He Said They Certainly Had Intended To
Attack Us, And Were Surprised That We Were Prepared, As Proved By The
Immediate Reply Of The Turks' Drum To Their Nogara.
He assured us that
he would not sleep that night, but would watch that nothing should
happen.
I assured him that we should also keep awake, but should the
nogara sound once more I should give orders to my men to set fire to the
town, as I should not allow the natives to make use of such threats with
impunity. I agreed to use what little interest I had to keep the Turks
in order, but that I must not be held responsible by the natives for
their proceedings, as I was not of their country, neither had I anything
to do with them. I explained, that upon Ibrahim's return from Gondokoro
things might improve, as he was the captain of the Turks, and might be
able to hold his men in command. Commoro departed, and about 2 A.M. the
dense crowds of armed men that had accumulated outside the town began to
disperse.
The morning broke and saw the men still under arms, but the excitement
had passed. The women soon reappeared with their water jars as usual,
but on this occasion they were perfectly unmolested by the Turks, who,
having passed the night in momentary expectation of an attack, were now
upon their best behaviour. However, I heard them muttering among
themselves, "Wait until Ibrahim returns with reinforcements and
ammunition, and we will pay the Latookas for last night."
The town filled; and the Latookas behaved as though nothing out of the
common had occurred; but when questioned, they coolly confessed that
they had intended to surprise us, but that we were too "wide awake.". It
is extraordinary that these fellows are so stupid as to beat the drum or
nogara before the attack, as it naturally gives the alarm, and renders a
surprise impossible; nevertheless, the war-drum is always a preliminary
step to hostilities. I now resolved to camp outside the town, so as not
to be mixed up in any way with the Turks, whose presence was certain to
create enmity. Accordingly I engaged a number of natives to cut thorns,
and to make a zareeba, or camp, about four hundred yards from the main
entrance of the town, on the road to the stream of water. In a few days
it was completed, and I constructed houses for my men, and two good huts
for ourselves. Having a supply of garden seeds, I arranged a few beds,
which I sowed with onions, cabbages, and radishes. My camp was eighty
yards long, and forty wide. My horses were picqueted in two corners,
while the donkeys and camels occupied the opposite extremity. We now
felt perfectly independent. I had masses of supplies, and I resolved to
work round to the south-west whenever it might be possible, and thus to
recover the route that I had originally proposed for my journey south.
My present difficulty was the want of an interpreter.
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