loud notes of their war-horns, of which they
seemed to possess an unusual number, rang
through the forest with wailing notes, and the
great drums at the numerous villages which commanded
the narrows through which the great
river precipitated itself, responded with energy
to the signals transmitted to them.
At sunset they abandoned the unavailing assault,
and, to guard against any nocturnal surprise,
we piled up more brushwood, and drew the
boat and canoes out of the water on land. I
resolved to make a bold stroke early next
morning, and by appearing in front of their
villages before cock-crow, to occupy some place
near the falls which would enable Frank and a
few of the chiefs to begin transporting the
vessels overland, and to continue the work even
though we might be actively engaged by the
Wenya.
At 5 A.M. I led thirty-five men from the camp,
and after a desperate struggle through the tangled
jungle emerged near the place where the right
bank swept round to the straits, over and above
which a large number of villages were situated.
A shallow branch, 40 yards wide, supplied by
thin streams of water that poured down a dyke
of loose rocks 20 feet high from the great
river, separated the right bank from the point
occupied by the settlements. During the wet
months it was evident that this dyke must be
r Jan. 26, 1877. l 'A DESERTED ISLAND. 323
[Seventh Cataract. J ,,
washed by a furious cataract, and that the right
branch is then almost impassable, and it is for
this reason probably that the locality was chosen
by the Wenya. At this season, however, we
crossed over to the inhabited island without
trouble, and resolved to guard the approach to
this branch. From our camp to this point there
was not the slightest danger to fear from the
river, and Uledi and his boat-mates were therefore
signalled to bring the boat and canoes near
to the dyke.
After waiting until 9 A.M. for the islanders to
begin their attack, I sent a few scouts through
the brushwood to ascertain what the Wenya
were doing, and within an hour they returned
to say that nothing could be heard of them.
Moving forwards by the path, we discovered to
our good fortune that the people had abandoned
the island apparently. The extent of the villages
proved them .to be a populous community, and
the manner in which they were arranged gave
them an appearance resembling a town on the
Upper Nile. Each village, however, was distinct
from the next, though only short distances separated
them, and each possessed four or five
streets 30 feet wide, running in parallel lines,
with cross alleys leading from one side of the
village to the other. The entire population of
this town or cluster of villages might be moderately
estimated at 6000. On the opposite side