Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1874-04-01
Miscellany.
Sir samuel Baker I'm central Africa.

When Sir Samuel Bakers expedition
reached Gondokoro, on the White Nile
he opened out to the chiefs the objects
that had brought him to their country,
viz. the suppression of the slave trade
and the establishment of commercial
relations between their people and the
rest of the world. To one chief he
preached almost a sermon" upon the
evils of the slave trade, and the chief
appeared to be profoundly affected by
the discourse; his emotion, however
was but transient, for at the end of the
sermon he offered to sell his son for a
spade, which, in the dearth of iron in
that country, Is an article of considera-
ble value. This story Sir Samuel
Baker gives an instance of the peoples
obtuseness; the best proof of friend
ship is, in their estimation, that you
should help them to kidnap the women
and children of some other tribe.
At Masindi Sir Samuel found about
eight thousand men, among whom
could not be seen a single woman. This
was regarded as a bad sign, for when
ever you saw plenty of women among
the natives you were pretty sure OF
peace; the absence of women was a
sure sign of hostility. Accordingly the
king, a very bad fellow, behaved most
treacherouslv, killing some men who
ha been sent back to Fattiko, and
Sc lding into the camp jars of a sort OF
native cider, which was poisoned. The
result was that forty of the troops were
living on the ground at one time, suffer
ing acutely. The next morning the
expeditionary force was attacked 10y
seven or eight thousand negroes,
Bakers men-four hundred Egyptian
troops-being well drilled, protected
the camp effectually, and the fifty
Snider rifles with which they Were
armed saved the expedition. With
their rockets also they set fire to and
destroyed the whole town. Unfortu-
nately the king escaped. This young
man had distinguished himself by
numbering his family, under these cir
cumstances: When king dies, his
body is placed in sort of huge grid
iron, and then is toasted by a fire kin
died beneath. The body then lies IL
state unburied, and is the signal fol
civil discord. The SONS fig Int until one
of them is victorious, and he sticks his
spear into the body of his parent as q
symbol of victory. Then the funeral
rites take place, corresponding with
those recorded of the ancient Seythians
A large pit is dug in which some o.
the deceased kings wives are put, anC
the corpse is lowered down till it rest:
on its knees. Then there is a raid OIL
some neighboring villages, and the peo.
pie captured are brought to the brink
of the pit, where their arms and legs
are broken. and in this mutilated condi'
ton they are thrown down to the
corpse beneath. Then the earth is piled
upon them, the people stamp it down
upon this mass of writhing humanity
and the horrid rites are complete
Such had been the ceremony observed
at Masindi, and the son who had sue
ceeded to the throne then invited hls
relations to dinner and caused them al
to be massacred.
On their arrival in the territory OF
Rionga Baker Pasha exchanged
blood" with the chief-a process which
consists in drawing blood from the
arm of each of the contracting parties,
who takes drop of his friends blood
on his tongue. This ceremony not
only gives you an ally, but renders
him faithful unto death; you belong
thenceforth to his family.