This Arrangement Formed A
Tortoise-Like Protection That Would Be Proof Against Sun And Rain.
I
then arranged some logs of exceedingly light wood along the bottom of
the canoe, and covered them with a thick bed of grass; this was covered
with an Abyssinian tanned ox-hide, and arranged with Scotch plaids.
The
arrangements completed, afforded a cabin, perhaps not as luxurious as
those of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's vessels, but both rain-
and sun-proof, which was the great desideratum. In this rough vessel we
embarked on a calm morning, when hardly a ripple moved the even surface
of the lake. Each canoe had four rowers, two at either end. Their
paddles were beautifully shaped, hewn from one piece of wood, the blade
being rather wider than that of an ordinary spade, but concave in the
inner side, so as to give the rower a great hold upon the water. Having
purchased with some difficulty a few fowls and dried fish, I put the
greater number of my men in the larger canoe; and with Richarn, Saat,
and the women, including the interpreter Bacheeta, we led the way, and
started from Vacovia on the broad surface of the Albert N'yanza. The
rowers paddled bravely; and the canoe, although heavily laden, went
along at about four miles an hour. There was no excitement in Vacovia,
and the chief and two or three attendants were all who came to see us
off; they had a suspicion that bystanders might be invited to assist as
rowers, therefore the entire population of the village had deserted.
At leaving the shore, the chief had asked for a few beads, which, on
receiving, he threw into the lake to propitiate the inhabitants of the
deep, that no hippopotami should upset the canoe.
Our first day's voyage was delightful. The lake was calm, the sky
cloudy, and the scenery most lovely. At times the mountains on the west
coast were not discernible, and the lake appeared of indefinite width.
We coasted within a hundred yards of the east shore; sometimes we passed
flats of sand and bush of perhaps a mile in width from the water to the
base of the mountain cliffs; at other times we passed directly
underneath stupendous heights of about 1,500 feet, which ascended
abruptly from the deep, so that we fended the canoes off the sides, and
assisted our progress by pushing against the rock with bamboos. These
precipitous rocks were all primitive, frequently of granite and gneiss,
and mixed in many places with red porphyry. In the clefts were beautiful
ever-greens of every tint, including giant euphorbias; and wherever a
rivulet or spring glittered through the dark foliage of a ravine, it was
shaded by the graceful and feathery wild date.
Great numbers of hippopotami were sporting in the water, but I refused
to fire at them, as the death of such a monster would be certain to
delay us for at least a day, as the boatmen would not forsake the flesh.
Crocodiles were exceedingly numerous both in and out of the water;
wherever a sandy beach invited them to bask, several monsters were to be
seen, like trunks of trees, lying in the sun. On the edge of the beach
above high-water mark were low bushes, and from this cover the
crocodiles came scuttling down into the water, frightened at the
approach of the canoe. There were neither ducks nor geese, as there were
no feeding-grounds: deep water was close to the shore.
Our boatmen worked well, and long after dark we continued our voyage,
until the canoe was suddenly steered to the shore, and we grounded upon
a steep beach of perfectly clean sand. We were informed that we were
near a village, and the boatmen proposed to leave us here for the night,
while they should proceed in search of provisions. Seeing that they
intended to take the paddles with them, I ordered these important
implements to be returned to the boats, and a guard set over them, while
several of my men should accompany the boatmen to the reported village.
In the meantime, we arranged our angareps upon the beach, lighted a fire
with some drift-wood, and prepared for the night. The men shortly
returned, accompanied by several natives, with two fowls and one small
kid. The latter was immediately consigned to the large copper pot, and I
paid about three times its value to the natives, to encourage them to
bring supplies on the following morning.
While dinner was preparing, I took an observation, and found our
latitude was 1 degree 33 minutes N. We had travelled well, having made
16 minutes direct northing.
On the first crowing of our solitary cock, we prepared to start; - the
boatmen were gone!
As soon as it was light, I took two men and went to the village,
supposing they were sleeping in their huts. Within three hundred paces
of the boats, upon a fine turfy sward, on rising ground, were three
miserable fishing huts. These constituted the village. Upon arrival, no
one was to be found: the natives had deserted. A fine tract of broken
grassland formed a kind of amphitheatre beneath the range of cliffs.
These I scanned with the telescope, but I could trace no signs of man.
We were evidently deserted by our boatmen, and the natives had
accompanied them to avoid being pressed into our service.
On my return to the canoes with this intelligence, my men were quite in
despair: they could not believe that the boatmen had really absconded,
and they begged me to allow them to search the country in the hope of
finding another village. Strictly forbidding any man to absent himself
from the boats, I congratulated ourselves on having well guarded the
paddles, which there was no doubt would have been stolen by the boatmen
had I allowed them to remain in their possession. I agreed to wait until
3 P.M. Should the boatmen not return by that hour, I intended to proceed
without them.
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