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THE TRUE LIFE OF
CAPT. SIR RICHARD F. BURTON
K.C.M.G. F.R.G.S. ETC.
CAPT. SIK KICHAKD F. BUKTON, K.C.M.G., F.K.G.S., KTC.
JEtat 69
THE TRUE LIFE OF
Capt. Sir Richard F. Burton
K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S.. ETC.
WRITTEN BY HIS NIECE
GEORGIANA M. STISTED
WITH THE AUTHORITY AND APPROVAL OF THE
BURTON FAMILY
H. S. NICHOLS
3 SOHO SQUARE AND 6aA PICCADILLY
LONDON W
1896
TRADE
MARK
ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, 1896.
H. S. NICHOLS, PRINTER 3 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.
TO THE
DEAR AND GLORIOUS MEMORY
OF
RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON,
DISCOVERER
OF
THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA.
PREFACE
MY object in compiling this Memoir is twofold.
First, to tell the truth concerning one who can no
longer defend himself; secondly, to supply a want
often complained of the story of the great traveller's
life in a popular form. Having disproved tales so
flimsy that no unbiassed person failed to see through
them, though knowing Richard Burton ever so
slightly, and having succeeded, thanks to the cordial
assistance of my publisher, in issuing a " Life " for
the masses as well as for the classes, whilst re-
gretting no abler pen than mine was ready to per-
form the work, I feel that an imperative duty to
the memory of a hero, to the public, and to our-
selves, is now fulfilled.
GRAZELEY, UPPER NORWOOD, S.E.
December 1st, 1896.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Birth Baptism The Burton Family The Reverend Edward
Burton Maria Margaretta Campbell Louis Lejeune and
Louis Quatorze The burglar}' at Newgarden Joseph Netter-
ville Burton Martha Beckvvith Baker Burton's brother and
sister Colonel Burton's complaint Tours The Chateau de
Beausejour The features of the Burtons Religion Burton
as a child Early education The Return to England Rich-
mond School life Scarlet fever Georgiana Baker Miss
Morgan Return to the Continent M. Du Pre Fencing
The falcon Snails Winter at Blois Colonel Burton's asthma
The travelling chariot The journey to Italy Leghorn
Pisa Rome Sight-seeing Rome Neapolitan fencing
Cholera Pau Boxing Pisa again Drawing Signorina
Caterina Burton intended for the Church Life at Oxford
Tandems College friends The Whites Method of studying
languages Burton disputes with his tutors the correct pronun-
ciation of Latin vowels Family reunion at Wiesbaden Games
of hazard Burton desires to join the army His father's objec-
tions Burton decides to get rusticated The steeplechase
Burton leaves Oxford Mode of leaving Edward joins the
37th Regiment . ... . i
Burton enters the Indian army Outfitting Departure from
England The voyage Arrival at Bombay The cadets'
quarters Type of Sepoy Sanitary bungalows Hindustani
Burton joins the i8th Bombay Native Infantry The journey
to Baroda Gujarat Baroda Life at Baroda Sport
Burton's company Two months' leave An examination in
Hindustani The south-west monsoon Hinduism Appointed
interpreter First visit to Sind The cantonment at Karachi
Alligators Charging the Arabian Sea Camel-riding Quarters
at Ghara The Sind Survey assistantship Surveying the
Phuleli and Guni rivers Falconry Burton as a Bayzaz
His Persian love Her death A tour in Sind Resignation of
the Sind Survey assistantship The beginning of the Sikh war
Down with fever Goa Old Goa The abduction of the
sub-prioress Calicut The Malabar coast Ootacamund
Examination in Persian First thoughts of the Pilgrimage
Burton studies Moslem divinity Religious views The return
to England 27
CHAPTER III
The voyage home Visits to relations Visit to Pisa Old scenes
in Italy The Mussulman Allahdad Hydropathic treatment
The salle d'armes at Boulogne Burton's cousins Affaires de
cceur Knowledge of character Burton's sister Character-
istic traits Friends and enemies Paintings and portraits of
Burton His health Swordsmanship Bayonet exercise
Treasury generosity Financial difficulties Preparations for
the Pilgrimage " Good-bye. !1 55
CHAPTER IV
The voyage out Practising Eastern manners A stay on the
Mahmudijah canal A born believer The journey commences
The outfit The journey to Cairo A new nationality The
role of an Indian physician Prescriptions Servants The
Meccan Supplies A Desert ride View of Suez The voyage
to Yambu The Golden Wire's passengers Nights ashore
A wounded foot Arrival at Yambu The start En route
Stoppage at Said's wells The banditti of El-Hejaz Rein-
forcements The ill-famed Pilgrim Pass A fight in the gorge
Contents xi
PAGE
The " Blessed Valley " View of El-Medinah A Medinite
household Everyday life at El-Medinah Entering Bab el-
Rahmah Description of the mosque The Prophet's tomb
Around El-Medinah The sanctity of El-Bakia Prayers
Beggars 73
CHAPTER V
The plan to cross Arabia Preparations for Medinah Appear-
ance of the caravan Mode of travelling Incidents on the
road Water supplies Assuming the Ihram A sermon The
Bedawin A night in a pass The Valley of Limes Meccah
by star-light A Meccan welcome The Meccan mosque
Inspection of the Kaabah The rite of circumambulation
The Black Stone Lodgings in Meccah A night-visit to the
Kaabah Mount Arafat The Muna miracles The Arafat
sermon Stone-throwing Interior, of the Kaabah Animal
slaughter at Muna The sermon in the mosque Character of
the Meccan The Little Pilgrimage Departure from Meccah
Exit of Mohammed the Meccan ...... 101
CHAPTER VI
Return to India The exploration of East Africa decided upon
Expedition formed Departure from Aden Stay at Zeila
The Governor Sharmarkay Life at Zeila A Somal Friday
The escort Departure The two cooks The route to Harar
A Somali arcadia A scare Region of the Ghauts Ant-
hills A short rest Gerard Adan An attack of colic The
envoy First view of Harar Inverview with the Amir Im-
pressions of Harar The Harari Shaykh Jami A valuable
ally Departure from Harar The ride to Berberah Another
expedition Attacked by hillmen Burton severely wounded
Death of Lieutenaut Stroyan ....... 130
CHAPTER VII
In England on sick-leave Death of Burton's mother A paper
on Harar The Crimean War Literary work Departure for
the Crimea Burton's opinion of the War- In the prime of
life Edward Burton Arrival at Balaclava Appointed to
Beatson's Horse General Beatson The Bashi-Buzouks
Inactivity An unwise policy Interview with Lord Stratford
Removal of General Beatson Burton leaves the Crimea The
Dark Continent again _ . . . .' . . . . 159
Xll
An Expedition to Central Africa Burton's influence on the
development of the Lake Regions Supporters of the Expedi-
tion Zanzibar Island A pestilential town Initial difficulties
The dialect Outfit and supplies The Louisa The Emerald
Isle of the East Bad weather Mombasah Herr Rebmann
Burton's opinion of Germans The reception at Tanga The
town Canoeing on the Rufu Magnificent scenery Chogwe
Departure for Tongwe The bull-dog ant A night with the
Jemadar Tongwe " Bombay " On the road to Fuga Sultan
Mamba Impressions of the country The Highlands of Fuga
Sultan Kimwere A decaying king The rainy season at
Fuga The return to the sea-coast The Pangani Falls
Hunting hippopotami Down with fever again Dismal days . 174
CHAPTER IX
The Expedition sails from Zanzibar Insufficiency of porters
Departure for the interior Burton engages a Mganga A
favourable prophecy Life on the march Order of travelling
The state of the routes A halt for the night Food A
flattering composition Rate of progress K'hutu An attack
of marsh fever A slave raid and rescue Through K'hutu A
hot-bed of pestilence A transformation scene A death march
Troubles with the Baloch and porters Insect stings The
Usagara Chain The Ugogo Pass Ugogo An African chief
Bombay saves Burton's life Arrival at Razeh "Hearts of
flesh " The kindness of Snay bin Amir A noble Arab
Attended by a lady-doctor Mode of treatment
CHAPTER X
Resuming the march A smoking party Yombo Venuses The
Land of the Moon Perils of travelling A hospitable host
Blackmail A settlement of salt-diggers Bog-land First view
of Tanganyika Lake A vision of beauty The disembarkation
quay of Ujiji in 1858 The natives A ceremonious visit
Exploring Tanganyika Lake Speke's trip Difficulties in
obtaining canoe The i2th April, 1858 Alone with the natives
Man-eaters The sources of the Nile A violent storm A
drunken brawl Supplies run low Unexpected help Quitting
Contents xiii
PACE
Ujiji Incidents of the return march Burton hears of his
father's death The mistake made at Kazeh The lost oppor-
tunity Burton's opinion regarding the sources of the Nile A
breach of faith Speke's death Farewell to Snay bin Amir
Character of Burton's followers Their idea of the hereafter . 225
CHAPTER XI
Burton's friends and admirers The summer of 1859 A tour in
the New World The Indians at war The Butterfield Express
In a prairie waggon The Patlanders An Indian remove-
Indians' aversion to being sketched Mormon emigrants
Mormon campaigns The " Rockies " A grand tableland
Pacific springs Echo Kanyon Salt Lake City The Mormons
Brigham Young Temple Block A Sunday in Utah The
discourse A day in Great Salt Lake City Arrival of a party
of emigrants The Great Salt Lake Its components and
buoyancy A visit to Camp Floyd The gold diggings Burton's
marriage His wife's relations He accepts the Consularship
of Fernando Po .......... 251
CHAPTER XII
The journey to Fernando Po Unhealthy character of the district
Fernando Po " Christian Abbeokuta" African inhumanity
A palaver A beautiful panorama A holiday in the Cama-
roons The Camaroons as a convict settlement A French
West-African colony Struck by lightning Gorillas On the
Congo Cataracts A magnificent river Baffling nostalgia
"A mission to Gelele " A suggestion for his conversion
Landing from the Antelope Whydah The dance to the capital
A scandal amongst the Amazons The refreshment table
Gelele's appearance Gelele's household The 'Amazons
Arrival at Abomey Presentation to the king The yearly
customs A king's ghost Human sacrifices " The procession
of the king's wealth" Dancing Burton expostulates The
Government's message delivered Gelele's presents to Her
Majesty . . ; 277
CHAPTER XIII
Removed to Santos Burton's domestic life His wife's education
Her assistance in literary work Five months' leave Rio de
Janeiro The Dom Pedro Segundo Railway The Morro
xiv Contents
PAGE
Velho gold mine Down a mine An interesting inspection
A curious craft The Rio das Velhas A visit to the diamond
diggings The Francisco river Delayed by the elements
Burton and books An exciting journey on the river The
Brazilian cataract A severe illness Burton starts to visit the
battle-fields of Paraguay Monte Video Its dangers Impres-
sions of Buenos Ayres Paysandu Hairless dogs Indians
Scenes of strife Conclusion of the war The Paraguayan
capital Another appointment 308
CHAPTER XIV
A short stay in England The consulate of Damascus Burton's
duties Damascus The cottage at Salihiyyah Receptions
His wife's friends The quarters at B'ludan The role of the
Good Samaritan Burton's opinion of the country Trips in
Syria Palmyra Relic-hunting The columns of Baalbek
The sources of the Litani and the Orontes Burton and the
Syrian mountains Trouble with the escort's chief The
Druses of Shakkah On tour A strange reservoir A fortunate
escape Jerusalem visited The Temple Interesting dis-
coveries The Holy Land A village fracas Enmity of the
Greeks False accusations Burton and the money-lenders
Missionary troubles A fanatical outburst Religious troubles
The actions of Burton's wife The recall from Damascus . 335
A severe shock Blighted hopes No satisfaction A stay in
Scotland Life in Edinburgh A visit to Iceland Delusions
dispersed The charms of Reykjavik An outfit for Iceland
The journey to Myvatn Whirlwind bolts The sulphur
springs Return to England The appointment at Trieste
Trieste The home Everyday life The Province of Istria
A winter tour through India Haji Wali confides in Burton
The discovery of gold Burton heads a gold-seeking expedition
The wealth of the Land of Midian Fair visions The personnel
of the prospecting party En route The landing at Fort El-
Muwaylah Departure of the caravan Difficulties with Haji
Wali The exploration of Midian East Midian A meeting
with the Ma'azah The El-Nejd plateau A retreat The
Southern Hisma wall South Midian The return . . . 361
Contents xv
PAGE
CHAPTER XVI
Ismail's downfall Tewfik's powerlessness Another prospecting
tour West Africa revisited Arrival at Axim A wealthy
country Down with fever again The return home Literary
labours The "Arabian Nights" Burton's predilection for
Arabia Burton's motive for translating the " Nights " The
reception of his great work The Library Edition of the
" Arabian Nights " The burning of the manuscript of "The
Scented Garden" The Palazzo at Trieste A visit to Eng-
land A visit to Tangier Burton created a K.C.M.G. His
loyalty Health troubles Two years' roaming A narrow
escape The beginning of the end His last day Last mo-
ments The death-bed conversion farce A Roman Catholic
burial The end ......... 391
APPENDIX . 417
\
THE TRUE LIFE OF
CAPT. SIR RICHARD F. BURTON
K.C.M.G. F.R.G.S. ETC.
CHAPTER I
TDICHARD FRANCIS BURTON was born on the
*% igth March, 1821, at Barham House, Herts, the
home of his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Richard
and Sarah Beckwith Baker. His mother, one of three co-
heiresses, had married the earliest ; and he, her first child,
became the darling of the household. Baptized in due course
at Elstree Parish Church, he spent most part of his infancy
with these relatives ; and, as often happens even with very
young children, who have passed two or three perfectly
happy years, and never quite forget them, he could just
remember being brought down after dinner to dessert,
seated on the knee of a tall man with yellow hair and
bright blue eyes.
His grandfather on the paternal side he never saw. The
Rev. Edward Burton, Rector of Tuam, was educated in
England for the Church ; and, on being presented with his
Irish benefice, left the Lake Country with his brother
Edmond, afterwards Dean of Killala, and settled in Ireland
for the rest of his life. These brothers, originally of Barker's
Hill, near Shap, Westmoreland, were related to the Burtons
of Longnor, like Lord Ccnyngham and Sir Charles Burton
of Pollacton ; and were, in fact, collateral descendants of
i
2 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Francis Pierpoint Burton first Marquis of Conyngham.
The notable man of the family, Sir Edward Burton, fought
so bravely during the Wars of the Roses, that he was made
a Knight Banneret by Edward IV after the second battle
of St. Albans.
The rector who, besides his living, possessed private
means, had not been long in Ireland before he purchased
the property of Newgarden, near Tuam, where he seems to
have combined, according to the easy-going fashion of the
day, the duties of squire and parson. Like most clergymen
he married young and had a large family ; but his wife,
Maria Margaretta, daughter by a Lejeune of Dr. John
Campbell, Vicar General of Tuam, long survived him.
Concerning the ancestry of the said Maria Margaretta
there exists an interesting legend, one which also affects
several well-known Irish families, to wit, the Nettervilles,
Droughts, Graves, Plunketts and Trimlestons. More than
one document exists to prove that Louis Lejeune, father
of Sarah, Dr. Campbell's wife, was a son of Louis
Quatorze by the Comtesse de Montmorenci. The mother,
a Huguenot, having repented of her error and fearing her
child would be educated as a Papist, had him secretly
carried off to Ireland at an early age, where his name was
translated to Young, and where he became eventually a
doctor of divinity in the Anglican Church. This romantic
story, familiar to widely scattered members of the families
already referred to, is curiously corrobated by the striking
resemblance between the Bourbons and certain of their
supposed descendants. A miniature of Maria Margaretta
preserved amongst the family treasures, depicts the peculiar
Bourbon traits so vividly that no one fails to remark the
pear-shaped face and head that culminated in Louis
Philippe.
Either the rector had proved an unusually good hus-
band, or the widow found her position almost intolerable
after his death, for it is said, she never ceased to regret
Parentage 3
his loss, until she was laid beside him in the old cathedral
at Tuam. As four sons and four daughters were the result
of their union, her house was not left desolate; but in those
days the lot of a widow residing in County Galway must
have been far from pleasant. Not that she was wanting
in courage. On one occasion Newgarden was broken
into by thieves. Her sons seem to have been absent,
so Madam Burton, as her tenantry called her, lighted
a candle, went upstairs to fetch some gunpowder which
was kept in a barrel, loaded her pistols, and hastened down
to the hall, to find the robbers decamped. She then
remembered the dip which, in her hurry, she had left
standing on the barrel in disagreeable proximity to the
explosive contents, and at the risk of being blown to atoms,
she coolly re-entered the room and removed the guttering
wick from its perilous position.
Joseph Netterville, her third and handsomest son, was
the father of the traveller. He had too many brothers and
sisters to remain idle at home, and as obtaining a com-
mission in the army was a far easier matter then than it is
now, he decided to become a soldier. On being gazetted to
the 36th Regiment, he insisted upon several of his tenants
enlisting at the same time, and so cleared his mother's
property for a while, from some of the wildest and most
dangerous characters. But his military career proved
a short one. After he had seen a little service in
Sicily, his regiment was ordered to England, where it
remained in inglorious idleness during the stirring times
on the Continent. Finally, in 1819, he obtained several
months' leave and married Martha Beckwith Baker, one
of the three co-heiresses already mentioned, a descendant
on her mother's side of the Macgregors and Macleans.
Of this marriage were born three children, Richard
Francis, Maria Catherine Eliza, who married in 1845
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry William Stisted, K.C.B.,
and Edward Joseph Netterville. After the birth of the
i 2
4 Captain Sir R. F. Bttrton, K.C.M.G.
last, Colonel Burton gave up soldiering for ever. Although
a stalwart, broad-chested man, he was seized in the prime
of life by bronchial asthma, a complaint which, appearing
in one of its severest forms, utterly incapacitated him for
active service. A faint hope of being able to rejoin his
regiment at some future time prevented him from selling
out, so he went on half pay, as it proved, for the remainder
of his life. Thus young Richard's migratory instincts were
early fostered : during many years the family roamed in-
cessantly over the Continent in search of health, or at least
some alleviation of the father's sufferings.
Hoping to breathe more freely in the comparatively dry
air of Touraine, Colonel Burton pitched his tent at Tours.
The Chateau de Beausejour, his first house, stood on the
right bank of the Loire, half way up the heights that bound
the stream. It commanded a lovely view, was surrounded
on three sides by a charming garden and vineyard, and
proved quite an ideal home. The children revelled in
country pleasures, eating grapes in the vineyard and working
in their own little private gardens ; the father, whose health
for a time improved almost miraculously, indulged in boar-
hunting in le Foret d' Ambroise ; and the mother, a veritable
Martha, looked after her house and her little ones. She had
other duties, for Beausejour was no hermitage. Tours then
contained some two hundred English families, attracted by
the beauty of the place and the facilities of education ; and
as the Burtons enjoyed a comfortable income (Mr. Baker
had died suddenly just before they left England), they kept
an excellent chef and cellar, and were noted for their hos-
pitality.
They were popular, and not merely on account of
keeping open house. To begin with, they were pleasant-
looking people. Colonel Burton, once the handsomest man
of his regiment, had a clear, olive complexion, delicately
modelled, slightly arched nose, and bright piercing eyes.
His wife, with her luxuriant brown hair, large grey eyes,
Early Days 5
tall, graceful figure, and tiny hands and feet, was, if not so
regular in feature, quite as attractive as the husband. The
children followed suit. Richard, a dark, clever-faced boy,
showed every indication of equalling his sire's good looks ;
his sister was a lovely pink-cheeked girl; and Edward had
the profile of a Greek statue. But this was not all. Most
of us have been taught somewhat erroneously that looks
matter little : the truth is, form and feature often convey
a true idea of character. It was so in this instance ; for
the Burtons were not merely sociable, courteous and gene-
rous, but thoroughly well principled. Steady, old-fashioned
Church folk, free from the rabid Evangelicalism then at its
height, and the Tractarianism which later became so
general, they were as true to what they thought right as
the needle to the pole. Richard Burton said, in after days,
that his father was the most moral man he had ever
known ; and would often add, in his curious, abrupt way,
"Nice to be able to feel proud of one's parents ! " It must
be allowed that the Colonel's line of conduct with respect to
the education of his boys, was not the most sagacious that
could have been followed, but clairvoyance is given to few.
The wife was gentle, intensely unselfish ; the daughter pos-
sessed all the family virtues, marred by none of the faults ;
and Edward was noted for lavish generosity.
Richard, owing perhaps to weak health, for as a child
he showed no indication of his future herculean strength,
was the least amiable, Rough in manner, mischievous as
a monkey, and subject to outbursts of temper, he often
called down upon his head the vials of his father's wrath.
But, on the other hand, he was brave and affectionate in the
highest degree. When he had the toothache it was known
only next day by the swelling of his face. But where
his affections were concerned his stoicism vanished. He
adored his mother, thinking nothing in heaven or earth
too good for her ; and one of the earliest stories recorded
of him is that he was found rolling on the floor, howling
6 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
with mingled rage and anguish because some women had
carriages to drive in while for a time his parent had to go
on foot. He was nearly as much attached to his sister.
Some years later he was amusing himself, boy fashion, by
throwing stones, one hit the little girl by mischance and
cut her forehead so severely that she could not help crying
out. Aghast at what he had done, he rushed up to her,
flung his arms around her neck, burst into a paroxysm of
sobs and tears, and not for some time did he recover his
composure. Pets of all kinds he delighted in, often spend-
ing hours trying to revive some unlucky bird or beast
which, like pets in general, had come to a sad and untimely
end ; in fact, it is said he did once succeed in resuscitating
a favourite bullfinch which had nearly drowned itself in a
water jug. To sum up, all his relatives agreed that though
often most troublesome and disagreeable, " Dick " was one
of the warmest-hearted boys that ever breathed.
As all three children were more or less fond of reading,
their father began their education early. One morning
when " Dick " was only six years old, he and his brother
were conveyed to Tours and introduced as pupils to a
lame Irish schoolmaster named Clough. These Liliputian
learners spent their time at first wondering at their novel
surroundings, and after a pretence at lessons, took advantage
of their hours of freedom by playing with pop-guns, spring
pistols, and tin and wooden sabres, so realistically too, that
small " Dick " quite longed to kill the porter because he
dared to gibe at the sabres de bois and pistolets de paille.
Unfortunately it was soon found that the Chateau de
Beausejour was too far from the town for the boys to
trudge to and fro every day, so the family moved to the
Rue de 1'Archeveche, the then best street in Tours, but
unsuitable for delicate parents and young children.
Here the Burtons remained until 1829. Then the father,
whose complaint had become fairly bearable, resolved to
return for a while to England. An uncomfortable sus-
Education 7
picion appears to have crossed his mind, that a foreign
education might not be the best thing in the world for his
boys. Sons of sundry cronies at Tours were turning out
distinctly badly ; their example might be dangerous, and it
seemed more prudent to remove his lads from so disturbing
an influence. On arriving in London with a half-formed
intention of sending Richard and Edward to Eton, to
prepare for Oxford and Cambridge, he unluckily met a
blundering friend who recommended a preparatory school
at Richmond ; and as the latter place was pleasantly get-
at-able, and his wife was anxious to remain near her mother
and sisters in Town, he ultimately decided on settling for
a year in this romantic suburb.
Opening upon the famous Green stood the school, a
handsome building with a paddock which enclosed some
fine old elm trees. Rev. Charles Delafosse, the master, a
bluff and portly man with an aquiline nose, looked a model
pedagogue ; he was assisted by a large staff of ushers, and
at first matters seemed most promising. But there must
have been something radically wrong both with the manage-
ment and the mode of teaching. The Burton boys learnt
next to nothing except a certain facility of using their fists ;
quarrels were so incessant that the playground was turned
into a miniature battlefield every day, when the boys were
allowed to beat each other black and blue ; and the fare
was limited in quantity and detestable in quality. Finally,
scarlet fever of a very malignant type broke out and put an
end to the Richmond scheme for ever. Some lads died, the
rest were sent to their respective homes. Richard and
Edward went straight to their grandmother's house in
Cumberland Street, to avoid conveying the infection to
their sister ; and it was well they did so, for the elder
sickened a few days after his arrival. He was tenderly
nursed by his aunt, Georgiana Baker, and a friend, a Miss
Morgan. Edward, though intensely anxious to fall ill too,
and so come in for some of the nice things going he was
8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
caught more than once inhaling the air through the key-
hole of his brother's bedroom to ensure so desirable a piece
of luck remained in excellent health ; and the two little
chaps were soon taken by their kind relative to Ramsgate.
Meanwhile their father had become thoroughly disen-
chanted with Richmond. The school from which he had
hoped so much had turned out an expensive failure ; worse
still, his family had been attacked with fever and influenza,
he felt ill and miserable, and fairly recoiled from the pros-
pect of spending another winter on the green. So marching
orders were again issued, and for the Continent. It would
have been wiser to leave the sons at Rugby or Eton, but
he was a warm-hearted Irishman, and distances in those
comparatively steamless days were much more formidable
than now. So he squared matters with his conscience
by engaging a tutor for his lads and a governess for his
daughter, and thus reinforced, the family left Richmond,
and went to Blois.
There education began in real earnest, the young people
working hard to make up for lost time. The boys, under their
tutor, M. Du Pre, of Exeter College, Oxford, made rapid
progress in dead and living languages : local masters taught
them swimming, fencing, and, after some slight opposition,
dancing. Fencing was their pet occupation. They spent
most of their leisure in exchanging thrusts, either with or
without the old French soldier who taught them ; and after
Richard had passed his foil down his brother's throat,
nearly destroying the uvula, they learned not to neglect
the mask. " Dick " also spent many an anxious hour in
attempting to train a falcon. The poor bird on whom the
"'prentice hand" was tried soon died, worn out like a
mediaeval saint, by austerities, especially in the fasting line,
and so bitterly mourned was it by its affectionate young
owner, that he never tried the experiment again until later
in life, when success attended his efforts.
At times the wild lads must have been very troublesome
Snails g
neighbours. It was about as easy to confine them to their
own premises, as to prevent cats from roaming. An elderly
French maiden who lived next door, tired of ceaseless irrup-
tions into her prim, well-kept grounds, at last complained
to the parents. Punishment had followed, not meekly
borne, and Richard, the chief offender, after deep cogita-
tion and frequent consultations with his brother and sister,
determined on revenge revenge which should prove diffi-
cult to detect. He searched his own garden and the sur-
rounding neighbourhood, wherever he could gain access, for
fine, fat snails so delightful to think of them devouring the
old wretch's flowers ! secured a goodly number over night
in a sack, and at early dawn before the enemy was abroad,
climbed the wall with his burden and scattered the contents
over her most promising plants. A closer acquaintance
with the mysteries of French cooking would have spared
him the disappointment that ensued. When the old lady,
unaware of the three pairs of eyes anxiously awaiting her
arrival, did come out for her daily walk, her countenance
brightened. Hastily fetching a basket, she picked up as
many snails as it would hold, and vanished into her kitchen
with her bonne to make soup.
That year the winter at Blois was very severe. Water
froze in the drawing-room. Colonel Burton had a fearful
attack of asthma, which he insisted on leaving to run its
own course, one of his peculiarities being that he would
never send for medical advice, until death stared him in the
face. Change of air and scene was his only remedy. And
as he had to spend night after night propped in a chair,
utterly unable to lie down, his laboured breathing audible
half over the house, it seemed about time to try it. So no
sooner had spring set in, and the milder weather rendered
it possible for him to move, than he proposed going to Italy.
His wife, poor thing, who only moderately enjoyed a migra-
tory existence, was aghast ; but the young people, all three
rovers at heart, were wild with delight on hearing of this
io Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
exciting project. It seemed almost too good to be true
when the yellow travelling chariot, a luxury indispensable
to well-to-do folk of that period, was taken out of its
coach-house and furbished up for the journey. This
equipage contained all the funny old-fashioned receptacles
then in vogue, some of whose very names are unfamiliar
imperial, boot, sword-case, and plate-chest a sort of
miniature home on wheels. And during such leisurely
progress it took a month to get to Italy comforts were
required, for the posting and country inns were at times
far from agreeable. Of course, everybody could not
squeeze into the chariot, roomy though it was, so it
was occupied by the father, mother, and daughter, while
a chaise drawn by an ugly horse known as Dobbin, driven
by young Richard, accommodated the rest of the family.
The boy delighted in acting Jehu, though at the close of
each day his father very rightly insisted on his attend-
ing to the watering, feeding, and rubbing down of the
steed in question, before he got his own dinner. At
Marseilles, chariot, 'chaise, horse, and family were shipped
to Leghorn, a spot which proved so utterly uninhabitable
that, after a few days' rest, the colonel and his belongings
transferred themselves to Pisa.
Although they often returned to it, the Burtons' first
sojourn under the shadow of the Leaning Tower was a
very brief one. Next summer found them at Siena, and their
stay in that venerable town, one of the dullest places
under heaven, was far from exciting. Hitherto Italy
had certainly not realised expectations ; but, by the end
of September, the father determined to visit Rome, so
with hopes once more raised to their highest pitch, the
children watched the chariot which, by the way, was
drawn by post-horses Dobbin, and the chaise being made
ready for the march.
Travelling in vetturino was not without its charm. It
is true one seldom progressed more than five miles an
The Journey to Italy II
hour ; if uphill still less ; and in some parts of Italy the
fear of brigands was a distinct bar to perfect enjoyment.
Moreover, the harness was perpetually breaking; and often
a horse fell lame ; and the inns were too far apart to render
such accidents easily remedied ; but one saw the country
thoroughly, and went along slowly enough to impress
everything on the memory. Food consisted chiefly of
omelettes, pigeons, and ill-fed chickens, the latter being
killed unpleasantly soon before dinner; but bread, wine, and
oil were excellent, and adulteration was then unknown.
Taking it altogether, it is doubtful whether we have
changed for the better, rushing along in hot, crowded
railway carriages, hustled over our meals, and catching so
fleeting a glimpse of the fairest scenes, that we often return
home feeling decidedly hazy as to what we have seen and
what we haven't.
At Rome, sight-seeing was pursued with peculiar ardour.
The young Burtons were wild with delight at visiting all the
celebrated sites of which they had so often heard ; for, be it
remembered, they were well-read youngsters, and would
have turned up their noses at the mawky story-books, so
popular nowadays amongst our boys and girls. They
roamed with " Mrs. Starke " under the arm, for " Murray "
and " Baedeker " were not then invented, from the Vatican
to the Capitol, from church to palazzo, from ruin to ruin.
Little did they care that the Ghetto was a disgrace to
civilization, that the Trastevere was filthy as an African
village, that the Tiber flooded the lower town. Sufficient
that it was the Tiber. When they tired of the city, they
made long excursions into the country ; Richard even
ascended Mount Soracte. And when the Holy Week came
round, its ceremonies presided over by that very jovial old
pontiff, Gregory XVI, we may be sure not one was shirked
by the active young people. Being staunch Protestants,
they were much amused to hear the Romans cracking small
jokes upon the mien and demeanour of the Vecchierello,
12 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
while the Pope stood in the balcony delivering his bene-
diction urbi et orbi in strong contrast with the English
and Irish Romanists, who straightway became almost
hysterical with rapture.
From Rome our migratory family proceeded to Naples,
fixing on Sorrento as summer quarters. Here Richard,
excited perhaps by the immense variety of excursions
travels on a small scale became more than usually trouble-
some. First he crept over the Natural Arch, merely
because an Italian lad had said: "Non e possibile, Signorino."
Next he insisted on taking the dog's place in the Grotto del
Cane, instigated rather by inquisitiveness than sympathy
for the ill-used animal, and was pulled out just in time to
avoid suffocation. And on another occasion he was caught
in an attempt to descend the crater of Mount Vesuvius,
apparently on a wild goose chase after Satan, who, so the
neighbours declared, had been seen vanishing therein, claw-
ing fast to the soul of a usurer. But in spite of these
occasional shocks to the parental nerves, everybody enjoyed
the years passed at Naples and its lovely environs.
Education went on briskly. The celebrated Cavalli was
engaged as fencing master. In those days the Neapolitan
school, which has now almost died out, was in its last
bloom. It was indeed such a thoroughly business-like
affair, that whenever a Neapolitan and a Frenchman fought
a duel, the former was sure to win. The Burton boys
worked at their favourite art, heart and soul, and generally
managed, by rising early, to devote several hours a day to
it. Young Richard determined even at that age to produce
a combination between the Neapolitan and the French
school, so as to supplement the defects of the one by the
merits of the other ; and, although a life of very hard work
did not allow leisure enough to carry out the whole plan,
one large volume of " A Book on the Sword " was pub-
lished in 1880.
The sojourn at Naples was temporarily interrupted by the
Colonel Burton 13
terrible cholera visitation in the winter of the early thirties.
It caused a fearful mortality, sometimes twelve hundred
deaths a day. Colonel Burton had soon to decide between
remaining in a comfortable palazzo on the Chiaja, wherein
people lay dead above and beneath his apartments, or re-
moving to Sorrento, where there was little sickness but no
doctor. Characteristically he chose the latter, and very
dismal did he find a place then only suitable for summer
quarters. To wile away the time he devoted himself to
chemistry, and nearly drove his Italian servants mad with
superstitious terror by performing before their horrified
eyes, an excellent imitation of the miracle of St. Januarius,
using as a main ingredient the blood of the bird beloved by
^Esculapius. They quite expected so sacrilegious an act
would at once bring down upon the family the pestilence
raging in the neighbourhood ; but the Burtons, in common
with many of their fellow country people, escaped unharmed.
It was a curious circumstance, one which excited much
comment at the time, that the British colony at Naples led
almost charmed lives throughout the course of an epidemic
of unparalleled severity, although so many persons had
fallen victims to it in England.
In the spring of 1836, Colonel Burton having had enough
of Naples, removed with his family to Pau in the Pyrenees.
Some crony who had preceded him thither, had written
such glowing accounts of the climate and society, that he
was only too glad of the excuse for a thorough change.
M. du Pre was still one of the party, so there was little
interruption to the studies. At Pau, Richard began mathe-
matics, varied by boxing lessons from an Irish groom. His
interest in every branch of the noble art of self-defence
threatened to become almost a monomania, owing perhaps
to a day-dream indulged in by both lads, but kept for the
present profoundly secret thrashing their tutor. To pre-
pare the more thoroughly for this dashing exploit, they
passed hours in the barracks fencing with the soldiers, a
14 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
familiarity tolerated by the piou-pions on account of the
largesse bestowed on these occasions ; for the Burton boys
were handsomely supplied with pocket-money, and Edward
was especially generous in the manner of spending it. But
although a good deal of time was spent in boxing and
fencing, Richard never became a loafer ; at Pau he mas-
tered the B6arnais patois, a charming naive dialect which
considerably assisted him in learning Proven9ale. And he
tells us how later in life he found these studies useful in his
official capacity, even in the most out-of-the-way corners of
the world: nothing goes home to the heart of a man so
much as to speak to him in his own tongue.
At last, after sundry summer trips to Bagnieres de
Bigorre and Argeles, the poor asthmatic father again found
a change imperative. Two winters at Pau with its windy,
rainy, snowy climate, had by no means improved his health ;
and when the mountain fogs began once more to roll down
upon the valley, and a third cold season was approaching,
he ruefully confessed the little capital of the Basses-
Pyrenees, so far as he was concerned, had proved a
failure. So he issued marching orders for Pisa, a place
for which during many a year he cherished a somewhat
unreasonable affection. No one except his wife objected
to the long, weary journey, and she very mildly ; and before
autumn had waned the family were safely established in a
house on the south side of the Lung' Arno. A number of
old acquaintances were yet living in the queer old town,
and a few new ones were added to the list.
Richard now diligently applied himself to drawing ;
and it was lucky for him he did take so much pains with
this art, as it enabled him to illustrate his own books.
Traveller-authors who have the misfortune to be indifferent
draughtsmen, and bring home only a few scrawls to put
into the hands of professionals, have the pleasure of seeing
strange anomalies depicted in their pages. Even though
Burton could draw, once, when sending to London a
An Early Love 15
sketch of a pilgrim in his correct costume, the portable
Koran, worn under the left arm, narrowly escaped be-
coming a revolver. In music, his brother and sister left
him far behind. Perhaps with him the sense of harmony
was lacking, for he seems to have devoted some time to
an accomplishment which might have increased his fas-
cinations with the fair sex.
For, like Byron, he soon fell a victim to the tender
passion. One, Signorina Caterina, a tall, slim, dark girl,
with the palest possible complexion, and regular features,
was the first of a long procession of beloveds. Proposals
of marriage were made and accepted ; but, as parental
consent had not been requested on either side, and would
certainly have been withheld even had that dutiful pre-
liminary occurred to the enamoured pair, it was impossible
to get the ceremony performed. The days of Romeo and
Juliet and their accommodating old friar were past ; and
even then had Romeo been a heretic there might have
been a hitch. Vainly the lovers racked their brains ; the
difficulties proved insurmountable. Their adieux were
heartrending ; but history hath it that Caterina was soon
forgotten and replaced, while it maintains a discreet silence
as to whether Ricardo long retained undisputed possession
of her heart.
The love affair reached the good old father's ears ; he
was not best pleased, and it was easy to see that a family
break-up was approaching. The young Burtons had grown
very unruly; they made close friendships with Italian
medical students, they smoked incessantly ; they had
thrashed the tutor, so he could do nothing towards keeping
them in order. Recognising the unpleasant fact that his
lads had become unmanageable, Colonel Burton bore with
their wild pranks for only a very short time, and then,
accompanied by the luckless M. du Pre, marshalled his
sons to England.
Richard had passed his nineteenth birthday, and if he
16 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
was ever to go to College the time had arrived. That he
did not care to lead a semi-mediaeval existence mattered
little : neither his nor his brother's inclinations were con-
sulted, for it was well known that both lads wished to enter
the army. His father, who like many Irishmen, ran from
one extreme into another from allowing his sons too much
liberty abroad to almost cloistering them at home had set
his heart upon their taking honours, one at Oxford, the other
at Cambridge, and later becoming parsons. While this
programme betrayed very little knowledge of character, it
showed a great deal of affectionate solicitude for their future
welfare. His health had been ruined by his short campaign
in Sicily, his private fortune diminished rather than in-
creased by his profession, and it was but natural that,
remembering the comfortable home at Tuam and his uncle's
luxurious house at Killala, he should desire for his clever
sons a career which might secure them a competence. In
those days the army was considered hardly suitable for men
with brains ; moreover, commissions in crack regiments
were expensive, and the pay was, as it is now, beggarly.
Certainly Richard and Edward Burton did not evince much
of a vocation for the priestly calling, but their parent fondly
trusted that university life might foster latent pious pro-
clivities which might never have seen the light under less
favourable conditions.
His hopes at first seemed doomed to disappointment.
A certain professor, a well-known Grecian, put young
Richard through his paces in the classics, and found him
lamentably deficient. While as to his religious studies, he
broke down ignominiously in the Nicene Creed, and knew
next to nothing about the Thirty-nine Articles. Evidently
pretty severe coaching was required before he could appear
in the character of a sucking parson at Oxford.
Fortunately it happened to be Long Vacation, and a
Doctor Greenhill, who had then little to do, agreed to lodge
and coach this most unpromising youth until the opening
Life at Oxford 17
term. Colonel Burton accompanied his son to the very
door of his future abode, consigned him personally to the
new tutor, and then returned to his wife and daughter in
Italy. Edward was already studying with a clergyman at
Cambridge.
Stern though the old man was, Richard confessed later
that when the last familiar face had disappeared he felt too
lonely and miserable even to get into mischief. Ashamed
of the poor appearance he had presented to his first ex-
aminer, he worked hard with Dr. Greenhill to make up his
deficiencies ; and, thanks to his excellent memory and
great power of concentration, he began residence in Trinity
College no worse equipped for his future studies than quite
two-thirds of his brother collegians. But any trace of
enthusiasm regarding his romantic environment seems to
have been lacking. His quarters he described as a couple
of dog-holes ; chapel was a bore ; the lectures which suc-
ceeded it either incomprehensible or useless ; and the dinner
at 5 p.m. was uneatable. At that time beer was the only
drink allowed, and the food consisted of hunches of meat
cooked after Homeric fashion, plain boiled vegetables, and
stodgy pudding. In fact, this cannibal repast so disgusted
him, that he found a place in the town where, when he
could escape " Hall," he was able to order some more
appetising viands.
There were real annoyances besides. Ignorance of the
customs of the place gave rise to quarrels ; and, as he had
not the least idea how to manage his limited allowance, he
speedily outran the constable. With regard to his studies,
he soon found that University honours required harder
work and stricter self-denial than he was disposed for ; a
truth made disagreeably plain by his trying for two scholar-
ships, and failing to win either. Presently a bright idea
struck him. As the desire of his heart was to become a
soldier, why not leave the unattainable classics, and look
round for means of furthering his own designs ? It was
2
1 8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the Indian army he wished to join, attracted by its oppor-
tunities of mastering Oriental languages, and of studying all
sorts and conditions of men ; so, after this lucky thought,
he kept a sharp look out for any chance of grounding him-
self in Hindustani or Arabic. At last, tired of waiting for a
regular class, he attacked the latter language, and was soon
well on in Erpinius's grammar ; and, by and by, Don
Pascual de Gayangos, whom he met at Dr. Greenhill's,
showed him how to copy the alphabet.
Strange that in those days, though England was then,
as now, the greatest Mohammedan Empire in the world,
learning Arabic at Oxford was next to impossible. A
Regius Professor existed nominally, but he had no other
occupations than to profess. When Burton required assis-
tance in mastering the language, and applied to the learned
gentleman in question, he was told a Professor would teach
a class and not an individual. Nous avons change tout cela,
but none too soon.
As time went on Richard's spirits improved. He
amused himself by taking long walks to Bagley Wood,
where a pretty gipsy sat in state to receive the shillings and
the homage of the undergraduates, and when less roman-
tically disposed, spent his leisure hours in the fencing-room.
Riding was too expensive, as he objected to a cheap and
nasty " monture," but on Sunday afternoons he often drove
a tandem to Abingdon, about ten miles off an excursion
not without a spice of excitement, tandems being forbidden.
As he was rather shy, and his brother collegians did not
like his half-foreign appearance, he made few friends
Alfred Bates Richards was, perhaps, the most intimate.
But he did associate occasionally with some of ths young
men at Exeter and Brasenose, preferring, however, Oriel,
both as regards fellows and undergraduates ; and at times
he dined with various families in the town, meeting at their
houses some of the celebrities of the day. Once Dr. Arnold
and Dr. Newman were amongst the guests. Much was
Tlie Whites 19
expected from the conversation of the two learned and
reverend men ; but as it was mostly confined to discussing
the size of the apostles in the Cathedral of St. Peter's in
Rome, and as both divines showed a very dim recollection
of the subject, the said feast of reason and flow of soul must
have been to say the least, disappointing.
Autumn term over, and very long it seemed to the
lonely young fellow, he went to stay with his grandmother
and aunts in London. It proved a memorable visit, for he
met at their house the three sons of a Colonel White of the
Third Dragoons, who were all preparing for military service
in India. There is little doubt that the society of this trio
of embryo soldiers strengthened Richard's resolution to
choose the army as a profession ; many an exciting talk
must they have had together on the subject ; for our
dominion in India had entered upon a critical stage of its
history, or as the four young fellows would have expressed
it, conditions there were remarkably favourable for rapid
promotion. Presently he was able to discuss the all-
absorbing subject with his brother. Edward came up
from Cambridge, and the two chummed together in Mad-
dox Street, Mrs. Baker's house not being large enough to
take them both in. They could not come to any conclusion
how best to escape from their trammels ; but from all
accounts they seemed to have followed the advice of a
certain cheerful-minded sage to enjoy the present, and let
the future take care of itself.
But their " high old time " appeared only too short.
Spring term arrived, and all the delightful chats about
India with the Whites, and larking about London with
a congenial companion the brothers' tastes were very
similar^had to be given up for a dismal existence in
two frowsy rooms. To console himself, Burton played a
few pranks, but they were neither original nor numerous ;
and by-and-by he settled down to the various kinds of
work that suited him best.
22
2o Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
He was certainly not idle, for about this time he
invented a system of learning lauguages, peculiarly his
own. As Burton became one of the greatest linguists of
the day, this system evidently suited him. It may be
valuable to students, so I give it in his own words.
" I get a grammar and a vocabulary, mark out the
forms and words which I know are absolutely necessary,
and learn them by heart by carrying them in my pocket
and looking over them at spare moments during the day.
I never work more than a quarter of an hour at a time,
for after that time the brain loses its freshness. After
learning some three hundred words, easily done in a week,
I stumble through some easy book- work (one of the Gospels
is the most come-at-able), and underline every word I wish
to recollect, in order to read over my pencillings at least
once a day. Having finished my volume, I then carefully
work up the grammar minutiae, and I then choose some
other book whose subject most interests me. The neck of
the language is now broken, and progress is rapid. If I
come across a new sound like the Arabic Ghayn, I train my
tongue to it by repeating it so many hundred times a day.
When I read, I invariably read out loud, so that the ear
may aid memory. I am delighted with the most difficult
characters, Chinese and Cuneiform, because I feel that
they impress themselves more strongly upon the eye than
the eternal Roman letters. This, by the bye, made me
resolutely stand aloof from the hundred schemes for trans-
literating Eastern languages, such as Arabic, Sanscrit,
Hebrew, and Syriac into Latin letters. Whenever I
converse with anyone in a language that I am learning, I
take the trouble to repeat their words inaudibly after them,
and so to learn the trick of pronunciation and emphasis."
Thanks either to his natural facility, or to the system in
question, Burton made considerable progress in Arabic ; a
language which was to be of the greatest service to him in
after days. His Greek and Latin seem to have done him
Tutors and Latin 21
more harm than good. The English pronunciation of Latin
vowels, then universal, happens to be the worst in the
world, because we have an O and an A which belong
peculiarly to English. A boy educated abroad would
naturally speak real (Roman) Latin ; Richard adhered
with tenacity to his original style, and when he insisted on
spouting Greek by accent and not by quantity, as they did
and still do at Athens, and refused to be corrected, he was
looked upon as a very conceited and unruly youngster.
Burton was right, only he was not in the position to
give an opinion. An undergraduate just over twenty could
not reasonably expect to introduce so great an innovation
amongst bald-headed seniors ; and his line of conduct,
which they ascribed solely to vanity and stubbornness, was
not calculated to make him a favourite with the authorities.
It mattered little in this case, as the sooner he began his
military career and finished his University one, the better
for all concerned ; but the lack of tact or worldly wisdom,
the habit of telling the truth whether timely or not, that
veracity which Carlyle declares is the root of all greatness
or real worth in human creatures, sadly hindered him at
times in his struggle with the world.
Meanwhile, his family had not forgotten him, and a
happy meeting made amends for past annoyances. Colonel
Burton had brought his wife and daughter from Lucca to
Wiesbaden in order to be nearer England; and the " boys,"
as they were still called, were sent for to spend the Long
Vacation in Germany. There was no larking in Town this
time ; the brothers did not lose a day after receiving their
letters, but started at once for the Continent. Great was
the delight of both mother and sister at seeing the bright,
good-hearted young fellows again. It is a common saying
in the family that Burtons understand only each othei ;
and while this peculiarity has drawbacks as regards their
friendships and marriages, it makes them very happy and
united at home. Richard, who had just succeeded in ex-
22 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
citing a fair amount of enmity at Oxford in an exceeding
short space of time, was so loving a son that his mother,
then almost invalided with heart complaint, exclaimed
when he left her, " Just as if the sun itself had dis-
appeared ! "
Wiesbaden, which, in those days before railways, was
intensely German, he described as a kind of Teutonic Mar-
gate with a chic of its own. The gaming tables were still
in all their glory, and as they were forbidden, of course,
Richard lost no time in trying his luck. But after a few
furtive visits, and the winning or losing of a few sovereigns,
he soon wearied of them. Gambling never seems to have
possessed any attraction for him. Games of hazard he con-
sidered mere waste of time ; horse-racing only moderately
amusing ; and of the Stock Exchange he had a positive
horror.
Play was not the sole entertainment at Wiesbaden.
There were often dances in the evening, and Burton, who
waltzed exceedingly well, enjoyed these mild festivities in-
tensely. The girls liked him as a partner, not only because
he could steer them skilfully round the room, but for his
good looks. He had grown tall and broad-chested ; his
shapely head was plentifully covered with curly brown
hair ; and his large, lustrous brown eyes, whose lashes owed
their surprising length to having been cut by his mother in
infancy, were singularly beautiful. A thick moustache,
which, much to his indignation, he had been compelled to
shave at Oxford, had grown again, and completed a tout
ensemble of manly grace very rarely surpassed. His sister,
who, during a brief season at the Baths of Lucca, was
known by friends and admirers as the Moss Rose, had
become a lovely girl ; the father, in spite of his asthma,
was nearly as upright and good-looking as ever ; and there
is little doubt these handsome Burtons attracted no small
notice whenever they appeared.
From Wiesbaden they moved to Heidelberg. This
German Students and Fencing 23
charmingly picturesque place then harboured a little
English colony, which, as usual, warmly welcomed the
new comers. Richard's attention, however, was almost
entirely absorbed by the students' methods of fighting.
He haunted the fencing rooms, and delighted in a new
kind of play with the Schlager, a straight, pointless blade
with razor-like edges, the favourite weapon used to settle
affairs of honour. Both he and his brother, egged on by a
young Irishman who was studying at the University, were
most anxious to enter one of the so-called brigades, care-
fully choosing the Nassau, the most quarrelsome of all.
But this fancy did not last. The appearance of the com-
batants was so ridiculous with their thick felt caps, their
necks swathed in enormous cravats, their arms and bodies
padded, and the students seemed so uneasy at the young
Englishmen's superior knowledge of their art, that the
project fell to the ground.
The delightful holiday was drawing to an end ; and
Richard made one more attempt to persuade his father to
let him enter the army. He pointed out almost with tears
that the training he had received while fitting him for a
soldier's life in India, rendered a successful career at Oxford
impossible. Reminding the old man of his two failures in
the matter of the scholarships, he declared further that the
course marked out for him was utterly unsuitable, and the
prospect of taking orders most distasteful. Edward also
chimed in and begged for a commission, Cambridge being
nearly as obnoxious to him as the sister University was to
his brother. But the father was inexorable. Dazzled by
the prospect of a comparatively luxurious life for his sons,
and convinced that a vocation for the Church must declare
itself before long, he turned a deaf ear to all prayers and
arguments, and insisted on his odious programme being
carried out to the bitter end. And, lest the dear old man be
blamed not only for a certain density of comprehension, but
for too ardently coveting a share of ecclesiastical loaves and
24 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
fishes for a pair of lads who would never do anything to
deserve them, 1 must hasten to add that, at that time, the
young Burtons were perfectly " orthodox " in their views.
Their faith, though limited in quantity, was genuine in
quality ; and we hear of no doubts or changes until another
year or two.
So, as their father was inflexible, the boys took a doleful
leave of their mother and sister, and with heavy hearts
returned to England. Edward went back to Cambridge,
dutifully resolved to do his best. But Richard, a more
determined character, was goaded to despair. Again inside
his wretched little rooms at Trinity, he felt like a rat in a
trap, his one thought being how to escape. For all hesita-
tion had vanished, get away he must and would. What he
was born to do was neither preaching nor teaching ; and he
knew that unless the whole of his future life was to be
ruined, the moment for action had arrived. Had he been
a year or two younger, he might have worked for a good
place amongst the crowd that do not go in for honours, and
so left the University with a certain amount of credit ; but
to make matters yet more desperate, the age for entering
the army was passing by. Finally, after many a sleepless
night spent in forming first one plan then another, he
decided to get rusticated. A youth may be rusticated
in consequence of the smallest irregularity ; but to be
expelled implies ungentlemanly conduct, and was not to
be thought of. Having come to this decision, Richard now
waited for an opportunity.
One soon presented itself. A celebrated steeple-chaser,
Oliver the Irishman, came down to Oxford, and the more
sporting of the undergraduates were desperately anxious to
see him ride. The collegiate authorities with questionable
wisdom, forbad the youngsters to be present at the races ;
and to make obedience certain as they thought, they
ordered all the students to attend a lecture at the identical
hour when the exciting event was to come off. This
Burton leaves Oxford 25
created a small mutiny. A number of high-spirited young
fellows, Burton at the head, swore they would not stand
being treated like little boys, and that go they would. So
sundry tandems, those proscribed vehicles, were directed to
wait in a secluded position behind Worcester College, and
when the truants should have been listening to and profit-
ing by a lecture in the tutor's room, they were flying across
the country at a rate of twelve miles an hour. The steeple-
chase was a delight, and Oliver a hero ; but next morning
for many of the culprits came the eating of humble pie.
Summoned to the green room, they were made conscious
of the enormity of their offence. Some, no doubt, took
their moral drubbing quietly enough, only too anxious to
have their prank overlooked and forgiven. But this was
Burton's opportunity of freeing himself from his odious
University trammels, and he did not fail to take the fullest
advantage of it. Instead of expressing the slightest con-
trition for what was after all an act of disobedience, he
boldly asserted that there was no moral turpitude in being
present at a race a truism which did not happen to be
quite to the point, mais n'impovte. With amusing audacity
he placed himself on an ethical pinnacle, announcing, as if
no one had heard the axiom before, that trust begets trust,
and complaining in pathetic terms how collegiate men had
been treated like naughty children. Probably his learned
and reverend censors were nearly struck dumb with amaze-
ment, otherwise this flow of eloquence would have been
arrested sooner ; but when they did speak, it was indeed to
the purpose. While all the culprits were rusticated forth-
with, Burton was singled out by a special recommendation
not to return to Oxford. His end gained, with a courtly
bow, perhaps a trifle exaggerated, he retired from the
scene.
His mode of leaving his Alma Mater was no less cha-
racteristic. One of his brother collegians on whom sentence
had just been passed, proposed they should "go up from
26 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the land with a soar," and as no balloon happened to be
at hand, the nearest approach to this sky-rocket mode of
progression could be attained, figuratively anyhow, by
one of the identical vehicles which had so often proved
a bone of contention with the authorities. There
being now no need for it to hide behind Worcester
College, the tandem was driven boldly up to the door,
bag and baggage were stowed therein, and, with a canter-
ing leader and a high-trotting shaft horse, which, unfor-
tunately went over some of the finest flower-beds, Richard
Burton started for the nearest railway station artistically
performing upon a yard of tin trumpet. 1
By this bold step he freed not only himself from a
profession wherein he would have never excelled, but his
brother also. Colonel Burton, whose prejudices were
cruelly shocked by what he considered nothing less than his
elder son's disgrace, ceased to press the younger to per-
sist in studies for which he had no inclination. Edward
was plodding on steadily enough in spite of his disappoint-
ment about the army ; but his filial duty and endurance
were to be tried no longer. As soon as his father had
recovered from the dreadful news of Richard's rustication,
he received a kind letter from home, giving him full per-
mission to choose his own career. Overjoyed by this
unexpected deliverance from his distasteful environment,
he left at the end of the next term, with his parents'
full consent, and presently obtained a commission in the
37th Regiment, a gift from Lord Fitzroy Somerset, after-
wards Lord Raglan.
1 He had got his own way, but I have often heard that beneath all
this bravado lay a deep sense of regret that such a course had been
necessary.
CHAPTER II
TT was fortunate that Richard Burton preferred the
* Indian Army to the Queen's, for after his Oxford esca-
pade, no alternative remained. His father, much too irate
to exert himself very actively in helping forward a youth,
whom he looked upon as an undutiful scapegrace, considered
John Company's service quite good enough for the elder
son, and reserved what little interest he possessed for the
benefit of the younger. There was no difficulty in obtaining
a commission after the recent wholesale slaughter of officers
and men by Akbar Khan ; and before long Richard was
duly sworn in at the India House, a dull, smoky old place
long since numbered amongst the things that were. Bombay
was the Presidency of his predilection, not because, as
he jocularly remarked, he had two relatives, one a Judge,
the other a General, living at Calcutta, but for the more
cogent reason that it afforded the best conditions for study-
ing languages and people.
Notwithstanding his indignation, Colonel Burton pro-
vided a very liberal outfit. An unusual item was a wig from
Winter's in Oxford Street. Some old campaigner had
recommended the use of this venerable coiffure, as enabling
its wearer to shave the head and keep it cool when disposed
to get heated by study in a tropical climate. Another odd
addition to the ordinary stereotyped list was a bull terrier
of the Oxford breed, destined as companion to the outward
bound, by whom it was regarded with unmingled satis-
faction. In fact, outfits in those days being notorious for
including everything that was not wanted and nothing that
28 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
was, the dog and the wig happened to be the solitary items
mentioned by their owner with unqualified approval.
On the 1 8th June, 1842, young Burton bid farewell to
friends and relatives, and embarked at Greenwich in the
sailing ship John Knox, bound for India via the Cape. His
hopes ran high. The Afghan disaster in the beginning of
that year, when out of sixteen thousand men only Dr.
Brydon escaped to tell the dismal tale, was to be amply
avenged ; and our cadet expected to be employed on active
service as soon as he arrived. If the campaign lasted a
little longer, how glorious it would be to assist in the
punishment of the murderers of Burnes and MacNaughton ;
besides a secondary consideration what unlimited pros-
pects of promotion lay stretched before him ! His military
fellow-passengers, cadets likewise, were equally sanguine.
Afghans were to be slaughtered wholesale ; medals, stars,
crosses gleamed in the future like so many will-o'-the-wisps.
But Richard was far too sensible to spend all his time in
day-dreams. Three native servants were on board, and, as
he had learnt a little Hindustani before leaving London, he
took every opportunity of talking to these men in their own
tongue. Besides this, he read up stories from old Shakes-
peare's text-book and every other work in the language the
ship possessed. In preparation for the much desired brush
with the Afghans, he kept up his sword exercise by teach-
ing his brother cadets ; while shooting birds, catching
sharks and flying fish filled up the lighter hours of a four
months' voyage to India half a century ago.
Hardly had he arrived before his airy castles vanished
into space. When the John Knox was about to lumber into
port and the Government pilot sprang on board, a dozen
excited voices called out " What of the war ? What was
doing in Afghanistan ? " At the answer the cadets' faces
lengthened. Lord Ellenborough had succeeded Lord Auck-
land ; the avenging army had done its work, and begun its
return march through the Khaybar Pass the campaign was
Bombay 29
over. No chance of medals or stars for newcomers that
year at any rate !
Other illusions melted away on the morning of October
28th, 1842. Many times during the voyage had Burton
pictured his destination, misled by those truly deceptive
lines :
"Thy towers, Bombay, gleam bright, they say,
Against the dark blue sea."
The much praised bay he thought a great splay thing
too long for its height, the bright towers were nowhere, un-
less the blotched cathedral buildings might stand for such ;
and although the rains had just ceased, the sky seemed
never clear, while the water was always dirty.
Fifty years ago Mombadevi Town presented a marvel-
lous contrast to the present Queen of Western India. In
those days passengers had to land in wretched shore-boats
at the Apollo Bunder, and the dirt and squalor that greeted
their eyes was well nigh indescribable. As to the poor
cadets, under the slovenly rule of the Court of Directors,
the scantiest arrangements were made for their comfort.
Usually they were lodged at a Parsee tavern dignified
by the high-sounding name of the British Hotel, which
was not merely filthy, but excessively expensive. To
crown all the disappointments of that day, Burton caught
sight of a Sepoy, type of the creatures he was about to
command ; and this figure of fun, with its shako planted
on the top of its dingy face, its wasp-like form clad in a
tight-fitting scarlet coat, so damped his ardour for his
new profession, that he felt sorely disposed to return to
England by the John Knox.
After a week, the cadets were drafted into so-called
sanitary bungalows thatched hovels facing Back Bay.
These buildings were semi-detached, and so small that
the accommodation seems to have been limited to a butt
and a ben, or an outer and an inner room. Both apart-
ments swarmed with lizards and rats, a depressing smell
30 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
of roast Hindoo wafted in from a neighbouring burning-
ground when the wind blew that way, and all the boasted
luxuries and comforts of Indian existence were conspicuous
by their absence.
As society at Bombay was apt to turn up its nose
at cadets, Burton, seeing there was little chance of amuse-
ment, devoted his attention to work. Western India then
offered two specialities for the Britisher first, sport ;
secondly, opportunities of becoming acquainted with the
people and their languages. The latter were practically
unlimited, and required no small amount of time to turn
to full advantage. Diligent though our student was, seven
years elapsed before he could distinguish the several castes,
and feel thoroughly familiar with their manners and cus-
toms, religions and superstitions. That it is only prudent
not to remain in utter ignorance of the character, and habits
of the millions under our rule, was just beginning to dawn
upon the Anglo-Indian mind. The truth glared at once
into Burton's, and, grudging every hour wasted amongst
people with whom he could not fluently converse, he en-
gaged a venerable Parsee, Dosabhai Sohrabji, who had
coached many a generation of griffs, and under his guidance
plunged at once into the Akhlak-i-Hindi and other such
text books. Burton remained friends with this old man for
life ; and the master always used to quote his pupil as one
who could learn a language running.
At the end of six weeks orders arrived to join the i8th
Bombay Native Infantry, then stationed at Baroda in
Gujarat. At that time even a subaltern was expected to
keep six or eight servants, and one or two horses ; so,
before leaving Bombay, Burton engaged a domestic staff
of Goanese, presided over by one Salvador Scares ; and
instead of a so-called Arab, which would have cost an
extravagant price, he purchased a Kattywar nag. The
happy family, including the bull-terrier, none the worse for
her voyage, started by " pattymar," a native craft with
On the Road to Baroda 31
huge lateen sails, which sometimes took six weeks over
what a steamer now does in four days.
The voyage, slow though it was, delighted our young
traveller. Every evening he made a point of landing to
enjoy a very novel sort of sight-seeing, Diu, once so
famous in Portuguese story, holy Dwarka, guarded outside
by an efficient police force of sharks, Bassein, the ruins of
Somanath, Surat, then slowly recovering from her combined
disasters of fire and flood, and many other places equally
interesting. In a fortnight the pattymar reached the
Tunkaria-Bunder, a small landing-place in the Bay of
Cambay, famous only for its Ghora or bore. Then followed
a four days' march even more enjoyable than the sail.
Mounted on his Kattywar nag, a gallant little beast with
black stripes and stockings, Burton rode about fifteen miles
a day over country green as a card-table, and flat as a
prairie. Gujarat in winter presented many charms to the
newcomer. The rich black earth was covered with that
leek-like verdigris green which one associates only with
early spring in the temperate zone, while the atmosphere,
free from wind or storms, felt soft and pleasant. Every
little village was surrounded by hedge milk bush of the
colour of emeralds, and shaded by glorious banyan and pipal
trees, or topes of giant figs ; and during the quiet evenings
when a sheeny mist hung over each settlement, and the
flocks were slowly wending their way home, and all manner
of strange and beautiful birds were preparing to roost in
the giant branches high overhead, it must have been difficult
to imagine a more quaint and charming scene.
On arriving at Baroda, Burton found his corps in a
somewhat skeleton condition. One wing containing the
greater number of officers, was stationed at Mhow, not to
mention several who were on the Staff or in Civil employ.
Major James, then in command of the i8th, formally pre-
sented the new comer at mess, which, though meagrely
attended, was so neatly served in the large, cool regimental
32 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
dining room, the table decked with clean napery and bright
silver, that the young subaltern seemed to have thoroughly
enjoyed his first well-appointed dinner since leaving England.
Baroda, the second city of Gujarat and third in the
Presidency of Bombay, now boasts of a railway and an
enormously increased population. Fifty years ago, it was
a jumble of low huts and tall houses grotesquely painted,
its principal buildings being a shabby palace and a bazaar.
The dingiest of London lodgings would have been luxury
compared with the wretched accommodation afforded within
the precincts of the camp. Burton described his bungalow
as a thatched article not unlike a cow-shed, which, while
it kept out the sun, too often let in the rain ; an unfortunate
failing, as the tropical downpours in that part of the country
were closely related to water-spouts. However, he made
himself as comfortable as possible with his servants, horse,
and bull terrier, and then applied himself with frenzy to his
studies. Military work was slack just then, his environ-
ment uninviting, society almost nil ; so he had plenty of
leisure. While keeping up the Arabic acquired at Oxford,
he devoted eight or ten hours a day to a desperate tussle
with Hindustani ; and so fierce was his ardour, that two
munshis barely kept up with him.
A sketch of a military day at Baroda, will account for the
enormous amount of spare time this young subaltern was
able to give to languages.
Men rose at the first glimmer of light, dressed, and
drank a cup of tea. Then the horse was brought round,
saddled, and carried its rider to the drill-ground. Work
there usually began at dawn, and lasted until shortly after
sunrise. Parade over, the officers met at what was called a
coffee shop, where they breakfasted on tea, cafe-au-lait,
biscuit, bread and butter and fruit ; then duty being done,
each was practically free to occupy himself as he best could
until dinner-time. As Burton abjured the heavy tiffins in-
dulged in by most Anglo-Indians, contenting himself with a
Life at Baroda 33
biscuit and a glass of port, he retired to his studies for the
rest of the day, while the other officers played at billiards or
went shooting or pig-sticking.
In the evening all dined together. Dinner consisted of
soup, a joint of roast mutton at one end and boiled mutton
or boiled fowls at the other, with vegetables in the side
dishes. Beef was never seen, because the cow was wor-
shipped at Baroda ; nor was roast or boiled pork known
at native messes, where the manners and customs of Indian
bazaar pig were familiar to all, and where nauseous stories
circulated as to the insults his remains were exposed to on
the part of the Mohammedan scullions. The substantial
part of the meal concluded with curry, Bombay ducks, and
a peculiar kind of cake. Coffee was unknown, beer was the
favourite drink, ice rare, and tinned vegetables had only
just been thought of. After cheese each man lighted his
cigar, invariably a Manilla, costing twenty rupees a thou-
sand. Havanas were never seen, pipes but seldom used,
and the hookah was going out of fashion.
Of course, Burton did not spend every day over his
books. Sport in the neighbourhood of Baroda was excel-
lent. In the thick jungle to the east of the city, tigers
abounded, and native friends would always lend their ele-
phants for a consideration. Black bucks, large antelopes,
birds in countless numbers, from the huge adjutant crane
to snipe equal to any in England, afforded an endless
variety of " something to kill," and an exciting change
occasionally from the Munshis, and the Hindustani studies ;
for, though kind-hearted to tame animals, Burton was an
ardent sportsman, sparing only monkeys when he was shoot-
ing, because their manner of dying is too horribly human.
Besides these holidays there were the annual reviews,
when the General came over from Ahmedabad to inspect
the corps, and the yearly races. At the latter, on one
occasion, the Kattywar nag, ridden by its owner, succeeded
in carrying off all the honours.
3
34 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Had matters been as quiet in all parts of India as they
were at Baroda, Burton might have found his profession
somewhat tame. But before long the whole cantonment
was aroused by the news of the battle of Meeanee, fought
on February 2ist, 1843. Sir Charles Napier, a truly Grand
Old Man, had shown that with a little force of mixed
Englishmen and Sepoys he could beat the best army that
any native power could bring into the field. On March
22nd followed the battle of Dubba ; Sind fell into the power
of the English, and the eagle-faced old conqueror rose to
the pinnacle of his fame.
A sense of mortal injury at being kept in inglorious
idleness, seems to have spurred on our young soldier to
prepare himself and his men for the field, in the event of a
turn of luck. He now devoted only half his time to his
studies. Having passed his drill and been given the
charge of a company, he proceeded to teach not merely
what he had just learnt, but a great deal besides. His aim
was to encourage personal prowess, gymnastics, and the
practice of weapons in which our forefathers took such pride,
knowing but too well how many a brave man has lost his
life during our wars with uncivilised races, in consequence
of having neglected the use of the sword, which alone can
insure success in single combat. So he encouraged his
Sepoys in this exercise, and would get his most promising
pupils to his own quarters for a good long bout every day.
Once a month he gave a prize, usually a smart turban, to
the ablest swordsman or wrestler. His brother subalterns,
who did not take life quite so seriously, wondered at such
enthusiasm, which presently took the form of learning from
a native jockey the Indian art of riding and training the
horse. This was also of importance : men rode mostly
half-broken Arabs, and at many reviews it was no un-
common spectacle for the commanding officer to be bolted
with in one direction, and the second in command in another.
Surely, he reasoned, there are quite enough dangers in the
Two Month's Leave 35
field, even when perfectly equipped, without the extraneous
one of an unmanageable animal.
In April, 1843, Burton obtained two months' leave for
the purpose of passing an examination in Hindustani at
the Presidency. It was a most prosperous trip. Travelling
in the same way as before, he was not delayed by contrary
winds, and the sail, despite the heat, was charming. The
north-east monsoon about drawing to a close, alternated
with a salt sea breeze known as the Doctor, and delicious
spicy land zephyrs ; while the deep blue sky unsullied by a
single cloud was reflected in the still, clear water. During
his stay at Bombay, he escaped the horrors of the hotel and
Sanitorium, by hiring a tent and pitching it in the Strangers'
Lines, which then extended southwards from the Sanitorium
along the shore of Back Bay. With the assistance of his
old Parsee coach he worked up the last minutiae of the
language, and on the 5th of May passed first of twelve.
Although, as he modestly remarked, this was no great feat,
as he had begun Hindustani in London, continued it on
board ship, and studied from eight to ten hours a day at
Baroda ; still the little triumph must have afforded an agree-
able contrast to his disastrous exams, at Oxford. Leaving
Bombay, May i2th, he rejoined his regiment just before
the burst of the south-west monsoon, and when this began
we hear no more about the charms of Gujarat.
The discomfort of this season in those days must
have been almost unbearable. Inside the bungalow it
was impossible to keep dry, while outside the aspect of
nature, as poor Buckle used to say, suggested a second
deluge. The rains, exceptionally heavy at Baroda, some-
times last without intermission during seven days and
seven nights; a meteorological feature common enough
in the lowlands of India and other places where the
Ghats approach the coast. To reach mess and dine in
comfort, Burton had to send on clothes, put on a mackin-
tosh, and gallop at full speed through water above and
32
36 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
below. There was no duty : there could be none, for
the parade ground was turned into a pond only fit for
ducks. Moreover, the air became full of loathsome in-
sects beings apparently born for the occasion flying
horrors of all kinds, ants and bugs, which persisted in
forcing their way into meat and drink, until at last it
was necessary to protect each tumbler with a silver lid,
and hardly safe even to open the mouth.
Having mastered Hindustani, Burton, with the assist-
ance of a Nagar Brahmin named Him Chand, next attacked
the Gujarati language. He took besides, elementary lessons
in Sanscrit from the regimental pandit, a sort of half priest
half schoolmaster, who read prayers and superintended the
native festivals, with all their complicated observances.
Under this pair of teachers, he became as well acquainted
as an outsider can be with the practice of Hinduism,
and eventually Him Chand officially allowed him to wear
the Janeo, or Brahminical thread of the twice born. It is
said our versatile soldier occasionally varied his Sundays
by attending a Romish chapel served by a berry-brown
Goanese padre; and it is possible he did profit by this
opportunity of studying the effect produced by the Church
of Rome on the semi-civilised people around him. But the
foolish tale that the said chocolate coloured divine received
him into the communion in question was utterly refuted by
the fact that at his marriage nearly twenty years later, the
presence of a registrar was required in the chapel ; a func-
tionary called in only when the contracting parties belong
to a different religion.
Another visit to Bombay, in August 1843, for an exami-
nation in the Gujarati tongue was again crowned with
success. And his industry was further rewarded by an
appointment as interpreter to his regiment, which added a
trifle to his income. Returning to Baroda, this indefati-
gable man was just in time to join in the farewell revels of
" the 1 8th," which had been ordered to Sind ; and after the
First Visit to Sind 37
usual slow march and equally slow sail were safely over,
he and his corps embarked for Karachi on board the
H.E.I. Company's steamship " Semiramis."
Green Gujarat in winter had excited something like
enthusiasm in our young traveller's breast : this sentiment
was wholly lacking when first he looked upon Sind. " Oh !
the barren shore ! a regular desert ; a thread of low coast,
sandy as a Scotchman's whiskers ; a bald and dismal
glaring waste with visible and palpable heat playing over
its dirty white, dirty yellow, and dirty brown surface,
something between a dust-bin and an oven ! " In such
terms did he apostrophise the Unhappy Valley and Karachi
its port town. Nor did his opinion become more favourable
on closer inspection. Karachi in 1844 was little more than
a village ; streets there were none, the wretched houses
almost meeting over the narrow lanes that formed the only
thoroughfares ; and nothing could exceed the filth, for
sewers were non-existent, and the harbour when the tide
was out was a system of mud-flats like the lagoons of
Venice.
But in the cantonment just outside the town British
energy had already got things ship-shape. Here were large,
roomy barracks, stables, two churches, mess-houses, every
convenience for lodging a number of troops ; and when " the
i8th" had settled down in camp they had a lively and far
from unpleasant time. Sir Charles Napier was staying in
the place for a short time, accompanied by a large staff,
and the garrison consisted of some five thousand men,
European and native. Foremost among the regiments for
pluck and spirit were the y8th Highlanders and the 86th,
or " County Down Boys." Such boisterous jollity, such in-
cessant larking as Burton writes of in his " Sind," 1 seems
almost incredible in such a climate. A favourite resort, a
i "Scinde; or, the Unhappy Valley," two vols., Bentley, 1851;
and " Sind Revisited," Bentley, two vols., 1877.
38 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.CM.G.
short distance from Karachi, was a huge tank or pond
tenanted by some hundreds of alligators, sacred animals
guarded by a holy Fakir. One day our subaltern and a
party of officers, accompanied by a scratch pack of rakish
bull dogs, determined to have a bit of fun with the huge
saurians, some of which were splashing in the water, others
basking on the bank. But first the keeper had to be pro-
pitiated with a bottle of Cognac, a gift that so delighted
him that he retired at once to partake of it, begging his
kind, generous young friends to remember the beasts were
very ferocious, especially one, Mor Sahib, the grisly
monarch of the place.
Hardly had he departed before Lieutenant Beresford, of
" the 86th," proposed to demonstrate by actual experiment
" what confounded nonsense the old cuss was talking."
He looked to his shoe-ties, turned round to take a
run at the bog, and charged the spot right gallantly, now
planting his foot upon one of the tufts of rank grass which
protuded from the muddy water, then sticking for a moment
in the black mire, then hopping dexterously off a scaly
back or a sesquipedalian snout. Many were his narrow
escapes from lashing tails and snapping jaws ; many a time
did he nearly topple into the water from the back of the
wobbling startled brute he was so unceremoniously using
as a bridge ; but he did reach the other side with a whole
skin, though with ragged pantaloons. The feat of crossing
the pond on the alligators' bodies does not seem to have
been repeated ; but often the youngsters, in the fakir's
absence, would muzzle one of his sacred pets by means of a
fowl fastened to a hook and a rope, then jump on its neck
and enjoy a wriggling, zigzag ride, which usually ended in
the morass.
At other times the subs, on their Arabs, formed line upon
a bit of clean, hard beach, which separates the sea from
the cliff some two miles from Karachi. A prick of the
spur, a lash with the whip, and on dashed the horses like
An Attempt to Ride a Baggage Camel 39
mad towards and into the Arabian Sea. A long hollow
breaker, on one occasion, curled as it neared the land and
burst into a shower of snowy foam. Of twelve cavaliers
only one weathered the storm, kept his seat and won the
bet. Eleven were seen in various positions, some struggling
in the swell, others flat upon the sand, and others scudding
about the hillocks vainly endeavouring to catch and to
curb their runaway nags.
Perhaps the most comical of Burton's experiences at
that time was an attempt to ride a baggage camel. After
considerable difficulty in getting on the roaring, yelling
beast, he found it necessary to draw his sword and prick
its nose each time that member crept round near his foot.
Finding all attempts to bite unavailing, the beast changed
tactics and made for every low thorn tree, as close to the
trunk as possible, in the vain hope of rubbing off the rider.
This exercise was varied by occasionally standing still for
half an hour, in spite of persuasive arguments in the shape
of heels, whip and point with which the stubborn flanks
were plied. Then it would rush forward, as if momentarily
making up its mind to be good. At last this desert craft
settled upon the plan of bolting, arched its long bowsprit
till its head was almost in contact with its rider's, and in
this position indulged in a scudding canter, a pace which
felt exactly like that of a horse taking a five-barred gate
every second stride.
Fortunately the road was perfectly level. Soon snap
went the nose-string ! The amiable monture shook its head,
snorted a little blood, slackened speed, executed a demi-volte,
and turned deliberately towards the nearest jungle.
Seeing a swamp in front, and knowing that a certain
spill was in prospect, for these beasts always tumble down
on slippery mud, Burton deliberated for a moment whether
to try and chop open his property's skull, to jump off its
back, or to keep his seat until it became no longer tenable.
And his mind was still in doubt when, after sliding two or
40 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
three yards over the slimy mire, the brute fell plump upon
its sounding side.
Apparently the Arabs' superstition about the camel is
not without foundation ; they assure you no man was ever
killed by a fall from these tall louts, whereas a little nag or
donkey has lost many a life. The cause, of course, is that
the beast breaks the fall by slipping down on its knees;
still, I find no mention of any attempt on Burton's part
to steer this utterly unmanageable " Ship of the Desert "
again.
Presently " the i8th" was moved to Ghara, a melancholy
village some thirty odd miles by road north of headquarters,
just within hearing of the evening gun. Here were neither
barracks nor bungalows, only dirty heaps of mud-and-mat
hovels close to a salt-water creek, bone-dry in March, a
waste of sail flat, barren rock, and sandy plain, where
eternal sea-gales blow up and blow down a succession of
hillocks, warts on the foul face of a hideous landscape. At
first the entire corps had to live under canvas ; one long,
weary, hot season Burton spent in a single-poled tent,
where to escape suffocation when the temperature ap-
proached 120 F., he had to cover his table with a large
wet cloth and sit underneath it for the best part of the
day. Difficulties notwithstanding, he wrote a portion of his
" Sind," and worked up for an examination in Marathi,
which he passed successfully in October, 1844.
On his return to Karachi he found himself gazetted as
Assistant in the Sind Survey, with special reference to the
Canal Department. This piece of luck was partly the
result of his own talents, partly the good offices of a friend,
Colonel Walter Scott. The old Commander-in-Chief, like
most clever men, admired genius in others, and had kept
an eye on his promising young soldier, so when, through
Colonel Scott, he heard how Burton could read and trans-
late the valuable Italian works on Hydrodynamics, he
presented him with the vacant appointment. On the
A Break in Regimental Duty 41
loth December, 1844, highly gratified by this mark of
recognition, our hero departed with a surveying party and
six camels to work at the Phuleli and its continuation, the
Guni river.
His own words best show what a pleasant break in
the monotonous regimental duty his friend's kindness had
afforded him.
" It is a known fact that a Staff appointment has the
general effect of doing away with one's bad opinion of any
place whatever. So when the Governor of Sind was per-
suaded to give me the temporary appointment of Assistant
in the Survey, I began to look with interest on the deso-
lation around me. The country was a new one, so was
its population, so was their language. My new duties
compelled me to spend the cold season in wandering over
the districts, levelling the beds of canals, and making
preparatory sketches for a grand survey. I was thrown
so entirely amongst the people as to depend upon them
for society; and the dignity, not to mention the increased
allowance, of a Staff officer, enabled me to collect a fair
stock of books, and to gather around me those who could
make them of any use. So, after the first year, when
I had Persian at my fingers' ends, sufficient Arabic to
read, write, and converse fluently, and a superficial know-
ledge of that dialect of Punjaubee which is spoken in the
wilder parts of the province, I began the systematic study
of the Sindian people, their manners, and their tongue."
Now began some of the most romantic adventures of
Burton's life. After the winter of 1845, during which
he had enjoyed some sport, notably hawking the latter
enabling him to collect material for a second book,
,, Falconry in the Valley of the Indus" 1 he returned
northwards, found his corps at Hyderabad, passed through
deserted Ghara, and joined the headquarters of the Survey
at Karachi in April. Here he made acquaintance with
1 " Falconry in the Valley of the Indus," Van Voorst, 1852.
42 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
one Mirza All Akhbar, who owed the rank of Khan
Bohadur to gallant conduct at Meeanee and Dubba,
where he did his best to save the lives of many Beloch
braves. This man lived just outside the camp in a bun-
galow which he had built for himself, and where he lodged
a friend, Mirza Daud, a first-rate Persian scholar. With
these two Persians, and a Munshi, Burton became very
friendly; and their assistance proved invaluable in enabling
him to study the manners and customs of the country,
much in the same practical way as some of our enthusiasts
work the London slums, namely, by dressing like the
people and living amongst them. Possessing in a rare
degree the faculty of imitation, he soon began to model
himself on his companions, and presently disguised himself
as a native and opened a shop at Karachi. When tired of
his booth in the dirty town, and very close and ill-smelling
it must have been, he assumed the character of a semi-
Arab, semi- Iranian pedlar, and roamed about the country
followed by servants carrying his pack. His own descrip-
tion of these experiences is well worth quoting.
" With hair falling on his shoulders, a long beard, face
and hands, arms and neck stained with a thin coat of henna,
Mirza Abdullah of Bushiri your humble servant set out
upon many and many a trip. He was a bayzaz, a vendor
of fine linen, calicoes and muslins, such chapmen are some-
times admitted to display their wares even in the sacred
harem, and he had a little parcel of bijouterie reserved for
emergencies.
The timid villagers collected in crowds to see the
merchant in Oriental dress riding, spear in hand, and
pistols in holsters, towards the little camp near their
settlements. When the Mirza arrived at a strange town,
his first step was to secure a house in or near the bazaar
for the purpose of evening conversazione. Now and then
he rented a shop and stocked it with clammy dates, viscid
molasses, tobacco, ginger and strong-smelling sweetmeats ;
43
but somehow or other the establishments in question throve
not in a pecuniary point of view. Crowded though they
were, the polite Mirza was in the habit of giving the
heaviest possible weight for their money to all the ladies,
particularly the pretty ones, who honoured him by patroni-
sing his concern.
Sometimes the Mirza passed his evening in a mosque
listening to the ragged students who, stretched at full
length with their stomachs on the dusty floor, and their
arms supporting their heads, mumbled out Arabic from the
thumbed, soiled and tattered pages of theology upon which
a dim oil light shed its scanty ray ; or he sat debating the
niceties of faith with the long-bearded, shaven-pated and
stolid-faced genus loci, the Mullah. At other times, when in
merrier mood, he entered uninvited the first door whence
issued sounds of music and the dance ; or he played chess
with some native friend, or visited the Mrs. Gadabouts who
make matches among the Faithful, and gathered from them
a precious budget of private history and domestic scandal.
Under these light-hearted adventures a tragedy lay hid.
Even in Burton's own family, only his sister knew of his
passionate and ill-fated attachment in Sind, a love which
occupied an unique place in his life. During one of the
many romantic rambles just described, he met a beautiful
Persian girl of high descent, with whom he had been able
to converse by means of his disguise. Her personal charms,
her lovely language, the single-hearted devotion of one of
those noble natures which may be found even amongst
Orientals, inspired him with a feeling little short of idolatry.
The affectionate young soldier-student, separated by thou-
sands of miles from kith and kin, expended the full force of
his warm heart and fervid imagination upon his lustrous-
eyed, ebon-haired darling ; never had he so loved before,
never did he so love again. She worshipped him in
return ; but such rapture was not to last. He would
have married her and brought her home to his family,
44 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
for she was as good as she was beautiful, had not the fell
foe that ever lurks in ambush to strike or divide when for
awhile we dare to be happy, snatched her from him in the
flower of her youth, and the brightest hours of their joy-
dream. Her untimely end proved a bitter and enduring
sorrow ; years after when he told the story, his sister per-
ceived with ready intuition that he could hardly bear to
speak of that awful parting, even the gentlest sympathy
hurt like a touch on an open wound. From the day of the
death of his best beloved he became subject to fits of
melancholy, and it seems as if the conception of his fine,
but -pessimistic poem, the " Kasidah," 1 dated from the great
grief of his life.
" Mine eyes, my brain, my heart are sad, sad is the very core of me ;
All wearies, changes, passes, ends ! alas the birthday's injury."
In November Burton started with Colonel Walter Scott
for a three months' tour to the north of Sind. They
travelled by high road to Kotri, the station of the Sind
flotilla, and then crossed to Hyderabad. After a week
spent in the ex-capital, they resumed their way up the
right bank of the Indus towards the extreme western
frontier, where the Beloch herdsmen existed in their
wildest state. Presently came exciting tidings. At
Larkhana a letter arrived from John Napier announcing
that as many of the assistant surveyors as could be spared
might join their regiments if ordered on service. This,
beyond bazaar reports, was the first notice of the great Sikh
War which added the Punjaub to our Indian possessions.
We know Richard Burton was a most unwilling carpet
soldier, so, although the good appointment in the Survey
would have to be given up, the news made him wild to take
part in the fighting : not even the advice of his practical
Scotch friend could restrain him from a step which, while
1 Published originally by Bernard Quaritch in 1880, reprinted by
H. S. Nichols, 1894.
Laid Low with Fever 45
plucky and chivalrous, seemed somewhat imprudent. He
applied himself at once to preparations for the campaign,
persuaded Colonel Scott, after some difficulty, to send in his
resignation, and, on the 23rd of February, 1846, marched
with his corps from Rohri.
Unfortunately, his post was sacrificed to no purpose.
The battle of Sobraon had already been fought, and a
patched-up peace which divided the Sikh State, depleted
the Sikh treasury, but left intact the Sikh army, was most
unwisely concluded. Burton thus summarised the un-
pleasant episode.
" Ours was a model army of 13,000 men, Europeans and
natives and under old Charley it would have walked into
Multan as into a mutton pie. We had also heard that
Nao Mall, the Hindu Commandant under the Sikhs, was
wasting his two millions of gold, and we were willing to
save him the trouble. Merrily we trudged through Sabzal-
cote and Khanpur, and we entered Bahawalpur, where we
found the heart-chilling order to retire and march home.
Consequently we returned to Rohri on the 2nd of April,
and after a few days' halt there, tired and miserable, we
made Khayrpur, and after seventeen marches reached the
old regimental quarters in Mohammad Khanka Tanda on
the Phuleli river."
The hot season of 1846 was unusually sickly even for
Sind, and the white regiments stationed at Karachi, not-
ably the y8th Highlanders, suffered terribly from cholera.
Burton escaped this scourge, but in early July he was
attacked by one of the fevers peculiar to the country, and
laid low for nearly two months. Like his father, he be-
lieved firmly in the sovereign virtue of change of air and
scene, while by no means tabooing the doctor ; so, when he
had recovered from what was undoubtedly a most critical
illness treated in the drastic fashion now happily obselete,
he determined to allow himself a holiday. Assisted by a
friend, Henry J. Carter, he obtained two years' leave of
46 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
absence to the Neilgherries ; and, turning his back for
awhile on pestiferous Sind, right joyfully scrambled over
the sides of a pattimar.
With such ample time before him, and with health
mending fast, there was no need to hurry to his destination
those Blue Mountains about which he writes so entertain-
ingly in his " Goa." 1 On the contrary, he planned to visit
Goa and Calicut, then follow the route along the sea-shore
to Poonanee on horseback, and finally strike inland to the
hills. The Goanese servants and the Kattywar nag ac-
companied him, but the dog was dead. The servants were
in a frantic state of excitement at the prospect of seeing
their native land once more, and Burton himself, his
imagination fired by the romantic story of the old Por-
tuguese settlement, shared their enthusiasm when his sable
butler, ecstasied by propinquity to home, sweet home, and
forgetting self-possession in an elan of patriotism, abruptly
directed his master's vision towards the whitewashed
lighthouse which marked the north side of the entrance
into the Goa creek. Owing to sundry delays, the pattimar
did not reach the landing-place before dark, and Burton
had to curb his impatience to enjoy the celebrated view
of the Rio until next morning. A last night was spent
on the quaint old craft, and on the following day he
secured a house with six rooms, kitchen, stable and court-
yard for the ridiculous sum of fourteen shillings a month.
Here he remained while exploring the city and its neigh-
bourhood.
Panjim, the present capital, situated on a narrow ridge
between a hill to the north and an arm of the sea, contains
many respectable looking buildings, usually one storey
high, solidly constructed of stone and mortar, with red
tile roofs, and surrounded by large courtyards overgrown
with cocoanut trees.
1 " Goa and the Blue Mountains," one vol., Bentley, 1851.
The View Visible from the Rio at Goa 47
But it is old Goa that possesses all the historic associa-
tions; and travellers at once strain their eyes towards the
dim view visible from the Rio, of steeples, domes, huge
masses of masonry, some standing out from the deep blue
sky, others lining the edge of the creek. Hardly was Burton
settled in his new lodgings before he started by canoe to
inspect the remains of the once wealthy and magnificent
city. A couple of hours' row landed him at his destination,
while the crimson rays of the setting sun were lighting up
the scene ; and in order to see the ruins to perfection, he
went no further than the Ajube, or ecclesiastical prison,
where he intended to pass the night. When the moon,
then at its full, had risen, he sallied forth to view the
romantic spectacle under her silvery beams. One solitary
gateway towered above the large mass of debris flanking the
entrance to the Strada Duetta, the arch under which the
newly appointed viceroys of Goa used to pass in triumphal
procession ; but, churches and monasteries excepted, the
once populous town appeared a veritable city of the dead.
About thirty buildings were still standing, and even of
these some were being demolished for the sake of their
material, for the poverty-stricken Portuguese preferred to
carry away cut stone than to quarry it. Everything that
met the eye or ear seemed teeming with melancholy asso-
ciations ; the very rustling of the trees and the murmur of
the waves sounded like a dirge for departed grandeur.
Beyond the gateway a level road, once a crowded
thoroughfare, led to the Terra di Sabaio, or large square,
fronting St. Catherine's Cathedral. In this huge pile some
twenty natives were performing their devotions ; and in
monasteries built for hundreds of monks a single priest was
often the only occupant. The site of the Viceregal Palace,
long since razed to the ground, was covered with a luxu-
riant growth of poisonous plants and thorny trees ; while
on the remains of the vile Casa Santa a curse seemed to
have fallen not a shrub sprung between the fragments of
48 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
stone which, broken and blackened with decay, were left to
encumber the soil as unworthy of the trouble of removal.
After vainly trying to save the life of an old Jogi dis-
covered in an expiring condition by the roadside, and who
very sensibly begged to be left to die, Burton spent the
remainder of the night inside his gloomy lodgings. By the
light of day he found Old Goa had few charms, and having
visited several churches, including that of Bom Jesus, con-
taining the tomb of St. Francis Xavier, about which he
flippantly remarked that " his saintship was no longer dis-
played to reverential gazers in mummy or scalded pig
form," our traveller betook himself to the more cheerful
modern capital.
During a stay of three or four weeks at Panjim, Burton
met with a curious adventure. While visiting a convent
for the sake of some books contained in its library, he
remarked a very pretty nun, who, judging from her expres-
sion, seemed far from contented with her dreary lot. She
evidently aroused his pity, and he soon conceived the plucky
project of carrying her off to some place under English
rule, where she could lead a less dismal and unnatural
existence. By dint of sundry presents of Cognac, labelled
medicine, to the prioress and sub-prioress, two holy per-
sonages rudely described as more like Gujurat apes than
mortal women, and of pretending, naughty man, to be
deeply interested in the Life of St. Augustine, he managed
to visit the nunnery pretty frequently. At first the black-
eyed, rosy-lipped sister seemed hopelessly bashful, gradually
she became less shy, and finally, after receiving a note from
him enclosed in a bouquet and containing full instructions
how to escape, she consented to trust herself to her deliverer.
A swift-sailing pattimar was in readiness. Burton and
two servants disguised themselves as Moslems, and one
night opened the garden gate and that of the cloisters
by means of false keys. Unfortunately, in the hurry of
the moment, the three men took the wrong turning, and
Visits Calicut 49
found themselves unawares in the chamber of the sub-
prioress, whose sleeping form was instantly raised and
borne off in triumph by the domestics.
Alas ! shrill shrieks and tiger-like claws soon revealed
the fatal mistake. Two rolling yellow eyes glared into
Salvador's face, two big black lips began to shout and
scream and abuse him with all their might. It was an
utter failure. Not daring to remain another moment, the
three men deposited their ugly burthen in the garden to
make her way back at her leisure, and decamped with all
possible speed. The poor nun had to be left to her fate,
but, owing to Burton's admirable disguise, her knight-
errant was never found out.
Still, he thought it prudent to bid adieu to Panjim
without delay. Four days later he landed at Calicut, no
longer the " Cidade nobre e rica " described by Camoens'
tuneful muses. Some travellers even think it is not the
one alluded to in the "Lusiads"; and a tradition exists
amongst the natives of the land that ancient Calicut was
merged beneath the waves. Of monumental antiquities
there are none; still, as the surrounding country has
changed but little since the poet's time, and it must have
been somewhere on that coast that old De Gama first cast
anchor and stepped forth from his weather-beaten ship at
the head of his mail-clad warriors, the visit proved of value
when, many years after, Burton translated the great Por-
tuguese poem.
Wishing to see as much as possible of the Malabar
coast, he preferred the longer route to the short mountain
cut up the Koondah range. The roads were bad and the
ferries incessant on account of the lakes, rivers and break-
waters that intersect the country ; but the brave little nag
did his work valiantly, and when it was too hard, his master
walked. As they plodded along, our traveller admired the
substantial pagodas, the pretty little villages that crown
the gentle eminences rising above the swampy rice-lands,
4
50 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and noted that the country seemed both prosperous and
fertile, each tenement having its own croft planted with
pepper, plantains, and the betel vine, with small tufts of
cocoas, bamboos, and the tall feathery areca. At Maty-
polliam, situated at the foot of the Neilgherries, a short
delay occurred, the Bhawani river having battered down
her bridge, no uncommon disaster ; but afterwards he pro-
ceeded steadily along dark ravines, up parapetless roads,
over torrents and apologies for bridges that made even his
strong brain reel, until at last he came within sight of the
cantonment of Ootacamund.
Everybody who has read anything about India is
familiar with Ootacamund. So the three chapters in " Goa "
describing the place and its customs, may be condensed
into a few sentences. Burton's visit was far from a
pleasant one. He would have enjoyed the exhilarating
air, the varied, almost English food, had not the sudden
change of temperature from hot, dry Sind to the damp,
chilly hills, brought on an attack of rheumatic opthalmia
that confined him to dark rooms for a fortnight at a time.
True, these spells of inactivity alternated with excursions
to adjacent places of interest ; but one of these rides cost
him the life of his favourite horse, a painful shock to a
lonely man who loved his little beast and could ill afford
its loss. Then the Goanese servants, disgusted with the
climate and thinking solely of their own skins, deserted in
a body; and some Madrassees engaged in their stead, proved
very indifferent substitutes. So at last, in spite of painful
memories of sickness and death connected with Karachi,
Burton determined to throw up his remaining leave and
go back to his regiment.
The return journey did him good. His eyes mended so
rapidly that on the i5th October, 1847, he passed in Persian
at Bombay, coming out first of some thirty with a com-
pliment from the examiners. It is probable his proficiency
in this language was a result of his intimacy with his poor
Burton Conceives the Idea of Performing the Pilgrimage 51
dead love, for, although he had worked at it on and off ever
since his arrival in India, he had had no leisure to study
very hard before the examination. His linguistic achieve-
ments were beginning to attract notice ; this particular
triumph was followed by an honorarium in the shape of a
thousand rupees from the Court of Directors.
Forthwith he concentrated his attention upon Arabic.
Thrown more and more into Moslem society, he presently
conceived the idea of performing a pilgrimage to Meccah and
El-Medinah. His knowledge of these hitherto mysterious
penetralia of Mohammedan superstition was of the flimsiest,
for since the days of William Pitts of Exeter, in 1678, no
European traveller with the exception of Burckhardt, in
1811, had been able to enter the holy cities and send back
an account of their travels. There was no chance of
carrying out this project for some time to come, but it
was not too early to prepare for what would certainly
prove a difficult and dangerous expedition.
Under the tuition of Shaykh Haslim, a half Bedawin,
who had accompanied him from Bombay to Karachi,
he investigated practical Moslem divinity, learnt about a
quarter of the Koran by heart, and became a proficient
at prayer, or rather those " vain repetitions " which
seem so strangely attractive to many of the religions
of the world. To gain a more thorough insight into this
faith in all its phases, he added a sympathetic study of
Sufi-ism, the Gnosticism of El Islam, a Master Sufi
ranking high above a mere Moslem.
" I conscientiously went through the Chilla, or quaran-
tine of fasting and other exercises, which, by-the-bye,
proved rather too exciting to the brain. At times, when
overstrung, I relieved my nerves with a course of Sikh
religion and literature ; and, at last, the good old priest,
my instructor, solemnly initiated me in presence of the
swinging ' Granth,' or Nanak Shah's scriptures. As I had
already been duly invested by a strict Hindu with the
42
52 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Janeo or ' Brahminical thread,' my experience of Eastern
faiths became phenomenal."
And now, as often happens with deeply-read and widely -
travelled men, Burton found the views of his youth no
longer tenable. During these studies of alien faiths,
Christianity dwindled in his mind to what he considered
her true proportions not the one religion, but one amongst
many religions. A God he believed in, Unknowable and
Impersonal ; for, too thoughtful a man to deny what he
couldn't prove, he never drifted into Atheism. While by
no means an optimist, he held that absolute evil is im-
possible, because it is always rising up into good, and the
theory of a maleficient power is a purely superstitious
fancy, contradicted by human reason and the aspect of the
world. Man he considered a co-ordinate term of Nature's
great progression, a result of the inter-action of organism
and environment working through cosmic sections of time.
As regards the future life, while admitting that absolute
certainty on that point is unattainable, he was inclined to
think all ideas of another existence copies more or less
idealized of the present :
" Then, if Nirwana round our life with nothingness, 'tis haply best ;
Thy toil and troubles, want and woe, at length have won their
guerdon Rest. ' '
Of practical advice he had the best to give to uproot
ignorance, avoid self-tormenting, do good because good is
good to do, and lastly to
" Abjure the Why and seek the How."
From these convictions, arrived at in the prime of
manhood, and after the profoundest study, Richard Burton
never swerved. No mystery was affected ; he spoke and
published but too openly. His beautiful poem the
" Kasidah," written about this time, his Terminal Essay
in the original as also in the Library edition of the
" Thousand Nights and a Night," almost his last work,
would satisfy any reader that his views differed not
Religious Views 53
merely from those of any Christian Church, but also
from the invertebrate eclecticism of the day. Towards
the Church of Rome he had a positive aversion, de-
claring she has added a fourth person to the Trinity.
While believing our own the purest form of Christianity
extant, he had lived so long amongst the teeming popu-
lations of the East, that he was disposed to award the
palm to El Islam as the faith best fitted to civilize
the wretched creatures known under the comprehensive
name of heathen. Moreover, to a rigid Monotheist,
the religion promulgated by Mahomet, appealed by
virtue of its fairly pure Deism ; to a Humanitarian,
by the practical work effected amongst its converts by
enforcing cleanliness, sobriety, and the nearest approach
to morality which their physical and mental condition
admit of. But while he admired Mohammedanism for
sundry of its attributes, he states in clearest language
that the rewards it offers for mere belief, reducing every
virtue to the scale of a somewhat unrefined egotism, has
produced demoralising effects that become more distinct
in every progressive age. To sum up, there is not the
shadow of a doubt amongst those who knew Burton best
and who had no reason for not speaking the truth con-
cerning him, that he looked with somewhat cynical eyes
upon the conflicting religions of the world.
His first visit to India was now drawing to a close.
The spring of 1848 brought the news of Anderson's murder
by Nao Mall of Multan. A campaign seemed imminent,
and a report circulated that Sir Charles Napier, then in
England, would return to take command. Colonel Walter
Scott and many other brother officers were ordered to be
in readiness for the field, and Burton, again inflamed by the
war fever, applied to accompany the force as interpreter.
Examinations in six native languages had been passed
successfully ; he was studying two more : but he had
neglected to curry favour with men in power ; worse,
54 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
indeed, he had expressed his opinion of some amongst
them a little too openly. So, in answer to his request,
he was informed that another man had already been ap-
pointed, one who possessed exactly one-sixth of his linguistic
knowledge.
This last misfortune disheartened him. Rheumatic
ophthalmia, which the exciting prospect of a campaign had
nearly cured, came on again with redoubled virulence, and
a change to Europe was recommended almost as a final
resource. Sick and depressed, Burton began to long for
home, for the sight of dear familiar faces ; and with strength
fast failing, he managed to get as far as his Presidency. At
Bombay his health broke down completely, and in a well-
nigh insensible condition he had to be carried on board the
brig Eliza, where, but for the assiduous care of a Moslem
servant, one Allahdad, he would most probably have died
before reaching England.
CHAPTER III
voyage soon re-established Burton's health. When
* he sailed, his fellow-passengers believed he would
never reach home alive, and it was with considerable
difficulty that he contrived to write a few words of fare-
well to his mother and sister. But within less than a
fortnight a marked improvement took place. For some
constitutions sea air is the best of remedies ; in Burton's
case it almost always produced such a magical effect,
that, when indisposed, he frequently arranged to travel
by water, even though the sea route were twice as long
as the overland. Nor was it an unpleasant mode of treat-
ment. He was never sick, never even uncomfortable during
the roughest weather ; and he often dined tete-a-tete with
the captain in the height of a gale which had prostrated
every other landsman on board.
As he grew stronger and the Eliza, favoured by fair
winds, scudded on her homeward way, his thoughts became
entirely centred on the fast approaching meeting with his
relatives. Seven years had gone by since he sailed for
Bombay in the John Knox. A chapter of accidents had
prevented his seeing Edward Burton, stationed at Ceylon
with " the 37th," although the two brothers had been most
anxious to spend some time together, and, with this end
in view, had made plan after plan ; while, as for other
members of his family, those were days before cheap winter
trips to the Presidencies enable us to visit our friends in
India, whenever affection or restlessness prompts us thus
to expend our money and our energies. Happily, as yet
death had made no gaps in the home circle. His mother,
56 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
though ailing, lived some years longer, his father's health
was no worse, while his sister, married in 1845, had two
children.
By the time he landed, his longing for the sight of a
familiar face had grown so utterly uncontrollable, that, on
his arrival in London, regardless of the unearthly hour, he
went straight to the house of the aunt who had nursed
him through the scarlet fever, and knocked her up at 2 A.M.
After a short stay in town, he went on to see other rela-
tives, notably two pretty Burton cousins and their mother ;
and finally, having attended to various business matters
which had accumulated during his long absence from
England, he travelled night and day to Pisa, where his
parents, sister and nieces were to spend the winter.
It was a very happy meeting. All the more so, per-
haps, as it took place in his still beloved Italy. He went
over old scenes with interest, rubbed up his Italian, which
had done him such good service in the matter of the Sind
Survey, and revelled in the mild climate and comparative
luxury of Pisa. Its drawbacks, once grumbled over, must
have seemed trifles indeed after his stifling tent at Ghara,
with the wet cloth dangling over its one table, or the
leaking bungalow at Baroda, where not even a mackintosh
and an umbrella could keep its solitary tenant dry.
Allahdad, clad in picturesque costume turban, baggy
trousers, etc., accompanied his master, and was most
kindly received by the family, who were exceedingly
grateful for the care and attention he had shown the
invalid on board the Eliza. At first the Mussulman adapted
himself very graciously to his novel environment, devoting
himself so assiduously to the children that they would cry
to be dandled in his arms. But soon, like most Asiatics
absent from their own country, he grew home-sick, conse-
quently quarrelsome. On one occasion, Sabbatino, the
Italian cook, showed him, as a joke, a ham boiling in a big
kettle, Allahdad promptly avenged his insulted creed by
Burton Undergoes Hydropathic Treatment 57
seizing the man in his strong brown arms, and attempting
to seat him upon the charcoal fire, an auto-da-fe with
difficulty frustrated by the bystanders. Then, from his
slender stock of English, he selected the forcible phrase,
"God damn Italy," and repeated it, parrot fashion, to every
Italian he met. The two last words were fairly intelligible,
the tone in which they were uttered was yet more so, for
the Mussulman with ready vanity had taken a violent
dislike to a people, who evidently considered him a soulless
monster ; fights innumerable ensued, and once he tried to
stab his opponent. At last even his master, whom he still
cared for in a way, failed to manage him, and he had to ba
discharged. But not until he had accompanied the family
back to England, whence his passage was taken for
Bombay.
Next year's leave was spent between Leamington and
Dover, with occasional trips to Malvern for the hydropathic
treatment, then in its infancy. Burton gave the latter a
fair trial, and considered the " cure " in a modified form
minus the semi-starvation, plus the use of warm water in
certain cases instead of cold a very valuable one. 1 Well
for him had the harmless water cure always been within his
reach, for, unlike his father, Medicine and her professors
attracted him strongly. He had acquired a smattering of
pathology and therapeutics, useful enough during his wan-
derings, but which, at other times, was apt to take the form
of experimenting upon himself. While far from blind to
the mistakes made by the faculty, aud unpleasantly conscious
of real injury inflicted by the drastic drugs then irr vogue,
he was never without some pet surgeon or physician.
Possibly this fancy was a result of a sanguine disposition ;
when he found himself decidedly the worse for the well-
intentioned but not very skilful efforts of one of these pro-
fessors of the healing art, he would comfort himself with
1 Since 1850 both modifications have been adopted.
58 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the reflection that " Medicine was still guess-work, but that
no one could tell what great discovery might be made before
long ; " and then proceed to try some other doctor with no
better success.
Wearying after a time of the formality of England, and
yet more of her dismal climate, which never thoroughly
suited him, Burton crossed over to Boulogne in 1851. One
great attraction to that shabby little town was a celebrated
salle d'armes, kept by a M. Constantin, of which more anon.
However, living alone at an hotel did not long suit a man
who still possessed the affectionate heart of a boy, so
presently various relatives received dismal letters complain-
ing of dulness and low spirits. The first to come to the
rescue was Burton's sister, then in England expecting the
return of her husband from India, a return delayed by the
approaching troubles ; and shortly after she came with her
two children, Colonel and Mrs. Burton arrived from Pisa.
Burton did not recover his spirits immediately. He had
fallen in love with one of his handsome cousins. There
was real liking on her part ; she was lively, amiable, well-
dowered in short, so far as he was concerned, an excellent
choice. Unfortunately his prospects were dismal in the
extreme. Still merely a lieutenant of a John Company's
regiment which obliged him to spend most of his life
in India, he reluctantly bowed to the wise decision of her
nearest relations who, sincerely as they cared for him, could
not sanction an engagement. The affair fell through, to the
great regret of his parents and sister, for he would have
secured an excellent wife. But, strange to say, his affection
for his cousin lacked the intensity of his love for the dead
girl in Sind; and before long the fencing school, and a
manual he was just bringing out, a new system of bayonet
exercise, 1 absorbed all his energies. About a year later
there was another love affair, a very evanescent one, which,
like the last, soon came to an untimely end.
1 "A Complete System of Bayonet Exercise." Clowes & Sons, 1853.
Affaires de Ccew 59
That Burton had a great many affaires de cceur is no
secret. They were mostly of an ephemeral nature, and
may be attributed to a variety of causes. A very sociable
man, with nothing of the hermit about him, he thoroughly
enjoyed women's society, though pretending at times to
look down upon it. Then, possessing in almost the highest
degree the love of the beautiful, he found a fair face an
irresistible attraction. Besides, as he was not merely a
handsome but a powerfully magnetic man, women fell in
love with him by the score, often careless whether their
affection was returned or not. It is certain that many of
his amours were not originated by himself ; and in these
cases, some of a delicate and troublesome nature, he
was at a distinct advantage. He was easily cajoled,
easily deceived, and his kind heart quailed at tears and
scenes which a sterner, colder man would have taken at
their real value. Sometimes he rode away ; perhaps he
should have followed that prudent course more frequently.
But he was no rake. Ever courteous and honourable, he
would emerge safely from embarrassing straits where
another man similarly circumstanced would have plunged
into serious trouble. And it speaks greatly in his favour
that, with an amative and somewhat fickle temperament,
he made several attempts to marry a virtuous woman and
settle down as a Benedict before he reached his thirtieth
year.
His passion for beauty had one disadvantage, a grave
one. Unlike some eminent men of our day, he loved
women rather for their good looks than for their moral
qualities. So long as a girl was handsome it never
seemed to matter how narrow, how vain, how supremely
silly she might be. While keenly appreciating talent in
his own relatives, when he fell in love he actually preferred
a doll. Not that he never cared for a sensible or clever
woman, he did so more than once, as in the case of his
cousin, but on the whole he preferred the Eastern ideal of a
60 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
wife an ideal described in " Vikram and the Vampire," 1
a sort of dog-like being whom no Englishwoman, clever or
stupid, could possibly imitate. Perhaps, as he somewhat
cynically remarks in the pages just quoted, " because she
has no fear of losing her nose or parting with her ears."
It has been said Burton could look through a man, and
gauge him in a moment. Now in my description of his
character I aim most anxiously at accuracy in every detail.
Give a man qualities foreign to his nature, and his life
straightway becomes unintelligible. Had powers some-
what similar to the Rontgen rays been his, would he have
made the blunders he did ? He confesses in one of his
books to not understanding the fair sex, but there is little
doubt that in knowledge of character generally he was
deficient. With Asiatics and Africans his judgment was
oftener correct, partly because his very life depended upon
his observing them accurately, and partly because education
and environment often obscure Nature's handwriting on the
face of a European, whilst amongst the less artificial chil-
dren of the East, physiognomy rarely errs. A studious
habit of mind, a good-natured inclination to think well of
persons who appeared kindly disposed towards him, may
have prevented him from centring his attention on cha-
racters purposely veiled. Often have I heard him speak
of a woman as harmless and amiable, when in truth she
was neither, often seen him associate with men whom he
considered right good fellows, and heard the same right good
fellows abuse him roundly as soon as his back was turned,
and they thought no one was listening. Naturally, this
lack of insight into the dispositions of those about him
involved him in many troubles. Ill-chosen friends usually
turn into ultra virulent enemies.
At that time the influences surrounding Burton were
all thoroughly wholesome. Colonel Burton paid only
i "Vikram and the Vampire," 1870. See the Vampire's eleventh
story.
Traits of Burton's Character 61
flying visits to Boulogne, as the keen air disagreed with
his complaint ; besides, he had long since given up any
attempt to interfere with his son's views and plans, and
contented himself with setting a good example of what
a man's life ought to be. His wife, who remained with
her son and daughter during the whole of their stay at
the French port, had become quite an invalid, but con-
tinued, unlike most invalids, as affectionate and as un-
selfish as of old. It was Burton's sister who resolutely
set herself to study his character and views, and assist
him with the best of advice. A talented woman, high
principled, gifted moreover, with excellent judgment,
she not only took the keenest interest in all his plans,
but she never failed to tell him when, as often hap-
pened, he went the wrong way to work to further them.
With characteristic good sense she encouraged the most
promising of his love affairs, and only the most pro-
mising. She saw that her brother's roving temperament
and Eastern ideas would not content the ordinary British
matron, and the ordinary British matron, after a year
or so, would certainly not have suited him. Still, since
his life seemed destined to be spent in distant countries,
it was well to marry, if he could find someone who
could really make him happy. With regard to minor
matters, she vehemently discouraged eccentricities in dress,
roughness of manner, the disposition to wage war against
harmless prejudices, and, above all, Burton's almost suicidal
practice of telling horrible tales against himself. This last
foible, by the way, was almost maddening. He usually
selected some unfriendly nonentity as audience, and then
proceeded to relate a ghastly story of having eaten a boy,
or shot two or three men for no particular reason, or run
away with at least a dozen of other people's wives, all of
which nonsense was duly treasured up and brought against
him years afterwards. It can only be accounted for by an
almost monkey-like love of fun and mischief ; but his sister,
62 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
divining the danger of his thus heaping up slander against
himself, very properly warned him of the folly of such
unsuitable jokes. In short, possessing as she did that
rarest of combinations, talent and common sense, it is
probable that had she been afforded more frequent oppor-
tunities of influencing him even in trifles, his would have
proved a less chequered career, for, be it said to his
honour, when kindly counselled by anyone whom he re-
spected, he not merely listened to advice with perfect
temper, but what is more uncommon, he often followed it.
Second only to the blunder of, for mere fun, actually
starting calumny against himself, was his inveterate habit
of fighting harmless prejudices. Burton's tolerance had not
attained to the perfection defined by George Eliot as
tolerating the intolerant. That pride of ignorance, which
so far exceeds the pride of science, was not treated with
the patience or silent contempt with which colder or more
prudent men regard it. There is little doubt Burton made
a needlessly large number of enemies, not by injuring
people he had nothing malicious or cruel in his character
but by offending their vanity worst grievance of any.
Unlike most " sensible men " he did not keep his views to
himself. Familiar with the Arabic precept, " Conceal thy
travels, thy tenets, and thy treasure," he failed to profit by
it. Of course his opinions, so far as Boulogne could under-
stand them, ranked as utter infidelity ; no matter, he
scorned to hide them ; and, as flashing a light into an
owl's eyes usually induces that reverend bird to fly at your
face, so did Boulogne resent any attempt to illuminate the
obscurity in which she contentedly squatted. It was of great
depth. People were still holding up their hands and exposing
the whites of their eyes over the impiety of the " Vestiges
of Creation ; " Sir Charles Lyell's " Antiquity of Man "
was not yet written, and Darwin was still busy in his study
thinking out his wonderful " Origin of Species."
Also in smaller matters, Burton was wanting in tact and
Traits of Burton's Character 63
patience ; if people bored him, he would take up a book, or
even leave the room with scant ceremony. Probably his
great broad mind could not take in the infinite stupidity,
and the infinite littleness of most dispositions, for he never
made an enemy intentionally. Dowered, like most deep
and sensitive natures, with the love of love, he felt the
insults of the most contemptible foe so keenly that we used
to say of him, the meanest insect drew blood. Very indig-
nant was he when sundry members of the English clique at
Boulogne crossed the road when they saw him approaching ;
and ruefully surprised did he look on hearing how one
elderly and somewhat rancorous dame had declared, with
singular vehemence, " she would not and could not sit in
the room with that fellow Burton."
On the other hand, he made many warm friends. These
he never lacked wherever he went, friends who stood by
him and took his part manfully throughout life. If a person,
unrepelled by the little failings just mentioned, was attracted
towards him, had time to know him well, and was noble
minded enough to appreciate him, I may fitly use Shake-
speare's forcible phrase, he was grappled to his soul with
hooks of steel. And since there was nothing mean, or
spiteful, or envious about his nature, time and propinquity
only deepened mutual esteem and affection. Even now I
have the pleasure of reading the enthusiastic letters of
those who still remember him, and who declare that they
have never met his like again. It is a touching trait that
nearly every dedication affixed to the numerous volumes
published during his lifetime was to a friend or relative;
seldom to one of the many powerful patrons who more than
once assisted him by their influence, and whose noble names
another man, even at the expense of his affections, would
have been only too delighted to honour.
In his family circle he was adored. The asperities of
his early boyhood had all worn away. Marvellously sweet-
tempered about trifling annoyances, he never grumbled
64 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
or swore when the household, kept on moderate means,
occasionally creaked on its hinges. Unlike many an un-
reasonable "he-thing," he did not expect every comfort on
a limited income. Besides, he could always amuse and
occupy himself, he could bear pain and sickness without
making everybody miserable, even when suffering from
his fits of melancholy which no study of his namesake's
great work could ever cure, he generally succeeded by a
heroic effort in concealing much of his depression. And no
sooner had his naturally high spirits once more gained the
day, than friends and relatives were kept continually
amused by his delightful witty sayings, until at last,
excited by the general hilarity, he became fairly uproarious,
and no one could imagine he had ever known sorrow in the
world.
In 1851-2 a good French painter was staying at
Boulogne. Fran9ois Jacquand had attained distinction
partly by his monk pictures, but principally through a
large historical tableau representing the death chamber of
the Due d'Orleans, which he executed by order of Louis
Philippe shortly after the sad accident that destroyed the
life of the popular heir to the throne. The earliest portrait
of Richard Burton is the work of this artist. It belongs
to the writer of these memoirs, and helps to confirm the
impressions and recollections of childhood. A pale young
man, heavily moustached, with large brown eyes still
bright and piercing, is seated, clad in the not unbecoming
uniform of the Bombay Light Infantry, his head supported
by his left hand, with a large folio open before him.
Jacquand was no flatterer, rather the other way, and the
family thought he had hardly done justice to his handsome
sitter ; but with the exception of Lord Leighton's magnifi-
cent portrait Burton's living image it is far superior to any
painted since. Some I have seen are simply hideous ; the
skin the colour of a brown monkey's, the features, coarsened
and exaggerated, wearing the expression of a Bill Sykes.
His Health 65
With Burton's marked look of race, he never could have
been taken, unless purposely disguised, for other than an
English gentleman; these intensely unpleasant caricatures
might stand for a pugilist, a brigand, or, as already sug-
gested, for poor Nancy's swain. That a man who, like
most active natures, particularly objected to the restraint
inevitable when sitting for a portrait, should have tolerated
these ugly and repulsive likenesses, some of which have
re-appeared as prints or photographs in various books
written by himself or his wife, can be explained only on the
score of that eccentricity which his good sister tried so hard
to discourage.
Jacquand had rendered with his usual scrupulous fidelity
a worn, wan look on the face of his model. A plentiful crop
of ailments, engendered by the climate and hardships of
India, kept breaking out again and again, to the intense
discomfort of their victim. Though interested in medical
lore, Burton ignored that branch now well nigh paramount
the prevention of disease; careless of his health, he would
either make some desperate attempt to harden himself, as
he called it, which generally brought on bronchitis, or bear
with unwise stoicism premonitory symptoms, which, neg-
lected, ended in a sharp attack of illness. Liver trouble,
chest affections, internal inflammation prostrated him for
many a weary hour during the earlier part of his furlough.
Imprudent folk are not always brave when confronted with
the results of their rashness ; but his fortitude in sickness
was extraordinary, often actually misleading the bystanders
with respect to the gravity of the case. On one occasion,
when seized with inflammation of the bladder, a fact he
tried to keep to himself, he continued to joke and laugh
much as usual. Pain rather stimulated than depressed the
action of his powerful brain, so he went on with his reading
and writing as if little were the matter. At last the agony
became too atrocious, and he remarked in a fit of absence,
" If I don't get better before night, I shall be an angel."
5
66 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Questions followed, consternation reigned around, and the
doctor was instantly summoned.
Life at Boulogne was not all play. The lessons of such
a capable instructor as M. Constantin afforded Burton an
opportunity of perfecting himself in that noble art which he
had studied with such enthusiasm even as a boy. Few
men delighted more in fencing than he ; and his admiration
for the sword, which he called the "Queen of Weapons,"
was almost romantic. In his monograph on its origin,
genealogy and history, published many years later, he writes
of it in these glowing terms :
" The best of calisthenics, this energetic educator teaches
the man to carry himself like a soldier. A compendium of
gymnastics, it increases strength and activity, dexterity,
and rapidity of movement. Professors calculate that one
hour of hard fencing wastes forty ounces by perspiration
and respiration. The foil is still the best training tool for
the consensus of eye and hand, for the judgment of distance
and opportunity, and, in fact, for the practice of combat.
And thus swordsmanship engenders moral confidence and
self-reliance, while it stimulates a habit of resource ; and
it is not without suggesting, even in the schools, that
curious, fantastic, very noble generosity proper to itself
alone."
And later he regrets that it has come down from its
high estate as tutor to the noble and the great. As soon as
the sword ceased to be worn in France, the politest people
in Europe suddenly became the rudest. That gallant and
courteous bearing, which in England during the early
nineteenth century so charmed the fastidious Alfieri, lingers
omy amongst a few. Courtesy and punctiliousness, the
politeness of man to man, and respect and deference of man
to woman, the very conception of the knightly character,
have to a great extent been removed from the face of the
earth.
Of course, when Burton once devoted himself to any
Swordsmanship 67
art, he was never satisfied until he had thoroughly mastered
it. So he soon earned his brevet de pointe for the excellence
of his swordsmanship : and the Salle d'Armes used to be
thronged when it was known he was going to play. A
friend, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Shuldham, kindly sent
me the following anecdote illustrating the prowess of the
new Maitre d'Armes.
" In the year 1851-2 I met the late Sir Richard Burton
at Boulogne, and he asked me to accompany him to the
Salle d'Armes where he was going to have a fencing bout
with a sergeant of French Hussars, a celebrated player.
The sergeant donned his guard, to protect his head, and a
leather fencing jacket, while Burton bared his neck and
stood up in his shirt sleeves ; on my remonstrating with
him, he said it was of no consequence. They performed
the customary salute and set to work. It was a sight to
see Burton with his eagle eye keenly fixed on his adversary,
shortly followed by a very rapid swing of his arm and a
sharp stroke downwards when the Frenchman was disarmed.
He did this seven times in succession, when the sergeant
declined any further contest, saying that his wrist was
nearly dislocated by the force with which the Englishman
struck his weapon. The spectators, mostly French, were
astonished at Burton, who, with the exception of a prod in
the neck, was otherwise untouched.
" To me it was a marvellous display of fencing skill and
the strange magnetic power that he seemed to possess over
everybody present was equally surprising."
Before leaving the subject, I will quote from a letter to
Captain Low, for many years in the Indian Navy, another
old and valued friend, to whom he wrote about the
" energetic educator."
" You know the single-stick was never my favourite
weapon, and in handling it I always considered it a dero-
gation. My system of ' point ' will be out before very
long ; it is a mixture of the French and Italo-Spanish
C O
68 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
schools, which ought to make a sensation amongst swords-
men." 1
Besides fencing, Burton had fierce fits of literary in-
dustry, during which he brought out three books already
mentioned. He also published a " Complete System of
Bayonet Exercise," printed in pamphlet form in 1853, and
which after a time created no little stir. One might have
imagined that anything tending to increase the efficiency of
the Service would have been welcomed at once by the
Horse Guards ; but in pre-Crimean days red tape and
routine had obtained a complete ascendency, and the prer
sent rage for novelty was as yet unknown. That the
author received a severe reprimand because " bayonet
exercise might make the men unsteady in the ranks,"
seems an exaggeration, but there is no doubt he was
mildly snubbed.
The sequel to the story is curious. The importance of
the said system had already been recognised throughout
Europe, and even in the United States ; England alone
refused to consider it. When the terrible lessons of the
Crimean War had impressed upon our military authorities
the absolute importance of training our men according to
the latest methods, the pamphlet written by the despised
" lieutenant of blacks " was taken down from its pigeon-
hole, and a " Manual of Bayonet Exercise for use in the
British Army " was compiled from his system, with merely
a few modifications. Which last, by the way, were con-
sidered by competent persons hardly in the light of
improvements.
What reward, then, was bestowed upon the man who
had detected the weak point in our military system, and
shown how to remedy it ? Burton was too proud to ask
for any pecuniary recompense ; but he did hope for a com-
pliment, or a few words of thanks. Instead, he received a
1 " New System of Sword Exercise." Clowes & Sons, 1875.
Treasury Generosity 69
letter from the Treasury with a most imposing seal : within
was the permission to draw upon this department for the
sum of one shilling.
In spite of the disappointment, there was an irresistible
drollery about the whole affair which so keen a humourist
was the first to appreciate. Perhaps it might have been
better, so far as his popularity with his seniors was con-
cerned, had he failed to enjoy it quite so thoroughly.
Clutching his warrant, he proceeded to the War Office
and requested with great politeness to be paid his shilling.
Such a thing having never been heard of before, he was
referred by the utterly bewildered clerks from one room to
another for nearly three-quarters of an hour, still demanding
his money. At last his perseverance was rewarded, and
having succeeded in claiming his own, he bestowed the coin
on the first beggar he met on leaving the building.
Unluckily, it was not only the manual that brought in
nothing ; his other works failed to pay for some time.
Critics were hostile, or loftily patronising; the public was
shy ; the publishers were stingy. Writing rather added to
his expenses than otherwise, as he required a fair stock of
books of reference, and volumes of this nature are not to be
had for nothing. Cheap as Boulogne then was, he found
it almost beyond his means. His father and mother, ailing
and ageing, required more comforts, and although they
did add a little to his wretched half-pay, they could not
do much, for their income had not increased since the
days at Tours, while their expenses had. Burton was
not an extravagant man, but he was a very active one,
and most victims of a limited income know full well how
every pursuit, every amusement, creates a more or less
heavy demand upon the purse. Books, the fencing school,
society, such as it was, ran away with money which he
could ill afford, and for a while he racked his brains in vain
how to make both ends meet. It has been said his was
not a generous character, but it is not easy to be liberal
yo Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
when, first from one cause and then from another, one has
hardly enough money to supply one's own requirements.
As time went on he began to tire also of his position
and environment. With comical imprudence, considering
the state of his finances, he had again fallen in love, this
time with a pretty but penniless girl of eighteen, whose
mother was unpleasantly outspoken about his daring, with
his prospects, to propose to her daughter ; and the snub,
though a blessing in disguise, helped to make him dis-
contented with his commonplace surroundings. By some
bold achievement he yearned to raise himself above them,
to leave behind for a time the petty cares of civilisation,
and to help in that great work, the increase of the know-
ledge of our earth and of our brother man. His family
having removed to England and settled at Bath, he was
free to centre his energies on his future plans.
The project conceived in Sind of a pilgrimage to Meccah
and El-Medinah, and half- forgotten during the four years
spent in Europe, now revived, and gradually occupied all his
thoughts. If the fates were kind, it seemed capable too of
being extended and improved. By spending three years in
Arabia, landing at Maskat, a favourite starting place for
the interior, he could apply himself, slowly but surely, to
the task of spanning the Deserts. To cross the unknown
Arabian Peninsula in a direct line from either El-Medinah
to Maskat, or diagonally from Meccah to Makallah on the
Indian Ocean, would have been of course a far greater feat
and one more valuable to geography than a mere visit to
the two holy cities. So in the autumn of 1852, through the
medium of an excellent friend, the late General Monteith,
he offered his services to the Royal Geographical Society,
for the purpose of removing what he called that opprobrium
to modern adventure, the huge white blot which, in our
maps, still notes the Eastern and the central regions of
Arabia.
Sir R. J. Murchison, Colonel P. Yorke, and Dr. Shaw,
Preparations for the Pilgrimage 71
a deputation from the said Society, forthwith supported in
a personal interview with the Chairman of the Court of
Directors, Burton's application for three years' leave of
absence on special duty from India to Maskat. But for
some cause never ascertained, Sir James Hogg refused his
consent, merely remarking that the contemplated journey
was of too dangerous a nature. Thus the larger plan was
frustrated, and our traveller had to content himself with his
original one. Even this the authorities would not formally
sanction, but an additional furlough of twelve months was
accorded to him, in order, it was cautiously worded, " that
he might pursue his Arabic studies in lands where the
language is best learned." And where could it be acquired
in such perfection as in the cities of Meccah and El-
Medinah ?
This concession gained, Burton had to prepare himself
for going absolutely alone into a new country, mingling
with strange companions, conforming to unfamiliar man-
ners, and living for many months in the hottest climate in
the world. After a four years' sojourn in Europe, during
which many things Oriental had faded from his memory,
he was to suddenly appear as an Eastern upon the stage of
Moslem life. Had it not been for his experiences in Sind
as Mirza Abdullah the Bushiri, recollections of which he
diligently revived, he could never have made the attempt
with any hope of success. He had to attend besides to
innumerable little details, all important in their way, for
in such strangely perilous circumstances, neglect of the
smallest trifle might lead to death. Amongst many other
useful things, he learned the process of shoeing a horse,
taking lessons from a blacksmith not merely how to nail on
the shoes but how to forge them.
While making his preparations for this expedition,
Burton stayed mostly in London, occasionally running
down to Bath to see his parents and sister. The last visit
was the longest, for he spent the very latest hour he could
72 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
with them, just leaving himself time to catch the steamer at
Southampton. Of course, they all knew of his determina-
tion to undertake this most dangerous journey, and heartily
wished him God-speed; but the subject having been almost
too painful to talk about, he had managed to conceal the
date of his departure. Burton had a deep-rooted horror of
farewells ; the word " good-bye " produced some strangely-
disturbing effect upon his nerves, his hands turning cold
and his eyes filling with tears before even a short separation.
On this occasion no hint was given that the hour for parting
had arrived. One evening all retired to rest as usual, and
on the morrow he was gone, having left behind a farewell
letter to his mother, and his small stock of valuables to be
divided as keepsakes between her and his sister. The
Arabian Knight, as his friends were afterwards wont to call
him, had started on his wonderful travels.
CHAPTER IV
the evening of April 3rd, 1853, Burton started for
Southampton. By the advice of a brother officer his
Persian disguise was called into requisition, and all his im-
pedimenta were made to look exceedingly Oriental. Early
next day Mirza Abdullah, accompanied by Captain H.
Grindley of the Bengal Cavalry, embarked on board the
P. and O. Company's steamer Bengal.
A fortnight was profitably spent in getting into the train
of Eastern manners. For example, to drink a cup of water
seems to us simple enough ; with an Indian Moslem the
operation includes no less than five novelties. In the first
place, he clutches his tumbler as though it were the throat
of a foe ; secondly, he ejaculates before wetting his lips,
" In the Name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful ! "
thirdly, he imbibes the contents, swallowing them, not
sipping them as he ought to do ; fourthly, before setting
down the cup, he sighs forth, " Praise be to Allah ! " and,
fifthly, in answer to his friend's polite " Pleasure and
health," he replies, " May Allah make it pleasant to thee "
.... Recalling to mind a hundred other similar customs,
which, in fact, were being practised on board the good ship
Bengal by her dark-skinned passenger, Burton passed his
time to such advantage that, on landing at Alexandria, he
was recognised and blessed as a True Believer by the
Moslem population.
The only person who shared his secret was a friend,
John Wingfield Larking, at whose house, on the Mah-
mudijah Canal, our traveller stayed a month lodged, how-
74 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
ever, in an outbuilding, the better to blind inquisitive eyes
of servants and visitors. He lost no time before securing
the assistance of a Shaykh, with whom he plunged once
more into the intricacies of the Faith, revived recollections
of religious ablutions, of the Koran, and of the art of
prostration. His leisure hours were no less profitably
employed in lounging about the baths, coffee houses and
bazaars, attending the mosque, visiting sundry venerable
localities, in which Alexandria abounds ; in short, studying
the natives amongst all the haunts wherein they most did
congregate.
Moreover, always a dabbler in medical lore, this ver-
satile man practised as a doctor, with such success that one
grateful elder offered his daughter in marriage, and a
middle-aged personage of the feminine gender proposed
to disburse the munificent fee of one napoleon provided
Dr. Abdullah would remain at Alexandria and superintend
the restoration to sight of her stone-blind left eye. Besides
the character of physician, Burton assumed that of a wan-
dering Dervish, but we shall see presently for good reasons
he did not retain it long.
During this comparatively quiet interval he thoroughly
matured his plans. After a short stay at Cairo he intended
to push on to Suez, thence to embark with a horde of
pilgrims for Yambu, the port of El-Medinah. A more
luxurious way of travelling would have been to charter a
vessel for himself and servants, but when on the march
comfort was the last thing Burton considered. Further,
after much deliberation, he decided to pass through the
Moslem's Holy Land as a born believer, not as a renegade.
Had he declared himself a Burma, or 'vert, his co-re-
ligionists would have suspected and catechised him to such
a degree as to seriously obstruct the aim of his wanderings,
i.e., to see everything and to go everywhere. The 'vert is
always watched with Argus eyes ; men do not willingly
give information to a new Moslem, especially a Frank :
The Journey to Meccah commences 75
they suspect his change of faith to be feigned or forced,
look upon him as a spy, and let him into as little of their
life as possible.
The month at Alexandria having elapsed (Burton men-
tions leaving with regret his little room in the flowery
garden), he procured a pass-book from H.B.M. Consul,
describing him as a British Indian, bade adieu to friends
and patients, and started for Cairo by a Nile steamer.
His baggage was light. A coarse bag containing a tooth-
stick, a piece of soap, and a wooden comb, replaced the
silver-mounted dressing case of past days. Equally simple
was his wardrobe ; two or three changes of clothes. Bed-
ding consisted of a Persian rug, a cotton-stuffed, chintz-
covered pillow, a blanket in case of cold, and a sheet which
did duty for tent or mosquito curtain during hot nights.
These luxuries were supplemented by a huge umbrella,
brightly yellow, suggesting a gigantic sunflower, a dagger,
a brass inkstand and penholder stuck in the belt, and a
mighty rosary, which on occasion could be converted into
a weapon of defence. With regard to money, small coins
were carried in a cotton purse secured in a breast pocket,
gold and papers in a substantial leathern belt strapped
round the waist under the shirt. A pea-green box, capable
of standing falls from a camel twice a day, served as a
medicine chest ; saddle-bags contained the clothes ; and
the bed-furniture was readily rolled up in a bundle.
The wretched steamer, whose name, the Little Asthmatic,
seems to have described her correctly, took three mortal
days and nights in puffing her way to Cairo. A fiery
sun pierced her canvas awning like hot water through
a gauze veil, and our pilgrim, having taken a third class
or deck passage, the evils of the journey were exaggerated.
Squatting as far from the crowd as possible, he smoked
incessantly, with occasional interruptions to say his prayers
and tell his beads on the huge rosary. The dignity of
Dervish-hood did not permit him to sit at meals with
76 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
infidels, nor to eat the food they had polluted ; so he
drank muddy water from the canal out of a leathern
bucket, and munched his bread and garlic with desperate
sanctity.
Two fellow passengers, who, in spite of the holy man's
evident unsociability, insisted on making his acquaintance,
were destined to play a part in the comedy at Cairo. One,
Khudabakhsh, a native of Lahore, entertained Burton for
a fortnight, and would have extended his hospitality even
longer, had not his guest, wearied out of the wily Hindi's
somewhat burdensome society, fled to the comparative
liberty of a Wakalah, or inn. The other, Haji Wali, a
burly Alexandrian merchant, happened to be staying at
the identical hostelry wherein our traveller took refuge,
and he soon became a fast friend. Constituting himself
Burton's cicerone, he guarded him against cheating trades-
people ; and, having in the course of his wanderings thrown
off many of the prejudices of his people, he was able to
give some valuable advice.
The most important step suggested by the Haji, was to
make choice of a new nationality. " If you persist in being
an Ajemi," said he, " you will get yourself into trouble ; in
Egypt you will be cursed ; in Arabia you will be beaten
because you are a heretic ; you will pay treble what other
travellers do, and if you fall sick you may die by the
roadside." Nor did the role of Dervish find greater favour
in the shrewd merchant's eyes than the pretended connec-
tion with Persia and the Persians. " What business," he
asked, " have those reverend men with statistics or any of
the information which you are collecting ? " After some
deliberation he recommended his friend to assume the cha-
racter of a Pathan or Afghan. Presumably born in India
of Afghan parents, and educated at Rangoon, the pilgrim
would be well guarded against danger of detection by fellow
countrymen, as any trifling inaccuracy would be attributed
to a long residence in Burmah. To support the part, a
Prescriptions 77
knowledge of Persian, Hindustani and Arabic, was neces-
sary, in all of which languages Burton was proficient.
No objection, however, was made to the vole of an
Indian physician. The practice of physic is comparatively
easy amongst dwellers in warm latitudes, uncivilized people,
where there is not that complication of maladies which
troubles more polished nations ; and the doctor, if fairly
prudent and not too grasping, is sure of being popular.
Burton appears to have treated his patients with singular
care and tenderness, attending alike some miserable Abys-
sinian slave girls, who suffered from many complaints on
first arriving in Egypt, and a pasha who had been a
favourite with Mohammed Ali. Perhaps good luck had
something to do with it ; anyway, his success at Cairo
rivalled that at Alexandria.
The following is a specimen of his prescriptions. The
ingredients have the merit of being harmless, the regimen
is strict, and the religious phrases, liberally interspersed,
introduce an element of faith all potent amongst a nervous
and excitable people..
A. 1
" In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful,
and blessings and peace be upon our Lord the Apostle, and
his family, and his companions one and all. But afterwards
let him take bees' honey and cinnamon and album graecum,
of each half a part, and of ginger a whole part, which let
him pound and mix with the honey and form boluses, each
bolus the weight of a Miskal, and of it let him use every
day a Miskal on the saliva. Verily, its effects are wonderful.
And let him abstain from flesh, fish, vegetables, sweetmeats,
flatulent food, acids of all descriptions, as well as the major
ablution, and live in perfect quiet. So shall he be cured
by the help of the King, the Healer. And the peace (w'as-
salam, i.e. adieu)."
1 A monogram generally placed at the head of writings, the initia
letter of Allah, and the first of the alphabet.
78 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G
It was necessary to engage a servant to look after the
baggage, &c., and the choice was not made without trouble.
Indispensable on such a journey were good health, readiness
to travel anywhere, a little skill in cooking, sewing, and
washing, a fair amount of pluck and a habit of regular
prayer. Berberis, Saidis, Egyptians were tried in succes-
sion, and all found wanting ; while the last, a long-legged
Nubian, after a stay of two days with his new master, dis-
missed him for expressing a determination to go by sea from
Suez to Yambu. None suited even tolerably except a Surat
lad, Nur by name, a docile but eminently commonplace
character, and one Mohammed el-Basyuni, a Meccan. The
latter, who became a sort of companion, did not join Burton
until later. He is described as a beardless youth of about
eighteen years, chocolate-brown, with high features, a bold
profile, and a decided tendency to corpulence. Meccah had
taught him to speak excellent Arabic, to understand the
literary dialect, to be eloquent in abuse, and profound at
prayer and pilgrimage. From him, while at Cairo, our
traveller purchased the pilgrim garb, el-Ihram, and the
Kafan or shroud, a festive article of attire wherewith the
Moslem usually provides himself before starting on such a
prolonged journey.
The next thing to do was to lay in stores for an eighty-
four mile ride across the Desert to Suez, and for the voyage
to Yambu. These consisted of tea, coffee, loaf-sugar, rice,
dates, biscuits, oil, vinegar, tobacco, lanterns, cooking pots,
a small bell-shaped tent, and four water-skins. The pro-
visions were packed in a hamper and enclosed in a huge
wooden box about three feet each way, covered with
leather, and provided with a small lid. The green medicine
chest and the saddle-bags were to hang on one side of the
baggage camel, and the big wooden box on the other.
Atop was a place for a Shibriyah, or cot, useful in case of
hard night travelling. A second animal, with saddle and
all necessary accoutrements, v T as hired for riding, and a
third for the Indian lad and surplus luggage. Before
Takes Leave of Haji Wall 79
starting Burton renewed his stock of ready money, pro-
viding himself with eighty pounds sterling in gold and
silver coin.
Nur was sent on in advance, as his master wished to
make a forced march, accompanied only by the camel
drivers, in order to ascertain how much a four years' life
of European effeminacy had impaired his powers of endur-
ance. Haji Wali, helpful to the last, recommended his
friend to start at about 3 p.m., so that he might arrive at
Suez the evening of the following day. Accordingly, at the
hour named, Burton, wearing the crimson cord attached to
the Hamail or pocket Koran over his shoulder in token of
pilgrimage, mounted his beast and rode along the street
which leads towards the desert.
As he emerged from the caravanserai all the bystanders,
except the porter, who believed him to be a Persian, ex-
claimed, " Allah bless thee, Y'al Hajj, (O Pilgrim), and
restore thee to thy country and friends ! " And, passing
through the Bab-el-Nasr, where he addressed the salutation
of peace to the sentry and to the officer commanding the
guard, both gave him God-speed with great cordiality the
pilgrim's blessing in the East, like the old woman's in
Europe, being supposed to possess peculiar efficacy.
Outside the gate his friend took leave of him, and he
confessed to a tightening of heart as Haji Wall's burly
form disappeared in the distance.
Burton journeyed on till near sunset without ennui. In
such a weird scene every slight modification of form and
colour rivets observation ; the senses are sharpened, and
the perceptive faculties, prone to sleep over a confused
mass of natural objects, act vigorously when excited by the
capability of embracing every detail. In 1853 the Suez
road had become as safe to European travellers as that
between Highgate and Hampstead, so our pilgrim had
nothing to divert his attention from the fantastic desolation
of the wilderness east of the Nile.
As evening drew near he was surprised at hearing an
8o Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
" As Salamo Alaykum " of truly Arab sound. The saluta-
tion emanated from Mohammed, the Meccan. This youth,
happening to be short of money, and recognising a good
opportunity of living at someone else's expense, had deter-
mined to constitute himself Burton's companion ; and after
he had cooked a tempting supper, lighted the pilgrim's pipe,
and become generally useful, he was graciously permitted
to form one of the party.
Thus reinforced, the travellers reached the Central
Station about midnight, and straightway lay down under
its walls to rest. The dews fell heavily, wetting the sheets
that covered them, the breeze blew coolly, and a solitary
jackal sang a lullaby which in this instance lost no time in
inducing soundest sleep. As the Wolf's Tail (the first
brushes of grey light which appear as forerunners of dawn)
showed in the heavens, Burton rose and watched for a few
moments the grey mists, which, floating over the hills
northwards, gave the Dar el-Bayda, the Pasha's palace,
the look of some old feudal castle. Presently his com-
panions awoke, and, mounting their camels, all resumed
their march in real earnest. Dawn passed away with its
delicious freshness, sultry morning came on, then day
glared in its fierceness, and the noontide sun made the
plain glow with terrible heat. Still, except for one short
halt, they pressed on.
It was late in the afternoon when their destination
appeared in sight. From afar were visible the castellated
peaks of Jebel Rahah, and the wide sand-tracks over which
lies the land-route to El-Hejaz. In front lay a strip of sea,
gloriously azure, with a gallant steamer ploughing its
waters. On the right were the broad slopes of Jebel
Mukattam, a range of hills which flank the road con-
tinuously from Cairo. It was at that hour a spectacle not
easily to be forgotten. The near range of chalk and sand-
stone wore a russet suit, gilt where the last rays of the
sun seamed it with light ; while the background of the
Fellow-Travellers Si
higher hills, Jebel Taweri, was sky-blue streaked with the
lightest plum colour.
Night had closed in when Burton passed through the
tumbledown old gateway of Suez, and the task still re-
mained of finding his Indian servant. After wandering
in and out of every Wakalah in the place, he heard that a
Hindi had taken lodgings at a certain hostelry, whence,
after locking his door, he had gone with friends to a ship
anchored in the harbour. It looked unpleasantly as if Nur
had decamped no slight disaster, as he had taken charge
of all the silver money. However, nothing more could be
done until next day ; so Burton turned into an empty room
of a squalid inn, where, as he had merely a square of
carpet for a bed, and his eighty-four mile ride had made
every bone ache, he passed an unrefreshing night.
Joy came in the morning in the form of Nur with
money and goods intact. Moreover, Burton, up and about
again, fell in with a party of men who were returning to
Medinah, and who were fated to do him no small service.
They numbered four Umar Effendi, a Circassian ; Saad,
his servant, nicknamed the Demon ; Shaykh Hamid el-
Samman, with whom our traveller afterwards lodged at
Medinah, and Salih Shakkar, a Madani dandy, who, after
being, for pecuniary reasons, extremely civil en route, cut
his friend at home as pitilessly as any "town man " does a
continental acquaintance accidentally met in Hyde Park.
All four asked almost simultaneously for a loan, which all
duly received. The sums were not large, and it was well
worth while to keep fellow-travellers in good humour.
Although Burton and his new friends lodged together
in the same Wakalah, only once was the would-be Haji
suspected of being an infidel. The four Moslems had
looked at his clothes, overhauled his medicine chest, and
criticised his pistols ; they sneered at his copper-cased
watch, and remembered having seen a compass at Con-
stantinople. Therefore, he imagined they would think little
6
82 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
about a sextant. This was a mistake : the instrument
aroused grave suspicions, and at last a council was held
to discuss the case. Fortunately, Umar Effendi, an ultra-
serious person, had at various times received from his
obliging creditor categorical replies to certain questions in
high theology, and so, as a judge on spiritual matters,
felt himself in a position to certify to the good faith of
the owner of the mysterious article. While Shaykh Hamid,
who looked forward to being host, guide, and debtor in
general, and probably cared scantily for catechism or creed,
swore that the light of El-Islam shone on Burton's counten-
ance. However, the sextant had to be left behind, and
its possessor was obliged to be more than usually circum-
spect for several days afterwards.
Many a wearisome delay occurred before everything
was ready for departure. Passports alone would have
wearied out the patience of most men. Burton's had
not been vise at Cairo, and but for the kindness of the
English consul, Mr. West, who, at his own risk, issued
a fresh document, describing the pilgrim as a British
subject travelling from Suez to Arabia, he could not have
proceeded any further for some time to come. At last
the pilgrims embarked en masse on board the Golden Wire,
bound for Yambu on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea.
The Golden Wire (I spare readers the Arabic names
wherever possible) was a Sambuk of about fifty tons, with
narrow, wedge-like bows, undecked except upon the poop,
which was high enough to act sail in a gale of wind. She
carried two masts, raking imminently forwards, the main
being considerably larger than the mizzen ; the former was
provided with a huge triangular latine, but the second sail
was unaccountably missing. Of compass, log, spare ropes,
or even an elementary chart, she had not a trace. Still
more dangerous was the over-crowding. Her greedy owner
had originally bargained to carry sixty passengers, but had
stretched the number to nearly a hundred. On the poop
The Voyage from Suez 83
alone, a space not exceeding ten feet by eight, were three
Syrians, a married Turk with his wife and family, the Rais,
or captain, with a portion of his crew, Burton's own party
of seven, composing a total of eighteen human beings.
Luckily, our traveller spied a spare bed-frame slung to
the ship's side, which, after giving a dollar to the owner,
he appropriated, preferring any hardship outside to the
condition of a herring in a barrel.
Never did a Holyhead packet in the olden time display
a finer scene of pugnacity than did this pilgrim craft in
1853. The first thing thought of after gaining standing
room, was to fight for greater comfort ; a general scramble
ensued, which was quelled by the simple expedient of
dashing sundry jars of cold water upon the combatants.
Quieted for awhile, they fell to praying and reciting the
Fatihah, or first chapter of the Koran. It being a very
short one, they soon quarrelled again. At times nothing
was to be seen except a confused mass of humanity, each
item indiscriminately punching and pulling, scratching and
biting, butting and trampling. The Rais was powerless,
his crew worse than useless ; in short, a more disorderly
scene than the Golden Wire and her pious cargo could
hardly be imagined.
In such a craft and in such company Burton voyaged from
Suez to Yambu, a distance in a straight line of six hundred
miles, but protracted by detours to double that space.
Cruising along the coast by day, the Sambuk generally lay
to in the nearest cove by night. The first evening while
still within sight of Suez, she anchored in classic waters ;
for the eastern shore was dotted with the little grove of
palm trees which cluster round Moses' Wells ; and on the
west, between two towering ridges, was visible the mouth
of the valley down which, according to some authorities,
the Israelites fled to the Sea of Sedge.
Next morning preluded a fearfully trying day, type of
many another. The sun's rays reflected by the glaring
62
84 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
sea were a very fiery ordeal; even the native passengers
seemed more dead than alive. Shade there was none, and
the crowded state of the vessel heaped horror on horror.
Lying in his cot, plentifully besplashed by the waves
beneath, Burton, with blinded eyes, blistered skin, and
parched mouth, could only count the slow hours which
must minute by until the blessed sunset. At night the tem-
perature became bearable and the passengers, still sick and
dizzy from their sufferings, began to prepare the evening
meal, a very spare one, for in such circumstances a single
good dinner would justify long odds against the eater seeing
another morning.
Had our Haji been cooped up in this " Shippe of Helle "
during the whole voyage, it is unlikely that even his iron
constitution could have survived the strain. Luckily, when
the Sambuk anchored at sunset, he was usually able to
spend the night on shore. During one halt, which, in
consequence of bad weather, lasted twenty-four hours, he
visited Moses' hot baths, and duly venerated the marks of
that prophet's nails, deep indentations in the stone, probably
left by some extinct Saurian. Great excitement prevailed
at another landing place on account of the grounding of the
Sambuk, which was not floated off again without much
noise and trouble. Her Rais on this occasion was for-
given, but a few days later, when he nearly let her strike
on the razor-like edges of a coral-reef, he got well thrashed
for his carelessness, a precedent worthy of the consideration
of more civilised nations.
A serious disaster, so far as our pilgrim was concerned,
occurred at Marsa Mahar. While wading to shore he felt
a sharp object penetrate his foot. After examining the hurt
and extracting what appeared to be a bit of thorn, he
dismissed the matter from his mind, little guessing the
trouble this accident would cause him. The injury was
inflicted by an Echinus, common in those seas, generally
supposed to be poisonous. It seemed so in his case, for
Arrival at Yambu 85
by the time the Golden Wire arrived at Yambu, he had
become quite lame, and months elapsed before the wound
healed.
Yambu afforded a pleasant surprise. It boasted of a
Hamman, priceless luxury to weary travellers, and of what
in those lands represents a good water supply, viz., sweet
rain-water, collected among the hills in tanks and cisterns,
and brought on camel-back to the town. Nor was the
accommodation bad. Burton and his friends lodged at
a Wakalah near the bazaar, where they secured an airy
upper room opposite the sea, tolerably free from Yambu's
plague, myriads of flies. But the nearer they approached
their goal, the more eager they became to press forward.
No time, therefore, was lost before treating for camels with
an agent, without whose assistance it would have been
difficult to hire the animals. The usual squabble over, a
bargain was struck. Three dollars were to be paid for each
beast, half in ready money, half on reaching their destina-
tion ; and it was arranged to start next day with a grain
caravan guarded by an escort of irregular cavalry. Our
pilgrim hired two camels, one to carry his luggage and
Indian servant, the other Mohammed and himself. Sundry
purchases, too, were indispensable; a Shugduf, or litter,
and a plentiful supply of provisions for self and friends ; for,
although with his usual good taste he did not parade his
hospitality, it was very evident that he fed, and fed liberally,
the whole of his party.
By the advice of one of his friends he temporarily
changed his nationality, this time to avoid a capitation tax
extorted from strangers by the natives. So he dressed him-
self as an Arab, the costume in which he is most familiar.
Every reader of the " Pilgrimage " will remember the large
square kerchief of mixed silk and wool bound round the head
with a twist of cord, the cotton shirt of ample dimensions
with its handsome sash, the long-skirted cloak of camel's
hair, perhaps the most picturesque raiment in the world.
86 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
At about 7 p.m. next day the caravan left Yambu.
Burton's own little band numbered twelve camels, each
pacing in Indian file, and headed by Umar Effendi in smart
attire on a dromedary. Altogether there were six hundred
animals attended by their proprietors, truculent-looking
fellows, armed with heavy sticks, and an escort of seven
soldiers, tolerably mounted and well armed. One might
think robbers would have respected so numerous a gather-
ing. Such, however, was not the case. As evening ap-
proached and the procession emerged from a scrub of
acacia and tamarisk, and turned due east, traversing an
open country with a perceptible rise, the cry of " Harami"
(thieves) rose loud in the rear. Ensued no small confusion ;
all the camel-men brandished their huge staves and rushed
vociferating in the direction of the Bedawin. They were
followed by the horsemen, and truly, had the thieves pos-
sessed the usual acuteness of their profession, they might
have driven off the camels in the van, which was left utterly
unprotected, with perfect safety and convenience. However,
the contemptible beings were only half a dozen in number,
and when a bullet or two was fired in their direction, they
ran away.
At Said's Well all stopped to rest. No pastoral scene
was this, as the name suggests, merely a sort of punch-
bowl with granite walls, upon whose grim surface a few
thorn bushes of exceeding hardihood braved the sun for a
season. Further on lay a country fantastic in its desolation,
a mass of huge bare hills, barren plains, and desert vales.
Even the sturdy acacias here failed, and in some places
the camel grass could not find earth enough for its roots.
The road wound monotonously among mountains, rocks
and hills of granite, over broken ground, flanked by huge
blocks and boulders, piled up as if man's art had aided
Nature to disfigure herself. Vast clefts seamed, like scars,
the hideous face of earth ; here widening into dark caves,
there choked with glistening drift sand.
The Ill-famed Gorge Shuab-el-Hajj 87
El-Hamra, so called from the redness of the sands near
which it is built, is the middle station between Yambu" and
El-Medinah. It is, therefore, considerably out of place in
Burckhardt's map ; and those who copy from him make it
much nearer the sea-port than it really is. Burton described
it as a long, straggling village, a miserable collection of
stunted hovels, with walls of unbaked brick, roofed with
palm leaves and pierced with air-holes to represent windows.
Here he spent a very uncomfortable day. The far-famed
Arab hospitality was conspicuous by its absence ; for while
huge flocks of sheep and goats were being driven in and
out of the place, their surly shepherds refused to give a
cup of milk even in exchange for bread and meat. More-
over, a depressing rumour circulated that Saad, the great
robber chief, and his brother were in the field ; conse-
quently, further progress would be delayed. These banditti,
the pests of El-Hejaz, then had a following of some 5,000
men, who seized every opportunity of shooting troopers,
plundering travellers, and closing the roads. Before pro-
ceeding further it was necessary to muster a stronger party,
and, luckily, just as this was decided upon, a caravan from
Meccah came in with an escort of two hundred irregular
horse.
Thus reinforced, our procession once more set forth.
But they found to their cost the Bedawin did worse than
merely threaten. The Old Man of the Mountains proved
no bugbear, but a very unpleasant reality. One night the
caravans travelled up a Fiumara, or dry torrent-bed, and at
early dawn reached an ill-famed gorge called Shuab-el-Hajj,
the Pilgrimage Pass. The loudest talkers became silent as
they neared it, and their countenances showed apprehen-
sion written in legible characters. Every excuse existed
for faint-heartedness. Pent within the walls of the ravine,
travellers were entirely at the mercy of the marauders,
who, hidden behind the rocks, could fire away at their
convenience.
88 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Presently from a high cliff on the left thin blue clouds
of smoke rose in the air, and instantly afterwards rang out
sharp cracks from the hillmen's matchlocks. A number of
Bedawin were to be seen swarming like hornets over the
crests of the hills, boys as well as men carrying huge
weapons, and climbing with the agility of cats. They
took up sheltered places on their cut-throat eminence, and
directed a sharp fire on the pilgrims. It was useless to
challenge the Bedawin to come down and fight like men
upon the level ; and it was equally unprofitable for the
escort to fire upon a foe ensconced behind stones. So
there was nothing to do except to blaze away as much
powder as possible, in order to veil the caravans in smoke ;
and, meanwhile, to hurry along the gorge, each man at
the height of his speed. The cowardly assailants were
distanced at last ; but the raid cost the lives of twelve men,
besides camels and other beasts of burden.
There remained but one more night before the pilgrims
came within sight of their goal. In the most auspicious
circumstances this part . of the way, up rocky hills, and
down stony vales, would have been most fatiguing ; but
the result of a quarrel which had broken out between
young Mohammed and his camel-drivers, rendered it
almost intolerable. This youth lost his temper, no un-
common occurrence, and remarking that the men's beards
were now in his fist, meaning he was out of reach of their
wild kinsfolk, he proceeded to abuse them in language which
sent their hands flying in the direction of their swords.
At last, goaded to madness, the fellows disappeared, taking
with them their best animals. A stumbling dromedary,
substituted for the usual monture, tottered or tumbled at
least once every mile during the long dark hours ; and the
Shugduf, already ricketty, became such an utter ruin, that
its tenants had to perch bird fashion on the only bits of
framework which remained. Add to this the pain of an
inflamed foot, and one wonders how Burton retained sufii-
Through the " Blessed Valley " 89
cient strength to take part in the exciting scenes of the
following day.
For, at dawn, July 25th, every man was hurrying his
beast, regardless of rough ground ; not a soul spoke a word
to his neighbour.
" Are there robbers in sight ? " was Burton's natural
question.
" No," replied Mohammed, " they are walking with
their eyes ; they will presently see their homes."
Rapidly the pilgrims marched through the " Blessed
Valley," and soon came to a huge flight of steps, roughly
cut in a long, broad line of black scoriaceous basalt. The
summit reached, they hastened along a lane of dark lava,
with steep banks on either side ; and, after a few minutes,
a full view of the city suddenly opened upon them."
" O Allah ! this is the Sanctuary of Thy Apostle; make
it to us a Protection from Hell Fire, and a Refuge from
Eternal Punishment ! O open the Gates of Thy Mercy,
and let us pass through them to the Land of Joy. Live
for ever, O Most Excellent of Prophets ! live in the
Shadow of Happiness during the Hours of Night and the
Times of Day, whilst the 1 Bird of the Tamarisk moaneth
like the childless Mother, whilst the west wind bloweth
gently over the Hills of Nejd, and the Lightning flasheth
bright in the Firmament of El-Hejaz ! "
Such were some of the poetical exclamations that rose
around, showing how deeply tinged with imagination
becomes the language of the Arab under the influence of
strong passion or religious excitement. Besides, it was all
very beautiful. Burton now understood the full value of a
phrase in the Moslem ritual, " And when the pilgrim's eyes
shall fall upon the trees of El-Medinah, let him raise his
voice and bless the Apostle with the choicest of blessings."
In all the fair view before him nothing was more striking,
after the desolation through which he had passed, than the
i The dove.
90 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
gardens and orchards about the town. For some moments
the enthusiasm of our English Haji rose as high as that of
his companions ; then the traveller's instincts returned
strong upon him, and he made a rough sketch of the scene
in order to fix the details on his memory.
In front stretched a spacious plain bounded by the
undulating ground of Nejd. On the left rose a grim pile of
rocks, the celebrated Mount Ohod, with a clump of verdure
and a white dome or two nestling at its base. Rightwards,
broad streaks of lilac-coloured mists floated over the date-
groves and gardens of Kuba, which stood out emerald green
from the dull, tawny surface of the earth. Distant about
two miles lay El-Medinah, appearing at first sight a large
place, but closer inspection proved the impression erroneous. 1
A tortuous road starting from the ridge whereon Burton
stood, wound across the plain and led to a tall rectangular
gateway, pierced in a ruinous mud wall which surrounded
the suburbs. This, the Ambari entrance, was flanked on
the left by the domes and minarets of a pretty Turkish
building erected for Dervish travellers, and on the right by
an ugly imitation of civilised barracks. Outside the enceinte,
among the palm-trees to the north, peeped the picturesque
ruins of an old public fountain ; nearer was the Governor's
palace. In the suburb, El-Manakhah, or kneeling-place
of camels, the new domes and minarets of the Five Mosques
stood brightly out from the dull grey mass of houses and
grounds. And behind, in the most easterly quarter, remark-
able from afar, soared the gem of El-Medinah, the four tall
substantial towers, and the flashing green dome under
which the Prophet's remains are said to rest. Dimly visible,
besides, were certain white specks upon a verdant surface,
the tombs that occupy the venerable cemetery of El-Bakia.
After a short rest Burton remounted and slowly rode
onwards with his companions. Even at that early hour the
way was crowded with an eager multitude coming forth to
1 Its population, exclusive of the garrison, numbers only 16,000 souls.
Hamid el-Samman's House gi
meet the caravans. Friends and comrades greeted one
another, regardless of rank or fortune, with affectionate
embraces, and an abundance of queries which neither party
seemed to think of answering. Passing through the Bab
Ambari, our travellers proceeded along a broad, dusty
street, and traversed the principal quarter in the Manakhah
suburb, a thoroughfare wider and more regular than those
of most Eastern cities. They then crossed a bridge, a
single arch of brown stone, built over the bed of a torrent,
turned to the right, and presently found themselves at the
entrance of a small corner building, Hamid el-Samman's
house.
While Burton is introduced to innumerable relatives
who have crowded to meet their kinsman the Samman
is a great family, in numbers anyway let us take a peep
into Hamid's abode. The ground floor seems merely a
vestibule, in which old Shugdufs, mats, and bits of sacking
are lying about. We cannot blame Mrs. Hamid, poor
thing, as, unlike our irrepressible British matron, she is
confined mostly to her own apartments, in the congenial
company of her mother-in-law, sundry children, and two
black slave girls. Dark and winding stairs of rugged stone
lead to the first floor, where the men live, a space divided
into one large, windowless room used for bathing, and two
others looking on the front, one the parlour. The latter,
with its spacious window-sills garnished with cushions,
whereon an occupant can lounge and contemplate the
varied views outside, its quaint ceiling of date-sticks laid
across palm rafters stained red, is the most cheerful spot
we have yet visited, though the only signs of furniture are
a divan round the sides and a carpet in the centre. The
kitchen and rooms on the second floor, given over to the
women, we won't intrude upon, lest we wax prosy and
pragmatical, as even the cleverest Englishwomen will do
on the subject of the harem a subject of which some
travellers have dared to tell us we know next to nothing.
ga Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Perhaps these apartments are superior to the rest of the
house ; certainly, with the exception of the parlour, it seems
rather mean, and hardly spacious enough to contain Hamid,
his wife, or wives, mother, sundry youngsters, two African
slaveys, and the guest.
Travellers, however, are not particular as to their
lodging. Burton appears to have thoroughly enjoyed his
stay in this Medinite household. At dawn he rose, washed,
prayed, and broke his fast upon a crust of stale bread,
afterwards smoking a pipe and drinking a cup of coffee.
Then it was time to dress and visit one of the holy places.
Returning before the sun became intolerable, he sat and
chatted with his host, coffee and tobacco whiling away the
interval until dinner, which appeared at the unfashionable
hour of ii A.M. The meal, served on a large copper tray,
consisted of unleavened bread, meat, and vegetable stews,
with a second course of plain boiled rice, followed by fresh
dates, grapes and pomegranates. During the hottest hours
he indulged in a doze or a smoke, lying on a rug spread in
a dark passage behind the parlour. Sunset was the time
for paying and receiving calls. Prayers, a supper similar
to dinner, a stroll to a cafe, or an hour or two spent in the
open, concluded the day. The men all slept on mattresses
spread just outside the front door, perhaps a necessary
arrangement, but certainly not conducive to sound slumbers,
for incessant quarrels between the horses and pariah dogs
made night hideous.
Tired though our traveller was on the afternoon of
arrival, he would not defer his visit to the Prophet's tomb.
Having performed the usual ablutions, used the tooth-stick
as directed, and attired himself in white clothes, he mounted
an ass, and, accompanied by Shaykh Hamid and the young
Meccan, started on his way. His beast, one of the sorriest
of its kind, lacked an ear, and during the ride he heard the
Bedawin, who, like the Indians, despise poor Neddy, ask
each other " What curse of Allah had subjected them to
Entering Bab el-Rahmah 93
ass-riders." But our Haji was too excited to pay much
heed to their rudeness. With every thought absorbed in
the famous but mysterious mosque he was about to visit, he
jogged along several muddy streets which had been recently
watered, and, when least expected, came suddenly upon the
building. Like that at Meccah, the approach is choked up
by ignoble hovels, some actually touching the enceinte, others
separated by a lane compared with which the road round
St. Paul's is a Vatican Square. There is no outer front, no
general prospect ; consequently as an edifice it has neither
beauty nor dignity. 1 And on entering the Bab el-Rahmah
the Gate of Pity by a diminutive flight of steps, he was
yet more astonished at the mean and tawdry appearance of
a place so universally venerated in the Moslem world.
Unlike the Meccan Temple, grand and simple, the ex-
pression of a single sublime idea, it suggested a museum of
second rate art, an old curiosity shop full of ornaments that
are not accessories, and decorated with pauper splendour.
But Shaykh Hamid hastily warned our disappointed
pilgrim that this was not the time for lionizing, and en-
quired loudly if he was religiously prepared. Burton at
once assumed the posture of prayer, and, pacing slowly
forward, beginning with the dexter foot, the Shaykh on his
right side, recited :
" In the Name of Allah and in the Faith of Allah's
Apostle! O Lord, cause me to enter the Entering of Truth,
and cause me to issue forth the Issuing of Truth, and
permit me to draw near to Thee, and make me a Sultan
Victorious ! O Allah ! open to me the Doors of Thy
Mercy, and grant me Entrance into it, and protect me from
the Stoned Devil ! "
During this preliminary prayer they had traversed two-
thirds of the Muwajihat el-Sharifah, or the " Illustrious
1 It measures 420 ft. in length, 340 in breadth, is hypaetural in struc-
ture, with a spacious central area, El-Sahn, El-Hash, and El-Ramlah,
surrounded by a peristyle with numerous rows of pillars.
94 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Fronting," which, divided off like an aisle, runs parallel
with the southern boundary of the mosque. On the left is
a dwarf wall, about the height of a man, painted with
arabesques, and pierced with four small doors. Within this
barrier are sundry erections, including the Mambar, or
pulpit, a graceful collection of slender columns, elegant
tracery, and inscriptions admirably carved. Arrived at the
western door in the dwarf wall, they entered the celebrated
spot called El-Rauzah, or the Garden, after a saying of the
Apostles, " Between my tomb and my pulpit is a Garden
of the Gardens of Paradise." Here, after reciting the
afternoon prayers, Burton performed two bows in honour of
the Temple, and intoned the logth and the nath chapters
of the Koran, concluding with a single prostration of thanks
in gratitude to Allah for permitting him to visit so hallowed
a spot.
El-Rauzah, the most elaborate part of the mosque,
decorated so as to resemble a garden, is about eighty feet
in length. The pediments are cased with green tiles, the
carpets are flowered, and the columns adorned to a man's
height with gaudy and unnatural vegetation in arabesque.
It is further disfigured by branched candelabras of cut
crystal, the production of a London firm. The only ad-
mirable feature of the view is the light cast by the windows
of stained glass in the southern wall. Its peculiar back-
ground, the railing of Mohammed's tomb, a splendid
filigree-work of green and polished brass, gilt or made to
resemble gold, looks more picturesque near than at a
distance, when it suggests the idea of a gigantic bird-cage.
But at night the eye, dazzled by countless oil-lamps sus-
pended from the roof, by huge wax candles, and by smaller
illuminations falling upon crowds of visitors in handsome
attire, with the richest and noblest of the city sitting in
congregation when service is performed, becomes less
critical.
After pacing round the outer courts, our pilgrim was
The Prophet's Tomb 95
conducted to the Mausoleum, known as the Hujrah, or
Chamber, which is supposed to enshrine the remains of
Mohammed and his first two successors. Space is left for
a single grave where, according to popular superstition Isa
bin Maryam l shall be buried after a second coming in the
flesh. This Hujrah, so called from its having been Ayisha's
room, is an irregular square of from fifty to fifty-five feet, in
the south-east corner of the building, and separated on all
sides from the walls of the mosque by a passage about
twenty-six feet broad on the south side, and twenty on the
east. The Green Dome rises directly above the Chamber,
surmounted by a large gilt crescent springing from a series
of globes.
Standing about six feet or so from the railing already
described, our pilgrim prayed in " awe, fear, and love,"
calling down blessings innumerable on the Prophet in a
tautological style affected by many creeds. After sundry
recitations on the same spot, including the " Fatihah,"
which has the merit of brevity, our Haji was permitted to
look through the three windows of the Chamber, holes
about half a foot square, placed from four to five feet above
the ground. The most westerly is said to front Mohammed's
tomb. Straining his eyes, Burton saw a curtain, or rather
hangings, with three inscriptions in long, gold letters,
informing readers that behind them lie Allah's Apostle
and the two first Caliphs.
The exact place of Mohammed's supposed tomb is,
moreover, distinguished by a large pearl rosary, and a
peculiar ornament, the celebrated Kaukab el-Durri, or
constellation of pearls suspended to the curtain, breast high.
This is described by Moslem writers as a brilliant star set
in diamonds and pearls, placed in the dark that man's eye
may be able to bear its splendours ; the vulgar believe it to
be a jewel of the jewels of Paradise. The coup d'ceil of
1 Jesus, son of Mary.
96 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
this portion of the mosque has little to recommend it by
day ; but, like El-Rauzah, by night, when the lamps sus-
pended in the passage between the outer and inner walls of
the mausoleum, shed their dim light on the mosaic work of
the marble floors, upon the glittering inscriptions and the
massive hangings, the scene is more impressive.
Rather disappointing, after all this misplaced devotion,
is it to hear it is by no means certain that Mohammed's
remains repose under the great green dome at El-Medinah.
For after visiting the spot and carefully investigating its
history, Burton believed the true site of the prophet's grave
to be as doubtful as that of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
His reasons for so concluding are as follows :
From the earliest days the shape of the Apostle's tomb
has never been generally known in El-Islam. Moslem
graves are made convex in some countries, flat in others ;
had there been a Sunnat, such would not have been the
case.
The accounts given by the learned of the tomb are
discrepant. El-Samanhudi, perhaps the highest authority,
contradicts himself. In one place he describes the coffin,
in another he declares he saw merely three deep holes.
Either then the mortal remains of the Prophet had
crumbled to dust, or they had been removed by the
Shiah schismatics who for centuries had charge of the
sepulchre.
And lastly, the tale of the blinding light which sur-
rounds the tomb, current for ages past, and still universally
believed upon the authority of its guardians, looks like a
priestly gloss intended to conceal a defect.
To resume. Our Haji now proceeded to the south-
eastern corner of the Hujrah and paused at the place of
Gabriel's Descent. Prayers were said and progress made
to the sixth station, the sepulchre of Fatimah ; (three
localities claim the honour of containing her mortal spoils),
and here, in spite of the uncertainty, a florid blessing was
Visit to the Mosque of Kuba 97
invoked. Then, turning to the north, Burton recited orisons
in honour of Hamzah and other martyrs buried at the foot
of Mount Ohod ; revolving to the east, he blessed the
Blessed of El-Bakia ; with another turn to the south, he
breathed a general prayer for himself; and this done, he
returned to the Apostle's Window and prayed again.
Finally, he retraced his steps to El-Rauzah, where a two-
bow supplication terminated worship for that day.
Sundry fees and alms cost about one pound sterling.
Beggars are allowed to infest the mosques in Moslem
countries, just as they are permitted to haunt the churches
in Roman Catholic lands. But, when we remember the
guardians of the tomb, the water-carrier of the well, and an
assortment of mendicants, all had to be paid, it seems that
our pilgrim got off very cheaply.
There were other places of pious visitation which it
behoved Burton not to neglect. The principal were the
mosques of Kuba, Hamzah's tomb, and the cemetery of
El-Bakia. Moslems affirm that a prayer at Kuba is of
great religious efficacy ; a number of traditions testify to the
dignity of the principal mosque begun by the Prophet's own
hands ; sundry miracles took place there, and a verset of
the Koran descended from heaven. Burton, who journeyed
thither on a dromedary, through palm plantations, where
the splashing of tiny cascades from wells into wooden
troughs, and the warbling of innumerable birds charmed
the ear, described his visit as most delightful. Jebel Ohod
owes its reputation to a cave which sheltered Mohammed
when pursued by his enemies, to certain springs of which
he drank, and especially to its being the scene of a battle
celebrated in El-Islam. His relative Hamzah, and other
Moslem dead, were interred where they fell ; and although
the scenes about this holy hill could not have been wholly
pleasant to remember, the Prophet declared, " Ohod is a
mountain which loves us and which we love ; it is upon the
gate of heaven ! "
7
98 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
El-Bakia, redolent of the odour of sanctity, requires a
longer notice. This venerable spot, frequented by the pious
every day after prayer at the Prophet's tomb, and especially
on Fridays, owes its reputation as a cemetery to the extra-
ordinary number of saintly personages to whom it has
afforded a resting place. There is a tradition that a
hundred thousand saints, all with faces like full moons,
shall cleave its yawning bosom on the last day.
The first person interred in the " Place of many Roots "
was Usman bin Mazun, a fugitive from Meccah, and a
friend of the Prophet's. Mohammed wished the body to
be buried within sight of his own abode, and as in those
days the present grave-yard was merely a field covered
with trees, the latter had to be cut down before the place
was suitable for a burial-ground. Ibrahim, the Prophet's
infant second son, was laid in time by Usman's side, after
which El-Bakia's renown was assured.
The shape of this celebrated spot is an irregular oblong
surrounded by walls, which at their south-west angle are
connected with one of the suburbs. The space is small
considering that all who die at El-Medinah, strangers as
well as natives, heretics and schismatics only excepted,
expect to be interred therein. It must be choked with
corpses, which it could never contain did not the Moslem
style of burial favour rapid decomposition. The gate is
small and ignoble ; inside there are no flower-plots, no tall
trees, nothing to lighten the gloom of a place of sepulture ;
the buildings are simple even to meanness, and almost all
are the common Arab mosque shape, cleanly white-washed,
and looking quite new. For it must be remembered that
the ancient monuments were levelled by Saad the Wahhabi
and his Puritan followers, who waged pitiless war against
what must have appeared to them magnificent mausolea,
deeming, as they did, a loose heap of stones sufficient for a
grave. In Burckhardt's time the whole place was a con-
fused accumulation of heaps of earth, wide pits, and
Prayers gg
rubbish, without a single regular tombstone. The present
erections owe their existence to the liberality of the Sultans
Abd el-Hamid and Mahmud.
Our pilgrim, accompanied as usual by Shaykh Hamid
and the young Meccan, entered the cemetery right foot
foremost, as though it were a mosque. He began with the
general benediction :
" Peace be upon Ye, O People of El-Bakia ! Peace
be upon Ye, O Admitted to the Presence of the Most
High ! Receive You what You have been promised !
Peace be upon Ye, Martyrs of El-Bakia, One and All !
We, verily, if Allah please, are about to join Ye ! O
Allah, pardon us and Them, and the Mercy of God, and
His Blessings ! " After which he recited a chapter of
the Koran, and the Testification, then raised his hands,
mumbled the Fatihah, passed his palms down his face,
and went on.
Praying in this dismal place never ceased. Prayer
and almsgiving were obligatory at the mausoleum of Caliph
Osman ; a benediction was invoked at a tomb erected to
the memory of the Bedawi nurse who suckled the Prophet.
Fronting northwards, our pilgrim recited noisy supplications
before a low enclosure containing ovals of loose stones,
marking the site of sepulture of the Martyrs of El-Bakia,
who received their crown of glory at the hands of El-Muslim,
the general of the arch heretic Yezid. Then came the
turn of the grave of Ibrahim, the Prophet's youthful son,
and of the tombs of the Prophet's wives, all of whom,
except Khadijah, 1 are interred in this populous burial-
ground. Nor might the tombs of his ten daughters, nor
those of many, many holy personages be passed by without
the most florid and wearisome orisons.
What, however, rendered this Visitation so peculiarly
exhausting was the crowd of beggars. These pests mus-
tered their strongest. Along the walls, at the entrance of
1 She was buried at Meccah.
72
ioo Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
each building, squatted ancient dames engaged in anxious
contemplation of every approaching face. Loudly they
demanded largesse, some promised to recite Fatihahs, and
the most audacious seized visitors by the skirts of their
garments. At the doors of sundry tombs which had to be
entered bare-footed, old women and young ones also,
struggled with our Haji for his slippers as he doffed them,
and it was with no slight amount of wrangling, expense,
and delay that these useful articles were recovered. In
all, his purse was lightened of three dollars, money un-
deniably mis-spent, for he added with his usual dry humour,
" although at least fifty female voices loudly promised for
the sum of ten paras each to supplicate Allah on behalf of
my lame foot, no perceptible good came of their efforts."
At last the general benediction concluded the function.
There still remained a visit to the burial-place of the
Prophet's aunts, northwards of El-Medinah ; but here
Burton, quite worn out, hurried over his devotions, and
after a brief stoppage for refreshment at a little coffee-house
near the town gate, rode home with his companions.
CHAPTER V
TT will be remembered that Burton had wished not merely
to visit the holy cities of El-Hejaz interesting enough
in their way, but of little value to geographical science
but to cross the almost unknown Arabian peninsula.
Besides treading in the footsteps of the famous Swiss
traveller, he desired to obtain information concerning the
great Eastern Wilderness, marked in our atlases Ruba'
el- Khali (the empty abode) ; to determine the hydrography
of the Hejaz, its watershed, the slope of the country, the
existence or non-existence of perennial streams ; and, finally,
to make certain ethnographical enquiries concerning the
Arab race.
But even had Sir James Hogg given the required leave,
this vast design must have been abandoned. Unexpected
obstacles had arisen. Part of the route had become
impassable in consequence of the furious quarrels between
the tribes of the interior. For some days the sound of
musketry could be heard even in El-Medinah, and many
parties of Bedawin were seen hurrying to the fray, match-
lock in hand, or with huge staves on their shoulders.
Nobody could leave the town on one side, even to get as
far as Khaybor, much less Muskat. Besides these more
serious difficulties, the sextant had been left at Suez. All
that remained in the way of instruments was a watch and
a pocket compass ; so the benefit rendered to geography
would have been scanty, even supposing our explorer had
escaped with his life.
Seeing that his original scheme had become imprac-
102 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
ticable, he centred his attention on his approaching
journey to Meccah. At El-Medinah every visitation had
been performed ; notes innumerable concerning the city,
its history, climate, population, had been duly taken and
hidden away, and now it was time to seek fresh adven-
tures. There was a fair chance of stirring ones too, for
a lucky chance enabled our Haji to travel along the wild
eastern frontier, instead of by the ordinary route.
The Damascus caravan was to set out September ist.
Burton had intended to accompany one which usually left
two days later, and reached its destination about the same
date. Suddenly arose the rumour that there would be no
" Tayyarah," and all pilgrims must proceed by the former
or await the Rakb, or dromedary caravan, a sort of express,
in which each person carries only his saddle-bags.
Early on the morning of August 3ist, Shaykh Hamid
returned hurriedly from the bazaar, exclaiming, " You must
make ready at once ! All Hajis start to-morrow. Allah
will make it easy to you ! Have your water-skins in order.
You are to travel down the Darb el-Sharki, where you will
not see water for three days ! "
Hamid appeared horror-struck as he concluded this
fearful announcement, and probably wondered why no dis-
may was reflected on his guest's face. On the contrary,
Burton looked delighted. Here was some consolation for
the failure of his original design. Burckhardt had visited
and described the Darb el-Sultani, the road along the line
of coast ; but no European had as yet travelled by the
celebrated route which owes its existence to the piety of
Zubaydah Khatun, wife of Harun el-Rashid.
Evidently there was not a moment to lose. Mohammed,
who had invited our pilgrim to lodge at his mother's house
at Meccah, and who already began to feel all the importance
of a host, went and bought a new Shugduf, or litter, and
a cot for the Surat lad. Rats had made considerable
rents in two of the water-skins, which Burton proceeded
Preparations for the journey to Meccah 103
to carefully patch up, while Nur was sent to lay in supplies
for fourteen days. The journey to Meccah by the slower
caravans is calculated at eleven days, but provisions are
apt to spoil and the camel-men expect to be plentifully
fed. The stores consisted as usual of wheat-flour, rice,
turmeric, onions, dates, unleavened bread, cheese, tobacco,
sugar, tea, and coffee.
Hamid himself hurried away to attend to the most
important business. Faithful camel-drivers are required
on a road where robbers are frequent, and stabbings occa-
sional where there is no law to prevent desertion or to
limit extortionate demands. He soon returned, accom-
panied by a boy of about fourteen, and a short, well-built
old man with regular features and a white beard, " Masud
of the Rahlah," who bound himself to provide, for the sum
of twenty dollars, two camels, which were to be changed
in case of accidents. He also agreed to supply his beasts
with water, and to accompany his employer, after reaching
Meccah, to Arafat and back. Aware of the nature of
the journey before him, he absolutely refused to carry
Burton's large chest, declaring that the tent under the
shugduf was burden enough for one camel, and the green
box of medicines, the saddle-bags, and sundry provision
sacks surmounted by Nur's cot were amply sufficient for
the other. On his part, Burton promised to advance ten
dollars at once, to feed the old man and his son ; and on the
return from Mount Arafat, to repay the remaining hire with
a discretionary present.
These arrangements concluded, Hamid turned to the
old Bedawi and exclaimed, " Thou wilt treat these friends
well, O Masud ! " To which the prudent ancient replied,
" Even as the Father of Mustachios behaveth to us, so
will we behave to him." Most men of the Shafei school
clip their mustachios exceedingly small. Burton had
neglected to do so, and as his were naturally bushy, they
won for him the nickname above mentioned.
iO4 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Spiritual matters also had to be attended to. The cor-
rect thing was to repair to the mosque for a farewell visita-
tion, to give alms, vow piety, repentance and obedience,
and finally retire overwhelmed with grief. But this waste
of time our Haji objected to so vehemently, that he was
permitted to perform the ceremony at home ; and even then
it was quite long and wearisome enough.
Then began the necessary process of paying off little
bills. Hamid had treated Burton so hospitably, that the
latter presented his host with the money borrowed at Suez.
Three " Samman " brothers received a dollar or two each ;
and one or two cousins hinted to good effect that such a
precedent would meet with their approbation. The lug-
gage was then carried out and disposed in packs before the
house-door, to be ready for loading at a moment's notice.
Late in the evening arose a new report, that the body of
the caravan would march about midnight ; but after sitting
up until 2 a.m. and hearing no gun, our traveller lay down
to sleep through the sultry remnant of the hours of dark-
ness.
Early next day Masud and his camels arrived in hot
haste. No time was lost in final preparations, and at 9 a.m.
Burton, surrounded by his friends, who took leave with
marked cordiality, mounted his beast and shaped his course
towards the north. At first his attention was completely
absorbed by the extraordinary appearance of the caravan of
which he was a unit. The morning sun shone brightly on
some seven thousand souls, upon the scarlet and gilt con-
veyances of the grandees, on men on horseback, in litters,
or bestriding the splendid camels of Syria. Not the least
charm of the spectacle was its wondrous variety of detail.
The pauper pilgrims, almost naked, hobbled along with
heavy staves, then came the riders ; women and children of
the poorer classes sat on rugs spread over the two boxes
which form a camel's load. Nothing was stranger than the
contrasts a band of nearly nude negroes marching with
The Start for Meccah 105
the Pasha's equipage, and long-capped, bearded Persians
conversing with Tarbush'd and shaven Turks. The
Sultan's Mahmal, or litter, surrounded by the glittering
arms of the soldiery, had for convenience sake been stripped
of its embroidered cover, and did not appear in its full
magnificence until it reached its destination.
At the Well of Rashid the caravan halted and turned to
take farewell of the Holy City. All the pilgrims dis-
mounted and gazed once more on the venerable minarets,
the Green Dome ; and at least an hour elapsed before they
again pursued their way over the rough and stony path
which leads out of the Medinah basin. The air was full of
simoom, cold draughts occasionally poured down from the
hills, causing alternations of temperature trying in the
extreme. The road was strewn with stones and dotted with
thorny acacias; and after a tedious march many a wretched,
unseasoned beast of burden sank under the strain. Carcases
of asses, ponies, and camels lay by the wayside ; those that
had been allowed to die peaceably were abandoned to
carrion birds, while all whose throats had been religiously
cut a pious attention which the poor creatures must
doubtfully appreciate were surrounded by groups of
Takruri pilgrims, negroes who make the pilgrimage on
alms. These half-starved beings cut steaks from the
choicer portions of the dead animals, and slung the meat
over their shoulders till an opportunity for cooking might
arrive.
The camp was pitched that evening in excellent order ;
the Parha's pavilion surrounded by his soldiers and guards
disposed in tents, with sentinels regularly posted, protecting
the outskirts. One of Burton's men, who had gone on a
little in advance, led him to an open place where the camels
were unloaded, after which the tent was erected, and every
preparation made for rest and refreshment. Before long
our Haji had supped, smoked, and turned in for the night.
Unluckily, a night halt was the exception, not the rule.
io6 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Bitter were Burton's complaints of nocturnal marches, a
point on which the Arabians are inexorable. It was of
course impossible even by moonlight to observe the country
to any advantage ; the day sleep became, from fatigue, a
kind of lethargy, and it was out of the question to preserve
an appetite during the hours of heat. On such roads as
the caravan had to traverse, the physical danger was
increased tenfold ; the camels had often to feel their way
from one basalt block to another, the poor beasts en-
livening the scene by keeping up in their terror an incessant
piteous moaning. Sometimes an invisible acacia would
catch the shugduf, almost overthrowing the hapless bearer
by the suddenness and tenacity of its clutch, and shaking
the inmates with unpleasant violence out of their uneasy
slumber. But the Prophet had said " Choose early dark-
ness for your wayfarings, as the calamities of the earth
(serpents and wild animals) appear not at night," and right
or wrong, whenever practicable, he has to be obeyed.
In spite of this wearisome practice, which, however,
could not invariably be adhered to, Burton saw many a
curious phenomenon. One day appeared the pillars of
sand described by Abyssinian Bruce. They scudded on
the wings of the whirlwind over the plain, huge yellow
shafts, with lofty heads, horizontally bent backwards, in
the form of clouds ; on more than one occasion camels have
been thrown down by them. It required little stretch of
fancy to enter into the Arab's superstition, that these sand
columns are Genii of the Waste, which cannot be caught,
a notion arising from the fitful movements of the electrical
wind - eddy which raises them. As they advance, the
pious Moslem stretches out his finger, exclaiming, " Iron !
O thou ill-omened one ! " The mirage our traveller had
already seen in Sind ; but one evening a long thin line of
salt efflorescence appearing at some distance on a plain
below, when the shades of coming night invested the view,
completely deceived him. Even the Arabs were divided in
The Desert Journey 107
opinion, some thinking it was the effects of rain which had
recently fallen ; others were more acute. So far as our
traveller was able to judge, animals are never taken in by
this refraction, probably because most of them recognise
the vicinity of moisture by smell rather than sight.
Procuring fresh supplies of water was a great trouble.
Under the fiery Arabian sky thirst is incessant, and the
water-skins are soon emptied. It was necessary, too, to
supply the camels with a sufficiency ; and, as often the
wells were situated two miles from the halting-place and
strictly guarded by soldiers, who exacted hard coin in
exchange for the precious fluid, the task of refilling the
awkward leathern receptacles was an unending source of
quarrels and anxiety. And after all the fatigue and worry,
it usually proved either brackish or bitter.
Never were the wells more nauseous than at El-
Sawayrkiyah, about ninety miles from El-Medinah. Burton
had bought some fresh dates, and paid a dollar and a half
for a sheep destined to furnish a dish of liver and fry for
himself and a plentiful meal for his servants. Vainly did
he attempt to enjoy himself; what dinner could please if
washed down with cups of a certain mineral-spring found
at Epsom ? It was especially disappointing, as this townlet
boasted of a bazaar well supplied with meat, particularly
mutton, while wheat, barley and dates were brought in
every day fresh from the neighbourhood.
The caravan left El-Sawayrkiyah on the 5th September
and travelled over a flat country thinly dotted with desert
vegetation. At i p.m. they passed a basaltic ridge, and
then, entering a kind of valley, paced down it five tedious
hours. The simoom, as usual, was blowing hard, and it
seemed to affect the pilgrims' tempers. Presently occurred
an incident which revealed the innate ferocity of the Arab
nature. A Turk, who could not speak a word of Arabic,
began a violent dispute with an Arab, who could not
understand a word of Turkish. It was all about nothing :
io8 Captain Sir R. F.. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the former insisted on adding to the camel's load a few
dry sticks, such as are picked up for cooking, and the
camel-owner as perseveringly threw off the extra burthen,
one the animal could have hardly felt. They screamed
with rage, hustled each other, and at last the Turk
imprudently dealt the Arab a heavy blow. That night
the pilgrim was mortally wounded by the revengeful
Bedawi, and, wrapped in his shroud, was left to die in
a half-dug grave.
Burton commented with horror on this atrocity, one of
not unfrequent occurrence. The poor friendless wretch's
fate appealed peculiarly to his sympathy, for an uneasy
doubt must have flashed across his mind whether he too
might not be attacked by one of these wild children of
the desert and abandoned while yet alive to the jackal
and the vulture. Fortunately, his attention was soon
diverted from the tragedy by one of the most curious of
the Moslem ceremonies. At El-Zaribah, some forty-seven
miles from their destination, the pilgrims prepared to assume
the Ihram, or peculiar garb in which they enter Meccah.
Between noontide and afternoon prayers, a barber attended
to shave their heads, cut their nails, and trim their
mustachios ; then, having bathed, they donned their new
attire, merely two new white cotton cloths each six feet long
by three and a half broad. One of these sheets, which, by
the way, is ornamented with red stripes and fringes, is
thrown over the back, and exposing the arm and shoulder,
is knotted at the right side ; the second is wrapped round
the loins from waist to knee, and, tucked in at the middle,
supports itself. The head remains bare, a barbarous prac-
tice in such a climate, and nothing is allowed on the instep.
After their toilet the pilgrims with their faces towards
Meccah were ordered to say aloud, " I vow this Ihram of
Hajj (the pilgrimage) and the Umrah (the little pilgrimage)
to Allah Almighty ! " Then without rising from the sitting
position, they repeated, " O Allah ! verily I purpose the
They must be good Pilgrims ! 109
Hajj and the Umrah, then enable me to accomplish
the two and accept them both of me, and make both
blessed to me ! " Followed the Talbiyat, 1 or exclaiming :
" Here I am ! O Allah ! here am I
No Partner hast Thou, here am I :
Verily the Praise and the Beneficence are Thine, and the Kingdom
No Partner hast Thou, here am I ! "
And they were warned to repeat these words as often as
possible until the conclusion of the ceremonies.
Then a certain namesake of our traveller's, Shaykh
Abdullah, a reverend elder who acted as director of con-
sciences, preached a little sermon. They must be good
pilgrims, avoiding quarrels, immorality, bad language, and
light conversation. They must reverence life, avoid killing
game, and even pointing out an animal for destruction ; nor
might they scratch themselves save with the open palm
lest vermin be destroyed. They were to respect the
Sanctuary by sparing the trees, and not to pluck a single
blade of grass. They were to abstain from oils, perfumes,
unguents, from washing the head with mallow-leaves, from
dyeing, shaving, or vellicating. a single hair ; and, though
they might take advantage of shade, and even form it with
upraised hands, they must by no means cover their shaven
pates. For each infraction of these ordinances they must
sacrifice a sheep ; and this command, together with the
wholesale slaughter at Muna, furnishes, when we recall the
tender care enjoined for fleas and other vermin, an instance
of glaring inconsistency which, however, is not peculiar to
the Mohammedan creed.
In the middle of all this monotonous praying and
preaching, Burton enjoyed a hearty laugh. The wife and
daughter of a Turk assumed the Ihram at the same time as
himself. After a short absence they reappeared dressed in
white garments sorely resembling roomy shrouds ; and, by
way of rendering themselves yet more hideous, they had
exchanged the coquettish fold of muslin which veils the
1 From the word Labbayka here am I.
no Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
lower part of the face for an ugly mask made of split, dried,
and plaited palm leaves, with two holes for light. While
our pilgrim could not restrain his merriment when these
strange objects met his sight, the objects themselves, to
judge by the shaking of their shoulders, were no less tickled
by the passing ugliness of their pious garb.
This important function over, the caravan again started
on its way. The ceremony had added fuel to the general
fervour ; crowds hurried along in their scanty attire, whose
whiteness contrasted strangely with their dark skins, and
the rocks rang with shouts of " Labbayk ! Labbayk ! "
Presently they fell in with a horde of Wahhabis, those
Puritans of El-Islarn, wild-looking mountaineers who were
accompanying the Baghdad caravan, and who, in the same
state of religious ecstasy, responded by yells of " Here am
I ! " They were too strict, however, to be altogether
pleasant companions ; whenever they saw their brother
Moslems smoking they cursed them aloud for infidels and
idolaters, and what they might have done had any thirsty
soul indulged in Raki, they alone could tell.
Gradually amongst the 'huge multitude a rumour cir-
culated that the Bedawin were " out." This gave rise
to no small anxiety, which increased when the caravans
entered a veritable Valley Perilous, one which strongly
reminded our Haji of the Pilgrimage Pass on the way to
El-Medinah. On the right was a stony buttress, on the
left a precipitous cliff, grim and barren, while opposite,
egress seemed barred by piles of hills, crest rising above
crest into the far blue distance. Day still smiled upon the
upper peaks, but the lower slopes and the dry bed of a
torrent were already curtained with grey, sombre shade.
The voices of women and children sank into silence, and
the loud " Labbayk " of the pilgrims was gradually hushed.
Burton was still speculating upon the cause of this sudden
lull, when it became brusquely apparent. The Bedawin
were in sight and preparing to fire. Simultaneously with
A Night in a Pass in
the echoing crack of a matchlock, a high trotting dromedary
in front of our Haji rolled over upon the sand a bullet had
split its heart throwing the rider a goodly somersault of
five or six yards.
The Wahhabis were unpleasantly puritanical, but they
had the redeeming virtue of bravery. During the terrible
confusion which ensued vehicles, animals, and human
beings jammed into a solid mass, whilst the missiles from
the heights whistled into their midst these mountaineers
alone retained their wits. They rallied at once, kept their
camels well in hand, and, taking up a well-selected position,
one body began to fire upon the robbers, and two or three
hundred, dismounting, swarmed up the hill to dislodge the
foe. Presently firing was heard far in the rear, and, as
usual, the caravans hurried along their perilous path until
all danger was left behind. It was said the bandits
numbered only a hundred and fifty, and that their principal
reason for attacking the harmless pilgrims was to boast
how, on such and such an occasion, they had delayed the
Sultan's Mahmal one whole hour in the Pass.
The scene that night was truly Stygian one hardly
calculated to calm nerves shaken by the late assault. On
either side grim precipices towered above till their summits
mingled with the darkness, and, between, formidable looked
the chasm down which the host hurried with yells and
discharges of matchlocks. The torch-smoke and night
fires of flaming Asclepias formed a canopy, sable above,
and lurid red below : here flames flashed fiercely from a
tall thorn-tree, that crackled and shot up showers of sparks
into the air ; there they died away in uncertain gleams ;
while the moaning of affrighted camels, the shouts and
cries of their riders, distracted the ear on every side.
Delightful was the contrast next morning Wady
Laymun, or the Valley of Limes. From remote ages this
charming spot, celebrated for the purity of its air, has been
a favourite resort of the Mecoans. Nothing could be more
ii2 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
soothing than the dark green foliage of its trees and the
sweet sound of a bubbling stream which, issuing from the
base of a hill, flowed through its gardens, filling them with
the most delicious of melodies, the gladdest sound which
Nature in these regions knows. Burton would fain have
lingered in this pleasantest of pleasant places, but Masud,
the camel owner, was inexorable. It was the next station
to the Holy City, and the wily old Arab knew that by
preceding the main body, already augmented by the arrival
of the Sherif and his attendants, who had come to greet
the Pasha, he would get his animals attended to sooner,
and secure more easily lodgings for himself. So, exactly
at noon, he seized the halter of his foremost beast and
marched off.
As evening approached, our party halted, and strained
their eyes to catch sight of Meccah. But the town, which
lies in a winding valley, was still invisible, and the pilgrims
betook themselves to prayer. After repeating sundry
formulae, prescribed on nearing the Sanctuary, they again
mounted their camels and journeyed through the darkness,
until about i a.m., when loud cries of " Labbayk ! Labbayk ! "
not unfrequently broken by sobs, warned our traveller he
had reached his goal. Peering from his shugduf, he beheld
by the light of the southern stars a large city dimly out-
lined. A winding pass, flanked by watch-towers which
command the road from the north, leads into the northern
suburb where stands the Sherif 's palace, a large, white-
washed building, with numerous balconied windows. After
this, on the left hand, appeared the deserted abode of Sherif
bin Aun, now said to be haunted. Thence, turning to the
right, our party entered the Afghan quarter, turned off the
main road into a by-way, ascended the rough heights of
Jebel Hindi, and finally, after threading sundry dark streets
crowded with rude cots and dusky figures, drew up in
safety at the door of young Mohammed's house.
For a few minutes the youth forgot his duties as host.
A Meccan Welcome 113
With scant ceremony he rushed upstairs to embrace his
mother, and the shrill cry, or Lululu, which in these lands
welcomes the wanderer home, broke the stillness. Though
our pilgrim elsewhere compares this cry peculiar to women
in the East to the notes of a fife, he confessed that while
lingering outside, a stranger in the dark street, it sent a
chill to his heart.
Presently Mohammed returned. He now remembered
what was required of him, his jaunty manner had changed
to one of grave and attentive courtesy. He led his guest
into a sort of hall, seated him on a carpeted platform, and
told his servant to bring lights. Meanwhile, a shuffling of
slippered feet upstairs informed hungry ears that the mis-
tress was on hospitable thoughts intent ; and before long
appeared a dish of fine vermicelli, browned, and powdered
with loaf sugar. After his meal Burton procured a cot
from a neighbouring coffee-house, and lay down, anxious to
snatch an hour or two of repose during what remained of
the night. At dawn he was expected to perform his " Cir-
cumambulation of Arrival " at the Meccan sanctuary.
Scarcely had the first smile of morning beamed upon the
rugged head of Abu Kubays, a hill which bounds Meccah
to the east, than our Haji rose, bathed, and proceeded in
pilgrim garb to the Great Mosque. Entering by the prin-
cipal northern door, he descended two flights of steps, tra-
versed a cloister, and stood in sight of the Kiblah of
El-Islam, 1 the place to which the Moslem turns in prayer
from all quarters of the globe.
This far-famed Kaabah, the most interesting feature of
the Meccan mosque, is an oblong structure, eighteen paces
in length, fourteen in breadth, and from thirty-five to forty
feet in height. Constructed of grey granite, it stands upon
1 The Great Mosque consists of a large quadrangle, surrounded by
arcades or cloisters, and entered by nineteen gates, surmounted by seven
minarets. In the centre stands the Kaabah, which was the temple of
Meccah ages before the days of Mohammed.
8
114 Captain Sir R. F. Bttrton, K.C.M.G.
a base two feet high, and its roof being almost flat, it pre-
sents at a distance the appearance of a perfect cube. It is
partly covered with black drapery, a mixture of cloth and
silk with a golden zone running round its upper portion ;
the hangings in front of the door are also embroidered.
This Kiswah, as it is called, is renewed every year, and
the origin of the custom must be sought in the ancient
practice of typifying the church visible by a virgin or
bride. . . . With memory thus refreshed, my readers
may be better able to follow the curious ceremonies in
which our Haji took part, especially the rite of Circumam-
bulation.
For some minutes Burton gazed on this venerable object
with interest and delight. True, there were no giant frag-
ments of hoar antiquity, as in Egypt ; no remains of grace-
ful and harmonious beauty, as in Greece or Italy. Yet
the view was strange, unique and how few aliens had
looked upon the celebrated shrine ! The mirage medium
of fancy invested the huge catafalque and its gloomy pall
with peculiar charms ; it was as if the poetical legends
of the Arabs spoke truth, and that the waving wings of
angels, not the sweet breeze of morning, were agitating
and swelling the black covering of the Bayt Allah. 1 . . .
Moreover, the plans and hopes of many a year were here
partially realised, and our hero, as he stood a stranger
in this Mohammedan sanctuary, felt for a moment all the
triumph of a victory over conditions which had daunted
every Englishman before him.
Moslems rarely contemplate the Kaabah for the first
time without fear and awe, so the young Meccan had left
his guest for awhile alone. Presently he returned, and
the two entered the " Gate of the Sons of the Shaybah,"
raised their hands, repeated the Labbayk and other formulae,
recited certain supplications, and drew their hands down
their faces. Then they proceeded to the Shafei's place
1 House of Allah.
Inspecting the Kaabah 115
of worship, the open pavement between the Makam
Ibrahim and the well Zem Zem, where they said a
prayer, accompanied by two prostrations, in honour of the
mosque, and swallowed a cup of holy water.
The word Zem Zem has a doubtful origin. Some
derive it from the Zam Zam, or murmuring of its waters ;
others from Zam ! (fill ! i.e. the bottle), Hagar's impatient
exclamation when she saw the stream. The produce of
this well is held in much greater esteem than it deserves.
Meccans advise pilgrims to break their fast with it, ignoring
the fact that the holy fluid is apt to cause diarrhoaa and
boils, and has more than once been suspected of spreading
cholera. Its flavour is a salt bitter, and the most pious
Moslem can hardly swallow it without a very wry face.
At the Kaabah's eastern angle is inserted the famous
Black Stone, 1 the touching or kissing of which is considered
essential. Standing about ten yards distant, Burton re-
peated with upraised hands, " There is no God but Allah
alone, Whose Covenant is Truth, and Whose Servant is
Victorious. There is no God but Allah without Sharer ;
His is the Kingdom, to Him be Praise, and He over all
Things is potent." Afterwards he approached as near as
possible; but a dense crowd intervening, he recited more
prayers and commenced the rite of circumambulation, or
pacing round the Kaabah. This circuit has to be repeated
seven times ; its conjectured significance is an imitation of
the heavenly bodies, also symbolised by the circular whirl-
ings of the Dervishes. After each course the pilgrim stood
before the Black Stone, exclaimed " In the Name of Allah,
and Allah is Omnipotent," kissed his fingers, and resumed
his march.
Burton duly performed his seven circuits, repeated a
prayer of portentous length, and then, aided by Mohammed
1 When Allah made covenant with the Sons of Adam on the day of
Fealty, He placed the paper inside this stone ; it will therefore appear
at the Judgment, and bear witness to all who have touched it.
82
n6 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and half a dozen stalwart Meccans, cleared a path through
the crowd and reached the stone, which he narrowly scru-
tinised for about ten minutes. He came away convinced
that it is an aerolite.
This ceremony of touching or kissing the Black Stone,
which, judging from the dense crowd around the shrine,
must often be deferred perforce for hours, is the culminating
act of devotion in the Meccan Sanctuary. On this occasion
little further remained to be done. There were a few more
prayers, followed by a second visit to Zem Zem, where
another nauseous draught had to be swallowed, and where
Burton was deluged with two or three skinfuls of water
dashed over his head en douche, an ablution which causes
sin to fall from the spirit like dust. Then our pilgrim
turned towards the Kaabah, ejaculated sundry formulae,
and finally, quite worn out, with scorched feet and a
burning head, left the mosque. Strictly speaking, he should
have performed the rite called El-Sai, or running seven
times between Mounts Safa and Marwah ; but fatigue, not
to mention his lame foot, now sorely inflamed by the fiery
pavements, put this further trial out of the question.
Mohammed the Meccan had miscalculated the amount
of lodging vacant in his mother's house. Being a widow
and a lone woman, she had made over for the season the
letting of her apartments to her brother, a lean old harpy
with the face of a vulture. He had lost no time in crowding
the place with pilgrims, almost as densely as the Rais of
the Golden Wire had crowded his craft ; and he regarded
Burton with little favour when the latter insisted on having
a room to himself. After some wrangling, he promised
that on the return from Arafat a little store-room should
be cleared out and appropriated to the guest's use ; but
meanwhile the day had to be spent in the common hall in
company with several Turkish strangers large, hairy men,
with gruff voices and square figures who seemed to
monopolise what little air and space there was. On the
A Night -Visit to the Kaabah 117
whole, our Haji was worse off at Meccah than at El-Medinah.
The heat was stifling, for the city is so compacted together
by hills, that even the simoom can scarcely sweep it, and
the inhabitants are utterly ignorant of any art of therman-
tidote. Moreover, the house, though larger, was far less
cheerful. The hot, gloomy hall could not be compared
with Shaykh Hamid's bright little parlour, where his guests
lolled on cushioned embrasures, and gazed upon some of
the brightest scenes in the city.
There being small temptation to linger in this oven-like
abode, our pilgrim, accompanied by Mohammed and fol-
lowed by Nur, who carried a lantern and a prayer-rug,
repaired that evening to the mosque. The moon, now
nearly full, lighted up the strange spectacle. There stood
the huge, bier-like erection, black as Erebus, except where
the moonbeams streaked it like jets of silver falling upon
dark marble. It formed the point of rest for the eye ; the
little pagoda-like buildings and domes around, with all their
gilding and fretwork, vanished. One object, unique in
appearance, stood in view the temple of the one Allah,
expressing by all the eloquence of fancy the grandeur of the
idea which vitalised El-Islam.
The pavement round the Kaabah was crowded with
men, women and children, mostly divided into parties ;
some walking staidly, others running, while many stood in
groups to pray. Here stalked a Bedawi woman in her
long black robe, like a nun's serge, and her poppy-coloured
face-veil pierced to show two fiercely flashing eyes. There
an Indian woman, with semi-Tartar features nakedly
hideous, and thin legs encased in wrinkled tights, hurried
round the fane. Every now and then a corpse, borne on
its wooden shell, circulated the shrine by means of four
bearers, whom other Moslems, as is the custom, occa-
sionally relieved. A few fair-skinned Turks lounged about.
In one place a fast Calcutta Khitmugar stood with turban
awry and arms akimbo, contemplating the view jauntily ;
n8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
in another, a poor demented wretch with arms thrown on
high was clinging to the curtain and sobbing as though his
heart would break.
The celebrated mosque pigeons flock mostly in the line
of pavement leading to the eastern cloisters. During the
day women and children sit with small piles of grain upon
trays of basket-work ; for each a copper piece is demanded,
and pious pilgrims consider it a duty to provide the reverend
blue-rocks with a plentiful meal. These birds are held
sacred not only in consequence of Arab traditions concern-
ing Noah's dove, but as having been connected on two
occasions with the Moslem faith ; first, when a pigeon
appeared to whisper in Mohammed's ear, and secondly,
during the flight to El-Medinah. Moreover, in many
countries they are called " Allah's Proclaimers," because
their movements when cooing resemble prostration.
That night Burton remained in the mosque until 2 a.m.,
hoping to see it empty. But as the morrow was to witness
the egress to Arafat, many persons passed the hours of
darkness in the sacred building. Numerous parties of
pilgrims sat upon their rugs, with lanterns in front of them,
conversing, praying, and contemplating the Bayt Allah.
The cloisters were full of merchants, who resorted there to
vend such holy goods as combs, tooth-sticks, and rosaries.
Before leaving it was necessary to offer up a two-bow prayer
over the grave of Ishmael, and this accomplished, not with-
out difficulty on account of the crowd, our indefatigable
Haji, profiting by the temporary somnolence of his two
companions, succeeded in taking measurements of the
Kaabah. He was sorely tempted to annex a strip of her
ragged black curtain, but too many people were still awake.
Later he obtained a piece through the agency of his host,
who purchased it from the officials all the more easily as
the venerable building was on the eve of donning her new
attire.
Next day it behoved all pilgrims to hie to Muna and
A Visit to Mount Arafat 119
Arafat, in order to join in the ceremonies peculiar to those
localities. Mount Arafat is situated about twelve miles
from Meccah, and is reached vid Muna, a straggling village
built in a low gravel basin surrounded by hills. The most
striking functions that take place on these sacred spots are,
the Sermon, delivered by a preacher seated on a dromedary
in imitation of Mohammed, the Stoning of the Devil, and
the Sacrifice of Animals. Muna, besides possessing the
tomb, or rather a tomb of Adam, boasts of three standing
miracles : the pebbles thrown by pilgrims at the Devil, who
is represented by a trio of pillars, return by angelic agency
whence they came ; during the three days of " Drying
Meat " rapacious beasts and birds cannot prey there ; and,
lastly, flies do not settle on the articles of food exposed so
abundantly in the bazaars. Needless to add, these wonders
were conspicuous by their absence on the occasion of our
Haji's visit.
Burton and his party followed the road by which the
caravans enter Meccah. It was covered with white-robed
pilgrims, some few wending their way on foot, others riding.
The barbarous Ihram was de rigueur, every man bare-footed
and bare-headed ; and we read with little surprise that,
during the six hours' journey under a burning sun, our
traveller saw no fewer than five poor wretches lie down on
the high road and give up the ghost. Nor on arrival at the
plain of Arafat was there much rest after the exhausting
day. Comforts were not lacking, for Nur and the young
Meccan pitched a tent, disposed a divan of silk cushions
inside, and placed at the entrance a large fire-pan with
coffee-pots, singing a welcome to visitors ; but sleep was
banished by Arab songs and shouts of laughter from
Egyptian hemp-drinkers, not to mention a prayerful old
Moslem who began his devotions at a late hour and con-
cluded them at dawn.
Next morning was spent in visiting various consecrated
sites on the " Mount of Mercy." Arafat, a mass of coarse
120 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
granite split into large blocks, with a thin coat of withered
thorns, is about one mile in circumference, and hardly two
hundred feet in height. About half way up is a nook where
Mohammed used to address his followers, and which is now
occupied by the Khatib, or preacher, on the occasion of the
Arafat sermon. Higher still is a large stuccoed platform,
with a kind of obelisk, whitewashed and conspicuous from
afar, commemorating the site on which Adam, instructed
by the archangel Gabriel, erected a place of prayer. Close
to the plain is the spot where the Egyptian and Damascus
Mahmals stand side by side during the sermon; and yet
lower a fountain, bubbling from a rock, supplies the pilgrims
with water.
Even at an early hour Arafat was crowded with Hajis,
who had hastened to secure favourable positions for hearing
the preacher. As the function drew nearer, the general
excitement increased. And certainly the coup d'ceil was
magnificent. First marched a grand procession of mace-
bearers, of horsemen wielding long and tufted spears, fol-
lowed by the beautiful Arab horses belonging to the
Sherif of Meccah, a procession wherein about midway
rode that personage himself, preceded by three green
and two red flags. Then the Damascus Caravan, with
its ensign of imperial power, all green and gold, flashing
in the sun, and its host of white-robed pilgrims swept
past to the holy hill. On joining the Egyptian
Mahmal and its followers, the two camels, with their
glittering loads, took up their prescribed positions on
the slope. The Sherif, his retinue, and standard-bearers
ranged themselves a little above ; and the most picturesque
of backgrounds was formed by the granite hill covered,
wherever standing room could be found, with white figures
waving their glistening garments. Burton, too restless to
remain on Arafat, had lost all chance of a place whence he
could profit by the discourse, and could only just distinguish
the Khatib seated on his dromedary, and hear at uncertain
Stone-throwing 121
intervals a chorus of cries, sobs, and shrieks from the vast
and excited congregation.
The ceremony of Lapidation, though curious, is far less
picturesque. Three rude pillars represent Satan, and at
these pillars pilgrims are directed to throw a certain number
of stones, repeating, " In the Name of Allah, and Allah is
Almighty, I do this in hatred of the Devil and to his
shame." As the fiend had maliciously chosen a very
narrow pass wherein to appear and be thus commemorated,
the place is exceedingly dangerous when crowded with a
shrieking, fanatical multitude. Burton and the animal he
rode narrowly escaped with life, while Mohammed, who
ought to have known better, had to fight his way out of the
crowd with a bleeding nose. Both must have heaved a
sigh of relief when, the pebbles having been duly flung at
the senseless little buttress, they could retire to a barber's
shop to rest, and rearrange the Ihram. After about an
hour the two men Nur was usually missing when danger
was in the air raced on donkey-back to Meccah, an
undignified return known as the El-Nafr, or the flight.
Here a piece of luck awaited our pilgrim. Shortly after
his arrival, Mohammed entered his room in a state of
excitement, exclaiming, " Rise, Effendi ! Dress, and follow
me ! " The Kaabah, though open, would for a time remain
empty, and thus afford an opportunity for a quiet visit
which might not occur again. Hastily resuming the Ihram,
Burton hastened with the young Meccan to the mosque.
What he saw shall be described in his own words :
" A crowd had gathered round the Kaabah, and I had
no wish to stand bare-headed in the midday September sun.
At the cry of 'Open a path for the Haji who would enter
the house,' the gazers made way. Two stout Meccans,
who stood below the door, raised me in their arms, whilst
a third drew me from above into the building. 1 At the
I The only door is about seven feet above the pavement,
122 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
entrance I was accosted by several officials, dark-looking
Meccans, of whom the blackest and plainest was a youth of
the Beni Shaybah family, the blue blood of El-Hejaz. He
held in his hand the huge silver-gilt padlock of the Kaabah,
and presently, taking his seat upon a kind of wooden press
in the left corner of the hall, he inquired my name, nation,
and other particulars. The replies were satisfactory, and
young Mohammed was authoritatively ordered to conduct
me round the building, and to recite the prayers. I will
not deny that, looking at the windowless walls, the officials
at the door, and the crowd of excited fanatics below, my
feelings were of the trapped-rat description. This did not,
however, prevent my carefully observing the scene during
our long prayers, and making a rough plan with a pencil on
my white Ihram.
" Nothing is more simple than the interior of this
celebrated building. The pavement, which is level with
the ground, is composed of slabs of fine and various
coloured marbles, mostly, however, white disposed chequer-
wise. The walls, as far as they can be seen, are of the
same material, but the pieces are irregularly shaped, and
many of them are engraved with long inscriptions in the
Suls and other modern characters. The upper part of .the
walls, together with the ceiling, at which it is considered
disrespectful to look, are covered with handsome red
damask, flowered over with gold, and tucked up about
six feet high, so as to be removed from pilgrims' hands.
The flat roof is upheld by three cross-beams, whose shapes
appear under the arras ; they rest upon the eastern and
western walls, and are supported in the centre by three
columns about twenty inches in diameter, covered with
carved and ornamental aloes wood. At the Iraki corner
there is a dwarf door, called Bab el-Taubah (of Repentance).
It leads into a narrow passage and to the staircase by which
the servants ascend to the roof : it is never opened except
for working purposes. The ' Aswad ' corner is occupied
Animal Slaughter at Muna 123
'by a flat-topped and quadrant-shaped press or safe, in
which at times is placed the key of the Kaabah. Both
door and safe are of aloes wood. Between the columns, and
about nine feet from the ground, ran bars of a metal which
I could not distinguish, and hanging to them were many
lamps, said to be of gold.
" Although there were in the Kaabah but a few atten-
dants engaged in preparing it for the entrance of the
pilgrims, the windowless stone walls and the choked-up
door made it worse than the Piombi of Venice ; perspiration
trickled in large drops, and I thought with horror what it
must be when filled with a mass of furiously jostling and
crushing fanatics. Our devotions consisted of a two-bow
prayer, followed by long supplications at the Shami (west)
corner, the Iraki (north) angle, the Yemani (south), and
lastly, opposite the southern third of the back wall. These
concluded, I returned to the door, where payment is made,
and was let down by the two brawny Meccans."
After quitting the Kaabah, Burton returned to his
lodgings, and endeavoured to mitigate the pain of the sun-
scalds on his arms, shoulders and breasts by washing them
with henna and warm water. Towards evening, he donned
a gay, laical attire in honour of the festival, viz., the
" Three Days of Drying Meat," and rode back to Muna.
Though he had heard sundry details of the sacrifices in
this place, he was unprepared for the ugly spectacle of
fanaticism, greed and cruelty that met his eyes. During
his absence had begun the wholesale slaughter of animals,
a relic of Judaism preserved and caricatured by Mohammed,
which renders Muna at times a veritable plague-spot. The
Takruri might be seen sitting, vulture-like, contemplating
the doomed sheep and goats, and no sooner was the signal
given, than they fell upon the still quivering bodies and cut
them up for eating. No doubt it is necessary that the
poorer pilgrims should be fed ; and, were just sufficient
animals butchered to preserve the Takruri from starvation,
124 Captain Sir }?. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
a good excuse might be made by Moslems for the practice ;
but the supply so far exceeds the demand that the valley,
running with blood, soon becomes one huge, stinking place
of slaughter. Burton estimated the number of beasts slain,
September, 1853, from five to six thou: an 1 camels, sheep,
oxen and goats. Camels, however, are killed only by the
Sherif and chief dignitaries. It seems as if even this
fanatical people have some inkling of the barbarity of such
waste of life, for when the victim's face is directed towards
the Kaabah, preparatory to the cutting of its throat, instead
of their usual ejaculation, " In the Name of the Most
Merciful God ! " any mention of mercy is carefully omitted.
Still the practice continues ; and as no sanitary precautions
whatever are taken, each pilgrim killing his "offering"
where he likes, and as the basin of Muna somewhat
resembles a volcanic crater, an Aden closed up seawards,
cholera has originated amongst the heaps of decomposition
more than once, and has amply avenged the poor murdered
animals. 1
At night fireworks were let off and cannon discharged
in front of the Muna mosque. Next day Burton, who had
to spend two nights in this horrible spot, rose before dawn
to visit the " dragging place of the ram," a small enclosure,
situated on the lower declivity of Jebel Sabir, commemorat-
ing the events recorded in Genesis, chap, xxii. 2 The usual
marvel is not lacking ; a block of granite in which a huge
gash several inches broad, some feet deep, and completely
splitting the stone in knife-shape, notes the spot where
Abraham's blade fell when forbidden to slay his son. Having
examined this wonder with due decorum our pilgrim after
strolling awhile about the hill in hopes of seeing some of the
peculiarly hideous Hejazi apes, said still to haunt the
1 This odious rite, though a Sunnat or practice of the Prophet, is
not obligatory, its non-observance entailing merely a ten days' fast ; so
Burton was spared having to act butcher.
* Moslems claim Ishmael as hero of the story.
The Sermon in the Mosque 125
heights, returned to his tent, where he passed an atrocious
day. The heat was stifling, nought moved in the air except
kites and vultures, speckling the bright blue sky ; swarms of
flies, regardless that their presence was prohibited, and fetid
exhalations from the bloody, saturated earth, rendered exis-
tence almost intolerable. It was truly a merciful deliver-
ance when Masud's camels appeared at early dawn on
Friday, and Burton and his party, every rite performed,
were free to return to Meccah and hear the sermon in the
Mosque.
This function concludes the Hajj, and though it does
not present so picturesque a scene as that on Arafat, it
appears from our pilgrim's description to be a very striking
spectacle. The vast quadrangle, when he arrived, was
crowded with worshippers sitting in long rows and every-
where facing the central black tower : the showy colours of
their dresses were not to be surpassed by a garden of bril-
liant flowers, and such diversity of detail would probably
not be seen massed together in any other building on earth.
The women, a somewhat sombre group, sat apart in their
peculiar place. The Pasha stood on the roof of Zem Zem,
surrounded by guards in Nizam uniform. Where the prin-
cipal Olema stationed themselves, the crowd was thicker ;
and in the more auspicious spots nought was to be seen
but a pavement of heads and shoulders. Nothing seemed
to move but a few Dervishes, who, censer in hand, sidled
through the rows and received the unsolicited alms of
the Faithful.
Apparently in the midst, and raised above the crowd
by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose gilt spire flamed in
the sun, sat the preacher, a venerable elder with a snowy
beard. The style of head-dress called Taylasan covered
his turban, white as his robes, and a short staff supported
his left hand. Presently he arose, pronounced a few
inaudible words, and sat down while a Muezzin, at the
foot of the pulpit, recited the call to sermon. Then the
ia6 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
old man stood up to preach. As he began to speak there
was a deep silence. Later a general " Amin " was intoned
by the congregation at the conclusion of some long sentence.
And at last, towards the end of the discourse, every third
or fourth word was followed by the simultaneous rise and
fall of thousands of voices.
Burton added : " I have seen the religious ceremonies
of many lands, but nowhere aught so solemn, so impressive
as this."
The few remaining days at Meccah sped pleasantly
enough. Young Mohammed presented his guest to
numerous friends and acquaintances, who always wel-
comed him hospitably with pipes and coffee. The first
question always was, " Who is this pilgrim ? " and more
than once the reply, " An Afghan," elicited the language
of Afghanistan, the Pushtu, which was one of the few
that Burton could not speak. Of this phenomenon nothing
was thought ; many Afghans settled in India and else-
where, know not a word of their native tongue, and even
above the Passes some of the townspeople are imperfectly
acquainted with it. With the Meccans our traveller could
of course converse easily. They speak Arabic remark-
ably well, and Persian, Turkish and Hindustani are
generally known. As regards the character of the inhabi-
tants of this holy city, Burton sums it up as follows :
" The redeeming qualities of the Meccan are his courage,
his bonhomie, his manly suavity of manners, his fiery sense
of honour, his strong family affections, his near approach
to what we call patriotism, and his general knowledge ; the
reproach of extreme ignorance which Burckhardt directs
against Meccah has long ago sped to the limbo of things
that were. The dark half of the picture is pride, bigotry,
scurrility, irreligion, greed of gain, immorality, and prodigal
ostentation."
Our indefatigable traveller made a few more enquiries
as to the possibility of proceeding eastwards, but he heard
The Little Pilgrimage 127
on all sides the Bedawin were in such a ferment that they
threatened an attack even upon Jeddah. Shaykh Masud,
the old camel-owner, from whom Burton parted on ex-
cellent terms, seriously advised him to remain at Meccah
some months longer, advice which so restless a man was
utterly incapable of following. Apparently there was
nothing to do but to return to Egypt and spend the re-
mainder of his leave in hard study.
There remained one more curious rite to perform before
quitting the Holy City the Umrah, or Little Pilgrimage.
Resuming the Ihram, Burton, with three companions,
mounted asses which resembled mules in size and speed,
and rode to the Great Mosque, to offer up a short prayer.
The party then directed their course towards the open
country, and after cantering about three miles, arrived at a
small settlement, popularly called El-Umrah. Dismounting,
the four men sat on rugs outside a coffee-tent to enjoy the
beauty of a moonlight night, and an hour's rest in the sweet
desert air, doubly delightful to olfactory organs half-
poisoned by the smells of the town. Not so pleasant was
a compulsory visit to the principal chapel, an unpretending
building, badly lighted, crammed with pilgrims, and offen-
sively close, wherein the night devotions had to be offered
up, and gratuities distributed to the guardians and sundry
importunate beggars.
And now our Haji's gravity was to be sorely tried. One
Abdullah, Mohammed's eldest brother, a staid and highly
religious man, who had accompanied Burton for this-special
purpose, insisted upon performing a vicarious pilgrimage
for his friend's parents. Vain was the assurance that they
had been strict in the exercises of their faith. Abdullah
expected hard coin in exchange for his solicitude regarding
the eternal weal of the old folks at home, and would take
no denial. So at last he was permitted to act substitute
for the " pious pilgrims, Yusuf (Joseph) bin Ahmed and
Fatimah bint Yunus." Gravely raising his hands and
128 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
directing his face to the Kaabah, he intoned, " I do vow
this Ihram of Umrah in the Name of Yusuf, son of Ahmed,
and Fatimah, daughter of Yunus. Then render it attainable
to them, and accept it of them ! Bismillah ! Allahu Akbar ! "
Remounting, the party galloped towards Meccah, shout-
ing Labbayk, and on reaching the city, repaired again to
the mosque to observe the Tawaf, or circumambulation of
Umrah. This was followed by running seven times be-
tween Safa and Marwah, two small eminences with about
the same right to be called hills as certain undulations in
Rome. Although, on account of Burton's lameness, the
rite, supposed to represent Hagar seeking water for her
son, was, with the exception of sundry supplications, per-
formed mostly by the donkey, it proved quite fatiguing
enough for our pilgrim to feel most thankful when the
fourth or last portion of this good deed, for which Allah
is said to be grateful, concluded at a barber's shop with a
very peculiar prayer : " O Allah, this my Forelock is in
Thy Hand, then grant me for every Hair a light on the
Resurrection day, O Most Merciful of the Merciful ! "
There are various places of pious visitation at Meccah,
whereof it is enough to say they are connected with the
life of the Prophet. The Jannat el-Maala, or cemetery
where Khadijah is buried, differs so little from El-Bakia,
and the prayers and prostrations prescribed on entering it
are so similar, that any lengthened description would be
wearisome. It is open to men on Fridays, to women on
Thursdays. Burton found the beggars even more im-
portunate than those at El-Bakia ; in fact, they were so
utterly distracting, that after a very brief inspection of the
tombs, he turned and fled from the sacred enclosure.
And now all the ceremonies of the Moslem's Holy
Week concluded, it was time for pilgrims not otherwise
detained to prepare for departure. In the house where our
traveller lodged, blue china-ware and basketed bottles of
Zem Zem water appeared standing in solid columns ; and
The Return from Meccah 129
the Hajis occupied themselves in hunting for mementoes
of Meccah ; ground-plans, combs, balm, henna, turquoises,
coral and mother-of-pearl rosaries. The lower floor was
crowded with provision vendors ; and the Turks, who were
suffering severely from nostalgia, could talk of nothing
except the chance or no chance of a steamer from Jeddah to
Suez.
On parting, the hostess, who being a widow and elderly,
had often emerged from her retirement for a chat with her
son's friend, became quite motherly. She begged our
traveller to take care of her boy, who was going as far as
the seaport, and then laid friendly but firm hands upon a
brass pestle and mortar, which she had long coveted and
now insisted on annexing as a keepsake.
Nur preceded his master to Jeddah with the heavy
baggage. About twenty-four hours later Burton and
young Mohammed, mounted on stalwart Meccan asses,
followed in his wake, and after an uneventful journey
reached Jeddah safely. It was full time to consider such
prosaic matters as s. d. our pilgrim had exactly tenpence
remaining in his pocket, a state of impecuniosity speedily
remedied Jby a visit to the British Consul, who cashed a
draft for him, and gave him a most hospitable welcome.
The exit of Mohammed the Meccan was truly ludicrous.
This wily youth bought a large quantity of grain with some
of Burton's recently acquired money, secured every article
not his own on which he could lay his hands, and then
departed with marked coolness. For his own sake it
behoved him not to go empty away ; but his vanity had
been sorely, sorely wounded. For our Haji had taken him
one day on board the steamer Dwarka, bound for Suez,
and perhaps the new sense of security had rendered Burton
less careful of preserving his incognito ; anyway, a dark
suspicion shot through the Meccan's mind :
" Now I understand," quoth he to Nur before his abrupt
disappearance, " your master is a Sahib from India, he
hath laughed at our beards ! "
CHAPTER VI
DURTON remained in Egypt, writing up his notes,
*~^ until his leave expired, when he returned to Bombay.
But he did not stay long with his regiment, the dry routine
of which must have been especially distasteful after the
exciting scenes so lately witnessed. His active brain soon
sketched out fresh adventures. Africa, not overrun then
as now with all sorts and conditions of men, presented
a likely field for one who cared little for beaten tracts ;
and in the extreme east of that Dark Continent lay a
forbidden city which afforded peculiar attractions to our
Haji Harar, the capital of Somaliland.
It was not difficult to obtain the necessary furlough.
The Court of Directors had for some years past lent a
willing ear to the plan of a Somali expedition. Berberah,
the true key of the Red Sea, and only safe harbour for
shipping from Suez to Guardafui, had long been coveted
by John Company ; and though many an obstacle had
prevented the Indian Government from assuming control
over this coast, our establishment of a Protectorate, in
1884, proves the wise foresight of such men as Lord
Elphinstone, Sir Charles Malcolm, and others of their
day. So when Burton placed himself in communication
with the Governor of Bombay and requested permission
to pave the way for a thorough exploration of the Eastern
Horn of Africa, leave was readily granted, October, 1854.
With certain limitations. Our traveller's original plan
had been to set forth with three companions, Lieutenants
Speke, Herne, and Stroyan, use Berberah as a base of
operations, thence move westward to Harar, and, finally,
East African Exploration decided upon 131
in a south-westerly direction towards Zanzibar. This being
considered too risky, anyhow, for a beginning, Burton then
proposed to make the geography and commerce his sole
objects, including, of course, all relating to the capital city.
And, since the authorities had judged it wiser for the four
men to divide their forces, Lieutenants Herne and Stroyan
were ordered to make their way to Berberah, enquire into
the caravan lines, explore the maritime mountains, and
make a variety of meteorological and other observations as
a prelude to more extensive research, while Lieutenant
Speke was directed to land at a small harbour on the coast,
trace the watershed of the Wady Nogal, and buy horses
and camels for the use of a future and larger expedition.
For Burton was reserved the post of danger the task
of penetrating the mysterious capital. In fact, he alone of
the four men was able to attempt the feat, owing to his
knowledge of Arabic, and to his having performed the Hajj.
The region he intended to traverse, the town he intended
to visit, were previously known by only the vaguest reports.
No European had yet entered Harar. The more adven-
turous Abyssinian travellers, Salt and Stuart, Krapf and
Isenberg, Barker and Rochet, not to mention divers Roman
Catholic missionaries, had attempted it in vain. The
Moslem ruler and his bigoted people threatened death to
the infidel who ventured within their walls, some negro
Merlin having, it is said, read decline and fall in the first
footsteps of the Frank.
So Burton utilised his title of Haji by breaking the
guardian spell. Since the Egyptian and Abyssinian occu-
pation of the city, many travellers have followed in his
steps ; and they tell us that the ancient metropolis of a
once mighty race is now altered almost beyond recognition
But until it passes into the hands of some European power,
any changes are likely to be for the worse rather than the
better.
On the agth October, 1854, Haji Abdullah, disguised as
92
132 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
a Moslem merchant, left Aden in a small sailing ship for
Zeila, on the Somali coast. Three servants accompanied
him El-Hammal, or the porter, a sergeant in the Aden
police, Guled, another policeman, and one Abdy Abokr, a
Widad or Moslem hedge-priest, who, from his smattering
of learning and prodigious rascality, was nicknamed " End of
Time." After an uneventful voyage of two days, the
Sahalat entered the creek which gives so much trouble to
native craft, being exposed to almost all the winds of
heaven. Zeila has no harbour, and even a vessel of 250
tons cannot approach within a mile of the landing-place.
At noon our party sighted their destination, the normal
African port, viz. a strip of sulphur yellow sand, with a
deep blue dome above, and a foreground of darkish indigo.
Its buildings, raised high by refraction, rose apparently
from the bosom of the deep. Whitewashed houses and
minarets Zeila boasted of six mosques, including the
Jami or cathedral peered above a low line of brown wall
flanked with round towers.
Bad news awaited the travellers. The crew of a little
bark which came scudding up the creek roared out that
friendly relations between the Amir of Harar and the
Governor of Zeila had been interrupted, the road through
the Eesa Somal was closed, all strangers had been expelled
from the capital by its chief, and, yet more S3rious, small-
pox was raging with such violence in the town, that the
Galla peasantry would allow neither ingress nor egress.
Musing over these fresh difficulties, Burton stepped into a
cock boat, landed at the northern gate, and after array-
ing himself in clean garments, presented his respects to
Governor El-Haji Sharmarkay.
The two men had met before at Aden, where Shar-
markay had received from the authorities strong injunctions
concerning the personal safety of their envoy. Always
friendly to the British, he had been badly wounded in the
left arm while defending the lives of the crew of the brig
A Stay at Zeila 133
Mary Anne, wrecked on the Somali coast in 1825. As
might be expected, his reception of Burton was most
gracious ; and after half an hour's palaver in a- sort of
cow-house, which, with peculiar taste, he preferred to his
solid two-storied abode, he conducted his guest through
the streets of Zeila to a substantial building of coralline,
plastered with mud and whitewash.
A room was speedily prepared under his directions, in a
style of rude luxury. The floor was spread with mats,
cushions were propped here and there against the wall, and
a cot, covered with Persian rugs and satin pillows, was
added, in case the stranger might prefer sleeping indoors to
passing the night on the flat terraced roof. Here, after
supper Sharmarkay considerately left his guest to rest, and
the latter by no means loth, soon fell asleep while listening
to the familiar sounds of El-Islam, the chant of the Muezzin,
the loudly intoned Amin and Allaho Akbar, from a neigh-
bouring mosque.
Burton had plenty to do at Zeila. A journey of 180
miles to an unknown city, through a strange country,
required an enormous amount of preparation and fore-
thought. Twenty-six days were spent in buying camels,
interviewing guides, sending for mules, arranging all the
minutiae of travelling in a land where money was hardly
known and yet where everything had to be heavily paid for.
Of course these wearisome preliminaries were interspersed
with many delays which entailed hours of enforced leisure.
These were spent much as follows. Devotions on the
terrace at dawn (our Haji had to keep up his character for
piety) ; breakfast at 6 a.m. of roast mutton and grain cakes ;
then visitors, who swarmed in, careless whether their presence
was desired or not. At n a.m. dinner, consisting of
mutton stews, maize cakes, sometimes fish, and generally
curds and milk, was provided by good Sharmarkay. Coffee
and pipes followed, and presently more callers trooped in to
stare at or jabber to the stranger. These intruders were
134 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
either the elite of Zeila, such as the governor's son, the port
captain, or some of the principal merchants, people whose
society was bearable; or the Somal, who yelled, combed
their hair, cleaned their teeth with sticks, in short made
themselves so unpleasantly at home that Burton must have
often longed to kick them out. After the departure of these
free and easy folk he often strolled to a little mosque near
the shore, where games resembling backgammon were
played, or the Somal shot at a mark, threw the javelin,
and engaged in gymnastic exercises ; at other times he
walked to the southern gate of Zeila and amused himself
by watching a camp of Bedawin stationed just outside.
While returning punctually before sunset, an hour when
the keys were carried to Governor Sharmarkay, he heard
the call to prayer, and noticed with some surprise that the
Somal, unlike the children of El-Hejaz, generally failed to
respond. Then came supper, followed by an hour or two
spent on his terraced roof to enjoy the view of the distant
Tajurrah hills and the white moonbeams sleeping on the
nearer sea.
It is curious to read in the book, 1 of which I am giving
a sketch, how Burton used to treat the wild people amongst
whom he travelled to stories from the "Arabian Nights."
These tales translated by him thirty years later were
always favourites, owing to the wonderful insight they afford
into the character of Orientals. Unfortunately for the bulk
of English readers, the literal translations are suitable only
for students, and the extensively bowdlerised ones in many
instances turn the stories into nonsense.
But the Somal were not easily shocked. In fact, like
most Africans they seemed decidedly given to levity. When
reproached with gambling and asked why they persisted in
a practice forbidden by the Prophet, they frankly answered,
" Because we like it." And one night, whilst encamped
1 " First Footsteps in East Africa, or an Exploration of Harar."
Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, i vol. 1856.
A Somal Friday 135
amongst the Eesa tribe, Burton overheard an old woman
suffering from toothache groaning forth at intervals
throughout the night the somewhat impious refrain :
" O Allah, may Thy teeth ache like mine ! may Thy
gums be sore as mine ! " Still they observe their Friday,
as may be seen from the following description of their
weekly assembling of themselves together :
" At half-past eleven a kettle-drum sounds a summons
to the Jami or Cathedral. It is only an old barn, rudely
plastered and whitewashed, posts or columns of artless
masonry support the low roof, and the smallness of the
windows, or rather air-holes, renders its dreary length
unpleasantly hot. There is no pulpit ; the only ornament
is a rude representation of the Meccan mosque, nailed,
like a pot-house print, to the wall ; and the sole articles
of furniture are ragged mats and old boxes, containing
tattered chapters of the Koran in greasy bindings. I enter
with a servant carrying a prayer-carpet, encounter the
stare of three hundred pair of eyes belonging to parallel
rows of squatters, recite the customary prayer in honour of
the mosque, placing sword and rosary before me, and then,
taking up a Koran, read the Cave Chapter (No. 18) loud and
twangingly. At mid-day the Muezzin inside the mosque
standing before the Khatib repeats the call to prayer, which
the congregation, sitting upon their shins and feet, intone after
him. This ended, all present stand up, and recite, every man
for himself, a prayer of Sunnat or Example, concluding
with the blessing of the Prophet and the Salam over each
shoulder to all brother believers. The Khatib then ascends
a hole in the wall, which serves for a pulpit, and thence
addresses us with The peace be upon you, and the mercy
of Allah and his benediction,' to which we respond through
the Muezzin, ' And upon, you be peace and Allah's mercy.'
After sundry other religious formulae and their replies, our
Khatib rises and preaches El-Waaz, or the advice sermon.
Though also a Kazi, or Judge, he makes several blunders in
136 Captain Sir R, F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
his Arabic, and he reads his sermons, a thing never done in
El-Islam except by the modice docti. The discourse over,
our clerk, who is, if possible, worse than the curate, repeats
the form of call termed El-Ikamah ; then, entering the
Mihrab or niche, he recites the two-bow Friday litany with,
and in front of the congregation. . . . This public prayer
concluded, many people leave the mosque ; a few remain
for more prolonged devotions."
Towards the end of the month spent at Zeila Burton
fretted sadly at the continual delays. Like most Orientals,
Sharmarkay, though willing enough to help, procrastinated,
and when the anxious traveller showed signs of losing
temper, all the effect produced was a paroxysm of talk.
However, at last, an Abban or protector was secured, one
Raghe, a petty Eesa chief, who, for the consideration of four
cloths of Cutch canvas and six of coarse American sheeting,
was induced to accompany the caravan to the frontier of
his clan, distant about fifty miles. He promised, besides,
to introduce it to the Gudabirsi tribe, who in their turn
would pass it on to the Gerad or Prince of the Girhi, and
he, in due time, to his kinsman, the Amir of Harar. This
matter settled, two women cooks and other servants were
engaged, five camels procured, and on the arrival of some
fine mules, ordered from Tajurrah about three weeks before,
all was ready for a start.
Raghe did not enter on his new duties very cheerfully ;
on the contrary, he warned his employer to prepare for
disaster. The citizens of Zeila, persuaded that their guest
was tired of life, croaked in a similar strain. The natives
up country, they declared, were savage, treacherous, cruel
exceedingly ; there were constant blood feuds between the
tribes, and massacres were incessant. For these people are
not so anxious to plunder as to ennoble themselves by
taking life. Every man hangs to his saddle-bow an ostrich
feather, and the moment his javelin has drawn blood, he
sticks it into his tufty poll with as much satisfaction as an
The Departure jrom Zeila 137
English officer feels when attaching a medal to his jacket.
Nor is the appearance of the Somal engaging in their
native haunts. Carefully selected, well scrubbed up, they
look picturesque enough in a fancy show in England, but
in the wilder parts of Somaliland their uncombed mop-like
heads, their scowling faces, their solitary garment never
clean would disconcert the most inveterate lover of the
noble savage. That the Eesa, the Gudabirsi, the Girhi, and
the Galla have their good points will be seen later ; but
their virtues were kept strictly in the back-ground by the
ravens with whom Burton was surrounded.
Early November ayth, 1854, the mules and all the para-
phernalia of travel stood ready at his door. The camels,
growling loudly, submitted perforce to their burdens ;
and at 3 p.m. our little caravan sallied forth with an
escort of Arab matchlock-men, the Governor and his son.
After half an hour's march, adieus were exchanged, and
the soldiers fired a parting volley.
It was a curious company. Foremost strutted Raghe,
in all the bravery of Abbanship. Bareheaded, clothed in
Tobe 1 and slippers, a long horn-handled dagger strapped
round his waist, he grasped in his right hand a ponderous
spear, while his left forearm supported a round shield of
battered hide. He also carried a prayer-carpet of tanned
leather, and a wicker bottle for religious ablutions. Even
more comical were the two cooks, Samaweda and Aybla,
buxom dames of about thirty. Each looked like three
women rolled into one ; a bustle as an article of attire
would have been utterly superfluous. Fat notwithstand-
ing, they proved invaluable. During the march they
carried pipes and tobacco for other folks' delectation,
not their own they led and flogged the camels, adjusted
the burdens, which were continually falling awry ; and,
most wonderful of all, never asked for a ride. At every
1 A cotton sheet, an article which, like the Highland plaid, can
be worn in many ways.
138 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
halt it was they who unloaded the cattle, pitched the
tent, cooked the food, and then bivouacked outside. No
more about these culinary treasures; it makes an English
housewife green with envy to think of them !
Strung together by their tails, five camels paced along
under their burdens bales of American sheeting, Cutch
canvas, with indigo-dyed stuff, slung along the animals'
sides, and neatly sewn up in a case of matting to keep off
dust and rain a cow's hide, which served as a couch,
covering the whole. They carried besides a load of in-
different Mocha dates for the natives, and another of better
quality for the expedition, half a hundredweight of coarse
Surat tobacco, and two boxes of beads and trinkets. The
private provisions were represented by about 300 Ibs. of
rice, a large pot full of flesh sun-dried and fried in ghee,
salt, clarified butter, tea, coffee, sugar, a box of biscuits,
Arab sweetmeats, and a little turmeric. A simple battevie de
cuisine, sundry skins full of potable water, and a heavy box
of ammunition, completed the outfit. The cost of all this,
including the passage money from Aden, seems singularly
small ^149.
Alongside the camels rode Burton's three attendants,
attired in the pink of Somali fashion. Their fuzzy wigs
shone with grease, their tobes had just been washed, their
shields newly recovered with canvas cloth, and the spears
poised over the right shoulder, freshly scraped and polished.
Last of all came Burton, mounted on a snowy mule, which,
with its bright-coloured Arab pad and wrapper cloth, looked
fairly dignified ; a double-barrelled gun lay across his lap,
and a rude pair of holsters of native make contained his
Colt's six-shooters.
The route to Harar chosen on this occasion was a
winding road, which passes south along the coast to the
nearest hills, and thence strikes south-westward among the
Gudabirsi and Girhi Somal, which extend within sight of
the city. The direct line is about 186 miles in length, of
The Route to Harar 139
which about 150 are over the plains or desert, the remaining
36 being a remarkable ascent until the town is reached, at
an altitude of over 7,000 feet above sea-level. But good
Sharmarkay had objected to the nearer route on account of
a recent blood feud with one of the tribes, and Burton had
to respect the old man's wishes. Marching as described,
the caravan made its way over a level country, here dry,
there muddy, across boggy creeks, broad watercourses, and
warty flats of black mould powdered with nitrous salt and
bristling with salsolaceous vegetation. Such, between the
mountains and the sea, is the general formation of the
plain, whose breadth in a direct line may measure from
forty-five to forty-eight miles. Near the first zone of hills
the land becomes more fertile ; thorns and acacias of various
kinds appear in clumps, and after the monsoon it is covered
with rich grass, a favourite haunt for game, as our British
sportsmen have now discovered.
At eight p.m. our party reached a halting-place, where
they lighted fires and passed the night. Early dawn found
them en route through a Somali Arcadia, whose sole flaws
were salt water and simoom. Whistling shepherds carried
in their arms the younglings of the herds, or, spear in hand,
drove to pasture long, regular lines of camels, that waved
their vulture-like heads and arched their necks to playfully
bite their neighbours' faces, humps, and hind legs. The
huge brutes were led by a patriarch to whose throat hung
a wooden bell, and most of them were followed by colts in
every stage of infancy. Sheep with snowy fleeces and
jetty faces flocked in crowds over the yellow plain ; and
herds of goats resembling deer were driven by hide-clad
children to the bush.
In the centre of this pastoral scene stood a kraal called
Gudingaras, about twenty miles from Zeila. Here the two
women rigged up a very cosy wigwam and made everything
snug for the night. Before turning in, Burton astonished
the natives by shooting a vulture on the wing, which not
140 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
very remarkable feat so impressed a Nestor of the tribe,
that he begged for a charm to cure his sick camel, and
having obtained it, blessed the magician in a speech of
portentous length, and then spat upon the party for luck.
At Kuranyali, a little further on, the Abban, being amongst
his own people, waxed so lavishly generous with his em-
ployer's goods, that there was no small difficulty in per-
suading the wild men to let the caravan depart.
Leaving the coast they now struck south-westward into
the interior, across a low plain, towards a blue strip of hill
on the far horizon. One evening a scare arose ; they had
come upon the trail of a large cavalcade supposed to belong
to a rival and hostile tribe. The celebrated footprint seen
by Robinson Crusoe affected him not more powerfully than
did this dreadful discovery the poor timid Somal ; and cer-
tainly they had reason for their fears, nine men and two
women being a small party to contend against two hun-
dred horsemen. Raghe kept well to the front, ready for
a run. Burton, whistling with anger, asked his attendants
what had frightened them he had to be stern, else they
might have all decamped and never been found again. The
hedge-priest, in a hollow voice, replied: "Verily, O pilgrim,
whoso seeth the track seeth the foe! " and, by way of raising
yet higher the general spirits, proceeded to quote the dreary
lines :
" Man is but a handful of dust,
And life is a violent storm."
Fortunately, the riders had bigger game to stalk ; and
about half an hour afterwards rough ravines, with sharp
and thorny descents, a place of safety, where horsemen
rarely venture, was reached by the terrified little band.
Soon came fresh troubles. On quitting the maritime plain,
and on entering the Ghauts, threshold of the Ethiopian
highlands, the Somal were again dismayed, this time by
the change of temperature. Stiff with cold, with chat-
tering teeth, the wretched creatures stood and squatted
The Region of the Ghauts 141
all but inside the huge fires which had to be kindled to
keep them alive.
Strange sights enlivened the march. Strangest of all,
perhaps, the hills of the white ants. Owing to their
extraordinary labours, the land in places resembled a
Turkish cemetery on a grand scale ; in others, it looked
like a city in ruins. In some parts, the pillar-like erections
were truncated, whilst many, veiled by trees and overrun
with gay creepers, suggested sylvan altars. Generally they
were conical, and varied in height from four to twelve feet.
They were to be counted by hundreds. Burton remarked
these curiosities for the first time in the Wady Darkaynlay ;
in the interior they are larger and longer than in the mari-
time regions.
Far inferior in ingenuity were the wigwams of the
natives huts like old beehives, about five feet high by six
in diameter. The material was a framework of sticks, bent
and hardened ; these were planted in the ground, tied to-
gether, and covered with mats. Hides were spread on the
top during the monsoon, and little heaps of earth raised
around to keep out wind and rain. Many a British pig
could boast of a more comfortable and salubrious abode.
On the loth December Burton was obliged to halt for a
day or two at a kraal belonging to the Gudabirsi tribe.
Bad water, violent fluctuations of temperature 51 in the
morning, 107 at midday and incessant fatigue had so
seriously affected his health that, very unwillingly, he had
to give himself a short rest. The sick stranger created a
prodigious sensation ; all the population flocked to see him,
darkening his hut with nodding wigs and staring faces.
Men, women and children appeared in crowds, bringing
milk and ghee, meat and diink, everything they imagined
might tend to restore his health ; and truly, if Burton
remembered the bugbear tales croaked by the citizens of
Zeila, he must have been surprised at the humanity of
beings represented as little better than fiends. His attack
142 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
one of colic soon passed off, but only to return with
greater violence a week or two later.
At this settlement Raghe, who on the whole had per-
formed his duties satisfactorily, gave over the charge of the
caravan to six Gudabirsi, sons of a noted chief. Beuh, the
eldest brother and spokesman of the party, proved more
valiant in speech than action ; but he was a trustworthy
guide, and, under his direction, a little further on our
traveller first descried the dark hills of Harar looming
beyond the Harawwah Valley.
On the 23rd December the little band entered the Barr
or Prairie of Marar, one of those long strips of plain which
diversify the Somali country. As this was neutral ground,
where the Eesa and other tribes met to plunder when so
disposed, it was deemed advisable to join forces with a
small native caravan, which carried next to nothing worth
stealing. However, no robbers appeared, and, barring a
bloodless adventure with a lion, and the distant sight of
a prairie fire, a broad sheet of flame which swept down a
hill and for awhile threatened to ignite the entire Barr,
nothing occurred to agitate even Somali nerves. All safely
reached Wilensi, a long, straggling village belonging to the
Gerad Adan, a powerful chief of the Girhi highlands, and,
as already said, kinsman of the Amir of Harar.
The Gerad was away, but one of his wives ordered two
huts to be prepared for the strangers' reception. This
princess, a tall woman, with a light complexion, hand-
somely dressed in a large Harar tobe, received Burton in
person, and supplied him liberally with boiled beef, pump-
kins, and Jowari cakes. The inhabitants of Wilensi proved
as friendly as their mistress, rather too friendly, in fact, for
the result of their hospitality was that the caravan began
to split up. Such dismal tales concerning Harar and its
neighbourhood were circulated by the natives that some of
the travellers declined point blank to proceed any further.
Samaweda and Aybla hearing of small pox in the city,
Serious Attack of Colic 143
feared for their sable charms, while Beuh and a one-eyed
man, nicknamed the Kalendar, utterly refused to stir from
a place where they were so comfortable.
Burton, as usual, paid small attention to these stories, and
after a short rest pushed on with his remaining attendants
to Sagharrah, a snug high-fenced village in the mountain-
ous regions the people live in more solidly constructed
abodes than on the plains built against a hill-side. Here
he met the Gerad, who for motives of his own received
him politely. This scheming and ambitious man had set
his heart on building a fort to control the country's trade,
and rival or overawe the city, and he hoped the stranger
might assist him with plans and advice. Nor did he
neglect the main chance. Whatever he saw he asked for ;
and, after receiving a sword, a Koran, a turban, a satin
waistcoat, about seventy tobes and a similar proportion of
indigo-dyed stuff, he begged for a silver-hilted sword, one
thousand dollars, two sets of silver bracelets, twenty guns,
and a scarlet coat embroidered with gold. True, he
promised in return horses, mules and ivory, but his
memory conveniently failed just when the moment arrived
for keeping his word.
Again was Burton seized with internal pains, this time
so severe as to threaten his life. For forty-eight hours he
lay in his hut almost unable to move. And again the wild
people treated him with the greatest kindness. The Gerad's
handsome wife on hearing the news sacrificed a sheep as an
expiatory offering; the Gerad sent as far as Harar for
millet beer ; even the Galla Christians who flocked in to
see the sick Moslem, wept for the evil fate which had
brought him so far from his fatherland. But to expire of
an ignoble colic was not to be thought of, and a firm reso-
lution to live effected its object.
On the ist of January, 1855, our traveller feeling easier,
rose, clothed himself in his Arab best, and requested a
palaver with the chief. The two men retired to a quiet
144 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
place behind the village, where Burton read aloud a letter
of introduction from the Governor of Zeila. The Gerad
seemed much pleased by the route through his country
having been preferred to the more direct line, renewed the
subject of his fort, and declared he had now found the
builder, for his eldest daughter had dreamed the night before
that this Moslem merchant would settle in the land. The
project was discussed and matters were proceeding most
satisfactorily when a disagreeable interruption occurred.
Suddenly five men, envoys of the Amir of Harar, who
had been sent to settle some weighty question of blood
money, rode up to the Gerad. After sitting with the latter
about half an hour, during which time they inspected our
traveller's attendants and animals with solemn countenances,
and asked sundry pertinent questions concerning his business
in these parts, they drew the chief aside and informed him
that his guest was not one who bought and sold, but an
enemy whose only design was to spy out the wealth of the
land. They ended by coolly proposing to convey the whole
party as prisoners to Harar. Unwilling to lose his prospec-
tive engineer, and feeling safe on his own ground, the
Gerad curtly refused, and the five men having concluded
the business on which they came, mounted their gaily
caparisoned mules and presently departed.
But, as it was plain enough they might return with an
armed force behind them, some decided step had to be
taken at once. From sundry insinuations Burton believed
the envoys suspected him to be a Turk, a nationality more
hated at Harar than any other. After weighty considera-
tion he determined to declare himself a British subject, to
start immediately before further mischief were done, and to
deliver in person to. the Amir a letter from the Political
Resident at Aden. A few lines addressed to Lieutenant
Herne directing him how to act in case of a disaster were
left with "End of Time," who, too much of a poltroon to
proceed, remained at Sagharrah. Most of the luggage
First View of Harar 145
kept the Widad company, a single ass carrying only what
was absolutely indispensable. And thus, amidst the lamen-
tations of the villagers who declared that their departing
guests would shortly be all dead men, Burton, the two
policemen, and an escort of three Girhi started on their
perilous enterprise.
Two o'clock in the afternoon next day found them
within a couple of miles of the city. There on a crest of a
hill it stood, a long, sombre line strikingly contrasting with
the whitewashed towns of the East. The spectacle,
materially speaking, was a disappointment ; nothing con-
spicuous appeared except two grey minarets of rude shape ;
but the near prospect of penetrating that grim pile of
stones, which had proved impregnable to all but himself,
must have made our traveller's heart beat high with
exultation.
Spurring their mules, our party advanced at a long trot.
The soil on both sides of the path was rich and red ; limes,
plantains, and pomegranates grew plentifully in the gardens,
for which the neighbourhood of Harar was then famous.
In places appeared plantations of coffee, bastard saffron,
and the graceful Kat, a drug largely used in these parts as
a pleasant excitant, its effects resembling those of green
tea without the consequent nervousness. About half a
mile eastward of the town they came to a brook, called
Jalah, or the Coffee Water. Burton's four companions
(one of the Girhi had turned tail) plunged into the water,
and while they splashed about like lively seals, their
employer retired to the wayside and sketched the city.
A short ride then brought them before the dark de-
fences of Harar. Groups of citizens loitered about the
large gateway, or sat chatting near a ruined tomb. One
of the Girhi, who acted as interpreter, advanced to the
entrance, accosted a warder conspicuous by his wand of
office, and, in Burton's name, requested the honour of an
audience with the Amir. Whilst the man sped on his
10
146 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
errand, Burton and his attendants sat at the foot of a round
bastion, where they were scrutinised, derided, and cate-
chised by a little mob of both sexes, especially by that
conventionally termed the fair.
In about half an hour the warder returned, and ordered
the strangers to cross the threshold. They guided their
mules with difficulty along a main street, a narrow, uphill
lane, with rocks cropping out from a surface more irregular
than a Perote pavement, until they arrived within a
hundred yards of a gate constructed of holcus sticks, which
opened into the courtyard of this African Saint James',
when all dismounted, the Amir's abode having to be
approached with due ceremony. Leading their animals,
our party entered, marched down the royal enclosure, and
were told to halt under a tree in the left corner, close to a
low erection of rough stone. Clanking of fetters within
suggested a state prison.
A crowd of Gallas, a powerful tribe near Harar, were
lounging about or squatting in the shade of the palace
walls. The chiefs were conspicuous by their zinc armlets,
composed of thin spiral circlets, closely joined, and ex-
tending almost from the wrist to the elbow. All appeared
to enjoy peculiar privileges, such as carrying arms or
wearing sandals. They took little notice of the strangers,
so our traveller had leisure to inspect a spot about which
many and vastly divergent accounts were current. The
palace itself was a mere shed, a single-storied, windowless
barn of rough stone and reddish clay, with a thin coat of
whitewash over the entrance. The courtyard, measuring
about eighty yards long by thirty in breadth, was irregularly
shaped, and surrounded by low buildings; in the centre
stood a circle of masonry, against which reclined sundry
doors, which had been removed and confiscated in conse-
quence of the evil deeds of their proprietors.
At last the guide returned from within, motioned Burton
to doff his slippers at a stone step, or rather line, about
Interview with the Amir 147
twelve feet distant from the palace wall. Our Haji kicked
off his shoes, and in another moment strode into the chiefs
presence.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sultan Abibakr sat in a dark room
with whitewashed walls, to which hung significant deco-
rations rusty matchlocks and polished fetters. His ap-
pearance was that of a little Indian Rajah ; an etiolated
youth about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age, plain
and thin-bearded, with a yellow complexion, wrinkled
brows, and protruding eyes. His dress was a flowing
robe of crimson cloth edged with snowy fur, and a narrow
white turban tightly twisted round a tall conical cap of red
velvet, like the old Turkish headgear of our painters. His
throne consisted of a raised cot about five feet long, with
back and sides supported by a dwarf railing. Being an
invalid, he rested his elbow on a pillow, under which
appeared the hilt of a Cutch sabre. Ranged in double
line stood the " court," his cousins and nearest relations,
with their right arms bared, after the custom of Abyssinia.
Burton entered exclaiming " Peace be upon ye ! " to
which Ahmed replied graciously, and extended a hand
bony and yellow as a kite's claw. Two chamberlains,
stepping forward, assisted the stranger to bend low over
H. H.'s fingers, which, however, he could not persuade
himself to kiss. Burton's attendants then took their turn,
and, these preliminaries concluded, the party were led to a
mat in front of the Amir, who directed towards them an
inquisitive stare.
In answer to enquiries concerning his health he shook
his head captiously, and after a pause asked what might be
the stranger's errand. Burton drew from his pocket the
Political Resident's letter ; but Ahmed, who of course could
not read English, merely glanced at it, laid it on the couch,
and demanded further explanations. Our Haji then repre-
sented in Arabic that he had come from Aden, bearing the
compliments of his Daulah or Governor, that he had entered
10 2
148 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Harar to see the light of His Highness's countenance, and
concluded his little speech with allusions to the friendship
formerly existing between his nation and the deceased
chief, Abubakr.
Much to Burton's relief the Amir smiled, and after
whispering for awhile to his treasurer, made a polite sign
to the party to retire. Their baisemain repeated, they
backed out of the audience-chamber with far lighter hearts
than when they entered it. Marshalled by a squad of His
Highness's bodyguard, they were conducted to a second
palace, situated about a hundred yards from the first, and
were told to consider it their home. And soon a further
proof of royal favour appeared in the shape of a slight
repast, forwarded from the chief's kitchen a dish of holcus
cakes, soaked in sour milk, and thickly powdered with red
pepper, the salt of this inland region.
Hardly was the frugal meal concluded before the
treasurer entered charged with Ahmed's commands that
the strangers should call without delay on his Vizier, the
Gerad Mohammed. Under his guidance Burton pro-
ceeded to an abode distinguished by its external streak of
whitewash, at Harar a royal and vizierial distinction, where
he found a venerable man, whose benevolent countenance
belied sundry evil reports current about him at Zeila. He
received our Haji courteously, and enquired his object in
excellent Arabic. The answer of course was couched much
in the same terms as that to the Amir, plus that it was
the wish of the English to re-establish friendly communi-
cations and commercial intercourse with the city. Some
interchange of civilities ensued, and then Burton withdrew
to his palatial quarters for the night. Before retiring to
rest, he sent a six-barrelled revolver as a present to his
august host, explaining its use to the bearer, and then
prepared to make himself as comfortable as conditions
permitted. Few men could have slept very soundly be-
neath the roof of a bigoted prince whose least word was
Impressions of Harar 149
death, amongst a people who detested foreigners, and who,
save for the title of Haji, would certainly never have
permitted a Frank to cross their inhospitable threshold
unpunished.
During their ten days' stay our adventurous part)
were called upon by a strange medley of nationalities a
Magrabi from Fez, who commanded the Amir's bodyguard,
a thoroughbred Persian, a boy from Meccah, a Muscat man,
a native of Suez, a citizen of Damascus, and many others.
The Somal, of course mustered in force, and among them
the Hammal found relations and friends. When free from
visitors Burton explored the town. It has changed much
since 1855, after its occupation first by the Egyptians, then
the Abyssinians ; for, whereas he describes it as a long,
sombre line of houses, topped by two grey minarets, later
travellers speak of it as a great yellow city, crowned by
a whitewashed, circular church, erected on the site of the
old Jami, one minaret of which alone remains. In 1855
it measured one mile long, by half that breadth. The
material of both houses and walls consisted of rough stones,
the granites and sandstones of the hills, cemented with
clay ; but the buildings were so mean as to be little better
than flat-roofed cabins, with doors composed of a single
plank. The only spacious erection was the Jami, a long
barn - like structure, with broken - down gates and two
minarets of truncated conoid shape. Narrow lanes, strewn
with rubbish heaps, upon which reposed packs of mangy
dogs, served as streets ; while gardens, which give to most
Eastern settlements so green and pleasant an appearance,
seemed to flourish only outside the town. Harar then
abounded in mosques and in graveyards crammed with
tombs ; she was proud of her learning, her sanctity, and
her dead ; and these, except perhaps the climate, which
resembles that of Tuscany, completed the scanty list of her
attractions.
No long interval elapsed before another summons
150 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
arrived to wait upon the Vizier, who on this occasion
was transacting business at the palace. Sword in hand,
and followed by two servants, Burton walked to the royal
precincts, and entering a ground floor room on the right of
and close to the audience hall, found the minister reclining
upon a large dai's covered with Persian carpets. He was
surrounded by six of his brother councillors, two wearing
turbans, the rest with bare and shaven heads. The gran-
dees were solacing themselves in the intervals of their
labours by eating kat, or, as it was there called, yat.
One of the party prepared the tenderest leaves, another
pounded the plant with a little water ; of this paste a bit
was handed to each person, who, rolling it into a ball,
dropped it into his mouth.
The Gerad, after sundry polite inquiries, seated Burton
next his right hand on the dai's, where, while the business
of the day was being despatched, the guest ate kat and
fingered a rosary. Perhaps the sight of this article in a
stranger's hand stimulated the elders of Harar to keep up
their reputation for sanctity ; anyway, no sooner had they
settled the affairs upon which they had been engaged when
Burton entered, than the whole company waxed pious and
controversial. One old man took up a large volume, and
began to recite a long blessing on the Prophet ; at the end
of each period all intoned the response, " Allah, bless our
Lord Mohammed with his Progeny and his Companions,
one and all." This exercise, which lasted half an hour,
afforded our Haji the much-desired opportunity of making
a good impression. The reader, misled by a marginal
reference, happened to say, " Angels, Men, and Genii " ;
the Gerad found written, " Men, Angels, and Genii."
Opinions were divided as to the order of things, when the
stranger explained that human nature, which amongst
Moslems is not held a little lower than the angelic, ranked
highest, because of it were created prophets, apostles, and
saints. His theology won general approbation and a few
kinder glances from the elders.
The Harari 151
Prayers over, a chamberlain entered and whispered a
few words to the Vizier, who rose, donned a white sleeve-
less cloak, and disappeared. Presently Burton was bidden
to the Amir's presence. Entering ceremoniously as before,
he was motioned by the Prince to sit near the Vizier, who
occupied a Persian rug to the right of the throne. After
sundry enquiries concerning various changes that had taken
place at Aden, Ahmed suddenly produced Burton's letter,
eyed it suspiciously, and demanded an explanation of its
contents. The translation into Arabic rendered, the Vizier
asked whether this British subject intended to buy and sell
at Harar a natural question enough as the start from Zeila
as a Moslem merchant was probably well known. The
reply ran : " We are no buyers nor sellers ; we have be-
come your guests to pay our respects to the Amir, whom
may Allah preserve ! " l This appearing satisfactory,
Burton, who had seen as much of Harar as he desired,
expressed a hope that the Prince would be pleased to
dismiss him soon, as the air of the town was too dry for
his constitution, and, worse still, his attendants were in
danger of catching the small-pox. Ahmed, ever chary of
words, bent towards his Vizier, who briefly ejaculated,
" The reply will be vouchsafed." And with this ambiguous
answer the audience ended.
The medley of nationalities in this city has been already
noticed, but the most curious people were the Harari them-
selves. The small population of 8,000 souls was then a
distinct race, having its own tongue, unintelligible to any
save the citizens and nearest tribes. The men pock-
marked and scarred with various skin diseases, were most
unprepossessing. Generally their complexions were a
yellowish brown, their beards short and scanty, their
hands and feet enormous. However, their dress, a
mixture of Arab and Abyssinian, had the merit of
picturesqueness, and helped to conceal their ugly figures.
1 In conversational Arabic " we" is used without affectation.
152 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
The women, on the contrary, were decidedly handsome.
Burton mentions with admiration their small heads,
regular profiles, straight noses, and even well-shaped
mouths. But sadly free and easy were those dames of
Harar, with their gaudy clothes, their hair gathered up in
two large bunches behind the ears and covered with dark
blue muslin. They chewed tobacco, they indulged in intoxi-
cating drinks, and their lack of modesty was so glaring
that a public flogging was occasionally indispensable.
Perhaps they have improved since those naughty days the
circular Abyssinian Church may have reformed their morals.
Amongst the crowd who flocked to see the stranger,
Shaykh Jami, one of the Ulema, proved most friendly.
Jami had acquired a reputation as a peace-policy man and
an ardent Moslem. Though an imperfect Arabic scholar,
he was remarkably well read in religious lore ; even the
Meccans had shown their respect for him by kissing his
hand during his pilgrimage to their sanctuary. His peace-
preserving character was assumed only after the first flush
of youth and enthusiasm had departed, for he commenced
his travels with the firm intention of murdering the British
Resident at Aden. Struck with th justice of our rule, he
changed his mind in time, offered El-Islam to the officer,
and prayed fervently for his conversion. . . . Eminently
characteristic was it of Burton, reminding one comically
enough of his brushes with the Oxford dons, that during
the very first visit he paid this scholar he corrected him
in a matter of history. A temporary huffiness ensued, but,
fortunately, the good little theologian bore no malice.
The days became somewhat monotonous, as without
her ruler's permission nobody might venture outside Harar,
and Burton had already exhausted her limited list of lions.
At dawn he and his men attended to the mules, and then
discussed a meal of boiled beef and holcus scones, supple-
mented by plantains, stewed fowls, and other dainties
presented by visitors. After breakfast, the house filled with
Shaykh Jami proves a Friend 153
people, noon was usually followed by a little privacy, the
callers departing to dinner and siesta. Later the rooms
refilled and the motley crew dispersed only at sunset.
Before everyone retired for the night the mules had to be
fed again after a fashion for the Amir's provisions for
man and beast were remarkable neither for quantity nor
quality, and the hungry animals more than once attempted
a stampede from the courtyard wherein they were tethered.
Meanwhile the envoys, inimical from the beginning,
were not idle. Alarming rumours began to circulate. It
was reported that Burton and his men were transacting
business for Haji Sharmarkay, the bugbear of Harar. The
Vizier became uneasy and showed his feelings. Truly it
was time to depart.
Shaykh Jami now proved a valuable ally. If not pre-
cisely in the minister's confidence he thoroughly understood
how to serve both sides. Perceiving matters were becoming
strained, and that for the sake of the public peace it would
be wise to speed these parting guests, he begged the Gerad
to allow our party to escort him on a short trip which he
wished to take in the neigbourhood. The astute old Vizier
seized upon this excellent pretext for ridding Harar of sus-
picious characters ; and the result of Shaykh Jami's appli-
cation was a hasty summons to the levee room. There
Burton, with his usual presence of mind, clinched matters.
He had perceived the minister was suffering from chronic
bronchitis, and he now promised on reaching Aden to send
the different remedies employed by Europeans. The chance
afforded of some alleviation of his sufferings so delighted
the poor old man that he wished our traveller to depart as
speedily as possible, while the courtiers looked on approv-
ingly, and begged no time should be lost. A final interview
followed with the sickly httle Amir, and a long conversation
about the state of Aden, of Zeila, of Berberah, and of Stam-
boul. Ahmed expressed himself desirous of obtaining the
friendship of the British nation, a people who built " large
154 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
ships " ; and, in return, Burton praised Harar in cautious
phrases, and regretted that its coffee was not better known
amongst the Franks. Finally, he requested the chief's
commands for Aden, upon which the Gerad, evidently the
leading spirit, gave him a letter addressed to the Political
Resident, and told him to take charge of a mule as a
present. Then rising, Burton recited a short prayer, the
gist of which was that the Amir's days and reign might be
long in the land, bent his head over the Prince's hand, and
retired.
Three days later the whole party departed unmolested.
Pious Shaykh Jami had insisted upon waiting for a lucky
day, and, as in such a country delays are especially dan-
gerous, he was left to follow when the auspicious moment
arrived. The adventurous little band had lovely weather
for their journey. When they started at early dawn a
cloudless sky, then untarnished by sun, tinged with reflected
blue the mist-crowns of the distant peaks, and the smoke-
wreaths hanging round the sleeping villages, and the air
was a cordial after the rank atmosphere of Harar. The
dew hung in large diamonds from the coffee-trees, the spur-
fowl crew blithely in the wayside bushes ; never did the face
of Nature seem to Burton so truly lovely.
At Sagharrah and Wilensi the travellers were received
with shouts of delight. Everybody was well, including the
fat cooks, and all the property was intact. Nothing
remained to do except to get back as quickly as possible.
And as Burton felt disinclined for the delay and worry
which would be inevitable were he to personally conduct
his caravan to Zeila, he appointed Beuh his deputy, the
man promising on arrival at the seaport to forward the
private property to Aden. This settled, our traveller
prepared to ride on mule-back to Berberah taking only
three attendants and a stock of provisions sufficient for
four days, the supposed length of the journey, a mistake
that very nearly cost him dear. So at the end of a week,
The Ride to Berberah 155
enlivened by the promised visit from Shaykh Jami, who
insisted on chanting religious exercises until the small
hours of the morning, Burton started with his men on
January 26th.
Little guessed he what lay before him. Desperate
indeed was this ride to Berberah. One night drenched
with rain while lying in a deserted sheepfold, wet saddle
cloths the only bedding ; twenty-four hours passed without
one drop of water, half of which were spent riding under a
burning sun over horrid hills denuded of vegetation, across
plains covered with stones, and rolling ground abounding
with thorns apparently created to tear man's skin and
clothes. When at last, blessed sight, sundry pools ap-
peared, they were brimful of tadpoles and nameless insects ;
but, prudence cast to the winds, men and beasts drank and
drank until they could drink no more. The suffering had
been fearful ; we can hardly wonder that a wretched guide,
whose incapacity had partly caused these disasters, de-
clared that the white man had been sent as a special curse
upon the children of Ishak.
The worst was over when the springs were reached, but
Berberah yet lay three days distant. The descent from the
Ghauts into the low country was a sore trial to exhausted
men and animals. No sandy water-course here facilitated
the travellers' advance ; the rapid slope presented a suc-
cession of blocks and boulders piled one upon the other in
rugged steps, apparently impassable to any creatures but
mules. Nor on the return march was our party assisted
by the natives. There was nothing to give in exchange
for hospitality, so the churlish villagers refused even a
draught of milk ; indeed, on one occasion, they threatened
hostilities. No pauper in England could find shops more
religiously closed to him than did Burton and his men find
the huts of the natives in the wilds of Somaliland; and
soon not a biscuit, not a handful of rice or dates remained.
Very slowly, on the last day of this race with death,
156 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
did the wearied little band march along the coast. Almost
impossible was it to prevent the mules from remaining
altogether by the wayside, certain death to the poor beasts.
At last a long dark line was seen upon the sandy horizon ;
it grew more and more distinct ; the silhouettes of shipping
appeared against sea and sky Berberah, the goal ! At
2 a.m. our exhausted cavalcade crept cautiously round
the southern quarter of the sleeping town, and, after
sundry inquiries, Burton dismounted in front of his
comrades' hut. A glad welcome, servants and animals
duly provided for, and he fell asleep, conscious of having
performed a feat which, like a certain ride to York, would
live in local annals for many a year.
Thus far success had crowned his efforts, and well
for him had he reposed on his laurels. But, deeming his
exploration of Somaliland sadly incomplete, he planned
a fresh enterprise. Preparations were made at Aden for
a second expedition on a larger and more imposing scale ;
and after no long interval he landed at Berberah at the
head of forty-two men a motley crew of Egyptians, Arabs,
negroes, and Somal, armed with sabres and flint muskets.
Lieutenants Speke, Herne, and Stroyan acted as subordin-
ates. The camp was pitched close to a creek, which lay
between it and Berberah, a site chosen in order that the
expedition might enjoy the protection of the gunboat Mahi;
but, most unfortunately, she was suddenly ordered else-
where a cruel blunder, the cause of the following disaster.
Had Burton and his men been able to start before the
Mahi's departure, all might have gone well. But they were
forced to wait for the mid- April mail with instruments and
stores from England, and the delay proved fatal. On the
1 8th of April while the expedition was still waiting and
watching for the steamer, a native craft scudded into the
creek, and, having landed her passengers, would have
sailed again the same evening. Luckily, our traveller, with
his usual kind-heartedness, insisted on feasting the com-
Burton severely wounded 157
mander and crew ; little he knew he had entertained dusky
angels unawares !
Between two and three a.m. next morning, one Mahmud
rushed into Burton's tent, crying out that the enemy were
upon them. Three hundred of the wild hill-men had
swooped down upon the camp. Burton sprang to his feet,
and hastily aroused his English comrades, who were all
close by. Lieutenant Stroyan rose to defend himself, but
was instantly speared ; Burton, Speke and Herne, with
overwhelming odds against them, endeavoured to defend
their position a ricketty tent. The Somal swarmed like
hornets, and it was by no means easy to avoid in the
darkness, lightened every now and then by the flash of a
revolver, the jobbing javelins and long, heavy daggers
thrown under and through the openings of the canvas.
About five minutes after the fray began, finding the frail
structure was almost beaten down, and knowing that to
get entangled in the folds meant certain death, Burton
gave the word to escape, and sallied forth, sabre in hand,
followed by his companions.
The outlook was not reassuring. About twenty men
were crouching at the entrance of the tent, while many dusty
figures stood further off shouting their war-cry and trying
to drive away the camels.
Breaking through the crowd, our hero imagined he saw
the prostrate form of Lieutenant Stroyan lying on the sand,
and straightway cut a passage towards it through a dozen
hillmen, regardless of their war clubs, which battered
without mercy. Suddenly, an unseen hand thrust a javelin
through his jaw. Escaping as by a miracle, dazed with
agony, he fell in with some of his own servants, who, too
cowardly to take any part in the conflict, had been lurking
in the darkness. In spite of the shock of his horrible
wound, Burton happily remembered the sole chance of
escape the craft anchored close by. One man showed a
little more courage than the rest, and him he ordered to
158 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
signal the little vessel to approach the shore. As day
broke, exerting all his remaining strength, he reached the
head of the creek and was carried on board.
The hillmen having decamped with their booty, his
comrades soon joined him. Lieutenant Herne had escaped
unhurt ; Speke had received eleven flesh wounds, none
dangerous. The body of Lieutenant Stroyan, cruelly muti-
lated, had to be committed to the deep during the return
voyage to Aden. It was with heavy hearts our three brave
Englishmen set sail for the near Arabian shore, and after
two days filled with saddest thoughts, told their friends the
news of their terrible disaster.
CHAPTER VII.
DURTON'S hurt was not one to be trifled with. The
*^ Somali lance had transfixed his upper jaw, carrying
away four back teeth and part of his palate. He could
hardly speak or eat. Skilled treatment was required with-
out loss of time, and as no doctor at Aden cared to be
responsible for so critical a case, our wounded lion returned,
shortly after the disaster at Berberah, on sick leave to
England.
One loving welcome was missing. His mother had
passed away on the i8th December, 1854, while he lay so
dangerously ill at Sagharrah. Doubtless it was her loss
which suggested in his preface to " Zanzibar" the pathetic
allusion to the gaps in the household circle which a wan-
derer finds on his return, to the graves that have closed
over their dead during his absence :
" And when the lesson strikes the head,
The weary heart grows cold."
He mourned her in reverent silence, for we find no dis-
tinct reference to her death in any of his works. But,
unlike many men who lead an exciting and stormy exist-
ence, his numerous battles with fate in no way dulled his
family affections. At first he rarely mentioned her, but in
after days he would often speak with tender admiration of
her wonderfully unselfish and blameless life, adding those
pretty words already quoted, " Nice to be able to feel
proud of one's parents." The brave old father still lived,
and Edward, lately returned on furlough from Ceylon,
was spending a few months with his sister and nieces at
Boulogne.
160 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
To obtain first-rate surgical advice and to be near
his publisher, Burton temporarily established himself in
London. There, under the care of a clever surgeon and
a skilful dentist, the painful wound inflicted by the Somali
lance soon healed. Thanks to his sober progenitors, he
inherited healthy blood, for we never hear of his numerous
hurts troubling him for long of those after effects so
common from sword or gun-shot injuries. With regard
to this spear-thrust, penetrating as it did such delicate
structures as the jaw and palate, he was particularly for-
tunate in experiencing no further inconvenience, for his
old Commander-in-Chief, Sir Charles Napier, who received
a somewhat similar wound, wrote years later of the almost
intolerable agony which it caused him.
As soon as Burton could speak with ease he read a
paper on Harar at a meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society. The reception of this paper, written with much
care and pains, was one of his many disappointments. He
had performed a great feat, unique so far as entering
Harar was concerned, and he was exceedingly anxious
to direct attention to the importance of the Somali ports,
Berberah in particular. But the hour for interesting the
public in such matters was most unpropitious. The
Crimean War was still at its height, all England absorbed
in hearing of the horrible carnage, the heroic bravery, and
alas ! the sad bungling of that terrible period. The scenes
at Scutari during the preceding winter had struck the
whole nation with horror and despair ; people thought and
talked of nothing but the glorious soldiers sacrificed to the
want of foresight of well-meaning but incapable men. So,
even had our traveller's story been twice as interesting as it
was, it would not have arrested much all ntion. Few
persons cared to know about an obscure to\\ "i in Eastern
Africa, or trouble themselves about annexing : protecting
Somaliland while such deeds were being done in Europe.
Burton saw this himself in 1855 ; but, strange to say, the
A Rest in England 161
same fatality pursued him on other occasions ; in fact, he
used to remark, with grim humour, that whenever he
wished to gain the public ear some startling event, if
merely a great poisoning case, was sure to take place.
A comical incident, illustrating the difficulty which they
who know have in teaching those who don't, happened
during the solitary evening devoted by the Royal Geo-
graphical Society to his paper. An ancient " Fellow,"
regardless of the trifling disqualification of never having
been to the spot in question, declared with authority that
on approaching Harar, Burton had crossed a broad and
rapid river. Vainly did our explorer, well remembering
the little bourn which had afforded so refreshing a bath to
his tired attendants, reject this astounding piece of in-
formation ; the general opinion seemed to be that the
ancient " Fellow " knew best.
Burton ran down to Bath to see his father, and then
as health mended, began to work at his " First Footsteps
in East Africa." The " Pilgrimage to Meccah aud
El-Medinah," in three large volumes, was just issuing
from the press, and the season though a sad one, black
the prevailing colour, was at its height. So what with
literary work and meeting many an old friend, he had his
time fully occupied. But there was a new influence to
reckon with. Although he had his " Pilgrimage " to
correct, his other book to finish, his chums to look up, not
to mention the various amusements of town life in May,
which must have seemed doubly entertaining after the
wilds of Somaliland and the ungenial society of the children
of El-Hejaz, soon, very soon the prevailing excitement
made him restless. Volunteering was all the rage, every
officer neither invalided nor superannuated, endeavoured to
repair to the Crimea. It would have been miraculous
had a man with Burton's military talents, talents which
unfortunately had few opportunities of being turned to
account, proved an exception. We remember his per-
il
1 62 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
tinacious attempts to get under fire in India, and his bitter
disappointment when luckier comrades were sent to the
front and he was left fretting his heart out in some place of
inglorious safety. And now, while on all sides he heard
about the war and nothing but the war, a hope flashed
across his brain that at last there might be a chance for
him in this great struggle of the nations, wherein whole
regiments were not merely decimated but destroyed, so
blundering, so brave, so butcherly were the battles. At
last, he could continue his literary labours no longer. With
military ardour fanned to boiling by the fiery enthusiasm
around him, he applied to the War Office for a post, how-
ever insignificant ; and in spite of refusals, not only of an
appointment, but even of the promise of one (the Depart-
ment in question was besieged as closely as Sebastopol), he
arranged to start at once for the Crimea, and trust his lucky
star to get into the fight.
Here, however, I must not fail to mention that Burton
did not approve of this war, on the contrary, he looked upon
it as an unmitigated evil to England. Considered with
regard to her foreign affairs, it lost her the alliance of
Russia, her oldest and often her only ally amongst the
Continentals of Europe. It barred the inevitable growth
of the " Northern Colossus " in a southern direction, and
encouraged the mighty spread to the south-east, India-
wards ; at the same time doubling her extent by the
absorption of Turcomania. Twenty thousand gallant
Englishmen and eighty millions of money were sacrificed
in a vain attempt to humble Russia, to serve the selfish-
ends of Louis Napoleon, and to set up the Sultan, who,
like Humpty Dumpty, was incapable of undergoing that
process. In this year of grace, 1896, when Lord Salisbury,
the greatest statesman of our age, is sorely exercised con-
cerning what to do with the present sick man, who, like
many chronic invalids, has waxed most froward and in-
tractable, Burton's opinion of the mistake of 1854 may well
be quoted.
In the Prime of Life 163
On the way out he stayed a few days with his brother
and sister at Boulogne. Fearing at first he might be sorely
disfigured by his terrible wound, both scrutinised the hero
with eager interest, and both were most pleasantly surprised
at his appearance. The two years which had elapsed since
he left England for Arabia, years filled to overflowing with
adventure, anxiety, and toil, had left but few traces on that
handsome face and herculean frame. His hurt had healed
so thoroughly as to be only just discernable. He looked
what he was, in the prime of manhood. His thick brown
hair, worn longer than our present monkey-fashion, was
parted in the middle and waved about his temples ; and his
grand mustachios so admired by the old El-Medinah camel-
owner, were supplemented by a bushy beard. Stalwart,
erect, sound in wind and limb, in no particular had he the
physique of one who had knocked at death's door more
than once during the past twelve months.
There was much to do and talk over during those few
happy days. Old memories were revived, old friends invited,
old scenes revisited. His brother, who had not seen him
since the stormy times at Oxford, had plenty to tell of
hair-breadth escapes and hunting adventures in Ceylon. An
ardent sportsman, Edward Burton was the crack shot of
his regiment, and many were the elephants, tigers, cheetahs
and smaller game that fell before his redoubtable gun.
Poor fellow ! Even a finer character than Richard, and
that is saying much, he might have become one of the
soldiers of the day, for he had great talents, had not his
military career been cut short by an accident. During one
of his hunting trips, some Cingalese villagers, Buddhists
all, animated by bigoted feeling towards one who openly
violated the precepts of their religion by taking beast life
wholesale, fell upon him and inflicted serious wounds on his
head with sticks and stones. For awhile no evil conse-
quences ensued, but after a sunstroke received during the
Mutiny, when he distinguished himself so brilliantly as to
II 2
164 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
be rewarded by a valuable appointment at Lucknow, his
mind slowly gave way and never recovered.
These evil days were still in the future, and our two
brothers arranged that their short meeting at Boulogne
should herald another in the Crimea ; a meeting which,
though Edward in his turn hastened to the seat of war,
never came off, for reasons to be explained as we proceed.
With an effort, for as usual the painful hour of parting
was deferred to the last moment, Richard tore himself
away. He left on this occasion an interesting souvenir
of his pilgrimage a red sausage-shaped cushion strung
with turquoise rings, which he had bought at Meccah
as a present for his mother and sister. These stones,
the solitary relic of his Arabian feat belonging to his
family, are now in possession of Edward Stisted Mostyn-
Pryce, of Gunley Hall, Salop, only son of the younger
of the two beautiful cousins whom Burton so admired.
Our traveller hurried through France, and embarked
at Marseilles on board one of the Messageries Imperiales
bound for Constantinople. Very imperial was the demeanour
of her officers, who took command, in most absolute style,
of her passengers, going so far, indeed, as to severely wig
an English colonel for opening a port and shipping a sea.
The vanity of our usually urbane neighbours, excited to
frenzy by the creditable figure they were cutting in the
eyes of Europe, rendered them doubtfully pleasant com-
pany to any son of Albion. The only exception on this
occasion appears to have been General MacMahon, then
fresh from his Algerian campaign and newly transferred
to the Crimea, where his fortunes began. In due time
Burton sighted the Golden Horn, and, glad to be rid of
the bumptious Gauls, lodged for a day or so at Missiri's
Hotel, kept by a former dragoman of Eothen's.
At Stamboul he met Mr. F. Wingfield, who was bound
for Balaclava as assistant under that most unfortunate
of Commissary - Generals, Mr. Filder. They steamed to-
The Visit to the Crimea 165
gether over the inhospitable Euxine, whose dingy waters
veiled in dark vapour contrasted unpleasantly with the tur-
quoise and amethyst hues of the lovely Mediterranean. After
a three days' voyage the steamer reached Balaclava, and
found the little port, dug out of dove-coloured limestone,
stuffed to repletion with every kind of craft. This place,
ever memorable as the scene of our rudest awakening, had
greatly improved since 1854. Under a stern Provost-
Marshal, whose every look meant " cat," some cleanliness
and discipline had been introduced among the sutlers and
scoundrels who populated the townlet. Store-ships no
longer crept in with cargoes worth their weight of gold to
our starved and ragged soldiers, and crept out again without
breaking bulk. A fair road had been run through Kadikeui
to camp and to the front, and men sank no more ankle-deep
in dust or calf-deep in mud. In fact, England was, in the
parlance of the ring, getting her second wind and settling
down to her work.
Lord Raglan the gallant, the chivalrous, had been dead
about a month, the great historical battles were over, and
the only important event that remained to befall was the
storming of Sebastopol. Burton had arrived too late, a
fact which, in the excitement of the military blaze and blare
around him, he failed at first to recognise. A week was
spent with friends, frequent visits being paid to the camp
and front. Of course he tried at once for a post. To begin
with, he called upon the Commander-in-Chief, General
Simpson, whom years before he had met in Upper Sind
the Jimmy who Napier declared was always in the dismals.
But poor Jimmy, more than 'ever in the dismals, was fast
sinking into his grave, and could do nothing for anybody.
Undaunted by one failure, Burton then wrote to General
Beatson, an old Boulogne acquaintance, and volunteered
for the irregular cavalry known as Beatson's Horse. This
time success crowned his efforts, and much elated was he
to see his name appear in orders.
1 66 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
He did not know it, but his evil genius had presided
over this appointment. General Beatson, a bluff Indian
officer, about five-and-fifty years of age, was no indifferent
soldier. In his subaltern days he had served in the Spanish
Legion under General Sir de Lacy Evans, and after sundry
hard knocks had returned to India and seen plenty of
fighting. In October, 1854, ne ^ a< ^ been directed by the
Duke of Newcastle to organise a corps of Bashi-Buzouks,
who were to be independent of the Turkish contingent,
which we know consisted of twenty-five thousand Regulars,
under General Vivian. And this commission he executed
to the best of his ability. But, owing to an incurable habit
of telling unpalatable truths in the most emphatic language,
he had become exceedingly unpopular with the authorities.
Even Burton, who was certainly outspoken enough, at-
tempted more than once, when placed on the Staff, to
modify the tone of his chief's despatches. To little purpose.
Maddened in an intolerable environment of ignorance and
roguery, Beatson raved on, received wigging after wigging,
ended one quarrel only to begin another, and made a deadly
enemy of every official who crossed his path. This would
have mattered little had he injured himself alone, but
unfortunately his unpopularity extended to his corps, the
luckless Bashi-Buzouks.
Finding the General unmanageable, Burton turned his
attention to his soldiers. With his keen military flair, he
was by no means satisfied with the condition of these men.
Stationed on the slopes of a hill to the north of the Dar-
danelles country town at the mouth of the Hellespont, they
had been kept carefully in the background, and it was very
clear that just then they were only fit for some place of
inglorious safety. The meaning of the name Bash Buzuk
is equivalent to Tete Pourrie ; it succeeded the Dillis, or
madmen, who in the good old days represented the Osmanli
irregular cavalry ; and certainly it seems to have described
its owners pretty accurately. Recruited in Syria, Bulgaria,
Beatson's Horse " 167
. and Albania, the motley crew required plenty of first-rate
English officers to drill and discipline them ; and the War
Office, which had overmuch to do, and probably considered
the raising of the corps a mere whim, would not take the
trouble of appointing a sufficient number. Those already
in command were, for the most part, able enough. Burtor
mentions as most companionable comrades Charles Wemyss,
an ex-guardsman, Major Lennox Berkeley, Lieut. -Colonel
Morgan, Major Synge, and several distinguished men in
the Indian army. But they seemed to have been half
paralysed by the apparent impossibility of reducing to
order four thousand recruits, some little better than semi-
barbarians. The soldiers were left dawdling on the hillside
wasting their time in drinking and gambling. There were
no morning roll-calls, no evening parades, nor was there
even drill until Burton arrived and infected all around him
with his inexpressible hopefulness and energy. He scon
persuaded the General to attend to all these matters, a ad
to establish a riding school for the benefit of sundry
infantry officers who were not over-firm in the saddle. A
school of arms was not forgotten our soldier had in no
degree lost his enthusiasm for the sword and the bayonet
and before long, in spite of the scanty sprinkling of officers,
the improvement in the men was almost miraculous. Les
Tetes Pourries were turned perforce into a body of well-
trained sabreurs, ready to do anything or to go anywhere.
But the war was too far advanced, General Beatson
had made too many enemies, for his Bashi-Buzouks to win
either pelf or glory. Perhaps had the interest in the
campaign not begun to wane, the value of this now very
creditable corps might have more than balanced the enmity
excited by Beatson's Horse and their commander. As it
was, his foes had it all their own way. Lord Stratford
nursed a private grievance against the General, and was
besides angrily opposed to the existence of " Irregulars "
Irregulars being unknown at Waterloo. Even the two
1 68 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Turkish Pashas, civil and military, stationed at the Darda-
nelles, were displeased to see an imperiwn in impcrio, and
did their best to breed disturbance between the two corps.
The French, too, jealous of so fine a body of men, directed
their Consul to pack the local press at Constantinople with
the falsest stories. And so, while our English regiments
bravely endeavoured to capture the Redan, while the Mala-
koff was stormed and carried, and the allies at last found
themselves masters of the smoking ruins of Sebastopol, the
Irregulars remained pertinaciously stationed on a bare hill-
side, far away from the scene of action. It must have been
a bitter pill to Burton, after all the pains he had taken with
his troublesome recruits, to stand idle and watch the war
now drawing to a close without being permitted to fire a
single shot.
Perhaps the most interesting episode during his stay in
the Crimea relates to the fall of Kars, December'i2th, 1855.
It illustrates the curious dash of Quixotism, and a certain
lack of comprehension of political exigencies, which at times
did much to mar his fortunes. He thought he saw his
way to a grand success, no less than the relief of a town
whose wretched inhabitants were suffering from cholera
and famine, combined with the horrors of a siege. Pelissier
and his Frenchmen were long-sighted enough to know the
culminating importance of this stronghold as a stumbling
block in the way of Russia ; but, as the Emperor was
beginning to wish for peace, they managed to keep Omar
Pasha and his Turkish troops in the Crimea, where the
large force was compelled to be idle, instead of being sent
to attack the Trans-Caucasian provinces, in which they
might have done rare good service. And when for once
the Turkish commander was permitted to fight the Russians
before the walls of the wretched town, he was in no way
backed up by the allies, and consequently forced to retire.
Burton thought years afterwards that, had the affair been
managed differently, England might have struck a vital
An Interview with Lord Stratford 169
blow at Russia, by driving her once more behind the
Caucasus, and by putting off for many a year the
threatened advance upon India, which is now one of our
nightmares.
In early September, the state of Kars, whose gallant
garrison was allowed to succumb to hunger, disease, and
the enemy, was becoming a scandal. Rumour whispered
that General Williams, who with General Kmety, a
Hungarian, was taking a prominent part in the defence,
addressed upwards of eighty officials to Lord Stratford
without receiving a reply. But at last His Excellency
appeared to be considering measures for the relief of the
unhappy town.
. In utter ignorance of the then state of politics and its
rhyming synonym, Burton became violently excited on
hearing that the Turkish contingent was to be sent to the
aid of the garrison, if only sufficient carriage could be
procured for the troops. After some delay, Lieutenant-
General Vivian wrote to Stamboul that no carriage was
then available. Breathlessly elated at the prospect of
taking part in a great military feat, Burton hurried to
Constantinople, obtained an interview with Lord Stratford,
and submitted a project for the old man's approval. His
corps was in perfect readiness to start at any moment,
and his general could guarantee any amount of means of
transport.
How vividly one can picture that scene. Our handsome
soldier in his smart cavalry uniform, with his great dark
eyes flashing with excitement at the thought of the doughty
deed to be done by his men ; and on the other side the
astounded face of the white-haired Ambassador, whose icy
impassibility could change at times into furious fits of rage.
And of the latter our hero was treated to a specimen.
" You are the most impudent man in the Bombay army,
sir ! " shouted the irascible politician.
' Not until some months afterwards did Burton learn the
170 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
full extent of his transgression. Kars was doomed to fall
as a peace-offering to Russia, and a captain of Bashi-
Buzouks had madly attempted to arrest the course of la
haute politique.
After this fruitless visit to Stamboul, Burton returned
sadly crestfallen to the Dardanelles, where fresh disasters
awaited him. His Bashi-Buzouks, like the unfortunate
Turks at Kars, were in a state of siege. A trifling squabble
between the French infirmiers and the Irregulars had been
magnified into a desperate act of mutiny, and all the covert
ill-will which had smouldered so long exploded in a down-
right act of violence. On the morning of September
26th, the Turkish Regulars were drawn out in array
as though against the foe ; infantry supported by guns
pointed at Beatson's camp and patrols of cavalry occupied
the rear. Three war steamers commanded the main en-
trance of the little town, outposts were established within
three hundred yards of the Irregulars ; and to make matters
still more ridiculous, the inhabitants had closed their shops
and the British Consulate was deserted. No greater pre-
parations could have been made against the Russians
themselves.
General Beatson's phraseology was at times too forcible,
but he was a good soldier and could restrain his fiery
temper when duty bade him. Seeing that terrible con-
sequences might ensue if his men struck the first blow, he
showed no signs of anger, and did his utmost to soothe the
intense irritation of his insulted men, who, furious with the
aggressors, requested permission to take possession of their
guns. By means of a politic order, and with the assistance
of his officers, he achieved a perfect triumph of discipline.
Not a shot was fired, not a man unhorsed or hurt. About
4 p.m. the military Pasha, ashamed of his absurd attitude,
marched his Regulars back to their barracks, and the
affair apparently terminated.
The venomous Turk, however, forwarded to Constanti-
Beatson is superseded 171
nople a bitter complaint of the very order which had
prevented bloodshed, viz. : " That the Irregulars should
remain in their camp until the Turkish authorities should
have recovered from their panic and housed their guns."
The steamer Redpole was despatched in hot haste with an
exaggerated account of the affair, furnished by the French
and English Consuls, the latter of whom had evidently lost
his head, for he actually requested reinforcements against
these new and formidable foes. The result may be
anticipated :
" One against a multitude
Is more than mortal can make good.".
General Beatson was removed from his command, and
directed to make it over to Major-General Smith, who
appeared at the Dardanelles, September 28th, supported
by a fresh body of Nizans.
The unlucky chief was suffering from the effects of an
accident when the order arrived, and felt quite unfit for
business. His subordinates, while knowing only too well
that nothing could reinstate him in his former position, did
their best. Burton, who was then Chief of Staff, and
Major Berkeley, Military Secretary, collected as many
officers as possible, went in a body to Major-General
Smith, and in the most conciliatory terms laid the case
before him. .They declared unanimously all the reports
circulated by the Turks and the French were false, and
offered to show him the condition and discipline of their
corps. That Beatson and his officers were in the right was
confirmed by the favourable view expressed in the public
press by that prince of war correspondents William Henry
Russell and by General . Smith himself. But now, what-
ever the latter might think, he could only obey orders until
fresh instructions were received from Constantinople. While
many of the Buzoukers acquiesced perforce in the new regime,
Burton an,d Major , Berkeley, after .ascertaining matters were
172 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
quite hopeless, that their chief was certainly superseded,
felt they could no longer serve with self-respect, and sent
in their resignations.
On the last day of September the luckless General
and his two faithful friends left the Dardanelles for ever.
Arrived at Buyukdere, a report was sent to Lieutenant-
General Vivian, who presently came on board to enquire
into the affair. Rumours of a Russian attack had in-
duced a more conciliatory tone. The Commander of the
Turkish Contingent seemed satisfied with the "Buzouker's"
explanations, and even listened favourably to the latter's
urgent request for permission to return to his corps. But
nothing could be done without the Ambassador's orders,
and the peppery old Indian had got into the Eltchi's
very worst graces. So, after a conversation on the sub-
ject with Lord Stratford, General Vivian altered his tone,
and directed a stiff official letter to the hapless Beatson,
giving him not the slightest hope of revoking the order
which had removed him from his command.
The remainder of General Beatson's history is soon
told. He went to England and instituted civil proceedings
against his enemies. Chief amongst them was a Mr. Skene,
who from the inception of the General's scheme had shown
himself most bitterly opposed to it, and had used all his
influence to make the position untenable. The case broke
down on technical grounds, but it was generally felt the
Buzouker had vindicated his character, and had very suc-
cessfully exposed the conspiracy against the Irregulars^
which had ended so disastrously for him and his officers.
Having resigned his post, nothing remained for Burton
to do in the Crimea. He was not likely to get employed
again, the war beipg all but over ; so on the i8th October
he left Therapia en route for England, just missing his
brother, who had started from home a few days before.
This waste of time and energy with the Bashi-Buzouks
had been a very disagreeable experience. Burton saw, for
The Dark Continent 173
the present, no chance of promotion in his military career,
and, in a fit of despondency, determined again to follow for
a while the exciting life of an explorer or pathfinder. Once
more he turned longingly towards Africa, Central and Inter-
tropical, and resolved to devote himself to opening out as
fully as possible the resources of the Dark Continent, the
heart of which no Englishman had as yet penetrated. And
save that the unveiling of Isis was not for him, we shall
now see how after two failures one at Berberah, the other
in the Crimea, neither from any fault of his his good star
once more gained the ascendant, and he achieved the great
success of his life.
A LTHOUGH during the excitement of the Crimean
** War little attention was paid to our traveller's pil-
grimages to the holy cities of El-Hejaz, and his journey to
Harar, when the interest in the campaign had begun to
flag, his works created a decided sensation in scientific
and literary circles. So as soon as he made known his
desire to penetrate the heart of the Dark Continent, several
influential friends, amongst whom may be mentioned Sir
Roderick Murchison, Mr. Monckton Milnes, and Vice-
Admiral Sir George Back, the veteran explorer of the
Arctic seas, succeeded in obtaining for him the command of
an expedition to the interior of that country. Assisted by
the Royal Geographical Society to the amount of one thou-
sand pounds, this expedition was organised for a threefold
object : to
" Behold the lakes wherein the Nile is born,"
to correct certain geographical errors, and to survey as
fully as possible the resources of Central and Intertropical
Africa.
Nothing was then known about the Lake Regions,
which were supposed to consist of a huge inland sea. The
error probably arose from the fact that the three chief cara-
van routes from Zanzibar coast abutted upon three several
lakes, which, in the confusion of African vocabulary, were
thrown into one. The Mombas Mission map had lately
appeared, whereon figured a slug-shaped monster, an im-
possible Caspian ; the existence of this water our traveller
vehemently doubted, and, as we now know, he proved it
to be a myth. But he did more. Amidst all the blare
The Pioneer of Central Africa 175
and glory of the great exploits since his day, it should
be kept in mind that he and he alone was the pioneer
to those vast tracts. This expedition of 1856-9, the
longest and greatest of his journeys, unequalled for its
mingled audacity and foresight, one which resulted in the
discovery of Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza, was
the first successful attempt to enter Central Africa, and it
smoothed the way for all the brave men who followed.
Preceded only by a French officer, barbarously murdered
shortly after he landed, Burton under immense disadvan-
tages led his inadequately equipped caravan into unknown
regions, discovered Tanganyika and the southern portion of
Victoria Nyanza, and thus opened out the road to all who
cared to tread in his steps. Subsequent travellers had
merely to read his writings to learn all they required con-
cerning seasons and sickness, industry and commerce, what
outfit and material were necessary, what guides and escort
were wanted, and what obstacles might be expected. And
now, where two tired, fever-stricken wanderers tramped
along, resting only in filthy huts amongst the most degraded
savages, missions are busy, commerce flourishes, and civi-
lisation is established for many an age to come.
As with the survey of Somaliland, the expedition owed
much to the warm support of Lord Elphinstone. Burton
was granted two years' furlough, Captain John Speke was
permitted to accompany him, and a Dr. Steinhauser, then
staff surgeon at Aden, one of our traveller's firmest friends,
received orders to repair at once to Zanzibar. Unluckily,
the doctor, detained by weather, did not arrive in time a
sad contretemps, a medical man on such a journey being
almost indispensable. Nor did Lord Elphinstone's kind-
ness end here. Knowing how much importance Orientals
attach to appearances, especially to first appearances, he
arranged that a sloop-of-war should convey the explorers
from Bombay to the African coast, so that they might
arrive with all the honours.
176 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
The voyage was pleasant but monotonous, the only
excitement the first view of Zanzibar island. Truly lovely
was the swelling coast-line set off by a dome of distant hills
like solidified air. The sea of purest sapphire just creamed
with foam the yellow sand-strip that separated it from
flower-spangled grass and underwood of metallic green.
The palms, springing like living columns, graceful and
luxuriant above their subject growths, were hardly ruffled by
the breeze ; and, to add a new pleasure, as the sloop drew
near, a heavy spicy perfume, grateful indeed after the briny
north-east trade wind, was wafted from the celebrated clove
grounds. Presently appeared the straight line of Arab
town, extending about a mile and a half in length, facing
north and standing in bold relief from the varied tints and
forest grandeur that lay behind. Right and left the Imam's
palace, the various consulates, and the huge parallelo-
grammic buildings of the great, a tabular line of flat roofs,
glaring and dazzling like freshly-whitewashed sepulchres,
detached themselves from the mass, and did their best to
conceal the dingy matted hovels of the inner town. Zanzi-
bar city, like Stamboul, must be viewed from afar.
The harbour is a fine specimen of the true Atoll, or
fringing reef, built upon a subsiding foundation. It was
thronged, when the sloop sailed in, with an outlandish fleet
of dhows, batelas, ganjas from Cutch, and many other queer-
shaped native craft. The strange scene looked its brightest
under the most brilliant sunshine, a good omen for the
expedition, as at times the sun veils his face during six
weeks in succession.
Zanzibar Island, so named from the Persian Zangi, and
Bar, a compound term signifying Nigritia, or Blackland,
contained in 1856 about three hundred thousand souls.
The town population varied from twenty-five thousand to
forty-five thousand during the north-east monsoon, when
an influx of strangers was usually expected. It was com-
posed of a motley crowd of Arabs, Hindoos, Indian
Preliminary Preparations 177
Moslems, a few Europeans and Americans, but principally
of free blacks, of whom the Wasawahili, a hideous
chocolate-coloured race, were the most numerous. Burton
found the town fearfully dirty and unhealthy. The fore-
ground was a line of sand disgustingly impure, corpses
floated on the surface of the waters, and the shore could
be described only as a huge cesspool. The spicy odours
were soon overpowered by stenches unutterable, and even
our traveller shrank from a thorough survey of the native
town, a filthy labyrinth of disorderly lanes and alleys, here
broad, there narrow, now heaped with offal, there choked
with ruins, all reeking in a temperature of 80 to 89 F.
with effluvia of carrion and negro.
In spite of these and other drawbacks he decided to
make Zanzibar his headquarters. First, because it seemed
the most favourable place wherein to undergo the seasoning
fever which every new-comer must expect in this part of
Africa, the houses being fairly comfortable, and a certain
amount of necessaries procurable. Secondly, in this little
metropolis residence of the ruler and chief officials, not to
mention the French and English Consuls he could best
begin and carry out the preparations for his great journey.
The dry season was judged by old hands unfit for pro-
longed travel, and Burton was strongly advised to spend
the intervening time in learning something of the coast.
So he determined upon what he called " a preliminary
canter," a trial trip to the Zanzibar seaports, varied by
an excursion to the mountain range which lies some eighty
miles inland. But there was plenty to do first ; clashing
interests and silly prejudices had to be reckoned with.
No sooner did his project become public than intrigues
abounded. Houses that had amassed in a few years large
fortunes by the Zanzibar trade, were anxious to let sleeping
dogs lie. The Arabs got frightened at the possible opening
out of the interior ; they knew Europeans had long coveted
a settlement on the sea-board, and they had no wish to lose
12
178 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the monopoly of copal and ivory. At last, sundry Euro-
pean merchants settled in the place, fearing competition
might result from any development of the resources of the
Dark Continent, went so far as to spread evil reports of our
travellers among the natives, Banyans, Arabs, and Wasa-
wahili, which might have secured for Burton and Speke
the disastrous fate of their predecessor. But Colonel
Hamerton, the English Consul, backed up his compatriots
by every means in his power, and fortunately the Sayyid,
or Sultan of Zanzibar, proved more enlightened than the
people he governed. This ruler, a young prince of mild
disposition and amiable manners, received Burton graciously
in spite of " whispering tongues," took considerable interest
in the coming journey, and finally entrusted him with
several circular letters, recommending the two English
officers to the chiefs of the part of the country about to be
visited, and to the Jemadars commanding the garrisons.
However, two conditions were insisted upon by his
advisers. Colonel Hamerton had to swear that the expe-
dition was to be conducted only by men whose goodwill he
could rely on, and that it was not a proselytizing movement
of the " Sons of the Book." Had the consul hesitated to
accepted these terms, the project would have been wrecked;
but we shall see how, owing to the later stipulation, Burton
lost a very valuable companion.
Two Portuguese boys, Gaetano and Valentino, had been
engaged at Bombay as body-servants ; and now a guide,
one Said bin Salim, was added to the party. A court spy,
he was a pledge of respectability, able to announce, in virtue
of his office, that his masters were not malignants. He
spoke a little bad Arabic, but principally Kisiwahili, the
language of the negro races in and around Zanzibar, and
even occasionally used so far as Ugogo. Burton, who,
unlike some travellers, strongly objected to explore any
land where he did not understand the tongue, turned his
attention to the said dialect, which contains some 20,000
Outfit and Supplies 179
words. Like the Somal and the Gallas there is no alphabet,
and our indefatigable linguist, who never seemed to find
any jargon, however barbarous, devoid of interest, com-
menced a grammar intended to illustrate the intricate
combinations and the peculiar euphony which appear to
be the first object of Wasawahili speech.
The outfit on this occasion, besides private property,
consisted of twenty muslin turbans, a score of embroidered
caps, a broadcloth coat, two cotton shawls, and 25 Ibs.
of beads, as presents. The provisions were rice, maize,
dates, sugar, coffee, salt, pepper, onions, curry-stuffs, ghi,
tobacco, and soap and candles. Of course, quantities were
vastly increased before starting on the great expedition,
but even then our travellers practised a somewhat severe
economy.
Never more so than in the matter of the Riami, an
old Arab beden, which was to convey them on their coasting
trip. It was a miracle that this worn-out old craft with
sails in rags, its timbers worm-eaten, its crew a set of
incapables, managed nevertheless to keep afloat. Perhaps
our travellers would have hardly cared to sail in so crazy a
tub had they not possessed a galvanised iron life-boat, the
Louisa, named in memory of one of Burton's early loves.
This boat, twenty feet long, was of American manufacture,
and a triumph of good building. The Arabs could not
sufficiently admire her graceful form, the facility with
which she was handled, and above all things her speed.
Buoyant as graceful, fire-proof, worm -proof, water-proof,
she would have been a veritable godsend on Lake Tan-
ganyika ; unluckily, want of carriage on the coast compelled
her owners to leave her at Zanzibar. But on this occasion,
the Louisa was towed in their wake ; and although she
broke her halter more than once, as if disdaining the
company of the old beden, when she did consent to follow,
she must have imparted an agreeable sense of security to
her proprietors. They were certainly uncomfortable enough
12 2
i8o Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
without the addition of the fear of being drowned : ants
lodged in their instrument cases, cockroaches dropped on
their heads, and rats made night hideous.
On the 5th January our party bade a temporary adieu
to Zanzibar. That is to say, they embarked on board
their uninviting craft ; but, in those days, travellers had to
be prepared for three distinct departures the little start,
the big start, and the start. After dawdling about for two
nights and a day, the crew fished up their ground tackle
and began their journey, making Kokoto-ni the usual de-
parture point from the island, January 8th. On the loth,
Pemba, the Emerald Isle of these Eastern seas, appeared
in sight. Here Captain Kidd, in 1698, buried his hoards of
gold and jewels, the plunder of India and the further
Orient. It looked peaceful enough when Burton landed,
with its silent, monotonous, melancholy beauty, the loveli-
ness of death which belongs to the creeks and rivers of
those regions, a great green grave. Striking was its
wondrous fertility cocoas, limes, jacks, and the pyramidal
mangoes growing in clumps on the rises, the castor shrub,
rich in berries, spreading over the uncultivated slopes.
Here the Riami anchored for about forty-eight hours,
during which time the Louisa was manned and rowed to
Chak-Chak, the Governor's residence. In the Wali's
absence, our party were most hospitably received by the
collector of customs. He treated them to a feast of man-
goes, pineapples, rice, ghee, and green tea, and next morn-
ing ordered that their casks should be filled with excellent
water, besides sending in his own boat a quantity of fresh
and dainty provisions.
The three days that followed were less prosperous.
Heavy mists hid the shore so effectually that sometimes
the old beden sailed south instead of north ; then a drizzle
increased to heavy rain, and, lastly, the north-east wind
blew great guns, which gale, on a coast of shoals and coral-
lines, made navigation exceedingly dangerous. Said, the
Exploring the Zanzibar Interior 181
guide, wept incessantly, and during the worst night added
to the general panic by literally screeching with terror.
The captain announced, at intervals, his vessel was doomed,
and, worst of all, the Louisa, like a treacherous friend, broke
loose, and did not reappear until found stranded at Mom-
basah.
All landed at this miserable settlement, once the capital
of the King of the Zing, concerning whom Arab travellers
and geographers have written a variety of marvels. The
halt lasted until January 28th. Not that there was much
to see save the spacious land-locked harbour, and a few
relics of the Portuguese occupation ; but our traveller had
business with the Mombas Mission, or rather with its only
remaining representative, Herr Rebmann, to whom he was
entrusted with a letter from the Evangelical Society in
London. The founders of this mission, more successful
from a geographical point of view than any other, were the
first to attempt systematically to explore and open out the
Zanzibar interior. In 1842, Dr. Krapf undertook a coasting
voyage to East Africa, visited Zanzibar island, and, journey-
ing northwards, established his headquarters amongst the
Wanyika tribe, near Mombasah. He was presently joined
by Herr Rebmann who made three important journeys to
the highlands, where he re-discovered Kilima-njaro, the
mountain bearing eternal snow alluded to by Fernandez de
Enciso in 1530.
The Mission house, situated about fifteen miles from
Mombasah, was neatly and solidly built. Though well
constructed and pitched in the comparatively pure air of
the heights, it seems to have been terribly unwholesome,
as the missionaries died off so rapidly of typhus and re-
mittent fevers, that in 1857 Herr Rebmann and his wife
were the sole survivors. Burton found the undaunted pair
surrounded by their servants and converts ; the latter, most
grotesque in garb and form, gathered to stare at the new
white men, while sundry hill savages stalked about, and
1 82 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
stopped occasionally to relieve their minds by begging snuff
or cloth. No time was lost before discussing the matter
which had prompted our traveller's visit, viz. Whether
Herr Rebmann would consent to accompany the expedition
into the interior. At first the missionary seemed tempted
to indulge his wandering instincts, but an second thoughts
he refused. He was not strong ; he naturally bargained to
do a little proselytizing on the way, and this Burton, bound
by his promise to the Sayyid, could not agree to. It was
very unfortunate, for the good German understood the
language of the tribes through whose country the expedi-
tion had to march, a language of which Burton's knowledge
was recent and Speke's nil. However, they parted excellent
friends, and our traveller, most chivalrous of men, had the
satisfaction a day or two afterwards of saving Frau Reb-
mann from an ugly fright by giving her timely warning of
a raid of savages in her neighbourhood. And here it may
be said that, owing either to their calm good sense, or their
inextinguishable thirst for knowledge, Burton always got
on with Germans, preferring them indeed to any other
nationality. In one of his works I find the following
eulogistic expressions concerning the change which this
great united nation has worked in Europe :
" By an Englishman who loves his country, nothing can
be more enthusiastically welcomed than this accession to
power of a kindred people, connected with us by language,
by religion, and by all the ties which bind nation to nation.
It proves that the North is still the fecund mother of
heroes; and it justifies us in hoping that our Anglo-Teutonic
blood, with its Scandinavian "baptism," will gain new
strength by the example, and will apply itself to rival our
Continental cousins in the course of progress, and in the
mighty struggle for national life and prosperity."
The journey along the coast continued, halts being
made at every convenient point to acquire information
regarding routes to the interior, and the benevolent or
A Hospitable Reception 183
malevolent disposition of the various tribes. Six days
were thus occupied at Tanga, one of the most important
of the coast settlements. On the 5th of February sail was
hoisted at 5 a.m., and early in the day the Riami arrived at
Pangani port. This being the place which Burton had
decided upon as his starting-point to the highlands, it was
necessary to land with some ceremony. Said, in his best
attire, was sent to deliver the Sayyid's letter to the Wali,
and to the military commander of the garrison ; while the
English officers, thinking it undignified to follow too closely
in the wake of a "letter of introduction," remained on
board until evening, when they leisurely disembarked with
their luggage and Portuguese servants.
Quite a grand reception greeted them, too grand, for it
included a most hideous concert. Three monstrous drums,
bassoons at least five feet long, a pair of ear-piercing
flageolets, a horn and a very primitive cymbal, composed
the infernal orchestra. Dancing too was performed in
their honour, the soldiers capering about with all the pomp
and circumstance of drawn swords, while some pretty slave-
girls, bare-headed, with hair a la Brutus, pranced delicately
over the ground as if treading on too hot a floor. Perhaps
our travellers were overtired, perhaps too hard to please ;
anyway, privately describing the scene as purgatory, after
enduring it for half an hour, they insisted on being con-
ducted to the upper rooms of the Wali's house, their
temporary headquarters.
Next morning they rose early, and repairing to the roof
found the views therefrom not to be despised. The river
vista, with cocoa avenues to the north, yellow cliffs, some
forty feet high, on the southern side, the mobile swelling
water, bounded by strips of emerald verdure or golden sand,
and the azure sea, dotted with little black rocks, appro-
priately dubbed devilings, wanted nothing but the finish of
art to bring out the infinite variety of Nature. With half a
dozen white kiosks and serais, minarets and latticed sum-
184 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
mer villas, Pangani port might almost rival that gem of
creation, the Bosphorus.
The town, which then boasted of some nineteen or
twenty stone houses of the usual box style, the rest being
a mass of huts, each with its large yard, whose outer line
formed the street, was surrounded by a thick, thorny jungle.
This jungle harboured not a few leopards, and the river
swarmed with crocodiles. Naturally, the felines when
hungry pounced upon and devoured any unhappy negro
who happened to cross their path, while the amphibious
brutes helped themselves unceremoniously to exposed legs
and arms. But when the stupid Pangani people were asked
why they did not fire the bush which sheltered the leopards,
and endeavour to kill some of the crocodiles that infested the
stream, they declared the latter brought good luck, and the
jungle as a refuge in case of need was too valuable to destroy.
Of course there was plenty of trouble in organising this
trip to the interior. The citizens, hearing that Burton was
bearer of a letter from the Sayyid of Zanzibar to Sultan
Kimwere, their own ruler, who lived up in the hills at Fuga,
wrangled desperately over the route to be taken, clamouring
for one which traversed exclusively their own territory.
Then the son and heir of the said Sultan, who happened to
be visiting Pangani, sent an impudent message to Burton,
requesting him to place in his hands the gifts intended for
his father. And high and low, rich and poor, all began to
angle for bakhshish, while the harassed travellers, com-
pelled to husband their resources for the great task of
exploring the Lake Regions, had discovered even before
leaving Zanzibar that a thousand pounds would go a very
short way towards the cost of such a journey. Double the
amount would have hardly covered it.
So they had to content themselves with a walking-cum-
boating trip to Chogwe, the nearest Baloch out-post upon
the Upper Pangani River, pushing on thence for Fuga, the
highland home of Sultan Kimwere. Preparations went on
Canoeing on the Ruftt 185
silently but swiftly. The Riami was paid off, Said and
Valentino, one of the Goanese lads, were directed to remain
in the Wall's house ; and at last, taking advantage of a
quiet interval, Burton and Speke, under pretext of a
shooting-excursion, hired a long canoe with four rowers,
loaded it with sufficient luggage for a fortnight, and started
January 6, 1858.
Not at first with eclat. The turbulent Rufu, or Upper
Pangani River, was lashed by a little gale blowing up-stream
into a mass of short chopping waves. Partly owing to the
wind, partly to the abrupt windings of the channel, the
canoe grounded, then flew on at railway speed before a
fresh puff, then scraped again. Finally, it succeeded in
turning the first dangerous angle, and the travellers were
at liberty to admire a novel and characteristic scene.
Behemoth reared his head from the foaming waters, croco-
diles waddling like dowagers, measured the strangers with
malignant green eyes, deep set under warty brows ; monkeys
rustled among the tall trees, here peeping with curiosity
almost human, there darting away amidst the wondrous
frondage and foliage. Not a few of the trees were so
covered with creepers that they seemed to bear leaves and
blossoms not their own. Upon the watery margin large
snowy lilies, some sealed by day, others wide expanded
and basking in light, gleamed beautifully against the black-
green growth, and the clear bitumen brown of the bank
water. Occasionally the jungle folk planted their shoulder-
cloths, their rude crates, and their coarse weirs upon the
muddy inlets where fish abounded ; but they were few and
far between, and nothing broke the peculiar tropical stillness
save the curlew's cry or the breeze rustling in fitful gusts
amongst the dense and matted foliage. Often since that
day did Burton think with yearning of the bright and
beautiful Zangian stream, and wish himself once more
canoeing with Speke, still his loved and trusted friend,
upon the lovely bosom of the Upper Pangani River.
1 86 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
At sunset the crew poled up a little inlet near Kipombui,
a village on the left bank well stockaded with split areca
trunks. Out flocked its people, inquisitive as monkeys to
see the strangers, and proving their friendly intentions by
offering a dish of small green mangoes, there esteemed a
great luxury. About midnight, when the tide flowed strong,
the voyage was resumed. Soon the river dwindled to a
sable streak between avenues of lofty trees, darkness visible
reigning save where a bend suddenly opened its mirrory
surface to the moon. A snorting and blowing close to the
canoe's stern frightened its timid rowers, who dreaded a
certain rogue hippopotamus which haunted that part of the
stream, and whose villanies had gained for him the royal
title of " Sultan Mamba " ; but a few shots sufficed to scare
him up the miry, slippery banks leading to fields and plan-
tations. Presently, all became quiet as the grave, and by
two a.m. our party reached a cleared tract on the river-side,
the ghaut or landing-place of Chogwe, where they made
fast their boat, looked to their weapons, and covering their
faces against clammy dew and paralysing moonbeams, lay
down to snatch a couple of hours' sleep. The total distance
rowed that day was thirteen and a half miles.
Chogwe being an outpost, guarded by a Jemadar and a
detachment of Baloch, the strangers, thanks to their circular
letters, were received with honour. Next morning they
inspected the bazaar, apparently all there was to inspect,
escorted by the chief of the mercenaries, a consumptive,
miserable-looking wretch, and his twenty ragged soldiers.
The position of this outpost, seven direct miles from
Pangani, was badly chosen, being short of water, infertile,
and malarious. The Washenzi savages, too, sometimes
crept up at night in spite of the armed men, shot a few
arrows into their huts, set fire to the matting, and, after
other similar amenities, departed as silently as they came.
However, commanding the main road to Usumbara,
Chogwe afforded opportunities for an occasional something
Departure for Tongwe 187
in the looting line, which may have comforted the Baloch
for its many drawbacks.
Our travellers confided their project of pushing on to
Fuga to the Jemadar, who promised his goodwill, of course
for a consideration. He even undertook to start them next
day and kept his word. He detached four of his garrison
as guards, hired out the same number of slave-boys as
porters, for the journey had to be performed on foot, and a
stalwart guide, a huge, broad-shouldered negro, with coal-
black skin and straight features, which looked as if cut in
jet, was engaged to join the party at Tongwe, the next
station. The kit was reduced to the strictest necessaries
surveying instruments, weapons, waterproof blankets, tea,
sugar, and tobacco for ten days, a bag of dates and three
bags of rice. The departure took place at 5 p.m., not
without commotion. Each slave, grumbling loudly at his
load, snatched up the lightest of packs, fought to avoid the
heavier burdens, and rushed forward, regardless of what
was left behind. This nuisance endured until abated by a
form of correction easily divined. At length, escorted by
the consumptive Jemadar and most of his company, Burton
and Speke set forth for Tongwe.
The route was redeemed from monotony by the attacks
of the bull-dog ant. Suddenly, while stopping to drink at
some pools in a partially-cleared portion of thorny jungle,
the whole party began to dance and shout like madmen,
pulling off their clothes and frantically snatching at their
lower limbs. The bite of this wretch, properly called atrox,
burns like the point of a red-hot needle ; and while engaged
in its cannibal meal, literally beginning to devour man alive,
even when its doubled-up body has been torn from the head,
the pincers will remain buried in flesh. The only point in
favour of this formican fiend is that, unlike its confrere, the
stinking ant, which to young travellers suggests carrion
hidden behind every bush, it has no smell.
The night spent with the Jemadar and his men was
1 88 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
truly characteristic, a savage opera scene. One recited his
Koran, another prayed in stentorian tones, a third told
funny stories, whilst a fourth trolled out in minor key lays
of love and war. This was varied by slapping away the
mosquitoes which flocked to the gleaming camp fires, by
clawing at the ants, and by challenging small parties of
natives who passed by with loads of grain for Pangani.
By-and-by the Baloch, who kept careful watch during
early night when there was no danger, slept like the dead
during the small hours, the time always chosen by African
freebooters, and indeed by almost all savages, to make their
unheroic onslaughts.
At daybreak, bidding a temporary adieu to the Jemadar
and most of his band, our party pushed on for Tongwe, or
the Great Hill. They ascended the flank of its north-
eastern spur, and found themselves on the chine of a little
ridge, with summer breezes on one side and a wintry blast
on the other. Thence, pursuing a rugged incline, after
about half an hour they entered the " fort," a crenellated,
flat-roofed, and whitewashed room, fourteen feet square,
supported inside by smoke-blackened rafters. It was
tenanted by two Baloch, who complained dismally of
dulness, and even more of ghosts. Though several goats
had been sacrificed to propitiate an ungrateful demon, he
still haunted the hill, while at times a weeping and wailing
of a whole chorus of distressed spirits made night hideous.
Tongwe is interesting as being the first offset of that
massive mountain terrace which forms the region of Usum-
bara ; here, in fact, begins the Highland block of Zangian
and Equatorial Africa, culminating in Kilima-njaro and
Mount Kenia. It rises abruptly from the plain and pro-
jects long spurs into the river valley, where the Rufu flows
noisily through a rocky trough, and whence can be dis-
tinctly heard the roar of the Pangani waterfall. Its summit,
about 2,000 feet above sea level, is clothed with jungle,
stunted cocoas, oranges grown wild and bitter, the castor
On the Road to Fuga 189
shrub, &c., through which our travellers had to cut their
way with their swords when seeking compass bearings of
the Nguru Hills. Below, a deep hole in its northern face
supplies sweet "rock-water"; and the climate, temperate
even in the height of an African summer, must have ap-
peared doubly delicious after the humid, sickening heat of
Zanzibar island and coast.
Before leaving Tongwe there was business to do which
required a vast amount of palaver. The Jemadar had
furnished an escort ; but his soldiers, enervated by long
habits of indolence, could hardly be induced to quit even for
a week their hovel-homes, their black Venuses, and their
whitey-brown offspring. Hard talking, however, enabled
Burton not only to persuade them out of a half-expressed
intention of returning forthwith to Chogwe, but to secure
three men as additions to his small party. One, Sidi
Mubarak, usually known by his nick-name, Bombay,
proved the veritable black diamond of the lot. This negro
spoke a little Hindostani, was bright and willing, and
though of a chetif frame seemed as fresh after a thirty mile
tramp as when he started. He had enlisted as a mercenary,
but a little persuasion and the payment of his debts induced
him to renounce soldiering and follow the fortunes of the
expedition. Bombay gave a comical reason for working
well his duty to his stomach, and certainly his idol kept
him straight. Such a gem amongst guides could scarcely
fail to rise rapidly : he began by escorting our party to
Fuga as head gun-carrier, became later Speke's confi-
dential servant, and finally in 1871, when Stanley went in
search of Livingstone, Bombay was appointed chief of the
caravan.
With this treasure in their train, Burton and Speke
started for Fuga, February loth. Their path was curious
enough, the land brick-red, a common colour in Africa as
in the Brazil : and its stain extended half way up the tree-
boles streake'd by ants with ascending and descending
igo Captain Sir R. F. Btirton, K.G.M.G.
galleries. Overhead floated a canopy of sea-green verdure,
pierced by myriads of little sun-pencils ; whilst the effulgent
dome, purified as with fire from mist and vapour, set the
picture in a frame of gold and ultramarine. Painful
splendours ! The heat began to tell upon the men, and the
result was a general clamour for water. Only one of the
Baloch had brought a gourd ; but the four slave boys whose
instincts of self-preservation approached the miraculous,
found a puddle, a discovery they carefully kept to them-
selves, leaving the rest to endure their thirst until a similar
find some hours later.
A halt of thirty-six hours was made at Kahode, the vil-
lage of a friendly but extremely greedy chief Sultan
Mamba. Recognising the Baloch, this worthy donned
a scarlet cloak, apparently his only one, superintended the
launching of his royal canoe, and, as our party landed,
received them with rollicking greetings and those im-
moderate explosive cachinnations which render the African
family to all appearance so " jolly " a race. Sad to tell, an
indifferent character, even in these regions, was Sultan
Mamba. Converted to Islamism during a sojourn at Zan-
zibar, dubbed Abdullah by his proselytizer, no sooner did
he sniff once more his native air, than he fell away from
prayer, ablution and grace generally, and reverted to the
more congenial practices of highwaying and hard drinking.
Nor was this all. An inveterate beggar, he asked for
everything he saw, from a barrel of gunpowder to a bottle
of brandy. He announced that his people had only three
wants powder, ball and spirits; and he could supply in
return men, women and children in plain language, slaves.
On receiving two embroidered caps, a pair of muslins, and
a cotton shawl, he hoped no doubt to see the brandy and
gunpowder forthcoming by and by ; for on parting he
waxed quite pathetic, swearing he loved his new friends,
and offering the use of his canoe on the return journey.
But when they reappeared with empty hands, Sultan
Impressions of the Country 191
Mamba, like many a white brother, scarcely deigned to
notice them.
From Kahode two roads lead to Fuga. Though more
than double in length, our travellers chose that along the
Rufu, as they doubted whether their porters could climb
the passes, the heat having become intense. Marching by
the riverside, they had an opportunity of examining the rude
bridges of the country floors of narrow planks laid hori-
zontally upon rough piers of cocoa trunks, forked to receive
cross-pieces, and planted a few feet apart. The structure
was parapeted with coarse basket-work, and sometimes
supplied with jungle ropes knotted, by way of hand-rail.
These the number and daring of the crocodiles rendered
necessary.
At Msiki Mguru, a village built upon an island formed
by divers rapid and roaring branches of the Rufu, Burton's
sense of humour was much tickled. After a night passed
in incessant struggles with ants and other sleep destroyers
which shall be nameless he was as yet uninitiated in the
African secret of strewing ashes round the feet of the cartel
or bedstead he sallied forth at an early hour to inspect his
hosts. They had welcomed him very hospitably, some of
the women, black but comely, being far from shy ; but the
latter when chaffed by the Baloch and asked how they
would like the men in trousers as husbands, simply replied,
" Not at all."
Later the same day our travellers resumed their march,
following the left bank of the Rufu, a broad line of flat
boulders, thicket, grass and sedge, with divers trickling
streams between. The way had become comparatively
populous, the paths crowded with a grass kilted and skin-
clad race, chiefly women and small girls leading children,
each with a button of hair left upon its scraped crown. The
adults toiling under loads of manioc holcus and maize,
poultry, sugar-cane, and water-pots in which tufts of leaves
had been stuck to prevent splashing, were bound for a
192 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Golio or market held in an open place not far off. Here
none started or fled from the white faces.
Ascending a hill and making an abrupt turn from north-
west nearly due east, the party found themselves opposite,
and about ten miles distant from a tall azure mountain-
curtain, the highlands of Fuga. Below, the plains were
everywhere dotted with haycock villages. Lofty tamerinds,
the large leaved plantain, and the parasol-shaped papaw
grew wild amongst the thorny trees. After walking a total
of sixteen miles, at about 4 p.m. Burton and his followers
were driven by a violent storm of thunder, lightning, and a
raw wind, which at once lowered the mercury and made
slave boys shudder and whimper into the palaver- house of
one of the little settlements. The shelter consisted of a
thatched roof propped by uprights, and guiltless of walls ;
the floor was half mud, half mould, and the only tenants
were flies and mosquitoes. Fires were lighted at once, and
all made themselves as comfortable as conditions would
admit.
Next morning dawned with one of those steady little
cataclysms seen to best advantage near the Line. But,
thoroughly tired of the steaming barn, the men loaded and
set out in a lucid interval towards the highlands. As they
drew near the rain shrank to a mere drizzle, gradually
ceased, and was replaced by that reeking, fetid heat which
travellers in the tropics have learned to fear. Everybody
had a good rest before attempting the steep incline that lay
in front ; the slippery way had wearied the slaves, though
aided by three porters hired that morning, and the sun,
struggling with vapours, was still hot enough to overpower
the whole party.
At i p.m. they proceeded to breast the pass leading
from the lowland alluvial plain to the threshold of the
Ethiopic Olympus. The path, gently rising at first, wound
amongst groves of coarse bananas, whose arms of satiny
sheen here smoothed and streaked, there shredded by the
View of Fug A 193
hill-winds, hid purple flowers and huge bunches of green
fruit. Issuing from this dripping canopy, the travellers
ascended a steep goat-track, forded a crystal bourn, and
having reached midway, sat down to enjoy the rarefied air,
which felt as if a weight had been suddenly taken off their
shoulders. The view before them was extensive and sug-
gestive, if not beautiful. The mountain fell under their
feet in rugged folds, clothed with patches of plantains, wild
mulberries, and stately trees whose lustrous green glittered
against the red ochreous earth. Opposite and below, half
veiled with rank steam, lay the yellow Nyika and the
Wazegura lowlands ; and beyond the well-wooded line of
the Rufu, a uniform purple plain stretched to the rim of the
southern and western horizon, as far as the telescope could
trace it.
Resuming their march, our party climbed rather than
walked up the steep bed of a torrent. Standing at last on
the Pass summit, 1 they perceived a curious contrast of
aspects ; the northern and eastern slopes bluff and barren,
the southern and western teeming with luxuriant vegetation.
After another three-mile walk along the flanks of domed
hills, and crossing a shallow bourn which nearly froze their
parched feet, they turned a corner, and suddenly sighted,
upon the summit of a grassy cone opposite, an unfenced
heap of haycock huts, a cluster of beehives with concentric
rings Fuga.
The Baloch formed up and fired a volley, and our
travellers, thus duly announced, were conducted through
frightened crowds to four tattered huts, standing about
300 feet below the settlement, and assigned by superstition
as strangers' quarters. Even the Sultan's son and heir
was expected to abide in this shelter until the "lucky
hour " admitted him to the " presence." Cold rain and
1 About 4,000 feet above sea level.
13
194 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
sharp mountain breezes rendered any accommodation ac-
ceptable. The hovels were cleared of sheep and goats,
the valuables housed, fires lighted, while, mindful of the
mingled inquisitiveness and vanity of these African chiefs,
Bombay started on a mission to Sultan Kimwere to request
an interview.
Before dark appeared three bare-headed ministers, who
declared in a long palaver that council must squat on two
knotty points. First, why had these strangers entered
their Sultan's country through the lands of a hostile tribe ?
an objection already suggested at Pangani ; secondly,
when would His Highness's Mganga, or magician, find
an hour propitious for the audience ? One of the Baloch,
with rare presence of mind, declared the English travellers
to 1 e likewise Waganga, a piece of news which so impressed
the " Cabinet," that they bolted in hot haste to spread it
abroad.
They soon returned breathless with a summons to the
" Palace." The three black wisacres led the way, through
wind, rain, and gathering gloom, to a clump of huts half-
hidden by trees, and spreading over a little eminence
opposite to and below Fuga. Only three Baloch were
allowed as escort. They were deprived of their match-
locks ; but Burton and his companion, when requested to
give up their swords, refused point blank.
Sultan Kimwere, who described himself as the " Lion
of the Lord," was an old, old man, emaciated and wrinkled.
None could have recognised him as the " leonine, royal
personage, the tall and corpulent form, with engaging
features and large eyes, red and penetrating," that so
impressed Dr. Krapf in 1848. The poor old fellow, whose
hands and feet were stained with leprosy, was dying of old
age and disease, and lacked even strength to dress properly,
his clothes being as dingy and worn out as his miserable
body. He was covered, as he lay upon his cot of bamboo
and cowskin, with the doubled cotton cloth called in India
The Rainy Season at Fug& 195
a "do-patta," and he rested on a Persian rug apparently
coeval with his person.
His palace was only slightly superior to an ordinary hut,
and very unsavoury must it have been at that moment,
crammed with dignitaries no cleaner than their prince.
The traveller's errand was enquired, and the dusky
assembly being sadly unlettered, Burton, contrary to eti-
quette on such occasions, had to read out the Sultan of
Zanzibar's letter. He was then cordially welcomed to
Fuga ; but Kimwere had strong personal reasons for his
unusual civility. Caring for little else save to recover
health and strength, and hearing the strangers were able
to scrutinize trees and stones as well as stars, he believed at
once they were European medicine men, and before enter-
ing even on the question of presents, he directed them to
compound forthwith a draught which would restore him
that same evening to his pristine vigour. Vainly did Burton
parry this preposterous request by the objection that all his
drugs had been left at Pangani ; the Sultan signified that
the two physicians might wander over his hills and seek the
plants required.
Half an hour passed in palaver, and then the travellers
returned to their quarters. Kimwere's presents, which his
amiable son had tried to intercept, were forwarded with
due ceremony ; while Burton found awaiting him a prime
bullock, a basketful of Indian corn boiled to a thick paste,
and balls of unripe bananas peeled and mashed up with
sour milk. A truly English meal of indifferently cooked,
tough, freshly-killed beef was followed by the heavy sleep
of the gorged, which angry blasts, sharp showers, and
groaning trees had no power to disturb.
The rainy season had set in at Fuga ; during Burton's
stay the weather was a dismal succession of drip, drizzle
and drench. So clouded was the sky that not a star could
be seen ; it was simply impossible to take a single observa-
tion. The two Englishmen employed their leisure in roaming
13 2
ig6 Cc.ptain Sir R. F, Burton, K.C.M.G.
over the hills to gather as much information concerning the
country as they could extract from the timid inhabitants.
Fuga, a heap of some five hundred huts, contained at that
time about 3,000 souls. It was forbidden to foreigners
because the ruler's wives, to the unconscionable number
of three hundred, inhabited a portion, and it also had the
honour of sheltering the chief magicians, in whose lodges
criminals sought sanctuary. The people of both sexes
appeared industrious for Africans, the result of a cold
climate, but they were wretchedly governed ; the Sultan
selling his subjects, men, women and children, old and
young, singly or by families, and whole villages. Heavy
taxes in kind also enriched the " Lion " and his family.
It may be added, as some excuse, that the said family
must have required a large revenue ; each wife was sur-
rounded by slaves, and portioned with a separate hut
and plantation, while the sons alone numbered between
eighty and ninety. Some of the latter had Islamized, but
their sire remained a pagan.
It being out of the question to do much in such weather,
and as Burton and Speke were daily expecting their season-
ing fever, they remained at Fuga only two days and two
nights. On Monday, February i6th, they took leave of
and were formally dismissed by the Sultan. The old man
was cruelly disappointed. Long had he hoped for a white
Mganga, and now two had visited him and were about to
depart without an effort to cure him. Doubtless Burton
would have done his best had he brought his medicine
chest, for he mentions, in his usual kind-hearted way, how
sad it was to see the wistful, lingering look which accom-
panied the Lion's farewell a farewell a tout jamais. But not
all the College of Physicians could have restored to the
centenarian his vanished strength, nor patched up for long
his feeble and suffering frame.
Our travellers made Kahode the third night, where they
found Sultan Mamba as disappointed in his fashion as the
The Return to the Sea-Coast 197
Old Lion had been in his. No presents, no canoe; so his
once loved friends mourning the absent Louisa 1 had to be
punted over the deep and rapid Pangani on a bundle of
cocoa fronds, to the imminent peril of their chronometers.
From this point the party followed the river course down-
wards, in order to ascertain by inspection if the account of
its falls and rapids had been exaggerated. The environ-
ment was far from genial. Burton wrote his notes amidst
a general grumble. The slaves whimpered every time it
rained or blew ; one of the Baloch declared the rate of
walking excessive; another asserted that he had twice
visited the Lake Regions of the far interior, but had never
known such hardships even in his dreams. More valiant
men might have quailed before this wretched march. Wet,
wind, thunder and lightning, a track slippery with ooze and
mire, crossed at every few yards by thorn trees with spikes
two inches long, overgrown with sedgy spear-grass, and
constantly obstructed by huge half-exposed roots, which
many a time caused a troublesome fall, must at times have
bewildered even Burton's strong brain. No trip in a
" bath-chair " was that return to the sea-coast.
Nor did matters improve much at Kizungu, an island
settlement of Wazegura. There was plenty of palaver but
nothing to eat. The escort went to bed supperless and in
a vile temper ; their chiefs would have fared as badly had
not a villager brought in after dark an elderly hen and a
handful of rice. But here ensued a funny scene. One of
the Baloch had purchased a slave ; by some grave error of
judgment he had failed to tether this chattel securely, and
so, on the very evening after making the investment, he
had the exquisite misery of seeing his dollars bolting at a
pace which defied pursuit.
At sunrise, our party, again on the tramp, stood by nine
o'clock on an eminence to view the falls of Pangani. The
1 She had to be left at Pangani owing to scarcity of porterage.
ig8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
stream swiftly emerging from a dense, dark growth of
tropical jungle, hurls itself in three separate sheets, fringed
with flashing foam, down a rugged wall of brown rock.
The fall is broken by a midway ledge, whence a second
leap precipitates the waters into a lower basin of mist-veiled
stone, arched over by a fog-rainbow, the segment of a circle
painted with faint prismatic hues. The spectacle is grander
during the wet season, when the river, forming a single
horse-shoe, acquires volume and momentum enough to clear
the step that splits the shrunken supplies in the " dries " ;
for of all natural objects the cataract most requires that
first element of sublimity, size. Still, even at the date of
Burton's visit, the Pangani Falls with their white spray
and silvery mists, set off by a background of black jungle
and by a framework of slaty rain-cloud, offered a picture
sufficiently effective to save him from disappointment.
Resuming their march, our travellers, after a weary
stage of fourteen miles, found themselves once more within
the hospitable shelter of Chogwe. The Jemadar and his
garrison received the wanderers in most friendly fashion,
marvelling much at their speedy return from Fuga, where,
as at Harar, a visitor could never reckon upon prompt
dismissal. Sultan Kimwere had frequently detained Arab
and other guests a whole fortnight before his Mganga
would fix upon a fit time for audience.
A few days were devoted to rest and kitchen physic. The
Englishmen's feet, chafed by heavy boots which many a
time had been soaked, roughly dried, and soaked again,
were treated with simple remedies, flour and white of egg.
Their discomforts alleviated, our travellers refreshed by a
short interval of dolce far niente, paid the Jemadar and his
men for their services, and moved down to Pangani.
There Said, who had watched over their chattels with the
fidelity of a shepherd's dog, greeted them with joyful
demonstrations, while Gactano, who had accompanied the
party to Fuga in the capacity of cook-boy, was no doubt
Hippopotami Hunting 199
delighted to jabber to his confrere about the wonders he
had witnessed, and the dangers he had heroically en-
countered.
So far the trial trip had answered all expectations. One
hundred and fifty miles had been covered in eleven days, a
fair budget of details amassed, fancy maps corrected, and,
most important of any, the correct measuring of distances
in that part of Africa had been acquired. Prudence should
have suggested another interval of dolce far nic:ite, until the
arrival of the expected -vessel from Zanzibar. Unluckily,
our travellers' sporting instincts, fired en route by the
frequent appearance of hippopotami, drove them to indulge
in a day's hunting, a day which, judging from the number
of unhappy brutes that received their quietus, must have
been long and fatiguing. I spare my readers the gory
details. Even Burton grew tired at last of the easy work
of reducing poor, foolish Behemoth to a heap of bloody
bones ; and it would have been well for both slayer and
slain had the ugly monsters been left to snort and dive
undisturbed in the warm and pleasant waters of the Pangani
River ; for the sporting trip, added to an imprudent
geographical excursion, taken under a burning sun almost
immediately afterwards, brought on the long-expected fever
in one of its sharpest forms.
Both men were down with it, and a wretched fortnight
ensued in the Wali's house. The symptoms of this " bilious
remittent " read like those of virulent influenza sans the
catarrh. It is preceded by general languor and listlessness,
with lassitude of limbs and heaviness of head, with chills
and dull pains in the body and extremities, and with a
frigid sensation creeping up the spine. Then comes a mild
cold fit, succeeded by flushed face, an extensive thirst,
burning heat of skin, a splitting headache and nausea.
During Burton's first attack he ate nothing for seven days ;
and, despite the perpetual craving thirst, no liquid would
remain on the stomach. Speke also was very ill, but less
2oo Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
so than his friend. Dismal indeed must have been those
last days at Pangani. The Jemadar seeing he could do
nothing for the sick men, took leave, committing them to
Allah. Sundry citizens intending to be kind and agreeable,
but failing as regards the latter point, strolled in asking the
silliest of questions. Repose was out of the question.
During the day gnats and flies added another sting to the
horrors of fever ; by night, rats nibbled the patients' feet,
impatient for their death. Unspeakably did the invalids
long for the arrival of the vessel promised by Colonel
Hamerton. Their windows fronted the sea and they spent
every hour of daylight in gazing at the passing sails and
exchanging regrets as one by one hove in sight, drew near,
and scudded by.
There had been a delay. The craft had sailed from
Zanzibar as arranged, before the end of February, but the
fellows who manned her could not pass unvisited their
houses on the coast ; they wasted a whole week, and did
not make Pangani until the evening of March 5th. The
sick Englishmen and their servants embarked at once ;
Speke walking to the shore, his companion, who could only
just bear the exertion of leaving his room, having to be
carried like a paralysed centenarian. On their arrival in
port the good consul sent both men to bed, where they re-
mained nearly a week, not recovering normal health until
another month.
CHAPTER IX
A T noon, June I4th, 1857, the Artemise, an old frigate be-
'** longing to the Indian Navy, sailed from Zanzibar
harbour with the Expedition on board.
Nearly four months had elapsed since Burton and Speke
returned from Pangani. Their time had been occupied in
buying outfit, which could be more economically provided
during the trading season, and in arranging for escort and
porterage. The Sayyid himself ordered Said bin Salim to
the coast to engage men for the up-country journey ; and
had this " respectable person " executed the errand pro-
perly, he would have spared his employers much trouble
and fatigue. Unluckily, the mongrel Arab was such an
arrant rascal a fact soon discovered that he never per-
formed any duty attended with the slightest risk to his
precious self with zeal or thoroughness. So when Burton
and his companion arrived at Kaole they found that out of
the 170 men required only 36 were available. The Baloch
told off by the Sayyid as guard, and the personal following,
including the Portuguese lads and Bombay, amounted, all
told, to 12 persons; and although the escort was presently
increased by 36 soldiers, Burton knew his caravan was
sadly undermanned. Porters were indispensable. Cotton,
cloth, brass, wire, and various sorts of beads are a bulky
form of currency, and the savage tribes amongst whom our
explorers were to travel recognised no other, cowries not
being then circulated in Ugogo and Unyamwezi. Besides
these loads an abundance of ammunition was required, not
to mention stores of all kinds. So, at the very outset, as I
said before, the invaluable Louisa had to be left behind,
202 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
to her owners inexpressible annoyance, and many a less
important possession kept her company.
Hopeless chaos seemed reigning at Kaole, but the
" strong man " was not dismayed. Soon after Burton
appeared on the scene something like order was evolved.
Asses were purchased, drivers persuaded to accompany
them (African donkeys require strong measures to coax
them forward on their daily stage of duty), and, better still,
thirty-five additional porters who sensibly preferred travel-
ling through the more dangerous tracts without the com-
promising presence of white men, were engaged to meet the
caravan with the greater part of the luggage at Zungomero,
in K'hutu, a safe rendezvous of foreign merchants. As
regards credentials, our explorer was well provided. The
Sayyid had given introductory letters to Musa Mzuri the
principal trader in Unyamwezi, to the Arabs there resident,
and to any subject who might be travelling in the interior.
Bidding what proved a last farewell to good Colonel
Hamerton, Burton, who had been superintending opera-
tions from the Artcmise, going to and fro from the
frigate, justly deeming the disorderly natives would be
more manageable within reach of her guns, landed defini-
tively at Kaole, on the Zanzibar coast, June 27th. During
a short delay there he was much amused while settling
accounts with the collector of customs, one Ladha Damha,
at overhearing a conversation between this worthy and his
clerk. Our explorer had insisted upon their inserting in
the estimate of necessaries the sum required to purchase a
boat on the shores of Tanganyika.
" Will he ever reach it ? " asked good old Ladha, con-
veying his question through the medium of Cutchee, a
dialect of which, with the inconsequence of a Hindu, he
assumed the traveller to be profoundly ignorant.
" Of course not," replied the clerk. " What is he,
that he should pass through Ugogo ? " a province about
half way.
A Mganga Prophesies 203
Thus cheered and fortified, Burton, accompanied by
Said, Valentine, three Baloch, and three asses bought that
morning at the custom house, started for Kiringani, whither
Speke had preceded him with the bulk of the guard. Another
day or two's delay ensued in that stifling village ; and our
explorer, who perceived by the hang-dog look of the Jemadar
in command of the escort that the man's spirits required
some form of artificial stimulation, engaged a Mganga.
This sage, after having been carefully bribed to foretell
prosperity for the expedition, and prosperity only, graciously
consented to display his prophetic gift. Taking a seat
opposite Burton, the ancient demanded a second fee, then
indulged in a solemn and dignified pinch of snuff. Presently
he drew forth a large gourd containing the great medicine,
upon which no profane eye might gaze ; the vessel repeatedly
shaken gave out a vulgar sound as if filled with pebbles and
bits of metal. Placing the implement upon the ground,
Thaumaturges extracted from his mat-bag two thick goat's
horns connected by a snake-skin, decorated with bunches
of curiously shaped iron bells. He held one in the left
hand, and with the right caused the point of the other to
perform sundry gyrations, now directing it towards Burton,
then towards himself, then at the awe-struck bystanders ;
waving his head, muttering, whispering, swaying his body
to and fro, and at times violently rattling the bells. When
fully primed with the spirit of prophecy, he spoke out pretty
much in the style of his brotherhood all the world over.
The journey would be prosperous. There would be much
talking but little killing. Before navigating the Sea of
Ujiji, a sheep or a parti-coloured hen should be killed and
thrown into the lake. Successful voyage ; plenty of ivory
and slaves ; happy returns to wife and family.
At 4 p.m. June 29th, with all the usual noise and con-
fusion attendant on a start, the expedition moved slowly
onwards to Bomani. The route finally decided upon was
the Arab line of traffic first laid open to Lake Tanganyika
204 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
by Sayf bin Said in 1825. Burton's caravan, organised
after the normal coast model, contained, as we shall see,
certain elements of success, but it was badly equipped and
undermanned. This was partly owing to want of funds
(Speke and Grant's cost ^"2,500, and Stanley's last,
^27,000), also to the then scarcity of porters on the coast.
Burton, too, had been unfortunate in his men. Said was
a dishonest old coward, the Baloch were unusually ferocious
even for Baloch, and the guide, Kidogo, who did not join
the expedition until its arrival at Zungomero, was unequal
to his duties. To sum all in Burton's own words, " There
was not a soul in the caravan, from Said bin Salim to the
veriest pauper, that did not desert or attempt to do so ; but
with ten thousand pounds we might have gone anywhere
or done anything ; as it was, we had to do what we could."
During the first week they crept along at a snail's pace,
so slowly, indeed, that they could hear the booming of the
Artemise's evening gun. It was judged safer to advance
with some deliberation, as the maritime tribes through
whose lands they were passing were treacherous to a degree.
Not long before M. Maizan had been cruelly murdered, and
dismal stories passed from mouth to mouth as the village
where the deed was done came in sight. They were un-
molested, however; and as the country itself was uninterest-
ing, plain, swamp and jungle, instead of any detailed
description, a sketch of a single day's march of this "porter
journey " may give my reader some idea of Burton's
tortoise-like progress towards the Sea of Ujiji.
At 5 a.m. all still silent as the tomb, even the watch-
man nodding over his fire. About an hour later red-faced
chanticleer there were sometimes half a dozen of these
feathered camp followers, prime favourites with the porters,
who carried them on their poles by turns flapped his wings
and crew a salutation to the dawn. At the first glimmer of
light the torpid Goanese, trembling with cold (about 60 F.),
built up the fire, and prepared breakfast for their masters.
Life on the March 205
This meal consisted of tea or coffee, when procurable, or
rice-milk and cakes raised with whey, or a porridge-like
water-gruel. The Baloch required more substantial food ;
chanting their spiritual songs that followed prayer, they
squatted round a cauldron placed upon a roaring fire, and
fortified the inner man with boiled meat and toasted pulse.
About 5 a.m. the camp was fairly roused, and low chat-
ting arose from all sides. This was a critical moment. The
porters might have promised over night to start early and
make a long march, but, " uncertain, coy, and hard to
please,'' they changed their minds like the fair sex, the chilly
morning rendering them quite unlike the comparatively
active men of the preceding evening. Were the weather
too uninviting, or had they symptoms of fever, it were vain
to expect a move. If, however, a difference of opinion
existed, a little active stimulating would force on a march.
Then a louder conversation led to cries of " Kwecha !
Pakia! Hopa! Collect! Pack! Set out!" and to
some peculiarly African boasts, " I am an ass ; I am a
camel ! " reminding one of the yet more spirited announce-
ment of Dickens' raven ; all accompanied by a roar of bawl-
ing voices, drumming, whistling, and the braying of horns.
The personal servants struck the tents and received small
burdens which, when possible, they shirked. Sometimes
the guide, Kidogo, did his master the honour to enquire the
programme of the day ; if ill-tempered he omitted that cere-
mony. The porters stuck to the fires until driven away
and compelled to unstack the loads piled before the tents,
when they gradually shouldered their packs and poured out
of the camp. Burton and Speke, if well enough to ride,
mounted their asses, which were led by the gun-bearers ; if
unfit for exercise, they were borne in hammocks slung to
long poles and carried by two men at a time. Most part of
the journey, however, Burton was able to perform on foot.
All being ready, the Kirangozi, or guide, selected his
load, ever one of the lightest, raised his flag, a plain blood-
206 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
red, emblem of caravans from Zanzibar, and, followed by a
porter tom-tomming upon a kettle-drum much resembling a
European hour-glass, proudly strutted in front of the shout-
ing, yelling mob. He was a striking personage ; how the
caravan could have dispensed with him so far as Zungomero
seems hard to imagine. Robed in the splendour of scarlet
broadcloth, a narrow piece about six feet long with a central
aperture for the neck, and with streamers dangling before
and behind, his head decorated with the spoils of a black
and white tippet-monkey and capped with a tall cup-shaped
bunch of owl's feathers, he must have looked like some
worthy judge in full paraphernalia who had run mad in the
wilds. His followers gradually forming into Indian file,
wound behind him like a monstrous land serpent over dale
and plain. The bearers of cloth and beads, poised upon
either shoulder, or sometimes raised upon the head for rest,
packs that resembled huge bolsters, followed the ivory
carriers, whose place was immediately after the guide. The
maximum weight of burden was about seventy pounds
avoirdupois ; but in Eastern Africa, as elsewhere, the
weakest go to the wall, the sturdiest fellows were usually
the least loaded. Behind the cloth and bead bearers
straggled porters laden with lighter stuff, hides, salt,
tobacco, iron hoes, boxes and bags, beds and tents, pots
and water-gourds. In separate parties marched the armed
men, women and children, and the asses neatly laden with
saddle-bags of giraffe and buffalo hide. A Mganga accom-
panied the caravan as chaplain and doctor ; he never
disdained to act porter, but invariably claimed in virtue of
his calling little to carry and plenty to eat. The rear was
brought up by the owners, hardest worked of all, who often
remained a little behind to superintend matters and to pre-
vent desertion.
The costume of the guide has already been described ;
as regards that of his fellow Africans it was scanty save in
the item of ornament. Some of the men wore a strip of
Life on the March 207
zebra's mane bound round the head with the bristly hair
standing out like a saint's gloria : others preferred a long
bit of stiffened ox-tail rising like a unicorn's horn at least a
foot above the forehead.. Other adornments were fillets of
white, blue or scarlet cloth, and huge bunches of ostrich,
crane and jay's feathers crowning the head like tufts of
certain fowls. Massive ivory bracelets or heavy brass
bangles encircled the arms, strings of beads the necks,
while small iron bells strapped below the knee or
ankle by the coxcombs of the party, tinkled like the
heroine's of our nursery rhyme. All carried some weapon,
the heaviest armed a bow, a quiver full of arrows, two or
three spears, and a little battle-axe borne on the shoulder.
The normal recreations of a march were whistling,
singing, drumming, and abundant squabbling in fact,
perpetual noise. On the road it was considered prudent as
well as pleasurable to be as loud as possible, in order to
impress upon plunderers an exaggerated idea of the
caravan's strength. When friendly caravans met, the
two Kirangozis sidled up in stage fashion with a stride
and a stop, and with sidelong looks pranced until arrived
within a short distance, then suddenly and simultaneously
ducking, they came to loggerheads and exchanged a butt
violently as fighting rams. This might be mistaken for
the beginning of a faction, but if there were no bad blood
it usually ended in shouts of laughter.
At about 8 A.M., when the fiery sun topped the trees and
a pool of water or a shady place appeared, the planting of
Kidogo's red flag and a musket shot or two announced a
short halt. The porters stacked their loads and loitered in
parties, drinking, smoking tobacco or bhang, and disputing
eagerly with regard to the resting-place for the night. On
long marches Burton and his companion then seized the
opportunity of discussing the contents of two baskets,
which were carried by a slave under the eye of the
Goanese.
2o8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Plenty of nourishment was required. On sunny days
the heated earth, against which the horniest sole never
became proof, tried the feet like polished leather boots on
a quarter-deck near the Line. Throughout Eastern Africa
made roads were then unknown. Even the most frequented
routes were mere foot-tracks like goat-walks, one or two
spans broad; while during the rains the path, such as it
was, got overgrown with vegetation. In jungly parts the
tracks were mere tunnels through thorns and under branchy
trees, which cruelly hindered the men by catching their
loads. In others they spanned miry swamps intersected
with rivulets, breast deep, with muddy bottoms and steep,
slippery banks. As to the mountainous regions, the un-
lucky porters had to swarm like apes up almost perpen-
dicular precipices, leaving the unburdened blacks to drag
along the asses and assist their white employers.
The final halt was therefore well earned. But it always
gave rise to many quarrels. Each selfish body hurried
forward to secure the best bothy in the Kraal, or most
comfortable hut in the village. For these halts were
managed in various ways. Some tribes admitted strangers
into their villages, others refused at any cost. In a third
case, if unsociable natives were timid or fairly harmless,
caravans would seize the best lodgings by force ; while, in
a fourth, strangers judged it safer to pitch their tents in
clear, open spaces. However lodged, the more energetic
members at once applied themselves to making all snug for
the night ; some hewing down young trees, others collect-
ing heaps of leafy branches, one acting architect, and many
bringing in huge loads of firewood. To the East African a
bivouac in the open appears an intolerable hardship ; and
when the sudden changes of temperature are considered, it
is not astonishing that any shelter, even that of a thick
bush, is preferred to none. A heap of thorns round the
camp completed the arrangements, and then all applied
themselves to the pleasant work of refection.
Life on the March 209
Burton's day, when he was not on the march, was spent
chiefly under a spreading tree, seldom in his flimsy tent.
His occupations were writing his diary, sketching, and
attending to the business of his caravan. Cloth had to be
doled out, porters persuaded to scour the country for pro-
visions, "housekeeping" supervised, for provisions were an
ever fruitful source of dissension. Food of some sort was
generally procurable ; it varied from holcus, bean-broth, or
leathery goat-steak, to "fixings" of delicate venison, fatted
capon, and young guinea-fowl or partridge with sauce com-
pounded of bruised rice and milk. Dinner was at 4 p.m.
At first the Goanese declined to cook " pretty dishes," such
as pasties and rissoles, on the plea that such efforts were
impracticable on the inarch, but they changed their minds
when warned that persistence in their theory might lead to
painful results.
At eventide the travellers were treated to a little music,
vocal and instrumental. Knowing something of Kisivvahili,
Burton was highly flattered by the following composition,
which his impudent blacks bawled out in his hearing :
" The wicked white man goes from the shore.
Grub, grub !
We will follow as long as he gives us good food.
Grub, grub !
We will traverse the hill and the stream with this wicked white man,
Grub, grub ! "
"It is possible," said George Eliot, "that Brazilian
monkeys see hardly anything in us." Evidently the black
members of the procession wending towards Ujiji entertained
but a poor opinion of their leader.
A travelling party of pedestrians and asses, mostly
loaded, could hardly be expected to advance very rapidly.
Nevertheless, from June ayth to July I4th the caravan had
covered 118 miles, and succeeded in safely entering the
province of K'hutu. This seems for Africa fairly rapid
marching, as Stanley, whose caravans were invariably
14
210 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
better equipped than Burton's, mentions seven miles per
diem his maximum rate of progress. At first K'hutu
promised well, the dense thicket opened out into a fine
park country, peculiarly rich in game, where the calabash
and giant trees of the seaboard gave way to mimosas and
gums. Large gnus pranced about, pawing the ground and
shaking their formidable manes ; antelopes clustered to-
gether on the plain, or travelled in herds to slake their
thirst at the river. The homely cry of the partridge
sounded from every brake, and numberless guinea-fowls
looked like large bluebells upon the trees. Beasts and
birds afforded good meals ; but presently it became neces-
sary to wade through bogs from a hundred yards to a mile
in length ; the land appeared rotten, and the jungle smelt
of death. The weather was a succession of raw mist,
torrents of rain, and fiery sunbursts. In spite of the
latter, the humid vegetation dripped with dew until mid-
day, and rendered the black earth, even when free from
bogs, greasy and slippery. K'hutu was a home of miasma.
Small wonder that by the time our Englishmen reached
Dut'humi, Burton had an attack of marsh fever, which
prostrated him more or less for twenty days. Speke suffered
even more acutely, having a sunstroke superadded that
seriously affected his brain. The two Goanese, who might
have assisted their sick masters, seized the opportunity to
yield themselves wholly to maladies brought on by over-
eating, threatening, indeed, then and there to give up the
ghost. Burton's marvellous courage under physical suffer-
ing, rare even in a brave man, never shone more brightly
than on this occasion. The odious slave traffic was in full
swing. A raid took place during his illness at Dut'humi,
and as soon as he was able to move, with his head still
swimming and hands yet trembling from weakness, he
headed a small expedition against the robber, rescued seven
unhappy wights, including two decrepit old women, who
thanked him with tears of joy, and restored them to their
Through K'hutu 211
homes. This feat was all the more admirable as the
caravan was causing him great uneasiness. Said, as
treasurer, had proved a very Judas ; thirteen months' sup-
plies had disappeared in as many weeks, and the asses were
dying so rapidly that at one time it seemed as though the
expedition must come to a standstill.
Struggling on again through horrid K'hutu, they crossed
a steep and muddy bed, knee-deep even in the dry season,
and entered fields under the outlying hillocks of the high-
lands. These low cones, like similar formations in India,
are not inhabited ; they are even more malarious than the
plains. The surface is rocky, and the woodage, not ceasing
as in higher elevations, extends from base to summit.
Beyond the cultivation the route plunges into a jungle
where the European traveller realises every preconceived
idea of Africa's aspect, at once hideous and grotesque.
The black greasy earth, veiled with thick shrubbery,
supports in the more open spaces screens of tiger and
speargrass, twelve or thirteen feet high, every blade a
finger's breadth ; and the towering trees are often clothed
from root to twig with huge epiphytes, forming heavy
columns of densest verdure, and clustering upon the tops
in semblance of enormous birds' nests. The ground ever
rain-drenched, emits the odour of sulphuretted hydrogen ;
and that no feature of miasma should be lacking to com-
plete the picture, filthy heaps of the rudest hovels, built
in holes in the jungle, sheltered their few miserable in-
habitants whose frames were lean with constant intoxication,
and whose limbs distorted by ulcerous sores, attested the
hostility of Nature to mankind.
Two days' tramp through the fetid flat brought our
party to the nearest outposts of Zungomero, or third of the
K'hutu lowlands. Here were several caravans with pitched
tents, piles of ivory and crowds of porters ; and here waited
the gang of thirty-six prudent souls who had preceded our
traveller through the more dangerous regions. Unfortu-
142
212 Captain Siy R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
nately, owing to numerous desertions, even more porters
were required, so a halt of a fortnight was necessary in a
spot described as a very hot-bed of pestilence. It was
chosen by the Arabs and others as a rendezvous on account
of provisions being cheap and plentiful. Grain was so
abundant when Burton passed through in 1857, that the
inhabitants existed almost entirely upon pombe, or holcus
beer, a practice readily imitated by their visitors. Bhang
and the datura plant, dear to asthmatics, growing wild,
added to the attractions of the place. Its list of fascina-
tions, however, ended here, for our traveller declared that
Zungomero very nearly accommodated him with a wet
grave. His only lodging was under the closed eaves of
a hut built African fashion, one abode within the other.
The roof was a sieve, the walls were systems of chinks,
and the floor was a sheet of mud. Outside the rain poured
pertinaciously, as if K'hutu had been Ulster, and the
tangled bank of the Mgeta River, lying within pistol shot
of his hovel, added its quota of fell miasma. To crown
the general discomfort, the Baloch, expecting everything to
be done for them by the porters, became almost mutinous
because left to make shelters for themselves, and nearly
caused a riot amongst the villagers by robbery and general
misconduct.
Fortunately, the next station presented a sort of trans-
formation scene. From central Zungomero to the nearest
ascent of the Usagara Mountains is a march of only five hours.
But at a station called the " Little Tamarind," not more
than three hundred feet above the ghastly plains, there
was a wondrous change. Pure, sweet mountain air, clear
blue skies lending their tints to highland ridges, in lieu
of pelting rain and clammy mists veiling a gross growth
of fetor. Dull mangrove and dismal jungle were sup-
planted by tall solitary trees, amongst which the lofty
tamarind rose conspicuously graceful ; and swamps cut by
a network of streams and stagnant pools, gave way to dry,
A Death March 213
healthy slopes with short steep pitches and gently shelving
hills. During the first night, the soothing murmur of a
stream mingled with the faint sighing of the zephyrs, while
the moonbeams lay like sheets of snow upon the ruddy
uplands. Burton never wearied of contemplating the
scene, for contrasting with the beauty around him, still
stretched in sight the Slough of Despond, unhappy Zun-
gomero, lead-coloured above, mud-coloured below, wind-
swept, fog-veiled, and deluged by clouds that dared not
approach these delectable mountains.
Sad sights, however, presented themselves even here.
The path which ran over a succession of short steep hills
with a rufous brown soil, dotted with blocks and stones,
and thinly covered with grass, had been traversed only
twenty-four hours before by a caravan smitten with small-
pox. The track was marked by many swollen corpses of
porters who had fallen behind and perished unaided amidst
these solitary wilds. The poor creatures, almost blinded
by disease, had staggered along until strength departed,
and then lain down to die. Near most villages, detached
tents were set apart for victims of this horrible malady ;
but, on the march, if one fell, his heavily-burdened breth-
ren could not have assisted him even had they the will.
Burton's Moslems passed these melancholy remains with
averted faces and exclamations of disgust ; while one de-
crepit old porter gazed at them and wept with terror lest
he should share their fate.
At Zonhwe, near a little river of that name still in these
East African Ghauts, the expedition again threatened to
collapse. The instruments, except two valuable thermome-
ters, had been broken or rendered almost useless ; another
ass had died, reducing the number to twenty-three, and the
Baloch and porters contemplated a strike. The Jemadar
accused Burton of starving his party. He was told not to
" eat abominations," upon which, clapping hand to hilt,
he theatrically forbade our traveller to repeat the words.
214 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Burton at once used the same phrase half a dozen times,
upon which the old scoundrel departed to hold a colloquy
with his men.
The debate was purposely conducted in so loud a tone
that every word reached the master's ears. One of the
Baloch threatened to take " that man's life," at the risk of
chains for the remainder of his days. Another opined that
" in all Nazarenes there is no good " ; and each complained
he had no respect, no food, and, above everything, no meat.
Presently they formally demanded one sheep per diem
men who, when at Zanzibar, saw flesh once a year. This
being inadmissible, they asked for four cloths as daily pay,
instead of one. Receiving a contemptuous answer, they
marched away in a body, noisily declaring that they were
going to make instant preparations for departure.
And depart they did for one day. Next morning, as
the asses were being loaded for the march, the Jemadar,
looking more crestfallen and foolish than he had ever looked
before, suddenly re-appeared, took Burton's hand, and de-
clared that, so far from deserting him, he was deserting
them. The company, too, professed themselves profoundly
penitent. They had taken opium ; they had been tempted
by the Evil One ; they promised to reform. Burton gave
them a lecture, and then, with incredible efforts, started his
caravan once more on its disorderly way.
Fresh horrors presented themselves. Huts torn and
half consumed, the ground strewn with nets and drums,
cots and fragments of rude furniture, testified to a recent
slave raid. Two wretched villagers were seen lurking in the
jungle, not daring to revisit the wreck of their homes. It
must be remembered, however, by those who blame the
Moslem kidnappers so severely, that their depredations are
rendered not only possible but easy by the constant inter-
necine wars of the Africans themselves. Were the natives
of the intertropical provinces united, they could soon drive
every Arab maurauder in the land into the deep waters of
Inhospitality of the Natives 215
their own magnificent lakes. Instead of this, each separate
tribe is ever on the war-path, and, when victorious, as eager
in bartering their black prisoners as any slave dealer in the
land. Truthful travellers, one and all, gave a dismal ac-
count of the " perverse race of Kush." Nowhere is the
" noble savage " less worthy of the epithet. The name
of hospitality, except for interested motives, is unknown.
These people will refuse a mouthful of water to a man
dying of thirst ; they will not stretch out a hand to save
another's goods, though worth thousands of dollars. Their
squabbling and clamour defy description ; and after a cuff a
man will cover his face with his hands and cry as if his
heart would break. Marriage is a mere matter of buying
and selling ; their greediness and voracity know no bounds,
and their propensity for intoxication was gratified with
pombe long before a drop of trade rum was ever brought
into the country. As for their faith, if indeed it can be
called such, it seems a loathsome form of demonology or
fetishism. A common spectacle in many parts of the
country through which our traveller passed was a heap or
two of ashes with a few blackened human bones ; often
close to the larger circles, where the father and mother had
been burnt, a smaller heap showed some wretched child
had shared their fate. And the sorcerer and sorceress will
not only confess, but boast of and believe in their own
criminality, the offspring of mental imbecility stimulated
by traditional hallucination.
By-and-by, ants red and black reminded the expedition
of their existence. Men and beasts were rendered half mad
by the cruel stings. The red variety crossed the road in
dense masses like the close columns of an army. Both
kinds know neither fear nor fatigue ; they rush to annihila-
tion without hesitation, and are expelled from a hut by no
milder means than fire and boiling water. The black men
also suffered severely from the tzetze. This horrid fly, the
torment of Cape travellers, was known in the vicinity of
216 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Kilwa as the " little sword." On the line followed by the
expedition it was found extending from Usagara westward
as far as the Central Lakes; its usual habitat the jungle strip
which encloses each patch of cultivated ground. Possibly
at some future day when the country becomes more popu-
lated, this pest may be exterminated by the introduction of
some insectivorous bird, an importation which would prove
one of the greatest benefactors that Central Africa had
ever known.
Before describing the crossing of the Rubeho Pass, the
third or westernmost range of the Usagara Mountains, a few
words are necessary concerning this region. Extending
from the western frontiers of K'hutu to the province of Ugogo
its diagonal breadth is eighty-five geographical miles :
native caravans, if lightly laden, usually traverse it in three
weeks. The Usagara chain is the only important elevation
in a direct line from the coast to western Unyamwezi, and
although holding but a low grade in the general system of
the earth's mountains, it possesses peaks that rise from
6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level.
From its mingling of lively colours, Usagara delights
the eye after the monotonous tracts of verdure at Zanzibar
and in the river valleys. The subsoil displayed in its
deeper ravines is granite, greenstone, schist, or a coarse
brown sandstone ; the soil is either an ochreish brick-red,
or a dull grey, the debris of comminuted felspar which
appears dazzlingly white under the sun's rays. Its vege-
tation is of a pleasantly varied character : it is a land of
jungle-flowers and agreeably acid fruits, and in the plains
the air is heavy with the jasmine's delicious perfume, with
the odour of a kind of sage, and the fragrant exhalations of
the mimosa flowers hanging like golden balls from their
green-clad boughs. The tamarind, everywhere growing
wild, attains a gigantic height. On the steep hillsides,
which here and there display signs of cultivation, flourish
queer parachute-shaped mimosas, with tall and slender
A Difficult Pass 217
trunks, crowned by domes of verdure rising in tiers one
above the other like umbrellas in a crowd.
The climate for Africa is chilly. In the higher levels it
recalls the Neilgherry Hills in Western India. Compared
with Unyamwezi, these mountains are a sanitorium, and
European travellers might do well, when they have the
leisure, to remain there awhile until acclimatised. Certainly
Burton mentions a formidable list of maladies then preva-
lent ; but these may have been partly due to the uncleanly,
careless habits of the natives, the Wasagara and their
sub-tribes, who, like most of the races encountered by
our traveller, were cruel, treacherous, cowardly and
dirty.
The journey across Usagara might almost be described
as pleasant but for the terrific pass which barred the way
to Ugogo. Burton himself contemplated with dogged
despair an apparently perpendicular path that ignored
a zigzag, and the roots and boulders hemmed in with
tangled vegetation up which he, Speke, and the starving
asses were about to toil. Speke was so weak that he
required the aid of two or three supporters. Burton
managed with one. After rounding in two places wall-
like sheets of rock, they faced a long steep of loose white
soil and rolling stones, up which they could see the porters
swarming more like baboons than human beings. Another
danger of a different description threatened. As the
Englishmen moved slowly and painfully onward, the
war-cry suddenly rang from hill to hill, and Indian files
of archers and spearmen streamed like lines of black ants
in all directions down the paths. A predatory tribe had
awaited the caravan's departure, and seized the opportunity
of plundering a neighbouring village. One of the pjrters
proposed a saiive qui pent, leaving his employers to their
fate, employers ever held to be the head and front of all
danger and evil fortune. His advice was not followed,
though for no disinterested reasons, and the " braves "
2i8 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
passed by, too intent on their work of destruction to molest
the strangers.
Resting every few yards, then clinging to their guides
and advancing step by step, Burton and Speke, after about
six hours' labour, reached the summit of Rubeho. There
they sat down amidst aromatic flowers and shrubs to re-
cover strength and breath. The view disclosed a retrospect
of difficulties happily overcome. Below the foreground of
giant fractures, huge rocks and detached boulders emerging
from a shaggy growth of mountain vegetation, with forest
glens and hanging woods black with shade gathering in the
steeper folds, appeared, distant already, large square villages
of the Wasagara, streaked with lines of tender green that
denoted the watercourses, and patched with black where
grass had been freshly fired. A glowing sun gilded a
canopy of dense smoke which curtained the nearer plain,
and in the background the hazy atmosphere painted with
azure the broken wall of hill traversed the previous day.
Revived by a veritable tramontana which blew icily
down the Pass, our Englishmen advanced over rolling
ground decked with cactus and mimosa, to a small and
dirty kraal in a hollow flanked by heights. Here a halt
was called. Speke had been taken so ill, that a cool, quiet
night was an absolute necessity. Happily, the rest and
fine air combined gave him strength to move next morning ;
and the scramble downhill to the plains of Ugogo was
safely accomplished with no worse disaster than the loss of
some baggage.
Ugogo, the reader may remember, was the ultimate
limit applied to the prospects of our expedition by the
worthy clerk of Ladha Damha at Kaole. Despite his
melancholy predictions, the caravan succeeded in traversing
this province almost unhindered. The natives, the Wagogo,
are a mongrel race, many of whom converse fluently in
the Kisiwahili, or coast tongue. Milk, honey and eggs
were freely offered for sale, but all proved of the indifferent
The Route through Ugogo 219
quality we are accustomed to in a second-rate English
lodging. Speke, luckily, had so far recovered from his last
attack as to be able to supplement the larder by many a
fine brace of partridge and fat guinea-fowl ; but as the
party proceeded they found game had suffered from the
frequent halts of caravans, and from the carnivorous pro-
pensities of the people, who, huntsmen all, leave their prey
no chance against nets and arrows, pitfalls and packs of
yelping curs.
Ugogo, though in parts rich in grain, is mostly an ugly,
arid province. Its plains, yellow with stubble, and brown-
black with patches of jungle based upon a brickdust soil,
give it a general aspect of a glaring flat, darkened by long
growths of acrid and saline plants. There are no rivers,
the periodical rains being carried off by large nullahs,
whose clay banks are split during the hot season into
polygonal figures, like piles of columnar basalt. On the
sparkling nitrous salinas and dun-coloured plains, the
mirage faintly resembles the effects of refraction in desert
Arabia. Towards the end of December begins the rainy
season, with the wind shifting from east to north and north-
east, and blowing steadily from the high grounds eastward
and westward of the Victoria Nyanza, which have been
saturated by heavy falls commencing in September.
By the advice of his guide, Burton chose the middle
route through the hundred miles of Ugogo, principally
because it was infested by only four sultans, or chiefs ; the
other roads were guarded by more. Each chief levied
heavy blackmail for the privilege of passing through his
dominions ; there was no regular tariff, but the sum was
fixed by the traveller's dignity and outfit. The most power-
ful of the quartet, one Magomba, was impelled by com-
bined cupidity and inquisitiveness to enter Burton's tent ;
pride and a propensity for strong drink restrained the three
others. His highness did not present a very imposing spec-
tacle. Picture a black and wrinkled elder, drivelling and
220 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
decrepit, with a half bald pate furnished with a few strag-
gling iron-grey corkscrews, his only covering a greasy loin-
cloth, his neck decorated with strings of beads, his skinny
shanks with large anklets of brass wire, and his big black
ears nearly split asunder with huge brass rings. Nor was
his deportment superior to his appearance. He chewed his
quid, expectorated incessantly, asked idiotic questions, and
begged for every article he saw. He demanded as tribute,
cottons, domestics, cloths, beads, brass wire ; and on
receiving the goods in question, clamoured for more. This
was extra trying, as before his august appearance on the
scene, his favourite spouse, hideous as himself, had put in
her claim ; and who could refuse a[royal lady ? Truly thankful
must the highly honoured but sadly plundered strangers
have felt when these greedy highnesses departed and left
them free to resume their difficult march. Certainly
another sultan proved just as rapacious, but as he lay in
his hut half stupefied with pombe, he spared the English-
men a personal visitation.
Day after day passed with the usual incidents repeated
with exasperating monotony. The Baloch gave way to fits
of rage, the porters lost their loads and often failed to find
them ; Said, cheating ever, quaked over dangers real and
imaginary ; grumbling and quarrelling never ceased. The
plains of Ugogo were safely traversed and the caravan
entered Unyamwezi, then the African explorer's Land of
Promise ; but the pleasures of hope were sadly damped by
the folly, recklessness and ingratitude of the sable environ-
ment. Bombay alone showed his masters any human
feeling. On one occasion he saved Burton's life. Our
traveller, feeling unusually faint and exhausted, had allowed
his party to precede him and then became too weak to
follow. Good Bombay however soon missed him and
returned to his assistance, not only with refreshments, but
leading an ass on which the almost prostrate man was
brought into camp. But there was no other friend among
" Hearts of Flesh " 221
the unruly crew, and Burton must have felt his heart
lightened of half its load when on the yth November, 1857,
the 1 34th day after leaving the coast, he entered Kazeh,
the principal station of Eastern Unyamwezi and the capital
village of the Omani merchants.
The site of Kazeh was the pleasantest our travellers had
yet visited. A plateau in the depths of the tropics made
temperate by altitude of from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea
level, studded with hills rising abruptly from fertile, grassy
plains, and broken by patches of cultivation, by valleys,
and by forests of rich growth. The houses too, Moslem
modifications of the African Tembe, appeared far superior
in comfort to any shelter Burton had hitherto enjoyed.
But it was not merely the pleasant position and compara-
tive luxury of Kazeh that delighted him ; how rapturously
he hailed the change from the society of his surly Africans
to that of the courtly Arabs he alone could fully tell. The
Moslems received him like a brother, led him and his
companion to a vacant house, supplied them with pro-
visions, and, after leaving the strangers in accordance with
a gracious Arab custom, a day to recover from fatigue,
proceeded to show them such hospitality as only these
people are capable of. Burton described his reception
as " meeting with hearts of flesh after hearts of stone."
Musa Mzuri (handsome Moses), the principal merchant
settled at Unyanyembe, to whose protection Burton and
Speke had been commended by the Sayyid of Zanzibar,
happened to be away on a trading trip. His agent, Snay
bin Amir, a Harisi Arab, came forward to perform the
guest rites. No record of the Tanganyika and the Victoria
Nyanza Lakes would be complete without a notice of this
remarkable man. Burton, who always recorded any assist-
ance rendered by the talents of others, frankly acknowledged
his obligations to his gifted host. From his instructive
and varied conversation was derived not a little of the
information contained in the " Lake Regions of Central
222 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Africa" 1 conversation which we must bear in mind only
Burton could understand, as Speke's solitary linguistic
acquirement was Hindustani. Snay had travelled three
times between Unyamwezi and the coast, besides navi-
gating Lake Tanganyika and visiting the northern king-
doms of Karagwah and Uganda ; and he was as familiar
with the languages, the religion, manners and ethnology
of the African as with those of his natal Oman. By
the aid of his distances and directions, Burton was en-
abled to lay down the southern limits of the Victorian
lake, and so prepared the way for Speke's flying trip.
But Snay bin Amir was not merely clever. Some of
the loftiest characters, nothwithstanding the compara-
tively low moral standard of their environment, have been
met with in China, in Japan, in Arabia, in far Thibet.
This Arab ivory merchant and slave dealer certainly appears
as an example. Sixteen years before Burton's visit to
Kazeh he had begun life as a confectioner at Maskat. In
1856 he had risen to be one of the wealthiest traders in
East Africa. Success only developed his excellent qualities.
His kindness and generosity never failed, though not one
member of the expedition could make the smallest return,
and several must have caused him a vast amount of trouble.
Burton in particular he treated like a brother doctored
him, feasted him, lodged him, warehoused his goods,
engaged porters in place of deserters, and settled quarrels
innumerable. During two halts at Kazeh, one on the way
to Tanganyika, the other on the return march, he passed
every evening with his favourite guest, and during this
prolonged intercourse no evil feeling of any kind appears
to have betrayed itself. In appearance he was a middle-
aged man with a somewhat Quixotic look, high-featured,
sunken-eyed, tall and large-limbed.
1 " The Lake Regions of Central Africa," two vols. Longman, Green,
Longman & Roberts, 1850.
A Lady-Doctor attends Burton. 223
Good Snay bin Amir, with your talents, your high sense
of honour, your warm and generous heart, you deserved a
kinder fate ! For the second expedition commanded by Speke
and Grant found the neighbouring villages ruined, and
Kazeh itself on the verge of destruction. The merchants
had refused to pay a tax imposed by a headman of Unyam-
yembe, hence a war which ended in the slaughter of Burton's
faithful friend, who, too proud to run from his horde of
enemies, lay down when abandoned by his negroes, and
gave up his brave soul to Allah.
During five weeks our traveller and his caravan re-
mained at Kazeh enjoying the hospitality of the Arab
residents. With work yet to do, it must not be supposed
Burton delayed so long without compulsion. Twenty
marches only would conduct him to Ujiji upon the
Tanganyika, for, thanks to his clever host, no uncertainty
remained concerning the route and the goal. But fatigue
had told severely upon him and his followers, and the
" bilious remittent " once more declared itself. Again the
familiar symptoms, distressing weakness, hepatic derange-
ment, perspirations, aching eyes, and alternate thrills of
heat and cold made night and day wretched. The malady
lasted a whole month. Snay was the principal doctor, but
as his usual treatment counter-irritants failed in Burton's
case, a witch, celebrated for her cures throughout the
country-side, was summoned in consultation.
The cures in question evidently appertained to the
nature of those in civilised Europe known with the prefix,
an all-important one, of faith, and Burton, though a
sanguine man, was by no means credulous. Besides, his
lady-doctor seems to have been most decidedly ugly. A
wrinkled beldam, black as soot, set off by a mass of
tin-coloured pigtails, arrived, bearing the implements of
her craft, a girdle of small gourds dyed reddish-black with
oil and use. The invalid's nerves, in spite of his fever,
must have been fairly strong to endure such an object in
224 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the room ; probably he was borne up by inquisitivencss. 1
have said elsewhere that he had a warm corner for doctors,
but that alone hardly explains his permitting himself to be
experimented upon by a Mganga in East Africa.
After demanding and receiving her fee, a precedent
which might be useful to our general practitioners, she
proceeded to search her patient's mouth and to enquire
anxiously concerning poison. The question betrayed the
prevalence of crime in the country, and the people seemed
ever to dread it. She then drew from a gourd a greenish
powder, apparently bhang, and having mixed it with a little
water, administered it like snuff, which caused a paroxysm
of sneezing. This not very uncommon symptom after a
nasal inhalation she hailed with shouts of joy. Here faith
should have performed its part ; the medicine had suc-
ceeded, the doctor was contented. To make the cure
certain, she presently rubbed her patient's head with powder
of another kind; then announcing that sleep would usher in
recovery, she departed, with a promise to return next day.
Alas ! our College of Physicians could never hold forth the
hand of fellowship to this sable sister. Her conduct was
disgraceful. Having become comparatively wealthy, she
absconded to indulge in unlimited pombe for a whole week ;
and although her patient had not benefited in the slightest
degree by her treatment, she never even enquired after
him during those seven rapturous but sadly unprofessional
days !
We will leave our traveller housed within a stone's
throw of his new friend Shaykh Snay bin Amir, and record
the discovery of fair Tanganyika in the next chapter.
CHAPTER X
"TTIE five weeks spent at Kazeh to rest and recruit having
elapsed, Burton bade his good host a temporary adieu,
and resumed his way to Ujiji. Fever had left him so weak
that he had to be carried in a hammock, and six men were
engaged by Snay bin Amir for this duty. Although at
first even the comparatively easy motion of the manchila
caused at times acute suffering, our traveller, after his pro-
longed confinement indoors, was charmed with the prospect,
a fine open country and well wooded hills rolling into blue
distance on either hand. A forced halt of two days at
Yombo, partly to wait for Speke, who had been obliged to
retrace his steps in order to superintend the arrival of sup-
plies of cloth and beads from Zanzibar, partly to collect a
gang of porters for their journey westward, was enlivened
by evening chats with the feminine members of the popu-
lation. The sunset hour in Unyamwezi, as in other parts
of Africa, is replete with enjoyment to the natives. Every
night there mustered a smoking party ; all the womankind,
from wrinkled granddam to maid scarcely in her teens,
assembled to apply themselves to their long, black-bowled
pipes. Seated in a circle, upon dwarf stools or logs of
wood, they smoked with such intense relish, slowly and
deeply inhaling the weed, and exhaling clouds from their
nostrils, that it was quite a pleasure to watch them,
especially as Yombo boasted of no fewer than three
beauties, Venuses cast in bronze. Nor were they
merely handsome. Natural good-nature, or the soothing
influence of the narcotic, rendered these Wanyamwezi
ladies unusually affable. When our traveller in his
15
226 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
best Kinyamwezi, which he had acquired a smattering of
from Snay bin Amir, paid his compliments and added a
present of a little tobacco, they smiled sweetly, and accorded
him the privilege of a seat in the well ! undress circle.
Certainly the Land of the Moon offers its children every
element of comfort and enjoyment. Burton described it as
the "garden of Central Intertropical Africa." Its general
character is rolling ground intersected with low hills, and
its aspect of peaceful beauty soothes the eye like a medicine
after glaring Ugogo and the dark monotonous verdure of
the western provinces. During the rains there are but
two seasons, wet and dry, which represent summer and
winter a coat of many-tinted greens conceals Mother
Earth. In the hot season the land becomes grey, lighted
up with golden stubble and dotted with trees. Villages
rise at short intervals above their impervious walls of
lustrous green milkbush, with its coral-shaped arms varie-
gating the well-hoed plains ; whilst in the pasture-lands
frequent herds of many-coloured cattle, plump and high-
humped, and mingled flocks of sheep and goats dispersed
over the landscape suggest ideas of barbarous peace and
plenty. The yield of the soil at the time of Burton's visit
to this favoured land averaged sixtyfold even in compara-
tively unproductive years.
Pleasant though the face of the country might be,
travelling along it was subject to all the perils consequent
on lack of civilisation. From want of proper shelter and
suitable food both Englishmen suffered from various strange
and painful symptoms. Sudden fits of numbness of the ex-
tremities resembling paralysis, temporary but almost total
blindness, severe attacks of inflammation of the eyes, tor-
mented them successively. Speke nearly lost his sight from
ophthalmia. The unruly caravan, too, never ceased from
troubling. Partly because the Zanzibar goods had turned
out 01 the poorest and most flimsy description, it became
more disorderly and unmanageable than ever. Even
A Hospitable Host 227
the two most important functionaries, Said and the Jemadar,
instead of helping to keep order, actually impressed upon the
porters that Burton's days were numbered, consequently it
was useless to take any thought about him. To prove the
contrary, our traveller, ill .though he was, left his hammock,
and, mounting his ass, rode manfully on through some of
the worst parts of the way. The exertion was terrible, for
Maitre Aliboron in Africa is guilty of the four mortal sins of
the equine race ; he shies and stumbles, rears and runs
away. The roundness of his flanks, the shortness of his
back and his want of shoulder combine to make the native
saddle unfit for anything but a baboon or a boy ; while the
straightness and rigidity of his goat-like pasterns render the
pace a wearisome, tripping hobble. Fortunately, after one
long day's trudge, Burton was hospitably received by a
wealthy Arab proprietor in the Wilyankuru district. The
kind-hearted man escorted his weary guest to a comfortable
room, supplied him with milk, meat, and honey, and placed
a new cartel, or substitute for a bedstead, in the coolest
apartment of his handsome Tembe.
Four short and eventless marches through thick jungle
with scattered clearings led Burton to the district of Msene,
where the dense wild growth lately traversed suddenly
opened out and disclosed a broad view of admirable fertility.
He was conducted to an uncomfortable building with its
clay roof weed-grown like a deserted grave, and surrounded
by dirty puddles and black mud. His stay was not a
pleasant one. Msene, a mass of detached settlements,
proved a terribly naughty place even for Africa. All its
inhabitants from Sultan to slave made a point of getting
intoxicated whenever the material was forthcoming ; and
intoxication was by no means their worst or only vice.
The said Sultan, during his few sober moments, paid the
travellers several visits. His first greeting betrayed his
motive " White men, what pretty things have you brought
from the shore for me ? " On more than one occasion a
152
228 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
bevy of wives accompanied him. Of their conduct, the less
said the better. Had it not been for the eternal difficulty
with regard to porterage which detained the caravan in this
den of debauchery for twelve days, Burton would have left
at once. His men became so demoralised that even good
Bombay on the morning of departure was lured away by
some sable siren, while as for the guide and his followers,
despite orders, they refused point blank to leave until forty-
eight hours later.
This act of disobedience put the finishing stroke to
Burton's patience. Kidogo, the splendid Kidogo, had
become insufferable, and no milder sentence than prompt
dismissal was absolutely necessary. Disregarding the in-
terested entreaties of Said and the Jemadar, our traveller
summoned the Kirangozi and his staff of slaves, informed
them that their time was expired, and ordered them to
return forthwith to Kazeh. This step was taken none too
soon. The black rascals had openly boasted of their in-
tention to prevent the expedition from embarking on the
Sea of Ujiji.
At Wanyika there was a forced halt of a day to settle
the ever-recurring question of blackmail. The principal
chief of Uvinza considered himself Lord of the Malagarazi
River, and enforced his claims by forbidding the ferrymen
to assist strangers unless his demands were complied with.
Forty cloths, white and blue, and other goods to the value
of fifty pounds, were paid to this rapacious roitelet, who
then accorded the expedition the privilege of embarking in
wretched canoes that, when high and dry upon the bank,
somewhat resembled castaway shoes of unusual size.
Burton and Speke entered these craft gingerly, but were
surprised to find the ferrymen so skilful, that not only was
the human freight landed without accident, but all the
luggage besides. The riding asses had to be flung into
the river, which they easily crossed by swimming.
The route then lay through a howling wilderness, once
A Settlement of Salt-Diggers 229
populous and fertile, but lately laid waste by one of the
savage tribes, who rendered the face of the land as change-
able as the patterns of a kaleidoscope. On the 5th February
our party set out betimes, traversing for some distance
boggy land along the river side. The hardships of this
march induced two of the porters who carried the hammock
to levant, and the remaining four to strike work. Conse-
quently, the Englishmen who had been indulging in the
luxury of a rest had to remount their asses. The yth
February found them toiling along broken ground, encum-
bered by trees and cut by swamps. Presently, diverging
from the Malagarazi River, they passed over the brow of a
low hill above the junction with the Rusigi, and followed
the left bank of the tributary as far as its nearest ford.
Later, they skirted a settlement containing from forty to
fifty beehive huts, tenanted by salt-diggers. One is sur-
prised to read of such an industry amongst the childish
races of Uvinga, and yet more so to learn that they turned
out quite a superior article. The principal pan was sunk
in the vicinity of the stream ; the saline produce, after being
boiled down indoors, was, when dry, piled up and hand-
made into little cones, far surpassing in quality the manu-
facture of the coast towns. After watching these people
for a while, Burton and his party resumed their way, and
found themselves obliged to cross the next ford on the
backs of negroes who were waiting for the purpose a
less costly mode than by canoe, but subject to the draw-
backs often attendant upon cheapness, for all the goods and
chattels got thoroughly soaked.
More fords, more swamps, more jungle, then the sinking
of the land towards the lake become palpable. The caravan
halted from fatigue upon a slope beyond a weary bog ; a
violent storm was brewing, and whilst half the sky was
purple-black with nimbus, the sun shone stingingly through
the clear portion of the empyrean. But these small troubles
were lightly borne ; already in the far distance appeared
230 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G,
walls of sky-blue cliff with gilded summits, gleaming as a
beacon to distressed mariners.
On the 1 3th February they started betimes, forcing a
path through screens of lofty grass, which thinned out into
a straggling forest. After about an hour's march they
breasted a steep and stony hill. Arrived with difficulty,
for one ass fell dead on the way and the others refused to
proceed, the two Englishmen rested for a few minutes on
the crest.
" What is that streak of light which lies below ? " in-
quired Burton.
" I am of opinion," quoth Bombay, " that is the water."
A few steps further and the whole scene suddenly burst
upon our traveller's sight, filling him with wonder, admira-
tion and delight. Nothing could be more picturesque than
this first view of the Tanganyika Lake, as it lay in the lap
of the mountains, basking in gorgeous, tropical sunshine.
Below, and beyond a short foreground of rugged, precipitous
hill, down which the footpath zigzags painfully, a narrow
strip of emerald green, never sere and marvellously fertile,
shelves towards a ribbon of glistening, yellow sand, here
bordered by sedgy rushes, there clearly and cleanly cut by
the breaking wavelets. Further in front stretch the waters,
an expanse of the softest blue, varying in breadth from
thirty to thirty-five miles, and sprinkled by the crisp east
wind with tiny crescents of snowy foam. The background,
a high and broken wall of steel-coloured mountains, was
that day flecked and capped in parts with pearly mists, in
others, standing sharply pencilled against the azure air, its
yawning chasms marked by a deep plum-colour falling
towards dwarf hills of mound-like proportions. To the
south and opposite the long low point behind which the
Malagarazi river discharges the red loam suspended in its
violent stream, lie the bluff headlands and capes of Uguhha,
while a cluster of outlying islets speckle a sea-horizon. On
this vision of beauty Burton gazed and gazed again ; for-
A Glorious Guerdon 231
getting toils, dangers and the uncertainty of a safe return
to those he loved, he felt willing to endure double what he
had gone through for so glorious a guerdon. All his party
seemed affected by some pleasant emotion. Even his surly
Baloch made civil salaams.
The night following this eventful day was passed at
Ukaranga, a collection of miserable grass huts. Early
next morning, an open, solid-built Arab craft having been
hired, our travellers coasted along Tanganyika's eastern
shore towards the Kawele district in the land of Ujiji.
Their view was exceedingly beautiful, the picturesque and
varied forms of the mountains rising above and dipping
into the water, were clad in purplish blue, tinted in places
by Aurora's rosy fingers. Burton, who had heard of a
town, a ghaut, a bazaar, rather marvelled at an utter
absence of all those features which prelude a popular
settlement. Only sundry scattered hovels surrounded by
fields of sorghum and sugar cane, and shaded by dense
groves of the dwarf plantain and the Guinea palm, ap-
peared at intervals along the shore. Presently some rude
canoes, evidently belonging to fishermen, woodcutters, and
market people, cut the water singly, or stood in crowds
drawn up on the patches of yellow sand.
About ii a.m. the dhow was poled through a hole in a
thick welting of coarse reedy grass and flaggy aquatic
plants, to a level landing-place of flat shingle, where the
water shoaled off rapidly. Such in 1858 was the ghaut or
disembarkation quay of Ujiji.
Around the ghaut a few huts of humblest beehive
pattern represented the port town. Advancing some hun-
dred yards through a din of shouts and screams, tom-toms
and trumpets, and mobbed by a swarm of black beings
whose eyes seemed about to start from their heads with
surprise, Burton passed a relic of Arab civilisation, the
bazaar. It consisted merely of a plot of ground cleared of
grass and flanked by a crooked tree, where, for some hours
2.32 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
every day, weather permitting, a mass of standing and
squatting negroes bought and sold with a hubbub heard
for miles. He and Speke were then conducted to a ruinous
Tembe, built by an Arab merchant, situated about half a
mile from the village of Kawele, which at that time was the
principal settlement of Ujiji. This habitation enjoyed the
double attraction of proximity to provisions and a beautiful
view of the lake. Well that our travellers had this lovely
vision before their eyes, for, as usual, the natives were
most depressing objects, morally and physically. Hideously
tattooed, further disfigured by loathsome skin diseases,
their villainously - shaped heads partially shaved, these
odious beings were besides insolent, thievish, immoral,
and continually drunk. Men and women alike staggered
about with thick speech and violent gestures, after indul-
gence in their favourite inebriant, palm toddy ; while, after
bhang-smoking, their whoops and yells resembled the noise
of some highly excited wild beast rather than aught human.
Curious how many good temperance folk in England insist
upon depicting the African as a model of sobriety when free
from the temptation of trade rum. True, the latter has a
more deadly effect on his physique ; still, long before the
poisonous mixture concocted by benevolent Hamburghers
and others had reached Ujiji, the natives presented as
distressing a spectacle as our denizens of Ratcliff Highway
on Saturday night.
Burton's first care on settling in his new abode was to
purify the floor by pastiles of assafcetida and fumigations
of gunpowder, and to patch up the roof against the rainy
season. Aided by a Msawahili artisan, he provided himself
with a pair of cartels, and substitutes for chairs and tables.
As further luxuries, benches of clay were built round the
rooms like divans, but these turned out useless, being
occupied in force every morning by fine white ants. The
roof, too, did not repay the pains bestowed upon it ; hope-
lessly rotten, it never ceased leaking during wet weather,
A Ceremonious Visit 233
and at last partly collapsed. The result of such exces-
sive humidity was unfortunate ; a large botanical collection,
accumulated during the journey from Zanzibar, was irre-
trievably ruined ; and as the return to the coast took place
during the dry season, when the woods were bare of leaf,
flower and fruit, it could not be replaced.
On the second day after arrival, Burton received a
ceremonious visit from one Kannena, the headman of
Kawele. This personage, a type of the people he governed,
was introduced habited in silk turban and broadcloth coat,
borrowed from the Baloch, and accompanied by two natives
a quarter clad in greasy and scanty bark aprons. He was
a short, squat negro, with a low, frowning brow and an
apDlogy for a nose. Believing Burton to be a merchant,
and hoping to make a good profit by exchanges of wares,
he behaved at first with remarkable civility, but as soon as
he discovered the stranger " lived by doing nothing," he
doffed his garments and good behaviour together, and
became a veritable thorn in the flesh during the whole
of our traveller's stay at Ujiji.
Important work yet remained undone. Burton desired
to explore the northern extremity of his curiously elongated
lake, and, seeing scanty prospect of success and every
chance of an accident if compelled to voyage in the
wretched native canoes, he attempted to persuade cowardly
old Said to undertake a little coasting trip for the purpose
of securing the dhow which had conveyed the party to
Kawele. The little sneak, as usual, when scenting danger,
shirked; so his master being at that moment too ill to
travel, Speke, supplied with an ample outfit and accom-
panied by two Baloch, besides Gaetano and Bombay,
started on this important quest in his stead.
He was away nearly a month. Burton spent the time
in almost complete idleness, eating, drinking, smoking and
dozing. But every evening the lonely man sat under the
broad eaves of his Tembe to enjoy the delicious sight of his
234 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
lovely lake. Unlike the dismal Albert Edward, or dreary
Victoria Nyanza, Tanganyika resembles the fairest glimpses
of the Mediterranean. There are the same laughing tides,
pellucid sheets of dark blue water, borrowing their tints
from the vinous shores beyond ; the same purple light of
youth upon the face of early evening, the same bright sun-
sets, with their radiant vistas of crimson and gold, opening
like the portals of a world beyond ; the same short-lived
grace and beauty of the twilight ; and as night closes over
the earth, the same cool flood of transparent moonbeams
pouring upon the tufty heights, and bathing their sides
with the whiteness of virgin snow.
Speke returned March 2gth. He had not found a boat,
but declared he had discovered the Mountains of the Moon.
This intelligence, being unsupported by proofs, hardly made
up for his failure to obtain a substitute for the much-re-
gretted Louisa. However, Burton, fortified by three weeks'
rest and quiet, bestirred himself in right earnest to over-
come the difficulties which beset the cruise to Uvira, at
that time the ultima thule of lake navigation. Kannena,
who had evidenced his ill-will in various ways, instigating
his people a V Irlandais to injure the only remaining asses,
to break into the travellers' outhouses and steal their
property, and, finally, to cut off the supplies of milk,
seemed at first utterly unmanageable. When the plan was
broached to him he discharged a volley of oaths, and sprang
from the house like an enraged baboon. There was no
alternative than to bribe heavily. This was done, and at
length Burton's patience and sagacity triumphed ; the head-
man yielded every point. After receiving an exorbitant
sum, capped by a six-foot length of scarlet broadcloth,
which nearly made the surly brute grin with delight, he
consented to act as guide and furnish the explorers with
two canoes fully manned.
Preliminaries thus settled, two " motumbi " craft little
better than hollowed tree trunks, one sixty feet by four, the
The 12th April, 1858 235
second about two-thirds that "size were duly engaged and
provisioned. Supplies of beads, cloth and brass bracelets
were also placed on board. The party consisted of our
Englishmen, the Goanese lads, two gun-carriers, and two
Baloch, besides Kannena and the crew.
Their departure was heralded by a hideous uproar.
Several Ujiji dames, excited by the bustle on the shore,
performed on the noisiest musical instruments. To these
sounds, which not the wildest flight of imagination could
wrest into the slightest resemblance to our National An-
them, even when rendered by Board scholars, Burton's
canoe, on the i2th April, 1858, bearing for the first time on
those fair waters
" The flag that braved a thousand years
The battle and the breeze,"
stood out of Bangvve Bay, and, followed by Speke's, turned
the landspit separating the bight from the main, and made
directly for the cloudy storm-vexed north. Beyond this
headland the coast dips, showing lines of shingle or golden
coloured sand, and on the shelving plain appear little fishing
hamlets consisting of half-a-dozen beehive huts. It must
have required all Burton's concentrativeness to take obser-
vations, for his progress, which varied from five to two and
a half miles an hour, was accompanied by a long monotonous
howl emitted by a soloist paddler, answered by yells and
shouts from the chorus. There were frequent halts to eat,
drink and smoke, but for these purposes only, as the black
sailors refused to allow either traveller to put into a likely
place for collecting shells and stones, or even to stop for a
few moments to take soundings.
Each night was spent in one of the villages dotted along
the coast. The canoes were drawn up on dry land and our
Englishmen slept under apologies for tents. Arrived at
Wafanya, the solitary point in Urundi then open to strangers,
they prepared to cross the lake, which is there divided into
236 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
two stages by the Island of Ubwari. The breadth of the
western channel between this long narrow lump of rock
twenty to twenty-five miles long, averages from six to seven
miles. Just before starting the two Baloch, who had been
stealthily watching their opportunity ever since quitting
Kawele, deserted, and thus left the Englishmen entirely in
the power of the natives. However, the crossing to Ubwari
was accomplished with no worse incident than several severe
drenchings, the frail craft requiring to be constantly baled
to keep afloat.
They halted for a day at Mzimu, an Ubwari landing-
place, and towards evening tumbled again into the canoes,
rounded the island's northern point, and put into a little
bay on the western shore, where they passed the night.
Rest was sorely needed. This primitive boating would
have tried a Hercules. There was no means of resting
the back, the holds of the canoes, besides being knee-deep
in water, were disgracefully crowded. Originally appro-
priated to Burton and Speke, four servants and the crew,
Kannena introduced, in addition to sticks, spears, cooking-
pots and gourds, a goat, two or three small boys, several
sick sailors, a slave girl, and a large sheep. Curiously
enough, despite these discomforts, our travellers' health
gradually improved. Burton suffered from ulceration of
the tongue, but he dated his slow yet sensible progress
towards comparative vigour from the nights and days
spent in the canoes and on the muddy shores of Tan-
ganyika.
On the 23rd April a start was made for the opposite
or western coast, a cruise occupying nine hours. The
landing-stage, Murivumba, was infested by mosquitoes,
crocodiles, and anthropophagi. The latter, stunted, degraded
wretches, seemed less dangerous to the living than the
dead. Nevertheless, one of Burton's men preferred squat-
ting uncomfortably on the canoe's bow throughout the
night to trusting his precious person amongst these hungry-
The Sources of the Nile 237
looking cannibals. The rest of the party slept on a reed-
margined spit of sand, where, having neglected to rear
a tent, they were rained upon to their hearts' content.
Leaving at early dawn the man-eaters' abode, they
stood northwards along the western shore ; and before long
the converging trend of the two coasts showed they were
approaching their destination, Uvira. Twenty-eight hours
later found the voyagers safely landed on a sandy bay
where the trade of this place was carried on. Tanganyika
here measures between seven and eight miles in breadth.
Crowds gathered on the shore to gaze at the new mer-
chants and to welcome them with screams, shouts, horns
and tom-toms. The captain of each crew performed with
solemn gravity a bear-like dance, while the crews with a
grin which displayed all their ivories, rattled their paddles
against the sides of their boats in token of greeting.
Meanwhile, Kannena visited the chief of the district, who
at once invited Burton and Speke to his settlement ; but
the outfit was running low and the crew and party generally
feared to leave their craft. Our Englishmen therefore
pitched their tents the best had been stolen by Kannena
on a strip of sand, whence they were speedily ejected by
Tanganyika's foaming waters, which a blast or small hurri-
cane lashed completely over the green margin of the land.
Burton, who was not the man to calmly accept Uvira
as an ultima thnle, now prepared for a final effort, namely, to
explore the head of the lake. Opposite rose in a high
broken line the mountains of inhospitable Urundi, ap-
parently prolonged beyond the northern extremity of the
waters. Especially anxious was he to reach the spot
where the Rusizi, then an almost unknown river, joins
the Tanganyika. At that date it was impossible to tell
whether this stream was an influent or an effluent, and, as
travellers were still darkly groping for the Nile sources, he
could not turn his face homewards without either visiting
the mysterious river or obtaining some reliable information
238 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
concerning it. But a long palaver with three intelligent
sons of a local chief dispelled at once both hope and un-
certainty. They all declared they had seen it, and unani-
mously asserted, a host of bystanders confirming their
words, that the Rusizi enters into and does not flow out
of the Tanganyika. Still desirous of laying down the
extreme limits of the water northwards, Burton was again
disappointed. Kannena flatly refused to advance another
mile ; and the ulceration of the tongue from which our
explorer was suffering grew so severe, that articulation
became nearly impossible.
May 6th was fixed for the return journey. All went
well until the night of the roth of that month. The party
left Mzimu at sunset, and for two hours coasted along the
shore. It was one of those portentous evenings of the
tropics a calm before a tempest. They struck out, how-
ever, boldly towards the eastern shore, and the western
mountains rapidly lessened to view. Before they reached
mid-channel, a cold gust, invariable presage in those
regions of a storm, swept through the deepening shades
cast by heavy rolling clouds, and the lightning flashed,
at first by intervals, then incessantly, with a ghastly,
blinding glow, followed by a pitchy darkness that weighed
upon the sight. As terrible was the accompaniment of
rushing, reverberating thunder, now a loud roar, peal upon
peal, like the booming of heavy batteries ; then breaking
into a sudden crash, which was presently followed by a
rattling discharge, like the pattering of musketry. The
waves began to rise, the rain descended, at first in warning
drops, then in torrents ; and had the wind steadily risen,
the cockle-shell craft never could have lived through the
short chopping sea which characterises the Tanganyika in
heavy weather. The crew behaved gallantly enough ; at
times, however, the moaning cry, " O, my wife ! " showed
they almost despaired of reaching the shore. Bombay, a
sad Voltairean in fine weather, spent that wild night in
A Drunken Brawl 239
reminiscences of Moslem prayers; while Burton sheltered
himself under his good friend the mackintosh. For-
tunately, the rain beat down wind and sea, otherwise
Tanganyika would have proved a veritable Charybdis to
her discoverer.
Fresh trouble awaited him at Wafanya, where at length
the canoes were landed. Hitherto Burton had been most
fortunate in avoiding bloodshed. But at this village, while
he was sleeping heavily after his terrible fatigue, a drunken
brawl arose. An intoxicated native had commenced deal-
ing blows in all directions; a general melee ensued, during
which Valentino, crazed with fear, seized his master's
revolver and fired it into the crowd. The bullet struck one
of the canoe men below the right breast, coming out two
inches to the right of the backbone ; and, in spite of
Burton's kindly care, the poor wretch succumbed to his
injuries. This affair, which might have ended in a general
massacre, had the victim been not a slave, but a free man,
cost one hundred pounds for blood money, and originated
one of the many false reports that " Haji Abdullah killed
the man with his own hand."
Early on May i3th our travellers returned to their
Tembe at Kawele, and received a hypocritical welcome
from Said and the Jemadar. The rainy monsoon having
broken up, the climate became truly delightful with fine,
cool mornings, a clear, warm sun, and deliciously fresh
nights. Burton, who believed his work mostly accom-
plished, would have found this rest a period of real enjoy-
ment but for the anxiety which had haunted him ever since
starting from Zanzibar, anxiety about ways and means.
The outfit was reduced to a minimum. Not a line from
Snay bin Amir had arrived in reply to many missives, and
want began to stare our Englishmen in the face. Nowhere
might a caravan more easily starve than in fertile Ujiji in
1858. Its heartless and inhospitable inhabitants would not
give a handful of grain without return, and, to use a Moslem
240 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
phrase, " Allah pity him who must beg of a beggar." Travel-
lers are agreed that in these countries " baggage is life."
Burton's was reduced to a few a very few loads of beads
and cloth, some of the former black porcelains, and perfectly
useless, and with this pittance porters had to be hired for
the hammock, seventy-five mouths to be fed ; in short, the
innumerable expenses to be defrayed of a return march of
260 miles to Unyanyembe.
Help was nearer than either Burton or Speke dared to
hope. Their good genius, Shaykh Snay, had not forgotten
them. On the 22nd May, musket shots announced an
arrival, and by noon the Tembe was surrounded with
bales, boxes, porters, one of the Baloch who had remained
at Kazeh, all despatched by this excellent friend. The
goods, furnished by thievish Hindoos, at Zanzibar, though
rubbishy, were sufficient to pay the way to Unyanyembe.
But our traveller perceived with regret that his new outfit
was totally inadequate for the purpose of exploring the two
southern thirds of Tanganyika, much less for returning to
Zanzibar via Lake Nyassa and Kilwa, as he had once
intended.
Immediately after the arrival of the second caravan,
Burton made preparations for quitting Ujiji. The 26th
May was the day appointed for departure. He long
remembered the sunrise that morning over Tanganyika;
he felt some prophetic instinct that it was the last he
would ever behold, and it proved but too correct, for,
owing to the blackest treachery and ingratitude, he never
saw his lake again. Masses of brown-purple clouds covered
the quarter of the heavens where the sun was about to rise.
Presently the mist, ruffled like ocean billows and luminously
fringed with Tyrian dye, were cut by filmy rays, whilst from
behind their core the internal living fire shot forth its broad
beams like the spokes of a huge aerial wheel, rolling a flood
of gold over the light blue waters. At last Dan Sol, who at
first contented himself with glimmering through the cloud
Farewell to Tanganyika 241
mass, disclosed himself in his glory, and dispersed with a
glance the obstacles of the vaporous earth. Breaking into
long strata and little pearly flakes, they soared high in the
empyrean, whilst the all-powerful luminary assumed un-
disputed possession, and a soft breeze awoke the waters
into life.
Burton had soon to turn his eyes from this glorious
picture. A jarring din became audible. His caravan
was on the point of starting. A crowd of newly-engaged
porters stood before the Tembe in an ecstasy of impatience,
some poised like cranes on the right foot with the left sole
placed against the knee, others with their arms thrown
in a brotherly fashion round neighbours' necks, whilst
others again squatted on their calves and heels, their
elbows on their thighs and their chins propped upon
their hands. The usual fights, difficulties, and delays
over, the caravan was gradually got under way. This
return march presented little novelty save that they fol-
lowed a northerly route, crossing and skirting the lower
spurs of the mountains which form the region of Uhha.
Only trifling incidents enlivened the weary trudge. The
" slavey " of the establishment ran away, carrying off his
own property and his master's hatchet ; the Jemadar was
rendered almost daft by the disappearance of half the "black
ivory" he had invested in at Kawele; and a porter placed his
bundle, a case of cognac and vinegar, deeply regretted, upon
the ground and levanted. The hammock was rendered almost
useless by the behaviour of its new bearers, who dashed it
without pity or remorse against stock and stone. These
men's ill-conduct capped even that of the "sons of water" on
Tanganyika. Loud-voiced, insolent, all but unmanageable,
they proved the most odious " beasts of burden " Burton
had yet had to deal with. He adds, however, after his
complaints (and here lay his secret of success), "in these
lands the traveller who cannot utilise the raw material
that comes to hand will make but little progress."
16
242 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.C.
Avoiding the detour to naughty Msene, the expedition
sighted at Irora the blue hills of Unyanyembe. There
Burton received a packet of letters, and heard for the first
time of his father's death, which had occurred at Bath on
the 6th of September, 1857. He thus alludes to the sad
intelligence: "Such tidings are severely felt by the wanderer
who, living long behind the world and unable to mark its
gradual changes, lulls by dwelling on the past apprehension
into a belief that his home has known no loss, and who
expects again to meet each old familiar face ready to smile
upon his return as it was to weep at his departure."
On the 2oth of June, after a journey of twenty-six days,
the expedition re-entered Kazeh, and received a warm
welcome from good Snay bin Amir. He led his friends to
their old abode, which had been carefully repaired, swept,
and plastered, and where a plentiful repast of rice and
curried fowl, giblets and manioc boiled in the cream of
the ground nut, and sugared omelets flavoured with ghee
and onion, presented peculiar attractions to half-starved
travellers. Here Burton decided to remain for three
months at least. He wished to gain as much information
as possible regarding the numerous tribes in the neigh-
bourhood of Tanganyika and the Victoria Nyanza, and to
commit it at once to writing ; also to prepare with delibera-
tion for his return journey, which he hoped to accomplish
by a different route. This would have been right enough
with one little trip superadded. I have often wondered
what was the cause of the mistake Richard Burton com-
mitted at Kazeh. That it was a blunder, he himself
confessed. True he had wearied somewhat of Speke's
company "Jack" was nourishing some mysterious grudge
which rendered him at times exceedingly unpleasant, but
that did not prevent a coasting voyage to Kilwa together
some months later. Anyhow, while Burton was writing
and studying with good Shaykh Snay, John Hannen Speke
went alone to explore the Victoria Nyanza, one of the Nile
sources, and we all know what followed.
The Lost Opportunity 243
It came about in this wise. The Arabs had mentioned
during the first halt at Kazeh their discovery of a large
lake lying fifteen or sixteen marches to the north ; and from
their description, translated by Burton, his companion had
laid down the water in a hand map forwarded to the
Royal Geographical Society. All agreed in claiming for it
superiority of size over the Tanganyika. There remained
to ascertain whether the Arabs had not with Oriental
hyperbole exaggerated the dimensions, and Speke, who
found the merchants' society deadly dull, not understanding
one word in a hundred of their language, and who was
moreover, restless as a caged squirrel, seemed only too
delighted to undertake this duty. Again one marvels why
Burton unwittingly placed such a temptation in another
man's path. As I have remarked elsewhere, he was
singularly deficient in character-knowledge, and probably
imagined that the honour of the discovery would be shared
between him and his brother officer. Still, there was no
need for hurry in finishing his notes ; the preparations for
the return journey could afford to wait. The cause of such
blindness must ever remain a mystery, but we can now
see plainly enough that his great opportunity then pre-
sented itself, was neglected, and vanished for ever. Had
he accompanied his lieutenant, the Geographical Society
could not have passed him over as commander of the
second Expedition ; the second might have given birth to
another, and Lake Albert, Lake Albert Edward, glorious
Ruwenzori itself, might have been discovered and mapped
out by Richard Burton long before the "Cloud King"
soared into view of Stanley's delighted eyes.
As usual, it proved no easy matter to start even a
small party on this trial trip. Said bin Salim utterly
refused to have any part or parcel in it. The Kirangozi
and fifteen porters, especially hired for the occasion,
showed an amount of fear and shirking hardly justified
by the risks of treading so well known a tract. Even
Bombay turned restive and had to be heavily bribed.
1 6 2
244 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
However, at last Burton, assisted by good Shaykh Snay,
succeeded in equipping his companion with every essential
for success, and as soon as the little band had departed,
turned his whole attention to the geography and ethnology
of the land.
Six weeks passed away and Speke returned in triumph.
The dimensions of the Victoria Nyanza surpassed the
most sanguine expectations. True, he had enjoyed merely
a glimpse of this inland sea over the rushy shores whence
the waters are year by year slowly and surely receding; but
it had quite turned his head. He announced at once, as
one with authority, that there and there alone were the
sources of the Nile.
Burton demurred. One glimpse over an unknown
water seemed insufficient proof to a scientific mind. He
admitted with his usual sagacity that the altitude, the con-
formation of the Nyanza Lake, its argillaceous colour, and
the sweetness of its waters, combined to suggest it might
be one of the feeders of the White Nile. But its periodical
swelling which floods considerable tracts of land, forbade
belief in the possibility of its proving the head stream, or
the reservoir of the great inundation. The true sources of
the Holy River he believed to consist of a network of
streams filled by monsoon torrents and swollen by melted
snow flowing from the Lunae Montes. This he wrote
thirty years before Stanley counted sixty-two streams
descending from the Rain King's rocky sides. But Speke
would listen to no arguments whatever : any doubt cast
upon what he considered nothing less than inspiration made
him look upon his whilom friend as a worse enemy than
before.
Here, then, in the heart of Africa, the trouble began.
Two enormous lakes had been discovered surely this was
fame enough. To proclaim to the geographical elite that
the expedition had sighted the Mountains of the Moon,
and succeeded in the unveiling of Isis, was to a conscien-
A Breach of Faith 245
tious man impossible. How many times had not the foun-
tains of the White Nile been discovered and re-discovered
after this careless fashion ? Burton's great brain fore-
shadowed all the facts we have so lately learnt ; he believed
in the several lakes, in the Lunae Monies, and this belief
rendered him very chary of attributing to the Victoria
Nyanza the unique honour which his companion was
determined to award it.
Before resuming the thread of my narrative, I must tell
how the difference between the travellers ended, and then
dismiss a painful subject. Gradually his imaginary exploits
became fixed ideas in poor Speke's feverish brain. At Aden,
where the two men remained some days, waiting for a home-
bound steamer, Burton was seized with fever. Speke could
not brook the slightest delay, betraying a nervous haste
which, as his leave had just been prolonged by the Bom-
bay Government, seemed somewhat suspicious. Probably
Burton began at last to fear treachery, for on parting he
asked his brother officer to wait a mail or two, until they
could appear together before the Geographical Society.
Speke gave his word. Unhappily, Laurence Oiiphant, Mr.
Harris's famous neophyte, was a passenger on the same
ship ; and it is suspected that this wrong-minded man's
wrong-minded counsel determined for evil Speke's waver-
ing will. For the very day after his return, he called at
Burlington House and initiated the scheme of a new ex-
ploration. He was induced, moreover, " much against his
inclination," so he said, to give a public lecture; and when,
one fortnight later, Burton reached London, the ground
was completely cut from under his feet. There was to be
a new expedition adequately dowered, but Speke was to
be the leader.
It is impossible not to blame John Hannen Speke for
this breach of faith, although he believed implicitly in his
own theories, and considered Burton both unreasonable and
malicious for criticising them. But what can we think of a
246 Captain Sir JR. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
society of intelligent men, formed for the express purpose of
promoting the knowledge of our earth's surface, deliberately
perpetrating such a barbarous act of injustice ! It seemed
so stupid, so utterly inexcusable, that one cannot help sus-
pecting private enmity on the part of a very influential
member. Like many another piece of jobbery, it brought
little luck to its object. Speke's life was henceforth un-
enviable. He never succeeded in thoroughly exploring the
Victoria Nyanza ; that was left for Stanley, who circum-
navigated it in 1874. After the first flash his popularity
steadily declined ; and at last, nearly blind, with health
wrecked by fever upon fever, he lost nerve during a meet-
ing at Bath of the British Association, when a geographical
discussion was about to take place with his sorely injured
friend, and accidentally shot himself with his own gun.
To return. The three months and a half at Kazeh
passed pleasantly enough. On the 5th September " Hand-
some Moses " came home from a long visit to Karagwah,
and emulated good Shaykh Snay in kindness and hospi-
tality. Better still, he was able to supply our traveller
with many interesting details of the almost unknown land
he had just left ; also of Unyoro and the now celebrated
Uganda. The great Suna, lord of the latter kingdom, had
died quite recently after shocking his pious Arab visitors
by boasting that he was the god of earth as their Allah
was the Lord of Heaven. He did not seem, however,
to have been much, if at all, worse than his descendant
King Mwanga, the truly promising proselyte of the French
fathers; on the contrary, there was a wild magnificence and
generosity about the pagan which inclines an unprejudiced
reader to prefer him to the papist. Besides imparting
interesting and original information, Musa Mzuri assisted
Burton in his preparations for the return journey. A fine
she-ass and foal were purchased as a sure means of providing
milk on the way. Supplies of pink porcelain beads were
laid in pink porcelain happened to be fashionable in Africa
Snay bin Amir's Farewell 247
at this date and all the damaged surveying instruments,
various MSS., maps and sketch-books, together with reports
for the Geographical Society, were forwarded to the coast
by an Arab caravan.
There is no doubt Burton turned his face homeward
with regret, especially as he found himself obliged by lack
of funds to traverse the same route. The accounts given
by Musa Mzuri fired both Englishmen with desire to visit
the northern kingdoms (Karagwah and Uganda) ; but for
this detour not only money, but time would have been
required. Their two years' leave of absence was nearing
its close, and even had they possessed a sufficient outfit,
they were not disposed to risk being cashiered. Burton
had already spent fourteen hundred pounds of his own
private fortune, besides the thousand pounds granted by
the Geographical Society ; and had he forfeited his com-
mission by unnecessary delay, he would have found himself
in a sore strait. So at last he faced the inevitable, and
fixed September 26th for departure.
Good Snay bin Amir, recently recovered from an attack
of influenza which had confined him to his sleeping mat for
some days, superintended the start in person. He treated
both travellers to a copious breakfast well cooked and
neatly served ; and as the caravan covered only two miles
the first day, he followed with Musa Mzuri next morning,
to see the last of his Moslem brother. The latter thanked
his kind hosts most warmly for their very good deeds and
promised to report in person to the Sayyid the hospitable
reception accorded by his Arab subjects. Richard Burton,
we remember, liked not saying good-bye ; I suspect by no
means the least trying farewell of his life was that spoken
to the noble-minded friend who had done him such rare
good service in the land of Unyamwezi.
The return journey was uninteresting. In consequence
of a famine along the Usagara road previously traversed,
our travellers crossed the mountains by the Kiringawana
248 Captain Sir If. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
line. I will spare my reader a list of uncouth names of
tribes and villages along this southern route ; and the
remainder of the way is already familiar. Arrived at
Kaole, Burton sent his followers to their homes, and
started with Speke on a coasting trip to Kilwa, returning
to Zanzibar on the 4th March, 1859. Both Englishmen
left for Aden on the 22nd, and, as before said, soon after-
wards followed each other to* England.
In conclusion, no better word-picture of Burton's fol-
lowers during this eventful journey can be presented than
by transcribing verbatim first an East African's every-
day conversation, then a sort of seventh day one on
theology.
Twanigana, a commonplace African youth, then acting
as Kirangozi, attired in a red waistcoat, had safely passed
through Ugogo, and was feeling fairly happy and secure
amongst the Usagara mountains.
" The state, Mdula ? " (i.e., Abdullah, a word unpro-
nounceable to Negroid organs.)
" The state (of health) is very ! and thy state ? "
"The state is very!" (well) "and the state of Spikka? "
" The state of Spikka is very ! "
" We have escaped the Wagogo," resumes Twanigana,
" white man O ! "
" We have escaped, O my brother ! "
" The Wagogo are bad."
" They are bad."
" The Wagogo are very bad."
"They are very bad."
" The Wagogo are not good."
" They are not good."
" The Wagogo are not at all good."
" They are not at all good."
" I greatly feared the Wagogo who kill the \Vanyam
wezi."
" Exactly so."
diameter of Burton s Followers 249
" But now I don't fear them. I called them . . . and
. . . and I would fight the whole tribe, white man O ! "
" Truly so, O my brother ! "
And thus for two mortal hours, until Burton's ennui
turned into marvel.
Older and more experienced was Muzungu Mbaya; and
the theological conversation which follows arose from an
attempt made by one Gul Mohammed, a Baloch, to impress
upon a Hamitic mind respect for the Moslem revelation.
Picture Muzungu Mbaya seated before a fire, warming
his lean black legs, and ever and anon casting pleasant
glances at a small black pipkin, whence arose the savoury
steam of meat and vegetables. A concatenation of ideas
perhaps induced Gul Mohammed to break rather unseason-
ably into his favourite theme.
" And thou, Muzungu Mbaya, thou also must die ! "
" Ugh ! ugh ! " replies Muzungu, personally offended,
" don't speak in that way ! Thou must die, too."
" It is a sore thing to die," resumes Gul Mohammed.
" Hoo ! Hoo ! " exclaims the other ; " it is bad, very
bad, never to wear a nice cloth, no longer to dwell with
one's wife and children, not to eat and drink, snuff, and
smoke tobacco. Hoo ! Hoo ! it is bad, very bad ! "
" But we shall eat," rejoins the Moslem. " The flesh
of birds, mountains of meat, and delicate roasts, and drink
sugared water, and whatever we hunger for."
The African's mind is disturbed by this tissue of contra-
dictions. He considers birds somewhat low feeding ; roasts
he adores ; he contrasts mountains of meat with his poor
half-pound in pot ; he would sell himself for sugar ; but
again he hears nothing of tobacco. Still he takes the
trouble to ask :
" Where, O my brother ? "
" There," exclaims Gul Mohammed, pointing to the
skies.
This is a choke-pear to Muzungu Mbaya. The distance
250 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
is great, and he can scarcely believe that his interlocutor
has visited the firmament to see the provisions ; he there-
fore ventures on the query :
" And hast thou been there, O my brother ? "
" Astaghfar ullah ! " (I beg pardon of Allah) ejaculates
Gul Mohammed, half angry, half amused. " What a pagan
this is ! No, my brother, I have not exactly been there,
but my Mulungu (Allah) told my Apostle, who told his
descendants, who told my father and mother, who told me,
that when we die we shall go to a Shamba (plantation)
where
" Oof ! " grunts Muzungu Mbaya ; " it is good of you to
tell us all this nonsense which your mother told you. So
there are plantations in the skies ? "
" Assuredly," replies Gul Mohammed, who expounds at
length the Moslem idea of paradise to the African's running
commentary of " Be off! " " Mama-e ! " (O, my mother !)
and sundry untranslatable words.
Muzungu Mbaya, who for the last minute has been im-
mersed in thought, now suddenly raises his head, and with
somewhat of a goguenard air, inquiries :
" Well, then, my brother, thou knowest all things !
answer me, is thy Mulungu black like myself, white like
this Muzungu, or whitey-brown as thou art ? "
Gul Mohammed is fairly floored ; he ejaculates sundry
la haut ! to collect his wits for the reply.
" Verily the Mulungu hath no colour."
" To-o-oh ! Tuh ! " exclaims the pagan, contorting his
wrinkled countenance, and spitting with disgust upon the
ground. He was now justified in believing that he had
been made a laughing-stock. The mountain of meat had
to a certain extent won over his better judgment ; the fair
vision now fled, and left him to the hard realities of the
half-pound. He turns a deaf ear to every other word, and
devotes all his attention to the article before him.
CHAPTER XI
TOURING the summer of 1859, Speke, by claiming
*-' most of the honours of the Expedition, became the
annual Lion necessary to the London season ; still, Burton
was regarded very highly by the principal men of that
day. In him they recognised true genius, and predicted
his speedy rise. The Duke of Somerset invited him to
Bulstrode, Lord Palmerston to Broadlands, Lord Derby
to Knowsley ; Mr. Monckton Milnes, afterwards Lord
Houghton, and the present Lord Stanley of Alderley,
were numbered amongst his intimate friends ; while in
literary and Bohemian circles he was much sought after
and feted. I have mentioned only a few of the men of
mark who esteemed and admired him ; there were many
others, and it was generally believed that certain of these
influential well-wishers intended to right the wrong done
by the Royal Geographical Society, either by equipping
another expedition and giving him the command, or better
still, by procuring for him some suitable appointment in
the Indian Service. Much good work remained to be done
on the frontier, as we know from the life of the late Sir
Robert Sandeman ; but we shall see later, an unexpected
step on Burton's part complicated matters and delayed for
awhile all the benevolent designs for his welfare.
Society claimed only part of his time. His " Lake
Regions of Central Africa," that pioneer work which has
helped many another traveller along the same road, had to
be written and re-written with numerous additions. A
portion of the MS. was begun at Dover, where his sister
and brother-in-law were spending the summer ; for, as
252 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
usual, after a long absence, some months were devoted
to his relatives. Colonel Stisted had just returned from
India, where he had taken a conspicuous part in the first
Relief of Lucknow, leading his regiment, the gallant 78th,
under " Watty Hamilton," through blood and fire to the
Residency. Thus the military brothers had plenty to talk
over ; and what with long walks with his sister, to whom
the " Lake Regions " is dedicated, some pleasant dinners
at the Castle, and hard literary labour, Burton passed the
time agreeably enough. Still, everybody remarked he
looked ill and depressed. The sweets of success were
mingled with many bitters. Speke's strange breach of
faith affected him more than he would confess to ; so
affectionate a nature could not fail to keenly feel the
complete severance of a long friendship. Blue-eyed, tawny-
maned "Jack " was not easily forgotten by the companion
of his many wanderings. Years later, when the fatal acci-
dent happened at Bath, Burton's emotion was uncon-
trollable. Doubtless his low spirits were aggravated by
ill-health; it could hardly be otherwise after the fevers,
privations, and hideous strain of mind undergone during
the expedition to Tanganyika.
Thus passed the summer of 1859. In late autumn he
joined his brother and sister in Paris, and paid flying visits
from their pied a tevve to various parts of the Continent.
As usual, in the matter of leave he was treated most
generously ; and after spending some weeks at Vichy, a
favourite haunt, the waters correcting the tendency to gout,
which later became so serious, ransacking the libraries of
two or three capitals, and finishing his book, he resolved to
take advantage of a fresh extension, no sooner applied for
than granted, and direct his steps to the New World.
The transition state of the Far West, those broad lands
which lie beyond the Missouri River and the Sierra Nevada,
offered much to interest a traveller ; besides, by staying
a month or so at the Mormon settlements, Great Salt Lake
A Journey to the New World 253
City in particular, he could gratify a psychological whim
for observing the origin and the working of a regular go-
ahead Western and Columbian revelation. The tour was
rough enough to please even him, for the railway between
the two oceans was only being prospected, and he could
still enjoy the excitement of journeying in break-neck
waggons and of receiving his mails by " pony expresses."
The man was ready, the hour hardly appeared pro
pitious for other than belligerent purposes. Throughout
the summer of 1860 an Indian war was raging in Nebraska;
the Comanches, Kiowas and Cheyennes were " out," and
the Federal Government had despatched three columns to
the centres of confusion. Horrible accounts of murdered
post-boys and cannibal emigrants filled the papers; besides,
the Mormons themselves were regarded as little better than
a host of desperadoes.
^ " Going among the Mormons ? " said an American to
our traveller at New Orleans ; "they are shooting and cut-
ting one another in all directions. How can you expect to
escape ? "
But, struck with the discovery by some Western wise-
acre of an enlarged truth, viz., that the bugbear approached
has more affinity to the bug than to the bear, Burton de-
cided to risk the chance of the red nightcap from the blood-
thirsty Indian, and the poisoned bowie-dagger, without any
inamorata to console him from the Latter Day Saints. So
he applied himself to the audacious task with all the reck-
lessness of a " party " from Town precipitating himself for
the first time into " foreign parts " about Calais.
As the voyage across the Atlantic was considered un-
worthy of remark, the journey proper dated from St. Joseph,
Missouri, a town more generally familiar as St. Jo. The
route mapped out was to comprise Great Salt Lake City,
Carson in California, where gold had lately been discovered,
and San Francisco. It is all easy travelling now, but no-
thing could have been more comfortless, more exhausting,
254 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
than the then mode of transport. True, the line Burton
selected was not quite so bad as what was known as the
Butterfield Express, which kept its passengers twenty-four
days and nights in a kind of van, until, half-crazed by
whisky and want of sleep, they had to be strapped to their
seats. Still, a so-called spring waggon, constructed with
an eye rather to strength than easiness, drawn by partially
broken-in mules, and crammed to suffocation with pas-
sengers, mails and luggage, must have become terribly
wearisome before the regulation nineteen days were over.
Very unpicturesque did our traveller look when he took
his place in the ungainly vehicle. An adept in the art of
clothing himself appropriately, on this occasion he sacrificed
smartness to comfort. Picture the whilom Arab Shayk.h
in dark flannel shirt, with broad leather belt for revolver
and bowie-knife, his nether garments strengthened with
buckskin, the lower ends tucked into his boots, a good
English tweed shooting-jacket made with pockets like a
poacher's, and his head snugly but ungracefully ensconced
in a large brown felt hat, which, by means of a ribbon, was
converted every evening into a nightcap. However, even
in the Far West appearances have to be considered at
times ; so his chimney-pot, frock-coat, &c., even his silk
umbrella, were carefully stowed away in his portmanteau
ready for sporting on state visits to Mormon dignitaries.
The prairie waggon started from St. Jo. early on
August yth, 1860. The other passengers were Lieut.
Dana, an officer in the United States army, his wife and
child, a judge, a state secretary, and a state marshal. All
were equally friendly, and, unlike the famous coachful that
drove to Land's End, remained so during the whole of the
weary way. Afier traversing some dusty streets the van
was transported bodily by steam ferry over the Big Muddy,
or Missouri River, and on landing in Kansas, bowled
merrily along Emigration Road, a broad and well-worn
thoru. hfare, celebrated as being the largest natural high-
In a Prairie Waggon 255
way in the world. Ibis easy travelling was too good to
last. By-and-by the waggon emerged upon the Grand
Prairie, where its occupants speedily made acquaintance with
" chuck-holes," gullies or gutters which rendered the
vehicle's progress not unlike that of a ship in a gale of wind.
The first stage ended at about i a.m. at Locknan's Station, a
few log and timber huts near a creek well feathered with
white oak and American elm, hickory and black walnut,
where the sadly shaken travellers found beds and snatched
a few hours' sleep.
In the morning they had to drive some distance before
they could get any breakfast, which was obtained at last at
a village dignified with the high-sounding name of Seneca,
a " city " consisting of a few shanties. Ensued a chequered
day, the driver drunk and dashing like Phaeton over the
chuck-holes, but, on the other hand, a good dinner of ham
and eggs, hot rolls and coffee, peaches and cream supplied
by a young Alsatian, who, under the excitement of Califor-
nian fever, had recently emigrated. At the station which
possessed this treasure Burton saw the Pony Express
arrive. Before the railways, the Express- man was a func-
tionary of some importance, generally a youth mounted on
an active Indian nag and able to ride one hundred miles at
a time, about eight per hour, with four changes of horses.
Next morning's experience was unmitigatedly unplea-
sant. The passengers, already sick and feverish from the
jolting of their vehicle, found themselves landed in a horrible
shanty where a colony of Patlanders rose from bed without
a dream of ablution, and prepared a neat dejeuner a la four-
chette by hacking lumps off a sheep suspended from the
ceiling and frying them in melted tallow. As Burton
remarked, had the action occurred in Central Africa, among
the Esquimaux, or the Araucanians, it would not have
excited his attention : mere barbarism rarely disgusts ; it
was the unnatural union of civilisation with savagery that
made his gorge rise. As a general rule the food was vile,
256 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
unless the halt was at a station provisioned by a Frenchman
or a German ; unluckily, the sons and daughters of Erin
abounded, and although, as in their native land, pigs and
potatoes were common enough, not once did our traveller
tell of a good square meal provided by a native of the
Emerald Isle.
At Alkali Lake the curious spectacle was presented of
an Indian remove. Shifting their quarters for grass, an
animated crowd of bucks and braves, squaws and pappooses,
ponies dwarfed by hard living, were straggling over the
plains westward. In front, singly or in pairs, rode the men,
some bare-backed, others used a stirrupless saddle, and
for the most part managed their nags with a thong
lashed round the lower jaw and attached to the neck.
Their lank, long hair, rusty from the effects of weather,
was worn parted in the middle, and hung from the temples
in two pigtails, a style which aids in giving to the coronal
region that appearance of depression which characterises
the natives of North America as a race of " Flat Heads,"
and, being considered a beauty, led to the artificial de-
formities of the Peruvian and the Aztec. They w.ere an
ill-looking lot. A few had eagles' or crows' feathers stuck
in their lank locks, others wore dilapidated Kossuth hats
or old military casquettes, and their ragged, untidy gar-
ments of every hue and shape strongly suggested a pack
of guys ready for the bonfire. However, there was a belle
of the party, a veritable Poucahontas, who had large
languishing eyes and sleek black hair like the ears of a
King Charles spaniel, justifying a natural instinct to
stroke or pat it, drawn straight over a low, broad,
Quadroon-like brow. The grandmothers were fearful to
look upon, and the boys, usually even ragless, with beady
black eyes, and mouths like youthful caymans, were not
much pleasanter. These wanderers followed the coach for
many a mile, peering into the hinder part of the vehicle,
ejaculating " How ! How ! " the normal salutation. But
Indian Disgust at Portrait Sketches 257
this politeness did not throw the passengers off their guard.
The Dakota of those regions were expert and daring
kleptomaniacs, and after the leathern curtain had been
lowered as a matter of precaution, the noble savages, so
dear to romancist and poet, drew off begging pertinaciously
to the last.
Burton tells a curious anecdote a propos of one of these
people. At Platte Bridge, as he was sitting after dinner
outside the station-house with his fellow-travellers, two
Arapahas Indians squatted on some stones close by. He
happened to mention the dislike amongst African savages
to anything like a sketch of their physiognomies ; and his
hearers expressing a doubt whether the " Reds " were
equally sensitive, he immediately proceeded to proof.
Soon the man became uneasy under the operation, avert-
ing his face at times, and shifting his position to defeat the
artist's purpose. When the sketch was passed roun 1 it
excited some merriment, whereupon the original rose fi om
his seat and made a sign that he also wished to see it.
At the sight he screwed up his features with a grimace of
intense disgust, and, managing to smudge the paper with
his dirty hands, he stalked away, with an ejaculation which
expressed his outraged feelings.
To the Indians succeeded the more commonplace spec-
tacle of the Mormon emigrants. On the i6th August a
train of waggons was observed slowly wending its way
towards the " Promised Land." The guide was a nephew
of Brigham Young's, or the " Old Boss," as his people called
him, and the caravan seemed well organised, few of the
pilgrims showing any symptoms of sickness or starvation.
Burton recognised the nationality at once, even through the
veil of freckles and sunburn with which a two months'
summer journey had invested every face. British-English,
he said, was written in capital letters upon the white eye-
lashes and tow-coloured curls of the children, and upon the
sandy brown hair, staring eyes, heavy bodies and ample
extremities of the adults. 17
258 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
For it was an unpleasant fact that, after America,
England principally replenished the Mormon settlements.
In 1837 a company of Mormons began preaching at Preston
with such remarkable success that within eight months
they had baptised about 2,000 people. A few years later,
Brigham Young and his apostles conducted another mission
in our islands, and despatched hundreds and hundreds of
converts across the Atlantic. Other missionaries, too,
worked in England, and founded meeting-houses in several
towns. But at present the rapid spread of education has
closed to a great extent their favourite recruiting-grounds.
A late popular authoress related, amusingly enough, how in
her day a Mormon elder promised a silly old Worcester-
shire gammer a white donkey to convey her to New Jeru-
salem, and while she was waiting and watching in all good
faith for her heavenly messenger, her deceiver departed with
a choice assortment of younger and fairer proselytes. Now
gammer's grandchildren would enlighten her as to the exist-
ence of the Atlantic.
The formation of the land, changing from tertiary and
cretaceous to granites and porphyries, showed that our
passengers were approaching the Rocky Mountains. The
coach was about to enter a very uncomfortable region for
nervous travellers, the region of kanyons, or canons, those
deep, narrow, wall-sided trenches which countless ages of
water have cut through the solid rock. On the igth a real
bit of the far-famed " Rockies," hardly to be distinguished
from some fleecy, sunlit clouds resting upon the horizon,
came in view Fremont's Peak, a sharp snow-clad apex of
the Wind River Range. This was just visible from the
Sweetwater Valley, a charming vale tapestried with flowery
grass and copses, where grouse ran in and out, and afford-
ing delicious shade with its long lines of aspen, beech, and
cottonwood, its pines and cedars, cyprus and scattered ever-
greens.
But the sublimest scene of all was viewed from the
The "Rockies' 1
259
South Pass, a majestic level - topped bluff, the highest
steppe of the continent, situated nearly midway be-
tween the Mississippi and the Pacific. This wonderful
spot, 7,490 feet above sea level, and twenty miles in
breadth, the great Wasserschiede betwixt the Atlantic and
the Pacific, the frontier points between Nebraska and
Oregon, is not, strictly speaking, a pass. With some of
the features of Thermopylae and of the Simplon, it is
no giant gateway opening through cyclopean walls of
beetling rocks ; rather a grand tableland whose iron
surface affords space enough for the armies of our globe
to march over. Amongst the world's watersheds it has no
rival, for here lie separated by a trivial space the fountain-
heads that give birth to the noblest rivers of America, the
Columbia, the Colorado, and the Yellowstone, which is to
the Missouri what the Missouri is to the Mississippi.
From the mouth of the Sweet water, about 120 miles,
the rise had been so gradual that it was quite unexpectedly
the travellers found themselves on the summit. At first
a heavy mist veiled the noble range of mountains; but
towards sunset, when the departing luminary poured a
flood of gold on the magnificent chain of Les Montagues
Rocheuses, imagination could depict no sight more beautiful.
Pacific Springs, the station where, in the midst of this
glorious scene, the passengers found accommodation, con-
sisted of a log shanty built close to a pond of ice-cold water.
It afforded the unusual luxuries of bouilli and potatoes ;
but its crazy walls and ill-fitting door utterly failed to keep
out the cold, no trifling matter, as the mercury at dawn
stood at 35 F. Uncomfortable though it was, Mrs. Dana
and her child, dazed with fatigue, were only too thankful
that their despotic driver chose to linger a little later than
his customary time ; and the other travellers took advantage
of the delay to enjoy once more the lovely aspect of the
mountains upon whose walls of snow next morning the rays
of the rising sun broke with splendid effect. . . . All were
17 2
260 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
en route again at 8 a.m., and, beginning the descent of the
Western watershed, debouched next day on the banks of
the Green River. Here they entered Utah territory, so
called from its Indian owners, the Yuta, or those that dwell
in mountains. For its lowest valley rises 4,000 feet above
sea level, the mountains behind Great Salt Lake City are
6,000 feet high, and the Twin Peaks that look upon the
so-called Happy Valley soar to an altitude of 11,660 feet.
Perhaps the most exciting day of any was the 24th
August, when the coach rolled along Echo Kanyon. This
strange, red ravine, with its broken and jagged peaks
divided by dark abysses, its clear swift stream now hugging
the right, then the left side of the chasm, one gigantic
rufous wall, fretted and honeycombed, frowning at its
brother buttress across the gorge, measured from twenty-
six to thirty miles in length. A sublime scene, but not one
to be viewed from a mail waggon with the pleasure and
admiration it deserved. Even Burton confessed to entering
it in rather an uncomfortable frame of mind, especially as
the team was headed on this occasion by a pair of all but
unmanageable animals. Down they rushed along the short,
steep pitches, swinging the wheels of the vehicle within
half a foot of the high bank's crumbling edge. Had the mules
shied or fallen, nothing could have saved the passengers
from as grim a form of death as fancy can conceive down,
down an almost perpendicular precipice into an icy river
roaring and raging over its rocks and boulders. But the
wild drive came to an end at last, and its emotions ter-
minated in bathos. Burton might have passed a good
night, only his doorless apartment happened to be the
favourite haunt of a skunk.
The journey was now drawing to a conclusion. Next
day, after breasting Big Mountain, an eyrie 8,000 feet
high, our party sighted the Happy Valley of the Great Salt
Lake. Its western horizon is bounded by a broken
wall of bright blue peaks, the northernmost bluff buttress-
Great Salt Lake City 261
ing the southern side of the water, while the eastern flank
sinks by steps and terraces into a river-basin yellow with
golden corn. After a few minutes' delay to stand and gaze,
Burton resumed his way on foot, while the mail-waggon,
with wheels rough-locked, descended a steep slope. The
distance from the city was only seventeen miles, and before
long the rough road was exchanged for a broad smooth
thoroughfare, and the town, by slow degrees, came into
view.
It showed to special advantage after a succession of
Indian lodges, Canadian ranches, and log-hut mail stations.
The site, admirably selected for space and irrigation,
admitted at that time of each householder being the happy
possessor, not merely of three acres and a cow, that de-
lusive promise of a dead and gone Ministry, but of from five
to ten acres in the suburbs and one and a half inside the
city. Gardens and orchards filled with fruit-trees and
flowers looked their loveliest, and it was with a decided
sense of prepossession in favour of their industrious owners
that our traveller concluded his journey of 1,136 miles in
front of Salt Lake House, at that date the only hotel in the
town. The proprietor, a Mormon, welcomed the passengers
very civilly, and his wife took charge of poor exhausted Mrs.
Dana and her little daughter.
Thanks to his fellow-passenger, Lieutenant Dana, who
knew several of the principal people in the place, Burton
found no difficulty in seeing something of Mormon society.
Amongst others, Elder Stenhouse and his wife, a lively
little woman from Jersey, seemed only too pleased to give
him as much information as possible ; in fact, the Saints
one and all showed themselves in their fairest colours to a
clever guest unbiassed against their pet institution. And
as a natural consequence, while Burton admitted there
were many things in the inner life of Mormonism which no
" Gentile " was allowed to penetrate, it is generally agreed
that he represented these strange people in too favourable
262 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
a light. Hepworth Dixon was equally fascinated by them.
Perhaps their marvellous industry captivated the two dis-
tinguished visitors ; moreover, if the city were a " whited
sepulchre," it was scrupulously whitewashed ; the streets,
perfectly free from the horrible scenes of drunkenness and
immorality which disgrace the capitals of Europe, were a
pattern of what a Christian town ought to be. In commer-
cial matters, even foreigners who traded with Mormons
extolled their unvarying honesty. On the other hand, the
Saints, though sober and industrious, lied unblushingly
when anxious to screen any misdeed committed by one of
their members ; and this habit would naturally mislead
any stranger, however intelligent. In the matter of the
Mountain Meadow Massacre, which had taken place only
three years before, the butchery of a whole train of
" Gentile " emigrants from Arkansas, the Mormons cast the
entire blame upon the Indians ; and it was only in 1877 that
one of their dignitaries, Bishop John Lee, was shot for
complicity in the horrible affair.
Like most infant communities, this of Utah was directed
by one master mind, Brigham Young, its priest and law-
giver. A brief account of an interview which took place
between him and our traveller at the Prophet's private
office will give readers who know little about this poly-
gamous personage some idea of a remarkable man.
Brigham Young, then about fifty-nine years of age,
looked forty-five. Scarcely a grey thread appeared in
his thick fair hair, and his large, broad-shouldered figure
only stooped a little when standing. Accused of leading
a most dissolute life, he reached nevertheless the ripe age
of seventy-seven, and then died of cholera caused by too
plentiful a rneal of green corn and peaches. His appear-
ance was that of a New England farmer ; and although
he had worked as a painter and glazier, and is said to
have boasted of having spent only eleven and a half
days at school, his manners were courteous and simple.
Interview with Brigham Young 263
He conversed with ease and correctness, had neither snuffle
nor pompousness, and spoke not one word on the subject
of religion. However, he soon showed some curiosity as
to the stranger's object in visiting the City of the Saints,
and seemed quite satisfied with the reply, viz., that having
heard much about Utah, Burton wished to see it as it
really was. Conversation then ran on two very safe topics,
agriculture and the Indians. The latter, be it stated, were
great pets of the Saints, owing to a startling ethnological
prophecy in the " Book of Mormon," that many genera-
tions shall not pass away before the Red Men become a
white and delightsome people. Still, as reports were afloat
of these embryo angels being killed off in unnecessarily
large numbers, Brigham Young was at some pains to prove
the contrary. It is certain he was an unscrupulous man
what fanatic is not ? but he may be credited with con-
siderable talent to have ruled the heterogeneous mass of
conflicting elements in his new territory even as well as
he did. Any question as to the number of his wives would
have been awkward ; but on another occasion, while Burton
was standing with him on the verandah of his block, our
traveller's eye fell upon a new erection which could be
compared externally to nothing but an Englishman's
hunting stables, and he asked what it was. " A private
school for my children," the Prophet replied. It was
large enough to accommodate a huge village.
His creation, Great Salt Lake City, situated in a
valley surrounded by mountains and watered by a
brackish river, called New Jordan, is built like most of
the nineteenth century New World towns, in the rect-
angular style. Already a fair size, it possessed in 1860
a large population. 1 Every object bore the impress of hard
work ; a miracle of industry in the short space of thirteen
years had converted a wild waste, where only a few miser -
1 The Saints were accused of cooking the numbers.
264 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
able savages had gathered grass-seed and locusts to keep
life and soul together, into a fertile and prosperous settle-
ment. Of course, the buildings were as yet neither stately
nor substantial. The Prophet's block glaring with white-
wash, and the Bee House, where his plurality wives
resided, were, in common with other houses belonging to
lesser personages, constructed of sun-dried brick ; and many
would have looked dull and mean but for their cheerful
surroundings of garden and orchard, filled with fruit trees
and bright English flowers roses, geraniums, pinks and
pansies. The shape of these homesteads was mostly of one
pattern, the barn with wings and lean-to ; and these primi-
tive erections, despising uniformity, sometimes faced and in
other instances turned sideways to the street. However,
the lapse of thirty-five years has brought about a change
as vast as that effected by the Prophet. Now real brick
and timber are the common building materials, the town is
lighted by electricity, and, judging by some interesting
views which appeared this year in Black and White, the
public edifices, with the exception of the ugly Tabernacle,
are exceedingly handsome and imposing.
The Temple Block, then the sole place of worship in
the city, was in a very sketchy condition. The Latter Day
Saints had been unceremoniously turned out of Nauvoo,
Missouri, in 1845, and their church destroyed. Still, con-
sidering they had housed themselves pretty snugly, Burton
remarked they were preparing rather leisurely for their new
Zion, as little more than the foundations were visible ; in
fact, it took altogether forty years in constructing. The
Block, ten acres square, standing clear of all other buildings,
was surrounded with a wall of handsomely dressed red sand-
stone, raised to the height of ten feet by sun-dried brick,
stuccoed over to resemble a richer material; and a central
excavation, yawning like a large oblong grave, represented
a future font, these people observing the uncomfortable
practice of baptism by immersion. An adobe erection, with
A Sunday in Utah 265
a shingle roof, served as Tabernacle ; and ordinary services
were held in a kind of huge shed, with a covering of bushes
and boughs, supported by rough posts, and open on the
sides for ventilation. The Bowery, as it was called, seemed
a cool and airy place of worship, but was destitute of any
element of the sublime.
Burton prepared for a Sunday in Utah by a painful but
appropriate exercise, reading the " Book of Mormon." He
describes this volume as utterly dull and heavy, monoto-
nous as a sage prairie ; and though not liable to be daunted
by dreary works, he confessed he could turn over only a few
chapters at a sitting. On the stroke of ten the " book
written on golden plates by the hand of Mormon " was
tossed aside, and its prodigiously bored student hied to
the Bowery, where he took a seat on one of the long rows
of benches. It was curious to see the congregation flocking
in, some from long distances, in their smartest attire, many
a pretty face peeping under the usual sun-bonnet with its
long curtain, others surmounted by the "mushroom" or
" pork-pie " ; poorer women clad in neat stuff dresses, richer
ones in silk, even sporting gauze and feathers. By our
traveller's side sat an extremely ugly English servant girl ;
en revanche, in front was a charming American mother who
had, as he remarked in Mormon meetings at Saville House
and other places in Europe, an unusual development of the
organ of veneration. Between the congregation and the
platform whence the discourses were delivered was an
enclosure not unlike a pen ; this was allotted to the choir
and orchestra a bass, a violin, two women singers, and
four men performers, who rendered the songs of Zion more
agreeably than might have been expscted.
Worship began with a hymn. Then a civilised-looking
man, just returned from foreign travel, was called upon by
the presiding elder to engage in prayer, which he did, while
two shorthand writers stationed in a tribune took notes.
He ended by imploring a blessing upon the Mormon Presi-
266 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
dent and all those in authority. The conclusion was an
" Amen " in v/hich all joined, reminding our listener of the
historical practice of " humming " in the seventeenth cen-
tury, which caused the Universities to be called Hum et
Hissimi auditons.
Next arose a Bishop, who began with " Brethring," and
proceeded in a low and methody tone of voice, " hardly
audible in the gallery," to praise the Saints and pitch into
the apostates. His delivery was by no means fluent even
when he warmed, still he might have been listened to with
profounder interest, but for the entrance of the " Boss."
Every one was then on the qui vive, even to the elderly
dame who, from Hanover Square to far San Francisco,
placidly reposes through the sermon.
The Latter Day Prophet did not present an imposing
appearance. A man with a Newgate fringe, clad in grey
homespun garments, and a steeple-crowned straw hat
decorated with a broad black ribbon, ill accords with most
people's ideal of a " Seer." He expectorated too, which
was disagreeable. After a man in a fit had been carried
out pumpwards, and the Bishop had concluded his dis-
course, another hymn was sung, and then came a deep
silence. Mr. Brigham Young removed his hat, swallowed
a glass of water, and addressed his followers. His manner
was pleasing and animated, the matter fluent, impromptu,
and well turned, spoken rather than preached ; and, apart
from his " gift of tongues," a sort of gibberish which no-
body understood, and which he spoke at times for motives
best known to himself, he is said to have often indulged in
real flights of eloquence. But the occasion in question
was not propitious ; at times he descended to twaddle.
" Mormonism was a great fact, religion had made him the
happiest of men, the Saints had a glorious destiny before
them, and their virtues were as remarkable as the beauty of
the Promised Land." Certainly he made his congregation
laugh when speaking of the joy caused by his spiritual
A Day amongst the Mormons 267
convictions, for, declaring he felt ready to dance like a
Shaker, he raised his right arm and gave a droll imita-
tion of Anne Lee's followers ; but this seems to have been
the best part of the sermon. When he had concluded,
more addresses followed from minor personages, several
hymns were sung, and then came the blessing and dis-
missal. Burton returned to his hotel directly the ceremony
was over, and applied himself, not to the dreary Mormon
" Bible," but to writing the notes which were to form the
groundwork of a future book. 1
A sketch of a day in Great Salt Lake City, when our
traveller was neither exploring the environs nor attending
religious exercises, will give some idea how his time passed.
He rose early and breakfasted at any hour between 6 and 9
a.m. Then followed a stroll about the town, enlivened by
an occasional liquoring up with a new acquaintance, a
practice which, much to the Saints' credit, was confined to
the "Gentiles," the stricter Mormons disapproving of spirit-
drinking, anyhow, in public. This nipping by the way
disagreed frightfully with Burton ; he could take his bottle
after dinner with any man, but nip he could not, and I
never heard of his indulging in the vile habit except during
this stay in America. Dinner, at i p.m., was rather a dis-
orderly meal. Jostling into a long dining-room, all took
their seats, and seizing knife and fork, proceeded to action
with a voracity worthy of beasts at the Zoo. Nothing but
water was drunk, except when some peculiar person pre-
ferred to wash down his roast pork with milk, a truly
horrible mixture; but the meal endsd with a glass of
whisky served in the bedroom, there being no bar.
Supper, or dinner number two, took place at 6 p.m.
When neither eating nor strolling about, Burton spent his
time mostly at the Historian and Recorder's Office, oppo-
site Brigham Young's block. It contained a small collec-
1 " The City of the Saints," i vol. Longmans, 1862.
268 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G,
tion of volumes, and appears to have served as a sort of
club almost entirely frequented by Mormons, and it
afforded many an opportunity of hearing these strange
people discuss their social politics and soundly abuse their
enemies.
One afternoon quite a stir arose in the city. Enquiring
what the excitement might be about, our traveller was
informed that a large party of emigrants were just arriving.
He set off " down town " at once to view the curious sight.
In marched the silly souls through clouds of dust over the
sandy road leading to the eastern portion of the settlement,
accompanied by crowds of citizens, some on foot, others
on horseback or in traps. The new-comers had donned
clean clothes, the men shaved, and the girls, who were
singing hymns, were habited in smartest Sunday dresses.
The company, though sunburnt, looked well and thoroughly
happy, and few except the very young and the very old,
who suffer most on such journeys, troubled the wains.
Around were all manner of familiar faces heavy English
mechanics, discharged soldiers, clerks and agricultural
labourers, a few German students, farmers, husbandmen,
and peasants from Scandinavia and Switzerland, and corre-
spondents, editors, apostles, and other dignitaries from the
Eastern states. Very bovine looked some of our com-
patriots, many had passed over the plains unaware they
were in the States, and had actually been known to throw
away en route their blankets and warm clothing, under the
idiotic impression that perpetual summer reigned in their
pinchbeck Zion.
When the train reached the public square of Ward
No. 8, the waggons were ranged in line for the final cere-
mony. At one time Brigham Young used to welcome in
person his new recruits; but in 1860, fearing assassination,
he appeared in public as seldom as possible. However, on
this occasion, his place was taken by Bishop Hunter, who,
preceded by a brass band and accompanied by the City
The " Mare Mortuttm " 269
Marshal, stood up in his conveyance, and, calling the
Captains of Companies, set at once to business. In a short
time arrangements were made to house and employ all who
required work, whether men or women. Everything was
conducted with the most perfect decorum. If any matri-
monial proposal took place, it was in strict privacy, the
Mormon dignitaries, accused on such occasions of undue
flippancy, looking as grave and proper as judges on the
bench.
Amongst the welcoming crowd figured a large number
of the city dames. Less smart than on Sunday, they
affected much the same style of dress as the Salvation
Army lasses, minus the blood-red ribbons. A poke-bonnet
was universally worn why is the Poke a symbol of piety,
Quakers, Salvationists, Mormons, Sisters of Mercy retiring
alike inside its ungraceful shape ? A loose jacket and a
skirt, generally of some inexpensive fabric, completed this
comfortable but exceedingly plain costume.
The most interesting excursion was to the Great Salt
Lake. One fine morning our traveller and two Americans
set out down the west road, crossed a ricketty bridge which
spanned the New Jordan, and debouched upon a mirage-
haunted and singularly ugly plain. After fifteen miles of
good road they came to the head of the Oquirrh, where
pyramidal buttes bound the southern extremity of the
water. Driving on, they presently emerged upon the
shores of this " still and solitary sea," the sea of which
the early Canadian voyagenrs used to tell such wonderful
tales.
Under a clear blue sky, the " Mare Mortuum " appeared
by no means unprepossessing. As Burton stood upon the
ledge at whose foot lies the selvage of sand and salt that
bounds the lake, he fancied he looked upon the sea of the
Cyclades. The water was of a deep lapis lazuli blue, flecked
here and there with the smallest of white horses tiny
billows urged by the soft, warm wind ; and the feeble
270 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
tumble of the surf upon the miniature sands reminded
him of scenes far away, where mightier billows pay their
tribute to the strand. In front, bounding the extreme
north-east, lies Antelope Island, rising in a bold central
ridge. This rock forms the western horizon to those
looking from the city, and its delicate pink the effect of
a ruddy carpet woven with myriads of small flowers
blushing in the light of the setting sun, is ever an in-
teresting and beautiful object. The foreground is a strip
of sand, yellow where it can be seen, encrusted with flakes
of salt, like the icing of a plum-cake, and bearing marks of
submergence in the season of the spring freshlets.
This singular reproduction of the Judaean Dead Sea is
about the size of the African Chad. Its water contains
nearly one quarter of solid matter, or about six times and a
half more than the average solid constituents of sea-water,
which may be laid down roughly at three and a half per
cent, of its weight, or about half an ounce to the pound.
Of course, it is fatal to organic life, the fish brought down
the rivers perish at once in the concentrated brine ; and
near the bathing-place a dreadful shock awaits the olfactory
nerves. Banks of black mud on examination prove to be
an Aceldama of insects, &c., a horrible heap of mortal coils
of myriads of worms, mosquitoes, flies, cast up by the
waves, fermenting and festering in the burning sun.
Escaping with undignified haste from this mass of fetor,
Burton reached the further end of a promontory where a
tall rock stood decorously between the bathing-place and
the picnic ground, and, in a pleasant frame of curiosity,
descended into the New World Dead Sea. He had heard
strange accounts of its buoyancy. It was said to support a
bather as if he were sitting in an armchair, and to float him
like an unfresh egg. His experience differed widely ; there
was no difficulty in swimming, nor indeed in sinking. But
after sundry immersions of the head to feel if it really stung
and removed the skin like a mustard plaster as described,
Camp Floyd 271
emboldened by the detection of so much hyperbole, he
proceeded to duck under with open eyes, and smarted for
his pains. There was a grain of truth in these travellers'
tales. The sensation did not come on suddenly ; at first
he felt a sneaking twinge, then a bold succession of twinges,
and lastly, a steady honest burning like what follows a
pinch of snuff in the eyes. There was no fresh water at
hand ; he was, moreover, half-blinded, so scrambling upon
the rock, our ardent investigator had to sit in misery for at
least half an hour presenting to Nature the ludicrous spec-
tacle of a man weeping flowing tears.
On another occasion, Burton visited Camp Floyd, where
a detachment of the United States army were then sta-
tioned. He was conveyed thither, a distance of forty miles,
in an American merchant's trotting waggon, drawn by a
fine tall pair of iron-grey mules christened Julia and Sally,
after the fair daughters of the officer who had lately com-
manded the district. With a fine clear day and a breeze
which covered him with dust, he set out along the country
road leading from the south-eastern angle of the city. The
route lay over the strip of alluvium that separates the
Wasach Mountains from the waters of New Jordan ; it is
cut by a multitude of streamlets rising from the kanyons,
the principal being Mill Creek, Big Cottonwood, Little
Cottonwood, and Willow Creek these names are trans-
lated from the Indians and from the road were seen traces
of the aborigines, who were sweeping crickets and grass-
seed into their large conical baskets amongst these ragged
gleaners Burton looked in vain for a Ruth !
The military not being permitted to approach the city
of the suspicious and cantankerous Saints nearer than
forty miles, were located in a circular basin surrounded by
irregular hills ; and their huts clustered closely on the
banks of Cedar Creek, a rivulet consisting chiefly of black
mud. A more detestable spot could be found only at
Ghara, or some similar purgatorial place in Lower Sind.
272 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
The winter was long and rigorous, the summer hot and
uncomfortable, the alkaline water curdled soap, and the
dust storms equalled the Punjaub. Here, as Utah was
in a very unsettled condition, the Saints and the Indians
vying with each other in breaking the eighth command-
ment as frequently as possible, the unlucky Regulars had
to remain, until at last hostilities broke out between the
North and South and they were hurriedly recalled. Burton
makes grateful mention of their kindness and hospitality.
At that period the American army was composed chiefly
of Southerners, and one of the most genial of his enter-
tainers was a Captain Heth, a Virginian, whose family
dated from the Dominion of Queen Elizabeth. Naturally,
all the officers detested the dreary fanatics whom they were
expatriated to guard. " They hate us, and we hate them,"
was the universal cry ; and from the " chief imposter to
the last ' acolyte ' " every Mormon was declared to be a
miscreant.
Besides the trips to the Salt Lake and Camp Floyd,
Burton spent some days exploring the most curious of
the kanyons. One of the finest was already dotted over
with saw-mills, Uncle Sam's pet decoration for his fairest
scenery. Blemishes notwithstanding, the ravines presented
a strange and impressive spectacle ; and as autumn was
just tinting the trees and the first snow whitening the
mountain peaks, the country looked its loveliest.
Three weeks exhausted the attractions of the saintly
city. About the middle of September our traveller began
to think of departing. He wished to see something of
the gold diggings about Carson on the eastern foot of the
Sierra Nevada, and as two State officials, one a judge, were
shortly proceeding in the same direction, he hurried on
preparations for his journey in order to accompany them.
The mode of transit was by mail-waggon, much like that
from St. Jo, only ruder and even more dangerous. The
distance was 580 miles, and the time occupied nearly a
The Wane of Mormon Doctrines 273
month. The extremes of heat and cold surpassed any
endured while crossing the Rockies, the food was invariably
bad, ditto the accommodation, while the Indians in that
part of the country had acquired such an evil reputation
that Burton, before starting, cut his hair as short as a
French soldier's. However, no disaster occurred of any
importance, and the travellers jogged into Carson City
unscalped, and little the worse for their fatigues. A few
days were spent lionizing, the most interesting visit being
to the gold diggings of Placerville, where Burton was
initiated into the mysteries of gold washing ; then on
November ist he journeyed by coach to Folsom, thence by
rail to Sacramento, and after about a fortnight spent at
San Francisco, he made his way home via Panama.
His book, the " City of the Saints," describing this visit
to Utah, which was published the following year, created a
certain stir. For it reads almost like a panegyric. The
Mountain Meadow Massacre is pooh-poohed, the existence
of the Danites doubted, and the poultry-yard arrangement,
cock-a-doodle-doo and six hens, mentioned in terms ap-
proaching admiration. This burly volume, written in the
same careful, accurate style which characterises all Burton's
works, would lose nothing by the omission of lengthy ex-
tracts from Mormon letters and sermons advocating the
practice of " Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," arguments based
on very unsound theology. The experience of thirty-five
years, too, has proved our traveller mistaken in predicting
a great future for the Mormons and their peculiar insti-
tution. Their numbers do not appear to have increased,
their capital is now overrun with " Gentiles," and even
dotted with Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, and
the Pacific Railway has given them the go-by. While as
to polygamy, the present Mormon President issued in 1890
a proclamation declaring that the church no longer taught
that doctrine; and when, in 1896, Utah was at last thought
worthy of admittance into the United States, President
18
274 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Cleveland, while not abrogating existing plurality mar-
riages, declared all future ones illegal.
It is startling to turn from Burton's encomiums on the
polygamous Saints to his marriage ! This step, upon
which much misplaced sentiment has been lavished, sur-
prised both friends and relatives; those who knew him
best were perfectly aware that it surprised him most of
all. He was past forty, for some years he had had no
serious affaire de cceur, and he invariably declared in his
private circle, in answer to occasional enquiries, that he
intended to remain a bachelor principally from inclina-
tion, and partly because his limited means and roving
habits were unsuited for matrimony. Fate, however,
decreed otherwise. For some time past he had been ac-
quainted with a Miss Isabel Arundell, a handsome and
fascinating woman, then entering her thirtieth year. Her
father, Henry Raymond, who with his brother Renfric
carried on business as wine merchants in Mount Street,
was not very prosperous, and, as often happens in such a
case, had a numerous family. Isabel, restless amidst her
dull surroundings, admired Burton's career, admired Burton
himself, and naturally wished to marry one of the foremost
of the men of mark of the day. Even the fact of belonging
to an old Roman Catholic family did not deter her from
choosing a husband of totally different views from her own.
A quotation anent the Sweetwater River in the " City of
the Saints" will show what ensued. " Wilful and woman-
like, she has set her heart upon an apparent impossibility ;
and, as usual with her sex under the circumstances, she
has had her way." Burton made one stipulation that she
should give him her solemn promise that if he pre-deceased
her no Romish priest should be surreptitiously introduced
to his death-chamber.
The marriage had to take place privately, possibly
because the bride's mother vehemently objected to any
daughter of hers espousing a Protestant ; and as she ruled
Marriage 275
her household with a rod of iron, it may have been judged
advisable not to let her know until the deed was done. So
one cold morning, 22nd January, 1861, Burton, clad in a
rough shooting coat, other garments to match, and with
a cigar in his mouth, bravado to hide his deadly nervous-
ness on taking such a step, awaited his bride on the steps of
the Bavarian Chapel in Warwick Street, where the ceremony
was duly performed by priest and registrar, according to the
law for mixed marriages. 1
Shortly afterwards our Benedict fell ill with severe
bronchitis, and leaving his wife to break the news to her
people, 2 and see how they were disposed to receive him, he
went to Dovercourt, the home of a wealthy and generous
aunt, for rest and careful nursing. Isabel meanwhile an-
nounced her marriage. Mr. Arundell was much delighted ;
but his wife, an irascible but excellent woman, never for-
gave her son-in-law. Almost the last time I saw her she
exclaimed, in answer to some remark from her daughter,
" Dick is no relation of mine."
Looking dispassionately at this match, it is clear that
Burton committed as serious an imprudence as when he
sent Speke alone to search for the Victoria Nyanza. The
reader will see later how, in spite of much that was agree-
able and attractive, Isabel, owing to a fatal want of tact
and judgment, was unfitted for the path in life which she
had insisted on choosing for herself a far more important
matter than mere pecuniary difficulties. These, however,
were bad enough. When his wife's debts and his own
were paid, Burton had only four thousand pounds remaining
from his little patrimony, a sum which, prudently invested
in a joint annuity, brought in about ^"200 per annum.
Besides this majestic income there was his half-pay.
1 The presence of the registrar disproved the silly story, circulated
after his death, that he had joined the Church of Rome as a young man
at Baroda.
2 His sister was informed a few days before the ceremony.
1 8 2
276 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
What was he to do ? Perhaps his best plan would have
been to return to India, but as a lieutenant the pros-
pect seemed a poor one. His influential friends were
startled, not to say dismayed by this imprudent step,
and wondered, no doubt, what piece of eccentricity he
would treat them to next. No one came forward, and
yet something had to be decided upon at once, for the
pair, neither economical, could not live on ^"350 a year.
On such occasions the " something " is rarely agreeable.
A Job's comforter suggested the Consular service, and
the post at Fernando Po being then vacant, no unusual
occurrence, it was applied for and obtained with little
trouble. But a fresh disaster happened as soon as the ap-
pointment appeared in the Gazette. Instead of having as-
certained whether he could retain his commission or make
some special stipulation concerning it, with true Irish hope-
fulness Burton had taken no precaution whatever, and
found to his dismay his name erased from the Indian Army
List.
However, the deed was done. The Arundells kindly
offered their home as their daughter's headquarters during
her husband's absence Fernando Po was then quite unfit
for Englishwomen and our Benedict, after providing most
liberally for her comfort, started for his new post with
spirits revived at certain holiday prospects of explorations
on the West Coast of Africa during the intervals of his
consular duties.
CHAPTER XII
D ICHARD BURTON, Consul at Fernando Po, a spot
*^ nick na ned the Foreign Office grave ! Richard Burton,
whose knowledge of Eastern languages and Eastern customs
would have proved of incalculable value in India and Egypt,
or upon the Red Sea littoral, banished to a distant and
pestiferous island to perform duties which any man of
average brains could have done equally well ! And on and
on in this dismal strain throughout at least a couple of
pages, my reader may expect me to bewail our traveller's
evil fortune, and to complain in usual stock phrases of the
Government of the day which permitted such an anomaly.
But as I am writing a true and simple story of his life,
dispassionate as any memoir compiled by a near relative
can be, after much thought, much reading, and many con-
sultations with his best friends, I am unable in the matter of
this appointment to represent him as a martyr to an un-
grateful country. At forty years of age, having contracted
an imprudent marriage, he was compelled by pecuniary
considerations to enter a new service ; could his most
devoted admirers expect he should immediately receive one
of the plums ? Later a big one did fall to his share, and
had it not been for a disaster, alas ! to some extent of his
own causing, he might have attained one of the highest
positions which the Foreign Office had to offer.
He started for his new post on the 24th August, 1861.
His ship, the Blackland, being a cargo and passenger steamer,
left him ample time to visit every port town, and see all the
objects of interest, while she discharged her merchandise.
278 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Each scene possessed for him the charm of novelty.
Madeira, then crowded with consumptives, who have since
deserted it for dreary Davos; Teneriffe, most picturesque
of the Fortunate Islands ; Bathurst, a miserable fever-
stricken settlement whose sanitary officer was needlessly
strict in questioning the health of the new arrivals from
England ; Sierra Leone, overrun by litigious niggers, one
of whom summoned the captain ; Cape Coast Castle,
which so quickly drove poor L. E. L. to despair, and no
wonder, from our traveller's description of the horrid
hole ; Accra and Lagos, one as pestilential as the other.
At the latter Burton had a pleasant surprise. All the
Mohammedan population, under the leadership of a Haji,
turned out in force to welcome a brother pilgrim. Haji
Abdullah was petted and honoured in a fashion most
unusual, and he left his unexpected friends with regret for
the Bonny River, otherwise known as the African Styx.
Finally, after a day or two's delay in a settlement equal in
point of nastiness to the old Fleet Ditch, he found himself
at Fernando Po, his destined headquarters for the next
four years.
The first night he felt uncommonly suicidal. The Con-
sulate was situated in the lower part of Santa Isabel, close
to the harbour, and in unpleasant proximity to a military
hospital, whence dismal sights were often visible. It was
built of wood with a corrugated iron roof, and every sort of
evil odour floated unhindered through its glassless windows.
But, after some months, matters improved. An epidemic
of yellow fever which decimated the garrison and threat-
ened to become chronic, determined the Spanish governor
to imitate other colonists and try the effects of altitude.
Barracks were built on the heights, and as the soldiers'
health mended as if by magic, our consul, indisposed for
voluntary martyrdom through remaining in his unsavoury
quarters, felt himself also at liberty to migrate from the
neighbourhood of the port to a frame-house constructed by
Fernando Po 279
a Spanish official, situated eight hundred feet above sea
level.
Then life became worth living. His nigger servants,
Krumen all, the only people who will do anything in this
part of Africa, set to work to lay out a large garden, which
soon supplied the household with excellent vegetables ; a
delicious rivulet ran along a neighbouring ravine ; and the
views of the distant Camaroons were so lovely that Burton
quite fell in love with " Buena Vista," as the little place
was appropriately christened. Possibly this happy state
of mind may have been caused partly by seeing so little of
it. His trips along the coast were almost countless, his
jurisdiction as consul for the entire Bight of Biafra extending
over a wide range, and there being many objects of interest
within practicable distance. I use the last two words with
intention. He complained, justly enough, that some people
expected him to perform impossibilities to explore at least
one thousand miles of the Congo, to clear up the uncer-
tainties concerning the Niger, &c., &c., quite forgetting that
while he could obtain short intervals of leave, he had his
official duties to perform, and was no longer his own
master.
The first stay in the town consulate, which he compared
to a big coffin divided by the thinnest of walls from Anti-
Paradise, lasted only one week. A " nautico-diplomatico-
missionary expedition was just starting for ' Christian
Abbeokuta,' " and Burton was fortunate enough to be
included. The amiable natives, in spite of sundry treaties,
had been offering up human sacrifices ; and as our good
little country by means of its hapless West African squad-
ron was keeping watch over the morals of that and other
native states on the coast, Commander Bedingfield and
H.B.M.'s Consul at Fernando Po were instructed to read
the Alake, or chief, a sermon upon his evil behaviour.
This trip suited Burton exactly. He had read much
and heard more about the " Town under the Stone," and
280 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the glowing hues in which the subject was depicted had
conjured up in his mind a host of doubts that could be solved
only by means of that accurate organ, the eye. Sundry
small good books on Abbeokuta, written with the best
intentions, had been published by the Mrs. Jellabys of the
day, all couleur de rose, representing the African washed,
combed, clothed, scented, sober ; and our traveller, as usual,
wished to discover and propagate the truth concerning
West Africa as about every country he visited. Of course,
the reality proved vastly different from the pretty fancy
pictures painted by persons who had never been near the
spot. To begin with, Abbeokuta did not merit its prefix ;
only one in every five hundred of the population made even
a pretence of Christianity ; the natives proved a decidedly
low type of negro ; the town was a grisly mass of rusty
thatching and dull red-clay walls, scavengered solely by
pigs and vultures, and the climate was appalling.
The route to this agreeable capital was as bad as the
goal. The travellers rowed from Lagos in two gigs belong-
ing to H.M.S. Prometheus, manned by Krumen, across the
Ikoradu lagoon, tame and uninteresting, with its low
shores and clay-tinted water; through the Agboi Creek,
little better than a ditch ; and thence, up the Ogun River,
to within sight of Abbeokuta, a distance of about eighty
miles. Burton repaired at once to the Mission Compound,
where he lodged. He found a church, schoolrooms, houses
and gardens, all belonging to the Church Missionary Society
a veritable oasis in a dismal scene of dirt and squalor.
But, as with the Mombas Mission, the mortality amongst
the clergy and their wives had been awful. Burton's kind
heart bled for his poor pretty countrywomen ; even those
who had recently arrived, owing to disgusting sights and
smells, bad food and water, and the hot, steamy climate,
looked like galvanised corpses.
Abbeokuta was governed in 1861 by an old, drunken,
and exceedingly hideous chief; and this was not the first
African Cruelty 281
time that he had received a well- merited wigging from our
Government. But hard words break no bones, and the
wily old ruffian, who apparently expected an excellent joke,
lost no time in summoning his visitors to the "palace."
This building consisted of a narrow clay house, long and
rambling, provided with two courtyards, each with its own
verandah, and divided into rooms strongly resembling horse-
boxes. In one of these, hidden for a while by an old bro-
cade curtain, sat the one-eyed, toothless chief, surrounded
by women and children. Presently, with much pomp, the
hanging was drawn aside, as in some foreign churches from
a lovely picture, and revealed the Alake, encaged like an in-
mate of one of the larger dens in the Zoo.
The palaver then commenced. The African believes,
with Dickens' policeman, that " words is bosh," unless
backed up by an execution or a heavy fine, and this fact we
and other civilised nations have only lately begun to realise.
Abbeokuta did catch it at last. The Alake looked fairly
bright until the object of the visit was discussed ; then,
obstinate as a pig, he either hung down his head and pre-
tended to sleep, drank spirits until he could hardly speak,
or varied the programme by telling an unblushing lie. Nor
were his "ministers" any better than himself; nowhere
could be seen more villainous crania and countenances than
among the seniors of Abbeokuta. Their calvaria, depressed
in front and projecting cocoa-nut-like behind, the hideous
lines and wrinkles that seamed their skin, and the cold,
unrelenting cruelty of their physiognomies in repose, sug-
gested the idea of some foul kind of torturers. It has been
said and a horrible saying it is that cruelty is the key-
note of creation ; it is certainly the key-note of the African
character. The sight of suffering causes these people real
enjoyment. In almost all the towns on the Oil Rivers
Burton saw dead and dying animals fastened to trees in
every sort of agonizing posture. Young women were
still lashed to poles and left to be devoured alive by
282 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
buzzards a charm to bring rain and the scenes at
Dahomey are familiar to everybody. This horrid charac-
teristic is partly the result of their religion the lowest
form of fetishism and partly the huge destructiveness
in the Hamite skull.
It was, therefore, no easy matter to persuade the blood-
thirsty old chief of Abbeokuta even to promise obedience
for the future. Although Captain Bedingfield and our
Consul spent a whole week in this delightful capital,
and had more than one talkee-talkee, it cannot be said
the results of their efforts were either permanent or
satisfactory. True, a letter of apology was dictated to
the acting governor of Lagos, and a new treaty, wherein
the prince and his ministers declared they would do their
best to stop the slave trade, also that no human being
should be sacrificed by them, their people, or others inside
or outside the town, or anywhere else in their territory,
was legalized by the great men touching the pen with
the finger tip. But the broad grins with which this
action was accompanied augured badly. Hardly had the
two commissioners returned to Lagos before a man was
offered up to propitiate the tutelary deities, or demons,
of Abbeokuta, and a woman was kidnapped from the
house of an English trader.
Burton's next excursion was far more pleasant and
profitable. There are few spots on the earth's surface
where more of grace and grandeur, of beauty and sublimity,
are found blended in one noble panorama, than at the
equatorial approach on the West Coast of Africa. The
voyager's eye, fatigued by the low flat shores of Benin
and Upper Biafra, rests with delight upon a " Gate "
compared with which Bab El-Mandeb and the Pillars of
Hercules are indeed tame. To his right towers Mount
Clarence, the Peak of Fernando Po, 9,300 feet above sea
level ; on his left is a geographical feature more stupendous
still, where the Camaroons Mountain, whose height is laid
A Holiday in the Cawaroons 283
down as 13,746 feet, seems to spring from the wave, and to
cast its shadow half-way across the narrow channel, whose
minimum breadth does not exceed nineteen miles.
In 1 86 1 the topmost peak of this magnificent mountain
had never been scaled, a fact which rendered our traveller
all the more anxious to set foot on its summit. After a
brief official visit in H.M.S. Bloodhound to the dull and
deadly Brass and Bonny rivers, he was prostrated with
fever, and the Camaroons furnished the best and nearest
sanatorium. So, hastily collecting an outfit suitable for a
month spent in a wilderness, he landed at a mission station
on the coast, and soon made up a party. Mr. Saker, a
Nonconformist minister, proved a valuable guide, M. Mann,
a botanist, afforded great assistance in classifying and ar-
ranging the curious flora of the district, and a Spanish
judge from Fernando Po, who was compared to a wild,
young pig-sticking magistrate in India, kept everybody
alive.
Ensued a right pleasant holiday. With the exception
of one night spent in a native village, when the chief got
drunk, rushed out of his hut at 2 p.m. with drawn dagger
and began the war dance, all went smoothly. Our traveller
mentions with almost boyish exultation how he was the
first to reach the top, Mr. Saker not caring to risk life
and limb, and M. Mann being poorly, and absorbed,
moreover, in botanical studies. To record his claim, he
heaped up a small cairn of stones, and in it placed a
fragment from the facetious pages of Mr. Punch ; in fact,
the sharp, bracing air, the magnificent view, and the con-
sciousness of success, raised his spirits to the highest pitch.
He half lamed himself, however, having purchased in an
evil hour a pair of loose waterproof boots, which began
by softening and ended by half flaying his feet ; and what
with the state of these unlucky extremities and the effects
of over-exertion, he had to remain in camp for a week.
But no sooner was the skin healed than he returned
284 Captain Sir R. F. Burion, K.C.M.G.
to the charge, and made the interesting discovery that
Camaroons is not an extinct volcano, as was generally
believed. While descending one of the numerous cones,
he emerged upon a Solfatara in full action, regular lines of
smoke jets and puffs rising in rings and curls from the
ground. Burton thought that, although the mountain lacks
its pristine vigour of destructiveness, it knows as yet none
of those varieties of form and character which denote
permanently burnt out or even of temporarily quiescent
volcanoes.
Anxious to turn this expedition to some useful account,
our traveller subsequently published several articles in
leading London papers, advocating the establishment in the
Camaroons district of a sanatorium for the fever-stricken
coast towns under British protection, also a convict station
to supply the necessary labour. Why England insists on
keeping all her burglars, poisoners, dynamiters, &c., clutched
to her breast, rejecting with horror any proposal to dispense
with their precious presence in the land even for their and
her good, was ever an insoluble problem to a man unbitten
by a spurious philanthropy which benefits nobody. But
little attention was paid to his advice ; Africa had not
assumed the importance in the eyes of Europe which she
has now, and meanwhile the healthiest district on the
\Vest Coast has fallen into the hands of the Germans.
Official trips to the Camaroons River and other places,
varied by literary work, whiled away the remainder of the
winter. It was well he had plenty to occupy his mind, for
yellow fever was raging in the town, and the sights at the
military hospital waxed more and more dolorous. In March
it became necessary, for health's sake, to take a longer
holiday. An opportunity presented itself of a trip to the
Gaboon, then the principal centre of trade in Western
Equatorial Africa; and as our traveller had visited numerous
English colonies, he was curious to examine a specimen of
our rivals'.
A French Colony 285
On landing at Le Plateau, 1 the capital of this colony,
he was amused at a scene so characteristically French.
The officers appeared eternally in full uniform ; sisters of
charity flitted about in their serge gowns and white gulls' -
wing caps ; the tricolour waved everywhere, even sometimes
on English craft, which might carry their own colours no
further than Coniquet Island. The table d'hote, too, with
its savoury dishes and abundance of claret and cognac,
reminded him, anyway, of les provinces, and the hotel was far
more comfortable than any he had lodged at since leaving
England.
But at that time, even more interesting than the
Frenchman abroad, was the Gorilla. Du Chaillu's book
had lately appeared, and wonderful tales were current
concerning an ape apparently all but human. It was said
this industrious anthropoid constructed a bower for his
spouse in the centre of the tallest trees by intertwining a
number of the weaker boughs, under which the pair can sit
protected from the rains by the mass of foliage thus en-
tangled together, some of the boughs being so bent that
they form convenient seats. Now was the occasion for
verifying such stories, as the Gaboon was one of the
animal's favourite haunts. So, bidding adieu to the luxuries
of Le Plateau, Burton started up country March igth, 1862,
on a gorilla hunt.
It proved, however, one of his unlucky expeditions, and
the perils of an unavailing search were greater than the
object quite warranted. Our traveller was nearly drowned
while ascending the Gaboon River, 2 knocked down another
day by lightning, 8 and during his final march had a narrow
escape from the fall of a giant branch, which grazed his
1 Now Libreville.
2 See " Gorilla Land ; or the Cataracts of the Congo." Two vols.
Sampson, Low & Co., 1875.
3 The sensation was compared to the shock of an electric machine
combined with the discharge of a Woolwich infant, both greatly
exaggerated.
286 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
hammock. And while he had ample opportunities of
studying the Fan, a race of chocolate-coloured cannibals,
mere wild beasts in human shape, the far more interesting
gorilla invariably eluded his search. He came upon rem-
nants of the creature's meals, traces of his fights, several
of the " bowers," which proved only untidy heaps of stocks
and stones, but sight, much less shoot the anthropoid, he
could not. As usually happens, details concerning the
animal's habits and appearance collected on the spot con-
tradicted many a popular tale. The gorilla does not stand
upright when attacked, and strike his opponent like a prize-
fighter ; he does not run on his hind legs alone, but on all-
fours, and he is essentially a tree ape. Nor has he the
marvellous courage at first attributed to him ; on the
contrary, he bolts with remarkable alacrity when escape is
possible, and as for Mrs. Gorilla, while even a hen will
defend her chicks, this huge brute will fly, leaving son or
daughter in the enemy's clutches. Curiously enough, as
soon as Burton had returned to the coast, the native hunter
who had accompanied him on the search shot a fine large
male and forwarded it at once to his employer. It is, or
was, in the British Museum, but owing to having been
carelessly prepared, it gives a very imperfect idea of the
broad-chested, square-framed, portly old " bully-boy of the
woods."
A trip to the Lower Congo, which took place the fol-
lowing year, proved hardly more fortunate. Very little
was known in 1863 about this mighty river, second in
volume only to the Amazon, whose sources worthy Dr.
Livingstone mistook for those of the Nile. Discovered
in 1485 by Diogo Cam, hardly any particulars were cir-
culated in England until Captain Tuckey's expedition
in 1816 a wide interval indeed. This expedition suc-
ceeded in exploring the Congo some 162 miles from its
mouth ; but the scanty knowledge thus acquired was
dearly paid for, as nearly every officer died, besides several
On the Congo 287
of the mariners that accompanied the party. The river
thus became a bugbear ; but our traveller, believing that
much of the mortality was owing to unsuitable food and
treatment, determined to follow in poor Tuckey's steps,
and, if luck permitted, to push on further.
As usual, he was comfortably conveyed to his starting-
point by one of the squadron. What he would have done
without those friendly ships, that did not " pass in the
night," but anchored for awhile and took him on board,
I know not, as he could ill afford to travel on his own
account, half his pay being sent home to his wife. It
was on board H.M.S. Torch that he had his first view
of the tawny African monster. About eight milos south
of the embouchure the green sea changes to a clear brown,
which turns to red during flood time ; and the huge mouth
yawning seven miles wide, is a worthy outlet for a river
measuring in length over three thousand. Exciting was
the moment when the mighty stream celebrated in song by
his favourite poet and hero, Camoens, appeared in sight.
" Alii o mui grande reino esta de Congo
Por nos ja convertido a fe de Christo,
Por onde o zaire passa claro e longo,
Rio pelas antiguas nunca visto."
At French Point, Burton started up the river in a
launch manned by a few Jack Tars from the ship and
sundry natives. The first stoppage was at Porto da Lenha,
twenty-one miles, the second Boma, fifty-two miles from
the sea, and so far, the way was easy enough. But at
Boma, a Portuguese outpost, our traveller heard that the
river a little further on was supposed to be part of the
dominion of a chief named Nessalla, without whose per-
mission neither interpreter nor canoes were to be had.
Nothing daunted, Burton, taking with him a box containing
a fine spangled coat, a piece of chintz, and a case of ship's
rum, hunted up the potentate in question, and obtained
an audience. Nessalla, a grizzled senior, wearing a crown
288 Captain Siv R. F. Burton, K.CM.G.
not unlike a nightcap, and a beadle's coat of scarlet cloth,
received his guest civilly ; and after abundant palaver it
was arranged that the chief should lend a couple of his own
canoes in return for the above-mentioned gifts, valued at
about nine pounds, and wonderful to tell, although he had
received the goods, he actually kept his word.
So, under royal patronage our traveller continued his
struggle up stream. When nearing the second north-
eastern reach the interpreter exclaimed, " Yellala folia,"
" the cataract is speaking," and all could distinctly hear the
roar. The river now assumed the aspect of Niagara below
the Falls, and the circular eddies boiling up from below
and showing distinct convexity, suggested the dangerous
whirls of northern seas. At Banza Nokki, a settlement
ninety-seven miles from the coast, the party again disem-
barked and spent some days in this pleasantly situated
village. On September i2th all started for the cataracts.
Four days' march brought them to the goal. From a
rounded hill, one hundred feet above the river, Burton
viewed the Yellala, a wild waste of waves dashing over
their stony obstacles. As far as eye can reach, the bed,
which suddenly narrows, is broken by rocks and reefs ;
and the current, after breaking into foam for a mile and a
half above, rushes down an inclined plane of some thirty
feet, spuming and roaring like billows dashing against a
cliff. The height of the trough walls, at least a thousand
feet, add grandeur to the scene.
It was annoying, having arrived thus far, to be forced
to turn back. Our traveller had hoped to reach at least
the Isangila cataract, or the second Sangalla of Captain
Tuckey and Professor Smith, the point where Henry
Stanley, after his wonderful voyage, abandoned the river
and struck overland for Boma. But the party was small,
inadequately equipped, and the guide, who had agreed to
push on as far as Nsundi, suddenly declared he would not
go beyond the Yellala. Banza Ninga, the next stage, was
More Literary Work 289
distant two or three marches, and neither shelter nor pro-
visions were to be found on the way. Without the guide
of course further progress was impossible ; so, very re-
luctantly, Burton retraced his steps, and after a quick and
pleasant run down stream found another good friend,
H.M.S. Griffon, just returned from landing mails along the
coast, and embarked without further adventures.
Compared with the feats of later travellers, this voyage
sinks into insignificance. But it deserves to rank amongst
that pioneer work which does so much to stimulate and aid
discovery. A paper describing the trip was read before the
British Association in 1864, and it proved that martyrdom
was not an inevitable result of canoeing up the Congo.
Later, a scholarly volume, " The Cataracts of the Congo,"
drew attention to the deplorable ignorance then existing in
regard to the length and source of this magnificent river
ignorance which sundry travellers, by hastily rushing to
conclusions, increased rather than dispelled. After writing
very modestly of the little he had done to assist future
explorers, Burton concluded the account of his voyage with
these remarkable words : " I hope the Congo, one of the
noblest and least known of the four principal African
arteries, will no longer be permitted to flow through the
white blot on our maps, a region unexplored and blank to
geography as at the time of its creation ; and that my
labours may contribute something, however small, to clear
the way for the more fortunate traveller." The school-
children of our day hardly know what that white blot
means. No one worked harder to do away with it than
Richard Burton.
Two months were spent quietly at Fernando Po. Con-
sular duties, writing his notes, and attending to his garden
at Buena Vista, for by this time he had left the unhealthy
town, filled up the time and kept at bay nostalgia, a com-
plaint in those latitudes by no means imaginary, and which
occasionally attacked even our cosmopolitan hero. Then
19
290 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
came a change. He had volunteered, so far back as 1861,
to visit Abomey, the capital of Dahomey, but the measure
not being deemed advisable at that moment, he was obliged
to wait for another opportunity. Now arrived the welcome
intelligence that Her Majesty's Government had appointed
him Commissioner, the bearer of a message to King Gelele,
couched in much the same terms as that to the Alake of
Abbeokuta, protesting against the slave trade, and even
more strongly against the abominable waste of human life
at the annual customs. The pill to be administered to this
doughty chief, a compound of threats and soft sawder, was
to be sweetened by the addition of sundry gifts, of which
more anon.
Burton told, amusingly enough, in his " Wanderings in
West Africa," how his wife, on hearing of the appointment,
begged to accompany him ; for, like d'Artagnan, she had
line idee. It was nothing less than by means of a magic
lantern representing New Testament scenes, and by pro-
nouncing a few words in the vernacular, to terrify the king
into abolishing human sacrifices, and becoming a Roman
Catholic. Unfortunately, it was necessary to represent
rather forcibly that her lantern would be considered the
work of magic, the African's pet horror, and that the
human sacrifices, so far from diminishing, might possibly
include an English witch and wizard.
So, on the 2gth November, 1863, sans wife or lantern,
Burton embarked on board H.M.S. Antelope. Instead of
the white sheet, slides, &c., some big deal boxes filled with
presents, destined by the Foreign Office for the sable poten-
tate, constituted the baggage, which, together with its
temporary owner, arrived at Whydah, the port town of
Dahomey, in first-rate condition. An attempt was made to
land with all the ceremony befitting a Commissioner, but it
must have been difficult to maintain a pompous demeanour
in a surf boat, paddled in violently upon the back of a curl-
ing breaker until the boat's nose, thrown high and dry upon
Awaiting Gelele's Permit 291
the beach, was snatched out by some sturdy negroes.
However, when our traveller stepped at last on terra fivma,
an escort of twenty men saluted with muskets and preceded
him to the town, shouting and firing, singing and dancing.
The party was headed by a Kruman from the Antelope
carrying the Union Jack attached to a boarding pike, and
followed by five hammocks, and a special guard of six
Krumen, armed, and brilliantly, though not superabun-
dantly, clad in red caps and variegated pocket-handkerchiefs.
A Wesleyan native teacher, who kept a small shop, Rev.
Peter Bernasko, represented the clerical or Mganga element
in the procession.
A delay ensued of some days at VVhydah. Permission
from the king was necessary to start up country, and these
black chiefs seemed to find a morbid pleasure in keeping
white men waiting on their will. Burton employed the
time visiting the dirty congeries of villages that called it-
self a town, crammed with fetishes, the most sensible, or
I should say the least silly, being a " Devil's Dish," or clay
pot daily filled for the turkey buzzards which scavengered
the place ; as in all Yaruba settlements the houses were
scattered, and except round the principal market-place
there was far more bush than building. The environs
were then either marshes or fields, palm orchards or
bosquets of savage beauty. The fine and highly culti-
vated farms found near Whydah in 1845 no longer
existed.
By December I3th Gelele's royal permit had arrived.
The Mission now assumed large proportions. The heavy
baggage was carried by fifty-nine porters; thirty hammock-
men were added to the equipage, making a total of eighty-
nine mouths, not including interpreters and body-servants.
The only European besides the Commissioner was Dr.
Cruickshank of the Antelope, the reverend who still re-
mained with the party being a " coloured person."
Sixty-five miles lay between port town and capital.
192
292 Captain Siy R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
The journey may be described as one long dance. At
Savi the natives turned out capering and taboring a
welcome ; and at Toli the scene could be compared only
to the revelry of devils and witches as witnessed by poor
Tarn O'Shanter in Halloway Kirk. Indeed, when double
flasks of gin were handed round to stimulate the performers
to yet more violent exertions, Burton, who confessed to
having been amused by the demoniac scene, retired fairly
deafened by the noise. A little further on, the first de-
tachment of Amazons appeared, four women armed with
muskets and habited in tunics and white skull-caps, under
the command of a hag wearing a man's straw hat, a green
waistcoat, and a white shirt put on a Venvers. They, too,
danced with a will. At Whegho, the war-chief pranced
at the head of his half-dozen soldiers, while an enormously
fat old woman howled an accompaniment ; and at Kana, the
king's country palace, more capers were cut, the performers
bawling meanwhile :
" Batunu (Burton) he hath seen all the world with its kings and
caboceers,
He now cometh to Dahomey, and he shall see everything here,"
Gelele was detained in his summer quarters by a grave
and urgent matter, nothing less than a judicial enquiry
into some shocking scandals amongst his Amazons. These
ladies, unless required as wives for the king, on entering the
army take vows of celibacy ; but, like certain virgins in
European countries, do not always keep them. At first
it was feared he was too perturbed to receive the Mission ;
however, after a short delay, he signified his intention of
granting an audience during the intervals of his inquisitorial
duties.
Early one morning arrived the monarch's chief physician,
whom for brevity's sake we will call " Buko " a close-
shaven, white-woolled personage, neatly clad in light
coloured shorts and a large silk shawl with silver orna-
The Refreshment Table 293
ments. Politely enquiring at first about everybody's health,
he soon disclosed his principal errand, viz., to obtain a list
of the presents destined for his master ; and he was par-
ticularly anxious to ascertain whether a carriage and pair
of horses which Gelele had modestly begged from the
English Government were yet en route. On being told this
gift might be forwarded by-and-by, provided the king were
amenable to reason, he then announced that the Com-
missioner's reception would take place that very day, and
on the morrow permission would be given to proceed to
Abomey. " Dress at once " he added, " the king is pre-
paring for the audience."
Burton had no intention of sitting for hours in full
uniform opposite a mud palace, the invariable result of
punctuality on these occasions, so took his own time. At
last the Mission wended its way to an open space, partially
shaded by ragged trees, which for many generations has
been the scene of these ceremonies. Shortly after the
Commissioner and his companions had taken their places,
each on his own particular stool, an invaluable article of
furniture in Africa, appeared a table, fated, as Burton
facetiously remarked, to be one of his best friends. It
was a venerable European object, once intended for cards,
but the rough hands of its new possessors had stripped off
its veneer and seriously damaged its legs. Two or three
natives puzzled their brains awhile how to open it, and by
the time they had succeeded, another man produced from
a calabash sundry bottles of wine, gin, and pure water.
These refreshments were supplied to the two Englishmen
and the Reverend with praiseworthy regularity. Hardly
had they taken their seats on any occasion when, lo ! the
table.
Thus fortified, our traveller watched a procession of
caboceers, or chiefs, and their followers. First walked
under two umbrellas the king's half-brother, then his
majesty's numerous cousins, and the Viceroy of Whydah.
294 Captain Sir. R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
The local bards, who are not less powerful in Dahomey
than in other wild lands, were appropriately distinguished
by wearing a human jawbone. Eight skulls, dished up on
small wooden bowls like bread-plates, at the top of very
tall poles, were carried along, followed by capering soldiers
and drummers ; in fact, the elite of the country filed past
palacewards. After they had disappeared, Burton mar-
shalled his own little cortege, which, preceded by the Union
Jack, was conducted by a chief to the royal residence.
Gelele was then in the full vigour of manhood, from
forty to forty-five years of age. His figure was athletic,
upwards of six feet high. He had not his father's receding
forehead, nor the vanishing chin so common in Africa, his
strongly marked jaw, too, rendering the face jowly rather
than oval; his sub-tumid lips disclosed white, strong teeth,
the inner surfaces only slightly blackened by tobacco, of
which he was immoderately fond. The most disagreeable
feature were his eyes, red, bleared and inflamed ; though
his nose, while not wholly wanting in bridge, was distinctly
cocked. His dress, fairly simple for a savage potentate,
consisted of a straw cap with a human tooth, fetish against
sickness, strung below the crown ; a body cloth of fine
white stuff, and drawers of purple flowered silk. The
sandals were gorgeous gold-embroidered upon a crimson
ground, two large crosses of yellow metal being especially
conspicuous. On one arm he wore an iron bracelet, and no
less than five similar circlets on the other. On the whole,
in spite of his scarlet eyes and nez retrousse, Gelele appears
to have been a manly, stalwart personage.
A throng of unarmed women, the royal spouses, sat in a
semi-circle behind the king, the Amazons forming a double
file extending from the barn-like palace as far as the court-
yard. Very homely were these wives, bvit their devotion to
their lord was quite touching. If moisture appeared on the
royal brow it was instantly removed with the softest cloth ;
if the royal lips unclosed over the pipe a plated spittoon
Gclele mid His Retinue 295
was moved within convenient distance ; if the royal hand
carried a tumbler to the royal mouth every black queen
uttered a blessing. Never was a king more coddled and
adored than in Dahomey.
Our Commissioner walked towards the throne along a
sort of lane hedged by squatting Amazons, and was greeted
by the occupant with sundry vigorous wrings of the hand, a
la John Bull. Still grasping his visitor's dexter, the king
inquired after our Queen, ministers, and the people of Eng-
land in general. He then greeted Dr. Cruickshank, whose
dull naval uniform did not impress him, and finally recog-
nised the Rev. Bernasko, who impressed him still less.
Stools were placed for the strangers near the throne, and
then began a grand drinking of healths. This ceremony
was conducted in a fashion peculiarly African. After bow-
ing and touching glasses, the king suddenly wheeled round
while two wives stretched a white calico cloth to act as
screen, and another pair opened small and gaudy parasols,
which completely concealed his figure from the vulgar gaze.
This custom originated partly from the idea that a monarch
is too god-like to require refreshment, and partly from the
fear of witchcraft, black magic having special power over a
person while eating or drinking. The toasts concluded,
salutes were fired, Amazons rang bells and sprang rattles,
ministers bent to the ground clapping their palms ; pro-
digious was the noise. In spite of the uproar, Burton's
quick ear detected that the number of salutes in his honour
were insufficient, and, as he would never tolerate any slight
whilst on duty, he complained to Gelele, who immediately
apologised and ordered more.
Quaint indeed were the figures assembled in the long,
swish-walled, thatched barn and courtyard which did duty
as Gelele's summer palace. Quaintest of all were the
Amazons. Enthroned on a lofty stool sat the captain-ess
of the late King Gezo's life-guards, an old porpoise wearing
a cap like a man cook's, adorned with two blue cloth
296 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
crocodiles on the top. To the left of royalty, under a
tent umbrella, squatted a corresponding veteran-ess, also
vast in bulk, for these she-soldiers invariably fatten when
their dancing days are done, and some become prodigies
of obesity. The flower of the host was the mixed com-
pany of young Amazons lately raised by the king, a corps
composed of the finest women in the service, and njost
picturesquely attired. A narrow fillet of blue or white
cotton bound the hair ; the bosom was concealed by a
sleeveless waistcoat, giving freedom to the arms and
buttoning in front ; and the body wrapper of dyed sttiff,
blue, pink, or yellow, extended to the ankles, and was
kept tight round the waist by a sash with long ends, de-
pending on the left. An outer girthing of cartridge box
and belt, European-shaped but home made, of black leather
adorned with cowries, rendered the garb most compact.
All bad knives, and the firelock, a Tower-marked article,
was guarded by sundry charms, and protected from damp
by a case of black monkey-skin. Like the Amazons of the
poor extinct Guanches, these women at times showed
undeniable pluck ; but our traveller thought an equal
number of British charwomen armed with the British
broom might on an emergency prove equally formidable.
Needless to add, the reception ended with a general
caper, the younger Amazons being prominent performers
and executing agreeable imitations of decapitating their
enemies.
Next day, pioneered by Buko, who rode under the
shade of a white umbrella, the Commissioner and his com-
panions began their march to Abomey. Having plenty of
bearers, they were carried in hammocks along a broad road
bordered in places by shady trees ; and as from Kana to
the capital the land is emphatically the garden of Dahomey,
the journey might have been fairly enjoyable. But the
train was brought up by a band, chiefly boys, with three
drums, a couple of tom-toms, two cymbals, and a pair of
gourd - rattles, and the horrid din never ceased for a
Arrival at Abomey 297
moment ; while the uncanny spectacle of skulls and bones,
which, as with us in bygone days, were considered suitable
decorations for trees and buildings, was not precisely ex-
hilarating. After passing several villages, a thin forest of
palms rising from a tapestry of herbage and presenting a
truly charming picture, and numerous fetish huts contain-
ing the most hideous assortment of idols imagination can
portray, the party safely arrived at the Kana Gate, where
they descended from their hammocks, whilst all the attend-
ants bared their shoulders, removed their hats, and furled
their umbrellas as if it were part of the king's palace.
The enceinte of Abomey is perhaps larger than that of
any town in this part of Africa. Eight miles in circum-
ference, it is surrounded by a deep ditch and clay walls
pierced by six gates. The site is a rolling plain ending in
short bluffs to the north-west, where it is bounded by a
long depression, grassy and streaked with lines of trees ;
the soil, a rich red clay, is extremely fertile, and groves of
oil palms, maize, beans, cassava, yams, oranges, and other
tropical produce grow in great luxuriance. There are three
large palaces belonging to the king, several large squares,
and a number of farms ; for, as usual in Yoruba towns,
they build sparsely, so as to avoid the fires which annually
devastated Lagos. In 1863 the population numbered only
20,000 souls ; it has since increased to 30,000.
Two guard-houses protected the Kana Gate, and beyond
it were the remains of a broken-down battery. Burton
passed along the southern wall of the Abomey Palace,
remarking on its summit a few rusty iron skull-holders ;
but there was only one human relic, a great alteration since
the days of King Adahoonzon II., who excited the admira-
tion of his subjects by taking off 147 heads to complete
the " thatching of his house." He then reached the Grande
Place, the scene of Gezo's displays and receptions, but
neglected by Gelele, and soon afterwards arrived at the
domicile of Dr. Buko.
These quarters left, as the French say, much to be
298 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.C.
desired. Buko's home resembled a cow-house, or rather
several cow-houses, one of which was devoted to the
Mission. The latter is described as a barn 45 feet long
by 27 deep. A thick thatch descended within a short dis-
tance of the ground, and rested on a double line of strong
posts buried in the earth. The low ceiling was made of
rough sticks plastered with native whitewash. The ac-
commodation consisted of a small dark room, which Burton
immediately provided with a window by the simple ex-
pedient of knocking a hole through the clay wall ; a second
dark, airless hole, which having luckily a lock and key to
its door, served as a store-room ; two more apartments on
the same scale, and verandahs. Every corner was crammed
with fetishes begrimed with dirt, and so maddeningly ugly,
that the new-comer, regardless of their owner's feelings,
unceremoniously ejected them into the courtyard. Buko
may have had his faults, but he was a good-tempered host.
Imagine the rage of the British landlady if holes were made
in her walls, and her china dogs, shell-flowers, and hideous,
woodcuts were bundled into the area ! Buko only laughed.
The trial of the Amazons came to an end at last it is
a relief to hear they were not condemned to be walled up
alive 1 and on Monday, December 2ist, everybody turned
out to witness the arrival of the king. After a wearisome
delay, a long line of men carrying flags and umbrellas de-
bouched from the open road, marched to an open space
before the Komasi Palace, Gelele's favourite residence,
and, like the courtiers in " La Mascotte," walked round
three times. Party after party filed along, until preceded
by his ministers, and, surrounded by about 500 soldiers,
his majesty appeared, seated in a horseless carriage of
bygone pattern, harnessed by natives. He went round
twice at first, but performed the circuit again, carried in a
Bath-chair on the heads of the porters. Apparently he was
1 On this occasion some were banished, others pardoned.
Burton Presents Gifts to the King 299
still upset by the behaviour of his graceless "women of
war," for amidst all this homage he looked exceedingly
cross, thinking only of keeping, by means of a thick ker-
chief, the clouds of dust out of his nose and mouth. Burton,
dazed with heat and noise he had been kept waiting three
mortal hours in the burning sun probably looked the
same, as he finally retired to his barn afflicted with a bad
headache, the usual finale to a Dahoman parade.
Next day, Sunday, ought to have been one of rest. But
Gelele could not curb his impatience to see the presents
sent by the Foreign Office. An attempt to force Burton to
open these boxes in one of the cow-houses was vainly made
by Buko, who then, under protest, forwarded them to the
palace. It was clear from his expression that the absence
of certain highly coveted articles, notably the carriage and
horses, had already been reported, and our Commissioner
followed his gifts feeling rather doubtful as to his reception.
After waiting half an hour in front of the Komasi House,
he received a summons to enter, and, removing his cap,
passed through the Gate of Tears into a deep, gloomy barn,
so dark that he could hardly distinguish sundry women
selling provisions on the right, and Gezo's immense war-
drum chapleted with skulls on the left. The inner court
resembled that of Kana, only the westerly side was a royal
store-house for cloth, cowries and rum the notes, silver
and copper of the country. In the yard stood four fetish
huts, each containing a whitewashed idol. The most re-
markable figure, a sort of Janus made of dark clay, with
glaring white eyes, and two pair of horns bending inwards,
would have surpassed the most terrific picture of " Auld
Hornie" that the magic lantern could have possibly pro-
duced.
The king soon arrived, and his presents were duly un-
packed and displayed. They consisted of a circular, crim-
son silk damask tent, one richly embossed silver pipe with
amber mouthpiece, two heavy silver belts, two silver-gilt
300 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
waiters, and one coat of mail and gauntlets. The Com-
missioner and Mr. Bernasko also offered some simple yet
suitable gifts ; but it was clear enough that the non-arrival
of the carriage and horses was unforgivable. Gelele ac-
cepted everything, omitting to say thanks.
The monarch having returned to his capital, and the
peccadilloes of his Amazons having provided several extra
victims in the persons of their lovers, who, poor wretches,
did not get off so easily, the Customs commenced. These
yearly Customs must not be confounded with the greater
functions which, taking place only after a king's decease,
far eclipsed the annual rites in splendour and bloodshed;
they were simply continuations of the Grand Customs, estab-
lished in order to periodically supply the departed monarch
with fresh attendants in the shadowy world. These odious
institutions were first heard of in Europe about 1708,
although no doubt they existed many years before. It is
said they are now abolished, but probably something of the
kind is still practised in a very modified form and in strict
privacy. The ceremonies, which are extended over a week,
a combination of carnival, general muster, and fetishism,
seemed so thoroughly part and parcel of the creed and
education of the people, that to suppress them entirely
would be much like abolishing our courts of justice,
military reviews, and religious services all at one blow.
Early on December 28th, a discharge of musketry near
the palace and a royal message informed the Commissioner
that the Customs had begun, and his presence at the
palace was expected. Delaying as long as possible, some
time after noon he and his companions mounted their
hammocks and proceeded by the usual way to the Komasi
House.
On the road they remarked in the centre of the market-
place a victim-shed, completed and furnished. From afar
the shape was not unlike that of an English village church.
The total length was about 100 feet, the breadth ^o, and
Burton Attends the Yearly Customs 301
the greatest height 60. It was made of roughly-squared
posts, nine feet high, and planted deep in the earth. The
ground floor of the southern front had sixteen poles, upon
which rested the joists and planks supporting the pent-
shaped roof. There was a western double-storied turret,
each front with four posts, and the roof was covered with
a tattered cloth, blood-red, bisected by a single broad stripe
of blue check.
In the turret and the barn were twenty victims. All
were seated on cane stools, and were bound to the posts,
which passed between their legs, the ankles, the shins,
under the knees, and the wrists being lashed outside with
connected ties. The confinement was not rigorous ; each
victim had an attendant squatting behind him to keep off the
flies ; all were fed four times a day, and were loosed at night
for sleep. They wore long white nightcaps and calico shirts
somehow suggesting the sufferers of old in an auto-da-fe ;
and the resemblance was rendered yet more striking by
the presence of the principal Fetishmen, who sat under a tall
pole hung with white rugs, the Bo-fetish guarding the
present Custom. The reverend men did not regard the
Commissioner with an over-friendly eye ; but he casually
remarked in his description of the scene, such is the way
of reverend men generally with respect to those not of their
own persuasion.
Arrived at the open space in front of the Komasi
Palace, Burton found more preparations for the approach-
ing function. Close to a shed intended as a royal reception-
room, wherein sat Gelele, stood a larger shed, somewhat
like a two-poled tent. At first he wondered why it was
jealously closed, even the entrance veiled by a pair of white
umbrellas; and discovered at last, after sundry enquiries,
that it was supposed to contain not only some earthly relics
of old King Gezo, but his ghost. Everybody bowed low on
passing this singular tabernacle, even before paying respect
to the living monarch. Presently the latter arose, and, with
302 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
his head bent slightly forward, and hands clasped behind
his back, delivered an oration in his father's honour. He
then performed on the drum a sort of " Dead March in
Saul," and, after retiring behind the white curtain to
refresh himself with a drink, returned like a giant refreshed,
and danced vigorously. Certainly the changes in his
demeanour were sudden and startling ; for, these capers
concluded, he bowed low, surrounded by his wives, and
accompanied only by a single cymbal, making melancholy
music, sang a dirge for the dead. Then, rising with uplifted
staff, and turning towards the larger shed, he adored in
silence King Gezo's ghost. Gelele was not quite a brute !
Burton very properly refused to be present at the human
sacrifices, and threatened, moreover, if any death took place
before him to return at once to Whydah. But, as he was
anxious to save at least half the wretches tied up in the
market-place, he attended every bloodless ceremony with
praiseworthy assiduity ; even when Gelele played ball with
and then drank from three skulls of chiefs slain by his
own hand, and Buko, like the old sycophant he was,
enquired whether so grand a sight had ever been seen
before, our traveller remained studiously attentive and
polite. It is pleasant to add he gained his object. Half
the victims in their san benitos were unfastened, placed on
all-fours before the throne to receive the royal pardon, and
finally released.
The remainder perished during the third night of the
Customs. The number does not seem great not so
many, in fact, as we used to hang weekly at Newgate ;
but our traveller discovered before leaving Abomey these
public executions were little better than a blind. From
seventy to eighty persons, male and female, were put to
death inside the palace ; although Gelele so far regarded
the explicit instructions which he had received that no
life was publicly taken during the daytime. Dismal indeed
to so kind-hearted a man as Richard Burton must have
" The Pyocession oj t lie King's Wealth " 303
been those hours of darkness, with the death-drum booming
forth an announcement of each execution ; and he powerless
to prevent the bloodshed ! True, some of the victims were
the riff-raff of Dahomey, and, like our poisoners and dyna-
miters, deserved no pity ; others, like the Amazons' lovers,
had been foolish enough to get convicted of lese-majeste ; but
it was sad to think of the wretched captives taken in petty
skirmishes with neighbouring tribes, whose only fault had
been defending themselves and their lands. Next morning
our traveller felt so sickened and disgusted that he debated
whether to attend at the palace as usual or give himself a
day's rest.
However, as the message from the English Government
was still undelivered, it seemed safer to give the king no
excuse for shirking an official interview, which indeed he
seemed strongly disposed to do. So at n a.m. Burton
wended his way as usual to the Komasi House, where was
to take place the ceremony known as the Procession of
the King's Wealth.
The walk was not a pleasant one. The shed in the
market-place was empty ; out of its tenants nine had
perished. Four corpses, attired in their criminals' shirts
and caps, were seated upon stools supported by a double-
storied scaffold. At a little distance upon a similar erection
were two victims, one above the other ; and between these,
from a gallows, a single body hung by its heels. Lastly,
planted quite close to the path, was another gibbet with
two corpses dangling side by side. Very little blood ap-
peared on the ground, the men having been clubbed to
death. Traces of the more private executions soon ap-
peared. Close to the south-eastern gate of the palace lay
a dozen heads, within the entrance were two more, and
while helping to set up the crimson and gold tent in the
palace yard, Burton perceived poles being planted for a
scaffold.
Nobody seemed to care. Processions, dances, and a
304 Captain. Sir R. F. Burfon, K.C.M.G.
grand feast marked the festive occasion. One procession
in this savage land was very like another, but this of the
King's Wealth was distinguished by a curious number of
old vehicles, some of which had been presented to former
chiefs by the English Government when slavery formed an
important branch of our commerce. A blue-green shan-
dridan, a cab-brougham with a lion on the panels, two
American trotting waggons, a peculiar old sedan-chair,
dating from the days of Beau Nash, a large green chariot of
venerable appearance, belonging to the late Gezo, several
old barouches, and last, but not least, a rocking horse with
housings and bridle, on wheels, filed past, drawn, of course,
by natives, the only live horse present being Gelele's little
roan pony. Dancing, singing, drinking, smoking the
Amazons all had pipes in their ample mouths went on
uninterruptedly for seven mortal hours ; and when Burton
left the vile atmosphere to walk home he got into something
worse. A most awful smell almost poisoned him ; the
wretched dead bodies had been exposed in the sun the
whole livelong day!
Dancing, we have seen, was an all-important part of
every Dahoman ceremony ; consequently, strangers were
expected to take part in it. The king had repeatedly fixed
a day for the Commissioner to perform before him, and had
deferred the operation probably with the delicate motive of
allowing him time to prepare himself for so great an event.
But the day and hour arrived at last. Burton collected his
party in front of the semicircle of chiefs, gave time to the
band, and performed a Hindustani pas setil, which elicited
violent applause, especially from the king. So charmed
was Gelele with this novel step, that on another occasion
he seized hold of the Commissioner's arm and pranced
opposite him amidst the loudly expressed delight of his
people. . . . Dr. Cruickshank executed an imitation of
Dahoman capers, which no doubt, poor man, he had learnt
by heart, and greatly pleased the spectators. It was then
Burton Expostulates 305
the Reverend's turn. But he treated the company to a
very different performance. Posting himself opposite the
throne, placing upon another stool his instrument, a large
concertina, he preliminarily explained the meaning of the
hymn, and then bravely intoned the " Old Hundredth."
So far so good ; his next choice was unfortunate :
" O, let us be joyful, joyful, joyful,
When we meet to part no more."
The prospect of the company of King Gelele and his
people for all eternity was too much for our traveller's
nerves, with the vultures perched before him on a large
tree by the palace gate expecting a feast, that night being
the second twx ira, when Gelele and his Amazons in-
tended to privately slay the remainder of the criminals and
victims.
After spending six weeks at Abomey without being
permitted to deliver the message of H.M. Government,
Burton formally complained to Buko and insisted on being
given an opportunity of fulfilling his official duties. Soon
after this " wig " came a hasty summons to the Komasi
House, and our traveller naturally expected it was on the
business in question. On arriving he found Gelele half
mad with vanity, showing off a number of prisoners recently
captured from a neighbouring tribe. Four skulls, fourteen
male captives, nine women and four children were paraded
before the disgusted Englishman; finally the men were sold,
and the women and children despatched to the royal harem.
This was too much. Throwing etiquette to the winds,
Burton declared that until he could deliver his message
he would come no more to the palace.
Returning to Buko's domicile, he had his bags and boxes
ostentatiously packed in the compound, while Mr. Bernasko
repaired to the Komasi House to formally announce that
unless an audience were granted at once, the Commissioner
must leave Abomey next day. Ensued a general hubbub.
20
306 Captain Sir R. F. Buyton, K.C.M.G.
The ministers were summoned, they did not arrive quickly
enough, Gelele lost his temper, and when they did appear
he ordered his Amazons to drive them with blows and
curses from his presence. The Customs concluded that
night with a smash up of glass crockery, even furniture ;
and the King sent word to Burton apologising for not
attending to business, as rage would prevent his sleeping.
Delays, however, were coming to an end.
At 3 p.m., February i3th, when, almost in despair,
Burton had resolved to walk to the coast, using his ham-
mock-men as porters, Buko hurried him in full dress to the
palace. For four hours he had the pleasure of sitting in a
kind of simoom, with glare enough to dazzle an eagle,
opposite the ragged palm-leaf fence of the Jegbie House,
another of Gelele's favourite residences. At last he received
a summons. Inside, besides our traveller and his com-
panions, were two chiefs and Buko, who acted ward.
Gelele rose, shook hands, and perceiving there was
something wrong, told Burton that he had heard of sundry
complaints, strangely enough after they had been the best
of friends, dancing and drinking together. The longed-for
opportunity had come at last, and the Commissioner read
his message. Condensed, it ran as follows : That Her
Majesty's Government was resolved to arrest the slave
traffic ; that the horrors of the human sacrifices were to be
mitigated ; that an agent would probably be soon appointed
to reside at Whydah, both as an organ of communication
with the king, and as an aid in carrying out all views of
licit trade. Finally, Burton, doubtless to the consternation
of the bystanders, Buko in particular, told the savage
monarch more plain truths than he had ever heard before,
especially with regard to the barbarous and revolting
Customs.
Gelele showed some temper, but was profuse in pro-
fessions. Still it was evident he intended to ignore even in
the smallest matters the wishes of our Government. The
Gelelis Presents to Her Majesty 307
unexpected civilities of sundry official visitors to his court
had filled him with an exaggerated idea of his own import-
ance ; and not a dozen messages from the principal rulers
in Europe would have deterred him from following in every
respect his own sweet will. However, on parting, he
shook hands with Burton, telling him " he was a good man,
but too angry," finally bade him adieu, exhorting a speedy
return.
Two more days elapsed. Then Buko appeared with
the permit necessary for leaving Abomey, and sundry
presents. Those intended for Her Majesty, of which
Burton was enjoined to be especially careful, were :
Two miserable half-starved boys to act as pages.
A green and white counterpane of native manufacture.
A huge leather pouch to hold tobacco.
A large leather bag.
History is silent as to the reception of these gorgeous
offerings from King Gelele of Dahomey.
20 2
CHAPTER XIII
PROMOTION in the Consular Service was certainly
more rapid than in John Company's. Burton had
performed his difficult and dangerous duties as Commis-
sioner to Dahomey to the entire satisfaction of the Ministry
then in office, and, in acknowledgment of his services, Lord
Russell transferred him to a more important post. Having
nearly exhausted every object of interest within practicable
distance on the West African coast, our traveller packed up
his books, manuscripts and lesser valuables, and bade adieu
to picturesque Buena Vista with but moderate regret.
His new Consulate was at Santos, in the Brazil. Had
Lord Russell consulted Burton regarding this choice, he
could hardly have provided him with a more suitable pied a
terre whence to explore fresh scenes and, to him as yet, un-
trodden ways. It was fairly paid, and, better still, there
was a Vice-Consul who good-naturedly left his clever chief
unfettered whenever the latter required a change. Here,
anyhow for a time, Burton was the right man in the right
place. His consummate knowledge of the Portuguese lan-
guage and literature delighted even the Emperor, Dom
Pedro ; while his known determination to have nothing
to do with that log-rolling in the way of railway and
other concessions, on which so many public officers have
been made shipwreck, was especially valuable in upholding
British prestige during the construction of the San Paulo
line.
At Santos he was joined by his wife. Heartily tired of
her position as grass widow, and charmed with the prospect
of travel and excitement, she hastened from England as
Burton's Domestic Life 309
soon as her husband had settled in his new quarters. At
first the aspect of her outlandish home dismayed her ;
and no wonder. Santos, a low-lying, enclosed place,
nine miles up an arm of the sea, was so unhealthy that
it seemed at one time doubtful whether she could remain
with any degree of safety. Fortunately for herself, she
was able to take refuge from the steaming heat and
malaria on the coast in the chief town of the province,
San Paulo, situated two thousand feet above sea-level.
Owing to the number of British navvies employed on
the new railway, Burton's presence was frequently re-
quired at the little capital ; and during one of his visits he
found an old convent to let in the Rua do Carmo, where-
in, after having it cleaned, painted, and whitewashed,
he installed his wife and household gods. Of course, all
the shipping business had to be transacted at Santos, so
he alternated between the two stations, while Isabel, sur-
rounding herself with priests and nuns, did not lack for
company.
As this was the first time Burton and his wife had
a home together, this grim old monastery in the Rua
do Carmo, a few words concerning their domestic life
may prove interesting. He began characteristically.
Hating idleness himself, it worried him in others, so he
set his wife to lessons. A flimsy conventual education
had been early interrupted by her father's pecuniary em-
barrassments ; and it was advisable, besides, in such novel
and often depressing surroundings, to keep a very excitable
brain occupied. The results of these studies were rather
disappointing. A certain amount of grammar, geography,
and a smattering of languages he succeeded in imparting ;
but with this he had to be satisfied. For though she was
far from dull, there was something which prevented Isabel
Burton from becoming the cultured woman one might have
expected after long companionship with such a man. The
obstacle may have been too large a development of self-
3 IP Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
confidence, or possibly a deficiency in the reasoning facul-
ties; anyway, she never succeeded in mastering any subject.
That she helped her husband to write his books is a story
often repeated as with authority. While of course in-
correct, it arose from his habit of commissioning her to
see his MSS. through the press while he was away
travelling, and permitting her to add a preface or insert
a chapter ; a permission of which she sometimes availed
herself too liberally, as in the case of his " Lusiads," when,
though knowing little or nothing of Portuguese, she de-
scribed herself as the " editor." Still, it must be added,
in the matter of these books she was useful. Burton
depended much upon his writings for bringing in welcome
pecuniary additions to his moderate income, and Isabel
spent many an hour copying the MS., even acquiring the
knack of imitating his handwriting so accurately that only
his sister or myself could tell the difference.
On the whole, considering their unlikeness, this strangely
matched pair got on fairly well. Burton was too sensible
to kick against the pricks ; he was married, so he made
the best of it. And he depended for happiness upon occu-
pation, not matrimony. As time went on, he centred his
thoughts more and more on his studies, until he became
almost unconscious of what was passing around him. Ever
an indulgent husband, it cannot be said the role quite suited
him. Owing to Mohammedan leanings, he never thoroughly
saw the raison d'etre of monogamy ; home he soon tired of ;
his rooms, while exquisitely neat, always suggested- a
bivouac ; women rarely understood him, his wife perhaps
least of all.
For to understand such a man it was essential to drop
self, and try to rise to his level ; and this Isabel never did.
Though a Romanist, she need not have ranged herself with
the extreme or Jesuitical party, nor allowed her mind to
sink into depths of superstition almost incredible in Burton's
wife. He often looked, oh ! so sad and weary when hearing
Life in Brazil 311
for the twentieth time how a leaden image had tumbled out
of her pocket during a long ride, and then miraculously
returned to its despairing owner ; or, worse still, on being
told it was mere pride and perverseness on his part that
prevented his believing in apparitions of the nature of old
white cows looming through a fog. Nor were his friends
spared this style of talk ; and some clever men, on hearing
themselves mourned over as infidels, &c., were not so for-
bearing. Many a well-wisher was alienated for want of a
little tact, and Burton had already enemies enough. How-
ever, he was very patient ; so long as he was permitted to
lead a fairly quiet life, he remarked little and grumbled less,
even when his wife involved him in social and political
difficulties which, immersed as he was in his studies, he
could neither foresee nor avoid.
It seems hard to believe that our traveller remained
eighteen months at Santos without any great adventure.
True, he journeyed half over his own province, Sao Paulo,
and paid sundry visits to Rio, where he and his wife spent
a very gay Christmas. But this to him was little more
than our trips to town or summer rambles over an adjoining
county. At Petropolis he was most kindly received by poor
Dom Pedro. This excellent and enlightened sovereign
delighted in the society of clever men, especially when,
like Burton, they were masters of Portuguese literature.
He granted the traveller audience after audience, and
rendered every assistance in his power when the latter
proposed to explore part of the country in order to help
the Government in opening out fresh means of communi-
cation, means which, at that date, were beginning to attract
the interest of English engineers and capitalists.
So the strong man girded his loins and prepared for
another feat. Having obtained leave of absence from
England, and a Portaria or special licence from his
Imperial friend and patron, he started for Minas Geraes.
He intended first to study the resources still unexploited
312 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G..
of this wealthy province, next to visit some gold mines
worked by English companies, and finally to paddle down
the Sao Francisco as far as the rapids of the little-known
falls of Paulo Affonso.
The start was made June i2th, 1867. Isabel was to
accompany him during the first or safe part of the journey,
but her husband very properly considered the canoe voyage
far too risky. On this occasion Burton covered more than
two thousand miles, of which eleven hundred and fifty
were by the slow progress of an ajojo, a craft half canoe,
half raft. The time occupied was only five months, but of
course, as many years might be profitably devoted to the
Sao Francisco alone, and even then it would be difficult to
write an exhaustive description. In his " Highlands of the
Brazil," published in 1869, wherein he gives an interesting
account of his travels through part of the Empire, he was
careful to collect for those who might follow in his steps
ample details concerning the natural features, the geological
remains, and the rock inscriptions hitherto unworked of a
long-vanished race.
What he termed his " holiday trip," as distinguished
from the exploration of the river, began from Rio. The
first halt was made at Petropolis, Dom Pedro's own
creation : once a tiny village, in 1869 it was a flourishing
town. No small boon must it be to citizens of hot, un-
healthy Rio to possess within five hours of their capital a
resort where appetite is European, where exercise may be
taken freely, and where they may enjoy the luxury of sitting
in a dry skin. Beautifully situated amidst the Brazilian
highlands, 2,405 feet above sea level, Petropolis is ren-
dered yet more cool and delightful by the bubbling, clear,
brown streams that pour down its principal streets. The
way thither, a parapeted macadamised road over a pass
some 2,900 feet high, commands in places one of the noblest
panoramas in the world, jagged hills, huge rocks, plum-
coloured peaks on a sky-blue ground, and in the distance
Jitiz 'de Ford 313
the lovely bay of Rio Janeiro. Were it not for the change
of government, continual political troubles, and the chance
of fever on landing at the capital, perhaps by now Petropolis
would be included in our holiday tours. But an instable
republic and yellow Jack combined are too much even for
the globe-trotter ; and as yet a trip to Rio is rarely under-
taken save by people who cannot help it.
Only twenty-four hours were spent in this tropical Ems,
and next morning the Burtons left by coach "for Juiz de
Fora, in the province of Minas Geraes. A twelve hours'
drive brought them safely to a large untidy town, which,
however, at that moment was looking its smartest in
honour of its patron saint, Antony and his pig. The
principal church suggested the Black Hole, so crammed
was it with worshippers, and its peal of bells, judging from
the discord, must have been badly cracked by hard ham-
mering. Burton passed most part of Sunday in the
extensive grounds of a chateau lately built at enormous
expense by a wealthy Brazilian, who had further succeeded
in planting an arboretum and orchard upon what was
twelve years before a bog on the right bank of the Parahy-
buna. It was certainly curious to find, surrounded by
virgin forest, an Italian villa garden with its lake spanned
in places by dwarf Chinese bridges, and to see the emus
in their dull, half-mourning plumage, caged up with silver
pheasants. The European and tropical plants were mag-
nificent, one arum leaf measured five feet four inches long,
a contrast indeed to our insignificant cuckoo plant. The
owner of the place, Commendador Lage, had recently
given a grand reception to Professor Agassiz in these
identical grounds, on the occasion of the great naturalist's
scientific expedition to the Brazil.
While Burton was wandering about the orangery and
helping himself to the delicious Tangerines, an English
engineer, Mr. Swan, em-ployed in the construction of the
great line of railway between the valleys of Parayba and
314 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the Sao Francisco, invited him to take part in a function
about to take place of laying the first chain. Accordingly,
a few days later the travellers wended their way to a small
settlement close to the future railway, and ranched at a
kind of cottage kept by a Brazilian. The dog-holes serving
for bedrooms were foully dirty, the ground floor was foot-
stamped earth, and the beds were covered only with bits of
thin chintz, not pleasant with the mercury at 35 F. Still
both husband and wife enjoyed their stay in the outlandish
little place, and especially the ceremony at the Alagoa
Dourada. It took place at the site where the Dark became
the Golden Lake. 1 At noon the Burtons, heading a little
crowd of spectators, proceeded to the scene of action, the
peg was duly planted, Isabel giving the first blow and break-
ing the bottle. The inauguration passed off well ; flags
flew, the band played its loudest, everybody drank with
many vivas ! and hip ! hurrahs ! to the healths of the Brazil,
of England, and especially to the prolongation of the Dom
Pedro Segundo Railway ; many complimentary speeches
were exchanged, and music escorted the strangers back to
their " ranch."
In the two thick volumes already mentioned Burton
gives a detailed description of the various towns of Minas
Geraes through which he passed ; but as one dead-alive,
over-churched place was very like another, we will pass on
to a most interesting study of English life in the heart of
the Brazil Morro Velho, a gold mine worked by a British
company.
This industry had created, as if by magic, a little Eng-
lish village, a veritable oasis amidst the dirt and squalor of
Minas Geraes. Handsome stores, a parsonage, an epis-
copal church, a hospital, neat cottages with gardens for the
European miners, well-built Anglo-Indian bungalows for
the superintendent and other officials, must indeed have
1 So called because, after much of its waters had been drained oft",
enormous quantities of the precious metal were discovered,
Mono Velho 315
gladdened the exiles' eyes. Nor was the national virtue
of hospitality lacking. A specially-appointed guest-house
lodged our travellers, and so right comfortably that a stay
originally planned for a week lengthened into a month.
The site of this settlement, not far distant from Con-
gonhas, was an irregularly-shaped basin about three-
quarters of a mile long by half a mile in breadth. The
narrow valley ended westward in an impasse formed by high
ground; and although the surrounding country had been dis-
forested, the romantic beauty of shape was still there, and
on bright days the sun and atmosphere made the colouring
a pleasure to look upon. No iron furnace blowing off
sooty smoke by day and belching lurid flame by night
marred the pretty scene ; the power for the machinery that
worked the mine was supplied by water-wheels, whose
soothing song reminded the strangers of autumnal waves
sporting on the Scheveringen shore.
Doctors, matrons, clergymen (there was a padre for
the black folk) were not lacking. A library of 920 volumes
occupied a neat erection, tiled and whitewashed. Another
building, with two lines of benches and a boarded platform
opposite a raised orchestra, served as a theatre, and the
hospital was clean and spacious. The miners, for whom
all these comforts were provided, numbered about 150
Englishmen, a few Germans, and 1,452 blacks, male and
female. Concerning the latter, our traveller remarked that
the sable mothers, when in an interesting condition, were
treated with an amount of care and consideration for which
many a Lancashire navvy's wife might look in vain.
Very few days elapsed before the Burtons explored the
Eldorado which had created this oasis of industry amidst
the lotus-eating Brazilians. Every arrangement was made
for the safety of a trip into the bowels of the earth by
the superintendent, Mr. Gordon. Not, however, that it
was a dangerous one, no accident having occurred during
the last two years. Clad in the oldest of garments, plus
3i6 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
a stiff leather hat to guard the head from rolling stones,
and with feet cased in the heaviest of boots, Burton and
a travelling companion descended in the bucket, or kibble,
and were followed in due time by Isabel and Mrs. Gordon.
Every reader of that terribly - realistic mining story,
" Germinal," can picture the plunge into darkness, the
almost perpendicular ladders, up and down which the
miners run like cats, the mighty timbers for strengthening
the walls, the swaying, uncomfortable vehicle ; but as soon
as the bottom was reached all resemblance to the French
coal-pits ceased. Indeed, even for a gold-mine the Morro
Velho was unique. Unlike the dirty labyrinths of low
drifts and stifling galleries, down which men must crawl
like one of the reptilia or quadrumana, the vertical height
1,134 f ee *> an d the 1 08 feet of breadth, unparalleled then
in the annals of mining, suggested a mammoth cave raised
from the horizontal to the perpendicular. The huge Palace
of Darkness, dim in long perspective, scantily besprinkled
with lights like glow-worms upon an embankment, was
well ventilated, the air fairly pure, with no trace of sul-
phuretted hydrogen except when just after blasting.
Distinctly Dantesque, wrote Burton, was the gulf be-
tween the huge sides. Even the accents of a familiar
voice seemed changed ; the ear was struck by the sharp
click and dull thud of the hammer upon the boring-iron,
and this upon the stone, each blow delivered so as to keep
time with the wild chant of the workman. The other
definite sounds, curiously complicated by an echo, were
the slush of water on the subterranean path, the rattling
of the gold stone thrown into the kibbles, and the crash
of chain and bucket. Through the gloom gnomes and
kobolds glided about, half-naked figures muffled by the
mist. Here dark bodies, gleaming with beaded heat-drops,
hung by chains in what seemed frightful positions ; there
they swing monkey-fashion from place to place ; elsewhere
they swarmed over scaffolds which even, to look up at
Brazilian Vegetation 317
would make a nervous temperament dizzy. Certainly once
seen, the Morro Velho was never likely to be forgotten.
Burton, always extremely interested in such matters,
having already studied mining in California on his return
journey from Great Salt Lake City, followed the whole
process of reduction, from the raising of the ore to the
final despatch of the results in small ingots to England.
The Morro Velho was then more than paying its way, but
it has probably long since been worked out, the life of a
gold mine being seldom a long one. It was certainly an
interesting example of what British capital and British
energy can do ; for it must be remembered those were days
before the railways made transport comparatively easy ;
and the expense of bringing over men and machinery from
England was simply double.
Leaving the little English colony with sincere regret,
the Burtons resumed their way. They did not fail to
notice, like other travellers in the Brazil, the gorgeous
beauty of the forests. The dense curtain of many-tinted
vegetation on each side of the Upper Pangani River had
excited our traveller's admiration during the preliminary
canter into the interior of Africa ; but the variety and
brightness of the Brazilian flora, which, shooting up the
trees, form glowing clusters, charged with almost blinding
points of colour, impart a brilliance rarely seen in any other
part of our world. Gold and purple blossoms first attract
the eye ; then white and blue, pink and violet, crimson and
scarlet, glittering like vegetable jewels. Most astonishing
of all are the epiphytes, air-plants and parasites. The
weak enwrap the strong from head to foot in rampant,
bristling masses, and hide them in cypress-like pillars of
green. Even the dead trees are embraced by these
vigorous shoots that swarm up, clasp, entwine them, and
stand upon their crests, the nearer to worship Sol and
yEther ; every naked branch is at once seized upon and
ringed and feathered with alien growths. The moist
318 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
heavy air is loaded with perfume, every variety of odour,
from the fragrant vanilla to the Pao de Alho, which
spreads a smell of garlic over a hundred yards around.
The cry of the jay, the tapping of the woodpecker, com-
bined with the chatter of the rnany-hued parrots and
parroquets, give life to the strange and beautiful scene,
which really might seem an ideal of Paradise were it not
for a continual buzzing of overgrown wasps, and a nasty
rustle caused by a magnificent assortment, from a natu-
ralist's point of view, of the deadliest of deadly snakes.
A visit to Ouro Preto, the capital of Minas Geraes, a
city so irregularly built and so utterly uninteresting that
any detailed description of it would be a difficult task,
followed by flying trips to sundry other obscure towns,
terminated the holiday portion of Burton's journey. The
remainder was real hard work. Under hot suns, drenching
rains, buffeted by furious gales, he had to cover eleven
hundred and fifty miles in that craziest of crafts, a
Brazilian ajojo. Accompanied by his wife and a party
of friends as far as Sabara, a town situated on the banks
of the Rio das Velhas, he there concluded his preparations,
and bought a boat for the voyage. The moment arrived
for parting, one by one familiar faces faded in the distance,
and on Wednesday, August yth, 1867, our traveller was
left to the contemplation of his very peculiar vessel.
" I never saw such an old Noah's Ark, with its standing
awning, a floating gipsy ' pal,' some seven feet high and
twenty-two long, and pitched like a tent upon two hollowed
logs. The river must indeed be safe if this article can get
down without accident ! "
The ajojo represents the flat boat of the Mississippi and
the Arkansas, in days when men spent a month between the
mouth of the Ohio and New Orleans. It is composed of
two or three canoes, in the latter case the longest occupying
the centre. The canoes are either lashed together by side
ropes or connected by iron bars. Poles fastened to the
A Curious Craft 319
gunwales support the platform, a boarding of planks laid
horizontally. The awning of rough Minas cotton is made
fast by five wooden stanchions, of which the two pairs fore and
the one aft are supported, besides being nailed, by strong iron
stays. The ajojo occupied by our traveller did not lack a
certain rude comfort, for under the awning was a boarded
bunk for sofa and bed, a table, and a tall writing desk ;
while in the stern stood the galley, lined with bricks and
provided with a small batterie de cuisine. Nor had he neg-
lected to provide himself with a locked box, containing
eatables, spirits, and tobacco. His crew on starting num-
bered three, an old man and his two sons ; but others,
pilots especially, were engaged during the course of the
voyage. Mr. Gordon had sent one of the Morro Velho lads
as personal attendant, and a mastiff, the gift of the same
good friend, mounted guard. On more than one occasion,
sundry poverty-stricken emigrants who wished to descend
the river cheaply were granted a free passage, and at times
the owners of fazendas along the banks availed themselves
of a chance of a pleasant diversion by claiming Burton's
hospitality.
Obstacles on such a stream and with such a craft of
course abounded. Whirlpools, detached rocks, sandbars,
shallow sharp curves, snags and timbers encumbering the
river-bed, required a constant look-out, and though the
crew seemed familiar enough with the dangers they had
to avoid, the ajojo often grounded twice or thrice in one
day, and great was the difficulty of getting the clumsy old
object off again. However, the " Brig Eliza" as Burton
had christened his property, braved all these perils with an
impunity which a well-appointed steam-launch might have
failed to share.
Our traveller, who was exploring the Rio das Velhas,
which, as everybody knows, flows into the Sao Francisco,
partly with a view to assist emigration, opined that the
land best fitted for settlers lies between Bom Successo and
320 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the Coroa do Gallo. Beyond the reach of the great
planters who desire to sell square leagues of ground, some
good, much bad, hereabouts proprietors were ready to part
with four square miles, including a fine corrego, for less than
had been paid for the aj6jo. The views are beautiful, the
climate is fine and dry, there is no need for the quinine
bottle on the breakfast table as in parts of the Mississippi
valley. Except snakes, there are no noxious animals, and
save at certain seasons few nuisances in the way of mos-
quitoes, flies, &c. The river bottom is some four miles
broad, and when the roots of the felled trees on either
side are grubbed up it will be easy to use the plough ;
while the yield of corn and cereals is at least from fifty to a
hundred per cent. There is every facility for breeding stock
and poultry, besides washing for gold and diamonds ; lime-
stone and saltpetre abound ; iron is everywhere to be dug.
Still, emigrants will do well to remember that parts of the
country on the banks of the Sao Francisco, unlike those on
the Rio das Velhas, rival Dickens' immortal Eden, where
Mark Tapley failed at last to be jolly. Besides, although
conditions change slowly amongst an indolent population
like the Brazilians, thirty years may have altered for the
worse the refuge from the want and misery in the Old
World which Burton thought so suitable in 1867.
The voyage was pleasantly varied by short visits to the
towns and fazendas along the river. A lengthy detour was
to the city of Diamantina, which took more than three days
of cross-country travelling. Mr. Gordon, with admirable
thoughtfulness, had sent four mules and one of his troopers
to the point on the Rio das Velhas, Bom Successo, where
Burton disembarked ; so, except for the vile roads, there
were no great hardships to endure. It was a lonely journey,
but I came upon a passage in his book which sounds as if
he had been bored with too much company not too little :
" My old longing for the pleasures of life in the back-
woods for solitude was strong upon me. 1 sighed un-
A Visit to the Diamond Diggings 321
amiably to be again out of the reach of my kind, so to
speak once more to meet Nature face to face. This food
of the soul, as the Arabs call it, is the true antidote to one's
entourage, to the damaging effects of one's epoch and one's
race, and it largely gives to him who wishes to think for
himself."
No one disturbed his musings, and he reached Diamen-
tina without adventures, and apparently more sociable.
The site of this town is peculiar, almost precipitous to
the east and south-west, whilst the northern part is a
continuation of broken prairie-land. Viewed from the
Alto da Cruz, the city has a well-to-do and important
look. It is described in some of our encyclopedias as
a mean place, and, in fact, it was known at one time as
the "village of the mudhole." But, in 1867, we read of
numerous houses painted in many colours pink, white,
.and yellow with large, green gardens facing broad streets
and wide squares, whilst public buildings of superior size,
and a confusion of single and double church steeples
testified to the wealth of the population. Its citizens
were not only wealthy, but lavish in their hospitality ;
and the men were the frankest, and the women some of
the prettiest in the Brazil. Burton had an opportunity
of admiring the singular beauty of the latter, as he received
an invitation to a ball given by a rich widow, where every
neck sparkled with diamonds, and the toilettes were almost
Parisian.
He visited at once the principal diamond diggings,
known as the Jequitinhonha, after a river similarly named.
Planks, rough ladders, and inclined planes led to the bottom
of the long pit, whose southern extremity measured eighty
feet deep by twenty broad. The mine belonged to a lucky
Brazilian, who had purchased it for six thousand pounds
and was making over fifteen thousand a year. Burton
recognised in the Lavadeiro the drawing familiar to child-
hood copied from John Mavve into every popular book of
21
322 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
travels the thatched roof of the Mandanga mine, with a
stream of water passing through a succession of boxes ;
the four inspectors in straw hats, perched on the tallest of
stools, and armed with the longest of whips ; whilst the
white-kilted sable washers, in a vanishing line, bent pain-
fully to their tasks, and one of them, in an unpleasantly
light toilette, was throwing up his arms to signify "Eureka."
But the reality presented many points of difference, and it-
is a pleasure to learn the whips were conspicuous by their
absence. Indeed, the discipline seemed somewhat lax, as
the miners, negroes, and half-breeds were said to help
themselves liberally to the sparkling booty. A receiver
of stolen goods always settled close to every new digging,
and some mine-owners complained that almost all their
finest stones disappeared.
Less important diggings at Sao Joao were also visited
by our indefatigable traveller. He left the Diamantina
region with regret. Socially speaking, it was the most
" sympathetic " spot in the Brazil, at least according to
his experience, and he had to urge the absolute necessity
of punctuality before he could escape from its hospitalities.
On bidding adieu to the flourishing little city, he struck
the direct road to Bom Successo, aud reached the river
after a ride of forty miles. Before resuming the baggage,
he engaged another pilot, grim and angry-looking as a
Kurd, oftener drunk than sober, but who thoroughly un-
derstood the difficult and dangerous stream. The trooper
and his four mules were dismissed, and they carried back
our wanderer's letters to Morro Velho, where his wife was
staying with Mrs. Gordon on her way back to Rio.
At Guaicuhy, a miserable port town, the Rio das Velhas
is absorbed into the Sao Francisco. The " River of the
old Squaws " sweeps gracefully round from north-east to
nearly due west, and flowing down a straight reach, about
550 feet broad, merges into the Francisco, which rolls from
the east to receive it. Already a triumph was it to have
Delayed by the Elements 323
reached the bosom of this glorious stream ; our traveller
contemplated with enthusiasm the meeting of the two
mighty waters, declaring afterwards that he had seen
nothing to compare with it since his visit to the Congo.
Like the latter and the Nile, it floods during the dry season,
and vice versa. Its water is a transparent green, and as it
winds through its verdant avenue, spreading out into bays,
' i, 800 feet broad, grand indeed are the curves described on
the lacustrine lowlands. After Guaicuhy, the region is
most fertile and beautiful ; all along the banks appear
charming patches of cultivation melon, sloped cuttings of
sugar-cane ready for planting, coffee, tobacco, and enormous
quantities of maize and rice.
Hitherto, save for a burning sun, the weather had been
fairly pleasant ; but shortly after passing Sao Romao, a
miserable townlet where our traveller spent a few hours,
he wrote of drenching rains, from which the brig Eliza
afforded very poor protection. And worse was to come.
Off Januaria, another port town, a storm assuming almost
the force of a cyclone nearly beat down the awning, and,
although the ajojo was snugly moored under the shelter
of a high bank, threatened to reduce her to a perfect
wreck. Later still Burton described the elements as
devilry broken loose. A cold wind from the north rushed
through the hot air and precipitated a deluge in embryo.
Then the gale chopped round to the south and produced
another and yet fiercer downpour. A treacherous lull
ensued, aud all began again, the wind howling and
screaming from the east. Thunder roared, lightning
flashed from all directions, the river rose in wavelets,
washing over the clumsy Eliza and menacing her with a
speedy descent to the depths below. It was in fact the
beginning of the wet season of all the inexpressible dis-
comfort of tropical bad weather. No refuge in the townlets
along the banks was practicable, for all were situated on
unhealthy marshy sites, were more or less ruinous and
21 2
324 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
decayed, some even undermined by the huge relentless
river. In such circumstances our traveller was confined
for many hours at a time, to his bunk, where he solaced
himself with sundry pocket classics, the woe of his youth,
the delight of his maturer age ; with Hafiz and Camoens,
Horace and Martial, he declared occupation was never
wanting. I think it was poor Speke who reproached him
with dragging his books into the interior of Africa ; the
truth was Richard Burton could dispense with society,
but he could not live without his little library.
On the 22nd October the Sao Francisco, which for
many miles had been as smooth and unobstructed as the
Thames, began to display warning signals of the great
rapids that lay beyond. A little below Boa Vista, the river,
after a short and tolerably clear northern sweep, returns to
the eastern direction, and enters upon that Cordilheira of
broken, surging water which lasts for some thirty leagues.
A special pilot had to be engaged, and thanks to this man's
dexterity and courage, the first rapids, whose dangers were
further exaggerated by the supposed existence of a Siren
who lies in wait for even the ugliest boatmen, were safely
passed. The excitement of racing along these wild currents
delighted our traveller ; and instead of landing at Boa
Vista, the usual terminus of barque navigation, he deter-
mined to paddle the Eliza as far as Varzea Redonda.
During the next six days his journal was full of hair-
breadth escapes. One part of the river thus traversed has
nine rapids, two whirlpools, and two shallows, all within
the space of six to seven miles. Burton humorously con-
fessed to " cold hands " at the sight of the infamous turnings,
the whirlpools, and the pot-holes some fifteen feet deep in
the water. Head on they dashed by the rocks, here bare,
there shrub-clad, and more than once they prepared for the
shock ; often the pilot giving the canoe a broad sheer with a
sweep of his heavy and powerful paddle, carried her safely
through places where death might be touched on either side.
Approaching the Brazilian Cataract 325
The Eliza swayed and surged as she coursed down the
roaring waters that washed her platform ; the spray dazzled
the eyes as it caught the sun, and in many places the
surface was literally fanged with murderous black stones.
Once a strong blast struck the ajojo in an instant she was
hurled against a rock. The pilot exerted himself in des-
peration, fighting indeed for dear life ; his men kept their
presence of mind, and, to everybody's surprise, the craft
floated again down stream with only a scrape and a graze.
That afternoon, however, the crew would work no more,
but paddled to shore and anchored for the night.
This strange voyage terminated at Varzea Redonda.
Here, after studying awhile the glyphs on the rocks,
whose interpretation may lighten a dark place in the pre-
historic age of the Brazil, Burton broke up his boat, paid
off the watermen, and engaged horses and followers for his
short journey to the Falls, a journey now performed by
tram. The mastiff, who had often got his master into
trouble by persistently biting the wrong people, was pre-
sented to one of the crew, and probably spent the rest of
his life paddled up and down the river. On the whole, our
traveller had got on very well with his boatmen owing to
. the quantities of spirits manufactured in the Brazil, they
were somewhat drunken, but their employer remarked that
often when well primed they worked all the better.
The approach to the great Brazilian cataract lacks the
broad majestic beauty of Niagara before the Falls. In fact,
the river becomes somewhat repulsive ; narrowing suddenly,
its waters, now dull yellow, swirl against jagged rocks,
whose black and tawny sides contrast unpleasantly with
patches of chalky, white sand. Burton prepared himself
for a disappointment. Was Paulo Affonso worth journeying
so many miles to see ?
Yes, and many more ! A deep hollow sound like the
rumbling of a distant storm which seemed to rise from
the bowels of the earth, grew so loud that the ground
326 Captain Sir R. F. Btirton, K.C.M.G.
appeared to tremble at the eternal thunder. Making his
way to the Mother of the Rapids, where all the waters
that come scouring down with tremendous rush are finally
gathered together for their mighty leap, a point which
displays most forcibly the formation distinguishing Paulo
Affonso from his great brethren, Burton crossed the eastern
channel and reached an island whence a path led to a
jutting rock, where he clung to a dry tree trunk and
peered fascinated into the liquid vastness below.
The gorge here measures 260 feet in depth. It is filled
with what seems like froth of milk, a dashing, dazzling,
whirling mass which gives a wondrous study of fluid in
motion. It is the triumph of momentum over the immov-
able. Here the luminous whiteness of the chaotic foam-
crests, hurled in billows and breakers against the blackness
of the rock, is burst into flakes and spray that leap half
way up the immuring trough. There the surface reflections
dull the dazzling crystal to a thick opaque yellow, and there
the shelter of some spur causes a momentary start and
recoil to the column, which at once gathering strength
bounds and springs onwards with a new crush and another
roar. Now a fierce blast hunts away the thin spray-drift,
and puffs it to leeward in rounded clouds, thus enhancing
the brilliancy of the gorge ; then the stream boils over
and canopies the tremendous scene ; or, in the stilly air,
the mists surge up, deepening yet more by their veil of ever-
ascending vapour the dizzy fall that yawns under the spec-
tator's feet.
Burton declared that at last the feeling of awe became
too intense to be enjoyable, and he returned to camp to
let the emotion excited by this life-in -death, this creation
and construction by destruction subside amidst the minor
cares of existence. He revisited the scene, however, next
day, and was fortunate enough on the last evening of his
stay in the neighbourhood to see the magnificent King of
Rapids by moonlight. The effect of the soft silvery rays on
A Severe Illness 327
the flashing line of cascade, while semi-opaque shadows,
here purple, there brown, clothed the middle height, appears
to have been almost indescribable.
Everything now seemed flat and stale. Two days of
monotonous riding led to the Porto das Piranhas. The
steamer had just left, but a hospitable reception awaited
our traveller at the house of the agent to the Bahian Steam
Navigation Company. After about a week's rest he de-
scended the lower Rio de Sao Francisco, made his way to
Bahia, and finally returned via Rio de Janeiro to Santos,
which he nicknamed the Wapping of the Far West.
During four months rough voyaging with alternations of
storm and rain, cold and hot winds, mists and burning
suns, Burton had not suffered from an hour's illness. But
soon after he got home he was seized by the most agonizing
pains, pains resembling the peri-hepatitis or "little irons,"
which once nearly destroyed Speke's life on his return
journey from Tanganyika. Of course, the Brazilian
medico had to confess his ignorance, and could do nothing
to allay the awful agony which defied all the usual remedies.
Bleeding, blistering, every sort of powerful drug was tried
with the sole result of making the patient worse, and but
for a happy inspiration, to leave Santos for a village on
the sea-beach of course he had to be carried Burton
must have died. I have already mentioned his strange
meekness under the hands of the most ignorant Sangrado ;
the nearest show to anything like fight was to fly.
Aided by pure sweet air, his glorious constitution
triumphed yet again. But the mystery as to the cause of
the malady, the suddenness with which he had been pros-
trated, the hideous pain, had given his nerves a shake.
He began to take a dislike to both Santos and San Paulo,
and longed to get away.
Events favoured him. In 1868 Brazil and the Republic
of Paraguay were at war. For the last three years a
succession of details had been published by one newspaper
328 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and directly contradicted by another ; so Lord Stanley,
then Foreign Secretary, deemed it advisable to obtain
trustworthy information respecting the nature and causes
of the conflict. No one was better fitted for the post of
military correspondent than the erudite soldier then acting
consul at Santos. Accordingly, Burton was directed to
make use of his sick leave by paying two visits to the
battle-fields of Paraguay, a mission which suited him
exactly, for the travelling fever was again upon him, and
he intended to visit not merely the seat of war, but the
chief towns of Uruguay and Argentina, to roam over the
Andes to Chili and Peru, return via the Straits of Magellan
to Buenos Ayres, and finally work his way to England*
Determined, come what might, never to return to Santos,
he broke up his little establishment, and sent his wife home
with sundry MSS. under her charge for publication. And
then, free as air, he started on what he called his second
and grander holiday tour through South America.
At Rio, early in August, 1868, he embarked for Monte
Video. The voyage was wearisome, the steamer crammed
with disappointed emigrants, all more or less noisy and
quarrelsome ; and it was a relief, after five days of their
company, to descry a forest of masts lying under the
" Town of the Mount," backed by a splay and high-
shouldered hill, which, while only 465 feet above sea-level,
towers like a giant over the ridgy and peakless coast-line.
There are two points of view of the little capital where
she best shows her peculiarities. The first is seen when
skirting the southern end of the new town. The thorough-
fares facing west-south-west abut upon the water ; after the
gorgeous vegetable growth of Rio de Janeiro they look bald
and stony, treeless and barren. The sky-line is fretted by
miradors, gazebos, steeples, and here and there towers a
gaunt factory chimney. Successively rise high in air a huge
convent, a Dutch-tiled cupola, over whose ochred walls
peep cypresses and black rows of empty niches, declaring it
3 2 9
to be a cemetery ; the English church resembling a shed
to stable bathing machines, the hospital, three-storied,
yellow-tinted, the theatre, and the substantial stone church
of S. Philip and S. James. The other and prettier coup
d'ceil is to be obtained by ascending the Cerro; from the
summit, looking east, is a bird's-eye view of the city,
which, set after a fashion upon a hill, can hide neither
her charms nor her blemishes. Most remarkable is the
enormous amount of water ; on one side the bay, on the
other the La Plata, that sea-like stream which can hardly be
called a river, rather a yellow flood, a muddy Mediterranean.
Here Burton spent about a week. Monte Video was
not at that time the safest of halting-places. Political
assassinations had been rife, and blood-thirstiness was the
rule. Soldiers in Uruguay are almost always negroes, and
a stranger approaching their barracks even by day must
ask leave to advance, otherwise an infuriated blue-tunicked
anthropoid will charge bayonet blindly as a mad bull.
Nor were the police much better. In short, our traveller
did not think highly of this republic as an emigration
ground for Englishmen. Matters may have improved
since ; but then nobody expected justice, nobody had the
slightest confidence in the Government ; executions, fright-
fully common in revenge for party misdemeanours, were
unknown when the offence was murder, and yet there
was an unpleasant prejudice against self-defence. A
Mr. Flowers, who, to save his life from a ruffian in the
act of stabbing him, shot the wretch, was punished by nine
months' imprisonment. The climate, too, seems to exercise
a pernicious effect on the British constitution. Exiles
arrive full of life and energy, ready to work hard, fond of
riding and field sports, then by degrees lose all energy, and
do nothing but eat, drink and smoke.
En route for Humaita, the scene of the principal battles
between the wretched over-matched Republic of Paraguay
and the allied forces of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay,
330 Captain Siy R. F. Buyton, K.C.M.G.
Burton allotted a few days, sometimes hours only, to the
most interesting towns on his way. Buenos Ayres was the
first visited. Stout Captain Sancho Garcia, if resurrected,
could no longer exclaim, as in 1535, " Que buenos ayres se
respiran en esta tierra ! " Our traveller found the atmo-
sphere heavy with meat, tainted as well as fresh, besides a
dreadful stench of tallow and calcined bones. Between
October, '68, and April, '69, three hundred and ninety
thousand head of cattle were slaughtered in this horrible
town enough to sicken a stranger of Liebig's Essence for
ever after. Insulted Hygiene had just been avenged by a
sharp epidemic of cholera, and it is very evident, from the
description of the then state of the city, that the water and
drainage works were begun none too soon. With regard
to the inhabitants, Burton wrote in laudatory terms of the
higher and educated classes ; but for the lower he advo-
cated a permanent gallows in the outskirts.
After a short stay at Paysandu, famous for its ox-
tongues, he embarked on the Rio Parano, halting a day
or so at Rozario. The cathedral, whose two round white
steeples of the pepper-caster order can be seen from the
river, stands without a rival, rare indeed in South America.
It was crammed on Sundays and fetes, chiefly with women,
who, however, evidently considering variety charming, spent
their Sunday evenings in a circus-tent devoted to bull and
bear-baiting. Even dogs were loosed at ponies and donkeys,
and the more viciously the animals fought the better were
the dames and damsels of Rozario pleased. More inter-
esting is it to learn that here Burton first saw the hairless
dogs whose parent stock came from the Sandwich Islands.
These curious creatures, which are now occasionally im-
ported into England, resemble clumsy Italian greyhounds.
Their leaden-coloured skin is entirely bald save for a few
bristles. The people dub them remedies, because they
cure rheumatics by sleeping upon the afflicted limb ; and,
having no shelter for vermin, they are applied to the feet
Indians 331
in bed as warming-pans or hot bottles, with the distinct
advantage of not getting cold. Doubtless the dogs, being
so lightly clothed, do not object to an arrangement equally
comfortable for both parties.
At Corrientes, built on the margin of her noble river,
there bending eastward and showing to the north a lake-
like expanse of water, were a number of Indians lounging
about in their native costume. Clad in ponchas, chiripa
kilts, and short, stiffly starched calzonzillas of white or
scarlet stuff, these curious people looked just ready for
a wax-work exhibition, or the Crystal Palace. The felt
or straw headgear distinguishes them from the wild Indians
of the Gran Chaco, who were paddled over every morning
by their squaws in canoes, which they easily managed in
spite of the current. But all wore rugs and blankets, ear-
rings and necklaces of beads ; many were ornamented with
the real tattoo, said to be ineffaceable, and a few affected
black patches round the eyes, signs of mourning. The
most comical, not to say startling, novelty, was that the
Romish priests had taught them to publicly display their
Christianity by the exceedingly uncomfortable operation
of pricking crosses along and across their noses. Not-
withstanding this show of piety they seemed to have been
rather spiteful : " That man's throat should be cut," ex-
claimed an ancient squaw, mistaking Burton for a Para-
guayan officer.
Again on board Burton was now travelling in civilised
fashion on a brand new floating hotel with its plated silver,
its napkins stiffly starched, and its gilt mouldings upon
white panels clean as a new sovereign he gazed with
rapture upon the magnificent spectacle afforded by the
confluence of the Parana and the Paraguay, which at the
astounding distance of two hundred and fifty leagues from
the mouth, equal a hundred of the biggest rivers of Europe.
Compared with these majestic proportions, this mighty
sweep of waters, the meeting of the Rios de Sao Francisco
332 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and Das Velhas seemed to the memory insignificant.
Presently the steamer dashed amongst floating trees and
rippling isles of grass and reed up the Paraguay, which
suddenly narrows from a mile and a half to four hundred
yards, and seems quite a small influent, the cause being the
Isla del Atajo, a long thin island to the left, disposed with
its length down stream. Soon after passing the latter, signs
of war began to appear. At Cerrito the Brazilians had
built workshops and storehouses for their army. Not far
away lay stranded the wreck of an American hospital ship,
which had been burnt with her eighty sick ; then the
steamer approached the spot where the ironclad Rio de
Janeiro was blown up, including her captain and crew.
Further on was the site of the great actions fought in May,
1866, a site which smelt of death, for there lay buried some
ten thousand men, victims of cholera, small-pox and fever ;
in short, the vessel shot past ground whose every mile cost
a month of battles, Curuzu, Curupaity, Humaita.
The latter, an entrenched camp sans citadel, looked very
warlike. Ironclads lay at anchor, little gunboats buzzed
about like wasps ; and on landing the military correspon-
dent found the ground everywhere sprinkled with Whit-
worth's forty, one hundred and twenty, and one hundred
and fifty pounders, costing each from 20 to ^"50. Very
few had exploded, and a pointed stick soon told the reason
why ; they had been charged, not with gunpowder, but
with one of its constituents charcoal. Burton was so
courteously assisted in his survey of Humaita by one of the
Brazilian generals, who even lent the English correspondent
his own chargers, that he succeeded in correcting a great
deal of nonsense spoken and written about this " stronghold,"
once looked on as the key-stone of Paraguay. Readers
interested in this almost forgotten campaign are referred to
" Letters from the Battlefields of Paraguay," published in
1870.
On leaving Humaita, Burton pushed on to the front in
Visit to the Paraguayan Capital 333
the Linnet, a British gunboat. In places the Paraguay and
Tebicuary rivers were obstructed by floating torpedoes and
fixed infernal machines, which, had they exploded, would
have blown the little Linnet into fragments ; luckily, they
were so carelessly constructed as to cause but small mis-
chief. At Guardia Tacuara he had an opportunity of
inspecting the Brazilian forces and of conversing with the
principal officers. Here the thunder of the ironclads was
distinctly audible ; and in places the river banks were
dotted with the Paraguayan dead whom the allies had not
taken the trouble to bury. But the unlucky Paraguayans,
who were losing rapidly, refused to admit him to their lines ;
and as the Brazilian authorities were opposed to any visit
to their enemies, Burton judged it prudent not to urge the
matter. Enough that his object was obtained ; his keen
insight into military affairs and knowledge of the language
of the people around him enabled him to expose many a
newspaper blunder, and forward to Lord Stanley a full and
true report.
Later, when the allied armies gained so decisive a
victory that the Marshal President and Madame Lynch
fled to the interior, and the war was practically ended, our
traveller paid a short visit to the Paraguayan capital.
Seated upon its amphitheatre of red bank which slopes
gracefully down to its lake-like stream, it presents a pictu-
resque appearance. The Paraguay river here measuring from
800 to 1,000 yards broad, sags to the eastward, forming a
bay or port of still, dead surface ; and the bight is land-
locked by a natural breakwater, a long green islet upon
which cattle graze. Ships anchor in safety along the
shore, and their presence adds not a little to the beauty of
the scenery, which has all the softness and grace without
the monotony of the fair, insipid shores about Humaita.
The huge, unfinished residence of the Marshal Presi-
dent, a kind of Buckingham Palace, built upon the abrupt
riverine slope, offended our traveller's eye, being far too
334 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
large for the town. Some of the public buildings, however,
are massive and handsome. The old cathedral is coloured
pink and blue upon a white ground, its material brick upon
ashlar of boulders. When Burton entered, there were so
few voices and so many echoes that he confessed to feeling
quite startled when stumbling suddenly upon a French
Frere Ignorantin who was making fierce love to a Para-
guayan belle. The terrible palace of Dr. Francia, with
verandahs eight feet broad, and its eighteen columns
fronting the river, is another solid building ; but the new
cathedral, erected in 1845, is described as the "normal
barn." Summed up, his opinion of Asuncion and her
people was as follows :
" A large and expensively-built arsenal, riverside docks,
a tramway and a railroad have thrown over Asuncion a
thin varnish of civilisation, but the veneering is of the
newest and most palpable ; the pretensions to progress
are merely skin-deep, and the slightest scratch shows
under the Paraguayan Republic the Jesuiticized Guarani."
Besides his careful and thorough survey of the Para-
guayan battle-fields, Burton crossed the Pampas and the
Andes to Chili and Peru. Perhaps he might have lingered
longer amidst the many interesting and beautiful scenes in
South America, but whilst sitting in a cafe at Lima, he
heard by chance of his appointment to the Consulate of
Damascus. No further delay was possible. At once he
turned his face homewards, and though twice nearly ship-
wrecked, he was fortunate enough to catch the steamer at
Rio, and three weeks later landed at Southampton.
CHAPTER XIV
A FTER a short stay in England, rendered yet shorter
** by the necessity for taking the Vichy waters in con-
sequence of his severe attack of hepatitis at Santos, Burton
spent six pleasant weeks at his favourite spa. Time passed
quickly in the society of such men as Algernon Swinburne
and Sir Frederick Leighton ; and, his course over, our
traveller, with mended health and in splendid spirits, started
for Syria, arriving without accident on the ist October,
1869. Three months later he was joined by his wife.
In 1869 the Consulate of Damascus was a fairly impor-
tant post. The Consul, paid at the rate of twelve hundred
a year, was expected to maintain a suitable establishment,
which included dragomans, kavasses, and a good stable.
He had jurisdiction, or rather exercised a protectorate over
British subjects in the whole district bounded by the three
provinces Baghdad, Nablus, and Aleppo ; upon him de-
volved the responsibility of the mail for Baghdad through
the Desert, as well as the safety of commerce, of travellers,
the English residents, missions, schools in short, of any
person who had the slightest pretension to be considered a
subject of the Queen. Only nine years had elapsed since
the great massacre in 1860 ; the elements of discord still
existed amongst the strangely heterogeneous population,
and it behoved all in authority to exercise the utmost tact
and vigilance. In the event of any dispute during the per-
formance of Burton's multifarious duties, appeal could be
made to his superior, the Consul-General of Beirut.
When Isabel arrived, she found her husband living, as
was his habit when alone, at an inn. The said inn, as
336 Captain Sir R, F. Buy ton, K.C.M.G.
might be expected, was far from comfortable, so the
Burtons allowed little time to elapse before they started on
a house hunt. Nothing could be more romantic than was
Damascus in those days, untouched by the vulgarising
finger of Change (think of it now with gas and trams !) ; but,
like most romantic places, it was neither hygienic nor
secure. Isabel, after her two years' sojourn in the old
convent at San Paulo, was not very fastidious ; still, she
could find nothing to suit her in the town itself. We know
that, behind mean entrances, Damascus boasts of splendid
houses houses with white marble pavements, their walls
frescoed and decorated with mosaics, not to mention ara-
besque ceilings gorgeous with purple and gold. But their
attractions are sadly counterbalanced ; all are more or less
damp, cold in winter, suffocating in summer ; while in case
of an tmeute or a fire, the inmates painfully resemble mice
in a trap, the town gates being closed at sunset. So,
turning away from these " marble palaces," the new-comers
prudently decided on taking a straggling whitewashed cot-
tage, once a fair-sized building, before it had been cut in
two and sold separately. Situated on high ground, in a
Kurdish village named Salihiyyah, about a quarter of an
hour's ride from Damascus through fields and orchards, it had
plenty of light and air ; and, although the village or suburb
was large enough to contain a population of 15,000 souls,
its new residents could get out of it in five minutes for a
gallop over the open country without the troublesome
suite necessary in Oriental cities. I must mention another
attraction which this quaint abode possessed for our
traveller : his bedroom window and the minaret of a
neighbouring mosque were nearly on a level, so he could
join the Muezzin in the call to prayer. As during his
stay at Zeila, he delighted in hearing the familiar sound
again, which he often compared with the Christians' brazen
summons, grievously to the disadvantage of the latter.
Front and back, the cottage, which has been faithfully
The Cottage at Salihiyyah 337
depicted by Lord Leighton, looked upon gardens. Over
the narrow road, amongst some apricot orchards, the
Burtons erected a stable for twelve horses, with a room
for their grooms. The building itself seems to have been
thoroughly Oriental, though not palatial. A visitor was
ushered into a square courtyard painted in stripes of red,
white and blue, planted with orange, lemon and jessamine
trees, with a fountain in the middle. On this courtyard
opened a room with three sides, spread with rugs and
divans, the niches in the walls filled with plants ; and here
Isabel received on hot days, entertaining her guests ap--
propriately with coffee, sherbet, narghilehs and cigarettes.
The dining-room was also on the ground floor, while up-
stairs six rooms occupied two sides of the courtyard, and a
sort of terrace the remainder. The terrace afforded a de-
lightful lounge on warm evenings, a kind of be-flowered,
be-carpeted housetop, whence an unobstructed view was
to be had of Jebel Kaysun, the tall, yellow mountain
which forms the background of Salihiyyah ; and, when
the wind blew from the right quarter, a delicious whiff
could be inhaled of the pure air of the Desert which lies
beyond Damascus. When at last Isabel had thoroughly
settled herself in this romantic abode, and collected a
strangely assorted menagerie of pets that never ceased
worrying and trying to devour each other (a favourite
leopard did perform the not unnatural feat of slaying a
woolly black lamb), she declared she was madly enamoured
of Eastern life. But her description of the dismal sounds
proceeding from every side howls of wild dogs, cries of
jackals prowling near the burial ground of Jebel Kaysun,
varied by a free fight in the road below, or the loud
wrangling of the Kurdish women, make one suspect she
would have grown very weary of " the solemn mystery,
the romantic halo of Oriental existence " had it been
much prolonged.
Here, then, at Salihiyyah, the Burtons spent their winter
22
338 Captain Siy R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and spring. At times they seem to have been far from
lonely rather the other way. All English people, and
most foreigners that visited Damascus, called upon them
and were shown in return every sort of hospitality pos-
sible in the circumstances. On Wednesdays Isabel held
a reception, a function which began soon after sunrise
and continued until sunset. The native dames arrived
first ; one very early riser complained bitterly of having
been refused admission, as her sorely taxed hostess had
failed to dress at the first glimmer of dawn. Church
dignitaries appeared decorously at about one o'clock
lunch time ; and were followed by the consular corps,
Turkish authorities, mission and school people. These
receptions, I may remark, were an innovation. As a
rule, the European society split into cliques, the Protes-
tant missionary and school folk forming one, the consular
corps and the French another, and the three religious
houses a third. But Isabel, with dangerous originality,
endeavoured to keep a salon where all creeds, races and
tongues could meet without ill-feeling a neutral ground
upon which everyone was expected to be friendly ; about
as hopeless an experiment as the menagerie outside.
Had these reunions been less intolerably prolonged,
they might have proved safer; but, as it was, I am in-
clined to suspect that some of the enmities which dogged
our traveller may have originated in petty squabbles,
jealousies, and especially tittle-tattle, during those long,
long days in the room looking on the striped courtyard.
Could even the wise woman of the Proverbs have kept
due guard over her tongue for twelve consecutive hours
every week ?
Nor were her more intimate friends wisely chosen.
The chief of these, Jane Digby, who had capped her
wild career by marrying her Arab camel-driver, seemed
hardly a desirable confidante. Her unsuitability for
this post, which appears to have been conferred upon
His Wife's Friends 339
her somewhat against her will, was speedily proved by
Isabel's own confession. More Bedawin than the
Bedawi, this eccentric woman aided her tribe by every
means in her power (and be it remembered she was a
very clever woman) in their endeavour to conceal the wells
and extort blackmail from all Europeans who visited
Palmyra. Hearing that the Burtons intended to journey
thither, and that the Consul had no intention of paying
the usual tribute, Jane, fearing the attempt if successful
might deprive her people of a considerable source of
revenue, resorted to stratagem. Professing herself anxious
about the safety of her English friends, she offered one
of her trusty clansmen as an escort to assist them in
keeping clear of the Bedawi raids. The man, of course,
was secretly instructed to lead the Burtons into ambush,
whence they could be pounced upon by his tribe and kept
prisoners until ransomed. Here, however, our traveller
was not to be hoodwinked. He accepted the offer most
politely, but as soon as the party was well en route, he
deprived the spy of his mare and accoutrements, retaining
both as hostages until the return journey to Damascus.
We must not be hard upon Jane. In the power of an
Arab spouse and living amongst a savage tribe, she might
have lost her life had she acted differently ; but the close
intimacy with a person so placed shows a painful lack of
discretion on the other side. Inexplicable too, for while
some women can hardly live without a friend to cry over,
or be cried over by, as the case may be, Isabel's feeling
towards her own sex was far from enthusiastic. I can
merely suggest that, what with the strange existence, the
continual excitement, the perpetual element of danger
for when there were no rumours of another rising there
came a sharp epidemic of cholera, and at times the grave-
yards and the jackals must have seemed unpleasantly near
Richard Burton's wife almost lost her head.
Winter and spring were pleasant enough in this
22 2
34-Q Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Damascus suburb, but the heat in summer 105 F. in the
shade rendered some sort of country abode indispensable.
So quarters were found at B'ludan in the Anti-Libanus
a little Christian village, Greek Orthodox and Roman
Catholic, which clings to the eastern flank of the Zebadani
valley. It lies some twenty-seven indirect miles across
country an eight hours' moderate ride on horseback, and
twelve for baggage-laden camels. The house, romantically
situated amongst the mountains, is described as little better
than a large limestone barn, with a deep, covered verandah
running along one side, and provided with ample stabling
on the other. It had to be cleaned, whitewashed, and
furnished ; and, from the absence of any complaints, I
believe it was fairly adapted to its inmates' mode of living,
a mode simple in the extreme. The air outside was
delicious, hot only for an hour or two about midday ; and
the views may be imagined from the fact that on the right
of B'ludan rises Jebel Sannin, monarch of the Libanus,
and on the left Hermon, king of the Anti-Libanus.
Amidst these wild scenes the Burtons led a partly
Eastern, partly farmhouse, existence. Butter and milk
were procurable from the Bedawi, sheep and kids from
the passing flocks. Bread was home-made, and game
abounded on the neighbouring hills. Isabel gave a most
sentimental account of life at B'ludan how she and
her husband rambled over the hills at early dawn ;
how all the sick poor within seventeen miles came to be
doctored ; how the hungry, the ragged, the oppressed,
crowded into the garden, asking the Consul to settle their
differences, and assist them with gifts of food, clothes and
money. It was sadly like acting Good Samaritan to snakes.
A propos of her doctoring, she tells an amusing story. A
dying peasant woman sent a piteous request for aid, and it
was deemed advisable to soothe her last moments by ad-
ministering a harmless dose, which the poor soul might
imagine a sovereign specific. Next morning her son pre-
Life at B'ludan 341
sented himself before our Lady Bountiful, informed her of
his mother's death, and then, to Isabel's unbounded indig-
nation, begged for a little more of the nice, white powder,
as he had a bedridden grandmother whom he was most
anxious to get rid of. Nor were her benevolent endeavours
to relieve the victims of the cholera epidemic more grate-
fully received. She dispensed a pretty strong dose of opium
mixed with some other drug, the prescription of an Anglo-
Indian surgeon; and when the "gift of God" failed, as
in common with every other remedy it does at times, the
amateur physicking was described in the Levant Herald as
wholesale poisoning. Worse still, in return for all her
charity to the repulsive paupers of B'ludan. she was in-
sulted in the street by the Shaykh's son; and the quarrel
that ensued, during which she spiritedly slashed the man's
face with her riding whip, did Burton no good with the
authorities. Rudyard Kipling, in one of his admirable
Indian stories, gives a sad example of the danger of even
kindly meddling with races of whose dispositions we know
nothing ; and, evidently, Isabel's was a case in point.
Yes, she described existence at B'ludan, anyhow in the
earlier days, as a little heaven below. We will now turn
to Burton's opinion of it. " The idea of pitching tent on
Lebanon is delightful. Pleasant illusions dispelled in a
week ! As the physical mountain has no shade, so has the
moral mountain no privacy : the tracasserie of its town and
village life is dreary and monotonous as its physical
aspect, broken only by a storm or an earthquake, when a
murder takes place or when a massacre is expected. For
the reasonable enjoyment of life, place me on Highgate's
grassy steep rather than upon Lebanon. Having learned
what it is, I should far prefer the comforts of Spitalfields,
the ease of Seven Dials, and the society of Southwark."
We may reconcile the two opinions as follows :
Burton had no trace of " Holy Land on the brain."
Imagination carried to the extreme of viewing objects as
342 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
they are not was never his foible ; and from prejudice he
was entirely free. Really refreshing is it after reading
high-flown nonsense about a little country, picturesque
occasionally, but mostly barren and disforested nonsense
which has been freely ridiculed by Mark Twain and others,
to follow our plain-spoken traveller in his journeys through
Syria. No exaggeration, no sentimental reminiscences, no
trite quotations. He admired the grand, weird parts of
Moab, he remarked the beauty of Bashan, a comparatively
well-wooded tract ; but Hermon he described as a common
" hogsback," berry-brown, moreover, in September and
October. Carmel he spoke of as a short, barren buttress
crowned with a convent and a lighthouse, the latter de-
cidedly useful ; the plain of Sharon was ruthlessly com-
pared to our Bedfordshire fields, while as for the Cedars of
Lebanon, he declared they presented so mean and ragged
an appearance, that no English squire would have admitted
them into his park. Yes, glowing language is sparingly
used in our traveller's word-pictures of Syria ; but it is
possible that with eyes still full of the might and majesty
of the Chilian Andes, and the grace and grandeur of
Magellan's Straits, he viewed the insignificant lines and
dull tintage of the Libanus under somewhat unfavourable
conditions.
Still, though not a lovely country, Syria is intensely
interesting. In 1870 it was yet more so. On first arriving,
Burton feared his occupation as an explorer would be clean
gone ; but he soon found that, while certain lines had been
well trodden, hardly a single traveller, and no tourist, had
ever ridden ten miles off the usual ways. Even now, few
personally know how many patches of unvisited and un-
visitable country lie within a couple of days' ride of great
towns and cities, such as Aleppo and Damascus, Hums and
Hamah. And valid reasons exist for the apparent over-
sight. The unexplored spots are either too difficult or too
dangerous for the multitude. To conscientiously visit even
Trips in Syria 343
the well-known places in Palestine occupies six months ;
but, when we come to unbeaten tracts, where there is
hardly a mile without a ruin, the certainty that the surface
of the antiquarian mine has been merely scratched, and
that long years must elapse before the land can be con-
sidered fully explored, must take possession of any sensible
brain.
Burton's first trip, however, was to the often-described
Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Wilderness. He was accom-
panied by his wife, the Russian Consul, a French traveller,
the Vicomte de Perrochel, besides a numerous company of
servants, dragomans and kavasses. Seventeen camels
carried baggage and water, while the twelve horses were
mounted by their owners and their following. Had a small
detachment of the tribe, El-Meyrab, escorted the party,
there would have been no danger whatever from the
Bedawin that infest more or less all parts of Syria ; but as
matters were, Jane's luckless Arab disarmed, perched upon
a mule, and closely guarded by two picked domestics, must
have vividly suggested the skeleton at the feast. I say
feast, because this picnic appears to have been most luxu-
rious. Carefully arranged halts, with coffee, lemonade and
other light refreshments always ready, well-cooked meals,
tents pitched with comfortable bedding inside at the end of
the daily march, proved so agreeable, that our travellers
spent quite eight days in covering the 150 miles that lie
between Damascus and Palmyra.
Arrived at their destination, Burton and his two friends
lost no time before exploring Zenobia's once magnificent
city. All three men were anxious to collect as many curios
as possible, so they hired forty-five coolies to assist in dig-
ging, and commenced operations at a group of tomb towers
bearing W.S.W. from the great Temple of the Sun. This
group marks the site of one of the two Viae Appiae which
entered Palmyra, the first on the high road to Damascus,
the second, the main approach from Hums and Hamah.
344 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Both are lined on either side with monuments, which here
take the place of the Egyptian pyramids ; and their squat,
solid forms of gloomy, unsquared sandstone contrast re-
markably with the bastard classical Roman architecture
glittering from afar in white limestone. Although only a
day and a half could be spared for excavations, Burton
made a pretty good haul. To mention every object would
weary most readers : suffice it to say that he and his friends
exhumed from the complicated, chambered catacombs
several ancient skulls differing in toto from those of the
Syrian population of the present day, some remnants of
statuary which had fallen from the entrance to the tomb
towers, and most curious of all, deep down in one of the
graves, a lock of hair stained yellow. This strange relic
was shown later to a distinguished physiologist, who, after
a careful examination, opined it had belonged to some
Palmyrene beauty, and as it appeared to be dyed,
evidenced the ultra-civilisation prevailing at the court of
Zenobia.
Besides relic-hunting and riding about the neighbour-
hood, our party interchanged hospitality with the two
principal Shaykhs. After one dinner given by Burton in
his biggest tent, the strange company strolled together
over the ruins by moonlight, returning when tired to camp,
where the kavasses and camel-drivers treated them to a
concert, dancing the sword dance to barbarous music,
varied by weird howls. All this sounds highly romantic
to dwellers amidst ordinary English scenes ; but Palmyra
appears to have had serious drawbacks. The water was
detestable, tasting like that of Harrogate ; the climate
was vile, and the natives were horribly diseased. So,
after a week, Burton, though loth to leave a place where
so much buried treasure yet lay concealed, thought it
advisable to expose his party no longer to the risks of
fever and dysentery. Already husband and wife were more
or less knocked up, and the Vicomte fared little better.
345
An oasis on the northern side of the Arabian desert seems
healthy enough ; but, may be, the camping-ground close to
the great colonnade was unwisely chosen. Future visitors
were advised to select a space amongst the trees near the
fountain, anyway a more sheltered spot, where the simoom
could not blow over the tents, a disaster which nearly
happened more than once during this short sojourn in
the wilderness.
Baalbek, situated only thirty miles N.N.YV. of Damascus,
interested our traveller yet more, and he paid it repeated
visits. He was much concerned to find that, owing to
the supineness of the Turkish Government, the glorious
remains of city and temples were wantonly injured by
the natives, some of the great columns having been
more or less undermined for the sake of metal clamps
worth a few piastres. The keystone of the noble portal,
which began to slip in 1759, and which falls lower with
every slight earthquake, did not escape his keen eyes ;
and in consequence of his urgent representations to Rashid
Pasha, Governor-General of Syria, a Mr. Barker, chief
engineer to the Government, was commissioned to inspect
it. The two men met and forthwith planned to underpin
the keystone with a porphyry shaft, the prop to be as thin
as possible, so as not to hide the grand old eagle, emblem
of Baal, the Sun God, that occupies the lower surface of
the middle soffit stone. Unfortunately, Mr. Barker, soon
after beginning work, was summoned to Damascus on some
trivial excuse ; and the Governor, although he had given
his consent to carrying out the repairs, suddenly changed
his mind a la Tnrqite, and employed his engineer in con-
structing a sort of goat-track road which led to nowhere.
So, after an ineffectual appeal through the Times to
English antiquarians, Burton in despair abandoned poor
Baalbek to the decay and desolation of the last fourteen
centuries.
His first visit duly paid to these splendid ruins, he
346 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
proceeded to examine the spot where lie the true sources
of the Litani and the Orontes. In Syria and Palestine
generally, great influents have ever since historic ages
been confounded with sources ; whilst the latter are those
represented by the most copious, not by the most distant
fountains. Moreover, Wasserschieds, versants and river-
valleys were and are universally neglected, if, as often
happens, the young spring is drawn off for irrigation ; this
will especially appear at the head of the Upper Jordan.
Hence we have the historical, which is still the popular,
opposed to the geographical or scientific source. Again, in
highly important streams, like the Jordan, the historical
may be differently placed by the Hebrews, the Classics
and the Arabs. The Litani originates in a muddy, unclean
pool, without perceptible current during the dries; an oval,
whose longest diameter is at midsummer about one hundred
feet. The true source of the Orontes issues from the foot
of a grey Tell and is fed further on by many streams.
This river, contrary to the rule of all waters in Ccele-Syria,
flows north, and is known by the natives as El-Asi, or the
Rebel. And it is a rebel to the last : the gusts of the Asi
gorge, where it falls into the Gulf of Antioch, are, as sailors
well know, fierce, furious and unmanageable, as are the
headwaters.
The above paragraph I have quoted almost word for
word from " Unexplored Syria." Not that the information
is very interesting, or at present even novel ; but for the
following reason. The exhaustive survey set on foot by
the originators of the Palestine Exploration Fund, a survey
begun not a day too soon, as many ruins figured by the
surveyors will soon have utterly vanished under the de-
structive hands of Change, owes not a little to our versatile
traveller's labours. In the two bulky volumes just referred
to, published in 1872, we may see how hard he worked
during his leisure hours with his friends, Professor Palmer
and Tyrwhitt Drake, in ascertaining the altitudes of the
Burton and the Syrian Mountains 347
principal mountains, the true sources of the rivers, in cor-
recting inaccuracies, in recovering lost sites. In the course
of one excursion alone, he prepared for local habitation on
the map of Syria the names of five great mountain blocks,
traced out their principal gorges, and determined the dis-
puted altitudes of the Anti-Libanus. The best atlases
then failed to name a single valley north-east of Zebadani,
or a single summit save one, and that a misnomer. Now,
the whole of Western Palestine is mapped on a scale which
includes every ruin as well as every spring, every water-
course, every wood, and every hillock ; but it is rare to
find even a solitary reference to the man who helped
forward that work by his personal exertions, his influence,
and his advice.
His visit to Baalbek and the northern Libanus, not
omitting the Cedars, which, as aforesaid, inspired but scant
enthusiasm, was followed by a sister excursion to the
southern regions, long celebrated as a principal stronghold
of the Druses. At Shakkah, a village near the edge of the
Jebel Duruz Hauran, Burton and his two friends were
received by one Kabalan, a local chief, who had promised
an escort of ten horsemen to Umm Niran, a curious cave
containing water, situated in the volcanic region east of the
Damascus swamps. But, for this favour, instead of de-
manding a moderate fee, he insisted upon forty napo-
leons, an extortionate sum, which our traveller, with
his deep-rooted objection to being fleeced, refused to pay,
whereupon the old ruffian hung out his true colours, and
threatened to prevent the party from leaving Shakkah.
Burton merely laughed in his face, ordered the horses, and
departed for Tayma, another village about eight miles
further on. Kabalan, too surly to return even a parting
salutation, squatted baboon-like outside a fine old pagan
ruin and meditated his revenge.
But the travellers were not fated to set out sans their
escort, sorry as it proved to be. One by one, prompted no
348 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
doubt by inquisitiveness, sundry Druse youths dropped in
to Tayma, mounted on their best mares, until at last there
mustered six guns. During the first march they were rein--
forced by their attendants, and thus the total amounted to
the respectable figure of ten combatants without paying
forty napoleons.
Events proved that the escort might just as well have
remained at home. Burton was much disappointed with
these people. A brave and even desperate race in their own
mountains, where they are everybody, a residence in or
about a town where their numbers are insignificant appears
to utterly demoralize them. Even at a few miles beyond
their own habitations they are as fish out of water. Only
one of the six young Druses who volunteered to accompany
the three Englishmen during a short tour of discovery in
their neighbourhood got so far as Damascus. Their be-
haviour en route was womanish in the extreme. They called
for water every half-hour, ate every hour, and clamoured
for sleep every four hours. They complained of the heat
and the cold, of the wind, of the dust, the mist and the
dew. They declared the fatigue of a half-night's journey
was intolerable, and often they would throw themselves into
the shadow of a rock, pitiably sighing forth the words :
" Mayyat laymun " lemonade. After their first day's ride
they turned black with sunburn, and one, perhaps the most
inventive, fashioned an umbrella of leaves fastened to a
long stick, which he kept strictly for his own convenience.
The mares, soft and lazy as their masters, dropped their
plates, and after the second day half of them fell lame.
Altogether a curious experience of a race lauded in books of
travel as singularly brave, temperate and moral, and whose
religion is supposed to be unusually pure and advanced.
There was indeed no reason to remember the Druses of
Shakkah with affection, for worse remains to be told. Kaba-
lan did not lose much time in meditation. The day our
party left Tayma he sent an emissary to the Ruhvah valley,
On Tour 349
mustered the Bedawin, and proceeded on the Englishmen's
track. Fortunately, the latter discovered his treachery in
time, adopted the tactics of hunted animals, and so saved
their lives. The story runs as follows :
Burton, Drake and Palmer, with their uncomfortable
crew of followers, started June 2nd on the tour already men-
tioned. A stiff sirocco was blowing, blurring the outlines of
the far highlands ; clouds appeared to the north-east and
north-west, and a distant rag or two of rain trailed upon the
head of Jebel Duruz Hauran. After a good breakfast our
party rode north-eastwards, amidst a scene wild enough to
please a wizard. Lava torrents showed volcanic dykes,
secondary craters, and blow-holes with barrows arbitrarily
disposed at all angles. Stone heaps were placed as land-
marks, and there were not a few graves. Some hares and a
lizard or two darted away from the strangers ; men there
were none. By the afternoon the cavalcade slowly as-
cended a hill-brow, whence they had their first view of
the Safa, a volcanic block with seven main summits. A
deeper blackness made it stand out from the gloomy plain,
which seemed a rolling waste of dark basalt. But, in the
far distance, extending from east to south-east, and raised
by refraction from the middle ground which lay beyond
and below the rolling volcanic foreground, glittered the
sunlit horizon of the Euphrates desert.
It was interesting enough to rivet a stranger's attention,
but, like many old travellers, Burton's eyes were every-
where. Amongst numerous half- effaced footmarks of
sheep, goats, and shod horses appeared the fresh hoof-
prints of a dromedary. The rider was evidently bound
for the north-eastern regions, where the Bedawin dwelt ;
and our three wise men gave the ill-omened footprints all
the significance they deserved. Existing plans had to be
altered then and there, and the escort kept in profound
ignorance of the route.
Not that any work was to be neglected. No indi-
350 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
vidual of that plucky trio had the slightest intention of
returning to Damascus until he had seen and done what
he went to see and do. This coolness seems marvellous
even to one familiar with Burton's feats of valour, and
with the noble heroism of the man murdered in the Wady
Sudr while striving to serve his country. That all three
explorers were perfectly cool is proved by Burton's minute
description of the hideous volcanic region through which
the party were riding a landscape spoiled and broken to
pieces, blistered, wrinkled, broken-backed and otherwise
tormented ; here ghastly white, there gloomiest black, and
scorching beneath the sun of a Syrian June. The aneroid
was duly corrected, the thermometer noted, the tape used,
all as leisurely as though no foe were on the track, no
mortal danger threatening of a cruel death should that foe
succeed in running down his prey. Physical disagreeables
also abounded. The road became simply a goat-path over
domes of cast-iron ovens in endless succession ; the escort
wasted so much water that the masters had to go without ;
and lastly, a furious gale arose, which rilled the air with
acid, pungent dust, obscured all landmarks, and delayed
the little company several hours on their way.
However, pushing on in spite of all obstacles, they
succeeded in reaching the cave at Umm Niran, a myste-
rious cavern occupying the eastern slope of a rounded
bubble of basalt, which opens with a natural arch of trap.
The hottest weather fails to dry this curious tunnelled
reservoir, which has evidently been enlarged by man,
possibly by one of the olden kings of Damascus. Burton,
regardless of the Jann supposed to haunt the spot for the
benevolent purpose of driving thirsty strangers out of their
wits, scrambled in on all fours, and reached the water in
about three minutes. The supply was sweet, and cool
enough to depress the immersed thermometer from 74 in
the air to 71. The atmosphere of the place, which by the
way was tenanted only by a water-scorpion, felt close and
A Fortunate Escape 351
dank ; and whilst the roof was an arid, fiery waste of the
blackest lava, the basalt ceiling of the cave sweated and
dripped incessantly. The taped length of this tank was
140 feet ; according to the Arabs, it is supplied by springs
as well as rain probable enough, as all above the cave
was dry as the Land of Sind, and, during summer sunshine,
the hand cannot rest upon the heated surface.
After a comfortable bath our travellers passed the night
in the open air, and made next morning for an extinct vol-
cano in the neighbourhood, Umm el-Ma'azah. Thence
they visited the so-called lakes, which at that moment con-
tained no water. But now the party had to turn their
attention towards the preservation of their lives. In one of
the most dangerous spots, significantly named the Road of
Razzias, the Druse escort suddenly became unwilling to
proceed. A palaver was held. Every attempt was made
to find out the Englishmen's plans, and, of course, all failed.
During the night mares and men, with but one exception,
disappeared.
Truly it was time to get home. Next day brought this
desert excursion to an end. A gallop over the plain of
thirty miles placed our heroes in safety, but not an hour too
soon. The Bedawin had tracked them at last, missed them
at the Umm Niran by the merest chance, and had our
party not ridden hard for their lives, must have speedily
overtaken them. By peculiar good fortune Burton and his
friends escaped from a murderous crew of ruffians number-
ing eighty to a hundred horsemen and some two hundred
dromedary riders. His remarks thereupon are character-
istic :
" I duly appreciated the compliment can any unin-
tentional flattery be more sincere ? of sending three hun-
dred men to dispose of three. Our zigzag path had saved
us from the royaume des taupes, for these men were not sent to
plunder. The felon act, however, failed ; and our fifteen
days of wandering ended without accident."
352 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
In March Burton found time for a visit to Jerusalem.
He travelled by land with his two friends, there being much
they wished to do by the way, but he sent his wife by sea
as the safer route. The Holy Week, which fell rather late
that year, is not the best time for studying the topography
and antiquities of this interesting city, especially if the com-
plicated ceremonies of Latin and Greek, Armenian and
Copt some lasting throughout the night, and none of them
worth seeing must be attended. However, in this case
there was a division of labour ; the wife went to the inter-
minable services, while the husband worked equally hard in
his own fashion. Assisted not only by Messrs. Drake and
Palmer, but by Captain (now Sir Charles) Warren, and
Clermont Ganneau, an Orientalist whose laborious studies
were striking out a path beyond and beside older investiga-
tions, our sturdy Deist set himself to determine some of the
more celebrated historical sites with almost boyish en-
thusiasm. Want of space forbids my enumerating more
than a few of the changes then proposed in the topography
of Jerusalem and its environs by these five clever men
changes rendered inevitable by the rapid increase of know-
ledge characteristic of our century.
According to Clermont Ganneau the Temple occupied
not the south-western angle, the centre and the northern
part, nor yet the southern portion, but the whole of the
present Haram Enclosure, extending to the Birkat Israil.
In this view he has been followed by Conder, who deemed
it most improbable that any architect would neglect the
obvious advantage of the summit of a hill for an uneasy
slope ; or depart from the universal custom of selecting the
highest ground for temple, fort, or city. The Pool of
Bethesda he declared to be not the traditional Birkat
Israil, but an underground phcina lately discovered within
the enceinte of Sta. Anna ; this was verified in 1888 by
Schick, who found the remains of the substructure. The
Ecce Homo arch all five men recognised as of the JElia.
Investigations around Jerusalem 353
Capitolina period, erected probably in commemoration of
the decisive victory over Bar Cochebas, and the third
systematic destruction of the city. The young Frenchman
further pointed out that the Tombs of the Kings which
must be sought for about Sion, the city of David, and
thence to Siloam are a monument of the later Asmoneans ;
while the curious crypt, popularly known as the Tombs of
the Prophets, is merely the remains of an old Christian
cemetery attached to one of the numerous monasteries
founded upon the Mount of Olives. This last he proved
by showing crosses over the loculi, and by a dozen or so
of Greek graphite, mostly proper names of men and women,
and belonging to a period as far back as the first year of
official Christianity, that is to say, not far from Constan-
tine. The so-called Holy Sepulchre he claimed as the
" Monument of the High Priest," the fifth after the return
from the Captivity, popularly known as John, son of Judas,
but called in Nehemiah (xii., 2) Jonathan, son of Joiada.
Needless, perhaps, to add that all agreed that every trace
of the site of the rock tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea is
utterly lost ; even in the fourth century no reliable tradition
concerning its position existed.
Clermont Ganneau also made sundry interesting dis-
coveries in some enormous quarries near the city, known
as the Royal Caverns. The entrance, not far from the
gate of Damascus, looked like a mere hole in the wall ;
creeping through, a stranger found himself in endless arti-
ficial caves and galleries, most of them unexplored. By
means of the magnesium light, for candles and matches
were almost useless, Ganneau perceived a branch on the
right, displaying characteristic traces of human labours,
rock-rings for hanging lamps, and a very ancient stone-
picture representing the man-headed, bearded, and winged
Assyrian bull.
No contretemps seems to have marred Burton's stay at
Jerusalem. He evidently enjoyed it keenly, and, save for
23
354 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the noise and confusion caused by the pilgrims, his visit
was happily timed. -He could inspect in person the able
and honest labours of Wilson and Warren ; he was
delighted with the learning and originality of Clermont
Ganneau, and during the whole of his sojourn he was able
to enjoy the society of Drake and Palmer, men who shared
his views and feelings, and with whom he could always
work in perfect accord.
Leaving the fascinating city with much regret, not only
for its own sake, but for that of the friends it harboured,
husband and wife proceeded to Bethlehem, Jericho, the
Dead Sea, in short, to most places of interest in Palestine.
All went smoothly until they arrived at Nazareth, where
they were joined by Tyrwhitt Drake. Here, strangely
enough, a wretched village fracas proved the commence-
ment of a run of ill-luck which culminated in the loss of
our traveller's appointment, August i5th, 1871.
The Burtons and their followers, with two other parties;
composed of Americans and Germans, had camped for the
night in a grassy plain outside Nazareth, close to the Greek
Orthodox church. Early next morning, a Copt who hap-
pened to be prowling about, bent on mischief, entered
Isabel's tent, probably to extort money. She called for
assistance, and he was promptly expelled by her servants.
Unfortunately, just as the squabble was at its height, the
Greek congregation filed out from their devotions, and,
seeing a row, could not resist joining therein, of course
taking the part of the Copt against the strangers. Matters
soon began to look ugly, for Burton's followers numbered
but six, while the assailants mustered about one hundred
and fifty. The two Englishmen had rushed half dressed
from their tents at the first alarm, and done everything in
their power to soothe and calm the excited mob. Vainly :
they were received with a shower of stones so dense as to
darken the very air. A rich and respected Greek, carried
away by fury and fanaticism, shouted, " Kill them all,
Enmity of the Greeks 355
kill them all ; I will pay the blood money ! " Burton's
muleteer, in terror of annihilation, yelled in reply, " Shame,
shame ! this is the English Consul at Damascus, and he is
on his own ground." Further speech was smothered in
the uproar, the fight waxed more furious, three of our
traveller's servants were badly hurt, he was hit repeatedly,
his sword arm injured, and although he stood perfectly
calm, marking out the ring-leaders to arrest them later,
he saw the odds were too great to contend against much
longer. Pulling a pistol from his belt, he fired in the air
as a signal for aid to the neighbouring camps. Happily,
it was promptly responded to, and the white-livered ruffians
turned and fled.
For this outrage no redress whatever could be obtained.
The Greeks, with the mendacity so characteristic of their
nation, declared it was not they who began the quarrel,
a most improbable story, considering their superior num-
bers. Worse still, a scandalous report of the affair was
forwarded to Damascus, Beirut and Constantinople, signed
and sealed by their bishop. This prelate, who was clearly not
one of those excellent ecclesiastics who make our Tractarian
clergy yearn for reunion with the Eastern churches, had
been for some time past on unfriendly terms with the
English Consul. He had purchased from the Turkish
authorities a synagogue and cemetery which for the last
four hundred years had belonged to the Jews of Tiberias,
some of them British protected subjects ; and the trans-
action being a fraudulent one, Burton had been forced
to protest against it, drawing thereby upon his devoted
head the wrath of Monseigneur Niffon and his Orthodox
congregations. Bishop and flock vied with each other
in spreading abroad the most mischievous tales how the
Consul and his party had directed a regular fusillade at
harmless worshippers, ignoring the fact that not one
pious soul could boast of a wound how Burton and his
wife had rushed into their church and torn down the
232
356 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
pictures, finishing up with a "pas de deux" in the sacred
building ; in short, such a tissue of lies, that at last our
ambassador at Constantinople telegraphed to know what
it all meant. Apparently a trumpery squabble, it excited
an enormous amount of dormant ill-feeling, and so proved
the straw that shows the wind.
Nearly two years had passed away since our traveller's
arrival in Syria. The time had been spent in able and
honest work, work which exactly suited the man. His
post required the exercise of constant vigilance and atten-
tion to the strangest variety of interests, while it allowed
him occasional leisure for exploration and discovery. He
was as happy as a man generally is when in his right place,
and in after days he used to say the twenty-three months
spent in Syria were amongst the pleasantest of his life.
Most improbable, then, does it seem that he endangered
his tenure of this valuable appointment by any unpopular
act not absolutely necessary. Duty must be done ; this
he never shirked ; but we know from his writings, from
the testimony of his best friends, that his idea of duty was
simple, straightforward, and utterly free from the slightest
taint of fanaticism. I hope my readers will follow me
attentively through the next few pages. The true cause
of the terrible crash in August, 1871, the recall which was
little better than temporary disgrace, has to be patiently
sifted from a mass of nonsense and misrepresentation, and
even from the minor agents which, unhappily, all more or
less contributed to bring about the disastrous issue.
Certainly, he had made enemies of sundry Jew money-
lenders. Not, as has been falsely stated, of the whole
Jewish community his behaviour in the matter of the
cemetery and synagogue unjustly acquired by Bishop
Niffon proves that ; but there had been trouble with the
usurers. In 1870-71, anybody having the smallest preten-
sion to be called English could obtain a sort of official
recognition, and rank thenceforth as a British subject,
Burton and the Money-lenders 357
amenable only to the authority of the consular courts. The
persons thus protected numbered forty -eight, and the
majority do not appear to have abused their privileges.
Three, however, were Jews, of whom Shylock was the
prototype. When Burton arrived, one of this trio inter-
viewed him without loss of time, and announced that he
had three hundred cases of debt, amounting in all to nearly
sixty thousand pounds, for the Consul to deal with at once.
Burton's reply was characteristic : " Sir, you had better
hire a consul for yourself alone ; I was not sent here as a
bailiff, to tap the peasant on the shoulder in such matters
as yours."
He soon discovered that the ignorant Syrian peasants
were being ruined by hundreds. One poor wretch, ninety
years old, had been imprisoned throughout an entire winter
because he could not afford a napoleon ; young men were
thrown into jail for sums so inordinately increased by
interest and compound interest, that it was impossible to
repay even half ; and, in some cases, whole villages were
being sucked dry by these detestable vampires. No honest
man could by any possibility aid or abet so crying an evil ;
consequently the money-lenders, furious because they
received no assistance in their nefarious practices, wrote
bitter complaints of their Consul to sundry leading Jewish
families in England. And, enemies being usually more
active than friends, the Hebrews whose part Burton had
conscientiously espoused in the Niffon affair unfortunately
remained silent.
Then arose a missionary trouble. An enthusiastic,
self-ordained evangelical preacher, who, by the way, had
not taken the precaution to master Arabic before ex-
pounding his version of the Gospel, and therefore patheti-
cally entreated his hearers to lift up their dog unto the
Lord, for a broken and contrite dog He would not despise, 1
insisted upon distributing Testaments and tracts in the
i Kalb heart, kelb dog.
358 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
bazaar, calling meanwhile upon the Moslems to forsake
Mohammed and be baptized. This rant amongst an in-
flammable population like the Damascenes could not be
allowed to continue. The regularly appointed missionaries
were most cautious in their methods of conducting their
labours, and lived on friendly terms not only with their
broad-minded Consul, but with the other Christian sects
and the irritable, intolerant Turks. The volunteer in
question was, to put the matter gently, a fanatic. " I
should glory in martyrdom," he announced when Burton
remonstrated with him.
" But we should not, nor would the many thousand
Greek and Roman Catholics that inhabit the neighbour-
hood," returned the Consul, who then and there took
measures to prevent a repetition of these zealous though
somewhat halting utterances. And he was only just in
time to save the man from insult or imprisonment, for the
matter having reached the ears of the acting Turkish
governor, that redoubtable official immediately ordered all
the books to be seized and burnt in the market-place.
Burton again exerted his authority, this time to prevent
the ignominious cremation ; but the disappointed aspirant
to palm and crown, so far from being grateful for receiving
back his treasures intact, left Syria furious, and on reaching
London, loudly proclaimed his wrongs.
Although, besides the usurers and the irregular prose-
lytisers, Burton had an enemy in his Consul-General, who
preferred an easier life with a more commonplace associate,
I do not believe any one of these troubles was the true
cause of his recall. But on carefully reading the endless
papers and correspondence connected therewith, I find a
very curious circumstance. For the first time in his life
Burton was not on thoroughly friendly terms with the
Moslems. The Governor-General of Syria had become an
inveterate foe, and we hear of other annoyances connected
with men of a faith who formerly hailed him as a brother.
A Fanatical Outburst 359
This will be explained by a strange story in his wife's
memoirs. As related in her usual hazy fashion, when facts
are concerned, three parts mirages of her own imagination,
it seems at first fairly bewildering. Burton posing as a
missionary, self-ordained like the Stiggins he had so lately
snubbed ! A marvellous tale indeed : let me try to make
it intelligible.
During Isabel's stay at Damascus, a sort of religious
intrigue amongst a sect of Mohammedans called the
Shazlis was going on in the lower quarter of the town
known as the Maydan. To entitle the movement a
Christian revival would be exaggeration ; it appeared
rather a sort of hysterical, superstitious outburst, to which
uneducated people of all nationalities are occasionally
subject, and which is powerfully stimulated by the cer-
tainty of opposition. Stories like those of Lourdes, visions
and revelations unutterable, were whispered from mouth
to mouth ; the seers worked themselves into a state of
somewhat noisy exaltation, and before long a Roman
Catholic priest of Teutonic origin appeared on the scene,
to distribute crucifixes and devotional manuals amongst
the enthusiasts. The latter soon numbered two hundred
and fifty, held regular meetings in each others' houses,
and at last publicly announced they were yearning for
baptism and formal admission into the Church of Rome.
Meanwhile, legends of the appearance of Isa bin Maryam
in the suburbs of Damascus, 1 and accounts of the extra-
ordinary behaviour of the neophytes, ended by attracting
the by no means friendly attention of the Moslem authorities.
Great was the consternation of the Ulema, or learned men,
on hearing of heresy rapidly spreading in their midst ; and
many a session did they hold in order to discuss what steps to
take in such a strange and unusual dilemma. The sequel
may be easily guessed. We are all aware that Moslems
1 The second coming of Christ is to take place at Damascus, but
Antichrist, or Dajsal, has to come first
360 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
are not noted for toleration towards their renegades ; a
number of the poor deluded wretches were arrested, and,
although nothing was known for certain as regards the
means adopted to make them acknowledge the error of
their ways, it was but too probable they were not over
tenderly dealt with.
Now this was a matter which in no way concerned our
Consul. Not a single English or Scotch clergyman was
mixed up in it, merely a German Roman Catholic priest.
There was already more than enough to do in protecting
the Protestant missions, the schools, the lives and property
of British subjects, without interfering with the religious
squabbles of the Turks. And Burton, who, in common
with his friend Drake, had the lowest opinion of Syrian
Christians, priest-ridden, steeped in superstition to such a
degree that they are the most arrant cowards in creation,
was about as likely to assist in increasing their numbers as
to join in a Shakers' dance.
But he reckoned without his wife. Isabel, anxious to
convert the Moslems by latter-day miracles as she had been
to Romanize his Majesty of Dahomey with her magic
lantern, threw herself open-armed into this revival. She
offered to stand sponsor to the two hundred and fifty 'verts
en masse, and she confessed to baptizing every dying person
she could get hold of. And while her husband, continually
absent exploring or attending to the duties of his consulate,
knew nothing, or next to nothing, about her dangerous pro-
ceedings, she impressed upon the people the belief that she
acted with his full permission and approval. All natural
enough. A zealous admirer and follower of Ignatius
Loyola (Isabel never made any secret of her Jesuitical
proclivities) could not be expected to resist the tempta-
tion of so wholesale a conversion from her mortal enemy,
too, El-Islam. For she particularly disliked this creed,
partly from jealously of her husband's partiality, in contra-
distinction to his utter contempt for that of Rome ; and
The Recall from Damascus 361
partly on account of the sanction it gives to polygamy, an
Old Testament practice of which Burton never seems to
have thoroughly disapproved. We cannot be surprised at
the terrible blunder she committed, but that it was a
blunder, and a fatal one, there remains very little doubt.
Enemies a man like Richard Burton could not fail to make,
but he could hold his own against them ; when he had to
grapple with those made by his wife, he was overpowered.
So his good friends, the Moslems, gave him the cold
shoulder. Doubtless they blamed Haji Abdullah's solitary
spouse, for they behaved with singular moderation. Still,
disagreeable reports got abroad of a probable attempt to
assassinate him, and before long a warning reached the
Foreign Office that, owing to Turkish fanaticism, the
Consul's life was in danger. This, after so many other
disagreeable reports, proved the last straw. Disputes with
the Jews, the Greek bishop, and others, mattered little ;
but the English Consul must keep friends with the rulers
of Syria. Can we blame the Foreign Office ? Significant
enough it is to any unprejudiced reader that the next
appointment was in a Roman Catholic country.
The manner of the recall seems to have been unneces-
sarily harsh. Burton and his almost inseparable companion,
Tyrwhitt Drake, were just setting off for a ride over the
hills about B'ludan, little dreaming how never again would
they wander together over the slopes of Lebanon, when a
ragged messenger slipped a note into the former's hand.
It proved to be from Mr. Kirby Green of Beirut, and it
contained the startling intelligence that, by order of the
Consul-General, he had arrived the previous day, August
1 5th, and taken over the Damascus appointment.
Hardly believing the evidence of their senses, the two
friends leapt into their saddles and galloped into town
without drawing rein. They found their worst fears
realised. The post which Burton had been so proud of,
the post he had worked to retain with unblemished honour,
362 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
was not only taken from him, but already filled up. On
the igth, all hope having vanished of any mistake in the
orders received from home, he sent a message to his wife :
"I am superseded. Pay, pack and follow at convenience;"
and then with an aching heart he started for Beirut to
embark for England.
A cruel blow, one that required a strong brain to bear
without reeling. At fifty years of age to be dismissed like
some worthless domestic, without even a day's warning.
The step may have been necessary indeed, viewing it
through the softening haze of five-and-twenty years, I
think it was necessary. But so honest, so erudite, so
heroic a servant of the Crown, should have been more
tenderly dealt with in circumstances peculiarly cruel and
distressing.
CHAPTER XV
T ION-HEARTED though Burton was, the shock of this
*** sudden recall told upon him cruelly. On landing in
England he came at once to us at Norwood, and remained
until his wife's return from Syria. My father had lately
held civil and military appointments in Canada, so we had
not seen our wanderer for several years. The pleasure of
our long-deferred meeting was sadly spoilt by his dejected,
heart-broken mood, a state of things we were quite unpre-
pared for, as he had travelled so rapidly that he had not
thought it worth while to write in fact, a letter would
have arrived the same time as himself. Never had we
known him so wretched, so unnerved ; his hands shook, his
temper was strangely irritable, all that appreciation of fun
and humour which rendered him such a cheery companion
to old and young alike had vanished. He could settle to
nothing ; he was restless, but would not leave the house ;
ailing, but would take no advice it was indeed a melan-
choly spectacle.
Natural enough ! He was feeling not merely the loss
of what we younger members of the family called a " beg-
garly Consulate " (our opinion of a Consul then tallied with
Lady Augusta's in Charles Lever's novel), but he knew
that, thanks to his wife's imprudence and passion for pro-
selytizing, all further promotion was hopeless Morocco,
Constantinople would never be for him ; his career was
blighted. All this he saw at the time, and it proved only
too true ; but as the days went by his marvellously
sanguine disposition reasserted itself, and, as his sister
used to say, made him expect not only improbabilities,
but impossibilities.
364 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Presently Isabel arrived in London with the enormous
amount of baggage the Burtons usually carried about with
them, plus a pretty but useless Syrian maid. The books
alone occupied a dozen cases, and curiosities of every
description filled one large room. Her husband then left
us for Montague Place, where the father and mother-in-law
were still living (the latter had come to regard him as
a necessary evil) ; but before he went we arranged to
spend part of the following year together in Edinburgh.
Prior to his sudden return from Syria, we had thought of
passing twelve months in Scotland ; and as soon as
we found he would enjoy the change, and seemed quite
cheered up by the prospect of a visit to the northern
capital, we departed to search for comfortable quarters
in that romantic but fearfully cold and gusty town.
When Burton had recovered his spirits a little, he
commenced a correspondence with the Foreign Office on the
subject of his sudden removal from his Eastern post. He
obtained, however, no satisfactory answer. He was in no
way blamed, but the true cause of his recall was kept secret.
The Press, which knew little or nothing of the attempt
to convert the Shazlis, mostly blamed the Government
for its rigorous treatment of so gifted a servant. But Lord
Granville persisted in evading the main question, bided
his time, and finally presented our luckless Benedict with
a berth which ensured for the donor freedom from incessant
complaints, and for the receiver a whole skin.
Unfortunately, a year elapsed between the two appoint-
ments, and a very lean year it proved to the Burtons.
Neither, it may be remembered, was remarkable for
economy ; but Isabel, who held the purse-strings, used to
get quite indignant when reminded of the duty of providing
against rainy days. 1 However, unlike La Fontaine's Cigale,
1 Burton left the management of his pecuniary affairs to his wife
in order to have more time for study, but this arrangement worked so
badly that at his death only a few florins remained out of ^12,000
recently paid him for the " Arabian Nights."
A Stay in Scotland 365
she was not allowed to want. Each side of the family
possessed its wealthy member, and the individuals in ques-
tion, being as generous as they were rich, came to the
assistance of our imprudent pair. A little ready money
was, indeed, all they really required, as there was no
necessity for housekeeping, that bane of small incomes,
for the wife and her Syrian maid, who, by the way, became
about as unpleasant in her line as Allahdad had become
in his, lived with the Henry Arundells, while her husband
paid long visits to old friends, and had his brother and
sister's home always open to him.
Twice he stayed with us in Edinburgh. The first time
was in February, and we were delighted to see that the
Damascus trouble, which we feared had almost mortally
wounded him, was skinning over. No one could have in
a higher degree the invaluable form of common -sense
which enables its possessor to speedily reconcile himself
to the inevitable. The cherished appointment was irre-
trievably lost, but he had grieved long enough, and now it
was time to turn his thoughts to some more profitable
matter. A gleam of sunshine too had appeared after the
storm. While racking his brains to find out how to keep
himself and his wife until he was again employed, he had
met a Mr. Lock, who was on the look out for a trusty
emissary to report on some sulphur beds in Iceland. Mr.
Lock had just obtained from the Danish Government the
right of working the mines of Myvatn in the northern
portion of the island, and he was anxious to know if this
could be done with any certainty of profit. Passage-
money, all expense of outfit, would be paid any way, and
a big fee besides, if the property realised expectations.
Burton, who had long been anxious to visit Ultima Thule,
agreed with alacrity to undertake the survey; and, as
Granton was his starting point, he spent part of his first
visit in making preparations for the trip, and prolonged
the second to his departure in June.
366 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
By May he was quite himself again, and seemed
thoroughly to enjoy life. Many a walk did we take
together down Princes Street and up Arthur's Seat ; and
well I remember him swinging along in his grey ulster and
high -crowned soft felt hat. Every trifle was noted by his
keen eyes, and he appeared just as well amused while
climbing the solitary hill with his sister and nieces as in
the busy street where his friends were constantly ex-
changing greetings or stopping him for a chat. Seldom
have I seen him better pleased with any place than with
Edinburgh. In spite of its unattractive climate, he liked
the town, the bracing air corrected a tendency to liver
troubles, and he was flattered by the kindness and hospi-
tality with which he was received. The 93rd Highlanders,
stationed at the Castle, entertained in genuine Highland
fashion ; and at our house he met most of the leading
Scotch families who happened to be lingering in the
northern capital. Lord Airlie was High Commissioner
that year, and he and his handsome wife rendered the
receptions at Holyrood even more popular than usual ;
those romantic evenings when the grim old palace presents
for the nonce so bright and picturesque a scene women
in their smartest gowns, men wearing their medals and
ribands. Burton, while his brother-in-law donned his red
collar and cross and star of the Bath, looked almost con-
spicuous in unadorned simplicity. The K.C.M.G. was
given to him nearly fifteen years later.
We long looked back to these two visits. It was such
a pleasure to know that his exuberant vitality had triumphed
over his misfortunes. No doubt the complete freedom
from any domestic worry helped not a little in the cure.
Thoroughly contented, he was again able to sympathise
with the pursuits and interests of every one of us, not
neglecting even the family pets. Of course, his stay, like
most of life's pleasant interludes, seemed far too short both
to him and to ourselves ; and, as usual when he said good-
A Visit to Iceland 367
bye, his hands turned cold and his eyes filled with tears.
Only his brother-in-law was permitted to see him off. Such
an amount of feeling was especially touching on the occasion
in question, as this tour, which he was looking forward to
with intense interest, was his first treat in the travelling
line since the Damascus crash.
The somewhat uninteresting nature of the undertaking
forbids a detailed account of Burton's visit to Iceland.
Besides, that small white spot in the Arctic Sea, verging
on the desolation of Greenland and lacking the grandeur
of Nature in Norway, is now well-trodden ground; and
while travellers or students would do well to study " Ultima
Thule," the general reader might resent too copious quota-
tions from these erudite tomes. 1 But the first impressions
of such a man on viewing the stock sights are well worth
recording, for Burton always insisted upon writing of things
as they are, not as magnified or bedaubed by fancy. If all
travellers had been as truthful, how much less we should
have to unlearn !
Thanks to the simple school-books of our early years,
we were accustomed to draw for ourselves a delightfully
exciting picture of Ultima Thule. Even in more erudite
and more recently published works, Burton suspected the
colours were laid on too lavishly; on arriving in the country
he found the "touching up" had been even more audacious
than he imagined. " Giddy, rapid rivers " proved only
three feet deep, "stupendous precipices" mere slopes, which
the Icelandic ponies scaled with ease ; perils from Polar
bears rather perils to the starved, numbed quadrupeds in
question, which could hardly run away from the sports-
man's gun. The Hecla of our ingenuous childhood, a
pillar of heaven upon whose dreadful summit white, black
and sanguine red lay in streaks and blotches, with volumes
of sooty smoke and lurid flames ascending skywards, is in
1 Published by Nimmo, 2 vols., 1875.
368 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
sober reality a commonplace heap half the height of Hermon,
rising detached from the plains, a pair of white patches
representing its " eternal snows." Most disappointing of
all were the Geysers : the Great Geyser merely hiccupped,
the Strokkr required a full hour's poking up before it would
treat the spectators to the tamest of displays, and the Little
Geyser declined to give the slightest sign of its existence.
No wonder our traveller dubbed them gross humbugs,
adding, " if their decline continues so rapidly, in a few
years there will be nothing left save a vulgar solfatarra."
As to the " midnight .sun," its rays had to be excluded from
his uncurtained bedchamber by his landlady's flannel petti-
coat, a garment she kindly parted with for that purpose.
Still, though the wonders had been exaggerated, Burton,
with his usual fairness, allowed there was much to see
and to enjoy in Iceland. Mild east winds prevailed at
Reykjavik; after July nth the sky was cloudless for a
whole fortnight. The peculiar charms of the island, and
it has peculiar charms, grew upon him. During such de-
lightful weather there is much to admire in the rich meads
and leas stretching to meet the light blue waves ; in the
fretted and angular outlines of the caverned hills ; in the
towering walls of huge horizontal steps which define the
Fjords ; and in the immense vista of silvery cupolas and
snow-capped mulls, which blend and melt with ravishing
reflections of ethereal pink, blue and lilac into the grey
and neutral tints of the horizon. There is grandeur, too,
when the storm-fiend rides abroad amid the howl of gales,
the rush of torrents, the roar of waterfalls, when the sea
appears of cast-iron, when the sky is charged with rolling
clouds torn to shreds as they meet in aerial conflict, when
grim mists stalk over the lowlands, and when the tall
peaks, parted by gloomy chasms, stand like ghostly hills in
the shadowy realm. And often there is the most picturesque
of contrasts : summer basking below, and winter raging
above ; peace brooding upon the vale, and elemental war
Whirlwind Bolts 369
doing fierce battle upon the eternal snows and ice of the
upper world.
Of course Burton did not spend much time in criticism
and contemplation. Thoroughly equipped for work, he did
work. His costume on occasions appears to have been
more comfortable than beautiful. During his stay in
Edinburgh, he had provided himself at Messrs. Hunter
and Macdonald's with sou'westers at 2s. each, outer and
inner hose at 33. 6d., sailors' trousers for ios., stout oil-
cloth coats at i8s. 6d., and warm mittens, perhaps not
quite so smart as those knitted by our Dorcases for Deep
Sea fishermen, at is. 3d. Nothing could have proved
more suitable for his many boating trips, or for fording
the rivers. In spite of frequent drenchings and sudden
changes of temperature, he never once caught cold. At
times he rode the Iceland ponies, and was well satisfied
with their agility, strength, and sure-footedness. Not a
day was wasted. Every morning found him exploring
either on foot, pony-back, or in a boat coasting about
the island.
Foremost came the business on which he had been sent.
To familiarise himself with the subject he first visited
Husuvik, a port only ten miles distant from the mines of
Krisuvik, then in full work. Having carefully surveyed
these, he made his way, accompanied by the Messrs. Lock,
a small party of workmen and nineteen ponies, to Myvatn,
the concession he had to report upon. Various incidents
enlivened the march. At one village where they halted the
people were holding a fair, and were mostly in the state
politely called excited. Mr. Lock, senior, had a narrow
escape from a hideous matron, snuffy as our great grand-
mothers, who tried to kiss him. Near Hrossaborg it was
the sand that proved too lively. A dozen columns were
careering at once over the plains, although rain had fallen
during three days. One of these curious whirlwind bolts
struck the caravan, but, unlike the powerful Shaytan of the
24
370 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
Arabian wilds, it did not even remove a hat. The journey
ended pleasantly enough save for the loss of a carpet-bag or
two and the disappearance of a homesick pony.
Three days were spent at the Solfatarras of Myvatn,
lodgings being found at the house of a farmer whose
alacrity in composing a bill of charges had won a wide
reputation. It was not pretty scenery save to a capitalist's
eye a speckled slope of yellow splotches set in dark red
and chocolate-coloured bolus, here and there covered with
brown gravel, all fuming and puffing, and making the
tender-hued Icelandic flora look dingy as a Sierra Leone
mulatto. Burton worked hard. On one surveying ex-
pedition food, liquor, tobacco, all ran short ; and after
an eight hours' ride he regained his quarters with feet
so numbed that he feared a case of frostbite. Pretty
strong remedies were immediately applied, but it was
not until morning that his circulation was restored.
As regards the results of the survey, the mass of mineral
was enormous, and the reproductive process, which occupies
a period of thirty years in Italian mines, is produced within
three in those of Iceland. In short, the speculation seemed
a very promising one. At that time nearly all the sulphur
for Europe and America was drawn from Sicily; and
Iceland being much nearer, and the chance of her ports
being blockaded in case of war much slighter, it seemed well
worth while to seek a new source of supply. But the scheme
ultimately collapsed. The difficulties of transport, the vile
climate, the countless obstacles that always hinder the
establishment of a new industry proved too much even for
British pluck and patience. And now, since Clarke's
process, patented in 1888, enables us to make our sulphur
from the refuse of soda manufactories, we hear no more
about the mines of Iceland.
The speculation was unsuccessful ; but the work had
proved a veritable boon to our traveller. It had filled a
dreary gap in his life given him a fresh interest. The
The Trieste Appointment 371
bracing summer marvellously benefited his health, and
when on September ist he embarked for England, he
looked at least fifteen years younger.
At home a piece of good luck awaited him, all the
pleasanter because long deferred. Some of his friends,
dreading the effect that the misrepresentations of so many
enemies might produce on the Foreign Office, feared he
might either never be employed again, or else be offered
some post so small and ill-paid as to seem hardly worth his
acceptance. Lord Granville, however, was far too just
and clear-sighted to make any such blunder. As I have
already said, he waited until a good berth fell vacant, and
on Charles Lever's death at Trieste, appointed Burton
Consul in his stead.
As consulates go, Trieste was not to be despised. The
emoluments amounted to ^"600 a year, besides ^"100 office
allowance, and there was a vice-consul. It was unsuitable
in some respects ; a third class seaport seemed hardly the
right place for a scholar who spoke twenty-nine languages,
not including dialects, a man who occupied the proud
position of premier linguist in Europe. Ma che fare!
There were many advantages : the duties were light, the
leave was unlimited, Isabel could convert whom she
pleased ; indeed, she tells us in print that she stood
sponsor to a housebreaker. Naturally, at first we felt it
hard that he should be condemned for life to dull, prosy
office work, which anyone not absolutely idiotic could do as
well ; but now, on looking back dispassionately, I can but
think that the enormous amount of liberty accorded him
during those eighteen years proves that Lord Granville,
far from bearing any ill-will against the luckless Haji, made
up for the harshness of the recall by providing him for the
rest of his days with what was practically a sinecure.
Trieste is not one's beau ideal of a home. Foreign
towns rarely reach that level. Like many such cities, it
presents a fair appearance from afar, a foul one on close
24 2
372 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
inspection. Its death rate is at times appalling, and little
wonder. During the winter the Bora pours down from the
north, bitterly cold, and sometimes so violent that the
quays have to be roped to save people from being blown
into the sea. Cabs and horses have been upset, a train
has been overturned, and an English engineer was once
suddenly hurled into a ship's hold by this aggressive blast.
The summers are hot and debilitating, while, to add to the
unwholesomeness of the place, the Citta Vecchia, dating
from the days of Strabo, is unutterably filthy, a veritable
focus of infection, as its drainage, flowing into the harbour,
is wafted inland by the sirocco, and spreads around odours
which would have sickened Cloasina herself.
Such as it was, the Burtons had to make the best of it.
Their earlier home was a flat, airily situated in a tall block
of buildings close to the sea. It had one merit, for it was
perched so high that the smells failed to reach it. At first
Isabel contented herself with ten rooms, but after a time
insisted upon twenty-seven. Burton's own private apart-
ments he was too busy a man not to require a den to
himself were gay with Oriental hangings, brass trays and
goblets, chibouques with great amber mouthpieces. Signs
of the Crescent reigned paramount, crucifixes, madonnas,
relics, and so forth being strictly relegated to his wife's
side of the flat. Glittering daggers and curious sabres hung
on the walls, and the favourites amongst his eight thousand
volumes were neatly ranged in plain deal bookcases in his
sanctum sanctorum. Thermometer, aneroid, every kind of
scientific instrument, had each a little place of its own ;
while clocks and watches, which, like most punctual men,
he delighted in, ticked cheek by jowl. The office was in
the heart of the town, whither Jack Tar after a spree could
easily find his Consul, and where the Consul, if necessary,
could confer with his good-natured colleague, Mr. Brock.
Life at Trieste was simple and regular. Burton rose
about 5 a.m., studied until noon, strolled from his rooms to
Life at Trieste 373
the fencing-school, thence to his Consulate. By evening he
required a little relaxation ; and not being of the tame-cat
species, addicted to his own armchair in his own chimney-
corner, he and his wife used to dine with a party of friends
at the Hotel de Ville, where they could obtain a fair dinner
and a pint of country wine for a florin and a half.
So much for their town existence. But no lover of pure
air could hope to remain well for long in a place which
numbered as many stenches as far-famed Cologne. While
exploring the neighbourhood, Burton pitched upon summer
quarters, whither he could repair for hygienic surroundings.
Op5ina, the sanatorium in question, is one hour from, and
twelve hundred feet above, Trieste. The visitor can drive
all the way along a good road, and after his very moderate
exertion be rewarded by a lovely view of the town, the
sea, and all the picturesque points of land. Fairly good
accommodation is afforded by an old-fashioned village inn,
where the Burtons hired rooms by the year, and stayed for
periods ranging from three days to a month, whenever their
health required a change. This pied a terre proved most
convenient ; for the surrounding Castellieri prehistoric
remains, supposed to be Celtic are eminently interesting
to scholars and antiquarians ; in fact, every spot of ground
within a hundred miles of Op9ina soon became familiar to
our indefatigable traveller. Of Trieste he made a most
careful study, as well as of the province of Istria, describing,
in what he modestly called " a little guide-book," the ruins
of the Roman Temple, Jupiter Capitolinus, the classical
Arco di Riccardo (Richard of England, who was never
there), the remnants of the Roman theatre and aqueduct
in the old town, and the two Museums with their con-
tents.
The Burtons often went further afield. Sometimes they
would cross over to Venice, or pay a short visit to the
fascinating Austrian capital. Certainly some of these trips
were rather costly, the hotel bill during the Great Exhibi-
374 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
tion at Vienna amounting to ^"163 for only three weeks!
Little cared they. Several legacies fell in about that time,
and paid for many a tour. One especially interesting excur-
sion was to Italy, the principal object being to study, on the
spot, the Etruscan remains at Bologna. Here Burton
remained some weeks, investigating the antiquities and
collecting material for a small volume, partly of criticism,
but mainly of original research, in which, from the hastily
acquired data at his command, he has presented a complete
and exhaustive account of this most ancient of the cities of
Etruria. From the preface we learn that his stay was
very enjoyable. The rich collections in the museums, and
numerous trips to the sites which yielded them, made time
pass pleasantly and profitably, while local notabilities vied
with each other in treating their erudite guest with the
most graceful attention and courtesy.
A desirable coincidence which occurred in 1875, of six
months' leave and one of the legacies afore-mentioned,
rendered practicable a winter tour through India. Our
restless pair were only too glad to get away from Trieste
during its most disagreeable season. Burton declared clean
cold he could stand, dirty cold he could not. They started
on New Year's Day, 1876, by an Austrian Lloyd steamer,
bound for Port Said. What with old associations and the
absence of any accident or annoyance, this ramble amongst
familiar scenes was interesting enough to the former
" lieutenant of blacks " ; but as there was nothing remark-
able about the journey, only the solid results thereof
concern the public.
One of these was a most amusing book, " Sind Re-
visited," in two volumes ; the other the inception of his
last great expedition, to the ruined cities of Midian. The
latter originated in almost fairy-tale fashion. Readers of
the " Pilgrimage " may remember a description in its pages
of a genial friend, Haji Wali, whom Burton met while
sojourning in the Wakalah in Cairo ; in fact, I have briefly
Haji Wali Confides in Burton 375
alluded to him myself in chapter iv. In the course of
one of many confabulations, the Haji, in an outburst of
confidence, entrusted his cosmopolitan chum with a secret,
which for a quarter of a century was destined to be kept
inviolate. It happened by the merest chance : while the
said pilgrim, who, in addition to strict observance of his
religious duties, never neglected to secure the good things
of the world wherein Allah had temporarily placed him,
was returning from his second visit to El-Hejaz, he found
gold close to the Gulf of Akabah. The caravan had halted
for the night, he had strolled away from his companions,
and, while walking along the dry bed of a torrent, he sud-
denly perceived sand of a curious colour. Scooping up a
double handful, he secured it in his handkerchief, and
carefully concealed it about his person. On arriving at
Alexandria, he showed his trouvaille to an assayer, who, by
means of his art, produced a bit of gold about the size of a
grain of wheat. Ever since that day the Haji had been
sedulously searching for some companion in whom to con-
fide ; and, as soon as he had satisfied himself regarding the
probity of his new friend, he proposed they should travel
together to the spot and try their luck.
Burton, though brave, was not foolhardy. He saw at
once that a journey amongst the wild tribes of Midian, with
only one companion, would, if any suspicion of treasure-
seeking got abroad, end in certain death for both. More-
over, he had set his heart on the far more romantic
pilgrimage to Meccah and Medinah, where the risks, if as
great, were less ignoble ; and so for a long while the scheme
fell through.
Still, though many years slipped by, he did not forget
the Haji's story. According to classical and Arab writers,
gold has been found in Midian ; why then should it not be
found again ? The land is scarred and honeycombed with
ancient mines, and it seems improbable those bygone
workers, with their comparatively rude tools and appliances,
376 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
had extracted all the metal. Anyway, he decided that the
matter was well worth investigating as soon as a favour-
able opportunity presented itself.
It came at last. Ismail, Khedive of Egypt, who, what-
ever his faults might have been, was always anxious to
develop the resources of his country, happened to hear
that long ago the site of a goldfield had come to Burton's
knowledge. In the then critical condition of Egyptian
finance, no chance of procuring supplies of the precious
metal was to be neglected ; so," when our traveller was
returning from India, via Suez, the Viceroy honoured him
with an invitation to report on the matter viva voce. His
reception was peculiarly gracious, and the first audience
convinced him that this prince was a thorough master of
detail, and that if he decided upon sending an expedition to
Midian, he would do the thing liberally and well. Finally,
after a few days' delay, Ismail came to the conclusion the
mines were worth a search, and formally commissioned
Burton to lead a caravan to the spot where the metallic
sand had been discovered.
Nothing could please our traveller better. Now re-
mained to find Haji Wali. A friend in the telegraph
service was at once engaged in the quest, and a clue was
soon discovered. An old man of that name, weighing some
sixteen stone, was said to be living at Zagazig. Ensued a
long correspondence. The Haji had four young children,
his wife expected a fifth, he now numbered eighty-two win-
ters ; and, under such circnmstances, it was not surprising
that he seemed exceedingly shy of undertaking a long and
uncomfortable journey. Fearing interminable delays,
Burton swooped down on the old fellow in person, and by
dint of many a " flattering tale," which none knew better
how to tell than himself, he persuaded the octogenarian
that, from a pecuniary point of view, it would be well
worth his while to make the effort. As might be expected,
even after his consent had been obtained, the ancient proved
A Gold-seeking Expedition 377
rather troublesome. Hardly had he arrived at Suez, than,
declaring he had described everything, he asked to go home
again, adding, with many a groan, there were pains in his
head, in his side, and in his knees which utterly unfitted him
for the fatigue of the expedition. Two bottles of bitter ale
a day effected wonders ; still Burton must have heaved a
hearty sigh of relief when the venerable Haji's services
were no longer required.
As on the occasion of the famous expedition to the Lake
Regions of Central Africa, our traveller began with a " pre-
liminary canter." Midian was to him virgin ground, so it
seemed only prudent to prospect with a small band, before
leading a numerous and expensively equipped company.
The reconnaissance lasted three weeks, from March 3ist to
April 2ist, 1877; but as I am about to describe in detail
the second expedition, which covered four months, I will
merely add that the first proved an entire success. The
Land of Midian is still wealthy; turquoise mines exist,
traces of gold are abundant, also of iron and silver. Eight
boxes filled with metalliferous quartz, greenstone, porphyry
and basalt, were carried back to Egypt for analysis, besides
bags of gravel and sand for laboratory work.
The hot season necessitated a delay of six months
before the survey could be resumed. Burton returned to
Trieste, and never had that unsavoury seaport and its
duties appeared more dreary and distasteful. Throughout
the summer he was fairly haunted with memories of the
Land of Jethro, with its sweet fresh breezes, its perfumed
flora, its glorious colouring and its grand simplicity. The
golden region appeared to him in many a nightly dream, in
all the glory of that primaeval prosperity dimly revealed by
the recently interpreted Egyptian hieroglyphs. Again he
beheld the mining works of the Greeks, the Romans, and
the Nebathaeans, whose names are preserved by Ptolemy,
the forty cities mere ghosts and shadows of their former
selves, mentioned in the pages of the mediaeval Arab
378 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
geographers; and the ruthless ruin that under the dominion
of the Bedawin gradually crept over the country. And
many a fair vision floated through his waking brain of a
future Midian, whose rich treasures of various minerals
would restore unto her wealth and prosperity after his
second expedition had shown to the world what she has
been and what she may be again.
At last the happy hour for departure struck. On the
igth of October, 1877, Burton left Trieste for Cairo. Six
weeks sufficed for preparations. The Government maga-
zines provided necessary stores, orders from headquarters
threw open every door, and although a few delays and
difficulties occurred, all was plain sailing compared with
what it would have been in Europe. The Viceroy, who,
it was said, paid all the expenses out of his own private
purse, had determined that the expedition should not
merely carry out the work of discovery by tracing the
metals to their source, but that it should bring home
specimens weighing tons, enough for assay and analysis
quantitive and qualitive, both in London and Paris. So
miners and mining apparatus were provided, with all the
materials for quarrying.
The personnel consisted of an escort of twenty-five
Soudanese soldiers, a few experienced miners and thirty
quarrymen. The European staff mustered five Burton,
M. George Marie, an engineer, Mr. J. C. Clarke, a
telegraph engineer, M. Emile Lacaze, an artist, and M.
Jean Philipin, who, in addition to other duties, acted as
blacksmith. The Egyptian commissioned and non-com-
missioned officers numbered thirteen, there was a small
company of servants and camp followers, and last, but
not least, fat old Haji Wali appeared on the scene, the
" preliminary canter " having been too short to visit the
spot where he had found the gold. A few mules were
shipped; but camels could be procured on the spot, and
there would be no difficulty as to expense, the generous
En Route to the Land of Midian 379
Viceroy having presented Burton with two thousand
napoleons, besides all the stores.
Finally, the first week in December, 1877, the expe-
dition departed by special train, under the immediate
auspices of the governing family of Egypt. In spite of
a heavy gale, which detained the party at Suez for a day or
two, and which later sorely endangered the mules Burton
seemed more anxious about their limbs than his own
the gunboat safely reached her destination, off Fort El-
Muwaylah, on the Midianite coast. A more disagreeable
voyage would have been soon forgotten in sight of those
glorious mountain walls which stand out from the clear
blue sky in passing grandeur of outline, in exceeding
splendour of colouring, and in marvellous sharpness of
detail. " Once more," exclaimed our traveller, " the power
of the hills was upon me."
No time was lost in disembarking the stores and proper-
ties, including sundry cases of cartridges and five hundred
pounds of pebble-powder, which had been imprudently
packed immediately under the main cabin. Implements as
well as provisions were given in charge of an old Albanian,
who acted as magazine man. This done, the steamer pro-
ceeded to a quiet little harbour a mile or two further, for
the purpose of patching up her boilers, which had already
caused no small trouble, and threatened to cause more.
Burton's landing at Fort El-Muwaylah was conducted
with such ceremony as to be almost a function. The gun-
boat saluted, the fort answered with a rattle and patter of
musketry ; all the local notables received the expedition in
line, drawn up on the shore. To the left stood the civilians
in tulip-coloured garb ; next were the garrison, some dozen
Bashi-Buzouks, armed with matchlocks; then came the
quarrymen, in uniform ; while the black-faced escort held
the place of honour on the right. The latter gave our
traveller a loud " Hip, hip, hurrah ! " as he passed.
A whole day was spent in inspecting the soldiers and
380 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
mules, in despatching a dromedary-post to Suez with news
of the arrival, and in conciliating the claims of rival
Bedawin. Several of these gentry offered themselves as
guides to the interior, of course for a consideration. Each
wanted his camels to be hired and no one else's, each
demanded extortionate sums, so extortionate indeed, that
it was fortunate the Viceroy had proved liberal. Finally
three Shaykhs were engaged, one hundred and six camels,
and several dromedaries with their drivers. Half this
number of quadrupeds would have sufficed, had not the
wretched animals, one and all, been half-starved, and
utterly unable to carry any great weight. Their greatest
feast was a meagre ration of mixed beans, and their daily
bread consisted of the dry leaves of thorn trees ; no wonder
they had hardly energy even to bite. In two or three days
all was ready, and the caravan straggled off to Jebel El-Abyaz.
Straggled is the only word to use. Burton declared the
first march reminded him of driving, or attempting to drive,
a train of unbroken mules over the prairies. The escort,
thinking solely of themselves and their property, seemed
determined to follow their own sweet will, while each
Desert craft sailed snarling and yelling along, steered
after a fashion which proudly disdained the usual caravan
file. Burton, mounted on an old white mule, appears to
have performed the work of a sheep-dog in keeping his
unruly party together.
Matters improved later. The lawless Arabs and
Egyptians soon found their chief would stand no non-
sense. His character, a rare combination of determination
and gentleness, made him an almost ideal leader of semi-
civilised races ; and, as we have seen in other expeditions,
it was rare indeed for him to lose all control over the men
under his command. Prosperity attended them. The first
part of the journey through Midian Proper lasted fifty-four
days, during which time about 107 miles of ground were
surveyed with the utmost care. The country through
Difficulties with Haji Wali 381
which they travelled was essentially a mining one, ex-
tensively but superficially worked by the ancients. Besides
specimens of gold, silver, and iron, copper ore was dis-
covered which sometimes yielded as much as forty per
cent, of metal. Of the forty ruined cities, eighteen were
visited during the exploration of Midian Proper, including
the capital, Madiama, the greater part whereof, originally
built of gypsum, must, when new, have looked like a scene
in fairy land. Its ruin was utter foundations of walls, a
bastion built in three straight lines overhanging the per-
pendicular face of a gorge, traces of furnaces now level
with the ground, and sundry sunken, shattered catacombs
were all that remained of the once wealthy and powerful
worshippers of Baalpeor. A few old coins were picked up,
some so glued together by decay and eaten out of all
semblance of money as to be illegible ; others, after being
treated with acids, fairly decipherable. Amongst the little
collection was a copper coin thinly encrusted with silver,
proving that even those days produced " smashers."
But now I hear the reader interrupt, " Tell me about
Haji Wali and the torrent bed. Did he lead the caravan
to the auriferous Wady, and did it contain gold ? " Well,
it is my painful duty to relate that age had sadly deteriorated
the once excellent qualities of my uncle's old friend. The
pious pilgrim who had twice braved the perils of the way
to Meccah and Medinah, now, like the old person of the
nursery rhyme, would not even say his prayers. When
informed by the Mullah it was the hour for devotion, he
answered, " Wait a bit." Nor did he perform his earthly
duties any better than his heavenly ones his promises
proving like the proverbial pie-crust, made only to be
broken. The caravan had got about half way to the
spot so long the centre of interest, when he suddenly in-
sisted on returning home. Not for love of wife or child-
ren, but to look after his pecuniary affairs. And he stuck
to his intention. Maddened by fear lest during his absence,
382 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
in the height of the cotton season, the fellahs of Egypt
would neglect to pay their debts, he malingered to such an
extent that Burton feared the old fellow would kill himself
out of sheer spite. So, after several attempts to detain him
even a few days longer, he was permitted to leave the
Expedition, then encamped at the Wady Sharma, and
to ride to the Fort, whence a pilgrim-boat was about to
start for Suez. On parting, the old man vowed he was
dying and could hardly keep in the saddle. Little did
he know that his whilom chum watched him amble away,
and, almost pleased to be rid of the responsibility, laughed
to see how rapidly he urged on his hapless mule as soon as
he imagined himself well out of sight.
However, he had had the grace to leave a rude map
of the spot. So many valuable mines had been discovered
already, that it mattered comparatively little whether this
particular site proved auriferous or not. But as the caravan
was now so near, Burton thought it advisable to try by
means of the plan to discover the place which had proved
almost the raison d'etre of the Expedition. And this he
succeeded in doing. A rounded hill close to the Akabah
Gulf, a dry watercourse between two tall bluff cliffs, a
solitary mimosa, tallied with the description so often
repeated of the scene of the trouvaille. At once the
washing trough was prepared, a trench dug, and the
gravelly sand manipulated. But to no purpose. Either
some exceptionally heavy torrent had carried away the
precious metal en masse, or, more probably, the workers
having ascertained for certain the existence of gold else-
where, would not put up with the delay and trouble of a
sufficiently-prolonged search. That gold existed in the
neighbourhood Burton heard on all sides. In camp men
spoke freely of dust stored in quills carried behind the ear
and sold at Suez. But neither promises nor bribes would
persuade the poorest Bedawin who prowled about the tents
to break through the rule of silence ; and, after a fortnight
The Exploration of Midian 383
had been wasted over this fruitless task, Burton gave the
order to depart.
The exploration of Midian was divided into three prin-
cipal journeys. The first, already partly described, con-
cluded with a quartz prospecting trip along the Gulf of
Akabah, whereon, the winds being chronically high and the
gunboat's boilers hopelessly dilapidated, our party were
very nearly shipwrecked. Between each excursion was
an interval of rest at headquarters, Fort El-Muwaylah,
which, being one of the defended stations of the Cairo
Hajj, or pilgrimage caravan, seemed quite a gay and
civilised spot after the solemn inland wildernesses. Here
all enjoyed a halt of about ten days, preparatory to a
march on the Hisma. Burton's heart was firmly fixed on
this project, for he hoped to find an "unworked California"
to the east of the Harrah volcanoes, virgin regions where
granulated gold still lingers, unlike the mines on the coast,
where machinery must take the place of the human arm.
His Shaykhs and camel men, however, were by no means
so enthusiastic, the region in question being the haunt of
a tribe, the Ma'azah, who from all reports seemed little
better than cut-throats. Objections were silenced at last,
and the party set out in force at 6.30 a.m., February igth.
Their Remingtons numbered ten, their camels fifty, and
dromedaries six. Discipline had wonderfully improved, for
the caravan now loaded in twenty minutes instead of five
hours, and when no fear of danger delayed it, started in
fifteen minutes after bugle-call.
Their route lay through East Midian. Having pro-
ceeded about six miles, they stopped for rest and refresh-
ment by the side of a thready stream in the section of the
Surr, which receives the Wady El-Najil. The banks were
crowded with sheep and goats as in the days bsfore the
" hosts of Midian " received such an u imerciful thrashing
from the hands of Gideon and his vindictive warriors ; and
the adjoining rocks possessed peculiar attractions for hares,
384 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
hawks, and partridges. In these upland regions water is
found almost everywhere, and is generally drinkable ;
hence the Bedawin prefer them to the arid and thirsty coast.
Though mostly parched and stony, Midian has her bits of
Arcadia. One is the great Wady Damah, where our
traveller saw not only flocks of sheep and goats browsing
on the luxuriant herbage, but spots where a thin forest
gathers and clumps of trees form quite a feature in the
landscape. Again, in the Wady Sharma, the water scenery
and consequent greenery is as fresh as Damascus. While
there encamped, Burton used to wake every morning sur-
prised by the home-like sound of a little runnel, babbling
along its bed of rushes, stones and sand, accompanied by
the musical rustling of several tall trees, which completed
the fresh and delightful scene.
Next day was spent in northing, during which our
caravan passed a broad tree-dotted flat of golden sand,
bordered by an emerald avenue of dense mimosas forming
line under the greenstone hills to the right, and the red
heights on the left. Plants were rare ; chiefly remarkable
were the sorrel, and the blue thistle, or rather wild arti-
choke, a thorn loved by camels. Sometimes an impatient
rider would leave the comparatively easy tracks in the
valleys for a short cut over hills so steep as to induce
even the three Shaykhs to dismount, anyway before com-
mencing the descents. Views from the heights were lovely,
especially the blue and purple screen of Sinai, which formed
a splendid background. There was nothing to distract
attention from the gorgeous aspect of Nature, for just
then all traces of man had vanished ; the Ma'azah were
up country, and another tribe had temporarily quitted
their grazing grounds. On the night of February 2ist,
the caravan halted after a total march of eleven miles at
the foot of a granite block wherein a gap supplied them
with tolerable water.
All went well until February 23rd, when the enemy's
A Bad Beginning 385
country appeared in sight. Burton and some of his officers
were preceding the escort, who, on approaching the haunts
of the bandits, had become so excessively nervous starting
at every sound that it was necessary to show an example.
While passing some black tents on the left bank of the
Surr, where that stream enters a narrow rocky gorge,
our traveller perceived about a dozen Arabs scampering
over the sides of the Pass. The heights scaled, they
emitted some unmelodious yells intended for a war song,
and what was still more objectionable, they distinctly
threatened to fire.
Dismounting at once, Burton looked to his weapons,
and then, like one of Dumas' heroes, began to parley. But
the ragged ruffians, who knew neither of the escort nor
the numbers of the Expedition, explained in their barking
voices that they would be satisfied with nothing less than
plunder. And again they howled their war cry. For-
tunately, at that moment the Soudanese soldiers, with their
formidable guns gleaming in the sunshine, appeared on the
scene, and immediately the Ma'azah changed their tone,
kissed Burton's hands, and declared, with one eye fixed on
the Remingtons, there had been some mistake.
Still, it was a bad beginning. Next day a messenger,
despatched in hot haste to obtain a pass from the principal
men of the tribe, appeared officially heading five chiefs, who
were followed by a tail of some thirty rowdy rascals. Two
of these personages were mounted on horses, wretched
animals stolen from another tribe, the rest on fine,
sturdy, long-coated camels which looked Syrian rather
than Midianite. So important an arrival was signalised
with a certain amount of ceremony ; bugler and escort,
drawn up in front of the mess-tent which had to serve
as audience chamber, saluted with all the honours.
During the palaver that ensued all was sweet as honey
outside, and as bitter as gall within. The Ma'azah, many
of whom then saw Europeans for the first time, eyed their
386 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
hats curiously, with a facial movement which meant, " So
now we have let Christian dogs into our land ! " When
asked whence they had procured the two horses, they
answered curtly, " Min Rabbina " (from our Lord), thus
signifying stolen goods. However, in spite of their evident
disinclination to have any dealings with strangers, they
promised to escort the Expedition to their dens on the
morrow.
That night was raw and gusty, the mercury sank to 38
F. ; and blazing fires kept up within and without the tents
hardly sufficed for comfort. Doubtless, Burton slept little ;
anyhow, early morning found him engaged in a final
struggle with his three Shaykhs, who were driven almost
to desperation by the prospect of entering the robbers'
haunts with their precious camels. Finally, after every
available argument they could urge had been disposed
of, they consented to proceed a little further ; and at
7.15 a.m. the caravan and its brigand guides marched
due eastward through the Pass leading to the enemy's
country. The path was the rudest of corniches, worn
by the feet of man and beast, and showing some ugly,
abrupt turns. The ground, composed mostly of irregular
rock steps, presented few obstacles to the horses and
mules ; but the camels, laden with the mess-table and long
tent poles, must have had a troublesome time. Of course,
the cautious beasts advanced leisurely, feeling each stone
before they trusted it, so all arrived without the slightest
mishap.
Burton and his European companions preceded as usual
their noisy, braying company. On the Pass - top they
halted to prospect the surrounding novelties. Looking
down the long valley just traversed, they distinguished a
dozen distances whose several plains were marked by all
the shades of colour that the most varied vegetation can
display. And in the far horizon appeared the eastern faces
of the giants of the coast-range, glorious in all the grandeur
The El-Nejd Plateau 387
of their vast proportions. In fact, our traveller was stand-
ing on the westernmost edge of the great central Arabian
plateau, defined as El-Nejd, the highlands an upland
running parallel with the " Lip-range " and with the mari-
time ghauts, and known as the far-famed Hisma. It probably
represents a remnant of the old terrace which, like the
Secondary gypseous formation, has been torn to pieces by
the volcanic region to the east, and by the plutonic up-
heavals to the west. Its length may be 170 miles. The
views on all sides were striking and suggestive. Facing
the spectators was El-Harrah, the volcanic area whose
black porous lavas and honeycombed basalts are still
brought down to the coast to serve as hand-mills ; then,
southward, appeared a line of red ramparts and buttresses,
beyond which soared the sky-blue mountain-block that
takes its name from the ruins of Shaghab. Besides its
beauty, the land possessed another attraction, one ever
dear to Burton's heart it had never yet been trodden
by European feet. 1
Unfortunately, it proved impossible to penetrate this
then unknown region. The Ma'azah chiefs and their
followers, after a display of rapacity and ill-temper far
frcm reassuring, suddenly sent off messengers in every
direction, a step which looked uncommonly like a general
call to arms. The chiefs then publicly declared they would
have no Nazarenes in their mountains, and privately con-
sulted whether they should not raise a force of dromedary-
men to exterminate the strangers. And all this duly
reached Burton's ears.
It was most annoying. Not only had the " virgin
California " to be abandoned, but the Hisma also, a
region full of archaeological interest. Besides, how dis-
concerting to beat a retreat before these unmannerly
brigands with their beggarly pop-guns, their wretched
1 Since that time it has been explored by Mr. Doughty and others.
2S 2
388 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
accoutrements! I think Burton did heave just one sigh
for the days when an Englishman might have forced his
way through black man's land without having every shred
of character torn to bits by those mock philanthropists who
make no distinction between men and semi-apes. How-
ever, under the circumstances, no alternative remained
but to turn back. So, at 4.30 a.m., February 25th, he
aroused his camp, gave orders to strike the tents and
load, an order obeyed with suspicious alacrity ; and, after
some slight show of resistance from the robber chiefs, who,
as usual, wished to extort money, the caravan made its
way out of the enemy's country.
The time was not wholly wasted. When out of reach
of the Ma'azah, Burton journeyed leisurely through South
Midian, surveying and collecting specimens on the way.
Ruins innumerable studded the land, ancient mines yawned
open to the sky. More enticing to the eye was the weird
and fascinating aspect of the southern Hisma wall, as seen
in the distance. Based on mighty massive foundations of
brown and green trap, the undulating junction perfectly
denned by a horizontal white line, the capping of sandstone
rises regular as if laid in courses, with a huge rampart
falling perpendicularly upon the natural slope of its glacis.
Further eastward the mass has been broken and weathered
into the most remarkable castellations, into likenesses of
cathedrals, spires, minarets, and pinnacles, of fortresses,
bulwarks and towers. Nor are the tints less remarkable
than the forms. When day warms them with its gorgeous
glaze, these curious shapes wear the brightest hues of red,
set off by lambent lights of pink and ruby, and by shades
of deep transparent purple. The even-glow is indescribably
lovely, all the lovelier because evanescent ; the moment the
sun disappears the glorious rosy smile fades away, leaving
the pale grey ghosts of their former selves to gloom against
the star-spangled sky.
Burton's journey through Eastern Midian occupied a
South Midian 389
month. It included his fruitless attempt to penetrate the
Ma'azah country, a visit to Shuwah and Shaghab, two of
the ruined metal-working cities, and a partial ascent of the
Sharr, a mighty maritime Alp, monarch of Midianite
mountains. This successfully accomplished, the Expedition
returned as usual to Fort El-Muwaylah for rest and fresh
stores before undertaking its third and final march.
The latter, which lay through South Midian, would
interest hardly any save a geologist or metallurgist. Bur-
ton, however, believed it was chiefly there that gold would
be found, pending the exploration of the tract east of the
Harrah volcanoes. The whole eastern counterslope of the
outliers that project from the Ghaut section, known as the
mountains of the Tihamat Balawiyyah, is one vast outcrop
of quartz. The parallelogram between north latitude 26,
including the mouth of the Wady Hamz, and north latitude
27, which runs some fifteen miles north of the Bada plain,
would form, so he believed, a Southern grant sufficiently
large to be divided and subdivided as soon as judged
advisable. Free gold was noticed in the micaceous schists
veining the quartz, and in the chalcedony which parts
the granite from the gneiss.
Little now remained to do. After about three weeks'
scrupulous survey of this rich, metalliferous region, during
which all manner of fruitless enquiries were made concern-
ing stone-coal, the Viceroy, having laid even greater stress
on the search for black diamonds than for gold, our traveller
felt his mission was accomplished, and that he could with a
clear conscience turn the head of his old grey mule home-
wards. And as both Egyptians and Europeans were
desirous of leaving a country which possessed for them
few, if any, charms, once the signal for return given, there
was but little delay. Ismail had already sent another
gunboat, one with sound boilers, to convey the Expedition
back to Egypt. A busy scene ensued on arriving at head-
quarters. The remainder of the stores, which, wonderful
390 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
to relate, had been honestly dealt with by their caretaker,
the old Albanian, were transferred to the ship from the
fort. Twenty-five tons of specimens were gradually stowed
away in her hold, and the three Shaykhs received such a
handsome fee that they actually refrained from grumbling
much. At last came the exciting moment when the Sinnar,
firing a farewell salute to Fort El-Muwaylah, started on
her homeward way. Suez was safely reached April 2oth,
1878.
Nothing could be more flattering than Burton's recep-
tion by the Viceroy. Directions were given for an exhibi-
tion of the trophies. It proved a great success, opened,
as it was, by Ismail in person, and attended by all the
members of his family. Experts from England and Aus-
tralia pronounced a favourable verdict on the specimens,
and our traveller was directed to draw up a general descrip-
tion of the province, to report upon the political and other
measures whereby it could be benefited, and to suggest
the means of profitably working the mines. Moreover, the
Viceroy renewed his promise that Burton should receive
either a concession, or a royalty of five per cent., on the
general produce of the mines as a reward for his discoveries.
Apparently our hero had won both honours and afflu-
ence. Or, had he yet another disappointment to bear in
his sorely disappointed life ?
CHAPTER XVI
APPARENTLY Fate had decreed that never was
^* Richard Burton to win fortune by exploration. The
two expeditions to the mines of Midian, which promised
so much, ended in utter failure. Ismail Pasha perhaps
the ablest, certainly the most extravagant, ruler Egypt had
yet known had been compelled to abdicate, and Tewfik,
his son, reigned in his stead. The first results of the
change of government, until the English had succeeded in
reducing the financial confusion to some degree of order,
were not particularly happy. Public works were neglected,
the great improvements which could only become profitable
long after their completion were more or less starved, and
the burden of taxation became every day less endurable.
Ismail's downfall, every one knows, happened suddenly.
When Burton left Egypt, after his triumphal return from
Midian, the political horizon was certainly lowering, but
he did not anticipate his patron's speedy deposition ; nor,
when the news reached his ears, did he fear that the policy
hitherto pursued of developing the resources of the country
would be reversed. So he journeyed leisurely through
Germany for the purpose of examining various collections
of arms to figure later on as illustrations in his " Book of
the Sword," and, by means of his consular duties and
literary work, managed to while away the time until he
could ascertain personally how matters were progressing in
Cairo.
Towards the end of 1879, having once more obtained a
few months' leave, he again visited that city, and there did
his utmost to induce the new Khedive to renew the works
392 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
in Midian. But, after sundry fruitless attempts to gain the
ear of the principal advisers of the Viceregal Court, Burton
could not conceal from himself the unwelcome certainty
that all his labours had been thrown away, and that the
funds already expended might just as well have been flung
into the Nile, for any good they were likely to do the old
Black Land. Tewfik had become Khedive under circum-
stances of exceptional difficulty ; he could spend no money
on schemes, however brilliant. In fact, the change of rulers
had destroyed at a blow all our hero's hopes not merely
of his own fortune and advancement, but the nobler ones
of restoring wealth and prosperity to an unfortunate country.
Every effort to persuade the more powerful officials to listen
to his plan for converting deficits into surpluses was received
with worse than coldness ; the National Party opposed his
scheme as the idea of a foreigner, and all agreed that, owing
to the wretched condition of the Egyptian treasury, it was
utterly impracticable. So, having wasted at Cairo nearly
half a year of his life, Burton returned to his Consulate
wearied out and disgusted.
After about eighteen months' work at Trieste, varied by
a brief visit to London, our traveller made his final attempt
to wring treasure from the many rich hoards yet lying in
the bosom of Mother Earth. As in the case of the Ice-
landic sulphur mines, a Liverpool merchant required
Burton's services. Mr. James Irvine, a large mine owner
in the Gulf of Guinea, had just obtained important con-
cessions in the valley of the Ancobra River ; and aware
that Burton knew more about the Gold Coast than any
other Englishman, requested that he, together with Captain
V. L. Cameron, should inspect his new property and advise
regarding the best means of extracting the precious metal.
Although the West Coast of Africa is not usually re-
garded as an agreeable touring ground, this offer was
received with rapture by our versatile traveller. Delighted
at the prospect of escaping from commonplace Trieste,
West Africa Revisited 393
utterly oblivious of many a bygone fever in those malarial
districts, he eagerly consented, and on the iSth December,
1881, found himself once more on the familiar route. At
Madeira he was joined by Cameron, who, like himself, was
in high spirits and fully equipped for work. They voyaged
leisurely per ss. Senegal, spending a day or two at Bathurst,
Freetown, and other mouldy, mildewed pest-houses along
the coast, which they briefly described as being in an
advanced stage of decomposition. The latter part of the
journey was not rendered more agreeable by a crowd of
native passengers daddy, mammy, and piccaninny
especially as these negroes were permitted to travel first
class. Black daddies, whose conversation at every meal
consisted of whispering into each other's ears, with an
occasional guffaw like that of a laughing jackass, and
whose pronounced kleptomania no surveillance could keep
in check, especially excited Burton's ire. Nor did even
the sable women find favour in his sight. Their language
and manners seem to have been indescribable ; their
appearance, thanks to frightful semi-European gowns of
striped cottons, harlequin shawls, and scarves thrown
over jackets which showed more than neck and bare arms
to the light of day, he compared to devils seen in dreams
after a supper of underdone pork, and would, he added,
have scared away any crow however bold.
Barring these black nightmares, the voyage seems to
have been pleasant. There was a little too much rolling
occasionally, the Senegal being a ship sailors euphemistically
term lively, and nobody, however industrious, can write or
read with much result when this movement becomes too
pronounced ; but the glorious Harmatan weather, with its
cool, dewy mornings and evenings, and the pale round-
faced sun gleaming through an honest fog, made our
traveller wish that sundry friends who had marvelled at
his pleasure in exchanging the bitter blasts of the
Northern Adriatic for this genial temperature could
394 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
have spent a day with him. Finally, after passing the
hummocks of Apollonia, Axim, his destination, peeped up
over the portbow at dawn on the 25th of January.
The first aspect of Axim is charming ; there is nothing
more picturesque upon this coast. Situated on a bay
within a bay, it boasts of a noble forest as background ;
and consisting of a fort and subject town, it wears a
baronial and Old World air, decidedly agreeable after the
frowsy mean-looking settlements touched at en route.
The agents of the several Aximite houses soon came on
board, hobnobbed with captain and passengers, and pre-
sently embarked with Burton and Cameron in the usual heavy
surf-boat, manned by a dozen leathery -lunged " Elmina
boys " with paddles, and a helmsman with an oar. The
anchorage place lies at least two miles south-west of the
landing stage, but since only one sunken reef prevents
larger vessels from running into the bay, a reef which
merely requires a buoy to mark its whereabouts, Axim can
pride herself on possessing the safest harbour on this part
of the African sea-board.
Our travellers and their belongings, duly housed by Mr.
Irvine's agent in his little bungalow facing Water Street,
spent a day or two inspecting town and fort, marvelling
meanwhile at the unusual cleanliness of the natives, who,
even on chilly mornings, never failed to take a bath in the
sea. Then business had to be attended to. The King of
Amrehia, who had granted the concession, had not yet signed
the document enabling Mr. Irvine's representatives to take
formal possession of the Izrah mine. So the potentate
came in state to Water Street to affix his sign-manual to
the legal papers ; and as usual on such occasions, the
interview consisted chiefly of compliments, presents and
drinking. Nothing more about the king's costume need
be said than that it was peculiar: better leave it to the
reader's imagination.
Soon after this important preliminary, the two friends
A Wealthy Country 395
started for the scene of their labours. The site of the
Izrah Mine proved a fine one, situated about four geo-
graphical miles from the sea. The travellers also visited
neighbouring concessions even superior ; but all had certain
disadvantages, vile roads, and equally vile anchorage at the
nearest points on the coast. Gold was abundant, but the
blacks who delved for it were arrant thieves ; and as
machinery was costly and the staff had to be liberally
paid, the prospects of handsome dividends for English
shareholders seemed somewhat doubtful. The two friends
worked together most amicably : Cameron made an ex-
cellent route survey of the district, corrected by many and
careful astronomical observations ; Burton described the
land as minutely as possible, searched, often under a
broiling sun, for the shortest cuts to the sea, and studied
separately the various gold-pits belonging to the different
properties. He came to the conclusion that this Wasa
country, Ancobra section, is far richer than the most
glowing accounts have represented it. The land is literally
impregnated with the precious metal, and there are, be-
sides, signs of diamond, ruby, and sapphire. On the other
hand, he could not help noticing the serious drawbacks
already mentioned.
But now, to his sore discomfiture, Burton was reminded
that even his iron constitution could not last for ever.
Both he and Cameron worked too hard. Their mornings
and evenings were spent in hammering quartz and gold
washing, often in fetid pits half full of water ; their days
in walking instead of hammocking. Deeming themselves
seasoned travellers, they neglected such simple precautions
as fires at dawn and sunset. And, as usually happens after
any great imprudence committed in such a climate, the
penalty was soon exacted. Both men fell ill on the same
day Cameron was prostrated by a bilious attack, Burton
by fever and ague. The former resorted to chlorodyne, the
latter to Warburg's drops (tinctura Warburgii), in which
396 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
he had the greatest faith ; but sickness left them so utterly
prostrate that, after long and anxious deliberation, they
decided on that not very dignified proceeding by which
people live to fight another day. So, more dead than
alive, our travellers embarked on the Ancobra river, and
hastened back to the comparative luxury of Axim.
The rest is soon told. Cameron, the younger man,
speedily recovered and returned to work. Burton, who
could not shake off the fever, reluctantly confessed to a
thorough breakdown, and so took the next steamer to
Madeira, where he had little to do except to look after his
own health. At the end of a month he was joined by his
friend, who had completed the required survey single-
handed, and the two men returned to Europe.
As may be guessed already, the Izrah mine and others,
in spite of their rich store of metal, did not prove a success. 1
Two volumes, crammed with information, were the sole
results of Burton's efforts. His expenses were paid, and
with this he had to be content. His last long journey was
over, and had left him neither richer nor poorer than when
he started.
Acknowledging with his usual plucky good sense that
his most vigorous years were past, he now turned his
attention entirely to literature ; for awhile, with scant
success. Much time was devoted to a translation of the
" Lusiads," followed up by a "Life of Camoens" and a
Commentary. 2
" Englished by Richard Burton, and well done,
As it was well worth doing,"
said Gerald Massey. And certainly the man was equal to
the task. None but a traveller can do justice to a traveller,
and it so happened that most of his wanderings formed a
running and realistic commentary on the "Lusiads." He
1 To the Gold Coast for Gold." Two vols.
'Camoens." Six vols.
Literary Labours 397
had not merely visited almost every place named in the
" Epos of Commerce; " in many he had spent months, and
even years. Only they who have personally studied the
originals of the word-pictures of Portugal's greatest singer
can appreciate their perfect combination of fidelity and
realism with fancy and idealism. And another of our
translator's qualifications was his thorough appreciation of
the poem combined with ardent admiration for the poet.
The gracious and noble thoughts of the " Lusiads" revived
him as the champagne air of the mountain-tops ; and the
soldier-writer, whose motto was " Honour, not Honours,"
commanded the warmest sympathy of one whose life bore a
strange resemblance to that of Portugal's noble and unfor-
tunate son.
Unluckily, this was not the sort of work to bring at the
time either fame or fortune. The general reader could
hardly be expected to clamour at the libraries for an
archaic translation of a classical epic. Not surprising,
therefore, is it that this fine rendering of the "Lusiads,"
enriched by notes of the most varied erudition, fell almost
stillborn upon the press. Now, as the truest copy of
Camoens' immortal poem, it has become a standard work ;
then, like many books that finally attain this fondly-coveted
position, it resulted in pecuniary loss to its writer.
Once more Burton's affairs began to look gloomy. His
startling failure of health during his trips to the Gold Coast
had revealed pretty plainly that he could no longer bear the
strain of travels in pestilential climates. Moreover, in 1883
he was seized with a severe illness, suppressed gout affecting
stomach and heart, which confined him to his bed for eight
months. His last publication had not paid its expenses,
no further legacies were expected just then, and a flat of
twenty-seven rooms, even though situated in a dirty Austrian
seaport, requires a certain amount of money to keep up.
But Richard Burton was destined to enjoy a brief
season of sunshine before leaving a world which had often
398 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
proved so dark and dreary. Sanguine as he was, I do not
think he had any idea of the great good fortune life yet
held in store for him. Hitherto his writings had brought
in at most sums such as two or three hundred pounds ; at
other times next to nothing ; or, as in the case of the
" Lusiads," left him out of pocket. Now, by a curious
chance, the birth of one of his brain-children attracted a
veritable shower of gold. By a literal translation of the
" Arabian Nights," those wonderful tales first known in
Europe through the French rendering of Antoine Galland,
1704-1717, Burton realised what many persons would con-
sider a little fortune, viz., twelve thousand pounds.
The history of this " revelation of Orientalism " is
romantic to a degree. With many intermissions it had
taken thirty-two years to write ; and laborious though
the work had often proved, it never failed to afford its
author interest and amusement. During long years of
official exile to the deadly climates of East and West
Africa, the dull half-clearings of South America, it was
a faithful talisman against ennui and despondency. From
disagreeable or commonplace surroundings the Jinn bore
away the translator to the land of his predilection Arabia,
a region so familiar to his mind that even when he cast
his first glance on the scene, he tells us, it seemed a
reminiscence of some bygone metempsychic life in the
far distant past. Again he stood under the diaphanous
skies, in air glorious as ether, whose very breath causes
men's spirits to bubble like sparkling wine. Then would
appear the woollen tents of the Bedawin, mere dots in
the boundless waste, the camp-fire shining like a glow
worm in the village - centre, and the Shaykhs gravely
taking their places round the blaze, the women and child-
ren standing motionless outside the ring while their guest
rewarded their hospitality by reciting a few pages of their
favourite tales. Even in wild Somaliland no one turned
a deaf ear to these fairy stories, and many a time did our
The " Arabian Nights" 399
traveller keep the men of his caravan in good humour
under trying circumstances by telling of mighty Harun-al-
Rashid, or the immortal Barber.
The conception of this invaluable addition to English
literature took place shortly after the " Pilgrimage to Meccah
and Medinah." Burton arrived at Aden in the winter of
1852, and while lodging with the friend whose absence he
so regretted on the journey to the Lake Regions of Central
Africa, he came to the conclusion after many a confabula-
tion with Dr. Steinhauser, who was as good an Arabist as
himself, that, while the name of this wonderful treasury of
Moslem folk-lore is familiar to almost every English child,
no student ignorant of the language is aware of the valuables
it contains. Even grey-beards at Oxford had to content
themselves with selected, diluted, and abridged transcripts.
Galland had gallicised the general tone and tenour to such
an extent that even the vulgar English versions have failed
to throw off the French flavour. Torrens attempted
literalism, but his execution was of the roughest, nor did
his familiarity with Arabic suffice him for the task ; while
Lane affected the Latinised English of the period and
omitted nearly all the poetry. Clearly the work of bringing
out a first-rate translation remained to be done. Burton
was the first to confess that the coarseness of the original
was a drawback ; but students of " all sorts and conditions
of men " can hardly avoid finding themselves at times face
to face with unpleasant realities. Anyway, the friends
agreed before parting to collaborate and produce a full,
complete, unvarnished copy of " Alf Laylah wa Laylah,"
Steinhauser taking the prose and Burton the metrical part.
They corresponded on the subject for years ; but the doctor
died in the seventies, and the survivor was left to complete
the work alone.
It progressed fitfully amidst a host of obstacles. Burton
had several large deal tables in his study, each devoted to
a different set of books and manuscripts ; and now that
400 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
the "Lusiads" were finished and cleared off, the " Nights "
became all paramount. He laboured incessantly at his
gigantic task until 1880, when the process of copying began,
and he felt himself within measurable distance of its com-
pletion.
Here, perhaps, the question suggests itself to an in-
telligent mind, what might be the traveller's motive for
spending so much time and labour upon a collection of
wonderful fairy-tales ? And I explain with pleasure, for his
object was most laudable. By preserving intact not only
its spirit, but even its mecanique, its manner and matter,
this Eastern Saga book seemed to be the work par
excellence to place in the hands of men studying for the
Indian Civil Service or qualifying as officials in Egypt,
Persia, Syria, or even in those of our cleverest soldiers.
With the aid of the writer's Annotations and his Terminal
Essay, he believed an attentive reader might learn more
of the Moslem's manners and customs, laws and religion,
than is known even by the average Orientalist ; while if
he cared to master the original text, he would find himself
at home amongst educated men in Egypt, Syria, Majd, and
Mesopotamia, and be able to converse with them like a
gentleman, not, as too often happens in Anglo-India, like a
groom. Semitic studies alone teach how to deal with a
race more powerful than any pagan, and strangely enough
these are apt to be thrust aside for others comparatively
useless. Does England forget she is at present the greatest
Mussulman Empire in the world ? Apparently, for of late
years she has systematically neglected Arabism, and even
discouraged it in examinations for the Indian Civil Service.
Briefly, Burton believed if England wishes to govern her
Moslem subjects wisely, she ought to know something of
their literature.
And he was well qualified to be her teacher. No one
else could give her the results of such enormous experience
of Arab and Oriental life. His practical acquaintance with
The Reception of tJie "Arabian Nights" 401
the East, his mastery of the languages and dialects, his
indefatigable industry, all prepared him for a tour de force
which has been well described as unprecedented. The
necessity for the work was obvious ; fortunately, the
executor possessed every faculty for its successful accom-
plishment.
Volume I. appeared September nth, 1885. The original
edition I say original, because a Library Edition has been
issued since his death consisted of ten volumes and six
supplementary ones, which included explanatory notes and
a Terminal Essay on the history of the " Book of the
Thousand Nights and a Night." Hardly had the pages,
yet damp from the press, time to dry before a veritable
hymn of praise saluted the translator. The marvellous
display of linguistic flexibility, the exquisite flow of lan-
guage, the wonderful erudition displayed in the notes,
captivated the critics as the voice of the charmer. Notice
after notice appeared in " dailies " and " weeklies," one
more courteous and appreciative than another. Nor was
the foreign pre^s far behind. From every city in Europe
literati wrote complimenting the great cosmopolitan Eng-
lishman upon the wealth of learning contained in the
latest translation of " Alf Laylah wa Laylah." Never
had a writer enjoyed a nobler triumph, never had a writer
deserved one more.
Naturally, after so many disappointments, so many
failures, this unstinted praise fell like balm on a wounded
spirit. He became brighter, happier, less of a pessimist.
Professing himself truly thankful for the good word of the
Fourth Estate, he acknowledged most gracefully the con-
gratulations received from all sides :
"I seize the opportunity," he said, "of expressing my
cordial gratitude and hearty thanks to the Press in general,
which has received my Eastern studies and contributions
to Oriental knowledge in the friendliest and most sym-
pathetic spirit, appreciating my labours far beyond the
26
402 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
modicum of the offerer's expectations, and lending potent
and genial aid to place them before the English world in
their fairest and most favourable point of view."
Of course a few discords mingled with the generous
chorus of admiration called forth from all truly learned
men by Burton's great work. I notice the most blatant
screech, because it is necessary to clear up all miscon-
ceptions, not merely those concerning the object of the
work, but also the manner in which that object was carried
out. Sundry extra nice or nasty critics complained in some-
what Tartuffian strains of the coarseness of " Alf Laylah
wa Laylah." Wilfully ignoring the safeguards wherewith
Burton had almost prudishly invested his book, they pre-
tended to be as shocked at this translation of an Arabian
classic, limited in issue and intended only for the select few,
as though it were destined to repose on the drawing-room
table side by side with reader, forgive the sneer the last
nauseous case from the Divorce courts. Now Burton had
taken every precaution, and they knew it, to ensure his
volumes reaching the hands, and the hands of those alone,
for whom they were penned. The work was printed, never
published, one thousand sets being issued to picked sub-
scribers. In a circular forwarded with the first volume
the translator earnestly begged it might be kept under lock
and key; and although, later on, strong pressure was
brought to bear upon him to issue another five hundred
copies, he loyally refused either to break faith with his
subscribers or to add unnecessarily to the number of a
work suitable only for a small class of readers.
Never, by my uncle's special request, having even
seen the original, I have given the above summary of its
history from a somewhat cursory inspection of the edition
brought out by Mr. H. S. Nichols, and from reading the
reviews and laudatory letters written in 1886. About this
Library Edition I have something to say. The unex-
pected appearance of these twelve volumes in 1894 created
" The Scented Garden " 403
a considerable stir. Published almost in their entirety,
with merely a few excisions absolutely indispensable, they
were an unwelcome surprise to the original subscribers ;
and the sale of the copyright, by which the widow ob-
tained three thousand pounds, regardless that a book
for private circulation would be scattered broadcast over
the country, coming as it did so soon after her somewhat
theatrical destruction of the "Scented Garden," could not
pass unchallenged. None of her husband's relatives
sanctioned the proceeding ; in fact, their consent was not
asked. In all such matters Isabel Burton was guided by
her own caprice. To any friends who have enquired
whether Burton himself would have authorised the act,
I have always given a decided answer in the negative ; we
have already seen by his refusal to issue another five
hundred copies, even to his own subscribers, that it would
have been utterly foreign to his original intention viz., of
placing the " Thousand Nights and a Night" in the hands
of the few, the very few who could profit by them.
And now, leaving the subject of the wonderful transla-
tion of " Alf Laylah wa Laylah," I must add a few lines
concerning the Burnt Manuscript. Reams of nonsense
have been written about an act intelligible only to those
who held the clue.
Burton had succeeded so well with the " Nights," and
his literary friends had agreed that the insight he had given
into Moslem life was of such priceless value to the country
at large, that he determined on following up his work by
one more translation of the same character. His original
subscribers, delighted with their first treasure, gladly con-
sented to inscribe their names a second time; and an
acquaintance offered six thousand pounds for the whole, in
order to save Burton and his wife from the almost in-
tolerable worry of personally forwarding the book to every
individual. The Arabic MS. in question, which had been
translated by a Frenchman, but which, like the " Nights,"
26 2
404 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
could be done justice to only by a scholar and a traveller,
is entitled: "The Scented Garden, Men's Hearts to
Gladden, of the Shaykh al Nafzawi," and was to be
printed and circulated with all the same precautions as
had been taken with its predecessor. When the work
was two-thirds finished death struck down the writer. The
fate of the fragment was truly strange. Isabel, who had
described the "Arabian Nights" as her husband's Magnum
Opus Isabel, who knew exactly how he had been engaged
until the last day of his life, and who was assisting him
by every means in her power, took the papers from the
desk in which he had carefully locked them, deliberately
read through pages which probably she only half under-
stood, and then, inspired by what seems to have been a
fit of hysteria or bigotry, flung them leaf by leaf into
the fire. As the MS. happened to be unfinished, and,
as she told us herself, she could trust nobody to finish it
for her, it was, comparatively speaking, valueless, and the
sacrifice extolled merely by sundry unusually foolish women
did not cost much. This act furnished food for thought,
even to minds the least reflective. For it was a dan-
gerous precedent. Men whose wives differ from them so
vastly in religious views should leave special instructions
with regard to their papers. Owing to irrepressible hope-
fulness concerning his own health, Burton had neglected
this precaution : even when all could see that his life was
hanging by a thread, he wrote to his sister in England
making plans for the future, and only a few days before the
end he told her gleefully of the progress of his last transla-
tion and of his little army of admiring subscribers. Little
did he imagine how soon after that cheery letter his book
would be ashes, he in Eternity ! Much sympathy was
shown us on this occasion, for every kind-hearted person
realised the bitter pain the mad act caused his family and
friends. Not so much on account of the destruction of the
manuscript, insulting though it was, but on account of the
The Palazzo at Trieste 405
wrong impression concerning the character of the work
conveyed by a deed which the widow made no secret of,
when she should have veiled it in absolute silence. But if
the lesson to other great men similarly circumstanced be
remembered, the lesson that bigotry is ever cruel and un-
trustworthy, the " Scented Garden," like certain sentient
victims of Romish fires, will not have been burnt in vain.
To resume the thread of my story. Though Burton
could ill afford the expense of a move before the publication
of the " Nights," he found himself obliged by failing health
to give up the flat and to take a house on the outskirts of
Trieste. His last illness had left his heart so weak that
the 1 20 stairs leading to his airy abode tried him cruelly.
On the i6th of July, 1883, husband and wife migrated to
their new home. It resembled one of those Palazzi which
Italians loved to build, in other times ; and it was said to
have been erected by an English merchant in days long
past when our wealthy commercial men yet patronised
Trieste. A good entrance led to a marble staircase ; some
of the rooms, numbering twenty in all, were magnificent in
size ; but scorpions were unpleasantly numerous, and the
blasts for which Trieste is notorious must have often
suggested the cave of ^Eolus. The Palazzo evidently
showed to best advantage in summer, for it remained fairly
cool in the hottest months ; its large garden and orchard
overlooked the bay, and the views on all sides were lovely.
It was quite the handsomest home the Burtons had ever
owned. Unluckily, it did not prove a wholesome one.
Burton, who like his father detested little rooms, a result
no doubt of that craving for air caused by weak heart and
difficult respiration, chose the very biggest in the house for
his bedchamber, and the aspect happened to be north.
Though warmed in winter by a large stove, the draughts
from the ill-fitting window-sashes must have been bitter,
and to keep himself warm he wore a fur-lined coat all day
and slept at night, not between sheets and blankets, but
406 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
buffalo skins. A little den, where he could turn the
key on all intruders when extra busy, was also fitted
up for his use ; but the big bedroom appears to have
been his favourite study. And it proved an unfortunate
choice. Dove non entra il sole entra il dottore ; and in
this case when the doctor entered he came to stay.
Never have I met a man with fewer fads than Richard
Burton ; but a large room was to him a necessity. Many
years ago I well remember him say he could not write
in a garret with a sloping roof; and we used to be very
careful, however small the house might be wherein we
happened to be living, to give him the most spacious
apartment we possessed.
In May, 1885, the Burtons came to England, partly to
superintend the printing of the " Nights," partly for change
and amusement. It was delightful to see our hero so
happy over the success of his venture. Sixteen thousand
pounds had been promised by his subscribers ; he calcu-
lated printing and sundries as costing about four thousand,
and the remainder was net profit. Except when his father
died, he had never possessed such a sum before ; and at
the time it appeared inexhaustible. We were then staying
at Norwood, so he could easily run down from London
and tell us all his plans and doings. Bubbling over with
fun, he would pretend to make a great mystery as to the
Kamashastra Society at Benares, where he declared the
"Nights" were being printed about as true as the
tales themselves or he would try to alarm us by an-
nouncing that they might all be burnt on their arrival
in England. But we had perfect faith in him, and were
not to be taken in. At other times, after a trip to
Oxford, he would tell us about his fruitless attempts to
obtain for reference from the Bodleian Library the Wortley
Montagu MSS. of " Alf Laylah wa Laylah." These said
journeys to Oxford were very disagreeable ; he grumbled
sadly about the discomfort of the Library, declaring that
A Visit to Tangier 407
few students save the youngest and strongest could endure
its changeable, nerve - depressing atmosphere. Nor as
regarded himself were his complaints unfounded. Oxford
invariably upset him ; and as that year the cold set in early
and found him unprepared, he contracted a severe chill
amongst the fogs of Isis, which, as usual, turned to gout.
It was deemed advisable by his doctor he was then
trying the rhubarb and saline treatment for his complaint
to winter abroad. So he settled himself for some months
at Tangier, leaving his wife in London. As often happens
when invalids quit their own country, he might just as well,
so far as meteorological conditions were concerned, have
remained at home. The highly-extolled climate of Morocco
did not appear to the best advantage. More than once it
rained for three days without a break, once it even snowed,
and as houses at Tangier are guiltless of fireplaces, the
temperature for delicate folk must fall at times to a depress-
ing, if not a dangerous point. However, there was little
time to think about small discomforts. Burton's labours
were incessant, for only two volumes of the " Nights "
were printed, and he had the remaining fourteen to prepare
for the press. In spite of hard work and indifferent health,
he passed some happy days in the picturesque old town.
The Minister and his wife, Sir John and Lady Drummond
Hay, showed him much kindly attention ; friends and ad-
mirers flocked round him when he was disposed for society ;
and when alone, with the white domes and the spreading
palms ever in his sight, he was able to peacefully finish the
greatest literary achievement of his life.
Sometimes he would stroll about Tangier, and listen to
the Rawi, or reciter, who yet flourishes in Moslem cities.
One at Tangier used to haunt the Soko de barra, or large
bazaar in the outskirts. Here the market people formed a
ring about the speaker, a stalwart man, affecting little
raiment, and noticeable chiefly for his shock hair, wild eyes,
and generally disreputable aspect. He usually handled a
408 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
short stick, and when drummer and piper were absent, he
carried a tiny tom-tom, shaped like an hour-glass, upon
which he tapped the periods. This bard opened the drama
with extempore prayer; he spoke slowly and with emphasis,
varying the diction with breaks of animation, abundant
action, and the most comical grimaces. He advanced,
retired, and wheeled about, illustrating every point with
pantomime ; and his features, voice and gestures were so
expressive, that even Europeans, ignorant of Arabic, divined
the meaning of his tales. All the stories Burton heard were
purely local, but a young Osmanli, domiciled for some time
at Fez and Mequinez, assured him that the " Nights" were
still recited there.
It was at Tangier that Burton's last piece of good
fortune came to pass. One day a telegram arrived from
Lord Salisbury, conveying in the kindest terms the news
that the Queen, at his recommendation, had made him a
K.C.M.G., in reward for his services. Only his nearest
relatives knew how keen was the pleasure afforded by this
honour to one of the least worldly of men. Under all
circumstances a loyal and chivalrous servant of the Crown,
he now recognised with delight that he was not viewed
with disfavour by his Sovereign. And the distinction was
all the more acceptable because so unexpected. Though
Conservative to the backbone, Burton was too proud and
sensitive to vaunt his devotion to Queen and country,
fearing lest it might be imagined he was trying to obtain
by patronage what he preferred to win solely by his own
exertions. Such unusual delicacy is apt to be misunder-
stood, and many people imagined his sympathies lay with
democracy. Occasionally, perhaps, a combination of mental
and physical pain made him irritable, unduly pessimistic,
and inclined to consider himself ill-treated by the Govern-
ment then in power ; but hardly had the fit of gout, the
pecuniary annoyance passed away before he resumed the
easy, sweet-tempered mood most usual to him. His very
Health Troubles 409
last words uttered in public, on the occasion of the Jubilee,
would prove, if proof be needed, he was no disappointed
place-hunter, no votary of King Mob, but a true and loyal-
hearted English gentleman.
" May God's choicest blessings crown our Queen's good
works. May she be spared for many happy, peaceful, and
prosperous years to her devoted people ! May her mantle
descend upon her children and her children's children ! "
Once more did Burton wend his way homeward. We
saw him oftener in 1888 than during any previous visit.
Both brother and sister made every effort to meet as
frequently as possible, almost as if they knew their next
parting would be final. First he stayed with us at
Folkestone, then we arranged to pass some weeks together
at Norwood, and last of all we met again by the seaside.
When he landed in June, we were horrified at the change
in his appearance. We knew of course he had been ill and
that his wife had engaged a resident physician, but he had
not prepared us for the utter breakdown in health, writing
rather about his plans than his sensations. By the autumn
his loss of strength was yet more startling. His eyes wore
that strained look which accompanies difficult respiration,
his lips were bluish-white, his cheeks livid ; the least exer-
tion made him short of breath and sometimes even he
would pant when quietly seated in his chair. The iron
constitution which had borne so much pain and labour
was almost exhausted, and heart disease, a hereditary
malady, was making rapid strides. Still, his splendid
pluck never forsook him, he seemed to live on by sheer
force of will ; and his wonderful faculty of concentrating
his attention on outward objects, his favourite adage being
" The wisdom of youth is to think of, the wisdom of mature
age is to avoid dwelling upon, Self," enabled him to keep
at bay that distressing melancholy which is often bred by
an incurable disorder. Every morning, so long as the fine
weather lasted, he and his sister took an early walk together,
410 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
and talked over times and scenes long past. Strangely
enough, my mother remarked that his memory, clear
and retentive as to all concerning the present, failed
slightly when he referred to his boyish days. The early
portions of an autobiography partly dictated by himself are
full of inaccuracies inaccuracies proved on reference to our
old family Bible.
The end was indeed approaching, and perhaps the most
painful feature in the case was an ever-increasing restless-
ness ; even if a place suited him he could not remain in it
with any pleasure longer than a fortnight. The bracing air
of Folkestone afforded greater relief than any he had yet
breathed, and we were most anxious he should give it a
fair trial. Good English food, open fireplaces, the fresh
winds from the Channel were preferable, we urged, to kick-
shaws, close stoves, and ill-smelling foreign towns. True
enough, he answered, and forthwith took rooms at the
Pavilion with his wife and doctor, lunching with us every
day, and seeming for awhile fairly happy and amused.
When he first arrived, autumn was not very far advanced,
and the weather continued fine enough for him to take long
drives in an open carriage to places of interest in the neigh-
bourhood, especially to Dover, where, many years before,
he had twice stayed with his sister and other relatives.
Then, by degrees, the weary longing for change seized him
again ; alarming insomnia set in, and it seemed he must
travel or die. One gusty October morning, brightened
occasionally by a pale gleam of sunshine which threw into
bold relief the grand white cliffs of Eastern Kent, Richard
Burton left his native land to return no more.
" I shall never see him again," exclaimed his sister, as
she tearfully watched the outbound steamer. And she
never did.
During the next two years the roaming was incessant.
It seemed as though he dreaded a " straw death," and
affronted all the perils of land and sea in hopes of escaping it.
A Narrow Escape 411
One marvels how, with such delicate health, he could have
endured the noise, fatigue and worry of the innumerable
journeys ; and there is little doubt all combined to exhaust
the small stock of strength that yet remained. Every
letter we received was dated from a different place. Geneva,
Vevey, Montreux, Berne, Venice, Neuberg, Vienna, Trieste,
Brindisi, Malta, Tunis, Algiers, the Riviera, and finally
Innsbruck, Ragatz, Davos and Maloja. On the way to the
last he met with a carriage accident. As he was driving
from Davos in a landau drawn by two grey horses one of
the animals suddenly sprang over a low stone wall, luckily
breaking the traces and leaving its fellow and the carriage
on the other side. The scene of the disaster was a narrow
road winding along the edge of a sharp precipice which
dipped into the lake, and had both horses taken the leap to-
gether, nothing could have saved our traveller from being
hurled into the watery depths. Very lovely did he think
the scenery at Maloja, and, for a time, very health-giving
the air ; but by the end of August snow fell so incessantly
that he longed to get back to Italy. The party started on
the ist September, 1890, spent a few days at Venice, and
then very unwillingly returned to Trieste.
It had become absolutely necessary to resume for awhile
his consular duties. During this last summer Burton had
received more than one hint from the Foreign Office that
his presence at Trieste for two or three months would be
desirable. Marvellous was the amount of liberty accorded
to the dying hero, but some pretence of work had to be
kept up just for the sake of appearances. No one at home
knew how very ill he was, and it is possible that other
officials, who were remorselessly chained to their posts, may
have grumbled at the favour shown their fellow consul.
Burton recognised the justice of the mild reproof, and
determined, with a mighty effort, to wander no more for
the next ten or twelve weeks. His servitude was nearly
at an end ; by March he would have completed his time,
412 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
claimed his pension, and could live where he liked and
devote his last days to literature. But oh ! the five weary
months that lay between, could he exist through them ?
As I have already said, it was agony to linger long any-
Avhere, but here, besides the feeling of being fettered, was
a strange horror of Trieste, well-nigh uncontrollable. Per-
haps, like his Scotch mother, who exclaimed on entering
the house in Bath, wherein later she ended her harmless
and amiable life, " I smell death here," he had a presenti-
ment of what awaited him in the Palazzo by the sea.
However, brave and patient to the last, he tried to while
away the autumn hours by working diligently at his trans-
lation of the " Scented Garden," and, as a treat, arranging
with his doctor various little details of a winter tour, which
he hoped to take by-and-by to Athens and other places in
Greece. But his travelling days were done.
For a week or so before the fatal 2Oth of October,
Burton suffered from a slight attack of gout, not sufficiently
serious to prevent him from taking his daily walk, but
painful enough to make him say he was beginning to lose
the good gained in Switzerland and to feel once more the
corroding climate of the pestilential seaport. These attacks
were much dreaded by his doctor, for the heart had become
so weak that its action was distressingly impede4 by the
flatulence that always followed in their wake. On the igth
he seemed neither better nor worse. He had worked at
intervals during the day at his translation, and when
dinner-time came he put away his papers with a strange
sort of lingering care ; he was always tidy, but on this
occasion everything was arranged with singular neatness.
He dined sparingly, laughed and talked in his usual fashion,
and at about ten o'clock went upstairs to bed, accompanied
by Dr. Baker, who generally assisted him to undress. No
premonitory symptom of the fatal seizure seems to have
been noticed by either ; on the contrary, Burton assured
his friend, when wishing him good night, that he felt
unusually well and hoped to enjoy a fair night's rest.
Last Moments 413
Hardly had a couple of hours elapsed before he began to
grow uneasy, and his wife, who slept in an adjoining room,
hearing him groan and toss from side to side, went to fetch
Dr. Baker. Still, the attack seemed a slight one compared
with many others which had preceded it, so the doctor after
examining the state of heart and pulse administered a
remedy, and at his patient's urgent request returned to
bed. At 6.30 a.m. Burton was no better, worse rather,
and his physician was again summoned. Now the sick
man evidently realised that his state was critical. Feeling
his strength fast ebbing, he called out with rare presence
of mind, " Isabel, chloroform, ether, quick ! chloroform,
ether ! " Either drug taken internally is a powerful stimu-
lant, and far more diffusible than whisky or brandy. But
no time remained for further remedies. Suddenly the
breathing became laboured, there were a few moments of
awful struggle for air, then, conscious to the last, he ex-
claimed, " I am a dead man ! "fell back on his pillow and
expired. 1 The brave heart, so unmercifully tried, was
stilled for ever. But not before all his work was nearly
done, not before he had received unstinted praise, not
before he had been loved and honoured, not before we who
mourned him knew that his swift, painless death, before his
matchless genius had begun to wane, was surely well.
So passed from our midst one of the heroes of our age.
I would fain linger over his patient endurance of suffering,
his indefatigable industry, his perfect composure face to
face with Eternity, but painful as the task is, I must tell of
the awful farce whi^h was enacted about that death-bed.
In the letter mentioned below it was stated that Burton
died suddenly at 7 a.m., October 2oth, 1890. The terrible
shock of so fatal a termination to what seemed an attack of
little consequence, would have daunted most Romanists
1 This account of Sir Richard Burton's death is taken from a letter
written by Dr. Baker to Lady Stisted, aist October, 1890. Later both
he and Lady Burton's maid, an eye-witness, agreed in declaring that
Sir Richard had expired before the priest's arrival.
414 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
desirous of effecting a death-bed conversion. It did not
daunt Isabel. No sooner did she perceive that her hus-
band's life was in danger, than she sent messengers in
every direction for a priest. Mercifully, even the first to
arrive, a man of peasant extraction, who had just been
appointed to the parish, came too late to molest one then
far beyond the reach of human folly and superstition. But
Isabel had been too well trained by the Society of Jesus
not to see that a chance yet remained of glorifying her
Church a heaven-sent chance which was not to be lost.
Her husband's body was not yet cold, and who could tell
for certain whether some spark of life yet lingered in that
inanimate form ? The doctor declared no doubt existed
regarding the decease, but doctors are often mistaken. So,
hardly had the priest crossed the threshold than she flung
herself at his feet, and implored him to administer Extreme
Unction. The father, who seems to have belonged to the
ordinary type of country - bred ecclesiastic so common
abroad, and who probably in the whole course of his life
had never before availed himself of so startling a method
of enrolling a new convert, demurred. There had been
no profession of faith, he urged, there could be none now ;
for and he hardly liked to pronounce the cruel words
Burton was dead. But Isabel would listen to no arguments,
would take no refusal ; she remained weeping and wailing
on the floor, until at last, to terminate a disagreeable scene
which most likely would have ended in hysterics, he con-
sented to perform the rite. Rome took formal possession
of Richard Burton's corpse, and pretended, moreover, with
insufferable insolence, to take under her protection his soul.
From that moment an inquisitive mob never ceased to
disturb the solemn chamber. Other priests went in and
out at will, children from a neighbouring orphanage sang
hymns and giggled alternately, pious old women recited
their rosaries, gloated over the dead, and splashed the
bed with holy water, the widow, who had regained her
The Death-bed Conversion Farce 415
composure, directing the innumerable ceremonies. 1 One
Englishman, and only one, had the courage to protest
against this unseemly disregard for the dead man's wishes,
thanks to my honest fellow-countryman. But it was of
no avail. After the necessary interval had elapsed,
Burton's funeral took place in the largest church in
Trieste, and was made the excuse for an ecclesiastical
triumph of a faith he had always loathed.
Even the demonstration at Trieste was not sufficient.
The widow insisted on repeating the funeral ceremonies
at home on proclaiming once more her strangely won
victory over Protestantism and infidelity. So her hus-
band's body, after lying awhile in the Trieste cemetery,
was conveyed to England and placed in an eccentric
tomb in the Roman Catholic burial ground at Mortlake.
Again the shaven priests intoned the mass, again the
acolyte bearing the crucifix preceded the corpse to the
grave, again was Truth trampled under foot in a vain
endeavour to exalt a Church ever an enemy to Light.
Poor deluded woman ! After all it was but a barren
triumph. No wreath from Royalty, silent or outspoken
disapprobation from right-minded people. In spite of
numerous and pressing invitations, only one member of
her husband's family, a distant cousin, accepted : sister,
niece, his favourite relatives, and many of his best and
most sympathising friends, refused to countenance a Lie.
The hero had been ever true to himself, and it behoved
those who loved him to remain steadfast to the last.
It was a painful sequel to a noble death. But we must
look to the future. Fifty years hence London's ever-
advancing tide will have swept away every vestige of the
shabby sectarian cemetery where Richard Burton lies. But
his works will remain as a legacy to his country. So long
1 Be it understood we did not blame Dr. Baker. He was employed
professionally by Lady Burton, and had no authority to resist an out-
rage which, moreover, was utterly unexpected.
416 Captain Sir R. F. Burton, K.C.M.G.
as the spirit of enterprise animates Englishmen his exploits
will be honoured ; so long as genuine literature is ap-
preciated his books will help to educate heroes yet unborn.
While England sees not her old praise dim,
While still her stars through the world's night swim.
A fame outshining her Raleigh's fame,
A light that lightens her loud sea's rim
Shall shine and sound as her sons proclaim
The pride that kindles at Burton's name,
And joy shall exalt their pride to be
The same in birth if in soul the same.
ALGERNON C. SWINBURNE.
APPENDIX
LIST OF SIR RICHARD BURTON'S WORKS.
A Grammar of the Jataki or Belochki Dialect. 1849.
Grammar of the Mooltanee Language. 1849.
Critical Remarks on Dr. Dorn's Chrestomathy of Pushtoo, or
Afghan Dialect. 1849.
Reports to Bombay :
(i) General Notes on Sind ; (2) Notes on the Population ot
Sind. Printed in the Government Records.
Goa and the Blue Mountains. 1851.
Scinde ; or the Unhappy Valley. 2 vols. 1851.
Sindh, and the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus.
1851.
Falconry in the Valley of the Indus. 1852.
A Complete System of Bayonet Exercise. 1853.
Pilgrimage to Meccah and El-Medinah. 3 vols. 1855.
First Footsteps in East Africa. 1856.
Lake Regions of Equatorial Africa. 2 vols. 1860.
The whole of Vol. XXXIII. of the Royal Geographical Society.
1860.
The City of the Saints (Mormon). 1861.
Wanderings in West Africa. 2 vols. 1863.
Abeokuta and the Camaroons. 2 vols. 1863.
Marcy's Prairie Traveller. Notes by R. F. Burton. 1864.
The Nile Basin. 1864.
A Mission to the King of Dahome. 2 vols. 1864.
Wit and Wisdom from West Africa. 1865.
Psychic Facts. Stone Talk, by F. Baker. 1865.
The Highlands of the Brazil. 2 vols. 1869.
Vikram and the Vampire ; Hindu Tales. 1870.
Paraguay. 1870.
Proverba Communia Syriaca. 1871.
27
4i 8 Appendix
Zanzibar: City, Island, and Coast. 2 vols. 1872.
Unexplored Syria, by Burton and Drake. 2 vols. 1872.
The Lands of the Cazembe, and a small Pamphlet of Supple-
mentary Papers. 1873.
The Captivity of Hans Stadt. 1874.
The Castellieri of Istria : a Pamphlet. 1874.
Articles on Rome. 2 Papers. 1874-5.
New System of Sword Exercise: a Manual. 1875.
Ultima Thule : a Summer in Iceland. 2 vols. 1875.
Gorilla Land ; or, the Cataracts of the Congo. 2 vols. 1875.
The Long Wall of Salona, and the Ruined Cities of Pharia and
Gelsa di Lesina : a Pamphlet. 1875.
The Port of Trieste, Ancient and Modern. Journal of the Society
of Arts, October zgth and November 5th, 1875.
Gerber's Province of Minas Geraes. Translated and Annotated
by R. F. Burton.
Etruscan Bologna. 1876.
Sind Revisited. 2 vols. 1877.
Gold Mines of Midian and the Ruined Midianite Cities. 1878.
The Land of Midian (Revisited). 2 vols. 1879.
Cheap Edition of Meccah and Medinah. 1879.
Camoens. 6 vols. of 10. First publication, 1880.
I. The Lusiads, Englished by R. F. Burton. 2 vols.
II. The Commentary, Life, and Lusiads. R. F. Burton.
2 vols., containing a Glossary, and Reviewers reviewed.
III. The Lyricks of Camoens. 2 vols. R. F. Burton. Four
more vols. were intended to be issued.
The Kasfdah. 1880.
A Glance at the Passion Play. 8vo. 1881.
To the Gold Coast for Gold. 2 vols. 1883.
The Book of the Sword. One volume of three. By R. F.
Burton, Maitre d'Armes. 1884.
Arabian Nights. Printed by private subscription. 1,000 sets
of 10 vols., followed by 1,000 sets of 6 supplementary vols.
1885-1886.
Ira9ema, or Honey Lips, and Manoel de Moraes, the Convert.
Translated from the Brazilian by Richard Burton, i shilling
vol. 1886.
The Scented Garden, Man's Heart to Gladden, of the Shaykh
al Nafzawi. Printed for the Kama Shastra Society.
Appendix 419
The Priapeia. Privately Printed. 1890.
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah.
2 vols. Memorial Edition. 1893.
A- Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome. i vol. Memorial Edi-
tion. 1893.
Vikram and the Vampire, or Tales of Hindu Devilry, i vol.
Memorial Edition. 1893.
Arabian Nights, 12 vols. Library Edition. 1894.
The Kasidah. 1894.
The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus. Privately Printed. 1894.
" The Uruguay " (translations from the great Brazilian authors),
by Richard and Isabel Burton ; the Book of the Sword, 2
more vols. ; the Lowlands of the Brazil ; Translation of
Camoens, 4 more vols. ; Personal Experiences in Syria ; A
Book on I stria ; Slavonic Proverbs; Greek Proverbs; The
Gypsies ; Dr. Wetzstein's " Hauran " and Ladislaus Magyar's
African Travels.
First Footsteps in East Africa. 2 vols Memorial Edition. 1894.
Besides which, Sir Richard Burton wrote extensively for
" Fraser," " Blackwood," and a host of magazines, pamphlets,
and periodicals ; lectured in many lands ; largely contributed
to the Newspaper Press in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America
(both North and South), to say nothing of poetry and anonymous
writings.
H. S. NICHOLS, PRINTER, 3 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
A 000 690 539 2
