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- Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
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Seitenzahl: 164
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
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TWO AFRICAN TRIPS
Edward North Buxton
WAXKEEP PUBLISHING
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This book is a work of nonfiction and is intended to be factually accurate.
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Copyright © 2015 by Edward North Buxton
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.BRITISH EAST AFRICA
II.THE WHITE NILE
III.BIG GAME PRESERVATION
Two African Trips
By Edward North Buxton
I.BRITISH EAST AFRICA
EARLYIN1899 a SMALL band of travelers and sportsmen, brought together by the kindness of a prominent official of the Foreign Office, met to consider the question of the preservation of the large game of Africa. The question was urgent, and many people hoped for some results from the International Conference of the great Powers having African possessions which assembled under Lord Salisbury’s auspices to confer upon the measures to be taken. Stimulated thereto by the first-named gathering, I paid a holiday visit with my daughter in the summer of 1899 to British East Africa, hunted for a few weeks in some of the best game-districts, and paid special attention to the protective measures which had been already taken. My field-notes may not be without their value as bearing on the subject, and especially as showing the extraordinary wealth of life which may yet be preserved, provided good rules are made and enforced the conditions under which the game lives and multiplies; the dangers which threaten some species with extinction, as well as the means of averting them. Some of my friends point the finger of scorn at my own modest bag, as if it were inconsistent with these views; but it is scarcely necessary to observe that no one proposes to interfere with legitimate sport,—indeed, it is the conservative sportsman who is generally found most anxious to preserve the animated scenes in which he delights.
Seven days’ battering from Cape Guardafui in the worst period of the south-west monsoon was the price which we paid for our first view of the low-lying African coast, with its coral strand, and fringe of palms, and huge baobab trees, as well as for the mysterious delights which lay behind. We cast anchor opposite the warehouses of Mombasa, and the whitewashed Portuguese fort and its rust-brown cannons.
Mombasa is an island, but within the land, being encircled by a double estuary formed by some small streams. Wild rovers from Vasco da Gama downwards have wrestled for this good harbor, but it was left for the authorities of the Uganda Railway to discover that the southern or Kilindini Channel was the better roadstead of the two. The old order and the new are visible
on every hand. The steamers which month by month bring the material for the new railway are jostled by native “dug-out” canoes and Arab dhows.
The latest invasion is from India, for the town is mainly peopled from Bombay. There has always been a trade between the eastern and western coasts of the Indian Ocean, and this has received an immense stimulus from the fact that the Uganda Railway is being constructed by coolies, who are followed by a number of traders of their own race.
A small tramway two miles long connects the town of Mombasa with the railway terminus, which was then at Kilindini on the opposite side of the island, and for a newly arrived tenderfoot it is very pleasant locomotion to be pushed in a covered trolly by a couple of nimble Swahili boys past the banana-shambas, the palm-groves, and the giant baobab- trees, and through stretches of long grass, among which “bishop” birds, like little balls of orange plush, and yellow weaver-birds, play and flutter and weave their bag-like nests.
Our preparations were so forward that we were able to take our places in the train the same night, and, sometime in the small hours, crossed the bridge to the mainland. When daylight grew we were traversing the Taru, or arid region of thorn-scrub, which has hitherto proved such a terrible ordeal to every caravan bound up-country. The interminable jungle of thorn carries scarcely any foliage in the dry season, and is almost bare of life. “Africa’s sunny fountains” are wider apart than the old hymn would lead one to suppose, and the first permanent running stream is the Tsavo, crossed at the 115th mile. This, being derived from the snows of Kilimanjaro, is perennial. There may be some good engineering reason why this precious gift has not been already utilized for the supply of the railway down to the coast, and even of Mombasa itself; but it seems to me, now that the pressure of the French on the Nile valley is relieved and the Soudanese revolt suppressed, that works of this character are of more immediate value than the advance of the railway at feverish speed. Although our train carried its own tank, and was thus independent, we passed several others hung up for want of water. They depended upon a tank supplied from a water-hole four miles off. The driver of one of these engines informed me that he had walked there and found the coolies, who should have been pumping, all sick or idle.
At Voi station, situated at the 100th mile, we left the train. From this point a new direct track has been cut through the jungle for about sixty miles to Taveta, close to the frontier of the German territory and near the lowest slope of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was around the base of that famous ex-volcano that I proposed to wander for two or three weeks.
At Voi we found our caravan, which had been sent up some days beforehand, assembled. They consisted of Rashid, the headman, one of Stanley’s faithful followers, and about seventy Swahili porters, shepherded by seven or eight askaris armed with old-fashioned rifles. The Swahilis are a mixed race, mainly the result of innumerable slave-raids by Arab traders along the coast and into the interior. With good treatment and fat feeding, combined with forced labor, they have developed a muscular physique which distinguishes them from the tribesmen of the interior, although they may be identical in blood and race. They are a jovial, light-hearted race, and sing and chatter as they swing along with the regulation load of 65 lbs., enhanced by their own belongings. They are troublesome owing to the childish impulses to which they are subject, especially aimless desertion. This tendency is fostered by a foolish custom of prepayment of wages, but it is dasturi, or custom, and what can a casual globe-trotter do? The deserting porter never steals his load, but throws it down in the jungle and decamps. This is a grave danger to caravans, as the mobility or even life of the caravan may depend on that load—as for instance, if it eontaius medicines or cartridges. Hence one of our first cares is to call the roll from the register of porters, which it is de rigueur to carry. The bwana, or master, is accountable for his men, and this measure is for their protection as well as his. Three had disappeared already, and we suffered some further depletion of numbers. Then followed the regulation gift of blankets and water bottles and the distribution of “posho"—the rice ration to which they are entitled. It was a piteous sight to watch poor starved Wateita picking up the grains of rice dropped by our men, and this was the first sign among many which greeted us of the “starvation year” due to long continued drought.
The allotment of loads followed, accompanied by much struggling to secure the lightest; and now we encountered a great difficulty. The porters assembled had to be shared with a friend proceeding in the same direction. A miscalculation had been made by somebody. Our carriers were obviously insufficient for the number of loads which comprised our tents and gear, trade goods, “chop boxes,” as boxes of assorted provisions are called, and rice for a month.
The Wateita who hung about the camp seemed too wasted to carry an ordinary load, and we were driven to leave a part of our rice behind, hoping to recruit sturdier beggars at the Bura Hills and send them back for the surplus. This we ultimately did, but they were long in overtaking us, and the want of these loads hampered our subsequent movements. I had bought five Zanzibar donkeys, which are admirable for riding, but in the difficulty in which we found ourselves for transport I made the mistake of loading them with some of our luggage, for which they are not suited. At Aden we had engaged four Somalis, two as tent-boys, and the other two—Ali Barali and Darota Nur—as shikaris. In both capacities Somalis may be found who are excellent, the latter being, of course, much the most important function, and the post proportionally difficult to fill satisfactorily.
By the middle of the next day we had completed our preparations, and our safari started, while we followed shortly after on our bicycles. We were by no means pioneers in the use of this kind of locomotion in East Africa, but it is only the broader roads on which they can be usefully ridden. The ordinary native track through the thorn-jungle is too narrow and tortuous, and the long grass hampers the wheels. Solid tires are essential, owing to the innumerable spines and thorny seeds which strew the ground. We believed that the Taveta road, being cut broad and straight, would be practicable, but it proved by no means free from traps for the unwary. Although the cleared road is twelve feet wide, the hard track beaten by the feet of natives, who always move in Indian file, is only a few inches wide and follows a wavy line. Thus the slightest deviation from it generally involves a flying leap over a tree stump or a dead stop in soft ground, followed by a fall. Thus our start was accompanied by some minor accidents, of which, being in a state of mental exaltation, we thought little.
A lion is not generally dangerous in the daytime, unless wounded or cornered. In such a case, as we subsequently found, he may be trusted to face his enemy. The real danger lies in his stealthy approach by night. The history of the depredations of the two man-eating lions at Tsavo, who so harried the railway construction camp as to materially delay the advance of the railway, was of sufficient importance to be referred to by Lord Salisbury in the House of Lords.
Being quite unarmed, I must confess to some feeling of suspense as we passed the spot where the lion had disappeared into the scrub at the side of the path, and we certainly put on the speed for the next half-mile. The next morning my Somalis, whom I had sent forward along the track, spied a band of seven lions—"Four man and wife and three little boys,” as they expressed it. I never found them to invent tales of this sort, and the tracks at least showed them to be numerous hereabouts.
The following day we came in sight of Kilimanjaro, but its wide flattened cone is rarely visible except at sunset, and not always then. The moisture precipitated, combined with a fertile volcanic soil, make its slopes highly productive, and the lower zone is one of the most populous districts in East Africa. Perennial streams, fed by the snow, spring from its sides. One of them, the little river Lumi, waters the beautiful forest of Taveta. The black mass of the latter at length began to show in front, and at the same time the gleaming expanse of Lake Jipe, which fills a hollow to the south. Captain Temple Maxted, the Protectorate officer of these regions, met us on the verge of the forest and conducted us to his house on the banks of the Lumi. For several days we had been practically strangers to water, except a starvation allowance, and the little river was very welcome. On the opposite side a wide verandah commanded the open plain and the great mountain rising beyond.
The functions of an assistant-collector in an outlying position such as this are varied and peculiar. Apart from the general civil administration of his district, he combines the functions of commander-in-chief and leading diplomatist. In this case the army is limited to twenty five rank and file; but if these were not drilled and disciplined there would soon be trouble, as the Swahili is inclined to loot. Our relations with the Germans, whose frontier runs within a mile or two, are cordial, and the international exchange of visits is frequent. While I was there the German doctor kindly undertook a nine hours’ march from Moschi to prescribe for a missionary. The German mails come through our territory, and that reminds me that our administrator is post master general. He is also technical instructor in agriculture—of which subject he knows nothing—to the native population. On week-days he is justice of the peace, on Sundays churchwarden and organist of the little mission church. As jailor, road engineer, and general medical practitioner for white and black he fills up his spare moments. I am inclined to think that the last-named function is the most important of all. It is pleasant to see the out-patients from various parts of his territory ranged up every morning at nine o’clock. Though he probably started but slightly equipped with medical knowledge, his practice is large, and his cures, which are not quite accidental, have evidently made a profound impression on “his children.” Here is a chance for a young empire-maker to distinguish himself on £3 or £4 a week! There are more ways than one of maintaining the King’s flag, and, so far as I observed, his young men in East Africa have been singularly successful in regaining the confidence of the natives, shaken by centuries of treacherous wrong on the part of caravan-leaders. It is only fair to say that whatever the methods of the Germans may have been in the past, they were at the time of our visit governed under Colonel Johannes by the same humane considerations.
To the density of their forest the Wataveta owe their comparative security from the raids of the Masai. Those bold buccaneers are good at a combined rush in the open, but have a wholesome dread of the poisoned arrow and stealthy ambush. Hence the little clearances, banana patches, and bee-hive huts in the midst of the jungle wear a peaceful air, and their owners meet a stranger with a confident grin. Except in these sunny openings, tall clean shafts of sycamore-fig and other giant trees support a lofty canopy of foliage, and from their branches ropelike trailers descend a hundred feet to earth and strike again. These somber alleys are silent and devoid of life. It is otherwise with the groves of exquisite Rafia palms, which carry fronds forty feet in length, whose scarlet midribs contrast finely with the luminous green of the banana. This is the home of bright-colored birds and little black monkeys. Deep down in black shade the Lumi tunnels its way, bridged here and there by big stems felled on the bank and thrown across for the purpose.
There is a C.M.S. mission station at Taveta, which maintains no less than five churches. This is not an evidence of the piety of the natives, but rather a concession to their laziness. They attend church, but will not walk far to do so. They readily fall in with the precept to abstain from work on Sunday; in fact, they would gladly extend the doctrine to other days in the week. The whole community would, I think, embrace Christianity on the slightest encouragement, but their spiritual pastors are wisely cautious in view of certain pagan practices which die hard. The missionaries have succeeded in inculcating some useful industrial notions, as, for instance, the value of associated labor. An irrigation-canal four miles long, which they have constructed, is a monument to their energy.
After two days’ rest in the hospitable Residency we again picked up our tents and departed northwards, for the plains at the foot of the mountain. We were guided by two Masai boys, who were quite unburdened with impedimenta of any sort except water-gourds. It was a pleasure to see the ease and grace with which these slim savages covered the ground. They never spoke, and, when asked a question about the route, pointed out the direction with their tongues. Where the slopes of the mountain merge into the plain, at a point a few miles from Taveta, its volcanic character is illustrated by an ancient crater, now occupied by a deep-seated lake, called Lake Chala, three or four miles in circumference. The surface of the water is three hundred feet below the rim, which is very precipitous on the inner side; and being thus protected from every breeze, its placid surface mirrors the trees which project from its margin and the great ex-volcano, of whose imprisoned forces it was at one time the vent. A strongly marked rhinoceros -path round the upper edge seemed to show that those animals vainly sought a way down to those pleasant waters.
Numerous small streams which go to form the Lumi, flowing south, and the Rombo, flowing north, descend the mountain and traverse the plain. Having their origin in the snowfields above, they are perennial; hence their winding courses are marked by belts of superb trees and other luxuriant vegetation. The deeper pools are crowded with carp-like fish. When camp was pitched, my daughter was soon busy with her rod, and our men presently followed her example with rougher tackle, roars of laughter accompanying the friendly competition. The catch was afterwards grilled on a framework of green twigs. A number of Warombo, whose home is on the slopes of the mountain, were constantly wandering about these plains seeking for roots, or gathering the salt which exudes in certain places. They appeared to be in a half starved condition, but I never saw them supplementing their scanty fare by fishing. On the other hand, they construct numerous game-pits, which are very artfully concealed. The labor must be enormous with their poor tools, and the soil excavated must be removed to a distance, lest it should excite suspicion. They are generally formed near a watering-place or some other likely traverse, and are arranged in groups, and parallel to one another like graves, the intermediate spaces being filled in with thorn-bushes to guide the quarry to its destruction. I was fairly caught in one of these snares, which, until I made a big hole in it, looked like a pleasant little path, and was no sooner rescued from its depths than I was all but engulfed in a second.
In this pleasant region, on the banks of the Lumi or the Rombo, we spent a fortnight hunting, loafing, and bird-collecting. We dared not go farther afield, as the rest of our stock of rice, for which we had sent back, had not arrived, and in this year of scarcity we could not purchase grain. But we were well content. The climate at three thousand feet elevation was perfect. Clouds daily form on the mountain, and spread themselves in a thin film far and wide. Thus in July, which is mid-winter, the sun is rarely oppressive and is tempered by a constant breeze. We shifted our ground several times in the search for this or that animal. When the
camp was stationary we invariably left it at the first streak of dawn, about which time a lion commonly sighed out his last signal to his mate. This is a deep guttural cough, not to be confounded with the roar of an angry or frightened lion, as we afterwards had reason to know.
