Un capitaine de quinze ans. English Read online

  CHAPTER VII.

  A SLAVE CARAVAN.

  The storm of the previous night, by swelling the tributaries of theCoanza, had caused the main river to overflow its banks. The inundationhad entirely changed the aspect of the country, transforming the plaininto a lake, where the peaks of a number of ant-hills were the soleobjects that emerged above the watery expanse.

  The Coanza, which is one of the principal rivers of Angola, falls intothe Atlantic about a hundred miles from the spot at which the "Pilgrim"was stranded. The stream, which a few years later was crossed byCameron on his way to Benguela, seems destined to become the chiefhighway of traffic between Angola and the interior; steamers alreadyply upon its lower waters, and probably ten years will not elapsebefore they perform regular service along its entire course.

  Dick Sands had been quite right in searching northwards for thenavigable stream he had been so anxious to find; the rivulet he hadbeen following fell into the Coanza scarce a mile away, and had it notbeen for this unexpected attack he and his friends might reasonablyhave hoped to descend the river upon a raft, until they reached one ofthe Portuguese forts where steam vessels put in. But their fate wasordered otherwise.

  The camp which Dick had descried from the ant-hill was pitched upon aneminence crowned by an enormous sycamore-fig, one of those giant treesoccasionally found in Central Africa, of which the spreading foliagewill shelter some five hundred men. Some of the non-fruit-bearing kindof banyan-trees formed the background of the landscape.

  Beneath the shelter of the sycamore, the caravan which had beenreferred to in the conversation between Negoro and Harris had just madea halt. Torn from their villages by the agents of the slave-dealerAlvez, the large troop of natives was on its way to the market ofKazonnde, thence to be sent as occasion required either to the westcoast, or to Nyangwe, in the great lake district, to be dispersed intoUpper Egypt or Zanzibar.

  Immediately on reaching the camp, the four negroes and old Nan wereplaced under precisely the same treatment as the rest of the captives.In spite of a desperate resistance, they were deprived of theirweapons, and fastened two and two, one behind another, by means of apole about six feet long, forked at each end, and attached to theirnecks by an iron bolt. Their arms were left free, that they might carryany burdens, and in order to prevent an attempt to escape a heavy chainwas passed round their waists. It was thus in single file, unable toturn either right or left, they would have to march hundreds of miles,goaded along their toilsome road by the havildar's whip. The lot ofHercules seemed preferable, exposed though undoubtedly he would be inhis flight to hunger, and to the attacks of wild beasts, and to all theperils of that dreary country. But solitude, with its worst privations,was a thing to be envied in comparison to being in the hands of thosepitiless drivers, who did not speak a word of the language of theirvictims, but communicated with them only by threatening gestures or byactual violence.

  As a white man, Dick was not attached to any other captive. The driverswere probably afraid to subject him to the same treatment as thenegroes, and he was left unfettered, but placed under the strictsurveillance of a havildar. At first he felt considerable surprise atnot seeing Harris or Negoro in the camp, as he could not entertain adoubt that it was at their instigation the attack had been made upontheir retreat; but when he came to reflect that Mrs. Weldon, Jack, andCousin Benedict had not been allowed to come with them, but had beencarried off in some other direction, he began to think it probable thatthe two rascals had some scheme to carry out with regard to themelsewhere.

  The caravan consisted of nearly eight hundred, including about fivehundred slaves of both sexes, two hundred soldiers and freebooters, anda considerable number of havildars and drivers, over whom the agentsacted as superior officers.

  These agents are usually of Portuguese or Arab extraction; and thecruelties they inflict upon the miserable captives are almost beyondconception; they beat them continually, and if any unfortunate slavesinks from exhaustion, or in any way becomes unfit for the market, heis forthwith either stabbed or shot. As the result of this brutality itrarely happens that fifty per cent of the slaves reach theirdestination; some few may contrive to escape, and many are left asskeletons along the line of route.

  Such of the agents as are Portuguese are (as it may well be imagined)of the very lowest dregs of society, outlaws, escaped criminals, andmen of the most desperate character; of this stamp were the associatesof Negoro and Harris, now in the employ of Jose Antonio Alvez, one ofthe most notorious of all the slave-dealers of Central Africa, and ofwhom Commander Cameron has given some curious information.

  Most frequently the soldiers who escort the captives are natives hiredby the dealers, but they do not possess the entire monopoly of theforays made for the purpose of securing slaves; the native negro kingsmake war upon each other with this express design, and sell theirvanquished antagonists, men, women, and children, to the traders forcalico, guns, gunpowder and red beads; or in times of famine, accordingto Livingstone, even for a few grains of maize.

  The escort of old Alvez' caravan was an average specimen of theseAfrican soldiers. It was simply a horde of half-naked banditti,carrying old flint-locked muskets, the barrels of which were decoratedwith copper rings. The agents are very often put to their wits' end toknow how to manage them; their orders are called in question, halts arecontinually demanded, and in order to avert desertion they arefrequently obliged to yield to the obstreperous will of theirundisciplined force.

  Although the slaves, both male and female, are compelled to carryburdens whilst on their march, a certain number of porters, called_pagazis_, is specially engaged to carry the more valuable merchandize,and principally the ivory. Tusks occasionally weigh as much as 160lbs., and require two men to carry them to the depots, whence they aresent to the markets of Khartoom, Natal, and Zanzibar. On their arrivalthe _pagazis_ are paid by the dealers according to contract, which isgenerally either by about twenty yards of the cotton stuff known as_merikani_, or by a little powder, by a handful or two of cowries, bysome beads, or if all these be scarce, they are paid by being allottedsome of the slaves who are otherwise unsalable.

  Among the five hundred slaves in the caravan, very few were at alladvanced in years. The explanation of this circumstance was thatwhenever a raid is made, and a village is set on fire, every inhabitantabove the age of forty is mercilessly massacred or hung upon theneighbouring trees; only the children and young adults of both sexesare reserved for the market, and as these constitute only a smallproportion of the vanquished, some idea may be formed of the frightfuldepopulation which these vast districts of Equinoctial Africa areundergoing.

  Nothing could be more pitiable than the condition of this miserableherd. All alike were destitute of clothing, having nothing on them buta few strips of the stuff known as _mbuza_, made from the bark oftrees; many of the women were covered with bleeding wounds from thedrivers' lashes, and had their feet lacerated by the constant frictionof the road, but in addition to other burdens were compelled to carrytheir own emaciated children; young men, too, there were who had losttheir voices from exhaustion, and who, to use Livingstone's expression,had been reduced to "ebony skeletons" by toiling under the yoke of thefork, which is far more galling than the galley-chain. It was a sightthat might have moved the most stony-hearted, but yet there was nosymptom of compassion on the part of those Arab and Portuguese driverswhom Cameron pronounces "worse than brutes."[1]

  [Footnote 1: Cameron says, "In order to obtain the fifty women of whomAlvez is the owner, ten villages, containing altogether a population ofnot less than 1500, were totally destroyed. A few of the inhabitantscontrived to escape, but the majority either perished in the flames,were slain in defending their families, or were killed by hunger orwild beasts in the jungle.... The crimes which are perpetuated inAfrica, by men who call themselves Christians, seem incredible to theinhabitants of civilized countries. It is impossible that thegovernment at Lisbon can be aware of the atrocities committed by thosewho boast of b
eing subject to her flag." _Tour du Monde_.

  N.B.--Against these assertions of Cameron, loud protestations have beenmade in Portugal.]

  The guard over the prisoners was so strict that Dick Sands felt itwould be utterly useless for him to make any attempt to seek for Mrs.Weldon. She and her son had doubtless been carried off by Negoro, andhis heart sank when he thought of the dangers to which too probably shewould be exposed. Again and again he repeated his reproaches on himselfthat he had ever allowed either Negoro or Harris to escape his hands.Neither Mrs. Weldon nor Jack could expect the least assistance fromCousin Benedict; the good man was barely able to consult for himself.All three of them would, he conjectured, be conveyed to some remotedistrict of Angola; the poor mother, like some miserable slave, wouldinsist upon carrying her own sick son until her strength failed her,and, exhausted by her endurances, she sank down helpless on the way.

  A prisoner, and powerless to help! the very thought was itself atorture to poor Dick. Even Dingo was gone! It would have been asatisfaction to have had the dog to send off upon the track of the lostones. One only hope remained. Hercules still was free. All that humanstrength could attempt in Mrs. Weldon's behalf, Hercules would not failto try. Perhaps, too, under cover of the night, it was not altogetherimprobable that the stalwart negro would mingle with the crowd ofnegroes (amongst whom his dark skin would enable him to passunnoticed), and make his way to Dick himself; then might not the twotogether elude the vigilance of the watch? might they not follow afterand overtake Mrs. Weldon in the forest? would they not perchance beable either by stealth or by force to liberate her, and once free theywould effect an escape to the river, and finally accomplish theundertaking in which they had been so lamentably frustrated. Such werethe sanguine visions in which Dick permitted himself to indulge; histemperament overcame all tendency to despair, and kept him alive to thefaintest chance of deliverance.

  The next thing of importance was to ascertain the destination of thecaravan. It was a matter of the most serious moment whether the convoyof slaves were going to be carried to one of the depots of Angola, orwhether they were to be sent hundreds of miles into the interior toNyangwe, in the heart of the great lake district that Livingstone wasthen exploring. To reach the latter spot would occupy some months, andto return thence to the coast, even if they should be fortunate enoughto regain their liberty, would be a work of insuperable difficulty.

  He was not long left in suspense. Although he could not understand thehalf-African, half-Arab dialect that was used by the leaders of thecaravan, he noticed that the word Kazonnde occurred very frequently,and knowing it as the name of an important market in the province, henaturally concluded that it was there the slaves were to be disposedof; whether for the advantage of the king of the district, or of one ofthe rich traders, he had no means of telling. Unless his geographicalknowledge was at fault, he was aware that Kazonnde must be about 400miles from S. Paul de Loanda, and consequently that it could hardly bemore than 250 miles from the part of the Coanza where they were nowencamped. Under favourable circumstances it was a journey that couldnot be accomplished in less than twelve or fourteen days, but allowingfor the retarded progress of a caravan already exhausted by alengthened march, Dick was convinced that they could not reach theplace for at least three weeks.

  He was most anxious to communicate to his companions in adversity hisimpression that they were not to be carried into the heart of thecountry, and began to cogitate whether some plan could not be devisedfor exchanging a few words with them.

  Forked together, as it has been said, two and two, the four negroeswere at the right-hand extremity of the camp; Bat attached to hisfather, Austin to Actaeon. A havildar, with twelve soldiers, formedtheir guard. Dick, at first, was about fifty yards away from the group,but being left free to move about, contrived gradually to diminish thedistance between himself and them. Tom seemed to apprehend hisintention, and whispered a word to his companions that they should beon the look-out. Without moving they were all on their guard in amoment. Dick, careful to conceal his design, strolled backward with afeigned indifference, and succeeded in getting so near that he mighthave called out and informed Tom that they were going to Kazonnde. Buthe was desirous of accomplishing more than this; he wanted to get anopportunity of having some conversation as to their future plans, andhe ventured to approach still nearer. His heart beat high as hebelieved he was on the point of attaining his object, when all at oncethe havildar, becoming aware of his design, rushed upon him like amadman, summoned some soldiers, and with considerable violence sent himback to the front. Tom and the others were quickly removed to anotherpart of the encampment.

  Exasperated by the rough attack that was made upon him, Dick had seizedthe havildar's gun and broken it, almost wrenching it from his hands,when several soldiers simultaneously assailed him, and would havestruck him down and killed him upon the spot, had not one of thechiefs, an Arab of huge stature and ferocious countenance, interferedto stop them.

  This Arab was the Ibn Hamish of whom Harris had spoken to Negoro. Hesaid a few words which Dick could not understand, and the soldiers,with manifest reluctance, relaxed their hold and retired. It wasevident that although Dick was not to be permitted to hold anycommunication with the rest of his party, orders had been given thathis life was to be protected.

  The start was made.]

  It was now nine o'clock, and the beating of drums and the blowing ofcoodoo[1] horns gave the signal that the morning march was to becontinued. Instantly chiefs, soldiers, porters, and slaves were upontheir feet, and arranged themselves in their various groups with ahavildar bearing a bright-coloured banner at their head.

  [Footnote: Coodoo, a ruminant common in Africa.]

  The order was given; the start was made. A strange song was heardrising in the air. It was a song, not of the victors, but of thevanquished. The slaves were chanting an imprecation on theiroppressors; and the burden of the chorus was that captured, tortured,slain--after death they would return and avenge their wrongs upon theirmurderers!