I saw his tall erect form walking towards us.
He kept beating the kendo, and at last came under the great shed and walked towards the stool that was next to mine, then looked at me without saying a word and seated himself.
Rotembo was dressed with a waistcoat, a shirt, and an old silk hat, which to judge by its shape and shabbiness must have been at least twenty-five years old. He was covered with mondahs, or charms, that he believed had the power of preventing any harm from coming to him.
Then Rikimongani, with Omemba, the stick of King Mombo, in his hand, delivered the words of King Mombo to his uncle, saying:
"My uncle King Mombo, who loves you dearly, sends the Oguizi to you. You must take care of him, give him food and water and all he asks of you. Let him go into the forest and hunt, and give him the best hunters that you have. Let him have his own way, and when he gets tired of the country, give him people, as I have done, to take him where he wants to go."
Upon this Rotembo got up and said: "It was kind of my kinsman King Mombo to send to me the great Oguizi. I will do what King Mombo has told me to do." Then addressing me, he said: "Oguizi, we have heard of you. Your fame is great all over the land. You are known as the good Oguizi. I want you to love me as you love King Mombo."
The meeting with Rotembo.
"Rotembo, great Chief," I replied, "I wish to go and live in the forest. I desire to kill all the wild beasts I can and stuff them. I want to kill three or four of every kind of all the birds of the country and stuff them. I want to catch all the butterflies and insects I can and keep them. I wish to take them to the land of the Oguizis, and show there the creatures seen in the great forest where the black man lives."
Rotembo's eyes seemed to become twice as large as they were before when he heard me speak in this manner. He looked at me with wonder and awe.
I said to him: "I mean what I say, and when you see me return from the forest you will find that I told you the truth and several canoes will be required for the skins of the animals I shall collect."
"You shall go into the forest," said Rotembo, "and stay with my slaves or people that are living there."
Then, in presence of all the people of his village, he presented me with a goat, six chickens, and nine eggs, and a number of bunches of plantain. Here an egg has the same value as a chicken, for, as the people say, out of the egg comes the chicken. These presents showed that I was welcomed.
Rotembo was the chief of one of the clans that composed his tribe, and in case of war his people, scattered in a goodly number of small villages, could muster many warriors.
Rotembo was tall, walked very erect, and had a commanding appearance. His hair was white; several ugly scars told of his warlike character and experiences in days gone by. When young he loved war, and the people feared him. Now that he had become old he loved peace, and his neighbors and people were happy on that account.
In the midst of vociferous cheers he put his kendo, the emblem of a chieftain, upon my left shoulder; then said with a loud voice: "During the time you stay with me you will be our chief; we will all obey you." After these words the tomtoms beat furiously, and guns were fired.
The speech-making being over, my men went to our canoe and brought back the goods I had with me. I had come to Rotembo rich, for I had brought twenty brass kettles, one hundred copper rods, a goodly number of bunches of beads, looking-glasses, fire steel and flints, files, and my "precious box," which I valued more than everything else I possessed, for in that box were the instruments and books which helped me to know my latitude and longitude, and the days of the week and of the month when I had forgotten them, which was not uncommon after attacks of fever.
That evening we had a great dance, given in my honor. Rotembo himself danced before me in a most eccentric manner, making great contortions. His people applauded him vociferously. The women danced also.
The following evening, when every one was asleep, Rotembo came with Oyaya, his head wife, to get the presents I had for him. He also, like all the other chiefs to whom I made presents, implored me not to tell anyone of the things I gave him.
After a few days' feasting, King Mombo's people returned to their country. Rotembo and I became very great friends in a short time. He came often to see me, for he was always delighted to hear my musical box and Waterbury clock talk to me. He liked to see my matches start fire suddenly, and he always wondered at my magnet. Once in a while I would give him little presents which he put in the bag he carried on his shoulder and which contained his small idol. No one ever thought that in the bag were bunches of beads and various other trinkets.
CHAPTER II
I PROPOSE TO GO INTO THE FOREST TO HUNT—ROTEMBO PROMISES ME THREE GIFTS—ROGALA, THE FAMOUS HUNTER, THE FIRST OF THEM—DESCRIPTION OF ROGALA—ANDEKKO, THE DOG, THE SECOND GIFT—NDOVA, THE MONKEY, THE THIRD—HOW NDOVA WAS CAPTURED AND REARED—I GIVE ROTEMBO SOME OF MY HAIR.
One day after I had been in the village some time, being in the house of Rotembo, I said to him: "I have been with you quite a while, and I wish now to go far into the forest. I wish you to give me a man whom you trust, a great hunter, who is not afraid of danger and who can face with his gun the most ferocious beasts of the country. He and I will live together in the forest."
Rotembo looked at me with great astonishment, for he wondered why I wished to go and live in the forest by myself with only one man.
He remained silent for a minute or two, thinking deeply; then he said: "Oguizi, I will give you three gifts to go with you in the forest."
"What are they?" I asked.
"I will not tell you now," he replied, "but you will know when they are before you."
Then we separated, I wondering what were to be the three gifts Rotembo was to give me.
Four days passed by, and on the fifth, while I was seated by the side of Rotembo, a strange-looking man came before him, and bending very low took hold of his foot and said: "To do your bidding your faithful slave has come."
I looked at the man with great curiosity, and learned that his name was Rogala and that he was one of the most famous hunters in the country.
Rogala was of medium height and exceedingly well proportioned. His legs and arms were very muscular and as hard as wood. His chest was broad, and his hands and feet were small—a very common occurrence among the people of the forest. His eyes were full of fire and daring. He had a fighting chin, and he appeared to be about forty years old. Scars upon one of his legs told where a leopard had once wounded him. He wore a huge head-dress of eagle's feathers. His eyelids were painted red, and a red stripe from the nose upward divided his forehead in two parts. The face was painted white, and on each side of the mouth were two round red spots. He was covered with mondahs, or charms. One of these protected him against witchcraft; another made him invulnerable against bullets, spears, or poisoned arrows—in a word, every one of them protected him against some evil or other.
Rotembo said to me: "I can trust Rogala more than any other man in the country. I bought him when he was quite young, and he has forgotten the language of his tribe. He faces without fear the ngina (gorilla), the elephant, the leopard, and the fiercest bear of the country. He has killed during his life more than one hundred elephants and he has kept all their tails as proofs. The number of hippopotami that have fallen under his gun is very great; the necklace I wear round my neck is made of the canines of some of the leopards he has killed."
I counted forty-eight of them; so Rogala had killed twelve leopards for the chief's necklace. He himself wore one with twenty-four canines; so before me were the witnesses of eighteen leopards that he had killed.
As I looked at Rogala, I said