164 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 
unwilling to deliver him to be killed. 
With the exception of Quengueza, every man there 
was armed to the teeth. They were all covered with 
fetiches and war-charms; they were painted in all sorts 
of fantastic colors. How ugly many of them looked! 
how devilish, how blood-thirsty many of them seemed to 
be! O God, how kind thou art! Thou makest the rain 
fall on the evil, and on the good; thou makest the dew 
of heaven fall on the poisonous plant, and on the plant 
that feedeth man. Still, in despite of the blood-thirsti- 
ness of these people; in despite of their superstitions and 
horrid customs, now and then the better nature of man 
would get possession of them, and their hearts were sus- 
ceptible of better feelings. 
So aman of the name of Mashamamai came forward; 
he was thin and wiry, tall and slender; his features were 
sharp, his eyes sunken, his cheeks somewhat prominent, 
and his filed teeth showed themselves every time he open- 
ed his mouth to speak. His body was tattooed all over ; 
he wore round the waist a leopard’s belt, which he himself 
had entrapped and killed, a necklace of leopard’s and go- 
rilla’s teeth; on his side hung a huge war-knife. His 
eyebrows were painted yellow; on his forehead there 
was a broad white mark, while one of his cheeks was 
painted red, and the other yellow. He certainly had suc- 
ceeded in his attempt to look horrid. 
He began in a hollow, sonorous voice, and said— 
“Bakali, people among us have been dying. Where 
is Aqualai? heis gone. Whereis Anguilai? he is gone. 
Where are Djali and Ratenou, our great hunters? they 
, 
Por es 
heey 
while the people of the other said Pendé was not guilty — 
of what he had been accused. Hence these latter were — 
