At this juncture, the Belgian cause was aided by an outbreak of smallpox among the mutineers, which compelled them to encamp near Lindi, not far from the British frontier. At that place Commandant Henry, fresh from Avakubi (which he had found deserted), with seven hundred men, came upon them and almost succeeded in driving them into British territory. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Sannaes had successfully repelled an attack upon his post at Katué (Semliki), which so enraged the mutineers that the leader of the attacking party, a man named Malumba, was murdered by one of his own men who held him responsible for its failure. June had arrived before Commandant Henry and Lieutenant Sannaes could join their forces, and then the regular pursuit of the mutineers began; but another month elapsed before they could be brought to battle. The result was a great victory for the Congo State forces. Over four hundred Batetelas were killed, and they lost, besides, five hundred rifles and ten thousand cartridges. And then ensued what had happened in like circumstances before—the surviving mutineers broke up into small bands and dispersed in various directions. Though victorious, Commandant Henry was exhausted, and fell back upon his base. Baron Dhanis, who had been guarding the Lualaba to prevent the mutineers’ crossing it, now found it safe to pursue their scattered bands. At last the Batetela revolt was broken. Thereafter some minor skirmishes occurred here and there; but they were as the feeble flickerings of an expiring flame—a flame that had seared the growing Congo State only to enable it to show to the world an admirable example of discipline and resisting power in circumstances of extraordinary difficulty. [Illustration: Bird’s-eye View of the Station at Basoko, 1893.] CHAPTER XXI DISPLACEMENT OF THE POPULATION The instinct of the nomad largely prevails in all savage races, but in none does it prevail to a greater extent than among the black tribes of Central Africa. It is one of their marked characteristics, and a fruitful source of trouble. [Sidenote: Victims of Superstition.]