The Americans

IM's

had recovered, and for days and nights he had wandered about the country, in thirst and hunger, hiding like a wild beast from the sight of human beings, his guilty conscience marking every Latooka as an ene

ous to compare his intellectual capacity with that of the white man. It is unfortunately the fashion for one party to uphold the negro as a superior being, while the other denies him the common powers of reason. So great a difference of opinion has ever existed upon the intrinsic value of the negro, that the very perplexity of the question is a proof that he is altogether a distinct variety. So long as it is generally considered that the negro and the whit

ere is no exaggerated vice, such as is found in civilized countries. The strong takes from the weak, one tribe fights the other-do not perhaps we in Europe?-these are the legitimate acts of independent t

cerity? Why should the black man not be equal to the white? He is

e white child of a similar age, but the mind does not expand-it promises fruit, but

f time. The earth presents a wonderful example of variety in all classes of the human race, the animal and vegetable kingdoms. People, beasts, and plants belonging to distinct classes, exhibit special qualities and peculiarities. The existence of many hundred varieties of dogs cannot interfere with the fact that they belong to one genus: the greyhound, pug, bloodhound, pointer, poodle, mastiff, and to

es and beetles, the many members of each class varying in instincts and peculiarities. Fishes, and even shellfish, all exhibit the same arran

ces will not alter with a change of locality, but the instincts of each race will be developed in any country where they may be located. Thus, the English are as English in Australia, India, and America, as they are in England, and in every locality they exhibit the industry and energy of thei

is contrary to public opinion in England, where the vox populi assumes the right of dictation upon matters and men in which it has had no experience. The English insist upon their own weights and measures as the scales for human excellence, and it has been decreed by

antislavery movement as a proof of his own importance. In his limited horizon he is himself the important object, and, as a sequence to his self-conceit, he imagines that the whole world is at issue concerning the black man. The negro, therefore, being the important question, must be an important person, and he conducts himself accordingly-he is far too great a man to work. Upon this point his natural character exhibits itself most determinedly. Accordingly, he resists any

e countries as the West Indies and portions of America being without a native population, the negro was originally imported as a slave to fulfil the conditions of a labourer. In his own country he was a wild savage, and enslaved his brother man; he thus beca

was suddenly freed; and from that moment he refused to work, and instead of being a useful member of society, he not only became a useles

ther he must be compelled to work, by some stringent law against vagrancy, or those beautiful countries that prospered under the condition

useful being; but if treated as an Englishman, he will affect the vices but none of the virtues of

rels, were the negroes who had at one time themselves been kidnapped. These fellows aped a great and ridiculous importance. On the march they would seldom condescend to carry their own guns; a little slave boy invariably attended to his master, keeping close to his heels, and trotting along on foot during a long march, carrying a musket much longer than himself: a woman generally carried a basket with a cooking-pot, and a gourd of water and provisions, while a hired native carrie

ring the Crimean war he was at Kertch. Altogether he was a great traveller, and he had a natural taste for geography and botany, that marked him as a wonderful exception to the average of the party. He had run away from his master in Egypt, and had been v

th a stick upon the sand, of the countries he had visited, and especially of the Mediterranean, and the course from Egypt and Constantinople to England. Unfortunately, some long story was attached to every principal point of the voyage. The descriptions most interesting to me were those connected with the west bank of the White Nile, as he had served some years with the trading party, and had penetrated through the Makkarika, a cannibal tribe, to about two hundred miles west of Gondokoro. Both he and many of Ibrahim's party had been frequent witnesses to acts of cannibalism, during their residence among the Makkarikas. They described these cannibals as remarkably good people, but possessing a peculiar taste for

e ball had struck her in the side. The girl was remarkably fat, and from the wound, a large lump of yellow fat exuded. No sooner had she fallen, than the Makkarikas rushed upon her in a crowd, and seizing the fat, they tore it from the wound in handfuls, the girl being still a

, were excited to give chase, and pulling the children from their refuge among the branches, they killed several, and in a short time a great feast was prepared for

l evening daily. To refuse was to insult them; and as my chance of success in the exploration unfortunately depended upon my not offending the traders I was obliged to be coldly civil, and nothing was refused them. Hardly a day

e distressing symptoms of want of action of the heart, so frequently fatal at this stage of the disease, I restored him by a very powerful stimulant, and thereby gained renown

pendent and ready to take offence on the slightest pretext, and the Turks, being now 140 strong, had no fear, and there appeared every probability of hostilities. I was engaged in erecting huts, and in securing my camp; and although I offere

their whole force drew up to their flag under arms outside their zareeba, and offered a determined front. I extract the following entry from my journal. "These Turks are delightful neighbours; they will create a row, and I shall be dragged into it in self-defence, as the natives will distinguish no difference in a scrimmage, although they draw favourable comparisons between me and the Turks in times of peace. Not a native

I was obliged to shoot game for my daily food, although they possessed such enormous herds of cattle; neither could I procure materials or workpeople to complete my camp. The parley terminated with an understandi

t must induce hostilities, as the Turks are too powerful to be insulted. I am rather anxious lest some expedition may entail the departure of the entire Turkish party, when the Latookas may seize the opportunity of attacking my innocen

rrounded by the natives, and the gun of one man was wrested from him; the other, after a tussle, in which he lost his ramrod, beat a hasty retreat. A number of the soldiers immediatel

, who were employed in driving the baggage animals; thus they would be helpless in the event of an attack upon the road. I accordingly proposed to make a depot at Latooka, and to travel with only twelve donkeys and the lightest baggage. It was a continual trial of temper and wounded pride. To give up the expedition was easy

nd Ibrahim determined to take a few men and pay it a visit, as the people were said to be extremely friendly. I requested the leader to point out the exact position of Obbo, which I found to be S.W. That was precisely the direction that I had wished to take; thus an unexpected opportunity presented itself, and I determined to start without delay. On the 2d of May, 1863, at 9 A.M. we left Latooka,

low range of granite rocks, forming a ridge about four hundred feet high. It was with the greatest difficulty that the loaded donkeys could be hoisted over the numerous blocks of granite that formed

d and about six miles in width, lay before us, forming the basin of the Kanie

left at Latooka, there was no help for it, and we were obliged to rest contented with our position upon about an acre of clean rock plateau upon which we lighted an enormous fire, and crouched shivering round the blaze. No grass was cut for the animals, as the men had been too busy in collecting firewood sufficient to last throughout the night. Some fowls that we had brought from Latooka had been drowned by the rain; thus my Mahommedan followers refused to eat them, as their throats had not been cut. Not being so scrupulous, and wo

cks of stone with the greatest labour. At the foot of the hill the country was park-like and well wooded, although there was no very large timber. Here the grass was two feet high and growing rapidly, while at Latooka all was barren. Halted at 5.20 P.M. on the banks of a small running stream, a tributary to the Kanieti. The night being fine we slept well; and the next morning at 6 A.M. we commenced the most lovely march that I have ever made in Africa. Winding through the very bosom of the mountains, well covered with forest until the bare granite peaks towered above all vegetation to the height of about 5,000 feet, we continued through narrow valleys bordered by abrupt spurs of the mountains from 1,700 to 2,000 feet high. On the peak of each was a village; evidently these impregnable positions were chosen for security. At length the great ascent was to be made, and for two hours we toiled up a steep zigzag pass. The air was most invigorating; beautiful wild flowers, some of which were highly scented, ornamented the route, and innumerable wild grape-vines hung in festoons from tree to tree. We we

illage of Obbo. The rain fell in torrents, and, soaked to the skin, we crawled into a d

their usual covering is the skin of an antelope or goat, slung like a mantle across the shoulders. Their faces are well formed, with peculiarly fine-shaped noses. The headdress of the Obbo is remarkably neat, the w

ation of four or five thousand feet above the general level of the country; to the south, althou

ch the plains are covered. This country produces nine varieties of yams, many of which grow wild in the forests. There is one most peculiar species, called by the natives "Collolollo," that I had not met with in other countries. This variety produces several tubers at the root, and also upon the stalk; it doe

0 yams: they are covered with a fine skin of a greenish brown,

tly resembles a horse-chestnut in size and fine mahogany colour. This nut is roasted, and, when ground and boiled, a species of fat or butter is skimmed from the su

re produced in Latooka. Ground-nuts are also in abundance in the forests; these are not like the well-known African ground-nut of the west coast, but are contained in an excessively hard shell. A fine quali

when it presents the shape of a loaf of sugar, and is perfectly hard. The tobacco of the Ellyria tribe is shaped into cheeses, and frequently adulterated with cowdu

y is badly burned, and excessively fragile if wet. The water jars are well formed, although the potter's wheel is quite unknown, and the circular form is obtained entirely by the han

ember, and the soil being extremely fertile, the increase of vegetation is too rapid, and the scanty population are hemmed in and overpowered by superabundant herbage. This mass of foliage, and grasses of ten feet in height interwoven with creeping plants and wild grape-vines, is perfectly impenetrable to man, and forms a vast jungle, inhabited by elephants, rhinoceros, and buffaloes, whose ponderous strength alone can overcome it. There are few antelopes, as those animals dislike the grass jungles, in which they have no protection against the lion or the leopard, as such beasts of prey can appr

n, about fifty-eight or sixty years of age; but, far from possessing the dignity usually belonging

s and flutes were soon heard gathering from all quarters, horns brayed, and numbers of men and women began to col

, an immense drum, also covered with the elephant's ear. The dance commenced by all singing remarkably well a wild but agreeable tune in chorus, the big drum directing the time, and the whole of the little drums striking at certain periods with such admirable precision, that the effect was that of a single instru

y, they wear three or four strings of small white beads, about three inches in length, as a covering. The old ladies are antiquated Eves, whose dress consists of a string round the waist, in which is stuck a bunch of green leaves, the stalk uppermost. I have seen a few of the young girls that were prudes indulge in such garments; but they did not appear to be fashionable,

king peculiarity was displayed in the finely arched noses of many of the natives, which strongly reminded one of the Som

e Bari, the Latooka, and the Madi, the latter country extending south o

Latook

ee. Cari

e. Nyeme.

sean. Narlo

ang. Nyete

ecan. Nye

sarck. N

eno. Nakom

c taxes, but he occasionally makes a call upon the country for a certain number of goats and supplies. These are generally given, as Katchiba is a knowing old diplomatist, and he tunes his demands with great judgment. Thus, should there be a lack of rain, or too much, at the season for sowing the crops, he takes the opportunity of calling his subjects together and explaining to them how much he regrets that their conduct has compelled him to afflict them with unfavourable weather, but t

ba hold his sway over his savage, but credulous people; and so long has he imposed upon the public that I believe he has at length imposed upon himself, and that he really believes he has the power of sorcery, notwithstanding repeated failures. In order to propitiate him, his people frequently present him with the prettiest of their daughters; and so constantly is he receiving additions to his domestic circle that he has been obliged to extend his establishment to prevent domestic fracas among the ladies. He has accordingly hit upon the practical expedient of keeping a certain number of wives in each of his villages: thus, when he makes a journey through his territory, he is always at home. This

idea of a Supreme Being, the whole country bowed down to sorcery. It is a curious distinction between faith and credulity;-these savages, utterly devoid of belief in a Deity, and without a vestige of superstition, believed most devotedly that the general affairs of life and the control of the elements were in the hands of their old chief, and therefore they served him-not with a feeli

the black art controlled the savage minds of his subjects. Strange does it appear, that these uncivilized inhabitants of Central Africa should, although devoid of religion, believe implicitly in sorcery; giving a power to man superhuman, although acknowledgin

ntry, but assured me that I should not be able to travel south for many months, as it would be quite impossible to cross the Asua river during the rainy season; he therefo

promised to take the greatest care of her, and to supply her with all she might require; offering to become personally responsible for her safety; he agreed to place a spell upon the door of our hut, that nothing evil should enter it during my absence. It was a snug little dwelling, about nine feet in diameter, and perfectly round; the

nd shortly observed a herd of ten bull elephants standing together about sixty yards from the path. The grass was high, but I rode through it to within about forty yards before I was observed; they immediately dashed away, and I followed for about a mile at a trot, the ground being so full of holes and covered with fallen trees concealed in the high grass, that I did not like to close until I should arrive in a more favourable spot. At length I shot at full gallop past an immense fellow, with tusks about five feet projecting from his jaws, and reining up, I fired with a Reilly No. 10 at the shoulder. He charged straight into m

re I knew that the elephant had followed the horse; thus I was nearly an hour before I found it, and also my azimuth compass that had fallen from my belt pouch. After much shouting and whistling, my mounted man arr

orming an affluent of the Asua river. There was a good ford, with a hard gravel and rocky bottom, over which the horse partly waded and occasi

little Fletcher 24 rifle doubled him up; but, recovering himself almost immediately, he was just disappearing when a shot from the left-hand barrel broke his back, to the intense delight of my people. We accordingly bivouacked for the night, and the fires were soon blazing upon a dry plateau of granite rock about seventy feet square that I had chosen for a resting-place. In the saucer-shaped hollows of the rock was good clear water from the rain of the preceding day; thus we ha

op, and a peak both before and behind, the whole affair was covered with tanned leather, while a curtain of the same material protected the back of the neck from the sun. A strong chin strap secured the cap upon the head, and the "tout ensemble" formed a very effective roof, completely sun-proof. Many people might have

me manner as those of the horse, and I was requested to stoop, so as to enable him to wave the bird around my head; this completed, it was also waved round my horse's head, who showed his appreciation of the ceremony by rearing and lashing out behind, to the great discomfiture of the natives. The fowl did not appear to have enjoyed itself during the operation; but a knife put an end to its troubles, as, the ceremony of welcome being completed, the bird was sacrificed and handed to my headman. I was now conducted to the village. It was defended by a high bamboo fence, and was miserably dirty, forming a great contrast to the clean dwellings of the Bari and Latooka tribes. The hill upon which the village

ng the rainy season, as it was a violent torrent, rushing over a rocky bed with such impetuosity, that no one would venture to swim it. There was nothing to be done at this season, and however trying to the patience, there was no alternative. Farajoke was withi

of natives were sent by the chief to scour the jungles. There was little use in remaining at Farajoke, therefore I returned to Obbo with my men and donkeys, accomplishing the whole distance (thirty miles) in one day. I was very anxious about Mrs. Baker, who had been the represe

native beer. "Dulce domum," although but a mud hut, the loving welcome made it happier than a palace; and that draught of beer, or fermented mud, or whatever trash it might be compared with in England, how delicious it seemed after a journey of thirty miles in the broiling sun! and the fat sh

promise to act as guardian during my absence. Mrs. Baker gave him an excellent character; he had taken the greatest care of her, and had supplied all the luxuries that had so much excit

ople are not very good, and perhaps they will say that they have none; but if you will lend me a horse, I will ride there, and the effect will impose upon them so much, that they will not dare to refuse me." Now, Katchiba was not a good walker, and his usual way of travelling was upon the back of a very strong subject, precisely as children are wont to ride "pic-a-back." He generally had two or three spare men, who alternately acted as guides and ponies, while one of his wives invariably accompanied him, bearing a large jar of beer, with which it was said that the

h was to convert the sorcerer into a spread eagle, flying over his head, and landing very heavily upon the ground, amidst a roar of laughter from my men, in which I am afraid Mrs. Baker was rude enough to join. The crest-fallen Katchiba was assisted upon his legs, and feeling rather stunned, he surveyed the horse with great astonishment; but his natural instincts soon prompted him to call for the jar of beer, and after a long draught from the mighty cup, he regained his courage, and expressed an opinion that the horse was "too high, as it was a long way to tumble down;" h

e tract of country, and had found him grazing. He was naturally a most vicious horse, and the natives were afraid to touch him; they had acc

etermined to return to my head-quarters at Latooka, and to wait for the dry season. I had made the reconnaissance to Farajoke, in latitude 3 degrees 32', and I saw my way clear for the future,

nd he was to receive power to control the elements as deputy-magician during the journey, lest

received it with much gravity, in addition to a magic whistle of antelope's horn that he suspended from his neck. All the natives wore whistles similar in appearance, being simply small horns in which they blew, the sound of which was considered either to attract or to drive away rain, at the option of the whistler. No whistle was supposed to be effective unless it had been blessed by the great mag

already described as the amateur botanist, had become my great ally in searching for all that was curious and interesting. Prou

w minutes' grubbing he produced a basketful of fine-looking yams. In an instant this display of food attracted a crowd of hungry people, including those of Ibrahim and my own men, who, not being botanists, had left the search for food to Ibrahimawa, but who determined to share the tempting results. A rush was made at his basket, which was emptied on the instant; and I am sorry to confess that the black angel Saat was one of the first to seize three or four of

he boy Saat showed symptoms of distress, and vanished from our presence; and all those that had dined off Ibrahimawa's botanical specimens were suffering from a most powerful "vomi-purgatif." The angels that watch over scientific botanists had preserved Ibrahimawa from all evil. He had discovered the yams, and the men had stolen them from him; they enjoyed the fruits, while he gained an experience invaluable at their expense. I was quite contented to have waited until others had tried them bef

kinds of invectives were hurled against Ibrahimawa, and his botany was termed

Turks attracted the attention of a large party of baboons, who were sitting on the rocks, and they commenced their hoarse cry of alarm, and immediately disturbed the Tetel. One of the men, in revenge, fired a long shot at a great male, who was sitting alone upon a high rock, and by chance the ball struck him in the head. He was an immense specimen of the Cynocephalus, ab

ntier of Abyssinia, I had never been able to procure one, owing to their extreme shyness, and to the fact of their inhabiting open plains, where stalking was impossible. I had frequently examined them with a telescope, and had thus formed an intimate acquaintance with their peculiarities. The maharif is very similar to the roan antelope of South Africa, but is mouse colour, with black and white stripes upon the face. The horns are exactly those of the roan antelope

ve view to his telescopic eyes. He has a great objection to high forests. The immense height of the giraffe gives him a peculiar advantage, as he can command an extraordinary range of vision, and thereby be warned against the approach of his two great enemies, man and the lion. No animal is more difficult to stalk than the giraffe, and the most certain method of hunting is that pursued by the Hamran Ara

ting the giraffe on horseback: the instant he starts, he must be pressed-it is the speed that tells upon him, and the spurs must be at work at the very commencement of the hunt, and the horse pres

de of the mountains there had been no rain. Filfil was a contradiction; he loved a hunt and had no fear of wild animals, but he went mad at the sound of a gun. Seeing the magnificent herd of about fifteen giraffes before him, the horse entered into the excitement and needed no spur-down a slight hollow, flying over the dry buffalo holes, now over a dry watercourse and up the incline on the other side-then again on the level, and the dust in my eyes from the cloud raised by the giraffes showed that we were gaining in the race; misericordia!-low jungle lay before us-the giraffes gained it, and spurring forward through a perfect cloud of dust now within a hundred yards of the game we shot through the thorny bushes. In another minute or two I was close up, and a splendid bull giraffe was

re morning it would have been devoured by lions and hyenas; inoffensive and beautiful creatures, what a sin it appeared to destroy them uselessly! With these consoling and practical reflections I continued my way, until a branch of hooked thorn fixing in my nose disturbed the train of ideas and persuaded me that it was very dark, and that I had lost my way, as I could no longer distinguish either the tracks of the giraffes or the position of the mountains. Accordingly I fired my rifle as a signal, and soon after I heard a distant report in reply, and the blaze of a fire shot up suddenly in the distance on the side of the mountai

le, and being oily, it burns like a torch; this grew in great quantities, and the numerous fires fed with this vigorous fuel enlivened the bivouac with a continual blaze. My men were busy, baking their bread. On such occasions an oven is dispensed with. A prodigious fire is made while the dough is being prepared; this, when well moistened, is forme

n good order at the depot, and the European vegetables that I had sown

eavily at Obbo daily, and there was no difference in the dry sandy plain that surrounde

onkeys died within a few days, and the remainder looked poor. Two of my camels died suddenly, having eaten the poison-bush. Within a few days of this disaster my good old hunter and companion of all my former sports in the Base country, Tetel,

from daily attacks of ague. The small-pox broke out among the Turks. Several people died; and, to make matters worse, t

ase of the disease occurred among my people, but it spread throughout the country. Small-pox is a scourge amo

st important that I should discover the exact route by which the cowries arrived from the south, as it would be my guide to that direction. The information that I received from Wani at Latooka was excessively vague, and upon most slender data I founded my conclusions so carefully that my subsequent discoveries have rendered most interesting the first scent of the position which I eventually followed with success. I accordingly extract, verbatim, from my journal the note written by me at Latooka on the 26th of

nd visible on either quarter, while to the south its direction is utterly unknown. Large vessels arrive at Magungo from distant and unknown parts, bringing cowrie-shells and beads in exchange for

arther north than Speke had supposed. The 'white men' must be Arab traders who bring cowries from Zanzibar. I shall take the first opportunity to push for Magungo. I imagine that c

annually, and brought a donkey with him in a boat; that he disembarked his donkey and rode about the country, dealing with the natives, a

he first clue to the f

account of the white

y the people of that co

vague informat

lled a VERY white man as a distinction, but I have frequently been obliged to take off my