In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of EquatoriaStanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
History
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria
Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Emin Pasha, 1840-1892
“I will,” he said. “My mess had a fair provision of plantain flour that
would have kept us with ease two days longer; but Sulimani, who carried
it, put it down by the roadside while he went to gather mushrooms. When
he returned the food was gone. He says the Manyuema had stolen it. Each
one of us then on reaching camp last night set out to hunt for
mushrooms, out of which we made a gruel. That is what we had to eat last
night for supper. This morning we have fasted, but we are going to hunt
up mushrooms again.”
“And what will you eat to-morrow?”
“To-morrow is in the hands of God. I will live in hopes that I shall
find something.”
This youth, he was only nineteen, had carried sixty pound of cartridges
in the meantime, and would carry it again to-morrow, and the next day,
until he dropped, and measured his length with eyes upturned to the dark
cope of leaves above, to be left there to mildew and rot; for out of
nothing, nothing can be extracted to feed hungry men. He was only a
solitary instance of over 400 people.
We reached a Manyuema Camp, and Uledi recognised it as being a place
where he had halted during a forage tour to the west of the Ihuru, while
he was waiting for Messrs. Jephson and Nelson at Ipoto, and the advance
column was journeying to Ibwiri in November, 1887.
On the 7th a halt was ordered, that a column might be sent under Uledi
to search the clearing of Andari, six miles N.N.W. of the camp, but over
a hundred were so weak that they were unable to go, whereupon the messes
were ordered to bring their pots up, and three handfuls of flour were
placed in each to make gruel with, that they might have strength to
reach the plantation.
On the 8th, about 200 remained silent in camp awaiting the foragers. In
the afternoon, perceiving that it was too long a fast to wait for them
we served out more plantain flour.
[Sidenote: 1888.
Nov. 9.
Forest.]
On the 9th, the foragers had not arrived. Two men had died in camp. One
reeled from the effects of a poisonous fungus, as they came to get
another ration of flour for their gruel; their steps were more feeble;
the bones of the sternum were fearfully apparent. Three days would find
us all perished, but we were hopeful that every minute we should hear
the murmur of the returning column.
On the morning of the 10th, anxious for the European provisions which we
were carrying for the officers at Fort Bodo, I had them examined, and
discovered to my consternation that fifty-seven tins of meat, teas,
coffees, milks, were short--had been eaten by the Manyuema. If a look
had potency sufficient to blast them, they would have speedily been
reduced to ashes. “Dear me, how could the tins have vanished?” asked the
chief Sadi. Ah, how? But the provision boxes were taken from his party,
and Winchester and Maxim ammunition cases were served instead to them as
freight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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