Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/370

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343 DICK SAKDS, TIIE BOY CAPTAIR. HaiTta and Ncgoro both wîth tbem. Mr. Benedict to& "^ Only a Fcw marches ahead, but cannât be comi with at prcscnL Found Dingo woundcd by a gab-diat > Dear Mr. Dick, do not despair ; kecp up your courage, may help you yet " Your cvcr trae and faithrul "Hercules." As far as it went, this intelligence was satisfactory. A kitanda, I know, is a kind of iitter madc of dry grass, protcctcd by a cuitaia, and carried on Ihc sliouldcrs of tn'o men by a long bamboo, What a relief to know tfaat Mrs. Wcldon and Jack hâve been spared the miseries of tliis dreadful mardi t May I oot îndulge the hope f^ seông them at Kazonndé ? I2t/i. — The prisoners gettîng more and more weary and worn out, Blood-stains on the waystill more conspicuovs. Many poor wretchcs are a mass of wounds. One poor woman for two days has carried hcr dcad child, from which shc refuses to bc parted, i6t/i. — Small-pox ragîng ; the road strewn with corpses. Still tcn days bcforc ve rcach Kazonndé. Just passed a trcc from which slaves who had dicd from hunger were hangin^ by tlic ncck. iSl/i. — Must not give in, but I am alinost cxhaustcd, Rains hâve ccascd. We arc to make what the dealers call trikesa, extra marches in the after-part of the day. Road vcry stccp; runs through nyassi, tall grass of which the stalks scrr.tch my face, and the secds get undcr my tattcrcd clolhcs and make my skin smart painfully. My boots fortunatcly are thick, and hâve not wom out More slaves sick and abandoned to takc their chance. Provisions running vcry short ; soldiers and pagazis must be satisfied, otherwisc thcy désert ; consequcntly the slaves are ail but starved. " They can eat each other," say the agents. A young slave, apparcntly in good health, dropped down dcad. It madc me think of Lîvingstone's description of how free-bom men, reduced to slaveiy, wïU suddcnly prcss thcir hand on their sîd^ and die of a broken heart.