CH APTER XIII
FROM ESOON TO AGONJO
In which the Voyager sets forth the beauties of the way from Esoon
to N'dorko, and gives some account of the local Swamps.
OUR next halting place was Esoon, which received us with
the usual row, but kindly enough; and endeared itself to me
by knowing the Rembwe, and not just waving the arm in the
air, in any direction, and saying “ Far, far plenty bad people
live for that side,” as the other towns had done. Of course
they stuck to the bad people part of the legend; but I was
getting quite callous as to the moral character of new acquaintances,
feeling sure that for good solid murderous rascality
several of my old Fan acquaintances, and even my own party,
would take a lot of beating; and yet, one and all, they had
behaved well to me. I am glad to see from my diaries that I
knew this at the time; for I see in my Cameroon journal an
entry “ Wish to Allah the Fans were in this country; have
been inquiring in vain for a cannibal tribe to associate with,
but there is not one round here ” ; but that’s another story.’ ;
Esoon gave me to understand that of all the Sodoms and
Gomorrahs that town of Egaja was an easy first, and it would
hardly believe we had come that way. Still Egaja had dealt
with us well. However I took less interest— except, of course,
as a friend, in some details regarding the criminal career of
Chief Blue-hat of Egaja— in the opinion of Esoon regarding
the country we had survived, than in the information it had to
impart regarding the country we had got to survive on our
way to the Big River, which now no longer meant the Ogowe,
but the Rembwd. I meant to reach one of Hatton and Cookson’s
sub-factories there, but— strictly between ourselves— I knew no
more at what town that factory was than a Kindergarten
Board School child does. I did not mention this fa c t; and a
casual observer might have thought that I had spent my youth
in that factory, when I directed my inquiries to the finding out
the very shortest route to it. Esoon shook its head. “ Yes, it
was close, but it was impossible to reach CJguma’s factory.”
“ Why ? ” “ There was blood war on the path.” I said it was
no war of mine. But Esoon said, such was the appalling
depravity of the next town on the road, that its inhabitants
lay in wait at day with loaded guns and shot on sight any
one coming up the Esoon road, and that at night they tied
strings with bells on across the road and shot on hearing them.
No one had been killed since the first party of Esoonians
were fired on at long range, because no one had gone that
way; but the next door town had been heard by people .who
had been out in the bush at night, blazing down the road when
the bells were tinkled by wild animals. Clearly that road was
not yet really healthy.
The Duke, who as I have said before, was a fine courageous
fellow, ready to engage in any undertaking, suggested I should
go up the road— alone by myself—first— a mile ahead of the
party— and the next town, perhaps, might not shoot at sight,
if they happened to notice I was something queer ; and I
might explain things, and then the rest of the party would
follow. “ There’s nothing like dash and courage, my dear
Duke,” I said, “ even if one display it by deputy, so this plan
does you great credit; but as my knowledge of this charming
language of yours is but small, I fear I might create a wrong
impression in that town, and it might think I had kindly
brought them a present of eight edible heathens— you and the
remainder of my followers, you understand.” My men saw
this was a real danger, and this was the only way I saw of
excusing myself. It is at such a moment as this that the
Giant’s robe gets, so to speak, between your legs and threatens
to trip you up. Going up a forbidden road, and exposing
yourself as a pot shot to ambushed natives would be jam and
fritters to Mr. MacTaggart, for example; but I am not up to
that form yet. So I determined to leave that road severely
alone, and circumnavigate the next town by a road that leaves
Esoon going W.N.W., which struck the Rembwe by N’dorko,