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 ON THE LOOK-OUT. 
 
 Page <S.
 
 IN SAVAGE AFRICA 
 
 BY 
 
 VERNEY LOVETT CAMERON, C.B., D.C.L, 
 
 COMMANDER ROYAL NAVY. 
 
 SURF-BOAT CAPSIZED. 
 
 Page 82. 
 
 Gbomas iRelson and Sons, 
 
 LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.
 
 IN SAVAGE AFRICA 
 
 OK, 
 
 ZTbe Hoventures ot jfranfe Balowfn 
 jfrom tbe (Bolt) Coast 
 
 BY 
 
 VERNEY LOVETT CAMERON, C.B., D.C.L., 
 
 COMMANDER ROYAL NAVY; 
 
 AUTHOR OF "JACK HOOPER," "ACROSS AFRICA," 
 "OUR FUTURE HIGHWAY," 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 JHIRTY- Two ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Bonbon: 
 
 T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK. 
 
 1887.
 
 I. LEAVING SCHOOL, ... ... ... ... ... 9 
 
 II. OFF TO SEA, ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 
 
 III. UNPLEASANT NEWS, ... ... ... ... ... 38 
 
 IV. ROBBERY AND DESERTION, ... ... ... ... 53 
 
 V. A RUN ASHORE, ... ... ... ... ... 64 
 
 VI. TAKEN PRISONER, ... ... ... ... ... 80 
 
 VII. AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION, ... ... ... 92 
 
 VIII. ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP, ... ... ... ... 99 
 
 IX. AMONG THE NATIVES, ... ... ... ... ... 107 
 
 X. FETICHMEN, ... ... ... ... ... ... 120 
 
 XI. AN EXCITING JOURNEY, ... ... ... ... ... 130 
 
 XII. IN THE INTERIOR, ... ... ... ... ... 144 
 
 XIII. CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS, ... ... ... ... 162 
 
 XIV. WORSE THAN DEATH, ... ... ... ... ... 175 
 
 XV. ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE, ... ... ... ... 200 
 
 XVI. FRIENDLY ARABS, ... ... ... ... ... 217 
 
 XVII. A NATIVE COUNCIL, ... ... ... ... ... 234 
 
 XVIII. PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE, ... ... ... ... 245 
 
 XIX. A FIERCE FIGHT, ... ... ... ... ... 257 
 
 XX. AT NYANGWE, ... ... ... ... ... ... 268 
 
 XXI. DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST, ... ... ... ... 287 
 
 XXII. SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI, ... ... ... ... 298 
 
 XXIII. TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES, ... ... ... ... 311 
 
 XXIV. ACROSS TANGANYIKA, ... ... ... ... ... 821 
 
 XXV. DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS, ... ... ... ... 331 
 
 XXVI. A HAPPY ENDING, ... ... ... ... ... 353
 
 of ^lustrations. 
 
 ON THE LOOK-OUT, .. .. .. .. .. Frontispiece 
 
 SURF- BOAT CAPSIZED, . . . . . . . . . . Vignette 
 
 FRANK'S INTERVIEW WITH MR. TOYNTER, .. .. .. .. 13 
 
 ISLAND OF TENERIFFE, . . . . . . . . . . 39 
 
 ON THE COAST OF LIBERIA, .. .. .. .. .. 45 
 
 A YOUNG DAHOMAN, .. .. .. .. .. .. 77 
 
 HARARU'S VILLAGE, .. .. .. .. .. .. 109 
 
 THROUGH THE JUNGLE, .. .. .. .. .. .. 117 
 
 SURPRISED BY A PYTHON, .. .. .. .. 123 
 
 AFRICAN SORCERER, .. .. .. .. .. .. 127 
 
 ON THE OGOWAI RIVER, . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 
 
 SLAVES ON THE BANK OF THE OGOWAI, . . . . . . . . 139 
 
 AFRICAN CHIEF AND HIS COURT, . . . . . . . . . . 145 
 
 KAREMA, .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 151 
 
 FUMO ATTACKED BY A LEOPARD, .. .. .. .. .. 167 
 
 PANIC OF THE BALABA, .. .. .. .. .. .. 175 
 
 ASCENDING THE RAPIDS, .. .. .. .. .. .. 189 
 
 SURMOUNTING THE FALLS OF THE OGOWAI, . . . . . . . . 195 
 
 A 80KO HUNT, .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 219 
 
 CROSSING THE RIVER, .. .. .. .. .. .. 227 
 
 WARRIORS OF MONA MKULLA, .. .. .. .. .. 237 
 
 HATIBU AND BILAL, .. .. .. .. .. .. 269 
 
 BANKS OF THE LUABBA, . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 
 
 GOING TO MARKET, .. .. .. .. .. .. 279 
 
 NYANGWE MARKET, . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 
 
 WIVES OF HATIBU AND BILAL, .. .. .. .. .. 291 
 
 LAGOON NEAR LUAMA, . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 
 
 ENCOUNTER WITH A CROCODILE, . . . . . . . . . . 303 
 
 VILLAGE IN UKARANGA, . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 
 
 A BUFFALO CHARGE, .. .. .. .. .. .. 3t7 
 
 A FATAL ENCOUNTER, . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 
 
 WAGOGO WAR-DANCE, . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
 
 IN SAVAGE AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 IN the year of our Lord 18 , I was delighted one 
 morning by receiving a letter from my father, who was 
 captain and owner of the brig Petrel, telling me that 
 he had arrived safely at Bristol with a valuable cargo, 
 and that both he and my brother Willie, who was 
 second mate of the Petrel, were well. The letter went 
 on to say that my father had decided on taking me to 
 sea with him, and had written to my schoolmaster, the 
 Rev. Stephen Poynter of Clifton, to announce his inten- 
 tion. The letter also said that in two days' time Willie 
 would come to take me away from school, and that I was 
 to have everything ready for starting when he came. 
 According to the custom of the school, I had received my 
 letter in the ten minutes which were given to us for a 
 run in the playground before commencing our work 
 after breakfast, and, as may be imagined, I lost no time
 
 10 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 in announcing its contents to my school-fellows, consid- 
 ering myself a very fine and important fellow to have 
 finished my school days. The bell stopped short a 
 description of the Petrel in which I was indulging, 
 and we all had to hurry in and take our places at 
 prayers, and when they were finished, to commence our 
 ordinary tasks. I took my place at my desk, and 
 opened my books. I must own, however, I did not 
 think much of what they contained, and, under their 
 cover, I tried to read over again my father's letter which 
 had announced the corning change in my life. I could 
 not help thinking that it was very wrong for the head- 
 master to keep such an important personage, as I had 
 now in my own estimation become, sitting on a hard 
 bench at a black desk to con over rules of arithmetic, 
 and I kept looking at the door of the class-room to see 
 if old Abe the porter would not come to summon me to 
 the head-master's presence. 
 
 Indeed, my inattention became so marked that twice 
 the usher of the room said, " Baldwin, if you don't go 
 on with your work I shall have to punish you." He 
 was just on the point of leaving his seat to come over 
 to me, when at last the door opened, and old Abe ap- 
 peared, calling out, " Master Baldwin, wanted in the 
 head-master's study." Usually, such a summons was 
 the reverse of pleasant, for it meant, as a rule, that 
 the boy who was called out had to answer for some 
 mischief, and he was loath to answer the call. I, 
 however, having a free conscience, jumped up at once;
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 11 
 
 and the usher, who did not know of my approaching 
 departure, said, " There, Baldwin, you're wanted by 
 the head-master. I suppose you have been up to some 
 mischief, and that anticipation of your punishment has 
 caused you to be inattentive." 
 
 I smiled to those of my comrades to whom I had 
 shown my letter, and went past the usher with a sort 
 of swaggering show of independence; and he very 
 rightly made me return to my seat and leave the room 
 properly. As soon as I left, old Abe led the way to 
 the double doors which separated Mr. Poynter's pri- 
 vate residence from the schoolrooms, and of which only 
 he and the masters had the keys, and opened them, 
 saying with a grin as he did so, 
 
 " He hasn't chosen the cane yet ; what is it you have 
 been up to ? " 
 
 " Nothing, Abe. I'm going to leave." 
 
 " Going to leave are you, and the holidays a month 
 off yet! What is it for?" 
 
 I somewhat resented old Abe's familiarity, with 
 whom the boys were on the best of terms, and said in 
 as dignified manner as I could, " I'm going to sea." 
 
 " Going to sea, is it ? Well, you'll wish yourself 
 back here before long. Going to sea ! Salt beef and 
 weevilly biscuit won't suit as well as what you get to 
 eat here." 
 
 " I shan't have salt beef and weevilly biscuit ; I'm 
 going in my father's ship the Petrel" 
 
 " Well, I never heard of a ship yet where there wasn't
 
 12 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 salt beef. But now the master mustn't be kept wait- 
 ing; just you hurry on to his study." 
 
 I went along a passage on which the doors opened, 
 and crossing the hall, knocked at Mr. Poynter's study 
 door. As soon as I had knocked I heard Mr. Poynter 
 say, " Come in ; " and, opening the door, I found him 
 sitting in his arm-chair, with my father's letter in his 
 hand. He motioned to me to sit down in a chair op- 
 posite to him, and said, 
 
 " Frank, my boy, you know why I have sent for you, 
 as your father tells me he has written to you that you 
 are to leave us in a couple of days. Now, this will be 
 a great change in your life ; and although I think that 
 most boys should stop at school till they are at least 
 eighteen, you are now old enough to commence the life 
 of a sailor. You are sixteen, are you not ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; I was sixteen two months ago." 
 
 " I have little to say about the temptations to which 
 you will be exposed, for as you will be under your 
 father's own eye, you will be shielded from many which 
 usually assail the young ; but remember always that, 
 even if you are tempted to do what is wrong by the 
 thought that your earthly father will know nothing 
 about it, your heavenly Father's eye is all -seeing, 
 and that no thought or deed can escape him. For the 
 five years you have been here you have given me satis- 
 faction ; but still, I have seen symptoms of self-will, and 
 an inclination not always to obey with readiness. Re- 
 member that in a sailor instant and prompt obedience
 
 FRANK'S INTERVIEW WITH MR. POYNTER. 
 
 Page 13.
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 15 
 
 is absolutely necessary, as you will soon learn ; and he 
 who cannot obey will never be fit to command. As to 
 your studies, your father will doubtless look after your 
 navigation ; and I will write to him and tell him what 
 other subjects will, in my opinion, best repay your con- 
 tinued attention. Now I do not suppose you can pay 
 much attention to your work, so you may tell Mr. 
 Stone that as you are going to leave us so soon, I have 
 excused you from further attendance in the school- 
 room, and you may gather all your things together, in 
 readiness for packing up." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," I said ; and then, nerved to bold- 
 ness by the kindness of Mr. Poynter's manner, I begged 
 that he would grant my comrades a holiday. 
 
 " That's a big request, Baldwin. You must remem- 
 ber that they are not all going to sea, and have to 
 fit themselves by study for their future callings ; be- 
 sides, in three weeks the examination takes place, and 
 they want every moment to prepare themselves, so 
 that they may do credit to the school before the ex- 
 aminers." 
 
 " Yes, sir ; but if I leave in two days I shall not be 
 able to play in the cricket-match between the first 
 eleven and the next fifteen, while if you gave us a holi- 
 day to-morrow we could play then." 
 
 " That is, no doubt, a most important matter in your 
 mind, but it is not so important to me. However, I 
 will think about it. Now I have lots to do, so you must 
 run away."
 
 16 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 I left the study rather slowly, and was almost about 
 to urge my request again, when Mr. Poynter said, " Re- 
 member obedience;" and I at once saw that the ulti- 
 mate granting of the holiday would depend on my 
 being promptly obedient, and left without saying an- 
 other word. 
 
 Old Abe was by the double doors to let me back into 
 the school, and I said, 
 
 " All right, old Abe ; there are no more lessons for 
 me." 
 
 He looked at me and smiled, and answered, 
 
 " No more lessons ! why, my poor lad, you will find 
 that all this life is one long lesson. You will have 
 many a one to learn which will not be so easy as the 
 tasks which they set you here. Now Mr. Stone won't 
 want you in the schoolroom, I'll warrant; so if you 
 go and tell him what the head has said, and then come 
 back to me, I'll just help you to get your box up, ready 
 to pack your clothes and things in." 
 
 I thought this was very good of old Abe, and did not 
 think that all the boxes had to be got from the cellar, 
 where they were kept by old Abe and his assistants. 
 I went into the classroom, where I went up to Mr. 
 Stone and said, 
 
 " Please, sir, the head-master has told me I need do 
 no more lessons, but that I may begin to get my things 
 together, ready for going away." 
 
 " Going away, are you ! that is why you were so in- 
 attentive this morning, I suppose." 
 
 (85)
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 17 
 
 " Yes, sir. My brother Willie is coming for me the 
 day after to-morrow, and I am to go to sea with him 
 and my father in the Petrel." 
 
 " Very well, my lad ; but you must not make a noise 
 here, for there are boys who are not going to sea. So 
 get away, and you can tell all about it when we come 
 out of school at half -past twelve. Now don't speak to 
 any one, but go at once." 
 
 I remembered " obedience," and did as I was told. 
 Leaving the room, I found old Abe waiting for me with 
 the key of the cellar, and followed him down, and soon 
 found my box, which with him I carried up into the 
 dormitory which I shared with nine of my school- 
 fellows. Here I found the matron and one of the 
 maids busy getting my clothes ready for packing up. 
 
 When the matron, Mrs. Stevens, saw Abe and me 
 carrying in my box, she said, 
 
 "Now, Abe, don't you know how particular Mr. 
 Poynter is that none of the young gentlemen should 
 carry their boxes about?" 
 
 "Why, ma'am," he answered, " Master Baldwin's go- 
 ing to sea, and he'll have more hard work to do than 
 help an old man to carry an empty box." 
 
 " That will do, Abe. Mind, if I find you disobeying 
 orders again, I shall tell Mr. Poynter. Now, Master 
 Baldwin, I do not think you can be any use here. I 
 will leave out your best suit for you to go away in, and 
 will have a place for your books. You had better go to 
 the room and get all your belongings together in the 
 
 (85) 2
 
 18 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 way of bats and balls, and pack them in your play- 
 box." 
 
 Old Abe and I left the room at once, and he said 
 to me, 
 
 " Now that's done. She can't abear an old man get- 
 ting a bit of help. But, Master Baldwin, there are your 
 rabbits and pigeons. Now, there's not a boy among 
 them all who takes care of their pets like you do. I 
 wonder what will become of them !" 
 
 I certainly was flattered by what old Abe said, for I 
 believed my white Himalayan rabbits, with their black 
 noses and ears, and my pair of tumbler pigeons, to 
 be the best of all the pets which were kept by the 
 boys in the school playground ; and I also prided my- 
 self that the rabbit-hutch and dove-cot, which I had 
 made with my own hands, were superior to the various 
 receptacles of the pets of my schoolfellows. I therefore 
 fell into the trap which he had set for me. 
 
 " Why, Abe, I don't know. There's Jones Major, he 
 has some pigeons, and looks well after them ; and 
 Brown too, he has lost his two carriers ; and Smith, he 
 has been wanting to buy my rabbits this long time." 
 
 " Surely, sir, a gentleman like you, a-leaving school 
 and going to sea, and all, can't be thinking of selling 
 his rabbits. Sailors are fine generous fellows, and they 
 always give away things. I mind one I saw not a 
 fortnight agone as gave an old man a ten-shilling bit. 
 But don't you be after giving them lovely rabbits to 
 that young Smith ; he don't know how to feed or look
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 19 
 
 after them, and they'll be dead in a week with him. 
 And as for Master Brown, it's my opinion he kept his 
 carriers so dirty and half-starved, that when he let 
 them out they made up their minds not to come back 
 again. Now, sir, I could keep them nicely. I do love 
 a good pigeon and a handsome rabbit ; and I can war- 
 rant you that they'd be well taken care of." 
 
 I had certainly had an idea of selling both pigeons 
 and rabbits to pay some small schoolboy debts ; but I 
 felt my character as a generous sailor was at stake, 
 and not to be outdone by the anonymous sailor who 
 gave an old man a ten-shilling bit, I gave rabbits and 
 pigeons to old Abe. He then asked me to come and 
 look at my boots and shoes, and would soon have 
 begged all from me if Mrs. Stevens had not arrived 
 upon the scene and sent him about his work, grum- 
 bling sadly at being sent away from a young gentle- 
 man whom he always said " was the nicest lad he had 
 ever set his eyes on." 
 
 Mrs. Stevens told me I must learn not to be taken 
 in ; and when I said I had given my rabbits and pigeons 
 to old Abe because he would look after them, she said, 
 " Why, you must be foolish, Master Baldwin. He will 
 sell them before you have left the place." 
 
 By this time school -hours were over, and I was 
 soon surrounded by all my class-fellows asking me for 
 a description of the Petrel, and where she had been, 
 and where she was going. As whenever my father had 
 been at home I had passed my holidays with him, I
 
 20 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 was fully able to say what the good brig Petrel was 
 like. I believe that I was so proud of her that if 
 all I said had been true she would have been as big as 
 Nelson's flagship the Victory, and that in her my father 
 and brother had gone through as many adventures as 
 Anson in the Centurion, or Drake and the brave hearts 
 who, first of Englishmen, sailed round the world in the 
 famous Pelican. 
 
 But these stories were all repetitions, for I had been 
 wont to tell marvellous stories of the Petrel, her cap- 
 tain and crew, whenever I returned to school after 
 having spent my holidays with my father. Far more 
 interest was excited by the announcement that I had 
 been bold enough to ask for a holiday for the next clay, 
 and that the governor, as we called Mr. Poynter, had 
 shown some inclination to grant it. 
 
 As soon as the excitement had somewhat abated, 
 Smith, Brown, and Jones Major, and other rabbit and 
 pigeon fanciers, came about me to find out if there 
 was any chance of their becoming the fortunate pos- 
 sessors of my Himalayan rabbits and tumbler pigeons ; 
 and great was their disappointment at finding that I 
 had given them to old Abe, who, it was at once said, 
 would sell them to the highest bidder. 
 
 I had to promise to bring home an army of monkeys 
 and a whole brigade of parrots before I could appease 
 the reproaches of those who, like me, were fond of pets; 
 and then I had to give to my special chums such little 
 schoolboy treasures as they might value for keepsakes.
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 21 
 
 In return many willing hands helped me to carry my 
 books up to the dormitory to be packed up, and the 
 bell rang for dinner whilst we were engaged about 
 what we called helping (but which Mrs. Stevens called 
 hindering) to pack my box. 
 
 After dinner I saw Mr. Poynter again, and from him 
 obtained the promise of a holiday for the next day, 
 the announcement of which was hailed with delight 
 by the whole school ; and great were the preparations 
 for the cricket-match which was to take place. 
 
 I did not find as much pleasure as I had anticipated 
 in being excused from school. It was very lonely work 
 being about in the playground and fives-courts while 
 they were untenanted, and, even with the prospect of 
 having a stiff piece of construing to do, I would gladly 
 have joined my class in their work. I was delighted 
 when evening came, and with it the companionship 
 of my fellows, to whom I might anew dilate on the 
 Petrel and her crew. Indeed, long after we had gone 
 to bed, my dormitory was the scene of acted feats of 
 boarding pirates and other such-like deeds, until the 
 noise made by one party, who with their bolsters re- 
 presented the British sailors driving the pirates from 
 their last retreat, brought Mr. Poynter on the scene. 
 Then pirates and sailors, friends and foes, scuttled 
 into bed and pretended to be most virtuously asleep ; 
 but a threat from the head -master, that if he heard 
 any more noise the promised holiday should be with- 
 held, caused our riotous antics to be discontinued for
 
 22 LEAVING SCHOOL. 
 
 the night, and our feigned slumbers soon became real 
 ones. 
 
 Next morning dawned bright and sunny, and more 
 pleasure was in store for us than I had anticipated; 
 for my brother Willie arrived before the day com- 
 menced, and my father had told him to come to Clif- 
 ton and see that I cleared out from school with all due 
 eclat. When Willie found that Mr. Poynter had given 
 us a holiday, he begged and obtained leave to add some 
 fruit, cakes, and tarts to our dinner, which we were 
 allowed to have in the cricket-field instead of return- 
 ing to the schoolhouse for it, as was usually the custom. 
 
 I was in the eleven, and their most trusted bowler, 
 and to-day it seemed as if I was bound to surpass my- 
 self, for wicket after wicket of the fifteen fell before 
 my attack ; and when our innings came, I, though I 
 went in sixth, carried my bat out for thirty-five runs. 
 In the second innings of the fifteen I was even more 
 successful than in their first, taking no less than ten 
 wickets for thirty-eight runs. In the end the eleven 
 were victorious by an innings and seventeen runs. 
 
 My brother Willie, who had left the school about 
 four years before, was known to several of the older 
 boys, and his stories of what he had actually seen on 
 the coast of Africa, where my father traded, quite 
 eclipsed in interest all that I had told the day before. 
 His sailor dress, bronzed face, and, above all, the tattoo- 
 ing with which his arms were ornamented, were the 
 subjects of admiration of all my schoolfellows, those
 
 LEAVING SCHOOL. 23 
 
 who had been with him at school seeming to consider 
 themselves as quite above those unfortunates who had 
 joined the school since he had left. 
 
 Old Abe drew half a crown from him by saying that 
 he was quite the finest young sailor whom he had 
 ever seen. Indeed Willie, who was now nineteen, and 
 fully five feet ten inches in height, was a picture of 
 what the officer of a smart craft should be. His well- 
 fitting blue clothes with brass anchor buttons suited his 
 athletic figure admirably, while his dark curly hair, 
 brown eyes, and open, smiling face were well calculated 
 to win the affection of all who saw him. 
 
 I was delighted with the admiration he elicited, and 
 though I was proud of my success that day in the 
 cricket -field, I was still prouder of my handsome 
 brother, and looked forward to the day when, on my 
 return from some exciting voyage, I might, like him, 
 have stirring tales of adventure to recite to my old 
 chums. I little thought that before I again visited my 
 old school I should pass through so many dangers and 
 perils as fell to my lot.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 NEXT morning, my boxes having been sent down to 
 the coach-office, Willie and I bade good-bye to my 
 schoolfellows, Mrs. Stevens, and old Abe. I found, just 
 before leaving, that Abe had sold my rabbits to Smith 
 for seven shillings and my tumblers to Jones Major for 
 five shillings; so that when I gave him the five shillings 
 which was his allotted share of the money my father 
 had sent me to make presents with, he had made nearly 
 a pound out of me. 
 
 Our farewell from Mr. Poynter was last. He gave 
 me much good advice and his blessing, and specially 
 impressed on me what he had told me the day before 
 about the necessity of obedience. " And now," he said, 
 " I will give you your sailing directions for life. Your 
 brother can tell you that in all strange seas the cap- 
 tain consults his sailing directions in order to avoid 
 shoals and dangers, and find out where there are safe 
 anchorages. Life is a strange sea which has to be 
 navigated by all of us, and the shoals and dangers are
 
 OFF TO SEA. 25 
 
 sins and temptations. In this Bible you will find direc- 
 tions how you may steer clear of them, and in it also 
 you will find refreshment for your soul when it is 
 weaiy ; and it contains directions how we may all at 
 length attain to that haven for which we all long the 
 kingdom of heaven. God bless you, my boy ; and tell 
 your father that I have great cause to be satisfied with 
 your conduct while under my care, and I trust he may 
 find that his confidence in me has not been misplaced. 
 Good-bye, Frank ; and good-bye, Willie. Remember 
 whenever either of you have time to come and see 
 your old schoolmaster, you will be welcome. Remem- 
 ber me to your father. And now you must go, or you 
 will be too late for your coach." 
 
 We said good-bye to Mr. Poynter, and hurried away 
 to the hotel from which the Bristol coach started. We 
 found the horses being put to, and soon we were bowl- 
 ing along for Bristol. 
 
 I may now just tell in a few words the history of 
 my family up to this time, so that my readers may 
 understand any allusions that I may make in the 
 course of this narrative of my adventures. 
 
 My father was the younger son of a Bristol merchant, 
 and chose at an early age the sea for a profession ; and 
 as soon as possible my grandfather got him placed in 
 command of one of the vessels trading between Liver- 
 pool and the West Coast of Africa. His only brother 
 on my grandfather's death left the business and settled 
 down on a small estate in Somersetshire which he had
 
 26 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 bought ; and when my father was away from England 
 it was at his house that my brother and I had usually 
 spent our holidays. 
 
 My father had married shortly before the death of 
 my grandfather, and having given up going to sea 
 had taken up his position as a partner in the business. 
 Two years after my birth my mother died, and my 
 father, finding that his home was lonely without her, 
 took command of one of the ships of the firm, his 
 widowed sister Fanny, whose husband, Mr. Carter, had 
 been unfortunate in trade, taking charge of his house 
 and Willie and myself. 
 
 For some time my father's ventures had prospered 
 exceedingly ; but there came a time when fire and ship- 
 wreck caused him heavy losses, and he found that he 
 had not sufficient capital to employ more ships than 
 the Petrel. At the time this story commences the 
 Petrel had been launched about three years, and in 
 it my father traded to the coast of Africa on his own 
 account. He was already looking forward to the time 
 when he could turn over her command to my brother, 
 and, giving up the toil of a seafaring life, again settle 
 down in his old house at Bristol on the quayside, where 
 he would see the ships arriving and sailing, loading and 
 discharging their cargo, and by his knowledge of trade 
 find means to start me as well as my brother in a ship 
 of my own. 
 
 My aunt Fanny was a second mother to Willie and 
 myself, and, though a sailor's sister, she had a horror
 
 OFF TO SEA. 27 
 
 of the sea, and often begged my father to give up the 
 Petrel, and earn a living as a merchant, finding some 
 employment for us boys either in his own office or in 
 that of some of his friends, who were numerous and 
 influential. Her entreaties, however, were of little 
 avail ; and if my father did at times show signs of 
 yielding to her arguments, Willie and myself were 
 always in favour of a sailor's life, and carried the day 
 against her. 
 
 During the last voyage of the Petrel, my father, hav- 
 ing visited Kinsimbo, where he had done a good trade 
 with the natives, went as far south as St. Paul de Lo- 
 anda, thinking that perchance at Loanda he might more 
 quickly complete his cargo than he could elsewhere. 
 
 In this he had been greatly favoured; for a few days 
 after he anchored, David Livingstone, a missionary 
 from South Africa, arrived, having penetrated through 
 countries which up to that time had been unknown, 
 and was accompanied by some men belonging to a tribe 
 called Makololo, who were seeking a market for their 
 ivory. This ivory my father was able to purchase at a 
 rate which returned him a fair profit. 
 
 Willie was full of what Livingstone, whom he re- 
 garded as a hero, had gone through, and he told me 
 that even better and more exciting than the life of a 
 sailor was that of a traveller and explorer in Africa. 
 
 " Only fancy, Frank, herds of elephants to be shot ! 
 adventures with lions and all sorts of strange people ! 
 Then Livingstone himself, he is loved by the natives.
 
 28 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 and so doubtless would any man who treated them fairly. 
 Livingstone could well have come home from Loanda, 
 and every one at home would have run after him to 
 hear what he had got to tell ; but to all who urged him 
 to return to England he replied that he had promised 
 Sekeletu, the chief of the Makololo, to take his people 
 back to their homes, and that he could not go back 
 from his plighted word. He had an ox which he rode 
 called Sindbad, and it was as good as any horse. I do 
 wish father would let me try to travel in Africa. There 
 are all sorts of people who come down to the coast with 
 ivory and india-rubber to buy guns, brass rods, beads, 
 and calico, and I am sure that a journey into the in- 
 terior would bring more profit than a dozen voyages to 
 the coast." 
 
 I was quite infected with Willie's African fever, and 
 listened with a greedy ear to all the stories he told me 
 of hunting and shooting which he had picked up from 
 Livingstone's men, and of the bravery and devotion 
 Livingstone had shown. 
 
 These stories and descriptions of different places that 
 the Petrel had visited in her last voyage made the time 
 seem short, and I was almost sorry when the coach 
 drew up in front of the Admiral Nelson. 
 
 " Welcome, Frank," shouted my father, who was wait- 
 ing for us. " Here's Jack Adams," pointing to a seaman 
 who was standing by ; " he will look after your traps, 
 while we will go round by Harris the outfitter's and 
 give orders about your sea-going kit. And then, after
 
 OFF TO SEA. 29 
 
 you've seen your aunt Fanny, you can go on board the 
 Petrel, and Willie will show you where you're to sling 
 your hammock. Her stern is hauled to the quay just 
 abreast of our door. There's no place like Bristol quay 
 for the house of a shipmaster and owner. Now, Will, 
 what sort of report did Mr. Poynter give of the lad ? " 
 
 " A good one, sir," he answered. " And he wound up 
 his school-days well by playing cricket as he had never 
 played before yesterday." 
 
 " That's right, Frank ; whatever you do, do it well. 
 And though you won't have much chance for cricket 
 now, the same qualities which make a boy a good 
 cricket-player are useful to the seaman." 
 
 '' my dear father," I said, " I am so glad to see 
 you again, and to think that I am to go to sea with 
 you, and not be long months without hearing anything 
 of you or Willie." 
 
 " All right ; but I am taking you in my own ship to 
 watch over you and not to pet you. I expect that 
 you, as the captain's son, will be an example to the 
 other apprentices, and mind that the first thing that 
 you've got to learn is to obey orders without any ques- 
 tioning. ' Obey orders and break owners ' is a down- 
 right good maxim." 
 
 "Why, Mr. Poynter told me the same in different 
 words. He said obedience was the thing which was 
 most necessary to me." 
 
 " Yes, lad, and he's right. Now 1 have never found 
 you disobedient, and Aunt Fanny says that though you
 
 30 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 do get into scrapes you are a biddable boy ; but you 
 will have many orders given you which are disagree- 
 able to obey, and which seem foolish. Never question 
 them, but obey at once. You will have to obey Willie, 
 now he is second mate, as well as myself and the chief 
 officer. But here is Harris's shop. Come in and we 
 will look after your kit." 
 
 Mr. Harris, who had known my father for many 
 years, was delighted to see him, and still more pleased 
 when he found that he was to receive a liberal order 
 for my outfit. 
 
 It was amusing to see the various things that he said 
 were absolutely necessary for a young gentleman on 
 going to sea, and which, as Willie said, would, if we 
 had taken them all, have freighted the brig ; but my 
 father soon put much on one side. Among the chiefest 
 of my delights in Mr. Harris's shop, after the all-im- 
 portant orders had been given for my jackets of navy 
 blue with brass buttons and my suit of oilskins and 
 south-wester all complete, was the choosing of a tele- 
 scope ornamented with flags of Marryat's code and a 
 quadrant, which my father said Willie would have to 
 teach me to use as soon as we got to sea. 
 
 From Mr. Harris's shop we made our way to the 
 house on the quayside ; and there Aunt Fanny was 
 waiting to welcome us, and had dinner ready, for 
 which I was well prepared by the drive on the top of 
 the coach from Clifton. But my eagerness to see as 
 much as possible of the Petrel kept me running to the
 
 OFF TO SEA. 31 
 
 window of the room, which was on the first floor, the 
 ground floor being used as offices and sample-rooms, 
 to have a look at her. 
 
 My aunt said, " You will see enough of her, Frank ; 
 sit still now and eat your dinner. I daresay many a 
 time while you are away you will wish yourself in 
 this old house, and long to have as good a meal as 
 you are now neglecting." 
 
 " Perhaps so, aunt ; but I do want to see the Petrel. 
 There is all her cargo coming on shore ; and oh, there 
 are such a lot of tusks of ivory. Father, mayn't I go 
 and look at them ?" 
 
 " Directly, my boy. Willie, you must go and relieve 
 Mr. Hammond [the chief officer]; and be careful how 
 you check the things as they are landed. All the 
 ivory is to go to Messrs. King, and I am going to 
 see if they will advance their price on the oil and 
 rubber. Let Jack Adams take charge of Frank, and 
 teach him something of the masts and rigging." 
 
 " father, I know all the names of the masts, 
 yards, and sails, and can tie lots of sailors' knots." 
 
 " Good, my boy, but you must learn the use of them ; 
 and you cannot go to work to-day as I intend you 
 to, but to-morrow you will have a canvas suit, and 
 then you will begin to really learn to be a sailor." 
 
 Grace being said, I flew downstairs and across to 
 the Petrel, Willie following me in a more leisurely 
 manner suited to his dignity as second mate ; and Mr. 
 Hammond gave over to him the work of superintend-
 
 32 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 ing the discharging cargo; while Jack Adams, who 
 was employed in serving a new set of tacks and sheets. 
 was called from his work to give me my first lesson in 
 practical seamanship. 
 
 " You see," said Jack, " as how in all seamanship and 
 rigging there is a reason ; and though many a man is 
 rated A.B. 'cause he can hand, reef, and steer, heave 
 the lead, and sew a seam, he can get no further, 'cause 
 why he don't know the reason why the helm is put up 
 or down, and only knows his work as Black Bill's 
 parrot knows how to talk without knowing the mean- 
 in' o' what he says, though, maybe, I wrongs old Poll, 
 for as soon as he sees the coppers a-boiling for dinner 
 he sings, ' Hot potatoes,' which he never does afore 
 breakfast or tea. But now I wants you to learn why 
 things is ; and we will go forward in the ship, and 
 take a look at the bowsprit, for that's the principal 
 spar in the ship, and on it others depend." 
 
 I went along with Jack Adams, and was soon deep 
 in the mystery of inner and outer gammonings, bob- 
 stays, bowsprit shrouds, and forestay collars. I thought 
 when I had been once through them that I should 
 remember; but Jack was a thorough seaman, and he 
 said as far as an old tarpaulin's teaching should go I 
 should be one too. 
 
 After a time he was satisfied that I understood the 
 names, uses, and places of the various fittings of the 
 bowsprit, and said, " Now, you must larn how they are 
 put in their place and secured. Our gammoning, you
 
 OFF TO SEA. 33 
 
 see, is covered over with lead, for to presarve it from 
 damage ; and you can't see how it is passed, nor per- 
 ceive the merits of a thorough-put turn. But there's 
 the Mohican, belonging to Mr. King, got her bows into 
 the quay, and they are gammoning her bowsprit. Now 
 you can come and see with me the most important piece 
 of work in fitting out a ship, and which must be done 
 judgematically by a good seaman. Bobstays, fore- 
 stays all your rigging may be well fitted, but if the 
 gammoning is wrong you'll spring your bowsprit to a 
 sartainty ; and why then, you sees, your foremast must 
 follow, and your main-topmast follows that. Gammon- 
 ing, to my mind, is a sort of thing like the heart of 
 the rigging : when it's finished, it's hidden from you ; 
 but if it goes, all goes. So your heart you can't see ; 
 but if your heart's wounded, the man dies. I'm not 
 lamed, but you understand what I means." 
 
 " Certainly. Jack. Where is the Mohican ? Oh, 
 there is that she that ship with a great cask hang- 
 ing from her bowsprit, and some men heaving at a 
 capstan under her bows?" 
 
 " Right. Now we'll go and have a squint at them, 
 and then you will see how the gammoning's passed 
 and secured ; and if you remembers that, why you'll 
 have made a good bit of headway." 
 
 We were soon under the bows of the Mohican; and 
 when her mate, who was superintending the work ? 
 heard from Jack Adams that I was a son of Captain 
 Baldwin, he told me to come up on the knight-heads, 
 
 (85) 3
 
 34 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 and explained everything to me; and when the men 
 knocked off work, I considered that I thoroughly under- 
 stood the mystery of gammoning a bowsprit. 
 
 My father seemed well pleased when I told him how 
 my afternoon had been passed; and next day, in a 
 canvas suit, I was again put under the charge of Jack, 
 and passed the ball for him while he served the tacks 
 and sheets. Afterwards for several days I worked 
 with him in fitting different parts of the rigging; for 
 my father said the only way to become a sailor was 
 to begin at the beginning, and though I was a skip- 
 per's son, I should put my arm in the tar-pot and 
 slush-bucket as well as the other boys belonging to the 
 Petrel. 
 
 At last the cargo which the Petrel had brought 
 home was all discharged, and her hold clean swept; 
 and I was put under the charge of Mr. Hammond, to 
 learn how a hold should be stowed. In the even- 
 ings my father showed specimens of the various 
 articles used in the African trade, and told me where 
 each sort of cloth, bead, wire, or what not, was of 
 value, and for what it should be exchanged. 
 
 The day came when the holds were stowed and the 
 sails bent, and we were all ready for sea. My father 
 arranged for the pilot to come on board for us to sail 
 the next morning ; but, unfortunately, that very same 
 day Mr. Hammond broke his leg, and his berth as mate 
 had to be filled up at a moment's notice. His place 
 was taken by one Simon Pentlea, a Cornish man, who
 
 OFF TO SEA. 35 
 
 had capital papers from the master of the last ship 
 he had sailed in, and who was evidently a thorough 
 seaman. But he was as different in manner as possible 
 from the open-hearted, sunny-tempered Mr. Hammond, 
 being a silent, taciturn man, who never seemed to look 
 one straight in the face, but at the same time man- 
 aged to see all that was going on, and when speaking, 
 one felt as if his shifty eyes were fathoming the very 
 depths of one's heart and spying out one's inmost 
 thoughts. 
 
 My father had not time to make further inquiries 
 into the antecedents of Mr. Pentlea, who said all his 
 other papers were at his home in an outlying village 
 in Cornwall, where the post seldom went, and that it 
 would be impossible for him to say how soon he would 
 be able to get them ; and as he had not sailed out 
 of Bristol before, he could give no references in that 
 town. However, as the papers he had from the master 
 of the British Queen of Liverpool, which had been 
 engaged in the West African trade, said he had given 
 full satisfaction for two years, and fully understood 
 the African trade, and was acquainted with the differ- 
 ent anchorages in the Bight of Benin, my father 
 thought himself lucky to be able at once to secure so 
 good a substitute for Mr. Hammond. 
 
 Nothing worthy of note happened during our de- 
 parture, and a fresh easterly wind carried us out of 
 the Bristol Channel, past Lundy, and well out to sea 
 beyond the Admiralty Bank. I was not at all sea-
 
 36 OFF TO SEA. 
 
 sick, and I was delighted to see the Petrel, with all 
 her snowy canvas set, slipping through the water, and 
 passing a number of colliers and coasting craft, and 
 I felt very proud of being one of her crew. 
 
 The Petrel, indeed, was a vessel of which any one 
 might be proud. For a brig, she was a very large 
 craft, being three hundred and fifty tons burden, and 
 a very handsome one into the bargain ; and my father 
 insisted on her being kept in such perfect order that 
 she was often taken for a man-of-war, and as she 
 carried four twelve-pound carronades on either side the 
 mistake was a very natural one. The crew consisted 
 of my father, the two mates, Simon Pentlea and my 
 brother, and sixteen men before the mast, including Jack 
 Adams, who was called the boatswain ; Sam Peters, 
 who was sailmaker ; the cook, Black Bill, who had 
 many years before been picked up on part of the 
 wreck of a slaver by my father ; Tom Sentall, the car- 
 penter ; besides myself and another apprentice, James 
 Harris, whom we always called Jimmy Duds, and a 
 steward, a black Sierra Leone man, named Augustus 
 Warspite, the latter name being that of a man-of-war 
 which had captured a Spanish slaver, of which he 
 formed part of the cargo. My father, with Willie and 
 Mr. Pentlea, had berths in the cabin, which was right 
 aft; and forward of this was an open space bulk- 
 headed off from the hold, which was called the trade- 
 room, and here Adams, Peters, Sentall, Jimmy Duds, 
 and I had our chests, and messed and slept. Black
 
 OFF TO SEA. 37 
 
 Bill and Augustus had a berth each in the galley, 
 which was on deck just forward of two large surf- 
 boats which we carried on skids before the mainmast. 
 The rest of the men had their berths below forward ; 
 but there was a fine roomy top-gallant forecastle, 
 under which they could sleep in the tropics, whilst 
 aft there was a small monkey-poop running ten feet 
 from the taffrail, which was useful for the officers in 
 hot weather. Besides the surf-boats, we carried two 
 cutters and a gig; and as is the good custom in the 
 Bristol trade, there was a library on board, which 
 was kept in a cupboard in the trade-room, and which 
 my father put under my charge. We were also pro- 
 visioned differently from ordinary merchant-ships, many 
 little extra luxuries being provided, to cheer the lot of 
 the men during the monotonous days that must be spent 
 off the African coast in waiting for trade. 
 
 All the men were regular Bristol men, and the work 
 went easy enough, for every man pulled his pound; 
 and though I had just the same work to do as Jimmy 
 Duds, and had to stand my watch and take my turn 
 at the look-out, and always in my watch to help in 
 furling and loosing the upper sails, yet my father found 
 time for me to learn how to use my quadrant and to 
 teach me navigation.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 * 
 
 OUR voyage to the West Coast was unchequered by 
 any incident. We ran past Madeira and Teneriffe, 
 and sighting Cape Verde and Sierra Leone, we first 
 anchored off Solymah, a place on the African coast, 
 where my father left some goods on trust, the country 
 produce in payment for which was to be ready for 
 us on our return. The chiefs with whom he traded, 
 he said, could be thoroughly relied on, though the}^ 
 also had many dealings with slave-traders. The next 
 place off which we anchored was Cape Mount, where 
 Captain Caillaud, a notorious slave - trader, had his 
 head-quarters, and where our appearance at first caused 
 a scare on board two Spanish schooners which were 
 lying there, and which, as soon as we hove in sight, 
 made sail and got under way. But when they saw that 
 we did not chase them, they lay -to in the offing ; and 
 signals being made to them from Caillaud's barracoons 
 that we were not to be feared, they returned to the 
 anchorage and came-to alongside of us.
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 41 
 
 I was very much excited at seeing real slavers, and 
 examined them long and closely through my spy -glass. 
 They were both most beautiful craft, long and low ; 
 and though their black hulls were unrelieved by any 
 stripe or colour, they were most carefully kept, and 
 their masts, spars, and sails were in perfect order. To 
 look at them one would have thought that, instead of 
 being devoted to that most detestable trade in human 
 beings, they were the floating homes of some enthu- 
 siastic yachtsmen. 
 
 As I was watching them, I saw the one nearest to 
 us lower a gig, which, when it was manned, came 
 alongside of us. A man dressed in a striped shirt 
 and white trousers, with a scarlet silk sash round his 
 waist, in which were a brace of pistols and a long 
 dagger, came up on deck, and in broken English asked 
 to speak with our captain. My father asked what 
 he might want, and he said he had been sent to 
 inquire if we could supply them with any stores for 
 their cabin, for which he would pay in Spanish doub- 
 loons. At first my father said that he did not wish 
 to have any dealings with people engaged in the slave- 
 trade ; but the Spaniard told him that it was a question 
 of must, for if he did not let them have what was 
 wanted willingly, in which case he would be paid, and 
 paid handsomely, the Santa Maria, as his vessel was 
 called, and her consort the Santiago were quite strong 
 enough to help themselves. 
 
 My father saw that there was nothing for it but to
 
 42 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 make the best of a bad bargain ; and while he was 
 talking to his unwelcome visitor, Mr. Pentlea, who 
 had been forward on the forecastle attending to some 
 work, came aft, and we were all astonished to find 
 that he was recognized by the Spaniard, who at once 
 addressed him in Spanish, and to whom he replied in 
 the same language. 
 
 " Hallo, Mr. Pentlea," said my father. " Do you 
 know this person ; and can you talk Spanish ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. For some time I was on board an Ameri- 
 can schooner which traded between New Orleans and 
 Mobile and Cuba, and Spanish was necessary to us ; 
 and Senhor Camacho here I often met at the Havana 
 and Santiago de Cuba. But then he was in an honest 
 craft, and had nothing to do with slaving." 
 
 " Very well. I do not like to have anything to do 
 with people in the slave-trade, but this is a case of 
 necessity; so, as you understand his lingo, will you find 
 out what he wants, and we will get through with the 
 business as soon as may be." 
 
 Camacho and Pentlea had a long conversation, and 
 the latter took down a list of the articles which the 
 slavers required ; and as we could spare them without 
 difficulty, orders were at once given for the hold to be 
 opened and to get them on deck. 
 
 I went down with Jack Adams to assist in slinging 
 some of the casks and bales that had to come up ; and 
 when he was down below, he said to me, so as not to 
 be overheard by an} T body,
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 43 
 
 " I knows as how it ain't my place to remark on an 
 officer, but that Jack Spaniard talking to the mate 
 ain't after no good ; and though I can't manage to 
 parleyvoo in Spanish, I haven't been in the West 
 Indies and South America for nothing, and I can man- 
 age to get the bearings of a word now and again, and 
 I'm sartain sure that all that palaver that those two 
 has been having was not all about these here stores. 
 As far as I could fix it, he was asking how this craft 
 of ours sails, and what ports we were bound for. In 
 course these questions were no more than one friend 
 might ask another ; but there were no need for the 
 Spaniard to write 'em down as he did, and I'm out of 
 my reckonings altogether if Mr. Pentlea and the Span- 
 iard don't know more of each other than they says." 
 
 " What do you suppose they want ? Do you think 
 the slavers will attack us ? Why, our carronades 
 would beat them off easy." 
 
 " No ; Caillaud here won't allow no piracy near his 
 head-quarters. He slaves surely, but in all other 
 matters he is an honest gentleman. But, bless you, 
 they schooners carries a long eighteen or maybe a 
 thirty-two pounder, and they could keep to windward 
 out of range of our guns, and just do what they like. 
 I don't suppose they want to put their necks in a 
 noose ; but trouble they may give us, and it's my 
 opinion they means to do it." 
 
 " What can we do ?" 
 
 " Why, nothing much ; but just you tell your father
 
 44 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 to keep his weather eye lifting, and not trust Mr. 
 Pentlea too much." 
 
 " Very well ; I will do so." 
 
 We soon had the required stores ready, and Camacho 
 returned with a boat to take them away, and with the 
 promised doubloons he paid the prices asked without 
 any bargaining. At the same time messages came 
 from the shore which decided my father not to have 
 any trade at Cape Mount ; and he gave orders to pre- 
 pare to get under way to proceed to Cape Palmas. 
 There he intended to ship the Kruboys who are al- 
 ways taken on board ships trading on the West Coast 
 of Africa, to work the surf -boats and do all work which 
 would expose the white men of the crew to the sun and 
 night-dews, and thus risk their health and lives. 
 
 We hove short by sunset, and set the topsails. The 
 land-breeze coming off soon after midnight, we weighed 
 and steered eastward, keeping sufficiently far off the 
 shore to avoid the dangers. When the sun rose we 
 could see the tree-clad line of coast with the surf beat- 
 ing on it, diversified by the native villages and the 
 more pretentious towns of the Liberian Republic. The 
 land-breeze had now died away, and we were drifting 
 along with the east-going current ; but soon after ten 
 o'clock the sea-breeze began to set in, and we were 
 soon running along about seven knots, with all plain 
 sail and the starboard fore-topmast studding-sail set. 
 
 When the sail was made and trimmed, my father 
 called me to come under the monkey-poop for my
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 47 
 
 daily lesson in navigation ; and I was able to tell him 
 what Jack Adams had said to me the day before about 
 Mr. Pentlea and Camacho. At first he laughed, and 
 said that Jack Adams was a suspicious old sea-dog; 
 but just as he was saying this, Black Bill the cook 
 came aft, under pretext of speaking to my father about 
 killing a pig, but when he saw that there was no one 
 within hearing distance he said, 
 
 " Please, Capen Baldwin, me tink that Massa Pent- 
 lea bad man for true. What time me lib slave-ship, 
 dat Camacho he be one ossifer, and he be bery bad ; 
 and now when me catch see him and Massa Pentlea 
 make palaver, me tink one, two times, and den me 
 remember dat Massa Pentlea he lib for come aboard 
 slave-ship plenty time what time we lib in river where 
 me bought." 
 
 " Nonsense, man," said my father ; " you are dream- 
 ing. Do you mean Mr. Pentlea was a slaver?" 
 
 " Me no sabey for true ; but when we lib Bristol, 
 and Massa Pentlea come aboard, me tink me see dat 
 man before; but though me tink plenty much no catch 
 sabey where me see him, and so me no peak ; but now 
 me remember he plenty time come on board slaver." 
 
 " Very well, Bill. Have you told any one about 
 this ?" 
 
 " No, sah ; me tink only good tell capen. 'Spose tell 
 all men, dey make plenty palaver ; and quick one time 
 Massa Pentlea catch sabey me sabey him." 
 
 " That's right, Bill ; don't you tell any one. And,
 
 48 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 Frank, mind not a word to any one about this, not 
 even to Willie, for I will tell him myself. Yes, Bill, 
 you can kill the pig. I daresay we shall see some 
 Bristol craft to-day, and they will be glad of a fresh 
 bit of English pork." 
 
 Bill went away, and soon we heard the screams of 
 the pig having its throat cut ; and my father told me 
 that my lesson for the day was over, and that I was 
 to tell Mr. Pentlea that he wanted him. I ran and 
 did as I was told; and then, having put away my 
 books, I climbed up to the fore-topmast cross-trees to 
 look at the land as we were running past it, and at the 
 fishing-canoes and small country sailing-boats, many 
 of which were quite close to us. The native villages 
 with their round thatched huts, and the people on the 
 strip of yellow beach, I could easily make out through 
 my telescope ; and after a little I observed the masts 
 and yards of some vessels at anchor, and hailed Willie, 
 who was in charge of the deck, to tell him. 
 
 When we drew near, we made out that they were 
 Bristol traders like ourselves. We took in the top- 
 mast studding-sail and royals, and hauling up the 
 courses, hove-to just to windward of the first of them. 
 Soon her captain was on board, and glad to get a 
 budget of letters and a leg of the pig Black Bill had 
 killed; and then, when he had in return told my 
 father the news of the coast, we filled again and 
 stood on to the next, and for the whole afternoon 
 we were passing by and communicating with Bristol
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 49 
 
 traders, at that time entirely dependent for news of 
 the world on the arrival of one of their own number 
 from Europe, except when occasionally one of the squad- 
 ron engaged in the suppression of the slave-trade had 
 later news than they themselves. 
 
 To me it was intensely interesting to see all the 
 brigs, barques, and ships lying at anchor, with their 
 awnings spread, and the boats belonging to them 
 manned by Kruboys, naked, except for a scanty cloth 
 round their waists, and to hear them chattering in 
 their Kru English, which every one speaks to them, 
 and which, though it may not conform to the rules of 
 Lindley Murray, has the advantage of being expres- 
 sive, forcible, and easy of comprehension. 
 
 At last we had nearly finished our mail-distributing 
 for the day, when we saw, about four miles ahead of 
 us, a large ship flying a signal for us to speak with her. 
 
 We hove-to about a quarter of a mile to windward, 
 and her boat came alongside of us just before we drifted 
 down abreast ; and in her there was no white man, but 
 only Kruboys. One of them, scrambling up the side, 
 came to my father and said, 
 
 " Please, sah, bring book from capen ob Empress. 
 All white man lib for be sick, and two, tree lib for die. 
 No catch medicine plenty soon, all man die." 
 
 My father tore open the letter, which was written 
 by the master of the ship Empress of Liverpool, and 
 which said that all the white men on board were 
 down with fever, and that only the day before two 
 
 (85) 4
 
 50 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 had died, and he begged for some medicine to be sent, 
 so that those who survived might have a chance for 
 their lives. 
 
 My father gave the word to fill and reach up close 
 to the Empress, and shortening sail, anchored a short 
 distance to windward of her. Then having selected 
 such medicines as might be useful, he went on board 
 the Empress to see what he could do for the fever- 
 stricken crew. 
 
 He came back in an hour and said he had found 
 that the captain and officers were new to the coast, 
 and had neglected many precautions, but that, as there 
 were enough Krumen on board to work the ship 
 properly, he had advised the captain to get under 
 way and beat slowly to windward, which would soon 
 blow the fever out of the ship. The bark and quinine 
 he had been able to leave with them would, he had 
 no doubt, set most of her English crew on their feet 
 again. 
 
 As soon as he came on board he gave orders to 
 weigh and make sail ; and then leaving Mr. Pentlea 
 in charge of the deck, he told Willie and myself to 
 come into the cabin, as he wished to speak with us 
 about what he had seen on board the Empress. 
 
 As soon as we were in the cabin he said, " My boys, 
 I wish now at once, while it is fresh in my mind, to 
 tell you of the state of that ship, and how it could 
 have been avoided. Her captain is a smart young 
 fellow, but he has never been on this coast before, and
 
 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 51 
 
 he thought that he could manage here as he had done 
 in other parts of the world, and has not followed out 
 the rules laid down for him by his owners. When his 
 men got down and dispirited from the climate and 
 fever, he thought he would pull them up by giving 
 them more rum than the usual allowance, and the con- 
 sequences have been fatal." 
 
 Having said this, our father gave us a regular 
 lecture on keeping the ship and men clean, avoiding 
 chills and night -dews, and opened out to us all the 
 knowledge he had gained during an experience of the 
 West Coast of Africa of over thirty years. When he 
 had finished this he said : " I have other and perhaps 
 more immediately important matters to speak to you 
 about. Frank knows something of it, for he told me 
 what Jack Adams said to him on the subject, and was 
 also here when Black Bill told me that he had seen the 
 mate on board the ship in which he was taken from 
 his native country. I am afraid that we shall have to 
 watch Mr. Pentlea very carefully; for though I did 
 not think much of what Jack Adams said, and even if 
 Black Bill had seen him on board the slaver it might 
 have happened without much loss of character to him 
 for I am sorry to say many of our traders do not 
 mind having dealings with the Spaniards and Portu- 
 guese who form the crews of most of the slavers 
 still I am now afraid that he has actually been a slaver 
 himself. For the captain of the Empress, who recog- 
 nized him through his glass, said that the reason he
 
 52 UNPLEASANT NEWS. 
 
 left Liverpool and did not get a ship there was that 
 though he had done very well in the British Queen, 
 there were stories afloat about him with regard to his 
 having been a regular slaver before he sailed in her ; 
 indeed, even whilst he was in her he was supposed 
 to have been in communication with some of his old 
 companions, and to have furnished them with informa- 
 tion as to the whereabouts of British men-of-war, and 
 otherwise to have made himself useful to them. Now 
 I cannot say that there is any truth in this, but as we 
 shall visit some very little frequented places where 
 usually the only vessels seen are slavers, he may play 
 us some trick with them, and we must watch him very 
 closely. I can't get rid of him now and even if I 
 could, I have no one to take his place so you must 
 both help me to watch him carefully. Mind, you must 
 neither of you say a word of this to any one not even 
 to Jack Adams or Black Bill." 
 
 " All right, father," we both answered at once ; and 
 then saying good-night, we went off to our berths to 
 turn in for the night.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 BREEZES and current both favouring us, we soon 
 arrived off Cape Palmas, where we were to ship our 
 Kruboys. The advent of the brig flying my father's 
 flag (black with a red diamond in the middle) was 
 the signal for the whole sea to be covered with Kru 
 canoes paddling off in the hopes that their occupants 
 might be engaged on board. How the little narrow 
 craft managed to come across the surf which we saw 
 rolling in on the beach was a wonder to me. It was 
 curious to see the way in which the black fellows 
 managed their tiny canoes. If in their struggle to get 
 alongside these were capsized, they managed instantly to 
 right them and empty the water out of them ; and all 
 the time they kept on crying out that they were the 
 right men, and those who had already managed to clam- 
 ber on board were "bad mans, tiefs, and niggers," 
 the last term being the most opprobrious of all the 
 epithets comprised in their vocabulary. 
 
 At first they overran the whole upper deck, shouting
 
 54 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 and bawling and finding out their old friends among 
 the crew, and begging odds and ends from Black Bill 
 in the galley. On my father recognizing one of the 
 men who had sailed with him before, he called to 
 him and asked where his old head-man Frying Pan 
 was. 
 
 " Frying Pan, sah, lib for make country ; yam time, 
 sah." 
 
 " What for he go country when Petrel come ? " 
 
 " Oh, he no sabey Petrel lib for come ; but one, two 
 hour he catch." 
 
 " Yes, one, two hour, and all men make plenty 
 bobbery." 
 
 " Me sabey you no like bobbery plenty much. S'pose 
 you make sure Frying Pan head-man one time, me 
 make bobbery plenty quiet." 
 
 " What, you, Bottle of Beer ! they won't listen to 
 you." 
 
 "Plenty true, sah, Bottle of Beer picaninny no 
 sabey stop bobbery; but Frying Pan brother, Flying 
 Jib, him lib and be head-man for true: he make 
 palaver plenty strong bobbery stop one time." 
 
 " Very well ; call Flying Jib. Where is he ? " 
 
 "He lib for canoe," answered Bottle of Beer; and 
 jumping overboard, he swam to a canoe in which a tall 
 Kruman was sitting, being paddled by two others. 
 
 As soon as Bottle of Beer told this man, who was 
 Flying Jib, that he was wanted, he put his canoe along- 
 side, and springing into the main chains, clambered
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 55 
 
 over the nettings, and coming to where my father was 
 standing, pulled off a very dilapidated tall hat, which 
 was his only article of clothing besides a handkerchief 
 round his waist, and said, 
 
 " Marnin', capen ; what you wish ? " 
 
 " Why your brother no lib for come ? You sabey 
 I no like bobbery in my ship. Plenty boy make 
 bobbery." 
 
 " Frying Pan lib for him small country, catch yam. 
 One time see capen flag, me send boy, run tell him 
 Petrel libs." 
 
 " All right ; now tell those fellows to be quiet. Clear 
 out all but your own and Frying Pan's men." 
 
 "All right, sah," said Flying Jib; and with Bottle 
 of Beer and some other men whom he called to him, 
 they drove the majority of the Kruboys overboard, 
 where they soon regained their canoes and paddled 
 after the brig until she came to an anchor. 
 
 Flying Jib's boys now furled sails, squared yards, 
 and coiled down ropes; and just as they were finished 
 Frying Pan himself came off. He had dressed himself 
 somewhat for his appearance on board the Petrel, and 
 had on a tall hat ornamented with peacock's feathers, 
 a sailor's shirt and trousers, and round his neck a brass 
 chain, from which hung a plate on which was engraved, 
 " Frying Pan, Captain Baldwin's head Kruman," and of 
 which he seemed very proud. 
 
 " How now, Frying Pan?" said my father; " why you 
 no be here one time when ship come ? "
 
 56 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 "Sorry, sah, but lib for small country; now catch 
 tree wive, and he make plant yam/' 
 
 " All right now ; make your boys fall in and I will 
 see whom we will take." 
 
 "Bery good; see two surf -boat lib. He want ten 
 men for each and one bosun dat be two tens and two 
 bosuns ; now for work hold ten men dat be tree ten ; 
 and want tree cook." 
 
 " Yes, I want thirty men, and you can have two 
 bosuns ; but you must make the men cook for them- 
 selves." 
 
 " Bery good. Here, Fore-topsl, you catch ten men ; 
 Billy Barlow, you catch ten ; and me catch ten myself." 
 
 Soon Frying Pan, with his two "bosuns," had the 
 thirty men required ranged on the quarter-deck ; and 
 my father told me to write all their names down after 
 he had inspected them and seen that none of them were 
 suffering from guinea-worm or any other illness. 
 
 My list of names, as might be expected from those 
 we have already heard, was a curious one. Among 
 them there were Fore-topsail and Billy Barlow, the 
 two " bosuns " as they were called, who were to be cox- 
 swains of the surf-boats, our old acquaintance Bottle 
 of Beer, Two Glass, Billy Duff, Liverpool Jack, Bristol 
 Tom, Sunday, Mexican Joe, and Little Billy, the last 
 being over six feet in height. As soon as they were 
 entered they turned to work at once ; and Flying Jib, 
 having received a "dash" or present and a glass of 
 grog, left the ship.
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 57 
 
 The two surf-boats were got out and hoisted up to 
 davits which were shipped for them. On either side of 
 the waist and awning ridge ropes were rove and awn- 
 ings spread, and the Petrel assumed her regular African 
 appearance, derricks being got up over the fore and 
 main hatches for getting cargo in and out, while Frying 
 Pan's own canoe was lashed under the main-chains. 
 
 The Kruboys had a cooking place made for them 
 out of a large shallow box full of sand, in which they 
 could light a fire to boil their rations of rice, which 
 formed their principal food, and which was supple- 
 mented by biscuits and small quantities of salt fish 
 and salt pork which had been shipped specially for 
 their use. 
 
 As soon as all had shaken down and the Kruboys 
 had been told off into their watches, we got under way 
 again for Whydah, which was the next port we were 
 to call at, and where we arrived without any incident 
 worthy of notice. 
 
 The English portion of the crew were now principally 
 employed in overhauling sails and other light and easy 
 work. The only work connected with sailing the ship 
 which now fell to their lot was taking the weather 
 helm and heaving the lead, and in this latter duty the 
 leadsman was assisted by a Kruman, who hauled in the 
 lead for him after it had been hove. 
 
 Off Whydah we found four or five ships at anchor, 
 and one of the brigs of the West African squadron. 
 Soon after we anchored, my father went on shore in
 
 58 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 one of the surf-boats, steered by Fore-topsail, to see 
 the agent in charge of the factory with which he was 
 in the habit of doing business, while Willie and I were 
 told to prepare the customs for the King of Dahomey, 
 and the presents for the caboceers in charge of the beach 
 at Whydah. 
 
 My father had not left the ship above half an hour 
 before Mr. Pentlea ordered the other surf-boat to be 
 manned, saying that he was going on shore too. This 
 astonished Willie very much, as he knew that our 
 father was very particular that the chief officer should 
 not be on shore at the same time as himself ; and he 
 ventured to say as much to Mr. Pentlea, who told him 
 that it was all right, and that he had something to do 
 on shore for which he had received the captain's 
 permission. 
 
 Of course Willie could say nothing, and came back to 
 me in the trade-room, where we had several bales open, 
 selecting different kinds of cloth for the king and cabo- 
 ceers ; and Jack Adams, who was busy with us, said, 
 
 " I can't fathom this nohow. I know Captain Bald- 
 win would never give leave for the mate to be ashore, 
 especially in a place like Whydah, when he is out of 
 the ship himself." 
 
 " Well, Jack," said Willie, " what can I do ? While 
 the captain is out of the ship I must obey Mr. Pentlea's 
 orders." 
 
 "That's true; but you might send a note to the 
 captain, sir."
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 51) 
 
 " Certainly, I can do that." 
 
 Willie at once went to the cabin with the intention 
 of writing a letter to our father ; but Mr. Pentlea, see- 
 ing him going in, said, " What are you going into the 
 cabin for ? go and attend to your work ; " and a few 
 minutes afterwards he sent Willie and myself aloft to 
 the fore and main topmast cross-trees to examine, as 
 he said, the eyes of the topmast rigging. 
 
 While we were still aloft he got into the surf-boat, 
 into which he had four bales of valuable cloth put, 
 and shoved off; and from aloft both Willie and I could 
 see that the boat was making for quite a different part 
 of the beach from that where the factory to which our 
 father had gone was situated. 
 
 As soon as he had left we both came down from aloft 
 and went to the cabin, which we found locked. We 
 sent for Warspite the steward, who said that on coming 
 into the cabin to ask if Mr. Pentlea required anything 
 before going on shore, he was told to go forward and 
 mind his own business. 
 
 Willie and I were very much puzzled what to do, 
 for evidently Mr. Pentlea had taken the key of the 
 cabin with him, and wherever he was going he certainly 
 was not going to see our father. In our dilemma, 
 we called Jack Adams and Sam Peters to advise 
 with us, and after some consideration we determined 
 that I should go over the stern in a bowline, and 
 through the stern-posts take a survey of the cabin. 
 I could see, when I looked in, that all the doors
 
 60 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 of the berths were fastened, but that evidently the 
 lockers round the stern had been overhauled and 
 ransacked. 
 
 I tried to get in through a stern-port, but found that 
 I was too big to manage it, and called to Willie to have 
 me hauled up again ; and when I was on the poop, 
 I reported the results of my examination. We now 
 thought that the best thing to do would be to break 
 open the cabin door ; and Sentall the carpenter bring- 
 ing his tools, we soon effected an entrance, and found a 
 scene of confusion which far surpassed what I had ex- 
 pected from my glimpse through the port. 
 
 All the drawers and lockers had been opened, and 
 their contents were strown in all directions, and a chest 
 in which my father kept his money and the ship's 
 papers had been emptied of its contents. 
 
 " How can I send to my father ? " said Willie. " The 
 blackguard has robbed us, and with both surf-boats 
 away we cannot send ashore." 
 
 "Surely, sir," said Sam Peters, "you have Frying 
 Pan's canoe; he can take a piece of paper ashore in 
 that." 
 
 " Certainly, I had not thought of it ; pass the word 
 for Frying Pan." 
 
 Frying Pan soon came, and seeing the state of the 
 cabin, said, 
 
 " Dat mate be bad tief man ; me always tink him bad." 
 
 " That may be, Frying Pan," answered Willie ; " but 
 now I want you take book one time to captain."
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 61 
 
 Frying Pan ran up on deck at once, and by the time 
 Willie had written the letter (or book as the Krumen 
 called it) his canoe was in the water, and with Bottle 
 of Beer as his companion, he was ready to start to tell 
 our father of the desertion of Simon and his stealing 
 the contents of his chest. 
 
 We had caused a watch to be kept on Pentlea from 
 the mast-heads, and the sharp eyes of the Kruboys who 
 were intrusted with this duty made out that on 
 landing he went straight up to a large factory- 
 flying the Portuguese flag, and that the surf-boat 
 was hauled up and there were no signs of her coming 
 off again. 
 
 As soon as Frying Pan had started we began to try 
 to put things in order, and soon found that Pentlea 
 had been malicious as well as a thief, for the ship's 
 chronometer and barometer were both broken ; and we 
 found that Camacho's doubloons, as well as a consider- 
 able sum in English gold which my father had in the 
 chest, had been taken. 
 
 " I suppose we shall be able to catch him," I said. 
 
 "No, sir," said Sam Peters; "that factory he has 
 gone to is a regular slaving-shop, and he will be away 
 to Lagos or Porto Novo before the captain can get the 
 caboceers to look for him." 
 
 " Well, what must we do, Willie ? " I said. 
 
 " We can do nothing except get things as straight as 
 we can, and then go on with what we were doing before 
 the blackguard bolted. Look here ; he has even broken
 
 62 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 
 
 open my desk and stolen my watch and what little 
 money I had locked up ! " 
 
 " He certainly made the most of his time ; he can't 
 have had more than ten minutes to himself here." 
 
 Warspite was told to get order restored in the cabin ; 
 and Willie and I returned to the trade-room, where we 
 found that the four bales we had seen passed into the 
 boat were composed of very costly silks which were 
 intended specially for presents to big chiefs, and which 
 had been brought there for us to select presents for the 
 King of Dahomey and his caboceers. 
 
 Jack Adams and Sam Peters came down to us, and 
 they said they thought we should have stopped Pentlea 
 from leaving the ship. " But then," they said, " he gave 
 his orders, and no one could disobey him." 
 
 " It's no use crying over spilt milk," said my brother. 
 " I could not have gone against the mate's orders, and 
 none of us could know what he was doing in the 
 cabin." 
 
 While we were discussing the flight of Pentlea and 
 sorting the cloths according to a list left for us by my 
 father, Warspite came running into the trade -room, 
 bringing with him a couple of small manuscript books 
 which he said he had found in Pentlea's berth, and which 
 contained a number of entries about anchorages in the 
 bights and oil rivers, and also about the Gaboon and 
 Congo, with notes about the numbers of slaves shipped 
 at different places. 
 
 " Why, the man is a regular slaver ! See in this book
 
 ROBBERY AND DESERTION. 63 
 
 there are names of ships and their captains. Why, there 
 are all the vessels of the squadron which are steamers, 
 and which can sail best off and on a wind ; and, hallo ! 
 here is a full description of the Petrel and a list of the 
 places we are going to." 
 
 I looked over Willie's shoulder as he turned the leaves 
 of the books over, and saw that evidently these were 
 memoranda of what Pentlea had considered the capa- 
 bilities of our brig, and among them he had noted that 
 she might easily carry two hundred and fifty slaves. 
 
 " What ! does he intend to take her ? " I said. 
 
 " Never mind," said Sam Peters, " forewarned is fore- 
 armed ; and I don't think that any Jack Spaniards of 
 the lot will be able to take a Bristol brig manned by 
 Bristol men." 
 
 " Just you two keep this quiet," said Willie to Peters 
 and Adams; "and you, Warspite, if you say a word 
 about it you'll be sent to work with the Kruboys." 
 
 Just as he said this the look-out men hailed that the 
 captain was coming off, and we were very glad to think 
 that he would soon be among us and able to judge for 
 himself what should be done.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 
 
 As soon as my father came on board he said, " Why, 
 what is all this ? where is Pentlea gone, and what does 
 your letter mean ? " 
 
 We soon told him of how Simon Pentlea had left, 
 and the condition in which we had found the cabin 
 when we broke into it. On looking round, he said 
 that matters might have been much worse ; for though 
 the doubloons Camacho had given for the stores and 
 some fifty pounds in English money had been stolen, 
 the mate had not found out the place where he kept 
 his greatest store of coin, nor yet where the corals and 
 valuable beads worth five hundred pounds were kept. 
 Altogether with the cloth and the money that had been 
 taken the loss would amount to two hundred pounds. 
 But the breaking of the chronometer and barometer 
 was a serious matter, as he did not see how they could 
 be replaced. As night was now coming on, we could 
 not lodge a complaint with the caboceer of the beach 
 before morning ; and it was much to be feared Pentlea
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 65 
 
 would have cleared out before then. As for obtaining 
 any satisfaction from his slave-dealing friends, that was 
 not to be expected at all. 
 
 As it was there was nothing to do but to put the 
 cabin straight and wait for the morning. My father 
 then went on shore again, and this time took me with 
 him, as he said I could be useful to him in writing 
 down the goods he was selling and the produce he was 
 to receive for them. 
 
 I was delighted with the idea of a run ashore, and 
 dressed myself in clean white clothes, and was going into 
 the boat, when Fore-topsail, who was boatswain of the 
 one we were going to land in, said, " Why, massa, s'pose 
 water come in boat where white kit be." I ran down 
 again for my waterproof, which I was going to put 
 on, but I was stopped by Willie, who said I should 
 only put it over my shoulders, so that if the boat should 
 capsize I should be clear of it at once. 
 
 We shoved off from the ship, the Kruboys sitting at 
 the sides of the boat looking forward, and as they 
 dashed their paddles into the water, striking up a 
 wild song to which they kept time, Fore-topsail stood 
 up aft and steered with an oar, giving them occasional 
 bits of solo I was going to say melody, but to an 
 Englishman the vocalism of these fellows did not pos- 
 sess melody. 
 
 The boat creaked with the strain of the paddling, 
 and seemed to fly over the glassy surface of the swell 
 which was rolling in toward the beach, and I thought 
 
 (85) 5
 
 66 A BUN ASHORE. 
 
 that in a minute or two more we should be on shore. 
 Suddenly Fore-topsail ordered the men to be quiet, 
 and my father said, "Now, my lad, sit as quiet as 
 possible, and if the boat does capsize, mind the first 
 thing you have to do is to get clear of her, and then 
 trust yourself to the boys, and they will bring you safe 
 on shore." 
 
 This gave me the first real idea that I had had that 
 crossing a surf was really dangerous. Though I had 
 been told all sorts of yarns about boats capsizing and 
 accidents in the surf, and had hoped, in the way that 
 boys always do hope for adventures, that I might see 
 something of the kind and be the hero of one, yet I 
 had not thought that it was to come so soon. When 
 I saw the huge rollers in front of us, and heard the 
 roar of the surf as it dashed on the beach, I began then 
 to wish that some one else might be the hero of a cap- 
 size instead of myself. 
 
 I sat quiet, as my father told me, and watched Fore- 
 topsail, who carefully scanned the rollers coming in 
 mountains high, and seeming as if they would swallow 
 up our boat altogether. The men paddled gently along, 
 and then suddenly began to back at a word from Fore- 
 topsail, and when we were lifted up on the top of a 
 great billow, they held their paddles out of the water, 
 ready to paddle like mad at the right moment. 
 
 Before us was a great gulf, and we seemed to slide 
 back on the shoulder of the wave that fell down in 
 front of us with a surge and a crash. The men dashed
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 67 
 
 their paddles into the water, and we were hurried 
 along at railway speed, with foaming water flying all 
 around us, and Fore-topsail straining at his oar to keep 
 us straight. Little by little the flying water left us 
 astern, and another huge billow rose threatening be- 
 hind. We again backed to let it pass us before it 
 began to curl over before .breaking. In this we were 
 successful, and again came a plunge and a dash and 
 a hurrying along like a whirlwind. I entirely lost all 
 idea of fear. The motion of boat and water, and the 
 voices of the men urging each other to strain their 
 muscles to the utmost, were most exhilarating. I 
 could have wished that the lines of breakers through 
 which we had to pass had been five times as numerous 
 as they were, and I was sorry when at last we touched 
 ground. 
 
 The moment the bow of the boat touched the beach 
 the Kruboys, throwing their paddles overboard, jumped 
 into the water, and seizing hold of the gunwale, ran us 
 up high and dry on the beach out of the reach of the 
 waves. 
 
 My father, who had watched me carefully during our 
 passage through the breakers, said, " You'll do, my boy. 
 What do you think of an African beach now ?" 
 
 " Why, father, it is lovely. I don't know anything 
 more delightful than flying in on the back of a wave as 
 we did." 
 
 "Yes, it's delightful, certainly, but it's dangerous. 
 But now we must make haste to see if we can find any-
 
 68 A RUN ASHORE. 
 
 thing of that fellow Pentlea. You, Fore-topsail, tell 
 four men to carry those things," pointing to some 
 packages of samples, " to Mr. Macarthy's factory ; and 
 send two men to Billy Barlow and tell him to let his 
 men bring his boat along the beach to where yours is, 
 and come himself to me at the factory." 
 
 The beach at Whydah was a curious sight to me. 
 There were boats belonging to the different ships in the 
 roads loading and discharging cargo ; pigs and turkey- 
 buzzards revelling in filth and garbage of all descrip- 
 tions; gangs of slaves working under the orders of 
 the officials of the king ; Dahoman soldiers with flint- 
 lock muskets, and men, black and white, mounted on 
 little spirited ponies; the large factories of the European 
 traders with their stockaded yards, those of the slave- 
 dealers being distinguished by large barracoons attached 
 to them ; and the native town, which was a regular 
 jumble of huts of all sorts and kinds, the houses of 
 the caboceers and other great men standing up among 
 them like line-of -battle ships among a lot of cock -boats. 
 All made a picture very different from anything I had 
 ever seen or dreamed of. 
 
 We soon reached Mr. Macarthy's factory, and went 
 up a flight of stairs into a wide veranda, where we found 
 him dressed in a cool white suit, and employed in giving 
 orders to some of his clerks, whom he dismissed as soon 
 as he saw us. 
 
 " Good morning, Captain Baldwin ; is this one of your 
 sons ? "
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 69 
 
 My father answered his salutation, and then asked 
 him if he had any news of Pentlea. 
 
 " Not yet," he said. " I have sent men to try to 
 find out if they could get any news of him up at 
 Souza's factory, where he has gone ; but they are a 
 regular set of bad ones there, and would say anything. 
 Why, not long ago they attacked my factory, and I had 
 some trouble in beating them off; the caboceers have 
 condemned them to pay me five puncheons of palm-oil, 
 but I shall never get any of it. I have sent to the 
 caboceers, and one will come here in the course of the 
 day. Have you reported the case to the man-of-war ? " 
 
 " Why no ; what can they do ? " 
 
 " Certainly they can't land men to hunt for the 
 thief; but the captain and some of his officers might 
 perhaps be present at the palaver between you and the 
 caboceer. It would make them promise more and ask 
 less, though whether they will do any more I can't say." 
 
 " Very well ; I will write a letter and send it off. 
 What is the name of the captain and his ship ? " 
 
 " She's the Rover, and her captain's name is Howard." 
 
 " Very well ; let me have paper, pen, and ink, and 
 I will write at once, and Frank here shall take it off." 
 
 " Why not go yourself ? " 
 
 "I don't want to lose a chance, and perhaps the 
 caboceer may come while I am away." 
 
 " Very good ; only mind to apologize for not coming 
 in person." 
 
 " Certainly I will, and say the reason."
 
 70 A RUN ASHORE. 
 
 The letter was soon finished, and Fore-topsail was 
 ordered to take me off with it to H.M. brig Rover, six- 
 teen guns. 
 
 I found going off against a surf a very different 
 matter from landing through one, and though it is 
 much safer, it is a far harder piece of work. There 
 was none of the pleasurable sensation of flying along 
 on the back of a wave that I had enjoyed so much in 
 going ashore. 
 
 We got through without anything worse occurring 
 than shipping a little water, and we were soon along- 
 side of the Rover. 
 
 A sentry at the gangway hailed to know what I 
 wanted, and when I answered that I had a letter for 
 the captain, he told me to be sharp and come up with it, 
 while a couple of man-ropes were paid down the side 
 for my use. Seizing hold of them I ran up the side, 
 and not forgetting, as I had been told, to touch my cap, 
 I came on the quarter-deck. 
 
 I was astonished to see the cleanliness and neatness 
 of everything, but had not much time to indulge my 
 wonder, for a midshipman came to me and asked me 
 what I wanted. I answered that I had brought a letter 
 for the captain. 
 
 "Give it to me then," he said, and taking it from 
 me, and going up to an officer, who was walking on 
 the starboard side of the quarter-deck, he touched his 
 cap and gave it to him. 
 
 I thought at first that this was the captain ; but he
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 71 
 
 went down the after-ladder with it, and returned im- 
 mediately, closely followed by Captain Howard, who 
 was saluted by every one as he came on deck. 
 
 "Here, youngster," Captain Howard called to me, 
 " you come from the Petrel ? Why didn't your captain 
 come on board himself ? " 
 
 " Please, sir," I answered, " I think my father wanted 
 to find out all he could." 
 
 " Oh, you're the captain's son, are you ? Well, can 
 you tell me what you know about this deserter what's 
 his name Pentlea ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. Mr. Hammond the mate broke his leg, 
 and Mr. Pentlea was shipped the evening before we 
 sailed ; and we none of us liked him, and he talks 
 Spanish." 
 
 "Talks Spanish, does he ? How do you know that?" 
 
 " Why, sir, a Spaniard called Camacho came on board 
 from a slaver at Cape Mount, and he knew him and 
 spoke to him." 
 
 " Indeed ; and now he has stolen money and some 
 bales of goods and gone to Souza's factory. Very 
 well. Quartermaster, tell the first lieutenant I want 
 him." 
 
 The first lieutenant came at once, and Captain 
 Howard said, " Here, Stannard, there's that fellow 
 Camacho up at Cape Mount, and we're looking for him 
 down here. What craft had he, youngster ? " 
 
 " There were two schooners, sir the Santa Maria 
 and Santiago."
 
 72 A RUN ASHORE. 
 
 " Two ! And what did you have to do with them ? " 
 
 " They made us sell them some stores, sir." 
 
 " Were the schooners full of slaves ? " 
 
 " I don't know, sir ; I couldn't see any." 
 
 " Were their sides clean or dirty ? " 
 
 " Oh, beautifully clean, sir. I thought they looked 
 like yachts." 
 
 " That'll do ; they hadn't shipped them. Stannard, 
 I'll go on shore and see what I can do for Captain 
 Baldwin, and you get everything ready for sea. Hoist 
 the boats up and heave short. I'll go on shore in this 
 youngster's boat. Send to my clerk, Mr. Smith, that 
 he's to come with me. Quartermaster, get my sword 
 and waterproof." 
 
 In almost less time than I can write we were in the 
 surf -boat and paddling ashore ; while on board the 
 Rover the men were busy putting on chafing -mats, 
 uncovering sails, and reeving anchor gear. 
 
 " I hope we shall meet that fellow Camacho ; he has 
 played us one or two smart tricks eh, Mr. Smith ? " 
 said Captain Howard. 
 
 "Yes, sir, indeed he has," answered the clerk, who 
 did not at all relish the passage through the surf. 
 
 We were soon safe on shore, and made our way at 
 once to Mr. Macarthy's factory. We found Mr. Macarthy 
 and my father waiting for us with some anxiety, as a 
 message had come that the caboceer in charge of the 
 beach was coming at once to make a palaver about 
 Pentlea's desertion and theft.
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 73 
 
 A large room on the ground floor of the factory was 
 prepared at once, in which Captain Howard sat with 
 my father and Mr. Macarthy on either hand, while Mr. 
 Smith and myself sat behind them at a small table to 
 take down any notes that it might be deemed advisable 
 to make. 
 
 A sound of tom-toms, bells, and firing of guns an- 
 nounced the approach of the great man, who alighted 
 from the litter in which he was carried, and coming 
 into the room followed by his interpreter, umbrella- 
 bearer, and some half-dozen men bearing swords of 
 office, with hilts covered with gold, sat down opposite 
 to Captain Howard. 
 
 The caboceer was dressed in an elaborately laced 
 uniform coat, and had on his head a footman's hat, 
 with a gold band and cockade further adorned by a 
 bunch of cock's feathers. Round his waist was a hand- 
 some silk cloth, in which were stuck a couple of brace 
 of silver-mounted pistols ; and his legs were so covered 
 with beads and bangles that he could hardly walk. 
 Mr. Smith whispered to me that the most precious 
 portion of all his dress or ornaments was a string of 
 aggry beads which he wore round his neck. 
 
 Captain Howard, as soon as the ordinary and neces- 
 sary compliments had passed, accompanied by the in- 
 dispensable drinks of liquors and gin, without which no 
 business can be transacted on the coast, opened the 
 palaver, and told the caboceer that as his master, the 
 King of Dahomey, was a friend of the Queen of England,
 
 74 A RUN ASHOKE. 
 
 it was his duty to give up all criminals escaping into 
 his country, and shortly demanded that the caboceer 
 should send at once to Souza's factory and bring Pent- 
 lea down to us. 
 
 The caboceer made many excuses, and said that Souza 
 was the subject of a friend of the king's also, and that 
 he could not go into his factory. 
 
 Captain Howard insisted, and at last, after a some- 
 what stormy discussion, the caboceer promised that if 
 Pentlea could be found he would be brought down to us. 
 
 Drinks were again handed round, and the caboceer 
 took his departure. 
 
 When he had gone Captain Howard said, "Well, 
 gentlemen, I do not know that I can do much more for 
 you. I must go at once to look after those schooners 
 you met at Cape Mount ; but in a day or two the 
 Dragon, a paddle-wheel steamer, will be here, and her 
 captain will take up your case. I should very much 
 like to see this fellow Pentlea, for I believe he must 
 be a man who is pretty well known and more wanted ; 
 for if he be the man I think, he has been a pirate as 
 well as a slaver, and deserves hanging if ever a man 
 did." 
 
 I here spoke of the manuscript books which the 
 steward had found in Pentlea's berth, and my father 
 handed them to Captain Howard, who, looking over 
 them, said, " It is even as I thought. If I could see my 
 way, I would land my men and get him out of Souza's 
 factory dead or alive ; but my orders are so strict that
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 75 
 
 I dare not do it. Captain Baldwin, you will have to 
 keep a good look-out, for he will not scruple to make 
 himself master of your brig if he sees a chance. You 
 can trust the remainder of your crew ? " 
 
 "I believe so, Captain Howard; they are all Bristol 
 men, and I have known them for a long time." 
 
 " That's all right ; but mind you keep a good watch 
 for any of those slavers, especially Senhor Camacho. 
 He would do no harm to any one off Caillaud's place, for 
 the Frenchman, though a slaver, has his ideas of honour 
 and honesty. If Camacho and this Pentlea, who is half 
 a Spaniard, get together, there will be a couple of the 
 greatest scoundrels unhung in company. Now I must 
 be off; you will let your boat put me on board ? " 
 
 " Certainly, sir. I'm much obliged to you for 
 coming." 
 
 " Well, I'm glad I've seen you. Mind when the 
 Dragon comes in you go and see Captain Thompson. 
 He will do what he can to make the caboceer move in 
 this business." 
 
 Captain Howard went off, and Mr. Macarthy and my 
 father were soon busy about trade, while I was sent 
 under the charge of a native clerk to have a look round 
 the town. 
 
 I was much astonished at seeing some women walk- 
 ing about armed with muskets and great curved knives, 
 and still more so when I was told that they were a part 
 of the regular forces of the king of Dahomey, whose 
 most trusted troops were women formed into regiments.
 
 76 A RUN ASHORE. 
 
 Another curious thing which the clerk took me to 
 'see was the house where the sacred snakes were kept. 
 Here, in a hut standing in the middle of a courtyard, 
 I saw hundreds of snakes, nearly if not all being a 
 species of python, which seemed quite tame, and 
 allowed themselves to be handled by the attendant 
 priests with impunity. The priests had to be given 
 rum for allowing us to look at their charges, and we 
 had to buy fowls to throw to the snakes. 
 
 As it chanced, one of these fowls was a white cock 
 with red hackles and tail feathers, and it was seized 
 upon by the biggest of the snakes. 
 
 As soon as one of the priests saw this he ran at me 
 and smeared a great stripe of some noisome compound 
 down my face. I was about to shove him away and 
 wipe the nasty stuff off, when my guide begged me to 
 be quiet, for if we did anything to offend the fetich- 
 men our lives would be forfeited. I remained as quiet 
 as I could. Two more of the priests caught hold of 
 my hands and began examining them ; while the first 
 pulled open my shirt, and seeing a mole on my breast 
 pointed to it, and began chattering away in a most 
 excited manner to his companions. 
 
 I asked the clerk what all this meant, and he said he 
 could not tell, but that it was evidently nothing bad 
 for me. After a time my tormentors, for so I deemed 
 them, became quiet, and my companion managed to 
 make out from them that I was a great fetichman, and 
 that I would go far and see many things, and that
 
 A YOUNG DAHOMAN.
 
 A RUN ASHORE. 79 
 
 though I might pass through many dangers I would 
 come safe out of them all at last. For this prophecy 
 they demanded more rum, which we had to give them ; 
 and then I made the best of my way to the factory to 
 wash myself and get clean after their handling me and 
 pulling me about. 
 
 Even when I had washed my face I found that the 
 stain of the stuff that had been rubbed on it remained. 
 My father said I had best go on board at once and 
 remain there until I could appear on shore like a 
 Christian, and as it was growing late he came off with 
 me.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 NEXT day my father went on shore again, and I was 
 kept to work on board, where I much chafed in con- 
 sequence of the stripe down my face, which was of 
 a deep reddish brown, and which all the scrubbing I 
 could manage seemed not to have the slightest effect 
 in removing. Jack Adams comforted me by saying 
 that it would not come off for six weeks or more, scrub 
 and scrape as I liked. 
 
 Towards the evening there were signs of a tornado ; 
 and Willie, who was fully alive to the responsibilities 
 of his new position as first mate, sent the upper yards 
 on deck, and told one of the Kruboys to go up to the 
 mast-head to look out for our father coming off. 
 
 Two Glass, who was intrusted with this duty, soon 
 reported that he could see the boat being got ready, and 
 then that she was launched and coming off. Suddenly 
 he gave a great yell and sung out, "Boat capsize; all men 
 lib for water." I instantly ran up aloft, and Willie 
 sent me my spy-glass up by the signal halyards, and
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 81 
 
 I could make out the boat rolling over and over in the 
 surf, and the heads of men swimming. After a little 
 the boat washed up on the beach, and then we could 
 see the crew crawling out of the water one by one. I 
 anxiously watched to see if my father was safe, and at 
 last made him out being helped up the beach by the Kru- 
 boys. " Hurrah, Willie ! he's safe," I shouted, " and not 
 hurt," as I made out that he was walking about giving 
 directions about the boat, which I could see had had a 
 large hole knocked in her bottom. 
 
 I came down on deck, where Willie was giving orders 
 for the other surf -boat to be manned and to go ashore, 
 as he was sure that if possible my father would come 
 on board, as the weather was now very threatening. 
 
 I begged and prayed to be allowed to go ; but Willie 
 said no, I was to stay on board. I did not feel inclined 
 to obey, and just as the boat was going to shove off I 
 jumped into her, and as time was pressing, the wind 
 and sea both rising rapidly, Willie did not insist on my 
 coming back. 
 
 Before we had got half-way ashore it was blowing 
 very hard indeed, and Fore-topsail two or three times 
 wished to put back to the brig; but I taunted him 
 with being afraid, and he said, "Me no fraid, lilly 
 massa, but surf make plenty bad. S'pose boat capsize 
 and massa drown, what capen say ? " 
 
 " Never mind ; the captain wants to get on board. 
 Give way, give way ! " 
 
 "Bery good. Pull, boys, pull," he answered, and the 
 (as) 6
 
 82 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 boat's crew bent to their paddles with renewed energy. 
 But do all that they could, they could not make the 
 place for entering the surf abreast of Mr. Macarthy's 
 factory, but were driven up to where Pentlea had 
 landed the night before. We had taken so long to 
 reach this spot that the sun had already set before we 
 headed direct for the beach. 
 
 The first line of breakers was passed in safety. We 
 were about to cross the second when a squall came 
 down, accompanied by heavy rain; and notwithstanding 
 all Fore-topsail's struggles at the steer oar, we were 
 broadside on, and in another instant we were all strug- 
 gling in the water. 
 
 I have an idea of struggling and of the sound as of 
 thousands of tons of water being dashed over me, but 
 I very soon lost all consciousness. When I came to 
 myself I found I was in a small room lighted only by 
 a small hole about six inches square, through which 
 the rays of the moon were pouring, and I could see 
 by them that the place was perfectly empty. My 
 clothes were wet, and I was cold and shivering, and had 
 a racking headache. At first I lay quite still, feeling 
 too bad to have any interest in where I was or what 
 had happened to me ; but soon I began to think, and 
 then I remembered leaving the brig, and the capsizing 
 of the surf -boat. 
 
 Where was I ? and what had happened since the 
 capsize ? became now pressing problems to be solved. 
 I was not drowned, nor, as far as I could make out.
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 83 
 
 injured ; but who could have put me in this wretched 
 cell without anything to lie on, and without even 
 changing my wet clothes ? I must have been saved 
 by some one from drowning ; but whoever that some 
 one w r as, he did not seem to care much about my comfort. 
 
 I got up from the corner where I was lying and 
 began to examine my prison for such I supposed the 
 place I was in must be and could only feel the rough 
 planks of which the walls and door were composed, 
 and quantities of dust, of cockroaches as big as young 
 sparrows, and of other loathsome insects. 
 
 The little hole through which the moon shone was 
 high up, and it was with great difficulty that I managed 
 to jump up so as to hook my fingers on the lower edge 
 and draw myself up and look out. Outside was a 
 deep veranda, and I could see the beach, and the surf 
 thundering in, and beyond the ships lying at anchor, 
 rolling about, their black spars showing distinctly 
 against the bright moonlight. I puzzled to make out 
 which was the Petrel, but at last I did so, and then I 
 knew r by her position with regard to the others that 
 I must be in Souza's factory. I hung on as long as 
 I could, and counting the vessels at anchor in a me- 
 chanical way, I made out that two topsail schooners 
 had come in since I left the Petrel. I could not remain 
 long at the window, and I slid down, and soon found 
 that combating the cockroaches, which were flying 
 about, hitting me in the face and sticking in my hair, 
 gave me a considerable amount of employment ; and
 
 84 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 notwithstanding that my clothes were still wet, I soon 
 was bathed in perspiration. 
 
 After a time I smelt tobacco smoke, and then I heard 
 footsteps on the veranda outside and chairs being 
 pulled about. Presently I heard Pentlea's voice calling 
 for a boy to bring some brandy and a cooler of water. 
 I now remained as quiet as I possibly could, and tried 
 to listen for any conversation. 
 
 Evidently there were three or four men present, and 
 I heard the names of Camacho and Souza frequently 
 mentioned ; and though I could understand nothing, as 
 the conversation was carried on in Spanish, I gathered 
 that both of these worthies as well as Pentlea were 
 present, and that after a time other persons joined 
 them who were either English or American, to judge 
 from the oaths which studded their conversation plenti- 
 fully. 
 
 Their conversation lasted a long time, and at last 
 I made out that Camacho, Souza, and Pentlea went 
 away and left the others to smoke and drink by 
 themselves. 
 
 Soon they commenced to speak, and their voices 
 sounded like music in my ears, for they spoke in 
 English, and I hoped from their conversation to learn 
 something of what had happened. At first all they 
 said was, "Pass the bottle," "Give me a light," and 
 such-like phrases; but at last one said, "Strike me 
 silly but Simon's a cute one." 
 
 "How so, Bill? He's robbed his skipper, and he's
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 85 
 
 safe here. The caboceers ain't such fools as to give up 
 a gentleman as deals in black ivory." 
 
 " No, it ain't that ; but to watch the brig so close as 
 to know that the skipper's cub left in the boat, and to 
 have the beach watched to pick him up." 
 
 " How so ? what good is he to us ? " 
 
 " Lots. Simon hates his skipper, and now he can 
 play him with his son. But there's news that one of 
 those abominable English steamers is coming here. The 
 Rover sailed as soon as her captain heard we were at 
 Cape Mount, and we got the news it was not safe here 
 sharp. We must get away as soon as we can. Camacho 
 has about fifty slaves, and they will be sent aboard ; 
 and the boy we'll take with us too, and he'll be useful 
 to Simon." 
 
 A boy now came and summoned these two worthies 
 away, and almost directly after the door of my den 
 was opened, and Pentlea, carrying a lantern, appeared, 
 followed by three or four negroes, who stripped me of 
 my clothes and rubbed me all over with some stuff 
 which made me quite black. 
 
 Pentlea looked on approvingly, and said, "Now, 
 Master Frank, you are a nice little nigger, and the 
 people searching the beach for you won't know you." 
 
 As he said this a ray of hope darted into my mind, 
 for I thought that surely I might call out who I was, 
 and then some one would notice that a slave spoke 
 English, which could not be a common thing on the 
 Whydah beach.
 
 86 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 As soon as I was well blacked over, and my hair cut 
 close off, so as not to betray my European blood, I was 
 taken down to a courtyard where there were a number 
 of slaves, and was roped into the middle of a string of 
 five. Pentlea, as soon as this was done, struck me and 
 said, "Now, you whelp, you will have a chance of 
 learning about niggers ; you'll soon know as much as 
 your Livingstone you're always prating about." 
 
 "O Mr. Pentlea," I answered, "what do you want 
 to do to me ? Only let me go, and I'm sure my father 
 will never do anything against you." 
 
 "No, he would not, I daresay; but I've old scores 
 against your father, though he don't know it, and I 
 intend to square yards with him before I've done." 
 
 " Why, my father was always kind to you." 
 
 " Kind? ha, ha! D'ye suppose I mean in the Petrel? 
 No, boy ; my debt is of old standing. 1 should have 
 been a rich man but for your father sending two 
 cruisers after me. I lost my ship and my cargo and 
 nearly my life. Now I have you that counts for 
 one slave and I'll have the Petrel too before very 
 long." 
 
 " Let me go, do let me go. I'm sure my father will 
 pay you to let me go." 
 
 " No, you hound ; I've made up my mind. And you 
 shan't have a chance to make a noise on the beach." 
 He proceeded to give orders to have me gagged, which 
 was immediately done by a big negro who seemed to 
 be a sort of driver.
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 87 
 
 The gates of the courtyard were now opened, and 
 the slaves were driven out on the beach and packed 
 into the bottom of two big surf-boats, which were 
 launched and paddled through the surf and alongside 
 one of the schooners, which turned out to be our old 
 acquaintance the Santa Maria. As soon as we were 
 on deck I was unfastened from the slaves to whom I 
 had been bound, and the gag was removed. The slaves 
 were at once sent down to the hold, and a man whom 
 I recognized as being one of those who had been 
 drinking outside in the veranda said to me, "Here, 
 you younker, I guess you'd better lay aft and keep 
 quiet." 
 
 I did as I was told, and in a few minutes I heard 
 the anchor weighed, and the Santa Maria and her 
 consort were slipping out to sea before the land 
 breeze. 
 
 For several days nothing particular happened. I was 
 made to do all sorts of work about the decks, and wait 
 in the cabin on Camacho, Pentlea, and the Yankee 
 who had spoken to me when I came on board ; and 
 though I was not well treated, still I could not com- 
 plain of any absolute cruelty. We had the usual 
 alternations of wind and calm, sunshine and rain. Once 
 or twice the appearance of smoke on the horizon, or the 
 heaving in sight of some ship whose spars were more 
 than usually lofty, gave a fright to my captors, who 
 dreaded that the stranger might turn out to be a man- 
 of-war come in chase of us. But at last we arrived at
 
 88 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 the mouth of a large river, up which Pentlea, who 
 seemed thoroughly acquainted with the place, piloted 
 the Santa Maria, taking her into a small creek, where, 
 when her topmasts were sent on deck, she was perfectly 
 invisible from the main stream, and where the Santiago 
 was soon moored alongside of her. 
 
 The two schooners were anchored so that their guns 
 should command the entrance. Some of the guns were 
 landed and put in small forts on either side which had 
 evidently been constructed for a long time. The 
 schooners had not long been in this hiding-place before 
 canoes began to flock round them, and as far as I 
 could make out arrangements were being made for 
 the captains of the slavers to pay a visit to the chief 
 of a big town close by, to enter into negotiations for 
 filling their holds with slaves. 
 
 I looked at the trees on shore cocoa-nut and oil palms 
 growing in groves close to where we were lying, and 
 plantations of bananas giving sign of the proximity of 
 villages. Though I was but a captive, I could not help 
 wishing for a trip ashore ; and as I knew it was useless 
 to ask Pentlea, I waited until he had quitted the 
 schooner, and then went to the American mate, who 
 had been kinder to me than any other person on board, 
 and made my request to him, saying, "Please, Mr. 
 Silas, may I go ashore ? " 
 
 He looked at me in astonishment, rolling his quid in 
 his mouth, and said, " Etarnal thunder, what does the 
 boy want? I guess, young feller, you'd best not let
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 89 
 
 Pentlea see you going ashore. Jest you polish that 
 brass work on the binnacle." 
 
 I saw that there was no chance of getting ashore, 
 and slowly obeyed his orders. Soon a boat came from 
 the Santiago, in which was a man who, as soon as he 
 came on deck, said, " Mornin', Silas. I guess, now the 
 bosses are ashore, we may as well have a talk together 
 as stop one in each schooner." 
 
 "Reckon that's so," said Silas. "What d'ye think, 
 Reuben ? there's that lad Pentlea carried off from the 
 Britisher wants to go ashore." 
 
 " Waal, I kinder think that wouldn't suit friend 
 Simon ; it's the last place in the hull coast whar that 
 lad should land." 
 
 " How so ? I guess thar's nought but alligators, 
 snakes, and niggers about, nare a Britisher to be 
 seen or smelt." 
 
 " Guess Simon and Camacho keep their tongues 
 quiet. It's jest the bisness I wished to overhaul along 
 of you why we come here." 
 
 " Sartain sure we corned here for nigs, you bet your 
 hide." 
 
 " We've come for nigs true, sir, for you but we've 
 come for more." 
 
 " How now, mate ? Don't keep backin' and fillin', but 
 jest out with what you have to say plain." 
 
 " Waal, that Simon's a deep one, and he's jest made 
 Camacho fall in with him. The brig the lad came 
 from comes here to trade. Her old man has made a
 
 90 TAKEN PRISONER. 
 
 book with the fellow they calls King Okopa here ; and 
 Okopa has oil, ivory, and rubber ready, so when the 
 brig comes she can load quick." 
 
 " Why, how does that go ? I guess Simon ain't too 
 cute ; for if the Britisher guesses we're here, he'll off 
 and set some of their bull-dogs after us." 
 
 " I reckon Pentlea and Camacho won't let him." 
 
 " How, mate, can he stop it ? " 
 
 " Not so difficult. Simon, he's real bad and bitter ; 
 for the skipper of the brig laid a cruiser on him some 
 four years back, and he lost his ship. And now he says 
 to Camacho we can get the brig, and her cargo'll pay 
 for slaves to till her and both schooners." 
 
 " But, mate, I say that's piracy." 
 
 " Waal, ain't slaving piracy ? " 
 
 " Not so. It stands to reason as nigs was made for 
 slaves ; but to rob white men, that's a different guess 
 sort of thing." 
 
 " I don't care much for the job myself, but the fellows 
 we have here will do for Camacho what he says ; and 
 though when we meets a man-of-war we hoists the 
 gridiron and oysters, and we's American captains, and 
 has papers all c'rect, still we ain't nought but the two 
 mates when all's said and done." 
 
 " That's so. So long as no murder goes on I don't 
 care much. Let Camacho and Pentlea manage their 
 own business. Let's go down and liquor." 
 
 As soon as I heard this conversation commencing I 
 had left off cleaning the binnacle and slipped out into
 
 TAKEN PRISONER. 91 
 
 the main-chains, where I could hear every word they 
 said; and when they went below I slipped forward and 
 made them wait a long time before I answered their 
 call to bring them brandy and water and fire for their 
 pipes. 
 
 Evidently neither had thought anything of me, and 
 they were now engaged in a game of euchre, and were 
 so absorbed in it that they thought of nothing else save 
 their brandy and pipes. As soon as I had supplied 
 their wants I went to the main chains again, as being 
 the place where I was least likely to be disturbed by 
 any of the crew, and tried to consider what had best 
 be done. It was evident that this place was one where 
 my father traded, which was not much frequented by 
 ordinary traders, and where he therefore could get 
 quicker and larger profits than elsewhere; and that 
 Pentlea was going to take the opportunity of the Petrel 
 calling here to try to make himself master of her.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 
 
 FOR some days the work of shipping slaves went on. 
 They were brought off in driblets of some half-dozen 
 at a time, and stowed away under the superintendence 
 of the two Yankee mates, the Spaniard and Pentlea 
 being rarely seen on board. At last one evening I 
 heard the two mates talking together and saying 
 the Petrel was in another mouth of the river about 
 ten miles distant, and Pentlea and Camacho had per- 
 suaded Okopa to send messengers to my father to say 
 that he had lots of cargo for him, and that he had 
 better bring his brig round and anchor off his town, 
 which was about a mile farther up the stream than the 
 creek where the two schooners were concealed. 
 
 I heard the one called Silas say, " It's a black mur- 
 dering shame, so I say, to steal the man's brig and put 
 him ashore here where he's just sartain to die." 
 
 " How so ? " answered the other. " Can't he live the 
 same as Camacho and Pentlea live ashore ? " 
 
 " That's another guess kind of matter. Camacho has
 
 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 93 
 
 a good house, and I reckon he can live well ; but that 
 black fellow Okopa, when a white man hasn't got 
 trade, he'll see him further afore he'd let him sleep in a 
 hut or give him bite or sup." 
 
 " Waal, Silas, you don't seem to care for this hyar 
 job ; no more do I. But what can we do ? " 
 
 " Do, Rube ? nought. If we says a word again Pent- 
 lea or Camacho they've their bowies and pistols ready, 
 and our answer from them wouldn't be long a-coming." 
 
 " Say, Silas, I've a plan. We can hinder the job, I 
 reckon, and nary one be the wiser." 
 
 " How so ? Tell me at once." 
 
 " Why, that boy, he ain't no fool, for all he's so tarnal 
 quiet. Now, what time the brig comes up we'll jest let 
 him hook it." 
 
 "How now? he can't swim ashore. There's as many 
 alligators here as are in a bayou in Florida ; and when 
 he gets to land he can't pass the village, and through the 
 swamps no mortal man could pass." 
 
 " Sure, man, I ain't quite a fool. But s'pose the 
 brig comes up on the flood to-morrow about six bells 
 in the forenoon watch. Camacho can do nothin' that 
 day, and the lad may make tracks in a canoe, say at 
 two bells in the first watch ; and I guess we can man- 
 age that." 
 
 " So, p'raps ; but I guess we must be spry, or that 
 fellow Sour Simon and his pal Camacho, if they only 
 has the leastest thought we has done ought in the mat- 
 ter, I guess they'll give us a passage overboard."
 
 94 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 
 
 " Maybe ; but I don't care to be pirate, mate. If you 
 ain't got grit to go through with it, I'll do it myself ; 
 for my dander's riz, and I'll get the lad aboard the 
 Petrel" 
 
 " I'm with you. Don't say I ain't got grit ; but jest 
 keep a close luff, and don't let nary a man know." 
 
 " All right, mate. Let's go down and have a hand at 
 euchre." 
 
 I was overjoyed to have heard the above conver- 
 sation, and could scarcely believe that it was true. 
 Could they have been talking in order to test me ? 
 But no; what was the use of their doing that? and 
 how could I be more thoroughly in the power of 
 Camacho and Pentlea than I was now ? I walked 
 up and down the deck of the schooner as happy as if 
 I were already free ; and when a shout from the cabin 
 told me that I was wanted, I ran there as readily as 
 when at school I had run to get my bat and ball for 
 a game at cricket. 
 
 Just as I was going down the ladder, however, I 
 heard the sound of oars, and a boat with Camacho and 
 Pentlea in it came alongside, and I had to run and 
 attend the side for them, while Silas and Reuben came 
 up on deck to receive them. All four went down into 
 the cabin together, and as soon as I thought it would 
 be safe I crept aft and lay down alongside of the sky- 
 light to try to overhear what they were talking about. 
 I had, however, only just got into my place when a 
 mulatto servant of Camacho called Pedro noticed
 
 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 95 
 
 me, and kicking me in the ribs told me to get for- 
 ward. 
 
 I obeyed, and though I waited for hours I could get 
 no chance to approach either of the American mates, 
 for Camacho and Pentlea remained on board all night, 
 and did not leave until after nine in the morning. 
 Before they left, though the topmasts and upper yards 
 were not sent up, the schooners were got ready for 
 getting under way with their lower sails, and branches 
 of trees were lashed to the lower mast-heads so as to 
 prevent all chance of their being seen from the upper 
 yards of any vessel passing up the river. 
 
 When they had gone ashore I had to take breakfast 
 into the cabin for Silas and Reuben, and as I brought 
 it down I looked anxiously at them in the hope that 
 they would speak to me. But not one word did they 
 say, and I at last summoned up courage to say, "Is 
 there a ship coming to-day ? " 
 
 They both started and said, " What business is that 
 of yours, younker ? Don't bother yourself about what 
 don't concern you." 
 
 Just after this Camacho's mulatto servant came down 
 the ladder, having evidently been left on board to keep 
 a watch on their actions. As soon as he entered the 
 cabin he told me to go on deck, and that he would 
 attend to the wants of the senhors. I went and sat 
 down under the lee of the forecastle bulwarks, and soon 
 I noticed that the schooners were swinging to the flood- 
 tide ; and looking up overhead I could see that the sea-
 
 96 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 
 
 breeze was playing among the tree-tops, and I thought 
 I would go up to the mast-head and see if I could 
 notice any signs of the Petrel coming up the river. 
 
 I clambered up the fore side of the foremast so as to 
 keep out of the sight of the mulatto, and managed to 
 seat myself on the collar of the forestay, partially shel- 
 tered by the branches which had been lashed to the 
 mast-head. After some time I saw the white royals 
 and top-gallant sails of a large brig above the trees. 
 Was it the Petrel? I looked long and earnestly, trying 
 to make out the flag which flew at the main-royal mast- 
 head, to see if it was my father's ; but the royal inter- 
 fered. It was not until she was nearly abreast of us 
 that, the royals being taken in, I made out the black 
 with a red diamond ; and as she was not more than 
 five hundred yards away, I could recognize the men on 
 the royal-yards furling the sails. 
 
 A sudden impulse seized me, and I pulled out my 
 knife and began cutting the lashings of the branches, 
 so that the men might see the mast-head of the schooner; 
 and ripping away, the branches fell sideways, so that it 
 stood out clear, and I climbed up and stood on the 
 lower cap, waving my arms to attract attention. The 
 royals were furled, and the men laid in and commenced 
 to go down from aloft without noticing me. I began 
 to fear that I had committed a foolhardy action without 
 reaping any benefit from it, when, to my joy, the flag 
 at the main-royal mast-head of the brig got caught in 
 an eddy wind and fouled the signal halyards, and I
 
 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 97 
 
 saw Jimmy Duds going up to clear it. Just as he 
 reached the truck he looked in my direction, and I 
 redoubled my antics, and was rejoiced to see that I 
 attracted his attention. Another man came up on the 
 royal-yard, and standing on it was evidently speaking 
 to those on deck about me. 
 
 Just as this was occurring I heard Silas on deck 
 shouting out, " Come down out o' that, you young 
 rascal. What in thunder are you doing there ? " 
 
 I kneeled down on the cap and commenced to descend, 
 giving a last wave of my hand as I did so, and getting 
 on the peak halyards was sliding down as fast as I 
 could, when a bullet whizzed past my head and struck 
 the mast about a foot above me. I did not look round 
 to see to whom I was indebted for this compliment, 
 but almost let go the rope, and reached the deck quicker 
 than I had thought possible, and rolled on my back at 
 the foot of the foremast. 
 
 When I got on my feet I was seized by Silas, who 
 administered to me a sound rope's-ending, during the 
 administration of which I saw the mulatto steward 
 standing aft with a smoking musket in his hand, so 
 that to him evidently I owed my thanks for the attempt 
 on my life which had been so nearly successful. He 
 now came forward and said something to Silas, of 
 which I could not understand the meaning; but its 
 purport was soon explained to me when a set of slave- 
 irons was brought up and I was fastened to a ring- 
 bolt in the deck. 
 
 (85) 7
 
 98 AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. 
 
 Silas put them on me himself, and took the occasion 
 to whisper in my ear, " Ye doddered young fool, you'll 
 spile all. Jest keep quiet now. The irons ain't locked ; 
 and to-night at three bells in the first watch there'll be 
 a canoe under the starboard fore-chains. You'll hear 
 me and Rube having a bit of a fight over our cards, 
 and then you fly at once." And giving me a smack 
 on the side of the head, and saying, " Yer won't be in 
 a hurry to go to the mast-head again, I reckon, you 
 young skunk," left me to my meditations. 
 
 Though I was sore and bruised I had hopes of escape, 
 and I also felt sure that my friends on board the brig 
 knew where I was; and I was happier than I had been 
 for many a long day, and looked forward eagerly for 
 the time when I might make my dash for liberty. 
 
 The mulatto brought me some biscuit and a gourd of 
 water. As I was about to put the latter to my lips I 
 caught sight of Silas frowning at me, and dropped it 
 on the deck ; and Silas sung out, " If the young whelp 
 is careless, let him go thirsty."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 
 
 THE day dragged slowly and wearily away, and when 
 at last sunset came I began to count the hours with 
 feverish anxiety. After a little, when it was pitch- 
 dark, and a tornado was evidently threatening, I felt a 
 hand laid on my mouth, and heard Silas say, " Hush, 
 the mulatto's below. Well you didn't drink that water; 
 it was poisoned. I can tell you what to do. The tide's 
 ebbing still ; the moment the rain comes, slip into the 
 canoe, and let her drift out of the creek, and then paddle 
 up-stream. After you get aboard, say Simon and Okopa 
 mean to take the brig. Tell your father to clear out, 
 and say nothing about our being here. Here's some 
 rum and a piece of beef;" and before I could say a 
 word or thank him this strange friend left me. 
 
 Soon I heard the soughing of the wind in the tree- 
 tops, and then it became dead calm and everything was 
 still, the only sound to be heard being the voices of the 
 mates in the cabin and a few of the crew who were on 
 board in the forecastle. Suddenly there was a vivid
 
 100 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 
 
 flash of lightning which seemed to last for minutes, 
 followed by a crashing peal of thunder, and then the 
 rain came down, as I have since heard it described, 
 " like marline-spikes and fixed bayonets." 
 
 I instantly freed myself from my fetters, and crawl- 
 ing across the deck got through a port into the fore- 
 chains, and fast to the foremost lower dead-eye I found 
 the painter of a canoe, into which I lowered myself 
 carefully; and then cutting myself away from the 
 Santa Maria I let the canoe drift, lying down in her 
 bottom so as not to be seen in any of the flashes of 
 lightning, which were now nearly continuous. 
 
 I soon found that I could not remain still, for the 
 rain was rapidly filling the canoe, and I had to sit up 
 and bale with might and main to prevent her sinking. 
 I could see, by the flashes of lightning, that I was 
 rapidly leaving the neighbourhood of the schooners, 
 and trusted that I might get out of the creek without 
 being noticed ; but unfortunately a man was sitting in 
 one of the port-holes of the forts or blockhouses as I 
 was passing between them, and saw me as the lightning 
 shone on me. He instantly gave the alarm, and seizing 
 his musket began firing at me. I got hold of my paddle 
 and plied it for dear life to the best of my ability, and 
 though I could see that the alarm was taken up on 
 board, I managed to get out into the main stream with- 
 out being hit. 
 
 Whilst in the creek I had not felt the force of the 
 tornado; but the moment I was in the main stream
 
 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 101 
 
 the canoe, which I could but imperfectly manage, was 
 twisted round by the force of the wind, and I found 
 myself drifting rapidly towards the mouth of the river. 
 From time to time the flashes of lightning showed me 
 that I was passing near the shore, and that the man- 
 grove bushes ran far out into the water. I managed 
 in some manner, how I hardly know, to get the canoe 
 in towards a clump of mangroves which projected some- 
 what, and caught hold of the suckers hanging from the 
 branches and gradually hauled myself into the trees. 
 I had just got my hands on the roots of one, when 
 an extra squall of wind and rain came sweeping down, 
 and the canoe being dragged from under my feet, I 
 was left hanging to the tree, into which I scrambled. 
 Having found a fairly commodious fork, I wedged my- 
 self in it, and tried to collect my scattered thoughts. 
 
 First I wondered if Jimmy Duds and the other man 
 had recognized me or not. Then as I remembered 
 that the colouring of the fetichman at Whydah and 
 the black which had been smeared over me by Pentlea 
 had not yet worn off, it was very improbable that 
 I should have been recognized. At all events I could 
 be certain that my father knew of the presence of the 
 slavers in the river, and would be on his guard. But 
 what was to become of me I did not know. There 
 was small chance of my being able to get through the 
 mangrove swamp to the dry ground beyond ; and even 
 if I did, I was sure to be caught either by men from 
 the slavers or by some of Okopa's people and made a
 
 102 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 
 
 prisoner again; while to escape from my prison by- 
 swimming was almost impossible, besides the risks I 
 should run from the alligators with which the stream 
 swarmed. 
 
 Fortunately the squall which drove my canoe from 
 under my feet was the last of the tornado. The 
 rain soon ceased, the clouds cleared away, and all the 
 stars came out with that peculiar brilliancy which is 
 only observable after a storm in the tropics. I was 
 miserably cold and wet, and did not feel in a mood for 
 admiring the marvellous beauty of the scene, but rather 
 racked my brains for some means of extricating myself 
 from the dangerous position in which I was. 
 
 Suddenly I heard the sound of heavy guns and 
 musketry, and some way up the river I could see the 
 reflection of the flashes of guns and rifles, and masses 
 of smoke rising in the air. Could the brig be attacked 
 already ? and had those on board been taken at a dis- 
 advantage, or had they been warned by my attempts 
 to attract their attention ? The sounds seemed after a 
 time to be drawing closer, and then to be becoming 
 less; and presently I saw the lofty sails of the brig 
 above the mangroves, as, aided by the first of the land 
 breeze, she was stemming the young flood which was 
 now making up the river. Almost immediately after 
 I had seen her I heard heavy firing again, and judged, 
 and rightly too, that she was passing the creek where 
 the slavers were hidden, and that the blockhouses had 
 opened fire on her.
 
 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 103 
 
 My determination as to what I should do was now 
 taken; for looking at the river abreast of me I did 
 not think that the Petrel could pass more than ninety 
 or a hundred yards from where I was, so I stripped off 
 all my clothes and made up my mind, as soon as she 
 came near, to risk all on the attempt to swim off to her. 
 
 I watched anxiously for her hull to appear round a 
 point a short way above me, and when I saw her fly- 
 ing-jib coming past the trees, I got down close to the 
 water, ready to make my plunge the moment I judged 
 her within the proper distance. Behind the brig I now 
 saw the sails of one of the schooners, and soon both 
 vessels were in sight, exchanging a heavy fire of mus- 
 ketry, for the schooner being right astern of the Petrel 
 none of the guns of either vessel could bear. 
 
 The moment came when I should try for my swim, 
 and slipping into the water I struck out for the brig. 
 I swam my strongest, and rapidly closed on her, and 
 thought that in another two or three minutes I should 
 be alongside of her and be hauled up on her deck and 
 find myself in the arms of my father and Willie, when 
 suddenly I felt myself being swept so fast up the stream 
 that there would be no chance of my reaching her. I 
 had just reached the strong stream of the tide, which 
 I had not allowed for. The schooner seemed to be now 
 my best chance of safety, as evidently she was gaining 
 on the brig, and intended to run her on board ; but 
 though I got within six or seven yards of her, I was 
 unable to reach her, and was left out in the middle of
 
 104 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 
 
 the river, with the tide running up so fast that I could 
 not possibly struggle against it. 
 
 For a time, in my despair, I swam after the vessels, 
 but soon found that they were rapidly leaving me 
 astern, and that if I were not to be drowned I must 
 endeavour to make my way back to the shore again. 
 As a last and a forlorn hope I shouted and yelled to 
 try to attract the attention of some on board the 
 schooner ; but I might as well have attempted to wake 
 the dead. And so, sadly and despondently after my 
 desperate try for freedom, I turned again toward the 
 shore, which I almost despaired of ever reaching. 
 
 I now swam without energy, and more from an in- 
 stinct of self-preservation than from any hope that I 
 would reach the shore ; and even when I got there, if 
 I ever did, there seemed to be no hope for me. As I 
 was doggedly striking out I saw before me on the sur- 
 face of the water something that looked long and black ; 
 and remembering what Silas had said about crocodiles, 
 and fearing that it was one of these monsters, I ceased 
 swimming, and only floated, for fear of making any 
 noise by which I would attract the brute's attention. 
 
 The time which I remained still with this dreaded 
 object close to me seemed hours, though it could have 
 been only a few moments, when the moon rising over 
 the trees, her rays fell on what I supposed to be an 
 alligator and showed it to be an empty canoe. 
 
 Hope came back to me, and I struck out lustily for 
 it, and managed with some difficulty to get on board.
 
 ESCAPE FROM THE SLA VE-SHIP. 105 
 
 I now had time to look round, and I saw that the Petrel 
 and the schooner were crossing the bar alongside of 
 each other, and that evidently from the noise of firing 
 a hand-to-hand struggle was going on on board. 
 
 I watched them anxiously, and suddenly I saw both 
 vessels give a sort of plunge, while their masts shook 
 as if they would have gone out of them. Then I saw 
 the Petrel draw away and the schooner falling broad- 
 side on to the surf, which made a clean sweep over her. 
 She had evidently struck on the bar, and the Petrel 
 was safe. What would I not have given to have been 
 on her deck and been sure that my father and Willie 
 were alive ! But I was drifting rapidly up the stream, 
 and had to think about what I should do for my own 
 safety. 
 
 The canoe was apparently the one in which I had 
 escaped from the Santa Maria, but the paddle had 
 been washed out of her, and I had no means of direct- 
 ing her course, and had to let her drift as she would. 
 I reflected how all my troubles had come on me by 
 being disobedient to Willie, and bitterly bewailed my 
 not having listened to him when he told me to remain 
 on board and not leave her in the surf -boat at Whydah; 
 and I did what was the best thing under the circum- 
 stances namely, prayed earnestly to Almighty God for 
 his protection and care. 
 
 I could see lights in the blockhouses as I passed them, 
 and soon afterwards could see large villages on the 
 banks of the river. Then the stream began to narrow
 
 106 ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. 
 
 rapidly, and after about two hours' drifting my canoe 
 grounded on the southern bank of the river, the creek 
 in which I had left the schooner being on the northern 
 side. I was bitterly cold, and being without clothes or 
 the means of making a fire, I did what was perhaps 
 the wisest thing scraped a hole in a bank of dry sand 
 which lay above high-water mark and covered myself 
 up in it. The sand was soft and warm, and soon I 
 fell asleep, and slept soundly and dreamlessly.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AMONG THE NATIVES. 
 
 WHEN I awoke the sun was shining, and I heard 
 voices near me. Looking up cautiously I saw that a 
 number of young women and girls had come to the 
 river-side to fill their water-pots, and were playing and 
 laughing as they did so. I, without thinking, arose 
 and called out, when they instantly dropped their pots, 
 and giving a cry of alarm, scuttled off into the bushes. 
 
 I looked round and saw that along the way they had 
 gone there was a small foot-track. I followed it up, 
 and soon some of the fugitives turned round, and, 
 seeing that I was alone and unarmed, began to come 
 towards me. Presently one bolder than the rest came 
 and touched me and called out something to her com- 
 panions which was received with a shriek of laughter. 
 They all came crowding round me, showing signs of 
 astonishment at my hair and at my skin, which, after 
 my prolonged immersion, was now almost restored to 
 its natural colour. 
 
 They chattered away, and evidently asked me many
 
 108 AMONG THE NATIVES. 
 
 questions, which, as I did not understand a word of 
 their language, I was unable to answer. Finding they 
 could learn nothing from me, two of them ran up the 
 path, while the rest sat down round me and signed to 
 me to do the same. 
 
 After we had been waiting ten minutes the two girls 
 who had gone away returned, accompanied by four 
 men, two of whom were armed with ancient flint-lock 
 muskets and two with long spears, who made me get 
 up, and tying a rope round my neck led me up into the 
 centre of a large village. 
 
 The village was surrounded with a heavy stockade 
 of tree trunks, inside of which were numerous en- 
 closures of canes surrounding groups of huts, while in 
 the centre, under the shade of a splendid silk-cotton 
 tree, was a shed where four big drums surrounded a 
 large and roughly carved image. To this shed I was 
 led by my guards; and being made to sit on the ground 
 with my legs on either side of one of the posts that 
 supported the roof, my ankles were lashed together, and 
 my hands being tied behind my back, I was secured so 
 that there was no possibility of escape. 
 
 The whole population of the village turned out to 
 look at me, and some of the children, little fat black 
 imps, who at first were much afraid of the white man, 
 losing their fear when they saw I was not able to 
 move, came up and poked their fingers into my eyes 
 and pulled my hair, at which they were much amused, 
 and rubbed my skin to see if white was my real colour
 
 AMONG THE NATIVES. Ill 
 
 or not, while their elders laughed at them and at my 
 ineffectual attempts to avoid their familiarities. 
 
 I may have been sitting like this for about an hour, 
 when the drums round the image were beaten, and a 
 very old white-haired negro came and sat down on a 
 stool close by me, attended by other old men, who were 
 evidently regarded with much veneration by the people. 
 
 When he had seated himself the drums ceased, and 
 the girls who had found me by the river-side were 
 called up and evidently examined about me, and then 
 the four men who had brought me to the village had 
 in their turn to be interrogated as to their share in the 
 transaction. After this was completed the old man, 
 whose face was most marvellously wrinkled, consulted 
 for some time with the other elders, and gave some 
 orders, which resulted in the appearance on the scene 
 of a man whose face was masked. This individual bore 
 in one hand a huge knife, and was followed by a 
 woman carrying a large wooden bowl, who squatted 
 down on the ground in front of me, while the man 
 went through an expressive pantomime, intended to 
 intimate that he was about to cut off my head. 
 
 I felt even more lost than when I was swimming in 
 the river and thought the canoe was an alligator. I 
 determined, however, not to show any sign of fear, but if 
 I were to be killed, to die in a manner worthy of my 
 English blood. The old man now commenced a long 
 speech, in which I several times heard the name of 
 Okopa mentioned; and when he had finished he turned
 
 112 A MONO THE NA TIVES. 
 
 toward me and said something in broken Spanish, in 
 which all that I could make out were the words "Okopa," 
 " capitano," and " esclavos." 
 
 I broke out at last and said, " I'm no Spaniard, and 
 can't understand a word you're saying. I'm English." 
 
 Instantly there was a change among the people, and 
 the man who was about to be my executioner cut the 
 lashings which secured me, and the old man said, " In- 
 glish beiy good, Spaguole bery bad. You be Inglish ?" 
 
 " Yes," I said, " I'm English, and have been prisoner 
 to the Spaniards." 
 
 " Bery long time," said the old man, " Hararu make 
 war with Okopa father, and Hararu wife he kill, he 
 picaninny kill. Okopa make slave and sell to Spagnole. 
 Got long time in one Spagnole canoe. Inglish catch 
 Spagnole, and Hararu come back to he country. All 
 Inglish good for Hararu." 
 
 I was now led away into an enclosure in which 
 Hararu and his family lived, and taken into a hut, 
 where a large chest was opened, and Hararu said, 
 " Plenty clothes lib dere ; Inglishman take what he 
 want." I wanted to thank him, but he said, " No good, 
 for Inglishman go all same black man. One time catch 
 clothes, make chop; s'pose chop finished, den make 
 palaver." 
 
 I looked in the chest, which was full of all kinds of 
 clothes and pieces of silk and calico, and after some 
 searching found a shirt, jacket, and trousers which 
 fitted me fairly well, and I put them on. Then Ha-
 
 AMONG THE NATIVES. 113 
 
 rarti said, " Want hat ; hat lib," and going to another 
 box brought out an old naval officer's cap, which he 
 gave to me. 
 
 When I was dressed he took me into another hut, 
 where I was provided with a dish of some sort of stew 
 (which was very good, except that it was made so hot 
 with peppers that I could hardly eat), some bananas, 
 and a large gourd full of palm wine. 
 
 I ate and drank, old Hararu keeping on pressing me 
 to eat more ; but I was so anxious to know what the 
 happy change in my treatment was due to that I soon 
 finished, and said to Hararu, who had refused to answer 
 any questions until I was satisfied, that I could eat no 
 more. 
 
 Hararu then said : " See, massa, me one time slave 
 for Spagnole. He plenty bad he flog, he burn, he be 
 all same one bad tief. One time one Englishman he 
 catch Spagnole and take Hararu Sa Leone, where 
 Hararu him call Jack Sprat. Bery good name Jack 
 Sprat he be English name. Den one English trader 
 come here dis river Ogowai, and me come too. One 
 time here me sabey my fader, my broder, my sister 
 dey all lib and den Englishman he gibs me gun, cloth, 
 rum, plenty ting, and me stop here, be one big man. 
 Okopa he be one big tief, but him plenty strong, plenty 
 gun, plenty ting he catch from Spagnole. He sell 
 plenty nigger." 
 
 I explained to Hararu, or Jack Sprat, as he wished 
 me to call him, all that had happened to me since I 
 
 (85) Q
 
 114 AMONG THE NATIVES. 
 
 was capsized in the surf at Whydah, and how I had 
 escaped from the Santa Mat^ia, and seen my father's 
 brig leave the river. 
 
 The old man said, "Dat be so: him Spagnole bad 
 man, Okopa bad man ; dey try tief fader ship. Now 
 dey be mad, and s'pose dey hear you lib here dey send 
 catch you and cut troat one time. Big blaggard 
 Okopa." 
 
 I did not remind my new friend that while he 
 thought I was a Spaniard he had been ready enough 
 to cut my throat, but said, " You will not give me to 
 them?" 
 
 " No, me no gib you to Okopa; but s'pose Okopa come, 
 Spagnole come plenty gun, what can do, s'pose you lib 
 in town ? No plenty people talk say white man lib for 
 my town, and den people come look and say Hararu 
 white man he be Inglish all same Hararu, and den 
 Okopa come and dat man you call Camacho, and dat 
 oder bad man Pentlea, and catch you one time. S'pose 
 now one time you go in bush to big fetichman and lib 
 dere. My son, me call him Tom, and he peak English, 
 no all proper same me; he take you away to oder 
 country, and den dey send you where English ship he 
 come, and den you go see your fader and broder." 
 
 The whole of this conversation had taken place inside 
 Jack Sprat's own hut, and no one had been present but 
 some of his womankind, and these he now sent away. 
 His boy Tom, as he called him, who proved to be a 
 grizzled negro of about fifty years of age, was sent for,
 
 AMONG THE NATIVES. 115 
 
 and his father gave him a long series of instructions in 
 the native language, to which Tom answered, " Bery 
 good, bery good." 
 
 When these were finished the old man said, " Now 
 you go one time along with Tom, and me tell all people 
 big fetich come take you away what time you sleep." 
 
 I thanked old Jack Sprat for his kindness, and asked 
 him if he could not manage to get me a pair of shoes, 
 as I was afraid my feet would get hurt walking about 
 on shore without them. He told me he would do what 
 he could, but I must now get away at once. 
 
 Tom opened a sort of secret door in the side of the 
 hut, and beckoning me to follow him, led the way 
 along a very narrow passage between two lines of cane 
 fence to the outer stockade of the village. Here remov- 
 ing a great log, which taxed all his strength, he was 
 able to swing two of the trunks that formed the 
 palisade on one side. We then scrambled down in the 
 ditch and struck at once into a small and little fre- 
 quented path, which we followed for about an hour 
 and a half, till at last it seemed to lose itself in the 
 thick and dense jungle. 
 
 From time to time Tom said to me, " Bery good, bery 
 good," as if to encourage me, and to all my questions 
 he only answered, " Bery good," so that I thought that 
 these two words formed his whole stock of English. 
 When he said " Bery good " once more, I thought 
 that it was anything but "bery good," for it seemed 
 to me as if we had entirely lost our way. Tom now
 
 116 AMONG THE NATIVES. 
 
 lifted up his voice and gave a series of most appall- 
 ing yells, which after a little were answered by similar 
 ones proceeding from what seemed to me the thickest 
 part of the surrounding jungle. After a few minutes 
 a mass of creepers hanging from one of the trees was 
 pulled on one side, and a man appeared. 
 
 Tom went down on his knees before the new-comer, 
 and picking up dust from the ground rubbed his arms 
 and forehead with it ; then getting up he spoke long 
 and quickly, occasionally pointing to me. I could dis- 
 tinguish the words " Ingliz," " Spagnole," " Okopa," and 
 " Hararu " constantly repeated. The man answered 
 him in a similar manner, and then signing to Tom and 
 me to follow him, pulled the screen of creepers on one 
 side and led the way along a very narrow and winding 
 path, which every here and there had logs laid ready 
 for blocking it. 
 
 After following our guide for ten minutes, Tom keeping 
 on saying " Bery good," we arrived at a strong sort of 
 gate in a fence of tree trunks, which we passed through. 
 We then found ourselves in a clear space, where there 
 were about a dozen idols like the one I had seen in the 
 village, each under its own little shed, and some half- 
 dozen huts, in which the fetichmen (of whom our guide 
 was one) who attended on them lived. In the centre 
 was another stockade, inside which was a very large 
 hut, and Tom, pointing to it, said, " Big fetich," thus 
 showing that he did know more English than " bery 
 good."
 
 AMONG THE NATIVES. 119 
 
 One of the huts was at once made over to Tom and 
 me. He made signs we were to remain there till night 
 came, which he intimated by lying down and pretend- 
 ing to go to sleep, and he said, " Fader come." I found 
 the hut very clean and comfortable, and there being 
 a bed-place made of canes, I, thoroughly tired and 
 worn out, threw myself on it, and was soon sound 
 asleep.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 FETICHMEN. 
 
 WHEN I awoke I found Tom had a meal ready for me 
 of a sort of soup, with a pudding in it which was very 
 sticky and satisfying, but by no means bad, which he 
 called foofoo, and which I afterwards found was made 
 by boiling unripe plantains and pounding them. To 
 wash this down he produced a bottle of " square face," 
 or trade gin, which he said was "bery good;" and when 
 I would not drink any he expressed much astonishment, 
 and shared it with the fetichmen, who evidently had 
 no scruples about spirit-drinking. I was now refreshed, 
 and felt inclined to walk about, and seeing a gun in 
 the hut, I asked Tom if I could take it out and try to 
 shoot something. 
 
 He and the fetichmen had an eager discussion, and 
 at last Tom said, " Bery good can go;" and leading me 
 to a door in the stockade opposite to that by which we 
 had entered, we went out down a path towards an open 
 marshy plain through which a stream ran, where we 
 found great quantities of ducks and other water-fowl.
 
 FETICHMEN. 121 
 
 I was lucky enough, though the gun was but an old 
 flint-lock single barrel, to knock over several, and 
 Tom ran hither and thither to pick them up like a 
 delighted school-boy. At last he pointed out to me a 
 cluster of a dozen ducks on the stream all swimming 
 together, and made signs that I should fire into the 
 middle of them, which I did, killing three and wound- 
 ing four more. Tom instantly dashed off to secure 
 them. I was with great interest watching him hunt- 
 ing after one of the wounded birds, when suddenly I 
 heard some ducks rising with a loud whirr close be- 
 hind me. Looking round I saw a huge python, over 
 twenty feet in length, rearing itself up within three 
 feet of me. 
 
 I had not reloaded the gun, and, seizing it by the 
 barrel with both hands, I was about to club the snake 
 on the head with it, when suddenly it lowered its head 
 and began to creep away. I called out to Tom, who 
 came running with the ducks, and seeing the snake, 
 said, " Dat be big fetich," and he signed to me to return 
 to the fetichmen's village at once. 
 
 As we were retracing our steps the snake followed 
 us. Dreadfully scared by the neighbourhood of the 
 huge reptile, we dashed into the enclosure, and it 
 followed us in. When the fetichmen saw the snake, 
 instead of being alarmed, they seemed very much 
 pleased, and while some of them commenced to beat 
 drums and play upon pipes, others opened the entrance 
 into the inner enclosure. The snake made its way
 
 122 FETICHMEN. 
 
 right in. Looking in I saw that the whole space in- 
 side was full of huge snakes, though none was so large 
 as the monster which had so frightened me. 
 
 As soon as it was inside the fetichmen closed the 
 opening again, and surrounded Tom, and began asking 
 him a number of questions. His answers seemed to 
 give them great pleasure, and all the ducks which I 
 had shot were thrown into the snakes for them to 
 feed on. For the new-comer a goat was provided, 
 which, despite its desperate struggles, was forced inside, 
 where instantly the python seized on it, and after re- 
 ducing it to an almost shapeless mass by coiling itself 
 around it, commenced to swallow it. 
 
 I was sitting on the top of the stockade watching 
 this operation, which Tom kept on saying was " bery 
 good," when we heard yells similar to those by which 
 he had heralded our arrival, and he jumped down from 
 where he was sitting beside me and said, " Dat fader 
 come." 
 
 With Tom and one of the fetichmen we went out to 
 meet Hararu, alias Jack Sprat, who said it was lucky 
 indeed that I had got away from his village when I 
 did, for messengers had come over from Okopa to 
 ask where the white man was who had arrived that 
 morning. 
 
 " How can they know anything about it ? " I asked. 
 
 " How dey sabey ? dey sabey plenty quick ; one man 
 tell man, him tell noder, so him sabey one time." 
 
 " What am I to do ? But are you afraid of Okopa ?"
 
 FETICH MEN. 125 
 
 "Okopa no care one lilly bit, but slaver man say 
 him ship come fire s'pose no gib massa up ; so me say 
 what time white man come, me gib um chop and gib 
 um coat, and me tell him sleep. What time me come 
 see he run away, he be tief." 
 
 All this seemed very curious to me, for certainly 
 Hararu, when he thought I was a Spaniard, was about 
 to have me killed, and as that did not say much for 
 his fear of the Spaniards, I ventured to suggest this to 
 him. 
 
 " Dat palaver true, but what time me carey kill 
 Spagnole me no sabey dat oder Spagnole ship lib for 
 riber. One me sabey break for bar ; me tink dat all." 
 
 " But now," I said, " the Spaniards, if they care about 
 catching me, will know that I can't go about in the 
 jungle by myself, and will soon find out where I am." 
 
 "Dat be so," said Jack Sprat, "so what time chicken 
 cry my boy take you long way, and s'pose men come 
 look, no catch Inglishman." 
 
 I was fain to be satisfied with this, and when we all 
 got into the fetichmen's village Hararu was at once 
 taken to see the big snake, which had now gorged the 
 goat and was lying torpid. He came to me and said I 
 must be a very big fetich, or otherwise the snake would 
 have attacked me. 
 
 I wondered at this, as the priest at the snakes' house 
 at Whydah had said the very same thing. I was very 
 glad to hear it, but I did not think, notwithstanding 
 Jack Sprat's kindness to me, that his gratitude would
 
 126 FETICHMEN. 
 
 go so far as resisting the Spaniards if they came up to 
 search his village for me. I was sure that Pentlea 
 and Camacho, if they had not been lost in the schooner 
 on the bar, would not believe in any fetich story, or 
 that Jack Sprat and his people could not find me. 
 
 I was told I must get what rest I could, as the next 
 day we should have to travel far, and we should start 
 very early. So I went to the hut which had been as- 
 signed to me and lay down ; but I could not sleep, and 
 wondered what possibly could be my future. Evidently 
 I had not been recognized by those on board the Petrel, 
 or my father would never have left the river without 
 an attempt to rescue me. Now I was apparently going 
 to be sent away into the interior, and how I should 
 ever reach the coast again, or get back to England, 
 seemed a mystery. I remembered, however, what I 
 had heard about Livingstone, and thought that, like 
 him, I should keep up a brave heart, and by God's 
 mercy I might ultimately return home in safety. As 
 I thought of this I remembered I had been neglecting 
 my prayers very much, and so getting off the couch 
 on which I was lying, I knelt and prayed long and 
 heartily for protection, not forgetting to return thanks 
 for the many mercies which had been vouchsafed to 
 me. 
 
 When I had finished I heard a noise outside, and 
 trying to open the door of my hut, I found it fastened 
 on the outside. I looked through some chinks in the 
 wall, and I saw that the principal fetichman was alone
 
 AFRICAN SORCERER. 
 
 Page ng.
 
 FETICHMEN. 129 
 
 in the middle of the village, close to the entrance to the 
 inner enclosure, and was going through some mys- 
 terious performances. All the huts were closed, and 
 the only light was that afforded by a small fire. 
 
 I watched him for some time whilst he poured from 
 a goat's horn some fluid into his left hand, and carefully 
 watching the drops as they fell, chanted all the time in 
 a curious kind of a monotone. Evidently he was much 
 puzzled, for sometimes he seemed displeased, and at 
 others he smiled. At last he jumped up and gave a 
 great shout, and running round unfastened the doors of 
 the huts, calling to the inmates to come out. 
 
 Fresh fuel was heaped on the fire, and all danced 
 round the place in a weird and uncanny way, only old 
 Jack Sprat refraining from joining. All at once they 
 stopped, and Jack Sprat calling to me to come out, 
 said, " Fetich say you be good; man make good for you; 
 he catch good. Now two tree hour Tom he take you. 
 Canoe lib for riber ; four day catch good man he send 
 you one bery big riber where plenty ship come. You 
 catch go your country." 
 
 I thanked the old man for all he was doing, and 
 asked what I could do for him if ever I got back to 
 England. 
 
 " Dat be long time," he said, " and me old. P'raps me 
 die, but tell good men come and make trade for Tom, 
 make book, and no trade with Okopa." 
 
 (85)
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 
 
 I NOW returned to my hut, and waited anxiously for 
 the time when I was to start, for I could not feel safe 
 so long as I was anywhere in the neighbourhood of 
 Pentlea, Camacho, and the other slavers. Though the 
 two Americans might be inclined to befriend me, they 
 were only two, and evidently did not possess much 
 influence. 
 
 At last I heard the cocks crowing, and Jack Sprat 
 came and said, " Now, massa, Tom him be ready." I 
 jumped up at once from my bed, and found Tom with 
 a torch of palm branches ready to start. Jack Sprat 
 gave me the gun I had used the day before. Both he 
 and the fetichman whom I had seen performing in 
 the night rubbed some stuff on my forehead, and the 
 latter bound round my wrist a piece of knotted string 
 on which were two little sticks, of which my old friend 
 said to me, " Him be bery trong fetich for true." 
 
 I tried to thank the old man for all his kindness; but 
 he would not listen to me, and putting his two hands
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 131 
 
 on my shoulders he gently forced me out of the village, 
 barring the gate behind Tom and me. 
 
 I followed Torn along the path which led to where I 
 had been frightened by the snake, and on the stream 
 we found a small canoe made of bark, about eighteen 
 inches wide and twenty feet long, in which a man was 
 waiting for us. Tom made me get into this frail and 
 rickety specimen of naval architecture, and though I 
 had to kneel down in the middle and grip either gunwale 
 with my hands to prevent capsizing the craft, I was 
 astonished to see that Tom and the other man were 
 both able to stand up and paddle. 
 
 We were soon flying down the stream, the little canoe 
 trembling under their powerful strokes. In less than 
 a quarter of an hour I saw that in front of us was open 
 water. Immediately afterwards we ran alongside of a 
 canoe manned by a dozen men, into which Tom and I 
 got, and we then commenced the ascent of the Ogowai. 
 
 Though we were some way up the river beyond 
 Okopa's and Hararu's villages, Tom insisted on perfect 
 silence, as on the other bank all the villages acknow- 
 ledged Okopa's authority. We paddled up close under 
 the bushes on Hararu's side, to avoid the current, and 
 also to be seen as little as possible. The middle of the 
 canoe had a thatch of palm leaves over it, which had 
 been prepared for me by the orders of Jack Sprat, and 
 underneath I found some packages of beads and cloth 
 and other things likely to be useful to me, arranged so 
 that I could either sit or lie down comfortably.
 
 132 AN EXCITING JOURNEY, 
 
 For some time we paddled along in silence. A thick 
 mist which was rising from the river was illumined 
 by the rays of the moon, and we could see the dim 
 forms of the trees as we passed by them. At last I 
 began to hear the sounds of insects and the movements 
 of birds succeeding to the deadly stillness which charac- 
 terizes the last two hours of the tropical night, and then 
 suddenly it became light. The mist began to roll away 
 down the middle of the river, leaving the part where 
 we were paddling up close to the trees quite clear. 
 
 The loveliness of the trees covered with creepers, 
 some of them having flowers and fruit which rose from 
 the water like a sea of foliage, was marvellous to me. 
 The long feathery spikes of the calamus palm (the 
 ratan cane so dearly loved by schoolboys or by 
 schoolmasters, should I say ?) shot out for fifteen or 
 twenty feet above the general surface. Flocks of horn- 
 bills and other birds were disturbed as we passed along. 
 As the mist kept getting less and less, we could see 
 spur-wing plovers and other strange birds on the banks, 
 and sitting on the snags which here and there jutted 
 from the water were kingfishers watching for their 
 prey, some being large and of a sober gray, while others 
 were scarcely larger than humming-birds, and rivalled 
 them in the beauty of their plumage. 
 
 Tom now began to scan the banks curiously and 
 closely, and urged the men to paddle their strongest 
 and best. Just as the sun showed above the tree-tops 
 he ordered the canoe to stop, and some of the men,
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 135 
 
 getting into the water, began to remove a portion of 
 a screen of canes which hid the mouth of a creek, 
 into which we ran the canoe and then replaced the 
 canes. 
 
 The canoe was now unloaded and sunk, and we all 
 waded a long way up the creek until we came to a 
 small footpath, which we followed. After a time we 
 came to a small clearing where were a couple of huts, 
 and here we prepared to camp for the day, Tom saying, 
 " Bery good, bery good." 
 
 I could not understand what we were doing this for, 
 and asked Tom. After much trouble I made him 
 know what I wanted, when he said, " Okopa man catch 
 nigger lib for riber." I managed also to get out of him 
 that a large party of Okopa's people had gone up the 
 river to get slaves for the Spaniards, and might at any 
 moment be met coming down, when they would not let 
 our canoe pass without a fight. 
 
 Some of our men slept, some smoked, and some ate ; 
 but all the time men were stationed to keep a vigilant 
 outlook in case any of Okopa's people might find where 
 our canoe was hidden. As the cane screen was similar 
 to hundreds of others made at the mouths of the small 
 streams falling into the Ogowai to catch fish, .there was 
 not much chance of its being discovered. 
 
 I was now able to overhaul the goods which the 
 kindness of Jack Sprat had provided for me, and every 
 moment found more cause for thankfulness to Provi- 
 dence for having guided me to his village instead of
 
 136 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 
 
 to one belonging to Okopa or any of his allies. Not 
 only did I find a supply of cloth and beads for buying 
 food and paying my way, but I also found another 
 jacket and pair of trousers, and four good white shirts, 
 for my own wear. What I really wanted now was 
 something to protect my head from the sun, for the 
 cap which had been given me was not sufficient, and 
 some kind of shoes to guard my feet from thorns and 
 stones, from which they had already suffered severely. 
 
 I explained this to Tom, and he produced a needle, 
 and unravelled a piece of cloth for thread. I cut 
 some pieces of white stuff, which I made into a cover 
 for the cap, with a flap to hang down on my neck 
 behind. Whilst I was doing this Tom had twisted 
 up some fibrous bark into coarse cords, and made me 
 understand that I should sew this together so as to 
 make a kind of sandal. After much trouble I managed 
 to make this cord into two pieces the shape of the soles 
 of my feet. I then fastened into them broad strips 
 of strong cotton cloth, by which I was able to tie 
 them on. 
 
 This, and eating the food which Tom brought me 
 at mid-day, kept me pretty well occupied. Late in 
 the afternoon we heard the noise of drums and the 
 song of paddlers, which I soon found proceeded from 
 Okopa's slaving-party, who were going down the river 
 with their cargo of slaves. Our look-outs kept us in- 
 formed as to what went on, and reported that five large 
 canoes passed loaded with slaves. As at sunset no
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 137 
 
 more were in sight or hearing, we returned to our 
 canoe, which we baled out and reloaded, and then started 
 again on our voyage up-stream. 
 
 We paddled on for some hours in silence. We saw 
 and heard nothing until about eleven o'clock, when we 
 saw on the bank opposite to that by which we were 
 ascending the light of a fire, and heard the screams 
 of people as if in pain, followed almost immediately 
 by a bullet splashing in the water in front of our 
 canoe. 
 
 We stopped paddling, and letting the canoe drift back 
 till we were sheltered by a wooded point, began to 
 consult what should be done. We heard fresh screams, 
 and though I could not understand what Tom and the 
 men were saying, they were evidently very excited. 
 Guns were loaded, primings looked to, and knives and 
 axes were brandished. The screams continued, and 
 among them there seemed to be articulate sounds. We 
 pushed out from behind the trees where we had taken 
 shelter, and as we paddled at full speed toward the fire, 
 Tom said, " Okopa man bad ; tief wife for dat man," 
 pointing to one who was standing in the bow of the 
 canoe brandishing his musket and dancing about as 
 if he were possessed. 
 
 One or two more shots were fired at us as we drew 
 near ; but as the bow of the canoe touched the bank 
 and we all jumped ashore, most of the men who were 
 in charge of the captives fled, only two or three 
 waiting our onslaught. In less time than it takes to
 
 138 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 
 
 write these three were killed, but not before they had 
 inflicted severe wounds on their assailants. 
 
 Close to the bank we found some men and women 
 held captive by long logs lashed together, between 
 which one of their feet was secured, so that it was 
 impossible for them to move. In a few moments they 
 were freed, and we were all back into the canoe and 
 paddling for dear life towards the other side of the 
 stream, some of the slaves whom we had freed having 
 taken the paddles of the men who had been wounded. 
 
 After some time I made out from Tom that the 
 people we had freed belonged to a village some way 
 up the river, and that while they were on their way to 
 one of the local markets, they had been surprised and 
 made prisoners by a large party of men belonging to 
 Okopa and his allies. The man who had thought 
 that his wife was among them proved to be right 
 he having many wives in different parts of the 
 country in order to give him influence when he went on 
 any trading expedition. Their captors had fallen be- 
 hind the main body of Okopa's men, having stopped to 
 drink with some friends near where we had found them. 
 
 The wounded men were brought under my shelter in 
 the middle of the canoe, and I aided Tom in binding 
 up their wounds as we best could. Whilst we were 
 engaged in this task we heard behind us the splashing 
 of paddles and the voices of men, and it soon became 
 evident that we were pursued. 
 
 Our men, who up to this had paddled in silence, now
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 141 
 
 broke into a loud song, and redoubled their efforts to 
 make the canoe travel. For the whole night we kept 
 on paddling, the only rest being that one of the men 
 was relieved from his paddle for a time, even the 
 women taking their share in the arduous work. 
 
 The night at length passed away. When it became 
 light we could see that we were pursued by two canoes, 
 which were each about as large as the one we were in, 
 and manned by the same number of men. On seeing 
 us our pursuers gave a chorus of yells, and one man 
 in each canoe coming to the bows commenced firing at 
 us ; but fortunately their bullets fell short. 
 
 Our people were now getting tired. It was evident 
 to me that if we did not soon reach a place of safety, 
 or manage to cripple our pursuers, we would soon fall 
 into their hands, and from them we could certainly 
 expect no mercy. Tom now signed to me to take my 
 gun, and with him I went to the stern of our canoe. 
 The bullets of our pursuers falling nearer and nearer, 
 we at last commenced to return their fire. 
 
 I found firing from the canoe a very difficult thing, 
 and as reloading my gun was a matter requiring con- 
 siderable management, our fire was very slow and un- 
 certain. Fortunately our pursuers laboured under the 
 same disadvantages, and did us no damage. After we 
 had been firing for half-an-hour or so, without any 
 casualty on either side, I heard a bullet whiz close by 
 my head, a thud as it struck some one behind me, and 
 then a splash.
 
 142 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 
 
 The man at the after-paddle had been struck in the 
 head and had fallen overboard. He never rose again. 
 The lurch the canoe gave as he went overboard, and a 
 momentary cessation of paddling on the part of the men, 
 let our enemies draw up a bit, and they were now no 
 more than fifty yards astern of us. I felt more deter- 
 mined than ever, and taking a very careful aim I fired, 
 and the man who was firing from the nearer of the 
 two canoes threw his arms in the air and fell back- 
 wards. This caused some confusion on board his canoe, 
 and Tom, at the same moment, being fortunate .enough 
 to hit one of the paddlers in the other, we regained the 
 distance that we had lost. Soon after two of our 
 paddles w T ere broken by a bullet, and another of our 
 men was wounded. I thought that in another few 
 minutes they must be alongside, and we should be in- 
 volved in a hand-to-hand conflict. 
 
 I said so to Tom ; but in response he showed all his 
 teeth, and said, " Bery good, bery good." At the same 
 instant I heard the beat of a big drum, and looking 
 round saw that we were just coming in sight of a large 
 village, where people were launching canoes, Tom, as 
 he saw me look, said, " Dem be good ; " and our pur- 
 suers, who evidently had followed us further than they 
 intended, turned round and began to paddle down- 
 stream. 
 
 In a few minutes half-a-dozen big canoes from the 
 village were in full chase after them, in which we 
 joined. In less than half-an-hour our whilom pur-
 
 AN EXCITING JOURNEY. 143 
 
 suers were made prisoners, and we were all landed in 
 the village, where Tom was evidently made much of, 
 and where his white man was regarded with much 
 curiosity no specimen of that strange race having ever 
 before been seen so far up the Ogowai. 
 
 The prisoners we had released had come from this 
 place, and all was rejoicing and festivity in honour of 
 their release from captivity, the best of everything that 
 the village afforded being placed at our disposal. Our 
 wounded men were now handed over to the native 
 doctors, and Tom, after seeing them attended to, came 
 and informed me they soon would be " bery good." 
 
 I was very anxious to know what was to become of 
 me, and where I was going. All this time I had been 
 coming away from the coast, and it seemed to me that 
 though I might be getting safer from pursuit by Ca- 
 macho, Pentlea, and Okopa, the chances of my ever 
 rejoining the Petrel were becoming smaller and smaller. 
 
 All my questions only elicited from Tom the answer 
 of " Bery good," and I soon found that he, with all the 
 other men of our party, were so much under the influ- 
 ence of the palm wine, gin, and other liquors which 
 were provided in honour of our victory, that I could 
 hope to get no sensible answer until the feasting and 
 festivity were over.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 TOM was not so forgetful as not to provide me with 
 food and a place to sleep in; so I contented myself 
 with watching the rejoicings over the people who had 
 been released from slavery. They were now, instead 
 of being prisoners and expecting to be sent away for 
 ever from their friends and country, free and happy ; 
 while those who had stolen them and their companions 
 were now confined with logs on their legs and ropes 
 round their necks, being jeered and hooted by all the 
 children and women of the village. 
 
 After a time the chief, who Tom told me was called 
 Karerna, ordered his head-men, wives, drummers, and 
 musicians to assemble. They formed in a semicircle 
 round him, whilst the rest of the people drew away 
 a little distance and left them alone in an open space. 
 For some twenty minutes drums and horns had their 
 own way ; and though I could not discern much har- 
 mony in their notes, they seemed to give intense satis- 
 faction to the hearers as well as to the performers.
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 147 
 
 All at once Karema held up his hand and the music 
 ceased, and springing to his feet, he began an im- 
 passioned harangue, striding up and down and gestic- 
 ulating wildly. Every now and again, as he paused, 
 the drummers smote their drums fiercely, and the men 
 with horns blew a long shrill note, while all the people 
 cried out, " Eh-a-a-a-a-n ! Karema ! Eh-a-a-a-a-n ! " in 
 token of their approval of what he was saying. 
 
 At last Karema ceased, and sank back on his seat 
 exhausted with his vehemence. Tom and the men who 
 had formed the crew of our canoe then rushed forward, 
 brandishing their arms, and w^ent through a lively re- 
 presentation of a fight, in which they were soon joined 
 by the warriors of Karema's village. The antics of the 
 men, their yells, and the noise of drums and horns, all 
 combined to form a regular pandemonium ; and I was 
 astonished to see that my friend Tom, whom I had come 
 to consider as partly civilized, was as wild in his antics 
 and gestures as any of the other performers. 
 
 This went on for over an hour, and two or three times 
 I was seized upon by the excited dancers and hurried 
 round with them or carried on their shoulders, while 
 Tom shouted out, " English bery good." I was glad 
 when this was over, and the men dropped off one by 
 one as they became too tired to caper about any more. 
 
 Tom having apparently danced all his drink and 
 excitement out of him, took me to Karema's hut to 
 have a conference together as to getting me out of the 
 country.
 
 148 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 Karema's hut stood in the centre of a separate en- 
 closure, around the sides of which were rows of smaller 
 huts belonging to his wives. It was well built, with 
 clay walls and a thatched roof. Inside I found some 
 chairs of the familiar Windsor pattern, evidently re- 
 garded as most precious, on one of which I, as a white 
 man and visitor, was given a seat. Karema himself 
 lounged on a cane bed-place in one corner, smoking 
 a water-pipe made out of a cocoa-nut shell with a 
 piece of reed, and Tom squatted down on an elabor- 
 ately carved native stool. 
 
 Tom spoke long and, I could see, earnestly. Karema, 
 lying back on his couch, puffed steadily at his pipe, 
 sending forth huge volumes of smoke, and occasionally, 
 as Tom made an extra point, giving a grunt of approval 
 or disapproval. 
 
 At length, when Tom had finished, Karema made an 
 equally long-winded reply, which from Tom I made 
 out to be to the following effect : Karema was very 
 proud that a white man had come to see him, as it 
 would give him importance in the eyes of neigh- 
 bouring chiefs ; but he would not permit me to go 
 beyond his country, for then his rivals would be able 
 to boast they had also seen a white man, and he steadily 
 refused to fall in with the proposals of Tom that I 
 should be sent across the country to a big river where 
 white men were said to trade, and which I supposed, 
 as we were on the Ogowai, would be either the Gaboon 
 or the Congo.
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 149 
 
 I asked him to again urge Karema to let me go on ; 
 for I did not want to stop for ever in Africa, but wished 
 to get back to my own country and my own people. 
 
 Tom again spoke to Karema ; but he refused to let 
 me go beyond his country. He said that as long as I 
 chose to stop with him he would look after me as if I 
 were his own son, and that surely some day an English 
 ship would visit the river, and then I would be able 
 to get away without encountering the dangers insep- 
 arable from a long land journey in Africa. 
 
 On reflection this seemed to me the best thing that 
 could be done. Perhaps my father might meet with 
 a man-of-war and get her to come and punish Okopa 
 for his attack on the Petrel, when I would at once be 
 able to get away. 
 
 Tom. said that was a good idea, and that though I 
 could not live in his father's village without danger of 
 troubles with the Spaniards and Okopa, I should be 
 perfectly safe with Karema, and I had better therefore 
 accept his offer. 
 
 When Karema heard that we agreed to his proposals 
 he gave a grunt of delight and approval, and said that 
 next day he would, before all his people, exchange 
 blood with me, and I would be accepted as one of his 
 tribe. He also would give me a hut to live in, and 
 wives and slaves to cultivate ground for me and to 
 cook for me. 
 
 This question having been settled, Karema got up 
 from his bed and led Tom and me to a small enclosure
 
 150 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 in the village just finished, in which was a new hut 
 which had never been used, and the materials for 
 building others. This he said should now be mine ; 
 and then, saying he would send food and drink to the 
 hut in which I had passed the previous night, he re- 
 tired to his own quarters. 
 
 When Torn and I were again alone in our hut all 
 was quiet, the whole population of the village appa- 
 rently being engaged in sleeping off the effects of the 
 day's rejoicings. Tom said, " All bery good, massa. 
 One time English ship come you catch ; now s'pose lib 
 here very good." 
 
 " That's all right, Tom ; but suppose no English ship 
 comes, how then ? " 
 
 "No good s'pose bad ting," said Tom, who w r as 
 rapidly remembering his English, and who now told 
 me that he had been for a short time on board an 
 English ship as a pledge for goods with which his father 
 had been trusted, and had there learned to speak it 
 " all proper." 
 
 With much difficulty he also explained to me what 
 the ceremony of exchanging blood would be; and when 
 I said I did not want a black wife, he said, " How be 
 dat ? S'pose no wife lib, who make chop ? who make 
 fire, bring water who do all ting for hut ? " 
 
 " Yes, Tom ; but a woman can do all that without 
 being my wife. Your father has given me plenty of 
 cloth and beads ; cannot I give some to people to do 
 those things for me ? "
 
 K A R E M A.
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 153 
 
 " No, massa ; s'pose pay ebery time, bead soon go. 
 Best take wife." 
 
 "But, Tom, if I go back to my own country how 
 shall I do with a black wife, and what can she do in 
 England ? " 
 
 " Oh, s'pose you no care take wife own country, gib 
 her me. Me like plenty wife ; dat be good bery good 
 have plenty wife." 
 
 I tried in vain to explain to him my ideas on the 
 subject of marriage ; but at last he said, " S'pose you no 
 want wife, me tell Karema dat be your fetich. No 
 have wife, but plenty slave must have." 
 
 I tried to make him understand also that Englishmen 
 would have nothing to do with slaves ; but that he re- 
 solutely refused to agree to. At last, as the lesser of 
 two evils, I consented to become nominally the owner 
 of such slaves as Karema might assign to me ; and I 
 made up my mind to see that when I left the country 
 they were made actually free and well rewarded for 
 any services which they might render me. 
 
 By the time this long discussion was over it was 
 time for sleep. Tom leaving me to myself, I said my 
 prayers, and throwing myself on a bed which was cov- 
 ered with skins and mats, I was soon dreaming of all 
 sorts of things. Sometimes I thought myself again on 
 board the Petrel ; and sometimes I was in the clutches 
 of Pentlea and Camacho. 
 
 I slept long and soundly. When Tom came in and 
 woke me the sun was already high in the heavens, and
 
 154 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 everything was prepared for the ceremony of my 
 exchanging blood with Karema. 
 
 I washed my face and hands in a calabash of water 
 which Tom brought me; and coming out of the hut 
 with him I found all the people of the village squatted 
 round a clear space, in which a couple of stools had 
 been placed for Karema and me to sit on during the 
 ceremony. As soon as the villagers saw me they sent 
 up a great shout, and made way for Tom to lead me 
 to the stool, where I sat down, he standing by me to act 
 as my sponsor. 
 
 As soon as we were in our places Karema came out 
 of the enclosure where his huts were, accompanied by 
 his wives and drummers. All his followers remained 
 outside the circle, except one man, who was to promise 
 for him; and a fetichman, who was to perform the oper- 
 ation of exchanging our blood. The body, face, and arms 
 of the fetichman were painted white, and he wore round 
 his neck and waist great quantities of birds' skulls, an- 
 telopes' horns, bones, shells, and other things in which 
 great virtue was supposed to reside. 
 
 Karema sat down on the other stool facing me, and 
 took hold of my right hand with his left and my left 
 with his right. Tom and Karema's sponsor stood each 
 behind the one he was to answer for.; and the fetich- 
 man, after drawing a circle round us, stood with his 
 arms upraised and chanted a long monotonous song, to 
 which the people, who were sitting round, occasionally 
 joined in chorus.
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 155 
 
 When he had finished this, a woman came into the 
 circle and placed a large covered gourd on the ground 
 close by us, and then withdrew. The fetichman 
 opened the gourd, and out of it he took two large 
 buffalo horns and some grease, leaves, and earth, which 
 he mixed up into a sort of paste ; then putting some 
 into each horn, he stuck them in the ground between 
 Karema's legs and mine. 
 
 He now took a goat's horn, into which he put a lot 
 of small pebbles, beads, and some carved bits of wood ; 
 then shaking them up together, he let them fall on the 
 ground and eagerly scrutinized the forms in which 
 they fell. This he repeated several times ; and as Tom 
 kept on saying, "Bery good, bery good," I supposed 
 that the auguries he drew from them were favourable 
 to me. 
 
 He next took out of the gourd a square black gin 
 bottle full of oil, which he poured over the heads of 
 Karema and myself. Karema seemed to enjoy this; 
 but as the oil was rancid and highly-flavoured, I cannot 
 say that I found this anointing very agreeable. 
 
 Next he produced a small piece of a broken plate 
 and a little packet of gunpowder, which he mixed into 
 a paste with some oil ; then turning back my shirt and 
 laying bare my breast, with a very sharp knife he made 
 a smart cut over my left breast and squeezed out a 
 few drops of blood, which Tom caught in a leaf given 
 him for the purpose. 
 
 Karema had to suffer a similar wound, and his
 
 156 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 sponsor caught his blood on another leaf. When this 
 had been done, the fetichman made a long speech, 
 which was repeated by Tom and his colleague. Tom 
 afterwards translated it to me, and it proved to be a 
 most elaborate series of curses on Karema and myself, 
 and all our relations and friends, if we ever did any 
 harm to each other, or if we, being in need or danger, 
 did not at once hasten to each other's assistance. In- 
 deed we should have been as well cursed as the jackdaw 
 of Rheims if in any way we either of us failed of our 
 mutual duties ; and as I am now well and hearty, I 
 must have always fulfilled my share. 
 
 This having been completed, the two sponsors ex- 
 changed the leaves with the blood in them, and the 
 fetichman putting his forefinger in the leaf containing 
 my blood, rubbed it into the cut on Karema's chest, 
 and then rubbed his blood into mine. He next took 
 some of the gunpowder and oil and rubbed it over the 
 wounds. He then put the leaves and the remainder of 
 the blood and gunpowder into the two buffalo horns. 
 
 As soon as this was done the people gave a mighty 
 yell, and all who were possessed of drums, horns, bells, 
 or other instruments of noise, made the most of their 
 powers. The din lasted for about five minutes, and 
 on a sign from the fetichman it ceased as suddenly 
 as it had commenced. 
 
 I supposed that now the ceremony was over, but 
 soon found I was mistaken, as two old and wrinkled 
 women came into the circle, one of whom carried a
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 157 
 
 cocoa-nut shell and a gourd of water, and the other a 
 square bottle of gin. From the large gourd, which 
 seemed inexhaustible, the fetichman now drew out some 
 roots and pieces of bark, which he cut into several 
 small pieces and put into the cocoa-nut. Then pour- 
 ing a little water on them, he stirred it up vigorously 
 with an antelope's horn, and filling it up with gin 
 banded it to Karema, who took a large draught and 
 gave it back to the fetichman. He placed it in my 
 hands and signed that I should follow Karema's example. 
 I took a moderate sip, and found that it tasted very 
 bitter, the gin burning my throat and almost taking 
 away my breath. 
 
 The shell was now passed to Tom and Karema's 
 sponsor, who each took a drink, and the fetichman 
 then finished off the remainder. The two buffalo horns 
 were now taken up from the ground and filled up 
 with mud. The one that had been between my legs 
 was given to Karema, and his was given to me. We 
 were led to the entrance to our enclosures, where the 
 horns were hung up in order to keep all evil spirits 
 and wicked men from injuring us ; then returning 
 once more to the middle of the village, the fetichman 
 proclaimed in a stentorian voice that Franki was 
 brother of Karema. This he did four times, first 
 facing north, then south, then east, and lastly 
 west. 
 
 Each time as he called out the people shouted, 
 " Eh-a-a-a-n, Eh-a-a-a-n ! Franki Karema, Karema
 
 158 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 Frank! ! " and drums, bells, horns, and whistles were 
 brought into requisition to increase the noise. 
 
 The ceremony was now finished, and I was one of 
 the Adiana, as Kareina's people were called. From 
 all in the village came presents, mostly small, such as 
 a leaf of tobacco or an egg, a fowl or something of that 
 sort ; but from Karema came three women and three 
 men carrying earthen pots, mats, hoes, stools, cala- 
 bashes, and driving half-a-dozen goats. These people, 
 as well as what they brought me, Tom told me, were 
 now my property, and would have to cultivate my 
 farm for me and do all the work that I required. One 
 of the women, who was young and good-looking, he 
 advised me to take for a wife. 
 
 I again told him that it was impossible, and at last 
 he ceased to urge me to marry, saying, " Bery good. 
 Me no sabey white man palaver ; black man s'pose he 
 get slave what be good he marry him one time." 
 
 My new hut soon began to look habitable, and by 
 Karema's orders all the people of the village brought 
 in poles and thatch and strips of bark to tie the frames 
 together. Before evening huts were nearly finished to 
 shelter my servants for I would not call them slaves 
 and my live stock. 
 
 Next day these were finished, and with Karema I 
 went out of the village and chose a piece of ground 
 which was to be cultivated for me, and for which he 
 gave me seed. Tom stopped this day with me, and 
 advised me to make presents, out of the goods his
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 159 
 
 father had supplied me with, to all the principal men 
 among my new countrymen, not forgetting the fetich- 
 man who had performed the ceremony of exchanging 
 blood betw r een Karema and me. Next day he left to 
 go back to Jack Sprat's village, and after bidding me 
 good-bye most warmly, he got into the canoe which had 
 brought us up and paddled away down-stream. 
 
 As he left, a sense of great loneliness came over me, 
 for though I and Karema were brothers, I could not 
 exchange a word with him, and how long it would be 
 necessary for me to remain where I was I did not 
 know. However, I consoled myself by thinking that 
 I might have been in a much worse plight, and set 
 myself to make the best of my present situation. 
 
 I soon found that I was able to pick up sufficient of 
 the native language to make myself understood. I 
 found employment to fill up my days in looking after 
 my servants and farm, in hunting and shooting, and 
 in learning the use of spear and bow, and how to 
 manage a canoe, in all of which I became very expert. 
 I found that the natives, after their first supersti- 
 tious reverence for a white man had worn off, began 
 to treat me as if I was not so good as themselves. 
 When, however, they saw that I could surpass them 
 at their own callings ; that I was always to the front 
 in hunting the wild cattle which abounded in the 
 neighbouring woods, or in the more exciting and dan- 
 gerous pastime of spearing hippopotami from our can- 
 oes ; that no man's spear was hurled further or with
 
 160 IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 truer aim ; and that my arrows pierced deeper in the 
 bodies of our prey than those of any of my com- 
 panions they looked upon me as one of their leading 
 warriors, and openly spoke of me as the successor of 
 Karema. 
 
 Among the whole tribe I could count only a few 
 enemies, and these were a younger brother of Karema, 
 named Dala who before I came had expected to be 
 his heir and his special friends. I often tried to 
 explain to Dala that it was impossible I should be- 
 come the chief of the Adiana, as my intention was, 
 as soon as ever I heard of the arrival of an English 
 ship in the river, to make my way on board and 
 return to my own country. Though Dala was forced 
 to own the truth of what I said, he was so blinded 
 with jealousy that he continued to try to do me harm. 
 My plantations were often damaged, my fowls stolen, 
 and my goats killed. 
 
 Karema loyally fulfilled all the obligations of brother- 
 hood to me, and always made good my losses. The 
 only actual annoyance they caused me was in proving 
 that, notwithstanding anything I might do, Dala was 
 my persistent enemy. 
 
 From time to time Tom came to visit me, but, alas ! 
 he never brought me news of the appearance of an 
 English ship. Instead, he imparted the unpleasant 
 intelligence that Pentlea and Camacho had made a 
 
 o 
 
 large barracoon on the creek where the two schooners 
 had been hidden, and that Okopa, having thrown in his
 
 IN THE INTERIOR. 161 
 
 lot with them, was daily becoming possessed of more 
 muskets and ammunition. Okopa was now more hos- 
 tile than ever to all the people on Hararu's side of the 
 river, having even dared to destroy one or two small 
 villages and carry off their inhabitants, besides con- 
 stantly kidnapping fishermen and women. 
 
 Seed-time and harvest, dry and rainy seasons, passed 
 by. I had been nearly two years with the Adiana, 
 and was thinking I must at all risks try to get away, 
 and I had sought to get Karema to allow me to try to 
 make my way towards the big river of which he had 
 told me when 1 first came to his country, when a cir- 
 cumstance occurred which had an important influence 
 on my future. 
 
 (85)
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 WITH a party of young men from the village, I had 
 been for some days on a hunting expedition, in which 
 we had varied luck. We had sent most of the meat 
 and skins which we had obtained back to our village 
 for distribution among the people, when suddenly one 
 of the three men given to me on the day that the cere- 
 mony of my exchanging blood with Karema had been 
 performed, who had become very much attached to 
 me, and accompanied me wherever I went, said to me, 
 " Franki, a long time we have hunted, and both buffalo 
 and antelope are scarce; why do we not go further 
 into the forest and far from the villages ? We shall 
 find more meat." 
 
 " True, Fumo," I replied ; " but we have been many 
 days in the jungle, and the men with us wish to go 
 back to their wives." 
 
 " No, Franki," said Fumo; " there are seven here who 
 wish to go far. The others who want to go back are 
 women and not men."
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 163 
 
 I soon made inquiries among our party, and found 
 that some of the men said Karema had always said to 
 return in eight days from the time of leaving the vill- 
 age, and not to go beyond a certain distance ; and that 
 now, if we were to obey his orders, we ought to set 
 about returning at once. 
 
 I was looked upon by all the men as leader of the 
 party, and I knew that I should have done right in 
 complying with the wishes of Karema, from whom I 
 had received nothing but kindness. Fumo's words, how- 
 ever, excited in me a desire to see more of the country, 
 and a hope that I might find some way of escape. 
 I had no intention of being so base as to go away 
 without telling Karema ; but I thought the more I be- 
 came acquainted with the country, the better I should 
 be able to make my way to where I could find some 
 traces of Englishmen. 
 
 After a long argument we decided that the men who 
 wished to return to the village should do so, and Fumo 
 and the other seven men who were willing to follow 
 me should send word that we were going to remain 
 out for another week, in the hope of finding game more 
 plentiful. We were under the guidance of one of our 
 number to make our way to a place where not only 
 buffaloes and antelopes were known to be plentiful, but 
 where elephants often came. 
 
 I knew, if we could get any ivory, Karema would 
 willingly overlook our remaining away beyond the 
 time he had fixed ; but it was because I could not be
 
 164 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 sure of his consenting to my going so far from the 
 village that I determined on going to this place with- 
 out returning to the village and telling him of my 
 intention. 
 
 Fumo and I with our companions exchanged broken 
 spears for sound ones with those who were returning, 
 and took all the spare bowstrings and arrows we could 
 muster. I was the only one of our number who pos- 
 sessed a gun, and my stock of ammunition was so 
 scanty that I hoarded it with most jealous care, and 
 had for some time made up my mind never to fire a 
 shot except in a case of urgent necessity. 
 
 As soon as our companions had left us to go back to 
 the village, we started off under the leadership of a 
 man called Wanda, who said he knew the road. For 
 the whole of that day we forced our way through 
 almost impenetrable jungle, and camped for the night 
 on the bank of a small stream. 
 
 Next morning we came into rather more open forest, 
 and we were able to spread out in search of sport. Soon 
 after we had started, I heard a great crashing among 
 some undergrowth near us, and immediately afterwards 
 a large antelope dashed out across our path with a 
 leopard clinging to his shoulders. As quick as thought 
 I brought my gun to my shoulder and fired, and the 
 bullet struck the leopard full in the flank. 
 
 At once it quitted its prey and commenced to come 
 towards us. My gun being unloaded, I threw it on 
 the ground, and essayed to pick up my spear, which I
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 165 
 
 had dropped when in the act of firing ; but I could 
 not find it. Hearing Fumo, whose attention had been 
 attracted by my firing, calling out, " Run, Franki, 
 run!" I took to my heels, closely followed by the 
 leopard. 
 
 I was running towards two of my companions, from 
 whom I might get a spear, and with whose assist- 
 ance I might have a chance of turning the tables on 
 the leopard, when I heard a roar and a yell behind me. 
 Looking round I saw that the faithful Fumo had at- 
 tacked the leopard with a spear, but from some cause 
 or other his blow had not been successful ; and the 
 infuriated beast, turning on him as he attempted to 
 get away, had seized him by the back with claws and 
 teeth. 
 
 I seized on a spear from the man nearest to me, and 
 hurled it at the leopard and transfixed it through the 
 loins. It at once let go its hold of Fumo, who fell for- 
 ward on his face bleeding from his wounds, and turned 
 towards its new assailants. We met its onslaught 
 resolutely. Finding my own and Fumo's spears, we all 
 three kept stabbing at the beast as it attempted to 
 tear us down to the ground. Fortunately the wounds 
 which I had inflicted with bullet and spear had crippled 
 the leopard's movements, or we should have fared badly 
 in the encounter. Except the one or two comparatively 
 slight wounds which I received on my fore arms while 
 driving my spear into its breast, we did not have any 
 damage done to us. The rest of our companions, hearing
 
 166 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 our shouts, came rushing up, and with their assistance 
 we soon despatched our antagonist. 
 
 As soon as we were done with the leopard, I turned 
 my attention to poor Fumo, who was in a terrible 
 condition, the brute having torn the flesh off his back 
 so that the bones were visible. I scarce knew what 
 I should do to dress his wounds, and the only thing 
 possible was to cut great slices of flesh from the leopard 
 and tie them over the wounds ; then, as he could not 
 bear to be moved, we set to work and built a small 
 hut over him. As my arms prevented my being of any 
 use, I sat by his side to attend to his wants. The 
 rest made a camp, cut firewood, and went to hunt for 
 game to supply our larder. 
 
 Poor Fumo ! I do not know what might have been 
 done for him if we had had any knowledge of surgery 
 or any proper appliances for dressing his wounds. 
 For days he lingered on, not getting either any better 
 or apparently any worse, and I thought it best to send 
 word to Karema of what had occui-red, and how we 
 might be still delayed by Fumo being unable to travel. 
 When I mentioned this, I was astonished to find that 
 some of our companions wished to abandon Fumo to 
 his fate, as it was impossible for him to recover, and 
 to make our way back with all speed, for evidently 
 there was some fetich against us. 
 
 I was indignant at this proposal, and said all could 
 go if they chose, but when I returned I would tell 
 Karema that they were not men but women, and they
 
 FUMO ATTACKED BY A LEOPARD. 
 
 Page l6j.
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 169 
 
 would be hooted by the women and jeered at by the 
 boys, and never again would a man trust them as a com- 
 panion in a fight or a hunt. 
 
 When I had finished speaking, the youngest of all, 
 Chaka, a lad of my own age, rose up and said, " Listen! 
 The words of Frank! are good words. All may return, 
 but Chaka will remain with Franki," and then he sat 
 down again. 
 
 For some moments there was silence, and then Wanda 
 said, " I have been waiting to hear the words of those 
 who want to leave Fumo to die. Franki will stop, and 
 Chaka will stop, and I Wanda, I, too, am a man, and 
 will stop with my friends when they are in trouble. 
 Go back, and Karema will take your spears from you, 
 and put hoes in your hands, and you shall work in the 
 fields with the women." 
 
 No answer was given to this appeal, and soon we 
 saw our recreant companions packing up their little 
 belongings and preparing to leave us. This was a 
 most curious phase of the negro character. Here were 
 men who only a few hours before had been ready to 
 risk their lives to help the man whom now they 
 proposed to leave to die alone and untended, and this 
 simply because they had some idea that he was unlucky, 
 or, in other words, that his fetich was bad. It was 
 indeed fortunate that the two brave fellows, Wanda 
 and Chaka, had consented to remain with me and their 
 wounded companion. 
 
 Those who had made up their minds to return did
 
 170 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 not linger over their preparations; and though they 
 could only make a short distance on their journey that 
 night, they started off at once, refusing even to help 
 Chaka and Wanda to make a fence round our huts 
 as a protection against wild beasts. 
 
 When they left, Chaka and Wanda set about this 
 necessary work, and, as the deserters had collected a 
 considerable quantity of wood and branches before I 
 had unfortunately proposed sending to tell Karema of 
 Fumo's mischance, we were able by sunset to make 
 ourselves tolerably secure, and have big fires lighted to 
 scare away wild beasts. My arms, which the leopard 
 had torn, had by this time become so painful that I 
 was unable in any way to assist in this most necessary 
 work. Poor Fumo was in great pain, and groaned piti- 
 fully. During the whole night I could not sleep at all, 
 and in the morning I was seized by an attack of fever. 
 For days I was ill, and conscious only at intervals, dur- 
 ing one of which my faithful friends told me that Fumo 
 was dead. 
 
 I was slowly recovering from the fever, and was 
 greatly rejoiced in finding that my arms were nearly 
 healed, when one day, Chaka and Wanda having gone 
 out to try to kill some game for our larder, I was 
 sitting in the door of our hut, and I suddenly heard 
 shouts of " Franki, Franki ! " Thinking that perhaps 
 Karema, hearing of our having remained with Fumo, 
 had sent men to our relief, I got on my feet to go in 
 the direction whence the sound came. Walking slowly
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 171 
 
 thither I saw Chaka and Wanda burst from the jungle, 
 and spears and arrows flying after them. 
 
 Evidently they had fallen in with a party belong- 
 ing to some hostile tribe. They shouted out, " Franki, 
 get in the camp, or we'll be killed !" and poor Wanda, 
 before he could reach that haven of comparative safety, 
 fell down dead with a couple of spears right through 
 him. 
 
 As soon as he reached our little camp, Chaka closed 
 up the entrance, and then said, " Franki, Wanda and 
 I had just killed an antelope, and were busy skinning 
 and cutting it up, when we were startled by some 
 arrows flying past us, and looking up we saw many 
 men among the trees, and we ran, and as we ran we 
 called to you." 
 
 The party who had attacked my two friends and 
 killed poor Wanda now showed themselves all round 
 the open space in which our little camp was situated. 
 By their arms, shields, and the manner in which they 
 were decorated with beads and feathers (which was dif- 
 ferent from anything I had yet seen), I could see that 
 they were members of a tribe who were entire strangers 
 to me. 
 
 They shouted out to us to come out of our camp or 
 they would kill us all ; their language, though different 
 from that of the Adiana, in which I was now a pro- 
 ficient, being sufficiently allied to it for us to under- 
 stand. 
 
 Chaka was evidently in a dreadful state of fright.
 
 172 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 He begged me not to resist, but to speak to the strangers 
 and endeavour to make terms with them, for he said 
 they were a very fierce people and ate the bodies of 
 those killed in battle. " How dreadful it is to be eaten!" 
 said Chaka. 
 
 I shouted that if our lives would be spared we would 
 come out, but if they would not promise not to injure 
 us we would resist to the utmost. At first they laughed 
 at us, but when they saw that I was a white man and 
 had a gun they said they would not kill us. Chaka 
 and I, as soon as the promise was given, ran to where 
 Wanda was lying, but could render him no assistance. 
 The spear which had pierced him having gone clean 
 through his heart, death must have been instantaneous. 
 
 We were not allowed much time to mourn over the 
 death of our companion, for the strangers surrounded 
 us at once, and after seizing our weapons, bound our 
 arms behind our backs, and then put a cord round our 
 necks. Having rifled our camp of all that was of value 
 in their eyes, they cut up Wanda's body into pieces, 
 which they distributed among themselves, and then 
 commenced their return to their own camp, which was 
 situated about five miles away. 
 
 Here we found a large body of men on a hunting and 
 plundering expedition, who had made several captives 
 from neighbouring tribes. Among these unfortunates 
 Chaka and I were made to take our place, and large logs 
 of wood were fitted round our ankles, so that it was im- 
 possible for us to do more than hobble along very slowly.
 
 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 173 
 
 We soon had unwelcome proof that our captors were 
 indeed cannibals, for before our eyes they ate the body 
 of poor Wanda; and Chaka, becoming terror-stricken, 
 said constantly to me, " Then you see if we had resisted 
 we should have been eaten." I own I did not feel 
 philosophical enough to argue, and felt quite as much 
 horror at the idea as he did. 
 
 Next morning at daylight our captors broke up their 
 camp. We gathered from their conversation they in- 
 tended to make the best of their way back to their 
 own villages, which lay a long way up the Ogowai, on 
 the banks of which we were to find some canoes they 
 had hidden, and in which we were to travel up-stream. 
 This was very good news to me; for it was weary 
 and painful work to hobble along with my leg in a 
 log, which I had with both hands to lift at every step 
 by a loop of rope made fast to it. Indeed, in my 
 weak state I was only urged on by fear of being left 
 fettered and helpless to be the prey of jackals and 
 hyenas, or, if I escaped from them, to die of thirst and 
 hunger. 
 
 My sufferings were intense. My leg, from my ankle 
 to my knee, was soon a mass of sores ; and if ever I 
 halted for a moment, our captors forced me on with 
 blows and jeers. Poor Chaka, who was tied to me by 
 a rope round our necks, though faring even worse than 
 I did, kept on trying to cheer me up by saying that 
 when we got to the river we should be sure to find 
 means of escaping, or that the people whom Karema
 
 174 CAPTURED BY CANNIBALS. 
 
 would be sure to send to look for us would manage 
 to release us. 
 
 No hope of either entered into my mind. As we 
 wearily dragged along, I could not help thinking how 
 all this fresh trouble had come on me from not com- 
 plying with Karema's desires, whose slightest wish 
 should have been law to me, when I considered how 
 great and consistent had been his kindness to me dur- 
 ing the whole time I had lived with him. 
 
 I did not think it was possible that Karema could 
 send enough men to attack our enemies with any pros- 
 pect of success, for it seemed unlikely for him to have 
 any knowledge of the fresh misfortunes which had be- 
 fallen us. In this I was mistaken, as the event shortly 
 proved.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 ON the evening before we expected to reach the banks 
 of the Ogowai, I and Chaka were lying, tired and 
 weary, under a large tree, while our captors were busily 
 employed in building the camp. Suddenly some of 
 the men who were away cutting branches and grass 
 to make huts came rushing in, saying that a large party 
 of Adiana were upon us. Instantly a panic seized all 
 the party, and hastily snatching up their weapons they 
 rushed away into the jungle, leaving Chaka and myself 
 behind. 
 
 The idea that we were about to be released gave 
 Chaka and myself new life. Getting on our feet we 
 cried out at the top of our voices, to let the new-comers 
 know that we were still alive. 
 
 Soon we saw them advancing towards us, and heard 
 their shouts and cries. We thought that in another two 
 or three minutes we should be released from the torture 
 which the logs were causing us. Soon we could recog- 
 nize their faces, and I was astonished to see that they
 
 176 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 were headed by Dala. I augured ill from this, more 
 especially as I could soon see that he was accompanied 
 by his own friends, and by a party from a village near 
 Karema's which was considered as his special pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Instead of releasing me, Dala stood over me and said, 
 " Franki, you will never see your people, nor will you 
 ever go back to pour poison into the ears of Karema." 
 
 I protested I had never done him any harm, and that 
 all my wish was to get home to my own country as 
 soon as possible. He would not listen to me, but gave 
 orders for a call to be beaten on his drums which would 
 tell the runaways that his intentions were peaceful and 
 not warlike. 
 
 We soon heard their shouts, and a parley was carried 
 on for some time between Dala and their leaders at the 
 top of their voices. Soon they all came back into 
 camp, laughing, singing, and talking, on the best of 
 terms with the Adiana, whom Chaka and I had fondly 
 hoped had come to rescue us. 
 
 After a time a man came and, striking me across the 
 face with a strip of hippopotamus hide, so as to bring 
 blood, told me to accompany him to where the chief 
 of our captors and Dala were sitting on a log near a 
 fire. I got up and followed, and when I got near, Dala, 
 with much coarse language, told me to listen to what 
 he had to say. First he summed up a number of 
 imaginary injuries which he said I had done him, and 
 accused me of having always poisoned Karema's mind
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 179 
 
 against him which was totally untrue and next of 
 not having obeyed Karema's orders in returning at the 
 proper time, and thereby having caused the death of 
 Fumo and Wanda. 
 
 I tried to speak and defend myself, but he said I 
 had the tongue of a serpent and should never again 
 poison the ears of Karema. Raising his spear, I 
 thought he was about to strike me dead, when his com- 
 panion, whose name I learned was Kifura, prevented 
 him. Dala said, " It is well ; let him live ; but I will 
 do worse than kill him;" and then addressing me said, 
 " Franki, the English are in the river and waiting for 
 you. Hararu has sent canoes to take you to your own 
 people." 
 
 A rush of thankfulness went through my whole 
 being, and I cared not for pains nor logs nor any dis- 
 comforts, and said, " O Dala, take ine, take me quickly, 
 that I may go to my own people ; and when I reach 
 them I will give you many things guns, powder, beads, 
 cloth all that you wish shall be yours." 
 
 " Listen to his words," said Dala. " A slave, a dog 
 promises me guns ; he promises me cloth. Know that 
 if all that white men make in their country were given 
 me I would not take you to the English ship, for I 
 hate you." 
 
 I fell on my knees and, weeping and crying, implored 
 this hard-hearted savage to have pity on me. I pointed 
 out how Karema could not possibly make me his heir 
 if I left the country, and I promised that not one word
 
 180 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 would I say of his present behaviour ; but all without 
 effect, and again he raised his spear as if to kill me, 
 but again Kifura stopped him. 
 
 " Listen, Dala of the Adiana," said Kifura. " Why 
 should you kill this white man ? Mine he is, and mine 
 he will continue ; if you kill him, my words will go 
 to Karema, and you will never be chief in his place. 
 Take counsel with me and be wise. The men who are 
 with you, will their words be as your words ? " 
 
 " Truly, what I say they say. They are my own, and 
 their lives are in my hands." 
 
 " Take wisdom in your hands, and return to Karema 
 and say unto him, ' I have found the place where 
 Franki was, but he was dead when we came ; and I 
 followed after other people, for I found the traces of 
 many men, and I found that one other of our people 
 he who is even now a prisoner was with them, and I 
 came and found him in their hands, and they released 
 him.' Go your way with this man, and the English will 
 give you guns for having gone after this white man." 
 
 "But, Kifura, this slave, this Chaka, is a friend of 
 Franki's, and he will say unto Karema that Franki lives. 
 I will kill him, and his tongue will be silent." 
 
 " Stay your hand, Dala. While the man lives he 
 may work, and I can use him. Let him remain, and 
 say that he also is dead." 
 
 " Surely, Kifura, the life of this slave is nothing to 
 me ; but he may come back and make me a liar before 
 Karema."
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 181 
 
 "No, Dala, he shall never come back. They who 
 fall into the hands of Kifura never escape." 
 
 "Then let him live; but this Franki, let me slay 
 him, for while he lives I shall not have peace." 
 
 "No, he may not be slain; for never before has 
 Kifura had a white man in his hands. And when I 
 go to my own people they will say Kifura is indeed 
 a warrior ; the women will dance, and they shall sing 
 that there is no man among the Balaba like unto him, 
 for never before has a man of the Balaba brought a 
 white man as a slave." 
 
 There was a further discussion between these two 
 worthies as to the question of my being killed. At 
 last it was settled that Chaka and I were to remain 
 in the hands of the Balaba, and that Dala was to re- 
 turn to Karema and say we both were dead. In con- 
 sideration of Dala foregoing his wish to murder me he 
 was to be given a canoe to return down the river in, 
 which he could say he had captured from the Balaba 
 in fight. 
 
 I was ordered to return to where Chaka was lying, 
 and I told him of the conversation between Dala and 
 Kifura. 
 
 " Oh that I were free," said he, " that I might kill 
 him and die. He is a dog, and the son of a dog. But, 
 Franki, while Chaka is with you he will be your slave, 
 and what service he can render you he will render." 
 
 It was long ere I could close my eyes in sleep, for I 
 was tortured by despair at my evil fortune and the
 
 1 82 WORSE THA N DEA TH. 
 
 thought that if I had not disregarded Karema's desires 
 I might even now have been among my own people 
 and probably with my own father and brother. At 
 last I was exhausted by the very violence of my 
 emotions, and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, from 
 which I was awakened by a great noise and shouting. 
 
 I raised myself up to see what was the cause, and 
 I found the whole camp in commotion. On looking 
 for Chaka I found that he was no longer by my side. 
 After a bit I heard a piercing shriek, as if some one was 
 killed. I tried to drag myself towards the noise, for I 
 feared that my faithful companion was the victim ; but 
 I was soon seized upon by two men and dragged before 
 Kifura. By his side lay the dead body of Dala, with a 
 knife in its breast ; and close by the corpse of Chaka, 
 riddled with spears. 
 
 Kifura gave orders for me to have, in addition to 
 the log on my ankle, a slave-fork put round my neck 
 and my hands lashed behind my back. 
 
 While his orders were being carried out I gathered 
 what had occurred. I found that Chaka, notwith- 
 standing the encumbrance of the log on his leg, had 
 managed to creep close to where Dala was sleeping, and 
 drawing the latter's knife from his girdle had driven 
 it into his heart. As he rose to do so the light of a 
 neighbouring fire fell on him, and one of the Balaba 
 seeing what he was doing, raised an alarm. Before 
 Chaka could get a dozen feet from the body of his 
 victim he was speared to death.
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 183 
 
 The men who had followed Dala were now furious 
 for my death, but Kifura would not give me up to 
 them. The day breaking shortly after, the Balaba and 
 Adiana separated the latter returning to their own 
 village, and the Balaba making their way to the 
 Ogowai. 
 
 I dragged my weary steps along as best I could, 
 every symptom of nagging being rewarded with a 
 lash from a hippopotamus-hide whip; but at last I 
 stumbled and fell, and was powerless to rise again. 
 Flogging and burning with hot coals were resorted to 
 by my savage captors in order to force me on my feet 
 again ; but I was so thoroughly weary and sick of life 
 that nothing could induce me to stir. At last Kifura, 
 fearing that I would die, gave orders to have the log 
 and slave-fork taken off me, and then he and his fol- 
 lowers tried again to force me on my feet. But hoping 
 that they might kill me, I stubbornly refused to move. 
 At last a pole about eight or nine feet long was cut 
 from a neighbouring tree, and having lashed me tightly 
 to it with strips of bark and hide, four men were told 
 off to carry me. 
 
 They had no more mercy than if I had been totally 
 destitute of feeling. They bumped me against trees, 
 dragged me through thorns, and hauled me over fallen 
 trunks, bruising me all over and tearing nearly all the 
 skin off my body. At the same time flies, stinging ants, 
 and other noisome insects, attracted by my sores, fat- 
 tened on my blood and clustered so thickly round my
 
 184 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 eyes that I thought I should have been blinded. When 
 I felt myself thrown down like a log in the bottom 
 of a leaky canoe I thought I had undergone the ex- 
 tremity of torture, and that though I was trampled on 
 by the people crowding on board, and had all sorts of 
 things flung on me, I might now have comparative rest 
 and peace. I was fated to find that I had still more 
 exquisite agony to endure ; for though the water in the 
 bottom of the canoe was cool, and the abominable in- 
 sect pests had left, my lashings became tightened by 
 the wet and cut into me like lines of fire ; my limbs 
 and body swelled ; one lashing round my neck almost 
 throttled me, so that every breath I drew was torture, 
 and another across my forehead seemed to be eating in 
 to my very brain. 
 
 I felt that it was impossible to endure such intensity 
 of pain and still to exist, and I begged and prayed to be 
 released. For some time my entreaties were unheeded; 
 but at last Kifura, fearing that I should die, and that 
 he would be deprived of the triumph of bringing a live 
 white man as a prisoner into his country, gave orders 
 for my lashings to be cut. I felt instant relief, even 
 though I was so stiff and helpless that I was unable to 
 sit up, and had to continue lying in the bottom of the 
 canoe, kicked, trampled, and spat upon by its other 
 occupants. 
 
 All day long we paddled up the river, and at night 
 camped on its bank, the canoes being hauled up on 
 shore. Rejoicing in being close to their own homes,
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 185 
 
 the Balaba, notwithstanding the fatigues of the day, 
 sang and danced round huge fires nearly the livelong 
 night. To my fevered imagination they seemed like 
 a company of demons rejoicing over the pains of some 
 condemned soul. 
 
 In the morning we were early under way again. 
 About eight o'clock, judging by the height of the sun, 
 I heard the sound of rushing water, and presently the 
 canoes put into the bank. All the men went ashore 
 and began stripping the bark from trees and twisting 
 it into ropes. From their conversation I gathered that 
 we were at the foot of some rapids up which it was 
 necessary to haul the canoes. 
 
 Unable to walk, I managed to sit up and look about 
 me, and I could see that our numbers had been largely 
 increased. There were many women whom I had not 
 previously seen among the party, so I supposed that 
 we could not be far from the end of the journey. 
 
 At first I did not attract much attention, but 
 some of the women coming down to the canoes with 
 bundles of rope noticed me, and cried out that there 
 was a white man. I was soon surrounded by a crowd, 
 who pulled my hair, looked into my eyes, examined my 
 toes and fingers, and shouted and screamed with wonder 
 at the whiteness of my skin, or rather at such portions 
 of it as remained light-coloured. I was so grimed with 
 dirt and tanned with the sun and weather that I 
 doubt if any Englishman would from my appearance 
 have owned me as a fellow-countryman.
 
 186 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 I tried to appeal to them to do something to relieve 
 my sufferings ; but they only laughed at my speaking, 
 as if I were a strange species of ape, until one old woman 
 came down bending under a heavy load of twisted 
 bark. 
 
 When this good old woman saw me she rebuked the 
 crowd of gapers who were standing around, saying 
 
 " Is he not a man, and suffers pain like us ? Go, get 
 leaves and get drink for him." 
 
 Getting into the canoe, she seated herself by my 
 side, and began to bind up the worst of my wounds 
 with plantain leaves, which she arranged as deftly as 
 any member of the College of Surgeons would have 
 done a bandage. 
 
 I felt instant relief from her services, and when she 
 gave me a bowl of fresh plantain wine which one of 
 the other women brought her, I began to have hope 
 once more. Whilst she was busied about me Kifura 
 came to see what she was doing, and rebuked her for 
 wasting her time about a slave and a prisoner. 
 
 She answered : " O Kifura ! he is a slave and a 
 prisoner, it is true ; but even slaves and prisoners have 
 feelings, and die like other men ; and this man is a 
 white man. Now when Kifura comes to-night to his 
 home, people at the dance will say there is no chief 
 like Kifura, who has brought a white man to Kitaka ; 
 and words will go to all that Kifura has a white man 
 at Kitaka, and people will come from all places to see 
 him, and say that Kifura is indeed a big chief. But if
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 187 
 
 he die, it is finished, and people will say that the words 
 of Kifura are emptiness, and that he is no better than 
 another." 
 
 Kifura was somewhat convinced by her arguments, 
 and told her she might continue her care of me ; but 
 that, if I escaped, her life would be the forfeit. Having 
 obtained permission to attend on me, the old woman, 
 whose name she told me was Teta, managed to rig up 
 a place so that I could sit up in the canoe. Having 
 done all she could for my comfort, she said that I would 
 have to remain in it while it was hauled up the rapids, 
 for it would be impossible for me to climb the hills, 
 and that in the evening when we arrived at Kitaka 
 she would take me to her own hut and tend me as if I 
 were a son. 
 
 The canoes were now cleared of their contents, and 
 only three men left in each canoe to manage them and 
 fend them off rocks and snags while they were hauled 
 up the rapids by the ropes which all hands had been 
 busy preparing. 
 
 Shoving off from the shore we pushed round a small 
 point and came full in sight of the rapids. I confess 
 as I saw what was before us I did not care about 
 making the ascent in the helpless condition in which I 
 was ; for the waters were rushing down at an angle of 
 sixty degrees with the horizon, and huge and ugly 
 rocks showed their heads above the surface, the foam 
 flying wildly round them. 
 
 One by one the canoes were brought out of the still
 
 188 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 water, where they had been made fast to long ropes 
 which were manned by men on shore and on the rocks 
 above. Even before they commenced the actual ascent 
 they were knocked about in the Witches' Caldron into 
 which the waters fell, as if they were certain to be 
 swamped or capsized. The canoe in which I was a 
 helpless passenger was the last to make the journey, so 
 I had lots of time to contemplate the risks that we 
 were about to undergo. The first canoe went safely 
 through the boiling and seething water at the foot of 
 the rapids, and was dragged to the ascent. At the com- 
 mencement she dipped her bow and shipped a huge 
 quantity of water ; but recovering herself it went flying 
 out over her stern, washing out a quantity of small 
 articles which their owners had been too lazy or care- 
 less to remove. I at once saw that if the same thing 
 happened to ours I myself should be washed out and 
 drowned to a certainty. 
 
 My kind old woman Teta was standing on the bank 
 near me. I called to her and told her of my fears. 
 She laughed, and comforted me like a wayward child, 
 and tried to persuade me that it was impossible ; but 
 at last she yielded to my persuasions, and taking off 
 a cloth she wore she passed it behind my back and 
 under my armpits, and knotted it securely to a piece of 
 wood running across the canoe. 
 
 By the time she had finished a great shout an- 
 nounced the safe arrival of the first canoe at the sum- 
 mit of the rapids ; and the ropes were brought down
 
 ASCENDING THE RAPIDS. 
 
 Page iSS.
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 191 
 
 again and made fast to the second canoe. I could see, 
 as the ascent commenced, that she made a dip like 
 her predecessor, and was very glad that Teta had con- 
 sented to lash me. Having nothing else to attend 
 to, I now watched the ascent most carefully, and could 
 see that it was with the utmost difficulty the men in- 
 side kept her from being smashed on the rocks, and 
 that she often came perilously near capsizing ; but she 
 too was got up in safety, so was the third canoe, and 
 then it came to our turn to make the ascent. 
 
 I did not feel very comfortable as we were dragged 
 through the broken water, which flew into the canoe 
 until she was half full. As we made the dip and 
 drive into the rapids at their foot, the water struck 
 me with such force as to knock all the breath out of 
 my body ; but the send we gave as the canoe recovered 
 herself sent all flying out over the stern and left her 
 nearly free. 
 
 I watched as we made our slow and perilous ascent, 
 sometimes not going ahead an inch, and sometimes 
 even receding and coming dangerously close to the 
 rocks, the men in the canoe with me exerting their 
 utmost strength and skill to prevent her being stove 
 in. 
 
 After a bit I saw we were getting more to the middle 
 of the rapids than the other canoes had done, and that 
 the rope from the shore was singing like a harpstring 
 as the water struck against us. I do not know why it 
 was, but one knot about a couple of fathoms from the
 
 192 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 canoe seemed to have a peculiar fascination for me, and 
 I soon saw that it was giving. The men in the canoe 
 saw this too, and shouted with all their strength for 
 their friends on shore and on the rocks to ease us down 
 again so as to secure it afresh ; but the noise of the 
 rapids drowned their voices, and their cries being under- 
 stood to be cries of encouragement, the men manning 
 the ropes hauled away all the more vigorously. 
 
 The spare ends of the knot grew shorter and shorter, 
 and it became a question whether the knot would hold 
 out or slip before we arrived at the top of the rapids. 
 Slowly we made our way, and were almost in safety, 
 when a log coming down the river struck against the 
 bow of the canoe. This extra strain was too much for 
 the knot, and it slipped. 
 
 Instantly the canoe swung out against the rocks and 
 hung below one of them, with the water rushing over 
 her, half capsized, and then the three men who formed 
 her crew were thrown out into the rapids. I was in a 
 most perilous position, half suffocated by the water 
 tearing over me, and expecting every moment that the 
 other rope would be cut through by the rocks against 
 which it was grinding, and that I and the canoe would 
 be dashed to pieces. I could do nothing to help myself ; 
 and there I hung in the canoe for a time which seemed 
 to me an eternity, only waiting for the end. 
 
 I had entirely given myself up for lost, and was 
 trying to frame a prayer imploring forgiveness for my 
 sins, when I felt that the grating of the rope over the
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 193 
 
 rocks, which was causing the whole canoe to vibrate, 
 had ceased. Then I felt myself being again hauled 
 through the water, sometimes under and sometimes 
 above water, the canoe rolling over and over as we 
 were hauled over the edge of the rapids. 
 
 Just at the last moment I received a blow on my 
 head which stunned me, whether from a piece of wood 
 or a rock I know not. When I recovered consciousness 
 I found myself lying on a rock with old Teta bending 
 over me and bathing my forehead. As I opened my 
 eyes she bade me be of good cheer, as I had a strong 
 fetich and the river could not kill me. I do not know 
 that I felt much comfort from her assurance, for I 
 thought if the future had as much suffering in store for 
 me as the past, death would be a merciful release to 
 me. She told me the three men who had been in the 
 canoe with me were all drowned, and I could not help 
 feeling how fate seemed to be against all those who 
 were in any danger with me. First Fumo, then Wanda, 
 then Chaka and Dala, and now these three Balaba, all 
 dead, but I, who had undergone more perils than all of 
 them, was still alive. 
 
 As I was thinking of this a feeling of thankfulness 
 to God for my preservation took the place of de- 
 spondency, and aided by Teta I sat up and looked round. 
 I saw that the rapids up which we had been dragged 
 were only a portion of the ascent which had to be 
 made ; for on the other side of a pool of still water were 
 a series of vertical falls about twenty feet high, and 
 
 (85) 13
 
 194 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 men were busy hauling the canoes over the rocks that 
 divided them. 
 
 I was now put in another canoe and paddled across 
 the pool, with my head resting in Teta's lap, who had 
 now removed the cloth with which she had tied me 
 into the canoe, and which had formed the principal 
 portion of her dress. Under her direction I was care- 
 fully carried up the rocks, and put into another canoe, 
 in which we soon reached Kifura's village, the principal 
 village among the Balaba. 
 
 Here Teta carried me to her own hut, where she 
 nursed and tended me carefully. Though my recovery 
 was slow and tedious, I was at length restored to health 
 and strength. As soon as I was able to go about I 
 turned all my attention to get away and, if possible, 
 descend the river and again get in communication with 
 my friends Karema, Tom, and Jack Sprat. I found, 
 however, that my every movement was so jealously 
 watched that it was impossible to think of getting 
 away ; and when I confided my intentions to Teta she 
 said it would be no good trying to escape, but I had 
 much better sit down quietly where I was and trust 
 that in time Kifura would let me go. 
 
 I asked if there was any chance of people coming 
 up to the Balaba to trade. She said they never allowed 
 people living below the rapids to come above them, and 
 by that means they managed to keep the whole trade 
 of the river in their own hands. 
 
 I saw several parties sent away down the river with
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 197 
 
 slaves and ivory, and endeavoured by most lavish pro- 
 mises of reward to induce the men forming them to 
 convey the news to Karema that I was still alive ; but 
 my doing so only resulted in a closer guard being kept 
 on my actions, and my being removed from Teta's 
 guardianship and put to lodge in a hut close by Kifura's, 
 where I was never left alone for a moment. During 
 the period of my stay with the Balaba I was never 
 ill-treated, being regarded as a sort of sacred being. I 
 was amply supplied with food and cloth. With the 
 cloth I managed to make myself clothes after the 
 European fashion, which were so much admired that I 
 was constantly employed as tailor for Kifura and his 
 principal men. 
 
 Having a sufficiency of food and drink, I gradually 
 sank into an apathetic condition, and did not care for 
 more than the occurrences of the day, and I quite lost 
 my reckoning of the lapse of time. From this state I 
 was at last aroused by the following incidents. 
 
 Kifura and the Balaba were constantly engaged in 
 war with some of the neighbouring tribes in search of 
 ivory and slaves ; and in one of these many of the 
 Balaba were slain, and Kifura himself was taken pris- 
 oner. The news of his defeat and capture was brought 
 in by a fetichman, who was instructed to ask for a 
 large quantity of cloth, beads, and other goods for his 
 ransom. 
 
 A council of the elders was summoned to discuss the 
 matter, and, attracted by the noise, I went and listened
 
 198 WORSE THAN DEATH. 
 
 to the discussion. As soon as the fetichman saw me 
 he asked from whence I had come, and what a white 
 man was doing in Kifura's village. When he was told 
 I was Kifura's white man, he said it could not be en- 
 dured that Kifura should have a white man while those 
 who had conquered him had none ; but if I were given 
 over to him, Kifura and his fellow-prisoners would be 
 liberated without any further payment. 
 
 Now that the novelty of my presence had worn off* 
 the elders did not attach any great importance to my 
 possession, and gladly accepted the offer. Next day a 
 party of men set off, taking me with them to the place 
 where the exchange was to be made. Before leaving I 
 was permitted to say farewell to my kind protectress 
 Teta, who wept at losing me, and said that her husband 
 and children being dead I had been to her in the place 
 of a son. Opening a bark box which contained her 
 choicest treasures, she took from it a string of beads 
 to which hung the polished base of a sea-shell, and this 
 she said had come into her husband's hands from a 
 man who travelled almost to the world's end, and would 
 protect me from many dangers. 
 
 I myself felt greatly at parting from my benefac- 
 tress, and I think it no shame to my manhood to own 
 that I shed many and bitter tears when my escort 
 dragged me from her and forced me to commence my 
 march. 
 
 My new masters lived beyond the sources of the 
 Ogowai, and our march to their country was long and
 
 WORSE THAN DEATH. 199 
 
 wearisome. I was not unkindly treated, but only care- 
 fully watched to prevent my escaping. When we ar- 
 rived I found the village of the chief was situated on a 
 river called the Alima, which, I heard, after many days' 
 journey fell into a great river where the people traded 
 with the white man.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 ABOUT six months after I had been exchanged for 
 Kifura, and the rainy season being finished, I was 
 awakened from a state of apathy by preparations being 
 made for a journey down the Alima with a quantity of 
 slaves and elephants' teeth. This was considered of 
 such importance that the chief himself was to go in 
 command; and I heard it debated among the gray heads 
 of the tribe whether I should be taken or not. 
 
 Some argued that if other tribes, through whose 
 country we were to pass, saw me they would be so 
 desirous of possessing themselves of me that they would 
 attack my masters, and therefore my presence would 
 add immensely to the risks of the journey. Others 
 held that many tribes had only heard of white men, 
 and knowing that from their country came the beads, 
 brass rods, napkins, and cloths, so highly prized by the 
 natives of Africa, attribute the production to the pos- 
 session of some powerful and wonder-working magic 
 by white men. When these tribes saw that one of
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 201 
 
 that strange and supernatural race was a slave to 
 the passers through their territories, they would con- 
 sider their fetich was even stronger than that of the 
 white men, and therefore immensely superior to that 
 of any other tribe of blacks. Accordingly, they would 
 abstain from interfering with or molesting us in any 
 way. 
 
 The pros and cons were eagerly urged on both sides, 
 and, as may be imagined, I listened with great interest. 
 I hoped, when we reached the great river at the end 
 of the journey, to find among the people there buying 
 the slaves and ivory, if not a white man, at all events 
 some in constant communication with the coast, whom 
 I might induce to ransom me, and send me to where 
 white men came. I thought that, even if I fell into 
 the hands of slave-dealers, the story of my sufferings 
 and adventures might induce the hardest-hearted of 
 them all to assist me to return to my own country. 
 
 For days the argument went on. At last it seemed 
 as if those who were for my being left behind would 
 prevail, when one morning the wife of the chief an- 
 nounced that during the night she had had a dream in 
 which she had been told that the white man's presence 
 would bring good fortune to the travellers. As she 
 was generally credited with having a more than ordi- 
 nary intimacy with the spirits of evil, her words were 
 listened to ; and when, three days later, the party set 
 out, I was among those composing it, though placed 
 under the special guard of four men, with strict orders
 
 202 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 to kill me if I attempted to escape or communicate in 
 any way with strangers. 
 
 Precautions were taken in order that I might not 
 elude the vigilance of my guard. At all times, except 
 when liberated to feed myself, my hands were tied 
 behind my back, and a line from my wrists was made 
 fast to the waist of one of the guards, while a sort of 
 bag or hood was put over my head, so that I might 
 not see the way we were going. 
 
 Fettered and blindfolded in this manner I was placed 
 in a canoe. I soon felt that the crew were paddling 
 vigorously. They sang of all the wonderful things 
 they were to obtain in exchange for their ivory and 
 slaves ; and how, when they returned, they would be 
 able to enjoy themselves in perfect idleness, and do 
 nothing but sing, dance, and drink from morn to eve 
 and from eve to morn. 
 
 I could, of course, see nothing of the country we 
 passed through ; but as we were going down a river, I 
 thought we must be getting nearer and nearer to the 
 sea. I cared little for the discomforts of my situation, 
 as I hoped that every day was bringing me closer to 
 liberty and the companionship of white and, I trusted, 
 civilized men. 
 
 At night, when we camped on the river bank, or 
 when we halted at one of the numerous villages which 
 we passed by, I was brought out and unhooded to 
 show my pale face to the people whose countries we 
 were passing through. Loud boasts were made by
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 203 
 
 my owners of the great powers of their fetich, which 
 enabled them to become the fortunate proprietors of a 
 white man, and many and strange were the powers 
 which were also attributed to me. 
 
 Fortunately, when I was shown, the people who came 
 to gaze at me seemed to be desirous of propitiating me, 
 and of getting me to exercise these powers on their 
 behalf. Presents of fowls, eggs, yams, plantains, and 
 ground-nuts were often laid at my feet, and sometimes 
 even their desire for good fortune so far overcame their 
 innate avarice that a goat or a pig was brought as a 
 present. I always smiled and tried to look pleased, as 
 I found that the more that was brought the better my 
 masters treated me. Though but a small portion of 
 these gifts and offerings fell ultimately to my lot, still 
 I hoped my masters would get more and more free in 
 showing me, and that the hood, which in that hot 
 climate was almost an intolerable nuisance, would in 
 time be removed, as often as I could hear people on 
 the banks crying out to have the white man shown 
 to them, and offering gifts for even a glimpse of his 
 face. 
 
 At last this was done, and a few days after we came 
 into what seemed to me a lake with islands bounded 
 in part by steep hills of white sand. I afterwards 
 found it was only a widening of the great river into 
 which the Alima fell, and which was no other than 
 the mighty Congo. 
 
 The Bateke, as the people living on the northern side
 
 204 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 of this river-lake were called, were keen and eager 
 traders. A few days after our arrival among them, I 
 was most strangely affected by a very simple occurrence, 
 which seemed to me an omen of approaching deliver- 
 ance from my unhappy lot. 
 
 This happened when a village chief, who was desirous 
 of buying the slaves and ivory which we had brought 
 with us for sale, came to bargain with my masters. 
 He brought several large vessels filled with native beer, 
 and instead of the usual gourd or basket as a drinking 
 vessel, he used a common white earthenware mug, on 
 which was a view of Clifton, with "A present for a 
 good boy from Clifton " printed below it. 
 
 All European manufactures, save beads and a few 
 pieces of cloth, had long been strangers to my sight, 
 and now to see this mug, of which I had seen hundreds 
 of counterparts for sale in the shop windows during 
 the days of my happy school life, brought a flood of 
 memories into my heart, and seemed like a message 
 to me that I should not despair. Doubtless that cup, 
 leaving England in some Bristol ship, perchance the 
 Petrel herself, had penetrated into that strange and 
 unknown country by a road by which I might find my 
 way to the sea-coast. 
 
 I thought of good Dr. Poynter, old Abe, and my 
 schoolfellows, and this cup seemed a direct message 
 to me from them not to lose heart. As I looked at 
 it I became so powerfully and strangely affected that I 
 burst into tears, and my hands at the time not being
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 205 
 
 fastened, I seized upon the senseless piece of clay and 
 covered it with kisses. 
 
 My owners, when they saw how the sight of this 
 cup had worked upon me, instantly became possessed 
 with the belief that it was some mighty fetich, and 
 that if I was allowed to handle it I would be able to 
 work them some evil and obtain my freedom. The 
 Bateke chief also thought it was a fetich, and it was 
 instantly torn from my hands lest by its aid I should 
 render all around subservient to my wishes. My hands 
 were again tied behind my back, and I was taken 
 away and lashed to a post at a little distance, where I 
 could see all that went on. 
 
 My owners were so desirous of possessing the mug 
 that they offered its owner tusks of ivory and slaves. 
 As he saw their desire to possess it was very keen, 
 he refused all their offers; and at last, by their ges- 
 tures and the looks which were constantly directed 
 towards me, I made out that it was being discussed 
 whether I should not be exchanged for the mug. 
 
 The Bateke chief had seen many mugs and cups 
 like the one in question now, but he had never before 
 seen a white man ; and my owners, though they were 
 very proud of possessing a white slave, were still more 
 eager to possess this mug, which they thought, from 
 the emotion it had caused in me, must be a most power- 
 ful fetich. As I afterwards found out, they argued 
 that it might be dangerous for them to have both it 
 and me, lest in some unguarded moment the precious
 
 206 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 object might fall into my possession, and I might, with 
 its aid, revenge upon them all the miseries and insults 
 they had lavished on me. At last they consented to 
 exchange me for this mug, which possibly might have 
 been worth fourpence. 
 
 No sooner was the bargain concluded than I was 
 untied from the post and turned over to my new 
 master. He put me in his canoe and took me to his 
 village, which was about four miles below the place 
 where my late owners had camped, and there he gave 
 me in charge of his mother, an old and wrinkled woman 
 of at least seventy, who ruled over his numerous wives 
 and slaves with an iron hand. 
 
 I soon found that this old dame had not much super- 
 stitious reverence for me as a white man. I had to 
 go and work on her plantations and collect firewood 
 like any ordinary slave the only difference between 
 me and others being that I was more jealously guarded, 
 though, as being more valuable, having slightly better 
 food and shelter. 
 
 My old masters left for their own country soon after 
 I had passed from their hands. Before long I found 
 there seemed to be little chance of my getting away 
 from the Bateke and making my way to the sea- 
 coast. Nevertheless, after some time the guard over 
 me became less severe. The old hag who had charge of 
 me becoming more blind and feeble, and not being able 
 to keep so strict a watch over her son's belongings as 
 she had hitherto done, I found opportunities of convers-
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 207 
 
 ing with some of my fellow-slaves, and struck up a 
 kind of friendship with one called Duma, a fellow a 
 year or two older than myself. 
 
 Duma told me he belonged to a tribe that lived 
 some distance down the river, below some vast and 
 fearful cataracts ; and if it were not that he was afraid 
 of passing these he would long ago have stolen a canoe 
 and made his way by the river to his own people arid 
 his own home. 
 
 I asked why he had not tried to make his way past 
 the cataracts on foot. He replied the way was very 
 long and difficult. So many and great were the dan- 
 gers to be encountered from wild beasts and wilder 
 men that he had been loath to make the attempt by 
 himself. Among all our fellow-slaves there was not 
 one whom he could trust to go with him. Indeed, he 
 was afraid even to speak to them about escaping, for 
 fear of being betrayed to our master. But if I would 
 share the hazard of the undertaking with him he would 
 make an attempt to steal a canoe and to escape about 
 the time of the next new moon, when the nights would 
 be long and dark. 
 
 About a fortnight had to elapse before the proper 
 time for our start would arrive. Duma and I em- 
 ployed it in secreting a store of provisions to serve us 
 on our journey, and in getting together a few spears, 
 a bow and arrows, a small fishing-net, and other little 
 things, such as a stick for making fire, an earthen pot, 
 and a small hatchet. All these things we hid in a hole
 
 208 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 in the bank of the river not far from where the canoes 
 of the village were usually kept. To prevent suspicion 
 from attaching to us for being much in the neighbour- 
 hood of the canoes, we employed ourselves in fishing, 
 and were most careful to bring all our prey to our 
 old mistress, who was exceedingly fond of fish for food, 
 and who was thus kept in good humour. 
 
 About three days before that fixed upon for starting, 
 Duma came to me in a state of great excitement. He 
 told me that one of the women slaves, who was a 
 countrywoman of his, had found out our intention of 
 absconding, and insisted on joining us in our flight. If 
 we did not consent, she threatened to inform the chief 
 that we were going to run away. 
 
 I was nothing loath to have a third person to join 
 us in our attempt. I own I had rather it had been 
 a man. Still the spirit she showed was evidence she 
 would not stick at anything, and of this she soon gave 
 us further proof. 
 
 At Duma's request I went with him to see his 
 countrywoman, who proved to be a tall powerful lass 
 of eighteen or nineteen years of age. She asserted she 
 was as good a hand at paddling a canoe as any man, 
 and that she could carry heavy loads and march far 
 and fast. As soon as she saw me she asked me if I 
 could use one of the white man's iron sticks out of 
 which fire came. 
 
 I, of course, knew she meant a gun, and said that 
 I could certainly use it. She then told me that the
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 209 
 
 chief had one in his hut, and she would try to steal 
 it for me. I told her the gun would be of no use 
 without the black powder which it ate and the fire- 
 stones belonging to it, and that if she got the gun she 
 would have to find ammunition also. This she said 
 would not be quite so easy a matter ; but if I would 
 give her the shell and beads my old friend Teta had 
 hung round my neck on parting from me, she would 
 try to bribe one of the chief's wives under whose charge 
 the pouches and belts of the gun were, and bring them 
 to us at the canoe. 
 
 She also said we must be ready to start any night, 
 and must get leave for fishing at night, so that our 
 absence from the slaves' quarters need occasion no sur- 
 prise. Indeed, now that she had become one of our 
 party, she showed more spirit and energy than Duma 
 and myself put together. Agreeably to her instruc- 
 tions, we got leave, and a little before sunset put out 
 from the shore as if we were going a fishing ; but when 
 it was well dark we came back again, took our pro- 
 visions out of their hiding-place, and stowing them in 
 the canoe, waited the coming of Pipa, as our confed- 
 erate was called. 
 
 Presently, while we were anxiously expecting her 
 arrival, we could see dimly a number of canoes floating 
 down the stream. Fearing that she had betrayed us, 
 we were about to restore our goods to their hiding- 
 place, when we were pleasantly surprised by her calling 
 to us she had got the gun and the things belonging to 
 
 (85) 14
 
 210 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 it, and had set adrift the canoes that we had seen and 
 which had caused us so much fright, and now she 
 wanted our assistance to launch some which were too 
 heavy for her to move by herself. 
 
 I confess I was both astonished and delighted by the 
 courage and address of Pipa. With Duma I hurried 
 at once to her assistance. We soon had all the canoes 
 belonging to the village in the water and drifting away 
 down-stream, save three or four which were too big for 
 our united efforts to move. In order that when our 
 escape was discovered they should be of no use to the 
 Bateke if they desired to pursue after us, we damaged 
 these, so as to render them useless. As soon as this 
 most wise and necessary precaution had been taken, we 
 got on board our own craft. Duma and Pipa taking 
 the paddles, I had an opportunity of examining the 
 weapon brought us, which was the only fire-arm owned 
 at that time by the Bateke. 
 
 It was a curious-looking affair, and in England would 
 have been deemed fitter for a place in a museum or a 
 curiosity shop than to be fired off. The barrel was 
 immensely long, and bound to the stock by a number 
 of little brass bands, while close to the breech a piece 
 of the skin of an elephant's tail had been shrunk on to 
 it to guard against bursting. The butt, which was 
 ornamented with cowries and a fly-flapper made of a 
 zebra's tail, was very straight and awkward. How- 
 ever, though it was but a clumsy, unwieldy piece, I 
 found that the lock was in fair working order. In the
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 211 
 
 pouches obtained with good old Teta's parting gift 
 there were half-a-dozen flints, besides powder and some 
 iron bullets. I fitted in a flint, and proceeded to load 
 and prime the piece. Then I laid it down carefully, 
 ready for use if occasion should arise. Seizing a 
 paddle, I added my efforts to those of Duma and Pipa 
 in putting as much distance as possible between us 
 and our quondam masters before our flight should be 
 discovered. 
 
 Favoured by the current, we must have been some 
 seven miles away before the lighting of fires told us 
 that the village was alarmed. Soon we found that 
 not only behind us but also in front danger was to 
 be feared. The alarm rapidly spread, and not only 
 astern and abreast of us, but also ahead, we saw fires 
 burning. It became a question whether we should 
 run the risk of putting out into the middle of the 
 stream, and possibly missing the passage out of its 
 lake-like widening, or whether by keeping near the 
 bank we should make sure of striking it. 
 
 Pipa was for the latter course and Duma for the 
 former. I had so much faith in our female compan- 
 ion's address and bravery that I sided with her, and 
 we kept along about five or six hundred yards from 
 the shore. Though we had sometimes to cease pad- 
 dling and keep silence in order to avoid attracting the 
 attention of the crews of canoes which put out from 
 villages we passed by, we managed to elude all pursuit 
 and without being stopped to get where the river nar-
 
 212 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 rowed again to its ordinary width of about half a mile 
 or so. The current was now so strong that we hoped 
 before daylight to be beyond the last village of the 
 Bateke, and among a people who would be willing to 
 aid Duma and Pipa in their escape. 
 
 Soon after daylight we found ourselves near a village 
 where Pipa said she remembered to have been when on 
 a trading expedition with one of her brothers, and she 
 counselled our putting in there boldly and claiming 
 protection before any of our pursuers arrived. We 
 agreed, as Duma and I were both spent and weary with 
 our night of toil. Running into the landing-place, Pipa 
 boldly asked for the chief by name, who soon came 
 down to see what had happened. 
 
 When Pipa had told her tale, the chief said that he 
 was unable to resist any attack that the Bateke might 
 make on him. If, however, we gave him my ancient 
 piece of artillery he would hide us and our boat, and 
 when the Bateke came he would tell them that we 
 had been seen going down the river but had not 
 stopped. Afterwards he would give us guides to the 
 nearest way by land to Pipa's own village, which he 
 averred might be reached in four or five days of hard 
 marching. 
 
 Evidently this was our best course to pursue. We 
 immediately landed, and our canoe was hauled into 
 a neighbouring creek and there sunk. Under the 
 chief's guidance, we went away with him to a place 
 where he said we would be safe from our pursuers, and
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 213 
 
 where we could lie hid until they gave up the search 
 after us. To avoid attention being attracted by my 
 white face, I had smeared myself all over with the river 
 mud, and keeping myself in the background, and allow- 
 ing Pipa and Duma to do all the talking, I fortunately 
 managed to pass unobserved. Though our new friends 
 might deceive the Bateke about so small a matter 
 as the flight of three slaves, it was not to be expected 
 that they would not betray us if they knew me to be 
 a white man. 
 
 The hiding-place the chief led us to was the hollow 
 trunk of a great tree, which we got into by climbing 
 up some creepers and going through a hole in its side 
 some fourteen or fifteen feet from the ground. Inside 
 we found a pretty commodious place where there was 
 ample room for us all three to lie down. The bottom 
 of the cavity being covered with decayed wood and 
 dead leaves, it made pretty soft lying for us. As soon 
 as we were safely stowed away the chief left us, saying 
 he would send some one to bring us food and drink 
 when the sun went down, but that in the meantime 
 we were not to quit our place of refuge. 
 
 As soon as we were left alone, we fell asleep, being 
 very tired after our night's work. We must have slept 
 soundly for some hours, when we were awakened by 
 some people talking loudly near the bottom of our tree. 
 I thought that these would be the people whom the chief 
 had promised to send with food, and would have at once 
 gone to the hole to see who the people were ; but Pipa
 
 214 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 caught hold of me and prevented me from doing so, and 
 made signs for us to be silent and listen. 
 
 We soon made out that the speakers were some 
 Bateke in chase of us, and that our landing had been 
 found out through the vanity of the chief. Proud of 
 the brass -bound, antique weapon obtained from us, he 
 had not been able to refrain from firing it. The un- 
 accustomed sound had brought a number of the Bateke 
 to the spot ; for it was known that no one in the neigh- 
 bourhood possessed a gun besides that which we had 
 stolen. 
 
 Pipa listened eagerly to make out if the chief had 
 betrayed us. He had made an excuse that he supposed 
 we were people in pursuit of fugitives, and the gun had 
 been given him as a pledge of amity and a token that 
 we were sent out by our master. The Bateke were 
 consulting as to what course they should take in pursuit, 
 and as far as we could make out the river was the only 
 avenue to safety left open. 
 
 After some time the Bateke who had aroused us 
 started off again. Soon after a messenger arrived from 
 our friendly chief to say how sorry he was his indis- 
 cretion had betrayed that we had landed, and to lead 
 us to a place where a canoe and provisions were in 
 readiness. 
 
 We did not wait long before following the mes- 
 senger. He led us by wild -beast tracks and hippo- 
 potamus paths to a creek where the canoe was. We 
 immediately put out and recommenced our voyage
 
 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 215 
 
 down-stream ; and drifting and paddling during the 
 night, we halted for the day on a small uninhabited 
 island. 
 
 Nothing occurred to frighten or disturb us. At sun- 
 set we again launched our frail vessel ; but we soon 
 found that the stream was increasing in rapidity, and 
 hearing the sound of falling water ahead, both Duma 
 and Pipa said we must now abandon the canoe and take 
 to the shore. 
 
 We accordingly put into the southern bank, just 
 missing, owing to the force of the current, a little creek 
 that we had been aiming for; but catching hold of 
 some branches, we began to land our scanty belongings. 
 I was carrying away the paddles, which we intended 
 to take with us as weapons, or in case we might be for- 
 tunate enough to find another canoe below the rapids, 
 when I heard a splash and a cry. Rushing to the bank, 
 I saw that one of my companions had fallen overboard 
 and that the other had let go the tree which he or she 
 had been holding on to, and that both were rapidly drift- 
 ing with the canoe down-stream. 
 
 I was powerless to assist. Forgetting my own safety, 
 I made my way as well as I could along the bank, only 
 to arrive, long after the catastrophe had occurred, at 
 the head of the falls, over which they must have been 
 swept. 
 
 Though it did not seem probable, I imagined there 
 might possibly be a chance of their surviving, and with 
 great difficulty made my way down the rocks by the
 
 216 ESCAPE AND RECAPTURE. 
 
 side of the river, and at the foot of the falls I cried 
 long and loudly, " Duma ! Pipa ! " No answer came in 
 response to my shouts save the scream of some night 
 birds which I scared and the howl of a prowling hyena. 
 When the rising sun put an end to a long night of 
 agonizing suspense, I found that the bruised and bat- 
 tered bodies of my two friends and the broken remains 
 of the canoe had been cast ashore almost at my feet. 
 
 I think now my brain and mind must have given 
 way for a time, for I have only an indistinct memory 
 of being recaptured and bound and taken back to the 
 care of the old hag, my master's mother, who was a 
 perfect mistress of the art of ingenious torture. I 
 often fancied that I must have fallen into the hands of 
 friends. It is still a wonder to me how I survived 
 what I must have undergone at this time, as several 
 large and ugly scars prove it was not a dream but an 
 absolute reality.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 WITH the Bateke I believe I stopped about a year 
 more ; then I was traded to some other chief who was 
 desirous of being the proud possessor of a white man. 
 In this manner, passing from hand to hand and tribe 
 to tribe, I gradually got further and further into the 
 interior of Africa, and my hopes of ever again seeing 
 my native country, or my father and brother, grew 
 less and less. 
 
 I lost all interest in life, and mechanically ate and 
 drank what was given me, but scarcely noticed what 
 occurred around. Of this part of my life it would be 
 very hard for me to give a connected description. I 
 have vague memories of many journeys, of fevers, of 
 fights, of times of starvation and times of plenty, but 
 perhaps least vague of all of a party I was with being 
 attacked from trees and bushes by dwarfs with tiny 
 poisoned arrows, the wounds from which proved fatal 
 almost immediately. That this is a true memory I 
 know, because I have even now a basket-work quiver.
 
 218 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 covered over with a substance like pitch, full of these 
 arrows. This was the only thing I had with me when 
 found wandering in the woods, some two hundred miles 
 west of Lake Tanganyika, by Hatibu, one of the slaves 
 of Hamees ibu Sayf, an Arab merchant. 
 
 The way I fell in with him was on this wise. My 
 companions had, I suppose, all been killed by the pois- 
 oned arrows of the dwarfs, or had made good their 
 escape from them without caring to wait to see whether 
 I was among the slain or not. I had been wandering 
 alone in the jungle for some days, subsisting on berries 
 and lichens gathered from the trees. I had to devour 
 these raw, having no means of making a fire to cook 
 them or to warm myself. Nearly starved and quite 
 weary I laid me down, as I thought, to die, and was 
 in a sort of semi-torpid state. I was roused up by 
 yells and shrieks. Lifting my head, I saw that some 
 men were attacking a troop of sokos or gorillas, and 
 that one of the sokos had seized a man by the hand 
 with his teeth. 
 
 Evidently these men were only a portion of those 
 engaged in the chase of the gorillas, for I heard the 
 sound of guns. I soon saw a man coming up with a 
 white skull-cap on his head. Besides a cloth round 
 his loins, he wore a kind of sleeveless waistcoat, and 
 bore in his hand a gun which had been recently dis- 
 charged. 
 
 The sight of a gun brought a flood of memories rush- 
 ing into my head, and raised hopes that people who
 
 FRIENDLY ARABS. 221 
 
 had guns must be in communication with white men. 
 The remaining gorillas were soon despatched. I tried 
 to attract the attention of the hunters ; but as I at- 
 tempted to rise to my feet I found I was too weak to 
 do so, and all the sounds that I could utter were faint 
 and inarticulate. 
 
 At last I attracted the attention of some of the men, 
 and one was about to hurl a spear at me, when the man 
 with the gun prevented him, and came running to 
 where I was lying. I was a curious object to look at, 
 being clothed only in some scanty shreds of native 
 grass-cloth, and my hair hanging in matted and dishev- 
 elled masses on my shoulders. My skin was burnt and 
 discoloured by exposure to sun, wind, and weather, and 
 changed to almost the colour of mahogany, except just 
 round my neck and on my forehead, where my hair 
 had sheltered it ; and my beard, which had commenced 
 to grow, hid nearly all my face. 
 
 He was followed by some of his men, and they began 
 to examine me curiously, and seemed much astonished, 
 especially when, lifting up my hair and removing the 
 remains of my clothing, they saw the natural colour of 
 my skin. " Mzungu, mzungu ! " 1 heard them cry, while 
 they held up their hands in astonishment. The man 
 with the gun said, " Portugoo, Francese, Ingleez ? " as 
 if asking me what countryman I was, so I replied, 
 " English." 
 
 He immediately placed his two forefingers side by 
 side, and said, " Arab Ingleez sawa sawa " (all the
 
 222 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 same). By his orders the men cut some branches and 
 grass, and with these and their spears they made a lit- 
 ter, on which I was carried to their camp, about an hour 
 distant. Here I was carefully tended, fed, and washed. 
 My head was shaved, which was a great comfort to me. 
 I was then dressed in a long white shirt, while a bale 
 of cloth was opened to provide me with a waist-cloth 
 and a piece of calico to tie over my head. 
 
 After all that I had gone through it seemed as if 
 I were in paradise. A comfortable place having been 
 arranged for me in one of the huts I slept soundly and, 
 for the first time for many days, I believe I may say 
 months, peacefully. 
 
 Next morning, the chief of the men who had rescued 
 me came and sat by me. Pointing to himself he said, 
 " Hatibu, Hatibu ; " then he pointed to me as if to say 
 that his name was Hatibu and that he wished to know 
 what mine was 
 
 I replied, " Franki." I had become so accustomed 
 to be called nothing else by my various savage pro- 
 prietors that I had quite or almost forgotten that I 
 had a surname. Hatibu laughed, showing all his teeth. 
 Patting me on the head he made signs for me to go to 
 sleep again, saying, " Lala, Franki, lala." Then he left 
 me, closing the door of the hut with a kind of hurdle 
 made of grass, so as to prevent the light coming in and 
 disturbing me. 
 
 I could not sleep, but lay in lazy Comfort, wondering 
 where I was, and if, after all, I was going to get out of
 
 FRIENDL Y ARABS. 223 
 
 Africa. Who could these men be who treated me so 
 kindly ? By their possessing European cloth, and guns, 
 and powder, they were evidently in communication 
 with the coast, and hope replaced the apathetic despair 
 which I had felt so long. 
 
 I lay like this for a long time, thinking that perhaps 
 it was all a dream, and that I should wake up to my 
 old life of hardship and privation. The door was 
 opened, and Hatibu came in with an earthen bowl full 
 of stewed meat and boiled rice, and made signs for me 
 to get up and eat. This I did with right good will, and 
 I soon found myself so much invigorated that I felt 
 inclined to get up and go outside to have a look round. 
 
 As soon as Hatibu saw my intention, he went and 
 opened a bundle in the corner, and brought from it 
 a pair of high wooden clogs, with a peg on the upper 
 side. I took them up and examined them, but could 
 not make out what they were intended for. At this 
 Hatibu smiled, and taking them from me placed them 
 on the ground. Then standing on them he grasped 
 the pegs between his great and second toes and walked 
 across the hut with them ; then coming back he signed 
 that they were for me to wear. 
 
 I tried to follow his example, but could not manage 
 it, and, much to the good fellow's disappointment, I had 
 to go out with bare feet. When I got outside the hut 
 I found myself in the middle of a small but neat camp 
 of about forty huts built in a circle. In the centre was 
 an open shed, under which were stowed a few bales
 
 224 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 and some five-and-twenty large tusks of ivory. Men 
 were sitting about, some cooking, some smoking, and 
 others gossiping, while in one corner some people who 
 seemed quite different from my new friends were squat- 
 ting down with a couple of large tusks. 
 
 I went to look at them, thinking that perhaps some 
 might belong to the tribes with whom I had passed so 
 many weary days. I spoke to them, but they did not 
 understand a word I said. Hatibu came up and listened 
 with interest to my ineffectual attempts at conversation, 
 and then spoke to me in what were evidently differ- 
 ent languages. I could not understand a word he said, 
 so after a bit he stopped trying to speak to me, and 
 commenced bargaining with these people for their 
 ivory. 
 
 I was astonished to see that they sold these two 
 tusks, each of which may have weighed about seventy 
 pounds, for four or five copper bracelets and a handful 
 of cowries, and seemed much delighted with their bar- 
 gain. As soon as he had finished the purchase, Hatibu 
 pointed to the tusks, and holding up one hand made 
 me to understand that when he had ten more tusks he 
 would leave this place. By pointing to the sun and 
 holding up his hands he explained that in twelve days' 
 time we should arrive at a place called Nyangwe, where 
 there would be many Arabs, and where one named 
 Hamees ibu Sayf would take care of me. 
 
 I was glad to hear this, and looked anxiously for the 
 arrival of ivory. Days passed without any more being
 
 FRIENDLY ARABS. 225 
 
 brought in, and as well as I could I urged Hatibu, 
 whom I was gradually commencing to understand, to 
 start at once. His orders were to bring so much ivory, 
 and not come back without it unless his stores were ex- 
 hausted, and he would not on any account disobey his 
 master. At last some natives came into carnp, bringing 
 with them two more tusks ; also they brought news 
 that in a village a few days distant there was a large 
 quantity, which, if Hatibu sent men for, he might ob- 
 tain. 
 
 Hatibu instantly decided on going himself with 
 twenty men, while he left the rest to take care of the 
 camp and the ivory he had already collected. As I 
 was now able to travel, at his request I went with 
 him. The baggage which we took with us was not 
 extensive. It consisted simply of the men's sleeping- 
 mats and cooking-pots, one load of copper bracelets 
 and another of cowries. Hatibu himself carried a piece 
 of coarse red woollen cloth to give as a present to the 
 chief of the village to which we were going. 
 
 Our road lay through a pleasant open country, large 
 stretches of grassy land being diversified by clumps of 
 trees, while along the banks, of numerous small streams 
 there was always a strip of jungle. Here and there 
 plantations of maize and ground-nuts with the broad- 
 leaved plantain gave signs that men were in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and occasionally we saw the villages in which 
 they lived embowered in groves of the oil palm. 
 
 After travelling about three hours we came to the 
 
 (85) 15
 
 226 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 bank of a large stream, far too deep and wide for us 
 to wade, where there were no canoes. Hatibu turned 
 to the natives acting as our guides, and evidently was 
 scolding them for having brought him to such a place. 
 They only smiled, and pointing to the path, which here 
 turned and followed the stream, they made him under- 
 stand that a crossing-place would soon be found. 
 
 After walking for about a mile by the side of the 
 river we came in sight of a huge fishing-weir formed 
 of poles thirty or forty feet long. We found also that 
 the stream was not very deep at this spot, and could 
 be easily forded; and soon, some scrambling over the 
 fish ing- weir, others wading across, our party reached 
 the other side in safety. 
 
 Not long after crossing we came to a place where a 
 number of women were busily employed in making 
 pottery. As soon as they saw us coining they set up a 
 loud yell and began to run away into the bushes ; then 
 we heard the booming of a big drum close by, answered 
 by others at various distances. 
 
 We at once halted and prepared for whatever might 
 happen, and soon saw men with their bows strung and 
 their quivers full of arrows moving about among the 
 trees. I was afraid that we were in for a fight. On 
 our guides going forward to enter into a parley with 
 the strangers, a volley of arrows was shot at them, and 
 I was convinced that nothing could avert a collision. 
 Our guides held up their hands and shouted out that 
 we came in peace and not for war. After some time
 
 CROSSING THE RIVER. 
 
 Page !26.
 
 FRIENDL Y ARA SS. 229 
 
 men came from the other side, and our guides went and 
 met them, and after a long talk . we were conducted 
 along a path into a strong stockaded village. 
 
 As chief of the party, Hatibu was given a hut, which 
 he shared with me. The news having got about that 
 there was a white man among the strangers, the people 
 all flocked round to stare at the wonderful being. The 
 inquisitiveness of the women, who would examine my 
 hands and feet, and seemed desirous of pursuing their 
 inquiries, threatened to become so unpleasant, that Hat- 
 ibu went to the chief, to give orders for me to be left 
 alone, and only stared at but not handled. 
 
 I was very grateful for his interference, but the chief 
 being a much married man was so worried by his wives 
 that he had to ask Hatibu to take me to the part of the 
 village where they lived, so that they could have a look 
 at me without being incommoded by the crowd of their 
 sisters of low degree. 
 
 We found that the chief had a large space fenced off 
 for him and his harem, in the centre of which was a 
 large hut which was his special quarters. Along either 
 side were a dozen smaller ones, in each of which two 
 wives with their children and attendants lived. His 
 mother, who had, I fear, the difficult task of keeping the 
 wives in order, had her hut close to the entrance. 
 
 Hatibu and I were given stools to sit on. The chief 
 himself sat on a carved wooden stool which represented 
 a man squatting on his haunches with the elbows rest- 
 ing on the knees, the seat being supported by the head
 
 230 FRIENDL Y ARA BS. 
 
 and upturned palms of the hands. One of his wives 
 placed herself on the ground at his feet and supported 
 them in her lap ; another stood on his right holding 
 his shield, made of cane worked into patterns and 
 fringed with the skins of long-haired black monkeys ; 
 .while a third stood on his left with a copper spear, the 
 haft of which was elaborately carved, and ornamented 
 with the tails of zebras and buffaloes. 
 
 He spoke for a long time to Hatibu, while the re- 
 mainder of his wives stared at me. After a quarter 
 of an hour of minute examination I began to get 
 wearied, and Hatibu asked the chief to call his wives 
 off, and gave them a few beads and cowries, with 
 which they were very much delighted. After this the 
 chief took us into his hut. It was beautifully clean 
 and neat, and lined with mats and grass-cloth worked 
 in patterns ; the floor was of red clay beaten hard 
 and rubbed up to a bright polish. Spears, bows, and 
 shields were hung round the walls and disposed with 
 a certain amount of taste. The furniture was very 
 simple, consisting of a few stools, a fire-place made of 
 three eighteen-inch cones of clay standing about a foot 
 apart, a bed-place of canes covered with mats, and some 
 raised benches of clay, polished like the floor, on which 
 skins of wild beasts were spread. 
 
 Some baskets and boxes made of bark were near the 
 fire-place, where a few logs were smouldering. Stand- 
 ing near by were a couple of elaborately carved idols, 
 male and female, round whose necks were heavy strings
 
 FRIENDLY ARABS. 231 
 
 of beads and cowries, while their arms and legs were 
 adorned with copper bracelets. The only opening was 
 the doorway, and smoke had turned the inside of the 
 roof to a shiny black. It was some time before we 
 could see clearly. During this time the chief and some 
 of his wives were busy removing the bed-place and 
 placing something in the middle of the floor. After a 
 bit we saw uncovered three very large tusks of ivory 
 for Hatibu to buy, which after some bargaining were 
 secured for seven copper bracelets and a hundred and 
 fifty cowries. 
 
 This business having been completed, and night com- 
 ing on, Hatibu and I went back to our hut to sleep. 
 In the morning carriers were found for the ivory to 
 take it back to our own camp, under the escort of two 
 of Hatibu ! s men. The rest of us pursued our way to 
 the village we had intended to visit when we started, 
 and reached it without any incident worthy of note. 
 
 Our guides were natives of this place. The inhab- 
 itants, evidently expecting our arrival, were on the 
 look-out for us, and welcomed us with every sign of 
 friendship; but when we got to the village we could 
 see no signs of the chief Mona Mkulla, who, we had 
 been told, had invited us to come there. 
 
 We were first taken to a large shed, where the chief 
 of the village, Russuna, welcomed us. He brought out 
 a large supply of native beer, which was passed round 
 to our people, Russuna drinking some out of each vessel 
 to prove that the beer was not poisoned. Until all
 
 232 FRIENDLY ARABS. 
 
 that he had provided had been consumed he would 
 not enter upon any discussion of the business which 
 had brought us. 
 
 All things must have an end, and so at last had 
 Russuna's beer. He then said Mona Mkulla was a 
 great chief, and no strangers were permitted to visit 
 his village, but that next day, when the sun came over 
 the tops of the trees, he would come to the village we 
 were then in, and Hatibu would be able to speak of 
 many things with him. 
 
 I could see that Hatibu was very vexed at this, for 
 he had thought that the buying of ivory was the only 
 thing that was to be done. Now he was afraid that 
 Mona Mkulla would bring up questions about some of 
 the Arab traders living at free quarters and driving 
 people off as slaves. This had been indulged in to 
 an alarming extent by some of the parties sent out to 
 collect ivory, and had caused so much ill-feeling and 
 bad blood that Hamees ibu Sayf had prohibited it 
 altogether. 
 
 Notwithstanding this prohibition some small traders 
 who had attached themselves, as is often the case, to 
 Hamees ibu Sayf s caravan for protection, and adding 
 to the number of guns under his control had been 
 allowed to travel with him, were still guilty of these 
 practices. Having expended all their goods in the pur- 
 chase of ivory, and being unwilling to sell the ivory 
 they had collected to Harnees ibu Sayf at the price 
 he offered for it, they had left nothing to pay for
 
 FRIENDLY ARABS. 233 
 
 rations for their men. All this I learned afterwards ; 
 but I could then see that Hatibu was evidently in 
 anxiety about having an interview with Mona Mkulla 
 on the morrow. 
 
 During the evening Hatibu was talking long and 
 seriously to his followers, and all overhauled their arms. 
 Ten were armed with old Tower flint-locks, which were 
 reloaded and new flints put in. All the party too, in- 
 stead of dispersing themselves about the village, as was 
 their usual custom, remained together, and lighting big 
 fires slept close to the hut in which Hatibu and I had 
 our quarters.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A NATIVE COUNCIL, 
 
 NEXT morning we were roused at an early hour by 
 the beating of drums. When we came out we found 
 that all the men of the village, with their spears and 
 shields, were assembled on one side of the hut where 
 we had drunk beer with Russuna on our arrival, while 
 the women and children were all away on the outskirts 
 of the village, evidently ready to take flight on the 
 first symptom of trouble. 
 
 I watched Hatibu very anxiously, for I knew that 
 this looked very much as if the natives had an inten- 
 tion of attacking us. To show any signs of fear would 
 only have precipitated a conflict, so all he did was to 
 arrange our men that, if we were attacked, those with 
 muskets would be able to use them without being 
 hampered by their companions. Before moving, he 
 waited for a message from Russuna. 
 
 Presently an old man came, accompanied by a couple 
 of dwarfs with enormous rattles in their hands, and 
 through our guides he signified to Hatibu to go to the
 
 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 235 
 
 large shed where his interview with Mona Mkulla was 
 to take place. Thither Russuna, followed by spear and 
 shield bearer, and men beating drums and playing upon 
 instruments called marimba,* was even then making 
 his way. 
 
 We at once went to the place, and were most cere- 
 moniously greeted by Russuna. Pointing to a couple 
 of stools which had been placed for Hatibu and me, 
 he wished the rest of our men to be drawn up where 
 his ow r n people were standing. To this Hatibu would 
 not agree, nor would he be separated from his men. 
 A dispute, which at one time threatened to be serious, 
 took place. Hatibu would not give way, and at last it 
 was conceded that his followers should stand or squat 
 close behind him. 
 
 No sooner had this been settled than we heard drums 
 and marimba outside the village, which were answered 
 by Russuna's band. Then the spear and shield bearers 
 of the chief of a neighbouring village came in followed 
 by his band, the chief himself and his jester carry- 
 ing a rattle. After him came his fighting-men, num- 
 bering about forty, all armed with spears and shields, 
 many carrying bows as well, with six strips of cane 
 for bow-strings knotted over their left shoulders, and 
 a large quiver full of arrows on their backs. Hatibu, 
 when he saw this, gripped me by the arm, and point- 
 
 * Marimba are instruments formed of a number of keys of very hard 
 wood, arranged on a frame under which are secured a number of gourds 
 of various sizes. They are played on with two small sticks, and are 
 much more pleasant to hear than most of the instruments of savages.
 
 236 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 
 
 ing to them, signed that all this looked like prepara- 
 tion for fighting ; otherwise he did not show any signs 
 of fear. 
 
 As soon as the procession reached the middle of the 
 village it halted. The old man who had summoned 
 us, and acted as herald and master of the ceremonies, 
 went out, followed by his two dwarfs, and asked some 
 questions in a loud sing-song voice, which were replied 
 to by the jester of the new-comer proclaiming his 
 master's state and titles. After this the bands struck 
 up, and the warriors wheeled off and drew up near 
 Russuna's ; the chief then came in front of the hut and 
 performed a curious sort of dance, his jester all the 
 time shaking his rattle and proclaiming his master's 
 strong names. Afterwards he took his place under the 
 shed in a place pointed out by the master of the cere- 
 monies, his jester squatting at his feet and his band 
 standing behind him. 
 
 As soon as this chief was installed in his place, 
 another one arrived and was received with the same 
 ceremony ; then another and another, until at last there 
 must have been, including Russuna, twenty chiefs pre- 
 sent, and at least eight hundred armed men, who were 
 formed into a hollow square round the shed, facing 
 inwards. For some time we sat in silence, not a man 
 saying a word, and waited anxiously for the coming of 
 the great man Mona Mkulla himself. For him and his 
 people five stools had been reserved at the end of the 
 hut opposite to where Hatibu and I were sitting. I
 
 WARRIORS OF MONA MKULLA. 
 
 Paee 135.
 
 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 239 
 
 looked anxiously at my companions to see what they 
 thought of the warlike array by which we were sur- 
 rounded, and though they showed no signs of fear I 
 could see that all were anxious. From time to time 
 a man felt the flint of his musket to see that it was in 
 good order and properly fixed. Hatibu sat still and 
 immovable, and did not permit a sign of fear to escape 
 him, though I could feel from time to time his hand 
 seize mine and give it a convulsive squeeze. For my 
 own part I felt intensely excited. The silence was so 
 oppressive that I longed to give a yell and rush at 
 some one ; but knowing the gravity of the situation I 
 restrained myself, and remained mute and motionless. 
 
 At last we heard more drums and music, and all the 
 assembled bands struck up in reply ; then the warriors 
 on one side of the square drew aside, and a messenger 
 decked in all the savage finery that he could muster 
 came to announce the arrival of Mona Mkulla. The 
 master of the ceremonies went out to meet this man, 
 who recited the names and titles of Mona Mkulla, the 
 other answering by enumerating those of all the chiefs 
 who in obedience to his orders had assembled to meet 
 him. 
 
 This being done, the head of Mona Mkulla's proces- 
 sion came in sight. First came five men bearing spears, 
 one of which was of copper, of great size, and elaborately 
 ornamented ; the bearer of this one walked in advance 
 of the other four. 
 
 Then came two women carrying a shield, having the
 
 240 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 
 
 centre covered with elaborate patterns. Behind came 
 four others, each carrying shields decked in the same 
 manner, though not so profusely, and followed by a 
 band of about thirty performers playing upon drums, 
 marimba, and gourds with holes pierced in them, from 
 which some bugle-like sounds were produced by the 
 possessors blowing into them. 
 
 After the band came the great man himself, a young 
 fellow of some four or five and twenty, who alone of 
 all the natives present was dressed in cloth of European 
 manufacture. He wore a kilt of gaudy red woollen 
 cloth trimmed with yellow, and a sort of tunic of the 
 same material, the front and back being of different 
 colours, and the sleeves yet again differing from them. 
 As apparently the material had run short, it was eked 
 out by pieces of grass-cloth, and the whole was trimmed 
 with the skins of the rare and beautiful tippet monkey, 
 the effect being bizarre in the extreme. Round his 
 neck, arms, and legs were masses of beads ; while his 
 kilt was secured by three strings of opal-coloured glass 
 beads as large as pigeon's eggs. 
 
 On his head most attention had been lavished. He 
 had a very small beard twisted together, and, I believe, 
 artificially lengthened ; on it were strung three large 
 beads like those round his waist, and the end was 
 knotted to a cowry. From each ear hung the polished 
 base of a shell, which is one of the most valued pos- 
 sessions of the inhabitants of the interior. Round his 
 temples was bound a fillet some two inches wide, bor-
 
 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 241 
 
 dered with cowries and embroidered with beads, into 
 which were stuck the scarlet feathers of a bird called 
 the kuru-kuru, which only great chiefs are allowed to 
 wear. His hair was divided into four parts, and crossed 
 over a cushion of bark which was painted bright red. 
 So far the effect was striking and handsome ; but to be 
 different from his neighbours he had a cap, made of 
 the same stuff as his kilt, perched on the top of the 
 other adornments, and looking most ridiculous and 
 inappropriate. 
 
 He was followed by four dwarfs, two of whom were 
 deformed and misshapen, and the other two were 
 covered with huge wenlike blotches whether natural 
 or artificial I did not know. All carried huge rattles, 
 and cried out shrilly the names of their masters. 
 
 Behind the dwarfs came a man carrying an idol 
 about two feet high in his arms, and he was followed 
 by three other men carrying gourds and baskets. Next 
 came four women, and then a large body of armed men. 
 
 I thought this looked all very serious, and was aston- 
 ished to see that Hatibu and his men had lost all ap- 
 pearance of anxiety ; but I soon found that the presence 
 of women in Mona Mkulla's train meant that peace was 
 decided on, and there was no danger of our being at- 
 tacked. 
 
 Mona Mkulla and his train walked three times round 
 the hut, into which he then came, and with one of his 
 women danced seriously and gravely for over a quarter 
 
 of an hour. He then seated himself on the stool which 
 (ss) 16
 
 242 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 
 
 had been prepared for him, with two of his women on 
 either side. The idol was placed on a lion's skin which 
 was spread in front of him, and on it was also heaped 
 a quantity of charms and fetiches, produced out of the 
 baskets and gourds carried by the companions of the 
 bearer of the idol. 
 
 These men sat at the four corners of the skin, and 
 the dwarfs squatted at their master's feet. Each of the 
 assembled chiefs now did homage to Mona Mkulla, and 
 placed some small offering a handful of cowries, a few 
 shells, the feathers of the kuru-kuru, or something of 
 the kind on the lion-skin as an offering and symbol 
 of their subjection to him. 
 
 Last of all Hatibu came and placed his present among 
 the others, and then talking commenced. I was amused 
 to see the vehemence of the orators as different chiefs 
 urged what they thought should be the proper course 
 to pursue with regard to what should be done to the 
 strangers ; for I saw before long that the ivory which 
 had brought us here was a mere pretext, and that Mona 
 Mkulla was more desirous of impressing upon us the 
 extent and greatness of his power than of selling any 
 quantity of ivory. 
 
 I watched Hatibu as he listened to the speakers, and 
 from the variations of his countenance I could see 
 when the debate was going for or against us. I after- 
 wards found out that many of the chiefs had wished 
 to kill us then and there, and bid defiance to the 
 Arab traders, whom even then they were beginning to
 
 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 243 
 
 fear ; but others were in favour of trading with them, 
 and among the number was Mona Mkulla himself, who 
 being desirous of more cloth and beads, was willing to 
 be friendly. 
 
 Hatibu at last spoke, and both in manner and gesture 
 did remarkably well. He urged upon Mona Mkulla 
 that it was only by trading with the Arabs he could 
 possibly obtain the things he longed for; and that 
 though he might kill fifty, a hundred, or a thousand 
 Arabs and their followers, others would still come, 
 undeterred by danger. Instead of coming as friends, 
 however, they would come as enemies, and the arms 
 of the natives could not prevail against them. 
 
 I could see that even as he spoke the faces of those 
 who seemed most bitterly opposed to us changed, and 
 when he finished speaking and sat down there was a 
 general murmur of approval from all the chiefs. I 
 thought all was now finished ; but it was not so. The 
 men round the idol had now to consult it. This they 
 did with many fantastic capers, and much shuffling and 
 changing of the positions of the charms which sur- 
 rounded it, preparing, as I could see well enough, to 
 give a verdict hostile to us. 
 
 The men who had been won over by Hatibu's argu- 
 ments again became sullen and gloomy, and looking at 
 the masses of armed men who surrounded us I saw that 
 they only wanted a word to throw themselves on us 
 and spear us to death before we could raise a hand in 
 self-defence.
 
 244 A NATIVE COUNCIL. 
 
 At this supreme moment Hatibu rose to the occasion, 
 and getting up from his seat he from a small bag he 
 had concealed under his clothes produced some shell 
 ornaments like those in the king's ears, and gave one 
 to each of the soothsayers, while the remainder he threw 
 down before the idol. I was afraid such barefaced 
 bribery would fail ; but Hatibu knew his men better 
 than I did. The charms and fetiches were soon re- 
 arranged, and it was pronounced as the sentence of the 
 wooden image that Mona Mkulla and the new-comers 
 could be friends. 
 
 This verdict was not received with universal satis- 
 faction, for some of the chiefs sprang to their feet and 
 protested loudly against it. As they found themselves 
 disregarded, they called to their followers and left the 
 assembly in high dudgeon. Their departure called forth 
 no remark, but soon after twenty slaves loaded with 
 ivory were marched into the centre of the village 
 and presented to Hatibu as a token of Mona Mkulla's 
 friendship and goodwill.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 ALTOGETHER Hatibu was not so pleased with his present 
 as I had expected him to be, and it was not long before 
 I found out the reasons. He had enough ivory and 
 stores to form loads for nearly all his party ; but if to 
 carrying this was added the work of watching these 
 slaves, and possibly defending ourselves against the 
 attacks of their friends, he did not see how we could 
 manage to get in safety to Hamees ibu Sayf's camp. 
 Soon his anxiety was increased by a message from 
 Mona Mkulla, which was nothing more nor less than a 
 demand for an adequate present in return for his gift ; 
 failing this, he was to remain until his master could 
 send to free him. 
 
 Hatibu consulted long and eagerly with his followers, 
 and decided that the best thing he could do would be 
 to send messengers to Hamees ibu Sayf to inform him 
 of our position. He resolved also to get all the men he 
 had left at our old camp to this place, so that, in the 
 event of any difficulty arising with the natives, the
 
 246 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 whole party should be united, and not attacked and 
 defeated in detail. 
 
 Mona Mkulla came several times to see Hatibu, 
 attended only by a few spearmen and his dwarfs, by 
 whom we never saw him unattended. He begged 
 Hatibu very hard to give up the guns of the party, 
 saying that these would be an ample return for the 
 present he had made. To this request, which was 
 simply one to render ourselves defenceless against the 
 overwhelming numbers of the natives, Hatibu very 
 naturally returned a refusal. As soon as the messen- 
 gers had been sent away he employed the remainder of 
 his men and the slaves Mona Mkulla had given him in 
 constructing a camp at a short distance from the village. 
 There we would be better able to defend ourselves 
 from attack than if we remained scattered about in 
 the village and mixed up with the people, and able to 
 prevent being surprised and overpowered separately. 
 
 The place chosen was a small open bit of grass in 
 the forest, where a small spring afforded a supply of 
 water, and where, when the position and shape of our 
 camp was decided upon, we should have a clear distance 
 of at least a hundred and fifty yards between its 
 boundary and the nearest trees. 
 
 The grass, which was over ten feet high and nearly 
 dry, was burned down, and all hands laboured hard at 
 forming the camp. I had often during my life in Africa 
 admired the way in which the negro runs up a shelter 
 from sun and storm and a defence against human
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 247 
 
 enemies and wild beasts ; but never had I seen such 
 wonderful work as was done by these men from Zanzi- 
 bar, all experienced travellers, to whom the building 
 of huts and making a boma or fence round them was a 
 portion of their every-day work. 
 
 At first they contented themselves with building a 
 simple lean-to circle of branches open towards the in- 
 terior, but by constant additions of large branches and 
 small trees it soon became a most formidable fence. 
 When this was completed, small platforms for the 
 watchers were built at intervals, and protected with 
 logs, so that those occupying them would be secure 
 from spears and arrows, and command with their mus- 
 kets all the approaches to the camp. 
 
 As soon as these necessary works had been com- 
 pleted, we set to work to collect corn, sweet potatoes, 
 ground-nuts, and other provisions. These we buried as 
 soon as we had got them, together with our ivory and 
 other things which we did not want the people to be 
 constantly seeing ; for they were most persevering beg- 
 gars, and even at times, when refused anything on 
 which they had set their fancy, became very threaten- 
 ing in their manner. 
 
 Mona Mkulla often came to beg for muskets and 
 ammunition, and also to ask if Hatibu had any more 
 shell ornaments. Some of these latter Hatibu parted 
 with, receiving in return fowls and goats and quantities 
 of unripe plantains. Some days passed in this way, and 
 we were becoming very anxious for the safety of the
 
 248 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 men we had sent away and those left behind in our old 
 camp. Every day we saw armed men passing about, 
 who several times seemed as if they desired to surprise 
 our camp. Some came into it in twos and threes, grad- 
 ually raising their numbers. Sometimes these unwel- 
 come visitors were most overbearing in their manners, 
 evidently seeking a pretext for a quarrel ; but Hatibu 
 kept his men under perfect control, and avoided all 
 collision with them, though at the same time he let 
 it be seen that he was prepared to resist to the utmost 
 any overt acts of hostility. 
 
 Still no news of our companions, and we feared that 
 they must have been surprised and killed. Hatibu, 
 seeing that we were virtually prisoners, and might 
 expect to be attacked at any moment, summoned his 
 men to a consultation one night after the camp was 
 closed. I was by this time beginning to understand 
 what they said, and soon found that there were two 
 parties. One said we had best remain where we were, 
 and, if attacked, defend ourselves to the best of our 
 ability ; for sooner or later Hamees ibu Sayf would be 
 sure to hear of the position we were in and come to 
 our rescue. Others urged that it would be best to leave 
 the camp at night, and, taking with us as much food 
 as we could carry, hiding in the jungle in the day-time, 
 and avoiding villages as much as possible, make our 
 way towards Hamees ibu Sayf s position. 
 
 This latter proposition did not commend itself to 
 Hatibu. He said by doing so we should have not
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 249 
 
 only to abandon the ivory we had, but the men we had 
 left at the other camp would certainly be set upon as 
 soon as it was known that we had left without Mona 
 Mkulla's leave. News would be sent by drums to all 
 the surrounding country much quicker than we could 
 travel, and all the paths would be beset. 
 
 The justice of his arguments was after some dis- 
 cussion acknowledged by all; but it was pointed out 
 that when our companions from the old camp reached 
 us there would be more mouths to feed, and that the 
 slaves Mona Mkulla had given us would only eat food 
 and be useless in assisting in the defence of our camp. 
 
 Hatibu was much struck by this, and sat silently 
 thinking some moments; then he broke out, saying, 
 " Shauri nduguye, brothers, the words are good: to- 
 morrow the slaves shall find food, and they will say 
 that we want it for them. When night comes, and all 
 men sleep, and only beasts are awake, we will send 
 them into the jungle and into the wilderness. We will 
 put words into their mouths, and they will go unto 
 Hamees ibu Sayf, the great master, and unto their own 
 people, and their brothers and fathers will join with 
 Hamees ibu Sayf. Then they will come all together 
 and eat up Mona Mkulla and his men, his spears and 
 his shields, and the master will find much ivory. Say, 
 my brothers, men of the island, men of Unguja,* are 
 not my words words of counsel and of truth ?" 
 
 * The people of Zanzibar when in the interior always speak of the 
 island we erroneously call by that name as "the island." Unguja is 
 the native name of the town known as Zanzibar by Europeans.
 
 250 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 Hatibu's words were taken by all as being wise. 
 He immediately called up the slaves, who were lying 
 roped together near a fire in the middle of the camp, 
 and spoke to them. Some said they did not know any- 
 thing about Harnees ibu Sayf s camp. These, five in 
 number, Hatibu said he would keep until the last 
 moment, as we could easily turn them out of the camp 
 when we found supplies were refused to us, and in the 
 meantime they could be usefully employed in adding 
 to our stores of food and firewood. Some of the others 
 said that they knew where Ibu Sayf's camp was, and 
 that Tipolo, as the natives called him, was a good man, 
 and when he had once passed his word he kept it. 
 Others said that they had heard of him, and that their 
 people would join their forces to his to come and at- 
 tack Mona Mkulla, and revenge themselves for the many 
 wars he had made against them. 
 
 From the slaves themselves, now they had prospects 
 of regaining their freedom, we had many valuable 
 suggestions. One of the most important was that, in- 
 stead of sending them all off at once, they should go 
 away by twos and threes, and so no notice would be 
 taken of their absence. As they very truly said, the 
 escape of a slave or two was far too ordinary an occur- 
 rence to occasion any surprise ; and small parties of men 
 would be able to travel through the country with less 
 fear of discovery than larger ones. 
 
 This was all agreed to, and three of them were 
 allowed to go at once, bearing with them tokens from
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 251 
 
 Hatibu , and a few words scratched on a banana leaf 
 for paper we had none acquainting Tipolo with our 
 position, and begging him to come to our assistance 
 without delay. 
 
 This having been done, it was wonderful to see how 
 the spirits of all of us, which had been much depressed, 
 seemed to revive. Instead of the conversation round 
 the camp-fires turning, as it usually had done, upon 
 when we might expect to be attacked, and how long 
 we might hold out, it was now principally of how much 
 ivory and how many slaves might fall to the share of 
 each of us in the war with Mona Mkulla. Some 
 indeed went so far as to speak of the way in which 
 they would set up as independent traders, and how, 
 after making much money, they would build a stone 
 house in their much-loved Unguja. 
 
 For the next few days nothing of importance oc- 
 curred. The slaves whom we liberated got away with- 
 out any apparent notice being taken by our enemies ; 
 but we found that the collecting and storing of pro- 
 visions became more and more difficult, and that we 
 were constantly subjected to insults by the natives. At 
 last one day one of our men was struck by one of the 
 smaller chiefs who had been most hostile to us at the 
 great meeting where we had first seen Mona Mkulla. 
 Our man retaliated, and he and four others who were 
 with him were set on by the people, and escaped only 
 by showing a firm front and by using their muskets. 
 When they came into camp they reported that they
 
 252 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 had killed some of the natives, among them the prin- 
 cipal aggressor, and had themselves been wounded by 
 spears and arrows. 
 
 Fortunately none of the wounds was serious, and 
 they would not prevent the men from assisting to repel 
 the attack on our camp, which had now become immi- 
 nent. On the same evening we heard the drums of all 
 the neighbouring villages beating, and just before sun- 
 set we heard the sound of musketry. This could only 
 proceed from people who would be our friends, and most 
 probably from the men we had left at the other camp, 
 so, though our ammunition was very precious, we fired 
 two shots, and two more about five minutes after. This 
 Hatibu said was a signal that any of Tipolo's men would 
 understand if they heard it. 
 
 Our little party now manned the platforms which we 
 had built, and looked out anxiously for any signs of 
 friends ; for we could not tell whether the firing came 
 from those we had left in the old camp, or from a party 
 of Hamees ibu Sayf's men coming to our assistance. 
 
 The firing was kept up, and evidently was drawing 
 nearer to us, but so straggling and ill-sustained that 
 it was soon evident it could proceed from but few men. 
 Even at dark it was still kept up. 
 
 We waited for some time, hoping that the darkness 
 would enable our men to get away from their enemies 
 and make towards us. Though for some time they 
 came nearer, and we were in momentary expectation of 
 their coming into the open space where our camp was,
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 253 
 
 we heard them pass by at one end of it ; and as evi- 
 dently they had missed it, Hatibu gave orders for sig- 
 nal shots to be again fired. 
 
 In a few moments we could hear the people drawing 
 closer as well as firing could make out the shouts and 
 yells of men fighting, and soon we saw the flashes of 
 muskets. Hatibu now ordered to set on fire some large 
 piles of dry grass which he had caused to be prepared 
 for this purpose. When our friends saw the light they 
 rushed for it, and came running across the open closely 
 pursued by their enemies. By the flare of the fires we 
 could fortunately distinguish friend from foe, and open- 
 ing a place in our fence we were able to admit eleven 
 men and save them from their pursuers, who were close 
 upon them. Not caring to come within the circle of 
 light, the natives contented themselves with shooting 
 arrows from the limits of the darkness. 
 
 As soon as the fence was closed we extinguished the 
 fires, for they now only served to show us to the na- 
 tives. Some still remained on guard, others crowded 
 round the new-comers to learn what their news was. 
 They proved to be all that "remained of the men we 
 had left behind at our old camp. They said that for 
 some time after we left all went well, but at last men 
 came bringing a knife which they knew belonged to 
 Hatibu. They said he had given it as a token to show 
 that the message came from him, and that he said they 
 were to come to him at once, as he had got a great store 
 of slaves and ivory, and intended going direct to Ny-
 
 254 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 angwe without returning to them. They fell at once 
 into the trap, packed up all their things, and with the 
 slaves and ivory set out to join us. 
 
 At first all went well with them, and the people 
 who had brought the knife showed them the road, and 
 acted so as to disarm all suspicion. Suddenly, however, 
 that very afternoon, while passing through a thick and 
 marshy piece of jungle, their guides darted into the 
 trees, and they found themselves surrounded and at- 
 tacked by a large body of men. In the first moments 
 of their surprise they could do little to defend them- 
 selves, and their foes being sheltered by the trees, they 
 could not get a sight at them so as to fire with any 
 effect. 
 
 Any idea of saving ivory or goods was never enter- 
 tained for a moment, and they all pressed forward 
 towards a part where the trees seemed less thick and 
 the ground was firmer. There, forming themselves 
 into a circle, they prepared to sell their lives as dearly 
 as possible. According to their account, of Zanzibar 
 men there were then twenty -three. Among these for- 
 tunately were the fourteen who alone of the whole 
 number were armed with muskets, the remainder hav- 
 ing been struck down by the first volleys of spears 
 and arrows which had been showered on them. 
 
 They were able to make a stand, and, soon after, they 
 heard the muskets we had fired for the first signal ; 
 and knowing that some of Hamees ibu Sayf s men must 
 have fired them, they endeavoured to make their way
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 255 
 
 in our direction. While in comparatively open ground 
 they were able to make good headway; but in the 
 thicker jungle their enemies closed in on them, and 
 one after another fell beneath the spears and arrows of 
 their assailants. Once a man was down he was aban- 
 doned ; to have waited to assist him would have been 
 only to share his fate. Once or twice they came to 
 grassy patches; but in these they fared even worse than 
 in the thick jungle, for grass to the height of ten or 
 twelve feet was so thick and strong that it would sup- 
 port the weight of a man leaning against it. They 
 were forced to follow the narrow tracks by which the 
 natives made their way from village to village. As 
 they were hurrying across the first of these, thinking 
 that they could only be met by men in single file like 
 themselves, they were suddenly attacked by men am- 
 bushed in spaces cut out of the grass, and separated 
 and hidden from the path by a screen about two feet 
 thick of grass which had been left standing. Nothing 
 but the energy of despair enabled them to break through 
 the men who here opposed them. Here alone they lost 
 six of their number. 
 
 After this the jungle was fortunately more open, and 
 as they were able to use their muskets they kept off 
 their assailants. Coming to another grassy patch they 
 determined to try to go round it to avoid the risk of 
 another ambush, and found they were quite right in 
 this, for when they got to the other side a large body 
 of men came out of the grass and hurried after them.
 
 256 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 
 
 Fighting and firing they kept on their way. When 
 darkness began to set in, and they did not find our 
 camp, their hearts sank within them ; but the sound of 
 our second signal fell upon their ears like news from 
 heaven, and, pursued by their relentless foes, they made 
 a rush for our camp. How they got there they could 
 scarcely say. All were wounded. Those seriously hurt 
 having fallen into the hands of the enemy, their fate 
 could not be doubtful ; but those who had escaped had 
 only what we considered wounds of little consequence.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 OUR position was now critical. When we came to 
 look at our stores and take stock of our resources, we 
 found we had food for some days, and water, owing to 
 Hatibu's foresight in choosing the position of our camp. 
 But though we only numbered, including Hatibu, my- 
 self, and the new-comers, thirty-three men, of whom 
 only seventeen had muskets, we could not muster more 
 than four rounds for each gun. Many of us were 
 wounded, and though the wounded were all able to get 
 about in camp, still in a hand-to-hand fight, which 
 might be expected at any instant, they would not be 
 so useful as if they were unhurt. Worst of all, six of 
 the men lost that day had their muskets with them, 
 and ammunition in their pouches ; also, a small barrel 
 of powder had been among the stores abandoned when 
 the first surprise took place. 
 
 We no longer possessed the advantage of our enemies 
 being without fire-arms. That they knew how to use 
 
 them we soon had proof, for several times during the 
 (85) 17
 
 258 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 night muskets were fired in the woods around us. The 
 slugs or whatever they used fell short, and though they 
 kept us on the alert they did us no actual harm. 
 
 All night long we also worked hard at improving 
 our fortifications. As the platforms erected, though 
 protected against spears and arrows, were not safe from 
 musketry fire, on my suggestion we dug pits at different 
 points round the inside of our boma, and a ditch to 
 connect them, so that we could run to the most threat- 
 ened points without danger from bullets. 
 
 At daybreak, though we could see the natives swarm- 
 ing in the woods, and evidently prepared to swoop 
 down on us if we left our cover, we were able to 
 snatch a little rest, only leaving a few of our number 
 to keep a look-out on their movements. Up till the 
 middle of the afternoon they did not attempt to annoy 
 us ; but then we saw bodies of men come out from the 
 jungle, headed by men who carried our lost muskets, 
 while the barrel of powder was borne behind them in 
 triumph. We tried one or two shots in the hope of 
 drawing their fire, but it had only the effect of making 
 them keep out of range ; and as we could afford no 
 ammunition for fancy firing and long shots, we let 
 them go on as they chose without interference. 
 
 After a time we saw men bringing trees and branches 
 and building a sort of boma round the clearing in which 
 our camp was situated. Soon we saw their intention 
 was to enclose us, so that if we attempted to force our 
 way out they would have the advantage of the posi-
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 259 
 
 tion, and that we were now caught like rats in a 
 trap. 
 
 Some of the men now began to despond, and said 
 if one of the parties of slaves had been intercepted all 
 might have been. There was no chance of Tipolo com- 
 ing to our relief, and we had best surrender, for the 
 worst that would happen to us was to be made slaves, 
 and as well be the slaves of Mona Mkulla as be killed. 
 
 Hatibu's look of anger and indignation when he 
 heard this craven counsel was a sight worthy of a 
 painter. He rated the men who made it as cowards 
 and dogs, and said the idea that men from " the island " 
 should become slaves to these heathen was not to be 
 entertained for one instant. Those who wished to be 
 slaves could go at once, and there would be more food 
 and more powder for those who remained behind. The 
 effect of his fiery indignation was to put a stop to all 
 mention of surrender, and all we could do was now to 
 wait patiently for assistance, or for the deliverance from 
 our sufferings by death. 
 
 Two or three times the natives seemed to make up 
 their mind to take us by assault, but each time when 
 they came within range of our fire they faltered and 
 fell back, and never pushed their attack home. Soon 
 they confined their annoyance to insults and gibes, and 
 in the darkness of night sending men armed with our 
 muskets to keep us on the alert by a dropping fire. 
 As we were well sheltered in our pits, we did not care 
 for this last form of offence at all ; in fact we were
 
 260 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 rather glad of it, as we knew that they were expend- 
 ing their powder uselessly. 
 
 On the third day of our blockade we were destined 
 to a fresh and more painful experience than we had 
 yet encountered. One of the men who had been very 
 slightly wounded with an arrow on the fore arm came 
 to Hatibu and complained that he felt shooting pains 
 in his arm. We did all we could by bathing it with 
 cold water ; but his pains increased, and soon he fell 
 into most frightful convulsions. He begged for water, 
 being consumed by thirst, but was utterly unable to 
 swallow owing to the convulsive action of his throat, 
 and soon his jaw became locked. He now endured 
 the most frightful agony, his body becoming at times 
 as rigid as a bar of steel, while pieces of wood which 
 he gripped in his hands were crumbled into splinters. 
 Sometimes the action of his muscles was so powerful as 
 to bend him like a bow backwards, and then there 
 were spasmodic relaxations and twitchings which 
 seemed to tear him in pieces. 
 
 For four or five hours he endured this agony, and 
 before he died three more of our wounded men were 
 seized in the same manner. We could do nothing 
 whatever to relieve them, but could only remain passive 
 spectators of their horrible and intense agony. All 
 four had been wounded with arrows ; and five others, 
 who had also received arrow wounds, became so power- 
 fully affected by seeing the sufferings of their fellows, 
 that they too fell victims to the fell demon of lockjaw.
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 261 
 
 I cannot describe a tithe of the extraordinary things 
 they suffered, and if I did I do not think that I should 
 be believed ; but one of them in his agony seized a hard- 
 wood spear-shaft in his teeth and bedded them so deeply 
 that after death it could not be taken out of his mouth. 
 
 Curiously enough the remainder of the wounded men, 
 whose wounds being from spears were much larger and 
 apparently more serious than those from the arrows, 
 did not suffer from lockjaw, and all their wounds healed 
 up kindly. The sufferers themselves ascribed their tor- 
 ments to the arrows being poisoned ; but I afterwards 
 found that it was not the case that our enemies used 
 poisoned arrows in war, but reserved them for hunting. 
 Their fighting arrows were tipped with pieces of ex- 
 cessively hard wood made as sharp as needles ; and I 
 believe that the truth is, that a punctured wound is 
 likely to cause lockjaw, while a cut or a gash will not. 
 
 All these nine poor fellows died, thus reducing our 
 number to twenty -four. We had hard work to make 
 shift to bury the dead ; but this, however, after much 
 toil we managed to do, scraping and digging their 
 graves to a depth of about four feet, and arranging 
 over their bodies a screen of grass and branches so that 
 no clods of earth should fall directly on them. Hatibu. 
 who had been brought up in the house of Hamees ibu 
 Sayf's father at Zanzibar, recited some verses of the 
 Koran over them. All was done by the survivors that 
 lay in their power to render the poor fellows' funeral 
 decent according to their ideas.
 
 262 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 This dreadful visitation seemed to depress the spirits 
 of our people very much, and whispers as to the 
 advisability of our surrendering began again to be 
 heard. At last I hit upon an idea to inspirit my 
 companions, which, when I mentioned it to Hatibu, he 
 approved of immensely. Our besiegers, in order to 
 shelter themselves from the weather, had built thatched 
 sheds close against their boma, and, time hanging heavy 
 on their hands, they had amused themselves with mak- 
 ing screens and divisions of grass, which now through 
 the action of the sun were as dry as tinder. 
 
 My proposal was that about four in the morning, 
 when all would be sound asleep, I should creep out 
 with a fire-brand and set all these grass erections on 
 fire. Hatibu did not wish me to run the risk alone. 
 I pointed out that one man would have a better chance 
 of success than many, and that as through his kind- 
 ness to me I owed my life to him, I begged to be allowed 
 to undertake the task by myself. After much discussion 
 he consented. As he saw we ran the same risk as our 
 enemies if our camp was set on fire, and unlike them 
 had no place of retreat, he gave orders for all our thatch 
 and screens to be pulled down and burned, care being 
 taken to prevent a general conflagration. 
 
 The natives outside seemed to take this as a sign 
 that we were about to surrender, and in the evening 
 we could hear drums and marimba and signs of re- 
 joicing. They kept up singing, dancing, and drum- 
 ming till nearly two in the morning. At this I was
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 263 
 
 very glad, for I knew they would sleep extra sound 
 for the rest of the night. At last, all being quiet and 
 still, I crept out and made my way to a hut as big as a 
 haystack where Mona Mkulla had his head-quarters, 
 and arriving at the boma of the natives I hurled my 
 fire-brand over it into the hut. I thought I had been 
 the only one to quit our camp, but as this big hut burst 
 into flames I saw three other places had been fired like- 
 wise, and on regaining our camp I found that Hatibu 
 and two other men had gone out the moment after me 
 on a like errand. 
 
 The natives' huts blazed up merrily, and we could 
 see them working hard to try to save their belong- 
 ings. About five minutes after Hatibu and the others 
 had returned to the camp, the large hut that I had fired 
 fell in, and immediately after there was a great explo- 
 sion. Evidently the keg of powder which had been 
 abandoned by our men had been placed there and had 
 now blown up. For a few moments after the explosion 
 there was a deep silence ; but soon there arose shouts 
 and yells and sounds of mourning, and it was evident 
 that some great person or persons had been killed by 
 the gunpowder. 
 
 When day broke we could see that not only all the 
 huts had been burned, but there were also great gaps 
 in the boma of the natives. Men were busy in re- 
 pairing these, and drums were signalling to all the 
 villages in the neighbourhood. Some of our men who 
 understood the drum -beats said that they were spread-
 
 264 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 ing the news that Mona Mkulla was dead, and calling 
 on all their warriors to come and avenge him. 
 
 Hatibu said if that were the case we might expect 
 to be attacked in our camp, for now they would con- 
 sider it necessary to kill us all as a sacrifice to his 
 spirit. Men would be selected for the task who would 
 be given a choice between being killed at his grave 
 and attacking us. As for us, no terms of surrender 
 would be entertained, but all that we could do when 
 the attack was delivered was to die fighting. Now 
 that there was no prospect of escape, unless by some 
 unheard of good fortune relief should come in time 
 from Hamees ibu Sayf, one and all rose to the occasion, 
 and determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible. 
 
 As our present enclosure was too large for us to 
 defend if attacked on all sides at once, we set about 
 making a smaller one inside, into which we could 
 retreat when our assailants came close to the outer 
 one, and from which we could harass them considerably 
 whilst they were making their way through the re- 
 mains of the old one. This kept us employed all day. 
 At night we divided ourselves into two parties, one 
 to keep -watch while the other slept, for we did not 
 know at what moment the attack might be delivered, 
 and we could make out that our besiegers were receiv- 
 ing reinforcements every hour. 
 
 The night passed away without our being assailed. 
 About an hour after sunrise four bodies of about a 
 hundred men each rushed at each side of our camp.
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 265 
 
 As soon as they came within effective range we fired 
 our muskets loaded with stones above the bullets. This 
 discharge was most effective, and staggered our assail- 
 ants, some of whom broke and fled ; but on reaching the 
 woods they were speared down without mercy by the 
 people there. Seeing that the only chance of life lay 
 in killing us, the remainder pressed on again ; but we 
 had time to reload and give them another volley before 
 they reached our outer defences, and to retreat into our 
 inner citadel. 
 
 Whilst the storming party were making their way 
 through our outer defences we were able to knock over 
 many of them. Our ammunition soon gave out. We 
 could have still further decreased their numbers by 
 hurling our spears at them ; but this would have left 
 us destitute of weapons for the hand-to-hand fight now 
 imminent, save a few knives and hatchets, and we had 
 to look on passively while they tore away the tree 
 trunks and branches which we had piled up with so 
 much care and toil. 
 
 At last this was done, and for a few moments they 
 paused before delivering their final onslaught. The 
 position of affairs now was this : Inside a small circle, 
 formed by a rude abattis which might be twenty 
 yards or rather more in diameter, was our party of 
 twenty -four grasping their weapons, and every man 
 prepared to sell his life as dearly as he could. Out- 
 side were assembled about two hundred and fifty men, 
 animated like us by the courage of despair, who were
 
 266 A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 gathering up their energies for the supreme moment. 
 The masses of people who had kept within the shelter 
 of the woods w r hile firing had been going on, were press- 
 ing forward, now that our ammunition had given out, 
 and doubtless in a few moments they would be so car- 
 ried away by their lust for slaying that they would 
 rush in upon us. 
 
 For some minutes there was a lull and silence, which 
 was broken by the beating of the big drums of the 
 natives. Then with a yell the storming party rushed 
 at us, hurling their spears before them and holding 
 their shields above their heads to cover themselves. 
 The first flight of spears knocked over four of our men; 
 but now we were able to return them, and in the short 
 distance which the enemy had to cover I suppose each 
 of our number killed at least two of our assailants. It 
 became sheer hand-to-hand fighting, and gradually they 
 made their way through and over our last shelter. We 
 were at last driven to the centre, where four or five of 
 us, all that were now left alive, stood back to back and 
 resisted fiercely. The spear which I was using I thrust 
 so deeply into the body of a man that was opposed to 
 me that I could not withdraw it, and had to draw a 
 hatchet from my belt for my last means of offence and 
 defence. The man whom I had just killed had his 
 place filled by another, who thrust fiercely at me. I 
 managed to guide his spear to one side, and buried my 
 hatchet in his brain. My companions, too, bore them- 
 selves like men, and a rampart of bodies was gradually
 
 A FIERCE FIGHT. 267 
 
 being formed around us. We were all wounded, and 
 two were beaten down on their knees. 
 
 I thought my last moment had come as a huge 
 fellow, tearing away the corpses that sheltered us to 
 some extent, raised his spear to thrust me through. I 
 threw my hatchet at him, and fortunately struck its 
 edge full in his face. He fell backwards, but his place 
 was immediately filled. I was able to seize the spear 
 of my fresh foe, and a struggle for its possession began 
 between us. I knew my chance of life was hopeless, 
 but the warlike spirit of our Norse and Saxon fore- 
 fathers was on me, and I felt that if only I could kill 
 this one man I should die happy. 
 
 Suddenly we heard the sound of guns, and in a few 
 seconds the shouts of men. Hatibu, who was by me, 
 shouted, "Allah il Allah! Wanguana, Wanyamwesi, 
 Tipolo ! Fight, men, fight ! we are saved ! " 
 
 Our assailants now broke and fled, and we could 
 see some four or five hundred men, armed with guns, 
 driving our enemies before them like sheep.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 WE were saved, but, alas ! on looking round we found 
 that two of the last five who had stood back to back 
 were mortally wounded. Only Hatibu, myself, and 
 another man named Bilal could hope to recover from 
 our wounds, and even we would have been considered 
 serious cases in the surgical wards of any hospital. 
 
 Soon we were surrounded by eager questioners, and 
 our hurts were attended to. Some of our rescuers 
 pursued the routed enemy ; others cleared the ground 
 of the tokens of the fray, reserving the bodies of our 
 dead companions for decent burial, while those of the 
 Washenzi, or heathen, as the natives were called, were 
 thrown into the jungle, where they would afford a re- 
 past to birds of prey, jackals, and hyenas. 
 
 Huts and shelters were soon built. After a time 
 the men who had been engaged in pursuit of the 
 enemy came back, driving before them strings of 
 prisoners whom they had captured. Soon after another 
 body of men came in, among whom were several of
 
 HATIBU AND BILAL. 
 
 Past l6S.
 
 AT N YANG WE. 271 
 
 light complexion, attired in long white shirts, and with 
 white cloths round their heads. 
 
 Chief among these was a man rather over the or- 
 dinary height, with a black beard and moustache in 
 which the gray hairs were beginning to appear. He 
 was quite white, though of a sallow complexion, with 
 a high-hooked nose and deep black eyes of a most 
 kindly expression, though it was evident that if roused 
 they could be stern and flashing. In his left hand he 
 carried a sheathed two-handed sword, innocent of guard. 
 He was closely followed by a boy about twelve years 
 old carrying a double-barrelled percussion rifle. 
 
 This was the famed Hamees ibu Sayf, otherwise 
 known as Tipolo, the principal among all the Arabs 
 who in search of ivory and slaves had crossed the 
 Tanganyika. He exercised an authority among his 
 fellows which few cared to dispute. Upwards of two 
 hundred freemen and slaves from " the island," and six 
 hundred natives of Unyamwesi, all armed with muskets, 
 served him well and faithfully in the dual capacity of 
 porters and ii'regular troops. 
 
 Besides Hamees ibu Sayf, who alone was of the pure 
 Arab blood of Muscat, there were Wasuahili from " the 
 island," and Wamerima from the coast, Muinyi Dugumbi, 
 Habib wadi Nassur, Juma wadi Hamed, Muinyi Heri 
 and Hamad ibu Ghasib, all traders, but none of whom 
 were able to muster more than sixty or seventy guns 
 individually. There were also several men either free 
 or the confidential slaves of men resident at Zanzibar,
 
 272 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 who had followed the caravans of the larger traders 
 with bodies of ten or a dozen men each. 
 
 All these men may be dismissed without remark, 
 save only Tipolo, who was an extraordinary man, and 
 who, if he had lived, might now be filling the place oc- 
 cupied by Tipo-Tipo (Hamed ibu Hamed), who now 
 exercises what is practically supreme power from the 
 Tanganyika to Stanley Falls on the Congo. Tipolo 
 was, I regret to say, a slave-trader. His followers were 
 often guilty of great cruelties, for he could not always 
 be with them to restrain them. He himself was a man 
 of kindly disposition ; and though brave as a lion, and 
 nothing loath to engage in war when he considered it 
 necessary or advantageous, was equally willing to make 
 treaties with the native chiefs, and was never known 
 to depart from his plighted word. Indeed, many times 
 when other traders were engaged in hostilities with 
 chiefs whom he had promised to assist, if his words 
 and remonstrances were not heeded, he threw the 
 weight of his armed men into the scale on the side 
 of the natives ; and, contrary to the custom of many 
 of the Zanzibar travelling merchants, issued beads and 
 other things to his men to buy food, and would not 
 permit them to live at free quarters among the natives. 
 
 He now came and sat down where Hatibu, Bilal, and 
 I were lying, and said, gravely and courteously, " Good 
 morning." It was so long since I had heard a word of 
 my mother tongue, that it awoke many emotions in my 
 breast, and unbidden tears forced themselves to my
 
 AT NYANGWE. 273 
 
 eyes as I eagerly answered. The sound of English even 
 from my own mouth seemed strange to me. But great 
 was my disappointment when I found he could not 
 understand me, and that his whole stock of English 
 consisted only of the two words " Good morning." 
 
 He now questioned Hatibu about the recent occur- 
 rences. Some of the slaves we had liberated proved 
 faithful to their trust, and had brought him news of 
 our desperate plight. No time had been lost in coming 
 to our relief. He said that now he would utterly de- 
 stroy the power of Mona Mkulla's successor, and give 
 such a lesson to the natives that never again would 
 they dare to attack a follower of Tipolo. 
 
 For some days we remained in this place, and I am 
 sorry to say that Tipolo's intentions were ruthlessly 
 carried out. Every day strings of captives laden with 
 ivory and whatever else had value in the eyes of their 
 captors were brought into camp. News of villages 
 burned, plantations destroyed, and men killed fighting 
 in defence of their liberty, their families, and their 
 homes, formed the sole topic of conversation. 
 
 I tried hard to cause Tipolo to give orders for the 
 work of revenge and extermination to cease; but he 
 said his word was plighted to the other traders that 
 they would carry out the work of plunder to the 
 utmost, and having an opportunity such as rarely, if 
 ever, had occurred before, they were loath to desist. 
 His Wanyamwesi also, unless they were permitted to 
 make slaves, would probably prove unruly, and might 
 
 (35) 18
 
 274 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 perhaps even desert en masse, and leave him without 
 the means of transporting the ivory he had collected 
 to the coast. 
 
 By degrees I won over Muinyi Heri, Habib wadi 
 Nassur, and others to the side of mercy ; but Muinyi 
 Dugumbi would not listen to my pleadings. At last 
 Tipolo said that for one man's lust of wealth the war 
 should no longer be carried on, and gave the word for 
 the march to Nyangwe. He told Muinyi Dugumbi that 
 if he did not tell his followers to cease from plunder he 
 would turn his Wanyamwesi against them ; and Muinyi 
 sullenly consented. 
 
 The wounds of Hatibu, Bilal, and myself, which we 
 had received in our desperate defence of our lives, did 
 not permit us to walk, and litters were constructed on 
 which we were carried. It was with feelings of joy 
 and thankfulness that we commenced our journey 
 towards Nyangwe, the first step towards the coast 
 and of my return to my own people. I need hardly 
 say that my opinion about the delights of African 
 travel had been considerably modified since I and my 
 brother Willie used to talk, on board the Petrel, of the 
 wonderful journeys of Livingstone. 
 
 Among Tipolo's domestic slaves were some who 
 understood the noble art of cookery in a more ex- 
 tended sense than any persons I had hitherto met 
 with in the Dark Continent, and with good food, careful 
 nursing, and revived hope, my wounds recovered so 
 quickly that before half the journey to Nyangwe was
 
 AT NYANGWE. 277 
 
 completed, I was able for a good portion of each day's 
 march to quit my litter and walk. When I did I 
 always kept near Tipolo, and saw plenty of proof that 
 he carried out his orders about the proper treatment of 
 natives. In one village which we passed through some 
 women came and complained of some men, just gone 
 before, who had gone into a hut and stolen a quantity 
 of plantains. He at once had the men recalled and 
 made them restore their plunder. He took from them 
 some beads and gave them to the women, and then dis- 
 missed the culprits with some sound blows from his 
 walking-stick. 
 
 At last we sighted the large river on which Ny- 
 angwe is situated, and I was astonished to see such 
 a flow of water so far away from the sea. On the side 
 on which we approached there was a wide strip of low 
 country, flooded in the rainy season; whilst on the 
 other, or right side, the banks of the river rose in 
 small cliffs about twenty or twenty-five feet high. 
 
 Close to the river on the left bank were villages 
 which are deserted in the rains, but which were now 
 inhabited by people called the Wagenya. These seemed 
 one and all to be engaged in making pots of various 
 shapes and sizes out of the clay obtained from pools left 
 by the river when falling. While in the woods, we had 
 come across men cutting down trees and fashioning 
 them into canoes. 
 
 We struck the river some little distance above 
 Nyangwe, and from the natives Tipolo managed to
 
 278 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 hire some canoes, in which he and his immediate 
 followers, together with Hatibu, Bilal, and myself, 
 embarked, and with the aid of a current which must 
 have rim from four to five knots an hour we reached 
 Nyangwe about nine o'clock in the morning, having 
 left those who were to follow by land about six. The 
 river was full of islands. On the larger were villages 
 inhabited by a tribe quite different in their habits and 
 pursuits from the Wagenya, who lived on the left bank. 
 On the numerous sand-banks were quantities of duck 
 and other wild-fowl, while the water abounded with 
 fish, hippopotami, and crocodiles. We passed many 
 canoes between the islands and the shore, some with 
 their occupants engaged in fishing. Their numbers 
 kept on increasing as we drew nearer to Nyangwe, 
 which I quite expected to find a very large place from 
 the number of people I saw going there. 
 
 I tried to find out from my companions what was 
 the cause of such a concourse of people, but the only 
 answer I could get was, " Soko leo " that is, Soko 
 to-day. As I had seen the monkeys that had acted as 
 masters of the ceremonies on the occasion of my first 
 introduction to Hatibu, the words puzzled me exceed- 
 ingly. What could "Monkeys to-day" mean? Was 
 there going to be a great hunt of these monster apes, 
 and were all those people going to take part in it ? 
 Thicker and thicker grew the canoes ; and when a bluff 
 crowned with some large houses with high thatched 
 roofs came in sight, I was told it was Nyangwe, and
 
 AT NYANGWE. 281 
 
 I saw that at the landing-place were literally hundreds 
 of empty canoes. 
 
 Among these we made our way. We found that the 
 other canoes which were arriving at the same time 
 were loaded with people bringing things for sale, car- 
 ried in large baskets upon the backs of women, the 
 greater portion of the weight being supported by a 
 band over the forehead, similar to the manner in which 
 a fish-wife carries her creel. 
 
 On arriving at the houses we found a large open 
 space close by crowded with people buying and selling. 
 On Tipolo saying to me, " There's the soko," I learned 
 that soko, besides being the name of an ape, also meant 
 a market. 
 
 There must have been at least two thousand people 
 present the representatives of many tribes, who, 
 though hostile to each other in all other places, met 
 in this and other markets without fighting or strife. 
 The Wagenya were there with their pottery. Others 
 brought fish, both dried and fresh. Pigs, fowls, eggs, 
 grain, ground-nuts, bananas, palm oil, goats, were bar- 
 tered for such things as their possessors wanted, while 
 for a few beads and cowries the Arab traders were able 
 to obtain provisions for their numerous followers. The 
 noise and confusion were indescribable. Buyers and 
 sellers were so crowded together that it was almost 
 impossible to make way through them, though appa- 
 rently there was space enough for the market people 
 to have spread themselves about and carried on their
 
 282 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 business in comfort, instead of jostling against each 
 other and damaging many of their wares. 
 
 When we got through this mass of humanity we 
 found ourselves before a large house with a large ver- 
 anda, the floor of which was raised about two feet 
 above the ground. Here mats and cushions were 
 spread, and soon traders and their men crowded round, 
 longing to learn what our news was. Hatibu and Bilal 
 were welcomed by their wives with loud expressions 
 of joy. The wives of the poor fellows who had been 
 killed were most noisy and demonstrative in their grief, 
 daubing themselves with white, and going round to all 
 the houses of the settlement, wailing and clapping their 
 hands in a measured cadence. 
 
 The news of the success of Tipolo in his expedition, 
 was received with much applause, while admiration 
 was lavished on Hatibu, Bilal, and the Mzungu (Euro- 
 pean) for the bravery they had displayed. We were 
 likened to simba (lions), mivamba (crocodiles), tembe 
 (elephants), and mboys (or buffaloes) ; and much won- 
 der was expressed that I, a white man, had come from 
 the farther sea, of the existence and position of which 
 the people assembled had only a dim and distant 
 knowledge. They were astonished that I had passed 
 years among the Washenzi, or heathen, as the people of 
 " the island" call all the pagan tribes of Central Africa, 
 without being killed and eaten. But their astonishment 
 rose to its greatest height when they heard that I had 
 escaped from the dwarfs, whose quiver of poisoned
 
 AT NYANGWE. 285 
 
 arrows I had preserved, for they were indeed ivatu 
 wabaya (bad men), and mkali kama moto (hot as fire). 
 
 As soon as our budget was exhausted Tipolo inquired 
 what had occurred during his absence. Two men were 
 brought to him who had arrived only the evening be- 
 fore with the news that his brother Hamed ibu Sayf 
 would arrive in a few days from Ujiji, where he had 
 been to bring up goods left behind when Tipolo quitted 
 that place ; and that the road between it and Unyan- 
 yembe, which had for some time been closed by the 
 Watuta (a robber tribe), was again open. As soon as 
 he heard this, Tipolo said that when his brother arrived 
 he would at once despatch a caravan to the coast with 
 part of the ivory he had collected. He told me also 
 that I should go with it, and that its command would 
 be given to Hatibu. To Hatibu and Bilal he now gave 
 their freedom, as a reward for their bravery, presenting 
 Hatibu with twelve slaves and six tusks of ivory, and 
 to Bilal he gave eight slaves and four tusks. 
 
 By this time the market was over. Though the only 
 traces of there having been such an enormous assem- 
 
 o 
 
 blage of people gathered together were the trampled 
 condition of the ground and the litter left behind, on 
 walking to the bluff overhanging the river I could see 
 the canoes dispersing in all directions. 
 
 A comfortable room in Tipolo's house was now placed 
 at my disposal. Clothes were given me to dress myself 
 in, coffee with sugar in it, and bread made of wheaten 
 flour, were given to me luxuries to which I had been
 
 286 AT NYANGWE. 
 
 a stranger for many a long day. Though I knew that 
 a long, toilsome, and perhaps dangerous journey still 
 lay before me, I had no forebodings. When I retired 
 to rest that night I thanked God truly and earnestly 
 for having preserved me from all the dangers through 
 which I had passed in my years of African travel, for 
 the good treatment I had received at the hands of 
 Tipolo and Hatibu, and for having brought me at last 
 to a place of safety.
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 
 
 TIPOLO and his immediate friends treated me with 
 every kindness ; but many of the smaller traders, who 
 would fain have been robbers and not traders at all, and 
 who chafed under the restrictions which Tipolo enforced 
 in their intercourse with the natives, did not regard me 
 with any favour. They said openly it was a mistake 
 to let an Englishman who knew all about their doings 
 in Central Africa leave the country, as he would be sure 
 to tell his government that they traded in slaves; and 
 that already the Beni har (sons of fire), as they called 
 our naval officers, interfered with the transport of 
 slaves from " the island " to Munculla and Muscat. To 
 this Tipolo answered, that here among the heathen it 
 was for all civilized persons to assist one another; that 
 by all the laws of hospitality, by the traditions of the 
 Arab race, and by the teaching of Mohammed, the 
 prophet of God, whom God bless,* they were bound to 
 
 * When devout Moslems mention the name of the founder of their 
 religion, they always add the words " whom God bless."
 
 288 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 
 
 assist me to the utmost, and should do so without any 
 hope of reward or fear of evil. 
 
 Though Tipolo was so kind to me, I longed for the 
 day when we should leave Nyangwe. In his presence 
 I was free from insult, but many of the baser sort 
 among the traders did not scruple to insult me, calling 
 me a dog of a Nazarene, a hog, and unclean, and would 
 doubtless, unless deterred by fear, have ill-treated me 
 in other ways. These people too, I found, lived a life 
 of debauchery. Such slaves as they had they treated 
 in a very cruel manner, quite different from that in 
 which Tipolo treated those of his household ; but I am 
 obliged to say that the captives he had made in his 
 recent campaign, though fairly fed, were but poorly 
 lodged, and kept chained in gangs of from ten to fif- 
 teen to prevent their escape. 
 
 One evening, as I was drinking coffee with him in 
 his barazah, or veranda, the only other person present 
 being Hatibu, to whom he had been giving orders about 
 his journey to the coast, I ventured to speak to him 
 about slavery and the condition of those unfortunate 
 people dragged away from their wives and families. 
 
 I was somewhat afraid he would resent my inter- 
 ference, but I was much pleased to find that he did 
 not. He only seemed to think that I and all English- 
 men were mad on the question of slavery, which he 
 argued had always been and always would be, adding 
 that Daood, and Suliman ibu Daood (David and his 
 son Solomon), and the prophet Ayoub (Job), had all
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 289 
 
 possessed slaves, and that the Koran permitted slavery. 
 To this I said that surely the Koran did not permit 
 wars for the purpose of making slaves ; and though I 
 had never heard he had sent out slave -raids, still 
 Muinyi Dugumbi and other traders did, and it could 
 not be right to keep numbers of men in chains. 
 
 He answered, that with the doings of Muinyi Dug- 
 umbi and others like him he had nothing to do ; that 
 he often used his influence to prevent them from at- 
 tacking the natives without provocation, and to induce 
 them to treat their captives kindly. As for himself 
 and all true Arabs, he said the slaves of their house- 
 hold were treated as members of the family, and had 
 nothing to complain of; indeed, they were better off 
 than they would be as freemen, and could always, if 
 they desired it, become free. The captives he had made, 
 he confessed, were not so well treated ; " but," he said, 
 " what can I do ? I have here ivory which I have col- 
 lected at great cost and risk, and here it is valueless to 
 me. I must send it to the sea to sell it ; and how am I 
 to carry it ? If I send my own men, my people from 
 ' the island,' and my Wanyamwesi with it, I shall be left 
 here without defence. The people of the country will 
 not travel far for hire. Slaves cost more than freemen. 
 From Unyanyembe to Kilwa and Bagamoyo the Wan- 
 yamwesi go as porters, and we pay and feed them ; that 
 is better than employing slaves. Ten slaves are chained 
 together, one man stops, all stop. Ten slaves cannot 
 carry as much as five men who are free. If I could 
 
 (85) 19
 
 290 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 
 
 carry my ivory without slaves I would, as it would be 
 better and cheaper for me. A freeman wants to end 
 his journey and get his payment ; a slave does not care 
 one day is the same as another to him : so that the 
 freeman travels faster and further. No; if I could get 
 pagazi (porters) to carry my ivory, I would never use 
 slaves. But if we did not have slaves, what would be- 
 come of the people the heathen make prisoners in war ? 
 They would be killed and eaten. Surely it is better for 
 them to be slaves." 
 
 I was unable to reply ; but he did not convince me 
 at all that slavery was right, or even excusable. I 
 daily became more and more a hater of slavery, from 
 what I saw of the way the captives he had taken in 
 the late fights were treated, though their lot was far 
 better than that of those who had fallen into the hands 
 of other traders. I had, however, not much time to 
 argue with Tipolo on the subject, for his brother ar- 
 rived ; and he was busy all day long with him arrang- 
 ing about pushing their trading-parties further afield, 
 and about the despatch of ivory to the coast. 
 
 I was delighted to find that Hatibu, my first ac- 
 quaintance among the Arabs and their retainers, was 
 selected for the charge of the down-caravan, and that 
 Bilal was to accompany him, as with them I felt my- 
 self safe. If any of the many people who did not care 
 about my freely expressed opinions about slavery had 
 been put in charge, they would not have treated me 
 so kindly as did Hatibu, with whom I had struck up a
 
 WIVES OF HATIBU AND BILAL. 
 
 Page 2Q 3 .
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 293 
 
 very warm friendship, increased by the memory of the 
 perils we had gone through together. I had the feel- 
 ing that, under Providence, it was to him I was in- 
 debted for my life and the prospect of returning to my 
 own people and my own country. 
 
 Our preparations were not very great. Besides 
 Hatibu and Bilal and their wives, Tipolo sent twenty 
 men from Zanzibar, and thirty Wanyamwesi. A hun- 
 dred loads of ivoiy were loaded on as many slaves, 
 and fifty more were sent to be used in case the 
 others broke down, or to be sold and bartered on the 
 road. In the meantime they carried the personal be- 
 longings of their escort, and a small stock of beads 
 and cowries with which to pay for food. Muinyi 
 Dugumbi and others also took the opportunity of this 
 party leaving for the coast to send away slaves and 
 ivory, and gave the charge of their ventures to some of 
 their own adherents. 
 
 Before leaving Nyangwe, Tipolo told me to speak 
 for him to the consul of the English at Zanzibar, and 
 say that he had done all that lay in his power for me. 
 He said that his agent there would provide me with 
 means to return home. His kindness quite overpowered 
 me, and I did not know how I could thank this gener- 
 ous and good-hearted man for all his kindness to me. 
 It is my duty to represent him as he appeared to me, 
 and to mourn that such a man should be almost com- 
 pelled to be a trafficker in human flesh. 
 
 He accompanied us for a couple of hours on our first
 
 294 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 
 
 day's march. When we parted he said he had given 
 into Hatibu's charge, for my special use, a bag of rice, 
 some curry stuff, and a small quantity of coffee, to en- 
 able me to live more comfortably than if I were to 
 depend entirely on the products of the country for food. 
 
 For the first three or four days our road led through 
 a comparatively open country, where there were but 
 few inhabitants, and where the villages lay far apart. 
 Hatibu, in obedience to the orders of Tipolo, paid the 
 people of these villages for any supplies he got from 
 them ; but the other chiefs of parties allowed their men 
 to plunder and rob, and it was easy to see that if it 
 had not been for the fear entertained of our fire-arms, 
 the sufferers would have attacked us. As it was, the 
 women and children all fled on our approach, and only 
 the men remained in the villages. Armed with heavy 
 spears and huge wooden shields, they seemed formi- 
 dable fellows ; and every night a warning was given in 
 camp that no one should straggle from the caravan, as 
 we were entering Manyuema, where the people were 
 fierce, and would kill and -eat all strangers whom they 
 found alone. Nor was this warning unnecessary ; for 
 as I conversed with Hatibu and Bilal around our camp- 
 fire at night, they told me many instances of stragglers 
 having been cut off; and often in the day-time we 
 could see bodies of men watching the progress of our 
 party, evidently ready to attack us if any favourable 
 opportunity offered itself. 
 
 As we advanced the country became more thickly
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 295 
 
 populated ; and in the course of each day's march we 
 passed many large villages, which were different in 
 their arrangements from any I had seen in my wander- 
 ings in Africa. They were all composed of long, par- 
 allel rows of huts, built of red mud, with thatched 
 roofs. The huts, instead of being as usual round or 
 square, were oblong, and the roofs had gable ends. In 
 the smaller of the villages there were only two rows 
 of these huts, facing each other across a wide open 
 space. Along the centre of this was usually planted a 
 row of oil palms, between which were the village gran- 
 aries and floors of hardened clay, with trunks of trees 
 sunk to half their diameter, and having holes cut in 
 them for the women and slaves to pound the com re- 
 quired for food. 
 
 In the larger villages there were two, three, and even 
 four of these double rows, sometimes disposed abreast, 
 and sometimes radiating from a large open space. In 
 every village were one or more large sheds, under which 
 were foundries where iron was smelted, the blast neces- 
 sary to get up the heat being produced by men work- 
 ing a curious kind of bellows, there being sometimes 
 ten or a dozen men squatting round the furnace, each 
 working away at his own pair of bellows. The iron 
 was made into blooms weighing about three or four 
 pounds, shaped like a double cone, with a projection 
 about as big as a skewer, and four inches long at each 
 end. These were used by the producers to barter for 
 all sorts of necessaries of life, and even luxuries, as
 
 296 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST, 
 
 they are understood in Central Africa. Hatibu, who 
 said they would be of great use on our road for pro- 
 curing provisions, laid in a stock of them, as did all our 
 followers. 
 
 The ironworkers did not confine themselves to mak- 
 ing this iron currency, for they were most skilful 
 smiths. The blades of the knives, spears, and axes 
 which they made were often elaborately ornamented 
 with patterns chiselled on them, and in some cases were 
 perforated. The most valuable of all were inlaid with 
 copper, the patterns being very good and tasteful. In- 
 deed, the arms of the chiefs were often such masses 
 of ornament that they became almost useless for pur- 
 poses of offence. 
 
 The villages of these ironworkers were passed in 
 about seven days ; and soon after we came to a river 
 called the Luama, which we had to cross in canoes. 
 Here, while crossing, we were somewhat frightened by 
 a herd of hippopotami coming down the stream and 
 blowing close to the canoes. One, indeed, came so close 
 to the canoe in which Hatibu and I were that I could 
 have touched its back with my hand, and I was in a 
 great fright lest we should be capsized. 
 
 As it was too late for us to continue our march when 
 we were all across, we had to form our camp on the 
 bank of the river ; and in the evening we began speak- 
 ing of the hippopotami. Some natives in the camp 
 told us how they were in the habit of waiting at night 
 for the brutes to land, and spearing them as they came
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE COAST. 297 
 
 out of the water. I was desirous to be quit with them 
 for the fear and annoyance they had caused us, and I 
 proposed to Hatibu that we should try our hand at 
 this sport if we could find a place where they were 
 in the habit of coming ashore. 
 
 When the natives heard this, they said they would 
 take us to a place where there would be hippopotami 
 in plenty, but as it would be too late for us to go 
 that night, they proposed that we should halt the next 
 day to let the people rest and get food. This suited us 
 very well ; for we found that corn was cheap and 
 plentiful, and Hatibu had intended to have made a 
 stay two days further on for the purpose of provision- 
 ing the caravan. By what he now heard he found that 
 the village where he had intended to halt had been 
 burned by the inhabitants of another some little dis- 
 tance away, so that we should have been disappointed 
 had we tried to get food there.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SPEARING. HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 NEXT day, soon after noon, Hatibu and I left Bilal 
 in charge of the camp. With four men armed with 
 muskets we went in a canoe with two natives about 
 three miles down the river, where we landed, and there 
 found one of the most extraordinary sights that one 
 ever saw. The river was about ten feet below its 
 highest level in flood-time, and the water, falling, had 
 left a huge, swampy lagoon, separated from it by five 
 or six hundred yards of muddy ground. On the shores 
 of this lagoon were the most extraordinary flocks of 
 storks and other birds, which, according to our guides, 
 came there only at certain times of the year, and then 
 stopped for a few days. We could see numbers of hip- 
 popotami wallowing about in the water, it in many 
 places not being deep enough to cover them. Lying on 
 its banks were a lot of dark objects, looking something 
 like decayed trunks of trees. As we drew near they 
 began to move, and then I saw that they were croco- 
 diles.
 
 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 301 
 
 Certainly we had been brought where there were 
 plenty of hippopotami, but it was a question how we 
 could get at them. There was great danger, especially 
 if we waded into the water, of being attacked by the 
 crocodiles. I at first proposed that we should haul 
 the canoe across the muddy strip separating the river 
 from the lagoon ; but we soon found that we had not 
 men enough to do it. Hatibu began to scold the guides, 
 telling them they had brought us on a fool's errand ; 
 but they begged of us not to be angry, saying we 
 should, by following a path which they pointed out, 
 reach in half an hour a village where we could rest till 
 sunset, and close to this village was a place where the 
 hippopotami constantly came out to feed on the grow- 
 ing crops, and where a proper ambuscade had been 
 made to spear them from. 
 
 At first Hatibu did not care about going to this 
 village, as he feared some treachery ; and, even without 
 treachery, the people belonging to the parties with us 
 might bring about a row with the natives, and we 
 might be cut off from our companions, and be unable 
 to defend ourselves. I overruled his scruples. Fol- 
 lowing the path, we struck through some tall cane 
 grass, and found the whole ground covered with tracks 
 of hippopotami and crocodiles, while occasionally we 
 came across fresh tracks of elephants. As soon as we 
 saw these, Hatibu became eager to go on, the hope of 
 adding to his stock of ivory overweighing any feeling 
 of caution.
 
 302 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 We had not gone above five hundred yards along 
 this path before we heard screams and yells, and soon 
 made out that they proceeded from some Zanzibar 
 people. Fearing that they might have got into some 
 trouble, we made our way with all haste in their 
 direction, and breaking through the grass we came 
 upon a most exciting scene. A large portion of the 
 grass was trampled down. A number of the men who 
 had gone out early in the morning were brandishing 
 their weapons, and some in the middle were thrusting 
 at some object which we could not very clearly discern. 
 As we drew closer we made out that this was an enor- 
 mous crocodile, and we heard that he had seized upon 
 one of the party who had incautiously strayed from the 
 path. 
 
 His companions had been attracted by the poor fel- 
 low's yells. They had rushed to his rescue, and had 
 managed to drive the brute away from him ; but after 
 a bit the crocodile had turned to bay, and they were 
 now all round him trying to find a spot where they 
 could penetrate his scaly armour, and springing from 
 side to side in order to avoid the sweeping blows which 
 he was dealing with his powerful tail. Just as we 
 came up one fellow more adroit and daring than his 
 companions managed to plunge a spear into the animal's 
 eye. It at once rolled over in agony, exposing its 
 belly, where the skin is softer, and instantly it was 
 riddled with spears. Though wounded to the death, it 
 was tenacious of life, knocked several fellows over, and
 
 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 305 
 
 seized one poor fellow by the arm, dragging the flesh 
 and tendons from the bone. 
 
 At this moment we, and the men with us who had 
 muskets, fired point-blank into its head, shattering it 
 to pieces. We did not care to remain in the neigh- 
 bourhood, for the natives said that we might very 
 likely find more of these dangerous reptiles lurking in 
 the canes, so we picked up the two wounded men, and, 
 regaining the path, made the best of our way to the 
 village. 
 
 On arriving we found that the poor fellow who had 
 been first seized was past caring for, and the wound 
 of the second was such that I did not see how we 
 could do anything for him. Our guides said if we 
 would leave him to a fetichman in the village he would 
 save his life, though he would have to resign himself 
 to the loss of his hand. I was very much astonished 
 at this, for I did not see how these savages could pre- 
 tend to amputate a limb ; and the unfortunate fellow 
 had the bone between his wrist and elbow all bared of 
 the flesh, which was hanging in ribbons. Fortunately 
 there was no great flow of blood, or else he would have 
 been dead before then. 
 
 Hatibu at once said that if the fetichman could do 
 anything for him he would pay him well; and the 
 surgeon soon appeared. He ordered a fire to be lit and 
 a pot placed on it and filled with porridge, and as soon 
 as this was boiling fast he, with a very sharp knife, 
 dissected the elbow -joint of the wounded man, who was 
 
 (85) 20
 
 306 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 held by four strong men to prevent struggling. The fore 
 arm was removed, and then the bleeding stump plunged 
 into the boiling porridge. 
 
 When the porridge had cooled down the stump was 
 withdrawn, and it was encased in a great clot of the 
 porridge, over which the surgeon tied a piece of oiled 
 grass-cloth. He then said that all the care now neces- 
 sary would be to keep the stump safe from blows until 
 the cake of porridge came off naturally and easily. 
 This would be in about three weeks, when we Would 
 find the wound healed up, and the man, save for the 
 lack of his arm, as well as ever he was in his life. 
 
 The operator was told that if he would return with 
 us to our camp in the morning he should be amply re- 
 warded for his skill and care. Then we began to make 
 further inquiries about our projected hippopotami- 
 spearing, and we were told that the fetichman himself 
 would take us to their track. All that he asked was 
 that we would implicitly obey his directions, and that 
 unless in imminent danger we would not fire off a gun, 
 for the report of a musket at night would alarm the 
 whole country. To all this we agreed. 
 
 An hour before sunset we left the village, and fol- 
 lowing a narrow path through fields of Indian corn we 
 came to a place where the bank of the lagoon was some 
 four feet above the surface, and where the hippopotami, 
 in their nightly searches for food, had broken down a 
 passage five or six feet wide. On either side we en- 
 sconced ourselves so as to wait for the brutes landing.
 
 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 307 
 
 Before the sun went down we were interested and 
 astonished by remarking the extraordinary number of 
 birds that came from the lagoon and flew away to their 
 resting-places in the surrounding woods, and the noise 
 of ducks and other water-fowl that were calling to 
 their companions previous to seeking their night's 
 lodgings in the reeds. As soon as it was dark all was 
 quiet, except for the croaking of innumerable frogs, 
 that seemed, now that they were relieved from the fear 
 of attacks by storks and other feathered enemies, to be 
 resolved to enjoy themselves by making night hideous 
 with their tuneless notes. As I listened to them I 
 could almost imagine that I was close to some huge 
 ship-building yards, and that innumerable calkers and 
 smiths were busy plying their noisy trades. 
 
 We waited for some time, keeping quite still and 
 quiet. I began to think that the hippopotami must 
 have chosen some other place for their night's grazing- 
 ground, when Hatibu gripped me by the arm and said 
 
 " Listen, Franki, listen ! " 
 
 I listened most intently, and soon I heard the sound 
 of blowing and snorting, which gradually grew nearer ; 
 then I heard splashing and sounds of the huge beasts 
 we were waiting for wallowing in the mud and water 
 as they made their way to the landing-place. Pre- 
 sently a great dark mass came up from the lagoon and 
 passed close by. I seized my spear, ready to plunge 
 it into the flank of the beast as he passed. The fetich- 
 man whispered to us to wait, for if we wounded this
 
 308 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 one he would turn back into the lagoon, and all our 
 hopes of a night's sport would be destroyed. Slowly 
 and cautiously the great animal made his way past us, 
 and when about twenty yards from the bank he gave 
 a great roar, which w r as answered by others that were 
 still in the lagoon. This was evidently a signal that 
 the way was clear, for he was immediately followed by 
 no less than twenty hippopotami of all sizes, the last 
 being a half -grown one. 
 
 The fetichman now gave the signal for the attack 
 to commence. I plunged my spear, a heavy iron-hafted 
 weapon, into the side of the last one, and felt Hatibu 
 and others striking it at the same time. At the same 
 moment one of the natives set fire to a great pile of 
 dry grass and reeds which had been collected, and the 
 flames blazing up threw a light on the scene. Other 
 fires were instantly lighted, and the hippopotami, evi- 
 dently confused by the light of the flames, did not 
 seem to know which way to turn. The one we had 
 first stabbed was killed on the spot ; and now we all, 
 natives and our own people, rushed in among the herd 
 and stabbed indiscriminately at any one of the beasts 
 we could reach. This was not unaccompanied by risk 
 and danger ; for the animals, though confused and sur- 
 prised, kept making rushes and charges at their assail- 
 ants, and it was only by exercising the utmost caution 
 and agility that we could avoid being knocked over 
 and trampled under their feet, which would have been 
 certain death.
 
 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 309 
 
 The scene was an impressive one. The lurid light 
 of the flames shone on the shiny hides of the animals. 
 The figures of the hunters, dealing wounds on every 
 side, looked like wild men ; and their yells and cries 
 as they made a successful thrust were mingled with 
 the roars and cries of the wounded animals, which tried 
 in vain to break away. Being met on every side by 
 fresh opponents thrusting at them with their spears and 
 brandishing masses of burning reeds torn from the fires, 
 they headed back again. 
 
 At last the fires began to burn low, and half-a-dozen 
 of the animals, which had been driven together in the 
 middle of our circle of attack, made a determined rush 
 to the lagoon, and though one fell under repeated 
 wounds just before reaching the water, the rest made 
 their escape. We now looked to the results of our 
 ambush, and found that fifteen hippopotami had fallen 
 victims to our spears ; but although every one of us had 
 tales to tell of hairbreadth escapes, not one of our party 
 had received any injury. 
 
 The fetichman and other natives were delighted 
 with the results of the night's work, for they said the 
 carcasses would afford a plentiful supply of meat both 
 for them and us, and the hippopotami would now avoid 
 that side of the lagoon for many months, and their 
 crops would be safe from their depredations. Hatibu, 
 who had agreed that the tusks should fall to our share, 
 was pleased with such an addition to the value of what 
 we were conveying to the coast.
 
 310 SPEARING HIPPOPOTAMI. 
 
 These tusks we cut out at once, and it now being mid- 
 night we returned to the village to rest, leaving the 
 work of skinning and dividing the bodies till the morn- 
 ing. A hut was given to me and Hatibu to sleep in, 
 and, fatigued by our long day and the work of slaughter 
 in which we had been engaged, we were soon slumber- 
 ing soundly. I dreamed of our onslaught, and I thought 
 that the animals commenced beating drums, and had 
 muskets and were using them against us. At last I 
 awoke thinking that the biggest of all the animals was 
 pointing at me a musket as large as a thirty-two 
 pounder, and soon I found that drums certainly were 
 beating in all directions, and that there was a sound of 
 distant musketry fire.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 1 INSTANTLY roused Hatibu, and together we rushed 
 into the middle of the village, calling for our followers 
 to rally round us ; for it was only too evident that a 
 conflict was taking place between some of our fellow- 
 travellers from Nyangwe and some of the natives. 
 
 They came round us at once, and without waiting to 
 try to learn anything of the cause of the trouble, they 
 proposed at once to set fire to the village where we 
 were and then make the best of our way to the camp. 
 They were all in such a state of mingled fright and 
 anger that there was no knowing to what lengths they 
 would have proceeded ; but fortunately Hatibu kept his 
 head and restrained them, pointing out that the people 
 of the village where we were could have had no hand in 
 causing the conflict, as our camp was on the other side 
 of the river, and that none of them were absent. 
 
 The fetichman and all his people had also turned 
 out, and any foolish word or action might have brought 
 on a conflict the results or termination of which no one
 
 312 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 could have foreseen. Hatibu called out and said that 
 we were Tipolo's people, and he asked if Tipolo had not 
 always paid for all he had received, and if he was not 
 friends with the whole country when they did not mo- 
 lest him. " But," said he, " remember Tipolo is strong 
 and has many guns, and if his people are hurt he will 
 eat up his enemies." 
 
 The fetichman said this was true, but the drums were 
 saying that the strangers had been robbing the villages, 
 and had made people prisoners ; and even now, as some 
 had attempted to escape, two had been shot, and others 
 that got away had told their friends ; and there was 
 war between the people on the other side of the river 
 and those travelling with us. 
 
 I had often heard of news- being conveyed by drums, 
 but never so detailed and elaborate as this ; but Hatibu 
 said he could believe it all, and now proposed to have 
 a talk with the fetichman and settle what should be 
 done. 
 
 When I had first awoke dawn was just breaking, and 
 now it was daylight, and we would be able to make 
 our way to camp quickly unless hindered by the 
 natives on this side of the Luama throwing in their lot 
 with those on the other bank. To prevent this Hatibu 
 put forth all his powers of argument and persuasion, 
 and at last the fetichman consented to accompany us 
 to camp, and with Hatibu to endeavour to arrange 
 terms of peace. 
 
 No sooner had he consented than we set off and
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 313 
 
 made our way to the river. While some made their way 
 along the banks others paddled up in canoes. By nine 
 o'clock we reached our camp, where we found Bilal 
 anxiously awaiting our arrival. He said that the day 
 before, soon after we were gone, two chiefs and their 
 followers had come into the part of the camp occupied 
 by the people, and had taken advantage of Tipolo send- 
 ing a caravan to the coast to protest against the thiev- 
 ing of provisions, and also to ask for the release of two 
 women caught while fishing near the river by these 
 ruffians and made slaves. 
 
 The demands of the native chiefs were moderate 
 enough. They offered to give a tusk of ivory for the 
 freedom of the two women, and asked for a promise 
 that all the corn, plantains, goats, and other things 
 required by the men in the caravan should be paid for. 
 But the men with us, being over-confident in the posses- 
 sion of guns, refused to do anything, took the ivory, and 
 seized upon the two chiefs and some of their followers. 
 The rest, seeing this, made off, and all got away clear, 
 except two who were shot down. 
 
 The men who got away roused the whole country 
 and just before daybreak the drums were beaten in 
 the villages. The prisoners, who were somewhat care- 
 lessly guarded, then attempted to escape, and all 
 had done so except one of the two chiefs and an- 
 other man, who were killed while trying to get away. 
 This had occasioned the firing we had heard in the 
 morning, and large bodies of armed men assembled
 
 314 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 all round our camp with their spears and wooden 
 shields. 
 
 These people were now taunting their enemies and 
 daring them to come out and fight. Both sides were 
 afraid of one another the natives fearing to come 
 within range, and our troublesome fellow-travellers not 
 daring to go out into the woods for fear of losing the 
 advantage which the possession of guns gave them in 
 an open place. When we arrived Hatibu at once sent 
 for the leaders of the men who had occasioned all this 
 trouble. He spoke his mind very plainly to them, say- 
 ing that they were endangering not only their own 
 lives and belongings, which he did not value overmuch, 
 but also all Tipolo's ivory and property. He would 
 tell all the big traders of their conduct, and they would 
 never again be able to come into Manyuema by attach- 
 ing themselves to the parties of men who wished to 
 deal honourably and honestly. 
 
 After much talk and a great deal of abuse, Hatibu 
 said he would try to patch up a peace through the 
 people who had come with us from the village where 
 we had passed the night. Unless, however, the aggres- 
 sors agreed to terms, he and all Tipolo's men would 
 make common cause with the natives ; for he had no 
 wish to be delayed or to have to make his way through 
 a country hostile to us, as there were many places we 
 should have to pass where we would be cut off to a 
 man. 
 
 At last his proposals were agreed to. Our friends
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 315 
 
 went out in front of the camp and beat a drum, and 
 then some men from among those in the woods came 
 and spoke. After a little a messenger came to Hatibu 
 to say that the natives would listen to what any of 
 Tipolo's men had to say. I went out with them, and 
 found that though they looked very fierce and for- 
 midable they had such a fear of our guns that they 
 were very willing to come to terms. They only asked 
 now that the two women should be released, and that 
 some cloth and beads should be given to bury with the 
 men who had been killed, so that these should not 
 appear in the next world bare and naked. 
 
 To this we readily assented, and as those who caused 
 the disturbance had nothing, Hatibu, out of Tipolo's 
 stores, gave what was required, and took a writing 
 from them that the amount they had to pay should be 
 settled when we arrived at Kawele on Lake Tanganyika, 
 which from the way it was spoken of I expected to find 
 quite a civilized place. To cement the treaty a great 
 fetich had to be made, which the fetichman who had 
 conducted the negotiations superintended. First of all 
 a fowl was brought and killed, and the guns of our 
 people and the spears and shields of some of the natives 
 were sprinkled with its blood. It was said that if 
 they broke the treaty their weapons would do damage 
 to themselves, and not to those against whom they 
 were directed. After this an earthen pot full of water 
 was brought, into which sundry bits of stick and dirt 
 were put, and, to render it a still more powerful charm,
 
 316 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 there were added a charge of gunpowder and a small 
 scrap of paper on which Hatibu had made some marks. 
 Every one took a sip, and then we all parted, apparently 
 the best friends in the world. 
 
 Next morning, however, we found that the women 
 had not been given up as agreed, and Hatibu had to go 
 in person and insist upon their release. This obstinacy 
 on the part of those who had caused us all this trouble 
 led to a delay of another day ; and next morning, when 
 we at last started, Hatibu told me he would push on 
 with all speed with Tipolo's people and let the others 
 keep up with him or not as they liked. Hatibu wanted 
 us to get away from Kawele before the rainy season 
 commenced, or we should be much troubled by the 
 streams w T e should have to pass before we got to Un- 
 yanyembe, where he said there were many Arabs, and 
 whence communication with the coast was constant and 
 easy. 
 
 Following this determination we made very long 
 marches as long indeed as the poor wretches of slaves 
 carrying the ivory could possibly make and in four or 
 five days more we came to a range of steep and moun- 
 tainous hills. According to Hatibu, these formed the 
 termination of the country called Manyuema by the 
 Arabs, and, until Tipolo had managed to make friends 
 with some of the chiefs, they had been considered 
 by many as a barrier to any advance westwards or 
 northwards. 
 
 Climbing these mountains took us a whole day.
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 317 
 
 In ravines on their sides I saw some of the tallest 
 trees I ever remember having seen ; indeed I do not 
 think that the tallest among them could have been 
 under three hundred feet in height. This climb was 
 very severe on the unfortunate slaves who were car- 
 rying the ivory. Besides the physical labour which 
 they had to endure, they seemed to lose all heart at 
 passing what to them seemed the limit of their native 
 land. Hitherto they had hoped that by some fortunate 
 chance they might regain their freedom ; but from this 
 day many of them seemed to droop and die without 
 any apparent illness doubtless simply from lack of 
 wish to live now that they despaired of ever again see- 
 ing their own country. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, Hatibu forced on our march, 
 the Wanyamwesi and Zanzibar men all carrying ivory 
 when necessary, and in an extraordinarily short time 
 we reached the shores of Lake Tanganyika. I remem- 
 ber some of the names of the countries we hurried 
 through Uhiya, Ubudjwa, and Uguhba. Some of the 
 people had most extravagant head-dresses, something 
 resembling a huge chignon, made of bark, and with 
 a piece like a tongue hanging out of the middle of 
 it. Others disfigured themselves by perforating their 
 upper lips and inserting in the hole a piece of circular 
 wood or stone, which caused it to project like a duck's 
 bill, and which, while certainly no ornament, could have 
 been of no manner of use. The women, apparently 
 to make up for their lack of clothing, were most elab-
 
 318 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 orately tattooed in patterns which were by no means 
 unpleasing all over the fronts of their bodies. I re- 
 member the day that I came upon streams running east- 
 ward, and I was glad at the sign that we were really 
 making our way now towards that bourn of my hopes, 
 the east coast of Africa. I have also a remembrance 
 of some hot springs where all our travel-worn company 
 enjoyed a most refreshing bath. But though I had 
 thought myself equal to my companions in endurance, 
 I found myself so tired at the end of each day's march 
 that I was glad to eat what food was provided me, and 
 then to rest till the word w r as given to resume our toil- 
 some way. 
 
 The day before we reached the Tanganyika we saw 
 its blue waters gleaming in the sun as we crossed the 
 summit of a range of hills. As I saw this great inland 
 sea sparkling, as it seemed, at our feet, I could not 
 believe that it was still many weary hours' march from 
 us; but so it proved, the hills which we had crossed 
 being much higher than I had supposed. On reach- 
 ing the lake we went to a village called, I think, Ru- 
 anda, where the head-man had been put in charge of 
 some huge canoes belonging to Tipolo which had been 
 hauled up on shore, sheds being built over to protect 
 them from the weather. 
 
 One of these canoes was over seventy feet long, all 
 hewed out of one enormous log, and so large that I 
 could only just manage to look over her side when 
 standing on the ground by her, and I could not stretch
 
 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 319 
 
 across her. Two others had their bottoms all of one 
 piece, with topsides made of planks nailed to rough 
 ribs, and small poops and forecastles. The trees out of 
 which these canoes were made had grown in the moun- 
 tains of Uyoma. They were pointed out to me on the 
 west of the lake, lying to the north of where we had 
 struck it. 
 
 With much ado and trouble we got the canoes 
 launched, and then found that the two built-up ones 
 wanted calking, and had to be hauled ashore again. I 
 was astonished now to see Hatibu, Bilal, and other 
 Zanzibar men at this work. They did it well, using 
 raw cotton, which, when water gets to it, swells ex- 
 ceedingly and makes the seams stanch and tight. All 
 having been prepared, we embarked all our ivory and 
 the greater portion of our slaves, who were dreadfully 
 frightened at going on such an expanse of water as 
 Tanganyika, though they were by no manner of means 
 bad hands in the smaller canoes they were accustomed 
 to on their own rivers. We gave the remainder to the 
 chief who had been in charge of the canoes for the 
 care he had taken of them, and also to pay for men to 
 assist in pulling the canoes across the lake. 
 
 Our fellow-travellers who had been lagging behind 
 for part of the way, had been making extraordinary 
 exertions to overtake us, but could not possibly get 
 their loaded men up before we left. However, a 
 messenger arrived from them just as we were going to 
 leave, and begged us to wait and give them a passage
 
 320 TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES. 
 
 across to Kawele with us. " There," said Hatibu, " it is 
 always the same. Tipolo has boats, and these men 
 want them ; Tipolo has guns, and these men shelter 
 themselves behind them. They always cry to Tipolo 
 to help them, and then they do things which are 
 against Tipolo's words. They find trouble, and cry to 
 Tipolo." As there was only room for our party, Hatibu 
 refused to wait, but said he would send the canoes 
 back, and they could have the use of them to get to 
 Kawele. Even this was more than I thought they 
 deserved, for they had been nothing but a hindrance 
 and a danger to us from the time we left Nyangwe.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 OUR first day's voyage was to some islands about four 
 miles north of where we embarked. Here we stopped 
 till night-time, so as not to have to pull in the heat 
 of the sun when we started for the long voyage to the 
 opposite shore. The point which we were to make on 
 the opposite side was a bold headland, which Hatibu 
 told me was called Kungwe. It was the southernmost 
 point of land on that side visible from Kawele, and 
 seemed to be about forty miles distant. 
 
 As soon as the sun had gone down we manned the 
 canoes. The one in which Hatibu and I took our 
 passage was partly manned by Zanzibar people, who 
 pulled rude oars made of a large round piece of wood 
 nailed on to the end of a short pole. The other two, 
 which had crews hired to us by the chief who had 
 taken care of this squadron of Tipolo's, were propelled 
 by paddles, having very small blades shaped like the 
 ace of clubs. All our people, except the unfortunate 
 slaves, were very merry at the prospect of reaching a 
 
 (85) 21
 
 322 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 place where they would meet their countrymen, and 
 have an opportunity of learning the news from and 
 gossiping about their beloved island and Unyanyembe, 
 and where they could strut and swagger and brag of 
 having been in Manyuema, and lord it over those who 
 had never been to the west of the lake. As they 
 laboured at the oars they sang songs which seemed 
 destitute of tune, but contained allusions to good times 
 they were going to have, and praised themselves as 
 brave and fine fellows who had done so much ; and 
 when the man who sang the solo parts made a special 
 hit all joined in the chorus with zest and pulled their 
 hardest, making their clumsy craft fairly dance over 
 the water. 
 
 The scenery on the lake on this beautiful night was 
 inexpressibly lovely. The moon, which was a little past 
 her first quarter, threw a gentle silvery light over the 
 water, and allowed us to distinguish the outlines of the 
 mountains by which it was surrounded. Till the moon 
 set I sat on the poop close by Hatibu, who was steei'ing. 
 I was simply enjoying myself, the cool night air on the 
 lake and the luxury of moving without labour being 
 great. When the moon sank behind the western moun- 
 tains, and the men, though they still pulled lustily, gave 
 up singing, I lay down, and covering myself with some 
 mats, I watched the glorious stars of the tropics, like 
 golden lamps hanging in the blue-black heavens, till I 
 fell asleep to dream of my father and the Petrel. 
 
 I was dreaming that I was on board the Petrel when
 
 ACEOSS TANGANYIKA. 323 
 
 she was struck by a squall, and losing my footing had 
 rolled down into the lee-scuppers ; and I woke to find 
 that the canoe was pitching about in an angry and 
 confused sea, and that I had been rolled from where I 
 was sleeping to the other side of the poop. I at once 
 got hold of the rail and, raising myself up, looked 
 round. Not a star was visible now, and a heavy breeze 
 blowing had caused a nasty cross-sea to rise. Of the 
 other two canoes I could see nothing ; and our own was 
 shipping a good deal of water, keeping four or five men 
 constantly at work baling, while the slaves were lying 
 about moaning and bewailing their unhappy lot, and 
 suffering from all the miseries of sea-sickness. 
 
 The wind had come up from the southward and east- 
 ward, and we had been driven so considerably to the 
 northward of Kungwe, that instead of making the point 
 we would have to put in under the shelter of another 
 called Kabogo. As this would have the effect of con- 
 siderably shortening our voyage to Kawele, it may be 
 imagined that I did not at all mind, and in about a 
 couple of hours we reached a small inlet where we 
 were sheltered from wind and sea. Here was an old 
 camp, and we soon had fires lighted to dry our belong- 
 ings and cook our food, and even the poor slaves seemed 
 to be happy to have escaped from what to them had 
 appeared the dangers of the lake. 
 
 As soon as the canoe was cleared out, and some men 
 set to work to calk the leaks which had been caused by 
 the knocking about we had received, Hatibu proposed
 
 324 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 to me to walk up to the top of the cape and look out 
 for the other canoes. 
 
 When we arrived there we could see one of our con- 
 sorts still battling with the waves, and evidently at- 
 tempting to get into a large bay which lay between 
 us and Kungwe, so as to pull up to that headland in 
 smooth water. Of the other, which was the large one 
 made of a single tree, we could not see any sign, and 
 Hatibu said he was much afraid that in such a sea as 
 we had encountered she might have capsized and, to- 
 gether with her occupants and valuable cargo, been 
 lost. He ordered a big fire to be made as a signal to 
 the canoe we saw that we had arrived. When it blazed 
 up we saw her alter her course, and soon after she came 
 into the inlet where we had found shelter. 
 
 As soon as she arrived we made anxious inquiries if 
 her crew had any news of the missing craft ; but they 
 had seen nothing of her since leaving the islands. As 
 the hours passed on and nothing could be seen by the 
 look-outs we had stationed to watch, we were all of 
 us obliged to agree with Hatibu that she had probably 
 been capsized. 
 
 I pointed out that though she might upset and roll her 
 cargo out she could not possibly sink, and proposed 
 that we should go in search of her on the chance of 
 finding some of her crew clinging to her. This pro- 
 posal was not welcomed with enthusiasm, the crews of 
 both canoes saying they were too tired to put to sea 
 again, and before we could get any distance away from
 
 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 325 
 
 land it would be night. I persisted that we should 
 search for our comrades, and at last my arguments pre- 
 vailed so far that Hatibu decided at daylight the next 
 morning to look for her. 
 
 We all felt gloomy and depressed owing to the non- 
 arrival of the canoe, and at night round the camp-fires 
 there were none of the songs and jokes which had been 
 common the night before. At sunset Hatibu was going 
 to recall the look-outs and let the fire die out, but I 
 persuaded him to keep it burning, for there might be 
 some chance of the absent ones being still afloat and 
 safe, and if they saw the fire they would naturally 
 come to it and not go to Kungwe. 
 
 To this he agreed, and it was well he did so, for in 
 the middle of the night, after the uioon had set, we 
 heard the songs of the paddlers, and the missing canoe 
 glided into the inlet. The story of her crew was a 
 very short and simple one. About an hour after start- 
 ing they found they had left two of their number be- 
 hind, and had to put back for them; then when the 
 wind had sprung up they had thought it best not to 
 start until it lulled again, which was not until the after- 
 noon. They then shaped their course for Kungwe, but 
 soon after sunset they saw our fire on Kabogo and made 
 for that place. 
 
 All was now life and spirit, and notwithstanding the 
 time of night the men began dancing and singing, 
 heedless of the hard day's work which lay before them. 
 Long before daylight the canoes were loaded, and we
 
 326 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 pushed out into the lake and commenced coasting 
 northwards towards Kawele. A fresh southerly breeze 
 soon came up. We landed to cut down some bamboos, 
 on which we spread mats and cloths; and so we ex- 
 temporized some sails, which helped us on our way 
 merrily. About two in the afternoon we passed the 
 long red promontory formed by the mud brought down 
 by the swift and turbulent Malagarazi, and could see 
 the point behind which Kawele was situated. Though 
 the breeze died away with the sun the men kept 
 stoutly to their work, and when they at last ceased 
 from pulling w r e were only half an hour from our goal. 
 The only reason for not going on was the unseemli- 
 ness in a caravan from dreaded Manyuema with wealth 
 of ivory and slaves coming in with as little ceremony 
 as a fishing-canoe. It was necessary that there should 
 be firing of guns and beating of drums and waving 
 of flags, and that the ivory should be carried up be- 
 fore all beholders to show the wealth Tipolo had gained 
 by pushing his journeys so far afield. 
 
 As soon as the first signs of dawn appeared behind 
 the eastern hills all were on the alert, and finery, of the 
 existence of which I had never dreamed, was donned 
 by all. Spears and shields from Manyuema, and tro- 
 phies of our fight beyond Nyangwe, were displayed, 
 drums were placed on poop and forecastle, and from 
 the stern of our ship Hatibu displayed a white and red 
 flag, on which were written quotations from the Koran. 
 Our men wore head-dresses of zebras' manes and buf-
 
 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 327 
 
 faloes' tails, bracelets of beads and copper were put on 
 hands and wrists, and a liberal allowance of powder 
 was served out to all who had the good fortune to 
 possess muskets. 
 
 As soon as all these preparations were made we 
 shoved off, and the whole of the men in the three 
 canoes struck up a song of rejoicing, the only mournful 
 faces being those of the unfortunate slaves, whose 
 numbers by death and sale had greatly dwindled since 
 the time we had left Nyangwe. People on shore soon 
 heard the sound of our songs, and little knots of gazers 
 clustered on the dwarf red cliffs, eagerly pointing out 
 to each other the boats of Tipolo returning from Man- 
 yuema. Some rushed off to convey the news to the 
 Arabs and the freemen, the men from "the island" and 
 the sea, that news had come, and good news, of those 
 who had crossed the lake and ventured into strange and 
 distant lands. 
 
 Soon drums and horns were heard, and on coming 
 close to shore and rounding a point we came in sight of 
 the settlement of Kawele, with its Arab houses, and its 
 busy market in full swing. Among the market people 
 we could see Arabs in their white dresses making their 
 way to the landing-place, their followers shouting and 
 dancing, beating drums, and blowing horns. To this 
 we answered right royally ; for never did I think that 
 such a volume of sound could be emitted from human 
 throats as the shouts and yells to which our men gave 
 vent as we paddled and pulled past the landing, firing
 
 328 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 our guns, beating our drums, and blowing our horns. 
 I caught the infection and shouted with the best of 
 them, and like a madman blazed away with a gun 
 Hatibu had given me. 
 
 Three times did we pass up and down before the 
 landing. We then stopped and drew up in line abreast, 
 with our bows pointing towards the beach, and after a 
 short pause dashed forward to it, redoubling if possible 
 the rapidity of our fire and the noise we were making. 
 
 No sooner did the canoes touch the shore than they 
 were seized by hundreds of willing hands and dragged 
 up high and dry. In an instant Hatibu and his men 
 were in the arms of their friends, who seized upon the 
 ivory and loads to convey them to Ti polo's house, even 
 the women and children joining, tiny urchins of four 
 and five begging to be allowed to carry something, no 
 matter what, belonging to the men who had come from 
 Manyuema. 
 
 The scene was one which it was impossible to de- 
 scribe. There were first of all the market-people from all 
 parts of the shores of the lake, who in the daily market 
 held at Kawele find a sale for their goods fish (fresh 
 and dried), meat, ghee, fowls, eggs, hemp from Ubwari, 
 pottery and iron from Uvira, salt from Uvinza, ivory, 
 and slaves each of the tribes being distinguished by 
 varieties in tattooing, manner of hair-dressing, and 
 shape of their weapons. Then there were the Arabs 
 and their followers from Zanzibar, and their Wanyam- 
 wesi porters, on this occasion suspending their buying
 
 ACEOSS TANGANYIKA. 329 
 
 and selling to welcome their friends who had indeed 
 returned alive from Manyuema. 
 
 It was some hours before the ferment and turmoil 
 caused by our arrival had calmed down, and I was 
 feeling sad at there being no one special friend to wel- 
 come me, as even the meanest of my companions found 
 chums and admirers to listen to the wonderful tales he 
 had to relate ; but soon I found that good fellow 
 Hatibu had not forgotten me, for a room was cleared 
 for me, and such a meal as even in Tipolo's house at 
 Nyangwe I had never dreamed of was provided for me 
 curry, rice, fish, beef, wheaten cakes, sweetmeats, but- 
 ter, milk, coffee. If, like Jack the Giant Killer, I had 
 been provided with a leathern wallet, or had possessed 
 the appetites of Gargantua or Dando the oyster-eater, I 
 could not have done justice to the meal which was 
 spread for me. Hatibu kept on urging me to eat, say- 
 ing that Kawele in Ujiji was indeed a land of plenty, 
 and the Arabs would not be pleased unless I ate all 
 that was sent me. 
 
 After a time Hatibu was convinced this was an im- 
 possibility, and he led me away to where the prin- 
 cipal Arabs were assembled under the veranda of a big 
 house to learn news of Tipolo and Manyuema, and 
 in return to tell us what had happened since Tipolo's 
 brother had quitted Kawele. Every man who had 
 gone to Manyuema was asked after by name. When 
 told that one was dead, the response was, " It is God's 
 will," and when told that one was alive, " How many
 
 330 ACROSS TANGANYIKA. 
 
 slaves and how much ivory has he got ?" Stories of the 
 fight in which alone of all our party Hatibu, Bilal, and 
 I had escaped were listened to with attention , and great 
 was the astonishment manifested that I, a mzungu (a 
 white man), should have survived all the difficulties 
 and hardships I had encountered. 
 
 Hatibu and his companions had as many questions 
 to ask about the fate of those they had left behind, 
 and how the road was in front. The road, we heard, 
 was good, and the people peaceful, the only trouble 
 that had lately occurred being an attack made on a 
 caravan by the Watuta (a predatory nomad tribe), who 
 had been beaten off with severe loss, and would not 
 likely give trouble again for a long time. 
 
 All indeed seemed couleur de rose, and when I slept 
 at night I looked upon the time as being close at hand 
 when I again should see my countrymen and hear my 
 native tongue.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Hatibu professed himself as desirous of 
 pressing on as I did, I found he managed to have so 
 much business to do at Kawele that we were detained 
 there for weeks instead of days, as I had at first sup- 
 posed. Though I was well lodged and well fed, and 
 by the kindness of the Arabs well clothed, I was always 
 longing for the time when we should again be on the 
 inarch. 
 
 Hatibu here disposed of all his slaves, and to take 
 their places in carrying the ivory, he hired Wanyamwesi 
 who wished to return to their own country. I must 
 say I was heartily glad to be freed from daily witness- 
 ing the hopeless toil of the poor wretches. 
 
 Loyal comrades as Hatibu and Bilal had proved 
 themselves to me, I could not put up with the apathy 
 with which they regarded the sufferings of these 
 wretched creatures, and thought no more, if so much, 
 of their life or death than if they were brute beasts. 
 To my many remonstrances they would only say,
 
 332 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 " What does it matter ? they are only heathens and 
 slaves;" and though they did not interfere with my 
 doing what I could to alleviate their sufferings, they 
 regarded my efforts with contemptuous indifference, 
 and I verily believe in my own heart they thought I 
 was an idiot for troubling myself about them. 
 
 Now we were clear of this. Instead of half -starved, 
 chained wretches, our ivory was to be carried by stal- 
 wart Wanyamwesi, who from their very childhood had 
 been in the habit of travelling and carrying heavy 
 loads, supplying the Arabs with the best pagazi or 
 porters that they find in Eastern Africa. A tusk 
 weighing over fifty or sixty pounds, or even below 
 these weights, had to be carried by two slaves ; while 
 the brawny fellows who now were to act as our car- 
 riers looked upon seventy or eighty pounds as a normal 
 load. One fellow by himself actually carried a monster 
 tusk weighing a hundred and twenty-five pounds, and 
 seemed to find a recompense for his extra toil in the 
 pride he took in carrying the largest piece of ivory we 
 had. 
 
 With these fellows, however, we had to give in to 
 their customs of the road ; and the road to be taken and 
 the places at which we were to halt were all laid down 
 by the kirangosi, or leader. He marched at the head 
 of the caravan, carrying his load like the rest, and 
 decked in a fantastic manner with beads and feathers, 
 and wearing when coming near a village a robe of 
 scarlet baize, which was his right, in addition to the
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 333 
 
 wages of an ordinary porter. Besides this he was 
 entitled to the head of every animal killed in the cara- 
 van, and the heads of fowls, goats, and of any game we 
 shot were all scrupulously demanded by him, and after 
 some process of cookery devoured by him and his 
 companions. 
 
 Our departure took place early one morning. We 
 went by water in boats and canoes to a place about 
 four miles south of Kawele, so as to avoid crossing a 
 river which fell into the lake ; then after a short piece 
 of flat ground, we commenced to ascend the lofty hills 
 which lay behind. The difference between the Wan- 
 yamwesi and slaves as carriers of ivory was nowhere 
 more marked than in this ascent. While the latter 
 would have had to make innumerable halts, and have 
 taken hours to reach the summit, the Wanyamwesi, 
 without any delay, and to show off their manhood and 
 strength, faced the steep ascent as if they were storm- 
 ing a fortress. In little more than fifty minutes we 
 halted on the crest to take our last look at the Tan- 
 ganyika. 
 
 The scene was one of marvellous beauty. The sides 
 of the hills were clothed with forest, the sombre green 
 of the larger forest trees being varied by flowering 
 acacias, which stood out in patches of vivid colouring. 
 At our feet lay a deep inlet of blue water ; beyond lay 
 the vast expanse of Tanganyika, shining beneath the rays 
 of the sun like a surface of polished brass, on which 
 the canoes of the fishermen and the floating islands
 
 334 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 brought down by the numerous streams which feed 
 this vast reservoir of the mighty Congo seemed like 
 the merest specks ; while in the far distance the 
 mountains of Ugoma lay like clouds deep in shadow. 
 Looking inland was one sea of forest, from which 
 arose cloud - capped hills, and the only sign that 
 human beings had any existence were dim wreaths of 
 smoke, which betrayed the presence of the people of 
 Ukaranga. 
 
 Our first camp lay near one of their villages, and a 
 grinning human skull over its gateway, through which 
 none of us were allowed to pass, showed how little the 
 semi-civilization of Kawele had done to leaven the 
 savagery of the surrounding peoples. Though this 
 grinning remnant of mortality had a gruesome and 
 forbidding appearance, we found the people ready 
 enough to come to our camp to dispose of fowls, eggs, 
 bananas, and other articles of food, for dried fish from 
 the lake, with a goodly stock of which we had pro- 
 vided ourselves. 
 
 At night I spoke to Hatibu of all that lay before us. 
 He said of one thing I might be sure that as far as 
 Unyanyembe we should travel fast, for the carriers 
 were paid by the job irrespective of time, and were 
 homeward bound. Sure enough I found they did not 
 intend to loiter, for long before sunrise the horn of the 
 kirangosi roused the sleeping camp, and as soon as the 
 first glimmer of dawn enabled us to see how to avoid 
 the difficulties of the road, loads were shouldered, and
 
 VILLAGE IN UKARANGA.
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 337 
 
 we commenced our march. We pressed on without a 
 stoppage save for one day in order to buy salt, which 
 would, prove valuable on the road. For this we ex- 
 changed all the fish we had brought from Kawele, and 
 the exchange certainly rendered the odour of our camp 
 more pleasant than it had hitherto been. 
 
 It was curious to see how the people made the salt 
 by simply boiling the soil in earthen pots, and then 
 straining the water off the mud through rough sieves 
 made of leaves and grass, and evaporating the brine. 
 Usually the first filtration was not sufficient, and the 
 process had often to be repeated four or five times 
 before a coarse brown salt which looked like dirty sand 
 was obtained. I was much astonished to find that 
 though the whole country was impregnated with salt, 
 the streams and rivers did not taste of it, but were 
 perfectly fresh and sweet. 
 
 Six days after leaving Ujiji we arrived at the Mala- 
 garazi, whose red-brown waters we had seen discolour- 
 ing the Tanganyika on our way northward to Kawele. 
 Here we had to bargain with the lord of the ferry and 
 his numerous subordinates for our passage across its 
 swift and swirling waters. It was quite unfordable, 
 and, as no trees grew on its banks, we had no means 
 of bridging it, and had to cross in canoes. 
 
 The bargaining for permission to cross required both 
 time and patience ; and when it was all concluded I 
 thought that certainly we should find some decent sort 
 of craft provided to transport us and our belongings 
 
 (85) 22
 
 338 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 to the farther bank. It was about an hour after 
 sunrise when we arrived at the banks of the river, 
 which were covered with dense masses of canes, and 
 not a sign was there of the men or the canoes which 
 had been promised and paid for. We waited while 
 Hatibu sent messengers to press the chief to hurry his 
 men, and sat waiting patiently for them to return on a 
 small rise just outside the cane-swamp. Presently we 
 saw one or two heads of men gliding down through the 
 canes, and Hatibu shouted, " Pack up, pack up ! see the 
 canoes." 
 
 All hands answered to his shout, and seizing their 
 loads forced their way through the canes and mud to 
 the edge of the river. There we found two things 
 which might be called canoes, but were simply strips 
 of bark eighteen or twenty feet long, with the ends 
 pinched and sewn together, so that they formed troughs 
 some fifteen inches wide and twelve deep. In one end 
 (bow or stern one could not name it) stood a black 
 fellow, who propelled his crazy craft with a long pole, 
 punting in the shallows and paddling when he could 
 not reach the bottom. In all my experiences I had 
 never seen such frail and rickety craft as those now 
 provided, and I wondered how we should get across 
 without disaster, more especially as I was told that the 
 river swarmed with crocodiles, and if one was capsized 
 the chances were two to one in favour of being seized 
 and carried off by these monsters. 
 
 A man with his load, and the ferryman, loaded the
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 339 
 
 frail craft far beyond the Board of Trade regulations. 
 I watched with anxiety the passage of some twenty 
 men and their loads. Seeing no disaster, I summoned 
 up courage and stepped carefully and gingerly into 
 one ; then kneeling down and leaning forward I held 
 on to the sticks which formed an apology for a gun- 
 wale, and gave the word to shove off. The water 
 washed against my knuckles, and even trickled over 
 the side, and I thought nothing could have saved me 
 from an upset ; but my dusky Charon was as deft in 
 managing the balance of his swa}dng vessel as a rope- 
 dancer, and I arrived at the farther bank, thankful to 
 be across the Malagarazi safe and sound. 
 
 As soon as I was across Hatibu told me to go on 
 with Bilal and the men already over to a neighbour- 
 ing village, where we should stay for the night. Hatibu 
 said that now no danger or difficulty lay between us 
 and Unyanyembe. I at once pushed on, and soon came 
 to a large stockaded village, where huts were cleared 
 for our reception. When I looked at the elaborate 
 nature of its defences I felt that they betokened an 
 unsettled country, and thought Hatibu had spoken 
 more hopefully than he was warranted in doing. 
 
 The mutwale, or chief of the village, came to gossip 
 and stare at the mzungu (white man). Bilal found 
 from him that the Watuta, whom we had heard of at 
 Ujiji, were still about, had destroyed many villages, 
 and would doubtless have attacked this one if it had 
 not been for the memory of having been beaten off
 
 340 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 with heavy loss some years previously. This was bad 
 news indeed. Its truth was proved by the arrival 
 during the afternoon and evening of fugitives from 
 villages that had been attacked by these robbers. 
 When night fell we could see the reflection of flames 
 against the skies, which showed where the villages they 
 had taken had been set on fire after their lust for 
 murder and plunder had been satisfied. I was told 
 that the Watuta if opposed never spare man, woman, 
 or child, and that safety from their attacks is only to 
 be found in flight or a successful resistance. 
 
 Hatibu and Bilal were much disturbed by this news, 
 and though they did not doubt that the mutwale spoke 
 the truth when he boasted of being able to resist any 
 attack that the Watuta might make against his village 
 fortress, they did not care to become involved in any 
 struggle with them and lose much valuable time, and 
 they began to consider what they should do to avoid 
 them. The kirangosi was called into council, and he 
 said, " The Watuta are very bad ; they are wicked and 
 hot as fire." 
 
 "Well," replied Hatibu, "we know that. We ask 
 not from you what is known to all men. We want 
 words of understanding, not words of foolishness." 
 
 " Truly," answered the man, " the way to Unyanyembe 
 is short ; but of what avail is it that the road is short ? 
 for the Watuta are there." 
 
 I thought there was not much use in consulting a 
 man who only answered in this manner, and said as
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 341 
 
 much to Hatibu. He said there was another and longer 
 road, and this man knew it ; and if he made the pro- 
 posal to travel by it, all would go well, but that he 
 himself did not want to propose it, as probably he would 
 then refuse. 
 
 After sitting for some time in silence, Hatibu said 
 it would be no use remaining where we were, and it 
 would be best to return to Ujiji. 
 
 At this the kirangosi looked annoyed, and said, " Turn 
 back upon our steps 3 No. The ivory may remain here, 
 and you may go, but I and my men are going to the 
 country of our brothers. We will not turn back." 
 
 Another long silence followed, and then the kirangosi 
 said : " Listen, masters. There is a road where the 
 Watuta do not come, but it is long, and for many days 
 we shall be in the forest and in the wild, and see no 
 villages ; but if my masters say the word, I and my 
 men will take that road, and we will arrive in Unyan- 
 yembe in safety." 
 
 This was what Hatibu had been waiting for, but he 
 would not appear too eager to assent, and made it 
 appear as if he were persuaded by the kirangosi to 
 follow this other road. At last he said he would do 
 as the kirangosi wished, and the latter springing to 
 his feet said, " Let us be going. It is now night, and 
 the Watuta sleep. By the morning we shall be far 
 from them, and to-morrow night we shall be in the 
 mountains of Kawendi, where they cannot follow us." 
 
 In a moment all was bustle and preparation. Sleep-
 
 342 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 ing men were roused, loads were lashed up and shoul- 
 dered, and the mutwale being persuaded by a handsome 
 present to open the entrance of his village, we set forth 
 on our march. 
 
 All night long we made our way along a narrow 
 path, and in the morning found ourselves on the sum- 
 mit of a range of hills. To the north we could see wide 
 plains mostly covered by forest, but with numerous 
 villages and clearings scattered about, from some of 
 which the rising of columns of smoke told us the 
 Watuta were even then pursuing their work of destruc- 
 tion. To the south rose ranges of mountains, table- 
 topped, with precipitous sides rising out of a sea of 
 jungle. These were the mountains of Kawendi, and 
 through them our path lay. 
 
 After a short halt for the purpose of cooking some 
 food and resting, the iron-muscled Wanyamwesi shouted 
 out that it was time to be on the march again, and 
 though I know I felt tired and weary, there was no 
 lagging. Soon we were rapidly descending the hill- 
 slopes towards a largish river which we saw lying 
 below us. I asked how we were to cross this, as it 
 seemed too broad to bridge ; and as there were no signs 
 of habitations near, we could not hope to find canoes 
 like those in which we had been ferried across the 
 Malagarazi. 
 
 Hatibu said, "That's all right; the kiraugosi says 
 we shall cross on sindi." 
 
 " Sindi ! what is that ?" I asked.
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 343 
 
 " Wait, Franki, and you will see," answered Hatibu. 
 
 I followed the long line of men, wondering what 
 this sindi could be. Before reaching the river-bank I 
 saw to my astonishment that some of the men were 
 already across, and that others apparently, as far as I 
 could see through trees and grass, were walking on the 
 surface of the river. When I came to the bank I found 
 that though there was open water to the right and 
 left of us, the surface of the stream was covered with 
 a matted growth of papyrus and other water-plants, 
 sufficiently thick and buoyant to support our weight in 
 crossing, and that all our men were without hesitation 
 trusting themselves to its seemingly treacherous surface. 
 
 "Do you see and understand sindi now, Franki?" 
 said Hatibu. "Follow close to me and step where I 
 step, as there are holes sometimes, and if you fall 
 through you will die." 
 
 No warning was requisite to make me exercise cau- 
 tion, for the yielding, swaying surface caused a curious 
 sense of insecurity. We got across to the other side 
 without misadventure, and before nightfall we were 
 among the mountains of Kawendi, and safe from any 
 pursuit of the Watuta. 
 
 But though we had nothing to apprehend from 
 human foes, we found that we had to struggle with 
 other dangers, hardships, and difficulties. 
 
 First of all, the few inhabitants of the mountains 
 were all separated into little village communities, 
 perched on almost inaccessible crags. The people were
 
 344 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 separated into a number of little independent com- 
 munities, sometimes not numbering more than twenty 
 or thirty of both sexes and all ages, and each little 
 hamlet was at war with its neighbours. When we 
 attempted to approach, to try to find provisions, the 
 villagers closed the approaches, and in some instances 
 rolled down stones upon the men who would have 
 spoken to them, and when we were permitted to have 
 any intercourse they could spare but little from their 
 scanty stocks to satisfy our necessities. 
 
 Want of food did not diminish the difficulty in toil- 
 ing up the steep hillsides and forcing our way through 
 the tangled undergrowth in the ravines. When after 
 five days of much and hard toil we reached the limit 
 of this mountainous country, and saw a large village 
 near us, we gave way to rejoicings, for now we thought 
 we should be able to buy food, and to provide for the long 
 stretch of uninhabited jungle which lay between the 
 mountains of Kawendi and the first villages of Ugara, 
 the westernmost of the countries comprised in the gen- 
 eral name of Unyamwesi, or Country of the Moon. 
 
 But our rejoicings were premature, for as we drew 
 near we heard drums beating and we saw that the 
 people were prepared for war. The only response to 
 men sent to call to the inhabitants that we came in 
 peace and would pay for all we wanted was a volley of 
 arrows. Our messengers came back and reported their 
 reception. We were fain to resume our weary way 
 hungry and dissatisfied. Hatibu would, I have no
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 345 
 
 doubt, if there had been any prospect of success, have 
 willingly attacked these inhospitable niggards. He 
 said that behind their village, which lay at the foot 
 of a precipitous rocky hill, there were many caves, in 
 which they would take refuge, and where they stored 
 all their supplies. He bitterly complained of the bad 
 policy of some of the traders in making slave-raids 
 into these countries, and rendering all the people hos- 
 tile to strangers. 
 
 As we turned our faces towards the forests which we 
 had now to pass through we came upon some large 
 patches of Indian corn nearly ripe. From these we 
 managed to get a supply of food which would last some 
 days ; and I could not object, for without it there can 
 be little doubt that we should have been starved. 
 
 Our kirangosi, who said he was well acquainted with 
 this road, was soon obliged to confess himself at fault, 
 and we had to trust to the general idea of the direction 
 in which we wished to travel, and often came upon 
 rivers, hills, and swamps, which greatly interfered with 
 our progress. Fortunately we soon found game was 
 plentiful, and we managed to shoot a few antelopes, one 
 of which I believe must have been an eland. We shot 
 also some buffaloes, which afforded a welcome supply 
 of meat, our stock of Indian corn having become ex- 
 hausted. Our men, when there was no game for the 
 pot, had to resort to mushrooms of giant size and gor- 
 geous colour, lichens off the trees, and even leaves and 
 grass, to stay the cravings of their stomachs.
 
 346 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 Abundance of game was not without its drawbacks, 
 as two incidents which occurred and which come vividly 
 to my memory may prove. One day while we were all 
 marching along slowly and sadly, no one having any 
 heart for the songs or shouts with which the African 
 usually enlivens his day's march, I was astonished by 
 seeing a sudden panic seize the carriers, who pitched 
 their loads on the ground and scampering off to the 
 handiest trees commenced to climb them. Hatibu 
 shouted to me to follow him, as with the agility of a 
 monkey he swung himself on to the lower branches of 
 an acacia tree, regardless of the thorns, and I, hardly 
 knowing what I was doing, hastened to place myself 
 beside him. 
 
 Hardly was I in the branches when I heard a rush- 
 ing sound below me of the trampling of hoofs, and a 
 buffalo bull, with head down and tail up, charged along 
 the path we were following, tossing and goring the aban- 
 doned loads, and was soon away again. Fortunately 
 no damage was done, and we were soon all reassembled, 
 laughing at the figures we had made in our hasty 
 flight. Those who had guns lamented that no use had 
 been made of them, and the buffalo turned into ac- 
 count by shooting him. 
 
 The other was also an adventure with a buffalo, and 
 was another instance of the blind rage with which these 
 animals at times seem to be possessed; but unfortu- 
 nately it did not pass off in such a ludicrous and harm- 
 less manner.
 
 
 
 - : 
 
 , / - ' '- 
 
 ^\miffix&-.h 
 
 A BUFFALO CHARGE.
 
 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 349 
 
 One evening, while searching round our camp for 
 something which might serve for food, I came upon a 
 small pond surrounded by reeds growing to a height of 
 ten or twelve feet, and some men who were with me 
 told me that the roots of these reeds and the fruit of a 
 water-lily which grew in the pond were good to eat, 
 and we set to work to collect some. 
 
 I was up to my waist in mud and water, picking the 
 pods off the water-lilies, when I heard a scream and a 
 crash, or more properly a crash and a scream, and I 
 heard the voice of a man crying out, " Franki, Franki ! 
 mbogo, mbogo !" (buffalo, buffalo). Pushing through 
 the reeds I saw one poor fellow on the ground gored 
 by a buffalo, while another, though only armed with a 
 shoka, or hatchet, was preparing to attack the infu- 
 riated animal. 
 
 I had nothing in my hands. For a moment I 
 thought I could do nothing ; but suddenly the idea 
 entered my head to seize the buffalo by the tail, which 
 I did. The brute was evidently surprised and aston- 
 ished at this strange attack, and turned and twisted 
 about trying to disencumber himself of me. Though 
 dragged off my feet, fortunately I was able to keep 
 my grip, and the man with the hatchet dealt him 
 several blows on the head and neck, actually succeed- 
 ing in hacking off one of his horns. 
 
 The beast rolled over in agony, dragging me with 
 him, and I was in momentary fear of being crushed 
 under his body. But aid was at hand, for Hatibu and
 
 350 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS. 
 
 Bilal came rushing up with their guns, accompanied by 
 men armed with spears, and in less time than it takes 
 to write about it the animal had received the contents 
 of both muskets and was riddled with spears. His 
 death w r as almost instantaneous, and I was saved from 
 my perilous position; but the poor fellow who had been 
 first attacked received mortal injuries, and breathed his 
 last before we could carry him into our camp. 
 
 The flesh of the buffalo formed a welcome addition 
 to our lichens and roots ; but two days afterwards we 
 arrived in the first villages of Ugara, where we found 
 food in plenty. Passing through Ugara and Uganda 
 we reached the Arab settlement of Kazeh in Unyan- 
 yembe, where I found a number of Arab traders of 
 various degrees, who were most kind to me, and did all 
 they could to supply my wants.
 
 ' 7mm
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 A HAPPY ENDING. 
 
 WE remained in Kazeh for about a fortnight while 
 Hatibu was engaging men to carry his ivory down to 
 the coast ; then, amid the farewells of the whole settle- 
 ment, who were much excited by the news of the plenty 
 and cheapness of ivory in Manyuema, we left for Baga- 
 moyo, I being mounted on a donkey given me by Musa 
 Mzuri (handsome Moses), an Indian merchant, who had 
 been one of the first to settle in this place for trade. 
 
 Of my further journey to the coast there is little to 
 tell. We experienced the usual difficulties with the 
 churlish Wagogo, and had to endure hunger, thirst, and 
 fatigue; but the countries through which we passed have 
 been so well and often described by travellers such as 
 Burton, Speke, and Stanley, that the history of our 
 journey to Bagamoyo would possess but little in- 
 terest. 
 
 It was with feelings of joy and gratitude that I 
 again saw the briny waters of the ocean. Still more 
 thankful was I when a few days afterwards I landed 
 
 (85) 23
 
 354 A HAPPY ENDING. 
 
 at Zanzibar and heard again the English language, to 
 which I had so long been a stranger. Her Majesty's 
 consul, Colonel Hamerton, congratulated me on being 
 still alive and in good health after so many and so 
 strange adventures and experiences. 
 
 Fortunately, a few days after my arrival, the Ger- 
 man house of Witt and Company had a small brig 
 which they were going to send home, and which was 
 to touch at various places on the West Coast of Africa 
 to exchange cowries collected on the shores and reefs 
 near Zanzibar for palm oil. With great generosity they 
 gave me a free passage in her, either to Hamburg, 
 whither she was ultimately bound, or, if I preferred it, 
 till such time as I might fall in with an English vessel 
 which would take me to my own country. 
 
 We had a favourable voyage to the Bights, and I 
 found that I had not altogether forgotten to be a sailor ; 
 but judge of my happiness and delight when just before 
 entering the Old Calabar river we met a brig coming 
 out at whose main-royal masthead flew the familiar 
 black flag with a red diamond, which showed that she 
 was the property of my father. 
 
 Captain Schmidt at once hove -to his vessel and 
 lowered a boat, and soon I was again standing on the 
 quarter-deck of the Petrel. My brother was now in 
 command, with Jimmy Duds as his first mate, and 
 their astonishment and joy were great when the}^ at 
 last understood that one they had mourned as dead 
 was alive and again on board the old craft.
 
 A HAPPY ENDING. 357 
 
 My brother went back with me to the German brig 
 to thank Captain Schmidt for his kindness and care of 
 me, and wished him to accept payment for my passage 
 from Zanzibar; but the worthy fellow refused any 
 recompense, and it was with much difficulty that my 
 brother induced him to accept a silver mug, which 
 he chanced to have on board, as a remembrance of 
 me. 
 
 When we were again on board the Petrel my brother 
 gave me news of my father and aunt, who were both 
 well and hearty. The former had now given up going 
 down to the sea in ships, having settled down at 
 Bristol, and put Willie, who had obtained his master's 
 certificate, in command of the brig. 
 
 Pentlea, I heard, had been killed in resisting the 
 capture of a slaver on board which he was, and his 
 friend Camacho had shared his fate. 
 
 At the time I had seen the Petrel in the river they 
 had been put on their guard by my cutting the branches 
 from the schooner's masthead, and they had fortunately 
 been able to beat off the attack made by Okopa's people 
 and the schooner. The latter they had jammed on the 
 bar, where she must have become a complete wreck. As 
 they had not recognized me, they had no idea of my 
 being in their neighbourhood. Indeed they had all 
 supposed that I was either drowned or carried off by 
 sharks when the boat capsized at Whydah. 
 
 My father had reported the attack on the Petrel, but 
 having been seized with a bad fever he had gone home
 
 358 A HAPPY ENDING. 
 
 without revisiting the river. It was not till on a sub- 
 sequent voyage that he again visited the Ogowai, and 
 this time in company with an English man-of-war. 
 They had punished Okopa ; and from Hararu, or Jack 
 Sprat, they had learned of my being with Karema, and 
 had sent messengers up to bring me down, but they had 
 returned with the story that I was dead. 
 
 Willie said that now, if I wished, as he was free to 
 go where he liked, he would go to the Ogowai, and 
 there we accordingly sailed. On entering the river we 
 were boarded by a canoe in which was my old friend 
 Tom, who had succeeded to his father, and now ruled 
 over both his village and that of Okopa. 
 
 Great were the rejoicings when it was known that I 
 was alive, and these were not lessened by the gifts that 
 we made to all who had befriended me. 
 
 I wished much to go up and visit Karema, but he, 
 alas ! was dead, and had been succeeded by one of his 
 sons, to whom I sent a present of cloth, beads, guns, 
 and powder, which would prove I was not ungrate- 
 ful for the kindness I had received at his father's 
 hands. 
 
 Tom had plenty of ivory, india-rubber, logwood, 
 and other produce, and before we left the Ogowai 
 our holds were full, and we could shape our course 
 for England, where in due time we arrived, and my 
 father welcomed me as one from the dead. 
 
 Since then I have been to sea, and now command the 
 Petrel, my brother having the charge of a fine barque
 
 A HAPPY ENDING. 359 
 
 called the Ocean Queen, which ray father was able to 
 buy a couple of years ago ; and now, lying off Whydah, 
 I have employed my leisure time in writing down my 
 experiences of Africa. 
 
 One thing I have learned, and that is to commiserate 
 the lot of the slave. I trust that in a short time the 
 inland traffic in human flesh will utterly cease, and that 
 the labours of Livingstone and those who have followed 
 in his footsteps will result in the opening up of Africa 
 to the blessings of Christianity and civilization. 
 
 THE END.
 
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