Verney Lovett Cameron

With a party of young men from the village, I had been for some days on a hunting expedition, in which we had varied luck. We had sent most of the meat and skins which we had obtained back to our village for distribution among the people, when suddenly one of the three men given to me on the day that the ceremony of my exchanging blood with Karema had been performed, who had become very much attached to me, and accompanied me wherever I went, said to me, “Franki, a long time we have hunted, and both buffalo and antelope are scarce; why do we not go further into the forest and far from the villages? We shall find more meat.”

“True, Fumo,” I replied; “but we have been many days in the jungle, and the men with us wish to go back to their wives.”

“No, Franki,” said Fumo; “there are seven here who wish to go far. The others who want to go back are women and not men.”

I soon made inquiries among our party, and found that some of the men said Karema had always said to return in eight days from the time of leaving the village, and not to go beyond a certain distance; and that now, if we were to obey his orders, we ought to set about returning at once.

I was looked upon by all the men as leader of the party, and I knew that I should have done right in complying with the wishes of Karema, from whom I had received nothing but kindness. Fumo’s words, however, excited in me a desire to see more of the country, and a hope that I might find some way of escape. I had no intention of being so base as to go away without telling Karema; but I thought the more I became acquainted with the country, the better I should be able to make my way to where I could find some traces of Englishmen.

After a long argument we decided that the men who wished to return to the village should do so, and Fumo and the other seven men who were willing to follow me should send word that we were going to remain out for another week, in the hope of finding game more plentiful. We were under the guidance of one of our number to make our way to a place where not only buffaloes and antelopes were known to be plentiful, but where elephants often came.

I knew, if we could get any ivory, Karema would willingly overlook our remaining away beyond the time he had fixed; but it was because I could not be sure of his consenting to my going so far from the village that I determined on going to this place without returning to the village and telling him of my intention.

Fumo and I with our companions exchanged broken spears for sound ones with those who were returning, and took all the spare bowstrings and arrows we could muster. I was the only one of our number who possessed a gun, and my stock of ammunition was so scanty that I hoarded it with most jealous care, and had for some time made up my mind never to fire a shot except in a case of urgent necessity.

As soon as our companions had left us to go back to the village, we started off under the leadership of a man called Wanda, who said he knew the road. For the whole of that day we forced our way through almost impenetrable jungle, and camped for the night on the bank of a small stream.

Next morning we came into rather more open forest, and we were able to spread out in search of sport. Soon after we had started, I heard a great crashing among some undergrowth near us, and immediately afterwards a large antelope dashed out across our path with a leopard clinging to his shoulders. As quick as thought I brought my gun to my shoulder and fired, and the bullet struck the leopard full in the flank.

At once it quitted its prey and commenced to come towards us. My gun being unloaded, I threw it on the ground, and essayed to pick up my spear, which I had dropped when in the act of firing; but I could not find it. Hearing Fumo, whose attention had been attracted by my firing, calling out, “Run, Franki, run!” I took to my heels, closely followed by the leopard.

I was running towards two of my companions, from whom I might get a spear, and with whose assistance I might have a chance of turning the tables on the leopard, when I heard a roar and a yell behind me. Looking round I saw that the faithful Fumo had attacked the leopard with a spear, but from some cause or other his blow had not been successful; and the infuriated beast, turning on him as he attempted to get away, had seized him by the back with claws and teeth.

I seized on a spear from the man nearest to me, and hurled it at the leopard and transfixed it through the loins. It at once let go its hold of Fumo, who fell forward on his face bleeding from his wounds, and turned towards its new assailants. We met its onslaught resolutely. Finding my own and Fumo’s spears, we all three kept stabbing at the beast as it attempted to tear us down to the ground. Fortunately the wounds which I had inflicted with bullet and spear had crippled the leopard’s movements, or we should have fared badly in the encounter. Except the one or two comparatively slight wounds which I received on my fore arms while driving my spear into its breast, we did not have any damage done to us. The rest of our companions, hearing our shouts, came rushing up, and with their assistance we soon despatched our antagonist.

As soon as we were done with the leopard, I turned my attention to poor Fumo, who was in a terrible condition, the brute having torn the flesh off his back so that the bones were visible. I scarce knew what I should do to dress his wounds, and the only thing possible was to cut great slices of flesh from the leopard and tie them over the wounds; then, as he could not bear to be moved, we set to work and built a small hut over him. As my arms prevented my being of any use, I sat by his side to attend to his wants. The rest made a camp, cut firewood, and went to hunt for game to supply our larder.

Poor Fumo! I do not know what might have been done for him if we had had any knowledge of surgery or any proper appliances for dressing his wounds. For days he lingered on, not getting either any better or apparently any worse, and I thought it best to send word to Karema of what had occurred, and how we might be still delayed by Fumo being unable to travel. When I mentioned this, I was astonished to find that some of our companions wished to abandon Fumo to his fate, as it was impossible for him to recover, and to make our way back with all speed, for evidently there was some fetich against us.

I was indignant at this proposal, and said all could go if they chose, but when I returned I would tell Karema that they were not men but women, and they

FUMO ATTACKED BY A LEOPARD.

Page 165.

would be hooted by the women and jeered at by the boys, and never again would a man trust them as a companion in a fight or a hunt.

When I had finished speaking, the youngest of all, Chaka, a lad of my own age, rose up and said, “Listen! The words of Franki are good words. All may return, but Chaka will remain with Franki,” and then he sat down again.

For some moments there was silence, and then Wanda said, “I have been waiting to hear the words of those who want to leave Fumo to die. Franki will stop, and Chaka will stop, and I Wanda, I, too, am a man, and will stop with my friends when they are in trouble. Go back, and Karema will take your spears from you, and put hoes in your hands, and you shall work in the fields with the women.”

No answer was given to this appeal, and soon we saw our recreant companions packing up their little belongings and preparing to leave us. This was a most curious phase of the negro character. Here were men who only a few hours before had been ready to risk their lives to help the man whom now they proposed to leave to die alone and untended, and this simply because they had some idea that he was unlucky, or, in other words, that his fetich was bad. It was indeed fortunate that the two brave fellows, Wanda and Chaka, had consented to remain with me and their wounded companion.

Those who had made up their minds to return did not linger over their preparations; and though they could only make a short distance on their journey that night, they started off at once, refusing even to help Chaka and Wanda to make a fence round our huts as a protection against wild beasts.

When they left, Chaka and Wanda set about this necessary work, and, as the deserters had collected a considerable quantity of wood and branches before I had unfortunately proposed sending to tell Karema of Fumo’s mischance, we were able by sunset to make ourselves tolerably secure, and have big fires lighted to scare away wild beasts. My arms, which the leopard had torn, had by this time become so painful that I was unable in any way to assist in this most necessary work. Poor Fumo was in great pain, and groaned pitifully. During the whole night I could not sleep at all, and in the morning I was seized by an attack of fever. For days I was ill, and conscious only at intervals, during one of which my faithful friends told me that Fumo was dead.

I was slowly recovering from the fever, and was greatly rejoiced in finding that my arms were nearly healed, when one day, Chaka and Wanda having gone out to try to kill some game for our larder, I was sitting in the door of our hut, and I suddenly heard shouts of “Franki, Franki!” Thinking that perhaps Karema, hearing of our having remained with Fumo, had sent men to our relief, I got on my feet to go in the direction whence the sound came. Walking slowly thither I saw Chaka and Wanda burst from the jungle, and spears and arrows flying after them.

Evidently they had fallen in with a party belonging to some hostile tribe. They shouted out, “Franki, get in the camp, or we’ll be killed!” and poor Wanda, before he could reach that haven of comparative safety, fell down dead with a couple of spears right through him.

As soon as he reached our little camp, Chaka closed up the entrance, and then said, “O Franki, Wanda and I had just killed an antelope, and were busy skinning and cutting it up, when we were startled by some arrows flying past us, and looking up we saw many men among the trees, and we ran, and as we ran we called to you.”

The party who had attacked my two friends and killed poor Wanda now showed themselves all round the open space in which our little camp was situated. By their arms, shields, and the manner in which they were decorated with beads and feathers (which was different from anything I had yet seen), I could see that they were members of a tribe who were entire strangers to me.

They shouted out to us to come out of our camp or they would kill us all; their language, though different from that of the Adiana, in which I was now a proficient, being sufficiently allied to it for us to understand.

Chaka was evidently in a dreadful state of fright. He begged me not to resist, but to speak to the strangers and endeavour to make terms with them, for he said they were a very fierce people and ate the bodies of those killed in battle. “How dreadful it is to be eaten!” said Chaka.

I shouted that if our lives would be spared we would come out, but if they would not promise not to injure us we would resist to the utmost. At first they laughed at us, but when they saw that I was a white man and had a gun they said they would not kill us. Chaka and I, as soon as the promise was given, ran to where Wanda was lying, but could render him no assistance. The spear which had pierced him having gone clean through his heart, death must have been instantaneous.

We were not allowed much time to mourn over the death of our companion, for the strangers surrounded us at once, and after seizing our weapons, bound our arms behind our backs, and then put a cord round our necks. Having rifled our camp of all that was of value in their eyes, they cut up Wanda’s body into pieces, which they distributed among themselves, and then commenced their return to their own camp, which was situated about five miles away.

Here we found a large body of men on a hunting and plundering expedition, who had made several captives from neighbouring tribes. Among these unfortunates Chaka and I were made to take our place, and large logs of wood were fitted round our ankles, so that it was impossible for us to do more than hobble along very slowly.

We soon had unwelcome proof that our captors were indeed cannibals, for before our eyes they ate the body of poor Wanda; and Chaka, becoming terror-stricken, said constantly to me, “Then you see if we had resisted we should have been eaten.” I own I did not feel philosophical enough to argue, and felt quite as much horror at the idea as he did.

Next morning at daylight our captors broke up their camp. We gathered from their conversation they intended to make the best of their way back to their own villages, which lay a long way up the Ogowai, on the banks of which we were to find some canoes they had hidden, and in which we were to travel up-stream. This was very good news to me; for it was weary and painful work to hobble along with my leg in a log, which I had with both hands to lift at every step by a loop of rope made fast to it. Indeed, in my weak state I was only urged on by fear of being left fettered and helpless to be the prey of jackals and hyenas, or, if I escaped from them, to die of thirst and hunger.

My sufferings were intense. My leg, from my ankle to my knee, was soon a mass of sores; and if ever I halted for a moment, our captors forced me on with blows and jeers. Poor Chaka, who was tied to me by a rope round our necks, though faring even worse than I did, kept on trying to cheer me up by saying that when we got to the river we should be sure to find means of escaping, or that the people whom Karema would be sure to send to look for us would manage to release us.

No hope of either entered into my mind. As we wearily dragged along, I could not help thinking how all this fresh trouble had come on me from not complying with Karema’s desires, whose slightest wish should have been law to me, when I considered how great and consistent had been his kindness to me during the whole time I had lived with him.

I did not think it was possible that Karema could send enough men to attack our enemies with any prospect of success, for it seemed unlikely for him to have any knowledge of the fresh misfortunes which had befallen us. In this I was mistaken, as the event shortly proved.