Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-02
Forest scenes in Africa.

DR.. Edmund Il. Brehm, the celebrated
German naturalist, was greeted by large
audience in Rochester last Thursday
night. The lecturer, by request, substi-
tuted for the theme heretofore an
nOunced. namely, desert Travels" one
OF an entirely opposite nature. He
interested his audience with a descrip-
ton of The primitive African forest. 80
the naturalist" said he, "davs in the for
est become hours and hours minutes: one
moment the forest appears to us in form
and shape like our home woods; then
again 1t is strange and fills our mind
with awe. All shades and cOlOrs are rep
resented in the foliage. The trees stand
thick, and five or six crowns are often ap-
parently growing out Of one trunk. Our
eye detects a path wherein no imprint of
the sandal guides us to the home of the
friendly native. The path is made by
herd Of elephants. The forest closes
over this path and forms on both
sides Of it impenetrable walls, so dense
that the birds when shot fall in the
branches and cannot be recovered by the
anxious hunter. The eye Of the traveller
is constantly greeted by the appearance
of birds, among which are Guinea hens,
doves, inches, falcons, eagles. owls and
vultures. They all chatter, cry, whistle,
squeak and create a most uncomfortable
confusion Of noises; they are all loud, but
they have not single singer among them.
outtdonly a complaining voice is heard
listener thinks he hears the - of a I'M
man being slowly roasted over a ne,
but the cry proceeds from night-bITd
making love to its mate. In the top of
tree sits the ibis, his only note a privi-
IoSod so, - which he accompanies with
stately bow of his head; his note is inter-
rupted by the chirp of a little bird and by
the shrill yell of parrots. All is life and
animation, and pauses are an unknown
part of the programme in this concert.
The vegetation is a picture which the I'M
aginatiOn can feed upon without becOm-
ing weary. But few edible fruits are met
with. The monkey bread tree is
forest; it bears fruits as large as
watermelons. The first rain, which brings
out its foliage and its large, white fra
grant blossoms, gives it the appearance
of a giant rose tree. The eye of the traY-
eler becomes dazzled by the ever chang
ing cOlors and shades of buds and leaves,
and it takes months before the naturalist
succeeds in prying into the family lives
of the feathered tribe. Several thousand
bee eaters living together adOrn the edge
Of the forest with flashes of beautiful
colOrs as they fly or sit in pairs in
the branches, but their home is IN
the interior and cannot be reached
by the intruder. The male birds
excel in fine plumage, but the female
birds in intelligence. The latte build the
nests and superintend home affairs. On
the other hand, in the case of the weather
bird, the mail builds from five to six nests
while still another bird imprisOns his mate
in tree, filling the entrance with mud,
and allowing only room for her bill to pro-
trude for the reception of food which the
male provides during Matching time.
There are leaves as large as family
table. On these the falcon and the dove
build their nests; but as the falcon never
attacks another bird unless the bird is
on the wing, they live in peace as long
as they are nesting, but woe to the dove
if the falcon spies her after she leaves the
nest. Many birds which attach their
nests to leaves, glue their eggs and their
young to the nest, and save them in that
way from falling to the ground. Lizards
and snakes are numerous, and meet the
traveller at every step, but he may be in the
forest weeks and months without seeing
one of the beasts whose groWls disturb
his eQuanimity. They all shun his sight
except the ape, whose natural desire to in
vestigate things causes him to take good
look at his cousin when the chance per-
mits. Pictures made of the primitive for
/ est and presented to our wondering gaze
are not true. One hears the elephant, but
does not see him, and beasts and birds
of prey do not put themselves in position
to be shot at as represented in these pic
lures. A great difficulty in hunting is
the similarity between the color of leaves
and the skins Of animals. The dry vel
I low leaves look like the fur of the leopard.
/ and the tree knots like apes who reside in
the branches. The antelope, when stand
/ ing motionless in the low bush. watching
! the hunter, can hardly be distinguished
/ from the leaves and limbs of the shelter