The world of the great forest

by Paul B. Du Chaillu

All the denizens of the forest wondered how ngandos could understand one another, for they never had heard them speak or even make a noise. Yet the crocodiles understand one another perfectly, by signs made with their eyes, and in peculiar silent ways unknown to anybody but to themselves. They are not as stupid as they are thought to be, otherwise they would not be able to get their living.

The ngandos often said to one another, “We are safe in our lagoons, for no animal of the forest dares to come and attack us. Our enemies are the human beings; but if we see one walking on the shores of our lagoon, we dart at him and seize him in our powerful jaws, taking him in the water to devour him.”

As the days advanced, and the sun became warm, almost all the crocodiles went in among the reeds, and all the mud banks became deserted, and the animals of the forest did not know what had become of them. When the sun was half down to the horizon from noon-tide, the crocodiles left their hiding-places to try to get their afternoon meal. The water then seemed to be covered with crocodiles’ heads. They were seen everywhere. They watched the shores with their piercing eyes. They knew that it was the time when many animals of the forest came to drink. One ngando said to his mate: “You and I will go yonder and watch that opening among the reeds, where we can see the shore, for it is a good place for watching. Prey may come there to drink, or to see if there is some good fording place to reach the other bank.”

The two crocodiles swam slowly and noiselessly toward the bank of the river. They seemed to have no apparent object. They did not wish to draw attention to themselves; but, after a while, it happened that all the crocodiles had chosen their watching-places. The two already spoken of took each a good position to watch for prey, and were quite a distance from each other, for crocodiles seek for prey alone. Soon the big one saw a kambi coming toward the water, and swam toward him. His head was the only part of his body that was visible. Only the acutest eye could have noticed the ripple he left behind. Then he stopped and waited, sinking his flat head deeper into the water, up to his very eyes.

Just at that moment a nshiego (chimpanzee) from a tree was looking at the lagoon and watching all the moving heads going hither and thither. Suddenly he gave a yell and frightened the kambi, which ran off. The crocodile was much disappointed.

Soon after this appeared on the shore a drove of ngoas. At their head was a fierce-looking boar, the chief of the drove, with formidable tusks. They were heading for the water. As soon as the crocodile saw them, he swam nearer the shore, and once in a while his head would disappear under the water, and when it reappeared, it was nearer to the ngoas than before. Once the ngoas became suspicious and glanced in his direction. When he saw this, he said: “I must hide under water to allay the fear of the ngoas,” and then disappeared under the water for a while. But every time his head reappeared, it was nearer to the bank than before. His eyes and the top of his head above them was all that could be seen floating. He swam slowly toward the ngoas.

These in the mean time were in the mud and enjoying themselves, and did not notice the crocodile. The chief of the ngoas stood ahead of his drove, digging up the mud with his nose. The crocodile made for him as quick as an arrow; and, before the ngoa had time to become aware of his danger, he was in the powerful jaws of his enemy. The poor ngoa gave one shriek of pain. All the others fled in the utmost terror, each uttering cries of fear, and soon disappeared in the great forest. In the mean time, their poor chief was making a meal for the crocodile.

“All the others fled in terror and disappeared in the Great Forest”

In their flight the ngoas met another drove of their kind, and shrieked to them in the language of the ngoas: “Don’t go to the lagoon, for our chief has just been eaten up by a ngando!” Then they put themselves under the other chief, and rambled in the forest in search of food, taking good care never to go near the lagoon.