We
had Kamrasi's orders for boats and men, but in this distant frontier the
natives did not appear to attach much importance to their king:
nevertheless, we were dependent upon them. Every hour was valuable, as
our only chance of reaching Gondokoro in time for the boats depended
upon rapidity of travelling. At the moment when I wished to press
forward, delays occurred that were most trying.
Three P.M. arrived, but no signs of natives. "Jump into the boats, my
lads!" I cried to my men; "I know the route." The canoes were pushed
from the shore, and my people manned the paddles. Five of my men were
professional boatmen, but no one understood the management of paddles
except myself. It was in vain that I attempted to instruct my crew. Pull
they certainly did; but - ye gods who watch over boats! - round and
round we pirouetted, the two canoes waltzing and polking together in
their great ball-room, the Albert N'yanza. The voyage would have lasted
ad infinitum. After three hours' exertion, we reached a point of rock
that stretched as a promontory into the lake. This bluff point was
covered with thick jungle to the summit, and at the base was a small
plot of sandy beach, from which there was no exit except by water, as
the cliff descended sheer to the lake upon either side. It poured with
rain, and with much difficulty we lighted a fire. Mosquitoes were in
clouds, and the night was so warm that it was impossible to sleep
beneath the blankets. Arranging the angareps upon the sand, with the raw
oxhides as coverlets, we lay down in the rain. It was too hot to sleep
in the boat, especially as the temporary cabin was a perfect mosquito
nest. That night I considered the best plan to be adopted, and resolved
to adapt a paddle as a rudder on the following morning. It rained
without ceasing the whole night; and, at break of day, the scene was
sufficiently miserable. The men lay on the wet sand, covered up with
their raw hides, soaked completely through, but still fast asleep, from
which nothing would arouse them. My wife was also wet and wretched. It
still rained. I was soon at work.
Cutting a thwart in the stern of the canoe with my hunting-knife, I
bored a hole beneath it with the large auger, and securely lashed a
paddle with a thong of raw hide that I cut off my well-saturated
coverlet. I made a most effective rudder. None of my men had assisted
me; they had remained beneath their soaked skins, smoking their short
pipes, while I was hard at work. They were perfectly apathetic with
despair, as their ridiculous efforts at paddling on the previous evening
had completely extinguished all hope within them. They were quite
resigned to their destiny, and considered themselves as sacrificed to
geography.
I threw them the auger, and explained that I was ready to start, and
should wait for no one; and, cutting two bamboos, I arranged a mast and
yard, upon which I fitted a large Scotch plaid for a sail. We shoved off
the boat; fortunately we had two or three spare paddles, therefore the
rudder paddle was not missed. I took the helm, and instructed my men to
think of nothing but pulling hard. Away we went as straight as an arrow,
to the intense delight of my people. There was very little wind, but a
light air filled the plaid and eased us gently forward.
Upon rounding the promontory we found ourselves in a large bay, the
opposite headland being visible at about eight or ten miles' distance.
Should we coast the bay it would occupy two days. There was another
small promontory farther in shore; I therefore resolved to steer direct
for that point before venturing in a straight line from one headland to
the other.
Upon looking behind me, I observed our canoe consort about a mile
astern, amusing herself with pointing to all parts of the compass - the
lazy men not having taken the trouble to adapt the rudder as I had
ordered them.
We travelled at about four miles an hour, and my people were so elated
that they declared themselves ready to row, without assistance, to the
Nile junction. The water was perfectly calm, and upon rounding the next
promontory I was rejoiced to see a village in a snug little bay, and a
great number of canoes drawn up on the sandy beach, and others engaged
in fishing. A number of natives were standing on the sand close to the
water's edge, about half a mile from us, and I steered directly towards
them. Upon our close approach, they immediately sat down, and held up
their paddles above their heads; this was an unmistakeable sign that
they intended to volunteer as boatmen, and I steered the boat upon the
beach. No sooner had we grounded, than they rushed into the water and
boarded us, most good-humouredly pulling down our mast and sail, which
appeared to them highly absurd (as they never use sails); and they
explained that they had seen on the other side the headland that we were
strangers, and their chief had ordered them to assist us. I now begged
them to send six men to the assistance of the lagging canoe; this they
promised to do, and, after waiting for some time, we started at a
rattling pace to pull across the wide bay from point to point.
When in the centre of the bay we were about four miles from land. At
this time a swell set in from the southwest. While at Vacovia I had
observed, that although the mornings were calm, a strong wind generally
arose at 1 P.M. from S.W. that brought a heavy sea upon the beach.
