let them pass by unmolested. I have not yet mentioned the
leader or head man of the bearers. His name, he told Senhor Silva, was
Chickango; but Jack and Timbo called him the Chicken. He was an
enormous fellow, and ugly even for an African; but there was a
good-humoured, contented expression in his countenance, which won our
confidence. His costume was a striped shirt, and a pair of almost
legless trousers; while on the top of his high head he wore a little
battered straw hat, such as seamen manufacture for themselves on board
ship--indeed, his whole costume had evidently been that of a seaman,
exchanged, probably, for some articles which he had to dispose of.
Chickango, signing to us to remain behind the clump of trees, advanced
towards the spot where he expected to find the elephants. Suddenly he
threw up his arms, and began shouting at the top of his voice. His
cries were answered by similar shouts from a distance; and presently,
beckoning to us to come on, he hurried towards the spot whence they
proceeded. Passing through a belt of wood, we came in sight of an
encampment of blacks seated round their fires. There were upwards of
one hundred human beings--men, women, and children. A few of the men
were dressed in cast-off European garments, with rings round their arms
and legs, their woolly heads being mostly uncovered. Chickango
advancing, explained, we concluded, who we were; and we received a
hearty welcome from the party. The chief, an old man, sat in their
centre, attended by his wives. He was distinguished from his companions
by an old battered cocked hat, ornamented with beads. He wore, besides,
a checked shirt and a regular Scotch kilt, which had somehow or other
found its way into his territory. Senhor Silva then explained to us,
through Chickango, that he and his party had come from a considerable
distance up the country, where they had gone to collect _caoutchouc_, or
india-rubber, the packages of which lay piled up near the centre of the
camp. They had collected it some distance up the country, where the
vines which produce it grow in considerable quantities. In South
America it is obtained from a tree; but in Africa from a creeper of
great length, with very few leaves growing on it, and those only at its
extremity. They are broad, dark green, and lance shaped. The larger
vines are often five inches in diameter at the base, with a rough brown
bark. The mode of obtaining it is to make an incision in the bark, but
not in the wood, and through it the milky sap exudes. A small peg Is
then fixed in each hole to prevent its closing, and a cup or calabash
secured underneath. When this is full, a number of them are carried to
the camp, where the substance is spread in thin coatings upon moulds of
clay, and dried layer after layer over a fire. When perfectly dry, the
clay mould is broken and the clay extracted from the interior. The
_caoutchouc_, though originally white, becomes black from the smoke to
which it is exposed while drying. It is in this state brought down to
the coast and sold to the traders.
"Oh yes," said David. "This is the material with which Mr Mackintosh
makes his waterproof coats. He found that it could be re-dissolved in
petroleum; and by covering two pieces of woollen or cotton stuff with
the liquid, and uniting them by a strong pressure, he formed a material
through which no water can penetrate. Some time afterwards, Messrs.
Handcock and Broding discovered that, by the addition of a small
quantity of sulphur to the _caoutchouc_, it acquired the property of
retaining the same consistency in every temperature without losing its
elasticity. A further discovery was made by Mr Goodyear, who, by
adding about twenty per cent of sulphur, converted it into so hard a
substance that all sorts of articles can be manufactured from it for
which tortoise-shell had hitherto been chiefly used--indeed, it is
difficult to say what cannot be made out of it."
Besides india-rubber, the blacks had several huge lumps of ebony and a
small number of elephants' tusks, which they had either purchased from
other natives further in the interior, or were carrying down to the
coast to sell for the original owners on commission. The ebony was
brought from the hilly country, where alone the ebony-tree grows. It is
one of the finest and most graceful of African trees. The trunk, five
or six feet in diameter at the base, rises to the height of fifty or
sixty feet, when fine heavy boughs branch forth, with large dark green
and long and pointed leaves hanging in clusters. Next to the bark is a
white sap wood, and within that the black wood. This does not appear
till the tree has reached a growth of two or three feet in diameter, so
that young trees are not cut down. The trunk and even the branches of
the mature tree become hollow. It generally grows in clumps of three or
four together, scattered about the forest.
Nearly all the negro tribes on this part of the coast have the spirit of
trade strongly implanted in them; and I cannot help thinking that it is
so for the purpose of ultimately bringing about their civilisation,
which the nefarious slave-trade has so long retarded. That trade is one
of the sins which lies at England's door, and she should endeavour to
make amends for the crime, by using every means in her power for the
spread of Christianity and civilisation among the long benighted
Africans. We observed that the men, women, and children were very busy
in the camp--the women cooking and making arrangements for the night,
while the children were collecting firewood from the neighbouring
thickets. Poor little creatures, I was afraid that some of them might
be carried off by panthers or other beasts of prey who might be prowling
about in the neighbourhood; but their parents seemed to have no such
fear. We were anxious to obtain some more bearers to carry Kate and
Bella, as also to assist us in conveying our goods up the mountain.
Chickango undertook to make the arrangements, and after a good deal of
talking with the chief and then with the people, he pointed out four
young men who expressed themselves ready to accompany us. These
arrangements being made, we encamped on a somewhat higher spot a short
distance from our friends, and soon had huts built such as I have before
described. Though we heard the cries of wild beasts in the forest, none
ventured near us, as we kept up blazing fires all night.
Next morning, even before our party were stirring, the old chief and his
followers were on foot, preparing to continue their march towards the
sea-coast. The men, however, sat still, with their bows in their hands,
talking to each other while the women were employed in packing up their
goods in baskets, which they suspended at their backs, with their
children in many instances on the top of them. All the elder children
also had burdens, but the men walked along with a haughty air, carrying
nothing but their arms in their hands. Saluting us with loud cries,
they proceeded towards the west.
We meantime had been employed in packing up, but instead of making Kate
and Bella carry burdens, we prepared a litter to carry them. Passing
through a dense forest, we saw before us the mountain range we hoped
soon to gain. Near the banks of the stream we passed a grove of curious
trees with short stems, on either side of which projected huge long
leaves with feather-like branches on the top. Amid them was an immense
number of clusters of nuts, each larger than a pigeon's egg. Chickango
ordered one of the men to climb up and bring down a cluster when he saw
us looking at them. On pressing the nuts even with our fingers, a
quantity of oil exuded; and Senhor Silva told us that the tree was the
_Cocos butyracea_, the oil extracted from which is exported in large
quantities from the neighbouring rivers, chiefly to Liverpool. We
calculated that the tree had fully eight hundred nuts on it; and as each
contains a considerable quantity of oil, it may be supposed how large an
amount a single tree produces. I had seen something of the trade on my
former visit to the coast, when I was at the Bonny river. We took
chiefly English manufactures to exchange for the oil, and a few bales of
glass beads from Germany. On entering the river we covered in the deck
with a mat roofing, to protect us from the sun and the tropical showers;
but before we could begin trading we had to pay a heavy duty to the old
king of the territory, of muskets, powder, tobacco, calicoes, woollen
caps, and, what he valued still more, several dozens of rum. The
dealers then made their appearance, and received advances of goods to
purchase oil in the interior, for the Bonny itself does not produce the
oil. Our next business was to erect a cask-house on shore, in which to
prepare the puncheons for the reception of the oil. This was brought
down in small quantities by the traders; and it took us nearly four
months to obtain about eight hundred puncheons, which our vessel
carried. The palm-oil or _pulla_, when brought to us, was of a rich
orange colour, and of the consistency of honey. To my surprise, the
morning after the first quantity arrived I found a basin full of it on
the breakfast-table, and learned that it was the custom to eat it
instead of butter; and very delicious it was. By the time it reaches
England, it has, however, obtained a disagreeable taste, totally
different from what it possesses when fresh. The palm-oil is about the
most valuable production of this part of Africa; and the natives are
beginning to discover that its collection is far more profitable to them
than the slave-trade.
To return to my narrative: we encamped at a short distance from the
thick wood, by the side of the stream I spoke of, hoping early next
morning to begin our ascent of the mountains. We might have proceeded
further, but the spot was so tempting, that, although we had a couple of
hours of daylight, we agreed to stop where we were. The blacks soon had
the huts erected and fires lighted--an operation they would not have
undertaken had their wives been present to do it for them. As we were
all very hungry, we immediately commenced our evening meal, some birds
we had shot not taking long to cook; while we had a good supply of
biscuits, which we had brought, with tea as our beverage.
"This is just such a pic-nic as we had in our last holidays," said
Bella, looking round with a smiling countenance. "You remember, Leo, it
was by the side of a stream; and you went and caught some fish, and we
had them cooked before the fire."
"Oh yes; and I will try and get some fish now," said Leo. "Natty, you
will come and fish with me as soon as supper is over."
To this, of course, Natty agreed; and Jack produced a ball of twine,
while I fortunately had some fish-hooks in my pocket, which I brought
from the wreck. While we were laughing and talking, suddenly a loud
roar reached our ears, which made Kate start and little Bella turn pale,
while a loud hollow sound, as if a drum had been beaten, followed the
roar. Leo declared it was more like distant thunder. Our blacks
started to their feet, many of them with looks of terror, uttering the
word--Ngula. Stanley seized his gun. "That must be a gorilla!" he
exclaimed, examining the lock.
"I hope so," cried David. "It would be worth coming here to see the
monster."
"No doubt about its being a gorilla," said Senhor Silva, "but you must
be cautious how you approach him. Chickango says he will go with you.
He is a good hunter; and, I judge by his looks, a brave fellow."
The ugly black nodded his head, and pointing to the forest, advanced
towards it. David and I also took our guns.
"Now be steady," said Stanley. "I will fire first, and if I fail to
kill him, David, do you fire; and, Senhor Silva, tell our black friend
that he must make the third shot; and Andrew, you must act as a reserve
in case of accidents,--but I hope not to miss him."
Stanley and David kept together, while the black and I advanced a little
on one side. Turning my head for an instant, I saw Leo and Natty
following us. I signed to them to go back, but they seemed resolved to
take a share in the expected fight. Each was armed with a long pike,
which I knew would have been of about as much use as a tooth-pick should
they be attacked by the creature. We made our way between large
boulders to the edge of the forest, which seemed almost too thick to be
penetrated. I had never felt so excited. My sensations were something
like those, I fancy, of a soldier going into his first battle; but from
what I had heard of the gorilla, I knew him to be almost as formidable
an antagonist as the best armed man. For some time as we advanced into
the forest there was a perfect silence, yet we were certain that the
monster could not be far off. The trees grew closer and closer
together; and as the edge of the forest was turned towards the east, we
soon found ourselves shrouded in a thick gloom. Still, so eager were we
to meet the beast, that, instead of halting, as might have been wiser,
we continued to push onwards. Suddenly a terrific roar was heard
proceeding from a spot not many paces ahead. Had it not been uttered,
we might have gone close up to the creature without perceiving him.
Just then we saw the branches waving to and fro, and a huge monster
moving on all fours appeared amidst them. Suddenly he rose up on his
hind-legs, holding on to a bough with one hand, and then striking his
breast, from which a loud hollow sound came forth. He uttered another
terrific roar, and grinned fiercely at us. "Oh, what a terrible giant!"
I heard Leo exclaim behind me. I dared not turn my head or speak to
urge the boys to run back. My attention was rivetted on the huge
gorilla, for I now saw before me that monster of the African woods.
Again he uttered a fearful roar, and beating his breast and gnashing his
teeth, he began to move towards us. He was not many paces from Stanley,
who was a little in advance. "Steady, friends!" cried our leader. I
held my breath with anxiety; for should my cousin's gun miss fire, it
seemed impossible for him to escape being seized by the tremendous
creature. Then I saw his rifle raised to his shoulder. There was a
flash, which lighted up the monster's face and the surrounding branches,
and then with a terrific roar I saw it spring forward. Just as I
dreaded that Stanley was about to be seized by its sharp claws it
stopped, and, with a groan almost human, fell forwards on its face,
crashing amidst the bushes, and rolled over on the ground. Even then I
expected to see it rise again and attack us, but the bullet had gone
through its huge chest; and though it made several convulsive struggles,
by the time we reached it it lay perfectly quiet. Chickango struck it
with his spear, but it did not move, and then he plunged it into its
breast.
"Have you really killed him?" cried Natty and Leo, running up to us.
"We would have fought him, that we would!" exclaimed Leo, jumping on the
gorilla's body.
Chickango at the same time seized one of its huge paws, and pulled and
shook it violently, and then set up a triumphant shout as a compliment
to Stanley on his victory.
"I wish we could carry him to the camp," said Leo. "It would show Kate
and Bella that they need no longer be afraid of the monster."
"I expect a sight of it would not much tend to allay their fears," said
David, "for it would rather show them what sort of fierce beasts we may
expect to find in our neighbourhood."
"What! do you mean to say there are any more of them?" exclaimed Natty.
"When Senhor Silva was talking about him the other day, he called him
the king of the forest; and so I fancied, of course, that he had no
rivals."
"Where he exists we shall probably find others," said David; "though
their habitation does not reach further south than we now are: indeed, I
did not expect to meet them in this latitude. They chiefly inhabit the
country about the Gaboon and other rivers to the north of us."
We found, on measuring the gorilla, that it was within a few inches of
six feet in height, while the muscular development of its arms and
breast showed that it could have seized the whole of us in its claws,
and torn us to pieces without difficulty; but the art of man and the
death-dealing rifle were more than a match for it. Still, as it lay
extended on the ground, I could not help feeling as if we had killed
some human being--a wild man of the woods, who might, under proper
treatment, have been tamed and civilised. David laughed when I made
some remark to that effect.
"I suspect, if we were to catch a baby gorilla, and feed it on milk, and
bring it up in a nursery, it would prove almost as savage and fierce as
this creature," he answered. "He can feed himself and fight in defence
of his liberty, but he could never make a coat to cover his bade, or
light a fire to warm himself, though he might have seen it done a
hundred times. There is no real relationship between a man and an ape,
however much similarity there maybe between the outer form and the
skeleton. In man there is the mind, which, even in the most debased and
savage, is capable of improvement, and the soul, which nothing can
destroy. In the ape there is instinct, and a certain power of imitation
which looks like mind, but which, even in the tamest, goes no further.
The most enlightened mode of instruction and the utmost patience will
never teach an ape to read or talk; while we know that human beings who
have been born deaf and blind and dumb have, by a wonderful process,
been instructed in many of the glorious truths which can give joy and
satisfaction to the soul of man."
As it was already late, and it would delay us greatly should we attempt
to carry it to the camp, we agreed to leave the gorilla where it lay and
return for it the next morning. We saw Chickango cautiously looking
behind him as we turned our backs on the forest; and he gave us to
understand by his gestures that he was afraid a lion or leopard, or some
other wild beast, might be following us.
My cousins came out to meet us on our return. The roars of the gorilla
had aroused unusual fears in their hearts, and our absence had been so
prolonged that they had become anxious for our safety. We kept a strict
watch all night; for although we did not again hear the gorilla--indeed,
had there been one in the neighbourhood, he would by that time have gone
to rest--the sounds of other wild animals frequently reached our ears.
We were up early next morning--the instant there was light--for Kate had
made us promise to show her the gorilla. "I may never have an
opportunity of seeing another," she said. "I should like to be able to
say when we get to the Cape that I have actually beheld one in his
native wilds."
As neither Jack nor Timbo exhibited such curiosity, we left them in
charge of the camp with the black men, to pack up, while we proceeded
towards the forest. We advanced cautiously, Stanley and I going ahead,
with David and Senhor Silva on either side of the young ladies, and the
boys bringing up the rear, Chickango acting as scout, a little in
advance on one side of us. Every now and then we halted, whenever we
observed the branches disturbed. Now a huge ape of the ordinary species
might be seen grinning down upon us, and then scampering off among the
boughs; or a troop of monkeys would come chattering above our heads, not
so easily put to flight. Birds of gay plumage flitted before us from
bough to bough; and a huge snake, which had been coiled round a branch,
giving a hiss at us, went off among the underwood into the depths of the
forest.
"And now, girls, be prepared for a sight of Leo's giant of the woods,"
said Stanley, turning round when we approached the spot where he had
killed the gorilla. "But, hillo! the ground looks alive."
The trunk of a tree lay near. By climbing on it we got a view of the
spot where the gorilla had fallen; but, as we looked towards it,
scarcely a particle of the monster could be seen. The skin was there
and the huge bones and monstrous skull, but nearly all the flesh had
been eaten away by myriads of ants, which swarmed about it. So engaged
were they in their work of destruction, that they did not attack us.
"Why, they must be drivers," said David, "the _bashikouay_, as the
natives call them. They have gained their English name by driving every
other species of the animal creation out of their way."
They were not much larger than the common English ant, of a dark brown
colour. David, jumping down, caught one, and showed us that he had a
sharp head, terminating in a pair of horizontal nippers--very like those
of the warrior ants. In taking one up another had caught hold of his
little finger, and gave it a nip which drew blood. Senhor Silva told us
that they usually traverse the country by day and night, in trains
nearly half a mile long, though only a few inches wide, and, as it
passes under the grass, presents the appearance of a huge snake. They
also, like the warrior ants, have soldiers who march by the side of the
regular column, and the instant any danger appears hurry forward, when
the column is either halted or turned backward. Should the difficulty
be removed, it again advances. One of their most curious proceedings is
the formation by the soldiers of a perfect arch, into which thousands of
them weave their bodies, expanding across the whole width of a path
where danger is apprehended. Under the arch the females and the
labourers who bear the larva; then pass in comparative safety. It is
formed in the following manner. One ant stands upright, and then
another climbs up and interlocks its feet with the fore-feet of the
first, and then another climbs up, somewhat in the fashion of acrobats.
Another couple form the base of the arch on the opposite side, and then
others, stretching themselves longways, form what may be called
transverse beams, to keep the two sides connected. When thus formed,
the creatures hold together so tenaciously, that the whole could be
lifted off the ground without breaking. If attacked, they spread
themselves on the ground over a space of thirty or more feet, across
which neither man nor beast can pass with impunity. It is difficult to
force a horse through them; and a dog will never venture, unless the
space is sufficiently narrow to enable him to cross by a bound. He
knows well that, should he fall, they would set upon him; and, before
many hours were over, in spite of his strength, entirely consume him.
They have been known to attack horses and cattle shut up in a confined
space, and to reduce them to skeletons in less than a couple of days.
They sometimes enter a dwelling-house through a small hole, and
literally take possession, proceeding across the floor, over the walls
and ceilings. "When I resided in the Brazils," said Senhor Silva, as we
stood surveying the ants at work, "I was one morning seated at breakfast
with my wife and little boy, when I heard outside the house a great
commotion, and in rushed a black servant carrying the cage of our
favourite parrot in one hand and grasping a number of pet fowls in the
other; while our negro girl, hurrying in from another direction, and
catching up the lapdog, cried out, `See! they come--they come! Fly,
senhor. Fly, my dear mistress--fly, or you will all be eaten up.'
Looking down to the ground, towards which she was directing her alarmed
gaze, I saw that it was covered by countless numbers of white ants,
which came swarming in through a small hole in the wall. I can only
liken the appearance of the insects to a stream of water suddenly
bursting into the house, so rapidly did they make their way through the
opening. It was too late to think of stopping it, for the room was in a
few seconds full of them. My wife, taking the advice of the girl,
seized our boy by the hand and fled into the garden. I followed
quickly, for already I felt the ants biting at my feet. Not for some
hours were we able to return, when we found that our invaders had
devoured every particle of food in the house. They did us, however, an
essential service, by destroying all the mice and cockroaches, as well
as other insects which they encountered, so that on that account we were
much obliged to them; but there are many instances on record of their
destroying human beings unable to move on account of sickness, and with
no one to assist them. Formerly, it is said that criminals secured by
shackles were laid in their way; happily, however, this terrible custom
no longer exists, even among the most savage tribes. They, in most
cases, as in ours, effectually rid a house of mice, and take but few
minutes to devour one, leaving only its bones and hair."
We were glad to leave the wonderful insects to their repast on the dead
gorilla, and, returning to our camp, found out bearers ready for
starting.
We toiled on all day, ascending the sides of the mountain range. Now we
had to plunge into a valley thickly covered with trees, and then to
ascend the opposite side, now to proceed along the edge of lofty
precipices. Sometimes the ascent was so steep that we were obliged to
use our hands as well as our long poles to make our way up it. I was
thankful that bearers had been provided for the young ladies; for
although they had spirit enough to attempt whatever we did, yet they
must inevitably have been much fatigued had they been compelled to walk.
Leo and Natty, however, trudged on bravely in our midst; and often
indeed, when ascending steep places, took the lead. Chickango, who knew
the way, having often before traversed it, was of great use. He also
kept a watchful eye on either side of the path, especially when we were
crossing valleys, lest a leopard or lion might spring out on us, or any
huge serpent might lie across our path. At length we reached a lofty
plateau, or table-land, which Chickango informed Senhor Silva extended a
long way to the south. Over this, therefore, we resolved to travel,
till we could find a suitable spot in which to fix our abode. We
purposed remaining there till we could send a messenger towards the Cape
Colony, hoping that he might fall in with either traders or explorers or
missionaries, several of whom were settled in Damara or Namaqua land.
The further we travelled south, the cooler and more healthy we should
find the climate. We had no wish, either, to remain longer than
necessary in the gorilla region.