Querlaouen, who had the fairest chance, fired, and brought her down. She dropped without a struggle. The poor little one cried, "Hew! hew! hew!" and clung to the dead body, sucking her breasts, and burying his head there, in alarm at the report of the gun.
We hurried up in great glee to secure our capture. I cannot tell my surprise when I saw that the nshiego baby's face was as white as that of a white child.
I looked at the mother, but found her black as soot in the face. What did it mean?--the mother black, the child white! The little one was about a foot in height. One of the men threw a cloth over its head and secured it, till we could make it fast with a rope; for, though it was quite young, it could walk. The old one was of the bald-headed kind of which I had secured the first known specimen some months before.
[Illustration: A YOUNG NSHIEGO MBOUVÉ WITH A WHITE FACE. CHAP. XXXVI.]
I immediately ordered a return to the camp, which we reached towards evening. The little nshiego had been all this time separated from its dead mother, and now, when it was put near her body, a most touching scene ensued. The little fellow ran instantly to her. Touching her on the face and breast, he saw evidently that some great change had happened. For a few minutes he caressed her, as though trying to coax her back to life. Then he seemed to lose all hope. His little eyes became very sad, and he broke out in a long, plaintive wail, "Ooee! ooee! ooee!" which made my heart ache for him. He looked quite forlorn, and as though he really felt his forsaken lot. All in the camp were touched at his sorrows, and the women especially were much moved.
All this time I stood wonderingly staring at the white face of the creature. It was really marvellous, and quite incomprehensible. A more strange and weird-looking animal I never saw.
While I stood here, up came two of my hunters, and began to laugh at me. "Look, Chaillie," said they, calling me by the name I am known by among them--"look at your friend. Every time we kill gorilla, you tell us look at your black friend, your first cousin. Now, you see, look at your white friend." Then came a roar of laughter at what they thought a tremendous joke.