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. There was no dependence to be placed upon these
contradictory natives. Kindness was entirely thrown away upon them. 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.
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