Great African Travellers: From Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley

by William Henry Giles Kingston

Soon after the party had encamped at night three strangers made their appearance; but, although they were known to be robbers, and that a number of their companions were not far off, they were allowed to lie down for the night. The experienced old Sheikh of the Kafeila warned Barth to be on his guard, and exhorted his attendants to be staunch. Everybody was crying for powder. Their clever servant, Mahomet, placed his four pieces of boat on the outside of the tents, that they might afford shelter in case of an attack. They kept watch the whole night, and the strangers, seeing them well on their guard, did not venture to assail them. In the morning they went slowly away to join their companions, who had kept behind a rocky ridge in the distance. There was indeed much cause for anxiety. Suddenly an alarm was raised that the camels had been stolen. The old chief, taking advantage of this state of things, urged Barth and Overweg to confide their property to him and another chief. This was not entirely disinterested advice; for, if anything had happened to the travellers, the chief would, of course, have been their heir.

At an early hour they started with an uneasy feeling. With the first dawn the true believers had been called together for prayer; and the bond which united the Mahommedan members of the caravan with the Christian travellers, it was seen, had been loosened in a very conspicuous manner.

Instead of, as usual, each little party starting off as soon as they were ready, they all waited till the whole caravan had loaded their camels, when they began their march in close order, to be ready in case of being attacked.

After advancing some distance they saw four men seated ahead of them, on an eminence. The doctor, being in the first line of the caravan, dismounted and led forward his camel. A party of archers had been despatched to reconnoitre. What was his surprise to see them and the unknown individuals executing a wild sort of armed dance. Suddenly two of the dancers rushed upon him and grasped the rope of the camel, asking for tribute. Barth seized his pistols, when, just in time, he was told they were friends.

The eminence is an important locality in the modern history of the country. It was here, when the Kel-owi, a pure Berber tribe, took possession of the territory of old Gober, that a covenant was entered into between the red conquerors and the black natives, that the latter should not be destroyed, and that the principal chief of the Kel-owi should only be allowed to marry a black woman. As a memorial of this transaction, when caravans pass the spot where the covenant was entered into, the slaves make merry and are authorised to levy upon their masters a small tribute.

The black man who had stopped the doctor was the chief of the slaves. As the caravan proceeded, the merry creatures executed another dance, and the incident would have been of great interest if the members of the caravan had not been depressed with the forebodings of mishap.

They now reached a small village of leathern tents, inhabited by a people of the tribe of Fade-ang, in a valley on the frontier region of Aire. The chief was respected as a person of great authority, and, it was said, was able to protect them against the freebooting parties which their guests of the other day, who had gone on before, were sure to collect against them. He had been invited to the camp; but he sent his brother instead, who, it was soon evident, could render them no assistance. The travellers were soon surrounded by the inhabitants, to whom a number of small presents were given. These men were very inferior in appearance even to the common Taki freebooter, and extremely degraded in their habits.

While resting in their tents they were alarmed by a report that a body of sixty Mehara were about to attack them, and again everybody was excited, all calling out for powder and shot. It was evident that there was an entire want of union among the members of the caravan.

The scene which followed in the bright moonlight evening, and lasting through the night, was animating and interesting in the extreme. The caravan was drawn up in line of battle, the left wing being formed by the travellers and the detachment of the Kel-owi who had posted themselves in front of their tents, while the Timylkum and the Sfaksi formed the centre, the rest of the Kel-owi with Boro the right wing, leaning upon the cliffs, the exposed left being defended by the four pieces of boat. About ten o’clock a small troop of Mehara, so-called from riding on mehara, or swift camels, made their appearance. Immediately a heavy fusillade was commenced over their heads, and was kept up with shouting during the night.

The enemy hovered around them during the whole of the next day, and prevented them from making excursions.