HUNTING AND HUNTED IN BELGIAN CONGO 



length, when the dawn arrived, I felt that we had left our 

 enemies behind, and accordingly we camped for a few 

 hours, and rested far from any village. 



The sun was three hours high on the third day after 

 leaving Lodo, when I reached Lonely Hill to find the mule 

 with an arrow wound in its right shoulder. I learned 

 that two days before Chief Matuga's village, at which we 

 had left our two boys, Katodawali and Monica, had been 

 attacked by a neighbouring chief named Siro Arocco, 

 whose warriors had crept close up to the village in the 

 long grass and a fierce fight had taken place within the 

 last thirty hours. I now began to see that there was 

 likelihood of trouble before very long, for some of Matuga's 

 men had been killed, but the other side had lost heavily 

 too. The mule was suffering considerably, and laboured 

 heavily, for the wound had been deep. It looked merely 

 as if a needle had pierced the flesh, but the boys had found 

 the arrow lying on the ground ; it was not unlike a long 

 skewer, and not being barbed, it had fallen out of the 

 wound when the mule had started to trot ; nevertheless, 

 it must have penetrated to the bone, for its point was 

 bent in the shape of a half -moon. The following account 

 of the affair was given me by Chief Matuga, and was 

 corroborated by my boys who took part in the fight : 

 "It was some four hours after the sun had risen that I 

 was sitting in front of my house talking with some of my 

 people. One of the young men who looks after the cattle 

 was sitting on the hill (Lonely Hill), and looking down he 

 saw several people come through our fields from the 

 south ; he could see them as they entered the long grass, 

 where they were joined by another party who came from 

 the same direction, they were out of their own fields and 

 walking towards this village. Lusambo, for it was he 

 on the hill, ran fast to tell us of what was happening, 

 but only just got inside the hedge as they sent a lot of 

 arrows into our midst. One of my men was killed, for 



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