The Gorilla Hunters

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER SIX.

  DREAMING AND FEEDING AND BLOODY WORK ENLARGED UPON.

  The first object of which my senses became cognisant on awaking nextmorning was my friend Peterkin, who had evidently awakened just a momentor two before me, for he was in the act of yawning and rubbing his eyes.

  I have all my life been a student of character, and the most interestingyet inexplicable character which I have ever studied has been that of myfriend Peterkin, whose eccentricities I have never been able fully tounderstand or account for. I have observed that, on first awaking inthe mornings, he has been wont to exhibit several of his most eccentricand peculiar traits, so I resolved to feign myself asleep and watch him.

  "Heigh-ho!" he exclaimed, after the yawn I have just referred to.Having said this, he stretched out both arms to the utmost above hishead, and then flung himself back at full length on his couch, where helay still for about half a minute. Then he started up suddenly into asitting posture and looked slowly from one to another of the recumbentforms around him. Satisfied, apparently, that they were asleep, he gavevent to a long yawn which terminated in a gasp, and then he looked upcontemplatively at the sky, which was at that hour beginning to warmwith the red rays of the rising sun. While thus engaged, he caressedwith his right hand the very small scrap of whisker that grew on hisright cheek. At first it seemed as if this were an unconscious action,but he suddenly appeared to become absorbed in it, and stared straightbefore him as one does when only half awake, mumbling the while in anundertone. I could not make out distinctly what he said, but I think Icaught the words, "Yes, a little--a _very_ little thicker--six newhairs, I think--umph! slow, very slow." Here he looked at Jack's bushybeard and sighed.

  Suddenly he thrust both hands deep into his breeches pockets and staredat the black embers of the extinct fire; then as suddenly he pulled outhis hands, and placing the forefinger of his right hand on the end ofthe thumb of his left, said slowly--

  "Let me see--I'll recall it."

  He spoke with intense gravity. Most persons do when talking tothemselves.

  "Yes, I remember now. There were two elephants and four--or three, wasit?--no, it must have been four lions. The biggest elephant had on afalse front of fair curls and a marriage-ring on its tail. Stay; was itnot the other one had that? No, it was the biggest. I remember now,for it was just above the marriage-ring I grasped it when I pulled itstail out. I didn't pull it off, for it wouldn't come off; it came outlike a telescope or a long piece of indiarubber. Ha! and I rememberthinking how painful it must be. That was odd, now, to think of that.The other elephant had on crinoline. That was odder still; for of allanimals in the world it least required it. Well, let me see. What didI do? Oh yes, I shot them both. Of course, that was natural; but itwasn't quite so natural that the big one should vomit up a live lion,which attacked me with incredible fury. But I killed it cleverly. Yes,it _was_ a clever thing, undoubtedly, to split a lion in two, from thetip of its nose to the extremity of its tail, with one stroke of apenknife--"

  At this climax I could contain myself no longer, and burst into a loudlaugh as I perceived that Peterkin had spent the night, as I myself haddone, in hunting--though, I confess, there was a considerable differencein the nature of our achievements, and in the manner of theiraccomplishment.

  "Why, what are you laughing at?" said Jack, sitting up and gazing at mewith a stupid stare.

  "At Peterkin's dreams," said I.

  "Ah!" said Jack, with a smiling yawn, "that's it, is it? Been huntingelephants and lions, eh?"

  "Why, how did you guess that?" I asked, in surprise; "were you notasleep just now?"

  "Of course I was, and dreaming too, like yourself, I make no doubt. Ihad just bagged my fifteenth elephant and my tenth lion when your laughawoke me. And the best of it is that I was carrying the whole bagful onmy back at once, and did not feel much oppressed by the weight."

  "That beats my dream hollow," observed Peterkin; "so its my opinion we'dbetter have breakfast.--Makarooroo, hy! d'ye hear? rouse up, you junk ofebony."

  "Yis, massa, comin'," said our guide, rising slowly from his lair on theopposite side of our fireplace.

  "D'you hear?"

  "Yis, massa."

  "You're a nigger!"

  "Dat am a fact."

  "Well, being a nigger you're a brick, so look sharp with that splendidbreakfast you promised us last night. I'll wager a million pounds thatyou had forgotten all about it."

  "No, massa, me no forgit. Me up in centre ob de night and put 'im in dehole. Wat you call 'im--oben?"

  "Ay, oven, that's it."

  "Yis. Well, me git 'im d'rec'ly."

  "And, I say, hold on," added Peterkin. "Don't you suppose I'm going tostand on ceremony with you. Your name's too long by half. Too manyrooroos about it, so I'm going to call you Mak in future, d'yeunderstand?"

  The negro nodded and grinned from ear to ear as he left us. Presentlyhe returned with a huge round, or lump of meat, at which we lookedinquisitively. The odour from it was delightful, and the tender, juicyappearance of the meat when Makarooroo, who carved it for us, cut thefirst slice, was quite appetising to behold.

  "What is it?" inquired Peterkin.

  "Elephant's foot," replied the guide.

  "Gammon," remarked Peterkin.

  "It's true, massa. Don't you see him's toe?"

  "So it is," said Jack.

  "And it's first-rate," cried I, tasting a morsel.

  With that we fell to and made a hearty meal, after which we, along withthe king and all his people, retraced our steps to the river andreturned to the native town, where we spent another day in makingpreparations to continue our journey towards the land of the gorilla.

  During the hunt which I have just described I was very much amused aswell as amazed at the reckless manner in which the negroes loaded theirrusty old trade-guns. They put in a whole handful of powder each time,and above that as much shot and bits of old iron of all kinds as theydared; some I saw charged thus to within a few inches of the muzzle, andthe owners seemed actually afraid to put them to their shoulders, aswell they might be, for the recoil was tremendous, and had the powderbeen good their guns must have been blown to pieces and themselveskilled.

  On our return to the village we found the people on the eve of one ofthose terrible outbursts of superstitious passion which rarely if everpass away without some wretched human creature perishing under the handsof murderers.

  "There is something wrong with the fetishman, I think," remarked Jack,as we disembarked at the landing. "He seems excited. Do you know whatit can be at, Makarooroo?"

  "Jack," interposed Peterkin, "I have changed his name to Mak, so you andRalph will please to remember that.--Mak, my boy, what's wrong with yourdoctor?"

  The negro looked very grave and shook his head as he replied, "Don'know, massa. Him's be goin' to rizz de peepil wid him norrible doin's.Dere will be death in the camp mos' bery quick--p'raps dis night."

  "That is terrible," said I. "Are you sure of what you say?"

  "Sartin sure," replied the negro, with another shake of the head.

  "Then, Mak," said Jack, "it behoves us to look to ourselves. You looklike an honest fellow, and I believe we may trust you. We cannot expectyou to help us to fight against your own kith and kin, but I do expectthat you will assist us to escape if any foul play is intended.Whatever betides, it is as well that you should know that white men arenot easily conquered. Our guns are good--they never miss fire. We willsell our lives dearly, you may depend on it."

  "Ay," added Peterkin, "it is well that you should know that; moreover,it is well that the rascally niggers of your tribe should know it too;so you can take occasion to give them a hint that we shall keepourselves prepared for them, with my compliments."

  "De mans ob my peepil," replied the negro, with some dignity of manner,"be not wuss dan oder mans. But dem is bad enuff. But you no hab needfor be fraid. Dey no touch de white mans. Dem bery much glad you c
om'here. If any bodies be killed it be black mans or 'oomans."

  We felt somewhat relieved on hearing this, for, to say truth, we knewwell enough that three men, no matter how well-armed or resolute theymight be, could not hope to defend themselves against a whole tribe ofsavages in their own country. Nevertheless we resolved to keep a sharplookout, and be prepared for the worst. Meanwhile we did all in ourpower to expedite our departure.

  That evening the trader started on his return journey to the coast,leaving us in charge of King Jambai, who promised earnestly to take goodcare of us. We immediately put his willingness to fulfil his promise tothe test by begging him to furnish us with men to carry our goods intothe interior. He tried very hard to induce us to change our minds andremain hunting with his tribe, telling us that the gorilla country wasfar far away from his lands; that we should never reach it alive, orthat if we did we should certainly be killed by the natives, who,besides being cruel and warlike, were cannibals; and that if we did meetin with gorillas we should all be certainly slain, for no one couldcombat successfully with that ferocious giant of the monkey tribe.

  To this we replied that we were quite aware of the dangers we shouldhave to encounter in our travels, but added that we had come there forthe very purpose of encountering such dangers, and especially to pay avisit to the giant monkeys in their native land, so that it was in vainhis attempting to dissuade us, as we were resolved to go.

  Seeing that we were immovable, the king eventually gave in, and orderedsome of his best men to hold themselves in readiness to start with us onthe following morning. We then proceeded to his majesty's house, wherewe had supper, and afterwards retired to our own hut to rest.

  But we were destined to have little or no rest that night. The doctoror fetishman of the tribe had stirred up the passions of the people in amanner that was quite incomprehensible to us. King Jambai, it seems,had been for some weeks suffering from illness--possibly fromindigestion, for he was fond of gorging himself--and the medicine-manhad stated that his majesty was bewitched by some of the members of hisown tribe, and that unless these sorcerers were slain there was nopossibility of his getting well.

  We never could ascertain why the fetishman should fix upon certainpersons to be slain, unless it was that he had a personal enmity againstthem; but this seemed unlikely, for two of the persons selected were oldfemale slaves, who could never, of course, have injured the doctor inany way. But the doings of Africans, especially in regard to religioussuperstitions, I afterwards found were so mysterious that no one couldor would explain the meaning of them to us. And I am inclined tobelieve that in reference to the meaning of many things they werethemselves utterly ignorant.

  Towards midnight the people had wrought themselves up to a frenziedcondition, and made so much noise that we could not sleep. In the midstof the uproar Makarooroo, who we observed had been very restless all theevening, rushed into our hut, exclaiming, "Massa! massa! come, save myOkandaga! come quick!"

  The poor fellow was trembling with anxiety, and was actually pale in theface; for a distinctly discernible pallor overspreads the countenance ofthe negro when under the influence of excessive terror.

  Okandaga we had previously heard of and seen. She was, according toAfrican notions, an exceedingly pretty young girl, with whom our worthyguide had fallen desperately in love. Makarooroo's education had donemuch for him, and especially in regard to females. Having observed thekind, respectful consideration with which the missionaries treated theirwives, and the happiness that seemed to be the result of that course ofconduct, he resolved in his own mind to try the experiment with one ofthe girls of his own tribe, and soon after rejoining it paid hisattentions to Okandaga, who seemed to him the most modest and lovablegirl in the village.

  Poor Okandaga was first amazed and then terrified at the strangelygentle conduct of her lover, and thought that he meant to bewitch her;for having never before been accustomed to other than harsh andcontemptuous treatment from men, she could not believe that Makarooroomeant her any good. Gradually, however, she began to like thisrespectful wooer, and finally she agreed to elope with him to thesea-coast and live near the missionaries. It was necessary, however, toarrange their plans with great caution. There was no difficulty intheir getting married. A handsome present to the girl's father was allthat was necessary to effect that end, and a good hunter like Makaroorooknew he could speedily obtain possession of his bride, but to get herremoved from her tribe and carried to the coast was quite a differentaffair. While the perplexed negro was pondering this subject andracking his brains to discover a way of getting over the difficulty, ourarrival at the village occurred. At once he jumped to the conclusionthat somehow or other he should accomplish his object through ourassistance; and holding this in view, he the more willingly agreed toaccompany us to the gorilla country, intending first to make ouracquaintance, and afterwards to turn us to account in furthering hisplans. All this we learned long afterwards. At the period of which Iam now writing, we were profoundly ignorant of everything save the factthat Okandaga was his affianced bride, and that the poor fellow was nowalmost beside himself with horror because the fetishman had condemnedher, among others, to drink the poisoned cup.

  This drinking of the poisoned cup is an ordeal through which the unhappyvictims to whom suspicion has been attached are compelled to pass. Eachone drinks the poison, and several executioners stand by, with heavyknives, to watch the result. If the poison acts so as to cause thesupposed criminal to fall down, he is hacked in pieces instantly; butif, through unusual strength or peculiarity of constitution, he isenabled to resist the effects of the poison, his life is spared, and heis declared innocent.

  Jack and Peterkin and I seized our weapons, and hurrying out, followedour guide to the spot where this terrible tragedy was enacting.

  "Don't fear, Mak," said Peterkin, as we ran along; "we'll save hersomehow. I'm certain of that."

  The negro made no reply, but I observed a more hopeful expression on hiscountenance after the remark. He evidently had immense faith inPeterkin; which I must say was more than I had, for when I consideredour small numbers, my hope of influencing savages was very slight.

  The scene that met our eyes was indescribably horrible. In the centreof a dense circle of negroes, who had wrought themselves up to a pitchof ferocity that caused them to look more like wild beasts than men,stood the king, and beside him the doctor or fetishman. This latter wasornamented with a towering headdress of feathers. His face was paintedwhite, which had the effect of imparting to him an infinitely morehideous and ghastly aspect than is produced in the white man when he ispainted black. A stripe of red passed round his head, and another downhis forehead and nose. His naked body was decked with sundry fantasticornaments, and altogether he looked more like a fiend than I hadbelieved it possible for man to appear.

  The ground all round him was saturated with blood and strewn with arms,fingers, cleft skulls, and masses of flesh that had been hewn from thevictims who had already fallen, one of whom, we afterwards learned, hadbelonged to the royal family. Two still remained--a young female and anold man. The emaciated frame and white woolly head of the latter showedthat in the course of nature his earthly career must soon terminate. Itis probable that the poor old man had become a burden to his relations,and the doctor took this opportunity of ridding the tribe of him. Thegirl was Okandaga, who stood weeping and trembling as she gazed upon thebutchery that had already taken place.

  The old man had swallowed the poison shortly before we arrived, and hewas now struggling to maintain an erect position. But he failed, hisquivering limbs sank beneath him, and before we could interfere thebloody executioners had cut off his head, and then, in a transport ofpassion, they literally hacked his body to pieces.

  We rushed hastily forward to the king, and Jack, in an earnest voice,implored him to spare the last victim.

  "Surely," said he, "enough have been sacrificed already.--Tell him,Makarooroo, that I will quit his villag
e and never see him more if hedoes not spare the life of that young girl."

  The king appeared much perplexed by this unlooked-for interference onour part.

  "I cannot check the spirits of my people now," he replied. "They areroused. The girl has bewitched me and many others. She must die. Itis our custom. Let not my white men be offended. Let them go to theirhut and sleep."

  "We cannot sleep while injustice is done in the village," answered Jack,in a lofty tone. "Let not King Jambai do that which will make hisvisitors ashamed of him. Let the girl live till to-morrow at midnight.Let the case be investigated, and if she be proved guilty then let herdie."

  The king commenced a long reply in the same dignified manner and tonewhich Jack had assumed. While he was thus engaged Peterkin touched ourguide on the shoulder and whispered--

  "I say, Mak, tell the doctor to back up Jack's request, and I'll givehim a gun."

  The negro slipped at once to the side of the doctor, who had begun tofrown fiercely on Jack, and whispered a few words in his ear. Instantlyhis face assumed a calmer aspect, and presently he stepped up to theking, and a whispering conversation ensued, in which the doctor,carefully refraining from making any mention of the gun, commended thewise advice of the white man, and suggested that the proposal should beagreed to, adding, however, that he knew for certain that the girl was awitch, but that the investigation would do good in the way of provingthat he, the doctor, was correct, and thus the girl should perish on thefollowing night, and the white men would be satisfied.

  Having announced this to the multitude, the king ordered Okandaga to beconducted back to her prison and carefully guarded; and we returned toour hut--not, however, to sleep, but to consult as to what was to bedone next.

  "I knew that you wanted a respite for her," said Peterkin, as we satround our fire, "that you might have time to consider how to act, and Ibacked up your request accordingly, as you know. But now, I confess,I'm very much at a loss what to suggest. It seems to me we have onlypurchased a brief delay."

  "True," answered Jack. "The delay is not so brief, however, but that wemay plan some method of getting the poor girl out of this scrape.--Whatsay you, Mak?"

  "If _you_ no can tink 'pon someting, I gib up all hope," replied ourguide sorrowfully.

  "Come, Mak, cheer up," cried Peterkin. "If the worst comes to theworst, you can, at any rate, fight for your bride."

  "Fight!" exclaimed the negro, displaying his white teeth like a mastiff,rolling his eyes and clinching his fists convulsively. Then in a calmertone he continued, "Ay, me can fight. Me could kill all de guards an'take Okandaga by de hand, an' run troo de bushes for eber. But guardsno die widout hollerin' an' yellerin' like de gorilla; an' nigger manscan run fasterer dan womans. No, no, dat am dumpossobable."

  "Nothing's `dumpossobable' to brave hearts and stout arms," repliedJack. "There are only four guards put over her, I believe. Well, thereare just four of us--not that we require to be equal, by any means.Peterkin and I could settle them easily; but we require to be equal innumbers, in order to do it quietly. I have a plan in my head, butthere's one hitch in it that I cannot unravel."

  "And what may that be?" If asked.

  "Why, I don't see how, after getting clear off with Okandaga, we are toavoid being pursued on suspicion and captured."

  "Dere is one cave," remarked the guide, "not far off to here. P'raps webe safe if we git into 'im. But I 'fraid it not do, cause him bepeepiled by fiends an' dead man's spirits."

  "That's a grave objection," said Peterkin, laughing.

  "Yes, an' de tribe neber go near dere; dey is most drefful terrorfied tobe cotched dere."

  "Then, that will just do," cried Jack, with animation. "The very thing.And now I'll tell you what my plan is. To-morrow morning early we willtell the king that we wish to be off at once--that we have put off toomuch time already, and wish to make no further delay. Then we'll packup and start. At night we will encamp in a quiet, out-of-the-way partof the woods, and slip back to the village in the dark a short timebefore midnight. The whole village will at that time be assembled,probably, at the spot where the execution is to take place; so we canrush in, overpower the guard, free Okandaga, and make our escape to thecave, where they will never think of looking for us."

  Peterkin shook his head. "There are two difficulties in your plan,Jack. First, what if the natives are _not_ assembled on the place ofexecution, and we find it impossible to make our entrance into or exitfrom the village quietly?"

  "I propose," replied Jack, "that we shall undress ourselves, rubourselves entirely over with charcoal and grease, so that they shall notrecognise us, and dash in and carry the girl off by a _coup de main_.In which case it will, of course, be neck or nothing, and a tremendousrace to the cave, where, if they follow us, we will keep them at baywith our rifles."

  "Umph! dashing, no doubt, but risky," said Peterkin--"extremely risky.Yet it's worth trying. Well, my second difficulty is--what if theydon't stick to their promise after we quit, and kill the poor thingbefore midnight?"

  "We must take our chance of that. But I shall put the king on hishonour before leaving, and say that I will make particular inquiry intothe way in which the trial has been conducted on my return."

  "Put the king on his honour!" observed Peterkin. "I'm afraid thatyou'll put his majesty on an extremely unstable foundation. However, Isee nothing better that can be done."

  "Have you any more difficulties?"

  "Yes," said I. "There is one other. What do you propose to do with themen who are to be supplied us by the king during these extremelydelicate and difficult manoeuvres?"

  The countenances of my comrades fell at this question.

  "I never thought of them," said Jack.

  "Nor I," said Peterkin.

  Makarooroo groaned.

  "Well," said I, "if you will allow me to suggest, I would recommend thatwe should, towards the close of the day, send them on ahead of us, andbid them encamp at a certain place, saying that we shall spend the nightin hunting, and return to them in the morning."

  "The very thing," said Jack. "Now, comrades, to rest. I will occupymyself until I fall asleep in maturing my plans and thinking out thedetails. Do you the same, and if anything should occur to you let usconsult over it in the morning."

  We were all glad to agree to this, being wearied more perhaps byexcitement than want of rest; so bidding each other good-night, we laydown side by side to meditate, and for my part to dream of the difficultand dangerous work that awaited us on the morrow.