War

: The Great White Queen

TWELVE days later I found myself accompanying Kona who, at the head of a

great force of over eighteen thousand men, was crossing the treacherous

quicksands by the Way of the Thousand Steps. The critical position of Mo

had been fully discussed by Omar, his officers and sages, and it had been

decided to send, in addition to the force of twenty thousand men to the

Hombori Mountains on the northern frontier, a second expedition to trav l

with all swiftness across the sandy plain and make a dash upon Samory's

stronghold at Koussan in the absence of its picked troops.



Within two days after Makhana had brought news of the coming invasion,

the whole of the twenty thousand men, with Omar himself at their head,

had marched out of the capital on their way to defend the pass. I had

expressed a wish to accompany them, but my friend had requested me to go

with the expedition to Samory's capital because, having been there in

captivity, I could act as guide. To this I made no objection, and bidding

farewell to Omar, Goliba and Niaro at the city gate, I had watched them

ride away at the head of a brilliant cavalcade, and the same evening at

sundown descended the face of the cliff by the long flight of steps, and

jumping into the saddle of a horse held ready for me, rode with all haste

to catch up Kona who, as leader of our expedition, had already started

for the gigantic precipice known as the Gate of Mo.



To Niaro, an excellent officer, the leadership of the defending force had

been entrusted, as he had already had experience of fighting in the

Hombori country, having been second in command of Kouaga's expedition

when he conquered the tribes of Massina, while Kona, who had with him his

valiant Dagombas, had orders to enrol another thousand men of that tribe

when passing through their territory, prior to our dash upon Samory's

country.



The passage to the desert by the Way of the Thousand Steps was a

brilliant feat, for of our great force not a single life was lost, and so

rapidly did we travel, that within two weeks of the day we left the

palace, our Dagombas, who preferred their native spears and arrows to

firearms, were enrolled and we were well on our way to the Great Salt

Road, a mere native path notwithstanding its imposing designation,

towards Samory's great fortress-city.



Heedless of the noontide heat we pushed forward over stony desert and

green grass-land, now plunging into those gloomy dismal forests of

eternal darkness where the stench of decaying vegetation sickened us,

only to emerge again into the open plain devoid of shade, scorched by the

pitiless rays of the fiery sun. Snatching brief rests, and pushing for

ever onward our great host of armed men and carriers, with the vigilant

Kona at their head, pressed forward, entering at last the land of our

enemies.



The Dagomba scouts, travelling before us, splendid fellows, all eyes and

ears, who could detect the slightest indication of an enemy's presence

far or near, whether it were the broken twig at one's feet or the sudden

rising of a bird in the distance, kept us well informed of all

transpiring on every side. For a hundred miles we marched through the

Arab chieftain's land without any of its inhabitants dreaming of the

presence of a hostile force, and it was only by our sudden descent one

night upon the small walled town of Torola, which we sacked and burned,

that they were awakened to the truth.



But ere the news could spread to Koussan, about forty English miles

distant, we, by a forced march, had already reached the capital. Making a

dash upon the place by night with our Maxim and Hotchkiss guns, the

garrison were completely taken by surprise, nevertheless so well were its

high white walls defended, that our forces were driven back with severe

loss.



Undaunted however, Kona, who placed himself at the head of our Dagomba

allies, backed by the well-armed soldiers of Mo, made a second assault

upon a point that had been indicated by our spies as weaker than the

others. The fighting was desperate, and the sight, viewed from where I

was standing with the reinforcements, was one of exceeding grandeur.

Night was rendered almost bright as day by the constant flashing of guns,

and the noise of the tumult ever increasing sounded high above the

constant roar of artillery. Suddenly, as I gazed across the plain to

where the sharp conflict was proceeding, a brilliant blue flash blinded

me and an instant later a deafening explosion caused the ground to

tremble, while the red light of the guns gleamed through the increasing

veil of smoke, and I saw that our men had successfully placed a mine

beneath that portion of the fortifications near where they were fighting,

and it had been fired, effecting a great breach through which they next

moment poured, engaging the defenders hand to hand.



Soon afterwards a signal light flashed thrice, as had been agreed, and

six thousand men, including myself, sped over the plain to reinforce our

comrades. Soon, clambering over the fallen masonry where the enormous

breach had been made, I found myself with my sword, the one I had used in

the conquest of Mo, hacking right and left, endowed with a strength that

only came to me in moments of intense excitement.



The dash we made was indeed a brilliant one. The Arab defenders were, we

found, fully equal to us in numbers and were withal magnificent soldiers,

for in the broad squares of the city their cavalry, with their white

flowing robes and heavy curved swords, committed frightful havoc in our

ranks, yet in such numbers had we clambered into the great chieftain's

stronghold that they became gradually hampered in the streets and, unable

to manoeuvre, were compelled to dismount and engage us in combat. The

fight proved an even more desperate and bloody one than that which

resulted in the dethronement of the Naya. So equally matched were the

forces, that the struggle raged with frightful ferocity, each side

determined to secure the victory. In the old Moorish-looking streets, so

narrow that two asses could scarce pass abreast, there were encounters

more desperate than any I had ever witnessed, for the soldiers of Samory

and the fighting-men of Mo, the two most fierce and valiant forces in the

whole of the African continent, were pitted against each other.



Cutting our way forward, I found myself at last beneath the high

whitewashed wall of the great Djamaea Thelatha Biban, or Mosque of the

Three Gates, one of the most ancient in the city. I recognised it by its

fine dome standing out white against the flame-illumined sky, and

remembered that when a captive in the hands of the brutal Arab ruler,

Omar had translated to me the fine Kufic inscription on its handsome

facade, recording its construction by Mohammed Ibn Kheiroun el-Maaeferi in

the second century of the Hedjira. For a moment I paused under its

handsome entrance of black and white marble, when suddenly Kona rushed

towards me, crying:



"Quick, Master! Fly for thy life, here, across the square!" and as he

tore away as fast as his long black legs would carry him, I followed

wondering.



Scarcely had we reached the opposite side of the great market-place when

a deafening roar sounded, and an instant later, as I turned, I saw the

great dome crack, tremble and collapse, together with the high white

minaret, while the whole of its facade fell out with a terrific crash in

the opposite direction. Our men had blown up the principal mosque in

Samory's capital, an action which increased tenfold the rage of our

fierce fanatical enemies.



With loud yells they fell upon us from every quarter, when a few minutes

later they realised what had been done, and during the next hour the

conflict became terrific. Hundreds were struck to earth by bullets and

swords, and it appeared to me, striving as I was in the midst of the

smoke and heat of battle, that the longer we fought the more numerous

became the defenders, and the less our chance of success. Yet slowly we

had succeeded in cutting our way from the city wall up the hill crowned

by the great white Kasbah, or fortress, which constituted Samory's

palace, and were now actually within sight of it. Fiercely exerting every

muscle we fought to attain our goal, but so desperate was the defence,

that time after time our forward movement was prevented, and we were

compelled to fall back bleeding and frustrated. In these valiant attempts

to reach the walls of the Kasbah there fell, at a low estimate, fully

five hundred of that portion of the force to which I had attached myself.

With reinforcements we might have flung back the defenders, yet separated

as we had been into small bodies during the earlier manoeuvres, fighting

was now taking place in every part of the city, no two bodies being able

to unite their forces.



To thus cut us off one from another had, no doubt, been the tactics of

the defenders, for we afterwards learnt that in many instances the

smaller of our gallant little bands had been slaughtered literally to a

man.



At last, however, my worst fears began to be realized, for the defenders,

receiving reinforcements, swooped suddenly down upon us, and with their

swords and those sharp double-edged knives they carried in their belts,

wrought frightful havoc among us everywhere, while upon us another body

poured a terrible fire from their long-barrelled rifles.



As result of this, although we made a spirited stand, once again we were

compelled to fall back in confusion, leaving many dead and dying upon the

stones. Suddenly I heard Kona's well-known voice behind me uttering the

fierce war yell of the Dagombas, and next instant we found to our

satisfaction that a great body of his dark oily-faced warriors had come

to our relief. The reckless and savage manner in which they fought a few

moments later was astounding, and it was certainly due to their courage

and strength that the Arabs were first forced back and then cut to pieces

and utterly routed.



This, however, did not carry us much further towards the Kasbah, for when

within an ace of gaining its walls, another body of Arabs swept across

the great square with its clump of date-palms, and with cries of rage

attacked us vigorously with rifle and sword. The combat again became

terrible, and in it I received from a big, raw-boned Arab a severe

sword-cut over the left wrist that caused me excruciating pain. Still I

fought on, although half fearing that our expedition was ill-fated. We

had believed Samory's capital practically denuded of troops, and of such

strenuous opposition as that offered we had never dreamed.



But the assertion of the West Coast tribes that the soldiers of the

mystic land of Mo know not fear is certainly true, for never once did

they falter, although the citadel seemed absolutely unassailable by

reason of the fierceness and strength of its defence.



Through the dark night hours we had fought on revengefully, and when dawn

spread the grey glimmering light disclosed the terrible result of the

deadly fray. Dead and wounded lay everywhere, and through the suffocating

smoke the fire of the rifles now seemed yellow where in the darkness it

had appeared blood-red. By some means the Arabs rallied their forces, and

I confess that the sight of the overwhelming numbers opposing us caused

my courage to fail. Swiftly and unrelentlessly the attack upon us was

delivered, and with such vigour that our van fell back, weak and

decimated. Suddenly, without warning, a sound above the din broke upon

our ears, startling us.



The rapid cackling was unmistakable, and involuntarily I burst into a

good old-fashioned English cheer. One of our Maxims had been tardily

brought into play!



Ere a few moments had elapsed the Arabs, having already had a taste of

the terrible effect of the deadly weapon during the recent campaign

against the French and English, stood panic-stricken. Their hesitation

proved fatal. Under the hail of lead they were mowed down, and ere the

remainder could recover from their astonishment a second weapon was

brought into play, riddling their ranks with showers of death-dealing

missiles.