CHAPTER II
THE BLACK HAND
In due course we left Lamu, and ten days afterwards we found
ourselves at a spot called Charra, on the Tana River, having
gone through many adventures which need not be recorded here.
Amongst other things we visited a ruined city, of which there
are many on this coast, and which must once, to judge from their
extent and the numerous remains of mosques and stone houses,
have been very populous places. These ruined cities are immeasurably
ancient, having, I believe, been places of wealth and importance
as far back as the Old Testament times, when they were centres
of trade with India and elsewhere. But their glory has departed
now -- the slave trade has finished them -- and where wealthy
merchants from all parts of the then civilized world stood and
bargained in the crowded market-places, the lion holds his court
at night, and instead of the chattering of slaves and the eager
voices of the bidders, his awful note goes echoing down the ruined
corridors. At this particular place we discovered on a mound,
covered up with rank growth and rubbish, two of the most beautiful
stone doorways that it is possible to conceive. The carving
on them was simply exquisite, and I only regret that we had no
means of getting them away. No doubt they had once been the
entrances to a palace, of which, however, no traces were now
to be seen, though probably its ruins lay under the rising mound.
Gone! quite gone! the way that everything must go. Like the
nobles and the ladies who lived within their gates, these cities
have had their day, and now they are as Babylon and Nineveh,
and as London and Paris will one day be. Nothing may endure.
That is the inexorable law. Men and women, empires and cities,
thrones, principalities, and powers, mountains, rivers, and unfathomed
seas, worlds, spaces, and universes, all have their day, and
all must go. In this ruined and forgotten place the moralist
may behold a symbol of the universal destiny. For this system
of ours allows no room for standing still -- nothing can loiter
on the road and check the progress of things upwards towards
Life, or the rush of things downwards towards Death. The stern
policeman Fate moves us and them on, on, uphill and downhill
and across the level; there is no resting-place for the weary
feet, till at last the abyss swallows us, and from the shores
of the Transitory we are hurled into the sea of the Eternal.
At Charra we had a violent quarrel with the headman of the bearers
we had hired to go as far as this, and who now wished to extort
large extra payment from us. In the result he threatened to
set the Masai -- about whom more anon -- on to us. That night
he, with all our hired bearers, ran away, stealing most of the
goods which had been entrusted to them to carry. Luckily, however,
they had not happened to steal our rifles, ammunition, and personal
effects; not because of any delicacy of feeling on their part,
but owing to the fact that they chanced to be in the charge of
the five Wakwafis. After that, it was clear to us that we had
had enough of caravans and of bearers. Indeed, we had not much
left for a caravan to carry. And yet, how were we to get on?
It was Good who solved the question. 'Here is water,' he said,
pointing to the Tana River; 'and yesterday I saw a party of natives
hunting hippopotami in canoes. I understand that Mr Mackenzie's
mission station is on the Tana River. Why not get into canoes
and paddle up to it?'
This brilliant suggestion was, needless to say, received with
acclamation; and I instantly set to work to buy suitable canoes
from the surrounding natives. I succeeded after a delay of three
days in obtaining two large ones, each hollowed out of a single
log of some light wood, and capable of holding six people and
baggage. For these two canoes we had to pay nearly all our
remaining cloth, and also many other articles.
On the day following our purchase of the two canoes we effected
a start. In the first canoe were Good, Sir Henry, and three
of our Wakwafi followers; in the second myself, Umslopogaas,
and the other two Wakwafis. As our course lay upstream, we had
to keep four paddles at work in each canoe, which meant that
the whole lot of us, except Good, had to row away like galley-slaves;
and very exhausting work it was. I say, except Good, for, of
course, the moment that Good got into a boat his foot was on
his native heath, and he took command of the party. And certainly
he worked us. On shore Good is a gentle, mild-mannered man,
and given to jocosity; but, as we found to our cost, Good in
a boat was a perfect demon. To begin with, he knew all about
it, and we didn't. On all nautical subjects, from the torpedo
fittings of a man-of-war down to the best way of handling the
paddle of an African canoe, he was a perfect mine of information,
which, to say the least of it, we were not. Also his ideas of
discipline were of the sternest, and, in short, he came the royal
naval officer over us pretty considerably, and paid us out amply
for all the chaff we were wont to treat him to on land; but,
on the other hand, I am bound to say that he managed the boats admirably.
After the first day Good succeeded, with the help of some cloth
and a couple of poles, in rigging up a sail in each canoe, which
lightened our labours not a little. But the current ran very
strong against us, and at the best we were not able to make more
than twenty miles a day. Our plan was to start at dawn, and
paddle along till about half-past ten, by which time the sun
got too hot to allow of further exertion. Then we moored our
canoes to the bank, and ate our frugal meal; after which we ate
or otherwise amused ourselves till about three o'clock, when
we again started, and rowed till within an hour of sundown, when
we called a halt for the night. On landing in the evening, Good
would at once set to work, with the help of the Askari, to build
a little 'scherm', or small enclosure, fenced with thorn bushes,
and to light a fire. I, with Sir Henry and Umslopogaas, would
go out to shoot something for the pot. Generally this was an
easy task, for all sorts of game abounded on the banks of the
Tana. One night Sir Henry shot a young cow-giraffe, of which
the marrow-bones were excellent; on another I got a couple of
waterbuck right and left; and once, to his own intense satisfaction,
Umslopogaas (who, like most Zulus, was a vile shot with a rifle)
managed to kill a fine fat eland with a Martini I had lent him.
Sometimes we varied our food by shooting some guinea-fowl, or
bush-bustard (paau) -- both of which were numerous -- with a
shot-gun, or by catching a supply of beautiful yellow fish, with
which the waters of the Tana swarmed, and which form, I believe,
one of the chief food-supplies of the crocodiles.
Three days after our start an ominous incident occurred. We
were just drawing in to the bank to make our camp as usual for
the night, when we caught sight of a figure standing on a little
knoll not forty yards away, and intensely watching our approach.
One glance was sufficient -- although I was personally unacquainted
with the tribe -- to tell me that he was a Masai Elmoran, or
young warrior. Indeed, had I had any doubts, they would have
quickly been dispelled by the terrified ejaculation of 'Masai!'
that burst simultaneously from the lips of our Wakwafi followers,
who are, as I think I have said, themselves bastard Masai.
And what a figure he presented as he stood there in his savage
war-gear! Accustomed as I have been to savages all my life,
I do not think that I have ever before seen anything quite so
ferocious or awe-inspiring. To begin with, the man was enormously
tall, quite as tall as Umslopogaas, I should say, and beautifully,
though somewhat slightly, shaped; but with the face of a devil.
In his right hand he held a spear about five and a half feet
long, the blade being two and a half feet in length, by nearly
three inches in width, and having an iron spike at the end of
the handle that measured more than a foot. On his left arm was
a large and well-made elliptical shield of buffalo hide, on which
were painted strange heraldic-looking devices. On his shoulders
was a huge cape of hawk's feathers, and round his neck was a
'naibere', or strip of cotton, about seventeen feet long, by
one and a half broad, with a stripe of colour running down the
middle of it. The tanned goatskin robe, which formed his ordinary
attire in times of peace, was tied lightly round his waist, so
as to serve the purposes of a belt, and through it were stuck,
on the right and left sides respectively, his short pear-shaped
sime, or sword, which is made of a single piece of steel, and
carried in a wooden sheath, and an enormous knobkerrie. But
perhaps the most remarkable feature of his attire consisted of
a headdress of ostrich-feathers, which was fixed on the chin,
and passed in front of the ears to the forehead, and, being shaped
like an ellipse, completely framed the face, so that the diabolical
countenance appeared to project from a sort of feather fire-screen.
Round the ankles he wore black fringes of hair, and, projecting
from the upper portion of the calves, to which they were attached,
were long spurs like spikes, from which flowed down tufts of
the beautiful black and waving hair of the Colobus monkey. Such
was the elaborate array of the Masai Elmoran who stood watching
the approach of our two canoes, but it is one which, to be appreciated,
must be seen; only those who see it do not often live to describe
it. Of course I could not make out all these details of his
full dress on the occasion of this my first introduction, being,
indeed, amply taken up with the consideration of the general
effect, but I had plenty of subsequent opportunities of becoming
acquainted with the items that went to make it up.
Whilst we were hesitating what to do, the Masai warrior drew
himself up in a dignified fashion, shook his huge spear at us,
and, turning, vanished on the further side of the slope.
'Hulloa!' holloaed Sir Henry from the other boat; 'our friend
the caravan leader has been as good as his word, and set the
Masai after us. Do you think it will be safe to go ashore?'
I did not think it would be at all safe; but, on the other hand,
we had no means of cooking in the canoes, and nothing that we
could eat raw, so it was difficult to know what to do. At last
Umslopogaas simplified matters by volunteering to go and reconnoitre,
which he did, creeping off into the bush like a snake, while
we hung off in the stream waiting for him. In half an hour he
returned, and told us that there was not a Masai to be seen anywhere
about, but that he had discovered a spot where they had recently
been encamped, and that from various indications he judged that
they must have moved on an hour or so before; the man we saw
having, no doubt, been left to report upon our movements.
Thereupon we landed; and, having posted a sentry, proceeded to
cook and eat our evening meal. This done, we took the situation
into our serious consideration. Of course, it was possible that
the apparition of the Masai warrior had nothing to do with us,
that he was merely one of a band bent upon some marauding and
murdering expedition against another tribe. But when we recalled
the threat of the caravan leader, and reflected on the ominous
way in which the warrior had shaken his spear at us, this did
not appear very probable. On the contrary, what did seem probable
was that the part was after us and awaiting a favourable opportunity
to attack us. This being so, there were two things that we could
do -- one of which was to go on, and the other to go back. The
latter idea was, however, rejected at once, it being obvious
that we should encounter as many dangers in retreat as in advance;
and, besides, we had made up our minds to journey onwards at
any price. Under these circumstances, however, we did not consider
it safe to sleep ashore, so we got into our canoes, and, paddling
out into the middle of the stream, which was not very wide here,
managed to anchor them by means of big stones fastened to ropes
made of coconut-fibre, of which there were several fathoms in
each canoe.
Here the mosquitoes nearly ate us up alive, and this, combined
with anxiety as to our position, effectually prevented me from
sleeping as the others were doing, notwithstanding the attacks
of the aforesaid Tana mosquitoes. And so I lay awake, smoking
and reflecting on many things, but, being of a practical turn
of mind, chiefly on how we were to give those Masai villains
the slip. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and, notwithstanding
the mosquitoes, and the great risk we were running from fever
from sleeping in such a spot, and forgetting that I had the cramp
very badly in my right leg from squatting in a constrained position
in the canoe, and that the Wakwafi who was sleeping beside me
smelt horribly, I really began to enjoy myself. The moonbeams
played upon the surface of the running water that speeded unceasingly
past us towards the sea, like men's lives towards the grave,
till it glittered like a wide sheet of silver, that is in the
open where the trees threw no shadows. Near the banks, however,
it was very dark, and the night wind sighed sadly in the reeds.
To our left, on the further side of the river, was a little
sandy bay which was clear of trees, and here I could make out
the forms of numerous antelopes advancing to the water, till
suddenly there came an ominous roar, whereupon they all made
off hurriedly. Then after a pause I caught sight of the massive
form of His Majesty the Lion, coming down to drink his fill after
meat. Presently he moved on, then came a crashing of the reeds
about fifty yards above us, and a few minutes later a huge black
mass rose out of the water, about twenty yards from me, and snorted.
It was the head of a hippopotamus. Down it went without a sound,
only to rise again within five yards of where I sat. This was
decidedly too near to be comfortable, more especially as the
hippopotamus was evidently animated by intense curiosity to know
what on earth our canoes were. He opened his great mouth, to
yawn, I suppose, and gave me an excellent view of his ivories;
and I could not help reflecting how easily he could crunch up
our frail canoe with a single bite. Indeed, I had half a mind
to give him a ball from my eight-bore, but on reflection determined
to let him alone unless he actually charged the boat. Presently
he sank again as noiselessly as before, and I saw no more of
him. Just then, on looking towards the bank on our right, I
fancied that I caught sight of a dark figure flitting between
the tree trunks. I have very keen sight, and I was almost sure
that I saw something, but whether it was bird, beast, or man
I could not say. At the moment, however, a dark cloud passed
over the moon, and I saw no more of it. Just then, too, although
all the other sounds of the forest had ceased, a species of horned
owl with which I was well acquainted began to hoot with great
persistency. After that, save for the rustling of trees and
reeds when the wind caught them, there was complete silence.
But somehow, in the most unaccountable way, I had suddenly become
nervous. There was no particular reason why I should be, beyond
the ordinary reasons which surround the Central African traveller,
and yet I undoubtedly was. If there is one thing more than another
of which I have the most complete and entire scorn and disbelief,
it is of presentiments, and yet here I was all of a sudden filled
with and possessed by a most undoubted presentiment of approaching
evil. I would not give way to it, however, although I felt the
cold perspiration stand out upon my forehead. I would not arouse
the others. Worse and worse I grew, my pulse fluttered like
a dying man's, my nerves thrilled with the horrible sense of
impotent terror which anybody who is subject to nightmare will
be familiar with, but still my will triumphed over my fears,
and I lay quiet (for I was half sitting, half lying, in the bow
of the canoe), only turning my face so as to command a view of
Umslopogaas and the two Wakwafi who were sleeping alongside of
and beyond me.
In the distance I heard a hippopotamus splash faintly, then the
owl hooted again in a kind of unnatural screaming note {Endnote 4},
and the wind began to moan plaintively through the trees,
making a heart-chilling music. Above was the black bosom of
the cloud, and beneath me swept the black flood of the water,
and I felt as though I and Death were utterly alone between them.
It was very desolate.
Suddenly my blood seemed to freeze in my veins, and my heart
to stand still. Was it fancy, or were we moving? I turned my
eyes to look for the other canoe which should be alongside of
us. I could not see it, but instead I saw a lean and clutching
black hand lifting itself above the gunwale of the little boat.
Surely it was a nightmare! At the same instant a dim but
devilish-looking face appeared to rise out of the water, and
then came a lurch of the canoe, the quick flash of a knife, and
an awful yell from the Wakwafi who was sleeping by my side (the
same poor fellow whose odour had been annoying me), and something
warm spurted into my face. In an instant the spell was broken;
I knew that it was no nightmare, but that we were attacked by
swimming Masai. Snatching at the first weapon that came to hand,
which happened to be Umslopogaas' battleaxe, I struck with all
my force in the direction in which I had seen the flash of the
knife. The blow fell upon a man's arm, and, catching it against
the thick wooden gunwale of the canoe, completely severed it
from the body just above the wrist. As for its owner, he uttered
no sound or cry. Like a ghost he came, and like a ghost he went,
leaving behind him a bloody hand still gripping a great knife,
or rather a short sword, that was buried in the heart of our
poor servant.
Instantly there arose a hubbub and confusion, and I fancied,
rightly or wrongly, that I made out several dark heads gliding
away towards the right-hand bank, whither we were rapidly drifting,
for the rope by which we were moored had been severed with a
knife. As soon as I had realized this fact, I also realized
that the scheme had been to cut the boat loose so that it should
drift on to the right bank (as it would have done with the natural
swing of the current), where no doubt a party of Masai were waiting
to dig their shovel-headed spears into us. Seizing one paddle
myself, I told Umslopogaas to take another (for the remaining
Askari was too frightened and bewildered to be of any use), and
together we rowed vigorously out towards the middle of the stream;
and not an instant too soon, for in another minute we should
have been aground, and then there would have been an end of us.
As soon as we were well out, we set to work to paddle the canoe
upstream again to where the other was moored; and very hard and
dangerous work it was in the dark, and with nothing but the notes
of Good's stentorian shouts, which he kept firing off at intervals
like a fog-horn, to guide us. But at last we fetched up, and
were thankful to find that they had not been molested at all.
No doubt the owner of the same hand that severed our rope should
have severed theirs also, but was led away from his purpose by
an irresistible inclination to murder when he got the chance,
which, while it cost us a man and him his hand, undoubtedly saved
all the rest of us from massacre. Had it not been for that ghastly
apparition over the side of the boat -- an apparition that I
shall never forget till my dying hour -- the canoe would undoubtedly
have drifted ashore before I realized what had happened, and
this history would never have been written by me.
