Wade Mary Hazelton Blanchard. Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin
Preface
CHAPTER I. THE BOY
CHAPTER II. BLACKSMITH AND DENTIST
CHAPTER III. WORK AND PLAY
CHAPTER IV. THE ELEPHANT HUNT
CHAPTER V. SONG AND STORY
CHAPTER VI. THE BATTLE FEAST
CHAPTER VII. THE AFRICAN MEDICINE-MAN
CHAPTER VIII. THE GORILLA
CHAPTER IX. THE GORILLA HUNT
CHAPTER X. THE RACE OF DWARFS
CHAPTER XI. HOW THE DWARFS LIVE
CHAPTER XII. SPIDERS!
CHAPTER XIII. LAND-CRABS
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ARE you ready for a long journey this morning? Your eyes look eager for new sights, so we will start at once for Mpuke's strange home. We will travel on the wings of the mind so as to cross the great ocean in the passage of a moment. No seasickness, no expense, and no worry! It is a comfortable way to travel. Do you not think so?
Some of the wisest people in the world once lived here. Large libraries were gathered together, thousands of years ago, in the cities of this continent.
.....
It lies in the very heart of Africa, this home of Mpuke's. The houses are so nearly alike that we almost wonder how the black boy can tell his own from his neighbour's. It can more properly be called a hut than a house. It has low walls made of clay, and a high conical roof thatched with palm leaves. There is not a single window; the narrow doorway faces the one street running through the village. A high wall is built all around the settlement. There are two reasons for this: in the first place, the wild animals must be kept out, and secondly, the village is protected in case another tribe of black people should come to make war upon it. It is sad that it is so, but we know that the negroes spend much of their time in fighting with each other.
There is a small veranda in front of Mpuke's home. It is roofed with the long grasses which are so plentiful in this country, and is a comfortable place for the boy to lie and doze during the hours of the hot midday. The house itself nestles in a grove of banana-trees and stately palms. It makes a beautiful picture. I wish we could take a good painting of it home to our friends.
