Round the Black Man's Garden ... With illustrations, etc

Front matter

BOUND THE BLACK MAN'S GAEDEN ROUND THE BLACK MAN'S GARDEN BY ZELIE COLVILE, F.E.G.S. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS " Qui suit son chemin Arrive a la fin " WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCXCIII All Rights reserved QÆ mON FRERE, ANDRlA RICH AUD BE PRlAVILLE. Je te diclie ces souvenirs, a toi qui aime tctnt les ricits de voyage, et dont la pcnse'e nous a suivis pas a pas durant notre promenade de knit mois. ZELIE COLVILE.

Preface

. I am sitting in a bamboo thatched house some twelve feet square, perched on four upright poles, somewhat after the manner of a pigeon-loft, and listening to verbose explanations in three lang uages on the positions of the Lois, Pums, or Taungs, as mountains are called by Katchins, Burmans, or Shans respectively. My stylographic pen has just rolled through the chinks of the split bamboo floor, into the stew which Miguel, my Goa " boy," is brew ing;* below, and Miguel's grumblings would have been very long-winded but for the timely appear ance of a Katchin runner, who, mounting the notched pole by which my front door is approached, offers me a paper parcel with both hands as if it were a draught of water, while Miguel, a little behind

PREFACE.

. VIII the times, exclaims, through the floor, "Postman coming, sar ! " The packet contains, among others, a letter from my wife asking me to write a Preface to her book ' Round the Black Man's Garden.' It is a far cry from a hill-top overlooking China to Afric's golden strand, and the intricacies of Katchin topography have pretty well banished from my mind all memories of our African coasting trip. But I do remember that it was I who, in an un guarded moment, and taking no thought for the O ' O O morrow, suggested the title while the late Govern- 7 OO ment was in power ; and I feel that the least I can do is to openly avowT my fault, and bow my devoted head to the vials of wrath which will doubtless be poured on it. In justice to myself, I must say that, on the result of the late general election being made public, I at once suggested the substitu tion of "Gentleman of Colour" for "Black Man"; but a friend of my wife's who understands English composition and those sort of things, said the title was clumsy ; an artistic acquaintance of mine said black was not a colour at all ; and my wife objected that she could not describe as a gentleman a person who was in the habit of hanging his relations, by hooks through their heels, over a pit full of spikes,

PREFACE.

. IX as some one she met at Bonny did. Knowing nothing of the rights and wrongs of the technical objections, I wisely held my peace with regard to them, but was obliged to admit that the conduct of the person at Bonny was not in the best of taste, and would certainly have been taken notice of by the committee had he been a member of my club. So there was nothing to do but let the obnoxious title stand ; and here from my highland fastness I send forth to the expectant millions an avowal of my guilt, my only hope being that the charm of the book may avert a portion of their philonegric wrath from the unhappy cause of its title. Having thus confessed my fault, I may come to the more pleasant task of showing that I am also the primary cause of the book itself. But for me these pages would never have been written, for it was only by my contracting (at great personal in convenience) pneumonia, pleurisy, and a few odds and ends of complications, that I obtained the long period of sick-leave which enabled me to perform the grateful duties of guardian and companion to the authoress, on her travels ; and it would be false modesty on my part to doubt, when after a hard day's travel she penned her diary by the midnight dip, that her weary vigil was cheered by the har-

PREFACE.

. X mony of my snores, without whose help perhaps the following pages would have lacked that sparkle which I am sure they must possess. When the book is presented to me, neatly bound and comfortably printed, I hope to put this matter to the test ; but in the meanwhile I can assure my fellow-readers that if the authoress is only half as good at waiting as she is at roughing it, we have a treat before us. H. E. COLVILE. Pankaw, Katchin Hills, Upper Burmah, March 21, 1893. CONTENTS. BOOK PAGE I. THE SEA OF ISLAM (Suez to Aden), . . 1 II. THE LAND OF ROCKS (Aden to Lamu), . . 48 III. THE LAND OF BONDAGE (Lamu to Zanzibar), . . 57 IV. THE ISLAND OF MYSTERY (Zanzibar to Mojhnga), . 80 V. THE LAND OF SLEEP (Mojhnga to Durban), . 229 VI. THE LAND OF GOLD (Durban to Cape Town), . 240 VII. THE FORTUNATE ISLES (Cape Town to the Canaries), 271 VIII.

THE LAND OF DEATH (West Coast of Africa), . 278 INDEX, ILLUSTKATIONS. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. portrait OF author, ..... Frontispiece tor, . . . . . . .To face page 6 tbmbo, ....... i, 8 HADENDOWA ARABS, . . . . .11 24 ADEN, u 48 THE TANKS, ADEN, . . . . .11 50 CAPE GUARDAFUI, . . . . .11 54 SHELLA POINT, . . . . . .11 58 MOMBASA HARBOUR, . . . . .11 60 MOMBASA, . . . . . .11 64 ZANZIBAR FROM ROOF OF BRITISH AGENCY, . .11 70 MONSIEUR LE MYRE DE VILERS, . . .11 80 NOSY-BlS, ....... 11 88 DIJ^GO SUAREZ, ...... 11 94 T AM AT AVE, . . . . 11 104 QUEEN'S SUMMER PALACE, FROM DRAWING BY A NATIVE ARTIST, . . . . .11 156 ANDdHALO SQUARE, ANTANANARIVO, & . 11 ILLUSTRATIONS. THE AUTHOR ON ARRIVAL AT MOJANGA, . To face page 226 INHAMBANE, . . . . . ... 236 KAFFIR KRAAL, NATAL, . . . . ... 242 THE PRETORIA COACH, . . . . ... 254 THE COMPOUND, DE BEER'S MINE, ... .

M 266 BONE YARD IN LAS PALMAS CEMETERY, . . .. 274 ON THE ROAD TO OROTAVA, . . . . n 278 CAPE PALMAS, . . . . . ... 286 NEGRESS, ACCRA, . . . . . n 292 FACTORY, BONNY, . . . . . n 300 COTTON-TREE, BONNY, . . . . ... 304 BISHOP AND ARCHDEACON CROWTHER AND CLERGY, . m 308 JU-JU PRIEST, ...... n 314 CAPITAINE BINGER, . . . . n 330 MONROVIA, . . . . . ... 334 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE NATIVES OF LAMU, 59 DOCTOR BAISSADE IN HIS FILANZANA, SILVER CHARMS, ETC, . 107 Ill CROSSING LAKE N6SY-VE, DOWN-HILL, 125 133 OUR MALAGASY LANDLADY, MALAGASY PRINCESSES, . 160 174 ARTICLES OF MALAGASY MANUFACTURE, OUR PARTY UNDER THE AM6NTANA TREE, LANDING AT -MARAVOAY, 184 187 214 THE QUILIMANE. PILOT, 232 ZULU DRESSES, ORNAMENTS, ETC, 246 WASHERWOMEN, LAS PALmJ^ . ILLUSTRATIONS. XV TABU, ........ 288 WEST AFRICAN WARES, . . ... . . 294 JU-JU PRIEST, ....... 305 JU-JU TOWN, ....... 313 IDOL AND OTHER ARTICLES FROM BONNY, . . . 316 " CHARLES HOLLIDAY " AND FAMILY, .... 322 NATIVE TOWN, DAKAR, ...... 340 MAPS. AFRICA, ........ page 1 central Madagascar, . . . . in pocket at end EOTJND THE BLACK MAN'S GARDEN.

Book I. The Sea Of Islam

I. The doctors having decided that we must winter in a warm climate, I brought the big family atlas to Harry, who dreamily turned over the leaves until he came to Africa. After sitting for some time watching the smoke from his cigarette, he looked up, — " What do you say to the Cape ? " " Charming ! " I replied, quite forgetting what a bad sailor I was ; " but how shall we get there from Bohemia ? " We had promised some friends to spend the month of August with them in that country. " Let us go round by the back way," he suggested, and so it was settled; and the 12th of September 1888 found us at Venice, where we embarked for Alexandria. A On the 21st we arrived at Suez, very tired and be grimed, after twelve hours in that dirtiest, slowest, and shakiest of all known means of conveyance, an Egyptian night-train.

After a a;ood wash and a substantial breakfast in that curious little oasis of Anglo-Indianism, the Suez Hotel, we began to feel more at peace with the world, — a feeling which soon disappeared on dis covering that our light clothing, guns, &c, which had been sent by sea to meet us here, had not arrived. So the morning, which I had hoped to spend in peace, had to be devoted to rushing about the dirty little town, followed by a swarm of would be guides, and trying to collect a few necessaries and comforts for the voyage. As I was anxious to see the Ked Sea ports, we had settled to go by the Khedivial Line of steamers, which touched at all of them, but which, we had been warned, had no other advantages. On going to book our passage by this line, we were agreeably surprised to find that the agent, Mr Campbell, had received a telegram from a friend of ours at Alexandria requesting him to do all he could to make us comfortable, to secure the ladies' cabin for us, and to have an extra supply of ice put on board.

At about three o'clock, after a quarter of an hour's journey in the train, which runs over a causeway through the lagoon, we found ourselves on board, and were received by Mr Campbell, who showed us THE "MESSIR" AND ITS PASSENGERS. 3 our cabin, which seemed large and airy enough, being intended to hold eight passengers, and hav ing fair-sized windows on two sides, opening on to the quarter-deck. I must say my heart sank a lit tle when I saw how small our steamer, the "Messir," was: it seemed as if the slightest sea would make itself felt, and subsequent experience proved that my conjecture was not far wrong. When we first got on board it was quite impossible to move — the little hurricane-deck, the only part reserved for saloon passengers, being taken up by a curious-looking crowd that had come to see the Governor of Suez off on one of his official rounds ; so we both sat in a corner and watched the proceedings, which, from the variety of the costumes and the manners and customs of their wearers, greatly interested me.

One man standing near us had on a tarbush, a check shooting-suit, a white waistcoat, a shirt that had not been washed for some time, evening patent leather pumps, blue-and-white-striped cotton socks, and a thick gold chain : while talking to his friends, he was telling his beads behind his back. Another in the regulation Stambuli black - broadcloth suit might, but for his tarbush, have been taken for a neat young English curate. A third with a sly sallow face, a pen behind his ear, and a yellow striped dressing-gown, was his Excellency's Coptic clerk. All looked thoroughly out of keeping with two magnificent old grey-beards, who, in ordinary native dress, were capital samples of the " fine old " Arab "gentleman all of the olden time." Among the smaller fry the Circassians were the only people who looked clean and attractive, with their beautiful eyes and pleasant faces.

One of them seemed much amused at the interest I took in the leave-taking between the Governor and his friends, the form of which varied according to the social position of the latter, and to their different degrees of friendship. The Governor kissed those with whom he was most intimate on one cheek and one shoulder — or rather, after kissing his friend's cheek, bobbed his head over his shoulder. The next in degree was kissed on both shoulders. Those in the highest social scale took the Governor's hand ; just as they were going to kiss it, he snatched it away, as a sign that he accepted the civility, but would not permit them to lower themselves to such a degree. The highest of all bowed very low, the Governor returning the bow. Lastly came the lowest grade, who were permitted to kiss his hand, some on the back only, others on the palm as well, afterwards raising it to their foreheads.

His portly Excellency meanwhile looked very important and self-satisfied. At last the bell rang, and the crowd went ashore. I was quite sorry, for I should have liked to have seen more of them and their peculiar ways. We had, however, plenty of fellow-passengers on board HAREMS ON DECK. for me to study : these soon went below to don their travelling attire, which appeared mainly to consist of the garment in which Christian people go to bed. The ladies of their harems were not treated to the luxury of a cabin, but were encamped on the hurricane-deck, taking up half of the already scanty space at our disposal. They were kept in an enclosure of canvas walls, which, being open at the top, must have afforded a fine view of all the family arrangements to the officer on duty on the bridge. There were two of these harems on board, one belonging to the Governor of Suez, and the other to a splendid-looking old man, who with his family was starting on the pilgrimage to Mecca.

What a way to do a long and fatiguing journey, cooped up in a little enclosure, and never allowed to show one's nose outside ! Harry told me that even on desert journeys the women are shut up in a sort of gipsy-tent pitched on the top of the baggage on a pack-camel. I am told that formerly their lords and masters used to sleep on deck near the harem enclosures, but they have now so far advanced with the times as to treat themselves to a cabin. They, however, did not have their meals below, but squat ting in a circle on their shoeless heels, ate out of one big dish with their fingers. When not so engaged, or saying their prayers, they smoked a never-end ing succession of cigarettes, and played at cards, chess, or backgammon, in which they were joined by the officers and crew, who, with the exception of the engineer, were all natives.

He, I was glad to find, was an Englishman, for the natives are curiously casual in their duties; and even the man at the wheel thought nothing of leaving his post to say his prayers. Our party at meals consisted of three Englishmen, —Captain Lewis of the Egyptian army, hurrying back to Suakin, having heard that fighting had begun again ; and two brothers, Mr Wood and Mr A. Wood, the elder of whom was going as Consul to Jeddah, — an Egyptian officer, and a young Circassian, who looked quite mad, and, as it turned out, was a good deal off his head. As soon as we were under way, I lay down, very thankful to get possession of the dirtiest of divans ; for the motion was far from pleasant, and I had already learnt that if one takes these sort of journeys one must begin by striking all antipathy to dirt out of one's composition.

Our Captain, a good-natured fat Egyptian, came and chatted with me in English . I asked him if his boat always rolled as much as she was doing at that moment ; he assured me, " That was nothing to what she could do." He said this with such evident pride that I could not help smiling. After dinner we sat on deck trying to get cool, and enjoying the fast-fading view of the African coast, whose jagged rocky peaks stood out in sharp relief of darkening purple against the sunset sky. TOR. OFF TOR. During the night we were to cross over to the Arabian coast, and touch at Tor, a little Egyptian port and quarantine station at the northern end of the Sinai peninsula. The night was not a very pleasant one, the heat being intense. Two of our cabin-windows opened on to the forward part of the ship, in which was encamped a portion of a Sudanese regiment going from Cairo to Suakin, accompanied by their wives and babies ; whilst between them and us were heaped up in crates the wretched fowls, destined to be killed one by one, though many of them were already dying from the intense heat.

With a slight head-breeze we got the full benefit of their combined odours. Next morning we were up early, and found we were only going six knots an hour, the pilot having all the time to keep a sharp look-out for coral-reefs. At nine we anchored off Tor, but had to lie some way out, the reefs making it dangerous to go very near. Captain Lewis assured us there was nothing worth seeing on shore, a statement which the view from the ship certainly did not discredit ; so we remained on board, and I sketched the settlement, consisting of three palm-trees and what looked like a few mud walls dropped on the seaward edge of a burning plain of yellow sand, bounded at a distance of some ten or fifteen miles by the range of Sinai, a mass of sharp-cut peaks and rocky gorges, now in the fore- THE SEA OF ISLAM. noon mostly in a deep purple shade, relieved by a still darker shadow in the clefts, with here and there a glow on some pinnacle that had caught the sun.

Except for those lonely palms, on shore there was no sign of life— all looked so dead and burnt that one could hardly even imagine there could be sound; though, judging by the inhabitants who soon boarded us, I have no doubt I should have been disillusioned had I gone ashore. Hardly had the anchor dropped than a dozen big-sailed native boats were racing towards us, dashing full speed, until it seemed as if their bows were on the point of being crushed in against our hull, when by a dexterous turn they were swung round alongside ; the big sails flapped, and the crews were scrambling over the bulwarks, each urging us to come ashore in their own boat — the best of the flotilla — almost before one's heart had ceased to jump in anticipation of their disaster. They were wild, picturesque-looking fellows, with the scantiest of clothing, their only ornaments con sisting of fish-bones stuck through their hair.

From **■* **■* their appearance I should have thought them a match for anybody ; but one of them, who came on board with a basket of dates for sale, got so terribly worsted in a passage of words with an old Sudanese hag, who was in some way attached to the troops, that he had completely to surrender and let her take his goods at her own price. I must say the way she pinned him into a corner and heaped in- YEMBO. YEMBO, 9 vectives on him, whirling her withered arms about his face, was enough to frighten the bravest man. Here the Governor and his harem left us, thus placing a little more of the deck at. our disposal. At noon we started again with the wind dead ahead, passing Shadwan Island at five o'clock in the evening, and the Dædalus reef and lighthouse at six on the following morning. The Captain told me that the two lighthouse - keepers spent nine months out of every twelve on that bit of rock, hardly as large as a good-sized room.

What an existence ! In the afternoon I made an expedition forward among the Sudanese, and greatly delighted one proud young mother of about fifteen by taking her baby in my arms ; it was certainly a nice little thing, with bright eyes, white teeth, and head like a black egg. They all seemed very happy and cheery to gether, and, in spite of their ugliness, there was something very taking about them. The men are splendid, and looked remarkably smart in their snow-white uniforms. At 10.30 a.m. on September the 24th, we sighted Yembo. After passing through an opening about 300 yards wide between the reefs, we entered a wide lagoon forming a fair-sized and safe harbour. Nine other vessels of various tonnage were at anchor. Looking at them through my glasses, they appeared like ant-hills, overrun as they were with black figures.

The Captain informed us they were all pilgrims who had done the double journey to Mecca and Me dina ; those who only go to Mecca re-embarking at Jeddah. As we got nearer, the din of voices was indescrib able. Most of the men looked perfectly wild, rushing about trying to secure some corner on their respective homeward-bound vessels. I never saw such a scramble in my life ; they looked more like a troop of monkeys than anything else, as they bounded over any cargo that happened to be in their way, swinging themselves from rope to rope about the rigging. We anchored not far from the wharf, which was black with a moving excited crowd. The tall well made Arabs in their burnouses, with their well defined features and graceful movements, were a great contrast to their more ragged fellow-pilgrims.

On a French vessel alongside of us, bound for the north of Africa, were some very wild-looking men, worn and emaciated, with their clothing in rags. The Captain told us the pilgrims have to pay so highly for what they want on the journey that they soon get to the end of their resources. How strong and beautiful must be their faith to cause them to leave their home without having the slightest idea when they may return ! Some of them come from the west coast of Africa, walking across the desert through totally unknown lands, guiding themselves PILGRIM PASSENGERS. 11 by the rising sun, — men and women, old and young, enduring such sufferings and privations that many die by the way. Death on the return journey is considered perfect happiness, as then they feel sure of attaining the Paradise for which they have for saken everything.

Among them we saw many so crippled that they had to be carried ; others were almost skeletons. Soon after we anchored the two brothers Wood went on shore, but soon came back, saying it was dangerous for me to go into that crowd. They had been pelted with stones in the town. As we were anxious to see the place, however, their ex perience did not stop us. So I put on a thick veil notwithstanding the heat, out of respect to native prejudice, and soon realised how much veiled women must suffer ! Many of them are entirely covered with a cotton stuff thrown over their heads, reaching to their feet, and tied round the neck, only leaving two small holes for the eyes. When they eat in public they loosen the string round the neck, and pass the food up underneath this long garment. Having secured a very rickety canoe manned by two fierce-looking natives, we landed after several perilous encounters with boats crammed to over flowing with shouting pilgrims, who certainly looked more like wild beasts than human beings, but, all the same, very picturesque from the brilliant colouring of their cotton garments.

On landing we had great difficulty in getting through the crowd ; and the odours that filled the atmosphere were over powering. By dint of wriggling under bare arms and over sprawling forms, we managed to get into the heart of the town, which we found entirely de serted by all except a band of very unpleasant-looking dogs in search of food. The inhabitants were either safe in their flat-roofed mud-houses, or seeing those unwelcome birds of passage — the pilgrims — off the premises. I never saw streets so empty or houses in such a tumble-down condition. But for some awnings here and there on the flat roofs, made of rough sticks with some rags thrown over them, evidently for the convenience of the women when sitting on their house-tops, one would have imagined one's self in a city of the dead.

A few minutes' walk brought us to the eastern wall of the town, at one of the gates of which we came across a drowsy sentry sitting on his heels and hugging his rifle, as he pensively contemplated three rusty guns, which from their appearance might have come out of the Ark. Then following a narrow street to our left, we found ourselves in the bazaar, where the crowd was so dense that it was almost impossible to pass. However, by winding through various dirty streets, we at last reached the wharf, or rather the edge of the crowd that was on it. Before making our way home I was anxious to INSIDE YEMBO. photograph some groups ; so with great difficulty we edged our way to a shady corner of the square, stepping over camels' necks, piles of goods, and shapeless heaps of rags, which, from the groans that issued from them as we passed, I suppose hid human beings.

Opposite us was a well-built house with lovely mushrabieh windows, through which we could see three veiled women in white, evidently watching the departure of the pilgrims. As I had taken the precaution of putting on a dust-cloak to conceal my camera, my proceedings attracted no special atten tion ; and I managed to get some very good shots. The people were certainly not such as I should have cared to run the risk of alarming by levelling a strange-looking instrument at them. I had seen enough of native crowds for one day, and as we returned on board I looked forward to the comparative peace and purer air of the " Messir," and was therefore anything but agreeably surprised to find our ship overrun with pilgrims. Our steward, Ibrahim, tried to explain that the Captain had at first refused to take them ; but finding there were only three hundred, he had given in.

Three hundred to occupy a space which would only hold a few dozen ordinary mortals ! It took so long getting them on board that we had to put off our departure till the following morning. Sleep was quite out of the question for that night — the din of voices never ceasing, not to mention the heat, mosquitoes, and the homely flea, of which last a cargo had been shipped with no extra charge. At 10.30 a.m. we steamed out, passing close to the "Malacca," an old P. and 0. liner, which the Sultan of Zanzibar had bought for the use of the pilgrims belonging to his dominions. She was so crowded that several of the Haajis had taken refuge in the rigging, where they were perched like Japanese acrobats on a pole, sheltering themselves from the burning sun under small cotton European parasols of various colours.

Towards luncheon-time we were rolling so tremendously that our Captain, who was not a first-rate sailor, being anxious to have an hour's quiet for his mid-day meal, turned the vessel's head round, causing her to pitch so that certainly one passenger — if not more — went without lunch ; be sides which, we lost an hour. But what is an hour to the son of the East ? Later in the day I went forward to make acquaintance with our new fellow-passengers — a miserable sight. They were a ragged hungry-looking crowd of all ages — many of the men seeming as if they had parted with all their worldly goods except the daggers, splendidly mounted in silver, which they still wore. Life on board ship is monotonous at the best of times ; but when it is too hot to sleep, and one is too ill to read, it becomes doubly so.

On the follow ing day, however, our Circassian fellow-passenger A MAD CIRCASSIAN. 15 provided us with excitement enough and to spare. He had been gradually getting wilder in his manner ever since he came on board, spending the whole of his time writing letters, which he tore up as soon as they were written. He confided to Mr Wood that he had been crossed in love ; whether that had turned his head, or whether it was merely a de lusion, I do not know, but at any rate he in some way connected Harry with his misfortune. He was " sure the Englishman knew his thoughts even be fore he put them on paper," and the result was that he glared most unpleasantly at Harry whenever he met him. I tried to make friends with him at meals, as he sat next to me ; but as he only burst out laughing whenever I spoke to him, I gave him up as hopeless.

On the morning after leaving Yembo I was on deck talking to Mr Wood, when up rushed our madman. He stood for a moment in front of us, muttering something in French, meanwhile taking off his coat. Then with a bound he jumped over board. Mr Wood just got hold of his foot for one moment, thereby checking his fall. Instinct seemed to make the wretched man catch at a rope, to which he clung out of reach, his feet dangling, dragging along in the water. We tried to persuade him to come up again, but he only shouted back that we were all his enemies, and were trying to put his people at home against him. After a time he thought better of it, and scrambled into a safer position, watching the waves, and leaving us in doubt whether he would not again throw himself in. At last, after much talking and persuasion on our part, he was induced to climb up and get on deck, apparently thoroughly shaken, and having for the time being frightened himself back to his right senses.