CHAPTER ELEVEN.
REVEALS DISCO'S OPINIONS ABOUT SAVAGES, AND THE SAVAGES' OPINIONS OFDISCO, AND OTHER WEIGHTY MATTERS.
As two or three of Harold's people were not very well just at that time,he resolved to remain at Kambira's village for a few days to give themrest, and afterwards to push on to the country of his friend Chimbolo.
This arrangement he came to the more readily that he was short ofprovisions, and Kambira told him that a particular part of the countrynear the shores of a lake not far distant abounded with game of allsorts.
To Disco Lillihammer he explained his plans next day, while that worthy,seated under the shade of a banyan-tree, was busily engaged with what hestyled his "mornin' dooties"--namely, the filling and smoking of hiscutty-pipe.
"You see, Disco," he said, "it won't do to knock up the men withcontinuous travel, therefore I shall give them a spell of rest here.Kambira tells me that there is plenty of game, large and small, to behad not far off, so that we shall be able to replenish our stock of meatand perchance give the niggers a feast such as they have not beenaccustomed to of late, for it is not too much to expect that our rifleswill do more execution, at all events among lions and elephants, thannative spears. Besides, I wish to see something of the people, who,being what we may call pure out-and-out savages--"
"Savages!" interrupted Disco, removing his pipe, and pointing with thestem of it to the village on an eminence at the outskirts of which theywere seated; "d'ee call them folk savages?"
Harold looked at the scene before him, and paused for a few moments; andwell he might, for not fifty yards off the blacksmith was plying hiswork energetically, while a lad sat literally _between_ a pair of nativebellows, one of which he blew with his left hand, the other with hisright and, beyond these, groups of men and women wrought at theirprimitive looms or tilled their vegetable gardens and patches of land.
"Savages!" repeated Disco, still pointing to the village with the stemof his pipe, and gazing earnestly at his companion, "humph!"
It is probable that Disco might have said more, but he was an accuratejudge of the precise moment when a pipe is about to go out, and delaywill prove fatal. He therefore applied himself diligently to suck andcherish the dying spark. Having revived its powers to such an extentthat clouds enveloped his visage, and his nose, being red, loomedluridly through them, he removed the pipe, and again said, "Humph! Theyain't a bit more savages, sir, than you or me is."
"Perhaps not," replied Harold. "To say truth, it would be difficult topoint out any peculiarity that justifies the name, except the fact thatthey wear very little clothing, and neither go to school nor church."
"They wears no clothin'," rejoined Disco, "'cause they don't need for todo so; an' they don't go to church or school, 'cause they hain't gotnone to go to--that same bein' not the fault o' the niggers, but o' themas knows better."
"There's truth in what you say, Disco," returned Harold, with a smile,"but come, you must admit that there is something savage in the customthey have of wearing these hideous lip-rings."
The custom to which he referred is one which prevails among several ofthe tribes of Africa, and is indeed so utterly hideous and outrageousthat we should be justified in refusing to believe it, were we notassured of the fact by Dr Livingstone and other missionaries andtravellers of unquestionable integrity. The ring is worn in the upperlip, not hanging from it but fitted into a hole in it in such a manneras to thrust the lip straight and far out from the face. As the ring isabout the size of an ordinary napkin-ring, it may be easily believed,that time is required for the formation of the deformity. At an earlyage the middle of the upper lip of a girl is pierced close to the nose,and a small pin introduced to prevent the hole closing up. After it ishealed the pin is taken out and a larger one forced into its place, andso for weeks, months, and years the process of increasing the size ofthe lip goes on, until a ring of two inches in diameter can beintroduced. Nearly all the women in these parts use this ring, or, asit is called, pelele. Some make them of bamboo, others of ivory or tin.When a wearer of the pelele smiles, the action of the cheek musclesdraws the lip tight which has the effect of raising the ring towards theeyebrows, so that the nose is seen in the middle of it, and the teethare exposed, a revelation which shows that the latter have been chippedto sharp points so as to resemble the teeth of a cat or crocodile.
"No doubt," said Disco, in reply to Harold's remark, "the lip-rings areuncommon ugly, but the principle o' the thing, sir, that's w'ere it is,the principle ain't no wuss than ear-rings. The savages, as we calls'em, bores holes in their lips an' sticks rings into 'em. The civilisedfolk, as we calls ourselves, bores holes in their ears an' sticks ringsinto 'em. W'ere's the difference? that's wot _I_ want to know."
"There's not much difference in principle," said Harold, laughing, "butthere is a great difference in appearance. Ear-rings hang gracefully;lip-rings stick out horribly."
"H'm! it appears to me that that's a matter o' taste, now. Howsoever, Ido admit that lip-rings is wuss than ear-rings; moreover it must makekissin' somewhat difficult, not to say onpleasant, but, as I saidbefore, so I says again, It's all in the principle w'ere it lies. W'y,look here, sir,--savages, as we call 'em, wear brass rings round theirnecks, our women wear gold and brass chains. The savages wear anklets,we wear bracelets. They have no end o' rings on their toes, we have 'emon our fingers. Some savages shave their heads, some of us shaves ourfaces. Their women are raither given to clothin' which is too short andtoo narrer, ours come out in toggery far too wide, and so longsometimes, that a feller daren't come within a fathom of 'em astarnwithout runnin' the risk o' trampin' on, an' carrying away some o' thecanvas. The savage women frizzes out their hair into most fantasticalshapes, till the very monkeys has to hold their sides sittin' in thetrees larfin' at 'em--and wot do _we_ do in regard to that? W'y, someof _our_ women puts on a mixture o' hairy pads, an' combs, an' pins, an'ribbons, an' flowers, in a bundle about twice the size o' their heads,all jumbled together in such a way as to defy description; an' if themonkeys was to see _them_, they'd go off into such fits that they'dbu'st altogether an' the race would become extinct in Afriky. No, sir;it's my opinion that there ain't no such thing as savages--or, if youchoose to put it the tother way, we're all savages together."
Disco uttered the last part of his speech with intense energy, windingit up with the usual slap on the thigh, delivered with unusual fervour,and then, becoming aware that the vital spark of the cutty had all butfled, he applied himself to its resuscitation, in which occupation hefound relief to his feelings, and himself formed a brilliantillustration of his remarks on savage customs.
Harold admitted that there was much truth in what he said, but ratherinclined to the opinion that of the two sets of savages the uncivilisedwere, if anything, the wildest. Disco however, contrary to his usualhabits, had nailed his colours to the mast on that point and could nothaul them down. Meanwhile Harold's opinion was to some extent justifiedby the appearance of a young man, who, issuing from the jungle close athand, advanced towards them.
Most of the men at the village displayed a good deal of pride, if nottaste, in the arrangement of their hair. Some wore it long and twistedinto a coil which hung down their backs; others trained and stiffened itin such a way that it took the form of buffalo horns, while some allowedit to hang over the shoulders in large masses, and many shaved it eitherentirely, or partially in definite patterns. But the young dandy whonow approached outdid all others, for he had twisted his hair intoinnumerable little tails, which, being stiffened by fillets of the innerbark of a tree, stuck straight out and radiated from the head in alldirections. His costume otherwise was simple enough, consisting merelyof a small kilt of white calico. He was accompanied by Antonio.
"We've be come from Kambira," said the interpreter, "to tell you forcome to feast."
"All right," said Disco, rising; "always ready for wittles if you onlygives us an hour or two between times.--I say, Tony," (he had by thattim
e reduced the interpreter's name to this extent), "ask this fellerwhat he means by makin' sitch a guy of hisself."
"Hims say it look well," said Antonio, with a broad grin.
"Looks well--eh? and ask him why the women wear that abominable pelele."
When this question was put to the black dandy, he looked at Discoevidently in surprise at his stupidity. "Because it is the fashion," hesaid.
"They wear it for beauty, to be sure! Men have beards and whiskers;women have none, and what kind of creature would woman be withoutwhiskers, and without a pelele? She would have a mouth like a man, andno beard!"
The bare idea of such a state of things tickled the dandy so much thathe went into roars of laughter, insomuch that all the radiating tails ofhis head quivered again. The effect of laughter and tails together wasirresistible. Harold, Disco, and Antonio laughed in sympathy, till thetears ran down their cheeks, and then returned to the village whereKambira and his chief men awaited them.
While enjoying the feast prepared for them, Harold communicated hisintentions and desires to the chief, who was delighted at the prospectof having such powerful allies on a hunting expedition.
The playful Obo meanwhile was clambering over his father's person like ablack monkey. He appeared to be particularly fond of his father, and aslove begets love, it is not surprising that Kambira was excessively fondof Obo. But Obo, becoming obstreperous, received an amicable punch fromhis father, which sent him headlong into a basket of boiledhippopotamus. He gave a wild howl of alarm as Disco snatched him out ofthe dish, dripping with fat, and set him on his knee.
"There, there, don't blubber," said the seaman, tenderly wiping off thefat while the natives, including Kambira, exploded with laughter. "Youain't burnt, are you?"
As Obo could not reply, Disco put his finger into the gravy from whichthe urchin had been rescued, and satisfied himself that it was not hotenough to have done the child injury. This was also rendered apparentby his suddenly ceasing to cry, struggling off Disco's knee, andrenewing his assaults on his easy-going father.
Accepting an egg which was offered him by Yohama, Harold broke it, andentered into conversation with Kambira through the medium of Antonio.
"Is your boy's mother a--Hollo! there's a chick in this egg," heexclaimed, throwing the offensive morsel into the fire.
Jumbo, who sat near the place where it fell, snatched it up, grinned,and putting it into his cavernous mouth, swallowed it.
"Dem's betterer wid chickies," he said, resuming his gravity and hisknife and fingers,--forks being held by him in light esteem.
"Ask him, Antonio, if Obo's mother is alive," said Harold, tryinganother egg, which proved to be in better condition.
The interpreter, instead of putting the question without comment, as washis wont, shook his head, looked mysterious, and whispered--"No betterask dat. Hims lost him's wife. The slave-hunters cotch her some timeago, and carry her off when hims away hunting. Hims awful mad, worserdan mad elerphint when hims speak to 'bout her."
Harold of course dropped the subject at once, after remarking that hesupposed Yohama was the child's grandmother.
"Yis," said Antonio; "she be Kambira's moder, an' Obo's gran'moder--bofat once."
This fact was, we may almost say, self-evident for Obo's attentions andfavours were distributed exclusively between Yohama and Kambira, thoughthe latter had unquestionably the larger share.
During the course of the feast, beer was served round by the little manwho had performed so deftly on the violin the previous evening.
"Drink," said Kambira hospitably; "I am glad to see my white brothershere; drink, it will warm your hearts."
"Ay, an' it won't make us drunk," said Disco, destroying Jumbo's peaceof mind by winking and making a face at him as he raised the calabash tohis lips. "Here's long life to you, Kambira, an' death to slavery."
There can be no doubt that the chief and his retainers would haveheartily applauded that sentiment if they had understood it, but at themoment Antonio was too deeply engaged with another calabash to take thetrouble to translate it.
The beer, which was pink, and as thick as gruel, was indeed too weak toproduce intoxication unless taken in very large quantities; neverthelessmany of the men were so fond of it that they sometimes succeeded intaking enough to bring them to the condition which we style "fuddled."But at that time the particular brew was nearly exhausted, so thattemperance was happily the order of the day.
Having no hops in those regions, they are unable to preventfermentation, and are therefore obliged to drink up a whole brewing asquickly as possible after it is made.
"Man, why don't ye wash yer face?" said Disco to the little fiddler ashe replenished his calabash; "it's awful dirty."
Jumbo laughed, of course, and the small musician, not understanding whatwas said, followed suit out of sympathy.
"Wash him's face!" cried Antonio, laughing, "him would as soon cut offhim's head. Manganja nevair wash. Ah me! You laugh if you hear dewomans ask me yesterday--`Why you wash?' dey say, `our men nevair do.'Ho! ho! dey looks like it too."
"I'm sure that cannot be said of Kambira or any of his chief men," saidHarold.
"Perhaps not," retorted Antonio, "but some of 'um nevair wash. Once'pon a time one man of dis tribe foller a party me was with. Not go wayfor all we tell 'um. We said we shoot 'um. No matter, hims follerstill. At last we say, `You scoun'rel, we _wash_ you!' Ho! how himsrun! Jist like zebra wid lion at 'um's tail. Nevair see 'um afterdat--nevair more!"
"Wot a most monstrous ugly feller that is sittin' opposite Kambira, onthe other side o' the fire--the feller with the half-shaved head," saidDisco in an undertone to Harold during a temporary pause in eating.
"A well-made man, however," replied Harold.--"I say, Disco," he added,with a peculiar smile, "you think yourself rather a good-looking fellow,don't you, now?"
The worthy seaman, who was indeed an exceptionally good-looking tar,modestly replied--"Well now, as you have put it so plump I don't mind ifI do confess that I've had some wild suspicions o' that sort now andthen."
"Then you may dismiss your suspicions now, for I can assure you that youare regarded in this land as a very monster of ugliness," said Harold,laughing.
"In the estimation of niggers your garments are hideous; your legs theythink elephantine, your red beard frightful, and your blue eyessavage--_savage_! think of that."
"Well, well," retorted Disco, "your own eyes are as blue as mine, an' Idon't suppose the niggers think more of a yaller beard than a red one."
"Too true, Disco; we are both ill-favoured fellows here, whatever we maybe elsewhere; however, as we don't intend to take Manganja wives itwon't matter much. But what think you of our plan, now that Kambira isready to fall in with it?"
"It seems a good one. When do we start?"
"To-morrow," said Harold.
"Wery good," replied Disco, "I'm agreeable."
The morrow came, and with the early light all the people turned out towitness the departure of the hunters. Scouts had been previously sentout in all directions to make sure that no enemies or slave-traders wereat that time in their immediate neighbourhood, and a strong force of thebest warriors was left to guard the village.
Of Harold's band, two half-castes, Jose and Oliveira, volunteered tostay in camp with the guard, and two, Songolo and Mabruki, the freemenof Quillimane, remained in the village to recruit their health, whichhad failed. Chimbolo likewise remained, the wounds on his back nothaving healed sufficiently to admit of the hard labour of hunting. Allthe rest accompanied the hunters, and of these the three Makololo men,Jumbo, Zombo, and Masiko, were incomparably the best and bravest. Ofcourse the volatile Antonio also went, being indispensable.
On setting out--each man with his sleeping-mat on his back and hislittle wooden pillow hung at his neck,--there was a great deal ofshouting and ho-ho-ing and well-wishing on the part of those whoremained behind, but above all the noise there arose a shrill cry ofintense and agoni
sing despair. This proceeded from the small windpipeof little Obo, who had not until the last moment made the appallingdiscovery that Kambira was going away without him!
There was something very touching in the cry of the urchin, andsomething which brought vividly to the minds of the Englishmen theinfantine community of their own land. There was the same sudden gazeof horror on realising the true position of affairs,--the same sharpshriek and frantic struggle to escape from the grasp of those who heldhim back from following his father,--the same loud cry of agony onfinding that his efforts were vain, and then, the wide-open mouth, theclose-shut eyes, and the awful, prolonged silence--suggestive of fits--that betokens the concentration of mind, heart, and lungs into thattremendous roar of unutterable significance which appears to be thesafety-valve of the human family, black and white, at that tender periodof life.
Poor Obo! his sobs continued to burst out with steam-engine power, andhis eyes to pour cataracts of tears into Yohama's sympathetic bosom,long after the hunting party had left the hills behind them, andadvanced into the almost impenetrable jungles of the low grounds.