22 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



with the Italians, and, as I afterwards learned, had been 

 dismissed for continued drunkenness and chronic ineffi- 

 ciency. His name was Mahomet el Hussein. He had 

 been placed in command of the men at the time of 

 their engagement in compliance with their expressed 

 wish ; and they had sworn to obey him and, through 

 him, the Europeans connected with the expedition. 



It was soon made manifest why he had been the 

 choice of the men as their officer. He disclosed won- 

 derful capabilities for incessant importuning, never, as 

 he persistently declared, in his own behalf, but in the 

 interest of his devoted followers. Day after day, when 

 I left my tent in the morning, I would find him seated 

 near its valance with an expression of modest depreca- 

 tion upon his face. Upon seeing me, he would rise, 

 salute in the most approved military fashion, and then, 

 in a low, whining voice, he would proceed to unburden 

 himself of a long list of complaints. His part of the 

 conversation was carried on in the only language with 

 which he was familiar — Arabic. At that time I was 

 totally unacquainted with this tongue ; so it became 

 necessary at these recitals to call in the assistance of an 

 interpreter. The interpreter to whom we had recourse 

 was another of the Soudanese, named Ramazan, who, 

 having seen service in German East Africa, spoke Swa- 

 hili fluently — a language with which I was well con- 

 versant. 



The difference between the Balook Bashi and his 

 interpreter was very marked. Ramazan stood six feet 

 two, without his sandals, was as black as coal, possessed 

 fierce eyes and a smooth, round face. The Balook Bashi 

 was the shortest of my Soudanese. His complexion was 



