In a few moments he drove away the crowd, screaming and gesticulating at

there as though greatly insulted; re serving the humpback as

interpreter, he apologized for the rudeness of his people. Just at this

instant I perceived, in the distance, the English flag leading the

caravan of camels and donkeys from the hillside into the valley, and my

people and baggage shortly arrived. The chief now brought me a large

pumpkin-shell containing about a gallon of merissa, or native beer,

which was most refreshing. He also brought a gourd-bottle full of honey,

and an elephant's tusk; the latter I declined, as ivory was not

required.

We were now within six miles of Ellyria, and by means of the humpback I

explained to Tombe, the chief, that we wished to start the first thing

in the morning, and that I would engage the humpback as interpreter.

This was agreed upon, and I now had hopes of getting through Ellyria

before the arrival of the Turks. My caravan having arrived, the interest

first bestowed upon the horses, as being a new kind of animal, was now

transferred to the camels. The natives crowded round them, exclaiming,

"that they were the giraffes of our country." They were amazed at the

loads that they carried, and many assisted in unloading.

I noticed, however, that they stuck their fingers through the baskets to

investigate the contents; and when they perceived twenty baskets full of

beads, and many of copper bracelets--the jingling of which betrayed

the contents--they became rather too eager in lending a helping hand;

therefore I told the chief to order his men to retire while I opened one

bag of beads to give him a present. I had a bag always in reserve that

contained a variety of beads and bracelets, which obviated the necessity

of opening one of the large baskets on the road. I accordingly made the

chief happy, and also gave a present to the humpback. The crowd now

discovered an object of fresh interest, and a sudden rush was made to

the monkey, which, being one of the red variety from Abyssinia, was

quite unknown to them. The monkey, being far more civilized than these

naked savages, did not at all enjoy their society; and attacking the

utterly unprotected calves of their legs, "Wallady" soon kept his

admirers at a distance, and amused himself by making insulting grimaces,

which kept the crowd in a roar of laughter. I often found this monkey of

great use in diverting the attention of the savages from myself. He was

also a guarantee of my peaceful intentions, as no one intending

hostility would travel about with a monkey as one of the party. He was

so tame and affectionate to both of us that he was quite unhappy if out

of sight of his mistress: but he frequently took rough liberties with

the blacks, for whom he had so great an aversion and contempt that he

would have got into sad trouble at Exeter Hall. "Wallady" had no idea of

a naked savage being "a man and a brother."

That night we slept soundly, both men and beasts being thoroughly

fatigued. The natives seemed to be aware of this, and a man was caught

in the act of stealing copper bracelets from a basket. He had crept like

a cat upon hands and knees to the spot where the luggage was piled, and

the sleepy sentry bad not observed him.

There was no drum-call on the following morning, that useful instrument

having been utterly smashed by the camel; but I woke the men early, and

told them to be most careful in arranging the loads securely, as we had

to thread the rocky pass between Tollogo and Ellyria. I felt sure that

the Turks could not be far behind us, and I looked forward with anxiety

to getting through the pass before them.

The natives of both Tollogo and Ellyria are the same in appearance and

language as the Bari; they are very brutal in manner, and they collected

in large crowds on our departure, with by no means a friendly aspect.

Many of them ran on ahead under the base of the rocks, apparently to

give notice at Ellyria of our arrival. I had three men as an advance

guard,--five or six in the rear,--while the remainder drove the

animals. Mrs. Baker and I rode on horseback at the head of the party. On

arriving at the extremity of the narrow valley we had to thread our way

through the difficult pass. The mountain of Ellyria, between two and

three thousand feet high, rose abruptly on our left, while the base was

entirely choked with enormous fragments of grey granite that, having

fallen from the face of the mountain, had completely blocked the pass.

Even the horses had great difficulty in threading their way through

narrow alleys formed of opposing blocks, and it appeared impossible for

loaded camels to proceed. The path was not only thus obstructed, but was

broken by excessively deep ravines formed by the torrents that during

the rains tore everything before them in their impetuous descent from

the mountains. To increase the difficulties of the pass many trees and

bushes were growing from the interstices of the rocks; thus in places

where the long legs of the camels could have cleared a narrow cleft, the

loads became jammed between the trees. These trees were for the most

part intensely hard wood, a species of lignum vitae, called by the Arabs

"babanoose," and were quite proof against our axes. Had the natives been

really hostile they could have exterminated us in five minutes, as it

was only necessary to hurl rocks from above to insure our immediate

destruction. It was in this spot that a trader's party of 126 men, well

armed, had been massacred to a man the year previous.

Bad as the pass was, we had hope before us, as the Latookas explained

that beyond this spot there was level and unbroken ground the whole way

to Latooka. Could we only clear Ellyria before the Turks I had no fear

for the present; but at the very moment when success depended upon

speed, we were thus baffled by the difficulties of the ground. I

therefore resolved to ride on in advance of my party, leaving them to

overcome the difficulties of the pass by constantly unloading the

animals, while I would reconnoitre in front, as Ellyria was not far

distant. My wife and I accordingly rode on, accompanied only by one of

the Latookas as a guide. After turning a sharp angle of the mountain,

leaving the cliff abruptly rising to the left from the narrow path, we

descended a ravine worse than any place we had previously encountered,

and we were obliged to dismount, in order to lead our horses up the

steep rocks on the opposite side. On arrival on the summit, a lovely

view burst upon us. The valley of Ellyria was about four hundred feet

below, at about a mile distant. Beautiful mountains, some two or three

thousand feet high, of grey granite, walled in the narrow vale; while

the landscape of forest and plain was bounded at about fifty or sixty

miles' distance to the east by the blue mountains of Latooka. The

mountain of Ellyria was the commencement of the fine range that

continued indefinitely to the south. We were now in the very gorge of

that chain. Below us, in the valley, I observed some prodigious trees

growing close to a Hor (ravine), in which was running water, and the

sides of the valley under the mountains being as usual a mass of debris

of huge detached rocks, were thronged with villages, all strongly

fortified with thick bamboo palisades. The whole country was a series of

natural forts, occupied by a large population.

A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient;--to fight a way

through a valley a quarter of a mile wide, hemmed in by high walls of

rock and bristling with lances and arrows, would be impossible with my

few men, encumbered by transport animals. Should the camels arrive, I

could march into Myria in twenty minutes, make the chief a large

present, and pass on without halting until I cleared the Ellyria valley.

At any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced march at night,

however distressing, had been successful. The great difficulty now lay

in the ravine that we had just crossed; this would assuredly delay the

caravan for a considerable time.

Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock beneath the shade of a

small tree within ten paces of the path, and considered the best course

to pursue. I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone, before

the arrival of my whole party, as we had been very rudely received by

the Tollogo people on the previous evening;--nevertheless I thought it

might be good policy to ride unattended into Ellyria, and thus to court

an introduction to the chief. However, our consultation ended in a

determination to wait where we then were, until the caravan should have

accomplished the last difficulty by crossing the ravine; when we would

all march into Ellyria in company. For a long time we sat gazing at the

valley before us in which our fate lay hidden, feeling thankful that we

had thus checkmated the brutal Turks. Not a sound was heard of our

approaching camels; the delay was most irksome.

There were many difficult places that we had passed through, and each

would be a source of serious delay to the animals. At length we heard

them in the distance. We could distinctly hear the men's voices; and we

rejoiced that they were approaching the last remaining obstacle;--that

one ravine passed through, and all before would be easy. I heard the

rattling of the stones as they drew nearer; and, looking towards the

ravine, I saw emerge from the dark foliage of the trees within fifty

yards of us the hated RED FLAG AND CRESCENT, LEADING THE TURKS' PARTY!

We were outmarched! One by one, with scowling looks, the insolent

scoundrels filed by us within a few feet, without making the customary

salaam; neither noticing us in any way, except by threatening to shoot

the Latooka, our guide, who had formerly accompanied them.

Their party consisted of a hundred and forty men armed with guns; while

about twice as many Latookas acted as porters, carrying beads,

ammunition, and the general effects of the party. It appeared that we

were hopelessly beaten.

However, I determined to advance, at all hazards, on the arrival of my

party; and should the Turks incite the Ellyria tribe to attack us, I

intended, in the event of a fight, to put the first shot through the

leader.

To be thus beaten, at the last moment, was unendurable. Boiling with

indignation as the insolent wretches filed past, treating me with the

contempt of a dog, I longed for the moment of action, no matter what

were the odds against us. At length their leader, Ibrahim, appeared in

the rear of the party. He was riding on a donkey, being the last of the

line, behind the flag that closed the march.

I never saw a more atrocious countenance than that exhibited in this

man. A mixed breed, between a Turk sire and Arab mother, he had the good

features and bad qualities of either race. The fine, sharp, high-arched

nose and large nostril; the pointed and projecting chin; rather high

cheek-bones and prominent brow, overhanging a pair of immense black eyes

full of expression of all evil. As he approached he took no notice of

us, but studiously looked straight before him with the most determined

insolence.

The fate of the expedition was, at this critical moment, retrieved by

Mrs. Baker. She implored me to call him, to insist upon a personal

explanation, and to offer him some present in the event of establishing

amicable relations. I could not condescend to address the sullen

scoundrel. He was in the act of passing us, and success depended upon

that instant. Mrs. Baker herself called him. For the moment he made no

reply; but, upon my repeating the call in a loud key, he turned his

donkey towards us and dismounted. I ordered him to sit down, as his men

were ahead and we were alone.

The following dialogue passed between us after the usual Arab mode of

greeting. I said, "Ibrahim, why should we be enemies in the midst of

this hostile country? We believe in the same God, why should we quarrel

in this land of heathens, who believe in no God? You have your work to

perform; I have mine. You want ivory; I am a simple traveller; why

should we clash? If I were offered the whole ivory of the country, I

would not accept a single tusk, nor interfere with you in any way.

Transact your business, and don't interfere with me: the country is wide

enough for us both. I have a task before me, to reach a great lake--

the head of the Nile. Reach it I will (Inshallah). No power shall drive

me back. If you are hostile, I will imprison you in Khartoum; if you

assist me, I will reward you far beyond any reward you have ever

received. Should I be killed in this country, you will be suspected; you

know the result; the Government would hang you on the bare suspicion. On

the contrary, if you are friendly, I will use my influence in any

country that I discover, that you may procure its ivory for the sake of

your master Koorshid, who was generous to Captains Speke and Grant, and

kind to me. Should you be hostile, I shall hold your master responsible

as your employer. Should you assist me, I will befriend you both. Choose

your course frankly, like a man--friend or enemy?"

Before he had time to reply, Mrs. Baker addressed him much in the same

strain, telling him that he did not know what Englishmen were; that

nothing would drive them back; that the British Government watched over

them wherever they might be, and that no outrage could be committed with

impunity upon a British subject. That I would not deceive him in any

way; that I was not a trader; and that I should be able to assist him

materially by discovering new countries rich in ivory, and that he would

benefit himself personally by civil conduct.

He seemed confused, and wavered. I immediately promised him a new

double-barrelled gun and some gold, when my party should arrive, as an

earnest of the future.

He replied, "That he did not himself wish to be hostile, but that all

the trading parties, without one exception, were against me, and that

the men were convinced that I was a consul in disguise, who would report

to the authorities at Khartoum all the proceedings of the traders." He

continued, "That he believed me, but that his men would not; that all

people told lies in their country, therefore no one was credited for the

truth. However," said he, "do not associate with my people, or they may

insult you, but go and take possession of that large tree (pointing to

one in the valley of Ellyria) for yourself and people, and I will come

there and speak with you. I will now join my men, as I do not wish them

to know that I have been conversing with you." He then made a salaam,

mounted his donkey, and rode off.

I had won him. I knew the Arab character so thoroughly that I was

convinced that the tree he had pointed out, followed by the words, "I

will come there and speak to you," was to be the rendezvous for the

receipt of the promised gun and money.

I did not wait for the arrival of my men, but mounting our horses, my

wife and I rode down the hillside with lighter spirits than we had

enjoyed for some time past; I gave her the entire credit of the "ruse."

Had I been alone, I should have been too proud to have sought the

friendship of the sullen trader, and the moment on which success

depended would have been lost.

On arrival at the grassy plain at the foot of the mountain, there was a

crowd of the trader's ruffians quarrelling for the shade of a few large

trees that grew on the banks of the stream. We accordingly dismounted,

and turning the horses to graze, we took possession of a tree at some

distance, under which a number of Latookas were already sitting. Not

being very particular as to our society, we sat down and waited for the

arrival of our party. The valley of Ellyria was a lovely spot in the

very bosom of the mountains. Close to where we sat were the great masses

of rock that had fallen from the cliffs, and upon examination I found

them to be the finest quality of grey granite, the feldspar being in

masses several inches square and as hard as a flint. There was no

scaling upon the surface, as is common in granite rocks.

No sooner had the trader's party arrived than crowds of natives issued

from the palisaded villages on the mountain; and descending to the

plain, they mingled with the general confusion. The baggage was piled

beneath a tree, and a sentry placed on guard.

The natives were entirely naked, and precisely the same as the Bari.

Their chief, Legge, was among them, and received a present from Ibrahim

of a long red cotton shirt, and he assumed an air of great importance.

Ibrahim explained to him who I was, and he immediately came to ask for

the tribute he expected to receive as "black mail" for the right of

entree into his country. Of all the villanous countenances that I have

ever seen, that of Legge excelled.

Ferocity, avarice, and sensuality were stamped upon his face, and I

immediately requested him to sit for his portrait, and in about ten

minutes I succeeded in placing within my portfolio an exact likeness of

about the greatest rascal that exists in Central Africa.

I had, now the satisfaction of seeing my caravan slowly winding down the

hillside in good order, having surmounted all their difficulties.

Upon arrival, my men were perfectly astonished at seeing us so near the

trader's party, and still more confounded at my sending for Ibrahim to

summon him to my tree, where I presented him with some English

sovereigns, and a double-barrelled gun. Nothing escapes the

inquisitiveness of these Arabs; and the men of both parties quickly

perceived that I had established an alliance in some unaccountable

manner with Ibrahim. I saw the gun, lately presented to him, being

handed from one to the other for examination; and both my vakeel and men

appeared utterly confused at the sudden change.

The chief of Ellyria now came to inspect my luggage, and demanded

fifteen heavy copper bracelets and a large quantity of beads. The

bracelets most in demand are simple rings of copper five-eighths of an

inch thick, and weighing about a pound; those of smaller size not being

so much valued. I gave him fifteen such rings, and about ten pounds of

beads in varieties, the red coral porcelain (dimiriaf) being the most

acceptable. Legge was by no means satisfied: he said "his belly was very

big and it must be filled," which signified, that his desire was great

and must be gratified. I accordingly gave him a few extra copper rings;

but suddenly he smelt spirits, one of the few bottles that I possessed

of spirits of wine having broken in the medicine chest. Ibrahim begged

me to give him a bottle to put him in a good humour, as he enjoyed

nothing so much as araki; I accordingly gave him a pint bottle of the

strongest spirits of wine. To my amazement he broke off the neck, and

holding his head well back, he deliberately allowed the whole of the

contents to trickle down his throat as innocently as though it had been

simple water. He was thoroughly accustomed to it, as the traders were in

the habit of bringing him presents of araki every season. He declared

this to be excellent, and demanded another bottle. At that moment a

violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon us with a fury well known

in the tropics; the rain fell like a waterspout, and the throng

immediately fled for shelter. So violent was the storm, that not a man

was to be seen: some were sheltering themselves under the neighbouring

rocks; while others ran to their villages that were close by; the

trader's people commenced a fusilade, firing off all their guns lest

they should get wet and miss fire. I could not help thinking how

completely they were at the mercy of the natives at that moment, had

they chosen to attack them; the trader's party were lying under their

untanned ox-hides with their empty guns.

Each of my men was provided with a piece of mackintosh, with which his

gunlocks were secured. We lay upon an angarep covered with a bull's hide

until the storm was over. The thunder was magnificent, exploding on the

peak of the mountain exactly above us, and in the course of a quarter of

an hour torrents were rushing down the ravines among the rocks, the

effects of the violent storm that had passed away as rapidly as it had

arrived.

No sooner had it ceased than the throng again appeared. Once more the

chief, Legge', was before us begging for all that we had. Although the

natives asked for beads, they would give nothing in exchange, and we

could purchase nothing for any article except molotes. These iron hoes

are made principally in this country: thus it appeared strange that they

should demand them. Legge does a large business with these hoes, sending

them into the Berri and Galla countries to the east, with various beads

and copper bracelets, to purchase ivory. Although there are very few

elephants in the neighbourhood of Ellyria, there is an immense amount of

ivory, as the chief is so great a trader that he accumulates it to

exchange with the Turks for cattle. Although he sells it so dear that he

demands twenty cows for a large tusk, it is a convenient station for the

traders, as, being near to Gondokoro, there is very little trouble in

delivering the ivory on shipboard.

Although I had presented Legge' with what he desired, he would give

nothing in return, neither would he sell either goats or fowls; in fact,

no provision was procurable except honey. I purchased about eight pounds

of this luxury for a hoe. My men were starving, and I was obliged to

serve them out rice from my sacred stock, as I had nothing else to give

them. This they boiled and mixed with honey, and they were shortly

sitting round an immense circular bowl of this rarity, enjoying

themselves thoroughly, but nevertheless grumbling as usual. In the

coolest manner possible the great and greedy chief, Legge, who had

refused to give or even to sell anything to keep us from starving, no

sooner saw the men at their novel repast than he sat down among them and

almost choked himself by cramming handfuls of the hot rice and honey

into his mouth, which yawned like that of an old hippopotamus. The men

did not at all approve of this assistance, but as it is the height of

bad manners in Arab etiquette to repel a self-invited guest from the

general meal, he was not interfered with, and was thus enabled to

swallow the share of about three persons.

Legge, although worse than the rest of his tribe, had a similar

formation of head. The Bari and those Tollogo and Ellyria have generally

bullet-shaped heads, low foreheads, skulls heavy behind the ears and

above the nape of the neck: altogether their appearance is excessively

brutal, and they are armed with bows six feet long and arrows horribly

barbed and poisoned.

CHAPTER V.

LEAVE ELLYRIA.

ALTHOUGH Ellyria was a rich and powerful country, we had not been able

to procure any provisions--the natives refused to sell, and their

general behaviour was such that assured me of their capability of any

atrocity had they been prompted to attack us by the Turks. Fortunately

we had a good supply of meal that had been prepared for the journey

prior to our departure from Gondokoro: thus we could not starve. I also

had a sack of corn for the animals, a necessary precaution, as at this

season there was not a blade of grass; all in the vicinity of the route

having been burnt.

We started on the 30th March, at 7.30 A.M., and opened from the valley

of Ellyria upon a perfectly flat country interspersed with trees. After

an hour's march we halted at a small stream of bad water. We had kisras

and honey for breakfast; but, for several days not having tasted meat, I

took the rifle for a stroll through the forest in search of game. After

an hour's ramble I returned without having fired a shot. I had come upon

fresh tracks of Tetel (hartebeest) and guinea-fowl, but they had

evidently come down to the stream to drink, and had wandered back into

the interior. If game was scarce, fruit was plentiful--both Richarn

and I were loaded with a species of yellow plum as large as an egg;

these grew in prodigious numbers upon fine forest trees, beneath which

the ground was yellow with the quantities that had fallen from the

boughs; these were remarkably sweet, and yet acid, with much juice, and

a very delicious flavour.

At 11:25 we again started for a long march, our course being east. The

ground was most favourable for the animals, being perfectly flat and

free from ravines. We accordingly stepped along at a brisk pace, and the

intense heat of the sun throughout the hottest hours of the day made the

journey fatiguing for all but the camels. The latter were excellent of

their class, and now far excelled the other transport animals, marching

along with ease under loads of about 600 lbs. each.

My caravan was at the rear of the trader's party; but the ground being

good, we left our people and cantered on to the advanced flag. It was

curious to witness the motley assemblage in single file extending over

about half a mile of ground:--several of the people were mounted on

donkeys; some on oxen: the most were on foot, including all the women to

the number of about sixty, who were the slaves of the trader's people.

These carried heavy loads; and many, in addition to the burdens, carried

children strapped to their backs in leather slings.

After four or five hours' march during the intense heat many of the

overloaded women showed symptoms of distress, and became footsore;--

the grass having been recently burnt had left the sharp charred stumps,

which were very trying to those whose sandals were not in the best

condition. The women were forced along by their brutal owners with sharp

blows of the coorbatch; and one who was far advanced in pregnancy could

at length go no farther. Upon this the savage to whom she belonged

belaboured her with a large stick, and not succeeding in driving her

before him, he knocked her down and jumped upon her. The woman's feet

were swollen and bleeding, but later in the day again saw her hobbling

along in the rear by the aid a bamboo.

The traders march in good form; one flag leads the party, guarded by

eight or ten men, while a native carries a box of five hundred

cartridges for their use in case of an attack. The porters and baggage

follow in single file, soldiers being at intervals to prevent them from

running away; in which case the runner is invariably fired at The supply

of ammunition is in the centre, carried generally by about fifteen

natives, and strongly escorted by guards. The rear of the party is

closed by another flag behind which no straggler is permitted. The rear

flag is also guarded by six or eight men, with a box of spare

ammunition. With these arrangements the party is always ready to support

an attack.

Ibrahim, my new ally, was now riding in front of the line, carrying on

his saddle before him a pretty little girl, his daughter, a child of a

year and a half old; her mother, a remarkably pretty Bari girl, one of

his numerous wives, was riding behind him on an ox. We soon got into

conversation;--a few pieces of sugar given to the child and mother by

Mrs. Baker was a sweet commencement; and Ibrahim then told me to beware

of my own men, as he knew they did not intend to remain with me; that

they were a different tribe from his men, and they would join Chenooda's

people and desert me on our arrival at their station in Latooka. This

was a corroboration of all I had heard previous to leaving Gondokoro,

therefore I had the promised mutiny in perspective. I had noticed that

my men were even more sullen than usual since I had joined Ibrahim;

however, I succeeded in convincing him that he would benefit so

decidedly by an alliance with me, that he now frankly told me that I

should receive no opposition from his party. So far all had prospered

beyond my most sanguine expectations. We were fairly launched upon our

voyage, and now that we were in the wild interior, I determined to crush

the mutiny with an iron hand should the rascals attempt to carry their

murderous threats into execution. Two or three of the men appeared

willing, but the original ringleader, "Bellaal," would literally do

nothing, not even assisting at loading the animals; but swaggering about

with the greatest insolence.

After a fatiguing march of eight hours and ten minutes through a

perfectly flat country interspersed with trees, we halted at a little

well of excessively bad water at 7.35 P.M. The horses were so much in

advance that the main party did not arrive until 11 P.M. completely

fatigued. The night being fine, we slept on a hillock of sand a few

yards from the well, rejoiced to be away from the mosquitoes of

Gondokoro.

On the following morning we started at sunrise, and in two hours' fast

marching we arrived at the Kanieti river Although there had been no

rain, the stream was very rapid and up to the girths of the horses at

the ford. The banks were very abrupt and about fifteen feet deep, the

bed between forty and fifty yards wide; thus a considerable volume of

water is carried down to the river Sobat by this river during the rains.

The whole drainage of the country, tends to the east, and accordingly

flows into the Sobat.

The range of mountains running south from Ellyria is the watershed

between the east and west drainage; the Sobat receiving it on the one

hand, and the White Nile on the other, while the Nile eventually

receives the entire flow by the Sobat, as previously mentioned, in lat.

9 degrees 22 minutes. Having scrambled up the steep bank of the Kanieti

river, we crossed a large field of dhurra, and arrived at the village of

Wakkala. The village, or town, is composed of about seven hundred

houses, the whole being most strongly protected by a system of palisades

formed of "babanoose," the hard iron wood of the country. Not only is it

thus fortified, but the palisades are also protected by a hedge of

impervious thorns that grow to a height of about twenty feet. The

entrance to this fort is a curious archway, about ten feet deep, formed

of the iron-wood palisades, with a sharp turn to the right and left

forming a zigzag. The whole of the village thus fenced is situated in

the midst of a splendid forest of large timber. The inhabitants of

Wakkala are the same as the Ellyria, but governed by an independent

chief. They are great hunters; and as we arrived I saw several parties

returning from the forest with portions of wild boar and buffalo.

From Gondokoro to this spot I had not seen a single head of game, but

the immediate neighbourhood of Wakkala was literally trodden down by the

feet of elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, rhinoceros, and varieties of

large antelopes.

Having examined the village, I ordered my people to unload the animals

in the forest about a quarter of a mile from the entrance. The soil was

extremely rich, and the ground being shaded from the scorching rays of

the sun by the large trees, there was abundance of fine grass, which

accounted for the presence of the game: good pasturage, extensive

forests, and a plentiful supply of water insuring the supply of wild

animals.

In a few minutes my horses and donkeys were luxuriating on the rich

herbage, not having tasted grass for some days; the camels revelled in

the foliage of the dark green mimosas; and the men, having found on the

march a buffalo that had been caught in a trap and there killed by a

lion, obtained some meat, and the whole party were feeding. We had

formed a kind of arbour by hacking out with a sabre a delightful shady

nook in the midst of a dense mass of creepers, and there we feasted upon

a couple of roast fowls that we had procured from the natives for glass

beads. This was the first meat we had tasted since we had quitted

Gondokoro.

At 5.10 P.M. we left this delightful spot, and marched. Emerging from

the forest we broke upon a beautiful plain of fine low grass, bounded on

our right hand by jungle. This being the cool hour of evening, the plain

was alive with game, including buffaloes, zebras, and many varieties of

large antelopes. It was a most enlivening sight to see them scouring

over the plain as we advanced; but our large party, and three red flags

streaming in the breeze, effectually prevented us from getting

sufficiently near for a shot.

I was sorely tempted to remain in this Elysium for a few days' shooting,

but the importance of an advance was too great to permit of any thoughts

of amusement; thus, I could only indulge a sportsman's feelings by

feasting my eyes upon the beautiful herds before me.

At a quarter past seven we bivouacked in thick jungle. In the middle of

the night, the watch-fires still blazing, I was awoke by a great noise,

and upon arrival at the spot I found a number of the Turks with

firebrands, searching upon the ground, which was literally strewed with

beads and copper bracelets. The Latooka porters had broken open the bags

and baskets containing many hundredweight of these objects, and, loading

themselves, had intended to desert with their stolen prize; but the

sentries having discovered them, they were seized by the soldiers.

There fellows, the Latookas, had exhibited the folly of monkeys in so

rashly breaking open the packages while the sentries were on guard.

Several who had been caught in the act were now pinioned by the Turks,

and were immediately condemned to be shot; while others were held down

upon the ground and well chastised with the coorbatch I begged that the

punishment of death might be commuted for a good flogging; at first I

implored in vain, until I suggested, that if the porters were shot,

there would be no one to carry their loads:--this practical argument

saved them, and after receiving a severe thrashing, their arms were

pinioned, and a guard set over them until the morning.

We marched at 5.25 on the following morning. For several hours the path

led through thick jungle in which we occasionally caught glimpses of

antelopes. At length quitting the jungle we arrived at an open marshy

plain, upon which I discerned at a great distance a number of antelopes.

Having nothing to eat I determined to stalk them, as I heard from the

people that we were not far from our halting-place for the day.

Accordingly I left Mrs. Baker with my horse and a spare rifle to wait,

while the party marched straight on; I intended to make a circuit

through the jungle and to wait for the entrance of the herd, which she

was to drive, by simply riding through the plain and leading my horse;

she was to bring the horse to me should I fire a shot. After walking for

about a mile in the jungle parallel with the plain, I saw the herd of

about two hundred Tetel going at full gallop from the open ground into

the jungle, having been alarmed by the red bags and the Turks, who had

crossed over the marsh. So shy were these antelopes that there was no

possibility of stalking them. I noticed however that there were several

waterbucks in the very centre of the marsh, and that two or three trees

afforded the possibility of a stalk. Having the wind all right, I

succeeded in getting to a tree within about two hundred and fifty yards

of the largest buck, and lying down in a dry trench that in the wet

season formed a brook, I crept along the bottom until I reached a tall

tuft of grass that was to be my last point of cover. Just as I raised

myself slowly from the trench I found the buck watching me most

attentively. A steady shot with my little No. 24 rifle took no effect-it

was too high:-the buck did not even notice the shot, which was, I

suppose, the first he had ever heard;-he was standing exactly facing me;

this is at all tines an unpleasant position for a shot. Seeing that he

did not seem disposed to move, I reloaded without firing my left-hand

barrel. I now allowed for the high range of the last shot; a moment

after the report he sprang into the air, then fell upon his knees and

galloped off on three legs; one of the fore-legs being broken. I had

heard the sharp sound of the bullet, but the shot was not very

satisfactory. Turning to look for my horse, I saw Mrs. Baker galloping

over the plain towards me, leading Filfil, while Richard ran behind at

his best speed.

Upon her arrival I mounted Filfil, who was a fast horse, and with my

little No. 24 rifle in my hand I rode slowly towards the wounded

waterbuck, who was now standing watching us at about a quarter of a mile

distant. However, before I had decreased my distance by a hundred yards

he started off at full gallop. Putting Filfil into a canter I increased

the pace until I found that I must press him at full speed, as the

waterbuck, although on only three legs, had the best of it. The ground

was rough, having been marshy and trodden into ruts by the game, but now

dried by the sun;-bad for both horse and antelope, but especially for

the former: however, after a race of about a mile I found myself gaining

so rapidly that in a few moments I was riding on his left flank within

three yards of him, and holding the rifle with one hand like a pistol I

shot him dead through the shoulder. This little double rifle is an

exceedingly handy weapon;-it was made for me about nine years ago by

Thomas Fletcher, gunmaker of Gloucester, and is of most perfect

workmanship. I have shot with it most kinds of large game; although the

bore is so small as No. 24, I have bagged with it rhinoceros,

hippopotamus, lions, buffaloes, and all the heavy game except elephants

and giraffes; upon the latter I have never happened to try it. Weighing

only eight pounds and three-quarters it is most convenient to carry on

horseback, and although I have had frequent accidents through my horse

falling in full gallop, the stock is perfectly sound to this day. The

best proof of thorough honest workmanship is, that in many years of hard

work it has never been out of order, nor has it ever been in a

gunmaker's hands.

The operation of cutting the waterbuck into four quarters, and then

stringing them on to a strip of its own hide, was quickly performed, and

with Richarn's assistance I slung it across my saddle, and led my horse,

thus heavily laden, towards the path. After some difficulty in crossing

muddy hollows and gullies in the otherwise dried marsh, we at length

succeeded in finding the tracks of the party that had gone on ahead.

We had been steering from Ellyria due east towards the high peak of

"Gebel Lafeet," that rose exactly above one of the principal towns of

Latooka. With this fine beacon now apparently just before us, we had no

difficulty in finding our way. The country was now more open, and the

ground sandy and interspersed with the hegleek trees, which gave it the

appearance of a vast orchard of large pear trees. The "hegleek" is

peculiarly rich in potash; so much so that the ashes of the burnt wood

will blister the tongue. It bears a fruit about the size and shape of a

date;-this is very sweet and aromatic in flavour, and is also so rich in

potash that it is used as a substitute for soap.

After an hour's walk always on the tracks of the party, we saw a large

Latooka town in the distance, and upon a nearer approach we discovered

crowds of people collected under two enormous trees. Presently guns

fired, the drums beat, and as we drew nearer we perceived the Turkish

flags leading a crowd of about a hundred men, who approached us with the

usual salutes, every man firing off ball cartridge as fast as he could

reload. My men were already with this lot of ragamuffins, and this was

the ivory or slave trading party that they had conspired to join. They

were marching towards me to honour me with a salute, which, upon close

approach, ended by their holding their guns, muzzle downwards, and

firing them almost into my feet. I at once saw through their object in

giving me this reception;-they had already heard from the other party

exaggerated accounts of presents that their leader had received, and

they were jealous at the fact of my having established confidence with a

party opposed to them. The vakeel of Chenooda was the man who had from

the first instigated my men to revolt and to join his party, and he at

that moment had two of my deserters with him that had mutinied and

joined him at Gondokoro. It had been agreed that the remainder of my men

were to mutiny at this spot and to join him with MY ARMS AND AMMUNITION.

This was to be the stage for the outbreak. The apparent welcome was only

to throw me off my guard.

I was coldly polite, and begging them not to waste their powder, I went

to the large tree that threw a beautiful shade, and we sat down,

surrounded by a crowd of both natives and trader's people. Mahommed Her

sent me immediately a fat ox for my people: not to be under any

obligation I immediately gave him a double-barrelled gun. The ox was

slaughtered, and the people preferring beef to antelope venison, I gave

the flesh of the waterbuck to the Latooka porters belonging to Ibrahim's

party. Thus all teeth were busy. Ibrahim and his men occupied the shade

of another enormous tree at about a hundred and fifty yards' distance.

The town was Latome, one of the principal places in the Latooka country,

and was strongly palisaded, like the town of Wakkala. I did not go

through the entrance, but contented myself with resting under my tree

and writing up the journal from my note-book. Before we had been there

many hours the two parties of Ibrahim and Mahommed Her were engaged in a

hot contention. Mahommed Her declared that no one had a right of way

through that country, which belonged to him according to the customs of

the White Nile trade; that he would not permit the party of Ibrahim to

proceed, and that, should they persist in their march, he would resist

them by force.

Words grew high;-Ibrahim was not afraid of force, as he had a hundred

and forty men against Mahommed Her's hundred and five;-insults and abuse

were liberally exchanged, while the natives thronged around, enjoying

the fun, until at last Mahommed Her's temper becoming outrageous, he was

seized by the throat by Sulieman, a powerful choush or sergeant of

Ibrahim's party, and hurled away from the select society who claimed the

right of road. Great confusion arose, and both parties prepared for a

fight, which after the usual bluster died away to nothing. However, I

noticed that my men most unmistakeably took the part of Mahommed Her

against Ibrahim; they belonging to his tribe.

The evening arrived, and my vakeel, with his usual cunning, came to ask

me "whether I intended to start to-morrow?" He said there was excellent

shooting in this neighbourhood, and that Ibrahim's camp not being more

than five hours' march beyond, I could at any time join him, should I

think proper. Many of my men were sullenly listening to my reply, which

was, that we should start in company with Ibrahim. The men immediately

turned their backs, and swaggered insolently to the town, muttering

something that I could not distinctly understand. I gave orders

directly, that no man should sleep in the town, but that all should be

at their posts by the luggage under the tree that I occupied. At night

several men were absent, and were with difficulty brought from the town

by the vakeel. The whole of the night was passed by the rival parties

quarrelling and fighting. At 5.30 on the following morning the drum of

Ibrahim's party beat the call, and his men with great alacrity got their

porters together and prepared to march.

My vakeel was not to be found; my men were lying idly in the positions

where they had slept; and not a man obeyed when I gave the order to

prepare to start except Richarn and Sali. I saw that the moment had

arrived. Again I gave the order to the men, to get up and load the

animals; ...not a man would move, except three or four who slowly rose

from the ground, and stood resting on their guns. In the meantime

Richarn and Sali were bringing the camels and making them kneel by the

luggage. The boy Saat was evidently expecting a row, and although

engaged with the black women in packing, he kept his eyes constantly

upon me.

I now observed that Bellaal was standing very near me on my right, in

advance of the men who had risen from the ground, and employed himself

in eyeing me from head to foot with the most determined insolence. The

fellow had his gun in his hand, and he was telegraphing by looks with

those who were standing near him, while not one of the others rose from

the ground, although close to me. Pretending not to notice Bellaal who

was now as I had expected once more the ringleader, for the third time I

ordered the men to rise immediately, and to load the camels. Not a man

moved, but the fellow Bellaal marched up to me, and looking me straight

in the face dashed the butt-end of his gun in defiance on the ground,

and led the mutiny. "Not a man shall go with you!-go where you like with

Ibrahim, but we won't follow you, nor move a step farther. The men shall

not load the camels; you may employ the 'niggers' to do it, but not us."

I looked at this mutinous rascal for a moment; this was the burst of the

conspiracy, and the threats and insolence that I had been forced to pass

over for the sake of the expedition all rushed before me. "Lay down your

gun!" I thundered, "and load the camels!" . . . . . . "I won't"--was his

reply. "Then stop here!" I answered; at the same time lashing out as

quick as lightning with my right hand upon his jaw.

He rolled over in a heap, his gun flying some yards from his hand; and

the late ringleader lay apparently insensible among the luggage, while

several of his friends ran to him, and did the good Samaritan. Following

up on the moment the advantage I had gained by establishing a panic, I

seized my rifle and rushed into the midst of the wavering men, catching

first one by the throat, and then another, and dragging them to the

camels, which I insisted upon their immediately loading. All except

three, who attended to the ruined ringleader, mechanically obeyed.

Richarn and Sali both shouted to them to "burry;" and the vakeel

arriving at this moment and seeing how matters stood, himself assisted,

and urged the men to obey.

Ibrahim's party had started. The animals were soon loaded, and leaving

the vakeel to take them in charge, we cantered on to overtake Ibrahim,

having crushed the mutiny, and given such an example, that in the event

of future conspiracies my men would find it difficult to obtain a

ringleader. So ended the famous conspiracy that had been reported to me

by both Saat and Richarn before we left Gondokoro;-and so much for the

threat of "firing simultaneously at me and deserting my wife in the

jungle." In those savage countries success frequently depends upon one

particular moment; you may lose or win according to your action at that

critical instant. We congratulated ourselves upon the termination of

this affair, which I trusted would be the last of the mutinies.

The country was now lovely; we were at the base of the mountain

"Lafeet," which rose abruptly on our left to the height of about 3,000

feet, the highest peak of the eastern chain that formed the broad valley

of Latooka. The course of the valley was from S.E. to N.W.; about forty

miles long by eighteen miles wide; the flat bottom was diversified by

woods, thick jungles, open plains, and the ever-present hegleek trees,

which in some places gave the appearance of forest. The south side of

the valley was bounded by a high range of mountains, rising to six or

seven thousand feet above the general level of Latooka, while the

extreme end was almost blocked by a noble but isolated mountain of about

5,000 feet.

Our path being at the foot of the Lafeet chain, the ground was sandy but

firm, being composed of disintegrated portions of the granite rocks that

had washed down from the mountains, and we rode quickly along a natural

road, equal to the best highway in England. We soon overtook Ibrahim and

his party, and recounted the affair of mutiny.

The long string of porters now closed together as we were approaching a

rebel town of Latooka that was hostile to both Turks and others.

Suddenly one of the native porters threw down his load and bolted over

the open ground towards the village at full speed. The fellow bounded

along like an antelope, and was immediately pursued by half a dozen

Turks. "Shoot him! shoot him! knock him over!" was shouted from the main

body; and twenty guns were immediately pointed at the fugitive, who

distanced his pursuers as a horse would outstrip an ox.

To save the man I gave chase on Filfil, putting myself in the line

between him and the guns, to prevent them from firing. After a short

course I overtook him, but he still continued running, and upon my

closing with him he threw his spear on the ground, but still ran. Not

being able to speak his language, I made signs that he should hold the

mane of my horse, and that no one should hurt him. He at once clutched

with both hands the horse's mane, and pushed himself almost under my

knee in his efforts to keep close to me for protection. The Turks

arrived breathless, and the native appeared as terrified as a hare at

the moment it is seized by the greyhound. "Shoot him!" they one and all

shouted. "Well done, `Hawaga!' (Sir) you caught him beautifully! We

never could have caught him without your horse. Pull him out! we'll

shoot him as an example to the others!" I explained that he was my man,

and belonged to me as I had caught him, therefore I could not allow him

to be shot. "Then we'll give him five hundred with the coorbatch!" they

cried. Even this generous offer I declined, and I insisted that he

should accompany me direct to Ibrahim, into whose hands I should myself

deliver him. Accordingly, still clutching to my horse's mane, the

captive followed, and was received by the main body on arrival with

shouts of derision.

I told Ibrahim that he must forgive him this time, if he promised to

carry his load to the end of the journey. He immediately picked up his

heavy burden as though it were a feather, and balancing it on his head,

stepped along in the line of porters as though nothing had occurred.

Trifling as this incident may appear, it was of much service to me, as

it served as an introduction to both Turks and natives. I heard the

former conversing together, praising the speed of the horse, and

congratulating themselves on the impossibility of the porters escaping

now that they had seen how quickly they could be overtaken. Another

remarked, "Wah Illahi, I should not like to chase a nigger so closely

while a lance was in his hand. I expected he would turn sharp round and

throw it through the Hawaga." Thus I was now looked upon by the Turks as

an ALLY, and at the same time I was regarded by the Latookas as their

friend for having saved their man; and they grinned their approbation in

the most unmistakeable manner as I rode past their line, shouting, "

Morrte, morrte mattat!" (welcome, welcome, chief!) On arriving at a

large town named Kattaga, we rested under the shade of an immense

tamarind tree. There was no sign of my men and animals, and I began to

think that something had gone wrong. For two hours we waited for their

arrival. Ascending some rising ground, I at length observed my caravan

approaching in the distance, and every one of my men, except Richarn,

mounted upon my donkeys, although the poor animals were already carrying

loads of 150 lbs. each. Upon observing me, the dismount was sudden and

general. On their arrival I found that three of the men had deserted,

including "Bellaal," and had joined the party of Mahommed Her, taking

with them my guns and ammunition. Two had previously joined that party;

thus five of my men were now engaged by those slave-hunters, and I

little doubted that my remaining men would abscond likewise.

On the arrival of my vakeel he told me, in face of the men, that so many

had deserted, and that the others had refused to assist him in taking

the guns from them; thus my arms and ammunition had been forcibly

stolen. I abused both the vakeel and the men most thoroughly; and "as

for the mutineers who have joined the slave-hunters, Inshallah, the

vultures shall pick their bones!" This charitable wish--which, I

believe, I expressed with intense hatred--was never forgotten either by

my own men or by the Turks. Believing firmly in the evil eye, their

superstitious fears were immediately excited. Continuing the march along

the same style of country we shortly came in view of Tarrangolle, the

chief town of Latooka, at which point was the station of Ibrahim. We had

marched thirteen miles from Latome, the station of Mahommed Her, at

which place my men had deserted, and we were now 101 miles from

Gondokoro by dead reckoning.

There were some superb trees situated close to the town, under which we

camped until the natives could prepare a hut for our reception. Crowds

of people now surrounded us, amazed at the two great objects of

interest--the camels, and a white woman. They did not think me very

peculiar, as I was nearly as brown as an Arab.

The Latookas are the finest savages I have ever seen. I measured a

number of them as they happened to enter my tent, and allowing two

inches for the thickness of their felt helmets, the average height was 5

ft. 11 1/2 in. Not only are they tall, but they possess a wonderful

muscular development, having beautifully proportioned legs and arms; and

although extremely powerful, they are never fleshy or corpulent. The

formation of head and general physiognomy is totally different from all

other tribes that I have met with in the neighbourhood of the White

Nile. They have high foreheads, large eyes, rather high cheekbones,

mouths not very large, well-shaped, and the lips rather full. They all

have a remarkably pleasing cast of countenance, and are a great contrast

to the other tribes in civility of manner. Altogether their appearance

denotes a Galla origin, and it is most probable that, at some former

period, an invasion by the Gallas of this country originated the

settlement of the Latookas.

One of the principal channels, if not the main stream of the river

Sobat, is only four days' march or fifty miles east of Latooka, and is

known to the natives as the Chol. The east bank of that stream is

occupied by the Gallas, who have frequently invaded the Latooka country.

There is an interesting circumstance connected with these invasions,

that the Gallas were invariably mounted upon MULES. Neither horse,

camel, nor other beast of burden is known to any of the White Nile

tribes, therefore the existence of mules on the east bank of the Chol is

a distinguishing feature. Both Abyssinia and the Galla being renowned

for a fine breed of mules, affords good circumstantial evidence that the

Akkara tribe of the Chol are true Gallas, and that the Latookas may be

derived from a similar origin by settlements after conquest.

The great chief of the Latookas, "Moy," assured me that his people could

not withstand the cavalry of the Akkara, although they were superior to

all other tribes on foot.

I have heard the traders of Khartoum pretend that they can distinguish

the tribes of the White Nile by their individual type. I must confess my

inability on this point. In vain I have attempted to trace an actual

difference. To me the only distinguishing mark between the tribes

bordering the White River is a peculiarity in either dressing the hair,

or in ornament. The difference of general appearance caused by a variety

of hairdressing is most perplexing, and is apt to mislead a traveller

who is only a superficial observer; but from the commencement of the

negro tribes in N. lat. 12 degrees to Ellyria in lat. 4 degrees 30

minutes I have found no specific difference in the people. The actual

change takes place suddenly on arrival in Latooka, and this is accounted

for by an admixture with the Gallas.

The Latookas are a fine, frank, and warlike race. Far from being the

morose set of savages that I had hitherto seen, they were excessively

merry, and always ready for either a laugh or a fight. The town of

Tarrangolle contained about three thousand houses, and was not only

surrounded by iron-wood palisades, but every house was individually

fortified by a little stockaded courtyard. The cattle were kept in large

kraals in various parts of the town, and were most carefully attended

to, fires being lit every night to protect them from flies; and high

platforms, in three tiers, were erected in many places, upon which

sentinels watched both day and night to give the alarm in case of

danger. The cattle are the wealth of the country, and so rich are the

Latookas in oxen, that ten or twelve thousand head are housed in every

large town; thus the natives are ever on the watch, fearing the attacks

of the adjacent tribes.

The houses of the Latookas are generally bell-shaped, while others are

precisely like huge candle-extinguishers, about twenty-five feet high.

The roofs are neatly thatched, at an angle of about 75 degrees, resting

upon a circular wall about four feet high; thus the roof forms a cap

descending to within two feet and a half of the ground. The doorway is

only two feet and two inches high, thus an entrance must be effected

upon all-fours. The interior is remarkably clean, but dark, as the

architects have no idea of windows. It is a curious fact that the

circular form of but is the only style of architecture adopted among all

the tribes of Central Africa, and also among the Arabs of Upper Egypt;

and that, although these differ more or less in the form of the roof, no

tribe has ever yet sufficiently advanced to construct a window. The town

of Tarrangolle is arranged with several entrances, in the shape of low

archways through the palisades; these are closed at night by large

branches of the hooked thorn of the kittur bush (a species of mimosa).

The main street is broad, but all others are studiously arranged to

admit of only one cow, in single file, between high stockades; thus, in

the event of an attack, these narrow passages could be easily defended,

and it would be impossible to drive off their vast herds of cattle

unless by the main street. The large cattle kraals are accordingly

arranged in various quarters in connexion with the great road, and the

entrance of each kraal is a small archway in the strong iron-wood fence

sufficiently wide to admit one ox at a time.

Suspended from the arch is a bell, formed of the shell of the Dolape

palm-nut, against which every animal must strike either its horns or

back, on entrance.

Every tinkle of the bell announces the passage of an ox into the kraal,

and they are thus counted every evening when brought home from pasture.

I had noticed, during the march from Latome, that the vicinity of every

town was announced by heaps of human remains. Bones and skulls formed a

Golgotha within a quarter of a mile of every village. Some of these were

in earthenware pots, generally broken; others lay strewn here and there;

while a heap in the centre showed that some form had originally been

observed in their disposition. This was explained by an extraordinary

custom most rigidly observed by the Latookas. Should a man be killed in

battle the body is allowed to remain where it fell, and is devoured by

the vultures and hyenas; but should he die a natural death, he or she is

buried in a shallow grave within a few feet of his own door, in the

little courtyard that surrounds each dwelling. Funeral dances are then

kept up in memory of the dead for several weeks; at the expiration of

which time, the body being sufficiently decomposed, is exhumed. The

bones are cleaned, and are deposited in an earthenware jar, and carried

to a spot near the town which is regarded as the cemetery. I observed

that they were not particular in regarding the spot as sacred, as signs

of nuisances were present even upon the bones, that in civilized

countries would have been regarded as an insult.

There is little difficulty in describing the toilette of the native--

that of the men being simplified by the sole covering of the head, the

body being entirely nude. It is curious to observe among these wild

savages the consummate vanity displayed in their head-dresses. Every

tribe has a distinct and unchanging fashion for dressing the hair; and

so elaborate is the coiffure that hair-dressing is reduced to a science.

European ladies would be startled at the fact, that to perfect the

coiffure of a man requires a period of from eight to ten years! However

tedious the operation, the result is extraordinary. The Latookas wear

most exquisite helmets, all of which are formed of their own hair; and

are, of course, fixtures. At first sight it appears incredible, but a

minute examination shows the wonderful perseverance of years in

producing what must be highly inconvenient. The thick, crisp wool is

woven with fine twine, formed from the bark of a tree, until it presents

a thick network of felt. As the hair grows through this matted substance

it is subjected to the same process, until, in the course of years, a

compact substance is formed like a strong felt, about an inch and a half

thick, that has been trained into the shape of a helmet. A strong rim,

of about two inches deep, is formed by sewing it together with thread;

and the front part of the helmet is protected by a piece of polished

copper; while a piece of the same metal, shaped like the half of a

bishop's mitre and about a foot in length, forms the crest. The

framework of the helmet being at length completed, it must be perfected

by an arrangement of beads, should the owner of the head be sufficiently

rich to indulge in the coveted distinction. The beads most in fashion

are the red and the blue porcelain, about the size of small peas. These

are sewn on the surface of the felt, and so beautifully arranged in

sections of blue and red that the entire helmet appears to be formed of

beads; and the handsome crest of polished copper, surmounted by

ostrich-plumes, gives a most dignified and martial appearance to this

elaborate head-dress. No helmet is supposed to be complete without a row

of cowrie-shells stitched around the rim so as to form a solid edge.

The Latookas have neither bows nor arrows, their weapons consisting of

the lance, a powerful iron-headed mace, a long-bladed knife or sword,

and an ugly iron bracelet, armed with knife-blades about four inches

long by half an inch broad: the latter is used to strike with if

disarmed, and to tear with when wrestling with an enemy. Their shields

are either of buffaloes' hide or of giraffes', the latter being highly

prized as excessively tough although light, and thus combining the two

requisite qualities of a good shield; they are usually about four feet

six inches long by two feet wide, and are the largest I have seen.

Altogether, everything in Latooka looks like fighting. Although the men

devote so much attention to their head-dress, the women are extremely

simple. It is a curious fact, that while the men are remarkably

handsome, the women are exceedingly plain;--they are immense creatures,

few being under five feet seven in height, with prodigious limbs. Their

superior strength to that of other tribes may be seen in the size of

their water jars, which are nearly double as large as any I have seen

elsewhere, containing about ten gallons; in these they fetch water from

the stream about a mile distant from the town. They wear exceedingly

long tails, precisely like those of horses, but made of fine twine and

rubbed with red ochre and grease. They are very convenient when they

creep into their huts on bands and knees. In addition to the tails, they

wear a large flap of tanned leather in front. Should I ever visit that

country again, I should take a great number of "Freemasons'" aprons for

the women; these would be highly prized, and would create a perfect

FUROR. The only really pretty women that I saw in Latooka were Bokke,

the wife of the chief, and her daughter; they were fac-similes of each

other, the latter having the advantage of being the second edition. Both

women and men were extremely eager for beads of all kinds, the most

valuable being the red and blue porcelain for helmets, and the large

opalescent bead, the size of a child's marble.

The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated by the chief with

a hut in a neat courtyard, beautifully clean and cemented with clay,

ashes, and cow-dung. Not patronising the architectural advantages of a

doorway of two feet high, I pitched my large tent in the yard and stowed

all my baggage in the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian

carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief of Latooka in

state. He was introduced by Ibrahim, and I had the advantage of his

interpreter.

I commenced the conversation by ordering a present to be laid on the

carpet of several necklaces of valuable beads, copper bars, and coloured

cotton handkerchief. It was most amusing to witness his delight at a

string of fifty little "berrets" (opal beads the size of marbles) which

I had brought into the country for the first time, and were accordingly

extremely valuable. No sooner had he surveyed them with undisguised

delight than he requested me to give him another string of opals for his

wife, or she would be in a bad humour;--accordingly a present for the

lady was added to the already large pile of beads that lay heaped upon

the carpet before him. After surveying his treasures with pride, he

heaved a deep sigh, and turning to the interpreter he said, "What a row

there will be in the family when my other wives see Bokke (his head

wife) dressed up with this finery. Tell the `Mattat' that unless he

gives necklaces for each of my other wives, they will fight!"

Accordingly I asked him the number of ladies that made him anxious. He

deliberately began to count upon his fingers, and having exhausted the

digits of one hand, I compromised immediately, begging him not to go

through the whole of his establishment, and presented him with about

three pounds of various beads, to be divided among them. He appeared

highly delighted, and declared his intention of sending all his wives to

pay Mrs. Baker a visit. This was an awful visitation, as each wife would

expect a present for herself, and would assuredly have either a child or

a friend for whom she would beg an addition. I therefore told him that

the heat was so great that we could not bear too many in the tent, but

that if Bokke, his favourite, would appear, we should be glad to see

her.

Accordingly he departed, and shortly we were honoured by a visit. Bokke

and her daughter were announced, and a prettier pair of savages I never

saw. They were very clean;--their hair was worn short, like all the

women of the country, and plastered with red ochre and fat, so as to

look like vermilion; their faces were slightly tattooed on the cheeks

and temples; and they sat down on the many-coloured carpet with great

surprise, and stared at the first white man and woman they had ever

seen. We gave them both a number of necklaces of red and blue beads, and

I secured Bokke's portrait in my sketch book, obtaining a very correct

likeness. She told us that Mahommed Her's men were very bad people; that

they had burnt and plundered one of her villages; and that one of the

Latookas who had been wounded in the fight by a bullet had just died,

and they were to dance for him to-morrow, if we would like to attend.

She asked many questions; how many wives I had? and was astonished to

hear that I was contented with one. This seemed to amuse her immensely,

and she laughed heartily with her daughter at the idea. She said that my

wife would be much improved if she would extract her four front teeth

from the lower jaw, and wear the red ointment on her hair, according to

the fashion of the country; she also proposed that she should pierce her

under lip, and wear the long pointed polished crystal, about the size of

a drawing pencil, that is the "thing" in the Latooka country. No woman

among the tribe who has any pretensions to be a "swell" would be without

this highly-prized ornament, and one of my thermometers having come to

an end I broke the tube into three pieces, and they were considered as

presents of the highest value, to be worn through the perforated under

lip. Lest the piece should slip through the hole in the lip, a kind of

rivet is formed by twine bound round the inner extremity, and this

protruding into the space left by the extraction of the four front teeth

of the lower jaw, entices the tongue to act upon the extremity, which

gives it a wriggling motion, indescribably ludicrous during

conversation.

I cannot understand for what reason all the White Nile tribes extract

the four front teeth of the lower jaw. Were the meat of the country

tender, the loss of teeth might be a trifle; but I have usually found

that even a good set of grinders are sometimes puzzled to go through the

operation needful to a Latooka beefsteak. It is difficult to explain

real beauty; a defect in one country is a desideratum in another; scars

upon the face are, in Europe, a blemish; but here and in the Arab

countries no beauty can be perfect until the cheeks or temples have been

gashed.

The Arabs make three gashes upon each cheek, and rub the wounds with

salt and a kind of porridge (asida) to produce proud flesh; thus every

female slave, captured by the slave-hunters, is marked to prove her

identity, and to improve her charms. Each tribe has its peculiar fashion

as to the position and form of the cicatrix.

The Latookas gash the temples and cheeks of their women, but do not

raise the scar above the surface, as is the custom of the Arabs.

Polygamy is, of course, the general custom; the number of a man's wives

depending entirely upon his wealth, precisely as would the number of his

horses in England. There is no such thing as love in these countries:

the feeling is not understood, nor does it exist in the shape in which

we understand it. Everything is practical, without a particle of

romance. Women are so far appreciated as they are valuable animals. They

grind the corn, fetch the water, gather firewood, cement the floors,

cook the food, and propagate the race; but they are mere servants, and

as such are valuable. The price of a good-looking, strong young wife,

who could carry a heavy jar of water, would be ten cows; thus a man,

rich in cattle, would be rich in domestic bliss, as he could command a

multiplicity of wives. However delightful may be a family of daughters

in England, they nevertheless are costly treasures; but in Latooka, and

throughout savage lands, they are exceedingly profitable. The simple

rule of proportion will suggest that if one daughter is worth ten cows,

ten daughters must be worth a hundred, therefore a large family is the

source of wealth; the girls produce the cows, and the boys milk them.

All being perfectly naked (I mean the girls and the boys), there is no

expense, and the children act as herdsmen to the flocks as in the

patriarchal times. A multiplicity of wives thus increases wealth by the

increase of family. I am afraid this practical state of affairs will be

a strong barrier to missionary enterprise.

A savage holds to his cows, and his women, but especially to his COWS.

In a razzia fight he will seldom stand for the sake of his wives, but

when he does fight it is to save his cattle. I had now a vivid

exemplification of this theory.

One day, at about 3 P.M., the men of Ibrahim started upon some

mysterious errand, but returned equally mysterious at about midnight. On

the following morning I heard that they had intended to attack some

place upon the mountains, but they had heard that it was too powerful;

and as "discretion is the better part of valour," they had returned.

On the day following I heard that there had been some disaster, and that

the whole of Mahommed Her's party had been massacred. The natives seemed

very excited, and messenger succeeded messenger, all confirming the

account that Mahommed Her had attacked a village on the mountains, the

same that Ibrahim had intended to attack, and that the natives had

exterminated their whole party.

On the following morning I sent ten of my men with a party of Ibrahim's

to Latome to make inquiries. They returned on the following afternoon,

bringing with them two wounded men.

It appeared that Mahommed Her had ordered his party of 110 armed men, in

addition to 300 natives, to make a razzia upon a certain village among

the mountains for slaves and cattle. They had succeeded in burning a

village, and in capturing a great number of slaves. Having descended the

pass, a native gave them the route that would lead to the capture of a

large herd of cattle that they had not yet discovered. They once more

ascended the mountain by a different path, and arriving at the kraal,

they commenced driving off the vast herd of cattle. The Latookas, who

had not fought while their wives and children were being carried into

slavery, now fronted bravely against the muskets to defend their herds,

and charging the Turks, they drove them down the pass.

It was in vain that they fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck

a rock, behind which the enemy was hidden. Rocks, stones, and lances

were hurled at them from all sides and from above; they were forced to

retreat.

The retreat ended in a panic and precipitate flight. Hemmed in on all

sides, amidst a shower of lances and stones thrown from the mountain

above, the Turks fled pele-mele down the rocky and precipitous ravines.

Mistaking their route, they came to a precipice from which there was no

retreat. The screaming and yelling savages closed round them. Fighting

was useless; the natives, under cover of the numerous detached rocks,

offered no mark for an aim; while the crowd of armed savages thrust them

forward with wild yells to the very verge of the great precipice about

five hundred feet below. Down they fell! hurled to utter destruction by

the mass of Latookas pressing onward! A few fought to the last; but one

and all were at length forced, by sheer pressure, over the edge of the

cliff, and met a just reward for their atrocities.

My men looked utterly cast down, and a feeling of horror pervaded the

entire party. No quarter had been given by the Latookas; and upwards of

200 natives who had joined the slave-hunters in the attack, had also

perished with their allies. Mahommed Her had not him self accompanied

his people, both he and Bellaal, my late ringleader, having remained in

camp; the latter having, fortunately for him, been disabled, and placed

hors de combat by the example I had made during the mutiny.

My men were almost green with awe, when I asked them solemnly, "Where

were the men who had deserted from me?" Without answering a word they

brought two of my guns and laid them at my feet. They were covered with

clotted blood mixed with sand, which had hardened like cement over the

locks and various portions of the barrels. My guns were all marked. As I

looked at the numbers upon the stocks, I repeated aloud the names of the

owners. "Are they all dead?" I asked. "All dead," the men replied. "FOOD

FOR THE VULTURES?" I asked. "None of the bodies can be recovered,"

faltered my vakeel. "The two guns were brought from the spot by some

natives who escaped, and who saw the men fall. They are all killed."

"Better for them had they remained with me and done their duty. The hand

of God is heavy," I replied. My men slunk away abashed, leaving the gory

witnesses of defeat and death upon the ground. I called Saat and ordered

him to give the two guns to Richarn to clean.

Not only my own men but the whole of Ibrahim's party were of opinion

that I had some mysterious connexion with the disaster that had befallen

my mutineers. All remembered the bitterness of my prophecy, "The

vultures will pick their bones," and this terrible mishap having

occurred so immediately afterwards took a strong hold upon their

superstitious minds. As I passed through the camp, the men would quietly

exclaim, "Wah Illahi Hawaga!" (My God! Master.) To which I simply

replied, "Robinee fe!" (There is a God.) From that moment I observed an

extraordinary change in the manner of both my people and those of

Ibrahim, all of whom now paid us the greatest respect.

Unfortunately a great change had likewise taken place in the manner of

the Latookas. The whole town was greatly excited, drums were beating and

horns blowing in all quarters, every one rejoicing at the annihilation

of Mahommed Her's party. The natives no longer respected the superior

power of guns; in a hand-to-hand fight they had proved their own

superiority, and they had not the sense to distinguish the difference

between a struggle in a steep mountain pass and a battle on the open

plain. Ibrahim was apprehensive of a general attack on his party by the

Latookas.

This was rather awkward, as it was necessary for him to return to

Gondokoro for a large supply of ammunition which had been left there for

want of porters to convey it, when he had started for the interior. To

march to Gondokoro, and to guard the ammunition, would require a large

force in the present disturbed state of the country; thus we should be a

much-reduced party, which might induce the Latookas to attack us after

his departure. However, it was necessary that he should start. I

accordingly lent him a couple of donkeys to convey his powder, in case

he should not be able to procure porters.

After the departure of Ibrahim, the force of his party remaining at

Tarrangolle was reduced to thirty-five men, under the command of his

lieutenant, Suleiman. This was a weak detachment in the event of an

attack, especially as they had no separate camp, but were living in the

native town, the men quartered in detached huts, and accordingly at the

mercy of the natives if surprised. The brutality of the Turks was so

inseparable from their nature, that they continually insulted the native

women to such an extent that I felt sure they would provoke hostilities

in the present warlike humour of the Latookas. The stream being nearly a

mile distant, there was a difficulty in procuring water. The Turks being

far too lazy to carry it for themselves, seized upon the water-jars when

the women returned from the stream, and beat them severely upon their

refusal to deliver them without payment. I found no difficulty, as I

engaged a woman to bring a regular supply for a daily payment in beads.

Much bartering was going on between the Turks and the natives for

provisions, in which the latter were invariably cheated, and beaten if

they complained. I felt sure that such conduct must end in disagreement,

if not in actual fight, in the event of which I knew that I should be

dragged into the affair, although perfectly innocent, and having nothing

to do with the Turks.

My quarters in the town were near an open quadrangular space about

eighty yards square, inclosed upon all sides, but having a narrow

entrance to the main street. The Turks were scattered about in the

neighbouring lanes, their time passed in drinking merissa, and

quarrelling with the natives and with each other.

The day after Ibrahim's departure, the Turks seized some jars of water

by force from the women on their return from the stream. A row ensued,

and ended by one of the women being shamefully maltreated; and a

Latooka, who came to her assistance, was severely beaten. This I did not

see, but it was reported to me. I called Suleiman, and told him that if

such things were permitted it would entail a fight with the natives, in

which I should not allow my men to join; that I prohibited my men from

taking anything from the Latookas without just payment: thus, should a

fight be caused by the conduct of his people, they must get out of it as

they best could.

A bad feeling already existed between the natives and his people, owing

to the defeat of the party of Mahommed Her. Much good management was

required to avoid a collision, and the reverse was certain to cause an

outbreak. Shortly before dusk the women were again assaulted on their

return with water from the stream. One of Ibrahim's soldiers threatened

a powerful-looking Amazon with his stick because she refused to deliver

up her jar of water that she had carried about a mile for her own

requirements. Upon seeing this my pretty friend, Bokke, the chief's

wife, seized the soldier by the throat, wrested the stick from him,

while another woman disarmed him of his gun. Other women then set upon

him, and gave him a most ignominious shaking; while some gathered up mud

from the gutter and poured it down the barrel of his gun until they

effectually choked it; not content with this, they plastered large

masses of mud over the locks and trigger.

I looked on with enjoyment at the thorough discomfiture of the Turk. The

news quickly spread, and in revenge for his disgrace his comrades

severely beat some women at some distance from the camp. I heard

screams, and shouts, and a confused noise; and upon my arrival outside

the town, I saw large numbers of natives running from all quarters, and

collecting together with lances and shields. I felt sure that we were to

be involved in a general outbreak. However, the Turks beat the drum, and

collected their men, so that in a few minutes no straggler was in the

town.

It was remarkably unpleasant to be dragged into a row by the conduct of

these brutal traders, with whom I had nothing in common, and who, should

a fight actually occur, would be certain to behave as cowards. The

Latookas would make no distinction between me and them, in the event of

an attack, as they would naturally class all strangers and new comers

with the hated Turks.

It was about 5 P.M. one hour before sunset. The woman who usually

brought us water delivered her jar, but disappeared immediately after

without sweeping the courtyard as was her custom. Her children, who

usually played in this inclosure, had vanished. On searching her hut,

which was in one corner of the yard, no one was to be found, and even

the grinding-stone was gone. Suspecting that something was in the wind,

I sent Karka and Gaddum Her, the two black servants, to search in

various huts in the neighbourhood to observe if the owners were present,

and whether the women were in their houses. Not a woman could be found.

Neither woman nor child remained in the large town of Tarrangolle. There

was an extraordinary stillness where usually all was noise and

chattering. All the women and children had been removed to the mountains

about two miles distant, and this so quickly and noiselessly that it

appeared incredible. I immediately sent to the house of the chief, and

requested his attendance. There were two chiefs, brothers; Moy was the

greater in point of rank, but his brother, Commoro, had more actual

authority with the people. I was glad that the latter appeared.

I sent to request an interpreter from the Turks, and upon his arrival I

asked Commoro why the women and children had been removed. He replied,

"That the Turks were so brutal that he could not prevail upon his people

to endure it any longer; their women were robbed and beaten, and they

were all so ill-treated, that he, as their chief, had no longer any

control over them; and that the odium of having introduced the Turks to

Latooka was thrown upon him." I asked him whether any of my men had

misbehaved. I explained that I should flog any one of my men who should

steal the merest trifle from his people, or insult any women. All my men

were in dark-brown uniforms. He said, "That none of the men with the

brown clothes had been complained of, but that his people had taken a

dislike to all strangers, owing to the conduct of the Turks, and that he

could not answer for the consequences."

There was a division among his own people, some wishing to fight and to

serve the Turks as the Latookas had served the party of Mahommed Her,

and others yielding to his advice, and agreeing to remain quiet.

I inquired whether the chief, Moy, intended peace or war. He said, "That

Bokke, his wife, had made him very angry against the Turks by describing

their conduct towards the women."

This was rather an unsatisfactory state of things. Commoro departed,

frankly admitting that the natives were much excited and wished to

attack, but that he would do his best with them.

These rascally TRADERS set every country in a blaze by their brutal

conduct, and rendered exploring, not only most dangerous but next to

impossible, without an exceedingly powerful force.

The sun set; and, as usual in tropical climates, darkness set in within

half an hour. Not a woman had returned to the town, nor was the voice of

a man to be heard. The natives had entirely forsaken the portion of the

town that both I and the Turks occupied. The night was perfectly calm,

and the stars shone so brightly, that I took an observation for the

latitude--4 degrees 30 minutes. There was a death-like stillness in

the air. Even the Turks, who were usually uproarious, were perfectly

quiet, and although my men made no remark, it was plain that we were all

occupied by the same thoughts, and that an attack was expected.

It was about 9 o'clock, and the stillness had become almost painful.

There was no cry of a bird; not even the howl of a hyena: the camels

were sleeping; but every man was wide awake, and the sentries well on

the alert. We were almost listening at the supernatural stillness, if I

may so describe the perfect calm, when, suddenly, every one startled at

the deep and solemn boom of the great war-drum, or nogara! Three

distinct beats, at slow intervals, rang through the apparently deserted

town, and echoed loudly from the neighbouring mountain. It was the

signal! A few minutes elapsed, and like a distant echo from the north

the three mournful tones again distinctly sounded. Was it an echo?

Impossible. Now from the south, far distant, but unmistakeable, the same

three regular beats came booming through the still night air. Again and

again, from every quarter, spreading far and wide, the signal was

responded; and the whole country echoed those three solemn notes so full

of warning. Once more the great nogara of Tarrangolle sounded the

original alarm within a few hundred paces of our quarters. The whole

country was up.

There was no doubt about the matter. The Turks well knew those three

notes were the war-signal of the Latookas. I immediately called

Suleiman. It was necessary to act in unison. I ordered him to beat the

drum loudly for about five minutes to answer the nogara. His men were

all scattered in several small inclosures. I called them all out into

the open quadrangle; in the centre of which I placed the baggage, and

planted the English ensign in the middle, while the Turks fixed their

flag within a few paces. Posting sentries at each corner of the square,

I stationed patrols in the principal street. In the meantime Mrs. Baker

had laid out upon a mat several hundred cartridges of buck-shot,

powder-flasks, wadding, and opened several boxes of caps, all of which

were neatly arranged for a reserve of ammunition; while a long row of

first-class double guns and rifles lay in readiness. The boy Saat was

full of fight, and immediately strapped on his belt and cartouche-box,

and took his stand among the men.

I ordered the men, in the event of an attack, to immediately set fire to

all the huts around the quadrangle; in which case the sudden rush of a

large body of men would be impossible, and the huts being of straw, the

town would be quickly in a blaze.

Everything was in order to resist an attack in five minutes from the

sounding of the nogara.

The patrols shortly reported that large bodies of men were collecting

outside the town. The great nogara again beat, and was answered at

intervals as before from the neighbouring villages; but the Turks' drum

kept up an uninterrupted roll as a challenge whenever the nogara

sounded. Instead of the intense stillness that had formerly been almost

painful, a distinct hum of distant voices betokened the gathering of

large bodies of men. However, we were well fortified; and the Latookas

knew it. We occupied the very stronghold that they had themselves

constructed for the defence of their town; and the square being

surrounded with strong iron-wood palisades with only a narrow entrance,

would be impregnable when held, as now, by fifty men well armed with

guns against a mob whose best weapons were only lances. I sent men up

the watchmen's stations; these were about twenty-five feet high; and the

night being clear, they could distinctly report the movements of a dark

mass of natives that were ever increasing on the outside of the town at

about two hundred yards' distance. The rattle of the Turks' drum

repeatedly sounded in reply to the nogara, and the intended attack

seemed destined to relapse into a noisy but empty battle of the drums.

A few hours passed in uncertainty, when, at about midnight, the chief

Commoro came fearlessly to the patrol, and was admitted to the

quadrangle. He seemed greatly struck with the preparations for defence,

and explained that the nogara had been beaten without his orders, and

accordingly the whole country had risen; but that he had explained to

the people that I had no hostile intentions, and that all would be well

if they only kept the peace. He said they certainly had intended to

attack us, and were surprised that we were prepared, as proved by the

immediate reply of the Turks' drum to their nogara. He assured us that

he would not sleep that night, but would watch that nothing should

happen. I assured him that we should also keep awake, but should the

nogara sound once more I should give orders to my men to set fire to the

town, as I should not allow the natives to make use of such threats with

impunity. I agreed to use what little interest I had to keep the Turks

in order, but that I must not be held responsible by the natives for

their proceedings, as I was not of their country, neither had I anything

to do with them. I explained, that upon Ibrahim's return from Gondokoro

things might improve, as he was the captain of the Turks, and might be

able to hold his men in command. Commoro departed, and about 2 A.M. the

dense crowds of armed men that had accumulated outside the town began to

disperse.

The morning broke and saw the men still under arms, but the excitement

had passed. The women soon reappeared with their water jars as usual,

but on this occasion they were perfectly unmolested by the Turks, who,

having passed the night in momentary expectation of an attack, were now

upon their best behaviour. However, I heard them muttering among

themselves, "Wait until Ibrahim returns with reinforcements and

ammunition, and we will pay the Latookas for last night."

The town filled; and the Latookas behaved as though nothing out of the

common had occurred; but when questioned, they coolly confessed that

they had intended to surprise us, but that we were too "wide awake.". It

is extraordinary that these fellows are so stupid as to beat the drum or

nogara before the attack, as it naturally gives the alarm, and renders a

surprise impossible; nevertheless, the war-drum is always a preliminary

step to hostilities. I now resolved to camp outside the town, so as not

to be mixed up in any way with the Turks, whose presence was certain to

create enmity. Accordingly I engaged a number of natives to cut thorns,

and to make a zareeba, or camp, about four hundred yards from the main

entrance of the town, on the road to the stream of water. In a few days

it was completed, and I constructed houses for my men, and two good huts

for ourselves. Having a supply of garden seeds, I arranged a few beds,

which I sowed with onions, cabbages, and radishes. My camp was eighty

yards long, and forty wide. My horses were picqueted in two corners,

while the donkeys and camels occupied the opposite extremity. We now

felt perfectly independent. I had masses of supplies, and I resolved to

work round to the south-west whenever it might be possible, and thus to

recover the route that I had originally proposed for my journey south.

My present difficulty was the want of an interpreter. The Turks had

several, and I hoped that on the return of Ibrahim from Gondokoro I

might induce him to lend me a Bari lad for some consideration. For the

present I was obliged to send to the Turks' camp and borrow an

interpreter whenever I required one, which was both troublesome and

expensive.

Although I was willing to purchase all supplies with either beads or

copper bracelets, I found it was impossible to procure meat. The natives

refused to sell either cattle or goats. This was most tantalizing, as

not less than 10,000 head of cattle filed by my camp every morning as

they were driven from the town to pasturage. All this amount of beef

paraded before me, and did not produce a steak! Milk was cheap and

abundant; fowl were scarce; corn was plentiful; vegetables were unknown;

not even pumpkins were grown by the Latookas.

Fortunately there was an abundance of small game in the shape of wild

ducks, pigeons, doves; and a great variety of birds such as herons,

cranes, spoonbills, &c. Travellers should always take as large a supply

of shot as possible. I had four hundred weight, and prodigious

quantities of powder and caps: thus I could at all times kill sufficient

game for ourselves and people. There were a series of small marshy pools

scattered over the country near the stream that ran through the valley;

these were the resort of numerous ducks, which afforded excellent sport.

The town of Tarrangolle is situated at the foot of the mountain, about a

mile from the stream, which is about eighty yards wide, but shallow. In

the dry weather, water is obtained by wells dug in the sandy bed, but

during the rains it is a simple torrent not exceeding three feet in

depth. The bed being sandy, the numerous banks, left dry by the

fluctuations of the stream, are most inviting spots for ducks; and it

was only necessary to wait under a tree, on the river's bank, to obtain

thirty or forty shots in one morning as the ducks flew down the course

of the stream. I found two varieties: the small brown duck with a grey

head; and a magnificent variety, as large as the Muscovy, having a

copper-and-blue coloured tinselled back and wings, with a white but

speckled head and neck. This duck had a curious peculiarity in a fleshy

protuberance on the beak about as large as a half-crown. This stands

erect, like a cock's comb. Both this, and the smaller variety, were

delicious eating. There were two varieties of geese--the only two that

I have ever seen on the White Nile--the common Egyptian grey goose, and

a large black and white bird with a crimson head and neck, and a red and

yellow horny protuberance on the top of the head. This variety has a

sharp spur upon the wing an inch long, and exceedingly powerful; it is

used as a weapon of defence for striking, like the spurred wing of the

plover.

I frequeutly shot ten or twelve ducks, and as many cranes, before

breakfast; among others the beautiful crested crane, called by the Arabs

"garranook." The black velvet head of this crane, surrounded by a golden

crest, was a favourite ornament of the Latookas, and they were

immediately arranged as crests for their helmets. The neighbourhood of

my camp would have made a fortune for a feather-dealer; it was literally

strewn with down and plumes. I was always attended every morning by a

number of Latooka boys, who were eager sportsmen, and returned to camp

daily laden with ducks and geese.

No sooner did we arrive in camp than a number of boys volunteered to

pluck the birds, which they did for the sake of the longest feathers,

with which they immediately decked their woolly heads. Crowds of boys

were to be seen with heads like cauliflowers, all dressed with the

feathers of cranes and wild ducks. It appears to be accepted, both by

the savage and civilized, that birds' feathers are specially intended

for ornamenting the human head.

It was fortunate that Nature had thus stocked Latooka with game. It was

impossible to procure any other meat; and not only were the ducks and

geese to us what the quails were to the Israelites in the desert, but

they enabled me to make presents to the natives that assured them of our

good will.

Although the Latookas were far better than other tribes that I had met,

they were sufficiently annoying; they gave me no credit for real good

will, but they attributed my forbearance to weakness. On one occasion

Adda, one of the chiefs, came to ask me to join him in attacking a

village to procure molotes (iron hoes); he said, "Come along with me,

bring your men and guns, and we will attack a village near here, and

take their molotes and cattle; you keep the cattle, and I will have the

molotes." I asked him whether the village was in an enemy's country. "Oh

no!" he replied, "it is close here; but the people are rather

rebellious, and it will do them good to kill a few, and to take their

molotes. If you are afraid, never mind, I will ask the Turks to do it."

Thus forbearance on my part was supposed to be caused from weakness, and

it was difficult to persuade them that it originated in a feeling of

justice. This Adda most coolly proposed that we should plunder one of

his own villages that was rather too "liberal" in its views. Nothing is

more heartbreaking than to be so thoroughly misunderstood, and the

obtuseness of the savages was such, that I never could make them

understand the existence of good principle;--their one idea was

"power,"--force that could obtain all--the strong hand that could wrest

from the weak. In disgust I frequently noted the feelings of the moment

in my journal--a memorandum from which I copy as illustrative of the

time. "1863, 10th April, Latooka.--I wish the black sympathisers in

England could see Africa's inmost heart as I do, much of their sympathy

would subside. Human nature viewed in its crude state as pictured

amongst African savages is quite on a level with that of the brute, and

not to be compared with the noble character of the dog. There is neither

gratitude, pity, love, nor self-denial; no idea of duty; no religion;

but covetousness, ingratitude, selfishness and cruelty. All are thieves,

idle, envious, and ready to plunder and enslave their weaker

neighbours."

CHAPTER VI.

THE FUNERAL DANCE.

Drums were beating, horns blowing, and people were seen all running in

one direction;--the cause was a funeral dance, and I joined the crowd,

and soon found myself in the midst of the entertainment. The dancers

were most grotesquely got up. About a dozen huge ostrich feathers

adorned their helmets; either leopard or the black and white monkey

skins were suspended from their shoulders, and a leather tied round the

waist covered a large iron bell which was strapped upon the loins of

each dancer, like a woman's old-fashioned bustle: this they rung to the

time of the dance by jerking their posteriors in the most absurd manner.

A large crowd got up in this style created an indescribable hubbub,

heightened by the blowing of horns and the beating of seven nogaras of

various notes. Every dancer wore an antelope's horn suspended round the

neck, which he blew occasionally in the height of his excitement. These

instruments produced a sound partaking of the braying of a donkey and

the screech of an owl. Crowds of men rushed round and round in a sort of

"galop infernel," brandishing their lances and iron-headed maces, and

keeping tolerably in line five or six deep, following the leader who

headed them, dancing backwards. The women kept outside the line, dancing

a slow stupid step, and screaming a wild and most inharmonious chant;

while a long string of young girls and small children, their heads and

necks rubbed with red ochre and grease, and prettily ornamented with

strings of beads around their loins, kept a very good line, beating the

time with their feet, and jingling the numerous iron rings which adorned

their ankles to keep time with the drums. One woman attended upon the

men, running through the crowd with a gourd full of wood-ashes, handfuls

of which she showered over their heads, powdering them like millers; the

object of the operation I could not understand. The "premiere danseuse"

was immensely fat; she had passed the bloom of youth, but, "malgre" her

unwieldy state, she kept up the pace to the last, quite unconscious of

her general appearance, and absorbed with the excitement of the dance.

These festivities were to be continued in honour of the dead; and as

many friends had recently been killed, music and dancing would be in

fashion for some weeks.

There was an excellent interpreter belonging to Ibrahim's party--a Bari

lad of about eighteen. This boy had been in their service for some

years, and had learnt Arabic, which he spoke fluently, although with a

peculiar accent, owing to the extraction of the four front teeth of the

lower jaw, according to the general custom. It was of great importance

to obtain the confidence of Loggo, as my success depended much upon

information that I might obtain from the natives; therefore, whenever I

sent for him to hold any conversation with the people, I invariably gave

him a little present at parting. Accordingly he obeyed any summons from

me with great alacrity, knowing that the interview would terminate with

a "baksheesh" (present). In this manner I succeeded in establishing

confidence, and he would frequently come uncalled to my tent and

converse upon all manner of subjects. The Latooka language is different

to the Bari, and a second interpreter was necessary; this was a sharp

lad about the same age: thus the conversation was somewhat tedious, the

medium being Bari and Latooka.

The chief Commoro (the "Lion") was one of the most clever and

common-sense savages that I had seen in these countries, and the tribe

paid far more deference to his commands than to those of his brother,

"Moy," although the latter was the superior in rank.

One day I sent for Commoro after the usual funeral dance was completed,

and, through my two young interpreters, I had a long conversation with

him on the customs of his country. I wished if possible to fathom the

origin of the extraordinary custom of exhuming the body after burial, as

I imagined that in this act some idea might be traced to a belief in the

resurrection.

Commoro was, like all his people, extremely tall. Upon entering my tent

he took his seat upon the ground, the Latookas not using stools like the

other White Nile tribes. I commenced the conversation by complimenting

him on the perfection of his wives and daughters in the dance, and on

his own agility in the performance; and inquired for whom the ceremony

had been performed.

He replied, that it was for a man who had been recently killed, but no

one of great importance, the same ceremony being observed for every

person without distinction. I asked him why those slain in battle were

allowed to remain unburied. He said, it had always been the custom, but

that he could not explain it.

"But," I replied, "why should you disturb the bones of those whom you

have already buried, and expose them on the outskirts of the town?"

"It was the custom of our forefathers," he answered, "therefore we

continue to observe it."

"Have you no belief in a future existence after death? Is not some idea

expressed in the act of exhuming the bones after the flesh is decayed?"

Commoro (loq.).--"Existence AFTER death! How can that be? Can a dead man

get out of his grave, unless we dig him out?"

"Do you think man is like a beast, that dies and is ended?"

Commoro.--"Certainly; an ox is stronger than a man; but he dies, and his

bones last longer; they are bigger. A man's bones break quickly--he is

weak."

"Is not a man superior in sense to an ox? Has he not a mind to direct

his actions?"

Commoro.--"Some men are not so clever as an ox. Men must sow corn to

obtain food, but the ox and wild animals can procure it without sowing."

"Do you not know that there is a spirit within you more than flesh? Do

you not dream and wander in thought to distant places in your sleep?

Nevertheless, your body rests in one spot. How do you account for this?"

Commoro (laughing).--"Well, how do YOU account for it? It is a thing I

cannot understand; it occurs to me every night."

"The mind is independent of the body; the actual body can be fettered,

but the mind is uncontrollable; the body will die and will become dust,

or be eaten by vultures, but the spirit will exist for ever."

Commoro.--"Where will the spirit live?"

"Where does fire live? Cannot you produce a fire (The natives always

produce fire by rubbing two sticks together.) by rubbing two sticks

together, yet you SEE not the fire in the wood. Has not that fire, that

lies harmless and unseen in the sticks, the power to consume the whole

country? Which is the stronger, the small stick that first PRODUCES the

fire, or the fire itself? So is the spirit the element within the body,

as the element of fire exists in the stick; the element being superior

to the substance."

Commoro.--"Ha! Can you explain what we frequently see at night when lost

in the wilderness? I have myself been lost, and wandering in the dark, I

have seen a distant fire; upon approaching, the fire has vanished, and I

have been unable to trace the cause--nor could I find the spot."

"Have you no idea of the existence of spirits superior to either man or

beast? Have you no fear of evil except from bodily causes?"

Commoro.--"I am afraid of elephants and other animals when in the jungle

at night, but of nothing else."

"Then you believe in nothing; neither in a good nor evil spirit! And you

believe that when you die it will be the end of body and spirit; that

you are like other animals; and that there is no distinction between man

and beast; both disappear, and end at death?"

Commoro.--"Of course they do."

"Do you see no difference in good and bad actions?" Commoro.--"Yes,

there are good and bad in men and beasts."

"Do you think that a good man and a bad must share the same fate, and

alike die, and end?"

Commoro.--"Yes; what else can they do? How can they help dying? Good and

bad all die."

"Their bodies perish, but their spirits remain; the good in happiness,

the bad in misery. If you have no belief in a future state, WHY SHOULD A

MAN BE GOOD? Why should he not be bad, if he can prosper by wickedness?"

Commoro.--"Most people are bad; if they are strong they take from the

weak. The good people are all weak; they are good because they are not

strong enough to be bad."