The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, And Explorations of the Nile Sources

The Latookas are the finest savages I have ever seen. I measured a number of them as they happened to enter my tent, and allowing two inches for the thickness of their felt helmets, the average height was 5 ft. 11 1/2 in. Not only are they tall, but they possess a wonderful muscular development, having beautifully proportioned legs and arms; and although extremely powerful, they are never fleshy or corpulent. The formation of head and general physiognomy is totally different from all other tribes that I have met with in the neighbourhood of the White Nile. They have high foreheads, large eyes, rather high cheekbones, mouths not very large, well-shaped, and the lips rather full. They all have a remarkably pleasing cast of countenance, and are a great contrast to the other tribes in civility of manner. Altogether their appearance denotes a Galla origin, and it is most probable that, at some former period, an invasion by the Gallas of this country originated the settlement of the Latookas.

One of the principal channels, if not the main stream of the river Sobat, is only four days' march or fifty miles east of Latooka, and is known to the natives as the Chol. The east bank of that stream is occupied by the Gallas, who have frequently invaded the Latooka country. There is an interesting circumstance connected with these invasions, that the Gallas were invariably mounted upon MULES. Neither horse, camel, nor other beast of burden is known to any of the White Nile tribes, therefore the existence of mules on the east bank of the Chol is a distinguishing feature. Both Abyssinia and the Galla being renowned for a fine breed of mules, affords good circumstantial evidence that the Akkara tribe of the Chol are true Gallas, and that the Latookas may be derived from a similar origin by settlements after conquest.

The great chief of the Latookas, "Moy," assured me that his people could not withstand the cavalry of the Akkara, although they were superior to all other tribes on foot.

I have heard the traders of Khartoum pretend that they can distinguish the tribes of the White Nile by their individual type. I must confess my inability on this point. In vain I have attempted to trace an actual difference. To me the only distinguishing mark between the tribes bordering the White River is a peculiarity in either dressing the hair, or in ornament. The difference of general appearance caused by a variety of hairdressing is most perplexing, and is apt to mislead a traveller who is only a superficial observer; but from the commencement of the negro tribes in N. lat. 12 degrees to Ellyria in lat. 4 degrees 30 minutes I have found no specific difference in the people. The actual change takes place suddenly on arrival in Latooka, and this is accounted for by an admixture with the Gallas.

The Latookas are a fine, frank, and warlike race. Far from being the morose set of savages that I had hitherto seen, they were excessively merry, and always ready for either a laugh or a fight. The town of Tarrangolle contained about three thousand houses, and was not only surrounded by iron-wood palisades, but every house was individually fortified by a little stockaded courtyard. The cattle were kept in large kraals in various parts of the town, and were most carefully attended to, fires being lit every night to protect them from flies; and high platforms, in three tiers, were erected in many places, upon which sentinels watched both day and night to give the alarm in case of danger. The cattle are the wealth of the country, and so rich are the Latookas in oxen, that ten or twelve thousand head are housed in every large town; thus the natives are ever on the watch, fearing the attacks of the adjacent tribes.

The houses of the Latookas are generally bell-shaped, while others are precisely like huge candle-extinguishers, about twenty-five feet high. The roofs are neatly thatched, at an angle of about 75 degrees, resting upon a circular wall about four feet high; thus the roof forms a cap descending to within two feet and a half of the ground. The doorway is only two feet and two inches high, thus an entrance must be effected upon all-fours. The interior is remarkably clean, but dark, as the architects have no idea of windows. It is a curious fact that the circular form of but is the only style of architecture adopted among all the tribes of Central Africa, and also among the Arabs of Upper Egypt; and that, although these differ more or less in the form of the roof, no tribe has ever yet sufficiently advanced to construct a window. The town of Tarrangolle is arranged with several entrances, in the shape of low archways through the palisades; these are closed at night by large branches of the hooked thorn of the kittur bush (a species of mimosa). The main street is broad, but all others are studiously arranged to admit of only one cow, in single file, between high stockades; thus, in the event of an attack, these narrow passages could be easily defended, and it would be impossible to drive off their vast herds of cattle unless by the main street. The large cattle kraals are accordingly arranged in various quarters in connexion with the great road, and the entrance of each kraal is a small archway in the strong iron-wood fence sufficiently wide to admit one ox at a time.

Suspended from the arch is a bell, formed of the shell of the Dolape palm-nut, against which every animal must strike either its horns or back, on entrance.

Every tinkle of the bell announces the passage of an ox into the kraal, and they are thus counted every evening when brought home from pasture. I had noticed, during the march from Latome, that the vicinity of every town was announced by heaps of human remains. Bones and skulls formed a Golgotha within a quarter of a mile of every village. Some of these were in earthenware pots, generally broken; others lay strewn here and there; while a heap in the centre showed that some form had originally been observed in their disposition. This was explained by an extraordinary custom most rigidly observed by the Latookas. Should a man be killed in battle the body is allowed to remain where it fell, and is devoured by the vultures and hyenas; but should he die a natural death, he or she is buried in a shallow grave within a few feet of his own door, in the little courtyard that surrounds each dwelling. Funeral dances are then kept up in memory of the dead for several weeks; at the expiration of which time, the body being sufficiently decomposed, is exhumed. The bones are cleaned, and are deposited in an earthenware jar, and carried to a spot near the town which is regarded as the cemetery. I observed that they were not particular in regarding the spot as sacred, as signs of nuisances were present even upon the bones, that in civilized countries would have been regarded as an insult.

There is little difficulty in describing the toilette of the native— that of the men being simplified by the sole covering of the head, the body being entirely nude. It is curious to observe among these wild savages the consummate vanity displayed in their head-dresses. Every tribe has a distinct and unchanging fashion for dressing the hair; and so elaborate is the coiffure that hair-dressing is reduced to a science. European ladies would be startled at the fact, that to perfect the coiffure of a man requires a period of from eight to ten years! However tedious the operation, the result is extraordinary. The Latookas wear most exquisite helmets, all of which are formed of their own hair; and are, of course, fixtures. At first sight it appears incredible, but a minute examination shows the wonderful perseverance of years in producing what must be highly inconvenient. The thick, crisp wool is woven with fine twine, formed from the bark of a tree, until it presents a thick network of felt. As the hair grows through this matted substance it is subjected to the same process, until, in the course of years, a compact substance is formed like a strong felt, about an inch and a half thick, that has been trained into the shape of a helmet. A strong rim, of about two inches deep, is formed by sewing it together with thread; and the front part of the helmet is protected by a piece of polished copper; while a piece of the same metal, shaped like the half of a bishop's mitre and about a foot in length, forms the crest. The framework of the helmet being at length completed, it must be perfected by an arrangement of beads, should the owner of the head be sufficiently rich to indulge in the coveted distinction. The beads most in fashion are the red and the blue porcelain, about the size of small peas. These are sewn on the surface of the felt, and so beautifully arranged in sections of blue and red that the entire helmet appears to be formed of beads; and the handsome crest of polished copper, surmounted by ostrich-plumes, gives a most dignified and martial appearance to this elaborate head-dress. No helmet is supposed to be complete without a row of cowrie-shells stitched around the rim so as to form a solid edge.

The Latookas have neither bows nor arrows, their weapons consisting of the lance, a powerful iron-headed mace, a long-bladed knife or sword, and an ugly iron bracelet, armed with knife-blades about four inches long by half an inch broad: the latter is used to strike with if disarmed, and to tear with when wrestling with an enemy. Their shields are either of buffaloes' hide or of giraffes', the latter being highly prized as excessively tough although light, and thus combining the two requisite qualities of a good shield; they are usually about four feet six inches long by two feet wide, and are the largest I have seen. Altogether, everything in Latooka looks like fighting. Although the men devote so much attention to their head-dress, the women are extremely simple. It is a curious fact, that while the men are remarkably handsome, the women are exceedingly plain;—they are immense creatures, few being under five feet seven in height, with prodigious limbs. Their superior strength to that of other tribes may be seen in the size of their water jars, which are nearly double as large as any I have seen elsewhere, containing about ten gallons; in these they fetch water from the stream about a mile distant from the town. They wear exceedingly long tails, precisely like those of horses, but made of fine twine and rubbed with red ochre and grease. They are very convenient when they creep into their huts on bands and knees. In addition to the tails, they wear a large flap of tanned leather in front. Should I ever visit that country again, I should take a great number of "Freemasons'" aprons for the women; these would be highly prized, and would create a perfect FUROR. The only really pretty women that I saw in Latooka were Bokke, the wife of the chief, and her daughter; they were fac-similes of each other, the latter having the advantage of being the second edition. Both women and men were extremely eager for beads of all kinds, the most valuable being the red and blue porcelain for helmets, and the large opalescent bead, the size of a child's marble.

The day after my arrival in Latooka I was accommodated by the chief with a hut in a neat courtyard, beautifully clean and cemented with clay, ashes, and cow-dung. Not patronising the architectural advantages of a doorway of two feet high, I pitched my large tent in the yard and stowed all my baggage in the hut. All being arranged, I had a large Persian carpet spread upon the ground, and received the chief of Latooka in state. He was introduced by Ibrahim, and I had the advantage of his interpreter.

I commenced the conversation by ordering a present to be laid on the carpet of several necklaces of valuable beads, copper bars, and coloured cotton handkerchief. It was most amusing to witness his delight at a string of fifty little "berrets" (opal beads the size of marbles) which I had brought into the country for the first time, and were accordingly extremely valuable. No sooner had he surveyed them with undisguised delight than he requested me to give him another string of opals for his wife, or she would be in a bad humour;—accordingly a present for the lady was added to the already large pile of beads that lay heaped upon the carpet before him. After surveying his treasures with pride, he heaved a deep sigh, and turning to the interpreter he said, "What a row there will be in the family when my other wives see Bokke (his head wife) dressed up with this finery. Tell the `Mattat' that unless he gives necklaces for each of my other wives, they will fight!" Accordingly I asked him the number of ladies that made him anxious. He deliberately began to count upon his fingers, and having exhausted the digits of one hand, I compromised immediately, begging him not to go through the whole of his establishment, and presented him with about three pounds of various beads, to be divided among them. He appeared highly delighted, and declared his intention of sending all his wives to pay Mrs. Baker a visit. This was an awful visitation, as each wife would expect a present for herself, and would assuredly have either a child or a friend for whom she would beg an addition. I therefore told him that the heat was so great that we could not bear too many in the tent, but that if Bokke, his favourite, would appear, we should be glad to see her.

Accordingly he departed, and shortly we were honoured by a visit. Bokke and her daughter were announced, and a prettier pair of savages I never saw. They were very clean;—their hair was worn short, like all the women of the country, and plastered with red ochre and fat, so as to look like vermilion; their faces were slightly tattooed on the cheeks and temples; and they sat down on the many-coloured carpet with great surprise, and stared at the first white man and woman they had ever seen. We gave them both a number of necklaces of red and blue beads, and I secured Bokke's portrait in my sketch book, obtaining a very correct likeness. She told us that Mahommed Her's men were very bad people; that they had burnt and plundered one of her villages; and that one of the Latookas who had been wounded in the fight by a bullet had just died, and they were to dance for him to-morrow, if we would like to attend. She asked many questions; how many wives I had? and was astonished to hear that I was contented with one. This seemed to amuse her immensely, and she laughed heartily with her daughter at the idea. She said that my wife would be much improved if she would extract her four front teeth from the lower jaw, and wear the red ointment on her hair, according to the fashion of the country; she also proposed that she should pierce her under lip, and wear the long pointed polished crystal, about the size of a drawing pencil, that is the "thing" in the Latooka country. No woman among the tribe who has any pretensions to be a "swell" would be without this highly-prized ornament, and one of my thermometers having come to an end I broke the tube into three pieces, and they were considered as presents of the highest value, to be worn through the perforated under lip. Lest the piece should slip through the hole in the lip, a kind of rivet is formed by twine bound round the inner extremity, and this protruding into the space left by the extraction of the four front teeth of the lower jaw, entices the tongue to act upon the extremity, which gives it a wriggling motion, indescribably ludicrous during conversation.

I cannot understand for what reason all the White Nile tribes extract the four front teeth of the lower jaw. Were the meat of the country tender, the loss of teeth might be a trifle; but I have usually found that even a good set of grinders are sometimes puzzled to go through the operation needful to a Latooka beefsteak. It is difficult to explain real beauty; a defect in one country is a desideratum in another; scars upon the face are, in Europe, a blemish; but here and in the Arab countries no beauty can be perfect until the cheeks or temples have been gashed.

The Arabs make three gashes upon each cheek, and rub the wounds with salt and a kind of porridge (asida) to produce proud flesh; thus every female slave, captured by the slave-hunters, is marked to prove her identity, and to improve her charms. Each tribe has its peculiar fashion as to the position and form of the cicatrix.

The Latookas gash the temples and cheeks of their women, but do not raise the scar above the surface, as is the custom of the Arabs.

Polygamy is, of course, the general custom; the number of a man's wives depending entirely upon his wealth, precisely as would the number of his horses in England. There is no such thing as love in these countries: the feeling is not understood, nor does it exist in the shape in which we understand it. Everything is practical, without a particle of romance. Women are so far appreciated as they are valuable animals. They grind the corn, fetch the water, gather firewood, cement the floors, cook the food, and propagate the race; but they are mere servants, and as such are valuable. The price of a good-looking, strong young wife, who could carry a heavy jar of water, would be ten cows; thus a man, rich in cattle, would be rich in domestic bliss, as he could command a multiplicity of wives. However delightful may be a family of daughters in England, they nevertheless are costly treasures; but in Latooka, and throughout savage lands, they are exceedingly profitable. The simple rule of proportion will suggest that if one daughter is worth ten cows, ten daughters must be worth a hundred, therefore a large family is the source of wealth; the girls produce the cows, and the boys milk them. All being perfectly naked (I mean the girls and the boys), there is no expense, and the children act as herdsmen to the flocks as in the patriarchal times. A multiplicity of wives thus increases wealth by the increase of family. I am afraid this practical state of affairs will be a strong barrier to missionary enterprise.

A savage holds to his cows, and his women, but especially to his COWS. In a razzia fight he will seldom stand for the sake of his wives, but when he does fight it is to save his cattle. I had now a vivid exemplification of this theory.

One day, at about 3 P.M., the men of Ibrahim started upon some mysterious errand, but returned equally mysterious at about midnight. On the following morning I heard that they had intended to attack some place upon the mountains, but they had heard that it was too powerful; and as "discretion is the better part of valour," they had returned.

On the day following I heard that there had been some disaster, and that the whole of Mahommed Her's party had been massacred. The natives seemed very excited, and messenger succeeded messenger, all confirming the account that Mahommed Her had attacked a village on the mountains, the same that Ibrahim had intended to attack, and that the natives had exterminated their whole party.

On the following morning I sent ten of my men with a party of Ibrahim's to Latome to make inquiries. They returned on the following afternoon, bringing with them two wounded men.

It appeared that Mahommed Her had ordered his party of 110 armed men, in addition to 300 natives, to make a razzia upon a certain village among the mountains for slaves and cattle. They had succeeded in burning a village, and in capturing a great number of slaves. Having descended the pass, a native gave them the route that would lead to the capture of a large herd of cattle that they had not yet discovered. They once more ascended the mountain by a different path, and arriving at the kraal, they commenced driving off the vast herd of cattle. The Latookas, who had not fought while their wives and children were being carried into slavery, now fronted bravely against the muskets to defend their herds, and charging the Turks, they drove them down the pass.

It was in vain that they fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck a rock, behind which the enemy was hidden. Rocks, stones, and lances were hurled at them from all sides and from above; they were forced to retreat.

The retreat ended in a panic and precipitate flight. Hemmed in on all sides, amidst a shower of lances and stones thrown from the mountain above, the Turks fled pele-mele down the rocky and precipitous ravines. Mistaking their route, they came to a precipice from which there was no retreat. The screaming and yelling savages closed round them. Fighting was useless; the natives, under cover of the numerous detached rocks, offered no mark for an aim; while the crowd of armed savages thrust them forward with wild yells to the very verge of the great precipice about five hundred feet below. Down they fell! hurled to utter destruction by the mass of Latookas pressing onward! A few fought to the last; but one and all were at length forced, by sheer pressure, over the edge of the cliff, and met a just reward for their atrocities.

My men looked utterly cast down, and a feeling of horror pervaded the entire party. No quarter had been given by the Latookas; and upwards of 200 natives who had joined the slave-hunters in the attack, had also perished with their allies. Mahommed Her had not him self accompanied his people, both he and Bellaal, my late ringleader, having remained in camp; the latter having, fortunately for him, been disabled, and placed hors de combat by the example I had made during the mutiny.

My men were almost green with awe, when I asked them solemnly, "Where were the men who had deserted from me?" Without answering a word they brought two of my guns and laid them at my feet. They were covered with clotted blood mixed with sand, which had hardened like cement over the locks and various portions of the barrels. My guns were all marked. As I looked at the numbers upon the stocks, I repeated aloud the names of the owners. "Are they all dead?" I asked. "All dead," the men replied. "FOOD FOR THE VULTURES?" I asked. "None of the bodies can be recovered," faltered my vakeel. "The two guns were brought from the spot by some natives who escaped, and who saw the men fall. They are all killed." "Better for them had they remained with me and done their duty. The hand of God is heavy," I replied. My men slunk away abashed, leaving the gory witnesses of defeat and death upon the ground. I called Saat and ordered him to give the two guns to Richarn to clean.

Not only my own men but the whole of Ibrahim's party were of opinion that I had some mysterious connexion with the disaster that had befallen my mutineers. All remembered the bitterness of my prophecy, "The vultures will pick their bones," and this terrible mishap having occurred so immediately afterwards took a strong hold upon their superstitious minds. As I passed through the camp, the men would quietly exclaim, "Wah Illahi Hawaga!" (My God! Master.) To which I simply replied, "Robinee fe!" (There is a God.) From that moment I observed an extraordinary change in the manner of both my people and those of Ibrahim, all of whom now paid us the greatest respect.

Unfortunately a great change had likewise taken place in the manner of the Latookas. The whole town was greatly excited, drums were beating and horns blowing in all quarters, every one rejoicing at the annihilation of Mahommed Her's party. The natives no longer respected the superior power of guns; in a hand-to-hand fight they had proved their own superiority, and they had not the sense to distinguish the difference between a struggle in a steep mountain pass and a battle on the open plain. Ibrahim was apprehensive of a general attack on his party by the Latookas.

This was rather awkward, as it was necessary for him to return to Gondokoro for a large supply of ammunition which had been left there for want of porters to convey it, when he had started for the interior. To march to Gondokoro, and to guard the ammunition, would require a large force in the present disturbed state of the country; thus we should be a much-reduced party, which might induce the Latookas to attack us after his departure. However, it was necessary that he should start. I accordingly lent him a couple of donkeys to convey his powder, in case he should not be able to procure porters.

After the departure of Ibrahim, the force of his party remaining at Tarrangolle was reduced to thirty-five men, under the command of his lieutenant, Suleiman. This was a weak detachment in the event of an attack, especially as they had no separate camp, but were living in the native town, the men quartered in detached huts, and accordingly at the mercy of the natives if surprised. The brutality of the Turks was so inseparable from their nature, that they continually insulted the native women to such an extent that I felt sure they would provoke hostilities in the present warlike humour of the Latookas. The stream being nearly a mile distant, there was a difficulty in procuring water. The Turks being far too lazy to carry it for themselves, seized upon the water-jars when the women returned from the stream, and beat them severely upon their refusal to deliver them without payment. I found no difficulty, as I engaged a woman to bring a regular supply for a daily payment in beads. Much bartering was going on between the Turks and the natives for provisions, in which the latter were invariably cheated, and beaten if they complained. I felt sure that such conduct must end in disagreement, if not in actual fight, in the event of which I knew that I should be dragged into the affair, although perfectly innocent, and having nothing to do with the Turks.

My quarters in the town were near an open quadrangular space about eighty yards square, inclosed upon all sides, but having a narrow entrance to the main street. The Turks were scattered about in the neighbouring lanes, their time passed in drinking merissa, and quarrelling with the natives and with each other.

The day after Ibrahim's departure, the Turks seized some jars of water by force from the women on their return from the stream. A row ensued, and ended by one of the women being shamefully maltreated; and a Latooka, who came to her assistance, was severely beaten. This I did not see, but it was reported to me. I called Suleiman, and told him that if such things were permitted it would entail a fight with the natives, in which I should not allow my men to join; that I prohibited my men from taking anything from the Latookas without just payment: thus, should a fight be caused by the conduct of his people, they must get out of it as they best could.

A bad feeling already existed between the natives and his people, owing to the defeat of the party of Mahommed Her. Much good management was required to avoid a collision, and the reverse was certain to cause an outbreak. Shortly before dusk the women were again assaulted on their return with water from the stream. One of Ibrahim's soldiers threatened a powerful-looking Amazon with his stick because she refused to deliver up her jar of water that she had carried about a mile for her own requirements. Upon seeing this my pretty friend, Bokke, the chief's wife, seized the soldier by the throat, wrested the stick from him, while another woman disarmed him of his gun. Other women then set upon him, and gave him a most ignominious shaking; while some gathered up mud from the gutter and poured it down the barrel of his gun until they effectually choked it; not content with this, they plastered large masses of mud over the locks and trigger.

I looked on with enjoyment at the thorough discomfiture of the Turk. The news quickly spread, and in revenge for his disgrace his comrades severely beat some women at some distance from the camp. I heard screams, and shouts, and a confused noise; and upon my arrival outside the town, I saw large numbers of natives running from all quarters, and collecting together with lances and shields. I felt sure that we were to be involved in a general outbreak. However, the Turks beat the drum, and collected their men, so that in a few minutes no straggler was in the town.

It was remarkably unpleasant to be dragged into a row by the conduct of these brutal traders, with whom I had nothing in common, and who, should a fight actually occur, would be certain to behave as cowards. The Latookas would make no distinction between me and them, in the event of an attack, as they would naturally class all strangers and new comers with the hated Turks.

It was about 5 P.M. one hour before sunset. The woman who usually brought us water delivered her jar, but disappeared immediately after without sweeping the courtyard as was her custom. Her children, who usually played in this inclosure, had vanished. On searching her hut, which was in one corner of the yard, no one was to be found, and even the grinding-stone was gone. Suspecting that something was in the wind, I sent Karka and Gaddum Her, the two black servants, to search in various huts in the neighbourhood to observe if the owners were present, and whether the women were in their houses. Not a woman could be found. Neither woman nor child remained in the large town of Tarrangolle. There was an extraordinary stillness where usually all was noise and chattering. All the women and children had been removed to the mountains about two miles distant, and this so quickly and noiselessly that it appeared incredible. I immediately sent to the house of the chief, and requested his attendance. There were two chiefs, brothers; Moy was the greater in point of rank, but his brother, Commoro, had more actual authority with the people. I was glad that the latter appeared.

I sent to request an interpreter from the Turks, and upon his arrival I asked Commoro why the women and children had been removed. He replied, "That the Turks were so brutal that he could not prevail upon his people to endure it any longer; their women were robbed and beaten, and they were all so ill-treated, that he, as their chief, had no longer any control over them; and that the odium of having introduced the Turks to Latooka was thrown upon him." I asked him whether any of my men had misbehaved. I explained that I should flog any one of my men who should steal the merest trifle from his people, or insult any women. All my men were in dark-brown uniforms. He said, "That none of the men with the brown clothes had been complained of, but that his people had taken a dislike to all strangers, owing to the conduct of the Turks, and that he could not answer for the consequences."