NEW ENEMIES
Our enemies were not confined to the land only: the crocodiles in the
neighbourhood of Gondokoro were exceedingly ferocious. As the natives
were so much in the habit of swimming to and fro with their cattle,
these wily creatures had been always accustomed to claim a toll in the
shape of a cow, calf, or nigger. Two of Abou Saood's sailors were
carried off on two consecutive days. One of my soldiers, while engaged
with many others in water, only hip deep, was seized by a crocodile. The
man, being held by the leg below the knee, made a good fight, and thrust
his fingers into the creature's eyes; his comrades at the same time
assisted and rescued him from absolute destruction; but the leg-bone was
so mashed and splintered in many places that he was obliged to submit to
amputation.
One of my sailors had a narrow escape. He and many others were engaged
in collecting the leaves of a species of water-convolvulus that make an
excellent spinach; this plant is rooted on the muddy bank, but it runs
upon the surface of the water, upon which its pink blossoms are very
ornamental.
The sailor was stooping from the bank to gather the floating leaves,
when he was suddenly seized by the arm at the elbow-joint; his friends
immediately caught him round the waist, and their united efforts
prevented him from being dragged into the water. The crocodile, having
tasted blood, would not quit its hold, but tugged and wrenched the arm
completely off at the elbow-joint, and went off with its prize. The
unfortunate man, in excruciating agony, was brought to the camp, where
it was necessary to amputate another piece slightly above the lacerated
joint.
I made a point of carrying a rifle at all times, simply to destroy these
terrible reptiles. There never was a better rifle than "the Dutchman,"
made by Holland, of Bond Street. This little weapon was a
double-barrelled breechloader, and carried the Boxer bullet of
government calibre, with a charge of three drachms of powder. The
accuracy of both barrels was extraordinary; it was only sighted up to
250 yards, but by taking the head very full, it carried with great
precision up to 300. I could generally make certain of crocodiles if
basking on a sandbank within a hundred yards, as I could put the bullet
exactly in the right place, either behind the eye, or right through the
centre of the shoulder. This handy rifle weighed 9-3/4 lbs., and
throughout the expedition it was almost as much one of my component
parts as a bone of my body. I had a large supply of ammunition; thus I
never lost an opportunity of shooting at a crocodile's head if I saw one
above the surface. On many occasions they never moved from the shot when
basking on sand-banks, but were simply extinguished.
One of our women went to the river to wash, but never returned. This was
close to our diahbeeah; and the water being shallow, there is no doubt
that she was seized by a crocodile.
I was one day returning from head-quarters to my station, a distance of
a mile and a half along the river's bank, when I noticed the large head
of a crocodile about thirty yards from the shore. I knew every inch of
the river, and I was satisfied that the water was shallow. A solitary
piece of waving rush that grew upon the bank, exactly opposite the
crocodile, would mark the position; thus, stooping down, I quietly
retreated inland from the bank, and then running forward, I crept gently
towards the rush. Stooping as low as possible, I advanced till very near
the bank (upon which grew tufts of grass), until, by slowly raising my
head, I could observe the head of the crocodile in the same position,
not more than twenty-six or twenty-eight yards from me. At that
distance, the Dutchman could hit a half-crown; I therefore made sure of
bagging. The bank was about four feet above the water; thus the angle
was favourable, and I aimed just behind the eye. Almost as I touched the
trigger, the crocodile gave a convulsive start, and turning slowly on
its back, it stretched its four legs above the surface, straining every
muscle; it then remained motionless in this position in water about two
feet deep.
My horse was always furnished with a long halter or tethering-rope:
thus I ordered the syce and another man to jump into the river and
secure the crocodile by a rope fastened round the body behind the
fore-legs. This was quickly accomplished, and the men remained knee-deep
hauling upon the rope to prevent the stream from carrying away the body.
In the mean time Monsoor had mounted my horse and galloped off for
assistance to the camp of the "Forty Thieves."
Crocodiles are very tenacious of life, and although they may be shot
through the brain and be actually dead for all practical purposes, they
will remain motionless at first, but they will begin instinctively to
move the limbs and tail a few minutes after receiving the shot. If lying
upon a sand-bank, or in deep water, they would generally disappear
unless secured by a rope, as the spasmodic movements of the limbs and
tail would set upon the water, and the body would be carried away.
The crocodile, that had appeared stone dead, now began to move its tail,
and my two men who were holding on to the rope cried out that it was
still alive. It was in vain that I assured the frightened fellows that
it was dead. I was on the bank, and they were in the water within a few
feet of the crocodile, which made some difference in our ideas of its
vivacity. Presently the creature really began to struggle, and the
united efforts of the men could hardly restrain it from getting into
deeper water. The monster now began to yawn, which so terrified the men
that they would have dropped the rope and fled had they not been afraid
of the consequences, as I was addressing them rather forcibly from the
bank. I put another shot through the shoulder of the struggling monster,
which appeared to act as a narcotic until the arrival of the soldiers
with ropes. No sooner was the crocodile well secured than it began to
struggle violently; but a great number of men hauled upon the rope, and
when it was safely landed, I gave it a blow with a sharp axe on the back
of the neck, which killed it by dividing the spine.
It was now dragged along the turf until we reached the camp, where it
was carefully measured with a tape, and showed an exact length of 12
feet 3 inches from snout to end of tail.
The stomach contained about five pounds' weight of pebbles, as though it
had fed upon flesh resting upon a gravel bank, and had swallowed the
pebbles that had adhered. Mixed with the pebbles was a greenish, slimy
matter that appeared woolly. In the midst of this were three undeniable
witnesses that convicted the crocodile of wilful murder. A necklace and
two armlets, such as are worn by the negro girls, were taken from the
stomach! The girl had been digested. This was an old malefactor that was
a good riddance.
I have frequently seen crocodiles upwards of eighteen feet in length,
and there can be little doubt that they sometimes exceed twenty; but a
very small creature of this species may carry away a man while swimming.
The crocodile does not attempt to swallow an animal at once, but having
carried it to a favourite feeding-place, generally in some deep hole,
it tears it limb from limb with teeth and claws and devours it at
leisure.
The camp of the "Forty Thieves" had been finished some time since: the
gardens were flourishing, and I erected a "shadoof," or Egyptian double
bucket and lever for irrigation. Two men could lift and throw out 3,600
gallons per hour. I made the calculation as nearly as possible: the iron
buckets contained slightly more than four gallons each; thus, two men
with the double shadoof lifted eight gallons every eight seconds (or one
lift in eight seconds): a gallon per second gave 3,600 per hour.
I never allowed the "Forty Thieves" to work at the general
head-quarters, but kept them as my personal escort. When at Tewfikeeyah
I had been particular in their drill, and I had endeavoured to teach
them to shoot accurately. The Egyptians became better shots than the
Soudanis, but I much preferred the latter; by degrees I drafted out all
the Egyptians excepting four, and filled their places with well-selected
blacks, mostly taken from the grenadier company of the regiment.
At the commencement of the expedition this small body of men had well
earned the title of the "Forty THIEVES" by which they were always known
among the English party, although publicly in the camp they were only
designated as "The Forty."
I had taken great personal care of this little corps, and the result was
most satisfactory. The thieves had been got rid of. I never forgave a
fault until after punishment had been received; I never allowed the
doctor to attend them when ill, but invariably attended to them myself.
I had endeavoured to instil a feeling of pride among them, and
encouraged them with an idea of their superiority to the other
regiments. I actually succeeded in establishing a code of honour
throughout the corps, until it was considered a disgrace to "The Forty"
that a theft should be committed. "Is he not one of 'The Forty'?" was
the usual exclamation if any doubt was thrown on the character of a
soldier. The fact of his belonging to "The Forty" was a sufficient
certificate.
The regimental arrangements at head-quarters had been sadly neglected,
as the men were necessarily so much engaged in other work that they had
no time for drill except on Fridays. The "Forty Thieves" were well
officered, having the advantage of a lieutenant-colonel and a captain,
together with two most active and courageous lieutenants, who had lately
received their promotion for good conduct: these were my faithful
Monsoor Agha, and Ferritch Agba. The young soldier, who had been
condemned to be shot for desertion the previous year, had shown such
devotion and activity that he was promised the next vacancy in the rank
of corporal. The non-commissioned officers were soldiers who had seen
much service, and the corps was in a highly efficient state with the
exception of the rifle practice.
While at Tewfikeeyah, having paid much attention to this all-important
point, I had instructed the officers and men personally, and I had
established prize-shooting to give an additional interest to the work.
Both officers and men now took an immense pleasure in rifle practice,
but it appeared almost impossible to make them good shots. Out of
forty-eight officers and men, I had only fifteen who could be called
real hitters; the others were only shooters.
The great difficulty was to instruct them in distances. I frequently
took them away from camp and made them guess the distance in paces from
some particular object, such as a tree, or white-ant hill. Very few of
the men had the slightest idea of this important subject; but at the
commencement, even the officers were perfectly ignorant. At length, by
constant practice at the target, varying the range from 100 to 300
yards, about a third of the corps became fair shots, and these few were
tolerably good judges of distance up to 400 yards. The colonel, Abd-el-
Kader, became an excellent shot, as he was an officer who took great
interest in his profession. The remainder of the corps shot as well as
they could, and took great pains; but although they were considered
crack marksmen by the line-regiments, their reputation would have
suffered if their deficiencies had been exposed. At any rate, they were
very dangerous with such a weapon as the snider, when firing into masses
of the enemy.
I distinguished "The Forty" from the line regiment by a scarlet uniform;
this was a simple red flannel shirt, worn outside their Zouave trouser,
and secured by a belt, with ammunition-pouches, round the waist. This
uniform, with linen gaiters, and with a head-dress of the scarlet fez,
bound by a turban of cobalt blue, looked remarkably well.
In active service, the officers carried sniders; thus, the corps
complete consisted of forty-eight sniders; but together with Lieutenant
Baker and myself, it comprised fifty rifles.
The high state of discipline and the fine morale of this little force
was a good example of what may be effected, even with a material of so
low a reputation as the negro. My men were natives of various tribes
scattered over an immense extent of Central Africa. Each had a certain
love of the country from which he had been originally stolen by the
slave-traders when a boy, before he found his way into government
service. I always endeavoured to keep up this feeling, and to create
emulation among the men of different tribes; thus, a native of Pongo
would assume a superiority over a Dinka, although the Dinka considered
himself of a higher class than a Pongo. A Noba regarded himself as
superior to all others. But by degrees I established a principle that
was generally accepted by them all--that an old soldier with a good
reputation should take precedence of all others, without reference to
caste or tribe. Thus, the aim of all young privates would be to become
old soldiers, and to rise in rank according to their merits. There were
several excellent examples of good soldiers in "The Forty," among whom
stood first Mohammed-el-Feel, sergeant of the body-guard. The latter
comprised ten men, selected from "The Forty" as creme de la creme;
these men were exempted from all labour, and they formed the guard of
two sentries by night, and one by day.
The discipline of this picked corps--"Abd-el-Kader and the Forty
Thieves"--was the commencement of a great moral reform, that resulted in
an improved tone throughout the force, which ultimately did the great
work of the expedition.
The efficiency of "The Forty" was an established fact of what could be
accomplished where officers and men were governed by that peculiar
confidence that bound them together as one man. Throughout the
expedition, after this confidence had been once established, I never for
an instant doubted the fidelity of my men; they would have followed me
through fire or water, without the slightest hesitation. In action, "The
Forty" were always in advance, and they were watched with eagerness and
even pride by the other regiments: when thrown out as skirmishers they
climbed rocks, pushed through jungles, and cleared the enemy from the
country with irresistible activity. Promotion from the line to "The
Forty" was considered as an honour, and so perfect was the esprit de
corps, that in the event of a vacancy being caused by sickness, or other
cause, the men reported to me the character of the new-comer before he
was admitted, and respectfully declined to receive him if he bore a
doubtful reputation; virtually he was "black-balled."
A corps of this character was a nucleus for an extension of military
morality. The "Forty Thieves" would not admit a thief; and they became
generally accepted as a model of what government soldiers should become.
I believe that if it were possible to convert the greater portion of
African savages into disciplined soldiers, it would be the most rapid
stride towards their future civilization. The fact of obedience being
enforced, and the necessity of order, industry, and discipline, together
with clothing and cleanliness, is all that is absolutely required to
bring a savage within the bounds of good management. A savage who has
led a wild and uncontrolled life must first learn to obey authority
before any great improvement can be expected. A soldier must obey, and
he learns to respect his officers as his superiors; thus, a savage who
has learnt all that he knows from his officers, whom he admits as his
superiors, will quickly adopt their religion, as he has been obliged to
adopt their military rules. My soldiers were all Mohammedans, simply
because they had been taught by their officers that good soldiers should
be true believers.
As I have already described, my station was a mile and a half distant
from head-quarters, and the arrangements under my personal inspection
were very different from the lax discipline of the officers at
Gondokoro.
The natives of Belinian had disregarded the warning they had received,
and now, having leagued themselves with the Baris of Gondokoro, they
were constantly on the watch for an opportunity of surprising the cattle
guards. Concealing themselves behind thick foliage, they stalked the
careless sentries with the adroitness of American Indians, and sometimes
succeeded in making a dash and driving off a few head of cattle.
I was obliged to take extra precautions during the night, as my little
station was dependent only upon "The Forty," while the camp at
head-quarters was occupied by 1,100 men, in addition to about 400
sailors, and the six Englishmen.
The natives disturbed us every night, and were constantly fired at by
the sentries. I served out cartridges containing eight-mould shot, each
to be rammed down over the ball in the muskets for the night sentries:
these would be more likely to hit a thief in the dark than a single
bullet. The muskets were given to the sentries in addition to their
rifles.
I placed my men every night, concealed by cover so as to command the
various approaches. The station was conveniently situated, as a large
and deep lake completely defended the north flank for a distance of
about 400 yards. The river defended the east face: thus we were only
open on two sides, one of which was commanded by the camp of "The
Forty."
On 28th June it rained steadily during the night. The Baris considered
that our sentries would be under cover, or would most likely not expect
an attack; they therefore resolved to attempt a surprise. Their advanced
scouts approached warily in the dark, but long before they had reached
the sentries, they passed within a few feet of a party of guards
concealed behind a white-ant hill. A shot from a musket stretched one
Bari dead. The guards pounced upon another and seized him by the throat.
This was a native of Belinian; he was accordingly hanged on the
following morning to a tree in the pathway by which the Belinian Baris
arrived through the forest to attack the camp. This it was hoped would
be a warning that might deter others. (Throughout the expedition this
was the only native who was hanged. Neither was any native shot or
otherwise executed when taken prisoner, except a spy at Belinian.)
On 5th July the natives made an attempt on the cattle, and shot a sentry
with an arrow.
On 7th July the Baris attacked the camp during the night.
On 8th July I sent a company to take possession and to hold the island.
They met the natives; and Monsoor and Achmet Bash Choush had a narrow
escape from lances. The Baris lost three killed and two prisoners.
On that day the river rose four feet six, which was the highest flood
during the wet season.
On 10th July, at mid-day, several hundred Baris, having cautiously
approached the grazing cattle unobserved, made a sudden rush from the
bushes upon the guards, killing one soldier and wounding another. The
soldiers belonged to the line, and must have behaved badly, as the
musket and cartouche-box and belt were stolen and carried off from the
dead man. The shots from the guard immediately alarmed the camp. The
horses were saddled, and, attended by Lieutenant Baker, I rode hard in
pursuit. The natives had gained the forest and had scattered, but we
rode a red-painted savage to bay, who fought to the last, shooting two
arrows at me, which I avoided by dropping quickly on my horse's neck,
and a third arrow stuck deeply in Mr. Baker's saddle as he escaped the
well-aimed shot by spurring his horse across the line of sight. These
arrows were shot at a distance of a very few yards. The native was
killed.
On 12th July the Baris attempted to surprise both my station and the
camp at head-quarters.
On the 13th the natives repeated the attempt; but one was shot dead by
the sentry at Gondokoro; also another met the same fate at my station.
Nearly every night we were subject to attempts at surprise. This was
excellent practice for the troops, as it taught them the, necessity of
keeping a good look-out; at the same time it was very wearying, as the
men had to work hard all day, and they were kept awake at night.
The Baris were irrepressible vermin that gave us no rest. My men were
all occupied in building the station, therefore it was impossible for me
to take a flying column and give the Baris a severe lesson; but I made
up my mind that when the work should be finished, I would take the fight
out of them most thoroughly. They now considered us fair game, that they
might insult as they thought proper; and I heard from our two faithful
allies, Sherroom and Morgian, that they imagined we should become afraid
of them, and then return to Khartoum.
They teased us at night like rats, but they lost many men. I rather
admired them for their persistence, as the scouts must have been
adventurous fellows. Whenever these people were taken prisoners, they
confessed that they were the spies of the main body that was concealed
at some distance in the rear. The favourite method of a Bari attack is
during the night, when the darkness reduces the danger of fire-arms. On
such occasions they generally halt either in forest or high grass,
according to circumstances, about half a mile from the camp they propose
to attack. Scouts are sent forward to ascertain the position and
vigilance of sentries before the advance of the main body. The scouts,
being quite naked, crawl upon their hands and knees until the darkness
permits them to approach within a few yards of the sentries. They then
lie flat upon their bellies unobserved until they can retreat to the
expectant body in their rear.
The attacking force now advances in perfect silence, and approaching
upon hands and knees in the same manner as the scouts, they suddenly
spring upon the sentries, and with wild yells make a general rush upon
the camp. This sudden attack would be extremely dangerous unless
provided against; and in this manner large parties of the slave-hunters
have been completely destroyed.
Our passive resistance to the numerous native attempts at surprise had
been misconstrued by the Baris into timidity. The news had spread
throughout the country that we should not venture far inland: thus a
grand alliance had been made among the tribes. The Baris desired to make
friends with their powerful enemy, the Loquia: they accordingly invited
this tribe to form an alliance and to join in a combined attack upon
Gondokoro, by which means they hoped to overpower and destroy our force,
and to become possessed of many thousand cattle which were now at
head-quarters.
The Loquia consented; thus we were exposed to a grand coalition. In the
mean time Abou Saood and his people, in their camp on the west side of
the river, continued to be most friendly with the enemies of the
government, and supplied the Belinian natives with ammunition.
At 1.30. a.m., on July 21, I was awakened by the sound of firing at
head-quarters.
I was dressed and armed in a few minutes. The bugle sounded the alarm,
and "The Forty" fell into position.
I heard the bugles at head-quarters, together with a confused din of
native drums, horns, and yells. The first shots had appeared to proceed
from the sentries, but these were shortly succeeded by heavy file-firing
from the whole force at the camp. An attack had evidently been made, and
a regular fight was going on: it was therefore to be expected that my
small force would soon have to act on the defensive. Spare ammunition
was quickly in readiness, and we were well prepared.
In the mean time, a general action was growing hotter every moment; the
yells of the natives and the din of their horns became louder. I was
momentarily expecting to hear the sound of cannon, and I was speculating
upon the effect that the fire of ten guns loaded with case shot would
have among such a crowd of enemies; but to my astonishment not a gun was
fired. Simply the roll of musketry continued.
In about half an hour the native yells grew fainter, the noise of their
horns and drums was reduced, and the heavy firing dwindled to dropping
shots. I heard the bugles sound "cease firing." I then heard "the
advance." Again firing commenced, this time in volleys; then I heard
once more "cease firing," and then "the retreat:" the attack was
repulsed.
I could not understand why my little station had not been attacked; but
I subsequently heard that the natives were more afraid of the "Forty
Thieves" than of the entire force. Added to this was the powerful reason
that I had only a few cows for milk, while the attraction of many
thousand head of cattle induced an attack on the camp at Gondokoro.
On the following morning before sunrise I rode up to camp to hear the
news. It appeared that the natives had actually surprised the sentries.
We had lost a corporal, killed; and a lieutenant and one soldier were
wounded by arrows.
The Baris and the Loquia had attacked in large force with the intention
of burning the station, as many were provided with flaming firebrands,
with which they had advanced bravely to the edge of the thorn fence. Had
the station not been protected by this defence it is probable that the
enemy might have succeeded in firing the houses.
As usual, the troops had fired badly. Such a fusilade as I had heard
should have covered the plain with dead. The officers and men declared
that great numbers of the enemy were killed, but their comrades had
carried off the bodies. This was true to a certain extent, as I saw
blood in many directions, and we found one Loquia lying dead with two
bullet wounds, through the head and thigh.
There can be no doubt that the camp was surprised through the neglect of
the patrol and the sleepiness of sentries, and it was only saved by the
thorn fence and the fire of so large a force as 1,100 men. The colonel
in command of the troops, Raouf Bey, could give no satisfactory
explanation for the silence of the artillery, but he subsequently told
me they HAD FORGOTTEN ITS EXISTENCE in the excitement of the moment.
Another officer told me they had brought up one gun, but could not find
the key of the ammunition. I remembered what David said in his haste,
and I came to the conclusion that they had been disgracefully surprised.
I determined to lose no time in protecting the station by a ditch and
earthwork, so that I could leave a garrison without risk, and I would
then attack the country in every direction.
The iron magazines were completed, and all goods and supplies were
stored. The camp was so far finished that the men were housed. I
therefore drew a plan for the fort, which I intrusted to the care of Mr.
Higginbotham, the chief engineer, for execution. I gave orders that all
hands, including the sailors, should immediately be employed to dig the
fosse. The expedition was well supplied with tools, and the work was
commenced with vigour, as the officers and men did not object to have a
deep ditch between them and the enemy.
I also planned a triangular fort as a protection to my small herd of
about a hundred milch cows at my own station. The "Forty Thieves" did
not require a fort, but the cattle might be carried off by a sudden rush
that would induce a stampede unless they were well secured.
"The Forty" set to work, assisted daily by thirty men from
head-quarters, and we soon had a strong fort, with ditch and rampart,
that defied attack.
A short time after the grand surprise of the camp at head-quarters, the
last attempt was made upon my little station, which ended as usual in my
men being well on the alert, and in the death of one of the scouts, shot
by the outlying guard through the thigh. Before he died, he confessed
that the Belinian and the Loquia, together with the Baris of Gondokoro,
had united in the general attack on the camp on the 21st; but that they
had lost many men, who, being badly wounded, had died on the road during
the retreat.
My little station from this date went out of fashion, and the Baris
declined to attack, as they subsequently declared that my sentries were
never asleep like those at head-quarters.
"The Forty" had earned a reputation that increased their self-respect.
Not only were they nearly sure to kill the wily scouts, but patrols at
night searched out the natives, and generally came upon them with fatal
effect.