Punch: Punch (75.1878)

August 24, 1878.]

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

83

ACROSS THE KEEP-IT-DARK CONTINENT.

OE, HOW I FOUND STANLEY.

{By the Author of " Coomnpassie," and " Notamagdottar " " My ! Phillaloo ! " #c.)

Part II.—Chapter IX.

Summit up — Champagne—Kings—Mum—Natives—Leaving — Cake—Race—Heads— Too
Marty— Off—Description—McSmuggins's Wit—Rowing—Heat—Haven— Old Joke—■
American Visitors—Chief of the Tribe—Who?—Brigand—Dumcrambo—Terroi—
Hesitation—Ollendorfian—Onivards—Row, Brothers, Roto—The Meeting—End of
Act— Curtain.

From the
summit of the
hill, we had now

before us, for Xx<^s. // (^H^ IfM!^ ^HH^ Tidli Wiski protested that he had meant

thousands of / / (llPis falls whal lie had said, but promised, at an inti-

miles and miles, ^<^\^J)l^{^' ^ " "^^1^^^ 5^). WSJ - x mation from me, not to do so again,

a magnificent aaJsjjp^ ^P-l r"»*T%^S W rW v^tyr^ti S^Ulk " Yes!" I murmured, half-unconsciously

champagne ^7 ^-f """"^O^^L^ § l^%fT% H^ff I; I^^^^S ^° myseiI> '' I should like to do the island!

country, which, if^^^—^^ ^I^T^^fslkl \^/L r% Pf / l^^^^^H " You must get up very early in the morn-

in accordance ^rV^r^ —=1-^x^1 V^^WilMffiiV*/ W / X^^^^) ing, Master," answered the snubbed Tidli,

with my own '—j INp/ \|§$fy AA*fsj/W\ MX /nr-Y^TT^ | " if is your intention ! "

feeling at the |^gg=gg '-'"M/ wMVMW» W Wflffil' i "I have been there and still would not

moment, I at ^jft-1 1 1 -^g5e::::^^^^^)j|||l|iW ^HfflwM/A go," he presently added, with a sigh, "for

once christened ^^-yf ~—^*~ I. ^= j »)||[||Hi 1\\VjBv^JLS^Sy/wM^^ vStls / \ V^^^^ ! they know, only too well, under which thim-

Trayseck. J^:—- 111 V y" v.v/'nT/ ^T^li^^rettw/V^^^Sw^tS. / \ ilSS^SN hie is concealed the little pea ; they are per-

The King of --- ^_jT I'll1! || u^MI \ IwN\ fectly up to the right card to choose out of

"Because!" he replied, as though he
were ansAvering a riddle—"because, Mas-
ter, that place has a very bad reputation!
It is full of shady coves."

It was with great difficulty that I
managed to save Winet from the ven-
geance of the crew, who, having all heard
the joke years before, in their early child-
hood, would have torn him to pieces for
cruelly reminding them of home and com-
fort, by his ill-timed levity. McSmugglns,
the Ventriloquist and Entertainer, was
specially indignant, as he had used the joke
so often in his entertainments, that he had
come to look upon it, quite affectionately,
as his own.

this country, ~C_f\ ^rJUU i 11 11»////// i! I I the three; and they are old hands at the

who bears the , _ ruSS% Ijlj j 11 of||[|'$*^^\ fl jl1' i - Confidence Trick."

name of Rheo j K A T a f< t .3 or- _ |H||Ym\\r4^ 17/flfl 11 ^-^^StTrfW 11 Mm —- The fact was that some American Mission-

Bouar, came out--r L- C - — ^| jllf I jllimllllil I i!~"v till ^ ~~ aries had been there, and judging from our

tomeetuswith -dlim |^^1 Will nil rillI If \ ft ~ ~ thermometer, had found the place too hot.

his brother, ns^1< illlsl ilimf pall 1 '111 wJli^"' They left early.

Jerri Bouji— ^^SPT^ fjjwfrV] Ml' — IffiR "Who is their Chief?" I inquired; for
no relations, as I subsequently ascer- \Z. "5-^—^Mlll^ff 1 WL ^™^^§S^L> his account of the place awakened my in-
tamed, to the gentleman who used to —___;i I reSStf ^7-^'^"^ '—- terest.

have the Cremorne Gardens — and ac- -'•—Lr^KiliSiJE^ ^—— M'yioxyu smiled.

companied by the two Prime Ministers CI ' -' ^^u^^^rf^^ ' "-~""~~ 7 "Who is it?" I repeated, sternly, for,

Pummeri and Grayno, and all the Mag- / ' — - T^S4^*^ *™\if. ' jg*-^-' <■ when I am in my imperative mood, I am not

nums of the place, as well as by an tv•*-><>, ^ v ^-v\VC ~~ to be trifled with.

elderly lady, the Queen Mother, whom " You do not know, Master ?" asked Tidli,

in utter astonishment.

"I do not," I replied, sternly, from the
steerage.

" I will tell you," said M'Yiowrtr, with
an air of importance. " It is Dumcrambo
the Brigand! "

At the mention of this redoubtable name,
the Printer's Boy gave a whack on the drum,
Tidli clashed the cymbals, and McSmug-
gins imitated a chord on the violoncello. All
the others threw themselves into various
poses indicating intense terror. It was a
tableau calculated to strike with awe natures
less impressionable than my own.
When they had recovered, I asked,
" Who will go with me?"
A dogged silence was the only answer._
On repeating my question, and obtaining
no reply, I said aloud, as if to myself, in
my bitingly sarcastic Ollendorfian style.

" Good. The Sailors will not go with the
Captain. The Captain will go without
{sans) the Sailors. The good Captain will
have all the gold, and the silver, and the
diamonds, and the jewels, and the beauti-
ful treasures in the mines of this island.
But the Explorer's companions {i.e. the
companions of the Explorer) will have
nothing. Let the bad Sailors row to the
shore. The good Captain commands the
bad Sailors to row to the shore."
They obeyed my order with alacrity.
"Master,'" exclaimed Tidli, suddenly,
" I will go with you. We are here to-day
and gone to-morrow; and what was to be,
and what isn't to be, won't be," he added,
with true Mahommedan fatalism. "If we
lose you, Master, we lose everything," said
the grateful fellow, as spokesman for the
rest. He acted as Spokesman, on account
of his now being the man at the wheel.

After half an hour's hard pulling, I
leapt ashore, and, my men being exhausted,

both the Royal Brothers respectfully
addressed as Mum."

They seemed a very uppish set, with a strong family resemblance among them ; in fact,
as the Printer's boy remarked, in his own graphic way, "there seemed to be only one sort of
' phiz ' among the lot."

At first I thought we had met with a most intelligent specimen of the savage ; but,
though they made a great noise at first, they were very soon drunk, and then 1 discovered
them to be the emptiest set I had ever come across.

We came away with a few dozen of the wine of the country, and as much more as Ave
could conveniently carry.

Before leaving, I made a sketch of these extraordinary people.

i It was necessary to press forward, as, up to this time, I nad not yet found Staxley.

At this point we came upon the extraordinary Tapcock Ealls, above the lower basin.

Here the natives, a very cleanly race, came out to meet us, and offer us refreshments, of
which we stood much in need. After helping ourselves freely from the exquisitely scented
contents of the so^e-dishes (the specialite among this people, who are amply provided with the
material in question), and having regaled ourselves with a few barthbunz (a sort of rich cake),
we witnessed a race between three of the native Tow''losses, who ran a course without any
jockeys. The first ToivUoss was much cheered as he passed the Grand Wash-stand, where
we were seated, but the race being a flat one—more than usually flat—did not interest me
much. Besides, I wanted to get on. When I intimated this, the simple people replied that
I couldn't "get on," except at a hundred to one. This I courteously, but firmly, declined,
adding, with unmistakable irony, as I politely bowed myself out, "Mr. Walker, I
presume! "

They were a small, but sharp, tribe ; and, after counting heads, I found that they just
exceeded my own party by one. This decided me. They were one too many for us ; and so
I determined on leaving as quickly as possible.

Their costumes were indescribable. One line will, sportingly, sum up this curious tribe—
i. e., A small race, with nothing on.

After dipping in the lower basin, with another refresher from the so^e-dishes, we took, as
McSmuggests the Yentriloquist said, (quoting from an entertainment of his own), " our dip
first, and our dip-arter," and congratulated ourselves on getting clean away.

After a few days' rowing in the Arkadia—with myself seated under the awning, cheering
my men, and keeping them up to their work, which I must say was none of the lightest,
considering that the thermometer stood at 120° in the shade {i. e., under the awning)—Ave
passed one of the pleasantest-looking islands I have ever seen, offering a vast haven of rest to
the Aveary and sun-burnt traAreller.

"Now who Avill o'er the doAvns so free?" I sang out cheerily to my men, Avho really
wanted encouragement—"I mean, who's for shore? "

They all held up their ;hands, except Tidli Winki, the native Guide, who implored us
not to attempt a landing on this spot.

"Why not ? " I asked, casting a longing glance towards the cool inlets of Avater, sheltered
by umbrageous overhanging trees.