The Leopard People

The following is an extract from Chapter 21 "The Cannibals of Ubangi" from John Burger's "Horned Death"

Detailed in this chapter is the extraordinary account of the "Leopard People" of the area of the Ubangi. A people that dressed in Leopard skins and used clubs made from iron and wood to look like leopard claws. These Leopard People captured human victims for sacrifice and also for cannabalistic feasts.

During the winter of 1908 I had drifted to the region of Kilo, the now famous gold mining district of the Belgian Congo, which lies to the northwest of Lake Victoria Nyanza. Kilo was then the private property of Leopold II of Belgium, and I found conditions there so unfavourable, in so far as a foreigner was concerned, that I decided to quit the vicinity and make my way to the French Congo, through the Ubangi. Having had a good fill of "Africa in the raw," it was my intention to make for the Congo River and from there go by boat as far as Matadi, from which place I intended to proceed to England on a well-earned holiday.

Having spent several weeks in the vicinity of Kilo, I had a fairly good idea as to what a trip through Ubangi might mean. But Ubangi was one of the "dark spots" of Africa which I had not previously visited, and in spite of the repeated warnings to abandon the project, I determined to carry out my intentions. Like the aforesaid writer, I was convinced that most of the lurid reports were greatly exaggerated, and in due course I set out on this safari with guns, ammunition, provisions and an army of porters. It was my intention to collect as much ivory as possible before I reached Matadi on the West Coast. Several days after leaving Kilo we reached the summit of a hill from which we could see great plains stretching far into the distance. The natives on these plains were very suspicious of any European. By means of their bush telegraphy, which, by the way, no European ever understands, our movements were known days ahead. From the high ground we could see the natives driving their cattle out of the line of our approach and abandoning their villages. But soon the news spread that our mission was a peaceful one and ere long we were on friendly terms with the inhabitants of the villages on our route. At most places they approached us to barter produce for salt and meat, which we carried in ample supply. (Wherever I have travelled in Africa, in savage or civilized parts, I have always found that in exchange for meat it is possible to barter almost anything with the native-one's personal safety not excluded.)

As the plains gave way to lowlands we came to a remarkable subterranean passage. On first examination it appeared to be an excavation made by the natives, but it was actually an ancient water course. It extended for more than two miles in the granite formation, and on passing through it I found bones scattered everywhere-many of human origin.

At one time this passage must have served as a refuge from wild beasts or raiding tribes. The natives in the
vicinity were quite tractable. Theirs was a beautiful country and fertile, and many of them did considerable
cultivation. This part of Ubangi had much the appearance of a great park. Vegetation of every description grew in wild profusion and the numerous streams of crystal-clear water were lined with towering palms.

Here Burger begins to detail the strange story of the Leopard People.

Up to this point our journey had proved to be a normal and pleasant one, but shortly thereafter I began to experience considerable trouble through the daily desertions of porters. Both the country and its people were assuming a more savage appearance. The desertions were due to fear of what the porters called the "Leopard People."

Although I have never seen any of these marauders, I have no doubt whatever as to their existence. I have heard accounts of them in widely separated parts; the details never vary, and in several other ways I have satisfied myself as to the truth of these accounts.

The Leopard People are a marauding tribe of savages whose dress consists of leopard skins, and out of wood and iron they manufacture claws similar to but larger than those of the leopard. These claws are fitted over the fingers and secured around the wrists and, like the leopard's, are used with deadly effect. In addition to the claws these people are armed with bows and arrows and spears. They make human sacrifices and practise cannibalism.

They do not settle down for long in any place but, also like the leopard, they Wander from one place to another in search of prey.

We were then in Ubangi East and before long came to a stream of water near a native village. On going to the village I found it deserted with the exception of two old women who were too feeble to walk and had been abandoned by the rest of the villagers. They told me that the rest of the natives had cleared out for fear of the white man.

I decided to camp near the stream for the night. After pitching the tent, my native cook went to the stream for water. A few minutes later he ran back into camp in a state of obvious terror. So unnerved was he that it was impossible to obtain an intelligent account from him. He insisted that I return to the stream with him and bring my rifle with me. Arming myself, I lost no time in accompanying him. On the way to the stream he kept repeating that none of us would live to see the sun rise the next day; his aged mother was going to be rendered childless, and the fault was mine for having brought him here to be eaten like an animal. Previously he had laughed at what he called the stupidity of the porters, and seeing him in such a terrified state I realised that something serious had happened to upset him.

Shortly I was viewing that which had inspired terror in the cook. I was similarly affected, but unlike him, I dared not show it. In the stream and partly submerged were three native men, tied together. Their arms and legs had been fractured, but they were still alive. I stood petrified before this horrible spectacleand shuddered to think what might have been the methods used to fracture the limbs. (I learned afterwards that the arms and legs had been broken with heavy clubs so as to prevent the victims from escaping; leaving them in water until they died was held to be an effective method of rendering the flesh tender. Previously I had come across (ases in which natives
had fractured the wings and legs of birds and the legs of animals to prevent their escape, but I never dreamt that the lowest savages would apply such brutal measure to human beings.) These unfortunate men were in terrible agony and beyond all help, they had been in the water for three days, and all we could do was to remove them to our camp.
No sooner had we brought the poor creatures in than all the porters came up to my tent; they were terrified and looked to me to get them away safely. It was obvious that unless I could do something to pacify them they would all desert during the night. As I was well armed I felt certain that as long as we remained in a large body there was not much likelihood of being attacked, but to persuade the terrified porters to take the same view was an altogether different matter. Finally I resorted to threats and warned them that the first one who attempted to escape would be shot down without compunction; I also pointed out that there was much greater danger in being caught in the bush away from the column than in remaining together. This seemed to pacify them and I felt comparatively safe for the night.

That night we kept the camp well illuminated by means of big fires, and I had sentries posted at all points.

Although I was tired, I did not dare to sleep. Outside my tent were the three wounded men. For hours they moaned, whilst from a tree near by an owl sent forth its cheerless calls.

It is strange how one can be affected by unimportant things in such circumstances. Up to now the real danger we were in had not affected my nerves in any noticeable manner, but the hooting of that owl served to completely unnerve me. It would have been easy enough to drive it away by firing at it, but I feared that a shot in the dark might be taken for an alarm by my porters and be the signal for a wholesale desertion under cover of darkness, the thing I wished most to avoid. Finally my nerves were worked up to such a pitch that I began to regard the hooting of the stupid bird as a foreboding of impending evil. I went out in the dark and fired two shots in the direction from which the sounds had come. After that all was quiet except for the groaning of the three natives outside my tent. My cook-boy pleaded with me to put the men out of their misery, and for several minutes I sat turning the idea over in my mind. Theirs was a hopeless situation; it was impossible to save them or alleviate their suffering.

I could not take them with me nor could I prolong my st-ay, for my natives were terrified and only by threats had I persuaded them to stay for the night. There was no likelihood of my being able to keep them for another night in this vicinity, and I was certain that if I did not move off with the coming of daylight they would desert me at
the first opportunity. It was now past midnight and at daybreak I would have to be on the move. I felt that the best thing to do would be to put an end to the suffering of the three men. There was no doubt as to the soundness of the argument, but whatever the justification, the idea of killing a man in cold blood is revolting, and reason as I would I could not bring myself to do it.

I went out and appealed to my sleepless porters to rearrange their loads so as to leave six men free to carry the wounded men. This, however, they would not do; they feared that such an act of sympathy would incite the cannibals to attack them.

At daybreak, when we were ready to move off, the three men were dead. I had taken the final desperate step and put an end to their suffering. My porters all insisted on returning the same way we had come, but this I refused to do, for I knew that the cannibalistic savages would regard any indication of fear on our part as a sign of weakness.

For three weeks we had seen little or nothing of natives in the forest and during that time I had not had the slightest suspicion that we were actually amongst cannibals. That we had not been attacked before was due to the fact that we were in a large body and I had used firearms on many occasions along the way. Should we now return the
same way we had come, immediately after seeing the cannibals' gruesome handiwork, they would rightly infer that we were afraid, and that would be fatal. I realised also that taking the porters back over a road with which they were acquainted would be further inducement for them to desert. I finally compromised with them and we agreed to strike out in the direction of the nearest police post, which was about two hundred miles away.

At best, my position was desperate, although I had no great fear of the cannibals whilst I could keep the column up to its present strength. The serious problem lay in preventing desertions. Up to now I had reasoned successfully with the porters and they appreciated the soundness of my arguments, but I knew that should anything happen to frighten them again, their reasoning powers would be paralysed by fear and then no arguments would hold them back.

Once our number was reduced to a point where it could no longer command respect, I had no doubt as to what our fate would be. I never allowed an opportunity to pass without enlarging upon the obvious dangers of desertion. In this manner I managed to keep the column together, and for four days all went well.

We frequently came across honey-filled earthenware pots hanging on trees, a sure sign of human habitation, but we saw no natives. The villages we came to were newly deserted and as a rule we camped as far away from them as possible. On the fifth day we arrived at a large village and were surprised to find it inhabited. I was met by a native who appeared to be the chief; I explained that I was on my way to the police station and offered to exchange meat for such foodstuffs as he could supply. I was treated with the usual respect and taken to a hut where I was told I could do all my bartering with the villagers. I intended to remain at the hut only until I had exchanged sufficient foodstuffs for my natives and then to move off as far as possible from the village before camping for the night. Whilst waiting for the natives to bring their wares, in exchange for meat, I looked into the hut. Beaten tree bark was stacked around the walls to a height of about three feet. I was aware of an unpleasant odour in the place but as I could not detect the cause of it I took no further notice. In a short while I traded out all the meat I had and decided to move on. Whilst waiting for the porters to rearrange their loads, the cook came to me and asked if I had seen what was inside the hut. On my replying that there was only bark in the hut he said he could show me something more sinister. My curiosity aroused, I went and had a look. As he pulled aside some of the bark I could see the cause of the unpleasant smell I had noticed previously. It was part of the putrefying remains of a human body. I warned the cook to say nothing about it to the porters, and I immediately got the column on the move.

We met several natives on the way who were not afraid to approach us and seemed more civilised, but for all that, I had had ample proof that cannibalism was an active practise in the district.

Now Burger details an account of human sacrifice, where a Chief's wives accompany him on his after life journey.

We arrived at the village late in the afternoon and immediately set out to find the chief; on making inquiries we were told that he was at the other end of the village. We were puzzled at the vague manner in which the natives described the whereabouts of their chief, and could make little headway in locating him. Finally we got a native to guide us to his presence. I have seen some of the worst aspects of cruelty in African native life, but I never saw anything so horrible as the scene which awaited us here. About 500 yards beyond the confines of the village some scaffolding had been erected to a height of about ten feet, I and from a distance we could see nothing abnormal, about it. But as we approached the meaning of it was brought home to us in no uncertain manner. This chief had died four days previously and we were now at the scene of the funeral rites. The corpse rested at the top of the scaffold, on flooring composed of thin poles. On the ground beneath the platform lay the five wives of the deceased man. They were bound together and, like the natives I had seen before, their arms and legs had been fractured. Here the women were to remain until the liquid which exuded from the corpse had dropped and anointed their heads. If by that time they themselves had not succumbed to their injuries they would be killed and interred with the remains of their husband.

The horror of this nauseating scene left me speechless. The rite's unspeakable cruelty and the suffering of the victims meant nothing to those savages. It was of no use to argue with them. It was the custom; it had been done by their fathers before them, and they would continue to do likewise. Even now the attendants were gathering around and soon the final scene would be enacted. We did not wait, but hurriedly retraced our steps.

That night I thought matters over. I did not want to waste any more time in this accursed country, nor was there anything to induce me to return to Kilo; Kilo was much farther away than the Boma, and the latter place was only a few miles from the Uganda border.

The events Burger witnessed during this journey were to stay with him for many years.

During this trip I had seen the very worst elements of African native life. Nearly forty years have elapsed since then, but those memories have not faded. Indelibly stamped on my mind are the savage rites at the death of the old chief and the lingering death of the cannibals' victims. Today, and not very far from where I witnessed these inhuman acts, the same customs are still being practised) but on a much smaller scale. The advance of civilisation is slowly changing all that and I can only hope that this black page in the history of Africa will soon fall into the limbo of forgotten things