The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-10-22
XVII.
From Ape to Savage.

of the men and many of the wO-
men wore ornaments of gold.
principally anklets and armlets of
great weight, apparently beaten out of
the solid metal. When he expressed a
wish to examine one of these the own
er removed it from her person and in
sisted through the medium of signs
hat Tarzan accept it as a gift. A
close scrutiny of the bauble convinced
the ape-man that the article was of
virgin gold, and he was surprised, for
it was the first time that he had ever
seer golden ornaments among the saw
ages of Africa. other than the trifling
baubles those near the coast had pur-
chased or stolen from Europeans. He
tried to ask them from whence the
metal came. but he could not make
them understand.
Declining the savages' offer of a hut,
TarZan slept that night, as usual, in a
treetop. The following day he accom-
panied a party of warriors to the near
by plains on a great hunt. and so dex-
ferrous did they find this white man
with their own crude weapons that
another bond Of respect and admira-
ton was thereby wrought.
For weeks TarZan lived with his
savage friends, hunting buffalo, ante
lope and zebra for meat and elephant
for ivory. Quickly he learned their
simple speech, their savage customs
and the ethics of their wild. primitive,
tribal life. He found that they were
not cannibals-that they looked with
loathing and contempt upon men who
ate men.
Busuli, the warrior whom he had
stalked to the village. told him many
of the tribal le~gends-how many years
before his people had come many long
marches from the north, how once they
had been a great and powerful tribe
and how the slave raiders had wrought
such havoc among them with their
death dealing guns that they had been
reduced to a mere remnant Of their
former numbers and power.
"They hunted US down as one hunts
a fierce beast" said Busuli. There
was no mercy In them. When it was
not slaves they sought it was ivory.
but usually it was both. Our men
were killed and our women driven
away like sheep. We fought against
them for many years, but our arrows
and spears could not prevail against
the sticks which spit fire and lead and
death to many times the distance that
our mightiest warrior could place an
arrow. At last, when my father was a
young man, the Arabs came again. but
our warriors saw them from a long
way of, and Chowambi, who was chief
then, told his people to gather up their
belongings and come away with him
that he would lead them far to the
south until they found a spot to which
the Arab raiders did not come.
"And they did as he bid. carrying all
their belongings. including many tusks
Of ivory. For months they wandered.
suffering untold hardships and priva-
tons, for much of the way was
through dense jungle and across
mighty mountains. but finally they
came to this spot, and. although they
sent parties farther on to search for
an even better location. none has ever
been found"
"And the raiders have never found
you here?" asked Tarzan.
about a year ago a small party Of
Arabs and Manyuema stumbled upon
us. but we drove them off, killing
many. For days we followed them.
stalking them for the wild beasts they
are. picking them of one by one until
but a handful remained. but these es-
capped u.s."
AS Busuli talked he fingered a heavy
gold armlet that encircled the glossy
hide Of his left arm. Tarzan's eyes
had been upon the ornament, but his
thoughts were elsewhere. Presently he
recalled the question he had tried to
ask when he first came to the tribe =
the question he could not at that time
make them understand. For weeks he
had forgotten so trivial a thing as gold.
for he had been for the time a truly
primeval man. with no thought beyond
today. But Of q sudden the sight Of
gold awakened the sleeping civilization
that was in him, and with 1t came the
lust for wealth. That lesson Tarzan
had learned well In his brief expert
ence Of the ways of civilized man. He
knew that gold meant power and
pleasure. He pointed to the bauble.
From whence came the yellow met
al, Busuli," he asked.
The black pointed toward the south
east.
"A moons march away maybe
more" he replied.
Have you been there?" asked Tar
zan.
mo, but some Of our people were
there years ago. when my father was
yet a young man. One Of the parties
that searched farther for a location for
"a