The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-03-31

fore, could speak the language a little
| and at first the Benin men did not seem
to want to touch him at all. While we
were carrying Major Crawford. DR.. Ell
| lot, who was bleeding from a wound in
the head, kept on charging into the
| bush, trying to prevent the Benin men
| from shooting at US, for we could only
| go very slowly. He most undoubtedly
kept them from coming close up TO US,
and saved US from being hit several
times. After bit I saw man aiming
at US from behind a tree futher up the
road in the direction we were going, so
I told the others to put Crawford down
for a short time while 1 charged at the
man. In doing SO 1 was knocked over
| by a shot in my arm but as it did not
| hurt at the time 1 got up again and
charged the Benin men away.
when 1 got back to the others I
| found a lot of Benin men had crept up
close behind and killed them all except
| Locke, who was wounded in three
places. We were all hit with bullets sew
eral times. As Locke and myself were
| the only two diving, we bolted into the
bush. We had taken the compass be-
longing to poor Mailing, and tried TO
steer northwest, which would bring US
out on the Gwato creek some way above
Gwato. We ran and walked through
thick brush as far as we could that
evening, and stopped TO rest about $50
p. m, having left the scene Of the mas
sacre about 3:45 p. m. Immediately af-
ter we sat down we heard two men
Benin men. Of course-talking TO each
other not twenty yards away from us,
and a few minutes afterwards we heard
a party cutting their way through the
brush.
At first tseemed as if they were MAX
ing straight for US, but they passed
about twenty yards from US, dropping
sentries as they went. During the night
1 had 10 change my position, as l was
getting cramped, and the sentry in from,
OF Us must have head me, for he called
out TO the one next 10 him, and we could
hear them both searching through the
bush. Soon after that I woke up to find
a hand on my foot, then feeling up my
boot. then feeling up my gaiter. and 1
thought it was one of the Benin men who
had found us in the dark. 1 grabbed
before he could cry out. AT the same
timo 1 called out, Locke, 1 have got
this villainp when l found it was Locke
himself, who had changed his position
ard was trying to find out where l was.
After this the Benins must have known
where We were, as we could hear three
Of them walking rourd and round us I'M
III long after daylight. Then they SEEM
ed to leave US, but why or wherefore
hey did I cannot tell. We thought they
imagined we were already done for. How
ever instead Of being shot when we NOV
ed off, as we half expected to be, we saw
no one and got away. Although we heard
plenty of people we met no one until the
last day, as we kept to the bush as much
Is possible.
"On the fifth day we came across a
small creek which we knew must lead to
tae Gwato Creek. We walked down into
a small waterside village. There the few
men, instead of giving us the water we
asked for, hurried US off into a small
canoe, until We were round the corner.
Then they let us drink all we wanted.
These men We're Jakries. who trade with
the Benin men, and they took us across
TO bigger Jakrie village on the other
side of the creew. There we got lirg-
er canoe, got underneath mats, and were
padded down to the Benin river, which
NE reached about sunset. and where we
found one OF our own Protectorate laun-
cnes. We wer told afterward that the
reason the men in the small village hur-
ried us away 50 quickly was because
there were some Benin soldiers living in |
the village looking out for refugees, but
that they had left the villags about a |
quarter of an hour before we got there |
TO get their food, ana had not returned |
We had absolutely nothing TO eat for |
the five days we were in the bush, and |
nothing TO drink but the dew on the |
leaves in the early morning. The only |
thing we could find eatable were plant |
aims. but they were SO droy that we |
could not swallow any of them. Another |,
day without water would, I think, have |
finished us both. Dr. Darcy Irvine, who |
looked after us so we'll when we got |
down TO New Benin, told me that my |
arm would have mortified fit had not |
been attended to for another day. The |
wound had got very bad the day before |
we reached the water"