Firstly some brief details about these two, very different men:

Richard Francis Burton served as an officer in the 18th Bombay NI and in the Crimea with some Turkish irregulars. As Alan Moorehead says, "he is beyond the range of ordinary definition". A superb swordsmen, linguist (he could speak and write 29 languages), writer, translator and explorer, he lived the life of a dozen men. Given that range of gifts he couldn't have been an easy man with which to deal.

John Hanning Speke was a less intimidating man, but still served in India and the Crimea. Posterity will still record him as being the discoverer of the source of the White Nile (Lake Victoria). Keen hunter and explorer.

Burton and Speke's 1856 expedition was designed to discover the source of the Nile consisted of 170 people and included: the headman, Said bin Salim, an employee of the Sultan of Zanzibar; two gunbearers, Sidi Bombaya and Mwinyi Mabruki; two Goan (Indian) servants; and a 12 man guard, consisting of slaves and Baluchis (good excuse to buy the Foundry figures).

Some asses and camels were used in the early stages due to a lack of porters. The order of march was generally as follows: Guide carrying the flag of the Sultan of Zanzibar; Drummer; Cloth and bead porters; Porters carrying camp equipment, and women and children; Guards were dispersed along the line (generally armed with Tower muskets and swords);and Burton and Speke.

They usually marched for around 5-6 hours per day, stopping at around midday. If they stopped where there was not a village, a zeriba was built for protection.

Best sources for Burton and Speke are:

1. Alan Moorehead -- The White Nile (easily the best general book for African exploration, covering Burton, Speke, Baker, Stanley and Livingstone plus Gordon );
2. Timothy Severin -- The African Adventure (includes good picture of Speke, p217);
3. Fawn Brodie -- The Devil Drives (Burton);
4. Christopher Hibbert -- Africa Explored;
5. Burton -- Lake Regions of Central Africa (Burton's journal of the expedition, only US$12 from Barnes and Noble).

Burton's Lake Regions is apparently a very good read and no doubt will give a better insight into the daily dangers and hardships faced by these two men. Preferably I would have read this prior to writing this piece, but it will have to wait till after I've finished Stanley's Through the Dark Continent.

Note that this pair encountered little real opposition in their 1856 travels from the locals. Their route was such to avoid the Masai, so perhaps (with a little wargaming licence) this gives us a scenario. We need to get Mark Copplestone to get onto some Masai.

There is a good full-length picture of Speke on p36 of Moorehead, from which you can see how good the Foundry figure is and how wrong the film "Mountains of the Moon" portrayed Speke.

Speaking (no pun intended) of the film, we should make a couple of points. This film combines Burton and Speke's 1856 expedition with the 1860 expedition of Speke and Grant to Uganda. Speke and Grant actually met up with Samuel Baker at Gondokoro who was coming the other way, down the White Nile.

There is also Burton and Speke's earlier 1855 trip to Somaliland, where both men were wounded by Somalis (yes, that scene in Mountains of the Moon where Burton gets the spear through the jaw -- ouch!) and where some of their eventual animosity was generated. See Burton's First Footsteps in East Africa (also available from Barnes and Noble) for details of this trip. Perhaps this presents some good opportunities for a scenario. The party consisted of Burton, Speke, two other British officers (Lts Stroyan and Herne) and 42 Egyptian, Nubian and Arab men, plus camels and supplies. Speke appears to have been a bit of a "hanger-on" in this expedition and the fact that Burton and Speke later traveled together again is a surprise.

Berbera

They waited at Berbera on the coast for some surveying instruments to arrive, and had missed a caravan. The local tribes were said to be unhappy, when a guide hired by Speke on an earlier trip had been imprisoned for two months and fined. The tribes also considered Burton and Speke to be British spies, possibly intending to continue attempts to stop the slave trade. Burton considered that there were few risks however and only posted two sentries.

About 2am of 19 April 1855, the English were awoken by the sound of shouts. Burton and Herne shared a large tent and Speke and Stroyan were in smaller tents on either side. Their natives had fled and the four men were alone with an indeterminate number of Somalis. Speke joined Burton and Herne in the tent, but Stroyan was already dead. The Somalis beat down the tent and the three men, armed with sabres and revolvers, fought their way out.

Speke was tackled by a Somali and felled by a club across the chest. His description of what happened next is priceless: "In another instant I was on the ground with a dozen Somali on the top of me. The man I had endeavored to shoot wrenched the pistol out of my hand, and the way the scoundrel handled me sent a creeping shudder all over me. I felt as if my hair stood on end; and not knowing who my opponents were, I feared that they belonged to a tribe called the Eesa, who are notorious, not only for their ferocity in fighting, but for the unmanly mutilations they delight in. Indescribable was my relief when I found that my most dreadful fears were without foundation. The men were in reality feeling whether, after an Arab fashion, I was carrying a dagger between my legs."

Well, Speke may have been happy to keep his "family jewels" intact, but he was still the captive of a lot of angry Somalis.

Meanwhile, Burton had dashed towards Stroyan's body, fending off numerous Somalis. He was joined by one of their men who had not fled, but Burton thinking he was an enemy was about to strike him down when he held his blow. At that point, Burton was hit by a javelin in the jaw. He wandered about for some time trying to find the others and dispatched a friendly native to contact a ship anchored in the harbour. Burton knew the captain and crew. The crew found Burton and dressed his wound. Herne also appeared, unhurt.

Speke had been tied up and wounded by spear thrusts through the legs. He managed to hurl himself against the offending Somali and run towards the sea with Somalis chasing him (one must doubt how keen the Somalis were to catch him as he had 11 wounds and he could not possibly have outrun them) where the sailors found him. Basically, it was a disaster. Whilst only one life was lost, the matter reached the desk of the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie who said that "in such a country, and among such a people, their negligence and disregard for all common prudence and ordinary precaution cannot be extenuated, far less excused".

There were also implications for Burton and Speke's later relationship. Burton had reprimanded Speke for what Burton believed was a backward step during the fight and Speke never forgave him for that slight. When First Footsteps in East Africa was first published, Speke's account was relegated to the rear of the book.

But what can we do this very small skirmish that killed one Briton and five Somalis? How about these for some ideas: Play a four-player game with one player for each of the British officers. Their goal is to reach the boat or the protection of the sailors alive. Use the Burton and Speke figures from the Darkest Africa range. For the other two officers, there are numerous good figures in the Indian Mutiny Foundry range (especially IM 76 and IM 78) or use the new 1st Corps Cape War officers (K3 or K4) to fit the bill; Use some Askaris for the guard (say 12), dice for them individually to see if they run or stay; Use five groups of (say) eight Somalis to attack the camp. Hadendowah figures would suffice. They should be armed with a mix of light spears, daggers and stones; The Somalis fighting capacity shouldnt be too strong, with some element of bluff keeping the British alive. The Somalis needn't arrive all at the same time; Use chance cards, especially to move the Somalis who will probably be keener to get loot than fight. Remember it is night so there should not be any real control. Any Askaris who decide to stay can be controlled by the umpire; A small landing party could represent the ship's sailors. Chance cards could control their arrival or dice rolls to see if messages get to them. I cant state that the ship involved was a British man of war, but I would use the Indian Mutiny Naval Brigade figures (IM 98-101); The camp can consist of the three tents, baggage and camels; and Terrain should consist of the camp at one end of the table, sand dunes and broken ground and a small beach or harbour. Obviously the spirit of the game should be fun with the umpire taking control to ensure that all players show true British grit.