The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1875-05-06
The Sokos Livingstone's Gorillas

eh1Iy 10 give the following interesting ac-
count of the sokos which he saw and heard
! of: -
| -Four gorillas, or sokos, were killed
yesterday, August "a, 1869; an extensive
grass burning forced them out of their
usual haunt, and, coming out on the plain,
they were speared. They often 60 erect,
but place the hand on the head, as if to
steady the body. When seen thus, the
soko is an ungainly beast. The most
sentimental young lady would not call him
''dear," but he is bandy-legged, pot
bellied, low-looking villain, without a
particle of the gentleman in him. Other
animals, especially the antelopcs, are grace
ful, and it is pleasant to see them, either
at rest or in motion the natives are also
well made, 1.-THE and comely to behold but
the soko, if large, would do well to stand
/ for picture Of the devil He takes away
my appetite by his disgusting bestiality of
appearance. His light-yellow face shows
off his ugly whislers and faint apology for
a beard the forehead, villanously low,
with high ears, is well in the background
of the great dog-mouth the teeth are
slightly human, but the CANNES show the
beast by their large development. The
hands or rather the fingers, are like those
of the natives. The flesh of the feet is
yellow, and the eagerness with which the
Manyuema devour it leaves the impression
that eating sokos was the first stage by
which they arrived at being cannibals !:
they say the flesh is delicious. The soko
is represented by some to be extremely
knowing, successfully stalking men and
women while at their work, kidnapping
children and running up trees with them ::
he seems amused by the sight of the young
native in his arms, but comes down when
tempted by bunch of bananas, and, as he
lifts that, drops the child the young soko
in such case would cling closely to the
armpit Of the elder. One man was cutting
out honey from tree, and naked, when a
soko suddenly appeared and caught him,
then let him go. Another luan was hunt
ing, and missed in his attempt to stab
soko it seized the spear and broke it, then
grappled with the man, who called to his
companions, "Soko has caught me y the
soko bit off the ends of his fingers and
escaped unharmed. Both men are now
alive at Bambare.
The soko is SO cunning and has such
sharp eyes, that no one can stalk him in
front without being seen hence, when shot,
it is always in the back when surrounded
by men and nets, he is generally speared
in the back too otherwise he is not very
formidable beast he is nothing, as COM
pared in power of damaging his assailant,
to leopard or lion, but is more like a
man unarmed, for it does not occur to him
to use his canine teeth, which are long and
formidable Numbers of them come down
in the forest within a hundred yards cf our
camp, and would be unknown but for Civ
ing tongue like fox hounds this is their
nearest approach to speech. A man hoeing
was stalked by soko and seized he roared
out but the soko giggled and grinned, and
left him as if he had done it in play. A
child caught by soko is often abused by
being pinched and scratched and let fall.
The soko kills the leopard occasionally
by seizing both paws and biting them SO as
to disable them he then goes up tree
and groans over his wounds, and sometimes
RECEIVERS, while the leopard dies at other
times both soko and leopard die. The lion
kills him at once, and sometimes tears his
limbs off, but does not eat him. The soko
eats no flesh small bananas are his dainties,
but not maize His food consists of wild
fruits. which abound: one, stafene, or
Manyucma mamwa, is like large sweet sop
but Indifferent in taste and flesh. The
soko brings forth at times twins. A very
large soko was seen by Mohamed's hun
ters sitting picking his nails they tried
to stalk him but he vanished Some
Manyuema think that their buried dead
rise as sokos, and one was killed with holes
in his ears, as if he had been a man. He
is very strong, and fears guns, but not
spears he never catches women.
Sokos collect together, and make a
noise, some say with hollow
trees, then burst forth into loud yels,
which are well initiated by the natives
smbryotic music. If man has no spear
he goes away satisfied but if wounded, he
,eizes the wrist, lops off the fingers, and