A DUG-OUT LEVIATHAN OE THE CONGO 



The native boats of the upper Congo are of great length ; they are easily steered by two 

 men, one in front and one behind, and Europeans usually travel by boats manned by forty 

 or fifty paddlers. I saw one dug-out which required a crew of eighty ; it was broad enough 

 to place in it a table surrounded by four chairs. The diameter of the tree of which it was 

 made must have been six feet. 



diate. The men set out in their little 

 canoes and demanded the return of their 

 women. I offered to surrender one hos- 

 tage for every man who would come 

 aboard and take his place with a paddle.. 

 In half an hour I was continuing my 

 journey triumphantly, as all the ladies 

 had been redeemed from pawn. 



THRILLING INSTANCES OE COURAGE AND 

 LOYALTY 



In my travels in this region I found 

 many records of extraordinary acts of 

 heroism and loyalty. One man had had 

 his feet burned off by the Arabs, but no 

 torture could induce him to betray the 

 white man who was being sought. An- 

 other native had been hanged by his 

 beard on the branch of a tree and had 

 had his lips cut off, but he remained faith- 

 ful to his friends. 



One of the most tragic instances of my 

 whole seven years' stay in the Congo oc- 

 curred on the banks of the Luzubi River, 

 when Makoba, a black boy who had 

 proved his loyalty to me in a thousand 

 ways and who had been responsible for 

 saving my life when I myself had wished 

 to lie down in the jungle and die, came to 

 ask me if he could go to bathe in the 

 stream. 



His request granted, off he went. It 

 was twilight, and I was sitting quietly in 

 camp, when I heard an awful shriek : 

 "Bwana ango, Bwana ango !" I knew it 



was Makoba. The cry was then repeated 

 from a greater distance, and once again 

 farther away. 



I snatched my rifle, called to my men 

 to follow me, and rushed to the river. 

 At first I could see nothing, but soon I 

 observed traces of blood, and upon ex- 

 amining the soil found the footprints of 

 a leopard. 



The writhing on the sand showed that 

 Makoba had been knocked over and 

 dragged into the water. 



Holding my rifle over my head, I swam 

 across the stream, beyond which my men 

 soon found the spoor again, and we fol- 

 lowed. Darkness overtook us, however, 

 and we were forced to return to camp. I 

 would not own myself beaten, and the 

 next morning, after a sleepless night, we 

 continued our search. At about 8 o'clock 

 we found what was left of my faithful 

 companion ; the head had been torn off 

 and half the shoulder had been devoured 

 by a leopard. 



I lay in ambush, but the whole day 

 passed without a sign of the foe. At last, 

 when I thought I should have to give it 

 up because of the darkness, the beast ar- 

 rived, and a bullet from an express rifle 

 avenged Makoba. 



AN ENGLISHMAN'S DEATH STRUGGLE WITH 



A T.i;OPARD 



Although lions are more troublesome 

 than leopards in the Katanga region, the 



363 



