This Operation
Continued For Some Minutes, Until His Bones Had Been Thoroughly Broken
Up By The Repeated Blows Of Clubs.
The body was dragged to a grove of
plantains, and was there left for the vultures, who in a few minutes
congregated around it.
It appeared that the offence thus summarily punished was the simple act
of conversing with some of the natives who had attended Mahommed's men
from Fowooka's island to Kisoona: a conversation with one of the enemy
was considered high treason, and was punished with immediate death. In
such cases, where either Kamrasi or his brother M'Gambi determined upon
the sudden execution of a criminal, the signal was given by touching the
condemned with the point of a lance: this sign was the order that was
immediately obeyed by the guards who were in attendance, and the culprit
was beaten to death upon the spot. Sometimes the condemned was touched
by a stick instead of a lance-point; this was a signal that he should be
killed by the lance, and the sentence was carried out by thrusting him
through the body with numerous spears - thus the instrument used to slay
the criminal was always contrary to the sign.
On the day following this event, drums were beating, horns blowing, and
crowds of natives were singing and dancing in all directions; pots of
plantain cider were distributed, and general festivities proclaimed the
joy of the people at the news that Mahommed's party had retreated across
the river, according to their agreement with me. My men had returned
with a letter from Mahommed, stating that he was neither afraid of
Ibrahim's people nor of Kamrasi, but that as I claimed the country, he
must retire. Not only had he retired with his thwarted allies, but,
disgusted at the failure of his expedition, he had quarrelled with
Fowooka, and had plundered him of all his cattle, together with a number
of slaves: this termination of the affair had so delighted Kamrasi that
he had ordered general rejoicings: he killed a number of oxen, and
distributed them among his people, and intoxicated half the country with
presents of maroua, or the plantain cider.
Altogether Mahommed, the vakeel of Debono, had behaved well to me in
this affair, although rather shabbily to his allies: he sent me six
pieces of soap, and a few strings of blue beads and jenettos (red glass
beads) as a proof that he parted with no ill feeling. Hardly were the
Turks in retreat when Kamrasi determined to give the finishing stroke to
his enemies. He sent great quantities of ivory to the camp, and one
evening his people laid about twenty tusks at my door, begging me to
count them. I told him to give the ivory to Ibrahim's men, as I required
nothing; but that should Ibrahim find a large quantity ready for him on
his return to the country, he would do anything that he might desire.
A few days later, whole lines of porters arrived, carrying enormous
elephants' tusks to Eddrees, the vakeel. Early the next morning,
Kamrasi's entire army arrived laden with provisions, each man carrying
about 40 lbs. of flour in a package upon his head. The Turks' party of
ten men joined them, and I heard that an attack was meditated upon
Fowooka.
A few days after the expedition had started, the Turks and about 1,000
natives returned. Kamrasi was overjoyed; they had gained a complete
victory, having entirely routed Fowooka, and not only captured the
islands and massacred the greater number of the inhabitants, but they
had captured all the wives of the rebel chiefs, together with a number
of inferior slaves, and a herd of goats that had fortunately escaped the
search of Mahommed's retreating party. Fowooka and Owine had escaped by
crossing to the northern shore, but their power was irretrievably
ruined, their villages plundered and burned, and their women and
children captured.
A number of old women had been taken in the general razzia; these could
not walk sufficiently fast to keep up with their victors during the
return march, they had accordingly all been killed on the road as being
cumbersome: in every case they were killed by being beaten on the back
of the neck with a club. Such were the brutalities indulged in.
On the following morning I went to visit the captives; the women were
sitting in an open shed, apparently much dejected. I examined the hands
of about fourteen, all of which were well shaped and beautifully soft,
proving that they were women of high degree who never worked
laboriously: they were for the most part remarkably good looking, of
soft and pleasing expression, dark brown complexion, fine noses, woolly
hair, and good figures, precisely similar to the general style of women
in Chopi and Unyoro.
Among the captives was a woman with a most beautiful child, a boy about
twelve months old; all these were slaves, and the greater number were in
a most pitiable state, being perfectly unfit for labour, having been
accustomed to luxury as the women of chiefs of high position. Curiously
enough, the woman Bacheeta, who had accompanied us to visit these
unfortunate captives, now recognised her former mistress, who was the
wife of the murdered Sali; she had been captured with the wives and
daughters of Rionga. Bacheeta immediately fell on her knees and crept
towards her on all fours, precisely as the subjects of Kamrasi were
accustomed to approach his throne. Sali had held as high a position as
Fowooka, and had been treacherously killed by Kamrasi at M'rooli in the
presence of Bacheeta. At that time peace had been established between
Kamrasi and the three great chiefs, who were invited to a conference at
M'rooli with a treacherous design on the part of the king. Hardly had
they arrived, when Rionga was seized by Kamrasi's orders, and confined
in a circular but with high mud walls and no doorway; the prisoner was
hoisted up and lowered down through an aperture in the roof.
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