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Updated: May 7, 2025
The snares of civilized life Faust's invocation The dangers of the forest Serpents A perilous adventure Carnivorous and herbivorous animals The "sladan" The man of the wood. Those who succumb to the latter are ofttimes induced to lament that death does not come swift enough to kill their flesh, after their souls and intellects have been long since slain and consumed.
The ferocity of this beast surpasses that of all others, for whilst the lion, the bear and even the tiger and panther have been known to show some feeling of respect, gratitude or fear, the sladan never exhibits one or the other.
Who knows what an assistance to your fervid fantasy it would be to hear in the freedom of Nature's own menagerie the sinister hissing of the serpent, the bellowing of the elephant, the lowing of the sladan, the roar of the tiger, the grunt of the wild-boar, the squeal of the monkey, and the peevish notes of the cockatoo all blended into a formidable concert, the accompaniment being the rustling of reeds and climbing plants, moved more by animal life than by the air; the fluttering of leaves; the humming and buzzing of myriads of insects: the murmuring of the brooks: voices and sounds that announce to the traveller a continual increase of danger".
I must, however, make special mention of the sladan, the only survivor of an almost extinct fauna. This animal belongs to the herbivorous class but is more ferocious than any of the carnivorous species. It does not kill from hunger or for self-defence, but for the mere sake of killing. It is a sort of buffalo or bison with two very solid, strongly planted horns on its thick-set head.
Imagine then to be frozen against a wet stone whilst a couple of tigers express their sentiments of love in much the same language, but in tones proportionate to their size! In the fervour of their passion would they notice the dainty meal prepared for them in my person? Not far off the implacable sladan was savagely bellowing. Was he too bound for my place of martyrdom?
One is never sure of not meeting it, and to meet it either means to kill it or to be killed. It is very fond of the tender shoots of sweet potatoes and for this will often visit the crops cultivated by the Sakais who, for fear of this dreaded enemy, do not plant very much. Generally, though, the sladan devastates the potato fields during the night.
I speak of the tigers and panthers that are very numerous and audacious; of the bears, that do not act so jocosely here as in our streets and menageries but vie with other wild beasts in blood-thirstiness; of the rhinoceros, the elephant, the terrible sladan, the wild dogs that, fierce as wolves, wander about in large packs.
If once the continual migrations, from one point of the forest to the other, could be prevented the huts would certainly be improved both in construction and adornment. Round the hut a piece of ground is prepared for the cultivation of potatoes, yams and maize, but the harvest is very scanty, and the whole is frequently destroyed by the visit of a sladan.
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