“I drew my revolver, and fired it by a sort of instinct straight at the diabolical woman who had been caressing Mahommed.” — from H. Rider Haggard's "'SHE:' A History of Adventure" from "The Graphic" — fourth composite woodblock illustration by Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S. (23 October 1886)

“I drew my revolver, and fired it by a sort of instinct straight at the diabolical woman who had been caressing Mahommed.” (headpiece): composite woodblock illustration by Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S., in H. Rider Haggard's "SHE:" A History of Adventure, 7 by 9 inches (12.8 cm high by 17.7 cm wide). The Graphic (23 October 1886): Volume XXXIV, p. 441, framed. In the 1887 volume edition: “I sprang to my feet with a yell of horror, and, drawing my revolver, fired it.” (p. 99), 3 ½ by 5 ⅜ inches (8.7 cm high by 13.6 cm wide). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: The Europeans' Guide Becomes the Potted Centrepiece of the Feast

Maurice Greiffenhagen's first-volume illustration of the scene in Chapter VIII: Up above them towered his beautiful pale face (1888).

“Great heavens!” roared Leo, “remember the writing, ‘The people who place pots upon the heads of strangers.’”

As he said the words, before we could stir, or even take the matter in, two great ruffians jumped up, and, seizing the long pincers, thrust them into the heart of the fire, and the woman who had been caressing Mohammed suddenly produced a fibre noose from under her girdle or moocha, and, slipping it over his shoulders, ran it tight, while the men next to him seized him by the legs. The two men with the pincers gave a heave, and, scattering the fire this way and that upon the rocky floor, lifted from it a large earthenware pot, heated to a white heat. In an instant, almost with a single movement, they had reached the spot where Mahommed was struggling. He fought like a fiend, shrieking in the abandonment of his despair, and notwithstanding the noose round him, and the efforts of the men who held his legs, the advancing wretches were for the moment unable to accomplish their purpose, which, horrible and incredible as it seems, was to put the red-hot pot upon his head.

I sprang to my feet with a yell of horror, and drawing my revolver fired it by a sort of instinct straight at the diabolical woman who had been caressing Mahommed, and was now gripping him in her arms. The bullet struck her in the back and killed her, and to this day I am glad that it did, for, as it afterwards transpired, she had availed herself of the anthropophagous customs of the Amahagger to organise the whole thing in revenge of the slight put upon her by Job. She sank down dead, and as she did so, to my terror and dismay, Mahommed, by a superhuman effort, burst from his tormenters, and, springing high into the air, fell dying upon her corpse. The heavy bullet from my pistol had driven through the bodies of both, at once striking down the murderess, and saving her victim from a death a hundred times more horrible. It was an awful and yet a most merciful accident.

For a moment there was a silence of astonishment. [Chapter VIII, “The Feast and After!” at the curtain of the 23 October 1886 instalment, p. 443; pp. 97-98 in the 1887 volume]

Commentary: The Cannibals' Feast of "Potted Mohammed" Interrupted

When Holly, noting the absence of meat and an abundance of alcohol at the "feast" specially thrown by the Amahagger for their guests, sees the cannibals attack the terrified Mahomed, he draws his revolver and kills the woman who appears to be the instigator. She has been caressing the helmsman while the warriors have been ritualistically chanting about the meat they will shortly cook. The scene is perhaps the most sensational in Johnson's dramatic sequence, its operatic stage filled with crazed celebrants holding gigantic spears as Holly (right) fires towards the bare-breasted figure, left centre. Apparently in editing the graphic description for volume publication Haggard toned down the violence. Nevertheless, after the hospitable treatment that the visitors have thus far received, the murder of Mahommed (perhaps selected from the party as the only non-White among the visitors) comes as a shock to the reader. In Johnson's treatment of the savage spectacle in the huge cavern, the Neanderthal Amahagger, wearing only loin-cloths of jaguar-skin, are decidedly black rather than yellow.

Several details stand out in Johnson's handling of the composition: the absence of Mohammed's corpse, the white-hot pot (centre), and the second female figure, extreme right. This is undoubtedly Ustane, who comes to Leo's rescue by hurling herself upon him after the cannibals have finally knocked him off his feet and are about to impale him. Just when it appears all three Englishmen will be slain in the cavern, a booming voice commands the assailants to "Cease!" just as the narrator faints. Given the story's narrative perspective, the reader was never really in doubt as to the trio's surviving the ordeal.

Related Material

Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose, as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Haggard, H. Rider. "SHE:" A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. The Graphic Magazine, Vols. XXXIV and XXXV. 2 October 1886 to 8 January 1887.

Haggard, H. Rider. SHE: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. New York: Harper & Bros., 1887.

Haggard, H. Rider. She: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen and Charles H. M. Kerr. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888.

"Johnson, Edward Killingworth." Haynes Fine Art. Web. Accessed 8 April 2025. https://www.haynesfineart.com/artists/edward-killingworth-johnson-uk

Created 13 April 2025

Last modified 24 May 2025