"AN UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5584, 6 June 1896, Page 1

"AN UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION."

A STORY OF THE WESTERN SAHARA, (By the Author of "Eising of the Brass Men.") Between the south of Morocco and -flie'' river Senegal stretches for some hundreds of miles a sandy coast which forms the ■ ■western border of the Sahara desert. Inland lies a wild and desolate land of low rockyhills and wastes of hot sand, although here and there in isolated spots, where a little rain falls at long intervals, may be. found clusters of date pahns, a little rough barley, and enongh small bushes and harsh wiry grass to support a few sheep. This sun-scorched, dried-up country "is inhabited by wandering tribes, half Moor and half Arab, who travel about from oasis to oasis in search of food for their horses and sheep. These are wild men, true children of tlie desert, and although both Sultan of Morocco and Spanish Government claim a kind of suzerainty over them, they acknowledge no man's authority, and are as ready to shed the blood of Moorish shereef as they are that of Spanish ofScer or English adventurer. It is believed that there are valuable minerals in this country — that, there is gold I know— but for the reasons given, prospecting is not siiccessful, neither have explorers always returned. Now some little time ago a company was organised in England "to explore and develop the great mineral riches" of the country in question, and Spanish schooners from the 'Canary Islands were sent with presents in hopes of inducing the Moors to allow miners to prospect. One or two of the officials of the company also spent a pleasant time, lounging about on shady hotel vei*andahs, or making delightful excursions among the vine-clad hills and wild volcanic mountains of Grand Canary and Teneriffe, or from time to time chartered a steamer and spent a day or two on the coast. After this they sent homo encouraging reports, and small specimens of gold , and other matters, so that the hearts of the shareholders were lifted up in the expectation of 25 per cent dividends, and they did nothesitatoto increase the salaries of the officials in question. Meantime, the wandering tribes held many consultations among the denies of the hills as to what should be done to the infidel, for * the sons of the desert are true . Mussulmans. The younger ones suggested that the whole •party should be. killed off-hand, but the gray-bearded sheikhs shook their heads and said: "That is. foolishness, for if you slay them, .who will give you presents, even many rolls of cloth, and guns, and knives ? Besides, they are not of the race of Spain, and though you would without ' doubt 'destroy them, yet would mauy of the faithful die. in the attempt. It were better, therefore, to respect the firman of the Sultan which the Christian dogs hold, and allow them to come freely while they enrich its with their cloth and picnic about the land, and wo will even extend oiu- goodwill and send them guides to lead them — where there is no gold. Thus will Allah blind their, eyes that they may find nothing, ; .a^^henJ&ey.jQe, tire.d and, the.. presents ' Cease, then shall ye slay them." And all 1 the tribesmen agreed that there was wisdom in the words. Some of my readers may know the harbour of Las Palmas, in the Island of 1 Grand Canary, which is perhaps the dirtiest and. at the sr.mo timo one of the most 1 beaiitif ul on earth, for while below are coaling stations, lime-kilns, and wooden hovels ; above, the great volcanic inoun--1 tains rear their jagged crests against the 1 sapphire sky, with , soft clouds of silvery 1 mist shrouding their vine-clad slopes. One night in August there was a sound 1 "of revelry by night in the little tavern of Juan . Garcias at the head of the mole, [ which showed that the exploring expedi- ■ tion was enjoying itself preparatory to • embarking. It was what the Americans i would call a " mixed crowd." In a corner i sat the two Westons, Tom and Jim, who were nominally in charge, handsome !■ bright-eyed young fellows, both shouting : with delight at the antics » of big i Peter, engineer of a Spanish steamer, y who. was dancing a sword dance to . the music of two guitars and a :' mandoline, played by the Spanish captain, • ; Manuel, and two of his swarthy crew. Around the wall lounged six men, known , as " the army," who, on the strength of having at <me time served her majesty, had been engaged as a guard of honour. There were also two Syrians to act as interpreters wifch the Moors, while sitting 1 on the middle of the table discoursing upon things in general was Captain Thomas, who had been everything from'captain of an ■ Australian clipper to successful prospector in Alaska, and who was practically in charge tof the party. When he was sober, which ay.is, however, rarely the case, it could not have been in better hands. ; At length, when the expedition had drunk all the manzanilLi and sweet inoscatel in the place, and shouted themselves hoarse sin wing "The road to ■ Maudalay," it took itself off and staggered along the mole in the direction of "its launch. The "army" lingered behind to settle a dispute about payment by throwing the unfortunate " mozo " over the mole into the sea, informing him as they did so, that this was how they were prepared to treat " the s ole bloomin' Arabs." As, however, the islanders 1 can swhn like' fishes, the episode only meant a further bill for the company, while two armed guardias civiles, looking on un moved, with Spanish gravity remarked, that " truly all the' English are mad." A little later the rattling of blocks ■ and slatting of canvas announced that the fast schooner Hermosa Beatrix' was getting underway, and by-and-by a dim outline of 'white canvas that gleamed in the moonlight, as the graceful vessel threshed her way along over the glittering sea, close hauled to the fresh trade breeze, was all that the watchers on the mole could see of the expedition. Two days after, Jim Western, turningout on deck at .five o'clock, found tho schooner heading for a line of sandy coast, over which the sun was just rising, lighting- up the heavy surf that broke on the beach. Lowering down the peak of the mainsail she crossed the tail of a bank on which the long Atlantic swell was breaking .in sheets of snowy foaui, and with bos'n Carlos swinging the lead in the fore-rigging, the captain carefully felt his way up a channel leading between the bank and the shore, and a few mumtes later the little vessel rode securely to two. anchor.^, rolling from rail to rail and throwing sheets of glittering spray over her bows ,is"<3he dipped into the' creamy broken seas that swept over the bank. After breakfast tlie Hw launch was put over the side, and although there was some ; , trouble in getting through the surf, the whole party, with their goods and chattels, landed wet but safe on the beach. Each man at once strapped on his load of provisions, blanket, and felt-lined tins of water. The two Westous, the Wo Syrians, and Captain Thomas carried revolvers as well as rifles, while the "army" was armed with the Martini alone. When all was ready, Jim Weston gave the word to march, aud the party tramped, along under their heavy loads, ankle- ■< deep in hot sand, uutil towards noon they emerged' from tho sand- • hills into a flat treeless plain. Under, foot lay loose red earth mixed with sand and white pebbles, and the only sign of

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vegetation was a few thorny bushes ; while ahead, the plain stretched without a leaf or blade of grass to break the monotony, until blue and distant on the eastern horizon lay a low line of hills which was their . destination. Overhead the sun shone down with pitiless fierceness, and ! the ground lay shimmering in the glare ; with that peculiar dancing of the air which may sometimes be seen in England on a hot July day. " • , " We can't stand still without sunstroke, lads," said old Captain Thomas, "so come along ; while the perspiration's funning off you ifs all right ;" and worn out arid halfblinded with the brightness, they stumbled along until sunset, when they camped at the foot of a few rocks. In this land there is little twilight, and scarcely had the sun dipped behind the ! sandhills than the darkness cam© down, blotting out the glowing crimson and green of the western sky, and with it came a cool breeze which occasionally blows at night in the desert, though where it springs from amid the waste of hot sand it is hard to say. When we had cut a few of the brown thorny bushes which grew every here and there, a fire was made and a kettle full of tea and a few drops of vermouth washed down the frugal meal. The two Moorish hostages who always accompanied the party, assured them that none of their people were near, so, arranging for the " army" to relieve one another as sentries, Jim Weston rolled himself in his blanket and" lay down, looking up towards thestars which iv that clear air flashed with a brilliancy unknown to the north, and drinidng in the cool night breezethat-swept in gratef ul freshness across his sun-scorched face until he fell asleep. Next morning the whole party, including the sentry who was slumbering as peacefully as any, was wakened by the hot sun on their faces, and after a scanty breakfast were soon on the inarch. " Worse nor a blooming treadmill, Tom," said one of thearmy to his comrade ; "no ale, no time to sit down, no gold, an' no nothink." " Well, if you ain't got no gold, be thankful you've got no lead neither," was the reply, and the party went on in silence. Towards noon they reached the first of the low rocky hills, and for some hours threaded their way through a stony defile>, in the bottom of wiich it .appeared as if a little water had run at some remote period. That is what the Arabs call a " wady " or river, and as the Moors had indicated "tin's as' a" spot in which gold was to be found, all hands were on the alert. Captain Thomas, however, could find no trace of / any metal, and shortly before dark he came running back calling out that he had -seen three or four mounted men disappear round' the shoulder of a hill. , The guides either had not seen them or would not admit that they had, so when night fell the party climbed the side of the valley and camped in a hollow on one of the bordering hills; " You can arrange itany way you like, men," said Weston, "but there" must be two of you on watch together all through the night, and no noise ; if you see any Moors, let me know . at once." None of the expedition will ever forget that night ; the surrounding hills shut off the breeze, and the hot rocks radiated the warmth they had stored by day, so that the heat was, as the army said, "somethink awful." Soaked in perspiration they smoked and chatted in . low tones until Captain Thomas, who had been in the country years before, took tip the tale and told how such and such an unfortunate Spaniard had perished "by knife or bullet, or had been carried away into the far Sahara, while the hostages, who understood a little English, licked their lips and nodded their heads approvingly. At length Jim Weston nudged him and whispered sharply. "Stop it, you fool, or you'll have the whole lot bolting — come out with me." Side by side they climbed the slope and crossed a strip of tableland, and Weston. stamped his foot as the words, " There's a Burma girl awaitin' and she sings 'ka lo la lai/ " rang out through the still night from the camp they had left behind, followed by the swinging chorus, "On the road to Mandalay." "What's that fool Tom doing to let them make that row," he said. "If the Moors are on the maraud, there'll be half a. pound o£ sings in camp before 'they know . Thank goodness, they've stopped now." • . By this time the two stood looking down into a narrow rocky gorge which lay at their feet, one side clear and distinct in the moonlight, while the other lay in deep shadow. Weston raised his 'head and slowly swept his gaze around, but he could sea nothing but a wild stretch of stony, desolate hills, gleaming white and ghostly in the moonlight, and seamed with dark patches of shadow where the valleys intersected them. As he stood and watched, the captain grasped his companion's arm. " Drop down flat on your face and keep the rifle barrel in the shadow," he said; and they both flattened themselves against the hot stones, while from up the valley came the r faint sound of hoofs. " I hope to the Lord those fools won't sing again," said the captain, and they, both waited breathlessly while the softsound of hoofs came nearer and nearer — for the Arabliorses are rarely shod. At length from out the shadow emerged three camels swinging along at their awkward gait, both left feet together, and both right feet together, a way in which, j as far as I am aware, no other animal travels. On the back of each sat two Moors, clad in a long blue garment, half tunic and half shawl, which hung from the shoulders, loose blue trousers arid white burnouse : following one by one came a score of horsemen, the.- barrels of their long guns gleaming in the moonlight. Beautiful weapons these are, the fine Damascus steel barrels often inlaid with gold and silver, and the stocks curiously dovetailed ivory and hard wood. Riding silently one by one into the moonlight, they passed away again into the shadow like a'procession of ghosts. When the last had gone the captain • said: "I know them. They are some of the tribe the Spaniards at Rio de Oro had the trouble with, and if they are looking for us our lives are not. worth much." Hising to their feet the two companions climbed a small elevation, from the summit of which they watched the horsemen emerge from the Mils and strike across the desert in the direction of the coast, then they turned towards the camp. As they neared it several rifle-shots rang out and the two Moorish, hostages went flying past them. In an instant Weston threw up his rifle, but just as he lined the foresight on one of the men's shoulders the captain, seized his arm. "Let them.go," he said. " If you .shoot,.

one-of these felkws we'll have the -whole country down on us to-morrow ;" and so the two Moots disappeared in a ravine among the hills. On our reaching camp it was decided that as the hostages had bolted, treachery was intended, and they had better make for the coast at once. Space will not permit us to tell of the return journey. Suffice to say that the army declared the march to Cabulto be "nothing to it/ and that with all their water used up, utterly worn out, scorched with the sun and half bKnd from the glare, on the morning of the second day the expedition dragged its weary limbs around the point and staggered into the little bay of Santiago. "Boys," said Captain Thomas, "the schooner's gone; there's too much wind and sea here, and she must have run down the coast for shelter." This was the end, and the whole party sat down on the sand in despair. "It's all up," said one of the soldiers. "I can't go a foot farther, so we must just sit down.andwaitfor the Moors— here they come too," and he pointed inland, where they saw some twenty mounted Moors and a number on foot making for the~sandhills. " We may just as well stay where we are and make the best stand we can ; they won't take me prisoner," said Jim Weston, as he tapped, his rifle. " Don't befools," was the-captain's reply. "We can hold the top of that t sandhill against thorn even if they mean business," and as fas£«as their tired limbs would let them, the men struggled through the^and to the summit of the dune which rose above-any of the" surrounding ones, where a hollow wasscraped outin thesandf andlaying their baggage around the outside, the little party lay down to wait events. By-and-by the Moors rode into hills, tall handsome men mounted on diminutive horses/ and waiting until the men on foot came up, spread themselves Tound the Englishmen's position, a number lying down amid the sand on neighbouring heights so as to shoot to advantage. " Ask them what they want, Girardi," said Tom Weston-to the elder Syrian, and the latter standing up spoke in_Arabic to a tall sheikh who seemed to be the leader, and after the latter's reply tamed to his comrades and. said • "They are com&ta-take-Tusswayto'the interiorTKhere-TTO will be-iieldf oraaaaßom, ,but r .not ill-used, if we aaake no -resistance." "Teniihemto coma'ami.take us- if ihey can;" said Jim W^ston. ""Ear, 'ear '.there'll be a gorgeous fight," replied the-army. Wheeling his" horse the .sheikh rode back to his followers, and the next minute at full gallop they dashed past the foot of the sandhill, turning in the saddle and firing their guns as they passed, and with a vicious "pint, phit," slugs and small stones threw up little puffs of dust-and perforated the water tins. Not a man of the expedition fixed, but when ten minutes^afterwards the cavalcade again approached, the old captain shouted, "Now lads, give it them thisthne," and the army ground their teeth and jammed their left elbows in the sand as they followed the horsemen with the tiny foresight. "Crack, crack," went the rifles, and a cloud of blue smokedrffted across Weston's face. Next moment his hat was lifted off his head, and something threw a handful of dust in his- eyes, while a volley of small stones and slugs whistled over the heads of the defenders. When he could look out again two of the horses lay rolling in agony amidst the sand at their feet, while a wounded Moor crawled away on hands and knees. Then he sat up and looked at hia perforated hat and felt a little sick, while from overhead the sun's rays poured down with a pitiless heat, the sandhills threw up the glare, and rifle-barrel and sand burned the fingers. "This ain't no bloomin' fitin', nothin' but a picnicy" said one of the ex-troopers, " but you may as well be shot as die of sunstroke - — -." . He stopped suddenly, for three little puffs of smoke blew out from the surrounding sand, and a shower of slugs whistled into the<jamp. " I can't see no head, Tom, but that's like the sun on a gun-barrelsticking out behind them stones — lef s try." Both the rifles flashed, and presently a Moor crawled out on his hands and knees, then rolled down the slope and lay at the bottom a patch of raw blue and brown against the wMtesand. After this the firing ceased, and Captain Thomas, rising to his feet, looked round. " I can't see any sign of them ; they mast be crawling in thesand somewhere, waiting to rush us," he said; " Hurrah ! here's the Beatrix coming. She has been standing off and on waiting, for there's too much sea to anchor here." All jumped to their feet, and as they did so, *' crack, crack, crack," went three guns, and the smoke floated down the face of the opposite slope. Tom Weston felt a smart blow on Ms arm, and found he had a slug through it, while one of the troopers got a stone in the leg. There was no help for it, and all hands at once flattened themselves down into the sand, which felt like red cinders, and lay panting in the heat -with mouths andthroats dry and parched, while they watched with anxious eyes the whit© canvas of the schooner coming nearer and nearer, until at length she rounded to, and they saw the big launch with ten seamen in it coming ashore. . The chances were, however, that the launch would be swamped in the surf or smashed on the beach, and then their friends would be as badly off as themselves. As they anxiously watched her they saw the tall figure of 'TJarlos, who was standing at the tiller, shove his helm down, and next moment, as the launch came flying shoreward on the crest of a big, green roller, ten swarthy bare-legged seamen sprang into the water and struggled up the beach against the backwash of the sea. Four men, meantime, remained in 'the launch and pulled her out clear of the surf. The seamen were only armed with their inseparable long knives, and Carlos carried a sixteen foot oar ; but whatever the Spaniard may be he is no coward, and between the " Canarios " and the Moors, in spite of a certain similarity, there has been for ages a deadly feud, and many a wrecked schooner's crew or "bacalao" fisherman has disappeared into the wilds of the Sahara. Dashing the waterout of their eyes and drawing their knives they advanced up<fche beach, while the expedition marched out in a solid body from the top of the sandhill, and without firing a shot charged straight for-the launch right through the Moors who dashed out horse-and foot-to intercept them. The next minute there was, as the army said, a gorgeous fight. England and Spain side by side, rifle-butts flying among horses' heads, the-longfafcros of the Spanish, seamen flashing, and the Westerns and -the. younger .<HraTdi«iiring

their revolvers right and left into the mass. In the midst of it stood Carlos swinging his long oar at arm's length and knocking his swarthy foes out of their saddles right and left. The fray was so quick anil mixed that shooting, except with the revolver, Tvas out of the question, and while the Spaniards used their long knives with effect, the English struck right and left with clubbed rifles. In a few seconds it was over. They broke through the Moors, and rushing waist-deep into the -water, tumbled head first over the stern of the plunging launch, and the seamen grasping the oars made for deep water. The younger Girardi, the •greater portion of his jaw shot away, lay down in the stern-sheets, and with his repeating rifle shot several of the Moors; and a few minutes later the dspedition stoodon. the deck of the Beatrix, "' which vessel, under all the sail she could carry, stood away to sea. "'."There .were at least two of their foes hit in. the saiftlhilis, besides horses, and Several 'more lay on the beach; while of theadventnrers, Girardi- lost half of his lower • jaw, two Spanish seamen were badly ■'■ wofanded, arid- a third was taken prisoner and carried away into che desert. Shortly afterwards the shareholders, seeing no prospect •of the 25 per cent . dividends, wound up the company; but ail those concerned in it will long remember the "unfortunate expedition."