Читать книгу Stories of the Gorilla Country - Du Chaillu Paul Belloni - Страница 9

AN ELEPHANT HUNT

After a few days the Fans began to get accustomed to me, and I to them; and we were the best friends in the world.

They are great hunters. One day a woman returning from the plantations brought news, that she had seen elephants; and that one of the plantain fields had been entirely destroyed by them. This was an event of common occurrence in the country; for the elephants are not very particular, and whatever they like they take; not caring a bit how much hunger they may occasion among the poor natives.

When the news arrived, a wild shout of joy spread among the villagers. The grim faces of the Fans smiled; and in doing so, showed their ugly filed teeth. "We are going to kill elephants," they all shouted. "We are going to have plenty of meat to eat," shrieked the women.

So in the evening a war-dance took place; a war-dance of cannibals! It was the wildest scene I ever saw. It was pitch-dark; and the torches threw a dim light around us, and showed the fantastic forms of these wild men. Really it was a wild scene. They were all armed as if they were going to war. How they gesticulated! What contortions they made! What a tumult they raised! How their wild shouts echoed from hill to hill, and died away in the far distance! They looked like demons. Their skins were painted of different colours; and, as the dancing went on, their bodies became warm, and shone as if they had been dipped in oil.

Suddenly a deafening shout of the whole assemblage seemed to shake the earth. Their greatest warrior (Leopard) came to dance. Leopard was, it appears, the bravest of them all. He had killed more people in war than anybody else. He had given more human food to his fellow-townsmen than many other warriors put together. Hence they all admired and praised him; and a song describing his feats of arms was sung by those who surrounded him. How ferocious he looked! He was armed to the teeth. He had a spear like one of those I have already described. A long knife hung by its side, and the hand that held the shield carried a battle-axe also. In dancing, he acted at times as if he were defending himself against an attack; at other times, as if he were himself attacking somebody. Once or twice I really thought he meant to throw his spear at someone. I could hardly breathe while looking at him. He appeared actually to be a demon. Finally he stopped from sheer exhaustion, and others took his place.

The next day the men furbished up their arms. I myself cleaned my guns, and got ready for the chase; so that, if I could get a chance, I might send a bullet through an elephant.

The war-dish was cooked. It is a mixture of herbs, and is supposed to inspire people with courage. They rubbed their bodies with it, and then we started. There were about five hundred men. After leaving the village we divided into several parties. Each party was well acquainted with the forest, and knew just where to go. The march was conducted in perfect silence, so that we might not alarm the elephants. After proceeding six hours we arrived not far from the hunting-ground where the elephants were supposed to be. The Fans built shelters, and these were hardly finished when it began to rain very hard.