The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-05-16

for beads and cowries, and big Jumps or
gum-copal, which make capital blaze.
We were surrounded for hours by these
poor creatures, anxious to obtain few
of the much coveted possessions OF the
white men; and thanks to the supplies
of wood they brought us, were enabled
next morning to resume our journey.
Day after day our journey led US be-
tween swampy, overfowed banks, every
now and then bringing US to villages
erected on piles standing in the water
similar to those we had passed.
The inhabitants of these wretched
river dwellings were poorin the extreme,
and led a terrible, hunted existence, ex-
posed on the forest side to the ferocious
attacks of the Lufembi cannibals and
on the river suffering from the raiding
canoes of the more powerful villages
lower down. AS we journeyed higher
up the misery and wretchedness seemed
to increase, while the number of vii
lagos we encountered grew less and less.
At last, after many days OF this, we
reached point beyond which the ma
tives of Mompono, the last village we
had seen, told us we should find no vii
lagos and no human beings For three
days we steamed up the eyer-narrowing
reaches Of the river, its current 1ncreaS-
ing in force as it grew smaller; round
sharp corners, where our bows were
driven into the opposite bank and the
funnel got entangled in the branches of
the overhanging trees, and yet without
seeing a single canoe or a trace of hui
man habitation.
Climbing tree one day which stood
on a bluff whose river face was clothed
in a clinging mass of ferns and creepers,
1 looked inland and away up river.
Every where spread broad, boundless
eXpanse of treeS-a wave of thick for
est extending from my feet to the fur
thest limits of the horizon. There was
no change in any direction-overhead
the clear sky and the bright sunlight.
underneath and all around level with
the sky-line-the dark forest and its
still, impenetrable wall of foliage.
could not help feeling that this was in
far from the outer world, throbbed the
pulses of hidden continent. What
strange life might not lie concealed in
those silent woodland depths? Whence
came this mysterious river, yelling
silently up from the dim, swampy re-
cesses of the surrounding forest
through which, for ages and ages, the
elephant had roamed and savage man
through countless generations of barba-
,i,, 1,o1 1ni1
monthly, yearly, round of bloodshed and
misery, laughter and death-cannibal
feasts and parental JOY when another
little savage had opened his baby eyes
on the theater of life, whose strange
scenes and stranger characters were to
develop before his gaze behind that
screen Of forest barrier which the ge-
MUS of Africa has raised around her in
most shrine.
Several days were passed traversing
the dreary solitudes, without coming in
contact with a single human being.
On the fourth day we were surprised
to hear voice coming from the trees,
and to listen to a native shout. We sent
cur canoe, and brought him On board
CHC Il III ilttt. DuO UulO WdS liOU uOuO
without difficulty, for our men had
sharp chase before he was finally
caught He was very sullen fellow,
and our interpreter had some trouble in
cOaXing him to speak at all. We were
not very far from village, he told u.s.
At his request drum was handed him,
and he beat signal to his village. We
heard the answering signal, borne over
the water, clear and distinct. He told
us, too, that they would know that it
meant strangers were here, and that we
should soon see plenty of his people.
In the morning number of strange
looking men came down toward us in
canoes, bringing fuel and presents
We soon made friends. We learned that
their village was three or four miles off.
These people were Balolo,' and had the
same peculiar tribal marks 1 have al
ready mentioned. went over
to their village, and terrible
tramp it was, over boys and morasses
and roots of trees. l stumbled and fell
several times, smashing my watch, and
after all my pains, l found on arriving
there that it was wretchedly poor
place, with absolutely nothing to trade
and only one poor tusk of ivory in the
whole village. So tramped back again
by the way came. first exacting prom
Use from the native we met the proceed
Ing night at the river that he would
come to the Florida next morning and
act as our guide. When morning came,
and the Balolo failed to turn up, we
pushed ahead without him.
Leaving the poverty stricken settle
ment behind us, we started up stream
again, only to run almost Immediately
into snag at a sharp bend of the river.
On getting safely afoat again we had to
proceed with the utmost care, for we
soon discovered that there was sue
cession of sharp turns and no end OF
snags Immediately ahead. In avoiding
these we were constantly running into
the banks, for just at this point the
stream is narrower and more rapid than
at any other. Towards evening we
came to traces OF an encampment on the
left bank of the river, where the Lu.
fembi, the dreaded tribe of cannibals,
were said to be. These were the first
signs of houses we had seen in fou1
days; for the last three days had been
spent in lodging the snags of the river
and avoiding disaster to the Florida.
There were no signs of life about the
encampment. so we stopped and sounded
shrill blast from the steam
whistle: but there was no response save
the echoes which seemed to repeat them.
selves indefinitely before dying out on
the wooded shores. We pushed on for
mile or more, and then we observed
fires on shore and two men standing
near the edge of the bank. AS the
ElOrida drnW near one of tho mar, non