It Had Been Agreed That The Remainder Of My Men
Were To Mutiny At This Spot And To Join Him With MY ARMS AND AMMUNITION.
This Was To Be The Stage For The Outbreak.
The apparent welcome was only
to throw me off my guard.
I was coldly polite, and begging them not to waste their powder, I went
to the large tree that threw a beautiful shade, and we sat down,
surrounded by a crowd of both natives and trader's people. Mahommed Her
sent me immediately a fat ox for my people: not to be under any
obligation I immediately gave him a double-barrelled gun. The ox was
slaughtered, and the people preferring beef to antelope venison, I gave
the flesh of the waterbuck to the Latooka porters belonging to Ibrahim's
party. Thus all teeth were busy. Ibrahim and his men occupied the shade
of another enormous tree at about a hundred and fifty yards' distance.
The town was Latome, one of the principal places in the Latooka country,
and was strongly palisaded, like the town of Wakkala. I did not go
through the entrance, but contented myself with resting under my tree
and writing up the journal from my note-book. Before we had been there
many hours the two parties of Ibrahim and Mahommed Her were engaged in a
hot contention. Mahommed Her declared that no one had a right of way
through that country, which belonged to him according to the customs of
the White Nile trade; that he would not permit the party of Ibrahim to
proceed, and that, should they persist in their march, he would resist
them by force.
Words grew high;-Ibrahim was not afraid of force, as he had a hundred
and forty men against Mahommed Her's hundred and five;-insults and abuse
were liberally exchanged, while the natives thronged around, enjoying
the fun, until at last Mahommed Her's temper becoming outrageous, he was
seized by the throat by Sulieman, a powerful choush or sergeant of
Ibrahim's party, and hurled away from the select society who claimed the
right of road. Great confusion arose, and both parties prepared for a
fight, which after the usual bluster died away to nothing. However, I
noticed that my men most unmistakeably took the part of Mahommed Her
against Ibrahim; they belonging to his tribe.
The evening arrived, and my vakeel, with his usual cunning, came to ask
me "whether I intended to start to-morrow?" He said there was excellent
shooting in this neighbourhood, and that Ibrahim's camp not being more
than five hours' march beyond, I could at any time join him, should I
think proper. Many of my men were sullenly listening to my reply, which
was, that we should start in company with Ibrahim. The men immediately
turned their backs, and swaggered insolently to the town, muttering
something that I could not distinctly understand. I gave orders
directly, that no man should sleep in the town, but that all should be
at their posts by the luggage under the tree that I occupied.
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