In fact, it was necessary to renew their daily food. Now, in this
country, barren of all cultivation, they could not depend upon the
tapioca, the sorgho, the maize, and the fruits, which formed the
vegetable food of the native tribes. These plants only grew in a
wild state, and were not eatable. Dick Sand was thus forced to hunt,
although the firing of his gun might bring about an unpleasant
meeting.
They made a fire by rubbing a little stick against a piece of the wild
fig-tree, native fashion, or even simiesque style, for it is affirmed
that certain of the gorillas procure a fire by this means. Then, for
several days, they cooked a little elk or antelope flesh. During the
4th of July Dick Sand succeeded in killing, with a single ball, a
"pokou," which gave them a good supply of venison. This animal, was
five feet long; it had long horns provided with rings, a yellowish red
skin, dotted with brilliant spots, and white on the stomach; and the
flesh was found to be excellent.
It followed then, taking into account these almost daily landings and
the hours of repose that were necessary at night, that the distance on
the 8th of July could hot be estimated as more than one hundred miles.
This was considerable, however, and already Dick Sand asked himself
where this interminable river ended.
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