INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY TO THE COAST.--CONCLUSION.
The journey from Unyamyembe to Bagamoya formerly consumed five or six
months, but is now usually accomplished in eight or ten weeks. Our
friends recorded in their note-books forty-nine marching days and
twenty-one days of delay, making exactly ten weeks in all. Delays are
inevitable in African travel, and they arise from various causes.
Porters fall sick or desert, or are disinclined to go through as fast as
possible; provisions are not always obtainable; donkeys stray from camp,
and require a considerable expenditure of time for hunting them up; the
leaders of the caravan are often detained by fever; rivers and swamps
overflow in wet seasons, and there is a scarcity of water at other
times; and the petty chiefs along the route interpose many obstacles to
one's rapid progress. On the whole, Doctor Bronson considered his party
fortunate to be delayed no more than three weeks on this part of their
route, and their Arab friend said there was rarely an expedition which
went through as quickly as they had done.
The payment of _mhongo_ as tribute for passing through the country is an
established custom of this great route of trade, and many are the
disputes that arise from it. Of course the caravans want to give the
least possible amount, while the chiefs demand exorbitant figures for
the privilege. In some districts the tariff is regulated and understood,
while in others there is no settled rate, and the two contending parties
make the best bargain they can. Frank and Fred were greatly amused at
the disputes over the _mhongo_ question until they lost their novelty.
One of these disputes lasted a couple of days, and at one time there was
a good prospect of a fight for the right of passage. The chief demanded
two hundred cloths and fifty strings of beads as his tribute, and he
refused permission for the party to proceed until the whole amount was
paid. He sent his warriors to cut down trees and blockade the road; and
as the country was admirably suited to an ambuscade our friends were
decidedly at a disadvantage.
The bargaining went on with a great deal of vehemence, the chief
declaring he would not lower his terms a single point, and a little
while later offering to take something less. He finally let them go on
in consideration of forty cloths and five strings of beads. Just as they
were starting he sent several baskets of sweet-potatoes, as an
expression of good-will, and received an old hatchet in return. Fred
suggested that with this implement he might set up as an African George
Washington--not for his inability to tell a lie, but for his zeal in
cutting down trees.
[Illustration: A POND BY THE WAYSIDE.]
One night, in the country of Ugogo, there was an alarm in the camp, and
word was brought to Doctor Bronson that one of their goats had been
seized by a leopard. The natives were afraid to pursue the beast, but
they fired guns and made a great noise, which caused the intruder to
drop his prey a short distance from where he caught it.
Confident that the brute would return, a trap was set for him in the
shape of a spring-gun carefully placed over the dead goat. About an hour
before daylight the gun was discharged, but nobody went near the spot
till morning.
[Illustration: CAPTURING A LEOPARD.]
The ball from the gun had broken the leopard's fore-leg and passed
through his shoulder, so that he had been unable to get far from the
spot; but as the natives approached him he sprang up, with a loud roar,
and fixed the claws of the sound fore-leg in the shoulder of the nearest
man. The latter was so taken by surprise that he did not use his spear,
but his companions came to his rescue and despatched the assailant. The
wounded negro was adjudged to be the rightful owner of the skin of the
leopard. He was consoled for his injury by Frank, who paid a good
price for the trophy. The man continued with the expedition, but his
wounds were not healed for nearly a month. When he was pronounced well
again he came to Frank and expressed his readiness to capture another
leopard for the same price!
The boys endorsed fully the account which Cameron gives of the rapacity
of the chiefs of Ugogo, and their exorbitant demands for tribute; but,
owing to their being in company with the Arab merchant, they escaped
more easily than did the English explorer. They made sketches of some of
the followers of the chiefs, and their attention was particularly drawn
to the habit which these natives have, of piercing their ears.
[Illustration: UGOGO HEADS, WITH DISTENDED EARS.]
"Many of them," wrote Frank in his note-book, "distend the lobes of the
ears so that they serve as pockets for carrying snuffboxes, pieces of
ivory, and other property; and where they are not used for practical
purposes they are decorated with enormous rings of brass wire or other
metallic substances. Sometimes the enlargement is so great that the ears
reach to the shoulders, and frequently they become torn through accident
or long use. If possible, a fresh hole is made in the ear; but if this
cannot be done the ornaments are suspended by means of strings passed
over the head."
[Illustration: WOMEN OF UBUDJWA.]
As an offset to Frank's observation Abdul described the fashion that
prevails among the women of Ubudjwa, a country which was not visited by
our friends, as it lies beyond Lake Tanganyika. They pierce the upper
lip and insert a piece of stone or wood; after wearing it a few days a
larger piece is inserted, and the process is continued till the lip
protrudes a couple of inches, and sometimes more. It gives a hideous
appearance to the face, renders articulation very indistinct, and is
very inconvenient in eating and drinking. Why they do so nobody could
tell, except that it is the fashion. They also tattoo their faces, but
the disfiguration caused by it is almost imperceptible when compared
with the other work of art.
"Fashion is as imperious in Africa as in any other country," Fred
remarked, when Abdul had finished his description of the people who
pierce their lips. "No matter how inconvenient a custom may be, it must
be followed when fashion gives the command. Black man and white man are
alike in this respect, and more especially black woman and white woman.
In the matter of hair-dressing, if in nothing else, we have a good
illustration of what fashion does with its followers. Every country
tries to arrange its hair unlike any other, and the most of them
succeed. Then, too--"
Fred's lecture was cut short by a commotion among the porters, and the
announcement that a snake had crossed their path. The boys went forward
to where the frightened negroes were huddled together and refusing to
move until certain that the snake was out of the way. In a little while
the road was pronounced safe, and the procession moved on. The snake was
probably quite as much alarmed as the men, and lost no time in
concealing himself. Owing to the superstitions of the porters it was
necessary to make a present to his snakeship. Accordingly a quantity of
rice was poured on the ground, at the spot where he was last seen,
before the march was resumed. As the serpent had no use for this sort of
food it is probable that he did not pay it the least attention, or
display any gratitude to the givers.
[Illustration: CROSSING A RIVER ON A FISH-WEIR.]
One of their halts was made on the bank of a river famous for the
abundance of fish in its waters. A liberal supply was bought for the
porters, and during the entire day of the stoppage everybody regaled
himself on finny food till he wished no more. The river was too deep to
be forded, and the crossing was made partly by boats, and partly by
means of an enormous weir, erected for the purpose of trapping fish. The
weir extended about two-thirds the way across, and the rest of the
bridge consisted of a single long and slender pole, resting on the
forked stump of a tree.
The weir was made by setting long poles in the river, and weaving twigs
between them in a sort of basket-work. It was rather risky business
walking on the top of the weir, or on the pole that formed the rest of
the bridge, as a pedestrian might easily lose his balance and topple
into the river. The porters had no trouble in maintaining their
equilibrium, as they are accustomed all their lives to walk or run in
narrow paths, and carry burdens more or less heavy on their heads or
shoulders. Only one of them fell into the water, and it fortunately
happened that his load was of a nature that was not injured by wetting.
The instruments and other valuable things were ferried over, and the
donkeys were forced to swim from bank to bank. When it came the turn
of Frank and Fred to cross they boldly walked over, each carrying a
balancing-pole, after the manner of the circus-performer. Doctor Bronson
said the boat was good enough for him, as he was not inclined to emulate
the acrobat and run the chance of being soaked in the stream.
Frank suggested that it would be a good thing to have a troupe of
trained monkeys to transport burdens across a stream of this sort. The
imitative character of the monkey was well known, and perhaps he could
be induced to copy the example of the negroes, and accompany the
porters, with a burden suited to his size and strength.
Doctor Bronson replied that all efforts to teach habits of industry to
the monkey had failed, and he feared the proposal of his nephew would
never amount to anything. Apropos of the youth's scheme he told the
following anecdote:
"I heard once, in New Orleans," said he, "a story of how a planter
endeavored to have his cotton gathered by monkeys.
"He had a large crop of cotton coming to maturity, and there was a
scarcity of laborers. While studying what to do he thought of the
peculiarities of the monkey and his habits of imitation. Hearing of the
arrival of a ship from South America with a large cage full of monkeys,
he proceeded to buy the entire lot. There were twenty-five healthy
monkeys in the cage, and he immediately shipped them to his plantation.
"He made a nice calculation that, from his superior agility and
dexterity, one monkey ought to pick as much cotton as three negroes.
With a negro to set the example the monkeys would follow the rows in the
field, pick the cotton from the bush, and put it in the bag or basket,
just as the negro did. One negro could manage ten monkeys and show them
how to pick the cotton, and his twenty-five monkeys would be equal to
seventy-five men. Besides, the labor of the negroes would count just the
same as usual, since they would have nothing to do but pick the cotton
and let the monkeys see how it was done.
"The monkeys arrived a couple of weeks before the picking season began,
and for all that time the negroes around the plantation did nothing but
play with their new friends. When the work began the planter found he
was sadly out in his calculations.
"Instead of one negro managing ten monkeys it took at least ten negroes
to manage one monkey, and even under this supervision the beast would
not pick a pound of cotton in a day. The whole enterprise failed
completely, and the monkeys--such of them as could be caught and
re-caged--were sold to a travelling menagerie, at a great discount from
first cost."
[Illustration: CAMP ON THE EDGE OF THE MAKATA SWAMP.]
One of the terrors of the road between Unyamyembe and Zanzibar is the
Makata Swamp--a plain some forty miles wide, with the Makata River
running through it. When dry there is no particular difficulty in
crossing it, but in the season of rains it is a disagreeable expanse of
mud, in which animals and men suffer greatly.
Our party reached the edge of the swamp, and went into camp there for a
couple of days, to give the men a good rest, preparatory to a long
march. It rained on the day of their arrival; but the days in camp were
pleasant, and the heat of the sun caused the water to disappear from the
most of the hollows where it had accumulated.
When they again moved forward the ground was in fairly good condition,
though there were many elephant and rhinoceros tracks in the soft earth,
some of them two or three feet deep. The donkeys and men occasionally
slipped into these holes, and considerable time was lost in unloading
the donkeys, to get them out of their troubles. They reached the river
about dark, and the guide wanted to camp before crossing; but Doctor
Bronson insisted upon getting everything on the other side at once, for
fear it might rain during the night and swell the river to an
inconvenient degree.
There was a rough bridge over the river, which was practicable for men,
but impassable for the donkeys. The little fellows were unloaded and
compelled to swim the stream, much against their will, while their
burdens were carried over the bridge by the porters. Everything was
taken over safely, but it was long after dark before the crossing was
accomplished.
The result showed the wisdom of the Doctor's judgment, as it rained
during the night, and the river rose so that the low banks on each side
were flooded. But the day was fair; the heat again dried up the
accumulated water, and the rest of the swamp was easily traversed.
From the Makata Swamp to Bagamoya there were no farther obstacles to
their progress. The boys were all eagerness to look once more on the
Indian Ocean. Early one afternoon Frank flung his cap in the air and
gave a wild hurrah as the broad water came into sight, and his cheer was
echoed by his cousin. They shouted and shouted again, till the wondering
porters near them had good reason to believe the youths had suddenly
lost their senses.
[Illustration: VIEW OF ZANZIBAR FROM THE SEA.]
Finally, they dropped from their donkey-saddles at Bagamoya, and,
without waiting for their servants to secure the animals, the two young
Americans rushed to the beach, and were soon enjoying the luxury of a
bath in the salt water. The long journey through Africa was at an end!
Several days were required for settling the affairs of the expedition,
paying the pagazi, balancing accounts with Ahmed ibn Suleyman, their
merchant companion; selling the donkeys, whose services were no longer
needed; and disposing of their tents and other camp equipage which had
served its purpose. What could not be sold was given away, and their
faithful servants came in for a liberal share in the distribution. Frank
was specially elated, on counting his tusks of ivory, to find that
everything was all right, and he more than kept his promise to Mohammed
and the porters. Fred grew sentimental over his donkey, and at their
last interview the young gentleman was inclined to embrace the
long-eared animal, but was restrained by the reflection that he might
make a "donkey" of himself by so doing. However, he patted the brute
affectionately, and expressed the hope that he would always have good
masters and plenty of straw to eat.
[Illustration: FROM BAGAMOYA TO ZANZIBAR.]
A couple of _dhows_, or Arab sailing-boats, were engaged for the voyage
to Zanzibar--one by Doctor Bronson for himself and the youths, and the
other by Ahmed ibn Suleyman. Early one morning the dhows set sail in
company, and a run of eight hours carried them to Zanzibar.
Three days later the mail-steamer for England (by way of Aden and Suez)
left the harbor of Zanzibar, with our friends comfortably installed as
passengers. In due time they reached home in safety, and received from
relatives and friends the affectionate greetings they so well deserved.
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[Illustration: Map of Africa]