It was the middle of November - not the wretched month that chills even
the recollection of Old England, but the last of the ten months of rain
that causes the wonderful vegetation of the fertile soil in Equatorial
Africa. The Turks were ready to return to Shooa, and I longed for the
change from this brutal country to the still wilder but less bloody
tribe of Madi, to the north.
The quantity of ivory in camp was so large that we required 700 porters
to carry both tusks and provisions, &c. for the five days' march through
uninhabited country. Kamrasi came to see us before we parted; he had
provided the requisite porters. We were to start on the following day;
he arrived with the Blissett rifle that had been given him by Speke. He
told me that he was sorry we were going; and he was much distressed that
he had burst his rifle! - he had hammered a large bullet in the endeavour
to fit the bore; and the lump of lead having stuck in the middle, he had
fired his rifle and split the barrel, which being of remarkably good
metal had simply opened. He told me that it did not matter so very much
after all, as he had neither powder nor ball (this was false, as Ibrahim
had just given him a quantity), therefore his rifle would have been
useless if sound; but he added, "You are now going home, where you can
obtain all you require, therefore you will want for nothing; give me,
before you leave, the little double-barrelled rifle that YOU PROMISED
me, and a supply of ammunition!" To the last moment he was determined to
persevere in his demand, and, if possible, to obtain my handy little
Fletcher 24 rifle, that had been demanded and refused ever since my
residence in his country. I was equally persistent in my refusal,
telling him that there were many dangers on the road, and I could not
travel unarmed.
On the following morning our people crossed the river: this was a
tedious operation, as our party consisted of about 700 porters and
eighty armed men: Ibrahim had arranged to leave thirty men with Kamrasi
to protect him from the M'was until he should return in the following
season, when he promised to bring him a great variety of presents. By 4
P.M. the whole party had crossed the river with ivory and baggage. We
now brought up the rear, and descended some fine crags of granite to the
water's edge; there were several large canoes in attendance, one of
which we occupied, and, landing on the opposite shore, we climbed up the
steep ascent and looked back upon Unyoro, in which we had passed ten
months of wretchedness. It had poured with rain on the preceding day,
and the natives had constructed a rough camp of grass huts.
On the break of day on the 17th November we started. It would be tedious
to describe the journey, as, although by a different route, it was
through the same country that we had traversed on our arrival from
Shooa. After the first day's march we quitted the forest and entered
upon the great prairies. I was astonished to find after several days'
journey a great difference in the dryness of the climate. In Unyoro we
had left the grass an intense green, the rain having been frequent: here
it was nearly dry, and in many places it had been burnt by the native
hunting parties. From some elevated points in the route I could
distinctly make out the outline of the mountains running from the Albert
lake to the north, on the west bank of the Nile; these would hardly have
been observed by a person who was ignorant of their existence, as the
grass was so high that I had to ascend a white ant-hill to look for
them; they were about sixty miles distant, and my men, who knew them
well, pointed them out to their companions.
The entire party, including women and children, amounted to about 1,000
people. Although they had abundance of flour, there was no meat, and the
grass being high there was no chance of game. On the fourth day only I
saw a herd of about twenty tetel (hartebeest) in an open space that had
been recently burnt. We were both riding upon oxen that I had purchased
of Ibrahim, and we were about a mile ahead of the flag in the hope of
getting a shot; dismounting from my animal, I stalked the game down a
ravine, but upon reaching the point that I had resolved upon for the
shot, I found the herd had moved their position to about 250 paces from
me. They were all looking at me, as they had been disturbed by the oxen
and the boy Saat in the distance. Dinner depended on the shot. There was
a leafless bush singed by the recent fire; upon a branch of this I took
a rest, but just as I was going to fire they moved off - a clean miss!
- whizz went the bullet over them, but so close to the ears of one that
it shook its head as though stung by a wasp, and capered round and
round; the others stood perfectly still, gazing at the oxen in the
distance. Crack went the left-hand barrel of the little Fletcher 24,
and down went a tetel like a lump of lead, before the satisfactory sound
of the bullet returned from the distance. Off went the herd, leaving a
fine beast kicking on the ground. It was shot through the spine, and
some of the native porters, having witnessed the sport from a great
distance, threw down their loads and came racing towards the meat like a
pack of wolves scenting blood. In a few minutes the prize was divided,
while a good portion was carried by Saat for our own use; the tetel,
weighing about 500 lbs.
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