WOUNDED GORILLA AND HER YOUNG ONES.--TAKING THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS.--TOM AND
MINNIE.--ARRIVAL OF MY VESSEL.--HURRA FOR BARING BROTHERS.--A SMOKING
SHIP.--KING QUENGUEZA GOES ON BOARD.--PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY.
A FEW days after my return home, one evening a strange sight presented
itself in front of my house--a sight which I firmly believe had never
before been witnessed since the world began. There was great commotion
and tremendous excitement among the Commi people.
There stood in front of my bamboo house a large female gorilla, bound
hand and foot, and alive, but frightfully wounded. A large gash might
have been seen on her scalp, and her body was covered with clotted
blood. One of her arms had been broken, and she bore wounds upon the
head and chest. Now and then the creature would give a sharp scream of
pain, which lent horror to the darkness by which we were surrounded,
the half dozen lighted torches making the scene still more wild.
This adult female gorilla had been mortally wounded in the morning,
and lay on the ground senseless for a long time. A bullet from one of
my hunters had fractured her skull, and in that state of insensibility
she had been securely tied to a stout stick, and in such an ingenious
manner that there was no chance of her escaping. Her wrists and ankles
had been tied strongly together, while the stick had been adjusted
between her mouth and feet and hands in such a way that she could not
reach out to sever the cords with her teeth.
Hanging from her bosom was a baby gorilla (her child). The little
creature was a female but a few months old, and now and then, after
feeding from its mother's breast, it would give a plaintive wail. By
the side of both stood a young live male gorilla, a fierce-looking
fellow, which seemed afraid of nothing, and looked around with its deep
grayish, fiendish eyes as if to say, "What does all this mean? I have
not seen this sight in the woods before." Not far off lay the corpse
of a large female gorilla, quiet in the embrace of death, her face yet
distorted by the death-agony.
It was dark, as I have told you, and the scene was so strange and so
wild that I will never forget it. The fiendish countenances of the
living calibanish trio, one of them--the wounded one--with a face
distorted by pain, were lit up by the ruddy glare of the native's
torches, and they seemed even more repulsive than their dead companion.
"What a commotion this sight would create," I said to myself, "in a
civilized land!"
There was no sleep for me that night; the terrific screams of the
wounded mother kept me awake. Two or three times I got up and went out
to see what was the matter, for I was in constant dread of the big
gorilla's untying the cords.
The next morning I immediately prepared my photographic apparatus, and
took an excellent photograph of the wounded mother with her child on
her lap. As for Master Tom (I gave that name to the fierce-looking
young male), I could not succeed in taking a very good likeness of
him; he would not keep still long enough. I untied his hands and feet
after putting a chain round his neck, and to show his gratitude he
immediately made a rush at me to the length of his chain, screaming
with all his might. Happily, the chain was too short for him to reach
me, or I should have come off minus a little piece of the calf of my
leg.
The night after I had taken the photograph of the mother her moanings
were more frequent, and in the morning they gradually became weaker
as her life ebbed out, and about ten o'clock she died. Her death was
painfully like that of a human being, and her child clung to her to the
last, and even tried to obtain milk after she was dead. How still was
that fierce, scowling black face! There was something so vindictive in
it, and at the same time so human, that I almost shrunk from the sight
as I contemplated that wonderful creature which God has made almost in
the image of man.
Now all I had to do was to take care of Tom and of Minnie. Tom gave me
no trouble, for he was quite old enough to feed upon the nuts and the
berries that were gathered for him; but with little Minnie it was a
different thing, as she was too young to eat berries. Happily, I had
a goat that gave milk, and I fed her on that milk, but I am sorry to
say that she lived only three days after her mother's death. She died
the fourth day toward noon, having taken an unconquerable dislike to
the goat's milk. She died gently; her tiny legs and arms had become
shriveled, her ribs could all be seen, and her small hands had
wasted almost to nothing. She died on the little bed of straw I made
for her as if she went to sleep, without a struggle.
[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHING GORILLAS.]
So no one was now left of my family of gorillas but Master Tom, and
he was healthy and strong enough, and ate all the berries, nuts, and
fruits we brought to him. For days I tried to take the little demon's
photograph, but all in vain. The pointing of the camera toward him
threw him into a perfect rage, and I was several times on the point of
giving him a severe thrashing. At last I succeeded in taking two views,
not very perfect; but this was better than nothing.
The place where these gorillas had been captured was about thirty
miles above my settlement, up the river; at this point a low, narrow
promontory projects into the stream. This spot was my favorite
hunting-ground for gorillas, which came there to eat the wild
pine-apple, and it was there I intended to take my good friend Captain
Burton, the great African traveler, the man who made the pilgrimage to
Mecca, for he was now at Fernando Po, and had promised to make me a
visit.
The gorillas were discovered in this way: A woman passing through
that region came to her village and said she had seen two squads of
female gorillas, some of them followed by _their children_; they were
going, she thought, to her plantain field. My hunters were on the spot
where I had left them the day before, and with the villagers, who
armed themselves with guns, axes, and spears, at once sallied forth in
pursuit. The situation was very favorable for the hunters, who formed
a line across the narrow strip of land, and pressed forward, shouting
and driving the animals to the edge of the water, their terrific noise
bewildering the gorillas, which were shot and beaten down in their
endeavors to escape. There were eight adult females together, but not a
single male.
Time now began to weigh heavily upon me, and a weary interval passed
by. I did not know how long it might be before a vessel would come to
me. Had my letter to Messrs. Baring reached them? If it had not, what
should I do?
I begun to feel very lonely despite hunting excursions and the gorilla
scene I have just described to you. I would go almost every day on the
sea-shore and watch for a sail; now and then I would see one, but it
was the sail of a whaler or of a trader, who took good care not to come
to anchor near this wild part of the western coast.
On the 30th of June, as I came down the River Commi from a hunting
excursion, having bade adieu to Olenga-Yombi, and was returning to
my own settlement, expecting to remain there and wait for the coming
vessel, I saw a canoe with sail set coming up the river and making for
us. I immediately ordered my paddlers to go toward the canoe. Soon we
met, when Kombé shouted, "Chally, your vessel has come!" I jumped from
my seat and cried back, "What do you say, Kombé?" He repeated, "Your
vessel has arrived." I was wild; I was crazy with joy; no news could
have been more welcome. I shouted (I could not help it), "Good for you,
Baring Brothers! You have acted like true friends. Three cheers," I
called to the boys, "three cheers for Baring Brothers, who have sent
the ship to me. Let us paddle with all our might," said I; "let us not
stop; I must reach Plateau before morning."
On my arrival at that place, Ranpano handed me two letters which the
captain of the ship had sent for me. One was from the captain himself,
announcing his arrival; the other was from Baring Brothers. Yes, they
had sent me all the goods I wanted--a second supply of scientific
instruments. These great bankers and merchants had taken the trouble
to send to Paul Du Chaillu all he had asked for, and they did not know
when they would be paid. I assure you I was so overjoyed that for a few
minutes I did not know what I was doing.
I ordered at once all the sea-canoes to be ready. I must go on board;
no time must be lost. The next morning it was hardly daylight when I
had left for the mouth of the river. Soon after our canoes were put
over to the sea-side, we passed the surf smoothly, and I was on board
the vessel shaking hands with Captain Berridge, the commander.
Oh, what an enjoyment I had! how many letters from friends told me that
I was not forgotten! Then newspapers came, and my heart became sad when
I saw that the civil war was still raging in America; "but," said the
captain, "there is a prospect that it will soon be over."
My vessel had only arrived two days when a native entered my hut in
great consternation, and said that a smoking vessel with ten guns was
in the river, and they thought it had come to make war. After a while,
a flat-bottomed steamer, forty feet in length, put out her anchor in
front of my settlement, and fired off a gun to salute me.
I need not tell you that there was tremendous excitement among the
natives now that an ouatanga otouton (smoking ship) had entered their
river. The name of this little vessel was the Leviathan.
A few days after I was on board of the Leviathan steaming for Goumbi,
for I wanted Quengueza to see what a steamer was. The appearance of
this little boat, which did not draw more than two feet of water,
created the most intense excitement. The Leviathan was a screw steamer.
"Oh," exclaimed the people, "look! look! the vessel goes by itself,
without sails, without paddles! Oh! oh! oh! what does that mean?" They
would spy us far off, and then would crowd the banks of the river. Many
were stupefied at the sight, and could not make out what it meant,
especially when they recognized me, while others would deny that it
was me, and others exclaimed, "Chally, is that you? Do not our eyes
belie us? Tell us--shout back to us!" and then I would say, "It is
I--Chally." Then they would recognize me, put out in their canoes, and
paddle with all their might in order to catch us.
As we approached Goumbi, where the river, in descending from the
interior, bends in its westerly course, the banks were high and wooded,
and the river very tortuous. Here the steamer puffed its way right up
to the villages before it could be seen, and the alarmed natives, who
heard the strange noise of the steam-pipe and machinery, were much
frightened, and, as we came in sight, peeped cautiously from behind the
trees, and then ran away.
At last we came in sight of Goumbi. The excitement was intense. From
Goumbi the people could see well down the river. The drums began to
beat, and the people were greatly frightened. Then we cast anchor, and
as I landed the people shouted, "It is Chally; so let us not be afraid,
for no one will harm us when Chally is with them."
Captain Labigot and Dr. Touchard, who had landed with me, received an
ovation; guns were fired, and in a short time we found ourselves in the
presence of the great King Quengueza. He did not know what all this
meant, but he felt big. Hundreds of Bakalai and Ashira were around him;
he looked at them, and said, "Do you see? do you see? I am Quengueza;
my fame is great, and the white man comes to see me," and he turned
away without saying another word.
My great desire was to persuade Quengueza to come on board, and I was
afraid I would not be able to effect this. I said, "Quengueza, I have
brought you white people who want to see your river, and I want you to
come on board with us; they want to see the Niembouai and the Bakalai."
The old chief said he would go; "for," said he, "Chally, I know that
no one will hurt me when I am with you." Good Quengueza knew me quite
well; he had perfect faith in me; he knew that I loved him as he loved
me. I said, "Quengueza, you are right."
Early the next morning the steam was up, and, in despite of the
protestations of his people, the old king came on board, and was
received with a royal salute from the two small guns. The excitement
on the shore was intense; the booming of the guns re-echoed from hill
to hill, and lost itself in the immense forest. Many a wild beast must
have been astonished; gorillas must have roared, and thought that
it was strange that there was any thing besides thunder that could
make a noise louder than their own roars. The old African chieftain
accompanied us unattended, and as the anchor was raised and we began
to steam up the river, he looked backward toward his people, who were
dumb with astonishment, as if to say, "Do you see? your old chief is
afraid of nothing." I had induced good Quengueza to wear a coat, though
he was in deep mourning.
You would have liked to see King Quengueza seated on a chair on deck.
As we passed village after village, he looked at the Bakalai with
silent contempt, and they could hardly believe their own eyes. The
crafty old king took care to let the people see him, for it was to give
him great fame: the people would say, "We saw Quengueza on a vessel of
fire and smoke, going up the river without sails or paddles."
After two days we came back to Goumbi, and I said to the people, "I
bring your old chief back to you." A feast was given us by Quengueza,
and we steamed once more down the river. Then I ordered every thing to
be got ready, for I was soon to set out upon my long journey.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]