CHAPTER XLII 
In the Land of Gorillas and Pygmies 
M DU CHAILLU was a Frenchman who became a naturalized 
American. In the autumn of 1855 he left America for the 
West Coast of Africa with the intention of remaining several 
years in that country. He started from the settlements on the Gaboon 
River, to explore a great tract of country lying between the seashore 
and the ranges of mountains which were said to rise to great heights 
along the central line of the continent. He was possessed of excep¬ 
tional advantages for this purpose, as he had previously resided several 
years on that coast, where his father had formerly possessed a factory; 
and he had a knowledge of several of the languages of the native 
tribes on the coast. The first journey that he planned was up the 
Gaboon River into the land of the Fans, who were reputed to be a race 
of warlike cannibals; but Du Chaillu was brave, and had always found 
the natives well inclined to him, and, besides, to catch a sight of and 
obtain the skin of a gorilla was worth encountering some risk and 
danger. While waiting on the coast with the object of becoming 
acclimatized, he studied the habits of native tribes, and perfected 
himself in their languages; and he tells some curious stories of customs 
prevailing among the Mpongwe, the principal tribe there. When a 
king dies another is elected by the general vote, and the way in which 
he is informed of his new dignity is as follows: he is surrounded by an 
immense crowd of his future subjects, who set to work to treat him 
in the most outrageous manner- They spit in his face, kick him, throw 
filth at him, pound him with their fists, all the while lustily abusing 
and cursing him, his father, his grandfather, his mother, his sisters, 
and every one of his ancestors. It is as much as to say, “You are not 
our king yet, and we'll make the most of our liberty by thrashing you 
before you have the power to thrash us!” After about half an hour, 
this strange scene comes to an end; he is taken to the house of the old 
king, a silk hat (the symbol of royalty) is placed upon his head, he is 
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