the roll of their drum, mingled with the lowing of
oxen and the bleating of sheep. Upon nearer approach,
I remarked a considerable body of men, and a large
herd of cattle and sheep driven by a number of
Latookas, while a knot of Turks carried something
heavy in their arms. They soon arrived, with about
2,000 head of cattle and sheep; but they had lost one
of their men, killed in the fight, and his body they
carried home for interment. I t happened to be about
the best man of the party really a very civil fellow,
and altogether rather a pleasant robber. At Com-
moro’s instigation, the Turks had attacked , the. town , of
Kayala * but the Latookas had fought so well, that the,
Turks found it impossible to capture the town, which
was, as usual, protected by iron-wood palisades, upon
which their bullets harmlessly flattened. Not only
the Latooka men had fought well, but .their women
broke up their grinding-stones and defended; the
entrance by pelting their. assailants with the frag-;
jnents i several of the Turks were wounded by the
stones thrown with such force by these brawny Amazons
that, some of the gun-barrels were indented.
Many of these brave women, had been shot by the;
dastardly Turks, and one was in the act of being
carried.off by the “ pleasant robber,” when a native,
running to her rescue, drove his spear through his
chest and killed him on the spot. Unfortunately for
the Latookas, some of their cattle had left the town to
pasture just before the attack took place; these were
captured by the Turks, but not one hostile foot had
been able to penetrate their town.
On the following day the party were busily engaged
in dividing the. spoil, one third belonging to the men as
a bonus, while the remainder were the property of the
traders’ establishment, or “ Meri” (government), as they
term the proprietor. This portion was to be sent to
Obbo as a place of security and good pasturage, and
the men were to engage in other razzias in Latooka,
and to collect a large number of cattle to be driven
south to exchange for ivory. Koorshid’s camp was a
scene of continual uproar, the men quarrelling over
the division of the spoil.
Journccl Juno 2d.—“ The Turks are now busy
buying and selling, each man disposing of his share of
the stolen cattle according to his wants 1 one exchanges
a cow to the natives for corn and meat ; another
slaughters an ox, and retails small portions for merissa
(beer), fowls, &c., the natives flocking to the camp like
vultures scenting flesh ; others reserve their cattle for
the purpose of purchasing the daughters of the natives
for slaves under the name of wives, whom they will
eventually sell in Khartoum for from twenty to thirty
v o l . 1. a A