The
Storekeeper Was Then Called, And Confirming The Story Of My Men,
I Begged Him To Give Me What Was My Own.
It then turned out that
it was all Petherick's, but he had orders to give me on account
anything that I wanted.
This being settled, I took ninety-five
yards of the commonest stuff as a makeshift for mosquito-curtains
for my men, besides four sailor's shirts for my head men.
On the 18th, Kurshid Agha was summoned by the constant fire of
musketry, a mile or two down the river, and went off in his
vessels to the relief. A party of his had come across from the
N'yambara country with ivory, and on the banks of the Nile, a few
miles north of this, were engaged fighting with the natives. He
arrived just in time to settle the difficulty, and next day came
back again, having shot some of the enemy and captured their
cows. Petherick, we heard, was in a difficulty of the same kind,
upon which I proposed to go down with Baker and Grant to succour
him; but he arrived in time, in company with his wife and Dr
James Murie, to save us the trouble, and told me he had brought a
number of men with him, carrying ivory, for the purpose now of
looking after me on the east bank of the Nile, by following its
course up to the south, though he had given up all hope of seeing
me, as a report had reached him of the desertion of my porters at
Ugogo. He then offered me his dyabir, as well as anything else
that I wanted that lay within his power to give. Suffice it to
say, I had, through Baker's generosity, at that very moment
enough and to spare; but at his urgent request I took a few more
yards of cloth for my men, and some cooking fat; and, though I
offered to pay for it, he declined to accept any return at my
hands.
Though I naturally felt much annoyed at Petherick - for I had
hurried away from Uganda, and separated from Grant at Kari,
solely to keep faith with him - I did not wish to break
friendship, but dined and conversed with him, when it transpired
that his Vakil, or agent, who went south from the N'yambara
station, came amongst the N'yam N'yam, and heard from them that a
large river, four days' journey more to the southward, was
flowing from east to west, beyond which lived a tribe of "women,"
who, when they wanted to marry, mingled with them in the stream
and returned; and then, again, beyond this tribe of women there
lived another tribe of women and dogs. Now, this may all seem a
very strange story to those who do not know the negro's and
Arab's modes of expression; but to me it at once came very
natural, and, according to my view, could be interpreted thus: -
The river, running from east to west, according to the native
mode of expressing direction, could be nothing but the Little
Luta Nzige running the opposite way, according to fact and our
mode of expression.
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