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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75327 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+                     The World of the Great Forest
+
+
+[Illustration: “_Here I am, dear, waiting for you_”]
+
+
+
+
+                                  The
+                       World of the Great Forest
+  _How Animals, Birds, Reptiles, Insects Talk, Think, Work, and Live_
+
+
+                                    By
+                             Paul Du Chaillu
+
+   Author of “The Viking Age,” “The Land of the Long Night,” “Ivar the
+   Viking,” “The Land of the Midnight Sun,” “Explorations in Equatorial
+     Africa,” “Stories of the Gorilla Country,” “Wild Life under the
+ Equator,” “Lost in the Jungle,” “My Apingi Kingdom,” “The Country of the
+                           Dwarfs,” etc., etc.
+
+
+                     _WITH OVER FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS_
+
+                                    BY
+
+                      C. R. KNIGHT AND J. M. GLEESON
+
+
+                                 New York
+                         Charles Scribner’s Sons
+                                   1900
+
+
+
+
+                           _Copyright, 1900_
+                       BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
+
+
+       UNIVERSITY PRESS · JOHN WILSON AND SON · CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+                                  _TO_
+
+               _CHARLES SCRIBNER AND ARTHUR H. SCRIBNER_
+
+
+_DEAR FRIENDS,—Remembering the uniform courtesy and consideration it has
+been my good fortune to experience at your hands for a series of years,
+and recollecting the delightful relations that have always been
+reciprocal between us, and that have contributed so much to my
+happiness, I take infinite pleasure in dedicating this volume, “The
+World of the Great Forest,” to you both, as a slight evidence of the
+sincere esteem entertained by me, an author, for you, my publishers._
+
+                                                      _PAUL DU CHAILLU._
+
+
+
+
+                              Introduction
+
+
+The World of the Great Central African Forest is a remarkable one. Its
+denizens range from the huge elephant to the smallest ant, and in its
+dark recesses and almost impenetrable jungle I have studied the life of
+these creatures.
+
+From close observation and persistent study I have arrived at the
+conclusion that animals, birds, reptiles, ants, spiders, etc., possess
+great power of apprehension and prevision; that creatures of the same
+species have understanding with one another, either by voice, sign, or
+other ways unknown to man; otherwise they could not act with such
+harmony and deliberation.
+
+It is not reasonable to say that animals do not converse because we do
+not understand or hear the sounds they make. The fault is ours, not
+theirs. Do we not always say, when we are learning a foreign language
+and begin to speak with the natives, that they talk so fast we cannot
+follow them? The articulation and the words seem to be blended together,
+and it is only after a time that we catch separate words.
+
+Everything that lives is born with wonderful gifts suited to its mode of
+life. The shape and appearance of animals are designed to enable them to
+lead their special lives. Many have great power of scent, much keener
+than that of man. This particular attribute enables them to approach
+their prey and avoid danger. For example, the animal that preys upon
+others knows enough to move against the wind on his predatory
+expeditions. Those that feed on fruits and nuts know exactly at what
+season, in what month or week of the year, these are good to eat, and
+where they are to be found. They know how far distant is their
+feeding-ground, and the time needed to reach it. They all know their
+way, whether through the air or in the jungle, and nothing escapes their
+observation.
+
+When animals or birds are taught to speak, or to do special tricks, it
+is clear that they must exercise memory, and memory means thought, and
+thought means reason.
+
+The destruction of life, the battles that take place among the creatures
+of that great African Forest, the millions that are killed and eaten up
+every day, are beyond computation. Life, to sustain itself, must destroy
+life; such is the economy of nature. It is a struggle for existence
+among all. So the great gift given to every creature is knowledge of how
+to protect itself from its enemies, and how to approach its prey. If it
+were not for constant destruction, the animal world would increase so
+fast that there would be room and food left for none.
+
+To enable the reader to enter into the life of the great African Forest,
+I have made the animals tell their own stories and explain their own
+actions as if they were endowed with the power of speech. And I have
+given to them native names. A number of the animals mentioned, I
+discovered myself.
+
+                                                        PAUL DU CHAILLU.
+
+
+  AUGUST 15, 1900.
+
+
+
+
+                                Contents
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE
+       I. THE GUANIONIEN, OR GIANT EAGLE                               1
+      II. THE GUANIONIENS’ DEPARTURE FOR THE LAND OF PLENTY            9
+     III. THE NGOZOS, OR GRAY PARROTS WITH RED TAILS                  16
+      IV. THE NKEMAS, OR MONKEYS, TRAVEL TOWARD THE LAND OF PLENTY    30
+       V. ARRIVAL OF THE NGOZOS AND NKEMAS IN THE LAND OF PLENTY      43
+      VI. THE NIGHT ANIMALS                                           49
+     VII. THE NJEGO, OR LEOPARD                                       51
+    VIII. BIRTH OF THREE LITTLE NJEGOS                                60
+      IX. THE BIG NJEGO BECOMES A MAN-EATER                           65
+       X. THE HAKOS, OR ANTS                                          73
+      XI. THE NCHELLELAYS, OR WHITE ANTS                              75
+     XII. THE GIANT NCHELLELAYS                                       86
+    XIII. THE NGOMBAS, OR PORCUPINES                                  91
+     XIV. THE IPI, OR GIANT ANT-EATER                                 97
+      XV. THE NGOMBA, OR PORCUPINE—THE IZOMBA, OR TURTLE—THE IPI,
+            OR ANT-EATER                                             101
+     XVI. THE NGOOBOO, OR HIPPOPOTAMUS                               106
+    XVII. A FIGHT FOR MISS NGOOBOO                                   116
+   XVIII. THE FIVE APES, OR MEN OF THE WOODS                         120
+     XIX. THE NGINAS, OR GORILLAS, AND NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS         124
+      XX. THE NGINAS TRAVEL TO A PLANTAIN FIELD; THEIR STRANGE
+            ADVENTURES                                               134
+     XXI. THE NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS, TRAVEL TO THE PLANTAIN FIELD    139
+    XXII. ARRIVAL OF THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO OWN THE PLANTAIN FIELD     143
+   XXIII. THE THREE NGINAS KILLED BY HUNTERS                         145
+    XXIV. THE OMEMBAS, OR SNAKES                                     156
+     XXV. A HUGE OMBAMA, OR PYTHON                                   158
+    XXVI. THE NTOTO, OR ICHNEUMON                                    165
+   XXVII. THE IBOBOTI, OR SPIDER                                     170
+  XXVIII. THE TRAP-DOOR IBOBOTI, OR BURROW SPIDER                    176
+    XXIX. THE HOUSE IBOBOTI, OR NIGHT SPIDER                         184
+     XXX. THE NYOI, OR WASP, AND THE IBOBOTI                         188
+    XXXI. THE TWO NKENGOS, OR PALE-FACED APES                        191
+   XXXII. A BABY NKENGO IS BORN TO THE OLD NKENGOS                   204
+  XXXIII. THE NGANDOS, OR CROCODILES                                 210
+   XXXIV. THE OGATA, OR BURROW CROCODILE                             216
+    XXXV. THE KAMBIS, OR ANTELOPES, THE NCHERIS, OR GAZELLES, AND
+            THE BONGO                                                220
+   XXXVI. THE OSHINGI, OR CIVET                                      224
+  XXXVII. THE INSECTS, APILIBISHES, OR BUTTERFLIES, AND OSELIS, OR
+            LIZARDS                                                  235
+ XXXVIII. THE NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS                                  238
+   XXXIX. ADVENTURES OF THE NEW NJOKOOS                              244
+      XL. EVIL DAYS FOR THE NJOKOOS                                  251
+     XLI. NJOKOOS AND THEIR BABIES                                   256
+    XLII. THE MBOYOS, OR JACKALS                                     263
+   XLIII. THE NSHIEYS, OR FISH, AND THEIR ENEMIES                    268
+    XLIV. THE KONGOO, ONE OF THE FISHING EAGLES                      272
+     XLV. THE BASHIKOUAY ANTS                                        284
+    XLVI. THE DARKENING OF THE DAY                                   291
+   XLVII. THE NTUNGOOLOOYA, OR KINGFISHER                            293
+  XLVIII. THE OBONGOS, OR DWARFS                                     297
+    XLIX. ADVENTURES OF A NKENGO AND A NSHIEGO                       309
+ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+ GLOSSARY OF NATIVE ANIMAL-NAMES                                     323
+
+
+
+
+                    List of Full-Page Illustrations
+
+
+ “Here I am, dear, waiting for you”                       _Frontispiece_
+                                                             FACING PAGE
+ “Here is a huge manga”                                               39
+ “He watched her”                                                     66
+ “How they enjoyed their sea bath”                                   115
+ “Then ensued a terrible fight”                                      117
+ “He gave him a terrible bite”                                       136
+ “He attacked him, imbedding his teeth firmly in the back
+   of his neck”                                                      166
+ “All the others fled in terror and disappeared in the
+   Great Forest”                                                     214
+ “A pack of ugly-looking striped hyenas”                             266
+ “The kongoo, using all his strength with his wings, gave
+   several flaps”                                                    280
+ “The poor njokoo fled for his life”                                 288
+
+
+
+
+                     The World of the Great Forest
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+                     THE GUANIONIEN, OR GIANT EAGLE
+
+
+A guanionien, as he soared between the great forest and the sun, said to
+himself: “I am the lord of the air; I am the largest and most powerful
+of all the eagles of the land. I am called the leopard of the air. I
+feed on monkeys.”
+
+Then he chuckled, the way the guanioniens do, and rose higher and higher
+in the sky at each circle that he made. It seemed as if he were going
+directly toward the sun. At last he flew so high that no eyes from the
+forest could see him.
+
+After a while he reappeared; he was coming down again in a series of
+circles to the forest. At times his huge wings spread their full length
+and then stood still. He seemed to hang motionless in the air. When he
+had come down near enough, he scanned the great sea of trees all over,
+to see if their branches were moving, for this would show that there
+were monkeys upon them feeding upon their fruit, nuts, or berries. But
+all was still; not a branch stirred, and there was no wind. His eyes
+looked down perpendicularly and could see any object right under him.
+There was no monkey in sight.
+
+He said to himself: “Why have the monkeys been so shy of late, and kept
+themselves in the middle of the trees, never coming to their tops?
+Surely other guanioniens must have been here before me and scared all
+the monkeys: they are afraid and keep out of sight; they know that we
+cannot pounce upon them. How cunning they are!”
+
+He saw a giant tree about four hundred feet high, rising twice as high
+as the other trees of the forest, and meditated: “The creatures of the
+forest know the favorite trees upon which I perch and eat my prey, only
+by the skulls and bones of the monkeys I have torn to pieces and
+devoured lying at their feet on the ground.—But,” he added, “it is not
+every day that I get a meal.”
+
+He laughed: “No harm can ever befall me, for no enemy can frighten me;
+no bird is strong enough to fight against me; the spears and arrows of
+human beings can never reach me and hurt me, for I fly and perch so
+high; men cannot even see the tops of my trees on account of the thick
+foliage which shuts off from them even the sun and the sky.”
+
+After he had rested, he flew away and soared over the dark green forest,
+which was so large that it seemed to have no beginning nor end, and once
+more he watched for monkeys. But his piercing, far-sighted eyes saw
+nothing,—not a branch of a tree was moving. Then he thought it was time
+to seek his mate, for they had agreed when they parted in the morning to
+meet on a certain tree upon which they were accustomed to rest during
+the day after their noon search for prey, and tell each other what had
+happened.
+
+Before long he saw the tree he sought. It was easily recognizable by the
+peculiar shape of its branches. Soon he was soaring over it, uttering
+peculiar sounds belonging to the language of the guanioniens, and
+meaning, “Are you there, dear? I am coming;” and his mate, already at
+the rendezvous, replied, “Here I am, dear, waiting for you.”
+
+Soon after, the big guanionien had alighted upon a branch close to hers,
+and the two looked at each other with affection, for they had not seen
+each other since they had parted a little after daylight.
+
+They uttered sounds which seemed strange, for these were words belonging
+to the guanionien language, which meant, “How glad, dear, I am to see
+you! How are you?” or, “How have you been since this morning?”
+
+After their greeting there was a short silence, then the big guanionien
+said to his mate, “Dear, what is the news? Have you been lucky to-day?
+Have you had a meal?”
+
+“No,” she replied. “Not a monkey came in sight to-day. They were afraid
+to come to the tops of the trees to feed, though I heard many of them
+talking among themselves several times. I am starving. Surely
+guanioniens have been in the region before us, and that is the reason
+why the monkeys keep away.”
+
+In her turn she inquired, “Have you good news to tell me? Have you
+discovered a place where monkeys are plentiful? Have you had a good
+meal?”
+
+“Only bad news have I to tell,” he replied. “I have seen no troops of
+monkeys. Bad luck continues to follow us. I am starving, too. For three
+days we have soared over this great forest and have seen and caught
+nothing.” And with a sigh, “How hard we have to work for our living!”
+said both at the same time. “Oh, how fortunate it is that we guanioniens
+are so constituted that we can starve for days without dying! This great
+gift has been given to us to suit our mode of life. Hunger is our enemy;
+but old age is our greatest one.”
+
+They left their tree and agreed to come back in the evening to sleep
+upon it, as had been their custom for some little time. They flew a long
+way off, in a bee-line at first, keeping in sight of each other for a
+while, then parted.
+
+Toward sunset they were once more perched on the tree, and each inquired
+for the afternoon’s news.
+
+The big guanionien said: “Several times I saw branches moving, with
+monkeys upon them. At this sight my appetite grew more voracious than
+before, and I thought that I was going to have a good meal. I soared
+over the trees, but the monkeys never came to the tops so that I could
+swoop down upon them. They seemed to dread danger, although I was so
+high in the air that they could not see me. But experience has taught
+them that it is not safe for them to be on the tops of the trees; ugly,
+suspicious monkeys, we have to be very cunning to capture them.”
+
+After he had finished, he asked his mate what she had to tell. She
+replied: “During my flight I came to a place where I saw the tops of
+several trees covered with big red fruit. Surely, I thought, monkeys
+will be tempted when they see this, and will come out to eat. I soared
+over them until it was time to leave to meet you, for sunset was fast
+coming on. At the dawn of the day we must fly to that place, for I
+believe that some wandering troops of monkeys will surely come there to
+feed.”
+
+“If I capture a monkey, he will never drop from my claws,” said her
+mate.
+
+“Neither will one from mine,” she replied. “Oh, dear, how hard it is to
+work for nothing!”
+
+The sun had set, and darkness came over the land, and the two
+guanioniens fell asleep. They felt safe, for the tree was large, and its
+first branch was so high above the forest that nothing but winged
+creatures could get to them.
+
+At daybreak the two guanioniens left, travelling in the direction of the
+fruit trees as fast as they could. They remained in sight of each other,
+but did not talk or hail each other, as was their wont, for fear the
+monkeys might hear them and become more wary than ever.
+
+At last, to their great satisfaction, after travelling about one hundred
+miles, they saw in the distance the bright red tops of the fruit trees
+they sought. At the sight the two guanioniens came together and
+whispered: “Surely some troops of monkeys will come and feed upon these
+trees. Let us soar above them all day, if necessary. Patience is often
+rewarded. Sometimes the prey comes when we are ready to give up.”
+
+Then they flew very high and soared above the fruit-bearing trees. They
+soared a long time, looking down in that peculiar manner which belongs
+to the eagle, their eyeballs moving so that they can see directly under
+them. Suddenly they heard monkeys chattering among themselves. The
+reason of this loud talk was that two troops of different species of
+monkeys were quarrelling, daring each other and ready to fight. One
+troop was trying to drive the other away.
+
+The two guanioniens, by peculiar motions of their wings and other silent
+ways of communication only known to their species, told each other the
+news about the monkeys.
+
+Great indeed was the joy of the guanioniens at the prospect of a good
+hearty meal. They bided their time and watched for their opportunity.
+They were not going to be rash and run the chance of missing their prey.
+
+[Illustration: [Birds]]
+
+It happened that two or three days before, troops of monkeys had come to
+those same trees and had eaten up all the fruit that was on their lower
+and middle branches, thus leaving that on the top. The monkeys looked
+up, and when they saw the bright red, juicy fruit, they forgot all about
+guanioniens, and soon were all over the tops of several trees eating
+away to their hearts’ content, unaware of the presence of their enemies
+soaring above them and waiting for the opportune moment to pounce upon
+them.
+
+Suddenly, like a flash, the two guanioniens swooped down perpendicularly
+from their height, and before the monkeys were aware of their presence,
+they had seized the two largest in their talons, clutched firmly by the
+neck and back, and rose in the air with them.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+           THE GUANIONIENS’ DEPARTURE FOR THE LAND OF PLENTY
+
+
+One evening after the guanioniens had returned to their tree to spend
+the night, and as they stood close together on a branch upon which they
+had perched, the big guanionien said to his mate: “Dear, it is time to
+prepare ourselves for the long journey we take every year at this
+season, to go to our nest and repair it. The country where we have built
+our nest will soon be a land of plenty; there will be berries, nuts, and
+fruits in abundance. By that time little guanioniens will break out of
+their shells into the world. The monkeys will come in great numbers to
+feed on the ripened fruits or nuts, and,” with a laugh peculiar to
+guanioniens, “then we shall be able to feed ourselves and our dear
+little ones quite well.”
+
+“It is so,” replied his mate. “The height of the sun, the intense heat,
+dry moons and rainy moons that have passed away since we were in the
+Land of Plenty tell us that it is time for us to go to our nest, repair
+it, and raise a brood of guanioniens.”
+
+Then came a long silence; the guanioniens were fast asleep.
+
+The following morning they greeted each other, then started for the Land
+of Plenty to visit their nest, which they had done every year for a long
+time past. They flew in a bee-line. They knew their way perfectly well
+through the air; but how, no one in the forest could tell but
+guanioniens themselves. They had to travel over a thousand miles before
+reaching their nest. Now and then they looked down upon the forest to
+see if any branches were moving at the tops of the trees. This would be
+a sign that monkeys were there. When they suspected that it was so, they
+would soar above them, peeping deeply into the branches, but that day
+they were unsuccessful.
+
+Toward sunset they saw two giant trees growing close together, well
+known to them, and upon these they perched for the night. After they
+alighted they looked all around. They saw some nut-bearing trees, and
+the big guanionien said to his mate, “Let us soar over these trees
+to-morrow morning; perhaps we shall discover monkeys feeding on their
+tops. We shall have to be patient, for as you know, dear, prey sometimes
+shows itself at the last hour and when least expected. We cannot well
+undertake this long journey without food.”
+
+Then they went to sleep. Early the next morning they saw from their
+resting-place branches of trees moving in several places, and knew that
+troops of monkeys were feeding. At once they left and soared over the
+monkeys and succeeded in capturing two, which they carried to the tree
+where they had spent the night, and devoured them.
+
+After this bountiful repast they said, “Now that we have had a fine meal
+we can reach our destination without difficulty.”
+
+In the afternoon a small black spot rose above the horizon in the east.
+It gradually grew larger and larger against the sky, in spite of the
+wind which blew against it.
+
+The old guanionien flew to his mate and said: “Dear, by the look of the
+sky a tornado will soon be upon us; the wind will blow fiercely. Let us
+find a tree upon which we can shelter ourselves, for we are not strong
+enough to fly against the tornado, and we could not possibly go with the
+wind, for we do not know where it would take us. It might carry us to a
+country we do not know.”
+
+They looked around them and saw a tall tree, and flew toward it as fast
+as their wings could carry them, and soon were perched in its centre,
+being protected thus by its big trunk and many branches. They knew that
+these would partly break the force of the fearful wind. They had met
+with many tornadoes during their lives.
+
+They faced the black spot, for they knew that the tornado was to blow
+from that direction, then sunk their huge talons deeply into the wood on
+the branch on which they were perched, so as to have a powerful hold and
+not be carried away when the tornado fell upon them. They made
+themselves as small as they could by bending their legs, and shortening
+their necks.
+
+They had hardly prepared themselves for their conflict with the tornado
+when the wind blowing against the black spot stopped, then came a calm,
+the precursor of the tornado. A white spot rose from the horizon under
+the now huge black mass that had gathered. It was the tornado. In the
+twinkling of an eye with terrific force it struck the tree upon which
+the guanioniens were. The wind hissed through branches, many of which
+bent as if ready to break, but the guanioniens had chosen a good place.
+Nevertheless, they had a hard time to hold on and not to be blown away.
+
+[Illustration: [Birds]]
+
+Then the wind subsided, and terrific vivid lightning accompanied by
+claps of thunder filled the open spaces and the great forest. It rained
+in torrents and such rain as is only known under the mountainous
+equatorial regions of that great forest. It stormed and thundered the
+rest of the day and during almost the whole of the night.
+
+The guanioniens had pressed their feathers close together. Fortunately
+they were well oiled and the rain ran off over them, so that their skins
+escaped a drenching.
+
+In spite of the great storm, the guanioniens had short naps, at times
+being awakened by the vivid lightning and terrific peals of thunder,
+re-echoed from mountain to mountain.
+
+At daybreak they awoke, and one said, “Dear, we have had a very
+uncomfortable night, but at this season of the year we shall meet many
+more of them.” Before leaving their tree for their journey, they made
+their toilet, and it took them quite a while.
+
+Not only the guanioniens, but all the birds have a bag or pouch just at
+the end of the spinal column near the tail, full of an oily or fatty
+soft substance, which they take from the opening with their beak and
+with which they oil their feathers. The guanioniens had a big one
+indeed, making a large protuberance.
+
+They began to take the oily substance from their pouches, and their
+beaks went through almost every feather, these being placed one upon
+another as shingles on a roof. They were, in a word, combing themselves.
+When no more oil was left, then they went back to their pouches for
+more. They had plenty to do, for the heavy rain of the night had taken
+almost all the oily matter from their feathers. When they had finished
+they said to each other, “Now our skins are protected against the rain.”
+It was just as good as if they had had on india-rubber coats.
+
+After their toilets, the guanioniens continued their journey, looking
+for prey as they went along, soaring after a long time above the place
+where monkeys were likely to come.
+
+One day they saw and recognized in the distance the giant tree upon
+which was their nest. They flew toward it and shortly afterward perched
+upon one of its branches with much satisfaction.
+
+Looking at their nest, the big guanionien said to his mate: “Dear, our
+nest requires much repairing: it is terribly weather-beaten; it is
+getting quite old, and soon we shall have to make a new one. We have
+raised many little guanioniens in this dear old nest of ours, two or
+three at a time. Since we mated we have been true and faithful to each
+other, for we guanioniens always keep true to our mates. What care these
+little ones have given us! How we have had to protect them with our
+wings from cold and from the rain! How hard we have had to work to feed
+them, and to raise them until they could get a living for themselves! I
+wonder where they all are now, and if they sometimes think of their
+parents.”
+
+The following day they began to work in earnest at repairing their nest.
+They went in search of small twigs of trees and interlaced them and put
+them where they were needed. Then three eggs were laid in it by Mrs.
+Guanionien.
+
+The guanioniens had a hard time while they hatched their eggs, and
+became quite thin, for only one could go after monkeys at a time, and
+these were not plentiful.
+
+They watched the trees and could see the fruits, berries, and nuts
+getting larger every day, and saw them changing color and coming to
+maturity, and they were overjoyed, for their lives had indeed been hard
+since they had come to their nest.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+               THE NGOZOS, OR GRAY PARROTS WITH RED TAILS
+
+
+There are many kinds of birds in the great forests. Among the most
+numerous and most intelligent are the gray ngozos with red tails.
+
+These ngozos, when young, have very black eyes, but as they grow older a
+yellow-whitish ring forms itself round the black. Many of them live to
+be more than a hundred years old.
+
+They live in flocks of tens, twenties, thirties, sometimes even fifties,
+though seldom more. Each flock has its leader, whom it obeys implicitly.
+He is chosen to be chief because he is supposed to be wise, and to know
+the forest and where food is to be found at the different months or
+seasons of the year. Hence he is old and has had more experience, and is
+the first to give the signal of danger.
+
+It is the custom of the ngozos to meet every evening, sometimes before
+sunset, to tell the news,—what has happened and where food is to be
+found. Then after this they go to sleep.
+
+The ngozos and the monkeys are not good friends. The ngozos hate the
+monkeys with all their hearts, and have good reason to do so, for they
+both are fond of fruits, berries, and nuts; and it often happens that
+when a flock of ngozos is upon a tree, enjoying its delicious meal and
+very happy, a troop of monkeys suddenly makes its appearance, succeeds
+in driving the ngozos away, takes possession of the tree, and eats up
+the fruit so that when the ngozos return they find nothing left.
+
+[Illustration: [Birds]]
+
+Sometimes they have regular fights, but the ngozos generally get the
+worst of it, and have to fly away, saying all kinds of saucy things to
+the monkeys.
+
+One evening, flock after flock of ngozos arrived at their place of
+meeting, which was on an island situated in a large river. There they
+felt more secure from their enemies in the forest. Many had travelled a
+long way, but they knew exactly how long it would take them for their
+homeward journey, and though their wings were tired, they were not
+exhausted.
+
+After they had alighted, all the ngozos greeted one another, exclaiming,
+“Glad to see you! Glad to see you! Welcome to our place of meeting.”
+
+Such a pandemonium of ngozos’ voices was heard far and wide in the
+forest, for at least ten thousand of them were there perched on three or
+four trees that were close together. They jabbered away at a great rate.
+A stranger would have thought that they made too much noise to
+understand one another, as their voices were so confused, and as they
+were apparently all speaking at the same time. But to the ngozos it was
+not so; they held a conversation, and one ngozo was talking to one of
+several of his friends who were listening to him.
+
+Though there were five or six hundred leaders of flocks in this great
+army of ngozos, each leader knew every member of his flock, and every
+ngozo knew his leader and recognized his voice, just as he recognized
+their voices also. He knew the number of his flock, and if one were
+missing he could tell which, and the other members of the flock
+likewise. No doubt each ngozo had a name known to the others of the
+flock.
+
+As they were telling the news, the leader of one flock of ngozos said:
+“We have come back hungry this evening, for when we came to the trees we
+had seen loaded with our food of berries and nuts, we found they were
+all gone, for the monkeys had been there and eaten everything in sight.
+We were very angry, and during the day we had to fly over the forest and
+alight here and there to pick what we could. But almost everywhere the
+monkeys had been before us, and left only unripened berries or nuts, and
+we had to content ourselves with these, and few at that.”
+
+After hearing this tale of woe, all the ngozos with one voice cried, “We
+hate the monkeys; ugly monkeys!” The noise was terrific when they said
+this, for they said these words all at the same time and they repeated
+them several times in succession, with anger. Oh, what a noise they
+made!
+
+The ngozos of another flock, when they heard this, said: “We are sorry
+for you, dear ngozos; it is too bad that you came home hungry. We came
+to a part of the forest where all the tops of the trees were covered
+with beautiful ripened fruits; they were fine, and we ate them all day
+long, and no horrid monkeys came to disturb us. They were busy somewhere
+else eating our food.”
+
+They called it “our food,” for the parrots considered the berries, nuts,
+and fruits of the forest as their own, and thought that the monkeys had
+no business to eat them. The monkeys thought likewise of the ngozos.
+
+Then some ngozos belonging to another flock said: “We flew over a
+village of human beings, and saw a number of our kin in the place. They
+could not fly; their wings were cut; we spoke to them, but they could
+not understand us, neither could we understand them.”
+
+The reason they could not understand each other was because the ngozos
+in the village of the human beings had been captured in their nests when
+their bodies were covered with down, and had only learned the language
+of the human beings. They had no ngozos to teach them the language of
+their kin living in the forest. They had invented a jargon of their own,
+which they used when they did not speak the human language.
+
+Some flocks advised others not to go where they had been, for there was
+very little food to be found; others told where monkeys were numerous,
+or where they were not.
+
+It was getting late, near sunset, and all the flocks ought to have
+arrived; but the ngozos noticed that two were still absent. They were
+very much excited, and began to be afraid some great misfortune had
+happened to the missing ones, and talked loudly to one another. They
+wondered why no stragglers had arrived.
+
+Suddenly they heard voices above them. It was one of the flocks
+arriving. “We are coming!” said the belated ones; “we are coming!” and
+they alighted. “Welcome!” said all the ngozos at the same time.
+
+“What makes you so late?” cried all the ngozos.
+
+“Well, we have come from a long way off, and our wings are tired. We had
+great trouble to find food enough to-day to satisfy our hunger, for the
+monkeys had been there before us this morning. We went a great distance,
+and, guided by our leader, we came to a region in which food was
+plentiful, and which the monkeys had not found out. Several flocks can
+find plenty of food there to-morrow, provided the ugly monkeys do not
+find the place.”
+
+“Horrid monkeys!” chattered all the ngozos at once.
+
+The ngozos waited anxiously for the only flock missing. They were much
+distressed. Had the flock left them to go to another place? The sun had
+set, and it was fast growing dark, for in the forest darkness comes soon
+after sunset. Soon, to their great joy, they heard above their heads the
+voices of the missing ones, and a great cry arose among them. “Welcome!”
+they shouted with one voice.
+
+The flock alighted. “What makes you so late? It is almost dark,” cried
+the ngozos together.
+
+“Don’t speak of it,” cried the belated flock. “Don’t speak of it. We had
+an awful fight with the monkeys, and we are lucky to have escaped with
+our lives from their clutches.”
+
+“Hateful monkeys!” cried all the ngozos.
+
+“See how dilapidated some of us look,” said one of the late comers; and
+one of the flock, turning her back, cried, “Look at me. I am almost
+without a tail. An ugly monkey plucked it off. It was hard for me to fly
+and reach our meeting-place, for having hardly any tail I flew with
+difficulty.”
+
+“Look at me,” said a second one, as he also turned his back to the
+ngozos. “My feathers are all gone between my wings. I wonder how I
+escaped from that savage monkey.”
+
+All the ngozos listened silently when they heard this tale of woe.
+
+[Illustration: [Birds]]
+
+A third one said, “Look at me, ngozos. See the state of my poor feathers
+and how many have been plucked by one of those monkeys. But I succeeded
+in giving him a bite and cut off one of his fingers, and he had to let
+me go. He gave such a cry of pain.”
+
+“Good for you!” shouted all the parrots; “good for you, ngozos!”
+
+“How did the fight happen?” asked one of the wise ones who had been
+listening. “Tell us.”
+
+Then the chief of the flock said: “Our flock was on a tree feasting on
+delicious fruits, when suddenly we heard a troop of monkeys coming. Soon
+they leaped on our tree and wanted to drive us away, and attacked us. We
+tried to resist, but the monkeys are so quick of motion, and they have
+hands and feet that can clutch, while we ngozos can only bite. The
+combat was unequal. One of our number was killed by them. The reason
+that we are so late is that we had to fly slowly on account of our
+disabled ones. We did not want to leave them behind, for we are all good
+comrades and we love one another dearly.”
+
+“That was right. You are true ngozos,” cried they all.
+
+Then came a shrill chorus, and all the ngozos shrieked again, “We hate
+the monkeys.” But soon the jabbering among the ngozos became less and
+less, for many were getting sleepy. Then quiet settled down on the army.
+All had fallen asleep, after, however, having first agreed where the
+flocks should go to the next morning.
+
+Long before dawn, between three and four o’clock, all the ngozos were
+awake and talked to one another. When ready for their journey, each
+leader said to his flock, “Be ready, ngozos; we must hurry.” His flock
+would answer, “We are ready.” “Follow me, then,” would say the leader as
+he flew away, followed by all the numbers that belonged to him.
+
+Flock after flock of ngozos left one after another, after saying,
+“Good-by,” “Good luck to you.” “Good luck to you,” was the answer, and
+in less than ten minutes they all had left. Some flocks flew toward the
+north, others to the east, west, south, to some particular part of the
+forest where they thought they would find plenty of food. They were all
+in a great hurry to reach the different places, so as to be there before
+the monkeys, the small flocks going where there were only a few
+fruit-bearing trees to be found, and the flock that had been so badly
+beaten by the monkeys going to the nearest food place.
+
+The ngozos possess the wonderful gift of knowing their way through the
+air; the trees are their landmarks, as they fly above the forest and
+look down to discover any fruit-bearing trees.
+
+A very old ngozo, about eighty years old, with powdered feathers and
+deep yellow eyes (which is a sign of old age), who was the last to go
+away, said to his flock: “I know of a place where at this time of the
+year there are trees that must be loaded with fruit [and he named the
+fruit]. I will lead you there.”
+
+“Good for you, our chief!” cried all the ngozos. “You are a good chief.
+With you we shall find plenty of food.”
+
+After a journey of about twenty miles, the old leader said to his flock,
+“Look yonder. Do you see the tree-tops red with fruit?” And they looked
+in that direction and saw trees red with fruit, and all uttered cries of
+joy, saying, “What a good-morning’s meal we are going to have!” They
+flew with still greater rapidity and soon alighted upon the trees. “We
+are here just in season,” they all exclaimed at the same time. Then they
+remained perfectly silent, so as not to attract other ngozos, and also
+so as not to let the monkeys know where they were. The fruits were very
+dainty. Soon every ngozo was enjoying his meal, holding the fruit in his
+claw (for they use their feet as we do our hands) and peeling it with
+his beak.
+
+[Illustration: [Birds]]
+
+After having had a good meal, they flew away to another part of the
+forest, where their leader thought they would find a kind of nut they
+liked very much.
+
+Halfway they settled upon a tree to feed, when suddenly a stranger
+alighted among them. They looked at the new-comer, and at once wanted to
+drive him away, for he did not belong to their flock. Great cries of
+rage were heard among them; but as they were preparing to fight the poor
+wanderer, the chief of the flock cried with a very piercing and
+commanding voice: “Do not drive him away. He is lost. For some reason or
+another he is solitary. Don’t you see that he belongs to our kin, and
+has a gray body and a red tail? Let us welcome him.” The ngozos did so
+at once in a chorus. But, to their utter astonishment, they found that
+the stranger could not understand what they said to him; and when he
+spoke to them they could not understand what he said, and they marvelled
+at that, and looked at their new friend with amazement and did not know
+what to make of him.
+
+The fact was that the poor ngozo had escaped from a village of human
+beings, one of whom had taken him away from his nest when he was a baby
+ngozo. He had given him to his wife, who fed him and raised him tenderly
+and taught him to speak or listen to her words. Consequently, he had not
+learned the language of the ngozos, not having lived among them. He
+spoke at times a queer kind of jargon which he and two or three captive
+ngozos of the village had invented for use among themselves.
+
+In the evening the stranger followed them. He had been admitted as one
+of the members of the flock, and when they arrived at a certain place
+they met other ngozos. All marvelled at the new-comer, who was exactly
+like themselves, but could not understand them, as they could not
+understand him. But nevertheless they were soon friends.
+
+The hour came when the flock thought it was time to return to the island
+where all the ngozos met, and they started and before long reached the
+place with the new friend they had adopted that day. As usual they had
+their talk out and then went to sleep.
+
+That night this ngozo stranger thought of the home he had left, of his
+mistress who had been so kind to him, and how much he was petted by the
+people. The next morning he followed the flock that had received him. He
+had no one to bring him his breakfast, and henceforth he would have to
+work for his living. It was a new life before him, but after a while he
+found that it was much better to be free, even if you had to work for a
+living, instead of having some one to take care of you and be a slave.
+
+Often the adopted stranger, when his people (the other ngozos) were
+resting on a tree, would talk the language of the human beings who had
+brought him up. While he did so, the other ngozos listened in silence.
+It did not take them long to learn the language of the human beings
+through their new friend. He wondered why and how they could learn so
+quickly from him, while it had taken him so long to learn the same
+language. The reason was that the ngozos learn much more quickly from
+one another.
+
+He also learned quickly the speech of his kin, and after a while could
+talk the language of wild gray ngozos as well as the rest of them.
+Nevertheless, though years passed away, he never forgot some of the
+words his master and mistress had taught him, and he remembered them to
+his death.
+
+One evening after all the flocks had arrived, the ngozos’ chiefs said,
+“Now it is time for us to start for the Land of Plenty.”
+
+“Yes,” cried all the ngozos, “it is time for us to start for the Land of
+Plenty. A grand time we will all have there.”
+
+“This is the moon of tornadoes, thunder, lightning, of great heat,” said
+one chief. “Fruit and nuts will soon be ripe in that far-off country.”
+And all the ngozos kept repeating over and over again, “It is time for
+us to travel toward the Land of Plenty.”
+
+It was agreed among them that this should be the last day of the season
+they were all to stay and sleep at the dear old place, where they had
+had so many chats together, and they were sad; but the glorious time
+they were to have in the Land of Plenty from morning to night made them
+feel that they must go, for of late they had had a hard time to get
+food.
+
+The ngozos are very wise, and they agreed to scatter and take different
+ways, for otherwise they would starve, there were so many of them.
+
+As usual when daylight came, flock after flock left, bidding each other
+good-by, to meet again in the Land of Plenty.
+
+In the evening only a few flocks returned to the old place of meeting.
+But the trees did not seem the same to them. There was a look of sadness
+among the ngozos,—so many dear friends and faces were missing. There was
+less bustle, less chattering, less noise, less laughing (for the ngozos
+laugh).
+
+Three days afterward not one ngozo was to be seen on the trees. They all
+had left for their promised land. Flock after flock were spread over a
+vast extent of country, flying over the trees. They saw once in a while
+a troop of monkeys and bore them no good will.
+
+When the ngozos saw any nut- or fruit-bearing trees, they alighted upon
+them, and after they had fed, continued their journey. Several flocks
+had trouble with the monkeys while feeding. When they came near, the
+ngozos made fearful noises, their feathers rose on their backs, and
+their tails spread, showing how angry they were. They gave all kinds of
+bad names to the monkeys.
+
+The monkeys did not know what the ngozos said to them, as they did not
+understand their language. But they knew they were angry, and every time
+the poor ngozos had to get out of their way when they had made up their
+minds to climb on their tree.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+        THE NKEMAS, OR MONKEYS, TRAVEL TOWARD THE LAND OF PLENTY
+
+
+While the guanioniens were hatching their eggs, the monkeys began to
+think that it was time to start on their journey to the Land of Plenty,
+a journey which they took every year. They remembered the great time
+they had in that land, and how loaded many of the trees were with
+berries, nuts, and fruits. What feasts they had, and how fat they had
+become while there, even before they had eaten up everything in sight!
+
+From many distant parts of the great forest north and south, east and
+west, troops of monkeys accordingly were travelling to the Land of
+Plenty.
+
+Among those were the white-mustached miengai, the red-headed nkago, the
+jet-black, long-haired mondi, the white-nosed ndova, the bluish black
+oganagana, the nchegai, and the mpondai.
+
+Each troop was hurrying as fast as possible, so as to reach the Land of
+Plenty before all the other monkeys, and even before the ngozos. All the
+creatures of the forest do likewise; hence they all start at the dawn of
+the day.
+
+Each species of monkey has a distinct language of its own, and so easily
+recognizable that the other creatures of the forest can tell which kind
+of monkey is talking. The various species do not mingle with one
+another. The number in each troop is from ten to twenty or thirty;
+sometimes, but rarely, even as many as fifty. Every troop has its
+leader, chosen for his cunning and knowledge of the places where food is
+to be found at different seasons, months, and sometimes even in
+different weeks in the forest.
+
+The monkeys never eat any kind of new food without first smelling it to
+find out whether or no it is poisonous, for the forests abound in
+poisonous fruits, which are sometimes most tempting and deceiving in
+appearance, and, if bad, the monkeys throw them away at once.
+
+They know all the trees, rocks, brooks, and other landmarks. They choose
+a track or path where they can find food on their way.
+
+Among the monkeys who were thus travelling was a troop of white-nosed
+ndovas, numbering about twenty-five. Their leader was a very knowing old
+fellow, who had by his quick sight and acute hearing and cunning warned
+them many a time of danger, so that they could escape. All the troop
+believed in his wisdom and had great confidence in his judgment.
+
+For nearly fifteen consecutive years the old ndova had made the trip to
+the Land of Plenty.
+
+One evening before going to sleep, the chief said to his followers:
+“Strange is our life. The trees are our home; we never sleep twice on
+the same one; we have to travel all the year round in search of food,
+and sometimes food is so scarce that we have to go long distances and
+then get only a scant living. Indeed, at certain times of the year we
+have to work hard for our living. We have even to walk on the ground to
+pick up what we can get. When we are walking we are timid, for it is
+only when we are in the trees that we feel at home. Leaping from one
+tree to another, we can travel very fast.”
+
+“That is so,” said all the ndovas, when they heard their leader speak
+these words of wisdom; “we are glad to have you for a chief.”
+
+“Yes,” he replied, “but I am getting old, and soon the younger ndovas
+will drop me and choose another chief.”
+
+“Not yet, not yet; not for a long time yet,” cried all the younger
+ndovas.
+
+Soon deep silence reigned among them. They all had fallen asleep.
+
+At daylight they got ready for their long journey. And their chief said
+to his followers, “We shall have to travel fast to-day, for food will be
+scarce on our way.”
+
+Soon after the ndovas started on their journey, the old chief leading,
+while four or five of the strongest were almost abreast of him, the
+others following. They did not run or walk on the branches of trees, but
+travelled as they always do on such occasions when they make a long
+journey. They took flying leaps, falling on the end of the branches they
+reached, their weight bringing down with great force the limbs of the
+tree upon which they fell, ten or twelve feet and sometimes more, the
+limbs then rebounding with great force.
+
+On the rebound with astonishing quickness and unerring eyes they sprang
+to the extremity of another branch.
+
+[Illustration: [Monkeys]]
+
+These leaps varied in length from ten to fifteen or twenty feet. Their
+feet and hands caught with great firmness and precision the flexible
+limb upon which they landed. Their eyes measured instantly the space to
+be leaped over and the branch to be reached. Their quick ways are one of
+the gifts given to many of the monkey tribe. On their journey the ndovas
+found themselves sometimes on trees higher than all the surrounding
+ones. Then they had to leap down some forty or fifty feet, and the limbs
+upon which they fell, bent with a great crash and rebounded with amazing
+force.
+
+Thus they went on incessantly for several hours, all keeping silent,
+never uttering a cry, and at the rate of about fifteen miles an hour.
+The sound of the bending and rebounding of the branches of trees, the
+rustle of their leaves, was heard by many creatures of the forest, who
+said, “The monkeys are travelling.”
+
+At last they came to several trees covered with nuts. There was great
+joy among all the ndovas at the sight. The leader had taken them to the
+right place. They might have passed the spot either on the right or on
+the left without knowing it, for the trees were so thick.
+
+They were there before any other troop of monkeys or flock of parrots.
+So they had it all to themselves, and soon were cracking nuts and eating
+them as fast as they could.
+
+After the ndovas had eaten until they could eat no more, they were
+somewhat lazy. They moved quietly, and leaped gently from one branch of
+a tree to another to amuse themselves. They played with and ran after
+one another.
+
+Some of the old ones were by themselves. There was one hanging to a
+branch of a tree by one arm. Suddenly one of his companions, getting
+hold of his legs, hung by them, the branch bending heavily down with the
+combined weight of the two. “Let go! Get away!” shouted the upper one
+with all his lungs. “You are too heavy. I am going to drop. My hands
+cannot hold the branch much longer.” When the other heard this, he
+laughed at his friend and let go and dropped. Another one would raise
+himself with his arms, climb over his fellow, and then run off pursued
+by the angry ndova, who did not like to have such tricks played on him.
+Then both would stop, glare at each other, and peace was made.
+
+Some of the ndovas were hanging downward, looking at their friends
+underneath, who were quiet and holding a conversation. Others were
+looking searchingly in the skin of a comrade who was lying on his back
+on a big limb of a tree and picking out any little thing they saw in his
+fur. They all seemed to enjoy this immensely, especially the one lying
+on his back. He had the best of it. He loved to be scratched.
+
+A number were very lively, and were running after one another, to see
+which could run the fastest and escape. They shouted: “You cannot catch
+me. I dare you.” They would leap from one branch to another, then stop
+and grin at their companions who could not catch them. These were the
+young members of the troop. A good meal did not make them lazy.
+
+Some ndovas made queer grimaces at each other. Others were quarrelling
+for one reason and another. They uttered sounds of defiance and were
+full of fight, daring and tantalizing one another, their angry eyes
+almost sticking out of their sockets.
+
+One or two ndovas lay on their backs, quietly resting on a heavy limb of
+a tree, holding to a branch to steady themselves or so as not to tumble
+down. Suddenly they were seen by some other ndovas above, who came and
+disturbed them. Then came a short fight.
+
+Their chief was quietly looking on at his followers. All at once he gave
+a cry of alarm well known among the ndovas, which meant, “Let us be off;
+there is danger.” There was a cry of fear from the other ndovas and a
+general stampede, all going to the left from the danger, for that
+peculiar cry of the chief meant they were to run from the right.
+
+It was which among them could run the fastest. They leaped from tree to
+tree, from the extremity of one branch to the end of another branch, and
+so the whole troop went on. They were in full flight and going as fast
+as they could. It did not take them long to get out of the supposed
+danger and far from the place. When they thought they were safe, they
+slackened their speed.
+
+Suddenly a peculiar sound or cry was uttered by their chief, which meant
+for them to stop. Then when they had come together he said to them, “We
+had a narrow escape. A huge tree omemba [serpent] was coming toward us.”
+They rested a little while and then continued their journey toward the
+Land of Plenty. They came to a cluster of trees loaded with nuts and all
+uttered cries of joy at the sight. Their chief had led them right; they
+were not to starve. They broke the shells and ate the kernels with great
+avidity. When their appetites were satisfied they filled the pouches
+inside of their cheeks until the skin of these was so distended that
+they could hold no more.
+
+“If we do not find food,” said they, “we will eat the nuts that we have
+stored in our pouches. How nice it is for us to have such pouches, so
+that we can carry provisions with us and eat them on the way when
+hungry!”
+
+Then they resumed their journey, for the Land of Plenty was still far
+away. “Let us hurry as fast as we can,” they said, “so as to be the
+first on the spot.”
+
+But an hour or two afterward, they slackened their speed and stopped,
+walking leisurely on the branches of trees. They were hungry, and began
+to eat the food they had stored in their pouches. These were so full
+that they had to use their hands outside to press out the pieces of
+nuts.
+
+After this they continued their journey, and when it was nearly sunset
+stopped, and prepared for their night’s rest. Some quarrelled for
+places. But soon all were seated comfortably on their haunches with
+their legs bent, their heads gradually fell on their breasts, and they
+were ere long fast asleep. They remained undisturbed the whole of the
+night.
+
+Early the following day the ndovas were again on the march. During the
+day, while they were resting and chattering, the whistling of several
+arrows was heard among them, and two of their number were pierced and
+killed and fell to the ground with a great crash. All the ndovas, giving
+a cry of alarm, fled with the greatest speed. They knew that those
+arrows had been shot by human beings, for several of their number had
+been killed in that manner before. They were not afraid of the apes, or
+“men of the woods,” but they knew well what human beings were like, and
+every time they saw them they fled.
+
+Having run a long way, they stopped. They were all sad and mourned
+greatly the death of their two companions. The chief said, “We never
+know where these human beings are lying in wait for us. They are so sly.
+They are under trees on which we feed before we know it, and often they
+take us unawares, though we watch and are on the lookout for them.”
+
+After a pause another wise ndova said: “Next the human beings our
+greatest enemy is the guanionien. He swoops down upon us, seizes us in
+his powerful claws, carries us up in the air, and then alights upon a
+tree and devours us. How we dread him! He is worse than a human being.
+We have to be constantly on the lookout for him, for we can never scent
+him, and before we know it one of us is carried away. So we have to
+watch above our heads for the guanioniens, and under the trees for the
+human beings. Fortunately there are not very many of these horrid
+guanioniens.”
+
+A third ndova, after listening to this, asked: “What about the big tree
+snakes? Has no one seen one of them after us on this journey?”
+
+[Illustration: “_Here is a huge manga_”]
+
+In the course of the day the ndovas came to a stream and followed its
+banks until it became narrow enough for them to leap to the other side.
+
+They stopped to rest on a tree overlooking the river, when suddenly they
+spied a strange creature swimming along the banks. At first they could
+only see his head. “Here is a huge manga [manatee],” said the chief of
+the ndovas to his followers. “He is feeding on the leaves of the trees
+that hang with their branches touching the water. Look at him! how big
+he is! [the monster weighs sometimes fifteen hundred pounds]. What a
+clumsy animal! He is eating leaves, and yet he never gets out of the
+water, never lands on the shore. How small his eyes are!”
+
+The manga is indeed wonderful! on his sides are fins, or hands without
+nails, which he uses as oars to swim with, and his tail is flat, and
+with the help of his paddles he can raise his body up vertically, and
+this enables him to feed on the leaves of the trees, while the gentle
+motion of his paddles or hands help him to keep his upright position.
+His body, ten or twelve feet long, is dark gray with a few bristles
+about one inch in length here and there on the skin.
+
+The stream was clear, and the movements of the manga could be easily
+seen as he swam and moved along eating the leaves. The ndovas watched
+the manga with great curiosity; they were not afraid, for they knew he
+could not climb trees. Then they continued their journey.
+
+That evening the ndovas all went to sleep with a sorrowful heart,
+especially the two that had lost their companions.
+
+At daybreak they continued their journey. They met soon after their
+departure with a great adventure. They came to a tree in one of whose
+hollows was a beehive. Immediately the bees attacked the ndovas with
+great fierceness and stung several of them. They uttered loud cries of
+pain, and all fled with the greatest haste, shouting in the language of
+the ndovas, “Horrid bees! Horrid bees!”
+
+Toward noon the troop came to a number of trees covered with nice fruit.
+As they were eating quietly, they heard the sound of a moving branch,
+telling them that another troop of monkeys was coming. The noise became
+more distinct; evidently the strangers were coming in their direction.
+They remained silent, so as not to give them a clew to their
+whereabouts, for fear of having to divide their find of fruit with them.
+
+They heard the loud voices of the long, black shaggy-haired mondi, the
+largest of the monkey tribe. Soon they were on a tree near them. The
+mondis were furious when they found out that the ndovas were there
+first, for they knew the place, and had hoped to reach it before any
+other troop of monkeys.
+
+The mondis uttered their war-cry. It is indeed a fearful one,—one that
+can be heard at a great distance.
+
+This was answered by the war-cry of the ndovas, but the latter was faint
+compared with that of the mondis. The hair of the ndovas stood erect,
+their eyes glared at their enemies, and the mondis’ eyes glared at the
+ndovas.
+
+The ndovas were more numerous than the mondis, but these were more
+heavily built, and far stronger. They had immense canine teeth, which
+could go deep into the flesh; and though the ndovas had good ones also,
+they were not so large. It is true the ndovas had quicker motions and
+were far more agile.
+
+[Illustration: [Monkeys]]
+
+The mondis came nearer and nearer. Their looks were fiercer and fiercer.
+The mondis defied the ndovas, and the ndovas defied the mondis. The
+noise both troops made was fearful. At last the mondis leaped upon the
+trees where the ndovas were, and attacked them. The ndovas were soon
+routed and had to flee, leaving the fruit-bearing tree in complete
+possession of the long black-haired mondis.
+
+The mondis started at once to eat, for they were very hungry. They had
+hardly begun their meal, however, the ndovas looking at them from a tree
+near by, full of anger, when there appeared upon the scene two nshiegos
+(large full-grown apes), who also knew these trees and came to eat their
+fruit. They were very angry when they saw the mondis were there before
+them, for they too had come from a long distance. They gave tremendous
+yells, and the frightened mondis fled in great haste, for the nshiegos,
+with their long, powerful arms, would have made short work of them.
+
+“Good for you!” shouted the ndovas to the nshiegos when they saw they
+had driven away the mondis. The nshiegos ate everything in sight.
+
+The ndovas travelled every day toward the Land of Plenty, and had to
+pass through a part of the forest where nuts, fruits, and berries were
+very scarce, for the fruit season had passed. Other troops of monkeys,
+large flocks of toucans (a bird with a huge bill), and other large birds
+had been there before them.
+
+They agreed to travel in squads, so that they could get food more
+easily,—for there was not enough for all of them when they were
+together,—and then to meet at a certain place before sunset, the leader
+of each squad having been in the country before, on their way to the
+Land of Plenty. They had a hard time to get their living on that day.
+Fortunately the Land of Plenty was not far off, and at last they entered
+its borders.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+         ARRIVAL OF THE NGOZOS AND NKEMAS IN THE LAND OF PLENTY
+
+
+Flocks of ngozos and troops of nkemas began to enter the Land of Plenty
+one after another. Many squirrels had also made their appearance.
+
+Among the ngozos that had arrived was the flock which had had a fight
+with the ndovas. The one whose tail had been plucked, and the other
+whose feathers had been pulled out between his wings, and who had bitten
+off the monkey’s finger, had not forgotten the horrid ndovas. Among the
+monkeys was the troop of ndovas which had attacked the ngozos, and with
+them the one that had had his finger cut off. He had cause to remember
+the horrid ngozos.
+
+Day after day the monkeys gradually worked their way toward the
+guanioniens’ nest. But the ngozos knew of the nest, and when one day
+they recognized the ndovas that had attacked them, they hoped that the
+guanioniens would kill many of them.
+
+The time came when, to the great joy of the old birds, three little
+guanioniens broke through their shells. They looked so cunning with only
+down on their bodies. Their parents loved them dearly and took great
+care of them.
+
+The old guanioniens were watching the fruits and nuts every day and
+said, “These are growing fast, they will soon ripen, and we must expect
+the arrival of the monkeys very soon.”
+
+One fine morning, just at daybreak, the guanioniens heard for the first
+time the jabbering of numerous troops of monkeys. “Do you hear the talk
+of the ndovas, nkagos, mpondais, and mondis?” said the big guanionien to
+his mate, for they could tell the species they heard talking.
+
+“I hear,” she replied.
+
+Both gave a chuckle of pleasure, for now they knew that they would have
+food in plenty.
+
+The old birds had worked very hard every day to get food for their young
+ones, for they were getting bigger and bigger, and their appetites
+increased in proportion to their size. And Mrs. Guanionien said to her
+mate, “Now with plenty of food our little ones will grow up quickly and
+become strong.”
+
+The guanioniens left their tree, and soon after were soaring high in the
+air above a troop of ndovas, waiting for their opportunity to pounce
+down upon them. But somehow the ndovas would not go to the top of the
+trees, but kept in the thick middle part. The two guanioniens circled
+near each other, and the big one said to his mate: “These ndovas are
+knowing ones. They do not come to the tops of the trees, and we are not
+to have our meal as soon as we expected.”
+
+The ndovas, having plucked and eaten the best fruit, moved away a little
+farther on and soon came to two other trees heavily laden. The fruits
+were big and ripe, but were all at the top, those on the lower branches
+having been eaten already by other monkeys. The ndovas chuckled with
+pleasure at the sight. The temptation was so great that, forgetting to
+be prudent and all about their enemies, the guanioniens, they ascended
+the branches and began to eat in silence.
+
+The guanioniens from their great height saw the branches of the trees,
+upon which the ndovas were, moving, and they came down and soared above
+the place ready to pounce upon them.
+
+The ndovas were unaware that their great enemies, the guanioniens, were
+so near them, and were watching them with eyes made sharper by hunger.
+They were enjoying their feast with great relish, and said to each
+other, “This is the best fruit we have had for a long time. It is so
+sweet and so juicy. What luck we have!” “I hope,” said one of them,
+“that those horrid mondis, who are stronger than we are, will not make
+their appearance, for they will drive us away. Let us make haste and eat
+all we can.”
+
+The guanioniens delayed their attack, for they watched their opportunity
+and wanted to make sure not to miss their prey. The ndovas had not quite
+reached the very top of the trees, and the birds could not swoop down
+upon them if they had to go through the branches, for not only would the
+branches stop their flight, but would break their wings, as they struck
+with great force against them.
+
+The two guanioniens soared nearer the ndovas, watching with their keen
+eyes the trees upon which they were feeding. Suddenly they saw several
+ndovas come to the very top of the trees. They watched with fierce and
+expectant eyes, swooped down with terrific speed, seized two of the
+biggest ndovas and rose in the air, each with his talons firmly imbedded
+in the back and the neck of his victim, so that he could not turn. One
+of the monkeys was the chief of the troop; the other was the one whose
+finger had been cut off by the ngozo. The eagles flew with their prey
+toward their tree, and the first thing they did was to tear their eyes
+out, and then kill them by disembowelling them. They fed first, and
+then, tearing off small bits, they fed their young ones with them.
+
+It happened that not far off from where the ndovas had been carried
+away, on a tall tree, was the flock of ngozos which had been so badly
+treated by those same ndovas. They were feeding on nuts. Suddenly they
+heard the cries of pain uttered by the ndovas as the guanioniens rose in
+the air with them. Looking up, they saw the ndova whose finger had been
+cut off by one of them, and jabbered with joy. “Good for you,
+guanioniens, good for you! kill all the monkeys you can;” and in chorus,
+“We hate the monkeys, we hate the monkeys! we hate the ndovas more than
+the rest, for they have done us the most harm.”
+
+The troop uttered fearful cries of dismay and dread when they saw that
+the guanioniens had been among them and had carried away their chief and
+one of their number. They fled in terror to some safer place.
+
+In the evening they looked at one another with deep sorrow and mourned
+greatly the loss of their chief and of one of their comrades. One of the
+ndovas was especially sad, for it was his beloved mate that had been
+carried away by one of the guanioniens.
+
+Still monkeys, parrots, and guanioniens had a good time in the Land of
+Plenty, and all became very fat. But the guanioniens made great havoc
+among the monkeys. At the foot of their trees the ground was covered
+with a great number of skulls and bones of those they had eaten up.
+
+The time came at last when the fruits, berries, and nuts became scarce.
+They had either been eaten or had fallen to decay on the ground, and the
+monkeys and parrots left for other parts of the forest.
+
+The guanioniens and their brood, who had begun to fly, also left. The
+old ones were going to a partly open country to teach their young how to
+capture prey, and then the goats and gazelles would have a bad time.
+
+The Land of Plenty became deserted until the following year, when it
+would become again full of life. After their departure the parrots
+mated, built their nests in the hollows of the trees, and did not come
+together again into flocks until their young began to fly. A few flocks
+came at first to the old meeting-place; the same number of flocks that
+came in the evening went off in the morning, with the same chief. At
+first the flocks and their number of ngozos could be easily counted; but
+in a few days they became so numerous that it was impossible to number
+them.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+                           THE NIGHT ANIMALS
+
+
+Strange as it may appear, in the night the great forest is more alive
+with animals than during the day. These night prowlers can only see well
+when it is dark, and the darker it is the better they can see. They
+generally have short legs and walk so lightly that their footsteps
+cannot be heard when they go through the jungle.
+
+They are very sly and most dangerous to other creatures. Most of them
+feed on animals that have warm blood, for they love blood, which is to
+them as water. They sleep during the day, which is their night, and roam
+about during the darkest part of the night, which is their day. It is at
+that time that they seek for prey, so they are much dreaded by the
+animals that sleep during the night.
+
+Their abodes are in the deep hollows of trees, in holes or gloomy
+recesses under their roots, in caverns, in crevasses found among the
+rocks, in burrows under fallen trees, and where fallen limbs are piled
+upon each other. In a word, they like the places where the light cannot
+penetrate, for the light blinds them. They cannot bear the bright
+sunshine.
+
+These prowlers do not come out of their abodes to attack their prey
+until the night is far advanced, for then the sleep of the day animals
+is heaviest, and they do not easily awaken and scent their enemies. One
+of the gifts of these night creatures is that they know the hours of the
+night just as well as if they had watches or clocks, and they seldom
+emerge from their abodes for their raids and depredations before
+midnight, and generally return to their dens towards four o’clock in the
+morning. If they go out earlier, or return later, it is because hunger
+obliges them to do so.
+
+Almost invariably they make their raids singly, so that the pair have
+more chance to capture prey. It is wonderful how these night creatures
+know their way. They see so well that they go through the thick jungle
+as if the sun were shining, and through the intense darkness, they note
+every sapling, every branch, every thorny bush, every leaf, every ant,
+and, no matter how far they go, they know their way back to their lairs.
+
+This gift of theirs is not possessed by human beings, who have to make
+special marks, such as breaking young branches of trees, marking them
+back, or putting heaps of leaves, or sticking sticks into the ground to
+find their way back.
+
+There are only a few night winged creatures, such as owls, vampires,
+bats, flying squirrels, and a few birds; but there are many night
+snakes.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+                         THE NJEGO, OR LEOPARD
+
+
+The njego, or leopard, is the most dreaded of all the night prowlers by
+all the animals of the great forest.
+
+One night a njego, looking at his beautiful spotted skin, his long tail
+beating his flanks, exclaimed to himself: “Many creatures of the great
+forest hate and fear me, for I love blood. I thrive and live chiefly on
+kambis [antelopes] and ncheris [gazelles]. I have no friends. All think
+I am not to be trusted.
+
+“I am the biggest of the night prowlers. I have to be cunning in seeking
+my prey. No large creature can walk in the forest and through the
+underbrush with a lighter step than mine, and if I make a slight
+rustling going through the thicket of the jungle, the beasts of the
+forest think the wind is the cause of it.
+
+“I can also see in the daytime, but the light makes me wink. I can
+spring farther than any animal. This is one of the gifts I possess,
+otherwise I could not get my living. How I love the flesh of the kambis
+and of the ncheris!” As he thought of them his eyes glittered and shone
+like fire, and he licked his chops.
+
+“When animals see me close to them, my eyes often paralyze them, and
+they cannot run away.” Then he grinned as njegos do, and added, “No
+wonder that the animals of the forest dread the njego, for often he
+makes a prodigious leap, falling in the midst of them when they are not
+aware of his presence, and then he gloats over the victim he has
+chosen.”
+
+Suddenly the njego heard the trumpeting of a njokoo (elephant), and the
+terrible and appalling roar of a ngina (gorilla), and he listened a
+while, and said, “These creatures I do not attack.”
+
+Soon after he met his mate near their lair, and they went inside, for
+the day was coming, and they were soon asleep. The njegos have a
+peculiar, silent way of communicating with each other by looks,
+movements of the tail, and other signs only known to them. So in this
+way after they had slept all day long and well into the next night the
+big njego said to his mate as they were lying in their lair: “Dear, the
+night is far advanced; it is time for us to go out in search of prey,
+and the day animals will be in their heaviest sleep and will not hear or
+scent us.”
+
+It was then about midnight. After coming out of their lair, they
+rejoiced when they saw that the night was so dark. They said to each
+other, “How well we shall see to-night!” Then they looked at each other
+with great affection, the big njego licking the skin of his mate to show
+her how much he loved her.
+
+They said good-by to each other, for njegos, like all night prowlers, as
+already said, go in search of prey by themselves, and they wished each
+other good luck. “I hope, dear,” said the big njego to his mate, “that
+you will find a kambi [antelope] to-night.” “I hope so,” she replied,
+“and I wish you the same.”
+
+After this they parted, each going his own way, walking as noiselessly
+as still air, their lithe bodies passing through the jungle with a
+suppleness that was wonderful. The glow of their eyes was sometimes such
+that they looked like two bright burning pieces of charcoal.
+
+[Illustration: [Leopards]]
+
+The big njego, as he walked along, would stop now and then to scent
+better or to hear if some prey was moving in the forest. But in spite of
+all his cunning, power of scent, and good sight, he had bad luck, and
+did not get any prey. Toward four o’clock in the morning, the two njegos
+thought it was about time to return home.
+
+When the big njego came to his lair, his mate had not yet arrived, and
+he waited for her outside. Soon after, he scented her, and then he paced
+to and fro, his long tail beating his flanks, and his eyes glaring like
+fire from excitement and pleasure at the prospect of her coming.
+
+Soon she made her appearance, and he received her with great delight. He
+looked at her and said: “I see by your hollow flanks, dear, that you
+have had nothing to eat to-night.”
+
+“You are right,” she replied, “my stomach is empty; I am starving.”
+
+Then, looking at him, she said: “I see also by your flanks that you did
+not kill anything to-night. You have had no flesh to eat, no blood to
+drink.”
+
+“You are right,” he replied. “I also am starving. Well, we have to work
+hard for our living. It is not every day that we get prey.” They spoke
+of the animals they had met that night. “I saw a herd of njokoos,” said
+the big njego. “I thought it was wiser to let them alone. I might have
+sprung upon one and made fast to his trunk and lain between his tusks,
+but he would have run through the forest and dashed his head against the
+trunk of a tree and killed me.
+
+“A little after, I scented a kambi; but the creature scented me also,
+and, though I followed her with all the cunning I possess, she succeeded
+in crossing and swimming to the other side of a large stream. I had to
+give up the pursuit, for unfortunately we njegos are afraid of crossing
+rivers, as we do not swim.”
+
+They entered their lair. Then they went to sleep; but they were
+restless, for they were hungry. Every time they awoke, each said, “I
+wish night would come.” It came at last. They awoke, gave several yawns,
+and opened their mouths, showing their strong, sharp teeth. Their
+terrible retractile claws like those of a cat moved as if ready to sink
+deeply into the body of some animal. “If I catch a kambi to-night, what
+a feast I shall have!” thought each njego at the same time; and at the
+thought of blood both licked their chops with their prickly tongues.
+
+[Illustration: [Leopard]]
+
+They left their lair and parted, as was their custom both prowling in
+the dark, gloomy, and silent forest, for all the birds were asleep as
+well as the day animals.
+
+Afar off there were two kambis together, when suddenly one said to the
+other: “We are in danger. I scent a njego. Let us flee, for the wicked
+creature is coming our way. Let us hasten. Yes, the scent is becoming
+stronger and stronger every moment.” They fled in the opposite direction
+from the scent, and after a long run came to a large river and swam
+across. Then they felt safe, as the broad stream was between them and
+the njego; for kambis know that the njegos never swim across a river.
+
+After a while the njego scented the two kambis. He followed the scent
+until he came to the place where they had lain down. Here it was quite
+strong. He thought they were very near, and crouched on the ground, his
+belly touching it. Never had he been more wary, though he was intensely
+excited at the prospect of a good meal, and his eyes glistened as if
+they were fires.
+
+Slowly he advanced, but his sharp eyes saw no kambis. He followed the
+scent, walking with great rapidity, and was gaining upon them very fast.
+At last the scent grew very strong, and he made sure he was to have a
+meal. Soon he came to a river where he saw their footprints on the bank.
+He gave a fearful growl of disappointment and rage when he found the
+water of the wide stream between him and his prey. He knew they were
+beyond his reach. Then he walked along the banks of the river, trying to
+find a place where two trees opposite each other had branches spreading
+far over the river, so that after climbing he could make a prodigious
+bound from one to the other, and thus span the chasm that separated him
+from the two kambis.
+
+As he was looking for such a place, he said to himself: “I will make the
+greatest leap I ever made, for I must kill one of those kambis. I am so
+hungry. I have had no food for three days. How hard I have to work for
+my living!”
+
+At last he saw two such trees, and grinned with joy. He rose on his hind
+legs and imbedded his terrible claws in the bark, and ascended one of
+the trees just like a cat. When he reached its longest transverse thick
+branch, he walked over it, and looked across to the other side. But, to
+his disappointment and dismay, he saw that the gap between the trees was
+so great that he could not leap over the chasm.
+
+He looked down with dread at the swift deep water of the stream under
+him, and exclaimed: “I can never leap over this big gap, for if I try I
+shall surely fall into the stream. I have a horror of falling into the
+water. This has never happened to me in my life.” But before coming down
+from the tree he uttered another growl of rage, when he saw that he
+could not follow the kambis. His roar was so loud that he awoke the day
+creatures that were asleep in the neighborhood, and they fled in every
+direction.
+
+The njego had travelled a very long way from his lair, pursuing the
+kambis, and it was time for him to go back to meet his mate. As he
+walked, he was very despondent and said: “Again another day without a
+meal. But luck may come before I reach my lair. It often happens that at
+the last moment I find prey.”
+
+True enough, as he was going along he suddenly scented a kambi. His eyes
+once more flashed fire. He hurried on. Nearer and nearer he came toward
+his prey, who was nipping leaves, unaware that her life was in such
+danger, for the night breeze was blowing from her direction in that of
+the njego, so that she could not scent him.
+
+At last the njego, as sly as a snake, came within sight of the kambi. At
+that moment the kambi for the first time scented danger and fled in
+terror, for it was the scent of the njego, her most dreaded enemy. The
+njego, seeing his prey running away, made a tremendous bound. He missed,
+and the kambi fled as fast as her legs could carry her; but he made
+spring after spring, and each leap brought him nearer and nearer his
+quarry. He gave growls of rage every time he missed his prey, fearing
+that it would escape him.
+
+[Illustration: [Leopard]]
+
+The poor kambi was so terrified that she ran in a wild, erratic way, and
+became paralyzed with fear. At last the njego, with a prodigious bound,
+landed on her neck. His teeth were immediately imbedded in the flesh of
+the panting creature, and his claws sank deep into her body. The
+struggle was soon over. The njego made a great feast on the warm body of
+his victim.
+
+While eating, the njego was silent for fear of attracting other njegos
+toward his prey. It was terrible to see his glaring, treacherous-looking
+eyes while he was feasting. If another njego had come near, he would
+have been attacked with great fierceness. After eating until he could
+eat no more, he continued his way toward his lair, too surfeited to
+attack another kambi, even if he had met one on his way.
+
+His mate was waiting for him before their lair. After he arrived, she
+looked at him, and said: “Dear, I see blood around your mouth and on
+your paws. This is the blood of a kambi. Your flanks are also so swollen
+that your stomach must be filled with flesh.”
+
+“Yes,” he replied, “I have been lucky. I came upon a kambi; you are
+right.”
+
+“I have also been fortunate,” she said. “I had a ncheri for my meal,
+but, as you know, a ncheri is small compared with a kambi. So I had only
+a good meal and nothing to spare. But I am thankful for this, for I am
+not hungry any more.”
+
+The two njegos were soon fast asleep, and did not wake during the day.
+
+After the njego had left the remains of the kambi, a pack of hyenas came
+just in time, before the ants arrived to eat the rest, and they feasted
+on what the leopard had left of the kambi.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+                      BIRTH OF THREE LITTLE NJEGOS
+
+
+One day, three tiny little njegos were born, and the old ones were
+delighted.
+
+They watched over their little ones with great care, and when Mamma
+Njego would go in search of prey, Papa Njego remained behind to take
+care of the little ones. Now and then he had a hard time, for they cried
+when they wanted Mamma Njego to nurse them. But mamma wanted an outing
+sometimes, and had to go after prey.
+
+“What made you so late?” Papa Njego would sometimes say when his mate
+returned.
+
+“If I am late,” she would reply, “it is because I have had a hard time
+to find prey,” or, “Well, dear, I am famished; I found nothing.”
+
+When Papa Njego went out and was successful, he would bring food to his
+mate, for she had to be nearly all the time with their dear little ones.
+
+So the old leopards were kept busy. After a while they would leave the
+little njegos alone, saying, “We can leave them now, for they are still
+afraid to go out of our lair when we are not with them.”
+
+The little njegos grew fast, feeding only from the breast of their
+mother, and began to roam around their lair. One day, as their parents
+were looking at them playing about, the mother said to her mate: “Look
+how big our little ones are! How much they have grown lately! We must
+soon give them a taste of blood.”
+
+Two or three nights afterward both were successful, and returned each
+with a gazelle, and almost at the same time.
+
+[Illustration: [Leopards]]
+
+They tore the gazelles to pieces, and called their little ones out, and
+put before them the pieces they had torn off. The little njegos looked
+at them first, and as if they did not seem to care, for they did not
+know what blood was, or raw flesh. They came and smelt the meat, but did
+not lick it, and went back to be nursed by their mamma.
+
+The next day the njegos went after prey and were again successful. Again
+they tore off pieces of the flesh and put them before the little ones.
+This time they smelled the meat and licked it two or three times, to the
+great joy of the old ones. The third time meat was put before them, they
+licked the meat until no vestige of blood was left on it.
+
+When their parents saw this, they were delighted and said: “Our little
+ones are doing well. They now enjoy the taste of blood. They are going
+to be true njegos.”
+
+The little njegos, who had now licked blood, wanted more, and were very
+restless and cried for it, though they could not yet talk the njego
+language, for they were too young. The next day Papa Njego was luckier,
+and brought a young kambi to their lair. This time the eyes of the
+little njegos fairly glared when they saw the bloody pieces of meat, and
+they precipitated themselves upon them and licked off the blood with
+great gusto, for they loved blood more every time they tasted it, to the
+great delight of the old njegos.
+
+Soon after, as their teeth grew, they began not only to lick the blood,
+but to eat the meat. One day the big njego said to his mate: “Our little
+ones are getting big, and soon we shall have to work harder and harder
+to feed them, for their appetites increase more and more as they grow
+larger and larger.” Then he rubbed his head against her neck to show how
+much he loved her.
+
+The time arrived when the little njegos were able to follow their
+mother, and as they grew older they understood every day, more and more,
+the ways of the njegos.
+
+One day, one of the little njegos pounced upon a ncheri (gazelle), and
+when his little brother and sister came to enjoy the prey with him, he
+growled fiercely, for he did not want them to have any of it.
+
+But Mamma Njego made peace among them, tore the poor ncheri into pieces,
+and all three had a peaceful meal, while she was looking on. After they
+were satisfied, she ate the rest, and then, as the day was soon to dawn,
+she returned to her lair with the little ones.
+
+Her mate was waiting for her. She said to him: “One of the little ones
+has killed a ncheri. Soon they will be able to take care of themselves.
+Then we shall not have to work so hard. Look at them, and at their
+little muzzles and paws, red with blood.”
+
+Time went on, and the little njegos had grown big, and were able to hunt
+for themselves, and finally left their parents. By this time almost all
+the animals for a long distance round the land of njegos had fled away
+to escape the fate of those who had been eaten up. The kambis, the
+ncheris, and other animals would say to their kindred, “The njegos have
+come to our land; let us migrate to some other parts of the great
+forest.”
+
+So the old njegos starved. Night after night they had no prey. The big
+one said to his mate, “We must leave this country if we do not wish to
+die of hunger.”
+
+“Yes, let us leave this horrid country,” she replied. “See how thin we
+have become for want of food.” And they looked at each other and saw
+their ribs showing through their beautiful spotted skins.
+
+They departed, but, as the forest was depopulated for miles around, they
+got a very scanty subsistence, just enough to sustain life.
+
+They came, indeed, to a worse country still, for the formidable
+bashikouay ants had been in the land a few days before in countless
+millions, and their vast army had attacked all the living creatures that
+came in their way, and devoured many, and all the rest had fled for
+their lives, and no creature walking or crawling on earth was to be
+seen. Hard indeed was the lot of the two njegos. Death by starvation
+stared them in the face.
+
+In that plight, Mrs. Njego said to her mate: “Now that we have raised
+our young, let us separate for good, according to the custom of our
+kind. When we are far apart, we shall get food more easily.”
+
+They parted with great friendliness and said, “Perhaps in the course of
+our lives we shall meet again.” They went in opposite directions and
+lived alone, prowling every night in search of prey, and resting often
+during the day on branches of trees.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+                   THE BIG NJEGO BECOMES A MAN-EATER
+
+
+Now we will only follow the big njego, having lost track of his mate. He
+was in a pitiful state, and mad with starvation. It happened one day
+that he saw a spring where human beings came every day to get water. He
+scented their footprints, and his appetite then seemed to increase
+tenfold. He followed the scent, which led him to their village, and as
+he came near the scent seemed to him the most delicious and appetizing
+aroma he had ever smelled.
+
+“I have never dared,” said he, “to attack human beings before. I have
+always kept shy of them. But I am famished, and the country contains no
+prey, so that I shall die of starvation unless I eat one of them. So I
+must not be afraid.”
+
+The village was fenced, and that first night he did not dare to leap
+over the fence, for he was timid in spite of what he had said to
+himself. Toward morning he hid in a thick part of the jungle close by
+the spring, and went to sleep on a cross branch of a tree. He was so
+hungry that after sunset he descended the tree, and lay in wait near the
+path leading to the spring, waiting for a human being to come. It was
+almost dark, and all the people had come to the spring to get water but
+one.
+
+The njego’s quick ear soon heard footsteps coming, and presently he saw
+a woman with a big water jar on her head walking in the path toward the
+spring. He watched her. While she was bending over the water, filling
+her jug, he made a tremendous leap and landed on her back, fastening his
+claws in her body, at the same time that his big jaws with their
+terrible teeth sank into her back.
+
+The poor woman was so paralyzed by fear that she did not utter a single
+cry. The leopard carried her into the jungle and devoured her. The flesh
+of the woman tasted so good, and the blood he licked was so sweet, that
+the njego thought it was better than all the kambis or anything else he
+had ever eaten in his life before, and he said to himself: “Why did I
+not dare to kill human beings before! They are harmless. This one did
+not fight. What a fool I have been!”
+
+From that day the big njego was a man-eater. Soon after, a man who had
+gone into the forest for wild honey happened to pass near where the
+njego was, and he also was attacked and devoured. The njego became the
+terror of the people of that country.
+
+The human beings, missing their fellows, went in search of them, and saw
+in one place the big footprints of the njego, and blood in another, and
+knew that a njego had turned into a “man-eater,” and was in the
+neighborhood, and had carried off their missing ones. There was great
+sorrow among the villagers at this discovery, for they thought more of
+them would be slain and devoured.
+
+[Illustration: “_He watched her_”]
+
+From that time on they never went alone into the forest or to the
+spring, and were always armed with spears or poisonous arrows. At night
+they kept many fires burning in the street, and consoled themselves by
+saying, “No matter how hungry a njego may be, he is afraid of fire.”
+They also danced all night and beat their tom-toms.
+
+During that time the njego kept far out of the way in the jungle. But he
+thought all the time of the flesh of the human beings he had eaten, and
+said, “I will watch my opportunity.”
+
+The villagers, after a while, thought the man-eater had been scared away
+and had left the country, and that he would never come back. So they
+stopped dancing every night, and went to sleep without any fear of the
+njego.
+
+But, in the course of time, the njego returned. One night he walked
+toward the village, and, coming to the fence, turned around it, hoping
+to see some openings through which he could get. But he saw none. Then
+he leaped over the palings, falling so lightly that no one heard him.
+Noiselessly he passed through the dark street, his eyes looking
+everywhere, in search of prey. He listened to everything, and was very
+cautious and somewhat timid, for he had never entered a village of human
+beings before.
+
+He scented human beings in every house; but the houses had doors, and
+these were all closed. The village was composed of a single street with
+houses on both sides. So he went in the rear of the houses and walked by
+them, but saw no openings to get in.
+
+Finally he came to a goat-house; but there was no way for him to enter,
+for the house had been especially built to protect the goats against
+njegos. So, after walking several times around it, and saying to
+himself, “How I like goats!” he retreated, and soon after he leaped over
+the fence and went back into the jungle, and slept on a huge branch of a
+tree.
+
+But he was thinking all the time of the flesh of the human beings he had
+eaten, and the following night he went again to the village and examined
+carefully every spot; but he was still very timid, for everything was
+yet very strange to him. He lingered much longer than on the first
+night, and walked several times the length of the street and back of the
+houses, scenting human beings everywhere, which gave him a tremendous
+appetite.
+
+He remained uncertain what to do; but he had come to the conclusion that
+the roofs were the weakest parts of the houses. However, that night
+again he leaped back over the fence, went into the jungle, and slept on
+the same tree that he had slept on since he had first come to the
+village.
+
+The next night there was a great thunderstorm, with terrible lightning,
+and the rain fell in torrents. The njego said: “This is good weather for
+me. I will enter the village of the human beings, and carry away one of
+them for a meal.” He waited as usual until the night was somewhat
+advanced, and then thought it was time for him to leave his place. He
+came down the tree and directed his steps toward the village.
+
+When he came in sight of the fence, he listened, but could only hear the
+heavy rain falling on the roofs of the houses. He heard no voices of the
+human beings, but his scent told him that many were there.
+
+Then he said to himself: “They are sleeping, just as the men of the
+woods, the monkeys, and other animals of the forest do, during the
+night, and now is the time when I can pounce upon them.” The scent of
+human beings gave him courage, for he was famished and had become
+desperately ferocious from hunger. He walked slowly and silently in the
+middle of the street, looking here and there, his eyes shining like
+fire. At last he stopped before a house in which people were asleep, and
+thought for a while. Then, as quick as a swooping guanionien, he made a
+tremendous bound, landed in the middle of the palm-thatched roof,
+plunged through it and seized one of the inmates (a young girl), and in
+the twinkling of an eye he had sprung back through the hole he had made
+going into the house, with his prey in his mouth, made another spring,
+which landed him outside of the fence, and carried off his victim into
+the forest.
+
+The njego had been so quick that the inmates of the house had hardly
+time to realize the great misfortune that had happened to them. They saw
+blood and the hole through the roof. Then they knew that the man-eater
+had been there and had carried off one of their people.
+
+At their cries of anguish, the whole village awoke, and all the people
+knew that the man-eater had come back, and swore that they would never
+rest and be happy again until they had trapped him. They made a trap in
+the forest, in the shape of a funnel, planting long poles in the ground,
+close together, and making them fast. The structure was much narrower
+toward the end, so that it was impossible for the leopard to turn back.
+At the end was a sort of cage. The top of the trap was also closed with
+poles made very secure, so that when he went in he could not possibly
+escape.
+
+When the trap was finished, they brought a goat and put him in the cage.
+During the night the goat, which was much frightened, cried incessantly.
+The man-eater heard him, and said, “To-night I will make a meal of that
+goat.”
+
+When the night was sufficiently advanced, he descended the tree upon
+which he had slept, and, attracted by the noise of the goat, went toward
+the trap in which it was imprisoned.
+
+Now though the njegos are very clever in getting prey, they are
+otherwise very stupid, and can easily be deceived.
+
+So the njego went round the trap, and tried several times to reach the
+goat by putting his big paws inside; but the sticks were made so secure
+that he could not do it. He had never seen in the forest anything like
+the trap, and suspected that all might not be right about it. But at
+last his hunger got the better of him, and he entered the funnel, and
+walked towards the goat, which cried louder than before, it was so
+frightened. At first the njego had plenty of room, but, as he advanced
+farther and farther, he found it more difficult to move forward on
+account of the narrowness of the space. Then he touched a spring, and a
+trap-door fell behind him. At the noise the trap-door made in falling,
+the njego became frightened and tried to escape; but he found himself so
+tightly held that he could neither move forward nor backward. Then he
+became furious, and uttered terrific yells of rage in quick succession.
+
+There was great joy among the people in the village when they heard the
+cries of the njego, for they knew he was trapped. In the morning they
+went to the trap and saw the njego making frantic efforts to get away;
+but the structure had been built so strongly that it was impossible for
+him to break through.
+
+His yells of rage became terrific and filled the forest with their din.
+The people shouted to him: “Ah, ah, you ferocious and terrible creature,
+you njego man-eater! You have eaten enough kambis and ncheris and other
+animals which we would have killed and eaten ourselves, if it had not
+been for you, and you have also eaten our people. Now it is all over
+with you. You will eat no more. No one will be afraid of you hereafter.”
+
+Then they passed their spears through the openings between the sticks
+and pierced him to death. After they were sure the njego was dead, they
+broke up the trap, and took his body out, and brought it to the village
+and laid it in the middle of the street, and the villagers, looking at
+it, shouted: “You wicked creature, you will eat no more of our people!
+No kambi or ncheri will ever be eaten by you again. We all hate you. We
+hate you more than any other animal of the forest.”
+
+They broke his jaws, and took away his teeth for a necklace, and skinned
+him to make belts of his hide, and cut off his tail for a charm, and ate
+his liver to give them courage.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+                           THE HAKOS, OR ANTS
+
+
+The forest is inhabited by many species of ants, of many sizes, and of
+many different colors. Their number is so great that they not only
+cannot be counted, they cannot even be estimated. Their mode of life,
+their habits, and their homes vary greatly. Marvellous is the
+intelligence of these small creatures. Their thrift, perseverance, and
+industry are beyond those of any other insect or animal.
+
+They have great tenacity of purpose, and are most systematic. For their
+size they have immense strength. They possess many gifts to suit their
+different modes of living. They understand each other perfectly,
+otherwise they could not work with such deliberate concert of action,
+and so intelligently. They have chiefs, leaders, and workers.
+
+Almost all the species of ants live together in large numbers. There are
+few that live solitary lives.
+
+Those which prey alone are very voracious and fierce. Many ants are
+endowed with a wonderful power of smell, and often, though not one of
+them can be seen, they suddenly make their appearance by thousands, or
+tens of thousands, when they scent food, many of the species coming even
+from under the ground. They are such nuisances that human beings have to
+put the feet of their tables and cupboards into vases of water for
+protection.
+
+Many ants have the ferocity of the leopard or other night animals. They
+attack their prey with great courage. One species, the bashikouays, go
+in countless numbers on their raids, and attack all life in the forest.
+All animals flee in order to escape them.
+
+Among the most wonderful ants are the termites, or white ants, who build
+structures of clay, or of grains of earth, to shut themselves from the
+light, to be protected from the rays of the sun, from the rain, and from
+their enemies.
+
+Some species of termites are very fond of cotton goods, paper, etc., but
+avoid woollen or silk articles.
+
+They manage to scent paper and cotton goods from under the ground, and
+ascend the poles upon which the trunks or chests which contain the goods
+rest. They build a long tunnel from the ground on the outside of the
+poles, and climb through to the chest, into which they eat their way.
+The tunnel is made of minute particles of wood glued together by a
+substance coming from their bodies. Often the owner of the chest, when
+he opens it, finds nothing inside,—everything having been eaten up by
+the termites.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+                     THE NCHELLELAYS, OR WHITE ANTS
+
+
+One of the white ants, or nchellelays, said one day to another
+nchellelay: “Strange indeed is our life. We are unlike the other ants,
+for they enjoy the light of day, and breathe the air that passes over
+the prairies and forests. They can ramble where they please in search of
+prey or food. We nchellelays live in darkness. Light is odious to us.
+The sun is our greatest enemy, and we have to protect ourselves from its
+rays, which kill us when they strike our bodies. If, perchance, by some
+catastrophe, our houses are damaged, and we are thrown out of them, we
+have not only the sun, but the rain as our foe. Creatures surround us on
+every side to pounce upon us and devour us, and many kinds of ants are
+also our enemies. Our life is safe only when we are shut up in our
+houses.”
+
+An old and wise nchellelay, who had been listening, said: “Why do you
+complain of your existence? We are born with great gifts which other
+creatures do not possess, to suit our mode of life. To us, darkness is
+light, for we can see so much better in it. We erect buildings through
+which neither the sun nor the air, the light nor rain, nor our enemies
+can penetrate. We build during the night, so the sun cannot harm us.
+Just think how comfortable and cosey are our chambers!”
+
+All the nchellelays were listening to what the wise and knowing one
+said, and when she had done speaking, they said: “You are right, wise
+one. We are born with certain great gifts, which no other creatures
+possess, to suit our mode of life, and protect ourselves from our
+enemies.”
+
+These nchellelays that were talking belonged to the species that build
+only on the prairies that are surrounded by the great forest. Their
+structures, or houses, are of the shape of gigantic mushrooms. They vary
+in height from ten to eighteen inches, the tops or crown being from ten
+to eighteen inches, and the stem or round pillar supporting the crown
+about five inches, in diameter. As the colony grows larger, sometimes
+two or three crowns are built on the top of one another. Each house
+forms a colony.
+
+From immemorial time, these nchellelays have built on the prairies, and
+as they increase and multiply in a wonderful manner, their structures
+cover the whole prairie, and can be counted by tens and tens of
+thousands, at short distances from one another. Strange indeed is the
+sight.
+
+The colony inhabiting these gigantic mushroom-like structures is of
+three kinds of nchellelays unlike in shape and having different kinds of
+work to perform. The chiefs, few in number, are much larger in size than
+the others. Their heads are armed with powerful nippers.
+
+The next class are smaller than the chiefs, have elongated bodies, and
+are armed also with strong nippers. These are the officers or overseers
+and fighters.
+
+The third class are exceedingly numerous, and form by far the greatest
+population of each colony. They are shorter and smaller in size. Their
+heads are square, and their nippers are shorter than those of the other
+two kinds, and of a somewhat different shape. This class is born to
+work. They are the builders of the structures. Their life is one of
+labor. They have soft bulky bellies, of dark bluish or yellowish gray
+color, filled with the clay they feed upon.
+
+The head and nipper-like jaws of the chiefs, officers, or overseers are
+very hard, and of dark color, contrasting with the color of their
+bodies. These pincers are given to them for fighting, wounding,
+piercing, catching their enemies, and also tracing lines where the work
+has to be done.
+
+One day some mushroom nchellelays said: “We need a new house, and we
+will build one which will last for years, through which neither rain nor
+sun can come, and through which our enemies cannot enter. We are small,
+it is true, but among the gifts that we have are patience, perseverance,
+industry, and a good thinking brain. With these four gifts we can
+accomplish a good deal and succeed.”
+
+There was great excitement among the nchellelays when they made ready to
+commence their work. The chiefs gave orders to the officers or
+overseers, and these gave orders to the workers. The dry season is the
+time the nchellelays choose for building. They know the time of the two
+seasons, the rainy and the dry, perfectly well.
+
+The workers, having received their orders, began work in great earnest.
+They made deep perpendicular tunnels to reach the blue clay, and, when
+they had reached it, they made other tunnels upward,—all these under the
+place chosen for building their house in.
+
+It was a remarkable sight when they began their labor. The workers
+followed one another in a continuous stream, and ejected a quantity of
+thick, soft, semi-liquid clay, which they had eaten and which had been
+transformed during the digestive process into a gluey material. Each
+load was put side by side with wonderful precision. After this, they
+followed one another and disappeared under the ground. The column of
+workers never ceased for an instant. There did not seem to be any lazy
+ones among them; no one was shirking work and lagging behind. They
+marched like a well-drilled army of workers who knew what their duty
+was. Their system showed great intelligence. No bricklayer among the
+most civilized human beings could have laid bricks side by side with
+more skill than they did their loads. The officers were looking on and
+watching how the work was done.
+
+Once in a while some of the nchellelays brought grains of earth and
+deposited them in the mortar. The structure rose as if by enchantment,
+and at last the making of the crown was begun, numerous cells or rooms
+communicating with one another. A large cell, much larger than any of
+the others, was built for their queen.
+
+Every tunnel and cell was coated with a gluey, shining matter, coming
+from the bodies of the workers, to prevent them from giving way. At the
+base of the column they had built inside a round clay ball, divided into
+three parts which could be separated, full of very small cells for eggs
+to be deposited in. This ball communicated with the rest of the
+buildings by tunnels through which the eggs might be transported to the
+various cells.
+
+After the building was completed, the nchellelays said, “Now we must go
+and store in many of the cells little grains of earth to use in our
+mortar.” So they went to work, and brought loads of these and stored
+them in the cells which the officers had selected.
+
+When everything was in order, a new arrangement was made. The officers
+were scattered over the buildings and kept watch over the cells. The
+large cell for their queen had an entrance at each end communicating
+with all the corridors in the house. A large body of officers kept watch
+and surrounded her.
+
+In the course of time the queen did nothing but lay eggs, and an
+enormous number of them.
+
+These eggs hatched from the heat, and then the little tiny nchellelays,
+which were of a milky white color, were taken to different cells by the
+big ones, and in the course of time became large themselves. When the
+colony became too large, the nchellelays said to one another: “Now we
+are living too many together. Our structure is too small, and we must
+build a new addition to our dwelling.” So the workers went down to the
+clay and built a short stem, as they had done before, and then made
+another mushroom-like cap. They also built many cells, and the surplus
+population took possession of these new ones.
+
+But the colony kept increasing, and another mushroom-like structure was
+added, and built on the top of the second cap. At last a fourth one was
+needed and then the nchellelays said, “We cannot add to our structure,
+for it would be too high and become top heavy.”
+
+While the mushroom nchellelays were enjoying quietly the comforts of the
+house they had built with so much care and skill, the following event
+took place.
+
+Another kind of nchellelays, that were lazy and lived as much as they
+could on the labors of others, said to one another: “Let us make our
+abode in the structure of the mushroom nchellelay. We must be very
+cunning, for it is not an easy matter to build cells and tunnels in
+their house without being discovered; still we are accustomed to do
+this, and can succeed if we want to. But if we are found out, we shall
+have a hard time, for they are much stronger and more powerful than we
+are.”
+
+These intruders were very small, mere pigmies in size compared with the
+mushroom nchellelay. They also had chiefs, officers or overseers, and
+workers. They went forthwith to work, and with their nippers dug into
+the thick walls of the mushroom nchellelays from the bottom, carrying
+away the débris of the material they demolished and depositing it in the
+earth. They took good care to make no mistake, and their small cells and
+tunnels were built between the original cells.
+
+They were extremely intelligent, and could tell when they were getting
+dangerously near the tunnels or cells of their bigger neighbors. They
+succeeded at last in building their cells and corridors throughout the
+structure. These were coated with a black gluey matter, and consequently
+were different in color from those of their neighbors, which were
+yellow.
+
+So two colonies of different nchellelays lived in the same buildings,
+the big ones not knowing that intruders were in their abode. These
+little dwarf nchellelays lived happy and contented, and often laughed at
+their big neighbors, saying, “They do not know that we have made our
+home in their house.”
+
+One day the njokoos (elephants) happened to come into the country of the
+mushroom nchellelays, and several bulls getting into a fight among
+themselves, they demolished many of the buildings of the mushroom
+nchellelays, treading upon them with their big feet, often crushing a
+great part of their structures, and thus also killing many nchellelays,
+and wounding many others.
+
+The nchellelays were very much excited, and those who had escaped with
+their lives and heard the crash, went into all the cells to tell of what
+had happened. None could tell the cause of the catastrophe, for such a
+thing had never happened to them before.
+
+This was indeed a great and sudden misfortune. The officers made their
+appearance immediately at the opening of every cell or tunnel that had
+been damaged, put their heads out of the entrances to see what was the
+cause of this sudden smash, and then disappeared inside and reported to
+their chiefs.
+
+Soon after, a large number of officers or overseers arrived at all the
+breaks. They cried, “Let us defend our homes,” their big nippers opening
+and closing all the time. They were ready to bite and to fight any
+intruder, not a nchellelay, that wanted to get inside of their dwelling,
+and at the least sign of danger they opened their nippers still wider,
+ready to bite.
+
+Great, indeed, had been the havoc made by these njokoos. Dead and
+wounded were lying everywhere among the ruins. Among them were young
+nchellelays of a milky white color, and others quite tiny, having just
+come out of the eggs. Eggs, whole or smashed, were seen in every
+direction. It was a terrible sight to contemplate for the nchellelays.
+Everything was topsy-turvy.
+
+Still the nchellelays recovered quickly from the sudden confusion into
+which they had been thrown, for they had cool heads. The work of rescue
+began first. Luckily it was a cloudy day and the dry season, when the
+sun is not powerful.
+
+Orders were given, and the nchellelays went out to begin the work of
+rescue. They were seen everywhere among the débris, looking round for
+the dead and wounded. When they saw one, they immediately went toward
+him. If so dangerously wounded that they thought there was no hope for
+him, he was left on the ground to die. When they saw that there was hope
+of saving the life of one, they took the poor wounded one gently between
+their pincers and carried him tenderly inside, those who guarded the
+entrance making room for the rescuer to pass. The wounded that could,
+hopped or crept around, and were helped and led in.
+
+The young were also carried in with the utmost tenderness and affection,
+for they were babies and helpless. Then, and last, the eggs that had not
+been injured were also carried in.
+
+In the great catastrophe that had taken place, the big nchellelays and
+the pigmy ones were mingled together in the ruins. The pigmies had also
+many dead and wounded. Their presence was the first intimation that the
+big nchellelays had of them. Their rage knew no bounds at the sight.
+Officers and workers attacked the intruders with great fury. These,
+however, fought with the utmost bravery, for it was a fight for life
+with them, and many of the big ones bit the dust in the conflicts that
+took place.
+
+The mode of warfare among the nchellelays is to disembowel one another
+by piercing their soft stomachs with their nippers. The belly is the
+vulnerable part of their body, and once pierced they are crippled, and
+die soon afterwards.
+
+[Illustration: [Termites]]
+
+Now the ruins were turned into a great battlefield. It was soon a scene
+of carnage. While many of the big nchellelays were transporting the
+wounded, the young, and the eggs inside the ruins of their buildings,
+many were busy seeking the pigmy nchellelays, the intruders within their
+house, to fight and kill them. Dead and wounded from the numerous
+combats lay everywhere. There were many thrilling fights and
+death-struggles. The attacks on both sides were fierce, and no one asked
+quarter. Combatants were seen fighting one another over the whole
+battlefield. Sometimes the fight occurred in a very rugged place where
+the ruins of the buildings lay around on the top of one another. One
+nchellelay was seen ascending the steep incline ready to charge the
+enemy at the top, who was waiting for his onslaught. In another place,
+one was descending with great fury to attack his enemy, who was coming
+up.
+
+Elsewhere, one could see a worker or an officer of the larger kind
+attack his diminutive enemy, and succeed, after some sparring, in
+disembowelling him, when suddenly an officer of the pigmy kind, seeing
+one of his comrades in the fight, or in his death-throes, would attack
+the victorious one before he had time to turn round and get ready for
+the fight, and succeed in disembowelling him with his pincers, although
+the antagonist was at least two or three times his size.
+
+It was a miniature fight of giants and pigmies, the latter fighting as
+bravely as the giants.
+
+The time at last came when all the pigmy kind were overpowered and
+killed, one by one, and the battlefield was strewn with their dead,
+mingled here and there with those of the larger ants. When the battle
+was ended, and the young and the eggs had been carried inside of what
+remained of the building, the work of repairing all the rents that had
+been made by the destructive work of the njokoos began.
+
+The officers made tracings with the points of their nippers at the
+apertures to show where the closing was to take place. Then the workers
+came and first carried away the débris that was in their way. Then they
+closed the walls in the manner in which they had at first built the
+structure, by putting loads upon loads of clay-like matter upon one
+another. Others came carrying minute pebbles or coarse grains of earth
+in their mouths, and during the night they finished rebuilding the
+structure just as it was before.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+                         THE GIANT NCHELLELAYS
+
+
+The giant nchellelays are so named as they are much larger than all the
+other species of nchellelays, or white ants. Their bodies are of a
+whitish yellow color, with very hard black heads, armed with most
+formidable pincers,—terrible weapons for fighting and biting. Their
+officers or overseers are smaller than the workers, but have more
+elongated bodies. As they are larger than all the other nchellelays, so
+their structures are much larger also. They vary from five to fifteen
+feet in height. Millions upon millions of grains of earth are required
+in their construction. Their mode of building these is wonderful and
+unlike that of other termites. How they live under the ground before
+their structure is built, no one can tell.
+
+One day the giant nchellelays said: “Let us build a new structure for us
+to live in and be secured against our enemies, the air, the rain, and
+the sun.”
+
+“Yes,” replied all the others forming the great colony, adding:
+
+“We shall have to work hard and use a great deal of thought,
+perseverance, and skill before our work is accomplished, for untold
+numbers of grains of yellow earth will have to be taken from under the
+black loam and carried above the ground where we are to build, put side
+by side, and cemented together before our home is finished.”
+
+Soon after this talk they began their labors. They brought, from the
+numerous tunnels they made, grains of yellow earth, and laid their
+foundation, each nchellelay carrying only one grain at a time.
+
+The workers labored with great earnestness; thousands upon thousands
+carried between their pincers grains of earth, and laid them down side
+by side, each passing over the grain he had brought and depositing on it
+a gluey substance which might be called mortar or cement, and which
+joined the grains of sand together.
+
+Layers upon layers were built in this manner, and this flat foundation
+communicated by numerous tunnels with the yellow earth underneath. The
+officers kept watch to see that the work was done. Special care was
+taken in the building of the outer walls, for these were to be very
+solid, having to protect the interior from the weather or from violence.
+They made the wall much thicker and harder, and impervious to rain.
+
+When daylight approached, they closed all the openings leading into the
+building. Strange to say, though it is dark in the house, the ants can
+tell when the day is over and when the night has come. So, after the sun
+had set and darkness had come over the land, the officers broke with
+their big pincers the mortar that had closed the openings, and the
+workers continued their task. The building rose as if by enchantment,
+for thousands upon thousands were working with all their might.
+
+As the structure rose, the number of cells and tunnels increased, and
+the building assumed somewhat of a sugar-loaf appearance.
+
+As they began to reach the top, they built points or pinnacles, making
+the top the very strongest of all the parts of the structure.
+
+The giant nchellelays were wise in the art of building, and knew that
+the summit of their dwellings was to bear the brunt of the weather, of
+the rain-storm, and even the fall of a tree, so that in this place the
+masonry was several inches thick.
+
+The structure, after a great deal of labor, was finished, attaining a
+height of fourteen feet and a diameter of five feet at the base.
+Hundreds of millions of grains of yellow earth had been used in its
+construction. Each grain had been placed as systematically as if the
+most skilful bricklayer had done the work, and the roofs of the cells
+were arched, for the ants knew the strength of the arch. And, when
+completed, the building was so strong, high, and large, that even the
+huge njokoo had to pass it by, leaving it untouched.
+
+A long time had passed, when one day a very large dead branch fell upon
+the building of the giant nchellelays and destroyed some of the
+pinnacles. News soon spread through the cells that a great accident had
+happened, that the top of the house was damaged; there was great
+commotion and excitement among the population when this occurred. The
+officers came round the openings to see what was the matter, and to
+defend them against possible intruders. The wounded and the eggs were
+brought inside. The work of repairing began at once, and the workers
+brought their grains of earth, and much of the broken material was used
+in making repairs.
+
+[Illustration: [Termites]]
+
+During the night the nchellelays rebuilt the pinnacles, the new ones
+being of exactly the same shape as those that had been destroyed.
+
+Things went on well for a few days, when another huge limb of the same
+tree fell on the structure and damaged it again.
+
+It was again rebuilt as it was before the accident. Sometime afterward
+the building was once more damaged by another limb of the tree.
+
+This time the giant nchellelays held a consultation, and after
+deliberation concluded not to rebuild the pinnacle, deeming the place
+dangerous, and determined to erect another structure in some other
+place, and they accordingly withdrew.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+                       THE NGOMBAS, OR PORCUPINES
+
+
+One day two porcupines were getting ready to go out of their dark
+burrow, to seek for food, for they were hungry. They were near the
+entrance, and listened. Hearing no noise, and scenting no danger, one
+said to his mate, “All is quiet; so we can safely leave our home.”
+
+After they were out, they raised their quills, many of which were about
+one foot long, hard and sharp, and shook them against each other and
+made a rattling noise.
+
+Then the big ngomba said to his mate: “Dear, we porcupines are not
+blood-thirsty; we do not attack the animals of the forest, and drink
+their blood, and feed upon them; neither do we fight them. We are
+harmless. We feed on roots, nuts, and vegetable things. What a precious
+gift our coat is! Its quills are our weapons of defence. No animals in
+this great forest possess such a valuable coat. When we walk, our quills
+lie quietly on our back or sides. When we fear danger, we roll ourselves
+into a ball, and raise them upright, and we feel safe and fear no animal
+of the forest, no matter how fierce he may be.”
+
+His mate replied, thoughtfully, however: “You forget; there is one enemy
+we have, and we dread him much, though he is very small. It is the
+bashikouay ant. When they attack us, their number is so great that they
+can penetrate between our quills, attack our bellies, which are not
+protected, and our eyes, and well-nigh devour us. How we hate and fear
+the bashikouays!”
+
+The big porcupine that day went farther than usual from his burrow. He
+heard heavy footsteps, and said to himself: “These are the footsteps of
+the njokoo. Perhaps he is coming my way.” The footsteps came nearer and
+nearer, and the porcupine rolled himself up, not daring to walk farther.
+
+The njokoo came nearer, looked at him, and then stopped. The poor
+porcupine, as he heard the footsteps of the elephant nearing him, stood
+still, as if he were dead; but his quills were erect.
+
+The njokoo looked at the ngomba, for he had never seen one before. He
+was suspicious, and did not like the looks of his sharp-pointed quills,
+and trumpeted, which meant: “I am not going to toss you about with my
+trunk. I am not going to play ball with you. Neither will I trample upon
+you, and try to crush your body under my feet. I do not fancy these
+sharp-pointed quills. They would hurt my trunk if I got hold of you, and
+lame me for life and perhaps cause my death if I trampled upon you. So
+do not be afraid. I will not try to hurt you.”
+
+After this the njokoo left, and for a while the porcupine could hear his
+heavy footsteps or the cracking of saplings which he broke as he walked
+through them.
+
+The porcupine did not know what the trumpeting of the njokoo meant, and
+did not know what the big and powerful njokoo said to him. But he had
+been so scared by the elephant that he did not dare for a long while to
+unroll himself and go about. At last, when he was sure that he was safe,
+he continued his rambling in search of food.
+
+He soon came to the den of two leopards who were out in search of prey
+for their three baby leopards, who were walking round outside. As soon
+as these saw the poor porcupine, they started for him, and he had just
+time to roll himself up, for their steps were so light that he had not
+heard them.
+
+[Illustration: [Leopards]]
+
+The little leopards were so young that they had no experience, and
+thought they would play with the much-frightened porcupine with their
+paws, just as a cat does with a mouse. But they did not try it twice,
+when they felt the pricking of the porcupine’s quills.
+
+As soon as the tiny little leopards went back to their den, the
+porcupine unrolled himself and ran away as fast as his short legs would
+let him. After he had settled down into a walk, he passed a big snake of
+the color of the dead leaves, hiding among them and waiting for prey.
+When he heard the noise the porcupine was making, he was delighted, for
+he said, “Surely I am going to have something to eat;” but the porcupine
+had not yet wholly got over his fright, and was walking with his quills
+standing up. The snake, with his sharp, small eyes, said: “It is of no
+use to try to swallow this creature, for his quills would pierce and
+kill me. I shall let him alone.”
+
+It was late, and though the porcupine was far away from his burrow, he
+knew the way there well, for he was acquainted with the surrounding
+country, and was in a hurry to go to meet his mate, whom he loved
+tenderly.
+
+Hurrying along, he suddenly heard a noise above his head, and, being
+scared, he rolled himself once more and raised his quills. The noise had
+been made by a ngina (gorilla) on a tree laden with fruit that he had
+been eating, and he was coming down. The ngina was unaware of the
+presence of the porcupine. He had reached the lower branch of the tree,
+and was hanging to it before stepping on the ground. As his left arm was
+ready to let the branch go, he stepped on the porcupine, and gave a
+terrific yell of pain, as the quills went deeply into the sole of one of
+his feet. Quick as a flash, he tried to take away the porcupine from his
+foot with one of his hands. Then he gave another terrific groan of pain,
+for some of the quills entered the palm of his hand. The blood was
+dripping from both his hand and foot. Then, hanging to the branch he had
+not quitted, he lifted himself up and shook his legs several times with
+great force, and with a mighty kick sent the porcupine flying to a long
+distance. The porcupine was terribly scared. Never in his life had he
+been attacked and buffeted in this way. Nor had he ever heard such
+terrific yells and groans.
+
+[Illustration: [Gorilla]]
+
+All his muscles were called into play in order to keep his body in
+ball-shape and his quills standing upright, for the ngina was furious,
+yelling and roaring by him; but fortunately he did not dare to handle
+him, though the frightened porcupine thought his last day had come.
+
+At last the ngina went away. The porcupine remained coiled for a long
+time, for he had never been so frightened in his life. Then, when he
+thought there was no more danger, having listened carefully and heard no
+noise, he continued his way toward his burrow.
+
+The porcupine met with no farther adventures on that day, and finally
+came to his burrow and saw his mate waiting for him. She said, “What
+makes you so late? I began to feel anxious.”
+
+“Dear,” he replied, “I have had an awful time to-day. The wonder to me
+is that I have come back at all. I have never met with so many
+adventures and dangers in my life before; but, thanks to my wonderful
+coat, I am safe.” And after they had retreated into their burrow, he
+recounted to his mate what had happened to him during the day.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+                      THE IPI, OR GIANT ANT-EATER
+
+
+Darkness had come over the land. An ipi was listening inside of the
+opening of his burrow. After making sure that there was no danger, he
+came outside and stood still, waiting for his mate to come out also. His
+body was about five feet long, and covered on the upper surface and on
+the sides chiefly with large, thick, horny, yellowish, overlapping
+scales, these scales becoming smaller as they approached his head. He
+shook his body and the scales rattled, as they struck together.
+
+[Illustration: [Ant-eater]]
+
+Soon after, his mate came out, and they looked at each other and admired
+their wonderful coats.
+
+The big ipi said to his mate: “Fortunate are we to possess such a good
+coat to cover our bodies. Our scales are so hard that after we have
+rolled ourselves up for protection, the teeth of our enemies cannot
+pierce them. They slip over them. It is our weapon of defence, as we
+ipis have no teeth.
+
+“Strangely do we pass our lives. We have no choice of food, but feed on
+ants. We are gifted with an extensile tongue which we can shorten or
+lengthen at our will, and at its extremity it is covered with a
+glutinous secretion, and no ant when caught can ever escape. Oh, what a
+multitude of ants we have eaten since we were born!” he laughingly
+added. “What a number we need to satisfy our appetites!”
+
+“Yes, indeed,” his mate replied, “and sometimes the ants become scarce,
+or we cannot find many, and we have to go back to our burrows with empty
+stomachs.”
+
+Their conversation was suddenly interrupted. They heard a great noise
+near, and they rolled themselves up and pressed their scales against one
+another.
+
+The noise had been made by a number of kambis who were fleeing at great
+speed from some enemy. When this noise had died away, the two ipis
+unrolled themselves, and said good-by to each other, and each went a
+different way in search of ants.
+
+The sight of the ipis at night is wonderful. Nothing escapes them when
+they go through the forest and jungle. They can even spy a single ant
+marching alone, though it is pitch dark.
+
+The two ipis were fortunate that night, for both discovered long lines
+of ants that were foraging. After getting within a proper distance from
+the ants, each ipi began his meal. Every time the tongue came out, its
+extremity struck an ant which stuck fast to the gluey matter, and could
+not escape. The tongue went in, deposited the ant inside in the
+twinkling of an eye, and then came out again and struck another ant.
+
+After eating thousands of ants, the appetite of each was satisfied, and
+they returned toward their homes and told each other of the good luck
+they had had, and soon were fast asleep.
+
+In the course of time the ipis had to travel farther and farther to get
+their meal of ants, and one evening, after their return with empty
+stomachs, the large ipi said to his mate, “Let us leave this part of the
+forest and go somewhere else, for ants have certainly become very scarce
+in this neighborhood.”
+
+The following night they bade good-by to their old burrow, where they
+had had so many days of cosey sleep, and where they had raised a family.
+They journeyed toward a new country, picking up here and there an ant
+with their sticky tongues. Ere long they came to a big tree, and saw a
+hollow under its roots, and said, “Here is a good dark place to spend
+the day and sleep,” and they went in and slept soundly. When night came,
+they set forth again, and continued to seek for a region where ants were
+plentiful.
+
+The third night they met a great many ants that were foraging. They
+thought it would be a good country for them to settle in, and said, “Let
+us find a hill on the side of which we may make our burrow.” They were
+soon fortunate enough to find one, and set to work with a will digging
+out the ground with their claws. That night they did not finish their
+burrow, so they went back to the hole under the root of the tree where
+they had slept before. The following night they worked very hard and
+finished their home, which had two openings communicating with the
+chamber in which they were to sleep.
+
+When the work was done, one ipi said to the other: “We have worked hard
+to make our new home. It is a good thing for us that our short legs are
+so muscular and that our claws are so strong. How much earth we can move
+away!”
+
+They felt very happy to be able to sleep in their new home. There they
+lived for a while, ants being plentiful in the neighborhood, and raised
+a family of little ipis.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+  THE NGOMBA, OR PORCUPINE—THE IZOMBA, OR TURTLE—THE IPI, OR ANT-EATER
+
+
+One day an izomba (turtle) was walking in the forest, when suddenly she
+heard a noise, and became suspicious; as the noise came nearer, she drew
+her head, her four feet, and tail under her shell, and said, “Now I am
+safe.”
+
+It happened that an ipi had made the noise that scared the turtle. The
+ipi stopped and looked at the turtle with great curiosity. Then she,
+too, heard a noise and became suspicious in her turn, coiled round and
+made her scales as tight against each other as she could, and said also,
+“Now I am safe.”
+
+The noise had been made by a porcupine whose coat had the longest,
+hardest quills that porcupines have. It happened that he came between
+the ipi and the izomba. When he saw them, he stood still and looked at
+them both with great curiosity.
+
+Suddenly he heard a crash through the jungle. A dead branch of a tall
+tree had broken off and had fallen on the ground. He in his turn was so
+scared that he rolled himself up and put his quills out, for he thought
+njokoos had made the noise, and then he, too, exclaimed, “Now I am
+safe.”
+
+The three remained thus for sometime, feeling sure that so they were
+safe. At last, hearing no noise, the turtle peeped out slowly, her head
+and her four feet and tail issuing from her shell. The ipi, hearing no
+noise, unrolled herself, and so did the porcupine. Then the three looked
+at each other and wondered at their coats. The ipi said to the izomba,
+and to the porcupine, “Do not be afraid of me. I do not bite. I have no
+teeth and feed only on ants, so I cannot do you any harm.”
+
+[Illustration: [Ant-eater]]
+
+Next the porcupine said to the turtle and to the ipi: “Don’t be afraid.
+I am a rodent. I feed on roots, fruit, and nuts which I find on the
+ground. It is true I can bite, but I do not feed on blood and flesh;
+besides, my teeth could not go through your coats.”
+
+Then the turtle, looking at the ipi and the porcupine, said: “Do not be
+afraid. I am enclosed in a hard shell-like coat—this is to protect me. I
+live chiefly on leaves. I can bite terribly, but how could I ever bite
+you with the grand coats you have.”
+
+But, as it happened, the three did not understand one another, for each
+had a different language which belonged to their species. They kept
+talking nevertheless, each expressing his thoughts in his own way.
+
+The ipi, looking at the big scales fastened to the shell of the turtle,
+wondered why they could not move like her own, and thought to herself,
+“Strange indeed is the coat of the turtle.” She also wondered at the way
+the turtle had of hiding herself under her shell, for the turtle’s head,
+tail, and legs would now and then suddenly disappear.
+
+The porcupine, in the mean time, was examining the coat of the ipi and
+of the turtle. Finally he said to them: “I have the best coat of you
+all; when I make my formidable quills stand up, no one dares to handle
+or attack me or tread upon my body.”
+
+Then he gave a great porcupine laugh and cried: “Ipi and turtle, monkeys
+and men of the wood can toss you about; njokoos can tramp upon you,—for
+though your coat protects you it does not sting, pierce, or hurt like
+mine. You are harmless.”
+
+After a while all three went on their way to get their living, each
+thinking his coat better than the others’. It happened that the turtle
+came under a tree where a large nshiego (chimpanzee) was resting. When
+he saw the turtle he came down from his tree. When the turtle saw the
+nshiego come toward her, she drew her head, tail, and legs under her
+shell, for she was terribly afraid. It looked then as if the turtle were
+dead.
+
+But the nshiego had seen the turtle moving, and wondered what it was,
+and soon the poor, frightened turtle was in his two hands, and he turned
+her over, first on one side, then on the other, tossed her around, and,
+when he got tired, dropped her, and went away. The poor turtle had never
+been handled in that way before, and was so scared that she did not dare
+to peep her head out of her shell for a long time afterward, when she
+went into hiding under the roots of a big tree.
+
+The nshiego farther on met the porcupine, who when he saw the nshiego
+rolled himself up and put out his quills. The nshiego came up to him,
+looked at him carefully, and said to himself: “I am afraid of thee,
+porcupine, and I will not toss thee as I did the turtle, for those
+ugly-looking quills will pierce my hands and hurt me dreadfully. I am
+afraid of them.” And he went his way.
+
+Toward evening the same nshiego saw the ipi walking. When the ipi heard
+the nshiego, she rolled herself in a coil, and with all her strength
+made the coil as tight as she could. Then the nshiego came toward her,
+and soon the ipi was in his hands. He played with her, tossed her about,
+and, when tired, dropped her and went away.
+
+When the ipi came to her burrow, she told her mate all the things she
+had seen that day, of the turtle and the porcupine, and what had
+happened to her with the nshiego, and how afraid she had been.
+
+When the porcupine came to his burrow, he told his mate of the strange
+creatures he had met, of the ipi and the turtle, and said: “Dear, I met
+also a nshiego who stood by me quite a while, but, thanks to my good
+coat of quills, he did not dare to handle me, as I saw he did the turtle
+and the ipi.”
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+                      THE NGOOBOO, OR HIPPOPOTAMUS
+
+
+One day a big ngooboo, or hippopotamus, looking fondly at his mate,
+said: “Dear, what a pleasant home we have. Our shoal is surrounded by
+deep water. We swim and dive around it, and enjoy ourselves in the broad
+river. The animals of the forest cannot come and attack us; the water is
+too swift for the crocodiles, and though the huge njokoo loves to bathe,
+he does not dare to disturb us, for he only fights on land. Even if he
+did attack us, we could dodge him and his big dangerous tusks by diving
+and remaining under the water out of his sight, for he cannot dive.
+Besides we could attack him and lacerate him with our big, crooked,
+hook-like tusks.”
+
+Then he laughed in the fashion of the ngooboos, opening his enormous
+mouth and showing his tusks. “We could not,” he continued, “have chosen
+a better spot for a home. On one side of the river is the big forest, on
+the other is the extended prairie, where we go every night to graze and
+enjoy the juicy and succulent grass, unless we scent danger and think it
+wiser not to leave the river, in which case we have to dive and eat the
+grass growing at the bottom.”
+
+Looking affectionately at Mrs. Ngooboo, he then uttered a grunt and
+snort which meant, “I love you dearly.” He admired her greatly. He
+thought the rosy gray of her skin was the most beautiful he had ever
+seen, and her form the most graceful of figures. The ngooboos believe
+that they are handsomer than all other creatures, and that their
+ponderous, clumsy bodies and short, ugly legs are very lovely. The
+ngooboos are in nowise more conceited than all the other animals, each
+kind thinking itself the handsomest.
+
+One of the peculiarities of the ngooboos is that each family owns its
+shoal. It is their castle, and no other ngooboo is allowed to land
+there, and if they try, there is a fight; but when in the water they are
+friendly with one another. Each ngooboo knows his own shoal.
+
+The ngooboos forming the colony were about thirty in number, including
+the babies. When they stood, or were lying on their shoals, their heads
+and backs were above the water, and their bodies looked like huge,
+stranded logs. Sometimes at a certain angle their heads looked like the
+heads of horses, hence the white people call them hippopotami, which
+means river horses.
+
+“Do you remember, dear,” resumed Mr. Ngooboo, “when we migrated and came
+to the river in company with two other couples who live on yonder
+shoals? We were driven from our former homes by human beings, who had
+settled on the far-off prairie, made traps to ensnare us, and succeeded
+in capturing several of our number. At last we did not dare to land any
+more, so we concluded to leave the place and emigrate to some other
+country, and travelled until we discovered this beautiful river with its
+big prairie. Now we have prospered and increased in number, for this
+land has not many human beings.”
+
+[Illustration: [Hippopotamus]]
+
+“I remember it well,” replied Mrs. Ngooboo, looking fondly at her mate,
+coming near him and putting her head close to his. Then the two looked
+at their dear little baby, who was very tiny and only a few weeks old,
+and thought she was the sweetest little baby ngooboo they had ever seen,
+as well as the most beautiful. She had such lovely eyes, such a cunning
+little mouth, and she was so intelligent for her age,—in a word, she was
+such a wonderful baby that there was no other little ngooboo like her.
+
+The big ngooboo here took a plunge, remaining under water for a while,
+and reappearing on the surface, quite a way off from his shoal. Then he
+called to his mate, by peculiar grunts and snorts, which is the language
+of the ngooboos: “Be careful of our baby, for the current is swift.”
+
+Hearing the call of her mate, Mrs. Ngooboo plunged into deep water and
+swam toward him, watching the baby carefully all the while, and the
+baby, when tired, would come gently and rest on the back of her mamma,
+who was delighted.
+
+In a short time they were by the side of Papa Ngooboo. They took a swim,
+then ascended the river to their shoals. After they had rested a while,
+Mr. Ngooboo said to his mate: “Dear, our feet are so shaped that we can
+both walk on land and swim. Our straight and crooked tusks allow us to
+get the grass at the bottom of the river. We are so built that we can
+stay under water a long time.”
+
+The colony of ngooboos had a good time. They would play in the water,
+dive, and swim, often run after one another, and all this time the young
+ones were learning the wisdom belonging to the ngooboos.
+
+Once in a while a troop of monkeys who were travelling would look upon
+the ngooboos from their trees, on the wooded shores of the river, and
+would say, “We have never seen such an ugly creature in our lives.”
+
+Watching the ngooboos from among the thick trees lining the banks of the
+river were the small yellow osengi monkeys with their long tails, and
+their bosom friends, the hornbills, with their great beaks several
+inches long.
+
+[Illustration: [Hippopotamus]]
+
+The osengis and the hornbills are great chums; indeed, they seem to be
+inseparable. So that when other birds of the forest see first the
+osengis, they say, the hornbills are near; if they see the hornbills
+first, they say, the osengis are not far off, and food is plentiful, and
+berries and fruits are to be found; and if they feed on these, they say,
+let us follow them, or go ahead of them.
+
+How such friendship happens to exist between these two, no one can tell.
+It is the more unselfish in that, though they eat the same food, they
+never seem to quarrel about it. Sometimes the osengi would discover food
+first, sometimes the hornbills. “Kee, kee,” the osengis would often say
+plaintively to the hornbills, as they followed them; but the hornbills
+were always silent, never uttering a note, because they did not want
+other birds to know where they were.
+
+The little osengis love the neighborhood of rivers, whose banks they
+follow in their wanderings; they like to sleep on the branches spreading
+over the water. When birds or animals see them, they say gladly, if they
+are thirsty, “Water is near, for we see the osengis.”
+
+Every evening it is the custom of the ngooboos to land and pasture on
+the prairie; they generally land two or three hours after the sun sets,
+that is, between eight and nine o’clock.
+
+At such times there is a great deal of grunting and snorting among them.
+They talk to one another, and each snort or grunt has a meaning. The
+ngooboos are very suspicious when they go on shore, for they do not feel
+at home on land as they do in the water.
+
+Some ngooboos were now seen ascending and descending the river, going to
+their respective landing-places, for they are accustomed to land at the
+same spot every night and follow the path they have made.
+
+After the ngooboos had approached their landing-places, they swam
+silently to and fro, to see if they could scent any danger. Once in a
+while the subdued snort of the leader was heard, saying, “Not yet, we
+must wait a little while. We must make sure that the coast is clear,”
+
+At last a very peculiar snort was heard by the followers of the leader,
+signifying, “Now be ready, we are going to land.” And all the ngooboos
+swam silently toward him after they heard this.
+
+Then the old leader, who had led them many a time, landed, and entered
+the path. Each ngooboo landed in turn, and they all followed him in
+single file, going to the place where they pastured.
+
+One of the great faculties possessed by the ngooboos, as well as by most
+if not all the ruminant animals, is that they can see as well during the
+night as they do during the day.
+
+The moon had just risen, and threw its dim light upon the ngooboos, as
+they walked silently following their leader, their huge bodies looking
+strange as they walked in single file. They appeared like supernatural
+creatures wandering in the prairie.
+
+The mboyos (jackals) and the hyenas, as they scented the huge creatures,
+said, “Let us keep out of the way of the ngooboos,” and made off. After
+proceeding a few miles, the ngooboos reached their browsing place of the
+day before. As they were eating, the big ngooboo, their leader, gave two
+or three gentle snorts, which meant, “Look yonder far away, there is a
+herd of niarés [buffaloes].” All the ngooboos looked and saw the
+buffaloes and said: “We are not afraid of the buffalo; they cannot toss
+us in the air as they do njegos or human beings. Next to the njokoos, we
+are the heaviest and biggest creatures of this land. Besides, their
+horns are so placed on their heads that they cannot pierce our bodies.
+We are not afraid of them, for their way of fighting is to charge and
+toss. If these buffaloes dare to attack us, we will lacerate and cut
+their bodies with our crooked and sharp tusks.”
+
+At the same time they all opened their mouths and laughed. Ugly and
+formidable indeed were their tusks, which weighed four and five pounds
+each. Then they gave grunts of defiance which the buffaloes heard, and
+straightway walked off, saying, “The ngooboos are coming our way, but we
+can run faster than they, and they cannot catch us.” They also laughed
+in their turn and said, “Catch us if you can, ngooboos, with your clumsy
+bodies and short legs. You will get tired before we do.”
+
+The ngooboos continued to pasture, enjoying their night meal. That night
+the grass seemed very juicy and good to them. Suddenly they stopped
+browsing. They scented danger. They looked in the direction where the
+scent came from and saw coming from a cluster of trees a large herd of
+njokoos. The leader grunted, saying to his followers: “Here are the
+njokoos. How ponderous and powerful they are! How small we are compared
+with them! No creatures possess such strength. They can also walk or run
+much faster than we can, for their legs are longer than ours. Look at
+the huge tusks of some of them.”
+
+Soon the leader, who had been attentively observing the herd of
+elephants, said: “The njokoos are coming our way. Let us go back as fast
+as we can to our river, for we cannot fight the njokoos on land; they
+would charge and pierce us with their big tusks and kill us.”
+
+“Yes,” said all the ngooboos, “it would not be pleasant to be impaled
+and get those big tusks between our ribs.”
+
+The ngooboos went back to the river as fast as they could, their leader
+hurrying them on. But the scent of the njokoos became stronger and
+stronger, and thus showed the ngooboos that the njokoos were nearing
+them, and they did their best to run still faster. At last they came to
+the river and plunged into its water and in the course of time reached
+their different shoals.
+
+There they felt strong. They all laughed and said, “Now we are at home
+in the water and can fight the njokoos.” But they added sadly, “What a
+pity that we did not get our full night meal, the grass tasted so good!”
+
+It is the custom of the ngooboos living in this river to cross the
+prairie and bathe in the Atlantic Ocean two or three times a year. The
+prairie was bounded on one side by the river and on the other by the
+sea.
+
+One day it was agreed among all the families of ngooboos that they
+should go to the beach the following night, and enjoy themselves
+swimming in the surf if the sea was not too rough. So when night came
+the ngooboos landed and began their journey toward the seashore.
+
+[Illustration: “_How they enjoyed their sea bath_”]
+
+It was full moon and the journey to the ocean was made without mishaps.
+One family after another arrived on the beach. The ngooboos were greatly
+excited. They talked among themselves. There was great rejoicing among
+them. They sniffed the sea breeze and looked at the surf and at the
+broad sea before them and wondered why there was not a shore on the
+other side as on the river. They tramped around on the beach for quite a
+while.
+
+Then the leaders of the different families said to their followers, “Let
+us go into the sea.” They grunted and snorted on the way, walked slowly
+through the surf, and losing their footing began to swim, though they
+did not dare to go far. They grunted loudly and threw water several feet
+high through their nostrils, as they did on the river.
+
+They had a grand time. How they enjoyed their sea bath! How they
+laughed! Their loud snorts and grunts were heard by all the creatures in
+the neighborhood.
+
+After they landed, they said to each other, “What fine fun we had in the
+sea!” Then they went to the prairie and grazed, and enjoyed their meal
+heartily. Gradually they wended their way back to the river, which they
+reached toward four o’clock in the morning, when each family went to its
+shoal.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+                        A FIGHT FOR MISS NGOOBOO
+
+
+Time went on, and Miss Ngooboo as she grew up became more and more
+beautiful and attractive in the eyes of the young ngooboos.
+
+On the two other shoals were young ngooboos who fell very much in love
+with her. They would come before her shoal, swim, dive, give snorts or
+grunts, telling her how much they loved her; but Papa and Mamma Ngooboo
+watched her carefully when she would go out to swim and would themselves
+swim between her and her two admirers. She was too young yet, the old
+folks thought, to be taken away from them.
+
+Day after day her two admirers would display themselves before her, show
+her how they could dive and swim, each trying to surpass the other in
+these accomplishments. Miss Ngooboo looked at them complacently,
+enjoying the fun. But before very long the two admirers began to be very
+jealous of each other, and uttering grunts of defiance and hatred, dared
+each other to a fight. When they came together in swimming they would
+look at each other fiercely and say, “If you do not stop coming, I will
+give you a trouncing.” “I dare you,” would answer the other. So the days
+passed.
+
+[Illustration: “_Then ensued a terrible fight_”]
+
+One day Miss Ngooboo seemed to show preference for the one whose shoal
+was the nearest to hers. The rejected rival became furious. He shouted
+with terrific and angry snorts that Miss Ngooboo was to be his, and that
+he would fight for possession of her. The other said he would do
+likewise, for she was to be his. Both went back to their shoals full of
+fight and hating each other more than ever.
+
+The next day, as Miss Ngooboo was on her shoal by the side of her mamma
+and papa, the young ngooboo admirer that was her neighbor left his shoal
+and swam toward her.
+
+When his rival, who was watching him with jealous eyes, saw this, he
+left his shoal and swam toward her also, with fight in his eyes. He had
+made up his mind to settle the quarrel that day ngooboo fashion, and
+decide by single combat to which of the two rivals Miss Ngooboo was to
+belong. He was very sly and swam under the water.
+
+His rival was so busy making love to Miss Ngooboo that he had not seen
+him leave his shoal, neither did Miss Ngooboo, who was standing on her
+shoal by the side of her parents, who now thought she was big enough to
+attend to herself and choose her own mate.
+
+Suddenly there surged from under the water ngooboo number two, having
+inflicted a severe gash with his crooked teeth on his rival, who had not
+known of his presence before the attack. Then ensued a terrible fight
+for the possession of Miss Ngooboo. The two ngooboos rushed at each
+other, opening their huge and hideous mouths, and showing their crooked
+tusks, with which they inflicted fearful gashes. Sometimes one dodged
+the onslaught by diving, then the other, furious at missing his
+antagonist, would dive and pursue him under the water, and there a great
+fight would take place which no one could witness. Then both would
+reappear, giving grunts of rage and defiance.
+
+The water around where they fought was a mass of white foam. There was
+great excitement among all the ngooboos of the colony at the sight.
+Grunts were heard everywhere, but they remained neutral. Miss Ngooboo,
+from her shoal, was looking on, perfectly mute, not a grunt coming from
+her mouth.
+
+Often the two rivals advanced and retreated, watching their opportunity
+to strike without being hurt in return. The water became red with their
+blood. After a long and terrible fight one of the two showed signs of
+fatigue. His body was fearfully lacerated. At last he fled, swimming and
+diving in the direction of his shoal, pursued by his enemy. He had been
+thoroughly vanquished.
+
+The victor returned to Miss Ngooboo and ascended her shoal, and was
+received by the old folks as worthy of the hand of their daughter. After
+this, every time his vanquished rival saw him, he fled out of his way.
+
+The colony of ngooboos had increased so that all the shoals were taken.
+The young couple, seeing that there was no room for them, decided to
+migrate to some other part of the river or to some other country. So
+they bade good-by to the old folks, and to the other ngooboos, and went
+in search of a new home. There was a great concert of grunts when they
+said farewell.
+
+Ascending the river they searched for shoals, but could not find there
+what they wanted. At night they would go and graze on the prairie. The
+ngooboos have the great gift of scenting water a long way off. As they
+found no home on the river, they entered the forest and crossed some
+small rivers and came to a prairie, where they scented water. They
+proceeded toward it, and after a while beheld a beautiful little lake,
+at which they were greatly delighted. Soon after, they were swimming in
+its cool water. There were no shoals in the lake, but its shores were
+not abrupt; they sloped gently. The young couple said to each other:
+“This is a good place; let us settle here. There is plenty of grass
+around us. In the water we shall be protected during the day, and at
+night we shall find plenty to eat.”
+
+The next day they saw a large herd of elephants coming toward the lake,
+and they dived under the water. The njokoos took a bath and went away.
+Every day kambis and many animals came to drink, but the ngooboos were
+not disturbed by the sight.
+
+There they lived happily for many years and raised a family of their
+own.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+                   THE FIVE APES, OR MEN OF THE WOODS
+
+
+One day it came to pass that strange-looking apes, called by the human
+beings of the forest “men of the woods,” came to the same part of the
+forest to find food. They are called “men of the woods” because their
+resemblance to human beings is striking. They are very ugly, but they
+themselves think they are very good looking,—in fact, the handsomest
+creatures in the forest.
+
+These men of the woods live in the deepest and gloomiest part of the
+great forest, for they shun open places and the presence of human
+beings, with their noise. The different species or varieties are called
+nginas, nshiegos, mbouvés, nkengos, kooloo-kambas. Every one of these
+has a language of its own, distinct from the others.
+
+Their ancestors, like themselves, were born in the forest and lived in
+it,—in a word, the men of the woods had lived there for numberless ages,
+thousands and thousands of years ago. The reason they live in the great
+forest, and cannot live in any other part of the land, is because they
+subsist on fruit, berries, nuts, canes, and saplings, and these are
+found all the year round, for it is always warm in the country, and the
+fruit-bearing trees are very abundant.
+
+These men of the woods never kill creatures to eat. They roam from one
+place to another in order to procure a living, and the amount of food
+consumed in a day is very great. They have the same gifts as the other
+animals. Having a good memory, they know their way through the forest
+and dense jungle, and the seasons of the year when the fruits are ripe
+at such and such a place.
+
+The male ngina is the most powerful of all the men of the woods. He is
+called the Giant, the Powerful. He can conquer every other ape. His
+strength is so great that no one of them dares to attack him. When
+suddenly surprised, he attacks human beings, and with terrible muscular
+arms and with open hand he kills them by a single blow. His strength is
+that of about twelve strong men together.
+
+He is blacker than soot, and his children are born as black as he is. A
+big ngina weighs from three to four hundred pounds. He is all bones,
+sinews, and muscles. His body is covered with hair not very thick, and
+his skin is almost as thick as that of an ox. He is from five to six
+feet in height.
+
+The nshiego or mbouvé averages from about three feet ten inches to four
+feet four inches in height, and is in many respects a stranger creature
+than the ngina. He is smaller and far from being as strong, but
+nevertheless, in a hand-to-hand fight with a man, the latter would not
+have the slightest chance, and would be torn to pieces. Man without
+weapons is very weak and helpless, but the mbouvé never attacks man, but
+flies at his approach.
+
+The nshiego mbouvé is bald-headed when adult, and very black, with a
+body thinly covered with hair. But a wonderful thing is that though the
+parents are very black, the children are born perfectly white. As the
+young mbouvé grows older his complexion gradually changes, the white
+color gradually tanning, and then becoming darker and darker until
+finally black patches show themselves on the face, and at last he
+becomes entirely black and of the color of his parents.
+
+The nkengo is born tan yellow, of the color of his parents, and remains
+so to the end of his days. He also has no rosy cheeks and never blushes
+or becomes red in the face, no matter how enraged he becomes. His
+complexion is very much like that of the Moors, or of the people who lie
+on the sands all summer on the seashore. He attains sometimes a height
+of four feet and a half, and is very strong.
+
+The nshiego, or the common chimpanzee, is born yellow, but gradually
+turns very black like his parents. He is about the same size as the
+nshiego mbouvé.
+
+The kooloo-kamba is born black and remains so all his life. He is a
+strong-looking creature. He has an almost round head, prominent
+cheek-bones, large ears (a characteristic of all the men of the woods),
+and is about the size of the nkengo.
+
+The nshiegos, the mbouvés, the nkengos, the kooloo-kambas have long
+arms, big ears, elongated hands and feet, and long fingers, thus showing
+that a great part of their lives is spent upon trees.
+
+The nginas, on the contrary, have very small ears, broad, powerful, and
+short hands, short fingers, thick, broad, short feet of great strength
+and power for grasping, and have shorter arms than all the other apes.
+
+All the apes use their feet as hands.
+
+The mbouvés and the nkengos are the two most intelligent of the men of
+the woods. They are the only ones that build bowers on the trees, so
+that they can say they have a home.
+
+The ngina is by far the fiercest of all the apes, and builds no shelter
+of any kind whatever, and he is such a huge feeder that he has to roam
+through the forest more than all the other apes.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+           THE NGINAS, OR GORILLAS, AND NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS
+
+
+Huge male ngina, or gorilla, was standing perfectly still one day in a
+very dense part of the forest. He was thinking. He looked fierce and
+ugly. His intensely black face was furrowed with deep wrinkles. Under
+his overhanging brows, his gray, vindictive eyes seemed to flash hate
+and ferocity. His neck was so short that his head appeared set on his
+huge broad shoulders,—a sign of his herculean strength. His chest was so
+broad that two human beings side by side standing behind him could not
+have been seen. His belly protruded, his arms were of immense strength,
+and his body was supported by short, flexible muscular legs without
+calves.
+
+Looking down finally at his feet, he exclaimed, “With these I can
+clutch.” What a big foot he had! Then he stretched his long muscular
+arms and looked at the palms of his hands, which were as hard as horn,
+then at his callous fingers and at his black nails, and muttered, “When
+I strike with these, I kill. I break the ribs of creatures, or I kill
+them outright, and when my hands hold something, nothing is powerful
+enough to take it away from my clutches;” and he grinned and looked more
+horrid and repulsive than before.
+
+[Illustration: [Gorilla]]
+
+Then he beat his chest with his great fist. The sound was like that of a
+huge partly muffled drum, for his chest was as hard as wood. To try his
+immense strength, he went to a tree several inches in diameter near him,
+and seizing it with both hands and feet broke it in two as if it had
+been a young sapling. He was delighted when he saw how strong he was,
+and gave a chuckle of satisfaction, a horrid one peculiar to the nginas.
+
+Looking round, he saw a big thigh-bone of a very large antelope, which
+had been devoured by a njego. He picked it up and crushed it into
+splinters between his jaws, which have more power than those of a lion.
+Then he gave another chuckle of satisfaction, for he saw how hard he
+could bite an enemy.
+
+Then he yelled. These yells sounded somewhat like the barking of angry
+dogs, only a hundred times louder. They were followed by roar after
+roar, which filled the great forest with their din and were re-echoed
+from hill to hill until they sounded like distant thunder.
+
+All the animals and birds of the forest were filled with fear and said,
+“The huge ngina speaks. No one among us has such a powerful voice.”
+
+These roars were roars of defiance with which he challenged the
+creatures of the forest to come and fight him. In his pride he thought
+himself the ruler of the great forest. After he stopped roaring there
+was a great silence. All the animals were filled with fright.
+
+Suddenly the shrill trumpeting of a njokoo was heard. It was indeed a
+fearful trumpeting, a trumpeting of defiance. It meant: “I am not afraid
+of you, ngina, neither of your yells and roars. If you should ever dare
+to attack me and seize my trunk, I could crush you against a tree. And
+if you climbed on my back, I would run, and the branches of the trees
+under which I would pass would make short work of you.” After the
+challenge of the njokoo to the ngina came another silence. It was soon
+broken, however. Once more the ngina gave terrific yells and roars. The
+njokoo at the same time repeated his ugly trumpeting. Both continued for
+some time, but they did not come together, nor even in sight of each
+other.
+
+The ngina was thinking: “No creature of this forest can fight the
+njokoo. Not even I with my great strength would dare to attack him, for
+though I can kill a leopard, I cannot kill a njokoo. If he comes to
+attack me, I can climb a tree which he cannot uproot, and from there I
+can dare him and yell and roar at him.”
+
+After a while the njokoo and the ngina went each his own way. No wonder
+that the human beings of the forest, who possess only spears and arrows,
+are afraid of the ngina and never dare to attack him. Woe to those who
+come unexpectedly upon one, for a single blow from the hand of the
+monster would suffice to slay a man!
+
+The ngina wandered through the forest in the direction of his mate and
+baby, who were far away. They held a conversation, though they were
+several miles apart, and when they met they greeted each other with
+great affection.
+
+The big ugly creatures looked at each other and at their baby ngina, and
+once in a while gave chuckles which in the ngina language meant, “How
+happy I am! How I love you both!” The baby ngina was about two years old
+and was trying to break with its teeth some of the nuts which had fallen
+on the ground, but his jaws were not yet strong enough to do so. His
+mouth was yet too small for nuts of such a size. Mamma Ngina came to his
+help, crushed them with her powerful jaws, and handed the pits to her
+little one, uttering a peculiar sound at the same time, which meant,
+“Here, dear, are the cracked nuts. Take them.” He, in return, made some
+kind of noise expressing his feelings, which might be translated, “I
+thank you, Mamma Ngina.”
+
+The baby ngina was just beginning to learn the language of the nginas
+from his father and mother, who taught him to speak, and he was making
+good progress.
+
+As the nginas were enjoying their nuts, they were suddenly disturbed by
+the sharp whistling buzz of an ibolai fly, which was trying to alight
+upon their bodies and bite them. “Bother the ibolai fly!” said the big
+ngina; “it bites so hard.” At the same time his eyes were watching for a
+chance to catch it, but the ibolai was so quick in its motion that he
+could not follow it.
+
+The ibolai is cunning, and succeeded, unknown to him, in getting on the
+ngina’s back, and gave him a most painful bite. The pain made the ngina
+cry out. At that very time a fly called the nchouna, which makes no
+noise at all and which is very cunning and sly, alighted on the face of
+his mate, inserted its bill in her cheek so gently that she did not feel
+it, and, after having had its fill of blood, left without its presence
+being known. Soon after, the itching began, giving at times sharp stings
+of pain.
+
+“Bother the nchouna!” she cried angrily; “they are so sly that one never
+knows when they alight upon one and the pain is only felt after the fly
+has left. I wish all the nchounas were dead.”
+
+A short time afterward the nginas heard a sharp whistle made by an iboco
+fly, as it flew round them with such rapidity that their eyes could not
+follow it in its course. The iboco would at times go far away and then
+come back. At last it succeeded in alighting on the back of the big
+ngina, who suddenly uttered a howl of pain.
+
+“What is the matter, dear?” inquired her mate.
+
+“Don’t speak of it; an iboco has given me a fearful bite. These ibocos
+are the worst flies I know of. Let us get out of the way of the nchouna,
+the ibolai, and the iboco, and go into the thickest part of the jungle.
+There they will have no room to fly around us in.” And they immediately
+moved into the thick jungle.
+
+After they were comfortably seated in the jungle, the big ngina said to
+his mate: “We have to roam continually, far and wide in the forest, to
+get our living, and we eat so much every day that we cannot stay long in
+one place. It is about time for us to travel toward the land of
+pineapples. These must be good to eat now, for it is the moon of
+thunder, great heat and rain. That land is a long way off, but we will
+manage to get a living as we journey along. The tondos [a red fruit
+growing above the ground] are plentiful, and we shall find also many
+nuts.”
+
+Toward sunset, when it was time for the nginas to go to sleep, they came
+to a fine tree, and the huge fellow said to his mate, “Here is a good
+place for us to spend the night.” Then Mamma Ngina ascended the tree
+with her baby hanging to her, and seated herself on a heavy cross
+branch, and placed her back against the trunk of the tree. After she was
+comfortably settled, she looked down and said to her mate, “I know,
+dear, that you will let no animal climb this tree, even if it is a
+njego, and that you will fight to the death to protect us, for we do not
+fight.”
+
+“Surely,” answered her mate, with roars of defiance, “I will protect you
+and our little one.”
+
+Then he made himself comfortable on the ground, as was his custom every
+evening, at the foot of the tree, where his mate slept, resting his back
+against the trunk. That night their sleep was much disturbed, for a
+leopard was in their neighborhood. He was lonely and wanted a mate, and
+called for one, but he did not attack them.
+
+At dawn they left their sleeping-place, and going first in search of
+their breakfast, picked berries, nuts, and fruits, as they travelled in
+the direction of the land of the pineapples, for they knew the way,
+having been there before. Sometimes they had to separate during the day,
+as there was not food enough for them all in any one place, but they
+always remained within the sound of one another’s voices.
+
+That evening, before they went to sleep, the big ngina said to his mate:
+“To-morrow we will travel fast. Many nginas are travelling to the land
+of the pineapples, as we are; and if we are late, we shall find that all
+the pineapples have been eaten up, and we shall have made our long
+journey for nothing.”
+
+Toward dawn they were awakened by the cackling of partridges calling for
+their mates. But it was not light enough for them to start. At daybreak
+Mamma Ngina and her baby came down from their tree, and after greeting
+one another the three continued their journey to the land of the
+pineapples.
+
+They passed through a region where food was scarce, so they broke
+saplings of certain trees, tearing the outside and eating the heart,
+that was very juicy and sweet, and the baby ngina was never forgotten
+and was the first to be fed, and when they saw a few berries, these were
+always for him.
+
+One day the big ngina left his mate and baby and wandered through the
+forest. After a while he scented leopards. At once the hair on his body
+became erect, and he gave terrific yells and roars of defiance. When he
+came to the lair of the leopards, he yelled again, but the leopards were
+out seeking food for their young. Suddenly the big ngina became silent,
+for his eyes were trying to see into the lair. Finally he made out three
+little baby leopards walking about, and with one of his huge long arms
+he seized one and flung him to the ground, killing him instantly. Then
+he slew the two others in the same way and went off to rejoin his mate
+and baby, to defend them against the njegos, should the latter be
+prowling near them.
+
+Great indeed was the rage of the leopards when they returned and saw
+their young lying dead, but by that time the nginas were far away.
+
+After a few days’ journey they came to the land of the pineapples, which
+extended as far as the sea. Here they rejoiced greatly, and said, “The
+pineapples are just right. We have come in good time.”
+
+The pineapples were still green and hard; but they made great havoc
+among them. The big ngina ate at least a barrel full without stopping,
+his big stomach sticking out as if he had swallowed a barrel itself.
+Then they went to rest in the thick of the forest, for where pineapples
+grow in abundance the trees are not thick, and the nginas do not like to
+spend the night in such exposed places.
+
+The next morning the big ngina said to his mate, “To-day let us change
+our food. Let us go after nuts, for we shall be sick if we eat
+pineapples day after day.”
+
+They found trees with plenty of nuts on that day, and stopped only when
+they could not eat any more. The following day they went back to the
+pineapple land, and there met a number of nginas who had come to feast
+on the fruit. And as there was plenty of food for all, there was no
+quarrelling, and the younger nginas made love to those who were not
+mated.
+
+After a few days the nginas began to get very fat. They approached the
+sea and wondered what the constant booming was. At first they were shy,
+but as the booming continued, their fear left them, and they walked
+toward the Atlantic. Pineapples were still plentiful even near the
+shore. They looked thoughtfully at the big sea. What they thought only
+themselves knew.
+
+After leaving the land of the pineapples, the three nginas wandered
+through the forest, and got far away from the sea. At times they had
+trouble to find food with which to satisfy their hunger, and had to go
+during the day through large districts of the forest to seek it, and
+many a time they went to sleep hungry and with their big stomachs much
+shrunken. They had to separate during the day after, and each went in
+search of food for himself, and before sunset they met again. Sometimes
+when one of them came to a spot where food was abundant, he would call
+the others to come, telling of the lucky find.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XX
+    THE NGINAS TRAVEL TO A PLANTAIN FIELD; THEIR STRANGE ADVENTURES
+
+
+One day the big ngina said to his mate: “Dear, do you remember the large
+field of plantain-trees that we discovered last rainy season? The trees
+must be big now and bearing fruit. How juicy must be the large bunches
+they bear! It is about time for us to travel toward them. Oh, what a
+feast we will have!” his face showing joy at the prospect, for he
+fancied he was already in the field and eating the succulent plantains.
+Of all the fruits growing in the forest, the ngina likes the plantain
+best.
+
+“We shall have to hurry on our journey,” said the big fellow, “lest the
+njokoos get to the place before us.”
+
+So the following morning they departed, the baby ngina walking close to
+his mother. They knew the way to the plantain field.
+
+It was the height of the rainy season, and tornadoes were common, and
+these were followed by very heavy rains, accompanied by terrific thunder
+and lightning. “The plantain-trees,” said the ngina to his mate, “are a
+long way off, and if the huge njokoos, who are such great eaters, reach
+the place before we do, they will eat everything, and we shall have made
+our journey in vain. Let us hurry as fast as we can, so as to be there
+before their arrival, for the njokoos ramble far and wide in the forest,
+and some of them may have discovered the place also.” So they started on
+their journey.
+
+The nginas met with many adventures on their way to the plantain fields
+that day. Toward sunset it began to rain very hard, and there was heavy
+thunder and sharp lightning. Soon they came to a place where they saw
+three huge boulders close together, and these were sheltered by the
+thick foliage of a large tree. The two nginas looked at each other,
+saying: “This is a good place to be in for the night. We will sleep
+under this tree.” They set their backs against one of the large
+boulders, and the baby ngina went to sleep in the lap of his mother. The
+rain dropped heavily from the leaves upon them. They slept with their
+heads hanging down on their chests. Their sleep was very light, and the
+falling of a leaf would have waked them. Besides, they were on the
+lookout for njegos, snakes, and other creatures.
+
+When the morning came they saluted each other. The big fellow came close
+to his mate, and uttered certain sounds which meant, “Dear, I love you.”
+Then he extended his long arm and petted his little one, and soon they
+started again on their journey to the plantain field. Nothing unusual
+happened. They met two or three omembas (snakes) and some kambis
+(antelopes), and found enough to eat to satisfy their hunger.
+
+When evening came, they saw a fine large tree, where the little ngina
+and his mother could rest comfortably. Both ascended the tree, and the
+old fellow slept at the foot. Toward midnight there was a great
+thunderstorm, the rain fell in torrents, the claps of thunder were
+incessant, and the lightning was most vivid, and after one terrific clap
+of thunder, a vivid flash pierced through the forest, and the
+thunderbolt struck the tree next to theirs. The nginas gave a terrific
+yell of alarm. They fled, and wandered about in the darkness, for they
+could not see their way well. Suddenly the big ngina stepped on a huge
+python and gave another yell; but before the serpent could attack him,
+he gave him a terrible bite and killed him. Ere long they found another
+good tree for sleeping in, and ascended it for the rest of the night.
+
+They were delighted when morning came. “What an awful night we have
+had!” the old fellow said to his mate. “That is the first time in my
+life that I have seen lightning strike so near us. We have narrowly
+escaped with our lives.”
+
+In the course of the day they came to a part of the forest where the
+ground was soft. The big ngina saw the footprints of a njego. At this
+sight his hair stood erect on his body, this being a sign of fear and
+anger. Looking at his mate, he said, “Here are the footprints of a
+njego.” Then both inspected them closely and she said, “We must be
+careful to-night, for the njego makes such tremendous leaps that one is
+never sure of his life.”
+
+[Illustration: “_He gave him a terrible bite_”]
+
+It happened that the njego was famished on that day, and left his lair
+before the night had come, to prowl in the forest in search of prey, for
+the leopard can see in the daytime, though he sees much better at night.
+The big ngina, who was on a tree busy eating fruit, suddenly saw the
+njego coming toward his tree. At this sight his hair became erect again,
+his eyes showing some fright at first, but he recovered himself
+speedily, and soon they looked full of anger. He remained silent and
+waited for the leopard to pass under his tree. He had not to wait long,
+and then, quick as an arrow, he fell upon the njego’s back and with one
+of his powerful vise-like feet seized the nape of the leopard’s neck
+with such force, holding it down, that the leopard could not move his
+head, and with his other foot on his back near his tail he held his body
+on the ground. Then he gave a quick jerk, stretched the body of the
+njego, and broke his spine. The njego gave a terrific scream, a few
+groans, and was dead.
+
+The ngina dropped the njego from his clutches, looked fiercely at his
+body, and, seated on his haunches, gave several yells, and with open
+hands struck it with tremendous force, breaking some of the ribs and
+severing the body almost in two. While he was doing this, his mate
+appeared with their baby ngina. At the sight she uttered a fearful
+scream, and the little fellow, full of fear, climbed into a small tree.
+
+The following morning, as they were enjoying a breakfast of nuts,
+suddenly they heard a great crash through the jungle. A herd of
+elephants was coming toward them. Forthwith they ascended a tree, and
+soon after the njokoos passed near them. When they were gone, the nginas
+said: “These njokoos are not going our way. They are going in an
+opposite direction and are foraging. It is a good thing they know
+nothing about our plantain field; if they did, we should find no
+plantains upon our arrival there.” That very same afternoon, they saw a
+huge omemba (snake) coiled round a tree and looking them steadily in the
+face. The big ngina at the sight gave a tremendous yell of anger, but he
+and his family passed safely by.
+
+They continued their journey and came to a river. Some kambis on the
+opposite shore were drinking. As they raised their heads, they saw the
+nginas and said: “The nginas are not among our enemies, for they do not
+live on blood, and we do not eat the same kind of food. We need not be
+worried, anyhow, for nginas do not swim across rivers.” Whereupon the
+kambis went their way in peace and unconcerned.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI
+        THE NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS, TRAVEL TO THE PLANTAIN FIELD
+
+
+Now the very day the nginas had departed for the plantain field, a
+number of njokoos, forming a big herd, said among themselves: “At the
+beginning of the last rainy season, we passed a part of the forest where
+there were a great many plantain-trees. By this time they must be
+bearing big heavy bunches of plantains. These must be juicy and good to
+eat now.” The njokoos trumpeted all at the same time, “Yes, let us go
+and travel there at once, for we all like plantains.”
+
+This was the very same plantain field of which the three nginas had
+spoken, and toward which they were journeying. Then the leader of the
+herd, with his little, cunning eyes, said: “Let us start at once. We
+will even travel at night for fear that other njokoos might reach the
+place before us, and we should then find everything eaten up on our
+arrival.”
+
+When the elephants heard their leader talk in that way, they became very
+excited, swayed their bodies from side to side, flapped their large ears
+against their heads, and uttered shrill trumpetings that filled the
+forest and meant in the njokoo language, “Let us hurry up for fear other
+njokoos may be ahead of us, and when we arrive we shall find that they
+have eaten up everything.”
+
+The njokoos have a great advantage over the nginas. They can travel at
+night as well as in the day; but the nginas, like the human beings, the
+monkeys, and other day creatures, have to sleep at night. So the
+elephants started on their journey to the plantain-trees in a hurry, and
+trampled the jungle under their feet, broke many saplings that came in
+their way, and left a big track behind them.
+
+They travelled at a great rate, and many miles a day, for their aim was
+to reach the plantain field before any one else. They kept on night and
+day, crossing mountains and swimming through rivers, and it was
+sometimes hard travelling, for they had to avoid bogs and parts of the
+forest filled with thorny cane.
+
+At last the njokoos reached the promised land. One day at noon they came
+to the plantain field. Great indeed was their joy when they saw the
+plantain-trees loaded with heavy bunches of big, juicy, green fruit.
+They all uttered trumpetings of gladness. The chief of the herd felt
+quite proud to have led them to the place. It did not take long for the
+whole herd to be in the middle of the plantain-trees. They committed
+great havoc. Not one of the njokoos made any noise at this time, for
+fear they should be heard by other njokoos, and thus betray their
+presence in the plantain field.
+
+When they could not eat any more plantains, they retired into the
+forest, for they felt safer in the thicket of the jungle.
+
+The next night the leader of the herd trumpeted for the elephants to
+assemble and get ready to go to the plantain field. The njokoos
+understood different trumpetings just as soldiers understand the
+meanings of the different sounds of the bugle. All came round their
+chief, who took the lead, and they walked toward the plantain field,
+just as the moon rose over the forest; the huge creatures could be seen
+destroying the trees, tearing them down and eating the fruit; and then,
+when their hunger was satisfied, they returned to the thick of the
+forest.
+
+After four days there was not a plantain-tree standing, and as they left
+their trumpeting was joyous. They were laughing and saying: “The njokoos
+and nginas will find nothing if they come. We have eaten everything. We
+only play the same trick that other njokoos have played on us. How many
+times have we come to a place when it was too late!” Saying this, they
+disappeared in the forest.
+
+The very same day the njokoos left, the nginas in their turn approached
+the plantain fields, the old ngina saying to his mate, “Let us be
+careful, for we are coming where there is no forest.” They walked
+slowly, and now and then would raise themselves erect to see if there
+was any danger. When they reached the plantain field, the njokoos had
+just gone.
+
+To their disgust, disappointment, and dismay they saw that the njokoos
+had been there before them, that the trees were all down, and that there
+was not a bunch of plantains left.
+
+“The njokoos have been here,” shouted the big ngina, in a rage, and gave
+vent to roar after roar. His mate did likewise. Then he said to her,
+“These horrid njokoos have not even left a tree standing. They have
+eaten our plantains.” For the nginas thought these plantains belonged to
+them. The njokoos had thought likewise. The big fellow was so
+disappointed and angry that he repeated again and again his roars of
+rage and defiance. He was ready to fight anything he met.
+
+The njokoos, who were not yet far away, heard him, and laughed among
+themselves, and trumpeted back: “We are not afraid of you, nginas. You
+dare not come and attack us. We are the ones who have eaten all the
+plantains.”
+
+So the nginas left the place with empty stomachs, and feeling in a very
+bad humor against the njokoos. They had hardly left when another herd of
+njokoos, who also knew of the place, made their appearance, and when
+they saw the plantain field destroyed, they trumpeted, “We are too late.
+Other njokoos have been here before us,” and they, too, went away
+feeling not in the best of humor. And soon after their departure some
+other nginas also familiar with the place appeared on the field, and
+when they saw its devastated condition, they too were disappointed, and
+departed, saying to one another, “We are too late. We are too late.”
+
+
+
+
+                                  XXII
+         ARRIVAL OF THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO OWN THE PLANTAIN FIELD
+
+
+It so happened that the plantain field which the njokoos had destroyed
+had been planted by human beings who were cannibals. They were great
+hunters, very brave and fierce, knew the use of firearms, and had guns
+with which they shot many njokoos. It was the custom of these men to
+have their plantations hidden in the forest and far away from their
+villages. Many of these were so far off that a day’s journey was
+necessary for them to go and come back with a load of plantains on their
+backs. It was hard work for these men of the forest to make a
+plantation, for they had first to fell the forest trees, and, when
+partly dry, to set fire to them, and then to plant the shoots.
+
+Two days after the njokoos had left, some of the women of the tribe to
+whom the field belonged, came to get plantains to take back with them to
+feed their people. When they saw that all the plantain-trees had been
+torn down, and the fruit devoured, and witnessed the havoc the njokoos
+had wrought, they exclaimed, “The njokoos have been here and eaten up
+everything. What shall we do to feed our families?” They also saw the
+footprints of nginas and were filled with fear. They started for their
+village in great haste, making loud noises to scare the monsters off.
+
+On their return, as they entered their village, they shouted: “Listen;
+the njokoos are near our plantations. They have already destroyed one of
+them, and eaten up everything, and if they are not driven away we shall
+be hungry in days to come, for they will destroy other fields of
+plantains.”
+
+There was great excitement among the human beings when they heard the
+doleful news. They shouted: “The hard work we had to cut these trees and
+make this plantation has been all for nothing.” The warriors and hunters
+swore vengeance, and vowed to kill all the njokoos and nginas they could
+find.
+
+Many people started for their plantation to stay until they had driven
+all the njokoos and nginas from their country, and took their guns and
+their tom-toms with them. When they arrived there, they made a great
+noise, fired guns, beat their tom-toms, danced and sang all night, and
+made invocations to their idols and their forefathers. Five of the most
+valiant hunters swore that they would not go back home until they had
+killed some nginas or njokoos.
+
+They built sheds to sleep under. When the nginas and the njokoos heard
+the noise they made, they moved away in all haste, and soon the country
+was free from them.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII
+                   THE THREE NGINAS KILLED BY HUNTERS
+
+
+A few days after their departure from the plantain field, the three
+nginas found themselves in a part of the forest where food was scarce.
+
+One evening the old ngina said to his mate: “We have had a hard time of
+late, and our little one is often hungry. We go to sleep with empty
+stomachs. Let us go back to that part of the forest from which the human
+beings drove us by their noise. Perhaps we shall discover more plantain
+fields in the neighborhood that we have not yet seen.”
+
+Early the following morning they started back. They found the way
+easily, though they took a somewhat different course, so that they could
+find food.
+
+After some wanderings, the nginas came to a koola-tree, and many of its
+nuts were ripe and had fallen on the ground. At this sight they uttered
+chuckles of delight, and said, “It is a good thing that the ngoas [wild
+boars] have not been here else we would have found no nuts.” And soon
+they were busy crushing their hard shells.
+
+The koola nut is larger than a walnut, and the shell is very hard. The
+kernel is about the size of a very big cherry. They cracked one nut
+after another between their powerful jaws, and each time they crushed
+one there was a great noise, for these nuts are so hard that a man has
+to give a very heavy blow with a big stone to crack them; for men also
+eat these nuts. They did not forget their little one, but cracked many
+nuts for him, for he had only his first set of teeth, twenty in number,
+and these were not strong enough to crack shells.
+
+The nginas, as they ate, would say: “How delicious are the koola nuts!
+How lucky we are to be the first here!” and they grinned when they
+thought of their good fortune. How ugly they looked when they grinned!
+Their faces were simply fiendish.
+
+When they had eaten all the nuts that had fallen on the ground, they
+looked up at the koola-tree, but could not see its top on account of the
+thick foliage of the trees under it. Seeing its huge trunk (about
+fifteen feet in diameter), they said, “What a pity the koola-trees are
+so tall and big! We cannot climb the trunk, and reach the nuts.” After
+their meal, they continued on their way, and when night came they went
+to sleep in the usual ngina way.
+
+Time passed, and at last, as they approached the plantain field the
+njokoos had destroyed, and where they themselves had been, they became
+exceedingly cautious. The big ngina and his mate would stand up as human
+beings do, and look around and listen, their ugly, wrinkled, intensely
+black faces peering through the trees to see if there were any danger
+threatening them.
+
+Once the big ngina thought he scented something hostile, and looked
+toward his mate, for often the nginas have a silent way of communicating
+with each other. Then they stood still for a while. After they had made
+sure there was no cause for alarm, they continued on their way, but
+became more and more wary. They heard a noise and stopped; but it was
+only a troop of monkeys journeying through the forest.
+
+Finally they came to the destroyed plantain field, and passed through it
+to go to the forest beyond. They were more timid than ever, on account
+of the lack of shelter from the trees. On their way they saw two of the
+sheds that had been built by the human beings. They looked at them, and
+noticed a heap of ashes, the remains of a fire, and three burning embers
+in the midst of the ashes. They thought they were tondos, the red fruit
+that grows near the ground, for which the nginas have a great fondness,
+thinking they are a delicious fruit. The embers looked like them, and
+yet again did not look exactly like them.
+
+So they seated themselves on their haunches by the pile of ashes, and
+kept wondering if these red dying embers were tondos. The big ngina at
+last stretched out his long arms and took one of the embers in his
+hands. He dropped it instantly, and uttered a terrific yell of rage,
+and, with glaring eyes, looked at the embers and jumped around. His mate
+asked, “Dear, what is the matter? Why do you yell in such a manner?” The
+big ngina replied, “That red thing is not a tondo. I took hold of it,
+and it felt as if I had a handful of bees or wasps.” Then he fearlessly
+raised his arm and gave a great blow with his open hand to the pile of
+ashes, and sent them and the embers flying about.
+
+Farther on they discovered a cluster of plantain-trees bearing big
+bunches of juicy fruit. They were filled with delight at the sight. Soon
+they were busy pulling the trees down, by grasping the base of the stem
+with their two hand-like feet, and then, with their powerful arms and
+hands, pulling the trunk to the ground. They even bit the trunks of the
+plantain-trees, for these are juicy.
+
+They ate silently, fearing that, if they made any noise, other nginas
+would hear them and come to the feast. Even the njokoos, if they heard
+the nginas, would come, and the nginas would have to run, for there were
+no trees for them to climb, and the njokoos would charge upon them.
+
+“I hope no njokoos remember this place,” said the big ngina; “for if
+they do not come, we shall have food for several days.”
+
+The nginas are very wasteful. After they get hold of a bunch of
+plantains, and if there are many, they take a few bites, then go to
+another tree and pull it down. They ate until they could eat no more,
+when they retired into the dark recess of the forest. There they lay on
+their backs, the baby ngina resting on the breast of his mother.
+
+They remained in the neighborhood of the plantain-trees several days,
+and would come at dawn to eat, then retire to the forest, and come again
+before sunset, after which they would go into the forest to sleep. The
+time came when they had eaten all the bunches of plantains, and they
+then left the place for good. They laughed and said: “If njokoos and
+other nginas come here, they will be late and will have no words of love
+or affection for us,” and they laughed still more.
+
+They had hardly entered the forest when they heard the voices of human
+beings. These were the five hunters. They came to get plantains to eat,
+as well as to seek the nginas and njokoos of whom they were in pursuit.
+Great was their anger when they saw that the nginas had eaten
+everything. They swore again that they would kill the nginas.
+
+When the nginas heard their voices, the big one said to his mate, “Let
+us move away. We hate the presence of human beings.” And they went far
+away and wandered in the thickest part of the forest, and did not come
+into that neighborhood any more. They agreed to go back to the big
+koola-tree, for they hoped to find many nuts on the ground, and they
+were happy as they thought of the good meal in prospect. One day’s
+journey was to bring them to the place. That night they slept in their
+usual way. In the morning they departed, expecting to reach the
+koola-tree toward noon.
+
+But that very same morning the ngoas had been there and eaten all the
+nuts that had fallen on the ground, and when they went away they laughed
+and said, “If the other herds of ngoas or the nginas come, and other men
+of the woods, to-day, they will find that they are too late, and that we
+ngoas have been here before them all.”
+
+The ngoas had not been long gone, when the three nginas made their
+appearance. Great indeed was their disappointment when they found the
+ground bare of nuts, and they cried, with angry voices, as they looked
+at the footprints of the ngoas, “Those horrid ngoas have been here this
+morning and eaten all our nuts.”
+
+The nginas left the place very much disgusted, and continued to roam in
+the forest in search of food. They had a hard time to get a living, for
+herds of ngoas and many nshiegos, nkengos, and some nginas had been in
+that part of the forest before them.
+
+The big ngina, seeing this, said to his mate: “Lately we have worked
+hard for our living. We have had bad luck, and find that others have
+been to our chosen places before us.”
+
+“Yes,” she replied, “I think it would be better for us to separate
+during the day, to satisfy our hunger; for if we three go together, we
+shall not find food enough for all of us. We will keep as usual within
+hearing of each other’s voices. When I call, you will answer, and when
+you call, I will answer.”
+
+The next morning they separated, wishing each other good luck, the baby
+ngina going with his mother. During the day they kept calling to each
+other, their powerful, guttural voices resounding through the forest as
+they did so. The voice of the ngina can be heard about six or seven
+miles away.
+
+That day the nginas came across fresh footprints of human beings. When
+they met that evening they told each other of their discovery, and said,
+“We must shun them.”
+
+The footprints the nginas had seen were those of the five hunters who
+had sworn never to come back to their village until they had killed some
+nginas and njokoos. They were the most daring men of their tribe, and
+had spent a great part of their lives in the forest killing njokoos.
+They were trying to locate the nginas. They saw by the tracks the
+njokoos had left behind them that they had gone a long way off.
+
+It happened that the hunters had the day before discovered the place
+where the nginas had slept. They had seen at the base of the tree the
+huge footprints of the big ngina, the smaller ones of his mate, and the
+tiny ones of their little one. So they knew that there were three of
+them together.
+
+They said: “Now we are on the track of the nginas. These footprints are
+fresh; but we must be brave, and aim right, for the big fellow is sure
+to fight and will try to kill us. Our guns are good. With them we have
+killed many njokoos, and we will kill the nginas whose footprints we
+have seen. The big idol of our village has told us that we should be
+successful in our hunt, and that we should not return without having
+killed nginas or njokoos. We have made powerful incantations, and the
+charms we wear will protect us against them, and we shall not be
+killed.”
+
+That night the hunters slept under a tree, and in the morning, as they
+started out, they said: “We must walk through the forest and jungle as
+noiselessly as a leopard, and we must be near one another.” This was the
+very same morning the nginas had separated, the better to get enough
+food for the three. The hunters proceeded, keeping close together. They
+kept a sharp lookout, stopped often to listen, and their eyes tried to
+pierce the jungle everywhere at the slightest noise they heard.
+
+Suddenly one of them gave a cluck of warning. His quick ear had heard a
+rustling in the jungle. This cluck is made with the tongue striking the
+palate, and does not alarm the animals of the forest. The four other
+hunters, hearing it, drew close together and listened. They also heard
+the rustling. There was no mistake. This could only be the nginas
+walking through the jungle. They lay flat on their stomachs with their
+guns cocked, and crawled toward the rustling noise and at last saw the
+female ngina and her baby. They were busy eating tondos. The hunters
+fired and killed them both on the spot. They fell without uttering a
+groan.
+
+The big ngina did not hear the detonation of the guns that had killed
+his mate and baby, and did not know that they were both dead. Now and
+then, as he was moving along in search of food, he would call for his
+mate as he was wont to do when they were separated, and as they had
+agreed to do in the morning. But now his calls were not answered, and he
+thought that, pressed by hunger, she had wandered beyond the reach of
+his voice. After a while he became anxious and repeated his calls
+oftener, saying: “Where are you? Why do you not answer me?” But no
+answer came, though he listened intently. The forest remained silent. He
+could only hear the echo of his own powerful voice.
+
+The day had almost passed without any tidings of his mate. Then he
+became thoroughly alarmed, and near sunset he grew frantic and called
+for his family at the very top of his voice, uttering despairing and
+appalling roars. All the creatures of the forest thought they never
+heard in all their lives any ngina roar so loud, and many of them were
+terribly frightened and fled in all directions away from the dread
+sounds.
+
+The ngina continued to call for his mate, but no answer came. Then he
+was sure that some great misfortune had happened to his family. Perhaps
+a heavy limb of a tree had fallen upon them and killed them both
+outright. When night came, he rested at the foot of a tree, but could
+not sleep, for he was thinking all the time of his missing ones. At
+daybreak he renewed his terrific roaring, which was heard again far and
+wide; but no response came back to him.
+
+After the hunters had killed the two nginas, they cut off their heads
+and slung them round their shoulders as trophies, to show to their
+people on their return to the village. Then they started in search of
+the big ngina, whom they expected to meet at any moment, seeking his
+mate and his baby. So they were on the lookout for him, as they did not
+want to be taken unawares. They said: “If we meet this big kombo
+[fighter] ngina, it will be a fight for life. We must kill him or he
+will kill us. Let us beware lest he seize one of us in his powerful
+clutches or give us a terrific blow with his open hand.”
+
+At last, to his great joy, the big ngina discovered the footprints of
+his mate and baby. At the sight he roared louder than he had ever done
+in his life; but still no answer came back to him. He followed the
+tracks and continued to call. The hunters heard him and nerved
+themselves for the great conflict. It was to be a fight to the death.
+Gradually the sound came nearer and nearer. The ngina evidently
+continued to follow the footsteps of his mate. Then came a silence. The
+roars stopped! The five men made ready and formed a circle so that they
+could see where the attack of the monster would come from, and be ready
+to face him together when he came toward them. Their guns were cocked,
+and they were ready to fire at a second’s notice.
+
+Suddenly they saw not far from them in the midst of the leaves a huge
+black fierce-looking face, watching them silently. It was the face of
+the ngina. His eyes were vindictive and full of hatred. All at once the
+monster saw the heads of his mate and baby slung round two of the
+hunters. At this sight his rage knew no bounds. He uttered his yell of
+attack, and, standing upright, with hair erect on his body, showing his
+anger, and the hair on his head moving up and down, he advanced, yelling
+and roaring, and beating his tremendous chest with his huge fist. At
+each yell he opened his mouth and showed his powerful teeth.
+
+Then the detonation of five guns fired at the same time was heard, and
+the huge ngina was pierced to the heart, and fell forward uttering a
+groan of pain, his powerful arms stretched toward his enemy as if ready
+to clutch them. He was dead. The hunters cut off his head and went back
+to their village, and this was the end of the family of nginas whose
+adventures we have followed.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIV
+                         THE OMEMBAS, OR SNAKES
+
+
+Omembas are very numerous and much dreaded by all the animals and human
+beings of the great forest. There are many species differing greatly in
+their colors and the designs of their skins. Some are very large, and
+others quite small. Many are very poisonous, and their bites cause
+death. Those having no fangs are not poisonous.
+
+Some of the omembas spend a great part of their lives in the water.
+Others live chiefly among the branches of trees, while many crawl on the
+ground. Quite a number are night snakes. Many have skins resembling in
+color their habitats, which enables them to catch their prey without
+being detected by their victims. Those that are green live chiefly among
+shrubs or in thickets, where they more readily catch birds and devour
+their eggs. Others are of the color of the bark of trees, round which
+they coil to wait for prey. Several are of the color of dead leaves that
+have fallen on the ground. Several species have a good knowledge of
+color.
+
+All snakes live upon animals. Many little ones feed on toads, mice,
+rats, etc. Some even eat other snakes, when famished. Some like to hide
+in houses and during the night prey on rats and mice. Others enter
+chicken-coops and devour chickens and their eggs, of which many species
+are very fond.
+
+The omembas are very knowing and show great intelligence in their ways
+of getting at their prey. Some have the power of charming their victims
+so that they cannot escape. The only language of the omembas known to
+the animals of the forest is a hissing which they make when attacked or
+frightened. Then they raise themselves and show fight. Otherwise the
+language of the omembas whereby they communicate with one another is
+never heard. Some think that they do so with their eyes, or by the
+motion of their bodies. Others by whispers or sounds only heard by
+omembas’ quick ears. Strange to say, the omembas change their coats or
+skins every year. They go out of them just as a human being gets out of
+his clothes.
+
+The greatest enemies of the omembas are the ichneumons, the ants, and
+some of the night prowlers, such as some kinds of weasels, or animals
+akin to them.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV
+                        A HUGE OMBAMA, OR PYTHON
+
+
+An enormous-sized ombama, about thirty feet long, said to himself one
+day: “I am so big now that I do not feed on small game. I like to feed
+on kambis and ncheris. I am so hungry that I must find out a good place
+to coil myself in and there wait for prey that may pass by me.” He
+wanted a tree having a bark near the color of his skin.
+
+As he crawled along, he looked for such a tree. He passed hundreds of
+trees, nay, thousands. Some of them were nearly of his color, but he
+thought that he would find more deceiving ones still, so that when he
+was coiled round their trunks, the antelopes, the gazelles, the boars,
+and other animals could not detect him. So he went on his way, meeting
+many snakes. Some said, “I am journeying toward the villages of men, and
+intend to stay in a house and watch for rats.” Others said, “I am going
+for ducks, chickens, and hen’s eggs; but if I can get a goat, I will
+coil round and swallow him.” But the big ombama had made up his mind to
+have a kambi for a meal.
+
+After a long search he saw a tree, the bark of which was the color of
+his skin. Then he said: “This is the tree for me. Animals will come near
+it without seeing me. How I shall deceive them!”
+
+He coiled around the trunk and waited patiently for a kambi, a ncheri,
+or a ngoa, or any other big animal of the forest, for he hoped that some
+of them, unaware of his presence, would soon pass by. He listened for
+sounds telling him of the coming of his unsuspected victims. His head
+and neck, at some distance from the trunk of the tree, moved one way and
+another, and his piercing eyes glanced around in all directions. He said
+to himself: “I must be patient, for sometimes at the end of the day, and
+when I least expect it, some animal makes its appearance and I spring
+upon him, wind around him, and squeeze him to death in my vise-like
+coils, which become tighter and tighter until I crush him.”
+
+He waited and waited, but nothing came that way. So he had to go without
+food that day, saying to himself, “The life of the ombamas is not always
+a pleasant one. How often I have to work hard for my living!” He left
+the place hungry and much disappointed, and remembered, although he had
+not been in that part of the forest for a long time, that there was a
+pond in the neighborhood.
+
+After some wandering he came to this pond, which was a large pool of
+clear water fed by a spring. There he stopped and said, “Surely some of
+the animals of the forest will come here to drink.” And as he looked
+around, he saw footprints of kambis and ncheris and other creatures. He
+was delighted, and at the sight thought that he should soon get a good
+meal. He saw a tree by the water of the same color as his skin and
+coiled himself around it and waited. His head and neck were in constant
+motion, looking out for prey. “Surely some animal will come toward
+sunset,” he thought, “for that is the time when they come to drink.” He
+knew well the habits of the kambis and the ncheris and ngoas and other
+animals upon which he lived.
+
+[Illustration: [Antelope]]
+
+Soon an unsuspecting kambi made his appearance, nibbling at a few leaves
+as she came toward the pool to have a drink. The big ombama looked at
+her with glaring eyes, and when she came within a short distance of his
+tree, he made a tremendous spring, and in the twinkling of an eye his
+body was coiled round the poor creature and squeezed her so tightly that
+at last she died.
+
+Then the ombama had very hard work, for the kambi was too big for him to
+swallow. So he used all his strength to make the body smaller and
+smaller by crushing it. It was a slow but sure process, and he
+succeeded. When he thought the kambi was ready for eating, he put the
+head in his mouth, after it had been properly crushed by his powerful
+coils, and then began another squeezing process, which made the rest of
+the animal small enough to be gradually swallowed. Before the kambi was
+digested, and while it was still whole in his body, it was nearly three
+times the length it had been when alive.
+
+Soon after his meal, the big ombama fell asleep,—a lethargic, digestive
+sleep among the dead leaves on the ground. The ombamas and omembas
+always fall into such sleep when they have had a hearty meal and digest
+it. Lucky was the big ombama that no enemy passed by, nor a njokoo to
+trample upon him.
+
+After digesting his meal, which took a number of days, he awoke, and,
+encountering the omembas he had met before, he asked for news. One who
+had been in the chicken-coop said: “I had a big rooster and all the eggs
+I found in one of the hens’ nests for my meal. After this, I went
+immediately away, for I hate an open place, and hid in the forest and
+went to sleep.” Another omemba said, “As I came into the village, I saw
+a small dog, and sprang upon him and coiled myself around him and ate
+him up.”
+
+Then they parted, each going his own way.
+
+The big ombama, after his sleep and recollection of the big meal of the
+kambi, felt very well and journeyed toward a river of clear water and
+there took a bath and enjoyed it. His skin was becoming dim in color and
+shabby, and he longed for another one. One day he felt his old skin
+getting loose, and said to himself, “It is time for me to have a
+brand-new coat. I am ashamed of this old one, it is so shabby and worn
+out.”
+
+Then he pushed himself through with his head, and, lo! in a short time
+his old coat from head to tail was behind him. He had come out of his
+old clothes with a bright and shining outfit. As he moved away, he said,
+“Good-by, dear old coat, good-by, good-by.” Now he felt like himself
+again and said, “I am glad I have such a fine new coat and have left the
+old one. I am handsome now.”
+
+After changing his skin the big ombama became hungry again, and finding
+a suitable tree, he coiled round it and waited for prey. He saw strange
+sights. As he was looking round, he saw a big black and yellow
+tree-snake crawling near his tree, and watched him. The tree omemba
+stopped, and said to himself: “I am hungry. I live chiefly upon trees,
+and I will ascend one and will look out for a monkey, a bird, or a large
+squirrel if I come near enough. I look at them and try to put them under
+my spell, so that they will be paralyzed and will not be able to run
+away from me.”
+
+Then he raised himself and coiled round the trunk of a small tree, and
+crawled upwards until he reached one of its branches, and then travelled
+from this branch to one from another tree, and so on for many trees.
+This was easy, for the branches were all intermingled with one another.
+His cunning eyes were looking everywhere as he crept along, seeking for
+monkeys, big birds, or squirrels. He moved so slyly that he did not make
+the slightest noise, even less than the wind passing through the
+branches. Suddenly he saw a monkey quite by himself. He crawled toward
+the poor monkey as fast as he could, and at last came near enough to
+coil himself up without being detected. This he was obliged to do as a
+preliminary, since the omembas cannot spring upon their prey except when
+they are coiled up, for when they are extended to their full length they
+have no power.
+
+[Illustration: [Monkey]]
+
+He looked at the monkey intently, and, as it were, magnetized the poor
+creature, who looked at him in the greatest terror. The eyes of the
+ombama never left him. He was charming his prey, and said, “Now I am
+going to charm the monkey, and he will then be unable to escape me.” The
+omemba glided toward the monkey, and when he had come near enough, he
+sprang upon him quicker than an arrow flying through the air and coiled
+round him in the twinkling of an eye, and his coils soon crushed the
+life out of him.
+
+After his meal the omemba came down the tree, having found a comfortable
+place where he thought himself safe, and fell into a deep sleep. When he
+awoke he felt like taking a bath, and went to a beautiful clear limpid
+stream, and after a swim coiled himself round the branch of a tree under
+water, after which he went in search of prey again, as he had done
+during all the days of his life.
+
+The big ombama had also succeeded in capturing a big ncheri, and after
+his meal fell asleep in the midst of a mass of dead leaves that were
+more or less of the color of his skin.
+
+It happened the next day that a rogue elephant, who was wandering all
+alone, passed near the big ombama. The njokoo became angry at the sight
+of him. He advanced toward him and trampled upon him several times until
+he was dead. Then he uttered sharp trumpetings of satisfaction for what
+he had done. The njokoos hate serpents and trample upon them whenever
+they can.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXVI
+                        THE NTOTO, OR ICHNEUMON
+
+
+A ntoto, with his elongated weasel-like form, stretched his short legs,
+and, looking at his dirty reddish-brown spotted skin, as he lay in the
+hollow of his tree, said: “Many kinds of ntotos inhabit this great
+forest where I was born. How we ichneumons hate these horrid creeping
+crawling creatures, the omembas! We kill them every time we have a
+chance. We show them no mercy, for often when we starve it is owing to
+them. They eat the prey upon which we feed. We are not even afraid of
+the biggest of them,—those that feed on kambis, ncheris, or ngoas.”
+
+Leaving his place, he walked along slowly through the jungle, and
+listened, hoping to hear the noise made by omembas crawling among the
+fallen leaves. After a short ramble, he saw among the leaves one of the
+worst kind of omembas inhabiting the forest. He was short and very
+thick, with a skin much the color of the soil and leaves. He had a large
+triangular-shaped head, with a short horn rising from the end of his
+nose. His mouth possessed terrible fangs surrounded by bags filled with
+most deadly poison, which cause death in a very short time.
+
+At the sight of this omemba, the ichneumon was filled with rage. His
+hair stood erect on his body. His eyes were full of hatred, and he
+prepared himself for conflict with his enemy,—the creature he hated more
+than any other.
+
+All the omembas dread the ntotos, for they know that they are their
+inveterate enemies, that they are very cunning, and that many of their
+own kind are killed by them. The horrid-looking omemba, as he crawled
+along, was not at first aware that a ntoto had just seen him, but all at
+once he scented danger, and made off with the utmost speed, hoping that
+he had not been seen, and would escape with his life.
+
+The ichneumon knew the danger he had to encounter. He knew that his
+enemy had terribly long poisonous fangs, and if the omemba succeeded in
+biting him he would surely die. But this thought did not make him
+afraid. On the contrary, it made him more fierce, though also very
+cautious and prudent. He followed the omemba, taking care not to be
+seen, and suddenly with lightning-like swiftness he attacked him,
+imbedding his teeth firmly in the back of his neck, his claws firmly
+holding the ground, and in two or three bites had almost severed the
+omembas head from his body and had broken his spinal column, thus
+preventing him from crawling any more. Only the quivering of his body
+showed that life lingered for a few seconds.
+
+[Illustration: “_He attacked him, imbedding his teeth firmly in the back
+of his neck_”]
+
+After killing the omemba and gloating over his victory, the ichneumon
+continued his way, and soon saw another omemba, which was a much longer
+and slender one, of a black and yellow color. He was coiled and ready to
+spring on any unsuspecting prey that should come within his reach. At
+the sight his coarse reddish-brown spotted fur once more stood erect,
+and he sprang at once to the attack.
+
+The ntotos are wonderfully agile in their movements when they attack.
+They dodge every time the omembas prepare to spring upon them. Their
+quick eyes seize every motion and every intention of their adversary.
+
+At the ichneumon’s approach the snake rose partly from his coils in
+great fear, for he knew that the enemy he dreaded most was to attack
+him, and that his life was in great danger. But he watched closely his
+opportunity to spring upon his enemy and coil round his body, and
+squeeze him to death.
+
+The ichneumon knew this, and moved so quickly from one place to another
+that the eyes of the snake could not follow him. It was a game of
+hide-and-seek. The ichneumon was simply waiting for his opportunity,
+which came at last. The snake gave a dart at the ichneumon, who, quick
+as lightning, leaped aside. The snake had no time to coil himself again,
+and fled. In an instant the ichneumon sprang on his back next his head,
+so that he could not turn his poisonous fangs upon him, and in two or
+three bites severed the neck from the body. The battle was over.
+
+After this second battle the ichneumon continued on his way, and ere
+long met a comrade. They saluted each other, and the one who had fought
+with the omembas recounted his victories, and then asked the other in
+his turn, “Where have you been to-night?” “I have had a grand old time
+to-night,” replied the second ichneumon. “I entered a village of human
+beings which I discovered, and got into a chicken-coop and killed all
+the chickens, including the big rooster. I made for the rooster first. I
+killed them all in true ichneumon fashion by biting them on the neck.
+How the blood poured out! And it tasted so good and sweet! Now I am
+going back home to the hollow of my tree where I sleep.”
+
+Then the two bade each other good-by.
+
+Years passed by. As the fighting ichneumon became older, his warfare
+upon the snakes became less and less fierce, for he was less nimble and
+was growing stiff in his movements. He had to content himself with
+killing rats, mice, and other small animals.
+
+Often when he saw a snake the remembrance of his former attacks upon
+them came back to him, and several times he felt tempted to renew the
+conflict with them, but he did not give way to his inclination, for he
+had become prudent.
+
+But one day he felt particularly well, and more nimble than usual. As he
+was seeking for a meal, he saw a long slender snake of the worst kind.
+
+The snake, as he was crawling along, had also seen the ichneumon. All at
+once he stopped and coiled himself up for self-protection and fight if
+attacked.
+
+The ichneumon, at the sight of the snake, forgot his old age and his
+stiffness; the memory of his past conflicts with snakes came back to
+him, and he ran to attack the creature he hated so much.
+
+The snake reared his head and neck, leaving a large part of his body
+coiled, so that he could spring upon his antagonist at the proper time,
+if he had a chance; his tongue protruded, and he hissed as his enemy
+came near.
+
+The ichneumon used his old tactics, went quickly round and round the
+snake, to bewilder him. The snake was filled with fear, and hissed
+continuously. But though the tactics of the ichneumon were those of the
+days of old, his movements were much slower, and he was not equal to the
+conflict, though he thought he was. Suddenly, like a flash, the snake
+darted upon him and coiled himself round his body. His coils were so
+close that he crushed the life out of the ichneumon, and then, at his
+leisure, swallowed him.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVII
+                         THE IBOBOTI, OR SPIDER
+
+
+A big yellow and black spotted iboboti, with a body as large as a
+sparrow’s egg, and with very strong long legs, who was much given to
+philosophic reflection, said one day to himself: “Our kin is very
+numerous. We spiders are of many kinds, of different shapes and sizes,
+and of varied colors. We also lead different lives. Some of us like to
+live in the sun, others in the shade; some in the forest, others in
+houses of human beings. Strange to say, there are some of us who live in
+burrows. Some of our kin are day spiders; others belong to the night.
+Some make webs to entrap their prey; others do not. Some have short
+legs, others very long ones; the latter spin webs. We are all very
+voracious and spring upon our prey with great fury. We are brave; if we
+were not, we should starve.”
+
+Then, looking at his web, the iboboti said: “I do not wonder that I have
+been starving for the last few days, and that my victims—the flies and
+other insects—have escaped from my meshes. My web has become
+dilapidated. It is full of holes. I am tired of repairing it. Time,
+rain, and the sun have done their mischievous work. The threads have
+become brittle. It is time for me to leave this spot and the old web,
+which I have spun and constructed with so much care and ingenuity, and
+go to some other place and spin a new one.
+
+“To begin a web and leave it unfinished, without proper reason, is
+waste; but sometimes it is necessary, and now is one of those times. We
+web spiders have to use great judgment in the selection of the place we
+choose to build our webs in.”
+
+He pondered the matter awhile and then exclaimed:—
+
+“How wonderful indeed are our gifts! This semi-liquid secretion
+contained in our bodies we force out, when we spin, through the minute
+tubes which cover our spinnerets. This, after being forced out, becomes
+hard by contact with the air, and turns into threads, which after they
+are united make the web much stronger than if it had been made of a
+single strand.”
+
+Saying this, he decided to depart at once, and began to creep along,
+spider fashion, and travel on trees in search of a good place to build
+another web in, looking all round as he went along, and thinking to
+himself: “My life is not an easy one. I have to work hard for my living.
+The webs we spiders build with so much care and skill are often
+destroyed by passing animals, or birds flying through them, or by limbs
+of trees falling upon them.”
+
+After a tedious journey, the spider saw a nice open space in the forest
+between two shrubs. He stopped, and, looking at it carefully from above,
+said: “I think this spot is a good place. Flies, insects, and even small
+birds will pass through one way or another, for the trees and jungle are
+thick all around this spot. I will spin my web here.”
+
+The spider felt that a storm was coming, and said: “When it rains I
+never spin my web. I will wait for fine and seasonable weather, which,
+if I am not mistaken, we shall have to-morrow.” The web spiders have the
+gift of knowing when the weather is going to be stormy or fine.
+
+The rain came as he feared, but the following day the weather was fine,
+and the spider made preparations to begin spinning his web. Then he
+began work with his head downward, forcing the secretion and working the
+spinnerets, attaching the beginning of the thread to a branch of a tree
+first, then lowering himself by this thread. Then, when he reached the
+bottom, he ascended, spinning another thread as a support with one of
+his legs. The thread was of a bright orange yellow like the color of his
+body.
+
+The spider built a network of very strong threads to support the whole
+structure; these were the supporting beams. Between these, he spun
+smaller delicate threads, using fewer spinnerets, directing his legs to
+do the work as the threads were spun.
+
+After several days’ work the web was finished, and the yellow and black
+spotted spider looked at it and was pleased. It was a wonderful and
+delicate piece of work done with great skill, judgment, and thought. It
+was very elastic, so as to resist the power of the wind.
+
+[Illustration: [Spider]]
+
+Then the spider said with great delight: “Now I shall not starve, for my
+web is new. I hope that I have chosen a good spot, and that flies,
+insects, and even small birds will fly blindly into my meshes. Now I
+shall live well.” Then he took a good place of vantage, and stood
+motionless as if dead, on the outer border of his web, and listened
+intently, and looked round with his ferocious-looking eyes, waiting for
+prey. Suddenly he said: “Oh, how hungry I am! I am so created that I
+have to live as I do, for I am only powerful when I walk on my web. I am
+unlike all the other creatures that fly or walk, for they go and seek
+prey to satisfy their hunger, while I, on the contrary, have to stand
+still and wait for my victims to come blindly into the web. If they do
+not come, then I starve. No wonder that I attack with such fierceness
+those who get entangled in my meshes. I have to be very patient. Still I
+have reason to be; for sometimes when I am despairing, a big fly or
+insect flies into my web and provides me with a bite. But I require many
+a bite to make a good meal.”
+
+Then he made himself ready, stretched his long legs, and lay as flat as
+he could, and waited. Soon his web shook, and the trembling made him
+look up. He saw a very large iboco fly struggling to get out of the
+meshes of the web; but its struggles were in vain, for the more the poor
+fly struggled, the more entangled it became. The spider ran with his
+long legs over the threads of his web, and soon pounced upon the poor
+iboco and sucked the life out of him.
+
+After this, he went back to his place of vantage, and said: “I think I
+hear the buzzing of a horrid wasp. If this wicked creature sees me, she
+will come and attack me, and carry me away and eat me, as I have just
+done the fly that came into my net. How I hate the wasp!”
+
+So this spider spent his days in killing creatures to sustain his own
+life, which was not such a happy one, for he had many enemies and was in
+constant dread of them, besides going hungry often when no insects
+strayed into his web.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVIII
+                THE TRAP-DOOR IBOBOTI, OR BURROW SPIDER
+
+
+One day an ashen-gray trap-door spider, while in the dark recesses of
+his home, mused as follows: “What great intelligence I have been gifted
+with! I can make a burrow, and close its entrance with a door of my own
+making, that prevents my enemies from getting in to attack me. When I am
+inside, and my door is closed, I feel absolutely safe.”
+
+The spider then thought how cosey and comfortable his home was, and,
+looking round, saw many heads, legs, and wings of the insects he had
+brought in to consume at his leisure.
+
+This sight reminded him of the numerous feasts he had enjoyed, and of
+the tussles he had had before capturing his victims. This recollection
+gave him an appetite and a longing for more fights and more meals.
+
+This trap-door spider had strong, short legs, and a head armed with
+powerful nippers, between which was his ugly mouth, ready to suck the
+life of his prey.
+
+The spider walked to the opening of his burrow to watch. His fierce eyes
+turned in every direction. He also listened attentively to all sounds,
+for these might either be the forerunner of some unsuspecting creature
+coming his way, or the noise of an approaching enemy, and he had many of
+these and needed to be wary to escape them. But he neither saw nor heard
+anything. He was obliged to return hungry to his hole, and this happened
+the next day and the next.
+
+Time went on, and food at last became so scarce that the spider
+determined upon leaving his old burrow and going in search of a better
+place to build a new home. He accordingly did so. He had to travel very
+cautiously, for fear of enemies, for now he had no burrow with a
+trap-door to protect him. At the least suspicious sound he hid under a
+leaf, the bark of a tree, in some dark corners, or under some root.
+
+After long exploration, he came at last to a place where he thought the
+soil was right for digging a burrow, and the neighborhood and ground
+seemed to be good for prey.
+
+Having chosen the spot, he began to dig with his forelegs, using his
+head at times to help. He worked very hard indeed. After his burrow had
+reached a depth of several inches, he stopped, saying, “My abode is now
+deep enough.”
+
+He then began his most difficult work. Digging the burrow was nothing
+compared with what he had to do now, which was to make an inside casing
+throughout the length and breadth of his burrow, to keep the earth from
+caving in.
+
+To spin and weave the lining of his burrow was so great a task that it
+called for careful thinking, much ingenuity, and great skill. So he went
+to work, spun, and interlaced the threads in such a way that the
+material, when finished, was a thick and compact mass something like
+felt.
+
+When the casing had reached the mouth of the burrow, the iboboti
+stopped, for now he had to make the trap-door, a difficult piece of
+mechanism. The door had to be round and of exactly the size of the
+opening of the burrow, so as to fit closely. To succeed in his task, the
+spider had to make no mistake in his measurements.
+
+The top of the door was made fast to the casing by a kind of hinge. When
+it was finished, he let it fall to see how it worked. It fitted
+perfectly, and was so tight that not even the tiniest ant could get in.
+
+The spider was delighted with his handiwork and the secure home he had
+made. “But,” he said to himself, “the door outside must look exactly
+like the earth surrounding it.” So he covered the outside of the door
+with earth, which stuck to it, making it fast by mixing the earth with
+some secretion. After this no creature could tell where the door was.
+
+The spider was very contented, and said: “It will be difficult for my
+enemies, as they prowl around, to find where I live; and when my door is
+shut, I shall feel safe from those horrid wasps, ants, and my other
+enemies,—I hate them all!”
+
+He then raised the trap and made it fast, so that it would not fall
+down, and from the opening of his dwelling he watched for prey. His body
+could not be seen, as it was hidden by the darkness of the burrow. He
+had not been long on the watch when he heard the footsteps of a large
+fly walking toward his burrow. His wicked eyes glittered with fierce joy
+at the prospect of a meal, and he prepared to attack his unsuspecting
+victim, who was moving straight to his doom.
+
+[Illustration: [Spider]]
+
+When the fly came in sight, the spider ran out at full speed toward the
+poor creature, seized him with his pincers, dragged him inside of the
+burrow, and then devoured his body, except his tiny legs and wings,
+which he threw aside, as they had no juice or blood in them.
+
+The fly, however, was not big enough to make him a full meal. He was
+still very hungry, and this time he prowled outside, but always
+remaining within sight of his burrow, stopping now and then in a good
+place of vantage to watch for victims.
+
+Suddenly he heard the noise made by the wings of a wasp that was flying
+about, and was himself looking for prey. Seized with fear, the spider
+ran to his burrow as fast as his legs could carry him, and, when inside,
+closed the door. He had escaped in the nick of time; the wasp, with his
+extraordinary powers of vision, had sighted him at once, and came within
+an ace of catching him.
+
+The spider, once inside, felt safe and hugged himself, as he said: “How
+lucky I am to have escaped with my life from this wicked wasp! They are
+always after us poor spiders. How we hate them!
+
+“Several gifts have been given to us trap-door spiders,” he mused, “so
+that we can get our living and escape our enemies; but even with all
+these we cannot always save ourselves. For our enemies are wary,
+cunning, and treacherous, and often get the better of us; fortunately we
+have very sharp ears and eyes.”
+
+While the spider was hiding in his burrow for fear of the wasp, it
+happened that a fierce, black mogara ant, about one inch long, was also
+watching for prey from his own dark burrow.
+
+While waiting, the mogara said to himself: “We mogaras live alone in our
+burrows, and though they seem alike to others, they are different, and
+each can recognize his own.
+
+“We are brave, and not afraid to attack prey much larger and stronger
+than ourselves, for we know the vulnerable parts of those we fight. We
+hold our legs to the ground to prevent them from escaping, and our
+pincers do the rest. One who is timid gets no prey. Oh, how I should
+like a spider for my next meal!”
+
+The mogara watched for a while, but as no prey came in sight, he left
+his burrow and prowled around in search of food. He ran across a dead
+mogara, and carried it to his burrow and devoured it in the darkness.
+But this was not sufficient for him, so he went foraging again, and saw
+an ozoni ant. The ozonis were also prowling everywhere for prey. They
+are smaller than the mogaras, but are terribly voracious.
+
+This ozoni said: “I am famished, and if I find no prey I must attack one
+of my own kind and eat him,” for the ozonis are cannibals, feeding often
+on one another. Upon this, looking around, he saw an ozoni smaller than
+himself not far off, and he ran after him. The fight was fierce. The
+weaker one realized that he was fighting for his life. He succeeded in
+escaping from the clutches of his enemy, and ran as fast as he could;
+but he had been somewhat disabled in the fight, and was recaptured.
+“Oh!” said the victorious ozoni, “you thought you would escape from me,
+but you cannot, and now I am going to eat you up!” which he speedily
+proceeded to do.
+
+Meanwhile the spider was unaware of what was taking place among the
+mogara and ozoni ants, while he was shut up in his burrow. When he
+thought the wasp must have got a long way off, he once more raised the
+trap-door. Seeing a grasshopper passing by, he attacked the creature
+with great fury, and after a stubborn fight carried him into his abode.
+
+Having made an excellent meal of his last victim, and not being hungry
+any more, the spider said: “Now I am going to shut my door and have a
+good sleep.”
+
+After his sleep, he again opened his door and watched. In the distance
+he saw a big mogara ant and also an ozoni ant. They were looking for
+prey, and for trap-door spiders. They were going in another direction,
+away from the burrow of the spider, who accordingly was not frightened,
+but watched until they were out of sight.
+
+“How I hate the ants!” thought the spider, “especially these horrid
+mogara and ozoni ants; they are quite as fierce as the wasps, and almost
+as dangerous. If we spiders had our own way, we would kill them all.” He
+did not reflect that they had to live in the way the spiders did,—that
+is, by killing other creatures. The spiders have their own point of view
+in regard to wasps, ants, and other enemies; but these latter had also a
+different point of view in regard to spiders, and no wonder, for their
+interests differ.
+
+Weeks passed away in this round of hunting and sleeping. One day the
+spider had gone out of his burrow and was in a good place to watch for
+prey. Suddenly there appeared behind him at some distance upon an
+eminence three mogara ants that were out foraging. They saw the spider
+at once, and made for him, for they were hungry.
+
+They walked as lightly as they could, for fear that their intended
+victim would hear them, for they knew how well trap-door spiders can
+hear.
+
+Soon the spider was surrounded, and then his enemies attacked him
+immediately. One of the mogara ants gave him a fierce bite that laid
+open his abdomen and disabled him; the others joined in the fight, which
+was soon over, and then they make a good feast of him. Such was the end
+of the spider who had, in his time, killed so many insects during his
+adventurous life.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIX
+                   THE HOUSE IBOBOTI, OR NIGHT SPIDER
+
+
+One night a large gray house spider said to himself: “My kin lives in
+the huts of people. It will soon be daylight, and I must find a place
+where I can hide myself during the day. Darkness is the time when I
+thrive, for then I can see well and prey upon the creatures which prowl
+on the walls.”
+
+After saying this, the house spider moved toward a corner to hide. He
+knew every crack and place of shelter on the wall, for he had lived in
+the house a long time. After he had found a good hiding-place, he said:
+“This is a nice spot; no light will reach me; no enemy will see me. I
+shall sleep well,” then he settled himself comfortably for the day.
+
+“I spin no web,” he mused, “to snare and kill those upon whom I feed. I
+must prepare myself for hard fighting; I have to be bold and brave. I
+must not be afraid to attack the creatures that are much larger and
+stronger than myself. Great gifts have been given to me, so that I may
+get my living; but I have to work hard to get it, and to use all my
+intelligence and cunning.”
+
+Thinking thus, the spider looked at his legs, and said: “These claws
+that are like hooks at the end are invaluable to me. They help me in my
+conflicts after I have pounced upon my prey. They hold fast to the wall,
+so that I may not be carried away by those that are much larger and
+stronger than I am. Oh, how hard I have to fight sometimes! I have two
+other great gifts,—the sense of hearing, for I can hear the steps of
+flies and insects upon the walls, and their sounds guide me toward them
+even before I can see them, though keen sight is also given to me.
+Another advantage I have is, that my body is very much of the color of
+the bark walls, so that I am not easily seen by the creatures that prowl
+at night and walk from one place to another.”
+
+The day passed away, night came, and the spider awoke. He looked around
+for a point from which he could hear and see his prey. After finding the
+spot, he stretched his legs on the bark so that his body lay flat on the
+surface, and remained as if dead, so as to deceive the creatures moving
+on the walls. He was now all eyes and ears.
+
+At the same time that the spider was getting ready for his prey, the
+cockroaches, from the cracks and other places where they hide during the
+day, said: “Now it is dark, and we can see well; let us go out from our
+hiding-places and rummage around the walls and seek for food, for we are
+hungry.” As the night advanced, they began to swarm out of their cracks
+and holes, running along the walls with great speed, and sometimes
+flying about. Some of them were nearly two and a half inches long.
+
+The house spider, with its glittering and voracious eyes, bided his time
+patiently. Soon he heard the footsteps of a cockroach, and from his
+sounds knew that he was a very large one. To the spider the footsteps of
+the roach sounded as heavy as those of an elephant to a human being.
+
+Then, guided by these sounds, the spider moved toward them, lying very
+flat as he walked, and soon saw the cockroach. It was a very large black
+one, and he said: “I must get ready for a big fight,” and then attacked
+it from behind. In an instant he was on the back of the cockroach, with
+his pincers fastened on his neck, for he knew that this was the only
+vulnerable part, and laying hold on the wall with the hooks of his legs,
+he began to suck the juice-like blood of his victim.
+
+There was a long and terrible struggle between the two, one trying to
+kill, the other to run away from its mortal enemy. The cockroach made
+frantic efforts to escape from the spider, and would have done so if it
+had not been for the strength with which the hooks held on to the wall.
+But although stronger, the cockroach could not get the spider from his
+neck except in one way, by rushing through a crack where it could just
+pass, and by so doing either crush the spider or oblige him to let go
+his hold. This the cockroach tried to do. But the spider knew this, and
+made desperate efforts to hold on as hard as he could, and keep the
+cockroach fast.
+
+Still, in spite of all the efforts of the spider, the cockroach escaped,
+and ran as fast as he could, the spider pursuing him, and once more
+climbing on his back, with his mouth fixed in his neck, and then
+followed another struggle for life. The tussle was again a very fierce
+one. The spider was fastening his mouth deeper and deeper into the neck
+of the cockroach, and was sucking his blood. At last, the victim began
+to lose his strength, his efforts to escape became feebler and feebler,
+and he became helpless, for his strength was gone. The spider, after a
+fight that had lasted half an hour, was victorious, and he dragged his
+victim to a convenient place and finished him. This done, he lay in wait
+for another victim.
+
+Before dawn all was once more quiet in the house. The house spider had
+gone to his dark place, and the cockroaches had hidden in their cracks.
+
+The poor cockroaches had a hard time; for, besides the wall spiders,
+they had another enemy in the night lizard that dwelt in the house.
+These lizards also had a great gift to suit their mode of life. They
+were very quick, and ran fast. During the day they hid themselves
+between pieces of bark. They could see so well that nothing escaped
+their eyes, even in the darkness, and their color was exactly the color
+of the bark walls, so that they were not to be seen by the cockroaches
+upon which they lived. Like the spider, they stood perfectly motionless
+while waiting for prey.
+
+It is a good thing for the human beings that there are house spiders and
+house lizards to eat up the cockroaches, otherwise men could not live in
+their homes.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXX
+                   THE NYOI, OR WASP, AND THE IBOBOTI
+
+
+A wasp, putting her head out of one of the windows of her nest which was
+hanging on the branch of a tree in the forest on the border of a
+prairie, exclaimed one day:—
+
+“How beautiful the weather is now! How hard it rained last night! I
+could hear the rain falling on our roof; but we have constructed our
+dwelling with so much skill that no water can come into our abode. What
+a comfortable home we have built for ourselves! It seems so cosey and
+warm in the combs and cells where we raise our young!
+
+“Outside, now, the sun is shining, and it is very warm. This is a fine
+day to get my living, for there will be plenty of prey. I am hungry! I
+am hungry!” This wasp was beautifully striped. When on the wing, she was
+very graceful in her movements; her long thin legs were as fine as a
+silk thread, and in flying she was so swift that she was out of sight in
+an instant, while her eyes at the same time took in everything at a
+glance.
+
+No one but the creatures upon whom she preyed could ever guess that this
+beautiful wasp was so fierce and full of fight.
+
+The wasp said to herself: “Great gifts have been given to me with which
+to get my living. My long legs are fine weapons, and help me to prevent
+my victims from moving when I attack them; and my sharp nippers cut so
+well; and when I fly I can pick out at once the creatures I like best to
+eat. I am dainty in my taste. How delicious and juicy the spiders are! I
+hope I shall catch one very soon, for I am hungry.”
+
+The wasp kept on flying, covering a large space in her sweep. Finally
+she saw in the distance the village where lived the house spider who had
+such a fight with the cockroach and who had succeeded in killing him and
+eating him up.
+
+At the sight of the village, the wasp was delighted, and said: “Surely I
+shall find in some of the houses a wall spider or two.”
+
+Soon after, she was in the street, and began to enter house after house,
+though the human beings that were there drove her away. But in some
+there were no people, and she could fly all over without being molested.
+
+At last she entered the house where the house spider was who had
+devoured the cockroach. She flew around. She caught sight of a spider.
+Its dull gray color could not escape her.
+
+The acute hearing of the spider soon told him that a wasp, his most
+dreaded enemy, was in the house, and he was seized with great fear, for
+he knew his life was in danger. He lay as flat as he could on the wall
+and did not move, hoping not to be discovered.
+
+But his efforts were of no avail. In a flash the wasp was right over the
+spider, almost touching his body,—all her efforts and intelligence
+concentrated in the capture and destruction of her victim. She darted
+her legs at their full length between the legs of the spider, striking
+them incessantly to prevent him from moving, and so rapidly that they
+could hardly be seen, while at the same time she gave constant bites in
+the back of his neck. Faster and faster moved her legs.
+
+[Illustration: [Wasp]]
+
+When the wasp thought she had crippled the spider enough, she drew
+backward, her head moving down, and her nippers cut his right leg near
+its junction with his body. She moved forward again, and bit the neck
+once more, and after this cut his left front leg. The eight legs were
+cut off, one after the other, in this way. During the whole fight the
+spider seemed benumbed, and after the last leg had dropped the wasp flew
+away with the body to devour it at her ease.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXXI
+                  THE TWO NKENGOS, OR PALE-FACED APES
+
+
+In the midst of the dark foliage of a group of trees stood two pale
+yellow-faced nkengos (men of the woods). Strange, indeed, looked their
+yellow, wrinkled, parchment-like faces, in the midst of the green leaves
+that surrounded them. They were almost like the faces of white human
+beings after a long illness, but darker.
+
+They had met toward evening near their two bowers, as was their habit,
+when they had to separate to seek food during the day. Suddenly the
+smaller one said to his mate: “I saw a strange being to-day, the like of
+whom you and I have never seen during our lives. He had a pale face like
+ours, and very long, black, shaggy hair, as black as ours, fell from his
+head low down on his back. He walked quite erect, had long legs, much
+longer than ours, and a shorter body; his arms were also much shorter
+than ours. All I could see was his pale face and his short white hands,
+and his whole body was unlike these in color. I cannot explain what this
+was, for I have never seen the like of it before. Strange to say, his
+feet were black and not of the color of his face, and he had no toes. He
+carried something like a stick. He looked at me with such peculiar eyes
+that I was dreadfully frightened, and I fled. Then I heard coming from
+him a terrible noise like a clap of thunder, and something whistled by
+like a sharp insect, and made a gash in a tree ahead of me. I ran as
+fast as my legs would carry me, and escaped him, and I am safe by your
+side.”
+
+[Illustration: [Gorillas]]
+
+The old nkengo listened attentively. Then after his mate had stopped, he
+replied: “Truly, you give me strange news. Are you sure it was not a
+nkengo like ourselves?”
+
+“Yes,” she replied; “I am sure this strange creature was not a nkengo.”
+
+“How sure are you,” he asked again, “that he was not one of these human
+beings that we see sometimes in our forest?”
+
+“No,” she answered; “the human beings we see have not that color,
+neither have they long black hair like his. He had their shape, but his
+body was not like theirs or ours.”
+
+No wonder that the nkengo had been astonished and frightened in seeing
+the pale-faced human being, with long shaggy hair hanging over his
+shoulders, for he was the first of his kind that had entered the heart
+of the big forest. His face had color before he came to that land of
+trees, but fever, hunger, and all kinds of hardships had taken that
+color away and made his face lemon-yellow and pale as that of the
+nkengos.
+
+His country was in the west, toward the north, across the great sea, and
+had snow and ice, winter, spring, summer, and autumn, instead of a rainy
+and dry season and summer all the time. The stick the nkengo thought he
+carried, was his gun, and the clap of thunder she heard, was when he
+fired that gun; the whistle and the thing that struck the tree was the
+bullet he had fired at her. His black feet without toes were his shoes.
+What covered his body was his clothes. He had come to that forest to see
+the wonderful animals that lived in it, and to study their habits and
+those of the wild human beings. His name was Paul.
+
+The two nkengos were much disturbed during the night, for they could not
+sleep, and were thinking all the time of the human being with a pale
+face like theirs, and of his long dark hair and the thunder that came
+out of the stick.
+
+The following morning, after they had come down from their respective
+bowers and trees, they walked for a little while together, and then
+separated to go after berries, nuts, and fruits, for there were not
+enough of these together for the two. They agreed to keep near each
+other. So now and then their voices could be heard calling out as they
+moved along in the great forest.
+
+The big nkengo found a place with trees full of nuts and called to his
+mate to come and partake of the feast. When they met they were glad and
+had a grand time eating nuts. When they could eat no more, it was about
+time to return to their bowers, which were distant about half a day’s
+journey. On their way back, they met a very old nkengo with a face full
+of furrows and wrinkles. He was so old that he had lost all his teeth
+but five. He was stiff with rheumatism and pain and could hardly walk.
+“How are you, dear old nkengo?” they inquired with looks of pity on
+their faces.
+
+He answered: “I am old and shall soon die. I wander alone in the forest,
+for I cannot follow the other nkengos. They walk too fast for me. I have
+hardly any teeth, and now I can only feed on leaves. I have not the
+strength to go after fruits, for I cannot climb trees as I used to do.
+All I am able to do is to hoist myself on some tree to sleep. I cannot
+make bowers any more. A leopard will probably eat me one of these days,
+for I am unable to defend myself. My mate is dead.”
+
+Then they said: “Dear old nkengo, we are sorry for you. We pity you. We
+wish we could be with you, but life is a struggle. We have often to go
+far away during the day to get our living, and if we were to stay with
+you we should starve, for we hate leaves, and they are not sufficient to
+satisfy our hunger. Good-by. Good-by.”
+
+And the poor old nkengo was left to himself to finish his life in the
+best way he could.
+
+Two or three days after they had met the old nkengo, the big one said to
+his mate, as they returned to their bowers in the evening: “When we
+built our bower here some days ago, our place at first was surrounded by
+fruits, nuts, and berries. The trees were full of them. We had but a
+little way to go to find our food, but as usual every day we had to go a
+little farther, as we had eaten everything around here. It takes so much
+to feed us daily. Now we have to go so far that it almost takes the
+whole day to go to and from our shelter before it gets dark. We must
+find another country where food is plentiful; for two or three days past
+we have not eaten enough to satisfy our appetites.
+
+“Let us journey to-morrow morning to that part of the forest where we
+know that at this moon of the rainy season we shall find plenty to eat.
+We shall be there in two days if we travel fast, and hope to arrive
+before the monkeys and the ngoas and men of the woods make their
+appearance, and eat everything, and leave nothing for us.” His mate
+agreed with him, and they ascended their trees and lay down in their
+bowers.
+
+Before daybreak the guinea fowls and the partridges by their cackling
+announced that daylight was soon coming. By this time all the nocturnal
+animals had retired to their hiding-places, some in their burrows,
+others in the holes of trees or in other dark places.
+
+The nkengo said to his mate, “The partridges and the guinea fowls have
+told all those who get their living in daylight that the dawn is coming,
+and that the sun will soon rise. As soon as we can see, we will begin
+our journey.” A little while after, they started and found the food very
+scanty as they went along, as they were travelling over the ground they
+had been over before.
+
+By the afternoon they had come to a new land where berries, nuts, and
+fruits began to be plentiful, and they were very glad. But they were
+very suspicious also, for since one of them had seen the pale-faced
+human being with long black hair they were more shy than they ever had
+been before, and they were in constant dread of meeting him with his
+stick, which sent forth claps of thunder.
+
+Their wild and eager eyes glanced in every direction, trying to pierce
+through the forest, and they listened to every noise they heard, fearing
+that it was he that was coming. The sense of hearing of the men of the
+woods is so keen that they can hear the slightest noise a long way off.
+During the day they had been alarmed several times.
+
+Toward evening the nkengo said: “To-night we will sleep upon the
+branches of trees, and early to-morrow we will go farther and see if
+food is still plentiful; and if it is, we will find two trees upon which
+to build our bowers. I am glad that we have found no traces of nginas,
+nshiegos, mbouvés, and kooloo-kambas, so we are the first on the
+ground,” and he grinned when he said this, for he thought of the grand
+time and fine feasting they were to have.
+
+“But,” he added, “I hope the nginas will not make their appearance when
+we are here, for we cannot fight them, they are so strong. We shall have
+to give way to them, otherwise they would break our ribs with a blow of
+their strong arms and kill us.”
+
+The sun had just set. It was getting dark in the forest. The nkengos
+ascended two trees and bade each other good-night. Early the following
+morning they explored the country farther and continued to meet with
+plenty of nuts, fruits, and a few berries, and some nice juicy canes.
+Before noon, they stopped and said: “This country is good; food is
+plentiful; let us build our bowers here, for we shall have food all
+around us.”
+
+The two trees they were looking for were not so easy to find. They had
+to be almost side by side. After a tedious search the big nkengo found
+them. He called aloud for his mate, who answered him, then shouted to
+her that he had found the trees they were in search of. The first
+transverse limbs of these trees were high up (at least twenty-five or
+thirty feet above the ground), and there was no jungle round them. These
+limbs upon which they could build their bowers were covered with
+branches, strong and slender, which they could twist together. After
+looking at them, the big nkengo said to his mate who had come up, “The
+leopards will not be able to climb these trees, and the big omembas will
+not be able to crawl from other trees to ours.” They each ascended one
+of the trees and began to make their own bowers by intertwining their
+branches. They made them in the shape of a slightly hollow dish, put
+leaves inside, and when they were ready, they said to each other, “What
+fine bowers we have made! We could not have found better trees. How well
+we shall sleep in them!” Then they gave peculiar guttural sounds, such
+as the nkengos make when they are satisfied. That night they slept
+soundly.
+
+Early in the morning they awoke and greeted each other by saying, “Whoe,
+whoe,” which meant something like “Good-morning.” Then they said, “Our
+bowers were rather hard last night, but in two or three days the
+branches will have bent to our shape.”
+
+[Illustration: [Gorillas]]
+
+They descended and came toward each other. That day they had not far to
+go to get food, for some of the trees close to their new home were
+loaded with fruit. They ascended these by catching their lower branches
+with their hands and holding fast, then pulling themselves up with their
+muscular arms. They ate so much that they had to lie down on their backs
+in their bowers and take a good rest. In the afternoon they went out for
+another meal, and did not return until sunset.
+
+The following day the nkengos, having found a great deal of food,
+returned to their bowers earlier than usual, for, like all the men of
+the woods, when they have no appetite to stir them up, they are very
+lazy and like either to stay in one place or loiter about.
+
+As they were ready to ascend their trees, suddenly the old nkengo said
+to his mate, “Listen! listen!” The countenances of the two changed
+immediately; they stood up; they became all ears, and their faces wore a
+peculiar wild, anxious look.
+
+The old nkengo was right. They heard an unusual, strange noise, as if
+all the tops of the trees were being shaken by a strong wind. This
+strange noise became more distinct as it approached. Louder and louder
+it grew, and they recognized the footsteps of the elephants tramping
+through the jungle. The njokoos were coming toward them. They ascended
+their trees quickly, and in a short time a herd of njokoos passed at
+full speed by them. They stood silent as they looked upon the monsters,
+and finally said to each other, “The njokoos seem to be in a panic; but
+why?”
+
+Their anxiety was not removed, for they found out that the tramping of
+the njokoos had only drowned the noise made by other animals. Then they
+said to each other, “The bashikouay ants are coming our way; they are on
+the war path; the creatures of the forest are fleeing before them. Let
+us also flee and get out of their way.” They descended and fled on all
+fours, for with their great bulky bodies they could not make their way
+from branch to branch like the monkeys. But on the ground they could run
+very swiftly and cover more space in a given time than the monkeys.
+
+They looked very queer, with their bodies partly erect on account of the
+length of their arms, their hands closed and their fists striking the
+ground.
+
+They went on with all their might, crossed over shallow, clear little
+streams with sandy bottoms, and after a journey of some fifty miles came
+to a large river they had never seen before, and stopped. As they looked
+at the water, they saw some antelopes swimming to the opposite side, and
+said dolefully to each other, “The nkengos cannot swim like kambis, so
+we cannot cross the rivers.”
+
+So, as it was nearly dark, and they could not cross the river, they were
+forced to ascend two trees on their bank to spend the night.
+
+Early the next morning, having heard no flight of animals during the
+night, and seeing no sign of the bashikouays, they retraced their steps
+toward their bowers; and though they had never been in this part of the
+forest before, they knew their way back. In the afternoon they saw a
+clump of trees loaded with fine big ripe nuts. Near them was a limpid
+stream forming a deep pool, so clear that they could see the bottom. The
+pool was full of fish.
+
+The two nkengos were soon on the nut trees, giving chuckles of
+contentment as they fed. After a bountiful repast, they watched the
+fish, and were much interested in seeing them swim.
+
+While the nkengos were watching the fish, a very remarkable little
+animal, looking like a pigmy otter, had followed the bank of the stream
+and came to the pool, where a number of stones piled on each other lay
+under the water.
+
+Suddenly a plash was heard, and the pool was covered with ripples. The
+nkengos thought a stick or dead limb had fallen into the water, but
+looking for it they saw none. The little otter had dropped into the
+water, had caused the ripples, and had hidden under the stones to watch
+for fish. He could see through the clear water as an eagle can see
+through the air. Lying under the stone, he watched for prey, and said to
+himself, “What a delightful morsel a fish is! I am hungry. Surely I
+shall get a meal in this pool; there must be fish here.” Then he awaited
+his opportunity, his eyes looking sharply around.
+
+The fish were not aware of the presence of this little enemy, their
+greatest one except the bigger fish. They were after the insects and
+flies that were skimming over the water, and gobbling them as fast as
+they could.
+
+Then darting from under the stone, propelled by his tail with the
+quickness of an arrow, the otter made for one of the fish and seized
+him, after which he returned to his hiding-place to devour him. The poor
+fish had just begun his own dinner.
+
+After looking at all this, the nkengos continued their journey toward
+their bowers. They picked out food on their way, and were glad when they
+reached their home that evening. “To-night,” they said, “we shall sleep
+comfortably. How much better we shall rest than sitting on the branch of
+a tree! what a lovely home we have built!”
+
+Every day they had to go a little farther from their bowers to find
+food. After ten or twelve days they had to go so far that they decided
+to move again and build another shelter somewhere else. And this they
+had to keep doing throughout their lives. Time went on; they moved many
+times, but they never forgot the pale-faced human being with long black
+shaggy hair hanging over his shoulders. They were constantly afraid of
+meeting him.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXII
+                A BABY NKENGO IS BORN TO THE OLD NKENGOS
+
+
+One day a tiny baby was born to the old nkengos. He was yellow in the
+face like his parents; his elongated little hands, with their slender
+fingers, and his small feet, with their diminutive toes, could have gone
+through an ordinary finger ring of a human being, so small were they.
+
+The skin of his body was somewhat lighter than his face and thinly
+covered with short black glossy hair. His ears were very large for his
+head. The palms of his tiny hands were white, but no sign or color of
+blood showing through his skin was to be seen on any part of his body.
+
+The second day after he was born he could cling to his mother, so that
+she could easily carry him. The baby nkengos are not so helpless as
+human babies.
+
+Every evening the mother took the little nkengo to her bower and he
+slept by her side. She loved him dearly and took good care of him, and
+saw that he was not cold, and would cuddle him many times during the day
+and night close to her breast. The old nkengos would often say to each
+other, “Let us take good care of our little one.”
+
+The time came when the little nkengo began to get some of his first
+teeth. He also began to talk nkengo, which he learned from his parents.
+He was exceedingly fond of his mother, and loved to be continually
+fondled, and as soon as she stood still, he would go to her to be
+caressed. He would stand between her legs, or lie on her breast, while
+Papa Nkengo stood gazing at them both.
+
+The little one soon showed a bad temper, and was very self-willed; and
+if anything displeased him, he would become angry, utter piercing cries,
+stamp his foot on the ground, and refuse to be pacified until he had his
+own way. He was a great trial to his mamma. Sometimes she would let him
+cry until he was tired. At other times she would fondle him. Then he
+became quiet and fell asleep between her legs, or down by her side, with
+his little head resting on her breast. Strange to say, all the babies of
+the men of the woods have bad tempers.
+
+The little nkengo took naturally to climbing trees, being born with long
+arms and long hands, and feet that could be used as hands. One day, as
+he was practising on a young tree, and was hanging, holding on to a
+branch by one of his arms and then raising himself by the power of his
+muscles, the big nkengo said to his mate: “Our little one is making
+great progress in climbing; soon he will climb trees and go about among
+their branches as well as we do, and then he will be able to get his
+living without help.”
+
+The little nkengo grew up fast, but his jaws were not strong enough, nor
+his mouth big enough, to enable him to crush the hard koola nuts. So
+when they came to a koola-nut tree, under which the nuts had fallen, his
+parents would break them and pass them to him afterward, to his great
+delight. Every time he came across any koola nuts, he would try to crack
+them, but he could not, and this would make him very angry. He wanted to
+become a full-grown, powerful nkengo at once.
+
+He now ascended many trees; and as the extremity of the branches was too
+slender for his weight, he would, nkengo fashion, extend his long arm
+and pluck the fruits. Sometimes when he felt lazy—and the men of the
+woods often feel so—he would seize with his feet a branch full of fruit
+under him, and bring it up and pluck his food from it.
+
+One afternoon, as the three were wandering in the forest, they came upon
+a suspicious-looking thing. The old nkengos looked at it with much
+distrust. It was a trap made by human beings to catch monkeys with, and
+near it was some fine big juicy fruit that they had put there to tempt
+the monkeys.
+
+The old nkengo inspected it carefully and said to his mate, “I scent
+here the human beings.” He had hardly uttered these words when he saw
+their footprints. Then he gave a grin, and added, “The human beings can
+make traps to catch the monkeys, njokoos, and other animals, but they
+never can succeed in trapping us nkengos. We know their tricks and
+snares; we are too knowing for them.”
+
+They kept a sharp lookout, and told the young nkengo not to go near the
+trap, for he was not old enough yet to know all the wicked ways of the
+human beings; and they talked to him, and warned him of the danger of
+such traps, and told him to look at it carefully, so that he would know
+one the next time if he should encounter it.
+
+Rainy and dry seasons passed; the young nkengo grew larger and larger,
+and his first teeth began to drop out and be replaced by others. When
+the old nkengos saw this, they said, “Our offspring is getting on
+finely; soon he will have all his teeth, his jaws will then be stronger,
+he will be a fine strapping nkengo.”
+
+One day they came across a koola-tree, beneath which many nuts were
+scattered over the ground. The young nkengo at last broke one with his
+teeth. Then he gave a big shout of joy. The old nkengos were delighted
+when they saw this, and said, “He is now able to take care of himself.”
+
+Time passed; the three nkengos kept the even tenor of their way, and led
+the life which nkengos lead. After remaining ten or fifteen days in a
+place, the food was eaten up for some distance around, and they moved
+away and built new shelters. One day the young nkengo, who had many
+times watched his parents make their shelter, made one for himself, to
+their great joy. Then they said to each other, “Soon he will leave us
+and go into the forest by himself.”
+
+Some days afterward the young nkengo said to the old folks, “I am going
+to leave you and act as you did yourselves once.” The following day he
+left them, and wandered all alone in the forest and built his own bower.
+
+But he felt lonely, for he was without a mate; he bemoaned his fate.
+Once in a while he would call out, “Whoe! whoe!” but there was no
+response, for he was the only nkengo in that part of the forest.
+
+He continued his solitary ramble, till he reached a beautiful clear
+stream, the water of which was as smooth as glass. Going to the bank, he
+saw himself reflected in the water, but did not know that what he saw
+was only his image. At this sight he was delighted and said, “At last I
+have found a companion that will live with me,” looking intently at what
+he believed was another nkengo.
+
+Then he stood up and saw the shadow do the same. He thought it was
+rising to come to him and was happy at the sight. Then he opened his
+mouth and said, “Whoe! whoe!” and he saw the image open its mouth. He
+became very eager and jumped up and down, and saw the image in the water
+do likewise. Then he said, “Nkengo dear, how happy I am to meet you!”
+And the form in the water made the same motions.
+
+The nkengo was so glad to think that his lonely days had come to an end
+that he became much excited, and as he moved, the image moved also. When
+he shook his body, the reflection did the same, and it repeated whatever
+he did. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, or moved his arms, the
+supposed nkengo in the water did likewise. He could see the face
+plainly, the wrinkles, the eyes, the flat nose, the thin lips, the big
+ears,—in a word, the whole body; but he never thought it was his own
+image.
+
+He extended his arms toward the shape, and the shape did likewise; he
+advanced to the very brink of the stream, and the image did the same.
+Then he thought, “The nkengo is coming toward me,” and moved his arm
+forward to caress his mate; but instead his hand touched the water and
+the ripples made by it hid the image for a while, and he thought his
+mate had disappeared. He did not know what to make of this. Then he
+yelled, his hair became erect on his body, and the water having become
+quiet again, he saw the image also yelling with its hair erect. That
+angered him and he said to himself, “This is a fighting nkengo, and
+cannot be my mate. We must fight.” Then he made another dash to seize
+his antagonist, and this time he dipped his arms deep into the water. At
+last he realized that the nkengo was his own image, and he went away
+much chapfallen, and resumed his wandering in search of a mate. Every
+day he called aloud continually, and one day he heard a response. He
+went toward the voice, and there saw a beautiful young nkengo, and said
+to her, “Will you be my mate?” She replied, “Yes,” and they lived
+happily, as did their old parents, and led the same kind of a life in
+their turn.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXIII
+                       THE NGANDOS, OR CROCODILES
+
+
+A troop of monkeys were looking down one day from the top of a tree at a
+lagoon studded with mud banks, and saw a large number of ngandos basking
+in the sun. They laughed at them, and said: “Ngandos are big and ugly;
+but they cannot climb trees, and come and gobble us into their big, ugly
+mouths. Strange it is that their enormous mouths are only good for
+eating; but this must be so, for we never hear them talk.” The
+crocodiles were very numerous, and could hardly be distinguished from
+the mud upon which they lay. Many of them were more than twenty feet in
+length.
+
+The monkeys were making all kinds of disparaging remarks about the
+crocodiles, who could hear their chatter, but did not move or wink. “No
+creature,” said one of the monkeys, “looks as stupid and lazy as the
+ngandos. Look at them!” and all the monkeys laughed. The crocodiles did
+not understand the language of the monkeys, and even if they had been
+able to, they could not have gone to fight them, as they could not climb
+trees and jump from one limb to another. Had they even thought of
+trying, the monkeys would have laughed at them still more.
+
+Every animal has a nature to suit his mode of life, and that of the
+crocodiles is not to climb trees to get food, but to wait for prey,
+hidden in the water or in the rushes. They are most cunning creatures.
+
+[Illustration: [Crocodiles]]
+
+Once in a while a huge ngando would open his long, pointed mouth,
+showing his fierce-looking jaws armed with sharp teeth, enough to make
+one shudder at the sight. “When I seize my prey, and shut my mouth and
+hold it there,” said one of them, “my long teeth sink into its flesh,
+and it cannot escape; besides, I drag it into the water, where it would
+drown anyhow. What a good thing it is that we ngandos have such powerful
+jaws, and can move so swiftly in the water! Our tails propel and steer
+us wherever we want to go, and our sharp-pointed heads allow us to
+cleave the water swiftly. We can also see well.”
+
+Once in a while a crocodile’s head would appear suddenly on the surface
+of the water, and lie so still that it might have been taken for a big
+piece of wood or a dead tree floating; while other heads were seen
+moving in the direction of the mud banks, leaving an almost
+imperceptible ripple behind them; and when near the banks their huge
+dark bodies would gradually appear out of the water as they climbed on
+the mud. There they would lie perfectly motionless by the side of the
+others. They were then so quiet that they appeared as if they were dead.
+There were many crocodiles that were out of sight; these were hidden
+among the tall reeds growing on the muddy shores of the lagoon, and were
+resting among them.
+
+All the denizens of the forest wondered how ngandos could understand one
+another, for they never had heard them speak or even make a noise. Yet
+the crocodiles understand one another perfectly, by signs made with
+their eyes, and in peculiar silent ways unknown to anybody but to
+themselves. They are not as stupid as they are thought to be, otherwise
+they would not be able to get their living.
+
+The ngandos often said to one another, “We are safe in our lagoons, for
+no animal of the forest dares to come and attack us. Our enemies are the
+human beings; but if we see one walking on the shores of our lagoon, we
+dart at him and seize him in our powerful jaws, taking him in the water
+to devour him.”
+
+As the days advanced, and the sun became warm, almost all the crocodiles
+went in among the reeds, and all the mud banks became deserted, and the
+animals of the forest did not know what had become of them. When the sun
+was half down to the horizon from noon-tide, the crocodiles left their
+hiding-places to try to get their afternoon meal. The water then seemed
+to be covered with crocodiles’ heads. They were seen everywhere. They
+watched the shores with their piercing eyes. They knew that it was the
+time when many animals of the forest came to drink. One ngando said to
+his mate: “You and I will go yonder and watch that opening among the
+reeds, where we can see the shore, for it is a good place for watching.
+Prey may come there to drink, or to see if there is some good fording
+place to reach the other bank.”
+
+The two crocodiles swam slowly and noiselessly toward the bank of the
+river. They seemed to have no apparent object. They did not wish to draw
+attention to themselves; but, after a while, it happened that all the
+crocodiles had chosen their watching-places. The two already spoken of
+took each a good position to watch for prey, and were quite a distance
+from each other, for crocodiles seek for prey alone. Soon the big one
+saw a kambi coming toward the water, and swam toward him. His head was
+the only part of his body that was visible. Only the acutest eye could
+have noticed the ripple he left behind. Then he stopped and waited,
+sinking his flat head deeper into the water, up to his very eyes.
+
+Just at that moment a nshiego (chimpanzee) from a tree was looking at
+the lagoon and watching all the moving heads going hither and thither.
+Suddenly he gave a yell and frightened the kambi, which ran off. The
+crocodile was much disappointed.
+
+Soon after this appeared on the shore a drove of ngoas. At their head
+was a fierce-looking boar, the chief of the drove, with formidable
+tusks. They were heading for the water. As soon as the crocodile saw
+them, he swam nearer the shore, and once in a while his head would
+disappear under the water, and when it reappeared, it was nearer to the
+ngoas than before. Once the ngoas became suspicious and glanced in his
+direction. When he saw this, he said: “I must hide under water to allay
+the fear of the ngoas,” and then disappeared under the water for a
+while. But every time his head reappeared, it was nearer to the bank
+than before. His eyes and the top of his head above them was all that
+could be seen floating. He swam slowly toward the ngoas.
+
+These in the mean time were in the mud and enjoying themselves, and did
+not notice the crocodile. The chief of the ngoas stood ahead of his
+drove, digging up the mud with his nose. The crocodile made for him as
+quick as an arrow; and, before the ngoa had time to become aware of his
+danger, he was in the powerful jaws of his enemy. The poor ngoa gave one
+shriek of pain. All the others fled in the utmost terror, each uttering
+cries of fear, and soon disappeared in the great forest. In the mean
+time, their poor chief was making a meal for the crocodile.
+
+[Illustration: “_All the others fled in terror and disappeared in the
+Great Forest_”]
+
+In their flight the ngoas met another drove of their kind, and shrieked
+to them in the language of the ngoas: “Don’t go to the lagoon, for our
+chief has just been eaten up by a ngando!” Then they put themselves
+under the other chief, and rambled in the forest in search of food,
+taking good care never to go near the lagoon.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXIV
+                     THE OGATA, OR BURROW CROCODILE
+
+
+A big ogata, over seven feet long, was looking one day from the dark
+opening of his burrow built on a declivity of a hill by a large river,
+watching for prey. The creature was ugly enough, and looked somewhat
+like his cousin the crocodile, and he is just as bad if not worse. The
+ogata is a night animal.
+
+From his dark hole, his hungry eyes peered through the intense darkness;
+but no prey was in sight. “I have had a hard life lately,” he said; “I
+have been hungry, for prey is scarce, and all the animals of the forest
+are now afraid of this place, for I have devoured many, and those who
+have escaped from my powerful jaws have told the others to beware of
+this neighborhood.”
+
+Then he opened his big mouth, and thought of the many animals that had
+been held last in his jaws, and of his many delicious meals, and added:
+“The good meals of the past do not help the future; indeed, when we are
+hungry, the recollection of them only serves to give us a greater
+appetite. Here I starve now, and I must move away to some other
+quarters; otherwise I shall die of hunger.”
+
+His big body gradually issued from his hole, and, through the darkness,
+which to him was like sunshine, he looked up and down the river, for he
+had not made up his mind yet which way to go and explore. After much
+thought, he decided to go up-stream. He walked or swam along the wooded
+shores of the river, and after a while came to the declivity of another
+hill by the water, where he stopped, and looking around said: “Here is a
+good place for me to make my burrow. The rain when it runs down will not
+fill my home. Surely animals will come here to drink or to cross the
+river.” Whereupon he chuckled as the ogata does at the prospect of
+having a good meal.
+
+He immediately set at work, and with his foreclaws dug a round hole,
+just big enough for him to go through. After a while only half of his
+body was to be seen. The earth which he excavated was thrown out by his
+forefeet, armed with heavy claws, and heaped up behind him. It was hard
+work, for he had met with roots of trees, and these had to be cut
+through and taken out of the way. If he had been a human being, he would
+have been worn out. His big claws did splendid work. After a while only
+his tail was to be seen, his hind-legs being hidden in the burrow and
+helping to throw out the dirt the forelegs dug. The burrow went deep
+into the declivity of the hill, and when finished had two entrances,—one
+to go in, the other to go out.
+
+It was nearly daylight when he had finished his burrow. So he went in to
+spend the day, and had a good sleep. When night came, he went to the
+other opening to watch for prey. His ugly head and wicked, treacherous
+eyes were listening and watching; but that night no animal came to the
+river to drink. He felt terribly hungry and said to himself: “Strange it
+is if I have built my burrow in a place where no animal comes to drink.
+It is not often that I am mistaken in my selection of a home.”
+
+As he watched he heard a rippling on the water, and, looking in the
+direction from which the sound came, saw up the river a gazelle swimming
+toward the other shore, which she had nearly reached. He immediately
+left his burrow, and in an instant was swimming, against the current, as
+fast as he could toward the beautiful creature, saying to himself, “Now
+I shall soon have a meal. It is about time, for I am starving.”
+
+He was near his prey in an incredibly short time, but if she succeeded
+in landing, she would escape him by running at once into the forest, and
+his meal, upon which he was counting so much, would vanish.
+
+The poor gazelle found that the fierce ogata was after her; she swam as
+fast as she could, and landed, with her enemy within a few feet of her.
+In another moment his jaws would have closed upon her. But she bounded
+into the forest, and soon was out of sight.
+
+The ogata was furious, and said: “You miserable little gazelle, you have
+escaped me!” Then he grinned as the ogatas do; but it was a grin of
+disappointment and hate. Reluctantly he recrossed the river, and went to
+his burrow to watch again for prey.
+
+The day of retribution was coming for the ogata; his life of slaughter
+was soon to come to an end. No more creatures were to be eaten by him.
+It happened the next day that some human beings, as they were paddling
+in their canoe close to the shore, saw the burrow the ogata had made.
+They landed, and exhibited great glee when they saw the fresh trail of
+the ogata. They knew it was not an old burrow, and that the ugly
+creature was inside asleep.
+
+So they went back of the two openings, collected wood, closed the
+entrances, and inside the exit, a little distance from its mouth, set a
+snare to catch him. When all was ready, they lighted a fire at one
+entrance, and pushed the burning wood inside. The smoke was so dense,
+and the fire so bright, that the ogata was frightened and ran out toward
+the exit. There he was caught in the meshes made for him, and was
+killed.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXXV
+   THE KAMBIS, OR ANTELOPES, THE NCHERIS, OR GAZELLES, AND THE BONGO
+
+
+A herd of beautiful kambis with long spiral horns were one day running
+through the forest for their lives, and never stopped until they had
+gone many miles, and thought themselves out of danger. They were panting
+for breath, for they had run a long way and were much frightened.
+
+When they had rested, they exclaimed: “It is a wonder that we have been
+able to grow to our full size. Just think of the enemies we have
+prowling in the forest, and all the time seeking to kill us! We never
+know if we are safe. We have to be all the time on the lookout. The
+wicked and blood-thirsty njego is always trying to take our lives. Think
+of the number of kambis the njegos kill every rainy and dry season. Only
+a few days ago one of these horrid njegos sprang upon us and killed one
+of our number.
+
+“There is the huge ombama; he is just as sly as, and even more so than,
+all our other enemies. He coils round trees of his color, so that we
+cannot see him, then darts upon us when we pass near him and squeezes us
+to death.
+
+“The mboyos [jackals] corral us, then precipitate themselves upon us and
+kill us. The hyenas are also our enemies, and are just as bad as the
+mboyos. The crocodiles sometimes catch us. We do no harm to any of these
+wicked creatures. We are not blood-thirsty. We live on the leaves of
+trees. We kill none of their prey. It is fortunate that we are
+fleet-footed.”
+
+Then a wise old kambi said: “Our greatest enemies are the human beings.
+They kill more of us than all the njegos, ombamas, crocodiles, hyenas,
+and jackals put together. These human beings are full of evil devices
+and tricks, and have mboua [dogs] to hunt us. They spread long lines of
+nets in the forest to catch us, drive us within them, and then come and
+kill us.”
+
+“Yes,” assented all the kambis. “These human beings are indeed our worst
+enemies, though we do not do them any harm whatever; we do not eat their
+plantains or their other food.”
+
+As they had done speaking, and were beginning to nip at the leaves,
+there came up at full speed a herd of graceful little ncheris with heads
+ornamented with short, pointed little horns, and stopped.
+
+“Good-morning, kambis,” said the little ncheris to the big kambis, who
+were giants compared to them.
+
+“Good-morning, dear little ncheris,” replied the big kambis.
+
+“We have had a great escape,” said the ncheris. “We did not fall into
+the nets the human beings had laid to ensnare us with; but we saw many
+of your kind and many of ours caught by those horrid nets and dogs, as
+we passed by; and other beasts also,—some of them our enemies.”
+
+“Glad to hear it. That is good news to us, for there will be fewer of
+these horrid creatures after us.”
+
+The gazelles also wondered how they could have grown to their present
+size without being killed and devoured, as they had more enemies than
+the kambis, for they were smaller, and some of the night prowlers that
+did not attack the big kambis attacked them.
+
+“We are more unfortunate than you are, big kambis,” said they, “on
+account of our small size. Only the biggest of the omembas can take your
+lives.”
+
+“It is fortunate,” replied the big kambis, “that the ichneumon and some
+of the night prowlers kill these horrid omembas before they are full
+grown.”
+
+“Yes,” answered the little ncheris, “for if these horrid snakes were not
+destroyed by them more of us would be killed every day.”
+
+Then in a chorus all shouted: “How we hate and fear the omembas! How we
+wish they and the dreadful njegos had more enemies, and that the
+ichneumons were more numerous!”
+
+As the gazelles and the antelopes were nipping at the leaves, there
+appeared among them a bongo, the rarest and most beautiful antelope of
+the forest. They all looked at the new-comer with amazement, and riveted
+their big black eyes upon him.
+
+Their astonishment was great, for they never had seen one like him
+before. No wonder, for there were so few bongos. His graceful shape and
+long spiral horns told them he was an antelope.
+
+“How beautiful you are!” cried all the kambis and ncheris at once. “You
+are the loveliest kambi we have ever seen. The bright yellow orange
+color of your skin, and the many milk-white stripes on your sides are a
+delight to look at!”
+
+[Illustration: [Antelope]]
+
+“My beauty is my curse, dear kambis and ncheris,” replied the bongo; “my
+yellow color and my white stripes are my bane, for my enemies, which are
+also yours, can spy me farther and quicker than they do you.”
+
+The kambis and the ncheris could not take their eyes away from the
+bongo. They admired him more and more, and proclaimed him the most
+charming creature of the forest.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXVI
+                         THE OSHINGI, OR CIVET
+
+
+An oshingi with its beautiful, spotted, leopard-like skin, and pretty,
+long-ringed tail, was cosily sleeping one day in the deep and dark
+hollow of a tree. When the day had passed away, and night had come, he
+grew restless in his sleep; for the oshingi belongs to the night
+prowlers. At last he opened his eyes, stretched himself, and yawned
+several times.
+
+A great storm was raging; the rain was falling heavily, and claps of
+thunder followed in quick succession. It was a fearful night. As the
+oshingi listened, he said to himself, “What a nice home I have! not a
+drop of rain comes in, and the wind cannot penetrate.” Then, with a long
+sigh, he added, “But a comfortable home does not give me a meal; and a
+nice home, without food, is a poor one. I have been hungry these last
+few days, and have several times returned to my lair with an empty
+stomach, or had only a scanty meal. I have lived too long in this
+neighborhood, and destroyed so many lives that I have frightened away
+all the prey. I ought to have departed before this; but I am loath to
+give up this comfortable home, one of the best that I have ever had.”
+
+No wonder the oshingi loved his lair. The hollow was very deep, cosey
+and soft at the bottom, and no animals would ever have thought that any
+one lived there, for the hollow was a few feet above the ground. Though
+his abode was pitch dark, his glittering eyes could see everything
+there, through the intense darkness, even the smallest grain of sand,
+just as if his place had been lighted by electric lights.
+
+“It is too early yet to go out after prey,” resumed the oshingi, “for
+the birds are not yet in their heavy sleep. They awaken easily, and
+scent danger quickly. They are suspicious, for they fear us, and other
+night prowlers who feed upon them. I must wait a while though I am so
+hungry. He who is patient and waits, gets the prey.”
+
+Reflecting thus, the oshingi coiled himself up and took another snooze;
+but now his heavy sleep was over, and he awoke now and then. At last
+about midnight he rose, saying to himself: “Half the night is over.
+Every day creature, animal and bird, is in its heaviest sleep, and will
+not scent me.”
+
+With the help of his cat-like claws, he ascended his hollow, and when he
+came to the top put his head out, looked around, and listened. The storm
+was over, so he could hear well.
+
+The oshingi is one of the most cautious and sly of the night prowlers.
+He is not of a very large size, with a body of about two feet long and a
+tail somewhat longer, and cannot fight big animals. His elongated head
+possesses most treacherous eyes. He sniffed the air, and thought there
+was no danger. So he came out, and descended the trunk of the tree
+backward, his claws firmly imbedded in the bark as a support to prevent
+him from tumbling down.
+
+When he had reached the ground, he stopped, and thought a while. He
+wondered in what part of the forest it was most likely that game could
+be found. He sniffed the air, so as to go against it, in order that the
+animals or birds upon which he preyed could not scent him, for the
+oshingi have a strong odor.
+
+Having discovered in which direction to go, he started out on his
+journey, saying: “I hope I shall find to-night some partridge or
+pheasant, or some of the fat green pigeons that perch on the lower
+trees. There are so many together that if I do I shall have a glorious
+feast. If I am unlucky then, I will go toward a river I know, and prowl
+along the shore, and seek for some wild duck resting or feeding on its
+banks, or for some other water bird.” He went noiselessly through the
+jungle, over the leaves and dead branches. Not one of his steps could be
+heard, for they were as light as those of the grasshopper, and did not
+make any more noise than a butterfly alighting on a flower or a leaf.
+This silent walking is the greatest gift possessed by the oshingis; no
+animal has a lighter step in the forest.
+
+But, in spite of all his gifts, of light step, of keen scent, and of
+splendid eyesight, he saw no game that night, and returned to his lair
+with an empty stomach. It was four o’clock in the morning, about the
+usual time the night prowlers return to their homes. Before he went to
+sleep, he said: “I must change my quarters. I shall not come back here
+again to spend the day, for I shall surely die of starvation in this
+neighborhood. How hard I have to work for my living!”
+
+[Illustration: [Civet]]
+
+The following night, the oshingi left his home earlier than usual, for
+not only had he to change his abode, but also to find prey. After a long
+tramp, he scented a black pheasant, and his eyes glittered with joy at
+the prospect of a good meal. When he came near, he saw that the black
+pheasant was seated on her nest; and in an instant he pounced upon the
+poor bird, cut its jugular vein, and drank its blood, devouring the body
+afterward. Then he continued his journey. “Now,” he said, “I have had a
+meal, and can look out for a new home.”
+
+Shortly afterward, looking carefully at the trees he passed by, he heard
+a noise of something coming toward him, and he hid under the root of a
+big tree. The noise was made by kambis that were travelling. After the
+kambis had passed, the oshingi came out of his hiding-place, and started
+again.
+
+The night was far advanced, and he had to hurry to find a place to sleep
+in. At last he found one, though it was not very comfortable, not being
+dark enough in daytime. As he lay down to sleep, he twisted his long
+tail over his eyes to hide the dim light when the day should come. Just
+as he was dropping off to sleep, he heard the cry of partridges calling
+to each other, and said to himself, for the oshingi know by the
+different noises the birds make what species they belong to, “To-morrow
+night I will hunt up those partridges.”
+
+The oshingi did not sleep well, for the place was not very dark, and he
+could not help remembering the cosey home he had abandoned. When it was
+night he left his hiding-place, and went after the partridges he had
+heard in the early morning; but they had gone far away, and he could not
+get his supper, and felt very disappointed. Giving up the chase of the
+partridges, he looked for a big old tree with a hollow, and ascended
+several in the hope of finding good lodgings, but saw none.
+
+Continuing his search, he heard a slight noise. He stopped, and saw a
+porcupine near by. But he said: “No matter how hungry I am, I will not
+attack you, porcupine. I am afraid of your long and hard quills.” And
+both animals went their way.
+
+Soon after the oshingi heard a great noise and ran up a tree to hide. A
+large herd of ngoas thereupon appeared, grunting terribly; for they had
+found many nuts on the ground, and their grunts were grunts of gladness.
+The chief of the herd scented the oshingi, and made for the tree in
+which he was hidden. But the oshingi waited for the boars to move on,
+and when they had done so, he came down the tree, crying: “What a fright
+those horrid ngoas gave me!”
+
+That night the oshingi discovered a fine, deep hollow, and entering it,
+explored it with great prudence, saw that it was all right, and rejoiced
+greatly, saying to himself: “I hope prey will be plentiful round here,
+so that I can enjoy this nice new house of mine for some time.” Then he
+looked at everything so as to know the surroundings well.
+
+From his new home the oshingi started every night after prey. At first
+he fed well, partridges, black pheasants, and other large birds being
+plentiful. He killed many and drank their blood. At last the survivors
+were terrified, and departed for another part of the forest.
+
+Then once more the oshingi had a hard time to get his meals, and days of
+hunger and starvation came again. He at first thought of going back to
+the lair he had left, but reflected to himself: “It has not been long
+enough yet since my departure for the partridges, pheasants, and other
+birds to return to that neighborhood. I must seek new quarters.”
+
+After two nights’ wandering, he reached the outskirts of a village of
+human beings, and, to his great joy, scented chickens. “I like to come
+to the habitations of human beings,” he chuckled, “for they always have
+chickens, and when I can get into a chicken-coop I am happy.”
+
+But he also scented dogs, which caused him to add, “I must beware of the
+dogs, for they are my enemies. Oh, how I hate dogs!” He took great
+precautions as he walked in the direction of the village. When near, he
+heard human voices and the barking of dogs, which frightened him.
+Thereupon he ascended a tree, and, seeing a hole in which to hide and
+sleep, he said: “I am going to stay here. I have seen villages of human
+beings before, and when they all go to sleep my turn will come, and I
+shall have a great time in the chicken-coops.”
+
+The following night the oshingi left his hiding-place to make his raid
+upon the chicken-coops. On his way, he said: “I must be very cautious,
+for now I am a thief, and must keep out of the way of the human beings
+and their dreadful dogs.”
+
+When he approached the village, his searching eyes saw fires burning in
+the street, and he heard the human beings talk. Then he went back to the
+forest to wait, and after a while returned to spy. This time everybody
+was asleep; there was no more noise. The dogs had gone inside the
+houses, or were also asleep. It was so quiet that only the wind passing
+through the branches of the trees could be heard by the night prowlers.
+
+The oshingi entered the village slyly, walking at first behind the
+houses, then in the street. He came to several chicken-coops; but there
+was no way of getting in, for they were very tightly made, the people
+having had their chickens killed by oshingis before. He walked several
+times around each, and noticed a dog asleep in the street. “I must keep
+out of the way of this ugly dog,” he said. “Happily they cannot see me
+when it is so dark; besides, they do not suspect my presence, and they
+cannot hear me walk.” He did not want to run any risks, and walked
+toward the end of the street. Suddenly he stopped, for he scented
+another chicken-coop. The scent was very strong, for the coop was full
+of chickens.
+
+He approached it and walked round it. To his joy, he found a little
+opening through which he could push himself. As soon as he had entered,
+he saw quantities of chickens perched on sticks, and his eyes glared
+like fire with hungry anticipation. In an instant the chickens were
+aware of the presence of one of their most inveterate enemies, and, much
+frightened, flew from one place to another, cackling very loud.
+
+The oshingi first caught the big rooster by the neck, cut its jugular
+vein and drank its blood, then did likewise with the other chickens, and
+did not go until they were all dead. He had hardly time to get through
+the hole, when the men, hearing the noise made by the chickens, rose and
+called their dogs. These dogs knew at once what they were wanted for,
+and hunted all round. The oshingi had just time to escape with his life.
+
+The people of the village were very angry when they saw the havoc the
+oshingi had wrought, and said, “Let us make traps to catch him.” The
+following day, they set traps outside the village, and put chickens in
+each of them. But the oshingi did not come back. He knew too much.
+
+The oshingis are very cunning, and it is very seldom that they return to
+a village where they have committed depredations. They wait a long while
+before coming again.
+
+One night the oshingi came to a river bank and spied on the water a
+flock of ducks in the midst of the thick darkness. His eyes followed the
+ducks swimming up and down the stream as the fancy took them. They were
+very shy, and once in a while through the deep silence of the forest
+they uttered subdued quacks, which were warnings to those of the flock
+who were approaching too near the shore not to go nearer. Their leader
+constantly uttered the note of warning which meant, “Keep in the middle
+of the stream.” He feared danger, for two or three weeks before, one
+night while feeding quietly on the grass growing on the low bank of the
+river, an oshingi had suddenly seized one of the ducks, and the flock
+flew away in great fright. The ducks had not forgotten this event and
+had been timid ever since.
+
+[Illustration: [Civet]]
+
+The oshingi, tired of waiting, became impatient, and said to himself:
+“When are those ducks coming ashore? I am hungry, and I want a meal.
+Surely they will land soon.” He did not know that the ducks had such
+good memories. But at last several of the ducks came dangerously near
+the shore. When the oshingi saw this, he left his hiding-place, and
+crawled toward the water through the shrubbery, his belly touching the
+ground. He was very cautious in all his movements. The subdued quacking
+of the ducks increased his ferocity and appetite.
+
+At last, to the great joy of the oshingi, some of the ducks came within
+a few feet of the shore. When he saw this, he said: “Surely I am soon to
+have a meal.” But he was again disappointed, for suddenly they veered
+round and swam back toward the middle of the stream. Their leader had
+given a peculiar quack which called them back; and, when they
+approached, he scolded them for being so imprudent, saying also: “Do you
+not remember the ferocious oshingi that pounced upon us some time ago?
+Do you wish the same fate as our comrade?”
+
+“No, no,” loudly quacked all the ducks.
+
+While the leader of the flock was talking, the oshingi was full of rage,
+and said: “Oh, how I hate the water! If it were not for the water, I
+should have had a meal of a duck by this time; but I did not dare to
+jump, for if I had I should have had to swim to the shore to save my
+life instead of catching ducks.”
+
+The oshingi spent the whole night watching the ducks, and at last, as
+daylight was soon coming, he went back to his lair, saying, as he walked
+away: “Those wretched ducks were too knowing for me; but one of these
+days I will be more cunning than they are.”
+
+The time came when the ducks build their nests, but these were on small
+islands where they knew the oshingis and other night prowlers could not
+reach them.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXVII
+    THE INSECTS, APILIBISHES, OR BUTTERFLIES, AND OSELIS, OR LIZARDS
+
+
+One day there was a great uproar among the insects and butterflies. They
+had just escaped being devoured by the bashikouay ants and the birds
+which had followed them. They called out to one another in their
+dialect: “We have so many enemies of all kinds that we never know when
+we are to be pounced upon, killed, and eaten up. The birds are after us.
+The ants are prowling in every direction seeking our lives. The spiders,
+the lizards, the frogs and toads, and many other of our enemies are
+seeking for us. It is wonderful that we are able to live long enough to
+grow to our full size.”
+
+An insect, looking toward another which was of the exact color of the
+dead leaves, observed: “You are lucky, for it is your good fortune to
+look like one of the dead leaves which are covering the ground. So you
+can escape the eyes of your enemies.”
+
+“Well,” replied the insect to whom the remark was made, “do you think I
+am better off than you? What have you to complain of? Is not your body
+of the color of a dead tree limb?—and it takes a pretty cunning enemy to
+find you where you are. You are also a lucky fellow. But,” he added,
+mournfully, “in spite of our color, many of us have been caught; for our
+enemies are very cunning.”
+
+A vengela, or grasshopper, said: “It is fortunate for me that I am of
+the color of the grass and of the green leaves, so that I am not easily
+seen by my enemies, the birds, and those horrid mogara and ozoni ants,
+who are always prowling around and seeking my life. How we dislike them!
+Also those long-legged cranes! How they pick us up with their long,
+pointed beaks, and how quick they are to espy us! I wonder that I have
+thus far escaped.”
+
+Another grasshopper said: “And I am glad that I am gray, like the earth
+and the dry leaves and grass in which I live.”
+
+An apilibish, or butterfly, exactly of the color of a dead leaf, said:
+“I am fortunate, for I am not easily noticed when I stand still; but as
+soon as I fly I am espied by those horrid birds. How I hate birds! So
+many of them are seeking the lives of us poor butterflies who do not
+harm them.”
+
+Another butterfly of brilliant colors said: “How thankful I am to be
+able to fly so quickly and erratically! If it were not for this, I
+should have very little chance to live, for the birds can espy me so far
+away with my bright colors. They make for me, and try to seize me in
+their horrid ugly bills. My fleetness is a great gift indeed, and helps
+me to escape from them.”
+
+A tiny viviki, or mosquito, said: “How I hate spiders, dragon flies, and
+their kind, for they like to feed upon us poor mosquitoes.” These
+blood-thirsty little creatures never thought of those whom they plagued
+to death, and who wished they were all dead.
+
+An oseli, or lizard, said: “I am glad I am so green, so that I can
+approach my prey.” The frogs and the toads also praised their colors,
+for they too could draw near their prey and not be so easily seen by
+their enemies.
+
+Every insect, every fly, small or large, was complaining of an enemy.
+Every animal and bird of the forest was doing the same thing, according
+to its own point of view; but they said nothing of their own doings of
+the same kind to every creature they persecuted or preyed upon. These
+had also their own point of view in regard to them.
+
+Furthermore, a wise insect, while listening to the woes of one of his
+kind, said: “If we had no enemies, we should multiply so fast that there
+would be no room for all the insects in the forest.”
+
+A totangoli, or chameleon, said: “Great gifts have been given to me; my
+skin changes color according to my surroundings. If I am walking in the
+grass, it turns green; farther on, if I find myself on a fallen tree, it
+takes the color of the bark. During the day I cannot tell the different
+shades of color which it takes. This continual change of color keeps me
+from being easily seen by my enemies, and allows me to approach flies
+and insects on which I feed.”
+
+
+
+
+                            CHAPTER XXXVIII
+                       THE NJOKOOS, OR ELEPHANTS
+
+
+Several herds of njokoos that had been hunted mercilessly by men in the
+immense shrub-covered country in which they had lived all their lives,
+encountered one another one day. Wherever they went, the hand of the
+human beings was against them. If they went one way, they met them; if
+they went another, they met them again. They had no peace, and were
+relentlessly pursued everywhere.
+
+So the njokoos hated human beings, and wondered how a creature so small,
+compared with their huge bodies, often slew them, and why they were so
+full of evil devices to set snares to kill them. The old njokoos, who
+had seen nearly one hundred rainy seasons, remembered the time when they
+could roam in peace in vast herds over a great part of the land. But now
+it was not so, and every year the herds became smaller and smaller, so
+many were killed. Every njokoo missed some friend who had been his or
+her constant companion. They were all filled with sorrow, which they
+expressed by trumpetings. These were followed by a long silence. The
+njokoos were all thinking.
+
+Then they gave shrill, piercing trumpetings of anger, so much dreaded by
+human beings, their huge bodies swayed to one side, then to the other,
+faster than usual, their big ears (the African elephants have much
+larger ears than their cousins from Asia) moved quickly, like fans,
+flapping against their heads, and their tails with their thin, short,
+coarse, and stiff black hair striking against their bodies.
+
+An old bull njokoo, the oldest of them all, and who had been lucky in
+escaping thus far with his life, suddenly broke the silence and said to
+the others:
+
+“Those of us who have seen many seasons, have killed many of the human
+beings that came to attack us. I have trampled upon many, and crushed
+their bodies as flat as the fallen leaves that cover the ground.”
+
+“Yes,” shouted all the elephants; “we have defended our friends, and
+killed many of these human beings.” Then all the njokoos uttered again
+trumpetings of pride.
+
+Another njokoo then said: “I have also trampled upon several of our
+enemies, the human beings, but I have killed most of them by seizing
+them with my trunk and dashing them against the ground.” After saying
+this, he also trumpeted loudly. This was followed by all trumpeting
+together, and there was again a short silence.
+
+Then a fierce-looking njokoo, with long heavy tusks, each weighing over
+one hundred pounds, said: “I like to impale the human beings I attack. I
+have never forgotten that one of these once wounded me badly. He made a
+terrible noise; it was like a clap of thunder [the firing of his gun],
+and I felt a sharp pain. I charged and impaled him to the whole length
+of my tusks.” After saying this, he also gave that peculiar shrill
+trumpeting of pride and satisfaction, and again all the njokoos uttered
+trumpetings of delight.
+
+There was silence again, and then another said: “I charged one of those
+horrid human beings some time ago, at full speed, but he was very
+cunning, waited for me, and as I was on the point of putting my tusks
+through him, he stepped backward and I missed him and passed by.
+Unfortunately we njokoos cannot turn back quickly. Our weight and speed
+are so great that we have to go a considerable distance before we can
+stop, and he escaped.” After saying this, he gave a peculiar trumpeting
+which meant how disappointed he was. Then all the njokoos said: “Would
+that you had killed this human being! But if the human beings escape
+with their lives when we attack them, we often also escape from them and
+their wiles.”
+
+This conversation ended, the different herds of njokoos went to pasture
+among the shrubs, but did not remain in peace very long, for a new set
+of human beings made their appearance. But the njokoos had been so much
+hunted that they were always on the alert, and were not to be caught
+napping. Their little piercing eyes were always on the lookout.
+Trumpetings of alarm were given by those who had seen the enemy, and the
+njokoos fled in the opposite direction, and by night they were out of
+danger.
+
+Two days afterward, as the njokoos were quietly feeding, they saw in the
+distance far away three or four black spots. They knew they were not
+human beings, but to their utter consternation they soon recognized them
+to be rhinoceroses, and said: “Let us flee, for those rhinoceroses are
+our worst enemies after the human beings. They are not afraid of our
+great size and attack us and often impale us with their tusk-like horns
+growing on their snouts.”
+
+So the elephants fled from the rhinoceroses. The following day those who
+were ahead saw toward the west a dark line far away, rising upon the
+horizon against the more or less open country. All the njokoos met, and
+they all journeyed toward the dark line which they knew to be a forest,
+and when they reached it, great indeed was the noise of their
+trumpeting. But they decided to remain outside that night and think the
+matter over before making the forest their home. Nevertheless, they were
+glad to have it so near at hand, for they knew they could escape the
+rhinoceroses and would live in the forest in peace, for they did not
+think human beings lived there.
+
+At daylight the njokoos entered the big forest, the largest one they had
+ever seen. After two days’ wanderings, they said: “Never have we seen
+such a thick forest before: the trees crowd on one another; the foliage
+is so thick that we cannot see the sky; only flickers of the sun,
+piercing through the leaves, appear in small spots here and there on the
+ground. Dark indeed is this forest. The leaves of many of the trees, and
+of the jungle, are so tender and sweet that we shall thrive in our new
+home.”
+
+Then there was silence, and a wise njokoo said: “Surely there are no
+human beings here. We shall be happy for the rest of our lives.”
+
+They advanced farther into the heart of the forest every day. It was a
+new world to them, and they met creatures they had never seen before,
+and said, “Strange, indeed, are the animals of this land.”
+
+One day, the new-comers met a herd of their own kin and found out that
+they spoke the same language; that these had all been born in the
+forest, as well as their forefathers for many generations, and did not
+know of any other country but this great land of trees. The new-comers
+asked of them many questions about their adopted home. They told them
+that there were great mountains, large and small rivers and lakes; that
+here and there there were prairies, some large and some small, but
+always surrounded by the forest; that it rained a great deal and that
+there was terrific thunder and lightning, and that tornadoes were
+frequent; that during the rainy season the rivers overflowed their
+banks; that there were many bogs in which often njokoos lost their
+lives, and of which they must beware.
+
+The new-comers inquired also if there were any rhinoceroses; and as
+these njokoos of the forest had never seen them, the new-comers had to
+explain what sort of animals they were, and were told they did not live
+in the forest. Also they asked if there were human beings in the forest.
+They said, “We have run away from the open country, for there were so
+many of them there. They left us no peace and have killed many of us.”
+
+The njokoos of the forest replied: “Yes, indeed, there are human beings
+in this forest, and they have made all kind of evil devices, traps, and
+pits, and snares to kill us. They are the greatest enemies we have, and
+we have had continually to flee from them and live in the secluded
+parts; but even there they have hunted and killed us.”
+
+This grieved the others, and all the njokoos uttered trumpetings of
+sadness and said, “Hard indeed is our life.”
+
+The forest njokoos continued: “We have also another enemy in the forest
+from whom we have constantly to flee. They are very small, but appear
+suddenly and in countless numbers. These are the bashikouay ants. Beware
+of them.”
+
+They told them also of the ngina, of the men of the woods, and of the
+great numbers of snakes.
+
+Then the forest njokoos and their new friends parted.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXXIX
+                     ADVENTURES OF THE NEW NJOKOOS
+
+
+The strangers, after they had left the forest njokoos, came to a large
+river, and were delighted not only because they could bathe in it, but
+because they saw the sunshine, which they had not seen since they had
+entered the forest. They expressed their joy by loud trumpetings.
+
+They looked at the river and saw that where they stood, the current was
+very swift and strong, so they said, “Let us go farther down, beyond the
+point we see; the water there will not be so swift.” And they walked
+toward the spot. It was as they thought. Soon they were all having a
+grand time in the water. When the njokoos swam, they threw water high
+into the air through their trunks.
+
+While they were bathing, they saw two strange-looking creatures eating
+fruit on a tree by the river and looking at them. These were nkengos,
+and their yellow faces looked strangely among the branches. They were
+not afraid of the njokoos, for they had seen many of them before. They
+had a special name for them, for all the animals of the forest can tell
+in their own language to their kind the names of the animals they meet.
+
+But it was not so with the new njokoos. Suddenly the two nkengos began
+talking to each other. The njokoos looked in the direction of the voices
+and saw the nkengos. They were filled with fear and uttered trumpetings
+of danger, left the water in a great hurry and fled into the forest, for
+they thought the nkengos were a kind of human beings.
+
+The njokoos were filled with wonder every day at the sight of the
+strange animals they saw, which were so unlike those of the open country
+they had left. They wondered at the monkeys, at the parrots, but above
+all at the men of the woods. Many of the night prowlers disquieted them,
+and they were especially uncomfortable when they met or scented a njego.
+
+One day the njokoos heard the footsteps of another njokoo coming toward
+them. This njokoo walked very slowly, and they wondered why, and
+trumpeted. Then they heard the feeble trumpeting of the stranger
+answering them. They waited, and soon they saw coming toward them a
+decrepit old njokoo. He was so old that he walked with very great
+difficulty. All took pity on him and had no desire to drive him away.
+
+The poor old njokoo had seen many rainy seasons, and was full of
+rheumatism and backache. All the herd looked at him with great
+astonishment, for none of them were so old, and they never had seen a
+njokoo of such great age. They asked him many questions. The old njokoo
+replied: “I am now so old that I cannot follow any herd, and I have not
+done so for many years. It is still longer since I have led a herd, for
+when I was getting old, a younger and stronger njokoo came to fight me,
+and drove me away from my herd, and took my place as their leader. Since
+then I have wandered all alone. In my younger days there were no njokoos
+as strong as myself. I defeated all those who tried to take the
+leadership of my herd and fought and drove them away.”
+
+When the njokoos were ready to go, they asked the old njokoo to come
+with them.
+
+“How can I?” he replied. “I am too old to follow you. I am of no use. I
+cannot fight any more. I am going to the dry land among the swamps, so
+that the human beings cannot come to me, and there I will live in peace.
+There I shall finish my days and die.” The njokoos felt sad when they
+heard this, and said, “Good-by, good-by, dear old njokoo.” “Good-by,” he
+replied. “You are young and full of life; go on, go on.” Then the old
+njokoo went to his haunts among the swamps, and the herd left him.
+
+A few days afterward they came to a part of the forest where pineapples
+grew in abundance. The njokoos were resting, when suddenly there
+appeared before them a huge ngina with his mate. At this sight they
+fled, trumpeting sharply; the nginas answered with a loud roar, and for
+protection ascended a big tree. The njokoos had never heard such a
+roaring since they had entered the forest, and were much frightened, and
+thought they never had seen such ugly human beings before, and they
+fled, breaking before them everything that was in their way. They had no
+time to trumpet, they fled so fast. At last, after ascending and
+descending several steep mountains, they stopped, for they were almost
+out of breath, and said: “Those are terrible human beings that we have
+seen. What voices they had! How frightful they were to look at!”
+
+But in the course of time they became acquainted with the different
+animals of the forest, and were no more afraid of the men of the woods.
+
+It came to pass one day that the njokoos reached one of the prairies
+found in the forest. Their chief went to reconnoitre, and as he came to
+the border of the forest, he saw, some distance away, some human beings,
+and a njokoo lying dead near them. He was himself hidden by the trees
+and looked on, his eyes wide open with astonishment and wonder. He saw
+one of the human beings cut the tail off the dead njokoo, then two
+others crush his head and remove his two tusks, while another was taking
+off part of his hide, and two others were cutting his body to pieces.
+The hide was for shields and the pieces of his flesh were for food, the
+tail for a trophy, and the tusks for barter.
+
+Silently he looked on and then said to himself, “Now I know why the
+human beings hate us and make war upon us.” Then he went back into the
+forest and told the other njokoos what he had seen, and from that time
+they wandered in the thickest part of the forest and were more shy of
+the human beings than ever.
+
+Several years passed away. One dry season the swampy lands made by the
+overflowing of rivers during the rainy season became dry. The njokoos
+crossed the swamps and one day found on their way two skeletons of
+njokoos that had been bogged the year before and had not been able to
+get out. Their big tusks were still fastened in their skulls. The
+njokoos looked sadly at the skeletons and said, “Here lie the bones of
+two fellow njokoos.” Then they uttered low trumpetings of grief and
+mournfully continued on their way, mistrusting, however, the dry swamps.
+The skeletons belonged to two njokoos that had taken refuge in these bog
+lands, as they were hotly pursued by human beings.
+
+After wandering for a number of days, the herd came to another prairie.
+“Let us cross and go to the forest beyond, for we scent water,” said
+they. “It is a river, and it is a long time since we have had a good
+swim.” Halfway over they felt very warm, for it was exceedingly hot, the
+rays of the sun being very powerful. They saw four big trees growing
+close together, and said, “Let us go under those trees and rest.”
+
+They had not been long under the trees when they saw many njokoos coming
+out of the forest almost opposite to where they stood. They were led by
+a huge bull, who looked very vicious and fierce and had very large
+tusks, bigger than those of their own leader.
+
+As soon as the njokoos under the trees saw the new-comers, they were
+very much excited; their bodies swayed quickly to and fro; they flapped
+their ears and switched their tails. Their leader and protector uttered
+a peculiar and piercing trumpeting which was heard by the other njokoos.
+It was a blast of defiance to the other leader, a trumpeting daring him
+to come and fight. Immediately the other answered the challenge. Then
+the two left their herds and stalked slowly forward, trumpeting
+fearfully as they approached each other. The herds on each side were
+looking placidly at the chiefs who had been their leaders for a long
+time. The two at first had walked slowly, then faster, then they stopped
+and looked at each other, all the while keeping up their dreadful
+trumpeting. At last they rushed together. Their small pig-like eyes
+looked treacherous and wicked. They butted, then they charged each
+other. By quick motions they tried to pierce each other’s flanks with
+their tusks, for their sides in such a fight are their vulnerable
+points. They fought at times with their heads downward, and gave
+terrible knocks to each others heads. At the same time they tried to
+seize each other’s trunks. Sometimes they succeeded in doing this, but
+after a while they had to let go. When they charged each other, often
+the tusks of one would graze the body of the other and lacerate the
+thick hide.
+
+At last the leader of the njokoos that had emerged from the forest began
+to show signs of exhaustion. When his antagonist saw this, he renewed
+his attacks with greater fury. Suddenly, by a dexterous movement, he
+succeeded in plunging his tusks into the body of his enemy who, instead
+of fleeing, preferred to die fighting. As he fell he uttered a low moan
+of pain, then dropped dead.
+
+The victorious njokoo, uttering trumpetings of pride, rejoined his
+followers under the trees, and all approached the smaller herd, who then
+chose the victor for their leader. Thus the two herds became one, and,
+this done, they repaired to the river and bathed in its waters and had a
+grand time together.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XL
+                       EVIL DAYS FOR THE NJOKOOS
+
+
+Evil days were now coming for the njokoos. During all the years they had
+been in the forest they had escaped many dangers, but henceforth they
+were to encounter great peril and disaster. In their wanderings they
+came at last to a part of the immense forest where there were villages
+inhabited by wild, fierce human beings.
+
+These human beings were very cunning. They spent a great part of their
+lives sleeping in the forest, hunting njokoos for the sake of their
+ivory tusks, which they could barter; besides, they liked njokoo meat
+very much. They had all kinds of contrivances to trap njokoos. They dug
+many pits for them to fall into and made many _hanous_, or huge beams
+armed with big iron spikes, suspended among the trees, with lianas as
+ropes attached to them and coming to the ground, so that when the
+njokoos touched these, the heavy hanous, with their iron spikes, fell
+upon their backs.
+
+[Illustration: [Elephant]]
+
+One day as the njokoos were rambling, suddenly two hanous fell upon the
+backs of two of their number, broke their spines and killed them. The
+crash the hanous made in falling frightened all the other njokoos, for
+they did not know what it was, and they fled with the utmost speed. The
+noise they made in their flight was fearful, as they crashed through the
+jungle. After a long run they stopped, and looking at their number saw
+that two were missing, for they knew each other well. There was great
+sorrow among them. They said, “Let us go back where we heard the crash.
+Perhaps our missing companions are there.” For when they had heard the
+hanou fall, they were so frightened that they had no time to look and
+see what had happened. So they went back; and when they arrived at the
+place where the crash had occurred, they saw their two old companions
+lying on the ground dead. They uttered trumpetings of sorrow at the
+sight. They came round the poor bodies, and grasped their legs with
+their trunks to pull them up, but the legs fell back. They seized their
+trunks, but these also fell back on the ground. They trumpeted to them,
+but they did not answer. When they had made sure that they were dead,
+they left the place, but not before they had taken a careful look at the
+hanous.
+
+They had not gone a long way before another hanou fell upon one of them.
+The rest fled in great dismay. As they were running, they saw another
+njokoo suddenly disappear under the ground. He had fallen into a pit dug
+by human beings to catch njokoos. It had been made with a great deal of
+cunning. Small sticks were placed close together over the pit, and
+covered with earth and dead leaves, so that the spot looked exactly like
+the ground. The elephants ran faster than they had ever done in their
+lives before.
+
+The next day the njokoos returned to the place where their companion had
+suddenly disappeared. When they approached, they heard his dying moans.
+They called to him, “Come to us; come to us: we have come to help you
+out;” but no answer came back to them, only the same moans. Some went to
+the border of the pit and saw that it was very deep, and at the bottom
+was their poor friend at death’s door. They knew the poor wounded njokoo
+was dying, for his legs were all broken from his own heavy weight when
+he fell. The walls of the pit were perpendicular so they could not reach
+him. Then they left, saying, “Let us flee from this country; it is the
+worst we have ever seen.”
+
+In their eagerness to flee after the misfortunes that had happened to
+them, the njokoos crossed high and steep mountains all covered with
+dense forest and at last thought themselves safe. But one morning they
+heard a great noise behind them. This noise was made by human voices.
+“Let us flee,” cried the njokoos again, and they broke into a run, when
+suddenly they came upon a network of lianas twisted together, forming a
+kind of stockade, which had been made by human beings. As the unhappy
+njokoos tried to break through, human beings who had stationed
+themselves in the trees threw spears at them, and many were killed, only
+a few escaping with their lives. Among those who fell were some of the
+wisest of the herd. From that time on, the njokoos never long enjoyed
+peace.
+
+After many years of wanderings, only two remained of that big and
+splendid herd,—an old njokoo and his mate. The old one said sorrowfully:
+“Dear, we have been companions for many rainy and dry seasons. We
+started in life together when we were young, and now we are old; all our
+folks have been killed, and we are left alone. Our life has been a hard
+one indeed; we have had hardly any peace; our time has been spent in
+trying to escape from our enemies, the wicked human beings. Many times,
+to avoid them, we have taken refuge in the highest mountains, in the
+thickest part of the forest and jungle, in impenetrable swamps, in most
+inaccessible places; but they have always managed to find us. Though we
+are the strongest and biggest creatures of this forest, we have had to
+flee before them.”
+
+Then he rubbed his body against hers and trumpeted his affection, which
+she returned also, for they loved each other very much, and were
+especially drawn together by the misfortunes they had suffered in
+common. They did not know where to go. They were in sore distress. They
+had escaped from the land of hanous, of pits and spears, and now after a
+long journey in which they had crossed many steep mountains and swum
+across many rivers, they had come to the land of guns. They regretted
+deeply the loss of their old leader, for they remembered his great skill
+and how he avoided many dangers. “One of the great misfortunes of us
+njokoos,” they said, “is that our tracks are very conspicuous, for we
+are so big and heavy.”
+
+After more wanderings, they came to a country where the forest was full
+of deep narrow rivers and swamps. They entered it and remained on the
+dry land between the swamps, and there the two lived to a very great old
+age.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLI
+                        NJOKOOS AND THEIR BABIES
+
+
+A njokoo and her baby, a few days old, were by themselves in the great
+forest. Mamma Njokoo had left the herd to which she belonged, for her
+little one was too small and could not climb the steep mountains and
+keep pace with the big njokoos when they were afraid and in full run. It
+is the custom of the mamma njokoos always to leave the others when they
+have a little one.
+
+The baby njokoo’s little eyes looked very cunning. His bit of a trunk
+was going continually up and down, his ears flapped against his head,
+and his tail was always moving. To his mamma he was a very sweet little
+baby njokoo.
+
+Often when Mamma Njokoo looked at her little one she would think of all
+the troubles and dangers that were ahead of him. The njokoos have
+wonderful memories, and she remembered all that she had gone through
+during her life, and how many escapes she had had in running away from
+those horrid human beings, whom she dreaded and hated so much, and how
+many of her friends had been snared and killed in their meshes. As she
+thought of all these tribulations and dangers, she said, half to herself
+and half to her little one: “Dear, as long as you are small, I shall
+fight and defend you. Then when you are big you will have to fight and
+run for yourself. You will have to be very wary if you want to reach
+your full size.”
+
+One day she was delighted when she saw him pick up some leaves with his
+trunk and put them into his mouth, for the njokoos’ trunks are their
+hands. It was the first time that he had plucked leaves. He began to
+know how to get his own living. His mamma loved him dearly, and was by
+his side all the time, looking at him in such a tender way, caressing
+him with her big trunk, and once in a while giving soft trumpetings of
+affection, which showed how dear he was to her. So they spent their days
+together, and if they met some big animal, Mamma Njokoo would give
+shrill trumpetings of anger and come close to him to protect him. One
+night she stood still, close to him, until daylight, for she had scented
+a njego.
+
+One day they met another njokoo with her baby, and they were glad to see
+each other, for both felt lonely. They uttered trumpetings of joy and
+said, “Let us stay together; it will not be so lonely.” And from that
+day they became companions. When they found branches with leaves that
+were tender, they would reach them with their trunks, and pull them down
+and break them, and give them to their little ones.
+
+As time passed away, they met other njokoos with their babies. All made
+a herd entirely composed of mamma and baby njokoos, and the young ones
+liked to play together and became very fond of one another. The old ones
+thought they had never seen such a pretty set of little njokoos in their
+lives, and each was very proud of the one belonging to her.
+
+Once, one of the little ones got entangled among the lianas, or wild
+vines, for the part of the forest in which they were was full of them.
+He trumpeted plaintively. As soon as the mother heard him, she came to
+him, and with her trunk set him free, and then scolded him for being so
+careless, and pointed out to him the thick lianas that were so close
+together that they formed a trap for little njokoos to get into, and
+taught him to look out for such places, and told him thereafter to be
+shy of them.
+
+It is wonderful what the njokoos can do with their trunks. The hands of
+human beings could not be more nimble and dexterous, and it requires a
+good deal of thinking to separate one liana from another. But njokoos
+are very ingenious and intelligent.
+
+One day, as one of the mamma njokoos was busy plucking with her trunk
+leaves that were high up, she heard a noise. Her little one had fallen
+into a deep hole made by heavy rains. She uttered peculiar trumpetings
+which showed her anxiety, and meant, “I am coming, dear, I am coming,”
+as she ran toward the place and saw him looking at her imploringly and
+calling for her by trumpeting, which meant, in the language of the
+njokoo children, “Oh, mamma, help me out of this hole.”
+
+Poor Mamma Njokoo was very much excited and went all around the hole to
+see what she could do to rescue her baby. She bent down on her knees and
+lowered her trunk to reach him, and tried to pull him up, but this did
+not do, for he was heavy and the sides of the hole were too steep. In
+the mean time another Mamma Njokoo, who heard her cries of distress,
+came to see what was the matter and how she could help.
+
+When Mamma Njokoo saw that she could not succeed in the way she had at
+first tried, she began to dig the ground with her big forefeet near the
+border of the hole, tearing up at the same time the roots of the trees
+that were in her way; and finally she succeeded in making a sloping way
+going to the bottom of the hole. It had been hard work. After she got
+through this work, the little one walked out, to the delight of his
+mamma, who nevertheless gave him a scolding for being so careless.
+
+The big njokoos and their little ones continued to wander through the
+forest, other njokoos with their babies joining them. One day the big
+njokoos scented water and were delighted, for it was quite a while since
+they had had a good bath. They all wanted one, and wished also their
+little ones to enjoy a swim.
+
+They walked as fast as they could toward the water, and at last came to
+a beautiful river. At this sight all the mamma njokoos gave trumpetings
+of delight, and soon after they were all in the river swimming, throwing
+water up with their trunks, and having lots of fun, trumpeting to each
+other, “How nice the water feels! How I enjoy my bath!” They were all
+having a grand time. The little ones rested on the backs of their
+mothers when they were swimming.
+
+One Mamma Njokoo went a little farther than she ought to have gone.
+Suddenly she was carried into the very rapid current of the river, which
+ran with great force, and the little njokoo was washed off her back by
+it. She gave cries of distress when she saw this. But she was carried
+still farther into the middle of the stream, and the baby was carried
+farther and farther away from her. Poor Mamma Njokoo was grievously
+distressed. She was afraid her little one would be drowned. He also
+looked at his mother, trumpeting, “Save me, save me, mamma!” Fortunately
+he could swim a little.
+
+Mamma Njokoo at last got close to him, having succeeded in getting him
+in her lee, her big body protecting him from the strong current, as he
+swam alongside of her. There was great excitement among all the njokoos
+when they saw one of the little ones drifting away, and they followed
+her, swimming along the shore, trumpeting advice and telling her what to
+do.
+
+The two at last were carried into a big eddy and there rested for a
+while. Then Mamma Njokoo said to her little one, “We are going to get
+out of this eddy and into the strong current again. You must manage to
+keep close to me.” As soon as they swam out of the eddy, the current was
+so strong that they were carried down the river, but Mamma Njokoo swam
+toward the shore and at last succeeded in coming to a part of the stream
+where the water did not run so fast. Then the little one succeeded in
+getting on the top of his mamma’s back when they were in still water.
+There was great rejoicing among all the njokoos when they reached the
+land, for they loved one another dearly. All the little njokoos were
+also very glad. They had become great friends.
+
+[Illustration: [Elephant]]
+
+The herd of mammas and little ones resumed their wanderings. Twice a big
+njokoo, who scented them, came up as if to join them, but they trumpeted
+to him: “Go away. Go away; we do not want you. We have to walk slowly in
+the forest on account of our little ones.”
+
+But, as time passed, the little njokoos grew big. They could run fast.
+One day, as all the herd were together, they heard the shrill trumpeting
+of the big njokoo. He had scented them and was coming toward them. Soon
+he was among them, and they were all glad. He became their chief and led
+them, and was ready to fight any big njokoo that wanted to take his
+place.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLII
+                         THE MBOYOS, OR JACKALS
+
+
+A large pack of mboyos with long grayish hair, darker on the back, and
+with straight ears (they might have been taken for wolves or big hairy
+dogs at home), were restless. Their leader, who was older and somewhat
+larger and more powerful than his followers, was standing still and
+thinking.
+
+“Chief,” said the mboyos, “we are hungry, and as we look from the border
+of the forest where we hide, over the big prairie, we see no prey; no
+kambis or ncheris or any other animals. You are our chief; lead us where
+there is food.”
+
+“Be patient,” said the old chief to them. “You know well that we have to
+work for our living, and we have been unlucky of late. Prey has been
+very scarce. I am thinking where to lead you. I have been your chief for
+several rainy seasons and have led you many times to success. He who
+waits and is patient gets the game.”
+
+Suddenly one of the mboyos gave a peculiar shriek, which was immediately
+taken up by all the pack. It was the signal for a long general chorus of
+fearful dismal screams that filled the air with unearthly noise. They
+continued to make this horrid din for quite a while; then, as by one
+accord, they all stopped at once. What this noise means, only the mboyos
+know. The other animals that were in the forest said, “The mboyos speak.
+What is the matter with them?”
+
+After this howling, they looked inquiringly at their chief, again ready
+to obey his orders. “Follow me,” he said to them, in the silent talk of
+the mboyos.
+
+He took the lead, and they followed the border of the prairie, hidden by
+the forest. They walked against the wind, so that they could scent prey
+afar off. They travelled a long way, the old chief walking ahead.
+Suddenly he stopped, and all the mboyos stood still. He spoke to them,
+saying, “I scent game far away. Kambis are pasturing in the prairie.
+Surely I am not mistaken.”
+
+So they continued their march, and after a while they saw a herd of
+kambis. There was great joy among the mboyos at the sight. Their
+appetites, which had already reached starvation point, seemed to
+increase tenfold. A good meal was in sight.
+
+“Let us be wary,” said the chief. “Let us be true mboyos and use all the
+cunning that belongs to our tribe. Otherwise we shall miss our game, and
+then we shall have to fight with hunger.” The mboyos prepared themselves
+to act as they always do when they attack their prey. They left the
+woods and entered the prairie, one by one, led by their trusted leader.
+They were hidden by the grass as they manœuvred to approach the
+unsuspecting kambis. The mboyos were far apart at first. They crept into
+the lee of the kambis, then turned and at last succeeded in making a
+large ring about the game. At every circle they made, the ring became
+smaller and smaller. Suddenly one of the kambis, looking at the others,
+said, “I scent mboyos; let us flee.” They started, but soon scented
+mboyos around them everywhere, no matter where they went. In the mean
+time the ring of the mboyos became quite small, then closed together and
+succeeded in corralling the kambis. Several kambis were paralyzed with
+fear; they were hypnotized by the mboyos. The whole pack of mboyos
+divided in two, overpowered some of the kambis, and soon were tearing
+their poor prostrate bodies. After their meal, followed by their chief,
+the mboyos retired once more to the border of the forest, and then
+thanked and praised him for his great cunning.
+
+[Illustration: [Hyenas]]
+
+After this they made their toilet, and licked the blood from their
+chaps. They laughed as only mboyos do, saying, “How well we corralled
+the kambis! only a few of them escaped. How sweet they tasted! What a
+pity we could not eat all those we killed, and had to leave so much
+meat! but mboyos can only eat so much and no more.”
+
+Looking toward the place where so much of the kambi meat had been left,
+they saw two large vultures alighting upon the carcasses and said, “How
+keen is the sight of the vultures! we have left them a good meal.” The
+two vultures made a bountiful repast and said to themselves: “Soon it
+will be sunset. To-morrow we will come again.”
+
+In the mean time the mboyos had departed for the thickest part of the
+forest.
+
+That same night could have been seen at some distance through the dim
+moonlight, for the moon was on the wane, a pack of ugly-looking striped
+hyenas. As they walked along, they looked queer, with their forelegs
+higher than their hind ones; they were prowling in search of food. Twice
+they all gave a peculiar cry, horrid to listen to, which filled the
+country for miles with its reverberations.
+
+They walked silently, sniffing the air as they went along. Suddenly they
+scented meat. At this discovery there was great excitement among all of
+them, for they wanted a meal badly, being very hungry. The meat they
+scented was that of the kambis which the mboyos had killed.
+
+[Illustration: “_A pack of ugly-looking striped hyenas_”]
+
+They hastened their pace and reached the carcasses of the kambis, and
+soon all were busy tearing the flesh, holding the pieces firmly on the
+ground with their forepaws, which are armed with big heavy claws.
+
+They ate every particle of the meat; only the bare bones were left. Then
+they departed, grinning and saying: “If other hyenas come here, they
+will find only bones. We do not care. We have had a bountiful meal.”
+Then they went toward the forest and disappeared in its depths, not
+stopping until they came to a very dark, dense region. Suddenly, like
+the mboyos, they gave in chorus a hyena concert which was something
+unearthly and fearful.
+
+Early the next morning the two vultures left the tree where they had
+spent the night, to return for the rest of the kambi meat. They felt
+very happy at the prospect of getting an early breakfast, and said to
+each other, “We will not leave this neighborhood until we have eaten all
+the flesh, and this will take us several days.”
+
+Great indeed was their disappointment when they reached the place and
+saw nothing but the bare bones of the kambis; they looked at them and
+walked slowly around them, but not a bit of flesh was to be seen. “Oh,”
+said the vultures, “these horrid hyenas have been here during the night,
+and have eaten everything. They have not even left a morsel for us;” and
+they rose, soaring high in the air in their beautiful flight to see if
+they could discover elsewhere the remains of some dead animal.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLIII
+                THE NSHIEYS, OR FISH, AND THEIR ENEMIES
+
+
+As the dry season was approaching, many of the fish of the sea said to
+one another: “It is time for us to go to the rivers of the great forest
+where we were born, for the dry season is at hand, and the time is
+coming for us to lay our eggs.”
+
+One of the habits of many fish of the sea is that throughout their lives
+they always go back year after year to the river in which they were
+born. This pilgrimage takes place during the dry season when the rivers
+are clear, the current less swift, and the water lower. The fish know
+the seasons as well as birds.
+
+When the fish in shoals began their migration towards the coast, they
+knew their way well through the depths of the sea to those rivers just
+as if they had had a star to guide them. They also had landmarks, for
+the bottom of the ocean has tall mountains, hills, narrow and broad
+valleys, just like the surface of the earth; it has also varied forests
+and growths such as seaweeds, coral trees, etc.
+
+While the fish swam along the shore they recognized the rivers from
+which they had originally come, and ascended these, while other fish
+that followed in their wake continued to swim along the coast farther on
+until they came to their own river. Not all that started reached their
+destination. They were much diminished in numbers, the bigger fish
+having gobbled up many on the way.
+
+[Illustration: [Flamingos]]
+
+When the fish were on their migration, many birds who prey on fish,
+frogs, and other creatures, and who were in far away lands, said in
+their turn: “Now it is about time for us to begin our yearly journey to
+the rivers and lagoons of the great forest, for the fish are coming
+there, and the ponds in the prairies by the sea are going to be dry or
+shallow, and it will be easy for us to catch our prey.”
+
+Among the birds that thus spoke were large long-legged cranes and
+storks, also fishing eagles, herons, flamingoes, ibis, many pelicans,
+and the ugly marabouts who have so many fine feathers.
+
+They all rejoiced in advance at the prospect of future good meals.
+
+The big cranes, storks, and herons said: “Our long, sharp, pointed
+beaks, our long legs, and powerful wings are great possessions, for they
+help us to get our living. With our legs we wade in the water to seek
+our food; with our slender necks and long beaks we seize our prey, and
+when our hunting grounds are far apart, our wings carry us swiftly to
+them.
+
+“We have also very good eyesight, but in spite of all the gifts we
+possess, if we were not wary and intelligent, we should not be able to
+get our living.”
+
+The pelicans praised their big, webbed feet which allow them to swim
+fast, their big pouches which could hold many fish, and their mighty
+wings which enabled them to rise from the water and fly when they are
+heavy with their pouches full of fish.
+
+All these birds began their journey at about the same time. Those that
+were farther away or who did not fly so fast started before those that
+were swifter on the wing, for all knew exactly how long it would take to
+make the journey, and all hoped to be the first to arrive on the
+hunting-ground.
+
+Many of the ibis had started from the shores of the Nile, where in
+ancient days their kin was sacred among the Egyptians.
+
+As one looked up into the sky he could see at times birds flying from
+the east, north, and south (only gulls from the west, where the ocean
+was), some following the shore, all on their way to the rivers, lagoons,
+and prairies of the great forest. Some of them were in pairs, others in
+larger numbers. Those who were in flocks had their leaders at their
+heads.
+
+How strange they looked as they flew through the air! The great cranes
+and storks, with their long legs stretched back to their full length and
+parallel with their bodies and protected by them, so that in their
+flight they might not be impeded by the wind. How knowing they were!
+
+The pelicans had their feet close to their bodies, for otherwise these
+would have obstructed their flight if they had been hanging down.
+
+Onward and onward they flew, covering an immense distance in a day,
+resting here and there to feed or to sleep. At last they all reached
+their destination.
+
+The cranes, the storks, walked for prey in the prairies, where there was
+water, or where it had almost disappeared. The flamingoes, the herons,
+the ibis, and their kind were busy along the shores of rivers and
+lagoons; the pelicans swam about majestically. All had a good time, but
+the fish, the frogs, and other creatures had not, for their enemies, the
+birds, had arrived in great numbers.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLIV
+                 THE KONGOO, ONE OF THE FISHING EAGLES
+
+
+One day a kongoo, with white body and black wings, looking at his mate,
+who was of a dark grayish color, said to her: “It is about time for us
+to go to the Eliva Monon (the river of mullets), for the dry season has
+begun there, and the river will be full of mullets and other fish. It is
+a long journey, and we shall have to get our living on the way. We
+cannot fish by the shore, for heavy white breakers roll on the beach all
+the way. When we undertake this long journey, we shall have as usual to
+tarry by the sides of the rivers and lagoons near the sea in order to
+get our food.”
+
+The two kongoos loved to go to the Eliva Monon every dry season, for
+they had been born by its waters, had built their nests and had raised
+their young ones there. The next day they prepared themselves for their
+journey, for by following the shore the Eliva Monon was nearly three
+thousand miles away. They took oil from the bag which nature had
+provided for them, and with their greasy beaks combed their feathers,
+which took them an hour or two. When their toilet was made, they went
+fishing, so that they should not start with empty stomachs, and after
+their meal they combed their feathers again; but it took them only a
+short time, and they finished by passing their beaks over their thick
+powerful talons. Then they rose in the air, and flew toward the Eliva
+Monon, their big spreading wings carrying them very fast.
+
+The two kongoos knew every part of the shore, the capes, the smallest
+points, the bays, the coves, the rivers, the hills, the trees; nothing
+escaped their eyes. This minute knowledge of the coast is given to all
+the fishing eagles. No sea captain, no pilot, no matter how expert, can
+recognize any spot or part of the coast so well or so quickly as the
+fishing eagles.
+
+As they flew and passed over creeks, lagoons, and rivers, they saw in
+the water flocks of pelicans, and would say to each other, “See, the
+pelicans are fishing; look at their pouches; they are filled with fish.”
+Farther on they would see red long-legged flamingoes walking in the
+water, or flying over it, looking like a mass of burning embers. They
+saw also many long-legged cranes, nearly five feet high, ugly marabouts
+with their beautiful light feathers, and herons, ducks, and other
+aquatic birds. The kongoos saw also over the lagoon beautiful swallows
+catching the flying insects.
+
+One afternoon the kongoos rested on a tree and saw a great many bees
+hovering over a prairie, feeding on the sweet flowers.
+
+Their enemies, the bee-eater birds, had also come to make war upon them,
+as they did every year, for these birds knew the month of the year when
+the bees made their appearance in the prairie.
+
+Looking at the beautiful plumage of these bee-eaters, one not knowing
+them would have thought they were gentle and harmless, but they had to
+live, and to do so they had to destroy life. Those who did not fear them
+thought them beautiful. Those upon whom they fed thought they were
+horrid and fierce, and hated them.
+
+After a while the old kongoo remarked to his companion, “The bees have a
+hard time; the bee-eaters are killing and eating them; look at them.”
+
+Among the bee-eaters that had come in large flocks was one species that
+had a splendid roseate breast; as they flew, they appeared like spots of
+fire flying through the sky; the speed of their flight told of their
+fierceness as they swooped down upon the poor bees and seized them with
+their long curved beaks in the middle of their bodies, taking their
+lives before they swallowed them, so that they could not sting.
+
+An hour or two before sunset, the two kongoos tarried by a river where
+they knew that fish were abundant, and slept on one of the trees. Their
+lives were the same every day on the journey. They stopped here and
+there on the shores of rivers or lagoons to fish when they were hungry,
+and the last thing before sunset would once more stop to fish and then
+go to sleep. Every day’s journey brought them nearer the Eliva Monon.
+
+After a few days they arrived at the mouth of a large river, and
+slackened their speed. Each said to the other, “Look, there is the Rembo
+Commi” (rembo is a larger river), and they were glad, for one of its
+affluents was the Eliva Monon. They went fishing, but had a scanty meal,
+for the fish had ascended the stream. It was almost dark when they
+reached the mouth of the Rembo Commi. So they slept on a big tree.
+
+When they awoke in the morning, they felt very happy, for they knew that
+their journey was almost at an end. They combed and oiled their
+feathers, then flew over the Rembo Commi and never stopped until they
+reached the Eliva Monon, a big expanse of water which was as smooth as
+glass. They saw that the river was already full of mullets and other
+fish that had come to spawn. The two kongoos met several of their old
+friends, the compagnondos (another large fishing eagle), who, when they
+saw them coming, uttered shrill cries of welcome, that were heard far
+away. The compagnondos are of a gray color, the two mates looking very
+much alike, and they are larger than kongoos.
+
+A few kongoos had also arrived before them, so that the two new-comers
+were not the first to reach the spot, as they had expected. All these
+fishing eagles formed a colony that had built their nests on the shores
+of the Eliva Monon, and they lived in peace with one another. Though
+they would often hover over the same shoal of fish, yet there was no
+dispute, each picking out his own prey.
+
+Immediately after their arrival, the two new-comers went fishing, each
+by himself, as is the custom among all the eagles, for they were
+terribly hungry. Often they came near together as they hovered over a
+big shoal of fish. Both had a splendid meal, which they needed much
+after their long journey.
+
+They perched upon the tree on which they had built their nest. The nest
+was round and made of sticks, and set between forked branches with great
+skill, so as to give the least possible exposure to the wind, and it was
+several feet in diameter. They said, “Our nest wants much repairing.”
+
+They kept looking fondly at their dear old nest, which they had built
+when they were first mated, and that was quite a number of years before.
+The kongoos, like many other eagles, live together all their lives.
+These two loved each other very much.
+
+For a few days they were very busy with the work of repairs, gathering
+new sticks to take the place of the old ones and weaving them into the
+structure. Then they had also to fish to satisfy their hunger. So they
+had hardly any time to rest, and were very glad when evening came.
+
+Though the Eliva Monon was full of fish, the kongoos and compagnondos
+had to use considerable judgment and thought to catch their prey. As
+they soared above the fish, they had to calculate the length of time to
+reach it, how deep it was in the water, and if too deep, to watch until
+it came near enough to the surface before they swooped down upon it.
+They had to make allowance for the speed of the fish and for the time
+that was required to reach it. They had also to contract their claws
+instantly on seizing their prey. When they swooped they invariably
+caught the fish in a line with their own beak and tail, so that in
+flying away with it the fish’s body might offer no resistance to the
+wind. In a word, their eyes had to act very quickly.
+
+But, despite all their cunning and forethought, they often make
+miscalculations and miss their fish. Sometimes it is deeper in the water
+than they imagine, or the fish is swimming faster than they think. The
+fish himself often swims by starts, quick at first, and then slackening
+his speed. The fishing eagles have to calculate on all these
+contingencies.
+
+Sometimes they do not get a good hold on the fish, and as they fly in
+the air with it the fish is successful in his struggles to free himself
+and falls into the water; his enemy darts after him, but often too late,
+for he has disappeared in deep water. Fishing eagles, too, have to work
+hard for their living.
+
+One day our two kongoos had had their fill of fish and were looking on
+from their tree at a large number of pelicans who had just arrived and
+alighted on the water. The kongoo said to his mate: “Look at the
+pelicans. How strangely they behave! What are they doing?”
+
+The pelicans, after they had alighted on the water, swam in different
+directions to look for fish. Suddenly some of them discovered a large
+shoal of fish in a shallow part of the river. By ways known only to the
+pelican, they communicated the news of their discovery to the others,
+and in a short time the whole flock knew that there was a shoal of fish
+in sight and swam toward the spot, all feeling glad at the prospect of a
+good meal.
+
+A few of the pelicans that were farther off seeking fish, saw the
+gathering of the flock, who appeared to be so excited that they knew
+something was up and flew toward their companions.
+
+The flock had a very cunning chief, an old fellow who had led them
+successfully many times on their fishing campaigns. He saw by the
+rippling of the water the exact place of the shoal, and at once made his
+plan of attack, so that very few should escape. All the pouches of the
+pelicans were empty, and they were terribly hungry. “Let us corral the
+fish,” he said to the flock. Then taking the lead, he swam around the
+shoal, the rest following equidistant from one another in a circle, the
+fish being in the middle. Sometimes the pelicans had to swim fast to
+keep their formation and follow their chief, who was watching the fish.
+A few pelicans were ordered outside to fill up the gaps. When the signal
+was given, they wheeled toward the shoal and attacked it; fish after
+fish was caught between their powerful long bills. The slaughter of the
+fish was very great; many of these fish had done in their way what the
+pelicans were now doing to them: they had gobbled up many smaller fish a
+little time before. When the pelicans could not eat any more, they
+filled their pouches and swam leisurely over the Eliva Monon.
+
+One afternoon, as the big kongoo was hovering over the Eliva Monon,
+while his mate was on the nest, he suddenly espied a number of very big
+fish that were swimming together. His appetite increased at once at the
+sight. He thought, as he looked down over them: “What a big fish I am
+going to catch! What a glorious meal I am soon to enjoy! If they only
+come a little more to the surface of the water, my meal is secure.” He
+watched them, but he feared they were too deep in the water for him to
+pounce upon one of them at once. Gradually the fish came nearer the
+surface. One was larger than the others. The kongoo selected him for his
+prey and hovered over him. When he thought that the time had arrived, he
+swooped straight down with great force, and went deep into the water so
+that his powerful talons could grasp the fish well.
+
+The fish was very heavy and strong. When he felt the claws of the eagle
+in his body, he plunged deeper into the water, dragging the big kongoo
+down with him. The kongoo raised his wings so that they almost met, that
+he might beat the air more strongly by bringing them down. It would have
+been all over with him if he had sunk entirely under water.
+
+The power of rising from the water is only given among birds to ducks,
+geese, swans, and their kindred that have webbed feet. The broad
+spreading foot covers so much water that the bird finds a surface to
+spring from, while to the feet of other birds the water offers no
+resistance so that they cannot rise.
+
+The kongoo, using all his strength with his wings, gave several flaps
+and succeeded in rising above the water with his prey. But the fish was
+very heavy. He could not let the fish go, for his talons were too deeply
+imbedded, and he could not take his claws out on account of their curved
+shape.
+
+Two or three times the big eagle struggled up, and was drawn down again.
+It was a fight for life. Finally the kongoo succeeded in landing with
+his prey, feeling much exhausted. Then, with his powerful hook-like
+beak, he tore the fish and disentangled his claws; then he made his meal
+by holding the fish fast to the ground with his claws and picking his
+body.
+
+After this he flew to the perch by his nest. His mate was upon it, and
+he said to her: “Dear, I have had an awful time since I left you. I
+hooked a fish that was deeper in the water and stronger than I believed,
+and he almost pulled me under. I thought it was all up with me and that
+I was to be drowned and should never see you again. But thanks to my
+powerful wings, I am safe.” Then he settled upon the nest to take the
+place of his mate, while she flew away to get her meal of fish.
+
+In due course of time three little kongoos came out of their shells, to
+the delight of the two old ones. Now all their care and love were to be
+for these three little ones. As they grew big and their appetites and
+the amount of food to satisfy them had increased with their size, the
+old kongoos had to work hard to feed them. All the fishing eagles on the
+Eliva Monon had to work hard also, for every nest had a family, and the
+fish had a hard time.
+
+[Illustration: “_The kongoo, using all his strength with his wings, gave
+several flaps_”]
+
+The eagles, after catching a fish, would fly toward their nest, then
+hover over it, saying, “Here I am, dear little ones. I have food for
+you.”
+
+The young kongoos, hearing their parents, would look up and cry or
+shriek louder than they did before, with their mouths wide open to show
+how hungry they were, and were not pacified until food was given to
+them. The noise the little ones made during a great part of the day
+throughout the whole neighborhood was great indeed.
+
+Our three young ones grew very fast, feathers were taking the place of
+their gray down, and in time the large feathers on their wings had grown
+almost enough for them to try to fly. While the two kongoos were perched
+by their nest one day, Mrs. Kongoo said to her mate, “I am going to
+fish.” Then she flew away.
+
+Strange to say, she was never seen any more after this. Her mate was
+very much distressed. Toward sunset, as she did not appear, he uttered
+piercing cries, calling for her. He flew in search of her; but at last
+when it was almost dark, he came back to their tree, got upon the nest,
+took her place, and spread his wings over their little ones to keep them
+warm. That night he felt very unhappy, thinking all the time of his
+mate. At daylight he uttered shrill cries of distress which in the
+language of the kongoos meant: “Come to me, dear. Where are you? I am
+waiting for you.” But no answer came to him. In the mean time the young
+ones were clamoring for food. So the poor kongoo, with a sad heart,
+soared over the Eliva Monon for fish, and after a while came back with
+food for them. He had to work hard all day to feed them, for now he was
+all alone. In his spare moments, he would rest upon a tree and think of
+his dear missing mate and call for her, or he would fly up and down the
+Eliva Monon searching for her.
+
+The little ones began to try the strength of their wings and see how far
+they could fly. But the old kongoo had to feed them, until at last they
+were able to take care of themselves and began to fish. The dear old
+kongoo mourned greatly after his mate. He would stand still for hours on
+a tree, and in despairing tones cry for her to come.
+
+At length the fish became scarce in the Eliva Monon; the shoals were
+leaving fast for the sea. By this time the young kongoos and
+compagnondos could fly, and the fishing eagles left gradually. The last
+to leave was the sad old kongoo. He stood for days near his nest, hoping
+that his mate would come back. Finally he gave up the hope of ever
+seeing her again, and flew away, never to come back to the Eliva Monon.
+The following year some other kongoos took possession of his abandoned
+nest.
+
+Not one of the fishing eagles could ever tell him what had become of his
+mate. Had she suddenly dropped dead? Had she been carried away under the
+water by a big fish, or as she was striving to rise from the water with
+a big fish did a water-snake coil round her? The widowed kongoo the
+following year got another companion, but he always remembered his first
+mate and chose another river during the spawning season.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLV
+                          THE BASHIKOUAY ANTS
+
+
+Millions upon millions of bashikouay ants inhabit their subterranean
+dwellings; but no one to this day has been able to see how they live
+there, and what their home is like.
+
+One day there was great excitement among them. They all shouted: “Let us
+go above the ground and make a raid. The forest is also our home; it is
+there that we get our living.”
+
+They cried boastfully: “We are very small, it is true, and when we are
+alone we are powerless; but as an army we are the most formidable and
+dreaded creatures of the forest. Who can withstand our fierceness when
+we are on the war path, and are eager for attack! The big njokoo runs as
+fast as he can at our approach,” and they laughed when they thought of
+his big size and the capers he cut when they swarmed into his ears, and
+everywhere over his huge body. “The terrible and mighty ngina whose
+roarings fill the forest, runs away when warned by the multitude of
+insects and animals fleeing for life’s sake at our coming; but he is
+often caught while surrounded by our swarms, and his shrieks of pain
+ring through the forest as he flies, with many of our number covering
+his body and biting him. The sly and blood-thirsty njego has no time to
+look for prey, and flies, yelling, ‘The bashikouays are coming!’” Then
+all the bashikouays laughed at the same time, for they imagined the
+stampede created by their appearance.
+
+Then they cried more boastfully still: “All the night prowlers,—the
+kambis, the ncheris, the omembas,—and all the living creatures of the
+great forest in which we live, insects and all, cry in great distress,
+‘Let us flee for our lives, for the bashikouays are coming!’ The forest
+is filled with the buzz of the fleeing host, small and large; all are
+panic-stricken; the heavy tramping of the njokoo is heard above all.
+They do not all escape. Many of the animals leave their helpless young
+behind, to be eaten by us, and multitudes of insects are devoured by our
+hordes. The human beings fear and hate us. We are afraid only of three
+things,—fire, water, and the sun. The only creatures that are not afraid
+of us are those that live in the water and in the air.”
+
+After the great uproar of their boasting had subsided, their chiefs said
+to them: “Be still; wait a while till our young get larger and stronger;
+for we cannot leave them behind.”
+
+As with other ants, the great chiefs, acting as the generals of an army,
+are the largest and the least numerous of all. Their heads are furnished
+with ugly, powerful, long nippers, the head being as large as the rest
+of the body.
+
+The officers are smaller than the chiefs, and much more numerous, and
+armed likewise with powerful nippers. They attend to the discipline of
+the great army; then come the soldiers forming the mass of the great
+army. The number of these is beyond computation. Their heads are square
+and their nippers are not as powerful as those of the others; but they
+can bite terribly also.
+
+One day the chiefs decided that the time had arrived for the bashikouays
+to make their raid. They came out of the earth by multitudes of tunnels,
+close together in amazing numbers, forming themselves into a compact
+marching column, led by the chiefs and officers. For many hours the
+bashikouays poured out incessantly from their abode. They numbered
+countless millions. It was one of the largest armies that had ever come
+out of the earth. Their discipline was perfect. There were ruling brains
+among them, who gave orders and who kept their ranks in perfect
+formation. Officers, very alert in their movements, walked on both
+flanks, seeing that no one left the column.
+
+If perchance any bashikouay left the ranks for one reason or another,
+the officer having charge of that squad at once went after the
+straggler, inquired what was the matter, or ordered him to go back to
+the ranks. If sick, he was left alone, to rejoin the host later on. If
+too sick, he was left to die.
+
+The van of the army marched on, and still the main body was pouring out
+of its subterranean home. By and by the van came to a place which they
+had to cross where the sun was shining. Immediately tunnels were dug for
+the whole army to pass through and be protected from the sun. Farther on
+they came to a stream where two dead trunks of trees overlapped each
+other above the water, and immediately the advance guard of the column
+made a chain or tunnel by holding onto each other firmly with their
+legs, as bees do, forming a suspension bridge connecting with the tree
+underneath, and the whole body crossed to the other side and continued
+their march.
+
+News came that the last of the host had come out from under the ground.
+There was great excitement among all the bashikouays at this news. How
+the news was flashed along the lines, only the bashikouays could tell.
+Suddenly the order came from the front to the rear to prepare for the
+attack. It passed along the line as quickly as if by telegraph. There
+was a tremendous uproar among the troops. By preconceived plan, the long
+line of bashikouays, miles in length, formed itself into several army
+corps which manœuvred in such a manner that some of them made a great
+circle, as if to corral their victims.
+
+They broke ranks, advanced in large masses together in every direction,
+or in deployed columns, and attacked every living thing before them with
+great fury and the utmost bravery, fearless of danger or death, only
+having in view the conquest of their prey. They rushed upon their
+victims, who in an instant were covered with them, and then the strong
+pincers were fastened in the skin or body, cutting out a piece each
+time.
+
+The news spread among all the living creatures that their dreaded enemy
+the bashikouays were advancing and attacking everything. A great panic
+seized the whole population of the forest; all cried at once, “Flee!
+Flee for your lives!” There was great confusion among the denizens of
+the forest; omembas, kambis, ncheris, njokoos, nginas, njegos, ngoas,
+and all other creatures fled to escape their dreaded enemy. No one
+attacked the other, for in their flight they were too frightened and too
+much in a hurry to get away and save their own lives. They had all lost
+their appetites.
+
+Beautiful birds of all kinds followed the columns of bashikouays,
+picking up insects as they fled and often bashikouays themselves.
+
+In one place the bashikouays had succeeded in surrounding a njokoo. In
+an instant myriads of them were on his body. They covered the inside of
+his trunk and ears, also his eyes. The poor njokoo fled for his life,
+and disappeared in the forest, tearing everything before him, making for
+a river.
+
+Some of the men of the woods had narrow escapes. They received great
+bites and gave shrieks of pain. They had never run so fast in their
+lives, and did not stop until they thought they were out of danger. Here
+a njego was to be seen fleeing with her tiny little baby in her mouth,
+carrying him away from the bashikouays. She had been obliged to leave
+two little ones in her lair. When the bashikouays reached the lair, they
+precipitated themselves with great frenzy upon the little njegos, who
+soon were black with them. In a short time only their bones were left,
+and the bashikouays continued on their errand of destruction.
+
+[Illustration: “_The poor njokoo fled for his life_”]
+
+[Illustration: [Leopard]]
+
+All the abodes of the night prowlers that were in the way of this great
+army were visited, and the young destroyed. Some of the old ones even
+fell victims to the bashikouays. Onward they went. During the night they
+reached a village where there were no human beings. They had all left
+for their plantation. The bashikouays swarmed into every house, attacked
+and overpowered the rats, mice, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, lizards,
+and the many cockroaches that were there, and when they went away not
+one of these was left. All had been devoured.
+
+Farther on they entered another village. Here the human beings were fast
+asleep. The terrible bites of the bashikouays soon awoke them. “The
+bashikouays have come!” shouted the people. The women seized their
+helpless little babies, and the fathers their little children, otherwise
+they would have been overpowered and devoured by the bashikouays.
+
+In haste the inhabitants lighted fires everywhere across the street down
+which the invading army came, and brought burning brands, hot ashes,
+etc., to burn the invaders, and poured boiling water upon them. One man
+who was bedridden was surrounded by hot ashes and burning brands;
+otherwise, he would have been eaten up, and in less than two hours his
+bones would have been all that was left of him.
+
+Before daylight this attacking column was thoroughly disorganized, and
+entered the forest, for they knew that the sun was coming.
+
+The chiefs and officers had the greatest trouble, and it required great
+genius to reform the scattered host into a solid column. The loss of
+life during the raid of the bashikouays had been very great.
+
+After the raid, the tract of forest where the bashikouays had passed was
+deserted. The animals who afterward dared to go back to their lairs or
+burrows saw only the bones of their little ones.
+
+When the bashikouays disappeared, no one in the forest could tell
+whether they had reformed their army column, where they had gone, or if
+they had entered once more into the bowels of the earth.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLVI
+                        THE DARKENING OF THE DAY
+
+
+One day there was great excitement among all the animals and birds of
+the great forest.
+
+A panic had seized them all, for the bright sunny day seemed to be
+gradually turning into twilight, the forerunner of the night. They said,
+“Why is this sudden ending of light?” They all wondered why; for it was
+not time for the night to come; there had been no sunset. The day was
+not half over.
+
+All were frightened at the phenomenon; they could not understand this
+sudden change. The air was filled with the shrill, plaintive, and
+frightened cries of birds; for they had a dread of some unknown danger
+coming; they flew hither and thither, as if not knowing where to go,
+hardly daring to alight.
+
+The day animals walked to and fro with fear in their eyes; for they
+could not understand why the night was coming so soon. They had had no
+time to get a full meal. This sudden ending of the day they had never
+seen in their lives. Their shrieks, howls, yells, and roars were heard
+everywhere; the trumpetings of the njokoos were the most piercing of
+all.
+
+The night prowlers woke, and wondered why the night came so soon; they
+were not half rested, and those among them who had been lucky enough to
+get a meal, had not yet digested it, and were not hungry.
+
+Darker and darker it became. This darkness was caused by an eclipse of
+the sun, the moon passing between the great orb and this part of the
+earth, the great forest.
+
+At last the birds were compelled to alight; for it was getting too dark,
+and they could hardly see, but their twitterings told of their fright.
+The men of the woods, the monkeys, and other day creatures made
+themselves ready for the night; but none fell asleep, for they dreaded
+some great catastrophe.
+
+As the eclipse continued, the sombre forest became quite dark, birds and
+animals became silent; many fell asleep.
+
+Before long, however, to their utter astonishment, the twilight-like
+dawn, the forerunner of the day, made its appearance. Brighter and
+brighter it became, and the sun at last shone as if it were midday. The
+forest became at once full of life, and all birds and animals wondered
+at the short night, and said: “What has happened? We never knew such a
+thing!”
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLVII
+                    THE NTUNGOOLOOYA, OR KINGFISHER
+
+
+Perched on a limb of a tree by the bank of a river was a kingfisher of a
+beautiful deep blue color. His head was ornamented with a crest of long
+blue feathers with white rings. This crest he could erect or lower at
+will.
+
+“Here I am on a good vantage ground,” said he, “where I can look for
+prey. Small fish is the food I live upon. Sometimes I have to wait long
+before I get a meal. Oh, how hungry I am! I hope some little fishes will
+come my way. I can do nothing with the big ones, as I am a tiny bird.”
+
+The little kingfisher waited for his breakfast, looking carefully at the
+water.
+
+Once in a while he saw a small fish, and watched, hoping that he would
+come to the surface; but several times he was disappointed. His crest
+stood erect every time he became excited and watched a fish in sight,
+and made ready to pounce upon him. He said to himself: “I have a long
+beak to enable me to get my living. I can dip into the water and get at
+the fish with it. My legs are very short, and of no use except to perch
+with.” Two or three times he left his perch, and hovered over fish, his
+wings fluttering quickly. He appeared almost upside down; but the fish
+was too deep in the water for him to reach, and after hovering about a
+while over them, he returned to his watching-place, feeling disappointed
+and more hungry than before, for the sight of the fish whetted his
+appetite.
+
+While he was waiting, a shoal of little fish in the middle of the stream
+were swimming away from the big fish, who had come among them and were
+gobbling them as fast as they could. The little fish said: “Let us swim
+as fast as we can to the bank of the river for protection, for these
+horrid big fishes will not be able to pursue us in the shallow water.”
+
+In their flight they were pursued by the big fish, and a great number
+gobbled up. In their panic they leaped above the water in order to
+escape; but fish cannot remain in the air, so as they fell into the
+water again, many disappeared in the big mouths of their pursuers. Soon
+the more fortunate ones were out of the big fishes’ reach!
+
+While the kingfisher was waiting for prey, and the little fishes were
+swimming toward the land, a long slender snake whose life was chiefly
+spent in the thickets and bushes, preying upon birds and eating their
+eggs, saw the kingfisher, and said: “I must crawl toward this bird and
+have him for my morning meal. A great gift has been given to me—I am
+green and of the color of the leaves, so that I can get my living;
+because thus I am able to approach birds without being seen by them. But
+I must be wary, for all the winged creatures are afraid of us green
+snakes.”
+
+[Illustration: [Kingfisher]]
+
+The snake wound along from branch to branch, never losing sight of the
+little blue kingfisher, his cunning eyes glittering with joy, for he
+thought he was sure of his prey, and he said, “Soon I am to enjoy a nice
+breakfast.”
+
+The kingfisher was unaware that one of his worst enemies was coming
+toward him, and he kept up his watch. Fortunately for him, the shoal of
+little fish came in sight just in the nick of time, and they were the
+cause of his life being saved.
+
+The snake was preparing to coil round the kingfisher when suddenly the
+bird flew after one of the little fish, succeeded in capturing it, and
+then flew away with his booty to another tree.
+
+Great indeed was the wrath of the snake when he saw that his prey had
+escaped him, and he said angrily: “I was sure of a breakfast, but it has
+flown away and nothing is certain till one gets it; but I will wait
+here, for surely the kingfisher will come back.”
+
+He waited and waited, but the pretty little kingfisher did not return.
+Little did the latter know that he owed his life to the shoal of little
+fish upon which he had preyed.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XLVIII
+                         THE OBONGOS, OR DWARFS
+
+
+Strange-looking small human beings, almost as singular as the men of the
+woods, were one day talking together near some diminutive houses,
+looking somewhat like beehives covered with very large leaves. These
+houses had openings or doors which were so low and small that these
+creatures had to lie flat on their stomachs and crawl in like snakes
+when they wished to enter. They had just returned with rough-looking
+baskets filled with berries, nuts, and fruits which they had gathered
+that day.
+
+These little people were the dwarfs, or pigmies, living in the great
+African forest, and were called obongos. They varied in height from
+about three feet eight or nine inches to four feet two to four inches.
+They were all taller than their houses.
+
+Their complexion varied from that of light yellow to a muddy clay color,
+like that of the nkengos; a few were darker. They were shaped like big
+people, had feet and hands like theirs; but their feet were more
+flexible, yet not so much so that they could be used as hands, like
+those of the men of the woods. They were all lightly built; there was
+not a corpulent one among them. They had not the straight hair of the
+men of the woods. Their heads were covered with little tufts of reddish
+woolly hair, each tuft being separate. Some had also the same tufts of
+hair upon their bodies.
+
+After a while other obongos came with more food, until there were about
+fifty of them together. They told what they had seen during the day and
+the places where food was plentiful.
+
+They had an old chief with cunning but kindly features. They spoke a
+language more distinct than that of the men of the woods, but their
+words were difficult to make out. The dwarfs seated themselves on the
+ground, cross-legged, round a big fire that they had lighted by rubbing
+two pieces of very dry wood against each other.
+
+After a while, a wise dwarf said to the others, who listened to him
+eagerly: “Strange it is that we dwarfs partake of two natures,—one that
+of the big human beings inhabiting the forest, and the other that of the
+men of the woods. We partake of the nature of the men of the woods in
+that we never plant or sow anything; we live on the berries, fruits,
+nuts, and canes of the forest; we have to roam through the forest like
+them in search of food; our shelters are of leaves like theirs; we have
+to shift our abode as they do, for after a few days we have eaten all
+the food around us.
+
+“We partake of the nature of the human beings in this: we can make fire
+and enjoy it; we cook our food; we make traps to snare game; we use
+weapons, such as iron spears, bows and arrows, and axes; we know how to
+poison arrows; we can smoke; we can make intoxicating drinks, and can
+get drunk; we can learn the language of the big people and speak it, and
+the big people can also learn our language.”
+
+After a short silence, another wise dwarf said: “What has been said is
+true. But we do not know how to work iron; the spears we get from the
+big people, and everything else that is made of iron; the intoxicating
+drinks we have learned from them also; what we smoke is planted by them;
+our pottery is of their make.
+
+“Do not the young men of the woods that are captured by the big human
+beings learn to drink intoxicating drinks as we do, to eat cooked food,
+and even to smoke, when they keep them long enough with them? Do they
+not enjoy the heat of the fire as well as we do? Do they not steal
+plantains or other food, and learn that it is wrong to do so, after they
+have been flogged for it? Do they not prefer a soft place to sleep on
+instead of a hard one? I tell you the men of the woods can learn many of
+the ways of the human beings.”
+
+“That is so!” shouted all the dwarfs at the same time. “The men of the
+woods can learn the ways of the human beings. You are right! you are
+right!”
+
+Then the dwarfs put more wood on the fire. How strange the dwarf women
+appeared! How tiny were their little babies! The dwarfs began to eat the
+food they had brought, and after their meal lingered near the big fire;
+then other fires were lighted in different places among the green leafy
+dwellings. Gradually, one after another, they entered their houses by
+crawling on their stomachs, taking lighted brands to light fires inside.
+
+That night there was a big storm; the claps of thunder were terrific;
+the lightning pierced through the forest. It rained in torrents. So the
+dwarfs, now and then, went out of their leafy houses to see that the
+fires were not extinguished; for they did not want any ferocious njego
+to come among them and carry away one of their number.
+
+They were up at break of day, and hurried to the forest in search of
+food, for fear they should come too late and that the men of the woods
+and ngoas might be on the spot before them. The women followed with
+their tiny babies. They had to travel quite a way before they came to
+the food ground, for they had been in their settlement for over eight
+days. When they reached the spot, they saw that no creatures had been
+before them. So they were glad and ate to their hearts’ content.
+
+Some climbed trees to seek nuts, berries, or fruits; others were on the
+ground looking for them. They all filled their baskets. They returned
+home quite a while before sunset, and talked, ate, and warmed themselves
+by the fires, after which they retired. They bemoaned the lack of game.
+The traps and snares they had laid were empty. They said: “These horrid
+bashikouay ants must have been in this region before we came. As for the
+monkeys, we do not know what has become of them.”
+
+The following day they started, as usual, very early for the feeding
+ground; but it took them a much longer time to go, for every day it was
+farther off. When they got there, they found that some men of the woods,
+even some boars and monkeys, had been before them, and they were angry,
+shouting, “The horrid creatures have eaten our food! How often they play
+such tricks upon us!”
+
+Like all the rest, the dwarfs thought that the berries, nuts, and fruits
+grew for them alone, and belonged to them, and that the other creatures
+of the forest had no business to eat them. Fortunately, the poor dwarfs
+had saved food, and they had plenty to eat when they returned to their
+settlement; but they were not in the best of humor.
+
+The next morning they divided into several parties, and went to another
+district to get food. It was a nut country. To their consternation very
+little food was to be got; for the ngoas had been there and eaten all
+the koola nuts that had fallen on the ground, and some of the men of the
+woods and monkeys had made great havoc among the fruits and nuts. The
+dwarfs had no words bad enough for them, and wished they were all dead.
+
+That afternoon some of their fellows arrived with a dead nkengo which
+they carried on a long pole. There was very great excitement among all
+the dwarfs when they saw the dead nkengo, for they thought that they
+were distantly related to him. They surrounded the body as he lay on the
+ground. The nkengo had died of old age; he had only five teeth left, and
+the hair on his body had become gray and was very thin. How old he was
+nobody could guess.
+
+That evening, the dwarfs said: “Let us move away to-morrow. We have to
+travel too far now to get food. It will take us the whole day to go from
+here and come back. How horrid the ngoas are; but still worse are the
+men of the woods! What a pity that we cannot trap them all!”
+
+Early the next morning the dwarfs packed their small belongings, the men
+having their bows and arrows, the women carrying their little bits of
+children slung on their backs.
+
+As they were ready to start, the old chief said: “The men of the woods,
+the nkengos, and the mbouvés have an advantage over us. They have no
+belongings to carry with them when they go to find new quarters.” And,
+before leaving, the dwarfs said: “We cannot all go together, for we
+should not be able to pick up food enough for all of us. So we must
+journey in small squads, and before night we will meet by the big
+koola-tree we all know. Its nuts are ripe, and we shall find plenty of
+them on the ground, and have a good supper, unless the ngoas have been
+there before us.”
+
+With this understanding they started. They looked, as their bodies were
+dimly seen through the branches of the trees, as if they were men of the
+woods. Soon the squads were out of sight of one another.
+
+Though the dwarfs can find their way through the jungle better than the
+big people, they have not the natural gift in this respect bestowed on
+the animals of the forest. When they are changing their abode and are on
+the march, they have to make marks now and then, and see that they
+follow the marks they made with their hatchets the year before upon the
+trees, and also make new ones as they go along. They feed on what they
+can find on the way, picking here and there a berry, fruit, or nut, and
+looking for monkeys, which they hope to kill with their arrows made of
+palm-tree branches.
+
+At the appointed time, the different squads of dwarfs arrived, one after
+another, under the koola-tree, and a great abundance of koola nuts
+covered the ground,—a sight which rejoiced them greatly.
+
+“Fortunate are we,” said Monbon, one of the dwarfs, with a shrill laugh,
+“that these horrid ngoas did not make their appearance before us;
+otherwise we should have had to go to sleep with shrunken stomachs, for
+very little food have we found on our way.”
+
+They lighted two big fires, and then gathered the koola nuts. These they
+broke with stones, and ate a good many of them and saved the others.
+When they had eaten, some of the dwarfs went to a stream near by to
+drink. There they saw the footprints of a ngina, and they were full of
+fear.
+
+One dwarf also discovered fresh footprints of a njego; and when he told
+his comrades of it, they said: “We must keep our fires burning bright
+all night, so that the njegos will be afraid to come near. The only way
+for us to avoid the nginas and njegos, and to make them flee, is to make
+a great noise.” Accordingly they made all the racket they could, and
+then slept surrounded by big fires.
+
+The following day they travelled from early morning, and in the
+afternoon came to a region full of berries, nuts, and fruits, and
+noticed that the country was full of game.
+
+That day one of the squads found the skull of a full-grown male ngina.
+It was fearful to behold, it looked so fierce with all its teeth
+grinning in its jaws. Another squad found the skull of a little ngina,
+and they took it with them also.
+
+When they laid these before the whole company of dwarfs, they all
+shouted: “Now, nginas, you will eat no more of our fruits, berries, and
+nuts.” Then they reflected that perhaps these nginas had come to their
+death by stepping upon the point of poisoned arrows that had been
+planted in the ground by some other colony of dwarfs; for it is their
+custom sometimes when they fear enemies at night to do so near their
+settlement; but it is very seldom they do this, and then they know
+exactly where these are laid, since they might step upon them
+themselves.
+
+Examining the skull of the big ngina, they said, “The nginas have the
+same number of teeth that we have, but how strong theirs are;” and they
+wondered at the big ridge at the top of the skull,—which space, when the
+ngina is alive, is covered with muscles attached to the lower jaw, that
+give him such tremendous biting power.
+
+Then they looked at the little head and counted its teeth and said:
+“These young nginas have the same number of teeth that our children have
+before they get their second set.”
+
+They agreed to go a little farther the next day, and, if the country
+proved good, to stop there and build their houses.
+
+The dwarfs went to sleep very happy, for there was a good prospect of
+food before them.
+
+Early the following morning they were exploring the forest. At noon,
+when they met, they all agreed that the country was good, and there was
+much food. They looked for a place near a spring to build their new
+houses.
+
+They went to the forest to collect material. They took machetes and
+queer-looking axes with them which they had got from the big people.
+They came back after a while with many long slender saplings, the kind
+that could be bent without breaking, large leaves, short sticks for
+beds,—in a word, all the building material they needed. After depositing
+these on the ground, they returned for more. When they had collected
+enough, they began to make their houses. They bent the slender branches
+of trees in the shape of a bow and put each end in the ground.
+
+The houses were not quite four feet in height. They made two little beds
+in each house. Four or five sticks put together made each bed, and a log
+made the pillow. When this was done, they roofed their beehive-like
+structure with large leaves, overlapping each other, to prevent the rain
+from coming in. In each house slept two dwarfs. Though the houses
+appeared all alike, the owners could tell the difference between them.
+After their settlement was built, the dwarfs said:—
+
+“How much better are our shelters than those of the nkengos and of the
+mbouvés! but we are obliged to move away as often as they do, for we
+live much the same kind of life.” They then collected firewood for the
+night. This was easy enough, for in the big forest dead and fallen limbs
+of trees were lying everywhere.
+
+After their supper they seated themselves round a log fire. They all
+felt happy, for they had come to a part of the forest where food was
+plentiful; and even if the nginas, the men of the woods, or the ngoas
+came, they would not eat it all. When it was bedtime, they went off one
+by one to their houses. They lay flat on their bellies and crawled in,
+for the doors of their dwellings were not more than one foot in height
+and not quite as wide. They started early the following morning. The men
+went to lay all kinds of traps and snares in the forest to trap game.
+The women went after food, but they found it round their settlements.
+All came back early.
+
+The next afternoon was a great feast day; not only fruits, berries, and
+nuts were abundant, but the dwarfs had been very successful in trapping
+game. One came back with a big ombama, over twenty feet long; some had
+monkeys, which they had killed with arrows. Two wild boars and two or
+three animals had been trapped and caught. So there was a great feast
+that evening.
+
+The following day they trapped so much game that the dwarfs said, “The
+bashikouay ants must have made a raid in the forest, and the animals
+have fled in our direction.” Big fires were lighted; and when the
+firewood had been reduced to charcoal, they roasted the monkeys and big
+pieces of boar upon it. They ate to their hearts’ content. After eating,
+they lay on their backs, just as the men of the woods do, and smoked
+wild hemp which they got from the big human beings, and felt happy. In
+the evening they retired under their shelter after they had collected
+firewood for the night.
+
+Then, seated around their fire, some of the dwarfs said: “Our camp is
+not far from a village of big people. It is a long time since we have
+eaten plantains. Let us go and exchange game with them for bunches of
+plantains, for the plantains taste so much better than all the nuts and
+fruits we find in the forest.”
+
+So they went to a village of a tribe which lived in that part of the
+forest, and took several monkeys and pieces of wild boar. They were well
+received and welcomed by the big people, among whom they had many
+friends, and remained in their village, enjoying the cooked plantains
+that were served to them. When they returned, they took back with them
+as many bunches of plantains as they could carry.
+
+Thus the dwarfs spend their lives year after year.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XLIX
+                  ADVENTURES OF A NKENGO AND A NSHIEGO
+
+
+Before closing this volume I will give the story of two remarkable
+creatures which belonged to the “World of the Great Forest,” a nshiego
+and a nkengo. These two were made captive, and after many adventures
+left their gloomy home, went to the country of the white man, where one
+of them died and the other learned many things which excited great
+interest, and sent many observers home with food for thought.
+
+One day a big nshiego with her little one was wandering in the great
+forest in search of food, but without being aware of it they came near a
+region inhabited by human beings that had guns. The mother was killed by
+some hunters, and her baby was captured by them and brought to their
+village. She was tied to a long pole with a ring round it to allow her
+to go up and down.
+
+Everything in the village looked very strange to the little nshiego, it
+was so unlike the dark gloomy forest where she had lived. At first she
+was afraid of the human beings, but in less than three days she became
+very friendly because they brought her nuts, berries, and fruits to eat.
+She was especially fond of her master. Her mistress did not like to
+handle her, for she thought she was too much like a human being.
+
+The poor little captive nshiego always had a sad expression, and when
+looking at her one could see that she was thinking, at which times she
+looked more human than ever; but no one could ever guess of what she was
+thinking. She had partly learned the language of the nshiego, which had
+been taught to her by Papa and Mamma Nshiego. Her father had been shot a
+few weeks before her mother had perished, so that she was now an orphan.
+
+She had a very quick temper, although she was very affectionate and
+loved to be petted. When they brought her food and she was pleased, she
+would say, “Whoe! whoe!” When displeased, she would utter the most
+piercing shrieks and strike the ground with her feet and hands. If she
+could not have her own way, she would at once become angry and shriek.
+In a short time she learned to eat cooked food, and was especially fond
+of boiled meat. She learned also to drink the intoxicating beverages of
+the people and liked these very much.
+
+It happened one day that some people of another tribe nearer the sea
+came to the village where the nshiego was, to buy slaves. When they saw
+her they wanted to buy her also, for there was a great demand for men of
+the woods by the traders on the Atlantic coast. They bought the poor
+nshiego for a small bunch of red beads.
+
+When the time came for the departure of the strangers, the nshiego and
+the slaves they had bought went with them. She felt very badly, for she
+had become much attached to the people who had been so kind to her.
+
+On the journey to her new master’s home, she felt her change of
+condition still more. The slaves were chained round the neck, and the
+poor nshiego’s head was put in the fork of a very long stick with a
+cross-stick in front. After three days she came to the village where her
+new master lived, and she was glad when they released her from her
+horrid shackles and tied her to a pole, for her poor neck had become
+very sore from chafing. From the pole she could see a large river near
+the village where she was.
+
+She had not been in her new place long when some men living still nearer
+the sea, who came to buy elephants’ tusks, saw her, and they bought her
+for a large hollow copper ring, a small looking-glass, and a file. When
+the time came for these people to depart, they tied the nshiego on the
+forward part of their canoe, for they were to travel by the river. The
+poor nshiego wondered at all she saw on the journey, and in the course
+of two days they arrived at a village by the sea.
+
+One day they took her to see the big ocean. At first she was very much
+alarmed when she saw the heavy breakers, foaming white, rolling toward
+the shore. But she soon got accustomed to them. She looked at the ocean
+and could see no land on the other side and wondered why, for she
+thought it was a big river like those she had been accustomed to see in
+the forest while wandering with her mother and father. Then she uttered
+a peculiar plaintive sound. Was she thinking of them?
+
+The dry season came, and it was cold, and she loved to sit by the
+fireside with the people. She was now entirely free and never thought of
+running away. When night came she would fix her little bed of leaves by
+shaking them, and put over herself rags that had been given her to keep
+warm.
+
+She was friendly with everybody, for every one brought her berries,
+nuts, and fruits, and also ripe plantains and bananas, of which she was
+very fond, and she continued to eat cooked food also.
+
+It happened that while the nshiego was travelling to the sea, a nkengo,
+somewhat larger and stronger than she, was captured, after the killing
+of his mother and father. He was also sold, and in the course of time
+came to the seashore, but for some reason he was vicious and could not
+be tamed, and never became friendly with the people. So he had a much
+harder time in his captivity, for he had bitten a couple of people. He
+would have been killed, but the natives knew that one day or another
+they could sell him for a good price to some white trader who would come
+to the coast with his ship.
+
+It came to pass in the course of time that both the nshiego and the
+nkengo were sold to two sea captains and sailed for Portugal in two
+different ships. On their voyage they wondered very much at the ship, at
+the blue ocean, and that no more trees were to be seen. To them it was a
+very strange world. On board both got accustomed to eat the food of the
+white man when the plantains and bananas were all eaten up. In the
+course of time they reached their destination in very good health; they
+were now in the country of the white man.
+
+[Illustration: [Bald-headed Ape]]
+
+After several years of trials and tribulations, both the nshiego and the
+nkengo crossed the broad Atlantic and one fine day landed in New York.
+They were owned by “the biggest circus show on earth.” They had become
+big and strong since they had left the west coast of Africa, and people
+were more or less afraid of them.
+
+The day of their arrival their cages were changed and they found
+themselves again behind strong iron bars in two boxes close together,
+and saw wonderful animals, such as lions, tigers, rhinoceroses, and many
+others they had never seen before. They were very much frightened when
+they heard their roars and yells. Their hair stood erect on their
+bodies, and they uttered great yells also, and if they had been in the
+forest how fast they would have run away!
+
+They saw some njokoos, but were not afraid of them, for it was like
+meeting old acquaintances of the great forest.
+
+In the course of time they became reconciled to their new lot, and did
+not mind any more the noises of the menagerie. Their places of
+confinement were close together and separated inside by iron bars. This
+arrangement was made in order to enable them to become friends if they
+chose. They travelled through the big cities of the United States and
+saw many things which they had never seen before. They were very much
+astonished when they journeyed on railroads, and at first were
+frightened, but became accustomed to this and to many other ways of
+civilization.
+
+They had been put under the charge of a special keeper, who had nothing
+to do but to take care of them, for they were considered the rarest and
+most valuable creatures of the big show, and experience had taught their
+owners that the American climate was not good for the men of the woods,
+that they did not live long here, and generally died of consumption or
+pneumonia. So the greatest care was given them.
+
+During their travels great crowds of people came to see them, and no
+wonder, for no such large nshiego and nkengo had ever been seen before.
+They looked so much like people that some thought that they were a sort
+of human being, the “missing link” between man and beast.
+
+They were so large now that no keeper ever dared to go inside of their
+cage, for it had long before been discovered that their tempers were
+very uneven, that they got angry for nothing, and were whimsical and
+treacherous. They were so powerful that no man could wrestle with them,
+as he would surely have been torn to pieces.
+
+The nshiego was called Johanna and the nkengo Ntchiko by mistake. The
+two became stronger and stronger every day as they grew bigger. A new
+cage with thicker iron bars had to be made, for sometimes they seized
+the bars with such power that there was danger that they would break.
+Ntchiko never showed the slightest sign of tameness, except that he
+would take food, such as apples, bananas, nuts, etc., from the hand of
+his keeper, who had to be very careful when he handed these to him. In
+front of their cage was a railing, so that no spectator should get
+within the reach of their long arms.
+
+Johanna’s face as she grew older became gradually black, but with
+patches of yellow. She was more amenable to the keeper than Ntchiko, but
+nevertheless he never dared to go inside of her cage, for he knew what
+his fate would be in case she objected to his presence, and he did not
+want to be killed.
+
+Strange to say, the two apes were never friendly, though their cages
+inside were only separated by iron bars through which they could shake
+hands and scratch each other if they wished. On this account those who
+had charge of the show never dared to experiment by putting Johanna and
+Ntchiko together, for fear that they would fight, and Ntchiko, who was
+the stronger, would kill Johanna.
+
+[Illustration: [Monkeys]]
+
+After the travelling season was over, Ntchiko and Johanna wintered in
+New York at the Arsenal in Central Park, and had very comfortable and
+warm quarters.
+
+One day, Friend Paul, who was living in New York, went to see them,
+having heard of their fame and of the excitement they created.
+
+As he came before their cages, he imitated the language of the nkengo,
+which he had so far heard in the great forest of Africa. To his utter
+astonishment, as soon as Ntchiko heard him, he became furious, uttered
+terrific yells of anger, jumped from one side of his large cage to the
+other, went to the farthest corner, picked up some sawdust from the
+floor and threw it at him, then came toward him and behind his iron bars
+showed every disposition of wanting to fight him. Paul must have told
+him in the language of the nkengos something he did not like, to make
+him so angry. Paul had no gun with him, and was glad that the iron bars
+were between him and Ntchiko.
+
+Johanna, who belonged to another variety, did not mind what Paul said,
+for she did not understand him. That same winter, their keeper, who
+slept in an adjoining room, heard a noise in the room occupied by
+Ntchiko and Johanna, and thinking that they were disturbed by something,
+got up to find out what was the matter. He was dressed in a long white
+nightshirt, and as he came unconsciously toward the bars of the cage of
+Johanna, he was seized by the arm. She had passed one of her arms
+through the bars; she was frightened. The poor keeper could not get away
+from her clutches. She was so scared that she would not understand or
+recognize his voice. It was a struggle for life. His arm was terribly
+lacerated and he had to go to the hospital.
+
+Time passed away, and Ntchiko during his travels caught cold and died
+from it. To his death he remained vicious and untamable.
+
+A year or more passed away, and in the spring the great show was once
+more installed in Madison Square Garden, Johanna with it, but with no
+Ntchiko near her.
+
+It happened that the same Paul was invited by the proprietor of the show
+to a special morning audience, given to see how Miss Johanna was, and
+how much she had learned since he had seen her, and was told that he
+could bring some of his friends with him.
+
+One fine morning, Paul, with two of his dear little chums, Alfred and
+Elizabeth, together with their mamma and Fräulein, went to Madison
+Square Garden to make a visit to Miss Johanna by appointment. They
+descended the stairs leading to the basement and found themselves in the
+midst of many caged animals, and came after a while in the presence of
+Johanna.
+
+Great indeed was the change Paul saw in Johanna. She was a docile
+creature, and loved dearly her new keeper. She had grown a great deal.
+Her face had become almost entirely black, with here and there a small
+yellowish patch left. Her complexion was much like that of a
+chimney-sweeper. The skin of her body had become black and her nails as
+well.
+
+Her new keeper understood her better than the former one, and knew how
+to teach her the ways men have; in a word, he was a very intelligent and
+patient trainer. Perhaps Johanna, who no longer had the vicious Ntchiko
+for a constant neighbor, had become more gentle on that account.
+Whatever the cause, she had become a new and wonderful creature. All she
+had been taught, she had learned by seeing her keeper do it before her,
+outside of her cage. She imitated him, as children do by looking at
+their parents.
+
+Soon after our arrival Johanna’s morning toilet began. A wash-basin
+filled with water was passed under the bars, then a towel and soap. She
+washed her face, dried it afterward with a towel, and washed her hands
+and dried them also. Then a tooth-brush was given to her, and she
+brushed her teeth.
+
+Afterwards a powder-box was handed to her. She powdered her face with
+the puff, and rubbed her skin with a towel all over her face. She then
+took a looking-glass to see how she looked.
+
+All these preliminaries of her breakfast seemed mechanical. That is, she
+was not civilized enough to know what cleanliness was, to know that her
+face was dirty and needed to be washed, and that a sign of beauty was to
+have good and clean teeth. But there are many people in this world who
+do not know as much as this, and are not familiar with tooth-brushes.
+Johanna appeared to feel better and more lively after her toilet was
+completed.
+
+Breakfast was then served to her upon a board as a table, passed to her
+under the bars. Upon the table were put a plate, a glass, half a bottle
+of wine, a napkin, tooth-picks, a knife and fork. She looked
+complacently at the preparations for her breakfast, and did not show any
+signs of impatience. She seemed to know that it was coming when ready.
+Then chicken sandwiches were served.
+
+She cut her sandwiches with her knife, and ate with a fork, as a
+civilized person is accustomed to do. Now and then she wiped her mouth
+with her napkin. While eating, she took the cork from the bottle of port
+wine, filled her glass properly and generously, not quite to the brim,
+and drank it in two sips, put the glass on the table, wiped her mouth,
+and recorked the bottle.
+
+The keeper said to me: “We only allow her a glass of port wine at each
+meal. She is very fond of this kind of wine, and when she thinks I do
+not see her, she will help herself to another glass if I turn my back to
+her. I will talk to you, and you can watch her.”
+
+It happened just as the keeper said; as soon as he turned his back,
+Johanna uncorked the bottle, filled her glass quickly but in a proper
+way, and drank the wine at one draught, corked the bottle, and when her
+keeper turned around she looked at him as if she had only taken one
+glass, and as if nothing out of the way had happened. When her meal was
+finished, she used a tooth-pick.
+
+A lighted cigarette was then given to her. She smoked it like a man,
+enjoying it wonderfully well, inhaled the smoke, and let it come out of
+her mouth in puffs, and once or twice let it pass through her nose.
+There was no difference in manner between her and a man smoking.
+
+After this she lay on her back until she was called for a sherry flip.
+It was served to her with straws, which she used also like a person
+accustomed to take such kinds of drinks. When her sherry flip was drunk,
+she lay on her back again, and then rested for a very short time. The
+keeper then asked her if she wanted to put her shoes and stockings on.
+She put her legs through the bars and let him put them on for her. After
+this he asked her if she wanted to go out. A lady’s hat was given to
+her; she put it on her head, then took the looking-glass to look at
+herself, and stood up erect. Then she seated herself. She evidently was
+not accustomed to thick leather laced shoes, and these were not kept
+long on her feet. Her keeper asked her to kiss him. She did so through
+the bars, kissing him with a pouting mouth on one of his cheeks.
+
+She understood everything he said to her. He asked her if she wanted to
+take her shoes and stockings off. She put her legs outside the bars to
+have them taken off. Then the ceremony was ended.
+
+Something drew her attention at some distance from the cage. She stood
+up erect and looked in that direction, as a human being would have done.
+
+On a sudden she took a dislike to one of our party, glared, took a
+handful of sawdust and threw it right at the person, uttering sounds of
+anger.
+
+From the intelligence Johanna displayed, if her temper could have been
+relied upon, I do not see why she could not have served a small party at
+dinner.
+
+Johanna is now in England. How much more she has learned I cannot tell;
+but if she has still the same keeper, she has undoubtedly learned to do
+some other things.
+
+
+
+
+                    GLOSSARY OF NATIVE ANIMAL-NAMES
+
+
+            Apilibish      _Butterfly_.
+            Bashikouay     _Ant_ (species).
+            Bongo          _Antelope_ (species).
+            Compagnondo    _Fishing Eagle_ (species).
+            Guanionien     _Giant Eagle_.
+            Hako           _Ant_ (generic name).
+            Iboboti        _Spider_.
+            Iboco          _Fly_ (species).
+            Ibolai         _Fly_ (species).
+            Ipi            _Scaly Ant-eater_.
+            Izomba         _Turtle_.
+            Kambi          _Antelope_ (species).
+            Kongoo         _Fishing Eagle_ (species).
+            Kooloo-kamba   _Ape_ (species).
+            Manga          _Manatee_.
+            Mboyo          _Jackal_.
+            Miengai        _White-moustached Monkey_.
+            Mogara         _Ant_ (species).
+            Mondi          _Jet-black, Long-haired Monkey_.
+            Nchegai        _Mandrill_.
+            Nchellelay     _White Ant, or Termite_.
+            Ncheri         _Gazelle_.
+            Nchouna        _Fly_ (species).
+            Ndova          _White-nosed Monkey_.
+            Ngando         _Crocodile_.
+            Ngina          _Gorilla_.
+            Ngoa           _Wild Boar_.
+            Ngooboo        _Hippopotamus_.
+            Ngomba         _Porcupine_.
+            Ngozo          _Parrot_.
+            Niare          _Buffalo_.
+            Njego          _Leopard_.
+            Njokoo         _Elephant_.
+            Nkago          _Red-headed Monkey_.
+            Nkema          _Monkey_ (generic name).
+            Nkengo         _Ape_ (variety).
+            Nshiego        _Chimpanzee_ (variety).
+            Nshiego-mbouvé _Bald-headed Ape_.
+            Nshiey         _Fish_.
+            Ntoto          _Ichneumon_.
+            Ntungoolooya   _Kingfisher_.
+            Nyoi           _Wasp_.
+            Oganagana      _Bluish Black Monkey_.
+            Ogata          _Burrowing Crocodile_.
+            Ombama         _Python_.
+            Omemba         _Serpent, Snake_.
+            Oseli          _Lizard_.
+            Osengi         _Monkey_ (species).
+            Oshingi        _Civet_.
+            Ozoni          _Ant_ (species).
+            Vengela        _Grasshopper_.
+            Viviki         _Mosquito_.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                _=Popular Juveniles by Paul Du Chaillu=_
+
+
+                     _The_ LAND _of the_ LONG NIGHT
+
+                    WITH 24 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
+                   BY W. J. BURNS. Square 12mo, $2.00
+
+                              The Nation.
+
+The record of a winter journey from Southern Sweden up through Lappmark,
+Finland, and Finmark to Nordkyn, the extreme end of the European
+mainland. To say that it will interest its youthful readers from
+beginning to end is well-nigh superfluous.
+
+                           New York Tribune.
+
+Happy is the winter evening of that young person who, forgetting time
+and space and the household gods about him, goes forth into strange
+countries with Paul Du Chaillu. For that most kindly of travellers has
+in narrative a beguiling simplicity and realism which enables him to
+hold his readers closely to the end.
+
+                    New York Times Saturday Review.
+
+It is a capital book for boys or girls or anybody, and Mr. Burns has
+contributed a great many excellently drawn and very telling
+illustrations.
+
+                              The Outlook.
+
+Here are information, stories, and incidents of adventure in Arctic
+regions strung together by a personal narrative of travel—all readable,
+unconventional, entertaining.
+
+                      Philadelphia Public Ledger.
+
+His narrative is engagingly frank, full of information, and with no lack
+of adventure and incident. It will prove a treasure to readers young and
+old.
+
+
+
+
+                           _IVAR THE VIKING_
+
+                       A ROMANTIC HISTORY, BASED
+                      UPON AUTHENTIC FACTS OF THE
+                       THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURIES
+
+                              12mo, $1.50
+
+
+                        Richard Henry Stoddard.
+
+There is that in Mr. Paul Du Chaillu’s “Ivar the Viking” which not only
+satisfies the lover of romantic adventure, but carries the scholar back
+into the remotest period of Scandinavian history. Beyond all living
+writers this traveller in and explorer of many countries has collected
+the documents and discovered the secrets of the Norselands.
+
+                            New York Times.
+
+The reader who has begun with a blank mind closes the volume with a
+tolerably clear expression of a very energetic, powerful, and wealthy
+young Viking, capable of strong affection, foremost in games and fights
+requiring physical force, and with a vast number of habits and customs.
+It is a history that interests through its simplicity.
+
+                              The Nation.
+
+“Ivar the Viking” is to be thoroughly recommended. The story is
+characteristically spirited, and the romantic part leaves nothing to be
+desired.
+
+
+
+
+                    _=Paul Du Chaillu’s Great Work=_
+
+
+                             THE VIKING AGE
+
+                     THE EARLY HISTORY, MANNERS, &
+                      CUSTOMS OF THE ANCESTORS OF
+                      THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING NATIONS
+
+                    WITH 1400 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP
+
+                          2 vols., 8vo, $7.50
+
+                  CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, Publishers
+
+
+                           New York Tribune.
+
+“These luxuriously printed and profusely illustrated volumes embody the
+fullest account of our Norse ancestors extant. Mr. Du Chaillu has gone
+very fully and very carefully over the whole of his ground. This
+extensive and important work must be of high interest to all
+English-speaking people.”
+
+                           Newark Advertiser.
+
+“Their weapons, ornaments, ships, domestic manners and customs, art and
+industries, are all reconstructed with a minuteness that is remarkable,
+if we consider (as we must) that all this comes to us after centuries of
+neglect.”
+
+                            London Athenæum.
+
+“What is really valuable in these volumes is the exhaustive digest which
+they contain of the extant information respecting the manners and
+character of the ancient people of Scandinavia. The work deals with the
+entire field of Scandinavian archæology. In the main, we believe the
+picture he has drawn of the manner of life of the Vikings and their
+countrymen to be as accurate as it is undoubtedly full of interest.”
+
+                           Edinburgh Review.
+
+“The subject of M. Du Chaillu’s work is vast in extent and full of
+perplexing difficulties. We have shown that its author has collected a
+store of valuable information, a great part of which has hitherto been
+inaccessible to English readers. His enthusiasm will have a very useful
+effect if it leads the people of this country to study and admire the
+ancient civilization and the splendid literature of our Scandinavian
+kinsmen.”
+
+                        Springfield Republican.
+
+“Mr. Du Chaillu is every whit as agreeable and entertaining as a student
+of history as he has long proved to be in the character of a traveller.”
+
+                          Chicago Inter-Ocean.
+
+“Mr. Du Chaillu has certainly given to the literary world a work full of
+interest.”
+
+                              The Nation.
+
+“While in Germany and in Scandinavia itself books have been written upon
+the life of the ancient inhabitants of the North, no such comprehensive,
+popular work as this, with citations from the old literature and
+illustrations of all sorts of objects preserved from the ancient days,
+has yet appeared. It is, accordingly, an unused opportunity that the
+author of the work, with characteristic energy, has recognized and
+seized. The two volumes are filled to overflowing with curious and
+interesting facts concerning the people of the Scandinavian North, whose
+manners, social customs, and national life the more than thirteen
+hundred illustrations serve to bring up almost visibly before us. The
+book as a whole is a record of persistent and ingenious research, and of
+extraordinary literary zeal.”
+
+                          Philadelphia Record.
+
+“M. Du Chaillu’s book is full of valuable information respecting the
+manners and character of the ancient Norse people. It is, in fact, a
+perfect museum of Northern antiquities, covering the entire field of
+Scandinavian archæology. The extracts from the Sagas which are furnished
+must whet the appetite of students of Norse literature.”
+
+                           Boston Transcript.
+
+“Mr. Du Chaillu’s monumental work, ‘The Viking Age,’ upon which the
+careful labor of over eight years has been expended, is one for which
+scholars will be profoundly grateful. It brings together from
+innumerable sources a vast amount of information, relative to the period
+covered, never before put in systematic form. The chapters on the
+mythology and cosmogony of the Norsemen, on the superstitions, slavery,
+graves, finds, weapons, occupations, feasts, warfare, etc., are
+intensely interesting. The text is accompanied by nearly fourteen
+hundred illustrations.”
+
+
+                  CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, Publishers
+                     153–157 Fifth Avenue, New York
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+                          TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
+
+
+ Page           Changed from                      Changed to
+
+  190 six legs were cut off, one after eight legs were cut off, one
+      the other, in this way           after the other, in this way
+
+ ● Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.
+ ● Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
+ ● Enclosed blackletter font in =equals=.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75327 ***