In fact, I feel I must die sooner than return.
Saturday, August 12th. - My men, as I supposed they would, have
gone; they said that I engaged them to go, to Ujiji by Mirambo's
road. I have only thirteen left.
With this small body of men, whither can I go? I have over one
hundred loads in the storeroom. Livingstone's caravan is also
here; his goods consist of seventeen bales of cloth, twelve boxes,
and six bags of beads. His men are luxuriating upon the best the
country affords.
If Livingstone is at Ujiji, he is now locked up with small means of
escape. I may consider myself also locked up at Unyamyembe, and
I suppose cannot go to Ujiji until this war with Mirambo is
settled. Livingstone cannot get his goods, for they are here with
mine. He cannot return to Zanzibar, and the road to the Nile is
blocked up. He might, if he has men and stores, possibly reach
Baker by travelling northwards, through Urundi, thence through
Ruanda, Karagwah, Uganda, Unyoro, and Ubari to Gondokoro. Pagazis
he cannot obtain, for the sources whence a supply might be
obtained are closed. It is an erroneous supposition to think that
Livingstone, any more than any other energetic man of his calibre,
can travel through Africa without some sort of an escort,
and a durable supply of marketable cloth and beads.
I was told to-day by a man that when Livingstone was coming from
Nyassa Lake towards the Tanganika (the very time that people
thought him murdered) he was met by Sayd bin Omar's caravan, which
was bound for Ulamba. He was travelling with Mohammed bin Gharib.
This Arab, who was coming from Urunga, met Livingstone at Chi-cumbi's,
or Kwa-chi-kumbi's, country, and travelled with him afterwards, I
hear, to Manyuema or Manyema. Manyuema is forty marches from
the north of Nyassa. Livingstone was walking; he was dressed in
American sheeting. He had lost all his cloth in Lake Liemba while
crossing it in a boat. He had three canoes with him; in one he
put his cloth, another he loaded with his boxes and some of his
men, into the third he went himself with two servants and two
fishermen. The boat with his cloth was upset. On leaving Nyassa,
Livingstone went to Ubisa, thence to Uemba, thence to Urungu.
Livingstone wore a cap. He had a breech-loading double-barreled
rifle with him, which fired fulminating balls. He was also armed
with two revolvers. The Wahiyow with Livingstone told this man
that their master had many men with him at first, but that
several had deserted him.
August 13th. - A caravan came in to-day from the seacoast. They
reported that William L. Farquhar, whom I left sick at Mpwapwa,
Usagara, and his cook, were dead. Farquhar, I was told, died a few
days after I had entered Ugogo, his cook died a few weeks later.
My first impulse was for revenge. I believed that Leukole had
played me false, and had poisoned him, or that he had been murdered
in some other manner; but a personal interview with the Msawahili
who brought the news informing me that Farquhar had succumbed to
his dreadful illness has done away with that suspicion. So far
as I could understand him, Farquhar had in the morning declared
himself well enough to proceed, but in attempting to rise, had
fallen backward and died. I was also told that the Wasagara,
possessing some superstitious notions respecting the dead, had
ordered Jako to take the body out for burial, that Jako, not
being able to carry it, had dragged the body to the jungle,
and there left it naked without the slightest covering of
earth, or anything else.
"There is one of us gone, Shaw, my boy! Who will be the next?"
I remarked that night to my companion.
August 14th. - Wrote some letters to Zanzibar. Shaw was taken very
ill last night.
August 19th. Saturday. - My soldiers are employed stringing beads.
Shaw is still a-bed. We hear that Mirambo is coming to Unyanyembe.
A detachment of Arabs and their slaves have started this morning to
possess themselves of the powder left there by the redoubtable
Sheikh Sayd bin Salim, the commander-in-chief of the Arab
settlements.
August 21st. Monday. - Shaw still sick. One hundred fundo of beads
have been strung. The Arabs are preparing for another sally
against Mirambo. The advance of Mirambo upon Unyanyembe was denied
by Sayd bin Salim, this morning.
August 22nd. - We were stringing beads this morning, when, about 10
A.M., we heard a continued firing from the direction of Tabora.
Rushing out from our work to the front door facing Tabora, we heard
considerable volleying, and scattered firing, plainly; and
ascending to the top of my tembe, I saw with my glasses the
smoke of the guns. Some of my men who were sent on to ascertain
the cause came running back with the information that Mirambo had
attacked Tabora with over two thousand men, and that a force of
over one thousand Watuta, who had allied themselves with him for
the sake of plunder, had come suddenly upon Tabora, attacking from
opposite directions.
Later in the day, or about noon, watching the low saddle over
which we could see Tabora, we saw it crowded with fugitives
from that settlement, who were rushing to our settlement at
Kwihara for protection. From these people we heard the sad
information that the noble Khamis bin Abdullah, his little protege,
Khamis, Mohammed bin Abdullah, Ibrahim bin Rashid, and Sayf, the
son of Ali, the son of Sheikh, the son of Nasib, had been slain.
When I inquired into the details of the attack, and the manner of
the death of these Arabs, I was told that after the first firing
which warned the inhabitants of Tabora that the enemy was upon
them, Khamis bin Abdullah and some of the principal Arabs who
happened to be with him had ascended to the roof of his tembe,
and with his spyglass he had looked towards the direction of the
firing.
