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Updated: May 5, 2025
The slave-hunters, as we have said, are divided into two sections, one consisting of negroid Arabs and Wa-Swahili, believers in the Prophet mostly, and clad in array once gaudy but now soiled and tarnished, some few, however, wearing the white haik and burnous; the other of Wangoni, stalwart, martial savages, believers in nothing and clad in not much more.
If it had been your life instead of mine these people had saved twice, Hazon, I would willingly have spared theirs; now will you do less for me?" "But it will breed a mutiny among our people," said Hazon doubtfully, with a half glance at the crowd of scowling Wangoni. "Oh, a mutiny! By all means. We shall know how to deal with that, as we did before."
Then the silence was broken in appalling fashion. Rending the air in a terrific note of savagery and blood-thirst, there burst forth the harsh, hissing war-yell of the Wangoni. It came from the forest edge on the farther side of the village. Laurence realized, with vexation and concern, that his merciful plan would be extremely difficult to carry out.
But the savage Wangoni, who are the speakers of the latter tongue and who constitute about half the attacking party, have tasted slaughter, and their ferocity is well-nigh beyond control; indeed, but for the fact of being allowed to massacre a proportion of the inhabitants of each place attacked, they could not be enlisted for such a purpose at all.
Several of the Wangoni sprang forward, and, as the quivering body was dragged away, these savages gave vent to their pent-up ferocity by stabbing it again and again. Having tasted blood they rolled their eyes around in search of further victims.
For the Wangoni, by virtue of their Zulu origin, hold cannibalism in the deepest horror and aversion. These barbarians now, humming a bass war-song as they march, are in high glee, for there are more villages to raid.
As they passed tremblingly among the ranks of the Wangoni the latter handled their great spears meaningly, and with much the same expression of countenance as a cat might wear when contemplating an inaccessible bird cage. "Ho, dog!" cried Mashumbwe, as a youth passed before him without making obeisance. "Do you dare stand before me before me! thou spawn of these man-eating jackals?
Bearers take up their loads, fighters look to their arms, the soiled and gaudy finery of the semi-civilized sons of the Prophet contrasting with the shining skins of the naked Wangoni, even as the Winchester and Snider rifles and great sheath-knives and revolvers of the first do with the broad spears and tufted hide shields of the latter.
Even the savage and truculent Wangoni seemed for the moment overawed. It was striking, too, how, in the hour of impending peril, all turned to the white leaders, whom a moment before they had been entirely defying and more than half threatening.
The force is made up of Swahili and negroid Arabs, and a strong contingent of Wangoni a Zulu-speaking tribe, turbulent, warlike, and to whom such a maraud as this comes as the most congenial occupation in the world. The last-named savages are still looking through the reed huts in search of food, arms, anything portable.
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