The Albert N'Yanza Part 6

The bottom of the valley was a meadow, in which grew several enormous fig trees by the side of a sluggish, and in some places stagnant, brook.

The valley was not more than half a mile wide, and was also walled in by mountains on the west, having the appearance of a vast street.

We were now about a mile ahead of our party; but accompanied by our two Latooka guides, and upon descending to the valley and crossing a deep gully, we soon arrived beneath a large fig tree at the extremity of the vale. No sooner was our presence observed than crowds of natives issued from the numerous villages among the rocks, and surrounded us. They were all armed with bows and arrows and lances, and were very excited at seeing the horses, which to them were unknown animals. Dismounting, I fastened the horses to a bush, and we sat down on the gra.s.s under a tree.

There were five or six hundred natives pressing round us. They were excessively noisy, hallooing to us as though we were deaf, simply because we did not understand them. Finding that they were pressing rudely around us, I made signs to them to stand off; when at that moment a curiously ugly, short, humped-back fellow came forward and addressed me in broken Arabic. I was delighted to find an interpreter, and requesting him to tell the crowd to stand back, I inquired for their chief. The humpback spoke very little Arabic, nor did the crowd appear to heed him, but they immediately stole a spear that one of my Latooka guides had placed against the tree under which we were sitting. It was getting rather unpleasant; but having my revolver and a double-barrelled rifle in my hands, there was no fear of their being stolen.

In reply to a question to the humpback, he asked me "Who I was?" I explained that I was a traveller. "You want ivory?" he said. "No," I answered, "it is of no use to me." "Ah, you want slaves!" he replied.

"Neither do I want slaves," I answered. This was followed by a burst of laughter from the crowd, and the humpback continued his examination.

"Have you got plenty of cows?" "Not one; but plenty of beads and copper." "Plenty? Where are they?" "Not far off; they will be here presently with my men;" and I pointed to the direction from which they would arrive. "What countryman are you?" "An Englishman." He had never heard of such people. "You are a Turk?" "All right," I replied; "I am anything you like." "And that is your son?" (pointing at Mrs. Baker.) "No, she is my wife." "Your wife! What a lie! He is a boy." "Not a bit of it," I replied; "she is my wife, who has come with me to see the women of this country." "What a lie!" he again politely re joined in the one expressive Arabic word, "Katab." After this charmingly frank conversation he addressed the crowd, explaining, I suppose, that I was endeavouring to pa.s.s off a boy for a woman. Mrs. Baker was dressed similarly to myself, in a pair of loose trowsers and gaiters, with a blouse and belt--the only difference being that she wore long sleeves, while my arms were bare from a few inches below the shoulder. I always kept my arms bare, as being cooler than if covered.

The curiosity of the crowd was becoming impertinent, when at an opportune moment the chief appeared. To my astonishment I recognised him as a man who had often visited me at Gondokoro, to whom I had given many presents without knowing his position.

In a few moments he drove away the crowd, screaming and gesticulating at there as though greatly insulted; re serving the humpback as interpreter, he apologized for the rudeness of his people. Just at this instant I perceived, in the distance, the English flag leading the caravan of camels and donkeys from the hillside into the valley, and my people and baggage shortly arrived. The chief now brought me a large pumpkin-sh.e.l.l containing about a gallon of merissa, or native beer, which was most refreshing. He also brought a gourd-bottle full of honey, and an elephant's tusk; the latter I declined, as ivory was not required.

We were now within six miles of Ellyria, and by means of the humpback I explained to Tombe, the chief, that we wished to start the first thing in the morning, and that I would engage the humpback as interpreter.

This was agreed upon, and I now had hopes of getting through Ellyria before the arrival of the Turks. My caravan having arrived, the interest first bestowed upon the horses, as being a new kind of animal, was now transferred to the camels. The natives crowded round them, exclaiming, "that they were the giraffes of our country." They were amazed at the loads that they carried, and many a.s.sisted in unloading.

I noticed, however, that they stuck their fingers through the baskets to investigate the contents; and when they perceived twenty baskets full of beads, and many of copper bracelets--the jingling of which betrayed the contents--they became rather too eager in lending a helping hand; therefore I told the chief to order his men to retire while I opened one bag of beads to give him a present. I had a bag always in reserve that contained a variety of beads and bracelets, which obviated the necessity of opening one of the large baskets on the road. I accordingly made the chief happy, and also gave a present to the humpback. The crowd now discovered an object of fresh interest, and a sudden rush was made to the monkey, which, being one of the red variety from Abyssinia, was quite unknown to them. The monkey, being far more civilized than these naked savages, did not at all enjoy their society; and attacking the utterly unprotected calves of their legs, "Wallady" soon kept his admirers at a distance, and amused himself by making insulting grimaces, which kept the crowd in a roar of laughter. I often found this monkey of great use in diverting the attention of the savages from myself. He was also a guarantee of my peaceful intentions, as no one intending hostility would travel about with a monkey as one of the party. He was so tame and affectionate to both of us that he was quite unhappy if out of sight of his mistress: but he frequently took rough liberties with the blacks, for whom he had so great an aversion and contempt that he would have got into sad trouble at Exeter Hall. "Wallady" had no idea of a naked savage being "a man and a brother."

That night we slept soundly, both men and beasts being thoroughly fatigued. The natives seemed to be aware of this, and a man was caught in the act of stealing copper bracelets from a basket. He had crept like a cat upon hands and knees to the spot where the luggage was piled, and the sleepy sentry bad not observed him.

There was no drum-call on the following morning, that useful instrument having been utterly smashed by the camel; but I woke the men early, and told them to be most careful in arranging the loads securely, as we had to thread the rocky pa.s.s between Tollogo and Ellyria. I felt sure that the Turks could not be far behind us, and I looked forward with anxiety to getting through the pa.s.s before them.

The natives of both Tollogo and Ellyria are the same in appearance and language as the Bari; they are very brutal in manner, and they collected in large crowds on our departure, with by no means a friendly aspect.

Many of them ran on ahead under the base of the rocks, apparently to give notice at Ellyria of our arrival. I had three men as an advance guard,--five or six in the rear,--while the remainder drove the animals. Mrs. Baker and I rode on horseback at the head of the party. On arriving at the extremity of the narrow valley we had to thread our way through the difficult pa.s.s. The mountain of Ellyria, between two and three thousand feet high, rose abruptly on our left, while the base was entirely choked with enormous fragments of grey granite that, having fallen from the face of the mountain, had completely blocked the pa.s.s.

Even the horses had great difficulty in threading their way through narrow alleys formed of opposing blocks, and it appeared impossible for loaded camels to proceed. The path was not only thus obstructed, but was broken by excessively deep ravines formed by the torrents that during the rains tore everything before them in their impetuous descent from the mountains. To increase the difficulties of the pa.s.s many trees and bushes were growing from the interstices of the rocks; thus in places where the long legs of the camels could have cleared a narrow cleft, the loads became jammed between the trees. These trees were for the most part intensely hard wood, a species of lignum vitae, called by the Arabs "babanoose," and were quite proof against our axes. Had the natives been really hostile they could have exterminated us in five minutes, as it was only necessary to hurl rocks from above to insure our immediate destruction. It was in this spot that a trader's party of 126 men, well armed, had been ma.s.sacred to a man the year previous.

Bad as the pa.s.s was, we had hope before us, as the Latookas explained that beyond this spot there was level and unbroken ground the whole way to Latooka. Could we only clear Ellyria before the Turks I had no fear for the present; but at the very moment when success depended upon speed, we were thus baffled by the difficulties of the ground. I therefore resolved to ride on in advance of my party, leaving them to overcome the difficulties of the pa.s.s by constantly unloading the animals, while I would reconnoitre in front, as Ellyria was not far distant. My wife and I accordingly rode on, accompanied only by one of the Latookas as a guide. After turning a sharp angle of the mountain, leaving the cliff abruptly rising to the left from the narrow path, we descended a ravine worse than any place we had previously encountered, and we were obliged to dismount, in order to lead our horses up the steep rocks on the opposite side. On arrival on the summit, a lovely view burst upon us. The valley of Ellyria was about four hundred feet below, at about a mile distant. Beautiful mountains, some two or three thousand feet high, of grey granite, walled in the narrow vale; while the landscape of forest and plain was bounded at about fifty or sixty miles' distance to the east by the blue mountains of Latooka. The mountain of Ellyria was the commencement of the fine range that continued indefinitely to the south. We were now in the very gorge of that chain. Below us, in the valley, I observed some prodigious trees growing close to a Hor (ravine), in which was running water, and the sides of the valley under the mountains being as usual a ma.s.s of debris of huge detached rocks, were thronged with villages, all strongly fortified with thick bamboo palisades. The whole country was a series of natural forts, occupied by a large population.

A glance at the scene before me was quite sufficient;--to fight a way through a valley a quarter of a mile wide, hemmed in by high walls of rock and bristling with lances and arrows, would be impossible with my few men, enc.u.mbered by transport animals. Should the camels arrive, I could march into Myria in twenty minutes, make the chief a large present, and pa.s.s on without halting until I cleared the Ellyria valley.

At any rate I was well before the Turks, and the forced march at night, however distressing, had been successful. The great difficulty now lay in the ravine that we had just crossed; this would a.s.suredly delay the caravan for a considerable time.

Tying our horses to a bush, we sat upon a rock beneath the shade of a small tree within ten paces of the path, and considered the best course to pursue. I hardly liked to risk an advance into Ellyria alone, before the arrival of my whole party, as we had been very rudely received by the Tollogo people on the previous evening;--nevertheless I thought it might be good policy to ride unattended into Ellyria, and thus to court an introduction to the chief. However, our consultation ended in a determination to wait where we then were, until the caravan should have accomplished the last difficulty by crossing the ravine; when we would all march into Ellyria in company. For a long time we sat gazing at the valley before us in which our fate lay hidden, feeling thankful that we had thus checkmated the brutal Turks. Not a sound was heard of our approaching camels; the delay was most irksome.

There were many difficult places that we had pa.s.sed through, and each would be a source of serious delay to the animals. At length we heard them in the distance. We could distinctly hear the men's voices; and we rejoiced that they were approaching the last remaining obstacle;--that one ravine pa.s.sed through, and all before would be easy. I heard the rattling of the stones as they drew nearer; and, looking towards the ravine, I saw emerge from the dark foliage of the trees within fifty yards of us the hated RED FLAG AND CRESCENT, LEADING THE TURKS' PARTY!

We were outmarched! One by one, with scowling looks, the insolent scoundrels filed by us within a few feet, without making the customary salaam; neither noticing us in any way, except by threatening to shoot the Latooka, our guide, who had formerly accompanied them.

Their party consisted of a hundred and forty men armed with guns; while about twice as many Latookas acted as porters, carrying beads, ammunition, and the general effects of the party. It appeared that we were hopelessly beaten.

However, I determined to advance, at all hazards, on the arrival of my party; and should the Turks incite the Ellyria tribe to attack us, I intended, in the event of a fight, to put the first shot through the leader.

To be thus beaten, at the last moment, was unendurable. Boiling with indignation as the insolent wretches filed past, treating me with the contempt of a dog, I longed for the moment of action, no matter what were the odds against us. At length their leader, Ibrahim, appeared in the rear of the party. He was riding on a donkey, being the last of the line, behind the flag that closed the march.

I never saw a more atrocious countenance than that exhibited in this man. A mixed breed, between a Turk sire and Arab mother, he had the good features and bad qualities of either race. The fine, sharp, high-arched nose and large nostril; the pointed and projecting chin; rather high cheek-bones and prominent brow, overhanging a pair of immense black eyes full of expression of all evil. As he approached he took no notice of us, but studiously looked straight before him with the most determined insolence.

The fate of the expedition was, at this critical moment, retrieved by Mrs. Baker. She implored me to call him, to insist upon a personal explanation, and to offer him some present in the event of establishing amicable relations. I could not condescend to address the sullen scoundrel. He was in the act of pa.s.sing us, and success depended upon that instant. Mrs. Baker herself called him. For the moment he made no reply; but, upon my repeating the call in a loud key, he turned his donkey towards us and dismounted. I ordered him to sit down, as his men were ahead and we were alone.

The following dialogue pa.s.sed between us after the usual Arab mode of greeting. I said, "Ibrahim, why should we be enemies in the midst of this hostile country? We believe in the same G.o.d, why should we quarrel in this land of heathens, who believe in no G.o.d? You have your work to perform; I have mine. You want ivory; I am a simple traveller; why should we clash? If I were offered the whole ivory of the country, I would not accept a single tusk, nor interfere with you in any way.

Transact your business, and don't interfere with me: the country is wide enough for us both. I have a task before me, to reach a great lake-- the head of the Nile. Reach it I will (Inshallah). No power shall drive me back. If you are hostile, I will imprison you in Khartoum; if you a.s.sist me, I will reward you far beyond any reward you have ever received. Should I be killed in this country, you will be suspected; you know the result; the Government would hang you on the bare suspicion. On the contrary, if you are friendly, I will use my influence in any country that I discover, that you may procure its ivory for the sake of your master Koorshid, who was generous to Captains Speke and Grant, and kind to me. Should you be hostile, I shall hold your master responsible as your employer. Should you a.s.sist me, I will befriend you both. Choose your course frankly, like a man--friend or enemy?"

Before he had time to reply, Mrs. Baker addressed him much in the same strain, telling him that he did not know what Englishmen were; that nothing would drive them back; that the British Government watched over them wherever they might be, and that no outrage could be committed with impunity upon a British subject. That I would not deceive him in any way; that I was not a trader; and that I should be able to a.s.sist him materially by discovering new countries rich in ivory, and that he would benefit himself personally by civil conduct.

He seemed confused, and wavered. I immediately promised him a new double-barrelled gun and some gold, when my party should arrive, as an earnest of the future.

He replied, "That he did not himself wish to be hostile, but that all the trading parties, without one exception, were against me, and that the men were convinced that I was a consul in disguise, who would report to the authorities at Khartoum all the proceedings of the traders." He continued, "That he believed me, but that his men would not; that all people told lies in their country, therefore no one was credited for the truth. However," said he, "do not a.s.sociate with my people, or they may insult you, but go and take possession of that large tree (pointing to one in the valley of Ellyria) for yourself and people, and I will come there and speak with you. I will now join my men, as I do not wish them to know that I have been conversing with you." He then made a salaam, mounted his donkey, and rode off.

I had won him. I knew the Arab character so thoroughly that I was convinced that the tree he had pointed out, followed by the words, "I will come there and speak to you," was to be the rendezvous for the receipt of the promised gun and money.

I did not wait for the arrival of my men, but mounting our horses, my wife and I rode down the hillside with lighter spirits than we had enjoyed for some time past; I gave her the entire credit of the "ruse."

Had I been alone, I should have been too proud to have sought the friendship of the sullen trader, and the moment on which success depended would have been lost.

On arrival at the gra.s.sy plain at the foot of the mountain, there was a crowd of the trader's ruffians quarrelling for the shade of a few large trees that grew on the banks of the stream. We accordingly dismounted, and turning the horses to graze, we took possession of a tree at some distance, under which a number of Latookas were already sitting. Not being very particular as to our society, we sat down and waited for the arrival of our party. The valley of Ellyria was a lovely spot in the very bosom of the mountains. Close to where we sat were the great ma.s.ses of rock that had fallen from the cliffs, and upon examination I found them to be the finest quality of grey granite, the feldspar being in ma.s.ses several inches square and as hard as a flint. There was no scaling upon the surface, as is common in granite rocks.

No sooner had the trader's party arrived than crowds of natives issued from the palisaded villages on the mountain; and descending to the plain, they mingled with the general confusion. The baggage was piled beneath a tree, and a sentry placed on guard.

The natives were entirely naked, and precisely the same as the Bari.

Their chief, Legge, was among them, and received a present from Ibrahim of a long red cotton shirt, and he a.s.sumed an air of great importance.

Ibrahim explained to him who I was, and he immediately came to ask for the tribute he expected to receive as "black mail" for the right of entree into his country. Of all the villanous countenances that I have ever seen, that of Legge excelled.

Ferocity, avarice, and sensuality were stamped upon his face, and I immediately requested him to sit for his portrait, and in about ten minutes I succeeded in placing within my portfolio an exact likeness of about the greatest rascal that exists in Central Africa.

I had, now the satisfaction of seeing my caravan slowly winding down the hillside in good order, having surmounted all their difficulties.

Upon arrival, my men were perfectly astonished at seeing us so near the trader's party, and still more confounded at my sending for Ibrahim to summon him to my tree, where I presented him with some English sovereigns, and a double-barrelled gun. Nothing escapes the inquisitiveness of these Arabs; and the men of both parties quickly perceived that I had established an alliance in some unaccountable manner with Ibrahim. I saw the gun, lately presented to him, being handed from one to the other for examination; and both my vakeel and men appeared utterly confused at the sudden change.

The chief of Ellyria now came to inspect my luggage, and demanded fifteen heavy copper bracelets and a large quant.i.ty of beads. The bracelets most in demand are simple rings of copper five-eighths of an inch thick, and weighing about a pound; those of smaller size not being so much valued. I gave him fifteen such rings, and about ten pounds of beads in varieties, the red coral porcelain (dimiriaf) being the most acceptable. Legge was by no means satisfied: he said "his belly was very big and it must be filled," which signified, that his desire was great and must be gratified. I accordingly gave him a few extra copper rings; but suddenly he smelt spirits, one of the few bottles that I possessed of spirits of wine having broken in the medicine chest. Ibrahim begged me to give him a bottle to put him in a good humour, as he enjoyed nothing so much as araki; I accordingly gave him a pint bottle of the strongest spirits of wine. To my amazement he broke off the neck, and holding his head well back, he deliberately allowed the whole of the contents to trickle down his throat as innocently as though it had been simple water. He was thoroughly accustomed to it, as the traders were in the habit of bringing him presents of araki every season. He declared this to be excellent, and demanded another bottle. At that moment a violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon us with a fury well known in the tropics; the rain fell like a waterspout, and the throng immediately fled for shelter. So violent was the storm, that not a man was to be seen: some were sheltering themselves under the neighbouring rocks; while others ran to their villages that were close by; the trader's people commenced a fusilade, firing off all their guns lest they should get wet and miss fire. I could not help thinking how completely they were at the mercy of the natives at that moment, had they chosen to attack them; the trader's party were lying under their untanned ox-hides with their empty guns.

Each of my men was provided with a piece of mackintosh, with which his gunlocks were secured. We lay upon an angarep covered with a bull's hide until the storm was over. The thunder was magnificent, exploding on the peak of the mountain exactly above us, and in the course of a quarter of an hour torrents were rushing down the ravines among the rocks, the effects of the violent storm that had pa.s.sed away as rapidly as it had arrived.

No sooner had it ceased than the throng again appeared. Once more the chief, Legge', was before us begging for all that we had. Although the natives asked for beads, they would give nothing in exchange, and we could purchase nothing for any article except molotes. These iron hoes are made princ.i.p.ally in this country: thus it appeared strange that they should demand them. Legge does a large business with these hoes, sending them into the Berri and Galla countries to the east, with various beads and copper bracelets, to purchase ivory. Although there are very few elephants in the neighbourhood of Ellyria, there is an immense amount of ivory, as the chief is so great a trader that he acc.u.mulates it to exchange with the Turks for cattle. Although he sells it so dear that he demands twenty cows for a large tusk, it is a convenient station for the traders, as, being near to Gondokoro, there is very little trouble in delivering the ivory on shipboard.

Although I had presented Legge' with what he desired, he would give nothing in return, neither would he sell either goats or fowls; in fact, no provision was procurable except honey. I purchased about eight pounds of this luxury for a hoe. My men were starving, and I was obliged to serve them out rice from my sacred stock, as I had nothing else to give them. This they boiled and mixed with honey, and they were shortly sitting round an immense circular bowl of this rarity, enjoying themselves thoroughly, but nevertheless grumbling as usual. In the coolest manner possible the great and greedy chief, Legge, who had refused to give or even to sell anything to keep us from starving, no sooner saw the men at their novel repast than he sat down among them and almost choked himself by cramming handfuls of the hot rice and honey into his mouth, which yawned like that of an old hippopotamus. The men did not at all approve of this a.s.sistance, but as it is the height of bad manners in Arab etiquette to repel a self-invited guest from the general meal, he was not interfered with, and was thus enabled to swallow the share of about three persons.

Legge, although worse than the rest of his tribe, had a similar formation of head. The Bari and those Tollogo and Ellyria have generally bullet-shaped heads, low foreheads, skulls heavy behind the ears and above the nape of the neck: altogether their appearance is excessively brutal, and they are armed with bows six feet long and arrows horribly barbed and poisoned.

CHAPTER V.

LEAVE ELLYRIA.

ALTHOUGH Ellyria was a rich and powerful country, we had not been able to procure any provisions--the natives refused to sell, and their general behaviour was such that a.s.sured me of their capability of any atrocity had they been prompted to attack us by the Turks. Fortunately we had a good supply of meal that had been prepared for the journey prior to our departure from Gondokoro: thus we could not starve. I also had a sack of corn for the animals, a necessary precaution, as at this season there was not a blade of gra.s.s; all in the vicinity of the route having been burnt.

We started on the 30th March, at 7.30 A.M., and opened from the valley of Ellyria upon a perfectly flat country interspersed with trees. After an hour's march we halted at a small stream of bad water. We had kisras and honey for breakfast; but, for several days not having tasted meat, I took the rifle for a stroll through the forest in search of game. After an hour's ramble I returned without having fired a shot. I had come upon fresh tracks of Tetel (hartebeest) and guinea-fowl, but they had evidently come down to the stream to drink, and had wandered back into the interior. If game was scarce, fruit was plentiful--both Richarn and I were loaded with a species of yellow plum as large as an egg; these grew in prodigious numbers upon fine forest trees, beneath which the ground was yellow with the quant.i.ties that had fallen from the boughs; these were remarkably sweet, and yet acid, with much juice, and a very delicious flavour.

At 11:25 we again started for a long march, our course being east. The ground was most favourable for the animals, being perfectly flat and free from ravines. We accordingly stepped along at a brisk pace, and the intense heat of the sun throughout the hottest hours of the day made the journey fatiguing for all but the camels. The latter were excellent of their cla.s.s, and now far excelled the other transport animals, marching along with ease under loads of about 600 lbs. each.

My caravan was at the rear of the trader's party; but the ground being good, we left our people and cantered on to the advanced flag. It was curious to witness the motley a.s.semblage in single file extending over about half a mile of ground:--several of the people were mounted on donkeys; some on oxen: the most were on foot, including all the women to the number of about sixty, who were the slaves of the trader's people.

These carried heavy loads; and many, in addition to the burdens, carried children strapped to their backs in leather slings.