Cinq semaines en ballon. English

  CHAPTER FIFTEENTH.

  Kazeh.--The Noisy Market-place.--The Appearance of the Balloon.--TheWangaga.--The Sons of the Moon.--The Doctor's Walk.--The Populationof the Place.--The Royal Tembe.--The Sultan's Wives.--A RoyalDrunken-Bout.--Joe an Object of Worship.--How they Dance in the Moon.--AReaction.--Two Moons in one Sky.--The Instability of Divine Honors.

  Kazeh, an important point in Central Africa, is not a city; in truth,there are no cities in the interior. Kazeh is but a collection of sixextensive excavations. There are enclosed a few houses and slave-huts,with little courtyards and small gardens, carefully cultivated withonions, potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and mushrooms, of perfect flavor,growing most luxuriantly.

  The Unyamwezy is the country of the Moon--above all the rest, thefertile and magnificent garden-spot of Africa. In its centre is thedistrict of Unyanembe--a delicious region, where some families of Omani,who are of very pure Arabic origin, live in luxurious idleness.

  They have, for a long period, held the commerce between the interior ofAfrica and Arabia: they trade in gums, ivory, fine muslin, and slaves.Their caravans traverse these equatorial regions on all sides; and theyeven make their way to the coast in search of those articles of luxuryand enjoyment which the wealthy merchants covet; while the latter,surrounded by their wives and their attendants, lead in this charmingcountry the least disturbed and most horizontal of lives--alwaysstretched at full length, laughing, smoking, or sleeping.

  Around these excavations are numerous native dwellings; wide, openspaces for the markets; fields of cannabis and datura; superb trees anddepths of freshest shade--such is Kazeh!

  There, too, is held the general rendezvous of the caravans--those of thesouth, with their slaves and their freightage of ivory; and those of thewest, which export cotton, glassware, and trinkets, to the tribes of thegreat lakes.

  So in the market-place there reigns perpetual excitement, a namelesshubbub, made up of the cries of mixed-breed porters and carriers, thebeating of drums, and the twanging of horns, the neighing of mules, thebraying of donkeys, the singing of women, the squalling of children, andthe banging of the huge rattan, wielded by the jemadar or leader of thecaravans, who beats time to this pastoral symphony.

  There, spread forth, without regard to order--indeed, we may say, incharming disorder--are the showy stuffs, the glass beads, the ivorytusks, the rhinoceros'-teeth, the shark's-teeth, the honey, the tobacco,and the cotton of these regions, to be purchased at the strangest ofbargains by customers in whose eyes each article has a price only inproportion to the desire it excites to possess it.

  All at once this agitation, movement and noise stopped as though bymagic. The balloon had just come in sight, far aloft in the sky, whereit hovered majestically for a few moments, and then descended slowly,without deviating from its perpendicular. Men, women, children,merchants and slaves, Arabs and negroes, as suddenly disappeared withinthe "tembes" and the huts.

  "My dear doctor," said Kennedy, "if we continue to produce such asensation as this, we shall find some difficulty in establishingcommercial relations with the people hereabouts."

  "There's one kind of trade that we might carry on, though, easilyenough," said Joe; "and that would be to go down there quietly, and walkoff with the best of the goods, without troubling our heads about themerchants; we'd get rich that way!"

  "Ah!" said the doctor, "these natives are a little scared at first; butthey won't be long in coming back, either through suspicion or throughcuriosity."

  "Do you really think so, doctor?"

  "Well, we'll see pretty soon. But it wouldn't be prudent to go too nearto them, for the balloon is not iron-clad, and is, therefore, not proofagainst either an arrow or a bullet."

  "Then you expect to hold a parley with these blacks?"

  "If we can do so safely, why should we not? There must be some Arabmerchants here at Kazeh, who are better informed than the rest, and notso barbarous. I remember that Burton and Speke had nothing but praisesto utter concerning the hospitality of these people; so we might, atleast, make the venture."

  The balloon having, meanwhile, gradually approached the ground, one ofthe anchors lodged in the top of a tree near the market-place.

  By this time the whole population had emerged from their hiding-placesstealthily, thrusting their heads out first. Several "waganga,"recognizable by their badges of conical shellwork, came boldly forward.They were the sorcerers of the place. They bore in their girdles smallgourds, coated with tallow, and several other articles of witchcraft,all of them, by-the-way, most professionally filthy.

  Little by little the crowd gathered beside them, the women and childrengrouped around them, the drums renewed their deafening uproar, handswere violently clapped together, and then raised toward the sky.

  "That's their style of praying," said the doctor; "and, if I'm notmistaken, we're going to be called upon to play a great part."

  "Well, sir, play it!"

  "You, too, my good Joe--perhaps you're to be a god!"

  "Well, master, that won't trouble me much. I like a little flattery!"

  At this moment, one of the sorcerers, a "myanga," made a sign, and allthe clamor died away into the profoundest silence. He then addressed afew words to the strangers, but in an unknown tongue.

  Dr. Ferguson, not having understood them, shouted some sentences inArabic, at a venture, and was immediately answered in that language.

  The speaker below then delivered himself of a very copious harangue,which was also very flowery and very gravely listened to by hisaudience. From it the doctor was not slow in learning that the balloonwas mistaken for nothing less than the moon in person, and that theamiable goddess in question had condescended to approach the town withher three sons--an honor that would never be forgotten in this land sogreatly loved by the god of day.

  The doctor responded, with much dignity, that the moon made herprovincial tour every thousand years, feeling the necessity of showingherself nearer at hand to her worshippers. He, therefore, begged themnot to be disturbed by her presence, but to take advantage of it to makeknown all their wants and longings.

  The sorcerer, in his turn, replied that the sultan, the "mwani," who hadbeen sick for many years, implored the aid of heaven, and he invited theson of the moon to visit him.

  The doctor acquainted his companions with the invitation.

  "And you are going to call upon this negro king?" asked Kennedy.

  "Undoubtedly so; these people appear well disposed; the air is calm;there is not a breath of wind, and we have nothing to fear for theballoon?"

  "But, what will you do?"

  "Be quiet on that score, my dear Dick. With a little medicine, I shallwork my way through the affair!"

  Then, addressing the crowd, he said:

  "The moon, taking compassion on the sovereign who is so dear to thechildren of Unyamwezy, has charged us to restore him to health. Let himprepare to receive us!"

  The clamor, the songs and demonstrations of all kinds increased twofold,and the whole immense ants' nest of black heads was again in motion.

  "Now, my friends," said Dr. Ferguson, "we must look out for every thingbeforehand; we may be forced to leave this at any moment, unexpectedly,and be off with extra speed. Dick had better remain, therefore, in thecar, and keep the cylinder warm so as to secure a sufficient ascensionalforce for the balloon. The anchor is solidly fastened, and there isnothing to fear in that respect. I shall descend, and Joe will go withme, only that he must remain at the foot of the ladder."

  "What! are you going alone into that blackamoor's den?"

  "How! doctor, am I not to go with you?"

  "No! I shall go alone; these good folks imagine that the goddess of themoon has come to see them, and their superstition protects me; so haveno fear, and each one remain at the post that I have assigned to him."

  "Well, since you wish it," sighed Kennedy.

  "Look closely to the dilation of the gas."

  "Agreed!"

  By this time th
e shouts of the natives had swelled to double volume asthey vehemently implored the aid of the heavenly powers.

  "There, there," said Joe, "they're rather rough in their orders to theirgood moon and her divine sons."

  The doctor, equipped with his travelling medicine-chest, descended tothe ground, preceded by Joe, who kept a straight countenance and lookedas grave and knowing as the circumstances of the case required. He thenseated himself at the foot of the ladder in the Arab fashion, with hislegs crossed under him, and a portion of the crowd collected around himin a circle, at respectful distances.

  In the meanwhile the doctor, escorted to the sound of savageinstruments, and with wild religious dances, slowly proceeded toward theroyal "tembe," situated a considerable distance outside of the town. Itwas about three o'clock, and the sun was shining brilliantly. In fact,what less could it do upon so grand an occasion!

  The doctor stepped along with great dignity, the waganga surrounding himand keeping off the crowd. He was soon joined by the natural son of thesultan, a handsomely-built young fellow, who, according to the custom ofthe country, was the sole heir of the paternal goods, to the exclusionof the old man's legitimate children. He prostrated himself before theson of the moon, but the latter graciously raised him to his feet.

  Three-quarters of an hour later, through shady paths, surrounded byall the luxuriance of tropical vegetation, this enthusiastic processionarrived at the sultan's palace, a sort of square edifice calledititenya, and situated on the slope of a hill.

  A kind of veranda, formed by the thatched roof, adorned the outside,supported upon wooden pillars, which had some pretensions to beingcarved. Long lines of dark-red clay decorated the walls in charactersthat strove to reproduce the forms of men and serpents, the latterbetter imitated, of course, than the former. The roofing of this abodedid not rest directly upon the walls, and the air could, therefore,circulate freely, but windows there were none, and the door hardlydeserved the name.

  Dr. Ferguson was received with all the honors by the guards andfavorites of the sultan; these were men of a fine race, the Wanyamweziso-called, a pure type of the central African populations, strong,robust, well-made, and in splendid condition. Their hair, divided intoa great number of small tresses, fell over their shoulders, and by meansof black-and-blue incisions they had tattooed their cheeks from thetemples to the mouth. Their ears, frightfully distended, held danglingto them disks of wood and plates of gum copal. They were clad inbrilliantly-painted cloths, and the soldiers were armed with thesaw-toothed war-club, the bow and arrows barbed and poisoned with thejuice of the euphorbium, the cutlass, the "sima," a long sabre (alsowith saw-like teeth), and some small battle-axes.

  The doctor advanced into the palace, and there, notwithstanding thesultan's illness, the din, which was terrific before, redoubled theinstant that he arrived. He noticed, at the lintels of the door,some rabbits' tails and zebras' manes, suspended as talismans. He wasreceived by the whole troop of his majesty's wives, to the harmoniousaccords of the "upatu," a sort of cymbal made of the bottom of a copperkettle, and to the uproar of the "kilindo," a drum five feet high,hollowed out from the trunk of a tree, and hammered by the ponderous,horny fists of two jet-black virtuosi.

  Most of the women were rather good-looking, and they laughed andchattered merrily as they smoked their tobacco and "thang" in huge blackpipes. They seemed to be well made, too, under the long robes that theywore gracefully flung about their persons, and carried a sort of "kilt"woven from the fibres of calabash fastened around their girdles.

  Six of them were not the least merry of the party, although put asidefrom the rest, and reserved for a cruel fate. On the death of thesultan, they were to be buried alive with him, so as to occupy anddivert his mind during the period of eternal solitude.

  Dr. Ferguson, taking in the whole scene at a rapid glance, approachedthe wooden couch on which the sultan lay reclining. There he saw a manof about forty, completely brutalized by orgies of every description,and in a condition that left little or nothing to be done. Thesickness that had afflicted him for so many years was simply perpetualdrunkenness. The royal sot had nearly lost all consciousness, and allthe ammonia in the world would not have set him on his feet again.

  His favorites and the women kept on bended knees during this solemnvisit. By means of a few drops of powerful cordial, the doctor for amoment reanimated the imbruted carcass that lay before him. The sultanstirred, and, for a dead body that had given no sign whatever oflife for several hours previously, this symptom was received with atremendous repetition of shouts and cries in the doctor's honor.

  The latter, who had seen enough of it by this time, by a rapid motionput aside his too demonstrative admirers and went out of the palace,directing his steps immediately toward the balloon, for it was now sixo'clock in the evening.

  Joe, during his absence, had been quietly waiting at the foot of theladder, where the crowd paid him their most humble respects. Like agenuine son of the moon, he let them keep on. For a divinity, he hadthe air of a very clever sort of fellow, by no means proud, nay, evenpleasingly familiar with the young negresses, who seemed never to tireof looking at him. Besides, he went so far as to chat agreeably withthem.

  "Worship me, ladies! worship me!" he said to them. "I'm a clever sort ofdevil, if I am the son of a goddess."

  They brought him propitiatory gifts, such as are usually deposited inthe fetich huts or mzimu. These gifts consisted of stalks of barley andof "pombe." Joe considered himself in duty bound to taste the latterspecies of strong beer, but his palate, although accustomed to gin andwhiskey, could not withstand the strength of the new beverage, and hehad to make a horrible grimace, which his dusky friends took to be abenevolent smile.

  Thereupon, the young damsels, conjoining their voices in a drawlingchant, began to dance around him with the utmost gravity.

  "Ah! you're dancing, are you?" said he. "Well, I won't be behind you inpoliteness, and so I'll give you one of my country reels."

  So at it he went, in one of the wildest jigs that ever was seen,twisting, turning, and jerking himself in all directions; dancing withhis hands, dancing with his body, dancing with his knees, dancingwith his feet; describing the most fearful contortions and extravagantevolutions; throwing himself into incredible attitudes; grimacing beyondall belief, and, in fine giving his savage admirers a strange idea ofthe style of ballet adopted by the deities in the moon.

  Then, the whole collection of blacks, naturally as imitative as monkeys,at once reproduced all his airs and graces, his leaps and shakes andcontortions; they did not lose a single gesticulation; they did notforget an attitude; and the result was, such a pandemonium of movement,noise, and excitement, as it would be out of the question even feeblyto describe. But, in the very midst of the fun, Joe saw the doctorapproaching.

  The latter was coming at full speed, surrounded by a yelling anddisorderly throng. The chiefs and sorcerers seemed to be highly excited.They were close upon the doctor's heels, crowding and threatening him.

  Singular reaction! What had happened? Had the sultan unluckily perishedin the hands of his celestial physician?

  Kennedy, from his post of observation, saw the danger without knowingwhat had caused it, and the balloon, powerfully urged by the dilationof the gas, strained and tugged at the ropes that held it as thoughimpatient to soar away.

  The doctor had got as far as the foot of the ladder. A superstitiousfear still held the crowd aloof and hindered them from committing anyviolence on his person. He rapidly scaled the ladder, and Joe followedhim with his usual agility.

  "Not a moment to lose!" said the doctor. "Don't attempt to let go theanchor! We'll cut the cord! Follow me!"

  "But what's the matter?" asked Joe, clambering into the car.

  "What's happened?" questioned Kennedy, rifle in hand.

  "Look!" replied the doctor, pointing to the horizon.

  "Well?" ejaculated the Scot.

  "Well! the moon!"

  And, in fact, there was the m
oon rising red and magnificent, a globe offire in a field of blue! It was she, indeed--she and the balloon!--bothin one sky!

  Either there were two moons, then, or these strangers were imposters,designing scamps, false deities!

  Such were the very natural reflections of the crowd, and hence thereaction in their feelings.

  Joe could not, for the life of him, keep in a roar of laughter; and thepopulation of Kazeh, comprehending that their prey was slipping throughtheir clutches, set up prolonged howlings, aiming, the while, their bowsand muskets at the balloon.

  But one of the sorcerers made a sign, and all the weapons were lowered.He then began to climb into the tree, intending to seize the rope andbring the machine to the ground.

  Joe leaned out with a hatchet ready. "Shall I cut away?" said he.

  "No; wait a moment," replied the doctor.

  "But this black?"

  "We may, perhaps, save our anchor--and I hold a great deal by that.There'll always be time enough to cut loose."

  The sorcerer, having climbed to the right place, worked so vigorouslythat he succeeded in detaching the anchor, and the latter, violentlyjerked, at that moment, by the start of the balloon, caught the rascalbetween the limbs, and carried him off astride of it through the air.

  The stupefaction of the crowd was indescribable as they saw one of theirwaganga thus whirled away into space.

  "Huzza!" roared Joe, as the balloon--thanks to its ascensionalforce--shot up higher into the sky, with increased rapidity.

  "He holds on well," said Kennedy; "a little trip will do him good."

  "Shall we let this darky drop all at once?" inquired Joe.

  "Oh no," replied the doctor, "we'll let him down easily; and I warrantme that, after such an adventure, the power of the wizard will beenormously enhanced in the sight of his comrades."

  "Why, I wouldn't put it past them to make a god of him!" said Joe, witha laugh.

  The Victoria, by this time, had risen to the height of one thousandfeet, and the black hung to the rope with desperate energy. He hadbecome completely silent, and his eyes were fixed, for his terror wasblended with amazement. A light west wind was sweeping the balloon rightover the town, and far beyond it.

  Half an hour later, the doctor, seeing the country deserted, moderatedthe flame of his cylinder, and descended toward the ground. At twentyfeet above the turf, the affrighted sorcerer made up his mind in atwinkling: he let himself drop, fell on his feet, and scampered off ata furious pace toward Kazeh; while the balloon, suddenly relieved of hisweight, again shot up on her course.