112 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 
I thought I would taste a little of every thing, and 
bring my stomach to its utmost capacity. Though it 
was against etiquette, for Obindji could not eat with 
Quengueza, I told him we had better invite friend 
Obindji. We called the good fellow, and made him sit 
with us amid the abundant cheer round us, for all were 
as merry as they could be. 
His Bakalai Majesty was quite proud to eat with a 
fork which I presented him. 
Since Obindji was to eat with us, an addition to the 
bill of fare—a dish of boiled gorilla—came for his espe- 
cial benefit; also a dish made of part of a large snake 
cooked in leaves, the smell of which made Obindji’s 
mouth water. 
The people all round us were eating. The first 
mouthful I put into my mouth caused cheer after cheer 
to goup. “The ntanga is eating! The ntanga is eat- 
ing of the elephant!” For I thought I would begin 
with King Elephant. 
It was a pretty tough piece of meat, I assure you; 
the grain was very coarse, and the meat was somewhat 
tasteless and rather dry. The boiled elephant’s foot 
was better, and I rather liked it. The elephant meat I 
did not like; it was really too tough. 
Obindji recommended to me a bit of crocodile, and 
the wife who had cooked it said she had been very care- 
ful that there was plenty of Cayenne pepper and of 
lemon juice, and she was sure the broth was excellent. 
I must say I did not like the idea of eating of the croco- 
dile, but I wanted to know how it tasted. The flesh 
was very white—somewhat fishy, I thought—and the 
grain of the meat coarse. I did not like either the broth 
