I selected a shady spot within a grove of heglik-trees for a bivouac,
and leaving my wife with a guard, and the horses, I at once started off
with Lieutenant Baker to procure some venison.
We returned after a couple of hours, having shot five antelopes. The
native name for this part of the country is Afuddo. Our present halting
place was thirty-seven miles from Lobore. Formerly there were villages
in this neighbourhood, but they had been destroyed by the slave-hunters.
Fortunately I had prepared a stock of flour sufficient for the entire
journey to Fatiko.
In my last visit to this country I had thoroughly studied its features;
thus I felt quite at home, and I knew my route in every direction. The
mountain of Shooa was distinctly visible, where I had camped for four or
five months, thus it would be impossible for the Lobore people to
deceive me.
Abou Saood had four stations throughout this lovely district, i.e.,
Fatiko, Fabbo, Faloro, and Farragenia. I was now steering for Fatiko, as
it was a spot well known to me, and exactly on my proposed road to
Unyoro.
On 3rd March, we marched at 6 A.M., and continued along the plain
towards the rising ground that led to Shooa. At six miles from the
halting place we took bearings:
Shooa hill, about 35 miles distant, bearing 162 1/2 degrees Akiko hill
about 16 miles distant, bearing 321 1/2 degrees Gebel Kuku about 9 miles
distant, 299 1/2 degrees
Our course lay towards the S.S.E., beneath a wall-like range of
precipitous rocky hills upon our left, in no place higher than 200 feet.
The guides were at fault, and no water could be found upon the road.
A herd of tetel (Antelope Bubalis) upon our right tempted me, and,
jumping off my horse, I made a fair stalk and killed a fine beast with
the "Dutchman" at 210 yards.
Every one was thirsty, as the sun was hot, and the wall-like, rocks upon
our left reflected the heat. At length we discovered natives squatting
upon the very summits of the perpendicular cliffs, and after some
trouble we succeeded in coaxing them down. Two of these people
volunteered to lead us to water, and they took us to a steep rocky
ravine, in the bottom of which was a pool of dirty liquid that had been
bathed in by wild buffaloes. My men quickly began to dig sand-wells with
their hands, until the main body of the troops and cattle arrived.
In about an hour, I heard a great hubbub, with a noise of quarrelling
and shouting; every one was running towards the spot. It appeared that a
wild buffalo, being ignorant of our arrival, had suddenly visited his
drinking-place, and had thoughtlessly descended the deep and narrow
gorge to drink his evening draught. The Lobores had espied him, and they
immediately rushed down and overwhelmed him with lances from the cliffs
above. There was now an extraordinary scene over the carcase; four
hundred men scrambling over a mass of blood and entrails, fighting and
tearing with each other, and cutting off pieces of flesh with their
lance-heads, with which they escaped as dogs may retreat with a stolen
bone.
On 4th March we started at 6.25 A.M. The advent of the buffalo was a sad
misfortune, as it had supplied the natives with sufficient flesh to feed
them on the road home; thus thirty Lobores had absconded during the
night.
Fortunately we had already consumed many loads of flour. I was now
obliged to divide two days rations among the troops as extra weight. The
light loads were then doubled. Brandy boxes of twelve bottles were now
lashed together, so as to form a load of twenty-four. Several boxes of
gin had been entirely destroyed by the savage carriers, who had allowed
them to fall upon the rocks.
Having crossed the bends of the Un-y-Ame river twice, we halted for the
night in fine open forest on the south bank, beneath a large
tamarind-tree, that yielded an abundant supply of fruit for all hands.
We had only marched ten miles, owing to the delay occasioned by the
desertion of the carriers.
On 5th March I led the way, as the Lobore guide professed ignorance of
the route to Fatiko. The fact was, that the Lobores had wished on the
previous day to take me to Farragenia, which is two days nearer than
Fatiko. Had I been ignorant of the country, we should have been
deceived.
I steered through low open forest, the leaves of which had been scorched
off by the fire that had cleared the country. Neither a village nor the
print of a human foot could be seen. This beautiful district that had
formerly abounded in villages had been depopulated by the slave-hunters.
Having taken the Shooa mountain for a steering point, we reached the
spot where in former years I had passed five months in the camp of
Ibrahim. This also had been destroyed, in addition to all the numerous
villages of the mountain. We had marched fourteen miles.
I gave orders that on the morrow all the troops were to appear in their
best uniforms, as we were only six miles from Fatiko, the principal
station, where I fully expected to meet Abou Saood himself.
CHAPTER XVI.
ARRIVAL AT FATIKO.
ON 6th March, 1872, we started from the bivouac at the base of the Shooa
mountain at 6.10 A.M.
The troops were in excellent spirits, the air was fresh and cool in this
elevated country, the horses had been well groomed, and the arms and
accoutrements had been burnished on the previous afternoon, in order to
make a good appearance before my old friends the natives of Fatiko and
Shooa.
