This Famine Has Given A Bad Name To The Locality, And It Is
Accordingly Difficult To Procure Porters From The Interior, Who
Naturally Fear Starvation.
I was thus extremely sorry that I was obliged to refuse a supply of corn
to Mr. Petherick upon
His application - an act of necessity, but not of
ill-nature upon my part, as I was obliged to leave a certain quantity in
depot at Gondokoro, in case I should be driven back from the interior,
in the event of which, without a supply in depot, utter starvation would
have been the fate of my party. Mr. Petherick accordingly despatched one
of his boats to the Shir tribe down the White Nile to purchase corn in
exchange for molotes (native hoes). The boat returned with corn on the
11th of March. On the 26th February, Speke and Grant sailed from
Gondokoro. Our hearts were too full to say more than a short "God bless
you!" They had won their victory; my work lay all before me. I watched
their boat until it turned the corner, and wished them in my heart all
honor for their great achievement. I trusted to sustain the name they
had won for English perseverance, and I looked forward to meeting them
again in dear old England, when I should have completed the work we had
so warmly planned together.
CHAPTER III.
GUN ACCIDENT.
A DAY before the departure of Speke and Grant from Gondokoro, an event
occurred which appeared as a bad omen to the superstitions of my men. I
had ordered the diahbiah to be prepared for sailing: thus, the cargo
having been landed and the boat cleared and washed, we were sitting in
the cabin, when a sudden explosion close to the windows startled us from
our seats, and the consternation of a crowd of men who were on the bank,
showed that some accident had happened. I immediately ran out, and found
that the servants had laid all my rifles upon a mat upon the ground, and
that one of the men had walked over the guns; his foot striking the
hammer of one of the No. 10 Reilly rifles, had momentarily raised it
from the nipple, and an instantaneous explosion was the consequence. The
rifle was loaded for elephants, with seven drachms of powder. There was
a quantity of luggage most fortunately lying before the muzzle, but the
effects of the discharge were extraordinary. The ball struck the steel
scabbard of a sword, tearing off the ring; it then passed obliquely
through the stock of a large rifle, and burst through the
shoulder-plate; entering a packing-case of inch-deal, it passed through
it and through the legs of a man who was sitting at some distance, and
striking the hip-bone of another man, who was sitting at some paces
beyond, it completely smashed both hips, and fortunately being expended,
it lodged in the body. Had it not been for the first objects happily in
the route of the ball, it would have killed several men, as they were
sitting in a crowd exactly before the muzzle.
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