首页 >出版文学> Ismailia>第26章

第26章

  2。”Nopersonshallstraybeyond2,000pacesoftheflag-stafforcampwithoutpermissioneitherfromthePachaorRaoufBey。
  3。”Nopersonshalltradeinivory,neithershallanypersonacceptivoryasapresentorinexchange;neithershallanypersonshoot,orcausetobeshot,elephants:allivorybeingthepropertyandmonopolyofthegovernmentofHisHighnesstheKhediveofEgypt。
  4。”Nopersonshalleitherpurchaseorreceiveslavesaspresentsorinexchange。”AnypersontransgressingbydisobedienceoftheabovelawswillbepunishedasthewillofBakerPachamaydirect。”S。W。BAKER。”
  Mymenwerehardatworkerectingmagazinesandbuildingthestation,andhadInotissuedtheaboveregulations,theywouldhavecutdowneveryornamentaltreeintheneighbourhood。Althoughthemission-househaddisappeared,thefoundationsremained;Idugthemupandprocuredsufficientsoundbrickstobuildapowder-magazine,whichIcoveredwithagalvanizedironroofandprotectedmyammunition。
  SeveraloftheEgyptiansoldiersdeserted。Thesepeople,whowereforthemostpartconvicts,althoughprofessingIslamismpreferredtolivewiththenatives,tothesteadydisciplineofmilitarylife。
  Oneevening,thesentry,onguardbeforethehouseofLieutenantBakerandMr。Higginbotham,wasobservedbyMr。Baker’ssoldierservantablacktolayhisrifleonthegroundandtoenterstealthilythedoorwayofhishut。AbdullahMaseri,theservant,lostnotimeinrunningtowardsthehut,whichhequietlyenteredinthedusk,withoutbeingperceivedbythethiefwithin,whointheabsenceofMr。Bakerwaspillaginghisboxes。
  Abdullahquietlycreptupbehindhim,pinnedhimbythebackoftheneck,andheldhimuntilheobtainedassistance。Therewasnoescapefromconviction,thereforeIsentencedthethieftoreceive100lashesandtobe,confinedinirons。
  Whilehewasundergoingthepunishmentheyelledformercy,saying,”I
  willconfess-Iwillconfessall。ItwasIwhoenteredthePacha’sroomatTewfikeeyah。ItwasatmethatthePachafiredthepistol!Putmeinirons,butdon’tflogme;Iwillconfessall。”
  ThismanwasanEgyptianbelongingtothe”FortyThieves,”andhenowconfessedhisformerdelinquency。Hewassecuredinironsandplacedunderaguard。Thefellowhadbeenaprofessionalthief,andduringthenighthemanagedtoslipoffhisironsandmakehisescape,nodoubtwiththeconnivanceofthesentry。
  Thefactofthenativesreceivingthedeserterswasenoughtosuggestthesuspicionthattheyweretamperingwiththetroops。AlthoughtheBariswouldneitherworknorassistinanymanner,theycontinued,inspiteofmywarning,toswimtheircattleacrosstothepasturageonthemainlandoccupiedbythetroops。
  IagaingavethesheikAllorronnotice,thatifhecontinuedtodrivehiscattletotheforbiddenpasture,theywouldbeconfiscated。
  Onthefollowingmorningtheyreturnedtothemainlandasusual,nottheslightestnoticehavingbeentakenofmyrepeatedandofficialwarning。
  Igaveorderstosecurethem。Abouttenmenofthe”FortyThieves”
  quietlyexplainedtheordertothenativeswhoguardedthecattle,andwithoutanyremonstrancetheydrovethemtomystation,andstoodguardaroundtheherd。
  Thenativesreturnedtotheisland,andreportedtheaffairtothesheikAllorronandhispeople。
  Earlyonthefollowingmorning,thesheik,accompaniedbyfifteenheadmenofvillagesandanumberofnatives,togetherwithTombytheinterpreter,attendedandformedadeputation。Ireceivedthembeneaththeshadytreenearmydiahbeeah。Theylookedverysheepish,andaskedme,”WhyhadIconfiscatedtheircattle?”
  Iexplainedthereason:andtheyatlengthacknowledgedthattheyhadnopositiverightofpasturage,astheyhadbeendrivenfromtheircountrybytheLoquia,andwereitnotformypresencetheycouldnotventuretodrivetheircattletothemainland。Atthesametimetheyexplained,thattheextremedrynessoftheseasonhadexhaustedthegrassupontheislandaftertheclosegrazingofthelargeherds;thustheyhadimaginedIshouldnothaveanyrealobjectiontotheirpasturingupontheeastbanks,which,asIhadnocattle,wouldotherwisebeneglected。
  Iexplainedthatthegovernmentmustbeobeyed,andthat,astheyhaddisobeyedeveryorder,Ishouldtakechargeoftheircattleabout200
  untiltheyshowedadispositiontoaccepttheKhedive’sauthority。Atthesametime,ifthenativeswouldbringthatchgrassandassistthetroopsinformingthestationaworkwhichtheyhadalwaysperformedannuallyforAbouSaood’speople,Iwouldreturnthemtheircattle。
  Alongconversationensuedamongtheheadmen,severalofwhomroseinsuccession,andaddressedthemeetingwithgreatenergyandfluency。
  Theydeclaredthattherehadbeenageneralmisunderstanding,butthattheynowbegantocomprehendtheirposition。Iinformedthemthattheymustthemselvesappointaresponsiblesheikorheadman,asmanyhadrefusedtoobeyAllorron。Ishouldregardonechiefastheirrepresentative,andtheyasheadmenmustelecthimatthepresentassembly。Ishouldalsoplacethepowerinthehandsofthechief,whoseordersmustbeobeyedbytheheadmenofthevillages。Thischiefwouldberesponsibletomefortheactsofthosebeneathhim,andIshouldpunishallthosewhorefusedtoacknowledgehisauthority。
  Themeetingendedmostsatisfactorily。Thenativesexplained,that,althoughAllorronhadbeentheostensiblesheikforagreatlengthoftime,thetruesheikbyactualdescentwasachiefnamedMorbe;butashiscattlehadbeencarriedoffbytheLoquia,hehadlosthisproperty,andalsohisinfluenceamongthepeople。Inthosesavagecountriesthepossessionofpropertyisconsideredabsolutelynecessarytoamaninahighposition。
  Morbewaselectedunanimouslyasthesheikresponsibletothegovernment。Allheadmendeclaredtheywouldobeyhisorders;evenAllorronappearedpleasedthathehadshiftedhisresponsibilityupontheshouldersofanother。Theheadmenallpromisedthattheywouldbeattheirdrumsandsummontheirpeopleontheirreturntotheirvillages,andthatonthemorrowtheywouldcollectbamboosandthatch-grassforanypurposewemightrequire。Themeetingendedbytheiragreeingtodeliveracertainnumberofbundlesinagivenperiod:theyalsopromisedtosupplythetroopswithoxenatastipulatedprice。Morbe,thenewsheik,thenaddressedmeinthenameoftheassembly,andbeggedmetoestablishconfidenceandgoodwillbyreturningthemtheircattle。
  Ihadexpectedthisrequest。Ithereforereplied,thatastheyhadattendedmysummonsandpromisedobedience,Iwouldtesttheirsinceritybyreturningthemnotonlytheirowncattle,butIwouldtrustthemwiththecareofmythreelargebreedingcowswhichIhadbroughtfromtheRohrcountry;atthesametime,Igavethemfairwarning,thatiftheybroketheagreementnowenteredupon,Ishouldnotbeinahurrytoreturntheircattleonafutureoccasion。Theyseemedtobe,quitesatisfied,andthemeetingbrokeup。
  Theydroveofftheherd,togetherwithmythreecows,whilemysoldierslookedonwithutteramazementandregardedmeasthoughtIhadlostmysenses。
  AlthoughIhadenteredintothisagreement,thenativeshadnottheslightestideaofcarryingouttheirpromises。Afewbundlesofbambooswerebrought,alsosomethatch-grass,butnotanoxwasgiventothetroops。ThesheikofBelinianhadrefusedtoappear;andheallegedasanexcusethathefearedtreachery,sincehisfatherandfamilyhadbeenmurderedwhenguestsofAbouSaood。TheBarisofGondokorohadregainedtheircattle,andtheydidnottroublethemselvesabouttheircontract,astheyinwardlyhopedthatbystarvingustheymightsucceedindisgustingthetroops,whichwouldnecessitatetheabandonmentoftheexpedition。
  Afewdaysafterthebreachofcontract,Tomby,theinterpreter,appeared,andtoldmethattheBarishadrefusedtowork,andthatthegovernmentwouldnotsucceedinthatcountry。Thepeoplewishedmetojointhemwithmytroops,andtoattacktheiroldenemy,Loquia。I
  shouldthenobtaincattleandsheepintherazzia,andthegovernmentwouldbeindependent。
  ThiswastheregularnegrosystemwhichhadoriginallyintroducedtheslavetradethroughouttheWhiteNile。Onetribeinvariablyrequeststheallianceofasuperiorforcetoattacksomepowerfulneighbour:theprisonersofwarbecomeslaves。WhentradingadventurersfirstcommencedontheWhiteNile,thenativessoldivoryforbeadsandcopperbracelets;andtradewasfairlyestablished。Thearmedcompaniesofthetraderswereimmediatelyinvitedtobecomeallies,andattacksweremadeuponvarioustribes。Thecattleandslavesbecamethepropertyofthecaptors。Thetradersquicklydiscoveredthatitwasfareasierandmoreprofitabletostealcattleandslavestoexchangeforivory,thantoimportgoodsfromKhartoum。Theycommencedthesystemofcattle-liftingandslave-hunting,whichrapidlyincreaseduntilitarrivedattheimmensescalealreadydescribed。
  IpreachedmoralityhopelesslytotheBaris;theyweremereruffians,andtheylongedforthearrivalofAbouSaood,whowouldoncemoregivethemanopportunityofjoininghispeopletoplunderandenslavethetribesoftheinterior。ItwasinvainthatIassuredthemoftheimpossibilityofsuchproceedings,andthatAbouSaood’speoplewouldnotbepermittedbythegovernmenttocontinuetheseatrocities。Theyridiculedtheidea,anddeclaredthatthetraderswouldalwayscontinueintheiroldcustoms,notwithstandingthepresenceoftheKhedive’sofficers。Theysaidthatnobusinesscouldbedoneinanyotherwayinthosecountries;theyadvisedmeto”takewomenandcattle,andthenthenativeswouldlistentomyadvice,butnototherwise。”
  Itwasutterfollytoattemptnegotiationswiththesepeople;theywerethemostbrutalandobtusesavages。Theyhadbeenabandonedbythemissionariesashopeless,andtheywouldacknowledgenothingbutforce。
  Thetroopswerediscontented。Afteralltheirfatigues,thepromisedlandwasstarvation。Therewasstillmuchworktobedone,astheexpeditionwasinfactonlycommencing。BydegreestheBarisabsentedthemselvesentirelyfromourcamp,andwewerelefttoourselvesasutterstrangers。Thecattleweredrivenovertoourfinepasturagedaily,andreturnedatnighttotheirisland;butnotanox,orevenagoat,waseverofferedforsale,andallcommunicationbetweenusandthenativeshadapparentlyceased。
  Itwasquiteimpossibletoallowthistocontinue。Igavetheorder,andoncemorethesoldiersquietlysurroundedtheherdofcattle,anddrovethemtohead-quartersasbefore。Theoldscenewasre-enacted。Thenewsheik,Morbe,togetherwithAllorronandmanyheadmen,arrived。Againalongpalavertookplace,throughthemediumofTomby,theinterpreter,andthepromisesofgoodbehaviourwererenewed。
  IinformedthemthatIshouldnotconfiscatetheircattle,butIshouldkeepthemashostagesfortheirgoodbehaviour;atthesametime,I
  shouldselectacertainnumberofoxenasfoodforthetroops,whichshouldbepaidfor。
  Themeetingterminatedwithfreshassurancesofgoodwill……Afewdayselapsed,buttheBarisdidnotreturn;wewerecompletelyabandoned。
  OnJune29ththecampwasdisturbedatnightbyanattemptofthenativestodriveoffsomeofthecattle。Thesentryfired,butwithouteffect。Iforesawtrouble。
  OnJune1stIissuedaGeneralOrdertothetroops——”ThenativesoftheBarihavingdisobeyedthesummonsofthegovernment,andhavingrefusedcompliancewiththeregulationsestablished,ithasbecomenecessarytocompelthemtoobediencebyforce。”Intheeventofhostilities,Ispeciallyforbidthecaptureofwomen,orchildrenofeithersex。Anyofficerorsoldierdisobeyingthisorderwillsufferdeath。”S。W。BAKER。”