HUNTING AND HUNTED IN BELGIAN CONGO 



when a white man comes along with plenty of cloth and 

 other desirable articles, and has no intention of staying 

 over the night unless there are prospects of elephant 

 shooting or trading to his advantage. 



There was no difficulty in obtaining food for the boys, 

 the people here cultivated their lands to the fullest extent, 

 and appeared to be prosperous. All were in their true 

 savage state, some of the women had from two to eight 

 pounds of red clay in their coiffures. All around were 

 large herds of goats and a goodly number of cattle. 



We were now at a fair altitude, having climbed above 

 the flat country and left the mosquitoes in the marshes 

 and swamps by the Nile. Life was indeed worth living 

 up here. 



After a day's hunting I would sit watching the effects 

 of the sunset, the great lulls of the border covered with 

 enormous boulders, some of them weighing hundreds of 

 tons. Winding paths stole between the trees and bushes 

 and the dull roar of a waterfall made itself heard even 

 above the din of the drums and the weird song of the 

 dancing natives in the village close by. A large bird, 

 the size of a bustard, hopped like a frog in the grass, and, 

 by way of song, made a strange sighing noise. Slowly 

 the stars peeped out from the dark blue sky. What a 

 paradise it is in those parts ! It seemed impossible 

 that I could be living in the same world with those 

 countless thousands who were on the verge of starvation 

 in the great cities away to the north. Here all material 

 wants were supplied, the native is quite contented so 

 long as his physical requirements are satisfied, and money 

 has no purchasing powers in his eyes. If you were to 

 offer him the choice between a sovereign and a spoonful 

 of salt, I know which he would prefer. 



One evening Salem had the audacity to use the large 

 cooking pot in which the boys had prepared their food, 

 as a bath, of which proceeding I did not approve, as in 



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