"I feel a touch of the poetic stealing over me when I look at my
departing donkey.
'I never loved a dear gazelle,' &c.: but the practical
question, 'Who is to carry the portmanteau?' remains unanswered. I do
not believe the Turks have any intention of going to Kamrasi's country;
they are afraid, as they have heard that he is a powerful king, and they
fear the restrictions that power will place upon their felonious
propensities. In that case I shall go on without them; but they have
deceived me, by borrowing 165 lbs. of beads which they cannot repay;
this puts me to much inconvenience. The Asua river is still impassable,
according to native reports; this will, prevent a general advance south.
Should the rains cease, the river will fall rapidly, and I shall make a
forward move and escape this prison of high grass and inaction."
"Oct. 11th. - Lions roaring every night, but not visible. I set my men to
work to construct a fortified camp, a simple oblong of palisades with
two flanking projections at opposite angles to command all approaches;
the lazy scoundrels are sulky in consequence. Their daily occupation is
drinking merissa, sleeping, and strumming on the rababa, while that of
the black women is quarrelling - one ebony sister insulting the other by
telling her that she is as 'black as the kettle,' and recommending her,
'to eat poison.'"
"Oct. 17th. - I expect an attack of fever tomorrow or next day, as I
understand from constant and painful experiences every step of this
insidious disease. For some days one feels a certain uneasiness of
spirits difficult to explain; no peculiar symptom is observed until a
day or two before the attack, when great lassitude is felt, with a
desire to sleep. Rheumatic pains in the loins, back, and joints of the
limbs are accompanied by a sense of great weakness. A cold fit comes on
very quickly; this is so severe that it almost immediately affects the
stomach, producing painful vomiting with severe retching. The eyes are
heavy and painful, the head hot and aching, the extremities pale and
cold, pulse very weak, and about fifty-six beats per minute; the action
of the heart distressingly weak, with total prostration of strength.
This shivering and vomiting continues for about two hours, attended with
great difficulty of breathing. The hot stage then comes on, the retching
still continuing, with the difficulty of breathing, intense weakness and
restlessness for about an hour and a half, which, should the remedies be
successful, terminate in profuse perspiration and sleep. The attack
ends, leaving the stomach in a dreadful state of weakness. The fever is
remittent, the attack returning almost at the same hour every two days,
and reducing the patient rapidly to a mere skeleton; the stomach refuses
to act, and death ensues. Any severe action of the mind, such as grief
or anger, is almost certain to be succeeded by fever in this country. My
stock of quinine is reduced to a few grains, and my work lies before me;
my cattle are all dead. We are both weakened by repeated fever, and
travelling must be on foot."
CHAPTER X
LIFE AT OBBO.
For months we dragged on a miserable existence at Obbo, wrecked by
fever; the quinine exhausted; thus the disease worried me almost to
death, returning at intervals of a few days. Fortunately my wife did not
suffer so much as I did. I had nevertheless prepared for the journey
south; and as travelling on foot would have been impossible in our weak
state, I had purchased and trained three oxen in lieu of horses. They
were named "Beef," "Steaks," and "Suet." "Beef" was a magnificent
animal, but having been bitten by the flies, he so lost his condition
that I changed his name to "Bones." We were ready to start, and the
natives reported that early in January the Asua would be fordable. I had
arranged with Ibrahim that he should supply me with porters for payment
in copper bracelets, and that he should accompany me with one hundred
men to Kamrasi's country (Unyoro), on condition that he would restrain
his people from all misdemeanours, and that they should be entirely
subservient to me. It was the month of December, and during the nine
months that I had been in correspondence with his party I had succeeded
in acquiring an extraordinary influence. Although my camp was nearly
three-quarters of a mile from their zareeba, I had been besieged daily
for many months for everything that was wanted; my camp was a kind of
general store that appeared to be inexhaustible. I gave all that I had
with a good grace, and thereby gained the goodwill of the robbers,
especially as my large medicine chest contained a supply of drugs that
rendered me in their eyes a physician of the first importance. I had
been very successful with my patients; and the medicines that I
generally used being those which produced a very decided effect, both
the Turks and natives considered them with perfect faith. There was
seldom any difficulty in prognosticating the effect of tartar emetic,
and this became the favourite drug that was applied for almost daily; a
dose of three grains enchanting the patient, who always advertised my
fame by saying, "He told me I should be sick, and, by Allah! there was
no mistake about it." Accordingly there was a great run upon the tartar
emetic. Many people in Debono's camp had died, including several of my
deserters who had joined them. News was brought that, in three separate
fights with the natives, my deserters had been killed on every occasion,
and my men and those of Ibrahim unhesitatingly declared it was the "hand
of God." None of Ibrahim's men had died since we left Latooka. One man,
who had been badly wounded by a lance thrust through his abdomen, I
successfully treated; the trading party, who would at one time gladly
have exterminated me, now exclaimed, "What shall we do when the Sowar
(traveller) leaves the country?" Mrs. Baker had been exceedingly kind
to the women and children of both the traders and natives, and together
we had created so favourable an impression that we were always referred
to as umpires in every dispute.
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