My Men Were Already With This Lot Of Ragamuffins, And This Was
The Ivory Or Slave Trading Party That They Had Conspired To Join.
They
were marching towards me to honour me with a salute, which, upon close
approach, ended by their holding their guns, muzzle downwards, and
firing them almost into my feet.
I at once saw through their object in
giving me this reception;-they had already heard from the other party
exaggerated accounts of presents that their leader had received, and
they were jealous at the fact of my having established confidence with a
party opposed to them. The vakeel of Chenooda was the man who had from
the first instigated my men to revolt and to join his party, and he at
that moment had two of my deserters with him that had mutinied and
joined him at Gondokoro. It had been agreed that the remainder of my men
were to mutiny at this spot and to join him with MY ARMS AND AMMUNITION.
This was to be the stage for the outbreak. The apparent welcome was only
to throw me off my guard.
I was coldly polite, and begging them not to waste their powder, I went
to the large tree that threw a beautiful shade, and we sat down,
surrounded by a crowd of both natives and trader's people. Mahommed Her
sent me immediately a fat ox for my people: not to be under any
obligation I immediately gave him a double-barrelled gun.
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