Ismailia Part 74

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 gra.s.s.

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 gra.s.s, if I would back them up with the rifles.

We arrived at the supposed spot, and after a search we distinguished a yellowish ma.s.s 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 ma.s.s 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 ma.s.s 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 s.n.a.t.c.hed 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 gra.s.s 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 princ.i.p.al events connected with the Khedive's expedition, I cannot afford s.p.a.ce for many sporting incidents. Game was very abundant, and we generally kept the station well supplied; at the same time I gave large quant.i.ties 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 a.s.sertion 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 G.o.d, 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 princ.i.p.al 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 exact entry made at the moment whenever I received geographical reports from the natives: thus I shall give to the public the unpolished statements precisely as I heard them; upon which data theoretical geographers may form their own opinions.

"The envoys report, that from Ujiji (p.r.o.nounced by them Uyeye) you can travel by lake direct to Magungo, the lake being the M'wootan N'zige.

"The Victoria N'yanza is called by two names, 'Sessy' or 'Kurewe.'

Although large, it is small in comparison with the M'wootan N'zige"

There was no news of Livingstone; but, according to my request from Masindi, M'tese had sent everywhere in search of him, and he had forwarded my two letters addressed to him in different directions.

The king, M'tese, had written me a letter expressing great friendship, and declaring that when the news of Kabba Rega's treachery had reached him, he had sent an army under General Congow, to be placed at my disposal.

This army was now quartered at Mashudi, (two days' march from Rionga's island, on the road to Masindi) waiting for my orders. M'tese begged me to visit him as soon as possible, as he only had one desire, i.e. "to see my face," and that he "did not wish for presents."

This was a model African potentate; at the same time I could not possibly visit him, as my term of service would expire upon the 1st of April.

I was much disappointed at this impossibility, as M'tese can do more for Central Africa than any other potentate. He behaved well to Speke and Grant, and he had been very true to me.

On 11th February, fresh envoys arrived from M'tese, including my old friend Waysooah, who was as usual dressed very carefully in Indian costume, with a handsomely-worked cotton robe.

M'tese had written me another letter in Arabic, begging me to send him one of my soldiers as my representative, if I could not come personally.

The road was now declared to be practically open between Fatiko and Zanzibar by means of M'tese's friendship.