The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-05-16

entering a spiritualistic seance. First
he wanted a charm that would make
him invisible to the elephants. The
wizard-herbalist gave him an oil ex-
tract of a seeming shrub of which the
elephants are very fond, with instruc-
lions to smear his body with it when
he entered the jungle. OF course this
disguised his body's scent from the
keen smelling elephants. But Ogo-
wanna innocently supposed that he had
been rendered invisible by occult prac-
tice. For the accommodation he grave
" paid out two hands-tflat is TO say,
twice ten fngers-of cowries. Next he
wanted charm against the evil spirits
of the jungle. The priest gravely COM
pounded in a human skull a vile mix
ture of human hair and dung which
Ogowanna swallowed as cheerfully as
white man swallows patent medicine.
He had not sufficient cowries to pay
for this service, so he gave a verbal l
o U for "One dem finger ring what live
for white man store" Then he wanted
a subtle poison, known only to the
herbalist, which one put into water and
when the victim drank of it he fell
Into sleeping death. The witch doctor
gave him a powder and Ogowanna
gave another verbal l o u.
In the open market of the village
he purchased three rations of mealies
in plantain leaves, a pinch of salt,
handful OF red peppers, three leaves
of tobacco and a gourd of palm wine.
With such simple Quitting he entered
the jungle gloom. He dropped into
a lolloping run walk. the steady, untir-
ing Shuttle of the China vegetable man.
His face was a happy phlegm as he
slipped, like a pigmy shadow, between
the pillaring giant mahoganies and
cotton woods of the foliage palled
hall.
Not a hint Of the outside sun pene-
trated that canopied, exotic dollhouse
And a deep, brooding silence reigned
For several hours he lolloped along.
until he came to see signs of barking
on the trees. when his face took on
tense strain, the nostrils dilating like
a pointer on the trail, the ears cooking
to break of twig or fall OF leaf, the
eye straining ahead into the gloom.
Presently his feet flashed a discovery
to his head. He dropped on his knees
and examined with finger tips some
deep impressures caked in the ooze.
Easily he deciphered the spoons of a
herd of elephants. He sprang to his
feet and leaped forward in livelier gait.
All the day, until the darker blackness
of night came down, he toed the spoons.
Then he collected rye wood from tree
forks and the long sucker roots thEoWn
and built a dry couch and fire. In
the comforting light of the flames he
supped off ration of mealies and
palm oil. warmed his belly with pep
per, solaced his soul with a swill at his
gourd of palm wine. then gave himself
up to the dread night.
All the forenoon ne tracked the herd
until he came to a small pond, where
1t had evidently stayed to drink. That
was his objective point. He sprinkled
the poison over the water, mumbling
a charm as he did so, then crept away
to make his camp and watch. His
knowledge Of the jungle told him that
the herd would be along about sun
down TO drink. He anointed his body
In the invisible charm, then set to
work over his camp. He dared not
build a fire this time. So he cut down
long sucker roots and built a swing
ing hammock high up between two
trees. Always he worked stubbornly,
patiently, In the unhurried way of
primitive man. He had neither joys,
disappointments, nor vexations; each
difficulty was calmly triumphed~ over.
The couch built, he set about augment
ing his mealie diet. Under fallen
giants of the swamp he unearthed
large, edible snails and curiously
horned, uninviting insects that fed on
ants. Then he shaped out Of two