40 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



Farther on we came suddenly upon another of these 

 little folkj who, immediately on perceiving us, flung 

 away his tiny bow and arrows into the bushes and 

 bolted. But a little later we were gratified at the 

 appearance of another and more sociable specimen. 

 He was somewhat bigger than the other, and of the 

 tribe of larger .Wamputti, who people the recesses of 

 the forest all the way down the Congo, a month's 

 journey and more, to Stanleyville. This one, Akwehadu, 

 was a hunter, with his little bow and two iron-shafted 

 arrows ready in his hand, and a wicker basket of 

 food hanging on his shoulder. He also carried a 

 little bundle of more deadly weapons, with the ends 

 carefully bound round with a leaf, and this was his 

 stock of still wet freshly poisoned arrows. Strangely 

 enough, the poison doesn't seem to affect the whole- 

 someness for food of the game which falls to them'. 

 The bearded little man followed us to the camping- 

 place, where we arrived just at midday ; and here the 

 captain, though not raising our hopes very highly as 

 to the prospect of success, kindly sent to search for 

 the chief of these Pygmies in his village several hours 

 away in the depth of the forest. 



Towards evening the chief of these; Wamputti 

 Pygmies arrived, his high-sounding title of * Sultan ' 

 being evidence of the influence in former days of the 

 Arab in the district. In height he stood about 4 ft., 

 looking quite big beside his fellow. The conversation 

 we had with him passing backwards and forwards 

 between five intermediaries was inevitably limited. 

 Mr. Geil would put to me a question which I passed 

 on in French to Captain S., and he turned it into 

 Kiswahili for his interpreter, who understood a little 



