native. He told them with the view of pleasing his native
audience, after much solicitation. He was unused to the art of public
speaking, and never dreamed that he was exposing himself to criticism.
He was also shy, and somewhat indolent, or tired perhaps, and would
prefer listening to others rather than speak himself, but though
protesting strongly that his memory was defective, and that he could not
remember anything, he yielded at last for the sake of peace, and
good-fellowship. As these few, now about to be published, are not
wholly devoid of a certain merit as examples of Central African lore,
and oral literature, I have thought it best to consider myself only as a
translator and to render them into English with as direct and true a
version as possible.

I begin with the Creation of Man merely for preference, and not
according to the date on which it was related. The legend was delivered
by Matageza, a native of the Basoko, in December, 1883. [The Basoko are
a tribe occupying the right bank of the Aruwimi river from its
confluence with the Congo to within a short distance of the rapids of
Yambuya, and inland for a few marches.] He had been an assiduous
attendant at our nightly circle, but hitherto had not opened his mouth.
Finally, as the silence at the camp fire was getting somewhat awkward,
Baruti, one of my tent-boys, was pressed to say something; but he drew
back, saying that he never was able to remember a thing that was told to
him, but, added he, "Matageza is clever; I have heard him tell a long
legend about the making of the first man by the moon."

All eyes were at once turned upon Matageza, who was toasting his feet by
a little fire of his own, and there was a chorus of cries for "Matageza!
Matageza!" He affected great reluctance to come forward, but the men,
whose curiosity was aroused, would not take a denial, and some of them
seized him, and dragged him with loud laughter to the seat of honour.
After a good deal of urging and a promise of a fine cloth if the story
was good, he cleared his throat and began the strange legend of the
Creation of Man as follows:--

CHAPTER ONE.

THE CREATION OF MAN.

In the old, old time, all this land, and indeed all the whole earth was
covered with sweet water.

But the water dried up or disappeared somewhere, and the grasses, herbs,
and plants began to spring up above the ground, and some grew, in the
course of many moons, into trees, great and small,