lOO 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



that they had heard the voices of men, and sounds as of 

 people at work. We set out at once, and shortly after 

 entering the forest came upon a narrow foot-path. The 

 forest was extremely thick, and consisted of baobab and 

 other mighty trunked trees, from whose branches de- 

 pended myriad vines and creepers. The morning sun 

 had difficulty in penetrating the canopy overhead, and 

 extreme caution was necessary to pick one's way noise- 

 lessly. In less than an hour I heard voices, and in a 

 moment, through the intervening growth, I descried a 

 little clearing in the forest, where some natives were 

 at work. There were four men and five women ; the 

 women appeared to be young — the men, one and all, 

 had the shrunken appearance of age. 



The women were quite naked, with the exception 

 of a string about the waist, from which hung a short 

 skirt composed of green banana leaves. The men 

 were absolutely unclothed. They were of medium 

 stature, black in colour, and their heads were shaven. 

 For some time I watched them at their work. They 

 were using axes with iron heads not broader than the 

 blade of a carving-knife. This head was run through 

 a hole cut in a stick, in appearance far too heavy to 

 serve as a handle for such small implements. These 

 they used in cutting away the undergrowth. Here 

 and there in the clearing lay prostrate the trunks of 

 tall trees, and I marvelled at the patience of these 

 people ; for the cutting down of such trees with the 

 small axes they used must have been the work of weeks. 



From my experience with the natives I knew that as 

 soon as my presence became known to these people, they 

 would flee and alarm their tribe ; our progress into the 



