Hippopotami are heard snorting in the high reeds both day and night, but

we see very few. The black women on board are daily quarrelling together

and fighting like bull-dogs; little Gaddum Her is a regular black toy

terrier, rather old, wonderfully strong, very short, but making up in

spirit for what she lacks in stature; she is the quintessence of vice,

being ready for a stand-up fight at the shortest notice. On one occasion

she fought with her antagonist until both fell down the hold, smashing

all my water jars; on another day they both fell into the river. The

ennui of this wretched voyage appears to try the temper of both man and

beast; the horses, donkeys, and camels are constantly fighting and

biting at all around.

Jan. 23d.--At 8 a.m. arrived at Aboukooka, the establishment of a

French trader. It is impossible to describe the misery of the land; in

the midst of the vast expanse of marsh is a little plot of dry ground

about thirty-five yards square, and within thirty yards of the river,

but to be reached only by wading through the swamp. The establishment

consisted of about a dozen straw huts, occupied by a wretched

fever-stricken set of people; the vakeel, and others employed, came to

the boats to beg for corn. I stopped for ten minutes at the charming

watering-place Aboukooka to obtain the news of the country. The current

at this point is as usual very strong, being upwards of two and a half

miles per hour; the river is quite bank-full although not actually

flooding, the windings endless; one moment our course is due north, then

east, then again north, and as suddenly due south; in fact, we face

every point of the compass within an hour. Frequently the noggurs that

are far in the rear appear in advance; it is a heartbreaking river

without a single redeeming point; I do not wonder at the failure of all

expeditions in this wretched country. There is a breeze to-day, thus the

oppressive heat and stagnated marsh atmosphere is relieved. I have

always remarked that when the sky is clouded we suffer more from heat

and oppression than when the day is clear; there is a weight in the

atmosphere that would be interesting if tested by the barometer.

The water is excessively bad throughout the White Nile, especially

between the Shillook and the Kytch tribes; that of the Bahr Gazal is

even worse. The reis Diabb tells me that the north wind always fails

between the Nuehr and the upper portion of the Kytch. I could not

believe that so miserable a country existed as the whole of this land.

There is no game to be seen at this season, few birds, and not even

crocodiles show themselves; all the water-animals are hidden in the high

grass; thus there is absolutely nothing living to be seen, but day after

day is passed in winding slowly through the labyrinth of endless marsh,

through clouds of mosquitoes.

At 4.20 a.m. arrived at the Austrian mission-station of St. Croix, and

I delivered a letter to the chief of the establishment, Herr Morlang.

Jan. 24th.--Took observations of the sun, making latitude 6 degrees

39'.

The mission-station consists of about twenty grass huts on a patch of

dry ground close to the river. The church is a small hut, but neatly

arranged. Herr Morlang acknowledged, with great feeling, that the

mission was absolutely useless among such savages; that he had worked

with much zeal for many years, but that the natives were utterly

impracticable. They were far below the brutes, as the latter show signs

of affection to those who are kind to them; while the natives, on the

contrary, are utterly obtuse to all feelings of gratitude. He described

the people as lying and deceitful to a superlative degree; the more they

receive the more they desire, but in return they will do nothing.

Twenty or thirty of these disgusting, ash-smeared, stark naked brutes,

armed with clubs of hard wood brought to a point, were lying idly about

the station. The mission having given up the White Nile as a total

failure, Herr Morlang sold the whole village and mission-station to

Koorshid Aga this morning for 3,000 piastres, 30 pounds! I purchased a

horse of the missionaries for 1,000 piastres, which I christened

"Priest" as coming from the mission; he is a good-looking animal, and

has been used to the gun, as the unfortunate Baron Harnier rode him

buffalo-hunting. This good sportsman was a Prussian nobleman, who with

two European attendants, had for some time amused himself by collecting

objects of natural history and shooting in this neighbourhood. Both his

Europeans succumbed to marsh fever.

The end of Baron Harnier was exceedingly tragic. Having wounded a

buffalo, the animal charged a native attendant and threw him to the

ground; Baron Harnier was unloaded, and with great courage he attacked

the buffalo with the butt-end of his rifle to rescue the man then

beneath the animal's horns. The buffalo left the man and turned upon his

new assailant. The native, far from assisting his master, who had thus

jeopardized his life to save him, fled from the spot. The unfortunate

baron was found by the missionaries trampled and gored into an

undistinguishable mass; and the dead body of the buffalo was found at a

short distance, the animal having been mortally wounded. I went to see

the grave of this brave Prussian, who had thus sacrificed so noble a

life for so worthless an object as a cowardly native. It had been well

cared for by the kind hands of the missionaries and was protected by

thorn bushes laid around it, but I fear it will be neglected now that

the mission has fallen into unholy hands. It is a pitiable sight to

witness the self-sacrifice that many noble men have made in these

frightful countries without any good results. Near to the grave of Baron

Harnier are those of several members of the mission, who have left their

bones in this horrid land, while not one convert has been made from the

mission of St. Croix.

The river divides into two branches, about five miles above this

station, forming an island. Upon this is a fishing-station of the

natives; the native name of the spot is Pomone. The country is swampy

and scantily covered with bushes and small trees, but no actual timber.

As usual, the entire country is dead flat; it abounds with elephants a

few miles inland. Herr Morlang describes the whole of the White Nile

traders as a mere colony of robbers, who pillage and shoot the natives

at discretion. On the opposite side of the river there is a large

neglected garden, belonging to the mission. Although the soil is

extremely rich, neither grapes nor pomegranate will succeed; they bear

fruit, but of a very acrid flavour. Dates blossom, but will not fruit.

Jan. 25th.--Started at 7 A.M. Course S.E.

Jan. 26th.--The Bohr tribe on the east bank. No wind. The current

nearly three miles per hour. The river about a hundred and twenty yards

wide in clear water. Marshes and flats, as usual. Thermometer throughout

the journey, at 6 A.M., 68 degrees Fahr., and at noon 86 to 93 degrees

Fahr.

Jan. 27th.--One day is a repetition of the preceding.

Jan. 28th.--Passed two bivouacs of the Aliab tribe, with great herds

of cattle on the west bank. The natives appeared to be friendly, dancing

and gesticulating as the boats passed. The White Nile tribe not only

milk their cows, but they bleed their cattle periodically, and boil the

blood for food. Driving a lance into a vein in the neck, they bleed the

animal copiously, which operation is repeated about once a month.

Jan. 29th.--Passed a multitude of cattle and natives on a spot on the

right bank, in clouds of smoke as a "chasse des moustiques." They make

tumuli of dung, which are constantly on fire, fresh fuel being

continually added, to drive away the mosquitoes. Around these heaps the

cattle crowd in hundreds, living with the natives in the smoke. By

degrees the heaps of ashes become about eight feet high; they are then

used as sleeping-places and watch-stations by the natives, who, rubbing

themselves all over with the ashes, have a ghastly and devilish

appearance that is indescribable. The country is covered with old tumuli

formed in this manner. A camp may contain twenty or thirty such, in

addition to fresh heaps that are constantly burning. Fires of cow-dung

are also made on the leveled tops of the old heaps, and bundles of green

canes, about sixteen feet high, are planted on the summit; these wave in

the breeze like a plume of ostrich feathers, and give shade to the

people during the heat of the day.

JAN. 30TH.--Arrived at the "Shir" tribe. The men are, as usual in

these countries, armed with well-made ebony clubs, two lances, a bow

(always strung), and a bundle of arrows; their hands are completely full

of weapons; and they carry a neatly-made miniature stool slung upon

their backs, in addition to an immense pipe. Thus a man carries all that

be most values about his person. The females in this tribe are not

absolutely naked; like those of the Kytch, they wear small lappets of

tanned leather as broad as the hand; at the back of the belt, which

supports this apron, is a tail which reaches to the lower portions of

the thighs; this tail is formed of finely-cut strips of leather, and

the costume has doubtless been the foundation for the report I had

received from the Arabs, "that a tribe in Central Africa had tails like

horses." The women carry their children very conveniently in a skin

slung from their shoulders across the back, and secured by a thong round

the waist; in this the young savage sits delightfully. The huts

throughout all tribes are circular, with entrances so low that the

natives creep both in and out upon their hands and knees. The men wear

tufts of cock's feathers on the crown of the head; and their favorite

attitude, when standing, is on one leg while leaning on a spear, the

foot of the raised leg resting on the inside of the other knee. Their

arrows are about three feet long, without feathers, and pointed with

hard wood instead of iron, the metal being scarce among the Shir tribe.

The most valuable article of barter for this tribe is the iron hoe

generally used among the White Nile negroes. In form it is precisely

similar to the "ace of spades." The finery most prized by the women are

polished iron anklets, which they wear in such numbers that they reach

nearly half-way up the calf of the leg; the tinkling of these rings is

considered to be very enticing, but the sound reminds one of the

clanking of convicts' fetters.

All the tribes of the White Nile have their harvest of the lotus seed.

There are two species of water-lily--the large white flower, and a

small variety. The seed-pod of the white lotus is like an unblown

artichoke, containing a number of light red grains equal in size to

mustard-seed, but shaped like those of the poppy, and similar to them in

flavour, being sweet and nutty. The ripe pods are collected and strung

upon sharp-pointed reeds about four feet in length. When thus threaded

they are formed into large bundles, and carried from the river to the

villages, where they are dried in the sun, and stored for use. The seed

is ground into flour, and made into a kind of porridge. The women of the

Shir tribe are very clever at manufacturing baskets and mats from the

leaf of the dome palm. They also make girdles and necklaces of minute

pieces of river mussel shells threaded upon the hair of the giraffe's

tail. This is a work of great time, and the effect is about equal to a

string of mother-of-pearl buttons.

Jan. 31st.--At 1.15 P.M. sighted Gebel Lardo, bearing S. 30 degrees

west. This is the first mountain we have seen, and we are at last near

our destination, Gondokoro. I observed to-day a common sand-piper

sitting on the head of a hippopotamus; when he disappeared under water

the bird skimmed over the surface, hovering near the spot until the

animal reappeared, when he again settled.

Feb. 1st.--The character of the river has changed. The marshes have

given place to dry ground; the banks are about four feet above the

water-level, and well wooded; the country having the appearance of an

orchard, and being thickly populated. The natives thronged to the boats,

being astonished at the camels. At one village during the voyage the

natives examined the donkeys with great curiosity, thinking that they

were the oxen of our country, and that we were bringing them to exchange

for ivory.

Feb. 2nd--The mountain Lardo is about twelve miles west of the river.

At daybreak we sighted the mountains near Gondokoro, bearing due south.

As yet I have seen no symptoms of hostility in this country. I cannot

help, thinking that the conduct of the natives depends much upon that of

the traveller. Arrived at Gondokoro. By astronomical observation I

determined the latitude, 4 degrees 55 minutes North, Longitude 31

degrees 46 minutes East. Gondokoro is a great improvement upon the

interminable marshes; the soil is firm and raised about twenty feet

above the river level. Distant mountains relieve the eye accustomed to

the dreary flats of the White Nile; and evergreen trees scattered over

the face of the landscape, with neat little native villages beneath

their shade, form a most inviting landing-place after a long and tedious

voyage. This spot was formerly a mission-station. There remain to this

day the ruins of the brick establishment and church, and the wreck of

what was once a garden; groves of citron and lime-trees still exist, the

only signs that an attempt at civilization has been made--"seed cast

upon the wayside." There is no town. Gondokoro is merely a station of

the ivory traders, occupied for about two months during the year, after

which time it is deserted, when the annual boats return to Khartoum and

the remaining expeditions depart for the interior. A few miserable grass

huts are all that dignify the spot with a name. The climate is unhealthy

and hot. The thermometer from 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit at noon in the

shade.

I landed the animals from the boats in excellent condition all rejoicing

in the freedom of open pasturage.

CHAPTER II.

BAD RECEPTION AT GONDOKORO

All were thankful that the river voyage was concluded; the tedium of the

White Nile will have been participated by the reader, upon whom I have

inflicted the journal, as no other method of description could possibly

convey an idea of the general desolation.

Having landed all my stores, and housed my corn in some granaries

belonging 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.

In conversing with the traders, and assuring them that my object was

entirely confined to a search for the Nile sources, and an inquiry for

Speke and Grant, I heard a curious report that had been brought down by

the natives from the interior, that at some great distance to the south

there were two white men who had been for a long time prisoners of a

sultan; and that these men had wonderful fireworks; that both had been

very ill, and that one had died. It was in vain that I endeavoured to

obtain some further clue to this exciting report. There was a rumour

that some native had a piece of wood with marks upon it that had

belonged to the white men; but upon inquiry I found that this account

was only a report given by some distant tribe. Nevertheless, I attached

great importance to the rumour, as there was no white man south of

Gondokoro engaged in the ivory trade; therefore there was a strong

probability that the report had some connexion with the existence of

Speke and Grant. I had heard, when at Khartoum, that the most advanced

trading station was about fifteen days' march from Gondokoro, and my

plan of operations had always projected a direct advance to that

station, where I had intended to leave all my heavy baggage in depot,

and to proceed from thence as a "point de depart" to the south. I now

understood that the party were expected to arrive at Gondokoro from that

station with ivory in a few days, and I determined to wait for their

arrival, and to return with them in company. Their ivory porters

returning, might carry my baggage, and thus save the backs of my

transport animals.

I accordingly amused myself at Gondokoro, exercising my horses in riding

about the neighbourhood, and studying the place and people. The native

dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the domicile of each family

is surrounded by a hedge of the impenetrable euphorbia, and the interior

of the enclosure generally consists of a yard neatly plastered with a

cement of ashes, cow-dung, and sand. Upon this cleanly-swept surface are

one or more huts surrounded by granaries of neat wicker-work, thatched,

resting upon raised platforms. The huts have projecting roofs in order

to afford a shade, and the entrance is usually about two feet high. When

a member of the family dies he is buried in the yard; a few ox-horns and

skulls are suspended on a pole above the spot, while the top of the pole

is ornamented with a bunch of cock's feathers. Every man carries his

weapons, pipe, and stool, the whole (except the stool) being held

between his legs when standing. These natives of Gondokoro are the Bari:

the men are well grown, the women are not prepossessing, but the

negro-type of thick lips and flat nose is wanting; their features are

good, and the woolly hair alone denotes the trace of negro blood. They

are tattooed upon the stomach, sides, and back, so closely, that it has

the appearance of a broad belt of fish-scales, especially when they are

rubbed with red ochre, which is the prevailing fashion. This pigment is

made of a peculiar clay, rich in oxide of iron, which, when burnt, is

reduced to powder, and then formed into lumps like pieces of soap; both

sexes anoint themselves with this ochre, formed into a paste by the

admixture of grease, giving themselves the appearance of new red bricks.

The only hair upon their persons is a small tuft upon the crown of the

head, in which they stick one or more feathers. The women are generally

free from hair, their heads being shaved. They wear a neat little

lappet, about six inches long, of beads, or of small iron rings, worked

like a coat of mail, in lieu of a fig-leaf, and the usual tail of fine

shreds of leather or twine, spun from indigenous cotton, pendant behind.

Both the lappet and tail are fastened on a belt which is worn round the

loins, like those in the Shir tribe; thus the toilette is completed at

once. It would be highly useful, could they only wag their tails to

whisk off the flies which are torments in this country.

The cattle are very small; the goats and sheep are quite Lilliputian,

but they generally give three at a birth, and thus multiply quickly. The

people of the country were formerly friendly, but the Khartoumers

pillage and murder them at discretion in all directions; thus, in

revenge, they will shoot a poisoned arrow at a stranger unless he is

powerfully escorted. The effect of the poison used for the arrow-heads

is very extraordinary. A man came to me for medical aid; five months ago

he bad been wounded by a poisoned arrow in the leg, below the calf, and

the entire foot had been eaten away by the action of the poison. The

bone rotted through just above the ankle, and the foot dropped off. The

most violent poison is the produce of the root of a tree, whose milky

juice yields a resin that is smeared upon the arrow. It is brought from

a great distance, from some country far west of Gondokoro. The juice of

the species of euphorbia, common in these countries, is also used for

poisoning arrows. Boiled to the consistence of tar, it is then smeared

upon the blade. The action of the poison is to corrode the flesh, which

loses its fiber, and drops away like jelly, after severe inflammation

and swelling. The arrows are barbed with diabolical ingenuity; some are

arranged with poisoned heads that fit into sockets; these detach from

the arrow on an attempt to withdraw them; thus the barbed blade, thickly

smeared with poison, remains in the wound, and before it can be cut out

the poison is absorbed by the system. Fortunately the natives are bad

archers. The bows are invariably made of the male bamboo, and are kept

perpetually strung; they are exceedingly stiff, but not very elastic,

and the arrows are devoid of feathers, being simple reeds or other light

wood, about three feet long, and slightly knobbed at the base as a hold

for the finger and thumb; the string is never drawn with the two

forefingers, as in most countries, but is simply pulled by holding the

arrow between the middle joint of the forefinger and the thumb. A stiff

bow drawn in this manner has very little power; accordingly the extreme

range seldom exceeds a hundred and ten yards.

The Bari tribe are very hostile, and are considered to be about the

worst of the White Nile. They have been so often defeated by the

traders' parties in the immediate neighborhood of Gondokoro, that they

are on their best behavior, while within half a mile of the station; but

it is not at all uncommon to be asked for beads as a tax for the right

of sitting under a shady tree, or for passing through the country. The

traders' people, in order to terrify them into submission, were in the

habit of binding them, hands and feet, and carrying them to the edge of

a cliff about thirty feet high, a little beyond the ruins of the old

mission-house: beneath this cliff the river boils in a deep eddy; into

this watery grave the victims were remorselessly hurled as food for

crocodiles. It appeared that this punishment was dreaded by the natives

more than the bullet or rope, and it was accordingly adopted by the

trading parties.

Upon my arrival at Gondokoro I was looked upon by all these parties as a

spy sent by the British Government. Whenever I approached the

encampments of the various traders, I heard the clanking of fetters

before I reached the station, as the slaves were being quickly driven

into hiding-places to avoid inspection. They were chained by two rings

secured round the ankles, and connected by three or four links. One of

these traders was a Copt, the father of the American Consul at Khartoum;

and, to my surprise, I saw the vessels full of brigands arrive at

Gondokoro, with the American flag flying at the mast-head.

Gondokoro was a perfect hell. It is utterly ignored by the Egyptian

authorities, although well known to be a colony of cut-throats. Nothing

would be easier than to send a few officers and two hundred men from

Khartoum to form a military government, and thus impede the slave-trade;

but a bribe from the traders to the authorities is sufficient to insure

an uninterrupted asylum for any amount of villany. The camps were full

of slaves, and the Bari natives assured me that there were large depots

of slaves in the interior belonging to the traders that would be marched

to Gondokoro for shipment to the Soudan a few hours after my departure.

I was the great stumbling-block to the trade, and my presence at

Gondokoro was considered as an unwarrantable intrusion upon a locality

sacred to slavery and iniquity. There were about six hundred of the

traders' people at Gondokoro, whose time was passed in drinking,

quarrelling, and ill-treating the slaves. The greater number were in a

constant state of intoxication, and when in such a state, it was their

invariable custom to fire off their guns in the first direction prompted

by their drunken instincts; thus, from morning till night, guns were

popping in all quarters, and the bullets humming through the air

sometimes close to our ears, and on more than one occasion they struck

up the dust at my feet. Nothing was more probable than a ball through

the head by ACCIDENT, which might have had the beneficial effect of

ridding the traders from a spy. A boy was sitting upon the gunwale of

one of the boats, when a bullet suddenly struck him in the head,

shattering the skull to atoms. NO ONE HAD DONE IT. The body fell into

the water, and the fragments of the skull were scattered on the deck.

After a few days' detention at Gondokoro, I saw unmistakeable signs 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 (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

in unknown regions; these were the fellows that I had considered to be

reduced "from wolves to lambs!"

I was determined not to be done, and to insist upon the punishment of

the ringleader. I accordingly went towards him with the intention of

seizing him; but he, being backed by upwards 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 that all would be right. I made

them rather a bitter speech, and dismissed them.

From that moment I knew that my expedition was fated. This outbreak was

an example of what was to follow. Previous 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 made arrangements with a Circassian trader, Koorshid Aga, for the

purchase of a few oxen, and a fat beast was immediately slaughtered for

the men. They were shortly in the best humour, feasting upon masses of

flesh cut in strips and laid for a few minutes upon the embers, while

the regular meal was being prepared. They were now almost affectionate,

vowing that they would follow me to the end of the world; while the late

ringleader, in spite of his countenance being rather painted in the late

row, declared that no man would be so true as himself, and that every

"arrow should pass through him before it should reach me" in the event

of a conflict with the natives. A very slight knowledge of human nature

was required to foresee the future with such an escort:--if love and

duty were dependent upon full bellies, mutiny and disorder would appear

with hard fare. However, by having parade every morning at a certain

hour, I endeavoured to establish a degree of regularity. 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 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 them they were walking along the bank of the river

towards my boats. At a distance of about a hundred yards I recognised my

old friend Speke, and with a heart beating with joy I took off my cap

and gave a welcome hurrah! as I ran towards him. For the moment he did

not recognize me; ten years' growth of beard and moustache had worked a

change; and as I was totally unexpected, my sudden appearance in the

center 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 travelers

arrived at Gondokoro. Speke appeared the more worn of the two; he was

excessively lean, but in reality he was in good tough condition; he had

walked the whole way from Zanzibar, never having once ridden during that

wearying march. Grant was in honourable rags; his bare knees projecting

through the remnants of trowsers 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 honour they had so nobly earned, Speke and Grant with

characteristic candour 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 minutes, 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 minutes). They did not see the Nile again until

they arrived in N. lat. 3 deg. 32 min., which was then flowing from the

W.S.W. 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 armchair 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 got 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 have returned fruitlessly. I

therefore arranged immediately for my departure, and Speke most kindly

wrote in my journal such instructions as might be useful. I therefore

copy them verbatim:

"Before you leave this be sure you engage two men, one speaking the Bari

or Madi language, and one speaking Kinyoro, to be your interpreters

through the whole journey, for there are only two distinct families of

languages in the country, though of course some dialectic differences,

which can be easily overcome by anybody who knows the family language.

. . . Now, as you are bent on first going to visit Kamrasi M'Kamma, or

King of Unyoro, and then to see as much of the western countries

bordering on the little Luta N'zige, or `dead locust' lake, as possible,

go in company with the ivory hunters across the Asua river to Apuddo

eight marches, and look for game to the east of that village. Two

marches further on will bring you to Panyoro, where there are antelopes

in great quantity; and in one march more the Turks' farthest outpost,

Faloro, will be reached, where you had better form a depot, and make a

flying trip across the White Nile to Koshi for the purpose of inquiring

what tribes live to west and south of it, especially of the Wallegga;

how the river comes from the south, and where it is joined by the little

Luta N'zige. Inquire also after the country of Chopi, and what

difficulties or otherwise you would have to overcome if you followed up

the left bank of the White river to Kamrasi's; because, if found easy,

it would be far nearer and better to reach Kamrasi that way than going

through the desert jungles of Ukidi, as we went. This is the way I

should certainly go myself, but if you do not like the look of it,

preserve your information well; and after returning to Faloro, make Koki

per Chougi in two marches, and tell old Chougi you wish to visit his

M'Kamma Kamrasi, for Chougi was appointed Governor-general of that place

by Kamrasi to watch the Wakidi who live between his residence and Chopi,

which is the next country you will reach after passing through the

jungles of Ukidi and crossing the Nile below Karuma Falls. Arrived at

Chopi, inquire for the residence of the Katikiro or commander-in-chief,

who will show you great respect, give you cows and pombe, and send

messengers on to Kamrasi to acquaint him of your intention to visit him.

This is the richest part of Kamrasi's possessions, and by a little

inquiry you will learn much about the lake. Kamrasi's brother Rionga

lives on a river island within one march of this. They are deadly

enemies and always fighting, so if you made a mistake and went to

Rionga's first, as the Turks would wish you to do, all travelling in

Unyoro would be cut off. Tell the Katikiro all your plans frankly, and

remark earnestly upon my great displeasure at Kamrasi's having detained

me so long in his country without deigning to see me, else he may be

assured no other white man will ever take the trouble to see him. We

came down the river in boats from Kamrasi's to Chopi, but the boatmen

gave much trouble, therefore it would be better for you to go overland.

Kamrasi will most likely send Kidgwiga, an excellent officer, to escort

you to his palace, but if he does not, ask after him; you could not have

a better man.

"Arrived at Kamrasi's, insist upon seeing all his fat wives and

brothers. Find out all you can about his pedigree, and ask for leave to

follow up the lake from its JUNCTION with the Nile to Utumbi, and then

crossing to its northern bank follow it down to Ullegga and Koshi. If

you are so fortunate as to reach Utumbi, and don't wish to go farther

south, inquire well about Ruanda, the M'Fumbiro mountains, if there is

any copper in Ruanda, and whether or not the people of those countries

receive Simbi (the cowrie shell) or any other articles of merchandise

from the west coast, guarding well that no confusion is made with the

trade of Karagwe, for Rumanika sends men to Utumbi ivory-hunting

continually. "Remember well that the Wahuma are most likely Gallas; this

question is most interesting, and the more you can gather of their

history, since they crossed the White Nile, the better. Formerly Unyoro,

Uganda, and Uddhu were all united in one vast kingdom called Kittara,

but this name is now only applied to certain portions of that kingdom.

"Nothing is known of the Mountains of the Moon to the westward of

Ruanda. In Unyoro the king will feed you; beyond that I suspect you will

have to buy food with beads."

Such was the information most kindly written by Speke, which, in

addition to a map drawn by Captain Grant, and addressed to the Secretary

of the Royal Geographical Society, was to be my guide in the important

exploration resolved upon. I am particular in publishing these details,

in order to show the perfect freedom from jealousy of both Captains

Speke and Grant. Unfortunately, in most affairs of life, there is not

only fair emulation, but ambition is too often combined with intense

jealousy of others. Had this miserable feeling existed in the minds of

Speke and Grant, they would have returned to England with the sole

honour of discovering the source of the Nile; but in their true devotion

to geographical science and especially to the specific object of their

expedition they gave me all information to assist in the completion of

the great problem--the "Nile Sources."

We were all ready to start. Speke and Grant, an their party of

twenty-two people, for Egypt, and I in the opposite direction. At this

season there were many boats at Gondokoro belonging to the traders'

parties, among which were four belonging to Mr. Petherick, three of

which were open cargo boats, and one remarkably nice diahbiah, named the

"Kathleen," that was waiting for Mrs. Petherick and her husband, who

were supposed to be at their trading station, the Niambara, about

seventy miles west of Gondokoro; but no accounts had been heard of them.

On the 20th February they suddenly arrived from the Niambara, with their

people and ivory and were surprised at seeing so large a party of

English in so desolate a spot. It is a curious circumstance, that

although many Europeans had been as far south as Gondokoro, I was the

first Englishman that had ever reached it. We now formed a party of

four.

Gondokoro has a poor and sandy soil, so unproductive that corn is in the

greatest scarcity and is always brought from Khartoum by the annual

boats for the supply of the traders' people, who congregate there from

the interior, in the months of January and February, to deliver the

ivory for shipment to Khartoum. Corn is seldom or never less than eight

times the price at Khartoum; this is a great drawback to the country, as

each trading party that arrives with ivory from the interior brings with

it five or six hundred native porters, all of whom have to be fed during

their stay at Gondokoro, and in many cases, in times of scarcity, they

starve. This famine has given a bad name to the locality, and it is

accordingly difficult to procure porters from the interior, who

naturally fear starvation.

I was thus extremely sorry that I was obliged to refuse a supply of corn

to Mr. Petherick upon his application--an act of necessity, but not of

ill-nature upon my part, as I was obliged to leave a certain quantity in

depot at Gondokoro, in case I should be driven back from the interior,

in the event of which, without a supply in depot, utter starvation would

have been the fate of my party. Mr. Petherick accordingly despatched one

of his boats to the Shir tribe down the White Nile to purchase corn in

exchange for molotes (native hoes). The boat returned with corn on the

11th of March. On the 26th 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.

CHAPTER III.

GUN ACCIDENT.

A DAY before the departure of Speke and Grant from Gondokoro, an event

occurred which appeared as a bad omen to the superstitions of my men. I

had ordered the diahbiah to be prepared for sailing: thus, the cargo

having been landed and the boat cleared and washed, we were sitting in

the cabin, when a sudden explosion close to the windows startled us from

our seats, and the consternation of a crowd of men who were on the bank,

showed that some accident had happened. I immediately ran out, and found

that the servants had laid all my rifles upon a mat upon the ground, and

that one of the men had walked over the guns; his foot striking the

hammer of one of the No. 10 Reilly rifles, had momentarily raised it

from the nipple, and an instantaneous explosion was the consequence. The

rifle was loaded for elephants, with seven drachms of powder. There was

a quantity of luggage most fortunately lying before the muzzle, but the

effects of the discharge were extraordinary. The ball struck the steel

scabbard of a sword, tearing off the ring; it then passed obliquely

through the stock of a large rifle, and burst through the

shoulder-plate; entering a packing-case of inch-deal, it passed through

it and through the legs of a man who was sitting at some distance, and

striking the hip-bone of another man, who was sitting at some paces

beyond, it completely smashed both hips, and fortunately being expended,

it lodged in the body. Had it not been for the first objects happily in

the route of the ball, it would have killed several men, as they were

sitting in a crowd exactly before the muzzle.

Dr. Murie, who had accompanied Mr. Petherick, very kindly paid the

wounded men every attention, but he with the smashed hip died in a few

hours, apparently without pain.

After the departure of Speke and Grant, I moved my tent to the high

ground above the river; the effluvium from the filth of some thousands

of people was disgusting, and fever was prevalent in all quarters. Both

of us were suffering; also Mr. and Mrs. Petherick, and many of my men,

one of whom died. My animals were all healthy, but the donkeys and

camels were attacked by a bird, about the size of a thrush, which caused

them great uneasiness. This bird is of a greenish-brown colour, with a

powerful red beak, and excessively strong claws. It is a perfect pest to

the animals, and positively eats them into holes. The original object of

the bird in settling upon the animal is to search for vermin, but it is

not contented with the mere insects, and industriously pecks holes in

all parts of the animal, more especially on the back. A wound once

established, adds to the attraction, and the unfortunate animal is so

pestered that it has no time to eat. I was obliged to hire little boys

to watch the donkeys, and to drive off these plagues; but so determined

and bold were the birds, that I have constantly seen them run under the

body of the donkey, clinging to the belly with their feet, and thus

retreating to the opposite side of the animal when chased by the

watch-boys. In a few days my animals were full of wounds, excepting the

horses, whose long tails were effectual whisks. Although the temperature

was high, 95 degrees Fahr., the wind was frequently cold at about three

o'clock in the morning, and one of my horses, "Priest," that I had

lately purchased of the Mission, became paralysed, and could not rise

from the ground. After several days' endeavours to cure him, I was

obliged to shoot him, as the poor animal could not eat.

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. These people had brought down a large quantity of ivory from

the interior, and had therefore a number of porters who would return

empty-handed; I accordingly arranged with Mahommed for fifty porters,

who would much relieve the backs of my animals from Gondokoro to the

station at Faloro, about twelve days' march. At Faloro I intended to

leave my heavy baggage in depot, and to proceed direct to Kamrasi's

country. I promised Mahommed that I would use my influence in all new

countries that I might discover, to open a road for his ivory trade,

provided that he would agree to conduct it by legitimate purchase, and I

gave him a list of the quality of beads most desirable for Kamrasi's

country, according to the description I had received from Speke.

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 upwards 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

train, 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 me 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. The whole of the men belonging to

the various traders were determined that no Englishman should penetrate

into the country; accordingly they fraternised with my escort, and

persuaded them that I was a Christian dog, that it was a disgrace for a

Mahommedan 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 should find a ship waiting to

take me to England, and I should 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 would 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 demeanour, 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 to the Arabs, he kept himself apart from them, and fraternised 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 Baggera

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 old, 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 the 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 re-admitted 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 amidst

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 lay in the boy, I told

him I would inquire. In the meantime 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; it was refreshed by being plentifully watered. 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 trowsers,

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, &c.; while I taught

him to shoot, and gave him a light double-barrelled gun. This was his

greatest pride.

In the evening, when the day's work was done, Saat was allowed to sit

near his mistress; and he was at times amused and instructed by stories

of Europe and Europeans, and anecdotes from the Bible adapted to his

understanding, combined with the first principles of Christianity. He

was very ignorant, notwithstanding his advantages in the Mission, but he

possessed the first grand rudiments of all religion--honesty of purpose.

Although a child of only twelve years old, he was so perfectly

trustworthy that, at the period of our arrival at Gondokoro, he was more

to be depended upon than my vakeel, and nothing could occur among my

mutinous escort without the boy's knowledge: thus he reported the

intended mutiny of the people when there was no other means of

discovering it, and without Saat I should have had no information of

their plots.

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.

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 the 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 the

Saturday, while he was proposing to march together on the 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 to 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 buck shot, 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 beat, 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 to 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

endeavoured 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 this 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: both 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 vakeel must have known of this preconcerted arrangement. I now went

to the Circassian, Koorshid, who had always been friendly personally. In

an interview with him, I made him understand that nothing should drive

me back to Khartoum, but that, as I was now helpless, I begged him to

give me ten elephant-hunters; that I would pay one-half of their wages,

and amuse myself in hunting and exploring in any direction until the

following year, he to take the ivory; by which time I could receive

thirty black soldiers from Khartoum, with whom I should commence my

journey to the lake. I begged him to procure me thirty good blacks at

Khartoum, and to bring them with him to Gondokoro next season, where I

arranged to meet him. This he agreed to, and I returned to my tent

delighted at a chance of escaping complete failure, although I thus

encountered a delay of twelve months before I could commence my

legitimate voyage. That accomplished, I was comparatively happy; the

disgrace of returning to Khartoum beaten would have been insupportable.

That night I slept well, and we sat under our shady tree by the

tent-door at sunrise on the following morning, drinking our coffee with

contentment. Presently, from a distance, I saw Koorshid, the Circassian,

approaching with his partner. Coffee and pipes were ready instanter:

both the boy Saat and Richarn looked upon him as a friend and ally, as

it was arranged that ten of his hunters were to accompany us. Before he

sipped his coffee he took me by the hand, and with great confusion of

manner he confessed that he was ashamed to come and visit me. "The

moment you left me yesterday," said he, "I called my vakeel and headman,

and ordered them to select the ten best men of my party to accompany

you; but instead of obeying me as usual, they declared that nothing

would induce them to serve under you; that you were a spy who would

report their proceedings to the Government, and that they should all be

ruined; that you were not only a spy on the slave-trade, but that you

were a madman, who would lead them into distant and unknown countries,

where both you and your wife and they would all be murdered by the

natives; thus they would mutiny immediately, should you be forced upon

them." My last hope was gone. Of course I thanked Koorshid for his

good-will, and explained that I should not think of intruding myself

upon his party, but that at the same time they should not drive me out

of the country. I had abundance of stores and ammunition, and now that

my men had deserted me, I had sufficient corn to supply my small party

for twelve months; I had also a quantity of garden-seeds, that I had

brought with me in the event of becoming a prisoner in the country; I

should therefore make a zareeba or camp at Gondokoro, and remain there

until I should receive men and supplies in the following season. I now

felt independent, having preserved my depot of corn. I was at least

proof against famine for twelve months. Koorshid endeavoured to persuade

me that my party of only a man and a boy would be certainly insulted and

attacked by the insolent natives of the Bari tribe should I remain alone

at Gondokoro after the departure of the traders' parties. I told him

that I preferred the natives to the traders' people, and that I was

resolved; I merely begged him to lend me one of his little slave boys as

an interpreter, as I had no means of communicating with the natives.

This he promised to do.

After Koorshid's departure, we sat silently for some minutes, both my

wife and I occupied by the same thoughts.

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 being with me was my greatest care.

I dared not think of her position in the event of my death amongst 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

Bari's 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 being 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.

"Master, go on, and I will follow thee, To the last gasp, with truth and

loyalty."

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 from Koorshid 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. He brought me a large jar of merissa (native beer), and said

"he had been anxious to see the white man who did not steal cattle,

neither kidnap slaves, but that I should do no good in that country, as

the traders did not wish me to remain." He told me "that all people were

bad, both natives and traders, and that force was necessary in this

country." I tried to discover whether he had any respect for good and

upright conduct. "Yes," he said; "all people say that you are different

to the Turks and traders, but that character will not help you; it is

all very good and very right, but you see your men have all deserted,

thus you must go back to Khartoum; you can do nothing here without

plenty of men and guns." 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 were, 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 neighbour; 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

towards 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.

Their time was passed 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 them selves, 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.

That night I was asleep in my tent, when I was suddenly awoke by loud

screams, and upon listening attentively I distinctly heard the heavy

breathing of something in the tent, and I could distinguish a dark

object crouching close to the head of my bed. A slight pull at my sleeve

showed me that my wife also noticed the object, as this was always the

signal that she made if anything occured at night that required

vigilance. Possessing a share of sangfroid admirably adapted for African

travel, Mrs. Baker was not a screamer, and never even whispered; in the

moment of suspected danger, a touch of my sleeve was considered a

sufficient warning. My hand had quietly drawn the revolver from under my

pillow and noiselessly pointed it within two feet of the dark crouching

object, before I asked, "Who is that?" No answer was given--until,

upon repeating the question, with my finger touching gently upon the

trigger ready to fire, a voice replied, "Fadeela." Never had I been so

near to a fatal shot! It was one of the black women of the party, who

had crept into the tent for an asylum. Upon striking a light I found

that the woman was streaming with blood, being cut in the most frightful

manner with the coorbatch (whip of hippopotamus' hide). Hearing the

screams continued at some distance from the tent, I found my angels in

the act of flogging two women; two men were holding each woman upon the

ground by sitting upon her legs and neck, while two men with powerful

whips operated upon each woman alternately. Their backs were cut to

pieces, and they were literally covered with blood. The brutes had taken

upon themselves the task of thus punishing the women for a breach of

discipline in being absent without leave. Fadeela had escaped before her

punishment had been completed, and narrowly escaped being shot by

running to the tent without giving warning. Seizing the coorbatch from

the hands of one of the executioners, I administered them a dose of

their own prescription, to their intense astonishment, as they did not

appear conscious of any outrage;--"they were only slave women." In all

such expeditions it is necessary to have women belonging to the party to

grind the corn and prepare the food for the men; I had accordingly hired

several from their proprietors at Khartoum, and these had been

maltreated as described.

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, I 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.

These people were the most extraordinary that I had seen--wearing

beautiful helmets of glass beads, and being remarkably handsome. The

chief of the party, "Adda," came to my tent, accompanied by a few of his

men. He was one of the finest men I ever saw, and he gave me much

information concerning his country, and begged me to pay him a visit. He

detested the Turks, but he was obliged to serve them, as he had received

orders from the great chief "Commoro" to collect porters, and to

transport their ivory from Latooka to Gondokoro. I took his portrait, to

his great delight, and made him a variety of presents of copper

bracelets, beads, and a red cotton handkerchief; the latter was most

prized, and he insisted upon wearing it upon his person. He had no

intention of wearing his new acquisition for the purpose of decency, but

he carefully folded it so as to form a triangle, and then tied it round

his waist, so that the pointed end should hang exactly straight BEHIND

him. So particular was he, that he was quite half an hour in arranging

this simple appendage; and at length he departed with his people, always

endeavouring to admire his new finery, by straining his neck in his

attempts to look behind him.

From morning till night natives of all ranks surrounded the tent to ask

for presents; these being generally granted, as it was highly necessary

to create a favourable impression. Koorshid's party, who had arrived

from Latooka, 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

grand 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 vakeel of Chenooda, one

Mahommed Her, was in constant communication with my men, which tended to

confirm the reports I had heard from the boy Saat. This Mahommed Her

started from Gondokoro for Latooka. Koorshid's men would start two days

later; these were rival parties, both antagonistic, but occupying the

same country, the Latooka; both equally hostile to me, but as the party

of Mahommed Her were Dongolowas, and that of Koorshid were Jalyns and

Soodanes, I trusted eventually to turn their disputes to my own

advantage.

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.

Once away from Gondokoro we should be fairly launched on our voyage, the

boats would have returned to Khartoum, thus retreat would be cut off; it

only remained to push forward, trusting in Providence and good fortune.

I had great faith in presents. The Arabs are all venal; and, having many

valuable effects with me, I trusted, when the proper moment should

arrive, to be able to overcome all opposition by an open hand. 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. The camels were too

heavily loaded, carrying about seven hundred pounds each. The donkeys

were also overloaded, but there was no help for it. Mrs. Baker was well

mounted on my good old Abyssinian hunter "Tetel," ("Hartebeest") and

was carrying several leather bags slung to the pommel, while I was

equally loaded on my horse "Filfil;" ("Pepper") in fact, we were all

carrying as much as we could stow.

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. We shook hands warmly with Dr. Murie, who had come

to see us off, and thus we started on our march in Central Africa on the

26th of March, 1863.

CHAPTER IV.

FIRST NIGHT'S MARCH.

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 watch-fires 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 neighbourhood." 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. All were

busy collecting firewood and cutting grass for the donkeys and horses

who were picketed near the fires. The camels were hobbled, and turned to

graze upon the branches of a large mimosa. We were not hungry; the

constant anxiety had entirely destroyed all appetite. A cup of strong

black coffee was the greatest luxury, and not requiring a tent in the

clear still night, we were soon asleep on our simple angareps. Before

daylight on the following morning the drum beat; the lazy soldiers,

after stretching and yawning, began to load the animals, and we started

at six o'clock. In these climates the rising of the sun is always

dreaded. For about an hour before sunrise the air is deliciously cool

and invigorating, but the sun is regarded as the common enemy. There is,

nevertheless, a difficulty in starting before sunrise-the animals cannot

be properly loaded in the darkness, and the operation being tedious, the

cool hour of morning is always lost. The 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 learnt 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 them, as they would be delayed in Belignan by ivory

transactions with the chief. While negotiations were pending with the

guide, the trader's party appeared in the distance, and avoiding us,

they halted on the opposite side of the village. I now tried

conciliatory measures, and I sent my vakeel to their headman Ibrahim to

talk with him confidentially, and to try to obtain an interpreter in

return for a large present.

My vakeel was in an awkward position--he was afraid of me; also

mortally afraid of the government in Khartoum; and frightened out of his

life at his own men, whose conspiracy to desert he was well aware of.

With the cunning of an Arab he started on his mission, accompanied by

several of the men, including the arch-mutineer Bellaal. He shortly

returned, saying, "that it was perfectly impossible to proceed to the

interior; that Ibrahim's party were outrageous at my having followed on

their route; that he would neither give an interpreter, nor allow any of

the natives to serve me; and that he would give orders to the great

chief of Ellyria to prevent me from passing through his country." At

that time the Turks were engaged in business transactions with the

natives; it therefore was 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 black mail, 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 the impossibility of camels travelling 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. The country was lovely. The

mountain of Belignan, although not exceeding 1,200 feet, is a fine mass

of gneiss and syenite, ornamented in the hollows with fine trees, while

the general appearance of the country at the base was that of a

beautiful English park well timbered and beautified with distant

mountains. 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 fellows, 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 to be 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. I had arranged their packs and

saddles so well, that they carried their loads with the greatest

comfort. Each animal had an immense pad well stuffed with goats' hair;

this reached from the shoulder to the hip-bones; upon this rested a

simple form of saddle made of two forks of boughs inverted, and fastened

together with rails--there were no nails in these saddles, all the

fastenings being secured with thongs of raw hide. The great pad,

projecting far both in front, behind, and also below the side of the

saddle, prevented the loads from chafing the animal. Every donkey

carried two large bags made of the hides of antelopes that I had

formerly shot on the frontier of Abyssinia, and these were arranged with

taggles on the one to fit into loops on the other, so that the loading

and unloading was exceedingly simple. The success of an expedition

depends mainly upon the perfection of the details, and where animals are

employed for transport, the first consideration should be bestowed upon

saddles and packs. 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. It was rather a bad commencement of a forced march, and the

ravine we had crossed had been a cause of serious delay. Hardly were the

animals reloaded and again ready for the march, when the men remembered

that they had only one waterskin full. I had given orders before the

start from Belignan that all should be filled. This is the unexceptional

rule in African travelling--"fill your girbas before starting." Never

mind what the natives may tell you concerning the existence of water on

the road; believe nothing; but resolutely determine to fill the girbas

--should you find water, there is no harm done if you are already

provided: but nothing can exceed the improvidence of the people. To

avoid the trouble of filling the girbas before starting, the men will

content themselves with "Inshallah (please God), we shall find water on

the road," and they frequently endure the greatest suffering from sheer

idleness in neglecting a supply.

They had in this instance persuaded themselves that the river we had

just crossed would not be dry. Several of them had been employed in this

country formerly, and because they had at one time found water in the

sandy bed, they had concluded that it existed still. Accordingly they

now wished to send parties to seek for water; this would entail a

further delay, at a time when every minute was precious, as our fate

depended upon reaching and passing through Ellyria before the arrival of

the Turks. I was very anxious, and determined not to allow a moment's

hesitation; I therefore insisted upon an immediate advance, and resolved

to march without stopping throughout the night. The Latooka guides

explained by signs that if we marched all night we should arrive at

water on the following morning. This satisfied the men; and we started.

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 fish-hooks, 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.

I dreaded the approach of night. We were now at the foot of a range of

high rocky hills, from which the torrents during the rainy season had

torn countless ravines in their passage through the lower ground; we

were marching parallel to the range at the very base, thus we met every

ravine at right angles. Down tumbled a camel; and away rolled his load

of bags, pots, pans, boxes, &c. into the bottom of a ravine in a

confused ruin.--Halt! . . and the camel had to be raised and helped up

the opposite bank, while the late avalanche of luggage was carried

piecemeal after him to be again adjusted. To avoid a similar catastrophe

the remaining three camels had to be UNLOADED, and reloaded when safe

upon the opposite bank. The operation of loading a camel with about 700

lbs. of luggage of indescribable variety is at all times tedious; but no

sooner had we crossed one ravine with difficulty than we arrived at

another, and the same fatiguing operation had to be repeated, with

frightful loss of time at the moment when I believed the Turks were

following on our path.

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 declared 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 overhung 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 came 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. I dismounted from my

horse and loaded him with sacks, to relieve a camel that was perfectly

done--but on we marched. Every one was silent; the men were too tired

to speak; and through the increasing gloom we crept slowly forward

Suddenly another ravine, but not so deep; and we trusted that the camels

might cross it without the necessity of unloading; down went the leading

camel, rolling completely over with his load to the bottom. Now, the boy

Saat was the drummer; but being very tired, he had come to the

conclusion that the drum would travel quite as easily upon a camel's

back as upon his shoulders; he had accordingly slung it upon the very

camel that had now performed a somersault and solo on the drum. The

musical instrument was picked up in the shape of a flat dish, and

existed no longer as a drum, every note having been squeezed out of it.

The donkey is a much more calculating animal than the camel, the latter

being an excessively stupid beast, while the former is remarkably clever

--at least I can answer for the ability of the Egyptian species. The

expression "what an ass!" is in Europe supposed to be slightly

insulting, but a comparison with the Egyptian variety would be a

compliment. Accordingly my train of donkeys, being calculating and

reasoning creatures, had from thus night's experience come to the

conclusion that the journey was long; that the road was full of ravines;

that the camels who led the way would assuredly tumble into these

ravines unless unloaded; and that as the reloading at each ravine would

occupy at least half an hour, it would be wise for them (the donkeys) to

employ that time in going to sleep--therefore, as it was just as cheap

to lie down as to stand, they preferred a recumbent posture, and a

refreshing roll upon the sandy ground. Accordingly, whenever the word

"halt" was given, the clever donkeys thoroughly understood their

advantage, and the act of unloading a camel on arrival at a ravine was a

signal sufficient to induce each of twenty-one donkeys to lie down. It

was in vain that the men beat and swore at them to keep them on their

legs; the donkeys were determined, and lie down they would. This

obstinacy on their part was serious to the march--every time that they

lay down they shifted their loads; some of the most wilful (sic)

persisted in rolling, and of course upset their packs. There were only

seventeen men, and these were engaged in assisting the camels; thus the

twenty-one donkeys had it all their own way; and what added to the

confusion was the sudden cry of hyenas in close proximity, which so

frightened the donkeys that they immediately sprang to their feet, with

their packs lying discomfited, entangled among their legs. Thus, no

sooner were the camels reloaded on the other side of the ravine, than

all the donkeys had to undergo the same operation; during which time the

camels, however stupid, having observed the donkeys' "dodge," took the

opportunity of lying down also, and necessarily shifted their loads. The

women were therefore ordered to hold the camels, to prevent them from

lying down while the donkeys were being reloaded; but the women were

dead tired, as they had been carrying loads; they themselves laid down,

and it being dark, they were not observed until a tremendous scream was

heard, and we found that a camel had lain down on the TOP OF A WOMAN who

had been placed to watch it, but who had herself fallen asleep. The

camel was with difficulty raised, and the woman dragged from beneath.

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; I therefore, on arrival at a large plateau

of rock, ordered the animals to be unloaded, and both man and beast to

rest. The people had no water; I had a girba full for Mrs. Baker and

myself, which was always slung on my saddle; this precaution I never

neglected.

The men were hungry. Before leaving Gondokoro I had ordered a large

quantity of kisras (black pancakes) to be prepared for the march, and

they were packed in a basket that had been carried on a camel;

unfortunately Mrs. Baker's pet monkey had been placed upon the same

camel, and he had amused himself during the night's march by feasting

and filling his cheeks with the kisras, and _throwing the remainder

away_ when his hunger was satisfied. There literally was not a kisra

remaining in the basket.

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; 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 woke, 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. At length Saat sat up, and after rubbing his eyes for about ten

minutes, he made a fire, and began to boil the coffee; meanwhile I was

hard at work lightening the ship. 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 woke, 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 bid

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. The great sponging-bath

was excessively useful, as it formed a reservoir out of which all the

animals could drink.

While we were thus engaged some natives appeared carrying with them the

head of a wild boar in a horrible state of decomposition, and alive with

maggots. On arrival at the drinking-place they immediately lighted a

fire, and proceeded to cook their savoury pork by placing it in the

flames. The skull becoming too hot for the inmates, crowds of maggots

rushed pele-mele from the ears and nostrils like people escaping from

the doors of a theatre on fire. The natives merely tapped the skull with

a stick to assist in their exit, and proceeded with their cooking until

completed; after which they ate the whole, and sucked the bones. However

putrid meat may be, it does not appear to affect the health of these

people.

My animals requiring rest and food, I was obliged to wait unwillingly

until 4.30 P.M. The natives having finished their boar's head, offered

to join us; and accordingly we rode on a considerable distance ahead of

our people with our active guides, while the caravan followed slowly

behind us. After ascending for about a mile through jungle, we suddenly

emerged upon an eminence, and looked down upon the valley of Tollogo.

This was extremely picturesque. An abrupt wall of grey granite rose on

the east side of the valley to a height of about a thousand feet: from

this perpendicular wall huge blocks had fallen, strewing the base with a

confused mass of granite lumps ten to forty feet in diameter; and among

these natural fortresses of disjointed masses were numerous villages.

The bottom of the valley was a meadow, in which grew several enormous

fig trees by the side of a sluggish, and in some places stagnant, brook.

The valley was not more than half a mile wide, and was also walled in by

mountains on the west, having the appearance of a vast street.

We were now about a mile ahead of our party; but accompanied by our two

Latooka guides, and upon descending to the valley and crossing a deep

gully, we soon arrived beneath a large fig tree at the extremity of the

vale. No sooner was our presence observed than crowds of natives issued

from the numerous villages among the rocks, and surrounded us. They were

all armed with bows and arrows and lances, and were very excited at

seeing the horses, which to them were unknown animals. Dismounting, I

fastened the horses to a bush, and we sat down on the grass under a

tree.

There were five or six hundred natives pressing round us. They were

excessively noisy, hallooing to us as though we were deaf, simply

because we did not understand them. Finding that they were pressing

rudely around us, I made signs to them to stand off; when at that moment

a curiously ugly, short, humped-back fellow came forward and addressed

me in broken Arabic. I was delighted to find an interpreter, and

requesting him to tell the crowd to stand back, I inquired for their

chief. The humpback spoke very little Arabic, nor did the crowd appear

to heed him, but they immediately stole a spear that one of my Latooka

guides had placed against the tree under which we were sitting. It was

getting rather unpleasant; but having my revolver and a double-barrelled

rifle in my hands, there was no fear of their being stolen.

In reply to a question to the humpback, he asked me "Who I was?" I

explained that I was a traveller. "You want ivory?" he said. "No," I

answered, "it is of no use to me." "Ah, you want slaves!" he replied.

"Neither do I want slaves," I answered. This was followed by a burst of

laughter from the crowd, and the humpback continued his examination.

"Have you got plenty of cows?" "Not one; but plenty of beads and

copper." "Plenty? Where are they?" "Not far off; they will be here

presently with my men;" and I pointed to the direction from which they

would arrive. "What countryman are you?" "An Englishman." He had never

heard of such people. "You are a Turk?" "All right," I replied; "I am

anything you like." "And that is your son?" (pointing at Mrs. Baker.)

"No, she is my wife." "Your wife! What a lie! He is a boy." "Not a bit

of it," I replied; "she is my wife, who has come with me to see the

women of this country." "What a lie!" he again politely re joined in the

one expressive Arabic word, "Katab." After this charmingly frank

conversation he addressed the crowd, explaining, I suppose, that I was

endeavouring to pass off a boy for a woman. Mrs. Baker was dressed

similarly to myself, in a pair of loose trowsers and gaiters, with a

blouse and belt--the only difference being that she wore long sleeves,

while my arms were bare from a few inches below the shoulder. I always

kept my arms bare, as being cooler than if covered.

The curiosity of the crowd was becoming impertinent, when at an

opportune moment the chief appeared. To my astonishment I recognised him

as a man who had often visited me at Gondokoro, to whom I had given many

presents without knowing his position.