The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile - Samuel White Baker (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗

could not be better men.” I answered, “You MUST trust me, as I

trust entirely in you, and have placed myself in your hands; but if you

have ever had cause to mistrust a white man, kill me at once!—either

kill me, or trust in me; but let there be no suspicions.”

 

They seemed much pleased with the conversation, and a man stepped

forward and showed me a small string of blue beads that Speke had given

him for ferrying him across the river. This little souvenir of my old

friend was most interesting; after a year’s wandering and many

difficulties, this was the first time that I had actually come upon his

track. Many people told me that they had known Speke and Grant; the

former bore the name of “Mollegge” (the bearded one), while Grant had

been named “Masanga” (the elephant’s tusk), owing to his height. The

latter had been wounded at Lucknow during the Indian mutiny, and I spoke

to the people of the loss of his finger; this crowned my success, as

they knew without doubt that I had seen him. It was late, therefore I

begged the crowd to depart, but to send a messenger the first thing in

the morning to inform Kamrasi who we were, and to beg him to permit us

to visit him without loss of time.

 

A bundle of straw was laid on the ground for Mrs. Baker and myself, and,

in lieu of other beds, the ground was our resting place. It was bitterly

cold that night, as the guns were packed up in the large blanket, and,

not wishing to expose them, we were contented with a Scotch plaid each.

Ibrahim, Saat, and Richarn watched by turns. On the following morning an

immense crowd of native thronged to see us. There was a very beautiful

tree about a hundred yards from the village, capable of shading upwards

of a thousand men, and I proposed that we should sit beneath this

protection and hold a conference. The headman of the village gave us a

large hut with a grand doorway of about seven feet high, of which my

wife took possession, while I joined the crowd at the tree. There were

about six hundred men seated respectfully on the ground around me, while

I sat with my back to the huge knotty trunk, with Ibrahim and Richarn at

a few paces distant.

 

The subject of conversation was merely a repetition that of the

preceding night, with the simple addition some questions respecting the

lake. Not a man would give the slightest information; the only reply,

upon my forcing the question, was the pantomime already described, by

passing the forefinger across the throat, and exclaiming “Kamrasi!” The

entire population was tongue-locked.

 

I tried the children; to no purpose, they were all dumb. White-headed

old men I questioned as to the distance of the lake from this point:

they replied, “We are children, ask the old people who know the

country.” Never was freemasonry more secret than the land of Unyoro. It

was useless to persevere. I therefore changed the subject by saying that

our people were starving on the other side, and that provisions must be

sent immediately. In all savage countries the most trifling demand

requires much talking. They said that provisions were scarce, and that

until Kamrasi should give the order, they could give no supplies.

Understanding most thoroughly the natural instincts of the natives, I

told them that I must send the canoe across to fetch three oxen that I

wished to slaughter. The bait took at once, and several men ran for the

canoe, and we sent one of our black women across with a message to the

people that three men, with their guns and ammunition, were to accompany

the canoe and guide three oxen across by swimming them with ropes tied

to their horns. These were the riding oxen of some of the men that it

was necessary to slaughter, to exchange the flesh for flour and other

supplies.

 

Hardly had the few boatmen departed, than some one shouted suddenly, and

the entire crowd sprang to their feet and rushed towards the hut where I

had left Mrs. Baker. For the moment I thought that the hut was on fire,

and I joined the crowd and arrived at the doorway, where I found a

tremendous press to see some extraordinary sight. Everyone was squeezing

for the best place; and, driving them on one side, I found the wonder

that had excited their curiosity. The hut being very dark, my wife had

employed her solitude during my conference with the natives in dressing

her hair at the doorway, which, being very long and blonde, was suddenly

noticed by some natives—a shout was given, the rush described had taken

place, and the hut was literally mobbed by the crowd of savages eager to

see the extraordinary novelty. The Gorilla would not make a greater stir

in London streets than we appeared to create at Atada.

 

The oxen shortly arrived; one was immediately killed, and the flesh

divided into numerous small portions arranged upon the hide.

 

Blonde hair and white people immediately lost their attractions, and the

crowd turned their attention to beef—we gave them to understand that

we required flour, beans, and sweet potatoes in exchange.

 

The market soon went briskly, and whole rows of girls and women arrived,

bringing baskets filled with the desired provisions. The women were

neatly dressed in short petticoats with a double skirt-many exposed the

bosom, while others wore a piece of bark cloth arranged as a plaid

across the chest and shoulders. This cloth is the produce of a species

of fig tree, the bark of which is stripped off in large pieces and then

soaked in water and beaten with a mallet: in appearance it much

resembles corduroy, and is the colour of tanned leather; the finer

qualities are peculiarly soft to the touch, as though of woven cotton.

Every garden is full of this species of tree, as their cultivation is

necessary for the supply of clothing; when a man takes a wife he plants

a certain number of trees, that are to be the tailors of the expected

family.

 

The market being closed, the canoe was laden with provisions, and sent

across to our hungry people on the other side the river.

 

The difference between the Unyoro people and the tribes we had hitherto

seen was most striking. On the north side of the river the natives were

either stark naked, or wore a mere apology for clothing in the shape of

a skin slung across their shoulders: the river appeared to be the limit

of utter savagedom, and the people of Unyoro considered the indecency of

nakedness precisely in the same light as among Europeans.

 

The northern district of Unyoro at Karuma is called Chopi, the language

being the same as the Madi, and different to the southern and central

portions of the kingdom. The people are distinct in their type, but they

have the woolly hair of negroes, like all other tribes of the White

Nile.

 

By astronomical observation I determined the latitude of Atada at Karuma

Falls, 2 degrees 15 minutes; and by Casella’s thermometer, the altitude

of the river level above the sea 3,996 feet.

 

After the disgusting naked tribes that we had been travelling amongst

for more than twelve months, it was a delightful change to find

ourselves in comparative civilization: this was evinced not only in the

decency of clothing, but also in the manufactures of the country. The

blacksmiths were exceedingly clever, and used iron hammers instead of

stone; they drew fine wire from the thick copper and brass wire that

they received from Zanzibar; their bellows were the same as those used

by the more savage tribes—but the greatest proof of their superior

civilization was exhibited in their pottery.

 

Nearly all savages have some idea of earthenware; but the scale of

advancement of a country between savagedom and civilization may

generally be determined by the example of its pottery. The Chinese, who

were as civilized as they are at the present day at a period when the

English were barbarians, were ever celebrated for the manufacture of

porcelain, and the difference between savages and civilized countries is

always thus exemplified; the savage makes earthenware, but the civilized

make porcelain—thus the gradations from the rudest earthenware will

mark the improvement in the scale of civilization. The prime utensil of

the African savage is the gourd; the shell of which is the bowl

presented to him by nature as the first idea from which he is to model.

Nature, adapting herself to the requirements of animals and man, appears

in these savage countries to yield abundantly much that savage man can

want. Gourds with exceedingly strong shells not only grow wild, which if

divided in halves afford bowls, but great and quaint varieties form

natural bottles of all sizes, from the tiny phial to the demijohn

containing five gallons. The most savage tribes content themselves with

the productions of nature, confining their manufacture to a coarse and

half-baked jar for carrying water; but the semi-savage, like those of

Unyoro, affords an example of the first step towards manufacturing art,

by the fact of COPYING FROM NATURE: the utter savage makes use of

nature—the gourd is his utensil; and the more advanced natives of

Unyoro adopt it as the model for their pottery. They make a fine quality

of jet black earthenware, producing excellent tobacco-pipes most finely

worked in imitation of the small egg-shaped gourd; of the same

earthenware they make extremely pretty bowls, and also bottles copied

from the varieties of the bottle gourds: thus, in this humble art, we

see the first effort of the human mind in manufactures, in taking nature

for a model; precisely as the beautiful Corinthian capital originated in

a design from a basket of flowers.

 

A few extracts from my journal will describe the delay at Atada:—

 

“JAN. 26th, 1864.—The huts are very large, about 20 feet in diameter,

made entirely of reeds and straw, and very lofty, looking in the

interior like huge inverted baskets, beehive shaped, very different to

the dog-kennels of the more northern tribes. We received a message today

that we were not to expect Kamrasi, as ‘great men were never in a hurry

to pay visits.’ None of the principal chiefs have yet appeared. Kidgwiga

is expected today; but people are flocking in from the country to see

the white lady. It is very trying to the patience to wait here until it

pleases these almighty niggers to permit our people to cross the river.”

 

“JAN. 27th.—Time passing fruitlessly while every day is valuable. The

rains will, I fear, commence before my work is completed; and the Asua

river, if flooded, will cut off my return to Gondokoro. In this district

there is a large population and extensive cultivation. There are many

trees resembling the Vacoua of Mauritius, but the leaves are of a

different texture, producing a species of flax. Every day there is a

report that the headman, sent by Kamrasi, is on the road; but I see no

signs of him.”

 

“JAN. 28th.—Reports brought that Kamrasi has sent his headman with a

large force, including some of Speke’s deserters. They are to inspect

me, and report whether I am really a white man and an Englishman. If so,

I believe we are to proceed; if not, I suppose we are to be

exterminated. Lest there should be any mistake I have taken all

necessary precautions; but, having only eight men on this side the

river, I shall be certain to lose my baggage in the event of a

disturbance, as no one could transport it to the canoe.”

 

“JAN. 29th.—Plantains, sweet potatoes, and eggs supplied in great

quantities.