I have heard of this in many parts of Africa with some slight changes of detail, but have as often been assured that it had defied the skill of all woodsmen to ascertain the real character of the drum used by them in this unique _n'kanjo_. Some assert that they beat upon a dead tree, others that they use a concave piece of wood or bark, while some contend that they strike the breast with their hands; but, during my sojourn here, I have been shown what I believe is the genuine _n'gaema n'tyigo_. It is a peculiar spot of sonorous earth, of irregular shape but usually about two feet in diameter, and formed of clay superimposed upon a soil resembling peat. It appears to be artificial, but the natives cannot tell whether it is natural or made by the _n'tyigo_, but it is fairly certain that it is used by the chimpanzee as described, and it is not a bad imitation of the native _n'gaema_. I have examined one of these with much care, and I am inclined to believe that it is artificial, as it is isolated from all similar clay, and appears to have been kneaded. I have, as yet, seen but few chimpanzees since I have taken up my abode at Fort Gorilla, but I hope to enjoy some private interviews with them before I decamp. It is difficult for me to tell you what it is to be alone in the bosom of the N'Kami forest. No fancy can portray the solitude of such a time and place. Just now the elements are in an angry mood; the thunder rolls along the sky, until the earth recoils and trembles at the sound; the wind shrieks through the jungle as if to find a refuge from impending wrath; the pouring rain pursues it with the speed of fear; the lightning waves its torch, and glowing chains of fire fall. Such is the way in which the long and dreary nights approach my hermitage. And yet, I am content among the dismal shadows of the wilderness, for Nature makes me her confidant, and every hour divulges some new secret; and my cage affords me such immunity from danger that I can sit quiescently and witness all her sports, as no one ever witnessed them before.