MORAL RESULTS OF THE HUNT.
The moral result of the elephant hunt was very satisfactory, at the same
time most unexpected.
The sound of cannon had been heard by the natives for many miles; this
had awakened their curiosity, and numbers had sped from the surrounding
heights and satisfied themselves that several elephants had been killed.
The natives of Bedden flocked to our little camp in hundreds, and were
delighted at receiving permission to take as much elephant's flesh as
they required. They raced along the bank for a couple of miles to the
spot where the two elephants had been secured by my people, and towed
upon a sand-bank.
I had sent down a noggur to make sure of the heads, as the opportunity
of obtaining entire skulls seldom offered. These two heads had now been
brought safely to camp, and the natives were employed in cleaning every
atom of flesh from the bone.
In the mean time, great numbers of our enemies were to be seen squatting
upon the heights, watching the happier Baris of Bedden, who had
congregated like vultures in the river, and were quarrelling and
scrambling over the immense carcases of the elephants. The temptation
was too great to withstand. Who could resist flesh? The mouths of our
enemies were watering, as they watched the heavy loads of red meat
carried upon the heads of the rival Baris. In the afternoon, a messenger
hailed the sentry to say that one of the sheiks wished to present
himself to me to crave a cessation of hostilities. Shortly after the
disappearance of this man with a courteous answer, a batch of messengers
arrived to beg that their chief might be received, as they all desired
peace.
On the following morning I held a general levee. About twenty headmen,
or sheiks of principal villages, attended by many of their people, came
to present themselves and to sue for peace. I received the chiefs on my
diahbeeah, and each received a present of a long blue shirt as he
stepped on board. They now seated themselves by Bedden, and a general
explanation took place.
I assured them of my regret that they had forced me into war, as my
mission to the country had been one of peace; at the same time they must
have seen how impossible it was to resist the troops who were armed with
weapons of precision, and drilled in a manner very different from the
companies of slave-hunters.
I told them that I had many thousand cattle, and that had they agreed to
sell me the corn that was absolutely needed for the troops, I should
have paid for it punctually with cows, as I had promised them when I
first entered their district. I also explained that, as they must have
observed, I had never taken a single head of cattle from them, although
I had frequently heard the lowing of their oxen. I had adopted this
conduct, although in actual war, merely to impress upon them the fact
that they might depend upon my word. I had offered to exchange my cattle
for their corn; thus had I taken their cattle, they might have
disbelieved my sincerity.
They replied, that "it must be expected that little differences would
occur at the beginning." They had been incited against us by the Baris
of Belinian, and the war was entirely their own fault. At the same time
they laughed, and said that "hunger was a very bad thing, and that
hungry men would always fill their stomachs, if they could, therefore we
had been quite right to take their corn." They declared that it did not
in the least matter, as the islands were very fertile, and would produce
another crop very quickly; in the mean time they had a good supply
concealed, and their loss only necessitated a little extra labour.
They continued this peaceable conversation by saying, that "the
elephants were seldom seen in this district, and that the Baris did not
understand such hunting, but they had heard the cannons, and they knew
that we should be able to kill them." The meeting concluded by a request
for meat; and the sheiks having given instructions to certain
messengers, despatched them to summon their people to the sand-bank,
where the remains of the elephants were lying.
In a short time, swarms of natives, lately our enemies, were collecting
from all quarters, and hurrying towards the attractive spot, as though
they were going to a fair.
I gave the headmen [*] a present of beads, and took them to admire
themselves in the large glass within the cabin of the diahbeeah. I
scrambled some pounds of beads among their people, and got up foot-races
for prizes.
[*Footnote: The superior chief was presented with a costume which
delighted him. This was a long blue shirt with red waist-band, a bright
tin funnel inverted to form a helmet with a feather in the tube, and a
pair of spectacles. He declared that he would be "the admiration of the
women."]
The natives selected some of their best runners; but although they ran
well, they were all beaten by Ali Nedjar of the "Forty Thieves," who was
the champion runner of the expedition.
The sheiks requested that the cannon might be fired for their amusement.
A shot with blank cartridge made them look very serious. They then went
to look at the two elephants' heads, which they believed had been blown
off by the cannon on the day of the hunt.
They returned to the diahbeeah, and ordered their people to bring the
present they had prepared for me. This consisted of thirty-one jars of
merissa, each of which was duly tasted by themselves as a proof of the
absence of poison.
Before they departed, I was assured, not only of their regret that any
misunderstanding should have taken place, but that after their bean
crop, which would be in about two months, they would unite with Bedden
and carry all my baggage into the interior. They took leave and went off
in the direction of the dead elephants.
Here was a sudden change in the politics of the country! Peace had been
effected by the sacrifice of two elephants!
This peace was the result of greediness and envy. The natives had pined
for the flesh, and envied the Baris of Bedden who were carrying it away;
therefore they sued for peace.
At the same time, they had originally declined my offer of a large herd
of cattle that would have been worth a hundred elephants. Thus they had
courted war, in which they had lost some of their people, together with
much corn, all of which they might have sold for cows; and they now
desired peace, only to join in the scramble, like vultures, over the
flesh of two elephants.
African negroes are incomprehensible people, and they cannot be judged
by the ordinary rules of human nature. It was easy to understand, that
if they desired peace upon so frivolous a pretext, they would plunge
into war with the same frivolity--with a "coeur leger."
As each division of the district quickly followed the example of another
in desiring peace, in like manner would they follow an evil example in
provoking hostilities.
They had now professed friendship for the sake of a few steaks. They had
promised to carry our baggage into the interior. If they would only be
true to this offer, I should be able to transport the steamer, as the
natives could easily drag the two-wheeled carts. Although I doubted
their professions, I had some secret hopes of success, and I resolved to
do all in my power to establish confidence. I therefore invited two very
intelligent natives to pay me a visit, and to reside some time at
Gondokoro, where they would witness the general management of the
station, and see the workshops, &c. They would also see the vast herds
of cattle belonging to the government, the spoil of the Bari war. This
would be a sight most interesting to the eyes of Baris, as it would be a
lesson of the great power of the government to either punish or reward.
In the afternoon I was visited by other native headmen from the east
side of the Nile. These people had swum the river, and had followed the
example of the other natives to sue for peace, and to beg for elephant's
flesh.
This extraordinary craving for flesh would suggest that the Baris were
devoid of cattle. On the contrary, there are countless herds throughout
the country; but the natives have a great objection to kill them, and
merely keep the cows for their milk, and the bullocks to bleed.
The cows are also bled periodically, and the blood is boiled and eaten,
much in the same manner that black pudding is used throughout Europe. A
herd of cattle will thus provide animal food without the necessity of
slaughtering.
The great traveller, Bruce, was discredited for having described a fact
of which he was an eye-witness. This was the vivisection of a cow,
driven by natives, who cut a steak out of her hind-quarters.
I had a bull with a very large hump. (This bull was left at Fort
Fatiko.) This animal was very handsome, and was kept for stock. I
observed that the skin of the hump showed a long jagged scar from end to
end, and my people assured me that this bull had frequently been
operated upon. It had been the property of one of the slave-hunters'
parties, and they had been in the habit of removing the hump (as a
surgeon would a tumour). This is the most delicate portion of the meat,
and I was assured that the hump would always be replaced by a similar
growth after each operation.
On 18th November, I commenced the march homewards. The natives were now
friendly throughout the route, and my men were strictly forbidden to
enter a village. There was a great change in my officers and troops;
they had fallen into my ways and obeyed every order with alacrity. They
had learned to place thorough reliance upon any plans that were
arranged; and, now that they knew the necessity of obedience and
discipline, they had, imperceptibly to themselves, changed from ruffians
into very orderly soldiers.
On the march homewards, upon arrival at the foot of a mountain, I made
an excursion inland, as this was a portion of the country that I had not
yet visited, though only six miles from Gondokoro. The natives were very
shy, but I at length succeeded in obtaining an interview with their
sheik, a tall powerful fellow, named Meri. I explained that I required
no corn, nor any supplies, except stone. (This sheik Meri and his
people always remained faithful to the government from that day.)
The country abounded with pieces of gneiss with a very straight
cleavage, that suited them admirably for building purposes. All the
granaries of this country were supported upon pillars formed of single
stones, about three feet long. The houses were also protected by large
flat stones arranged like tiles around the base, and thus securing the
sides from the driven storms of rain.
On 19th November, I returned to Gondokoro highly satisfied with the
result of the campaign. Not only were my magazines all filled with more
than twelve months' supply of corn, but I had established peace
throughout a large and powerful district, and I had received promises of
assistance, and an assurance of allegiance to the government.
Abou Saood, who had received permission to go to Khartoum, had only gone
down the river as far as his station at the Bohr. There he had made
arrangements with his people that the ivory from Latooka station, 100
miles east of Gondokoro, should avoid my head-quarters, and be conveyed
by an oblique course to the Bohr. By this swindle, the government would
be cheated out of the share of two-fifths of the ivory which belonged to
them by contract with Agad & Co.
Abou Saood having personally witnessed the departure of the troops to
Khartoum, considered his game as won, and that the expedition, now
reduced to only 502 officers and men, would be compelled to centralize
at Gondokoro, without the possibility of penetrating the interior. He
had thus started for his stations in the distant south, where he
intended to incite the natives against the government, to prevent me
from following out my plans with the small force at my disposal.
This was the first time in the career of Abou Saood that he had ever
travelled inland. He had for many years been in the habit of arriving at
Gondokoro from Khartoum with the annual vessels from Agad & Co.,
bringing new levies of brigands together with fresh supplies of arms and
ammunition. He then remained at Gondokoro for several weeks, and
received the ivory and slaves collected from his various stations in the
interior with which he returned to Khartoum.
The necessity of the occasion induced him to use much personal activity.
Knowing well the date when my term of service would expire, he had only
one object, in which he had already nearly succeeded,--this was to
prevent the possibility of my advance within the given period.
It was therefore necessary for him to visit his stations, and to warn
his people to hold both their slaves and ivory until I should be
withdrawn from Gondokoro by the expiration of my term of service; after
which, he had no doubt that things would quickly return to their former
happy state. By these means he would be able to cheat the government out
of the two-fifths of all ivory; he would preserve his slaves; and a
judicious present to some high official would reinstate him in his
original position as the greatest slave-hunter of the White Nile; with
the additional kuilos of having battled the Christian Pacha.
I had already written to assure the Khedive that, should my work not be
satisfactorily accomplished at the expiration of my term of service, I
should continue at my post until I could honourably resign the command,
when the government should be firmly established in the interior.
I now devoted every energy to the preparations for starting, together
with the English engineers and the steamer. Having given the necessary
instructions to the engineer in chief, Mr. Higginbotham, I had no
anxiety, as I felt sure that everything would be in order.
The carts were to be thoroughly examined, and the No. 3 steamer of 38
tons was to be divided in parcels; the small work secured in loads of
fifty pounds, each sewn up in raw hide, and the heavier portions divided
among the carts.
The officers were now perfectly resigned to their lot. The remnant of
the Egyptian force had been converted into artillery-men, and all the
Soudanis formed one regiment.
While Mr. Higginbotham was engaged in the work of arranging and packing,
my masons were busy in making bricks, as I wished eventually to build
the barracks of this solid material, instead of trusting to the
dangerously inflammable straw-huts. I had already written to England for
sufficient galvanized iron for 3,000 feet of building in actual length.
Although galvanized iron is hot in a tropical climate, it can easily be
protected from the sun by a light framework of canes slightly thatched.
My Soudanis were never overpowered by heat, as they had been born in a
high temperature.
On my return to Gondokoro, I found that Meri's natives had collected a
large quantity of stones, and they had sent to request a vessel to
transport them. I gave them a cow, and they had a general dance. This
reception seemed to delight them, and they returned to their villages,
accompanied by a noggur with an officer and twenty men. I gave strict
orders that no soldier should enter a native hut under any pretext.
The Bari war was over. Upon every side the natives had been thoroughly
subdued. I now heard from our Bari interpreters, Sherroom and Morgian,
that the Sheik Allorron was willing to sue for peace, and to declare his
allegiance to the government.
Abou Saood and his people had departed; thus the evil spirit was
withdrawn that had hitherto covertly incited the natives against the
government, and the effect of his absence was immediately apparent.
I devoted my attention to the final preparations for the start, and to
the necessary instructions for the command of the station during my
absence. The officers found that it was now impossible to resist their
destiny; and Raoul Bey, the colonel, who had, against orders, sent off
so many troops to Khartoum who were in good health, now discovered that
he would be left with a comparatively small force to hold the important
position at head-quarters.
The troops who had been employed under my personal command, were very
anxious to accompany me into the equatorial district.
There was no more fighting. All my hopes of peace were at length
realized. The nights were always undisturbed, and the sentries might
have indulged in sleep without the slightest danger. A dead calm had
succeeded to the excitement of constant watchfulness.
I now employed the "Forty Thieves" in making salt. There were peculiar
surface mines within a mile of my little station. These were situated
upon a sandy loam on the banks of a brackish lake, that swarmed with
crocodiles.
The salt always showed upon the surface after a shower of rain had been
evaporated by the sun. This efflorescence, together with sand and other
impurities, was scraped from the earth with large mussel shells. It was
then placed in earthen-ware vessels containing about five gallons. There
were pierced with holes in the bottom, which were covered with a wisp of
straw as a strainer. The jars, being full of salt and sand, were watered
occasionally, and the brine accordingly filtered through to a receiver.
The contents were boiled, and produced the finest chloride of sodium.
The natural productions of the neighbourhood were salt, iron, tamarinds,
the oil-nut tree; and the cultivation of the natives was principally
Hibiscus hemp, tobacco, varieties of beans, sesame, dhurra, and dochan
(millet). I endeavoured to persuade the Baris to cultivate and prepare
large quantities of the Hibiscus hemp, which would be extremely valuable
in the Soudan. The Baris used it for nets and fishing-lines.
The tamarinds were of two varieties, and were produced in extraordinary
quantities. About two miles from head-quarters, there was an extensive
portion of the forest composed almost exclusively of these magnificent
trees.
The forest was also rich in the tree known by the Arabs as "heglik" This
bears a fruit about the size of a date (lalobe), which is a combination
of sweet, bitter, and highly aromatic. My men collected several
hundredweight, as I wished to try an experiment in distilling. There was
an excellent copper still in the magazine, and I succeeded in producing
a delicious spirit somewhat resembling kirschenwasser.
My cotton was now ripe, and I cleaned it with a small hand gin that
could be worked by two men. This greatly interested the Bari visitors,
who, by my special invitation, had been residing for some time at
Gondokoro.
The dry season had been very unfavourable for cotton; nevertheless, the
quality was good, and proved that it would thrive in the locality. The
species that was indigenous grew to a great size, and seemed to defy the
drought. This bore a red blossom, and the pod was small. The native
cotton was of short staple, and adhered strongly to the seed.
On 29th November, two Arabs arrived from Abou Saood's Latooka station,
100 miles east of Gondokoro: they had travelled at night, and were
deserters from the vakeel. One of these fellows turned out to be my old
follower during my former journey, Mohammed the camel-driver, and he
literally cried with joy when he saw my wife and me again. He gave me
all the news from the slave-traders' camp, which was full of slaves, and
they were afraid that I might arrive, as they were aware that I knew the
road. The vakeel of Latooka had received and harboured two of my
Egyptian soldiers, who had deserted from Gondokoro and joined the
slave-hunters under the guidance of a Bari.
On 1st December, Lieutenant Baker shot a fine bull elephant, with very
large tusks; this was within four miles of head-quarters. At this
season they were very numerous in the neighbourhood of Gondokoro. During
my absence to the south of Regiaf, there had been a curious nocturnal
alarm in the station.
Upon a fine moonlight night the sentries were astonished by the
appearance of two immense bull elephants, that, having marched along the
cliff, took the fort in the rear on the river side.
The fort was a redan, open at the river base; thus, unheeding the
sentry, the elephants coolly walked into the centre. The sentry's musket
was immediately responded to by the guard; the buglers, startled by a
sharp fire of musketry, blew the alarm.
The elephants, now alarmed in their turn, rushed onwards, but upon
ascending the earthwork, they were met by a deep yawning ditch, which
they could not cross. The whole force turned out, and the attack on the
thick-skinned intruders became general. The bullets flew so wildly that
it was more dangerous for bystanders than for the elephants.
In the mean while, the panic-stricken animals charged wildly in all
directions, but were invariably stopped by the ditch and rampart, until
at last they happened to find the right direction, and retreated by
their original entrance, most probably not much the worse for the
adventure.
Mr. Higginbotham, who gave me this account, described the excitement of
the troops as so intense, that they let their muskets off completely at
random: and so thick were the bullets in his direction, that he was
obliged to take shelter behind a white-ant hill.
I had no time to devote to elephant-shooting, otherwise I might have
killed a considerable number in the neighbourhood of Gondokoro. The
Baris are not good hunters, and they merely catch the elephants in
pitfalls; therefore, being free from attack, these animals are
exceedingly daring, and easy to approach.
They are generally attracted by the ripe lalobes, the fruit already
described of the heglik (Balanites Egyptiaca). The trees, if of medium
size, are frequently torn down for the sake of this small production,
that would appear too insignificant for the notice of so huge an animal.
I once had an opportunity of witnessing an elephant's strength exerted
in his search for this small fruit. I was in the Shir country, and one
evening, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker, I strolled into the forest,
about half a mile from our vessels, to watch for waterbuck (Redunca
Ellipsiprymna) in a small glade where I had shot one on the previous
evening.
We had not long been concealed, when I heard a peculiar noise in the
thick forest that denoted the approach of elephants.
We at once retreated to some rising ground about 150 paces distant, as
our small rifles would have been useless against such heavy game. In a
short time several elephants appeared from various portions of the
covert, and one of extraordinary size moved slowly towards us, until he
halted beneath a tall, spreading heglik. This tree must have been nearly
three feet in diameter, and was about thirty feet high from the ground
to the first branch; it was therefore impossible for the elephant to
gather the coveted fruit. To root up such a tree would have been out of
the question. The elephant paused for a short time, as though
considering; he then butted his forehead suddenly against the trunk. I
could not have believed the effect: this large tree, which was equal in
appearance to the average size of park-timber, quivered in every branch
to such a degree, that had a person taken refuge from an elephant, and
thought himself secure in the top, he would have found it difficult to
hold on.
When the lalobes fall, they must be picked up individually and although
the trouble appears disproportioned to the value of the fruit, there is
no food so much coveted by elephants.
Near this spot, on the following day, I had a close adventure with a
hippopotamus. I had gone to the same place where I had seen the
elephants, and I was returning through the forest within a few yards of
the river margin, when, upon suddenly turning round a dense thorn-bush,
I came within four or five paces of a large bull hippopotamus. This
animal had left the river for an evening ramble on the shore, and was
munching some succulent grass with such gusto that he had not heard my
approach. Unfortunately, I had come upon him exactly at right angles,
which restricted my shot to the temple. This is the most difficult of
penetration in the hippopotamus.
I only had the "Dutchman," and my attendant Monsoor carried a snider
rifle; thus we were badly armed for so impenetrable a beast. I fired
just in front of the ear, certainly within fifteen feet. The only effect
produced was a shake of his head, and he appeared rather stupid, as
though stunned. The left-hand barrel followed quickly upon the right.
Monsoor fired with his snider. The "Dutchman," being a breechloader, was
ready again, and we fired into this stupid-looking brute as though he
had been a target, and with about the same effect.
Suddenly, as though we had just awakened him, he turned round and bolted
into a dense mass of thorns, about thirty paces before us.
In the mean time, the troops at the vessels, that were within about 300
paces, having heard the rapid and continued firing, supposed that I had
been attacked by the natives. The "Forty Thieves" rushed to the rescue.
I heard the bugle, and presently the voices of the men as they
approached, running through the bush at full speed. The hippopotamus had
moved from his thorny retreat, and was walking slowly forward, when he
was stumbled against by "The Forty," some of whom literally ran against
him.
The animal appeared quite stunned and stupid, and he merely stood and
stared at his new assailants. The sight was perfectly ridiculous. Every
rifle was fired into him; but the hollow bullets of the sniders had no
penetration, and we might as well have peppered the stone bulls of
Nineveh, in the British Museum. At length, after having been the centre
of a blaze of fireworks, as every man did his best to kill him during
the space of about a minute, he coolly approached the edge of the cliff,
which was quite perpendicular and about eighteen feet high.
A tremendous splash was the end of the encounter, as the hippo committed
himself to the deep, with a clumsy jump from the midst of the
disappointed soldiers.
I was constantly annoyed by the want of penetration of the Boxer hollow
bullets. The "Dutchman" carried three drachms of No. 6-grain powder,
which should have driven a solid bullet through a large antelope; but
the hollow Boxer projectile invariably disappeared in small fragments
upon striking a bone; or it expanded, and had no further penetrating
power after striking a thick hide.
The sniders, although admirable military weapons, possessed a very small
power of penetration. I have frequently seen the bodies of natives with
only one bullet-mark; and I have extracted bullets that ought to have
passed completely through.
My "Forty Thieves" were now proud of themselves as experienced in
various sports, and they were terribly disgusted at the escape of the
hippopotamus. They were never idle for a single day. If no other work
was on hand, I practised them at the target, or they were treated to a
few hours' drill.
Sometimes I took them fishing: this was always a great amusement, as the
expedition was well furnished with nets.
There was a small lake near my station that abounded in fish. One of my
sailors belonging to the diahbeeah was a professional fisherman,
descended from a race of this calling. I had therefore intrusted him
with the charge of the nets. All the sailors of the diahbeeah were good
men, but the fisherman, Howarti, was the best of the picked crew. He was
a Nubian, born in Khartoum, and of an exceedingly light colour. His
style of beauty was rather spoiled by the loss of one eye, and
altogether his personal appearance was not attractive; but he was very
strong, although a small man, and in any case of emergency he was the
most active and intelligent sailor. Howarti was always the first man to
leap overboard with the tow rope, when it became necessary to drag the
vessel against wind and stream: he was, like all Nubians, an admirable
swimmer.
Our comfort had depended much upon this man throughout the expedition,
as he was the only person who could properly throw a casting-net. Thus
he had always supplied us with excellent fish. I often admired his
perseverance, when, after twenty or thirty barren casts, he rested for a
while, cleaned his net, and waded, in spite of crocodiles, to seek a
more likely spot to catch fish for breakfast, at a time when this meal
would depend entirely upon his success. At such times I frequently
advised him as a good Mohammedan to say "Bismillah" (in the name of God)
before he threw the net. On the first occasion, before I gave him this
advice, he had had extremely bad luck, and he told me that "something
was wrong with the fish;" as he had thrown his net for an hour without
catching anything, except a few uneatable spike-fish.
I advised him to come with me in the dingy; and having rowed a short
distance, we arrived at a sand-bank in the bend of the river. Here we
landed, and I found fault with Howarti for omitting to say "Bismillah!"
"Will it do any good?" asked the profane Howarti. "Try," I replied; "you
know the opinion of Mohammedans; now then, Howarti, say 'Bismillah,' and
throw just in that hole close to the weeds. Spin your net so that it
shall fall perfectly round, and advance very quietly to the edge, so
that your shadow shall not disturb the fish."
"Bismillah!" ejaculated Howarti, and he crept cautiously forward to a
very likely-looking hole. "Bismillah!" and with a dexterous throw, the
net described an exact circle as it fell evenly upon the water.
No sooner had the fisherman commenced to tighten the crown line, when
the rapid and powerful jerks showed that he had something good within
his net. "Now, Howarti, look sharp! the bottom is clean sand: haul away,
and don't give them time to burrow beneath the leads."
Howarti hauled away, and as the net came near the shore, there was such
a splashing and jumping as he had rarely seen. The net came in upon the
clean sand-bank, and we counted upwards of forty fine boulti, several of
about four pounds, and the smallest about half a pound weight.
Howarti, having counted his fish, exclaimed, piously,
"Elliambd-el-Illah!" and added: "In future I shall always say
'Bismillah!'"
Howarti cleaned his net: the fish were placed in a basket, and were
covered with some river-weed to keep them fresh.
Once more the fisherman arranged his net upon his arm, and cautiously
approached a most inviting little nook, where some large lotus leaves
floating on the surface denoted a medium depth.
"Now then, Howarti, throw very carefully, so as to spread your net in
that open space among the lilies, and take care to avoid the leaf stems
that would lift the leads."
"Bismillah!" away flew the net, which fell in a circle, exactly in the
spot desired.
It was amusing to watch the usually stolid countenance of Howarti, that
was now expressive of intense curiosity.
The crown-line jerked and tugged even more than at the first lucky
throw. Howarti cleverly and cautiously landed his net. It contained a
regular "miraculous draught," including a Nile carp of about nine
pounds.
"That will do, Howarti," I exclaimed; "we have fish enough for all the
people on the diahbeeah, as well as for the officers of 'The Forty.'"
The basket would not contain them; therefore the larger fish were laid
upon grass in the bottom of the boat, and we returned home.
Howarti now divided the fish according to orders, and explained to the
delighted crowd the extraordinary effect of the word "Bismillah," which
insured a netful at every cast.
On the following morning, at sunrise, the now pious Howarti went out as
usual with his casting-net accompanied by a sailor, who carried the
largest basket he could procure.
We had moved our position, and there was no sand-bank in the
neighbourhood.
After an absence of about two hours, Howarti returned, together with his
companion and the large basket. This contained a few small fish hardly
sufficient for our breakfast.
"Ah, Howarti!" I exclaimed, "you are a bad Mussulman--you have
forgotten to say 'Bismillah.'"
"Indeed," replied the dejected fisherman, "I repeated 'Bismillah' at
every cast; but it's of no use saying 'Bismillah' in deep water; nothing
will catch them in the deep, and I can catch them without 'Bismillah' in
the shallows."
Howarti was not a fanatical Mohammedan. Poor fellow he never lived to
return with us to Khartoum: his melancholy death will be described
hereafter.
In fishing in the lake at Gondokoro Howarti had the usual charge of the
proceedings. We dragged a boat across the neck of land from the river,
and having launched it, we first laid a stop net 140 yards in length
along the bank of bulrushes that grew in water about five feet deep;
this was to stop the fish from running into the rushes on the advance of
the drag-net.
We now dragged a portion of the lake towards the stop-net, intending to
land it upon an incline where the water was extremely shallow.
The "Forty Thieves" hauled away steadily enough until the net came close
in. At that moment several immense fish dashed about within the narrowed
inclosure; these created such excitement, that the men rushed into the
water to secure them, which ended in the escape of the greater portion
of the fish.
The next haul was very successful, and after fishing for about two
hours, we caught 434 fine fish, one of which weighed 40 lbs. and another
26 lbs. I sent 200 to head-quarters for the troops.
The greater number of these fish were boulti and baggera, both of which
are species of perch, and are delicious eating. I have never caught a
boulti larger than five pounds, but the baggera grows to an immense
size, and I have seen them about 150 lbs. or more. I once weighed a
baggera upwards of 130 lbs., but they are said to attain a weight of
several hundreds.
I have formerly described the beauty of this salmon-coloured fish in
"The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia."
It is well known that in all countries the same species of fish differs
in flavour and quality according to the water in which it is caught;
thus the boulti and baggera are almost worthless in the lower Nile,
compared with the same fish of the upper river.
Travellers may often unjustly condemn a fish as worthless, because it
may have been out of season when they had the opportunity of eating it.
I never tasted any fresh-water fish superior to a boulti, slightly
salted, and smoked for twelve or eighteen hours.
In hot climates all fish should be split down the back, and laid open;
they should then be salted and should lie for a few hours to drain;
after which they should be hung over the smoke of a dry-wood fire. This
treatment renders them delicious for immediate use, but if required to
keep, they must be smoked for a couple of days, and then be highly dried
in the sun.
The 14th December was the Mohammedan holiday called the "Ume el Ete," on
which day every person, however poor he or she may be, is supposed to
dress in new clothes.
We had now been upwards of twelve months without communication with
Khartoum. The soldiers' clothes were reduced to rags, as they had
suffered much from hard work and fighting in thorny bush. The whole
force was in despair: they were in arrears of pay, they were without
clothes; the festival was close at hand, and instead of turning out in
finery, they would be dirty, dingy, and ragged.
Every one was downcast. The troops could not possibly start with me to
the interior, to represent the government in a state of rags or nudity.
On 13th December, the day preceding the festival, I summoned the
officers to the magazine, in which I fortunately had all that could be
required. The merchandise and general stores that I had purchased in
England had no connection with the army clothing and stores which should
have been supplied for the troops from Khartoum. This supply had been
impossible owing to the state of the river.
I served out new clothing for the entire expedition. I arranged that 212
officers and men should accompany me to the interior. To these I gave
scarlet flannel shirts and white trousers. The officers received all
that they required, and the men were allowed to purchase from the
government stores any articles that they considered necessary for
themselves or their wives. (There was no cash at Gondokoro; thus, in
the absence of pay, the soldiers were contented with the supplies from
the magazine which furnished all their wants.)
On 14th December the cannons fired at sunrise to proclaim the holiday. I
rode up to head-quarters and inspected the troops on parade, all in
their new uniforms. Every man was in a good humour, and they burst out
into three cheers as I completed the inspection and addressed a few
words to them.
The men's wives were decked out with gaudy colours, and were happy in
proportion to the amount of red and yellow.
The troops and sailors were astonished at the unfailing contents of the
magazines, which established confidence that should we be positively cut
off from all communication with Khartoum, we were nevertheless
independent of supplies.
Everything was in order at Gondokoro. The natives were at peace; food
was abundant; the station securely fortified.
I now determined to penetrate into the south, and to carry a steamer in
sections to N. lat. 3 degrees 32 minutes, where she would be constructed
by the Englishmen, and launched on the navigable river above the last
cataracts, to open the communication with the Albert N'yanza.
All intrigues and opposition to the expedition had been overcome.
Although my force was small, the men were full of confidence, and
promised to follow wheresoever I might lead.