122 MAHOMET WOUNDED.

countered the native servants who had run away ; and from them they learned, to their horror, that Mahomet had been fearfully wounded in the stomach by a spear, and had been left behind. As far as we could gather, after having started to run away, he looked back, and, observing their struggle to regain possession of their rifles, turned round to render them assistance, and was speared. The boy in charge of the camel took his hand, and helped him for a short distance ; but Mahomet, feeling he was hard hit, told him he was dying, and could go no farther, and urged him to look to his own safety.

One of the Dembelas threw a spear at him ; which, happily, missed him, but killed the camel. They stripped the animal of the saddle-bags, containing luncheon and about thirty or forty cartridges. These cartridges, however, would not have been much to divide between three rifles of different calibres. One of the horsemen with them, whom we had brought from Haikota, they robbed of his horse, and, having soundly thrashed him with the back of his own sword, took it away. He was an old man, and greatly distressed at the indignity that had been offered him ; and he quite thought we should consider the loss of his sword as the most important of the whole affray.

As soon as Colvin and I arrived in camp, we all resolved to lose no time in going out to search for poor Mahomet, or his body in case he were dead,— a contingency that seemed only too probable, judging from the fearful description we had from the camel-boy of the manner in which he was wounded. We decided that this boy should be of the party, as we trusted to him to show us where he had left Mahomet. As it was impossible to leave our two European servants (who were in a state of great terror), or the camp, alone, we drew lots for four, with the doctor, to go in search of IMahomet, and for the other two