He said, "That none of the men with the
brown clothes had been complained of, but that his people had taken a
dislike to all strangers, owing to the conduct of the Turks, and that he
could not answer for the consequences."
There was a division among his own people, some wishing to fight and to
serve the Turks as the Latookas had served the party of Mahommed Her,
and others yielding to his advice, and agreeing to remain quiet.
I inquired whether the chief, Moy, intended peace or war. He said, "That
Bokke, his wife, had made him very angry against the Turks by describing
their conduct towards the women."
This was rather an unsatisfactory state of things. Commoro departed,
frankly admitting that the natives were much excited and wished to
attack, but that he would do his best with them.
These rascally TRADERS set every country in a blaze by their brutal
conduct, and rendered exploring, not only most dangerous but next to
impossible, without an exceedingly powerful force.
The sun set; and, as usual in tropical climates, darkness set in within
half an hour. Not a woman had returned to the town, nor was the voice of
a man to be heard. The natives had entirely forsaken the portion of the
town that both I and the Turks occupied. The night was perfectly calm,
and the stars shone so brightly, that I took an observation for the
latitude - 4 degrees 30 minutes. There was a death-like stillness in
the air. Even the Turks, who were usually uproarious, were perfectly
quiet, and although my men made no remark, it was plain that we were all
occupied by the same thoughts, and that an attack was expected.
It was about 9 o'clock, and the stillness had become almost painful.
There was no cry of a bird; not even the howl of a hyena: the camels
were sleeping; but every man was wide awake, and the sentries well on
the alert. We were almost listening at the supernatural stillness, if I
may so describe the perfect calm, when, suddenly, every one startled at
the deep and solemn boom of the great war-drum, or nogara! Three
distinct beats, at slow intervals, rang through the apparently deserted
town, and echoed loudly from the neighbouring mountain. It was the
signal! A few minutes elapsed, and like a distant echo from the north
the three mournful tones again distinctly sounded. Was it an echo?
Impossible. Now from the south, far distant, but unmistakeable, the same
three regular beats came booming through the still night air. Again and
again, from every quarter, spreading far and wide, the signal was
responded; and the whole country echoed those three solemn notes so full
of warning. Once more the great nogara of Tarrangolle sounded the
original alarm within a few hundred paces of our quarters. The whole
country was up.
There was no doubt about the matter. The Turks well knew those three
notes were the war-signal of the Latookas. I immediately called
Suleiman. It was necessary to act in unison. I ordered him to beat the
drum loudly for about five minutes to answer the nogara. His men were
all scattered in several small inclosures. I called them all out into
the open quadrangle; in the centre of which I placed the baggage, and
planted the English ensign in the middle, while the Turks fixed their
flag within a few paces. Posting sentries at each corner of the square,
I stationed patrols in the principal street. In the meantime Mrs. Baker
had laid out upon a mat several hundred cartridges of buck-shot,
powder-flasks, wadding, and opened several boxes of caps, all of which
were neatly arranged for a reserve of ammunition; while a long row of
first-class double guns and rifles lay in readiness. The boy Saat was
full of fight, and immediately strapped on his belt and cartouche-box,
and took his stand among the men.
I ordered the men, in the event of an attack, to immediately set fire to
all the huts around the quadrangle; in which case the sudden rush of a
large body of men would be impossible, and the huts being of straw, the
town would be quickly in a blaze.
Everything was in order to resist an attack in five minutes from the
sounding of the nogara.
The patrols shortly reported that large bodies of men were collecting
outside the town. The great nogara again beat, and was answered at
intervals as before from the neighbouring villages; but the Turks' drum
kept up an uninterrupted roll as a challenge whenever the nogara
sounded. Instead of the intense stillness that had formerly been almost
painful, a distinct hum of distant voices betokened the gathering of
large bodies of men. However, we were well fortified; and the Latookas
knew it. We occupied the very stronghold that they had themselves
constructed for the defence of their town; and the square being
surrounded with strong iron-wood palisades with only a narrow entrance,
would be impregnable when held, as now, by fifty men well armed with
guns against a mob whose best weapons were only lances. I sent men up
the watchmen's stations; these were about twenty-five feet high; and the
night being clear, they could distinctly report the movements of a dark
mass of natives that were ever increasing on the outside of the town at
about two hundred yards' distance. The rattle of the Turks' drum
repeatedly sounded in reply to the nogara, and the intended attack
seemed destined to relapse into a noisy but empty battle of the drums.
A few hours passed in uncertainty, when, at about midnight, the chief
Commoro came fearlessly to the patrol, and was admitted to the
quadrangle.
