Ten years in Equatoria; . s. One day the Arabs attacked him there,but they fell into the snares he had prepared for them, and thegreater part were killed ; the w^omen, children, and slaves—thecrowd that always accompanies a native army in war time—becamethe prey of the victors. Mambanga possessed at that time (1880) about thirty muskets,a number much inferior to those j^ossessed by the enemy, but beinga man of rare courage, of uncommon talent, and firm will, andperceiving how difficult it would be to gain the victory, he threwhimself—at an opportune and decisive moment, into the thickest ofthe
Ten years in Equatoria; . s. One day the Arabs attacked him there,but they fell into the snares he had prepared for them, and thegreater part were killed ; the w^omen, children, and slaves—thecrowd that always accompanies a native army in war time—becamethe prey of the victors. Mambanga possessed at that time (1880) about thirty muskets,a number much inferior to those j^ossessed by the enemy, but beinga man of rare courage, of uncommon talent, and firm will, andperceiving how difficult it would be to gain the victory, he threwhimself—at an opportune and decisive moment, into the thickest ofthe fight, holding on his right arm his little son, an infant of abouttwo years old. When asked later on the reason of this strange act, he replied, Had every hope been lost I would have killed my son with myown hand. He never should have become a slave to the conquered, however, and his fame and the fear of his name werespread over the whole country. The Province of Guruguru, as the Mambettu was called, had. THE MAMBETTU ORACLE. 89 passed a little before this time from the jurisdiction of the Bahr-el-Ghazal to that of Equatoria. The Governor had sent some troopsfrom Lado in order to ensure the safety of the roads and of thecountry. The seat of this corps was at first in the countiy of theAbarambo, as it was destined to avenge the insult suffered, and torout the dangerous and neighbouring enemy. August 1881.—Mambanga did not keep them long waiting, butmarched resolutely towards the station, and, rushing impetuouslydown the slope of the hills, reached the fortifications in defiance ofa hail of bullets, followed by his companions, whom he had knownhow to inspire with his own daring and temerity; and if a fewsoldiers had not thrown themselves before him unobserved and byquite a spontaneous and opportune movement prevented him, hewould on that day have trodden under foot the banner whichfloated over the little fort. His retreat, which then became neces-sary, was eff
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