Not
being very particular as to our society, we sat down and waited for the
arrival of our party. The valley of Ellyria was a lovely spot in the
very bosom of the mountains. Close to where we sat were the great masses
of rock that had fallen from the cliffs, and upon examination I found
them to be the finest quality of grey granite, the feldspar being in
masses several inches square and as hard as a flint. There was no
scaling upon the surface, as is common in granite rocks.
No sooner had the trader's party arrived than crowds of natives issued
from the palisaded villages on the mountain; and descending to the
plain, they mingled with the general confusion. The baggage was piled
beneath a tree, and a sentry placed on guard.
The natives were entirely naked, and precisely the same as the Bari.
Their chief, Legge, was among them, and received a present from Ibrahim
of a long red cotton shirt, and he assumed an air of great importance.
Ibrahim explained to him who I was, and he immediately came to ask for
the tribute he expected to receive as "black mail" for the right of
entree into his country. Of all the villanous countenances that I have
ever seen, that of Legge excelled.
Ferocity, avarice, and sensuality were stamped upon his face, and I
immediately requested him to sit for his portrait, and in about ten
minutes I succeeded in placing within my portfolio an exact likeness of
about the greatest rascal that exists in Central Africa.
I had, now the satisfaction of seeing my caravan slowly winding down the
hillside in good order, having surmounted all their difficulties.
Upon arrival, my men were perfectly astonished at seeing us so near the
trader's party, and still more confounded at my sending for Ibrahim to
summon him to my tree, where I presented him with some English
sovereigns, and a double-barrelled gun. Nothing escapes the
inquisitiveness of these Arabs; and the men of both parties quickly
perceived that I had established an alliance in some unaccountable
manner with Ibrahim. I saw the gun, lately presented to him, being
handed from one to the other for examination; and both my vakeel and men
appeared utterly confused at the sudden change.
The chief of Ellyria now came to inspect my luggage, and demanded
fifteen heavy copper bracelets and a large quantity of beads. The
bracelets most in demand are simple rings of copper five-eighths of an
inch thick, and weighing about a pound; those of smaller size not being
so much valued. I gave him fifteen such rings, and about ten pounds of
beads in varieties, the red coral porcelain (dimiriaf) being the most
acceptable. Legge was by no means satisfied: he said "his belly was very
big and it must be filled," which signified, that his desire was great
and must be gratified. I accordingly gave him a few extra copper rings;
but suddenly he smelt spirits, one of the few bottles that I possessed
of spirits of wine having broken in the medicine chest. Ibrahim begged
me to give him a bottle to put him in a good humour, as he enjoyed
nothing so much as araki; I accordingly gave him a pint bottle of the
strongest spirits of wine. To my amazement he broke off the neck, and
holding his head well back, he deliberately allowed the whole of the
contents to trickle down his throat as innocently as though it had been
simple water. He was thoroughly accustomed to it, as the traders were in
the habit of bringing him presents of araki every season. He declared
this to be excellent, and demanded another bottle. At that moment a
violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon us with a fury well known
in the tropics; the rain fell like a waterspout, and the throng
immediately fled for shelter. So violent was the storm, that not a man
was to be seen: some were sheltering themselves under the neighbouring
rocks; while others ran to their villages that were close by; the
trader's people commenced a fusilade, firing off all their guns lest
they should get wet and miss fire. I could not help thinking how
completely they were at the mercy of the natives at that moment, had
they chosen to attack them; the trader's party were lying under their
untanned ox-hides with their empty guns.
Each of my men was provided with a piece of mackintosh, with which his
gunlocks were secured. We lay upon an angarep covered with a bull's hide
until the storm was over. The thunder was magnificent, exploding on the
peak of the mountain exactly above us, and in the course of a quarter of
an hour torrents were rushing down the ravines among the rocks, the
effects of the violent storm that had passed away as rapidly as it had
arrived.
No sooner had it ceased than the throng again appeared. Once more the
chief, Legge', was before us begging for all that we had. Although the
natives asked for beads, they would give nothing in exchange, and we
could purchase nothing for any article except molotes. These iron hoes
are made principally in this country: thus it appeared strange that they
should demand them. Legge does a large business with these hoes, sending
them into the Berri and Galla countries to the east, with various beads
and copper bracelets, to purchase ivory. Although there are very few
elephants in the neighbourhood of Ellyria, there is an immense amount of
ivory, as the chief is so great a trader that he accumulates it to
exchange with the Turks for cattle.
