STANLEY'S HUNTING ADVENTURES.--AFRICA THE FIELD FOR THE
SPORTSMAN.--HUNTING IN SOUTH AFRICA.--NIGHT-SHOOTING AT WATER-HOLES AND
SPRINGS.--ABUNDANCE OF GAME.--DANGER OF THIS KIND OF SPORT.--LIONS AND
ELEPHANTS.--MAN-EATING LIONS.--IN THE JAWS OF A LION.--DR. LIVINGSTONE'S
NARROW ESCAPE.--THE HOPO, OR GAME-TRAP ON A LARGE SCALE.--DU CHAILLU AND
HIS ADVENTURES.--SHOOTING THE GORILLA.--RESEMBLANCE OF THE GORILLA TO
MAN.--PRODIGIOUS STRENGTH OF THE GORILLA.--HOW HE IS HUNTED.--THE END.
[Illustration: AFRICAN ORYX, OR GEMSBOK.]
One day while our friends were discussing "Through the Dark Continent"
and considering its admirable qualities as a book of travel, Frank
remarked that there were few volumes of African exploration which had so
little to say about hunting adventures. "I suppose the reason may be
found," he continued, "in the fact that Mr. Stanley was too busy with
his work of ascertaining the characteristics of the country and people
to give time to hunting. Occasionally he shot game to supply his people
with meat, but in telling the story of his few shooting experiences he
is exceedingly brief."
[Illustration: SOUTH AFRICAN HUNTING--IN CAMP.]
"Not only was he greatly occupied with his work as an explorer," replied
the Doctor, "but he had a positive aversion to shedding the blood of
animals, not even excepting the noxious ones. If a lion came in his way
or threatened the safety of his camp he was ready enough to shoot it,
but he did not have the craving for slaughter that leads a man to tramp
all day through a forest or over hills, or sit through the night in a
desolate spot for the mere pleasure of taking a shot at anything that
happens along. Many African explorers have more to say about their
hunting experiences than anything else, and I have now in mind the book
of an explorer who gives minute details concerning all the large animals
that fell before his rifle, but has very little to say about the country
and its inhabitants.
"For the hunter in search of large game Africa is now the best field,
but owing to the rapid increase in the number of hunters, the growing
use of firearms by the natives, and the colonization of hitherto
unsettled regions, the great animals are becoming shy and scarce. South
Africa was and still is a favorite resort of sportsmen, but every year
they must go farther and farther into the wilderness before finding what
they seek."
"How do they get up their hunting expeditions?" Fred asked.
"The usual plan," replied the Doctor, "is to fit out one or two wagons
with provisions, guns, ammunition, and trade goods for several months,
and then strike into the wilderness away from all settlements. Two or
three saddle-horses, together with donkeys, oxen, cows, and sheep,
constitute the live-stock of the expedition. In Central Africa it would
be impossible to travel with wagons, owing to the dense vegetation and
the condition of the country, which is full of swamps and morasses, but
in South Africa the circumstances are different. The country is not
densely wooded, and in many parts it is absolutely treeless. Sometimes
water is found there with difficulty, and every volume of hunting
adventures in South Africa contains stories of the sufferings of men and
animals through scarcity or absence of water. But this scarcity of water
greatly facilitates the work of the hunter."
"How is that?"
"Where the springs and water-holes are far apart the wild animals must
go long distances to drink, and if the hunter watches in their
neighborhood he will have plenty of what he calls 'sport.' A favorite
plan of these African hunters is to conceal themselves near a spring and
shoot the elephants, lions, and other large beasts as they come for
water."
"That ought to be very easy," said one of the youths.
"Not as easy as you might suppose," was the reply, "nor is it without
danger. In the first place very few of the animals visit the springs in
the daytime, their drinking being done at night. Furthermore, they
choose the hours when there is no moon, and thus reduce the chance of
being seen. In the moonless part of a month they come at any hour
between darkness and daylight, but usually about midnight; on the nights
when the moon shines they select the hours when it is below the horizon.
Thus if the moon rises early they wait until it has set, and if it rises
late they come to drink before it is above the horizon. One hunter says
that if it had not been for this habit there is many a lion, rhinoceros,
or elephant now roaming the forests of South Africa that would have
fallen before his rifle. He says he has frequently heard a lion lapping
the water within a dozen paces of him when the night was so dark that he
could not get a sight of the brute."
"Do all the wild animals of Africa observe this rule?"
"None of them do so absolutely, and some are more observant of it than
others. But all seem to know that there is danger near their
drinking-places, and they conduct themselves accordingly.
[Illustration: NIGHT HUNTING. ELEPHANTS COMING TO DRINK.]
"A great deal depends upon the selection of the spot for concealment,
and in making his selection the hunter has many things to think of. He
must carefully observe the direction of the wind and make sure that it
blows towards him from the places whence the animals approach the
drinking-spot. Then, if possible, he must so station himself that
elephants, giraffes, and other large animals will be outlined against
the sky as they come within his range. He digs a pit three or four feet
deep and surrounds it with brushwood so that the change of the ground is
not likely to be noticed. Sometimes there is a convenient ant-hill close
to the drinking-place, and if so this forms an excellent shooting-box,
as the animals are familiar with its appearance and therefore are not
likely to suspect that it conceals anything dangerous.
[Illustration: AN AFRICAN SERENADE.]
"One famous hunter, Andersson, gives it as his opinion that a night
ambush beside an African pool, frequented by large animals, is worth all
other modes of enjoying a gun put together. Other hunters express the
same opinion, though some of them admit that it is a cruel sort of
sport, as it takes the prey wholly unawares and with little chance for
defence or escape. The peril of this sort of hunting is that sometimes
an elephant, rhinoceros, or lion discovers whence came the shot that
wounded him, and charges directly at the spot. In such a case the
hunter in his pit is at a disadvantage, and his chief hope of safety is
by a well-directed bullet when his assailant is within short range.
Sometimes a wounded or frightened elephant runs straight to the spot, in
his terror, and is liable to kill the hunter by tumbling upon him. There
is one instance I have read of, wherein an elephant ran directly over
the hunter, who was lying flat on the ground; the great feet of the
animal grazed the head of his would-be slayer, but did not harm him. Had
the elephant been less frightened he would have made short work of the
man."
"Is a lion more dangerous than an elephant in a case of this kind?"
asked one of the youths.
[Illustration: CLOSE SHAVE BY AN ELEPHANT.]
"There is not much to choose between them," Doctor Bronson answered, "as
both are to be dreaded, perhaps the lion more than the larger animal.
Neither the lion nor the elephant will attack man without provocation,
but when wounded they are very likely to turn upon their assailants. The
courage of the lion has been greatly overrated in story-books, and also
his noble conduct. The hunters who have made his intimate acquaintance,
and written about him, say his characteristics are much like those of
the hyena, and, like the latter beast, he is a skulking rather than an
honorable foe. The female accompanied by her young is apt to be
dangerous, but as for the male lion it can be set down as pretty certain
that he will retire from danger if he has a chance to do so, even at the
expense of his dignity."
"Haven't I read of lions watching by the roadside and killing men and
women without provocation?" said Fred.
[Illustration: DEATH-GRAPPLE WITH A LION.]
"Undoubtedly you have," was the reply. "The lions thus described are the
dreaded man-eaters, who rank with the man-eating tigers of India. Having
once tasted human flesh and learned how easily it is procured, they lie
in wait by the roads and paths, and spring upon the unfortunates who
come within their reach. A man-eating lion will pass through an entire
herd of cattle to get at one of the herdsmen; his movements are as
stealthy as those of the cat, and the victim never has the least warning
of his enemy's approach. Very properly he is the subject of dread, and
when a man-eater appears in the neighborhood of a settlement, large
rewards are offered for his head. Sometimes there is an entire
suspension of work and business until the man-eater has been killed or
driven away. These man-eaters have been known to come into a camp,
spring upon a man asleep by the side of his companions, drag him into
the bushes, and deliberately kill and devour him under protection of the
darkness. While the lion, under ordinary circumstances, is not an object
of any especial dread on the part of hunters, all have a terror of the
man-eater.
"You never know, when you attack a lion, whether he will slink away or
turn upon you; and every African hunter can tell stories of narrow
escapes. As an illustration I will repeat one that was told to Mr.
Andersson by the hero of it.
"He had gone out with some of his friends in search of five lions that
had broken into his cattle-enclosure the previous night. The lions were
tracked to a thicket of reeds, which were set on fire, the hunters being
stationed around the thicket to intercept the animals as they came out.
One lion took the direction in which two of the hunters were stationed,
one of them being the narrator of the story.
"He fired, inflicting only a slight wound. Immediately the lion sprang
upon him; he thrust his gun into the lion's mouth, but the weapon was
demolished in an instant. 'At that moment,' said he, 'the other hunter
fired and the lion fell with a broken shoulder, so that I was able to
rise and scamper away. But the lion was not done with me; in spite of
his crippled condition he came after me, and my foot catching in a
creeper, I fell to the ground. He was upon me again, tearing my clothing
with his claws and grazing the skin in his efforts to grasp my hip. He
laid hold of my left wrist and crushed it, and he tore my right hand so
that I was totally helpless. Just as he had done this my friend came up
again, accompanied by his dog, which seized the lion by the leg and thus
drew his attention from me. My friend watched his chance and fired at
very close range; the ball crashed through the lion's skull and
stretched him on the ground by my side.' The mutilated hunter was
carried to camp, and eventually recovered from his wounds, but his left
wrist was permanently crippled.
"Doctor Livingstone was once in a similar peril," continued Doctor
Bronson, as he opened the account of the famous missionary's travels and
researches in South Africa. "Here is his account of the occurrence:
"It is well known that if one of a troop of lions is killed the
others take the hint and leave that part of the country. So, the
next time the herds were attacked I went with the people in order
to encourage them to rid themselves of the annoyance by destroying
one of the marauders. We found the lions on a small hill, about a
quarter of a mile in length and covered with trees. A circle of men
was formed round it, and they gradually closed up, ascending pretty
near each other. Being down below on the plain, with a native
schoolmaster named Mebalwe, a most excellent man, I saw one of the
lions sitting on a rock, within the now closed circle of men.
Mebalwe fired at him before I could, and the ball struck the rock
on which the animal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a
dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him; then, leaping away,
broke through the opening circle and escaped unhurt. The men were
afraid to attack him, perhaps on account of their belief in
witchcraft.
[Illustration: RHINOCEROS AND DOGS.]
"When the circle was re-formed we saw two other lions in it; but we
were afraid to fire lest we should strike the men, and they allowed
the beasts to burst through also. Seeing we could not get the
people to kill one of the lions we bent our steps towards the
village; in going round the end of the hill, however, I saw one of
the beasts sitting on a piece of rock as before, but he had a
little bush in front. Being about thirty yards off, I took a good
aim at his body, through the bush, and fired both barrels into it.
The men then called out, 'He is shot! he is shot!' I saw the lion's
tail erected in anger behind the bush, and, turning to the people,
said, 'Stop a little, till I load again.' When in the act of
ramming down the bullets I heard a shout.
[Illustration: DR. LIVINGSTONE IN THE LION'S GRASP.]
"Starting and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act of
springing upon me. I was upon a little height; he caught my
shoulder as he sprang, and we both came to the ground below
together. Growling horribly, he shook me as a terrier dog does a
rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be
felt by a mouse after the first shake of a cat. It caused a sort of
dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of
terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. It was
like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform
describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. This
singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The
shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking
around at the beast. This peculiar state is probably produced in
all animals killed by the carnivora; and, if so, it is a merciful
provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of
death.
"Turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as he had one paw
on the back of my head, I saw his eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was
trying to shoot him at a distance of twelve or fifteen yards. His
gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels; the lion immediately
left me and, attacking Mebalwe, bit his thigh. Another man whose
life I had saved before, after he had been tossed by a buffalo,
attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe. He left
Mebalwe and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the
bullets he had received took effect, and he fell down dead. The
whole was the work of a few moments, and must have been the
paroxysms of his dying rage. Besides crushing the bone into
splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds in the upper part of my
arm."
"Dr. Livingstone resembled Mr. Stanley in having no special fondness for
hunting," continued Doctor Bronson, "and he has given us comparatively
few hunting adventures in the record of his explorations. He gives an
interesting account of the way the people of South Africa hunt game by
driving, in the seasons when water is scarce and the wild animals
congregate near the places where they can drink. They arrange two hedges
in the shape of the letter V, each hedge being a mile or two in length
and fully a mile across at the entrance. Then a large party of men go
out quietly, and move so as to drive the game into the opening. The
hedges are low at first, but as they approach each other they are
increased in strength, so that the animals cannot break through them.
The enclosure is called a 'hopo;' at its end there is a pit with a fall
of six or eight feet from the end of the hopo, so that the animals which
jump in cannot easily spring out again. Buffaloes, zebras, giraffes,
hartebeests, gnus, antelopes, oryxes, and similar animals are caught in
these pits; sometimes lions are driven in, but they can easily spring
over the hedges, and no attempt is made to stop them."
"That kind of hunting is not confined to South Africa, I believe," said
Frank.
[Illustration: THE HOPO, OR TRIP FOR DRIVING GAME.]
"Not by any means," was the reply; "it is known over pretty nearly the
whole world. It is used in India and Ceylon for trapping elephants, in
Australia for capturing kangaroos, and in other parts of the world for
other animals. Hunting by _battue_, or beating, is as old almost as man
himself, and has been practised in all ages; the chief difference
between the ordinary hunt by _battue_ and the capture of game in a hopo
is that in the latter instance the game is caught in a pit or enclosure,
while usually it is shot or otherwise killed as the lines of men are
drawn closely together. In many hunts of this sort the use of firearms
is forbidden on account of the danger of accidents, and where they are
permitted it is generally the rule to fire towards the outside of the
cordon of men and not towards the inside.
[Illustration: PAUL DU CHAILLU IN AFRICA.]
"One of the most famous hunters in Africa," said Doctor Bronson, after a
pause, "was Paul du Chaillu, who has written several books, interesting
alike to young and old. When he first published the account of his
adventures his stories were received with incredulity, but as Africa has
become better known the truth of his assertions has been made manifest.
He was the first white man to hunt the gorilla, and probably the first
who ever saw one of those animals. In the course of his explorations he
travelled some eight thousand miles, nearly always on foot and
unaccompanied by a white man.
[Illustration: GORILLA HUNTING--MOTHER AND YOUNG AT PLAY.]
"Nearly everywhere that he went he managed to get on friendly terms with
the natives, who had not then been contaminated by contact with the Arab
slave-hunters. Once his cook, whom he had brought from the coast,
attempted to poison him, and with this object put two spoonfuls of
arsenic in Du Chaillu's soup. The great overdose caused it to act as an
emetic, and thus the explorer's life was saved. The cook fled to the
woods when charged with the attempt to kill his master, but was caught
by the natives and sentenced to death. Du Chaillu interfered and saved
the fellow's life, and he was delivered in chains to the custody of his
brothers, who came to intercede for him.
"Du Chaillu tells of one tribe of natives on the African coast who
choose their chief or king by election, and may therefore be called
republicans. When a king dies his body is secretly buried, and there is
mourning for six days. During this time the old men meet to choose a new
king; the choice is made in private, and neither the people nor the new
king are informed of the result until the morning of the seventh day.
The information is kept from the man of their selection until the very
last.
"As soon as it is known who has been chosen the people surround him,
pound him with their fists or with sticks, throw all sorts of disgusting
objects at him, spit in his face, kick him, roll him on the ground, and
otherwise maltreat and abuse him. Those who cannot get at him by reason
of the crowd utter all sorts of uncomplimentary phrases, and they
anathematize not only him but all his relatives in every generation. Du
Chaillu thought the man's life was in real danger; but the secret of the
whole business was shown by some of the men occasionally shouting out,
'You are not our king yet; for a little while we will do what we please
with you. By and by we shall have to obey your will.'
"He is expected to endure all this with a smiling face and to keep his
temper throughout. When it has gone on for an hour or so he is taken to
the old king's house, where he is seated, and for a little while
receives a torrent of abuse, but this time it is entirely in words. Then
all become silent, the elders rise and say, the people repeating after
them:
"'Now we choose you for our king; we engage to listen to you and to obey
you.'
"Then the emblems of royalty are brought out, and the ceremonies of
coronation take place with the most profound dignity. The king is
dressed in a red gown and receives every mark of respect from those who
so lately abused him. After the coronation he must remain for six days
in the house, and during all this period there are loud rejoicings, and
all his subjects come to pay their respects. The old king was mourned
for six days, and it is considered nothing more than proper that the new
one should have six days of rejoicing. The fact is, the new one is
pretty nearly half dead at the end of the festival, as he is obliged to
receive all comers at any hour of day or night, and sit down and eat and
drink with them. Doubtless he is thoroughly happy when the festival is
over, and he can walk out and view his dominions.
[Illustration: DU CHAILLU'S FIRST GORILLA.]
"The explorer gives an interesting account of the gorilla, and his first
meeting with the animal makes a dramatic scene in his story. He had just
shot a snake, which his men devoured with delight, but our friend,
though very hungry, could not venture upon this sort of food.
Noticing some sugar-canes growing near, he proceeded to cut them, in
order to suck the juice and satisfy the cravings of his appetite.
[Illustration: HEAD OF KOOLOO-KAMBA.]
"As he was cutting the canes, assisted by his men, the latter called his
attention to several that had been broken down and chewed into fragments
while others had been torn up by the roots. It was evidently the work of
gorillas, and threw the whole party into a state of great excitement.
The tracks in the soft earth showed that there were several gorillas in
company, and immediately Du Chaillu proceeded to hunt them.
[Illustration: EAR OF KOOLOO-KAMBA.]
"He divided his men into two parties, one led by himself and the other
by an attendant named Makinda. The animals were supposed to be behind a
large rock, and the two parties moved so as to encircle it. Suddenly
there was a cry which had a very human sound, and four young gorillas
ran from the concealment of the rock towards the forest. He says they
ran on their hind-legs and looked wonderfully like hairy men as they
inclined their bodies forward, held their heads down, and to all
appearances were like men running for their lives to escape from danger.
Du Chaillu fired at them, but hit nothing, and the animals made good
their escape. The party ran after them till all were out of breath and
then returned to camp. He says he felt very much like a murderer, as the
animals had so nearly the appearance of humanity.
"Some days later he was more successful in hunting the gorilla. He was
out with his party, when suddenly the sound of the breaking of a branch
of a tree was heard. The natives intimated that they were near a
gorilla, and very cautiously all proceeded; soon they came in sight of
the huge beast breaking down the limbs and branches of the trees to get
at the berries. They stood still, as he was moving in their direction,
and in a little while he was right in front of them. He had moved
through the jungle on all fours, but as he came in sight of the party he
stood erect like a man.
[Illustration: DU CHAILLU ASCENDING AN AFRICAN RIVER.]
"Then he gave vent to a tremendous barking roar which is very difficult
to describe, and beat his breasts with his huge fists till they
resounded like drums. This is the gorilla's mode of offering defiance,
roaring and beating the breast at the same time. The roar begins with a
sharp bark, like that of an angry dog, then glides into a deep bass
roll, which literally and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder,
so that it is sometimes taken for it when the animal is not in sight.
"The gorilla was about twelve yards from Du Chaillu when he first
appeared; he advanced a few steps, then stopped and roared and beat his
breasts again, then made another advance and stopped about six yards
away. As he stopped a second time, Du Chaillu fired and killed him. The
shot was well aimed, and death was almost instantaneous. Measurement
showed that the animal was five feet eight inches in height, but when
standing erect, at his first appearance, he seemed to be fully six feet.
"During his wanderings in Africa Mr. Du Chaillu killed several gorillas,
whose skins and skeletons he preserved and sent to England and America,
where they attracted much attention in the scientific world. On two or
three occasions he was fortunate enough to capture some young gorillas
alive, but found it impossible to tame them. They showed the most
furious temper and bit at everybody who came near them; at first they
refused food, but after a while their hunger got the best of their
obstinacy and they ate the berries and leaves that were gathered for
them from their native forests. But all sickened and died, and I believe
that no one has ever succeeded in taming one of these animals."
"Was nothing known about the gorilla until Mr. Du Chaillu hunted him?"
Fred asked, as Doctor Bronson paused.
"Something was known about him," was the reply, "but not a great deal;
he had been heard of for several centuries, but no white man had ever
seen a living or even a dead gorilla. Dr. Wilson, a missionary on the
west coast of Africa, discovered the skull of a gorilla in 1846, and a
year later he found the skull and part of the skeleton of another. These
relics were sent, one to Dr. Savage, of Boston, and the other--the
second discovery--to the Boston Society of Natural History.
"Wonderful stories were told about this animal by the negroes. It was
said that he lurked upon trees, by the roadside or overhanging the
paths, drew up unsuspecting passers-by with his paws, and then choked
them to death. He was said to carry a stick or staff when walking, and
to use it as a weapon of defence; troops of gorillas thus attacked
elephants and beat them to death; the gorilla built himself a house of
leaves and twigs among the trees and sat on the roof; and sometimes
whole armies of gorillas banded together for purposes of war. All these
stories proved to be fables; almost the only truthful account of the
gorilla's prowess was that he was a terrible fighter and more than a
match for a lion. Mr. Du Chaillu says that the lion does not inhabit the
same region with the gorilla, and there is little doubt that the latter
can whip the lion in ordinary combat.
[Illustration: GORILLA SKULL.]
"The strength of this creature is prodigious. A young one, two or three
years old, requires four strong men to hold it, and even then in its
struggles it is likely to bite one or more of them severely. It can dent
a musket-barrel with its teeth, and an adult gorilla will bend a musket
as though it were made of the softest wood. It can break off trees three
or four inches in diameter, and a single blow of one of its fists will
smash a man's skull like a sledge-hammer. It fights with arms and teeth,
and does terrible execution with both."
[Illustration: HUMAN SKULL.]
"Does the gorilla walk erect like man, or on all-fours like the other
members of the ape family?" Frank inquired.
"Ordinarily it walks on all-fours," the Doctor answered, "but under
certain circumstances it stands erect. When it advances to meet an
assailant, or when desiring to look around, it rises to an erect
position, and then assumes its greatest resemblance to man. If you look
at the human and the gorilla skeletons side by side, you will perceive a
great difference in their structure and readily understand how the
locomotion of the gorilla on his hind-feet alone would not be altogether
convenient. The fore-legs, or arms, of the gorilla are very much longer
than those of man, and also very much stronger. A man unarmed could
offer no practical resistance to a gorilla, and all who have hunted him
understand this fact."
"Do they hunt him with anything else than guns?"
[Illustration: SKELETONS OF MAN AND THE GORILLA.]
"No; or, at any rate, they only do so on very rare occasions. The rule
of the gorilla-hunter is to wait until the animal is quite near, say
within twenty feet, before firing. Unless the first shot is fatal or can
be immediately followed by another from a repeating rifle or a gun in
the hands of others standing near, the man who fired the first shot is
almost certain to be killed. The gorilla rushes upon him, and there is
no chance for defence or flight. A single blow from the animal's fist
generally terminates the struggle. One of Du Chaillu's companions was
killed in this way, and the great hunter himself had a narrow escape. He
said it was very trying to his nerves to stand and wait five minutes or
more while the gorilla was advancing slowly, halting occasionally to
beat its breast and utter its cries, until he was in the very short
range desired."
"What do you think of the relation of the gorilla to man?" Fred asked,
with a smile developed on his face.
[Illustration: A YOUNG GORILLA--DU CHAILLU'S CAPTIVE.]
"That is a question I hesitate to discuss, as I am not versed in the
arguments that have been advanced by the scientists. Perhaps we'll talk
that over some other time, when we have more light on the subject. Du
Chaillu says that the gorilla skeleton, the skull excepted, resembles
the bony frame of man more than does that of any other anthropoid ape.
The form and proportion of the pelvis, the number of ribs, the length of
the arm, the width of the hand, and the structure and arches of the
feet--all these characteristics and some of its habits, appeared to the
hunter and explorer to place the gorilla nearer to man than any other
anthropoid ape is placed."
Doctor Bronson paused and looked at his watch; and his action was taken
as a signal for suspending the talk about the wild animals of Africa.
Frank and Fred thanked their mentor for the information he had given
them, and especially about the gorilla; their curiosity had been roused
by the repeated mention of the Soko in Mr. Stanley's story of his
journey "through the Dark Continent," and consequently the account of
this strange beast was heard with interest.
And as their conversation comes to an end we will return our thanks to
the trio of travellers, Doctor Bronson, Frank, and Fred, and express the
hope that we shall meet them again.
THE END.
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[Illustration: MAP: RELIEF EXPEDITION TO EMIN PASHA]
End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Travellers on the Congo, by Thomas W. Knox