For Some Miles We Passed Through A Magnificent Forest Of Large Trees.
The Path Being Remarkably Good, The March Looked Propitious.
This good
fortune, however, was doomed to change.
We shortly entered upon thick
thorny jungles. The path was so overgrown that the camels could scarcely
pass under the overhanging branches, and the leather bags of provisions
piled upon their backs were soon ripped by the hooked thorns of the
mimosa. The salt, rice, and coffee bags all sprang leaks, and small
streams of these important stores issued from the rents which the men
attempted to repair by stuffing dirty rags into the holes. These thorns
were shaped like fishhooks; thus it appeared that the perishable baggage
must soon become an utter wreck, as the great strength and weight of the
camels bore all before them, and sometimes tore the branches from the
trees, the thorns becoming fixed in the leather bags. Meanwhile the
donkeys walked along in comfort, being so short that they and their
loads were below the branches.
My wife and I rode about a quarter of a mile at the head of the party as
an advance guard, to warn the caravan of any difficulty. The very nature
of the country showed that it must be full of ravines, and yet I could
not help hoping against hope that we might have a clear mile of road
without a break. The evening had passed, and the light faded. What had
been difficult and tedious during the day now became most serious; we
could not see the branches of hooked thorns that over-hung the broken
path. I rode in advance, my face and arms bleeding with countless
scratches, while at each rip of a thorn I gave a warning shout - "Thorn!"
for those behind, and a cry of "Hole!" for any deep rut that lay in the
path. It was fortunately moonlight; but the jungle was so thick that the
narrow track was barely perceptible; thus both camels and donkeys ran
against the trunks of trees, smashing the luggage and breaking all that
could be broken. Nevertheless the case was urgent; march we must at all
hazards.
My heart sank whenever we cane to a deep ravine or hor; the warning cry
of "halt" told those in the rear that once more the camels must be
unloaded and the same fatiguing operation must be repeated. For hours we
marched; the moon was sinking; the path, already dark, grew darker; the
animals, overloaded even for a good road, were tired out, and the men
were disheartened, thirsty, and disgusted. Everything was tired out. I
had been working like a slave to assist and to cheer the men; I was also
fatigued. We had marched from 4.30 P.M - it was now 1 A.M.; we had thus
been eight hours and a half struggling along the path. The moon had
sunk, and the complete darkness rendered a further advance impossible;
therefore, on arrival at a large plateau of rock, I ordered the animals
to be unloaded and both man and beast to rest.
Every one lay down supperless to sleep. Although tired, I could not rest
until I had arranged some plan for the morrow. It was evident that we
could not travel over so rough a country with the animals thus
overloaded; I therefore determined to leave in the jungle such articles
as could be dispensed with, and to rearrange all the loads.
At 4 A.M. I awoke, and lighting a lamp I tried in vain to wake any of
the men, who lay stretched upon the ground like so many corpses, sound
asleep.
I threw away about 100 lbs. of salt, divided the heavy ammunition more
equally among the animals, rejected a quantity of odds and ends that,
although most useful, could be forsaken, and by the time the men awoke,
a little before sunrise, I had completed the work. We now reloaded the
animals, who showed the improvement by stepping out briskly. We marched
well for three hours at a pace that bade fair to keep us well ahead of
the Turks, and at length we reached the dry bed of a stream, where the
Latooka guides assured us we should obtain water by digging. This proved
correct; but the holes were dug deep in several places, and hours passed
before we could secure a sufficient supply for all the men and animals.
Ascending from this place about a mile we came to the valley of Tollogo.
We passed the night in a village of the friendly natives, and were off
again bright and early. On reaching the extremity of the valley we had
to thread our way through the difficult pass. Had the natives been
really hostile they could have exterminated us in five minutes, as it
was only necessary to hurl rocks from above to insure our immediate
destruction. It was in this spot that a trader's party of one hundred
and twenty-six men, well armed, had been massacred to a man the year
previous.
Bad as the pass was, we had hope before us, as the Latookas explained
that beyond this spot there was level and unbroken ground the whole way
to Latooka. Could we only clear Ellyria before the Turks, I had no fear
for the present; but at the very moment when success depended upon speed
we were thus baffled by the difficulties of the ground. I therefore
resolved to ride on in advance of my party, leaving them to overcome the
difficulties of the pass by constantly unloading the animals, while I
would reconnoitre in front, as Ellyria was not far distant. My wife and
I accordingly rode on, accompanied only by one of the Latookas as a
guide. After turning a sharp angle of the mountain, leaving the cliff
abruptly rising to the left from the narrow path, we descended a ravine
worse than any place we had previously encountered, and were obliged to
dismount in order to lead our horses up the steep rocks on the opposite
side.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 55 of 89
Words from 54998 to 56012
of 90207
