Those moments were full of torments, fears and anxieties. Neither Tiamo
nor myself uttered a word. We knew our fate, and awaited it,
overwhelmed by misfortune. Assuredly a grievous punishment is prepared
for the unjust. For many moons we had toiled onward together,
surmounting every obstacle, penetrating the Forest of Perpetual Night,
wherein none from the north had ever dared to venture, until our
features had become famine-sharpened, and our feet blistered and torn.
Yet we had endured the privations, faced the terrors of the dark, dismal
forest, and the poisoned arrows of hidden enemies; had fed for weeks
upon the flat wood-beans, acid wild fruit and strange fungi, encouraged
to strive for existence by the knowledge that here, amid these primitive
denizens of the woods, we could obtain a clue to the whereabouts of the
mystic rock we sought--the spot where was promised a solution of the one
extraordinary mystery of my life. Never once had Tiamo hesitated or
failed. He was as true to me as to his mistress, Azala, and ofttimes in
the depths of the great, gloomy region he had urged me to look forward
with hope to a triumphant return to Kano and to the graceful,
true-hearted woman who loved me so dearly.
But having fallen into the hands of the Avisibba all further progress
towards the mystic Land of the No Return was arrested. Vainly I had
looked about for some mode of escape, but, alas! could discover none.
With these fierce warriors all argument and declarations of friendship
had proved futile. They were man-eaters, who looked upon all captives
as lawful food; and we knew that our fate could not be much longer
delayed.
The Arab, who had not yet regained consciousness, was the next victim
dragged into the chief's presence. Quickly he was divested of his
burnouse, and the chief, rising with imperious gesture, bade his
attendants array him in the cloak of his prisoner. As he wrapped it
about him with a self-satisfied air, the people raised their voices in
admiration, and at a sign dragged the unconscious wretch towards his
doom.
Already the pebbles rattled in the magic gourd, and above the chatter of
the dusky rabble, incantations were sounding loudly, when my eyes,
turned purposely from the horrible sight, suddenly caught a glimpse of
an object slowly moving over the roof of plantain-leaves that covered
one of the huts. Again I looked, with eyes strained into the dark
night, and distinguished the figure of a man, lying full length upon the
roof, creep cautiously along and peer over at the weird scene. Suddenly
another dark head appeared against the night sky, and as I glanced
around at other huts, I saw a man lying flat upon the roof of each.
Almost before I could fully realise that the operations of the cannibals
were being watched so narrowly, a red flash of fire showed where the
first mysterious figure was kneeling, followed by the report of a gun,
and next second the chief fell forward from his stool, dead--shot
through the heart.
Startled by the report, the whole village was instantly in confusion,
but ere they could discover whence the shot was fired, a withering
volley was poured into them from the roofs of the huts, by which many
fell dead and wounded. Then we became aware that the village was the
object of attack, and, by the flashing of the guns on every side, knew
it was surrounded. The ivory horn was sounded, and the Avisibba
responded with alacrity to the call to arms, but volley after volley was
poured into the centre of the place, and bullets were whistling about us
and tearing their way through the foliage overhead.
The first shot had been well aimed, but although their chief was dead,
the warriors, shouting defiance in loud, strident tones, seized their
spears, shields and bows, and commenced to shoot their poisoned arrows
wherever a flash betrayed the position of an enemy. Who, we wondered,
were the assailants? Their possession of guns told us nothing, as many
of the cannibal tribes near the Congo possess firearms. Nevertheless,
the attack would probably result in our lives being spared, therefore we
pressed ourselves as closely as we could to the trees to which we were
bound and awaited the result.
For fully five minutes our mysterious assailants kept up a rapid rifle
fire. The air was filled with the uproar of the shouts, as the mass of
noisy, lusty-voiced cannibals defended their homes with arrow and spear,
but, finding that each volley maimed or killed some of their number,
they at length swarmed out of the roughly-made wooden gate of the
village to repel the attack in the open, leaving their women and
children behind.
The great fire burned low, but upon the platform I could distinguish the
inanimate form of the Arab, stretched as it had been left, and the body
of the cannibal chief was still lying where it had fallen, his plumed
helmet having been assumed by his son. Beyond the stockade enclosing
the rows of huts, the din of heavy firing increased, and the yells of
the savages rose louder as the fight continued, until, at length, one or
two wounded natives staggered back to their homes and fell to earth,
each being quickly surrounded by a chattering crowd of excited women.
At length the savage shrieks outside sounded fainter, the firing seemed
to recede, as if the natives had taken to the forest, and their
assailants were following them, when suddenly, from the roofs there
dropped a dozen men, wearing white gandouras, firing their guns
indiscriminately at the women, in order to frighten them into submission
as prisoners, and, as they did this, about two hundred others swarmed in
from the opposite direction, having entered by the gate.
I stood staring at them--amazed. They were shouting in my own tongue!--
they were Arabs! To two of the men who rushed past us, I cried in
Arabic to release me; and, finding I was one of their race, and that
Tiamo was my slave, they quickly drew their _jambiyahs_ and severed our
bonds.
Delighted, we both dashed forward, and regained freedom. A dozen of our
rescuers were trying to resuscitate their unfortunate tribesman lying on
the planks, and were so far successful that he was soon able to stand.
The attack had been delivered just at the right moment; had it been
delayed another instant his limbs would have been shattered by the heavy
mace. Meanwhile, into the village there continued to pour large numbers
of Arabs, with their negro allies, and, while some secured and bound the
women and children as slaves, the remainder entered and looted the huts
of everything that was considered of value. Once or twice, men near me
received wounds from the arrows of a few cannibals lurking around
corners, therefore, I deemed it prudent to seize the gun and ammunition
bag of a dead Arab, an example imitated by Tiamo.
Up to this moment we knew not the identity of our half-caste rescuers,
for all were so excited that we could learn nothing. Presently,
however, when the women and children had been marched outside to join
the warriors who had been taken as prisoners, I gave one of the Arabs
"peace," and expressed thanks for my timely rescue.
"It is Allah's work, O friend. Thank him," he answered, piously.
"Of what tribe art thou? Whence comest thou?" I inquired, eagerly.
"We come from the Kivira (forest). We are the men of Tippu-Tib," he
answered.
"Tippu-Tib!" I echoed, dismayed, well-knowing that these ferocious
bandits were the ivory-raiders whose sanguinary and destructive marches
were common talk, even in Omdurman. Tippu-Tib was, according to rumour
in the Soudan, the uncrowned king of the region between Stanley Falls
and Tanganyika Lake, for thousands of Arabs had flocked to his standard,
and his well-armed caravans were dreaded everywhere throughout the Great
Upper Congo Forest. In their search for stores of ivory they had, I
afterwards learnt, levelled into black ashes every settlement they
entered, enslaved the women and children, destroyed their plantain
groves, split their canoes, searched every spot where ivory might be
concealed, killed as many natives as craft and cruelty would enable
them, and tortured others into disclosing where the treasure was hidden.
These bandits were now marching through the Great Forest for the sole
purpose of pillage and murder, to kill the adult aborigines, capture the
women and children for the Arab, Manyuema and Swahili harems, and seize
all the ivory they could discover. In the wholesale slaughter that
preceded the burning of the Avisibba village not a man was spared. The
fight ended in a ghastly massacre. Some escaped into the depths of the
forest, but the others were shot down to the last man. Then the
fighting-men and slave-carriers searched every nook in the village until
at length the chief's store of ivory, consisting of over eighty fine
tusks, was discovered secreted in a pit beneath one of the huts, and
being unearthed, amid much excitement was distributed among the
carriers. Afterwards the village was burned to the ground. Truly
report had not lied when it attributed to the men of Tippu-Tib the most
revolting, heartless cruelty and wanton destruction.
We had been rescued from a horrible death, but swiftly indeed had the
curses of the man whose limbs had been so brutally crushed fallen upon
the savage chief; swiftly indeed had Allah's wrath fallen upon the
village. Both our fellow-captives had, I learned, been scouting at dawn
on that day, and been seized by the Avisibba. Tippu-Tib was not present
in person, preferring to remain away in the far south, near Ujiji, while
his men gathered wealth for him; his head men, it was said, being
rewarded with all ivories weighing from twenty to thirty pounds, all
over that weight belonging to him, and those under being kept by the
finders. By this arrangement every man in the caravan was incited to do
his best, and it is little wonder that they should descend upon villages
without mercy, each fighting-man and slave seeking to obtain the largest
share of slaves, ivory and other loot. It is not surprising either that
the very names of Tippu-Tib, Kilonga-Longa, Ugarrowwa, Mumi Muhala,
Bwana Mohamed and other ivory-raiders, should be held in awe by the
natives of the great tracts of primeval forest and grassland, covering
thousands of square miles, between the country of the Niam-Niam and Lake
Kassali and between Lake Leopold II and the unexplored Lake of Ozo.
There was delay in distributing the burdens among the carriers, delay in
securing the sorrowing band of Avisibba women and children, delay in
packing up the loot for transportation, and in cooking and eating the
fowls, plantain flour, manioc and bananas which had been found in the
huts. Therefore it was not until the shadows of the trees, creeping on
as the sun passed overhead, reminded the raiders that the day was
wearing on, that they left the smouldering ashes of the village to
resume the march.
During the great feast that followed the fight, I had explained to
Ngalyema, the half-breed headman, that I was an Arab from the north, and
related how I and my slave had been seized in the forest and brought to
the village as captives. When he had listened intently to my story, he
said, laughing,--
"Allah hath willed thy release. Join our expedition and share the ivory
with us, for assuredly we have been favoured on our journey, and have
secured many tusks and hundreds of slaves," and he lolled upon his arm
and pulled apart a piece of fowl with his fingers. Finding I was a
true-bred Arab, he had placed me on a social level with himself, and
spoke openly.
"Whither goest thou?" I inquired.
"Eastward, up the river to Ipoto, where our headquarters are at present
established. Thence we shall continue to ascend the Ituri to Kavalli's,
and afterwards to the grasslands that border the Albert Nyanza. But
what mission bringest thou hither from the far north, without
fighting-men?" he asked, looking at me sharply.
"I am in search of a spot, the direction of which none knoweth save
Allah," I answered, it having suddenly occurred to me, that perhaps, in
the course of his wanderings, he might have obtained the knowledge of
which I was in search.
"What is its name?"
"It is a wondrous black crag, and is known to those who live in the
deserts as the Rock of the Great Sin."
"The Rock of the Great Sin!" he slowly repeated, gazing at me in
astonishment. "Thou, O friend, art not alone in seeking to discover
it?"
"Not alone?" I cried. "Who seeketh it beside myself?"
"A white man who came to Uganda by smoke-boat across the Victoria
Nyanza."
"What was his name?" I asked, eagerly.
"I know not. He was a Roumi of the English, and one of Allah's
accursed."
"Didst thou have speech with him?"
"Yea, he sought me at Masaka eight moons ago, and knowing that I had led
my master's caravan across the forest may times, asked me whether I
could direct him to the Rock of the Great Sin, and--"
"And didst thou guide him thither?" I demanded, breathlessly.
"Nay. He offered two bags of gold and ten guns to any who would guide
him thither, but unfortunately neither myself nor any of my followers
knew its whereabouts."
"Why did this tou bab (European) desire to discover it?" I asked.
"He did not reveal. I told him that within the rock was the place of
torment prepared for unbelievers, but my words only increased his
curiosity and anxiety to find it," and the thick-lipped headman grinned.
"Then thou canst give me absolutely no information," I observed,
disappointedly. "Hast thou, in the course of thy many journeys afar,
learned nothing of its existence beyond what the wise men and
story-tellers relate?"
"Since I left Masaka I have, in truth, learned one thing," he answered,
his capacious mouth still full of food.
"What is it? Tell me," I cried.