The Country of the Dwarfs 4

The Country of the Dwarfs 4

In a moment they were on deck, and a wild shout of joy came from them,

"Our white man has come back! Chally! Chally!" and they all rushed

toward me. Good fellows! in their savage natures they loved me, and

they remembered the friend who had never wronged them. I was seized

and almost pulled to pieces, for they all wanted to hug me at the same

time. Captain Vardon looked with perfect amazement at the scene of

greeting. They seemed to be crazy with joy to see me again.

 

Then followed a long and confused account of what had taken place since

my departure, all talking at the same time.

 

When we had come back to our senses, the next subject to be considered

was how I was to get ashore. Of course I wished to go by the mouth of

the river, but Sholomba assured me it could not be done. The mouth of

the Fernand Vaz had changed much for the worse, and it would be less

dangerous to run a canoe through the surf to the beach than to attempt

to cross the bar of the river. It was now the beginning of the rainy

season, when the winds are less violent than in the dry season, but

the surf had not subsided from the agitation of the heavy south winds

of the dry season.

 

The anchor was cast, and I left the Mentor in Adjouatonga's canoe,

which was a better one than the other.

 

All was excitement in the canoe, and the men sang. Adjouatonga, looking

more and more anxious as we approached the rollers, rested outside for

a while, and then, at the proper moment, skillfully directed the frail

canoe over the crest of a huge wave, which bore us with lightning speed

to the beach, where I was caught up by the natives that were waiting

for us, and carried safely to dry land. Tremendous huzzas were given.

 

Once more I stood on African soil.

 

The people recognized me, and I was hurried along, amidst a crowd of

several hundred savages, all dancing and shouting with frantic joy,

across the sandy tongue of land to the banks of the Commi, my own Commi

River, where canoes were waiting to take us to Washington and to old

King Ranpano.

 

Time had wrought great changes in the land of my former explorations.

The mouth of the river had altered so much that I could hardly

recognize it. The long, sandy, reed-covered pits, which projected three

miles from the southern point of the river's mouth, and which had been

the scene of many hunting adventures with ducks, cranes, and sea-gulls,

had disappeared, and the sea had washed the sand away, and taken the

greater part of it to the northern side of the village of Elinde, whose

chief, Sangala, had given me so much trouble in former times. The spot

where Sangala's village had stood had become untenanted, and the people

had removed. Many a dear little island, where I used to hide to shoot

birds, had also been submerged or washed away, and I no longer saw the

flocks of sea-fowl which formerly frequented the locality.

 

I felt sad indeed; a pang of sorrow shot through me. It was like a

dream; the scene of my former hunting had vanished, and nothing but

the record of what I had written about the land was left. I can not

express to you the lonely feeling that came over me. Though every thing

was changed, the former picture of the landscape was before me. I

remembered every island, every little outlet, the herd of hippopotami,

the "Caroline" inside the bar quietly at anchor.

 

Oh, I would have given any thing if I could have seen the country as it

was when I left it! I had been so happy, I spent so many pleasant days

there, I had so loved to roam on that sandy point, and to lie on its

sand! Now it was nothing but a dream; it had been swept away.

 

The canoes in the river being ready, I embarked in one, followed by

all the others, the people singing, "Our ntangani (white man) has come

back. Oh, how we love our white man! Oh, how our white man loves us!

for he has come back to us. Yes, we never stole from our white man; our

white man remembers that, and he comes back to us, for he is not afraid

of us."

 

Paddling up the stream, many, many sights I recognized; many

mangrove-trees I remembered; the old banks of the river were familiar

to me. I looked eagerly at every thing around.

 

Halloo! what do I see yonder? a herd of hippopotami motionless in the

water, and looking for all the world like old logs stuck in the mud.

Familiar species of cranes stalked about here and there, the pelican

swam majestically, the kingfishers were watching for their prey, with

white cranes and ducks not far from them.

 

Thus we glided along up the river. My heart was full; I did not speak

a word. Soon we came in front of my old settlement of Washington, of

which I gave you a picture in my Apingi Kingdom.

 

Oh! what do I see? Nothing but ruins! The houses had all tumbled down;

a few bamboos and rotting poles alone remained to show me where my big

house stood. The four trees between which my house had been built were

still there; the gum copal tree was in front. The little village for my

men was not to be seen; desolation had taken possession of the place.

One single house was still standing. The men stopped their singing;

their faces became sad. A feeling that some misfortune had happened

seized me.

 

I got up and shouted, looking the men steadily in the face, "Where is

Rikimongani, my friend, he whom I intrusted with the settlement of

Washington?" "Dead, dead," said they. "The people were jealous that you

loved him so well, and they did not want him to see you again, and they

bewitched him; he fell ill, and died."

 

"Rikimongani dead!" I exclaimed. I took off my hat as we passed the

place, and said, "Oh, how sorry I am, Rikimongani! What shall I do with

the fine old coat I have for you? what shall I do with the nice cane

and the fine hat I have brought for you? Oh, dear Rikimongani, I have

many presents for you. Rikimongani, did you know how much I loved you?"

 

"See," shouted the men, "how much he loved Rikimongani!"

 

"Oh yes," said the canoe-men, "he always talked of you, and said he was

sure you would come back, though we all said that you would not, and

that you would forget us. Rikimongani used to say, 'One day we shall

see a white sail, and Chally will be on board, and he will land and

come to see us again.' In the evenings he would talk of you to us boys."

 

Tears filled my eyes. Then Sholomba whispered to me, "When the wizards

who were accused of having bewitched Rikimongani were about to drink

the mboundou, they said, 'Chally has killed Rikimongani, for he will

never come back here, and he loves Rikimongani so much that he has

killed him, so that he might have his spirit always with him.' And,"

said Sholomba, "many believed them, but many did not."

 

"We must not land here," said Sholomba. "Chally, you must never build

here; the people are afraid of the place; nobody will dare to come

here, for people die always in this place. Several times villages had

been built, and the people had to leave this spot. Witchcraft is here."

 

I felt that I had come back to a wild life, full of superstitions and

legends.

 

We paddled till we came two miles above my place of Washington, which

had brought back so many reminiscences to me. Though I would have

liked to build again there, I could not think of it on account of the

superstitious dread of the natives for the spot.

 

When we stopped, Sholomba and Djombouai had reached their little

village. Ranpano was away from home, on the Ogobai River. So I resolved

to build a new settlement close to their village.

 

Messengers were sent to King Ranpano to tell him to come, and the news

spread over the country that Chally had come back, and the people from

all the villages and the country round came trooping by land and water

to see their old friend, and to hear about the stores of good things he

had brought with him. They came pouring in day after day, camping in

the woods, on the prairie, every where. They would endure hunger rather

than go home. Many, many an old face I saw; many a kind-hearted woman

came and told me how glad she was to see me; many boys and girls who

had grown up said they wanted to work for me; many people brought me

presents of food.

 

How pleased I was! Oh yes, I had tried to do right with these savages,

and they knew it, and they loved me for it. I knew that not one of them

thought unkindly of me.

 

The day after my landing I dispatched Sholomba with a canoe filled

with paddlers up the river. Those among you who have followed me in my

former adventures must guess where I sent that canoe.

 

To the village of King Quengueza, that dear old chief. I wanted to see

his face. I had brought great numbers of presents for him, to show him

that in the white man's country I had thought of him. I had brought

presents for many of his people, his nephews, sons, and nieces. His old

faithful slaves were not forgotten--good old Etia among them; and his

head slave Mombon.

 

So one canoe had gone for friend Ranpano, and another for good old

Quengueza.

 

Canoes strong enough to go through the surf were coming from all the

villages. Huts were given to me in which to store my goods, and now we

had reached the point of bringing them ashore.

 

It was necessary for me to go on board the Mentor, and arrange the

mode of disembarkation of my extensive outfit and stock of goods. As

the mouth of the river had become unsafe on account of the breaking-up

of the sandy spit, and was now an uninterrupted line of breakers, we

resolved to land every thing on the beach through the surf, and then

carry them across to the river, and put them in other canoes, which

were to carry them to my new settlement.

 

So on the 14th I went to the schooner, and slept on board that night.

Captain Vardon was somewhat anxious; he had never been on this wild and

unfrequented part of the coast, so far from any civilized settlements,

and when he saw me he was delighted, and said that he began to think

that the natives had murdered me. He had kept an armed guard on the

watch all the time, for, said he, such a country looked exactly like

one where the natives could pounce upon the unsuspecting vessel, murder

the crew, and rob the ship. I assured him that there was no danger;

that I could do what I wished with the Commi people, as he would be

able to see for himself; and that, though many of the boxes would have

to be opened, and the goods deposited loose in the canoes, not a single

thing would be stolen.

 

Knowing the negroes of the Coast (for he had been a trader), he seemed somewhat incredulous at my statement.