OUR AUDIENCE WITH THE KING--THE FALL OF A COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF--
UNSATISFACTORY TERMINATION OF OUR INTERVIEW--IN DESPAIR WE WANDER ALONG
THE RIVER BANK--PLANS FOR ESCAPE--MAKING PADDLES--KENDO'S WIFE IGUMA
UNDERTAKES TO ASSIST US--ARRIVAL OF THE FETISH DOCTOR--HE HAS RECOURSE
TO THE "BLACK ART OF MAGIC," AND DENOUNCES SHIMBO, IGUMA, AND OTHERS, AS
THE CAUSE OF THE QUEEN'S DEATH--CRUEL SACRIFICE OF SHIMBO--FLIGHT OF
IGUMA AND HER HUSBAND, WITH WHOM WE EFFECT OUR ESCAPE--ON THE LAKE--
CHARLEY AND I MISS OUR COMPANIONS IN THE DARKNESS--ON DAYLIGHT RETURNING
WE FIND OURSELVES NEAR THE SHORE--WE ARE SURPRISED BY NATIVES AND
ATTACKED--REPULSE OF THE ENEMY--BRAVERY OF IGUMA.
In the course of the morning we reached our house, which we had left in
charge of Shimbo. We had the satisfaction of finding that none of our
knapsacks had been touched. We invited Caspar to join us, which he,
poor fellow, was very glad to do. Nothing had been seen of Jansen; we
supposed that he had either thrown himself into the river, or been
seized by a wild beast. We were surprised to find that the witch-doctor
had not yet arrived, and therefore hoped that something had detained
him, and that by his not coming the people whom he would accuse of
witchcraft, should he appear, might escape death. We thought that the
king might possibly not have heard of the death of Captain Roderick, and
after duly discussing the subject, we came to the conclusion that it
would be wise while the king was still impressed with the belief of his
almost superhuman powers, to request leave to proceed on our journey.
As it was still early in the day, we hoped to find his majesty tolerably
sober, and capable of listening to reason. We accordingly issued forth
from our house with our knapsacks on our shoulders, and our guns in our
hands, Harry and Aboh ready to act as spokesmen, Charley and I coming
next, and Tom and Caspar with Shimbo bringing up the rear. We found the
king seated in a sort of broad veranda in front of his house, which
served him as an audience chamber. On one side was his fetish or idol
house. At the further end was a huge hideous figure painted in various
colours; with big goggle eyes, and clothed in robes of matting, and
adorned with feathers of various hues. Numerous other idols were placed
against the walls, most of them bearing but the very faintest
resemblance to human figures--big round eyes, and marks for noses, and
grinning mouths, with teeth set in them, showing for what they were
intended. The king, with his round hat on his head, and his red uniform
coat covering his royal body, was seated on a pile of mats with a bottle
by his side, while one or two empty ones lay outside on the floor,
showing how he had already been spending his morning. Several of his
counsellors and other chief men sat at a little distance on either side
of him, discussing, apparently, affairs of state.
We waited until there seemed to be a pause, when we advanced in a bold
manner, and Harry began an address, thanking the king for the
hospitality he had shown us, and the opportunities we had enjoyed of
seeing some sport, and adding "that now, having done all the service we
could, we were desirous of going down the river, as we were anxious to
get on board one of the ships of our country, which we expected to find
at the mouth of the stream."
The king rolled his eyes round as Harry spoke, apparently not
understanding a word; he then turned to his courtiers, desiring them to
explain what the white man said.
This was more than even the most learned of his attendants could do,
for, although they were more sober than their master, they also had had
a pull at the bottles. Fortunately the king did not appeal to us, but
again and again asked them what we had said. At length starting up he
called them all by the most opprobrious names, insisting that they
should interpret, then seizing a cane, which he probably thought was a
sword, he ordered them to go about their business, bestowing a kick on
the rear of first one, and then on another, sending them all flying away
from him, the commander-in-chief, who maintained his post to the last,
receiving a blow from the monarch's foot as he endeavoured to leap down
the steps, which sent him flying away some fifty yards, when down he
sprawled with his nose in the dust, kicking up his heels in the air.
The king having accomplished this feat, no longer able to stand, rolled
back in his seat, where he continued kicking out with his legs, shaking
his hands, and blubbering away, exclaiming, "that he could get no wisdom
out of his counsellors, who were a useless, lazy set." He then looking
up, inquired in husky tones, "What we wanted?"
Harry once more endeavoured to explain our object in coming, but all his
efforts were vain to make the king comprehend a word he said. Aboh then
tried, with the same want of success. The king, who in the meantime had
taken a pull at another bottle, evidently felt no inclination to rise,
and comforted himself by showering abuse on Aboh's head and ours,
bestowing upon him all sorts of opprobrious epithets.
At last, as it was very evident that we could get nothing out of the
monarch, we beat a retreat in as dignified a manner as possible, and
retired to our house, more resolved than ever to take French leave
before many days were over, should we have the opportunity.
The king's attendants wisely kept out of his way when he was in his
drunken fits, and shut themselves up in their houses, or left the
village, lest he might take a fancy to cut off any of their heads. We,
finding the road open to the river, determined to make an excursion
along the banks in the hope of discovering some canoes fit for our
purpose. Keeping our guns ready for action, we sauntered along near the
river, though we pretended to take that road merely for the sake of the
fresh breeze which blew off the water. We spied four or five canoes; in
none of them, however, could we see paddles, and without some such means
of propulsion they would be useless. How to procure the paddles was the
difficulty. They were probably in the houses of the owners, and it was
a question whether these owners would part with the paddles, and whether
it would be safe to enter into a bargain with them, lest they should
betray us to the king.
"To my mind, the best thing we can do, sir, is to make some paddles for
ourselves," observed Tom Tubbs.
"Of course," answered Charley; "we can work away as soon as it is dark,
and have them ready by to-morrow night. Longer than that we must not
stay in this horrible place, we shall have wood enough for our purpose
in the building, by pulling down part of the rear of our house, where it
won't be missed, or from the trees in our garden, or part of the
fencing. We should have a paddle for each person, as we shall require
two or three canoes to convey all our party."
This matter settled, we were about to return, when we saw a female at
the door of one of the largest houses near the water, at the end of the
village which we had just reached. She appeared to be beckoning to us;
we went forward, and great was our surprise to find that she was no
other than Iguma, the young lady I had saved from the ape, and whose
marriage with Prince Kendo I had afterwards witnessed. Feeling sure
that gratitude would animate a female bosom, I asked Harry to tell her
the difficulty in which we were placed, and, throwing ourselves on her
generosity, entreat her to assist us in escaping. She seemed much
pleased at seeing us, and at once recognised me, and said she had not
forgotten the service I had done her. We then informed her how we were
situated. She at once said she would do all she could to help us, but
that her power, she was afraid, was very limited. She complained that
her husband was constantly away on shooting expeditions, and that she
held his drunken uncle, King Kickubaroo, in great awe, and that he
evidently had no affection for her. She told us that we need have no
fear about canoes, as her husband had three or four which were hauled up
on the bank inside a yard, close to which we then were, and that by
climbing over the fence we should find them at any time ready for use.
As to paddles, she acknowledged that they were generally kept shut up in
the house, to prevent the canoes being taken away, but that she would
try and place them on board the following evening as soon it was dark.
Thus all was quickly arranged for our attempt to escape.
As soon as we got back to our house we looked about for wood suitable to
form paddles, not wishing to trust entirely to those with which Iguma
might supply us. We had no difficulty in finding an ample supply of
material for our purpose, although we thought it prudent not to begin
working it up until darkness should prevent the risk of what we were
about being discovered. We were thus employed when we heard a
tremendous noise proceeding from the house in which the king's wife lay
sick. On looking out we saw it surrounded by people, who were singing,
and shouting, and shrieking, and dancing, with all their might; some
beating tom-toms and drums; others blowing horns and shaking rattles,
all uniting in a hideous chorus. The object of this, Aboh told us, was
to drive out the evil spirit which was making the queen ill.
"It was a signal," he said, "that the fetish doctor, who had been so
long coming, was about to arrive, and that his canoe was probably seen
descending the river."
As we thought it prudent to keep out of the way of the people, we
remained in the house, although we would very gladly have got to a
distance to escape from the uproar. We had cooked our dinner and were
eating it, when Aboh, who had been to the door, came back and told us
that the doctor had arrived, and was beginning his incantations. As we
were curious to see what he was about, we went a short distance from the
house, where, remaining concealed behind a fence, we could observe what
was going forward without ourselves being seen. The doctor had dressed
himself up to look as hideous as possible. On his head he wore a huge
and lofty plume of black feathers drooping down on all sides; his face
was painted white, with red stripes over his eyes, and others in
different parts of his face. A case was suspended by a piece of rope
round his neck, which was also adorned by a necklace of human bones,
while a girdle of a similar description was fastened round his waist, to
which was suspended a sort of apron. He had taken his seat on a stool,
round which were hides and the horns of several animals, a leopard's
skin, and more cases containing charms. In one hand he held a rattle,
and in the other a wand. Near him stood two attendants, one beating a
small drum, and the other a couple of sticks. For sometime he continued
uttering all sorts of gibberish, which I do not think was intelligible
to any even of his hearers, while his attendants played on their
instruments--if playing it could be called. He then took up a horn,
from which he shook a quantity of black powder in the air, and regarded
it gravely as it fell. It was sad to think that human beings could be
deceived by so gross an imposture, but yet it was very evident that all
the people present watched the proceedings with the utmost awe and
respect. After a dead silence the people again shouted out, though what
they said it was impossible to understand, but I shall never forget the
alarmed looks Aboh and Shimbo exchanged. At length the shouting ceased,
when the doctor began to shriek, making his voice sound like the
croaking of a whole flock of birds of prey about to descend on a dead
carcase. Then he stopped, and slowly pronounced several names.
If ever black man turned white, Aboh and Shimbo did on that occasion.
Poor fellows, they understood the meaning of what was said better than
we did. Again the people shouted and shrieked in the most savage
manner, indeed, no words can describe the hideous noise they made.
"Go back to the house, go back," cried Aboh.
We followed his advice, but ere we could reach our dwelling the crowd
had rushed towards us. Unfortunately we had come out without our arms.
The infuriated blacks did not attempt to touch us, but before we could
prevent it, they had seized Shimbo and dragged him off, although we
succeeded, by knocking down with our fists those who came near us, in
hauling Aboh into the house. We at once shut the door, seized our
rifles, and stood prepared for a desperate resistance. Contrary to our
expectations, the mob, having got possession of one of our followers,
retreated with him up the street. Scarcely had they gone than we heard
a knocking at the door, and finding that there was only one person
present we opened it, and Prince Kendo entered.
"Ah, white men, save my wife," he exclaimed, "the doctor has accused her
of bewitching the queen, and should her majesty die, nothing will save
my poor Iguma, her head will to a certainty be cut off."
We all at once exclaimed that we would endeavour to save her, if he
could point out the best way we could do so.
"Shall we go to the king and ask her life?"
Aboh shook his head, and declared that it would be utterly useless.
"The king was bound to kill her with his own hand if the doctor accused
her of causing the queen's death."
"The queen is not dead yet," said Harry.
"No, but she may die to-night, for she is much worse than she has been
before, and frightened out of her wits by the noise the people make."
"Then what do you propose we should do?" said Harry.
"Carry her away. You intend going yourselves, I will go too, I should
like to see your country and the wonderful things it contains, and I had
made up my mind to propose going, even if this had not happened. I
should like to take my wife with me, for whatever you may think, I love
her dearly."
On hearing this, we resolved at once to put our long projected plan into
execution. Kendo's assistance would be of great value, as he had canoes
at hand, and could aid us in getting away. We advised Kendo to go back
and hide his wife, should he not have the means of protecting her, lest
the people might come and seize her at once, and we promised to be at
the house or at any spot he might appoint as soon as possible after
dark.
He stopped for a moment to consider.
"Come to my house," he answered, "the canoes will be ready, and so will
Iguma; but be prepared to fight, for if the people come and find out
that we are going to carry her off, they will try to prevent it. Better
fight than lose Iguma."
We of course promised, unless prevented by any unforeseen occurrence,
that we would do as he proposed, feeling confident that we could trust
to his honesty, and that he had a real desire to save his wife from the
horrible fate which threatened her. We had not in the meantime
forgotten poor Shimbo. Aboh constantly cried out--
"Oh! my brodder, my brodder."
"I say, it would be a great shame to allow these murderous scoundrels to
put the poor fellow to death," exclaimed Charley. "If the old woman
dies they'll make short work of him; I propose that we set off and claim
him as our servant, threatening them with the vengeance of England
should a shock of his woolly pate be injured."
Aboh, who understood what was said, cried out, "Tankee, massa, tankee,
no let my brodder die."
We scarcely needed this appeal from the faithful Aboh to run every risk
for the sake of rescuing his brother.
"Never fear, we will do what we can to save him," said Charley, "but do
you remain in the house, lest that abominable juggler takes it into his
wicked head to accuse you as well as your brother."
Aboh was very thankful to follow this advice, indeed, he was scarcely
fit to accompany us, so overcome was he by the fears of death for
himself and his brother, increased by the superstitious dread he had of
the doctor. Shouldering our arms, with our knapsacks on our backs, we
left the house, closing the door behind us, and marched boldly towards
the fetish house, a sort of temple situated near the residence of the
king. The number of people collected round it showed that something was
going forward. At the further end of the structure--a sort of temple
composed of rough timber with a thatched roof--was a hideous idol
standing in a shrine raised on an altar, for such it resembled, possibly
imitated from the Portuguese who once held sway in the land, and
established for a short period what they called Christianity, although
it was in reality an idolatrous system, scarcely superior in the effect
it produced on the moral and religious sentiments of the people to that
which it displaced. This Christianity, however, such as it was, had
long ago been overthrown, and only such slight traces as I now observed
remained. I may here remark, that wherever the Spaniards and Portuguese
have established their religion, the people have invariably sunk back
again into the barbarism and gross idolatry of their original state,
indeed, it might be safe to say that they were never really raised out
of idolatry. On getting nearer we saw that the king was standing in
front of the temple, with a drawn scimitar of enormous size in his hand.
We were hurrying forward, when the starling cry arose. "The queen is
dead, the queen is dead!"
The multitude immediately uttered the most piercing shrieks and
lamentations. Directly afterwards we caught sight of the hideous
doctor, or priest, urging on a party who were dragging forward a person
between them. We did not at first see the features of the latter, and
it was not until he had been hauled up on the platform, where the king
was standing, that we discovered him to be our friend Shimbo. His hands
were tied behind his back, so that he was unable to make any movement
with them. He cast an imploring look around him, for he knew but too
well why he was brought there.
Harry on seeing him shouted out to the king: "Let that man go, he is our
servant."
But the king, taking no notice of what was said, flourished his long
sword. The multitude shouted and howled, the weapon flashed in the
sunlight, and the next instant Shimbo fell, and his head rolled along
the floor of the temple. The maddened cries of the superstitious mob on
this grew louder, and many of the elders and chiefs of the people,
rushing forward, bowed themselves before the king.
We were horror-struck at what we had seen, and we had also reason to
fear, from the savage looks that the people cast at us, that we
ourselves were in no slight danger. The juggler might at any moment
accuse us of sorcery, and, in the excited state of mind in which the
people surrounding us then were, they might set upon us, and in spite of
the resistance we might make, tear us limb from limb. Fortunately for
us, the names of three other persons were shouted out as having taken
part in the enchantment which had destroyed the queen. As the mob were
occupied with them, we beat a retreat in a dignified war to our house.
Without telling Aboh what had happened, we placed him in our midst, and
avoiding the excited multitude, made our way down to the river. If we
were to save Iguma, we must carry her off at once without waiting for
the night, for the instant the priest had pronounced her name, the
crowd, in overwhelming numbers, would rush to her house to seize her,
and even Kendo himself would be utterly unable to afford her protection.
All this time we knew by the hideous din that the cruel executions were
going forward. As long as the people were thus engaged we might be
unmolested, but should a new victim be required, they would at once come
rushing towards the house of the prince. We dreaded every instant to
hear their voices approaching. We had already reached the bank of the
river, but could find no canoes fit for our purpose. The prince's house
was, I should have said, some way along the bank. We hurried towards
it. As we got near Kendo himself sprang out to meet us.
"My wife is in the canoe," he exclaimed, "quick, quick!"
There was good reason for our hastening, for after a few minutes'
cessation of the uproar, the din from the vast multitude again burst
forth. Kendo was certain that they were coming towards us. Not a
moment was to be lost. Several canoes were on the bank, one was already
in the water smaller than the others. Kendo pointed it out to Charley
and me, and entreated us to jump in, observing as he did so: "Wife
dare." We thought that he was about to follow, but instead of doing so,
he gave the canoe a shove off with all his might into the middle of the
stream, and then assisted Harry and the rest to launch another.
As soon as we found ourselves adrift, we each took a paddle and made
down with the current. If we were to save Iguma's life, we had no time
to spare. Already we could see a mass of black forms coming rushing
frantically towards the river flourishing their weapons, while the air
was filled with the cries they uttered. Two other canoes contained the
remainder of our party, Kendo being accompanied by a single faithful
attendant who had acted as his henchman and companion on all our hunting
expeditions. Just as they were on the point of shoving off, a white man
appeared on the bank, and without apparently even asking permission,
leapt into one of the canoes. Instantly she shoved off and came
paddling after us. Kendo shouted to us to go on and not stop for
anything; a piece of advice we saw the wisdom of following.
As Iguma was the chief object of the savages pursuit, it was of the
greatest importance to get her beyond their reach. She lay all this
time, I should have said, at the bottom of the boat, covered up with a
piece of matting, but she uttered no expressions of terror now that she
thought she was safe. Had we delayed another minute, not only would
Iguma have been captured, but we should ourselves very likely have lost
our lives. Scarcely had the other canoe got away from the shore, than a
vast multitude of infuriated natives, uttering the most fearful yells,
appeared on the banks. We naturally expected to be immediately
followed, but, as we looked astern, we saw no canoes being launched. We
were not aware at the time that Kendo had thoughtfully concealed all the
paddles, or had so injured the canoes that they were unfit to put off.
"Paddle on, paddle on," he kept shouting to us, and we were, as may be
imagined, well disposed to follow his advice. We wished, however, that
he had come with us, both to act as pilot and to assist in the defence
of his wife, for he was a brave fellow, and would certainly have fought
to the last. Though it was still daylight, evening was approaching. We
hoped during the darkness to get far beyond the pursuit of the savages,
who would, we felt sure, endeavour to obtain possession of Iguma, and to
wreak their vengeance on our heads for attempting to carry her off. Had
the course of the river been straight, there would have been no doubt
about our ultimate escape, but it made numerous bends, sometimes running
to the north, then to the south, then again to the west, so that it
would be a long time before we could get out of the territory owned by
King Kickubaroo. Now and then also the river was very broad, extending
almost into a lake. This under some, circumstances might be to our
advantage, but during the night we ran the risk of losing our way, for
though Charley still had in his possession the pocket compass, it was so
dark that we could not see it, and we did not venture to strike a light.
Charley and I, however, paddled along with all our might, hoping that
even should our savage pursuers again catch sight of us, they would be
still unable to procure canoes in which to follow us.
The night was unusually dark, and by Charley's advice we all kept
silence, that our voices might not betray our position, should there be
any of the enemy near us. Although our canoe was somewhat smaller than
the others, yet as they were more heavily laden, we managed to keep
ahead. We must have paddled on for a couple of hours or so, when we
found ourselves on a broad lake. A thick mist obscured the sky, so that
not a star was twinkling overhead to guide us, and we were only able to
steer by ascertaining in which direction the current was running. The
darkness was so great that we could not even see the other canoes, and
we were afraid, for the reason I have before mentioned, of shouting to
attract their notice. We thought that unless we paddled on we should be
overtaken by daylight. At length, however, my strength began to fail,
my arms ached, though by this time I was pretty well used to bodily
exertion. Charley continued working away without uttering a word, and
sometimes I wished that he would speak, for the silence oppressed me;
Iguma lay perfectly still in the bottom of the canoe; it was evident she
fully comprehended the danger we were in.
On we went, hour after hour passed by. Daylight broke sooner than I had
expected, and yet it seemed that we had been in the canoe a long time.
A mist hung over the water shrouding all objects, so that we were unable
to see the land, or discover which bank we were nearest. Though we
listened attentively, we could not hear the slightest splash of paddles
to indicate the whereabouts of our friends. We were afraid that
something had happened to them, either that they had been overtaken, or
that the canoes had run on snags. We said nothing to Iguma, however,
lest we should alarm her, but it was absolutely necessary that we should
rest our arms and take some food, of which we had brought a supply in
our knapsacks, some also had been put in the canoe. Not knowing how far
off the shore we were, we allowed the canoe to drift down, while we took
in our paddles and got out our provisions. We invited Iguma to take
some breakfast; she, pointing to some plantains and roast yams,
signified that they would satisfy her hunger.
"Come, I think we ought to take to our paddles again," said Charley,
when we had finished our meal. "How do your arms feel, Dick?"
"Ready for work, though I should be glad to give them a few hours'
rest," I answered--"but softly, where are we?"
As I spoke, I found that the canoe had drifted in among some tall reeds,
which showed that we were nearer the shore than we expected. While we
were attempting to paddle out from among them, a breeze blew the mist
away, and what was our astonishment, not to say dismay, to see a number
of blacks standing on the banks and regarding us attentively. They had
probably heard us talking and making a splashing while endeavouring to
extricate the canoe from the reeds into which it had drifted. No sooner
did they discover us than a dozen of them, or more, armed with spears
and lances, plunged into the water and began swimming towards us.
"Put down your paddle and take your gun," cried Charley, "these fellows
mean mischief."
All this time Iguma had not moved. The blacks, seeing only two white
men in the canoe, thought that they would easily master us, and swam
boldly forward.
"I suppose that there are no crocodiles hereabouts, or those fellows
will be picked up to a certainty by one of the beasts; we must not trust
to that, however, but when the men come near enough, shoot them without
ceremony," exclaimed Charley.
Standing up in the canoe we warned the blacks to go back, but they took
no notice of what we said.
"Their blood be on their own heads--fire, Dick."
We both pulled our triggers, one black threw up his arms and floated
down the stream wounded, another dived, still I felt sure that I had hit
him. The rest, undaunted, came on while we were reloading. Three were
close upon us, and several others were not far behind them; one had
actually got hold of the gunwale of the canoe, while Charley was aiming
at another a short distance off. He fired, the black letting go his
spear, threw up his arms. The first, however, might in another instant
have climbed into the canoe, when Iguma, springing up with an axe in her
hand, dealt him a blow on the head; without a cry he dropped back and
sank immediately. I fired, and the rest seeing the fate of their
companions, turned about and made for the shore. This gave us time to
reload and be ready should any fresh ones come off to renew the attack.
They appeared, however, to have had enough of it, and we, putting down
our rifles, again took to our paddles and urged the canoe further out
into the river, which was here very broad and the current slow. Still
it ran at a sufficient speed to enable us to ascertain the direction we
were to take. We now had time to look-out for our companions. They
were nowhere to be seen, and we were still in doubt as to whether they
were ahead or astern of us. Charley thought they must have paddled on
and gone ahead, and if so, we should overtake them before long. We
were, however, still followed by other bodies of our enemies along the
shore, for those we had encountered were evidently only a small party,
and, probably, others would be waiting for us close to the banks.