ploughed its steady course towards the land of the Derikas. Two or three
villages were seen on the river banks, but the landscape was bare and
bland, and the adventurous Alexina pursued her voyage until she reached
Mount Hunaya. There she landed and pitched her tents. When it was known
to be her design to remain in this encampment during the rainy season,
her followers raised a vehement opposition, protesting that they would be
devoured by lions or trampled to death by elephants. Their mistress,
however, remained firm in her intention; but as the steamer was in need
of repair, she sent it back to Khartûm in charge of her aunt.
It was during this lady’s enforced residence at Khartûm that she made the
acquaintance of an Englishman and his wife, whose names have become
household words in every civilized nation—Sir Samuel and Lady Baker. Sir
Samuel, who belongs to the illustrious company of African explorers,
began his career of adventure by founding an agricultural colony at
Nuvera Ellia—that is, six thousand feet above the sea, among the breezy
mountain peaks of Ceylon. In 1855 he visited the Crimea, and afterwards
he was engaged in superintending in Turkey the organization of its first
railway. In 1861 he started with his wife on a journey of discovery in
Central Africa, with the design of meeting the Government expedition,
which, under Captain Speke, had been despatched in search of the Nile
sources. In nearly a year he and his wife explored the Abyssinian
highlands, which form the cradle of the Blue Nile, arriving at Khartûm in
June, 1862. There he collected a large company to ascend the Upper Nile,
and setting out in December, 1862, he reached Gondokoro in February,
1863, in time to meet Captain Speke and Grant returning victoriously from
their discovery of the Victoria Nyanza. Baker furnished them with the
means of transport to Khartûm, and then pushed forward across a district
infested by slave-hunters, until he fell in with a great fresh-water
basin, the Luta N’zize, which he christened the Albert Lake, or Nyanza,
and ascertained to be one of the chief reservoirs or feeders of the Nile.
He returned to England in 1866. Three years later, he accepted from the
Khedive of Egypt the command of a military force, with unlimited powers,
for the purpose of annexing savage Africa to the civilized world, and
opening up its fertile lake-regions to the enterprise of legitimate
commerce. The work, which was well done, occupied him until 1873, and
was afterwards carried on by Colonel Gordon.
In all his adventures, which, as we shall see, were often of a most
critical character, Sir Samuel was accompanied by his wife, whose
sympathy consoled, while her example inspired him. This brave and
chivalrous lady gave abundant proof of her heroic courage, her devoted
affection, and her indomitable resolution.
When the repairs of her vessel were completed, Alexina Tinné returned to
Gebel Hunaya. She was received with shouts of joy, and with a salute of
several pieces of artillery, which awakened the greatest trepidation
among the natives. Some few incidents had occurred during her absence,
but none of a very notable character. One morning, Alexina was reading
at a short distance from the camp. Feeling thirsty, she turned towards a
rivulet which sparkled among the herbage close at hand; but as she
approached it, the dog which accompanied her barked loudly with affright,
and showed a manifest unwillingness to draw nearer to the rocks impending
over the stream. Accepting this intimation of danger, Alexina stepped
forward very cautiously, and soon discovered a young panther lurking
behind the rugged boulders. She had the presence of mind to stand
perfectly still, while she summoned her soldiers and servants to her
assistance. They speedily came up, and, drawing a cordon round the
animal, succeeded in capturing it alive. On another occasion, her men
killed, before her eyes, a huge crocodile, which was duly stuffed as a
trophy. They also caught a great ape, whose head was covered with long
hair, mixed black and white. The animal would have been a valuable
specimen of the African fauna, but, unfortunately, it died within a few
months of its capture.
On the 7th of July, the steamer, which was heavily loaded and towed two
boats, left Hunaya, to continue its course up the river. Between Hunaya
and the confluence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal (the Gazelle river) the scenery
is far from being attractive; the river banks are arid, and sunburnt.
Here and there, however, grow clumps of whispering reeds and aquatic
plants; while, at other points, the river overflows its limits for two or
three thousand yards, creating, on each side, an inaccessible swamp.
The voyagers did not pause until they reached the settlement of an Arab
chief, named Mohammed-Cher, who by his audacity had subjected the
neighbouring tribes, and ruled supreme over this part of the Soudan.
When, as frequently happened, he was in want of money, he exercised the
right of the strong hand, and, at the head of his freebooters, sallied
forth; destroying villages, slaying the male inhabitants, seizing upon
the women and children, and carrying off the cattle. He loved to
surround himself with barbaric pomp, and paraded upon a magnificent
horse, the saddle of which was embroidered with gold and silver, and
sparkled with precious stones. But when our voyagers arrived at his
village, this great warrior showed signs of recreancy; he was terrified
by the Turkish soldiers who occupied the steamer’s deck. It was supposed
to be owing to this spasm of alarm that he received the ladies with royal
honours, sending them sheep, oxen, fruit, vegetables, dancers,
archæological curiosities; in short, he seemed anxious to offer them all
he possessed. Afterwards, however, the secret of his ready liberality
came out; the swarthy chieftain thought he was doing honour to the
favourite daughter of the Grand Turk—in his zeal, he was anxious to
proclaim her Queen of the Soudan.
When his visitors were taking leave, he strongly advised them not to
advance further to the south. “Take care,” said he, “you do not come
into collision with the Shillooks, who are our sworn enemies, and the
enemies of all who cross their frontiers. Take care that they do not set
fire to your boats, as they have already done to all vessels coming from
Khartûm.”
In spite of these warnings, Alexina Tinné resolutely continued her
voyage, and, a few days later, anchored off a Shillook village. The
sailors, frightened by Mohammed’s story, would not approach it; she
therefore landed with only an interpreter, an officer, and an escort of
ten soldiers. But the news of the arrival of a daughter of the Sultan
had preceded her, and instead of being received as an enemy, she was
welcomed with every demonstration of respect. The Shillooks, as is the
case with savage tribes in all parts of the world, endeavour to engage
every stranger in their personal enmities; and they now hoped to secure
the assistance of the expedition against that terrible Mohammed-Cher,
who, only a few days before, had shown so much anxiety to proclaim the
European lady Queen of the Soudan. When she refused to join in their
campaign, their disappointment was extreme. All travellers speak warmly
of this unfortunate tribe, who suffer scarcely less from Europeans than
from Arabs. The conditions under which they live are very pitiful;
wherever they turn, they are met by enemies. Constantly falling victims
to the cruelty of the slave-hunters, it is no wonder that they regard
with suspicion, and too often treat with ferocity, the strangers who come
among them; naturally implicating them in the traffic by which they
suffer so severely. The slave-hunting abomination is, we must repeat,
the mortal wound of Central Africa; it impedes commercial enterprise, and
paralyzes the efforts of the pioneers of Christian civilization. Let us
hope that, in the lake regions, the vigorous action of Colonel Gordon has
greatly diminished, if it has not absolutely rooted out, the evil.
Pressing southward with unshaken resolution, Alexina Tinné reached at
length the junction of the Sobat with the Nile. She resolved to ascend
that tributary as far as it was navigable, calculating that the
_excursus_, going and returning, would occupy seven or eight days. The
valley of the Sobat is more interesting in character than much of the
course of the White Nile. Its broad pastures, stretching away to the
distant horizon, teem with flocks of ostriches and herds of giraffes.
The river banks are thickly indented by the heavy hoofs of elephants, and
the colossal animals themselves wander freely over the uplands. For some
weeks the voyagers lingered in the Sobat, well pleased with its
succession of striking scenes; and then they steamed up the Nile again,
until they reached the mouth of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the majestic stream
which, with slow current, traverses Lake Nû.
Here the Nile strikes sharply towards the south, forming a complete right
angle; and broadens into an imposing expanse of shining waters.
The flora of the surrounding country is very picturesque: tamarinds,
mimosas, climbing plants, the papyruses, and the euphorbias thrive in
unchecked luxuriance, as they have thriven for countless centuries, and
blend together their thick growth of various foliage. The colouring of
the flowers is often so intense that the eye aches in contemplating it.
It should be added that the euphorbia, which is very common in this
region, yields a poisonous milky juice, in which the natives dip their
arrows. A scratch from one of these envenomed weapons will rapidly prove
mortal.
Beyond Lake Nû, the White Nile breaks into an intricate series of curves
and meanders, pouring its waters downwards with violent swiftness. Such,
indeed, was the strength of the flood, that the steamer was compelled to
throw off the towing-rope of the two dahabiehs, and the sailors and
servants landed in order to haul them against the stream. But in the
greatest stress of the current the rope broke, and the boats, drifting
away, were threatened with destruction. Osman Aga, a resolute and
courageous soldier, who was on the deck of the steamer, seized another
rope and leaped instantly into the river. With vigorous strokes he made
for the shore. He had almost gained it, and had flung the rope to his
expectant comrades, when he suddenly disappeared. After a while his dead
body was found, and immediate preparations were made to give it an
honourable burial. Wrapped round, according to the custom of the
country, with twenty yards of calico, it was interred, in the presence of
the whole crew, at the foot of a patriarchal tree, on the trunk of which
was cut a commemorative inscription.
Some days after this melancholy event, the expedition ascended the river
to Heiligenkreuz, where some Austrian Catholic missionaries have founded
a settlement. Remaining there until the 15th of September, Alexina Tinné
made a short excursion into the interior, crossing rivers, traversing
forests, and meeting with numerous villages, half hidden in leafiness.
As the voyagers approached Gondokoro, they observed that the panoramas
assumed a grander character; that the landscapes were on a loftier scale.
Tropical forests extended their deep shades along the river banks; and
sometimes in their recesses it was possible to catch sight of the remains
of ancient buildings, at one time, perhaps, inhabited by a busy race.
Gondokoro, long regarded as the _Ultima Thule_ of the Nile Valley, was
reached on the 30th of September. It proved to be the extreme southward
limit of Alexina Tinné’s explorations. She ardently longed to advance—to
share some of the glory resting upon the names of Speke and Grant, Baker
and Petherick—to see with her own eyes the immense basin of the Victorian
Sea—to trace to its well-head the course of the Nile; but the obstacles
thrown in her way proved insurmountable. Moreover, most of her followers
were seized with malarious fever, and she herself had an attack, which
for some days held her life in danger. When she recovered, she began to
study the habits and manners of the native tribes residing in the
neighbourhood of Gondokoro. They are all Baris, and very ignorant and
superstitious, but not naturally cruel. No trade flourishes among them
like that of the sorcerer, who is also the medicine-man. When a Bari
falls ill, he hastens to consult the Punok, who gives him some absurd but
infallible recipe, and the cure is effected! One of these magicians
succeeded in persuading the negroes that he was invulnerable. Oxen,
sheep, and presents of all kinds were poured into his willing hands; but
unluckily he declaimed against the expeditions of the Egyptians, who, not
having any sense of humour, put him to death. His dupes, gathering round
his dead body, waited patiently for his resurrection; and only began to
doubt when the corpse putrefied.
Among the Bari sorcerers a high rank is held by the “rain-maker”—a
personage of great repute, to whom the villagers bring oxen, fruits, and
trinkets, in days of drought, to bribe him to invoke the clouds and their
treasures of fertilizing rain. But his position is not without its
inconveniences; if, after the performance of his rites, the drought
continues, the people assemble at his house, drag him forth, and without
more ado, cut open the stomach of the unfortunate Kodjour, on the plea
that the storms must be shut up in it, as they make no external
manifestation. Few are the years in which one of these rain-makers does
not perish, unless he has the wit to escape out of danger before his
deception is discovered.
From Gondokoro Alexina Tinné returned without delay to Khartûm, where she
received the congratulations of the European community; but her rest was
not of long duration. She had nothing of the lotos-eater in her
temperament, and could find contentment only in action. Hers was the
true traveller’s character—energetic, active, daring, tenacious, with an
insatiable thirst for new scenes. Thwarted in her first design, she
immediately took up another. She would ascend the great western
tributary of the Nile, the Bahr-el-Ghazal, explore the streams which feed
it, and penetrate into the land of the Nyam-nyam, of whom Doctor Heughlin
has furnished so interesting an account. Her preparations were soon
completed. This time she and her mother—her aunt remained at Khartûm—did
not travel alone; their expedition was reinforced by three experienced
travellers, Doctor Heughlin, the naturalist, Doctor Steudner, and Baron
d’Ablaing. The first two started in advance, so as to open up the route
for the adventurous Alexina, who, with her mother and Baron d’Ablaing,
quitted Khartûm at the end of February, 1863, in command of a flotilla
composed of a steamer, a sailing-vessel, and several small boats.
Heughlin, who had set out some days before, passed, on the 31st of
January, the Gebel Tefafan, a lofty mountain which rises at no great
distance from the river. He reached Lake Nû—a point from which the
voyager has more than two hundred miles to accomplish across the
Bahr-el-Ghazal. At that time of the year the river in many places is as
narrow as a canal, though on both sides bordered by a swampy plain, which
stretches further than the eye can see, and bears a thick growth of
gigantic reeds. At other places it deepens into considerable lakes.
The natives navigate it in light canoes, which they manage with much
dexterity. They sit astride the stem, with their legs hanging down in
the water; and if they fall in with no branches capable of being
converted into oars, they row with their hands. The Nouers, who inhabit
this land of marsh and morass, furnish an apparent exemplification of the
Darwinian theory: by a process of natural selection they have become
thoroughly adapted to the conditions of a soil and climate which would
rapidly kill off an unaccustomed population. Their muscular strength is
remarkable; and they are a race of Anaks, averaging from six to seven
feet in height. Alexina Tinné records that, in spite of the heat of a
tropical sun, and the attacks of swarms of insects, they would stand
erect, with lance in hand, on the summit of the mounds thrown up by
termites, anxiously watching the steamer and the boats in tow as they
passed by swiftly and steadily, against wave and current—a type, shall we
say? of the irresistible progress of civilization.
While Doctor Heughlin, in the true scientific spirit, industriously
explored the banks of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, Alexina Tinné was making a
persistent effort to rejoin him. Innumerable difficulties assailed her.
When only a few miles from Khartûm, her captain came to tell her, with
signs of the utmost terror, that the steamer was leaking, and would
shortly sink. Her alarm may easily be imagined; but fortunately she was
never wanting in presence of mind. She gave orders that the cargo should
be immediately unloaded; the leak was repaired, and the voyage resumed.
A few hours later, and the vessel was again in danger, the water rushing
in with greater violence than before. A close investigation was made,
and then it was discovered that the pilot and captain had each agreed to
bore a hole in the ship’s hull, with the view of putting a stop to a
voyage which they, as well as the crew, dreaded. But our heroine was not
to be conquered. She at once dismissed a part of the crew, and sent away
both the captain and the pilot; then, with men pledged to be true to her,
she sailed away resolutely for the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
At first, she made but slow progress, on account of the mass of tall
dense grasses and aquatic plants that choked up the stream. In many
places it was necessary to clear a way for the steamer with knife and
axe. In the sun-baked mud grisly crocodiles swarmed; the snort of the
hippopotamus rose from amid the reedy tangle; the elephant with calm eyes
watched the movements of the strangers. The swamps of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
are a paradise of wild beasts, and Mademoiselle Tinné saw thousands of
them wandering to and fro. But though game is so abundant, to hunt it is
very difficult. The sportsman cannot penetrate into the midst of the dry
and withered vegetation without a crackling of leaves and a snapping of
stems, which give instant alarm to vigilant and suspicious ears. No
sooner does he set foot in the jungle, than, as if warned by some secret
telegraphic agency, all its denizens take to flight. But while
Mademoiselle Tinné’s followers were vainly attempting to pursue the trail
of the great pachyderms, a huge elephant, which had probably entered too
far into the river in the keenness of his thirst, was caught up in the
current, and driven against one of the boats. The opportunity was not
neglected; the boatmen immediately assailed the unfortunate animal,
killed it, and cut it in pieces.
Lake Reg is the highest navigable point of the Ghazal. {249} Our heroine
found here a fleet of five and twenty craft, some with cargoes of ivory,
others with cargoes of dourra or millet. She was received with
enthusiasm, which specially manifested itself in the discharge of three
volleys of musketry—a compliment to which Alexina Tinné replied by
hoisting the Dutch flag.
As soon as her little flotilla was safely moored among the trading craft,
the enterprising lady prepared to undertake a journey into the interior.
But as it was found impossible to collect a sufficient number of porters
to carry the baggage, she arranged that Doctors Heughlin and Steudner
should start in search of suitable winter-quarters. The two travellers
set out, but the malarious climate broke down their health, and both were
seized with a dangerous marsh fever. They suffered greatly; but,
sustained by their strong will, they pushed forward, crossing, on the 2nd
of April, the river Djur, and arriving, the same evening, at the village
of Wau. Here Doctor Steudner rapidly grew worse. Before long he was
unable to walk; he fell into a profound stupor, and passed away, almost
without pain, on the 10th of April. Doctor Heughlin describes, with much
pathos, the feelings of grief and melancholy which overpowered him when
he buried his friend. The body was wrapped in Abyssinian cloth and
covered with leaves; then interred in a deep trench dug at the foot of a
clump of trees.
On the 17th of April, Doctor Heughlin quitted the lonely shades of Wau,
and, having lured a large number of porters, returned to Lake Reg. Then,
to complete the necessary arrangements for the projected expedition to
the country of the Nyam-nyam, Baron d’Ablaing went on a trip to Khartûm,
whence he brought back an abundant supply of provisions. During his
absence, Alexina Tinné was visited by Mrs. Petherick, the wife of the
English consul—a woman not less courageous than herself, who had
accompanied her husband in most of his explorations. She claims the
honour of having added numerous places to the map of Africa, and of
having been the first European lady who had penetrated into those remote
regions.
While Alexina Tinné represents Holland, and Mrs. Petherick England,
Germany is represented by the wife of Sir Samuel Baker, to whom allusion
has already been made. A woman of delicate and even feeble appearance,
with a countenance of remarkable amiability of expression; she possesses,
as Queen Elizabeth said of herself, “the heart of a man,” and of a brave
and chivalrous man. Deeds worthy of the most famous knights have been
accomplished by this lady, who, it might have been thought, would have
sunk before the first breath of the Simoom. One may here be recorded.
While out hunting, Sir Samuel Baker was attacked by a buffalo, which had
sprung upon him unperceived through the high thick grasses, and was on
the point of impaling him on its horns, when Lady Baker, with cool and
steady aim, raised her rifle, and lodging a bullet between the animal’s
eyes, stretched it dead on the ground. A moment’s hesitation, the
slightest wavering or nervousness, and Sir Samuel would have been lost.
Alexina Tinné, with Mr. and Mrs. Petherick, made numerous excursions in
the neighbourhood of Lake Reg, in one of which they were surprised by a
terrible storm. In the memory of living man no such hurricane had been
known; and it seemed to spend its worst fury upon the traveller’s
caravan, which it threatened every moment to sweep from the earth. When
it had somewhat subsided, other difficulties arose. The soldiers who
formed the escort were not only inveterately idle, but irrepressibly
dishonest; while as for the negroes, they were contumacious, and refused
to follow the route indicated by their employer. A serious disturbance
was on the point of breaking out, when the gale returned with fresh
violence, tore down at least half of the encampment, and almost
suffocated Alexina Tinné amidst the wreckage of her hut. While it
lasted, terror prevented her followers from resorting to acts of open
insubordination; but they regained their audacity as the tempest passed
away, and, declaring that their supply of food was insufficient, demanded
larger rations. A general mutiny seemed imminent; but the fair leader of
the expedition was equal to the occasion. Though suffering from bodily
pain and weakness, she boldly confronted the insurgents; with flashing
eye, and in a fierce voice, addressed to them a severe reprimand, and
ordered them to lay down their arms. Her intrepid demeanour awed them
into submission, and the encounter ended in their humbly supplicating her
forgiveness.
The crisis over, her overwrought system gave way. So serious was her
illness that at one time recovery seemed impossible, and the deepest
sorrow was manifested by the whole camp. Quinine, however, which is the
sheet-anchor (so to speak) of African travellers, saved her. A gradual
improvement took place, and by the 30th of May all danger had
disappeared.