MPUKE.a°, ur LirrLE 
 
 ', AFRICAN COUS 
 
 M ary-hAzelt on -wade 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 *C J 
 
 00025764548 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/ourlittleafricanOOwade 
 
Our Little African Cousin 
 
THE 
 
 Little Cousin Series 
 
 (trade mark) 
 
 Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in 
 
 tint. Cloth, i2mo, with decorative cover, 
 
 per volume, 60 cents 
 
 LIST OF TITLES 
 
 By Mary Hazelton Wade 
 
 (unless otherwise indicated) 
 
 Our Little African Cousin 
 Our Little Alaskan Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Arabian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Armenian Cousin 
 Our Little Australian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Brazilian Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 Our Little Brown Cousin 
 Our Little Canadian Cousin 
 
 By Elizabeth R. MacDonald 
 
 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 By Isaac Taylor Headland 
 
 Our Little Cuban Cousin 
 Our Little Dutch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Egyptian Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little English Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 Our Little French Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 
 Our Little German Cousin 
 Our Little Greek Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 
 L. C. PAGE Sr COMPANY 
 
 New England Building, Boston, Mass. 
 
 Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
 Our Little Hindu Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Hungarian Cousin 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Indian Cousin 
 Our Little Irish Cousin 
 Our Little Italian Cousin 
 Our Little Japanese Cousin 
 Our Little Jewish Cousin 
 Our Little Korean Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Mexican Cousin 
 
 By Edward C. Butler 
 Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
 Our Little Panama Cousin 
 
 By H. Lee M. Pike 
 Our Little Persian Cousin 
 
 By E. C. Shedd 
 Our Little Philippine Cousin 
 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
 Our Little Russian Cousin 
 Our Little Scotch Cousin 
 
 By Blanche McManus 
 Our Little Siamese Cousin 
 Our Little Spanish Cousin 
 
 By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet 
 Our Little Swedish Cousin 
 
 By Claire M. Coburn 
 Our Little Swiss Cousin 
 Our Little Turkish Cousin 
 
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 J Our Little African Cousin J| 
 
 * 
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 By 
 
 Mary Hazelton Wade 
 
 ■* 
 
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 Illustrated by 
 
 L. J. Bridgman 
 
 ** 
 
 * 
 
 Boston 
 
 L. C. Page & Company 
 
 Publishers 
 
 * 
 
Copyright, IQ02 
 % L. C. Page & Company 
 
 (incorporated) 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Published, June, 1902 
 Sixth Impression, August, 1908 
 Seventh Impression, October, 1909 
 
Preface 
 
 Far away, toward the other side of the 
 round earth, far to the east and south of 
 America, lies the great continent of Africa. 
 There live many people strange to us, with 
 their black s v 'ns, kinky, woolly hair, flat noses, 
 and thick lips. These black people we call 
 Africans or negroes, and it is a little child 
 among them that we are going to visit by 
 and by. 
 
 Different as these African people of the 
 negro race are from us, who belong to the 
 white race, they yet belong to the same great 
 family, as we say. Like all the peoples of 
 all the races of men on this big earth, they be- 
 
vi Preface 
 
 long to the human family, or the family of 
 mankind. So we shall call the little black 
 child whom we are going to visit our little 
 black cousin. 
 
 We need not go so far away from home, 
 indeed, to see little black children with woolly, 
 kinky hair and flat noses like the little Afri- 
 can. In the sunny South of our own land are 
 many negro children as like the little negro 
 cousin in Africa as one pea is like another. 
 Years and years ago slave-ships brought to 
 this country negroes, stolen from their own 
 African homes to be the slaves and servants 
 of the white people here. Now the children 
 and great-grandchildren of these negro slaves 
 are growing up in our country, knowing no 
 other home than this. The home of the great 
 negro race, however, is the wide continent of 
 Africa, with its deserts of hot sand, its parch- 
 ing winds and its tropical forests. 
 
 So, as we wish to see a little African cousin 
 
Preface vii 
 
 in his own African home, we are going to 
 visit little black Mpuke instead of little black 
 Topsy or Sammy, whom we might see nearer 
 by. 
 
 It's away, then, to Africa ! 
 
Contents 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 I. The Boy .... 
 
 II. Blacksmith and Dentist 
 
 III. Work and Play 
 
 IV. The Elephant Hunt 
 V. Song and Story 
 
 VI. The Battle Feast . 
 
 VII. The African Medicine - man 
 
 VIII. The Gorilla 
 
 IX. The Gorilla Hunt . 
 
 X. The Race of Dwarfs 
 
 XI. How the Dwarfs Live . 
 
 XII. Spiders .... 
 
 XIII. Land -Crabs 
 
 PAGE 
 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 23 
 28 
 
 35 
 46 
 
 53 
 60 
 70 
 76 
 79 
 85 
 93 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mpuke ....... Frontispiece 
 
 The Village 21 
 
 Hunting Elephants 29 
 
 " His followers look upon him with the 
 
 greatest admiration " 47 
 
 " He sat down on his haunches " . . -74 
 " Afterward the whole roof is covered with 
 
 leaves " 80 
 
Our Little African Cousin 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BOY. 
 
 Are you ready for a long journey this 
 morning ? Your eyes look eager for new 
 sights, so we will start at once for M puke's 
 strange home. We will travel on the wings 
 of the mind so as to cross the great ocean 
 in the passage of a moment. No seasickness, 
 no expense, and no worry I It is a comfort- 
 able way to travel. Do you not think so ? 
 
 Yes, this is Africa, Men call it the " Dark 
 Continent" because so little has been known 
 of it. Yet it is a very wonderful land, filled 
 with strange animals and queer people, con- 
 
io Our Little African Cousin 
 
 taining the oldest monuments, the greatest 
 desert, the richest diamond mines, in the 
 world. 
 
 Some of the wisest people in the world 
 once lived here. Large libraries were gathered 
 together, thousands of years ago, in the cities 
 of this continent. 
 
 Yet the little negro whom we visit to-day- 
 is of a savage race. He is ignorant of civil- 
 ised ways and customs. He knows nothing 
 of books and schools. I doubt if he even 
 knows when his birthday draws near; but 
 he is happy as the day is long; his troubles 
 pass as quickly as the April showers. 
 
 Let us paint his picture. We must make 
 his eyes very round and bright and black. 
 The teeth should be like the whitest pearls. 
 His head must be covered with a mass of 
 curly black wool. His lips are red and 
 thick, while his skin is black and shining. 
 He is tall and straight, and has muscles of 
 
The Boy u 
 
 which any boy might well be proud. He 
 is not bothered by stiff collars or tight shoes. 
 He is not obliged to stay in the house when 
 he has torn a hole in his stocking, or ripped 
 his trousers in climbing a tree, because he 
 does not own any of these articles of clothing. 
 
 From morning until night, and from night 
 until morning again, he is dressed in the 
 suit Mother Nature provided for him, — his 
 own beautiful glossy skin. She knew well 
 that in the hot land near the equator, where 
 Mpuke was born, he would never feel the 
 need of more covering than this. 
 
 One of the first things Mpuke can re- 
 member is the daily bath his mother gave 
 him in the river. In the days of his baby- 
 hood he did not like it very well, but gave 
 lusty screams when he was suddenly plunged 
 into the cold water. Yet other babies and 
 other mothers were there to keep him com- 
 pany. It is the custom of his village for 
 
12 Our Little African Ccasin 
 
 the women to visit the shore every morn- 
 ing at sunrise to bathe their little ones. 
 What a chattering and screaming there is as 
 one baby after another receives his ducking ! 
 Then, spluttering and choking and kicking, 
 he is laid up on the bank to wriggle about 
 on the soft grass, and dry in the sunshine. 
 Now comes a toss upon mother's back, 
 and the procession of women and babies 
 hastens homeward through the shady path- 
 way. 
 
 It lies in the very heart of Africa, this 
 home of Mpuke's. The houses are so nearly 
 alike that we almost wonder how the black 
 boy can tell his own from his neighbour's. 
 It can mere properly be called a hut than 
 a house. It has low walls made of clay, 
 and a high conical roof thatched with palm 
 leaves. There is not a single window ; the 
 narrow doorway faces the one street run- 
 ning through the village. A high wall is 
 
The Boy 13 
 
 built all around the settlement. There are 
 two reasons for this : in the first place, the 
 wild animals must be kept out, and sec- 
 ondly, the village is protected in case an- 
 other tribe of black people should come to 
 make war upon it. It is sad that it is 
 so, but we know that the negroes spend 
 much of their time in fighting with each 
 other. 
 
 There is a small veranda in front of 
 Mpuke's home. It is roofed with the long 
 grasses which are so plentiful in this coun- 
 try, and is a comfortable place for the boy 
 to lie and doze during the hours of the 
 hot midday. The house itself nestles in a 
 grove of banana-trees and stately palms. It 
 makes a beautiful picture. I wish we could 
 take a good painting of it home to our 
 friends. 
 
 Look ! here comes Mpuke's father. He 
 is the chief of the village, and all the 
 
14 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 people bow before his greatness and power. 
 We must show proper respect to such an 
 important person, so please don't laugh, 
 although he is certainly an amusing sight. 
 
 He is a strong, well-built man, but his 
 body is coloured in such a ridiculous fashion 
 with white and yellow chalk that it reminds 
 us of the clowns at the circus. The braids 
 of wool on his chin look like rats' tails, 
 and others stick out at the sides of his 
 head from under his tall hat of grass. He 
 has a string of charms hanging around his 
 neck ; he thinks these will protect him from 
 his enemies, for he is a great warrior. His 
 only clothing is a loin cloth made from the 
 leaves of the pineapple-tree. His good wife 
 wove it for him. His eyebrows are care- 
 fully shaved. As he walks along, talking 
 to himself (the negroes are always talking !) 
 he is trying to pull out a hair from his 
 eyelashes with his finger-nail and knife. 
 
The Boy 15 
 
 This odd-looking man was chosen by the 
 people to be their chief because he is so 
 brave in fighting and so skilful in hunting. 
 He has had many a battle single-handed 
 with an angry elephant or furious panther. 
 He has killed the cobra and the gorilla. 
 He could show you the skulls of the ene- 
 mies he has slaughtered in battle. He bears 
 many scars beneath that coat of chalk, the 
 marks of dangerous wounds he has received. 
 
 Mpuke honours and fears his father, and 
 hopes in his boyish heart that he may grow 
 up to be a chief like him, and have as 
 many daring adventures. His greatest pleas- 
 ure is in the mock battles which he has 
 with the other boys of the village. Each 
 one must be provided with a wooden spear 
 and a blunt knife before he is ready for 
 the game. Then the boys gather in the 
 open field they use for a playground. This 
 sport is a serious thing ; it is a training for 
 
1 6 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 the hard fighting which is sure to come later 
 in their lives. The boys rush at each other 
 as if in dead earnest. Hours sometimes pass 
 before either side gains a victory. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BLACKSMITH AND DENTIST. 
 
 When the first rays of the morning sun 
 find their way through the tree-tops, the village 
 wakes up. It is the best part of the day in 
 any land, but especially in all tropical coun- 
 tries. The women come hastily out of the 
 doorways, and prepare to get breakfast. All 
 the cooking must be done out-doors, and soon 
 a row of fires can be seen burning brightly in 
 front of the houses. Mpuke's mother is very 
 busy. She must boil the manioc pudding and 
 bake some hippopotamus meat for a hearty 
 meal. 
 
 Manioc takes the place of flour with the 
 black man. It looks somewhat like the potato, 
 but the bulbs are not ready to gather till the 
 
 »7 
 
1 8 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 plant is about fifteen months old. It is a very 
 stringy vegetable. The women gather it in 
 baskets and sink them in the river for a few 
 days. They must stay there until the vegeta- 
 bles have fermented. This fermentation makes 
 them mealy ; it also makes it easy to draw out 
 the tough fibres. The manioc is afterward 
 kneaded into dough and made into round 
 puddings, which are boiled several hours. 
 
 Mpuke's mother is a careful cook. When 
 her manioc pudding is taken from the fire it is 
 snowy white. It is a wholesome dish, and 
 Mpuke is very fond of it. You may not agree 
 with him unless you like sour milk ; for the 
 pudding has a flavour very much like that. 
 
 As soon as the meat is cooked, it is cut up 
 and placed in earthen jars, a quantity of pepper 
 is added, and palm oil poured over it to make 
 a rich gravy. 
 
 The men eat their breakfast first. When 
 it is finished they sit around under the trees 
 
Blacksmith and Dentist 19 
 
 while the women and children satisfy their 
 hunger. The manner in which these people 
 eat is not at all nice, but we must always 
 remember they have never been taught a 
 better way. 
 
 There is no table to set; no knives, or 
 forks, or spoons. The savages use only the 
 kind they carry around with them, furnished 
 by Mother Nature when they were born. 
 
 They gather around the jars and take out 
 the pieces of meat with their fingers, sopping 
 up the gravy with the manioc bread. Now 
 for some palm wine to quench their thirst. 
 The meal is quickly over. We are glad, for 
 it has not been pleasant to watch. 
 
 Both men and women join in a friendly 
 smoke. From the laughing and chattering 
 they must be having a merry time. 
 
 But it is growing warm as the sunshine 
 finds its way through the foliage, and there is 
 much work to do before the stifling noon hours. 
 
20 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 The women and children hurry away to 
 their plantations of sweet potatoes, or ground- 
 nuts (peanuts), or tobacco. Some of the men 
 get their spears and bows and arrows for hunt- 
 ing. Others prepare nets for fishing in the 
 river. Every one is so busy that the village 
 suddenly becomes quiet. 
 
 We will follow Mpuke on his way to the 
 blacksmith, who is also the dentist in this little 
 settlement. " What," we say, " is it possible 
 that a savage knows how to fill teeth ? " We 
 discover that his work is of a very different 
 kind from that of any dentist we ever met in 
 white man's land. His business is to grind the 
 beautiful white teeth of the people till they are 
 wedge-shaped. Mpuke is going to his hut 
 to-day for this very purpose. His father has 
 a small looking-glass he bought from the white 
 traders, and when Mpuke is a good boy he is 
 allowed to take it and look at himself for a few 
 minutes. He will take great delight in view- 
 
THE VILLAGE 
 
Blacksmith and Dentist 21 
 
 ing his teeth after they have been ground to 
 the fashionable shape. There is some danger 
 of his growing vain over the compliments he 
 will receive. In the eyes of his own people 
 he is a handsome boy, and needs only the 
 finishing touch to his teeth to make him a 
 beauty. 
 
 It is to be hoped that he will not become 
 a dandy when he grows up. His mind, how- 
 ever, is very busy in thinking of warfare and 
 hunting, and he is inclined to scorn the men 
 who think too much of their looks. 
 
 See ! There is one of the village dandies, 
 now. He is strutting along like a peacock, 
 and expects every one to stop and look at 
 him. He has spent a long time in plastering 
 his hair with clay well mixed with palm oil. 
 The oil is fairly dripping from his face and 
 neck now. We certainly can't admire this 
 style of beauty, so we will turn our attention 
 to the hut on the other side of the road. 
 
22 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 The man in the doorway is busy at his 
 work. He is shaping jars and dishes out of 
 clay. Some of the jars are beautiful in shape. 
 Wouldn't you like to buy one of them ? A 
 few beads or a bit of bright calico would pay 
 him well, according to his ideas. 
 
 Hark ! There is the sound of a hammer. 
 Let us take a peep inside of this next hut; 
 we must discover what is being done here. 
 A metal-worker is making armlets and anklets 
 of copper. They will find a ready sale in the 
 village, for no woman considers herself well- 
 dressed unless she is able to wear a number 
 of such ornaments. She is willing to work 
 very hard on the plantation if she can earn 
 enough jewelry to make a rattling noise and 
 a fine display as she walks along. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 WORK AND PLAY. 
 
 The dentist works steadily for an hour or 
 so upon Mpuke's teeth ; but he grows warm 
 and tired, and says he has done enough filing 
 for one morning. The boy has been very 
 patient and has not uttered a sound of com- 
 plaint during the painful operation. But now 
 he is delighted to be free, and hurries off to 
 the shore of the river to work on the canoe he 
 is building. His father helped him cut down 
 a large tree, but he is doing all the rest of the 
 work alone. He has worked many days in 
 hollowing out the trunk of the tree. He has 
 shaped it into a narrow, flat-bottomed boat. 
 The paddles are beautifully carved, and there 
 
 2 3 
 
24 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 is very little left to be done now except the 
 making of the sail. 
 
 That is easy work. The long grasses are 
 already gathered, and he sits on the bank of 
 the river weaving them into a large, firm mat. 
 This will serve as well as canvas for the 
 sail. 
 
 What pleasure he will take in this canoe ! 
 Many a day he will spend in it, sailing along 
 under the shade of the tall trees which line the 
 river's banks. Many a fish he will catch and 
 bring to his mother for the next meal. He 
 delights in the sport, and does not seem to 
 mind the myriads of gnats and mosquitoes 
 which would send us home in a hurry. 
 
 But the black boy's life is not all play. He 
 has had regular work to perform from the 
 time when he began to walk alone. He must 
 learn to make the rattan war shields, shape 
 spears for battle, and weave nets for trapping 
 fish and game. In fact, Mpuke must be 
 
Work and Play 25 
 
 ready to help his elders in all their occu- 
 pations. 
 
 The boy has a sister who is nine years old. 
 She looks very much like her brother, and has 
 the same happy disposition. She has many 
 duties, but they are quite different from her 
 brother's. 
 
 She is a good cook, young as she is. She 
 can broil a buffalo steak to perfection ; it is 
 her work to gather the insects and caterpillars 
 which are considered dainties at the feasts of 
 the black people. She weaves the mats on 
 which the family sleep at night. She helps 
 her mother raise the tobacco, and gathers the 
 peanuts and stores them away for the rainy 
 season. 
 
 But let us go back to the river, where 
 Mpuke is giving the finishing touch to his 
 sail. As he turns his head to get a cooling 
 breeze, it brings to his nostrils the smell of the 
 dinner cooking in the village. He knows he 
 
26 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 must not be late at meal-time, and, besides, 
 he has a good appetite for each of the day's 
 three hearty meals. 
 
 He hurries down the path, thinking of the 
 favourite dish his mother has promised him to- 
 day. Do you care to taste it? It is boiled 
 crocodile. The broth is seasoned with lemon 
 juice and Cayenne pepper. " How kind my 
 mother is," thinks Mpuke, " to cook such 
 savoury messes. There are few boys so fortu- 
 nate as I am. I will try to be a good son, 
 and, if the white traders ever come this way 
 again, I will buy her a chain of beads long 
 enough to wind three times around her neck." 
 
 With these thoughts the boy reaches home, 
 but the whole village is in a state of much 
 excitement ; great news has just been brought 
 by one of the men. He has discovered a herd 
 of elephants feeding in a forest swamp only 
 a few miles distant. He says that he counted 
 at least a hundred of them. 
 
Work and Play 27 
 
 The black people know that the elephant's 
 sleeping time is from about eleven in the 
 morning till three or four in the afternoon. 
 It is the time that the people themselves take 
 for rest; but to-day there is no noonday nap 
 for Mpuke's village. 
 
 Dinner is eaten in haste. The men rush in 
 and out of the houses getting their spears, 
 bows, and poisoned arrows in readiness. The 
 chief orders his assistants to get out his treas- 
 ured elephant gun. It is the most valuable 
 possession in the village. A small fortune 
 (as the black people count) was given for it 
 to the white traders. The chief's eyes shine, 
 as he says to himself: " This shall bring down 
 an elephant to-day." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ELEPHANT HUNT. 
 
 Mpuke is wildly delighted when he finds 
 that he may go on the hunt. But he is warned 
 to be very quiet ; he must not even whisper 
 as the party creeps through the dense forest. 
 
 The hunt will be a failure unless the ele- 
 phants are taken by surprise while they are 
 sleeping. The men know that the wind is in 
 their favour, since it is blowing from the ele- 
 phants toward them. Otherwise, the keen- 
 scented creatures would quickly discover the 
 approach of their enemies. 
 
 Listen! do you hear that queer noise? It 
 is the champing sound the elephants make in 
 their throats when they are asleep. The hunt- 
 ers creep nearer and nearer ; more and more 
 
HUNTING ELEPHANTS 
 
The Elephant Hunt 29 
 
 and more carefully, if possible, they turn aside 
 the thick undergrowth of trees and bushes. 
 Ah ! Mpuke's father is within a dozen yards 
 of the herd. He looks keenly about till he 
 discovers a huge tusker ; he gives a signal to 
 two of his followers to bring up the gun. It 
 is carefully placed and aimed at a spot in the 
 elephant's forehead about four inches above 
 the eyes. It is a vital spot. Two of the 
 best marksmen of the party direct their poi- 
 soned arrows at the heart. If all succeed in 
 reaching the parts aimed at there will be noth- 
 ing to fear. But if the huge creature is only 
 slightly wounded, woe to Mpuke and this 
 company of men who are taking their lives 
 in their hands at this moment ! A maddened 
 elephant is a fearful creature to encounter. 
 
 Hush ! Steady now ! Bang ! sounds the 
 gun. At the same moment the arrows are 
 let loose from the bows. The bullet was 
 aimed well. It enters the exact spot intended. 
 
30 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 The arrows do their work. The king of the 
 forest rolls over on his side without a sound. 
 There is not even a death struggle, but there 
 is a sudden commotion among the rest of the 
 herd ; it is as though a whirlwind had arisen. 
 Every animal is instantly awake ; the herd 
 closes together like a great army. There is 
 an angry uproar, a tremendous trumpeting 
 and bellowing ; the forest echoes and re- 
 echoes with the sound. The ground shakes 
 beneath their feet. Madly plunging through 
 the forest, the elephants flee in an opposite 
 direction from the men. As they rush 
 onward, great limbs of trees are torn off as 
 though they were only straws. 
 
 Suppose they had turned toward the 
 hunters, instead of from them ! It is use- 
 less to think of it, — for this time, at least, 
 no one has been harmed. And now the 
 men gather around their prey lying lifeless 
 on the ground. 
 
The Elephant Hunt 31 
 
 " Owi ? " (" Is it dead ? ") Mpuke anxiously 
 whispers. His father assures him of the fact, 
 and allows the boy to take part in cutting 
 the flesh away from the monstrous prize. 
 
 In a few moments the women of the vil- 
 lage appear, carrying baskets. They have 
 followed the party at a distance ; they knew 
 their help would be needed if any prey 
 were secured. 
 
 The hunt has been a marvellous success. 
 It often happens that hunters are obliged to 
 wait in the underbrush for hours before they 
 can get near enough for a good shot, or to 
 gain such a position as to be able to cut 
 the sinews of the sleeping elephant's legs 
 with their spears, for this makes the animal 
 helpless. 
 
 But the safest and most common way of 
 hunting elephants is to dig immense pits 
 near their feeding-grounds. These are cov- 
 ered over with branches. The unwary ele- 
 
32 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 phant who comes this way makes a false 
 step, and falls helpless into the pit. It is 
 an easy matter then for the men to ap- 
 proach and kill him, either with their spears 
 or bows and arrows. 
 
 But we must turn again to Mpuke and 
 his companions. It is not long before the 
 busy workers have removed all the flesh, 
 and packed it in the big baskets. The 
 monstrous ears must be saved ; they will 
 be useful to take the place of carts in har- 
 vest time. Two of the strongest men are 
 loaded with the ivory tusks ; they must be 
 kept to sell to the traders. 
 
 The party hurries homeward, chattering in 
 childish delight over the fun they will have 
 this evening. They leave behind them only 
 the skeleton of the huge animal which two 
 hours since was so powerful. 
 
 As soon as they reach the village the 
 boys are put to work. They must dig a 
 
The Elephant Hunt 33 
 
 pit, and bring wood to fill it. A fire must 
 be kindled and kept burning till the sides 
 of this earthen oven are thoroughly heated. 
 After this the fire is put out, and one of 
 the elephant's legs is laid in the oven. 
 
 The women bring green wood and fresh 
 grass to lay over the roast, after which the 
 hole is plastered tightly with mud. But the 
 queer oven is not yet closed tightly enough. 
 The loose earth taken from the pit is piled 
 high above it, so that no heat can possibly 
 escape. 
 
 You wonder how long the people must 
 wait before their roast can be served. It 
 will be a day and a half, at least ; but when 
 the time does come to open the pit the 
 cooks will find enough tender, juicy meat to 
 furnish every one in the village with a hearty 
 meal. 
 
 The leg of an elephant is the most eatable 
 portion of the animal ; the rest of the flesh 
 
34 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 is , tough and fibrous, although the negroes 
 eat it, and enjoy it very much. The women 
 smoke it, much as our people smoke ham, 
 and in this way they can keep it a long 
 time for use. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SONG AND STORY. 
 
 It has been a busy day for every one. 
 In the short twilight the people gather about 
 under the trees for music and story-telling. 
 Mpuke runs to his house for his xylophone, 
 and begins to play a sweet, sad air. One 
 by one his neighbours join in an accompani- 
 ment with their rich voices. The African 
 is a natural lover of music ; he uses it to 
 express all his feelings. 
 
 It is a weird sight, — this group of black 
 people rocking their bodies to and fro to keep 
 time with the music. As they enter more 
 deeply into the spirit of the evening song the 
 expressions of their faces change ; they seem 
 
 35 
 
36 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 to forget themselves, and become a part of 
 the music itself. 
 
 And now the frogs add their voices to the 
 chorus. The crickets and cicadas pipe their 
 shrill notes, while at short intervals a hoarse 
 sound, between a groan and a whining bark, 
 is wafted upwards from the river. It comes 
 from a lonely crocodile who, no doubt, would 
 like to join the company. It is much better 
 for their comfort that he remains where he is. 
 
 Mpuke's xylophone is made of strips of 
 soft wood, differing in length, fastened over 
 a set of calabashes. In each calabash a hole 
 has been carefully bored and covered over 
 with spider's web. Perhaps you mistook the 
 calabash for a gourd, which looks much like 
 it. It is a curious growth which forms on 
 the trunks of certain trees near Mpuke's 
 home. 
 
 Our little friend makes sweet liquid music 
 on his crude instrument. He calls it a ma- 
 
Song and Story 37 
 
 rimba. The village metal-worker made it for 
 the boy in return for many presents of fish. 
 
 " That is a good lad," said the man, " he is 
 thoughtful and generous. I will make him 
 happy." 
 
 After the people have finished their songs, 
 there is music on other instruments besides 
 Mpuke's. Look at that big fellow blowing 
 into an ivory horn. He needs to have a 
 strong pair of lungs if he is going to continue 
 very long. What a dirge-like noise he makes ! 
 But when the tom-tom begins to sound, every- 
 body is roused and joins in a wild dance. 
 
 The people wind in and out among the 
 trees, round and round again, laughing, shout- 
 ing, and singing, until they sink out of breath 
 on the grass. 
 
 Mpuke is so tired he can hardly keep his 
 eyes open. He drags himself into the hut 
 where his sister lies on her mat, already sound 
 asleep. Listen ! what is that scuttling noise 
 
38 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 among the dried leaves in the corner? 
 Mpuke's bright black eyes are helped by 
 the moonlight streaming through the door- 
 way. He discovers that it is a green lizard, 
 which he knows to be quite harmless. But 
 it is always wise to be watchful. 
 
 One night, not many moons ago, as the 
 black boy counts time, he found a centipede 
 close to his bare feet when he woke up sud- 
 denly in the night. He is quite sure that 
 a good spirit roused him to save his life. 
 
 At another time a lizard of the most deadly 
 kind must have shared the boy's mat with him 
 through the night. At any rate, he found the 
 lizard at his side when his eyes opened to 
 the morning light. 
 
 But Mpuke is too sleepy to think about 
 unpleasant things, and in another moment he 
 is dreaming of the roasted elephant that will 
 make to-morrow's feast. 
 
 A week passes by. We will visit Mpuke 
 
Song and Story 39 
 
 once more as he is eating his early break- 
 fast. 
 
 A messenger from the next village comes 
 rushing in to the people. He has run ten 
 miles this morning through the forest paths, 
 and has brought word to M puke's father from 
 his own chief. The two men are blood-broth- 
 ers, and have promised to stand by each other 
 in all troubles and dangers. " Blood-broth- 
 ers," you say, " what does that mean ? " 
 When the chiefs were only boys they went 
 through a sacred ceremony together. An 
 arm of each was cut till the blood ran, then 
 the two arms were pressed together, and the 
 blood was allowed to mingle. 
 
 They must never quarrel again. No cruel 
 words or deeds should ever pass between them, 
 because they are now bound together by the 
 strongest of all ties. 
 
 But what is the message that causes such 
 a state of excitement? It tells that enemies 
 
4-0 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 are approaching. It means war, and prepara- 
 tion for awful deeds. Mpuke's father is asked 
 to come to the help of his blood-brother. 
 Will he join him to meet the advancing 
 foes? 
 
 There is only one answer possible ; not 
 a moment must be lost. The order is given 
 to sound the war-drums ; the people burst 
 into an exciting battle-song ; blasts from ivory 
 trumpets can be heard throughout the village ; 
 the men cover their faces with charcoal and 
 hastily seek the medicine-man. He must pro- 
 vide them with charms to protect them from 
 danger. Poor fellow, he is the busiest one 
 of all the people, making little packages of 
 beads, shells, and stones for each soldier to 
 wear as a talisman. 
 
 The women are at work getting the spears 
 and arrows together ; they must also sharpen 
 the knives for their husbands and sons. 
 
 These ignorant savages make a hideous 
 
Song and Story 41 
 
 sight to our eyes when the fury ofwar seizes 
 them. It is such a pitiful thing that they are 
 ready to take the lives of their brother blacks 
 for the slightest reason, and that they delight 
 so greatly in war. 
 
 Now the men hurry down to the river's 
 side. They jump into their canoes, and are 
 out of sight as soon as they pass a bend in the 
 banks of the stream. Mpuke watches them 
 with glistening eyes ; he longs to follow them, 
 but he has been told to remain at home to 
 protect his mother and sisters in case of 
 danger. 
 
 He knows already what war means ; it was 
 only last year that his own village was at- 
 tacked. Young as he was, he stood all day 
 behind the spiked wall, sharpened spear in 
 hand, doing his part to defend his home. He 
 was wounded in the leg on that terrible day, 
 and for a long time afterward lay sick with 
 fever, His sister was so good to him during 
 
42 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 that trying time ; hour after hour she sat at 
 his side on the veranda, and kept the flies and 
 mosquitoes from his wound with a broom she 
 made of an elephant's tail. 
 
 Mpuke thinks of this as he goes home 
 through the forest path. Suddenly he stops 
 quite still ; his eyes roll in terror. A huge 
 serpent lies coiled but a few feet away ; he 
 does not notice Mpuke, for his beadlike eyes 
 are fastened on a monkey standing on the 
 ground in front of him. The snake is charm- 
 ing it. He will force it to its own death, and 
 yet he does not stir; it is the monkey that 
 moves. It comes nearer and nearer to the 
 monster ; it makes a frightened cry as it 
 advances. 
 
 Mpuke knows he cannot save its life, as he 
 has no weapon with which to attack the ser- 
 pent. He would like to run, but does not stir 
 until the monkey, having come close to its 
 charmer, is suddenly strangled in the folds of 
 
Song and Story 43 
 
 its powerful body. The boy does not wait 
 to see the snake devour his prey, but hur- 
 ries homeward, without once daring to turn 
 round. 
 
 The fires have all been put out. The 
 women and children are talking in whispers. 
 They wish to make as little noise as possible 
 while the men are away, lest they be attacked 
 by wild beasts or some passing band of 
 savages. 
 
 Night comes ; there is no sound of return- 
 ing warriors. Mpuke sits in the doorway of 
 his home, listening ; his mother and sister are 
 beside him. It draws near midnight, and yet 
 there is no sleep for the anxious watchers. 
 
 Hark ! faintly at first, then more and more 
 plainly, the fighting song of the returning war- 
 riors is borne to them on the evening wind. 
 And now they can hear the sound of paddles 
 and shouts of boisterous laughter. 
 
 The men must have been victorious or they 
 
44 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 would not come home so gaily. There are 
 but a few more minutes of waiting before the 
 black heroes enter the village. We call them 
 heroes, for that is the way their families think 
 of them. 
 
 The men are tired, excited, and stained with 
 blood. They are bringing home two of their 
 comrades wounded, and the dead body of 
 another. They have six prisoners taken from 
 the enemy. These poor wretches are bound 
 with ropes ; they know their fate too well. 
 They are now slaves, and must hereafter do 
 the hardest work for their new masters. 
 
 The customs of their own settlement are 
 different from those of Mpuke's village. 
 They will suffer from homesickness, and will 
 have many new things to which they must get 
 used. 
 
 It seems strange to us that in travelling 
 a short distance in the heart of Africa the 
 people are found to differ from each other so 
 
Song and Story 45 
 
 much in language, habits, and even dress. 
 For, scanty as it is, the style of decoration 
 of one tribe varies greatly from that of 
 another. 
 
 For instance, in Mpuke's home we know 
 it is the fashion to have wedge-shaped teeth, 
 while not far away the people think that a 
 really beautiful person must have the teeth 
 pointed. In one village the women wear 
 wooden skewers pierced through their noses ; 
 in another, their principal ornaments consist 
 of metal rings in the ears, and metal armlets, 
 anklets, and bracelets. 
 
 Among some tribes, the men's hair is 
 braided in queer little tails, while others have 
 it knotted at the back of the head and at the 
 chin in tight bunches. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BATTLE FEAST. 
 
 It is the day after the battle. Mpuke's 
 father orders his people to celebrate the vic- 
 tory. He tells them to prepare a great feast, 
 as his blood-brother, Ncossi, is invited to come 
 and bring his people. 
 
 A great deal of work must be done before 
 the feast is ready. Some of the villagers pre- 
 pare their nets to catch a certain fish that is 
 rare and delicate. Others get their canoes 
 ready for a hippopotamus hunt ; still others 
 search for young monkeys. They must also 
 get a kind of snake that makes a delicious 
 stew. 
 
 The children are sent through the fields and 
 woods to gather the rarest and choicest insects. 
 
 4 6 
 
" HIS FOLLOWERS LOOK UPON HIM WITH THE GREATEST 
 ADMIRATION " 
 
The Battle Feast 47 
 
 The country is scoured in all directions. The 
 feast will surely be " fit for a king," at least 
 an African king. 
 
 The great day comes at last, and the chief 
 Ncossi arrives. He is dressed in the greatest 
 splendour. A chain of leopards' teeth is 
 wound around his neck; a great war knife 
 hangs at his side. One of his cheeks is 
 painted red and the other yellow. The heads 
 of wild animals are tattooed upon his arms. 
 He wears on his head a tall, tattered, beaver 
 hat, for which he must have paid a great price 
 to some trader. He is a hideous object, yet, 
 as he struts along, his followers look upon 
 him with the greatest admiration, and keep 
 exclaiming: "Look at our beautiful chief! 
 Look at our beautiful chief!" 
 
 The mouths of the visitors water as they 
 behold the pots boiling over the great fires, 
 and the savoury odours of the meats greet 
 their nostrils. 
 
48 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 How glad they are that they have been 
 invited to the fine banquet promised here ! 
 They act like happy children out for a holi- 
 day. There is no sign in their faces of the 
 cruel side of their natures which showed itself 
 in the battle a few days ago. 
 
 And now they gather in a circle on the 
 grass, and begin to devour the good things 
 the cooks spread before them. 
 
 Will you share with them this dish of 
 boiled smoked elephant ? It is coarse and 
 stringy ; I fear you will not care for a second 
 piece, although every one pronounces it deli- 
 cious. The roasted monkey is fat and tender. 
 You will enjoy it more if you do not allow 
 yourself to think of its resemblance to a baby. 
 The stewed buffalo ribs served with lemon 
 juice and Cayenne pepper are fine, while we 
 should not disdain the turtle soup if it were 
 brought us in the best hotel in America. 
 
 The side dishes at this feast are the queerest 
 
The Battle Feast 49 
 
 we have ever seen, — frizzled caterpillars, paste 
 of mashed ants, and toasted crickets. Palm 
 oil has been freely used in the crocodile stew 
 and elephant gravy. 
 
 Mpuke's friends and relatives are enjoying 
 themselves hugely. They gobble the good 
 things in the most remarkable manner. They 
 are so busy that they are almost silent. 
 They drink large quantities of palm wine as 
 well as the fermented juice of the baobab- 
 tree. Palm wine is very pleasant and refresh- 
 ing when it is first made. To-morrow, after 
 the visitors have left, Mpuke will show us 
 how to obtain it. He is an obliging little 
 fellow, and will willingly climb a tall palm-tree 
 to the very top, bore deep holes in the wood, 
 and fasten gourds into which the juice will 
 drip. We should drink it at once, before it 
 changes into the sour, intoxicating liquor 
 drunk so freely at the feast. 
 
 Not many days after the celebration, the 
 
50 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 rainy season began. During this period the 
 rain does not fall all day long, but comes 
 down in torrents for an hour or two every 
 morning. 
 
 Very little hunting is done now, but there 
 are such good supplies of smoked elephant 
 and buffalo meat it is not necessary. 
 
 Mpuke wakes up one morning with great 
 pain in his head, and it does not go away after 
 he gets up. He says to himself, " I am afraid 
 some bad spirit bewitched me while I was 
 dreaming last night." But he says nothing 
 about his bad feelings to his mother. He is 
 afraid she will think of the sleeping sickness. 
 He does not want her to worry, so he will 
 wait awhile and perhaps the pain will go 
 away. 
 
 The sleeping sickness is the most terrible 
 visitor in an African home. There is little 
 hope for the one who has it. Sometimes the 
 sufferer is ill for a few weeks only, but 
 
The Battle Feast 51 
 
 again he may linger for a year before death 
 comes. 
 
 The illness begins with a severe headache ; 
 next comes swelling of the body, like dropsy ; 
 in the last stage, the dying person dozes or 
 sleeps all of the time. 
 
 With our little Mpuke, a day and a night 
 pass and his headache grows worse and worse. 
 His body is first hot and feverish, then shiv- 
 ering with a chill. His mother begins to 
 notice how slowly he moves, and how hard 
 it seems for him to do his work. 
 
 " You must lie on your mat in the hut, my 
 dear one," she says to the boy. " The charm 
 doctor shall be sent for ; he will drive away 
 the evil spirit that is making my child so 
 sick." 
 
 The black woman has a strange belief; she 
 thinks that evil beings are always near, ready 
 to work harm. She spends much time in 
 protecting her family and herself from these 
 
52 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 evil powers by repeating charms and going 
 through queer ceremonies. 
 
 She teaches her children to fear spirits in the 
 air, in the water, in the trees, in the ground ; at 
 every movement they look for possible trouble 
 from beings they cannot see, yet imagine to be 
 following them. If it were not for such a fool- 
 ish belief, the black people would be very 
 happy ; but they have one protector to whom 
 they turn in all their troubles. They believe 
 that he can drive away the evil spirits ; he can 
 bring health to the sick man ; he can make 
 charms to ward off the attacks of wild beasts ; 
 he can even control the winds and the waters. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE AFRICAN MEDICINE - MAN. 
 
 When the crops begin to dry up, it is the 
 medicine-man who has the power to bring 
 rain ; when fever visits the settlement, his 
 herbs and charms are alone of any use in 
 relieving suffering. Therefore, when Mpuke 
 becomes ill, the medicine-man is immediately 
 visited. 
 
 His hut stands a little apart from the others 
 in the village. It is very seldom that an out- 
 sider is allowed to enter the sacred (?) place. 
 After M puke's mother has wrapped up her 
 little son, and placed him on his mat, she 
 hastens to the home of the charm doctor, 
 carrying an offering of tobacco and palm wine 
 to the great man. 
 
 53 
 
54 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 As she draws near the hut, he appears in 
 the doorway. He wears many chains of metal 
 rings about his body. Funny little packages 
 are tied to the rings, and are supposed to pos- 
 sess the power of working wonders. Feathers 
 of different kinds of birds are sticking out of 
 the packages, while a doleful clanging is made 
 by iron bells at every movement of the 
 " doctor." 
 
 When told of Mpuke's sickness, he goes 
 back into the hut and puts on his tall hat of 
 panther's skin. He takes some herbs and 
 wonder-working charms from a dark corner, 
 and comes out looking very solemn and quiet. 
 He rarely speaks to Mpuke's mother as she 
 reverently follows him to her own home. 
 
 In a few moments he is standing by the 
 black boy's side. He makes some weird and 
 mysterious motions, and tells Mpuke that he 
 is driving away the evil spirit that has taken 
 hold of his body. He gives the anxious 
 
The African Medicine - Man 55 
 
 mother a charm made from the hairs of an 
 elephant's tail ; this is to be fastened around 
 the boy's neck. She is told to repeat certain 
 words many times a day, and to draw a circle 
 with ashes around the hut to keep bad spirits 
 from returning. 
 
 But this is not all that is to be done for the 
 cure of the boy ; for the doctor really does 
 know many good uses of herbs. He has 
 discovered that the use of one of these is 
 almost sure to break up a fever like Mpuke's, 
 so he steeps a large dose of this medicine, to 
 be taken during the next three days. Then 
 he goes away as quietly and solemnly as he 
 came ; the villagers bow before him in awe as 
 they pass him on his way. 
 
 Mpuke is soon strong and well. What 
 cured him ? Did the doctor really have the 
 power to drive spirits away ? Or was it the 
 medicine the boy swallowed ? Of course, his 
 mother believes nothing could have been 
 
56 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 done without the magic charms, but those 
 who are wise must see that if tne herb tea 
 had not been made and swallowed, Mpuke 
 would most likely be still burning with fever. 
 
 But Mpuke is now well and strong, glad to 
 be out once more in his canoe ; eager to look 
 for honey in the wild bees' nests ; chasing the 
 monkeys from the banana-trees ; feeding his 
 chickens, and doing a hundred other things 
 beside all these. 
 
 But the chickens we hardly recognise as such, 
 they are such poor, scrawny things, with their 
 bodies and feathers all awry ; and when 
 Mpuke's mother prepares a chicken stew, the 
 meat is so dry and tasteless that it seems 
 scarcely worth eating. What can be the reason 
 that the African chicken is so much poorer 
 than the American bird ? Perhaps it is because 
 it is tormented by such numbers of insects. 
 
 This reminds me of something that once 
 happened at Mpuke's home. One night, 
 
The African Medicine - Man 57 
 
 in the midst of sound sleep, they were sud- 
 denly attacked by an army. There were 
 millions, yes, billions, in that army, yet it 
 made no sound as it drew near. It had trav- 
 elled many miles through fields and forests, 
 and Mpuke's home happened to be in the line 
 of march. That is the reason it was attacked. 
 
 For a few moments the sleepers were in 
 a state of great excitement. There was much 
 scuffling, screaming, scratching, and running 
 about. Then all was quiet once more, and 
 the family returned to their mats and dreams. 
 
 The strange army was not one of human 
 beings, but, nevertheless, it caused fear and 
 trembling while it stayed. It was composed 
 of ants, much larger than any we have ever 
 seen in our own country. They were under 
 the orders of generals who marched at the 
 sides of the advancing columns. Each ant 
 knew his place and duty. He was ready to 
 bite any living creature that barred his way; 
 
58 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 and it was a fierce bite, too, for a piece of flesh 
 was taken out each time before he let go. 
 
 For some reason unknown to us, the ants 
 were changing their camping-ground and 
 moving to another part of the forest. Such 
 a small thing as M puke's home must not be 
 allowed to stand in their way, so they passed 
 through it, and took the people inside by 
 surprise. 
 
 " Ouch ! " screamed Mpuke, as he woke 
 up to find himself covered by these wise but 
 uncomfortable insects. Then, one after an- 
 other, the boy's father, that brave warrior, his 
 mother, his sister, and himself, fled from the 
 hut as though a pack of hyenas were after 
 them. 
 
 When morning came the ants had departed, 
 but not an insect was left alive in the house. 
 The fat spiders that had spun comfortable 
 webs in the dark corners were now skeletons, 
 a baby lizard lay lifeless in the doorway, and 
 
The African Medicine - Man 59 
 
 many crickets had fallen victims to the resist- 
 less invaders. Worse still ! when Mpuke 
 looked for his pet chicken, nothing was left 
 of it save bones and feathers. 
 
 Paul Du Chaillu, an African explorer, has 
 written very interesting accounts of the ants 
 found in that country. The wisdom of these 
 little creatures fills us with wonder. Small as 
 they are, they travel in such numbers that 
 even the wild beasts of the forest hasten to 
 get out of their way. They are not fond of 
 the sunlight, and when marching in the day- 
 time they prefer to stop in their journey and 
 dig a tunnel underground rather than pass over 
 an open plain. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE GORILLA. 
 
 But we will leave the ants and their won- 
 derful ways for the present, as we wish to 
 follow Mpuke, whose mother has sent him 
 a long way from home to gather some pine- 
 apples. The boy's sister carries a large basket 
 on her head to hold the fruit. Pineapples 
 allowed to ripen fully where they grow are 
 much nicer than those picked while still a little 
 green in order to stand the long journey to us. 
 They are so tender that when Mpuke has cut 
 off the top of one he can scoop out the pulp 
 and eat it as though it were oatmeal porridge. 
 And it is so sweet and juicy ! It is no wonder 
 the children were glad to go on their errand. 
 
 They play hide and seek among the bushes 
 60 
 
The Gorilla 6j 
 
 as they run along ; they laugh and chatter and 
 joke without a thought of fear, they are so 
 used to the forest. Besides, Mpuke carries 
 a bow and arrow in his hand to be ready in 
 case of need. 
 
 They soon reach the place, but discover 
 that some one has been there before them. 
 The fruit lies scattered over the ground. The 
 children look about them in alarm ; they speak 
 in low tones instead of the noisy chatter of the 
 moment before. 
 
 " Mpuke, do you think a gorilla is near 
 us ? " whispers his sister, and the next instant 
 there is a loud crackling and trampling of the 
 bushes. 
 
 Ten yards away stands the fiercest, wildest 
 looking creature one can imagine. She is cov- 
 ered with dark, almost black, hair ; standing 
 on her short hind legs she is taller than most 
 human beings. 
 
 How long her arms look, as she beats her 
 
62 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 breast in anguish ! She does not notice the 
 children hiding behind the trunk of a tree. 
 She is looking down on the ground where her 
 dead baby is lying. Has a passing hunter 
 shot it during its mother's absence, or did it 
 sicken and die ? We do not know ; we can 
 only listen, breathless, to the mother's cry, too 
 horrible to be described. See ! she lifts 
 the dead body in her arms and moves 
 away. 
 
 When travellers in the Dark Continent first 
 brought home accounts of this largest and 
 most fearful of the ape family, people could 
 scarcely believe in the truth of their state- 
 ments, but now every one admits the gorilla 
 to be the king of the African forest. 
 
 As soon as the frightened children reach 
 home and tell their adventure, a party of the 
 best huntsmen starts into the forests. If there 
 is one gorilla in the neighbourhood, there must 
 be more. No fruit is safe now ; the village 
 
The Gorilla 63 
 
 itself is not secure so long as the dreaded 
 brutes are near. Besides these reasons for 
 killing them, the people consider the brain 
 of a gorilla the most powerful charm that can 
 be used against one's enemies. 
 
 While the hunters are gone, we will listen 
 to a legend Mpuke's mother is telling her 
 children. It shows how the power of a man's 
 mind can conquer even the strength of a 
 gorilla. 
 
 HOW THE GORILLA CAME. 
 
 My children, this is a story of a far-distant 
 tribe of our race. It was told me by my 
 mother, and she in turn listened to it at 
 her mother's knee. I cannot tell you how 
 old it is, but it is very ancient. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a certain king 
 who was very rich and powerful. He had 
 many children, but they were all daughters, 
 and this made him feel exceedingly sad. He 
 
64 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 longed for a son to take his place when he 
 should die. At length, after many years, 
 he was delighted at the birth of a baby 
 boy. 
 
 The child grew rapidly into a strong, bright 
 little fellow, and the king's heart was wrapped 
 up in him. His father strove to gratify his 
 smallest wish, and even divided with him his 
 power over the kingdom. Of course the boy 
 became proud and vain. He was quite spoiled 
 by the flattery of his subjects and his father's 
 lavish presents. 
 
 One day, as he was sitting under a tree with 
 a circle of youths about him, he said : 
 
 " Oh, how fortunate a boy I am ; there is 
 nothing my father would refuse to give me. 
 There is not another youth in the world like 
 me!" 
 
 He had no sooner finished speaking than 
 one of his boy subjects dared to make answer: 
 " Sir Prince, there is one thing your father 
 
The Gorilla 65 
 
 would refuse to give you, if you should ask 
 for it, because he could not do it." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the proud 
 prince, indignantly. 
 
 " It is the moon," was the answer. 
 
 The young prince went at once to the king 
 and said : " My dear father, you have never 
 in my life refused me anything, and yet I have 
 even now been taunted that if I were to ask it, 
 you would not be able to get the moon for 
 me. Must I endure this ? Say that you will 
 obtain it." 
 
 The king was troubled. It seemed that it 
 would be impossible for him to satisfy his child 
 for the first time, and he could not bear it. 
 He sent criers throughout the country to call 
 the wise men of his kingdom together, that he 
 might ask their advice. 
 
 When they were all assembled, and heard 
 that the king desired them to find a way by 
 which the moon might be brought down to 
 
66 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 the prince, they, too, were troubled. They 
 feared the king was going crazy ; at least all of 
 the wise men but the one who seemed to be 
 the youngest. He turned to the king and 
 slowly said : 
 
 " O King, there is a way by which this 
 thing may be done, but it requires long and 
 great work. All the men of the country will 
 be needed in cutting down the forest and shap- 
 ing timber. All the women will be needed to 
 plant the gardens, raise crops, and cook food 
 for the men. All the children will be needed 
 to make bark rope to tie the timbers in place, 
 and to hand things to the builders. For, O 
 King, this is my plan : 
 
 " Yonder mountain is very high, and I pro- 
 pose that a scaffold be built to cover its entire 
 top ; that a smaller scaffold be built on that ; 
 a still smaller, on that ; and so on, until the 
 moon is reached. Then it can be lifted down 
 and brought to your son." 
 
The Gorilla 67 
 
 The king did not hesitate as to what he 
 should do. He began at once to act upon the 
 wise man's plan. 
 
 All the men in the country went to work 
 cutting down the forest and putting up the 
 scaffold. All the women set to work to cook 
 for the workmen and to plant new gardens. 
 All the children were kept busy making the 
 bark rope and in running errands for their 
 parents. 
 
 A month passed ; the first scaffold had been 
 built, and yet another upon that. 
 
 Two months, — and now the top of the 
 tower could no longer be seen by the multi- 
 tude at the foot, for the people of all the coun- 
 tries round about had gathered there to watch 
 the strange work. 
 
 Three months, four months, five months 
 were gone, and the head workmen sent word 
 down that now the moon was within easy 
 reach. 
 
68 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 At last it was whispered that the king, who 
 had climbed to the top, was about to seize the 
 moon and bring it down to earth. More peo- 
 ple, from still greater distances, gathered at the 
 foot to behold the great event. 
 
 What happened, my children ? At first the 
 moon could not be budged from its place ; but 
 then more force was applied. Lo ! there was 
 a cracking and snapping, as of a tremendous 
 explosion. A river of fire came flowing down 
 the scaffolds, which were quickly burned, to- 
 gether with all the people upon them, and 
 most of those gathered at the foot of the 
 mountain. 
 
 Most wonderful of all, those few grown peo- 
 ple who did escape were changed into gorillas, 
 while the children that were saved were trans- 
 formed into monkeys. 
 
 My children, when you look at the moon 
 on bright nights, you will notice dark spots 
 upon it, where the shoulders of the strong man 
 
The Gorilla 69 
 
 who tried to move it from its place were 
 pressed against it. 
 
 Let this lesson be learned from my story : 
 It is not well to gratify all the wishes of chil- 
 dren ; but only such as the parents think wise 
 and good for them. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GORILLA HUNT. 
 
 After many hours the hunters return. 
 They have a wonderful tale to tell of what 
 they have seen and done. Mpuke's father 
 is the story-teller. The black faces of the 
 listeners are very still, and all eyes are turned 
 toward him as he speaks. He says : 
 
 " My people, we hunters went away from 
 this village very quietly, as you all know. 
 We did not wish the creatures of the forest 
 to hear us as we crept along, one behind 
 another. Our enemies, the gorillas, must not 
 learn of our approach. 
 
 " We went on and on, farther and farther to 
 the east. There was no path ; we broke off 
 twigs and leaves from the trees and scattered 
 
 70 
 
The Gorilla Hunt 71 
 
 them along on the ground, so we should be 
 able to find our way home again." 
 
 Here the whites of the chief's eyes grew 
 larger and rounder as he rolled them about in 
 his head, and looked from one to another of 
 his listeners. Then he continued : 
 
 " As we moved on through the forest, we 
 stopped from time to time to listen. But 
 there was no sound of the great gorillas' feet 
 stamping upon the ground. There was no 
 shaking of the limbs of trees. They could 
 not be there. 
 
 " At last we came out of the forest into a 
 wooded marsh. The mud was so deep that 
 our feet sank far in at every step. It was a 
 very bad place for us if we should need to run, 
 but it was the very spot gorillas would like if 
 they were in search of dinner, for there were 
 great numbers of bushes loaded with berries, 
 of which, you know, the fierce gorilla is very 
 fond, as well as of other fruits and nuts. 
 
72 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 " Hark ! there was a sound of tramping 
 feet. The ground trembled, and straight 
 ahead of me I counted one, two, three full- 
 grown gorillas. Two of their children were 
 following them. They were moving along 
 through an open space in the bog. Now they 
 went on all fours, and again they would raise 
 their great bodies and walk along, even as we 
 do ourselves. 
 
 " They looked around, now and then, turn- 
 ing their ugly, wrinkled faces toward me, but 
 they had not discovered us. How sharp and 
 wicked their eyes were ! What long and 
 powerful arms they had ! They stopped be- 
 side the bushes and began to eat the berries. 
 
 " Mpuke, you would have enjoyed watching 
 a mother gorilla feed her child. She would 
 pick a berry, and then make a queer kind of 
 chuckle to call her little one. He would run 
 to her, and spring up into her arms. She 
 would show her love by moving her thin black 
 
The Gorilla Hunt 73 
 
 hand over his body, and pressing him to her 
 breast. Then down he would jump again, or 
 squat between her legs, while she picked more 
 berries and handed them to him. 
 
 " Oh, those gorillas are strange and fearful 
 creatures ! But the time had come to let 
 them know we were near by. Bang ! went 
 my gun, and the shot went straight into the 
 breast of the mother gorilla. She fell over on 
 her side, with a sharp cry. All the rest fled 
 among the trees except a father gorilla, who 
 rose up on his hind legs. At the same time 
 he gave a fearful roar, and beat his breast, as 
 though he were daring us to attack him. Be- 
 fore he had a chance to spring among us, 
 whizz ! flew the arrows from the bows of our 
 brave hunters, and a moment after he lay life- 
 less on the ground. 
 
 " We waited a long time in the place, hoping 
 the other gorillas would come back, but not a 
 single one appeared. The sun was getting 
 
74 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 low in the sky, so we started homeward. It 
 would not be wise to stay in that damp, wild 
 place after dark. 
 
 " We returned to the forest, and began to 
 pick out our way. It was hard to find the 
 tracks we had made on our way east. We 
 had not gone far before I saw a dark object 
 moving toward a high tree ahead of us. I 
 gave the sign to halt. Was it another gorilla ? 
 No, it was not large enough, and I could see 
 it had a bald, black, shiny head. 
 
 " It must be a chimpanzee. He reached 
 the tree and climbed it, hand over hand. 
 When he had found a comfortable crotch, he 
 sat down on his haunches, and put one long 
 arm around a branch of the tree, to hold him- 
 self in place. He must have come up here to 
 rest for the night. 
 
 " He was just about to close his eyes, when 
 one of our hunters made a slight noise in the 
 bushes. Before we could fire, the startled 
 
HE SAT DOWN ON HIS HAUNCHES 
 
The Gorilla Hunt 75 
 
 chimpanzee had sprung from the tree and dis- 
 appeared into the darkness of the forest. You 
 well know how §hy the creatures are. They 
 are not as bold as gorillas, and will never fight 
 if they can avoid doing so. 
 
 " But our story is not yet ended. I am 
 very tired. Gombo, will you tell my people 
 what we discovered as we nearly reached the 
 village? " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE RACE OF DWARFS. 
 
 The great chief leaned back against a tree- 
 trunk, while Gombo went on with the tale of 
 the day's adventures. 
 
 He told the astonished company that not a 
 mile away was a camp of the strangest beings 
 his eves had ever beheld. He had heard of 
 
 J 
 
 them and their ways from his own parents, but 
 they had never wandered into this part of the 
 country before. 
 
 They belonged to the race of dwarfs, and 
 the very tallest one among them was hardly 
 more than four feet high. Their hair grew in 
 little tufts, or bunches, all over their heads ; 
 that of the women was no longer than the 
 men's. Their upper lips were thick, and hung 
 
 76 
 
The Race of Dwarfs 77 
 
 out over their mouths. Their skin was a 
 reddish black, and their cheek-bones were 
 high. And the children ! They were such 
 tiny, tiny things. 
 
 When they saw Mpuke's people, they hud- 
 dled together like a pack of dogs, and hid their 
 heads. A mother pigmy held a baby. She 
 looked like a child, while it seemed as though 
 the baby must be a doll in her arms. 
 
 These queer little people were cutting down 
 branches and making ready to build their huts. 
 The men came out to meet the hunters, carry- 
 ing tiny bows and arrows. They made signs 
 that they would like to become friends. They 
 had heard of the banana plantation in Mpuke's 
 village. They were willing to help the chief 
 in his wars and catch game for his people it 
 they could be paid in bananas. 
 
 Do you suppose the black hunters laughed 
 at the idea of help from this group of tiny 
 people? Indeed not. They had heard many 
 
78 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 stories of the great skill of the dwarfs with the 
 bow and arrow, and of their great daring. 
 They had heard, too, how much harm they 
 could do if they took a dislike to a tribe or 
 person. They knew it was wise to make 
 friends with the little people. 
 
 Although they were very tired, they joined 
 in a dance to show their good-will. But the 
 pigmies had no music. One of their number 
 beat time by striking a bow with an arrow 
 while the others strutted around in a circle. 
 They looked comical enough, for they kept 
 their legs very stiff and made their faces as 
 solemn as possible. The hunters would have 
 laughed if they dared. It was certainly odd to 
 call that dancing. They pitied the tiny sav- 
 ages, with no musical instruments and no idea 
 of tunes or songs. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 HOW THE DWARFS LIVE. 
 
 " How do these queer little people sleep ? " 
 asks Mpuke, as Gombo stops for a moment 
 in his story. " Don't they have any houses to 
 protect them during the storms ? And what 
 kind of clothes do the men and women wear ? 
 I don't see that they have a chance to make 
 many things, since they move from place to 
 place so often." 
 
 " Dear me," answers the hunter, " you for- 
 get, Mpuke, what I said about their house- 
 building when we found them. People of 
 other tribes have told me that their houses are 
 like beehives. They gather long, elastic 
 branches, and bend them over into a curved 
 roof for the house, fastening the ends to the 
 
 79 
 
So Our Little African Cousin 
 
 ground. The longest branches are placed 
 over the middle of the house. Shorter ones 
 are laid on each side, and afterward the whole 
 roof is covered with leaves. 
 
 " The doorway is so low one has to creep 
 into the house on his hands and knees, and all 
 he finds inside is a bed made of sticks. That 
 cannot be very comfortable or soft, can it, 
 Mpuke ? 
 
 " Their only clothing is an apron of palm 
 leaves, which is very easily made. Oh, these 
 queer little folk have an easy time of it, but 
 I should not wish to live as they do. They 
 have no bread, for they plant no manioc. 
 They keep a fire burning as long as they stay 
 in a place, so they can roast the game they 
 shoot or trap. But that is the only cooking 
 they ever do." 
 
 " How do they light their fires ? " asks the 
 curious Mpuke. 
 
 " They hunt around in the ground till they 
 
AFTERWARD THE WHOLE ROOF IS COVERED WITH LEAVES 
 
How the Dwarfs Live 81 
 
 find two pieces of flint, and strike them to- 
 gether till they get sparks, just as I would 
 myself," the hunter answers. 
 
 " Do you think they will steal from us 
 unless we watch carefully ? " asks one of the 
 women, anxiously. " If they are thievish, 
 I must hide my ornaments in the ground 
 when we are to be away from the village." 
 
 " Do not be afraid," Gombo quickly replies, 
 " for every one says they are very honest, and 
 scorn a theft. To be sure, it would not be 
 a strange thing for a pigmy to shoot his arrow 
 into the centre of a cluster of bananas, as a 
 sign that when it ripens it shall be picked by 
 him alone. But if he should do such a thing 
 he would bring you enough game to pay for 
 it. On the other hand, it would not be well 
 for you to dare to pick a bunch that he has 
 marked in this way, even though it is on your 
 own tree, and he has never asked you 
 for it. He would feel insulted if you should 
 
82 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 touch it, once he has claimed it for his 
 own. 
 
 " These little people are good friends, but 
 bad enemies, and we must show ourselves kind 
 neighbours. As to your bracelets and anklets, 
 you need have no fear whatever. The dwarfs 
 do not seem to care for ornaments. Even 
 their women do not try to look beautiful." 
 
 Gombo stops a moment to rest. He 
 notices that the night is growing late. The 
 chief rises and gives a signal for the people 
 to scatter to their homes. 
 
 Mpuke is soon in the land of dreams ; but 
 he is awake bright and early next morning. 
 He is anxious to visit his new neighbours, and 
 get acquainted with the children of the dwarfs. 
 As soon as his early breakfast is over, the 
 black boy hurries away over the forest path, 
 and soon reaches the camp of the pygmies. 
 
 There is a fire in the hollow of a tree- 
 trunk which the children are tending. The 
 
How the Dwarfs Live 83 
 
 men and women are busy making their little 
 huts. There are about thirty people in all. 
 Mpuke makes signs of friendship, and smiles 
 at the boys and girls who are so tiny beside 
 himself. They soon get over their shyness, 
 and show him their bows and arrows. One 
 of the boys is very proud of his skill, and 
 well he may be. Mpuke envies him when he 
 sees him shoot one, two, three arrows in suc- 
 cession, so rapidly that the third one leaves 
 the bow before the first one reaches the mark. 
 Mpuke is a skilful archer, but he cannot 
 shoot as well as the little dwarf. 
 
 " How do you fish ? " he asks the children. 
 " Do you use nets, or catch the fish with 
 hooks ? " 
 
 They take their fishing-rods and go down 
 to the river with him. He is very much sur- 
 prised when he sees them tie pieces of meat 
 on the ends of their lines, and dangle them 
 in the water. 
 
84 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 " They must be silly creatures," thinks 
 Mpuke, " to believe they can catch fish in 
 any such way as that." 
 
 But he finds they are not silly. They are 
 very skilful little fishermen ; they are so clever 
 in their motions, and they give such quick 
 pulls at just the right moment, that they land 
 fish after fish in a few minutes' time. 
 
 " I can learn a good many things from the 
 dwarfs," thinks the boy. " I will spend all 
 the time I can with them as long as they stay 
 in this part of the country." 
 
 He bids them a pleasant good-bye, and 
 scampers homeward to tell his mother what 
 he has seen. Our little black cousin soon 
 reaches an open space where the trees have 
 been cut down. The grass is high and thick, 
 but he hurries along, trampling it under foot 
 as he makes a path for himself. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SPIDERS ! 
 
 Suddenly Mpuke has a queer feeling about 
 his bare legs, as though he were caught in a 
 net. Has any one been setting a snare here 
 for birds or rabbits ? Surely not, or Mpuke 
 would have heard of it. The boy's bright 
 eyes discover in a flash that he has entered 
 the palace of an immense black and yellow 
 spider. At the moment of discovery he 
 receives a sharp sting on one of his bare 
 legs. 
 
 " Ouch ! ouch ! " he cries, and jumps about 
 in great distress. 
 
 Wicked as Mr. Spider looks, his bite is 
 not dangerous, and Mpuke hurries home all 
 the faster now to get some cooling herbs from 
 
 85 
 
86 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 his mother. They will soon take away the 
 pain, and make the swelling go down. 
 
 Mpuke has watched the ways of spiders 
 many times before, but always at a safe dis- 
 tance. This king of spiders spins so strong a 
 web that he can even trap birds in it. He 
 kills them by sucking their blood in the same 
 way he treats his other prey. As for beetles, 
 flies, and wasps, it is mere sport for him to 
 end their lives, once they enter his castle. 
 
 It was only last week that Mpuke dis- 
 covered a spider he had never heard of 
 before. It had its home in a burrow in the 
 earth, shaped like a tunnel. As the boy was 
 lying under a tree, half curled up in the 
 bright sunshine, he saw a spider suddenly 
 appear on the ground near by. It had no 
 web. It seemed as though the earth must 
 have opened to let it out. 
 
 Mpuke was wide awake in an instant, for, 
 as you know, he is always ready to learn a 
 
Spiders ! 87 
 
 lesson from his kind teacher, Mother Nature. 
 He watched the spider disappear into the 
 earth again, at the very spot where it had 
 come out. 
 
 " Aha ! " said the boy to himself, " I under- 
 stand now, Mr. Spider. Your home is 
 underground, and you have made a trap- 
 door that swings as you push it. You 
 have covered it with earth so no one can 
 find out where you live. When you hear 
 a noise of some one coming you creep out 
 upon your prey." At this moment the spider 
 appeared again, and pounced upon a poor 
 clumsy caterpillar who was making his way 
 slowly past his enemy's home. The cater- 
 pillar was many times larger than the spider, 
 but what of that ? The spider was quick and 
 cunning in his motions ; the caterpillar was 
 strong, yet clumsy. There were several min- 
 utes of hard fighting, during which the spider 
 gave several sharp bites and drew blood from 
 
SS Our Little African Cousin 
 
 his enemy. Then, seizing him from behind, 
 he drew him backwards down into his cell 
 below. 
 
 Mpuke waited awhile before he dug open 
 the spider's burrow. He found it lying quite 
 still and stupid ; the caterpillar was dead and 
 partly eaten. Perhaps the spider felt dull 
 after a big dinner ; perhaps he was only 
 startled at having his home suddenly des- 
 troyed and laid bare in the sunlight. 
 
 Many little gray spiders spin their webs in 
 Mpuke's home, but his mother would not 
 destroy them for the world. They are great 
 helpers in destroying the insects which make 
 it hard to rest comfortably at night. There 
 are ants of different kinds, mosquitoes in 
 abundance, swarms of flies, besides the great 
 African cockroaches that make the walls creak 
 as they travel along their sides. 
 
 Mr. Spider is a real friend to the people 
 because he is not afraid of these creatures, 
 
Spiders ! 89 
 
 although they are his enemies as well as 
 Mpuke's. 
 
 The boy sometimes lies in bed and watches 
 the battles fought by the spiders. There is 
 one old fellow whose web is spun near 
 Mpuke's head. He must be quite old, yet 
 he is very quick, and always on the watch for 
 his prey. 
 
 " I believe he never sleeps," thinks the boy, 
 " at least I never yet saw his eyes closed. And, 
 oh, my ! what an appetite he has ; although he 
 eats so much, yet he does not seem to grow 
 any fatter." 
 
 Mpuke likes to tell his playmates of the 
 way in which this old gray spider mastered 
 an immense roach. The roach was walking 
 grandly along one day, with no thought of any 
 one interfering with his dignity, when out 
 pounced Mr. Spider from behind and jumped 
 upon his back. It would have been easy 
 enough for the roach to walk off with his 
 
90 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 enemy, if the spider had not clung with its 
 hairy hind feet to the wall. They seemed to 
 have hooks on the ends and dug into the bark, 
 holding the spider and its prey in the spot 
 where the attack was first made. 
 
 Now the battle began in earnest. They 
 fought as fiercely as two panthers. It some- 
 times seemed as though the roach would win 
 the victory and carry off the spider, but the 
 latter managed to reach over to his enemy's 
 neck and give him a severe bite. The pain 
 must have been great. He grew weaker and 
 weaker, and, after two or three more bites, he 
 gave up the battle. Mr. Spider had won a 
 prize. 
 
 Some people say that it will be fair weather 
 to-day because there are so many fresh cob- 
 webs on the grass. They do not know why 
 that is a good sign, but Mpuke knows. He 
 has often watched spiders at work, and seen 
 the half-liquid substance drawn out from tiny 
 
Spiders ! 91 
 
 tubes in the body. As it reaches the air it 
 hardens into the silk threads which are guided 
 into place by the spider's hind legs. This odd 
 substance is made in an organ called the spin- 
 neret, at the very end of the spider's body. 
 He can draw it out as he pleases, but it takes 
 time to make it, so he is never wasteful. He 
 therefore does not spin a web unless he feels 
 quite sure the winds and rains will not 
 spoil it. He has wonderful senses by which 
 he hears and feels things which are not heard 
 or felt by human beings. He rarely makes 
 a mistake in his judgment of the probable 
 weather. 
 
 Did you ever see a spider's web propped up 
 by a tiny twig ? The threads are quite elastic, 
 and after a time become stretched so that the 
 web sags. Then the clever little workman 
 feels that it can be made to last longer if it is 
 strengthened. He looks around until he dis- 
 covers the right kind of prop, and puts it into 
 
92 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 place much as a carpenter straightens a leaning 
 building. The spider has certainly learned 
 many things in Mother Nature's workshop. 
 
 But how does Mpuke spend the afternoon 
 after he has returned from the camp of the 
 dwarfs ? He finds the women of the village 
 starting on an excursion after land-crabs. 
 
 " Would you like to go ? " asks his mother. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LAND -CRABS. 
 
 The black men are very fond of the meat 
 of the crabs, but they think it is woman's work 
 to kill them. Mpuke is not so old, however, 
 but that he is willing to go with his mother. 
 It is great sport to get the crabs excited, and 
 to see them scuttling around, ready to attack 
 their foes. Their anger is really amusing, and 
 Mpuke is not the least bit afraid of them. 
 
 There are many kinds of these land-crabs. 
 Some have beautiful red shells, while others 
 are of a bright blue, but the ones best for eat- 
 ing are gray. 
 
 The party carry baskets and sharp knives, 
 and, going down to the river, are soon pad- 
 dling merrily along in their canoes. Mpuke 
 
 93 
 
94 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 entertains the women by singing a funny song, 
 and mimicking the ways of the little dwarfs. 
 
 Hark ! what is that slow, swishing sound of 
 the water? It may be a herd of hippopot- 
 ami bathing in the river. The women do 
 not care to meet them, so they look anxiously 
 ahead. They see the heads of the hippopot- 
 ami reaching out of the water, but they are a 
 long way ahead. They will reach the island 
 where the land-crabs are found before they 
 come too near the great beasts. The boats 
 are soon drawn up on the low shore. Each 
 one carries a knife and basket, and the hunt 
 begins. 
 
 The feet sink into the black mud at every 
 step, but there are no fine shoes to be spoiled, 
 nor long dresses to hold up. The black 
 women do not seem to be troubled by the 
 difficult walking, for no harm can befall them. 
 
 Mpuke goes ahead, and is the first one to 
 find traces of the crabs. He discovers a num- 
 
Land - Crabs 95 
 
 ber of their burrows close together in the 
 muddy soil. And, look I here comes an old 
 grandfather crab to meet him. The old fellow 
 brandishes one of his huge claws like a club, 
 as if to say, " Don't dare to touch me, sir, or 
 I'll knock you down." 
 
 Back of the old grandfather comes a whole 
 army of crabs, some big, some little. There 
 are fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles, 
 children, and grandchildren. Some stand 
 ready to fight, others run away in terror. 
 Mpuke and the women are as busy as bees, 
 chasing and catching their prey. 
 
 Watch our black cousin as he rushes upon 
 this big crab. He strikes the back of the 
 creature with a stout stick, and partially stuns 
 it by the blow. At the same moment he 
 seizes one of its great claws and tears it skil- 
 fully from the body. It is done in an instant, 
 and Mr. Crab is now at his mercy. 
 
 But the next time Mpuke is not so success- 
 
96 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 fill. He strikes a good blow, but the crab 
 manages to get away, and scuttles toward his 
 own burrow. Mpuke springs forward, and 
 knocks in his home, to the great amazement 
 of the crab. What shall he do ? Every 
 moment is precious. He rushes to the bur- 
 row of a neighbour and tries to enter, but he 
 is met by a pair of claws as big as his own. 
 
 " How dare you enter my house in such a 
 rude manner?" perhaps the other exclaims, in 
 crab language. His whole clumsy body fol- 
 lows the claws outside, and Mpuke holds his 
 sides and laughs as the two crabs enter into a 
 desperate fight. 
 
 At this moment there is a scream from one 
 of the women. Her hand is held tightly in 
 the claw of the crab she has attacked. Mpuke 
 rushes up to her, and with one stroke of his 
 knife cuts away the claw from the crab's body. 
 But, even now, the hand is held tightly, for 
 the muscles of the claw have not loosened 
 
Land - Crabs 97 
 
 their hold. The woman is faint with the pain, 
 and keeps on screaming until the claw has 
 been pried open, and her bruised hand bound 
 in cooling leaves. 
 
 As for the crab, he hurries away as fast as 
 possible to his own dark, quiet home. There 
 he probably consoles himself with the thought 
 that a new claw will grow in course of time, 
 and take the place of the old one. 
 
 After an hour or two of busy work the bas- 
 kets are filled, and the party make their way 
 safely to their homes. There were no acci- 
 dents, and not a single hippopotamus was 
 seen. 
 
 The men are all home, and have great news 
 to tell. Word has reached the village that 
 white traders are coming this way. Every one 
 is excited. The stores of ivory must be col- 
 lected ; the skins of the wild animals must 
 be collected together ; while Mpuke and his 
 young friends will spend every spare moment 
 
98 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 in catching parrots and paroquets, and making 
 cages for them. The traders may buy them to 
 carry to children in far-distant lands. 
 
 Yes, Mpuke is delighted, above all else, 
 that he may now be able to buy some beads 
 for his precious mother. 
 
 Perhaps the traders will tell such stories of 
 their own country that Mpuke will long to 
 see it. It is even possible that they will grow 
 fond of the black boy during their stay in this 
 village, and will invite him to come to Amer- 
 ica with them. And perhaps he will accept 
 the invitation. Who knows ? 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 By Marshall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe." 
 One vol., library 12mo, cloth, illustrated . . $1.50 
 " This book revives the spirit of ' Beautiful Joe ' capi- 
 tally. It is fairly riotous with fun, and is about as unusual 
 as anything in the animal book line that has seen the light." 
 — Philadelphia Item. 
 
 'TILDA JANE. By Marshall Saunders. 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 " I cannot think of any better book for children than 
 
 this. I commend it unreservedly." — Cyrus Townsend 
 
 Brady. 
 
 'TILDA JANE'S ORPHANS. A sequel to 'Tilda 
 Jane. By Marshall Saunders. 
 
 One vol., 12mo, fully illustrated, cloth decorative, $1.50 
 'Tilda Jane is the same original, delightful girl, and as 
 
 fond of her animal pets as ever. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE GRAVELEYS. By Mar- 
 shall Saunders, author of " Beautiful Joe's Para- 
 dise," " 'Tilda Jane," etc. 
 Library 12mo, cloth decorative. Illustrated by E. B. 
 
 Barry $1.50 
 
 Here we have the haps and mishaps, the trials and 
 triumphs, of a delightful New England family, of whose 
 devotion and sturdiness it will do the reader good to hear. 
 
 BORN TO THE BLUE. By Florence Kimball 
 
 RUSSEL. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.25 
 The atmosphere of army life on the plains breathes on 
 every page of this delightful tale. The boy is the son of a 
 captain of U. S. cavalry stationed at a frontier post in the 
 days when our vegulars earned the gratitude of a nation. 
 A— 5 
 
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY'S 
 
 IN WEST POINT GRAY 
 
 By Florence Kimball Russel. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 " Singularly enough one of the best books of the year 
 for boys is written by a woman and deals with life at West 
 Point. The presentment of life in the famous military 
 academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
 and enjoyable." — New York Sun. 
 
 FROM CHEVRONS TO SHOULDER STRAPS 
 
 By Florence Kimball Russel. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, decorative . . . $1.50 
 
 West Point again forms the background of a new volume 
 
 in this popular series, and relates the experience of Jack 
 
 Stirling during his junior and senior years. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
 
 Ada Clendenin Williamson. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover .... $1.50 
 
 " An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
 very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
 of the year's books for reading to small children." — 
 Buffalo Express. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 Mr. Hopkins's first essay at bedtime stories met with 
 
 such approval that this second book of " Sandman " tales 
 
 was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
 
 and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable manner. 
 
 THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins, author of " The Sandman: 
 
 His Farm Stories," etc. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 " Children call for these stories over and over again." — 
 Chicago Evening Post. 
 A.— 6 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE SANDMAN, HIS SEA STORIES 
 
 By William J. Hopkins. 
 
 Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
 
 Each year adds to the popularity of this unique series 
 
 of stories to be read to the little ones at bed time and at 
 
 other times. 
 
 THE DOCTOR'S LITTLE GIRL 
 
 By Marion Ames Taggart, author of " Pussy-Cat 
 
 Town," etc. 
 
 One vol., library 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 
 A thoroughly enjoyable tale of a little girl'and her com- 
 rade father, written in a delightful vein of sympathetic 
 comprehension of the child's point of view. 
 
 SWEET NANCY 
 
 The Further Adventures op the Doctor's Little 
 
 Girl. By Marion Ames Taggart. 
 
 One vol., library, 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 
 In the new book, the author tells how Nancy becomes 
 in fact " the doctor's assistant," and continues to shed 
 happiness around her. 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS-MAKERS' CLUB 
 
 By Edith A. Sawyer. 
 
 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 
 A delightful story for girls, full of the real spirit of 
 
 Christmas. It abounds in merrymaking and the right 
 
 kind of fun. 
 
 CARLOTA 
 
 A Story op the San Gabriel Mission. By Frances 
 Margaret Fox. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
 
 in colors by Ethelind Ridgway . . . . $1.00 
 
 " It is a pleasure to recommend this little story as an 
 
 entertaining contribution to juvenile literature." — The 
 
 New York Sun. 
 
 THE SEVEN CHRISTMAS CANDLES 
 By Frances Margaret Fox. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Ethelind Ridgway . . $1.00 
 Miss Fox's new book deals with the fortunes of the de- 
 lightful Mulvaney children. 
 A — 7 
 
L. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 PUSSY-CAT TOWN 
 
 By Marion Ames Taggart. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors $1.00 
 
 " Anything more interesting than the doings of the cats 
 in this story, their humor, their wisdom, their patriotism, 
 would be hard to imagine." — Chicago Post. 
 
 THE ROSES OF SAINT ELIZABETH 
 
 By Jane Scott Woodruff. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
 in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . . $1 .00 
 This is a charming little story of a child whose father was 
 
 caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg, where Saint 
 
 Elizabeth once had her home. 
 
 GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 
 
 By Evaleen Stein. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . $1.00 
 Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who 
 assisted the monks in the long ago days, when all the books 
 were written and illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED AUTOMOBILE 
 
 Translated from the French by Mary J. Safford 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Edna M. Sawyer $1.00 
 " An up-to-date French fairy-tale which fairly radiates 
 
 the spirit of the hour, — unceasing diligence.' — Chicago 
 
 Record-Herald. 
 
 O-HEART-SAN 
 
 The Story of a Japanese Girl. By Helen Eggles- 
 ton Haskell. 
 
 Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
 rated in colors by Frank P. Fairbanks . $1.00 
 " The story comes straight from the heart of Japan. 
 The shadow of Fujiyama lies across it and from every 
 page breathes the fragrance of tea leaves, cherry blossoms 
 and chrysanthemums." — The Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 A — 8 
 
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND: Or, The Adven- 
 tures of Allan West. By Burton E. Stevenson, 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 Mr. Stevenson's hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is 
 given a chance as a section-hand on a big Western rail- 
 road, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. 
 
 THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER. By Bur- 
 ton E. Stevenson. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 
 " A better book for boys has never left an American 
 
 press." — Springfield Union. 
 
 THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER. By Burton E. 
 Stevenson. 
 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for 
 boys in which the actualities of life are set forth in a practi- 
 cal way could be devised or written." — Boston Herald. 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER. By Winn Standish. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated $1.50 
 
 Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high- 
 school boy. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S CHAMPIONS: Or, Sports on 
 Land and Lake. By Winn Standish. 
 Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
 " It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested 
 
 in athletics, for it shows him what it means to always 
 
 ' play fair.' " — Chicago Tribune. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S HOLIDAYS* Or, Millvale 
 High in Camp. By Winn Standish. 
 
 Illustrated $1.50 
 
 Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to 
 
 excite the healthy minded youngster to emulation. 
 
 JACK LORIMER'S SUBSTITUTE : Or, The Act- 
 ing Captain of the Team. By Winn Standish. 
 
 Illustrated . $1.50 
 
 On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wres- 
 tling, tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps 
 than any of its predecessors. 
 — 9 
 
L. C. PAGE &> COMPANY'S 
 
 CAPTAIN JINKS: The Autobiography of a Shet- 
 land Pony. By Frances Hodges White. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.50 
 
 The story of Captain Jinks and his faithful dog friend 
 Billy, their quaint conversations and their exciting 
 adventures, will be eagerly read by thousands of boys and 
 girls. The story is beautifully written and will take its 
 place alongside of " Black Beauty " and " Beautiful Joe." 
 
 THE RED FEATHERS. By Theodore Roberts. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.50 
 
 " The Red Feathers " tells of the remarkable adventures 
 
 of an Indian boy who lived in the Stone Age, many years 
 
 ago, when the world was young. 
 
 FLYING PLOVER. By Theodore Roberts. 
 
 Cloth decorative. Illustrated by Charles Livingston 
 
 Bull $1.00 
 
 Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who 
 
 lives alone with her grandson, " Flying Plover," to whom 
 
 she tells the stories each evening. 
 
 THE WRECK OF THE OCEAN QUEEN. By 
 
 James Otis, author of " Larry Hudson's Ambition," etc. 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.50 
 
 " A stirring story of wreck and mutiny, which boys will 
 find especially absorbing. The many young admirers of 
 James Otis will not let this book escape them, for it fully 
 equals its many predecessors in excitement and sustained 
 interest." — Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 LITTLE WHITE INDIANS. By Fannie E. Os- 
 
 TRANDER. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . • • . $1.25 
 
 " A bright, interesting story which will appeal strongly 
 
 to the ' make-believe ' instinct in children, and will 
 
 give them a healthy, active interest in 'the simple life.'" 
 
 MARCHING WITH MORGAN. How Donald 
 
 Lovell Became a Soldier of the Revolution. 
 
 By John L. Veasy. 
 
 Cloth decorative, illustrated . . $1.50 
 
 This is a splendid boy's story of the expedition of 
 Montgomery and Arnold against Quebec 
 A— 10 
 
THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Elizabeth Preston Ward 
 
 in memory of 
 Jean Versfelt Preston 
 
 Scfibo! d< Information & 
 library Science Lib ::y 
 
 TTJl