Evening Star Newspaper, February 14, 1926, Page 80

4 Daring Traveler in Bakongo Saved From D Crisis in the Village of Savage Tribe Accompanied by Some Thrilling Mo- ments—White Chil the Gallant Offer of d’s Photograph and the Bashilele Wom- en—Buya Replies to Bakongo Threats W ith Prodigious Invective—An Offer of Marriage—Perpetrating a Kongo “Atrocity.” Forday. @ British expiorer (ithropologist, and his com panion. Capt. Hilion Simpson, were the s white ver to venen kongo. one they dis cov e (Great Lakes of th Thagd were aecom panie Pofaithind Bambala por "o N vearold icle the author terrible volume which he nigzhit this install v Bakonzo tigures e childish i pres viti 1 th Piariy s tents been rtheless, is or of the Anthro Britain Anthro Vienna, and rail the nd Tramp in bouks n Wil BY E. ENT TORDAY woiming critical Bakongo out of our that i the that sur the work I sup an o) i at It needed ) de. insint sed the ite the $akonEo poss | dog of his age. who is not a wonld have men_behind ms (because a shelter of wean child European ralist lling the caddis wol ks stuck At noon Ximp: near the served the old ch improvised k tled up ther son and T were sitting n 1 suddenly oh. £ stroll up to our take fowls and walk off with them. I had just me to say hurriedly to Simpson, “Don't look | around: the old bounder s(mxlinh’i our chickens, and if either of us sees | it we shall have to shoot him or we | are done for.” < we were supposed to le in ignorance of the insult we could think matters over, but if it were known that we were cognizant of the theft, hesitation to shoot would have | been considered a sign of fear, and | would have been followed by an open | attack. We could have put up a | fair resistance: we had our sporting repeating rifl and our shotguns: | in :« wooden case we had some other cheap rifles with a few cartridges; | but we did not have wu single man | WwWho could have handled one. | We were in the center of a strange | country; even should we succeed in getting through, it meant the loss of all our precious eollections. We had to try to get away peacefully. But how? Th Bambala realized how things stood, and never have they shown more pluck than on this occa- sion. v came up to us, dressed in their best clothes, and asked us to let the enemy come as near as possible when he attacked, then to shoot those best bows and the most la would then rush get these weapons and fight. “Of course we are few and they many, but they won't get us cheap.” 1 had brought with me from Europe & toy elephant which, when wound up, would wave its trunk and walk a few \ tent. w tehen, is s long “APPEARED BEFORE THE HIGH- LY EXCITED CHIEF.” steps: T meant to exchange it for some curio. I went to my tent, took it out of the trunk and found it was in per- fect working order. Then T explained my plan to Simpson, who was much amused by it. ( Soon the younger chief, who had plways been well disposed toward us, was prowling around our camp; I called out to him to come, as I had something of great importance to tell him. He looked carefully around to make sure he was not observed and then came, very crestfallen, and ob- viously perturbed by the turn events had taken. I told him that I knew it was not through his fault that things had gone wrong, and that I had decided to show my gratitude for his good will by giving him advics that would save his life, and that of his family and friends. Zhis made Mm quite nervous, and | were in the region. | he anxiously inquired what he was to {do. T told him that all thuse whom he [ loved wust ieave the nightfall, as. proveked by the old chief, I had decided to destroy it—1 would not » s myself, but order my cle. 1h; to do it What elephant” Come and see ] WENT into the tent. wound up the toy (ess than a foot high) and when it walked along a wooden case, Simpson raised the flap of the tent ol the clock-work toy appeared be. fure the highly-excited chief. One look was enough for hin. lle off tows 1de he he am going 1o the am bringing hack an hour later Kenge was place. The Pambala w the same place indifferent. villuge before P wteh them Half different in ntly ickens—1 <ittir un d he tried to take advantage victory by buying a chicken hiniself at less than the market ice: he got it. Simpson and 1 were tting in our deck chairs, the stolen ens and about a dozen more at feet. listening to the supplication the old chief, who implored us to 1ecept porters, as many as we liked | for the earliest possible date. 1 told him 1 was whispered that he wanted us to he was afraid his peopls become hostile. At this 1 smiled, and waved my hand toward the tent where he knew the myst S elephant was waiting for a sign destroy the community. He at retracted what he had said; of course, there was 1o question of his people hostile to such great men as Simpson and me. but he had alw inderstood that we were keen to his village, nay the Bakongo country, and he knew of an excellent Mushilele chief who would welcome us with open arms After a time T condescended to send Maruvu to this chief the next day il arvange about our coming. He beat the ground with his fists thanked me most humbly. He was g 0 tell me some more. but 1 dis missed him haughtily. T have never seen & man who resembled a beaten as much as this old scoundrel who was so arrogant before. Mayuyu came back from the Bashi lele village and repe seemed very friendly, mind vou, ordered, not chief 1o have the port the day after the next. [ chose (hat day because I had decided to send our Bambala next night to the Bashi lele with our iron and such goods as might be easily pilfered, and not to trust the Bakongo with them. This cost me a great deal of anxiety after- ward. The Bambala, led by Mayuyu, start- ed at 1 o'clock in the morning so quietly that the villagers knew nothing of their departure. They were cpected to be back at about 10 or in the morning. At 10 we were the lookout for them: at 11 we went 1o meet them sight_ Then we pussed the most terrible time I have ever known. We knew that Badjok slave traders and we at once thought they might have Kidnaped our men. Neither of us {magined any mischief on the part of the Bakong they had been overawed, we were in n no hurry, so he caus Zht 1 ordered sked—the old s ready for 11 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D o, FEBRUARY 14, 5. 1926 —PART “YOU WANT TO SEE been at many Bakongo had contentedly and right till one of the i The Bakongo who brot down in front of Simp. without walting for pa tor their 1i been force spected die co been stolen b elephant look the tright vied to 1 The Bashi re m men than the Bakon with fine features with long. thick be re ed us with o gr resembled motor horns, week end tuken The ment was all Xes came threw it then had run everything n b bt it on tound 1 tall, + men wor M irds The s pro ind ! ted that the chief | | the bush Nothing was in | the village, and if they had killed our | men they would not hesitate to do the' same to us before the news reached us. No, it must have been the Badjok. One long hour followed another and still there was no news. We could not talk or work; we just waited. If the Badjok had got our men, what could we do? We were not far from the frontier and knew nothing of the country. As evening approached I told Simpson that we would have to leave everything in Kenge and start at nightfail in pursuit, though we did not know in what direction! At any rate, if the Badjok hurt one halr on the head of the Bambala we would kill, kill, till we were killed ourselves. It was then that I learned how a civilized man can revert to savagery; - there was nothing I would not have done to those who had harmed our faithful companions; Simpson was no better. We went into our tent to prepare all the ammunition we had and make ready. Suddenly the joyful yelping of Sanga announced the return of the lost men. Life again seemed worth- while. Mayuyu, who had only once seen the way to Makasu (the Bashilele village), had made a mistake in the dark, and it had taken hours to find the right road again. The porters, more than we wanted, were_there before dawn next morn- ing; I hawe ever seen people gladder to get rid of thele visitorm, and I bave duced by a simple half a calabash s whe offered some. and improvised for It turned ce come to a cl Tt seems that the men >d thelr palm-wi of con here o with whom but they it from a we had by when they in have ga the habi like peop pathy wives The Bashile and we purch ber of them th had lovely carvings sed quite a good num We did not, however, want to stay long in this village, as it was very small and we were afrald of becoming a burden to the peop We were told that there was another village of the same nan some dis tance, I sent Mayuyu with the jef's son to ask ir o ptable there. 1 message assuring welcome. Ax it was out of the tion in so smull & pl clent porters to carry our sent some on with the then. the next day selves o place 1 map as Makasu 11 The people of Makasu 11 were ble those of Makasu | © the next vil Kitan it was just the place for a person re. covering from a4 nervous breakdown Our life among these Bashilele wis a perfect idyl. The delightful old chief, Luparakwe, left nothing un done to muke everything pleasant for us. and his people took thelr cue from him. We stayed for a few days. and then mentioned to the chief that it was time for us to move on. “Why do you want to leave us?” he asked, astonished. “Is there any- thing you are wanting? Just tell me; I will see to it that you get it. Have you enough food? T hope the people don't make a noise at night when you want to slesp. I am expecting some friends who are coming to sell curios.” us of o -~ I told him that we had everything that we required, but that we wanted to get back to our own people. He remonstrated, asked us to stay on just a few days—and finally we had to give in. One day we received a depu- tation from a Badjok chief who had a village in those parts, asking us to come and see him: as this brought us nearer to the Kasai, we sent a message that we would do so. I asked the chief for porters; he put us off on some pretense; re- iterated my request, and he answered by repeating his offer to keep us for- ever with him! He did his best to achieve this; we could have every- thing but portersy A YOUR WOMEN Wi | were sitting in the photograph out of represented my dear Margaret Joy aged old. 1 looked at it tor when one of the women glanced over my onee recognized it child, a wt thing had ever been | hilele Might she | inally, as we e 1 took a pocket; it nd Arby ut summoned & the most I th rth excited over that it T It the mean thing d told them that had seer ut T was dying | ad 17 if the 1 we v And that %, v your loads m't we ot n a th I felt ed tc me. > lowest dog up ¢ am ur feet! Atte thes o sort that sld learn the truth their Kind b rts rejoice L that they would help to b ughter together. It was not true, but as long as they believed in it, this was of no consequence. It mattered to me more than I can say. and ewen to this day when I think of it I blush with shame. I {hive done worse things in my life !than thi: after all. innocent decep- 1 have never done one that ted me so relentlessly next morn men of Kitambt shamed by their wives, turn o, and we started soon to this hospitable people. The 10 chief insisted on coming with us to see il installed in the next > id fath, again from t_point the Badjok. called Maylla, ¥ s meet us and for this solem nity had donued two pairs of trousers, three shirts above these (not tucked modestly away), and other finery. Sanga, always so condescendingly friendly with the natives, shivered with at the sight; she always shared my aversion to European clothes on black people. Buya, on the other hand, was much impressed and treated Mayila with the defer- ence & millionaire deserves—or usual- Iy gets. The village was an important one, but had only recently been estab- lished and was obviously a makeshift. * & * INo artiel on the Kongo can be written without at least one atrocity. Up to now I had not suc- ceeded in getting one, but at last for- tune favored me. That which follows is the authentic account of one, all the more credible, as it 1S the villain of the piece who makes his confession Simpson and 1 were sitting near our tent teaching Badjok children to make soap-bubbles; were we not the apostles of civilization? We heard some loud voices in the village, but that was so common an occurrence that we paid little heed to it. Somehow, I listened after a time and distinguished the voice of a Mulaba woman begging for mercy; then I heard blows. T jumped up and ran in the direc- tion of the sound, and there I saw a woman being tied up and dragged away by some men. I rushed there and kicked them away. I asked what was the matter. The woman explained that the man standing by was her hus- band who had just sold her to the Badjok 1 asked him if it was true; he told me it w not my business. I made it s0. Was this woman his wife? Yes. Had he sold her as a slave? Yes. Then I lost my head. At first my blows were pretty cor- rect, but as 1 warmed to the job I be- came less regular; hang it Rll, this Wwas not a contest at the National Sporting Club; this was assault and battery pure and simple. When I had finished there was no skin left on my knuckles, and the scoundred’s face looked like a black caulifiower with tomato sauce. He had to be carried away, while I took the woman to my camp. The Badjok looked on quietly, though they might have become un- pleasant. It seems that they had not yet paid the price, so they did not consider it their business to interfere; besides, they did not want to get into trouble with the state force. Though' we were still in no man’s land, we were only 40 miles from the edge of it, and I had already sent Mayuyu as a messenger to the near- est European factory. My presence was known; that saved our expedition from shipwreck in the last minute, for my hot temper might have caused us to lose the fruit of our labors. This wide divergence of ideas op the subject of women ,brought fresh- ly to mind an awkward experience when I was living in Migenja and had become a great man in the kingdom. I was made a member of the higher nobility and was seen constantly in secret conclave with the King. It is to this social distinction and the un- imited wealth I was supposed to pos- cess that 1 must attribute the misad- venture—not to my personal charms. One evening a small boy came and brought me a fowl and two eggs; when I wanted to pay him for this very welcome addition to our now | CHILD--YOU SHALL SEE YOUR CHILD; 1F THE MEN REILSE LL DO IT> more than scanty take anything had 1 whom? Hil good witticisy miark ser Tarder | ing en By a lac on Simpson thot opportur Itr with the But when 1 of TO CARRY YOLR LOADS, Wi other white formally cttle in the place Mer and miarrey his In those da till en sently to mother, and I did dare him to Hilton Sim Lo ure a further suppl bananas and gr as inordin: h he used to g b olf ully). he was quite capab the bargain on the s remember. it was +send their refer gorn (of h fond, and th wh linchir me that charmi Simpson pr the lady was £h he was gure of duty to marr with the Kimi Kamin f great advantage in col specimens; he said 1 owed it 1o 1 Museum and t a i h 4 political 15 the 12 him that T was de iile he was 5 boot at science as he seemed 10 an allinnee and mpson to tell the 1 was mar 1,1 don spouses n T kne ination wis raised me in the Kimi Kambu eaker (Bula tker (Bula M'T interrupted suddenly I Kimi Kambu ed me by the arr vn people ha wanted m: nan (n who ung we d told me ¥ this | posed [to marry me eath by a Toy Elephant ind asked me {o protacy bhecome a sviously > comedy the had sudde poor ei Jones. Kongo, had n ning in the ¢ -‘Eench Prohibitibn of Use of Absinthe” Was Effective, But Has Been Modified - BY STERLING HEILIG PARIS ANS Febr MERIC What renct e called shadl b e artial an@l nobody, by viole ixty-forty! Isn't that p is proh wss of St avable 1 our ow that up to t the Par France had its its “‘green hour, 5 oclock. Among other nations “absinthe” and “France”’ were synonymous. Astute Germanic observers reported from all French cities, and even the country side, that the people were And e French peo days of the boulevard and all our of absinthe,” or every afternoon at nition The drink vulga ned made exclusively ant, which » is an alcoholu spinach, parsley. hyssop curcuma. indigo, etc.. and conta enough essence of anise and budia to give it the quality of opalesce troubling when water is wided.” Water is always added. It is part of the game. It t liquid cloudy, with fascinat of color now found in the “cres: “amourette” and other substitutes permitted to be so0ld and served today. The fascination, extending to taste and effect, was always due (in addition to_the alcohol) to such essential ofls. Magnan and Laborde proved ab- sinthe to be a reliable convulsive pol- son; and all follow, with special stunts, to affect the imaginative pow- res. Absinthe, fennel and hyssop a vulsivants. Anise, badfana, balmmint, angelica, origan (wild marjoram) and mint es- sence are stupefiants. producing tor por, loss of memary, loss of will, stu pidity. But their immediate effect bination are, of course, the gay well being of body and mind which made sinthe sinth nger nthe Y —and a notable con risk D trickle slow sp n com-| | without eva the Green Devil suc a temptation to | those who learned to drink it right. You must dilute with a lot of water, otherwise the effects are wrong—-you isk a knock-out or nervous misery u feel no “drunk” coming. but 1 gentle brightening, & dawning hope. fulness, a tender optimism. The tired back strengthens, the limp man stiff- ens, the sad lad understands all things and finds them good—all with no heat or strain, apparently, of al- cohol! “That mixture is too strong for you" they wamrned the tenderfoot with his first trial—is an old which the tenderfoot himself amiable. “Dilute it! Ga not throw a drop of it 1 do.” Bach and all swallowea a big gulp. Now fill up again with water, the brim!” the right directions con- tinued. “At present, you have the correct dilution. You have escaped ® great danger—you had it much too strong!” Curiously, such tapering dilution— from the stronger to the weaker— made always the fascination and the safety, —equally, of the ‘foolish waters."” The real thing is to trickle the water over a lump of sugar reposing on a speclal flat spoon across the brim of the goblet. The sugar, it seems, helps some chemical-physiologi- cal process in the stomach, to slow up the “kick” of the essential oils, and make the polsoning gentle to the fascinated drinker. The leaves of the boulevard shade trees grew greener, the colors of pic- torial posters brighter. Bvery young woman was graceful and charming. Men were tall, brisk, well dressed, courteous, interesting. All sounds were harmonious. The waiter brought a second goblet. I was not at all surprised at my fluency in expressing ideas. Soon, I found myself alone. I picked up a Paris City Directory from the table beside me. It was splendid reading. It contained high thoughts concealed in simple names, and flowed like poetry. Why, ves, poor little girl, T will buy ail vour roses! Keep the change. o G., 1789, urbani pro fundity—— When the Germans invaded Bel gium there were 30 various marks of absinthes, amers, bitters, cocoas, found 0! Do wway! Do as joke, | | | reason for . only— [ he joke ty wes 1u es be le quick n is not yet R sough should ft tur ary innovatior £ safety of old herwise r bring A FRENCH ARTIST GIVES'THIS DRAWING A TITLE MODERN ABSINTHE HE MEANS THAT THE 3 “BUT. YOU KNOW. YOU'VE GOT TO DOUBLE!" SUBSTITUTES ARE ONLY HALF AS STRONG AS BEFORE THE WAR. They were fond of it waters, more than any one ca but not to the point of ruin They proved, equally, by accep prohibition of their beloved d sion that they were any- thing but “rotten” with its essential olls and alcohol up to 65 degrees They had rves, in tr net—entir ive dilutions describe. And, now, ju people and’ gov practical, a pra foolish 0 tell— brains and in- saved h, by v through the which I have where how culty he rnment ctical the esthetics of the game; takes double time! The old Green Devil was at 65 de- grees, with the essences in proportion very strong. The substitutes th but 1t deg: So, it would seem pe:fect for those who have the to it, to get one pre-war need only drink two p: tutes. You hear them joking up and down the boulevard: ) devote absinthe vou sent sut | | | | | sinthe strengt known to abs Doubtle: put a stop to it So, queer as it 1y dom’ and lie silly, greedy joke You know As a fac < time mneve vernment would seem, both wis eties hidden in the vou m nk double rink dout less effect, no longer ituated 1o mee prohibition was (and ch respect for of French law’s practical wisdom Real Life (Continued from Second Page) make good poker players. There Is a this. To illustrate it: At one time I was in Lisbon, Portugal, a naval attache, and was asked to in a game. mong the players was the Countess , an old woman with a predatory beak of a nose and wrinkled hands loaded with diamonds In a short time I caught her at her favorite trick—short-changing the pot. If there was a' of two dollars she would put In a five-dollar chip and take out four one-dollar ones. 1 spoke to her about it: she laughed it off, but tried It again shortly. I never let her get away with it if I was interested in the pot. This illustrates the reason why women don’t make good poker players. They are organjzed toward poker in a different manner from men. Poker is a_game of deception: once in the “friendship ceases” and yi thought is to deceive your opponents by every means in your power. exercise to the fullest your t: tricking the other fellow. But tk s a distinct code of ethics. If Arthur Roche bets out in the face of my two- card draw, I may or may not believe him. He 'is probably lying outright. But T am certain that he has put the full amount of the bet into the pot. Now a woman is even better organ- ized to deceive than a man. She can summon unheard-of cunning and trickery to her ald. But a woman in a poker game doesn’t know where 'to stop. The ethies of truth-telling are suspended during the game; why not, es the woman, the change correctly, or A glance at vour neig tence the unpopularity poker games. I found poker an ecxcellent medium it of women in quinines and similar foolish waters | for the study of the Oriental mind. I on the Paris boulevard, ’ played in China, at Peking, with a re- sthics of mauk. | . slipping | hand? | Is Like Poker Game tired naval officer, two sons of Prince Ching and the uncle of the hoy Em peror—certainly distinguished com pany. My game enabled me to ob. serve that the proverbfal imperturba bility of the Chinaman is largely bunk The Chinese bave very expressive faces and do not try to cultivate an impassive countenance. I could read their expressions with ease In India, on the contrary s difficult to read. The race habits, or “mores,” of the two races are widely different. The Indian is trained in DR. GEORGE A. DORSEY, DI- RECTOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY OF FIELD MUSEUM, CHICAGO. A : the ( d. T stolidi buckgr: over the be world. T have mes ir the money was literally taken howme i baskets—wicker baskets piled wi bills of all denominations—and yet n a complaint was ever uttered, not even disappointment registered. In my work I am thrown into cl contact with the human org ism all fts functions. I have studied hu manity all my life from the anthropo logical and psychological viewpoin And I have vet to find a better lah oratory exercise than to observe the manner of men of all nations ax the see my raise and come back a’ 1.8 or draw one card and bet into my par hand. The psycholog: verbalized visceral and man behaviors are functioning at their highest when the cards are dealt and some one opens under the guns for the size of the pot I can truthfully say that I learned about men from poker an has no s Chinaman, sportsmar mor in the Air Mail “Letter Boxes.” AIL dropped 6,000 feet from air planes into delivery fields on the ground may be a common thing in England if tests now being made thers prove successful, says Popular Science Monthly. These “letter box: would be cleared spaces used especially for mall. It is a waste of time, the British ! believe, for planes to make a landing red, so tried but it every time a mail sack is de this ingenious scheme is beix Details have been k believed that wher the planes the At achutes will open « bags will float down the rest of the way and land without damage. Wait lu;l:u'mntfl cars then will distribuic she