VESSELS RETURN TO KHARTOUM.
ON 6th November, 1871, Lieutenant Baker returned from Gondokoro with
four noggurs, and the entire detachment of Lieutenant-Colonel Achmet.
The news was as follows:-
After the departure of Major Abdullah, the natives had attacked the camp
of Colonel Achmet, and had wounded him in the back with a barbed arrow,
which had to be cut out. Another arrow had passed through the heart of
his servant, killing him on the spot. Several soldiers had been wounded,
but not seriously. The corn had been delivered from his station to the
magazines at Gondokoro.
On 3rd November, thirty vessels had left Gondokoro for Khartoum, taking
about 1,100 people, including children, women, sailors, soldiers, and
invalids.
In spite of my positive orders, that none but the really sick should be
sent to Khartoum, Raouf Bey had in my absence sent away great numbers of
troops who were in sound health, thus reducing the entire force of the
expedition to 502 officers and men, including buglers, drummers, clerks,
&c., exclusive of fifty-two sailors.
Thus an expedition that should have comprised 1,645 men was reduced to
so insignificant a force, that it appeared impossible to proceed into
the interior. The Baris were at war with us; the slave-hunters'
companies were treacherous; and yet I was to suppress the slave trade,
and annex the equatorial districts with less than one-third of the force
required.
Abou Saood had apparently gained his point, and the expedition was
paralyzed. It was considered that with so small a force I could not
travel far from headquarters: thus as my term of service would expire on
1st April 1873, I had only one year and four months remaining, and in
this short time it would be impossible to accomplish my object.
In the dreadful state of the river we could not speculate upon the
arrival of reinforcements from Khartoum. Our cuttings and canals in the
Dalir Giraffe might have closed up; or they might have improved: of this
we were ignorant.
I had sent off my letters to England, also those to the Khedive,
complaining of the conspiracy of the officers, and inclosing the
documents. At the same time I had impressed upon his Highness the
imperative necessity of opening the channel of the great White Nile
without delay.[*]
[*Footnote: His Highness lost no time in sending the necessary orders
for the clearing of the main channel of the White Nile to the governor
of the Soudan. This energetic officer, Ismail Ayoob Pacha, worked with a
large force during two consecutive years and restored the river to its
original character--completing the work after I had returned to England,
but before the arrival of my successor. Colonel Gordon was thus enabled
to make use of the six powerful steamers which I had sent up from Cairo
to Khartoum, and the expedition continued without hindrance.]
I had written to Djiaffer Pacha for reinforcements [*] to be sent
from Khartoum immediately, together with a large supply of dhurra.
[*Footnote: These reinforcements were thirteen months actually on the
river from Khartoum to Gondokoro, and they only arrived at the close
of the expedition.)
I had very little hope of receiving anything from the Soudan. It was
therefore necessary to make my arrangements for the future,
independently of all extraneous assistance. With 502 officers and men,
and fifty-two armed sailors, I had to accomplish the work.
The force at present with me consisted of 251 officers and men; thus I
had exactly half of the troops. Gondokoro was well fortified, and the
Belinian had been thoroughly cowed, therefore I had nothing to fear in
that quarter.
I had more than filled one of the great magazines with corn: therefore,
including the dhurra now on board several vessels, I had about twelve
months' supply for the expedition.
Although my force was terribly reduced in numbers, the men who remained
were strong and healthy. I did not despair; but I determined that this
reduction of military force should NOT paralyze the activity of the
expedition, and that in spite of every intrigue, I would succeed in the
main objects of the enterprise; the slave trade should be suppressed,
and the territory should be annexed to the equator.
On 10th November I took a hundred and fifty men in order to make a
reconnaissance of the country, at the last cataracts of the White Nile,
about six miles south of our position.
We started early, and marched along the high ground parallel with the
river, passing the spot where the natives had attacked us some days
previous. Nothing could exceed the beauty of this country as an
agricultural settlement. The long, sloping undulations were ornamented
with innumerable villages, in all of which were overflowing granaries.
On arrival at the dry bed of a broad stream, we ascended a slope, and to
my astonishment I noticed a considerable body of natives who neither ran
away nor appeared hostile in their demeanour. Leaving my rifle with
Monsoor, I rode up within fifty yards of them, apparently unarmed, but I
had a pair of breech-loading pistols in my holsters.
My Bari interpreter, Morgian, now explained, that I was only on an
exploration, and that I had no intention of disturbing their property; I
only desired to communicate with their sheik.
For the first time I received a civil answer from the Baris. They
explained, that although they were Baris, they had no connection with
the people who had fought us. They were governed by a great sheik named
Bedden, whose territory was bounded by the torrent bed that we had just
crossed. They promised that he should pay me a visit on the morrow: in
the mean tine, if we required any corn, they would supply us. This was a
politeness to which I was quite unaccustomed. I therefore thanked them,
but declined their offer, saying that I wanted nothing from them except
friendship.
I now discovered, that these people had never had any communication with
the slave-traders, who were afraid to molest so powerful a tribe.
At parting, I gave them a white handkerchief as a signal to our
sentries, when they should arrive.
We then returned to our station, the troops sharing the satisfaction
that I felt in having at length discovered friends.
On the following day at about 3 p.m. the sentry on the hill called to
the guard, that a very large body of natives was approaching the
station.
I presumed that these were the followers of Bedden. I therefore ascended
the slope and examined them with the telescope.
My suspicions were aroused from the extraordinary number of people; at
least 700 natives were accompanying their sheik.
I returned to camp, and made arrangements to receive his visit with a
guard of honour. I drew up a hundred men parallel with the river, about
fifty yards from the bank, near the bow of my diahbeeah. Fifty men were
in line at right angles with the river: thus the lines formed two sides
of a square.
In the front I placed the fieldpiece loaded with canister shot. I
intended to receive Bedden with due honour in the hollow square thus
protected. In the event of treachery, his force could be almost
annihilated by one discharge.
The hill sentry now reported the arrival of a messenger, who waved a
white handkerchief on the end of a bamboo. This was the signal agreed
upon, and the messenger was allowed to pass. He communicated the fact of
Bedden's approach: in a few minutes later the great sheik arrived.
He was very tall and gaunt; and without any delay, both he and his
people were ushered into the hollow square, where they all stuck their
lances in the ground and sat down.
I now sent for Bedden and a few of his principal men to the poop deck of
my diahbeeah, which, being covered with carpets, and arranged with sofas
and chairs, was something very astonishing to the great sheik, who had
never seen anything but a vessel in the distance.
I explained the objects of the expedition; at the same time I presented
him with a long Egyptian blue shirt that reached to his ankles, and made
him look more respectable. A crimson sash round his waist, and a red
tarboosh (fez) upon his head, improved his appearance wonderfully, and
he began to feel at home.
I presented him with six pounds of beads of various colours, together
with some strings of harness bells. Brass bugles and a large mirror
attracted more attention than any other curiosities.
I gave him a brass bugle, to his great delight. The use of the cannon
was then explained to him, and the effects of the shell were pardonably
exaggerated to produce a respect for the weapon.
He gave us six pots of merissa and some fowls, promising to come again
tomorrow.
All these people believe in sorcery, and each sheik possesses spells and
conjurers. Tortoise shells, scales of the manis, lions' claws, and those
of the leopard, roots, knots of trees of peculiar shape, and many other
things, are worn as talismans.
My wife's parrot was supposed to be a cojoor, or fetish. This was the
grey bird of West Africa, that was unknown in these parts. The
interpreter explained that "it could speak like a human being, and that
it flew about the country and listened to what people said--all of
which it repeated to its mistress and myself; thus we knew everything
that occurred, and the natives could not deceive us." This parrot was
exceedingly tame, and was never confined. It was now walking about the
deck, and while its extraordinary powers were being described by my Bari
interpreter, Morgian, to the amazement and fear of the natives, it
advanced stoutly to the sheik Bedden, and would have bitten his big toe
had he not quickly jumped up and taken leave.
The magnetic battery and the large musical box were also believed to be
magic.
At sunset, the great sheik departed in the best of spirits, with all his
people, as he had drunk a tumbler of Marsala before he started, in order
to try the quality of our merissa.
The population of this country is very large, and the natives are good
agriculturists. Although the soil is stony, it is very productive, as
the cultivation is carefully attended to. Dhurra, sesame, dochan, and
beans, in addition to a species of Hibiscus which produces an edible
seed and also a fine fibre, are sown in exact oblongs or squares
resembling the plots in allotment-grounds in England. Near the villages
are large heaps of manure, collected from the cattle zareebas. These are
mixed with the sweepings of the stations, and the ashes from the
cattle-fires, and are divided when required among the proprietors of the
herds.
Each cow of the zareeba is entitled to a certain measure of manure at
the commencement of the rains, when all hands turn out to cultivate;
thus the owner of many cows is enabled to farm a large area.
The cows are all herded in one or two pens; thus the whole manure is
heaped, and, when divided, is measured in large baskets. It is then
distributed very thickly over the field, and is roughly hoed with the
iron molote, the seed been thrown upon the manure broadcast, previous to
the hoeing.
The geological appearance of the country would suggest the presence of
precious metals. Large masses of rose-coloured and icy-white quartz
project from the surface in dikes. These run for miles in tolerably
direct lines, like walls, from west to east. Generally the rocks are
granitic, consisting of syenite and gneiss, with micacious schist in the
lower valleys. Occasionally, dikes of basalt break through the surface,
which is generally much denuded, and the rocks are weather-worn and
decomposed.
I have frequently washed for gold in the most likely spots among the
deep holes of ravines, where the torrents have worn away the bed, but I
have found no sign of either precious stones or metals. Magnetic iron
ore in large quantities is the only metal to be discovered in the
river-beds.
On 13th November, at sunrise, Lieutenant Baker started with the troops
to convey corn from a distant village. I was sitting on the poop-deck of
the diahbeeah, enjoying a pipe and a cup of coffee, when he suddenly
galloped back with the news that a herd of bull elephants was
approaching from the west. I was not prepared for elephant-shooting, and
I recommended him to return to the troops, who would otherwise waste
their time. I had no suspicion that elephants would approach our
position after having been disturbed by the soldiers, in a country that
was perfectly open.
Lieutenant Baker cantered back to his men, while I commenced to write up
my daily journal according to my daily custom.
In about a quarter of an hour, the sentry reported a herd of elephants.
All my people clambered up upon the googoos and buts to obtain a good
view of the herd, which from the high poop-deck of the diahbeeah we
could see distinctly.
There were eleven bulls, and they were marching in close order along the
bank of the river, approaching us at about 400 yards' distance.
I should have thought it almost as likely to meet a herd of elephants in
Hyde Park as to find them in this open and thickly-populated country. I
now distinguished natives along the distant heights, all of whom were
attracted by the uncommon occurrence.
In the mean time the elephants approached, swinging their trunks and
huge ears to and fro, apparently unconscious of the presence of the
vessels and people.
I always kept my guns and ammunition in beautiful order, arranged on a
rack in the cabin. On the left-hand side were the shotguns, i.e., two
breechloading No. 12; four muzzleloading No. 10. On the right, the
rifles: the little "Dutchman," two breechloading Reilly No. 8, two
muzzleloading Holland half-pounders, that carried an iron lead-coated
explosive shell, containing a bursting charge of half an ounce of fine
grain powder. These two elephant rifles were very hard hitters, and
carried twelve drachms of powder. The ammunition for the rifles was on a
shelf that formed the rack, contained in a small bag with a simple
reload, and a large bag with a considerable supply. The small bag was
intended for the deck, should I call suddenly for a rifle.
Seeing that the elephants were so near, I at once ordered my horse,
"Greedy Grey," to be saddled, and the rifles and ammunition to be sent
after me. My servant, Suleiman, who had started with me from Alexandria,
was an honest, good creature, but so exceedingly nervous that he was
physically useless in any sudden emergency. The climate of the marshes
during our long voyage had so affected his nervous system, that any
alarm or start would set him trembling to such an extent, that his teeth
chattered as though he had been bathing in iced water. However, there
was no time to lose, as I expected that should the elephants observe our
vessels, and the troops in their scarlet uniform, they would immediately
wheel round and be off, at the pace which an African elephant knows so
well how to use.
I quickly mounted "Greedy Grey" and told Suleiman to send on my rifles
directly, with ammunition.
I ordered my men to run up the heights, and to come down at about 200
paces in the rear of the elephants, where they were to form a line as
though in skirmishing order. This line of red shirts would most probably
check the elephants from rushing back. My men had orders to fire at the
elephants, and to endeavour to turn them should they attempt a retreat.
I was now on "Greedy Grey;" the sloping ground was as clean as a
race-course, I therefore galloped up the incline so as to keep above the
elephants. The horse flew along at full speed. At this moment, a chorus
of shouts from great numbers of natives who had collected on the east
bank of the river was raised in admiration of the white horse, which
they probably thought would in some manner seize the elephants.
In a very few seconds I reined up on the slope, about a hundred yards
above the herd, which had now halted close to the river's bank. They
regarded the horse with some curiosity, and massed themselves together.
In the meantime, my "Forty," who were capital runners, were moving
rapidly along the heights, and they presently came down, and formed in a
long, open line from the edge of the river up the slope. During this
operation, the elephants only moved their ears and trunks, but remained
in the same position. They were now completely surrounded; the diahbeeah
and my people were in their front, I was above them on one flank, and
the servants were coming up with the rifles. In their rear was a line of
about twenty soldiers, and on the other flank was the deep river, about
110 yards wide from the mainland to the island.
Just as the rifles were within a few yards of me and I was preparing to
dismount, the elephants wheeled suddenly round, and took to water.
They had been standing in a low, swampy spot that was frequently
overflowed: thus they had no difficulty in descending to the river.
Close to this place, the banks were perpendicular, and as hard as brick.
I ran down to the river, but by the time of my arrival, the elephants
had gained the opposite bank; there, however, they were in a difficulty.
The water was deep, and the shore of the island was perpendicular, and
about six feet above the water. They could not get out without breaking
down the bank so as to form an incline. Already these enormous
creatures, which are accustomed to such difficulties, were tearing down
the earth with their tusks and horny-toed feet; still it was a work of
time, that gave me a good opportunity.
It was difficult to obtain a shot, as the elephants were end on. The
distance was about 110 yards, which is very uncertain for so large an
animal, that must be struck exactly in the right place.
I fired several shots with the No. 8 breechloader, aimed at the back of
their heads, but none of these were successful.
Monsoor had the ammunition, and reloaded for me. The stunning effect of
the heavy metal confused the animals and caused one to fall backward
into the scrambling herd. This turned an elephant sideways. The bank had
already given way and had fallen in large masses into the water, which
reduced the depth. The elephants, which had now gained a muddy footing,
ploughed and tore down the yielding earth with redoubled vigour, as my
men in great excitement opened a hot fire upon them with the snider
rifles. These had about as much effect as though they had been pelted
with stones.
Presently, as the depth was lessened by the falling bank, the elephants
showed more body above the surface. The splashing and scrambling was
extraordinary; at length a large bull half ascended the bank, and for a
moment exposed his flank; I fired a quick right and left shot with a
Reilly No. 8 behind his shoulder, and he fell backwards into the river,
where he commenced a series of wild struggles that brought him within
twenty yards of me, and I sent a ball into his head which killed him.
The powerful stream at once carried away the floating carcase.
The bank had now completely given way, and an elephant was nearly on the
summit. I fired at him with one of the Holland half-pounders, which by
the recoil flew out of my hands for a distance of several yards; this
was loaded with twelve drachms of fine-grain powder. The elephant fell
on his knees on the steep incline, and was bagged to all intents and
purposes, but believing that I had plenty of ammunition at hand, I fired
another half-pounder into his shoulder, which killed him on the spot,
and he rolled into the water, and the current took him away.
I immediately sent a man to order boats, with ropes and axes, to follow
the carcases.
In the mean time I fired my last No. 8 into the shoulder of an elephant
that had just climbed the bank and gained the island. I now had a
glorious opportunity of a shoulder-shot at every animal as it should
ascend the steep incline.
My ammunition was exhausted! My servant, Suleiman, had sent the little
bag that contained only one reload for the breech-loaders, and no
powder flask or shells for the half-pounders. I had now the annoyance of
witnessing the difficult ascent of the elephants in single file,
exposing their flanks in succession to the shoulder-shot, while I
remained a helpless looker-on.
I had thus bagged only two out of eleven, but these were killed at very
long shots (about 110 yards).
The half-pounder rifles were the same calibre and pattern as that
described in "The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia" as "the Baby." These
were made by Mr. Holland of Bond Street, and are the most overpowering
rifles I ever used. They were certain to kill the elephant, and to half
kill the man who fired them with twelve drachms of fine-grain powder. I
was tolerably strong, therefore I was never killed outright; but an Arab
hunter had his collar-bone smashed by the recoil, when the rifle was
loaded with simple coarse-grain powder. If he had used fine grain, I
should hardly have insured his life.
The elephants having gained the island, remained some time exposed,
before they made up their minds to cross to the other side.
Unfortunately, the boats had followed the carcases of the elephants down
the river, which were two miles distant before they could be secured;
therefore we had no means of reaching the island. Our vessels could not
have crossed, as there were many rocks below stream.
I therefore took a few shots with Hale's rockets, one of which just
grazed the rump of an elephant, and sent them off in great astonishment.
We then tried a few shots with the fieldpiece, but the gun made bad
practice, and the shells exploded very wildly and not according to the
distances regulated by the fuses.
The specific gravity of the elephant differs considerably from that of
the hippopotamus. The latter animal invariably sinks when killed, and
the body rises to the surface in about two hours, when the gas has
distended the stomach. The body of an elephant floats on the surface
immediately that it is killed, and is capable of supporting one or more
persons. The cavity of the carcase is much larger in the elephant than
in the hippopotamus; the latter is a dense mass of flesh, covered by an
exceedingly thick and heavy skin, the specific gravity of which is
considerably greater than water.