CHAPTER XXXIX
ADVENTURES OF THE NEW NJOKOOS
The strangers, after they had left the forest njokoos, came to a large river, and were delighted not only because they could bathe in it, but because they saw the sunshine, which they had not seen since they had entered the forest. They expressed their joy by loud trumpetings.
They looked at the river and saw that where they stood, the current was very swift and strong, so they said, “Let us go farther down, beyond the point we see; the water there will not be so swift.” And they walked toward the spot. It was as they thought. Soon they were all having a grand time in the water. When the njokoos swam, they threw water high into the air through their trunks.
While they were bathing, they saw two strange-looking creatures eating fruit on a tree by the river and looking at them. These were nkengos, and their yellow faces looked strangely among the branches. They were not afraid of the njokoos, for they had seen many of them before. They had a special name for them, for all the animals of the forest can tell in their own language to their kind the names of the animals they meet.
But it was not so with the new njokoos. Suddenly the two nkengos began talking to each other. The njokoos looked in the direction of the voices and saw the nkengos. They were filled with fear and uttered trumpetings of danger, left the water in a great hurry and fled into the forest, for they thought the nkengos were a kind of human beings.
The njokoos were filled with wonder every day at the sight of the strange animals they saw, which were so unlike those of the open country they had left. They wondered at the monkeys, at the parrots, but above all at the men of the woods. Many of the night prowlers disquieted them, and they were especially uncomfortable when they met or scented a njego.
One day the njokoos heard the footsteps of another njokoo coming toward them. This njokoo walked very slowly, and they wondered why, and trumpeted. Then they heard the feeble trumpeting of the stranger answering them. They waited, and soon they saw coming toward them a decrepit old njokoo. He was so old that he walked with very great difficulty. All took pity on him and had no desire to drive him away.
The poor old njokoo had seen many rainy seasons, and was full of rheumatism and backache. All the herd looked at him with great astonishment, for none of them were so old, and they never had seen a njokoo of such great age. They asked him many questions. The old njokoo replied: “I am now so old that I cannot follow any herd, and I have not done so for many years. It is still longer since I have led a herd, for when I was getting old, a younger and stronger njokoo came to fight me, and drove me away from my herd, and took my place as their leader. Since then I have wandered all alone. In my younger days there were no njokoos as strong as myself. I defeated all those who tried to take the leadership of my herd and fought and drove them away.”
When the njokoos were ready to go, they asked the old njokoo to come with them.
“How can I?” he replied. “I am too old to follow you. I am of no use. I cannot fight any more. I am going to the dry land among the swamps, so that the human beings cannot come to me, and there I will live in peace. There I shall finish my days and die.” The njokoos felt sad when they heard this, and said, “Good-by, good-by, dear old njokoo.” “Good-by,” he replied. “You are young and full of life; go on, go on.” Then the old njokoo went to his haunts among the swamps, and the herd left him.