Chapter 5 Chapter Five Amijay.Floras' second newsletter

On January 18, "French Expansion" published Ameijie.The full text of Floras's second communication follows: Balsac Expedition Team (2) special correspondent 16th December Dojrico The last newsletter was written by the flickering lights in the bushes on the night we set out.Since then, no particular incident has occurred on the trip. At 5 o'clock in the morning on the 2nd, the expedition team packed up and set off in line. In order to spare a donkey for Mary to ride, the load had to be unloaded from one donkey to the other.This black girl seems to have forgotten the bitterness of the past, and she is always smiling, how lucky she is!

It was calm and easy along the way.If it weren't for the different skin colors of the surrounding residents and the poor scenery, we can even imagine that we haven't left France yet! The scenery is indeed too poor.We walked in flat or slightly undulating fields, and there were some hills on the horizon in the north. As far as the eye could see, they were all dry plants.Shrubs and grasses two or three meters high are mixed together and are collectively called jungles. The common people along the way saw us very kindly and without malice.Expedition teams often enter the poorest villages and have long conversations with the residents.

I looked in my travel diary and saw nothing interesting before the sixth. That night we camped near a small village called Varia.I went back to my tent to sleep and found Sumberling there.He had taken off his clothes, only his underwear, and his underwear was lying around, and the bed had been made.It was evident that Sunberling intended to spend the night in my tent.I stood at the entrance, wanting to see what happened to this unexpected visitor. Sembling wasn't surprised to see me standing there.Generally speaking, he is not surprised by anything.He was very excited at this time, and he was rummaging around, turning out all the things in my duffel bag, and scattered them all over the ground.Yet what he was looking for was not found, which annoyed him.He approached me and said in a convincing tone:

I hate those careless people the most!Such people are disgusting! Without batting an eye, I agreed: Indeed!But what is the matter with you, Sunberling? You see, he replied, my pajamas are gone.I bet this guy Chumgeng forgot about it when he left this morning.What a joke! I remind him: How did your pajamas end up in my knapsack? Your? Here is my rucksack, dear friend, you are a guest in my tent Samblin was dumbfounded.Suddenly, realizing his mistake, he immediately grabbed his clothes and trousers, which had been thrown on the ground, and ran out of the tent, as if the devil were chasing him.I laughed and fell on the camp bed.

When camping on the night of December 7th, my tent happened to be pitched next to Mademoiselle Morena's.It was a fault of mine that when I lay down to sleep, I heard someone talking in her tent, and instead of plugging my ears, I listened. It turned out that Miss Morena was talking to Dong Galle, who was answering her questions in a strange English.No doubt they had been talking for some time, and Morna was asking him at length about his past life.she asked: Are you a Hausa? how?Isn't Tongale a Bamba tribe?This is something I didn't expect. How did you, a Hausa, become a Senegalese infantry?You seem to have told me this when you were hired, but I don't remember it.

I felt that Miss Moerna was a bit outspoken, so I heard Dong Galle reply: this is after the buxton incident Buxton?I seem to have heard of this name, but who is he? I continued to listen, racking my brains to recall. I was a soldier on his survey team, Dong Galle went on, and then the British troops came and opened fire on us, Do you know why they shoot?Morna asked. Because Captain Buxton robbed and killed again. Is this all true? It's all true.Burn the villages to ashes one by one, kill the poor black people in large numbers, even women and children Was all this cruelty the order of Captain Buxton?Mademoiselle Morena asked inquisitively, and her tone changed.

No, Dong Galle replied, he never showed up.He hasn't stepped out of his tent since another white man came to our unit, and it was this new white man who gave us orders in the name of a captain. Has this new white guy been with you long? For a long time, five or six months, maybe even longer. Where did you first meet him? in the jungle. Did Captain Buxton take him in easily? The two of them were so good that they were inseparable until the day when the captain never left the tent again. Undoubtedly, all bad things start from this day. Dong Galle hesitated. No idea, he said. What happened to the new white guy?Morna asked, do you remember his name?

The noise outside covered Dong Galle's voice, and I couldn't hear how Dong Galle answered, anyway, it has nothing to do with me.This is probably an old story and I'm not interested in it. I only heard Morna ask again: What did you do after the British shot at you? I told you this when I hired you at Dakar.Dong Galle replied that many of us were terrified at that time and quickly hid in the jungle. Later, I returned to the original place, but there was no one there except dead bodies.So I buried the bodies of my friends, including Captain Buxton. I heard Morna muffled. From then on, Dongjiale continued, I wandered from one village to another, and came to the Niger River.I stole a boat and rowed upstream to Timbuktu.After that, I went to Senegal and met you there.

There was a long silence.Then Morna asked again: So, Captain Buxton is dead? yes miss. You buried him? yes miss. Do you remember where his grave is? Dong Galle laughed. Remember!I can find it with my eyes closed, he said. Again there was silence.Then I hear: Good night, East Galle! Good night, miss!After the black man answered this sentence, he walked out of the tent. I was ready to go to sleep at once, but when I blew out the light, a memory suddenly came to my mind: Buxton?hell!How did I not know about this?What a good interview opportunity I missed at that time! At that time I was working as a reporter for the Diderot.I once asked the manager of the newspaper office to send me to the place where the robber captain committed a crime.But he was afraid of high expenses, so he refused to agree for several months.By the time he finally agreed, it was too late.I had just boarded the train for Bordeaux when I learned that Captain Buxton had been killed.

However, this is all in the past.If the reader asks me: why write down the conversation between Dong Galle and his mistress?To be honest, I can't figure it out myself. Jimpo This is the second small town we encountered.We stayed here for two days, December 13th and 14th, because the animals needed rest. On the second day of our arrival at Jimbo, December 14th, we were very anxious about our guide, Mollier, who had been searched for all day, but there was no trace of him, and he seemed to have disappeared. But don't worry: when he set off on December 15th, he appeared at his post again, and deliberately beat the ground with a stick to make a thumping sound, so that others would not suspect his existence.

Barsac questioned him again and again, but Moriler stubbornly insisted that he hadn't been anywhere the night before.The fault was not serious, and it was quite forgivable: he probably took the opportunity to go out to play, and the incident was soon forgotten by everyone. Beyond Jim Slope, the avenue turned into a byway, and we became true explorers. After passing Jim Slope, the terrain became rough.After going up a ridge, we have to go downhill again; and then we go uphill and downhill again.Coming out of Jim Slope, we climbed a very steep hill, and after getting off the hill, we walked a section of flat ground.Then it was uphill again until we came to a small village called Dajrico, next to which we were going to camp. Because both the people and the animals were fully rested, our team walked much faster than usual, and arrived at this small village around 6:00 pm. The people of Dajrico gave us a very friendly and warm welcome, and the village chief himself gave us a gift.Balsac thanked them, they even cheered, and Baudrier shook his head doubtfully. We were delighted by the enthusiasm with which the mayor invited us to live in the best house in the village, and to invite our female companion to his own house.Everyone imagined that everything will go well in the future itinerary.But little Marie approached Mademoiselle Morena, and said softly, but eagerly: Don't go, miss!He will kill you! Morna looked at the black girl in surprise.Of course, I also heard Mary's words. This is the bounden duty of every journalist who respects himself.But Captain Martharay heard it too, though his profession did not require him to have it.After thinking for a while, he gave the order to camp outside the village.I think with their guards, you can sleep peacefully. This precaution made me ponder: Captain Martha Ray is very familiar with this country. Could it be that he also thinks that what Mary said is valid?