The huts that we had erected on
the north side, upon our arrival from Fatiko, had been destroyed by the
natives. This did not look as though much friendship existed.
Upon hearing our drums and bugles on the day of our arrival at Foweera,
a few natives had come to the high rock opposite, and had commenced,
bawling conversation, and that was only slightly understood by one of
our women and Molodi the Madi.
Molodi knew Rionga, as he had visited him at a former time, together
with a party of Abou Saood's people. His very slight knowledge of the
language was sufficient to explain to the natives across the river that
I wished to communicate with Rionga.
The people on the north happened to belong to Kabba Rega, and they were
enemies of Rionga; thus we were addressing the wrong parties.
It was highly necessary to make some arrangements for crossing the
river. There are no canoes on this side, and it would be dangerous to
trust to rafts, as there were waterfalls about three or four hundred
yards below upon our left. I determined to construct boats.
We felled three large dolape palms (Borassus ethriopicus), which were
the only trees of that species in this neighbourhood. These palms are
well adapted for canoes, as the bark, or rather the outside wood, is
intensely hard for about an inch and a half, beneath which the tree is
simply a pithy, stringy substance, that can be rapidly scooped out.
Two of the logs, when shaped, were each twenty-six feet in length; the
third was smaller.
Throughout the march from Masindi we had managed to carry an adze, a
hammer, and a cold chisel. The adze now came into play, together with
the Bandy little axes of the "Forty Thieves".
Among my troops was a Baggara Arab, who was a "canoe-builder". This was
one of the best men of "The Forty", and it was now for the first time
that I heard of his abilities as a boat-builder. This man, Said Bagara,
has since accompanied Colonel Long with great fidelity to the court of
King M'Tese.
The men took an immense interest in the work; but as too many volunteers
might interfere with the principal shipwright, I sent them all into the
forest to collect plantains. I gave orders that every man should prepare
14 lbs of plantain flour for the journey, in case it should be necessary
to march to Fatiko.
The canoes progressed, and a slice of about a foot wide having been
taken off horizontally from stem to stern, the soft inside was scooped
out with an adze, and with lance-heads bent to form a half circle.
In a few days the logs were neatly hollowed, and were then carried down
and launched upon the river. The long, narrow canoes would have been
very dangerous without outriggers, therefore I determined to adopt the
plan that I had seen in Ceylon; and as Lieutenant Baker well represented
the omniscience of naval men in everything that concerns boats, nautical
stratagems, incomprehensible forms of knots, rigging, &e., &e., I left
all the details of the canoes to his charge.
