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.
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