Ismailia - Sir Samuel White Baker (best mystery novels of all time .txt) 📗

which, my two boys Saat and Bellaal squatted with my spare guns. About 100 yards before me, in a slight hollow, the grass was quite green, as the depression had until lately held water. This rank herbage would of course stop the fire upon its arrival from the sloping hill-face. About forty yards from me the grass was high and dry.

About half an hour after the guns were posted we heard the whistles, and shortly after, the smoke rose in various places until at last a crescent of fire spread over the hill. The wind was very light, therefore the fire travelled slowly, and the game advanced at an easy pace. I now heard shots upon my left at the extreme flank, where I had posted a few of the best shots of the "Forty Thieves," including Ferritch Ajoke.

I saw the game breaking covert in herds of several hundreds in that direction. Presently Abd-el-Kader had a shot upon my right, and I observed several antelopes bounding along upon the clear space in our rear.

I was not in luck, but I now saw a splendid buck leucotis walking quietly through the grass, and slowly descending the slope to the green hollow, which would bring him straight towards me should he keep this direction.

Just at that moment I saw a long yellow tail rise suddenly from the green hollow, and an instant later I saw a fine lion, with tail erect, that had evidently been disturbed by the advancing fire.

The lion was down wind of the buck leucotis, which was now close to the unseen enemy, and was just descending the bank which dipped into the green hollow: this would bring the antelope almost upon the lion's back. The two animals suddenly appeared to touch each other as the leucotis jumped down the bank, and the lion sprang to one side, apparently as much startled as the antelope, which bounded off in another direction,. The lion now disappeared in the high grass, with the head towards my position.

I whispered to my boys not to be afraid should it appear close to us, and at the same time I took the spare gun from; Bellal, and laid it against the ant-hill to be in readiness. This was a breechloader, with buckshot cartridges for small antelopes.

In a few minutes I heard a distinct rustling in the high grass before me. The two boys were squatting on the ground to my right.

Presently a louder rustling in the grass, within forty yards in my front, was followed by the head and shoulders of a large lioness, who apparently saw the two boys, and with her brilliant eyes fixed, she advanced slowly towards them.

Not wishing to allow a closer acquaintance, I aimed at her chest, and fired the "Dutchman."

The lioness rolled completely over, backwards, and three times she turned convulsive somersaults, at the same time roaring tremendously; but to my astonishment she appeared to recover, and I immediately fired my left-hand barrel. At this she charged in high bounds straight towards my two boys.

I had just time to snatch up my spare gun and show myself from behind the ant-hill, when the lioness, startled by my sudden appearance, turned, and I fired a charge of buck-shot into her hind-quarters as she disappeared in the high grass upon my right.

I now heard her groaning in a succession of deep guttural sounds, within fifty yards of me.

In a few minutes I heard a shot from Abd-el-Kader, and he shortly came to tell me that the wounded lioness, with her chest and shoulder covered with blood, had come close to his hiding-place; he had fired, and had broken her ankle joint, but she was still concealed in the grass.

Shooli and Gimoro now came up with some of the natives, as they had heard the lioness roar, and feared some accident might have happened.

These were very plucky fellows, and they at once proposed to go close up and spear her in the grass, if I would back them up with the rifles.

We arrived at the supposed spot, and after a search we distinguished a yellowish mass within some withered reeds.

Shooli now proposed that he should throw his spear, upon which the lioness would certainly charge from her covert and afford us a good shot, if the guns were properly arranged.

I would not allow this, but I determined to fire a shot at the yellow mass to bring her out, if every one would be ready to receive her.

Lieutenant Baker was on my right, with a double-barrelled express rifle that carried a No. 70 bullet. This minute projectile was of little use against the charge of a lion.

I fired into the mass at about twenty yards' distance.

The immediate reply was a determined charge, and the enraged animal came bounding towards us with tremendous roars. The natives threw their spears but missed her. Mr. Baker fired, but neither he nor a left-hand barrel from the "Dutchman" could check her. Everybody had to run, and I luckily snatched a breechloading No. 12 smooth-bore loaded with ball from a panic-stricken lad, and rolled her over with a shot in the chest when she was nearly in the midst of us.

She retreated with two or three bounds to her original covert.

I had now reloaded the "Dutchman," and having given orders that every one should keep out of the way, and be ready, I went close up to the grass with Shooli, and quickly discovered her. She was sitting up like a dog, but was looking in the opposite direction, as though expecting an enemy in that quarter.

I was within twelve yards of her, and I immediately put a bullet in the back of her neck, which dropped her dead.

In her inside we discovered a freshly-eaten leucotis calf, which had been simply divided by her teeth in lumps of about two pounds each. This was quite fresh, and my soldiers and the natives divided it among them as a bonne-bouche. Nasty fellows!

The day's sport had been:--One lioness killed by myself; one leucotis buck by Mr. Baker; one leucotis buck by Abd-el-Kader; two does of the same species by Ferritch Ajoke; and the natives had speared three calves. Total, one lioness and seven antelopes, ALL of which were to be eaten.

We reached home at 5.40 p.m., not having had time to eat anything since the preceding evening. The lioness measured nine feet six inches from nose to tail extremity.

As this work is simply an account of the principal events connected with the Khedive's expedition, I cannot afford space for many sporting incidents. Game was very abundant, and we generally kept the station well supplied; at the same time I gave large quantities of flesh to the natives.

I sometimes sent a party of my "Forty" to hunt, in which sport they took a great interest, and the practice with the rifle improved their shooting.

The natives throughout the country were perfectly happy and contented, but the women had been somewhat disturbed by the accounts they had received of our encounter with the lioness. They held a meeting in Gimoro's village.

On the following day both Gimoro and Shooli arrived at my public divan looking rather dejected.

They informed me that the women, having held a meeting, had arrived at the conclusion, "that the Pacha must not be allowed to go out hunting, as he might possibly be killed by a lion or a buffalo." "What would happen to us?" continued the women, "if any accident should befall our father? Would not the slave-hunters immediately return to the country and destroy us, simply because he had protected us? Do we not now sleep in peace? and were we not always awake at night before he came among us?"

The women decided that I was to be kept in the camp as a cojoor or talisman, and that the natives were not to lead me into danger of wild animals.

This declaration of the ladies of Fatiko could hardly be called PETTICOAT government, as their total independence of attire precluded any reference to such a garment; but it was a distinct assertion of women's right to protect the person who had protected them. They were excellent people, and were always well cared for and kindly treated by the men.

My fort at Fatiko was within call of two large villages--those of Gimoro and the sheik of the country: during my sojourn of seven months, I never heard a woman scream, neither was there any domestic or civil disturbance.

There were no police required in that country; there was no pickpockets, as there were no pockets to pick--which was one advantage in favour of nudity. A London police magistrate would have died of ennui; the constables could not even have sworn to a case of intoxication, merely as a matter of form to afford employment. There were no immoral females to disgrace the public streets; neither were there any beggars, vagrants, organ-grinders, or perambulators to worry, deafen, or upset you. My country was a picture of true harmony. We had no complex machinery of law; there was no such difficulty as an estate in Chancery; no Divorce Court, or cases of crim. con. that necessitated an appeal. Adultery would be settled by flogging respondent and co-respondent, with a judicial separation after the punishment.

I had no ecclesiastical difficulties; no High Church, Ritualists, Low Church, Broad Churchmen, Philosophers, Wesleyans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Independents, nor even a Jesuit or a descendant of Israel to bring discord into my harmonious tabernacle.

My troops were Mohammedans, without an opposing sect, therefore, for lack of opposition, they were lukewarm believers.

The natives believed in nothing.

The curious fact remained, that without the slightest principle of worship, or even a natural religious instinct, these people should be free from many vices that disgrace a civilized community. I endeavoured to persuade the most intelligent of the existence of a Deity who could reward or punish; but beyond this I dared not venture, as they would have asked practical questions, which I could not have explained to their material understanding.

I extract verbatim from my journal the short entry of 31st December, 1872 :--

"The close of the year finds us, thank God, at peace in this country, with every prospect of prosperity."


CHAPTER XXVI.

ARRIVAL OF M'TESE'S ENVOYS.

ON 15th January, 1873, the sentry on the rock citadel reported a party arriving from the Unyoro road. Shortly after, the reports of guns were heard, and it was made known that envoys had arrived from M'tese, the king of Uganda, together with an escort of natives, and two of my soldiers from Rionga. M'tese's people were armed with guns.

The envoys were quickly ushered into the new divan, which was a circular, lofty building, twenty feet in diameter, neatly plastered, and painted light grey with a mixture of wood-ashes.

Ali Jusef, the principal envoy, was a native of Sishuaali, on the coasts of the Red Sea entrance, and the Indian Ocean. I had several officers who were natives of the same country, including the gallant Ferritch Agha and Said Agha: thus I had excellent interpreters.

The envoys were beautifully clean, in white Bombay cotton clothes, and they were quite civilized, and as intelligent as Europeans. They appeared to have a thorough knowledge of the route to India, and the various tribes along the eastern coast of equatorial Africa.

These people gave me much useful information; and I shall, as usual in this work, simply extract from my journal the