Although This Country Was Exceedingly Rich In Soil, It Was Entirely
Uninhabited On Our Side (The East) Of The River.
This had formerly been
the Dinka country, but it had been quite depopulated by razzias made for
slaves by the former and present governors of Fashoda.
These raids had
been made on a large scale, with several thousand troops, in addition to
the sharp slave-hunters, the Baggara Arabs, as allies. The result was
almost the extermination of the Dinka tribe. It seemed incomprehensible
to the Shillook natives that a government that had only lately made
slave-hunting a profession should suddenly turn against the
slave-hunters.
I frequently rode on horseback about the country, and wherever I found a
spot slightly raised above the general level, I was sure to discover
quantities of broken pottery, the vestiges of villages, which had at a
former time been numerous. There was very little game, but now and then
ostriches were seen stalking about the yellow plains of withered grass.
On one occasion I was riding with Lieutenant Baker, accompanied by a few
orderlies, when I distinguished the forms of several ostriches at a
great distance. They were feeding on the flat plain where it was
hopeless to attempt an approach. I was just replacing my telescope, when
I observed an ostrich emerge from behind some bushes, about 400 yards'
distance. This was a male bird, by the black colour, and it appeared to
be feeding towards the scattered bush on my left. We were at the moment
partially concealed by the green foliage. I immediately dismounted, and
leaving the party behind the bushes, I ran quickly forward, always
concealed by the thick thorns, until I thought I must be somewhere
within shot, unless the bird had discovered me and escaped without my
knowledge. I now went cautiously and slowly forward, stooping under the
bushes when necessary, and keeping a good look out on all sides, as I
expected that the ostrich must be somewhere in the jungle. At length, as
I turned round a clump of thick thorns, I sighted the bird racing away
with immense speed straight from me at about 130 yards. I raised the
150-yard sight of the Dutchman, and taking him very steadily, as the
bird kept a perfectly straight course, I fired. The ostrich at once fell
with so great a shock upon the hard, parched ground, that the air was
full of feathers. I stepped 130 long paces, and found that the bullet
had struck the bird in the centre of the back, killing it instantly. My
party came up to my whistle, and I despatched a mounted orderly to camp
to bring men and donkeys.
Although I have been many years in Africa, this was the first and the
last ostrich that I have ever bagged. It was a very fine male, and the
two thighs and legs were a very fair load for a strong donkey.
I have seen erroneous accounts of ostriches designated as two varieties,
the black and the grey. The black, with white feathers in the wings and
tail, is simply the male, and the grey the female. The feathers of this
bird were old and in bad order. The fat is much esteemed by the Arabs as
an external application for rheumatism. I found the stomach rich in
scorpions, beetles, leaves of trees, and white rounded quartz pebbles.
The bird must have come from a considerable distance as there was
neither rock nor pebble in the neighbourhood.
On my return to camp I carved an artificial ostrich head from a piece of
wood, and made false eyes with the neck of a wine bottle. I intended to
stick this head upon a pole, concealed in a linen fishing rod case, and
to dress up my cap with thick plumes of ostrich feathers. I have no
doubt that it would be possible to approach ostriches in grass by this
imitation, as the pole would be carried in the left hand, and all the
movements of the ostriches might be easily imitated. The pole in the
left hand rested on the ground would make a good rest for the rifle when
the moment arrived for the shot.
Heavy rains set in, and the hitherto dry plains became flooded and
swampy, thus I never had an opportunity to try my false ostrich.
The Shillooks were now become our fast friends. The camp was crowded
daily with natives who came by water from a considerable distance to
traffic with the soldiers. Like all negroes, they were sharp traders,
with a Jewish tendency in their bargains. They brought raw cotton and
provisions of all kinds in exchange for cotton manufactures and iron.
Their country consists simply of rich alluvial soil, therefore all iron
must be imported, and it is of great value. The best articles of
exchange for this country would be pieces of wrought iron of about four
ounces in weight and six inches long, and pieces of eight ounces, and
eight inches in length. Also cotton cloth, known as grey calico,
together with white calico, and other cheap manufactures. The cotton
that is indigenous to the country is short in staple, but it grows
perfectly wild. The Shillooks are very industrious, and cultivate large
quantities of dhurra and some maize, but the latter is only used to eat
in a green state, roasted on the ashes. The grain of maize is too hard
to grind on the common flat millstones of the natives, thus it is seldom
cultivated in any portion of Central Africa on an extended scale. I gave
some good Egyptian cotton-seed to the natives, also the seed of various
European vegetables. Tobacco was in great demand by the troops, and I
considered the quality supplied by the Shillooks superior to that
cultivated in the Soudan.
Although the camp was visited by hundreds of natives, including their
women, daily, there were seldom any quarrels over the marketing, and
when a disagreement took place it was generally the fault of a soldier,
who took something on credit, and pleaded inability to pay.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 27 of 204
Words from 26441 to 27463
of 207249
