I Had Promised Not Only To Assist Them In Their
Ivory Expeditions, But To Give Them Something Very Handsome In
Addition,
and the fact of my having upwards of forty men as escort was also an
introduction, as they would
Be an addition to the force, which is a
great advantage in hostile countries. Everything appeared to be in good
train, but I little knew the duplicity of these Arab scoundrels. At the
very moment that they were most friendly, they were plotting to deceive
me, and to prevent me from entering the country. They knew, that should
I penetrate the interior, the ivory trade of the White Nile would be no
longer a mystery, and that the atrocities of the slave trade would be
exposed, and most likely be terminated by the intervention of European
Powers; accordingly they combined to prevent my advance, and to
overthrow my expedition completely. The whole of the men belonging to
the various traders were determined that no Englishman should penetrate
into the country; accordingly they fraternised with my escort, and
persuaded them that I was a Christian dog, that it was a disgrace for a
Mahommedan to serve; that they would be starved in my service, as I
would not allow them to steal cattle; that they would have no slaves;
and that I should lead them - God knew where - to the sea, from whence
Speke and Grant had started; that they had left Zanzibar with two
hundred men, and had only arrived at Gondokoro with eighteen, thus the
remainder must have been killed by the natives on the road; that if they
followed me, and arrived at Zanzibar, I should find a ship waiting to
take me to England, and I should leave them to die in a strange country.
Such were the reports circulated to prevent my men from accompanying me,
and it was agreed that Mahommed should fix a day for our pretended start
IN COMPANY, but that he would in reality start a few days before the
time appointed; and that my men should mutiny, and join his party in
cattle-stealing and slave-hunting.
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