Extract from A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION' By FELIX N. ROTH, M.R.C.S., and L.R.C.P.
February 13th. —We had rather a busy and exciting day yesterday. About sixty black scouts, under Turner of our force and Erskine of the Navy, came up to-day to scout in advance of us to find out the movements of the natives. The Admiral had been rather seedy after his walk in the sun from Warriga to Ceri; he got overheated; but he told me he was better yesterday, and I think he will be all right to-day. Our bridge could not be made, as we should have to walk three miles through the swamp opposite Ologbo. I had a chat with Moor, our Consul-General; he told me the following: On February 10th Gwatto was attacked and occupied by naval men; one officer and two men of H.M.S. Widgeon severely wounded, one officer and one man of H.M.S. Philomel slightly wounded. On February 11th Sapoba and roads at back were occupied by naval men. Whilst stockading camp there Pritchard and one man of H.M.S. Alecto were killed. So our column so far has fared the best; but it won't last long, and we shall have to fight our way up to Benin City. Some more men have gone down with sunstroke, but I have not seen or heard of any cases of malarial fever yet. Smallpox has broken out among some of the Sierra Leone carriers ; but it is of a mild sort of form, and somehow it has never been known to have been communicated by the blacks to the white men. We make another start late to-day or to-morrow; we have seen no natives since yesterday, but some have crept up and fired into us. We believe they are concentrating their forces at the next village, or somewhere on the road to Benin City, for their final stand. Of course they may ambuscade themselves and try to stop us, but we shall succeed in the long run, however many men we may lose. We are now in the Bini Country, and the houses in the villages are thatched in a different way from the other villages we have passed so far. They are covered with leaves only, tied up in bunches, and not with big palm leaves. Then again, the walls are made with split wood, and not of mud, as in the other places. We shall have great difficulty in getting water up here, and it is uncomfortable to be without it. We are dirty and dust-begrimed; unshaven, and sticky; our clothes are wet, and at night all the horrid animals of the bush crawl over us and sting us.
References
1) Bacon, R. H. Benin City of Blood, 1897
2) Roth, H. L. 1903 appendix 11 cited Roth N. F. A DIARY OF A SURGEON WITH THE BENIN PUNITIVE EXPEDITION'