Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-10-21


space In front Of the fort when some
Of the soldiers ordered the man who
pulled Bekamba's cart to lie down. and
then some one shot him through The
back. dead ON the spot Thereupon
another soldier blew out Bekamba's
brains. The dead bodies were plum
dered and stripped.
When the Enendi joined me man.
aged with him to leave the fort. In
order to put stop to the disturbances
going on outside. The burning kraals
had made the night a. light az day. A
dreadful sight met my eyes. There.
near the fort, lay the naked bodies Of
Chief Bekamba and one Of his men.
Some wretches had set fire to Bekam-
ba's body and the flesh was burning.
As the cracking flames fiickered
around the abdomen the frizzling Of
the flesh was horrible and slckening.
It recalled to my mind stories, read In
my boyhood, of red Indians torturing
a white man to death by stretching
him out on the ground and heaping
fire on his abdomen. With the assist
ance of my servant pulled Bekamba's
body from the burning brands and ex-
tinguished the flames. I looked at his
wounds. Death must have been in
Simultaneous, and therefore he was
spared the torture of being roasted.
The kraal of Kajanga, our friendly
ally, had also been set on fire and had
been looted. There were a number Of
cartridges in his hut, and as these took
fire Their cracker-like popping OF rem
dered 1t dangerous to approach too
near his kraal. Some of the bullets
fell close to my feet.
now asked to see the dead body Of
the sergeant major, stated to have
been killed at the outbreak of these
disturbances. I found him lying ON .
couch in his own hut. encircled by q
sympathizing crowd of women and
friends. all waiting for him to breathe
his last. Not one Of them attempted
to staunch the flow Of blood from his
wound. l had him quickly removed to
the fort and converted one of the
buildings into a temporary hospital.
Though he had a dangerous spear
wound In his back. below the right
shoulder, his life was ultimately
saved.
Next morning We buried the dead
Bekamba. one of his wives and two
Wanyoro. But some fugitives carried
the news of these occurrences to HOi-
ma, two days march from US, where .
Soudanese captain was in charge of
the fort. Yabuswezi, the great Wanyo-
70 chief, has his kraal about a mile
from Fort Hoima. Some fugitives re-
ported to him that I, too. had been
killed. He thereupon put himself on
the defensive. This led to the Sou
danese captain ordering him to come
to the fort and, on his refusal to do so.
attacking his draak. Thus the mere
rumor of my death led to further
bloodshed. for the Soudanese soldiers
killed about fifty of the Wanyoro under
Yabuswezi, captured some fifty-four of
his women and looted and burned his
kraal. Yabuswezi himself fed over
the border, with the intention of pro
ceeding to Kampala.
The military officer in command of
Unyoro, having received my letter.
speedily joined me. Orders were also
received from headquarters that, in
view of the advance of the mutineers
toward Unyoro, it was necessary to
prevent the government ammunition
from falling into their hands. was
ordered, thereupon. to march, with half
a company of the Soudanese soldiers
then at Masindi, to a place called
Mutt, in Singo. I was to take charge
OF 81 loads of ammunition, q Maxim
gun and tools and belts for the gun.
On the march to Mutt I passed
through Hoima and found seven of
the Manyoro women still retained as
captives by Soudanese soldiers, al
though orders had been sent by the
commanding officer that all were to b
liberated. l. therefore. had these
seven women set free.
met Yabuswezi and persuaded HIN
to return to his province.
The ostensible reason of my depxr>
ture from Masindi with the half COM
pany Of Soudanese. the Maxim gun
and the ammunition was supposed to
be the necessity of holding Mutt, in
Singo, against the rebel king, Wyam-
ga. We arrived at Mutt. In a couple
Of days orders from headquarters
reached me to march on to Kampala,
where the soldiers were promptly dis
armed and the Maxim gun and ammu-
milton safely lodged In the fort. l had
an anxious time 70 1t from Masindi To
Kampala. First Of all, because tho
soldiers over which had temporary
command were some of the men who
few days previously had murdered
Bekamba and had endangered my own
life; they were at heart disloyal, and
they had very nearly openly mutinied.
Secondly. the Maxim gun and the II
loads of ammunition would have
strengthened the mutineers enormous
ly. II they could have managed to In
tercept me ON the march.
It was q great relef to me when, On
arrival at Kampala. my military com.
mand ended. A few days later Capt
Harrison gained a final success over
the mutineers. which practically ended
the mutiny, though 1t cost the life a
one more European. Capt Maloney,
who was dangerously wounded in the
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