By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IX: THE START INLAND

  After the comforts of a fine steamer the accommodation on board thelittle trader was poor indeed. The vessel smelt horribly of palm oiland was alive with cockroaches. These, however, Mr. Goodenough and Frankcared little for, as they brought up their mattresses and slept on deck.Upon their voyage out from England Frank, as well as several of theother passengers, had amused himself by practicing with his rifle atempty bottles thrown overboard, and other objects, and having nothingelse to do now, he resumed the practice, accustoming himself also to theuse of his revolver, the mark being a small log of wood swung from theend of a yard.

  "I told you," Mr. Goodenough said, "that your skill with the blowgunwould prove useful to you in shooting. You are as good a shot as Iam, and I am considered a fair one. I have no doubt that with a littlepractice you will succeed as well with your double barrel. The shootingof birds on the wing is a knack which seems to come naturally to somepeople, while others, practice as they will, never become good shots."

  The ship touched twice upon its way down to the Gaboon. Once atthe Malimba river, the second time at Botauga, the latter being theprincipal ivory port in equatorial Africa.

  "Shall we meet with any elephants, do you think?" Frank asked hisfriend.

  "In all probability," Mr. Goodenough said. "Elephant shooting, ofcourse, does not come within our line of action, and I should not go atall out of my way for them. Still, if we meet them we will shoot them.The ivory is valuable and will help to pay our expenses, while themeat is much prized by the natives, who will gladly assist us inconsideration of the flesh."

  On the sixteenth day after leaving Fernando Po they entered the Gaboon.On the right hand bank were the fort and dwellings of the French. Alittle farther up stood the English factories; and upon a green hillbehind, the church, school, and houses of an American mission. On theleft bank was the wattle town of King William, the sable monarch of theGaboon. Mr. Goodenough at once landed and made inquiries for a house. Hesucceeded in finding one, consisting of three rooms, built on piles, animportant point in a country in which disease rises from the soil. AtBonny Mr. Goodenough had, with the assistance of the agent, enlisted sixHoussas. These people live much higher up on the coast, but they wandera good deal and may be met with in most of the ports. The men had formeda guard in one of the hulks, but trade having been bad the agent hadgone home, and they were glad to take service with Mr. Goodenough. Theyspoke a few words of English, and, like the Kroomen, rejoiced in nameswhich had been given them by sailors. They were called Moses, Firewater,Ugly Tom, Bacon, Tatters, and King John. They were now for the firsttime set to work, and the goods were soon transported from the brig tothe house.

  "Is anything the matter with you, Frank?" Mr. Goodenough asked thatevening.

  "I don't know, sir. My head feels heavy, somehow, and I am giddy."

  Mr. Goodenough felt his pulse.

  "You have got your first touch of fever," he said. "I wonder you've beenso long without it. You had better lie down at once."

  A quarter of an hour afterwards Frank was seized with an overpoweringheat, every vein appearing to be filled with liquid fire; but his skin,instead of being, as usual, in a state of perspiration, was dry andhard.

  "Now, Frank, sit up and drink this. It's only some mustard and salt andwater. I have immense faith in an emetic."

  The draught soon took its effect. Frank was violently sick, and theperspiration broke in streams from him.

  "Here is a cup of tea," Mr. Goodenough said; "drink that and you willfind that there will be little the matter with you in the morning."

  Frank awoke feeling weak, but otherwise perfectly well. Mr. Goodenoughadministered a strong dose of quinine, and after he had had hisbreakfast he felt quite himself again.

  "Now," Mr. Goodenough said, "we will go up to the factories and missionand try and find a really good servant. Everything depends upon that."

  In a short time an engagement was made with a negro of the name ofOstik. He was a Mpongwe man, that being the name of the tribe on thecoast. He spoke English fairly, as well as two or three of the nativelanguages. He had before made a journey some distance into the interiorwith a white traveler. He was a tall and powerfully built negro, veryugly, but with a pleasant and honest face. Frank felt at once that heshould like him.

  "You quite understand," Mr. Goodenough explained, "we are going throughthe Fan country, far into the interior. We may be away from the coastfor many months."

  "Me ready, sar," the man answered with a grin. "Mak no odds to Ostik. Hegot no wife, no piccanniny. Ostik very good cook. Master find good grub;he catch plenty of beasts."

  "You're not afraid, Ostik, because it is possible we may have trouble onthe way?"

  "Me not very much afraid, massa. You good massa to Ostik he no run awayif fightee come; but no good fight whole tribe."

  "I hope not to have any fighting at all, Ostik; but as I have got sixHoussas with me who will all carry breech loading guns, I think weshould be a match for a good sized tribe, if necessary."

  Ostik looked thoughtful. "More easy, massa, go without Houssas," hesaid. "Black man not often touch white traveler."

  "No, Ostik, that is true; but I must take with me trade goods for payingmy way and hiring carriers, and if alone I should be at the mercy ofevery petty chief who chose to plunder and delay me. I am going as apeaceful traveler, ready to pay my way, and to make presents to thedifferent kings through whose territories I may pass. But I do notchoose to put myself at the mercy of any of them. I do not say thateight men armed with breech loaders could defeat a whole tribe; but theywould be so formidable, that any of these negro kings would probablyprefer taking presents and letting us pass peacefully to trying to robus. The first thing to do, will be to hire one large canoe, or two ifnecessary. The men must agree to take us up into the Fan country, as faras the rapids on the Gaboon. Then we shall take carriers there, and theboat can return by itself. These are the things which will have to go."

  The baggage consisted of ten large tin cases, each weighing about eightypounds. These contained cotton cloths, powder, beads, tea, chocolate,sugar, and biscuits. There were in addition three bundles of stair rods,each about the same weight as the boxes. These were done up in canvas.There was also a tent made of double canvas weighing fifty pounds, andtwo light folding tressel beds weighing fifteen pounds apiece. Thusfourteen men would be required as carriers, besides some for plantainsand other provisions, together with the portmanteaus, rugs, andwaterproof sheets of the travelers. There were besides six great chestsmade of light iron. Four of these were fitted with trays with corkbottoms, for insects. The other two were for the skins of birds. All theboxes and cases had strips of India rubber where the lids fitted down,in order to keep out both damp and the tiny ants which are the plague ofnaturalists in Africa.

  Four or five days were occupied in getting together a crew, for thenatives had an abject fear of entering the country of the cannibalFans. Mr. Goodenough promised that they should not be obliged to proceedunless a safe conduct for their return was obtained from the King of theFans. A large canoe was procured, sufficient to convey the whole party.Twelve paddlers were hired, and the goods taken down and arranged in theboat. The Houssas had been, on landing, furnished with their guns,which were Snider rifles, had been instructed in the breech loadingarrangement, and had been set to work to practice at a mark at a hundredand fifty yards distance--the stump of an old tree, some five feetin height, serving for the purpose. The men were delighted with theaccuracy of their pieces and the rapidity at which they could befired. Mr. Goodenough impressed upon them that unless attacked at closequarters, and specially ordered to fire fast, they must aim just asslowly and deliberately as if using their old guns, for that in solong a journey ammunition would be precious, and must, therefore, on noaccount whatever, be wasted. In the boxes were six thousand rounds ofammunition, a thousand for each gun, besides the ammunition for therifles and fowling pieces of Mr. Goodenough and Frank.

&nbs
p; In order to render the appearance of his followers as imposing aspossible, Mr. Goodenough furnished each of the Houssas with a pair oftrousers made of New Zealand flax, reaching to their knees. These he hadbrought from England with him. They were all found to be too large, butthe men soon set to work with rough needles and thread and took them in.In addition to these, each man was furnished with a red sash, which wentseveral times round the waist, and served to keep the trousers up and togive a gay aspect to the dress. The Houssas were much pleased with theirappearance. All of them carried swords in addition to the guns, as intheir own country they are accustomed to fight with these weapons.

  They started early in the morning, and after four hours' paddling passedKonig Island, an abandoned Dutch settlement. Here they stopped for anhour or two, and then the sea breeze sprang up, a sail was hoisted, andlate at night they passed a French guardship placed to mark the boundaryof that settlement at a point where a large tributary called the Boquiruns into it. Here is a little island called Nenge Nenge, formerly amissionary station, where the natives are still Christians. At thisplace the canoe was hauled ashore. The Houssas had already beeninstructed in the method of pitching the tent, and in a very few minutesthis was erected. It was a double poled tent, some ten feet square,and there was a waterproof sheet large enough to cover the whole of theinterior, thus preventing the miasma from arising from the ground withinit. The beds were soon opened and fixed, two of the large cases formeda table and two smaller ones did service as chairs. A lamp was lit, andFrank was charmed with the comfort and snugness of the abode.

  The men's weapons were fastened round one of the poles to keep them fromthe damp night air. Ostik had at once set to work on landing, leavingthe Houssas to pitch the tent. A fire was soon blazing and a kettle andsaucepans suspended over it. Rice was served out to the men, with theaddition of some salt meat, of which sufficient had been purchased fromthe captain of the brig to last throughout the journey in the canoe. Themen were all in high spirits at this addition to their fare, which wasmore than had been bargained for, and their songs rose merrily round thefire in the night air.

  In the morning, after breakfast, they again took their places in thecanoe. For twelve miles they paddled, the tide at first assistingthem, but after this the water from the mountains ahead overpowered it.Presently they arrived at the first Fan village, called Olenga, whichthey reached six hours after starting. The natives crowded round as thecanoe approached, full of curiosity and excitement, for never but oncehad a white man passed up the river. These Fans differed widely fromthe coast negroes. Their hair was longer and thicker, their figures wereslight, their complexion coffee colored, and their projecting upper jawsgave them a rabbit mouthed appearance. They wore coronets on their headsadorned with the red tail feathers of the common gray parrot. Most ofthe men had beards, which were divided in the middle, red and whitebeads being strung up the tips. Some wore only a strip of goatskinhanging from the waist, or the skin of a tigercat, while others hadshort petticoats made of cloth woven from the inner bark of a tree. Thetravelers were led to the hut of the chief, where they were surroundedby a mob of the cannibals. The Houssas had been strictly enjoined toleave their guns in the bottom of the canoe, as Mr. Goodenough desiredto avoid all appearance of armed force. The chief demanded of Ostik whatthese two white men wanted here, and whether they had come to trade.Ostik replied that the white men were going up the river into thecountry beyond to shoot elephants and buy ivory, that they did not wantto trade for logwood or oil, but that they would give presents to thechiefs of the Fan villages. A score of cheap Birmingham muskets had beenbrought from England by Mr. Goodenough for this purpose. One of thesewas now bestowed upon the chief, together with some powder and ball,three bright cotton handkerchiefs, some gaudy glass beads, andtwo looking glasses for his wives. This was considered perfectlysatisfactory.

  The crowd was very great, and at Mr. Goodenough's dictation Ostikinformed the chief that if the white men were left quiet until theevening they would show his people many strange things. On the receiptof this information the crowd dispersed. But when at sunset the twotravelers took a turn through the village, the excitement was again verygreat. The men stood their ground and stared at them, but the women andchildren ran screaming away to hide themselves. The idea of the peopleof Central Africa of the whites is that they are few in number, thatthey live at the bottom of the sea, and are possessed of great wealth,but that they have no palm oil or logwood, and are, therefore, compelledto come to land to trade for these articles. They believe that thestrange clothes they wear are manufactured from the skins of sea beasts.

  When night fell Mr. Goodenough fastened a sheet against the outside ofthe chief's hut, and then placed a magic lantern in position ten pacesfrom it. The Fans were then invited to gather round and take their seatsupon the ground. A cry of astonishment greeted the appearance of thebright disk. This was followed by a wilder yell when this was darkened,and an elephant bearing some men sitting on his back was seen to crossthe house. The men leaped to their feet and seized their spears. Thewomen screamed, and Ostik, who was himself somewhat alarmed, had greatdifficulty in calming their fears and persuading them to sit downagain, assuring them that they would see many wonderful things, but thatnothing would hurt them.

  The next view was at first incomprehensible to many of them. It was aship tossing in a stormy sea; but some of those present had been down tothe mouth of the river, and these explained to the others the natureof the phenomenon. In all there were twenty slides, all of which wereprovided with movable figures; the last two being chromatropes, whosedancing colors elicited screams of delight from the astonished natives.This concluded the performance, but for hours after it was over thevillage rang with a perfect Babel of shouts, screams, and chatter.The whole thing was to the Fans absolutely incomprehensible, and theirastonishment was equalled by their awe at the powers of the white men.

  The next two days they remained at Olenga, as word was sent up toItchongue, the next town, asking the chief there for leave to comeforward. The people had now begun to get over their first timidity,and when Frank went out for a walk after breakfast he was somewhatembarrassed by the women and girls crowding round him, feeling hisclothes and touching his hands and face to assure themselves that thesefelt like those of human beings. He afforded them huge delight by takingoff his Norfolk jacket and pulling up the sleeves of his shirt to showthem that his arms were the same color as his hands, and so elated werethey with this exhibition that it was with great difficulty that hewithstood their entreaties that he would disrobe entirely. Indeed, Ostikhad at last to come to his rescue and carry him off from the laughingcrowd by which he was surrounded.

  After dinner Mr. Goodenough invited the people to sit down in a vastcircle holding each other's hands. He then told them that he should ata word make them all jump to their feet. Then taking out a small butpowerful galvanic battery, he arranged it and placed wires into thehands of the two men nearest to him in the great circle.

  "Now," he said, "when I clap my hands you will find that you are allobliged to jump up."

  He gave the signal. Frank turned on the battery, and in an instant thetwo hundred men and women, with a wild shriek, either leapt to theirfeet or rolled backward on the ground. In another minute not a nativewas to be seen, with the exception of the chief, who had not beenincluded in the circle. The latter, at Mr. Goodenough's request, shoutedloudly to his subjects to return, for that the white men would do themno harm; but it was a long time before, slowly and cautiously, theycrept back again. When they had reassembled Mr. Goodenough showed themseveral simple but astonishing chemical experiments, which stupefiedthem with wonder; and concluded with three or four conjuring tricks,which completed their amazement. A long day's paddling took them toItchongue, where they were as well received as at Olenga. Here theystopped for two days, and the magic lantern was again brought out, andthe other tricks repeated with a success equal to that which they hadbefore obtained. As another day's paddling would take them to
the rapidsMr. Goodenough now set up a negotiation for obtaining a sufficientnumber of carriers. After great palaver, and the presentation of threeguns to the chief to obtain his assistance, thirty men were engaged.These were each to receive a yard of calico or one brass stair rod aday, and were to proceed with the party until such time as they couldprocure carriers from another tribe.

  The new recruits were taken up in another canoe. Several villages werepassed on the way. The river became a mere rapid, against whichthe canoes with difficulty made their way. They had now entered themountains which rose steeply above them, embowered in wood. Two daysof severe work took them to the foot of the falls. Here the canoes wereunloaded. The men hired on the coast received their pay, and turnedthe boat's head down stream. The other canoe accompanied it, and thetravelers remained with their bodyguard of Houssas and their carriers.

  "Now," Mr. Goodenough said, "we are fairly embarked on our journey, andwe will commence operations at once. I have heard the cries of a greatmany birds which are strange to me today, and I expect that we shallhave a good harvest. We may remain here for some time. The first thingto do is to find food for our followers. We have got six sacks of rice,but it will never do to let our men depend solely upon these. They wouldsoon come to an end."

  "But how are we to feed forty people?" Frank asked in astonishment.

  "I pointed out to you today," Mr. Goodenough said, "the tracks ofhippopotami in various places. One of these beasts will feed the menfor nearly a week. There were, too, numbers of alligators' eggs on thebanks, and these creatures make by no means bad eating. Your rifle willbe of no use against such animals as these. You had better take one ofthe Sniders. I have some explosive shells which will fit them. My owndouble barrelled rifle is of the same bore."

  After dinner Mr. Goodenough told two of the Houssas to accompany themwith their rifles, together with three or four of the Fans. He made hisway down the stream to a point where the hills receded, and where he hadobserved a great many marks of the river horses. As they approachedthe spot they heard several loud snorts, and making their way along asquietly as possible they saw two of the great beasts standing in thestream. At this point it widened a good deal and was shallow and quitenear the bank. The Fans had been told to stay behind directly thesnorting was heard, and Mr. Goodenough and Frank, rifle in hand, creptforward, with the Houssas as still and noiseless as cats close behindthem.