With a rush like a cloud of locusts the natives closed around us, dancing, gesticulating, and yelling before my ox, feigning to attack us with spears and shields, then engaging in sham fights with each other, and behaving like so many madmen. A very tall chief accompanied them; and one of their men was suddenly knocked down and attacked by the crowd with sticks and lances, and lay on the ground covered with blood. What his offence had been I did not hear. The entire crowd were most grotesquely got up, being dressed in either leopard or white monkey skins, with cows’ tails strapped on behind and antelopes’ horns fitted upon their heads, while their chins were ornamented with false beards made of the bushy ends of cows’ tails sewed together. Altogether I never saw a more unearthly set of creatures; they were perfect illustrations of my childish ideas of devils-horns, tails, and all, excepting the hoofs. They were our escort, furnished by Kamrasi to accompany us to the lake! Fortunately for all parties, the Turks were not with us on that occasion, or the Satanic escort would certainly have been received with a volley when they so rashly advanced to compliment us by their absurd performances.
We marched till 7 P.M. over flat, uninteresting country, and then halted at a miserable village which the people had deserted, as they expected our arrival. The following morning I found much difficulty in getting our escort together, as they had been foraging throughout the neighborhood; these “devil’s own” were a portion of Kamrasi’s troops, who considered themselves entitled to plunder ad libitum throughout the march; however, after some delay they collected, and their tall chief approached me and begged that a gun might be fired as a curiosity. The escort had crowded around us, and as the boy Saat was close to me I ordered him to fire his gun. This was Saat’s greatest delight, and bang went one barrel unexpectedly, close to the tall chief’s ear. The effect was charming. The tall chief, thinking himself injured, clasped his head with both hands, and bolted through the crowd, which, struck with a sudden panic, rushed away in all directions, the “devil’s own” tumbling over each other and utterly scattered by the second barrel which Saat exultingly fired in derision, as Kamrasi’s warlike regiment dissolved before a sound. I felt quite sure that, in the event of a fight, one scream from the “Baby,” with its charge of forty small bullets, would win the battle if well delivered into a crowd of Kamrasi’s troops.