Although He Had Tempted Fate And Met
With Deserved Misfortune, It Was Most Disgusting To Witness The
Brutality Of The Turks, Who, Tying Ropes To The Ankles, Dragged The Body
To The Entrance Of The Camp, And Wished For Amusement To Drive Their
Bayonets Through The Chest.
"Although dying, the man was not dead:
A shot had entered one eye,
knocking it out; several had entered the face, chest, and thighs, as he
was in a stooping position when the gun was fired. I would not allow him
to be mutilated, and after groaning in agony for some time, he died. The
traders' people immediately amputated the hands at the wrists, to detach
the copper bracelets, while others cut off his helmet of beads, and the
body was very considerately dragged close to the entrance of my camp.
"June 22nd. - Finding that the disgusting Turks had deposited the dead
body almost at my door, I had it removed a couple of hundred yards to
leeward. The various birds of prey immediately collected - buzzards,
vultures, crows, and the great Marabou stork. I observed a great
bare-necked vulture almost succeed in turning the body over by pulling
at the flesh of the arm at the opposite side to that where it stood. I
have noticed that birds of prey invariably commence their attack upon
the eyes, inner portions of the thighs, and beneath the arms, before
they devour the coarser portions. In a few hours a well-picked skeleton
was all that was left of the Latooka."
We were to start on the following day.
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