Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-06-19
From the New York Times, 9Th
Equatorial Africa.
INTERESTING AND AMUSING REAARks BE pU
CHAILLU.

kkkSltNN AND AMI SIM RkAAhhS bh III
CHAILLU.
\ select audience of ladies and gentlemen
assembled, by invitation, at the Travellers
Club. III Fitth-avenue. last evening, to lis
ten to a lecture from Mons F. b. Du
Chaillu. the celebrated African explorer.
The speaker was introduced with some
highly complimentary remarks by Ed
ward f. Dunbar. President of the Club,
and promised his lecture by saying that he
had Just come from Putnam county, where
he had been to gain rest and quiet for the
preparation Of a series of public lectures
which he proposes to give upon his African
experiences. He had accepted an invita-
tion TO come there this evening TO have Il
little talk with his friends, but with no idea
that anv ladies were to be present. and
with no preparation for a formal lecture.
He had studied the natural history, geog-
raphy, and the people of Equatorial Africa
for the last ten wears. and had collected u
vast amount of material which he found II
difficult to condenSe satisfactorily to the
limits of an evening lecture. During his
travels in Africa he had made large collec-
tions of chimpanzees. gorillas, birds. etc,
and among the rest l20 skulls Of negroes
Those last were collected not as matter of
pleasure (laughter) but for scientific pur-
poses. The natives looked upon him as
funny sort OF a fellow, wandering around
the woods and collecting the skulls of their
foretathers. and hardly knew what TO make
OF him He was often asked by them what
he intended to do with these things, but
they were generally willing to assist him
in making the collection. The region of
Africa that he had explored was nothing
but vast Jungle, with = very thinly scat
tered population. In questioning the ne
groes where they came from, the answer
always was. from the East" verifying
the theory that emigration always took Il
westerly direction.
Some of the tribes inhabiting these Jun
giles are found quite warlike. They were
also great workers of iron, large quantities
of which was found in the mountains, which
they used in the manufacture of their
warlike implements. Some of the tribes
were addicted to cannibalism. and often stole
corpses, which they deyoured with APP
parent relish. On one occasion he attempt
ed to demonstrate with the negroes against
the habit of eating human flesh, but they
could not see the force of his objections.
| Next to human flesh, they esteemed that
of the gorilla the most palatable. The
traveller through the vast jungle would
sometimes Journey for DAYS without finding
settlement He had suffered during hi,
exploration more from hunger than from
anything else He generally took mon
kew along with him. and would first let the
monkey taste the berries he found by the
wavside, and if he would eat them he con
sdered them safe food for himself Thu,
he had lived for many DAYS and weeks
and looking at his monkey companion, he
would exclaim Am | not man and
brother" [Laughter.l Sometimes the
monkeys taste in berries differed from hi
own laughter but he was obliged to pu
up with what he could get, and eat wha
the monkey set before him. He had als'
not unfrequently been compelled to eat th'
monkey himself, and found him equal to th
finest venison Laughter. The luggag
of the traveller i'll Africa was always ear
ried bv women, the men seldom bothere,
themselves with anything weightier than
sword or spear The principal food of tn
country was the plantain.
The natives were all believers i'll fatal
ism, and III good and evil spirits-especial
ly the evil laughter When man
sick they try to drive the devil out of hin
by hideous noises They were also firm be
levers in witchcraft, which might be sal
to be the curse of the country. Nobody
, according to their idea, dies natural death
t but all are killed by witches. They hav
perfect horror OF the intermarriage {
relatives, however distant even people {
the same clan are not allowed to lntermal
q ry, but must seek their mates from som
other tribe. Mothers seem to be as fond I
: their babies as with US but as soon as tn
: babies come to be children they sell the
:. off without compunction. Men marry !
all ages and have any number of wlve
! . Even at the age of 100 years they tai
;. wives, and the older they are the young
It they appear to want their wives to b
n Laughter. We could not blame them Fl
n this, for even he, (the speaker.) batchel
/ as he was, could not say but what he lik'
II Young ladies as well as he ever di
!. Laughter. Husbands and beaux som
r times make their wives love them by bea
ing them IF they found their wives g