A SLAVE CARAVAN.
The storm of the previous night, by swelling the tributaries of the
Coanza, had caused the main river to overflow its banks. The inundation
had entirely changed the aspect of the country, transforming the plain
into a lake, where the peaks of a number of ant-hills were the sole
objects that emerged above the watery expanse.
The Coanza, which is one of the principal rivers of Angola, falls into
the Atlantic about a hundred miles from the spot at which the "Pilgrim"
was stranded. The stream, which a few years later was crossed by
Cameron on his way to Benguela, seems destined to become the chief
highway of traffic between Angola and the interior; steamers already
ply upon its lower waters, and probably ten years will not elapse
before they perform regular service along its entire course.
Dick Sands had been quite right in searching northwards for the
navigable stream he had been so anxious to find; the rivulet he had
been following fell into the Coanza scarce a mile away, and had it not
been for this unexpected attack he and his friends might reasonably
have hoped to descend the river upon a raft, until they reached one of
the Portuguese forts where steam vessels put in. But their fate was
ordered otherwise.
The camp which Dick had descried from the ant-hill was pitched upon an
eminence crowned by an enormous sycamore-fig, one of those giant trees
occasionally found in Central Africa, of which the spreading foliage
will shelter some five hundred men. Some of the non-fruit-bearing kind
of banyan-trees formed the background of the landscape.
Beneath the shelter of the sycamore, the caravan which had been
referred to in the conversation between Negoro and Harris had just made
a halt. Torn from their villages by the agents of the slave-dealer
Alvez, the large troop of natives was on its way to the market of
Kazonndé, thence to be sent as occasion required either to the west
coast, or to Nyangwé, in the great lake district, to be dispersed into
Upper Egypt or Zanzibar.
Immediately on reaching the camp, the four negroes and old Nan were
placed under precisely the same treatment as the rest of the captives.
In spite of a desperate resistance, they were deprived of their
weapons, and fastened two and two, one behind another, by means of a
pole about six feet long, forked at each end, and attached to their
necks by an iron bolt. Their arms were left free, that they might carry
any burdens, and in order to prevent an attempt to escape a heavy chain
was passed round their waists. It was thus in single file, unable to
turn either right or left, they would have to march hundreds of miles,
goaded along their toilsome road by the havildar's whip. The lot of
Hercules seemed preferable, exposed though undoubtedly he would be in
his flight to hunger, and to the attacks of wild beasts, and to all the
perils of that dreary country. But solitude, with its worst privations,
was a thing to be envied in comparison to being in the hands of those
pitiless drivers, who did not speak a word of the language of their
victims, but communicated with them only by threatening gestures or by
actual violence.
As a white man, Dick was not attached to any other captive. The drivers
were probably afraid to subject him to the same treatment as the
negroes, and he was left unfettered, but placed under the strict
surveillance of a havildar. At first he felt considerable surprise at
not seeing Harris or Negoro in the camp, as he could not entertain a
doubt that it was at their instigation the attack had been made upon
their retreat; but when he came to reflect that Mrs. Weldon, Jack, and
Cousin Benedict had not been allowed to come with them, but had been
carried off in some other direction, he began to think it probable that
the two rascals had some scheme to carry out with regard to them
elsewhere.
The caravan consisted of nearly eight hundred, including about five
hundred slaves of both sexes, two hundred soldiers and freebooters, and
a considerable number of havildars and drivers, over whom the agents
acted as superior officers.
These agents are usually of Portuguese or Arab extraction; and the
cruelties they inflict upon the miserable captives are almost beyond
conception; they beat them continually, and if any unfortunate slave
sinks from exhaustion, or in any way becomes unfit for the market, he
is forthwith either stabbed or shot. As the result of this brutality it
rarely happens that fifty per cent of the slaves reach their
destination; some few may contrive to escape, and many are left as
skeletons along the line of route.
Such of the agents as are Portuguese are (as it may well be imagined)
of the very lowest dregs of society, outlaws, escaped criminals, and
men of the most desperate character; of this stamp were the associates
of Negoro and Harris, now in the employ of José Antonio Alvez, one of
the most notorious of all the slave-dealers of Central Africa, and of
whom Commander Cameron has given some curious information.
Most frequently the soldiers who escort the captives are natives hired
by the dealers, but they do not possess the entire monopoly of the
forays made for the purpose of securing slaves; the native negro kings
make war upon each other with this express design, and sell their
vanquished antagonists, men, women, and children, to the traders for
calico, guns, gunpowder and red beads; or in times of famine, according
to Livingstone, even for a few grains of maize.
The escort of old Alvez' caravan was an average specimen of these
African soldiers. It was simply a horde of half-naked banditti,
carrying old flint-locked muskets, the barrels of which were decorated
with copper rings. The agents are very often put to their wits' end to
know how to manage them; their orders are called in question, halts are
continually demanded, and in order to avert desertion they are
frequently obliged to yield to the obstreperous will of their
undisciplined force.
Although the slaves, both male and female, are compelled to carry
burdens whilst on their march, a certain number of porters, called
_pagazis_, is specially engaged to carry the more valuable merchandize,
and principally the ivory. Tusks occasionally weigh as much as 160
lbs., and require two men to carry them to the dépôts, whence they are
sent to the markets of Khartoom, Natal, and Zanzibar. On their arrival
the _pagazis_ are paid by the dealers according to contract, which is
generally either by about twenty yards of the cotton stuff known as
_merikani_, or by a little powder, by a handful or two of cowries, by
some beads, or if all these be scarce, they are paid by being allotted
some of the slaves who are otherwise unsalable.
Among the five hundred slaves in the caravan, very few were at all
advanced in years. The explanation of this circumstance was that
whenever a raid is made, and a village is set on fire, every inhabitant
above the age of forty is mercilessly massacred or hung upon the
neighbouring trees; only the children and young adults of both sexes
are reserved for the market, and as these constitute only a small
proportion of the vanquished, some idea may be formed of the frightful
depopulation which these vast districts of Equinoctial Africa are
undergoing.
Nothing could be more pitiable than the condition of this miserable
herd. All alike were destitute of clothing, having nothing on them but
a few strips of the stuff known as _mbuza_, made from the bark of
trees; many of the women were covered with bleeding wounds from the
drivers' lashes, and had their feet lacerated by the constant friction
of the road, but in addition to other burdens were compelled to carry
their own emaciated children; young men, too, there were who had lost
their voices from exhaustion, and who, to use Livingstone's expression,
had been reduced to "ebony skeletons" by toiling under the yoke of the
fork, which is far more galling than the galley-chain. It was a sight
that might have moved the most stony-hearted, but yet there was no
symptom of compassion on the part of those Arab and Portuguese drivers
whom Cameron pronounces "worse than brutes."[1]
[Footnote 1: Cameron says, "In order to obtain the fifty women of whom
Alvez is the owner, ten villages, containing altogether a population of
not less than 1500, were totally destroyed. A few of the inhabitants
contrived to escape, but the majority either perished in the flames,
were slain in defending their families, or were killed by hunger or
wild beasts in the jungle.... The crimes which are perpetuated in
Africa, by men who call themselves Christians, seem incredible to the
inhabitants of civilized countries. It is impossible that the
government at Lisbon can be aware of the atrocities committed by those
who boast of being subject to her flag." _Tour du Monde_.
N.B.--Against these assertions of Cameron, loud protestations have been
made in Portugal.]
The guard over the prisoners was so strict that Dick Sands felt it
would be utterly useless for him to make any attempt to seek for Mrs.
Weldon. She and her son had doubtless been carried off by Negoro, and
his heart sank when he thought of the dangers to which too probably she
would be exposed. Again and again he repeated his reproaches on himself
that he had ever allowed either Negoro or Harris to escape his hands.
Neither Mrs. Weldon nor Jack could expect the least assistance from
Cousin Benedict; the good man was barely able to consult for himself.
All three of them would, he conjectured, be conveyed to some remote
district of Angola; the poor mother, like some miserable slave, would
insist upon carrying her own sick son until her strength failed her,
and, exhausted by her endurances, she sank down helpless on the way.
A prisoner, and powerless to help! the very thought was itself a
torture to poor Dick. Even Dingo was gone! It would have been a
satisfaction to have had the dog to send off upon the track of the lost
ones. One only hope remained. Hercules still was free. All that human
strength could attempt in Mrs. Weldon's behalf, Hercules would not fail
to try. Perhaps, too, under cover of the night, it was not altogether
improbable that the stalwart negro would mingle with the crowd of
negroes (amongst whom his dark skin would enable him to pass
unnoticed), and make his way to Dick himself; then might not the two
together elude the vigilance of the watch? might they not follow after
and overtake Mrs. Weldon in the forest? would they not perchance be
able either by stealth or by force to liberate her, and once free they
would effect an escape to the river, and finally accomplish the
undertaking in which they had been so lamentably frustrated. Such were
the sanguine visions in which Dick permitted himself to indulge; his
temperament overcame all tendency to despair, and kept him alive to the
faintest chance of deliverance.
The next thing of importance was to ascertain the destination of the
caravan. It was a matter of the most serious moment whether the convoy
of slaves were going to be carried to one of the dépôts of Angola, or
whether they were to be sent hundreds of miles into the interior to
Nyangwe, in the heart of the great lake district that Livingstone was
then exploring. To reach the latter spot would occupy some months, and
to return thence to the coast, even if they should be fortunate enough
to regain their liberty, would be a work of insuperable difficulty.
He was not long left in suspense. Although he could not understand the
half-African, half-Arab dialect that was used by the leaders of the
caravan, he noticed that the word Kazonndé occurred very frequently,
and knowing it as the name of an important market in the province, he
naturally concluded that it was there the slaves were to be disposed
of; whether for the advantage of the king of the district, or of one of
the rich traders, he had no means of telling. Unless his geographical
knowledge was at fault, he was aware that Kazonndé must be about 400
miles from S. Paul de Loanda, and consequently that it could hardly be
more than 250 miles from the part of the Coanza where they were now
encamped. Under favourable circumstances it was a journey that could
not be accomplished in less than twelve or fourteen days, but allowing
for the retarded progress of a caravan already exhausted by a
lengthened march, Dick was convinced that they could not reach the
place for at least three weeks.
He was most anxious to communicate to his companions in adversity his
impression that they were not to be carried into the heart of the
country, and began to cogitate whether some plan could not be devised
for exchanging a few words with them.
Forked together, as it has been said, two and two, the four negroes
were at the right-hand extremity of the camp; Bat attached to his
father, Austin to Actæon. A havildar, with twelve soldiers, formed
their guard. Dick, at first, was about fifty yards away from the group,
but being left free to move about, contrived gradually to diminish the
distance between himself and them. Tom seemed to apprehend his
intention, and whispered a word to his companions that they should be
on the look-out. Without moving they were all on their guard in a
moment. Dick, careful to conceal his design, strolled backward with a
feigned indifference, and succeeded in getting so near that he might
have called out and informed Tom that they were going to Kazonndé. But
he was desirous of accomplishing more than this; he wanted to get an
opportunity of having some conversation as to their future plans, and
he ventured to approach still nearer. His heart beat high as he
believed he was on the point of attaining his object, when all at once
the havildar, becoming aware of his design, rushed upon him like a
madman, summoned some soldiers, and with considerable violence sent him
back to the front. Tom and the others were quickly removed to another
part of the encampment.
Exasperated by the rough attack that was made upon him, Dick had seized
the havildar's gun and broken it, almost wrenching it from his hands,
when several soldiers simultaneously assailed him, and would have
struck him down and killed him upon the spot, had not one of the
chiefs, an Arab of huge stature and ferocious countenance, interfered
to stop them.
This Arab was the Ibn Hamish of whom Harris had spoken to Negoro. He
said a few words which Dick could not understand, and the soldiers,
with manifest reluctance, relaxed their hold and retired. It was
evident that although Dick was not to be permitted to hold any
communication with the rest of his party, orders had been given that
his life was to be protected.
[Illustration: The start was made.]
It was now nine o'clock, and the beating of drums and the blowing of
coodoo[1] horns gave the signal that the morning march was to be
continued. Instantly chiefs, soldiers, porters, and slaves were upon
their feet, and arranged themselves in their various groups with a
havildar bearing a bright-coloured banner at their head.
[Footnote: Coodoo, a ruminant common in Africa.]
The order was given; the start was made. A strange song was heard
rising in the air. It was a song, not of the victors, but of the
vanquished. The slaves were chanting an imprecation on their
oppressors; and the burden of the chorus was that captured, tortured,
slain--after death they would return and avenge their wrongs upon their
murderers!