Black Ivory Page 5

  CHAPTER FIVE.

  IN WHICH THE TRAVELLERS ENJOY THEMSELVES EXTREMELY, AND DISCOLILLIHAMMER SEES SEVERAL ASTONISHING SIGHTS.

  Behold our travellers, then, fairly embarked on the waters of the greatAfrican river Zambesi, in two canoes, one of which is commanded byHarold Seadrift, the other by Disco Lillihammer.

  Of course these enterprising chiefs were modest enough at first to allowtwo of the Makololo men, Jumbo and Zombo, to wield the steering-oars,but after a few days' practice they became sufficiently expert, as Discosaid, to take the helm, except when strong currents rendered thenavigation difficult, or when the weather became so "piping hot" thatnone but men clad in black skins could work.

  We must however guard the reader here from supposing that it is alwayspiping hot in Africa. There are occasional days when the air may bestyled lukewarm, when the sky is serene, and when all nature seemsjoyful and enjoyable,--days in which a man opens his mouth wide andswallows down the atmosphere; when he _feels_ his health and strength,and rejoices in them, and when, if he be not an infidel, he also feels asensation of gratitude to the Giver of all good.

  On such a day, soon after entering the East Luavo mouth of the Zambesi,the explorers, for such we may almost venture to style them, ascendedthe smooth stream close to the left bank, Harold leading, Discofollowing closely in his wake.

  The men rowed gently, as if they enjoyed the sweet calm of earlymorning, and were unwilling to disturb the innumerable flocks ofwild-fowl that chuckled among the reeds and sedges everywhere. Haroldsat in the stern, leaning back, and only dipping the steering-oar lazilynow and then to keep the canoe from running on the bank, or plunginginto a forest of gigantic rushes. Disco, having resolved to solacehimself with a whiff of his darling pipe, had resigned "the helm" toJumbo, and laid himself in a position of comfort which admitted of hisresting his head on the gunwale in such a manner that, out of thecorners of his eyes, he could gaze down into the water.

  The part of the river they had reached was so perfectly still that everycloud in the sky, every mangrove, root and spray, and every bendingbulrush, was perfectly reproduced in the reflected world below.Plaintive cries of wild-fowl formed appropriate melody, to whichchattering groups of monkeys and croaking bull-frogs contributed a finetenor and bass.

  "Hallo, Disco!" exclaimed Harold in a subdued key, looking over hisshoulder.

  "Ay, ay, sir?" sighed the seaman, without moving his position.

  "Range up alongside; I want to speak to you."

  "Ay, ay, sir.--Jumbo, you black-faced villain, d'ee hear that? give wayand go 'longside."

  Good-humoured Jumbo _spoke_ very little English, but had come tounderstand a good deal during his travels with Dr Livingstone. Hewrinkled his visage and showed his brilliant teeth on receiving theorder. Muttering a word to the men, and giving a vigorous stroke, heshot up alongside of the leader's canoe.

  "You seem comfortable," said Harold, with a laugh, as Disco's vastvisage appeared at his elbow.

  "I is."

  "Isn't this jolly?" continued Harold.

  "No, sir, 'taint."

  "Why, what d'you mean?"

  "I means that jolly ain't the word, by a long way, for to express thenatur' o' my feelin's. There ain't no word as I knows on as 'ud come upto it. If I wor a fylosipher, now, I'd coin a word for the occasion.P'raps," continued Disco, drawing an unusually long whiff from his pipe,"p'raps, not bein' a fylosipher, I might nevertheless try to coin one.Wot's the Latin, now, for heaven?"

  "Caelum," replied Harold.

  "Sailum, eh? An' wot's the 'arth?"

  "Terra."

  "Terra? well now, wot rediklous names to give to 'em," said Disco,shaking his head gravely, "I can't see why the ancients couldn't ha' binsatisfied with the names that _we'd_ given 'em. Hows'ever, that'sneither here nor there. My notion o' the state o' things that we've gotinto here, as they now stand, is, that they are sailumterracious, whichmeans heaven-upon-earth, d'ee see?"

  As Disco pronounced the word with a powerful emphasis on the _u-m_ partof it the sound was rather effective, and seemed to please him.

  "Right; you're right, or nearly so," replied Harold; "but don't youthink the word savours too much of perfection, seeing that breakfastwould add to the pleasure of the present delightful state of things, andmake them even more sailumterracious than they are?"

  "No, sir, no; the word ain't too parfect," replied Disco, with a look ofcritical severity; "part of it is 'arth, and 'arth is imparfect, bein'susceptible of a many improvements, among which undoubtedly isbreakfast, likewise dinner an' supper, to say nothin' of lunch an' tea,which is suitable only for babbies an' wimen; so I agrees with you, sir,that the state o' things will be sailumterraciouser if we goes ashorean' has breakfast."

  He tapped the head of his very black little pipe on the edge of thecanoe, and heaved a sigh of contentment as he watched the ash-ball thatfloated away on the stream; then, rousing himself, he seized thesteering-oar and followed Harold into a small creek, which waspleasantly overshadowed by the rich tropical foliage of that region.

  While breakfast was being prepared by Antonio, whose talents as_chef-de-cuisine_ were of the highest order, Harold took his rifle andrambled into the bush in search of game--any kind of game, for at thattime he had had no experience whatever of the sport afforded by thewoods of tropical Africa, and, having gathered only a few vague ideasfrom books, he went forth with all the pleasurable excitement andexpectation that we may suppose peculiar to discoverers.

  Disco Lillihammer having only consumed his first pipe of tobacco, andholding it to be a duty which he owed to himself to consume two beforebreakfast, remained at the camp-fire to smoke and chaff Antonio, whosegood-nature was only equalled by his activity.

  "Wot have 'ee got there?" inquired Disco, as Antonio poured a quantityof seed into a large pot.

  "Dis? vy, hims be mapira," replied the interpreter, with a benignantsmile. "Hims de cheef food ob dis konterie."

  It must be remarked here that Antonio's English, having been acquiredfrom all sorts of persons, in nearly every tropical part of the globe,was somewhat of a jumble, being a compound of the broken English spokenby individuals among the Germans, French, Portuguese, Arabs, andNegroes, with whom he had at various times associated, modified by hisown ignorance, and seasoned with a dash of his own inventive fancy.

  "Is it good?" asked Disco.

  "Goot!" exclaimed Antonio. Being unable to find words to expresshimself, the enthusiastic cook placed his hand on the region which wasdestined ere long to become a receptacle for the mapira, and rolled hiseyes upwards in rapture. "Hah! oo sall see behind long."

  "Before long, you mean," observed the seaman.

  "Dat all same ting, s'long's you onerstand him," replied Antoniocomplacently.--"Bring vatter now, Jumbo. Put him in careful. Not spillon de fire--zo--goot."

  Jumbo filled up the kettle carefully, and a broad grin overspread hisblack visage, partly because he was easily tickled into a condition ofrisibility by the cool off-hand remarks of Disco Lillihammer, and partlybecause, having acquired his own small smattering of English from DrLivingstone, he was intelligent enough to perceive that in regard toAntonio's language there was something peculiar.

  "Now, go fitch noder kittle--queek."

  "_Yis_, sar--zo--goot," replied Jumbo, mimicking the interpreter, andgoing off with a vociferous laugh at his little joke, in which he wasjoined by his sable clansmen, Masiko and Zombo.

  "Hims got 'nuff of impoodidence," said the interpreter, as he bustledabout his avocations.

  "He's not the only one that's got more than enough impoodidence," saidDisco, pushing a fine straw down the stem of his "cutty," to make itdraw better. "I say, Tony," (our regardless seaman had already thusmutilated his name), "you seem to have plenty live stock in them parts."

  "Plenty vat?" inquired the interpreter, with a perplexed expression.

  "Why, plenty birds and beasts,--live stock we calls it, meanin' therebylivin' creeturs." He pointed towar
ds an opening in the mangroves,through which were visible the neighbouring mud and sand flats, swarmingwith wild-fowl, and conspicuous among which were large flocks ofpelicans, who seemed to be gorging themselves comfortably from anapparently inexhaustible supply of fish in the pools left by thereceding tide.

  "Ho, yis, me perceive; yis, plenty bird and beast--fishes too, andcrawbs--look dare."

  He pointed to a part of the sands nearest to their encampment whichappeared to be alive with some small creatures.

  "That's coorious," said Disco, removing his pipe, and regarding thephenomenon with some interest.

  "No, 'taint koorous, it's crawbs," replied Antonio.

  "Crabs, is it?" said Disco, rising and sauntering down to the sands; forhe possessed an inquiring mind, with a special tendency to investigatethe habits (pranks, as he called them) of the lower animals, which, inother circumstances, might have made him a naturalist.

  Muttering to himself--he was fond of muttering to himself, it feltcompanionable,--"coorious, very coorious, quite 'stroanary," he creptstealthily to the edge of the mangroves, and there discovered that thesands were literally alive with myriads of minute crabs, which wereactively engaged--it was supposed by those who ought to know best--ingathering their food. The moment the tide ebbed from any part of thesands, out came these crablets in swarms, and set to work, busy as bees,ploughing up the sand, and sifting it, apparently for food, until thewhole flat was rendered rough by their incessant labours. Approachingcautiously, Disco observed that each crab, as he went along sidewise,gathered a round bit of moist sand at his mouth, which was quicklybrushed away by one of his claws, and replaced by another, and another,as fast as they could be brushed aside.

  "Eatin' sand they are!" muttered Disco in surprise; but presently theimprobability of sand being very nutritious food, even for crabs, forceditself on him, and he muttered his conviction that they "was scrapin'for wittles."

  Having watched the crabs a considerable time, and observed that theyfrequently interrupted their labours to dart suddenly into their holesand out again--for the purpose, he conjectured, of "havin' a drop o'summat to wet their whistles,"--Disco thrust the cutty into his vestpocket, and walked a little further out on the flat in the hope ofdiscovering some new objects of interest. Nor was he disappointed.Besides finding that the pools left by the tide swarmed with varietiesof little fish--many of them being "coorious,"--he was fortunate enoughto witness a most surprising combat.

  It happened thus:--Perceiving, a little to his right, some smallcreature hopping about on the sand near to a little pool, he turnedaside to observe it more closely. On his drawing near, the creaturejumped into the pool. Disco advanced to the edge, gazed intently intothe water, and saw nothing except his own reflected image at the bottom.Presently the creature reappeared. It was a small fish--a familiarfish, too--which he had known in the pools of his native land by thename of blenny. As the blenny appeared to wish to approach the edge ofthe pool, Disco retired, and, placing a hand on each knee, stooped, inorder to make himself as small as possible. He failed, the diminutionin his height being fully counterbalanced by the latitudinal extensionof his elbows!

  Presently the blenny put its head out of the water, and looked about.We speak advisedly. The blenny is altogether a singular, an exceptionalfish. It can, and does, look sidewise, upwards and downwards, with itsprotruding eyes, as knowingly, and with as much vivacity, as if it werea human being. This power in a fish has something of the same awesomeeffect on an observer that might possibly result were a horse to raiseits head and smile at him.

  Seeing that the coast was clear, for Disco stood as motionless as amangrove tree, blenny hopped upon the dry land. The African blenny is asort of amphibious animal, living nearly as much out of the water as init. Indeed its busiest time, we are told, [_See Dr Livingstone'sZambesi and its Tributaries_, page 843.] is at low water, when, by meansof its pectoral fins it crawls out on the sand and raises itself intosomething of a standing attitude, with its bright eyes keeping a sharplook-out for the light-coloured flies on which it feeds.

  For several seconds Disco gazed at the fish, and the fish gazed around,even turning its head a little, as well as its eyes, on this side and onthat. Presently a small fly, with that giddy heedlessness whichcharacterises the race, alighted about two inches in front of blenny'snose. Instantly the fish leaped that vast space, alighted with itsunderset mouth just over the fly, which immediately rose into it and wasentombed.

  "Brayvo!" passed through Disco's brain, but no sound issued from hislips.

  Presently another of the giddy ones alighted in front of blenny about afoot distant. This appeared to be much beyond his leaping powers, for,with a slow, stealthy motion, like a cat, he began deliberately to stalkhis victim. The victim appeared to be blind, for it took no notice ofthe approaching monster. Blenny displayed marvellous powers ofself-control, for he moved on steadily without accelerating his speeduntil within about two inches of his prey--then he leapt as before, andanother fly was entombed.

  "Well done!" exclaimed Disco, mentally, but still his lips and body weremotionless as before.

  At this point an enemy, in the shape of another blenny, appeared on thescene. It came up out of a small pool close at hand, and seemed tocovet the first blenny's pool, and to set about taking possession of itas naturally as if it had been a human being; for, observing, no doubt,that its neighbour was busily engaged, it moved quietly in the directionof the coveted pool. Being a very little fish, it was not observed byDisco, but it was instantly noticed by the first blenny, which, beingrather the smaller of the two, we shall style the Little one.

  Suddenly Big Blenny threw off all disguise, bounded towards the pool,which was about a foot square, and plunged in. No mortal blenny couldwitness this unwarrantable invasion of its hearth and home without beingstirred to indignant wrath. With eyes that seemed to flash fire, anddorsal fin bristling up with rage, Little Blenny made five tremendousleaps of full three inches each, and disappeared. Another moment and aminiature storm ruffled the pool: for a few seconds the heavings of thedeep were awful; then, out jumped Big Blenny and tried to flee, but outjumped Little Blenny and caught him by the tail; round turned the bigone and caught the other by the jaw.

  "Hallo, Disco! breakfast's ready--where are you?" shouted Harold fromthe woods.

  Disco replied not. It is a question whether he heard the hail at all,so engrossed was he in this remarkable fight.

  "Brayvo!" he exclaimed aloud, when Little Blenny shook his big enemy offand rolled over him.

  "Cleverly done!" he shouted, when Big Blenny with a dart took refuge inthe pool.

  "I knowed it," he cried approvingly, when Little Blenny forced him asecond time to evacuate the premises, "Go in an' win, little 'un,"thought Disco.

  Thus the battle raged furiously, now in the water, now on the sand,while the excited seaman danced round the combatants--both of whomappeared to have become deaf and blind with rage--and gave them strongencouragement, mingled with appropriate advice and applause. In factDisco's delight would have been perfect, had the size of thebelligerents admitted of his patting the little blenny on the back; butthis of course was out of the question!

  At last having struck, worried, bitten, and chased each other by landand sea for several minutes, these pugnacious creatures seized eachother by their respective throats, like two bull-dogs, and fellexhausted on the sand.

  "It's a draw!" exclaimed Disco, rather disappointed.

  "No, 'tain't," he said, as Little Blenny, reviving, rose up and renewedthe combat more furiously than ever; but it was soon ended, for BigBlenny suddenly turned and fled to his own pool. Little Blenny did notcrow; he did not even appear to be elated. He evidently felt that hehad been called on to perform a disagreeable but unavoidable duty, anddeemed it quite unnecessary to wave banners, fire guns, or ring bells incelebration of his victory, as he dived back into his pool amid theringing cheers of Disco Lillihammer.

  "Upon my word, if you have n
ot gone stark mad, you must have had asunstroke," said Harold, coming forward, "what's the matter?"

  "Too late! too late!" cried Disco, in a mingled tone of amusement andregret.

  "D'ye think it is? Are you incurable already?" asked his friend.

  "Too late to see the most a-stonishin' scrimmage I ever did behold in_my_ life," said Disco.

  The description of this scrimmage gave the worthy seaman a subject forconversation and food for meditation during the greater part of the timespent over the morning meal, and there is no saying how long he wouldhave kept referring to and chuckling over it--to the great admirationand sympathy of the black fellows, who are, as a race, excessively fondof jocularity and fun--had not another of the denizens of the mangrovejungle diverted his attention and thoughts rather suddenly.

  This was a small monkey, which, seated on a branch overhead, peered atthe breakfast-party from among the leaves, with an expression of inquiryand of boundless astonishment that it is quite impossible to describe.Surprise of the most sprightly nature, if we may say so, sat enthronedon that small monkey's countenance, an expression which was enhanced bythe creature's motions, for, not satisfied with taking a steady look atthe intruders from the right side of a leaf, it thrust forward itslittle black head on the left side of it, and then under it, by way ofvariety; but no additional light seemed to result from these changes inthe point of observation, for the surprise did not diminish.

  In one of its intent stares it caught the eye of Disco. The seaman'sjaws stopped, as if suddenly locked, and his eyes opened to theirwidest.

  The monkey seemed to feel uneasily that it had attracted attention, forit showed the smallest possible glimpse of its teeth. The action,coupled with the leafy shadows which fell on its countenance, had theeffect of a smile, which caused Disco to burst into a loud laugh andpoint upwards. To bound from its position to a safer retreat, andthence stare at Disco with deep indignation, and a threatening displayof all its teeth and gums, in addition to its looks of surprise, was thework of a moment on the part of the small monkey, whereat Disco burstinto a renewed roar of laughter, in which he was joined by the wholeparty.

  "Are there many o' them fellows hereabouts?" inquired the seaman ofAntonio.

  "Ho, yis, lots ob 'em. T'ousands ebery whars; see, dare am morer."

  He pointed to another part of the umbrageous canopy overhead, where theface of a still smaller monkey was visible, engaged, like the previousone, in an earnest scrutiny of the party, but with a melancholy, ratherthan a surprised, expression of visage.

  "Wot a miserable, broken-hearted thing!" said Disco, grinning, in whichact he was immediately copied by the melancholy monkey, though fromdifferent motives.

  Disco was very fond of monkeys. All his life he had felt a desire topat and fondle those shivering creatures which he had been accustomed tosee on barrel-organs in his native land, and the same strong impulsecame over him now.

  "Wot a pity the creeturs smell so bad, and ain't cleanly," he remarked,gazing affectionately up among the leaves, "they'd make such capitalpets; why, there's another."

  This remark had reference to a third monkey, of large dimensions andfierce countenance, which at that moment rudely thrust the melancholymonkey aside, and took its place. The latter, with a humble air andaction, took up a new position, somewhat nearer to the fire, where itssad countenance was more distinctly seen.

  "Well, it does seem a particularly sorrowful monkey, that," said Harold,laughing, as he helped himself to another canful of tea.

  "The most miserable objic' I ever did see," observed Disco.

  The negroes looked at each other and laughed. They were accustomed tomonkeys, and took little notice of them, but they were mightily tickledby Disco's amusement, for he had laid down his knife and fork, and shooka good deal with internal chuckling, as he gazed upwards.

  "One would suppose, now," he said softly, "that it had recently seen itsfather and mother, and all its brothers and sisters, removed by aviolent death, or sold into slavery."

  "Ha! they never see that," said Harold; "the brutes may fight and kill,but they never _enslave_ each other. It is the proud prerogative of manto do that."

  "That's true, sir, worse luck, as Paddy says," rejoined Disco. "Butlook there: wot's them coorious things round the creetur's waist--a pairo' the werry smallest hands--and, hallo! a face no bigger than a button!I do believe that it's--"

  Disco did not finish the sentence, but he was right. The smallmelancholy monkey was a mother!

  Probably that was the cause of its sorrow. It is a touching thoughtthat anxiety for its tiny offspring perhaps had furrowed that monkey'svisage with the wrinkles of premature old age. That danger threatenedit on every side was obvious, for no sooner had it taken up its newposition, after its unceremonious ejection by the fierce monkey, thanthe sprightly monkey, before referred to, conceived a plot which itimmediately proceeded to carry into execution. Observing that the tailof the sad one hung down in a clear space below the branch on which itsat, the sprightly fellow quickly, but with intense caution and silence,crept towards it, and when within a yard or so sprang into the air andcaught the tail!

  A wild shriek, and what Disco styled a "scrimmage," ensued, during whichthe mother monkey gave chase to him of the lively visage, using herarms, legs, and tail promiscuously to grasp and hold on to branches, andleaving her extremely little one to look out for itself. This it seemedquite capable of doing, for no limpet ever stuck to a solid rock withgreater tenacity than did that infant to the maternal waist throughoutthe chase. The hubbub appeared to startle the whole monkey race,revealing the fact that troops of other monkeys had, unobserved, beengazing at the strangers in silent wonder, since the time of theirlanding.

  Pleasant however, though this state of things undeniably was, it couldnot be expected to last. Breakfast being concluded, it became necessarythat Disco should tear himself from the spot which, having first solacedhimself with a pipe, he did with a good grace, remarking, as here-embarked and "took the helm" of his canoe, that he had got morepowerful surprises that morning than he had ever before experienced inany previous twelvemonth of his life.

  Before long he received many more surprises, especially one of a verydifferent and much less pleasant nature, an account of which will befound in the next chapter.