“It was rumored that you had vast stores of ivory in hand, Pasha; what of that?”
“Ivory! I had collected for the Government more than 6,000 fine large tusks since our communication had been cut off. I had ivory enough, if I could have got it to market, to have paid off all the back salaries of my people, and have had a handsome surplus besides.” (Six thousand fine large tusks would weigh in the neighborhood of 200 American tons, worth in Zanzibar about $6,000 per ton. The value in Emin’s stations would, of course, in no wise approach this great sum of value—$1,200,000. Emin told the writer that he valued his stores of ivory, as they lay in his stations, at about £70,000.)
“We couldn’t bring it with us,” the Pasha continued, “so I threw most of it into the Nile to prevent the enemy from getting it. Some, however, in outlying stations I intrusted to the care of friendly native chiefs, not knowing what chances and what opportunities time might bring.”
THE SAS TOWN TRIBE OF WEST AFRICA.
“The officers of this tribe are as follows:
“The ‘town master’ is really emperor, as in him is vested the power of life and death. If the tribe wishes to disobey a town
master’s commands, they must kill him first. This is done in so many instances that few town masters die a natural death.
“The ‘ground king’ is their weather prophet, and he is supposed to manufacture the weather. He may be king for only a month or two, seldom long, as the weather he makes may not suit.
“Their ‘soldier king’ answers to our general in the army.
“They have three ‘butchers,’ who do all the killing for the feasts.