WE ARRIVE AT THE BASé OR KUNAMA COUNTRY—THE VILLAGE OF SARCELLA—MURDER OF MR. POWELL AND PARTY—MY CAMEL AND I UNCEREMONIOUSLY PART COMPANY—THE FIRST BASé WE SEE—ENCAMP AT KOOLOOKOO—OUR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH BASé—THEY MAKE “AMAN” WITH US—THEIR APPEARANCE—DESCRIPTION OF KOOLOOKOO AND THE BASé PEOPLE—THEIR HABITS AND CUSTOMS.

From January 26th to 28th nothing of importance took place. A day seldom passed without nellut, tetél, and gazelle falling to someone’s rifle. We were all busy during leisure hours in writing letters for England, as we should not be able to do so or receive any again until our return from the Basé country to Herr Schumann’s zareeba, where Mr. James had arranged all letters and papers from Kassala were to be brought. We often saw baboons[185] gambolling about, also tracks of elephants, lions, and panthers. The Shiek says we are now in the neighbourhood of giraffes, ostriches, and buffalos. This day he leaves us to fight or come to terms with the Basé, and graciously condescends to act as our postman as far as Heikota, promising to see that our letters are forwarded from there to Kassala. He tells us that his men are at Sarcella, where they have about 1,000 of the offending Basé shut up in a cave; they were now waiting for him ere they took any further action. What transpired we did not learn until we returned to Heikota. That I will describe when we return there.

January 29th.—We are now in Basé territory. We have for days past done with caravan routes or paths, and travel over rocky mountains, large plains, jungle, river-beds, and through a forest of tamarind, tamarisk, palm, baobob, nebbuck, hegleek, and mimosa trees. On the branches of the latter we frequently saw lumps of gum arabic, as large as walnuts, which had exuded through the bark.

At 4 p.m. we saw a Basé village on fire, and rightly surmised, as we found out afterwards, that the Beni-Amirs had been the authors of this. Just after breakfast, before the camels were brought, we shot eight partridges and ten quail, which were handed over to the cook. Some were prepared for[186] dinner, and some for luncheon next day. We also shot on the march a buck tetél; the prime bit was, of course, reserved for our dinner, and was more like roast beef than the flesh of any other animal I tasted; the rest was given to our attendants. We encamped by the side of the river-bed, where we found water on digging to the depth of 7 or 8 feet. Ere we could encamp we had to set to with axes and clear away a number of young palms and mimosa bushes, make a zareeba, and before retiring for the night look to our rifles and revolvers and see that we had plenty of cartridges ready in case of emergency, as we flattered ourselves that we were like the Bristol, Sheffield, or any other boys in England who slept with one eye open. At all events we had heard sufficient of this country to know that it would be unwise for us to be caught napping, especially as we noticed some of the natives spying about soon after we had pitched our tents. About mid-day we sighted the village of Sarcella, the inhabitants of which Sheik Ahmed had gone to interview, and whom Suleiman designated as “a very bad peoples.” There is very little doubt that Suleiman was right, if all we heard about them was true, for in 1869 or ’70—I am not sure which—Mr. Powell, wife, little boy, and all the Europeans were spitted on their long spears. They now lie buried in[187] Bassaleg churchyard, near Newport, having been brought home by his brother, Mr. Powell, M.P., who fearfully avenged his brother’s death. Whilst I was in the Soudan I saw by a newspaper which we got, that this gentleman lost his life in a balloon.

January 30th.—Made a short march to-day, namely, from 10.30 a.m. until 4.30 p.m., encamping at a place called Wo-amma, playfully christened and ever afterwards known as “Whoa Emma.” The country was to-day very mountainous and difficult for the caravan, to say nothing of ourselves. I distinctly recollect that on this very day, whilst travelling along a plane, one of the horse-boys came trotting quickly along, causing my camel not only to shy, but to bolt when I was quite unprepared for any such contretemps. A spectator would, doubtless, have been much amused. I was not. For the space of about 20 yards I bounded like an india-rubber ball on the makloufa; then came suddenly to grief from my lofty elevation, the distance from the camel’s hump to his feet being considerable. I fell with a regular bang on to my hip, which felt very painful for some days afterwards, and had the mortification to see my belongings gradually parting company with the camel—my rug, then my satchel, a basket, zanzimeer, &c. The camel was caught[188] after some trouble, whilst I and they were gradually picked up, I with rage in my heart, for this camel, being a bolter, had served me several scurvy tricks before; for instance, if we came to any little declivity, the beast would persist in making a trot of it, greatly exciting my apprehensions. Again, when we came to a narrow pathway I would duck my head where there were overhanging boughs of prickly shrubs; he, thinking I was going to thrash him, would at once bolt, and when he had rushed through I should find my head and hands were like a pincushion. I could then knock my helmet out of the trees and at my leisure pick out the horrid thorns with which my head and hands abounded. Once I was nearly swept off the wretched beast as he bolted in this way. A strong chain of cactus was across our way, catching me in the middle. I saw the danger in time, and clutched hold of the makloufa with all my might, on I might have been found suspended amongst the trees. It broke, fortunately, and I escaped, but I never shall forget how angry that camel frequently made me, what self-restraint I was obliged to exercise, for if I chastised him he would bellow and bolt again, to my great danger and annoyance. I had in England extracted many human teeth in my time, but this day I extracted an elephant’s tooth, and brought it home[189] as a curiosity. However, I think I ought to say the elephant was not alive, and that on the march we passed the skeletons of two others, which, I have no doubt, furnished some excellent repasts for the natives. These were not all we passed calling for notice, for some of our men came upon two of the Basé people; the first sample of these curiosities we had seen. One was in a baobob tree gathering the pods and throwing them down to the other, who was collecting them in a basket. These so-called ferocious savages appeared terribly alarmed when our men came upon them. The one on terra firma, with the true instinct that “self-preservation is the first law of nature,” bolted like a shot, but our men captured him. The other was afraid to come down until one of the English servants discharged the contents of one barrel of his rifle, and let him know by the aid of Beyrumfi, our interpreter, that the contents of the other would be lodged in his frail tenement of clay unless he was more sociable. This persuasive kind of argument appeared very effective, for down he came, and I am sure both he and his companion, who, doubtless, were accustomed to be hunted like wild beasts, were agreeably surprised when they each received a pocket-knife and a bit of bread and meat. Remembering the injunctions of Sheik[190] Ahmed, and with Powell on the brain, we took precautions against surprises—set to work and made a zareeba round the camp, lighted camp fires, and looked well to rifles and revolvers. The latter we kept under our pillows; the former at the heads of our beds, ready at a moment’s notice. Sentries were posted, and occasionally relieved, whilst one of us (whoever chanced to awake) went round to see that they were doing their duty. The man who was not, felt unhappy next morning, as he received an intimation from the coorbatch before breakfast that there had been a certain dereliction of duty on his part.

January 31st.—We marched eight hours to-day, encamping at Fodie on the dry river-bed, close to some wells. This was a very fatiguing march for the caravan, on account of our luggage, which was much obstructed by trees. We travelled through quite a forest of these. Where there were no trees the grass had been burnt for miles round. Many quail and sand-grouse were shot to-day.

February 1st.—After a short march of four hours only, we encamped on the broad, sandy river-bed of the Mareb, very near to the village of Koolookoo, which we could see high up amongst the rocks of a mountain on the opposite side. Each side of the Mareb was plentifully lined with overhanging trees[191] of all kinds, and amongst the twigs of some could be seen many hundreds of the beautifully constructed nests of the weaver-bird. Not very far from the Mareb, at the base of the mountain, in which these Basé at Koolookoo lived, were the remains of a mud house in which Mr. Powell had once lived. This was, I believe, as far, or nearly so, as he had penetrated.

The Kunama, or Basé country, is quite a terra incognita, and, as far as we could ascertain, we are the first and only Europeans who have explored that country at all. This being so, I shall expend a good deal of time in saying all I can about this country and people. We shall have to thank Messrs. W. D. James and Percy Aylmer for a map of that country, and also for some photographs of the people and scenery, which will be found in Mr. F. L. James’s book. This book I have not yet read, and shall not do so until my own is in the publisher’s hands, for fear I may unwittingly adopt any of his theories or expressions, but rather prefer to be perfectly independent of it, and give my own ideas and description in my own way, be they good, bad, or indifferent. No two men agree on any subject, and it is very probable that Mr. F. L. James and I may materially differ on many. So that I shall not be termed a copyist, I shall neither reproduce the map or photographs,[192] but trust to sketches taken to the best of my poor ability, but which, I hope, will convey a pretty good idea of the kind of place and people that we sojourned amongst for a while. Very well, then, after this exordium—probably the longest I shall make—I will continue my narrative, as the dog would say of his caudal appendage.

This was the first Basé village we had come to, and ere we could go any further it was necessary that we should interview the Shiek of this village, and explain the object of our visit. We made an ostentatious display of our rifles and guns, twenty-four in number, and placed them against the bank ready for immediate use if necessary, whilst each of us sported a six-chambered revolver in our waist-belts. When we had—as we thought—taken sufficient precautions against surprises or treachery, we were curious to see these muc............