The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-28
TWO HEROES IN BLACK.
Brave SoudAnese Warriors Who
Stood Against Hundreds in
IN Awful Attack.
BY tho Side Of Their Captain.
- Horatius Kept tho
Bird e.
Hearts ~ True and Fsarless a. Ever
Beat In Aaman hreast-Faithful
and Enduring.

IN THE DUSK OF EVENING OF TIL
AZ 18th Of August. 1874, two canoes pro
Y PEELED with Diff cslty BY their ex
kAusted occupants might have eeen ses'
descending the hitherto unknown Nile, II
latitude ono degree for ~ minutes north O.
thu equator. IVA
N'rooli, the capital of the kingdom Of
Unyoro, over which reikned the cruel keba'
Repa, could be deserted some distanet
from the laft bank Of the river, marked BY
the fires and sounds Of festivities, which
also serve the natives 70 protect him from
savage beasts. ever On The alert in the night
to bound over She village enclosure and
make Of with the an uardsd. The little
party OF disooverers &C omplished the nav
ioation Of this undiscoy ered portion of the
Nile, coming from Lake Victoria and the
capital of Uganda. over which country
M'Tssa was kine.
Four months before they had set out
from Gondocoro on the Nile in latitude
five degrees north of the equator. without
provisions or the nee ssaries for such an
undertaking, in the co commencement OF the
deadly rainy season, to accomplish = task
in which peril stood in every step OF the
800 miles Of the land route which laid
between Gondocoro and the capital OF
A'Tesa. Fifty-siRht days OF constant
marching through path ess jungles, poison
Gus morass, besst by saw age men BY day and
savage beasts by night, Through rams,
miasna, jungle fevsra, and on a diet OF
roasted bananas and dourah, brought
them finally to their goal on the 10th OF
June.
Only one white man, Captain Spoke,
coming from the east co ast ten years before.
had ever visited Uganda. 49,. 44- Ne.
Now ii was, A. preannounced, a white
prince, mounted upon a horse the Xix of
which had never been seen, and he was
received ~ a c~entaur. whilst the gentle
M'Tssa," not to BE- outdons BY the gift. OF his
royal guest, = large mirror; . music box. a
magnetic battsry-which was regarded as q
sort Of duss 90 maohina+>in turn SURPRISED
his unsuspecting visitor by cutting of the
heads Of thirty Of his people in order to
prove to him his kingly might and majesty.
A soiourn of one month at the palace of
the savage monarch amid daily scenes OF
shocking barbarity was bv 40 means pleas
ant. Finally after mnch patience and dl-
plomacy the primal object of the mission,
inspired by Ismail Khsdive, was achieved,
treaty signed by MT esa, in which he
recognized himself tho loyal vassal to
II it had been difficult to Get into Uganda
it was no easy matter to get ont. A'Iesa's
royal head had been completely turned
with the khsdive's ami assadors and his
party aud he offered them = part Of his
Kingdom as an induoeme nt to remain. But
with the promises Of renewed gifts and a
speedy return the coveted permission to
depart was finally acc ordsd. and having
babe the king adisu We hst out Tor the river
which flowed north from Lake Victoria.
belonged 10 the S~oudanieh corps Of blacks,
which several months before had been
placed under my command BY Gen. Cor
don, governor general OF the sQuato'la l
provinces, whose headquarters n that time
were at Gendoooro. Said Bagarrah and
Abd-el Rahman had volunteered for the
hazardous enterprise which could not. lest
it should provoke ~ssrious resistance, be
composed Of more armed men, the mission
being striotly diplomatic.
Said Bagarrah of the BaRarrah tribe was
a tall black Of her eulean frame, = giant in
stature. and possessed OF Extraordinary
courage and great on urance. He was
about 81 years old.
Abd-sl Rahman belong ed to a tribe near
Darfour, and was tbs opposite Of his COM
panion. But though rather frail Of ply
sique, Abd-sl was brave and devoted. The
affection Of the two soldiers, the one for the
other. was really remarkable.
The native escort. With horse and imped-
imenta, were to proceed by and route and
await our arrival at Mreoli, whence, if
after a reasonable delay w failed to- ap-
pear. they were to proceed to the military
outpost Ut Foneris. with orders to the Com
mandant there to hasten to our relief.
On Aug. 7, having procured two canoes,
We commenced the descent of the river.
On the 18th We entered an unknown lake.
since called Ibrahim by the khedlve, and
after untold suferings from exposure, fever
and famine found an outlet through the
M'rooli, whore. A. I have said, We arrived
on the 10th in the dusk Of evening.
Though wsaried and exhausted we were
chesred by the consolation OF having solved
by tho navigation of the river the great
problem of the river wa from its source
Keeping we'll away fro m the left bank in
order not to attract the hostile Unyori, we
landed Of the opposite shore. ate our
meaqer rstions Of dou rah, and then, not
with fatigue, until the sun was high in the
heavens.
About 10 We moved across towatd the
other shore for the purpose OF communi-
eating with our escort. and two shots were
fred a. p~rearranged.
In place Of the expected response there
broke pom the air the roll of war-drums
and the hoarse notes of horns. At the same
time from the ambush formed by tho tall
river a feet of boats filed with armed men
shot out and formed in eirels with savage
cries which rose high above the din of the
barbaric music.
A word OF caution and our boats were
quickly dashed sid by side and our sheet