The weapons of the Baris are finely-wrought lances, and bows with horribly barbed arrows. They seldom carry shields, as they are difficult to manage together with the bow, and they impede the rapid movements' which are the chief feature in Bari tactics.
The men are generally tall and powerful, always naked and smeared with ashes, or on great occasions with red ochre and grease. The women are not absolutely bad-looking, but real beauties are extremely rare. They wear an apron before and behind of tanned leather, extending nearly to the knees, which is only the outer garment, beneath which they wear a neatly-made fringe of innumerable strings, formed of finely-spin cotton thread, suspended from a leather belt. Some of the wealthy possess fringe composed of iron rings, neatly worked, so as to form a kind of shirt of mail.
Every man is a warrior from his childhood, as the Baris are always at war. They are extremely clever in the use of the lance, which they can throw with great accuracy for a distance of thirty yards, and they can pitch it into a body of men at upwards of fifty yards. From early childhood the boys are in constant practice, both with the lance and the bow and arrow; thus, although their weapons are inferior to fire-arms properly used, they are dangerous in the hands of proficients against men who, like my troops, were utterly ignorant of the art of shooting.
Fortunately for my expedition, the warlike Baris were not united throughout their territory. Nevertheless, I discovered that the Baris of Gondokoro had made an alliance with those of Belinian, twelve miles from head-quarters. I observed that women were constantly passing to and fro with baskets on their heads, carrying salt from Gondokoro, and each returning with a goat, led by a string. Excellent salt is found at Gondokoro, real chloride of sodium; and this article enables the natives of that district to trade with the interior, where salt is extremely rare and of great value. I had remarked that women, and sometimes men, were met in my rambles through the forest, on their way to Belinian by this concealed route, instead of taking the open path; this aroused my suspicion, as the chief, Allorron, and his people declared that they were enemies of the Belinian natives.
The position had become intolerable. The fact could no longer be concealed that the Baris were hostile. No positive outbreak had occurred, but the natives were sullen in their demeanour, and generally avoided the new settlement. Butchers' meat was exceedingly scarce, as we had only a few cows that had been given during the voyage by the vakeel of the Bohr station. The troops were without rations of meat. At the same time there were thousands of cattle on the islands before their eyes, not one of which could be purchased from the natives. Although the natives refused to assist us in any way, or to supply us with cattle at any price, they drove their herds across from the island to the mainland to fatten on the fine pasturage under the government protection. This pasturage, having been abandoned by them and occupied by the government troops, had naturally become the property of the Khedive. The natives had no more right to the soil from which they had been driven, than the French would have to Alsace and Lorraine, should those provinces be occupied by a foreign Power which had driven out the Germans.
The last vessels having arrived, terminated the voyage from Tewfikeeyah, which had occupied five months and twenty-two days. The troops, who had suffered much by fatigue in cutting through the marshes, had not been absolutely relieved by their arrival in the clear White Nile. The north wind changed suddenly to the south, in which unfavourable quarter it continued steadily for a month; thus my unfortunate men had to tow the vessels along the banks against wind and stream for about 300 miles from Wat-el-Shambi to Gondokoro. Upon arrival at that station, which I had described to them as the "Promised Land," they found a lovely park, but without a single dwelling. Instead of being received as deliverers by a friendly and grateful population, they met with neglect and ill-will from a tribe of robbers, allies of the traders, who fattened upon the spoil of weaker neighbours.
After all their hard work and suffering in attaining the promised paradise, they found only additional labour awaiting them, as they had to wander several miles in search of long thatch-grass and timber to construct the new station, in which fatigue they were entirely unassisted by the sullen inhabitants.
Added to these disappointments, the men were hungry, and no cattle could be purchased from my new subjects, who were obstinate and refractory.
I had a serious conversation with Sheik Allorron, during which I clearly defined our relative positions, and represented to him in the strongest terms the folly of trusting to the support of Abou Saood and his people against the government, as they were all subjects of the Khedive and bound to obey my orders. At the same time I informed him of the absolute necessity of cattle for the supply of the troops, which I promised to pay for.
I clearly saw that the miserable policy of these people was to starve the troops into the supposed necessity of evacuating the position, and returning to Khartoum. I represented to Allorron the danger of trifling with a hungry lion, at which he grinned, as a good joke, and immediately replied: "If you want cattle, I will give you some of my people as guides, and you can attack a neighbour of mine, and capture his herds, which will last you for a long time." I replied, that I could not injure any one who had not committed an offence, but as he for the last time refused assistance, I should not permit his herds to graze upon my pasturage; therefore I begged they might be confined to the island.
At the same time I officially invited Allorron and all the headmen of the country, including the sheik of Belinian, to an entertainment. I intended, formally and officially, to annex the country to Egypt.
On May 26, 1871, all was in order. A flag-staff about eighty feet high had been neatly erected by Lieut. Baker on the highest point of land overlooking the river. Every small bush had been cleared away, and the position in the centre of an open park-like country would have formed an admirable race-course. The troops, having had two days' rest to wash their clothes and burnish up their arms and accoutrements, marched from the station at Gondokoro at 6 A.M.
I had 1,200 men on the ground, including ten mountain rifled guns throwing 8 and 1/4 lbs. shell.
In their clean white uniforms, with the neat koofeeia or sun-cloth, which, covering the head, drooped gracefully upon the shoulders, the troops showed to great advantage, as they marched with the band playing from head-quarters to the flagstaff above my station. As they filed through the green trees, and then formed into sections of companies as they emerged into the open ground, the effect was exceedingly good, and the sheik, Allorron, and his friends, the headmen of many villages, looked with amazement upon a scene that was altogether new to them.
Having arrived opposite the flag-staff, the troops formed in line two deep on the flat grassy surface of the heights above my station. The long row of glittering bayonets and the gay uniforms of the officers bewildered the astonished natives. All the sailors, servants, and camp-followers were dressed in their best clothes. The prevailing colours, white and red, looked exceedingly gay upon the close and even surface of the green turf. My staff was composed of my aides-de-camp, Lieutenant Baker, R.N., Lieut.-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, together with three other officers, and Mr. Higginbotham. At that time the horses were all in excellent condition.
Having ridden along the line and halted beneath the flag, the troops formed three sides of a square with the flag-staff in the centre. The fourth side, facing the river, was then occupied by the artillery, with ten guns.
The formality of reading the official proclamation, describing the annexation of the country to Egypt in the name of the Khedive, then took place at the foot of the flag-staff. At the termination of the last sentence, the Ottoman flag was quickly run up by the halyards and fluttered in the strong breeze at the mast-head. The officers with drawn swords saluted the flag, the troops presented arms, and the batteries of artillery fired a royal salute.
This ceremony being completed, the troops marched past; after which, they formed in order for a supposed attack upon an imaginary enemy, and fired away about ten thousand rounds of blank cartridge in the advance down the long slope which led to the temporary camp and tents erected for the entertainment. Here the bugle sounded "disperse," and all the men immediately set to work to light fires and prepare the food that had been already supplied for their dinners. I believe this was the only day of real enjoyment that the troops had had. The hours passed in rest and sleep until sunset.
I had invited fourteen of the officers to dine with me, and our party of eighteen was easily accommodated on the roomy poop-deck of my diahbeeah.
The Englishmen had a table to themselves in the garden, and were regaled with roast beef and real English plum-pudding, that, having been brought out in tins for Christmas Day, could not be found during the voyage; therefore it added to the feast of the "day of annexation," and was annexed accordingly by English appetites. This was washed down and rendered wholesome by a quantity of pure filtered water from the river Nile, which was included in the annexation; and was represented in the Nile Basin mixed with Jamaica rum, sugar, nutmeg, and lemon-juice from the fruit of the trees planted by the good Austrian missionaries at Gondokoro. Little did they think, poor fellows, of the jollification to which their lemons would subscribe when they first sowed the good seeds.
When dinner was over, we repaired to the large divan tents, where refreshments were arranged, and the magic lantern was prepared for the amusement of officers and men. This was an admirable machine, and was well explained by Lieutenant Baker. No one had ever seen such an exhibition before, therefore it caused immense satisfaction. One of the representations that was most applauded, was, Moses going through the Red Sea with the Israelites, followed by Pharaoh. The story being well known to all Mohammedans, the performance was encored with such energy that Moses had to go through the Red Sea twice, and they would have insisted upon his crossing a third time, had the slide not been rapidly exchanged for another subject.
The formal ceremony of annexation was over, and it was necessary to decide upon the future.
I had issued the following Camp Regulations:—
1. "No person shall cut or in other ways destroy any tamarind or oil tree under any pretext whatever. Neither shall any tree whatsoever be either cut or damaged within a distance of 2,000 paces from the flag-staff or camp.
2. "No person shall stray beyond 2,000 paces of the flag-staff or camp without permission either from the Pacha or Raouf Bey.
3. "No person shall trade in ivory, neither shall any person accept ivory as a present or in exchange; neither shall any person shoot, or cause to be shot, elephants: all ivory being the property and monopoly of the government of His Highness the Khedive of Egypt.
4. "No person shall either purchase or receive slaves as presents or in exchange.
"Any person transgressing by disobedience of the above laws will be punished as the will of Baker Pacha may direct. "S. W. BAKER."
My men were hard at work erecting magazines and building the station, and had I not issued the above regulations, they would have cut down every ornamental tree in the neighbourhood. Although the mission-house had disappeared, the foundations remained; I dug them up and procured sufficient sound bricks to build a powder-magazine, which I covered with a galvanized iron roof and protected my ammunition.
Several of the Egyptian soldiers deserted. These people, who were for the most part convicts, although professing Islamism preferred to live with the natives, to the steady discipline of military life.
One evening, the sentry, on guard before the house of Lieutenant Baker and Mr. Higginbotham, was observed by Mr. Baker's soldier servant (a black) to lay his rifle on the ground and to enter stealthily the doorway of his hut. Abdullah Maseri, the servant, lost no time in running towards the hut, which he quietly entered in the dusk, without being perceived by the thief within, who in the absence of Mr. Baker was pillaging his boxes.
Abdullah quietly crept up behind him, pinned him by the back of the neck, and held him until he obtained assistance. There was no escape from conviction, therefore I sentenced the thief to receive 100 lashes and to be, confined in irons.
While he was undergoing the punishment he yelled for mercy, saying, "I will confess-I will confess all. It was I who entered the Pacha's room at Tewfikeeyah. It was at me that the Pacha fired the pistol! Put me in irons, but don't flog me; I will confess all."
This man was an Egyptian belonging to the "Forty Thieves," and he now confessed his former delinquency. He was secured in irons and placed under a guard. The fellow had been a professional thief, and during the night he managed to slip off his irons and make his escape, no doubt with the connivance of the sentry.
The fact of the natives receiving the deserters was enough to suggest the suspicion that they were tampering with the troops. Although the Baris would neither work nor assist in any manner, they continued, in spite of my warning, to swim their cattle across to the pasturage on the mainland occupied by the troops.
I again gave the sheik Allorron notice, that if he continued to drive his cattle to the forbidden pasture, they would be confiscated.
On the following morning they returned to the mainland as usual, not the slightest notice having been taken of my repeated and official warning.
I gave orders to secure them. About ten men of the "Forty Thieves" quietly explained the order to the natives who guarded the cattle, and without any remonstrance they drove them to my station, and stood guard around the herd.
The natives returned to the island, and reported the affair to the sheik Allorron and his people.
Early on the following morning, the sheik, accompanied by fifteen headmen of villages and a number of natives, together with Tomby the interpreter, attended and formed a deputation. I received them beneath the shady tree near my diahbeeah. They looked very sheepish, and asked me, "Why had I confiscated their cattle?"
I explained the reason: and they at length acknowledged that they had no positive right of pasturage, as they had been driven from their country by the Loquia, and were it not for my presence they could not venture to drive their cattle to the mainland. At the same time they explained, that the extreme dryness of the season had exhausted the grass upon the island after the close grazing of the large herds; thus they had imagined I should not have any real objection to their pasturing upon the east banks, which, as I had no cattle, would otherwise be neglected.
I explained that the government must be obeyed, and that, as they had disobeyed every order, I should take charge of their cattle (about 200) until they showed a disposition to accept the Khedive's authority. At the same time, if the natives would bring thatch grass and assist the troops in forming the station (a work which they had always performed annually for Abou Saood's people), I would return them their cattle.
A long conversation ensued among the headmen, several of whom rose in succession, and addressed the meeting with great energy and fluency. They declared that there had been a general misunderstanding, but that they now began to comprehend their position. I informed them that they must themselves appoint a responsible sheik or headman, as many had refused to obey Allorron. I should regard one chief as their representative, and they as headmen must elect him at the present assembly. I should also place the power in the hands of the chief, whose orders must be obeyed by the headmen of the villages. This chief would be responsible to me for the acts of those beneath him, and I should punish all those who refused to acknowledge his authority.
The meeting ended most satisfactorily. The natives explained, that, although Allorron had been the ostensible sheik for a great length of time, the true sheik by actual descent was a chief named Morbe; but as his cattle had been carried off by the Loquia, he had lost his property, and also his influence among the people. In those savage countries the possession of property is considered absolutely necessary to a man in a high position.
Morbe was elected unanimously as the sheik responsible to the government. All headmen declared they would obey his orders; even Allorron appeared pleased that he had shifted his responsibility upon the shoulders of another. The headmen all promised that they would beat their drums and summon their people on their return to their villages, and that on the morrow they would collect bamboos and thatch-grass for any purpose we might require. The meeting ended by their agreeing to deliver a certain number of bundles in a given period: they also promised to supply the troops with oxen at a stipulated price. Morbe, the new sheik, then addressed me in the name of the assembly, and begged me to establish confidence and goodwill by returning them their cattle. I had expected this request. I therefore replied, that as they had attended my summons and promised obedience, I would test their sincerity by returning them not only their own cattle, but I would trust them with the care of my three large breeding cows which I had brought from the Rohr country; at the same time, I gave them fair warning, that if they broke the agreement now entered upon, I should not be in a hurry to return their cattle on a future occasion. They seemed to be, quite satisfied, and the meeting broke up.
They drove off the herd, together with my three cows, while my soldiers looked on with utter amazement and regarded me as thought I had lost my senses.
Although I had entered into this agreement, the natives had not the slightest idea of carrying out their promises. A few bundles of bamboos were brought, also some thatch-grass, but not an ox was given to the troops. The sheik of Belinian had refused to appear; and he alleged as an excuse that he feared treachery, since his father and family had been murdered when guests of Abou Saood. The Baris of Gondokoro had regained their cattle, and they did not trouble themselves about their contract, as they inwardly hoped that by starving us they might succeed in disgusting the troops, which would necessitate the abandonment of the expedition.
A few days after the breach of contract, Tomby, the interpreter, appeared, and told me that the Baris had refused to work, and that the government would not succeed in that country. The people wished me to join them with my troops, and to attack their old enemy, Loquia. I should then obtain cattle and sheep in the razzia, and the government would be independent.
This was the regular negro system which had originally introduced the slave trade throughout the White Nile. One tribe invariably requests the alliance of a superior force to attack some powerful neighbour: the prisoners of war become slaves. When trading adventurers first commenced on the White Nile, the natives sold ivory for beads and copper bracelets; and trade was fairly established. The armed companies of the traders were immediately invited to become allies, and attacks were made upon various tribes. The cattle and slaves became the property of the captors. The traders quickly discovered that it was far easier and more profitable to steal cattle and slaves to exchange for ivory, than to import goods from Khartoum. They commenced the system of cattle-lifting and slave-hunting, which rapidly increased until it arrived at the immense scale already described.
I preached morality hopelessly to the Baris; they were mere ruffians, and they longed for the arrival of Abou Saood, who would once more give them an opportunity of joining his people to plunder and enslave the tribes of the interior. It was in vain that I assured them of the impossibility of such proceedings, and that Abou Saood's people would not be permitted by the government to continue these atrocities. They ridiculed the idea, and declared that the traders would always continue in their old customs, notwithstanding the presence of the Khedive's officers. They said that no business could be done in any other way in those countries; they advised me to "take women and cattle, and then the natives would listen to my advice, but not otherwise."
It was utter folly to attempt negotiations with these people; they were the most brutal and obtuse savages. They had been abandoned by the missionaries as hopeless, and they would acknowledge nothing but force.
The troops were discontented. After all their fatigues, the promised land was starvation. There was still much work to be done, as the expedition was in fact only commencing. By degrees the Baris absented themselves entirely from our camp, and we were left to ourselves as utter strangers. The cattle were driven over to our fine pasturage daily, and returned at night to their island; but not an ox, or even a goat, was ever offered for sale, and all communication between us and the natives had apparently ceased.
It was quite impossible to allow this to continue. I gave the order, and once more the soldiers quietly surrounded the herd of cattle, and drove them to head-quarters as before. The old scene was re-enacted. The new sheik, Morbe, together with Allorron and many headmen, arrived. Again a long palaver took place, through the medium of Tomby, the interpreter, and the promises of good behaviour were renewed.
I informed them that I should not confiscate their cattle, but I should keep them as hostages for their good behaviour; at the same time, I should select a certain number of oxen as food for the troops, which should be paid for.
The meeting terminated with fresh assurances of goodwill . . . A few days elapsed, but the Baris did not return; we were completely abandoned.
On June 29th the camp was disturbed at night by an attempt of the natives to drive off some of the cattle. The sentry fired, but without effect. I foresaw trouble.
On June 1st I issued a General Order to the troops—
"The natives of the Bari having disobeyed the summons of the government, and having refused compliance with the regulations established, it has become necessary to compel them to obedience by force.
"In the event of hostilities, I specially forbid the capture of women, or children of either sex. Any officer or soldier disobeying this order will suffer death. "S. W. BAKER."
I felt certain that a breach of the peace was at hand, and I made arrangements accordingly. The troops were daily engaged in building the station, in which they were assisted by the sailors, all of whom were obliged to carry the material from a distance of two miles from the forest. A party of sawyers with a small escort of soldiers were settled in a camp about three miles from my station, as the distance was too great for a daily return from their work. One night they were attacked by the natives, who shot arrows and yelled for about an hour, but fortunately did not succeed in wounding any of the men, who were well protected by the trunks of some very large trees. The soldiers had fired away a considerable amount of ammunition in return, until they managed to escape during the darkness, and run away to head-quarters.
On 3rd June, at about 3 P.M., when the cattle were grazing in the beautiful park-like ground about a mile from head-quarters, some Baris, who had stealthily approached the herd by stalking from bush to bush, without being observed by the sleepy guards, made a sudden rush with loud yells among the cattle, and succeeded in driving off ten cows with which they swam the river without a shot being fired by the unready soldiers. (On this occasion the guards must have run away at the first onset of the natives.)
On the night of the 4th June two natives were captured by the sentries. These people had crept in the pitch darkness, until they had succeeded in entering the cattle zareeba. One of them confessed that a large body of natives was assembled in the high grass near the banks of the river, with the intention of attacking the camp during the night.
I immediately took eighteen men, and posted them in three parties of six at various points about a quarter of a mile from my station. They were to lie concealed in these positions, which commanded every approach to the camp.
At 10.30 P.M. I was aroused by the sound of firing, and upon arrival at the shot I found that the sentries had fired into the advanced party of natives, some of whom they declared to be wounded, but I could find no trace of blood.
Open war had commenced. The natives had deserted their villages on the portion of the island opposite to my camp. This was about seven miles in length, therefore, in return for the attacks made upon my people on our mainland, I determined to pay the Baris a visit.
I issued the necessary orders. At 3 A.M., on June 5th, five boats with sixty men dropped silently down the east channel of the river, with orders to land at the extreme end of the island. At the same time two companies of troops landed opposite my station, where they waited in the dark until the steamer, with myself and two companies on board, had rounded the head of the island, and had obtained a position in the west channel. The troops then advanced while the steamer ran easily down the strong current. Everything went well, but the noise of the paddles quickly gave the alarm, and the sound of a big drum in the distance was almost immediately responded to by many others from various points.
The steamer now ran at half speed along the river, the intention of cutting off any native canoes, or intercepting any herds of cattle that might be passing to the west mainland. Every arrangement was well carried out; but, unfortunately, as we were running at about nine miles an hour, the steamer suddenly struck upon a sand-bank, where she remained fixed.
After some vain attempts to float her, I instructed Raouf Bey to do his best with her, and act, according to circumstances, at his own discretion, while I left the steamer in the dingy, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker and six soldiers of the "Forty Thieves," with the intention of joining the two companies under Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, who were marching down the island from south to north.
We rowed down the stream for forty-five minutes along the west bank of the island. I had calculated the distance by time, and having allowed for the delay on the steamer and the pace at which the troops under Abd-el-Rader would march, I concluded that we should now land somewhere near them. This turned out correct, as we joined his party a few minutes after we had left the boat. I immediately detached a sergeant and nineteen men to march along the east bank until they should meet my boat, which had been ordered to continue along the west bank until it should turn round the tail of the island, when it was to return home by the east channel, that would lead direct to my station.
We had not seen any Baris upon the island, which appeared to be quite deserted. The character of the ground had changed. We had left the dry portion, which had been lately sown with dhurra, and we had arrived among scattered masses of tall reeds growing from mud lately hardened by the sun and full of deep cattle-ruts.
I threw out skirmishers, as we shortly entered a bad piece of country. At this moment wo heard shots fired at the tail of the island, about two miles in our front.
We pushed on at the double, until stopped by a deep channel of the river about thirty yards wide. On the other side we now heard the horns of the natives and the lowing of cattle. It was necessary to skirt the banks of the channel through thick forest; thus, following the stream, we shortly arrived at the main river, just in time to see the natives at a distance of a quarter of a mile swimming a large herd of cattle across the stream to the east shore, where they landed and safely gained the forest. They were quickly pursued by the troops who, having landed at the tail of the island, were in chase; and being supplied with boats, they crossed over the river and followed hard upon the track of the retreating cattle.
The Baris did not suspect that they would be followed to the main shore; thus upon reaching the forest they continued their retreat leisurely. My black troops were wonderful runners; thus, when once upon the track of the herd, they went along like hounds and overtook the Baris, who had no idea of the pursuit until the soldiers were among them. The affair ended by the capture of a portion of the herd, and the return to camp at 5.30 P.M. We had eaten nothing since the previous evening, as the boat containing our breakfast had not yet appeared. We had been on our legs in the sun for fourteen hours, thus we were ready for dinner on the return to camp. I was anxious about the missing boat. On the following day, June 6, at 4.40 P.M., the lost dingy arrived with her crew all safe. They had missed their way by taking a wrong channel of the river, which led them into a labyrinth of high reeds, where they were obliged to pass the night among clouds of mosquitoes.
On the following day they began the tedious journey by rowing homeward against the stream. They came suddenly upon a large body of natives, who immediately attacked them with arrows, one of which went through the trousers of a soldier. My men told a long story, and made themselves out to be perfect heroes; but my servants and the boatmen told a very different tale, and declared that they had thrown themselves down in the bottom of the boat to avoid the arrows, and my servant, Mohammed Haroon, had himself fired my heavy gun loaded with mould shot at the enemy.