192 IN BRIGHTEST AFRICA 
are objects of terror to the natives, and are never encountered 
by them except on the defensive. The few that have been 
captured were killed by elephant hunters and native traders as 
they came suddenly upon them while passing through the forests. 
It is said that when the male is first seen he gives a terrific 
yell that resounds far and wide through the forest, something 
like kh-ah! kh-ah! prolonged and shrill. His enormous jaws 
are widely opened at each expiration, his under lip hangs over 
the chin, and the hairy ridge and scalp is contracted upon the 
brow, presenting an aspect of indescribable ferocity. The 
females and young at the first cry quickly disappear; he then 
approaches the enemy in great fury, pouring out his horrid cries 
in quick succession. The hunter awaits his approach with his 
gun extended: if his aim is not sure he permits the animal to 
grasp the barrel and as he carries it to his mouth (which is his 
habit) he fires; should the gun fail to go off, the barrel (that of 
an ordinary musket, which is thin) is crushed between his teeth, 
and the encounter soon proves fatal to the hunter. 
The killing of an Engé-ena (gorilla) is considered an act of 
great skill and courage, and brings the victor signal honor. 
A slave to an Mpongwe man, from an interior tribe, killed the 
male and female whose bones are the origin of this article. On 
one occasion he had succeeded in killing an elephant, and return- 
ing home met a male Engé-ena, and being a good marksman he 
soon brought him to the ground. He had not proceeded far 
before the female was observed, which he also killed. This 
act, unheard of before, was considered almost superhuman. 
The man’s freedom was immediately granted to him, and his 
name proclaimed abroad as the prince of hunters. 
Eight years afterward the first white man killed 
a gorilla. In 1855 Paul Du Chaillu, a French- 
American, went to West Africa after gorillas. To 
our party, with the intention of not only shooting 
gorillas but of studying them and taking moving pic- 
tures of them, the narrative of this intrepid little 
hunter had particular fascination. 
