On this
occasion he came himself, prepared with a cup formed of a small
gourd-shell slung by a string upon his neck. He explained that this was
his cup for drinking araki, with which he requested to be supplied.
"How long are you going to remain here?" he asked. He continued, "You
had better go back to Khartoum, and I will eat the corn you have planted
when it becomes ripe."
I explained that Gondokoro would be head-quarters, and that troops would
always remain there, and we should cultivate a large extent for corn. He
replied: "Then who does this land belong to? - to you or to me?" I
explained that his people had been driven out by a superior force, and
that we had found it abandoned; at the same time, neither he nor his
people dare remain here without my protection, therefore the land
belonged to the Khedive of Egypt; but if the natives wished to re-settle
I would give them their original property.
He simply replied, "Who does this tree belong to?" (we were standing
beneath its shade). "It belongs to the Khedive of Egypt," I replied,
"who is now protector of the whole country, and I am his representative
to establish his government."
He replied: "Then you had better be off to Khartoum, for we don't want
any government here."
There can be no doubt that in the abstract of people's rights, any
annexation of the territory of another is an infringement. Had this
principle been adhered to throughout the history of the world, there
would have been no progress. Savages of all countries are prone to
strife; and a state of chronic warfare with neighbouring tribes is the
example of African politics. A strong government is a necessity.
I had always expected trouble with the Baris, as I had known them during
my former journey as a tribe of intractable savages. The Austrian
missionaries had abandoned them as hopeless, after many efforts and a
great expenditure of money and energy.
The natives had pulled down the neat mission house, and they had pounded
and ground the bright red bricks into the finest powder, which mixed
with grease formed a paint to smear their naked bodies. Thus the only
results of many years' teaching were the death of many noble men, the
loss of money, the failure of the attempt; and instead of the enterprise
leaving a legacy of inward spiritual grace to these "men and brethren,"
the missionary establishment itself was converted into an external
application for the skin:
