TRAVELING EASTWARD.--MEASURING HEIGHTS.--INSTRUMENTS USED.--REACH
MOUAOU-KOMBO.--APPREHENSIONS OF THE PEOPLE.--PALAVER WITH THE
CHIEF.--AN UNLUCKY SHOT.--HOSTILITIES COMMENCED.
SEVERAL days have passed away since I have left the Pigmies and the
village of Niembouai, and I am traveling toward the rising sun. The
country is getting more and more mountainous as we advance eastward,
the forests are very thick, the jungle is very dense, and many of the
trees are of immense size. An apparently perpetual mist shrouds the
summit of many of the hills, where it rains almost every day, though on
the sea-shore it is the dry season. Village after village of the wild
Ashango inhabitants of the country have been passed by us; many are
deserted. The people are afraid of me, and do not wish to see me.
Some of the mountains we passed had queer names. One was called
Birougou-Bouanga. I remember well Birougou-Bouanga; it was 2574 feet in
height.
In order to know the elevation of the country as I traveled along,
I had two kinds of instruments with me--aneroids, and an apparatus
for ascertaining at what point water boils. The boiling apparatus
was a queer-looking instrument, and was a great object of fright to
the negroes. The illustration gives you an idea of the instrument.
Here is a policeman's lantern; in it is a lamp, and on the top is a
kind of kettle in which water is put when to be used. To the kettle
is attached by a screw a thermometer, the bulb of which is immersed
in the water. A short time after the lamp is lit, the water boils and
forces the mercury along the tube; then the degrees are read off on the
instrument. With this reading entered on the tables which are made for
this instrument, the height of the place where you are is obtained.
[Illustration: INSTRUMENTS FOR OBSERVATIONS.
1. Iron Bottle for Quicksilver. 2. Aneroid. 3. Thermometer. 4.
Artificial Horizon. 5. Sextant. 6. Glass to measure the cubic inches
of Rain. 7. Rain-gauge and Bottle. 8. Policeman's Lantern with
Thermometer, _a_. 9. Brass Tube in which to keep the Thermometer, _a_.]
The aneroid looks very much like a large watch, but having only one
hand. The higher you ascend, the lower the reading, on account of
the atmospheric pressure. This reading, referred to a table, gives
the height, as by boiling water. Any one of you, procuring these
instruments when going in the country, can amuse himself when he
travels in taking the height of the hills and mountains he passes over.
On my return from the country of the Dwarfs I found improvements in
the boiling apparatus, and also in the artificial horizon. There is now
a very small artificial horizon, invented by my friend Captain George,
of the British Navy, and it is very portable, especially when compared
with the old one travelers had to use. It will be a great boon to
explorers. I doubt that a more useful and safe one to the traveler can
be made. Captain George, I am very happy to say, is the gentleman who
taught me how to take astronomical observations, and how to calculate
them.
At the foot of Birougou-Bouanga was the village of Niembouai-Olomba,
which meant Upper Niembouai. The head men of Niembouai and of Upper
Niembouai were two brothers, so the people consented to receive me,
and we tarried there a few days. The village was situated just at the
junction of two gorges or valleys, one of which ran almost directly
north and south, and the other east and west. From the village, looking
up, I could see the sun as it rose almost from the natural horizon. The
wind during the day blew all the time from the south, and early in the
morning the temperature was quite cool--69° Fahrenheit.
After leaving Niembouai-Olomba, and traveling through the great and
dense forest, we came to a village called Mobana, the inhabitants
belonging to the Ashango tribe, for we were still in the Ashango
territory. The chief of Mobana was called Rakombo. The village was
situated at the summit of a mountain 2369 feet in height, at the foot
of which ran a beautiful stream called Bembo. The Bembo was the first
river I had reached which ran toward the east, toward where the sun
rose. How glad I was! "It no doubt falls into the Congo River," I
said, for I began to hear of a large stream in our line of march going
toward the rising sun.
The great embarrassment now was that the people were so much afraid of
me, not as a spirit who brings the plague, but as a spirit whose evil
eye they dared not meet. I succeeded in leaving Mobana, as I had left
scores of villages before, without trouble, and Rakombo had taken me
to a village farther east with the name of Mouaou-Kombo. The name of
the village proper was Mouaou, and the chief's name was Kombo. If the
people of the wild tribes I had passed before had been afraid of me,
the people of Mouaou-Kombo stood in still greater dread of my coming.
The people of Mobana, who had taken me to that village, had disappeared
one by one, and Rakombo himself, their chief, had deserted me. So I was
left all alone with my Commi men among the Mouaou-Kombo people.
A few days after my arrival at Mouaou-Kombo, if you had sought me or
my Commi men in the village, you would not have found us there. Where
were we? We were encamped by ourselves not far from the village,
from which we had withdrawn to show the people that we were tired of
remaining there, and impatient to take our departure. We had been busy
that day in cutting down trees around our camp to serve as an abatis
and safeguard, so that nobody could approach us without making us aware
of it by their noise in penetrating the dense branches. We passed the
night in reasonable security, though without much fire, for our dogs,
Andèko, Commi-Nagoumba, Rover, Turk, Fierce, and Ndjègo, would have
in an instant apprised us by their barking of any strange visitor
attempting to enter the camp. All our luggage was by us. The path from
Mouaou-Kombo to our retreat was very steep.
I had that day sent Igala, Rebouka, and Mouitchi, armed to the teeth,
along the path leading eastward, telling them to look sharp, and to
ascertain, if they came to a village whether the inhabitants did not
want us to pass through their country; in fact, to learn all the news
they could, and make report to me. After two hours Igala came back
laughing, and saying that he had entered a big village, from which the
people had fled in perfect terror, thinking I had come with him, but
that finally he had succeeded in holding a parley with some of the
inhabitants, and learned that they had trouble with the Mouaou-Kombo
people. Igala told them not to be afraid of me, and that they must not
be alarmed if they should see me come to their village. So far all was
right; we knew exactly what was ahead of us. "Well done," I said, "my
boys."
The next morning a deputation of villagers of Mouaou-Kombo came to our
camp and begged us to come back, saying that if I would return, in two
days they would conduct me by another route to the southeast in order
to avoid the hostile villages. So we returned to the village, the
villagers helping my men in carrying our luggage back. Now I regretted
that I had no more Commi men with me, so that we might have been
independent of strangers for the transportation of our luggage.
As I came back to Mouaou-Kombo, little did I know what a dark cloud was
hanging over us, for my heart was filled with joy at the prospect of
soon continuing our journey. Little did I dream of the storm that in a
short time was to burst upon us. Little did I think, as I ascended the
hill in the midst of the peals of laughter of my Commi men and of the
Ashangos, that there was fighting and bloodshed in store; that I was
soon to be engaged with my men in defending our lives, and in beating
a disastrous retreat along the way we had come, and see the mournful
end of that glorious journey upon which I had set my heart! Like the
little leaf cast upon the stream of Mokenga, I was drifting I knew not
whither. I had no knowledge then of the breakers ahead, and now I am
going to relate to you the sad story.
I had entered again the village of Mouaou-Kombo; our luggage had been
put back in the huts; Kombo, the chief, headed by his elders, had come
to receive me, beating his kendo as he advanced. After a while the
elders departed, and the chief and his queen were seated by my side
in the street. The people were passing to and fro to their accustomed
avocations, and every thing was going on as usual.
"Is it true," said Kombo to me, "that you Oguizis kill people as we
Ashangos kill monkeys and the wild beasts of the forest? We Ashangos
believe you do it, and that is the reason we are afraid of you. We are
even afraid that your eye is an evil one, and that a look of yours can
bring death." Then the chief stopped and looked at me.
"Nèshi, nèshi, nèshi," I repeated three times (no, no, no), and I spat
on the ground to show him how I hated what he had said. "No," said I,
"Kombo, the Oguizi loves people, loves the Ashangos, and kills no one."
As I was speaking, a goat, the peace-offering of the king, stood before
me, and several bunches of plantain lay near by, which had been brought
in a little before by his people. The king said, "Eat these, Spirit.
In two days I will conduct you where you want to go. I am so glad to
hear that you do not kill people, but surely us Ashangos are afraid of
you; but in a day's journey you will reach the Njavi country."
Then the queen said, "I told you, my husband, that the Oguizi did not
kill people as the Ashangos kill monkeys. Now don't you believe me?"
said she, looking at the king right in the face. Then, turning to me,
she said, "Oguizi, I am cooking a pot of _koa_ (a root) for you and
your men; will you eat them?"
"Certainly," said I.
I had hardly uttered those words when there appeared before us four
warriors of a hostile village, who said they would make war on the
Mouaou-Kombo people if they dared to take me through their village;
that they did not want me to pass that way.
Kombo, the chief, said to me, "Oguizi, go in your hut; I do not want
these people to see you," and he asked my men to fire guns to frighten
the warriors. Igala fired, advancing toward the four warriors, who
fled. I could not help laughing. Other guns were fired, when I heard,
back of where the king and queen and myself were seated, the report
of another gun, and I was startled to see the Mouaou villagers, with
affrighted looks and shouts of alarm, running away in every direction.
The king and queen got up, and fled along with the rest.
"Mamo! mamo!" was heard every where.
I got up, and, looking back in the direction where the gun had been
fired, I saw, not far from my hut, the lifeless body of a leading
Ashango man.
Igalo had done the deed. He rushed toward me and shouted, "I did not
do it on purpose; the gun went off before I had raised it."
Now, indeed, I might be sure that the Ashangos would believe that the
Oguizi could kill people as they did monkeys.
What was to be done? I was hundreds of miles away from the sea.
I called the king back. "Do not be afraid," I said.
Kombo cried back to me, "You say you come here to do no harm, and you
do not kill people. Is not this the dead body of a man?" and in an
instant he was out of sight.
Oh, how sorry I felt! but there was but little time for melancholy
reflections.
I shouted back, "Ashango people, I am very sorry. What can I do? I will
pay you the price of twenty men for that man who has been killed."
In the mean time the war-drums began to beat furiously in every part
of this large village, and the warriors came out by hundreds, armed
with spears, bows and poisoned arrows, battle-axes, and other murderous
implements of war.
My men held beads and goods in their hands, and shouted, "Come, we will
pay you for that man that has been killed."
Then suddenly one of the elders, bolder than the rest, shouted, "Let
there be no war; let us have peace. The Oguizi will pay for that man's
life."
There was a lull. Some said, "Let us make war; let us kill the people
who have come with the Oguizi, for they have come to kill us," while
another party shouted, "Let us have peace." The war-drums for a while
ceased to beat, and the horns calling the warriors from the forest had
ceased to blow.
There was a lull--just what I wanted. I knew it was utterly impossible
to make those people believe that that man had been killed by accident.
I might just as well have tried to make them believe that a spear would
go through a man and kill him without being hurled by another man.
That lull was precious time to me, though it was but short. I
encouraged my seven Commi men, who had come close to me for advice.
"Don't be afraid, boys," I said. "We are men; we can fight. Not one of
you will be delivered to the Ashangos for this palaver. We will fight
our way back; get ready. Though they may be inclined for peace, let us
prepare for the worst, and woe to our enemies if they want to fight."
Then, turning toward Igalo, I said to him reproachfully, though kindly,
"See what your carelessness has brought upon us."
In a very short time we had got out an additional supply of ammunition,
two hundred bullets extra for each man, and six one-pound cans of
powder. We could not be taken unawares, for our guns had never left our
hands, and by the side of each man hung always a bag containing one
hundred bullets and two or three pounds of powder; so you see we had
ammunition enough to carry on a desperate fight, and we were bound to
sell our lives dearly, but not before having exhausted every means of
conciliation.
Then, pointing to seven otaitais, I said, "Get ready to put them on at
an instant's notice." They contained my precious things--photographs,
scientific instruments, and valuable notes.
We were ready for our retreat in case war should be decided upon by the
Ashangos.
The appearances were hopeful, and I began to think that the palaver
would be settled satisfactorily, when suddenly a woman, whom afterward
I recognized to be the queen, came wailing and tearing her hair.
Stripping off her garment of grass-cloth, she rolled herself on the
ground before me, crying, "Oguizi, what have I done to you? Why have
you killed my sister? What had she done to you? She gave you food--that
is the harm she has done you. Go and see her body behind the hut," and
she wailed aloud. Then from afar the friendly elder, who did not desire
at first to make war, shouted, "Why have you killed my wife, oh wicked
Oguizi?"
The fatal bullet had gone through the man, and then through a hut,
killing the sister of the queen, who was busy behind her dwelling.
As the sad news spread, a general shout for war arose from the
increasing multitude, and every man who had not his spear or bow rushed
for it, and those who had them brandished them in sign of defiance.
War was declared--there was no help for it. Oh dear, what was to be
done? I had not come into that far country to kill these savages, but
then my men, who had left their homes, their wives, fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters, children, must not be killed--they trusted in me.
What shall we do? Is Paul Du Chaillu to run away from the enemy? Shall
these savages call him a coward? Such thoughts made the blood rush
to my head. I shall never play the coward, but then there are many
ways besides fighting to show one's courage. My mind was made up; so
I girded my loins for the fight, sad at heart. First I thought I
would set fire to the house where my baggage was, but there was so
much powder there--several hundred pounds--that in exploding it more
Ashangos would be killed. We had shed the first blood; we must be
careful to shed no more without being obliged to do so, and I offered a
silent prayer to God to guide me in what was to be done.
My seven Commi men stood by me, ready to start with their otaitais on
their backs. "Be not afraid, boys," said I; "we are men."
We had to go through the whole length of the village before we could
reach the path by which we had come to Mouaou-Kombo.
I shouted, "Ashangos, all the goods I have I give to you for the people
that have been killed. Now we go away. We did not come here to make
war; we did not come here to kill people. We don't wish to kill you, so
do not compel us to do so."
My Commi boys were cool and steady, and, keeping a firm line, we
marched through the street of the village. A rain of spears and of
poisoned arrows came from behind the huts, and showered all around
us. I am wounded--a sharp-pointed arrow pierces me. Then Igala, my
right-hand man, is wounded. "Don't fire, boys; let us shed no more
blood in this village if we can help it," I said. "Press onward; do not
be afraid. There is but one God, the ruler of the universe; all will be
for the best."
We advance steadily, the crowd ahead of us in the street brandishing
their spears and sending arrows at us; but they keep far away, while,
with guns pointed toward them, we continue to advance, Rebouka and
Mouitchi looking around toward the huts, for our hidden enemies were
the ones we dreaded the most. Another shower of spears and arrows
fell in the midst of us. I look around--no one is wounded; when, lo!
Macondai is struck by an arrow. The infuriated savages, shouting their
terrific war-cries, become bolder, and come nearer. Must more blood be
shed? And now Rebouka is wounded. Five spears fall by me, and a perfect
shower of them fly all around.
Igala says, "Chally, do you think we are going to let these savages
wound you? A man in our country would be put to death if he dared to
raise his hand against you. Don't you see our blood? May we not fire
and kill some of them?"
"Be patient, my boys. Remember we shed the first blood. Wait a little
while; perhaps they will desist. They dare not come too near; when they
do we will kill them."
Oh dear, one of our dogs is killed--poor Andèko! three spears go into
him and lay him prostrate; he gives a shriek of pain, and he is dead.
Our other dogs are by us. Commi-Nagoumba is in a great rage; he barks
furiously at the Ashangos; a spear has just wounded him slightly on
the back. Rover, Fierce, Turk, and Ndjègo are ready to help us; we
have trouble to keep them in check. They are going to be useful in the
forest--they will discover the men in ambush. The Ashangos know this,
and they try to kill them. Just as we reach the end of the village,
Rover and Fierce are wounded, each receiving an arrow in his body.
[Illustration]