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

of my men

guarded the ammunition, and I remained in company with the litter and

five of my men to bring up the rear. The progress of the litter was so

slow that, after travelling all day until sunset, we were outmarched,

and just as it was getting dark, we arrived at a spot where a path

branched to the south, while the main path that we had been following

continued E.N.E. At this point a native was waiting, having been

stationed there by the Turks to direct us to the south; he explained

that the people had halted at a village close by. Pushing our way

through the narrow path we shortly arrived at the village of Deang. This

consisted of a few deserted huts scattered among extensive groves of

plantains. Here we found Eddrees and the Turks, with their captives from

the attack on Fowooka; passing their huts, we took possession of two

clean and new huts in the midst of a well-cultivated field of beans that

were about six inches above the ground, the cleared field forming an

oasis in the middle of the surrounding grass jungle There was no water;

it was already dark, and, although we had travelled through the heat of

the day, no one had drunk since the morning. We were intensely thirsty,

and the men searched in vain among the deserted huts in the hope of

finding a supply in the water jars they were all empty. Fortunately we

had a little sour milk in a jar that we had carried with us, barely

sufficient for two persons. There was nothing to eat except unripe

plantains: these we boiled as a substitute for potatoes. I disarmed all

the porters, placing their lances and shields under my bedstead in the

hut, lest their owners should abscond during the night. It now appeared

that our party had scattered most disgracefully; those in advance with

the ammunition who bad been ordered not to quit their charge for an

instant, had outmarched the main body, leaving Eddrees and a few men

with the captive women, who could not walk fast, and my small guard who

had attended the litter.

 

No one ate much that night, as all were too thirsty. On the following

morning I found to my dismay that all of our porters had absconded,

except two men who had slept in the same hut with my people; we were for

about the hundredth time deserted in this detestable country. I ordered

Eddrees to push on to Foweera, and to desire my men with the ammunition

to wait there until I should arrive, and to request Kamrasi to send

porters immediately to assist us. Foweera was about thirteen miles from

Deang, our present position. Eddrees and his party started, and I

immediately sent my men with empty jars to search in all directions for

water; they returned in about an hour, having been unsuccessful. I again

ordered them to search in another direction, and should they find a

native, to force him to be their guide to a drinking place. In about

three hours they returned, accompanied by two old men, and laden with

three large jars of good water; they had found the old people in a

deserted village, and they had guided them to a spring about three miles

distant. Our chief want being supplied, we had no fear of starving, as

there was abundance of plantains, and we had about a dozen cheeses that

we had manufactured while at Kisoona, in addition to a large supply of

flour. A slight touch of fever attacked me, and I at length fell asleep.

 

I was awakened by the voices of my men, who were standing at the door of

my hut with most doleful countenances. They explained that Richarn was

missing, and was supposed to have been killed by the natives. My vakeel

held a broken ramrod in his hand: this suspicious witness was covered

with blood. It appeared that while I was asleep, Richarn and one of my

men named Mahommed had taken their guns, and without orders had rambled

through the country in search of a village, with the intention of

procuring porters, if possible, to carry us to Foweera.

 

They had arrived at a nest of small villages, and had succeeded in

engaging four men; these Richarn left in charge of Mahommed while he

proceeded alone to a neighbouring village. Shortly after his departure

Mahommed heard the report of a gun in that direction about half a mile

distant, and leaving his charge, he ran towards the spot. On arrival, he

found the village deserted, and on searching the neighbourhood, and

vainly calling Richarn, he came upon a large pool of blood opposite

several huts; lying upon the blood was the broken ramrod of Richarn’s

gun. After searching without success, he had returned with the

melancholy report of this disaster. I was very fond of Richarn; he had

followed me faithfully for years, and with fewer faults than most of his

race, he had exhibited many sterling qualities. I waited for two days in

this spot, searching for him in all directions. On one occasion my men

saw a number of men and women howling in a village not far from the

place where the accident had happened; on the approach of my people they

fled into the jungles: thus, there was no doubt that Richarn must have

shot a man before he had been killed, as the natives were mourning for

the dead.

 

I was much distressed at this calamity; my faithful Richarn was dead,

and the double-barrelled Purdey that he carried was lost; this belonged

to my friend Oswell, of South African and Lake Ngami celebrity; it was a

much-prized weapon, with which he had hunted for five years all the

heavy game of Africa with such untiring zeal that much of the wood of

the stock was eaten away by the “wait a bit” thorns in his passage on

horseback at full speed through the jungles. He had very kindly lent me

this old companion of his sports, and I had entrusted it to Richarn as

my most careful man: both man and gun were now lost.

 

Having vainly searched for two days, and my men having seen several

village dogs with their mouths and feet covered with blood, we came to

the conclusion that his body had been dragged into the grass jungle by

the natives, and there, concealed, it had been discovered and devoured

by the dogs.

 

No porters had arrived from Kamrasi, neither had any reply been sent to

the message I had forwarded by Eddrees;—the evening arrived, and,

much dispirited at the loss of my old servant, I lay down on my angarep

for the night. At about eight o’clock, in the stillness of our solitude,

my men asleep, with the exception of the sentry, we were startled by the

sound of a nogara at no great distance to the south of our huts. The two

natives who had remained with us immediately woke the men, and declared

that the drums we heard were those of the M’was, who were evidently

approaching our village;—the natives knew the peculiar sound of the

nogaras of the enemy, which were different to those of Kamrasi. This was

rather awkward—our ammunition was at Foweera, and we had no more than

the supply in our cartouche boxes, my men thirty rounds each, while I

carried in my pouch twenty-one. Our position was untenable, as the

drinking place was three miles distant. Again the nogara sounded, and

the native guides declared that they could not remain where we then

were, but they would conceal themselves in the high grass. My wife

proposed that we should forsake our luggage, and march at once for

Foweera and effect a junction with our men and ammunition before

daybreak. I was sure that it could not be less than twelve or thirteen

miles, and in her weak state it would be impossible for her to

accomplish the distance, through high grass, in darkness, over a rough

path, with the chance of the route being already occupied by the enemy.

However, she was determined to risk the march. I accordingly prepared to

start at 9 P.M., as at that time the moon would be about 30 degrees

above the horizon and would afford us a good light. I piled all the

luggage within the hut, packed our blankets in a canvas bag, to be

carried by one of the natives, and ordered one of our black women to

carry a jar of water. Thus provided, and forsaking all other effects, we

started at exactly nine o’clock, following our two natives as guides.

 

Our course was about E.N.E. The moon was bright, but the great height of

the grass shadowed the narrow path so that neither ruts nor stones were

visible. The dew was exceedingly heavy, and in brushing through the rank

vegetation we were soon wet to the skin. This was our first attempt at

walking a distance since many months, and being dreadfully out of

condition, I much feared that one of us might be attacked by fever

before we should have accomplished the march; at all events, there was

no alternative but to push ahead until we should reach Foweera, however

distant. We walked for about three hours along a narrow but

unmistakeable path, well trodden by the cattle and people that had

accompanied Kamrasi. Suddenly we arrived at a place where a path

diverged to the right, while another led to the left: the former was

much trodden by cattle, and the guides declared this to be the right

direction. Perfectly certain of their mistake, as Foweera lay to the

east, while such a course would lead us due south, I refused to follow,

and ordered the party to halt while I made a survey of the

neighbourhood. I shortly discovered in the bright moonlight that the

larger path to the south had been caused by the cattle that had been

driven in that direction, but had again returned by the same route. It

was evident that some village lay to the south, at which Kamrasi and his

army had slept, and that they had returned by the same path to the

Foweera main route on the following morning. I soon discovered cattle

tracks on the smaller path to the east: this I determined to follow. My

guides were of little use, and they confessed that they had only once

visited the Foweera country. We were bound for the principal village

that belonged to the chief Kalloe, an excellent man, who had frequently

visited us at Kisoona.

 

Not far from the branch roads we came suddenly upon a few huts, the

inmates of which were awake. They gave us the unpleasant intelligence

that the M’was occupied the country in advance, and that we should not

be able to pass them on our present route, as they were close to that

spot. It was now past midnight, the country was perfectly still, and

having no confidence in the guides I led the way.

 

About a mile from the huts that we had passed we suddenly observed the

light of numerous fires, and a great number of temporary huts formed of

green grass and plantain leaves: this was the camp of the M’was. I did

not observe any people, nor did we wait long in our present position,

but taking a path that led to the north, we quietly and stealthily

continued our march through walls of high grass, until in about an hour

we arrived in a totally different country. There was no longer the

dismal grass jungle in which a man was as much lost as a rabbit in a

field of corn, but beautiful parklike glades of rich and tender grass,

like an English meadow, stretched before us in the pale moonlight,