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diff --git a/old/ithoa10.txt b/old/ithoa10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a61c65 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/ithoa10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8676 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of In the Heart of Africa, by Baker +#4 in our series by Samuel White Baker. + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. + +Please do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.12.12.00*END* + + + + + +This etext was prepared by Garry Gill <garrygill@hotmail.com> +and the Distributed Proofreading team of Charles Franks +<http://charlz.dynip.com/gutenberg/>. + + + + + +In The Heart Of Africa +By Sir Samuel W. Baker, M.A., F.R.G.S. + + +Condensed By E.J.W From "The Nile Tributaries Of Abyssinia" +And "The Albert N'yanza Great Basin Of The Nile." + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER I. + +The Nubian desert--The bitter well--Change of plans--An +irascible dragoman--Pools of the Atbara--One secret of the +Nile--At Cassala + +CHAPTER II. + +Egypt's rule of the Soudan--Corn-grinding in the Soudan--Mahomet meets +relatives--The parent of Egypt--El Baggar rides the camel + +CHAPTER III. + +The Arabs' exodus--Reception by Abou Sinn--Arabs dressing the hair--Toilet of an +Arab woman--The plague of lice--Wives among the Arabs--The Old Testament +confirmed + +CHAPTER IV. + +On the Abyssinian border--A new school of medicine--Sacred +shrines and epidemics + +CHAPTER V. +A primitive craft--Stalking the giraffes--My first giraffes-Rare +sport with the finny tribe--Thieving elephants + +CHAPTER VI. +Preparations for advance--Mek Nimmur makes a foray--The +Hamran elephant-hunters--In the haunts of the elephant-- +A desperate charge + +CHAPTER VII. + +The start from Geera--Feats of horsemanship--A curious chase-- +Abou Do wins a race--Capturing a young buffalo--Our +island camp--Tales of the Base + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The elephant trumpets--Fighting an elephant with swords-- +The forehead-shot--Elephants in a panic--A superb old +Neptune--The harpoon reaches its aim--Death of the +hippopotamus--Tramped by an elephant + +CHAPTER IX. + +Fright of the Tokrooris--Deserters who didn't desert--Arrival +of the Sherrif brothers--Now for a tally-ho!--On the heels +of the rhinoceroses--The Abyssinian rhinoceros--Every +man for himself + +CHAPTER X. + +A day with the howartis--A hippo's gallant fight--Abou Do leaves +us--Three yards from a lion--Days of delight--A lion's furious +rage--Astounding courage of a horse + +CHAPTER XI. +The bull-elephant--Daring Hamrans--The elephant helpless--Visited +by a minstrel--A determined musician--The nest of the outlaws-- +The Atbara River + +CHAPTER XII. + +Abyssinian slave-girls--Khartoum--The Soudan under Egyptian rule-- +Slave-trade in the Soudan--The obstacles ahead + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Gondokoro--A mutiny quelled--Arrival of Speke and Grant--The sources +of the Nile-Arab duplicity--The boy-slave's story--Saat adopted + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Startling disclosures--The last hope seems gone--The Bari chief's +advice--Hoping for the best--Ho for Central Africa! + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A start made at last--A forced march--Lightening the ship--Waiting for +the caravan--Success hangs in the balance--The greatest rascal in +Central Africa--Legge demands another bottle + +CHAPTER XVI. +The greeting of the slave-traders--Collapse of the mutiny--African +funerals-Visit from the Latooka chief--Bokke makes a suggestion-- +Slaughter of the Turks--Success as a prophet--Commoro's philosophy + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Disease in the camp--Forward under difficulties--Our cup of misery +overflows--A rain-maker in a dilemma-Fever again--Ibrahim's quandary-Firing the +prairie + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Greeting from Kamrasi's people--Suffering from the sins of others-Alone among +savages--The free-masonry of Unyoro.--Pottery and civilization + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Kamrasi's cowardice--Interview with the king--The exchange of blood-- +The rod beggar's last chance--An astounded sovereign + +CHAPTER XX. + +A satanic escort--Prostrated by sun-stroke--Days and nights of +sorrow--The reward for all our labor + +CHAPTER XXI. + +The cradle of the Nile--Arrival at Magungo--The blind leading +the blind--Murchison Falls + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Prisoners on the island--Left to starve--Months of helpless- +ness--We rejoin the Turks--The real Kamrasi--In the presence of royalty + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +The hour of deliverance--Triumphal entry into Gondokoro-- +Homeward bound--The plague breaks out--Our welcome at +Khartoum--Return to civilization + + +IN THE HEART OF AFRICA. + +CHAPTER I. + +The Nubian desert--The bitter well--Change of plans--An irascible +dragoman--Pools of the Atbara--One secret of the Nile--At Cassala. + +In March, 1861, I commenced an expedition to discover the sources of the +Nile, with the hope of meeting the East African expedition of Captains +Speke and Grant, that had been sent by the English Government from the +South via Zanzibar, for the same object. I had not the presumption to +publish my intention, as the sources of the Nile had hitherto defied all +explorers, but I had inwardly determined to accomplish this difficult +task or to die in the attempt. From my youth I had been inured to +hardships and endurance in wild sports in tropical climates, and when I +gazed upon the map of Africa I had a wild hope, mingled with humility, +that, even as the insignificant worm bores through the hardest oak, I +might by perseverance reach the heart of Africa. + +I could not conceive that anything in this world has power to resist a +determined will, so long as health and life remain. The failure of every +former attempt to reach the Nile source did not astonish me, as the +expeditions had consisted of parties, which, when difficulties occur, +generally end in difference of opinion and in retreat; I therefore +determined to proceed alone, trusting in the guidance of a Divine +Providence and the good fortune that sometimes attends a tenacity of +purpose. I weighed carefully the chances of the undertaking. Before me, +untrodden Africa; against me, the obstacles that had defeated the world +since its creation; on my side, a somewhat tough constitution, perfect +independence, a long experience in savage life, and both time and means, +which I intended to devote to the object without limit. + +England had never sent an expedition to the Nile sources previous to +that under the command of Speke and Grant. Bruce, ninety years before, +had succeeded in tracing the source of the Blue or Lesser Nile; thus the +honor of that discovery belonged to Great Britain. Speke was on his road +from the South, and I felt confident that my gallant friend would leave +his bones upon the path rather than submit to failure. I trusted that +England would not be beaten, and although I hardly dared to hope that I +could succeed where others greater than I had failed, I determined to +sacrifice all in the attempt. + +Had I been alone, it would have been no hard lot to die upon the +untrodden path before me; but there was one who, although my greatest +comfort, was also my greatest care, one whose life yet dawned at so +early an age that womanhood was still a future. I shuddered at the +prospect for her, should she be left alone in savage lands at my death; +and gladly would I have left her in the luxuries of home instead of +exposing her to the miseries of Africa. It was in vain that I implored +her to remain, and that I painted the difficulties and perils still +blacker than I supposed they really would be. She was resolved, with +woman's constancy and devotion, to share all dangers and to follow me +through each rough footstep of the wild life before me. "And Ruth said, +Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; +for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge; +thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where thou diest will +I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, +if aught but death part thee and me." + +Thus accompanied by my wife, on the 15th of April, 1861, I sailed up the +Nile from Cairo. The wind blew fair and strong from the north, and we +flew toward the south against the stream, watching those mysterious +waters with a firm resolve to track them to their distant fountain. + +I had a firman from the Viceroy, a cook, and a dragoman. Thus my +impedimenta were not numerous. The firman was an order to all Egyptian +officials for assistance; the cook was dirty and incapable; and the +interpreter was nearly ignorant of English, although a professed +polyglot. With this small beginning, Africa was before me, and thus I +commenced the search for the sources of the Nile. + +On arrival at Korosko, twenty-six days from Cairo, we started across the +Nubian Desert. During the cool months, from November until February, the +desert journey is not disagreeable; but the vast area of glowing sand +exposed to the scorching sun of summer, in addition to the withering +breath of the simoom, renders the forced march of two hundred and thirty +miles in seven days, at two and a half miles per hour, one of the most +fatiguing journeys that can he endured. + +We entered a dead level plain of orange-colored sand, surrounded by +pyramidical hills. The surface was strewn with objects resembling cannon +shot and grape of all sizes from a 32-pounder downward, and looked like +the old battle-field of some infernal region--rocks glowing with heat, +not a vestige of vegetation, barren, withering desolation. The slow +rocking step of the camels was most irksome, and, despite the heat, I +dismounted to examine the Satanic bombs and cannon shot. Many of them +were as perfectly round as though cast in a mould, others were +egg-shaped, and all were hollow. With some difficulty I broke them, and +found them to contain a bright red sand. They were, in fact, volcanic +bombs that had been formed by the ejection of molten lava to a great +height from active volcanoes; these had become globular in falling, and, +having cooled before they reached the earth, they retained their forms +as hard spherical bodies, precisely resembling cannon shot. The exterior +was brown, and appeared to be rich in iron. The smaller specimens were +the more perfect spheres, as they cooled quickly; but many of the +heavier masses had evidently reached the earth when only half +solidified, and had collapsed upon falling. The sandy plain was covered +with such vestiges of volcanic action, and the infernal bombs lay as +imperishable relics of a hailstorm such as may have destroyed Sodom and +Gomorrah. + +Passing through this wretched solitude, we entered upon a scene of +surpassing desolation. Far as the eye could reach were waves like a +stormy sea, gray, coldlooking waves in the burning heat; but no drop of +water. It appeared as though a sudden curse had turned a raging sea to +stone. The simoom blew over this horrible wilderness, and drifted the +hot sand into the crevices of the rocks, and the camels drooped their +heads before the suffocating wind; but still the caravan noiselessly +crept along over the rocky undulations, until the stormy sea was passed; +once more we were upon a boundless plain of sand and pebbles. + +In forty-six hours and forty-five minutes' actual marching from Korosko, +we reached Moorahd, "the bitter well." This is a mournful spot, well +known to the tired and thirsty camel, the hope of reaching which has +urged him fainting on his weary way to drink one draught before he dies. +This is the camel's grave. Situated half way between Korosko and Abou +Hammed, the well of Moorahd is in an extinct crater, surrounded upon all +sides but one by precipitous cliffs about three hundred feet high. The +bottom is a dead flat, and forms a valley of sand about two hundred and +fifty yards wide. In this bosom of a crater, salt and bitter water is +found at a depth of only six feet from the surface. To this our tired +camels frantically rushed upon being unloaded. + +The valley was a "valley of dry bones." Innumerable skeletons of camels +lay in all directions-the ships of the desert thus stranded on their +voyage. Withered heaps of parched skin and bone lay here and there, in +the distinct forms in which the camels had gasped their last. The dry +desert air had converted the hide into a coffin. There were no flies +here, thus there were no worms to devour the carcasses ; but the usual +sextons were the crows, although sometimes too few to perform their +office. These were perched upon the overhanging cliffs ; but no sooner +had our overworked camels taken their long draught and lain down +exhausted on the sand, than by common consent they descended from their +high places and walked round and round each tired beast. + +As many wretched animals simply crawl to this spot to die, the crows, +from long experience and constant practice, can form a pretty correct +diagnosis upon the case of a sick camel. They had evidently paid a +professional visit to my caravan, and were especially attentive in +studying the case of one particular camel that was in a very weakly +condition and had stretched itself full length upon the sand; nor would +they leave it until it was driven forward. + +Many years ago, when the Egyptian troops first conquered Nubia, a +regiment was destroyed by thirst in crossing this desert. The men, being +upon a limited allowance of water, suffered from extreme thirst, and +deceived by the appearance of a mirage that exactly resembled a +beautiful lake, they insisted on being taken to its banks by the Arab +guide. It was in vain that the guide assured them that the lake was +unreal, and he refused to lose the precious time by wandering from his +course. Words led to blows, and he was killed by the soldiers, whose +lives depended upon his guidance. The whole regiment turned from the +track and rushed toward the welcome waters. Thirsty and faint, over the +burning sands they hurried; heavier and heavier their footsteps became; +hotter and hotter their breath, as deeper they pushed into the desert, +farther and farther from the lost track where the pilot lay in his +blood; and still the mocking spirits of the desert, the afreets of the +mirage, led them on, and the hike glistening in the sunshine tempted +them to bathe in its cool waters, close to their eyes, but never at +their lips. At length the delusion vanished--the fatal lake had turned +to burning sand! Raging thirst and horrible despair! the pathless desert +and the murdered guide! lost! lost! all lost! Not a man ever left the +desert, but they were subsequently discovered, parched and withered +corpses, by the Arabs sent upon the search. + +During our march the simoom was fearful, and the heat so intense that it +was impossible to draw the guncases out of their leather covers, which +it was necessary to cut open. All woodwork was warped; ivory +knife-handles were split; paper broke when crunched in the hand, and the +very marrow seemed to he dried out of the bones. The extreme dryness of +the air induced an extraordinary amount of electricity in the hair and +in all woollen materials. A Scotch plaid laid upon a blanket for a few +hours adhered to it, and upon being withdrawn at night a sheet of flame +was produced, accompanied by tolerably loud reports. + +We reached Berber on May 31st, and spent a week in resting after our +formidable desert march of fifteen days. From the slight experience I +had gained in the journey, I felt convinced that success in my Nile +expedition would be impossible without a knowledge of Arabic. My +dragoman had me completely in his power, and I resolved to become +independent of all interpreters as soon as possible. I therefore +arranged a plan of exploration for the first year, to embrace the +affluents to the Nile from the Abyssinian range of mountains, intending +to follow up the Atbara River from its junction with the Nile in +latitude 17 deg. 37 min. (twenty miles south of Berber), and to examine +all the Nile tributaries from the southeast as far as the Blue Nile, +which river I hoped ultimately to descend to Khartoum. I imagined that +twelve months would be sufficient to complete such an exploration, by +which time I should have gained a sufficient knowledge of the Arabic to +render me able to converse fairly well. + +The wind at this season (June) was changeable, and strong blasts from +the south were the harbingers of the approaching rainy season. We had no +time to lose, and we accordingly arranged to start. I discharged my +dirty cook, and engaged a man who was brought by a coffeehouse keeper, +by whom he was highly recommended; but, as a precaution against +deception, I led him before the Mudir, or Governor, to be registered +before our departure. To my astonishment, and to his infinite disgust, +he was immediately recognized as an old offender, who had formerly been +imprisoned for theft! The Governor, to prove his friendship and his +interest in my welfare, immediately sent the police to capture the +coffee-house keeper who had recommended the cook. No sooner was the +unlucky surety brought to the Divan than he was condemned to receive two +hundred lashes for having given a false character. The sentence was +literally carried out, in spite of my remonstrance, and the police were +ordered to make the case public to prevent a recurrence. The Governor +assured me that, as I held a firman from the Viceroy, he could not do +otherwise, and that I must believe him to be my truest friend. "Save me +from my friends," was an adage quickly proved. I could not procure a +cook nor any other attendant, as every one was afraid to guarantee a +character, lest he might come in for his share of the two hundred +lashes! + +The Governor came to my rescue, and sent immediately the promised +Turkish soldiers, who were to act in the double capacity of escort and +servants. They were men of totally opposite characters. Hadji Achmet was +a hardy, powerful, dare-devil-looking Turk, while Hadji Velli was the +perfection of politeness, and as gentle as a lamb. My new allies +procured me three donkeys in addition to the necessary baggage camels, +and we started from Berber on the evening of the 10th of June for the +junction of the Atbara River With the Nile. + +Mahomet, Achmet, and Ali are equivalent to Smith, Brown, and Thompson. +Accordingly, of my few attendants, my dragoman was Mahomet, and my +principal guide was Achmet, and subsequently I had a number of Alis. +Mahomet was a regular Cairo dragoman, a native of Dongola, almost black, +but exceedingly tenacious regarding his shade of color, which he +declared to be light brown. He spoke very bad English, was excessively +conceited, and irascible to a degree. He was one of those dragomans who +are accustomed to the civilized expeditions of the British tourist to +the first or second cataract, in a Nile boat replete with conveniences +and luxuries, upon which the dragoman is monarch supreme, a whale among +the minnows, who rules the vessel, purchases daily a host of unnecessary +supplies, upon which he clears his profit, until he returns to Cairo +with his pockets filled sufficiently to support him until the following +Nile season. The short three months' harvest, from November until +February, fills his granary for the year. Under such circumstances the +temper should be angelic. + +But times had changed. To Mahomet the very idea of exploration was an +absurdity. He had never believed in it front the first, and he now +became impressed with the fact that he was positively committed to an +undertaking that would end most likely in his death, if not in terrible +difficulties; he determined, under the circumstances, to make himself as +disagreeable as possible to all parties. With this amiable resolution he +adopted a physical infirmity in the shape of deafness. In reality, no +one was more acute in hearing, but as there are no bells where there are +no houses, he of course could not answer such a summons, and he was +compelled to attend to the call of his own name--"Mahomet! Mahomet!" No +reply, although the individual were sitting within a few feet, +apparently absorbed in the contemplation of his own boots. "MaHOMet!" +with an additional emphasis upon the second syllable. Again no response. +"Mahomet, you rascal, why don't you answer?" This energetic address +would effect a change in his position. The mild and lamb-like dragoman +of Cairo would suddenly start from the ground, tear his own hair from +his head in handfuls, and shout, "Mahomet! Mahomet! Mahomet! always +Mahomet! D--n Mahomet! I wish he were dead, or back in Cairo, this brute +Mahomet!" The irascible dragoman would then beat his own head +unmercifully with his fists, in a paroxysm of rage. + +To comfort him I could only exclaim, "Well done, Mahomet! thrash him; +pommel him well; punch his head; you know him best; he deserves it; +don't spare him!" This advice, acting upon the natural perversity of his +disposition, generally soothed him, and he ceased punching his head. +This man was entirely out of his place, if not out of his mind, at +certain moments, and having upon one occasion smashed a basin by +throwing it in the face of the cook, and upon another occasion narrowly +escaped homicide by throwing an axe at a man's head, which missed by an +inch, he became a notorious character in the little expedition. + +We left Berber in the evening, and about two hours after sunset of the +following day reached the junction of the Nile and Atbara. The latter +presented a curious appearance. In no place was it less than four +hundred yards in width, and in many places much wider. The banks were +from twenty-five to thirty feet deep, and had evidently been overflowed +during floods; but now the river bed was dry sand, so glaring that the +sun's reflection was almost intolerable. The only shade was afforded by +the evergreen dome palms; nevertheless the Arabs occupied the banks at +intervals of three or four miles, wherever a pool of water in some deep +bend of the dried river's bed offered an attraction. In such places were +Arab villages or camps, of the usual mat tents formed of the dome- palm +leaves. + +Many pools were of considerable size and of great depth. In flood-time a +tremendous torrent sweeps down the course of the Atbara, and the sudden +bends of the river are hollowed out by the force of the stream to a +depth of twenty or thirty feet below the level of the bed. Accordingly +these holes become reservoirs of water when the river is otherwise +exhausted. In such asylums all the usual inhabitants of this large river +are crowded together in a comparatively narrow space. Although these +pools vary in size, from only a few hundred yards to a mile in length, +they are positively full of life; huge fish, crocodiles of immense size, +turtles, and occasionally hippopotami, consort together in close and +unwished-for proximity. The animals of the desert-- gazelles, hyenas, +and wild asses--are compelled to resort to these crowded +drinking-places, occupied by the flocks of the Arabs equally with the +timid beasts of the chase. The birds that during the cooler months would +wander free throughout the country are now collected in vast numbers +along the margin of the exhausted river; innumerable doves, varying in +species, throng the trees and seek the shade of the dome-palms; +thousands of desert grouse arrive morning and evening to drink and to +depart; while birds in multitudes, of lovely plumage, escape from the +burning desert and colonize the poor but welcome bushes that fringe the +Atbara River. + +After several days' journey along the bank of the Atbara we halted at a +spot called Collodabad, about one hundred and sixty miles from the Nile +junction. A sharp bend of the river had left a deep pool about a mile in +length, and here a number of Arabs were congregated, with their flocks +and herds. + +On the evening of June 23d I was lying half asleep upon my bed by the +margin of the river, when I fancied that I heard a rumbling like distant +thunder. I had not heard such a sound for months, but a low, +uninterrupted roll appeared to increase in volume, although far distant. +Hardly had I raised my head to listen more attentively when a confusion +of voices arose from the Arabs' camp, with a sound of many feet, and in +a few minutes they rushed into my camp, shouting to my men in the +darkness, "El Bahr! El Bahr!" (the river! the river!) + +We were up in an instant, and my interpreter, Mahomet, in a state of +intense confusion, explained that the river was coming down, and that +the supposed distant thunder was the roar of approaching water. + +Many of the people were asleep on the clean sand on the river's bed; +these were quickly awakened by the Arabs, who rushed down the steep bank +to save the skulls of two hippopotami that were exposed to dry. Hardly +had they descended when the sound of the river in the darkness beneath +told us that the water had arrived, and the men, dripping with wet, had +just sufficient time to drag their heavy burdens up the bank. + +All was darkness and confusion, everybody talking and no one listening; +but the great event had occurred; the river had arrived "like a thief in +the night". On the morning of the 24th of June, I stood on the banks of +the noble Atbara River at the break of day. The wonder of the desert! +Yesterday there was a barren sheet of glaring sand, with a fringe of +withered bushes and trees upon its borders, that cut the yellow expanse +of desert. For days we had journeyed along the exhausted bed; all +Nature, even in Nature's poverty, was most poor: no bush could boast a +leaf, no tree could throw a shade, crisp gums crackled upon the stems of +the mimosas, the sap dried upon the burst bark, sprung with the +withering heat of the simoom. In one night there was a mysterious +change. Wonders of the mighty Nile! An army of water was hastening to +the wasted river. There was no drop of rain, no thunder-cloud on the +horizon to give hope. All had been dry and sultry, dust and desolation +yesterday; to-day a magnificent stream, some five hundred yards in width +and from fifteen to twenty feet in depth, flowed through the dreary +desert! Bamboos and reeds, with trash of all kinds, were hurried along +the muddy waters. Where were all the crowded inhabitants of the pool? +The prison doors were broken, the prisoners were released, and rejoiced +in the mighty stream of the Atbara. + +The 24th of June, 1861, was a memorable day. Although this was actually +the beginning of my work, I felt that by the experience of this night I +had obtained a clew to one portion of the Nile mystery, and that, as +"coming events cast their shadows before," this sudden creation of a +river was but the shadow of the great cause. The rains were pouring in +Abyssinia! THESE WERE SOURCES OF THE NILE! + +The journey along the margin of the Atbara was similar to the route from +Berber, through a vast desert, with a narrow band of trees that marked +the course of the river. The only change was the magical growth of the +leaves, which burst hourly from the swollen buds of the mimosas. This +could be accounted for by the sudden arrival of the river, as the water +percolated rapidly through the sand and nourished the famishing roots. + +At Gozerajup, two hundred and forty-six miles from Berber, our route was +changed. We had hitherto followed the course of the Atbara, but we were +now to leave that river on our right, while we travelled about ninety +miles south-east to Cassala, the capital of the Taka country, on the +confines of Abyssinia, and the great depot for Egyptian troops. + +The entire country from Gozerajup to Cassala is a dead flat, upon which +there is not one tree sufficiently large to shade a full-sized tent. +There is no real timber in the country; but the vast level extent of +soil is a series of open plains and low bush of thorny mimosa. There is +no drainage upon this perfect level; thus, during the rainy season, the +soakage actually melts the soil, and forms deep holes throughout the +country, which then becomes an impenetrable slough, bearing grass and +jungle. No sooner had we arrived in the flooded country than my wife was +seized with a sudden and severe fever, which necessitated a halt upon +the march, as she could no longer sit upon her camel. In the evening +several hundreds of Arabs arrived and encamped around our fire. It was +shortly after sunset, and it was interesting to watch the extreme +rapidity with which these swarthy sons of the desert pitched their camp. +A hundred fires were quickly blazing; the women prepared the food, and +children sat in clusters around the blaze, as all were wet from paddling +through the puddled ground from which they were retreating. + +No sooner was the bustle of arrangement completed than a gray old man +stepped forward, and, responding to his call, every man of the hundreds +present formed in line, three or four deep. At once there was total +silence, disturbed only by the crackling of the fires or by the cry of a +child; and with faces turned to the east, in attitudes of profound +devotion, the wild but fervent followers of Mahomet repeated their +evening prayer. The flickering red light of the fires illumined the +bronze faces of the congregation, and as I stood before the front line +of devotees, I tools off my cap in respect for their faith, and at the +close of their prayer made my salaam to their venerable Faky (priest); +he returned the salutation with the cold dignity of an Arab. + +On the next day my wife's fever was renewed, but she was placed on a +dromedary and we reached Cassala about sunset. The place is rich in +hyenas, and the night was passed in the discordant howling of these +disgusting but useful animals. They are the scavengers of the country, +devouring every species of filth and clearing all carrion from the +earth. Without the hyenas and vultures the neighborhood of a Nubian +village would be unbearable. It is the idle custom of the people to +leave unburied all animals that die; thus, among the numerous flocks and +herds, the casualties would create a pestilence were it not for the +birds and beasts of prey. + +On the following morning the fever had yielded to quinine, and we were +enabled to receive a round of visits --the governor and suite, Elias +Bey, the doctor and a friend, and, lastly, Malem Georgis, an elderly +Greek merchant, who, with great hospitality, insisted upon our quitting +the sultry tent and sharing his own roof. We therefore became his guests +in a most comfortable house for some days. Here we discharged our +camels, as our Turk, Hadji Achmet's, service ended at this point, and +proceeded to start afresh for the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +Egypt's rule of the Soudan--Corn-grinding in the Soudan--Mahomet meets +relatives--The parent of Egypt--El Baggar rides the camel. + +Cassala was built about twenty years before I visited the country, after +Taka had been conquered and annexed to Egypt. The general annexation of +the Soudan and tile submission of the numerous Arab tribes to the +Viceroy have been the first steps necessary to the improvement of the +country. Although the Egyptians are hard masters, and do not trouble +themselves about the future well-being of the conquered races, it must +be remembered that, prior to the annexation, all the tribes were at war +among themselves. There was neither government nor law; thus the whole +country was closed to Europeans. At the time of my visit to Cassala in +1861 the Arab tribes were separately governed by their own chiefs or +sheiks, who were responsible to the Egyptian authorities for the taxes +due from their people. Since that period the entire tribes of all +denominations have been placed under the authority of that grand old +Arab patriarch, Achmet Abou Sinn, to be hereafter mentioned. The iron +hand of despotism has produced a marvellous change among the Arabs, who +are rendered utterly powerless by the system of government adopted by +the Egyptians; unfortunately, this harsh system has the effect of +paralyzing all industry. + +The principal object of Turks and Egyptians in annexation is to increase +their power of taxation by gaining an additional number of subjects. +Thus, although many advantages have accrued to the Arab provinces of +Nubia through Egyptian rule, there exists very much mistrust between the +governed and the governing. Not only are the camels, cattle, and sheep +subjected to a tax, but every attempt at cultivation is thwarted by the +authorities, who impose a fine or tax upon the superficial area of the +cultivated land. Thus, no one will cultivate more than is absolutely +necessary, as he dreads the difficulties that broad acres of waving +crops would entail upon his family. The bona fide tax is a bagatelle to +the amounts squeezed from him by the extortionate soldiery, who are the +agents employed by the sheik; these must have their share of the +plunder, in excess of the amount to be delivered to their employer; he +also must have his plunder before he parts with the bags of dollars to +the governor of the province. Thus the unfortunate cultivator is ground +down. Should he refuse to pay the necessary "backsheesh" or present to +the tax-collectors, some false charge is trumped up against him, and he +is thrown into prison. As a green field is an attraction to a flight of +locusts in their desolating voyage, so is a luxuriant farm in the Soudan +a point for the tax-collectors of Upper Egypt. I have frequently ridden +several days' journey through a succession of empty villages, deserted +by the inhabitants upon the report of the soldiers' approach. The women +and children, goats and cattle, camels and asses, had all been removed +into the wilderness for refuge, while their crops of corn had been left +standing for the plunderers, who would be too idle to reap and thrash +the grain. + +Notwithstanding the miserable that fetters the steps of improvement, +Nature has bestowed such great capabilities of production in the fertile +soil of this country that the yield of a small surface is more than +sufficient for the requirements of the population, and actual poverty is +unknown. The average price of dhurra is fifteen piastres per "rachel," +or about 3s. 2d. for five hundred pounds upon the spot where it is +grown. The dhurra (Sorghum andropogon) is the grain most commonly used +throughout the Soudan; there are great varieties of this plant, of which +the most common are the white and the red. The land is not only favored +by Nature by its fertility, but the intense heat of the summer is the +laborer's great assistant. As before described, all vegetation entirely +disappears in the glaring sun, or becomes so dry that it is swept off by +fire; thus the soil is perfectly clean and fit for immediate cultivation +upon the arrival of the rains. + +The tool generally used is similar to the Dutch hoe. With this simple +implement the surface is scratched to the depth of about two inches, and +the seeds of the dhurra are dibbled in about three feet apart, in rows +from four to five feet in width. Two seeds are dropped into each hole. A +few days after the first shower they rise above the ground, and when +about six inches high the whole population turn out of their villages at +break of day to weed the dhurra fields. Sown in July, it is harvested in +February and March. Eight months are thus required for the cultivation +of this cereal in the intense heat of Nubia. For the first three months +the growth is extremely rapid, and the stem attains a height of six or +seven feet. When at perfection in the rich soil of the Taka country, the +plant averages a height of ten feet, the circumference of the stem being +about four inches. The crown is a feather very similar to that of the +sugar-cane; the blossom falls, and the feather becomes a head of dhurra, +weighing about two pounds. Each grain is about the size of hemp-seed. I +took the trouble of counting the corns contained in an average- sized +head, the result being 4,848. The process of harvesting and threshing is +remarkably simple, as the heads are simply detached from the straw and +beaten out in piles. The dried straw is a substitute for sticks in +forming the walls of the village huts; these are plastered with clay and +cow-dung, which form the Arab's lath and plaster. + +The millers' work is exclusively the province of the women. No man will +condescend to grind the corn. There are no circular hand-mills, as among +Oriental nations; but the corn is ground upon a simple flat stone, of +cithor gneiss or granite, about two feet in length by fourteen inches in +width. The face of this is roughened by beating with a sharp-pointed +piece of harder stone, such as quartz or hornblende, and the grain is +reduced to flour by great labor and repeated grinding or rubbing with a +stone rolling-pin. The flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment; +it is then made into thin pancakes upon an earthenware flat portable +hearth. This species of leavened bread is known to the Arabs as the +kisra. It is not very palatable, but it is extremely well suited to Arab +cookery, as it can be rolled up like a pancake and dipped in the general +dish of meat and gravy very conveniently, in the absence of spoons and +forks. + +On the 14th of July I had concluded my arrangements for the start. There +had been some difficulty in procuring camels, but the all-powerful +firman was a never-failing talisman, and as the Arabs had declined to +let their animals for hire, the Governor despatched a number of soldiers +and seized the required number, including their owners. I engaged two +wild young Arabs of eighteen and twenty years of age, named Bacheet and +Wat Gamma. The latter, being interpreted, signifies "Son of the Moon." +This in no way suggests lunacy; but the young Arab had happened to enter +this world on the day of the new moon, which was considered to be a +particularly fortunate and brilliant omen at his birth. Whether the +climax of his good fortune had arrived at the moment he entered my +service I know not; but, if so, there was a cloud over his happiness in +his subjection to Mahomet, the dragoman, who rejoiced in the opportunity +of bullying the two inferiors. Wat Gamma was a quiet, steady, +well-conducted lad, who bore oppression mildly ; but the younger, +Bucheet, was a fiery, wild young Arab, who, although an excellent boy in +his peculiar way, was almost incapable of being tamed and domesticated. +I at once perceived that Mahomet would have a determined rebel to +control, which I confess I did not regret. Wages were not high in this +part of the world--the lads were engaged at one and a half dollars per +month and their keep. + +Mahomet, who was a great man, suffered from the same complaint to which +great men are (in those countries) particularly subject. Wherever he +went he was attacked with claimants of relationship. He was overwhelmed +with professions of friendship from people who claimed to be connections +of some of his family. In fact, if all the ramifications of his race +were correctly represented by the claimants of relationship, Mahomet's +family tree would have shaded the Nubian desert + +We all have our foibles. The strongest fort has its feeble point, as the +chain snaps at its weakest link. Family pride was Mahomet's weak link. +This was his tender point; and Mahomet, the great and the imperious, +yielded to the gentle scratching of his ear if a stranger claimed +connection with his ancient lineage. Of course he had no family, with +the exception of his wife and two children, whom he had left in Cairo. +The lady whom he had honored by admission into the domestic circle of +the Mahomets was suffering from a broken arm when we started from Egypt, +as she had cooked the dinner badly, and the "gaddah," or large wooden +bowl, had been thrown at her by the naturally indignant husband, +precisely as he had thrown the axe at one man and the basin at another +while in our service. These were little contretemps that could hardly +disturb the dignity of so great a man. + +Mahomet met several relatives at Cassala. One borrowed money of him; +another stole his pipe; the third, who declared that nothing should +separate them now that "by the blessing of God" they had met, determined +to accompany him through all the difficulties of our expedition, +provided that Mahomet would only permit him to serve for love, without +wages. I gave Mahomet some little advice upon this point, reminding him +that, although the clothes of the party were only worth a few piastres, +the spoons and forks were silver; therefore I should hold him +responsible for the honesty of his friend. This reflection upon the +family gave great offence, and he assured me that Achmet, our quondam +acquaintance, was so near a relative that he was--I assisted him in the +genealogical distinction: "Mother's brother's cousin's sister's mother's +son? Eh, Mahomet?" + +"Yes, sar, that's it!" "Very well, Mahomet; mind he doesn't steal the +spoons, and thrash him if he doesn't do his work!" "Yes, sar", replied +Mahomet; "he all same like one brother; he one good man; will do his +business quietly; if not, master lick him." The new relative not +understanding English, was perfectly satisfied with the success of his +introduction, and from that moment he became one of the party. + +One more addition, and our arrangements were completed: the Governor of +Cassala was determined we should not start without a soldier guide to +represent the government. Accordingly he gave us a black corporal, so +renowned as a sportsman that he went by the name of "El Baggar" (the +cow), because of his having killed several of the oryx antelope, known +as "El Baggar et Wabash" (cow of the desert). + +After sixteen hours' actual marching from Cassala we arrived at the +valley of the Atbara. There was an extraordinary change in the +appearance of the river between Gozerajup and this spot. There was no +longer the vast sandy desert with the river flowing through its sterile +course on a level with the surface of the country; but after traversing +an apparently perfect flat of forty-five miles of rich alluvial soil, we +had suddenly arrived upon the edge of a deep valley, between five and +six miles wide, at the bottom of which, about two hundred feet below the +general level of the country, flowed the river Atbara. On the opposite +side of the valley the same vast table-lands continued to the western +horizon. + +We commenced the descent toward the river: the valley was a succession +of gullies and ravines, of landslips and watercourses. The entire +hollow, of miles in width, had evidently been the work of the river. How +many ages had the rains and the stream been at work to scoop out from +the flat tableland this deep and broad valley? Here was the giant +laborer that had shovelled the rich loam upon the delta of Lower Egypt! +Upon these vast flats of fertile soil there can be no drainage except +through soakage. The deep valley is therefore the receptacle not only +for the water that oozes from its sides, but subterranean channels, +bursting as land-springs from all parts of the walls of the valley, wash +down the more soluble portions of earth, and continually waste away the +soil. Landslips occur daily during the rainy season; streams of rich mud +pour down the valley's slopes, and as the river flows beneath in a +swollen torrent, the friable banks topple down into the stream and +dissolve. The Atbara becomes the thickness of peasoup, as its muddy +waters steadily perform the duty they have fulfilled from age to age. +Thus was the great river at work upon our arrival on its bank at the +bottom of the valley. The Arab name, "Bahr el Aswat" (black river) was +well bestowed; it was the black mother of Egypt, still carrying to her +offspring the nourishment that had first formed the Delta. + +At this point of interest the journey had commenced; the deserts were +passed; all was fertility and life. Wherever the sources of the Nile +might be, the Atbara was the parent of Egypt! This was my first +impression, to be proved hereafter. + +A violent thunderstorm, with a deluge of rain, broke upon our camp on +the banks of the Atbara, fortunately just after the tents were pitched. +We thus had an example of the extraordinary effects of the heavy rain in +tearing away the soil of the valley. Trifling watercourses were swollen +to torrents. Banks of earth became loosened and fell in, and the rush of +mud and water upon all sides swept forward into the river with a +rapidity which threatened the destruction of the country, could such a +tempest endure for a few days. In a couple of hours all was over. + +In the evening we crossed with our baggage and people to the opposite +side of the ricer, and pitched our tents at the village of Goorashee. In +the morning the camels arrived, and once more we were ready to start. +Our factotum, El Baggar, had collected a number of baggage-camels and +riding dromedaries, or "hygeens". The latter he had brought for +approval, as we bad suffered much from the extreme roughness of our late +camels. There is the same difference between a good hygeen, or +dromedary, and a baggage-camel, as between the thoroughbred and the +cart-horse; and it appears absurd in the eyes of the Arabs that a man of +any position should ride a baggage-camel. Apart from all ideas of +etiquette, the motion of the latter animal is quite sufficient warning. +Of all species of fatigue, the back-breaking, monotonous swing of a +heavy camel is the worst; and should the rider lose patience and +administer a sharp cut with the coorbatch, that induces the creature to +break into a trot, the torture of the rack is a pleasant tickling +compared to the sensation of having your spine driven by a sledge-hammer +from below, half a foot deeper into the skull. + +The human frame may be inured to almost anything; thus the Arabs, who +have always been accustomed to this kind of exercise, hardly feel the +motion, and the portion of the body most subject to pain in riding a +rough camel upon two bare pieces of wood for a saddle, becomes naturally +adapted for such rough service, as monkeys become hardened from +constantly sitting upon rough substances. The children commence almost +as soon as they are born, as they must accompany their mothers in their +annual migrations; and no sooner can the young Arab sit astride and hold +on than he is placed behind his father's saddle, to which he clings, +while he bumps upon the bare back of the jolting camel. Nature quickly +arranges a horny protection to the nerves, by the thickening of the +skin; thus, an Arab's opinion of the action of a riding hygeen should +never be accepted without a personal trial. What appears delightful to +him may be torture to you, as a strong breeze and a rough sea may be +charming to a sailor, but worse than death to a landsman. + +I was determined not to accept the camels now offered as hygeens until I +had seen them tried. I accordingly ordered our black soldier, El Baggar, +to saddle the most easy-actioned animal for my wife; but I wished to see +him put it through a variety of paces before she should accept it. The +delighted EL Baggar, who from long practice was as hard as the heel of a +boot, disdained a saddle. The animal knelt, was mounted, and off he +started at full trot, performing a circle of about fifty yards' diameter +as though in a circus. I never saw such an exhibition! "Warranted quiet +to ride, of easy action, and fit for a lady!" This had been the +character received with the rampant brute, who now, with head and tail +erect, went tearing round the circle, screaming and roaring like a wild +beast, throwing his forelegs forward and stepping at least three feet +high in his trot. + +Where was El Baggar? A disjointed looking black figure was sometimes on +the back of this easy going camel, sometimes a foot high in the air; +arms, head, legs, hands, appeared like a confused mass of dislocation; +the woolly hair of this unearthly individual, that had been carefully +trained in long stiff narrow curls, precisely similar to the tobacco +known as "negro-head," alternately started upright en masse, as though +under the influence of electricity, and then fell as suddenly upon his +shoulders. Had the dark individual been a "black dose", he or it could +not have been more thoroughly shaken. This object, so thoroughly +disguised by rapidity of movement, was El Baggar happy, delighted El +Baggar! As he came rapidly round toward us flourishing his coorbatch, I +called to him, "Is that a nice hygeen for the Sit (lady), EL Baggar? Is +it very easy?" He was almost incapable of a reply. "V-e-r-y +e-e-a-a-s-y," replied the trustworthy authority, "j-j-j-just the +thin-n-n-g for the S-i-i-i-t-t-t." "All right, that will do," I +answered, and the jockey pulled up his steed. "Are the other camels +better or worse than that?" I asked. "Much worse," replied El Baggar; +"the others are rather rough, but this is an easy goer, and will suit +the lady well." + +It was impossible to hire a good hygeen; an Arab prizes his riding +animal too much, and invariably refuses to let it to a stranger, but +generally imposes upon him by substituting some lightly-built camel that +he thinks will pass muster. I accordingly chose for my wife a +steady-going animal from among the baggage-camels, trusting to be able +to obtain a hygeen from the great Sheik Abou Sinn, who was encamped upon +the road we were about to take along the valley of the Atbara. We left +Goorashee on the following day. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +The Arabs' exodus-Reception by Abou Sinn-Arabs dressing the hair-Toilet +of an Arab woman-The plague of lice-Wives among the Arabs-The Old +Testament confirmed + +IT was the season of rejoicing. Everybody appeared in good humor. The +distended udders of thousands of camels were an assurance of plenty. The +burning sun that for nine months had scorched the earth was veiled by +passing clouds. The cattle that had panted for water, and whose food was +withered straw, were filled with juicy fodder. The camels that had +subsisted upon the dried and leafless twigs and branches, now feasted +upon the succulent tops of the mimosas. Throngs of women and children +mounted upon camels, protected by the peculiar gaudy saddle-hood, +ornamented with cowrie- shells, accompanied the march. Thousands of +sheep and goats, driven by Arab boys, were straggling in all directions. +Baggage-camels, heavily laden with the quaint household goods, blocked +up the way. The fine bronzed figures of Arabs, with sword and shield, +and white topes, or plaids, guided their milk-white dromedaries through +the confused throng with the usual placid dignity of their race, simply +passing by with the usual greeting, "Salaam aleikum" (Peace be with +you). + +It was the Exodus; all were hurrying toward the promised land--"the +land flowing with milk and honey", where men and beasts would be secure, +not only from the fevers of the south, but from that deadly enemy to +camels and cattle, the fly. This terrible insect drove all before it. + +If all were right in migrating to the north, it was a logical conclusion +that we were wrong in going to the south during the rainy season; +however, we now heard from the Arabs that we were within a couple of +hours' march from the camp of the great Sheik Achmet Abou Sinn, to whom +I had a letter of introduction. At the expiration of about that time we +halted, and pitched the tents among some shady mimosas, while I sent +Mahomet to Abou Sinn with the letter, and my firman. + +I was busily engaged in making sundry necessary arrangements in the tent +when Mahomet returned and announced the arrival of the great sheik in +person. He was attended by several of his principal people, and as he +approached through the bright green mimosas, mounted upon a beautiful +snow-white hygeen, I was exceedingly struck with his venerable and +dignified appearance. Upon near arrival I went forward to meet him and +to assist him from his camel; but his animal knelt immediately at his +command, and he dismounted with the ease and agility of a man of twenty. + +He was the most magnificent specimen of an Arab that I have ever seen. +Although upward of eighty years of age, he was as erect as a lance, and +did not appear more than between fifty and sixty. He was of herculean +stature, about six feet three inches high, with immensely broad +shoulders and chest, a remarkably arched nose, eyes like an eagle's, +beneath large, shaggy, but perfectly white eyebrows. A snow-white beard +of great thickness descended below the middle of his breast. He wore a +large white turban and a white cashmere abbai, or long robe, from the +throat to the ankles. As a desert patriarch he was superb--the very +perfection of all that the imagination could paint, if we should +personify Abraham at the head of his people. This grand old Arab with +the greatest politeness insisted upon our immediately accompanying him +to his camp, as he could not allow us to remain in his country as +strangers. He would hear of no excuses, but at once gave orders to +Mahomet to have the baggage repacked and the tents removed, while we +were requested to mount two superb white hygeens, with saddle-cloths of +blue Persian sheepskins, that he had immediately accoutered when he +heard from Mahomet of our miserable camels. The tent was struck, and we +joined our venerable host with a line of wild and splendidly-mounted +attendants, who followed us toward the sheik's encampment. + +Among the retinue of the aged sheik whom we now accompanied, were ten of +his sons, some of whom appeared to be quite as old as their father. We +had ridden about two miles when we were suddenly met by a crowd of +mounted men, armed with the usual swords and shields; many were on +horses, others upon hygeens, and all drew up in lines parallel with our +approach. These were Abou Sinn's people, who had assembled to give us +the honorary welcome as guests of their chief. This etiquette of the +Arabs consists in galloping singly at full speed across the line of +advance, the rider flourishing the sword over his head, and at the same +moment reining up his horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a +sudden halt. This having been performed by about a hundred riders upon +both horses and hygeens, they fell into line behind our party, and, thus +escorted, we shortly arrived at the Arab encampment. In all countries +the warmth of a public welcome appears to be exhibited by noise. The +whole neighborhood had congregated to meet us; crowds of women raised +the wild, shrill cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow; drums were +beat; men dashed about with drawn swords and engaged in mimic fight, and +in the midst of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With +peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my wife to dismount, and +led her to an open shed arranged with angareps (stretchers) covered with +Persian carpets and cushions, so as to form a divan. Sherbet, pipes, and +coffee were shortly handed to us, and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated +the customary interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us that our +unexpected arrival among them was "like the blessing of a new moon", the +depth of which expression no one can understand who has not experienced +life in the desert, where the first faint crescent is greeted with such +enthusiasm. + +Abou Sinn had arranged to move northward on the following day; we +therefore agreed to pass one day in his camp, and to leave the next +morning for Sofi, on the Atbara, about seventy-eight miles distant. + +From Korosko to this point we had already passed the Bedouins, +Bishareens, Hadendowas, Hallongas, until we had entered the +Shookeriyahs. On the west of our present position were the Jalyns, and +to the south near Sofi were the Dabainas. Many of the tribes claim a +right to the title of Bedouins, as descended from that race. The customs +of all the Arabs are nearly similar, and the distinction in appearance +is confined to a peculiarity in dressing the hair. This is a matter of +great importance among both men and women. It would be tedious to +describe the minutiae of the various coiffures, but the great desire +with all tribes, except the Jalyn, is to have a vast quantity of hair +arranged in their own peculiar fashion, and not only smeared, but +covered with as much fat as can be made to adhere. Thus, should a man +wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he would put at least half a +pound of butter or other fat upon his head. This would be worked up with +his coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat resembled a cauliflower. +He would then arrange his tope or plaid of thick cotton cloth, and throw +one end over his left shoulder, while slung from the same shoulder his +circular shield would hang upon his back; suspended by a strap over the +right shoulder would hang his long two-edged broadsword. + +Fat is the great desideratum of an Arab. His head, as I have described, +should be a mass of grease; he rubs his body with oil or other ointment; +his clothes, i.e. his one garment or tope, is covered with grease, and +internally he swallows as much as he can procure. + +The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upward of eighty, as upright as a +dart, a perfect Hercules, and whose children and grandchildren are like +the sand of the sea-shore, has always consumed daily throughout his life +two rottolis (pounds) of melted butter. A short time before I left the +country he married a new young wife about fourteen years of age. This +may be a hint to octogenarians. + +The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that of the sheep. This +undergoes a curious preparation, which renders it similar in appearance +to cold cream; upon the raw fat being taken from the animal it is chewed +in the mouth by an Arab for about two hours, being frequently taken out +for examination during that time, until it has assumed the desired +consistency. To prepare sufficient to enable a man to appear in full +dress, several persons must be employed in masticating fat at the same +time. This species of pomade, when properly made, is perfectly white, +and exceedingly light and frothy. It may be imagined that when exposed +to a burning sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly disappears; but +the oil then runs down the neck and back, which is considered quite +correct, especially when the tope becomes thoroughly greased. The man is +then perfectly anointed. We had seen an amusing example of this when on +the march from Berber to Gozerajup. The Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed +into our service, as a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been +arranged as a cauliflower, with at least half a pound of white fat upon +his head. As we were travelling upward of four miles an hour in an +intense heat, during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran quicker +than he did, and at the end of a couple of hours both the dandy and his +pomade were exhausted. The poor fellow had to return to his friends with +the total loss of personal appearance and half a pound of butter. + +Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great attention +is bestowed upon perfumery, especially by the women. Various perfumes +are brought from Cairo by the travelling native merchants, among which +those most in demand are oil of roses, oil of sandal-wood, an essence +from the blossom of a species of mimosa, essence of musk, and the oil of +cloves. The women have a peculiar method of scenting their bodies and +clothes by an operation that is considered to be one of the necessaries +of life, and which is repeated at regular intervals. In the floor of the +tent, or hut, as it may chance to be, a small hole is excavated +sufficiently large to contain a common-sized champagne bottle. A fire of +charcoal, or of simply glowing embers, is made within the hole, into +which the woman about to be scented throws a handful of various drugs. +She then takes off the cloth or tope which forms her dress, and crouches +naked over the fumes, while she arranges her robe to fall as a mantle +from her neck to the ground like a tent. When this arrangement is +concluded she is perfectly happy, as none of the precious fumes can +escape, all being retained beneath the robe, precisely as if she wore a +crinoline with an incense-burner beneath it, which would be a far more +simple way of performing the operation. She now begins to perspire +freely in the hot-air bath, and the pores of the skin being thus opened +and moist, the volatile oil from the smoke of the burning perfumes is +immediately absorbed. + +By the time that the fire has expired the scenting process is completed, +and both her person and robe are redolent of incense, with which they +are so thoroughly impregnated that I have frequently smelt a party of +women strongly at full a hundred yards' distance, when the wind has been +blowing from their direction. + +The Arab women do not indulge in fashions. Strictly conservative in +their manners and customs, they never imitate, but they simply vie with +each other in the superlativeness of their own style; thus the dressing +of the hair is a most elaborate affair, which occupies a considerable +portion of their time. It is quite impossible for an Arab woman to +arrange her own hair; she therefore employs an assistant, who, if clever +in the art, will generally occupy about three days before the operation +is concluded. First, the hair must be combed with a long skewer-like +pin; then, when well divided, it becomes possible to use an exceedingly +coarse wooden comb. When the hair is reduced to reasonable order by the +latter process, a vigorous hunt takes place, which occupies about an +hour, according to the amount of game preserved. The sport concluded, +the hair is rubbed with a mixture of oil of roses, myrrh, and +sandal-wood dust mixed with a powder of cloves and cassia. When well +greased and rendered somewhat stiff by the solids thus introduced, it is +plaited into at least two hundred fine plaits; each of these plaits is +then smeared with a mixture of sandal-wood dust and either gum water or +paste of dhurra flour. On the last day of the operation, each tiny plait +is carefully opened by the long hairpin or skewer, and the head is +ravissante. Scented and frizzled in this manner with a well-greased tope +or robe, the Arab lady's toilet is complete. Her head is then a little +larger than the largest sized English mop, and her perfume is something +between the aroma of a perfumer's shop and the monkey-house at the +Zoological Gardens. This is considered "very killing," and I have been +quite of that opinion when a crowd of women have visited my wife in our +tent, with the thermometer at 95 degrees C, and have kindly consented to +allow me to remain as one of the party. + +It is hardly necessary to add that the operation of hairdressing is not +often performed, but that the effect is permanent for about a week, +during which time the game becomes so excessively lively that the +creatures require stirring up with the long hairpin or skewer whenever +too unruly. This appears to be constantly necessary from the vigorous +employment of the ruling sceptre during conversation. A levee of Arab +women in the tent was therefore a disagreeable invasion, as we dreaded +the fugitives; fortunately, they appeared to cling to the followers of +Mahomet in preference to Christians. + +The plague of lice brought upon the Egyptians by Moses has certainly +adhered to the country ever since, if "lice" is the proper translation +of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament. It is my own opinion that the +insects thus inflicted upon the population were not lice, but ticks. +Exod. 8:16: "The dust became lice throughout all Egypt;" again, Exod. +8:17: "Smote dust... it became lice in man and beast." Now the louse +that infests the human body and hair has no connection whatever with +"dust," and if subject to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat of the +burning sand, it would shrivel and die. But the tick is an inhabitant of +the dust, a dry horny insect without any apparent moisture in its +composition; it lives in hot sand and dust, where it cannot possibly +obtain nourishment, until some wretched animal lies down upon the spot, +when it becomes covered with these horrible vermin. I have frequently +seen dry desert places so infested with ticks that the ground was +perfectly alive with them, and it would have been impossible to rest on +the earth. + +In such spots, the passage in Exodus has frequently occurred to me as +bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest enemies to man +and beast. It is well known that, from the size of a grain of sand in +their natural state, they will distend to the size of a hazelnut after +having preyed for some days upon the blood of an animal. The Arabs are +invariably infested with lice, not only in their hair, but upon their +bodies and clothes; even the small charms or spells worn upon the arm in +neatly-sewn leathern packets are full of these vermin. Such spells are +generally verses copied from the Koran by the Faky, or priest, who +receives some small gratuity in exchange. The men wear several such +talismans upon the arm above the elbow, but the women wear a large bunch +of charms, as a sort of chatelaine, suspended beneath their clothes +around the waist. + +Although the tope or robe, loosely but gracefully arranged around the +body, appears to be the whole of the costume, the women wear beneath +this garment a thin blue cotton cloth tightly bound round the loins, +which descends to a little above the knee; beneath this, next to the +skin, is the last garment, the rahat. The latter is the only clothing of +young girls, and may be either perfectly simple or adorned with beads +and cowrie shells according to the fancy of the wearer. It is perfectly +effective as a dress, and admirably adapted to the climate. + +The rahat is a fringe of fine dark brown or reddish twine, fastened to a +belt, and worn round the waist. On either side are two long tassels, +that are generally ornamented with beads or cowries, and dangle nearly +to the ankles, while the rahat itself should descend to a little above +the knee, or be rather shorter than a Highland kilt. Nothing can be +prettier or more simple than this dress, which, although short, is of +such thickly hanging fringe that it perfectly answers the purpose for +which it is intended. + +Many of the Arab girls are remarkably good-looking, with fine figures +until they become mothers. They generally marry at the age of thirteen +or fourteen, but frequently at twelve or even earlier. Until married, +the rahat is their sole garment. Throughout the Arab tribes of Upper +Egypt, chastity is a necessity, as an operation is performed at the +early age of from three to five years that thoroughly protects all +females and which renders them physically proof against incontinency. + +There is but little love-making among the Arabs. The affair of matrimony +usually commences by a present to the father of the girl, which, if +accepted, is followed by a similar advance to the girl herself, and the +arrangement is completed. All the friends of both parties are called +together for the wedding; pistols and guns are fired off, if possessed. +There is much feasting, and the unfortunate bridegroom undergoes the +ordeal of whipping by the relatives of his bride, in order to test his +courage. Sometimes this punishment is exceedingly severe, being +inflicted with the coorbatch or whip of hippopotamus hide, which is +cracked vigorously about his ribs and back. If the happy husband wishes +to be considered a man worth having, he must receive the chastisement +with an expression of enjoyment; in which case the crowds of women again +raise their thrilling cry in admiration. After the rejoicings of the day +are over, the bride is led in the evening to the residence of her +husband, while a beating of drums and strumming of guitars (rhababas) +are kept up for some hours during the night, with the usual discordant +singing. + +There is no divorce court among the Arabs. They are not sufficiently +advanced in civilization to accept a pecuniary fine as the price of a +wife's dishonor; but a stroke of the husband's sword or a stab with the +knife is generally the ready remedy for infidelity. Although strict +Mahometans, the women are never veiled; neither do they adopt the +excessive reserve assumed by the Turks and Egyptians. The Arab women are +generally idle, and one of the conditions of accepting a suitor is that +a female slave is to be provided for the special use of the wife. No +Arab woman will engage herself as a domestic servant; thus, so long as +their present customs shall remain unchanged, slaves are creatures of +necessity. Although the law of Mahomet limits the number of wives for +each man to four at one time, the Arab women do not appear to restrict +their husbands to this allowance, and the slaves of the establishment +occupy the position of concubines. + +The Arabs adhere strictly to their ancient customs, independently of the +comparatively recent laws established by Mahomet. Thus, concubinage is +not considered a breach of morality; neither is it regarded by the +legitimate wives with jealousy. They attach great importance to the laws +of Moses and to the customs of their forefathers; neither can they +understand the reason for a change of habit in any respect where +necessity has not suggested the reform. The Arabs are creatures of +necessity; their nomadic life is compulsory, as the existence of their +flocks and herds depends upon the pasturage. Thus, with the change of +seasons they must change their localities, according to the presence of +fodder for their cattle. Driven to and fro by the accidents of climate, +the Arab has been compelled to become a wanderer; and precisely as the +wild beasts of the country are driven from place to place either by the +arrival of the fly, the lack of pasturage, or by the want of water, even +so must the flocks of the Arab obey the law of necessity, in a country +where the burning sun and total absence of rain for nine months of the +year convert the green pastures into a sandy desert. + +The Arab cannot halt on one spot longer than the pasturage will support +his flocks; therefore his necessity is food for his beasts. The object +of his life being fodder, he must wander in search of the ever-changing +supply. His wants must be few, as the constant changes of encampment +necessitate the transport of all his household goods; thus he reduces to +a minimum the domestic furniture and utensils. No desires for strange +and fresh objects excite his mind to improvement, or alter his original +habits; he must limit his impedimenta, not increase them. Thus with a +few necessary articles he is contented. Mats for his tent, ropes +manufactured with the hair of his goats and camels, pots for carrying +fat, water-jars and earthenware pots or gourd-shells for containing +milk, leather water-skins for the desert, and sheep-skin bags for his +clothes--these are the requirements of the Arabs. Their patterns have +never changed, but the water-jar of to-day is of the same form as that +carried to the well by the women of thousands of years ago. The +conversation of the Arabs is in the exact style of the Old Testament. +The name of God is coupled with every trifling incident in life, and +they believe in the continual action of divine special interference. +Should a famine afflict the country, it is expressed in the stern +language of the bible--"The Lord has sent a grievous famine upon the +land;" or, "The Lord called for a famine, and it came upon the land." +Should their cattle fall sick, it is considered to be an affliction by +divine command; or should the flocks prosper and multiply particularly +well during one season, the prosperity is attributed to special +interference. Nothing can happen in the usual routine of daily life +without a direct connection with the hand of God, according to the +Arab's belief. + +This striking similarity to the descriptions of the Old Testament is +exceedingly interesting to a traveller when residing among these curious +and original people. With the Bible in one hand, and these unchanged +tribes before the eyes, there is a thrilling illustration of the sacred +record; the past becomes the present; the veil of three thousand years +is raised, and the living picture is a witness to the exactness of the +historical description. At the same time there is a light thrown upon +many obscure passages in the Old Testament by a knowledge of the present +customs and figures of speech of the Arabs, which are precisely those +that were practised at the periods described. I do not attempt to enter +upon a theological treatise, therefore it is unnecessary to allude +specially to these particular points. The sudden and desolating arrival +of a flight of locusts, the plague, or any other unforeseen calamity, is +attributed to the anger of God, and is believed to be an infliction of +punishment upon the people thus visited, precisely as the plagues of +Egypt were specially inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. + +Should the present history of the country be written by an Arab scribe, +the style of the description would be purely that of the Old Testament; +and the various calamities or the good fortunes that have in the course +of nature befallen both the tribes and individuals would be recounted +either as special visitations of divine wrath or blessings for good +deeds performed. If in a dream a particular course of action is +suggested, the Arab believes that God has spoken and directed him. The +Arab scribe or historian would describe the event as the "voice of the +Lord" ("kallam el Allah"), having spoken unto the person; or, that God +appeared to him in a dream and "said," etc. Thus much allowance would be +necessary on the part of a European reader for the figurative ideas and +expressions of the people. As the Arabs are unchanged, the theological +opinions which they now hold are the same as those which prevailed in +remote ages, with the simple addition of their belief in Mahomet as the +Prophet. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +On the Abyssinian border. A new school of medicine--Sacred shrines and +epidemics. + +We left the camp of Abou Sinn on the morning of July 25th, and in a few +rapid marches arrived at Tomat, a lovely spot at the junction of the +Atbara with the Settite. + +The Settite is the river par excellence, as it is the principal stream +of Abyssinia, in which country it bears the name of "Tacazzy." Above the +junction the Athara does not exceed two hundred yards in width. Both +rivers have scooped out deep and broad valleys throughout their course. +This fact confirmed my first impression that the supply of soil had been +brought down by the Atbara to the Nile. The country on the opposite or +eastern bank of the Atbara is contested ground. In reality it forms the +western frontier of Abyssinia, of which the Atbara River is the +boundary; but since the annexation of the Nubian provinces to Egypt +there has been no safety for life or property upon the line of frontier; +thus a large tract of country actually forming a portion of Abyssinia is +uninhabited. + +Upon our arrival at Sofi we were welcomed by the sheik, and by a German, +Florian, who was delighted to see Europeans. He was a sallow, +sickly-looking man, who with a large bony frame had been reduced from +constant hard work and frequent sickness to little but skin and sinew. +He was a mason, who had left Germany with the Austrian mission to +Khartoum, but finding the work too laborious in such a climate, he and a +friend, who was a carpenter, had declared for independence, and they had +left the mission. They were both enterprising fellows, and sportsmen; +therefore they had purchased rifles and ammunition, and had commenced +life as hunters. At the same time they employed their leisure hours in +earning money by the work of their hands in various ways. + +I determined to arrange our winter quarters at Sofi for three months' +stay, during which I should have ample time to gain information and +complete arrangements for the future. I accordingly succeeded in +purchasing a remarkably neat house for ten piastres (two shillings). The +architecture was of an ancient style, from the original design of a +pill-box surmounted by a candle extinguisher. I purchased two additional +huts, which were erected at the back of our mansion, one as the kitchen, +the other as the servants' hall. + +In the course of a week we had as pretty a camp as Robinson Crusoe +himself could have coveted. We had a view of about five miles in extent +along the valley of the Atbara, and it was my daily amusement to scan +with my telescope the uninhabited country upon the opposite side of the +river and watch the wild animals as they grazed in perfect security. We +were thoroughly happy at Sofi. There was a delightful calm and a sense +of rest, a total estrangement from the cares of the world, and an +enchanting contrast in the soft green verdure of the landscape before +us, to the many hundred weary miles of burning desert through which we +had toiled from Lower Egypt. + +Time glided away smoothly until the fever invaded our camp. Florian +became seriously ill. My wife was prostrated by a severe attack of +gastric fever, which for nine days rendered her recovery almost +hopeless. Then came the plague of boils, and soon after a species of +intolerable itch, called the coorash. I adopted for this latter a +specific I had found successful with the mange in dogs, namely, +gunpowder, with one fourth sulphur added, made into a soft paste with +water, and then formed into an ointment with fat. It worked like a charm +with the coorash. + +Faith is the drug that is supposed to cure the Arab; whatever his +complaint may be, he applies to his Faky or priest. This minister is not +troubled with a confusion of book-learning, neither are the shelves of +his library bending beneath weighty treatises upon the various maladies +of human nature; but he possesses the key to all learning, the talisman +that will apply to all cases, in that one holy book, the Koran. This is +his complete pharmacopoeia: his medicine chest, combining purgatives, +blisters, sudorifies, styptics, narcotics, emetics, and all that the +most profound M.D. could prescribe. With this "multum in parvo" +stock-in-trade the Faky receives his patients. No. 1 arrives, a barren +woman who requests some medicine that will promote the blessing of +childbirth. No. 2, a man who was strong in his youth, but from excessive +dissipation has become useless. No. 3, a man deformed from his birth, +who wishes to become straight as other men. No. 4, a blind child. No. 5, +a dying old woman, carried on a litter; and sundry other impossible +cases, with others of a more simple character. + +The Faky produces his book, the holy Koran, and with a pen formed of a +reed he proceeds to write a prescription--not to be made up by an +apothecary, as such dangerous people do not exist; but the prescription +itself is to be SWALLOWED! Upon a smooth board, like a slate, he rubs +sufficient lime to produce a perfectly white surface; upon this he +writes in large characters, with thick glutinous ink, a verse or verses +from the Koran that he considers applicable to the case; this completed, +he washes off the holy quotation, and converts it into a potation by the +addition of a little water; this is swallowed in perfect faith by the +patient, who in return pays a fee according to the demand of the Faky. + +As few people can read or write, there is an air of mystery in the art +of writing which much enhances the value of a scrap of paper upon which +is written a verse from the Koran. A few piastres are willingly expended +in the purchase of such talismans, which are carefully and very neatly +sewn into small envelopes of leather, and are worn by all people, being +handed down from father to son. + +The Arabs are especially fond of relics; thus, upon the return from a +pilgrimage to Mecca, the "hadji" or pilgrim is certain to have purchased +from some religious Faky of the sacred shrine either a few square inches +of cloth, or some such trifle, that belonged to the prophet Mahomet. +This is exhibited to his friends and strangers as a wonderful spell +against some particular malady, and it is handed about and received with +extreme reverence by the assembled crowd. I once formed one of a circle +when a pilgrim returned to his native village. We sat in a considerable +number upon the ground, while he drew from his bosom a leather envelope, +suspended from his neck, from which he produced a piece of extremely +greasy woollen cloth, about three inches square, the original color of +which it would have been impossible to guess. This was a piece of +Mahomet's garment, but what portion he could not say. The pilgrim had +paid largely for this blessed relic, and it was passed round our circle +from hand to hand, after having first been kissed by the proprietor, who +raised it to the crown of his head, which he touched with the cloth, and +then wiped both his eyes. Each person who received it went through a +similar performance, and as ophthalmia and other diseases of the eyes +were extremely prevalent, several of the party had eyes that had not the +brightness of the gazelle's; nevertheless, these were supposed to become +brighter after having been wiped by the holy cloth. How many eyes this +same piece of cloth had wiped, it would be impossible to say, but such +facts are sufficient to prove the danger of holy relics, that are +inoculators of all manner of contagious diseases. + +I believe in holy shrines as the pest spots of the world. We generally +have experienced in Western Europe that all violent epidemics arrive +from the East. The great breadth of the Atlantic boundary would +naturally protect us from the West, but infectious disorders, such as +plague, cholera, small-pox, etc., may be generally tracked throughout +their gradations from their original nests. Those nests are in the East, +where the heat of the climate acting upon the filth of semi-savage +communities engenders pestilence. + +The holy places of both Christians and Mahometans are the receptacles +for the masses of people of all nations and classes who have arrived +from all points of the compass. The greater number of such people are of +poor estate, and many have toiled on foot from immense distances, +suffering from hunger and fatigue, and bringing with them not only the +diseases of their own remote counties, but arriving in that weak state +that courts the attack of any epidemic. Thus crowded together, with a +scarcity of provisions, a want of water, and no possibility of +cleanliness, with clothes that have been unwashed for weeks or months, +in a camp of dirty pilgrims, without any attempt at drainage, an +accumulation of filth takes place that generates either cholera or +typhus; the latter, in its most malignant form, appears as the dreaded +"plague." Should such an epidemic attack the mass of pilgrims +debilitated by the want of nourishing food, and exhausted by their +fatiguing march, it runs riot like a fire among combustibles, and the +loss of life is terrific. The survivors radiate from this common centre, +upon their return to their respective homes, to which they carry the +seeds of the pestilence to germinate upon new soils in different +countries. Doubtless the clothes of the dead furnish materials for +innumerable holy relics as vestiges of the wardrobe of the Prophet. +These are disseminated by the pilgrims throughout all countries, +pregnant with disease; and, being brought into personal contact with +hosts of true believers, Pandora's box could not be more fatal. + +Not only are relics upon a pocket scale conveyed by pilgrims and +reverenced by the Arabs, but the body of any Faky who in lifetime was +considered unusually holy is brought from a great distance to be +interred in some particular spot. In countries where a tree is a rarity, +a plank for a coffin is unknown; thus the reverend Faky, who may have +died of typhus, is wrapped in cloths and packed in a mat. In this form +he is transported, perhaps some hundred miles, slung upon a camel, with +the thermometer above 130 degrees Fah. in the sun, and he is conveyed to +the village that is so fortunate as to be honored with his remains. It +may be readily imagined that with a favorable wind the inhabitants are +warned of his approach some time before his arrival. + +Happily, long before we arrived at Sofi, the village had been blessed by +the death of a celebrated Faky, a holy man who would have been described +as a second Isaiah were the annals of the country duly chronicled. This +great "man of God," as he was termed, had departed this life at a +village on the borders of the Nile, about eight days' hard camel-journey +from Sofi; but from some assumed right, mingled no doubt with jobbery, +the inhabitants of Sofi had laid claim to his body, and he had arrived +upon a camel horizontally, and had been buried about fifty yards from +the site of our camp. His grave was beneath a clump of mimosas that +shaded the spot, and formed the most prominent object in the foreground +of our landscape. Thither every Friday the women of the village +congregated, with offerings of a few handfuls of dhurra in small +gourd-shells, which they laid upon the grave, while they ATE THE HOLY +EARTH in small pinches, which they scraped like rabbits, from a hole +they had burrowed toward the venerated corpse. This hole was about two +feet deep from continual scratching, and must have been very near the +Faky. + +Although thus reverent in their worship, the Arab's religion is a sort +of adjustable one. The wild boar, for instance, is invariably eaten by +the Arab hunters, although in direct opposition to the rules of the +Koran. I once asked them what their Faky would say if he were aware of +such a transgression. "Oh!" they replied, "we have already asked his +permission, as we are sometimes severely pressed for food in the +jungles. He says, `If you have the KORAN in your hand and NO PIG, you +are forbidden to eat pork; but if you have the PIG in your hand and NO +KORAN, you had better eat what God has given you.'" + + + +CHAPTER V. + +A primitive craft--Stalking the giraffes--My first giraffes--Rare sport +with the finny tribe--Thieving elephants. + +For many days, while at Sofi, we saw large herds of giraffes and +antelopes on the opposite side of the river, about two miles distant. On +September 2d a herd of twenty-eight giraffes tempted me at all hazards +to cross the river. So we prepared an impromptu raft. My angarep +(bedstead) was quickly inverted. Six water-skins were inflated, and +lashed, three on either side. A shallow packing- case, lined with tin, +containing my gun, was fastened in the centre of the angarep, and two +towlines were attached to the front part of the raft, by which swimmers +were to draw it across the river. Two men were to hang on behind, and, +if possible, keep it straight in the rapid current. After some +difficulty we arrived at the opposite bank, and scrambled through thick +bushes, upon our hands and knees, to the summit. + +For about two miles' breadth on this side of the river the valley was +rough broken ground, full of gullies and ravines sixty or seventy feet +deep, beds of torrents, bare sandstone rocks, bushy crags, fine grassy +knolls, and long strips of mimosa covert, forming a most perfect +locality for shooting. + +I had observed by the telescope that the giraffes were standing as usual +upon an elevated position, from whence they could keep a good lookout. I +knew it would be useless to ascend the slope directly, as their long +necks give these animals an advantage similar to that of the man at the +masthead; therefore, although we had the wind in our favor, we should +have been observed. I accordingly determined to make a great circuit of +about five miles, and thus to approach them from above, with the +advantage of the broken ground for stalking. It was the perfection of +uneven country. By clambering up broken cliffs, wading shoulder-deep +through muddy gullies, sliding down the steep ravines, and winding +through narrow bottoms of high grass and mimosas for about two hours, we +at length arrived at the point of the high table-land upon the verge of +which I had first noticed the giraffes with the telescope. Almost +immediately I distinguished the tall neck of one of these splendid +animals about half a mile distant upon my left, a little below the +table-land; it was feeding on the bushes, and I quickly discovered +several others near the leader of the herd. I was not far enough +advanced in the circuit that I had intended to bring me exactly above +them, therefore I turned sharp to my right, intending to make a short +half circle, and to arrive on the leeward side of the herd, as I was now +to windward. This I fortunately completed, but I had marked a thick bush +as my point of cover, and upon arrival I found that the herd had fed +down wind, and that I was within two hundred yards of the great bull +sentinel that, having moved from his former position, was now standing +directly before me. + +I lay down quietly behind the bush with my two followers, and anxiously +watched the great leader, momentarily expecting that it would get my +wind. It was shortly joined by two others, and I perceived the heads of +several giraffes lower down the incline, that were now feeding on their +way to the higher ground. The seroot fly was teasing them, and I +remarked that several birds were fluttering about their heads, sometimes +perching upon their noses and catching the fly that attacked their +nostrils, while the giraffes appeared relieved by their attentions. +These birds were of a peculiar species that attacks the domestic +animals, and not only relieves them of vermin, but eats into the flesh +and establishes dangerous sores. A puff of wind now gently fanned the +back of my neck; it was cool and delightful, but no sooner did I feel +the refreshing breeze than I knew it would convey our scent directly to +the giraffes. A few seconds afterward the three grand obelisks threw +their heads still higher in the air, and fixing their great black eyes +upon the spot from which the warning came, they remained as motionless +as though carved from stone. From their great height they could see over +the bush behind which we were lying at some paces distant, and although +I do not think they could distinguish us to be men, they could see +enough to convince them of hidden enemies. + +The attitude of fixed attention and surprise of the three giraffes was +sufficient warning for the rest of the herd, who immediately filed up +from the lower ground, and joined their comrades. All now halted and +gazed steadfastly in our direction, forming a superb tableau, their +beautiful mottled skins glancing like the summer coat of a thoroughbred +horse, the orange-colored statues standing out in high relief from a +background of dark-green mimosas. + +This beautiful picture soon changed. I knew that my chance of a close +shot was hopeless, as they would presently make a rush and be off; thus +I determined to get the first start. I had previously studied the +ground, and I concluded that they would push forward at right angles +with my position, as they had thus ascended the hill, and that, on +reaching the higher ground, they would turn to the right, in order to +reach an immense tract of high grass, as level as a billiard-table, from +which no danger could approach them unobserved. + +I accordingly with a gentle movement of my hand directed my people to +follow me, and I made a sudden rush forward at full speed. Off went the +herd, shambling along at a tremendous pace, whisking their long tails +above their hind quarters, and, taking exactly the direction I had +anticipated, they offered me a shoulder shot at a little within two +hundred yards' distance. Unfortunately, I fell into a deep hole +concealed by the high grass, and by the time that I resumed the hunt +they had increased their distance; but I observed the leader turned +sharply to the right, through some low mimosa bush, to make directly for +the open table-land. I made a short cut obliquely at my best speed, and +only halted when I saw that I should lose ground by altering my +position. Stopping short, I was exactly opposite the herd as they filed +by me at right angles in full speed, within about a hundred and eighty +yards. I had my old Ceylon No. 10 double rifle, and I took a steady shot +at a large dark-colored bull. The satisfactory sound of the ball upon +his hide was followed almost immediately by his blundering forward for +about twenty yards and falling heavily in the low bush. I heard the +crack of the ball of my left-hand barrel upon another fine beast, but no +effects followed. Bacheet quickly gave me the single two-ounce Manton +rifle, and I singled out a fine dark-colored bull, who fell on his knees +to the shot, but, recovering, hobbled off disabled, apart from the herd, +with a foreleg broken just below the shoulder. Reloading immediately, I +ran up to the spot, where I found my first giraffe lying dead, with the +ball clean through both shoulders. The second was standing about one +hundred paces distant. Upon my approach he attempted to move, but +immediately fell, and was despatched by my eager Arabs. I followed the +herd for about a mile to no purpose, through deep clammy ground and high +grass, and I returned to our game. + +These were my first giraffes, and I admired them as they lay before me +with a hunter's pride and satisfaction, but mingled with a feeling of +pity for such beautiful and utterly helpless creatures. The giraffe, +although from sixteen to twenty feet in height, is perfectly +defenceless, and can only trust to the swiftness of its pace and the +extraordinary power of vision, for its means of protection. The eye of +this animal is the most beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle, +while the color of the reddish-orange hide, mottled with darker spots, +changes the tints of the skin with the differing rays of light, +according to the muscular movement of the body. No one who has merely +seen the giraffe in a cold climate can form the least idea of its beauty +in its native land. + +Life at Sofi was becoming sadly monotonous, and I determined to move my +party across the river to camp on the uninhabited side. The rains had +almost ceased, so we should be able to live in a tent by night, and to +form a shady nook beneath some mimosas by day. On the 15th of September +the entire male population of Sofi turned out to assist us across the +river. I had arranged a raft by attaching eight inflated skins to the +bedstead, upon which I lashed our large circular sponging bath. Four +hippopotami hunters were harnessed as tug steamers. By evening all our +party, with the baggage, had effected the crossing without accident--all +but Achmet, Mahomet's mother's brother's cousin's sister's mother's son, +who took advantage of his near relative, when the latter was in the +middle of the stream, and ran off with most of his personal effects. + +The life at our new camp was charmingly independent. We were upon +Abyssinian territory, but as the country was uninhabited we considered +it as our own. Our camp was near the mouth of a small stream, the Till, +tributary to the Atbara, which afforded some excellent sport in fishing. +Choosing one day a fish of about half a pound for bait, I dropped this +in the river about twenty yards beyond the mouth of the Till, and +allowed it to swim naturally down the stream so as to pass across the +Till junction, and descend the deep channel between the rocks. For about +ten minutes I had no run. I had twice tried the same water without +success; nothing would admire my charming bait; when, just as it had +reached the favorite turning-point at the extremity of a rock, away +dashed the line, with the tremendous rush that follows the attack of a +heavy fish. Trusting to the soundness of my tackle, I struck hard and +fixed my new acquaintance thoroughly, but off he dashed down the stream +for about fifty yards at one rush, making for a narrow channel between +two rocks, through which the stream ran like a mill-race. Should he pass +this channel, I knew he would cut the line across the rock; therefore, +giving him the butt, I held him by main force, and by the great swirl in +the water I saw that I was bringing him to the surface; but just as I +expected to see him, my float having already appeared, away he darted in +another direction, taking sixty or seventy yards of line without a +check. I at once observed that he must pass a shallow sandbank favorable +for landing a heavy fish; I therefore checked him as he reached this +spot, and I followed him down the bank, reeling up line as I ran +parallel with his course. Now came the tug of war! I knew my hooks were +good and the line sound, therefore I was determined not to let him +escape beyond the favorable ground; and I put upon him a strain that, +after much struggling, brought to the surface a great shovel-head, +followed by a pair of broad silvery sides, as I led him gradually into +shallow water. Bacheet now cleverly secured him by the gills, and +dragged him in triumph to the shore. This was a splendid bayard, of at +least forty pounds' weight. + +I laid my prize upon some green reeds, and covered it carefully with the +same cool material. I then replaced my bait by a lively fish, and once +more tried the river. In a very short time I had another run, and landed +a small fish of about nine pounds, of the same species. Not wishing to +catch fish of that size, I put on a large bait, and threw it about forty +yards into the river, well up the stream, and allowed the float to sweep +the water in a half circle, thus taking the chance of different +distances from the shore. For about half an hour nothing moved. I was +just preparing to alter my position, when out rushed my line, and, +striking hard, I believed I fixed the old gentleman himself, for I had +no control over him whatever. Holding him was out of the question; the +line flew through my hands, cutting them till the blood flowed, and I +was obliged to let the fish take his own way. This he did for about +eighty yards, when he suddenly stopped. This unexpected halt was a great +calamity, for the reel overran itself, having no checkwheel, and the +slack bends of the line caught the handle just as he again rushed +forward, and with a jerk that nearly pulled the rod from my hands he was +gone! I found one of my large hooks broken short off. The fish was a +monster! + +After this bad luck I had no run until the evening, when, putting on a +large bait, and fishing at the tail of a rock between the stream and +still water, I once more had a fine rush, and hooked a big one. There +were no rocks down stream, all was fair play and clear water, and away +he went at racing pace straight for the middle of the river. To check +the pace I grasped the line with the stuff of my loose trousers, and +pressed it between my fingers so as to act as a brake and compel him to +labor for every yard; but he pulled like a horse, and nearly cut through +the thick cotton cloth, making straight running for at least a hundred +yards without a halt. I now put so severe a strain upon him that my +strong bamboo bent nearly double, and the fish presently so far yielded +to the pressure that I could enforce his running in half circles instead +of straight away. I kept gaining line until I at length led him into a +shallow bay, and after a great fight Bacheet embraced him by falling +upon him and clutching the monster with hands and knees; he then tugged +to the shore a magnificent fish of upward of sixty pounds. For about +twenty minutes lie had fought against such a strain as I had never +before used upon a fish; but I had now adopted hooks of such a large +size and thickness that it was hardly possible for them to break, unless +snapped by a crocodile. My reel was so loosened from the rod, that had +the struggle lasted a few minutes longer I must have been vanquished. +This fish measured three feet eight inches to the root of the tail, and +two feet three inches in girth of shoulders ; the head measured one foot +ten inches in circumference. It was of the same species as those I had +already caught. + +Over a month was passed at our camp, Ehetilla, as we called it. The time +passed in hunting, fishing, and observing the country, but it was for +the most part uneventful. In the end of October we removed to a village +called Wat el Negur, nine miles south-east of Ehetilla, still on the +bank of the Atbara. + +Our arrival was welcomed with enthusiasm. The Arabs here had extensive +plantations of sesame, dhurra, and cotton, and the nights were spent in +watching them, to scare away the elephants, which, with extreme cunning, +invaded the fields of dhurra at different points every night, and +retreated before morning to the thick, thorny jungles of the Settite. +The Arabs were without firearms, and the celebrated aggageers or +sword-hunters were useless, as the elephants appeared only at night, and +were far too cunning to give them a chance. I was importuned to drive +away the elephants, and one evening, about nine o'clock, I arrived at +the plantations with three men carrying spare guns. We had not been half +an hour in the dhurra fields before we met a couple of Arab watchers, +who informed us that a herd of elephants was already in the plantation; +we accordingly followed our guides. In about a quarter of an hour we +distinctly heard the cracking of the dhurra stems, as the elephants +browsed and trampled them beneath their feet. + +Taking the proper position of the wind, I led our party cautiously in +the direction of the sound, and in about five minutes I came in view of +the slate-colored and dusky forms of the herd. The moon was bright, and +I counted nine elephants; they had trampled a space of about fifty yards +square into a barren level, and they were now slowly moving forward, +feeding as they went. One elephant, unfortunately, was separated from +the herd, and was about forty yards in the rear; this fellow I was +afraid would render our approach difficult. Cautioning my men, +especially Bacheet, to keep close to me with the spare rifles, I crept +along the alleys formed by the tall rows of dhurra, and after carefully +stalking against the wind, I felt sure that it would be necessary to +kill the single elephant before I should be able to attack the herd. +Accordingly I crept nearer and nearer, well concealed in the favorable +crop of high and sheltering stems, until I was within fifteen yards of +the hindmost animal. As I had never shot one of the African species, I +was determined to follow the Ceylon plan, and get as near as possible; +therefore I continued to creep from row to row of dhurra, until I at +length stood at the very tail of the elephant in the next row. I could +easily have touched it with my rifle, but just at this moment it either +obtained my wind or it heard the rustle of the men. It quickly turned +its head half round toward me; in the same instant I took the +temple-shot, and by the flash of the rifle I saw that it fell. Jumping +forward past the huge body, I fired the left-hand barrel at an elephant +that had advanced from the herd; it fell immediately! Now came the +moment for a grand rush, as they stumbled in confusion over the last +fallen elephant, and jammed together in a dense mass with their immense +ears outspread, forming a picture of intense astonishment! Where were my +spare guns? Here was an excellent opportunity to run in and floor them +right and left! + +Not a man was in sight! Everybody had bolted, and I stood in advance of +the dead elephant calling for my guns in vain. At length one of my +fellows came up, but it was too late. The fallen elephant in the herd +had risen from the ground, and they had all hustled off at a great pace, +and were gone. I had only bagged one elephant. Where was the valiant +Bacheet--the would-be Nimrod, who for the last three months had been +fretting in inactivity, and longing for the moment of action, when he +had promised to be my trusty gun-bearer? He was the last man to appear, +and he only ventured from his hiding-place in the high dhurra when +assured of the elephants' retreat. I was obliged to admonish the whole +party by a little physical treatment, and the gallant Bacheet returned +with us to the village, crestfallen and completely subdued. On the +following day not a vestige remained of the elephant, except the offal; +the Arabs had not only cut off the flesh, but they had hacked the skull +and the bones in pieces, and carried them off to boil down for soup. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Preparations for advance--Mek Nimmur makes a foray--The Hamran +elephant-hunters--In the haunts of the elephant--A desperate charge. + +The time was approaching when the grass throughout the country would be +sufficiently dry to be fired. We accordingly prepared for our +expedition; but it was first necessary for me to go to Katariff, sixty +miles distant, to engage men, and to procure a slave in place of old +Masara, whose owner would not trust her in the wild region we were about +to visit. + +I engaged six strong Tokrooris for five months, and purchased a slave +woman for thirty-five dollars. The name of the woman was Barrake. She +was about twenty-two years of age, brown in complexion, fat and strong, +rather tall, and altogether she was a fine, powerful-looking woman, but +decidedly not pretty. Her hair was elaborately dressed in hundreds of +long narrow curls, so thickly smeared with castor oil that the grease +had covered her naked shoulders. In addition to this, as she had been +recently under the hands of the hairdresser, there was an amount of fat +and other nastiness upon her head that gave her the appearance of being +nearly gray. + +Through the medium of Mahomet I explained to her that she was no longer +a slave, as I had purchased her freedom; that she would not even be +compelled to remain with us, but she could do as she thought proper; +that both her mistress and I should be exceedingly kind to her, and we +would subsequently find her a good situation in Cairo; in the mean time +she would receive good clothes and wages. This, Mahomet, much against +his will, was obliged to translate literally. The effect was magical; +the woman, who had looked frightened and unhappy, suddenly beamed with +smiles, and without any warning she ran toward me, and in an instant I +found myself embraced in her loving arms. She pressed me to her bosom, +and smothered me with castor-oily kisses, while her greasy ringlets hung +upon my face and neck. How long this entertainment would have lasted I +cannot tell, but I was obliged to cry "Caffa! Caffa!" (enough! enough!) +as it looked improper, and the perfumery was too rich. Fortunately my +wife was present, but she did not appear to enjoy it more than I did. My +snow-white blouse was soiled and greasy, and for the rest of the day I +was a disagreeable compound of smells--castor oil, tallow, musk, +sandal-wood, burnt shells, and Barrake. + +Mahomet and Barrake herself, I believe, were the only people who really +enjoyed this little event. "Ha!" Mahomet exclaimed, "this is your own +fault! You insisted upon speaking kindly, and telling her that she is +not a slave; now she thinks that she is one of your WIVES!" This was the +real fact; the unfortunate ** Barrake ** had deceived herself. Never +having been free, she could not understand the use of freedom unless she +was to be a wife. She had understood my little address as a proposal, +and of course she was disappointed; but as an action for breach of +promise cannot be pressed in the Soudan, poor Barrake, although free, +had not the happy rights of a free-born Englishwoman, who can heal her +broken heart with a pecuniary plaster, and console herself with damages +for the loss of a lover. + +We were ready to start, having our party of servants complete, six +Tokrooris--Moosa, Abdoolahi, Abderachman, Hassan, Adow, and Hadji Ali, +with Mahomet, Wat Gamma, Bacheet, Mahomet secundus (a groom), and +Barrake; total, eleven men and the cook. + +When half way on our return from Katariff to Wat el Negur, we found the +whole country in alarm, Mek Nimmur having suddenly made a foray. He had +crossed the Atbara, plundered the district, and driven off large numbers +of cattle and camels, after having killed a considerable number of +people. No doubt the reports were somewhat exaggerated, but the +inhabitants of the district were flying from their villages with their +herds, and were flocking to Katariff. We arrived at Wat el Negur on the +3d of December, and we now felt the advantage of our friendship with the +good Sheik Achmet, who, being a friend of Mek Nimmur, had saved our +effects during our absence. These would otherwise have been plundered, +as the robbers had paid him a visit. He had removed our tents and +baggage to his own house for protection. Not only had he thus protected +our effects, but he had taken the opportunity of delivering the polite +message to Mek Nimmur that I had entrusted to his charge--expressing a +wish to pay him a visit as a countryman and friend of Mr. Mansfield +Parkyns, who had formerly been so well received by his father. + +My intention was to examine thoroughly all the great rivers of Abyssinia +that were tributaries to the Nile. These were the Settite, Royan, +Angrab, Salaam, Rahad, Dinder, and the Blue Nile. If possible, I should +traverse the Galla country, and crossing the Blue Nile, I should +endeavor to reach the White Nile. But this latter idea I subsequently +found impracticable, as it would have interfered with the proper season +for my projected journey up the White Nile in search of the sources. The +Hamran Arabs were at this time encamped about twenty- five miles from +Wat el Negur. I sent a messenger, accompanied by Mahomet, to the sheik, +with the firman of the Viceroy, requesting him to supply me with +elephant hunters (aggageers). + +During the absence of Mahomet I received a very polite message from Mek +Nimmur, accompanied by a present of twenty pounds of coffee, with an +invitation to pay him a visit. His country lay between the Settite River +and the Bahr Salaam; thus without his invitation I might have found it +difficult to traverse his territory. So far all went well. I returned my +salaams, and sent word that we intended to hunt through the ** Base ** +country, after which we should have the honor of passing a few days with +him on our road to the river Salaam, at which place we intended to hunt +elephants and rhinoceroses. + +Mahomet returned, accompanied by a large party of Hamran Arabs, +including several hunters, one of whom was Sheik Abou Do Roussoul, the +nephew of Sheik Owat. As his name in full was too long, he generally +went by the abbreviation "Abou Do." He was a splendid fellow, a little +above six feet one, with a light active figure, but exceedingly +well-developed muscles. His face was strikingly handsome; his eyes were +like those of a giraffe, but the sudden glance of an eagle lighted them +up with a flash during the excitement of conversation, which showed +little of the giraffe's gentle character. Abou Do was the only tall man +of the party; the others were of middle height, with the exception of a +little fellow named Jali, who was not above five feet four inches, but +wonderfully muscular, and in expression a regular daredevil. + +There were two parties of hunters among the Hamran Arabs, one under Abou +Do, and the other consisting of four brothers Sherrif. The latter were +the most celebrated aggageers among the renowned tribe of the Hamran. +Their father and grandfather had been mighty Nimrods, and the +broadswords wielded by their strong arms had descended to the men who +now upheld the prestige of the ancient blades. The eldest was Taher +Sherrif. His second brother, Roder Sherrif, was a very small, +active-looking man, with a withered left arm. An elephant had at one +time killed his horse, and on the same occasion had driven its sharp +tusk through the arm of the rider, completely splitting the limb, and +splintering the bone from the elbow-joint to the wrist to such an extent +that by degrees the fragments had sloughed away, and the arm had become +shrivelled and withered. It now resembled a mass of dried leather +twisted into a deformity, without the slightest shape of an arm; this +was about fourteen inches in length from the shoulder. The stiff and +crippled hand, with contracted fingers, resembled the claw of a vulture. + +In spite of his maimed condition, Roder Sherrif was the most celebrated +leader in the elephant hunt. His was the dangerous post to ride close to +the head of the infuriated animal and provoke the charge, and then to +lead the elephant in pursuit, while the aggageers attacked it from +behind. It was in the performance of this duty that he had met with the +accident, as his horse had fallen over some hidden obstacle and was +immediately caught. Being an exceedingly light weight he had continued +to occupy this important position in the hunt, and the rigid fingers of +the left hand served as a hook, upon which he could hang the reins. + +My battery of rifles was now laid upon a mat for examination; they were +in beautiful condition, and they excited the admiration of the entire +party. The perfection of workmanship did not appear to interest them so +much as the size of the bores. They thrust their fingers down each +muzzle, until they at last came to the "Baby," when, finding that two +fingers could be easily introduced, they at once fell in love with that +rifle in particular. + +On the 17th of August, accompanied by the German, Florian, we said +good-by to our kind friend Sheik Achmet and left Wat el Negur. At Geera, +early at daybreak, several Arabs arrived with a report that elephants +had been drinking in the river within half an hour's march of our +sleeping-place. I immediately started with my men, accompanied by +Florian, and we shortly arrived upon the tracks of the herd. I had three +Hamran Arabs as trackers, one of whom, Taher Noor, had engaged to +accompany us throughout the expedition. + +For about eight miles we followed the spoor through high dried grass and +thorny bush, until we at length arrived at a dense jungle of kittar--the +most formidable of the hooked thorn mimosas. Here the tracks appeared to +wander, some elephants having travelled straight ahead, while others had +strayed to the right and left. For about two hours we travelled upon the +circuitous tracks of the elephants to no purpose, when we suddenly were +startled by the shrill trumpeting of one of these animals in the thick +thorns, a few hundred yards to our left. The ground was so intensely +hard and dry that it was impossible to distinguish the new tracks from +the old, which crossed and recrossed in all directions. I therefore +decided to walk carefully along the outskirts of the jungle, trusting to +find their place of entrance by the fresh broken boughs. In about an +hour we had thus examined two or three miles, without discovering a clew +to their recent path, when we turned round a clump of bushes, and +suddenly came in view of two grand elephants, standing at the edge of +the dense thorns. Having our wind, they vanished instantly into the +thick jungle. We could not follow them, as their course was down wind; +we therefore made a circuit to leeward for about a mile, and finding +that the elephants had not crossed in that direction, we felt sure that +we must come upon them with the wind in our favor should they still be +within the thorny jungle. This was certain, as it was their favorite +retreat. + +With the greatest labor I led the way, creeping frequently upon my hands +and knees to avoid the hooks of the kittar bush, and occasionally +listening for a sound. At length, after upward of an hour passed in this +slow and fatiguing advance, I distinctly heard the flap of an elephant's +ear, shortly followed by the deep guttural sigh of one of those animals, +within a few paces; but so dense was the screen of jungle that I could +see nothing. We waited for some minutes, but not the slightest sound +could be heard; the elephants were aware of danger, and they were, like +ourselves, listening attentively for the first intimation of an enemy. + +This was a highly exciting moment. Should they charge, there would not +be a possibility of escape, as the hooked thorns rendered any sudden +movement almost impracticable. In another moment there was a tremendous +crash; and with a sound like a whirlwind the herd dashed through the +crackling jungle. I rushed forward, as I was uncertain whether they were +in advance or retreat. Leaving a small sample of my nose upon a kittar +thorn, and tearing my way, with naked arms, through what, in cold blood, +would have appeared impassable, I caught sight of two elephants leading +across my path, with the herd following in a dense mass behind them. +Firing a shot at the leading elephant, simply in the endeavor to check +the herd, I repeated with the left-hand barrel at the head of his +companion. This staggered him, and threw the main body into confusion. +They immediately closed up in a dense mass, and bore everything before +them; but the herd exhibited merely an impenetrable array of hind +quarters wedged together so firmly that it was impossible to obtain a +head or shoulder shot. + +I was within fifteen paces of them, and so compactly were they packed +that with all their immense strength they could not at once force so +extensive a front through the tough and powerful branches of the dense +kittar. For about half a minute they were absolutely checked, and they +bored forward with all their might in their determination to open a road +through the matted thorns. The elastic boughs, bent from their position, +sprang back with dangerous force, and would have fractured the skull of +any one who came within their sweep. A very large elephant was on the +left flank, and for an instant he turned obliquely to the left. I +quickly seized the opportunity and fired the "Baby," with an explosive +shell, aimed far back in the flank, trusting that it would penetrate +beneath the opposite shoulder. The recoil of the "Baby," loaded with ten +drams of the strongest powder and a half-pound shell, spun me round like +a top. It was difficult to say which was staggered the more severely, +the elephant or myself. However, we both recovered, and I seized one of +my double rifles, a Reilly No. 10, that was quickly pushed into my hand +by my Tokroori, Hadji Ali. This was done just in time, as an elephant +from the battled herd turned sharp round, and, with its immense ears +cocked, charged down upon us with a scream of rage. "One of us she must +have if I miss!" + +This was the first downright charge of an African elephant that I had +seen, and instinctively I followed my old Ceylon plan of waiting for a +close shot. She lowered her head when within about six yards, and I +fired low for the centre of the forehead, exactly in the swelling above +the root of the trunk. She collapsed to the shot, and fell dead, with a +heavy shock, upon the ground. At the same moment the thorny barrier gave +way before the pressure of the herd, and the elephants disappeared in +the thick jungle, through which it was impossible to follow them. + +I had suffered terribly from the hooked thorns, and the men had +likewise. This had been a capital trial for my Tokrooris, who had +behaved remarkably well, and had gained much confidence by my successful +forehead-shot at the elephant when in full charge; but I must confess +that this is the only instance in which I have succeeded in killing an +African elephant by the front shot, although I have steadily tried the +experiment upon subsequent occasions. + +We had very little time to examine the elephant, as we were far from +home and the sun was already low. I felt convinced that the other +elephant could not be far off, after having received the "Baby's" +half-pound shell carefully directed, and I resolved to return on the +following morning with many people and camels to divide the flesh. It +was dark by the time we arrived at the tents, and the news immediately +spread through the Arab camp that two elephants had been killed. + +On the following morning we started, and upon arrival at the dead +elephant we followed the tracks of that wounded by the "Baby." The blood +upon the bushes guided us in a few minutes to the spot where the +elephant lay dead, at about three hundred yards' distance. The whole day +passed in flaying the two animals and cutting off the flesh, which was +packed in large gum sacks, with which the camels were loaded. I was +curious to examine the effect of the half-pound shell. It had entered +the flank on the right side, breaking the rib upon which it had +exploded; it had then passed through the stomach and the lower portion +of the lungs, both of which were terribly shattered; and breaking one of +the fore-ribs on the left side, it had lodged beneath the skin of the +shoulder. This was irresistible work, and the elephant had evidently +dropped in a few minutes after having received the shell. + +A most interesting fact had occurred. I noticed an old wound unhealed +and full of matter in the front of the left shoulder. The bowels were +shot through, and were green in various places. Florian suggested that +it must be an elephant that I had wounded at Wat el Negur; we tracked +the course of the bullet most carefully, until we at length discovered +my unmistakable bullet of quicksilver and lead, almost uninjured, in the +fleshy part of the thigh, imbedded in an unhealed wound. Thus, by a +curious chance, upon my first interview with African elephants by +daylight, I had killed the identical elephant that I had wounded at Wat +el Negur forty-three days before in the dhurra plantation, twenty-eight +miles distant! + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +The start from Geera--Feats of horsemanship--A curious chase-- Abou Do +wins a race--Capturing a young buffalo--Our island camp--Tales of the +Base. + +We started from Geera on the 23d of December, with our party complete. +The Hamran sword-hunters were Abou Do, Jali, and Suleiman. My chief +tracker was Taher Noor, who, although a good hunter, was not a +professional aggahr, and I was accompanied by the father of Abou Do, who +was a renowned "howarti" or harpooner of hippopotami. This magnificent +old man might have been Neptune himself. He stood about six feet two, +and his grizzled locks hung upon his shoulders in thick, and massive +curls, while his deep bronze features could not have been excelled in +beauty of outline. A more classical figure I have never beheld than the +old Abou Do with his harpoon as he first breasted the torrent, and then +landed dripping from the waves to join our party from the Arab camp on +the opposite side of the river. In addition to my Tokrooris, I had +engaged nine camels, each with a separate driver, of the Hamrans, who +were to accompany us throughout the expedition. These people were glad +to engage themselves, with their camels included, at one and a half +dollars per month, for man and beast as one. We had not sufficient +baggage to load five camels, but four carried a large supply of corn for +our horses and people. + +Hardly were we mounted and fairly started than the monkey-like agility +of our aggageers was displayed in a variety of antics, that were far +more suited to performances in a circus than to a party of steady and +experienced hunters, who wished to reserve the strength of their horses +for a trying journey. + +Abou Do was mounted on a beautiful Abyssinian horse, a gray; Suleiman +rode a rough and inferior-looking beast; while little Jali, who was the +pet of the party, rode a gray snare, not exceeding fourteen hands in +height, which matched her rider exactly in fire, spirit, and speed. +Never was there a more perfect picture of a wild Arab horseman than Jali +on his mare. Hardly was he in the saddle than away flew the mare over +the loose shingles that formed the dry bed of the river, scattering the +rounded pebbles in the air from her flinty Hoofs, while her rider in the +vigour of delight threw himself almost under her belly while at full +speed, and picked up stones from the ground, which he flung, and again +caught as they descended. Never were there more complete Centaurs than +these Hamran Arabs ; the horse and man appeared to be one animal, and +that of the most elastic nature, that could twist and turn with the +suppleness of a snake. The fact of their being separate beings was well +proved, however, by the rider's springing to the earth with his drawn +sword while the horse was in full gallop over rough and difficult +ground, and, clutching the mane, again vaulting into the saddle with the +ability of a monkey, without once checking the speed. The fact of being +on horseback had suddenly altered the character of these Arabs; from a +sedate and proud bearing, they had become the wildest examples of the +most savage disciples of Nimrod. Excited by enthusiasm, they shook their +naked blades aloft till the steel trembled in their grasp, and away they +dashed over rocks, through thorny bush, across ravines, up and down +steep inclinations, engaging in a mimic hunt, and going through the +various acts supposed to occur in the attack of a furious elephant. I +must acknowledge that, in spite of my admiration for their wonderful +dexterity, I began to doubt their prudence. I had three excellent horses +for my wife and myself; the Hamran hunters had only one for each, and if +the commencement were an example of their usual style of horsemanship, I +felt sure that a dozen horses would not be sufficient for the work +before us. However, it was not the moment to offer advice, as they were +simply mad with excitement and delight. + +The women raised their loud and shrill yell at parting, and our party of +about twenty-five persons, with nine camels, six horses, and two +donkeys, exclusive of the German, Florian, with his kicking +giraffe-hunter, and attendants, ascended the broken slope that formed +the broad valley of the Settite River. + +There was very little game in the neighbourhood, as it was completely +overrun by the Arabs and their flocks, and we were to march about fifty +miles east-south- east before we should arrive in the happy +hunting-grounds of the Base country, where we were led to expect great +results. + +In a day's march through a beautiful country, sometimes upon the high +table-land to cut off a bend in the river, at other times upon the +margin of the stream in the romantic valley, broken into countless hills +and ravines covered with mimosas, we arrived at Ombrega (mother of the +thorn), about twenty-four miles from Geera. We soon arranged a +resting-place, and cleared away the grass that produced the thorn which +had given rise to the name of Ombrega, and in a short time we were +comfortably settled for the night. We were within fifty yards of the +river, the horses were luxuriating in the green grass that grew upon its +banks, and the camels were hobbled, to prevent them from wandering from +the protection of the camp-fires, as we were now in the wilderness, +where the Base by day and the lion and leopard by night were hostile to +man and beast. + +We were fast asleep a little after midnight, when we were awakened by +the loud barking of the dogs, and by a confusion in the camp. Jumping up +on the instant, I heard the dogs, far away in the dark jungles, barking +in different directions. One of the goats was gone! A leopard had sprung +into the camp, and had torn a goat from its fastening, although tied to +a peg, between two men, close to a large fire. The dogs had given chase; +but, as usual in such cases, they were so alarmed as to be almost +useless. We quickly collected firebrands and searched the jungles, and +shortly we arrived where a dog was barking violently. Near this spot we +heard the moaning of some animal among the bushes, and upon a search +with firebrands we discovered the goat, helpless upon the ground, with +its throat lacerated by the leopard. A sudden cry from the dog at a few +yards' distance, and the barking ceased. + +The goat was carried to the camp where it shortly died. We succeeded in +recalling two of the dogs, but the third, which was the best, was +missing, having been struck by the leopard. We searched for the body in +vain, and concluded that it had been carried off. + +The country that we now traversed was so totally uninhabited that it was +devoid of all footprints of human beings; even the sand by the river's +side, that, like the snow, confessed every print, was free from all +traces of man. The Bas-e were evidently absent from our neighbourhood. + +We had several times disturbed antelopes during the early portion of the +march, and we had just ascended from the rugged slopes of the valley, +when we observed a troop of about 100 baboons, which were gathering +gum-arabic from the mimosas; upon seeing us, they immediately waddled +off. "Would the lady like to have a girrit (baboon)?" exclaimed the +ever-excited Jali. Being answered in the affirmative, away dashed the +three hunters in full gallop after the astonished apes, who, finding +themselves pursued, went off at their best speed. The ground was rough, +being full of broken hollows, covered scantily with mimosas, and the +stupid baboons, instead of turning to the right into the rugged and +steep valley of the Settite, where they would have been secure from the +aggageers, kept a straight course before the horses. It was a curious +hunt. Some of the very young baboons were riding on their mother's +backs; these were now going at their best pace, holding onto their +maternal steeds, and looking absurdly humans but in a few minutes, as we +closely followed the Arabs, we were all in the midst of the herd, and +with great dexterity two of the aggageers, while at full speed, stooped +like falcons from their saddles, and seized each a half-grown ape by the +back of the neck, and hoisted them upon the necks of the horses. Instead +of biting, as I had expected, the astonished captives sat astride of the +horses, and clung tenaciously with both arms to the necks of their +steeds, screaming with fear. + +The hunt was over, and we halted to secured the prisoners. Dismounting, +to my surprise the Arabs immediately stripped from a mimosa several +thongs of bark, and having tied the baboons by the neck, they gave them +a merciless whipping with their powerful coorbatches of hippopotamus +hide. It was in vain that I remonstrated against this harsh treatment; +they persisted in the punishment. Otherwise they declared that the +baboons would bite, but if well-whipped they would become +"miskeen"(humble). At length by wife insisted upon mercy, and the +unfortunate captives wore an expression of countenance like prisoners +about to be led to execution, and they looked imploringly at our faces, +in which they evidently discovered some sympathy with their fate. They +were quickly placed on horseback before their captors, and once more we +continued our journey, highly amused with the little entr' acte. + +We had hardly ridden half a mile when I perceived a fine bull tetel +standing near a bush a few hundred yards distant. Motioning to the party +to halt, I dismounted, and with that the little Fletcher rifle I +endeavored to obtain a shot. When within about a hundred and seventy +yards, he observed our party, and I was obliged to take the shot, +although I could have approached unseen to a closer distance, had his +attention not been attracted by the noise of the horses. He threw his +head up preparatory to starting off, and he was just upon the move as I +touched the trigger. He fell like a stone to the shot, but almost +immediately he regained his feet and bounded off, receiving a bullet +from the second barrel without a flinch. In full speed he rushed away +across the party of aggageers about three hundred yards distant. + +Out dashed Abou Do from the ranks on his active gray horse, and away he +flew after the wounded tetel, his long hair floating in the wind, his +naked sword in hand, and his heels digging into the flanks of his horse, +as though armed with spurs in the last finish of a race. It was a +beautiful course. Abou Do hunted like a cunning greyhound; the tetel +turned, and, taking advantage of the double, he cut off the angle; +succeeding by the manoeuvre, he again followed at tremendous speed over +the numerous inequalities of the ground, gaining in the race until he +was within twenty yards of the tetel, when we lost sight of both game +and hunter in the thick bushes. By this time I had regained my horse, +that was brought to meet me, and I followed to the spot, toward which my +wife and the aggageers, encumbered with the unwilling apes, were already +hastening. Upon arrival I found, in high yellow grass beneath a large +tree, the tetel dead, and Abou Do wiping his bloody sword, surrounded by +the foremost of the party. He had hamstrung the animal so delicately +that the keen edge of the blade was not injured against the bone. My two +bullets had passed through the tetel. The first was too high, having +entered above the shoulder--this had dropped the animal for a moment; +the second was through the flank. + +The Arabs now tied the baboons to trees, and employed themselves in +carefully skinning the tetel so as to form a sack from the hide. They +had about half finished the operation, when we were disturbed by a +peculiar sound at a considerable distance in the jungle, which, being +repeated, we knew to be the cry of buffaloes. In an instant the tetel +was neglected, the aggageers mounted their horses, and leaving my wife +with a few men to take charge of the game, accompanied by Florian we +went in search of the buffaloes. This part of the country was covered +with grass about nine feet high, that was reduced to such extreme +dryness that the stems broke into several pieces like glass as we +brushed through it. The jungle was open, composed of thorny mimosas at +such wide intervals that a horse could be ridden at considerable speed +if accustomed to the country. Altogether it was the perfection of ground +for shooting, and the chances were in favour of the rifle. + +We had proceeded carefully about half a mile when I heard a rustling in +the grass, and I shortly perceived a bull buffalo standing alone beneath +a tree, close to the sandy bed of a dried stream, which was about a +hundred yards distant, between us and the animal. The grass had been +entirely destroyed by the trampling of a large herd. I took aim at the +shoulder with one of my No. 10 Reilly rifles, and the buffalo rushed +forward at the shot, and fell about a hundred paces beyond in the bush. +At the report of the shot, the herd, that we had not observed, which had +been lying upon the sandy bed of the stream, rushed past us with a sound +like thunder, in a cloud of dust raised by several hundreds of large +animals in full gallop. I could hardly see them distinctly, and I waited +for a good chance, when presently a mighty bull separated from the rest, +and gave me a fair shoulder-shot. I fired a little too forward, and +missed the shoulder; but I made a still better shot by mistake, as the +Reilly bullet broke the spine through the neck, and dropped him dead. +Florian, poor fellow, had not the necessary tools for the work, and one +of his light guns produced no effect. + +Now came the time for the aggageers. Away dashed Jali op his fiery mare, +closely followed by Abou Do and Suleiman, who in a few instants were +obscured in the cloud of dust raised by the retreating buffaloes. As +soon as I could mount my horse that had been led behind me, I followed +at full speed, and, spurring hard, I shortly came in sight of the three +aggageers, not only in the dust, but actually among the rear buffaloes +of the herd. Suddenly, Jali almost disappeared from the saddle as he +leaned forward with a jerk and seized a fine young buffalo by the tail. +In a moment Abou Do and Suleiman sprang from their horses, and I arrived +just in time to assist them in securing a fine little bull about twelve +hands high, whose horns were six or seven inches long. A pretty fight we +had with the young Hercules. The Arabs stuck to him like bulldogs, in +spite of his tremendous struggles, and Florian, with other men, shortly +arriving, we secured him by lashing his legs together with our belts +until impromptu ropes could be made with mimosa bark. + +I now returned to the spot where we had left my wife and the tetel. I +found her standing about fifty yards from the spot with a double rifle +cocked, awaiting an expected charge from one of the buffaloes that, +separated from the herd, had happened to rush in her direction. + +Mahomet had been in an awful fright, and was now standing secure behind +his mistress. I rode through the grass with the hope of getting a shot, +but the animal had disappeared. We returned to the dead tetel and to our +captive baboons; but times had changed since we had left them. One had +taken advantage of our absence, and, having bitten through his tether, +had escaped. The other had used force instead of cunning, and, in +attempting to tear away from confinement, had strangled himself with the +slip-knot of the rope. + +We now pushed ahead, and at 5 P.M. we arrived at the spot on the margin +of the Settite River at which we were to encamp for some time. For many +miles on either side the river was fringed with dense groves of the +green nabbuk, but upon the east bank an island had been formed of about +three hundred acres. This was a perfect oasis of verdure, covered with +large nabbuk trees, about thirty feet high, and forming a mixture of the +densest coverts, with small open glades of rich but low herbage. To +reach this island, upon which we were to encamp, it was necessary to +cross the arm of the river, that was now dry, with the exception of deep +pools, in one of which we perceived a large bull buffalo drinking, just +as we descended the hill. As this would be close to the larder, I +stalked to within ninety yards, and fired a Reilly No. 10 into his back, +as his head inclined to the water. For the moment he fell upon his +knees, but recovering immediately, he rushed up the steep bank of the +island, receiving the ball from my left-hand barrel between his +shoulders, and disappeared in the dense covert of green nabbuk on the +margin. As we were to camp within a few yards of the spot, he was close +to home; therefore, having crossed the river, we carefully followed the +blood tracks through the jungle. But, after having pushed our way for +about twenty paces through the dense covert, I came to the wise +conclusion that it was not the place for following a wounded buffalo, +and that we should find him dead on the next morning. + +A few yards upon our right hand was a beautiful open glade, commanding a +view of the river, and surrounded by the largest nabbuk trees, that +afforded a delightful shade in the midst of the thick covert. This was a +spot that in former years had been used by the aggageers as a camp, and +we accordingly dismounted and turned the horses to graze upon the +welcome grass. Each horse was secured to a peg by a long leathern thong, +as the lions in this neighbourhood were extremely dangerous, having the +advantage of thick and opaque jungle. + +We employed ourselves until the camels should arrive in cutting thorn +branches and constructing a zareeba or fenced camp, to protect our +animals during the night from the attack of wild beasts. I also hollowed +out a thick green bush to form an arbour, as a retreat during the heat +of the day, and in a short space of time we were prepared for the +reception of the camels and effects. The river had cast up immense +stores of dry wood; this we had collected, and by the time the camels +arrived with the remainder of our party after dark, huge fires were +blazing high in air, the light of which had guided them direct to our +camp. They were heavily laden with meat, which is the Arab's great +source of happiness; therefore in a few minutes the whole party was +busily employed in cutting the flesh into long thin strips to dry. These +were hung in festoons over the surrounding trees, while the fires were +heaped with tidbits of all descriptions. I had chosen a remarkably snug +position for ourselves; the two angareps (stretchers) were neatly +arranged in the middle of a small open space free from overhanging +boughs; near these blazed a large fire, upon which were roasting a row +of marrow-bones of buffalo and tetel, while the table was spread with a +clean cloth and arranged for dinner. + +The woman Barrak, who had discovered with regret that she was not a wife +but a servant, had got over the disappointment, and was now making +dhurra cakes upon the doka. This is a round earthenware tray about +eighteen inches in diameter, which, supported upon three stones or lumps +of earth, over a fire of glowing embers, forms a hearth. Slices of +liver, well peppered with cayenne and salt, were grilling on the +gridiron, and we were preparing to dine, when a terrific roar within a +hundred and fifty yards informed us that a lion was also thinking of +dinner. A confusion of tremendous roars proceeding from several lions +followed the first round, and my aggageers quietly remarked, "There is +no danger for the horses tonight; the lions have found your wounded +buffalo!" + +Such a magnificent chorus of bass voices I had never heard. The jungle +cracked, as with repeated roars they dragged the carcass of the buffalo +through the thorns to the spot where they intended to devour it. That +which was music to our ears was discord to those of Mahomet, who with +terror in his face came to us and exclaimed, "Master, what's that? What +for master and the missus come to this bad country? That's one bad kind +will eat the missus in the night! Perhaps he come and eat Mahomet!" This +afterthought was too much for him, and Bacheet immediately comforted him +by telling the most horrible tales of death and destruction that had +been wrought by lions, until the nerves of Mahomet were completely +unhinged. + +This was a signal for story-telling, when suddenly the aggageers changed +the conversation by a few tales of the Bas-e natives, which so +thoroughly eclipsed the dangers of wild beasts that in a short time the +entire party would almost have welcomed a lion, provided he would have +agreed to protect them from the Bas-e. In this very spot where we were +then camped, a party of Arab hunters had, two years previous, been +surprised at night and killed by the Bas-e, who still boasted of the +swords that they possessed as spoils from that occasion. The Bas-e knew +this spot as the favorite resting-place of the Hamran hunting-parties, +and they might be not far distant NOW, as we were in the heart of their +country. This intelligence was a regular damper to the spirits of some +of the party. Mahomet quietly retired and sat down by Barrak, the +ex-slave woman, having expressed a resolution to keep awake every hour +that he should be compelled to remain in that horrible country. The +lions roared louder and louder, but no one appeared to notice such small +thunder; all thoughts were fixed upon the Bas-e, so thoroughly had the +aggageers succeeded in frightening not only Mahomet, but also our +Tokrooris. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +The elephant trumpets--Fighting an elephant with swords--The +forehead-shot--Elephants in a panic--A superb old Neptune-- The harpoon +reaches its aim--Death of the hippopotamus-- Tramped by an elephant. + +The aggageers started before daybreak in search of elephants. They soon +returned, and reported the fresh tracks of a herd, and begged me to lose +no time in accompanying them, as the elephants might retreat to a great +distance. There was no need for this advice. In a few minutes my horse +Tetel was saddled, and my six Tokrooris and Bacheet, with spare rifles, +were in attendance. Bacheet, who had so ingloriously failed in his first +essay at Wat el Negur, had been so laughed at by the girls of the +village for his want of pluck that he had declared himself ready to face +the devil rather than the ridicule of the fair sex; and, to do him +justice, he subsequently became a first-rate lad in moments of danger. + +The aggageers were quickly mounted. It was a sight most grateful to a +sportsman to witness the start of these superb hunters, who with the +sabres slung from the saddle-bow, as though upon an every-day occasion, +now left the camp with these simple weapons, to meet the mightiest +animal of creation in hand-to-hand conflict. The horses' hoofs clattered +as we descended the shingly beach, and forded the river shoulder-deep, +through the rapid current, while those on foot clung to the manes of the +horses and to the stirrup-leathers to steady themselves over the loose +stones beneath. + +Tracking was very difficult. As there was a total absence of rain, it +was next to impossible to distinguish the tracks of two days' date from +those most recent upon the hard and parched soil. The only positive clew +was the fresh dung of the elephants, and this being deposited at long +intervals rendered the search extremely tedious. The greater part of the +day passed in useless toil, and, after fording the river backward and +forward several times, we at length arrived at a large area of sand in +the bend of the stream, that was evidently overflowed when the river was +full. This surface of many acres was backed by a forest of large trees. +Upon arrival at this spot the aggageers, who appeared to know every inch +of the country, declared that, unless the elephants had gone far away, +they must be close at hand, within the forest. We were speculating upon +the direction of the wind, when we were surprised by the sudden +trumpeting of an elephant, that proceeded from the forest already +declared to be the covert of the herd. In a few minutes later a fine +bull elephant marched majestically from the jungle upon the large area +of sand, and proudly stalked direct toward the river. + +At that time we were stationed under cover of a high bank of sand that +had been left by the retiring river in sweeping round an angle. We +immediately dismounted, and remained well concealed. The question of +attack was quickly settled. The elephant was quietly stalking toward the +water, which was about three hundred paces distant from the jungle. This +intervening space was heavy dry sand, that had been thrown up by the +stream in the sudden bend of the river, which, turning from this point +at a right angle, swept beneath a perpendicular cliff of conglomerate +rock formed of rounded pebbles cemented together. + +I proposed that we should endeavor to stalk the elephant, by creeping +along the edge of the river, under cover of a sand-bank about three feet +high, and that, should the rifles fail, the aggageers should come on at +full gallop and cut off his retreat from the jungle; we should then have +a chance for the swords. + +Accordingly I led the way, followed by Hadji Ali, my head Tokroori, with +a rifle, while I carried the "Baby." Florian accompanied us. Having the +wind fair, we advanced quickly for about half the distance, at which +time we were within a hundred and fifty yards of the elephant, who had +just arrived at the water and had commenced drinking. We now crept +cautiously toward him. The sand-bank had decreased to a height of about +two feet, and afforded very little shelter. Not a tree or bush grew upon +the surface of the barren sand, which was so deep that we sank nearly to +the ankles at every footstep. Still we crept forward, as the elephant +alternately drank and then spouted the water in a shower over his +colossal form; but just as we arrived within about fifty yards he +happened to turn his head in our direction, and immediately perceived +us. He cocked his enormous ears, gave a short trumpeting, and for an +instant wavered in his determination whether to attack or fly; but as I +rushed toward him with a shout, he turned toward the jungle, and I +immediately fired a steady shot at the shoulder with the "Baby." As +usual, the fearful recoil of the rifle, with a half-pound shell and +twelve drams of powder, nearly threw me backward; but I saw the mark +upon the elephant's shoulder, in an excellent line, although rather +high. The only effect of the shot was to send him off at great speed +toward the jungle. At the same moment the three aggageers came galloping +across the sand like greyhounds in a course, and, judiciously keeping +parallel with the jungle, they cut off his retreat, and, turning toward +the elephant, confronted him, sword in hand. + +At once the furious beast charged straight at the enemy. But now came +the very gallant but foolish part of the hunt. Instead of leading the +elephant by the flight of one man and horse, according to their usual +method, all the aggageers at the same moment sprang from their saddles, +and upon foot in the heavy sand they attacked the elephant with their +swords. + +In the way of sport I never saw anything so magnificent or so absurdly +dangerous. No gladiatorial exhibition in the Roman arena could have +surpassed this fight. The elephant was mad with rage, and nevertheless +he seemed to know that the object of the hunters was to get behind him. +This he avoided with great dexterity, turning as it were upon a pivot +with extreme quickness, and charging headlong, first at one and then at +another of his assailants, while he blew clouds of sand in the air with +his trunk, and screamed with fury. Nimble as monkeys, nevertheless the +aggageers could not get behind him. In the folly of excitement they had +forsaken their horses, which had escaped from the spot. The depth of the +loose sand was in favor of the elephant, and was so much against the men +that they avoided his charges with extreme difficulty. It was only by +the determined pluck of all three that they alternately saved each +other, as two invariably dashed in at the flanks when the elephant +charged the third, upon which the wary animal immediately relinquished +the chase and turned round upon his pursuers. During this time I had +been laboring through the heavy sand, and shortly after I arrived at the +fight the elephant charged directly through the aggageers, receiving a +shoulder-shot from one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles, and at the same time +a slash from the sword of Abou Do, who with great dexterity and speed +had closed in behind him, just in time to reach the leg. Unfortunately, +he could not deliver the cut in the right place, as the elephant, with +increased speed, completely distanced the aggageers, then charged across +the deep sand and reached the jungle. We were shortly upon his tracks, +and after running about a quarter of a mile he fell dead in a dry +watercourse. His tusks were, like those of most Abyssinian elephants, +exceedingly short, but of good thickness. + +Some of our men, who had followed the runaway horses, shortly returned +and reported that during our fight with the bull they had heard other +elephants trumpeting in the dense nabbuk jungle near the river. We all +dismounted, and sent the horses to a considerable distance, lest they +should by some noise disturb the elephants. We shortly heard a crackling +in the jungle on our right, and Jali assured us that, as he had +expected, the elephants were slowly advancing along the jungle on the +bank of the river, and would pass exactly before us. We waited patiently +in the bed of the river, and the crackling in the jungle sounded closer +as the herd evidently approached. The strip of thick thorny covert that +fringed the margin was in no place wider than half a mile; beyond that +the country was open and park-like, but at this season it was covered +with parched grass from eight to ten feet high. The elephants would, +therefore, most probably remain in the jungle until driven out. + +In about a quarter of an hour we knew by the noise in the jungle, about +a hundred yards from the river, that the elephants were directly +opposite to us. I accordingly instructed Jali to creep quietly by +himself into the bush and to bring me information of their position. To +this he at once agreed. + +In three or four minutes he returned. He declared it impossible to use +the sword, as the jungle was so dense that it would check the blow; but +that I could use the rifle, as the elephants were close to us--he had +seen three standing together, between us and the main body of the herd. +I told Jali to lead me directly to the spot, and, followed by Florian +and the aggageers, with my gun-bearers, I kept within a foot of my +dependable little guide, who crept gently into the jungle. This was +exceedingly thick, and quite impenetrable, except in the places where +elephants and other heavy animals had trodden numerous alleys. Along one +of these narrow passages we stealthily advanced, until Jali stepped +quietly on one side and pointed with his finger. I immediately observed +two elephants looming through the thick bushes about eight paces from +me. One offered a temple-shot, which I quickly took with a Reilly No. +10, and floored it on the spot. The smoke hung so thickly that I could +not see distinctly enough to fire my second barrel before the remaining +elephant had turned; but Florian, with a three-ounce steel-tipped +bullet, by a curious shot at the hind-quarters, injured the hip joint to +such an extent that we could more than equal the elephant in speed. + +In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle +of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following. I +had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded, and hardly had I made +the exchange when the elephant turned suddenly and charged. Determined +to try fairly the forehead-shot, I kept my ground, and fired a Reilly +No. 10, quicksilver and lead bullet, exactly in the centre, when +certainly within four yards. The only effect was to make her stagger +backward, when, in another moment, with her immense ears thrown forward, +she again rushed on. This was touch-and-go; but I fired my remaining +barrel a little lower than the first shot. Checked in her rush, she +backed toward the dense jungle, throwing her trunk about and trumpeting +with rage. Snatching the Ceylon No. 10 from one of my trusty Tokrooris +(Hassan), I ran straight at her, took a most deliberate aim at the +forehead, and once more fired. The only effect was a decisive charge; +but before I fired my last barrel Jali rushed in, and, with one blow of +his sharp sword, severed the back sinew. She was utterly helpless in the +same instant. Bravo, Jali! I had fired three beautifully correct shots +with No. 10 bullets and seven drams of powder in each charge. These were +so nearly together that they occupied a space in her forehead of about +three inches, and all had failed to kill! There could no longer be any +doubt that the forehead-shot at an African elephant could not be relied +upon, although so fatal to the Indian species. This increased the danger +tenfold, as in Ceylon I had generally made certain of an elephant by +steadily waiting until it was close upon me. + +I now reloaded my rifles, and the aggageers quitted the jungle to +remount their horses, as they expected the herd had broken cover on the +other side of the jungle, in which case they intended to give chase, +and, if possible, to turn them back into the covert and drive them +toward the guns. We accordingly took our stand in the small open glade, +and I lent Florian one of my double rifles, as he was only provided with +one single-barrelled elephant gun. I did not wish to destroy the +prestige of the rifles by hinting to the aggageers that it would be +rather awkward for us to receive the charge of the infuriated herd, as +the foreheads were invulnerable; but inwardly I rather hoped that they +would not come so directly upon our position as the aggageers wished. + +About a quarter of an hour passed in suspense, when we suddenly heard a +chorus of wild cries of excitement on the other side of the jungle, +raised by the aggageers, who had headed the herd and were driving them +back toward us. In a few minutes a tremendous crashing in the jungle, +accompanied by the occasional shrill scream of a savage elephant and the +continued shouts of the mounted aggageers, assured us that they were +bearing down exactly upon our direction. They were apparently followed +even through the dense jungle by the wild and reckless Arabs. I called +my men close together, told them to stand fast and hand me the guns +quickly, and we eagerly awaited the onset that rushed toward us like a +storm. + +On they came, tearing everything before them. For a moment the jungle +quivered and crashed; a second later, and, headed by an immense +elephant, the herd thundered down upon us. The great leader came +directly at me, and was received with right and left in the forehead +from a Reilly No. 10 as fast as I could pull the triggers. The shock +made it reel backward for an instant, and fortunately turned it and the +herd likewise. My second rifle was beautifully handed, and I made a +quick right and left at the temples of two fine elephants, dropping them +both stone dead. At this moment the "Baby" was pushed into my hand by +Hadji Ali just in time to take the shoulder of the last of the herd, who +had already charged headlong after his comrades and was disappearing in +the jungle. Bang! went the "Baby;" round I spun like a weathercock, with +the blood pouring from my nose, as the recoil had driven the sharp top +of the hammer deep into the bridge. My "Baby" not only screamed, but +kicked viciously. However, I knew that the elephant must be bagged, as +the half-pound shell had been aimed directly behind the shoulder. + +In a few minutes the aggageers arrived. They were bleeding from +countless scratches, as, although naked with the exception of short +drawers, they had forced their way on horseback through the thorny path +cleft by the herd in rushing through the jungle. Abou Do had blood upon +his sword. They had found the elephants commencing a retreat to the +interior of the country, and they had arrived just in time to turn them. +Following them at full speed, Abou Do had succeeded in overtaking and +slashing the sinew of an elephant just as it was entering the jungle. +Thus the aggageers had secured one, in addition to Florian's elephant +that had been slashed by Jali. We now hunted for the "Baby's" elephant, +which was almost immediately discovered lying dead within a hundred and +fifty yards of the place where it had received the shot. The shell had +entered close to the shoulder, and it was extraordinary that an animal +should have been able to travel so great a distance with a wound through +the lungs by a shell that had exploded within the body. + +We had done pretty well. I had been fortunate in bagging four from this +herd, in addition to the single bull in the morning; total, five. +Florian had killed one and the aggageers one; total, seven elephants. +One had escaped that I had wounded in the shoulder, and two that had +been wounded by Florian. The aggageers were delighted, and they +determined to search for the wounded elephants on the following day, as +the evening was advancing, and we were about five miles from camp. + +At daybreak the next morning the aggageers in high glee mounted their +horses, and with a long retinue of camels and men, provided with axes +and knives, together with large gum sacks to contain the flesh, they +quitted the camp to cut up the numerous elephants. As I had no taste for +this disgusting work, I took two of my Tokrooris, Hadji Ali and Hassan, +and, accompanied by old Abou Do, the father of the sheik, with his +harpoon, we started along the margin of the river in quest of +hippopotami. + +The harpoon for hippopotamus and crocodile hunting is a piece of soft +steel about eleven inches long, with a narrow blade or point of about +three quarters of an inch in width and a single but powerful barb. To +this short and apparently insignificant weapon a strong rope is secured, +about twenty feet in length, at the extremity of which is a buoy or +float, as large as a child's head, formed of an extremely light wood +called ambatch (Aanemone mirabilis) that is of about half the specific +gravity of cork. The extreme end of the short harpoon is fixed in the +point of a bamboo about ten feet long, around which the rope is twisted, +while the buoy end is carried in the left hand. + +The old Abou Do, being resolved upon work, had divested himself of his +tope or toga before starting, according to the general custom of the +aggageers, who usually wear a simple piece of leather wound round the +loins when hunting; but, I believe in respect for our party, they had +provided themselves with a garment resembling bathing drawers, such as +are worn in France, Germany, and other civilized countries. But the old +Abou Do had resisted any such innovation, and he accordingly appeared +with nothing on but his harpoon; and a more superb old Neptune I never +beheld. He carried this weapon in his hand, as the trident with which +the old sea-god ruled the monsters of the deep; and as the tall Arab +patriarch of threescore years and ten, with his long gray locks flowing +over his brawny shoulders, stepped as lightly as a goat from rock to +rock along the rough margin of the river, I followed him in admiration. + +After walking about two miles we noticed a herd of hippopotami in a pool +below a rapid. This was surrounded by rocks, except upon one side, where +the rush of water had thrown up a bank of pebbles and sand. Our old +Neptune did not condescend to bestow the slightest attention when I +pointed out these animals; they were too wide awake; but he immediately +quitted the river's bed, and we followed him quietly behind the fringe +of bushes upon the border, from which we carefully examined the water. + +About half a mile below this spot, as we clambered over the intervening +rocks through a gorge which formed a powerful rapid, I observed, in a +small pool just below the rapid, the immense head of a hippopotamus +close to a perpendicular rock that formed a wall to the river, about six +feet above the surface. I pointed out the hippo to old Abou Do, who had +not seen it. At once the gravity of the old Arab disappeared, and the +energy of the hunter was exhibited as he motioned us to remain, while he +ran nimbly behind the thick screen of bushes for about a hundred and +fifty yards below the spot where the hippo was unconsciously basking, +with his ugly head above the surface. Plunging into the rapid torrent, +the veteran hunter was carried some distance down the stream; but, +breasting the powerful current, he landed upon the rocks on the opposite +side, and, retiring to some distance from the river, he quickly advanced +toward the spot beneath which the hippopotamus was lying. I had a fine +view of the scene, as I was lying concealed exactly opposite the hippo, +who had disappeared beneath the water. + +Abou Do now stealthily approached the ledge of rock beneath which he had +expected to see the head of the animal. His long, sinewy arm was raised, +with the harpoon ready to strike, as he carefully advanced. At length he +reached the edge of the perpendicular rock. The hippo had vanished, but, +far from exhibiting surprise, the old Arab remained standing on the +sharp edge, unchanged in attitude. No figure of bronze could have been +more rigid than that of the old river-king as he stood erect upon the +rock with the left foot advanced and the harpoon poised in his ready +right hand above his head, while in the left he held the loose coils of +rope attached to the ambatch buoy. For about three minutes he stood like +a statue, gazing intently into the clear and deep water beneath his +feet. I watched eagerly for the reappearance of the hippo; the surface +of the water was still barren, when suddenly the right arm of the statue +descended like lightning, and the harpoon shot perpendicularly into the +pool with the speed of an arrow. What river-fiend answered to the +summons? In an instant an enormous pair of open jaws appeared, followed +by the ungainly head and form of the furious hippopotamus, who, +springing half out of the water, lashed the river into foam, and, +disdaining the concealment of the deep pool, charged straight up the +violent rapids. With extraordinary power he breasted the descending +stream, gaining a footing in the rapids, about five feet deep. He +ploughed his way against the broken waves, sending them in showers of +spray upon all sides, and, upon gaining broader shallows, tore along +through the water, with the buoyant float hopping behind him along the +surface, until he landed from the river, started at full gallop along +the dry shingly bed, and at length disappeared in the thorny nabbuk +jungle. + +I never could have imagined that so unwieldy an animal could have +exhibited such speed; no man would have had a chance of escape, and it +was fortunate for our old Neptune that he was secure upon the high ledge +of rock; for if he had been in the path of the infuriated beast there +would have been an end of Abou Do. The old man plunged into the deep +pool just quitted by the hippo and landed upon our side, while in the +enthusiasm of the moment I waved my cap above my head and gave him a +British cheer as he reached the shore. His usually stern features +relaxed into a grim smile of delight: this was one of those moments when +the gratified pride of the hunter rewards him for any risks. I +congratulated him upon his dexterity; but much remained to be done. I +proposed to cross the river, and to follow upon the tracks of the +hippopotamus, as I imagined that the buoy and rope would catch in the +thick jungle, and that we should find him entangled in the bush; but the +old hunter gently laid his hand upon my arm and pointed up the bed of +the river, explaining that the hippo would certainly return to the water +after a short interval. + +In a few minutes later, at a distance of nearly half a mile, we observed +the hippo emerge from the jungle and descend at full trot to the bed of +the river, making direct for the first rocky pool in which we had +noticed the herd of hippopotami. Accompanied by the old howarti (hippo +hunter), we walked quickly toward the spot. He explained to me that I +must shoot the harpooned hippo, as we should not be able to secure him +in the usual method by ropes, as nearly all our men were absent from +camp, disposing of the dead elephants. + +Upon reaching the pool, which was about a hundred and thirty yards in +diameter, we were immediately greeted by the hippo, who snorted and +roared as we approached, but quickly dived, and the buoyant float ran +along the surface, directing his course in the same manner as the cork +of a trimmer marks that of a pike upon the hook. Several times he +appeared, but as he invariably faced us I could not obtain a favorable +shot; I therefore sent the old hunter round the pool, and he, swimming +the river, advanced to the opposite side and attracted the attention of +the hippo, who immediately turned toward him. This afforded me a good +chance, and I fired a steady shot behind the ear, at about seventy +yards, with a single-barrelled rifle. As usual with hippopotami, whether +dead or alive, he disappeared beneath the water at the shot. The crack +of the ball and the absence of any splash from the bullet told me that +he was hit; the ambatch float remained perfectly stationary upon the +surface. I watched it for some minutes--it never moved. Several heads of +hippopotami appeared and vanished in different directions, but the float +was still; it marked the spot where the grand old bull lay dead beneath. + +I shot another hippo, that I thought must be likewise dead; and, taking +the time by my watch, I retired to the shade of a tree with Hassan, +while Hadji Ali and the old hunter returned to camp for assistance in +men and knives, etc. + +In a little more than an hour and a half, two objects like the backs of +turtles appeared above the surface. These were the flanks of the two +hippos. A short time afterward the men arrived, and, regardless of +crocodiles, they swam toward the bodies. One was towed directly to the +shore by the rope attached to the harpoon, the other was secured by a +long line and dragged to the bank of clean pebbles. We had now a good +supply of food, which delighted our people. + +I returned to the camp, and several hours elapsed, but none of the +aggageers returned, and neither had we received any tidings of our +people and camels that had left us at daybreak to search for the dead +elephants. Fearing that some mishap might have occurred in a collision +with the Bas-e, I anxiously looked out for some sign of the party. At +about 4 P.M. I observed far up the bed of the river several men, some +mounted and others upon foot, while one led a camel with a +curious-looking load. Upon a nearer approach I could distinguish upon +the camel's back some large object that was steadied by two men, one of +whom walked on either side. I had a foreboding that something was wrong, +and in a few minutes I clearly perceived a man lying upon a make-shift +litter, carried by the camel, while the Sheik Abou Do and Suleiman +accompanied the party upon horseback; a third led Jali's little gray +mare. + +They soon arrived beneath the high bank of the river upon which I stood. +Poor little Jali, my plucky and active ally, lay, as I thought, dead +upon the litter. We laid him gently upon my angarep, which I had raised +by four men, so that we could lower him gradually from the kneeling +camel, and we carried him to the camp, about thirty yards distant. He +was faint, and I poured some essence of peppermint (the only spirits I +possessed) down his throat, which quickly revived him. His thigh was +broken about eight inches above the knee, but fortunately it was a +simple fracture. + +Abou Do now explained the cause of the accident. While the party of +camel, men and others were engaged in cutting up the dead elephants, the +three aggageers had found the track of a bull that had escaped wounded. +In that country, where there was no drop of water upon the east bank of +the Settite for a distance of sixty or seventy miles to the river Gash, +an elephant, if wounded, was afraid to trust itself to the interior. One +of our escaped elephants had therefore returned to the thick jungle, and +was tracked by the aggageers to a position within two or three hundred +yards of the dead elephants. As there were no guns, two of the +aggageers, utterly reckless of consequences, resolved to ride through +the narrow passages formed by the large game, and to take their chance +with the elephant, sword in hand. Jali, as usual, was the first to lead, +and upon his little gray mare he advanced with the greatest difficulty +through the entangled thorns, broken by the passage of heavy game; to +the right and left of the passage it was impossible to move. Abou Do had +wisely dismounted, but Suleiman followed Jali. Upon arriving within a +few yards of the elephant, which was invisible in the thick thorns, Abou +Do crept forward on foot, and discovered it standing with ears cocked, +evidently waiting for the attack. As Jali followed on his light gray +mare, the elephant immediately perceived the white color and at once +charged forward. Escape was next to impossible. Jali turned his snare +sharply around, and she bounded off; but, caught in the thorns, the mare +fell, throwing her rider in the path of the elephant that was within a +few feet behind, in full chase. The mare recovered herself in an +instant, and rushed away; the elephant, attracted by the white color of +the animal, neglected the man, upon whom it trod in the pursuit, thus +breaking his thigh. Abou Do, who had been between the elephant and Jali, +had wisely jumped into the thick thorns, and, as the elephant passed +him, he again sprang out behind and followed with his drawn sword, but +too late to save Jali, as it was the affair of an instant. Jumping over +Jali's body, he was just in time to deliver a tremendous cut at the hind +leg of the elephant, that must otherwise have killed both horses and +probably Suleiman also, as the three were caught in a cul de sac, in a +passage that had no outlet, and were at the elephant's mercy. + +Abou Do seldom failed. It was a difficult feat to strike correctly in +the narrow jungle passage with the elephant in full speed; but the blow +was fairly given, and the back sinew was divided. Not content with the +success of the cut, he immediately repeated the stroke upon the other +leg, as he feared that the elephant, although disabled from rapid +motion, might turn and trample Jali. The extraordinary dexterity and +courage required to effect this can hardly be appreciated by those who +have never hunted a wild elephant; but the extreme agility, pluck, and +audacity of these Hamran sword-hunters surpass all feats that I have +ever witnessed. + +I set Jali's broken thigh and attended to him for four days. He was a +very grateful but unruly patient, as he had never been accustomed to +remain quiet. At the end of that time we arranged an angarep comfortably +upon a camel, upon which he was transported to Geera, in company with a +long string of camels, heavily laden with dried meat and squares of hide +for shields, with large bundles of hippopotamus skin for whip-making, +together with the various spoils of the chase. Last but not least were +numerous leathern pots of fat that had been boiled down from elephants +and hippopotami. + +The camels were to return as soon as possible with supplies of corn for +our people and horses. Another elephant-hunter was to be sent to us in +the place of Jali, but I felt that we had lost our best man. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Fright of the Tokrooris--Deserters who didn't desert--Arrival of the +Sherrif brothers--Now for a tally-ho!--On the heels of the +rhinoceroses--The Abyssinian rhinoceros--Every man for himself. + +Although my people had been in the highest spirits up to this time, a +gloom had been thrown over the party by two causes--Jali's accident and +the fresh footmarks of the Bas-e that had been discovered upon the sand +by the margin of the river. The aggageers feared nothing, and if the +Bas-e had been legions of demons they would have faced them, sword in +hand, with the greatest pleasure. But my Tokrooris, who were brave in +some respects, had been so cowed by the horrible stories recounted of +these common enemies at the nightly camp-fires by the Hamran Arabs, that +they were seized with panic and resolved to desert en masse and return +to Katariff, where I had originally engaged them, and at which place +they had left their families. + +In this instance the desertion of my Tokrooris would have been a great +blow to my expedition, as it was necessary to have a division of +parties. I had the Tokrooris, Jaleens, and Hamran Arabs. Thus they would +never unite together, and I was certain to have some upon my side in a +difficulty. Should I lose the Tokrooris, the Hamran Arabs would have the +entire preponderance. + +The whole of my Tokrooris formed in line before me and my wife, just as +the camels were about to leave. Each man had his little bundle prepared +for starting on a journey. Old Moosa was the spokesman. He said that +they were all very sorry; that they regretted exceedingly the necessity +of leaving us, but some of them were sick, and they would only be a +burden to the expedition; that one of them was bound upon a pilgrimage +to Mecca, and that God would punish him should he neglect this great +duty; others had not left any money with their families in Katariff, +that would starve in their absence. (I had given them an advance of +wages, when they engaged at Katariff, to provide against this +difficulty.) I replied: "My good fellows, I am very sorry to hear all +this, especially as it comes upon me so suddenly; those who are sick +stand upon one side" (several invalids, who looked remarkably healthy, +stepped to the left). "Who wishes to go to Mecca?" Abderachman stepped +forward (a huge specimen of a Tokroori, who went by the nickname of "El +Jamoos" or the buffalo). "Who wishes to remit money to his family, as I +will send it and deduct it from his wages?" No one came forward. During +the pause I called for pen and paper, which Mahomet brought. I +immediately commenced writing, and placed the note within an envelope, +which I addressed and gave to one of the camel-drivers. I then called +for my medicine-chest, and having weighed several three-grain doses of +tartar emetic, I called the invalids, and insisted upon their taking the +medicine before they started, or they might become seriously ill upon +the road, which for three days' march was uninhabited. Mixed with a +little water the doses were swallowed, and I knew that the invalids were +safe for that day, and that the others would not start without them. + +I now again addressed my would-be deserters: "Now, my good fellows, +there shall be no misunderstanding between us, and I will explain to you +how the case stands. You engaged yourselves to me for the whole journey, +and you received an advance of wages to provide for your families during +your absence. You have lately filled yourselves with meat, and you have +become lazy; you have been frightened by the footprints of the Bas-e; +thus you wish to leave the country. To save yourselves from imaginary +danger, you would forsake my wife and myself, and leave us to a fate +which you yourselves would avoid. This is your gratitude for kindness; +this is the return for my confidence, when without hesitation I advanced +you money. Go! Return to Katariff to your families! I know that all the +excuses you have made are false. Those who declare themselves to be +sick, Inshallah (please God), shall be sick. You will all be welcomed +upon your arrival at Katariff. In the letter I have written to the +Governor, inclosing your names, I have requested him to give each man +upon his appearance FIVE HUNDRED LASHES WITH THE COORBATCH, FOR +DESERTION, and to imprison him until my return." + +Checkmate! My poor Tokrooris were in a corner, and in their great +dilemma they could not answer a word. Taking advantage of this moment of +confusion, I called forward "the buffalo," Abderachman, as I had heard +that he really had contemplated a pilgrimage to Mecca. "Abderachman," I +continued, "you are the only man who has spoken the truth. Go to Mecca! +and may God protect yon on the journey! I should not wish to prevent you +from performing your duty as a Mahometan." + +Never were people more dumbfounded with surprise. They retreated, and +formed a knot in consultation, and in about ten minutes they returned to +me, old Moosa and Hadji Ali both leading the pilgrim Abderachman by the +hands. They had given in; and Abderachman, the buffalo of the party, +thanked me for my permission, and with tears in his eyes, as the camels +were about to start, he at once said good-by. "Embrace him!" cried old +Moosa and Hadji Ali; and in an instant, as I had formerly succumbed to +the maid Barrake, I was actually kissed by the thick lips of Abderachman +the unwashed! Poor fellow! this was sincere gratitude without the +slightest humbug; therefore, although he was an odoriferous savage, I +could not help shaking him by the hand and wishing him a prosperous +journey, assuring him that I would watch over his comrades like a +father, while in my service. In a few instants these curious people were +led by a sudden and new impulse; my farewell had perfectly delighted old +Moosa and Hadji Ali, whose hearts were won. "Say good-by to the Sit!" +(the lady) they shouted to Abderachman; but I assured them that it was +not necessary to go through the whole operation to which I had been +subjected, and that she would be contented if he only kissed her hand. +This he did with the natural grace of a savage, and was led away crying +by his companions, who embraced him with tears, and they parted with the +affection of brothers. + +Now, to hard-hearted and civilized people, who often school themselves +to feel nothing, or as little as they can, for anybody, it may appear +absurd to say that the scene was affecting, but somehow or other it was. +And in the course of half an hour, those who would have deserted had +become stanch friends, and we were all, black and white, Mahometans and +Christians, wishing the pilgrim God-speed upon his perilous journey to +Mecca. + +The camels started, and, if the scene was affecting, the invalids began +to be more affected by the tartar emetic. This was the third act of the +comedy. The plot had been thoroughly ventilated; the last act exhibited +the perfect fidelity of my Tokrooris, in whom I subsequently reposed +much confidence. + +In the afternoon of that day the brothers Sherrif arrived. These were +the most renowned of all the sword-hunters of the Hamrans, of whom I +have already spoken. They were well mounted, and, having met our caravan +of camels on the route, heavily laden with dried flesh, and thus seen +proofs of our success, they now offered to join our party. I am sorry to +be obliged to confess that my ally, Abou Do, although a perfect Nimrod +in sport, an Apollo in personal appearance, and a gentleman in manner, +was a mean, covetous, and grasping fellow, and withal absurdly jealous. +Taher Sherrif was a more celebrated hunter, having had the experience of +at least twenty years in excess of Abou Do; and although the latter was +as brave and dexterous as Taher and his brothers, he wanted the cool +judgment that is essential to a first-rate sportsman. + +The following day was the new year, January 1st, 1862; and with the four +brothers Sherrif and our party we formed a powerful body of hunters: six +aggageers and myself all well mounted. With four gun-bearers and two +camels, both of which carried water, we started in search of elephants. +Florian was unwell, and remained in camp. + +The immediate neighborhood was a perfect exhibition of +gun-arabic-bearing mimosas. At this season the gum was in perfection, +and the finest quality was now before us in beautiful amber-colored +masses upon the stems and branches, varying from the size of a nutmeg to +that of an orange. So great was the quantity, and so excellent were the +specimens, that, leaving our horses tied to trees, both the Arabs and +myself gathered a large collection. This gum, although as hard as ice on +the exterior, was limpid in the centre, resembling melted amber, and as +clear as though refined by some artificial process. The trees were +perfectly denuded of leaves from the extreme drought, and the beautiful +balls of frosted yellow gum recalled the idea of the precious jewels +upon the trees in the garden of the wonderful lamp of the "Arabian +Nights." This gum was exceedingly sweet and pleasant to the taste; but, +although of the most valuable quality, there was no hand to gather it in +this forsaken although beautiful country; it either dissolved during the +rainy season or was consumed by the baboons and antelopes. The aggageers +took off from their saddles the skins of tanned antelope leather that +formed the only covering to the wooden seats, and with these they made +bundles of gum. When we remounted, every man was well laden. + +We were thus leisurely returning home through alternate plains and low +open forest of mimosa, when Taher Sherrif, who was leading the party, +suddenly reined up his horse and pointed to a thick bush, beneath which +was a large gray but shapeless mass. He whispered, as I drew near, "Oom +gurrin" (mother of the horn), their name for the rhinoceros. I +immediately dismounted, and with the short No. 10 Tatham rifle I +advanced as near as I could, followed by Suleiman, as I had sent all my +gum-bearers directly home by the river when we had commenced our +circuit. As I drew near I discovered two rhinoceroses asleep beneath a +thick mass of bushes. They were lying like pigs, close together, so that +at a distance I had been unable to distinguish any exact form. It was an +awkward place. If I were to take the wind fairly I should have to fire +through the thick bush, which would be useless; therefore I was +compelled to advance with the wind directly from me to them. The +aggageers remained about a hundred yards distant, while I told Suleiman +to return and hold my horse in readiness with his own. I then walked +quietly to within about thirty yards of the rhinoceroses; but so +curiously were they lying that it was useless to attempt a shot. In +their happy dreams they must have been suddenly disturbed by the scent +of an enemy, for, without the least warning, they suddenly sprang to +their feet with astonishing quickness, and with a loud and sharp whiff, +whiff, whiff! one of them charged straight at me. I fired my right-hand +barrel in his throat, as it was useless to aim at the head protected by +two horns at the nose. This turned him, but had no other effect, and the +two animals thundered off together at a tremendous pace. + +Now for a "tally-ho!" Our stock of gum was scattered on the ground, and +away went the aggageers in full speed after the two rhinoceroses. +Without waiting to reload, I quickly remounted my horse Tetel, and with +Suleiman in company I spurred hard to overtake the flying Arabs. Tetel +was a good strong cob, but not very fast; however, I believe he never +went so well as upon that day, for, although an Abyssinian Horse, I had +a pair of English spurs, which worked like missionaries. The ground was +awkward for riding at full speed, as it was an open forest of mimosas, +which, although wide apart, were very difficult to avoid, owing to the +low crowns of spreading branches, and these, being armed with fish-hook +thorns, would have been serious in a collision. I kept the party in view +until in about a mile we arrived upon open ground. Here I again applied +the spurs, and by degrees I crept up, always gaining, until I at length +joined the aggageers. + +Here was a sight to drive a hunter wild! The two rhinoceroses were +running neck and neck, like a pair of horses in harness, but bounding +along at tremendous speed within ten yards of the leading Hamran. This +was Taher Sherrif, who, with his sword drawn and his long hair flying +wildly behind him, urged his horse forward in the race, amid a cloud of +dust raised by the two huge but active beasts, that tried every sinew of +the horses. Roder Sherrif, with the withered arm, was second; with the +reins hung upon the hawk-like claw that was all that remained of a hand, +but with his naked sword grasped in his right, he kept close to his +brother, ready to second his blow. Abou Do was third, his hair flying in +the wind, his heels dashing against the flanks of his horse, to which he +shouted in his excitement to urge him to the front, while he leaned +forward with his long sword, in the wild energy of the moment, as though +hoping to reach the game against all possibility. + +Now for the spurs! and as these, vigorously applied, screwed an extra +stride out of Tetel, I soon found myself in the ruck of men, horses, and +drawn swords. There were seven of us, and passing Abou Do, whose face +wore an expression of agony at finding that his horse was failing, I +quickly obtained a place between the two brothers, Taher and Roder +Sherrif. There had been a jealousy between the two parties of aggageers, +and each was striving to outdo the other; thus Abou Do was driven almost +to madness at the superiority of Taher's horse, while the latter, who +was the renowned hunter of the tribe, was determined that his sword +should be the first to taste blood. I tried to pass the rhinoceros on my +left, so as to fire close into the shoulder my remaining barrel with my +right hand, but it was impossible to overtake the animals, who bounded +along with undiminished speed. With the greatest exertion of men and +horses we could only retain our position within about three or four +yards of their tails--just out of reach of the swords. The only chance +in the race was to hold the pace until the rhinoceroses should begin. to +flag. The horses were pressed to the utmost; but we had already run +about two miles, and the game showed no signs of giving in. On they +flew, sometimes over open ground, then through low bush, which tried the +horses severely, then through strips of open forest, until at length the +party began to tail off, and only a select few kept their places. We +arrived at the summit of a ridge, from which the ground sloped in a +gentle inclination for about a mile toward the river. At the foot of +this incline was thick thorny nabbuk jungle, for which impenetrable +covert the rhinoceroses pressed at their utmost speed. + +Never was there better ground for the finish of a race. The earth was +sandy, but firm, and as we saw the winning-post in the jungle that must +terminate the hunt, we redoubled our exertions to close with the +unflagging game. Suleiman's horse gave in--we had been for about twenty +minutes at a killing pace. Tetel, although not a fast horse, was good +for a distance, and he now proved his power of endurance, as I was +riding at least two stone heavier than any of the party. Only four of +the seven remained; and we swept down the incline, Taher Sherif still +leading, and Abou Do the last! His horse was done, but not the rider; +for, springing to the ground while at full speed, sword in hand, he +forsook his tired horse, and, preferring his own legs, he ran like an +antelope, and, for the first hundred yards I thought lie would really +pass us and win the honor of first blow. It was of no use, the pace was +too severe, and, although running wonderfully, he was obliged to give +way to the horses. Only three now followed the rhinoceroses --Taher +Sherrif, his brother Roder, and myself. I had been obliged to give the +second place to Roder, as he was a mere monkey in weight; but I was a +close third. + +The excitement was intense. We neared the jungle, and the rhinoceroses +began to show signs of flagging, as the dust puffed up before their +nostrils, and, with noses close to the ground, they snorted as they +still galloped on. Oh for a fresh horse! "A horse ! a horse! my kingdom +for a horse!" We were within two hundred yards of the jungle; but the +horses were all done. Tetel reeled as I urged him forward. Roder pushed +ahead. We were close to the dense thorns, and the rhinoceroses broke +into a trot; they were done! "Now, Taher, for-r-a-a-r-r-d! +for-r-r-a-a-r-d, Taher!!" + +Away he went. He was close to the very heels of the beasts, but his +horse could do no more than his present pace; still he gained upon the +nearest. He leaned forward with his sword raised for the blow. Another +moment and the jungle would be reached! One effort more, and the sword +flashed in the sunshine, as the rear-most rhinoceros disappeared in the +thick screen of thorns, with a gash about a foot long upon his +hind-quarters. Taher Sherrif shook his bloody sword in triumph above his +head, but the rhinoceros was gone. We were fairly beaten, regularly +outpaced; but I believe another two hundred yards would have given us +the victory. "Bravo, Taher!" I shouted. He had ridden splendidly, and +his blow had been marvellously delivered at an extremely long reach, as +he was nearly out of his saddle when he sprang forward to enable the +blade to obtain a cut at the last moment. He could not reach the +hamstring, as his horse could not gain the proper position. + +We all immediately dismounted. The horses were thoroughly done, and I at +once loosened the girths and contemplated my steed Tetel, who, with head +lowered and legs wide apart, was a tolerable example of the effects of +pace. The other aggageers shortly arrived, and as the rival Abou Do +joined us, Taher Sherrif quietly wiped the blood off his sword without +making a remark. This was a bitter moment for the discomfited Abou Do. + +There is only one species of rhinoceros in Abyssinia; this is the +two-horned black rhinoceros, known in South Africa as the keitloa. This +animal is generally five feet six inches to five feet eight inches high +at the shoulder, and, although so bulky and heavily built, it is +extremely active, as our long and fruitless hunt had shown us. The skin +is about half the thickness of that of the hippopotamus, but of extreme +toughness and closeness of texture. When dried and polished it resembles +horn. Unlike the Indian species of rhinoceros, the black variety of +Africa is free from folds, and the hide fits smoothly on the body like +that of the buffalo. This two-horned black species is exceedingly +vicious. It is one of the very few animals that will generally assume +the offensive; it considers all creatures to be enemies, and, although +it is not acute in either sight or hearing, it possesses so wonderful a +power of scent that it will detect a stranger at a distance of five or +six hundred yards should the wind be favorable. + +Florian was now quite incapable of hunting, as he was in a weak state of +health, and had for some months been suffering from chronic dysentery. I +had several times cured him, but he had a weakness for the strongest +black coffee, which, instead of drinking, like the natives, in minute +cups, he swallowed wholesale in large basins several times a day; this +was actual poison with his complaint, and he was completely ruined in +health. At this time his old companion, Johann Schmidt, the carpenter, +arrived, having undertaken a contract to provide for the Italian +Zoological Gardens a number of animals. I therefore proposed that the +two old friends should continue together, while I would hunt by myself, +with the aggageers, toward the east and south. This arrangement was +agreed to, and we parted. + +Our camels returned from Geera with corn, accompanied by an Abyssinian +hunter, who was declared by Abou Do to be a good man and dexterous with +the sword. We accordingly moved our camp, said adieu to Florian and +Johann, and penetrated still deeper into the country of the Bas-e. + +Our course lay, as usual, along the banks of the river. We decided to +encamp at a spot known to the Arabs as Deladilla. This was the forest +upon the margin of the river where I had first shot the bull elephant +when the aggageers fought with him upon foot. I resolved to fire the +entire country on the following day, and to push still farther up the +course of the Settite to the foot of the mountains, and to return to +this camp in about a fortnight, by which time the animals that had been +scared away by the fire would have returned. Accordingly, on the +following morning, accompanied by a few of the aggageers, I started upon +the south bank of the river, and rode for some distance into the +interior, to the ground that was entirely covered with high withered +grass. We were passing through a mass of kittar and thorn-bush, almost +hidden by the immensely high grass, when, as I was ahead of the party, I +came suddenly upon the tracks of rhinoceroses. These were so +unmistakably recent that I felt sure we were not far from the animals +themselves. As I had wished to fire the grass, I was accompanied by my +Tokrooris and my horse-keeper, Mahomet No. 2. It was difficult ground +for the men, and still more unfavorable for the horses, as large +disjointed masses of stone were concealed in the high grass. + +We were just speculating as to the position of the rhinoceros, and +thinking how uncommonly unpleasant it would be should he obtain our +wind, when whiff! whiff! whiff! We heard the sharp whistling snort, with +a tremendous rush through the high grass and thorns close to us, and at +the same moment two of these determined brutes were upon us in full +charge. I never saw such a scrimmage. SAUVE QUI PEUT! There was no time +for more than one look behind. I dug the spurs into Aggahr's flanks, and +clasping him round the neck I ducked my head down to his shoulder, well +protected with my strong hunting-cap, and kept the spurs going as hard +as I could ply them, blindly trusting to Providence and my good horse. +Over big rocks, fallen trees, thick kittar thorns, and grass ten feet +high, with the two infernal animals in full chase only a few feet behind +me! I heard their abominable whiffing close to me, but so did my good +horse, and the good old hunter flew over obstacles in a way I should +have thought impossible, and he dashed straight under the hooked +thorn-bushes and doubled like a hare. The aggageers were all scattered; +Mahomet No. 2 was knocked over by a rhinoceros; all the men were +sprawling upon the rocks with their guns, and the party was entirely +discomfited. + +Having passed the kittar thorn I turned, and, seeing that the beasts had +gone straight on, I brought Aggahr's head round and tried to give chase; +but it was perfectly impossible. It was only a wonder that the horse had +escaped in ground so difficult for riding. Although my clothes were of +the strongest and coarsest Arab cotton cloth, which seldom tore, but +simply lost a thread when caught in a thorn, I was nearly naked. My +blouse was reduced to shreds. As I wore sleeves only half way from the +shoulder to the elbow, my naked arms were streaming with blood. +Fortunately my hunting-cap was secured with a chin strap, and still more +fortunately I had grasped the horse's neck; otherwise I must have been +dragged out of the saddle by the hooked thorns. All the men were cut and +bruised, some having fallen upon their heads among the rocks, and others +had hurt their legs in falling in their endeavors to escape. Mahomet No. +2, the horse-keeper, was more frightened than hurt, as he had been +knocked down by the shoulder and not by the horn of the rhinoceros, as +the animal had not noticed him; its attention was absorbed by the horse. + +I determined to set fire to the whole country immediately, and +descending the hill toward the river to obtain a favorable wind, I put +my men in a line, extending over about a mile along the river's bed, and +they fired the grass in different places. With a loud roar the flame +leaped high in air and rushed forward with astonishing velocity. The +grass was as inflammable as tinder, and the strong north wind drove the +long line of fire spreading in every direction through the country. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A day with the howartis--A hippo's gallant fight--Abou Do leaves +us--Three yards from a lion--Days of delight--A lion's furious +rage--Astounding courage of a horse. + +A LITTLE before sunrise I accompanied the howartis, or +hippopotamus-hunters, for a day's sport. At length we arrived at a large +pool in which were several sand-banks covered with rushes, and many +rocky islands. Among these rocks was a herd of hippopotami, consisting +of an old bull and several cows. A young hippo was standing, like an +ugly little statue, on a protruding rock, while another infant stood +upon its mother's back that listlessly floated on the water. + +This was an admirable place for the hunters. They desired me to lie +down, and they crept into the jungle out of view of the river. I +presently observed them stealthily descending the dry bed about two +hundred paces above the spot where the hippos were basking behind the +rocks. They entered the river and swam down the centre of the stream +toward the rock. This was highly exciting. The hippos were quite +unconscious of the approaching danger, as, steadily and rapidly, the +hunters floated down the strong current. They neared the rock, and both +heads disappeared as they purposely sank out of view; in a few seconds +later they reappeared at the edge of the rock upon which the young hippo +stood. It would be difficult to say which started first, the astonished +young hippo into the water, or the harpoons from the hands of the +howartis! It was the affair of a moment. The hunters dived as soon as +they had hurled their harpoons, and, swimming for some distance under +water, they came to the surface, and hastened to the shore lest an +infuriated hippopotamus should follow them. One harpoon had missed; the +other had fixed the bull of the herd, at which it had been surely aimed. +This was grand sport! The bull was in the greatest fury, and rose to the +surface, snorting and blowing in his impotent rage; but as the ambatch +float was exceedingly large, and this naturally accompanied his +movements, he tried to escape from his imaginary persecutor, and dived +constantly, only to find his pertinacious attendant close to him upon +regaining the surface. This was not to last long; the howartis were in +earnest, and they at once called their party, who, with two of the +aggageers, Abou Do and Suleiman, were near at hand. These men arrived +with the long ropes that form a portion of the outfit of hippo hunting. + +The whole party now halted on the edge of the river, while two men swam +across with one end of the long rope. Upon gaining the opposite bank, I +observed that a second rope was made fast to the middle of the main +line. Thus upon our side we held the ends of two ropes, while on the +opposite side they had only one; accordingly, the point of junction of +the two ropes in the centre formed an acute angle. The object of this +was soon practically explained. Two men upon our side now each held a +rope, and one of these walked about ten yards before the other. Upon +both sides of the river the people now advanced, dragging the rope on +the surface of the water until they reached the ambatch float that was +swimming to and fro, according to the movements of the hippopotamus +below. By a dexterous jerk of the main line the float was now placed +between the two ropes, and it was immediately secured in the acute angle +by bringing together the ends of these ropes on our side. + +The men on the opposite bank now dropped their line, and our men hauled +in upon the ambatch float that was held fast between the ropes. Thus +cleverly made sure, we quickly brought a strain upon the hippo, and, +although I have had some experience in handling big fish, I never knew +one to pull so lustily as the amphibious animal that we now alternately +coaxed and bullied. He sprang out of the water, gnashed his huge jaws, +snorted with tremendous rage, and lashed the river into foam. He then +dived, and foolishly approached us beneath the water. We quickly +gathered in the slack line, and took a round turn upon a large rock, +within a few feet of the river. The hippo now rose to the surface, about +ten yards from the hunters, and, jumping half out of the water, he +snapped his great jaws together, endeavoring to catch the rope; but at +the same instant two harpoons were launched into his side. Disdaining +retreat, and maddened with rage, the furious animal charged from the +depths of the river, and, gaining a footing, he reared his bulky form +from the surface, came boldly upon the sand-bank, and attacked the +hunters open-mouthed. + +He little knew his enemy. They were not the men to fear a pair of gaping +jaws, armed with a deadly array of tusks; but half a dozen lances were +hurled at him, some entering his mouth from a distance of five or six +paces. At the same time several men threw handfuls of sand into his +enormous eyes. This baffled him more than the lances; he crunched the +shafts between his powerful jaws like straws, but he was beaten by the +sand, and, shaking his huge head, he retreated to the river. During his +sally upon the shore two of the hunters had secured the ropes of the +harpoons that had been fastened in his body just before his charge. He +was now fixed by three of these deadly instruments; but suddenly one +rope gave way, having been bitten through by the enraged beast, who was +still beneath the water. Immediately after this he appeared on the +surface, and, without a moment's hesitation, he once more charged +furiously from the water straight at the hunters, with his huge mouth +open to such an extent that he could have accommodated two inside +passengers. Suleiman was wild with delight, and springing forward lance +in hand, he drove it against the head of the formidable animal, but +without effect. At the same time Abou Do met the hippo sword in hand, +reminding me of Perseus slaying the sea-monster that would devour +Andromeda; but the sword made a harmless gash, and the lance, already +blunted against the rocks, refused to penetrate the tough hide. Once +more handfuls of sand were pelted upon his face, and, again repulsed by +this blinding attack, he was forced to retire to his deep hole and wash +it from his eyes. + +Six times during the fight the valiant bull hippo quitted his watery +fortress and charged resolutely at his pursuers. He had broken several +of their lances in his jaws, other lances had been hurled, and, falling +upon the rocks, they were blunted and would not penetrate. The fight had +continued for three hours, and the sun was about to set; accordingly the +hunters begged me to give him the COUP DE GRACE, as they had hauled him +close to the shore, and they feared he would sever the rope with his +teeth. I waited for a good opportunity, when he boldly raised his head +from water about three yards from the rifle, and a bullet from the +little Fletcher between the eyes closed the last act. This spot was not +far from the pyramidical hill beneath which I had fixed our camp, to +which I returned after an amusing day's sport. + +The next morning I started to the mountains to explore the limit that I +had proposed for my expedition on the Settite. The Arabs had informed me +that a river of some importance descended from the mountains and joined +the main stream about twelve miles from our camp. In about three hours +and a half we arrived at Hor Mehetape, the stream that the Arabs had +reported. Although a powerful torrent during the rains, it was +insignificant as one of the tributaries to the Settite, as the breadth +did not exceed twenty-five yards. At this season it was nearly dry, and +at no time did it appear to exceed the depth of ten or twelve feet. It +was merely a rapid mountain torrent. But we were now among the mountains +whose drainage causes the sudden rise of the Atbara and the Nile. + +Abou Do and Suleiman had lately given us some trouble, especially the +former, whose covetous nature had induced him to take much more than his +share of the hides of rhinoceros and other animals shot. The horses of +the aggageers had, moreover, been lamed by reckless riding, and Abou Do +coolly proposed that I should lend them horses. Having a long journey +before me, I refused, and they became discontented. It was time to part, +and I ordered him and his people to return to Geera. As Taher Sherrif's +party had disagreed with Abou Do some time previously, and had left us, +we were now left without aggageers. + +On the following day I succeeded in killing a buffalo, which I ordered +my men, after they had flayed it, to leave as a bait for lions. + +That night we were serenaded by the roaring of these animals in all +directions, one of them having visited our camp, around which we +discovered his footprints on the following morning. I accordingly took +Taher Noor, with Hadji Ali and Hassan, two of my trusty Tokrooris, and +went straight to the spot where I had left the carcass of the buffalo. +As I had expected, nothing remained--not even a bone. The ground was +much trampled, and tracks of lions were upon the sand; but the body of +the buffalo had been dragged into the thorny jungle. I was determined, +if possible, to get a shot; therefore I followed carefully the track +left by the carcass, which had formed a path in the withered grass. +Unfortunately the lions had dragged the buffalo down wind; therefore, +after I had arrived within the thick nabbuk and high grass, I came to +the conclusion that my only chance would be to make a long circuit, and +to creep up wind through the thorns, until I should be advised by my +nose of the position of the carcass, as it would by this time be in a +state of putrefaction, and the lions would most probably be with the +body. Accordingly I struck off to my left, and continuing straight +forward for some hundred yards, I again struck into the thick jungle and +came round to the wind. Success depended on extreme caution; therefore I +advised my three men to keep close behind me with the spare rifles, as I +carried my single-barrelled Beattie. This rifle was extremely accurate, +therefore I had chosen it for this close work, when I expected to get a +shot at the eye or forehead of a lion crouching in the bush. + +Softly and with difficulty I crept forward, followed closely by my men, +through the high withered grass, beneath the dense green nabbuk bushes, +peering through the thick covert, with the nerves braced up to full +pitch, and the finger on the trigger ready for any emergency. We had +thus advanced for about half an hour, during which I frequently applied +my nose to within a foot of the ground to catch the scent, when a sudden +puff of wind brought the unmistakable smell of decomposing flesh. For +the moment I halted, and, looking round to my men, I made a sign that we +were near to the carcass, and that they were to be ready with the +rifles. Again I crept gently forward, bending and sometimes crawling +beneath the thorns to avoid the slightest noise. As I approached the +scent became stronger, until I at length felt that I must be close to +the cause. + +This was highly exciting. Fully prepared for a quick shot, I stealthily +crept on. A tremendous roar in the dense thorns within a few feet of me +suddenly brought my rifle to the shoulder. Almost in the same instant I +observed the three-quarter figure of either a lion or a lioness within +three yards of me, on the other side of the bush under which I had been +creeping. The foliage concealed the head, but I could almost have +touched the shoulder with my rifle. Much depended upon the bullet, and I +fired exactly through the shoulder. Another tremendous roar! and a crash +in the bushes as the animal made a bound forward was succeeded +immediately by a similar roar, as another lion took the exact position +of the last, and stood wondering at the report of the rifle, and seeking +for the cause of the intrusion. This was a grand lion with a shaggy +mane; but my rifle was unloaded, and, keeping my eyes fixed on the +beast, I stretched my hand back for a spare rifle. The lion remained +standing, but gazing up wind with his head raised, snuffing in the air +for a scent of the enemy. No rifle was put in my hand. I looked back for +an instant, and saw my Tokrooris faltering about five yards behind me. I +looked daggers at them, gnashing my teeth and shaking my fist. They saw +the lion, and Taher Noor snatching a rifle from Hadji Ali was just about +to bring it; when Hassan, ashamed, ran forward. The lion disappeared at +the same moment. Never was such a fine chance lost through the +indecision of the gun bearers! I made a vow never to carry a +single-barrelled rifle again when hunting large game. If I had had my +dear little Fletcher 24 1 should have nailed the lion to a certainty. + +However, there was not much time for reflection. Where was the first +lion? Some remains of the buffalo lay upon my right, and I expected to +find the lion most probably crouching in the thorns somewhere near us. +Having reloaded, I took one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles and listened +attentively for a sound. Presently I heard within a few yards a low +growl. Taher Noor drew his sword and, with his shield before him, he +searched for the lion, while I crept forward toward the sound, which was +again repeated. A low roar, accompanied by a rush in the jungle, showed +us a glimpse of the lion as he bounded off within ten or twelve yards; +but I had no chance to fire. Again the low growl was repeated, and upon +quietly creeping toward the spot I saw a splendid animal crouched upon +the ground amid the withered and broken grass. The lioness lay dying +with the bullet wound in the shoulder. Occasionally in her rage she bit +her own paw violently, and then struck and clawed the ground. A pool of +blood lay by her side. She was about ten yards from us, and I instructed +my men to throw a clod of earth at her (there were no stones), to prove +whether she could rise, while I stood ready with the rifle. She merely +replied with a dull roar, and I terminated her misery by a ball through +the head. She was a beautiful animal. The patch of the bullet was +sticking in the wound. She was shot through both shoulders, and as we +were not far from the tent I determined to have her brought to camp upon +a camel as an offering to my wife. Accordingly I left my Tokrooris, +while I went with Taher Noor to fetch a camel. + +On our road through the thick jungle I was startled by a rush close to +me. For the moment I thought it was a lion, but almost at the same +instant I saw a fine nellut dashing away before me, and I killed it +immediately with a bullet through the back of the neck. This was great +luck, and we now required two camels, as in two shots I had killed a +lioness and a nellut (A. Strepsiceros). + +We remained for some time at our delightful camp at Delladilla. Every +day, from sunrise to sunset, I was either on foot or in the saddle, +without rest, except upon Sundays. As our camp was full of meat, either +dried or in the process of drying in festoons upon the trees, we had +been a great attraction to the beasts of prey, which constantly prowled +around our thorn fence during the night. One night in particular a lion +attempted to enter, but had been repulsed by the Tokrooris, who pelted +him with firebrands. My people woke me up and begged me to shoot him; +but as it was perfectly impossible to fire correctly through the hedge +of thorns, I refused to be disturbed, but promised to hunt for him on +the following day. Throughout the entire night the lion prowled around +the camp, growling and uttering his peculiar guttural sigh. Not one of +my people slept, as they declared he would bound into the camp and take +somebody unless they kept up the watch-fires and drove him away with +brands. The next day before sunrise I called Hassan and Hadji Ali, whom +I lectured severely upon their cowardice on a former occasion, and +received their promise to follow me to death. I intrusted them with my +two Reillys No. 10, and with my little Fletcher in hand I determined to +spend the whole day in searching every thicket of the forest for lions, +as I felt convinced that the animal that had disturbed us during the +night was concealed somewhere within the neighboring jungle. + +The whole day passed fruitlessly. I had crept through the thickest +thorns in vain; having abundance of meat, I had refused the most +tempting shots at buffaloes and large antelopes, as I had devoted myself +exclusively to lions. I was much disappointed, as the evening had +arrived without a shot having been fired, and as the sun had nearly set +I wandered slowly toward home. Passing through alternate open glades of +a few yards' width, hemmed in on all sides by thick jungle, I was +carelessly carrying my rifle upon my shoulder, as I pushed my way +through the opposing thorns, when a sudden roar, just before me, at once +brought the rifle upon full cock, and I saw a magnificent lion standing +in the middle of the glade, about ten yards from me. He had been lying +on the ground, and had started to his feet upon hearing me approach +through the jungle. For an instant he stood in an attitude of attention, +as we were hardly visible; but at the same moment I took a quick but +sure shot with the little Fletcher. He gave a convulsive bound, but +rolled over backward; before he could recover himself I fired the +left-hand barrel. + +It was a glorious sight. I had advanced a few steps into the glade, and +Hassan had quickly handed me a spare rifle, while Taher Noor stood by me +sword in hand. The lion in the greatest fury, with his shaggy mane +bristling in the air, roared with death-like growls, as open-mouthed he +endeavored to charge upon us; but he dragged his hind-quarters upon the +ground, and I saw immediately that the little Fletcher had broken his +spine. In his tremendous exertions to attack he rolled over and over, +gnashing his horrible jaws and tearing holes in the sandy ground at each +blow of his tremendous paws that would have crushed a man's skull like +an egg-shell. Seeing that he was hors de combat I took it coolly, as it +was already dusk, and the lion having rolled into a dark and thick bush +I thought it would be advisable to defer the final attack, as he would +be dead before morning. We were not ten minutes' walk from the camp, at +which we quickly arrived, and my men greatly rejoiced at the +discomfiture of their enemy, as they were convinced that he was the same +lion that had attempted to enter the zareeba. + +On the following morning before sunrise I started with nearly all my +people and a powerful camel, with the intention of bringing the lion +home entire. I rode my horse Tetel, who had frequently shown great +courage, and I wished to prove whether he would advance to the body of a +lion. + +Upon arrival near the spot which we supposed to have been the scene of +the encounter, we were rather puzzled, as there was nothing to +distinguish the locality; one place exactly resembled another, as the +country was flat and sandy, interspersed with thick jungle of green +nabbuk. We accordingly spread out to beat for the lion. Presently Hadji +Ali cried out, "There he lies, dead!" and I immediately rode to the spot +together with the people. A tremendous roar greeted us as the lion +started to his fore-feet, and with his beautiful mane erect and his +great hazel eyes flashing fire he gave a succession of deep short roars, +and challenged us to fight. This was a grand picture. He looked like a +true lord of the forest; but I pitied the poor brute, as he was +helpless, and although his spirit was game to the last, his strength was +paralyzed by a broken back. + +It was a glorious opportunity for the horse. At the first unexpected +roar the camel had bolted with its rider. The horse had for a moment +started on one side, and the men had scattered; but in an instant I had +reined Tetel up, and I now rode straight toward the lion, who courted +the encounter about twenty paces distant. I halted exactly opposite the +noble-looking beast, who, seeing me in advance of the party, increased +his rage and growled deeply, fixing his glance upon the horse. I now +patted Tetel on the neck and spoke to him coaxingly. He gazed intently +at the lion, erected his mane, and snorted, but showed no signs of +retreat. "Bravo! old boy!" I said, and, encouraging him by caressing his +neck with my hand, I touched his flank gently with my heel. I let him +just feel my hand upon the rein, and with a "Come along, old lad," Tetel +slowly but resolutely advanced step by step toward the infuriated lion, +that greeted him with continued growls. The horse several times snorted +loudly and stared fixedly at the terrible face before him; but as I +constantly patted and coaxed him he did not refuse to advance. I checked +him when within about six yards of the lion. + +This would have made a magnificent picture, as the horse, with +astounding courage, faced the lion at bay. Both animals kept their eyes +fixed upon each other, the one beaming with rage, the other cool with +determination. This was enough. I dropped the reins upon his neck; it +was a signal that Tetel perfectly understood, and he stood firm as a +rock, for he knew that I was about to fire. I took aim at the head of +the glorious but distressed lion, and a bullet from the little Fletcher +dropped him dead. Tetel never flinched at a shot. I now dismounted, and, +having patted and coaxed the horse, I led him up to the body of the +lion, which I also patted, and then gave my hand to the horse to smell. +He snorted once or twice, and as I released my hold of the reins and +left him entirely free, he slowly lowered his head and sniffed the mane +of the dead lion. He then turned a few paces upon one side and commenced +eating the withered grass beneath the nabbuk bushes. + +My Arabs were perfectly delighted with this extraordinary instance of +courage exhibited by the horse. I had known that the beast was disabled, +but Tetel had advanced boldly toward the angry jaws of a lion that +appeared about to spring. The camel was now brought to the spot and +blindfolded, while we endeavored to secure the lion upon its back. As +the camel knelt, it required the united exertions of eight men, +including myself, to raise the ponderous animal and to secure it across +the saddle. + +Although so active and cat-like in its movements, a full-grown lion +weighs about five hundred and fifty pounds. Having secured it we shortly +arrived in camp. The COUP D'OEIL was beautiful, as the camel entered the +enclosure with the shaggy head and massive paws of the dead lion hanging +upon one flank, while the tail nearly descended to the ground upon the +opposite side. It was laid at full length before my wife, to whom the +claws were dedicated as a trophy to be worn around the neck as a +talisman. Not only are the claws prized by the Arabs, but the mustache +of the lion is carefully preserved and sewn in a leather envelope, to be +worn as an amulet; such a charm is supposed to protect the wearer from +the attacks of wild animals. + +We were now destined to be deprived of two members of the party. Mahomet +had become simply unbearable, and he was so impertinent that I was +obliged to take a thin cane from one of the Arabs and administer a +little physical advice. An evil spirit possessed the man, and he bolted +off with some of the camel men who were returning to Geera with dried +meat. + +Our great loss was Barrake. She had persisted in eating the fruit of the +hegleek, although she had suffered from dysentery upon several +occasions. She was at length attacked with congestion of the liver. My +wife took the greatest care of her, and for weeks she had given her the +entire produce of the goats, hoping that milk would keep up her +strength; but she died after great suffering, and we buried the poor +creature, and moved our camp. + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +The bull-elephant--Daring Hamrans--The elephant helpless--Visited by a +minstrel--A determined musician--The nest of the outlaws --The Atbara +River + +Having explored the Settite into the gorge of the mountain chain of +Abyssinia, we turned due south from our camp at Deladilla, and at a +distance of twelve miles reached the river Royan. Our course now was +directed up this stream, and at the junction of the Hor Mai Gubba, or +Habbuk River, some of my Arabs, observing fresh tracks of horses on the +sand, went in search of the aggageers of Taher Sherrif's party, whom +they had expected to meet at this point. Soon after, they returned with +the aggageers, whose camp was but a quarter of a mile distant. I agreed +to have a hunt for elephants the next day with Taher Sherrif, and before +the following sunrise we had started up the course of the Royan for a +favorite resort of elephants. + +We had ridden about thirty miles, and were beginning to despair, when +suddenly we turned a sharp angle in the watercourse, and Taher Sherrif, +who was leading, immediately reined in his horse and backed him toward +the party. I followed his example, and we were at once concealed by the +sharp bend of the river. He now whispered that a bull-elephant was +drinking from a hole it had scooped in the sand, not far around the +corner. Without the slightest confusion the hunters at once fell quietly +into their respective places, Taher Sherrif leading, while I followed +closely in the line, with my Tokrooris bringing up the rear; we were a +party of seven horses. + +Upon turning the corner we at once perceived the elephant, that was +still drinking. It was a fine bull. The enormous ears were thrown +forward, as the head was lowered in the act of drawing up the water +through the trunk. These shaded the eyes, and with the wind favorable we +advanced noiselessly upon the sand to within twenty yards before we were +perceived. The elephant then threw up its head, and with the ears +flapping forward it raised its trunk for an instant, and then slowly but +easily ascended the steep bank and retreated. The aggageers now halted +for about a minute to confer together, and then followed in their +original order up the crumbled bank. We were now on most unfavorable +ground; the fire that had cleared the country we had hitherto traversed +had been stopped by the bed of the torrent. We were thus plunged at once +into withered grass above our heads, unless we stood in the stirrups. +The ground was strewn with fragments of rock, and altogether it was +ill-adapted for riding. + +However, Taher Sherrif broke into a trot, followed by the entire party, +as the elephant was not in sight. We ascended a hill, and when near the +summit we perceived the elephant about eighty yards ahead. It was +looking behind during its retreat, by swinging its huge head from side +to side, and upon seeing us approach it turned suddenly round and +halted. + +"Be ready, and take care of the rocks!" said Taher Sherrif, as I rode +forward by his side. Hardly had he uttered these words of caution when +the bull gave a vicious jerk with its head, and with a shrill scream +charged down upon us with the greatest fury. Away we all went, +helter-skelter, through the dry grass, which whistled in my ears, over +the hidden rocks, at full gallop, with the elephant tearing after us for +about a hundred and eighty yards at a tremendous pace. Tetel was a +sure-footed horse, and being unshod he never slipped upon the stones. +Thus, as we all scattered in different directions, the elephant became +confused and relinquished the chase. It had been very near me at one +time, and in such ground I was not sorry when it gave up the hunt. We +now quickly united and again followed the elephant, that had once more +retreated. Advancing at a canter, we shortly came in view. Upon seeing +the horses the bull deliberately entered a stronghold composed of rocky +and uneven ground, in the clefts of which grew thinly a few leafless +trees of the thickness of a man's leg. It then turned boldly toward us, +and stood determinedly at bay. + +Now came the tug of war! Taher Sherrif came close to me, and said, "You +had better shoot the elephant, as we shall have great difficulty in this +rocky ground." This I declined, as I wished the fight ended as it had +been commenced, with the sword; and I proposed that he should endeavor +to drive the animal to more favorable ground. "Never mind," replied +Taher, "Inshallah (please God) he shall not beat us." He now advised me +to keep as close to him as possible and to look sharp for a charge. + +The elephant stood facing us like a statue; it did not move a muscle +beyond a quick and restless action of the eyes, that were watching all +sides. Taher Sherrif and his youngest brother, Ibrahim, now separated, +and each took opposite sides of the elephant, and then joined each other +about twenty yards behind it. I accompanied them, until Taher advised me +to keep about the same distance upon the left flank. My Tokrooris kept +apart from the scene, as they were not required. In front of the +elephant were two aggageers, one of whom was the renowned Roder Sherrif, +with the withered arm. All being ready for action, Roder now rode slowly +toward the head of the cunning old bull, who was quietly awaiting an +opportunity to make certain of some one who might give him a good +chance. + +Roder Sherrif rode a bay mare that, having been thoroughly trained to +these encounters, was perfect at her work. Slowly and coolly she +advanced toward her wary antagonist until within about eight or nine +yards of the elephant's head. The creature never moved, and the mise en +scene was beautiful. Not a word was spoken, and we kept our places amid +utter stillness, which was at length broken by a snort from the mare, +who gazed intently at the elephant, as though watching for the moment of +attack. + +One more pace forward, and Roder sat coolly upon his mare, with his eyes +fixed upon those of the elephant. For an instant I saw the white of the +eye nearest to me. "Look out, Roder, he's coming!" I exclaimed. With a +shrill scream the elephant dashed upon him like an avalanche. + +Round went the mare as though upon a pivot, and away, over rocks and +stones, flying like a gazelle, with the monkey-like form of little Roder +Sherrif leaning forward, and looking over his left shoulder as the +elephant rushed after him. + +For a moment I thought he must be caught. Had the mare stumbled, all +were lost; but she gained in the race after a few quick, bounding +strides, and Roder, still looking behind him, kept his distance so close +to the elephant that its outstretched trunk was within a few feet of the +mare's tail. + +Taher Sherrif and his brother Ibrahim swept down like falcons in the +rear. In full speed they dexterously avoided the trees until they +arrived upon open ground, when they dashed up close to the hind-quarters +of the furious elephant, which, maddened with the excitement, heeded +nothing but Roder and his mare, that were almost within its grasp. When +close to the tail of the elephant Taher Sherrif's sword flashed from its +sheath, as grasping his trusty blade he leaped nimbly to the ground, +while Ibrahim caught the reins of his horse. Two or three bounds on +foot, with the sword clutched in both hands, and he was close behind the +elephant. A bright glance shone like lightning as the sun struck upon +the descending steel; this was followed by a dull crack, as the sword +cut through skin and sinews, and settled deep in the bone, about twelve +inches above the foot. At the next stride the elephant halted dead short +in the midst of its tremendous charge. Taher had jumped quickly on one +side, and had vaulted into the saddle with his naked sword in hand. At +the same moment Roder, who had led the chase, turned sharp round, and +again faced the elephant as before. Stooping quickly from the saddle, he +picked up from the ground a handful of dirt, which he threw into the +face of the vicious-looking animal, that once more attempted to rush +upon him. It was impossible! The foot was dislocated, and turned up in +front like an old shoe. In an instant Taher was once more on foot, and +the sharp sword slashed the remaining leg. + +The great bull-elephant could not move! The first cut with the sword had +utterly disabled it; the second was its deathblow. The arteries of the +leg were divided, and the blood spouted in jets from the wounds. I +wished to terminate its misery by a bullet behind the ear, but Taher +Sherrif begged me not to fire, as the elephant would quickly bleed to +death without pain, and an unnecessary shot might attract the Base, who +would steal the flesh and ivory during our absence. We were obliged to +return immediately to our far distant camp, and the hunters resolved to +accompany their camels to the spot on the following day. We turned our +horses' heads, and rode directly toward home, which we did not reach +until nearly midnight, having ridden upward of sixty miles during the +day. + +The hunting of Taher Sherrif and his brothers was superlatively +beautiful; with an immense amount of dash there was a cool, +sportsman-like manner in their mode of attack that far excelled the +impetuous and reckless onset of Abou Do. It was difficult to decide +which to admire the more, the coolness and courage of him who led the +elephant, or the extraordinary skill and activity of the aggahr who +dealt the fatal blow. + +After hunting and exploring for some days in this neighborhood, I +determined to follow the bed of the Royan to its junction with the +Settite. We started at daybreak, and after a long march along the sandy +bed, hemmed in by high banks or by precipitous cliffs of sandstone, we +arrived at the junction. + +Having explored the entire country and enjoyed myself thoroughly, I was +now determined to pay our promised visit to Mek Nimmur. Since our +departure from the Egyptian territory his country had been invaded by a +large force, according to orders sent from the Governor- General of the +Soudan. Mek Nimmur as usual retreated to the mountains, but Mai Gubba +and a number of his villages were utterly destroyed by the Egyptians. He +would under these circumstances be doubly suspicious of strangers. + +We were fortunate, however, in unexpectedly meeting a party of Mek +Nimmur's followers on a foray, who consented to guide us to his +encampment. Accordingly on March 20th, we found ourselves in a rich and +park-like valley occupied by his people, and the day following was spent +in receiving visits from the head men. Messengers soon after arrived +from Mek Nimmur inviting us to pay him a visit at his residence. + +As we were conversing with Mek Nimmur's messengers through the medium of +Taher Noor, who knew their language, our attention was attracted by the +arrival of a tremendous swell, who at a distance I thought must be Mek +Nimmur himself. A snow-white mule carried an equally snow-white person, +whose tight white pantaloons looked as though he had forgotten his +trousers and had mounted in his drawers. He carried a large umbrella to +shade his complexion; a pair of handsome silver-mounted pistols were +arranged upon his saddle, and a silver-hilted curved sword, of the +peculiar Abyssinian form, hung by his side. This grand personage was +followed by an attendant, also mounted upon a mule, while several men on +foot accompanied them, one of whom carried his lance and shield. Upon +near approach he immediately dismounted and advanced toward us, bowing +in a most foppish manner, while his attendant followed him on foot with +an enormous violin, which he immediately handed to him. This fiddle was +very peculiar in shape, being a square, with an exceedingly long neck +extending from one corner. Upon this was stretched a solitary string, +and the bow was very short and much bent. This was an Abyssinian +Paganini. He was a professional minstrel of the highest grade, who had +been sent by Mek Nimmur to welcome us on our arrival. + +These musicians are very similar to the minstrels of ancient times. They +attend at public rejoicings, and at births, deaths, and marriages of +great personages, upon which occasions they extemporize their songs +according to circumstances. My hunting in the Base country formed his +theme, and for at least an hour he sang of my deeds in an extremely loud +and disagreeable voice, while he accompanied himself upon his fiddle, +which he held downward like a violoncello. During the whole of his song +he continued in movement, marching with a sliding step to the front, and +gliding to the right and left in a manner that, though intended to be +graceful, was extremely comic. The substance of this minstrelsy was +explained to me by Taher Noor, who listened eagerly to the words, which +he translated with evident satisfaction. Of course, like all minstrels, +he was an absurd flatterer, and, having gathered a few facts for his +theme, he wandered slightly from the truth in his poetical description +of my deeds. + +He sang of me as though I had been Richard Coeur de Lion, and recounted, +before an admiring throng of listeners, how I had wandered with a young +wife from my own distant country to fight the terrible Base; how I had +slain them in a single combat, and bow elephants and lions were struck +down like lambs and kids by my hands. That during my absence in the hunt +my wife had been carried off by the Base; that I had, on my return to my +pillaged camp, galloped off in chase, and, overtaking the enemy, +hundreds had fallen by my rifle and sword, and I had liberated and +recovered the lady, who now had arrived safe with her lord in the +country of the great Mek Nimmur, etc., etc. + +This was all very pretty, no doubt, and as true as most poetical and +musical descriptions; but I felt certain that there must be something to +pay for this flattering entertainment. If you are considered to be a +great man, a PRESENT is invariably expected in proportion to your +importance. I suggested to Taher Noor that I must give him a couple of +dollars. "What!" said Taher Noor, "a couple of dollars? Impossible! a +musician of his standing is accustomed to receive thirty and forty +dollars from great people for so beautiful and honorable a song." + +This was somewhat startling. I began to reflect upon the price of a box +at Her Majesty's Theatre in London; but there I was not the hero of the +opera. This minstrel combined the whole affair in a most simple manner. +He was Verdi, Costa, and orchestra all in one. He was a thorough +Macaulay as historian, therefore I had to pay the composer as well as +the fiddler. I compromised the matter, and gave him a few dollars, as I +understood that he was Mek Nimmur's private minstrel; but I never parted +with my dear Maria Theresa (* The Austrian dollar, that is the only +large current coin in that country.) with so much regret as upon that +occasion, and I begged him not to incommode himself by paying us another +visit, or, should he be obliged to do so, I trusted he would not think +it necessary to bring his violin. + +The minstrel retired in the same order that he had arrived, and I +watched his retreating figure with unpleasant reflections, that were +suggested by doubts as to whether I had paid him too little or too much. +Taher Noor thought that he was underpaid; my own opinion was that I had +brought a curse upon myself equal to a succession of London +organ-grinders, as I fully expected that other minstrels, upon hearing +of the Austrian dollars, would pay us a visit and sing of my great +deeds. + +In the afternoon we were sitting beneath the shade of our tamarind tree, +when we thought we could perceive our musical friend returning. As he +drew near, we were convinced that it was the identical minstrel, who had +most probably been sent with a message from Mek Nimmur. There he was, in +snow-white raiment, on the snow-white mule, with the mounted attendant +and the violin as before. He dismounted upon arrival opposite the camp, +and approached with his usual foppish bow; but we looked on in +astonishment: it was not our Paganini, it was ANOTHER MINSTREL! who was +determined to sing an ode in our praise. I felt that this was an +indirect appeal to Maria Theresa, and I at once declared against music. +I begged him not to sing; "my wife had a headache--I disliked the +fiddle--could He play anything else instead?" and I expressed a variety +of polite excuses, but to no purpose; he insisted upon singing. If I +disliked the fiddle, he would sing without an accompaniment, but he +could not think of insulting so great a man as myself by returning +without an ode to commemorate our arrival. + +I was determined that he should NOT sing; he was determined that he +WOULD, therefore I desired him to leave my camp. This he agreed to do, +provided I would allow him to cross the stream and sing to my Tokrooris +in my praise, beneath a neighboring tree about fifty yards distant. He +remounted his mule with his violin, to ford the muddy stream, and +descended the steep bank, followed by his attendant on foot, who drove +the unwilling mule. Upon arrival at the brink of the dirty brook, that +was about three feet deep, the mule positively refused to enter the +water, and stood firm with its fore feet sunk deep in the mud. The +attendant attempted to push it on behind, and at the same time gave it a +sharp blow with his sheathed sword. This changed the scene to the "opera +comique." In one instant the mule gave so vigorous and unexpected a kick +into the bowels of the attendant that he fell upon his back, heels, +uppermost, while at the same moment the minstrel, in his snow-white +garments, was precipitated head fore-most into the muddy brook, and, for +the moment disappearing, the violin alone could be seen floating on the +surface. A second later, a wretched-looking object, covered with slime +and filth, emerged from the slongh; this was Paganini the second! who, +after securing his fiddle, that had stranded on a mud-bank, scrambled up +the steel slope, amid the roars of laughter of my people and of +ourselves, while the perverse mule, having turned harmony into discord, +kicked up its heels and galloped off, braying an ode in praise of +liberty, as the "Lay of the Last Minstrel." The discomfited fiddler was +wiped down by my Tokrooris, who occasionally burst into renewed fits of +laughter during the operation. The mule was caught, and the minstrel +remounted, and returned home completely out of tune. + +On the following morning at sunrise I mounted my horse, and, accompanied +by Taher Noor and Bacheet, I rode to pay my respects to Mek Nimmur. Our +route lay parallel to the stream, and after a ride of about two miles +through a fine park-like country, bounded by the Abyssinian Alps about +fifteen miles distant, I observed a crowd of people round a large +tamarind tree, near which were standing a number of horses, mules, and +dromedaries. This was the spot upon which I was to meet Mek Nimmur. Upon +my approach the crowd opened, and, having dismounted, I was introduced +by Taher Noor to the great chief. He was a man of about fifty, and +exceedingly dirty in appearance. He sat upon an angarep, surrounded by +his people; lying on either side upon his seat were two brace of +pistols, and within a few yards stood his horse ready saddled. He was +prepared for fight or flight, as were also his ruffianly looking +followers, who were composed of Abyssinians and Jaleens. After a long +and satisfactory conversation I retired. Immediately on my arrival at +camp I despatched Wat Gamma with a pair of beautiful double-barrelled +pistols, which I begged Mek Nimmur to accept. On March 27th we said +good-by and started for the Bahr Salaam. + +The next few days we spent in exploring the Salaam and Angrab rivers. +They are interesting examples of the destructive effect of water, that +has during the course of ages cut through and hollowed out, in the solid +rock, a succession of the most horrible precipices and caverns, in which +the maddened torrents, rushing from the lofty chain of mountains, boil +along until they meet the Atbara and assist to flood the Nile. No one +could explore these tremendous torrents, the Settite, Royan, Angrab, +Salaam, and Atbara, without at once comprehending their effect upon the +waters of the Nile. The magnificent chain of mountains from which they +flow is not a simple line of abrupt sides, but the precipitous slopes +are the walls of a vast plateau, that receives a prodigious rainfall in +June, July, August, and until the middle of September, the entire +drainage of which is carried away by the above-named channels to +inundate Lower Egypt. + +I thoroughly explored the beautiful country of the Salaam and Angrab, +and on the 14th of April we pushed on for Gallabat, the frontier +market-town of Abyssinia. + +We arrived at our old friend, the Atbara River, at the sharp angle as it +issues from the mountains. At this place it was in its infancy. The +noble Atbara, whose course we had tracked for hundreds of weary miles, +and whose tributaries we had so carefully examined, was here a +second-class mountain torrent, about equal to the Royan, and not to be +named in comparison with the Salaam or Angrab. The power of the Atbara +depended entirely upon the western drainage of the Abyssinian Alps; of +itself it was insignificant until aided by the great arteries of the +mountain-chain. The junction of the Salaam at once changed its +character, and the Settite or Taccazzy completed its importance as the +great river of Abyssinia, that has washed down the fertile soil of those +regions to create the Delta of Lower Egypt, and to perpetuate that Delta +by annual deposits, that ARE NOW FORMING A NEW EGYPT BENEATH THE WATERS +OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. We had seen the Atbara a bed of glaring sand--a +mere continuation of the burning desert that surrounded its +course--fringed by a belt of withered trees, like a monument sacred to +the memory of a dead river. We had seen the sudden rush of waters when, +in the still night, the mysterious stream had invaded the dry bed and +swept all before it like an awakened giant; we knew at that moment "the +rains were falling in Abyssinia," although the sky above us was without +a cloud. We had subsequently witnessed that tremendous rainfall, and +seen the Atbara at its grandest flood. We had traced each river and +crossed each tiny stream that fed the mighty Atbara from the +mountain-chain, and we now, after our long journey, forded the Atbara in +its infancy, hardly knee-deep, over its rocky bed of about sixty yards' +width, and camped in the little village of Toganai, on the rising ground +upon the opposite side. It was evening, and we sat upon an angarep among +the lovely hills that surrounded us, and looked down upon the Atbara for +the last time, as the sun sank behind the rugged mountain of Ras el Feel +(the elephant's head). Once more I thought of that wonderful river Nile, +that could flow forever through the exhausting deserts of sand, while +the Atbara, during the summer months, shrank to a dry skeleton, although +the powerful affluents, the Salaam and the Settite, never ceased to +flow; every drop of their waters was evaporated by the air and absorbed +by the desert sand in the bed of the Atbara, two hundred miles above its +junction with the Nile! + +The Atbara exploration was completed, and I looked forward to the fresh +enterprise of exploring new rivers and lower latitudes, that should +unravel the mystery of the Nile! + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Abyssinian slave-girls--Khartoum--The Soudan under Egyptian rule +--Slave-trade in the Soudan--The obstacles ahead. + +A rapid march of sixteen miles brought us to Metemma or Gallabat. As we +descended the valley we perceived great crowds of people in and about +the town, which, in appearance, was merely a repetition of Katariff. It +was market-day, and as we descended the hill and arrived in the scene +below, with our nine camels heavily laden with the heads and horns of a +multitude of different beasts, from the gaping jaws of hippopotami to +the vicious-looking heads of rhinoceroses and buffaloes, while the skins +of lions and various antelopes were piled above masses of the +much-prized hide of the rhinoceros, we were beset by crowds of people, +who were curious to know whence so strange a party had come. We formed a +regular procession through the market, our Tokrooris feeling quite at +home among so many of their brethren. + +While here I visited the establishments of the various slave merchants. +These were arranged under large tents formed of matting, and contained +many young girls of extreme beauty, ranging from nine to seventeen years +of age. These lovely captives, of a rich brown tint, with delicately +formed features, and eyes like those of the gazelle, were natives of the +Galla, on the borders of Abyssinia, from which country they were brought +by the Abyssinian traders to be sold for the Turkish harems. Although +beautiful, these girls are useless for hard labor; they quickly fade +away, and die unless kindly treated. They are the Venuses of that +country, and not only are their faces and figures perfection, but they +become extremely attached to those who show them kindness, and they make +good and faithful wives. There is something peculiarly captivating in +the natural grace and softness of these young beauties, whose hearts +quickly respond to those warmer feelings of love that are seldom known +among the sterner and coarser tribes. Their forms are peculiarly elegant +and graceful; the hands and feet are exquisitely delicate; the nose is +generally slightly aquiline, the nostrils large and finely shaped; the +hair is black and glossy, reaching to about the middle of the back, but +rather coarse in texture. These girls, although natives of Galla, +invariably call themselves Abyssinians, and are generally known under +that name. They are exceedingly proud and high-spirited, and are +remarkably quick at learning. At Khartoum several of the Europeans of +high standing have married these charming ladies, who have invariably +rewarded their husbands by great affection and devotion. The price of +one of these beauties of nature at Gallabat was from twenty-five to +forty dollars! + +On the march from Gallabat to the Rahad River I was so unfortunate as to +lose my two horses, Gazelle and Aggahr. The sudden change of food from +dry grass to the young herbage which had appeared after a few showers, +brought on inflammation of the bowels, which carried them off in a few +hours. We now travelled for upward of a hundred miles along the bank of +the Rahad, through a monotonous scene of flat alluvial soil. The entire +country would be a Mine of wealth were it planted with cotton, Which +could be transported by river to Katariff, and thence directly to +Souakim. + +I shall not weary the reader with the details of the rest of our journey +to Khartoum, the capital of the Soudan provinces, at which we arrived on +the 11th of June. + +The difference between the appearance of Khartoum at the distance of a +mile, with the sun shining upon the bright river Nile in the foreground, +and its appearance upon close inspection, was equal to the difference in +the scenery of a theatre as regarded from the boxes or from the stage. +Even that painful exposure of an optical illusion would be trifling +compared with the imposture of Khartoum. The sense of sight had been +deceived by distance, but the sense of smell was outraged by innumerable +nuisances, when we set foot within the filthy and miserable town. After +winding through some narrow, dusty lanes, hemmed in by high walls of +sun-baked bricks that had fallen in gaps in several places, exposing +gardens of prickly pears and date palms, we at length arrived at a large +open place, that, if possible, smelt more strongly than the landing +spot. Around this square, which was full of holes where the mud had been +excavated for brick-making, were the better class of houses; this was +the Belgravia of Khartoum. In the centre of a long mud wall, ventilated +by certain attempts at frameless windows, guarded by rough wooden bars, +we perceived a large archway with closed doors. Above this entrance was +a shield, with a device that gladdened my English eyes: there was the +British lion and the unicorn! Not such a lion as I had been accustomed +to meet in his native jungles, a yellow cowardly fellow that had often +slunk away from the very prey from which I had driven him; but a real +red British lion, that, although thin and ragged in the unhealthy +climate of Khartoum, looked as though he was pluck to the back-bone. + +This was the English Consulate. The consul was absent, in the hope of +meeting Speke and Grant in the upper Nile regions, on the road from +Zanzibar, but he had kindly placed rooms at our disposal. + +For some months we resided at Khartoum, as it was necessary to make +extensive preparations for the White Nile expedition, and to await the +arrival of the north wind, which would enable us to start early in +December. Although the north and south winds blow alternately for six +months, and the former commences in October, it does not extend many +degrees southward until the beginning of December. This is a great +drawback to White Nile exploration, as, when near the north side of the +equator, the dry season commences in November and closes in February; +thus the departure from Khartoum should take place by a steamer in the +latter part of September. That would enable the traveller to leave +Gondokoro, lat. N. 4 "degrees" 54', shortly before November. He would +then secure three months of favorable weather for an advance inland. + +Khartoum is a wretchedly unhealthy town, containing about thirty +thousand inhabitants, exclusive of troops. In spite of its unhealthiness +and low situation, on a level with the river at the junction of the Blue +and White Niles, it is the general emporium for the trade of the Soudan, +from which the productions of the country are transported to Lower +Egypt, i.e. ivory, hides, senna, gum arabic, and beeswax. During my +experience of Khartoum it was the hotbed of the slave-trade. It will be +remarked that the exports from the Soudan are all natural productions. +There is nothing to exhibit the industry or capacity of the natives. The +ivory is the produce of violence and robbery; the hides are the simple +sun-dried skins of oxen; the senna grows wild upon the desert; the gum +arabic exudes spontaneously from the bushes of the jungle; and the +bees-wax is the produce of the only industrious creatures in that +detestable country. + +When we regard the general aspect of the Soudan, it is extreme +wretchedness. The rainfall is uncertain and scanty; thus the country is +a desert, dependent entirely upon irrigation. Although cultivation is +simply impossible without a supply of water, one of the most onerous +taxes is that upon the sageer or water-wheel, with which the fields are +irrigated on the borders of the Nile. It would appear natural that, +instead of a tax, a premium should be offered for the erection of such +means of irrigation, which would increase the revenue by extending +cultivation, the produce of which might bear an impost. With all the +talent and industry of the native Egyptians, who must naturally depend +upon the waters of the Nile for their existence, it is extraordinary +that for thousands of years they have adhered to their original simple +form of mechanical irrigation, without improvement. + +The general aspect of the Soudan is that of misery; nor is there a +single feature of attraction to recompense a European for the drawbacks +of pestilential climate and brutal associations. To a stranger it +appears a superlative folly that the Egyptian Government should have +retained a possession the occupation of which is wholly unprofitable, +the receipts being far below the expenditure malgre the increased +taxation. At so great a distance from the sea-coast and hemmed in by +immense deserts, there is a difficulty of transport that must nullify +all commercial transactions on an extended scale. + +The great and most important article of commerce as an export from the +Soudan is gum arabic. This is produced by several species of mimosa, the +finest quality being a product of Kordofan; the other natural +productions exported are senna, hides, and ivory. All merchandise both +to and from the Soudan must be transported upon camels, no other animals +being adapted to the deserts. The cataracts of the Nile between Assouan +and Khartoum rendering the navigation next to impossible, camels are the +only medium of transport, and the uncertainty of procuring them without +great delay is the trader's greatest difficulty. The entire country is +subject to droughts that occasion a total desolation, and the want of +pasture entails starvation upon both cattle and camels, rendering it at +certain seasons impossible to transport the productions of the country, +and thus stagnating all enterprise. Upon existing conditions the Soudan +is worthless, having neither natural capabilities nor political +importance; but there is, nevertheless, a reason that first prompted its +occupation by the Egyptians, and that is, THE SOUDAN SUPPLIES SLAVES. + +Without the White Nile trade Khartoum* would almost cease to exist; (* +This was written about twenty years ago, and does not apply to the +Khartoum of to-day. In 1869 The Khedive of Egypt despatched an +expedition under Sir Samuel Baker to suppress slavery in the Soudan and +Central Africa. To the success of that expedition, and to the efforts of +Colonel (now General) Gordon, who succeeded to the command of the +Soudan, was owing the suppression of the traffic in slaves. Within the +last few weeks, under the stress of circumstances, General Gordon has +been forced to promise the removal of this prohibition of slavery.--E. +J. W.) and that trade is kidnapping and murder. The character of the +Khartoumers needs no further comment. The amount of ivory brought down +from the White Nile is a mere bagatelle as an export, the annual value +being about 40,000 pounds. + +The people for the most part enraged in the nefarious traffic of the +White Nile are Syrians, Copts, Turks, Circassians, and some few +EUROPEANS. So closely connected with the difficulties of my expedition +is that accursed slave-trade, that the so-called ivory trade of the +White Nile requires an explanation. + +Throughout the Soudan money is exceedingly scarce and the rate of +interest exorbitant, varying, according to the securities, from +thirty-six to eighty per cent. This fact proves general poverty and +dishonesty, and acts as a preventive to all improvement. So high and +fatal a rate deters all honest enterprise, and the country must lie in +ruin under such a system. The wild speculator borrows upon such terms, +to rise suddenly like a rocket, or to fall like its exhausted stick. +Thus, honest enterprise being impossible, dishonesty takes the lead, and +a successful expedition to the White Nile is supposed to overcome all +charges. There are two classes of White Nile traders, the one possessing +capital, the other being penniless adventurers. The same system of +operations is pursued by both, but that of the former will be evident +from the description of the latter. + +A man without means forms an expedition, and borrows money for this +purpose at 100 per cent. after this fashion: he agrees to repay the +lender in ivory at one-half its market value. Having obtained the +required sum, he hires several vessels and engages from 100 to 300 men, +composed of Arabs and runaway villains from distant countries, who have +found an asylum from justice in the obscurity of Khartoum. He purchases +guns and large quantities of ammunition for his men, together with a few +hundred pounds of glass beads. The piratical expedition being complete, +he pays his men five months' wages in advance, at the rate of forty-five +piastres (nine shillings) per month, and he agrees to give them eighty +piastres per month for any period exceeding the five months for which +they are paid. His men receive their advance partly in cash and partly +in cotton stuffs for clothes at an exorbitant price. Every man has a +strip of paper, upon which is written, by the clerk of the expedition, +the amount he has received both in goods and money, and this paper he +must produce at the final settlement. + +The vessels sail about December, and on arrival at the desired locality +the party disembark and proceed into the interior, until they arrive at +the village of some negro chief, with whom they establish an intimacy. + +Charmed with his new friends, the power of whose weapons he +acknowledges, the negro chief does not neglect the opportunity of +seeking their alliance to attack a hostile neighbor. Marching throughout +the night, guided by their negro hosts, they bivouac within an hour's +march of the unsuspecting village doomed to an attack about half an hour +before break of day. The time arrives, and, quietly surrounding the +village while its occupants are still sleeping, they fire the grass huts +in all directions and pour volleys of musketry through the flaming +thatch. Panic-stricken, the unfortunate victims rush from their burning +dwellings, and the men are shot down like pheasants in a battue, while +the women and children, bewildered in the danger and confusion, are +kidnapped and secured. The herds of cattle, still within their kraal or +"zareeba," are easily disposed of, and are driven off with great +rejoicing, as the prize of victory. The women and children are then +fastened together, and the former secured in an instrument called a +sheba, made of a forked pole, the neck of the prisoner fitting into the +fork, and secured by a cross-piece lashed behind, while the wrists, +brought together in advance of the body, are tied to the pole. The +children are then fastened by their necks with a rope attached to the +women, and thus form a living chain, in which order they are marched to +the head-quarters in company with the captured herds. + +This is the commencement of business. Should there be ivory in any of +the huts not destroyed by the fire, it is appropriated. A general +plunder takes place. The trader's party dig up the floors of the huts to +search for iron hoes, which are generally thus concealed, as the +greatest treasure of the negroes; the granaries are overturned and +wantonly destroyed, and the hands are cut off the bodies of the slain, +the more easily to detach the copper or iron bracelets that are usually +worn. With this booty the TRADERS return to their negro ally. They have +thrashed and discomfited his enemy, which delights him; they present him +with thirty or forty head of cattle, which intoxicates him with joy, and +a present of a pretty little captive girl of about fourteen completes +his happiness. + +An attack or razzia, such as described, generally leads to a quarrel +with the negro ally, who in his turn is murdered and plundered by the +trader--his women and children naturally becoming slaves. + +A good season for a party of a hundred and fifty men should produce +about two hundred cantars (20,000 lbs.) of ivory, valued at Khartoum at +4,000 pounds. The men being paid in slaves, the wages should be NIL, and +there should be a surplus of four or five hundred slaves for the +trader's own profit--worth on an average five to six pounds each. + +The amiable trader returns from the White Nile to Khartoum; hands over +to his creditor sufficient ivory to liquidate the original loan of 1,000 +pounds, and, already a man of capital, he commences as an independent +trader. + +Such was the White Nile trade when I prepared to start from Khartoum on +my expedition to the Nile sources. Every one in Khartoum, with the +exception of a few Europeans, was in favor of the slave-trade, and +looked with jealous eyes upon a stranger venturing within the precincts +of their holy land--a land sacred to slavery and to every abomination +and villainy that man can commit. + +The Turkish officials pretended to discountenance slavery; at the same +time every house in Khartoum was full of slaves, and the Egyptian +officers had been in the habit of receiving a portion of their pay in +slaves, precisely as the men employed on tile White Nile were paid by +their employers. The Egyptian authorities looked upon the exploration of +the White Nile by a European traveller as an infringement of the slave +territory that resulted from espionage, and every obstacle was thrown in +my way. + +To organize an enterprise so difficult that it had hitherto defeated the +whole world, required a careful selection of attendants, and I looked +with despair at the prospect before me. The only men procurable for +escort were the miserable cut-throats of Khartoum, accustomed to murder +and pillage in the White Nile trade, and excited not by the love of +adventure, but by the desire for plunder. To start with such men +appeared mere insanity. + +There was a still greater difficulty in connection with the White Nile. +For years the infernal traffic in slaves and its attendant horrors had +existed like a pestilence in the negro countries, and had so exasperated +the tribes that people who in former times were friendly had become +hostile to all comers. An exploration to the Nile sources was thus a +march through an enemy's country, and required a powerful force of +well-armed men. For the traders there was no great difficulty, as they +took the initiative in hostilities, and had fixed camps as "points +d'appui;" but for an explorer there was no alternative, but he must make +a direct forward march with no communications with the rear. I had but +slight hope of success without assistance from the authorities in the +shape of men accustomed to discipline. I accordingly wrote to the +British consul at Alexandria, and requested him to apply for a few +soldiers and boats to aid me in so difficult an enterprise. After some +months' delay, owing to the great distance from Khartoum, I received a +reply inclosing a letter from Ismail Pacha (the present Viceroy), the +regent during the absence of Said Pacha, REFUSING the application. + +I confess to the enjoyment of a real difficulty. From the first I had +observed that the Egyptian authorities did not wish to encourage English +explorations of the slave-producing districts, as such examinations +would be detrimental to the traffic, and would lead to reports to the +European governments that would ultimately prohibit the trade. It was +perfectly clear that the utmost would be done to prevent my expedition +from starting. This opposition gave a piquancy to the undertaking, and I +resolved that nothing should thwart my plans. Accordingly I set to work +in earnest. I had taken the precaution to obtain an order upon the +Treasury at Khartoum for what money I required, and as ready cash +performs wonders in that country of credit and delay, I was within a few +weeks ready to start. I engaged three vessels, including two large +noggurs or sailing barges, and a good decked vessel with comfortable +cabins, known by all Nile tourists as a diahbiah. + +On December 18th, 1862, we left Khartoum. Our course up the river was +slow and laborious. At times the boats had to be dragged by the men +through the high reeds. It is not surprising that the ancients gave up +the exploration of the Nile, when they came to the countless windings +and difficulties of the marshes. The river is like an entangled skein of +thread, and the voyage is tedious and melancholy beyond description. We +did not reach Gondokoro until February 2d. This was merely a station of +the ivory traders, occupied for two months during the year, after which +time it was deserted, the boats returning to Khartoum and the +expeditions again departing to the interior. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Gondokoro--A mutiny quelled--Arrival of Speke and Grant--The sources of +the Nile--Arab duplicity--The boy-slave's story-- Saat adopted. + +Having landed all my stores, and housed my corn in some granaries belong +to Koorshid Aga, I took a receipt from him for the quantity, and gave +him an order to deliver one half from my depot to Speke and Grant, +should they arrive at Gondokoro during my absence in the interior. I was +under an apprehension that they might arrive by some route without my +knowledge, while I should be penetrating south. + +There were a great number of men at Gondokoro belonging to the various +traders, who looked upon me with the greatest suspicion. They could not +believe that simple travelling was my object, and they were shortly +convinced that I was intent upon espionage in their nefarious ivory +business and slave-hunting. + +I had heard when at Khartoum that the most advanced trading station was +fifteen days' march from Gondokoro. I now understood that the party from +that station were expected to arrive at Gondokoro in a few days, and I +determined to await them, as their ivory porters returning might carry +my baggage and save the backs of my transport animals. + +After a few days' detention at Gondokoro I saw unmistakable sign of +discontent among my men, who had evidently been tampered with by the +different traders' parties. One evening several of the most disaffected +came to me with a complaint that they had not enough meat, and that they +must be allowed to make a razzia upon the cattle of the natives to +procure some oxen. This demand being of course refused, they retired, +muttering in an insolent manner their determination of stealing cattle +with or without my permission. I said nothing at the time, but early on +the following morning I ordered the drum to beat and the men to fall in. +I made them a short address, reminding them of the agreement made at +Khartoum to follow me faithfully, and of the compact that had been +entered into, that they were neither to indulge in slave-hunting nor in +cattle-stealing. The only effect of my address was a great outbreak of +insolence on the part of the ringleader of the previous evening. This +fellow, named Eesur, was an Arab, and his impertinence was so violent +that I immediately ordered him twenty-five lashes, as an example to the +others. + +Upon the vakeel's (Saati) advancing to seize him, there was a general +mutiny. Many of the men threw down their guns and seized sticks, and +rushed to the rescue of their tall ringleader. Saati was a little man, +and was perfectly helpless. Here was an escort! These were the men upon +whom I was to depend in hours of difficulty and danger on an expedition +into unknown regions! These were the fellows that I had considered to be +reduced "from wolves to lambs"! + +I was determined not to be balked, but to insist upon the punishment of +the ringleader. I accordingly went toward him with the intention of +seizing him; but he, being backed by upward of forty men, had the +impertinence to attack me, rushing forward with a fury that was +ridiculous. To stop his blow and to knock him into the middle of the +crowd was not difficult, and after a rapid repetition of the dose I +disabled him, and seizing him by the throat I called to my vakeel Saati +for a rope to bind him, but in an instant I had a crowd of men upon me +to rescue their leader. + +How the affair would have ended I cannot say; but as the scene lay +within ten yards of my boat, my wife, who was ill with fever in the +cabin, witnessed the whole affray, and seeing me surrounded, she rushed +out, and in a few moments she was in the middle of the crowd, who at +that time were endeavoring to rescue my prisoner. Her sudden appearance +had a curious effect, and calling upon several of the least mutinous to +assist, she very pluckily made her way up to me. Seizing the opportunity +of an indecision that was for the moment evinced by the crowd, I shouted +to the drummer boy to beat the drum. In an instant the drum beat, and at +the top of my voice I ordered the men to "fall in." It is curious how +mechanically an order is obeyed if given at the right moment, even in +the midst of mutiny. Two thirds of the men fell in and formed in line, +while the remainder retreated with the ringleader, Eesur, whom they led +away, declaring that he was badly hurt. The affair ended in my insisting +upon all forming in line, and upon the ringleader being brought forward. +In this critical moment Mrs. Baker, with great tact, came forward and +implored me to forgive him if he kissed my hand and begged for pardon. +This compromise completely won the men, who, although a few minutes +before in open mutiny, now called upon their ringleader, Eesur, to +apologize and all would be right. I made them rather a bitter speech, +and dismissed them. + +From that moment I felt that my expedition was fated. This outbreak was +an example of what was to follow. Previously to leaving Khartoum I had +felt convinced that I could not succeed with such villains for escort as +these Khartoumers; thus I had applied to the Egyptian authorities for a +few troops, but had been refused. I was now in an awkward position. All +my men had received five months' wages in advance, according to the +custom of the White Nile; thus I had no control over them. There were no +Egyptian authorities in Gondokoro. It was a nest of robbers, and my men +had just exhibited so pleasantly their attachment to me, and their +fidelity! There was no European beyond Gondokoro, thus I should be the +only white man among this colony of wolves; and I had in perspective a +difficult and uncertain path, where the only chance of success lay in +the complete discipline of my escort and the perfect organization of the +expedition. After the scene just enacted I felt sure that my escort +would give me more cause for anxiety than the acknowledged hostility of +the natives. + +I had been waiting at Gondokoro twelve days, expecting the arrival of +Debono's party from the south, with whom I wished to return. Suddenly, +on the 15th of February, I heard the rattle of musketry at a great +distance and a dropping fire from the south. To give an idea of the +moment I must extract verbatim from my journal as written at the time. + +"Guns firing in the distance; Debono's ivory porters arriving, for whom +I have waited. My men rushed madly to my boat, with the report that two +white men were with them who had come from the SEA! Could they be Speke +and Grant? Off I ran, and soon met them in reality. Hurrah for old +England! They had come from the Victoria N'yanza, from which the Nile +springs . . . . The mystery of ages solved! With my pleasure of meeting +them is the one disappointment, that I had not met them farther on the +road in my search for them; however, the satisfaction is, that my +previous arrangements had been such as would have insured my finding +them had they been in a fix . . . . My projected route would have +brought me vis-a-vis with them, as they had come from the lake by the +course I had proposed to take . . . . All my men perfectly mad with +excitement. Firing salutes as usual with ball cartridge, they shot one +of my donkeys--a melancholy sacrifice as an offering at the completion +of this geographical discovery." + +When I first met the two explorers they were walking along the bank of +the river toward my boats. At a distance of about a hundred yards I +recognized my old friend Speke, and with a heart beating with joy I took +off my cap and gave a welcome hurrah! as I ran toward him. For the +moment he did not recognize me. Ten years' growth of beard and mustache +had worked a change; and as I was totally unexpected, my sudden +appearance in the centre of Africa appeared to him incredible. I hardly +required an introduction to his companion, as we felt already +acquainted, and after the transports of this happy meeting we walked +together to my diahbiah, my men surrounding us with smoke and noise by +keeping up an unremitting fire of musketry the whole way. We were +shortly seated on deck under the awning, and such rough fare as could be +hastily prepared was set before these two ragged, careworn specimens of +African travel, whom I looked upon with feelings of pride as my own +countrymen. As a good ship arrives in harbor, battered and torn by a +long and stormy voyage, yet sound in her frame and seaworthy to the +last, so both these gallant travellers arrived at Gondokoro. Speke +appeared the more worn of the two; he was excessively lean, but in +reality was in good, tough condition. He had walked the whole way from +Zanzibar, never having once ridden during that wearying march. Grant was +in honorable rags, his bare knees projecting through the remnants of +trousers that were an exhibition of rough industry in tailor's work. He +was looking tired and feverish, but both men had a fire in the eye that +showed the spirit that had led them through. + +They wished to leave Gondokoro as soon as possible, en route for +England, but delayed their departure until the moon should be in a +position for an observation for determining the longitude. My boats were +fortunately engaged by me for five months, thus Speke and Grant could +take charge of them to Khartoum. + +At the first blush on meeting them, I had considered my expedition as +terminated by having met them, and by their having accomplished the +discovery of the Nile source; but upon my congratulating them with all +my heart upon the honor they had so nobly earned, Speke and Grant with +characteristic candor and generosity gave me a map of their route, +showing that they had been unable to complete the actual exploration of +the Nile, and that a most important portion still remained to be +determined. It appeared that in N. lat. 2 "degrees" 17', they had +crossed the Nile, which they had tracked from the Victoria Lake; but the +river, which from its exit from that lake had a northern course, turned +suddenly to the WEST from Karuma Falls (the point at which they crossed +it at lat. 2 "degrees" 17'). They did not see the Nile again until they +arrived in N. lat. 3 "degrees" 32', which was then flowing from the +west-south-west. The natives and the King of Unyoro (Kamrasi) had +assured them that the Nile from the Victoria N'yanza, which they had +crossed at Karuma, flowed westward for several days' journey, and at +length fell into a large lake called the Luta N'zige; that this lake +came from the south, and that the Nile on entering the northern +extremity almost immediately made its exit, and as a navigable river +continued its course to the north, through the Koshi and Madi countries. +Both Speke and Grant attached great importance to this lake Luta N'zige, +and the former was much annoyed that it had been impossible for them to +carry out the exploration. He foresaw that stay-at-home geographers, +who, with a comfortable arm-chair to sit in, travel so easily with their +fingers on a map, would ask him why he had not gone from such a place to +such a place? why he had not followed the Nile to the Luta N'zige lake, +and from the lake to Gondokoro? As it happened, it was impossible for +Speke and Grant to follow the Nile from Karuma: the tribes were fighting +with Kamrasi, and no strangers could have gone through the country. +Accordingly they procured their information most carefully, completed +their map, and laid down the reported lake in its supposed position, +showing the Nile as both influent and effluent precisely as had been +explained by the natives. + +Speke expressed his conviction that the Luta N'zige must be a second +source of the Nile, and that geographers would be dissatisfied that he +had not explored it. To me this was most gratifying. I had been much +disheartened at the idea that the great work was accomplished, and that +nothing remained for exploration. I even said to Speke, "Does not one +leaf of the laurel remain for me?" I now heard that the field was not +only open, but that an additional interest was given to the exploration +by the proof that the Nile flowed out of one great lake, the Victoria, +but that it evidently must derive an additional supply from an unknown +lake, as it entered it at the NORTHERN extremity, while the body of the +lake came from the south. The fact of a great body of water such as the +Luta N'zige extending in a direct line from south to north, while the +general system of drainage of the Nile was from the same direction, +showed most conclusively that the Luta N'zige, if it existed in the form +assumed, must have an important position in the basin of the Nile. + +My expedition had naturally been rather costly, and being in excellent +order it would have been heartbreaking to return fruitlessly. I +therefore arranged immediately for my departure, and Speke most kindly +wrote in my journal such instructions as might be useful. + +On the 26th of February Speke and Grant sailed from Gondokoro. Our +hearts were too full to say more than a short "God bless you!" They had +won their victory; my work lay all before me. I watched their boat until +it turned the corner, and wished them in my heart all honor for their +great achievement. I trusted to sustain the name they had won for +English perseverance, and I looked forward to meeting them again in dear +old England, when I should have completed the work we had so warmly +planned together. + +I now weighed all my baggage, and found that I had fifty-four cantars +(100 lbs. each). The beads, copper, and ammunition were the terrible +onus. I therefore applied to Mahommed, the vakeel of Andrea Debono, who +had escorted Speke and Grant, and I begged his co-operation in the +expedition. Mahommed promised to accompany me, not only to his camp at +Faloro, but throughout the whole of my expedition, provided that I would +assist him in procuring ivory, and that I would give him a handsome +present. All was agreed upon, and my own men appeared in high spirits at +the prospect of joining so large a party as that of Mahommed, which +mustered about two hundred men. + +At that time I really placed dependence upon the professions of Mahommed +and his people; they had just brought Speke and Grant with them, and had +received from them presents of a first-class double-barrelled gun and +several valuable rifles. I had promised not only to assist them in their +ivory expeditions, but to give them something very handsome in addition, +and the fact of my having upward of forty men as escort was also an +introduction, as they would be an addition to the force, which is a +great advantage in hostile countries. Everything appeared to be in good +trim, but I little knew the duplicity of these Arab scoundrels. At the +very moment that they were most friendly, they were plotting to deceive +me, and to prevent the from entering the country. They knew that, should +I penetrate the interior, the IVORY TRADE of the White Nile would be no +longer a mystery, and that the atrocities of the slave trade would be +exposed, and most likely be terminated by the intervention of European +Powers; accordingly they combined to prevent my advance, and to +overthrow my expedition completely. All the men belonging to the various +traders were determined that no Englishman should penetrate into the +country; accordingly they fraternized with my escort, and persuaded them +that I was a Christian dog that it was a disgrace for a Mahometan to +serve; that they would be starved in my service, as I would not allow +them to steal cattle; that they would have no slaves; and that I should +lead them--God knew where--to the sea, from whence Speke and Grant had +started; that they had left Zanzibar with two hundred men, and had only +arrived at Gondokoro with eighteen, thus the remainder must have been +killed by the natives on the road; that if they followed me and arrived +at Zanzibar, I would find a ship waiting to take me to England, and I +would leave them to die in a strange country. Such were the reports +circulated to prevent my men from accompanying me, and it was agreed +that Mahommed should fix a day for our pretended start IN COMPANY, but +that he should in reality start a few days before the time appointed; +and that my men should mutiny, and join his party in cattle-stealing and +slave-hunting. This was the substance of the plot thus carefully +concocted. + +My men evinced a sullen demeanor, neglected all orders, and I plainly +perceived a settled discontent upon their general expression. The +donkeys and camels were allowed to stray, and were daily missing, and +recovered with difficulty. The luggage was overrun with white ants, +instead of being attended to every morning. The men absented themselves +without leave, and were constantly in the camps of the different +traders. I was fully prepared for some difficulty, but I trusted that +when once on the march I should be able to get them under discipline. + +Among my people were two blacks: one, "Richarn," already described as +having been brought up by the Austrian Mission at Khartoum; the other, a +boy of twelve years old, "Saat." As these were the only really faithful +members of the expedition, it is my duty to describe them. Richarn was +an habitual drunkard, but he had his good points: he was honest, and +much attached to both master and mistress. He had been with me for some +months, and was a fair sportsman, and being of an entirely different +race from the Arabs, he kept himself apart from them, and fraternized +with the boy Saat. + +Saat was a boy that would do no evil. He was honest to a superlative +degree, and a great exception to the natives of this wretched country. +He was a native of "Fertit," and was minding his father's goats, when a +child of about six years old, at the time of his capture by the Baggara +Arabs. He described vividly how men on camels suddenly appeared while he +was in the wilderness with his flock, and how he was forcibly seized and +thrust into a large gum sack and slung upon the back of a camel. Upon +screaming for help, the sack was opened, and an Arab threatened him with +a knife should he make the slightest noise. Thus quieted, he was carried +hundreds of miles through Kordofan to Dongola on the Nile, at which +place he was sold to slave-dealers and taken to Cairo to be sold to the +Egyptian government as a drummer-boy. Being too young he was rejected, +and while in the dealer's hands he heard from another slave, of the +Austrian Mission at Cairo, that would protect him could he only reach +their asylum. With extraordinary energy for a child of six years, he +escaped from his master and made his way to the Mission, where he was +well received, and to a certain extent disciplined and taught as much of +the Christian religion as he could understand. In company with a branch +establishment of the Mission, he was subsequently located at Khartoum, +and from thence was sent up the White Nile to a Mission-station in the +Shillook country. The climate of tie White Nile destroyed thirteen +missionaries in the short space of six months, and the boy Saat returned +with the remnant of the party to Khartoum and was readmitted into the +Mission. The establishment was at that time swarming with little black +boys from the various White Nile tribes, who repaid the kindness of the +missionaries by stealing everything they could lay their hands upon. At +length the utter worthlessness of the boys, their moral obtuseness, and +the apparent impossibility of improving them determined the chief of the +Mission to purge his establishment from such imps, and they were +accordingly turned out. Poor little Saat, the one grain of gold amid the +mire, shared the same fate. + +It was about a week before our departure from Khartoum that Mrs. Baker +and I were at tea in the middle of the court-yard, when a miserable boy +about twelve years old came uninvited to her side, and knelt down in the +dust at her feet. There was something so irresistibly supplicating in +the attitude of the child that the first impulse was to give him +something from the table. This was declined, and he merely begged to be +allowed to live with us and to be our boy. He said that he had been +turned out of the Mission, merely because the Bari boys of the +establishment were thieves, and thus he suffered for their sins. I could +not believe it possible that the child had been actually turned out into +the streets, and believing that the fault must lie in the boy, I told +him I would inquire. In the mean time he was given in charge of the +cook. + +It happened that on the following day I was so much occupied that I +forgot to inquire at the Mission, and once more the cool hour of evening +arrived, when, after the intense heat of the day, we sat at table in the +open court-yard. Hardly were we seated when again the boy appeared, +kneeling in the dust, with his head lowered at my wife's feet, and +imploring to be allowed to follow us. It was in vain that I explained +that we had a boy and did not require another; that the journey was long +and difficult, and that he might perhaps die. The boy feared nothing, +and craved simply that he might belong to us. He had no place of +shelter, no food; had been stolen from his parents, and was a helpless +outcast. + +The next morning, accompanied by Mrs. Baker, I went to the Mission and +heard that the boy had borne an excellent character, and that it must +have been BY MISTAKE that he had been turned out with the others. This +being conclusive, Saat was immediately adopted. Mrs. Baker was shortly +at work making him some useful clothes, and in an incredibly short time +a great change was effected. As he came from the hands of the cook, +after a liberal use of soap and water, and attired in trousers, blouse, +and belt, the new boy appeared in a new character. + +From that time he considered himself as belonging absolutely to his +mistress. He was taught by her to sew. Richarn instructed him in the +mysteries of waiting at table, and washing plates, etc., while I taught +him to shoot, and gave him a light double-barrelled gun. This was his +greatest pride. + +Not only was the boy trustworthy, but he had an extraordinary amount of +moral in addition to physical courage. If any complaint were made, and +Saat was called as a witness, far from the shyness too often evinced +when the accuser is brought face to face with the accused, such was +Saat's proudest moment; and, no matter who the man might be, the boy +would challenge him, regardless of all consequences. + +We were very fond of this boy; he was thoroughly good, and in that land +of iniquity, thousands of miles away from all except what was evil, +there was a comfort in having some one innocent and faithful in whom to +trust. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Startling disclosures--The last hope seems gone--The Bari chief's +advice--Hoping for the best--Ho for Central Africa! + +We were to start upon the following Monday. Mahommed had paid me a +visit, assuring me of his devotion, and begging me to have my baggage in +marching order, as he would send me fifty porters on Monday, and we +would move off in company. At the very moment that he thus professed, he +was coolly deceiving me. He had arranged to start without me on +Saturday, while he was proposing to march together on Monday. This I did +not know at the time. + +One morning I had returned to the tent after having, as usual, inspected +the transport animals, when I observed Mrs. Baker looking +extraordinarily pale, and immediately upon my arrival she gave orders +for the presence of the vakeel (headman). There was something in her +manner so different from her usual calm, that I was utterly bewildered +when I heard her question the vakeel, whether the men were willing to +march. "Perfectly ready," was the reply. "Then order them to strike the +tent and load the animals; we start this moment." + +The man appeared confused, but not more so than I. Something was +evidently on foot, but what I could not conjecture. The vakeel wavered, +and to my astonishment I heard the accusation made against him that +during the night the whole of the escort had mutinously conspired to +desert me, with my arms and ammunition that were in their hands, and to +fire simultaneously at me should I attempt to disarm them. At first this +charge was indignantly denied, until the boy Saat manfully stepped +forward and declared that the conspiracy was entered into by the whole +of the escort, and that both he and Richarn, knowing that mutiny was +intended, had listened purposely to the conversation during the night; +at daybreak the boy reported the fact to his mistress. Mutiny, robbery, +and murder were thus deliberately determined. + +I immediately ordered an angarep (travelling bedstead) to be placed +outside the tent under a large tree. Upon this I laid five +double-barrelled guns loaded with buckshot, a revolver, and a naked +sabre as sharp as a razor. A sixth rifle I kept in my hands while I sat +upon the angarep, with Richarn and Saat both with double- barrelled guns +behind me. Formerly I had supplied each of my men with a piece of +mackintosh waterproof to be tied over the locks of their guns during the +march. I now ordered the drum to be beaten, and all the men to form in +line in marching order, with their locks TIED UP IN THE WATERPROOF. I +requested Mrs. Baker to stand behind me and point out any man who should +attempt to uncover his locks when I should give the order to lay down +their arms. The act of uncovering the locks would prove his intention, +in which event I intended to shoot him immediately and take my chance +with the rest of the conspirators. + +I had quite determined that these scoundrels should not rob me of my own +arms and ammunition, if I could prevent it. + +The drum beat, and the vakeel himself went into the men's quarters and +endeavored to prevail upon them to answer the call. At length fifteen +assembled in line; the others were nowhere to be found. The locks of the +arms were secured by mackintosh as ordered. It was thus impossible for +any man to fire at me until he should have released his locks. + +Upon assembling in line I ordered them immediately to lay down their +arms. This, with insolent looks of defiance, they refused to do. "Down +with your guns thus moment," I shouted, "sons of dogs!" And at the sharp +click of the locks, as I quickly cocked the rifle that I held in my +hands, the cowardly mutineers widened their line and wavered. Some +retreated a few paces to the rear; others sat down and laid their guns +on the ground, while the remainder slowly dispersed, and sat in twos or +singly, under the various trees about eighty paces distant. Taking +advantage of their indecision, I immediately rose and ordered my vakeel +and Richarn to disarm them as they were thus scattered. Foreseeing that +the time had arrived for actual physical force, the cowards capitulated, +agreeing to give up their arms and ammunition if I would give them their +written discharge. I disarmed them immediately, and the vakeel having +written a discharge for the fifteen men present, I wrote upon each paper +the word "mutineer" above my signature. None of them being able to read, +and this being written in English, they unconsciously carried the +evidence of their own guilt, which I resolved to punish should I ever +find them on my return to Khartoum. + +Thus disarmed, they immediately joined other of the traders' parties. +These fifteen men were the "Jalyns" of my party, the remainder being +Dongolowas--all Arabs of the Nile, north of Khartoum. The Dongolowas had +not appeared when summoned by the drum, and my vakeel being of their +nation, I impressed upon him his responsibility for the mutiny, and that +he would end his days in prison at Khartoum should my expedition fail. + +The boy Saat and Richarn now assured me that the men had intended to +fire at me, but that they were frightened at seeing us thus prepared, +but that I must not expect one man of the Dongolowas to be any more +faithful than the Jalyns. I ordered the vakeel to hunt up the men and to +bring me their guns, threatening that if they refused I would shoot any +man that I found with one of my guns in his hands. + +There was no time for mild measures. I had only Saat (a mere child) and +Richarn upon whom I could depend; and I resolved with them alone to +accompany Mahommed's people to the interior, and to trust to good +fortune for a chance of proceeding. + +I was feverish and ill with worry and anxiety, and I was lying down upon +my mat when I suddenly heard guns firing in all directions, drums +beating, and the customary signs of either an arrival or departure of a +trading party. Presently a messenger arrived from Koorshid Aga, the +Circassian, to announce the departure of Mahommed's party without me, +and my vakeel appeared with a message from the same people, that if I +followed on their road (my proposed route) they would fire upon me and +my party, as they would allow no English spies in their country. + +My last hope seemed gone. No expedition had ever been more carefully +planned; everything had been well arranged to insure success. My +transport animals were in good condition, their saddles and pads had +been made under my own inspection, my arms, ammunition, and supplies +were abundant, and I was ready to march at five minutes' notice to any +part of Africa; but the expedition, so costly and so carefully +organized, was completely ruined by the very people whom I had engaged +to protect it. They had not only deserted, but they had conspired to +murder. There was no law in these wild regions but brute force; human +life was of no value; murder was a pastime, as the murderer could escape +all punishment. Mr. Petherick's vakeel had just been shot dead by one of +his own men, and such events were too common to create much attention. +We were utterly helpless, the whole of the people against us, and openly +threatening. For myself personally I had no anxiety; but the fact of +Mrs. Baker's being with me was my greatest care. I dared not think of +her position in the event of my death among such savages as those around +her. These thoughts were shared by her; but she, knowing that I had +resolved to succeed, never once hinted an advice for retreat. + +Richarn was as faithful as Saat, and I accordingly confided in him my +resolution to leave all my baggage in charge of a friendly chief of the +Baris at Gondokoro, and to take two fast dromedaries for him and Saat, +and two horses for Mrs. Baker and myself, and to make a push through the +hostile tribe for three days, to arrive among friendly people at "Moir," +from which place I trusted to fortune. I arranged that the dromedaries +should carry a few beads, ammunition, and the astronomical instruments. + +Richarn said the idea was very mad; that the natives would do nothing +for beads; that he had had great experience on the White Nile when with +a former master, and that the natives would do nothing without receiving +cows as payment; that it was of no use to be good to them, as they had +no respect for any virtue but "force;" that we should most likely be +murdered; but that if I ordered him to go, he was ready to obey. + +I was delighted with Richarn's rough and frank fidelity. Ordering the +horses to be brought, I carefully pared their feet. Their hard flinty +hoofs, that had never felt a shoe, were in excellent order for a gallop, +if necessary. All being ready, I sent for the chief of Gondokoro. +Meanwhile a Bari boy arrived, sent by Koorshid Aga, to act as my +interpreter. + +The Bari chief was, as usual, smeared all over with red ochre and fat, +and had the shell of a small land tortoise suspended to his elbow as an +ornament. I proposed to him my plan of riding quickly through the Bari +tribe to Moir. He replied, "Impossible! If I were to beat the great +nogaras (drums), and call my people together to explain who you are, +they would not hurt you; but there are many petty chiefs who do not obey +me, and their people would certainly attack you when crossing some +swollen torrent, and what could you do with only a man and a boy?" + +His reply to my question concerning the value of beads corroborated +Richarn's statement: nothing could be purchased for anything but cattle. +The traders had commenced the system of stealing herds of cattle from +one tribe to barter with the next neighbor; thus the entire country was +in anarchy and confusion, and beads were of no value. My plan for a dash +through the country was impracticable. + +I therefore called my vakeel, and threatened him with the gravest +punishment on my return to Khartoum. I wrote to Sir R. Colquhoun, H.M. +Consul-General for Egypt, which letter I sent by one of the return +boats, and I explained to my vakeel that the complaint to the British +authorities would end in his imprisonment, and that in case of my death +through violence he would assuredly be hanged. After frightening him +thoroughly, I suggested that he should induce some of the mutineers, who +were Dongolowas (his own tribe), many of whom were his relatives, to +accompany me, in which case I would forgive them their past misconduct. + +In the course of the afternoon he returned with the news that he had +arranged with seventeen of the men, but that they refused to march +toward the south, and would accompany me to the east if I wished to +explore that part of the country. Their plea for refusing a southern +route was the hostility of the Bari tribe. They also proposed a +condition, that I should "LEAVE ALL MY TRANSPORT ANIMALS AND BAGGAGE +BEHIND ME." To this insane request, which completely nullified their +offer to start, I only replied by vowing vengeance against the vakeel. + +The time was passed by the men in vociferously quarrelling among +themselves during the day and in close conference with the vakeel during +the night, the substance of which was reported on the following morning +by the faithful Saat. The boy recounted their plot. They agreed to march +to the east, with the intention of deserting me at the station of a +trader named Chenooda, seven days' march from Gondokoro, in the Latooka +country, whose men were, like themselves, Dongolowas; they had conspired +to mutiny at that place and to desert to the slave-hunting party with my +arms and ammunition, and to shoot me should I attempt to disarm them. +They also threatened to shoot my vakeel, who now, through fear of +punishment at Khartoum, exerted his influence to induce them to start. +Altogether it was a pleasant state of things. + +I was determined at all hazards to start from Gondokoro for the +interior. From long experience with natives of wild countries I did not +despair of obtaining an influence over my men, however bad, could I once +quit Gondokoro and lead them among the wild and generally hostile tribes +of the country. They would then be separated from the contagion of the +slave-hunting parties, and would feel themselves dependent upon me for +guidance. Accordingly I professed to believe in their promises to +accompany me to the east, although I knew of their conspiracy; and I +trusted that by tact and good management I should eventually thwart all +their plans, and, although forced out of my intended course, should be +able to alter my route and to work round from the east to my original +plan of operations south. The interpreter given by Koorshid Aga had +absconded; this was a great loss, as I had no means of communication +with the natives except by casually engaging a Bari in the employment of +the traders, to whom I was obliged to pay exorbitantly in copper +bracelets for a few minutes' conversation. + +A party of Koorshid's people had just arrived with ivory from the +Latooka country, bringing with them a number of that tribe as porters. +They were to return shortly, but they not only refused to allow me to +accompany them, but they declared their intention of forcibly repelling +me, should I attempt to advance by their route. This was a good excuse +for my men, who once more refused to proceed. By pressure upon the +vakeel they again yielded, but on condition that I would take one of the +mutineers named "Bellaal," who wished to join them, but whose offer I +had refused, as he had been a notorious ringleader in every mutiny. It +was a sine qua non that he was to go; and knowing the character of the +man, I felt convinced that it had been arranged that he should head the +mutiny conspired to be enacted upon our arrival at Chenooda's camp in +the Latooka country. + +The plan that I had arranged was to leave all the baggage not +indispensable with Koorshid Aga at Gondokoro, who would return it to +Khartoum. I intended to wait until Koorshid's party should march, when I +resolved to follow them, as I did not believe they would dare to oppose +me by force, their master himself being friendly. I considered their +threats as mere idle boasting to frighten me from an attempt to follow +them; but there was another more serious cause of danger to be +apprehended. + +On the route between Gondokoro and Latooka there was a powerful tribe +among the mountains of Ellyria. The chief of that tribe (Legge) had +formerly massacred a hundred and twenty of a trader's party. He was an +ally of Koorshid's people, who declared that they would raise the tribe +against me, which would end in the defeat or massacre of my party. There +was a difficult pass through the mountains of Ellyria which it would be +impossible to force; thus my small party of seventeen men would be +helpless. It would be merely necessary for the traders to request the +chief of Ellyria to attack my party to insure its destruction, as the +plunder of the baggage would be an ample reward. + +There was no time for deliberation. Both the present and the future +looked as gloomy as could be imagined; but I had always expected +extraordinary difficulties, and they were, if possible, to be +surmounted. It was useless to speculate upon chances. There was no hope +of success in inaction, and the only resource was to drive through all +obstacles without calculating the risk. + +The day arrived for the departure of Koorshid's people. They commenced +firing their usual signals, the drums beat, the Turkish ensign led the +way, and they marched at 2 o'clock P.M., sending a polite message +"DARING" me to follow them. + +I immediately ordered the tent to be struck, the luggage to be arranged, +the animals to be collected, and everything to be ready for the march. +Richarn and Saat were in high spirits; even my unwilling men were +obliged to work, and by 7 P.M. we were all ready. + +We had neither guide nor interpreter. Not one native was procurable, all +being under the influence of the traders, who had determined to render +our advance utterly impossible by preventing the natives from assisting +us. All had been threatened, and we, perfectly helpless, commenced the +desperate journey in darkness about an hour after sunset. + +"Where shall we go?" said the men, just as the order was given to start. +"Who can travel without a guide? No one knows the road." The moon was +up, and the mountain of Belignan was distinctly visible about nine miles +distant. Knowing that the route lay on the east side of that mountain, I +led the way, Mrs. Baker riding by my side, and the British flag +following close behind us as a guide for the caravan of heavily laden +camels and donkeys. And thus we started on our march into Central Africa +on the 26th of March, 1863. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A start made at last--A forced march--Lightening the ship-- Waiting for +the caravan--Success hangs in the balance--The greatest rascal in +Central Africa--Legge demands another bottle. + +The country was park-like, but much parched by the dry weather. The +ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed with numerous villages, all +of which were surrounded with a strong fence of euphorbia. The country +was well wooded, being free from bush or jungle, but numerous trees, all +evergreens, were scattered over the landscape. No natives were to be +seen but the sound of their drums and singing in chorus was heard in the +far distance. Whenever it is moonlight the nights are passed in singing +and dancing, beating drums, blowing horns, and the population of whole +villages thus congregate together. + +After a silent march of two hours we saw watchfires blazing in the +distance, and upon nearer approach we perceived the trader's party +bivouacked. Their custom is to march only two or three hours on the +first day of departure, to allow stragglers who may have lagged behind +in Gondokoro to rejoin the party before morning. + +We were roughly challenged by their sentries as we passed, and were +instantly told "not to remain in their neighborhood." Accordingly we +passed on for about half a mile in advance, and bivouacked on some +rising ground above a slight hollow in which we found water. + +The following morning was clear, and the mountain of Belignan, within +three or four miles, was a fine object to direct our course. I could +distinctly see some enormous trees at the foot of the mountain near a +village, and I hastened forward, as I hoped to procure a guide who would +also act as interpreter, many of the natives in the vicinity of +Gondokoro having learned a little Arabic from the traders. We cantered +on ahead of the party, regardless of the assurance of our unwilling men +that the natives were not to be trusted, and we soon arrived beneath the +shade of a cluster of most superb trees. The village was within a +quarter of a mile, situated at the very base of the abrupt mountain. The +natives seeing us alone had no fear, and soon thronged around us. The +chief understood a few words of Arabic, and I offered a large payment of +copper bracelets and beads for a guide. After much discussion and +bargaining a bad-looking fellow offered to guide us to Ellyria, but no +farther. This was about twenty-eight or thirty miles distant, and it was +of vital importance that we should pass through that tribe before the +trader's party should raise them against us. I had great hopes of +outmarching the trader's party, as they would be delayed in Belignan by +ivory transactions with the chief. + +At that time the Turks were engaged in business transactions with tile +natives; it was therefore all important that I should start immediately, +and by a forced march arrive at Ellyria and get through the pass before +they should communicate with the chief. I had no doubt that by paying +blackmail I should be able to clear Ellyria, provided I was in advance +of the Turks; but should they outmarch me, there would be no hope; a +fight and defeat would be the climax. I accordingly gave orders for an +IMMEDIATE start. "Load the camels, my brothers!" I exclaimed to the +sullen ruffians around me; but not a man stirred except Richarn and a +fellow named Sali, who began to show signs of improvement. Seeing that +the men intended to disobey, I immediately set to work myself loading +the animals, requesting my men not to trouble themselves, and begging +them to lie down and smoke their pipes while I did the work. A few rose +from the ground ashamed and assisted to load the camels, while the +others declared it an impossibility for camels to travel by the road we +were about to take, as the Turks had informed them that not even the +donkeys could march through the thick jungles between Belignan and +Ellyria. + +"All right, my brothers!" I replied; "then we'll march as far as the +donkeys can go, and leave both them and the baggage on the road when +they can go no farther; but I GO FORWARD." + +With sullen discontent the men began to strap on their belts and +cartouche boxes and prepare for the start. The animals were loaded, and +we moved slowly forward at 4.30 P.M. We had just started with the Bari +guide that I had engaged at Belignan, when we were suddenly joined by +two of the Latookas whom I had seen when at Gondokoro and to whom I had +been very civil. It appeared that these follows, who were acting as +porters to the Turks, had been beaten, and had therefore absconded and +joined me. This was extraordinary good fortune, as I now had guides the +whole way to Latooka, about ninety miles distant. I immediately gave +them each a copper bracelet and some beads, and they very good-naturedly +relieved the camels of one hundred pounds of copper rings, which they +carried in two baskets on their heads. + +We now crossed the broad dry bed of a torrent, and the banks being steep +a considerable time was occupied in assisting the loaded animals in +their descent. The donkeys were easily aided, their tails being held by +two men while they shuffled and slid down the sandy banks; but every +camel fell, and the loads had to be carried up the opposite bank by the +men, and the camels reloaded on arrival. Here again the donkeys had the +advantage, as without being unloaded they were assisted up the steep +ascent by two men in front pulling at their ears, while others pushed +behind. Altogether the donkeys were far more suitable for the country, +as they were more easily loaded. The facility of loading is +all-important, and I now had an exemplification of its effect upon both +animals and men. The latter began to abuse the camels and to curse the +father of this and the mother of that because they had the trouble of +unloading them for the descent into the river's bed, while the donkeys +were blessed with the endearing name of "my brother," and alternately +whacked with the stick. + +For some miles we passed through a magnificent forest of large trees. +The path being remarkably good, the march looked propitious. This good +fortune, however, was doomed to change. We shortly entered upon thick +thorny jungles. The path was so overgrown that the camels could scarcely +pass under the overhanging branches, and the leather bags of provisions +piled upon their backs were soon ripped by the hooked thorns of the +mimosa. The salt, rice, and coffee bags all sprang leaks, and small +streams of these important stores issued from the rents which the men +attempted to repair by stuffing dirty rags into the holes. These thorns +were shaped like fishhooks; thus it appeared that the perishable baggage +must soon become an utter wreck, as the great strength and weight of the +camels bore all before them, and sometimes tore the branches from the +trees, the thorns becoming fixed in the leather bags. Meanwhile the +donkeys walked along in comfort, being so short that they and their +loads were below the branches. + +My wife and I rode about a quarter of a mile at the head of the party as +an advance guard, to warn the caravan of any difficulty. The very nature +of the country showed that it must be full of ravines, and yet I could +not help hoping against hope that we might have a clear mile of road +without a break. The evening had passed, and the light faded. What had +been difficult and tedious during the day now became most serious; we +could not see the branches of hooked thorns that over-hung the broken +path. I rode in advance, my face and arms bleeding with countless +scratches, while at each rip of a thorn I gave a warning shout--"Thorn!" +for those behind, and a cry of "Hole!" for any deep rut that lay in the +path. It was fortunately moonlight; but the jungle was so thick that the +narrow track was barely perceptible; thus both camels and donkeys ran +against the trunks of trees, smashing the luggage and breaking all that +could be broken. Nevertheless the case was urgent; march we must at all +hazards. + +My heart sank whenever we cane to a deep ravine or hor; the warning cry +of "halt" told those in the rear that once more the camels must be +unloaded and the same fatiguing operation must be repeated. For hours we +marched; the moon was sinking; the path, already dark, grew darker; the +animals, overloaded even for a good road, were tired out, and the men +were disheartened, thirsty, and disgusted. Everything was tired out. I +had been working like a slave to assist and to cheer the men; I was also +fatigued. We had marched from 4.30 P.M--it was now 1 A.M.; we had thus +been eight hours and a half struggling along the path. The moon had +sunk, and the complete darkness rendered a further advance impossible; +therefore, on arrival at a large plateau of rock, I ordered the animals +to be unloaded and both man and beast to rest. + +Every one lay down supperless to sleep. Although tired, I could not rest +until I had arranged some plan for the morrow. It was evident that we +could not travel over so rough a country with the animals thus +overloaded; I therefore determined to leave in the jungle such articles +as could be dispensed with, and to rearrange all the loads. + +At 4 A.M. I awoke, and lighting a lamp I tried in vain to wake any of +the men, who lay stretched upon the ground like so many corpses, sound +asleep. + +I threw away about 100 lbs. of salt, divided the heavy ammunition more +equally among the animals, rejected a quantity of odds and ends that, +although most useful, could be forsaken, and by the time the men awoke, +a little before sunrise, I had completed the work. We now reloaded the +animals, who showed the improvement by stepping out briskly. We marched +well for three hours at a pace that bade fair to keep us well ahead of +the Turks, and at length we reached the dry bed of a stream, where the +Latooka guides assured us we should obtain water by digging. This proved +correct; but the holes were dug deep in several places, and hours passed +before we could secure a sufficient supply for all the men and animals. +Ascending from this place about a mile we came to the valley of Tollogo. +We passed the night in a village of the friendly natives, and were off +again bright and early. On reaching the extremity of the valley we had +to thread our way through the difficult pass. Had the natives been +really hostile they could have exterminated us in five minutes, as it +was only necessary to hurl rocks from above to insure our immediate +destruction. It was in this spot that a trader's party of one hundred +and twenty-six men, well armed, had been massacred to a man the year +previous. + +Bad as the pass was, we had hope before us, as the Latookas explained +that beyond this spot there was level and unbroken ground the whole way +to Latooka. Could we only clear Ellyria before the Turks, I had no fear +for the present; but at the very moment when success depended upon speed +we were thus baffled by the difficulties of the ground. I therefore +resolved to ride on in advance of my party, leaving them to overcome the +difficulties of the pass by constantly unloading the animals, while I +would reconnoitre in front, as Ellyria was not far distant. My wife and +I accordingly rode on, accompanied only by one of the Latookas as a +guide. After turning a sharp angle of the mountain, leaving the cliff +abruptly rising to the left from the narrow path, we descended a ravine +worse than any place we had previously encountered, and were obliged to +dismount in order to lead our horses up the steep rocks on the opposite +side. On arrival at the summit a lovely view burst upon us. The valley +of Ellyria was about four hundred feet below, at about a mile distant. +Beautiful mountains, some two or three thousand feet high, of gray +granite, walled in the narrow vale, while the landscape of forest and +plain was bounded at about fifty or sixty miles' distance to the east by +the blue mountains of Latooka. The mountain of Ellyria was the +commencement of the fine range that continued indefinitely to the south. +The whole country was a series of natural forts occupied by a large +population. A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient. To +FIGHT a way through a valley a quarter of a mile wide, hemmed in by high +walls of rock and bristling with lances and arrows, would be impossible +with my few men, encumbered by transport animals. Should the camels +arrive I could march into Ellyria in twenty minutes, make the chief a +large present, and pass on without halting until I cleared the Ellyria +valley. At any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced march at +night, however distressing, had been successful. The great difficulty +now lay in the ravine that we had just crossed; this would assuredly +delay the caravan for a considerable time. + +Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock beneath the shade of a +small tree within ten paces of the path, and considered the best course +to pursue. I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone before +the arrival of my whole party, as we had been very rudely received by +the Tollogo people on the previous evening; nevertheless I thought it +might be good policy to ride unattended into Ellyria, and thus to court +an introduction to the chief. However, our consultation ended in a +determination to wait where we then were until the caravan should have +accomplished the last difficulty by crossing the ravine, when we would +all march into Ellyria in company. For a long time we sat gazing at the +valley before us in which our fate lay hidden, feeling thankful that we +had thus checkmated the brutal Turks. Not a sound was heard of our +approaching camels; the delay was most irksome. There were many +difficult places that we had passed through, and each would be a source +of serious delay to the animals. + +At length we heard them in the distance. We could distinctly hear the +men's voices, and we rejoiced that they were approaching the last +remaining obstacle; that one ravine passed through, and all before would +be easy. I heard the rattling of the stones as they drew nearer, and +looking toward the ravine I saw emerge from the dark foliage of the +trees within fifty yards of us the hated RED FLAG AND CRESCENT LEADING +THE TURK'S PARTY! We were outmarched! + +One by one, with scowling looks, the insolent scoundrels filed by us +within a few feet, without making the customary salaam, neither noticing +us in any way, except by threatening to shoot the Latooka, our guide, +who had formerly accompanied them. + +Their party consisted of a hundred and forty men armed with guns, while +about twice as many Latookas acted as porters, carrying beads, +ammunition, and the general effects of the party. It appeared that we +were hopelessly beaten. + +However, I determined to advance at all hazards on the arrival of my +party, and should the Turks incite the Ellyria tribe to attack us, I +intended, in the event of a fight, to put the first shot through the +leader. To be thus beaten at the last moment was unendurable. Boiling +with indignation as the insolent wretches filed past, treating me with +the contempt of a dog, I longed for the moment of action, no matter what +were the odds against us. At length their leader, Ibrahim, appeared in +the rear of the party. He was riding on a donkey, being the last of the +line, behind the flag that closed the march. + +I never saw a more atrocious countenance than that exhibited in this +man. A mixed breed, between a Turk sire and all Arab mother, he had the +good features and bad qualities of either race--the fine, sharp, +high-arched nose and large nostril, the pointed and projecting chin, +rather high cheek-bones and prominent brow, overhanging a pair of +immense black eyes full of expression of all evil. As he approached he +took no notice of us, but studiously looked straight before him with the +most determined insolence. + +The fate of the expedition was at this critical moment retrieved by Mrs. +Baker. She implored me to call him, to insist upon a personal +explanation, and to offer him some present in the event of establishing +amicable relations. I could not condescend to address the sullen +scoundrel. He was in the act of passing us, and success depended upon +that instant. Mrs. Baker herself called him. For the moment he made no +reply; but upon my repeating the call in a loud key he turned his donkey +toward us and dismounted. I ordered him to sit down, as his men were +ahead and we were alone. + +The following dialogue passed between us after the usual Arab mode of +greeting. I said: "Ibrahim, why should we be enemies in the midst of +this hostile country? We believe in the same God; why should we quarrel +in this land of heathens, who believe in no God? You have your work to +perform; I have mine. You want ivory; I am a simple traveller; why +should we clash? If I were offered the whole ivory of the country I +would not accept a single tusk, nor interfere with you in any way. +Transact your business, and don't interfere with me; the country is wide +enough for us both. I have a task before me, to reach a great lake--the +head of the Nile. Reach it I WILL(Inshallah). No power shall drive me +back. If you are hostile I will imprison you in Khartoum; if you assist +me I will reward you far beyond any reward you have ever received. +Should I be killed in this country, you will be suspected. You know the +result: the Government would hang you on the bare suspicion. On the +contrary, if you are friendly I will use my influence in any country +that I discover, that you may procure its ivory for the sake of your +master, Koorshid, who was generous to Captains Speke and Grant, and kind +to me. Should you be hostile, I shall hold your master responsible as +your employer. Should you assist me, I will befriend you both. Choose +your course frankly, like a man--friend or enemy?" + +Before he had time to reply, Mrs. Baker addressed him much in the same +strain, telling him that he did not know what Englishmen were; that +nothing would drive them back; that the British Government watched over +them wherever they might be, and that no outrage could be committed with +impunity upon a British subject; that I would not deceive him in any +way; that I was not a trader; and that I should be able to assist him +materially by discovering new countries rich in ivory, and that he would +benefit himself personally by civil conduct. + +He seemed confused, and wavered. I immediately promised him a new +double-barrelled gun and some gold when my party should arrive, as an +earnest of the future. + +He replied that he did not himself wish to be hostile, but that all the +trading parties, without one exception, were against me, and that the +men were convinced that I was a consul in disguise, who would report to +the authorities at Khartoum all the proceedings of the traders. He +continued that he believed me, but that his men would not; that all +people told lies in their country, therefore no one was credited for the +truth. "However," said he, "do not associate with my people, or they may +insult you; but go and take possession of that large tree (pointing to +one in the valley of Ellyria) for yourself and people, and I will come +there and speak with you. I will now join my men, as I do not wish them +to know that I have been conversing with you." He then made a salaam, +mounted his donkey, and rode off. + +I had won him. I knew the Arab character so thoroughly that I was +convinced that the tree he had pointed out, followed by the words, "I +will come there and speak to you," was to be the rendezvous for the +receipt of the promised gun and money. + +I did not wait for the arrival of my men, but mounting our horses, my +wife and I rode down the hillside with lighter spirits than we had +enjoyed for some time past. I gave her the entire credit of the "ruse." +Had I been alone I should have been too proud to have sought the +friendship of the sullen trader, and the moment on which success +depended would leave been lost. + +On arrival at the grassy plain at the foot of the mountain there was a +crowd of the trader's ruffians quarrelling for the shale of a few large +trees that grew on the banks of the stream. We accordingly dismounted, +and turning the horses to graze we took possession of a tree at some +distance, under which a number of Latookas were already sitting. Not +being very particular as to our society, we sat down and waited for the +arrival of our party. + +The natives were entirely naked, and precisely the same as the Bari. +Their chief, Legge, was among them, and received a present from Ibrahim +of a long red cotton shirt, and he assumed an air of great importance. +Ibrahim explained to him who I was, and he immediately came to ask for +the tribute he expected to receive as "blackmail" for the right of +entree into his country. Of all the villainous countenances that I have +ever seen, that of Legge excelled. Ferocity, avarice, and sensuality +were stamped upon his face, and I immediately requested him to sit for +his portrait, and in about ten minutes I succeeded in placing within my +portfolio an exact likeness of about the greatest rascal that exists in +Central Africa. + +I had now the satisfaction of seeing my caravan slowly winding down the +hillside in good order, having surmounted all their difficulties. + +Upon arrival my men were perfectly astonished at seeing us so near the +trader's party, and still more confounded at my sending for Ibrahim to +summon him to my tree, where I presented him with some English +sovereigns and a double-barrelled gun. Nothing escapes the +inquisitiveness of these Arabs; and the men of both parties quickly +perceived that I had established an alliance in some unaccountable +manner with Ibrahim. I saw the gun lately presented to him being handed +from one to the other for examination, and both my vakeel and men +appeared utterly confused at the sudden change. + +The chief of Ellyria now came to inspect my luggage, and demanded +fifteen heavy copper bracelets and a large quantity of beads. The +bracelets most in demand are simple rings of copper five-eighths of an +inch thick and weighing about a pound, smaller ones not being so much +valued. I gave him fifteen such rings, and about ten pounds of beads in +varieties, the red coral porcelain (dimiriaf) being the most acceptable. +Legge was by no means satisfied; he said his belly was very big and it +must be filled, which signified that his desire was great and must be +gratified. I accordingly gave him a few extra copper rings; but suddenly +he smelt spirits, one of the few bottles that I possessed of spirits of +wine having broken in the medicine chest. Ibrahim begged me to give him +a bottle to put him in a good humor, as he enjoyed nothing so much as +araki. I accordingly gave him a pint bottle of the strongest spirits of +wine. + +To my amazement he broke off the neck, and holding his head well back he +deliberately allowed the whole of the contents to trickle down his +throat as innocently as though it had been simple water. He was +thoroughly accustomed to it, as the traders were in the habit of +bringing him presents of araki every season. He declared this to be +excellent, and demanded another bottle. At that moment a violent storm +of thunder and rain burst upon us with a fury well known in the tropics. +The rain fell like a waterspout, and the throng immediately fled for +shelter. So violent was the storm that not a man was to be seen; some +sheltered themselves under the neighboring rocks, while others ran to +their villages that were close by. The trader's people commenced a +fusillade, firing off all their guns lest they should get wet and miss +fire. + + + +CHAPTER, XVI. + +The greeting of the slave--traders--Collapse of the mutiny--African +funerals--Visit from the Latooka chief--Bokke makes a +suggestion--Slaughter of the Turks--Success as a prophet--Commoro's +philosophy. + +Although Ellyria was a rich and powerful country, we were not able to +procure any provisions. The natives refused to sell, and their general +behavior assured me of their capability of any atrocity had they been +prompted to attack us by the Turks. Fortunately we had a good supply of +meal that had been prepared for the journey prior to our departure from +Gondokoro; thus we could not starve. I also had a sack of corn for the +animals, a necessary precaution, as at this season there was not a blade +of grass, all in the vicinity of the route having been burned. + +We started on the 30th of March, at 7.30 A.M., and entered from the +valley of Ellyria upon a perfectly flat country interspersed with trees. +The ground was most favorable for the animals, being perfectly flat and +free from ravines. We accordingly stepped along at a brisk pace, and the +intense heat of the sun throughout the hottest hours of the day made the +journey fatiguing for all but the camels. The latter were excellent of +their class, and now far excelled the other transport animals, marching +along with ease under loads of about 600 pounds each. + +My caravan was at the rear of the trader's party; but the ground being +good we left our people and cantered on to the advanced flag. It was +curious to witness the motley assemblage in single file extending over +about half a mile of ground. Several of the people were mounted on +donkeys, some on oxen; the most were on foot, including all the women to +the number of about sixty, who were the slaves of the trader's people. +These carried heavy loads, and many, in addition to the burdens, carried +children strapped to their backs in leather slings. After four or five +hours' march during the intense heat, many of the overloaded women +showed symptoms of distress and became footsore. The grass having been +recently burned had left the sharp charred stumps, which were very +trying to those whose sandals were not in the best condition. The women +were forced along by their brutal owners with sharp blows of the +coorbatch, and one who was far advanced in pregnancy could at length go +no further. Upon this the savage to whom she belonged belabored her with +a large stick, and not succeeding in driving her before him, he knocked +her down and jumped upon her. The woman's feet were swollen and +bleeding, but later in the day I again saw her hobbling along in the +rear by the aid of a bamboo. + +After a few days' march we reached Latome, a large Latooka town, and +upon our near approach we discovered crowds collected under two enormous +trees. Presently guns fired, drums beat, and we perceived the Turkish +flags leading a crowd of about a hundred men, who approached us with the +usual salutes, every man firing off ball cartridge as fast as he could +reload. My men were soon with this lot of ragamuffins, and this was the +ivory or slave-trading party that they had conspired to join. They were +marching toward me to honor me with a salute, which, upon close +approach, ended by their holding their guns muzzle downward, and firing +them almost into my feet. I at once saw through their object in giving +me this reception. They had already heard from the other party +exaggerated accounts of presents that their leader had received, and +they were jealous at the fact of my having established confidence with a +party opposed to them. The vakeel of Chenooda was the man who had from +the first instigated my men to revolt and to join his party, and he at +that moment had two of my deserters with him that had mutinied and +joined him at Gondokoro. It had been agreed that the remainder of my men +were to mutiny at this spot and to join him with MY ARMS AND AMMUNITION. +This was to be the stage for the outbreak. The apparent welcome was only +to throw me off my guard. + +I was coldly polite, and begging them not to waste their powder, I went +to the large tree that threw a beautiful shade, and we sat down, +surrounded by a crowd of both natives and trader's people. Mahommed Her +sent me immediately a fat ox for my people. Not to be under any +obligation, I immediately gave him a double-barrelled gun. Ibrahim and +his men occupied the shade of another enormous tree at about one hundred +and fifty yards' distance. + +The evening arrived, and my vakeel, with his usual cunning, came to ask +me whether I intended to start tomorrow. He said there was excellent +shooting in this neighborhood, and that Ibrahim's camp not being more +than five hours' march beyond, I could at any time join him, should I +think proper. Many of my men were sullenly listening to my reply, which +was that we should start in company with Ibrahim. The men immediately +turned their backs and swaggered insolently to the town, muttering +something that I could not distinctly understand. I gave orders directly +that no man should sleep in the town, but that all should be at their +posts by the luggage under the tree that I occupied. At night several +men were absent, and were with difficulty brought from the town by the +vakeel. The whole of the night was passed by the rival parties +quarrelling and fighting. At 5.30 on the following morning the drum of +Ibrahim's party beat the call, and his men with great alacrity got their +porters together and prepared to march. My vakeel was not to be found; +my men were lying idly in the positions where they had slept, and not a +man obeyed when I gave the order to prepare to start- except Richarn and +Sali. I saw that the moment had arrived. Again I gave the order to the +men to get up and load the animals. Not a man would move except three or +four, who slowly rose from the ground and stood resting on their guns. +In the mean time Richarn and Sali were bringing the camels and making +them kneel by the luggage. The boy Saat was evidently expecting a row, +and although engaged with the black women in packing, he kept his eyes +constantly on me. + +I now observed that Bellaal was standing very near me on my right, in +advance of the men who had risen from the ground, and employed himself +in eying me from head to foot with the most determined insolence. The +fellow had his gun in his hand, and he was telegraphing by looks with +those who were standing near him, while not one of the others rose from +the ground, although close to me. Pretending not to notice Bellaal, who +was now, as I had expected, once more the ringleader, for the third time +I ordered the men to rise immediately and to load the camels. Not a man +moved; but the fellow Bellaal marched up to me, and looking me straight +in the face dashed the butt-end of his gun in defiance on the ground and +led the mutiny. "Not a man shall go with you! Go where you like with +Ibrahim, but we won't follow you nor move a step farther. The men shall +not load the camels; you may employ the 'niggers' to do it, but not us." + +I looked at this mutinous rascal for a moment. This was the outburst of +the conspiracy, and the threats and insolence that I had been forced to +pass over for the sake of the expedition all rushed before me. "Lay down +your gun!" I thundered, "and load the camels!" "I won't," was his reply. +"Then stop here!" I answered, at the same time lashing out as quick as +lightning with my right hand upon his jaw. + +He rolled over in a heap, his gun flying some yards from his hand, and +the late ringleader lay apparently insensible among the luggage, while +several of his friends ran to him and played the part of the Good +Samaritan. Following up on the moment the advantage I had gained by +establishing a panic, I seized my rifle and rushed into the midst of the +wavering men, catching first one by the throat and then another, and +dragging them to the camels, which I insisted upon their immediately +loading. All except three, who attended to the ruined ringleader, +mechanically obeyed. Richarn and Sali both shouted to them to "hurry"; +and the vakeel arriving at this moment and seeing how matters stood, +himself assisted, and urged the men to obey. + +Ibrahim's party had started. The animals were soon loaded, and leaving +the vakeel to take them in charge, we cantered on to overtake Ibrahim, +having crushed the mutiny and given such an example that, in the event +of future conspiracies, my men would find it difficult to obtain a +ringleader. So ended the famous conspiracy that had been reported to me +by both Saat and Richarn before we left Gondokoro; and so much for the +threat of firing simultaneously at me and deserting my wife in the +jungle. In those savage countries success frequently depends upon one +particular moment; you may lose or win according to your action at that +critical instant. We congratulated ourselves upon the termination of +this affair, which I trusted would be the last of the mutinies. + +Upon our arrival at a large town called Kattaga, my vakeel reported the +desertion of five of my men to Mahommed Her's party, with their guns and +ammunition. I abused both the vakeel and the men most thoroughly, and +declared, "As for the mutineers who have joined the slave- hunters, +Inshallah, the vultures shall pick their bones!" + +This charitable wish--which, I believe, I expressed with intense hatred +- was never forgotten either by my own men or by the Turks. Believing +firmly in the evil eye, their superstitious fears were immediately +excited. + +I had noticed during the march from Latome that the vicinity of every +town was announced by heaps of human remains. Bones and skulls formed a +Golgotha within a quarter of a mile of every village. Some of these were +in earthenware pots, generally broken; others lay strewn here and there, +while a heap in the centre showed that some form had originally been +observed in their disposition. This was explained by an extraordinary +custom, most rigidly observed by the Latookas. Should a man be killed in +battle the body is allowed to remain where it fell, and is devoured by +the vultures and hyenas; but should he die a natural death he is buried +in a shallow grave within a few feet of his own door, in the little +courtyard that surrounds each dwelling. Funeral dances are then kept up +in memory of the dead for several weeks, at the expiration of which time +the body, being sufficiently decomposed, is exhumed. + +The bones are cleaned and are deposited in an earthenware jar, and +carried to a spot near the town which is regarded as the cemetery. + +There is little difficulty in describing the toilette of the native, +that of the men being limited to the one covering of the head, the body +being entirely nude. It is curious to observe among these wild savages +the consummate vanity displayed in their head-dresses. Every tribe has a +distinct and unchanging fashion for dressing the hair, and so elaborate +is the coiffure that hair-dressing is reduced to a science. European +ladies would be startled at the fact that to perfect the coiffure of a +man requires a period of from eight to ten years! However tedious the +operation, the result is extraordinary. The Latookas wear most exquisite +helmets, all of which are formed of their own hair, and are, of course, +fixtures. At first sight it appears incredible; but a minute examination +shows the wonderful perseverance of years in producing what must be +highly inconvenient. The thick, crisp wool is woven with fine twine, +formed from the bark of a tree, until it presents a thick network of +felt. As the hair grows through this matted substance it is subjected to +the same process, until, in the course of years, a compact substance is +formed like a strong felt, about an inch and a half thick, that has been +trained into the shape of a helmet. A strong rim about two inches deep +is formed by sewing it together with thread, and the front part of the +helmet is protected by a piece of polished copper, while a piece of the +same metal, shaped like the half of a bishop's mitre and about a foot in +length, forms the crest. The framework of the helmet being at length +completed, it must be perfected by an arrangement of beads, should the +owner of the bead be sufficiently rich to indulge in the coveted +distinction. The beads most in fashion are the red and the blue +porcelain, about the size of small peas. These are sewn on the surface +of the felt, and so beautifully arranged in sections of blue and red +that the entire helmet appears to be formed of beads; and the handsome +crest of polished copper surmounted by ostrich plumes gives a most +dignified and martial appearance to this elaborate head-dress. No helmet +is supposed to be complete without a row of cowrie-shells stitched +around the rim so as to form a solid edge. + +Although the men devote so much attention to their head-dress, the +woman's is extremely simple. It is a curious fact that while the men are +remarkably handsome the women are exceedingly plain. They are immense +creatures, few being under five feet seven in height, with prodigious +limbs. They wear exceedingly long tails, precisely like those of horses, +but made of fine twine and rubbed with red ochre and grease. These are +very convenient when they creep into their huts on hands and knees! In +addition to the tails, they wear a large flap of tanned leather in +front. Should I ever visit that country again, I should take a great +number of Freemasons' aprons for the women; these would be highly +prized, and would create a perfect furore. + +The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated by the chief with +a hut in a neat courtyard, beautifully clean and cemented with clay, +ashes, and cow- dung. Not patronizing the architectural advantages of a +doorway two feet high, I pitched my large tent in the yard and stowed +all my baggage in the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian +carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief of Latooka in +state. He was introduced by Ibrahim, and I had the advantage of his +interpreter. I commenced the conversation by ordering a present to be +laid on the carpet of several necklaces of valuable beads, copper bars, +and colored cotton handkerchiefs. It was most amusing to witness his +delight at a string of fifty little "berrets" (opal beads the size of +marbles) which I had brought into the country for the first time, and +which were accordingly extremely valuable. No sooner had he surveyed +them with undisguised delight than he requested me to give him another +string of opals for his wife, or she would be in a bad humor; +accordingly a present for the lady was added to the already large pile +of beads that lay heaped upon the carpet before him. After surveying his +treasures with pride, he heaved a deep sigh, and turning to the +interpreter he said, "What a row there will be in the family when my +other wives see Bokke (his head wife) dressed up with this finery. Tell +the 'Mattat' that unless he gives necklaces for each of my other wives +they will fight!" Accordingly I asked him the number of ladies that made +him anxious. He deliberately began to count upon his fingers, and having +exhausted the digits of one hand I compromised immediately, begging him +not to go through the whole of his establishment, and presented him with +about three pounds of various beads to be divided among them. He +appeared highly delighted, and declared his intention of sending all his +wives to pay Mrs. Baker a visit. This would be an awful visitation, as +each wife would expect a present for herself, and would assuredly leave +either a child or a friend for whom she would beg an addition. I +therefore told him that the heat was so great that we could not bear too +many in the tent, but that if *Bokke*, his favorite, would appear, we +should be glad to see her. Accordingly he departed, and shortly we were +honored by a visit. + +*Bokke* and her daughter were announced, and a pair of prettier savages +I never saw. They were very clean; their hair was worn short, like that +of all the women of the country, and plastered with red ochre and fat so +as to look like vermilion; their faces were slightly tattooed on the +cheeks and temples, and they sat down on the many-colored carpet with +great surprise, and stared at the first white man and woman they had +ever seen. We gave them both a number of necklaces of red and blue +beads, and I secured Bokke's portrait in my sketch- book, obtaining a +very correct likeness. She told us that Mahommed Her's men were very bad +people; that they had burned and plundered one of her villages; and that +one of the Latookas who had been wounded in the fight by a bullet had +just died, and they were to dance for him to-morrow; if we would like to +we could attend. She asked many questions; among others, how many wives +I had, and was astonished to hear that I was contented with one. This +seemed to amuse her immensely, and she laughed heartily with her +daughter at the idea. She said that my wife would be much improved if +she would extract her four front teeth from the lower jaw and wear the +red ointment on her hair, according to the fashion of the country; she +also proposed that she should pierce her under lip, and wear the long +pointed polished crystal, about the size of a drawing-pencil, that is +the "thing" in the Latooka country. No woman among the tribe who has any +pretensions to being a "swell" would be without this highly-prized +ornament; and one of my thermometers having come to an end, I broke the +tube into three pieces, and they were considered as presents of the +highest value, to be worn through the perforated under lip. Lest the +piece should slip through the hole in the lip, a kind of rivet is formed +by twine bound round the inner extremity, and this, protruding into the +space left by the extraction of the four front teeth of the lower jaw, +entices the tongue to act upon the extremity, which gives it a wriggling +motion indescribably ludicrous during conversation. + +It is difficult to explain real beauty. A defect in one country is a +desideratum in another. Scars upon the face are, in Europe, a blemish; +but here and in the Arab countries no beauty can be perfect until the +cheeks or temples have been gashed. The Arabs make three gashes upon +each cheek, and rub the wounds with salt and a kind of porridge (asida) +to produce proud-flesh; thus every female slave captured by the slave- +hunters is marked to prove her identity and to improve her charms. Each +tribe has its peculiar fashion as to the position and form of the +cicatrix. + +The Latookas gash the temples and cheeks of their women, but do not +raise the scar above the surface, as is the custom of the Arabs. + +Polygamy is, of course, the general custom, the number of a man's wives +depending entirely upon his wealth, precisely as would the number of his +horses in England. There is no such thing as LOVE in these countries; +the feeling is not understood, nor does it exist in the shape in which +we understand it. Everything is practical, without a particle of +romance. Women are so far appreciated as they are valuable animals. They +grind the corn, fetch the water, gather firewood, cement the floors, +cook the food, and propagate the race; but they are mere servants, and +as such are valuable. The price of a good-looking, strong young wife, +who could carry a heavy jar of water, would be ten cows; thus a man rich +in cattle would be rich in domestic bliss, as he could command a +multiplicity of wives. However delightful may be a family of daughters +in England, they nevertheless are costly treasures; but in Latooka and +throughout savage lands they are exceedingly profitable. The simple rule +of proportion will suggest that if one daughter is worth ten cows, ten +daughters must be worth a hundred; therefore a large family is a source +of wealth: the girls bring the cows, and the boys milk them. All being +perfectly naked (I mean the girls and the boys), there is no expense, +and the children act as herdsmen to the flocks as in the patriarchal +times. A multiplicity of wives thus increases wealth by the increase of +family. I am afraid this practical state of affairs will be a strong +barrier to missionary enterprise. + +A savage holds to his cows and his women, but especially to his COWS. In +a razzia fight he will seldom stand for the sake of his wives, but when +he does fight it is to save his cattle. + +One day, soon after Bokke's visit, I heard that there had been some +disaster, and that the whole of Mahommed Her's party had been massacred. +On the following morning I sent ten of my men with a party of Ibrahim's +to Latome to make inquiries. They returned on the following afternoon, +bringing with them two wounded men. It appeared the Mahommed Her had +ordered his party of 110 armed men, in addition to 300 natives, to make +a razzia upon a certain village among the mountains for slaves and +cattle. They had succeeded in burning a village and in capturing a great +number of slaves. Having descended the pass, a native gave them the +route that would lead to the capture of a large herd of cattle that they +had not yet discovered. They once more ascended the mountain by a +different path, and arriving at the kraal they commenced driving off the +vast herd of cattle. The Latookas, who had not fought while their wives +and children were being carried into slavery, now fronted bravely +against the muskets to defend their herds, and charging the Turks they +drove them down the pass. + +It was in vain that they fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck +a rock, behind which the enemy was hidden. Rocks, stones, and lances +were hurled at them from all sides and from above. They were forced to +retreat. The retreat ended in a panic and precipitate flight. Hemmed in +on all sides, amid a shower of lances and stones thrown from the +mountain above, the Turks fled pell-mell down the rocky and precipitous +ravines. Mistaking their route, they came to a precipice from which +there was no retreat. The screaming and yelling savages closed round +them. Fighting was useless; the natives, under cover of the numerous +detached rocks, offered no mark for an aim, while the crowd of armed +savages thrust them forward with wild yells to the very verge of the +great precipice about five hundred feet below. Down they fell, hurled to +utter destruction by the mass of Latookas pressing onward! A few fought +to the last, but one and all were at length forced, by sheer pressure, +over the edge of the cliff, and met a just reward for their atrocities. + +My men looked utterly cast down, and a feeling of horror pervaded the +entire party. No quarter had been given by the Latookas, and upward of +two hundred natives who had joined the slave-hunters in the attack had +also perished with their allies. Mahommed Her had not himself +accompanied his people, both he and Bellaal, my late ringleader, having +remained in camp, the latter having, fortunately for him, been disabled, +and placed hors de combat by the example I had made during the mutiny. + +My men were almost green with awe when I asked them solemnly, "Where are +the men who deserted from me?" Without answering a word they brought two +of my guns and laid them at my feet. They were covered with clotted +blood mixed with sand, which had hardened like cement over the locks and +various portions of the barrels. My guns were all marked. As I looked at +the numbers upon the stocks, I repeated aloud the names of the owners. +"Are they all dead?" I asked. "All dead," the men replied. "FOOD FOR +THE VULTURES?" I asked. "None of the bodies can be recovered," faltered +my vakeel. "The two guns were brought from the spot by some natives who +escaped, and who saw the men fall. They are all killed." "Better for +them had they remained with me and done their duty. The hand of God is +heavy," I replied. My men slunk away abashed, leaving the gory witnesses +of defeat and death upon the ground. I called Saat and ordered him to +give the two guns to Richarn to clean. + +Not only my own men but the whole of Ibrahim's party were of opinion +that I had some mysterious connection with the disaster that had +befallen my mutineers. All remembered the bitterness of my prophecy, +"The vultures will pick their bones", and this terrible mishap having +occurred so immediately afterward took a strong hold upon their +superstitious minds. As I passed through the camp the men would quietly +exclaim, "Wah Illahi Hawaga!" (My God, Master!) To which I simply +replied, "Robine fe!" (There is a God.) From that moment I observed an +extraordinary change in the manner of both my people and those of +Ibrahim, all of whom now paid us the greatest respect. + +One day I sent for Commoro, the Latooka chief, and through my two young +interpreters I had a long conversation with him on the customs of his +country. I wished if possible to fathom the origin of the extraordinary +custom of exhuming the body after burial, as I imagined that in this act +some idea might be traced to a belief in the resurrection. + +Commoro was, like all his people, extremely tall. Upon entering my tent +he took his seat upon the ground, the Latookas not using stools like the +other White Nile tribes. I commenced the conversation by complimenting +him on the perfection of his wives and daughters in a funeral dance +which had lately been held, and on his own agility in the performance, +and inquired for whom the ceremony had been performed. He replied that +it was for a man who had been recently killed, but no one of great +importance, the same ceremony being observed for every person without +distinction. + +I asked him why those slain in battle were allowed to remain unburied. +He said it had always been the custom, but that he could not explain it. + +"But," I replied, "why should you disturb the bones of those whom you +have already buried, and expose them on the outskirts of the town?" + +"It was the custom of our forefathers," he answered, "therefore we +continue to observe it." + +"Have you no belief in a future existence after death? Is not some idea +expressed in the act of exhuming the bones after the flesh is decayed ?" + +Commoro (loq.).--"Existence AFTER death! How can that be? Can a dead +man get out of his grave, unless we dig him out?" + +"Do you think man is like a beast, that dies and is ended?" + +Commoro.--"Certainly. An ox is stronger than a man, but he dies, and +his bones last longer; they are bigger. A man's bones break quickly; he +is weak." + +"Is not a man superior in sense to an ox? Has he not a mind to direct +his actions?" + +Commoro--"Some men are not so clever as an ox. Men must sow corn to +obtain food, but the ox and wild animals can procure it without sowing." + +"Do you not know that there is a spirit within you different from flesh? +Do you not dream and wander in thought to distant places in your sleep? +Nevertheless your body rests in one spot. How do you account for this?" + +Commoro (laughing)--"Well, how do YOU account for it? It is a thing I +cannot understand; it occurs to me every night." + +"The mind is independent of the body. The actual body can be fettered, +but the mind is uncontrollable. The body will die and will become dust +or be eaten by vultures; but the spirit will exist forever." + +Commoro--"Where will the spirit live ?" + +"Where does fire live? Cannot you produce a fire* (* The natives always +produce fire by rubbing two sticks together.) by rubbing two sticks +together? Yet you SEE not the fire in the wood. Has not that fire, that +lies harmless and unseen in the sticks, the power to consume the whole +country? Which is the stronger, the small stick that first PRODUCES the +fire, or the fire itself? So is the spirit the element within the body, +as the element of fire exists in the stick, the element being superior +to the substance." + +Commoro--"Ha! Can you explain what we frequently see at night when lost +in the wilderness? I have myself been lost, and wandering in the dark I +have seen a distant fire; upon approaching the fire has vanished, and I +have been unable to trace the cause, nor could I find the spot." + +"Have you no idea of the existence of spirits superior to either man or +beast? Have you no fear of evil except from bodily causes?" + +Commoro.--"I am afraid of elephants and other animals when in the +jungle at night; but of nothing else." + +"Then you believe in nothing--neither in a good nor evil spirit! And +you believe that when you die it will be the end of body and spirit; +that you are like other animals; and that there is no distinction +between man and beast; both disappear, and end at death?" + +Commoro.--"Of course they do." + +"Do you see no difference in good and bad actions?" + +Commoro.--"Yes, there are good and bad in men and beasts." + +"Do you think that a good man and a bad must share the same fate, and +alike die, and end?" + +Commoro.--"Yes; what else can they do? How can they help dying? Good and +bad all die." + +"Their bodies perish, but their spirits remain; the good in happiness, +the bad in misery. If you leave no belief in a future state, WHY SHOULD +A MAN BE GOOD? Why should he not be bad, if he can prosper by +wickedness?" + +Commoro.--"Most people are bad; if they are strong they take from the +weak. The good people are all weak; they are good because they are not +strong enough to be bad." + +Some corn had been taken out of a sack for the horses, and a few grains +lying scattered on the ground, I tried the beautiful metaphor of St. +Paul as an example of a future state. Making a small hole with my finger +in the ground, I placed a grain within it: "That," I said, "represents +you when you die." Covering it with earth, I continued, "That grain will +decay, but from it will rise the plant that will produce a reappearance +of the original form." + +Commoro.--"Exactly so; that I understand. But the original grain does +NOT rise again; it rots like the dead man, and is ended. The fruit +produced is not the same grain that we buried, but the PRODUCTION of +that grain. So it is with man. I die, and decay, and am ended; but my +children grow up like the fruit of the grain. Some men have no children, +and some grains perish without fruit; then all are ended." + +I was obliged to change the subject of conversation. In this wild naked +savage there was not even a superstition upon which to found a religious +feeling; there was a belief in matter, and to his understanding +everything was MATERIAL. It was extraordinary to find so much clearness +of perception combined with such complete obtuseness to anything ideal. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Disease in the camp--Forward under difficulties--Our cup of misery +overflows--A rain-maker in a dilemma--Fever again--Ibrahim's +quandary--Firing the prairie. + +Sickness now rapidly spread among my animals. Five donkeys died within a +few days, and the rest looked poor. Two of my camels died suddenly, +having eaten the poison-bush. Within a few days of this disaster my good +old hunter and companion of all my former sports in the Base country, +Tetel, died. These terrible blows to my expedition were most +satisfactory to the Latookas, who ate the donkeys and other animals the +moment they died. It was a race between the natives and the vultures as +to who should be first to profit by my losses. + +Not only were the animals sick, but my wife was laid up with a violent +attack of gastric fever, and I was also suffering from daily attacks of +ague. The small- pox broke out among the Turks. Several people died, +and, to make matters worse, they insisted upon inoculating themselves +and all their slaves; thus the whole camp was reeking with this horrible +disease. + +Fortunately my camp was separate and to windward. I strictly forbade my +men to inoculate themselves, and no case of the disease occurred among +my people; but it spread throughout the country. Small-pox is a scourge +among the tribes of Central Africa, and it occasionally sweeps through +the country and decimates the population. + +I had a long examination of Wani, the guide and interpreter, respecting +the country of Magungo. Loggo, the Bari interpreter, always described +Magungo as being on a large river, and I concluded that it must be the +Asua; but upon cross-examination I found he used the word "Bahr" (in +Arabic signifying river or sea) instead of "Birbe (lake). This important +error being discovered gave a new feature to the geography of this part. +According to his description, Magungo was situated on a lake so large +that no one knew its limits. Its breadth was such that, if one journeyed +two days east and the same distance west, there was no land visible on +either quarter, while to the south its direction was utterly unknown. +Large vessels arrived at Magungo from distant arid unknown parts, +bringing cowrie-shells and beads in exchange for ivory. Upon these +vessels white men had been seen. All the cowrie-shells used in Latooka +and the neighboring countries were supplied by these vessels, but none +had arrived for the last two years. + +I concluded the lake was no other than the N'yanza, which, if the +position of Mangungo were correct, extended much farther north than +Speke had supposed. I determined to take the first opportunity to push +for Magungo. The white men spoken of by Wani probably referred to Arabs, +who, being simply brown, were called white men by the blacks. I was +called a VERY WHITE MAN as a distinction; but I have frequently been +obliged to take off my shirt to exhibit the difference of color between +myself and men, as my face had become brown. + +The Turks had set June 23d as the time for their departure from Latooka. +On the day preceding my wife was dangerously ill with bilious fever, and +was unable to stand, and I endeavored to persuade the trader's party to +postpone their departure for a few days. They would not hear of such a +proposal; they had so irritated the Latookas that they feared an attack, +and their captain or vakeel, Ibrahim, had ordered them immediately to +vacate the country. This was a most awkward position for me. The traders +had incurred the hostility of the country, and I should bear the brunt +of it should I remain behind alone. Without their presence I should be +unable to procure porters, as the natives would not accompany my feeble +party, especially as I could offer them no other payment than beads or +copper. The rain had commenced within the last few days at Latooka, and +on the route toward Obbo we should encounter continual storms. We were +to march by a long and circuitous route to avoid the rocky passes that +would be dangerous in the present spirit of the country, especially as +the traders possessed large herds that must accompany the party. They +allowed five days' march for the distance to Obbo by the intended route. +This was not an alluring programme for the week's entertainment, with my +wife almost in a dying state! However, I set to work and fitted an +angarep with arched hoops from end to end, so as to form a frame like +the cap of a wagon. This I covered with two waterproof Abyssinian tanned +hides securely strapped, and lashing two long poles parallel to the +sides of the angarep, I formed an excellent palanquin. In this she was +assisted, and we started on June 23d. + +On our arrival at Obbo both my wife and I were excessively ill with +bilious fever, and neither could assist the other. The old chief of +Obbo, Katchiba, hearing that we were dying, came to charm us with some +magic spell. He found us lying helpless, and immediately procured a +small branch of a tree, and filling his month with water he squirted it +over the leaves and about the floor of the hut. He then waved the branch +around my wife's head, also around mine, and completed the ceremony by +sticking it in the thatch above the doorway. He told us we should now +get better, and, perfectly satisfied, took his leave. + +The hut was swarming with rats and white ants, the former racing over +our bodies during the night and burrowing through the floor, filling our +only room with mounds like molehills. As fast as we stopped the holes, +others were made with determined perseverance. Having a supply of +arsenic, I gave them an entertainment, the effect being disagreeable to +all parties, as the rats died in their holes and created a horrible +effluvium, while fresh hosts took the place of the departed. Now and +then a snake would be seen gliding within the thatch, having taken +shelter front the pouring rain. + +The small-pox was raging throughout the country, and the natives were +dying like flies in winter. The country was extremely unhealthy, owing +to the constant rain and the rank herbage, which prevented a free +circulation of air, and the extreme damp induced fevers. The temperature +was 65 degrees Fahr. at night and 72 degrees during the day; dense +clouds obscured the sun for many days, and the air was reeking with +moisture. In the evening it was always necessary to keep a blazing fire +within the hut, as the floor and walls were wet and chilly. + +The wet herbage disagreed with my baggage animals. + +Innumerable flies appeared, including the tsetse, and in a few weeks the +donkeys had no hair left, either on their ears or legs. They drooped and +died one by one. It was in vain that I erected sheds and lighted fires; +nothing would protect them from the flies. The moment the fires were lit +the animals would rush wildly into the smoke, from which nothing would +drive them; and in the clouds of imaginary protection they would remain +all day, refusing food. On the 16th of July my last horse, Mouse, died. +He had a very long tail, for which I obtained A COW IN EXCHANGE. Nothing +was prized so highly as horses' tails, the hairs being used for +stringing beads and also for making tufts as ornaments, to be suspended +from the elbows. It was highly fashionable in Obbo for the men to wear +such tufts formed of the bushy ends of cows' tails. It was also "the +thing" to wear six or eight polished rings of iron, fastened so tightly +round the throat as almost to choke the wearer, and somewhat resembling +dog-collars. + +For months we dragged on a miserable existence at Obbo, wrecked by +fever. The quinine was exhausted; thus the disease worried me almost to +death, returning at intervals of a few days. Fortunately my wife did not +suffer so much as I did. I had nevertheless prepared for the journey +south, and as travelling on foot would have been impossible in our weak +state, I had purchased and trained three oxen in lieu of horses. They +were named "Beef," "Steaks," and "Suet." "Beef" was a magnificent +animal, but having been bitten by the flies he so lost his condition +that I changed his name to "Bones." We were ready to start, and the +natives reported that early in January the Asua would be fordable. I had +arranged with Ibrahim that he should supply me with porters for payment +in copper bracelets, and that he should accompany me with one hundred +men to Kamrasi's country (Unyoro) on condition that he would restrain +his people from all misdemeanors, and that they should be entirely +subservient to me. + +It was the month of December, and during the nine, months that I had +been in correspondence with his party I had succeeded in acquiring an +extraordinary influence. Although my camp was nearly three quarters of a +mile from their zareeba, I had been besieged daily for many months for +everything that was wanted. My camp was a kind of general store that +appeared to be inexhaustible. I gave all that I had with a good grace, +and thereby gained the good-will of the robbers, especially as my large +medicine chest contained a supply of drugs that rendered me in their +eyes a physician of the first importance. I had been very successful +with my patients, and the medicines that I generally used being those +which produced a very decided effect, both the Turks and natives +considered them with perfect faith. There was seldom any difficulty in +prognosticating the effect of tartar emetic, and this became the +favorite drug that was almost daily applied for, a dose of three grains +enchanting the patient, who always advertised my fame by saying "He told +me I should be sick, and, by Allah! there was no mistake about it." +Accordingly there was a great run upon the tartar emetic. + +Many people in Debono's camp had died, including several of my deserters +who had joined them. News was brought that in three separate fights with +the natives my deserters had been killed on every occasion, and my men +and those of Ibrahim unhesitatingly declared it was the "hand of God." +None of Ibrahim's men had died since we left Latooka. One man, who had +been badly wounded by a lance thrust through his abdomen, I had +successfully treated; and the trading party, who would at one time +gladly have exterminated me, now exclaimed, "What shall we do when the +Sowar (traveller) leaves the country?" Mrs. Baker had been exceedingly +kind to the women and children of both the traders and natives, and +together we had created so favorable an impression that we were always +referred to as umpires in every dispute. My own men, although indolent, +were so completely disciplined that they would not have dared to disobey +an order, and they looked back upon their former mutinous conduct with +surprise at their own audacity, and declared that they feared to return +to Khartoum, as they were sure that I would not forgive them. + +One day, hearing a great noise of voices and blowing of horns in the +direction of Katchiba's residence, I sent to inquire the cause. The old +chief himself appeared very angry and excited. He said that his people +were very bad, that they had been making a great noise and finding fault +with him because he had not supplied them with a few showers, as they +wanted to sow their crop of tullaboon. There had been no rain for about +a fortnight. + +Well," I replied, "you are the rain-maker; why don't you give your +people rain?" "Give my people rain!" said Katchiba. "I give them rain if +they don't give me goats? You don't know my people. If I am fool enough +to give them rain before they give me the goats, they would let me +starve! No, no! let them wait. If they don't bring me supplies of corn, +goats, fowls, yams, merissa, and all that I require, not one drop of +rain shall ever fall again in Obbo! Impudent brutes are my people! Do +yon know, they have positively threatened to kill me unless I bring the +rain? + +They shan't have a drop. I will wither the crops and bring a plague upon +their flocks. I'll teach these rascals to insult me!" + +With all this bluster, I saw that old Katchiba was in a great dilemma, +and that he would give anything for a shower, but that lie did not know +how to get out of the scrape. It was a common freak of the tribes to +sacrifice the rain-maker should he be unsuccessful. He suddenly altered +his tone, and asked, "Have you any rain in your country?" I replied that +we had, every now and then. "How do you bring it? Are you a rain-maker?" +I told him that no one believed in rain- makers in our country, but that +we understood how to bottle lightning (meaning electricity). "I don't +keep mine in bottles, but I have a houseful of thunder and lightning," +he most coolly replied; "but if you can bottle lightning, you must +understand rain-making. What do you think of the weather to-day?" I +immediately saw the drift of the cunning old Katchiba; he wanted +professional advice. I replied that he must know all about it, as he was +a regular rain- maker. "Of course I do," he answered, "but I want to +know what YOU think of it." "Well," I said, "I don't think we shall have +any steady rain, but I think we may have a heavy shower in about four +days." I said this as I had observed fleecy clouds gathering daily in +the afternoon. "Just my opinion!" said Katchiba, delighted. "In four or +perhaps in five days I intend to give then one shower-- just one shower. +Yes, I'll just step down to them now and tell the rascals that if they +will bring me some goats by this evening and some corn to-morrow morning +I will give them in four or five days just one shower." To give effect +to his declaration he gave several toots upon his magic whistle. "Do you +use whistles in your country?" inquired Katchiba. I only replied by +giving so shrill and deafening a whistle on my fingers that Katchiba +stopped his ears, and relapsing into a smile of admiration he took a +glance at the sky from the doorway to see if any sudden effect had been +produced. "Whistle again," he said, and once more I performed like the +whistle of a locomotive. "That will do; we shall have it," said the +cunning old rain-maker, and proud of having so knowingly obtained +"counsel's opinion" on his case, he toddled off to his impatient +subjects. + +In a few days a sudden storm of rain and violent thunder added to +Katchiba's renown, and after the shower horns were blowing and nogaras +were beating in honor of their chief. Entre nous, my whistle was +considered infallible. + +A bad attack of fever laid me up until the 31st of December. On the +first day of January, 1864, I was hardly able to stand, and was nearly +worn out at the very time that I required my strength, as we were to +start south in a few days. Although my quinine had been long since +exhausted, I had reserved ten grains to enable me to start in case the +fever should attack me at the time of departure. I now swallowed my last +dose. + +It was difficult to procure porters; therefore I left all my effects at +my camp in charge of two of my men, and I determined to travel light, +without the tent, and to take little beyond ammunition and cooking +utensils. Ibrahim left forty- five men in his zareeba, and on the 5th of +January we started. + +In four days' march we reached the Asua River, and on January 13th +arrived at Shooa, in latitude 3 degrees 4'. + +Two days after our arrival at Shooa all of our Obbo porters absconded. +They had heard that we were bound for Kamrasi's country, and having +received exaggerated accounts of his power from the Shooa people, they +had determined upon retreat; thus we were at once unable to proceed, +unless we could procure porters from Shooa. This was exceedingly +difficult, as Kamrasi was well known here, and was not loved. His +country was known as "Quanda," and I at once recognized the corruption +of Speke's "Uganda." The slave woman "Bacheeta," who had formerly given +me in Obbo so much information concerning Kamrasi's country, was to be +our interpreter; but we also had the luck to discover a lad who had +formerly been employed by Mahommed in Faloro, who also spoke the +language of Quanda, and had learned a little Arabic. + +I now discovered that the slave woman Bacheeta had formerly been in the +service of a chief named Sali, who had been killed by Kamrasi. Sali was +a friend of Rionga (Kamrasi's greatest enemy), and I had been warned by +Speke not to set foot upon Rionga's territory, or all travelling in +Unyoro would be cut off. I plainly saw that Bacheeta was in favor of +Rionga, as a friend of the murdered Sali, by whom she had had two +children, and that she would most likely tamper with the guide, and that +we should be led to Rionga instead of to Kamrasi. There were "wheels +within wheels." + +It was now reported that in the last year, immediately after the +departure of Speke and Grant from Gondokoro, Debono's people had marched +directly to Rionga, allied themselves to him, crossed the Nile with his +people, and had attacked Kamrasi's country, killing about three hundred +of his men, and capturing many slaves. I now understood why they had +deceived me at Gondokoro: they had obtained information of the country +from Speke's people, and had made use of it by immediately attacking +Kamrasi in conjunction with Rionga. + +This would be a pleasant introduction for me on entering Unyoro, as +almost immediately after the departure of Speke and Grant, Kamrasi had +been invaded by the very people into whose hands his messengers had +delivered them, when they were guided from Unyoro to the Turks' station +at Faloro. He would naturally have considered that the Turks had been +sent by Speke to attack him; thus the road appeared closed to all +exploration, through the atrocities of Debono's people. + +Many of Ibrahim's men, at hearing this intelligence, refused to proceed +to Unyoro. Fortunately for me, Ibrahim had been extremely unlucky in +procuring ivory. The year had almost passed away, and he had a mere +nothing with which to return to Gondokoro. I impressed upon him how +enraged Koorshid would be should he return with such a trifle. Already +his own men declared that he was neglecting razzias because he was to +receive a present from me if we reached Unyoro. This they would report +to his master (Koorshid), and it would be believed should he fail in +securing ivory. I guaranteed him 100 cantars (10,000 pounds) if he would +push on at all hazards with me to Kamrasi and secure me porters from +Shooa. Ibrahim behaved remarkably well. For some time past I had +acquired a great influence over him, and he depended so thoroughly upon +my opinion that he declared himself ready to do all that I suggested. +Accordingly I desired him to call his men together, and to leave in +Shooa all those who were disinclined to follow us. + +At once I arranged for a start, lest some fresh idea should enter the +ever- suspicious brains of our followers and mar the expedition. It was +difficult to procure porters, and I abandoned all that was not +indispensable--our last few pounds of rice and coffee, and even the +great sponging-bath, that emblem of civilization that had been clung to +even when the tent had been left behind. + +On the 18th of January, 1864, we left Shooa. The pure air of that +country had invigorated us, and I was so improved in strength that I +enjoyed the excitement of the launch into unknown lands. The Turks knew +nothing of the route south, and I accordingly took the lead of the +entire party. I had come to a distinct understanding with Ibrahim that +Kamrasi's country should belong to ME; not an act of felony would be +permitted; all were to be under my government, and I would insure him at +least 100 cantars of tusks. + +Eight miles of agreeable march through the usual park-like country +brought us to the village of Fatiko, situated upon a splendid plateau of +rock upon elevated ground with beautiful granite cliffs, bordering a +level table-land of fine grass that would have formed a race-course. The +high rocks were covered with natives, perched upon the outline like a +flock of ravens. + +We halted to rest under some fine trees growing among large isolated +blocks of granite and gneiss. In a short time the natives assembled +around us. They were wonderfully friendly, and insisted upon a personal +introduction to both myself and Mrs. Baker. We were thus compelled to +hold a levee--not the passive and cold ceremony of Europe, but a most +active undertaking, as each native that was introduced performed the +salaam of his country by seizing both my hands and raising my arms three +times to their full stretch above my head. After about one hundred +Fatikos had been thus gratified by our submission to this infliction, +and our arms had been subjected to at least three hundred stretches +each, I gave the order to saddle the oxen immediately, and we escaped a +further proof of Fatiko affection that was already preparing, as masses +of natives were streaming down the rocks hurrying to be introduced. +Notwithstanding the fatigue of the ceremony, I took a great fancy to +these poor people. They had prepared a quantity of merissa and a sheep +for our lunch, which they begged us to remain and enjoy before we +started; but the pumping action of half a village not yet gratified by a +presentation was too much, and mounting our oxen with aching shoulders +we bade adieu to Fatiko. + +On the following day our guide lost the road; a large herd of elephants +had obscured it by trampling hundreds of paths in all directions. The +wind was strong from the north, and I proposed to clear the country to +the south by firing the prairies. There were numerous deep swamps in the +bottoms between the undulations, and upon arrival at one of these green +dells we fired the grass on the opposite side. In a few minutes it +roared before us, and we enjoyed the grand sight of the boundless +prairies blazing like infernal regions, and rapidly clearing a path +south. Flocks of buzzards and the beautiful varieties of fly- catchers +thronged to the dense smoke to prey upon the innumerable insects that +endeavored to escape from the approaching fire. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +Greeting from Kamrasi's people--Suffering for the sins of others--Alone +among savages--The free-masonry of Unyoro--Pottery and civilization. + +After an exceedingly fatiguing march we reached the Somerset River, or +Victoria White Nile, January 22d. I went to the river to see if the +other side was inhabited. There were two villages on an island, and the +natives came across in a canoe, bringing the BROTHER OF RIONGA. The +guide, as I had feared during the journey, had deceived us, and +following the secret instructions of the slave woman Bacheeta, had +brought us directly to Rionga's country. + +The natives at first had taken us for Mahomet Wat-el-Mek's people; but, +finding their mistake, they would give us no information. We could +obtain no supplies from them; but they returned to the island and +shouted out that we might go to Kamrasi if we wished, but we should +receive no assistance from them. + +After a most enjoyable march through the exciting scenery of the +glorious river crashing over innumerable falls, and in many places +ornamented with rocky islands, upon which were villages and plantain +groves, we at length approached the Karuma Falls, close to the village +of Atada above the ferry. The heights were crowded with natives, and a +canoe was sent across to within parleying distance of our side, as the +roar of the rapids prevented our voices from being heard except at a +short distance. Bacheeta now explained that "SPEKE'S BROTHER had arrived +from his country to pay Kamrasi a visit, and had brought him valuable +presents." + +"Why has he brought so many men with him?" inquired the people from the +canoe. + +"There are so many presents for the M'Kamma (king) that he has many men +to carry them," shouted Bacheeta. + +"Let us look at him!" cried the headman in the boat. Having prepared for +the introduction by changing my clothes in a grove of plantains for my +dressing- room, and altering my costume to a tweed suit, something +similar to that worn by Speke, I climbed up a high and almost +perpendicular rock that formed a natural pinnacle on the face of the +cliff, and waving my cap to the crowd on the opposite side, I looked +almost as imposing as Nelson in Trafalgar Square. + +I instructed Bacheeta, who climbed up the giddy height after me, to +shout to the people that an English lady, my wife, had also arrived, and +that we wished immediately to be presented to the king and his family, +as we had come to thank him for his kind treatment of Speke and Grant, +who had arrived safe in their own country. Upon this being explained and +repeated several times the canoe approached the shore. + +I ordered all our people to retire and to conceal themselves among the +plantains, that the natives might not be startled by so imposing a +force, while Mrs. Baker and I advanced alone to meet Kamrasi's people, +who were men of some importance. Upon landing through the high reeds, +they immediately recognized the similarity of my beard and general +complexion to those of Speke, and their welcome was at once displayed by +the most extravagant dancing and gesticulating with lances and shields, +as though intending to attack, rushing at me with the points of their +lances thrust close to my face, and shouting and singing in great +excitement. + +I made each of them a present of a bead necklace, and explained to them +my wish that there should be no delay in my presentation to Kamrasi, as +Speke had complained that he had been kept waiting fifteen days before +the king had condescended to see him; that if this occurred no +Englishman would ever visit him, as such a reception would be considered +an insult. The headman replied that he felt sure I was not an impostor; +but that very shortly after the departure of Speke and Grant in the +previous year a number of people had arrived in their name, introducing +themselves as their greatest friends. They had been ferried across the +river, and well received by Kamrasi's orders, and had been presented +with ivory, slaves, and leopard-skins, as tokens of friendship; but they +had departed, and suddenly returned with Rionga's people, and attacked +the village in which they had been so well received; and upon the +country being assembled to resist them, about three hundred of Kamrasi's +men had been killed in the fight. The king had therefore given orders +that upon pain of death no stranger should cross the river. + +He continued, "that when he saw our people marching along the bank of +the river they imagined us to be the same party that had attacked them +formerly, and they were prepared to resist us, and had sent on a +messenger to Kamrasi, who was three days' march from Karuma, at his +capital, M'rooli; until they received a reply it would be impossible to +allow us to enter the country. He promised to despatch another messenger +immediately to inform the king who we were, but that we must certainly +wait until his return. I explained that we had nothing to eat, and that +it would be very inconvenient to remain in such a spot; that I +considered the suspicion displayed was exceedingly unfair, as they must +see that my wife and I were white people like Speke and Grant, whereas +those who had deceived them were of a totally different race, all being +either black or brown. + +I told him that it did not much matter; that I had very beautiful +presents intended for Kamrasi, but that another great king would be only +too glad to accept them, without throwing obstacles in my way. I should +accordingly return with my presents. + +At the same time I ordered a handsome Persian carpet, about fifteen feet +square, to be displayed as one of the presents intended for the king. +The gorgeous colors, as the carpet was unfolded, produced a general +exclamation. Before the effect of astonishment wore off I had a basket +unpacked, and displayed upon a cloth a heap of superb necklaces, that we +had prepared while at Obbo, of the choicest beads, many as large as +marbles, and glittering with every color of the rainbow. The garden of +jewels of Aladdin's wonderful lamp could not have produced more enticing +fruit. Beads were extremely rare in Kamrasi's land; the few that existed +had arrived from Zanzibar, and all that I exhibited were entirely new +varieties. I explained that I had many other presents, but that it was +not necessary to unpack them, as we were about to return with them to +visit another king, who lived some days' journey distant. "Don't go; +don't go away," said the headman and his companions. "Kamrasi will -" +Here an unmistakable pantomimic action explained their meaning better +than words; throwing their heads well back, they sawed across their +throats with their forefingers, making horrible grimaces, indicative of +the cutting of throats. I could not resist laughing at the terror that +my threat of returning with the presents had created. They explained +that Kamrasi would not only kill them, but would destroy the entire +village of Atada should we return without visiting him; but that he +would perhaps punish them in precisely the same manner should they ferry +us across without special orders. "Please yourselves," I replied; "if my +party is not ferried across by the time the sun reaches that spot on the +heavens (pointing to the position it would occupy at about 3 P.M.) I +shall return." In a state of great excitement they promised to hold a +conference on the other side, and to see what arrangements could be +made. They returned to Atada, leaving the whole party, including +Ibrahim, exceedingly disconcerted, having nothing to eat, an impassable +river before us, and five days' march of uninhabited wilderness in our +rear. + +The whole day passed in shouting and gesticulating our peaceful +intentions to the crowd assembled on the heights on the opposite side of +the river; but the boat did not return until long after the time +appointed. Even then the natives would only approach sufficiently near +to be heard, but nothing would induce them to land. They explained that +there was a division of opinion among the people on the other side: some +were in favor of receiving us, but the greater number were of opinion +that we intended hostilities; therefore we must wait until orders could +be sent from the king. + +To assure the people of our peaceful intentions, I begged them to take +Mrs. Baker and myself alone, and to leave the armed party on this side +of the river until a reply should be received from Kamrasi. At this +suggestion the boat immediately returned to the other side. + +The day passed away, and as the sun set we perceived the canoe again +paddling across the river. This time it approached directly, and the +same people landed that had received the necklaces in the morning. They +said that they had held a conference with the headman, and that they had +agreed to receive my wife and myself, but no other person. I replied +that my servants must accompany us, as we were quite as great personages +as Kamrasi, and could not possibly travel without attendants. To this +they demurred; therefore I dropped the subject, and proposed to load the +canoe with all the presents intended for Kamrasi. There was no objection +to this, and I ordered Richarn, Saat, and Ibrahim to get into the canoe +to stow away the luggage as it should be handed to them, but on no +account to leave the boat. I had already prepared everything in +readiness, and a bundle of rifles tied up in a large blanket and 500 +rounds of ball cartridge were unconsciously received on board as +PRESENTS. I had instructed Ibrahim to accompany us as my servant, as he +was better than most of the men in the event of a row; and I had given +orders that, in case of a preconcerted signal being given, the whole +force should swim the river, supporting themselves and guns upon bundles +of papyrus rush. The men thought us perfectly mad, and declared that we +should be murdered immediately when on the other side; however, they +prepared for crossing the river in case of treachery. + +At the last moment, when the boat was about to leave the shore, two of +the best men jumped in with their guns. However, the natives positively +refused to start; therefore, to avoid suspicion, I ordered them to +retire, but I left word that on the morrow I would send the canoe across +with supplies, and that one or two men should endeavor to accompany the +boat to our side on every trip. + +It was quite dark when we started. The canoe was formed of a large +hollow tree, capable of holding twenty people, and the natives paddled +us across the rapid current just below the falls. A large fire was +blazing upon the opposite shore, on a level with the river, to guide us +to the landing-place. Gliding through a narrow passage in the reeds, we +touched the shore and landed upon a slippery rock, close to the fire, +amid a crowd of people, who immediately struck up a deafening welcome +with horns and flageolets, and marched us up the steep face of the rocky +cliff through a dark grove of bananas. Torches led the way, followed by +a long file of spearmen; then came the noisy band and ourselves, I +towing my wife up the precipitous path, while my few attendants followed +behind with a number of natives who had volunteered to carry the +luggage. + +On arrival at the top of the cliff, we were about 180 feet above the +river; and after a walk of about a quarter of a mile, we were +triumphantly led into the heart of the village, and halted in a small +courtyard in front of the headman's residence. + +Keedja waited to receive us by a blazing fire. Not having had anything +to eat, we were uncommonly hungry, and to our great delight a basketful +of ripe plantains was presented to us. These were the first that I had +seen for many years. A gourd bottle of plantain wine was offered and +immediately emptied; it resembled extremely poor cider. We were now +surrounded by a mass of natives, no longer the naked savages to whom we +had been accustomed, but well-dressed men, wearing robes of bark cloth, +arranged in various fashions, generally like the Arab "tope" or the +Roman toga. Several of the headmen now explained to us the atrocious +treachery of Debono's men, who had been welcomed as friends of Speke and +Grant, but who had repaid the hospitality by plundering and massacring +their hosts. I assured them that no one would be more wroth than Speke +when I should make him aware of the manner in which his name had been +used, and that I should make a point of reporting the circumstance to +the British Government. At the same time I advised them not to trust any +but white people should others arrive in my name or in the names of +Speke and Grant. I upheld their character as that of Englishmen, and I +begged them to state if ever they had deceived them. They replied that +"there could not be better men." I answered, "You MUST trust me, as I +trust entirely in you, and have placed myself in your hands; but if you +have ever had cause to mistrust a white man, kill me at once!--either +kill me or trust in me; but let there be no suspicions." + +They seemed much pleased with the conversation, and a man stepped +forward and showed me a small string of blue beads that Speke bad given +him for ferrying him across the river. This little souvenir of my old +friend was most interesting. After a year's wandering and many +difficulties, this was the first time that I had actually come upon his +track. Many people told me that they had known Speke and Grant; the +former bore the name of "Mollegge" (the bearded one), while Grant had +been named "Masanga" (the elephant's tusk), owing to his height. The +latter had been wounded at Lucknow during the Indian mutiny, and I spoke +to the people of the loss of his finger. This crowned my success, as +they knew without doubt that I had seen him. It was late, therefore I +begged the crowd to depart, but to send a messenger the first thing in +the morning to inform Kamrasi who we were, and to beg him to permit us +to visit him without loss of time. + +A bundle of straw was laid on the ground for Mrs. Baker and myself, and, +in lieu of other beds, the ground was our resting-place. We were +bitterly cold that night, as the guns were packed up in the large +blanket, and, not wishing to expose them, we were contented with a +Scotch plaid each. Ibrahim, Saat, and Richarn watched by turns. + +On the following morning an immense crowd of natives thronged to see us. +There was a very beautiful tree about a hundred yards from the village, +capable of shading upward of a thousand men, and I proposed that we +should sit beneath this protection and hold a conference. The headman of +the village gave us a large hut with a grand doorway about seven feet +high, of which my wife took possession, while I joined the crowd at the +tree. There were about six hundred men seated respectfully on the ground +around me, while I sat with my back to the huge knotty trunk, with +Ibrahim and Richarn at a few paces distant. + +The subject of conversation was merely a repetition of that of the +preceding night, with the simple addition of some questions respecting +the lake. Not a man would give the slightest information; the only +reply, upon my forcing the question, was the pantomime already +described, passing the forefinger across the throat, and exclaiming +"Kamrasi!" The entire population was tongue-locked. I tried the children +to no purpose: they were all dumb. White-headed old men I questioned, as +to the distance of the lake from this point. They replied, "We are +children; ask the old people who know the country." Never was +freemasonry more secret than in the land of Unyoro. It was useless to +persevere. I therefore changed the subject by saying that our people +were starving on the other side, and that provisions must be sent +immediately. In all savage countries the most trifling demand requires +much talking. They said that provisions were scarce, and that until +Kamrasi should give the order, they could give no supplies. +Understanding most thoroughly the natural instincts of the natives, I +told them that I must send the canoe across to fetch three oxen that I +wished to slaughter. The bait took at once, and several men ran for the +canoe, and we sent one of our black women across with a message to the +people that three men, with their guns and ammunition, were to accompany +the canoe and guide three oxen across by swimming them with ropes tied +to their horns. These were the riding oxen of some of the men that it +was necessary to slaughter, to exchange the flesh for flour and other +supplies. + +Hardly had the few boatmen departed than some one shouted suddenly, and +the entire crowd sprang to their feet and rushed toward the hut where I +had left Mrs. Baker. For the moment I thought that the hut was on fire, +and I joined the crowd and arrived at the doorway, where I found a +tremendous press to see some extraordinary sight. Every one was +squeezing for the best place, and, driving them on one side, I found the +wonder that had excited their curiosity. The hut being very dark, my +wife had employed her solitude during my conference with the natives, in +dressing her hair at the doorway, which, being very long and blonde, was +suddenly noticed by some natives; a shout was given, the rush described +had taken place, and the hut was literally mobbed by the crowd of +savages eager to see the extraordinary novelty. The gorilla would not +make a greater stir in London streets than we appeared to create at +Atada. + +The oxen shortly arrived; one was immediately killed, and the flesh +divided into numerous small portions arranged upon the hide. Blonde hair +and white people immediately lost their attractions, and the crowd +turned their attention to beef. We gave them to understand that we +required flour, beans, and sweet potatoes in exchange. + +The market soon went briskly, and the canoe was laden with provisions +and sent across to our hungry people on the other side the river. + +The difference between the Unyoro people and the tribes we had hitherto +seen was most striking. On the north side of the river the natives were +either stark naked or wore a mere apology for clothing in the shape of a +skin slung across their shoulders. The river appeared to be the limit of +utter savagedom, and the people of Unyoro considered the indecency of +nakedness precisely in the same light as Europeans. + +Nearly all savages have some idea of earthenware; but the scale of +advancement of a country between savagedom and civilization may +generally be determined by the style of its pottery. The Chinese, who +were as civilized as they are at the present day at a period when the +English were barbarians, were ever celebrated for the manufacture of +porcelain, and the difference between savage and civilized countries is +always thus exemplified; the savage makes earthenware, but the civilized +make porcelain; thus the gradations from the rudest earthenware will +mark the improvement in the scale of civilization. The prime utensil of +the African savage is a gourd, the shell of which is the bowl presented +to him by nature as the first idea from which he is to model. Nature, +adapting herself to the requirements of animals and man, appears in +these savage countries to yield abundantly much that savage man can +want. Gourds with exceedingly strong shells not only grow wild, which if +divided in halves afford bowls, but great and quaint varieties form +natural bottles of all sizes, from the tiny vial to the demijohn +containing five gallons. + +The most savage tribes content themselves with the productions of +nature, confining their manufacture to a coarse and half-baked jar for +carrying water; but the semi-savage, like those of Unyoro, afford an +example of the first step toward manufacturing art, by their COPYING +FROM NATURE. The utter savage makes use of nature--the gourd is his +utensil; and the more advanced natives of Unyoro adopt it as the model +for their pottery. They make a fine quality of jet-black earthenware, +producing excellent tobacco-pipes most finely worked in imitation of the +small egg-shaped gourd. Of the same earthenware they make extremely +pretty bowls, and also bottles copied from the varieties of the bottle +gourds; thus, in this humble art, we see the first effort of the human +mind in manufactures, in taking nature for a model, precisely as the +beautiful Corinthian capital originated in a design from a basket of +flowers. + +In two days reports were brought that Kamrasi had sent a large force, +including several of Speke's deserters, to inspect me and see if I was +really Speke's brother. I received them standing, and after thorough +inspection I was pronounced to be "Speke's own brother," and all were +satisfied. However, the business was not yet over; plenty of talk, and +another delay of four days was declared necessary until the king should +reply to the satisfactory message about to be sent. Losing all patience, +I stormed, declaring Kamrasi to be mere dust, while a white man was a +king in comparison. I ordered all my luggage to be conveyed immediately +to the canoe, and declared that I would return immediately to my own +country; that I did not wish to see any one so utterly devoid of manners +as Kamrasi, and that no other white man would ever visit his kingdom. + +The effect was magical! I rose hastily to depart. The chiefs implored, +declaring that Kamrasi would kill them all if I retreated, to prevent +which misfortune they secretly instructed the canoe to be removed. I was +in a great rage, and about 400 natives, who were present, scattered in +all quarters, thinking that there would be a serious quarrel. I told the +chiefs that nothing should stop me, and that I would seize the canoe by +force unless my whole party should be brought over from the opposite +side that instant. This was agreed upon. One of Ibrahim's men exchanged +and drank blood from the arm of Speke's deserter, who was Kamrasi's +representative; and peace thus firmly established, several canoes were +at once employed, and sixty of our men were brought across the river +before sunset. The natives had nevertheless taken the precaution to send +all their women away from the village. + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Kamrasi's cowardice--Interview with the king--The exchange of blood--The +royal beggar's last chance--An astounded sovereign. + +On January 31st throngs of natives arrived to carry our luggage gratis, +by the king's orders. On the following day my wife became very ill, and +had to be carried on a litter during the following days. On February 4th +I also fell ill upon the road, and having been held on my ox by two men +for some time, I at length fell into their arms and was laid under a +tree for five hours. Becoming better, I rode on for two hours. + +On the route we were delayed in every possible way. I never saw such +cowardice as the redoubtable Kamrasi exhibited. He left his residence +and retreated to the opposite side of the river, from which point he +sent us false messages to delay our advance as much as possible. He had +not the courage either to repel us or to receive us. On February 9th he +sent word that I was to come on ALONE. I at once turned back, stating +that I no longer wished to see Kamrasi, as he must be a mere fool, and I +should return to my own country. This created a great stir, and +messengers were at once despatched to the king, who returned an answer +that I might bring all my men, but that only five of the Turks could be +allowed with Ibrahim. + +After a quick march of three hours through immense woods we reached the +capital--a large village of grass huts situated on a barren slope. We +were ferried across a river in large canoes, capable of carrying fifty +men, but formed of a single tree upward of four feet wide. Kamrasi was +reported to be in his residence on the opposite side; but upon our +arrival at the south bank we found ourselves thoroughly deceived. We +were upon a miserable flat, level with the river, and in the wet season +forming a marsh at the junction of the Kafoor River with the Somerset. +The latter river bounded the flat on the east, very wide and sluggish, +and much overgrown with papyrus and lotus. The river we had just crossed +was the Kafoor. It was perfectly dead water and about eighty yards wide, +including the beds of papyrus on either side. We were shown some filthy +huts that were to form our camp. The spot was swarming with mosquitoes, +and we had nothing to eat except a few fowls that I had brought with me. +Kamrasi was on the OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER; they had cunningly separated +us from him, and had returned with the canoes. Thus we were prisoners +upon the swamp. This was our welcome from the King of Unyoro! I now +heard that Speke and Grant had been lodged in this same spot. + +Ibrahim was extremely nervous, as were also my men. They declared that +treachery was intended, as the boats had been withdrawn, and they +proposed that we should swim the river and march back to our main party, +who had been left three hours in the rear. I was ill with fever, as was +also my wife, and the unwholesome air of the marsh aggravated the +disease. Our luggage had been left at our last station, as this was a +condition stipulated by Kamrasi; thus we had to sleep upon the damp +ground of the marsh in the filthy hut, as the heavy dew at night +necessitated shelter. With great difficulty I accompanied Ibrahim and a +few men to the bank of the river where we had landed the day before, +and, climbing upon a white ant hill to obtain a view over the high +reeds, I scanned the village with a telescope. The scene was rather +exciting; crowds of people were rushing about in all directions and +gathering from all quarters toward the river; the slope from the river +to the town M'rooli was black with natives, and I saw about a dozen +large canoes preparing to transport them to our side. I returned from my +elevated observatory to Ibrahim, who, on the low ground only a few yards +distant, could not see the opposite side of the river owing to the high +grass and reeds. Without saying more, I merely begged him to mount upon +the ant hill and look toward M'rooli. Hardly had he cast a glance at the +scene described, than he jumped down from his stand and cried, "They arc +going to attack us!" "Let us retreat to the camp and prepare for a +fight!" "Let us fire at them from here as they cross in the canoes," +cried others; "the buckshot will clear them off when packed in the +boats." This my panic-stricken followers would have done had I not been +present. + +"Fools!" I said, "do you not see that the natives have no SHIELDS with +them, but merely lances? Would they commence an attack without their +shields? Kamrasi is coming in state to visit us." This idea was by no +means accepted by my people, and we reached our little camp, and, for +the sake of precaution, stationed the men in position behind a hedge of +thorns. Ibrahim had managed to bring twelve picked men instead of five +as stipulated; thus we were a party of twenty-four. I was of very little +use, as the fever was so strong upon me that I lay helpless on the +ground. + +In a short time the canoes arrived, and for about an hour they were +employed in crossing and recrossing, and landing great numbers of men, +until they at length advanced and took possession of some huts about 200 +yards from our camp. They now hallooed that Kamrasi had arrived, and, +seeing some oxen with the party, I felt sure they had no evil +intentions. I ordered my men to carry me in their arms to the king, and +to accompany me with the presents, as I was determined to have a +personal interview, although only fit for a hospital. + +Upon my approach, the crowd gave way, and I was shortly laid on a mat at +the king's feet. He was a fine- looking man, but with a peculiar +expression of countenance, owing to his extremely prominent eyes; he was +about six feet high, beautifully clean, and was dressed in a long robe +of bark cloth most gracefully folded. The nails of his hands and feet +were carefully attended to, and his complexion was about as dark brown +as that of an Abyssinian. He sat upon a copper stool placed upon a +carpet of leopard-skins, and he was surrounded by about ten of his +principal chiefs. + +Our interpreter, Bacheeta, now informed him who I was, and what were my +intentions. He said that he was sorry I had been so long on the road, +but that he had been obliged to be cautious, having been deceived by +Debono's people. I replied that I was an Englishman, a friend of Speke +and Grant, that they had described the reception they had met with from +him, and that I had come to thank him, and to offer him a few presents +in return for his kindness, and to request him to give me a guide to the +Lake Luta N'zige. He laughed at the name, and repeated it several times +with his chiefs. He then said it was not LUTA, but M-WOOTAN N'zige; but +that it was SIX MONTHS' journey from M'rooli, and that in my weak +condition I could not possibly reach it; that I should die upon the +road, and that the king of my country would perhaps imagine that I had +been murdered, and might invade his territory. I replied that I was weak +with the toil of years in the hot countries of Africa, but that I was in +search of the great lake, and should not return until I had succeeded; +that I had no king, but a powerful Queen who watched over all her +subjects, and that no Englishman could be murdered with impunity; +therefore he should send me to the lake without delay, and there would +be the less chance of my dying in his country. + +I explained that the river Nile flowed for a distance of two years' +journey through wonderful countries, and reached the sea, from which +many valuable articles would be sent to him in exchange for ivory, could +I only discover the great lake. As a proof of this, I had brought him a +few curiosities that I trusted he would accept, and I regretted that the +impossibility of procuring porters had necessitated the abandonment of +others that had been intended for him. + +I ordered the men to unpack the Persian carpet, which was spread upon +the ground before him. I then gave him an Abba (large white Cashmere +mantle), a red silk netted sash, a pair of scarlet Turkish shoes, +several pairs of socks, a double-barrelled gun and ammunition, and a +great heap of first-class beads made up into gorgeous necklaces and +girdles. He took very little notice of the presents, but requested that +the gun might be fired off. This was done, to the utter confusion of the +crowd, who rushed away in such haste that they tumbled over each other +like so many rabbits. This delighted the king, who, although himself +startled, now roared with laughter. He told me that I must be hungry and +thirsty; therefore he hoped I would accept something to eat and drink. +Accordingly he presented me with seventeen cows, twenty pots of sour +plantain cider, and many loads of unripe plantains. I inquired whether +Speke had left a medicine-chest with him. He replied that it was a very +feverish country, and that he and his people had used all the medicine. +Thus my last hope of quinine was cut off. I had always trusted to obtain +a supply from the king, as Speke had told me that he had left a bottle +with him. It was quite impossible to obtain any information from him, +and I was carried back to my hut, where I found Mrs. Baker lying down +with fever, and neither of us could render assistance to the other. + +On the following morning the king again appeared. I was better, and had +a long interview. He did not appear to heed my questions, but he at once +requested that I would ally myself with him, and attack his enemy, +Rionga. I told him that I could not embroil myself in such quarrels, but +that I had only one object, which was the lake. I requested that he +would give Ibrahim a large quantity of ivory, and that on his return +from Gondokoro he would bring him most valuable articles in exchange. He +said that he was not sure whether my belly was black or white; by this +he intended to express evil or good intentions; but that if it were +white I should, of course, have no objection to exchange blood with him, +as a proof of friendship and sincerity. This was rather too strong a +dose! I replied that it would be impossible, as in my country the +shedding of blood was considered a proof of hostility; therefore he must +accept Ibrahim as my substitute. Accordingly the arms were bared and +pricked. As the blood flowed it was licked by either party, and an +alliance was concluded. Ibrahim agreed to act with him against all his +enemies. It was arranged that Ibrahim now belonged to Kamrasi, and that +henceforth our parties should be entirely separate. + +On February 21st Kamrasi was civil enough to allow us to quit the marsh. +My porters had by this time all deserted, and on the following day +Kamrasi promised to send us porters and to allow us to start at once. +There were no preparations made, however, and after some delay we were +honored by a visit from Kamrasi, who promised we should start on the +following day. + +He concluded, as usual, by asking for my watch and for a number of +beads; the latter I gave him, together with a quantity of ammunition for +his guns. He showed me a beautiful double-barrelled rifle that Speke had +given him. I wished to secure this to give to Speke on my return to +England, as he had told me, when at Gondokoro, how he had been obliged +to part with that and many other articles sorely against his will. I +therefore offered to give him three common double-barrelled guns in +exchange for the rifle. This he declined, as he was quite aware of the +difference in quality. He then produced a large silver chronometer that +he had received from Speke. "It was DEAD," he said, "and he wished me to +repair it." This I declared to be impossible. He then confessed to +having explained its construction and the cause of the "ticking" to his +people, by the aid of a needle, and that it had never ticked since that +occasion. I regretted to see such "pearls cast before swine." Thus he +had plundered Speke and Grant of all they possessed before he would +allow them to proceed. + +It is the rapacity of the chiefs of the various tribes that renders +African exploration so difficult. Each tribe wishes to monopolize your +entire stock of valuables, without which the traveller would be utterly +helpless. The difficulty of procuring porters limits the amount of +baggage; thus a given supply must carry you through a certain period of +time. If your supply should fail, the expedition terminates with your +power of giving. It is thus extremely difficult to arrange the +expenditure so as to satisfy all parties and still to retain a +sufficient balance. Being utterly cut off from all communication with +the world, there is no possibility of receiving assistance. The +traveller depends entirely upon himself, under Providence, and must +adapt himself and his means to circumstances. + +The day of starting at length arrived. The chief and guide appeared, and +we were led to the Kafoor River, where canoes were in readiness to +transport us to the south side. This was to our old quarters on the +marsh. The direct course to the lake was west, and I fully expected some +deception, as it was impossible to trust Kamrasi. I complained to the +guide, and insisted upon his pointing out the direction of the lake, +which he did, in its real position, west; but he explained that we must +follow the south bank of the Kafoor River for some days, as there was an +impassable morass that precluded a direct course. This did not appear +satisfactory, and the whole affair looked suspicious, as we had formerly +been deceived by being led across the river to the same spot, and not +allowed to return. We were now led along the banks of the Kafoor for +about a mile, until we arrived at a cluster of huts; here we were to +wait for Kamrasi, who had promised to take leave of us. The sun was +overpowering, and we dismounted from our oxen and took shelter in a +blacksmith's shed. In about an hour Kamrasi arrived, attended by a +considerable number of men, and took his seat in our shed. I felt +convinced that his visit was simply intended to peel the last skin from +the onion. I had already given him nearly all that I had, but he hoped +to extract the whole before I should depart. + +He almost immediately commenced the conversation by asking for a pretty +yellow muslin Turkish handkerchief fringed with silver drops that Mrs. +Baker wore upon her head. One of these had already been given to him, +and I explained that this was the last remaining, and that she required +it.... He "must" have it.... It was given. He then demanded other +handkerchiefs. We had literally nothing but a few most ragged towels. He +would accept no excuse, and insisted upon a portmanteau being unpacked, +that he might satisfy himself by actual inspection. The luggage, all +ready for the journey, had to be unstrapped and examined, and the rags +were displayed in succession, but so wretched and uninviting was the +exhibition of the family linen that he simply returned them, and said +they did not suit him. Beads he must have, or I was "his enemy." A +selection of the best opal beads was immediately given him. I rose from +the stone upon which I was sitting and declared that we must start +immediately. "Don't be in a hurry," he replied; "you have plenty of +time; but you have not given me that watch you promised me." ... This +was my only watch that he had begged for, and had been refused, every +day during my stay at M'rooli. So pertinacious a beggar I had never +seen. I explained to him that without the watch my journey would be +useless, but that I would give him all that I had except the watch when +the exploration should be completed, as I should require nothing on my +direct return to Gondokoro. At the same time I repeated to him the +arrangement for the journey that he had promised, begging him not to +deceive me, as my wife and I should both die if we were compelled to +remain another year in this country by losing the annual boats at +Gondokoro. + +The understanding was this: he was to give me porters to the lake, where +I was to be furnished with canoes to take me to Magungo, which was +situated at the junction of the Somerset. From Magungo he told me that I +should see the Nile issuing from the lake close to the spot where the +Somerset entered, and that the canoes should take me down the river, and +porters should carry my effects from the nearest point to Shooa, and +deliver me at my old station without delay. Should he be faithful to +this engagement, I trusted to procure porters from Shooa, and to reach +Gondokoro in time for the annual boats. I had arranged that a boat +should be sent from Khartoum to await me at Gondokoro early in this +year, 1864; but I felt sure that should I be long delayed, the boat +would return without me, as the people would be afraid to remain alone +at Gondokoro after the other boats had quitted. + +In our present weak state another year of Central Africa without quinine +appeared to warrant death. It was a race against time; all was untrodden +ground before us, and the distance quite uncertain. I trembled for my +wife, and weighed the risk of another year in this horrible country +should we lose the boats. With the self-sacrificing devotion that she +had shown in every trial, she implored me not to think of any risks on +her account, but to push forward and discover the lake--that she had +determined not to return until she had herself reached the "M'wootan +N'zige." + +I now requested Kamrasi to allow us to take leave, as we had not an hour +to lose. In the coolest manner he replied, "I will send you to the lake +and to Shooa, as I have promised, but YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR WIFE WITH ME!" + +At that moment we were surrounded by a great number of natives, and my +suspicions of treachery at having been led across the Kafoor River +appeared confirmed by this insolent demand. If this were to be the end +of the expedition, I resolved that it should also be the end of Kamrasi, +and drawing my revolver quickly, I held it within two feet of his chest, +and looking at him with undisguised contempt, I told him that if I +touched the trigger, not all his men could save him; and that if he +dared to repeat the insult I would shoot him on the spot. At the same +time I explained to him that in my country such insolence would entail +bloodshed, and that I looked upon him as an ignorant ox who knew no +better, and that this excuse alone could save him. My wife, naturally +indignant, had risen from her seat, and maddened with the excitement of +the moment she made him a little speech in Arabic (not a word of which +he understood), with a countenance almost as amiable as the head of +Medusa. Altogether the *mine en scene utterly astonished him. The woman +Bacheeta, although savage, had appropriated the insult to her mistress, +and she also fearlessly let fly at Kamrasi, translating as nearly as she +could the complimentary address that "Medusa" had just delivered. + +Whether this little coup be theatre had so impressed Kamrasi with +British female independence that he wished to be quit of his proposed +bargain, I cannot say; but with an air of complete astonishment he said, +"Don't be angry! I had no intention of offending you by asking for your +wife. I will give your a wife, if you want one, and I thought you might +have no objection to give me yours; it is my custom to give my visitors +pretty wives, and I thought you might exchange. Don't make a fuss about +it; if you don't like it, there's an end of it; I will never mention it +again." This very practical apology I received very sternly, and merely +insisted upon starting. He seemed rather confused at having committed +himself, and to make amends he called his people and ordered them to +carry our loads. His men ordered a number of women, who had assembled +out of curiosity, to shoulder the luggage and carry it to the next +village, where they would be relieved. I assisted my wife upon her ox, +and with a very cold adieu to Kamrasi I turned my back most gladly on +M'rooli. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +A satanic escort--Prostrated by sun-stroke--Days and nights of sorrow +- The reward for all our labor. + +The country was a vast flat of grass land interspersed with small +villages and patches of sweet potatoes. These were very inferior, owing +to the want of drainage. For about two miles we continued on the banks +of the Kafoor River. The women who carried the luggage were straggling +in disorder, and my few men were much scattered in their endeavors to +collect them. We approached a considerable village; but just as we were +nearing it, out rushed about six hundred men with lances and shields, +screaming and yelling like so many demons. For the moment I thought it +was an attack, but almost immediately I noticed that women and children +were mingled with the men. My men had not taken so cool a view of the +excited throng that was now approaching us at full speed, brandishing +their spears, and engaging with each other in mock combat. "There's a +fight! there's a fight!" my men exclaimed; "we are attacked! fire at +them, Ilawaga." However, in a few seconds I persuaded them that it was a +mere parade, and that there was no danger. + +With a rush like a cloud of locusts the natives closed around us, +dancing, gesticulating, and yelling before my ox, feigning to attack us +with spears and shields, then engaging in sham fights with each other, +and behaving like so many madmen. A very tall chief accompanied them; +and one of their men was suddenly knocked down and attacked by the crowd +with sticks and lances, and lay on the ground covered with blood. What +his offence had been I did not hear. The entire crowd were most +grotesquely got up, being dressed in either leopard or white monkey +skins, with cows' tails strapped on behind and antelopes' horns fitted +upon their heads, while their chins were ornamented with false beards +made of the bushy ends of cows' tails sewed together. Altogether I never +saw a more unearthly set of creatures; they were perfect illustrations +of my childish ideas of devils- horns, tails, and all, excepting the +hoofs. They were our escort, furnished by Kamrasi to accompany us to the +lake! Fortunately for all parties, the Turks were not with us on that +occasion, or the Satanic escort would certainly have been received with +a volley when they so rashly advanced to compliment us by their absurd +performances. + +We marched till 7 P.m. over flat, uninteresting country, and then halted +at a miserable village which the people had deserted, as they expected +our arrival. The following morning I found much difficulty in getting +our escort together, as they had been foraging throughout the +neighborhood; these "devil's own" were a portion of Kamrasi's troops, +who considered themselves entitled to plunder ad libitum throughout the +march; however, after some delay they collected, and their tall chief +approached me and begged that a gun might be fired as a curiosity. The +escort had crowded around us, and as the boy Saat was close to me I +ordered him to fire his gun. This was Saat's greatest delight, and bang +went one barrel unexpectedly, close to the tall chief's ear. The effect +was charming. The tall chief, thinking himself injured, clasped his head +with both hands, and bolted through the crowd, which, struck with a +sudden panic, rushed away in all directions, the "devil's own" tumbling +over each other and utterly scattered by the second barrel which Saat +exultingly fired in derision, as Kamrasi's warlike regiment dissolved +before a sound. I felt quite sure that, in the event of a fight, one +scream from the "Baby," with its charge of forty small bullets, would +win the battle if well delivered into a crowd of Kamrasi's troops. + +On the morning of the second day we had difficulty in collecting +porters, those of the preceding day having absconded; and others were +recruited from distant villages by the native escort, who enjoyed the +excuse of hunting for porters, as it gave them an opportunity of +foraging throughout the neighborhood. During this time we had to wait +until the sun was high; we thus lost the cool hours of morning, and it +increased our fatigue. Having at length started, we arrived in the +afternoon at the Kafoor River, at a bend from the south where it was +necessary to cross over in our westerly course. The stream was in the +centre of a marsh, and although deep, it was so covered with +thickly-matted water-grass and other aquatic plants, that a natural +floating bridge was established by a carpet of weeds about two feet +thick. Upon this waving and unsteady surface the men ran quickly across, +sinking merely to the ankles, although beneath the tough vegetation +there was deep water. + +It was equally impossible to ride or to be carried over this treacherous +surface; thus I led the way, and begged Mrs. Baker to follow me on foot +as quickly as possible, precisely in my track. The river was about +eighty yards wide, and I had scarcely completed a fourth of the distance +and looked back to see if my wife followed close to me, when I was +horrified to see her standing in one spot and sinking gradually through +the weeds, while her face was distorted and perfectly purple. Almost as +soon as I perceived her she fell as though shot dead. In an instant I +was by her side, and with the assistance of eight or ten of my men, who +were fortunately close to me, I dragged her like a corpse through the +yielding vegetation; and up to our waists we scrambled across to the +other side, just keeping her head above the water. To have carried her +would have been impossible, as we should all have sunk together through +the weeds. I laid her under a tree and bathed her head and face with +water, as for the moment I thought she had fainted; but she lay +perfectly insensible, as though dead, with teeth and hands firmly +clinched, and her eyes open but fixed. It was a coup de soleil--a +sun-stroke. + +Many of the porters had gone on ahead with the baggage, and I started +off a man in haste to recall an angarep upon which to carry her and also +for a bag with a change of clothes, as we had dragged her through the +river. It was in vain that I rubbed her heart and the black women rubbed +her feet to restore animation. At length the litter came, and after +changing her clothes she was carried mournfully forward as a corpse. +Constantly we had to halt and support her head, as a painful rattling in +the throat betokened suffocation. At length we reached a village, and +halted for the night. + +I laid her carefully in a miserable hut, and watched beside her. I +opened her clinched teeth with a small wooden wedge and inserted a wet +rag, upon which I dropped water to moisten her tongue, which was dry as +fur. The unfeeling brutes that composed the native escort were yelling +and dancing as though all were well, and I ordered their chief at once +to return with them to Kamrasi, as I would travel with them no longer. +At first they refused to return, until at length I vowed that I would +fire into them should they accompany us on the following morning. Day +broke, and it was a relief to have got rid of the brutal escort. They +had departed, and I had now my own men and the guides supplied by +Kamrasi. + +There was nothing to eat in this spot. My wife had never stirred since +she fell by the coup de soleil, and merely respired about five times in +a minute. It was impossible to remain; the people would have starved. +She was laid gently upon her litter, and we started forward on our +funereal course. I was ill and broken- hearted, and I followed by her +side through the long day's march over wild park lands and streams, with +thick forest and deep marshy bottoms, over undulating hills and through +valleys of tall papyrus rushes, which, as we brushed through them on our +melancholy way, waved over the litter like the black plumes of a hearse. + +We halted at a village, and again the night was passed in watching. I +was wet and coated with mud from the swampy marsh, and shivered with +ague; but the cold within was greater than all. No change had taken +place; she had never moved. I had plenty of fat, and I made four balls +of about half a pound, each of which would burn for three hours. A piece +of a broken water-jar formed a lamp, several pieces of rag serving for +wicks. So in solitude the still calm night passed away as I sat by her +side and watched. In the drawn and distorted features that lay before me +I could hardly trace the same face that for years had been my comfort +through all the difficulties and dangers of my path. Was she to die? Was +so terrible a sacrifice to be the result of my selfish exile? + +Again the night passed away. Once more the march. Though weak and ill, +and for two nights without a moment's sleep, I felt no fatigue, but +mechanically followed by the side of the litter as though in a dream. +The same wild country diversified with marsh and forest! Again we +halted. The night came, and I sat by her side in a miserable hut, with +the feeble lamp flickering while she lay as in death. She had never +moved a muscle since she fell. My people slept. I was alone, and no +sound broke the stillness of the night. The ears ached at the utter +silence, till the sudden wild cry of a hyena made me shudder as the +horrible thought rushed through my brain that, should she be buried in +this lonely spot, the hyena--would disturb her rest. + +The morning was not far distant; it was past four o'clock. I had passed +the night in replacing wet cloths upon her head and moistening her lips, +as she lay apparently lifeless on her litter. I could do nothing more; +in solitude and abject misery in that dark hour, in a country of savage +heathen, thousands of miles away from a Christian land, I beseeched an +aid above all human, trusting alone to Him. + +The morning broke; my lamp had just burned out, and cramped with the +night's watching I rose from my low seat and seeing that she lay in the +same unaltered state I went to the door of the hut to breathe one gasp +of the fresh morning air. I was watching the first red streak that +heralded the rising sun, when I was startled by the words, "Thank God," +faintly uttered behind me. Suddenly she had awoke from her torpor, and +with a heart overflowing I went to her bedside. Her eyes were full of +madness! She spoke, but the brain was gone! + +I will not inflict a description of the terrible trial of seven days of +brain fever, with its attendant horrors. The rain poured in torrents, +and day after day we were forced to travel for want of provisions, not +being able to remain in one position. Every now and then we shot a few +guinea-fowl, but rarely; there was no game, although the country was +most favorable. In the forests we procured wild honey, but the deserted +villages contained no supplies, as we were on the frontier of Uganda, +and M'tese's people had plundered the district. For seven nights I had +not slept, and although as weak as a reed, I had marched by the side of +her litter. Nature could resist no longer. We reached a village one +evening. She had been in violent convulsions successively; it was all +but over. I laid her down on her litter within a hat, covered her with a +Scotch plaid, and fell upon my mat insensible, worn out with sorrow and +fatigue. My men put a new handle to the pickaxe that evening, and sought +for a dry spot to dig her grave! + +The sun had risen when I woke. I had slept, and horrified as the idea +flashed upon me that she must be dead and that I had not been with her, +I started up. She lay upon her bed, pale as marble, and with that calm +serenity that the features assume when the cares of life no longer act +upon the mind and the body rests in death. The dreadful thought bowed me +down; but as I gazed upon her in fear her chest gently heaved, not with +the convulsive throbs of fever, but naturally. She was asleep; and when +at a sudden noise she opened her eyes, they were calm and clear. She was +saved! When not a ray of hope remained, God alone knows what helped us. +The gratitude of that moment I will not attempt to describe. + +Fortunately there were many fowls in this village. We found several +nests of fresh eggs in the straw which littered the hut; these were most +acceptable after our hard fare, and produced a good supply of soup. +Having rested for two days we again moved forward, Mrs. Baker being +carried on a litter. + +The next day we reached the village of Parkani. For several days past +our guides had told us that we were very near to the lake, and we were +now assured that we should reach it on the morrow. I had noticed a lofty +range of mountains at an immense distance west, and I had imagined that +the lake lay on the other side of this chain; but I was now informed +that those mountains formed the western frontier of the M'wootan N'zige, +and that the lake was actually within a day's march of Parkani. I could +not believe it possible that we were so near the object of our search. +The guide Rabonga now appeared, and declared that if we started early on +the following morning we should be able to wash in the lake by noon! + +That night I hardly slept. For years I had striven to reach the "sources +of the Nile." In my nightly dreams during that arduous voyage I had +always failed, but after so much hard work and perseverance the cup was +at my very lips, and I was to DRINK at the mysterious fountain before +another sun should set--at that great reservoir of nature that ever +since creation had baffled all discovery. + +I had hoped, and prayed, and striven through all kinds of difficulties, +in sickness, starvation, and fatigue, to reach that hidden source; and +when it had appeared impossible we had both determined to die upon the +road rather than return defeated. Was it possible that it was so near, +and that to-morrow we could say, "The work is accomplished"? + +The sun had not risen when I was spurring my ox after the guide, who, +having been promised a double handful of beads on arrival at the lake, +had caught the enthusiasm of the moment. The day broke beautifully +clear, and having crossed a deep valley between the hills, we toiled up +the opposite slope. I hurried to the summit. The glory of our prize +burst suddenly upon me! There, like a sea of quicksilver, lay far +beneath the grand expanse of water--a boundless sea horizon on the south +and south-west, glittering in the noonday sun; and in the west, at fifty +or sixty miles' distance, blue mountains rose from the bosom of the lake +to a height of about 7000 feet above its level. + +It is impossible to describe the triumph of that moment. Here was the +reward for all our labor--for the years of tenacity with which we had +toiled through Africa. England had won the sources of the Nile! Long +before I reached this spot I had arranged to give three cheers with all +our men in English style in honor of the discovery; but now that I +looked down upon the great inland sea lying nestled in the very heart of +Africa, and thought how vainly mankind had sought these sources +throughout so many ages, and reflected that I had been the humble +instrument permitted to unravel this portion of the great mystery when +so many greater than I had failed, I felt too serious to vent my +feelings in vain cheers for victory, and I sincerely thanked God for +having guided and supported us through all dangers to the good end. I +was about 1500 feet above the lake, and I looked down from the steep +granite cliff upon those welcome waters--upon that vast reservoir which +nourished Egypt and brought fertility where all was wilderness--upon +that great source so long hidden from mankind, that source of bounty and +of blessings to millions of human beings; and as one of the greatest +objects in nature, I determined to honor it with a great name. As an +imperishable memorial of one loved and mourned by our gracious Queen and +deplored by every Englishman, I called this great lake "the Albert +N'yanza." The Victoria and the Albert lakes are the two Sources of the +Nile. + +The zigzag path to descend to the lake was so steep and dangerous that +we were forced to leave our oxen with a guide, who was to take them to +Magungo and wait for our arrival. We commenced the descent of the steep +pass on foot. I led the way, grasping a stout bamboo. My wife in extreme +weakness tottered down the pass, supporting herself upon my shoulder, +and stopping to rest every twenty paces. After a toilsome descent of +about two hours, weak with years of fever, but for the moment +strengthened by success, we gained the level plain below the cliff. A +walk of about a mile through flat sandy meadows of fine turf +interspersed with trees and bushes brought us to the water's edge. The +waves were rolling upon a white pebbly beach; I rushed into the lake, +and thirsty with heat and fatigue, with a heart full of gratitude, I +drank deeply from the Sources of the Nile. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +The cradle of the Nile--Arrival at Magungo--The blind leading the +blind--Murchison Falls. + +The beach was perfectly clean sand, upon which the waves rolled like +those of the sea, throwing up weeds precisely as seaweed may be seen +upon the English shore. It was a grand sight to look upon this vast +reservoir of the mighty Nile and to watch the heavy swell tumbling upon +the beach, while far to the south-west the eye searched as vainly for a +bound as though upon the Atlantic. It was with extreme emotion that I +enjoyed this glorious scene. My wife, who had followed me so devotedly, +stood by my side pale and exhausted--a wreck upon the shores of the +great Albert Lake that we had so long striven to reach. No European foot +had ever trod upon its sand, nor had the eyes of a white man ever +scanned its vast expanse of water. We were the first; and this was the +key to the great secret that even Julius Caesar yearned to unravel, but +in vain. Here was the great basin of the Nile that received EVERY DROP +OF WATER, even from the passing shower to the roaring mountain torrent +that drained from Central Africa toward the north. This was the great +reservoir of the Nile! + +The first coup d'oeil from the summit of the cliff 1500 feet above the +level had suggested what a closer examination confirmed. The lake was a +vast depression far below the general level of the country, surrounded +by precipitous cliffs, and bounded on the west and south-west by great +ranges of mountains from five to seven thousand feet above the level of +its waters--thus it was the one great reservoir into which everything +MUST drain; and from this vast rocky cistern the Nile made its exit, a +giant in its birth. It was a grand arrangement of nature for the birth +of so mighty and important a stream as the river Nile. The Victoria +N'yanza of Speke formed a reservoir at a high altitude, receiving a +drainage from the west by the Kitangule River; and Speke had seen the +M'fumbiro Mountain at a great distance as a peak among other mountains +from which the streams descended, which by uniting formed the main river +Kitangule, the principal feeder of the Victoria Lake from the west, in +about 2 degrees S. latitude. Thus the same chain of mountains that fed +the Victoria on the east must have a watershed to the west and north +that would flow into the Albert Lake. The general drainage of the Nile +basin tending from south to north, and the Albert Lake extending much +farther north than the Victoria, it receives the river from the latter +lake, and thus monopolizes the entire head-waters of the Nile. The +Albert is the grand reservoir, while the Victoria is the eastern source. +The parent streams that form these lakes are from the same origin, and +the Kitangule sheds its waters to the Victoria to be received EVENTUALLY +by the Albert, precisely as the highlands of M'fumbiro and the Blue +Mountains pour their northern drainage DIRECTLY into the Albert Lake. + +That many considerable affluents flow into the Albert Lake there is no +doubt. The two waterfalls seen by telescope upon the western shore +descending from the Blue Mountains must be most important streams, or +they could not have been distinguished at so great a distance as fifty +or sixty miles. The natives assured me that very many streams, varying +in size, descended the mountains upon all sides into the general +reservoir. + +It was most important that we should hurry forward on our journey, as +our return to England depended entirely upon the possibility of reaching +Gondokoro before the end of April, otherwise the boats would have +departed. I started off Rabonga, to Magungo, where he was to meet us +with riding oxen. + +We were encamped at a small village on the shore of the lake, called +Vacovia. On the following morning not one of our party could rise from +the ground. Thirteen men, the boy Saat, four women, besides my wife and +me, were all down with fever. The natives assured us that all strangers +suffered in a like manner. The delay in supplying boats was most +annoying, as every hour was precious. The lying natives deceived us in +every possible manner, delaying us purposely in hope of extorting beads. + +The latitude of Vacovia was 1"degree" 15' N.; longitude 30 "degrees" 50' +E. My farthest southern point on the road from M'rooli was latitude 1 +"degree" 13'. We were now to turn our faces toward the north, and every +day's journey would bring us nearer home. But where was home? As I +looked at the map of the world, and at the little red spot that +represented old England far, far away, and then gazed on the wasted form +and haggard face of my wife and at my own attenuated frame, I hardly +dared hope for home again. We had now been three years ever toiling +onward, and having completed the exploration of all the Abyssinian +affluents of the Nile, in itself an arduous undertaking, we were now +actually at the Nile head. We had neither health nor supplies, and the +great journey lay all before us. + +Eight days were passed at Vacovia before we could obtain boats, which, +when they did come, proved to be mere trees neatly hollowed out in the +shape of canoes. At last we were under way, and day after day we +journeyed along the shore of the lake, stopping occasionally at small +villages, and being delayed now and then by deserting boatmen. + +The discomforts of this lake voyage were great; in the day we were +cramped in our small cabin like two tortoises in one shell, and at night +it almost invariably rained. We were accustomed to the wet, but no +acclimatization can render the European body mosquito-proof; thus we had +little rest. It was hard work for me; but for my unfortunate wife, who +had hardly recovered from her attack of coup de soleil, such hardships +were most distressing. + +On the thirteenth day from Vacovia we found ourselves at the end of our +lake voyage. The lake at this point was between fifteen and twenty miles +across, and the appearance of the country to the north was that of a +delta. The shores upon either side were choked with vast banks of reeds, +and as the canoe skirted the edge of that upon the east coast we could +find no bottom with a bamboo of twenty-five feet in length, although the +floating mass appeared like terra firma. We were in a perfect wilderness +of vegetation. On the west were mountains about 4000 feet above the lake +level, a continuation of the chain that formed the western shore from +the south. These mountains decreased in height toward the north, in +which direction the lake terminated in a broad valley of reeds. + +We were informed that we had arrived at Magungo, and after skirting the +floating reeds for about a mile we entered a broad channel, which we +were told was the embouchure of the Somerset River from Victoria +N'yanza. In a short time we landed at Magungo, where we were welcomed by +the chief and by our guide Rabonga, who had been sent in advance to +procure oxen. + +The exit of the Nile from the lake was plain enough, and if the broad +channel of dead water were indeed the entrance of the Victoria Nile +(Somerset), the information obtained by Speke would be remarkably +confirmed. But although the chief of Magungo and all the natives assured +me that the broad channel of dead water at my feet was positively the +brawling river that I had crossed below the Karuma Falls, I could not +understand how so fine a body of water as that had appeared could +possibly enter the Albert Lake as dead water. The guide and natives +laughed at my unbelief, and declared that it was dead water for a +considerable distance from the junction with the lake, but that a great +waterfall rushed down from a mountain, and that beyond that fall the +river was merely a succession of cataracts throughout the entire +distance of about six days' march to Karuma Falls. My real wish was to +descend the Nile in canoes from its exit from the lake with my own men +as boatmen, and thus in a short time to reach the cataracts in the Madi +country; there to forsake the canoes and all my baggage, and to march +direct to Gondokoro with only our guns and ammunition. I knew from +native report that the Nile was navigable as far as the Madi country to +about Miani's tree, which Speke had laid down by astronomical +observation in lat. 3 "degrees" 34'. This would be only seven days' +march from Gondokoro, and by such a direct course I should be sure to +arrive in time for the boats to Khartoum. + +I had promised Speke that I would explore most thoroughly the doubtful +portion of the river that he had been forced to neglect from Karuma +Falls to the lake. I was myself confused at the dead-water junction; and +although I knew that the natives must be right--as it was their own +river, and they had no inducement to mislead me--I was determined to +sacrifice every other wish in order to fulfil my promise, and thus to +settle the Nile question most absolutely. That the Nile flowed out of +the lake I had heard, and I had also confirmed by actual inspection; +from Magungo I looked upon the two countries, Koshi and Madi, through +which it flowed, and these countries I must actually pass through and +again meet the Nile before I could reach Gondokoro. Thus the only point +necessary to settle was the river between the lake and the Karuma Falls. + +The boats being ready, we took leave of the chief of Magungo, leaving +him an acceptable present of beads, and descended the hill to the river, +thankful at having so far successfully terminated the expedition as to +have traced the lake to that important point, Magungo, which had been +our clew to the discovery even so far away in time and place as the +distant country of Latooka. We were both very weak and ill, and my knees +trembled beneath me as we walked down the easy descent. I, in my +enervated state, endeavoring to assist my wife, we were the "blind +leading the blind;" but had life closed on that day we could have died +most happily, for the hard fight through sickness and misery had ended +in victory; and although I looked to home as a paradise never to be +regained, I could have lain down to sleep in contentment on this spot, +with the consolation that, if the body had been vanquished, we died with +the prize in our grasp. + +On arrival at the canoes we found everything in readiness, and the +boatmen already in their places. Once in the broad channel of dead water +we steered due east, and made rapid way until the evening. The river as +it now appeared, although devoid of current, was on an average about 500 +yards in width. Before we halted for the night I was subjected to a most +severe attack of fever, and upon the boat reaching a certain spot I was +carried on a litter, perfectly unconscious, to a village, attended +carefully by my poor sick wife, who, herself half dead, followed me on +foot through the marches in pitch darkness, and watched over me until +the morning. At daybreak I was too weak to stand, and we were both +carried down to the canoes, and crawling helplessly within our grass +awning we lay down like logs while the canoes continued their voyage. +Many of our men were also suffering from fever. The malaria of the dense +masses of floating vegetation was most poisonous, and upon looking back +to the canoe that followed in our wake I observed all my men sitting +crouched together sick and dispirited, looking like departed spirits +being ferried across the melancholy Styx. + +The woman Bacheeta knew the country, as she had formerly been to Magungo +when in the service of Sali, who had been subsequently murdered by +Kamrasi. She informed me on the second day that we should terminate our +canoe voyage on that day, as we should arrive at the great waterfall of +which she had often spoken. As we proceeded the river gradually narrowed +to about 180 yards, and when the paddles ceased working we could +distinctly hear the roar of water. I had heard this on waking in the +morning, but at the time I had imagined it to proceed from distant +thunder. By ten o'clock the current had so increased as we proceeded +that it was distinctly perceptible, although weak. The roar of the +waterfall was extremely loud, and after sharp pulling for a couple of +hours, during which time the stream increased, we arrived at a few +deserted fishing-huts, at a point where the river made a slight turn. I +never saw such an extraordinary show of crocodiles as were exposed on +every sandbank on the sides of the river. They lay like logs of timber +close together, and upon one bank we counted twenty-seven of large size. +Every basking place was crowded in a similar manner. From the time we +had fairly entered the river it had been confined by heights somewhat +precipitous on either side, rising to about 180 feet. At this point the +cliffs were still higher and exceedingly abrupt. From the roar of the +water I was sure that the fall would be in sight if we turned the corner +at the bend of the river; accordingly I ordered the boatmen to row as +far as they could. To this they at first objected, as they wished to +stop at the deserted fishing village, which they explained was to be the +limit of the journey, further progress being impossible. + +However, I explained that I merely wished to see the falls, and they +rowed immediately up the stream, which was now strong against us. Upon +rounding the corner a magnificent sight burst suddenly upon us. On +either side the river were beautifully wooded cliffs rising abruptly to +a height of about 300 feet; rocks were jutting out from the intensely +green foliage; and rushing through a gap that cleft the rock exactly +before us, the river, contracted from a grand stream, was pent up in a +narrow gorge of scarcely fifty yards in width. Roaring furiously through +the rock-bound pass, it plunged in one leap of about 120 feet +perpendicular into a dark abyss below. + +The fall of water was snow-white, which had a superb effect as it +contrasted with the dark cliffs that walled the river, while the +graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of +the view. This was the greatest waterfall of the Nile, and in honor of +the distinguished President of the Royal Geographical Society I named it +the Murchison Falls, as the most important object throughout the entire +course of the river. + +At this point we had ordered our oxen to he sent, as we could go no +farther in the canoes. We found the oxen ready for us; but if we looked +wretched, the animals were a match. They had been bitten by the flies, +thousands of which were at this spot. Their coats were staring, ears +drooping, noses running, and heads hanging down--all the symptoms of +fly-bite, together with extreme looseness of the bowels. I saw that it +was all up with our animals. Weak as I was myself, I was obliged to +walk, as my ox could not carry me up the steep inclination. I toiled +languidly to the summit of the cliff, and we were soon above the falls, +and arrived at a small village a little before evening. + +On the following morning we started, the route as before being parallel +to the river, and so close that the roar of the rapids was extremely +loud. The river flowed in a deep ravine upon our left. We continued for +a day's march along the Somerset, crossing many ravines and torrents, +until we turned suddenly down to the left, and arriving at the bank we +were to be transported to an island called Patooan, that was the +residence of a chief. It was about an hour after sunset, and, being +dark, my riding ox, which was being driven as too weak to carry me, fell +into an elephant pitfall. After much hallooing, a canoe was brought from +the island, which was not more than fifty yards from the mainland, and +we were ferried across. We were both very ill with a sudden attack of +fever; and my wife, not being able to stand, was, on arrival at the +island, carried on a litter I knew not whither, escorted by some of my +men, while I lay down on the wet ground quite exhausted with the +annihilating disease. At length the rest of my men crossed over, and +those who had carried my wife to the village returning with firebrands, +I managed to creep after them with the aid of a long stick, upon which I +rested with both hands. After a walk through a forest of high trees for +about a quarter of a mile, I arrived at a village where I was shown a +wretched hut, the stars being visible through the roof. In this my wife +lay dreadfully ill upon her angarep, and I fell down upon some straw. +About an hour later a violent thunderstorm broke over us, and our hut +was perfectly flooded. Being far too ill and helpless to move from our +positions, we remained dripping wet and shivering with fever until the +morning. Our servants and people had, like all native, made themselves +much more comfortable than their employers; nor did they attempt to +interfere with our misery in any way until summoned to appear at +sunrise. + +The island of Patooan was about half a mile long by 150 yards wide, and +was one of the numerous masses of rocks that choke the river between +Karuma Falls and the great Murchison cataract. My headman now informed +me that war was raging between Kamrasi and his rivals, Fowooka and +Rionga, and it would be impossible to proceed along the bank of the +river to Karuma. My exploration was finished, however, as it was by no +means necessary to continue the route from Patooan to Karuma. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Prisoners on the island--Left to starve--Months of helplessness-- We +rejoin the Turks--The real Kamrasi--In the presence of royalty. + +We were prisoners on the island of Patooan as we could not procure +porters at any price to remove our effects. We had lost all our riding +oxen within a few days. They had succumbed to the flies, and the only +animal alive was already half dead; this was the little bull that had +always carried the boy Saat. It was the 8th of April, and within a few +days the boats upon which we depended for our return to civilization +would assuredly quit Gondokoro. I offered the natives all the beads that +I had (about 50 lbs.) and the whole of my baggage, if they would carry +us to Shooa directly from this spot. We were in perfect despair, as we +were both completely worn out with fever and fatigue, and certain death +seemed to stare us in the face should we remain in this unhealthy spot. +Worse than death was the idea of losing the boats and becoming prisoners +for another year in this dreadful land, which must inevitably happen +should we not hurry directly to Gondokoro without delay. The natives +with their usual cunning at length offered to convey us to Shooa, +provided that I paid them the beads in advance. The boats were prepared +to ferry us across the river; but I fortunately discovered through the +woman Bacheeta their treacherous intention of placing us on the +uninhabited wilderness on the north side, and leaving us to die of +hunger. They had conspired together to land us, but to return +immediately with the boats after having thus got rid of the incubus of +their guests. + +We were in a great dilemma. Had we been in good health, I would have +forsaken everything but the guns and ammunition, and have marched +directly to Gondokoro on foot; but this was utterly impossible. Neither +my wife nor I could walk a quarter of a mile without fainting. There was +no guide, and the country was now overgrown with impenetrable grass and +tangled vegetation eight feet high. We were in the midst of the rainy +season-- not a day passed without a few hours of deluge. Altogether it +was a most heart-breaking position. Added to the distress of mind at +being thus thwarted, there was also a great scarcity of provision. Many +of my men were weak, the whole party having suffered much from fever; in +fact, we were completely helpless. + +Our guide, Rabonga, who had accompanied us from M'rooli, had absconded, +and we were left to shift for ourselves. I was determined not to remain +on the island, as I suspected that the boats might be taken away, and +that we should be kept prisoners; I therefore ordered my men to take the +canoes, and to ferry us to the main land, from whence we had come. The +headman, upon hearing this order, offered to carry us to a village, and +then to await orders from Kamrasi as to whether we were to be forwarded +to Shooa or not. The district in which the island of Patooan was +situated was called Shooa Moru, although having no connection with the +Shooa in the Madi country to which we were bound. + +We were ferried across to the main shore, and my wife and I, in our +respective angareps, were carried by the natives for about three miles. +Arriving at a deserted village, half of which was in ashes, having been +burned and plundered by the enemy, we were deposited on the ground in +front of an old hut in the pouring rain, and were informed that we +should remain there that night, but that on the following morning we +should proceed to our destination. + +Not trusting the natives, I ordered my men to disarm them, and to retain +their spears and shields as security for their appearance on the +following day. This effected, we were carried into a filthy hut about +six inches deep in mud, as the roof was much out of repair, and the +heavy rain had flooded it daily for some weeks. I had a canal cut +through the muddy floor, and in misery and low spirits we took +possession. + +On the following morning not a native was present! We had been entirely +deserted; although I held the spears and shields, every man had +absconded. There were neither inhabitants nor provisions. The whole +country was a wilderness of rank grass that hemmed us in on all sides. +Not an animal, nor even a bird, was to be seen; it was a miserable, +damp, lifeless country. We were on elevated ground, and the valley of +the Somerset was about two miles to our north, the river roaring +sullenly in its obstructed passage, its course marked by the double belt +of huge dark trees that grew upon its banks. + +My men naturally felt outraged and proposed that we should return to +Patooan, seize the canoes, and take provisions by force, as we had been +disgracefully deceived. The natives had merely deposited us here to get +us out of the way, and in this spot we might starve. Of course I would +not countenance the proposal of seizing provisions, but I directed my +men to search among the ruined villages for buried corn, in company with +the woman Bacheeta, who, being a native of this country, would be up to +the ways of the people, and might assist in the discovery. + +After some hours passed in rambling over the black ashes of several +villages that had been burned, they discovered a hollow place, by +sounding the earth with a stick, and, upon digging, arrived at a granary +of the seed known as "tullaboon;" this was a great prize, as, although +mouldy and bitter, it would keep us from starving. The women of the +party were soon hard at work grinding, as many of the necessary stones +had been found among the ruins. + +Fortunately there were three varieties of plants growing wild in great +profusion, that, when boiled, were a good substitute for spinach; thus +we were rich in vegetables, although without a morsel of fat or animal +food. Our dinner consisted daily of a mess of black porridge of bitter +mouldy flour that no English pig would condescend to notice, and a large +dish of spinach. "Better a dinner of herbs where love is," etc. often +occurred to me; but I am not sure that I was quite of that opinion after +a fortnight's grazing upon spinach. + +Tea and coffee were things of the past, the very idea of which made our +months water; but I found a species of wild thyme growing in the +jungles, and this when boiled formed a tolerable substitute for tea. +Sometimes our men procured a little wild honey, which added to the thyme +tea we considered a great luxury. + +This wretched fare, in our exhausted state from fever and general +effects of climate, so completely disabled us that for nearly two months +my wife lay helpless on one angarep, and I upon the other. Neither of us +could walk. The hut was like all in Kamrasi's country, with a perfect +forest of thick poles to support the roof (I counted thirty-two); thus, +although it was tolerably large, there was but little accommodation. +These poles we now found very convenient, as we were so weak that we +could not rise from bed without lifting ourselves up by one of the +supports. + +We were very nearly dead, and our amusement was a childish conversation +about the good things in England, and my idea of perfect happiness was +an English beefsteak and a bottle of pale ale; for such a luxury I would +most willingly have sold my birthright at that hungry moment. We were +perfect skeletons, and it was annoying to see how we suffered upon the +bad fare, while our men apparently throve. There were plenty of wild red +peppers, and the men seemed to enjoy a mixture of porridge and legumes a +la sauce piquante. They were astonished at my falling away on this food, +but they yielded to my argument when I suggested that a "lion would +starve where a donkey grew fat." I must confess that this state of +existence did not improve my temper, which, I fear, became nearly as +bitter as the porridge. My people had a windfall of luck, as Saat's ox, +that had lingered for a long time, lay down to die, and stretching +himself out, commenced kicking his last kick. The men immediately +assisted him by cutting his throat, and this supply of beef was a luxury +which, even in my hungry state, was not the English beefsteak for which +I sighed, and I declined the diseased bull. + +The men made several long excursions through the country to purchase +provisions, but in two months they procured only two kids; the entire +country was deserted, owing to the war between Kamrasi and Fowooka. +Every day the boy Saat and the woman Bacheeta sallied out and conversed +with the inhabitants of the different islands on the river. Sometimes, +but very rarely, they returned with a fowl; such an event caused great +rejoicing. + +We gave up all hope of Gondokoro, and were resigned to our fate. This, +we felt sure, was to be buried in Chopi, the name of our village. I +wrote instructions in my journal, in case of death, and told my headman +to be sure to deliver my maps, observations, and papers to the English +Consul at Khartoum. This was my only care, as I feared that all my labor +might be lost should I die. I had no fear for my wife, as she was quite +as bad as I, and if one should die the other would certainly follow; in +fact, this had been agreed upon, lest she should fall into the hands of +Kamrasi at my death. We had struggled to win, and I thanked God that we +had won. If death were to be the price, at all events we were at the +goal, and we both looked upon death rather as a pleasure, as affording +REST. There would be no more suffering, no fever, no long journey before +us, that in our weak state was an infliction. The only wish was to lay +down the burden. Curious is the warfare between the animal instincts and +the mind! Death would have been a release that I would have courted; but +I should have liked that one "English beefsteak and pale ale" before I +died! + +During our misery of constant fever and starvation at Shooa Moru, insult +had been added to injury. There was no doubt that we had been thus +deserted by Kamrasi's orders, as every seven or eight days one of his +chiefs arrived and told me that the king was with his army only four +days' march from me, and that he was preparing to attack Fowooka, but +that he wished me to join him, as with my fourteen guns, we should win a +great victory. This treacherous conduct, after his promise to forward me +without delay to Shooa, enraged me exceedingly. We had lost the boats at +Gondokoro, and we were now nailed to the country for another year, +should we live, which was not likely. Not only had the brutal king thus +deceived us, but he was deliberately starving us into conditions, his +aim being that my men should assist him against his enemy. At one time +the old enemy tempted me sorely to join Fowooka against Kamrasi; but, +discarding the idea, generated in a moment of passion, I determined to +resist his proposals to the last. It was perfectly true that the king +was within thirty miles of us, that he was aware of our misery, and made +use of our extremity to force us to become his allies. + +After more than two months passed in this distress it became evident +that something must be done. I sent my headman, or vakeel, and one man, +with a native as a guide (that Saat and Bacheeta had procured from an +island), with instructions to go direct to Kamrasi, to abuse him +thoroughly in my name for having thus treated us, and tell him that I +was much insulted at his treating with me through a third party in +proposing an alliance. My vakeel was to explain that I was a much more +powerful chief than Kamrasi, and that if he required my alliance, he +must treat with me in person, and immediately send fifty men to +transport my wife, myself, and effects to his camp, where we might, in a +personal interview, come to terms. + +I told my vakeel to return to me with the fifty men, and to be sure to +bring from Kamrasi some token by which I should know that he had +actually seen him. The vakeel and Yaseen started. + +After some days the absconded guide, Rabonga, appeared with a number of +men, but without either my vakeel or Yaseen. He carried with him a small +gourd bottle, carefully stopped; this he broke, and extracted from the +inside two pieces of printed paper that Kamrasi had sent to me in reply. + +On examining the papers, I found them to be portions of the English +Church Service translated into (I think) the "Kisuabili" language, by Dr +Krapf! There were many notes in pencil on the margin, written in +English, as translations of words in the text. It quickly occurred to me +that Speke must have given this book to Kamrasi on his arrival from +Zanzibar, and that he now extracted the leaves and sent them to me as a +token I had demanded to show that my message had been delivered to him. + +Rabonga made a lame excuse for his previous desertion. He delivered a +thin ox that Kamrasi had sent me, and he declared that his orders were +that he should take my whole party immediately to Kamrasi, as he was +anxious that we should attack Fowooka without loss of time. We were +positively to start on the following morning! My bait had taken, and we +should escape from this frightful spot, Shooa Moru. + +After winding through dense jungles of bamboos and interminable groves +of destroyed plantains, we perceived the tops of a number of grass hats +appearing among the trees. My men now begged to be allowed to fire a +salute, as it was reported that the ten men of Ibrahim's party who had +been left as hostages were quartered at this village with Kamrasi. +Hardly had the firing commenced when it was immediately replied to by +the Turks from their camp, who, upon our approach, came out to meet us +with great manifestations of delight and wonder at our having +accomplished our long and difficult voyage. + +My vakeel and Yaseen were the first to meet us, with an apology that +severe fever had compelled them to remain in camp instead of returning +to Shooa Moru according to my orders; but they had delivered my message +to Kamrasi, who had, as I had supposed, sent two leaves out of a book +Speke had given him, as a reply. An immense amount of news had to be +exchanged between my men and those of Ibrahim. They had quite given us +up for lost, until they heard that we were at Shooa Moru. A report had +reached them that my wife was dead, and that I had died a few days +later. A great amount of kissing and embracing took place, Arab fashion, +between the two parties; and they all came to kiss my hand and that of +my wife, with the exclamation, that "By Allah, no woman in the world had +a heart so tough as to dare to face what she had gone through." "El hamd +el Illah! El hamd el Illah bel salaam!" ("Thank God--be grateful to +God") was exclaimed on all sides by the swarthy throng of brigands who +pressed round us, really glad to welcome us back again; and I could not +help thinking of the difference in their manner now and fourteen months +before, when they had attempted to drive us back from Gondokoro. + +Hardly were we seated in our hut when my vakeel announced that Kamrasi +had arrived to pay me a visit. In a few minutes he was ushered into the +hut. Far from being abashed, he entered with a loud laugh, totally +different from his former dignified manner. "Well, here you are at +last!" he exclaimed. Apparently highly amused with our wretched +appearance, he continued, "So you have been to the M'wootan N'zige! +Well, you don't look much the better for it; why, I should not have +known you! ha, ha, ha!" I was not in a humor to enjoy his attempts at +facetiousness; I therefore told him that he had behaved disgracefully +and meanly, and that I should publish his character among the adjoining +tribes as below that of the most petty chief that I had ever seen. + +"Never mind," he replied, "it's all over now." You really are thin, both +of you. It was your own fault; why did you not agree to fight Fowooka? +You should have been supplied with fat cows and milk and butter, had you +behaved well. I will have my men ready to attack Fowooka to-morrow. The +Turks have ten men, you have thirteen; thirteen and ten make +twenty-three. You shall be carried if you can't walk, and we will give +Fowooka no chance. He must be killed--only kill him, and MY BROTHER will +give you half of his kingdom." + +He continued, "You shall have supplies to-morrow; I will go to my +BROTHER, who is the great M'Kamma Kamrasi, and he will send you all you +require. I am a little man; he is a big one. I have nothing; he has +everything, and he longs to see you. You must go to him directly; he +lives close by." + +I hardly knew whether he was drunk or sober. "My bother the great +M'Kamma Kamrasi!" I felt bewildered with astonishment. Then, "If you are +not Kamrasi, pray who are you?" I asked. "Who am I?" he replied. "Ha, +ha, ha! that's very good; who am I?-- I am M'Gambi, the brother of +Kamrasi; I am the younger brother, but HE IS THE KING." + +The deceit of this country was incredible. I had positively never seen +the real Kamrasi up to this moment, and this man M'Gambi now confessed +to having impersonated the king, his brother, as Kamrasi was afraid that +I might be in league with Debono's people to murder him, and therefore +he had ordered his brother M'Gambi to act the king. + +I told M'Gambi that I did not wish to see his brother, the king, as I +should perhaps be again deceived and be introduced to some impostor like +himself; and that as I did not choose to be made a fool of, I should +decline the introduction. This distressed him exceedingly. He said that +the king was really so great a man that he, his own brother, dared not +sit on a stool in his presence, and that he had only kept in retirement +as a matter of precaution, as Debono's people had allied themselves with +his enemy Rionga in the preceding year, and he dreaded treachery. I +laughed contemptuously at M'Gambi, telling him that if a woman like my +wife dared to trust herself far from her own country among such savages +as Kamrasi's people, their king must be weaker than a woman if he dared +not show himself in his own territory. I concluded by saying that I +should not go to see Kamrasi, but that he should come to visit me. + +On the following morning, after my arrival at Kisoona, M'Gambi appeared, +beseeching me to go and visit the king. I replied that "I was hungry and +weak from want of food, and that I wanted to see meat, and not the man +who had starved me." In the afternoon a beautiful cow appeared with her +young calf, also a fat sheep and two pots of plantain cider, as a +present from Kamrasi. That evening we revelled in milk, a luxury that we +had not tasted for some months. The cow gave such a quantity that we +looked forward to the establishment of a dairy, and already contemplated +cheese-making. I sent the king a present of a pound of powder in +canister, a box of caps, and a variety of trifles, explaining that I was +quite out of stores and presents, as I had been kept so long in his +country that I was reduced to beggary, as I had expected to return to my +own country long before this. + +In the evening M'Gambi appeared with a message from the king, saying +that I was his greatest friend, and that he would not think of taking +anything from me as he was sure that I must be hard up; that he desired +nothing, but would be much obliged if I would give him the "little +double rifle that I always carried, and my watch and compass!" He wanted +"NOTHING," only my Fletcher rifle, that I would as soon have parted with +as the bone of my arm; and these three articles were the same for which +I had been so pertinaciously bored before my departure from M'rooli. It +was of no use to be wroth, I therefore quietly replied that I should not +give them, as Kamrasi had failed in his promise to forward me to Shooa; +but that I required no presents from him, as he always expected a +thousandfold in return. M'Gambi said that all would be right if I would +only agree to pay the king a visit. I objected to this, as I told him +the king, his brother, did not want to see me, but only to observe what +I had, in order to beg for all that he saw. He appeared much hurt, and +assured me that he would be himself responsible that nothing of the kind +should happen, and that he merely begged as a favor that I would visit +the king on the following morning, and that people should be ready to +carry me if I were unable to walk. Accordingly I arranged to be carried +to Kamrasi's camp at about 8 A.M. + +At the hour appointed M'Gambi appeared, with a great crowd of natives. +My clothes were in rags, and as personal appearance has a certain +effect, even in Central Africa, I determined to present myself to the +king in as favorable a light as possible. I happened to possess a +full-dress Highland suit that I had worn when I lived in Perthshire many +years before. This I had treasured as serviceable upon an occasion like +the present: accordingly I was quickly attired in kilt, sporran, and +Glengarry bonnet, and to the utter amazement of the crowd, the +ragged-looking object that had arrived in Kisoona now issued from the +obscure hut with plaid and kilt of Athole tartan. A general shout of +exclamation arose from the assembled crowd, and taking my seat upon an +angarep, I was immediately shouldered by a number of men, and, attended +by ten of my people as escort, I was carried toward the camp of the +great Kamrasi. + +In about half an hour we arrived. The camp, composed of grass huts, +extended over a large extent of ground, and the approach was perfectly +black with the throng that crowded to meet me. Women, children, dogs, +and men all thronged at the entrance of the street that led to Kamrasi's +residence. Pushing our way through this inquisitive multitude, we +continued through the camp until at length we reached the dwelling of +the king. Halting for the moment, a message was immediately received +that we should proceed; we accordingly entered through a narrow passage +between high reed fences, and I found myself in the presence of the +actual king of Unyoro, Kamrasi. He was sitting in a kind of porch in +front of a hut, and upon seeing me he hardly condescended to look at me +for more than a moment; he then turned to his attendants and made some +remark that appeared to amuse them, as they all grinned as little men +are wont to do when a great man makes a bad joke. + +I had ordered one of my men to carry my stool; I was determined not to +sit upon the earth, as the king would glory in my humiliation. M'Gambi, +his brother, who had formerly played the part of king, now sat upon the +ground a few feet from Kamrasi, who was seated upon the same stool of +copper that M'Gambi had used when I first saw him at M'rooli. Several of +his chiefs also sat upon the straw with which the porch was littered. I +made a "salaam" and took my seat upon my stool. + +Not a word passed between us for about five minutes, during which time +the king eyed me most attentively, and made various remarks to the +chiefs who were present. At length he asked me why I had not been to see +him before. I replied, because I had been starved in his country, and I +was too weak to walk. He said I should soon be strong, as he would now +give me a good supply of food; but that he could not send provisions to +Shooa Moru, as Fowooka held that country. Without replying to this +wretched excuse for his neglect, I merely told him that I was happy to +have seen him before my departure, as I was not aware until recently +that I had been duped by M'Gambi. He answered me very coolly, saying +that although I had not seen him, he had nevertheless seen me, as he was +among the crowd of native escort on the day that we left M'rooli. Thus +he had watched our start at the very place where his brother M'Gambi had +impersonated the king. + +Kamrasi was a remarkably fine man, tall and well proportioned, with a +handsome face of a dark brown color, but a peculiarly sinister +expression. He was beautifully clean, and instead of wearing the bark +cloth common among the people, he was dressed in a fine mantle of black +and white goatskins, as soft as chamois leather. His people sat on the +ground at some distance from his throne; when they approached to address +him on any subject they crawled upon their hands and knees to his feet, +and touched the ground with their foreheads. + +True to his natural instincts, the king commenced begging, and being +much struck with the Highland costume, he demanded it as a proof of +friendship, saying that if I refused I could not be his friend. The +watch, compass, and double Fletcher rifle were asked for in their turn, +all of which I refused to give him. He appeared much annoyed, therefore +I presented him with a pound canister of powder, a box of caps, and a +few bullets. He asked, "What's the use of the ammunition if you won't +give me your rifle?" I explained that I had already given him a gun, and +that he had a rifle of Speke's. Disgusted with his importunity I rose to +depart, telling him that I should not return to visit him, as I did not +believe he was the real Kamrasi I had heard that Kamrasi was a great +king, but he was a mere beggar, and was doubtless an impostor, like +M'Gambi. At this he seemed highly amused, and begged me not to leave so +suddenly, as he could not permit me to depart empty-handed. He then gave +certain orders to his people, and after a little delay two loads of +flour arrived, together with a goat and two jars of sour plantain cider. +These presents he ordered to be forwarded to Kisoona. I rose to take +leave; but the crowd, eager to see what was going forward, pressed +closely upon the entrance of the approach, seeing which, the king gave +certain orders, and immediately four or five men with long heavy +bludgeons rushed at the mob and belabored them right and left, putting +the mass to flight pell-mell through the narrow lanes of the camp. + +I was then carried back to my camp at Kisoona, where I was received by a +great crowd of people. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +The hour of deliverance--Triumphal entry into Gondokoro--Home-bound-- +The plague breaks out--Our welcome at Khartoum to civilization. + +The hour of deliverance from our long sojourn in Central Africa was at +hand. It was the month of February, and the boats would be at Gondokoro. +The Turks had packed their ivory; the large tusks were fastened to poles +to be carried by two men, and the camp was a perfect mass of this +valuable material. I counted 609 loads of upward of 50 lbs. each; +thirty-one loads were lying at an out-station; therefore the total +results of the ivory campaign during the last twelve months were about +32,000 lbs., equal to about 9,630 pounds sterling when delivered in +Egypt. This was a perfect fortune for Koorshid. + +We were ready to start. My baggage was so unimportant that I was +prepared to forsake everything, and to march straight for Gondokoro +independently with my own men; but this the Turks assured me was +impracticable, as the country was so hostile in advance that we must of +necessity have some fighting on the road; the Bari tribe would dispute +our right to pass through their territory. + +The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were +ready to start. Crowds of people cane to say "good-by;" but, dispensing +with the hand-kissing of the Turks who were to remain in camp, we +prepared for our journey toward HOME. Far away though it was, every step +would bring us nearer. Nevertheless there were ties even in this wild +spot, where all was savage and unfeeling--ties that were painful to +sever, and that caused a sincere regret to both of us when we saw our +little flock of unfortunate slave children crying at the idea of +separation. In this moral desert, where all humanized feelings were +withered and parched like the sands of the Soudan, the guilelessness of +the children had been welcomed like springs of water, as the only +refreshing feature in a land of sin and darkness. + +"Where are you going?" cried poor little Abbai in the broken Arabic that +we had taught him. "Take me with you, Sitty!" (lady), and he followed us +down the path, as we regretfully left our proteges, with his fists +tucked into his eyes, weeping from his heart, although for his own +mother he had not shed a tear. We could not take him with us; he +belonged to Ibrahim, and had I purchased the child to rescue him from +his hard lot and to rear him as a civilized being, I might have been +charged with slave-dealing. With heavy hearts we saw hint taken up in +the arms of a woman and carried back to camp, to prevent him from +following our party, that had now started. + +I will not detain the reader with the details of our journey home. After +much toil and some fighting with hostile natives, we bivouacked one +sunset three miles from Gondokoro. That night we were full of +speculations. Would a boat be waiting for us with supplies and letters? +The morning anxiously looked forward to at length arrived. We started. +The English flag had been mounted on a fine straight bamboo with a new +lance-head specially arranged for the arrival at Gondokoro. My men felt +proud, as they would march in as conquerors. According to White Nile +ideas, such a journey could not have been accomplished with so small a +party. Long before Ibrahim's men were ready to start, our oxen were +saddled and we were off, longing to hasten into Gondokoro and to find a +comfortable vessel with a few luxuries and the post from England. Never +had the oxen travelled so fast as on that morning; the flag led the way, +and the men, in excellent spirits, followed at double-quick pace. + +"I see the masts of the vessels!" exclaimed the boy Saat. "El hambd el +Illah!" (Thank God! ) shouted the men. "Hurrah!" said I; "Three cheers +for Old England and the Sources of the Nile! Hurrah!" and my men joined +me in the wild, and to their ears savage, English yell. "Now for a +salute! Fire away all your powder, if you like, my lads, and let the +people know that we're alive!" + +This was all that was required to complete the happiness of my people, +and, loading and firing as fast as possible, we approached near to +Gondokoro. Presently we saw the Turkish flag emerge from Gondokoro at +about a quarter of a mile distant, followed by a number of the traders' +people, who waited to receive us. On our arrival they immediately +approached and fired salutes with ball cartridge, as usual advancing +close to us and discharging their guns into the ground at our feet. One +of my servants, Mahomet, was riding an ox, and an old friend of his in +the crowd happening to recognize him immediately advanced and saluted +him by firing his gun into the earth directly beneath the belly of the +ox he was riding. + +The effect produced made the crowd and ourselves explode with laughter. +The nervous ox, terrified at the sudden discharge between his legs, gave +a tremendous kick, and continued madly kicking and plunging, until +Mahomet was pitched over his head and lay sprawling on the ground. This +scene terminated the expedition. + +Dismounting from our tired oxen, our first inquiry was concerning boats +and letters. What was the reply? Neither boats, letters, supplies, nor +any intelligence of friends or the civilized world! We had long since +been given up as dead by the inhabitants of Khartoum, and by all those +who understood the difficulties and dangers of the country. We were told +that some people had suggested that we might possibly have gone to +Zanzibar, but the general opinion was that we had all been killed. + +At this cold and barren reply I felt almost choked. We had looked +forward to arriving at Gondokoro as to a home; we had expected that a +boat would have been sent on the chance of finding us, as I had left +money in the hands of an agent in Khartoum ; but there was literally +nothing to receive us, and we were helpless to return. We had worked for +years in misery, such as I have but faintly described, to overcome the +difficulties of this hitherto unconquerable exploration. We had +succeeded--and what was the result? Not even a letter from home to +welcome us if alive! + +As I sat beneath a tree and looked down upon the glorious Nile that +flowed a few yards beneath my feet, I pondered upon the value of my +toil. I had traced the river to its great Albert source, and as the +mighty stream glided before me, the mystery that had ever shrouded its +origin was dissolved. I no longer looked upon its waters with a feeling +approaching to awe, for I knew its home, and had visited its cradle. Had +I overrated the importance of the discovery? and had I wasted some of +the best years of my life to obtain a shadow? I recalled to recollection +the practical question of Commoro, the chief of Latooka, "Suppose you +get to the great lake, what will you do with it? What will be the good +of it? If you find that the large river does flow from it, what then?" + +At length the happy day came when we were to quit this miserable place +of Gondokoro. The boat was ready to start, we were all on board, and +Ibrahim and his people came to say good-by. Crowds lined the cliff and +the high ground by the old ruins of the mission-station to see us +depart. We pushed off from shore into the powerful current; the English +flag, that had accompanied us all through our wanderings, now fluttered +proudly from the masthead unsullied by defeat, and amidst the rattle of +musketry we glided rapidly down the river and soon lost sight of +Gondokoro. + +What were our feelings at that moment? Overflowing with gratitude to a +Divine Providence that had supported us in sickness and guided us +through all dangers. There had been moments of hopelessness and despair; +days of misery, when the future had appeared dark and fatal; but we had +been strengthened in our weakness, and led, when apparently lost, by an +unseen hand. I felt no triumph, but with a feeling of calm contentment +and satisfaction we floated down the Nile. My great joy was in the +meeting that I contemplated with Speke in England, as I had so +thoroughly completed the task we had agreed upon. + +We had heard at Gondokoro of a remarkable obstruction in the White Nile +a short distance below the junction of the Bahr el Gazal. We found this +to be a dam formed by floating masses of vegetation that effectually +blocked the passage. + +The river had suddenly disappeared; there was apparently an end to the +White Nile. The dam was about three-quarters of a mile wide, was +perfectly firm, and was already overgrown with high reeds and grass, +thus forming a continuation of the surrounding country. Many of the +traders' people had died of the plague at this spot during the delay of +some weeks in cutting the canal; the graves of these dead were upon the +dam. The bottom of the canal that had been cut through the dam was +perfectly firm, composed of sand, mud, and interwoven decaying +vegetation. The river arrived with great force at the abrupt edge of the +obstruction, bringing with it all kinds of trash and large floating +islands. None of these objects hitched against the edge, but the instant +they struck they dived under and disappeared. It was in this manner that +a vessel had recently been lost. Having missed the narrow entrance to +the canal, she had struck the dam stem on; the force of the current +immediately turned her broadside against the obstruction, the floating +islands and masses of vegetation brought down by the river were heaped +against her and, heeling over on her side, she was sucked bodily under +and carried beneath the dam. Her crew had time to save themselves by +leaping upon the firm barrier that had wrecked their ship. The boatmen +told me that dead hippopotami had been found on the other side, that had +been carried under the dam and drowned. + +Two days' hard work from morning till night brought us through the +canal, and we once more found ourselves on the open Nile on the other +side of the dam. The river was in that spot perfectly clean; not a +vestige of floating vegetation could be seen upon its waters. In its +subterranean passage it had passed through a natural sieve, leaving all +foreign matter behind to add to the bulk of the already stupendous work. + +All before us was clear and plain sailing. For some days two or three of +our men had been complaining of severe headache, giddiness, and violent +pains in the spine and between the shoulders. I had been anxious when at +Gondokoro concerning the vessel, as many persons while on board had died +of the plague, during the voyage from Khartoum. The men assured me that +the most fatal symptom was violent bleeding from the nose; in such cases +no one had been known to recover. One of the boatmen, who had been +ailing for some days, suddenly went to the side of the vessel and hung +his head over the river; his nose was bleeding! + +Another of my men, Yaseen, was ill; his uncle, my vakeel, came to me +with a report that "his nose was bleeding violently!" Several other men +fell ill; they lay helplessly about the deck in low muttering delirium, +their eyes as yellow as orange-peel. In two or three days the vessel was +so horribly offensive as to be unbearable. THE PLAGUE HAD BROKEN OUT! We +floated past the river Sobat junction; the wind was fair from the south, +thus fortunately we in the stern were to windward of the crew. Yaseen +died; he was one who had bled at the nose. We stopped to bury him. The +funeral hastily arranged, we again set sail. Mahommed died; he had bled +at the nose. Another burial. Once more we set sail and hurried down the +Nile. Several men were ill, but the dreaded symptom had not appeared. I +had given each man a strong dose of calomel at the commencement of the +disease; I could do nothing more, as my medicines were exhausted. All +night we could hear the sick muttering and raving in delirium, but from +years of association with disagreeables we had no fear of the infection. + +One morning the boy Saat carne to me with his head bound up, and +complained of severe pain in the back and limbs, with all the usual +symptoms of plague. In the afternoon I saw him leaning over the ship's +side; his nose was bleeding violently! At night he was delirious. On the +following morning he was raving, and on the vessel stopping to collect +firewood he threw himself into the river to cool the burning fever that +consumed him. His eyes were suffused with blood, which, blended with a +yellow as deep as the yolk of egg, gave a terrible appearance to his +face, that was already so drawn and changed as to be hardly recognized. +Poor Saat! the faithful boy that we had adopted, and who had formed so +bright an exception to the dark character of his race, was now a victim +to this horrible disease. He was a fine strong lad of nearly fifteen, +and he now lay helplessly on his mat, and cast wistful glances at the +face of his mistress as she gave him a cup of cold water mixed with a +few lumps of sugar that we had obtained from the traders at Gondokoro. + +Saat grew worse and worse. Nothing would relieve the unfortunate boy +from the burning torture of that frightful disease. He never slept; but +night and day he muttered in delirium, breaking the monotony of his +malady by occasionally howling like a wild animal. Richarn won my heart +by his careful nursing of the boy, who had been his companion through +years of hardship. We arrived at the village of Wat Shely, only three +days from Khartoum. Saat was dying. The night passed, and I expected +that all would be over before sunrise; but as morning dawned a change +had taken place; the burning fever had left him, and, although raised +blotches had broken out upon his chest and various parts of his body, he +appeared much better. We now gave him stimulants; a teaspoonful of araki +that we had bought at Fashooder was administered every ten minutes on a +lump of sugar. This he crunched in his mouth, while he gazed at my wife +with an expression of affection; but he could not speak. I had him well +washed and dressed in clean clothes, that had been kept most carefully +during the voyage, to be worn on our entree to Khartoum. He was laid +down to sleep upon a clean mat, and my wife gave him a lump of sugar to +moisten his mouth and relieve his thickly-furred tongue. His pulse was +very weak, and his skin cold. "Poor Saat," said my wife, "his life hangs +upon a thread. We must nurse him most carefully; should he have a +relapse, nothing will save him." + +An hour passed, and he slept. Karka, the fat, good-natured slave woman, +quietly went to his side; gently taking him by the ankles and knees, she +stretched his legs into a straight position, and laid his arms parallel +with his sides. She then covered his face with a cloth, one of the few +rags that we still possessed. "Does he sleep still?" we asked. The tears +ran down the cheeks of the savage but good-hearted Karka as she sobbed, +"He is dead!" + +We stopped the boat. It was a sandy shore; the banks were high, and a +clump of mimosas grew above high-water mark. It was there that we dug +his grave. My men worked silently and sadly, for all loved Saat. He had +been so good and true, that even their hard hearts had learned to +respect his honesty. We laid him in his grave on the desert shore, +beneath the grove of trees. + +Again the sail was set, and, filled by the breeze, it carried us away +from the dreary spot where we had sorrowfully left all that was good and +faithful. It was a happy end-- most merciful, as he had been taken from +a land of iniquity in all the purity of a child converted from Paganism +to Christianity. He had lived and died in our service a good Christian. +Our voyage was nearly over, and we looked forward to home and friends; +but we had still fatigues before us: poor Saat had reached his home and +rest. + +On the following morning, May 6, 1865, we were welcomed by the entire +European population of Khartoum, to whom are due my warmest thanks for +many kind attentions. We were kindly offered a house by Monsieur +Lombrosio, the manager of the Khartoum branch of the "Oriental and +Egyptian Trading Company." + +I now heard the distressing news of the death of my poor friend Speke. I +could not realize the truth of this melancholy report until I read the +details of his fatal accident in the appendix of a French translation of +his work. It was but a sad consolation that I could confirm his +discoveries, and bear witness to the tenacity and perseverance with +which he had led his party through the untrodden path of Africa to the +first Nile source. + +While at Khartoum I happened to find Mahommed Iler! the vakeel of +Chenooda's party, who had instigated my men to mutiny at Latooka, and +had taken my deserters into his employ. I had promised to make an +example of this fellow; I therefore had him arrested and brought before +the divan. With extreme effrontery, he denied having had anything to do +with the affair. Having a crowd of witnesses in my own men, and others +that I had found in Khartoum who had belonged to Koorshid's party at +that time, his barefaced lie was exposed, and he was convicted. I +determined that he should be punished, as an example that would insure +respect to any future English traveller in those regions. My men, and +all those with whom I had been connected, had been accustomed to rely +most implicitly upon all that I had promised, and the punishment of this +man had been an expressed determination. + +I went to the divan and demanded that he should be flogged. Omer Bey was +then Governor of the Soudan, in the place of Moosa Pacha deceased. He +sat upon the divan, in the large hall of justice by the river. Motioning +me to take a seat by his side, and handing me his pipe, he called the +officer in waiting, and gave the necessary orders. In a few minutes the +prisoner was led into the hall, attended by eight soldiers. One man +carried a strong pole about seven feet long, in the centre of which was +a double chain, riveted through in a loop. The prisoner was immediately +thrown down with his face to the ground, while two men stretched out his +arms and sat upon them. His feet were then placed within the loop of the +chain, and the pole being twisted round until firmly secured, it was +raised from the ground sufficiently to expose the soles of the feet. Two +men with powerful hippopotamus whips stood one on either side. The +prisoner thus secured, the order was given. The whips were most +scientifically applied, and after the first five dozen the slave-hunting +scoundrel howled most lustily for mercy. How often had he flogged +unfortunate slave women to excess, and what murders had that wretch +committed, who now howled for mercy! I begged Omer Bey to stop the +punishment at 150 lashes, and to explain to him publicly in the divan +that he was thus punished for attempting to thwart the expedition of an +English traveller, by instigating my escort to mutiny. + +We stayed at Khartoum two months, waiting for the Nile to rise +sufficiently to allow the passage of the cataracts. We started June +30th, and reached Berber, from which point, four years before, I had set +out on my Atbara expedition. + +I determined upon the Red Sea route to Egypt, instead of passing the +horrible Korosko desert during the hot month of August. After some delay +I procured camels, and started east for Souakim, where I hoped to +procure a steamer to Suez. + +There was no steamer upon our arrival. After waiting in intense heat for +about a fortnight, the Egyptian thirty-two-gun steam frigate Ibrahimeya +arrived with a regiment of Egyptian troops, under Giaffer Pacha, to +quell the mutiny of the black troops at Kassala, twenty days' march in +the interior. Giaffer Pacha most kindly placed the frigate at our +disposal to convey us to Suez. + +Orders for sailing had been received; but suddenly a steamer was +signalled as arriving. This was a transport, with troops. As she was to +return immediately to Suez, I preferred the dirty transport rather than +incur a further delay. We started from Souakim, and after five days' +voyage we arrived at Suez. Landing from the steamer, I once more found +myself in an English hotel. + +The hotel was thronged with passengers to India, with rosy, blooming +English ladies and crowds of my own countrymen. I felt inclined to talk +to everybody. Never was I so in love with my own countrymen and women; +but they (I mean the ladies) all had large balls of hair at the backs of +their heads! What an extraordinary change! I called Richarn, my pet +savage from the heart of Africa, to admire them. "Now, Richarn, look at +them!" I said. "What do you think of the English ladies? eh, Richarn? +Are they not lovely?" + +"Wah Illahi!" exclaimed the astonished Richarn, "they are beautiful! +What hair! They are not like the negro savages, who work other people's +hair into their own heads; theirs is all real--all their own--how +beautiful!" + +"Yes, Richarn," I replied, "ALL THEIR OWN!" This was my first +introduction to the "chignon." + +We arrived at Cairo, and I established Richarn and his wife in a +comfortable situation as private servants to Mr. Zech, the master of +Sheppard's Hotel. The character I gave him was one that I trust has done +him service. He had shown an extraordinary amount of moral courage in +totally reforming from his original habit of drinking. I left my old +servant with a heart too full to say good-by, a warm squeeze of his +rough but honest black hand, and the whistle of the train sounded-- we +were off! + +I had left Richarn, and none remained of my people. The past appeared +like a dream; the rushing sound of the train renewed ideas of +civilization. Had I really come from the Nile Sources? It was no dream. +A witness sat before me--a face still young, but bronzed like an Arab by +years of exposure to a burning sun, haggard and worn with toil and +sickness, and shaded with cares happily now past, the devoted companion +of my pilgrimage, to whom I owed success and life-- my wife. + +I had received letters from England, that had been waiting at the +British Consulate. The first I opened informed me that the Royal +Geographical Society had awarded me the Victoria Gold Medal, at a time +when they were unaware whether I was alive or dead, and when the success +of my expedition was unknown. This appreciation of my exertions was the +warmest welcome that I could have received on my first entrance into +civilization after so many years of savagedom. It rendered the +completion of the Nile Sources doubly grateful, as I had fulfilled the +expectations that the Geographical Society had so generously expressed +by the presentation of their medal BEFORE my task was done. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of In the Heart of Africa, by Baker + |