Lost in the Jungle; Narrated for Young PeopleDu Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
General
Lost in the Jungle; Narrated for Young People
Du Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Africa, West -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
The drums beat early this morning; it seemed as if a fête-day was
coming, for every one appeared joyous. I was quite unprepared for the
ceremony that was to take place, for I knew nothing about it; no one had
breathed a word concerning it to me. When the hour arrived I was called
out of my hut. Wild shouts rang through the air as I made my
appearance--"Yo! yo! yo!" The chiefs of the tribe, headed by Remandji,
advanced toward me in line, each chief being armed with a spear, the
heads of which they held pointed at me. In rear of the chiefs were
hundreds of Apingi warriors, also armed with spears. Were they to spear
me? They stopped, while the drummers beat their tam-tams furiously. Then
Remandji, holding a kendo in his hand, came forward in the midst of the
greatest excitement and wild shouts of "The moguizi is to be made our
king! the moguizi is to be made our king!"
When Remandji stood about a yard from me a dead silence took place. The
king advanced another step, and then with his right hand put the kendo
on my left shoulder, saying, "You are the spirit whom we have never seen
before. We are but poor people when we see you. You are one of those of
whom we have heard, who came from nobody knows where, and whom we never
expected to see. You are our king. We make you our king. Stay with us
always, for we love you!" Whereupon shouts as wild as the country around
came from the multitude. They shouted, "Spirit, we do not want you to go
away--we want you forever!"
Immense quantities of palm wine, contained in calabashes, were drank,
and a general jollification took place in the orthodox fashion of a
coronation.
From that day, therefore, I may call myself Du Chaillu the First, King
of the Apingi. Just fancy, I am an African king! Of all the wild castles
I ever built when I was a boy, I never dreamed that I should one day be
made king over a wild tribe of negroes dwelling in the mountains of
Equatorial Africa.
I will remain in my kingdom for a while, and see every thing strange
that there is in it. In the mean time, dear Young Folks, I bid you
good-by, promising that, should you like to hear more of the country I
have explored, I will, in another year, bring you back to the strange
land where you and I have had so many adventures together.
[Illustration: FINIS]
* * * * *
INTERESTING BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG.
HARPER & BROTHERS _will send any of the following works by mail, postage
prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price_.
ABBOTT'S SCIENCE FOR THE YOUNG. Science for the Young. By Jacob
Abbott.
HEAT. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
LIGHT. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
WATER AND LAND. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
FORCE. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
BOOKS FOR GIRLS. Written or Edited by the Author of "John
Halifax." Illustrated. 16mo, Cloth, 90 cents each.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account