Evening star., 1927-05-15
BY j, l.. BUCK.


ent, South America and Alaska.
but l was never successful in
i Africa until i took on Hector.
That season I had travelled up
from konikra, a west coast town, TO
SAMOA. a Susu village. One day a
lad presented himself at my palm-leaf
shakedown, wanting TO sell monkey.
gave him the shilling he asked, with
out any "palaver," as natives term
dfckeTing over prices.
Just then three natives. whose Ian
euage / didn't hear" came up with
three monkeys In few minutes Hec-
tor interpreted their Kono, Mendi and
Timne dialects, ending by buying for
me their monkeys at exactly the price
l had paid for one-from him. l
could see where this rascal might be
Handy in my business.
How you like. Hector, live my
house--be my boy?"
Not ripple passed over his face as
"AIl one time" he answered, Il come
right now"'
And he did. Many shrewd bargain
my faithful boy drove for me. and
many a laugh he furnished as well.
Always when / leave Africa in the
Spring Hector has his orders to gather
information about the haunts of ami
always when my boat drops anchor in
Konikra Harbor Hector scrambles up
the ladder brimful of news. Several
seasons ago he brought me word of
some likely chimpanzees So l decided
mighty quickly to make kanjama my
first stop that year.
A little later we took the narrow
gauge railroad from Konikra for a
days journey and then struck south
on foot to the kono country. The 40
black boys We're marshaled by Hector;
my son Warren and myself were the
only white men. About sundown the
fifth day got out of my hammock to
meet old Chief Matembo. the first citi-
zen of Kanjama. He came forward,
lean, bit gray, grave faced and very
courteous.
"Ente, White Chief" he said to me
kindly.
"Ente," replied In his case "ente"
meant How do you do?" In my reply
1t meant Quite well, thank YOU
v y
CHIEF MATEMBO led me to ma.
tive house in the village, Just "A
little better than all the others. which
he keeps by agreement with the au-
thorities for any white travellers pass
ing through. While my boy was set
ting UP my cot and boiling the kettle,
Matembo escorted me to the Palaver
House, in the market place of the
village.
offered my presents, a f1ashlight, a
tea ball and several strings of beads.
Finally told him I heard that CHM
panZees came fairly often to the
groves outside his village. I wanted
his help in catching them, and Of
course 1 would pay his porters.
Matembo looked at me, gently
scratching his chest with his rough
cotton robe. He was puzzled. Never
, before had anybody wanted to take
these ugly rascafs alive. The natives
hate for the chin 1anzee is easy to
understand, since by law no black
man may carry gun. These animals
stalk through villages destroying.
terrorizing, killing. The old chief
Your rlnassa--why want big Bo
Hector explained. At last the chief
nodded his head. He understood.
Then you be my good friend?"
concluded. This is the proper phrase
all over Sierras Leone with which to
bind a bargain He shook bands and
I gave him a. ''dash'-a piece of
money slipped into the palm while
shaking hands.
After ! had set all the boys gather.
Ing Llama for the making Of bush
ropes. from which to weave our nets,
] beat around by myself, to find the
path over which the chimpanzees
would come. Finally found one, too
tramp!ed for goats or men. This was
probably the one, and SO could fairly
well decide into what trees near its
end the apes would gather.
When I settled this + went back to
the village to superintend the final
weaving of the tough fiber into 'bush
rope" I asked Chief Matembo to call
those he was assigning to me into the
Palaver House.
''You be my good friend, Put on all
your gold rings! Let the witch-doctor
bring all his medicine
Since the boys must feel the chief
was with me, nothing would be more
convincing than for him to wear his
Sunday clothes,' while the witch
doctor paraded his medicine" This
from goats horn filled with seeds to
an empty whisky bottle.
WHEN every man jack the chief
loaned me had gathered, I started
TO work up their interest in catching
those chimpanzees. At such times I
have TO be an actor, talking angrily
about the apes as il they were per
sonal enemies. That is the wav TO
excite the boys.
who comes tramp-tramp--tram
into your village, with the howl and
~ ~ n