As the men got up they invoked Mombo and Olombo to give them good luck. “You know that we love you, that every time we kill game we give you some,” they shouted. Then we bade each other good-night.
CHAPTER XX
WE START AFTER THE GORILLAS—CAUTIOUS WALKING THROUGH THE FOREST—THE DOGS FIND THE NGINA—YELLS OF THE MONSTER BROUGHT TO BAY—HE SLAUGHTERS TWO OF THE DOGS—TAUNTS OF THE HUNTERS—SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AT LAST.
Early in the morning, just at dawn of day, I was ready for the start. Soon Oshoria, Ogoola, Ngola, and Quabi made their appearance. What a sight they were! Their bodies were daubed all over with ochre of different colors, a sign that they were on the war-path. Each wore a broad belt of charmed leopard skin over which incantations from the medicine doctor had been made the day before, and which were thereupon pronounced by him invulnerable against spears, arrows, and bullets. They were all covered with “mondahs,” which also had been made powerful by incantations and were to protect their lives. They would never have started for the hunt without these.
These charms were made of skins of rare animals which enclosed the dried flesh and brains of rare monkeys and birds, teeth of crocodiles and leopards, feathers of birds, fangs and brains of snakes, ashes of animals’ intestines that had been burned by the medicine doctor, and rare and precious land shells, filled with charmed ingredients.
Oshoria wore a charmed iron chain which had been forged in a far country. This chain was looked upon by all the slaves as the most invincible of all charms, for Oshoria had met many dangerous and ferocious beasts, he had killed several nginas, and had never been wounded. This chain ran from his left shoulder to his right side.
The men had left that morning in the forest an offering of a leg of an antelope to the spirits Olombo and Mombo to propitiate their good will, so that they should give them good luck.
Before starting, my hunters cut the backs of their hands in several places before one of the idols, and mixed their blood with earth and some kind of dust and clay, with which each filled a land shell, carried by every man in a bag, that also contained a special little idol, to guard and protect them from harm.
They neglected nothing to insure their lives. Regundo invoked the spirits of his ancestors in a loud voice and called upon them to follow us and protect us.
When everything was ready we went to the canoes that were waiting for us. Into one we put the dogs, Ogoola and Ngola going with them; Oshoria and Quabi, and the two men who had brought us news of the presence of the nginas and were to act as our guides were in my canoe. Regundo followed us to the river and, taking my hands, blew on them and wished me success.