第47章

Beddencontinuedinacold，stoicalmanner，anddeclaredthathispeopleweredeterminednottoworkforme；theyhadneverbeforecarriedfor”TheTurks，”andnothingwouldinducethemtoengageinsuchalabour。

Ibeggedhimtoremembertheimportanceofhispromise，uponwhichIhaddependedwhenmakingallmyarrangementsforthejourney。Ifhefailedmenow，Ishouldbeentirelyruined；whereasifheassistedme，asIhadrelieduponhishonour，weshouldalwaysremainthefirmestfriends，andhewouldbebenefitedbyagrandherdofcattle，andwouldreceivemostvaluablepresents。

Henowdeclared”thathispeoplehadtakenthematterintoconsideration，andtheywerequitedetermined。Theywouldnotlistentohim，orbepersuadedtoanythingtheydisliked。Theyneverhadcarried，andtheyneverwould。”

IhadthetwonativeswithmewhohadresidedforsometimeinourstationatGondokoro。Oneofthesemen，namedPittia，endeavouredtopersuadeBeddentobeathisnogara(bigdrum)andtosummonhistribe；

hemightthen，inmypresence，explaintheworkproposed，andhispeoplewouldseethecowswhichtheywouldreceiveaspaymentfortheirlabour。

Beddenlookedveryillathisease；butaftersomedelay，herosefromhisseat，anddeclaredhisintentionofimmediatelybeatinghisnogara。

Hetookleaveanddepartedwithhispeople。

FrommyexperienceofBaris，IfeltsurethatIshouldneverseeBeddenagain。

Hehadhardlyleftthetent，whenPittiaexclaimed，”Iwillfollowhimandlistentowhathesaystohispeople。IbelievehewilltellthemNOTtocarrytheloads。”Pittiaimmediatelydisappeared。

Manynativeshadcollectedontheeastsideoftheriver，wheremyvesselshadnowformedalinealonethebank；Ithereforecrossedoverinthedingytoconversewiththeminthefainthopeofsecuringcarriers。

Thenativesweresquattingaboutinsmallgroups，andtheylistenedcoldlytoallIhadtosay。TheonlyanswerIcouldobtainwas，”thattheybelongedtoBedden，andifhetoldthemtocarryourthings，theywouldobey；butwithouthisordertheycoulddonothing。”

ThisistheregularAfricandiplomacywhenworkisrequired。Thepeoplesay，”Wemustreceiveordersfromoursheik。”Thesheiksays，”Iamwilling，butmypeoplewillnotobeyme。”Itisthispassiveresistancethatmayruinanexpedition。

MyfirstexplorationinAfricamustnecessarilyhavefailedhadInotbeenprovidedwithtransportanimals。Thereadersof”TheAlbertN’yanza”mayrememberthatIcouldnotobtainasinglenative，andthatIstartedfromGondokorobymoonlightwithoutevenaninterpreterorguide。

ThehorriblestateoftheWhiteNilehadpreventedallpossibilityofconveyingcamelsfromKhartoum。Mycartsandcamelharnesswereprepared，buttheinvaluableanimalscouldnotbetransported。Iwasthusdependentuponsuchrottenreedsasnativepromises。

NoonewhoisinexperiencedinAfricantravelcanrealizethehopelesspositionofbeingleftwithamassofmaterialwithoutanypossibilityoftransportingit。

Thetravellermaysituponhisboxuntilhestiffensintoamonumentofpatienceanddespair，buttheboxwillnotmovewithoutacarrier。Thereisonlyonemethodoftravellingsuccessfully，andthisnecessitatestheintroductionoftransportanimals，wherethebaggageisheavyanduponanextensivescale。

Ifeltperfectlyhelpless。Mycolonel，Abd-el-Kader，advisedmetoseizethesheik，Bedden，andtotiehimupuntilhispeopleshouldhavedeliveredalltheeffectsatLobore。

ThisImighthavedone，butitmightalsohaveoccasionedwar，whichwouldpreventthepossibilityofsecuringcarriers。Ishouldalsoincurthe

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