Verney Lovett Cameron

“ Hatibu himself carried a piece of coarse red woollen cloth to give as a present to the chief of the village to which we were going.
Our road lay through a pleasant open country, large stretches of grassy land being diversified by clumps of trees, while along the banks of numerous small streams there was always a strip of jungle. Here and there plantations of maize and ground-nuts with the broad-leaved plantain gave signs that men were in the neighbourhood, and occasionally we saw the villages in which they lived embowered in groves of the oil palm. ”

“ No; if I could get pagazi (porters) to carry my ivory, I would never use slaves. But if we did not have slaves, what would become of the people the heathen make prisoners in war? They would be killed and eaten. Surely it is better for them to be slaves.”
I was unable to reply; but he did not convince me at all that slavery was right, or even excusable. I daily became more and more a hater of slavery, from what I saw of the way the captives he had taken in the late fights were treated, though their lot was far better than that of those who had fallen into the hands of other traders. ”

“ Though the breeze died away with the sun the men kept stoutly to their work, and when they at last ceased from pulling we were only half an hour from our goal. The only reason for not going on was the unseemliness in a caravan from dreaded Manyuema with wealth of ivory and slaves coming in with as little ceremony as a fishing-canoe. It was necessary that there should be firing of guns and beating of drums and waving of flags, and that the ivory should be carried up before all beholders to show the wealth Tipolo had gained by pushing his journeys so far afield. ”

“ Hatibu and Bilal were welcomed by their wives with loud expressions of joy. The wives of the poor fellows who had been killed were most noisy and demonstrative in their grief, daubing themselves with white, and going round to all the houses of the settlement, wailing and clapping their hands in a measured cadence.
The news of the success of Tipolo in his expedition, was received with much applause, while admiration was lavished on Hatibu, Bilal, and the Mzungu (European) for the bravery they had displayed. ”

“ As chief of the party, Hatibu was given a hut, which he shared with me. The news having got about that there was a white man among the strangers, the people all flocked round to stare at the wonderful being. The inquisitiveness of the women, who would examine my hands and feet, and seemed desirous of pursuing their inquiries, threatened to become so unpleasant, that Hatibu went to the chief, to give orders for me to be left alone, and only stared at but not handled. ”

“ I will kill him, and his tongue will be silent.”
“Stay your hand, Dala. While the man lives he may work, and I can use him. Let him remain, and say that he also is dead.”
“Surely, Kifura, the life of this slave is nothing to me; but he may come back and make me a liar before Karema.{181}”
“No, Dala, he shall never come back. They who fall into the hands of Kifura never escape.”
“Then let him live; but this Franki, let me slay him, for while he lives I shall not have peace.”
“No, he may not be slain; for never before has Kifura had a white man in his hands. ”

“ Instantly the canoe swung out against the rocks and hung below one of them, with the water rushing over her, half capsized, and then the three men who formed her crew were thrown out into the rapids. I was in a most perilous position, half suffocated by the water tearing over me, and expecting every moment that the other rope would be cut through by the rocks against which it was grinding, and that I and the canoe would be dashed to pieces. I could do nothing to help myself ”

“ I pointed out how Karema could not possibly make me his heir if I left the country, and I promised that not one word{180} would I say of his present behaviour; but all without effect, and again he raised his spear as if to kill me, but again Kifura stopped him.
“Listen, Dala of the Adiana,” said Kifura. “Why should you kill this white man? Mine he is, and mine he will continue; if you kill him, my words will go to Karema, and you will never be chief in his place. Take counsel with me and be wise. The men who are with you, will their words be as your words?” ”

“ There was no chance of Tipolo coming to our relief, and we had best surrender, for the worst that would happen to us was to be made slaves, and as well be the slaves of Mona Mkulla as be killed.
Hatibu’s look of anger and indignation when he heard this craven counsel was a sight worthy of a painter. He rated the men who made it as cowards and dogs, and said the idea that men from “the island” should become slaves to these heathen was not to be entertained for one instant. Those who wished to be slaves could go at once, and there would be more food and more powder for those who remained behind. ”

“ All hands answered to his shout, and seizing their loads forced their way through the canes and mud to the edge of the river. There we found two things which might be called canoes, but were simply strips of bark eighteen or twenty feet long, with the ends pinched and sewn together, so that they formed troughs some fifteen inches wide and twelve deep. In one end (bow or stern one could not name it) stood a black fellow, who propelled his crazy craft with a long pole, punting in the shallows and paddling when he could not reach the bottom. ”

“ Drinks were again handed round, and the caboceer took his departure.
When he had gone Captain Howard said, “Well, gentlemen, I do not know that I can do much more for you. I must go at once to look after those schooners you met at Cape Mount; but in a day or two the Dragon, a paddle-wheel steamer, will be here, and her captain will take up your case. I should very much like to see this fellow Pentlea, for I believe he must be a man who is pretty well known and more wanted; for if he be the man I think, he has been a pirate as well as a slaver, and deserves hanging if ever a man did.” ”

“ ESCAPE FROM THE SLAVE-SHIP. The day dragged slowly and wearily away, and when at last sunset came I began to count the hours with feverish anxiety. After a little, when it was pitch-dark, and a tornado was evidently threatening, I felt a hand laid on my mouth, and heard Silas say, “Hush, the mulatto’s below. Well you didn’t drink that water; it was poisoned. I can tell you what to do. The tide’s ebbing still; the moment the rain comes, slip into the canoe, and let her drift out of the creek, and then paddle up-stream. After you get aboard, say Simon and Okopa mean to take the brig. ”

“ WORSE THAN DEATH. On the evening before we expected to reach the banks of the Ogowai, I and Chaka were lying, tired and weary, under a large tree, while our captors were busily employed in building the camp. Suddenly some of the men who were away cutting branches and grass to make huts came rushing in, saying that a large party of Adiana were upon us. Instantly a panic seized all the party, and hastily snatching up their weapons they rushed away into the jungle, leaving Chaka and myself behind. ”

“ The people of the country will not travel far for hire. Slaves cost more than freemen. From Unyanyembe to Kilwa and Bagamoyo the Wanyamwesi go as porters, and we pay and feed them; that is better than employing slaves. Ten slaves are chained together,—one man stops, all stop. Ten slaves cannot carry as much as five men who are free. If I could{290} carry my ivory without slaves I would, as it would be better and cheaper for me. A freeman wants to end his journey and get his payment; a slave does not care—one day is the same as another to him: so that the freeman travels faster and further. ”

“ Hatibu did not wish me to run the risk alone. I pointed out that one man would have a better chance of success than many, and that as through his kindness to me I owed my life to him, I begged to be allowed to undertake the task by myself. After much discussion he consented. As he saw we ran the same risk as our enemies if our camp was set on fire, and unlike them had no place of retreat, he gave orders for all our thatch and screens to be pulled down and burned, care being taken to prevent a general conflagration. ”

“ I at first proposed that we should haul the canoe across the muddy strip separating the river from the lagoon; but we soon found that we had not men enough to do it. Hatibu began to scold the guides, telling them they had brought us on a fool’s errand; but they begged of us not to be angry, saying we should, by following a path which they pointed out, reach in half an hour a village where we could rest till sunset, and close to this village was a place where the hippopotami constantly came out to feed on the growing crops, and where a proper ambuscade had been made to spear them from. ”

“ For some moments there was silence, and then Wanda said, “I have been waiting to hear the words of those who want to leave Fumo to die. Franki will stop, and Chaka will stop, and I Wanda, I, too, am a man, and will stop with my friends when they are in trouble. Go back, and Karema will take your spears from you, and put hoes in your hands, and you shall work in the fields with the women.” ”

“ When we came to look at our stores and take stock of our resources, we found we had food for some days, and water, owing to Hatibu’s foresight in choosing the position of our camp. But though we only numbered, including Hatibu, myself, and the new-comers, thirty-three men, of whom only seventeen had muskets, we could not muster more than four rounds for each gun. Many of us were wounded, and though the wounded were all able to get about in camp, still in a hand-to-hand fight, which might be expected at any instant, they would not be so useful as if they were unhurt. ”

“ In consideration of Dala foregoing his wish to murder me he was to be given a canoe to return down the river in, which he could say he had captured from the Balaba in fight.
I was ordered to return to where Chaka was lying, and I told him of the conversation between Dala and Kifura.
“Oh that I were free,” said he, “that I might kill him and die. He is a dog, and the son of a dog. But, Franki, while Chaka is with you he will be your slave, and what service he can render you he will render.” ”

“ Not caring to come within the circle of light, the natives contented themselves with shooting arrows from the limits of the darkness.
As soon as the fence was closed we extinguished the fires, for they now only served to show us to the natives. Some still remained on guard, others crowded round the new-comers to learn what their news was. They proved to be all that remained of the men we had left behind at our old camp. They said that for some time after we left all went well, but at last men came bringing a knife which they knew belonged to Hatibu. ”

“ From time to time the flashes of lightning showed me that I was passing near the shore, and that the mangrove bushes ran far out into the water. I managed in some manner, how I hardly know, to get the canoe in towards a clump of mangroves which projected somewhat, and caught hold of the suckers hanging from the branches and gradually hauled myself into the trees. I had just got my hands on the roots of one, when an extra squall of wind and rain came sweeping down, and the canoe being dragged from under my feet, I was left hanging to the tree, into which I scrambled. ”

“ The moment the bow of the boat touched the beach the Kruboys, throwing their paddles overboard, jumped into the water, and seizing hold of the gunwale, ran us up high and dry on the beach out of the reach of the waves.
My father, who had watched me carefully during our passage through the breakers, said, “You’ll do, my boy. What do you think of an African beach now?”
“Why, father, it is lovely. I don’t know anything more delightful than flying in on the back of a wave as we did.” ”