IN THE LAND OF GORILLAS AND PYGMIES 383 



friendly, but there is no mistaking the fact of their being cannibals. 

 The men are tall and finely made ; they go about almost naked, wearing 

 only the skin of a wild cat or tiger round their middle. Their teeth 

 are filed to a point, and are sometimes blackened besides, and this 

 gives them a peculiarly ferocious look. They wear their hair in long 

 thin plaits, and hang all sorts of "fetishes" — monkeys' fingers and 

 tails, human hair, skin, teeth and bones, claws and skulls of birds, and 

 bits of metal — round their necks. Although they were very well dis- 

 posed, and constantly sent the white man presents, he would never 

 accept cooked food from them, for fear it had been dressed in one of 

 the vessels in which they prepare their horrible human repasts. 



Although these people possess only spears, they are very clever 

 in killing "elephants. Their plan is to choose a likely place, and then 

 gathering a number of the thick cords of the trailing vines, fasten 

 these together between the trees until a long network is made, and 

 their object then is to drive a frightened elephant towards the spot 

 When he is caught in the nets, there is no escape; the more he tries 

 to tear the vines, the more he is entangled in their meshes; and then 

 the natives hurl their spears at him till he is covered with them, looking 

 like a huge porcupine, and soon expires from loss of blood. But this 

 sport is dangerous, and men are often killed by the infuriated beasts. 



Du Chaillu several times tried to rear and tame the young of the 

 gorilla and other apes, but in each case the little thing died. Joe, a 

 young male gorilla hardly three years old, was a most savage and 

 morose little brute. He rushed savagely at any one who approached 

 him, and on one occasion, when he had escaped, it required four men 

 to hold him when he was caught at last. Even with Du Chaillu, who 

 used to feed him, he was vicious and treacherous. He would come 

 readily to eat out of his master's hand, and while fixing his eyes upon 

 his face in a seemingly innocent way, would suddenly dart out his foot 

 to lay hold of Du Chaillu's leg, and several times he tore large pieces 

 from the part of the pantaloons which he had seized. A young female 

 gorilla afterwards caught was equally fierce, and the natives were all 

 glad when the troublesome little creature died; but a young nsJiiego 

 mh Olive that was afterwards secured soon became very friendly and 

 amiable ; by the time he died, "Tommy," as he was called, had become 



