become sore, to heal; and to give the camels a much-
needed rest. On the road to Kinekombe I had four
deserters, only one of whom I succeeded in capturing
with his load. On the day after my arrival there some
of my men took their rifles and went to the village;
whereupon, all the natives fled. It was only after prolonged
effort that I was able to reassure them and bring
them back. I placed one of my headmen on duty to
prevent outrage, and limited the number of my men
permitted in the village at one time to thirty.
One day during my stay at this place the Soudanese
appeared in front of my tent, and expressed themselves
as dissatisfied with everything connected with the expedition.
They asserted, among other things, that their
food was insufficient and of poor quality. As these men
had before boasted to me of the fact, that during the
campaigns of the Mahdi they had for weeks lived upon
grass, I gave little heed to their complaint; but informed
them that if they were dissatisfied with the
quantity of food, the only change possible would be a
reduction in it. They, thereupon, wished to depose the
Balook Bashi. As they had sworn to obey this man,
and as I had not yet pitched upon one of their number
suitable to succeed him, I told them they must
keep their oath. They then returned sullenly to their
quarters. .
Lieutenant von Hohnel’s feet became worse, instead ot
better, so that we decided it would be advisable for him
to travel, at least a portion of the distance up the river,
in a canoe; and on October a, he, in charge of the river
column, left Kinekombe. As soon, as the canoes disappeared
around a bend in the river, I began to feel
badly and took to bed. In the' afternoon fever set in,
and my temperature rose to 103. I took phenacetine,
and it fell to 101. A t 9 p.m. my temperature again rose,
and reached 104; phenacetine and castor oil brought it
down to 101, and oft-repeated doses of quinine kept it
there.
On the following day I attempted to resume my journey,
but found myself too weak (I suffered from slight
dysentery); so that I spent the day in bed.
S c e n e i n C a m p o n t h e C o a s t
The next day, October 4, I felt slightly better, and
with effort was able to sit my horse; so we set out
upon our way. We lost another deserter that day.
On October 6, the road on the left bank of the river
was so full of thick growths as to be almost impassable;
so, upon reaching a village called Subaki, we crossed to
the other bank. In this crossing we were greatly assisted
by the natives, who provided ten canoes, and in a few
hours all my loads were transported across the river.
The cattle gave no trouble, and swam across almost of
their own accord; but the crossing of the camels, donkeys,
and horses was a more serious matter, and required