The slave caravan
The slave caravan is a novel by the German writer Karl May . The book was first published in sequels from October 1889 to September 1890 in the journal Der gute Kamerad . The first book edition appeared in 1893.
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The main characters are two explorers, the brothers Emil Schwarz and Josef Schwarz , who are traveling separately in Sudan . Several Arabs from the Homr tribe attempt to murder Emil Schwarz on his journey to Faschoda . He survived the attack unharmed, took the Arabs prisoner for his part and handed them over to the governor of Faschoda.
The Arabs acted on behalf of Abu el Mot , a notorious slave hunter . Emil Schwarz learned from the governor that the Abu el Mots branch, the Seribah Omm et Timsah , was located on the Nile south of Faschoda. Josef Schwarz is on the Nile by ship; his way to Faschoda leads past the Seribah Omm et Timsah.
Meanwhile, Abd el Mot , Abu el Mot's deputy, plans to raid the village of Ombula and enslave the residents. He orders the slaves Tolo and Lobo to lead him and his men to Ombula . But Tolo and Lobo have relatives and friends in Ombula. They flee from the Seribah to warn the residents of Ombula.
When they are chased by large dogs that Abd el Mot has set on their trail, Tolo and Lobo have to flee into the water. The appearance of a ship saves them from being eaten by crocodiles. On board the ship are Josef Schwarz and his friend, Doctor Ignatius Pfotenhauer . When they hear of the planned attack, Schwarz and Pfotenhauer decide that Josef Schwarz should go to Ombula instead of Tolo and Lobo.
Josef Schwarz hires an old elephant hunter to take him to Ombula. On the way to Ombula, Josef Schwarz learns that his guide is indeed Barak el Kasi, the Emir of Kenadem , whose son Mesuf was once robbed by the slave hunter Ebrid Ben Lafsa and sold as a slave. Now the elephant hunter is looking for Ebrid Ben Lafsa to get revenge on him. Josef Schwarz reports that a young man who fits the description of Mesuf belongs to the crew of his ship.
Shortly before Ombula, Josef Schwarz and the elephant hunter fall into the hands of Abd el Mot. It turns out that Abd el Mot and Ebrid Ben Lafsa are the same person. The prisoners have to stand by and watch as ombula are set on fire and the residents are enslaved.
In the meantime, Emil Schwarz is going to meet his brother on a ship made available to him by the governor of Faschoda. Emil Schwarz meets Pfotenhauer, who tells him about his brother's plan. Emil Schwarz and Pfotenhauer continue their journey together. On the way they learn that Josef Schwarz and his companion fell into the hands of the slave hunters. They free the prisoners and put an end to the slave hunters.
main characters
The slave caravan is a novel that Karl May wrote especially for young readers. Pfotenhauer and the Hungarian Uszkar Istvan , a would-be scholar who is writing a book called Why Birds Have Feathers, provide some humor . However, this is overshadowed by the misdeeds of the slave hunters. The dominant figure, however, is the cruel Abd el Mot, an impressive embodiment of evil. He throws the guard who let Tolo and Lobo escape alive before the crocodiles to eat; he tortures the elephant hunter by detailing what he allegedly did to his son.
filming
1958 was the slave caravan filmed ; the film has little more in common with the book than the title. The main roles were played by Viktor Staal as Kara Ben Nemsi , Georg Thomalla as Hadschi Halef Omar and Theo Lingen as Sir David Lindsay . Just by the fact that the main characters are Kara Ben Nemsi, Hajji Halef Omar and Sir David Lindsay, you can see how far the film deviated from its original. Of the characters in the book, only Pfotenhauer and Abu el Mot appear.
See also
- Karl May's illustration texts and Hobble Frank articles : Background for May's collaboration on the boys' magazine Der Gute Kamerad
Expenses (selection)
- Karl May: The slave caravan and other stories . Reprograph. Reprint d. 1st book edition, Stuttgart 1893. Edition. Karl-May-Verlag / A. Graff , Bamberg / Braunschweig 1975, ISBN 3-7802-0241-7 .
literature
- Joseph Höck: On the structure of the novel "Die Sklavenkarawane" , in: Wolfgang Hermesmeier, Stefan Schmatz (eds.): Karl May Yearbook 1935 , Bamberg / Radebeul: Karl May Verlag 2011, pp. 76-88.