We had also observed a wide turning movement which the enemy was making from Kissaki further west towards Mkalinzo on the Rufiji, which now became ineffective. The hostile brigade undertaking it did not reach the south bank of the Rufiji in time to oppose Captain Otto’s passage, and thus render his situation desperate; on the contrary, we gained partial successes which were quite considerable. The enemy following us from Behobeho came on very vigorously and passed a large part of his force over the Rufiji at Kungulio in boats. Captain Otto held his detachment in readiness a little to the south of the river, and now attacked the enemy, of whom part only had crossed over, and completely defeated him with heavy loss. This partial success was favoured by the inaction of the hostile column, which, as already mentioned, was making the turning movement by Mkalinzo. It consisted principally of whites, and a part of the black Nigerian troops. Neither of them were equal to the long march involved, and had therefore reached the Rufiji exhausted and unfit for further operations. They remained out of action for quite a long time, and the unity of General Smuts’ otherwise quite well-planned operation was wrecked.
In consequence of the enemy’s advance in force at Kungulio, the danger arose that he might gain possession of the middle Rufiji, and of the country to the south of it. He might then easily seize the bulk of our stores, and our whole system of communications, which for the most part ran from the middle Rufiji towards Livale. It was therefore necessary for me to meet his movements with our main body, which was before Kibeta, and so I marched off with the greater part of it to Lake Utungi, where I would be in a position to help Captain Otto, or to seize any favourable opportunity that might offer.
CHAPTER VIII
ANXIETIES AND HARDSHIPS DURING OUR STAY IN THE RUFIJI COUNTRY
OUR march from Kibata was on the first day carried out according to plan. On the following day I rode ahead with a few companions, in the expectation that the troops who had several native guides with them would not fail to find the way. In the Kissi mountains we came upon large numbers of natives who, however, were very timid and often deserted their flourishing rice plantations on our approach. Later in the day I regretted that I did not appropriate some of this abundant produce for our own use. During the midday heat we rested at Pori. Some of my companions who knew the country called my attention to the acid Mbinji fruit, which we found very refreshing. Unfortunately we did not know at that time that the stone of this fruit, when roasted, makes an excellent dish, tasting like our hazel-nut. The heat was overpowering, but as we were in the neighbourhood of the enemy patrols we had to keep a sharp look-out. The springs and water-courses were now dried up; after a long search we at last found a small pool of dirty water, which, however, we were told was not injurious to health. Towards evening we reached the great deserted settlement. Here we were fortunate enough to find a negro in the employ of the German Government, who informed us that we were at Ungwara, our destination for that day. After we had walked through the place, the man showed us a pool near which we pitched our camp. My old black cook, the bearded Baba, well known to many East Africans, had very nearly kept up with our horses, and, following our trail, soon arrived. He had soon prepared his uzeli (boiled rice), and was sitting contentedly by the fire. We watched him enviously, for we had nothing, and were waiting for our baggage and the troops. But no one came and we lay down, hungry, to sleep. The friend in need, however, was approaching in the shape of a splendid sable-antelope, which in the brilliant moonlight was coming down to drink. Almost simultaneously the rifles of two of my companions, van Booyen and Nieuwenhuizen, experienced Boer hunters, who had become Germans, rang out. We sprang from our blankets as though we had received an electric shock, and within a short time the first pieces of delicate flesh were roasting on the spit.
On the following day we reached Lake Utungi, where Captain Feilke was awaiting us, and we refreshed ourselves with bread, coffee and sausage made from antelope flesh. There was still no trace of the troops. They had lost us in Pori, and almost all completely lost their bearings. One detachment did not get into touch with us until several days later, when they came upon our telephone line in the neighbourhood of Utete. In view of the difficulty of communication, it had hitherto been impossible to get an accurate estimate of the state of our supplies. I had expected to find well-filled depots at Mpanganya on Lake Utungi and in the neighbourhood of Madaba. This was why I had pressed on out of the fertile country north of the lower Rufiji through Mpanganya to the line-of-communication area. The question of supplies had developed quite differently from my expectations.
In the line-of-communication area, in addition to the large numbers of bearers necessary for the transport of war material to the south, a numerous personnel was maintained, who were employed on road-making, building grass huts and for other purposes. Even in the small depots there were always a number of men who, whenever possible, did nothing but fetch supplies, which they ate themselves. Often the supplies were even fetched by others who, in their turn, had to be fed. In many places it was almost the case that a load of supplies collected and forwarded by the fighting troops in the north finally landed in a small depot, and were devoured by these people who had nothing else to do. In view of the difficulties of transport, and the great distances, even the energy and thoroughness of Captain Stemmermann, who had taken charge of the depots, did not succeed in detecting and putting a stop to these abuses. Further, there were too many people in Africa whose propensity for diverting valuable energy to non-essentials to the prejudice of the really important things that it would take a very strong broom to sweep them away. The general result of all these obstacles was that thousands and thousands of useless mouths were devouring the supplies which had been collected with great effort in the region occupied by the fighting forces. The depot did nothing for the supplies, but, on the other hand, lived on them, and the most serious point was that the moment was at hand when the areas from which the supplies were drawn would have to be evacuated by the fighting forces. It was a difficult situation. It was necessary to lose no time in putting under cultivation the territory we were then occupying—that is to say, the country round Madaba and Livale, and in the southern parts of the Protectorate, which were likely to be the scene of the subsequent operations. But months must elapse before any results could be obtained from these measures. During these months we should have to remain on the Rufigi and live there. Here, it is true, some hundreds of acres of maize were standing, but even these would require months to ripen. Until this time came the force could not move south; it would have to remain in the unproductive area which it was then occupying.
The accomplishment of this task was difficult. The order had at once to be given for the removal of every man who was not absolutely indispensable for carrying on the war during the next few months. This meant that thousands of bearers and workmen in the line-of-communication area were sent home. The most serious drawback to this step had to be reckoned with; we were sending over to the enemy thousands of men from whom he was bound to gain detailed information as to our strength, the condition of our supplies and our internal organization. Nor was it enough to cut down the personnel of our lines of communication. The non-combatant personnel of the companies was also reduced. Among other things, it was laid down that henceforward no European should have more than five native attendants. That sounds a generous allowance to European ears, but under African conditions native attendance is really indispensable to the European. He requires at least one man or boy to cook for him and attend to his personal needs, and, in addition, it must be remembered that all baggage, kit, rations, blankets and tent-material, has to be carried whenever he moves. When one considers that in peace-time a travelling official on a long safari (journey) took with him from eleven to thirteen bearers, in addition to two or three personal servants, it will be understood how drastic this new order was and what a storm of indignation it aroused. Fortunately I was in a position, when appealed to on grounds of health and decency, to point to the fact that I myself had for months managed with three, or at a pinch two, loads—that is, four negroes—and had kept in good health. I am still particularly grateful to those regimental officers who, as on so many other occasions, saw the necessity of this vexatious regulation and set the example. They upheld the tradition of our officer-corps by not claiming any special comforts for themselves, and were the first to submit to the unavoidable discomfort. I believe that among all the soldiers and non-combatants up to the highest civilian official, there is not one who still condemns this order, at first so strongly opposed.
But reduction of the number of food-consumers alone was not sufficient to solve the problem of existence; the supplies would not go round. It was already obvious that the supplies from the area of the fighting force, which were, of course, being worked at high pressure, would not suffice to feed us until the new harvest at the end of March. After close and mature consideration, we found it impossible to avoid the necessity of cutting down the rations, a measure which went very much against the grain, as even the native, if he is to be relied on, must be well fed. This gave rise to a fresh and much stronger outburst of indignation. From all sides came telegrams and messages to say that it was impossible to get the calories of nourishment necessary for a fighting man from the daily cereal ration, fixed at six hundred grammes of meal. But the hard fact had to be faced that only a certain quantity was available, and we must make the best of it. The reduction of the cereal ration could not be avoided. For the rest, each man and each company would have to try to make good the shortage by hunting, which in this region, where game abounded, could be managed with the exercise of a little agility. But logic is apt to go to pieces with many people when it comes to a question of daily food, and many did not scruple to lay the whole blame for the at times barely sufficient ration at the door of the wicked commander-in-chief, and even to do all they could to have the daily ration increased to its former amount. This I had to bear calmly, and I made my own observations as to who were the men to make the best of an unavoidable necessity and who were not.