Ned Garth | Page 8

the inhabitants of other districts; but it was
a long, long distance away, and we hoped they would never come near
us. We lived as our fathers had done. Occasionally we had to fight to
punish our neighbours, who came upon our land and tried to carry off
our cattle; and as I grew up and increased in strength I became a
warrior, but I only wished to fight to protect my home and my fields
from our enemies. When old enough I married a wife, who was as fond
of me as woman could be. When kindly treated black women love their
husbands, as do their white sisters. We had a little child, I was fond of
him, oh! so fond. My delight when I came in from the fields was to
carry him about in my arms, or to roll with him on the grass, letting
him tumble over me and pull my hair and ears, and then he would smile
down into my face and laugh merrily. I was a hunter also, and used
fearlessly to attack huge elephants for the sake of their tusks, as well as
for their flesh, especially for their big feet, which afford a dainty meal.
Even one would be sufficient for the whole of our party. I had crossed
the river, with several companions, armed with bows, arrows, and
spears, intending to go some distance south, where many elephants, it
was said, had been seen. A stranger brought the account. We had gone
a day's journey, and were encamped at night, hoping to fall in with a
herd of elephants the next day. We had eaten our evening meal, and
were about to lie down to sleep, when we were startled by hearing a
shower of bullets come whistling above our heads. We rose to fly, but

knew not which way to go, for from either side strange cries assailed
our ears, and before we could recover from our surprise a large party of
men, with gleaming swords in their hands, rushed in upon us.
Snatching up our spears we attempted to defend ourselves, but were
quickly overpowered, two of my friends being killed and others badly
wounded. We were at once bound with cords and thrown on the ground,
while our captors were employed in preparing another way to secure us.
They were fierce men in dark dresses, some wearing turbans on their
heads, others red caps. I watched their proceedings, thinking that,
perhaps, they were going to kill and eat us. They cut down some young
trees, leaving a fork at one end, and fixing a thick branch at the other,
so as to form another fork. When several logs had thus been prepared,
they made us with kicks get up, and picking out the strongest men
among us, placed one at one end of a leg, and one at the other, securing
them by the forks round our necks. As our arms were lashed behind our
backs we could offer no resistance, but, pricked by the spears or sword
points of our captors, were compelled to march forward in the direction
they ordered us. Twenty or more of us were thus secured; the remainder
were fastened together by a long rope, one behind the other at an
interval of a few feet, with their arms lashed behind them, led by an
Arab. With the heavy log round our necks we had no chance of
escaping, nor indeed had the others, who would have been shot had
they made the attempt. Two or three of the worst wounded sank down
from loss of blood. The Arabs made them get up and proceed, but
finding at last that the poor wretches could not keep up with the rest,
took them out of the line, and putting pistols to their heads, shot them
dead. We were joined as we proceeded towards the coast by other
captives, taken much as we had been, and treated in the same cruel
manner. Some, who had come from still further up the country than we
had, and who had thus a longer march, told us that one-third of their
number had died or been killed on the way, so that even those who
were suffering severely from sickness endeavoured to struggle on as
long as they had strength to move for fear of being murdered.'
"`At night we were ordered to lie down before the fire, with a strong
guard placed over us. We were generally amply fed, in order that our
strength might be kept up. Although we passed through several

thickly-populated districts, no one dared to help us for fear of the Arabs.
At length we reached the bank of a river, near the sea-coast, where we
found a large vessel ready to receive us.