Читать книгу In African Forest and Jungle - Du Chaillu Paul Belloni - Страница 4

THE HOME OF ROGALA – HIS HUNTING-TROPHIES – A WEIRD SPOT – ASPECT OF THE SURROUNDING FOREST – SHINSHOOKO AND ALAPAI – LEOPARDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

After a few minutes' walk we came to a grove of plantain trees, and there saw the home of Rogala, which was composed of four small structures. The dwelling-house had a veranda in front. It was built of bark with a roof thatched with palm leaves, and was about eighteen feet long and twelve wide. It had only one door.

Under the veranda hung the tails of nearly all the elephants he had killed. I counted ninety-five of them. Some of the tails he had got went to Chief Rotembo. All along the roof were skulls of antelopes with the graceful spiral horns, two skulls of male gorillas, several skulls of nshiegos or chimpanzees, of wild boars, of buffaloes, of leopards and other wild animals.

Four elephant skulls stood at each corner of the house. These elephants had been killed near the plantations. Rogala was the greatest elephant hunter of his day.

One building was composed of a single roof merely, under which cooking was done. Here also people were received, and the space it covered was the dining-room.

A small house near by was for Mburu, a spirit, who sometimes came to rest there during the night. His bed lay on the ground, and was composed of dry leaves covered with a mat. His pillow was a smooth round piece of wood. In the fourth small house was the idol. There were also a chicken-coop and a goat-house.

"We have chosen this spot," said Rogala, "because at a certain time of the year the country is full of elephants. They come to eat the leaves of a tree that is more plentiful around here than in other parts of the forest."

A little further on I saw several other small houses; those belonged to Shinshooko and Alapai.

The place was entirely deserted, for all the people had gone into the forest, – the men to cut trees for new plantations, and the women to attend to the crops that had been planted and bring back bunches of plantain or cassava roots.

What a weird spot the hunters had chosen for their home! The little houses of bark looked small indeed compared with the tall trees that surrounded them. The plantain trees and the cassava grew in the midst of branches of the trees that had been felled and burned afterwards. Not far off was the river, flowing in the midst of the dark silent forest, which was only disturbed now and then by the shrill cries of parrots, or the chatter of a troop of monkeys or the tap of the woodpecker. In the forest surrounding the houses hung huge lianas which looked like gigantic swinging snakes. Some of the trees had gorgeous flowers, and orchids grew on the bark of many. The foliage was greatly diversified.

On the border of the clearing stood a gigantic elimi tree; along its trunk came out a soft sticky whitish gum, which the people use to make torches with. The forest seemed to be made of three or four layers of trees growing on the top of each other, while here and there, towering above all, rose an immense one that seemed to look down on the great forest from its own lofty height. Under all the trees was the thick jungle, in which roamed wild and often ferocious beasts.

Rogala brought a stool and invited me to a seat under the veranda of his house. Towards sunset Rogala's wife returned with three boys, their children. She carried an infant in a sling on her back. She looked at me in fear and trembling, and she and the children ran to hide. This annoyed Rogala very much, and he called her back in an angry tone. Then he became milder, and told her and the children not to be afraid of his friend the Oguizi.

Soon after two men and their wives, loaded with two large bunches of plantain, and their children made their appearance. These men were Shinshooko and Alapai.

Rogala bade them approach. Shinshooko was over six feet two in height, very thin, and brown in color. He came from a country called Ashango. Alapai was short, thickset, and very black. He came from a tribe called Apono. These two tribes had the same language. Shinshooko and Alapai looked at me constantly, but avoided the glance of my eyes, of which they were afraid. But Rogala allayed their fears by telling them that I was a good Oguizi and a great friend of their master Rotembo, who sent word by him that they must go and hunt with me in the forest.

The three then went away to our canoe and brought back my things with them. Shinshooko and Alapai were eager to hear what had occurred since Rogala had left them, and how it happened that I came with him.

Rogala told all that had taken place, how his master Rotembo had given him to me, that I was a great hunter, and that I came to hunt with them.

Shinshooko and Alapai and their families listened in profound silence to the wonderful story of Rogala, and when he had finished it was the turn of Shinshooko and Alapai to tell what had happened during the absence of Rogala. Shinshooko was the speaker, and began thus: "Leopards have made their appearance in the neighborhood since you left, Rogala. What has brought the leopards so suddenly into our neighborhood we cannot tell, but it must be that the bashikouay ants have invaded and scoured a great part of the forest and driven them away, and they have fled towards us. We have seen many tracks of their big paws. We must look out for these leopards and make traps and catch them and hunt them. Fortunately our goat-house is so strong and so secure that leopards cannot break through. But we must do all we can to kill them, for fear that some one of them might be a man-eater and devour some of us or some of our children."

That night numerous fires were lighted to scare away the leopards. I went into my little hut, but kept awake with "Bulldog" by my side, for I thought a leopard might easily come through the thin roof of palm leaves over my head. We all hoped that there was no man-eater among the leopards, for if there were we were sure that he would lie in wait for some one. When once they have tasted human flesh, they like it better than anything else. But no leopard paid us a visit during the night.