THE SOUDANESE 165 



Having attended to the wounded, and more or less restored 

 order, I was informed by the Armenian clerk that he had over- 

 heard some of the soldiers belonging to other stations talking 

 amongst themselves of leaving us in the morning. I at once 

 went out to these men, and impressed them with the folly and 

 danger of such an act. I pointed out to them that it was their 

 duty to remain ; and I am glad to say they listened to me and 

 did not leave us. 



Next morning w^e buried the dead — Bekamba, one of his 

 wives, and two Wanyoro. But some fugitives carried the 

 news of these occurrences to Hoima, two days' march from 

 us, where a Soudanese captain was in charge of the fort. 

 Yabuswezi, the great Wanyoro chief, has his kraal about a 

 mile from Fort Hoima. Some fugitives reported to him that 

 I too had been killed. He thereupon put himself on the 

 defensive. This led to the Soudanese captain ordering him to 

 come to the fort, and, on his refusal to do so, attacking his kraal. 

 Thus the mere rumour of my death led to further bloodshed ; 

 for the Soudanese soldiers killed about fifty of the Wanyoro 

 under Yabuswezi, captured some fifty-four of his women, and 

 looted and burned his kraal. Yabuswezi himself fled over the 

 border, with the intention of proceeding to Kampala. 



The military officer in command of Unyoro, having received 

 my letter, speedily joined me. Orders were also received from 

 headquarters that, in view of the advance of the mutineers 

 towards Unyoro, it was necessary to prevent the Government 

 ammunition from falling into their hands. I was ordered 

 thereupon to march, with half a company of the Soudanese 

 soldiers then at Masindi, to a place called Ntuti, in Singo. 

 I was to take charge of twenty-one loads of ammunition, a 

 IMaxim gun, and tools and belts for the gun. The two locks 

 of the Maxim gun I hid away amongst my private clothing ; 

 my instructions being to destroy the locks, should we fall into 

 the hands of the mutineers, or should my own men throw^ off 

 their allegiance to the British Government, 



On the march to Ntuti I passed through Hoima, and found 

 seven of the Wanyoro women still retained as captives by 

 Soudanese soldiers, although orders had been sent by the com- 

 manding officer that all were to be liberated. I therefore 

 had these seven women set free. 



I met Yabuswezi, and persuaded him to return to his 

 province. 



