In African Forest and Jungle

by Paul B. Du Chaillu

After about four hours' tramp we came to the region of the pineapple, and we stopped there. At the end of about two hours more, we were startled by the voice of a "man of the woods." Rogala whispered to me: "Nshiego-nkengo! He is not very far from us." In the distance we heard the voice of his mate answering his call. They kept answering each other; but neither Rogala nor I could understand them, for they were speaking the language of the nshiego-nkengos. Rogala whispered to me: "The 'man' is telling his mate to come, for he has found pineapples. Let us go towards him and hide ourselves."

We went forward as noiselessly as a fish or a leopard. We advanced slowly, looking upon the ground each time we put down our feet, for fear of stepping upon some little dead branches of trees. We put aside most carefully with one of our hands the jungle that was in our way, for we knew that the least noise would make the animals suspicious.

On account of the great care we took to make no noise our advance was very slow, but forward we went, and nearer and nearer we came to the "men of the woods." At last we heard the rustling they made as they moved about in the jungle. We advanced with still greater care, when, lo! I saw the two creatures. I did not even dare to give a click of warning, for fear that their quick ears would hear it. Fortunately Rogala had seen them also. We looked at each other, and I made a sign to him that we must not fire at them, and to remain where we stood.

The two nshiego-nkengos had their backs turned towards us, so we could not see their faces. They were seated close together. Now and then they stretched out their arms to reach the pineapples before them. I could hear them biting them, uttering now and then a peculiar sound of contentment, showing how pleased they were with their food.

The hair covering their bodies was thin and black, and I could see that it grew over a yellow skin. I could also see the backs of the large yellow ears. That was all. There were many pineapples all round them.

I was much excited. Then the nshiegos turned partly round and I could see their profiles. I saw their pale yellowish faces, which reminded me of the color of the sunburnt Moor of the desert, but no sun had given them that complexion, for the sun does not penetrate the forest. I noticed that their ears were somewhat the shape of those of man, but much larger, and that the lobes were flattened. Their lips were so thin that the mouth seemed to have been made by the skin being cut transversely, but it was very large. They had long slender hands, with palms whiter than their faces; their feet were also very long and slender. Their legs had no calves, and were very short. Their arms were very long. They gradually turned right towards us. Their faces were wrinkled like those of very old people, some of whom have that peculiar colorless skin. Their eyes looked strange and had something human in them, and seemed to be all the time on the lookout.

The male got hold of a large yellow pineapple that was quite ripe, and the female took it away from him. He uttered a sort of guttural sound, as if to say, "All right, you are welcome to it," and he picked another. Then they began to pick them one after another, and four mouthfuls disposed of a large pineapple.

"The two nshiego-nkengos had their backs turned towards us and were eating pineapples."

After a while they moved away. Rogala raised his gun, looking at me. I made a sign to him not to fire. I did not want to kill them. "Perhaps we shall meet them in the forest," I said to myself, "and I may have a chance to study their ways." I did not even shout to scare them. They moved off gradually, and we went back to our camp.