Soon after he entered the little house he had built, taking his bag with him, and shut the door behind him. I heard him speak to his idol. When he came out, his body was painted here and there. In the hollow of his chest was a white spot, in the middle of his forehead a white line between his eyes, and there were long white stripes along his arms. He wore all the mondahs his bag contained. He came towards me, and looking at me, said: "Oguizi, sunset is soon coming, and I must go into the little house, and I shall remain there until after sunrise. You have plenty of firewood. You have meat. There is plenty of water in the spring, so you will be neither thirsty nor hungry."
Before entering the house, he called aloud on the spirits of his ancestors to watch over him, said good-night to me, then disappeared into his little hut, and shut the door so that the new moon could not possibly see him.
I found myself alone in the camp. Ndova and Andekko were my companions. Ndova entered his house and soon after was asleep. Andekko stretched himself by the fire. I wondered at all I had seen and the wonderful animals I had killed since I had been in that great forest; then putting lots of wood on the fires, I lay down to sleep. In the middle of the night Ndova uttered several shrill cries of fear which resounded strangely. I jumped out of my bed, revolver in hand, lighted a torch quickly, and went to his house, followed by Andekko, who had been lying by my side. Ndova's eyes glared, his hair stood erect. He gave several grunts, and jumped from one part of his house to the other. Something had evidently disturbed him. Looking carefully on the ground, I saw the trail of a huge snake.
While all this was going on within his hearing, Rogala did not dare to say a word. All was perfectly silent in his little house. When he came out in the morning, he said to me: "The new moon did not see me."
In the afternoon Shinshooko and Alapai made their appearance. They had gone into the forest to hide, fearing that the moon would mark them also for destruction.
The following day Rogala went hunting and returned with a very high fever. He had had a sudden chill on the way. His skin was very hot, and he had a very violent headache. I made him lie down, and lighted several fires round him to act as blankets. I was afraid he had an attack of malignant fever, which carries off people very quickly, sometimes in less than twelve hours. I gave him a very large dose of quinine, and bathed his burning head with cool water from the spring. I watched over him all night.
He was better the next day, and said to me: "Oguizi, some persons have bewitched me; they are jealous, for you are my friend, and you love me, a poor slave, and they say, 'Why should the great Oguizi love Rogala?' and they want me to die."
I replied, "Rogala, nobody wants you to die."
"Yes," he replied very earnestly, "somebody wants me to die, but fortunately I have a powerful mondah which is stronger against witchcraft than the machinations and incantations of the sorcerers or witches."
While he was talking, I said to myself: "I suppose that if Rogala should die while with me, the people would say that I had caused his death; that I wanted his spirit to follow me when I left the country because I loved him." I remembered that a man had died the day after I had left a village, and the people there to this day believe that I caused his death for this reason.
So I was very anxious about Rogala, for not only should I regret his death, but I could not foretell what would happen afterwards.
But he got quite well soon, though his face began again to show signs of anxiety. He seemed almost afraid of our camp, and even suggested that we might build another camp at some other place. He hinted that the place had been bewitched.
"By whom?" I asked, laughing.
"I do not know," he answered.
"Only your friends Shinshooko and Alapai have been here. You do not mean to say that they wish you to be ill and die? Do not be afraid," I said earnestly, in order to convince him. "You will not die; the Oguizi will keep you with him."
These words seemed to reassure him somewhat, but I could see that he was still anxious.
CHAPTER XV
ROGALA LEAVES THE CAMP—NON-APPEARANCE OF SHINSHOOKO AND ALAPAI—WHAT HAPPENED TO ROGALA ON HIS JOURNEY—HE RETURNS AFTER FOUR DAYS WITH A POWERFUL MONDAH WHICH HE BURIES BEFORE THE CAMP
The next day after our talk Rogala, bending low and taking one of my feet in both his hands, said with great fervor: "Oguizi, I want to go home, and if you let me go I will be back in four days. Yes," he repeated, "I will be back in four days. Shinshooko and Alapai will remain with you."
I said: "You can go, Rogala." I did not wish to ask him why he wanted to go home, but I suspected that he wanted to consult the big idol about the illness from which he had recovered, and to try to find out who had bewitched him.
Early the following morning he departed, and I followed him for a short distance and bade him an affectionate farewell.
I had learned to love Rogala, for he was thoughtful, affectionate, and brave. When with me I always felt that he would never leave me in the lurch.
Strange to say, Shinshooko and Alapai did not come back that day or night. Were they lost, or had they been killed by gorillas or elephants?
Andekko seemed to know that I was left all alone, and was watching most carefully, walking constantly around our fence and sniffing to find out if there were intruders near. When he had gone round two or three times, he would come back and lie at my feet. Twice during the day he growled, but a few words addressed to him prevented him from barking. We had taught him not to bark when within the camp, but at every growl he gave I listened attentively. Perhaps he had heard the footsteps of Shinshooko and Alapai. Each time the noise had probably been made by some passing antelope or other animal. At any rate, my ladder was inside, and no enemy could reach me unawares.
I did not go out that day. I cleaned "Bulldog" and my other guns, and mended my clothes.
At night I lighted two extra big fires. How strange was the glare of the flames among the big trees that surrounded me! The wind was blowing very hard, for I could hear the rustling of the leaves on the top of the trees. Twice I heard the piercing cries of owls.
I hardly slept. Andekko was wide awake, his ears pricking up at the least noise. Now and then he would go round and round, and when he had made sure that there was nothing, he would return and lie by the fire. At last morning came.
After my breakfast I left the camp, leaving the premises in charge of Andekko, after giving him a good meal and providing more food for him. As I marched along, Ndova, who accompanied me, was looking for something to eat. I heard him utter the chuckle that always meant he had found something good. I went towards him, and found him regaling himself. Looking round, I saw growing on the trunk of a tree large grape-like bunches of a beautiful fruit of a bright scarlet color. Each fruit was of the shape of a very large olive. There were about ten of these bunches on the trunk, and each was about fifteen to eighteen inches long. The seed was large, but the pulp was quite juicy and somewhat acid, with a very pleasant flavor. I petted Ndova to show him that I appreciated his discovery.
If I could have followed Rogala with my eyes on his way from the time he left the camp, I could have seen him (as I afterwards learned from his own account, when he returned) the first day tramping along as fast as he could, now and then stopping and taking his idol from his bag and putting it on the ground, and then talking to her as he would to an old trusted friend; asking her to protect him against witchcraft, to kill his enemies, and to let him go back safe to the Oguizi. When the evening came, he lighted several fires, and took again his little idol from his bag, and made numerous invocations to her. Poor Rogala was very unhappy, for he was fully persuaded that somebody had bewitched him. During the night he heard an owl, and he thought some of his enemies had taken that shape and were following him.
The following day, at daybreak, Rogala left the place where he had slept, and walked as fast as his legs could carry him; then he came to a small plantation where lived a great medicine man, and promised him three brass rods which I had given him if he would follow him. The medicine man assented; then they went to a place where years before Rogala had buried a powerful mondah to drive away witchcraft from the place.
The medicine man made many incantations over the mondah before Rogala dug it out. The mondah was composed of several skulls of nshiegos and bones of other animals. When he had dug up all the relics, Rogala packed them carefully in the otaitai he had with him, then rose and retraced his steps towards our camp, carrying with him the powerful mondah which was to drive away witchcraft from our camp. He was now happy.
The morning of the day that Rogala had promised to return I went into the forest without taking Ndova or Andekko with me. I had "Bulldog,"—not that I wanted to use it, but I thought it was prudent to have my most powerful weapon with me; "for, who knows?" said I to myself, "somebody might come into our camp and steal my best friend 'Bulldog.' It is better to be on the safe side in case something unforeseen should happen." I also took with me a hundred steel-pointed bullets.
I found a place where there was a kind of berry I had not seen before, but I did not dare to eat any before Ndova had tasted of them. I took a few of them with me to give them to him on my return. If they were good, then I would come to get more the following day. I continued to go further, thinking that I might find a koola tree, when, to my terror, I found that I had been on the point of stepping over a huge snake, my heel almost brushing it as it touched the ground. The snake lay across the path, and was just the color of the dead leaves. I ran instinctively from the reptile, then stopped. I could not help it, but every time I came unawares upon a dangerous snake my first impulse was always to move away quickly. Then, when I thought I was out of danger, I took my hunting-knife and cut a long, somewhat slender stick, then retraced my steps and looked at the snake. It was thick and short, with a triangular head. I could see by the shape of its head that it was poisonous. Raising my stick, I let it fall heavily upon its spine, breaking it and thus preventing the ugly reptile from turning upon me and from retreating or advancing. But the breaking of his spine did not prevent him from hissing at me when I faced him. Another blow crushed his head; his fangs could not possibly do any more harm, and how big these were! I cut his head off and threw it away. Then I saw that he had swallowed a tiny little gazelle that was not yet digested. I cut the snake into several pieces to take with me to the camp, for I knew that my hunters were very fond of snakes. Then I retraced my steps towards the camp.
As I approached, I thought I saw through the jungle a man by the fence just at the foot of the ladder. I was astounded. I could not believe my eyes. Had any one discovered our abode? Was the inside of our fortress full of enemies waiting for Rogala, Shinshooko, Alapai, and me? How was it that Andekko did not bark? Had they killed dear Andekko? Ndova's voice was not to be heard. Was he killed also? I looked at "Bulldog," then lay flat on the ground and crawled, like a snake, on my stomach towards the man. I lost sight of him for a few seconds, and I thought he had gone. "Then," said I to myself, "our abode has been discovered, and this man has gone to tell the news to his people, who will surely come and attack us."
Fortunately I got sight of the man again. I stood perfectly still, watching him through the jungle. Suddenly it occurred to me that his skin was of the same color as that of Rogala. I looked and looked. Yes, it was Rogala. There was no mistake about it. I recognized his body, though at first I could not recognize his face, for it was so disfigured by being painted with ochre. One side was yellow, the other side white, and his forehead was red.
But what was he doing? I came nearer and watched. I saw his idol by his side, and near it skulls of animals, pieces of broken plates from the white man's country, and some large sea-shells. I recognized the skulls as those of nshiegos and two or three as those of monkeys. I saw Rogala bury them at the foot of the ladder; then he covered them with earth, put dead leaves upon the spot, and tried to make it as natural-looking as it was before. Then he went to the place where we hid the ladder, and came back with it. Taking a monkey he had killed, he climbed the ladder, and soon after was inside. I heard Andekko's bark of joy and Ndova's muttering of contentment.
I remained still awhile, then went hunting again, so that when I returned Rogala could not possibly suspect that I had seen him, and about two hours afterwards I returned to the camp.
Dear Rogala was very happy to see me again. Immediately after his arrival he had made a big fire to get charcoal in order to roast the monkey he had killed on his way back to the camp. In the meantime I presented him with the pieces of the snake I had killed. The berries I had gathered were good, for Ndova ate them, and when I tasted them I found them very palatable. Then Rogala lighted his pipe and looked at me.
His body had been cut very badly by the sword-grass; so he washed himself with warm water, then rubbed himself with oil, and lay flat on a mat by the fire. He was very tired. As he saw that I was looking at him, he said:
"The reason I am so cut by the sword-grass is because I travelled a part of the night. I had told you that I would be back on the fourth day and I wanted to keep my word. I walked with a torch which I made from the gum of an elimi tree I found on the way, but though the torch gave a good light, once in a while I found myself entangled in the midst of long sword-grass." Then he added: "If I had not found that elimi tree, I could not have walked in the dark, for if I had been without a torch a prowling leopard in search of prey might have pounced upon me, and then you would never have seen your friend Rogala again."
Before we went to sleep I said: "Rogala, I know where you have been, I know why you left me." Rogala's face began to appear frightened, for he evidently thought I knew what he had done. Without giving him time to reply, I continued: "You went to dig up an old mondah from the ground, and you brought it here; you have buried it where we hang our ladder."
Rogala looked at me with a sort of dread, then taking hold of my feet, he said: "Oguizi, you know everything." Then he told me what I have just recounted to you, and concluded: "Now no witchcraft can come here."
Shortly afterwards Shinshooko and Alapai, who had gone to see if any animals had been caught in their various traps, returned, but without game.
CHAPTER XVI
WE DISCOVER A PAIR OF NSHIEGO-NKENGOS—DESCRIPTION OF THEM—CAPTURE OF A YOUNG ONE—HE MAKES FRIENDS WITH NDOVA AND ANDEKKO—HIS SPEEDY DEATH
One day at daylight Rogala and I left our camp, I taking my light rifle, and Rogala his gun and a net. After we had climbed over our fence we could hear Andekko barking and Ndova's voice of discontent. They wanted to go with us and disliked being left behind.
After about four hours' tramp we came to the region of the pineapple, and we stopped there. At the end of about two hours more, we were startled by the voice of a "man of the woods." Rogala whispered to me: "Nshiego-nkengo! He is not very far from us." In the distance we heard the voice of his mate answering his call. They kept answering each other; but neither Rogala nor I could understand them, for they were speaking the language of the nshiego-nkengos. Rogala whispered to me: "The 'man' is telling his mate to come, for he has found pineapples. Let us go towards him and hide ourselves."
We went forward as noiselessly as a fish or a leopard. We advanced slowly, looking upon the ground each time we put down our feet, for fear of stepping upon some little dead branches of trees. We put aside most carefully with one of our hands the jungle that was in our way, for we knew that the least noise would make the animals suspicious.
On account of the great care we took to make no noise our advance was very slow, but forward we went, and nearer and nearer we came to the "men of the woods." At last we heard the rustling they made as they moved about in the jungle. We advanced with still greater care, when, lo! I saw the two creatures. I did not even dare to give a click of warning, for fear that their quick ears would hear it. Fortunately Rogala had seen them also. We looked at each other, and I made a sign to him that we must not fire at them, and to remain where we stood.
The two nshiego-nkengos had their backs turned towards us, so we could not see their faces. They were seated close together. Now and then they stretched out their arms to reach the pineapples before them. I could hear them biting them, uttering now and then a peculiar sound of contentment, showing how pleased they were with their food.
The hair covering their bodies was thin and black, and I could see that it grew over a yellow skin. I could also see the backs of the large yellow ears. That was all. There were many pineapples all round them.
I was much excited. Then the nshiegos turned partly round and I could see their profiles. I saw their pale yellowish faces, which reminded me of the color of the sunburnt Moor of the desert, but no sun had given them that complexion, for the sun does not penetrate the forest. I noticed that their ears were somewhat the shape of those of man, but much larger, and that the lobes were flattened. Their lips were so thin that the mouth seemed to have been made by the skin being cut transversely, but it was very large. They had long slender hands, with palms whiter than their faces; their feet were also very long and slender. Their legs had no calves, and were very short. Their arms were very long. They gradually turned right towards us. Their faces were wrinkled like those of very old people, some of whom have that peculiar colorless skin. Their eyes looked strange and had something human in them, and seemed to be all the time on the lookout.
The male got hold of a large yellow pineapple that was quite ripe, and the female took it away from him. He uttered a sort of guttural sound, as if to say, "All right, you are welcome to it," and he picked another. Then they began to pick them one after another, and four mouthfuls disposed of a large pineapple.
After a while they moved away. Rogala raised his gun, looking at me. I made a sign to him not to fire. I did not want to kill them. "Perhaps we shall meet them in the forest," I said to myself, "and I may have a chance to study their ways." I did not even shout to scare them. They moved off gradually, and we went back to our camp.
The following day we took Andekko with us. Towards noon we were startled by the fierce barking of the dog, and heard the shrill cry of a nshiego-nkengo. Soon we came to the place, and saw Andekko looking up a tree at a young nshiego which I thought to be about a year old, and barking fiercely. He was glaring at the dog, the hair of his body erect, and was uttering sounds of defiance, not of fear. He seemed to know that he was safe where he was, and that the dog could not climb the tree.
"Let us try to capture the baby nshiego-nkengo if we can," said I to Rogala.
In the meantime Andekko kept barking at the little fellow, who kept looking at him, uttering now and then a sort of "whoe, whoe." He seemed to say to the dog, "You cannot catch me." Here we were, Rogala, Andekko, and I, at the foot of the tree, and the young nshiego-nkengo looking at us from one of its branches.
We found that from a young tree with slender branches he had succeeded in reaching the tree where he was. The only thing to be done was to watch for the time when, driven by hunger, he would come down.
In the meantime we heard far away in the distance the calls of his mother. We kept a sharp lookout for her, for though nshiegos are very shy, we were not sure that she would not attack us. She evidently thought her young one was somewhere in the forest looking for her. We spoke loud to scare her.
At last I said to Rogala: "Watch here while I go to the camp to feed Ndova, for the probability is that we shall have to sleep at the foot of the tree to-night."
I went to the camp and fed Ndova, and returned with some food and two axes. Andekko was almost exhausted from his constant barking, which had become quite hoarse and indistinct. The yellow pale face of the little nshiego-nkengo with his big eyes looked at us from his tree. The evening came, and there was no prospect of his coming down.
We slept in the forest, the little nshiego-nkengo still on the tree. "The only thing for us to do, Rogala," said I in the morning, "is to cut the tree down. Then we will watch and throw the net over him."
"That is so, Oguizi," replied Rogala; "only we must see that Andekko does not get hold of him, for he will surely strangle him."
We set to work, and soon the young tree fell with the little nshiego, and before Andekko had time to nab him, Rogala had thrown the net over him. We had quite a job to keep Andekko away, and not before Rogala had shown him a stick he had great respect for, was he quieted.
We returned to the camp with our prize, and by daylight we heard the mother's loud calls. The little fellow responded with shrieks. Andekko barked furiously, and in an instant we were outside our palisades, leaving Andekko within. Shortly after we succeeded in approaching the old nshiego-nkengo unseen, and killed her.
Ndova did not seem to take to the addition to our family. The two looked at each other in a strange way. But the next day they were more friendly, and the third day they had become friends, and were trying to discover insects upon each other's bodies. It took a few days more to make Andekko and Nshiego friends. Finally, however, the great pleasure of Andekko was to lie down by Nshiego and let himself be scratched. In three days Nshiego had become quite tame, but in less than a week he died.
CHAPTER XVII
MY RECKONING LOST—ROGALA AND I GO TO AN ISLAND WHERE I CAN SEE THE HEAVENS—WE REACH IT BY A RAFT AND BUILD A HOUSE—TURTLE'S EGGS IN PROFUSION
I had been so long in the forest and had led such a life that I could not remember the day of the week and the date of the month. I was not sure whether I was at the end of July or at the beginning of August, nor could I tell if I was north or south of the equator.
The only way for me to find out these things was to make astronomical observations, to find out my latitude and longitude. While in that great and apparently boundless forest I compared myself to a mariner, all alone in a boat, without compass, in the middle of the ocean, having for days a cloudy and gray sky above his head which hid the sun, the moon, and the stars from his sight, so that he could not know in what direction to steer his boat. The foliage of the trees above my head took the place of the gray and cloudy sky.
I said to Rogala, Shinshooko, and Alapai: "It is a long time since I have seen the sun, the moon, and the stars, for when I look up I see nothing but leaves which hide the heavens from my sight. I wish to go to a large open place, to a river where I can see the sun, the moon, and the stars, for I want to speak to them and consult them."
When my hunters heard me speak in that manner, all three looked at me with wonder. Their eyes stood wide open with astonishment and seemed to be twice as big as before.
Rogala replied: "Oguizi, about two days' journey from our camp there is a river with a long sandy island which always comes out during the dry season when the water is low. On that island you will be able to see the sun, the moon, and the stars."
It was agreed that Shinshooko and Alapai should return to their home and tell the news about us to be sent to Chief Rotembo.
By daylight the following day we were ready to start. We hid the ladder at some distance from our camp, and bade one another farewell. Shinshooko and Alapai soon disappeared from our sight.
We took an old hunting-path that led to the river and sandy island. Rogala and I had each a heavy load to carry. Rogala carried the "precious box" on his back in an otaitai, some smoked elephant meat, his gun, ammunition, two axes, a machete, and some food. I carried "Bulldog," ammunition, and koola nuts. Andekko and Ndova had nothing to carry. Andekko seemed to know that we were on a journey and that he had to follow us. Ndova was tied on the "precious box" and stood on the top of it.
The hunting-path was almost obliterated, as it was so seldom used. Trees had fallen across it in many places. In some the jungle had grown over it. In others we had to pass under the branches of some fallen trees or walk on the roots.
Towards noon we stopped to eat and rest a little while, then we continued on our way. How silent was the forest! Not even the shrill cry of a monkey or of a parrot was heard. Once in a while we could hear the fall of a leaf or the gentle murmur of some little stream winding its way towards some unknown river.
A little before dark we stopped, and made our camp for the night. We collected a large quantity of dead branches of trees that had fallen on the ground for our fires, and lighted many, and after a hearty meal of boiled elephant meat we fell asleep.
By daylight we were up and continued our journey. We slept again in the forest, though we were near the river. The following morning we stood upon its bank, and I saw in the middle of the stream a long sandy island.
Rogala, pointing out the island to me, said: "Oguizi, this is the island of which I spoke."
Putting our loads on the ground, we took our axes, and cut down trees to build a raft.
When the raft was ready, Rogala put upon it the "precious box," Ndova, and Andekko, and then crossed to the island. Ndova was very much afraid of the water, and clung to Rogala, who, after landing the box, the monkey, and the dog, came back for me.
An exclamation of joy arose involuntarily to my lips as I landed. How lovely was the blue sky, in the midst of which transparent white clouds were moving slowly! How cheerful was the sunshine! It felt so good to tread upon the soft white sand, to be in a place where there was not a tree, not even a blade of grass. In a word, the island was beautifully bare of vegetation. I was so tired of trees and of the forests. I rolled in the sand, lay on my back, and looked at the blue sky.
"We will remain on this island for a few days," I said to Rogala, "and to-morrow we will build a shelter for ourselves. During the day we will go into the forest to hunt and seek food. In the evening we will return to the island."
We crossed the river again on our raft, leaving Andekko and Ndova in possession of the island.
We collected building material, cut poles and sticks, gathered large leaves to be used instead of slates or shingles for roofing, and for walls wide pieces of bark; also much firewood. After a few trips all our material was landed on the island.
First I measured the ground, and decided that the house should be about ten feet long and seven feet wide. We planted sticks about one foot apart, reaching a height of about five feet above the ground. Then we fastened the bark along these sticks, and left an opening to be used as a door, and made a few loopholes so that we could fire from them in case we were attacked by the natives. I always took great precautions, though I was not afraid of the people. My guns, rifles, a certain amount of ammunition were always near my bed. I slept dressed and with my shoes on. "Always be ready in case of a sudden attack," I said to Rogala, and he replied: "You are right, Oguizi."
Then we placed a beam upon two big forked sticks to support the roof, and covered our roof with the large leaves, arranging them on the top of one another just like shingles. We also built a platform in case we should need it for smoking meat.
Then I walked all over the island, and discovered buried in the sand a number of turtle's eggs, to my great joy, for turtle's eggs are very good to eat. There were so many of them that we should not have starved had we remained quite a while on the island, for not only did we find many eggs but we captured a number of turtles. When I returned from my tour of investigation, Rogala was talking to his idol.
We boiled a number of turtle's eggs, and having salt with us we enjoyed them immensely. If I had had some oil or wild boar's fat, what delicious turtle's-egg omelette we could have made! After breakfast we fished, and were lucky enough to catch some fish, to our great delight. These we broiled on charcoal for our dinner. The day passed rather slowly, for I was anxious for the night to come.
CHAPTER XVIII
APPEARANCE OF THE SOUTHERN HEAVENS AT NIGHT—HOMESICKNESS—I TAKE SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS—ASTONISHMENT OF ROGALA—FIND THAT I AM NINETY MILES SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR
At last the sun set behind the trees. Darkness came on, and the stars made their appearance one by one. Soon the heavens glittered with them. The murmur of the wind passing through the top of the trees and the gentle noise of the river gliding along the shores were all that disturbed the absolute silence of the night. I was happy to see the stars again. How beautiful they were in the blue heavens!
I gazed upon them silently for quite a while, then I said to them: "I love you, dear twinkling stars, for you are my friends and companions of the night. Without you I should be lost in this great forest. You and the moon tell me where I am. I miss you ever so much when I am without you. I feel lonely without you."
But I missed many of the stars that I loved at home. The little ship that had carried me across the ocean to those southern latitudes had taken me away from them. Many stars that were unknown to me had taken their place, and though they were beautiful and I admired them, I did not love them. The stars that twinkle and look down upon the bright glittering snow, the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains, the Alleghanies, upon our great lakes, prairies, dales, and hills, upon the pine, the oak, the beech, the elm, and the birch, upon the violets, buttercups, and goldenrods, were those I loved the best.
An uncontrollable fit of sadness seized me as I missed them. I thought of home, of friends. Tears filled my eyes, I could not help it. Fortunate was it that Rogala was not near me. He might have thought that the Oguizi was, after all, a human being.
But there were stars that were old friends. The Pleiades were there, the stars of the constellation of the Great Bear. Vega, that I loved so much at home, seemed to be right above me; so were Aldebaran and the stars of the constellation of Orion. Here the position of the stars made the sword perfectly straight.
The sky of the southern hemisphere was very unlike that of the northern. One of the most striking sights was the constellation of the Cross, commonly known by mariners as the Southern Cross, composed of four brilliant stars. The three brightest stars in the heavens, Sirius, Canopus, Centaur, filled a part of the heavens with their light.
Mars, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter were looking upon me. That part of the Milky Way between the stars Sirius and Centaur was so rich in stars and crowded nebulæ that it seemed a perfect blaze of light.
There were the Magellanic clouds, white-looking patches, made up of countless stars unseen to the eye, and nebulæ,—stars in formation,—shining brilliantly and revolving round the starless South Pole.
Then, looking northward, I saw the constellation of the Great Bear, which reaches its meridian altitude at about the same time as the constellations of the Cross and of the Centaur.
I gazed upon the heavens almost all of the night. I was perfectly oblivious of everything else. Stars appeared and disappeared. They were like a succession of guests coming and going.
At last I said good-night to the stars, and pulling my old panama hat over my head, to protect my eyes from the rays of the moon, I soon fell asleep on the sand, under the blue heavens and the stars twinkling over me. I dreamt of friends, of boys and girls at home, of the North Star, of snow, of strawberries, peaches, and jam. I was suddenly awakened by the sharp barking of Andekko. It was broad daylight. Rogala was cooking turtle's eggs. Ndova was looking at me. All the stars had disappeared, and the sun had risen to give life and food to the sons of men, for without the sun there would be no life, no vegetation upon the earth. I spent the day quietly, waiting impatiently for the night to take astronomical observations.
After sunset I said to Rogala: "Bring me the 'precious box.'" After he had laid it at my feet I opened it.
Rogala stood up close to me, looking on with mingled feelings of curiosity and fear. First, I took from the box two sextants—one was to determine the altitude of the stars, planets, and moon; the other the distance between them from east to west, or vice versa. Then I took out a trough, which I filled up with quicksilver to be used as an artificial horizon, on which the stars were to be reflected.
From a little copper-screwed water-tight box I took two watches out of four which all marked the seconds, a bull's-eye lantern, and other objects that excited the wonder of Rogala. Before taking the observations, I thought I would have some fun with Rogala. I placed my telescope in position for Jupiter and said to him: "In the land of the Oguizi this star is called Jupiter. Do you see little stars round it?" I meant the satellites.
"There are stars near it," said I, "but your eyes cannot see them. I will show them to you."
Then I made him look with the telescope towards Jupiter, and he saw the satellites. He looked at me with awe, then with wonder. Fortunately he knew I would not harm him, but throwing himself at my feet, he took hold of them and exclaimed: "You are a great Oguizi. My eyes have seen what no other black man's have seen before;" then he got up and in a loud voice invoked the spirits of his ancestors to protect and watch over him, and shouted, "Great indeed is the Oguizi."
When I was ready to take observations, I seated myself cross-legged before the artificial horizon. On my right was a sextant to take the distance between the moon and the lunar stars that were in position. Close by was one of the watches; also the magnifying-glass to help me to read the degrees, minutes, and seconds on the sextant.
On my left was the sextant for taking altitudes, near which was the slate with pencil to write down the figures, and the bull's-eye lantern was lighted to help me to read the sextant. Also a thermometer for ascertaining the temperature.
The most important thing was to make the observations as quickly as possible and read from the watch the space of time between them.
After spending four hours in making observations I stopped. I looked at Rogala. He was fast asleep, for he was very tired and had worked hard during the day. I awoke him, and we went to our little hut and lay down to sleep. We knew that if natives came up or down the river Andekko would warn us in time.
When I awoke, Rogala was still asleep. Ndova had his eyes shut and his head was hanging down on his breast. Andekko lay across the door, apparently asleep, but as soon as he heard me he wagged his tail and followed me to the river and remained by me until I had had a good bath.
For three days and three nights I worked very hard. I took many observations, and made calculations which showed my latitude, longitude, the day of the month and of the week, and gave me the month in which I was. I found that it was Wednesday, the 17th of August, that I was ninety miles south of the equator, and two hundred and ten miles in the interior.
CHAPTER XIX
WE CROSS THE RIVER AND HIDE OUR AXES—NDOVA'S FRIGHT AT A PYTHON—ANDEKKO FINDS A LEOPARD'S LAIR—WE CAPTURE TWO LEOPARD CUBS—A VISIT FROM SAVAGES—THEY ARE FRIGHTENED BY MY WATERBURY CLOCK
Now that I knew from my astronomical observations where I was, and what was the day of the month and week, I said to Rogala: "Let us go and hunt in the forest, for possibly I may kill some animals or birds I have never seen before. I have done talking to the stars, the moon, and the sun for some time now."
As we were ready to go across the river, I said to Rogala: "We must take our axes with us, for who knows if some wandering natives may not be roaming here and take our raft? If we have our axes, we can make another one quickly." Then we embarked, taking also Andekko and Ndova with us.
After landing, we hid our axes carefully in two different places; one was put in the hollow of a tree, the other under dried leaves. We were walking silently, Rogala leading, for the path was very difficult to follow, being often obliterated by the jungle or fallen branches.
All at once Ndova ran towards me, seeming very much frightened. His eyes were almost starting out of his head, and he sprang upon me and held fast and close to my clothing. He looked in a certain direction, then uttered a cry of anger and defiance towards the place. I whispered to Rogala: "What can be the cause of Ndova's fright and anger? Look at his hair! It is standing up all over his body."
"Probably a snake," replied Rogala.
We went carefully towards the spot whence Ndova had come, and saw a huge python coiled round a tree, watching for prey. We killed the reptile, which was nearly twenty feet long. Rogala cut it into many pieces, packed them together in large leaves, and hung the parcel on the branch of a tree, and said with evident glee: "When we return I will take the parcel with me, for the snake is fat, and will make good soup."
We continued to follow the path, looking all around us for game, and walked as lightly as we could. The footsteps of Rogala, who wore no shoes, could not be heard.
Soon Ndova began to call for monkeys. His power of scent or of hearing was so great that he had detected the presence of monkeys, though we could hear nothing. His calls were soon answered. Then we made him fast to a cord, for fear that he would go away from us. Each side kept on talking and answering each other, and the cries of the flock of monkeys to which he was talking came nearer and nearer. Then they suddenly stopped. Had Ndova warned them not to come nearer? I thought I had detected a peculiar sound that was unlike those he always uttered when he wanted ndovas to come. I might be mistaken, but, after all, they did not come, and we did not hear them utter a single cry.
We continued on our way. After a while we heard in the distance the fierce and angry barking of Andekko. We listened, then shouted at the top of our voices, "Andekko, Andekko," so that he might know we were not far from him. He was evidently not pursuing game, for the barking was stationary.
Rogala said to me: "Let us go through the jungle towards him and see what causes this fierce barking."
"Yes," said I, "let us go and see what is the matter."
So we left the path, and went through the thick jungle, breaking some of the branches as we went along to guide us on our way back.
Louder and louder became Andekko's barking as we neared the spot where he was, when suddenly the barking ceased. The face of Rogala became anxious, and he said to me in a low voice: "Perhaps Andekko has been pounced upon by a snake, which is now coiled round him, and has squeezed him to death."
"That may be so," I replied. "Let us hurry." So we went, careless of the noise we made. We had only our dear Andekko in our minds, and we wanted to save his life, and, if too late, wreak our vengeance upon his destroyer.
"Dear Andekko," I said to myself, "I think a great deal of you, for you have been such a faithful dog, and have rescued us so often from starvation. I will surely kill the animal that has killed or even hurt you."
As we approached the spot, I thought I heard a peculiar noise. I listened. There was no mistake about it. Andekko was alive, and seemed to be busy choking some animal or other.
Rogala and I advanced towards the spot, and came to a dark place in the forest, where a number of big trees had fallen upon each other. Under all was a dark recess, a sort of den, and the dog was there. We shouted "Andekko, Andekko," and he came out with a small leopard in his mouth. We were before a leopard's den; both the father and mother of the cubs had gone in search of prey for them.
"There is no time to be lost," said Rogala to me. "I will go into the den and get the leopard's cubs if Andekko has not killed them all. Watch carefully, Oguizi, while I am in, and if the leopards come, let 'Bulldog' send them their death-blow."
Rogala had perfect faith in "Bulldog," and believed in its supernatural powers.
In the meantime Andekko was barking furiously outside, and it was all we could do to prevent him from again going inside. If he did, he would surely kill the rest of the young leopards, if he had not done so before. I watched carefully while Rogala was getting within; my eyes were everywhere around; "Bulldog" was cocked, and I was ready for any sudden coming of papa and mamma leopard. I felt that I must be quick in aiming at them in case they made their appearance together.
In the twinkling of an eye, however, Rogala came out of the den holding two little live leopards by the neck. There were two others, he said, that were dead, and Andekko had had hold of these two.
Rogala looked at me anxiously, and said: "Oguizi, if the leopards are on their way back with food for their little ones, we shall have a bad time. Their anger will be terrible when they see some of their young dead and torn to pieces, and others missing. They will scour the forest in search of their enemy. They move very fast if they have the scent, making one immense bound after another."
"I will set fire to the leopard's den," I replied; "there are many dead branches, and the fire will spread quickly, and the leopards will not know about our being here." At the same time I lighted a match, and set fire to a spot where there were many dead branches and dried leaves. Soon everything was in a blaze, but in that great and damp forest fires never spread far. We left the spot, and as soon as we were in the path we ran as fast as our feet and legs could carry us towards the river and our island, with visions of leopards bounding at full speed after us. Once in a while I could hear the voice of Rogala say: "Go on, Oguizi, go on!" At other times when I saw him flagging, I would shout: "Come on, come on, Rogala!"
I was quite ahead after a while, and as I came in sight of the river I saw a number of savage-looking men on our island. I counted twenty of them. They looked fierce, and their bodies were covered with war-paint. They carried ugly-looking barbed spears and shields made of elephant skins. Their leader walked ahead of them. He was short, and looked fiercer than the rest. They advanced cautiously, and suddenly they stopped and looked frightened. They were looking at my Waterbury clock, and as soon as they heard the tick-tock they turned suddenly and fled in great haste towards their canoe. In a jiffy they left, filled with fear, and paddled away down the river with the greatest speed. I followed them with my eyes until they disappeared behind a bend of the river.