The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-09-05

ohiu dUout MS "diSt, duO SItppcO III
front of me.
He began to jabber out mixture of
bad English and native African, and.
| more from mis- gestures than from his
speech, l comprehended what he said.
He declared that the Portuguese in
tended to sell them into slavery. and
| affirmed that he had seen Torres
lurking behind on previous day to
| talk to an Arab that had come out of
| the forest.
He told me that his name was Zuba,
| that he was head man in his tribe,
and that he had picked up his English
at Zanzibar, where he had been on
several occasions. He knew that l was
English, and that the English hated
the Arabs, 50 he hoped that | would
| project his friends from the Portuguese
| and the slave hunters.
Torres swarthy face grew darker as
Zuba poured out his appeal.
''fhe hound les he exclaimed,
angrily. when they take the ivory to
the coast they will be paid and sent
back home"
"But. see here, Torres" interrupt
ed, for | was beginning to get an ink
ling of the state of the case. "You
know well that these natives are not
| safe within hundred miles of the
| coast. 1t looks to me as though you
had deceived them, whether you in
| tended to sell them to the Arabs or
not. They are certainly ignorant of
| their peril
Inc portuguese grew confused and
| tried to stammer out some explanation,
but | made UP my mind at once that il
was a clear case of treachery.
1t was an extremely perilous position
| all round, and one that called for
prompt action. | at once ordered the
arrest of the two Portuguese, and be.
| fore they could think of resistance my
| marines had disarmed them and pin.
| ioned their limbs.
The delighted negroes crowded round
us with cries of gratitude, but l soor
| convinced them that their danger was
by no means over. | could not liberate
| and let them 90, for the bands of slave
| hunters that roamed the country would
| soon have seized them, so my only
course was to take them on board the
gunboat and let the authorities of the
Racer decide. / now had no doubt at
| all that Torres and CASTILLO had in.
| felt highly elated at my capture OF
these Portuguese slave hunters
At my command, Zuba and his dusky
| friends took up their burden Of ivory,
| and we started back along the rough
trail, Torres and CASTILLO marching
sullenly between two marines.
| noticed that they turned their
| heads aside from time to time in q
strange manner, and my suspicious
| were aroused.
Zuba was watchful and uneasy, and
| crept along some distance ahead of the
| column closely inspecting the Jungle
on all sides. We had traced half the
| distance back when he hurried toward
us, waving his arm frantically, while
the leopard skin tapped about his
| loins.
ARABS, heap Arabs" he gasped,
and his face showed the deadly terror
| he felt.
He tried to talk, but could only utter
| inarticulate sounds and point with his
trembling hands.
The negroes, with wall of terror,
| dashed down their ivory and prepared
| to flee.
''Shoot the first man that runs" ]
cried. Now, into the bushes, quick,
all of your
The jungle was heavy at this point,
and III a moment our party was hid
| den beneath its cover, and none too
soon, for we could already hear voices
| in front.
My force was small, as l have said,
and | preferred, if possible, to escape
a conflict with the Arabs, whose num-
ber was uncertain, and gain the gun
boat with my prisoners. The negroes
were unarmed, with the exception OF
Zuba, who carried a great knife, so
put them in the rear of the marines,
and left the Portuguese in Zuba's care.
We scarcely ventured to breathe, but
crouched down to the ground holding
our guns in readiness for an attack.
The dreaded sounds came nearer, and
soon, peering out through the bushes,
we saw formidable body of Arabs
passing along the path Their leader
was powerful fellow with huge scar
across his face, and all of them bore
guns and had pistols stuck in their
belts, while every man carried bunch
of chains that clanked harshly as they
hurried past
The party was large one, compris-
ing forty or fifty men, and their pres
ence here made the guilt of the Por-
tuguese as plain as day. They were
fastening to an appointed rendezvous.
All would probably have gone we'll,
and the negroes would have reached
the gunboat in safety, but as the rear
guard of the Arabs filed past. suddenly
Torres gave loud shout. Before he
could repeat it Zuba felled him to the
ground but it was too late; the mis-
chief was already done.
The Arabs grouped together a mo-
ment in CONSERVATION, and as they
hesitated one of my men, in his excite
ment. exposed his body. His uniform
betrayed our character, and the Arabs,
spurred on by their fierce hatred of the
English, poured a random fire into the
jungle.
One of the marines fell and terrible
cries of agony rose from the poor
blacks. Then we gave them an an
swering volley, and with deadly ef-
feet. But. reckless of danger, they
closed up and swept down upon Us ia
a dense mass.
Our fire raked down the foremost
row, but their onslaught was so fierce
that we fell back toward the river and
gained the shelter of heavy timber,
when from behind trees we picked of
the reckless Arabs that exposed them
selves to our fire. Encumbered with
helpless negroes, our situation was
desperate
concluded to retreat still nearer
the creek. for the firing must shortly
bring assistance from the gunboat
The Portuguese were dragged resist
ingly along. and soon we reached 8
comparatively open space where al.
ready the forest began to slope toward
the water.
But the crafty Arabs had stolen ?
march on US. for as we started to cross
the open, struggling fire was poured
in on US from all sides, and the poor
negroes began to fall thickly. 1t was
more than they could stand, and in
e. Al