Promotion from the line to "The
Forty" was considered as an honour, and so perfect was the esprit de
corps, that in the event of a vacancy being caused by sickness, or other
cause, the men reported to me the character of the new-comer before he
was admitted, and respectfully declined to receive him if he bore a
doubtful reputation; virtually he was "black-balled."
A corps of this character was a nucleus for an extension of military
morality. The "Forty Thieves" would not admit a thief; and they became
generally accepted as a model of what government soldiers should become.
I believe that if it were possible to convert the greater portion of
African savages into disciplined soldiers, it would be the most rapid
stride towards their future civilization. The fact of obedience being
enforced, and the necessity of order, industry, and discipline, together
with clothing and cleanliness, is all that is absolutely required to
bring a savage within the bounds of good management. A savage who has
led a wild and uncontrolled life must first learn to obey authority
before any great improvement can be expected. A soldier must obey, and
he learns to respect his officers as his superiors; thus, a savage who
has learnt all that he knows from his officers, whom he admits as his
superiors, will quickly adopt their religion, as he has been obliged to
adopt their military rules. My soldiers were all Mohammedans, simply
because they had been taught by their officers that good soldiers should
be true believers.
As I have already described, my station was a mile and a half distant
from head-quarters, and the arrangements under my personal inspection
were very different from the lax discipline of the officers at
Gondokoro.
The natives of Belinian had disregarded the warning they had received,
and now, having leagued themselves with the Baris of Gondokoro, they
were constantly on the watch for an opportunity of surprising the cattle
guards. Concealing themselves behind thick foliage, they stalked the
careless sentries with the adroitness of American Indians, and sometimes
succeeded in making a dash and driving off a few head of cattle.
I was obliged to take extra precautions during the night, as my little
station was dependent only upon "The Forty," while the camp at
head-quarters was occupied by 1,100 men, in addition to about 400
sailors, and the six Englishmen.
The natives disturbed us every night, and were constantly fired at by
the sentries. I served out cartridges containing eight-mould shot, each
to be rammed down over the ball in the muskets for the night sentries:
these would be more likely to hit a thief in the dark than a single
bullet. The muskets were given to the sentries in addition to their
rifles.
