CAGED IN AN AFRICAN JUNGLE 19 



up, and a table was improvised by a broad, short 

 board hung on wires. This could be set up by the 

 wall of the cage at night, out of the way. To this 

 meagre outfit was added a small kerosene stove, and 

 a swinging shelf. 



A few tin cases contained my wearing apparel, 

 blanket, pillow, photograph camera and supplies, 

 medicines, and an ample store of canned meats, 

 crackers, &c. A magazine rifle, revolver, ammuni- 

 tion, and a few useful tools, such as a hammer, saw, 

 pliers, files, and a heavy bush-knife, completed my 

 stock, except some tin platters, cups and spoons. 

 These served in cooking, and also for the table, 

 instead of dishes. 



With this equipment I sailed from New York on 

 the 9th of July 1892, via England, to the port of 

 Gaboon, the site of the colonial government of the 

 French Congo. This place is within a few miles of 

 the equator, and near the borders of the country in 

 which the gorilla lives. I arrived there on the i8th 

 of October of the same year, and after a delay of 

 a few weeks I set out to find the object of my 

 search. 



Leaving this place, I went up the Ogowe River 

 about two hundred miles, and through the lake 

 region on the south side of it. After some weeks of 

 travel and inquiry, I arrived at the lake of Ferran 

 Vaz, in the territory of the Nkami tribe. The lake 

 is about thirty miles long, by eight or ten wide, and 

 interspersed with a few islands of large size, covered 

 with a dense growth of tropical vegetation. The 



