The San Francisco call., 1904-02-21


Foremost in the list of equatorial At
rican chiefs stands Bangassou, King
of the N'Sacklaw nation. 1 heard of
him long before 1 met him and was
anxious to see him. Ny experience
with him was somewhat extensive and
varied. He is a big, fat negro, with
more than the usual measure of native
shrewdness and capacity for govern
ment. He holds absolute sway over
a territory as large as the State of Illi
nois. His people, although brave war
riors. are agricultural, and live in scat
tered villages, supporting themselves
by cultivating corn, sorgo, semsam and
all manner of tropical products. Their
number is variously estimated from
about $4,000 to 200, ,O0O
AS 1 approached Bangassous village
l was met by a delegation from the
great chief, which escorted me with
honors into his Majesty's presence. He
wanted to see the gun with which L
had killed the elephants. Some Won
derful tales had been told him regard
ing my hunting exploits. Those tales
had not lost anything by their frequent
repetition. When l arrived the whole
village came cut to see the new Won
der. Bangassou was seated surrounded
by his warriors and advisers. He well
coined me with a hearty handshake,
looked me over critically, and then said,
with charming frankness, that he did
not believe one-half of what he had
heard about me. explained to him
that everything l had done lay in the
Of nd
edge where to shoot the elephant. He
examiped my guns, went over my
whole outfit with as much curiosity
as a child. and by the time 1 got
through answering his questions he was
a friend and admirer.
Bangassou has everything on a big
scale. His village is occupied excu-
sively by himself and his wives, and no
one is allowed to enter the royal in
closure except by his permission. 1t
is difficult to find out exactly how many
wives he has. / have heard the num-
Der stated variously at from 500 to 5000;
probably 1000 would be near the mark.
Il know that L got lost in his village,
and it certainly had the look of very
prosperous place. The houses did not
differ in appearance from those of his
subjects, only being somewhat larger,
and the Kings habits of life are any
thing but refined. He is served exclu-
sively by his wives: one fetches his
pipe, another his chair, another sup
ports the bowl of his pipe in her hand,
and all the others clap their hands
when he smokes or eats; they also
make a feeble effort to applaud when
his highness coughs or sneezes.
According TO the usages of native
hospitality, Bangassou got uD a big
powwow in my honor. The people
gathered in an open square decked in
paint and ornaments. In the center
was a group of twenty-seven women
colored all over with camwood, making
them look as red as Holsters. At a
sign from Bangassou three big wooden
drums began to beat. Then the women
who were seated on stools clapped their
hands. keeping time with the drums.
and swaying their bodies in oriental
style in perfect unison with the music.
Then two men came into the circle,
each carrying a girl of about years,
with mats over their heads. Throwing
aside the mats, that served the purpose
of curtains at a theater the> show be-
gan. The hair OF the girls was strung
with beads, giving them the appearance
of Egyptian dancing girls. On their
ankles were tinkling bells and around
their necks were chains and trink-
cts. In their hands were buffalo tails.
which they shook at the men, who,
catching them by the knees with the
feet under their arms. held them in a
horizontal position, while they twisted
themselves into fantastic shapes, keep
ing time to the music with their heads
and arms.
After the girls got out of the arms
of the men they commenced to dance
alone. which they did With perfect
grace, the women. who were seated on
the stools. watching them critically and
snatching them from the circle If they
made the slightest mistake. During
the performance l was seated by Ban
gassou in the midst of his numerous
wivesl At one time, when he had left
his place to chase away with club
the crowd that was pressing in from
every side one of his wives asked me
to get up out of her light, as ! hap
pened to be sitting in the line of her
vision. When Bangassou returned he
was told of her rudeness, and she was
sent away in disgrace. During the per-
formance was always wondering
what was coming next.
Here at Bangassou executions are
common. and new skulls are being con-
stantly added to the fetish tree. The
fetish tree is near the common place
of meeting, and around 1t are depos-
tied the skulls OF the criminals killed
and eaten. Bangassou does not try to
conceal the fact that his men eat hu-
man flesh. The most common capital
offense. is adultery, and the most fire.
quent offenders are Bangassou's wives.
Their recent contact with French black
soldiers has made them victims of the
most loathsome of diseases. Already
the N'Sacklaws are tainted race, and
are paying very dear for their contact
,,.;tI, o,,-. roodern civilization