Aboo Sammat’s territory. Jungle on the brooks. Discovery of wild
pepper. Giant trees. Modesty of the Niam-niam women. Fresh
danger from a bullet. A Bongo poisoned by manioc. Liberal
treatment of bearers. Nduppo’s disagreement with Wando. Savage
admiration of Europeans. The skin-trade. Wando’s braggings
and threatenings. Formation of columns for war. Natives as
soldiers. Difficulties of river-fording. Difference of level
of soil on the watersheds. Mohammed’s prelude to drinking
beer. Division of forces. Primeval forest on the Lindukoo.
Rikkete’s jealousy. Varieties of genets. Mohammed’s _réveille_.
Morning toilet of the Niam-niam. Waterfall on the Lindukoo.
Magic roots. Watershed of the Nile district. Simple geological
formation of Central Africa. The chimpanzee and pandanus found
only beyond the watershed. Confusion in crossing the brook.
Africa’s revenge on the white man. Venturesome interview of
Mohammed with Wando. Value of ivory and copper. Definition of
a “gallery-wood.” Duality of vegetation. Wando visits my tent.
Wando’s _nonchalance_. A specimen of native cookery. Six Nubians
murdered by Niam-niam. The leaf-eater and grass-man.
One of the native chieftains, as I have already mentioned, had
exhibited so much hostility, and had been so great an obstacle to
Mohammed Aboo Sammat’s ivory trade in Wando’s district, that Mohammed
had proceeded to violence and had wrested away his territory. This
chieftain was now dead, and Mohammed in his place had appointed a
native spearman of royal blood. Mohammed had a considerable number of
these spearmen, natives of the Niam-niam country, who were brought
into his Seribas, and having been initiated into the use of fire-arms,
formed one of the main supports of his authority. Backed by the
continual presence of some forty or fifty armed Nubians, Surroor (for
such was the name of the new vicegerent) held sway over a populous
area of 700 square miles. According to the joint estimate made by
Mohammed and Surroor, the number of men in the territory capable of
bearing arms was not less than 40,000. I believe, however, that half
this number would be nearer the mark; for when I test my impressions
by comparing them with the results of my careful investigations in
Bongo-land, I cannot but think that the entire population of the
Niam-niam country, with its wide tracts of wilderness utterly
uninhabited, hardly averages 65 to the square mile.
Since here amongst the bearers there is no institution of statute
labour, and the number of villages and huts could only be arrived at
by careful scrutiny of an entire district, the only means open to me
for estimating the amount of population was by taking what reckoning I
could of the people who assembled on either side of our route as we
passed along. These may be divided into three classes: first, those
who had come from mere curiosity; secondly, those who had been ordered
to settle in a district to contribute towards the general means of
subsistence; and, thirdly, the fighting-force that was displayed in
various places during time of war, and which most probably represented
the large majority of the men who were capable of bearing arms.
The strongholds in this district consist of one large Seriba and three
smaller palisaded enclosures. In these subsidiary settlements
discipline is maintained by native overseers with a small detachment
of armed men.
The personal relation of the Niam-niam towards their rulers was far
less servile than what I had observed among the Bongo and Mittoo. The
duties imposed were mainly the same. They were bound to assemble
promptly at any signal either for war or for hunting, to provide an
adequate support for whatever soldiers and bearers might be brought
into the country; to furnish wood and straw for building purposes, and
to perform various incidental labours. The Niam-niam, however, are not
employed as bearers upon the expeditions, and upon the whole are less
oppressed and are treated with more consideration than the Bongo. At
present they can hardly comprehend their state of subjection, and this
indefinite feeling is fostered at first by leniency on the part of the
oppressors, that they may smooth the way for severer measures in the
future.
The power of any native chiefs among such a people of unsettled habits
and unpliant temper as the Niam-niam—a people delighting in the
chase—is necessarily at present very limited; it cannot extend any
further at all than to accomplish the disposal of whatever men may be
capable of bearing arms either for the purpose of warfare or of
hunting. The official emoluments of these chiefs are derived partly
from an allowance made upon all the ivory that is secured, which is
always paid without being contested, and partly from their having a
right to half of all the elephant meat; but for their ordinary
subsistence they have to turn their attention to the cultivation of
the fields; and for this purpose they endeavour to increase their home
establishments by the acquisition of as many wives and women-slaves as
their resources will allow.
[Sidenote: ABOO SAMMAT’S SERIBA.]
I remained at this place from the 10th to the 26th of February. The
Seriba was in lat. 4° 50´ N., and was 87 miles south—almost due
south—of Sabby. It was situated in the angle formed by the confluence
of two streams, the Nabambisso and the Boddo, which were overhung by
lofty trees, and in some places were enclosed by dense thickets. Close
at hand was the “mbanga” of Surroor.
I spent the daytime in an assiduous investigation of the neighbouring
woods. My collection increased considerably, and the paper packets
prepared for the reception of my treasures were rapidly filled up. The
crowds of natives who came from far and near to gaze upon me afforded
me an acceptable opportunity of filling up some pages in my album. My
two Niam-niam interpreters (called in Arabic Gyabir and Amber) felt at
home upon their native soil, and accompanied me everywhere, making my
intercourse with the natives perfectly easy. I was able to roam about
at will in the adjacent jungles, as the environs were as safe as those
of Ghattas’ Seriba in the Dyoor; and, altogether, I was soon as
comfortable as I could desire in this remote land.
The scenery was lovely; the two streams never failed throughout the
year to be well supplied with water, and flowed through deep glades
where the lofty trees were wreathed and festooned with creepers in
clustered grace that would have been an ornament to any palm-house. In
the part where the supply of water was diverted to the residences the
woods had been considerably thinned. The wild date-palm (_Phœnix
spinosa_), which may be considered as the original of the species
cultivated throughout the desert region from Senegambia to the Indus,
grows here as a low shrub, and together with the calamus forms an
impenetrable hedge along the banks of the stream. The double barbs of
the calamus cling tenaciously to the skin and clothes, reminding one
of the prickly acacia to which the Boers, or Dutch colonists in South
Africa, have given the name of “wag-a-bitjen,” _i. e._ wait-a-bit.
A new characteristic of the flora appears here in the Amomum, which I
found in tall masses on the damp soil near the bed of the stream, and
even in the water itself. I saw five different species, with white,
yellow, and crimson flowers. The fruit of all the kinds is bright red,
and contains a soft pulp which has a flavour like citron, and which
envelopes the aromatic seeds known as grains of paradise. The water of
the streams runs clear as crystal, and the traveller may at any time
allay his thirst by a cooling draught. Here and there the sun’s rays
force their way through the interlacing creepers which hang in
festoons between stem and stem, and in the twilight the foliage gleams
almost like burnished metal. The Ashantee pepper (_Cubeba Clusii_)
clothes the trunks with a close network which is thickly covered with
bright red berries that grow in clusters as long as one’s finger.
After the fruit has been dried it makes a very good substitute for
black pepper, which it very much resembles in flavour. I was the first
to draw the attention of the Nubians to the plant, for, although they
had travelled much in the Niam-niam lands, they had no idea that these
berries had the properties of pepper, and seemed highly gratified at
the discovery. The Niam-niam take the pepper only as a medicine; for
seasoning their dishes they are accustomed to use the Malaghetta
pepper (_Habzelia_), of which we shall have to speak on a later page.
The Ashantee-pepper is one of the most common and yet at the same time
one of the most striking of the characteristics of the primeval
forests of the district; it forms the finest adornment of the giant
trees, and covers the venerable stems of these princes of the
vegetable kingdom with a vesture of royal purple.
[Sidenote: KOKKOROKOO.]
One amongst the most imposing forms of vegetation is found in a
Sterculia of the Cola tribe, called “kokkorokoo.” This tree grows to a
height of 80 or 90 feet; the stem gradually tapers upwards to a point,
whilst at the base it is suddenly expanded to so great a bulk that it
would require eight or ten men to encircle it; thence it rises in a
mass of narrow arms, corresponding to the direction of the roots,
shooting upwards for many feet, like a series of planks joined
together edge to edge. The leaves are heart-shaped and form a light
and airy foliage, but this commences at such a height above the ground
that I was for some time in doubt about the true form of the tree. At
length I discovered a shoot bursting from a root that enabled me to
realise a proper idea of the plant. It is no uncommon thing in these
primeval forests for the botanist thus to see the object of his desire
at a height so far above his head that he is unable to attain so much
as a single leaf.
It was upon the Boddo that I found the first specimens of
Anthocleista. The flora of the Niam-niam countries contains several
species of this genus of the Loganiaceæ, which is remarkable for the
immense size and small number of its leaves that grow all together at
the crown of a single stem running up without a branch. Let any one
imagine a tobacco plant magnified to ten times its natural size and
placed upon the top of a stem some twenty feet high, and he will then
have some idea of this plant with its circling labyrinth of leaves. In
any drawing of a landscape the Anthocleista defies every rule of
perspective. The equatorial zone alone can boast of plants so unique
in character as these, which may be considered as samples of the
unexplored splendour of the primeval forests of Brazil.
After every ramble I turned my steps to Surroor’s mbanga, and my
visits there were always enjoyable, because I ever found something
fresh that sensibly enlarged my knowledge of the country. There was
invariably a large assemblage of natives about the vicegerent’s court,
and among them a considerable number of women; for Surroor, besides
his thronging harem, kept a great many female slaves in attendance
upon himself and his wives. As a guest of Mohammed’s I was always
treated here with the utmost respect. The most elaborate benches and
stools were brought out for me to sit on, and Surroor’s store of these
exemplars of native art was inexhaustible. The choicest delicacies of
the country were outspread before me, but these were to me as
prohibited as shewbread. I always made a rule of eating alone, and
consequently felt constrained to leave the dainties to my interpreters
and Nubian servants.
Yes; I took my meals alone. A solitary European, as he proceeds
farther and farther from his home, may see his old associations shrink
to a minimum; but so much the more, with pertinacious conservatism,
will he cling to the surviving remnants of his own superiority.
Nothing can ever divest him of the thought as to how he may maintain
the prerogative, which he takes for granted, that he is a being of
some higher order. Many a misanthrope, in his disgust at the shady
side of our modern culture, may imagine that to a traveller, in his
intercourse with the children of Nature, the thousand necessities of
daily life must seem but trifles vain and empty, to be dispensed with
without a sigh. Such an one may fancy that the bonds which fasten him
to the world of civilisation are weak and all waiting to be rent
asunder as soon as Nature is left to assert her unfettered rights; but
from experience I can assure him that the truth is very different.
With the fear of degenerating ever before his eyes, the wanderer from
the realms of civilisation will surely fix his gaze almost with
devotion on the few objects of our Western culture that remain to him,
which (however trivial they are in themselves) become to him symbols
little less than sacred. Tables and chairs, knives and forks, bedding,
and even pocket-handkerchiefs, will assume an importance that could
never have been anticipated, and it is hardly too much to aver that
they will rise to a share in his affections.
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM WOMEN.]
The social position of the Niam-niam women differs materially from
what is found amongst other heathen negroes in Africa. The Bongo and
Mittoo women are on the same familiar terms with the foreigner as the
men, and the Monbuttoo ladies are as forward, inquisitive and prying
as can be imagined; but the women of the Niam-niam treat every
stranger with marked reserve. Whenever I met any women coming along a
narrow pathway in the woods or on the steppes, I noticed that they
always made a wide circuit to avoid me, and returned into the path
further on; and many a time I saw them waiting at a distance with
averted face, until I had passed by. This reserve may have originated
from one of two opposite reasons. It may on the one hand have sprung
from the more servile position of the Niam-niam women themselves; or,
on the other, it may have been necessitated by the jealous temperament
of their husbands. It is one of the fine traits in the Niam-niam that
they display an affection for their wives which is unparalleled among
natives of so low a grade, and of whom it might be expected that they
would have been brutalised by their hunting and warlike pursuits. A
husband will spare no sacrifice to redeem an imprisoned wife, and the
Nubians, being acquainted with this, turn it to profitable account in
the ivory trade. They are quite aware that whoever possesses a female
hostage can obtain almost any compensation from a Niam-niam.
[Illustration: A Niam-niam Girl.]
[Sidenote: SURROOR.]
My exceptional position made it easy for me to procure an order from
Surroor that some of his wives should sit for their portraits. This
was an unusually favourable opportunity, and the ladies with their
plaited tresses, allowed me to make many additions to my portfolio and
to my list of measurements. In this place I measured about fifty
different people, taking no less than forty measurements of each. This
of course was the work of time, but my trouble was all in vain, for
all my notes, with many others, were destroyed in the fire, of which
the record will have to be made, on the 2nd of December. Altogether I
had carefully registered the measurements of more than 200 individuals
belonging to various nations.
During the time that Surroor had acted in the capacity of Mohammed’s
spearman, he had learnt to speak Arabic fluently, and was therefore
able to give me considerable information on many points. I asked many
local questions, since the unravelling of the confused hydrographical
network in this part of the country was an object which I could never
permit to be absent from my thoughts. I was not long however, in
discovering that these Zandey (Niam-niam), although possessing such
uniformity in speech and customs, had no more knowledge of the remote
parts of their country than the majority of the other natives of
Central Africa. I may mention, as an instance of this, that no one in
this district knew so much as the name of Mofio, whose territory
indeed was 300 miles distant, but whose reputation, as one of the
chief Niam-niam princes, might have been presumed to be widespread.
Another occasion very shortly afterwards had the effect of impressing
the people about me with a very lofty notion of the good genius which
presided over my fortune, and protected me from injury. A traveller
who has learnt experience will understand the desirableness of turning
the progress of events to the advantage of his personal reputation. As
I was about to take my seat of honour at Surroor’s side on a Monbuttoo
bench, my life for the third time was imperilled by a bullet fired
from the neighbouring Seriba. The descending ball passed close to my
left, and within a few inches of my forehead; glancing off the
palm-sticks which were attached to my seat, it dashed through the roof
of an adjacent hut. However much I may have been alarmed, I succeeded
entirely in disguising my terror. The Nubians do not possess any
wad-hooks for extracting either cartridges or bullets; their guns
consequently have to be discharged in order to keep them clean and in
proper condition. It may therefore be imagined that in the vicinity of
a Nubian camp there is a perpetual whirring and whizzing in the air
from the incidental firing of these stray shots.
Hunting in this place, as far as we were concerned, was not to be
thought of, as the region was far too thickly populated, and the
Niam-niam themselves are such devoted huntsmen that they leave nothing
for the stranger beyond the few francolins and guinea-fowl which may
escape their snares.
During our sojourn, Mohammed Aboo Sammat, with his faithful black
body-guard of true Zandey, had arrived from the Mittoo country. The
entire united forces then prepared to advance to the south, Ghattas’s
agent and plenipotentiary not considering that a division could be
ventured upon until we had gained sufficient assurance of the peaceful
intentions of Wando, whose territory we should have to cross upon our
route. Any apprehensions of hostility, however, were soon allayed, and
for a time all went well.
By the 25th of February all the preparations for marching were
complete, and, reckoning all Aboo Sammat’s and Ghattas’s people, we
were a body of little short of 1000 strong. Our marching column was
not much less than four miles in length, so that it happened more than
once, after a short day’s march, that those in front were erecting
their huts with leaves and grass before those in the rear had lost
sight of the smoke of the encampment of the previous night.
Just before starting Mohammed had sent some of his dependents back to
Sabby, and I took the opportunity of remitting by them the botanical
collection which I had made. Amongst other plants were two specimens
of the remarkable Cycadea, which after all the vicissitudes of travel
arrived in Europe in a state of vitality.
Only a small portion of my reserve of cattle was now remaining, and
the maintenance of the men in the Seriba had quite exhausted the
stores; to Mohammed’s great annoyance, even the sorghum-seed, which
was to have been conveyed to Munza, king of the Monbuttoo, as a
curiosity, had been consumed as material of diet, and thus the heart
of Africa had been deprived of one advance in culture.
We proceeded, first of all, two leagues in a westerly direction, and
after crossing the Nabambisso and two smaller streams, we made our
necessary halt. It was on the western boundary of the cultivated
district subject to Aboo Sammat, and before we could venture to quit
it, an adequate relay of provisions had to be procured from the
neighbourhood.
[Sidenote: FEEDING THE BEARERS.]
The feeding of the bearers was an animated scene, enlivened as it was
by the concourse of some hundreds of the Niam-niam people. The
provision for the most part consisted of great lumps of pappy dough
piled upon broad leaves, and served with strong-smelling sauces which
were brought in pots, bowls, calabashes, and vessels of every variety.
Drawn up on one side, in groups arranged according to the order of
their arrival, stood the bearers, whilst the Niam-niam in throngs took
their position on the other, and many an eager glance was thrown upon
the preparations for the general repast. I took my sketch-book in my
hand, and wandering through the ranks preserved my observations of the
diversified tattooing which everywhere arrested the eye.
To judge from the representations which have been given us by Du
Chaillu, Griffon, and other travellers, I should say that in external
appearance the Niam-niam very much resemble the people of the Fan on
the Gaboon. The two races adopt a similar fashion of dressing their
hair; both alike have the reputation of being cannibals; and from all
accounts their domestic arrangements are not very different.
Almost immediately after starting on the following morning we crossed
the Nabambisso, and our course subsequently lay across a group of low
mounds of gneiss covered with an interesting vegetation. Here grew in
great abundance the _Selaginella rupestris_, clothing the bare rock
with a graceful carpet of verdure; and here, too, for the first time
since leaving the Red Sea, I was greeted with the sight of the
Abyssinian aloe with its fiery barb. This plant belongs to the flora
of the loftiest mountains; but although the elevation of the country
was scarcely more than 2500 feet, yet it was sufficiently high to
permit the plant to thrive; in Nubia, too, it flourishes at an
altitude hardly higher than that in which it is conspicuous here.
After surmounting the gneiss rocks we crossed the Nabambisso for the
second time, and marching onwards in a southerly direction we reached
a wide depression, called Yabongo, enclosed by dense bushes like the
“Luche” in the Mark of Brandenburg, or perhaps still more like a
meadow-pool in the sense of the “nyalnyam” of Bornoo. On the edge of
the water many wild _Phœnix_ of both sexes were flourishing with
greater magnificence than any I had yet seen, their stems running to
the height of some twenty feet. For a distance now there were no
watercourses above ground to be seen, and shortly afterwards we
entered upon another valley which was distinguished by the name of
Yabo. The interval between the two hollows was filled by woodlands,
graceful as parks, and adorned by many a large-leaved fig-tree bearing
a multitude of figs much larger than those we ever grow.
[Sidenote: CONSIDERATION FOR BEARERS.]
While we were here, one of the Bongo bearers died from the effects of
eating manioc before it had been prepared and divested of its
poisonous parts. For twenty-four hours before his death he had lain in
a state of coma, and a strong emetic had been entirely without effect.
In the Niam-niam countries the manioc roots are of the same uncertain
quality as those of South America, and the Bongo being unfamiliar with
the differences, often do themselves serious injury on their
expeditions by partaking of them indiscrimately.
Not long afterwards another of the Bongo people was carried off by a
lion from the side of a bivouac fire; and these two were the only
deaths that occurred in the course of the two months that Mohammed’s
caravan was on its outward way. Probably much was due to the salubrity
of the air, which contributed to make the men superior to the drawback
of unwholesome food, and to all the exertions, fatigues, and
deprivations to which they had to submit; but beyond a doubt the fact
spoke volumes for the considerate treatment that the bearers received
from Mohammed. He spared his people most studiously, and often rated
the soldiers very severely whenever they were impatient or harsh with
the bearers; he personally superintended the distribution of all the
corn, and in his anger I have heard him revile the troops, telling
them that they were good-for-nothing rascals who only knew how to go
to sleep, and how to bully the bearers.
Towards noon on the 27th of March we reached the Uzze, a small river
running almost parallel with the Sway, and of about the same
dimensions as the Hoo, only having a much slower current. The
river-bed was twenty-five feet wide, but at this period there was not
more than a two-foot depth of water. The stream flowed along an open
plain, unrelieved by trees, but animated by many herds of buffaloes,
which we did not now stay to chase, but which afforded us excellent
sport upon our way back. About two miles to the south of the Uzze we
crossed the Yubbo, the two rivers here being quite close together,
although they diverge again to a distance of several leagues towards
the west before they ultimately unite and join the Sway.
The Yubbo at this time was fifty feet wide, and like the Uzze was only
two feet deep; it meandered along a low steppe which was obviously
subjected to inundation, a fact that testified to the importance of
the river in the rainy season. Estimated merely with reference to the
length of its course, the Yubbo might compete with the Sway for the
honour of being chief among the original stream-sources which make up
the Dyoor, but the comparison of the volume of water which the
separate rivers contain demonstrates that it really performs a very
subsidiary part. Another argument that very pointedly tends to prove
that the Sway is really the main source rests upon the fact that the
natives distinguish it, at its earliest risings, in the defiles of the
Baginze, by the same name that the Dyoor itself bears among the
Niam-niam in what were formerly the states of Tombo. The development
of the Sway, from the aggregated confluence of a number of smaller
streams, is as characteristic an example of “river-sources” as the
records of geographical science can furnish.
After crossing the deep hollow of the bed of the Yubbo, we met some
messengers who had been despatched by Nduppo, Wando’s brother, to bid
us welcome. Nduppo was chief of a district subject to his brother,
with whom, however, he was by no means on good terms. From Nduppo
himself, of course, we had no hostilities to fear, as nothing could be
of more importance to him than to preserve his friendly relations with
Mohammed. As we arrived at his mbanga some hours before night, I had
time to make a short visit to a deep ravine at no great distance, that
was watered by a streamlet called the Nakofoh, which was almost hidden
by the dense groves upon its bank.
Our camp had meanwhile been improvised, a number of grass huts having
been speedily erected because of the threatening aspect of the sky;
towards evening for some days past there had been the appearance as if
a storm were rising, but rain had only fallen twice since the
beginning of the month, and even now the clouds were broken. On
reaching the encampment I found Nduppo himself in company with
Mohammed. I joined them, at once, being as anxious as anyone to get
what intelligence I could about Wando and his intentions. It
transpired that the feud between Nduppo and his brother had become so
violent in rancour that Nduppo avowed that he lived in constant terror
of being attacked and murdered by Wando’s soldiers, and this cruel
destiny which he foreboded did actually befall him a very few days
after our departure. For ourselves, the following day would decide
whether we were to have peace or war.
Our next move was to the quarters of Rikkete, another brother of
Wando’s, and who, holding the office of behnky, had remained faithful
in his allegiance, and was consequently in avowed hostility to Nduppo.
The three brothers were part of the numerous family of Bazimbey, whose
extensive dominions, a few years previously, had been divided into six
small principalities, a heritage which was a perpetual apple of
discord amongst his sons. Bazimbey was one of the six sons of Yapahti,
who still retain their rule over nearly all the eastern countries of
the Niam-niam.
[Sidenote: ADMIRING THE WHITE MAN.]
My personal appearance aroused the most vivid interest on the part of
Nduppo and his suite. Their curiosity seemed insatiable, and they
never wearied in their inquiries as to my origin. Theirs were the
first exclamations of a kind which more or less frequently continued
to be made throughout the rest of my journey. To their mind the
mystery was as to where I could have come from; my hair was the
greatest of enigmas to them; it gave me a supernatural look, and
accordingly they asked whether I had been dropped from the clouds or
was a visitor from the moon, and could not believe that anything like
me had been seen before.
And with regard to this appearance of mine, I may mention that amongst
these people of the far interior it hardly seemed to be the colour of
my skin that principally excited their astonishment, for even in the
remotest regions of Central Africa, tribes that have no conception of
an ocean are aware of the existence of white men; but it was
invariably my long straight hair that caused their chief surprise, my
own purpose in letting my hair grow to an unusual length being that I
might be identified at once amid all the countless shades of
complexion that were found amongst the Nubians. I enquired whether
they had not seen the traveller Piaggia, that white man who but a few
years ago had been staying in their parts with king Tombo; but they
replied that although they had heard about him, they had never seen
him. In my way, therefore, I was quite unique, and truly a
_desideratum_ in their ethnographical experience.
Nduppo communicated to us many particulars about his brothers, and
about the warfare that was carried on between them, and informed us
likewise of the death of Bazimbey’s brother Tombo, who had entertained
Piaggia with so much hospitality. Tombo’s kingdom, it appeared, had
likewise been cut up into a number of smaller states which still
retained all their national hostility to the intruders from Khartoom.
The residence at which Bazimbey had lived, during his sovereignty, was
pointed out to me, at a distance which, I should presume, was about 25
miles. It was explained to me that a messenger, if he were strong and
could walk well, could accomplish the journey in a day, but, it was
added that he must not halt on the way, and that he would have to get
on apace like a Niam-niam, and not to dawdle like a Bongo bearer
carrying his load.
[Sidenote: ABUNDANCE OF SKINS.]
Throughout the whole of the territory that was subject to Wando, the
clothing of all the people consisted of skins, as the fig-tree, of
which the bark is so generally used in the south, does not thrive here
at all well. For all those who require it, the bark has to be imported
from the country of the Monbuttoo, and is consequently an article of
luxury. Skins can ordinarily be obtained at a price which seemed to me
ridiculously small. For the purpose of getting a few trifling
additions which were necessary for my _cuisine_ I was in the habit of
breaking up some of my larger copper rings into little bits, and I was
very pleased to find how far these copper fragments would go in making
purchases of skins of various kinds. In this way I bought a fine otter
skin (probably _Lutra inunguis_, Cuv.) for about threepence, genet
skins for about a penny apiece, and those of the _Colobus quereza_ for
a very little more. Very plentiful and consequently equally cheap were
the skins of civets, _Herpestes fasciatus_, _Felis maniculata_, _F.
caracal_ and _F. serval_. The skins of the smaller kinds of antelopes,
too, were very frequently offered for sale, especially those of the
beautiful _Antilope scripta_ (the harness bush-bock of South Africa)
and of _A. grimmia_, _A. madoqua_, and the long-haired water-bock (_A.
difassa_). It is very strange how, notwithstanding this extraordinary
abundance and cheapness of skins, traffic in them, as an article of
commerce, is entirely unknown in Khartoom, where the dealers seem to
have no suspicion of the large demand there undoubtedly would be.
Leopard skins, it may be added, were comparatively rare, and were only
used by royal personages to line their shields, or according to their
own special prerogative, to encircle their heads. Nduppo wore a
serval-skin, of which the ends drooped in graceful folds over his neck
and shoulders, whilst great pins, headed with pieces cut from the tail
of the _Sciurus leucumbrinus_, held it firmly fastened to his
luxuriant hair.
Aboo Sammat was known amongst the Niam-niam by the name of “Mbahly” or
“the little one,” a designation given him long ago by the people, on
account of the youthful age at which he had entered their country.
Nduppo informed us that Wando had declared, with what was tantamount
to an oath, that Mbahly should not this time escape, but that he and
all his crew should be annihilated: he, moreover told us that the
threats had extended to myself. Wando, he said, avowed that he did not
want any presents, and that all the beads in the world were nothing to
him; if any offerings were sent he would trample them in the grass; if
any stuffs were given him he would rip them into shreds; plenty of
copper he had already, and for that matter, plenty of ivory too, but
he did not intend to part with any of it.
For a long time it perplexed me to discover the reason of Wando’s
animosity. Only two years previously he and Mohammed had been on the
most friendly terms. Mohammed had visited him at his home, and the two
had entered into the closest alliance, which had been sealed by
Mohammed marrying his daughter, who as I have already mentioned, was
now one of the first ladies in the harem of Boiko. But, meanwhile,
Mohammed had been in Khartoom, and during his absence he had entrusted
the charge of his expeditions to his brother, who had fallen out with
Wando. Mutual recriminations led to mutual plunder, and Wando was now
in a rage that could not easily be suppressed.
Nduppo led us to understand that in the course of our next march we
should receive definite tidings of Wando’s intentions. If an attack
were resolved upon, his whole force would be assembled and we should
be prevented from going on to Rikkete; but if, on the other hand, we
were permitted to reach Rikkete unmolested we might then be sure that
there would be a temporary peace. And this in reality we found to be
the case. As we were approaching Rikkete we were met by Wando’s envoys
bringing the accustomed conciliatory flasks of beer. Various
circumstances might have weighed with the chieftain to induce him to
postpone his outbreak. It is possible that he considered that while
Aboo Sammat’s and Ghattas’s companies were united and could muster 300
guns, the time was not arrived for an attack; he also reckoned, with
true African craftiness, that it would be more advantageous to himself
to fall upon us on our way back from the Monbuttoo. He imagined,
moreover, that all our valuables which he now so contemptuously
rejected would fall into his hands without the necessity of any ivory
traffic at all, and that our stores (as being an unnecessary burden to
be carried to the Monbuttoo and back) would be deposited in his charge
until our return; and in addition to all this, it is not unlikely that
he counted with some certainty upon receiving plenty of presents from
the liberal Kenoosian.
[Sidenote: PRECAUTIONS.]
In order to be ready in a moment for any emergency, our caravan for
the first time, on the 28th of February, set out on its journey with
its disposition arranged according to the rules of Nubian warfare. The
entire body being drawn out in columns, the whole of the armed force
was divided into three companies, each headed by its own banner. In
front of all marched the first division of the troops, followed by the
bearers with the linen goods, the bars of copper, and the store of
beads; in the middle of the train was the second division, which had
charge of the bulk of the ammunition, chests of cartridges and boxes
of powder and caps; then followed the women and female slaves, whilst
the third division brought up the rear. For the general security it
was ordered that no straggler should be permitted to lag behind or to
go farther back than the standard-bearer at the head of the third
division. From the nature of the path all were obliged to march in
single file, and thus our train, although as compact as possible,
swelled out to an enormous length. Independently of the main body, a
troop of native soldiers, composed of Bongo and Niam-niam slaves, that
had been armed and well trained by Aboo Sammat, was now detached to
reconnoitre the thickets in front and on either hand, and to make sure
that the advance was safe. As a general rule, these blacks made much
more effective soldiers than the Nubians, and upon them fell the
heaviest of all the work of war. Their employment of hunting, which is
a pursuit much too laborious for their oppressors, makes them far more
expert and practised shots, and besides this, they are heartier in
their work and fear neither wind nor weather.
Whilst all the Nubians who carry guns are dignified by the
high-sounding title of “Assaker” (soldiers), the natives who may be
enlisted are called in the common jargon of the Soudan Arabic, either
“Narakeek,” “Farookh” or “Bazingir.” The precise etymology of these
various designations I could never ascertain. There are, however, some
words which occur so frequently in the conversation of the Khartoomers
that they become indispensable for fully describing the details of
service in the countries of the Upper Nile. The “Narakeek,” for
instance, would appear to be the only men who are trusted with the
heavier guns, of which a considerable number, originally intended, no
doubt, for elephant-hunting, are now found in the companies of the
Khartoomers, and form what might be called their artillery. Mohammed
Aboo Sammat had twenty of these guns, of which I ascertained that the
majority were manufactured by Roos of Stuttgard. They are not loaded
either with conical shot or with explosive bullets, but merely with a
handful of heavy deer-shot; their action is very effective, and their
first discharge amongst a party of savages rarely fails to send them
scampering off at full speed.
It was in crossing the beds of the brooks and in getting through the
thickets that bounded them that the greatest precautions were
requisite. All our long experience had made us quite aware how easily
a caravan may be thrown out of marching order and put into the
greatest confusion by the mere irregularity of the soil, and under
such circumstances every attempt at defence must be unavailing:
bullets might do some service when deliberately aimed at an open foe,
but would be utterly useless when fired at random from amidst a
labyrinth of trees or in the obscurity of a thicket.
[Sidenote: CAMP-LIFE.]
Between three and four hours were occupied in reaching Rikkete’s
mbanga. Half-way on our road, after crossing three smaller streams, we
came to a larger one, which, like the others flowing to the south and
to the east, passed near the hamlets which lay contiguous to Nduppo’s
frontier. Here we halted for our morning meal. The bearers ransacked
acre after acre for the sweet-potatoes which were in cultivation in
this district, where also, for the first time in our descent from the
north, we found manioc plantations of any magnitude. Only in deference
to an express order that the poultry which was running about the
forsaken huts should be respected as the property of others, did the
people abstain from catching the hens and chickens that were within
their reach, but it was an act of self-denial, and they were compelled
to content themselves with plantains cooked in ashes. Altogether it
was a motley picture of African camp-life: the ravaged lands, the
chattels of the fugitives scattered all around, the variety of
platters, the corn-bins, the wooden mortars, the stools, the mats, and
the baskets, all tumbled about at the pleasure of the intruders,
conspired to make a spectacle of confusion so utter and so hopeless
that, the only relief was in resignation.
Beyond the stream our path turned directly to the south; hitherto its
direction, though winding, had been mainly west. The continual
fluctuations in the level of the land made me suspect that we were
really approaching that watershed of the Nile for which I had been
looking with such eager and impatient expectation. The ground, that
had been sloping down towards the west all the way to Nduppo’s mbanga,
we now found sloping down towards the east, so that the streams that
proceeded from this district to meet the Yubbo for a while flowed in a
direction exactly opposite to that of the stream they were about to
join. A comparatively important stream, the Lindukoo, at a little
distance received all these other streams into its channel and was the
last water connected with the system of the Nile that we had to cross.
Over steepish hills, along defiles of slippery clay and through clefts
and ravines which the rain-torrents had capriciously hollowed out, our
road led us onward to Rikkete. Contrary to our expectations we were
received amidst the mingled noise of drum and trumpet, whilst a deputy
from the chieftain stood in front of his huts to bid us welcome.
We encamped upon some ground that was still fallow, for the few
showers that had fallen were only the forerunners of the settled rain
which lasts from May till October, and had had little effect upon the
soil, so that the sowing of the crops had not yet commenced. Our camp
was close to some groups of huts that were inhabited by Rikkete’s
wives and retinue; and behind it, under the shadow of imposing banks,
flowed a brook called the Atazilly.
Mohammed entered into very amicable relations with Rikkete, and not
only obtained some valuable tusks from him by way of traffic, but
secured an ample supply of provisions for the immediate use of the
caravan. Towards evening some messengers arrived from Wando,
confirming his friendly intentions and bringing, as peaceful pledges,
an offering of flasks of eleusine-beer. At night we were in company
with Rikkete, and Riharn my cook, who had but few opportunities of
displaying that skill in the culinary art which he prided himself upon
learning in the large hotel at Cairo, prepared some farinaceous dish
in the European style with which I entertained the Niam-niam magnate.
The article that seemed to puzzle the people most was our sugar; they
could not comprehend how it should have all the appearance of stone
and yet melted in the mouth, tasting like the juice of their native
sugar-cane, which was cultivated among them, although not to any great
extent.
Before tasting the proffered beer, Mohammed insisted upon Wando’s
emissaries emptying one gourd-shell after another for their own
enjoyment, a proceeding which had the effect of considerably elevating
the spirits of the party. The Nubian soldiers, pleased at the pacific
turn that matters had taken, passed the night in chanting their
carols, accompanied by the strains of the tarabuka; and the Bongo and
Mittoo revelled and danced for many hours in their own fashion to the
sound of their kettle-drums and horns.
[Sidenote: DIVISION OF THE FORCE.]
There seemed now to remain no further obstacle in the way of the
separation of the two companies; and, in order to complete the
preliminary arrangements for the division, it was decided that we must
remain for a whole day with Rikkete, a determination which was hailed
by myself with much satisfaction. Ghattas’s corps was to be
accompanied by a detachment of one hundred of Aboo Sammat’s soldiers,
and to take its departure for what formerly had been Keefa’s
territories in the west and south-west, where they hoped to transact a
remunerative business, because, in consequence of the absconding of
the natives, the main company of Ghattas had been left destitute of
any bearers. After the reduction, an armed force of 175 was left for
our protection as we proceeded on the remainder of our way to the
Monbuttoo.
Early on the following morning I paid Rikkete a visit at his residence
in the village, and made him what I considered a handsome present of
beads of a pattern superior to what had ever before been seen in this
part of Africa. I, however, received no present in return, but on the
contrary had to pay for the simplest things with which I was supplied,
whether they were sweet-potatoes, colocasiæ, or poultry. The Niam-niam
are an acquisitive people, and never lose an opportunity to increase
their store of copper, attaching comparatively little importance to
any other wealth. Once when I was complaining that in spite of my
liberality I could not obtain the most trifling articles for cooking
without giving a full price for them, I was met by the true African
answer that if they took the trouble to bring me their commodities I
must expect to pay for them.
My visit to Rikkete over, I could not resist spending the day of our
halt in an excursion. Accordingly, having enlisted the services of
some natives as guides, I started off with all my people, who had to
carry my heterogeneous appliances, which consisted of guns,
portfolios, boxes large and small, cases, ropes, trowels, stock-shears
and hoes. Crossing the Atazilly, and wading by the side of the stream
through the swamps which were crowded with jungles of amomum as high
as myself, and adorned with the rosy blossoms of the _Melastomaceæ_, I
proceeded for three-quarters of a league across the steppe until I
reached the stream to which I have referred already, called the
Lindukoo or the Undukoo.
Here there opened to my view one of the most magnificent prospects
that forest scenery could afford; the gigantic measure of some of the
trees was altogether surprising, but yet, on account their various
heights, their foliage lay as it were in strata, and the denseness of
the ramification wove the branches into a chaos as picturesque as it
was inextricable. A merry world of apes was gambolling on the topmost
boughs; two of the larger species of monkeys (_Cercopithecus_) were
also represented, as well as members of the _Galago_ family, which are
half-blinded by the glare of daylight. The _Colobi_, too, with their
long silvery hair, were conspicuous as they flitted across the dark
gaps that were left in the lower branches, or as they scampered along
the more horizontal arms of the trees above. Numerous, however, as
they were, I had no chance of securing a single specimen, as my shot,
when aimed to an altitude of seventy or eighty feet, was spent in
vain. The guinea-fowl, as ever, afforded prolific sport, their large
grey bodies standing out distinctly against the fresh verdure; but we
lost a great many that were hit, in consequence of their falling into
the midst of impenetrable masses of shrubs. Accompanied as I was by
only a small number of armed men, I could not be otherwise than
sensible how completely, if they chose, I was in the power of the
natives. I was encouraged, however, to believe that the engagement
made was perfectly reliable, as, except under that conviction, consent
would never have been given for the armed forces to divide.
My Niam-niam guides rendered me the greatest service; not only did
they enter very heartily into my pursuits, climbing up the lofty trees
without hesitation to reach the produce of the topmost boughs, but
they made me acquainted with the native names of all the plants, and
brought me specimens for my close inspection of what otherwise I could
merely see at a distance, and in the confusion of promiscuous foliage.
Though the hollow gorge of the river sank for some eighty feet, there
were trees at the bottom whose crests were level with the land above.
The protruding roots amid the landslips, just as in our own mountain
hollows, served as steps; and all along, abundant as in Alpine clefts,
there sprung up many a variety of graceful ferns.
[Sidenote: RIKKETE’S WIVES.]
I proceeded north-west for a considerable distance up the stream, and
having laboriously crossed and recrossed the swampy bed of the valley,
I returned in the evening to my quarters with my portfolios enriched
beyond my most sanguine expectations. Before night, I repeated my
visit to Rikkete’s residence, and found his wives sitting on the open
area before the huts, and employed in their several domestic ways. My
intrusion appeared to give the ladies great uneasiness, and the
interpreters themselves put on a grave look of concern and were
ominously silent. I was just about to transfer the scene to my
sketch-book when Rikkete suddenly appeared. He reproached me
vigorously, insisted upon knowing what business I had amongst his
wives, and demanded how I presumed to go to his huts without his
knowledge or permission. These Niam-niam wives for their part were
very passive, and as quiet and reserved as though they had been
brought up amidst the refinements of a Turkish harem. Rikkete, too,
was soon appeased. He was a true son of the desert; but his general
demeanour, the reserve of his bearing, and the moderation of his tone,
were worthy of him as a man of royal blood who, conscious of his
superiority, could, when he pleased, converse with the most perfect
self-possession.
In my subsequent transactions with the natives, I was again offered a
great number of skins; this time skins of genets, which were
represented in several varieties. I discriminated them into three
sorts, according to the number of the stripes made by the spots that
ran along the body. The general colour appeared to change with the
creatures’ age. The ground colour varied from a light ash-grey to a
deep yellowish brown, while the spots ranged from the colour of coffee
to a perfect black. In consequence of these diversities zoologists
have very probably been misled, and have been all in error when they
have described the _Viverra genetta_ as being of several species.
In the glimmer of dawn we were aroused by the accustomed signals. Two
of the Bongo in Mohammed’s service had learnt at Khartoom how to blow
their trumpets and beat their drums for this important function, and
they sounded the Turkish _réveil_ admirably, giving it the full roll
and proper compass. In particular, Inglery the trumpeter was superb in
his execution, and the astonished woods could not too often re-echo
back his clanging notes. The Niam-niam were quite delighted with the
strain, and frequently could be detected humming the melody to
themselves. Wando and Munza alike were never weary of urging the
request that Aboo Sammat would either make them a present of his
trumpeter, or allow them to purchase him at any price he might elect
to name; but Inglery was the joy and pride of Mohammed, and in his way
was quite unique throughout the district of the Upper Nile as far as
the banner of Islam had been borne.
[Sidenote: NIAM-NIAM DIGNITY.]
Our caravan was accompanied by a large number of guides and natives
who were eager to show the way, as a stiff day’s march was before us,
and a passage over several difficult water-courses had to be
accomplished. The morning toilette of the Niam-niam guides was
singular enough. In order to protect themselves against the chilly
damp of the early dew as they marched along the narrow pathways of the
steppes, they covered the entire front of their body with some large
skins, which made them look as if they wore coopers’ aprons. For this
purpose there is no skin that looks more picturesque than that of the
bush-bock, with its rows of white spots and stripes upon a yellow
ochre ground. The bearing of the Niam-niam is always chivalrous as
becomes a people devoted to war and to the chase, exhibiting a very
strong contrast to the unpolished nonchalance of the Bongo, the
Mittoo, and even of the finicking Arabians. The Niam-niam might be
introduced straight upon the stage, and would be faultless in the
symmetry with which they would go through their poses.
Our way took a turn beyond the Atazilly across the same steppe over
which we had passed yesterday. After an hour we arrived again at the
Lindukoo, which here forms a considerable cataract of some thirty feet
deep, falling over the worn and polished gneiss. A thick bank-wood
shaded the rocks, which were charmingly adorned with the rarest ferns,
and a regular jungle of tangled foliage canopied the depth beneath
which the rosy blooming ginger-bushes grew as tall as a man and
scented the air with their fine aroma. Just for half-an-hour we halted
upon the high and dry levels that we found, and regaled ourselves with
refreshment from our store of provisions.
An early rest like this was quite common with us, for in the confusion
of our starting at the dawn of day there was seldom any leisure at all
to think of breakfast. Our leader, neither proud nor upstart, but like
all Nubians, whose finest quality is their sense of equity and
brotherhood, munched away amidst a circle of his more intimate
associates, to which my Khartoom attendants were admitted, at some
cold fowl seasoned with pimento, which was the choicest morsel that
the country could supply. With the flowery yams, the sweet-potatoes,
and the colocasiæ, which appeared such an invaluable boon to the
country, the Nubians could do nothing, so unaccustomed were they in
their native place to vegetables of any sort: what they missed most
was plenty of their flat cake of kissere; quite voluntarily they
renounced all meat. They carried with them a supply of the capsules of
the _Hibiscus esculentus_, dried before they were ripe, and by the aid
of the indispensable red pepper and some fat or oily substance, they
manufactured a slimy sauce in which they soused their kissere. They
were epicures enough to carry with them in a horn their own “duggoo,”
which is a kind of pot-pourri composed of every condiment they can
procure, being a combination of salt, pimento, fœnum græcum,
basilicum, coriander, mustard, dill, and a variety of other
ingredients of the kind.
But now for a time the days of kissere and sorghum-pap were over. Now
for awhile they had to put up with eleusine, that tiny, scaly, black
and bitter grain of which Speke declares that it is sown, because the
spades, which do such an amount of mischief to other seeds, leave this
uninjured—the same _Eleusine coracana_ (called teleboon in Arabic and
raggi in the West Indies) which on account of its extreme bitterness
was condemned by Baker as being putrid and unfit to eat. Leaving it
for the people who seemed to enjoy it well enough, he made the remark
that “the lion dies of hunger where the ass grows fat.”
There was a general belief in magic. One day, my servant, Mohammed
Ameen, would get it into his head that I had found a plant from which
I could extract gold; on the next day it would be some wonderful skull
that I had found, and from which I knew how to extract the subtlest
poison; the day after and I had the luck to kill an antelope because I
was in possession of some marvellous root. With plain matter-of-fact
these good people cannot get on at all: that every herb must have some
medicinal properties and use would appear never to have entered the
minds of any but Europeans. “Knowest thou the herb that gives
perpetual youth?” is the question that the Oriental asks; and
mysterious secrets are yet to be unfolded to the African.
[Sidenote: FATALISM.]
No one clings more than a Niam-niam to the superstition that the
possession of certain charmed roots contributes to the success of the
chase, so that the best shots, when they have killed an unusual number
either of antelopes or buffaloes are usually credited with having such
roots in their keeping. The fatalism, which is exhibited just as
decidedly by Mohammedans as by heathens, is such that it does not
attach the least importance to the skill with which an arrow or bullet
is aimed. This is a reason why the Khartoomers are never practised in
the art of shooting; they do not doubt but that whatever is designed
for the unbeliever is sure to hit its mark.
The direction which the river Lindukoo was taking appeared to me to be
exactly the reverse of that in which flowed the current of the Yubbo;
and, in spite of the positiveness on the part of the guides, all their
statements left my mind unconvinced, and in a state of considerable
perplexity. But two months later when I had again to cross the river
some distance further to the East, my presentiment was thoroughly
confirmed. The formation of the land just here is very uneven and
irregular; quite in contrast to what it was observed to be both
previously and subsequently upon our progress. With the Lindukoo,
then, I was bidding farewell to the district of the Nile. Many as
there had been before who had undertaken to explore the mighty river
to its fountain-head, here was I, the first European coming from the
north who yet had ever traversed.
THE WATERSHED OF THE NILE.
Upon this memorable day in my life, I confess I had no real knowledge
of the significance of the soil upon which my steps were tarrying, for
as yet I could know nothing of the configuration of the country before
us. The revelation of the truth about this watershed only became
apparent to me after I had gathered and weighed the testimony of the
Niam-niam, which sufficiently demonstrated that the next river, the
Mbrwole, belongs to the system of the Welle. This river _now_ was an
enigma to me, and to unravel the hydrographical perplexities which
surrounded it, continued throughout my journey to puzzle my brain;
certainly I was satisfied it could never be brought into unison with
any of the tributaries of the Sway. A little patience, and the problem
was solved.
With the exception of the high ridge on the north of the River Lehssy
which the Niam-niam call Mbala Ngeea, there was nowhere, along the
entire line from the Gazelle to the Welle, any wide difference
observable in the conformation of the land. But southwards from the
Lindukoo, it was all uphill and downhill, and through defiles,
hill-caps rising and falling on either side, high enough to be
prominent over the undulations that were around them. These
undulations were everywhere of that red hue which rendered it all but
certain that they were only elevations of that crust of recent
swamp-ore which is so widely diffused in Central Africa. The higher
eminences that rose above were of a far earlier formation, being
projections of gneiss, the weather-worn remnants of some primeval
mountain ranges, gnawed by the tooth of time, and crumbled down from
jagged peaks to smooth and rounded caps. Subsequently, on my return at
the end of April, I pushed my way beyond these elevations of the
gneiss, and penetrated farther east, into the narrower limits of the
watershed.
[Sidenote: MUTABILITY OF RIVER CHANNELS.]
This uniformity in geological formation of a district so immense, as
far as it is known, is certainly very remarkable. The source of the
Dyoor is the only exception, and presents some variety in
stratification. Everything points to the fact that since the era of
the formation of the swamp-ore (spreading as it does from the banks of
the Dyoor to the Coanza, and from Mozambique to the Niger) there has
been no alteration in the surface condition of the land except what
has occurred by reason of the water-courses finding new directions for
themselves along the loose and yielding deposit. And even when the
elevations are taken into account which have caused whole chains of
hills to arise, such for instance as those which encircle the basin of
the Tondy, still I am inclined to believe that there too the existence
of the valleys and depressions is to be explained by no other
hypothesis than the perpetual mutability of the channels by which the
streams have forced their way.
Followed in our course from the Lindukoo by a side stream which
discharged itself by a waterfall, we arrived at the regular watershed,
which, judging by my aneroid, which had not varied for four years, I
should estimate at 3000 feet high. Passing onwards we came to a brook
called the Naporruporroo which rippled through a gorge some seventy
feet deep. The stem of a great tree had been thrown across the chasm,
and by means of this we were enabled to pass over without being under
the necessity of making a descent. As we proceeded, the peaks of the
trees which grew beneath were some way below the level of our feet.
After a while, we had first to cross another, and then another of
these streams which at no great distance united themselves in one
common channel.
The stream I have just mentioned was at the bottom of a valley some
eighty feet deep, and as its banks were almost perpendicular the
bearers had to make the most strenuous exertions to ascend. They had
to help each other up, and the baggage therefore had to be passed on
from one to another of the men, and then to be laid down awhile that
they might have their hands at liberty to help them as they climbed.
To accomplish this difficult passage at all with four-footed beasts of
burden it would have been requisite to make a very long and arduous
_détour_. The detention, however, to which the difficulty subjected
the caravan was not in any way a loss to me; it gave me time to stay
and gather up what I would of the botanical treasures of the place,
which in luxuriance seemed to me to surpass all that as yet I had
seen. The valley was so deep that no ray of sunshine by any
possibility could enter it. The pathway was barely a foot wide and
wound itself through a mass of waving foliage. There was a kind of
Brillantaisia with large violet blossoms that I found close by the
way; and I stayed to arrange in my portfolio, for future
investigation, some of its leaves, waiting while our lengthy
procession passed along. Squeezed up in a labyrinth of boughs and
creepers, and wreathed about with leaves, I sat as though I were in a
nest. These opportunities were several times repeated, in which I
found I could get half an hour at my disposal, and could botanize
without disturbance; then as soon as the caravan had defiled past I
took advantage of the first open ground to regain my position near the
front.
So numerous were the hindrances and so great the obstacles which arose
from the ground conformation of the watershed that our progress was
necessarily slow.
About four miles from Lindukoo we reached the Mbrwole, which the
Nubians without further description simply call “Wando’s River.” It
was here bordered by wood, and had a breadth of about eighty feet,
though its depth did not exceed two feet, the flow of the stream being
what might be described as torpid. Aboo Sammat’s people gave us all
the particulars of the year’s luck in hunting, and dwelt much upon the
circumstance of a chimpanzee having been killed, an event which was
evidently very unusual. The woods that composed the “galleries” were
dense and manifestly adapted to be a resort of these creatures. The
fact was of considerable interest as relating to the watershed,
because in none of the more northerly woods had I ever been able to
acquire any evidence at all that the chimpanzee had been known to
exist. It was remarkable that the first trace I found of this race of
animals was upon my reaching the first river that was unattached to
the system of the Nile. It may be said of the district of Wando, where
bank vegetation is most luxuriant and where the drainage is like a
complication of veins squeezed from an overcharged sponge, that it is
the region which, more than any other, is conspicuous for the
abundance of the chimpanzee, which here represents the breed of the
West African _Troglodytes niger_.
[Sidenote: ANONACEÆ.]
Countless in diversity as were the trees and shrubs, the _Anonaceæ_,
by mere reason of their numbers, must take a very prominent place in
the catalogue. A family of plants is this of which, so long as the
flora of tropical Africa was unexplored, it was presumed that America
was the chief, if not the exclusive habitat. But since our knowledge
has been enlarged, and especially since my own investigations in the
Niam-niam lands, it has become clear almost beyond a question that
Africa is at least as prodigal in the Anonaceæ that it yields as all
the tropical districts of America.
Again for two hours we made a pause. The Nubians enjoyed a bright cool
bath, the long column of bearers still toiling onwards with their
loads. The opportunity to myself was as acceptable as ever, and I
continued to secure a new abundance of botanical treasure. By way of
variety, intelligence was brought us that a gun had gone off through
negligence, and that the ball had rent a hole in the apron of one of
the soldiers. Of course there was a great outcry and no end of
gesticulating. The culprit took with the most passive resignation the
lashing that was assigned him, and then all was forgotten, and
something fresh had to be awaited to stir up a new excitement. The
people are fatalists of the purest water, and no amount of experience
can make them prudent.
Farther on, a march through a flat and open steppe led us after a few
miles to a deep glen so thick with wood that it occupied us at least
half an hour in crossing. Its bottom was a wide marshy streak over
which there was no movement of the water, that seemed to be entirely
stagnant. A new type of vegetation revealed itself, one never observed
in the Nile lands by any previous traveller. This consisted of the
thickets of Pandanus, which were to my mind an evidence of our having
entered upon a new river-district altogether, the plant being an
undoubted representative of the flora of the western coast.
And now we had to make our first experience of the various artifices
by which the transit over these marshes has to be accomplished; not
only would it be impossible for a carriage of any description or for
any one on horseback to go over, but even when the baggage was
conveyed by hand there was the serious risk of anyone seeing all that
he most cared for, his clothes and his journals, tumbling from the
bearers’ heads and sinking in the filthy slime. Mouldering trunks of
trees there might be, but to place the foot upon these was to find
them roll like a wave in the waters; others would be too smooth and
slippery to allow a step to be trusted to their treacherous support;
and then the deep continual holes would either be filled by water or
covered with a floating vegetation which betrayed the unwary footsteps
into trouble, so that there was no alternative for the bearers but to
jump from mound to mound and keep their balance as best they might: to
no purpose would they try to grasp at some support; the prickly leaves
of the Pandanus, notched and jagged on the edges as a saw, made them
glad to withdraw their tortured hand.
[Sidenote: CROSSING THE MARSHES.]
For miles far away the deserts re-echoed back the shouts of the
bearers as they splashed through the waters; and the air around
reverberated with the outcry, with the mingled laughing and swearing
of the Nubians, and with the fluster of the women slaves as they
jostled each other in carrying their dishes, gourd-flasks, and
calabashes, through the prickly hedges. Every now and then would arise
a general shriek, half in merriment, half in fright, from a hundred
lungs, betokening that some unlucky slave had plumped down into a
muddy hole, and that all her cooking utensils had come tumbling after.
I could not help being on continual tenterhooks as to the fate which
would befal my own baggage, particularly my herbarium, which although
it was packed up most cautiously in india-rubber, yet required to be
handled very gently. My Bongo bearers, however, were picked men, and
did their work well. They waded on and never once had any
misadventure, so that it resulted that everything, without exception,
that I had gathered in these remote districts of Central Africa, was
spared alike from loss or damage.
Dressing and undressing on these occasions was tiresome enough, but it
was not the whole of the inconvenience. When the task of getting
across had been accomplished, there still remained the business of
purification; and no easy matter was it to get free from the black mud
and slime that adhered tenaciously to the skin. It almost seemed as if
Africa herself had been roused to spitefulness, and was exhibiting her
wrath against the intruder who presumed to meddle with her secrets.
With a malicious glee she appeared to be exulting that she was able to
render the white man, at least for the time, as black as any of her
own children; nor was she content till she had sent a plague of
mud-leeches to add to his discomfort. Naked and shivering she let him
stand even in the mist and rain of a chilly dawn; and no help for him
till some friendly hand should guide him to a pool where the water
still was undefiled, and he could get a wash. And then what a
scraping! How ruefully too would his eye fall upon the ugly
blood-suckers which clung about his legs! To make these relax their
hold, recourse must be had to the powder-flask; and, after all, the
clothes would be saturated with the blood that had been shed in vain.
As for the things that had been splashed and wetted in the turmoil of
the passage, they were laid out either upon a cluster of trampled
fern-leaves or upon any little spot that seemed to give them a chance
of drying.
The sun was already declining, and we had still three of these bogs to
pass over, each with its running stream that would delay us for half
an hour or more. Of these three, the second was the largest, and was
known by the name of Mbangoh. Notwithstanding the vexation and
harassment, to which I was unaccustomed, I found many an opportunity
of gathering shrubs and plants of interest from the promiscuous
vegetation amidst which we made our way.
The shades of night had gathered, when, after passing the last of the
rivulets, we arrived at some farms in a cultivated spot. There was
indication of rain, and a great deal of commotion ensued in taking
precaution against it; luckily, however, we escaped with only a few
heavy drops, and having been relieved from anxiety by a general
clearing of the weather, we enjoyed the good night’s rest which our
hard day’s toil had earned.
In order that we might arrive at Wando’s residence in good time on the
following day, we made our start punctually at sunrise. After we had
marched for half a league over open steppe, and had effected our
passage over the Dyagbe, the signal was sounded for the morning halt.
[Sidenote: ABOO SAMMAT’S INTERVIEW WITH WANDO.]
Mohammed here expressed his intention of having a preliminary
conference with Wando before we definitively pitched our camp, and
borrowing my revolver, as he had done before, he set out with the
utmost composure, attended solely by his black body-guard, the
Farookh. At the head of these he hurried away at a pace so fast that
the lads who carried his arms could scarcely keep up with him. It is
characteristic of the Nubians that whenever they have important
transactions on hand they always move with extreme rapidity.
Within an hour Mohammed returned, perfectly content with his
interview, and proceeded at once to conduct the caravan to the station
allotted to it, close to the banks of the Dyagbe, and just about the
distance of an arrowshot from the wall of foliage which formed the
confine of the primeval forest. Taking their hatchets, the bearers
entered the thickets and hewed down long stakes, with which they set
to work to construct some huts, my own people meanwhile busying
themselves by providing some posts and props which I required equally
for the protection of my baggage from the dampness of the ground and
for placing it out of the reach of white ants. I had brought some deal
boards with me from Khartoom, and by putting these upon the props a
convenient arrangement was made for storing in the narrowest compass a
good deal of baggage. Space in my tent was necessarily very limited.
Every hand was set to work, and in a very short time a number of
pretty little huts were erected with no other material than the fresh
grass; and when the baggage had all been properly secured there
commenced a brisk and very amicable commerce with the natives. Fine
elephant-tusks were brought for sale, and found no lack of ready
purchasers. Presents of cloth and beads were freely distributed, for
the double purpose of putting the people into a good mood and of
inducing them to disclose new resources for procuring ivory. Wando
himself appeared arrayed in a large shirt of figured calico, made with
long sleeves, which he wore (in the same way as all the other native
chieftains) solely out of compliment to the donor. As soon as the
visitors withdrew he deemed it an attire below his dignity, and could
not condescend to trick himself out in a dress which ordinarily was
reserved as a kind of curiosity for his wardrobe.
The cannibal prince, of whom for some days we had been in such dread,
looked a harmless mortal enough as he strolled through the camp
arm-in-arm with Mohammed’s officers; no doubt they had enjoyed a
mutual drink to each other’s health.
The kind of beads which the Niam-niam prefer wearing, when they can
procure them, is that which is known in Khartoom commerce as
“mandyoor,” consisting of a long polyhedral prism, about as large as a
bean and blue as lapis lazuli. Hardly any other kind retains any value
at all. Cowries are still used as a decoration on the national
costume, but the demand for them is not great, and for ten years past
they have not formed at all an important item in the Khartoom traffic.
Fashion extends its sway even as far as these remote wildernesses,
which have their own special demand for “novelties.”
As medium of exchange, nothing here was of any value except copper and
iron, which never failed to be accepted in payment. English copper,
which the Khartoomers take with them in long bars about three-quarters
of an inch thick, is most in repute; but not unfrequently they make
use of the lumps of copper which they obtain from the mines to the
south of Darfoor. With any other resources for obtaining copper the
inhabitants of the country through which I travelled appear to be
hardly acquainted, though possibly the Congo region might, in former
times, have found an outlet for its store in this direction. To
provide suitable small change for their minor purchases, the
expeditions to the Niam-niam always include among their bearers a
certain number of smiths, who from the larger bars and ingots
fabricate rings of all sizes, from the circlet to go round the arm
down to the ring just large enough to fit the finger. These rings are
made from quadrangular bars, the ends of which are subsequently
reduced to taper points. It may be added, by way of example, that for
a finger ring a Niam-niam would give a chicken, although the copper
material itself was not worth three farthings.
[Sidenote: COST OF IVORY.]
Here, at its fountain-head, ivory, as might naturally be expected, may
be obtained in barter at a very trifling cost. On the coast of Guinea
it is necessary to part with a whole host of commodities, guns, cloth,
knives, looking-glasses, and what not, for a single tusk of an
elephant; but a Niam-niam is contented if he can get half a bar of
copper, which would not be worth more than four or five dollars. Not
only, however, would there be some additional presents of cloth or
beads, but the weight and transport would have to be taken into
account. The prime cost here would probably be scarcely five per cent.
of the value of the ivory, which fluctuating, of course, according to
quality, generally, on an average, in Europe realises two or three
dollars a pound; whilst on the other hand, the same purchase could not
be made at the harbours upon the western coasts for much less than 80
per cent. of the gross value. Through the immense outlay which is
entailed upon the Khartoom merchants by the support of so many
soldiers, and, in fact, from the precarious results of the
expeditions, the ultimate profit is really so moderate and it is
gained at so much risk, that the ivory trade on the whole is not
flourishing. But how matters could practically be mended, or how the
expenses of proceeding in the lands of the Upper Nile could be
diminished, I confess I have no scheme to propose. The lands are not
only so remote from the coast, but they are so far away even from the
navigable rivers, that they can never play an important part in the
traffic of the world; nor can the railway which it is in contemplation
to construct between Khartoom and Egypt introduce any material change
into the existing condition of things.
So full of bustle was our camp life that it was not till nightfall
that I had an opportunity of inquiring from Mohammed what had
transpired during his interview with Wando. I now learnt that the
revolver he had borrowed had done him a good turn. He had hurried on
in front of his escort, and had gone boldly to the chieftain to
reprimand him for his equivocal behaviour; but he had no sooner
entered the hut than he was encircled by a troop of Wando’s
satellites, who levelled their lances at him in a most threatening
attitude. He felt himself a prisoner, but, undismayed, he cried out
that his life should cost them a thousand lives, and, snapping the
revolver, he dared them to touch him at their peril. The intimidated
Niam-niam at once assumed a milder tone, and, thanks, as Mohammed
said, to his temerity, everything turned out well.
We remained in Wando’s camp from the 2nd to the 6th of March. The wood
at Dyagbe was most luxuriant, and every day it unlocked to me new and
untold treasures, which were a permanent delight. Here, too, was
unfolded before my gaze the full glory of what we shall in future
understand as “a gallery.”
My predecessor, the Italian Piaggia, whose meagre description of the
Niam-niam lands betrays, in spite of all, an acute power of
observation, has designated these tracts of bank vegetation as
“galleries.” The expression seems to me so appropriate and significant
that I cannot help wishing it might be generally adopted. I will
endeavour briefly to state in what the peculiarities of these
“galleries” consist.
In a way that answers precisely to the description which Dr.
Livingstone in his last accounts has given of the country to the west
of Lake Tanganyika, and which is not adequately accounted for either
by the geological aspect of the region or by any presumed excess of
rain, there is sometimes found a numerical aggregate of springs which
is beyond precedent. These springs result in a perpetual waterflow,
which in the north would all be swallowed up by the thirsty soil of
low and open plains, but which here in the Niam-niam country is all
restrained within deep-cut channels that form, as it were, walls to
confine the rippling stream. The whole country, which is nowhere less
than 2000 feet above the level of the sea, is like an over-full
sponge. The consequence of this is, that many plants which in the
north disappear as soon as the fall of the waters deprives them of
their moisture, are here found flourishing all the year round; so that
all the vales and chinks through which the water makes its way are
permanently adorned with a tropical luxuriance. The variety of trees
and the manifold developments of the undergrowth conspire to present a
spectacle charming as any that could be seen upon the coast of Guinea
or in the countries which are watered by the lower Niger. But,
notwithstanding all this, the vegetation altogether retains its own
specific character up in the higher tracts between stream and stream,
and corresponds to what we have been familiar with ever since we put
our foot upon the red soil of Bongoland, being a park-like wood, of
which the most conspicuous feature is the magnitude of the leaves.
[Sidenote: DUALISM OF VEGETATION.]
I have previously had occasion to mention how a dualism of the same
kind marked the vegetation of the whole country south of the Hoo,
where the formation of the land first changed from the monotonous
alternations between low grass flats and undulated wood-terraces. It
would almost seem as if the reason for the altered law which presides
over the water-courses is to be sought in the increasing elevation of
the soil, and in the opening of the lower plain of the swamp-ore,
which, being furrowed up with a multitude of channels, allows the
unfailing supply of all the numerous springs to flow away.
Trees with immense stems, and of a height surpassing all that we had
elsewhere seen (not even excepting the palms of Egypt), here stood in
masses which seemed unbounded except where at intervals some less
towering forms rose gradually higher and higher beneath their shade.
In the innermost recesses of these woods one would come upon an avenue
like the colonnade of an Egyptian temple, veiled in the leafy shade of
a triple roof above. Seen from without, they had all the appearance of
impenetrable forests, but, traversed within, they opened into aisles
and corridors which were musical with many a murmuring fount.
Hardly anywhere was the height of these woods less than 70 feet, and
on an average it was much nearer 100; yet, viewed from without, they
very often failed to present anything of that imposing sight which was
always so captivating when taken from the brinks of the brooks within.
In some places the sinking of the ground along which the
gallery-tunnels ran would be so great that not half the wood revealed
itself at all to the contiguous steppes, while in that wood (out of
sight as it was) many a “gallery” might still exist.
Most of those gigantic trees, the size of the stems of which exceed
any of our own venerable monarchs of the woods, belong to the class
either of the _Sterculiæ_ or the _Boswelliæ_, to which perhaps may be
added that of the _Cæsalpiniæ_; the numerous Fig-trees, the
_Artocarpeæ_, the _Euphorbiaceæ_, and the endless varieties of the
_Rubiaceæ_, must be entirely excluded from that category, and few
representatives of this grade belong to the region of the underwood.
Amongst the plants of second and third rank there were many of the
large-leaved varieties, and the figs again, as well as the
_Papilionaceæ_ and especially the _Rubiaceæ_ had an important place to
fill. There was no lack of thorny shrubberies; and the _Oncoba_, the
_Phyllanthus_, the _Celastrus_, and the _Acacia ataxacantha_, cluster
after cluster, were met with in abundance. Thick creepers climbed from
bough to bough, the _Modecca_ being the most prominent of all; but the
_Cissus_ with its purple leaf, the _Coccinea_, the prickly _Smilax_,
the _Helmiæ_, and the _Dioscoreæ_ all had their part to play. Made up
of these, the whole underwood spread out its ample ramifications, its
green twilight made more complete by the thickness of the substance of
the leaves themselves.
[Sidenote: FERNS.]
Down upon the very ground, again, there were masses, all but
impenetrable, of plants of many and many a variety which contributed
to fill up every gap that was left in this mazy labyrinth of foliage.
First of all there were the extensive jungles of the _Amoma_ and the
_Costus_ rising full fifteen feet high, and of which the rigid stems
(like the haulms of the towering grass) either bar out the progress of
a traveller altogether or admit him, if he venture to force his way
among them, only to fall into the sloughs of muddy slime from which
they grow. And then there was the marvellous world of ferns destitute
indeed of stems, but running in their foliage to some twelve feet
high. Boundless in the variety of the feathery articulations of their
fronds, some of them seemed to perform the graceful part of throwing a
veil over the treasures of the wood; and others lent a charming
contrast to the general uniformity of the leafy scene. High above
these there worked themselves the large slim-stemmed _Rubiaceæ_
(_Coffeæ_), which by regularity of growth and symmetry of leaf
appeared to imitate, and in a measure to supply the absence of, the
arboraceous ferns. Of all other ferns the most singular that I
observed was that which I call the elephant’s ear. This I found up in
trees at a height of more than 50 feet, in association with the
_Angræca_ and the long grey barb of the hanging _Usneæ_.
Whenever the stems of the trees failed to be thickly overgrown by some
of these different ferns, they were rarely wanting in garlands of the
crimson-berried pepper which twined themselves around. Far as the eye
could reach it rested solely upon green which did not admit a gap. The
narrow paths that wound themselves partly through and partly around
the growing thickets were formed by steps consisting of bare and
protruding roots which retained the light loose soil together.
Mouldering stems, thickly clad with moss, obstructed the passage at
well-nigh every turn. The air was no longer that of the sunny steppe,
nor that of the shady grove; it was stifling as the atmosphere of a
palm-house; its temperature might vary from 70° to 80° Fahr., but it
was so overloaded with an oppressive moisture exhaled by the rank
foliage that the traveller could not feel otherwise than relieved to
escape.
To the European lover of his garden everything at first might seem to
be as artistic in its grouping as it was abundant in its luxuriance;
but the screaming outcry of the birds in the branches above, the
annoying activity of the insect world, and beyond all, the amazing
swarms of minute ants which come showering down from every twig upon
anyone who intrudes upon their haunts, detract very considerably from
the enjoyment of this prodigality of nature. Yet for those who could
persevere there was much to compensate in the general solemnity of the
scene, for the sound of the rustling of the foliage above could
scarcely penetrate the weird shades below. Butterflies gay and busy in
countless swarms, with their gleaming yellow wings, gave animation to
the repose of the eternal green, and made up for any deficiency of
radiant bloom.
Our encampment was but comparatively a few steps away from this
unbounded storehouse of creative wealth, so that with the greatest
convenience I could prepare within my tent for all my explorations.
That dual character of the vegetation to which I have referred offers
a great advantage to the botanist in this teeming district. In the
damp atmosphere of the western coasts the drying of plants is hardly
ever capable of being accomplished without exposing them for a time
before a fire, an operation which has generally the effect of inducing
a blackness over the specimens which necessarily very materially
increases the difficulty of their being scientifically examined when
they reach their destination in Europe; but here, except upon a
thoroughly wet day, the plants will all dry just as readily as they
would in a country where water is the reverse of abundant. When plants
have been gathered and dried in the hot steamy atmosphere of Guinea,
and corresponding plants have been gathered and dried as they are
found in Nubia, the comparison of the two may assist in establishing
what relations exist between the bank wood and the steppes of the
different countries.
[Sidenote: WANDO.]
I had already made the acquaintance of Wando’s sons, but hardly
expected the honour that Wando himself paid me by visiting me in my
tent. A troop of armed men composed his retinue and arranged
themselves in a circle round the tent, whilst, with all deference, I
made my illustrious guest the offer of my own seat which I had brought
with me from the Gazelle. Wando was somewhat below a medium height,
but he could show a large development of muscle, and no insignificant
amount of fat. His features were of so marked and well-defined a
character, that in their way they might be pronounced good, the head
itself being almost perfectly round. Nothing took me more by surprise
at Wando’s entrance than the perfect self-possession, which might
almost be called _nonchalance_, with which he took the proffered seat.
Savage as he was, his composure and native dignity were those of which
no European when receiving homage would need to be ashamed. Crossing
his arms upon his breast, he reclined one leg upon the other, and
began to throw the centre of gravity of his bulky frame so far behind
the perpendicular that I was in momentary fear lest the back of my
chair which creaked audibly at every movement of the Niam-niam
potentate, should be faithless to its trust. It seemed to sigh beneath
its burden. Wando reminded me in more than one respect of the portly
king of Ovampo, on whom Galton with some trouble forced the crown that
had been brought from the theatre. With the merest apology of a piece
of skin to cover him, he sat in all but absolute nakedness, revealing
the exuberance of fat which clothed his every limb.
It was commonly said of Wando that he was the avowed enemy of all
cannibalism. I was informed in various quarters that people from the
neighbouring districts had come to him when they found themselves
growing too fat, and had declared that they did not consider their
lives were safe on account of the men-eaters by whom they were
surrounded. But the sentiments of the chieftain did not appear to
exercise much influence upon the majority of his subjects, as we only
too soon became aware as we advanced farther to the south.
This visit of Wando’s gave me an opportunity of which I did not omit
to avail myself of entering my indignant protest against the want of
hospitality with which on his part we had been received. I recounted
to him by way of contrast the many acts of liberality which had been
shown us by the Nubians in general, assuring him that my dogs had
received more care from them than I, their master, had received from
him, king though he was; to supply my dogs with meat, goats had been
killed, and for myself bullocks had never been spared. Wando
remonstrated, saying that he had neither one nor the other; but I made
him understand that he had plenty of poultry, certainly enough, and
more than enough, for me and my people. Finally, I proceeded to let
him know what I thought of his hostile demonstration before our
arrival; and while I spoke I dashed my fist upon the camp-table which
stood before us, till the plates and drinking vessels clattered and
jingled again. My personal attendants, however, Mohammed Ameen and
Petherick’s old servant, the travelled and experienced Riharn, knew
better, after all, than I did, how to take Wando to task. Pointing to
me, they made him comprehend that he was threatened with a most
certain and speedy judgment if he suffered a Frank to come to the most
trifling harm. They charged him not to forget that it was a Frank he
was dealing with, and that it was quite within the power of a Frank to
make the earth to yawn and from every rent to give out flames that
should consume his land. And as they spoke, the interpreters explained
all, word for word, to his excited understanding. Intimidated to that
degree of which none but a negro is capable, and only eager to avert a
miserable fate, he hurried back to fulfil his promise of sending
provisions without stint or delay.
[Sidenote: A TEMPTING DISH.]
Almost immediately afterwards a number of his people came teeming in,
bringing not only some lean and half-fed poultry, but a lot of great
black earthen pots which they laid down as offerings from their master
at the opening of my tent. A revolting smell of burning oil, black
soap, and putrid fish rose and stunk in the nostrils of all who were
curious enough to investigate, even from a distance, the contents of
the reeking jars; to those who were so venturesome as actually to peer
into the vessels, there was revealed a dark-coloured stew of threads
and fibres, like loosened tow floating between leather shavings and
old whip-thongs. Truly it was the production of a savage, and I may
say of an indigenous, cookery, such as our progenitors in their
primeval forests might have prepared for themselves out of roast
rhinoceros or mammoth-foot. There seemed a rebound in the lapse of
time. As matter of fact, the caldrons were full of a burnt smoky
_ragoût_ made from the entrails of an elephant some two hundred years
old, very tough and exceedingly rank. This wonderful example of
nature’s earliest promptings was handed first to me by the Bongo
bearers, whom I at once begged to accept for themselves the dainty
dish of the savages; but even the Nubians, not at all too fastidious
generally in anything which their religion permits them to eat,
rejected the mess with the greatest disdain.
It had happened some years before, as one of Ghattas’s companies was
making their way across Wando’s territories, that six Nubians were
murdered in the woods by some natives who had accompanied them to the
chase, professing to be their guides. As soon as the Nubians had fired
away all their ammunition in shooting at their game they had no means
of defence left in their power, and consequently were easily mastered.
Mohammed at once sent to demand the six guns, which beyond a doubt
were in the possession of Wando’s people—so anxious was he to prevent
the natives from becoming acquainted with the use of firearms. Wando
commenced by denying his ability to meet the demand, and then resorted
to procrastination; but subsequently, pressed by Mohammed, who
declared that the continuance of his friendly relations must depend
upon the restitution of the guns, he surrendered four of them,
asserting that the others could not be found. Any further satisfaction
was not to be expected, because on the one hand there was either no
getting the perpetrators into custody, and on the other, even if they
could be brought from their place of refuge, no one could be bribed to
give any substantial evidence against them.
On the second day after our arrival at Wando’s residence, attended by
a considerable number of natives and a dozen soldiers, I made an
excursion out for about two leagues northwards along the banks of the
Dyagbe. Guereza-monkeys in merry groups were in the foliage above, but
I was not fortunate enough to bring down more than a single specimen.
According to the statements of my guides, who were hunters by
profession, chimpanzees were numerous, but we certainly did not get a
glimpse of one. Very weary with my exertions of tramping over the
marshy ground I was rejoiced to bring back into camp an ample booty in
the way of botanical rarities.
[Sidenote: THE LEAF-EATER.]
During our travels I had obtained from the Niam-niam who accompanied
our caravan an epithet which I never lost in all the subsequent stages
of our journey. In their own dialect these people called me
“Mbarik-pa,” which would be equivalent to a name amongst us of
“Leaf-eater.” It was a designation that reminded me very vividly of my
professional brother David Douglas, who fell a martyr to his devotion
to Nature, and who was known amongst the North-American Indians as
“the Grass-man.”
My Niam-niam interpreter Gyabir, as I learnt some time afterwards, had
given his friends some marvellous accounts of the way in which I was
accustomed to eat whatever I found growing. He used to relate that I
had a habit of dismissing my attendants and getting into a dense
thicket where I imagined that I was unobserved, and that then I used
with great haste to gather and devour enormous quantities of leaves,
and he added that this was the way in which, one day after another, I
groped after my ordinary food. Others contributed their observation
that I invariably came forth from the woods with an exhilarated
expression and quite a satiated look, whilst they were conscious of
nothing else than the cravings of hunger. After all it was very
natural; for the inspiration which is derived from contemplating
Nature can elevate one far above his mortal and bodily wants.
The dominant idea which seemed to be impressed upon the natives by my
botanical ardour concentrated itself upon their conviction as to the
character of the country where the white man has his home. According
to their belief the land wherein the white men spent their lives could
show neither grass nor tree, and consisted of nothing better than
sandy plain and stony flat. Those amongst them who had been carried
away as slaves in the ivory expeditions and had returned again from
Khartoom had brought strange accounts of the grim desolation and utter
drought of the Moslem lands over which they had passed; and what, they
asked, must be the condition of the still remoter countries of the
Frank, of whom they only knew that he kept the Turk supplied with
cotton-stuffs and guns?