by Amos Tutuola
It was like that I was still groaning along this track till we came to the place that they were living at about six o’clock in the evening. The place which these pigmies lived this time was in the crevice of the rock which was in a dark part of this jungle. The place was so dark that if they themselves did not follow me I would not know that they were living in there.
When we travelled further in this crevice of the rock we came to a part of it which was flat and there was light and that was their new town. Before we came to that place they nearly beat me to death because I fell down several times.
Immediately the rest of them saw me they came and were surrounded me. After those who caught me explained to them how they caught me and they explained to them as well that I had killed a number of them before they could catch me. Everyone of them began to push my nose with fingers and was saying—“Yes, she is this. She is the very lady who had nearly killed the whole of us before she ruined our former town.” As they were pushing my nose and mouth with their fingers, the heavy stones which were on my head fell down and they hit one of them who died after a few minutes. Having seen this again, the rest became more angry than ever. And then the whole of them beat me to their satisfaction before they tied me to a tree. After they tied me to this tree with a strong rope with the hope to kill me the following morning, they went back to their houses. Of course it was this time it revealed to me that these pigmies were still living in this jungle, although they were not more than two hundred in number.
As I was tied down there it was so I was thinking in mind how I would cut the rope so that I might be escaped before the following morning. Because if I failed to do so before the morning, no doubt these pigmies would kill me. After a while it came to my mind to be biting a part of this rope little by little until when it would be cut into two. So I kept this plan in my mind. And when I believed that they had slept then I began to bite a part of it. But it was about two hours before I could cut it because it was very strong and thick.
After I cut it to two I tried to loose the half of it which was in my neck away but I could not do it. When I believed that if I continued to do so, I would not be able to loose it away until the morning then I started to go away cautiously while the remaining of this rope was still in my neck. But when I was about to leave there their dogs woke from sleep and they were barking at me repeatedly.
As I was still going along in this clumsy rock these pigmies woke when they heard that their dogs were barking. When they went to that tree and they did not see me there, they started to chase me at the same time. But as they had already accustomed to travel in a clumsy crevice of the rock as this one, so I was unable to go far before they saw me at a little distance from them. But they could not catch me till I came out from this rough rock entirely and then I hastily climbed to the top of a tree, I hid myself there.
After a while they rushed out to the jungle, they were going here and there perhaps they might see me but they did not see me. After they passed through this tree to another part of the jungle, I looked at every part of the jungle but it was very dark. After I thought in mind to which part of it should I travel so that these pigmies might not see me and I never knew yet. It came to my mind suddenly that probably they might see me on top of this tree when they were coming back. So I hastily came down from it and at the same time I began to travel cautiously along to another part of the jungle. Although I could not travel so fast for both fear and hunger had forced me to become mad.
As I was going along, whenever I heard the noise made by the collision of two trees, etc., I would be startled at the same time and I would lie down for some minutes before I would continue to go along because I thought these pigmies were coming to that direction. And it was so I was dashing to trees and stumps or rocks several times but for the fear of these pigmies I would not be able to wait and take care of myself.
As I was still going along zigzag in this darkness, I travelled to a spot, the small plants of this spot were shaking. Having seen it like that I stopped and I lay down quietly. I thought it were the pigmies who were coming to me. But at last I saw that it were two snakes who were fighting on this spot. Although it was midnight this time, I could not see them clearly so that I might tell their names but as they were shaking every plant of this spot showed me that they were big snakes. As I lay down before them quietly and with great fear so that they might not attempt to bite me, I was waiting for them to go away and then to continue to go along. But instead to go away they were still fighting and biting themselves until when they were tired. I believe that this would be a great surprise to hear that I as a huntress feared to approach snakes. Yes, it must be so, because when there are no gun-powder and shots the gun becomes a mere stick. All my fighting weapons were still on the place which I put them before I was attacked by the “snake of snakes” the other day.
When I saw that they were tired I took one heavy stone and I beat them to death with it. Then I held both of them and I continued to go along. When I travelled further, I stopped, I sat down on a big dried wood, and as I was resting it was so I was thinking of the past troubles, how the present would be, how the future would be and how I would be able to get fire with which to roast these two snakes before I would eat them. As I was still thinking in mind like that I did not know when I fell asleep after I loosened the rest rope away from my neck. And before I woke it was in the morning. I could not say what woke me, whether it was the hunger or the heat of the sun which had already shone to everywhere.
After a while, as I still lay down on this wood, I felt pain of hunger in my stomach. This pain was so much that I must turn my left loin to the right. When I did so, there I saw that a very big snake was already puckered closely to my head and several coiled round the trees which were near me and uncountable of them lay on the ground before me as well. All of them raised their heads up and they were looking at my eyes as if they were told to be keeping watch of me so that I might not run away or to stand up from this wood. But I believed that if I dare attempted to stand up and run away for my life they would bite me. Even I had no more power to run or to fight with any creature this time. And to my fear the biggest one of these snakes lay on a part of my cloth and I was so feared that I could not pull the cloth away from it. Of course it revealed to me after a while that this area was the home of the snakes and all kinds of the reptiles.
As I lay down, on this wood and as they were looking at me very fearfully, I began to sweat and I was trembling with great fear of not being killed by them. Especially the biggest one of them which puckered very closely to my head and fixed its eyes staringly at me. But at last when they did not attempt to go away and again it came to my mind this moment that perhaps these pigmies were still looking for me and perhaps they would come to this area soon. So without hesitation I sprang up and then I began to run away for my life while I still held those two snakes which I had killed in the night before I came to this spot. As I sprang up and I began to run away, these snakes scattered at the same time and they were ready to bite me. But when they saw that I was running away from them they were chasing me along.
I was greatly surprised and feared that as I was climbing the hills and rocks just to hide myself from them it was so they were following me and were driving me away from there. Whenever I climbed a tree they too would climb it and without hesitation I would come down when they were about to bite me. It was like that these snakes were still chasing me about until when I was tired. But as they did not go back from me in time, I ran to the bank of the river on which I put my gun, cutlass, hunting bag, etc. before I was attacked by the “snake of snakes” the other day. And I did not run so far on this bank when I ran to where I put them. Without hesitation I took the cutlass and the poisonous cudgel and I began to beat these snakes to death. Within a few minutes I nearly killed the whole of them. Having seen this the rest of them which still coiled round my body ran away. It was after I freed from them it revealed to me that they attacked me in respect of two of them
which I had killed in the night.
Then I went back to where I put the rest of my things. I took them, after that I went round there and I found a big hole which was under a big rock. I swept all the refuses which were inside it away. I put all my things in it. After that I made fire and I roasted those two snakes and I ate some of them at the same time. Having rested for a few minutes, I checked all my things and they were correct. But the gun-powder which was inside the gun before I left the jungle, was already wet together with the chamber of the gun. So I washed the chamber with water and within one hour that I hung it near the fire, it was dried. Then I loaded it with new gun-powder and shots and then I was waiting perhaps those pigmies would come so that I might shoot them to death, because I did not fear them again for I had got my fighting weapons.
It was like that I found out my usual “shakabullah” gun, etc. But the following morning, I took my gun, etc., and then I began to find the fearful boa constrictor (“snake of snakes”) about. It was this “snake of snakes” had attacked me the other day. After I travelled for a while I came to the same spot that which he was when he attacked me the other day. But I did not see him immediately I came to this spot. And as I wanted to kill him at all costs this morning, so I began to find him about. After a while I travelled to a big rock which was near the river which had been carried me away the day that he attacked me. There was a huge hole under this rock. The hole of this rock was through to the river. And as the refuses which were at the entrance of it were parted to both sides, I believed that it was his home.
I stood before this entrance and I was thinking whether to enter the hole or to wait at the outside till when he would come out by himself. Of course I entered it when my mind told me to do so. I travelled to left and right of it but I did not see him. Although the darkness which was in a part of it gave me a doubtful mind that he was in there. At last when I did not see him, I sat down and I was waiting for him perhaps if he was in that darkness he would come out after a few minutes time.
Not knowing that he was not inside the hole at that time but he had gone to the river through the other entrance of the hole. After a while he came in back with his body which was still wet with water. Immediately I saw him I stood up, and I held my gun ready. And he too hardly entered the hole when he was preparing to jump upon me and after that to swallow the whole of me because he was then hungry badly.
When I noticed that he wanted to do so, I hastily shot him at head but this was only lessened his power and could not prevent him from coming to me. When he jumped upon me and before I could do anything again he had coiled round my body and within this moment he pushed me down. Having seen this, I did not attempt to fire at him or to beat him with the poisonous cudgel but I left myself to him. But as he could not swallow me because I had shot him at head, he was just rubbing me against the ground which was so swampy that I nearly sank into the mud before I fired at his throat.
Immediately the gun-shots hit his throat he sprang to a short distance and before he could do anything to me again, I ran to him and I began to beat him with the poisonous cudgel. All the blood which was gushing out from his body was so spilling upon me in large quantity that I was entirely wetted with it. As I was beating him with this cudgel and he did not die in time, then I began to cut every part of his body with cutlass. This critical moment he became so wild that he was dashing to every part of the hole with the hope to hit me to death and it was so I was cutting him repeatedly. After a while we made this hole so rough that we did not know when we came out.
But after I wounded him very severely, and the blood which gushed out from his body was too excessive, then he fell down and he died. So it was like that I saw the end of this boa constrictor, the “snake of snakes”. And he was powerful and fearful as my father had told me before I left my town for this jungle.
After I killed him, I went back to his hole, I picked up my gun and the poisonous cudgel from the place on which they had scattered, and then I came out and I went back to my hole with gladness. When I returned to my hole, I put my gun, cutlass and the cudgel down, I went to the river and I washed the blood and the mud away from my body and after that I took all the refuses away from my hair. When I came back I ate some of the roasted snakes and after that I rested till the evening.
In the evening, I went out, I picked some fruits and I killed one small porcupine on my way coming back. I ate some of these fruits and some of this porcupine having roasted it. After that I closed the entrance of this hole before I slept so that a dangerous animal, etc., might not come in to me. But the following day, when I waited till the evening for these pigmies and they did not come to me. Perhaps they were still finding me about I could not say. So when it was midnight, I took my gun, hunting bag, cutlass, the poisonous cudgel and I put the “reflecting eyes” on my head and then I started to go to their new town which was in the crevice of the rock.
As I was going along the light of this “reflecting eyes” reflected to my front to the distance of about one mile. When I travelled near their town, I covered these “reflecting eyes” so that these pigmies might not wake until I would travel to the centre of their town. Having travelled to the centre of their town, I first shot at one of them before I took away the cover of these “reflecting eyes”. When the powerful light of these “eyes” reflected to every part of their town suddenly, they rushed out from their houses with great confusion.
And as they were hustling here and there with embarrassment just to go out from there to the jungle, I ran to the road on which they would travel. I began to shoot them to death. After a while the rest went back to the town and I was following them and it was so I was shooting at them.
After a few minutes, when I did not see them again, I thought I had killed the whole of them. But not at all, it remained one of them who hid himself somewhere in the town. This one was the most dangerous and powerful of all. When it was daybreak and as I believed that no doubt I had killed the whole of them, I began to go round there. But to my fear there I saw that this one was coming to jump upon me. Having seen him coming like that I hastily squatted and he fell on my head. Without hesitation I stood upright and then I knocked his back against a rock with the hope that he would die at once. He became dizzy for a few seconds only instead. But when he sprang up with the hope to press me down, I dodged to my right and he fell on the ground. Before he stood up again I beat him with the cudgel. But as I was beating him with greediness so I did not know when I beat my left knee and then I fell down at the same moment. Before I could stand up he ran to me and he sat on my belly and then he was beating me on the face, etc. Of course when I struggled hardly for a few minutes I turned somersault. As he was now under my belly, so I pressed him hardly against the ground before I began to beat him with a piece of flat stone.
But when he felt much pain he kicked my belly with both his feet and I sprang far away from him. And as I was just standing up he ran to me and he gave me several blows in the face and jaws. But as I was skipping to left and right and to front and back, just to defend myself and as he was trying to get me round with the hope that he was going to conquer me very soon. So I butted his belly with my head suddenly and without hesitation I carried the whole of him up and then I knocked him against the rock which was nearby. His head and back hit the rock so hard that he fainted at the same time. And he was still in this condition when I ran to my poisonous cudgel. I picked it up and I beat him to death at once.
After I rested for a few minutes I went round this town perhaps these pigmies were still remained alive, but when there was none of them who was alive then I took some of their yams and I came back to my hole at the same time with gladness. It was like that I killed the whole generation of these pigmies who had killed and detained several thousands of hunters who had come to hunt, etc., in this fearful jungle. Of course I never knew yet whether my four brothers, in respect of whom I came to this Jungle of the Pigmies, were alive or the pigmies had killed them.
I was so happ
y this day that I killed all the rest of these pigmies that the following day I killed a big bush-goat. After I washed my “shakabullah” gun, cutlass, and the poisonous cudgel as well. Then I gathered them together under a tree which was at the front of my hole and I soaked them with the blood of this bush-goat for they had helped me greatly to conquer my enemies, because “one who lives on band or drum must take care of leather.” So after I ate some of the flesh of this bush-goat I remained in this hole happily throughout this day. I did not go out to the jungle at all.
Good-bye to the Jungle of the Pigmies
Hastily, hastily, hastily, the sun is going back to its place of yesterday.
The following morning, I put my hunting bag, gun, and cutlass on the shoulder. I held the poisonous cudgel and after I kept this wonderful “reflecting eyes” in a corner of this hole, then I began to go round this jungle, just to make sure that there was no more dangerous creature in it. And I was killing all the wild animals which I was meeting on the way. It was so I killed the whole of them. It was even hardly to see any of those harmless animals, as antelopes, etc., this time. After that I came back to my hole.
But one morning, when I was looking about for edible fruits I came across a number of those hunters whom I had saved out of the pigmies’ custody. When they first saw me they wanted to run away, because they thought that I was one of the pigmies. But when I waved hand to them not to run away, they stood quietly with great fear in one spot. When I travelled to them I explained to them that I was the very huntress who had saved them out of the custody the other day. They were so wondered and happy when they heard this from me that they embraced me and then took me to where the rest of them hid.