After traveling ten days the caravan issued from the mountain pass and
entered a very different region, an extended plain, mostly level, but
broken here and there by small, wave-like hillocks. The vegetation was
completely changed. No large trees towered above the waving, grassy
plain. Only here and there, quite far apart, there sprang up
rubber-acacias, with coral-colored and umbrella-shaped stems, but scanty
foliage, and therefore furnishing but little shade. In some places
between the ant-hills a species of euphorbia, with branches resembling
the arms of a candlestick, grew taller than the grass. Hawks soared high
in the air, and lower down black and white feathered crow-like birds
flew from one acacia bush to the other. The grass was yellow and had
ears like ripe corn. The dried-up jungle seemed to furnish abundant food
for many different kinds of animals, for during the day the travelers
often met large herds of antelope and a great many zebras. The heat on
the open and treeless plain became unbearable. The sky was cloudless,
the days were fiery hot, and the night did not bring much relief.
Day by day the journey grew more arduous. The small villages through
which the caravan passed were inhabited by the wildest savages, who were
so terror-stricken that they received the travelers very reluctantly,
and if it had not been for the numerous armed men and the sight of white
faces, and King and Saba, great danger would have threatened them.
Stasch, aided by Kali, learned that there were no more villages farther
on, and that they were coming to a waterless district. The tales they
heard were hard to believe, for the numerous animals they saw must have
found some watering-place. But these stories of a desert in which there
was rumored to be neither stream nor puddle frightened the negroes, and
some of them deserted the party, and M’Kunji and M’Pua set the example.
Fortunately, their flight was quickly perceived, and the mounted troupe
which accompanied the travelers discovered them before they had gotten
far from the camp. When they were brought back Kali, by the aid of a
bamboo rod, convinced them of the inadvisability of such a course.
Stasch assembled the whole company and gave them a lecture, which the
young negro translated into their native language. Dwelling on the fact
that at their last headquarters they had heard lions roaring around the
camp all night, Stasch did his best to convince his people that any one
attempting to run away would certainly become their prey, or if he were
to pass the night in an acacia tree the still more terrible wobos would
lie in wait for him. He also said that where there are antelope there
must also be water, and that if in the course of their journey they were
to strike waterless regions, they could take with them enough water for
two or three days in bags of antelope skin. The negroes paid strict
attention to what he said, and continually repeated:
“Oh, mother, how true it is!” but the following night five Samburus and
two Wa-himas deserted, and from that time some one was missing every
night. But M’Kunji and M’Pua did not make a second attempt to escape for
the simple reason that Kali had them bound at sundown every night.
The country became drier and drier, the sun beat down mercilessly on the
jungle, and not a single acacia could now be seen. They still came
across herds of antelope, though fewer than they had seen previously.
The donkey and the horses so far had enough food, for beneath the high
dried grass they found in many places short, green grass only slightly
scorched by the sun. But King, although he was not fastidious, became
much thinner. On approaching an acacia he would break it apart with his
head and trunk and fill himself with young leaves and pods. Until now
the caravan had always been able to strike water, though it was often
bad and had to be filtered, or so salty that it was not fit to drink.
Then it often happened that the men Stasch sent out in advance under
Kali’s guidance would return without having found a single puddle or
even a tiny brook in the hollows of the ground, and Kali would proclaim
in troubled tones, “Madi apana”—“There is no water there.”
Stasch was soon convinced that this long, final journey would certainly
not be easier than the ones they had accomplished before, and he began
to worry about Nell, for a great change had also come over her. Her
face, instead of being tanned by the sun and wind, had become paler and
paler day by day and her eyes had lost their accustomed brilliancy.
Fortunately, on these dry plains there were no flies nor danger of
fever, but it was very evident that the unbearable heat was wasting away
the girl’s strength. Even now the boy looked sadly and apprehensively at
her little hands, which had become as white as paper, and he bitterly
reproached himself for having lost so much time in making preparations
and in instructing the negroes how to shoot that he had to continue the
journey in the hottest time of the year.
With these anxieties the days passed. Even more greedily and mercilessly
the sun drank the dampness and the life from the earth. The grass
shriveled and dried up until it was so brittle that it broke off under
the hoofs of the antelope, which threw up clouds of dust as they passed.
But the travelers now found a small stream, which they distinguished
from a distance by the long rows of trees growing on its banks. The
negroes ran as fast as they could toward the trees, and on arriving at
the bank threw themselves down side by side on the ground, dipping their
heads in the water and drinking so greedily that they only desisted when
a crocodile caught one of them by the hand. Other negroes immediately
hastened to the assistance of their comrade and drew the horrible
reptile out of the water at once, but it would not let go of the man’s
hand, although they opened its jaws with spears and knives. King,
however, made an end of it by trampling it under foot, as if it had been
a rotten mushroom. When the negroes had at last quenched their thirst,
Stasch ordered a round fence of tall bamboos to be erected in the
shallow water, so it could only be entered from one side of the bank,
that Nell might bathe in privacy. The girl was greatly refreshed by the
bath, after which she lay down, and after a rest felt greatly
strengthened.
To the great delight of the whole caravan, including Nell, Bwana Kubwa
decided to remain ten days near the water. When this became known all
felt so happy that they forgot the fatigue they had experienced; some,
after being restored by a good nap, wandered among the trees near the
stream looking for palms that bear wild dates,[44] called Job’s
tears,[45] of which necklaces are made. Some of them returned before
sunset carrying in their hands square, white objects, which Stasch
recognized as his own kites.
One of these kites bore the number seven, which proved that it had been
sent up from Linde Mountain, for the children had sent up at least ten
from that place. The sight of this pleased Stasch so much that he took
heart again.
“I had no idea,” he said to Nell, “that the kites could fly so far. I
was sure that they would be entangled in the peaks of the Karamajo
Mountains, and I only sent them up thinking to let them take their
chance. But now I see that the wind can carry them in any direction, and
I trust those we sent up from the mountains around the Basso-Narok and
on the road here will fly as far as the ocean.”
“They will certainly fly there,” said Nell.
“So be it!” said the boy to strengthen his trust, while thinking of the
dangers and difficulties that still lay before them on their journey.
The third day the caravan started off again, taking with them a large
supply of water in the leather bags. Before nightfall they again came to
a region dried up by the rays of the sun. Not even an acacia was to be
seen, and the ground in some places resembled a threshing-floor.
Occasionally they came across passiflora with stems penetrating the
ground and resembling huge bottle-gourds,[46] as much as four feet or
more in diameter. From these enormous balls grew lianas, thin as twine,
which crept along the ground quite a distance, forming such an
impenetrable thicket that even mice would have had a hard time to find a
way through it. But notwithstanding the beautiful green of these plants,
which remind one of the European bear’s-foot, they were so very thorny
that neither King nor the horses could eat any part of them. The donkey,
however, nibbled at them, though very carefully.
At times they saw nothing for several miles except coarse short grass
and flowers of a low order, like the Dürrblumen,[47] which breaks off at
the merest touch. On their first day in this place the sun beat down in
fiery heat all day long. The air quivered as it does in the Libyan
desert. The earth was so flooded with light that all objects appeared
white. Not a sound, not even the buzzing of insects, broke the deathlike
stillness, through which penetrated the wilting glare.
All in the party were bathed in perspiration. Now and again they would
lay down the baggage, the dried meat, and the shields in a large pile,
so as to find shade beneath it. Stasch gave orders to be sparing of the
water; but negroes are like children, who take no thought for the
morrow. At last it became necessary to place a guard around those who
carried the bags of provisions, and to deal out a fixed allowance of
water to each one separately. Kali fulfilled this task very
conscientiously, but it consumed a great deal of time, retarded their
march, and therefore the finding of new watering-places. The Samburus
now complained that the Wa-himas were given more water than they, and
the Wa-himas complained that the preference was shown to the Samburus.
The latter now threatened to turn back, but Stasch gave them to
understand that if they did Faru would have them beheaded, and he
himself ordered the hunters, who were armed with Remington rifles, to
keep guard and see that no one escaped.
The second night they passed on a barren plain. No boma, or, as they
called it in the Sudanese language, zareba, was erected, for there was
nothing there to build it of.
King and Saba formed the camp guards, which in reality was sufficient
protection; but King, who had not been given a tenth of the water he
needed, trumpeted for it until sunrise, and Saba hung out his tongue,
turned his eyes toward Stasch and Nell, silently begging for at least a
few drops of water to drink. The girl asked Stasch to give the dog a
little drink of water out of one of the rubber bags which they had found
among Linde’s things, and which he wore attached to a cord around his
neck, but he was keeping this for the little girl, in case of dire
necessity, and refused her request.
Toward evening of the fourth day there were only five small bags of
water left, containing hardly enough to give each person half a
glassful. But as the nights were always cooler than the days, one is not
so thirsty then as under the burning rays of the sun, and as every one
had been given a little water to drink in the morning, Stasch ordered
that the water-bags be reserved for the following day. The negroes
grumbled at this, but they still stood in such awe of Stasch that they
did not dare to tamper with the little that was left, especially as
there were always two men armed with Remington rifles keeping guard over
the water-bags, who relieved each other every hour. The Wa-himas and the
Samburus quenched their thirst as best they could by pulling up
miserable blades of grass and chewing their small roots, but even these
had retained no moisture, for the merciless sun had sucked it all out of
the ground.[48]
Although sleep did not quench their thirst, it at least enabled them to
forget it. At night every one of the party, tired and exhausted from the
day’s march, dropped down where he stood, apparently lifeless, and fell
fast asleep. Stasch also slept, but he was too much worried and troubled
to sleep long and restfully. After a few hours he awoke and began to
wonder what the future would bring forth and where he could find water
for Nell and the whole caravan, man and beast. The situation was
difficult and even terrible, but as yet the sensible boy did not yield
to despair. He recalled all that had happened since they had been
carried off from Fayoum until the present moment—the first great
journey through the Sahara, the hurricane in the desert, the escape from
Gebhr, then the journey which they took after Linde’s death to Lake
Basso-Narok and on to where they were now stopping. “We have gone
through so much, and suffered so much,” he said to himself. “How often
it seemed to me that everything had collapsed and I could find no way
out of my difficulties; yet God helped me, and I always found a way out.
It is quite impossible that after having gone so far and been through so
many dangers we should give out on this last journey. We still have a
little water, and this place is certainly not the Sahara, for if it were
the people would surely have known it!”
But he was especially elated by the fact that during the day he had seen
through the telescope indistinct outlines, as of mountains, lying toward
the south. To reach them would mean a journey of perhaps a hundred
miles; but if they only could reach them they would be saved, for
mountains are rarely without water. How much time that would require he
was unable to tell, for it depended on the height of the mountain. In
air so transparent as in Africa high summits can be seen a considerable
distance away, so water must be found nearer by. Otherwise destruction
threatened them.
“It _must_ be done!” Stasch repeated to himself.
The hard breathing of the elephant, who was trying his best to blow the
fiery heat out of his lungs, continually interrupted the thoughts of the
boy. But after a while it seemed to him as if he heard a voice like some
one groaning, which sounded as though it came from another part of the
camp; in fact, from where the water-bags lay covered up for the night
with grass. As the groaning continued, he arose and went to see what was
the matter. The night was so bright that in the distance he could see
two dark bodies lying side by side and the barrels of the guns
glistening in the moonlight.
“The negroes are all alike!” he thought. “They should be guarding this
water, which is now more precious to us than anything else in the world,
and both of them are sleeping as soundly as if in their own huts. Ah!
Kali’s bamboo will be of some use to-morrow!”
With these thoughts he approached nearer and kicked one of the guards,
but immediately drew back horrified—for the apparently sleeping negro
lay on his back with a knife thrust up to the hilt in his throat, and
beside him lay the other man with his throat so terribly cut that his
head was nearly severed from his body.
Two bags of water had disappeared—three lay in the middle of the
uprooted grass slit open and shriveled.
Stasch’s hair stood on end.
-----
Footnote 44:
Phœnix Senegalensis.
Footnote 45:
Coix Lacrymax-Jobi.
Footnote 46:
Adenia globosa.
Footnote 47:
Plants peculiarly adapted to dry climates.
Footnote 48:
For further information regarding the arid plains in these regions see
the excellent book, “Kili Mandjaro,” by Father Le Roy, now Bishop of
Gabun.