Preface 



vn 



with the wild inmates of the woods, I have fallen, in 

 spite of myself, far below reality. There will always 

 be lacking in my narratives that which sight alone 

 could add to them - - the imposing and fierce 

 appearance of magnificent animals defending 

 their lives with that savage instinct, that tenacity, 

 with which nature has endowed them ; the faces 

 of hunters, black or white, with the gamut of in- 

 numerable human feelings which are alternately seen 

 upon them, feelings ranging from fear to triumph 

 after passing through anxiety, hesitation, calm, and 

 anger. Finally, nothing can describe that dazzling 

 African sun, -that clear air, that atmosphere peculiar to 

 the country, those delightful or imposing landscapes, 

 that clear sky, or, on the contrary, the menacing 

 and terrifying appearance of the elements at the 

 time of storm in the equatorial region. There will 

 ever be between these encounters and the account 

 I have given of them the difference which there 

 is between the word and the deed, the description 

 and the thing described. The reader must use his 

 imagination to replace in the proper environment 

 the vicissitudes which I have described with all 

 sincerity, but, doubtless, in a very imperfect manner. 



