Preface

It may be well to state that the incident of the "Thing that
bites" recorded in this tale is not an effort of the imagination.
On the contrary, it is "plagiarized." Mandara, a well-known chief
on the east coast of Africa, has such an article, /and uses it/.
In the same way the wicked conduct attributed to Wambe is not
without a precedent. T’Chaka, the Zulu Napoleon, never allowed a
child of his to live. Indeed he went further, for on discovering
that his mother, Unandi, was bringing up one of his sons in
secret, like Nero he killed her, and with his own hand.