The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-02-11

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a. OUR FIRST PARENTS.
How They Disport themselves in the Wilds
~ of Africa.
Livingstone's last journals, which
are just published in England, contain
much interesting matter. The explor-
er discourses as follows of the gorillas
"Four gorriilas, or sokos, were
killed yesterday, an extensive grass
burning forced them out of their usu-
al haunts, and coming or the plain
they were apeared. They often go
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 a dear but ban
dy-legged, pot-beIlied, low-looking
villain, without particle Of the gem
tleman in him. Other animals, espec-
tally the antelopes, are graceful, and it
is pleasant to see them, either at rest
Or in motion ; the natives also are well
made, 1.-the, and comely to behold, but
the soko, If large, would do we'll to
stand for picture of the devil. He
takes away my appetite, by his dis
gusting beastiality Of appearance
His light yellow face shows off his
ugly whiskers and faint apology for a
beard the forehead villainously low,
with high ears, is we'll in the back
ground of the great dog mouth; the
teeth are slightly human, but the ca
mines show the beast by their large
development. The hands, or rather
the fingers, are like those of the ma
tives. This flesh of the feet is yellow,
and the eagerness with which the Man.
yuema devours it leaves the impress
sion that eating sokos was the first
stages by which they arrived at being
cannibals. They say the flesh is de-
licious. The soko is represented to be
extremely knowing, successfully stalk
ing men and women while at their
work. Kidnappisg children and run
ming up trees with them-he seems to
be 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
a tree, and naked, when a soko sud-
denly appeared and caught him then
let him go. Another man was hunt
ing and missed in his attempt to stab
a soko. 1t seized the spear and broke
it, then grappled with the man, who
called to his companions: 'Soko has
caught me- The soko bit off the ends
of his fingers, and escaped unharmed.
Both men are now alive at Bambarre.
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 a formidable
beast. lie is nothing, as compared in
power of damaging his assailant, to a
leopard Or lion, but is more like
man unarmed, for it does not occur to
him to use his canine teeth. which are
long and formidable. Numbers of
them come down III the forest, within
a hundred yards of our camp, and
would be unknown but for giving
tongue like fox hounds. This is their
nearest approach to speech. A man
hoeing was stalked by a 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 up by a soko is often abused
by being pinched and scratched and
let fall. The soko kills the leopard
occasionally, by selzing both paws and
biting them so as to disable them. He
then goes up tree, groans over his
wounds, and sometimes recovers,
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 brings forth at times twins.
A very large soko was seen by Mo-
hamads hunters sitting picking his
nails. They tried to stalk him, but he
vanished. Some Manyuema think
that their buried dead rise up 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 lwomen.-
He draws out a spear but never uses
it, and takes some leaves and stuffs
them into his wound to staunch the
blood he does not wish an encounter
with an armed man. He sees women
do him no harm, and never molests
them a man without a spear is nearly
safe from him. They live in commu-
mites of about ten, each having his
own female an intruder from another
camp is beaten of with their fists and
loud yclls. If one tries to seize the
female of another he is caught on the
ground, and all unite in boxing and
biting the offender. A male often
carries child, especially if they are
passing from one patch of forest to
another over grassy space; he then
gives it to the mother"
RAISING HOPES TO CRUSH THEM.
lie is sOlemn-looking boy about
fan voors Of oro onI ba woarc n lono