I Now Swallowed My Last Dose, And On 3d January, I
Find The Following Note In My Journal:
"All ready for a start tomorrow.
I trust the year 1864 will bring better luck than the past, that
Having
been the most annoying that I have ever experienced, and full of fever.
I hope now to reach Kamrasi's country in a fortnight, and to obtain
guides from him direct to the lake. My Latooka, to whom I have been very
kind, has absconded: there is no difference in any of these savages; if
hungry, they will fawn upon you, and when filled, they will desert. I
believe that ten years' residence in the Soudan and this country would
spoil an Angel, and would turn the best heart to stone."
It was difficult to procure porters, therefore I left all my effects at
my camp in charge of two of my men, and I determined to travel light,
without the tent, and to take little beyond ammunition and cooking
utensils. Ibrahim left forty-five men in his zareeba, and on the 5th of
January we started. Mrs. Baker rode her ox, but my animal being very
shy, I ordered him to be driven for about a mile with the others to
accustom him to the crowd: not approving of the expedition, he bolted
into the high grass with my English saddle, and I never saw him again.
In my weak state I had to walk. We had not gone far when a large fly
fastened upon Mrs. Baker's ox, just by his tail, the effect of which was
to produce so sudden a kick and plunge, that he threw her to the ground
and hurt her considerably: she accordingly changed the animal, and rode
a splendid ox that Ibrahim very civilly offered. I had to walk to the
Atabbi, about eighteen miles, which, although a pleasant stroll when in
good health, I found rather fatiguing. We bivouacked on the south bank
of the Atabbi.
The next morning, after a walk of about eight miles, I purchased of one
of the Turks the best ox that I have ever ridden, at the price of a
double-barrelled gun - -it was a great relief to be well mounted, as I
was quite unfit for a journey on foot.
At 4.30 P.m. we arrived at one of the villages of Farajoke. The
character of the country had entirely changed; instead of the rank and
superabundant vegetation of Obbo, we were in a beautiful open country,
naturally drained by its undulating character, and abounding in most
beautiful low pasturage. Vast herds of cattle belonged to the different
villages, but these had all been driven to concealment, as the report
had been received that the Turks were approaching. The country was
thickly populated, but the natives appeared very mistrustful; the Turks
immediately entered the villages, and ransacked the granaries for corn,
digging up the yams, and helping themselves to everything as though
quite at home. I was on a beautiful grass sward on the gentle slope of a
hill: here I arranged to bivouac for the night.
In three days' march from this point through beautiful park-like
country, we arrived at the Asua river. The entire route from Farajoke
had been a gentle descent, and I found this point of the Asua in lat N.
3 degrees 12 minutes to be 2,875 feet above the sea level, 1,091 feet
lower than Farajoke. The river was a hundred and twenty paces broad, and
from the bed to the top of the perpendicular banks was about fifteen
feet. At this season it was almost dry, and a narrow channel of about
six inches deep flowed through the centre of the otherwise exhausted
river. The bed was much obstructed by rocks, and the inclination was so
rapid that I could readily conceive the impossibility of crossing it
during the rains. It formed the great drain of the country, all its
waters flowing to the Nile, but during the dry months it was most
insignificant. The country between Farajoke and the Asua, although
lovely, was very thinly populated, and the only villages that I saw were
built upon low hills of bare granite, which lay in huge piles of
disjointed fragments.
On arrival at the river, while the men were washing in the clear stream,
I took a rifle and strolled along the margin; I shortly observed a herd
of the beautiful Mehedehet antelopes feeding upon the rich but low grass
of a sandbank in the very centre of the river. Stalking them to within a
hundred and twenty paces they obtained my wind, and, ceasing to graze,
they gazed intently at me. I was on the high bank among the bushes, and
I immediately picked out the biggest, and fired, missing my mark. All
dashed away except the animal at which I fired, who stood in uncertainty
for a few moments, when the second barrel of the Fletcher 24 rifle
knocked him over, striking him through the neck. Hearing the quick
double shot, my people came running to the spot, accompanied by a number
of the native porters, and were rejoiced to find a good supply of meat;
the antelope weighed about five hundred pounds, and was sufficient to
afford a good dinner for the whole party.
The Mehedehet is about 13 hands high, with rough, brown hair like the
Samber deer of India. Our resting-place was on the dry, rocky bed of the
river, close to the edge of the shallow but clear stream that rippled
over the uneven surface. Some beautiful tamarind trees afforded a most
agreeable shade, and altogether it was a charming place to bivouac.
Although at Obbo the grass was not sufficiently dry to burn, in this
country it was reduced to a crisp straw, and I immediately set fire to
the prairies; the wind was strong, and we had a grand blaze, the flames
crackling and leaping about thirty feet high, and sweeping along with so
mad a fury that within an hour the entire country was a continuous line
of fire.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 96 of 175
Words from 97015 to 98038
of 178435
