Copyright, 1893, by Henry M. Stanley.
It was a custom with us, when crossing Africa in 1874-77, to meet
after dinner around the camp-fire, to while away the evening with
pleasant gossip, reminiscences, curious African legends. Sunset in the
tropics is soon followed by darkness, and the heavy vapors rising from
the hot, steaming ground appear to give thickness and substance to it.
A large fire is then very agreeable, as it drives away the damp and
dew; and it is a comfort to look into its flames and glowing embers,
wherein each man sees what he sees. No doubt the drift of the mind at
such times, to think of such things as are driven away by the needs of
the stirring day, suggested that we could be more sociable and more
interested if we related to one another such stories as were told to
us by the old folks at home. On trial it was found that there were
some of our men who were most accomplished in the art of narration,
and I fancied, after writing one or two out, that there was some kind
of a moral of an African character in each, after which I paid more
attention to them, and, on retiring from the circle, I would hastily
jot down what I had heard. If there were some points still obscure in
the story I would invite its narrator to relate it to me at the first
halting-place. But then I would find also that there was a great deal
of difference between the story told to me alone and that related to
the audience round the fire--there was then less local color, less
detail, and less animation.
* * * * *
At a camp on the Upper Congo, in 1877, Chakanja drew near our fire as
story-telling was about to begin, and was immediately beset with eager
demands for a tale from him. Like a singer, who always professes to
have a cold before indulging us, Chakanja needed more than a few
entreaties; but finally, after vowing that he never could remember
anything, he consented to gratify us with the legend of the Elephant
and the Lion.
"Well," he answered, with a deep sigh, "if I must, I must. You must
know we Waganda are fond of three things--to have a nice wife, a
pleasant farm, and to hear good news, or a lively story. I have heard
a great many stories in my life, but, unlike Kadu, my mind remembers
them not. Men's heads are not the same, any more than men's hearts are
like. But I take it that a poor tale is better than none. It comes
back to me like a dream, this tale of the Elephant and the Lion. I
heard it first when on a visit to Gabunga's; but who can tell it like
him? If you think the tale is not well told, it is my fault; but then,
do not blame me too much, or I shall think I ought to blame you
to-morrow, when it will be your turn to amuse the party.
"Now open your ears. A huge and sour-tempered elephant went and
wandered in the forest. His inside was slack for want of juicy roots
and succulent reeds, but his head was as full of dark thoughts as a
gadfly is full of blood. As he looked this way and that, he observed a
young lion asleep at the foot of a tree. He regarded it for a while,
then, as he was in a wicked mind, it came to him that he might as well
kill it, and he accordingly rushed at it, and impaled it with his
tusks. He lifted it with his trunk, swung it about, dashed it against
the tree, and afterwards kneeled on the body until it became as
shapeless as a crushed banana pulp. He then laughed, and said, 'Ha!
ha! This is a proof that I am strong. I have killed a lion, and people
will say proud things of me, and will wonder at my strength.'
"Presently a brother elephant came up and greeted him.
"'See,' said the first elephant, 'what I have done. It was I that
killed him. I lifted him on high, and, lo! he lies like a rotten
banana. Do you not think I am very strong? Come, be frank now, and
give me some credit for what I have done.'
"Elephant No. 2 replied: 'It is true that you are strong, but that was
only a young lion. There are others of his kind, and I have seen them,
who would give you considerable trouble.'
"'Ho, ho!' laughed the first elephant. 'Get out, stupid! You may bring
his whole tribe here, and I will show you what I can do. Ay, and to
your dam to boot.'
"'What! My own mother, too!'
"'Yes. Go and fetch her if you like.'
"'Well, well,' said No. 2, 'you are far gone, there is no doubt. Fare
you well.'
"No. 2 proceeded on his wanderings, resolved in his own mind that, if
he had an opportunity, he would send some one to test the boaster's
strength. No. 1 called out to him:
"'Away you go. Good-by to you.'
"A little way on, No. 2 elephant met a lion and lioness, full grown,
and splendid creatures, who turned out to be the parents of the
youngster which had been slain, and he said to them, after a sociable
chat:
"'If you go further on along the path I came, you will meet a kind of
game which requires killing badly. He has just mangled your cub.'
"Meantime elephant No. 1, chuckling to himself very conceitedly,
proceeded to the pool near by to bathe and cool himself. At every step
he went you could hear this: 'Ha, ha, ha! Lo! I have killed a lion.'
While he was in the pool, spurting the water in a shower over his
back, he suddenly looked up, and at the water's edge beheld a grown
lion and lioness regarding him sternly.
"'Well, what do you want?' he asked. 'Why are you standing there
looking at me?'
"'Are you the rogue who killed our child?' they asked.
"'Perhaps I am,' he answered. 'Why do you want to know?'
"'Because we are in search of him. If it be you that did it, you will
have to do the same to us before you leave this ground.'
"'Ho! ho!' laughed the elephant loudly. 'Well, hark! It was I who
killed your cub. Come now, it was I. Do you hear? And if you do not
leave here mighty quick, I shall have to serve you both as I served
him.'
"The lions roared aloud in their fury, and switched their tails
violently.
"'Ho, ho!' laughed the elephant gayly. 'This is grand! There is no
doubt I shall run soon, they make me so skeery;' and he danced round
the pool, and jeered at them, then drank a great quantity of water and
blew it in a shower over them.
"The lions stirred not, but kept steadfastly gazing at him, planning
how best to attack him.
"Perceiving that they were obstinate, he threw another stream of water
over the lions and then backed into the deepest part of the pool,
until there was nothing seen of him but the tip of his trunk. When he
arose again the lions were still watching him and had not moved.
"'Ho, ho!' he trumpeted, 'still there? Wait a little, I am coming to
you.' He advanced towards the shore, but, when he was close enough,
the lion sire sprang into the air, and alighted on the elephant's
back, and furiously tore at the muscles of the neck, and bit deep into
the shoulder. The elephant retreated into the deepest part of the pool
again, and submerged himself and his enemy, until the lion was
compelled to abandon his back and begin to swim ashore. No sooner had
he felt himself relieved than the elephant rose to the surface, and
hastily followed and seized the lion with his trunk. Despite the
lion's struggles, he was pressed beneath the surface, dragged under
the elephant's knees, and trodden into the mud, and in a short time
the lion sire was dead.
"The elephant laughed triumphantly, and cried, 'Ho, ho! am I not
strong, Ma Lion? Did you ever see the like of me before? Two of you,
Young Lion and Pa Lion, are now killed. Ma Lion, you had better try
now, just to see if you won't have better luck. Come on, old woman,
just once.'
"The lioness fiercely answered, while she retreated from the pool,
'Hold on where you are. I am going to find my brother, and will be
back shortly.'
"The elephant trumpeted his scorn of her kind, and seizing the carcass
of her lord, flung it on shore after her, and declared his readiness
to abide where he was, that he might make mash of all the lion
family.
"In a short time the lioness had found her brother, who was a mighty
fellow, and full of fight. As they advanced near the pool together,
they consulted as to the best means of getting at him. Then the
lioness sprang forward to the edge of the pool. The elephant retreated
a short distance. The lioness upon this crept along the pool, and
pretended to lap the water. The elephant moved towards her. The lion
waited his chance, and finally, with a great roar, sprang upon his
shoulders and commenced tearing away at the very place which had been
wounded by lion sire.
"The elephant backed quickly into deep water, and submerged himself,
but the lion maintained his hold and bit deeper. The elephant then
sank down until there was nothing to be seen but the tip of his trunk,
upon which the lion, to avoid suffocation, relaxed his hold, and swam
vigorously toward shore. The elephant rose up, and as the lion was
stepping on shore, seized him, and drove one of his tusks through his
body; but, as he was in the act, the lioness sprang upon the
elephant's neck, and bit and tore so furiously that he fell dead, and
with his fall crushed the dying lion.
"Soon after the close of the terrible combat, elephant No. 2 came up,
and discovered the lioness licking her chops and paws, and said:
"'Hello, it seems there has been quite a quarrel here lately. Three
lions are dead, and here lies one of my own kind, stiffening.'
"'Yes,' replied the lioness gloomily, 'the rogue elephant killed my
cub while the little fellow was asleep in the woods. He then killed my
husband and brother, and I killed him; but I do not think the elephant
has gained much by fighting with us. I did not have much trouble in
killing him. Should you meet any friends of his, you may warn them to
leave the lioness alone, or she may be tempted to make short work of
them.'
"Elephant No. 2, though a patient person generally, was annoyed at
this, and gave a sudden kick with one of his hind feet which sent her
sprawling a good distance off; and asked:
"'How do you like that, Ma Lion?'
"'What do you mean by that?' demanded the enraged lioness.
"'Oh, because I hate to hear so much bragging.'
"'Do you also wish to fight?' she asked.
"'We should never talk about doing an impossible thing, Ma Lion,' he
answered. 'I have travelled many years through these woods, and I have
never fought yet. I find that when a person minds his own business he
seldom comes to trouble, and when I meet one who is even stronger than
myself, I greet him pleasantly, and pass on, and I should advise you
to do the same, Ma Lion.'
"'You are saucy, elephant. It would be well for you to think upon your
stupid brother there, who lies so stark under your nose, before you
trouble one who slew him, with your insolence.'
"'Well, words never yet made a plantation; it is the handling of a hoe
that makes fields. See here, Ma Lion, if I talked to you all day I
could not make you wise. I will just turn my back to you. If you will
bite me you will soon learn how weak you are.'
"The lioness, angered still more by the elephant's contempt, sprang at
his shoulders, and clung to him; upon which he rushed at a stout tree,
and, pressing his shoulders against it, crushed the breath out of her
body, and she ceased her struggles. When he relaxed his pressure, the
body fell to the ground, and he knelt upon it, and kneaded it until
every bone was broken.
"While the elephant was meditatively standing over the body, and
thinking what misfortunes happen to boasters, a man came along,
carrying a spear; and seeing that the elephant was unaware of his
presence, he thought what great luck had happened to him.
"Said he, 'Ah, what fine tusks he has! I shall be rich with them, and
shall buy slaves and cattle, and with these I will get a wife and a
farm,' saying which he advanced silently, and when he was near enough,
darted his spear into a place behind the shoulder.
"The elephant turned around quickly, and, on beholding his enemy,
rushed after him, and, overtaking him, mauled him until in a few
moments he was a mangled corpse.
"At this time a woman approached, and seeing four lions and one
elephant and her husband dead, she raised up her hands wonderingly,
and cried, 'How did all this happen?' The elephant, hearing her voice,
came from behind a tree, with a spear quivering in his side, and
bleeding profusely. At the sight of him the woman turned round to fly,
but the elephant cried out to her, 'Nay, run not, woman, for I can do
you no harm. The happy days in the woods are ended for all the tribes.
The memory of this scene will never be forgotten. Animals will be at
constant war one with another. Lions will no more greet elephants, the
buffaloes will be shy, the rhinoceroses will live apart, and man, when
he comes within the shadows, will think of nothing else than his
terrors, and he will fancy an enemy in every shadow. I am sorely
wounded, for thy man stole up to my side and drove his spear into me,
and soon I shall die.'
"When she had heard these words the woman hastened home, and all the
villagers, old and young, hurried into the woods, by the pool, where
they found four lions, two elephants, and one of their own tribe lying
still and lifeless.
"The words of the elephant have turned out to be true, for no man goes
nowadays into the silent and deserted woods but he feels as though
something was haunting them, and thinks of goblinry, and starts at
every sound. Out of the shadows, which shift with the sun, forms seem
crawling and phantoms appear to glide, and we are in a fever almost
from the horrible illusions of fancy. We breathe quickly and fear to
speak, for the smallest vibration in the silence would jar on our
nerves. I speak the truth, for when I am in the woods near the night,
there swim before my eyes a multitude of terrible things which I never
see by the light of day. The flash of a firefly is a ghost, the chant
of a frog becomes a frightful roar, the sudden piping of a bird
signalizes murder, and I run. No, no, no woods for me when alone."
And Chakanja rose to his feet and went to his own quarters, solemnly
shaking his head. But we all smiled at Chakanja, and thought how
terribly frightened he would be if any one suddenly rose from behind a
dark bush and cried "Boo!" to him.