CHAPTER XVIII.

Solitary days and short provisions. Productive ant-hill. Ideal

plenty and actual necessity. Attempt at epicurism. Expedition

to the east. Papyrus swamp. Disgusting food of The Niam-niam.

Merdyan’s Seriba. Hyæna as beast of prey. Losing the way.

Reception in Tuhamy’s Seriba. Scenery of Mondoo. Gyabir’s

marriage. Discovery of the source of the Dyoor. Mount Baginze.

Vegetation of mountain. Cyanite gneiss. Mohammed’s campaign

against Mbeeoh. Three Bongo missing. Skulls Nos. 36, 37, and 38.

Indifference of Nubians to cannibalism. Horrible scene. Change

in mode of living. Invasion of ants. Peculiar method of crossing

the Sway. Bad tidings. Successful chase. Extract of meat. Return

of long absent friends. Adventures of Mohammed’s detachment.

Route from Rikkete to Kanna. Disappointment with Niam-niam dog.

Limited authority of Nganye. Suspension-bridge over the Tondy.

After the fatigue and excitement of our previous journey we were

glad to recruit ourselves by a comfortable camp life in the dense

bush-forest on the Nabambisso. Spacious grass-huts had been erected

for our accommodation until the new Seriba should be completed, and

these, nestling amongst the massive foliage of the abundant vegetation,

gave the spot an aspect that was almost home-like. A refreshing rain

had moderated the temperature; and the air, mild and laden, with the

fragrant odours of the wood, gave animation both to mind and body.

Three years previously all the land had been under cultivation; but

nature had soon effaced well-nigh every trace of human labour, and the

roots of the trees and shrubs that had only been partially destroyed

by the tillage had sprouted forth with redoubled vigour and still more

gigantic development of leaf; thus attesting the unfailing power of

vitality in the wilderness and the impotency of man against the

persistency of nature.

[Illustration: DAILY LIFE IN CAMP.]

In this charming locality I passed the early days of May, a month

which in these latitudes may truly be called a month of rapture, when

the commencement of the rains has renewed the life and growth of all

around. From morning to night I strolled leisurely about amongst the

bushes, but without neglecting a chance of enriching my stores of

botanical treasure by every novelty that presented itself.

[Sidenote: A NEW SERIBA.]

Meanwhile, Mohammed was occupied in the formation of his new Seriba.

Hundreds of natives were employed in conveying the trunks of trees

from the neighbouring forest, and these were erected side by side and

close together in a deep trench; the trench was afterwards filled

in with earth, and the palisaded Seriba, a hundred feet square, was

all complete. So quickly was the work accomplished that on the fifth

day after our arrival the invalided soldiers, by whom it was to be

occupied, were removed into their new quarters. The other soldiers

in the interval had vacated the old Seriba. Everything being ready,

Mohammed, accompanied by his entire marching force, started off on

his campaign against Mbeeoh and Wando; during his absence it had been

arranged that I should make this quiet, lonely spot my temporary home.

Confined thus to a narrow area, I had now to look forward to a period

of inactivity, in addition to which I had the prospect, by no means

pleasant, of submitting to a scale of diet that was straitly limited.

Our provisions were all but exhausted. Under the most favourable

circumstances, Mohammed could not be expected back in less than twenty

days, and the slender supply left for the maintenance of the few men

who remained behind as my body-guard would have to be carefully doled

out in daily rations to last out the time. Our cattle had all long

since been slaughtered; goats were nowhere to be had; nor could any

hunting-booty reasonably be expected. For myself the only animal food

on which I could rely consisted of twenty tiny fowls of the diminutive

Niam-niam breed, which Mohammed, from some unknown source, had procured

for me, reckoning that he had thus provided me with one daily meal

during the three weeks in which he would be absent. This valuable

treasure was, however, a cause of some solicitude; in the first place a

strong cage had to be constructed to secure them against the robbers of

the night; and, secondly, we could not help begrudging them every grain

that they consumed of our scanty stock of eleusine.

My daily allowance now consisted of a fowl, scarcely as large as a

partridge, and one single slice of the coarse and bitter eleusine

bread; but these, in the bracing air of the Niam-niam and in the

cool stimulating temperature of the early rains, were far from being

sufficient nourishment, and I began to be conscious of the pangs of

downright hunger. The season was very unfavourable for hunting, but

even if it had been otherwise I should have felt it undesirable, under

the circumstances, to have wandered far from my quarters: the ruined

condition of our palisade left us especially exposed to an attack, and

with our small supply of firearms it was advisable to be constantly on

the spot. It is to this day a mystery to me how the Bongo bearers who

remained with us supported life during this period of privation; but

somehow or other they had a wonderful knack of discovering all kinds

of edibles in the forest, and stirred up by their example I eagerly

grasped at anything the wilderness afforded to supply the deficiency of

my meagre cuisine.

[Sidenote: WHITE ANTS.]

In the middle of the open space of the old Seriba there happened to be

a huge white ant-bill of long standing, and this rendered some timely

assistance in our need; every night after there had been heavy rain,

myriads of white ants appeared on the red clods and might be gathered

by the bushel; they belonged to the fat-bodied, winged class, and were

what are known as “sexual males.” Immediately upon issuing from their

dark retreat, and after a short swarming, they assemble in masses at

the foot of their hill and proceed to divest themselves of their wings,

leaving their heavy bodies helpless on the ground. This removal of

their wings does not seem a matter of difficulty; the instinct of the

insects seems to prompt them to throw the wings quite forward till they

can be so mutilated by the front feet that they completely drop off.

Any insects that remained upon the wing were soon brought to the ground

by bundles of lighted straw being placed under them, so that it might

literally be said to rain white ants. Baskets full were then readily

collected for our table. Partly fried and partly boiled they helped to

compensate for our lack of grease of any kind. Not unfrequently I mixed

them with uncooked corn and ate them from the hollow of my hand; they

made just the kind of food that would be good for birds, and, _more

avium_, I took them. If the day only chanced to be rainy, the night was

sure to be provided with a feast; there was not one of us who had not

cause to be thankful for the strange abundance of the ant-hill.

Fortunately I found that I had a little reserve of the extract of meat

which had been obtained from the Monbuttoo goats; with this and with

a fair supply of bread and vegetables I could have managed for myself

very well; but unluckily there were no vegetables in the district;

the last of the tubers had been devoured and the gourd-season had not

yet arrived. It was revolting to me to boil and eat the gourd leaves

like the natives, and I therefore endeavoured to procure some of the

Melochia of the Arabs, a species of Corchorus which is found both wild

and cultivated throughout the entire district of the Nile. It was upon

this plant alone, boiled like spinach, that (with the aid of thyme-tea)

Sir Samuel Baker records that he subsisted for some weeks at the time

when he was treacherously deserted by the natives on his way back from

the lake. At this period, however, of my residence on the Nabambisso,

the Melochia was only just beginning to sprout, and with all my

diligence in looking for it I could never get more than the scantiest

of platefuls at a time.

As the discomforts of our situation increased and became more and

more trying, I was thrown upon my resources to seek enjoyment of a

more ideal nature, and in the neighbouring woods I found the best of

compensation for all my bodily privations. Whenever I was beginning

to feel more than ordinarily disconsolate I would hurry off to the

thickets, and there amongst the splendid and luxuriant vegetation

I was sure to find an engagement which would, at least for a time,

draw away my thoughts even from the appeal of hunger. In hardly any

portion of the world ought an enthusiastic botanist to suffer _ennui_;

wherever there exists a germ of life, there is also a stimulant to his

spirit; but hardly a scene can be imagined calculated to enlist his

whole interests more and to divert him better than the exuberance of

bountiful nature such as was revealed upon the Nabambisso.

[Sidenote: ON LOW RATIONS.]

The few books that I had brought out with me I had read over and

over again. The perusal of Speke’s journal and Baker’s accounts of

his difficulties gave me great interest, and I realized very fully

a situation which appeared to coincide so entirely with my own.

During my forced solitary hours I was only too glad to get hold of

any printed matter whatever that was new to me. My extensive store

of grey blotting-paper, that served to protect the dried plants

was silent enough; but the books into which every few pages of the

paper were stitched were fastened on the backs by strips of paper

which I carefully removed and found to be a source of occasional

diversion. This paper, as being stout in quality, chanced to be cut

from the _Times_; and the articles on the leading topics of the

day, the correspondence with the editor, and even the concisest of

advertisements, all supplied a peculiar interest. It was strange to sit

here, in the very heart of Central Africa, and to read of the tropical

wonders that graced the Crystal Palace, where the music that floated

round might be the echoes of the voice of Titiens. Tantalizing it was

to read of “Mountain port at twenty shillings a dozen,” and to learn

that it was comparatively free from alcohol; it made us (involuntary

abstainers as we were) thirstier than ever, and joyfully enough would

my Bongo bearers have had some cases to convey. I wished myself back

again in the days when we were fighting the A-Banga; for though they

were days of peril, they were days of plenty, and the old Spanish

proverb would ever and again force itself upon my recollection, “No

misfortune comes amiss to a full stomach.” At night my dream was akin

to Baker’s dream of pale ale and beef-steak. It seemed as though one

only required a good meal’s victuals that he might die in peace, and

be contented to have for his epitaph the saying of the warrior of the

Roman Empire, “What I have eaten and what I have drunk is all that now

remains to me.” Nothing could elevate the vision of the mind for long;

tied down to material things, it was impotent to soar; and food and

drink became the single and prevailing theme which we were capable of

handling by day or dreaming of by night.

Reduced to this low and depressed condition were the feelings which

I experienced during the later portion of those lonely weeks that I

spent in the great shed, now half-ruined, that had formed the assembly

hall of the old Seriba. The stipulated time of solitude was drawing

rapidly to a close, but still nothing was heard from Mohammed. Our

necessities became more and more urgent: to remain where we were

became more and more impracticable; and to escape from the disasters

that were threatening us I proposed to set off on an excursion to the

nearest settlement of any Khartoomers. Forty miles to the west of

our present quarters was a Seriba belonging to Tuhamy, and a lofty

mountain situated in its vicinity offered special attractions for a

visit; the journey would be safe, as the route led across Mohammed’s

own territory, and on our way we should pass another Seriba upon the

eastern frontiers of his district. Ten bearers would suffice to carry

my baggage for this little trip, and I need hardly say how glad they

were to accompany me under the prospect of ending, or at least gaining

a respite from, their season of privation.

We started off on our march upon the 21st, and after crossing the

Boddoh brook and two smaller rivulets we arrived at the Hoo. This

little stream meandered through a wood remarkable for its diversity of

trees, amongst which I was surprised to see the Sparmannia of Southern

Africa. The banks themselves were enclosed by dense bushes of a new

species of Stipularia, of which the numerous blossoms, half-hidden

in their purple sheaths, gave a singular appearance to the plant. It

belongs to the characteristic stream-vegetation of the spot.

Beyond the Hoo we came to a ravine of a hundred feet in depth with

a charming hedge of zawa trees; and then crossing two more brooks,

copiously supplied with water and both running to the north, we

terminated our twelve miles’ march and found a hospitable reception

in the huts of Ghitta, an overseer of some of the Niam-niam subject

to my friend Mohammed. After our recent privations we seemed quite

overpowered by the liberality of the entertainment offered us by

Ghitta; he procured corn for the bearers, he brought out several flasks

of eleusine-beer, and more than satisfied all reasonable claims upon

his hospitality. To the great diversion of the assembled villagers

I shot a great number of turtle-doves in the adjacent trees. This

species, with the white ring round the throat, is found all through the

year in well-nigh every part of Central Africa, although it appears

to avoid certain localities, such for instance as the vicinity of our

ruined Seriba, where we should have been most thankful for such an

addition to our scanty stores; the birds, however, manifestly have a

preference for particular places, but wherever they resort they are

generally to be noticed amongst the foliage in immense flocks.

[Sidenote: MADIKAMM.]

The soil of this region was once more broken by deep clefts, and was

alternately a series of gentle undulations and of deep-cut ravines.

Beyond Ghitta’s village the road turned towards the south-east and

crossed a brook; further on it passed through a district enlivened by

numerous farmsteads and where some sorghum-fields testified to the

influence of their neighbours on the east upon the industry of the

inhabitants. The district was named Madikamm, being called so after

the second brook to the east of Ghitta’s hamlets. The majority of men

capable of bearing arms had accompanied Mohammed on his campaign;

consequently the huts had hardly any other occupants but women and

children, who retreated shyly as we advanced, and shut themselves up in

their pretty dwellings.

The votive pillars adorned with many a variety of skulls demonstrated

that at certain seasons the hunting booty must be very large; the

diversity of antelopes, however, was far smaller than amongst the Bongo

and Mittoo, a circumstance that recalled to my mind an observation made

by many travellers in South Africa who have affirmed that wherever

there are many elephants there is comparatively a scarceness in the

number of antelopes: the greater beasts, doubtless, make too much

commotion in the forests, and in their wanderings by night disturb the

haunts and hiding-places of the more timid game.

Leaving the villages of Madikamm in our rear, we found ourselves on the

edge of a great swamp a thousand feet wide, which moved its insidious

course northwards in the direction of the adjacent territory of the

Babuckur. It was covered in its entire width by a huge, half-floating

mass of papyrus, which, called “Bodumoh” by the Niam-niam, gives its

name to the marshy waters. This was the first specimen of the papyrus

that I had seen in the depth of the interior at so great a distance

from the two main affluents of the Upper Nile, and it gave a new

character to the locality; it is, however, a characteristic of the

swampy region on the upper course of the Sway, where the reduced and

meagre remnant of Babuckur, sorely pressed on every side, drag out

their miserable lives; their frontiers were only a league to the north

of the spot where we crossed.

After leaving the Bodumoh, our road took an E.S.E. direction, which it

retained as far as Tuhamy’s Seriba. At the first hamlets we reached,

the inhabitants viewed us with considerable distrust, as the soldiers

from the nearest Khartoom settlements, and those who intended to pass

through Mohammed’s territory, had most arbitrarily levied some heavy

taxes upon them.

Beyond the huts were open steppes covered with towering grass which

shadowed many shrubs that were entirely new to me, and excited my

liveliest interest. Not a few of them were in full bloom, and I

walked along carrying a bouquet that it was no exaggeration to call

magnificent. The natives might seem fully justified in reviving amongst

themselves my name of “Mbarik-pah.”

I may mention that careful as was the method which I have described

of our wading over the marshy swamps it was not uniformly attended

with success. More than once in attempting to cross without assistance

at the head of my little troop I had come to grief; and now once

again, at the very next swamp we came to, it was my fate to have an

involuntary bath. The dilemma caused us some delay. I was proceeding

leisurely along, but coming to a deep hole concealed completely by

the long swamp grass I suddenly fell in and was fished out again by

my people thoroughly drenched and plastered over with an envelope of

mud. It took an hour while I changed my clothes and while the filth was

cleansed from the articles I was carrying.

Although the temperature was really as high as that of a July day in

our northern clime, the sky nevertheless was overcast and the weather

windy, so that it was with chattering teeth and an inward chill that I

continued my march along the steppe. All prospect of the surrounding

country was obstructed by the towering grass. There was no distant

vision to fill the eye, and there was little to relieve the monotony

but the radiant blossoms, red and blue, of the flowering shrubs.

[Sidenote: A ROMANTIC BRIDGE.]

After a while our course was interrupted by a brook fifteen feet in

width called the Kishy. This was too deep to ford; the method therefore

was adopted of bending down the boughs of the largest shrubs upon the

banks, thus forming a fragile bridge, over which, by dint of caution,

we contrived to make our tottering way without the misadventure, only

too probable, of losing our balance. The Kishy speeds swiftly along

over the level steppe in the Babuckur country, and, after receiving the

Bodumoh, contributes materially to the volume of the Sway, which in

that region has already assumed the dimensions of a considerable river.

The country beyond the Kishy retained the same character as that along

which we had been passing. By the side of a little spring called

Nambia, that went rippling between the bare gneiss flats, we made a

halt for the purpose of following up some guinea-fowl, of which the

notes could be heard at no great distance; the whole district teemed

with these birds, and I could now again anticipate a daily meal such as

I had not had for months.

Hidden deep amongst the long thick grass I here found an aloe, of which

the blossoms were of a greenish cast; it was a plant that except to an

eye keenly looking for botanical rarities would have been overlooked

entirely.

Whilst we were making our halt, I was surprised by a visit from

Merdyan, the local chief; he had heard of my arrival, and, accompanied

by several natives, he had now come to give me welcome. Merdyan was

one of Mohammed’s black body-guard, and had been entrusted with the

supervision of the eastern frontier of his territory; with three guns

at his disposal, he had been appointed to the command of a little

Seriba surrounded with fine fields of maize, which were bounded by a

ravine watered by a copious brook. To reach this settlement we had

to retrace our steps for a full league along a road that gradually

descended through a cultivated country. A fine prospect lay open before

us; upon the south-eastern horizon rose the imposing mass of Mount

Baginze, and a little to the north a pointed hill called Damvo. On this

day’s march we accomplished a distance of about eight leagues; towards

the close of it we came to one of the groves of Encephalartus, which

are scattered about the district, and known amongst the Niam-niam as

Mvooeh-piah.

[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM FOOD.]

We enjoyed very comfortable accommodation in Merdyan’s Seriba; the huts

were clean and well-built, and I had an opportunity of renewing my

observations on the domestic arrangements of the Niam-niam. A delicacy

to which I had long been unaccustomed was provided for me in some fresh

ears of maize, and corn was not wanting for all my people. There were

two things, however, which could not be obtained. We had neither salt

nor any kind of oil or grease. Riharn, having lost his proficiency,

seemed to be now losing his memory; he had quite forgotten to bring

the salt that would be required on our way, and the little grease that

could be procured had far too much the suspicion of being mixed with

human fat to make it in any way a desirable adjunct to my dishes. Our

own supply of butter had been left behind intentionally, as it would

be required during our coming journey to the north. Whatever food the

natives offered to my people, even to my negroes, only filled them

with horror and disgust. Amongst many others who came to the Seriba

to satisfy their curiosity about me, there was one fat old man who

had his wallet full of victuals hanging to his side, without which no

Niam-niam ever quits his home. My little Bongo, Allagabo, spying out

two tempting little brown paws, like those of a roast sucking-pig,

projecting from the bag, was inquisitive enough to peep in to make a

closer investigation of the contents. He got a sharp cuffing for his

pains, but he was not likely to have been much tempted, as the delicacy

in question turned out to be a roast dog! At another time, my Niam-niam

interpreter, Gyabir, who was here in the full enjoyment of his native

food, offered Allagabo a dish of lugma (corn-pap), in which were

some fragments of flesh that looked like the limbs of a little bird;

but Allagabo’s disgust can be better imagined than described when he

discovered he was eating the legs of a frog!

I spent one day with Merdyan for the purpose of inspecting the

neighbourhood, and in the course of my rambles I bagged enough

guinea-fowl to supply my whole retinue. For the first time, too, I

killed a black rhinoceros-bird (_Tetmoceras abyssinicus_). I had

previously seen these birds in the Seribas in Bongoland, where they

are so far tamed that they strut about fearlessly amongst the other

denizens of the poultry-yard.

As I was returning in the evening I was witness of a circumstance that

I imagine very rarely could be seen. In the twilight two great forms

rushed past us, and were so close upon us that we involuntarily started

on one side; the pursuit was so hot that neither of the two animals

seemed to be aware of our presence, as in a few seconds they doubled

and rushed by us for a second time. My people persisted in saying that

it was a hyæna chasing an antelope; but as I was aware that a hyæna

seldom hunts down any living prey, I was unconvinced, and went early

on the following morning to investigate the traces that were left.

On arriving at the spot I found that the assertion of my attendants

had been correct, and that the footmarks were undoubtedly those of a

spotted hyæna and a hartebeest; the tracks were deep and multifold, and

testified to the violence of the pursuit.

The spotted hyæna (_H. crocuta_) is somewhat rare so deep in the

interior of the continent, and even in the cattle-countries of the

Dinka it can hardly be said to be common. It is probably driven,

through lack of carrion left by the lion, to seek for its subsistence

by chasing living prey. This species is far more savage, as well as

more powerful, than the striped hyæna of the northern deserts, and

appears to be distributed over the whole of Africa below the latitude

of 17° N. The skins are frequently used by the Niam-niam for aprons;

they exhibit a great variety of markings and differ considerably in

colour, the spots being sometimes light and indistinct, sometimes, on

the contrary, dark and well-defined. The reports of the Niam-niam refer

to two species, one large and one small, as being found in their land;

the smaller kind being probably the variegated hyæna observed by Speke

upon the eastern coast, and apparently a cross between the spotted and

the striped.

[Sidenote: BEWILDERING PATH.]

The route from Merdyan’s Seriba to Tuhamy’s was through an uninhabited

district, and was crossed by so many streams that it was quite a matter

of difficulty to determine it. Merdyan undertook to provide me with

guides, if I desired it; but as any intercourse between the two Seribas

was exceedingly rare, and as I heard a long and loud discussion, before

we started, as to which was the right direction, I could not place

much reliance upon my conductors. The country through which we had

to pass was perfectly flat; the trees, too, were frequently so high

and the paths were so narrow that we were unable to get a glimpse of

either of the two mountains which we had previously observed from

the high ground on the west. Neither of these mountains could be much

more than seven leagues distant. The ignorance of our guides caused us

considerable embarrassment; We were in continual dread of encroaching

upon the adjacent territory of the hostile Babuckur, where we should be

entirely at the mercy of the cannibal tribe.

On leaving the Seriba we followed the eastward course of a little brook

named the Nakemaka. We kept beside it until it reached the spot where

it joined the larger stream called the Mahbodey, which we crossed

by our previous method of bending down the pendant branches of the

overhanging bushes, and then hopping like birds from branch to branch

as best we could. All these affluents of the Upper Sway inclined to

the north; all of them, moreover, had a marked descent. The next of

them was known as the Meiwah, and about a league beyond we came to the

actual mainstream of the Sway, which was here thirty feet in width, and

really wider than the united measurements of the two streams above;

such of them as we did not cross by our improvised bridges we had to

pass by swimming.

After a while we came to a large forest of butter-trees, the first

and last that I saw in the country of the Niam-niam. The underwood

was so dense, and its foliage so fully developed, that we could not

see more than ten paces in any direction; our guides completely lost

their way, and, without a clue to our proper path, we wandered on. To

add to our perplexity the sky became overcast with the tokens of an

approaching storm, and we thus lost whatever aid we might have got

from the direction of the shadows. With a vista contracted as ours

the compass was of little service, and in a country like this it was

very unadvisable to leave the beaten paths or to penetrate into any

untried thickets. We were glad enough when we at last caught sight of

two deserted huts in the middle of the wilderness. The floods of rain

were beginning to descend, and we were thankful for any shelter. The

storm that had burst upon us continued with such unremitted violence

that we were compelled to resign ourselves to the necessity of passing

the night in this wild spot. The interior of the huts swarmed with

creeping things of the most revolting character, in comparison with

which the most obnoxious vermin that are ever found in houses within

the range of civilization would appear mere mild and insignificant

domestic nuisances. By heaping up a pile of fresh leaves and grass, I

contrived a sort of covering that protected me from actual contact with

the crawling things, but the lullaby that buzzed and hummed around me

was none of the pleasantest. There were the swarms of white ants that

were incessantly gnawing and scratching at my leafy coverlet; there

were snakes and lizards rustling in the cobwebbed thatch above: there

were mice scampering and squeaking on the ground below. However, for

the condition of things there was no help: the best must be made of it;

so I shut my ears to the commotion, and resigned myself successfully to

the blissful unconsciousness of slumber.

When I awoke at dawn the rain was still falling, the heavy drops

pattering down like lead upon the leathery leaves of the butter-trees.

Hungry and shivering, I sat upon my grass couch and peered out through

the narrow doorway into the obscurity of the thickets, where I could

see the broad backs of my negroes as they grubbed away with all their

might, defiant of the storm, in the hopes of getting something from

among the roots to appease their craving. Hunger at last compelled us

to brave the weather, and to take our chance at proceeding. We directed

our movements at starting towards some mounds of gneiss, that at a

little distance we could see picturesquely rising above the trees.

Our intention at first was to ascend these elevations, that we might

make a better survey of the land around us; but we were spared the

necessity of climbing up them, as on reaching their base we fell into

a well-defined path which we did not hesitate to follow. It led us to

the brook Shöby, and shortly afterwards to some human habitations.

[Sidenote: TUHAMY’S SERIBA.]

Our arrival made no little stir among the natives, who had received

no intelligence of the presence of a white man in that part of the

country, and at first they were inclined to suspect that we must have

come with hostile intentions. My Niam-niam, however, soon reassured

them, and induced them to provide us with guides for our route. They

led us out in an easterly direction, passing through a country that

was fairly cultivated, and along which the numbers of guinea-fowl were

so large that they kept me fully employed during the march. We had

now only one more brook to pass, which was called the Mossulongoo,

and this we accomplished in such good time that it was still daylight

when we reached the Seriba of Tuhamy. Amongst the inmates of the

Seriba my servants recognised several of their former acquaintances

at Khartoom, and very enthusiastic were the greetings that were

mutually exchanged. The controller of the Seriba received me with

the most cordial hospitality, and cleared out his best hut for my

accommodation. The hut was enclosed with a high palisade, which gave

it an additional protection. The controller’s superior and principal

in Khartoom was a personage no less important than the chief writer of

the _Hokkumdarieh_; and this influential authority had in the previous

year given instructions to his subordinate that he was to show me every

possible attention if I should chance to pay him a visit.

The Seriba was a halting-place for Tuhamy’s ivory expeditions from

the Rohl to the Monbuttoo country. Situated as it was on the extreme

eastern limit of the Niam-niam territory, it formed an outpost towards

the Babuckur land, which Tuhamy’s companies were accustomed to consider

as their corn magazines, and on which they relied for their supplies to

carry them onwards to the south. But the Babuckur were already wearied

by the depredations to which they were thus continually exposed; their

impatience made them desperate and exasperated; and a very few days

after my departure they made an attack upon the Seriba, burnt it to

the ground, and compelled the inhabitants to evacuate the place. Many

Nubians as well as many Niam-niam lost their lives in the engagement,

and the few that escaped had to make their way to the nearest Seriba,

which was that established in Mondoo, at the distance of a long day’s

journey, situated amongst the Zileï mountains, of which the spurs and

projecting terraces were visible on the eastern horizon. Subsequently

to this, all Tuhamy’s settlements passed by a special contract into the

hands of Ghattas’s son.

The brook upon which the Seriba was situated was called the Annighei.

The chieftain in command of the Niam-niam in the district had formerly

been independent, but had been deprived of his authority by Tuhamy’s

companies. His name was Indimma, and he was one of the numerous sons

of Renje, but not to be confounded with the powerful chief of the same

name, who was a son of Keefa. He came now to offer me his welcome,

and communicated to me many interesting details about the surrounding

country.

I made a little excursion to an elevation of gneiss a few miles to the

east of the Seriba, so as to gain a point from which I might survey the

surrounding mountains and make some observations to verify the position

of the various peaks. The detached ranges for the most part were

situated from ten to fifteen leagues from the site I had chosen for my

survey, and I should imagine their height to vary from 4000 to 5000

feet above the level of the sea. All those who were capable of giving

me any information at all upon the subject agreed in representing that

the entire district was distinguished as Mundo or Mondoo, and that the

principal chain of hills was called Mbia Zileï; also that at the foot

of the mountains was the village of Bedelly, the native local overseer,

close to which was another Seriba belonging to Tuhamy. Between me and

the mountains flowed the river Issoo, a stream which I was assured was

at this season fifty feet broad, and so deep that whoever attempted to

ford it would be immersed up to the neck. The entire region was rich

in corn, especially in sorghum. Several hundred bearers laden with it

arrived during my stay at the Seriba, and I took the opportunity of

laying in a stock for myself; it is difficult to obtain sorghum in the

Niam-niam countries, and it was long since I had had grain of such a

superior quality.

All the Niam-niam of whom I was able to make inquiries assured me that

the natives of Mundo are a distinct people, differing from themselves

both in habits and in dialect; their precise ethnographical position I

could never determine, but I should presume that they approximate most

nearly to their Mittoo neighbours on the north, and more especially to

the Loobah and Abakah.

[Sidenote: MONDOO.]

This Mundo or Mondoo is not to be confounded with the Mundo to the

south of the Bongo, which Petherick reports that he visited in February

1858; it is the name of the western enclave of the scattered Babuckur.

But the Mundo of which I am speaking is marked upon the map by Peney,

who in 1861 penetrated westwards from Gondokoro as far as the Ayi or

Yei; Petherick too has inserted the district upon his map,[53] under

the name of the Makaraka mountains, and has assigned it to exactly

the same locality as I have myself done. In spite of Petherick’s

protestation, many geographers have made the two Mundos identical, and

have thus fallen into the not unnatural conjecture that the Yei is the

upper course of the Dyoor, a conjecture of which my journey has fully

demonstrated the fallacy.

The Issoo, as the upper course of the Tondy is here called, forms the

western boundary of this mountainous district; along the south and

far to the east (probably as far as the source-regions of the Yei)

there stretches an offshoot of the Niam-niam territory. This section

of the Niam-niam is called Idderoh, and is subject to an independent

chieftain, a brother of Indimma’s, named Bingio, who had formerly been

an interpreter in Petherick’s station in Neangara. The river that

waters his district is called the Nzoro. On all maps this territory of

the Idderoh figures as Makkarakka; but, as I have observed, this is

merely a collective name given to the Niam-niam by their neighbours on

the east.

We had a day’s rest in the hospitable Seriba, and were well entertained

with meat and vegetables. The neighbourhood was interesting, and

yielded several novelties for my collection. One very brilliant

ornament of the woods at this season, which I had never seen in greater

abundance, was the Abyssinian Protea, a shrub about four or five feet

high, with great rosy heads like our garden peony. Another plant, one

of the Araliaceæ, the Cussonia, which is usually only a low shrub,

here attained quite the dimensions of a tree, and its fan-shaped

foliage crowned a stem little less than thirty feet in height. In the

damp grass near the brooks flourished a number of ground orchids with

remarkably fine blossoms.

A yet richer booty, however, was in store for me. A few miles to the

south of the Seriba, jutting up like an island from the surrounding

plain, and visible from afar, rose the massy heights of Mount

Baginze. There I did not doubt I should realize the fruition of many

expectations.

We started upon the 27th, under the escort of a small body of native

soldiers, from the Seriba. Gyabir was in the best of spirits. He had

just achieved a great object of his desire in attaining a wife. The

controller of the Seriba had a large number of slaves, and as one more

or one less made no appreciable difference to him, he had presented

Gyabir with a young girl of the Loobah tribe. My interpreter had long

been desirous of securing a partner of his lot, and had many times

solicited both Mohammed and Surroor to procure him a consort, but

hitherto his request had been made in vain. It is not an easy matter

for a man without some means to get married in Africa: if he negotiates

for himself he has to satisfy the demands of the bride’s father; but by

applying to the controller or ruler of the district, who can exercise

an absolute authority in these matters, he may succeed in obtaining a

wife without previously paying down any sum by way of compensation.

[Sidenote: MOUNT BAGINZE.]

We marched for about two leagues in a west and south-west direction,

and once again crossed the little brooks that the Sway receives on

its right-hand bank; at length we reached the pointed gneiss mound

called Damvo, which rises about 200 feet above the level of the plain.

I mounted the eminence, so as to employ its summit as the second

station for my observations of the mountain chains. The rugged rocks

were clothed with Sanseviera, and to the very top charming shrubs made

good their way from between their clefts. The view was magnificent. It

was the first mountainous landscape that I had seen during my journey

that exhibited the true characteristics of African orography. All

around were elevations, more or less conspicuous, rising like bastions

isolated on the plain; whilst high over all reared the crest of Mount

Baginze. The western side of the mountain was precipitous, and might

almost be described as perpendicular; towards the north, on the other

hand, it sloped downwards in gradual ridges: in form it reminded me of

many of the isolated mountains of Southern Nubia, and more especially

of those in the province of Taka.

Mount Baginze is only four miles to the S.S.E. of Damvo, but this

short distance had to be accomplished by a circuitous and troublesome

route leading across deep fissures and masses of loose rock, and often

through grass of enormous height; half-way we came to a rapid brook

hastening along through a deep cleft, which we were able to leap

across. This was _the source of the Dyoor_. It was the first actual

source of any of the more important affluents of the White Nile to

which any European traveller had ever penetrated. My Niam-niam escort,

who were natives of the district, positively asserted that this

brooklet was the Sway, and thus plainly demonstrated that, however

insignificant this little vein of running water might appear, they were

accustomed to consider it as the highest section of the waters that

contributed to the formation of the Dyoor. The Sway, they said, was the

largest and longest river of their land; Baginze was their loftiest

mountain; and this was the most important stream that issued from its

clefts.

Before actually setting foot upon Baginze we had still to make an

ascent through a fine forest, but in due time we reached the mountain

and made our encampment close beneath the perpendicular wall of the

western flank. The halting-place was upon the edge of a deep ravine,

where a bright thread of water rippled merrily along over rocks covered

with moss and graceful ferns. It was too late in the day to attempt to

ascend farther than to the summit of a sloping spur projecting towards

the north-west from the southern side of the mountain, and which was

about half the height of the mountain itself.

The first few steps that I took were quite enough to convince me of the

entire accordance of the flora with that of the Abyssinian highlands.

Masses of brilliant aloes, with their scarlet and yellow blossoms,

grew luxuriantly upon the slopes of gneiss; the intervals between them

were overspread with a mossy carpet of _Selaginella rupestris_, whilst

clusters of blue lobelia reared themselves like violets, only of a

brighter hue, from the surface of the soil. Here and there, in singular

contrast to the tender foliage of the shady hollows, lending moreover a

new and striking character to the vegetation, I found, cropping up from

amidst the rocks, the thick fleshy leaves of that remarkable orchid,

the Eulophia; and on the still higher declivities I met with yet

another true representative of the Abyssinian flora in a new species of

Hymenodictyon, a dwarf tree of the class of the Rubiaceæ, which in some

form or other appear to embrace at least a tenth of all the plants of

Africa in these regions.

[Sidenote: WILD AFRICAN PLANTAINS.]

Wherever one of the bright bubbling streams was seen, like a shining

thread upon the grey monotony of the rocks, there I was pretty sure to

find the Ensete, or wild African plantain. This is a plant which is

never seen below an altitude of 3000 feet above the sea. It was now to

be observed in every stage of its growth, sometimes being small like

the head of a cabbage, and sometimes running out to a length of twenty

feet with its fruit attached to a short thick stem in the form of an

onion. The tender leaves were marked with a midrib of purple-red. It

struck me that here in the wilderness this plant, which has become

so common a favourite in our greenhouses, is distinguished by a much

shorter leaf-stem and by a more compact appearance than it bears in

its cultivated form when its growth is spreading and graceful. Not

unfrequently the Ensete of the mountains bore a striking resemblance

to young specimens of the _Musa sapientium_, though it exceeded it in

the number of the leaves it bore, there being occasionally as many as

forty on a single plant. I found it here in full bloom, but without any

prospect of fruit; it differs from other representatives of its class

by losing its leaves at the time of its flowering, and then has the

appearance of an elongated onion on a shaft some six or eight feet in

length, on the top of which rests a compact truss of bloom. Although I

never observed any side sprouts from the wild Ensete, it by no means

follows that they are never to be seen: a single authenticated instance

of the kind would demonstrate almost beyond a doubt what is already

in so many respects probable, namely, that the Ensete is the original

stock of the cultivated African plantain.

We had quickly improvised some huts from the long grass at the foot of

the mountain, and they afforded us secure and sufficiently comfortable

shelter from the downpour of rain that lasted throughout the night. On

the following morning I was disappointed to find that the sky was still

burdened with storm-clouds, whilst a fine, drizzling mist obscured the

greater part of the view that we had proved to be so lovely.

My sojourn in the neighbourhood was limited to a single day, since the

Seriba was suffering from the general dearth of provisions, and could

ill afford to entertain us: there was consequently no help for it,

but if the ascent of the mountain were made at all it must be made in

defiance of the heavy rain. I was quite aware that the adverse weather

would make the task altogether uncongenial to my guides, and I was not

very much surprised to find that they had made off during the night.

I had thus to start off on my own responsibility. My Nubian servants

remained behind to warm their shivering limbs over the camp-fires, so

that, followed only by my two Niam-niam, carrying the portfolios for my

plants, I set out upon my enterprise.

I turned towards the northern declivity, which slanted in almost

an unbroken line from the summit to the base. At first my view was

necessarily circumscribed, and it was only after a good deal of

clambering and by a very circuitous route along rugged places, overhung

with bushes, and across fissures full of water, that I succeeded in

finding the correct path. The wind was so strong that although my broad

hat was weighted with pebbles I was obliged to leave it below. The

highest point of the ridge I found to be at the south of the summit,

and thence I had a magnificent prospect, being able to see for fifty

or sixty miles in an east and north-east direction. Not far short

of a hundred different mountain-peaks were visible, and of these I

took measurements of the angles between the more important, which I

subsequently combined with the angles which I had already observed. I

also made a drawing of the entire panorama around me.

The upper course of the Tondy was plainly visible, and beyond it were

caught the terraced ridges of the country to the east. The northern

and eastern spurs of Baginze were especially picturesque; the elevated

level of the ground at the base was not apparent from above, so that

they stood out like isolated eminences from a uniform plain: three more

spurs a few miles to the south-east also appeared completely detached:

they were in a straight line one behind another, the names of the two

most northerly being Bonduppa and Nagongoh. Somewhere near them was

a Seriba belonging to Poncet’s company, who had reduced the former

independent chieftain Bendo (another of the many sons of Renje) to the

same state of submission as Tuhamy’s company had brought his brother

Indimma.

[Sidenote: ALTITUDE OF MOUNT BAGINZE.]

The measurement that I took upon the spot gave Baginze a relative

height of 1350 feet; but the barometrical observations made at the

base, which would have determined its exact altitude above the level of

the sea, have unfortunately been lost; I believe, however, that I am

not far wrong in estimating the entire height to be about 3900 feet.

The bulk of the rock of which the mountain was composed consisted of

a gneiss that was so abundant in mica that in many places it had the

appearance of being actual mica schist; a speciality in its formation

being the immense number of cyanite crystals that pervaded it in all

directions: a similar conglomeration of “cyanite gneiss” is very rare,

but amongst other places it may be observed on Mount St. Gotthard in

Switzerland. Wherever the springs issued at the foot of the mountain

there were wide boulder-flats of broken stones, and here the sheets of

mica and the prisms of cyanite, an inch or two in length, lay cleanly

washed and strewn one upon another in such thick confusion that I had

to wade through them as through a pile of rubbish. I collected several

specimens of the rock, which I brought to Europe.

Massive in its grandeur, isolated, and worn by time, Mount Baginze thus

stood before me as a witness of a former era in the world’s history and

as a remnant of the lofty mountain-chain which must have once formed

the southern boundary of the Nile district.

There was an entire absence of large trees everywhere, and the higher

regions of the mountain bore but a very scanty vegetation. Contented,

however, with the few botanical discoveries that the toilsome trip had

yielded, I began to think of returning. It had taken me four hours to

make the ascent of the mountain, but being now aware of the correct

path, a single hour was all I spent in getting back to our encampment.

In spite of the unpropitious weather I felt that I could have enjoyed

myself for some days in exploring this enticing neighbourhood: the

mountain air was even fresher and more invigorating than what I had

been breathing in the Niam-niam country—and this is saying not a

little; for, in spite of their meagre diet, the Nubian soldiers who

came thither sickly and weakened by their idle Seriba-life always

returned from their Niam-niam campaigns fat and healthy, and with

renewed strength and vigour. My attendants unfortunately did not

sympathise with my ideal enjoyments, but made such loud and bitter

complaints at the increasing inclemency of the weather that I should

not have dared to prolong my stay, even if I could.

On the third morning, then, after our arrival we began to return.

Although continually in doubt as to our path, we were fortunate in

hitting upon the route that was shortest, and, crossing the Shöby at

a spot where it was contracted by gneiss walls and made a bend to the

north, we reached the rocks in the forest of butter-trees at which so

recently we had passed such a wretched night. Before it was dark we

once more entered Merdyan’s Seriba. The long march of nine hours, made

doubly arduous by the many watercourses that had intercepted it, had

been one of the most fatiguing that I had experienced. I took a day’s

rest, and amused myself by shooting guinea-fowl, the sport being so

successful that I supplied my people with as many of the birds as they

could eat in two days. We performed the rest of our journey through

incessant rain, and on the evening of the 1st of June found ourselves

reinstated in the old Seriba on the Nabambisso.

[Sidenote: TIDINGS FROM MOHAMMED.]

Here I received satisfactory intelligence from Mohammed. The condition

of things had decidedly improved. Still the store of corn was small;

but the gourds had ripened during our absence, fresh maize had been

brought to the Seriba, and, best of all, the guinea-fowl had effected

a lodgment in the neighbourhood, so that we had a constant supply of

animal food ready at hand. As a consequence of the continual rains

edible funguses had sprung up in such abundance that for days together

I dined off guinea-fowl’s liver and mushrooms. In every respect the

mushrooms resembled those which we use in Europe.

I may mention that a large buffalo-hunt, to which all the Bongo were

invited, came in as a timely diversion, and that day after day, with my

gun in my hand, I was up and doing.

Before many days had elapsed the main body of Mohammed’s corps

returned from their campaign. Only a portion of the missing ivory

had been recovered, for Wando, under a superstitious dread of the

intimations of his augury, had persistently remained concealed in the

most inaccessible places, and consequently the hostilities had been

mainly directed against his brother Mbeeoh. Contrary to the general

practice of the Niam-niam princes, Mbeeoh had been personally engaged

in the conflict and had exhibited remarkable bravery. On one occasion

it had been with the greatest difficulty that Mohammed had held his

own against the hordes of his opponent, and in a raging storm had

been obliged to erect a kind of rampart, made of straw, to afford a

shelter from which anything like a steady fire might be opened upon the

assailants. The chances were dead against Mohammed’s side, but it is

notorious that the natives hardly ever follow up any advantages offered

to them either by a downpour of rain or by the obscurity of night;

and very frequently they lost the most promising of opportunities for

crushing their Nubian oppressors.

[Sidenote: MISSING MEN.]

Just before Mohammed himself returned there was a considerable

commotion amongst our Bongo bearers. A circumstance occurred that

naturally excited some consternation. The bearers who had been

left with me in the old Seriba were in the habit of scouring the

neighbouring fields and forests every day in search of victuals for

themselves. One evening three of the party who had gone out did not

return, and their companions had no hesitation in avowing their belief

that they had been captured, and that they would most certainly be

killed and eaten by the inhabitants of the adjacent district. Early

on the following morning all the Bongo and most of the Nubians who

were with me started off in a body to explore the neighbourhood and to

follow up as best they might the traces of the missing men. According

to the statements of the Bongo, the crime had been committed in the

district under the control of Maddah, to the north of the Seriba.

In that direction the party bent their steps. Their supposition was

apparently correct, for after following the tracks into a wood they

found that they terminated in a ghastly pool of blood. Maddah was

forthwith seized and hurried to the Seriba, where he was charged

with being answerable for the disappearance of the men. In evident

confusion and with much excitement he began a long and incoherent

preamble; he declared that the blood was that of an animal which had

been slaughtered on the previous day; he owned, indeed, about the three

Bongo that he had seen them running across his territory and had had

no doubt that they were making an escape to their own homes. This

explanation was objected to on the ground that the obstacles on the way

were far too great for them ever to have entertained such a design.

Maddah then went on to say that some of his Niam-niam people had

noticed the fugitives, and had shouted after them to know where they

were rushing to, and why they were scampering along at such a pace,

but they had received no answer; and deeming it wrong to stand idly by

and let the fellows decamp from their owners they had not only pursued

them, but had effected their capture and put them into safe custody. To

complete his tale he affirmed that, somehow or other, during the night

they had contrived to escape; and this was all he knew about them.

The settlement of the business had ultimately to be left to the

surviving Bongo. They were not easily satisfied; they insisted most

strenuously that, even allowing that there might be some truth in the

statement that the Niam-niam had pursued the fugitives, they had only

done so with the object of sacrificing them in order to indulge their

appetites, and to convert their flesh into food. The representation

which Maddah gave of the pool of blood was held to be especially

unsatisfactory; the bones of the slaughtered animal were demanded as

a proof of the fact, but nothing was forthcoming at the hands of the

Niam-niam but a few fragments that could be recognised at a glance

as belonging to some game that must have been killed months before.

Everything, in fact, seemed to confirm the accusation. All agreed

that there was nothing to exonerate either Maddah or his people from

suspicion. It was consequently decided that as Surroor, the lieutenant

in command, was absent, as well as Mohammed, on the campaign, Maddah

should be reserved for judgment, and meanwhile must be kept in

confinement and placed under the yoke of the sheyba to await his

sentence.

But when Mohammed returned he professed to be occupied by more pressing

and important business. It did not require much penetration to perceive

that there were certain motives of policy which were prompting him

to procrastinate the investigation of the affair. The truth was he

was anxious, if he could, to keep on good terms with the Niam-niam,

knowing that their services were indispensable to him for the usual

raid against the Babuckur that had to be undertaken for the purpose

of getting a supply of corn to avert the prospect of his caravan

being starved. Without their co-operation it would be impossible for

his soldiers to cross the marshy swamps. Had the disaster befallen

any of the Nubians or Mussulmen at all, there can be no doubt that

Mohammed would have acted very differently, and would not have suffered

considerations of policy to deter him from making an example of the

delinquents.

The raid upon the Babuckur was an expedition that Mohammed did not

accompany in person. He entrusted it entirely to Surroor, who took the

charge of as many of the subordinate Niam-niam as could be gathered.

Just as might be expected, the most savage brutalities were practised

on either side. Besides securing the store of corn, which was the main

object of the incursion, the Nubians were on the look-out for a capture

of female slaves, which they claimed as their special perquisite. The

Niam-niam on their part followed the example and did some private

kidnapping on their own account; the females that they entrapped they

disposed of in the following way: the youngest were destined for their

houses, the middle-aged for their agriculture, and the eldest for their

caldrons!

The skulls in the Anatomical Museum of Berlin that are numbered 36,

37, and 38 might be supposed capable of unfolding a deplorable tale of

these depredations. Some natives brought them to me fresh boiled, only

a few days after the raid had been perpetrated; they had heard from

the Monbuttoo that I was accustomed to give rings of copper in exchange

for skulls, and as I was not able to bring the poor fellows to life

again I saw no reason why I should not purchase their remains in the

interests of science. Often I reproached the Nubians of my retinue with

allowing such abuses to go on before their eyes, and under the sanction

of the flag bearing the insignia of the Holy Prophet; but just as often

I received the answer that the Faithful were incompetent to change

anything, but must submit to the will of God; it was impressed upon me

that the Niam-niam were heathen, and that if the heathen liked to eat

each other up, it was no concern of theirs; they had no right to be

lawgivers or teachers to cannibals.

[Sidenote: MOHAMMEDAN CONVERSION.]

I had repeated opportunities of observing that the ivory-expeditions of

the Khartoomers, although actuated by a certain spirit of enterprise,

did not at all contribute to any propagation of Islamism. Negro

nations once converted to Mohammedanism are no longer considered

as slaves, but are esteemed as brothers. For this reason it was

inexplicable to me how Islamism had spread so far in other parts of

Central Africa; for although, on the one hand, Islamism is a faith

that puts a pressure upon its converts by compelling them to submit to

its external prescriptions, such as circumcision; yet, on the other

hand, the very conforming to the prescriptions exempts them for ever

from all oppression: thus I could not understand why in other parts of

the continent the more powerful party had not maintained its material

interests by displaying the same indifference as was shown by the

Mohammedans in the countries through which I travelled.

Some days after the raid on the Babuckur I was witness of a scene that

can never be erased from my memory. During one of my rambles I found

myself in one of the native farmsteads; before the door of the first

hut I came to, an old woman was sitting surrounded by a group of boys

and girls, all busily employed in cutting up gourds and preparing

them for eating; at the door of the opposite hut a man was sitting

composedly playing upon his mandolin. Midway between the two huts a mat

was outspread; upon this mat, exposed to the full glare of the noon-day

sun, feebly gasping, lay a new-born infant: I doubt whether it was more

than a day old. In answer to my inquiries I learnt that the child was

the offspring of one of the slaves who had been captured in the late

raid, and who had now been driven off to a distant quarter, compelled

to leave her infant behind, because its nurture would interfere with

her properly fulfilling her domestic duties. The ill-fated little

creature, doomed to so transient an existence, was destined to form a

dainty dish; and the savage group was calmly engaged in their ordinary

occupations until the poor little thing should have breathed its last

and be ready to be consigned to the seething caldron! I profess that

for a moment I was furious. I felt ready to shoot the old hag who sat

by without displaying a particle of pity or concern. I was prompted to

do something rash to give vent to my sensation of abhorrence; but I

was swayed by the protestations of the Nubians ringing in my ears that

they were powerless in the matter, and that they had not come to be

lawgivers to the Niam-niam. I felt that I was as helpless as they were,

and that it would be folly for me to forget how dependent I was upon

them. What influence, I was constrained to ask, could my interference

have exercised, what could any exhibition of my disgust and indignation

avail to check the bias of an entire nation? Missionaries, in their

enthusiasm, might find a fruitful field for their labours, but they

must be very self-denying and very courageous.

The departure of the caravan for the north was delayed for several days

in expectation of the return of the corps that had been sent to the

west with Ghattas’s company, but as no tidings of it were forthcoming

we determined, without further procrastination, to proceed upon our

way.

Shut out from all prospect of this year making any farther progress

to the south, and debarred from the hope of accomplishing any fresh

explorations, I own that I began to long for the flesh-pots of Egypt;

I confess that the stores that were on their way from Khartoom to

await me in my old quarters at the Seriba in Bongoland had a wondrous

fascination to my eager imagination. I was also now looking forward

that I might make several excursions during the return journey, from

which I was sanguine that I might not only make fresh botanical

discoveries, but might enlarge my general knowledge of the country.

[Sidenote: THE RIVER HOO.]

Our first night-camp was made on the northern frontier of Aboo Sammat’s

territory, on the banks of a brook near the hamlets of Kulenjo. Until

we reached the Hoo we observed no alteration in the condition of the

brooks; but the galleries which I was now traversing for the last

time seemed in bidding me farewell to have donned their most festal

covering, being resplendent with the luxuriant blooms of the Spathadeæ,

one of the most imposing representatives of the African flora. The

waters of the Hoo had risen to no inconsiderable degree, and they had

so much increased in breadth that they filled the whole of the level

bed, which was 35 feet in width. The current flowed at the rate of 150

feet a minute, the water being nowhere more than 3½ feet deep. Our

second night-camp was pitched half-way between the Hoo and the Sway, at

a spot where the bush-forest was densest and most luxuriant.

The advancing season brought several changes in our mode of living. I

had become so far initiated into African habits, that I now very much

preferred a grass hut to a tent. I was moreover getting somewhat out of

patience with the ever-recurring necessity of holding up the tent-pole

with all my strength during the storms of night, whilst I roused half

the camp with my shouts for assistance. At the height of the rainy

season the weather, by a beneficent arrangement of Nature, fortunately

follows certain rules from which it deviates very exceptionally; the

first few hours of the morning always decided the programme for the

day; when once the sky had cleared, we knew that we might resume our

march in perfect confidence, and I had the satisfaction of feeling

that my papers and herbarium were in no danger of being spoilt by

damp, and my companions had the same security for the preservation

of their powder and provisions. Towards five in the afternoon, when

the sun began to sink, and the distant thunder gave warning of the

renewing of the storm, we made a halt, and directed our best attention

to prepare our nightly lodging in the wilderness. The baggage was

first piled together and protected by the waterproofs, and as soon as

this was effected, a number of knives and hatchets were produced and

distributed among the “builders.” Off they were sent with all despatch.

“Now, you fellows, quick to your work. Four of you,” I should order my

servants, “must be brisk, and get together the grass. _You_ two must

hack me down the branches, long and strong, and be sharp about it. No

shirking now. And _you_ have to get the bast. Quick, away! and quick

back!” And with this hurrying and driving the work was soon done. Ten

minutes, or a little more, brought the men back with the requisite

materials. The framework was first erected, the forked boughs being

driven into the ground and firmly fastened at the top with ligatures

of bast; meanwhile the grass was being bandaged into a huge hollow

sheaf, and this, when all was ready, was raised above the structure

and fitted like a cap. Thus, in about half an hour, with alacrity, one

of these grass huts could be reared, small indeed, and snug as a nest,

but nevertheless perfectly waterproof; and thus a sufficient shelter

against the nightly rains. The storm might rage and the thunder roll

without, but here the weary traveller, in safe and reliable retreat,

might enjoy his well-earned repose without misgiving. By the glimmer

of a little oil-lamp of my own contrivance, in which I burnt some

questionable-looking grease, of which the smell could not fail to

rouse up one’s worst suspicions against the natives, I would sit and

beguile the hours of the evening as best I could by writing down the

experiences of the day. The negroes had no such protection: they would

crouch round the camp-fire, which would make their faces glow again

with its fitful light, while the rain would pelt pitilessly down upon

their backs.

Such was the arrangement of our camp night after night throughout our

return journey. But my recollections of the nights spent on the way

between the Hoo and the Sway are altogether very unpleasant.

[Sidenote: AN INVASION OF ANTS.]

The rain on the following morning did not cease so soon as usual,

and our departure was somewhat delayed. We were all of us intensely

interested in keeping our own little dry spot free from the drenching

force of the rain, when all at once I found my cosy quarters invaded

by a whole army of ants. They had succeeded in discovering the driest

and warmest place within a circuit of many miles, and now, in countless

legions, they took up their quarters in my palliass, which was placed

upon a lofty pile of leaves and grass. Their encroachments seemed to

come from every side. For a long time I was in perplexity what to do;

to leave my hut was impossible, the rain was falling almost in sheets.

I endeavoured to protect myself with my clothes, but all in vain.

Presently a stratagem suggested itself to my mind; by a happy thought

I managed to divert the ants from myself. Dragging some bundles of

grass from my bed, I threw them down in detached patches all over the

floor, and by way of bait I sprinkled them over with the fragments of

food that remained from the supper of the previous night. The scheme

answered admirably, and I had the satisfaction of finding the unwelcome

guests draw themselves away and give me no more personal annoyance.

Meanwhile a large portion of our caravan had gone on in advance to

make the necessary preparations for crossing the Sway. I did not reach

the banks myself until nearly noon, and by that time the people were

busily employed in conveying the baggage across. The aspect of the Sway

was entirely different to what it had been on the 13th of February.

The water had risen to the very top of the banks, and was twenty feet

deep, with a velocity of two hundred feet a minute. Although the stream

was only thirty-five feet wide, the passage over it, in consequence of

the entire absence of tree-stems and the small number of bushes on the

banks, offered unusual difficulties. The men who had had experience

in these Niam-niam expeditions had a method of effecting a transit

over the river that I think was peculiar to themselves: they set all

the bearers to work to gather as many different kinds of bark as they

could, and to extract all the bast out of it, and then to twist it

into long stout ropes, a handicraft in which the negroes are very

skilful, as in Bongoland there is an unfailing demand for cordage

for hunting-snares and fishing-nets. Having fabricated their ropes,

the next thing was to get them stretched across the river. This was

effected by practised swimmers, who attached one end firmly into the

ground by means of pegs, and swam over with the other. The arrangement

of the ropes was such that they were suspended in double rows, one

precisely underneath the other, the upper rope being above the stream,

the lower being some feet below its surface. Ten expert swimmers then

took their stand upon the lower rope, and allowed the stream to force

their weight against the upper rope, which supported their chests,

but permitted them to have their arms perfectly free for action. Thus

supported, in a half-standing, half-floating position, they contrived

to keep their hands at liberty, and to pass the packages from one to

another.

I confess that it was with a beating heart that I stood and watched

my precious baggage thus handed along over the perilous flood; but

the lank, lean arms of the Nubians were competent to their work, and

everything was conveyed across in safety. This business of crossing

occupied several hours of real exertion. The difficulties of the

transit may be conceived, when it is remembered that three-fourths of

the negroes are entirely ignorant of the art of swimming, and that

there were elephant’s tusks being transported which weighed not less

than 180 lbs., and consequently required two men to lift them.

We passed the night near Marra’s villages, and though it was only

a league from the river, it was quite dark before we entered our

quarters. The residents had all vacated the district, leaving their

fields of half-ripe maize to the mercy of the new comers; although

plunder was ostensibly forbidden, it was surreptitiously carried on by

our bearers to a very gross extent under cover of the darkness.

The whole of the next day we halted to recruit our strength. I found my

amusement in scouring the neighbourhood in search of game. Huts were

dotted about here and there, but the country generally was covered with

such a wonderful grass vegetation, that any deviation from the beaten

paths would have involved the wanderer in great perplexity, and only

too probably he would have rambled about for hours before he could

recover his way.

As the caravan was on the point of starting on the succeeding morning,

and I had just set out at the head of the procession, we were brought

to a standstill by the arrival of some messengers bearing a letter to

Mohammed from the commander of his corps, that had been sent towards

the west. To judge from the date of the letter, the Niam-niam who

brought it must have travelled at least forty miles, and perhaps

considerably more, in a day.

[Sidenote: EVIL TIDINGS.]

The letter contained evil tidings. Ghattas’s agent and Badry, Aboo

Sammat’s captain, wrote in the utmost despair. Three chieftains had

combined to attack them as they were crossing a gallery on Malingde’s

territory; three of their number had been slain, and out of their

ninety-five soldiers, thirty-two had been so severely wounded as to be

_hors de combat_. They had now been closely besieged for six days, and

were with extreme difficulty defending themselves behind their abattis;

provisions were fast failing; and even water could only be obtained at

the risk of losing their lives. Ahmed, the other captain, had fallen at

the first outset of the engagement, and his body had not been recovered

for interment, but had fallen into the hands of the cannibals. The only

means of rescuing the wounded soldiers would be to carry them away in

litters, and this could only be effected at the cost of abandoning

seventy loads of ivory that had been buried in a swamp. The letter

concluded with an urgent appeal for speedy succour, and Mohammed

determined to send it without delay; two-thirds of his armed men should

be despatched to the relief of the sufferers.

The selection of this relieving-force had to be made at once, and it

may be imagined that it was no easy matter for Mohammed to overcome

the repugnance of those who had no relative or personal friend in

jeopardy. It was naturally a bitter disappointment to those men who

were thus marked off for this unexpected service to have to renounce

the pleasant prospect of the toils of their expedition being so near

its termination, and to be compelled to expose themselves anew to

the dubious fortune of war. However, in spite of remonstrances and

murmurings, the conscription was completed in a very summary fashion,

and it was still early when the remnant of our party, with its undue

proportion of bearers, continued our northward march.

It was a bright and lovely forenoon; the steppe was adorned with its

summer verdure; what had before been bare red rock, was now covered

with tender grass, which reminded one of our own fields of sprouting

corn. Africa seemed like a universal playground, exciting our people

to sport and merriment.

[Sidenote: CHASE OF HARTEBEESTS.]

We persevered in following our previous well-beaten track. The six

meadow-waters that lay between Marra and the hill of Gumango had

increased but little since we had last seen them. The lovely park-like

country, with its numerous scattered bushes, offered unusual facilities

for the chase, and small herds of antelopes, a long unwonted sight,

appeared and as rapidly disappeared in the surrounding landscape.

Once, however, five hartebeests, at a little distance from our road,

made a stand, and eyed the caravan as intently as if they were rooted

to the spot. I took deliberate aim at the breast of one of them,

and although the whole five wheeled round and galloped off into the

thickets, I felt sure that my shot had taken effect; on running up to

the spot where the antelopes had been standing, we found enough blood

to show us that one of them had certainly been wounded, how severely

of course we could not tell. The dogs that I had were of no service

for hunting, and had to be kept along with the caravan in the care of

servants; but notwithstanding this want of sporting dogs, and in spite

of the confusion caused by the multiplicity of tracks, we managed, by

following the spots of blood, to make out the proper traces of the

wounded hartebeest. As I was approaching one of the smaller thickets, I

observed a couple of kites making their circling flight just above the

trees; this was a manifest token that the wounded animal was not far

off; in another few minutes, as I entered the grove, I caught sight of

the yellow body of the beast skulking painfully away from me as best

it might, a patch of blood-stained, trampled grass betraying the place

where it had thrown itself down.

The arrival of the birds was to me very inexplicable: ten minutes had

hardly elapsed since the shot had been fired, and yet here they were,

awaiting their prey. The sportsman in Africa (and this is especially

the case on bright, sunny days) has constant experiences of this

kind. A few minutes after he has succeeded in bringing down his game

he may see some black dots in the sky, which gradually, as they come

nearer and nearer, will assume a definite shape and ultimately develop

themselves into groups of kites, vultures, or other carrion birds, ever

ready to arrest their flight and to appropriate to themselves whatever

relics of his booty the hunter may leave behind. It might almost

seem, according to the fiction of the ancients, that the sky above

was divided into several storeys, and that the birds were ever ready,

at the sight of a tempting meal below, to hurry downwards from their

topmost region in the sevenfold heaven.

This, however, is mere digression. I return to my hartebeest. After

a considerable search we came upon the creature lying lifeless in

the grass. It proved to be an animal in suck, and my Niam-niam

people, after the wild hunting-custom of the country, filled a small

gourd-shell with milk expressed from the udder, and mutually drank to

each other’s courage and good luck. I had not happened to see the fawn;

probably it had not been with the hartebeests when we first caught

sight of them.

It may be readily understood from these details, that without dogs, and

over so bewildering a country, the capture of game, even after it has

been shot, is very often a matter of no trifling difficulty. Moreover,

time and distance have to be taken into consideration. Our caravan

was often half a league in length, and it was important not to leave

any gaps in the procession, as nothing would be easier than for the

rear division to mistake the narrow path they had to follow. However

fleet the huntsman may be, the antelope is fleeter still, and the

impatience and excitement exhibited by the sportsman, hurried because

he is travelling, have a tendency to increase the alarm of the animal

of which he is in chase, and which is already terrified by the unwonted

sight of man. On the level steppe, where the grass grows to a height

of five or six feet; the pursuer can only get momentary glances of the

creatures’ horns, and all along in his chase he is hardly conscious of

making any more advance than if he were buffeting with the waves of the

sea.

[Sidenote: A LUCKY SHOT.]

The animal I had killed was soon cut up, and I made a meal off its

roasted liver. Leaving some of my people in charge of the carcase, I

set out, designing to return at once to the caravan to despatch some

bearers to bring in the spoil to the encampment; but I missed my road,

and, notwithstanding the help of my compass, I lost an hour or more in

wandering over the rugged paths of an extended elephant haunt. Coming

to a depression that was partially under water I saw several leucotis

antelopes turn off in front of me, and as the water obstructed my

farther progress I made a venture and fired my last shot at a solitary

buck that was standing at a distance of not much less than five hundred

paces. The animal instantaneously disappeared, and the noise of the

report caused several others, in a state of affright, to scamper across

the swamp. My Niam-niam were soon at the place where the antelope

seemed to have fallen into the earth; to my surprise they soon began to

make signs of triumph, and I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw

them dragging the victim along the ground. It was quite dead and the

bullet was in its neck.

Wonderful good fortune had thus, at very slight cost to myself, thrown

into my hands an ample supply of meat, which after their recent

deprivations gave unbounded satisfaction to my people. But I will not

weary the reader with further details of my hunting adventures. Lovers

of the chase and admirers of good marksmanship will find a richer field

for their entertainment in the record of Sir Samuel Baker’s exploits

about the Albert Nyanza, which rivals Herodian’s description of the

sports and prowess of the Emperor Commodus. My own hunting experience,

however interesting to myself, was comparatively on a very limited

scale.

Carrying with us the piece of meat that was designed for our supper,

we entered the camp just as darkness was coming on. I found the people

quartered on the slope of a ridge of hills near the frontier of Bendo’s

district, a league and a half to the south of the residence of the

behnky himself. For half the night I sat up making extract of meat

from the best parts of the leucotis; a large copper vessel, originally

a spirit-still, but now used for preparing the pap for Mohammed’s

slaves, was a most serviceable utensil for the purpose. From about

70 lbs. of the meat, which was very tender, I obtained the unusually

large proportion of 2½ lbs. of extract of excellent quality and of the

consistency of firm honey, the whole produce being perfectly free from

any glutinous matter. The product was altogether superior to what I had

obtained from the Monbuttoo goats, not only being larger in quantity,

but infinitely more palatable, thus demonstrating that the flesh of

the leucotis justified the reputation for flavour with which it was

generally credited. I had an opportunity subsequently of comparing it

with what I received amongst my fresh stores from Khartoom, and am

satisfied that it was in no way inferior to that from Fray Bentos.

Only those who like myself have existed for months together upon an

inadequate and monotonous diet, or those who on long desert journeys

have been limited to farinaceous food, can estimate the strengthening

effect produced by ever so small an addition of this preparation to

other food which is not of itself sustaining. Extract of meat thus is

not the mere seasoning which many consider it; not simply does it give

a relish, and draw out nutritious properties from indifferent food, but

it is in itself a nutritious substance of the highest rank.

The process of boiling the meat is very long; while it was being

completed next morning I had time to explore the magnificent vegetation

of the adjacent hill. The wild vine (_Vitis Schimperi_) was loaded with

its ripe clusters and afforded me a refreshment to which I had been

long unaccustomed. These grapes were less juicy than those that grow

upon the vine-clad hills of Europe, and they left a somewhat harsh

sensation upon the palate; but altogether, and especially in colour,

they reminded me of our own growth. Towards the south-east I had a view

of the hills of Babunga, about ten miles off on the frontier of the

Babuckur territory.

[Sidenote: BENDO.]

All the huts in Bendo’s mbanga had been lately rebuilt in a style that

displayed considerable taste, the tops of the straw-roofs being so

much decorated that they looked like various specimens of ornamental

basket-work. We were able to procure a good stock of maize, which

made a welcome change from the uniformly bad bread which we had been

eating previously for so long. Bendo himself was quite a character; his

singularities amused me; he was a kind of fine gentleman, extremely

particular about his _toilette_, and would never allow himself to

be seen unless he had been carefully painted and adorned with his

high-plumed hat.

I did some botanising on the hill of Gumango and found it full of

interest. We next crossed the Rye, and proceeded to the adjacent

villages of Gumba. Our camp was scarcely pitched there when a message

was received from Mohammed instructing us to wait for him. On returning

to his Seriba he had found that all the soldiers for whose fate he had

been concerned, and whom he was hurrying off to rescue, had already

arrived there safe and sound, having succeeded in breaking through

the enemy and in carrying off their wounded. He was now returning to

us with his full force. Pending his arrival we remained in Gumba’s

villages for the two succeeding days.

He came back at the appointed time, and the recovery of the parted

friends caused great joy and excitement in the caravan; innumerable

were the questions asked, and no accumulation of answers seemed to

allay the curiosity.

My own attention was very much engaged by the accounts given by Badry,

the captain who had been appointed to the command of the corps in

the place of Ahmed; I knew that his word was to be relied on, and

his information was of great value to me as throwing light upon the

geography of the country about the lower portions of rivers, some of

which I had crossed only in their upper course and sometimes quite

close to their fountain-heads.

I heard many details of the conflict between Mohammed’s party and the

Niam-niam, the leading incidents of which I will now proceed briefly to

relate.

It was while they were crossing one of the brooks overhung with the

dense forests which now for so long I have designated as galleries

that the fatal attack took place; the consternation of the defenceless

bearers, and consequently the confusion of the whole party, would seem

to have been very terrible. The first discharge of Niam-niam lances had

strewn the ground with dead and wounded, the column of the unfortunate

bearers furnishing the larger proportion of the victims. Previous to

the attack not a native had been seen. Nothing could be more crafty

than their ambush. Some of them had taken up their position behind

the larger trees; some had concealed themselves in the middle of the

bushes; whilst others, in order to get an aim from above, had ensconced

themselves high up, contriving to lie full length upon the overhanging

boughs where the network of creepers concealed them from the keenest

vision. Badry’s recital brought vividly to my mind the battles with the

Indians in the primeval forests of America, where similar stratagems

have been continually resorted to.

The soldiers kept up their fire with energetic vigour; they are

accustomed to carry a number of cartridges arranged like a girdle right

round their waist, and having their ammunition thus conveniently at

hand they kept up their discharges unintermittingly until they had

collected their wounded; but the bodies of those who had been actually

killed all fell into the hands of the assailants and were carried

off without delay, all attempts at recovering them being utterly

unavailing, because the irregularity of the ground prevented any

organised plan of attack.

[Sidenote: STANDING AN ASSAULT.]

The bearers, meanwhile, had flung away their heavy loads, and in wild

flight had retreated to an adjacent hill that rose above the steppe;

here they were in a short time joined by the Nubians, who sought the

eminence as commanding a view whence they might survey their position

and concert measures for their future protection. Most of the deserted

ivory, of course, had become the prey of the foe, but some of the

Nubians had taken the precaution of burying the burdens in a swamp

within the gallery, under the hope that they might recover it in the

following year. Thus deprived of their proper occupation, the bearers

were at liberty to carry the wounded, and a treaty was concluded with

the enemy so that the party ventured to quit their quarters. The

natives, however, were utterly treacherous; they were bent upon the

annihilation of the intruders, and so, reinforced from the neighbouring

district, they made a fresh and savage attack. In consequence of this

the Nubians were compelled to come to a stand in the open plain, and

lost no time in collecting whatever faggots they could get to make an

abattis.

Behind this abattis they had to hold out for three entire days. The

excited Niam-niam persevered in harassing them with unwearied assaults;

and as three independent chieftains had summoned their entire forces

for the attack, the combined action was unusually formidable; not until

the store of lances and arrows was all used up were the furious sallies

brought to an end and the Nubians permitted to go upon their way.

The enemy, it was said, displayed such unabated energy that when all

their ordinary lances had been spent they procured a supply of pointed

sticks, which they proceeded to hurl with all their might against the

Nubian band; it was, moreover, asserted that the quantity of shields

and lances was so large that the besieged used no other fuel for their

camp-fires during the entire period of their detention. Besides the

weapons that were burnt, the negroes attached to the caravan brought

away a considerable number of lance-heads, which they had tied up in

bundles of nearly a hundred and designed for trophies to decorate their

own huts.

Having thus spoken of the disasters of war that befell Aboo Sammat’s

company, I will proceed to give a short outline of the route which they

took, and which lay to the west and south-west of the districts through

which I had myself travelled. It may be remembered that the corps had

been detached from our caravan at Rikkete’s village on the Atazilly. It

started off in a W.S.W. direction, which it followed during the greater

part of the journey. A march of six leagues brought the men, in the

first place, to the village of Garia, one of Wando’s brothers, who,

like most of the sons of the wealthy Bazimbey, had after his father’s

death, without recognising the hereditary claims of his elder brother,

set himself up as an independent prince in his own district. From this

locality it was described as “a good day’s march” of six leagues to the

residence of Malingde or Malindo. This prince was the aforesaid eldest

son of Bazimbey, and had consequently a more extensive territory than

any of his brothers, with whom he was at that time on quite friendly

terms.

A morning’s march of about four leagues brought the party onwards to

one of the other brothers, named Moffi, who held office as a behnky

in a district under the jurisdiction of Malingde; and between two

and three leagues to the west again they found another behnky, also

Malingde’s brother, called Bazia. Beyond this place was a wide tract

of wilderness separating Malingde’s territory from that of Indimma.

Shortly after reaching Bazia’s residence they had to cross a river,

which they said was as large as the Rohl at Awoory, and joined the

Mbrwole on its right-hand side: three other smaller streams flowed

through this wilderness, all of them affluents of the Mbrwole. As it

took them four days and a half to travel from Bazia to the residence of

Indimma, the distance may probably be estimated at between twenty and

thirty leagues.

[Sidenote: INDIMMA.]

Indimma was a son of Keefa, and one of the most influential Niam-niam

princes of his time. He had taken up his abode on the summit of a

lofty and isolated mass of granite or gneiss, which, according to some

accounts, was as high as the hills near Awoory (relatively 300 feet);

or, according to others, it stood even higher than the Wohba mountain

near Deraggo (relatively 500 feet).

At the top of this eminence was an extensive plateau, laid out in

cultivated tracts; in the centre, like a small town, stood the

residence of the king, embracing, as my informants unanimously

declared, more than a thousand houses.

The mountain must extend several miles, both in length and breadth,

for the tedious ascent took many windings, and compelled the caravan

to make repeated halts. At no great distance to the south was another

smaller hill, and looking towards the west they had a view of numerous

lofty ranges, amongst which was that of the Gangara mountains.

The population of Indimma’s territory is a mixed race, consisting

partly of true Zandey-Niam-niam and partly of A-Madi, a tribe nearly

related to the A-Banga, and corresponding in general features with the

Monbuttoo.

After leaving Indimma, the caravan commenced the four days’ march

which would carry them on to Kanna, who bore the surname of Bendy,

the most powerful of all the reigning sons of Keefa. In the middle of

the first day they had to cross a large river, which the travellers

identified with Wando’s river, the Mbrwole, and compared for magnitude

with the Blue Nile at Khartoom; they all persisted in saying that it

was not the river that they had to cross in canoes on their way to

Munza, and therefore not the Welle. They had still to march on for

three days before reaching Kanna, so that there was no doubt that

the entire distance between him and Indimma could not be much under

thirty leagues. I asked one of Kanna’s Niam-niam, who had attached

himself to the party on their wanderings, how far it was from Kanna’s

to Munza’s residence, and he replied that, marching at the Niam-niam

rate of eight or ten hours a day, the journey would occupy about five

days; the direction, he added, was E.S.E. and S.E.; and his entire

statement coincided very much with what Abderahman Aboo Guroon had told

me when he affirmed that the journey with his heavily-laden caravan had

required fifteen days to accomplish; this was the same length of time

that it had taken us to travel a distance which I imagine is nearly the

same, viz., that from the Nabambisso to Munza’s dwelling.

From all I could gather, I should conclude that the arrangements and

habits of Kanna’s court were very similar to those of the Monbuttoo

sovereigns: like them he had his great palatial halls, where he

celebrated the national festivals with dancing and music, and where the

nobles were assembled for councils of state.

About four leagues, or half a day’s march, from Kanna the detachment

had come to the residence of Bakinge, the king’s brother, who had a

limited district specially assigned to him. Just before reaching this

spot, the caravan had been conveyed across “the great river” that

flows from the land of the Monbuttoo. The river so distinguished was

undoubtedly the Welle. The Khartoomers described it as being as wide

as the White Nile at its mouth; and the Niam-niam interpreter, who

accompanied them, in reply to my direct inquiry as to the proper name

of the great river of Kanna, informed me that it was called the Welle

or Bee-Welle,[54] thus establishing, by a fresh confirmation, its

identity with the river of Munza. I was told that in this district it

makes a semicircular bend. Close to the spot where the caravan crossed

it, was the residence of the king’s brother and sub-chieftain named

Mbittima, and at a short distance beyond stood the abode of Zibba,

Kanna’s son, who was governor of an independent district. Before they

passed to the other side of the river, Aboo Sammat’s company had also

visited the settlement of another brother of Kanna, named Gendwa, which

was about two days’ journey to the north-west of the king’s dominions.

Having thus related the main particulars of the route of the detached

party during their absence, I will return to the narrative of our own

proceedings.

[Sidenote: THE MINNESINGER.]

Our old friend the “minnesinger” paid us another visit in our camp,

and entertained us once again with the droll elaboration of his poetic

faculty; as the theme on this occasion upon which to exercise his epic

muse, he chose the heroic deeds of Mohammed, which he chanted out with

characteristic energy.

As I was quite aware that in a few days more I should have taken my

leave, perhaps for ever, of the Niam-niam lands, I was particularly

anxious to secure a dog of the unique race belonging to the country,

that I might exhibit it as a novelty on my return to Europe. For a

couple of copper rings I made purchase of a specimen of the breed,

which was quite satisfactory, as the creature was not only very

intelligent, but attached itself to me in a very few days. My hope,

however, of introducing the breed into Europe was doomed to be

frustrated; by dint of watchfulness, and at the cost of no little

inconvenience, I succeeded in conveying the animal safely as far as

Alexandria; but while I was staying there, it leapt from the hotel

window, two storeys high, down into the street, and was killed on the

spot. Whoever has experienced the bother of dragging a dog across the

desert on the back of a camel, or of rescuing it times out of number

from being drowned during the passage of a Nile-boat, will readily

sympathise with the annoyance I felt at the waste of all my pains.

As our train proceeded along the hilly region between Gumba and Nganye,

it was easy to make the observation that there was no appreciable

difference in its magnitude compared with what it had been when we

traversed the same district more than four months previously. A

considerable number of the wounded were still carried on litters, and

formed a new feature in the procession. One poor fellow had had the

entire sole of his foot literally peeled off by a lance. Ali, the

leader of Ghattas’s company, had also two severe wounds, one on the

neck, the other on the thigh; but although both of them were still

open, the sturdy negro made light of his trouble, marched on merrily

enough, chattering to his companions every now and then according to

the current phraseology of the Nubians, enforcing his assertions by the

ejaculation, “Wollahi! wollahi!” (“by Allah! by Allah!”) These people

are far greater heroes in enduring pain than would be expected from

their pusillanimity in battle.

With Nganye the Nubians spent a day of riot and revelry in honour of

the African Gambrinus. The chieftain had already prepared for their

entertainment, and had sent to Mohammed’s hut an enormous vase of beer,

the vessel being a fine specimen of native pottery, a masterpiece in

its way, and so heavy when it was full that it required two men to

lift it. I spent the day in a hunting excursion. I started towards the

west, and succeeded in killing two small antelopes and in bagging a

large number of guinea-fowl that, in a liberal mood, I distributed

amongst my companions; the chieftain himself, when he visited me on the

following day, enjoyed a meal off the tender flesh of the birds, which

during the rainy season is particularly rich and savoury.

During my stay with Nganye, I had incidentally a further demonstration

of what is the limited measure of authority really possessed by the

Niam-niam princes. I had discarded, as I have said, the use of my

tent: in return for its torn covering, which, with the lining, would

have furnished material for more than a hundred aprons, Nganye had

covenanted to supply me with twenty baskets of eleusine corn, which

would be required by my people during their coming march across the

desert; but in spite of the number of his wives and slaves, who

I should have imagined would very soon have got together without

difficulty whatever he directed, he was only able to furnish me with

half the stipulated quantity. This meagre species of grain was all the

corn-provision that could be obtained, and very thankful we were that

we could get even that.

[Sidenote: A SUSPENSION BRIDGE.]

Before leaving his Seriba, Mohammed had sent a message to Nganye

to warn him of the advance of the caravan, so that he might have

sufficient time for the preparation of the bridge by which it could

cross the Tondy. This work was executed without delay. A suspension

bridge of a very curious and original construction had been thrown

across the rushing waters. Some of the strongest trees on each bank

had been chosen for supports, and the bridge consisted simply of

strong ropes attached to them with some planks or poles laid upon as

cross-bars. This aërial pathway, as might be expected, oscillated like

a swing; but dangerous as it was, it permitted a passage by carefully

crawling from one cross-piece to the next.

The march from Nganye’s residence to the river led through the

marvellous grass-thickets which I have already described. The grass was

now shooting up afresh in all its wild luxuriance. The season for the

great elephant-hunts was at an end, and Mohammed was well satisfied

with the quantity of ivory his friend had secured. He told me that

Nganye, although he ruled over a district that was smaller in extent

(though it contained nearly as many hunting-grounds as that of Munza),

had furnished him with a much larger supply of ivory than the powerful

Monbuttoo king.

It was near the river, in some huts newly-built in Peneeo’s district,

that we passed our last night in the Niam-niam country. A wide tract of

wilderness had been lately rooted up in order to acquire fresh arable

land against the time when the soil already in cultivation should

be exhausted. In these places it is wonderful to see how the masses

of shrubs that have been oppressed by the exuberant growth of the

trees, sprout out with renewed vigour: free, as it were, from a long

restraint, and reanimated by an open sky, these step-children of the

sylvan flora seem to overwhelm the wanderer with their beauteous bounty.

On the 24th of June we reached the Tondy and its hanging bridge.

To convey the baggage across this tottering erection was the work

of nearly an entire day. The place of our present transit was four

miles to the east of the spot at which we had crossed on our outward

journey; it had been chosen higher up the river for several reasons,

not only because the stream was narrower and the banks were higher,

but principally because the trees were of a larger, more substantial

growth, better adapted for the purpose of being converted into piers

for the suspended ropes which formed the bridge. The river was here

sixty feet wide, but near the banks it was so full of fallen trees and

bushes, of which the boughs projected as though growing in the water,

that the width of the stream was practically diminished one-half. The

velocity of the current was about 115 feet a minute, the depth nowhere

being less than 10 feet.

[Illustration: SUSPENSION-BRIDGE OVER THE TONDY.]

[Sidenote: HIGH IN MID-AIR.]

The materials of the suspension-bridge consisted exclusively of

branches of the wild vine intertwined with thick elastic ropes of

unusual strength. The French traveller d’Abbadie noticed a similar

stratagem for crossing rivers on his tour to Enarea, and bridges

improvised very much in the same manner are constructed from creeping

plants in South America. In order to get the ropes raised to a

sufficient height, a regular scaffolding of fallen stems has to be

erected on either side of the river, by means of which the festoons of

cords are raised to a proper altitude. The clambering from cross-piece

to cross-piece upon this unstable structure, poised in mid-air, seemed

to require little less than the agility of an orang-outang; while the

very consciousness of the insecurity of the support was enough to

make the passenger lose his composure, even though he were free from

giddiness and already an adept in the gymnastic art.

FOOTNOTES:

[53] ‘Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,’ vol. xxxv.

[54] “Bee,” like “ba,” in many of the dialects of Central

Africa, means “river.” It was an appellation that

I was surprised to find in use here, and was a

confirmation of the supposed connection of these lands

with Baghirmy.