Ch 2: Into the Jungle

[Tabs]

First things first, Burton promised himself never to drink anything unless it had been corked or boiled; dysentery was one way he did not wish to go.

To Lt. Blanc: "As you say, monsieur, the white men are just visitors here. Any unusual trouble with the natives?"

To Sven Lowen: "Was it the great Livingstone, who followed your vocation, that travelled the length and breadth of Africa over a period of years trying to convert the wayward children to Christianity; and had one follower?" Burton appeared not to be "ragging" the Swede. "I imagine your task to be difficult?"

Amelia whispered to Baxter. "She'll never need to cook" thought Burton of Britt, although, of course, he kept it to himself.

[Supercape]

"Bottoms up. Est-ce que ce lieu possède un bar où je pourrais être en mesure d'obtenir une bouteille de gin?"*

*Does this place have a bar where I might be able to get a bottle of gin?

A bottle of gin appeared.

"Oui, oui. An English trick, Monsieur Baxter. Gin and Tonic for ze Quinine. We have enough men ill at the moment. Please, my gift to you English. I know how you love your Gin" he said, graciously and a little intoxicated.

The Revd Lowen sniffed ungraciously at the liberal amount of alcohol consumed. He did not particularly like Burtons insinuation either. "It is difficult, Sir, but the book will overcome!" he said with a little grimness. He tapped his bible proudly.

Lt Blanc turned to address Burton.

"Trouble? There is always trouble. But, oui, we have had more of it of late. We do not know half of ze tribes deep south. But there are always tribal fighting. Sometimes, we take advantage, sometimes we get it in ze neck"

Captain Otto nodded. "He is being right correct. I remembering. The Crocodile People, just south of here. Can be nasty" he pointed to his scar.

"Zey are not so bad" replied Blanc. "Brave warriors when angered, but we can trade with them. But they are inflamed now. Lots of fighting further down south. Whole tribes wiped out. It is said it is Ze Tribe of the Toad..."

[Tabs]

"Crocodile People" repeated Burton like he enjoyed the name; "what an evocative name. I would like to meet their chief--with something to trade of course! What do they value, I wonder?"

[Supercape]

Lt Franc paused.

"Guns is what they value, Sir"

He took a drained his wine and threw his beaker away, gazing into the candle.

"Crocodile people have always been a tribe of warriors. They have an initiation right for the men...and women..." he added, making Amelia and Britt take interest, and Sven tsk in beratement.

"The girls and boys have to hunt and kill a crocodile. Kill it dead with nothing but knives and spears. Some die. Some don't. They wear the skin as a mark of adulthood. Tough people. But let me tell you, they are spooked now. All this talk of the Toad King, the Frog Tribe, whatever. I can't understand their tongue well enough. I have never seen the Crocodile people scared before. And that, gentlemen, scares me..."

"The Crocodile People want guns. Bullets. Give them a Gatling Gun and I daresay you would be the chieftan's dearest friend"

"Poor people. I pray God we can bring the light of Jesus into their miserable lives" answered Sven. Nobody, even his daughter Britt, felt much inclined to his view.

[Priest]

Baxter grabs the botle of gin and pulls it towards him, "My thanks Monsieur." he notes how suddenly the women seem interested in the local native customs, "You should see the wedding dances of the Zulu tribe, made many a fine Christian gentleman and woman flush with excitement" He notes the black looks his words get from the missionary and ignores them.

"So, these crocodile people people. Tell us of this toad tribe from further down the river, my dear Otto, for I fancy we've heard something of toads elsewhere"

[Supercape]

Otto was getting drunk and maudlin.

"I haven't meeting them. I have meeting the Crocodile people. Quick to anger. I having run in with them a few years ago. Shot two dead, before the third one giving me present..." he said pointing to his puckered scar. "Paranoid people. You can deal with them, but don't insult them."

He gave a laugh.

"And be having kissing and horseplay with one of chieftan's wives! Haha!" he laughed, to the general amusement and laughter of all. Only Svan shook his head.

"My dear Captain Otto, it is not Christian, having more than one wife!" he said, furiously blushing.

"Tell that to Chief, I am betting man that you get more than my scar!" replied Otto, growling at Sven, who stood firm.

"As for Toad people, I only hearing a few times, when I spoke with Crocodiles. Before my becoming little accident. Only words, of course, but even Crocodile people do not like Toad people. Violent, Insane, worshipped some horrible god. Nobody knows where they is, probably down further the south than Victorialake..."

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, if we want to find out more about the Toad people," says Percy, sipping his wine, "our best bet is to find and ask the Crocodile people - carefully, of course! Where can we find their tribe?"

[Tabs]

"Mr. Baxter's Bantu and Mr. Carstair's will prove invaluable" said Burton. "We should arrange a meeting with the Crocodile People?"--he includes Lt. Blanc in his question. "I wonder if we can purchase some rifles, Lieutenant, as a gift--and maybe promise the chief a Gatling gun in return for support?"

"Herr Otto, your boy Scar, is he one of the Crocodile People?"

[Priest]

Baxter coughs discreetly at Burton's naive statement about giving the natives guns, he had fallen foul of the authorities in various parts of the continent for alledged gun running. Now Mr Buton was proposing to a French military official that we might give the locals a gattling gun.

He stands and moves awy from the group to a position wher he can see the river, "Here Emillia my dear, you can see those birds I was telling you of"

[Supercape]

"Mr. Baxter's Bantu and Mr. Carstair's will prove invaluable" said Burton. "We should arrange a meeting with the Crocodile People?"--he includes Lt. Blanc in his question. "I wonder if we can purchase some rifles, Lieutenant, as a gift--and maybe promise the chief a Gatling gun in return for support?"

Lt Blanc clearly shared Baxter's view on this and snorted.

"Non, monsieur I will not give a Gatling Gun, not to them, or to any African tribe. We sell them, as you English say, shooters of the pea, but I will no more sell them a Gatling Gun than slit my own throat. I do not mind them shooting at each other, for zey are poor shots. But what if they get a Gatling Gun? Non!" he said firmly.

"I will sell you guns, if you have the Franc or Sterling. If you sell them on to the tribes, I will not look. Camp Verne is here to make ze profit. If I sell to you, it is, as you say, no skinning of the nose, oui?"[/quote]

"Herr Otto, your boy Scar, is he one of the Crocodile People?"

Captain Otto, shrugged. "I do not knowing. The boy is scared, will not talking about past. But I never seeing Crocodile People with those scars. And I seeing them good close. I would remember..." he said, nodding sagely.

"Here Emillia my dear, you can see those birds I was telling you of"

Emillia clung to Baxters arm with a smile on her face.

"Oh my dear Mr Baxter. It is quite charming. I feel so alive here, and in your strong arms!" she said, all dilated pupils and glorious smile.

[Tabs]

"A faux pas?" remarked Burton.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm sure Mr. Burton did not mean to offend anyone by his crude attempt at humour with his remark about the Gatling gun," says Percy in an effort to smooth things over. "It must lose something in the translation, and it is in poor taste besides. Isandlwana was not that long ago. I shudder to think of what the Zulus could have done had they had Gatling guns, considering what they managed without them."

[Tabs]

Burton paused, did he sigh? "The" he whispered the next two words "Gatling gun was first mentioned by the Lieutenant, I merely took up his notion thinking that one, or the 'carrot' of one, could influence the Crocodile People to help us, and so further our ends. Happily I do not have one in my luggage. I've been pooh-poohed" he continued huffily "but what are your ideas?"

"Someone with the lingo should talk with Scar. As Otto said, he is not one of the Crocodile People, maybe he has connections with the Toad tribe?"

[Priest]

Baxter turns from the over amorous grip of Emillia towards the group. "I will try him with a little Nilo-Sharan and see if there is any response, it seems to me that if he is of these 'toad' people he will respond to a more southern dialect" However my command of the lingo no doubt suffers from lack of use"

He looks around,"So gentlemen, where is this 'Scar', and just what would you know?"

[Supercape]

Scar was not far away, lurking in the corner of Camp Verne, playing dice with some French soldiers. Scar did not speak much French, and the soldiers did not speak much English; or Bantu. But dice were dice.

Scar was somewhat reticent, to say the least, when Baxter approached him. Amilia had insisted on joining her beloved saviour, and would not be shaken off, however magnificent the beard or virile the man.

"I not toad people" he muttered in his own tongue, a variant of Nilo-Saharan. Baxter could understand two words in every three. "I remember toad people. Bad people. Bad in head!" he said, tapping his temple in a universal symbol. "They take toad poison, made head bad"

He paused and touch his cheek scars, ritualistic patterns.

"I from bat people. Bat people made dead by toad people" he explained, before adding, in much more comprehensive English. "Mister Baxter, you do not want to go to toad people. They kill you, or worse! They do bad magic. Powerful..."

He touched his scars again.

"We protect against bad magic. But do no good..."

[Mr. Handy]

Percy knows little about the indiginous peoples of Africa, but he is prepared to take Scar at his word.

[Priest]

Baxter scratches his head at Scar's strange variation of Nilo-Saharan, then in English, "These toad people...bad people... do you know whereabouts they can be found?"

"Someone fetch a map lets see if he can pinpoint them"

[Supercape]

Maps could easily be fetched, and duly appeared.

However, they were most unsatisfactory; large central portions of Africa were little more than "Here is Jungle", and rather hazy lines representing probably rivers or ravines; and individual maps of French and English were sometimes contradictory.

"It is not calling Dark Continent for the nothing" said Herr Otto, unsurprised. The torturous nature of the maps disinclined most, if not all, to traverse the Nile further south.

Nevertheless, broadly speaking the Nile was there, and Lake Victoria (in various configurations) was present. And Scar's finger pointed south of the great Lake.

"Toad People live by Lake"

[Mr. Handy]

"I see," says Percy, wondering about the wisdom of seeking out the Toad People. "And what about the Crocodile People? Do you know where they live? Have you had any dealings with them?"

[Supercape]

Scar nodded, pointing to an area vaguely north of Lake Victoria.

Lt. Franc agreed; "That looks about right. They are south of here, they tend to stick near ze Nile, were the crocodiles are. But you have to understand Gentlemen, This is ze unknown territories. we know little about ze geography, and even less about ze peoples of the Jungle. They spread out, they move, it is not as simple as pointing a finger on a map...for ze map is mainly guesswork"

It was agreed that it was at least educated guesswork!