a lesson, by taking from him what the Arabs paid, and
giving it back to Masiidi.”
At midnight (16th) I was startled in my sleep by the
hurried tramp of several men, who rushed in to say they
were Grant’s porters-ftf-Bogtie men who had deserted him.
Grant, they said, in incoherent, short, rapid, and excited
sentences, was left by them standing under a tree, with
nothing but his gun in his hand. All the Wanguana
had been either killed or driven away by M’yonga’s men,
who all turned out and fell upon the caravan, shooting,
spearing, and plundering, until nothing was left. The
porters then, seeing Grant all alone, unable to help him,
bolted off to inform me and Lumeresi, 7 as the best thinOs
they could do. Though disbelieving the story in all its
minutiae, I felt that something serious must have happened
; so, without a moment’s delay, I sent off the last
of my men strong enough to walk to succour Grant,
carrying with them a bag of beads. Baraka then stepped
outside my tent, and said in a loud voice, purposely for
my edification, “ There, now, what is the use of thinking
any more about going to Karague ? I said all along it was
impo ssib leu p o n hearing which I had him up before all
the remaining men, and gave him a lecture, saying, happen
what would, I must die or go on with the journey, for
shame would not allow me to give way as Baraka was
doing. Baraka replied, he was not afraid—he only meant
to imply that men could not act against impossibilities.
“ Impossibilities !” I said ; “ what is impossible ? Could
I not go on as a servant with the first caravan, or buy
up a whole caravan if I liked ? AVhat* is impossible ? For
Godsake don’t try any more to frighten my men, for
you have nearly killed me already in doing so.”
Next day (17th) I received a letter from Grant, narrating
the whole of his catastrophes
“ I n t h e J u n g l e s , n e a r M’y onga’s,
16th Sq)t. 1861.
“ My d e a r S p e k e ,—The caravan was attacked, plundered,
and the men driven to the winds, while marching
this morning into M’yonga’s country.
I Awaking at cock-crow, I roused the camp, all anxious
to rejoin you; and while the loads were being packed,
my attention was drawn to an angry discussion between
the head men and seven or eight armed fellows sent by
Sultan M’yonga, to insist on my putting up for the day
in his village. They were summarily told that as you
had already made him a present, he need not expect a
visit from me. Adhering, I doubt not, to their master’s
instructions, they officiously constituted themselves our
guides till we chose to strike off their path, when, quickly
heading our party, they stopped the way, planted their
spears, and dared our advance!
This menace made us firmer in our determination,
and we swept past the spears. After we had marched
unmolested for some seven miles, a loud yelping from
the woods excited our attention, and a sudden rush was
made upon us by, say, two hundred men, who came down
seemingly in great glee. In an instant, at the caravan’s
centre, they fastened upon the poor porters. The struggle
was short; and with the threat of an arrow or spear at
their breasts, men were robbed of their cloths and ornaments,
loads were yielded and run away with before resistance
could be organised; only three men of a hundred
stood by me, the others, whose only thought was their
lives, fled into the woods, where I went shouting for
them. One man, little Rahan—rip as he is—stood with
cocked gun, defending his load, against five savages with
uplifted spears. No one else could be seen. Two or
three were reported killed; some were wounded. Beads
boxes, cloths, &c., lay strewed about the woods. In