Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01

COuk0 Comfortably uAV6l ONCE IA u Gay y jour
ney. scattered little settlements Of nuts. with .
main village high on a hill that was nearly
perpendicular.
Here we ensconced ourselves one bright Octo-
Der day tucking our tents In the emily possible
cleared space between the huts and the large
palaver house. which we used for kitchen or
Storehouse. We didn't like our location, for
the five big hutS ringed US in uncomfortabIy
close and the banana groves crowded them,
but we did have magnificent view of the
Ruwenzori Mountains above the nearer hills
We could see the entire range, SO miles long,
with soaring peaks where the glittering snow
lay softly as a cloud against the burning sky.
Night and morning those high peaks stood out
In crystal clearness and the sunsets that burned
behind us threw magic color over the serrated
sides and over the still glaciers and changing
drifts.
It was marvellous country. East and south
the Ruwenzori and below us q dark sea OF
equatorial forest stretching on and on, with
here and there the vivid green Of q meadow.
Nearer mountains rose about US. grassy Shout
dered, the forest clnging to their hanks-our
Nameless Mountains these. Not a hut was in
sight but the handful behind u.s.
Elephants were everywhere, the natives said
Every night they came and ravaged some of
the plantations. The people were anxious to
have us kill one for them or else some buffaloeS,
for they were famisned for meat and fat.
They had no cattle nor goats. no milk nor
butter nothing in the world with fat in it
except when fortune threw them bit of meat
-four legged or two legged Whatever canni-
baiism was practiced here must have been of
o most furtive and occasional kind, for the
village was within the radius Of the old post
Of Mbeni and Malunga realized something of
white power. He had been sort Of buffer
state between the sphere of white influence and
black kingdoms behind the mountains.
TNE could see that we we're IN . great game
country, for every grassland was crossed
and criss-crossed with fresh trails Of elephant
and buffalo. There was no antelope. The
buffalo here was not the East African species,
closely allied to the Cape buffalo: this was the
nile AbysSinian. sometimes called the red
Or mountain buffalo. often as big in body as
the Cape, but with q small horn spread with
out the downward curvature. They were said
70 be touchy tempered. even when unprovoked.
Indeed only q few days before . native had
been killed ON the path We had taken to the
Village.
The natives here did no hunting. for they
had nothing bat their spears. and their only
resource was to dig elephant pits along the
trails arrange weighted spears between trees
IN such a way that an animal walking along
the tran would snap q vine stretched between
the trees and bring the spear down on its head
Or back.
As tire spear was generally poisoned, the
animal died Of the wound. They said they ate
she poisoned meat they got Il IN time, as
the pygmies had said they ate the game they
shot with poisoned arrows. doubted It then
but that doubt died with greater intimacy.
Meat now had been lacking for . long time
end our arrival, while not exactly welcomed by
Che village, tolerated In the hope Of benefits
% come. Maiunga sent Us Q few eggs each
day, some green corn and potatoes, and food
Tor the porterS. We paid him for the food, but
hn addition we distinctly c0mmitted ourselves
90 getting meat for him II his men would guide
tEs to the game.
us along alovely wooded path where the women
went for water to the river, q mile away across
the river, and then across another, and after
m hour we came into . little clearing with
some caSuai-looking huts Early 1t was, the
natives appeared to have the days work all
out of the way, for they were sitting about on
their wooden stools or branching tree roots in
positions Of kingly and queenly ease. They
looked at US with interest, for our success
meant meat, but there was q mild derision in
their smiles, I thought, for the mad exercise
we were undertaking.
ELEPHANT tracks about two hours old were
marking q once hourishing sweet potato
field. They had been made by one elephant
of good size, which we were entitled to assume
was bull, and for some time we followed his
early morning wanderings through bush and
river without difficulty, then the trail entered
the forest AS We followed seemed to pass
behind a curtain of green into a twilight
world The going here was harder, but y"
gained, for the trail was growing warmer and
warmer. Suddenly the guide, fitting ahead like
shadow. gestured caution
He had seen the elephant. We could hardly
see each other in the confusion of bush and
. trees. strained my eyes and crept forward,