The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile - Samuel White Baker (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗
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fire until we entered upon a tract of high grass and forest; this being
perfectly dry, it would have been easy to set it on fire, as the enemy
were to leeward; but although the rustling in the grass betokened the
presence of a great number of men, they were invisible. In a few minutes
we emerged in a clearing, where corn had been planted; this was a
favourable position for a decisive attack upon the natives, who now
closed up. Throwing out skirmishers, with orders that they were to cover
themselves behind the trunks of trees, the Baris were driven back. One
was now shot through the body, and fell; but recovering, he ran with his
comrades, and fell dead after a few yards.
What casualties had happened during the passage of the gorge I cannot
say, but the enemy were now utterly discomfited. I had not fired a shot,
as the whole affair was perfect child’s play, and any one who could
shoot would have settled the fortune of the day by half a dozen shots;
but both the traders’ people and my men were “shooters, but not
hitters.” We now bivouacked on the field for the night.
During the march on the following day, the natives watched us at a
distance, following in great numbers parallel with our route, but
fearing to attack. The country was perfectly open, being a succession of
fine downs of low grass, with few trees, where any attack against our
guns would have been madness.
In the evening we arrived at two small deserted villages; these, like
most in the Bari country, were circular, and surrounded by a live and
impenetrable fence of euphorbia, having only one entrance. The traders’
people camped in one, while I took up my quarters in the other. The sun
had sunk, and the night being pitch dark, we had a glorious fire, around
which we placed our angareps opposite the narrow entrance of the camp,
about ten yards distant. I stationed Richarn as sentry outside the
gateway, as he was the most dependable of my men, and I thought it
extremely probable that we might be attacked during the night: three
other sentries I placed on guard at various stations. Dinner being
concluded, Mrs. Baker lay down on her angarep for the night. I drew the
balls from a double No. 10 smooth bore, and loaded with cartridge
containing each twenty large-mould shot (about a hundred to the pound);
putting this under my pillow I went to sleep. Hardly had I begun to
rest, when my men woke me, saying that the camp was surrounded by
natives. Upon inquiry I found this to be correct; it was so dark that
they could not be seen without stooping to the ground and looking along
the surface. I ordered the sentries not to fire unless hostilities
should commence on the side of the natives, and in no case to draw
trigger without a challenge.
Returning to the angarep I lay down, and not wishing to sleep, I smoked
my long Unyoro pipe. In about ten minutes—bang! went a shot, quickly
followed by another from the sentry at the entrance of the camp. Quietly
rising from my bed, I found Richarn reloading at his post. “What is it,
Richarn?” I asked. “They are shooting arrows into the camp, aiming at
the fire, in hopes of hitting you who are sleeping there,” said Richarn.
“I watched one fellow,” he continued, “as I heard the twang of his bow
four times. At each shot I heard an arrow strike the ground between me
and you, therefore I fired at him, and I think he is down. Do you see
that black object lying on the ground?” I saw something a little blacker
than the surrounding darkness, but it could not be distinguished.
Leaving Richarn with orders not to move from his post, but to keep a
good look-out until relieved by the next watch, I again went to sleep.
Before break of day, just as the grey dawn slightly improved the
darkness, I visited the sentry; he was at his post, and reported that he
thought the archer of the preceding night was dead, as he had heard a
sound proceeding from the dark object on the ground after I had left. In
a few minutes it was sufficiently light to distinguish the body of a
roan lying about thirty paces from the camp entrance. Upon examination,
he proved to be a Bari: his bow was in his hand, and two or three arrows
were lying by his side; thirteen mould shot had struck him dead; one had
cut through the bow. We now searched the camp for arrows, and as it
became light we picked up four in various places, some within a few feet
of our beds, and all horribly barbed and poisoned, that the deceased had
shot into the camp gateway.
This was the last attack during our journey. We marched well, generally
accomplishing fifteen miles of latitude daily from this point, as the
road was good and well known to our guides. The country was generally
poor, but beautifully diversified with large trees, the tamarind
predominating. Passing through the small but thickly-populated and
friendly little province of Moir, in a few days we sighted the
well-known mountain Belignan, that we had formerly passed on its eastern
side when we had started on our uncertain path from Gondokoro upwards of
two years ago. The mountain of Belignan was now N.E. from our point of
observation.
We had a splendid view of the Ellyria Mountain, and of the distant cone,
Gebel el Assul (Honey Mountain) between Ellyria and Obbo. All these
curiously-shaped crags and peaks were well known to us, and we welcomed
them as old friends after a long absence; they had been our companions
in times of doubt and anxiety, when success in our undertaking appeared
hopeless. At noon on the following day, as we were as usual marching
parallel with the Nile, the river, having made a slight bend to the
west, swept round, and approached within half a mile of our path; the
small conical mountain, Regiaf, within twelve miles of Gondokoro, was on
our left, rising from the west bank of the river. We felt almost at home
again, and marching until sunset, we bivouacked within three miles of
Gondokoro. That night we were full of speculations. Would a boat be
waiting for us with supplies and letters? The morning anxiously looked
forward to at length arrived. We started;—the English flag had been
mounted on a fine straight bamboo with a new lance head specially
arranged for the arrival at Gondokoro. My men felt proud, as they would
march in as conquerors;—according to White Nile ideas such a journey
could not have been accomplished with so small a party. Long before
Ibrahim’s men were ready to start, our oxen were saddled and we were
off, longing to hasten into Gondokoro and to find a comfortable vessel
with a few luxuries and the post from England. Never had the oxen
travelled so fast as on that morning;—the flag led the way, and the
men in excellent spirits followed at double quick pace. “I see the masts
of the vessels!” exclaimed the boy Saat. “El hambd el Illah!” (Thank
God!) shouted the men. “Hurrah!” said I—“Three cheers for Old England
and the Sources of the Nile! Hurrah!” and my men joined me in the wild,
and to their ears savage, English yell. “Now for a salute! Fire away all
your powder, if you like, my lads, and let the people know that we’re
alive!” This was all that was required to complete the happiness of my
people, and loading and firing as fast as possible, we approached near
to Gondokoro. Presently we saw the Turkish flag emerge from Gondokoro at
about a quarter of a mile distant, followed by a number of the traders’
people, who waited to receive us. On our arrival, they immediately
approached and fired salutes with ball cartridge, as usual advancing
close to us and discharging their guns into the ground at our feet. One
of my servants, Mahomet, was riding an ox, and an old friend of his in
the crowd happening to recognise him, immediately advanced, and saluted
him by firing his gun into the earth directly beneath the belly of the
ox he was riding;—the effect produced made the crowd and ourselves
explode with laughter. The nervous ox, terrified at the sudden discharge
between his legs, gave a tremendous kick, and continued madly kicking
and plunging, until Mahomet was pitched over his head and lay sprawling
on the ground;—this scene terminated the expedition.
Dismounting from our tired oxen, our first inquiry was concerning boats
and letters. What was the reply? Neither boats, letters, supplies, nor
any intelligence of friends or the civilized world! We had long since
been given up as dead by the inhabitants of Khartoum, and by all those
who understood the difficulties and dangers of the country. We were told
that some people had suggested that we might possibly have gone to
Zanzibar, but the general opinion was that we had all been killed. At
this cold and barren reply, I felt almost choked. We had looked forward
to arriving at Gondokoro as to a home; we had expected that a boat would
have been sent on the chance of finding us, as I had left money in the
hands of an agent in Khartoum—but there was literally nothing to
receive us, and we were helpless to return. We had worked for years in
misery, such as I have but faintly described, to overcome the
difficulties of this hitherto unconquerable exploration; we had
succeeded—and what was the result? Not even a letter from home to
welcome us if alive! As I sat beneath a tree and looked down upon the
glorious Nile that flowed a few yards beneath my feet, I pondered upon
the value of my toil. I had traced the river to its great Albert source,
and as the mighty stream glided before me, the mystery that had ever
shrouded its origin was dissolved. I no longer looked upon its waters
with a feeling approaching to awe for I knew its home, and had visited
its cradle. Had I overrated the importance of the discovery? and had I
wasted some of the best years of my life to obtain a shadow? I recalled
to recollection the practical question of Commoro, the chief of Latooka,
—“Suppose you get to the great lake, what will you do with it? What
will be the good of it? If you find that the large river does flow from
it, what then?”
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LATEST NEWS FROM KHARTOUM.
The various trading parties were assembled in Gondokoro with a total of
about three thousand slaves; but there was consternation depicted upon
every countenance. Only three boats had arrived from Khartoum—one
diahbiah and two noggurs—these belonged to Koorshid Aga. The resume of
news from Khartoum was as follows:—
“Orders had been received by the Egyptian authorities from the European
Governments to suppress the slave-trade. Four steamers had arrived at
Khartoum from Cairo. Two of these vessels had ascended the White Nile,
and had captured many slavers; their crews were imprisoned, and had been
subjected to the bastinado and torture;—the captured slaves had been
appropriated by the Egyptian authorities.
“It would be impossible to deliver slaves to the Soudan this season, as
an Egyptian regiment had been stationed in the Shillook country, and
steamers were cruising to intercept the boats from the interior in their
descent to Khartoum;—thus the army of slaves then at Gondokoro would
be utterly worthless.
“The plague was raging at Khartoum, and had killed 15,000 people;—many
of the boats’ crews had died on their passage from Khartoum to Gondokoro
of this
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