The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the Adjoining Regions — John Shaqi
The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the Adjoining RegionsBattell, Andrew
History
The Strange Adventures of Andrew Battell, of Leigh, in Angola and the Adjoining Regions
Battell, Andrew
Angola -- Discovery and exploration; Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Discovery and exploration
The greatest of these two monsters is called _Pongo_ [_Mpungu_] in their
language, and the lesser is called _Engeco_. This _Pongo_ is in all
proportions like a man, but that he is more like a giant in stature than
a man; for he is very tall, and hath a man’s face, hollow-eyed, with
long hair upon his brows. His face and ears are without hair, and his
hands also. His body is full of hair, but not very thick, and it is of a
dunnish colour. He differeth not from a man but in his legs, for they
have no calf. He goeth always upon his legs, and carryeth his hands
clasped upon the nape of his neck when he goeth upon the ground. They
sleep in the trees, and build shelters from the rain. They feed upon
fruit they find in the woods and upon nuts, for they eat no kind of
flesh. They cannot speak, and have no more understanding than a beast.
The people of the country, when they travel in the woods, make fires
when they sleep in the night. And in the morning, when they are gone,
the _Pongoes_ will come and sit about the fire till it goeth out, for
they have no understanding to lay the wood together. They go many
together, and kill many negroes that travel in the woods. Many times
they fall upon the elephants, which come to feed where they be, and so
beat them with their clubbed fists and pieces of wood that they will run
roaring away from them.
Those _Pongoes_ are never taken alive, because they are so strong that
ten men cannot hold one of them, but yet they take many of their young
ones with poisoned arrows. The young Pongo hangeth on his mother’s
belly, with his hands clasped fast about her, so that when the country
people kill any of the females, they take the young one which hangeth
fast upon his mother. When they die among themselves, they cover the
dead with great heaps of boughs and wood, which is commonly found in the
forests.
[Purchas adds in a marginal note:
“He told me in a conference with him that one of these Pongos
took a negro boy of his, which lived a month with them, for
they hurt not those which they surprise at unawares, except
they look on them, which he [the boy] avoided. He said, their
height was like a man’s, but their bigness twice as great. I
saw the negro boy.
“What the other monster [the Engeco] should be he hath
forgotten to relate, and these papers came to my hand since
his death, which otherwise, in my often conferences, I might
have learned. Perhaps he meaneth the Pigmy Pongo-killers
mentioned.”]
[_Hunting Dogs._]
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account