No sooner
had she fallen, than the Makkarikas rushed upon her in a crowd, and
seizing the fat, they tore it from the wound in handfuls, the girl being
still alive, while the crowd were quarrelling for the disgusting prize.
Others killed her with a lance, and at once divided her by cutting off
the head, and splitting the body with their lances, used as knives,
cutting longitudinally from between the legs along the spine to the
neck.
Many slave women and their children who witnessed this scene, rushed
panic-stricken from the spot and took refuge in the trees. The
Makkarikas seeing them in flight, were excited to give chase, and
pulling the children from their refuge among the branches, they killed
several, and in a short time a great feast was prepared for the whole
party. My man, Mahommed, who was an eyewitness, declared that he could
not eat his dinner for three days, so great was his disgust at this
horrible feast.
Although my camp was entirely separate from that of Ibrahim, I was
dreadfully pestered by his people, who, knowing that I was well supplied
with many articles of which they were in need, came begging to my tent
from morning till evening daily. To refuse was to insult them; and as my
chance of success in the exploration unfortunately depended upon my not
offending the traders I was obliged to be coldly civil, and nothing was
refused them.
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