They were so large now that no keeper ever dared to go inside of their cage, for it had long before been discovered that their tempers were very uneven, that they got angry for nothing, and were whimsical and treacherous. They were so powerful that no man could wrestle with them, as he would surely have been torn to pieces.
The nshiego was called Johanna and the nkengo Ntchiko by mistake. The two became stronger and stronger every day as they grew bigger. A new cage with thicker iron bars had to be made, for sometimes they seized the bars with such power that there was danger that they would break. Ntchiko never showed the slightest sign of tameness, except that he would take food, such as apples, bananas, nuts, etc., from the hand of his keeper, who had to be very careful when he handed these to him. In front of their cage was a railing, so that no spectator should get within the reach of their long arms.
Johanna’s face as she grew older became gradually black, but with patches of yellow. She was more amenable to the keeper than Ntchiko, but nevertheless he never dared to go inside of her cage, for he knew what his fate would be in case she objected to his presence, and he did not want to be killed.
Strange to say, the two apes were never friendly, though their cages inside were only separated by iron bars through which they could shake hands and scratch each other if they wished. On this account those who had charge of the show never dared to experiment by putting Johanna and Ntchiko together, for fear that they would fight, and Ntchiko, who was the stronger, would kill Johanna.
After the travelling season was over, Ntchiko and Johanna wintered in New York at the Arsenal in Central Park, and had very comfortable and warm quarters.
One day, Friend Paul, who was living in New York, went to see them, having heard of their fame and of the excitement they created.
As he came before their cages, he imitated the language of the nkengo, which he had so far heard in the great forest of Africa. To his utter astonishment, as soon as Ntchiko heard him, he became furious, uttered terrific yells of anger, jumped from one side of his large cage to the other, went to the farthest corner, picked up some sawdust from the floor and threw it at him, then came toward him and behind his iron bars showed every disposition of wanting to fight him. Paul must have told him in the language of the nkengos something he did not like, to make him so angry. Paul had no gun with him, and was glad that the iron bars were between him and Ntchiko.
Johanna, who belonged to another variety, did not mind what Paul said, for she did not understand him. That same winter, their keeper, who slept in an adjoining room, heard a noise in the room occupied by Ntchiko and Johanna, and thinking that they were disturbed by something, got up to find out what was the matter. He was dressed in a long white nightshirt, and as he came unconsciously toward the bars of the cage of Johanna, he was seized by the arm. She had passed one of her arms through the bars; she was frightened. The poor keeper could not get away from her clutches. She was so scared that she would not understand or recognize his voice. It was a struggle for life. His arm was terribly lacerated and he had to go to the hospital.
Time passed away, and Ntchiko during his travels caught cold and died from it. To his death he remained vicious and untamable.