The Two English Sailors, Left In Charge Of The Steamer, Were Well,
Had Behaved Well, And Had Enjoyed Excellent Health All The Time We
Were Away.
Their farm had been a failure.
We left a few sheep, to
be slaughtered when they wished for fresh meat, and two dozen fowls.
Purchasing more, they soon had double the number of the latter, and
anticipated a good supply of eggs; but they also bought two monkeys,
and THEY ate all the eggs. A hippopotamus came up one night, and
laid waste their vegetable garden; the sheep broke into their cotton
patch, when it was in flower, and ate it all, except the stems; then
the crocodiles carried off the sheep, and the natives stole the
fowls. Nor were they more successful as gun-smiths: a Portuguese
trader, having an exalted opinion of the ingenuity of English
sailors, showed them a double-barrelled rifle, and inquired if they
could put on the BROWNING, which had rusted off. "I think I knows
how," said one, whose father was a blacksmith, "it's very easy; you
have only to put the barrels in the fire." A great fire of wood was
made on shore, and the unlucky barrels put over it, to secure the
handsome rifle colour. To Jack's utter amazement the barrels came
asunder. To get out of the scrape, his companion and he stuck the
pieces together with resin, and sent it to the owner, with the
message, "It was all they could do for it, and they would not charge
him anything for the job!" They had also invented an original mode
of settling a bargain; having ascertained the market price of
provisions, they paid that, but no more. If the traders refused to
leave the ship till the price was increased, a chameleon, of which
the natives have a mortal dread, was brought out of the cabin; and
the moment the natives saw the creature, they at once sprang
overboard. The chameleon settled every dispute in a twinkling.
But besides their good-humoured intercourse, they showed humanity
worthy of English sailors. A terrible scream roused them up one
night, and they pushed off in a boat to the rescue. A crocodile had
caught a woman, and was dragging her across a shallow sandbank. Just
as they came up to her, she gave a fearful shriek: the horrid
reptile had snapped off her leg at the knee. They took her on board,
bandaged the limb as well as they could, and, not thinking of any
better way of showing their sympathy, gave her a glass of rum, and
carried her to a hut in the village. Next morning they found the
bandages torn off, and the unfortunate creature left to die. "I
believe," remarked Rowe, one of the sailors, "her master was angry
with us for saving her life, seeing as how she had lost her leg."
The Zambesi being unusually low, we remained at Tette till it rose a
little, and then left on the 3rd of December for the Kongone. It was
hard work to keep the vessel afloat; indeed, we never expected her to
remain above water. New leaks broke out every day; the engine pump
gave way; the bridge broke down; three compartments filled at night;
except the cabin and front compartment all was flooded; and in a few
days we were assured by Rowe that "she can't be worse than she is,
sir." He and Hutchins had spent much of their time, while we were
away, in patching her bottom, puddling it with clay, and shoring it,
and it was chiefly to please them that we again attempted to make use
of her. We had long been fully convinced that the steel plates were
thoroughly unsuitable. On the morning of the 21st the uncomfortable
"Asthmatic" grounded on a sandbank and filled. She could neither be
emptied nor got off. The river rose during the night, and all that
was visible of the worn-out craft next day was about six feet of her
two masts. Most of the property we had on board was saved; and we
spent the Christmas of 1860 encamped on the island of Chimba. Canoes
were sent for from Senna; and we reached it on the 27th, to be again
hospitably entertained by our friend, Senhor Ferrao.
We reached the Kongone on the 4th of January, 1861. A flagstaff and
a Custom-house had been erected during our absence; a hut, also, for
a black lance-corporal and three privates. By the kind permission of
the lance-corporal, who came to see us as soon as he had got into his
trousers and shirt, we took up our quarters in the Custom-house,
which, like the other buildings, is a small square floorless hut of
mangrove stakes overlaid with reeds. The soldiers complained of
hunger, they had nothing to eat but a little mapira, and were making
palm wine to deaden their cravings. While waiting for a ship, we had
leisure to read the newspapers and periodicals we found in the mail
which was waiting our arrival at Tette. Several were a year and a
half old.
Our provisions began to run short; and towards the end of the month
there was nothing left but a little bad biscuit and a few ounces of
sugar. Coffee and tea were expended, but scarcely missed, as our
sailors discovered a pretty good substitute in roasted mapira. Fresh
meat was obtained in abundance from our antelope preserves on the
large island made by a creek between the Kongone and East Luabo.
In this focus of decaying vegetation, nothing is so much to be
dreaded as inactivity. We had, therefore, to find what exercise and
amusement we could, when hunting was not required, in peering about
in the fetid swamps; to have gone mooning about, in listless
idleness, would have ensured fever in its worst form, and probably
with fatal results.
A curious little blenny-fish swarms in the numerous creeks which
intersect the mangrove topes.
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