The Brave African Huntress

by Amos Tutuola

  After that the king asked whether I would stay with him for a few days before I would continue my journey direct to the Jungle of the Pigmies and I told him that I would stay with him. Then he told one of his servants to put me in one of the rooms which were in the palace. The servant gave me the nice food and water at once and before I finished with the food it was about six o’clock in the evening.

  When I finished with the food, I hung my hunting bag and cutlass on the stick which was nailed to the wall of this room and I leaned my “shakabullah” gun very carefully on one corner of this room as well. After that I went to the outside of the palace with the intention to take some breeze. But to my surprise and fear was that I saw that both the people and their children who had scattered to everywhere in the town, were running as hastily as they could back to their houses. They were closing the doors and windows immediately they were entering their houses. All the domestic animals were running here and there and they were hiding themselves as well. All the fires which were at outsides of the houses before that time were quenched with water at once before these people entered their houses. And within five minutes every part of the town was empty, there was no a single living creature could be seen again.

  But as I was a stranger in this town who did not know what was going on there and as I did not return to the palace in time, so one of the servants stood at the gate of the palace and he called me quietly to enter the palace and I hardly entered when he hastily closed the gate. Then I entered my room, I sat down and I began to think within myself whether there was something happened in this town that evening or perhaps they did all this thing because I had told them that I was going to hunt in the Jungle of the Pigmies. But when I thought like that for a few minutes it came to my mind to ask what happened from this servant. It was not so long when I thought to do so when this servant was staggering about in the darkness. Then I called him. But when he entered the room he did not know the real part of the room that I sat. He was still finding me with hands when I asked from him that why there was no light at all in this palace. But instead to answer my question first he warned me very quietly that I must be talking gently.

  When he traced me out he sat near me. Then I asked again that why the whole people of the town hid themselves in their houses as if something was coming to kill them and I asked as well that why there was no light neither in the palace nor in any part of the town. He explained to me that there was a terrible bird which was coming from the Jungle of the Pigmies to the town every night. He told me that whenever the bird came it would cry so loudly and terribly that the whole people of the town and the domestic animals would nearly die for fear, and if the bird saw any one or a domestic animal walking about in the town by that time, it would come down and take him or her away alive. This servant told me further that if the bird saw a house in which there was light or if it heard that the people of that house were talking, it would break the roof of that house with its beak and then take all the people of that house away alive. He told me furthermore that this bird was a mighty and curious one, because whenever it was coming to the town the noises and breeze of its wings would nearly to break down all the houses.

  After this servant had explained to me like that I asked from him whether they had once tried to kill it with gun or with any weapon. But he told me that all the hunters of that town had tried to shoot it to death several times but they could not kill it because the gun could not kill it at all and instead to die it was carrying several hunters away each time that they attempted to kill it. He said that when it had nearly carried all the hunters of the town away then the rest feared and since then they never attempted to kill it.

  When this servant explained to me as above I wondered greatly and then I told him at once that I would kill the bird if I saw it. When this servant heard so from me he was so surprised that he stood up at once and he staggered to the king who sat in the darkness as well. He told the king that I promised that I could kill the bird with my “shakabullah” gun. And when the king heard like that from him, he told him to go and call me for him and I went to him at once. He asked from me whether I made a promise that I could kill the bird and I told him that I could kill it. But he warned me very seriously that it was very dangerous if I failed to kill it, because it would take me away instead, but I made the promise before him again that I would not fail to kill it.

  Then when it was the following evening, before this bad bird came, I made a big fire on the big field which was at the front of the palace. The flame of this fire shone to the great height in the sky and was easily seen from a long distance. After that I asked for a big pot which could contain me and they gave it to me. I cut a part of it like a round window and then I put it a little distance from the fire. After I loaded my gun I took one of the poisonous cudgels, which I took from “Odara” and then I covered myself with that pot and I was keeping watch of the bad bird through the round window.

  Truly speaking, as the king had told me, when this bird was still in a distance of two miles I nearly died for fear and I nearly to give up my promise because the noises which its wings were making showed that indeed it was a bad and terrible bird which was bold enough that it was eating together with witches. When the noises were more hearing I believed that it was nearer and then I held my gun and the poisonous cudgel ready. Within a few minutes it came to the town and then it was flying about in the town perhaps it would see a person or a domestic animal to be taken away. But when it flew to the centre of the town, it saw this fire. And as it was a great surprise to it to see fire in this town by that time because such a thing had not happened before. Therefore it flew to the great height in the sky and then it cried very horribly just to make sure whether the person who made the fire was near there and to take him away. But it was a great wonder to it to hear that I answered or repeated its cry because there was none of the people of this town who was brave enough to make even a slight noise whenever it came.

  To make sure again whether it was a human being who repeated its cry, then with great anger it said with another terrible voice—“I am a wonderful bad creature who is half human and half bird. I am so bad, bold, cruel and so brave that I am eating together with witches! I am one of the fears of the Jungle of the Pigmies! I am a bad semi-bird who has long sharp thorns on both my wings! My beak was so long and sharp that I have pierced several people to death with it! I am quite sure that there is no another living creature or human being in this world who is brave and cruel enough to challenge me in the night! I have already swallowed thousands of hunters who had attempted to kill me and it was so I had swallowed all the hunters who had come to hunt in the Jungle of the Pigmies!”

  But before this semi-bird shouted terribly like that to the end, I nearly died for fear. Of course, when I remembered that—

  Beard is the sign of old but moustache is the sign of insult.

  So it had insulted its creator that night and by that if I tried to kill it, it would be easily for me to do so, because its boasts were insults to me. Therefore without hesitation I replied as thus—“Here is some one already who is waiting to challenge you and fight with you this night! I am ready to shoot you down now, although I am a huntress and not a hunter!

  “I am a cruel huntress who has two poisonous cudgels and one fearful ‘shakabullah’ gun! Although you have long sharp beak and long sharp thorns on your wings with which you have killed thousands of hunters! But I shall see the end of you this night at all costs! Come down! Come down! Come down!” it was like that I replied this semi-bird very loudly without fear.

  But he was greatly surprised to hear this hot challenge from me, because it had never heard any challenge from the people of this town since when it had started to come there and carry them away alive. But as it was coming down to the fire with full speed with intention to carry me away. I hastily shot my gun to him but he hastily flew back into the sky when the gun-shots cut some of his thorny wings away instead to hit his body. Again as he was coming down for t
he second time with great anger I shot him. But when the gun-shots hit his body this time, his body simply flung all the gun-shots away instead to kill him or to wound him. It was like that I was shooting him repeatedly until when the gun-powder and gun-shots finished. To my surprise and fear was that my gun did nothing to him but it only prevented him from coming down and carry me away as he wished to do.

  It was as from this night that I believed that when there were no gun-powder and gun-shots the gun became a mere stick, because as the gun on which I put all my hope had become useless or a mere stick then all my body began to tremble for fear of not being carried away by this cruel semi-bird. But God was so good, as I was just thinking in mind to come out from the pot with which I covered myself or protected myself all the while and then to run away perhaps I would be saved, luckily it came to my mind this moment to throw one of the two poisonous cudgels to him perhaps the poison which was in this cudgel would kill him.

  Immediately I held the cudgel and I was expecting him to come down as he was doing before. A few minutes after that he did not hear the sound of my “shakabullah” gun again, he flew down. As he was looking round and round all over the spot just to find me out and then to carry me away, I hastily threw one of the poisonous cudgels to him. To my surprise and fear in the first instance was that when this cudgel hit him the poison which was in it only made him powerless to fly back to the sky but it did not kill him at all. And as this was a great danger to me so I hastily held the second cudgel, I came out from the pot and then I started to beat him with it. But as he was a mighty and powerful semi-bird he was also striking me with his long sharp beak repeatedly and he was scratching all my body with his thorny wings as well. We fought together for about two hours before he became entirely powerless and a few minutes after he died. It was like that I killed this half human and half bird. Although he hurt every part of my body with his sharp beak and thorny wings. And it was as from this night I began to take great care of these two poisonous cudgels because that was the first time I ever used them since when I had seized them when “Odara” the jungle giant, threw them to me. So when I saw that both would help me so much in future then I kept them.

  In the morning, I showed the dead body of this semi-bird to the king and he was so much happy when he saw his dead body that he called the whole people of the town to come and see the dead body of their enemy. When the people saw that I had killed him they held me with gladness for a few minutes and they were greatly astonished to see a huntress like me who could do what thousands of hunters had failed to do. And on that spot several people gave me many expensive gifts.

  It is after the elephant is dead when everybody will go near it and cut its flesh.

  Because as this semi-bird was already dead the king and the people did not fear to approach him as when he was alive. After he (king) pulled out some of the wings and put them round his crown, just to be remembering for ever that a semi-bird had once been carrying them away alive, then each of the people took some of the feathers to his or her house and kept them for the future. After the whole people had seen the dead body of this semi-bird and went back to their houses, then I took the two poisonous cudgels and my “shakabullah” gun and I went back to the palace. So as from that day the king and his people were taking great care of me as if I was their daughter.

  I Became the Private Barber for the King of Ibembe Town

  Whisper! so delicate to speak aloud like a secret word.

  Ah! the head of the king sprouts two horns!

  One morning, as I was thinking how to get the gun-powder and gun-shots and after that to continue my journey to the Jungle of the Pigmies, as I had used the whole of my gun-powder and gun-shots when I was shooting the gun to the late semi-bird the other night, the king called me to his private room. He asked me whether I still put in mind to go and hunt in the Jungle of the Pigmies. I replied at the same moment that I did not change my mind at any time not to go there because my family at home and the rest people of my town were with the hope now that I was already in the jungle.

  After I explained to the king like that then I told him that if I had not been used the whole of my gun-powder and gun-shots, I would continue to go to the jungle tomorrow morning. When he heard like that from me he gave me plenty of gun-powder and gun-shots. But he told me that I should stay with him for some months before I would continue my journey. He said that during the period that I would stay with him I would be his barber and that I would be barbing the hairs of his head every fortnight and that each time that I barbed his head he would be paying me one pound. He explained further that the reason why he would be paying me a large sum of money like that was that there was a strange thing which was on his head and which he did not like any of his townspeople to see otherwise he would engage one of the barbers who were in his town. He said that as I was a stranger and as I had no any friend there, therefore I would have no one there to whom I would leak out the secret of his head.

  He warned me very seriously for three times that I must not leak out the secret to anybody or if he heard the secret from somebody he would kill me for it. But as he gave me plenty of gun-powder and gun-shots so I agreed to be his private barber and I promised him that I would not tell the secret of his head to anybody. Immediately I promised him like that he took off the crown which was on his head. To my greatest surprise and fear there were two thick short horns on his head. Immediately I saw that he had two horns on head I ran with fear to a short distance and I did not know when I shouted—“Ah! the head of the king sprouts two horns!” But he hastily covered my mouth with hands so that the other people might not overhear. And then he warned very seriously again not to let his people know about the horns otherwise they would exile him at once.

  The same day, he gave me the knife with which to clear the hairs off and I started to clear it at once. But as I was clearing it, it was so he was warning me repeatedly not to let the knife touch the two horns or if the knife touched them he would feel pain even nearly to death. And before I cleared the whole of the hairs I nearly fainted for fear because I had never seen a human being with horns on head since when I was born. These horns feared me even more than the semi-bird which I had killed.

  This king was paying me one pound each time that I cleared the hairs for him and I did not leak out the secret of his head which sprouted two thick short horns to anybody. But since the first day that I had seen these two horns on his head I was unable to eat as well as before I had never seen them or as when I never knew that he had horns on head. And I was unable to sleep in the day and night because I was always thinking about his curious head which sprouted two horns.

  Within a few weeks I was so leaned that everyone was saying that I was ill. I used many kinds of medicines but there was no change at all. At last when I believed that I would die in a few days time, then I went to an old man whose house was far away from the palace of the king. I told him that I did not know the reason why I was leaning more and more every day. This old man asked whether I was sick or I was doing hard work or I did not eat sufficient food. But I told him that I did no hard work and I was not sick but I could not eat as well as before and I could not sleep in the day and night. Then he asked me whether there was a serious matter which I was thinking in mind always and I said yes. Then he told me to tell him the matter so that he might advise me about it. When he said so I raised up my head and I looked at the sky and thought over for some minutes whether to tell him about the head of the king which sprouted the two horns and then I bent my head down I looked at the ground and I thought over for some minutes whether to leak out the secret to him but when I remembered that—“Whisperly the king spoke to me about the two horns of his head and if I leaked out the secret to this old man, surely, the king would hear and then he would kill me.” So for this reason I did not tell him what I was thinking in mind. But when he hesitated for a while to tell him and I did not, then he told me that if the matter was so secrecy that I could not leak it out to him, I shou
ld go to the bush, I should dig a hole and then I should kneel down and speak out the matter to that hole and after that I should close the hole back with earth.

  When this old man advised me like that I thanked him greatly and I went direct to the bush at once. I dug a huge pit and I said loudly into it—“The head of the king of Ibembe town sprouted two thick short horns!” After I leaked out this secret into this pit and I covered it back with the earth then I came back to the town. But to my surprise was that since when I had done so I did not think so much about the horns and within five days I became as normal as before.

  The thief who steals bugle. Where is he going to blow it? In this world of the white men or in the heaven?

  But there were many wonderful things in the days gone by, was that after a few days that I had leaked out the secret of the two horns which sprouted from the head of the king, to the pit, two young curious trees sprouted from that pit. Both were sprouted in form of twins and they were so beautiful that the man who first saw them cut them at once. This man was a bugle-blower.

  When he cut them then he thought within himself for a few minutes that what could he do with beautiful curious young trees as these. Then at the same moment it came to his mind to carve them into a bugle and he did so. But immediately he put this bugle in mouth and he hardly blew a very slightly air in it when it spoke out loudly—

  “The head of the king of Ibembe sprouts two horns!