CHAPTER XIX.

Division of the caravan. Trip to the east. African elk.

Bamboo-forests. Seriba Mbomo on the Lehssy. Abundance of corn.

Route between Kuddoo and Mbomo. Maize-culture. Harness-bushbock.

Leopard carried in triumph. Leopards and panthers. The Babuckur.

Lips of the Babuckur women. Surprised by buffaloes. Accident

in crossing the Lehssy. Tracts of wilderness. Buffaloes in the

bush. The Mashirr hills. Tamarinds again. Wild dates. Tikkitikki

and the cows. The Viceroy’s scheme. Hunger on the march.

Passage of the Tondy. Suggestion for a ferry. Prosperity of

Ghattas’s establishments. Arrival of expected stores. A dream

realised. Trip to Kurkur. Hyæna dogs. Dislike of the Nubians to

pure water. Two soldiers killed by Dinka. Attempt to rear an

elephant. My menagerie. Accident from an arrow. Cattle plagues.

Meteorology. Trip to the Dyoor. Gyabir’s delusion. Bad news of

Mohammed. Preparations for a second Niam-niam journey.

The day was far advanced when, after crossing the Tondy, we turned

towards the left, and quitted the thickets in order that we might

find an open grass plot sufficiently extensive to accommodate our

caravan. The separate detachments were all gathered together, and then

divided into two parties, as before returning to Sabby Mohammed had

resolved to make an excursion eastwards as far as the borders of his

Mittoo territory, so that he might fetch away what ivory he had in

store there. The greater part of the bearers and soldiers were sent on

direct to Sabby, and I arranged for my own bearers, under the conduct

of my servant Osman Aboo Bekr, to accompany them, whilst for myself I

reserved just as much baggage as was necessary, and joined the party

that was proceeding to the east. It chanced that Ghattas’s corps was

taking the same route, and as it led through districts which were well

supplied with corn, we all marched in company.

After subduing the Mittoo who were resident close to Nganye’s

territory, Mohammed Aboo Sammat, in the previous February, had founded

a Seriba on the Upper Lehssy, at no great distance from the villages

of Uringama, one of Nganye’s behnkys. On account of its singular

fertility the district was a very favourite station for the various

Rohl-companies on their way to and from the Niam-niam lands, and the

sagacious Kenoosian, well aware of the advantages afforded by their

frequent visits, and knowing, moreover, how numerous elephants were

in the surrounding regions, had lost no time in making a settlement

in the locality. The name of the local overseer of the Mittoo people

was Mbomo. As the owners of the land were mutually satisfied with each

other and on the best of terms, the soldiers of the Seriba lived on the

most amicable footing with the neighbouring Niam-niam. The Seriba Mbomo

was about twenty-one miles to the E.S.E. of the spot where we crossed

the Tondy, the road by which we travelled lying almost in a straight

line in that direction.

[Sidenote: ELANDS.]

Soon after starting, just as we re-entered the obscurity of the

forest, the men in the van of the procession made signs that there

was something stirring amongst the bushes. We came to a halt, and

hurrying to the front as stealthily as I could, I made out the forms

of some light-coloured animals that were lurking in the shadows of the

underwood. They turned out to be five splendid elands. They appeared

not to have noticed our approach, and grazed on, as peacefully as

oxen, under a large tree just in front of us. Simultaneously one of

the blacks and myself fired at the foremost buck that chanced to be

standing full broadside in our face. The startled animals made a

bound, and put their running powers to the test, their short weak legs

carrying their ponderous bodies at full gallop across our path. All at

once a crashing noise and a heavy fall; the wounded victim was ours: a

good supper was provided for our caravan.

This antelope (_A. oreas_) is the largest and tallest of all the

African species, occasionally measuring six feet high at the withers;

it appears to be common to the entire continent, and perhaps does

not fail in any equatorial region whatever. It is probable that the

imposing animal owes its name of “eland” to the imagination of some

well-read Boër, to whom it appeared like the mythical creature of his

fables and heroic songs; for only as such could the elk have been known

to the worthy Dutch colonists. But however little, as far as regards

either the colour of its coat or the shape of its horns, the oreas may

have in common with the elk, still I must confess that by its size

it could not do otherwise than remind me of the stately game of my

Livonian home; and the shaggy hair hanging in full crop from the neck,

the bushy bristles on the forehead, and above all the thick black mane

upon the withers, all combined to increase the resemblance. Far more

striking, however, is the analogy of this animal with the zebu-races of

Africa, which exhibit many points that are common to the whole antelope

type. The short legs, the elevated round body, the long hanging dewlap,

the hump-shaped withers, and the light bay colour of the skin are

characteristics of this race that justify a comparison of the eland

with them far more than with the elk.

[Illustration: Horns of Central African Eland.]

[Sidenote: HORNS OF THE ELAND.]

In external appearance this African elk exhibits varieties as great

as the hartebeest and other common species of antelopes, and on this

account it seems to claim some detailed notice. In zoological gardens

it is very rare to find two individual examples exactly alike, and

the greatest diversity is observable in the shape of the horns; as

instances of this, I may refer to the representation here introduced of

two pairs of horns which I have selected from my collection, and which

may be taken as examples of the two most extreme forms that came under

my notice. They are about a yard in length, the pair that is more

divergent making only one spiral turn, while the other makes a turn and

a half. All the elands that I saw had extremely short sleek hair of a

bright yellow tan colour verging on the flanks to a light bay; the mane

was black and erect, being about three inches long. In every district

through which I travelled I observed their skin to be always marked in

well-defined stripes, which are not, as some travellers have supposed,

to be taken as indications of the youth of the animal: I have seen full

grown specimens that were marked on each side of the body with no less

than fifteen parallel stripes, about as wide as one’s finger, of a pure

white running from the black line of the back transversely down to the

middle of the belly, which is often marked with a large black spot.

The flesh of the eland ranks amongst the better kinds of antelope-meat,

and as quite as palatable as that of the hartebeest.

We encamped about a league from our suspension-bridge, in the midst

of a splendid wilderness, where, in spite of the torrents of rain, I

passed a night of entire comfort in my warm nest of grass. A little way

to the north of our encampment there was a small gneiss hill called

Manga. Before halting for the night we had crossed two brooks, which

with a supply of water alike copious and rapid hastened on to join the

river at no great distance away; the first of these, the Mokungudduly,

rippled along over smooth blocks of gneiss, and was bordered by

flower-bespangled meadows that, stretching onwards in a forest glade,

were watered besides by countless springs.

The march of eight leagues that lay before us would pass through an

unbroken forest, and required us to make an early start upon the

following morning; accordingly when we set out we found the whole

wood veiled in mist and the ground yet reeking with the heavy dew.

The forest flora continually tempted me to deviate to either side of

the pathway. My interest was especially attracted by the splendid

Encephalartus, which seemed abundant throughout the district. Amongst

other new types of plants which met my notice was the _Tithymalus_, one

of the cabbage-like euphorbiæ, the first that I had seen throughout

the entire region. A large variety of conspicuous shrubs, many of them

covered with fine blossoms, gave the forest almost the aspect of an

artificial park; one of the most frequent of these (worthy indeed to

be designated as a tree) was the _Parinarium polyantherum_, remarkable

alike for its great trusses of white blossoms and for its polished

leaves, which are thick and yet brittle.

No less than eight running streams had to be crossed during this

march: the three first joined the Tondy, the rest being tributary

to the Lehssy. The third brook was called the Baziah, the fifth the

Ulidyatibba; succeeding this, and enclosed by walls of gneiss, came the

Lehssindah.

[Sidenote: THE MOROKOH.]

About a league to the right of our path, and to the south of the place

where we forded the Lehssindah, rose several gneiss hills, of which

the two highest peaks were called Ndimoh and Bondoh. Our route had

hitherto been quite level, and apparently at a considerable height

above the valley of the Tondy; but it now began to descend for a couple

of leagues to the Morokoh. This wide and rapid stream flowed through a

tray-like valley surrounded by open grass-plains that sloped downwards

on either side to the meanderings of the water. In front of us, to the

east, the whole country had a gentle but regular elevation, for looking

over the right bank of the Lehssy we could make out the locality in

which the union would have to be sought of the chain of the Zilëi

mountains in Mondoo with those that extend between the Tondy and the

Roah.

The scenery of the steep declivity towards the south-west which we now

reached assumed a character very different to the park-like landscape

through which we had been passing. For many miles the eye rested

upon treeless steppes broken by bamboo jungles that seemed almost

impenetrable, standing in detached groups, their dark olive-green

contrasting admirably with the bright hue of the grass, and giving

a novelty to the general aspect. Immediately beyond the Morokoh our

path began to rise, and led us into the semi-obscurity of one of these

jungles.

A short time before reaching it, we had left on our right a series of

hamlets inhabited by the Niam-niam belonging to Dippodo’s district: a

league further on lay the villages of Uringama, on the extreme eastern

frontier of Nganye’s territory, the Lehssy forming the boundary between

the Niam-niam and the Mittoo; and a few more leagues still in the same

direction would have brought us to the north-eastern limits of the

Babuckur.

We reached the Lehssy shortly before sunset. The Seriba was built close

upon the opposite bank, but it was so enclosed by the tall bamboos that

towered high above the palisade that it was completely hidden from our

view. The actual source of the Lehssy was at no great distance; the

river here was about fifteen feet wide, and four feet deep, and flowed

in a N.N.W. direction: the water was as clear as crystal, a peculiarity

that appertains to all streams that are enclosed by bamboos, which

delight in a soil that is intersected by springs. The stems of the

bamboos rose to the height of forty feet; slender and graceful they

bent themselves into an arch which stretched far across the stream; and

as hardly anywhere could a more inviting spot be found for a siesta, so

hardly anywhere could water be met with more tempting for a bath than

that which flowed limpidly over its gravel bed.

On my arrival at the Seriba, I soon became convinced that I was in a

land where corn was abundant; the very liberality of the messes of

sorghum-kissere that were served up to my people was an ample proof

that there was no scarcity here. In times gone by I had myself had an

utter disdain for this food of the Soudan, but now, after so long a

deprivation, I relished it heartily, and thought it equal to the most

delicate of rolls. It was no doubt heavy and indigestible enough;

still I could make a good meal of it; only on rare occasions during

the Niam-niam journey had I tasted any sorghum at all, and when I

had, it had been doled out in infinitesimal quantities, but with the

fresh enjoyment of this luxury now, and with the returning opportunity

of getting some real roast mutton, our previous privations were soon

forgotten.

The Seriba Mbomo was ten leagues to the south of Kuddoo, on the Roah.

Mohammed, with a thoughtful consideration of my tastes, had taken

means to enable me to fill up some missing links in the chain of our

route. During his march in February he had made one of his men who

could write take down all the information he could get from the Mittoo

guides; and from the same authority I obtained verbal confirmation of

the reports which I had previously gathered, so that I was able to map

out the entire district with what I believe is tolerable accuracy.

[Sidenote: NUMEROUS BROOKS.]

In the sketch of the route there were enumerated as many as twelve

brooks that had to be crossed in the interval between Kuddoo and Mbomo,

all supplied more or less copiously with water, even in the dry winter

season. Reckoning from north to south, the series came in the following

order: the Tee, the Burri, the Malikoo, the Marikohli, the Mangawa,

and the Wary; then came the watershed between the Lehssy and the Roah,

marked by the Gherey-hills, which I afterwards visited; then followed

six more brooks, the Kooluma, the Magbogba, the Makaï, the Patioh,

the Manyinyee, and the Malooka. Although all these streams have their

origin quite close to the left bank of the Roah, yet they take a very

devious course before they actually join it; the last five, indeed, do

not directly meet the river, but join another stream to the west of the

route called the Dongodduloo, which unites itself with the Tee or Tay;

the brook that flows past Ngoly’s village, and which is known to the

west of Sabby as the Koddoh, being an affluent of the Roah.

On the watershed, bamboo-jungles extend over an area of many square

miles. The species which is thus found in such immense masses is the

same which is so prolific in the lower terraces of the Abyssinian

highlands. In the manner of their growth these bamboos remind me of an

asparagus-bed in the summer-time, hundreds of sprouts start up from a

single root, and in graceful curves droop over towards the ground. The

habit of the plant is altogether similar to the Indian bamboo, which

has lately been successfully introduced into the pleasure-gardens of

Cairo. The Abyssinian species does not grow so thick in the stem as

the Indian, but it attains as great a height, often rising to forty or

fifty feet.

The well-tilled soil of Mbomo’s district reminded me very much of the

country about Kuraggera; the land appeared well populated and covered

with extensive fields of maize and sorghum. The extent to which maize

was cultivated was quite surprising; whole acres were planted with it,

and I obtained a large supply of fresh ears. I had these all dried and

ground, and thus provided myself with a considerable quantity of flour,

enough to meet the requirements of several weeks to come. The maize

is here liable to the same drawback as it is elsewhere. It is very

easily spoiled. This happens from two causes; it has a tendency to turn

mouldy, and it is very subject to the gnawings of worms; the meal also

ferments sooner than any other species of grain. The means adopted by

the natives to keep it during the winter is simply to tie the ears in

great sheaves and to hang them up on some detached trees, where they

can have plenty of air, and yet be out of the reach of the noxious

vermin.

One of the best productions of the country is the bean (_Phasæolus

lunatus_), the same that is so much cultivated by the Mittoo; it is one

of the most palatable species with which I am acquainted; its pods,

that are short, broad, and crescent-shaped, never contain more than two

large beans.

Although the settlement had been so recently established, Mohammed was

very pleased with the store of ivory that had been secured.

For three whole days I rambled about on the banks of the Lehssy,

meeting with excellent sport. Amongst other things, I killed my

first bushbock, an animal of which the yellowish-tan skin is marked

with white stripes, the lines so arranged as if they were a regular

harness. There is always to be observed some difference or other

between each of these creatures and all its fellows; they are never

precisely alike; either there will be some spot or speck, or stripe,

which is peculiar to each, and distinguishes it from all the rest. The

specimens of the bush-bock that I saw were always solitary; and it

would seem to be more timid than any other species of antelope. The

singular marking of its skin adapted it to catch the eye, but it was

rarely visible for more than a moment; its nervous sensibility made it

keen to catch the slightest sound; the lightest rustling would make

it bound away into the woods. I have stood breathlessly waiting with

cocked rifle, but there is no time to take a proper aim; and the shot

that took effect I own was directed rather by chance than skill.

[Sidenote: BAMBOO THICKETS.]

The bamboo-thickets are likewise a favourite resort of wart-hogs, which

there find abundant food in the tender young sprouts in which they

delight. Numbers of birds, too, attracted by the grain that is formed

in the round and bushy spikes of the bamboo, haunt the scene, and many

varieties of sparrows (_Passeres_) build and breed in this solitude,

which is well-nigh as undisturbed as any upon the face of creation.

The appearance of a herd of large eland antelopes excited the Niam-niam

of the neighbourhood to organise a regular _battue_, during the

prosecution of which they met with a bit of good fortune that did

not often occur. They succeeded in killing a leopard, an event that

was deemed so great a triumph that old and young conspired to do

honour to the occasion. The first intimation that we had of anything

unusual having transpired was given by the war-trumpets, the notes

of which were heard in the direction of Uringama’s villages; our

first impression was that the Niam-niam, who were charged by the keen

Kenoosian with the protection of his frontier, had been successfully

repulsing some assault on the part of the Babuckur; but very soon

the report was circulated that a noble present was being conveyed

to Mohammed, and, true enough, ere long there approached a formal

procession bearing on a litter of leaves the blood-stained carcase

of the leopard. The offering was duly laid at Mohammed’s feet as

a tribute, betokening the respect and friendship of the behnky.

Throughout the whole of Central Africa the skin of the leopard is

deemed a suitable adornment for persons of princely rank, and nowhere

is it more readily admitted amongst the insignia of royalty than with

the Niam-niam.

The animal that was now brought in was more than a yard in length. It

had been killed in a singular way. Having encroached stealthily upon

the position of the hartebeests, and not suspecting the proximity of

the hunters, it had suddenly found itself beset by a body of men, and

by a prodigious bound endeavoured to leap over the circle of snares

that had been set. Just, however, as the leopard was effecting an

escape it was struck by a couple of lances with such violence that the

points darned themselves into the flesh, and left the stems protruding.

Thus impeded, the wounded creature became entangled in the bushes and,

overpowered by the number of missiles hurled against it, succumbed to

its destiny.

All the leopard skins that I saw in this part of Africa belonged to

animals of the thick-set species, which is distinguished by large

complicated spots, each spot being itself an assemblage of smaller

spots, which run, generally in about five rows, along the entire body.

By some naturalists this species is designated as the panther, in

contradistinction to the true leopard, which is said to have a more

slender body covered with more numerous rows of smaller spots. This,

however, is an error; in spite of the many varieties of form and the

gradations in the markings of the skin, it appears certain that but

_one_ species of leopard exists throughout Africa, and that in this

quarter of the globe, at least, the distinctive terms of _leopard_ and

_panther_ are unnecessary.

[Sidenote: THE BABUCKUR.]

On my previous wanderings I had skirted about three-fourths of the

frontier of the Babuckur territory. As this territory lay but a short

distance to the south-west of Mbomo, being bounded by the Tondy, I was

able to obtain from the soldiers of the Seriba some particulars of the

country of which I had seen the natives largely represented among the

slaves of the various settlements at which I had sojourned.

The Babuckur must either have migrated to their present quarters from

the south, or they must be the remnant of a nation that has been

constrained to make its way to the north and to the east by the advance

of the Niam-niam. It is said that their dialect is found amongst

some of the tribes to the south of the Monbuttoo; this is not at all

unlikely, as, like those tribes, they have an established system of

agriculture and give great attention to the breeding of goats. Limited

to an area of not more than 350 square miles, the eastern portion of

this people is very much exposed to the raids of the Khartoomer traders

and to the depredations of the Niam-niam chieftains, who for years have

considered their land as a sort of outlying storehouse, from which

they could at pleasure replenish their stock of corn and cattle. By

reason of the perpetual persecutions to which they have been subject,

their population has gradually become more and more compressed, and

their very crowded condition itself probably accounts for the vigorous

intensity with which they now ward off any acts of hostility; they

are equally warlike and resolute; they will fight till they have shed

their last drop of blood; and as cannibalism is commonly reported to

be practised among them, their assailants are generally content to

carry off whatever plunder is to be secured, as hastily as possible,

without waiting to pursue or trying to subjugate them. Their eastern

neighbours, the Loobah, though themselves harassed by the oppressors

from the north, are continually at war with the Babuckur.

The other portion of the Babuckur has withdrawn to the frontiers of

the Bongo and Niam-niam that lie between the Sway and the Tondy,

about sixty miles to the north-west of the portion to which I have

been referring; the complete identity of the race, thus severed only

in situation, is verified not only by the one term “Babuckur” being

applied indiscriminately to the two sections, but still more by

the complete similarity of the dialects, as I afterwards proved by

comparing the vocabularies that I compiled. The Bongo call the western

division of the Babuckur “Mundo.”[55]

The Babuckur are a tropical negro race. Their complexion is very

dark. As slaves they are very useful, being of a docile and enduring

temperament, handy in the house, and expert at almost any ordinary

work. They are short in stature, and have a vacant, not to say a

repulsive, expression. The women, when they have once passed their

youth are, as a rule, the very incarnation of ugliness, for besides

having extremely irregular features, they mutilate their faces in a

most frightful way. All married women[56] pierce the rims of their

ears and both their lips, and insert bits of grass-stalk about an inch

long in the holes, some of them having as many as twenty of these

grass-slips about their mouth and ears. The sides of the nostrils are

treated in the same way as amongst the women of the Bongo, as I noticed

in its proper place.

As Mohammed was anxious to inspect his Mittoo Seribas again before

returning to his chief settlement, I did not wait for him, but,

accompanied by a small retinue, I started off on the 29th of June,

taking the nearest route to Sabby. For the first four miles we followed

the same path by which we had come to Mbomo, and although the rain fell

incessantly, the bamboo-forest was so unbroken that it afforded us

an effectual shelter, and we reached the descent to the Morokoh with

dry skins. After crossing the brook we turned off in a north-westerly

direction, at an acute angle to our previous path.

[Sidenote: FORDING THE LEHSSINDAH.]

An immense tract of forest, utterly barren and uninhabited, was now

before us. The nearest cultivated spot would be the villages of the

Bongo, near Ngoly, which could not be less than forty miles away,

and certainly could not be reached within three days. After crossing

four little meadow-waters, and fording the Lehssindah where it flowed

between its gneiss banks, we encamped for the night about a league

further on, near another of these meadow-waters, which are very

numerous, and which, spreading themselves out in open glades, sometimes

500 paces wide, break the monotony of the wooded scene.

The whole region was enlivened by herds of hartebeests, and choosing my

position at the head of the procession, I was ever on the _qui vive_ to

pursue them. My exertions in this way made the distance that I actually

travelled three times as much as it need have been; but I had no other

reward for my pains than the amusement I derived from the grotesque

movements of the agile creatures.

After I had comfortably settled myself for the night in my grass nest,

a circumstance occurred of a kind which more than once had happened

to us before. I was roused by a dull heavy sound that seemed to shake

the ground like an approaching earthquake. Our camp was tolerably

extensive, for, besides my own retinue, a considerable number of

Mohammed’s bearers, conveying a large quantity of his ivory, had been

sent in our party; but large as our numbers were, the whole camp was

thrown into commotion, and shouts and gun-shots were heard from every

quarter. The explanation of the uproar was that an enormous herd of

buffaloes in their nightly wanderings had come scampering down upon

our position, and exposed us to the manifest risk of being trampled to

death.

[Sidenote: SHARPLY STUNG.]

Early on the second morning we reached the banks of the Lehssy. The

deep river-bed was now quite full, the stream being forty feet wide and

flowing in a westerly direction at the rate of sixty feet a minute.

The bearers performed the passage by the ordinary manœuvre of bridging

over the water. For my own part I thought to adopt a scheme which would

give some variety to the monotony of these proceedings, and became the

victim of a little episode of by no means an agreeable nature. There

would be a difficulty, I felt, in wearing my boots to cross the tangled

branches of which the extemporised bridges are formed; they would

permit no sure hold to the feet, and to walk over bare-footed would

not have been a prudent experiment, as I might become footsore and

prevented from marching; I therefore abandoned all idea of clambering

over, but undressed myself and proceeded to swim across the flood.

When I was just within a few strokes of the opposite shore, all at

once I experienced a painful shock that throbbed through every limb; I

had come into contact with one of the prickly mimosa-bushes, which I

have already described as frequently hedging in the various streams.

The river-bed being now full to its entire capacity, the water had

completely risen above the dangerous shrubs, so that they had quite

escaped my notice. I knew the nature of these thorny barriers by

experience, and when I mention that I never found the stoutest boots

able to withstand the penetrating power of the spikes, it may be

imagined to a degree what agony I now suffered. It was like stranding

on a reef of thorns. The utmost refinement of cruelty could hardly

devise an instrument of torture much more effectual than these mimosæ.

However, swim I must. With a desperate effort I got myself free from

the entanglement of the shrubs, and, bleeding from a hundred

lacerations, I contrived to reach the land. I felt as if my whole body

had been scarified. But there was no time to lose; so, in spite of the

nervous shock, the angry wounds, and the smarting skin, I set out at

once in continuation of our march.

We travelled five leagues that day and crossed six separate

meadow-waters and glades of the same character as those already

mentioned.

After proceeding for a considerable distance over bare red rocks,

we were overtaken by a sudden storm of rain, and had to take hasty

measures for protecting the baggage. But the interruption did not

prevent me from doing a little interesting botanizing during the

interval of delay. I found two of the prettiest plants that the land

produces here, showing themselves in great abundance: a little orchid

(_Habenaria crocea_) with saffron-coloured blossoms, and a sky-blue

Monbretia, not unlike a squill. In many places the barren rocks were

overspread with patches of these plants, that they looked as though a

carpet had been laid out upon them, the colours blending into patterns

that would not disgrace the flower-beds of our modern gardening.

In connection with the second of our night encampments a circumstance

occurred, trifling in itself, but which was a convincing proof that,

however deserted and free from human intrusion these forest solitudes

might appear, they are nevertheless explored by the natives when they

are out upon their hunting excursions. In the bustle of starting in

the morning, a pair of boots, which I had hung up to dry within my

grass-hut, had been forgotten and left behind. I did not miss them

for a few days; but as their loss could not be replaced, I sent some

people back, in the hope that they would recover them. It was found

that the huts meanwhile had been ransacked by some mysterious stranger,

and the rare treasure had not escaped the keen eye of the hunter; the

boots, indeed, were hanging precisely where they had been left; but

every nail, and every little brass ring that formed the eyelets for

the laces, had been carefully extracted from the leather, and were now

probably gleaming in the nose and ears of some swarthy beauty.

Early in the morning of the third day we entered the splendid forest of

Humboldtiæ, through which, only ten miles to the west, we had passed at

the commencement of our Niam-niam campaign. After the forest came an

open steppe, with a distant view of the hills in front, which we should

again have to cross, though more to the east than before. The passage

of the Mah being accomplished, the ascent began, and led through a

wood, where the foliage was so dense that it was quite impossible to

see many steps ahead. At this period I chanced to be nearly in the

rear of the procession, when my attention was arrested by an old black

slave in the pathway, who kept beckoning me to come to her. I found,

on going up to the place where she stood, that she wanted to point out

to me a black object that was about ten paces away; at first I took it

to be merely a great stem of a tree that could only be indistinctly

seen behind the large leaves of the Anonæ; and I was about to make a

somewhat closer investigation, when all at once the mass began to move,

and a fine pair of horns displayed themselves. In my impetuous surprise

I fired mechanically, without an aim. My sudden shot raised a storm

that I had little expected. In an instant a herd of twenty buffaloes,

snorting and bellowing, with tails erect, came galloping past in mad

career. Dizzy with confusion I discharged my double-barrelled rifle

amongst the brutes; another moment and I could see nothing more than

the massive foliage: the buffaloes had vanished, and I heard no more of

them than the distant thunder of their heavy tramp.

[Sidenote: A HARTEBEEST KILLED.]

The hills before us were called Mashirr; they were a continuation of

the steep declivity of Mbala-Ngeea in the west, to which I have already

alluded, extending onwards towards the south-east and forming a portion

of the ridge that had been on our right during the whole of our march.

On the summit, as far as the eye can reach, there is an extensive

plateau, broken by detached groves and handsome trees, and sloping down

towards the north, to the depression of the Tee. For the first time,

after long missing them, we found some tamarinds, under the ample shade

of which we made a short noonday halt, and then started off through

some deep defiles that led to arid plains. Before reaching the Tee we

counted four little brooks that flowed in an easterly direction to join

it; the first of these, to the north of the hills, was the upper course

of the Nungolongboh, and was full of water in a deep bed enclosed by

an avenue of trees. A ridge of hills ran parallel to our path upon

the left, and after we had crossed the second brook we observed a

mass of red rock rising to about 300 feet upon our right. Many small

herds of hartebeests came in sight. I lamed one of the animals with

a rifle-shot, and was grieved to see how cruelly it was afterwards

butchered by the Bongo, the poor brute being so unmercifully mangled

by their lances that I had no little difficulty in getting a piece of

solid flesh large enough to carry off and roast.

So much time was lost in our chase of the antelope that the evening

came on whilst we had still some leagues to travel, and we soon

found ourselves marching on in complete darkness. I was amongst the

stragglers of our party, and we lost our way several times before we

were finally collected by the clanging roll of the kettle-drums on

the southern outposts of the Bongo. It was quite midnight when, weary

with our exertions and drenched by passing through so many swamps, we

arrived, after a circuitous route, at the village of Ngoly.

At this place we remained a day to recruit our strength. In the

environs of the village I found the Encephalartus (here in its most

northerly position), the seeds, as large as hazel-nuts, strewing the

ground in all directions.

At this season, too, the fruit of the wild date-palm was ripe, and I

collected a large quantity of it, with which I made an unsuccessful

attempt to concoct some African palm-wine. The fruit possesses the same

pleasant aroma as the common date, but it is only a third of the size,

and is very unpalatable, being harsh, dry, and woody.

On the 3rd of July we marched, without a single halt, for nine

consecutive hours, until we found ourselves once again in Sabby. The

last few leagues were accomplished in a drizzling rain. Large herds of

antelopes frequented the district; but it was vexatious to find myself

continually foiled in chasing them by the over-eagerness of my own

dogs, which I was quite unable to restrain.

Our entry into Sabby made a wonderful impression upon Tikkitikki. He

caught sight of a number of cattle quietly grazing before the gate

of the Seriba, and, jumping to the conclusion that they must be a

herd of wild antelopes that had accidentally strayed there, could not

comprehend why no one endeavoured to avail himself of so splendid a

chance to secure a prize. Subsequently, when he witnessed the process

of milking, his delight knew no bounds; he laughed aloud, and declared

that so comical a sight he had never seen before.

[Sidenote: FIVE DAYS REST.]

This journey had been one of the most pleasant and the most successful

that had ever been undertaken in so remote a part of the continent.

Its pleasantness was owing to my state of health and to the fine air

of the Niam-niam countries; its success was due to the favourable

circumstances under which I had travelled. In Europe the general

idea of such a journey is that it must be a sort of martyrdom, made

up of indescribable fatigue, exertion, and deprivation; but, without

hesitation, I can affirm that, to a traveller who can only maintain

his strength and activity, it is far otherwise; though he may find his

enterprise laborious, he will not find it wearisome; it will be what

a German would describe as _mühsam_ rather than _mühselig_. Fatigue

and hardships are estimated comparatively, not so much to themselves,

as to the ordinary comfort of domestic life. Those who are acquainted

with such fatigue as attends our modern warfare, with its transient

strain upon the powers of endurance, may probably form a fair idea

of the character of my exertions; but to all those who, like myself,

have travelled by “Russian posts” my worst trials and wants in Africa

would appear mere child’s play. In fact, our days’ marches were often

so short that I became quite impatient. Our Niam-niam campaign from

Sabby occupied 150 days, and in that time, apart from a few unimportant

deviations, we had only travelled 560 miles in all; according to

the calculations as registered in my journal at the time, the whole

distance accomplished was about 248 leagues.

After the forced marches, however, that we had just recently been

making, I was heartily glad of the five days’ rest which I was now

enabled to enjoy in Sabby. A large packet of letters was awaiting

my arrival, and to read through a correspondence which had been

accumulating for a year and a half was an agreeable engagement for

the period of unwonted repose. It was now for the first time that I

heard of Sir Samuel Baker’s adventurous expedition, and now that I got

my earliest intimation of the Egyptian Government having undertaken

to establish a footing in the Gazelle district. Kurshook Ali, a born

Osmanli and one of the chief ivory merchants of Khartoom, who possessed

a Seriba there, had been invested by the Governor-General with the

title of a Sandjak, and been placed at the head of two companies of

Government troops, one company being regular Turks (Bazibazuks), the

other composed of negroes (Nizzam). The arrival of these troops had

excited a great amount of consternation through all the Seribas, for,

apart from the fact that it too probably seemed to jeopardise the very

foundation of the rights of the holders to the territory, it certainly

presaged the levying of those taxes and imposts which the presence of

Government soldiers always entails. What, in the first place, excited

Kurshook Ali’s cupidity was to get possession of the famous copper

mines of South Darfoor. He was going to appropriate these in the name

of the Viceroy, but Ismail Pasha was caught in a trap, and beguiled by

the duplicity of a priest belonging to Darfoor, who represented the

locality as being his own private property, exhibiting a forged deed

of gift, purporting to be made by the late Sultan, to corroborate his

claim.

Hellali, for such was the name of the skilful swindler, had for some

time been employed as a secretary at the Court of the Sultan Hussein,

and, being familiar with the administration of the affairs of Darfoor,

turned his knowledge to account in fostering the animosity of that

country against Egypt, its far more powerful neighbour. He had not,

however, the slightest acquaintance with the property which he claimed

as his own, and led the troops, with their Sandjak, by difficult paths

to an uncertain fate, in a country that was scarcely known even by name.

In possession of the Viceregal firman, Hellali had the companies of

black soldiers under his own orders, while Kurshook Ali had only the

Arnauts. The story of how Hellali brought about a bloody conflict not

only with the occupiers of the Seribas, but (after the death of the

Sandjak, Kurshook Ali, which occurred soon afterwards) with the Turkish

soldiers themselves, must be narrated on a later page.

After I had re-arranged and re-packed my collection, and seen that it

had been properly enveloped in waterproof cases, I provided myself with

a fresh relay of bearers, and, on the 8th of July, proceeded again

towards the north. It was hardly in human nature not to be eager to

get the provisions which, having been forwarded from Khartoom, were now

delayed beside the sluggish waters of the Gazelle. Mohammed, however,

had not yet appeared, but was still making his requisitions of corn in

his territories amongst the Mittoo. In consequence of his not returning

with the anticipated contributions there was an increased dearth in

Sabby, and my poor bearers were becoming absolutely destitute. Their

sufferings during their arduous five days’ toil were little short of

incredible. The Seribas of Shereefee, which were passed upon the way,

were as “hard up” for sustenance as Sabby itself; and besides this, the

Bongo that were settled thereabouts were all in avowed hostility to my

own Bongo, so that no spirit of hospitality was to be expected along

our route.

[Sidenote: A TRYING JOURNEY]

Throughout this portion of our trying journey, the bearers, incredible

as it may appear, subsisted solely upon the wild roots which they could

grub up; they had positively nothing else to support them, and only

digestions such as theirs could have endured the strain. The pressure

under which we laboured of accomplishing the journey without loss of

time was so urgent that there was not leisure to avail ourselves of any

temptation to the chase, and, however much we might feast our eyes, we

were under the stern necessity of keeping back our feet from pursuing

the elands and waterbocks which had ventured from the wilderness and

were grazing peacefully in almost close proximity to our line of march.

It was on the 10th that we reached Shereefee’s chief Seriba, but we

did not enter it. I had openly declared myself to belong to Mohammed’s

party, and indeed could not do otherwise than foresee the bitterness of

those contentions which so soon afterwards broke out and led to such

serious issues.

Most fortunately we were free from rain all the day. The groups of

sycamores, which on our former visit had furnished such a commodious

encampment under the shelter of their splendid foliage, invited us once

again to take up our quarters beneath them; but we had hardly settled

ourselves under their shade before we were surprised by the sudden

outbreak of a storm, which continued with much violence. The woody

landscape around was pleasant enough, and I was compensated in a way

by the beauty of the scenery for the lack of provisions; but I looked

forward with eager hope for a period of refreshment when there would be

an end to chilly baths and wearing apparel perpetually wet.

The passage over the Doggoroo was not made without considerable

trouble, as we had to fell some trees and lay down a lot of brushwood

so as to construct one of our improvised bridges. The last night-camp

between the Doggoroo and the Tondy was deplorably wretched; our

provisions were positively exhausted; all we could do was to send some

messengers to the nearest Seriba to insure that we should have a supply

of some kind in readiness for us on the following morning. It was also

necessary to have extra bearers, as comparatively few of the Bongo of

Sabby had any knowledge of the art of swimming.

After arriving at the height, from whence, for some miles round, we

could survey the expanse of the submerged lowlands, we had still

several hours before we could decipher in the distance the forms of the

swimmers bringing the burdens of which we were in such urgent need.

My bearers could not control their impatience; greedily they pounced

upon the first bags of corn that were brought to land, and without

tarrying for the grain to be cooked, they thrust it by handfuls into

their mouths. Their strong teeth easily crunched it up, the hard dry

corn being as readily devoured by them as if they had been accustomed

to it all their lives. Horses, or ruminants of any kind, could not more

readily have disposed of a feed of oats.

I had thoroughly to undress myself in order to pass over the flooded

depression, and even upon the banks of the stream I stood knee-deep in

water. The passage over the river was tedious, mainly in consequence

of the sharp edges of the marsh-grass and the numerous pit-holes in

the bottom making any rapid progress very dangerous. No less than two

hours had I to dawdle away my time in this cheerless position before

the caravan could be brought entirely over. A small raft, constructed

of bundles of grass tied together, was used for the purpose of ferrying

the baggage across; and, thanks to the excessive care that was used,

not a single article failed to be transported in safety.

[Sidenote: CROSSING THE TONDY]

At this date (July 12, 1870) the Tondy was flowing with a velocity

of eighty feet a minute; the depth of the channel, now over-full,

proved to be no less than twenty-four feet, and the entire width of

the stream, as it reached from the reedy border on one side to that on

the other, extended to something more than 120 feet. The river had now

risen more than four feet beyond the ordinary limits of its inundation,

and our train had repeatedly to make wide deviations from its proper

route in order to keep where the bottom was tolerably level and free

from dangerous holes. The day was well-nigh spent in contending with

rain and flood, and it was quite dusk before we hailed the welcome

sight of the hospitable huts of Kulongo.

There is a way of transporting baggage across such rivers as are

tolerably free from danger, which appears to me to be eminently

practicable, and to be suited peculiarly well to this country, but

which I was sorry never to see brought into use. It is a method

recommended by Barth[57] in the record of his enterprise, and consists

simply of making a ferry by means of gourds. About a couple of dozen

of moderate-sized calabashes are fastened together and covered over

with layers of grass, and these are found to make a raft, which is

quite capable of bearing several hundredweight of goods. It has been

to no purpose that I have called the attention of the Nubians to this

contrivance; although they seemed forced to acknowledge the efficacy of

the plan, they are not disposed to try it; however, for the benefit of

future travellers, I beg to suggest it as a method which, under many

circumstances, might afford them incomparable service.

Thus it was that after an absence of eight months I found myself

happily back again at my old quarters. The place itself was little

altered, except that the Seriba seemed to be in a more flourishing

condition than in the previous year. The Bongo deserters, who had

caused the failure of the Niam-niam expedition, had in consequence of

a campaign against the Dinka tribes, on whose territory they had taken

up their quarters, not only themselves returned to their former abode,

but had induced three times as many Bongo as there were before to come

and settle upon Ghattas’s property. These people, who were now present

in such superfluous numbers, had ten years ago all taken themselves

off at the first appearance of strangers settling in their land. I saw

that numerous tracts of woodlands had been cleared and brought under

cultivation, and that various clusters of houses and farmsteads had

grown up around. Altogether I should say that there could not have been

much less than 600 fresh huts, which would represent at least 2500

souls. Since my departure, too, Ghattas senior had bidden his last

farewell to earthly property, and his Seribas on the Upper Nile had all

become the inheritance of his eldest son.

[Sidenote: PROJECT OF SECOND NIAMNIAM TOUR.]

After being away so long I felt that it was almost like coming home,

and realised something of the sensation of treading again the soil

of my fatherland when I gazed afresh upon this country, so rich in

its woodland charms, so abundant in its smiling sunny cultivation, so

contrasted in its character to the gloomy and inhospitable forests of

the Niam-niam, which I had just quitted. I could not be otherwise

than conscious that I had taken a step which brought me nearer Europe.

The large establishment with its diversified population of full many

a hue, the mere sight of clothes and linen that had known what it

is to be washed, the unaccustomed diversity of victuals of which we

could partake, all seemed so different to the contracted resources and

meagre fare to which of late I had been subject, that I could hardly

resist the impression that I must be living in a city, and could

almost fancy myself already back at Khartoom. But before that could

happen there were many obstacles to be overcome, and I must submit for

various reasons to stay where I was. The journey to the Meshera, at

this season of the year, presented nothing but countless marshes, the

very birthplace of the miasma, which in its turn begets fever. Fresh

deprivations for months to come would be the penalty of attempting at

once to proceed up the river, and I had, moreover, reason to mistrust

the capability of my constitution to withstand disease if I put it

to too stern a test. I resolved, therefore, to tarry as patiently as

I could, and to console myself with the pleasure of anticipation. In

addition to this I had several important tasks which had never been

satisfactorily finished, although I felt that the main object of my

mission had been generally accomplished.

The temptation to a second Niam-niam tour was too strong to be

resisted. I felt that it was my business to strike while the iron

was hot, because future travellers only too probably would find that

opportunities so good as my own were closed against them.

Exactly a month after our arrival a party was despatched for the

purpose of fetching the supplies which were on their way to me. Not

only my own effects, but Ghattas’s too, were all lying crammed up in

the meagre and not over-safe accommodation of the hold of the boats.

One occupation which engaged my attention continuously consisted in my

supervision of the arrangement of my miscellaneous collection, which

had increased very largely. It was necessary that everything should be

put into a condition ready for its long transport.

Another demand upon my time arose from my having my correspondence for

the ensuing year to complete and my journal to transcribe. My industry

at this period had its full reward. The documents that I then copied

and the outline maps that I dotted down were all preserved, and were

the only compensation I had to make good the subsequent melancholy loss

of all my other papers.

It will easily be understood how delighted I was, on the 23rd of

August, to receive my new consignment of supplies. Although a good

many articles had either been damaged by damp or devoured by insects,

yet a sufficient proportion of them remained so uninjured that I was

perfectly satisfied, and could venture with the utmost confidence to

make my preparation for another journey. I was able to distribute a

good number of presents of garments, pistols, and guns amongst the

controllers of the various Seribas, whose acquaintance I had made,

while the replenishing of my store of beads and stuffs gave me an

opportunity of making certain acknowledgments of the good offices of my

attendants. But the services which Mohammed Aboo Sammat had rendered me

were far larger than all, and for these I had no return in my power to

make.

Furnished thus afresh with a number of conveniences and luxuries

which the interior did not supply, I found myself enjoying an amount

of comfort that reminded me of Europe, and in the improvement of the

quality of my daily food I almost forgot the hardships I had suffered.

By a somewhat circuitous route I had received several cases of wine.

This was a gift which was especially acceptable, as being redolent of

my distant home. That of which I had dreamed as I tarried by the banks

of the Nabambisso was now within my reach; it was no longer tantalizing

to think of the “mountain port,” for I had not only my bottle of wine,

but a plentiful supply of other good things in addition; and nothing

would have been a pleasanter task than to be able to entertain some

lonely traveller like myself whom chance might have thrown across my

path. To be able to open a bottle of wine at all in the heart of Africa

was such an inexplicable piece of luck that it involuntarily brought to

my mind the revenge of the gods and the ring of Polycrates, and to say

the truth it was but a passing pleasure.

I was desirous of devoting the remainder of 1870 to the further and

more complete investigation of the Dyoor and Bongo lands. With this

intention I betook myself next to the Seriba of Doomookoo, and spent

the first half of September in an interesting excursion to Kurkur, a

district which, if ever the history of this land should be properly

written, will have a claim to one of its most prominent chapters.

[Sidenote: KURKUR.]

Kurkur, just at present a Seriba of Aboo Guroon’s, twenty-eight miles

to the W.S.W. of the chief Seriba of Ghattas, is a name already

known, having been mentioned by Petherick, who, as the first explorer

of the district, in 1856, had established a mart somewhere in the

neighbourhood, making it the extreme point to which he advanced in his

search for the ivory of the productive region.

Upon my route I crossed and re-crossed a number of small affluents

which, coming westwards from Bongoland, joined the Dyoor. I gave,

however, a particular attention to the course of the Molmul, which

hitherto had been regarded merely as an arm of the Dyoor, but which I

ascertained beyond a question to be an entirely independent stream. I

crossed it close to Doomookoo, and again on my return at another place

eight miles further to the north. It bears among the Bongo the name of

Maï.

Between Doomookoo and Kurkur the scenery was pretty and undulated,

wooded eminences alternating with extensive tracts of cultivated plain.

The rises in the ground are made by low ridges of hills that run in a

north-west direction on either side of the Nyedokoo, an affluent of the

Dyoor that is always full of water. I looked in upon two little Seribas

belonging to Agahd, called Kehre and Neshirr, and just before reaching

Kurkur I called at Nguddoo, one of Kurshook Ali’s settlements. The

various territories of the different traders are quite confusing, as

they lie scattered about in little enclaves like the petty Thuringian

dukedoms in Germany.

The present Seriba of Kurkur is situated in a flat bushy region, rich

in every variety of game. I was told that the former Seriba, visited

by Petherick, stood eight miles to the south-west, on the Legbe, an

important affluent of the Dyoor. Twelve miles further to the south, and

parallel to the Legbe, is the Lako, which is another tributary of the

Dyoor.

I remained at Kurkur for three days. Whilst I was there the natives

killed a couple of giraffes. The controller had in his possession

several of these animals alive, which had been caught in the

neighbourhood, and for which he hoped to find a sale at Khartoom.

The spotted hyæna dogs (_Canis pictus_) are very common in this region.

These dangerous animals have a partiality for the steppes and open

brushwood, and, congregating in herds, hunt down the smaller antelopes,

especially bushbocks. No case was known where they had attempted to

attack men. Some of their skins are most brilliantly marked, and

exhibit such a combination of red, white, yellow, and black spots

that the hyæna dog may fairly claim to be the most particoloured of

all mammalia. I saw one specimen in the Seriba that was perfectly

tame, requiring no other restraint than a cord, and yielding to its

master with all the docility of an ordinary dog. This fact appears

to corroborate the assertion of Livingstone (which, however, he makes

with some reserve, not having personally witnessed the circumstance),

that the natives of the Kalahari Desert are accustomed to break in this

animal and train it for the chase.

[Sidenote: DANGAH.]

Twelve miles to the north of Kurkur was another subsidiary Seriba,

belonging to Aboo Guroon, and called Dangah, after a Bongo chief who

lived there at the time when Petherick was in the country; another

surviving chief named Dyow, also mentioned by Petherick, had his

abode five miles further to the west; he came to pay me a visit, and

retaining the recollection of the condition of the country under an

earlier aspect now passed away, he made the usual lamentations over the

destitution of the land and its present deficiency of game.

The Nyedokoo, enclosed by dense jungles of bamboo, passes close to

Dangah, and in the rainy season is about thirty feet wide and ten

feet deep. The inmates of the Seriba were supplied by its bright and

sparkling waters, and I rejoiced at having an opportunity to send my

stock of linen that it might be properly washed. Of the forty Seribas

that I visited I saw scarcely more than three that were situated in

immediate proximity to running water, the supply obtained from the

wells being generally impure, besides being obtained in quantities too

limited to be of much service for washing clothes.

The Khartoomers seem to have a very wonderful faculty for picking out

the worst possible places for the formation of their settlements.

Although they are excellent swimmers, they are so accustomed to the

dust and dirt of their own home and to the turbid floods of their

beloved Nile, that even here, where streams are so abundant, they have

a morbid prejudice against all pure water whatsoever. They forget that

the waters of the Nile are wholesome in spite of being turbid, and

make no distinction between them and the waters of the noisome swamps

of Central Africa; while they heap imprecations upon the insalubrity

of the climate, which, they say, gives them pestilence, guinea-worm,

fever, skin disease, syphilis, and small-pox, they take no pains to

avoid the very spots which are the primary cause of all their suffering.

After leaving Dangah I turned back towards the east, and, having called

at Agahd’s subsidiary Seriba Dubor on the way, I soon re-entered my own

headquarters. The circuit I had thus completed was about sixty-five

miles.

During my brief absence an event had transpired in Ghattas’s Seriba

that had alarmed the whole community, and which furnished a topic of

anxious speculation for some weeks to come. It appeared that two of

the Nubian soldiers belonging to the Seriba had betaken themselves to

a Dyoor smith in the neighbourhood for the purpose of getting him to

forge them some rings. While they were sitting in the smithy quietly

watching the operations, all at once they were surrounded by a troop of

Dinka warriors, who were scouring the country. The sight of a couple

of unprotected “Turks” had suggested to the Dinka the idea of taking

revenge for the last raid that they had suffered, and the unfortunate

victims were attacked, cruelly tortured by lance-wounds, and carried

back dead to the Seriba. The entire force turned out to punish the

aggressors if they could; but the Dinka had had so good a start, that

they were far beyond pursuit. The occurrence gave a general feeling

of insecurity to the whole Seriba; the people were afraid to move

about unarmed, and even in their ordinary domestic engagements carried

their guns under their arms. This excessive prudence on their part,

involving, as it did, a large increase of danger from firearms, was far

from agreeable to myself. The risk of being burnt out was still greater

than it had previously been, and not relishing my position in close

proximity to so many straw-huts, I was anxious to set up my quarters

at some little distance away; but Idrees, the controller, declared that

he should have to answer for my safety with his head, and would not

permit me to build outside the palisade.

On the 15th of September Mohammed Aboo Sammat passed through the

Seriba on his way to the river, with his store of ivory. It was a good

opportunity for me to send intelligence of myself to Europe; and, under

his care, my letters were despatched by the speediest route, so that

in the course of five months they were in the hands of my friends. A

fortnight sufficed for the indefatigable Mohammed to reach the Meshera,

start off his boats on their way to Khartoom, and return to our Seriba.

[Sidenote: A NEW PROTÉGÉ.]

Mohammed upon his return made me a present of a somewhat uncommon

description. On his way through the forest of Alwady he had fallen

in with a troop of elephants, two of which had been killed by his

people, one of them being a female that was accompanied by her still

sucking calf. The little elephant had been secured and attached to the

caravan, and on arriving at the Seriba was introduced to my quarters

as a gift to myself. I was in possession of a milch cow, and took

the greatest pains to cherish my new _protégé_ by supplying it with

large quantities of milk; but all my attention was in vain, the young

animal had been so weakened by improper or insufficient diet, and so

exhausted by the forced marches, that no subsequent care could save it,

and in a few days it expired. It was quite touching to watch the poor

helpless creature in its last gasps. Whoever has observed the eye of

the elephant will remember that, in spite of its smallness and natural

short-sightedness, it exhibits an intelligence, almost amounting to

reason, that is seen in no other quadruped. My juvenile specimen had

already begun to display the instinctive cleanliness of its nature. I

was told that on its journey it stopped at every pool and spring while

it pumped up the water with its trunk, and squirted it, as if from a

hose, all over its body to wash off the dust of the road and the mud

that it had contracted in crossing the swamps.

For my own amusement I had made a collection of several other animals,

which I lodged in my hut, in order to have them under constant

supervision and to be able to observe their habits. My menagerie

contributed very much to the characteristic features of my hut. Outside

were tethered my donkey and my cow; but the calf, being too delicate

to withstand the rain, was brought in at nights, and fastened to the

tall scaffolding which supported my bed, the noxious miasma during the

rainy period making it desirable for every traveller to spend his hours

of sleep raised as much as possible above the level of the ground.

Different corners of the hut, which was already encumbered with every

variety of furniture, were appropriated to my dogs, two caracal lynxes,

a ratel, or honey-badger, and a zebra-ichneumon. These creatures lived

in continual feud, and did not show the least likelihood of becoming “a

happy family.” The honey-badger and the ichneumon were perhaps the most

amicable, but even they were continually snapping at each other; still

they never came into any mortal conflict. But the caracals were utterly

implacable, and fought most savagely: in spite, however, of their

general faculty of self-defence, one of them in a desperate encounter

with a Bongo dog was bitten in the throat and died on the spot.

I had brought a large number of lances and of bows and arrows from the

Monbuttoo, and felt inclined not only to try the efficiency of the

weapons, but to test the marksmanship of the representatives of the

various tribes that were included in the promiscuous population of

the Seriba. Accordingly more than once I set up one of the Monbuttoo

shields as a target, and instituted a general shooting-match.

Tikkitikki was an eminently successful shot, the grotesque attitudes

into which he threw himself to exhibit his dexterity ever causing

a great diversion: I was, in fact, quite proud of my Pygmy, and his

reputation was so bruited about, that many Khartoomers came from

distant Seribas to gratify their curiosity by looking at him.

[Sidenote: WOUNDED BY AN ARROW.]

One evening during the exercises I met with an accident which might

have been serious, if not fatal, in its consequences. An iron arrow

struck my forehead and, although it only slightly grazed the skin, the

pain for a moment was quite agonizing; it soon passed off, however,

and I took no further notice of the matter than applying a little

goulard-water; but, according to my ordinary habit, I sat up writing

until late into the night, exposed to a draught at the entrance of my

hut, and caught a cold in the wound, which became exceedingly inflamed.

When I woke the next morning I was unable to open my eyes, and on

lifting up my eyelids with my fingers, I could see in my looking-glass

that my whole face was immensely swollen. Fearful of erysipelas, I

could devise nothing better than wrapping up my face in calico and

staying patiently in bed. On the third day I had the satisfaction of

finding that the inflammation had subsided, and that all fear of danger

was gone. In regions such as these the traveller cannot be too careful

in his treatment of even the most insignificant wound. Once before I

had experienced something of the sort during a forced march through the

desert about Thebes: a gnat had slightly stung my instep, and such a

violent inflammation had supervened that I had been obliged to keep my

bed for several days.

The proceeds of this year’s cattle-raids upon the Dinka had been

exceedingly large; and as Ghattas’s company had been prevented from

carrying out a Niam-niam campaign, they had been able to concentrate

all their forces for plunder. The captured cattle, under the charge

of a number of Dinka herdsmen, had been installed in a large yard set

apart for the purpose close to the Seriba. There was consequently no

lack of meat, and, at a very reduced price, I was allowed to purchase

whatever cattle I required to be slaughtered for myself and for my

people.

My milch cow was an almost invaluable possession. In spite of its

yield of milk being somewhat meagre, it supplied me for eight months

with a morning draught, and in the subsequent season of necessity

its contribution to my daily diet was still more precious. Half the

cattle sickened with all sorts of internal disorders, and the greater

proportion of the animals that were slaughtered would not much longer

have endured the climate. I am sure, however, that notwithstanding the

fact that these breeds have been entirely unaccustomed to salt, its

admixture with their food would infuse new life and vigour into them;

nothing but this, I feel convinced, kept up my own supply of milk and

prevented my cow from becoming emaciated; at first the dose had to be

administered by force, but the creature not only soon became accustomed

to it, but would run after me for a handful of salt, like a lap-dog for

its sugar.

During the rainy season of 1870 the Dinka cattle were decimated by

various plagues, and the district of the Lao was especially ravaged,

old Shol losing some thousand of her stock. The most common of these

cattle plagues was called Atyeng by the Dinka, showing itself by

open wounds like lance-cuts in the hoofs; sometimes the wounds would

make their appearance on the tongue, rendering the animal incapable

of grazing, so that it could get no nourishment, and sank through

exhaustion. Another malady, called Abwott, to which only the cows are

subject, consists of a swelling which affects the uterus, and carries

them off in a night. A third, known as the Odwangdwang, appears just

as contagious, though not so generally fatal as the two former; the

animals refuse their food for forty-eight hours, but, under favourable

circumstances, on the third day commence grazing again.

The Khareef of 1870 terminated on the 21st of September, no rain

falling after that date. A heavy fall of hail occurred on the 25th of

August, when the hailstones were as large as cherries; this was the

only time that I remember seeing hail within the tropics, although in

May 1864, when I was on the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea, just to

the north of the tropic of Cancer, I witnessed one of the severest

hailstorms that could be imagined.

This year’s rainy season was remarkable for the violence of the

separate storms, but also for the small number of decidedly wet days;

of these I counted ten in July, twelve in August, and ten in September,

the number altogether corresponding very nearly to what I had recorded

in the previous year. Nevertheless, the rainfall was so great that the

sorghum in all the low-lying fields rotted in the ground; the condition

of the crops, however, was equally bad in all places where the soil,

although rocky, was sloping, and threw off the water too rapidly, for

between the intervals of rain the heat of the sun was so overpowering

that the corn was parched up through being drained of moisture.

[Sidenote: METEOROLOGICAL NOTES.]

By reference to a few notes that I saved I find that the 4th of

October, in a meteorological point of view, was an important day, as

being the date on which the wind first veered round to the north-east.

I cannot speak positively as to the date when the south wind had first

set in, as I was absent amongst the Niam-niam and Monbuttoo at the

time; but my impression is that it was not far from the same time as in

the year before, viz., the 16th of March; thus the entire period during

which the south-west winds had been prevalent was seven months. But

although the north-east wind had thus commenced on the 4th of October,

there was no perceptible fall in the temperature until the 20th of

November; after that the thermometer at sunrise stood at about 70° Fahr.

As the flora at this season presented little with which I was not

already familiar, my time was spent very much under the same routine

as in the previous autumn; I continued my occupations of measuring

the natives, studying their dialects, collecting insects, preparing

skulls, and joining the people in chase of small birds. But, all along,

I did not lose sight of my projected journey, and applied all the

experience I had gained so that I might equip myself for renewing my

wanderings with the best advantage. My health was by no means impaired,

but, on the contrary, I had gained fresh vigour in the pure air of the

southern highlands, where I had undergone more fatigue than I could

have previously trusted myself to encounter; I came to the resolution,

therefore, that I need not fear to accompany Ghattas’s next expedition,

and visit the central portions of the Niam-niam countries that were

still unknown to me. The journey was specially attractive to me as

promising to enable me to complete my exploration of the hydrographical

system of the Gazelle, taking me as it would to the middle sections of

those rivers, which, indeed, I had already crossed, but only in their

upper and their lower courses. By this means I indulged the hope that,

under favourable circumstances, I might be able once for all to settle

the details of this particular district of the Nile territory, and so

to make one contribution more towards building up the true theory which

may solve the complicated problem of Central Africa.

Being desirous of making some exchanges and effecting some purchases

to complete my supplies, I set out on a tour to Kurshook Ali’s head

Seriba, with which I was already well acquainted. This excursion

occupied from the 24th of October until the 4th of November. The owner,

as already mentioned, had been sent out by the Egyptian Government

at the head of a body of troops; but before reaching the interior he

had succumbed to the pestilential climate of the Dinka, and had been

succeeded in command by a Turkish Aga, who had accompanied him as

lieutenant, and who, having broken up his camp in the Dinka country,

had turned farther to the west.

Credit had been opened for me in all the establishments of the

Khartoomers, and not only were the magazines of Kurshook Ali’s Seriba

amply supplied with stores, but Khalil, the controller, received me

hospitably and rendered me all possible service, so that I accomplished

my business most satisfactorily.

[Sidenote: ACROSS THE DYOOR AGAIN.]

The little trip gave me another opportunity of twice crossing the

Dyoor, and thus, by taking fresh measurements, of adding to the

information I had already gained about this important river. At ten

o’clock in the morning, when the atmosphere was at a temperature just

under 80° Fahr., the temperature of the water was just over 90°.

The passage over was effected in a ferry-boat of the most wretched

description; it was composed of nothing more than a couple of hollow

stems bound together by ropes and caulked with common clay, the

miserable craft demanding perpetual vigilance to keep it afloat at all.

It is a striking proof of the unconquerable indolence of the Nubians

that during their fifteen years’ residence in the land, although they

are beyond a question acquainted with the art of ship-building, they

have never attempted to construct an ordinary boat for the daily

passage of such an important river as this.

The aspect of the vegetation was very similar to that of late autumn

in Europe. Quite recently as the water had left the steppes, the low

parts of them were already beginning to look withered, and in the woods

the trees were rapidly becoming more and more bare. Amongst smaller and

less important plants I found a considerable number of new species,

which either had previously escaped my notice, or which probably do not

spring up until after the receding of the waters.

On our way back we were entertained in the little Seriba Dyoor Awet,

where roasted elephant-foot constituted the speciality of the repast.

Before we reached Aboo Guroon’s Seriba a ludicrous circumstance

occurred, which while it brought out afresh the evidence of the dastard

cowardice of my Niam-niam interpreter Gyabir, who had made such an

outcry when wounded in the arm by the A-Banga, at the same time exposed

me to the risk of losing one of my invaluable guns. He was marching

along in the rear of the caravan when a number of Dyoor chanced to

come across his path; mistaking them for Dinka, to whom they bore a

very decided resemblance, he took to his heels and made his way to the

most inaccessible part of the steppe, where he intended to remain till

night should enable him to escape unobserved. Our route led us so close

to the Dinka territory that we were aware no one could wander half a

league away without being in imminent peril of being captured; it was,

therefore, with no small concern that on our arrival we discovered that

Gyabir was missing. We could only conjecture that he had lost his way.

Aboo Guroon at once despatched his black soldiers in all directions,

but they returned at night without having discovered the least clue to

the whereabouts of the wanderer. Early next morning, to the general

surprise, Gyabir made his appearance; he acknowledged that he had heard

the shouts of the men who were making the search for him, but that he

could not venture to quit his place of concealment, because he was

thoroughly aware that if by any misadventure he should fall into the

hands of the Dinka, being a Niam-niam, he could have no hope of finding

any quarter.

Whilst here I received sad news of my friend Mohammed. On his way back

from the Meshera to Sabby he had hoped by taking a short cut through

the wilderness to avoid all conflict with the marauding parties of his

enemy Shereefee; but, in spite of all his precautions, his antagonist

had gained information of his movements, and, setting an ambush in the

forest, made a murderous attack upon him. The assault was far more

sanguinary in its results than that of the previous year. As usual the

Khartoomers refused to fire upon their compatriots, and Mohammed was

thus entirely dependent for his protection upon his black spearmen, of

whom several were killed. Mohammed’s cousin, who had brought the stores

from Khartoom, fell a victim to a gun-shot quite at the beginning of

the fray, and Mohammed himself received so many sabre cuts about his

face and head that, deluged in blood, he was left on the ground for

dead. Shereefee’s Bongo pursued Mohammed’s Bongo in all directions,

and Mohammed’s stores all became the spoil of Shereefee, who did not

as before scatter the beads and valuables about the ground, but had

everything conveyed to his own Seriba. The booty amounted in all to at

least two hundred packages. The shameless marauder made an avowed boast

of his achievements, ostentatiously displayed his ill-gotten wealth

to all around him, and even strutted about arrayed in Mohammed’s new

clothes.

[Sidenote: MOHAMMED AGAIN WOUNDED.]

In the course of the night Mohammed was picked up, apparently lifeless,

by his faithful blacks and carried to Sabby, where he received every

due attention, but it was some weeks before he was sufficiently

recovered to write an account of his misfortunes, which he despatched

to the friendly Seribas, sending it by witnesses who could explain the

true condition of affairs.

These events naturally excited the utmost indignation in the Seribas,

all the controllers of which were friendly and well-disposed towards

Mohammed. The slave-traders, on the contrary, who had settled in

the country, and all their adherents, took the part of Shereefee.

That a Mussulman, on a peaceful journey, should be the subject of a

premeditated attack by one of his own faith, was a circumstance without

a precedent even in this land of violence and club-law; but, what most

provoked my own anger and disgust was the cool indifference with which

the commander of the Egyptian troops (the lieutenant who had succeeded

Kurshook Ali) viewed the whole affair. When Mohammed appeared in

camp and demanded that retributive justice should be exacted for the

ill-treatment and loss that he had sustained, the commander endeavoured

to throw doubts upon all his statements, and did not hesitate, in spite

of the testimony of all the witnesses, to shield Shereefee, by whom,

no doubt, he had been previously bribed. Who shall say what order

or justice is to be expected in this land of license, when even the

Government official, sent out as the first representative of the State

to protect and administer its laws, could proceed to such a degree of

avaricious partiality? And yet the people in Khartoom have the audacity

to descant upon “the suppression of the slave-trade!”

Aboo Guroon, with whom I spent several pleasant days, was busy from

morning to night in his preparations for the forthcoming Niam-niam

campaign, and it afforded me much amusement to watch him as he sorted

out and packed his varied store of ammunition. Several companies had

combined for the expedition, and he invited me to remain and start with

him, as Ghattas’s party, to which I was attached, would not follow for

some weeks later.

In this common enterprise Aboo Guroon had a special interest of his

own, having but a short time since lost one of his Seribas in the

Niam-niam land. The garrison had been massacred, and all the arms and

ammunition had fallen into the hands of the sons of Ezo, who having

got possession of the weapons turned them to such good account that

they inspired the Nubians with great respect for their military skill.

These events had taken place to the west of my Niam-niam route, and had

an indirect connection with the proceedings taken against Mohammed by

Mbeeoh, who had been surprised by Aboo Guroon’s company in the same way

as the combined companies of Ghattas and Aboo Sammat. The scene of war

had merely been transferred from Mbeeoh’s territory to that of the sons

of Tombo and Ezo.

Although I should have much preferred to travel in company with Aboo

Guroon rather than with Ghattas’s agent, there was one insuperable

impediment: my baggage was not ready, and it would require some little

time to select the articles that would be of most practical use to me

as well as what would involve me in the smallest outlay for bearers.

I was obliged, therefore, to forego Aboo Guroon’s offer. If I had

joined him I should have escaped the calamity of fire from which I soon

afterwards suffered so severe a loss, but perhaps only to share a worse

fate, for Aboo Guroon was one of the first victims of an engagement

with the Niam-niam, a very few days after he set out.

[Sidenote: IVORY EXPEDITIONS.]

Just at this time all the controllers of the different Seribas were

actively engaged in preparing for their combined and extensive ivory

expedition. With their aggregated forces they hoped to subdue the

refractory chieftains in the north, who had been guilty of much

treachery towards the Nubians: their primary proceedings were to be

taken against Ndoruma, the daring son of Ezo.

It had been the rapid diminution of the ivory in these districts that

had caused the Khartoomers of late to direct their expeditions to the

territories of the powerful kings of the south, leaving the smaller

chieftains with a comparatively insignificant interest in the traffic.

These chieftains, therefore, did all in their power to obstruct the

progress of the Nubians, and endeavoured by foul means, instead of

by fair, to obtain a share of the copper which they coveted. They

commenced a system of hostility to get possession of the store of metal

which, as long as they had ivory to dispose of, had come to them in

the peaceful way of commerce. To the dismay of the Khartoomers, the

natives soon showed that they were quite capable of putting whatever

firearms they captured to a formidable use, and I shall very soon have

to relate how completely all the Niam-niam expeditions came to grief

in consequence of the vigorous opposition of the natives.

Meanwhile I was fully occupied by my preparation for the long journey

before me. My anticipations were not to be realised. Just at the time

when I was rejoicing that my health had braved all the perils of the

climate and my good fortune seemed to be at its height, I was doomed

to drink of that bitter cup of disappointment from which none of my

predecessors in Central Africa have been exempt.

FOOTNOTES:

[55] This is the Mundo of Petherick.

[56] The portrait of a Babuckur woman is given in the

subsequent chapter on the slave-trade.

[57] _Vide_ ‘Barth’s Travels,’ vol. ii. p. 254.