“He had a very determined face”
Then Regundo, pointing out three other men, who had come with Oshoria, said to me: “These three men are great hunters also, and the equal of Oshoria in fearlessness, but are not quite as successful in killing game. Their names are Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi. When King Mombo makes war, he always calls upon these four men to follow him, and they are always in his canoe.”
I looked at Ngola. He was tall, very thin, of reddish-black color, with piercing eyes and a bold, daring countenance. The scars on his body showed that he had followed King Mombo in war. One cut on one of his shoulders had been a terrible one, judging from the scar, and had been inflicted by a heavy machete.
Quabi was thick and short, the counterpart of Ngola, and was very black. No negro could have been blacker. He was blue-black. He also had scars on his body—from the wounds he had received when he followed King Mombo in warfare. He came from a far country and had been sold by his relations when very young, so he had forgotten the language of his people. By merely looking at him one could see that he was brave.
Ogoola was of medium height, with a bold countenance, a real fighting chin; his eyes like those of Oshoria seemed to look all around at the same time in the same wandering and restless way. No scars were to be seen on his body, for he was so quick of motion and so expert with his shield that no spears, arrows, or bullets had ever been able to strike him. So quick were his eyes when watching the motions of his antagonist, that he seemed always to guess the time when a spear was thrown or an arrow shot or a gun fired at him. Then he would either jump sideways, or bend low, or even fall on the ground to escape the shot. He attributed his escape to a powerful “mondah,” or charm, in which he had great faith. He was of medium height, and he had come into the possession of King Mombo when a boy.
“No leopard,” said Regundo to me, “can approach its prey as these hunters can the wild beasts. They are the bravest and best hunters of King Mombo.”
I called these four fierce-looking fellows to me and shook hands with them. They looked shyly at me, for they had never seen a white man before, though Regundo had. I gave each of them a steel disc and a flint, to make fire with, with which they were delighted. When I returned to Regundo’s house his wife had prepared a meal for me of boiled antelope meat and plantains. In the meantime she had made ready the little house that I was to occupy while with them. It was quite small, about nine feet long and six feet wide. The walls, made of bark, were about five feet in height, the top of the roof about eight feet, and made of palm leaves; the sticks supporting the leaves were close together and made very secure to prevent leopards at night getting through and seizing the inmates in their sleep. The door was made of the bottom of an old canoe.
Being tired, I bade good-night to Regundo, who handed me a lighted torch, and after getting inside I looked carefully all round and under the bed to see if there were snakes, scorpions, or centipedes about. Then I lay down to sleep without undressing, wearing my shoes. I took my two revolvers from my belt and put them under my head, and laid “Bulldog” by my side. Such was the way I went to sleep almost every night, and even without fearing danger, prudence made me do so. In that way I was ready for a fight at once in case of any sudden emergency. As I fell asleep I heard the voice of Regundo calling on the spirits of his ancestors.
CHAPTER XI
WONDER OF THE NATIVES AT MY WATERBURY CLOCK, MAGNET, MATCHES AND MUSIC-BOX—CHARACTER OF MOMBO’S PLANTATION.