I have copied these notes into the journal of the expedition, and not into the private memorandum book wherein I jot down, every day, my own personal impressions.
"From the bottom of my heart I thank the European expedition, which, after having so courageously set out in search of me, is to-day bent on rescuing me. But I cannot join it in the Malegga territory, nor can I permit it to come to my aid in Ulindi.
"Flight is out of the question, for all the inhabitants of the country are, in a way, my gaolers. They know that the Queen intends to keep me prisoner, and nobody would dare to oppose her will.
"Three months ago I attempted to escape, and I got as far as five leagues in the direction of the mountains. On the day after I started all Walinda's guards were despatched in pursuit of me, and discovered my hiding-place. I was conducted back to the royal residence with every mark of respect, but the whole of the villages through which I had passed, and where I was supposed to have received hospitality, were burnt by order of the Queen, and all their inhabitants put to death. More than three hundred beings were massacred. I have no longer any right to escape.
"Neither do I think that I have any right, for the sake of regaining my liberty, to expose Europeans to certain death. The expedition, which so generously offers me its assistance, has already overcome so many obstacles, and surmounted so many and great dangers, that it deems itself capable of emerging safe and sound out of a fresh adventure. It is mistaken; the Walindis do not in any way resemble the other tribes which inhabit the north. They are stronger and more dangerous than the most numerous and most warlike tribes on the African continent. A day, perhaps an hour, will suffice for them to crush a caravan, notwithstanding the bravery of its soldiers, and the terror caused by fire-arms.
"Two vices, carried to excess, sensuality and sloth, appear to have developed the warlike instincts of this tribe. Determined not to cultivate their ground, more irregular, be it known, than the neighbouring districts, disinclined to breed cattle, hunters and fishers without any natural bent in that direction, but gluttons to excess, and greedy of vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish, the Walindis have gained a gradual reputation for being able to live at the expense of their neighbours. Every inhabitant of the country has turned soldier so as to avoid becoming a husbandman or a shepherd.
"An hereditary and despotic monarchy for a long time presided over the destinies of this tribe, and transmitted, from reign to reign, certain traditions and customs, having, for their object, the maintenance of the warlike spirit of the people. Thus it happened that a prince, acting on the ideas of his predecessors, formed a corps of amazons, which later on became a regular army. These women, enrolled at the age of twelve, are put through a course of training and exercise, which develops their muscles, renders them wonderfully active, and fits them to undergo any amount of fatigue and to brave every danger. One of their exercises consists of hurling themselves, entirely naked, against a village, defended by fascines of sharp thorns and surrounded by gigantic cacti, and taking it by assault. It is a species of petty warfare far more dangerous than ours, where every combatant leaves strips of flesh behind her, if she does not sustain, as is frequently the case, severe wounds.
"When they attain the age of fifteen, these young girls, by that time converted into robust women, with large shoulders and hardy limbs, active and supple to a degree, are incorporated into the army, which is composed of five battalions, that is to say, five or six thousand warriors. Their weapons are terrible; arrows dipped in a deadly poison, and iron points, like bayonets, which protect their bodies and render their hugs and embraces mortal.
"It is impossible to give any just idea of the discipline prevailing amongst them; the most trivial faults are punished in the severest manner, death being continually decreed. As for rewards, they are eagerly sought after, and, in the case of the women, consist simply of the right to marry. This is, in their idea, the supreme recompense for their fatigue, their sufferings, and their courage. To obtain it, they must have killed an enemy; the most rigorous celibacy is imposed on those who have not fulfilled this condition. As soon as their efforts are crowned with success, they no longer form part of the active army, but belong to a sort of sedentary militia, constituting the internal police of the country. Their daughters, unless they are deformed, in which case the poor little things are pitilessly massacred, are destined later on to become amazons like their mothers were.
"Women, therefore, are a formidable element of power amongst the Walindis, and it followed, very naturally, that one day, having found out their superiority over the men, they determined to be governed by a Queen instead of a King. This idea, as far as I can learn, was put in force about twenty years ago, the reigning Queen, Walinda, having succeeded, without any masculine interruption, six other sovereigns of her sex. Her eldest daughter, the heiress to the throne, is being brought up in the midst of the amazons, whose labours and dangers she shares. She has no rivals in the shape of brothers to fear, because all the male children of the Queen are smothered on the day they are born. This ostracism, applied to our sex amongst the Walindis, is confined to the throne and the royal dynasty. The government of the various districts is entrusted to men; the male sex has also its army, less formidable than that of the amazons, and inferior in discipline, but far above the armies of other tribes.