I knew in my mind all these reports were false, but, rather than
be out of the way when
The time came for marching, I agreed to
wait patiently, write the history of the Wahuma, and make
collections, till Mahamed was ready, trusting that I might find
some one at Gondokoro who would finish what I had left undone; or
else, after arriving there, I might go up the Nile in boats and
see for myself. The same evening I was attracted by the sound of
drums to a neighbouring village, where, by the moonlight, I found
the natives were dancing. A more indecent or savage spectacle I
never witnessed. The whole place was alive with naked humanity
in a state of constant motion. Drawing near, I found that a
number of drums were beaten by men in the centre. Next to them
was a deep ring of women, half of whom carried their babies; and
outside these again was a still deeper circle of men, some
blowing horns, but most holding their spears erect. To the sound
of the music both these rings of the opposite sexes kept jumping
and sidling round and round the drummers, making the most
grotesque and obscene motions to one another.
9th to 14th. - Nothing of material consequence happened until the
14th, when eighty of Rionga's men brought in two slaves and
thirty tusks of ivory, as a present to Mahamed. Of course, I
knew this was a bribe to induce Mahamed to fight with Rionga
against Kamrasi; but, counting that no affair of mine, I tried to
induce these men to give me some geographical information of the
countries they had just left. Not one of them would come near
me, for they knew I was friends with Kamrasi; and Mahamed's men,
when they saw mine attempting to converse with them, abused them
for "prying into other men's concerns." "These men," they said,
"are our friends, and not yours; if we choose to give them
presents of cloth and beads, and they give us a return in ivory,
what is that to you?" Mysterious Mahamed next came to me, and
begged for a blanket, as he said he was going off for a few days
to a depot where he had some ivory; and he also wanted to borrow
a musket, as one of his had been burnt.
My suspicions and even apprehensions, were now greatly excited. I
began to think he had prevailed on me to stop here, that I might
hold the place whilst he went to fight Kamrasi with Rionga's men;
so I begged him to listen to my advice, and not attempt to cross
the Nile, "else," I said, "all his guns would be taken from him,
and his passage back cut off." At once he saw the drift of my
thought, and said he was not going towards the Nile, but on the
contrary, he was going with Rionga's men in the opposite
direction, to a place called Paira. "If that is the case," I
said, "why do you want a gun?" "Because there are some other
matters to settle. I shall not be long away, and my men will
take care of you whilst I am gone." I gave him the blanket after
this, but was too suspicious of his object to lend him a gun.
15th to 20th. - I saw Mahamed march his regiment out of the place,
drums and fifes playing, colours flying, a hundred guns firing,
officers riding, - some of them on donkeys and others - yes,
actually on cows! whilst a host of the natives, Rionga's men
included, carrying spears and bows and arrows, looked little like
a peaceful caravan of merchants, but very much resembled a band
of marauders. After this I heard they were not going to Rionga
himself, but were going to show Rionga's men the way that they
made friends with old Chongi of Koki. In reality, Chongi had
invited Mahamed to fight against an enemy of his, in whose
territories immense stores of ivory were said to be buried, and
the people had an endless number of cattle - for they lived by
plunder, and had lifted most of old Chongi's; and this was the
service on which the expedition had set off.
21st to 31st. - I had constantly wondered, ever since I first came
here, and saw the brutal manner in which the Turks treated the
natives, that these Madi people could submit to their "Egyptian
taskmasters," and therefore was not surprised now to find them
pull down their huts and march off with the materials to a
distant site. Every day this sort of migration continued, just as
you see in the picture; and nothing more important occurred until
Christmas-day, when an armadillo was caught, and I heard from
Mahamed's head wife that the Turks had plundered and burnt down
three villages, and in all probability they would return shortly
laden with ivory. This was a true anticipation; for, on the 31st,
Mahamed came in with his triumphant army laden with ivory, and
driving in five slave-girls and thirty head of cattle.
1st to 3d. - I now wished to go on with the journey, as I could
get no true information out of the suspicious blackguards who
called themselves Turks; but Mahamed postponed it until the 5th,
by which time he said he would be able to collect all the men he
wanted to carry his ivory. Rionga's men then departed, and
Mahamed showed some signs of getting ready by ordering one dozen
cows to be killed, the flesh of which was to be divided amongst
those villagers who would carry his ivory, and the skins to be
cut into thongs for binding the smaller tusks of ivory together
in suitable loads.
4th and 5th. - Another specimen of Turkish barbarity came under my
notice, in the head man of a village bringing a large tusk of
ivory to Mahamed, to ransom his daughter with; for she had been
seized as a slave on his last expedition, in common with others
who could not run away fast enough to save themselves from the
Turks.
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