He Seemed Greatly Struck With The Preparations For Defence,
And Explained That The Nogara Had Been Beaten Without His Orders,
And
accordingly the whole country had risen; but that he had explained to
the people that I had no hostile
Intentions, and that all would be well
if they only kept the peace. He said they certainly had intended to
attack us, and were surprised that we were prepared, as proved by the
immediate reply of the Turks' drum to their nogara. He assured us that
he would not sleep that night, but would watch that nothing should
happen. I assured him that we should also keep awake, but should the
nogara sound once more I should give orders to my men to set fire to the
town, as I should not allow the natives to make use of such threats with
impunity. I agreed to use what little interest I had to keep the Turks
in order, but that I must not be held responsible by the natives for
their proceedings, as I was not of their country, neither had I anything
to do with them. I explained, that upon Ibrahim's return from Gondokoro
things might improve, as he was the captain of the Turks, and might be
able to hold his men in command. Commoro departed, and about 2 A.M. the
dense crowds of armed men that had accumulated outside the town began to
disperse.
The morning broke and saw the men still under arms, but the excitement
had passed. The women soon reappeared with their water jars as usual,
but on this occasion they were perfectly unmolested by the Turks, who,
having passed the night in momentary expectation of an attack, were now
upon their best behaviour. However, I heard them muttering among
themselves, "Wait until Ibrahim returns with reinforcements and
ammunition, and we will pay the Latookas for last night."
The town filled; and the Latookas behaved as though nothing out of the
common had occurred; but when questioned, they coolly confessed that
they had intended to surprise us, but that we were too "wide awake.". It
is extraordinary that these fellows are so stupid as to beat the drum or
nogara before the attack, as it naturally gives the alarm, and renders a
surprise impossible; nevertheless, the war-drum is always a preliminary
step to hostilities. I now resolved to camp outside the town, so as not
to be mixed up in any way with the Turks, whose presence was certain to
create enmity. Accordingly I engaged a number of natives to cut thorns,
and to make a zareeba, or camp, about four hundred yards from the main
entrance of the town, on the road to the stream of water. In a few days
it was completed, and I constructed houses for my men, and two good huts
for ourselves. Having a supply of garden seeds, I arranged a few beds,
which I sowed with onions, cabbages, and radishes. My camp was eighty
yards long, and forty wide. My horses were picqueted in two corners,
while the donkeys and camels occupied the opposite extremity. We now
felt perfectly independent. I had masses of supplies, and I resolved to
work round to the south-west whenever it might be possible, and thus to
recover the route that I had originally proposed for my journey south.
My present difficulty was the want of an interpreter. The Turks had
several, and I hoped that on the return of Ibrahim from Gondokoro I
might induce him to lend me a Bari lad for some consideration. For the
present I was obliged to send to the Turks' camp and borrow an
interpreter whenever I required one, which was both troublesome and
expensive.
Although I was willing to purchase all supplies with either beads or
copper bracelets, I found it was impossible to procure meat. The natives
refused to sell either cattle or goats. This was most tantalizing, as
not less than 10,000 head of cattle filed by my camp every morning as
they were driven from the town to pasturage. All this amount of beef
paraded before me, and did not produce a steak! Milk was cheap and
abundant; fowl were scarce; corn was plentiful; vegetables were unknown;
not even pumpkins were grown by the Latookas.
Fortunately there was an abundance of small game in the shape of wild
ducks, pigeons, doves; and a great variety of birds such as herons,
cranes, spoonbills, &c. Travellers should always take as large a supply
of shot as possible. I had four hundred weight, and prodigious
quantities of powder and caps: thus I could at all times kill sufficient
game for ourselves and people. There were a series of small marshy pools
scattered over the country near the stream that ran through the valley;
these were the resort of numerous ducks, which afforded excellent sport.
The town of Tarrangolle is situated at the foot of the mountain, about a
mile from the stream, which is about eighty yards wide, but shallow. In
the dry weather, water is obtained by wells dug in the sandy bed, but
during the rains it is a simple torrent not exceeding three feet in
depth. The bed being sandy, the numerous banks, left dry by the
fluctuations of the stream, are most inviting spots for ducks; and it
was only necessary to wait under a tree, on the river's bank, to obtain
thirty or forty shots in one morning as the ducks flew down the course
of the stream. I found two varieties: the small brown duck with a grey
head; and a magnificent variety, as large as the Muscovy, having a
copper-and-blue coloured tinselled back and wings, with a white but
speckled head and neck. This duck had a curious peculiarity in a fleshy
protuberance on the beak about as large as a half-crown. This stands
erect, like a cock's comb. Both this, and the smaller variety, were
delicious eating. There were two varieties of geese - the only two that
I have ever seen on the White Nile - the common Egyptian grey goose, and
a large black and white bird with a crimson head and neck, and a red and
yellow horny protuberance on the top of the head.
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