Other editions of book Batouala First Edition

Excerpt from BatoualaYou know how earnestly I wish for the success of this novel. To be sure, it is merely a series of etchings, but I have taken six years to complete it. I have taken six years to translate what I have heard and to describe what I have seen.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Ki DE Rgnier Jacques Boulenger, sponsors of this book, I should consider myself unfeeling were I not to use the very first lines of my preface to acknowledge all I owe to your kindness and advice. You know how earnestly I wish for the success of this noveL To be siure, it is merely a series of etchings, but I have taken six years to complete it, I have taken six years to translate what I have heard and to describe what I have seen. During those six years I did not yield once to the temptation to express my views, I have carried my scruples regarding objectivity so far as to suppress any reflections that others might attribute to me.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1922 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER II HE smoked, in short puffs, blinking his eyes, and every now and then drawing a deep breath followed by a stream of saliva. He smoked a long time. The sun. The higher it rose the hotter it got. Although its heat was grateful to him, he was too accustomed to its daily ardor to give it any thought. He smoked. The wind whipped the foliage of the silk-cotton trees, sneaked between the branches, and rustled among the tendergreen young shoots. The rising sap had swelled the trunks into blotches on the living, crackled bark which sweated an amber gum. The lianas, swung like bridges from tree to tree, coiled and uncoiled their serpentine length. The wind was laden with the persistent smell of warm earth, trees, and heavyvegetation, the miasma from the small lakes, the spicy aroma of the wild mint. It was a riot of vegetation. The birds called in bewildered rapture. High up in the air the kites volplaned, black against the blue, faintly uttering their wail of a cry. On the other side of the Pombo, or on the other side of the Bembe, someone was singing: "Ey-hey--yaha--ho I" They must be working there, since song was the invariable accompaniment to labor. The monotonous chant disturbed the pervading tranquillity. When it stopped, nothing was audible save the crackling of the sun-scorched brush, all the tiny sounds that make up silence. The song began again, yonder, not so distinct.... Yassiguindja had now prepared ma nioc, their usual fare, and had also boiled some sweet potatoes and wild purslane, each in separate pots. When her man deigned to come and eat, she took up the pipe, and in her turn puffed at it, in the meanwhile attending distractedly to the grilling of some caterpillars. Her eight companions sat leaning, each against her...

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