The MS of this history, addressed to me in the handwriting of my dearbrother Henry Curtis, whom we had given up for dead, and bearing theAden postmark, reached me in safety on December 20, 18--, or a littlemore than two years after it left his hands in the far centre of Africa,and I hasten to give the astonishing story it contains to the world.Speaking for myself, I have read it with very mixed feelings; for thoughit is a great relief to know that he and Good are alive and strangelyprosperous, I cannot but feel that for me and for all their friends theymight as well be dead, since we can never hope to see them more.
They have cut themselves off from old England and from their homes andtheir relations for ever, and perhaps, under the circumstances, theywere right and wise to do so.
How the MS came to be posted I have been quite unable to discover; butI presume, from the fact of its being posted at all, that the littleFrenchman, Alphonse, accomplished his hazardous journey in safety. Ihave, however, advertised for him and caused various inquiries tobe made in Marseilles and elsewhere with a view of discovering hiswhereabouts, but so far without the slightest success. Possibly he isdead, and the packet was posted by another hand; or possibly he is nowhappily wedded to his Annette, but still fears the vengeance of the law,and prefers to remain incognito. I cannot say, I have not yet abandonedmy hopes of finding him, but I am bound to say that they grow fainterday by day, and one great obstacle to my search is that nowhere inthe whole history does Mr Quatermain mention his surname. He is alwaysspoken of as 'Alphonse', and there are so many Alphonses. The letterswhich my brother Henry says he is sending with the packet of manuscripthave never arrived, so I presume that they are lost or destroyed.
George Curtis
AUTHORITIES
A novelist is not usually asked, like a historian, for his 'Quellen'.As I have, however, judging from certain experiences in the past,some reason to anticipate such a demand, I wish to acknowledge myindebtedness to Mr Thomson's admirable history of travel 'Through MasaiLand' for much information as to the habits and customs of the tribesinhabiting that portion of the East Coast, and the country wherethey live; also to my brother, John G. Haggard, RN, HBM's consul atMadagascar, and formerly consul at Lamu, for many details furnished byhim of the mode of life and war of those engaging people the Masai; alsoto my sister-in-law, Mrs John Haggard, who kindly put the lines of p.183 into rhyme for me; also to an extract in a review from some book oftravel of which I cannot recollect the name, to which I owe the idea ofthe great crabs in the valley of the subterranean river. {Endnote 23}But if I remember right, the crabs in the book when irritated projectedtheir eyes quite out of their heads. I regret that I was not able to'plagiarize' this effect, but I felt that, although crabs may, anddoubtless do, behave thus in real life, in romance they 'will not doso.'
There is an underground river in 'Peter Wilkins', but at the time ofwriting the foregoing pages I had not read that quaint but entertainingwork.
It has been pointed out to me that there exists a similarity between thescene of Umslopogaas frightening Alphonse with his axe and a scene inFar from the Madding Crowd. I regret this coincidence, and believe thatthe talented author of that work will not be inclined to accuse me ofliterary immorality on its account.
Finally, I may say that Mr Quatermain's little Frenchman appears tobelong to the same class of beings as those English ladies whose longyellow teeth and feet of enormous size excite our hearty amusement inthe pages of the illustrated Gallic press.
The Writer of 'Allan Quatermain'
Endnote 1
Among the Zulus a man assumes the ring, which is made of a species ofblack gum twisted in with the hair, and polished a brilliant black,when he has reached a certain dignity and age, or is the husband of asufficient number of wives. Till he is in a position to wear a ring heis looked on as a boy, though he may be thirty-five years of age, oreven more.--A. Q.
Endnote 2
One of the fleetest of the African antelopes.--A. Q.
Endnote 3
Alluding to the Zulu custom of opening the stomach of a dead foe. Theyhave a superstition that, if this is not done, as the body of theirenemy swells up so will the bodies of those who killed him swell up.--A.Q.
Endnote 4
No doubt this owl was a wingless bird. I afterwards learnt that thehooting of an owl is a favourite signal among the Masai tribes.--A. Q.
Endnote 5
Since I saw the above I have examined hundreds of these swords, buthave never been able to discover how the gold plates were inlaid in thefretwork. The armourers who make them in Zu-vendis bind themselves byoath not to reveal the secret.--A. Q.
Endnote 6
The Masai Elmoran or young warriors can own no property, so all thebooty they may win in battle belongs to their fathers alone.--A. Q.
Endnote 7
As I think I have already said, one of Umslopogaas's Zulu names was the'Woodpecker'. I could never make out why he was called so until Isaw him in action with Inkosi-kaas, when I at once recognized theresemblance.--A. Q.
Endnote 8
By a sad coincidence, since the above was written by Mr Quatermain, theMasai have, in April 1886, massacred a missionary and his wife--Mr andMrs Houghton--on this very Tana River, and at the spot described. Theseare, I believe, the first white people who are known to have fallenvictims to this cruel tribe.--Editor.
Endnote 9
Mr Allan Quatermain misquotes--Pleasure sat at the helm.--Editor.
Endnote 10
Where Alph the sacred river ranThrough caverns measureless to manDown to a sunless sea
Endnote 11
Mr Quatermain does not seem to have been aware that it is common foranimal-worshipping people to annually sacrifice the beasts they adore.See Herodotus, ii. 45.--Editor.
Endnote 12
There is another theory which might account for the origin of theZu-Vendi which does not seem to have struck my friend Mr Quatermainand his companions, and that is, that they are descendants of thePhoenicians. The cradle of the Phoenician race is supposed to havebeen on the western shore of the Persian Gulf. Thence, as there isgood evidence to show, they emigrated in two streams, one of which tookpossession of the shores of Palestine, while the other is supposed bysavants to have immigrated down the coast of Eastern Africa where,near Mozambique, signs and remains of their occupation are not wanting.Indeed, it would have been very extraordinary if they did not, whenleaving the Persian Gulf, make straight for the East Coast, seeing thatthe north-east monsoon blows for six months in the year dead in thatdirection, while for the other six months it blows back again. And, bythe way of illustrating the probability, I may add that to this day avery extensive trade is carried on between the Persian Gulf and Lamu andother East African ports as far south as Madagascar, which is of coursethe ancient Ebony Isle of the 'Arabian Nights'.--Editor.
Endnote 13
There are twenty-two letters in the Phoenician alphabet (see Appendix,Maspero's Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Orient, p. 746, etc.)Unfortunately Mr Quatermain gives us no specimen of the Zu-Vendiwriting, but what he here states seems to go a long way towardssubstantiating the theory advanced in the note on p. 149.--Editor.
Endnote 14
These are internal measurements.--A. Q.
Endnote 15
Light was also admitted by sliding shutters under the eaves of the domeand in the roof.--A. Q.
Endnote 16
This line is interesting as being one of the few allusions to be foundin the Zu-Vendi ritual to a vague divine essence independent of thematerial splendour of the orb they worship. 'Taia', the word usedhere, has a very indeterminate meaning, and signifies essence, vitalprinciple, spirit, or even God.
Endnote 17
Alluding to the Zulu custom.--A. Q.
Endnote 18
In Zu-Vendis members of the Royal House can only be married by the HighPriest or a formally appointed deputy.--A. Q.
Endnote 19
Alluding to the Zu-Vendi custom of carrying dead o
fficers on a frameworkof spears.
Endnote 20
The Zu-Vendi people do not use bows.--A. Q.
Endnote 21
Of course, the roof of the Temple, being so high, caught the light sometime before the breaking of the dawn.--A. Q.
Endnote 22
Of course the Court of Probate would allow nothing of the sort.--Editor.
Endnote 23
It is suggested to me that this book is The Cruise of the "Falcon", withwhich work I am personally unacquainted.
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