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.