ARRIVAL AT FATIKO.--THE MARCH CONTINUED.--FRANK'S ANTELOPE HUNT.
While the party was in camp, waiting for the order to move, the
conversation naturally turned on previous experiences of travellers in
the same region.
Abdul said the Shoolis were generally regarded as a friendly race. They
usually treated travellers kindly, and welcomed the peaceable merchant
who brought goods to exchange for ivory. They had suffered frequently
from the raids of slave-dealers, and their occasional hostility to
strangers arose from this fact.
They are a credulous people, under ordinary circumstances, and sometimes
can be made to believe things that are not to their advantage. For
example, at the time of Baker's expedition for suppressing the
slave-trade the slave-dealers managed to convince the Shoolis that the
real object of Baker was to capture the whole tribe and carry it into
captivity. In this way they brought about an alliance between the
Shoolis and themselves, and made an attack upon Baker, with the
intention of destroying his entire force.
"This was the way of it," said Abdul. "The slave-dealers had a camp near
Fatiko, and were pretending to be doing as Baker wished, but all the
time they were plotting against him. They had gathered quite a band of
natives, and when Baker approached with only his little company of the
so-called 'Forty Thieves' they felt confident of destroying them.
"Baker sent one of his officers to demand that Aboo Saood, the chief of
the slave-dealers, should come to him and explain certain things. The
chief said he would do nothing of the sort, and sent back an insulting
message. Thereupon Baker advanced with his men to within two or three
hundred yards of the slavers' camp.
"There he stopped, and sent another messenger, who was insulted, as the
other had been. As he left the camp some of the slavers fired several
shots in the direction of 'The Forty,' so that there was no doubt of
their intentions.
[Illustration: BAKER'S BATTLE WITH THE SLAVE-DEALERS.--CHARGE OF THE
EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS.]
"This was enough. The bugler was ordered to sound the charge, and away
went the line of trained soldiers right in the direction of the group of
tents that formed the camp. The slave-dealers and their allies opened
fire upon the column, and it looked for a few moments as if they would
all be cut down before reaching the camp.
"Not a man halted or hesitated. They kept straight on, and the battle
was over in less time than it would take you to write the story I am
telling. The soldiers burned the huts, and made complete work before
they stopped; they captured three hundred cattle and all the goods
belonging to the camp, and released half as many slaves. Not a soldier
of the forty was killed, and only seven of them were wounded.
"One of the first shots fired at the slave-dealers was by Baker himself;
it was aimed at one of the hostile chiefs, Wat-el-Mek, and the bullet
cut off one of the fellow's fingers, and destroyed the gun he had in his
hands. He was taken prisoner, and brought into camp, and a more
thoroughly frightened man was never seen.
"Wat-el-Mek declared that he had only acted under the orders of Aboo
Saood, and supposed he was doing right. He carried a great many charms
about him, and believed they were certain to protect him from harm. He
had been in a hundred fights before, and never received so much as a
scratch. His superstitious nature led him to believe that his injury was
due directly to Divine interposition, which was the only thing that
could have power over his charms and incantations.
"The story went about among the officers and soldiers that Baker had
determined to cut off the man's finger and smash his rifle, but not to
kill him, in order to bring him over to the side of the government and
make him useful in future. At any rate, this was the result; he promised
to behave properly if allowed to live, and therefore Baker pardoned him,
and dressed the wounded hand, so that it healed in a little while. The
fellow kept his word, and was always on the side of the government after
that.
"Wat-el-Mek immediately set about organizing a small army of natives to
co-operate with Baker, and a few days later he captured one of the
slave-dealers' camps, and seized all the arms and ammunition it
contained. In this way he proved of great assistance; and as he was very
influential with the natives he soon had them under control, and the
country became peaceful. The slave-dealers found they could not cope
successfully with the Egyptians, and wisely abandoned the attempt."
[Illustration: CROSSING A PLAIN.]
Many of the Shoolis accompanied the party when it moved from camp, so
that the procession was a long one. Where the country was level and open
the column extended for nearly a mile, and Frank devoted some of his
leisure time to making sketches of the scene. Whenever the bugle was
sounded for any purpose the natives in hearing immediately formed a
circle for a dance; and during the halts in the middle of the day or in
camp in the evening they were perpetually asking for music. The bugler
blew himself hoarse in his efforts to supply their demands, and there
was a prospect at one time that even the music-box would go on a
"strike," and refuse to do duty any longer. Happily, it held out, and
Frank said it was a fortunate circumstance that the organ was inanimate,
and therefore incapable of weariness.
There is a post called Fatiko, at the edge of the Shooli country, and
Captain Mohammed said they would halt there for a day to rest the men.
Frank was not at all disinclined to the slight delay, as it would give
him an opportunity to look at the first fort ever built in this part of
Africa. He displayed some impatience to get there, and would have gone
on in advance of the column, if it had been entirely proper and safe to
do so.
Fort Fatiko was built by Baker Pacha, as a defence against the natives,
and as a menace to the slave-dealers. The natives were opposed to its
establishment at first, but soon took very kindly to it when they found
the Egyptian troops were their friends, and moreover were good customers
for the grain and other things they had for sale.
[Illustration: FORT FATIKO.]
The fort was about five hundred feet square, and consisted of a strong
embankment or earthwork on three sides, while the fourth was a high
rock, which was rendered inaccessible on its farther side. The powder
magazine and storehouses were on this rock, and there was a flag-staff
on the summit, so that the Egyptian colors were visible for a long
distance. There was a road from each of the three sides of the
earthwork, but none from the rock; so that all entrance and exit was
through the heavy embankment. On the southern side of the rock there was
a strong _zeriba_, where the cattle were driven at night; and outside
the fort in every direction were fields of grain and garden vegetables,
which were cultivated by the garrison or by the natives. Every soldier
was allowed a small plot of ground for his own use, and the men were
encouraged to add to their scanty pay by the promise of good payment for
whatever they could raise in their gardens.
[Illustration: GROUND-PLAN OF THE FORT.]
The garrison consisted of fifty regular soldiers from Khartoum, and
about a hundred irregulars, under the command of a native chief. The
former were armed with Remington rifles, while the irregulars were
equipped with the ordinary muskets, such as the merchants bring to the
country. The irregulars were not considered entirely trustworthy, and
therefore it was not advisable to give them anything but inferior
weapons. As long as they were faithful they would be more than a match
for twice or thrice their number of the natives that surrounded them, as
their muskets could speedily overpower the spears of the latter, and, in
the event of their treachery, the Remington rifles would soon make an
end of the muskets and the men who held them.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE ROCK-FORT OF FATIKO.]
Frank climbed to the top of the rock-fort of Fatiko, and found that the
view from it was singularly striking. The ground away to the south was a
level plain, broken here and there by masses of granite similar to the
one on which he stood. The nearest of these was almost large enough to
entitle it to be called a mountain. A little village was nestled against
its base, and between the village and the fort was the pasture, or one
of the pastures, of the stock belonging to the garrison. Goats and sheep
occupied the nearest portion of the ground, and beyond them were the
horned cattle and horses, grazing under the care of their herders, and
protected by a guard detailed for that purpose.
On the top of the rock there was a platform of considerable extent, its
edge forming a natural rampart, which was a perfect defence against the
negroes, with their barbaric weapons. Of course it would be of little
consequence against artillery; but there is not the remotest chance of
artillery being brought to bear against it, for the simple reason that
the natives have nothing of the kind, and no knowledge of the processes
of working metals beyond that of smelting iron-ore and shaping it into
spear-heads and the like.
A soldier was on duty on the top of the rock, with instructions to
report any approach of caravans, or even of small groups of men, from
whatever direction. The arrival of the escort from Gondokoro made quite
a sensation among the members of the garrison, and those who received
permission came out on the road to meet the new-comers; in fact,
everybody had left except the sentinel on the summit and the men who had
been detailed to relieve him, and Frank thought, under the
circumstances, it would not have been hard work for him to take the
fort, with Abdul's assistance, and keep it for his own use. But he
wisely considered that he would not know what to do with a fort if he
had one. It would be worse than a "white elephant" on his hands, and so
he gave the matter no farther thought, and let the stronghold of Fatiko
remain in Egyptian hands.
Frank ascertained that the fort was 3587 feet above the level of the
sea, and about 300 feet higher than the flat country, which began a few
miles farther on. Captain Mohammed told him that from that point to the
Somerset River the region was sparsely settled, and they would not
encounter many natives. There was no reason to fear hostilities, though
it was reported at the post that the King of Unyoro was at war with one
of his neighbors, and the difficulties between these native monarchs
might possibly make travelling a trifle unsafe.
"The King of Unyoro," said the captain, "is friendly to nobody; he is
treacherous to strangers as well as to neighbors, and, while professing
friendship, is quite likely to be plotting your ruin. He has been taught
several severe lessons, which have made him more respectful, though no
more friendly, than before.
"Speke and Grant were detained some time in Unyoro, and were obliged to
use considerable strategy to get away when they did. Since their visit
a new king is on the throne, but he is much like the former one, though
not so great a beggar. The old king compelled Speke to give him his
watch and chain, and many other things of his personal belongings, in
addition to the presents they had brought him as tribute to an African
ruler."
"I remember," said Frank, "reading in Speke's account of his travels how
the King of Unyoro kept demanding one thing after another, and finally
asked for the finger-rings that Grant was wearing. Everything that was
shown to him he begged for at once, and the only way to silence him was
by saying that in their country the king does not beg, like a common
man.
[Illustration: CAMP WHERE SPEKE WAS DETAINED.]
"He visited their tents one day, and everything he saw he admired, and
what he admired he wanted at once. It made no difference whether an
article would be of any use to him or not: he probably reasoned that if
it was valuable to the white man it must be good, and therefore he
coveted it. One of the most mysterious things to him was a
pocket-compass, as he had been told by his officers that it was a magic
horn, by which the white man could travel anywhere."
"Yes," replied the captain; "the compass has never ceased to be a wonder
to the negroes in the interior of Africa; we are careful not to let them
know its principles, and it is not at all surprising that they cannot
comprehend it.
"Once when I was among the people of the Bahr-el-Azrek I obtained great
control over the chief by the use of the compass. I told him I knew how
to direct myself in the darkest night or in the thickest forest, and
left him to suppose it was done by supernatural aid.
"He disbelieved me; and I then offered to prove the truth of my
assertion. I was to go out in the middle of the plain near his village,
and there be placed under a canopy and blindfolded. His men might walk
me around in a circle, or in any other way, for a quarter of an hour,
and then remove the bandage while I was under the canopy in such a way
that I could not look out. With a magic stone in my hand I would walk in
any direction he indicated, and if I failed I was to forfeit a large
amount of cloth and other things that in Africa are equivalent to money.
"All was arranged to suit the ideas of the chief, and he effectually
prevented my seeing the sun or getting any other indication of my
position. When the bandage was removed I simply looked in my hand, where
the pocket-compass was partially concealed, and as he asked the
direction of the sun I indicated it to him, and also the course I would
take to return to the village. He could not understand it; and as I
allowed him to believe that I worked by magic he had a great respect for
me from that moment."
The expedition left Fatiko the second morning after its arrival, and
continued on its journey to the south. Frank observed that the country
was in many places flat and covered with tall grass, a change that was
not at all agreeable after the undulating region through which they had
been travelling. Abdul said that in the rainy season these flat areas
became marshes, through which it was not at all easy to force one's way.
"You have to do a great deal of wading," said he, "and sometimes the
feet of the porters and animals of a caravan convert the road into a
mass of mud. This was the case when Colonel Long made his journey to
Ugunda; he frequently fell into mud-holes so deep that he was completely
covered and plastered from head to foot, and when he went into camp at
night there wasn't a dry or clean thread about him."
This region is a favorite hunting-ground of the natives, as it contains
few inhabitants, and the wild animals that roam over it are allowed to
have their own way, except in the season of the chase. Hunting can only
be carried on in the dry season, as neither animals nor man can get
about when the rains are falling. The country abounds in game, from the
largest size downward. Herds of elephants are numerous, though less so
than formerly, owing to the persistency of the hunters and the improved
methods of killing the huge beasts since the invention of
elephant-rifles and explosive balls.
An accident to some of the baggage caused a detention of a couple of
hours, and Frank improved the opportunity to go on a tramp of a mile or
more, in the hope of bagging something in the way of game.
Just as he was ready to turn about to go back to camp he saw a couple of
horns above the grass, and, looking closely, traced out the animal to
which they belonged. Motioning to Abdul and the gun-bearer who
accompanied them to keep perfectly quiet, he crept noiselessly forward,
and soon obtained a good position for an effective shot.
He fired, and the animal, after giving a single bound in the air,
tumbled to the ground. While Frank paused to reload Abdul ran forward
and secured the prize.
[Illustration: N'SAMMA ANTELOPE.]
"It's a N'samma antelope," said he, "one of the finest of the many
varieties of antelope in Africa. It is well known to hunters in all the
equatorial regions wherever there are wide plains, and is closely allied
to the hartbeest, which belongs farther south, but is not uncommon
here."
"Yes," responded Frank, "we saw one on the day of the great hunt with
the Shoolis, and I thought this was the same kind of animal when I spied
his horns through the grass."
"The name hartbeest was given to him by the Dutch colonists of the Cape
of Good Hope," said Abdul, "and the proper name for it is kaama. In
scientific works the hartbeest of South Africa is called the _Antilope
caama_, while that of the central and northern regions is the _Antilope
bubalis_."
Frank was rather taken aback by this display of scientific knowledge on
the part of his dragoman. He had found the dragoman unusually
intelligent for his profession, but this dissertation on natural history
was beyond his expectations. He learned, on inquiry, that Abdul had been
using his spare time in examining the books in Frank's possession, and
his latest achievement had been to read up on the antelope question.
The gun-bearer was sent to bring help for transporting the antelope to
camp; but he had not gone far when he met half a dozen men, who had been
sent out to see if their services were wanted. Captain Mohammed knew the
country was full of game, and told the men to start immediately on
hearing Frank's shot.
"Keep a sharp lookout for something more than an antelope," said Abdul
at starting, repeating the caution as they set out for the return.
"It was not far from here," he continued, "that Sir Samuel Baker had a
narrow escape from the jaws of a lioness.
"He was out with a party of natives, who were driving the prairie with
fire, as we did the other day among the Shoolis, and had half a dozen of
the people near him, armed only with spears.
"While his attention was drawn toward an antelope that was moving in his
direction, and promising to give him a good shot, he suddenly discovered
a large lioness rising out of the grass within a few yards of the less
dangerous animal. She came straight toward his position, and he made
ready to fire.
"When she was within forty yards or so he fired, and rolled her over in
the grass; but she was up again in a moment, and charged at two of the
negroes, who managed to evade her jaws.
"Then he fired again at her, and an officer who was with him did
likewise; but all the lead they poured into her sides did not kill her.
She lay down in the grass so that she could not be seen. Her loud
growling revealed her position, and the natives proposed to go with
their spears and stir her up, if Baker would stand by with his guns and
shoot on the first opportunity.
"Baker would not consent to this, as it would place the spearmen in
great danger, since the lioness would certainly charge upon them the
instant a spear was thrown. They sought for the beast, and at length saw
a yellowish mass, into which Baker fired a charge of buckshot, intended
for small antelopes.
[Illustration: CHARGE OF A LIONESS.]
"She sprung out, with a terrific roar, and Baker managed to put in a
couple of shots, but without stopping her. Everybody had to run to keep
out of her reach, and she again disappeared in the grass. Baker then
went in search of her. She was sitting up like a dog, and happened to be
looking in a direction opposite to the side on which he approached. He
crept to within twelve yards of her before firing, and this shot at
close quarters finished the work. She was an unusually large animal, and
her fierceness was quite in proportion to her size."
"It was very brave of the natives to offer to go to where she lay in the
grass and throw their spears," Frank remarked.
"It certainly was," replied Abdul. "Many of these Africans are very
brave, while others display a good deal of cowardice. The Shoolis, for
example, will attack any animal that comes in their way, and, as they
are armed only with spears, they must act at very close quarters to use
their weapons. Occasionally they have severe accidents in their hunting
excursions, and sometimes when a lion runs into their nets he kills or
wounds several of his assailants before he is despatched or escapes."
They reached the camp without farther incident, and in a little while
the men came bringing the meat which was obtained in the morning hunt.
The most of the column was already on the road, and it took only a few
minutes to divide the quarters of the antelope among the porters and
send them to follow the rest. They were instructed to go at once to the
place selected for the noonday halt and deliver their burdens to the
chief cook. That individual understood his business, and Frank made up
his mind for a savory stew when the hour for luncheon should arrive.
During the march an antelope fell to the rifle of the captain, and Frank
managed to get a shot at another, but without effect. A herd of
elephants was seen to the east of their route, but too far away to
render it advisable to pursue them. The wind was blowing from the herd,
and not toward it; had it been otherwise the elephants would have taken
the alarm almost as soon as the column appeared, and the prospect of
reaching them would have been exceedingly doubtful. Like many other wild
animals, the elephant can "take the scent" of man at a surprisingly long
distance, and when he obtains it he generally loses no time in seeking a
place of safety.