The Country of the Dwarfs. Du Chaillu Paul Belloni
four days' hard work, seventy canoe-loads had been landed, and the cargo was all ashore. I breathed freely once more; not a load had been swamped. We had just finished when the breakers became dangerous again, and in a day or two more it would have been impossible to go through them.
Not an article was missing. Captain Vardon was amazed. I said to him, "Did I not tell you that my Commi men would not steal?"
You would have laughed to see the miscellaneous articles which formed part of the cargo. Many of them were specially manufactured for the African market, and the heavy goods were to be given to Quengueza, Ranpano, Olenga-Yombi, Obindji, and the chiefs living on the banks of the Rembo and Ovenga rivers.
The great trouble was to put all the goods under shelter. They had to be stored in several huts. There were no locks on the doors, but I was not afraid of the people, and my confidence was justified, for not an article was stolen. Captain Vardon wondered at it; he had been a trader for a good many years on the Coast, and said it was marvelous. So it was; there is no city in any Christian country where these thousands of dollars' worth of goods could be as safe. I loved the Commi, and the Commi loved me.
After every thing had been housed, I thought it was time to make a distribution of the presents I intended for my friends. Quengueza's presents will give you a fair idea of the articles I had brought into the country.
So one afternoon I went for friend Quengueza when every body was taking their afternoon nap. He followed me, accompanied by several of his great men, nephews, and wives; for a great king like Quengueza could not walk alone; he must have a retinue, or escort. Quengueza was very fond of this sort of thing, but that day he did not like it a bit; he did not want his people to see what I was going to give him, but he did not dare to send them away, so he whispered into my ear, "Chally, send them away when you come to your house, for I do not want any body inside."
So I dismissed Quengueza's people, and, after Quengueza and I had entered the hut, he closed the door himself, to make sure, and peeped through the crevices to see that nobody was trying to look in. Then he seated himself and awaited developments.
I opened a chest filled with presents for him. The first thing I displayed before his wide-open eyes was a huge long coat, similar to those worn by the London beadles. This coat had been made specially for his majesty, and to fit his tall figure, for Quengueza was over six feet high. It was of the most glaring colors – blue, with yellow fringe, and lined with red. There was also a splendid plush waistcoat, with big brass buttons. His coat fell to his feet. I gave him no pantaloons, for Quengueza never liked to wear them.
After Quengueza's admiring eyes had looked with amazement on his splendid coat and bright yellow waistcoat, he must try them on; but, before doing so, he went again to see that no one was peeping in. I wondered why his majesty, who was a perfect despot, was so much afraid.
Having put on his robe or morning-gown, I gave him an enormous drum-major's cane, with a tremendous gilded head, to be used as a staff. He stiffened himself at the sight, and asked for a looking-glass, in which he regarded himself with an air of supreme satisfaction. Then I took out of my trunk my opera hat, which of course was flat when shut up, and gave it a slight punch, when the springs immediately threw it out into the shape of a splendid stove-pipe hat, to the utter astonishment and bewilderment of King Quengueza. Then I put the hat on his head, and his majesty walked to and fro, drawing himself to his full height. After some minutes he took off his imperial costume, putting the clothes back in the chest where they came from, and proceeded to inspect the other presents, among which were
• 6 pieces of silk, of different colors.
• 100 pieces of calico prints.
• 6 silver spoons, knives, and forks.
• 1 silver goblet.
• 1 magnificent red, blue, and yellow silk umbrella.
• Among the larger articles were
• 1 common brass kettle.
• 100 iron bars, 6 feet long, 1-3/4 wide.
• 50 large copper plates 24 inches in diameter.
• 50 small brass kettles.
• 50 iron pots.
• 50 guns.
• 50 kegs of powder.
• 25 wash-basins.
• 12 dozen plates.
• 6 dozen glasses.
• 300 pounds of beads, of different colors and sizes.
• 50 pine chests.
• 200 pairs of ear-rings for his wives.
• Several chests containing trinkets, mirrors, files, forks, knives, etc.
• A chest filled with nice presents sent to him by some of my friends.
The chests were his delight, for the wealth of a king here is composed chiefly of chests, which, of course, are supposed to be filled with goods.
King Quengueza never thought that his friend Chally would have remembered him so profitably.
After showing him all these things, I made him a speech, and said, in a low tone, "Quengueza, Chally has a heart (ore'ma); he has a heart that loves you. When he left you the last time he was poor, and had nothing to give you, but you loved him the same as if he had possessed a thousand chests filled with goods. Now he is rich, and has just come back from the white man's country, and he brings you all these fine presents, for Chally loves you;" and when I said "loves you" I looked at him steadily in the face. The sight of all this wealth had almost dumbfounded the old man, and for a while he could not speak. Finally he said,
"Do you love me, Chally? If you do, do not tell the people what you have given me, or they will bewitch me to have my property."
The fear of witchcraft was a great defect in the character of poor Quengueza. He was always in dread of being bewitched, and consequently of dying.
Then he knelt down and clasped my feet with his hands, and, with his face distorted by fear, begged me again not to tell any body in the country what I had given him. This taking hold of a man's feet is the most imploring way of asking a favor; it was the first time in his life that Quengueza, the great chief of the Abouya clan, had done such a thing. I promised him, of course, never to tell any thing to his people.
After a while he went away, and his subjects crowded round him, expecting fully to hear what fine things his friend Chally had brought him, when I heard him shout, with the loudest voice he could summon,
"My friend Chally knows nothing but talk, and has brought me nothing." Coming toward me, he repeated the statement just as loudly, and looked at me at the same time with an imploring sort of a look, as if to say, "Do not say any thing." But Quengueza's people knew me better; they knew very well that Chally, the great friend of Quengueza, would not come back from the white man's country without bringing him something, and they were smiling all the while, for they were well acquainted with the ways of their beloved old chief, who was a miser, and never wanted his people to know what he possessed. I kept his presents till his departure.
I gave presents also to good old Ranpano, to the chiefs that had come to see me, to their wives, and to my old friends, and then the people returned to their different villages. Quengueza's people were busy every day collecting the long bamboo-like branches of palm-trees for my new settlement, which they were to build for me.
Before the departure of the chiefs, I assembled them, and we held a grand palaver, at which they agreed that the Mentor should not leave their country until they had laden her with their products – woods, India-rubber, ivory, wax, etc.
The night Quengueza took leave his confidential slaves were busy taking his presents from my hut to the large canoes they had with them, which having been safely accomplished, they departed before daylight. Quengueza threatened with death any one of his men who should say a word of what had passed.
Then, for the first time since my arrival, it looked as if I was going to have a quiet time. I was glad of it, for I had been ill with fever, and wanted rest and quiet in order to get well. Old Ranpano would stay for hours by my