Nomusa and Sikhulumi followed the little man through the dense forest.
He walked swiftly and quietly, half running through bushes and under low
branches. There was no path, and Nomusa and Sikhulumi had to move
quickly to keep the Pygmy in sight. If they lost him, they might not
easily find their way back to the hunters, much less find the Pygmy
settlement.
Now and then the Pygmy turned to see if they were still following.
Sometimes he slowed down to allow them to catch up with him. He was much
stronger than he looked. Although he carried a heavy load of meat, he
did not stop to rest even once.
At last they came to the Pygmy settlement. When the other Pygmies saw
Nomusa and Sikhulumi, they stopped, looking startled. Nomusa’s Pygmy
companion said something to them, pointing to the visitors. Then the
Pygmies came forward and helped carry the smoked meat to one of their
little houses.
Nomusa saw that these huts were made of bent branches tied together with
vines. Leaves were laid over the branches to keep out the sun and rain.
The huts were small and not carefully made. Perhaps the Pygmies did not
bother to make a better hut because they did not stay in one place very
long. The Zulu huts were much larger and stronger, for they stayed in
the same place for years and years.
Sikhulumi explained to Nomusa that the Pygmies lived only on what wild
animals they could catch and on roots and berries found growing in the
forest. The Zulus owned cattle, and they planted their own gardens with
a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. They did not have to wander
from place to place in search of food like the Pygmies.
Their Pygmy guide now invited them to come and see the inside of a hut.
Sikhulumi decided he was too big to enter, but he urged Nomusa to go in.
When she crawled in through the low opening, she saw a woman, smaller
than herself, carrying a baby astride her hip. The woman was cooking
something in a black pot over a fire. From time to time she left the
hut, returning quickly with caterpillars or winged ants, snails or
lizards. All these she threw into the pot. Once a small boy, little more
than half the size of Themba, came in with a bush rat to put into the
pot.
Nomusa observed that these people did not sleep on mats, but on dried
skins of animals, or on leaves. The hut was empty, except for a few
gourds. How different were the Zulu huts, thought Nomusa. Since her
people stayed a long time in one place, it did not matter how many
things they collected and kept in their huts. To people like the
Pygmies, who moved often, it was important not to have many things to
carry.
When Nomusa came out of the hut, she found Sikhulumi talking to a Pygmy
who knew something of the Zulu language. He was asking Sikhulumi if he
had any salt.
Sikhulumi shook his head regretfully. “If we come next year, we will
surely bring some,” he promised.
The Pygmy seemed delighted with Nomusa. He asked her, “Are you married?”
[Illustration: [Family]]
Nomusa giggled. “No, I am only ten years old.”
The man looked surprised. He came close to Nomusa and measured himself
against her. He was only a tiny bit taller than she was. As he stood
there Nomusa looked with interest at a necklace he wore. As she looked,
she realized what it was. Now she knew why the Pygmies saved the
elephant’s eyelashes.
The Pygmy saw her interest in the elephant-hair necklace and quickly
took it off and offered it to her. “Bring good luck,” he said.
Nomusa looked at Sikhulumi.
“Take it,” he advised. “You will have something very unusual to show
your brothers and sisters.”
Sikhulumi turned to the Pygmy. “How do your people kill elephants?”
“Come,” said the little man. “I will show you.”
The Pygmy brought out bows and arrows as well as slender spears so small
that Nomusa thought little Themba would have been able to use them.
Nomusa saw that the tiny arrows were made of straight twigs of hardwood
cut from a bush. The ends of the arrows were slit and a green leaf was
stuck in each, instead of a feather such as the Zulus used.
The man pointed to the tips of the arrows and spears, saying, “Poison!”
“Where do you get the poison?” Nomusa asked.
The Pygmy explained. His people searched for poisonous herbs as well as
for poisonous barks of trees. They also got poison from a certain black
ant whose bite was terribly painful.
With many gestures, the Pygmy explained how they climbed trees under
which they expected elephants to pass on their way to feeding grounds.
The men in the trees threw down their poisoned spears on the passing
elephants, while Pygmies on the ground shot poisoned arrows at the
animals.
If the elephant did not die at once, the Pygmies knew that some of the
poison would finally work inside the animal’s body and kill him. They
would follow him until he dropped. Usually, he assured them, they did
not have long to wait.
Nomusa was still full of curiosity. “Do the boys take care of the cattle
as my brothers do?”
The Pygmy looked surprised. “We have no cattle,” he said. “We live by
hunting.”
“How long have you been living here?”
“Two moons. Soon we leave. More fruit, berries, tortoises, and monkeys
in new place.”
Nomusa suddenly remembered Dube. “You like monkeys?” she asked
hopefully.
“Ay, very good to eat!”
It was time to go. Many of the small people came to look at the visitors
curiously. Nomusa noticed that, like the men, the women wore no
ornaments, beads, or bracelets.
Nomusa had a final question for the Pygmy. “How many wives do Pygmy men
have?”
He looked shocked, then amused. “How many? One, of course.”
Now Nomusa really felt sorry for these people. She realized how very
poor the Pygmies were, for among the Zulus it was only a poor man who
had but one wife.
Their guide was ready to take them back to their camp. The Pygmies waved
a friendly farewell to their visitors. One woman gave Nomusa a present—a
huge dried beetle, the largest Nomusa had ever seen.
With no load to carry, the Pygmy guide sped through the forest so
quickly that Nomusa and Sikhulumi had to run to keep up with him. He no
longer bothered to look back to see if they were following. Perhaps he
thought that anyone who had been over the ground once would surely know
it again.
It was close to sundown, and when the long purple shadows of the trees
fell across the ground, it became increasingly difficult to see the
Pygmy.
At last what they feared had happened. Sikhulumi stopped, completely
confused. Nomusa needed no word from him to tell her they were lost. The
Pygmy was nowhere to be seen, and they did not know which path to take.
Sihkulumi looked very anxious. Then they heard a whistle.
“It is he!” cried Nomusa. “But where?”
Where, indeed? Sihkulumi looked all about him. Then the whistle sounded
again, and Sihkulumi’s dark face broke into a grin. He raised his eyes
to the high branches of a tree. There was the Pygmy, his small body
barely discernible among the green leaves.
Down he scampered, agile as a monkey. In his hand was a big piece of
honeycomb, some of which he gave to Nomusa and Sihkulumi. They walked
along more slowly now, and together, eating the delicious honey. But
Nomusa kept a watchful eye on the Pygmy. Perhaps he might decide to play
another joke on them.
But they soon reached the others, without any difficulty. The Pygmies
were still smoking elephant meat, but the Zulu hunters had finished
their work. They squatted about the huge fire, resting and eating.
Nomusa and Sihkulumi were glad to dip their fingers into the food pot,
too.
As they ate and rested, Zitu spoke.
“We can be thankful that we have had a safe and successful hunt.
Tomorrow at sunrise we set out for our kraals. Let everyone remember to
take care along the way so that we shall have no mishap.”
Growing drowsy by the fire, Nomusa thought of all the wonderful stories
she had to tell Themba. And Mdingi would be sure to make good songs
about many of the things Nomusa would tell him. Yo! She was every bit as
eager to get home as she had been to leave!
Everyone was getting ready to sleep, and a sentinel had been appointed.
Nomusa looked over at the Pygmies to see what they were doing. The night
had grown chilly, and the little men were beating their bodies with
their hands and huddling close to the fire. Nomusa saw some Pygmies
crawl inside the elephant. She expected them to come right out again.
But they did not, and after a bit Nomusa went over to see why they
stayed so long.
Inside the elephant the Pygmies lay, one next to the other, fast asleep.
[Illustration: [Huts]]