Evening star., 1924-09-07

1t feeds on tender bamboo shoots. the
bark of twigs, Umbelliferae and berries. |
Especially one bush the Zingibera-
ceae, with red or yellow fruie, seems
to constitute it's favorite food. They
prepare their sleeping places with
heaped- up twigs and leaves, both on
the ground and in low branches.
of 10 to 80. Whenever such a herd
has for some reason or other been
frightened, or is in a hurry, or has
passed by. all the underground is
trampled down as If an avalanche had
passed over the spot.
X X
WHEN one is confronted by a
w gorilla, the thought involuntarily
suggests itself: Have we ourselves
really ever looked like that in the far
away past? Perhaps! The animal
does not however, make any strong
impression Of being human. Its gor-
gon-like face framed in hair Is too
fiat, its forehead too low, and its lower
jaw too prominent. Its body is dis
proportionately broad. its extremities
far too long. l will not deny. however.
a certain likeness between gorillas and
ourselves, though not more than the
resemblance with other apes.
AS already mentioned. the Belgian
government had with great courtesy
and kindness given the expedition
license to shoot IA gorillas. After
my experience on the Sabinlo 1 greatly
doubted if we should ever reach that
figure-perhaps with the help Of native
hunters, as in this case, we might
but not ourselves and by our own en-
deavor. The future was to prove, how
ever. that Mikeno and Karissimbi were
easier to handle, so that the maximum
number was actually reached. All the
remaining 10 animals were killed by
the white men of the expedition.
We had agreed that the larger ami
mails should fall to my lot, and the
smaller ones-especially the birds-to
Gyldenstolpe. 1 therefore left him for
a week to complete the collection and
went myself a few days after the go
rilla -slaughtering expedition to the
plains, more precisely, to the spot
where kako Qater on the Rutshuru
River) runs out Of Lake Mutanda. At
the mouth of the Kako the hippopot-
ami snorted like a survival from pre-
historic world.
The first morning I met one walking
along the shore. Like a great pig or a
tightly packed sausage skin on four
legs, he came toward me peacefully,
munching grass which was still hang
ing out in long ribbons from his broad,
gaping jaws. 1t was quite pity to
disturb him, and as l had already shot
one the previous day l did not WANT
to do him any harm.
But the path was very narrow and
we were approaching each other from
opposite directions. Neither he nor l
wanted to step aside into the stinging
nettles. Then asked him politely in
Swedish to give way. He grunted
something in answer that 1 did not
understand and screwed up his kindly
little pigs eyes meaningiy. But
nevertheless he came stalking straign.
up to me. Only few yards separated
US.
Then l became annoyed and fired
shot in the ground straight under his
nose with the intention of frighten-
ing the colossus. Yet turn he would
| not, however, but rushed on instead,
scared out Of his wits. and so close
| to me that I could easily have put my
hand on his round back. And the
one who quickly and surely ended up
in the nettles was myself
| At last we found ourselves IN the
| KonTo, that great and immeasurably
wealthy country which has remained
forgotten so long, and which has only
been mentioned in association with
feyers and excesses, but which now,
to Judge from all the signs. is ad-
vancing toward a brighter future.
The nearer one approaches Lake
Kivu the greener the country be
comes. 1t gradually reassumes Its
! fertile character. Already at hloatl
we have our first glimpse Of the lake.
From there on down to the shore the
| road passes through an avenue OF
| Euphorbiae with cultivated fields on
either side. On the right rises the
round form of the Ngoma Mountain.
Suddenly the path dives down into
a narrow lava tunnel. In the half
light black swallows hutter uneasily
| in and out. They have their nests
here in the cliff: The water Grips
from. the walls: It is colo ana damp
A S suddenly as it began, the short
"a tunnel ends. and you stand
| amazed In front OF the wonderful
view that spreads in front Of you
Kivu, Africa's heart.
| Our goal at last!
There 1t lies. Shimmering opal,
dazzling, mysterious! High and soft
mountain silhouettes frame 1T on
every side, toning from a dark green
vegetation into a violet blue haze. A
finer setting no jeweler could ever
conceive for any gem. No marshes.
no papyrus along the shores, where
the lava reaches right down to the
4
| waters.
| The wide, unbroken surface CLEANS
| in the sunshine, and on 1t delicately
shaped canoes with long prows glide
slowly along their rippled course to-
ward the background of the family
rose-colored mountain islands OF
Kwijwij. And you can battle to your
hearts content in the crystal waters,
| for they are free from crocodiles
and other such water beasts
| We stayed in the place about a
! week, enjoying the beautiful land
scape and the temperate climate. We
also made the acquaintance Of the
I violent storms which often collected
in the afternoons and with thunder
and torrential rains burst over the
place. Then the lake was foamine
white and the canoes padded as hur-
riedly as possible toward the nearest
shore in order not to be filled with
water and capsized.