The Country of the Dwarfs. Du Chaillu Paul Belloni

cut off, and the other with the belly torn open.

      "Upon this," said Akondogo, "I ordered Akosho to be bound with cords, and tied in a horizontal position to a post, and to have a fire lighted at his feet, and be burned slowly to death, all which was done, the people standing by until he expired."

      The end of the story was so horrid that I shuddered. It was a case of monomania. Akosho believed that he had been turned into a leopard, and committed two murders, the penalty of which he paid with his life. Here, in our country, he would have been sent to the insane asylum.

      CHAPTER VIII

WOUNDED GORILLA AND HER YOUNG ONES. – TAKING THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS. – TOM AND MINNIE. – ARRIVAL OF MY VESSEL. – HURRA FOR BARING BROTHERS. – A SMOKING SHIP. – KING QUENGUEZA GOES ON BOARD. – PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY

      A few days after my return home, one evening a strange sight presented itself in front of my house – a sight which I firmly believe had never before been witnessed since the world began. There was great commotion and tremendous excitement among the Commi people.

      There stood in front of my bamboo house a large female gorilla, bound hand and foot, and alive, but frightfully wounded. A large gash might have been seen on her scalp, and her body was covered with clotted blood. One of her arms had been broken, and she bore wounds upon the head and chest. Now and then the creature would give a sharp scream of pain, which lent horror to the darkness by which we were surrounded, the half dozen lighted torches making the scene still more wild.